Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 11h

This is truly a peak low-level magic item: fun design, flavorful effect, and some genuine utility. What I especially like about it (and intend to use it for), is that it offers a low-stakes character trait/decision for a player hesitant to RP. Everyone eats.

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 2d

Your work's always gorgeous, but that lamp post is *exceedingly* cool

1 3

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 2d

The Holy Mackerel is, in the opinion of some mages, the most important magical artifact in the modern age. For this reason, it is that much more dismaying that it is privately owned, eternally tinned, and branded with the likeness of a member of the Archmage's council.

#worldbuilding #dnd #oc #art

1 12

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 6d

Very cool designs!

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 7d

Immensely rad! The scale texture and the colors on the gold jaw are gorgeous 🤌

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 7d

An Althar, a demon of the Pantheon of Death. They maintain the circle of death and rebirth, strictly enforcing its mechanisms. They have, however, been known to deviate from their task, performing favors for well-meaning mortals in exchange for an IOU.

#worldbuilding #dnd #ttrpg #oc #art

A grey, desiccated figure sitting cross-legged while smoking. It wears straw, conical basket over its head with a sunflower sticking out of the top.

2 22

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 8d

Very cool work! I also don't think I've ever seen a depiction of an elderly drider-style creature, so it's extra rad.

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 9d

I yearn for more little helmet guy 🙏

1 2

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 10d

My personal alternative: leave a space on the map less fleshed out, so when a player asks to play a lizardfolk, you can just pretend like that was always an option.

1 2

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 10d

That almost always seems to be the case! I think it's mostly because players like to feel like they've caught you off guard/have you against the ropes.

1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 10d

Bit of an older piece.

"There's nothing inherently evil about necromancy. Most associate it with undead armies sweeping across nations, but I use it to get some extra use from my neglected sourdough starter. It allows for greater control of the dough's rise."

#worldbuilding #dnd

A poorly drawn sourdough boule surrounded by geometric shapes with the text "Undead Bread" in "stylized" text.

This was definitely rushed back in the day, but I still like the ideas behind it: unconventional uses of necromancy in everyday life.

3 15

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 13d

Feverfew, the Wild Mage, a devotee of the God of the Hunt with a smile of flint and lead. I'm planning for him to be a minor big bad in the campaign I'm currently running.

As a side note, this is probably the closest I'll ever come to drawing a catboy.

#dnd #worldbuilding #oc

1 2 14

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 15d

All your art is beautiful, but there is something just so perfect about those eyes and pouty expression. Awesome work!

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 16d

I'm glad you like it! I decided at some point that in a fantasy world where people can hold a conversation with animals, vegan and vegetarian options are going to be *a lot* more common.

1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 16d

The final mainstay ingredient is blood. The question is: whose? The imbiber’s own is best, but the more similar it is to your own the better. Your average maker will use pig’s blood, but vegan alternatives are available in the form of Dragon Blood tree sap or silphium.

#worldbuilding #dnd

2 1 15

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 18d

Trust me, smaller campaigns are so much better! Faster combat, easier decision-making, and less scheduling conflicts. Any game with more than 4 players feels like a slog now.

2

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 18d

Two quick sketches of my aquatic, shark-headed goblins, both meant to be cute. I may have succeeded with one.

#dnd #worldbuilding #goblins

1 1 15

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 19d

That's the easy part! I've literally scattered loose nails on a grid for a combat map when I hadn't prepared anything. The large-scale stuff is overrated, as long as you know roughly where things are relative to other places, you're good!

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 20d

I believe the tried and true method of raising stakes and adding some loss is to make the *players* like an NPC just to have them killed off-screen. Have something "actionable" nearby for players who aren't RP-heavy to vent. No pomp. No save. Someone died, and the party needs to do something.

1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 21d

Ras'tlan, Raknide Mage, Voice of Queen Syraxxas of the Bar'nor Hive on the Archmages' Council.

#worldbuilding #dnd #oc

1 1 21

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 22d

Trust me, I know nothing! But the sword into column is a very fun visual motif

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 22d

Super rad!

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 23d

Always love some in-universe scholarship! Sometimes I included legal citations and footnotes to my longer Reddit posts just to be silly.

1 1

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 24d

The next ingredients of healing potions are simply fresh air and water. Modern manufacturers are often attached to desalination systems and large air filters, but one will find that most effective potions are brewed by old women living in untouched wilderness.

#worldbuilding #dnd

This is my attempt at a landscape with a river running in the foreground, backed by a cliff, the plains above, and a hill/mountain in the background. I have never drawn any of these things, nor any kind of depth. Everything considered, I think it could've gone a lot worse, but I'll certainly be doing a lot differently next time.

13

Moe Neus @moeneus.bsky.social · 25d

Best of all, the latter means you can credibly say, "Allow me to consult the scrolls," in a conversation about your worldbuilding.

1