Roku got some lovely new armor and is experimenting with the “Get Over Here”. Right now it’s a bear trap on a chain, but is consistently being upgraded.
Roku Softpaw with his signature weapon, “Get Over Here”.
In it’s basic form, it’s a bear trap on a chain that can be used as a flail.
I redesigned Mr. Roku Softpaw with his lovely new armor.
For some reason, no matter my initial intention, every D&D character I make turns into a big sweetie.
We’ll start with Riolu, my first real character.
When I first made Riolu, he was initially a self-loathing Transmutation Wizard whom was very self-depreciating because of his half-elven half-dwarven heritage. However, as I started playing him more, that portrayal just didn’t feel right. About a year ago, I redesigned him as a much kinder, much gentler Druid of the Moon. This portrayal of him was much more caring and felt sooo much better and more organic to play. Now that the campaign he was in ended, I kept developing him now having a daughter in Paupricosh, which helps me segwey into her.
Paupricosh was initially made to be the complete opposite of Riolu. However, I couldn’t go through with it because I loved her so much. when I started making her, I felt this pang of love for her, and a desire to protect her. Most of the time she is a complete and total sweetheart like her father. However, she is bipolar and can switch into a vindictive state where she becomes completely cruel and uncaring, but those moments are few, far between, and don’t last more than a few minutes.
Last up is the character I just started playing, Roku.
I initially made Roku while rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender, hence his name. He was originally going to be this big, badass, brutish character who takes no shit, which is why his expression is so gruff in his original artwork (pictured above).
However, 2 sessions in and the trope continued. My portrayal of him softened. He is a very honorable warrior, but takes no shit and will fight to the death for his new allies. The first time he went to a restaurant, he walked right up to the bar and sat down on 2 stools (due to his massive size), and politely ordered 10 orders of chicken and dumplins. He even tipped the barmaid and the chef an additional gold each as a thank you for feeding him. He is always respectful and grateful of those that give him food. Most of his lines go like “Hi. Me Roku. What your name?” Reason for this is because he’s not used to speaking common, and so he talks like a young child. He’s trying to be a good person.
Albeit, he doesn’t always make the kindest choices (ex. He held his Greataxe under the chin of a wererat and threatened to kill him for harming his companions).
Even though he has an aversion to orcs (backstory), he’s still civil to the half-orc blood hunter and the meth orc (I’m not kidding. There is a person who playing a meth orc in his party. It switches from hilarious to a little too much at the drop of a hat). Originally he was planning on eating them, but he took one sniff and realized they both smelled toxic (blood hunter tonic and meth), and decided to let them live. However, in the case of the blood hunter at least, Roku’s developing a respect for him. Roku respects his battle prowess and conviction to his goals, and is actually helping him achieve his first one now.
I’m not sure what it is, but regardless of my initial intention of a character, they all turn into sweeties. Do I find this to be a problem? No. I feel the opposite. The fact that my characters always try to be good people, even without me trying to make them that way, adds a layer of humanity to the party, and I love that.
For anyone curious, I have 3 main characters I’ve used for D&D over the years (4 if we count my original, but I usually don’t talk about him).
This is Riolu Ungart, my second character I played. He is a half drow (mom’s side), half hill dwarf (dad’s side) genderfluid Circle of the Moon Druid from a place in the Fey Wild dubbed Harvest Wood (it’s always harvest season there and it’s gorgeous).
Later in life he gained a level of Monk when he started becoming more comfortable in combat, and his last level was Life Domain Cleric in honor of his best friend, Tabaxi Warforged Paladin Michael Sunshadow.
He’s a vegetarian, and through much study he attained the Owlbear wildshape and it quickly became his favorite.
His favorite foods are Herbal Tea, Apple Ale, Apple Crumble and Stinky Tofu, and his least favorite foods are Miso anything and really dark whiskeys.
He’s Pansexual and Polyamorous, and believes that love is something to be shared with everyone willing to participate in it, and thus has never married but instead has a harem of people from just about every race and identity.
This is my 3rd character, Paupricosh Padparadscha-Ungart (her companions call her Poppy), Riolu’s daughter he had with Rosemary Padparadscha toward the end of his adventures. She is a tiefling (due to Rosemary’s genes) and is a College of Swords Bard and Sun Soul Monk (aka, she has Hamon. My new dm helped me homebrew the Overdrive for her:pictured left hand).
She is a lesbian, and tends to be the dominant one in relationships. She has a thing for Half-Orc and Goliath women predominantly, and finds it adorable when she’s able to find a submissive partner.
She is in a relationship with the Half-Goliath Half-Orc (Goliath instead of Human) Blood Hunter/Barbarian foodie Gruvia Goremond, and one day hopes to open a dress shop/bakery with her.
She is transgendered and genderfae, and her daddy Riolu was nothing but supportive of her when she was transitioning, even commissioning one of his friends to help her transition through the use of True Polymorph (although she isn’t yet comfortable with transforming her genitalia, but they were perfectly fine with that, and let her know that if the day ever comes when she is, they would help her).
She grew up in a fairly well-rounded environment with Riolu and all of his friends and partners who taught her a number of skills and philosophies (although she had no idea what a human was until she was 22).
She is very bipolar and has no such thing as a small emotion. Due to her upraising in the Feywild, any happiness emotes as utter elation, anger as unbridled rage, etc.
She goes between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral at the drop of a hat, and can be quite vindictive when she’s in one of her moods (which is usually roleplayed with her Cruel feat). her spirit animal is the Bull-Headed Shrike.
Like her daddy, she makes all of her own clothes (but doesn’t have the advantage of being able to become a spider and made silk like her dad). She is pictured in her Buttercup Dress with her Poppy Poncho she tailored from a cultist robe she “commandeered”.
Her favorite foods are any fruit-based pastries and Rose Wine, and her least favorite foods are pickles and anything pickled.
She is allergic to Petunias (still loves them) and Tobacco (hates it).
I adore Paupricosh, and am incredibly emotionally attached to her.
This is my 4th and most recent character, Roku Softpaw. He is a Goliath Panda Ranger (level 1 right now) Bounty Hunter traveling around the world hunting the band of Orc-Gnolls that attacked his home village.
He goes around hunting for gold and for food (one of his side goals is to eat every type of meat the world has to offer).
His favorite foods are pork dumplings and any dark whiskey, and his least favorite foods are bamboo (to break that stereotype), and common human (he finds them tough and stringy and only suitable for making jerky).
His only trait he looks for in a partner is they have to be able to beat him in a fight (bonus points if they can beat him within an inch of his life)
He’s still fairly recent, and I’m still learning about him. I greatly look forward to seeing what kinds of adventures he gets into when the campaign he’s in starts up in March.
For anyone curious, I have 3 main characters I’ve used for D&D over the years (4 if we count my original, but I usually don’t talk about him).
This is Riolu Ungart, my second character I played. He is a half drow (mom’s side), half hill dwarf (dad’s side) genderfluid Circle of the Moon Druid from a place in the Fey Wild dubbed Harvest Wood (it’s always harvest season there and it’s gorgeous).
Later in life he gained a level of Monk when he started becoming more comfortable in combat, and his last level was Life Domain Cleric in honor of his best friend, Tabaxi Warforged Paladin Michael Sunshadow.
He’s a vegetarian, and through much study he attained the Owlbear wildshape and it quickly became his favorite.
His favorite foods are Herbal Tea, Apple Ale, Apple Crumble and Stinky Tofu, and his least favorite foods are Miso anything and really dark whiskeys.
He’s Pansexual and Polyamorous, and believes that love is something to be shared with everyone willing to participate in it, and thus has never married but instead has a harem of people from just about every race and identity.
This is my 3rd character, Paupricosh Padparadscha-Ungart (her companions call her Poppy), Riolu’s daughter he had with Rosemary Padparadscha toward the end of his adventures. She is a tiefling (due to Rosemary’s genes) and is a College of Swords Bard and Sun Soul Monk (aka, she has Hamon. My new dm helped me homebrew the Overdrive for her:pictured left hand).
She is a lesbian, and tends to be the dominant one in relationships. She has a thing for Half-Orc and Goliath women predominantly, and finds it adorable when she’s able to find a submissive partner.
She is in a relationship with the Half-Goliath Half-Orc (Goliath instead of Human) Blood Hunter/Barbarian foodie Gruvia Goremond, and one day hopes to open a dress shop/bakery with her.
She is transgendered and genderfae, and her daddy Riolu was nothing but supportive of her when she was transitioning, even commissioning one of his friends to help her transition through the use of True Polymorph (although she isn’t yet comfortable with transforming her genitalia, but they were perfectly fine with that, and let her know that if the day ever comes when she is, they would help her).
She grew up in a fairly well-rounded environment with Riolu and all of his friends and partners who taught her a number of skills and philosophies (although she had no idea what a human was until she was 22).
She is very bipolar and has no such thing as a small emotion. Due to her upraising in the Feywild, any happiness emotes as utter elation, anger as unbridled rage, etc.
She goes between Chaotic Good and Chaotic Neutral at the drop of a hat, and can be quite vindictive when she’s in one of her moods (which is usually roleplayed with her Cruel feat). her spirit animal is the Bull-Headed Shrike.
Like her daddy, she makes all of her own clothes (but doesn’t have the advantage of being able to become a spider and made silk like her dad). She is pictured in her Buttercup Dress with her Poppy Poncho she tailored from a cultist robe she “commandeered”.
Her favorite foods are any fruit-based pastries and Rose Wine, and her least favorite foods are pickles and anything pickled.
She is allergic to Petunias (still loves them) and Tobacco (hates it).
I adore Paupricosh, and am incredibly emotionally attached to her.
This is my 4th and most recent character, Roku Softpaw. He is a Goliath Panda Ranger (level 1 right now) Bounty Hunter traveling around the world hunting the band of Orc-Gnolls that attacked his home village.
He goes around hunting for gold and for food (one of his side goals is to eat every type of meat the world has to offer).
His favorite foods are pork dumplings and any dark whiskey, and his least favorite foods are bamboo (to break that stereotype), and common human (he finds them tough and stringy and only suitable for making jerky).
His only trait he looks for in a partner is they have to be able to beat him in a fight (bonus points if they can beat him within an inch of his life)
He’s still fairly recent, and I’m still learning about him. I greatly look forward to seeing what kinds of adventures he gets into when the campaign he’s in starts up in March.
Harvest Guardian 