#swashbuckling

[eliotbaum]

The Hunter / The Prowler / The Occultist / The Champion

4 character classes from The Hidden Isle.

Kickstarter ends in less than two weeks!

#illustration #art #artists on tumblr #character art #character design #ttrpg #indie rpg #the hidden isle #fantasy art #swashbuckling #occult #rogue #hunter #knight

[dynasoar5]

painting. "Spinosaurus Seadog / A Daring Escape" 2023

#art #painting #digital art #digital painting #anthro #furry #dinosaur #saurian #theropod #spinosaurus #pirate #fantasy art #scalie #anthro art #furry art #swashbuckling #dynasoar5 #ssohardd #sword

[janisjoy]

Missing my Captain.

#captain #Felix Iliad Infaustos #dungeons & dragons #dnd 5e #swashbuckling #rogue #half elf #dungeons&dragons #my oc #my art #my first dnd character :) #he/him #art

[gonzague-if]

Gonzague is an interactive fiction game made with Twine, based on the novel Le Bossu by Paul Féval. It is a court intrigue and swashbuckling story set in early 18th-century France. The game has two versions: one is rated 16+ for violence and suggestive content, the other is rated 18+ for explicit content.

The demo currently stops after chapter 1.

Story

You are the Prince de Gonzague, a title you acquired thanks to your ruthless ways. Your bloody past haunts your every step and you have taken measures to ensure a prosperous future as well as put away your blades and poisons for good.

You have made some rich and powerful friends in the persons of Philippe de Nevers and the King’s nephew. Now you just need money. Thankfully, the marriage you have arranged with the Marquis de Caylus’s daughter should provide you with the fortune you need.

Unless some unexpected revelations put your plans in peril…

Features

Play as the villain of your story and live with the consequences of your terrible deeds.

Choose your gender, pronouns, and appearance.

Make choices that will put you on the path of redemption — or damnation.

Make friends, enemies, or lovers throughout your tribulations.

Links

Demo | Characters page | FAQ | Support me on Patreon or Ko-Fi | Join the Discord server

You can find the link to the 18+ demo in this post.

#interactive fiction #twine game #le bossu #paul féval #swashbuckling #court intrigue #gonzague if #intro post

[youhalfwit]

GUYS GUYS GUYS IT'S THE SWASHBUCKING DUO'S 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY 🏴‍☠️🏳️‍🌈

#losing my mind #love these dudes so much #sth #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fanart #digital art #art #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #procreate #pirate sonic #gay pirates #swashbuckling #pirate au #my art

[thatdoodlebug]

thinkin bout robin hood fox but as a pirate so had to doodle fast

#idk #today was such a waste i suffered migraine all day fml #robin hood #disney #pirates #swashbuckling #foxes #doodle #random

[schweizercomics]

THE GREATCOATS by Sebastien de Castell

I drew these up as one of the (mostly literary) paper figures I do each month for Patreon.

Despite always being drawn to the trappings of fantasy, there are precious few fantasy books (or movies, etc) that have resonated with me. One very notable exception is the Greatcoats series, four novels that follow a trio of comrades from an effectively-dissolved band of dueling magistrates, who, in their heyday, had been charged with enforcing unpopular verdicts against politically powerful folks who had, until that point, been untouchable by the rule of law.

It’s kind of a thrust-the-Musketeers-into-a-medieval-setting thing, and there are swordfights and sucked-into-political-intrigues-even-though-you’re-ill-suited-towards-them a’plenty, for folks who like that sort of thing, and I very much do.

From the first read (I’ve now read them all thrice, along with a collection of short stories), these have become some of my very favorite books, and I could not recommend them more highly. They can, at times, be a hard read; the world in which the Greatcoats live is an unjust one, and whatever terrible things you can imagine people doing (torture, sexual assault, murder, animal cruelty, etc) can and probably are enacted in it, but what has, to me, set this series apart from some other “grim” fantasies is the balance between the knowledge that the world is an unfair, cruel, and terrible place, with the wholehearted belief that it shouldn’t, and doesn’t have to be. Idealism colors every action of the leads, and there’s something incredibly moving and powerful about characters who persevere against impossible odds towards fairness and justice despite encountering the very worst examples of their absence, never in ignorance or denial but out of pure stubbornness.

De Castell crafts a narrative with masterful control over how it’ll affect the reader; it’s melodrama in the best way, with huge operatic emotional beats. They never feel calculated – they’re all earnest, and they’re all earned. There are sections that make you weep, that make you laugh, and (I suspect this is the rarest, and most difficult to achieve) that make you want to cheer, stomp, salute. Moving speeches, incredible narrative payoffs, characters for whom you desperately root. Plus, of course, the suspense of peril and the best action sequences I’ve ever encountered in prose. De Castell’s first-person narration of fight scenes from the point of view of a strategist follows a pretty wonderful pattern of beginning the fight, edging the audience, and then turning to an aside that informs the context of the fight - a lesson learned long ago, an observation about the human condition, a technique frequently incorporated by duelists, an anecdote – and then return to the fight, the new context both heightening the peril and also providing a means by which the reader can fully appreciate the very clever way that the hero(s) win despite being outmatched. It’s a great internal “meanwhile, back at the ranch” and it gives each action encounter (and they are joyously plentiful) narrative weight.

Again, I can’t recommend the series more highly. It has some truly great characters – the leads, the supporting cast, the villains are wonderful and terrible, and the setting is rich and immersive. De Castell describes it as “swashbuckling fantasy,” and it swashbuckles its heart out.

You can get it in print, or in unabridged audiobook (Audible has it, and probably your library does, too), wonderfully narrated by Joe Jameson.

There are a number of other great characters, too – co-leads in their own right – but to draw them is to provide spoilers, so rather than do a whole cast, as I sometimes do, I’ve stuck to the three that you get from the first page.

Design (for process buffs)

There’s not too much visual description about the characters; Kest is described as of average height and build, with short hair, Brasti has hair long enough to tie back and a beard and is tall… and I think that’s it (at least so far as I’ve noticed, or remember).

There’s a tendency to make archers lean and wiry – it compliments the arrow imagery, and a tight, sinewy form seems a carryover of the bowstring to its user, but I wanted Falcio to be lean and triangular, and stoic Kest to be square, so it got me thinking that Brasti ought to have rounder features to offset and compliment the others. He’s a country boy, too, and where I’m from the troublemakers are often a little meatier, so it felt fitting, though it does suggest that he's physically imposing in a way the stories don’t push. But I kind of like that beefy, country swagger he’s got. He’s carrying two bows, as it’s a plot point that he has bows for different purposes: a fast one, and a powerful one.

The eponymous coats were tricky; they’re practically magic; serving as armor (via little bone plates sewn under the leather) and utility belt, with little pockets for whatever the story may require the characters need. I wanted a way to make them modular, so I figured on making a pretty sturdy chest piece that folds back to allow the coat to be open and unbuttoned, and a rolled epaulet that unrolls and can be used as a gorget to protect the neck during a duel (or from the cold).

I wanted each of the characters to be able to wear the coat differently, to reflect their personalities: Kest, always at the ready and doing things the “right” way, has his greatcoat fully rigged. Byronic Falcio needs to be able to dash about with tragic romanticism, so his coat needs to be a little more open – I probably should’ve had the chestpiece partially unflapped ala the Rocketeer, but I also wanted it to read clearly. And Brasti wears his because he has to, so he has all the trappings tied or buttoned back.

Last Thoughts

For artist and writer pals, I’d highly recommend listening to any of De Castell’s interviews on podcasts or on youtube; he’s generous with his process and has a lot of great thoughts about the act of writing.

#Fantasy Fiction #Swashbuckling #Sebastien de Castell #The Greatcoats #Greatcoats #Greatcoats Series #Fantasy Series #Book review #book recommendations #fanart #fantasy art #character design

[racefortheironthrone]

Speaking of swashbuckling, do you know of any context in which a modern reader should approach Man in the Iron Mask (besides being the end of a larger work, and also loosely influenced by history)? I found it surprisingly anti-climactic (titular character is barely in it), and a Shoot the Shaggy Dog Story where no good deed goes unpunished and all schemers get away scot free. Notably, all film adaptations have made the story more heroic. Is there some historical context I'm missing?

I don't know if I quite agree with your description - The Man in the Iron Mask is not a full story, but as you said the "end of a larger work." So to that extent, I think it's a mistake to think of the titular MITIM as a "character" - he's a MacGuffin, a catalyst for the larger conflict between Fouquet and Colbert, who are the real drivers of the plot that results in the tragic downfall of the Musketeers.

Indeed, I would argue the emotional heart of the story is the breakdown of the bonds between Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and d'Artagnan. D'Artagnan is forced to choose between his duty to Louis XIV and his friendship with Athos, under Fouquet's influence Aramis becomes d'Artagnan's enemy and arguably the main villain of the story, Porthos has to choose between Aramis and d'Artagnan - and in the final conflict Porthos is killed, Aramis is consumed by remorse, Athos dies of a broken heart, and only d'Artagnan gets a "good ending," becoming Marshal of France before dying a heroic death at the siege of Maastricht.

I think calling this a shoot the shaggy dog story is a bit unfair, because Dumas was writing historical fiction. D'Artagnan, d'Aramitz, de Porthau, and d'Athos were real people and really were close friends, and I would argue the Dumas stories give them a far more interesting and evocative arc than what happened in real life - Athos died in a random duel only three years after meeting d'Artagnan, Porthos resigned from the Musketeers to take up a significant judicial office in the provincial Parlement of Navarre and Béarn, and Aramitz retired from the Musketeers to become an abbot in Béarn. D'Artagnan's death at Maastricht was a famous historical event of its time and couldn't be changed.

#swashbuckling #three musketeers #early modern history #french history #historical fiction

[hang-on-lil-tomato]

oh dear Zeus, there is a diety, and she’s looking after us all!

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #Rhys Darby #Rhys Darby’s instagram #swashbuckling #let’s have some fun with it #dreamy Stede #i’m dying #ofmd s2 #if you don’t want spoilers don’t go online #swoon worthy

[mynte-locked]

𝗣𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗼𝗱𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱

‘I am sorry to see you here, but if you had fought like a man, you needn't be hanged like a dog.’ -Anne Bonny

#this was a very self indulgent board- #pirates #pirate #anne bonny #pirate ships #pirate ship #swashbuckling #Moodboard #stimboard #mood board #stim #stimming #stims #sea #ocean #the ocean scares me #hyperfixiating #im hyperfixating again #piratecore #sailcore

[eliotbaum]

An interior illustration for ‘The Hidden Isle’, agents embarking on a journey 🌊

Kickstarter launches on Sept 28th! You can sign up here to be notified.

#illustration #artists on tumblr #ttrpg art #ttrpg #indie rpg #swashbuckling #ship #ocean #art

[namedafterflowerstournament]

Botanic Tournament : Main Bracket !

Round 6 Poll L

"But op this isn't a flower name" : read this

(Plant bulbs and buttercups)

#botanic tournament #tournament polls #round 6 #bulbasaur pokemon #pokemon bulbasaur #bulbasaur #pokemon manga #pokemon games #pokemon cards #pokemon anime #animeblr #mangablr #gameblr #pokemon fandom #pokemon tag #movieblr #the princess bride #princess bride #princess buttercup #swashbuckling #bookblr #william goldman

[blacknarcissus]

Ivanhoe (1952)

#ivanhoe #ivanhoe 1952 #robert taylor #elizabeth taylor #joan fontaine #richard thorpe #medieval #swashbuckling #cape et d’épée #robin hood #period movies #decade: 1950s #1950s #old hollywood #classic film

[elibunn]

3/6 guild members done!!! the forshtti guild is halfway done with their designs :0 it’s been so fun omfg i love them

#oc #dnd #dnd 5e #dnd art #dungeons and dragons #fire genasi #oathbreaker paladin #paladin #aasimar #fallen aasimar #shadow magic sorcerer #sorcerer #divine soul sorcerer #swashbuckling #swashbuckler rogue #rogue #grayson #garnet #valerius

[thewhimsyturtle]

ARRRRR!!  It be International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Th' Pirate Kirby be on th' STOMP wi' a mighty fine new cutlass! Gimme noms o' me pointy new friend be makin' ye walk th' plank! 🗡🏴‍☠️⚓️🐢😤

#International Talk Like A Pirate Day #skull and crossbones #sword #cutlass #Kirby #tortoise #Russian tortoise #pirate #pirate hat #hat #GRUMP #swashbuckling #ARRR #YARRR #STOMP #tortle clothes #cute #animals

[sea-chord]

Swashbuckling kisses

#kiss #swashbuckler #swashbuckling #kissing #couple #love #sea chord #seachord #sea-chord