User:Ravenstongue
It's me.
I am the RT.
You might be looking for my character Ravenstongue, though. She's also the RT.
Heroic Leeway System
NOTE: This is not staff-approved, official stuff. I use it for my events. You are free to use it for your events, but do not expect other people to use it and do not demand other people to use it.
Are you tired of dice rolls cramping your style?
Got an event that's down in the dumps because no one can hit?
Do you really want to do cool things and watch other people do cool things, too?
- Introducing the Heroic Leeway system!
- The roll bonuses system that's so simple that an otyugh could run it!
Loosely inspired by the Exalted "stunt" system, the Heroic Leeway system is intended to reward players for roleplaying well, working together, and staying true to their characters! While the Heroic Leeway system works best with more cinematically-minded DMs, it is flexible enough to be applied to any DMed event for theoretically any tier--this system was tested with a POP featuring combat with characters spanning from T1, T2, and T3!
The basis is simple: a player asks to do an action or declares their intent to do something such as attacking or making a skill check. The DM declares a Heroic Leeway bonus as they deem applicable: +5, +10, or +15.
+5 bonuses are easy to hand out and easy to get. If a character's action makes sense and it's well within the realm of possibility, award a +5.
+10 bonuses are a little harder and usually require a favorable situation resulting from character background or set up to succeed by allies. Consider also awarding a +10 for really great roleplay, if a character with a flaw commits to their flaw, for a party that is winning the battle as a reflection of morale, or if someone is having a rough go at rolls and you decide they need a break.
+15 bonuses are rare, but usually come about as a result of a combination of outstanding roleplay, character background, and being set up to succeed by allies. Consider giving these out to create truly cinematic moments if the players are up against the wall against evil and if they remain steadfast--or if they're scared, but find the spark within them to remain.
Fervently Anticipated Questions (FAQs):
- Q: What sort of rolls should I consider applying these bonuses to?
A: In the original playtest, heroic leeway was applied to skill checks and rolls to attack, including ranged touch attacks. I also had one instance where I gave a player a +5 heroic leeway bonus to healing an ally with a class feature that normally requires a ranged touch attack to hit: because nobody likes rolling low on healing to help your friends out. You could conceivably add the heroic leeway bonus to a damage roll or a save, but the chief concern I had was making sure that characters get to have meaningful and fun turns in combat--which usually hinges on being able to hit people--and that their efforts in crafting characters and roleplaying them were rewarded with impressive skill checks. This is a system for letting characters be Big Damn Heroes, so your interpretation of this may vary.
- Q: Do these bonuses stack with other types of bonuses?
A: Yes. This is intentional.
- Q: Can enemies get heroic leeway?
A: I'd call it antagonistic leeway at that point. Serious answer: generally, no. I would be interested in seeing someone use it for a boss NPC character of some sort, but very sparingly and with player consent/heads up before combat. The point of this system is to make player characters the stars rather than the dice.
- Q: Those bonus numbers seem whack. Can I change them?
A: Sure, but tell your players if you are going to do this up front, e.g. don't change them on the fly, out of simple fairness. These numbers were chosen based on what seems reasonable for a d20 system that must use a pseudorandom number generator, and it worked well on playtesting--my lower level players were able to hit enemies much more and make interesting skill check discoveries more consistently, and I was able to reward roleplay in a meaningful crunchy manner, which pleases my little storyteller heart.
The inevitable result of this system is that sometimes you'll have players making sky-high skill checks and attack roll numbers that they wouldn't normally be able to do. That may be jarring to some, but I promise that the roleplay payoff and player enjoyment is worth it--at least to me, anyway.
- Q: Is this system staff approved?
A: No. I am merely only a roleplayer who had an idea to defeat pseudorandom number generators and carried it out when I kidnapped my own character in a POP. (She's fine now, don't worry.)
- Q: Can I send you (Ravenstongue) feedback via @mail, Discord, messenger raven, etc?
A: Yes (especially to the raven). I am especially interested in hearing about new ideas and applications for bonuses.
- Q: Can I edit/remix this system for my own use in my own events and even in my own off-MU endeavors?
A: Absolutely. I lifted this somewhat from a forum conversation talking about how to adapt Exalted stunts to a d20 system, and I subscribe to the famous knitting instructor Elizabeth Zimmermann's school of thought regarding inventions: someone else has likely invented it first, so I don't require credit, thanks, etc. I'm just a roleplayer here to have fun with my rad friends and friends-to-be.
By the way, if you do come up with something cool and you have wiki access, edit the page this will be on and include your additional rules/content as a new section separate from the basics. You can also @mail or Discord DM me the deets and I'll get it up there. This is a community tool, so I welcome community contributions (and I don't really own it anyway, so nothing is stopping you from taking it and making it your own!).
The Big Artist Listing and Commission FAQ Table
If you've ever checked my +finger on RT, you know that I commission a lot of art from artists. These are not all artists I've worked with before, just simply artists whose styles I like and you might like, too. This was previously a Google Doc that I wrote for a previous RP community, and I decided to transfer it over to the TB wiki to make it a little easier to edit.
Before we get any further, I want to tackle the preconceived notions you might have if you're a complete commission newbie, as well as questions about etiquette in approaching artists and paying them. So, without further ado, here's a quick and handy FAQ on commissioning.
Note: The vast majority of this was written in ~2018 before the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic issues that were presented by the pandemic and other world issues that have popped up since 2020. I've removed price ranges around what's considered a 'good price' for each type of commission as I consider it unfair to the online art commission community and the individual artists who live in places with a high COL.
Commission FAQs
1. Why are the artists you've listed here so expensive? I can get cheaper art from a random person I know instead.
So, here's the deal. With commissioning art, you have three qualities to consider: cheap, good, and fast. Artists who do personal freelance commissions online for underneath ~200-300 dollars are actually underselling themselves as far as professional artists are concerned. Professional artists are people who do art for a living. They are often paid well by companies in proportion to their experience, quality, and turnaround time. They work with deadlines. They have honed their craft. They're also usually booked full-up or are employed by a company that keeps them busy, so they may not be able to do freelance work or take on new projects.
Hobbyist artists, who are often the kind of artist I list here, are people who are trying to get more experience, or support themselves while studying or working another job. They often undercharge for their work compared to professional artists. Even just doing lineart after a rough foundation sketch can take 2-3 hours, with the possibility of more if you're factoring in complex and intricate detail. The artist also might have to research your character design (e.g. complex machines, weapons, etc) and that time must be factored in, too. The federal minimum wage in the United States is currently just $7.25/hour at the time of this writing, although it's higher in many places, like New York and Massachusetts. When you factor in coloring beyond flats, which can also be time-consuming if your character's outfit is intricate and complex, and you quickly might find that your full body character drawing (not accounting for a background, either) is worth ~58 USD if we're estimating it at a conservative 8 hours on minimum wage. Hobbyist artists often end up charging less than minimum wage if they do it by the project rather than by the hour. Personally, as a working adult, I find it morally wrong to make someone do work for me below the minimum wage of their particular geographic area and skill wage. If I do commission an artist whose prices are low, I will often add a large tip to compensate. (More on that later.)
Often, if you're commissioning anything above a simple black/white lineart headshot of a character for less than 50 USD, you're either paying them almost nothing, which is honestly a damn shame, as art is a luxury good and skilled work. Artisans deserve pay according to that. Sticker shock is always a thing when people look at commissioning artwork for the first time, but when you get a look at what artists charge, this slowly wears off. Remember that custom-made art is a luxury, and you should expect to pay accordingly. Nobody owes you free or cheap art of your character no matter how cool they may be.
2. What do all of these terms, like 'headshot' and 'waist-up' mean?
Hobbyist artists often take commissions for simple character drawings by how much of the character they are drawing. Here's a glossary of terms, by no means complete:
- Headshot: Just the head. Maybe a neck. Maybe the shoulders (rarely). Headshots are usually the cheapest option, if an artist offers them.
- Portrait: This one generally means the face and/or neck and shoulders. Can be used interchangeably with headshot. Some people just use this as a catch-all phrase for a piece of a character just making a casual pose for the camera... which means no complex poses that require more anatomy and perspective work on the artist's part, like a combat pose.
- Bust: Like the bust statues you see in museums, these often are the head, face, shoulders, and upper chest of a character.
- Waist-up: From the waist up of a character.
- Full-body: The whole character, from head to toe.
- Illustration: A scene, depicting a character (or more) in a background, often interacting with each other and/or the environment. A lot of 'party pictures' where the group is resting at an inn would count as one of these.
- Flats/flat colors: No shading, just one solid color. Great if you're just looking for a cheaper reference image to hand to other artists as a reference.
- Full color/full painting: Colored in with shading and proper observation of light sources, etc.
- Black & white/monochrome: Some artists offer this option as an 'in between' option--it's a common technique in digital painting to shade everything in monochrome first, then add color on top of it, so not adding color is a little cheaper. Plus if your character is a goth, it's more A E S T H E T I C
- Lineart: Just the lines, no color and/or shading.
3. Ok, I want to commission an artist... so, what should I do?
Sweet. You found an artist. You looked at their portfolio and you've decided this is the one you'd like to contact. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do just that.
1. Read the terms of service and the artist's rules. Artists often know what they're comfortable drawing and painting, and they will list what they can and cannot do as a result. Respect these and don't ask an artist to do something on their "no" list. Insisting on an artist to do something they're not comfortable with is a great way to get blacklisted not only with the artist you've contacted, but with other artists that they know. Artists talk to each other.
2. Use the contact point listed on the commission info advertisement. Artists often have a preferred email or other ways of communication for commissions. Like anyone else with an organized workspace, many artists like to have all of their commission and professional info in one place, so they don't lose track of things. Not using an artist's preferred way can result in your commission request being ignored or even being blocked by the artist--some are pretty cagey about not being messaged on their 'personal' social media accounts about their art, rather than their 'art' social media accounts.
3. Assemble your visual references. This can be a collage of things (e.g. "my character looks like Richard Armitage, but he has the hairstyle from the photo I attached named nicehair.jpg, and he has the sword in the picture I attached named goodsword.jpg"). Some artists won't do business with you if you don't have a complete picture of your character already (in other words, they won't work from a collage), so you'll simply have to wait to get art from them until you have another picture or two of your character. The vast majority will take visual references. Most artists will not work with written text alone, and those that do will charge extra for it. I recommend Pinterest (yes, Pinterest) for finding visual references. Seriously, it's not all soccer mom BS... There's a ton of fantasy character inspiration on there.
Also, don't nick someone else's artwork that they commissioned or made of their character and tell an artist, "This is my character. I want a commission." That's rude to the original commissioner and/or artist, and it also makes you look super uncool. This is a super quick way to get blacklisted by a lot of artists. I have had commissioned character artwork stolen before by other people for profit-making ventures, and it sucked. Don't do this to other people. It's okay to say, "I really like the dress this person in this commission is doing; can we do something like that?" or "I really like the vibe of this artwork, can you do something like that?" Inspiration is fine. Theft is not.
4. Tell them what you want and be courteous about it. This is pretty simple, all things considered. My emails and messages usually go like this:
"Hi! I've been following your artwork for some time and I love [previous work they've done]! I decided I finally wanted to try and get a commission done of my Pathfinder 1e character, Ravenstongue, from you.
I would like a waist-up fully-colored painting. I'm completely okay with any extra fees for the complexity of her outfit and tattoos. My references are attached. "RT-fin.jpg" is the overall idea of the character. "RT.png" is a body reference. "RT-smile.png" is a better look at her face when not under such dramatic lighting. "RT-collage.png" is a collage I've put together of her outfit. I'd like for her to be grinning, like she knows something you don't, and to make a pose like in the "RT-pose.png" picture I attached. Thank you so much in advance! Let me know if you have any other questions. :)"
Obviously, don't copy-paste that message exactly, but that's the general idea of it. That presents what you want fairly clearly. If you're working with an artist whose English is limited, you will get better results from having fewer references (in other words, no collages, just a sketch or two of the character and their weapons).
5. Follow the artist's guidelines for payment. Tell them when you've paid. Some artists want half up front, half at the end. Some want payment in full up front. Some want payment only at the end. Some are flexible and will let you choose how you want to do it. These are usually outlined in the artist's terms of service. Letting them know when you've paid affirms that you have, in fact, paid them, and can be used as evidence in the case of a Paypal dispute. (More on that later.)
6. As the piece goes along, give the artist feedback. Early on in the process is where you have to give the most feedback. If something's wrong early on, let them know and they can change it. It's harder to change things in major ways as the piece moves along, and major revisions when the piece is already in the coloring stage may result in a revision fee and/or the artist refusing to work with you again.
7. Know what you can do with the finished piece. Most artists are not going to be cool with you taking the art and selling it on a mug/coaster/T-shirt/etc, unless you ask permission and/or paid to be able to use it commercially. Often artists will ask when you post a piece of art to post a specific version with a watermark on it, or to credit them wherever you post it. If it's just for yourself, most artists are okay with printing it as a poster, etc, but always ask. (Usually these are outlined in the Terms of Service anyway.)
8. Consider tipping the artist after the piece is finished. Unless they come from a culture where tipping is just not a thing, or even rude, I like to add a tip to the payment, especially if I feel they're undercharging for their work. If they don't enable the option on Paypal to add a tip (if they're sending you an invoice), a lot of artists have a Ko.fi account set up as a tip jar, essentially. It will make their day and they'll be a lot happier to take on future commission work from you again!
4. I've never bought a commission before from an artist and I'm scared about getting scammed, because I've heard about that happening before. What do I do?
This is a real fear to have, albeit one that happens less rarely than you'd think. I've been commissioning artwork from artists since 2018, and I've only had one artist in all of that time not deliver what I paid for (as in, they took my money and they ghosted me). To avoid that situation, here's a In this case, if you used PayPal, which the majority of artists taking commissions do, you can dispute a payment if it's within 180 days--but only do this once you've exhausted all possible communication options.
Artist Listing
Here is my listing of artists. Be aware that due to the nature of artist portfolios and social media accounts, artist links may contain NSFW artwork. I have tried to provide portfolio links where any NSFW artwork requires age gating/logging in and having the appropriate settings enabled to view explicit artwork. Failing that, I have chosen social media links where NSFW artwork is appropriately tagged and hidden behind spoilers. At the end of the day, however, I am 0% responsible for what these people post on their pages, so exercise caution when you look at these links in public places or at work.
The artists listed here have a variety of art styles. I try to go generally for 'Western fantasy'. Some artists listed here might be more Western comic book, manga/anime, cartoony, etc. All styles are valid and taste is subjective, so there's enough variety here to interest just about everyone. I try to describe any styles that aren't 'Western fantasy' in the Comments column.
I will also note artists that have illustrated figures that could pass for sith-makar, war golems, and egalrin in their portfolio, or have stated that they're cool with it in their most recent commissioning advert.
Note: Not all listings have prices listed publicly, and this spreadsheet may have prices that are out of date. Just because an artist is listed here does not mean they are immediately open for commissions; they may be closed and/or have a waitlist.
Key:
- Bold means artists I've commissioned before and had positive experiences with.
- $ = ~49 USD/EUR and under.
- $$ = 50-100 USD/EUR.
- $$$ = 101-200 USD/EUR.
- $$$$ = 201-300 USD/EUR.
- $$$$$ = 300+ USD/EUR.
| Artist Name | Price Range | Social Media Links | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alteya | not listed | https://www.deviantart.com/alteya | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Amanda R. Otten | $$-$$$$$ | https://www.amandarotten.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Amenomorium | $-$$$$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/amenorium | N/A |
| ArcaneSouls | $-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/Arcane_Souls | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| ArtsieRosie / Rosie | $$-$$$ | http://www.artsierosie.com/commissions.html | Familiar with TTRPGs. Anime/cartoony style. Does anthropomorphic animals & regular animals. |
| Arvildon | not listed | https://twitter.com/arvildon | N/A |
| Bee / Boaillustration | not listed | https://boaillustration.carrd.co/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Calliope | $$-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/calliclassic | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Carliii.art | $-$$ | https://twitter.com/itscarliart | Familiar with TTRPGs. Very cute anime/cartoony style. |
| Christian Hadfield | not listed | https://twitter.com/BuckMoonArt | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Cicerika | not listed | https://twitter.com/ceca_art | N/A |
| CriticalStith | $$-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/xStitched_Up | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Cyra Baine | $$$-$$$$$ | https://cyrabaine.com/ | N/A |
| DaniMarieDraws | $$-$$$ | https://twitter.com/DaniMarieDraws | N/A |
| DagnaDraws | $$-$$$ | https://dagnadrawscommissions.carrd.co/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| deja | not listed | https://twitter.com/dejasquietplace | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Dicenete | $-$$$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/dicenete | Familiar with TTRPGs. Can do sith-makar. |
| Dmitry Savin | $$$-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/uzzzyzzzu | Familiar with TTRPGs. Painterly style. |
| Dotswap | $$-$$$ | https://twitter.com/dotswap | N/A |
| DreeaDraws | $-$$$ | https://dreeadraws.com/ | N/A |
| Eurephora | $$-$$$ | https://twitter.com/eurephora | N/A |
| Faffu | $-$$ | https://twitter.com/FaffuArt | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Flamingopunch | $-$$$ | https://twitter.com/flamingopunch | Anime style. |
| GlassLotuses | $$-$$$ | https://glasslotuses.tumblr.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Goldwem | $-$$$ | https://twitter.com/GoldwemJourney | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| golightlyfinch | $$$-$$$$ | https://www.golightlyfinch.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Hailiiz | $-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/hailiiz | N/A |
| HariinaR | $$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/HariinaR | Familiar with TTRPGs. Lots and lots of dragons. |
| hindasavra | not listed | https://twitter.com/hindasavra | N/A |
| Inkymaw | $-$$ | https://twitter.com/inkymaw | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Ioana Muresan | $$$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/IoanaMuresanArt | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Iromonik | not listed | https://www.deviantart.com/iromonik | N/A |
| Isbjorg | $-$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/isbjorg | N/A |
| KarrahE | $$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/karrah_e | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| kiikiibee | $$$-$$$$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/kiikii-sempai | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Kirkas Karaff | $$-$$$$$ | https://kirkas-karaff.carrd.co/ | N/A |
| Kroov | not listed | https://twitter.com/kroovv | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| LordM | $-$$ | https://twitter.com/LordM_art | N/A |
| Lorenzo Tonetto | $$ | https://twitter.com/Meerkat_Drawing | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Lylakc | not listed | https://www.deviantart.com/lylakc | N/A |
| MegglesArt | $$$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/MegglesArt | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Michel Mims | $$-$$$ | https://michelmims.weebly.com/ | N/A |
| Moonlore | $-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/MoonloreDraws | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| naladraws | $-$$$ | https://twitter.com/naladraws | N/A |
| Neroexgalatine | $-$$ | https://twitter.com/neroexgalatine | Familiar with TTRPGs. Anime style. |
| Nika Lemut | $$-$$$$$ | https://www.ryuutsu.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Nikulina-Helena | $$$-$$$$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/nikulina-helena | N/A |
| Nodens | $$-$$$$$ | https://nodens-art.carrd.co/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. Elves! FEY! |
| PaniWolf | $-$$$$ | https://paniwolfcommissionprice.carrd.co/ | N/A |
| Peeki | $-$$$ | https://twitter.com/peekis_art | N/A |
| Rachel Denton | not listed | https://twitter.com/Tallinier | N/A |
| Raeth-Hollow | $$-$$$ | https://raethhollow.weebly.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. Tieflings! |
| Ryan Tuk | $$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/PenguinTuk | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Sagau | $$-$$$$$ | https://www.sagau.net/ | N/A |
| Sara Campolo | $-$$$ | https://saracampolo.carrd.co/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. Can do lizard people, anthro, etc. |
| Stephanie Brown | $$$-$$$$$ | https://www.offbeatworlds.com/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. Also sells character art packs. |
| Stkrivtsov | $-$$ | https://www.deviantart.com/stkrivtsov | N/A |
| TerraTerrific | $$-$$$$$ | https://twitter.com/terraterrific | Anime style |
| thatsimicplayer | not listed | https://twitter.com/thatsimicplayer | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| ThireaArt | $$-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/ThireaArt | N/A |
| Violent Delite | $$-$$$ | https://larkspureee.carrd.co/ | Familiar with TTRPGs. |
| Wawtman | $$$-$$$$ | https://twitter.com/wawtman | N/A |
| ZephyrBugg | $$-$$$ | https://twitter.com/ZephyrBugg | Familiar with TTRPGs. |