Well! Hello there! I'm hoping to be playing a Tortoise/Tutle-kin in the Deadlands (NH) this September, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on the costuming and roleplaying of such. I have quite a few ideas already for both, but I'm always looking for suggestions as roleplaying is my favorite part of the game and I consider costuming to be a major component of my ability to roleplay well.
Here's what I have so far:
Costume
I've been inspired by the amazing woman in this video (Brilliant Makeup Artist) to do something very similar to the Voldemort face except in black with yellow detailing. The bumpy and leathery feel it gives feels very tortoise-like to me. I'd be covering the ears more fully, minus the ears, which I'll be doing more of a hole in the baldcap then simply uncovering them. I think this'll go a long way for distinguishing myself from any other race, and in combination with the rest, hopefully very distinguishable as a tortoise/turtle-kin.
I was then thinking of looking into NorthFur or another prosthetic-mask maker to find something more suitable for my mouth in a slight beak-like fashion. This is mort turtle-y than tortoise-y (the latter of which I'm trying to favor), but even tortoises have dinstinctively non-human mouths, and I would like to emulate that. This isn't the most important for me as the full head make-up already adds a whole lot to the face area.
For the under-clothes (i.e. the tortoise body layer), I was thinking of using a non-hooded black morphsuit. I'd probably cover the neck-line with some sort of scarf or high-collar. Morphsuit
I'd love to do something special for the hands, but as it is I think I'll probably be sticking to gloves over the morphsuit. Or I might cut off the hands of the morphsuit and paint my hand gray with claw-nails that I can make pretty easily a la painted and altered cheap fake nails. And the same thing goes for the feet. I'll definitely have period shoes on, though I'm thinking about doing the same fake-nail claw routines under the shoes should I have some roleplaying reason to remove my shoes while inside and not in combat. But both of these are more detailing than paramount components.
For the regular costume, I have a few options I like. The first is vaguely Egyptian/Oriental inspired robes. Turtles/Tortoises figure heavily into Chinese mythology and to a lesser extent Egyptian mythology. I've used these robes alot for my casters and I personally think they look great, even for a more fighter based class.I'd likely combine this with either a regular straw hat (flat brim) or a more Oriental type deal made of bamboo (more of an obtuse cone deal that comes to a point). Straw Hat Bamboo Hat Front Blue/Gold Robes Back Robes Front Details Robe
The second regular costume I like is essentially orange monk robes. I can get this either for free or wholesale from my boss and it's pretty good quality. I'd definitely go for the Bamboo Hat for this outfit, though, if anything. It has a very spirtual but threatening feel to it which is definitely something I'd be going for with the character in general. Orange Robes
The last option I was thinking of was going full-leather armor. Not only does the leather feel go really well with the tortoise/turtle but the armor value would be indispensable for representing the toughness of the turtle/tortoise. Unfortunately, I'm really adverse to armor and I usually do casters in costume, thus I'd be working from zilch here without any real experience. Suggestions and advice would be appreciated.
And the final, and probably most important, part of the costume is the shell. When thinking about my character and how to make the shell, it occured to me just how awkward the shell could be during combat. Seriously, that thing could really mess you up if you weren't careful. And then I thought, what if it's not there during combat? Part of the tortoise's primary symbolism in our society is it's uncanny ability to take a huge pounding without a worry thanks to the defensive power of its shell. So why not make my shell a removal shield for combat? I can easily explain it off as some evolutionary trait of becoming more humanoid. I could have it strapped on my back for all non-combat situations to emulate the shell, and then whip it out to defend myself sword-and-board style. This is the part of the costume that I've thought that I have actual questions about. I figured the max dimensions for an oval-shaped shield that would stretch across my back plus a few inches would be 15x22 inches widthxlength. It's smaller that I'd like but that's the biggest you can have a shield according to the rules (i.e. 531 inches squared). Of course I'd like it to be a convex shape instead of just a flat shield, but here's where my problem comes in. Are we allowed to have non-flat shields? I can't find anything in the rules explicitly saying no, but they do seem a bit unorthodox, and since the body of the shield is unpadded and technically protruding, I wasn't sure if it would be legal. If anyone could clear that up for me, it'd be greatly appreciated. Beyond that, I'd also love ideas as to how to build such a convex shape. I'm going to go to the dollar store soon to check out for any inspiration, but if anyone has a brilliant idea, that would make my life a whole lot easier. Oh and for a shield design, it'd likely be a similar black with yellow detailing job.
And then it's all about the extra little details to just seem a little more turtley. As always, ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Roleplaying
On to the good stuff! I've been researching a bit of the role of turtles and tortoises in culture through the ages. Most of the stuff is what we all characterize turtles as commonly. Wisdom and all that. What I find to be the most interesting is the concept of the slowness of tutles and tortoises. And I don't mean the Rabbit and the Hare type slowness. The idea is that tutles/tortoises are slow not because of laziness (as seen with sloths and other such animals) but because they don't need to be fast. And they don't need to be fast because they are so powerful. Where a slow mouse or a slow squirrel is a dead mouse or a dead squirrel, the tortoise/turtle doesn't need to feel threatened by almost any predator because it's just so damned well-protected.
So the idea is to make the character one who does not come to fight easily and who has an altogether slowness to his actions in general circumstances. My take on the universal survivalist mentality of wylderkin is that fighting to him when so well defended is almost always pointless. Why risk one's life when much the same rewards can be found if one just takes things a little.. Slower. The same thing with most anything about his personality and actions. He would have a long drawl on his words, elongating most of them and likely frustrating the more quick-minded races with the length of time he puts into simple communications. His walk would be slow and controlled, never usually going much faster than the below-average walking speed. Writing would be similarly slow and controlled, as well as payment, eating, drinking, anything. I can just imagine him in a tavern slowly cutting up his meal as everone around him is asking for seconds. Or stretching out a simple glass of 'wine' while most have downed two-three tankards of beer in the same time. Or, maybe my favorite, him paying for something with a line forming behind him as he slowly pulls out the coins from his purse and counts them out. The roleplaying possibilities are endless!
However, I don't want to go with the idea that the turtle/tortoise-kin is always slow in his actions. Au contraire, I want him to have the capability (that many turtles/tortoises do have) to move very quickly for concentrated periods of time (a fight for instance). Thus I'd like to have my tortoise/turtle-kin to actually move in an agile manner when forced into a situation that absolutely requires it. Of course this wouldn't be common, and I think he'd be more likely to hunker down and rely on the enemy coming to him rather than the other way around. I think this would be an interesting thing to roleplay, not to mention a great battle tactic. "Oh there's that tortoise-kin across the field, he can't do anything as we beat down this unarmed friend of his- O SHI-"
Other roleplaying quirks would involve a certain tendency to wear his shield at all times and refusing to part with it. Even if he's unallowed to bring any tools of combat into an area, he would give up his weapons but he would never give up his shield. He'd wear it to sleep (if I sleep in-game), while sitting, while laying down, while doing pretty much anything. The only time he'd ever take it off would be to fight. Really trying to emulate how integral a part of him it is, not just another piece of equipment.
Another one I'm excited about is my way of reconciling the whole 'doesn't understand civilized society'. At first I had trouble with this as turtles/tortoises are primarily associated with wisdom, and those two ideas didn't seem to click. Thus I altered the requirement slightly for the purposes of the character. Instead of placing him as a creature not as enlightened as the 'civilized' races, I like to think that he's in a way /more/ enlightened than the civilized races. He can comprehend the social complexities, but 'realizes' their 'futility' and thus doesn't generally participate in those 'futile' interactions because they don't really contribute to anything of importance (i.e. survival, continuation and betterment of the species, etc). Hopefully I can spin it like this, and take five minutes to spout a two sentence criticism of the system of entitled nobility. :b
I don't think he would talk of his family history to very many people, and even then only after serious insistence and with good reason. Hey, if your first moments in the world were seeing all your dozens of siblings being massacred by preying animals, you'd be pretty reluctant to talk about it too. Though this would depend on what type of tutle/tortoise I settle on, as this type of affair isn't always the case.
I'm still thinking of a few little details as I keep developing the character. Small things like an emphasis on basking in the sun when possible, a constant want for readily available water, a bag of dirt (see: crumbled oreos) in a little pouch containing some gummy worms as energy boosts (COUGHtreatsCOUGH), and blaming his inability to read and write on poor eyesight (until I garner the BP to actually get Read/Write :b). I'd love any more small details you guys can think of!
Character Build
I started making this character, incidentally, as a Healer. But I really wanted to do a cool Wylderkin character, but nothing seemed to really fit with the animals I wanted to do. And my adventuring group was also lacking fighters. So then I volunteered to take Shield and One Handed Edge alongside my Healing to be something of a fighter provided I got the event blankets done for the character and got him up to 38 BP. But then it occured to me that being half Healer, half Fighter was sort of ineffective, especially with low levels. So then I just decided to go full fighter and try something new! So my character build looks something like this now:
Race: Tortoise/turtle-kin
Class: Fighter
Racial Abilities: Scenting
Resist Magic: 5BP (Have you seen this thing's shell? Throughout mythology it's shell has been seen as being able to take any burden, even the burder of carrying the world itself! Seems like resisting a little magic every now and then wouldn't be too strenuous for it.
Resist Element: 3BP (Once again - shell. Watch as your ice attack just bounces off its magnificent power!)
Skills: Shield - 6BP
One-Handed Edge - 5BP
Two-Handed Sword - 8BP
Blacksmith x1 - 3BP
Crit Attack x4 (Unusable) - 12BP
Weapon Proficieny x1 - 3BP
Total - 37BP
And...
I think that's all. Quite a bit of stuff to work with. Suggestions anywhere and answers to my specific questions would be great! Thank you all in advance!
-Ignacius
Here's what I have so far:
Costume
I've been inspired by the amazing woman in this video (Brilliant Makeup Artist) to do something very similar to the Voldemort face except in black with yellow detailing. The bumpy and leathery feel it gives feels very tortoise-like to me. I'd be covering the ears more fully, minus the ears, which I'll be doing more of a hole in the baldcap then simply uncovering them. I think this'll go a long way for distinguishing myself from any other race, and in combination with the rest, hopefully very distinguishable as a tortoise/turtle-kin.
I was then thinking of looking into NorthFur or another prosthetic-mask maker to find something more suitable for my mouth in a slight beak-like fashion. This is mort turtle-y than tortoise-y (the latter of which I'm trying to favor), but even tortoises have dinstinctively non-human mouths, and I would like to emulate that. This isn't the most important for me as the full head make-up already adds a whole lot to the face area.
For the under-clothes (i.e. the tortoise body layer), I was thinking of using a non-hooded black morphsuit. I'd probably cover the neck-line with some sort of scarf or high-collar. Morphsuit
I'd love to do something special for the hands, but as it is I think I'll probably be sticking to gloves over the morphsuit. Or I might cut off the hands of the morphsuit and paint my hand gray with claw-nails that I can make pretty easily a la painted and altered cheap fake nails. And the same thing goes for the feet. I'll definitely have period shoes on, though I'm thinking about doing the same fake-nail claw routines under the shoes should I have some roleplaying reason to remove my shoes while inside and not in combat. But both of these are more detailing than paramount components.
For the regular costume, I have a few options I like. The first is vaguely Egyptian/Oriental inspired robes. Turtles/Tortoises figure heavily into Chinese mythology and to a lesser extent Egyptian mythology. I've used these robes alot for my casters and I personally think they look great, even for a more fighter based class.I'd likely combine this with either a regular straw hat (flat brim) or a more Oriental type deal made of bamboo (more of an obtuse cone deal that comes to a point). Straw Hat Bamboo Hat Front Blue/Gold Robes Back Robes Front Details Robe
The second regular costume I like is essentially orange monk robes. I can get this either for free or wholesale from my boss and it's pretty good quality. I'd definitely go for the Bamboo Hat for this outfit, though, if anything. It has a very spirtual but threatening feel to it which is definitely something I'd be going for with the character in general. Orange Robes
The last option I was thinking of was going full-leather armor. Not only does the leather feel go really well with the tortoise/turtle but the armor value would be indispensable for representing the toughness of the turtle/tortoise. Unfortunately, I'm really adverse to armor and I usually do casters in costume, thus I'd be working from zilch here without any real experience. Suggestions and advice would be appreciated.
And the final, and probably most important, part of the costume is the shell. When thinking about my character and how to make the shell, it occured to me just how awkward the shell could be during combat. Seriously, that thing could really mess you up if you weren't careful. And then I thought, what if it's not there during combat? Part of the tortoise's primary symbolism in our society is it's uncanny ability to take a huge pounding without a worry thanks to the defensive power of its shell. So why not make my shell a removal shield for combat? I can easily explain it off as some evolutionary trait of becoming more humanoid. I could have it strapped on my back for all non-combat situations to emulate the shell, and then whip it out to defend myself sword-and-board style. This is the part of the costume that I've thought that I have actual questions about. I figured the max dimensions for an oval-shaped shield that would stretch across my back plus a few inches would be 15x22 inches widthxlength. It's smaller that I'd like but that's the biggest you can have a shield according to the rules (i.e. 531 inches squared). Of course I'd like it to be a convex shape instead of just a flat shield, but here's where my problem comes in. Are we allowed to have non-flat shields? I can't find anything in the rules explicitly saying no, but they do seem a bit unorthodox, and since the body of the shield is unpadded and technically protruding, I wasn't sure if it would be legal. If anyone could clear that up for me, it'd be greatly appreciated. Beyond that, I'd also love ideas as to how to build such a convex shape. I'm going to go to the dollar store soon to check out for any inspiration, but if anyone has a brilliant idea, that would make my life a whole lot easier. Oh and for a shield design, it'd likely be a similar black with yellow detailing job.
And then it's all about the extra little details to just seem a little more turtley. As always, ideas and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Roleplaying
On to the good stuff! I've been researching a bit of the role of turtles and tortoises in culture through the ages. Most of the stuff is what we all characterize turtles as commonly. Wisdom and all that. What I find to be the most interesting is the concept of the slowness of tutles and tortoises. And I don't mean the Rabbit and the Hare type slowness. The idea is that tutles/tortoises are slow not because of laziness (as seen with sloths and other such animals) but because they don't need to be fast. And they don't need to be fast because they are so powerful. Where a slow mouse or a slow squirrel is a dead mouse or a dead squirrel, the tortoise/turtle doesn't need to feel threatened by almost any predator because it's just so damned well-protected.
So the idea is to make the character one who does not come to fight easily and who has an altogether slowness to his actions in general circumstances. My take on the universal survivalist mentality of wylderkin is that fighting to him when so well defended is almost always pointless. Why risk one's life when much the same rewards can be found if one just takes things a little.. Slower. The same thing with most anything about his personality and actions. He would have a long drawl on his words, elongating most of them and likely frustrating the more quick-minded races with the length of time he puts into simple communications. His walk would be slow and controlled, never usually going much faster than the below-average walking speed. Writing would be similarly slow and controlled, as well as payment, eating, drinking, anything. I can just imagine him in a tavern slowly cutting up his meal as everone around him is asking for seconds. Or stretching out a simple glass of 'wine' while most have downed two-three tankards of beer in the same time. Or, maybe my favorite, him paying for something with a line forming behind him as he slowly pulls out the coins from his purse and counts them out. The roleplaying possibilities are endless!
However, I don't want to go with the idea that the turtle/tortoise-kin is always slow in his actions. Au contraire, I want him to have the capability (that many turtles/tortoises do have) to move very quickly for concentrated periods of time (a fight for instance). Thus I'd like to have my tortoise/turtle-kin to actually move in an agile manner when forced into a situation that absolutely requires it. Of course this wouldn't be common, and I think he'd be more likely to hunker down and rely on the enemy coming to him rather than the other way around. I think this would be an interesting thing to roleplay, not to mention a great battle tactic. "Oh there's that tortoise-kin across the field, he can't do anything as we beat down this unarmed friend of his- O SHI-"
Other roleplaying quirks would involve a certain tendency to wear his shield at all times and refusing to part with it. Even if he's unallowed to bring any tools of combat into an area, he would give up his weapons but he would never give up his shield. He'd wear it to sleep (if I sleep in-game), while sitting, while laying down, while doing pretty much anything. The only time he'd ever take it off would be to fight. Really trying to emulate how integral a part of him it is, not just another piece of equipment.
Another one I'm excited about is my way of reconciling the whole 'doesn't understand civilized society'. At first I had trouble with this as turtles/tortoises are primarily associated with wisdom, and those two ideas didn't seem to click. Thus I altered the requirement slightly for the purposes of the character. Instead of placing him as a creature not as enlightened as the 'civilized' races, I like to think that he's in a way /more/ enlightened than the civilized races. He can comprehend the social complexities, but 'realizes' their 'futility' and thus doesn't generally participate in those 'futile' interactions because they don't really contribute to anything of importance (i.e. survival, continuation and betterment of the species, etc). Hopefully I can spin it like this, and take five minutes to spout a two sentence criticism of the system of entitled nobility. :b
I don't think he would talk of his family history to very many people, and even then only after serious insistence and with good reason. Hey, if your first moments in the world were seeing all your dozens of siblings being massacred by preying animals, you'd be pretty reluctant to talk about it too. Though this would depend on what type of tutle/tortoise I settle on, as this type of affair isn't always the case.
I'm still thinking of a few little details as I keep developing the character. Small things like an emphasis on basking in the sun when possible, a constant want for readily available water, a bag of dirt (see: crumbled oreos) in a little pouch containing some gummy worms as energy boosts (COUGHtreatsCOUGH), and blaming his inability to read and write on poor eyesight (until I garner the BP to actually get Read/Write :b). I'd love any more small details you guys can think of!
Character Build
I started making this character, incidentally, as a Healer. But I really wanted to do a cool Wylderkin character, but nothing seemed to really fit with the animals I wanted to do. And my adventuring group was also lacking fighters. So then I volunteered to take Shield and One Handed Edge alongside my Healing to be something of a fighter provided I got the event blankets done for the character and got him up to 38 BP. But then it occured to me that being half Healer, half Fighter was sort of ineffective, especially with low levels. So then I just decided to go full fighter and try something new! So my character build looks something like this now:
Race: Tortoise/turtle-kin
Class: Fighter
Racial Abilities: Scenting
Resist Magic: 5BP (Have you seen this thing's shell? Throughout mythology it's shell has been seen as being able to take any burden, even the burder of carrying the world itself! Seems like resisting a little magic every now and then wouldn't be too strenuous for it.
Resist Element: 3BP (Once again - shell. Watch as your ice attack just bounces off its magnificent power!)
Skills: Shield - 6BP
One-Handed Edge - 5BP
Two-Handed Sword - 8BP
Blacksmith x1 - 3BP
Crit Attack x4 (Unusable) - 12BP
Weapon Proficieny x1 - 3BP
Total - 37BP
And...
I think that's all. Quite a bit of stuff to work with. Suggestions anywhere and answers to my specific questions would be great! Thank you all in advance!
-Ignacius