(l-r) Silver Fox (Minnenewah-Rogue-Assassin), Noatak (Halfling-Fighter-Arcane Archer), Grey Crow (Human-Cleric-Forge Domain)
Welcome to a new series I’m very excited about: Marvelous Ancharome!
A year ago or so I found the Anchorome Campaign Setting, a fan-designed/fan-extrapolated version of Indigenous North America for the Forgotten Realms setting. It is not wholly perfect, and has problems, I think, with cultural appropriation. Nonetheless, I thought it was a very exciting start and wanted to draw characters from this new land.
As many of you know, I’m also a comics-fan (see Pop Culture Parties and Motley Crew series) and thought I could take some of Marvel comics’ Indigenous characters and import them into Anchorome.
Here’s my first three. Since they are all villains, I thought it would be interesting to draw them as collaborators with one of the colonial Faerunian powers, the Flaming Fist mercenary company and their outpost Fort Flame.
Silver Fox was once an innocent maiden of a Minninewah band – but she became caught up in evil machinations beyond her control. Now in an attempt to regain her agency, she has embraced the evil factions within Fort Flame and seeks to climb the ladder. With assassin skills added to her innate abilities, she will never be a victim again.
Silver Fox in Marvel Comics is Nitsitapii (Blackfoot), an ex-lover of Wolverine, participant in the Weapon X/Weapon Plus project, and Hydra Agent. I believe she’s now dead (as most of Wolverine’s lovers end up). I drew her as a Rogue (Assassin archetype) (no, not that Rogue). The Minnenewah are one of the human-like peoples in the True World, but are related strongly to the Spirit realm.
I would use Spy as the background for Stealth and Sleight of Hand.
Noatak is not a pleasant halfling and was likely exiled from his own people long ago. Now making Fort Flame his home and dying his hair red, he uses his arcane infused weapons for whatever sinister aims he is told – quite happy to be a force for evil.
Noatak is based on Harpoon (Kodiak Noatak), one of the X-Men villains, the Marauders. Not much has been revealed about this Inuit mutant. Here he is a polar halfling (an obscure sub-race from an old sourcebook). I originally thought Ranger from the Hunter Conclave but now think Arcane Archer, with a house rule to allow javelins, works best.
The Soldier background gets him Athletics and Intimidation skills.
Grey Crow hails from the Azuposi, but has become obsessed with metal weapons and armour – even to the point of gaining divine power from this devotion. Like Noatak, he may serve Fort Flame nominally, but a sinister figure sits behind them in the shadows. Unlike Noatak, Grey Crow would rather be free of this evil mastermind…but for the time being he serves him well.
Grey Crow is based on Scalphunter (John Greycrow), from an unidentified Indigenous nation, and another Marauder (Claremont was pretty good about including lots of Indigenous characters).
In the comics, he had the power of “Technoformation: The mutant power to manipulate mechanical components, assembling them into a variety of different configurations by modifying their shape and construction. He typically wears a costume that gives him easy access to a wide variety of components to manipulate.” Giving him banded mail with lots of quarrels and daggers attached seemed the best equivalent. I originally thought Battle Master fighter but I’ve recently decided he is a Cleric of the Forge Domain.
I would use Mercenary Veteran to pair his Athletic skill with Persuasion – useful for a leader.
Further Thoughts
Unlike Silver Fox, Grey Crow is fully human. Southern Anchorome is inhabited by various human civilisations, including the Azuposi. They are related to the Mazticans. Splitting Indigenous-inspired peoples into spirit-folk Minnenewah and “regular” humans, might be problematic.
Non-Indigenous people tend to privilege nomadic plains peoples, for instance, and overlook more city and agriculture-based peoples. But this gives players more options to customise their characters, so I’m keeping it in my Anchorome for now.
The Marvelous Anchorome Series imagines Marvel Comics Indigenous characters as D&D PCs and NPCs from the Forgotten Realms “True World” setting, including Anchorome, Maztica, and Lopango. See also my new Distinguished Anchorome series and Random Anchorome.
Adaptations of (mostly Indigenous) Marvel Comics characters into Maztican (or other True World) D&D characters.
Adaptations of (mostly Indigenous) DC Comics characters into Maztican (or other True World) D&D characters.
All True World art, including adaptations and original art and character design.
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