See the JAGUAR KNIGHT tag for individual drawings.
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.
From the first novels and sourcebooks, the authors were intent on bringing traditional monster races into Maztica, but the way they went about it was interesting – and a bit confusing. And weird.
Instead of native orcs and ogres, they imagined a cosmic climax (brought to life in the novel ViperHand) later called the Night of Wailing in which the gods Tezca, Helm, and Lloth wrought changes upon the land through their divine conflict. Maztican priests who had dedicated themselves to the Viperhand cult became trolls, Viperhand Jaguar Knights became ogres…
and commoners became orcs.
Some Ogre paladins are Jagres and instead of a jaguars can take on displacer beast forms. Kinda cool.
Also kind of weird. And Lloth did it? Why? I read the book and I’m still not clear.
(Edit: finally read the next novel. Tezca did it…but it’s still not clear why.)
I did find myself sympathetic to the Viperhand. They wanted the conquistador analogues to gtfo. Is anyone on the other side of this issue?
Nonetheless, I decided it wasn’t so problematic as to justify leaving it out of my Maztica.
I’m not really a fan of troll designs in D&D and so didn’t want to try drawing them.
The orcs could be fighters and rogues, presumably, if you wanted them as a PC – but then the whole world is your oyster isn’t it? Pact with a spirit, secret font of magic, path of a totem spirit…hmm…now I am seeing a lot of appeal in playing a heroic (or grey) orc PC in an Anchorome campaign.
The Ogres and Trolls will make pretty good villains.
At the time, I don’t think these guys captured anyone’s imagination though, given the lack of fan art of them. Even the art on the old module “Fires of Zatal” shows a pretty boring traditional orc wearing metal armour. Did the artist not get a brief?
These guys were super fun to draw. Perhaps the ogres could have been a bit more inhuman. It was also a bit hard to get the “Mark of the Viperhand” on their chests, covered as it was by other things before I realised it. I got some neat tattoos that I hope will serve.
My depictions here owes some to this cool mini. And very much to this cool cool piece of art.
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.
A D&D Adaptation of DC Comics’ Aztek (Nayela Constant)
Working my way through Indigenous DC Comics characters and reflecting that I had not drawn enough Jaguar Knights, I was pleased to come across the newer character of Nayeli Constant, or Aztek.
In Maztica, Nayeli is a Paladin (Oath of the Jaguar Knight), as described in the Maztica Alive guide available from DM’s Guild. A Paladin to a dark god, she nonetheless champions her homeland and fights against greater evils – including the minions of the Maztican sun god Tezca.
Aztek’s “fourth dimensional” helmet and accompanying powers (so Grant Morrison), and her connection to the Fourth World make Paladin a no-brainer.
I would use the Knight of the Order background to reflect her membership in the Jaguar Knights. It provides Persuasion and an Int -based skill that I would fill with Religion.
I think very highly of Grant Morrison, but writing a generic white dude (or at least a not specifically Indigenous dude) as (the first) character named Aztek and wrapping it in Aztec myths is not super sensitive to the fact that Indigenous religions, myths, and stories have been plundered by white people for hundreds of years with no compensation or relationship with the peoples themselves.
I am partly guilty of this myself, as I think is the estimable Jon Hild, who has authored many of the DM’s Guild True World titles. I have consulted with numerous Indigenous people as part of this project, but I fully admit that I have not done enough.
A new version of the Aztek character appeared in the late 2010s as a supporting character. Nayeli Constant let me draw a woman, a Jaguar Knight, and an Indigenous DC character.
The Distinguished Anchorome Series imagines DC Comics’ Indigenous characters as D&D PCs and NPCs from the Forgotten Realms “True World” setting of Anchorome, Maztica, and Lopango. See also my Marvelous Anchorome Series and soon to come Random Anchorome Series.
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.
A D&D Adaptation of DC Comics’ Aztek (Nayela Constant)
Working my way through Indigenous DC Comics characters and reflecting that I had not drawn enough Jaguar Knights, I was pleased to come across the newer character of Nayela Constant, or Aztek.
In Maztica, My Nayeli is a Paladin (Oath of the Jaguar Knight), as described in the Maztica Alive guide available from DM’s Guild. A Paladin to a dark god, she nonetheless champions her homeland and fights against greater evils.
I think very highly of Grant Morrison, but writing a generic white dude (or at least a not specifically Indigenous dude) as (the first) character named Aztek and wrapping it in Aztec myths is not super sensitive to the fact that Indigenous religions, myths, and stories have been plundered by white people for hundreds of years with no compensation or relationship with the peoples themselves.
I am partly guilty of this myself, as I think is the estimable Jon Hild, who has authored many of the DM’s Guild True World titles. I have consulted with numerous Indigenous people as part of this project, but I fully admit that I have not done enough.
A new version of the Aztek character appeared in the late 2010s as a supporting character. Nayeli Constant let me draw a woman, a Jaguar Knight, and an Indigenous DC character.
Aztek’s “fourth dimensional” helmet and accompanying powers (so Grant Morrison), and her connection to the Fourth World make Paladin a no-brained.
The Distinguished Anchorome Series imagines DC Comics’ Indigenous characters as D&D PCs and NPCs from the Forgotten Realms “True World” setting of Anchorome, Maztica, and Lopango. See also my Marvelous Anchorome Series and soon to come Random Anchorome Series.
Despite my love of Marvel comics, I have a blind spot – and it’s often in some of the seventies trends of kung fu comics. But I didn’t want to overlook the Caribbean heroes in my series, and Ava Ayala is the latest person to take up the jade amulet that bestows magic kung fu powers.
Ayala is not textually Indigenous, but is identified as being Puerto Rican. My understanding is that the Indigenous people of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean areas are the Taino, an Arawakan speaking peoples, and that many modern Puerto Ricans have Taino ancestors.
In Maztica, the islands known as the Green Sisters are home to humans, some of whom have also harnessed the power of Zaltec – or possibly his daughter, an ocelot goddess. Monks like Ayala use their dedication to imbue their feet and fists with holy might, and, at higher levels, become ocelots themselves. Ayala is the latest champion of this line, dedicated to hunting beasts in the darkness, and being the monster that even monsters fear.
For the True World, I decided to make this another variation on the Jaguar Knight paladin – much like I did for Puma – this time as a monk. The other possibility was making her a Tabaxi, but I’ve already drawn a few of those. I imagine this as a Monk class, a reskin the Way of the Living Weapon (Weretouched).
While the followers of the Ocelot tradition are the island’s Jaguar Knight equivalents, i imagine there is also a Monk class mirroring Eagle Knights. This tradition is the Way of the Ascendant Dragon, devoted to the god Qotal , the Feathered Dragon.
For this crime fighter I’d probably use the Investigator variant of the City Watch Background for Athletics and Insight.
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.
Welcome back to the Marvelous Anchorome series, where I reimagine Marvel’s Indigenous characters in the D&D style, centred in the fantasy Indigenous North America setting of Anchorome.
In Anchorome, the Azuposi youth known as Fireheart was trained at a young age in the ways of the Jaguar Knight. It was hoped that he would protect his nation from a prophesied threat. His restless nature and love for fighting have led him to become a mercenary and freebooter, but he remains loyal to his community and one day may help fulfill his destiny.
Fireheart is based on Puma (Thomas Fireheart), an occasional Spider-man supporting character. In the comics, Puma has been imbued with were-cat like powers by his tribe. This is a perfect opportunity to extend the Jaguar-Knight idea from Maztica into the northern continent. Jaguar Knights in 5e are thought by fans to be paladins who can take on Jaguar form. Puma is from New Mexico, but his Marvel Comics nation is the fictional Kisani. Here, he makes more sense to be Azuposi. You could throw in Shifter as a race if you wanted instead.
As Background I would use Soldier for Athletics and Intimidation, rather than the Mercenary Veteran. The latter is accurate to the comics but gives you Persuasion, which is less applicable I think.
In Anchorome, the warrior known as Proudstar is the last survivor of his devastated Azuposi pueblo. He has sworn an oath of revenge and uses his rage and immense strength to find the evil perpetrators and protect other communities from similar fates. If he were to ever find out that a secretive Helmsport faction known as the Hellfire Society were behind the massacre, all the fires of hell would not save them from his path of war.
Proudstar is Warpath (James Proudstar), an X-character from way back possessing great strength (and..flight more recently?). Strength is synonymous in D&D with the Barbarian Class (Totem Warrior), and Proudstar can use his totemic connection to the Thunderbird to great effect. James Proudstar in the comics is Apache (who don’t have a Thunderbird myth, to my understanding). I would probably just use the mechanics of the Eagle totem.
For my Anchorome campaign, I plan to retitle the Barbarian class as Warrior or Primal Warrior, to avoid the negative aspects of the term and the way it has been used in North and South America.
Soldier actually works here as a background too, providing Athletics and Intimidation. I looked for something with Investigation or Perception, as James is no mental slouch in the comics. but he was trained as a soldier first by Emma Frost and then by Cable. Nonetheless he’s no brute.
The Azuposi were first featured in the City of Gold Campaign, which ventured north of Maztica. A mostly agricultural human people living in the Pasocada basin. The authors based them on the Anasazi cultures (or early Pueblo-dwellers).
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.
HyperboreanComics 