Finn Tidestrider (Riptide Concept Art)

Finn Tidestrider was magically painted by Lumi! Please follow and support her, she kept this a secret for many moons.

Hello everyone! Big G, grizzly, gribbo, grongy, the DM here! I gave as much time as I thought necessary for people to see the latest episodes before posting this wonderful piece, due to it being a major spoiler!

FINN

Bringing Finn back into the story was something I contemplated on for a long time, ever since we finished the one-shot. I'm still pretty nervous about all my storytelling decisions, and how they will be perceived by you all and the players. That said though, everyone seems to enjoy it thus far, even though grandpa fish is still in the classic unconscious recovery period! Originally, Apple was going to be someone else entirely, perhaps a wizard, or someone's lost daughter, or maybe even a trapped deity. There were more ideas before Finn, but once I decided it had to be Finn, I couldn't think of any better way to bring him in, and the lore development sky rocketed from there.

Finn's actual design is quite simple, as I only aimed to show the amount of wear and tear that's shaped his whole appearance. To start, I found a lot of references of older men in media and comics, and noted the features I wanted to include. Sunken cheeks, prominent bone structure due to the thinner skin, puffier eyes, and stringier, messier, longer hair, with faded streaks. His clothing itself is roughly the same, but tattered, ripped, and the cloak is open at the front. My favorite reference for Finn, is the older pictures of the late Robin Williams, which is not only the inspiration behind his soft goofy smile, but also some of the inspiration for how I perceive Finn's personality. When playing these characters that belonged to the players in the past, I'm doing what I can to incorporate the way they played them, and the best way to play them for the story. There is reason for Finn's clouded eyes, but it isn't just to symbolize weakened vision due to age.

Speaking of age, Finn was midway into his 2nd century during the events of the hole in the sea! Even though he looks younger than 150 in passed concept art, he is now about 160 years of age, and seems to mostly aged normally during his time as Apple the blue bird.

I'll leave you with this fun fact. The "homebrew," spell that Finn "casted over 100 years," is called "Elusive Recourse."

Hope you can keep this secret with me!

See you this weekend with more Riptide concept art!