#zolf smith
[ID: A promo graphic for the Rusty Quill Gaming fanfic “Il Re dei Ladri” (Italian: “The King of Thieves”). In the top half, the graphic features close-ups of fully coloured digital paintings of four main characters of the fic. From left to right, these are Zolf Smith, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan, Sasha Racket, and Oscar Wilde. Zolf is a white dwarf with blond hair and beard, he is wearing a magical illusionary disguise over his clothes. Hamid is an adolescent brown-skinned halfling wearing fancy clothes and a dragon’s mask. Sasha is a white girl with short black hair, Oscar is a white man with shoulder-length brown hair. Both Sasha and Oscar are visibly angry. The bottom half of the promo graphic features a photo of an elaborate Venetian Carnival’s Mask in gold tones. It has decorative feathers attached to the forehead and is lying on a highly polished stage floor. The background is a midnight blue velvet stage curtain. In golden, looping font, the title “Il Re degli Ladri - the King of Thieves” is written across the curtain, followed by “A Rusty Quill Gaming fanfic, written by Franzis-Frantic-Thoughts, beta read by Who-Needs-Words, with art by Evieebun125 & Nossorgs” /end ID]
Il Re dei Ladri
Podcast: Rusty Quill Gaming Podcast
Rating: T+
Pairings: Brock & Sasha Racket, Sasha Racket & Zolf Smith, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Sasha Racket, Hamid Saleh Haroun al-Tahan & Zolf Smith, Zolf Smith/Oscar Wilde, Sasha Racket & Everyone
Venice. The Floating City. An unlikely stage for an unlikely story.
The actors? A group of people who could not be more different.
A runaway girl, wanting to protect her adopted brother. A jaded P.I., trying to make ends meet. A masked thief, supporting the less fortunate. A mysterious client, hiring his services. A group of orphans, building a life for themselves. And a playwright, looking for inspiration.
Join them, as they meet, and plan, and chase their goals. And let the Floating City take you away into a fantastical world full of magic, friendship, and second chances.
AUTHOR
Hi, I’m Franzi. You might know me from 1,200 words turned 40 chapters and an epilogue, or 60k estimate turned 96k words. Well, I’m back at it again and this time I’ll break the 100k. #FranziLearnToShutUpChallenge
BETA
Hi! I’m Eli and I’m the beta for this fic. Yelling about fic is my favorite pastime, so of course I beta everything I can get my hands on.
ARTISTS
Hiya! I’m Eviee, big time Hamid lover and prolific artist.
Hi there! I’m Noss, part-time server grandparent and stream daddy, full-time tired translator. Only partially responsible for milk crimes.
@uselessthimbs this is the official promo post :D I’m not saying any more just now, except that it’s based on another German Children’s Novel, just like the TMA AU “White Flour and Black Magic” was.
Different author and very different flavour of story though, but it lends itself exceptionallywell to an RQG adaption.
Earlier this week I finished the first draft of this AU! It’s 125k words and I will publish the first of its 13 installments in the last week of April.
I have been writing for literal monthsand I cannot wait to share the story with you.
I can’t believe it’s ready to post the temptation of that “post”-button is so real.
Next week, the mods of @podcastbigbang will assign the posting dates and I’ll finally be able to tell you a date. I can’t wait!!!
sasha going all protective in this scene always gets me so BAD!! I LOVE HER!!!
also zolf in his iconic nightgown i hope you’re happy BEN
Match 25th - Selkie
Ongoing AU conversation about Siren!Oscar and Selkie!Zolf and their fun time murder sprees because we love that for them. Had to draw him :3
happy fat bear week everyone!
Pirate Zolf
[ID: Digital art of Zolf Smith from Rusty Quill Gaming. He is a white dwarf with blonde hair and two braids in his beard. He is wearing a loose-fitting pirate blouse, trousers with one side rolled up over a wooden peg leg, two thick belts, and a long coat. He is standing on the edge of the boat, holding onto rope and smiling. The set is setting over the sea. End ID]
RQG asks for people who love writing long answers
I’m living for y’alls content, wanted to help with some of my own! Here are some asks for ppl who love plotting (but not writing, lol) fanfic.
1. RQG characters are now the characters in another podcast you love. Whose places do they take, and how does this change the narrative?
2. What’s your biggest ‘I would’ve played that so differently’ moment, and how would things have panned out if they’d done it your way?
3. [Choose a character] switches classes. What kind of skills would they now have, and how would it affect the game?
4. Pick a moment from the show that you think would have to change dramatically if it was a fluid story rather than TTRPG. How would it be different?
5. What’s a “mystery” from the show you think you have a great explanation for? e.g. Sasha’s parents, Zolf’s white hair etc.
6. What’s a location you can picture perfectly each time it’s brought up? Describe it.
7. The campaign is now set in your favourite AU, but the plot has to stay roughly same. How do things play out?
8. [Choose a character]. How do you image their appearance and outfits changing throughout the campaign?
9. [Choose a character] is now in a different RPG system of your choice. What are their equivalent class and abilities, in your opinion?
10. Invent a plot for a Harrison Campbell novel; fictional or from canon.
11. [Choose a character]. What do you image them doing post-campaign?
12. If RQG were to be a TV show, which one NPC would you want Alex to voice and why?
13. The party actually get to play Pathfinder without Alex inflicting psychic damage! What is [character]’s character like?
14. Choose a special/side quest. It is now a main campaign. What’s the new narrative?
15. What’s a headcanon you think about all the time but feel you’ve never had an opportunity to share?
(You don’t need to send me asks to reblog; ik some people do that, idm. Have fun!)
We’re so INCREDIBLY excited to share the cover of the RQG zine with you all! It looks absolutely wonderful, and we can promise that the inside of the zine is full of amazing and intricate pieces that showcase the level of skill that our contributors have. We can’t wait for you all to see the zine in its full glory; for now, however, the cover itself will have to do!
The zine will be going on sale 13 February, along with some special extra goodies for all purchasers (more on this later…)
And now, without further ado… the cover!!
[ID: The cover of the RQG Fanzine, styled to look like an old book cover. It has a deep purple background, and reads “We’re Still Working on the Name” in the center of the page. The text is a stylised, golden font surrounded by gears, spirals, and fancy lines. Underneath is a golden falcon, with its wings spread, sitting directly above the text “A Rusty Quill Gaming Fanzine”. At the two bottom corners of this inner section are two stylised hearts. This section is shaped like an arched window, bordered with double golden lines. The area outside of this section is filled with different party motifs, also done in gold. There are arrows on the top left of the page, pointing toward the top corner, and flames on the top right, doing the same. The two sides are mostly symmetrical, containing daggers, wrenches, and gears. The bottom of the page has stylised waves. The outermost part of the border is a series of spirals.]
Previews of my zine piece for @rqgzine , featuring Cel’s apothecary!! Do check out the zine when it’s released (soon!!) - and all profits go towards The Yemen Foundation!
[ID: The first image is a small preview of a drawing for the Rusty Quill Gaming zine. It depicts the top right segment of a large golden yellow ring made of metal. It has multiple bolts and nails on the outer surface. On the top right, a circular joint connects two metal bars, also golden yellow. Within the ring, the top half of Cel from RQG can be seen. They are a white half-elf with a shock of white hair, and steampunk goggles. Above their head is half of Hamid’s face, an Egyptian halfing with golden brown skin and black hair. The background is green and yellow, with striped textures.
The second image depicts the lower left segment of a golden yellow ring with bolts on the inner surface. Inside the ring, the torso of Zolf Smith, a light-skinned, light-haired dwarf from RQG can be seen, cropped from the beard down. He is resting his arm on a Japanese style chair. In the background, a part of a bookshelf can be seen, storing potion bottles, books and a telescope. End ID.]
You heard that right: sales for the Rusty Quill Gaming Charity Fanzine will OFFICIALLY be starting on Saturday, 13 February. Quick reminder: the zine is completely digital, and we will not have physical copies of the PDF for purchase.
Over the next few days, we’ll be sharing information about what to expect with sales (including, but not limited to, how much the zine is going to cost, where you can purchase it, and some special bonus goodies that we’re including with the zine!) and getting everything in final order before sales go live on 13 February.
The zine is looking absolutely incredible, and we CANNOT wait for you all to see how well its come together and how skilled all of our contributors are! As always, if you have any questions, shoot us a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Here’s another fic preview: this one comes from the early UK arc, written by one of our contributors: @roisu10! You can also find her on AO3.
You can get the full fic (and other wonderful pieces of writing, art, and misc. creations) if you purchase the zine, coming soon!
Tentative Beginnings
It was one of the first things Sasha had noticed about him. Smiles were as much a part of Hamid as eel delicacies were to Other London. Nervous smiles. Excited smiles. Cocky ones that followed him casting that cleaning-up spell on himself.
She wasn’t quite used to it yet. With Zolf, it was easier. In the few hours she’d known him, he’d maybe smiled once or twice, and seemingly more out of satisfaction than anything else. That, she could relate to.
As if privy to her thoughts, Zolf emerged from the short hallway leading the bathroom, beads of water still dropping from his hair and beard onto the polished wood.
Rubbing at a spot below his nape, he threw a glance towards the window seat. “Bertie, you wanted to go next?”
At once, Bertie, who had spent the last half hour observing passersby below and making the occasional snide comment, slapped his hands loudly on his legs and shot up from his pillow seat. “Ah, thank you, Mr Smith, much appreciated.” As he strode past Zolf, he leaned down towards him and added with his booming voice, “hope you didn’t hog all the hot water to yourself, being a priest of Poseidon and all that,” before disappearing down the corridor.
“Cleric,” Zolf muttered to himself. He turned to Hamid, who sat watching him, hands clasped together and a sheepish look on his face. “Should I be concerned that your friend thinks Poseidon is the god of hot water?”
Sasha watched with some amusement as Hamid offered his best pained and polite smile to Zolf.
“I’m sorry, please don’t mind Bertie. He can be a bit of…”
“An ass?” Zolf and Sasha kindly supplied.
Hamid shook his head gently. “More like an acquired taste,” he corrected.
[ID: All PCs from RQG (Azu, Bertie, Sasha, Cel, Zolf, Hamid, and Grizzop) along with Skraak and Wilde posing in one big group. Everyone has a smile on their face except Bertie, who is looking to the side distractedly. Azu, Wilde, and Bertie are in the back row. Azu and Bertie are holding a big sign strung between them that says “Thank you RQG”. Next to the sign on opposite sides are Sasha and Cel. On the bottom row is Zolf, Hamid, Grizzop, and Skraak. End ID.]
Please click on the image I promise its not that blurry!
I don’t even know where to begin with this. RQG ended about a week ago and I’m still thinking about the Finale. I only started listening in May but this podcast brought me so much comfort and joy throughout the summer and into my first year at university. I genuinely cried when it ended and I’m gonna miss it so much! I’m so glad I got a chance to listen while it aired and to meet so many fun characters on the way c:
[ID: a tiny drawing of Zolf Smith from RQG, a white dwarf man wearing a grey cloak over a blue sweater, dark pants, and golden winged boots. He’s holding the straps of the brain backpack as he looks forwards, white stars scattered behind him. End ID.]
Have a tiny little Zolf since the image of him turning around with the brain backpack from RQG 211 lives in my head rent free
Garden of Yerlik unlocked shrimp emotions in me
[I JUST REALIZED I FORGOT SKRAAK IM SO SORRY SKRAAK]