Eighty years ago today, Arthurian comic strip character Prince Valiant made his first appearance.
Your challenge this week is to create an original Arthurian character. Could be a knight, wizard, peasant, nobleman … whatever floats your boat. There is no limit on number of entries.
Please follow the instructions below for naming your files.
Rules for posts, contests, and challenges: Original characters only, no copyrighted characters, no characters based on copyrighted characters, no characters based on RPG’s or other games. The characters must be your own design and not based on any character that might be copyrighted in any way. I have the right to delete any post that I believe crosses this line without warning. Only post characters that have been created solely using Hero Machine, and that you know for certain have never been entered in a contest before. If you aren’t certain, don’t enter it, because I’m not going to go back through all of the contests and check.
All entries must be in JPG or PNG form (BMPs are too big), posted to a publicly accessible website (like the HeroMachine :,ImageShack, PhotoBucket, or whatever);
- Entries must be made as a comment or comments to this post, containing a link directly to the image and the character name;
- Please name your filesas [your name]-[character name].[file extension] before you upload it. So DiCicatriz, for instance, would save his “Bayou Belle” character image as DiCicatriz-BayouBelle.png.
Please make the link go directly to the image (like this) and not to a hosting jump page (like this).
This contest will close on Sunday, February 19th at 9:00am Eastern.
My Arthurian Knight… Sir Baramohr
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd510/Kellkin/Arthurian%20Knight_zpslw4coiua.png
http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/drlongo123/media/wizard1_zpsyoxm3bj3.png.html
Here are my submissions. They are members of the Desmodian Court, representatives of the kingdom of Desmodia, a lost kingdom that has been without a true king for centuries due to an ancient mystical warlord wiping out every member of the royal bloodline. Intent on restoring Desmodia to its original glory and end the poverty the Desmodian Court becomes the interim governing figure for Desmodia until a true king can be crowned.
Matthias Cloxxen is the leader of the Court. The people insisted that he wear the crown as their leader, a task that he never wanted yet something that he takes seriously. The weight of ruling quickly begins to affect him and his demeanor.
http://orig10.deviantart.net/e47e/f/2017/046/e/5/matthias_cloxxen_by_primelionstar-daz4xh3.jpg
Matthias’ younger brother Cayden Cloxxen was just newly knighted when the warlord began his attacks. His inexperience makes Matthias keep him away from missions out of worry, but one night the warlord attempts to infiltrate Desmodia alone and when Cayden tries to fight him on his own to give the Court time to raise a defense his right eye ends up cursed. They manage to find a spell to stop the curse from spreading to the rest of his body in the form of the Sword of Orecule. The sword of Orecule always glows a bright golden glow and is immune to any spell and curse and is fabled to be even more powerful than Excalibur. As long as Cayden keeps the Sword of Orecule close by he is safe from the curse.
http://orig11.deviantart.net/19ef/f/2017/046/9/5/cayden_cloxxen_by_primelionstar-daz4xjw.jpg
Herona is Cayden’s wife and a former assassin. Her willingness to defy expectations make her a valuable member of the court. She is always willing to fight on the missions her husband is unable to and always carries two small swords on her just in case. She frequently goes out to reassure the public that they’re safe and tries to retain a positive outlook for the future of their kingdom.
http://orig11.deviantart.net/51bf/f/2017/047/b/f/herona_by_primelionstar-dazbu8p.jpg
Finally Taren is from a neighboring village that was home to a mysterious woman called The Velvet Witch until her disappearance. When Taren realizes that the Velvet Witch was his mother the villagers cast him out. While lacking any magic within himself, Taren discovers an ancient sword that is imbued with the magic his mother used to use. As such his sword is able to protect him from spells used by witches of similar caliber to his mother, but it is nowhere near as strong as the Sword of Orecule. Taren starts getting referred to as the Scarlet Knight as he wears his mother’s colors. On his journey to find her he ends up at Desmodia and learns that she also battled against the warlord. This prompts him to stay in Desmodia and finish what his mother started and help defend Desmodia against the warlord.
http://orig01.deviantart.net/f9ac/f/2017/047/3/7/taren_by_primelionstar-dazcef1.jpg
When I think of the Arthurian area…I always think of Merlin….
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd510/Kellkin/Merlin_zpsxgmazu2h.png
Hello long time no see…
This is my entry. I tried to do something mo historical accurate and some hypothesis say that Guenevere were from Pict tribe. So here hers first maid and cousin Uisita in battle form
http://orig11.deviantart.net/287f/f/2017/048/5/3/meniukas_uisita_by_meniukas-dazdvfl.png
None who know me and my love for goat men will be surprised by Sir Giles.
Sir Giles family had long been goat herders,
they lived in a place called Gātmount, in Gevrik Castle
He named his sword Hafrhorn
His big adventure was The Quest for the Barrow Wulf
which he defeated one spring morning.
Here is his pic
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/yy240/Cliff_HM3/Cliff_ValiantEffort_SirGiles_zpsimowzwxd.jpg
Here is his more complete background.
It is LONG, doesn’t have to be read, unless you want to know about Sir Giles and his history.
Sir Giles family had long been goat herders,
Ùruisg, his wife and twin sons, Ùruisg’s brother, Urisk, his wife and their twin daughters. They had 8 goats pulling a cart driven by Ùruisg, in the cart with him was his wife, sister-in-law and two neices and their provisions. Ùruisg’s sons and brother walked behind, herding the rest of the goat herd with their trained hounds
One Yule they came to a failing hamlet and set up camp, feeding them roasted goat, goat milk and cheese and goat butter for bread.
The villagers prospered over the winter cause of the skill with goats, and the family helped the village grow, in Spring baby goats were kidded, eventually more buildings rose, a smokehouse, a slaughterhouse, hide tanning, barns for the goat to winter in, a dairy barn for the milking. May 1st, saw another Festival this time Ùruisg,was given a crown of goat horns and proclaimed the May King and his wife wore a green gown and given a crown of flowers and proclaimed May Queen, a May Pole was erected and danced around, there was feasting, music on shepherd pipes and goat head drums, and much dancing and drinking and merrymaking.
Starting around September children were born. The first stone building was The Thirsty Goat pub. Log walls were erected to keep out hungry wolves during the winter..
Durning the digging for the stones, some silver and other metals were found, and a mine started.
A year after Ùruisg’s family arrival a grand Yule was planned with roasted goat feast, and a giant straw Yule Goat bonfire. It was then the area was named Gātmount (goat mountain)
More mining for precious metals and gems ws done.
Soon there were merchants, caravans, and travelers coming through. Unfortunately that also began to include some robbers, raiders, and highwaymen,
The walls logs were sharpened into points and guard towers were added to the walls
As time went on even more buildings were built each family having their own and their own craft specialties weather it was milking goats, churning butter, slaughtering goats, smoking the meat, making wool into yarn, or weaving, or tailoring, hunting, fishing or tanning, cutting wood, building structures, or whatever.
Gevrik a descendant of Ùruisg eventually had a castle erected of the mined stones and it was named Gevrik Castle.
Other distant surrounding areas of land were claimed, and other stone towers and walls built.
Two of the neighboring estates wished to join together into three families and rise up against the king,
The family was loyal to the king.and fought on his side, helping defeat the two rebellious families
The king in gratitude gave Gevrick the surrounding land to protect.
Quite a few years later
Castle Gevrick houses
Sir William and his Lady Nannette and they have twins:
Giles and his brother Chevre
Born Monday, January at 1:00PM
(Chinese Day of the Goat, Western Capricorn, and Chinese Hour of the Goat)
Like all of his family, and even ancient Greek Princes,
Giles was taught Goat herding to learn responsibility and caring for others.
Giles was kept company by his two shepherd dogs
Giles would play the pipes and dance with his pet dancing goat
One day up on the mountain letting the goats forage he found spies and reported them,
Giles fights valiantly with spear and his dogs
and then with knife and billy goat which saves Giles by butting an attacker
Giles became a Squire to a Knight,
He gets along well with others
And happily helps his Knight,
Soon Giles becames a knight himself
In the Golden Days of Camelot he is one of the first to laugh, he likes to drink and is oftern in charge of the Revelrys where he plays the shepherd pipes as he dances, jumps and capers about.
He also enjoys and does well in the Joust
Sir Giles fought and defeated a Troll, that lived under a bridge, eating villagers and other who use the bridge particularly goat herders and their goats
Upon the death of the troll Sir Giles finds a cave beneath the bridge in which he finds a treasure trove and in it was a magnificent sword which Sir Giles names Hafrhorn
Sir Giles attains a squire
teaches him well
Sir Giles’ biggest claim to fame was the Quest for the Barrow Wulf.
Late September
A monstrous wolf has been terrorizing the land
Sir Giles leaves the castle and lands in the care of his Steward while he is away
Sir Giles journeys far and wide, tracking the wolf some 500 miles,
One night, a Year and A Day from the time he started his quest, he sees it on a ridge, a large wolf silhouetted against the full moon as it lets lose a blood curdling howl.
Sir Giles goes after it, his hounds leading the way.
The dogs speed off into the night.
As Sir Giles catches up he can hear sounds of animalistic battle
growls, yipes,
flesh tearing
bone’s breaking and crunching
Once he breaks through the trees into a clearing, lit by moonlight he sees two large dead wolves
one smaller than the other,
and one of his hunting dog also lays dead
But there is still one of his hounds tearing at the throat of a very large wolf, larger than the other two had been.
Sir Giles rushes in and kills the wolf stabbing it in the heart with Hafrhorn.
As Sir Giles pets his loyal canine another very large wolf leaps out, the largest of the four/
The Wolf’s claws rake against his armor nearly digging through the metal as the claws shriek against the plate.
Sir Giles gets his bearing and swings at the beast
but not before it goes for the throat of the remaining dog which it kills before Sir Giles can behead the brute.
Sir Giles pants and mourns for the loss of his loyal hounds as a giant wolf as huge as a war horse quietly pads out and it begins to speak in a sinister growl
“You killed my children”
“you and your hellspawn have been killing livestock, farmers and travelers”
“We need to eat”
“There are rabbits, deer and elk …”
“but they are not so docile and easy to catch … or as tasty” the Barrow Wulf grins evilly and pounces
Sir Giles in knocked back, but wields his sword masterfully.
Sir Giles leaps from rock to rock to get the upper ground or at least to make them even.
Sir Giles is on the percarious edge of a cliff
The Barrow Wulf leaps at Sir Giles who tries to dodge aside, but the Barrow Wulf hits him with a great paw and sends him flying backwards.
Sir Giles falls off the cliff
into the river below
and is carried downstream
Sir Giles is greatly wounded and near dead, he is found and rescued by a familiar Goat herder downstream, not far from the old Troll Bridge.
Sir Giles goes back to his castle beaten, scarred and nearly empty handed.
His Steward tended to his wounds in the coming months.
That Yule was the one of the first it was far too cold, wet and bitter for the Yule Goat bonfire to burn.
In January on his birthday, Sir Giles had a dream that a goat came to him, stood on it’s hind legs and took on some aspects of a man from the waist up.
“Heal and honor me and I will guide you to victory”
Mid February
Sir Giles is said to be healed.
He got 2 goats and went out and stripped
He let one of the goats go into the wild while he made a sacrifice of the other goat
as his forefathers had before then cooked and ate the goat meat.
He marked his forehead with blood of the sacrifice.
Wiped if off with wool dipped in goat milk, and laughed in the face of death.
He flogs himself with strips of the goat’s hide, to purify him further.
then clads himself in his armor, and goes back out
and leaves in a goat drawn cart
Sir Giles find blood from the cliff where he fell to the monster’s lair, an ancient Barrow mound,
Sir Giles lures the Monster out of it’s cave as Dawn breaks and he jumps down impaling the Barrow Wulf through the brain with the sword Hafrhorn.
Sir Giles’ family sheild is Aure(blue) over Verdt(green) with a rampant Goat in the center
“Dearest Randine,
I sold our wyrmhide to John Forgetaylor, best armorer in the land. I stood at the edge of his shoppe watching him work his hides with hammer, fang-awl, and tempered curve-needels. His smiths make the frames, of course, and his hot-sawyers remove the fangs and claws to save him time. I had only missed the careful butchery of a wain-sized mother and colt-sized hatchlings by a day, my luck. But with the ev’n came free heat for the township, as the smiths and hot-sawyers had broken open her heart the reste of the way, and the grinders had already begun the final shaping of the egg-shelle fragments. Forgive me, Randine, as I will no doubt be a full two days late returning. I will, however, return with the shaped plates for our engraver personally, and so we will save enough on the shipping that we can have our whole wedding party dine upon our new dish pattern.
All My Love,
Mychall”
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u438/jamais5/2017hm/HerrD-JohnForgetaylor_zpsh3tfe05c.png
Here is an Arthurian Knight on his armored horse
http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd510/Kellkin/Knight%20on%20armored%20horse_zps1wpgdoa8.png
http://www.heromachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Melmo44-Eigyr-Fair-Haired.png
Eigyr and Hywel were the inseparable twins of a widowed local lord. He raised them both the same, and Eigyr was trained in fighting alongside her brother. She excelled in it, learning spear, sword, and shield with ease. When the twins reached adulthood, they traveled to Caerleon, where King Arthur held court with his knights. The knights welcomed Hywel, but rebuffed Eigyr, telling her she had no place at the Round Table. Dejected, she eventually found herself on the banks of the river, unsure of what to do. At sunset, a mysterious barge appeared, piloted by a group of ethereal women. Their leader, Vivian, told Eigyr she was a Chosen of Avalon, and that she had a great destiny. She also gave her a sword, and Eigyr became the first wielder of Avalon’s Might. Filled with it’s power, she returned to the Round Table and demanded a place by trial of combat. She defeated three opponents and fought Ser Lancelot to a standstill when the King himself called the match and welcomed her to the Table. There she was a peerless knight, having many adventures even after her brother returned home to rule after their father’s death. When Arthur fell, Eigyr did her best to keep up the ideals he left behind, and trying to make the world better. In her old age, she herself went to Avalon and her final fate is unknown. All that is known is that her sword has been wielded by many Champions since then, each entrusted it by a strange cadre of women.
Contest closed. Results posted shortly.