As summer comes to an end in the kingdom of Prismal, the Bardic Festival is in full swing, bringing together musicians and minstrels from all over. But amidst the celebration, a sinister plot of murder unfolds…
Court of Roses
is an original fantasy webcomic written and drawn by Kelsey Peterson, otherwise known as Nintendonut1. It was moved to Spider Forest.
It follows a ragtag group of bards as they band together and travel the realm of Prismal; Merlow the Rose, half-elf, charismatic leader, bagpiper, and perpetual drunk; Diana the Fleetfoot Fletcher, human tidinit player with a heart of gold; Nocturne, brooding but classy Infernal and violinist; Sven Rockscreamer, goliath drummer and seeker of justice; and Feliks Halfdance, curious gnome who plays accordion and magically conjures their entire backup.
And who knows! Mayhaps they'll solve a murder mystery together!
Tropes appearing in Court of Roses include:
- Dreadful Musician: When Merlow is drunk he is...not very good at the bagpipes.
- Friend to All Children: Merlow is very good with the children at the Bardic Festival, easily capturing their attention with stories and jokes.
- Locked into Strangeness: Merlow's blond hair has a red streak running down his left braid. Nocturne's research indicates that it is a demon brand.
- Love Epiphany: Merlow’s moment with Nocturne after the action ends at the Bardic Festival shows some major crushing happening. [1]
- Magic Music: All the bards in Court of Roses seem to have the ability to cast spells with the power of their music.
- Merlow can charm people with his magical bagpipes
- Nocturne uses his violin to conjure dark energy and send it flying at potential threats.
- Diana uses her enchanted tidinit to shoot magical arrows in battle.
- Sven uses his war drum to create a tempo, sending him flying into a fighting bloodlust rage of smashing skulls.
- Feliks can use their accordion to summon backup instruments as musical accompaniment , as well as makeshift weapons in the heat of battle.
- Merlow can charm people
- Manly Tears: Sven the goliath weeps openly when hearing Diana's instrument/weapon came from her supportive mother.
- Meaningful Echo: When Nocturne takes action to save Merlow from Dorcas, Merlow’s invitation echoes back at him, showing a literal interpretation of “hit ‘em in their core”.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Merlow charms Dorcas in the prologue to avoid being robbed. He later tracks Merlow to Saung to make the bard pay for humiliating him.
- Nightmare Fetishist: Morana, priestess of the death goddess Sabal in the town of Saung (and former jester), is lively and upbeat despite her grim surroundings, and loves making corny death jokes. It is indicated that most clergy of Sabal are actually fairly grim, so Morana is a bit atypical in this. The main cast's reaction is mostly disturbed by her flippant regard for the macabre.
- Our Demons Are Different: Nocturne is an infernal, though he is reserved, cultured, polite, and pointedly un-demonic in disposition. [2]
- Pointy Ears: As a half-elf, Merlow has pointy elven ears that wiggle in his sleep, much to everyone’s amusement. Overlaps with Expressive Ears.
- Straw Critic: Master Biggens, a judge at the Bardic Festival, doesn’t appreciate the acts of any of the bards, complaining that they are loud, boorish, inane and classless. He claims things were much higher quality before they let "lowbrow" entertainers in.
- Wandering Minstrel: We first meet Merlow wandering from town to town playing his bagpipes. The other four bards also appear to be travelers to an extent as well.
