Dalluyon Studio Presents

Our First Community Challenge

Design Your Own Warrior

Every island has its champions. Design a warrior, chief, hero or a creature that could exist in the world of Digmaan. The aim of the challenge is to make the community come together for fun so, whatever level of artistry is welcome! Submit your character art, name, tribe, and a short backstory. A Tagalog writeup is encouraged but English is just fine. Use the provided templates at the bottom of the page for the official submission. Share it on your socials and we'll all choose 3 winners in the end of the campaign!

Story Brief

The world of Digmaan is set in the 16th century — an awkward transition period into colonialism, diverged by a massive volcanic eruption that reshaped the destiny of the islands. The Philippines, known as Kapuluan ng Mga Malaya, is a thriving thalassocratic kingdom divided into three main clusters, each governed by a head ruler. Though divided by water, the archipelago shares overlapping customs and traditions through effective trading routes and cultural exchange — bound by religions of animism and Islam. The people divided by water were closer than those divided by mountains.

Tondo, in the islands of Lusong, is the main kingdom uniting the northern archipelago — a massive walled city of rammed earth, wooden and bamboo houses with reinforced straw roofs, built in the Torogan architecture. The people wear colourful clothing with unique patterns; banners fly above the roads and homes are furnished with beautifully woven textiles. The view from the sea reveals majestic karakoas, balangays, and paraws with multi-coloured sails, and trading vessels from all over Asia dock at the welcoming ports of this trading hub. Smaller towns across the islands, ruled by datus and rajahs, are festive and welcoming. The Malayas have their own writing system, and knowledge is passed on both verbally and etched onto dried palm leaves and bamboo slats.

The great volcanic eruption disturbed mythological creatures once living beyond human contact. The malevolent ones now roam freely across the lands, while the good and neutral ones, their homes destroyed, scatter across the archipelago in search of refuge. Many people lost their properties and livelihood, migrating across the islands. Outsiders saw opportunity in this chaos, promising support and using religion to gain the trust of the people. From this turmoil emerged a new era for the once free-spirited and unbound people of the islands.

This is the world your warrior belongs to. Whether they are a Bagani defending the walls of Tondo, a Babaylan communeing with displaced spirits, a Timawa sailing aboard a karakoa, or a creature torn from myth by the eruption — ground your design in the culture, conflict, and beauty of Kapuluan ng Mga Malaya. Give them a name from Filipino languages, a tribe or faction, and a backstory that ties them to this pivotal moment in history.