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Has anyone written up who Nualia's real parents are? Where are they? What are they up to? Are they both aasimars? If they are dead, how did Father Tobyn find her? My PCs are all graduates of Turandurok Academy and I am sure that they'll ask the above question when they begin investigating the goblin attack.
On the same note, who is Tsuto's real father? Where is he? What is he doing?
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Has anyone written up who Nualia's real parents are? Where are they? What are they up to? Are they both aasimars? If they are dead, how did Father Tobyn find her? My PCs are all graduates of Turandurok Academy and I am sure that they'll ask the above question when they begin investigating the goblin attack.
On the same note, who is Tsuto's real father? Where is he? What is he doing?
Not sure about Tsuto, but I believe Nualia was found on the church steps as an infant. Don't have the book in front of me, so maybe I made that up? I would imagine it would be relatively common to leave infants in the care of a church. Clearly the baby was blessed by Desna, where better for her to be raised than the church.
As for Tsuto, are there any prominent male elves in Sandpoint? Hannah and Shalelu are the only elves coming to mind, and they're both women. Doesn't mean he was local, though. Could be fun to have him be Ironbriar's kid, for example.
Not sure about Tsuto, but I believe Nualia was found on the church steps as an infant. Don't have the book in front of me, so maybe I made that up? I would imagine it would be relatively common to leave infants in the care of a church. Clearly the baby was blessed by Desna, where better for her to be raised than the church.
I remember reading that as well. I guess I'm curious as to why she was left on the footsteps of the church. Why didn't her parents want her? What happened to them?
As for Tsuto, are there any prominent male elves in Sandpoint? Hannah and Shalelu are the only elves coming to mind, and they're both women. Doesn't mean he was local, though. Could be fun to have him be Ironbriar's kid, for example.
That is a very fun idea indeed!
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Someone on these boards mentioned makeing Tsuto Ironbriar's kid, and I did just that. The PCs captured Tsuto, Orik and Lyrie, and I them give testimony at their trial, which was presided over by Ironbriar. Nice bit of foreshadowing. I had the Justice sentence his son to life in The Hells, only to secretly spring him and have him leveled up and with him at the sawmill.
Just in time for the party to 1-shot kill him. He stepped out, drank a potion, and died.
Neat idea though.
As for Nualia, it is never even hinted at, and for a celestial being(s) to abandon an infant seems extraordinary indeed.
Maybe Mrs Kaijitsu was a total whore, and she is Nualia's mother, and Nualia and Tsuto were half siblings. Which.... seems appropriate, given just how creepy parts of book 2 and 3 can be.
Clearly the baby was blessed by Desna, where better for her to be raised than the church.I think the background of the adventure shows that, to some extent, she was actually forsaken by Desna. It's the impetus that led her to rebel and embrace Lamashtu in the first place.
for a celestial being(s) to abandon an infant seems extraordinary indeed.
Not really. What do angels know about childcare? It'd be rather difficult for an immortal celestial charged by the gods with divine tasks to go about raising a mortal child while in a heavenly realm. I just can't imagine a deva trying to potty train a toddler. Leaving an aasimar child in the care of a mortal priest on the prime material seems a reasonable compromise. The baby will have more in common with a human than she will with the angelic parent anyways.
Well, siring a child, then abandoning the child (with no indication of the child's parentage, why the child was created, what the child is destined to do, etc) and no further contact or guidance AT ALL certainly doesn't sound very celestial to me. Sounds more like "deadbeat dad", even if Poppa Solar is too busy slaying demons to change a dirty diaper.
Ya the Aasimar probably came from some divine haritage from many generations past. Perhaps hundreds or thousands, and some superstitious local farmer freaked and gave the kid to the chirch because of the blessed or cursed child was a bit to wierd.
Ironbrier had Tsuto trained in thievery, and Tsuto met a Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil monk of Irori and took more training... and later becomes an assassin...
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Well, siring a child, then abandoning the child (with no indication of the child's parentage, why the child was created, what the child is destined to do, etc) and no further contact or guidance AT ALL certainly doesn't sound very celestial to me.
Maybe the parent is a chaotic outsider or perhaps, being immortal, it had simply misjudged how long it'd take Nualia to mature. The tardy celestial might show up at the Sandpoint cathedral one of these days (with a plush lantern archon in hand), ready to share its knowledge with its offspring and be genuinely surprised/distressed to learn what's happened during its relatively brief absence.
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Maybe Father Ezekiel Tobyn had a "transcendent spiritual encounter" with one of Desna's celestial handmaidens (perhaps a reward for decades of devoted service) and Nualia was the result.
Personally, Father Tobyn struck me as way too much of a perfectionist with a stick up his arse. I could easily see him worshipping a lawful god like Abadar, but Desna? Not so much.
Maybe Desna, in her mysterious, fickle way, used Nualia as a means to test Father Tobyn's ability to love and nurture someone unconditionally -- much like Desna herself was nurtured by the blind orphan when she fell from the sky. Obviously, by isolating Nualia and driving her to be perfect completely backfired on Father Tobyn, who felt that he had a sacred obligation to fulfill.
The sad thing is, Desna never wanted Nualia to be a picture-perfect nun. Rather, she wanted Father Tobyn to love his daughter for who she was -- faults and all.
Well, siring a child, then abandoning the child (with no indication of the child's parentage, why the child was created, what the child is destined to do, etc) and no further contact or guidance AT ALL certainly doesn't sound very celestial to me. Sounds more like "deadbeat dad", even if Poppa Solar is too busy slaying demons to change a dirty diaper.
Of course, our own history has legends of a god who knocks up a virgin (who is engaged to another man) and then leaves the kid in the care of the foster family (who have to flee in the dead of the night at least once) only to set the kid up to be murdered later on...and there are some who consider that to be OK.
Maybe her divine parents thought that her mortal upbringing was part of some big plan too.
Aasimars are humans with a significant amount of celestial or other good outsider blood in their ancestry. Aasimars are not always good, but it is a natural tendency for them, and they gravitate to good faiths or organizations associated with celestials. Aasimar heritage can hide for generations, only to appear suddenly in the child of two apparently human parents.
As Tashanthara said earlier, it seems to make more sense that whatever daliance happened was many generations ago, and only came forth in Nualia's birth. For my campaign, thought it never came up, I envisioned a Varisian couple deciding it was best for the blessed child to grow up in the Church. And left her to the nearest temple of Desna, to become one of her clergy. I usually have the Half-Celestial templet represent one of one's parents being a celestial.
Greg
Someone on these boards mentioned makeing Tsuto Ironbriar's kid, and I did just that. The PCs captured Tsuto, Orik and Lyrie, and I them give testimony at their trial, which was presided over by Ironbriar. Nice bit of foreshadowing. I had the Justice sentence his son to life in The Hells, only to secretly spring him and have him leveled up and with him at the sawmill.
How did this dalliance occur in your game? When was Justice Ironbriar able to meet and seduce Mrs. Kaijitsu? Was it at some high society function in Magnimar?
I ask only because I intend on yoinking your idea.
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How did this dalliance occur in your game? When was Justice Ironbriar able to meet and seduce Mrs. Kaijitsu? Was it at some high society function in Magnimar?
I'm yoinking this idea too (because it's a great one!) but in my version, Tsuto's mom meets up with Ironbriar in secret because she's making a naive, good-hearted attempt to pay down her husband's debts (in my campaign Lonjiku is still pretty heavily involved in the underworld/smuggling right up to the moment of his kidnapping, as that ties into a PC's background better and will nudge them into the Catacombs of Wrath a little more strongly as they explore the Glassworks "smugglers' tunnels").
She saw him meeting with some shady-looking sorts in the Glassworks near the smuggling tunnel entrance, asked what they were doing there, and was told that Lonjiku owed some nasty people money. From there she nosed around on her own in the secret office and came up with Ironbriar's name. Lonjiku made up a new lie to explain that one, with the upshot being that Mrs. Kaijitsu thinks Ironbriar is the one with the power to call off the thugs.
Alas, her husband's way more of a dick than she realized at the time, so her good-hearted scheme is doomed to failure. Nevertheless, she goes to Magnimar to make her attempt at freeing Lonjiku from his (100% fake) "gambling debt." Ironbriar, seeing no reason to disabuse Mrs. Kaijitsu of her illusions, takes advantage of the offer, agrees to forgive one (comparatively unimportant) debt in exchange, and sends her home to have baby Tsuto nine months later.
Then Lonjiku kills her over it, as we all know, cementing the fact that in my campaign, he probably deserved what he got.
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The way we ran it was that Nualia was actually a gift to the town of Sandpoint. All those tails about her miraculous powers of healing were true, that's what makes the way the town treated her all the more heartbreaking. Had she been left to grow and learn in peace she would hae been a great healer.
Tsuto I figured to be the same age as Wren, so I gave him the same father as that lovely woman. Turns our that the frisky Lady Kaijitsu and Wrens mom liked to share.
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How did this dalliance occur in your game? When was Justice Ironbriar able to meet and seduce Mrs. Kaijitsu? Was it at some high society function in Magnimar?I'm yoinking this idea too (because it's a great one!) but in my version, Tsuto's mom meets up with Ironbriar in secret because she's making a naive, good-hearted attempt to pay down her husband's debts (in my campaign Lonjiku is still pretty heavily involved in the underworld/smuggling right up to the moment of his kidnapping, as that ties into a PC's background better and will nudge them into the Catacombs of Wrath a little more strongly as they explore the Glassworks "smugglers' tunnels").
She saw him meeting with some shady-looking sorts in the Glassworks near the smuggling tunnel entrance, asked what they were doing there, and was told that Lonjiku owed some nasty people money. From there she nosed around on her own in the secret office and came up with Ironbriar's name. Lonjiku made up a new lie to explain that one, with the upshot being that Mrs. Kaijitsu thinks Ironbriar is the one with the power to call off the thugs.
Alas, her husband's way more of a dick than she realized at the time, so her good-hearted scheme is doomed to failure. Nevertheless, she goes to Magnimar to make her attempt at freeing Lonjiku from his (100% fake) "gambling debt." Ironbriar, seeing no reason to disabuse Mrs. Kaijitsu of her illusions, takes advantage of the offer, agrees to forgive one (comparatively unimportant) debt in exchange, and sends her home to have baby Tsuto nine months later.
Then Lonjiku kills her over it, as we all know, cementing the fact that in my campaign, he probably deserved what he got.
Oh wow, this is brilliant! How are you going to reveal all this juicy, sordid info?
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How did this dalliance occur in your game? When was Justice Ironbriar able to meet and seduce Mrs. Kaijitsu? Was it at some high society function in Magnimar?
I ask only because I intend on yoinking your idea.
I never developed details, but note that the Kaijitsu's of Sandpoint originally came from Magnimar to found the town, along with 3 other families, and Magnimar is only 2 days away. I figure that Mrs Kaijitsu was a typical "noblewoman", bored with the backwater town and was constantly trying to get back to the big city for some culture and entertainment. Perhaps Lonjiku got tired of making the trip 3-4 times a month, and she went alone for a few trips, perhaps for extended stays.
And Ironbriar is a playa, apparantly.
How are you going to reveal all this juicy, sordid info?
Who knows, my PCs haven't even gotten to the Glassworks yet (that's today, hopefully). They tend to be an investigate-y bunch who'll bite at any hint of a story hook, though, so I'm reasonably confident that they'll look into it sooner or later, either when they encounter Tsuto (in which case he might drop clues when ranting about how much his dad had it coming), when they rescue Ameiko (in which case she might drop clues while grieving the loss of her brother, who never really had a chance to grow up normal with so much tragedy in his background), or when they get to sniffing around Ironbriar during Skinsaw Murders (in which case it'll just be +1 Jerk Points to make it that much more satisfying when they finally take him down).
Basically, whichever NPC the PCs spend the most time talking to is going to just happen to be the one who dug into the Atsuii/Ironbriar backstory. I don't know which of those three NPCs the PCs will spend time on, but I'm pretty sure they'll hit one or another of 'em, and the backstory can come into play then.
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After reading these idea I feel like how Tsuto was handled in my game was a total waste. In my game Tsuto turns out to be the nephew of the elven PC. Part of his back story is that he is looking for his brother who he keeps hearing rumors of (one of the reasons he was in Sandpoint). When he figures out that Tsuto's father is in fact his own brother HE DOES NOTHING WITH IT. He even stands by while a mob (whipped up by another PC) drags Tsuto from the garrison and hangs him over the side of the cliff. Yeah, I was very disappointed with the player's reaction.
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After reading these idea I feel like how Tsuto was handled in my game was a total waste. In my game Tsuto turns out to be the nephew of the elven PC. Part of his back story is that he is looking for his brother who he keeps hearing rumors of (one of the reasons he was in Sandpoint). When he figures out that Tsuto's father is in fact his own brother HE DOES NOTHING WITH IT. He even stands by while a mob (whipped up by another PC) drags Tsuto from the garrison and hangs him over the side of the cliff. Yeah, I was very disappointed with the player's reaction.
One of my players had a similar story about a uncle who was a rebellious elf. I wanted to do this exact same thing, but two of the players just quit. (They where never heard from again.) so we ended the game after just one session...
After reading these idea I feel like how Tsuto was handled in my game was a total waste. In my game Tsuto turns out to be the nephew of the elven PC. Part of his back story is that he is looking for his brother who he keeps hearing rumors of (one of the reasons he was in Sandpoint). When he figures out that Tsuto's father is in fact his own brother HE DOES NOTHING WITH IT. He even stands by while a mob (whipped up by another PC) drags Tsuto from the garrison and hangs him over the side of the cliff. Yeah, I was very disappointed with the player's reaction.One of my players had a similar story about a uncle who was a rebellious elf. I wanted to do this exact same thing, but two of the players just quit. (They where never heard from again.) so we ended the game after just one session...
Sorry to hear that. Sometimes I wish I were Multiple Man so I could just play with my self (not in a perverted way).
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Ok, first off. Aasimars & Teiflings do not breed true. They are not half breeds like 1/2 elves & 1/2 orcs. The vast majority of Teiflings & Aasimars are born to completely normal mortals & the normal mortal response when your baby winds up having non-standard eyes or hair or skin or fingers or toes is to freak out a bit. Hence, 'leave the baby at the church doorstep'. Later, when the parents calm down a bit, they are likely appropriately self-conscious about having 'abandoned' their child & not necessarily up to the disapproving glances & words they are likely to receive if they show up on the doorstep saying "Hi, we were just kidding, we'd like our little bundle of blessed joy now. Kthnxbi!"
As far as the whole 'abandoned by Desna' bit goes, I suppose when you consider that Dasna is, among other things, a Goddess of Luck; then having some really crappy luck in your life could be viewed as 'abandoned by Desna', on the other hand it could simply be that life is complex & messy and people often make bad decisions & then make more bad decisions which further exacerbate the consequences of the previous decisions. I'm not just talking about Nualia here, anything that screwed up generally requires a committee. Remember, this was also happening at the same time, for much the same reasons, that an un-helped long suffering abused child snapped & went on a murder spree (Jervais Stoot) & a 'pillar of the community' finally decided he couldn't accept the 'shame' of his wife's infidelity and finally murdered her (Lonjiko Kaijutsu). One of the things about small towns is that everyone 'thinks' they know everyone's business, but mostly what they 'know' is what everyone's business 'ought' to be. Remember, this is the same town that a few years later decides that the appropriate response the some bandit activity that doesn't even cause deaths is genocide...
Sandpoint, as fond of it as I truly am, has plenty of warts, Nualia just happened to be the one square on the bridge of it's nose, metaphorically speaking.
Sandpoint had a basket full of dirty laundry get dumped in the market square, nothing much more than that.
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Hmmm...I've felt guilty about Tsuto being a dud and not having much of an impact in the game. He got captured in the Glassworks, and them more or less forgotten (though, in fairness, I think most of that has to do with the fact that our group only gets together perhaps only 2 or 3 times a year--sad, I know).
I have a fairly strong expectation that they will get to the sawmill this next gaming session, and I think having Tsuto with Ironbriar will be good to bump that encounter. I have a feeling that Ironbriar alone will be too easy of a fight, even after fighting through the rest of the sawmill.
So, I figure the behind-the-scenes story is that while the group was dealing with the rest of the stuff in Sandpoint, Tsuto had been shipped off to Magnimar for trial, as described above. Perhaps, he has also been doing some scouting of the PCs leading up to the encounter. I might have some foreshadowing by having the latest murder in Magnamar being done by Tsuto (indications of subdual by fisticuffs, before being branded).
The only question I have is what level should I bump Tsuto to? 5? 6? I want to make him stronger than before, but not unnecessarily so.