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Question for my fellow DM's who are using the idea of Ironbriar being Tsuto's real father.
How are you handling this in game? Do either party know about the relationship? Id think it would be much easier for Ironbriar to know than Tsuto, but that doesnt mean there is NO way for Tsuto to have found out (mom's old diary or somesuch).
Are you going to have this issue come up in game, or just use it as motivation for the characters actions behind the scenes?
Personally, I think if Tsuto DOES know, and survives the Glassworks, it could lead to some interesting options for the DM.
How does he feel about Ironbriar? Does he know Ironbriar is involved with the SSM? Is he willing to talk to save his own neck, in exchange for implicating his father?
I posted my variant of the Atsuii Kaijitsu/Ironbriar/Lonjiku Kaijitsu guilt-shame-dirty family secrets triangle somewhere else (short version: maximum soap opera angst gooo!!), but here's how I'm handling it in terms of who knows what:
Ameiko and Tsuto both know that Atsuii got pregnant by an elf in Magnimar because she was trying to extricate Lonjiku from what she erroneously believed was one-time trouble. Subsequently she discovered that Lonjiku's criminal involvement went much deeper than that. Her shock was compounded by Lonjiku berating her for the affair instead of appreciating her effort to help him out. Atsuii's feelings of betrayal and shame continued until the time of her death, although she tried to put on a good face in public and genuinely loved both her children.
Tsuto therefore hates his dad with extra bonus ferocity for depriving him of his mother's affection, since he knows through Ameiko that his mother actually did love him and was prevented from expressing this by Lonjiku.
Neither Ameiko nor Tsuto knows the exact identity of the elf, only that he was some kind of criminal overlord. They have no idea that he's Ironbriar (Ameiko is inclined to think he's just some random Sczarni capo, since those are the only criminals she knows her dad dealt with regularly).
Ironbriar, of course, knows everything. He's never reached out to Tsuto, however, because he's never had any reason to bother until now.
How this has played out so far and how I expect it will continue to play out:
Tsuto hinted at his father's sins when the PCs initially captured him, but then he got hold of himself and shut up and won't tell them any more. The PCs turned him in to the Sandpoint jail last session, after finishing the upper level of the Glassworks.
I expect that the PCs will ask Ameiko about it when she recovers from her captivity in the Glassworks. At that point, she'll tell them what she knows (i.e., the basic backstory minus the elf's identity).
MEANWHILE, Tsuto is probably going to get transferred to Magnimar "for trial," whereupon he'll get broken out by Ironbriar's intercession. (Exactly how this'll happen, I don't know yet. It depends on whether I think an obviously manipulated trial, a fake escape, or a fake suicide + Tsuto resurfacing later with a false identity is better suited to where the game's gone at that point.)
Since Tsuto has gotten himself entirely exiled from lawful society at that point and is going to be desperate for revenge against the PCs whenever they capture or kill Nualia, Ironbriar will use him as a patsy in whatever manner best suits his purposes by Skinsaw Murders.
I don't know whether Ironbriar will ever tell Tsuto the truth about his parentage -- depends whether there's any upside for him in doing so, since he'll already have Tsuto's loyalty (if he wants it, as opposed to keeping himself hidden and letting Tsuto think someone else is his benefactor) just for breaking the guy out and giving him another shot at the PCs. There's something sort of appealing about the notion of letting Tsuto die without ever knowing the truth.
In my game, Ironbriar knew, but Tsuto didn't. Tsuto was aprehended and taken to trial (all role-played out in my game) and Ironbriar was the presiding judge. He sentenced Tsuto to "life" in the dungeons, but secretly had him swapped out/extracted. Then Ironbriar filled Tsuto in on everything in preparation to have Tsuto replace Aldern as a new Skinsaw Man, or second in command of the cultists.
The party figured it out when they stormed the Seven's Sawmill and the two of them walked out together. I leveled Tsuto up, but it was all for naught as he was cut down before being able to do more than drink a potion. :/
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Interesting ideas. Thanks!
Our next session will be next Saturday, and we are about to start 'the Missing Bartender' so im expecting for the PCs to head straight there, with little going on beforehand.
I restatted Tsuto out as a Ninja, and plan on using the one ninja power he has by lvl 3 Vanishing Trick, to help him get out alive, though Im sure it wont go like Im hoping. I even gave him a couple poisons to use to help in the fight, including one knock out poison, hopefully giving the PCs something more important to worry about. Like making sure their friends dont get tossed into the furnace.
I don't know if I'm dense or didn't read enough, but I never noticed/realized this connection. Though I like it a lot.
If/when I get to run RotRL again I'm changing things up a bit so that Tsuto has his sister strapped to a chair, screaming at her about what a bastard their father is, while "glassing" said bastard. Assuming the time line plays out where this would make sense. Not sure if this happened to anyone else, but the first time we went through Burnt Offerings the time scale got screwed up majorly, and we ended up half way through Skinsaw before we really should have started it...
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@ Fraust: Its not actually part of the AP, so you didnt overlook anything. Its just something several people who have ben running it lately have been doing, and the idea seems to catch most peoples interest, so if you see it around, thats why.
I like the idea of forcing Ameiko to watch the murder of her father though. COuld make for an interesting traumatic situation.
I have had Tsuto escape the PC`s when they left him tied up at the glassworks to explore the lower levels. He left for Magnimar and I leveled him up in Monk and Rogue and had him trained by rogues who were followers of Norgorber in his guise as a Rogue, as opposed to his persona as Father Skinsaw. The Monk in question was a Lawful Evil follower of Irori. He hasnt met Justice Ironbriar yet... perhaps I will keep him behind the sceens untill he levels up as an assassin and have him trail after the party when they leave Magnimar...
Belated psst: this thread's title is a big huge spoiler for those of us using this variant.
I really should have caught that the first time I came through, but oh well. Hope none of my players have looked at the Paizo boards recently. ;)