An idle thought about the late Father Tobyn

[Douglas Muir 406]

Father Tobyn: his bones get dug up by Tsuto, offstage. He then delivers them to Nualia who burns them, offstage.

Seems like a bit more could be done here.

How about turning him into a burning skeleton? It's only CR 1/2. Skeleton because that's all that's left after five years, and burning because of how he died, yeah? Put it anywhere in Thistletop (where the goblins will be in awe and terror of it) or use it to attack the town (where someone may notice that it has a distinctive fracture, right where Father Tobyn broke his leg a few years before he died). Or put it in the final fight with Nualia, if you think the PCs are up to it -- she can have some insane conversation with it ("Are you proud of me NOW, Daddy? Am I FINALLY GOOD ENOUGH?!?") in between trying to pulp the PCs.

Thoughts?

Doug M.

[Matthew Morris]

I like that idea.

Or she could have his skull and talk to it. "Alas poor Yorik" style. Or if you want to up the challenge, make his skull a goblin bomb. :-)

[Matthew AC]

Would also be cool to raise him as huecuva . . . although, his story doesn't quite fit.

[Matthew Morris]

Matthew AC wrote:

Would also be cool to raise him as huecuva . . . although, his story doesn't quite fit.

I had the same idea and discarded it for the same reason. Makes me all warm and fuzzy.

[martinaj]

Did anyone else think his puritanical treatment of his daughter was a bit unusual for a priest of Desna?

[Aeshuura]

spoiler:

I have always felt that Father Tobyn was actually affected by the Runewell of Wrath too. That the little things were blown out of proportion due to the proximity of the well.

That's my thoughts on the matter...

[Mikaze]

Insane conversations with her dead father are an absolute must now. Need to pass this along to a friend that's planning on running this for some folks one day.

Aeshuura wrote:

** spoiler omitted **

That's my thoughts on the matter...

That is an interesting take. I had always just assumed he was just a jerkass of a terrible father.

[Matthew AC]

Aeshuura - I was wondering that too. May be [i]just enough[i] justification to make him huecuva . . . because I think I really want him to be a huecuva. ;)

[Icyshadow]

Poor guy. Even in death he sees only torment it seems.

Now I really wanna run Rise of the Runelords, I don't care whether I was DM or a PC.

[Douglas Muir 406]

I was thinking "jerkass" myself, but the alternate explanation works too.

Just because you're good-aligned and a follower of Desna doesn't mean you don't have character flaws or make terrible, terrible mistakes.

Doug M.

[Icyshadow]

True, and some realism is always good. However, by that same virtue, I would so make sure that Nualia has a chance to be redeemed, no matter how small it might be.

[Aeshuura]

See my thought was that he always had the flaws, just that they were enhanced, or pushed to unreasonable levels. He may have always been a little bit of a controlling father, feeling that Nualia would be a good cleric, so wanted her to become one rather than experience the cruelty of life outside of the church, but the little things get blown out of proportion, for the previously stated reason.

I solidly believe that it cannot put something there that wasn't there already. Ya know? :) I am glad that you all found it interesting...

[wspatterson]

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

I was thinking "jerkass" myself, but the alternate explanation works too.

Just because you're good-aligned and a follower of Desna doesn't mean you don't have character flaws or make terrible, terrible mistakes.

Doug M.

Father Tobyn doesn't even remotely come across like a follower of Desna. He seems much more like a follower of Erasti.

Father Zanthus doesn't really seem like a Desna worshipper either; more like a more mild follower of Erastil. Both were priests of Erastil in the game I ran.

[wspatterson]

Matthew AC wrote:

Aeshuura - I was wondering that too. May be just enough justification to make him huecuva . . . because I think I really want him to be a huecuva. ;)

I like that idea. I wish I had thought of that.

[Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal]

Another thing to consider, there is never any mention of a Mother Tobyn. Which tells me this guy, on top of being the priest for an entire town & environs was also trying to pull off being a single dad.

I don't know about anyone else, but I have enough trouble just pulling off the single dad bit without the occasional outburst, inappropriately timed or not.

You might cut the guy some slack. He did pay the ultimate price for his failures after all.

In a very real way it doesn't matter what Nualia does to his corpse, Tobyn is already suffering knowing what she has done to herself, what she feels he drove her to.

[Douglas Muir 406]

+1.

I don't see Father T. as an evil character, but a good one who made a couple of bad mistakes.

Doug M.

[martinaj]

Oh, I don't think he's necessarily evil. It's true that everyone has character flaws, but I always thought that clerics were generally held to a higher standard, and a strict enforcement of celibacy (which is forsaking experience) and forcing one to pray nightly (taking freedom out of faith) strike me as particularly un-Desnan.

[Matthew Morris]

Well we don't know his backstory.

Maybe he was a follower of Erastil, who came to Desna late in life.

I don't see an issue with her going all 'poor yorik' on him, nor with using his skull as a goblin bomb, but definately let the guy rest in peace.