What is Reginald Vancaskerkin's relation?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

Silver Crusade

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Hi there. Reading through Absalom City of Lost Omens, and in the NPC section, we meet Reginald Vancaskerkin, part of the infamous Vancaskerkin bloodline.

But uhh, he's a bit of an odd one. He is devoutly evil, worshipping Norgorber, but also he is a massive level 18 NPC with Wizard/Inventor levels. He stands out quite a bit compared to his CN middling level kin (of whom only one was also evil aligned iirc).

But they mention absolutely no relation to the Vancaskerkin family at all. IS he related?
Are any of y'all even half as interested in this rarely-yet-frequently referenced family? I might be guilty of being biased here, we share a name.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

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He is. We should have mentioned how, and I remember working with Patrick to sort out the logistics there during the initial work on outlining the Adventure Path, but I guess that information never made it into print.

And I don't have those records to reference, since I didn't write for or develop this Adventure Path. So for now, that exact relation will need to remain mysterious.

Silver Crusade

Mysterious fits him well, after all.


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Book 5 of Agents of Edgewatch deals with Reginald extensively. He gets a two-page treatment there.


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In 2019 Mr. Jacobs revealed

James Jacobs wrote:

Orik and Verik's mother was Saul's second wife, whose name we haven't yet published and haven't yet revealed. We're calling her "Jane Vancaskerkin" for now, in the same way you'd call an unidentified woman "Jane Doe." We'll have more information about her some day.

2. Lullaby is the daughter of another brother of Saul's, NOT Damon. This is an unrevealed Vancaskerkin, whom we're calling "John Vancaskerkin" for now (aka John Doe).

3. Apart from Jane and John, yes, there are MANY other Vancaskerkins.

BONUS ROUND: The complicated part comes in with Jane Vancaskerkin. She originally was married to John Vancaskerkin, with whom she had Lullaby and at least one other son, but ended up leaving him for Saul at some point to have Verik and Orik before being replaced by Saul's third wife, Bertrida. Once Jane V. left John V., John V. hooked up with his own 2nd wife, and they had other Vancaskerkin children. It's these Vancaskerkins we'll be rolling out at some point in the future—the ones who are Saul's children are pretty much all out now—Natalya, Verik, and Orik.

In 2022, Mr. Jacobs added this.

James Jacobs wrote:
I drew up a family tree for the Vancaskerkins, and it's... complicated. And not QUITE as incestuous as one might expect... or maybe a little more incestuous than one might expect, depending on where you're coming to the family from. Most of them fit together, but I'm not 100% sure if or how Reginald fits in since that Vancaskerkin was largely introduced outside of stuff I've worked on... I think? Maybe?

Belly of the Black Whale, the adventure with the NPC write up for Reginald does not mention his relations specifically but he did grow up in Riddleport before striking out on his own in his teenage years and holds a soft spot for his large family, having a grandiose ambitions such as "to one day install a Vancaskerkin ruler in every major city in Avistan—all subject to his leadership."

*Edit

I found this write up by Forum user Leingod.

Leingod wrote:

Saul Vancaskerkin's first wife was a beautiful Varisian harrower from Magnimar named Adreea Valitrosa. Unfortunately, she was a member of the Sczarni, who didn't approve of this relationship, and a month after Natalya was born they tried to kidnap her. Saul was warned thanks to his criminal contacts and the three fled to Riddleport, but Adreea took a poisoned crossbow bolt in the back and died.

In other words, Natalya Vancaskerkin is Saul's oldest child; or at least his oldest legitimate one, I wouldn't be surprised if he'd fathered a few bastards in his time. I'm allowed to use that word because I'm one myself ;)

Saul mourned the loss but eventually married his second wife; said wife was the mother of Orik and Verik. It isn't stated what happened to Saul's second wife and she isn't named, but when Orik and Verik left Riddleport, Natalya was left alone with Saul and his third wife Bertrida, who hated Natalya and eventually drove her away.

Saul has at least two brothers. One brother is Damon Vancaskerkin, younger than Saul by five years and barely a teen when Saul formed his first gang. Saul looked after Damon when he was growing up, but as Damon grew older he chafed at the company of people and found honest work as a caravan guard. He didn't like being connected to Saul's criminal reputation and grew distant from his brother, but still dropped in for a while and tried to keep Orik and Verik on the straight and narrow (no mention of Natalya, though). As Saul's criminal ventures failed him and his sons fled the town, Damon was permanently estranged from his family and left Varisia altogether.

Saul's other brother was the father of "Lullaby" Vancaskerkin, who hates her "awful" birth name and doesn't answer by it anymore. Lullaby left home when her parents split as her mother left her father for her uncle, Saul, meaning that Lullaby is either the half-sister of Orik and Verik or her mother was Bertrida, the woman who drove Natalya away. Lullaby wants to rebuild the Vancaskerkin family in Riddleport, hoping to follow in Saul's footsteps rather than the "equally shady legacy" of her father, who moved on to some small town on the island of Kortos. I'm not sure if this is a reference to some other adventure like a Pathfinder Society thing.

That is, as far as I can tell, the extent of what we know of the Vancaskerkin family tree so far.

I edited to add because it mentions the isle of Kortos, but I can't source the information.

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