Predictions about families?

[Origamite]

Just thinking in terms of which families we've seen/accounted for yet, and what they're doing.
V: Spouse and kids (divorced), seen
Parents? Siblings?

Roy: Mom, Dad, sister, brother, grandfather seen (although we haven't seen Julia in a while; she could be doing something in the real world)

Elan: Nale's dead, Tarquin's sideplot's over, but we haven't seen their mother yet.

Haley: Left Ian on the continent w/uncle, mother's dead, probably no siblings.

Durkon: Dad's dead. Probably no siblings. Sigdi was alive when Durkon was kicked out--where's she now?

Belkar: We've seen literally nobody. Perhaps part of Belkar's morality will be wanting to go home to die?

[goodpeople25]

Well we haven't seen Elan's mom outside of flashbacks but i think it's safe assume she's still where she raised Elan, might still be waitressing, perhaps retired.
Belkar we purposely don't have any true backstory on due to the giant not wanting to undermine his evilness, but now there might be some.

[Rogar Demonblud]

V's parents have been mentioned--they were rangers, IIRC.

We know Sigdi was alive as of the start of the Battle of Azure City.

[JohanOfKitten]

Haley: Left Ian on the continent w/uncle, mother's dead, probably no siblings.

Belkar said some threat to Ian in the gladiator prison, implying that Haley was an only child, and Ian doesn't seem to disagree with that statement.

So, no siblings, apparently (except some twisted sub-plot with Haley and Ian hiding the existence of some relatives to protect them from an heavy paranoid-made-up danger... Wait... that could happen ! :smallamused: )

[Wildroses]

Julia is only sixteen, so I imagine she went back to her school after being rescued.

The only way I could see Elan's mother getting involved in the story at this point is if Tarquin kidnapped her in his efforts to force his son to see him as a primary villain who needs to be stopped. Ron did promise Elan that they would come back and stop his Dad once the world was safe, so I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Tarquin. Probably the heroes return in time to see Haley's Dad finish enacting the plan Elan gave him to bring Tarquin's Empire down, or perhaps Tarquin will come storming up to the final gate insisting he is the major villain of this story so stop paying so much attention to this Xykon sub-plot!

Calling Sabine Elan's sister-in-law is probably stretching it, but I am very curious as to what she is doing. Her love for Nale was genuine so I'm sure revenge is high on her list of priorities. Before his murder the Imp was starting to worry her loyalty to Nale was becoming greater than her loyalty to the IFCC, whom she admitted to V don't tell her much about their overall plans. It'll be fascinating to see if she's still trying to keep her two loyalties together or if she dumps the IFCC in favour of revenge on Tarquin. Maybe she'll join Haley's Dad in operation Destroy Tarquin's Empire, or maybe she'll make a play for the gates herself as a way of revenge.

And something is definitely fishy about that reassuring story anxious little Durkon heard from his uncle about how his Dad was an honourable person who died very bravely. His Mum refuses to talk about both her husband and her injury, his uncle is terrified of Durkon's mum hearing they talked about it, and his uncle tried to avoid the whole discussion by talking about sex instead. If his father was an honourable person why is there this conspiracy of silence around him? I think he either cut off Sigdi's hand, or Sigdi left him for the same reason Elan's mother left Tarquin: to protect her child. Or perhaps Sigdi staged the whole dragon/ogre fight and rockfall to kill him as divorce seems to be a big no no in Dwarven Culture, judging from Durkon's reaction to Hilgya's past.

Sigdi might not be doing well. Durkon begged the High Priest not to exile him because his mother needed him as she was getting arthritis in her hand.

[ti'esar]

Given the way Thirden talks about Tenrin Thundershield, I think it's very likely that he was genuinely a good and honorable man. If there's something else about that story that he's not telling (and there probably is), it's more likely to be about how he died.

[OmnivorousOgre]

I always thought the cutaway panel to Elan's mom in 725 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/images/FwDFSLE6y6k1meTIBEf.gif) was in the present, but I guess it could be a flashback too.

[Zwiebelchen]

I always thought the cutaway panel to Elan's mom in 725 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/images/FwDFSLE6y6k1meTIBEf.gif) was in the present, but I guess it could be a flashback too.
Maybe? Elan's mother looks way too young compared to Tarkin, who already has grey hair and all...

If we apply the logic that it's not a flashback, then there are only three possibilities here:
1) she has a charisma score that would make a nymph blush in arousal
2) Tarkin seduced someone way younger than him... which sounds very Tarkin
3) probably both (damn you Elan and your superior genetics!)


... I'll go with 3) and believe your assumption. Elan never mentioned his mother being dead and the Oracle revealed he would get a happy end. Finding his mother dead doesn't sound like a happy end to me.


@Durkon:
I'm 99% sure we will find out about his family in this story arc.

@Belkar:
Unlikely we will get to know anything about him. I suspect him being an orphan.

[Kish]

Belkar said some threat to Ian in the gladiator prison, implying that Haley was an only child, and Ian doesn't seem to disagree with that statement.

The Ian who freaked out on Haley for not carefully hiding from a random stranger the fact that her mother was dead, declaring that she must never tell anyone who wasn't family anything about herself?

(I think Haley most likely is an only child, just not because of Ian's lack of correcting Belkar.)

[JohanOfKitten]

The Ian who freaked out on Haley for not carefully hiding from a random stranger the fact that her mother was dead, declaring that she must never tell anyone who wasn't family anything about herself?

(I think Haley most likely is an only child, just not because of Ian's lack of correcting Belkar.)

You got me :smallsigh:

But talking about the death of her mother remind me something :
Flashback in the nice chating between Haley and her father.
The mother's implying no other child in the family, or she would have said things differently.

And for what it worth, the Haley of the beginning would probably have asked for help if she had a sibling, to gather the money to free their dad (I mean, a possibility of halving the amount of money she need to give up is not a lead she would let aside easily).

[KorvinStarmast]

Belkar's Aunt Judy is mentioned (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0165.html), but no on screen time to date.

His family at present seems to be Mr Scruffy.

[OmnivorousOgre]

Maybe? Elan's mother looks way too young compared to Tarkin, who already has grey hair and all...

If we apply the logic that it's not a flashback, then there are only three possibilities here:
1) she has a charisma score that would make a nymph blush in arousal
2) Tarkin seduced someone way younger than him... which sounds very Tarkin
3) probably both (damn you Elan and your superior genetics!)


... I'll go with 3) and believe your assumption. Elan never mentioned his mother being dead and the Oracle revealed he would get a happy end. Finding his mother dead doesn't sound like a happy end to me.

Yeah, the age difference is quite clear, now that I think about it. But in 888 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0888.html) we see her again, and she looks pretty much the same age. It would make sense to me that she appears in the dream as Elan remembers her. I'm going to go on a limb and say that she aged very well (superior genetics :smallbiggrin:) and is in her late 30s/early 40s, Tarquin is in his 50s or so and Elan is 21. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0258.html)

[wumpus]

Ron did promise Elan that they would come back and stop his Dad once the world was safe, so I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Tarquin.

Unless you can convince Rich to write a sequel to OOTS, it will only happen in fanfiction (I've heard second hand that he refuses to consider a sequel, but haven't seen the actual quote).

I have seen the original quote where the Giant refuses to discuss Belkar's family (or at least his backstory). It is presumably twisted enough to alter Belkar's place as a anti-hero/comic relief (not so much to justify 9 knazis of evil, but at least provide some sympathy and not be at all funny).

[littlebum2002]

Unless you can convince Rich to write a sequel to OOTS, it will only happen in fanfiction (I've heard second hand that he refuses to consider a sequel, but haven't seen the actual quote).

I have seen the original quote where the Giant refuses to discuss Belkar's family (or at least his backstory). It is presumably twisted enough to alter Belkar's place as a anti-hero/comic relief (not so much to justify 9 knazis of evil, but at least provide some sympathy and not be at all funny).

Elan gave us a massive teaser for handling his dad, when he handed the mysterious note to Ian.

If we never found out what that note said, it would be pretty terrible foreshadowing on Rich's part. I would be very genuinely surprised if after Xykon is defeated we don't have an epilogue wrapping up all the sidequests like Tarquin.

[Alchemist_Fire]

Belkar's Aunt Judy is mentioned (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0165.html), but no on screen time to date.

His family at present seems to be Mr Scruffy.

I don't think Belkar's family will be happy if he ever returns (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0125.html).

[Rogar Demonblud]

Elan gave us a massive teaser for handling his dad, when he handed the mysterious note to Ian.

If we never found out what that note said, it would be pretty terrible foreshadowing on Rich's part. I would be very genuinely surprised if after Xykon is defeated we don't have an epilogue wrapping up all the sidequests like Tarquin.

Actually, that sounds more like a cutaway scene to allow for timeskips.

[littlebum2002]

Actually, that sounds more like a cutaway scene to allow for timeskips.

If the scene was just a cutaway that they never intended to return to, Elan would have made sure we, the audience, knew what his plan was. The only reason to keep a plan secret from the audience is to make sure it works successfully when you show it in action later. That's like Tropes 101.

[Sir_Norbert]

There's a book and two-thirds still to go. We're currently in the middle of a lengthy diversion that serves -- in addition to helping to set up the final stage by changing the state of play in certain regards by the time we get there -- to tie up loose ends regarding Durkon's family and the two prophecies about him.

Clearly, there will be ample room for further diversions to tie up the other currently dangling loose ends. I feel pretty sure that we'll learn the fate of Azure City, Tarquin's empire, and the world within the Rift by the time the main story finishes, no need for an epilogue.

[ChillerInstinct]

It'll be interesting to see if V and Inky get back together once this is all done. It seemed that V wasn't exactly Mate of the Century, and the Black Dragon incident... hoo boy. I wouldn't be surprised if the last we see of them is V trying to patch things up, but the ultimate fate of that relationship being left open.

Julia... eh. She's a teenager. I don't think enough time has passed, or will pass, for that to have changed. She's also still a student, so I doubt she's powerful enough to really be much use in a fight against Xykon/Redcloak/HPoH et al. Maybe in the epilogue she and Roy will reconcile a bit, but beyond that I don't see much for her. Eugene will probably be allowed to finally pass the gates, assuming he doesn't get kicked into Neutral Good territory for his stunt with Shojo and defying the order of a Deva. Mother, grandfather, brother, still dead. Can't do much about them now.

I think that once Tarquin's been handled, Ian and Haley will head back to Greysky, with Ian (or Haley if Ian decides he's too old for this now) taking over the Thieves' Guild and turning it back into the "Robin Hood after reasonable expenses" type of Thieves' Guild that it was back when Ian was last in charge. With Bozzok out of the picture it's probably the only reasonable outcome for Greysky's long-term stability.

Elan will almost certainly marry Haley, and probably follow her to Greysky. (I mean, he's a Chaotic Good Dashing Swordsman, a Robin Hood scenario is kind of a dead ringer) Nale probably can't be resurrected now with his body destroyed and Belkar using the dagger that would have had any blood that they could have used. Tarquin... eh. An offscreen death would be a fitting end to his obsession with legacy, probably at the hands of the Empress of Blood, but... eh. As for his Mother... I think we'll see her at least once, if only for the reveal of his last name. Not likely we'll see her until the epilogue though.

I highly suspect Sigdi will play a major role in what happens with the HPoH/Durkon subplot. Especially with Durkon becoming a cleric in order to mend her arm... yeah. Beyond that, it's too early to make any reasonable guesses, I think.

Belkar... eh. We know he's due to stop breathing very soon, so unless there's a free-willed, non-"X Spirit Driving Your Body Around Like a Stagecoach" type of undead or a non-breathing Polymorph in his future...

[KorvinStarmast]

Belkar... eh. We know he's due to stop breathing very soon, so unless there's a free-willed, non-"X Spirit Driving Your Body Around Like a Stagecoach" type of undead or a non-breathing Polymorph in his future. Since the Giant has apparently declined to discuss Belkar's background, I'll drop a fiver on Belkar's background being part of a reveal before he dies in a similar way to some of Durkon's past coming to light recently in flashback form.


I have seen the original quote where the Giant refuses to discuss Belkar's family (or at least his backstory). It is presumably twisted enough to alter Belkar's place as a anti-hero/comic relief (not so much to justify 9 knazis of evil, but at least provide some sympathy and not be at all funny).
Got a link? :smallconfused:

[Jasdoif]

I have seen the original quote where the Giant refuses to discuss Belkar's family (or at least his backstory). It is presumably twisted enough to alter Belkar's place as a anti-hero/comic relief (not so much to justify 9 knazis of evil, but at least provide some sympathy and not be at all funny).Got a link? :smallconfused:That would be in the introduction of On the Origin of PCs; the gist was that any sort of backstory explaining why Belkar's psychotic would permanently undercut Belkar's comedy potential.

[KorvinStarmast]

That would be in the introduction of On the Origin of PCs; the gist was that any sort of backstory explaining why Belkar's psychotic would permanently undercut Belkar's comedy potential.
Thanks. As I have that in pdf, I'll be able to revisit.

[Rift_Wolf]

That would be in the introduction of On the Origin of PCs; the gist was that any sort of backstory explaining why Belkar's psychotic would permanently undercut Belkar's comedy potential.

I can imagine his origin as multiple choice. Or he works with the material he's given.

[wumpus]

That would be in the introduction of On the Origin of PCs; the gist was that any sort of backstory explaining why Belkar's psychotic would permanently undercut Belkar's comedy potential.

Good thing you have that book, I must have seen a comment by it and:

"Not at all; as mentioned above, a pre-Order story is not the same as an ORIGIN story. I can do an entire story of Belkar being Belkar without ever explaining WHY he's like that, which is what I said I didn't want to do."

Is the closest thing in the fora he's come to it. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?233766-The-Post-Kickstarter-Discussion-Thread-Bask-in-the-Afterglow/page3&highlight=belkar

[Origamite]

There's a book and two-thirds still to go. We're currently in the middle of a lengthy diversion that serves -- in addition to helping to set up the final stage by changing the state of play in certain regards by the time we get there -- to tie up loose ends regarding Durkon's family and the two prophecies about him.

Clearly, there will be ample room for further diversions to tie up the other currently dangling loose ends. I feel pretty sure that we'll learn the fate of Azure City, Tarquin's empire, and the world within the Rift by the time the main story finishes, no need for an epilogue.

Definitely the world within the rift, at least. There's one more gate for a dramatic showdown with Xykon. And in retrospect, we don't really need to see Belkar's family--if Aunt Judy ranted about death and destruction that often, I get the feeling it wasn't great for an impressionable halfling to grow up in. Anyway, where was that thread counting the days until Belkar dies?