Anyone else find it sad that....[semi-SPOILERS?]

[Nathander]

I'm adding the spoilers tag here just in case others haven't read this, but I'm probably the only one here who has only RECENTLY gotten the chance to read "On the Origins of the PCs". There was one moment in it that really struck me. This moment was....

When Eugene comes to Roy at his fighter college to tell him he's dying and the whole conversation that follows it. Really, what gets me is the brief pause for a panel before Eugene comments how Roy had apparently shaved his head and how he had done it to beat genetics. The reason this struck me is due to the fact that that one comment appeared to be the most friendly comment/topic of discussion the two had shared in a long while; certainly, in my mind, throughout the entire run of the comic, and possibly even the friendliest moment the two have ever had in Roy's adult life.

I guess the reason I'm bringing this up is this: does it kind of depress anyone else that that one topic, that small joke, may have been the friendliest thing the two had ever said to one another in years? I don't know why, but I thought it was just that small moment that Rich really cemented how bad Roy and Eugene's relationship was, showing it to be even worse than I had initially thought.

Of course, I've heard we get to see some of Eugene's parenting in "Start of Darkness", but I'll have to wait awhile before I get the chance to read that, unfortunately.

Any thoughts?

[Kreistor]

Of course it's sad. Any family infighting is sad.

I blame Eugene for it. Eugene was disappointed that his son chose weapons over spells. Now, I can understand a father wanting his son to follow in his footsteps,

However...

The family sword is a greatsword -- the weapon of a fighter, not a wizard. In terms of tradition, it was Roy that chose the family heritage, not Eugene. Eugene couldn't use that family weapon, and so must not have followed the family's traditional ways. Roy followed family tradition over his father's rebellion. I can't fault Roy for making that choice.

[Belkar's Left Foot]

That's one reason I feel that Roy makes the best character I've seen in a while, I just feel that he's dealt with so much, yet does all he can to take over and complete his fathers blood oath, and all that he's gone through because of it, even though his dad was like he was.

[Nathander]

Of course it's sad. Any family infighting is sad.

I blame Eugene for it. Eugene was disappointed that his son chose weapons over spells. Now, I can understand a father wanting his son to follow in his footsteps,

However...

The family sword is a greatsword -- the weapon of a fighter, not a wizard. In terms of tradition, it was Roy that chose the family heritage, not Eugene. Eugene couldn't use that family weapon, and so must not have followed the family's traditional ways. Roy followed family tradition over his father's rebellion. I can't fault Roy for making that choice.

I agree that Eugene is the primary reason for their relationship being so poor. We know that he was the initial one to become hostile when possible discussion about Roy's future started and, as the father figure, should have been much more supportive of Roy's choice for his future. He's also most likely guilty of never having attempted to patch things up with Roy, even during this recent moments where he's been able to make himself manifest on the Prime Material Plane after death.

At the same time, however, I doubt Roy has really tried to heal the break between him and his father. After all, we know early on in the story (during Roy's flashbacks about his early life when Xykon smashed the family sword) that he told Eugene that his life was his own and that his decision for what he himself would do would be final. Now, this is, of course, a respectable statement: Roy, being a grown man, has the right to make his own decision as to what to do with his life. But, at the same time, it shows that Roy is also apparently unwilling to attempt to even discuss the matter with his father and, when the topic is brought up, lashes at him (though, I would say, with good reason, as we've seen Eugene is remorseless with his criticisms of Roy and his chosen profession).

It really comes down to the fact that both react offensively towards one another, and neither has the ability to swallow even the minimal bit of their pride to try to come to an understanding with the other. In that respect, the two are far more similar than either would want to admit.


That's one reason I feel that Roy makes the best character I've seen in a while, I just feel that he's dealt with so much, yet does all he can to take over and complete his fathers blood oath, and all that he's gone through because of it, even though his dad was like he was.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

[Aquillion]

And to think, all of that could have been avoided if they'd known about Duskblades.

[cheebie]

When Eugene comes to Roy at his fighter college to tell him he's dying and the whole conversation that follows it. Really, what gets me is the brief pause for a panel before Eugene comments how Roy had apparently shaved his head and how he had done it to beat genetics. The reason this struck me is due to the fact that that one comment appeared to be the most friendly comment/topic of discussion the two had shared in a long while; certainly, in my mind, throughout the entire run of the comic, and possibly even the friendliest moment the two have ever had in Roy's adult life.

I guess the reason I'm bringing this up is this: does it kind of depress anyone else that that one topic, that small joke, may have been the friendliest thing the two had ever said to one another in years? I don't know why, but I thought it was just that small moment that Rich really cemented how bad Roy and Eugene's relationship was, showing it to be even worse than I had initially thought.

Of course, I've heard we get to see some of Eugene's parenting in "Start of Darkness", but I'll have to wait awhile before I get the chance to read that, unfortunately.

Minor Spoiler for Start of Darkness.

You don't even have to go back very far. :roy:'s grandfather was a fighter and Eugene blew him off.

[Username]

Roy should have became an eldritch knight. Best of both worlds! He also has the stats for it.