Questions for Reynald...

[berelinde]

Over the last few years, I've been poking sporadically at an NPC mod that would allow the PC to recruit Reynald de Chatillon. His goal is atonement. Even if he knows that he will never be a paladin again, he wants to make restitution for the harm he has done. Not every PC thnks that is a good idea, though. For these parties, it's possible to corrupt him instead, in which case, he'd become a blackguard.

 

The mod is about a third of the way done. As I said, sporadic poking, not full-out development. But with my other IE modding projects wrapping up, I'm thinking about paying Reynald a little more attention.

 

So, if you could talk to him, what would you want to talk to him about? Are there any burning questions you've been dying to ask him? Things you're vaguely curious about? Random suff that just flits through your mind when you think about a fallen paladin?

[lynx]

how come he came to his senses / wants to attone. Usually when you break, it's hard to stop the fall.

[Daulmakan]

how come he came to his senses / wants to attone. Usually when you break, it's hard to stop the fall.

That, and the actual particulars of the fall, with the Celestine stuff.

[berelinde]

Heh. Yeah, players would want to know those things, and they're already in the mod. I'm not going to say "That's obvious," because part of the reason I started this topic was to find out if there was anything obvious that I missed. Because it happens. And it never hurts to ask people what people would like to see.

[piperb]

Well, if you don't mind obvious stuff...Many of these overlap, but could make for interesting qna sessions to hear his side of the story, at the very least:

 

-Why he followed Anarg?

 

-Why did he think he would be killed for stepping near the Order?

 

-How were he and the others betrayed? Does he know why?

 

-The story behind his involvement with Celestine. Who was she, what did she mean to him, how long were they together, what happened to her, did she really have a part in his downfall, etc.

 

-Is there a history between Reynald, Keldorn and/or Anomen. (Ajantis could probably be included here as well.) Keldorn's and Anomen's in game responses to Reynald eludes to that possibility. Anomen actually seems a bit intimidated by Reynald. (If not a knight yet) And Keldorn tells Reynald that he is not the one Reynald seeks. Specifically who is Reynald seeking and why?

 

-Possibly share the full story behind "the particulars" of the downfall, as well as the downfall of the others.

 

-How long has he been out of the Order?

 

-If given the option, would he make different decisions than before? Would he do it all over again? What would he change, if given the power to do so?

[berelinde]

Good stuff! Most of these are already covered, as you probably expected, but there is at least one there that totally eluded me (the one between Keldorn and Rey).

 

As for your second point, it's an obscure lore thing, and something I'm surprised the game got right. Presumably not all Orders are so strict, but paladins of the Order of the Radiant Heart who Fall are beheaded. If they manage to escape before this sentence is carried out, they are hunted down and then executed. So when the PC is hired to track down the Fallen paladins and kill them, that's actually pretty darn close to lore... for a change. But yes, the mod would definitely not be complete unless it involved some kind of resolution with the Order, one way or the other.

[Daulmakan]

Your first post seems to imply redemption is not considered. Doesn't rescuing Garren's child/killing Firkraag restore PC's paladinhood if it was fallen? Maybe add a similar possibility for Reynald?

[berelinde]

From the scant bit of dialogue Reynald has in the unmodified game, it doesn't sound as if he really wants to become a paladin again, although it is something to consider. Redemption is definitely something Reynald wants, though, even if it doesn't end in reinstatement into the Order. And there is a quest involved.

[Miloch]

I would like to know how he got to Toril from Earth, and perhaps more so, how he gets back to Earth to get decapitated by Saladin in 1187 (speaking of beheadings).

[berelinde]

You mean Felicia Day is not the first Earth person BioWare has inserted into a video game? Oh, horrors! At least RdC is interresting.

 

Yeah, the name is unfortunate, but what are you going to do? The game has been out for a decade. I'm sure they've had plenty of time for regret.

[Miloch]

So you're saying it's just a coincidence? I don't know what they did with DA and whether they inserted an actual modern person into a fantasy game. Not even sure how that works or if it's just silliness. But I think Reynald de Chatillon is not a Toril native and the name is too unique to be coincidental. Is there even a Chatillon on Toril? I suppose someone could put it there, but I doubt even that would be a coincidence. Might actually make him more interesting to give him some offworld backstory. Wouldn't be the first time, as a whole section of pseudo-medieval France morphed its way into the Greyhawk world (and also shows up in Castle Amber a la FR as it appears in Classic Adventures). However, the Earth de Chatillon was definitely not looking for redemption and I'm not even sure he would've ever had paladinhood at all.

 

Edit: so eh, if you want a more concise answer to your OP, I would want to ask him where he was born, for starters. Or possibly where his family is from (it's conceivable he could be the son, grandson etc. of the Earth crusader - that much I could believe).

[berelinde]

No, I don't think it's coincidence. I'm sure that somebody knew perfectly well about the real world person. Maybe they liked the name. Maybe they intended for people to make an association with the Earth person. Maybe somebody brought herbally enhanced brownies into the office that day and they all decided to throw the name in while they were still giggling. One thing I will definitely tell you: He won't be from Earth. His ancestors will not have been from Earth. I'm OK with an occasional wink at the camera, especially if it's a joke mod, but this isn't a joke mod. Fourth wall breakage like "Say, Rey, didn't your ancestors come from someplace else? Another plane perhaps?" is not going to happen. As far as I'm concerned, it's just a name. No, I don't like crossover fiction, either. No Tenth Walkers or Connecticut Yankees for me, thanks.

 

That said, the name is unusual for Amn. It's unusual for Torrill in general. That part can be explained without taking a wrecking ball to the 4th wall.

 

And yeah, I know about the numeous non-Torill references in the game: Tyr, Mielikki, Loviatar, Mulhorandi, Knights of Solamnia, etc. The deities is no large stretch. Ao handled the passports. The Mulhorandi, too. The Ilmaskari needed slaves and had sufficient magical talent to cross the Astral Plane. And the Knights of Solamnia isn't a big deal, either. Big silver interplanar sphere. No problem. Bringing a relatively obscure historical figure across the planes just to explain a name? No. I'd rather blame the brownies.

 

I may be spelling Torill wrong. After all this time, I still have to look it up on the wiki each and every time, and I the internet is too slow to bother today.

[Miloch]

One thing I will definitely tell you: He won't be from Earth. His ancestors will not have been from Earth. I'm OK with an occasional wink at the camera, especially if it's a joke mod, but this isn't a joke mod. Fourth wall breakage like "Say, Rey, didn't your ancestors come from someplace else? Another plane perhaps?" is not going to happen.

That's not fourth-wall breakage, that's a known phenomenon in the FR and not even a very uncommon one. You gave several examples of it yourself both on the individual and group level (Tyr, Mielikki, Silvanus actually are the earth deities, the Mulhorandi were Egyptians, the Untheri were Sumerians, etc.).

Bringing a relatively obscure historical figure across the planes just to explain a name? No. I'd rather blame the brownies.

That, on the other hand, is fourth-wall breakage if you're using hash brownies to explain it (don't get me started on whether they'd have all the ingredients to make them on Toril - probably on various continents, but not likely the actual assemblage of them all). It's almost as improbable as having a Bub Snikt aka "Wolverine" on the Sword Coast (and as silly as making him joinable, which DSotSC does). But suit yourself - I'm not trying to dissuade you from interpreting an NPC however you want, I'm just saying how I would view it. A person from medieval Earth could quite easily have made it to Toril (and many have). Someone from modern Earth or some other unconnected fantasy realm - no, not likely.

I may be spelling Torill wrong.

Yes .

[berelinde]

You don't find the concept of asking a fictional character why he's named after an Earth crusader to be fourth wall breaking? Interesting.

 

Anyway, I'm not going to go there in the mod. There's already a dialogue about family history, so that's covered.

[Bookwyrme]

I wonder why he became a paladin in the first place.