Talk:Cathak Cainan Kallisto

I think Kallisto's backstory needs some ironing out. You've basically just made a super-Sentinel, which cheapens both Kallisto's and Sentinel's significance. Also, I wouldn't think that Sentinel would neglect his only son -- Despite being busy, he knows that Dragon-Bloods don't live forever, and he would hope to raise Kallisto as an heir to his future fortune. I would not think him to play so distant a part in raising him, especially as he grew older. It is true that he would have been gone often, but keep in mind that he was not assigned to a Threshold legion until after the Zerund Conflict, and would have had more time to spend with Kallisto before that. You and I also discussed having Sentinel put Kallisto in charge of a scale when the group traveled North, which Sentinel absolutely would not do if he were so distant from his son as to not trust him (Sentinel's top intimacies are to the Realm, his son, and his troops on his character sheet, and his Oath of Ten Thousand Dragons is to his men, so he places immense value on their lives, and would not put them in the command of a soldier he did not respect and trust absolutely).

If we can, we should see if we can re-work this to soften some of that resentment -- I think the story would be richer if we were able to play out the process of Kallisto initially looking up to his father, and coming to form opinions differing from Sentinel's as the story progressed.

I do like that Kallisto wants to exceed, not emulate his father, and Sentinel would certainly approve of that drive. I just think we should discuss his starting points and initial relationship with Sentinel.

Also, that's a pretty weak motivation, even for a Terrestrial. If his only goal in life is to surpass Sentinel, he's a pretty one-dimensional dude. Wanting to surpass his father is fine and well, but it's tough to build a believable character on that alone.

I didn't edit the page; I want to preserve the integrity of your writing until we can agree on what, if anything, should be changed.

-Dan

I hesitated putting what's this up, because I haven't revised or thought out everything to completion. To be added later was the fact that Sentinel was actually keeping a close eye on Kallisto without his knowledge; but I think now that's a little melodramatic/cliche, so you'll definitely get a change here. I don't mind changing the resentment, my heart isn't set on that. But a core part of his character is his ridiculous drive to succeed and overachieve, so he does need a good reason to work that hard, which is where I thought up the resentment and inner drive to be accepted by Sentinel in the first place. I thought it might be appropriate since parents don't typically acknowledge their children until the child has proven themselves in DB society, so I'm open to suggestions here.

I put his motivation as what it is with the intention of it being temporary (sort of a childhood motivation) to be changed as he develops as a character later in the storyline. If you'd like a more permanent long term motivation, I'll work one out. I'm not entirely sure where Kallisto's character is going long term: he's at a very open-ended point in his life and I'm still giving this thought.

So, sorry for putting that all up without 100% thought, but I was bored today, so I just did anyway. None of it's set in stone, and I planned on the possibility of changing most of it anyways. So we'll work it out. At least his picture is badass =)

-Drue

That's cool, man. I'm not trying to be too harsh, I just don't want you to end up playing a character who isn't very fulfilling. My question to you regarding his REAL motivation is this: What would Kallisto do if, tomorrow, he were to achieve his goal and surpass Sentinel?

No need to apologize, I'm glad you put material up, I was just offering my honest opinion, and I expect everyone to do the same with my work. It is true that parents don't acknowledge children overly until they've proven themselves, but being that Kallisto is a top student at the House of Bells and has already Exalted, he's done just that. Sentinel would work with him to develop his potential even further -- It is true that Sentinel would be a harsh critic, and certainly wouldn't tolerate anything less than perfection, but he's training his son to deliver just that. It's also true that Sentinel has probably never told Kallisto that he's proud of him, though he is, because he wants to reinforce the notion that personal perfection is the minimum requirement to succeed in Dragon-Blooded society. In Sentinel's mind, a person becomes worthy of pride when they use their personal perfection to do something great and influential. I think Kallisto's partial resentment of Sentinel is more believable if Sentinel held some records Kallisto couldn't beat (I think it's fitting if Kallisto beat Sentinel's swordsmanship achievements, but, though an excellent student in tactics as well, was unable to match his father's scores in that regard). That'd give him a better reason to strive even harder. Also, on top of that, you and I both know that Sentinel is not so easily beaten :P (Besides, it's much harder to resent a person whose proverbial ass you've already kicked).

I don't mean to suggest that Sentinel is an omnipresent father, but he does consider Kallisto a very valuable ally, as he thinks of many of his peers as already corrupted and beyond saving. He is gone very often, especially recently, though Kallisto should be used to this enough that it isn't too much of an issue for him (I don't think someone with as much respect for and knowledge of the military as Kallisto would hold it against Sentinel for serving his duty), but I could see a future issue arising with Sentinel's strictness in ideology -- He would certainly try to impose his own views on his son, and though Kallisto may admire his father's achievement, it's perfectly possible that, whether he agrees or not, he may not like being told what to believe by Sentinel. I just think it would be cool if the beginning relationship with them was a warmer, if a bit strict one; I'd like to see Sentinel and Kallisto starting out almost as a "together-nothing-can-stop-us" thing (Sentinel most likely enjoys this time and sentimentally values it, considering it father-son bonding, but would never, ever admit it), and then having Kallisto come into his own and growing apart from his father, perhaps even coming to fully resent his views.

That said, Rise of Sentinel is more of a narrated/written story, and I'm far from the only person whose opinion matters on this thing. If our views on how this should be differ, there's no problem with that -- just let me know how you see it, we'll talk it out, and the end result may be even better than either idea alone.

If I don't talk to ya, Merry Christmas, dude =)

And you're right, that picture is fucking badass. :D

-Dan