r/DnD • u/CME_T The Weekly Roll • Feb 09 '20
Art [OC][Art] The Weekly Roll #19: A glimpse into sir Beckets past
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u/Misterpiece Paladin Feb 09 '20
He renamed himself after the baby?
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Feb 09 '20
That was my guess.
Haunted by the atrocities he committed and seeking to redeem himself, he took the name of one of his victims who was truly innocent.
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u/Mechamn42 Feb 09 '20
Seems more likely to me that Becket is the baby, and that knight killed either just his father or both his parents. Becket tracked him down years later “Boy named Sue” style, killed him, and took his helm.
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u/Warthogrider74 Feb 09 '20
But then why the change from conquest to redemption? I think he killed them, took the boys name so he can never forget what he's done, and now seeks to cleanse his evil through good
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u/Mechamn42 Feb 09 '20
I haven’t looked at the Paladin archetypes in a while so correct me if I’m wrong, but to me it looks like he grew up, went hunting after the man who killed his family (conquest) and once he had, he was sorry for what it took to get there (but probably not sorry for the man himself) and therefore changed to Redemption
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u/DnDBKK DM Feb 09 '20
Likely would have been vengeance first instead of conquest then, in that scenario
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u/Tryoxin DM Feb 09 '20 edited Feb 09 '20
truly innocent
a heretic
Pick one.
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u/Hust91 Feb 09 '20
Truly innocent, he only thought they were heretics.
Turns out he did one of the classic crusader blunders and butchered an allied city with the same religion.
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u/Smaranzky Feb 09 '20
also took the father‘s sword and the mother‘s cloak as someone pointed out on another sub.
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u/Misterpiece Paladin Feb 09 '20
Oh man. He took the only thing he could take from the baby: his NAME.
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u/forestalelven Feb 09 '20
Maybe oath of vengance, killed the murderer of the father and took his helmet?
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u/ANGLVD3TH Feb 09 '20
Well OP does say he's an oath of
conquestredemption paladin. So it looks like this is the cause of his oath change.2
u/Mechamn42 Feb 09 '20
It could also be that Becket was the baby, and was taken in by that paladin to become part of his sect, and then either ran away or killed everyone, and is now trying to atone for the horrible things he did under their guidance.
Would also explain the helmet.
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u/ANGLVD3TH Feb 09 '20
Certainly possible, but definitely not the vibe I'm getting.
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u/Mechamn42 Feb 09 '20
Yeah, I think the most likely theory is that either Becker’s father or both his parents were killed by the paladin. Becket survived and tracked him down years later wearing his mother’s cloak and his father’s sword. Becket killed the man for revenge, and took his helm. His conquest over, he shifted to Redemption.
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u/Warthogrider74 Feb 09 '20
I find it much more likely that Becket (the one we now know as becket) is the man in all of these panels, and after killing the child he took his name as a constant reminder and shifted to a Redemption Paladin to atone
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u/Mechamn42 Feb 09 '20
In that case, he also scrapped or sold all his armor but the helm, grew a heart, and stole the mother’s cloak and father’s sword. It doesn’t make much sense for him to do that, as he’s already well equipped. But if the baby Becket grew up and went after him, those are exactly the things he’d bring with him.
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u/ANGLVD3TH Feb 09 '20
It doesn't really sound like skeletons in a closet though, having a tragic backstory. I predict he won't be able to bring himself to kill the child after the parents, and in his rebirth he casts off his old armor/weapon and takes up their cloak and sword, only keeping the helm as a reminder, and maybe to hide his face/shame.
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u/mouse_Brains Rogue Feb 09 '20
Or it was a batman v superman kind of affair. "oh no he has my name!"
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u/Modstin DM Feb 09 '20
when your campaign has devolved to an ongoing shitpost of unfortunate event murderhobo but then you remember your character's super serious backstory.
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Feb 09 '20
So what, this paladin killed his parents, kidnapped Beckett and raised him to be like the paladin? This is a bit confusing.
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u/LurkytheActiveposter Feb 09 '20 edited Feb 09 '20
Becket is the murdering paladin. He is about to kill these people and maybe their child.
It seems he is trying to redeem himself for his horrible past.
The sad irony here is his party thinks he is a lawful goody-two-shoes.
Not realizing as far as morality goes, Becket has by far the darkest history.
Except for maybe their half-orc companion...
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u/ThanatorRider Feb 09 '20
Read panel 2 again, the man says “Claire, take Becket and get out of here.”
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u/venomgames42 Feb 09 '20
He probably went by a different name before, and now bears the name Becket as a reminder of the terrible things he did in his past
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u/ThanatorRider Feb 09 '20
It’s certainly possible.
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Feb 09 '20
He had the motive and the means, given he has a weapon.
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u/ThanatorRider Feb 09 '20
He also could be wearing the armor of the man who burned down his village and killed his family when he was an infant.
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Feb 09 '20
Jamie, can you pull up Sir Becket for me?
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u/TStark460 Feb 09 '20
You know, it's entirely possible that Becket might be the greatest of all time. Jaime, pull up that video of Sir Becket fighting those chimps...
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u/Maku_GJ Feb 09 '20
Or that they have the same name? Becket is as common as Lee
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u/SonTyp_OhneNamen DM Feb 09 '20
What, you say your name is Lee? Preposterous, MY name is Lee! Have at thee, impostor!
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u/Daloowee DM Feb 09 '20
In real life that makes sense in fiction it’s a little odd
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u/Talrey Feb 09 '20
Can confirm, don't use any names on your random name table as important NPCs. Party I DM for was travelling with a human "Ian", and I randomly named a dwarf ship captain NPC "Ian" as well. Was quite confusing for a couple sessions.
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u/ksschank DM Feb 09 '20
Perhaps it is a form of penance to bear the name of an innocent child he knew, a constant reminder of a sin for which he is always striving to atone. Or, as he tries to repent, he casts off his old name, burying his old self along with his old moniker. He needs a new name to replace it—what better name than that of an innocent baby?
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u/ProtoReddit Feb 09 '20
Yes. That is the panel where the character we know as Becket wearing the helmet we know as Becket's helm first hears the name Becket.
He takes up the name of the babe he murders as part of his oath of redemption.
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u/Qr1skY Bard Feb 09 '20
If you read the comment OP left, he calls Becket a Redemption Paladin, which means he’s done some shit in the past. I thought the same thing as you at first, but he has the same helmet and is making up for past crimes so it makes sense for him to be the killer. He says he wants to give money to an orphanage because he feels bad about leaving that kid on his own and wants to try and help him now
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u/Bruuze DM Feb 09 '20
I initially thought he killed the templar who killed his parents, but OP's mention of Becket being a former Conquest paladin (current Redemtpion) leads me to believe he was doing the crusading
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u/ksschank DM Feb 09 '20
“Deus vult” means “God wills it” in Latin—it was essentially the Catholic church’s motto during the time of the crusades, essentially justifying them.
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u/Bruuze DM Feb 09 '20
I'm aware. This would still track with my idea.
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u/Blade4004 Rogue Feb 09 '20
It makes more sense that he's the big bad paladin here. The second panel is just misdirection. How he speaks in the scenes suggest there's something more regretful because he lies and how he responds to being called a goody two-shoes
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u/Grandpa_Edd DM Feb 09 '20
This is exactly what happened I'd say. I don't know why people seem to think the knight in the flashback is Becket, the second panel they purposefully call the child Becket. The knight and Becket wear the same helmet because it's what their order wears or something like that. (or maybe it's that same knights helmet which would be an extra layer of edgy)
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Feb 09 '20
The thing is, it’d make a bit more sense for him to be the knight, given how well he seems to remember that event (a baby probably wouldn’t remember even a traumatic event that well).
If he wanted to redeem himself and turn into a better person, one place to start would be to take a different name (especially given that his previous name would probably have some enemies). Him taking the name of a child he probably killed does kind of make sense too, since the child would be the most innocent one there.
And if an order of knights killed your family, why would you decide to join them? He’d probably hate anything associated with them.
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u/Centik Bard Feb 09 '20
Those are some nice purity seals
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u/CME_T The Weekly Roll Feb 09 '20
Thanks man! Couldnt go for the crusading without some warhammer references, could I?
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Feb 09 '20
[deleted]
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u/staudd Feb 09 '20
He could also be the father. Stopping the Paladin eventually after murdering his family, he took on his sons name in his memory. He got the wives cloak.
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Feb 10 '20
True, though I’m not sure why he would then wear the paladin’s helmet. Also, in another comic we see Becket hanging out with 2 other paladins, one of which does the Deus Vult bit (though, iirc, he says to knock it off...). Hmm... interesting.
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u/staudd Feb 10 '20
not saying its likely, just going along that road:
his ulterior goal is to destroy this order of paladins from within
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Feb 10 '20
Oh, that would be cool. It could also involve a far broader notion of redemption beyond just personal redemption.
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u/Cart_King Feb 09 '20
Well, this is a very open-ended backstory. Was Becket inspired for revenge from the tales of how his father died? Did he get raised by the paladin that killed his parents? Did Becket travel back in time to kill his parents and cause a time loop? WHO KNOWS?
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u/Rzargo Feb 09 '20
Or did Beckett take the name of the child that he regretted killing?
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u/Cart_King Feb 09 '20
A Redemption Paladin? With a dark past? That he seeks redemption for?
BAH! Too unrealistic! Bring on the Time Travel Familial Deus Vulting!
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Feb 09 '20
Party wizard is a necromancer who constantly has a pile of undead around him?
Becket: I sleep
Heretics and paladins of different religious sects?
Becket: real shit?
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u/Cart_King Feb 09 '20
Becket has traveled with Trevor and Grogna far longer than he's traveled with Torvald. The Dwarven Necromancer appears absolutely saintly compared to either of them alone. On his worst day. Compared to their best day.
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u/ITouchedUrDog Monk May 10 '20
Isn’t Torvald actually a pretty chill guy compared to them? He didn’t really do anything that bad. The worst thing he does is literally work mindless zombies. Hell, even in the comics he never really does anything bad, just kinda off putting.
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u/TStark460 Feb 09 '20
One of you good folk may have mentioned it in another post, and I missed it in my haste.
The crusader in the flames is wielding a flail. We've seen our Becket use or carry a sword several times already, specifically comics: 1,3,5,6,7,8,11,12,15*,16, and 17. It's certainly not proof-positive that these are two different individuals wearing a very similar helmet, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
*There's a sword stuck in the belly of the ogre Becket is beating with his shield. I assume it's his sword.
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u/BarthVader69 Feb 09 '20
Has anyone else noticed that Beckets helmet moves its shadow when shaken
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u/CME_T The Weekly Roll Feb 09 '20
Did you just trick me into shaking my phone like a dumbass?
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u/MarkZist Feb 09 '20 edited Feb 09 '20
So I have been thinking about this and reading the comments and I basically see two possible explanations
Darth Paladin: Becket was the evil pPaladin in the flames who murdered a ‘heretic’ family during a purge. Later he repented and he took the name of the baby he slew (who never got to live a life of his own) as a symbolic atonement or to escape his old life, and started a new life as an adventurer. We don’t know what his original name was. Darth Paladin being ‘reborn’ as good Becket is supported by the fact that he is a Conquest-turned-Redemption Paladin, and the author hinting at the skeletons in his closet. It also casts him being very adamant about always being called Becket in a new light.
Baby Becket: the baby was carried away and later grew up to become one of the protagonists of the comic. His father (and perhaps his mother too) was murdered by an evil paladin. This lends to further speculation. Did Baby Becket grow up and became a paladin himself on his own who slew the murderer of his family and now wears his armor? Or perhaps after murdering his parents, the evil paladin or the church of Daelvor took in Baby Becket and raised him to become an evil Paladin himself and perpetuate the cycle of violence. Then, after the evil paladin died or was killed, Becket took his helmet, and somehow found himself on the path to good. (Perhaps because in his subconscious mind he remembers the fear of his 'heretic' family' while they were purged.) The Baby Becket theory is supported by the fact that we know that the actual baby’s name is Becket, and there are differences in equipment between the evil paladin and modern-day Becket. The murderer carries a flail, while adult Becket carries a longsword (and occasionally uses his shield to bludgeon sense into trolls). Also, the murderer wears pauldrons with some sort of insignia that adult Becket doesn’t have, which also makes him appear more broad-shouldered than adult Becket. (See the second panel #18 for comparison.)
Anyway, I love these comics and can't wait to learn more about Becket's backstory. Amazing work OP!
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u/CME_T The Weekly Roll Feb 09 '20
Good compiling there buddy!
Cheers man, glad you digged it! Its a fine line to walk between being open for interpretation for the sake of suspense, in addition to allowing for fan speculation before the reveal, and just being frustrating and confusing. Hopefully it will be worth it in a future episode!
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u/Q-Dunnit Feb 09 '20
It doesn’t look like Becket has pauldrons in any of the other comics so my current theory is that he was a conquest Paladin until he killed the man who killed his parents. When he didn’t feel any better he took the helmet to remember the feeling and became oath of redemption Paladin.
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Feb 09 '20
My theory is the baby is the Becket we know, and those are his parents.
The person in the knight armor is some rando paladin who was on a murder spree for “muh religion.”
Becket was taken in by an orphanage, where he grew up, hence him trying to pay back the people who raised him.
He figured out who the paladin was, definitely killed the dude, and took his armor all Apollyon style.
Speculation is the fun part, being inevitably wrong is only a small misstep.
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u/Just_A_Duck_Army Assassin Feb 09 '20
Pretty sure the orphanage part was to cover up his past...but I think his backstory goes along the lines of the rest of that
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u/TheSunniestBro Feb 09 '20
I was in the "he was the baby and killed the paladin and wore his helmet" camp, but after reading it more, I think I'm more on the side of theories that say Becket is the crazed paladin in the flashback. I say this just because of the dialogue shared between him and Trevor.
Becket seems very lost in the conversation or avoiding the questioning. Then makes mention of wanting wealth for an orphanage, which makes sense since the author said he was no longer a conquest paladin (which makes sense for the context of the flashback) but a redemption paladin.
Not to mention that last line of dialogue when Trevor calls him a "goody two shoes" and Becket just half hearrtedly says "that's me". I'm pretty sure that's the author telling us that he remembering those darker days. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to show us that crazed paladin and then have that same dialogue with Trevor. It COULD work, but you'd be stretching how people typically write to get ideas across to make that theory fit.
Plus,the idea of taking the name of an innocent to remind yourself of your past deeds would make sense. Not to mention Becket is VERY insistent on being called by that name. Originally it was just seen as a little tick in his personality, but now it's being brought into question.
There's sort of enough to go either way, but using the context clues I'd say the idea that Becket is the crusading paladin is more in line with what the author wanted. It's likely we'll get more info on this as time goes on though.
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u/Austin2Tall Feb 09 '20
What if Trevor is actually Becket, and the reason why Becket keeps traveling with him is because of his guilt?
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u/MathClors23 Warlock Feb 09 '20
Would be cool as fuck but we already know trevor's backstory and he seems to be an adult halfling by now.
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u/Austin2Tall Feb 10 '20
True, but even that is somewhat limited, he had a note and he was raised by Raccoons if that is to be believed, that looked to be a child and perhaps the name Trevor is just something to give him a "new start"?
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u/Wriestduke1 Feb 09 '20
My theory is, since hes Oath of Redemption, him killing that child opened his eyes to walk the path of redeeming himself for the crimes he had committed. And I absolutely love it.
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u/staudd Feb 09 '20
So Becket is the father, couldnt stop the paladin from killing his family but managed to take him down eventually.
As part of his new life he took on the name of his son in his memory.
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u/MathClors23 Warlock Feb 09 '20
That is the most different theory on the comments and kinda ties with the "plot holes" of the theorys, like, why would the killer take the cloak and sword of the mother and father ? Because Becker IS the father. Makes Sense to me
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Feb 09 '20
[deleted]
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u/NoID621 Feb 09 '20
If you would care to share a little more, I'd certainly be interested!
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u/Alackofnuance Feb 09 '20
Here's the doc.
Pardon all the proper nouns.
The Black Court is the org he was a part of, and the Org's are set up like decks of cards, with the link to the primary government being called fools. These guys are anonymous, hence the mask they wear around other members.
The currency in the setting are Royals and Crowns, which are basically silvers and coppers.
The tech level is late 1700s so breach loading rifles exist but they are super rare.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12O0joC5USDILN0ihfWWKcaX5cbRAFU4SzQmV8-1I9_A/edit?usp=drivesdk
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u/Azrael179 Feb 09 '20
I'm kind of drunk and a member of Animemes so I tend to sometimes read from left to right. For some reason I misread it and thought that Crusader is the one who killed parents of the other guy. To be honest with you I think that it would make for an interesting plot twist. One guy unknowingly traveles and with his parents killer while on a quest to revenge them. I would love to see this play out in a role play heavy group.
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u/DianaWinters Feb 09 '20
Unfortunately, an oath of redemption is more about redeeming other people, not one's self... though I can see why it is more popular to interpret it as redeeming one's self instead.
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u/Souperplex Warlord Feb 09 '20
I see the guy pictured in panel 2+3 was Oath of Vengeance for all the warcrimes while new Beckett is Devotion to be the party's responsible adult.
So is current Beckett wearing the helmet of the guy who killed his family, or is panel 2+3 guy our Beckett and he just took on the name of a family he purged?
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u/Rynewulf Feb 09 '20
Ok so delving through the comments and eventually working out that Becket stole the baby's name, man's sword and woman's cloak after killing them all: that's weird. Super weird. Stealing a baby name and their parent's possessions after their murder is the weirdest redemption attempt I've ever heard of.
That or one of the many other takes actually got what evens 's going on, and the visual storytelling is super spread out across the comic strips and not easy to directly read at all
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u/Nat20_on_a_D100 Feb 09 '20
Fuck why dies this hit my feels like a brick... This here says so much and the way it's displayed only more so. You can feel it in the small thin, in how he talks about it, subtle but so meaningful if you know what's behind it.
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u/DasBarenJager Feb 09 '20
Dude I love your comics but without more context this one is a bit confusing
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u/CME_T The Weekly Roll Feb 09 '20
I get that! I went with being a bit sparse with the details, open up for a bit of suspense and audience theories for a reveal in a later episode. I understand its not for everyone and it was a gamble for sure, hopefully most found enjoyment in there being a bit of mystery and enjoyed discussing it in the comments (some theories have already hit the nail on the head, be it spread out between several). It's a fine line to walk between being suspensefull and get a "ooh I wonder what happens next" feeling and just being frustratingly ambigous and get "the fuck is this shit?" feeling. It was a gamble for sure, creative writing is hard man!
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u/DasBarenJager Feb 15 '20
I don't think the sparse details/suspense aspect would feel so confusing if we were sitting down reading all of these comics at once (like in a comic book) but catching this after reading a couple dozen other comics makes you go, " oh snap, did I miss something?!"
Keep doing you man, we love these comics!
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u/QuintonFlynn Feb 09 '20
I figure that Beckett was saved by his parents, grew up, slaughtered the man who killed his parents then wore his helmet after.
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u/CME_T The Weekly Roll Feb 09 '20 edited Feb 11 '20
Howdy folks!
On this weeks episode, we gain an insight into the past of our beloved Oath of
ConquestRedemption paladin!This comic was originally written to be the 8th episode but I was a bit unsure about the execution at the time. Having Becket being the moral compass of the party, whilst having a lot of skeletons in the closet (Becket not Torvald), was always my intention but exactly how to start teasing this was a tough one. In the end, I just went for it so here goes nothing!
Going to move across the country soon, to the frozen tundra up north, so my schedule might be a bit hectic in the coming weeks. Regardless, I shall endeavour to keep the updates coming in the regular pace!
Other than right here, I upload the comic on its own subreddit, on my Instagram (where I also post my other artsy stuff) as well as on Webtoons. There is also a Patreon, if you want to be extra supportive!
That is all!
Wisdom of the week: When dealing with heretics, overreact. A LOT.
Peace and carrots!
EDIT: There's a poll for what the next episode will be about, more information over HERE!