Halsin's Life Is Terrible When You Think About It A Bit - Tumblr Posts

It gets talked about fairly often that the player coming to help Halsin is a big part of why he falls for them so fast, but I think one part that gets overlooked is how lonely Halsin is- and how unused to being treated with kindness he is.

He talks about how he had few peers after the Shadow Curse. They all either died, or he had to distance himself to be the leader, and none could be true confidantes to him. He lost Thaniel to the curse for 100 years. When he was enslaved for three years, not only was that an isolating experience in and of itself, but he was chained in the matron and patron's bedchamber- he wouldn't have even had other slaves for company.

Again, he didn't get along particularly well the other Druids- Rath, Nettie and Apikusis are the only ones who speak positively of him- and the way he talks makes it sound like there might have been active animosity.

He was betrayed by Aradin's adventuring party, and even though the Tiefling refugees speak of him being a good man and having appreciated him allowing them into the Grove, they also refuse to speak with him after leaving the Grove, blaming him for them having to leave and being slaughtered in the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

The player isn't just the person who fixed Halsin's problems, they're also damn near the first friend he's had in a century, and more to the point, they're one of the very few people he's had treat him with genuine kindness in a long time. You're the first one to want him for being Halsin, to not just want what he can offer. You're the first person he can truly be himself around- the first person where he's allowed to make mistakes and not be castigated for it.

You're the first person to actually care about him in a very, very long time.