it has begun

For those less familiar with Brennan's prior DMing, Cloudward Ho! was one of the recent Dimension 20 seasons that Brennan DM'd on Dropout.tv. That season is particularly relevant to why I think Thjazi acting horribly is on the table.

Cloudward, Ho! was a season of a pulp adventure late-1800s-ish steampunk novel played in D&D. Decades back, Comfrey MacLeod became a world-famous adventurer and inventor. She created the first flying machine, then recruited a crew to explore the world, frequently saving it in the process, and one of the crew wrote novels based on them, making them all famous. Years later, the PCs are the core members of her old crew, now coming out of retirement because Comfrey's granddaughter and the grandson of her primary financier discovered a SOS message from Comfrey that she needed help and had found the fabled lost continent of Zood. The audience is essentially in the same boat as the two youngest PCs as we gradually learn the truth of Comfrey's adventures and her relationships with her old crew.

The PCs go on many adventures in their attempts to find Comfrey, eventually traveling to Zood and beyond. Comfrey is constantly one step ahead, having fled danger and leaving clues. As the PCs catch up, they find more and more information confirming that Comfrey has not changed: she legitimately does save the world as often as she can and at great risk to herself and her crew, but she also invites danger by making deals with nefarious organizations, taking their money, and running when they come to collect, often causing incredible collateral damage to others. One of those factions nearly ended the world, and she had no idea.

Brennan did a very gradual build of discordant information about Comfrey. All of the recordings and writings were full of energy, zest for life and adventure, and encouraged her granddaughter to follow in her footsteps. However, people who knew her had a wide variety of opinions. Comfrey's son was a recluse and obsessed with safety, and his daughter simply didn't understand why he wasn't interested in adventure like she was. Marya, Comfrey's protoge and former captain, was on a suicidal quest of revenge, believing that she had offended the spirits for taking to the skies because her own protoge had died, and she blamed Comfrey for saving her life in the accident when it happened. Daisuke, Comfrey's former husband, felt abandoned because Comfrey had treated him like a dog who needed to retire. Van, one of Comfrey's closest crewmates, lost her arm on a mission to find Zood and was left behind after Comfrey made her a mechanical arm. Monty, the author of the books, quietly resented Comfrey's irresponsibility and ego. The NPCs that met Comfrey were all treated as either useful or distractions, but her sheer charisma usually got her more help than not.

It's about halfway through the campaign before the granddaughter discovers one of Comfrey's notes where she rather cruelly criticizes her old crew in an explanation why she had not brought them with her to Zood. Until then, everything could have been disregarded as bitterness or jealousy that had fermented in the decades that passed. The truth was that Comfrey was not just a hero; she had put herself before everyone else, including her loved ones. She was egotistical to the point that she felt Monty had unfairly gotten rich and famous off of her adventures. Her son was a coward in her eyes and not worth visiting; Comfrey only went to visit her granddaughter in the hopes that she would take flight after her. Daisuke was past his prime. Comfrey had some regret towards what happened with Marya and Van, but didn't really care to give them closure or a chance to pursue it.

Comfrey wasn't a villain in the story. The PCs finally catch up, there is an explosion of emotion and dialogue, including some incredibly cruel statements by Comfrey--and they agree to work together. Comfrey is forced to face the harm she caused to everyone, and they have tough conversations about it, but don't really forgive and forget. While she dies in the final battle, it wasn't some grandiose heroic sacrifice. She just rolled badly and died. The PCs got their chance to reconcile, and the story was that the next generation learned from her mistakes.

That was the season that aired in 2025 during the gap between C3 and C4. Comfrey was not a good person, but she also wasn't evil. Calling her an abuser isn't a helpful label for addressing her themes. The horrid way she treated people who loved her didn't change that she literally saved the world numerous times. The fact that she loved them enough to reconcile didn't change that she had been too absorbed in her adventures to realize the threats she'd left in her wake.

So, having seen that season before C4, I am of the belief that Thjazi is yet another take on the complex hero. I would not be shocked in the least if Bolaire is being truthful about everything he's said about Thjazi.

I don't think that would take away from the story. I think it just means that it's a different story than what people expect of Brennan. As I've said a handful of times, Thjazi's story is that he failed. He died before he could achieve his goals, and the only reason he's still around is sheer chance. He doesn't have agency as Julien's shadow. He can't communicate. C4 is not a story that the PCs need to be like Thjazi because the opening scene showed us that being like Thjazi gets you killed too soon. I like this set up because Thjazi achieves narrative weight that is usually assigned to villains: he's an example of what not to do. The story is figuring out where he made the wrong choices.

That said, even if he did everything that Bolaire claims, calling Thjazi an "abuser" doesn't help interpret the story. When it comes to analysis, labels are useful when they have an agreed-upon definition. Using a word like abuser brings in a ton of baggage for anyone who reads it, and it becomes a discussion of, "Well, he's an abuser, so X must also be true." That drifts away from analyzing the story as is.

I don't think any of it makes Thjazi evil, even if Bolaire is 100% right. Bolaire is such a unique type of character that I cannot blame Thjazi for reacting poorly while still also allowing Bolaire his freedom. Bolaire still got to live the life he wanted. Whatever Thjazi's opinions or behaviors were, he didn't take away the things Bolaire wanted most. There was some level of trust there.

There's also the possibility that Bolaire and Thjazi deeply misunderstood each other to the point that they each thought the other was holding one over them. We don't know the details of how they actually worked together. Thimble does, but she hasn't been the type to blab about that sort of thing.

As for what I hope: I would really like it if Thjazi was that terrible to Bolaire. Brennan handled that wonderfully with Comfrey, and I'd like to see that come in again.

Much of C4 has been pointing out that every person, no matter how flawed or selfish or petty, can contribute to a revolution. Murray's a great example: she was so flabbergasted that Thjazi thought to ask Hal to help her because Murray thinks she's a shit person. She steals from the school she works at despite that it would obviously negatively impact the students whom she's so protective of. She's all three of those things and still making a huge difference in this rebellion. People don't need to be perfect to be heroes.

As a final note: I'm a whistleblower attorney. 95% of the people I work with are in it for (a) money, (b) revenge, or (c) avoiding consequences. Very few heroes are people who do it because they want to do the right thing. Moral purity doesn't really hold any ground in this business. People do the right thing because it's in their interest to do it, and that's great because that means the right thing gets done.