I've been thinking about this a bit and I'm just trying to piece some things together. Sorry if I'm incoherent:

Just how old is Reaver? When he and Sparrow escape through his rear passage he says that the last time he had to use it was "almost 200 years ago" when one of his girlfriends burned his house down. He must be older than 200, though, because we know (from a loading screen or something, I can't remember) he had to work his way up the criminal ladder until he killed the crime lord that lived in Bloodstone Mansion and claimed it for himself. He presumably got up to other misdeeds between the destruction of Oakvale and having his house burned down.

When exactly did the Guild fall? It must have been before the destruction of Oakvale, because The Fall of the Guild mentions the Oakvale Anti-Hero League. And remember, Reaver is from Oakvale, and a Hero. It does seem unlkely that he was alive when the Guild fell, though.

Did Reaver know he was a Hero before Sparrow, Lucien, et all came into his life? Hammer, as a sheltered Temple of Light monk, wouldn't have known until Theresa told her. While Garth, being an Old Kingdom scholar, must have known what he was, though he never told Lucien while they were working together.

Thoughts? Anyone?

How old is Reaver? I can't remember exactly, but the best way to figure this out is simple: the next time you're playing the game, pay close attention to Theresa's monologue as you walk through Wraithmarsh, when she chronicles the final destruction of Oakvale. Tack on about 20-30 years and you have Reaver's age.

 

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squidproquo:

You are a murdering machine, sir.

No, I don't have a sex change potion. But I do have this!

I don't think she gives a number of years. (I was playing this through on the weekend for this express purpose but my mother distracted me at exactly the wrong moment.) She says something to the effect of, "just when the people of Oakvale had managed to rebuild their township was destroyed for a second time". But how long would it have taken them to rebuild a town, and did they start right away?

On the first Fable it gets raided by Twin blade, burnt down and all the villagers killed. When you get older it gets rebuilt so i'm guessing Reaver was around during the time of the shadow court and when they destroyed the village since he has the seal. Also he must have been provided with the seal when he was an adult since it stops his aging. I'm also going to guess that Reaver was born after the development of guns aswell. He doesn't seem the type to use Bow and Arrows.

Also i have a question: When did the first wish of the spire take place? Before or after the first Fable?

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Jopperz:

i have a question: When did the first wish of the spire take place? Before or after the first Fable?

Before Fable since it was in the Old Kingdom. It destroys the world that was and what was left was the Albion you explore in Fable some centuries later. Otherwise Fable II would have been like Fallout 3 more than Fable II if the wish was made after Fable It was created (or used) by the Archons of Old (Old Kingdom), if you do some research in Fable The Lost Chapters you can find out more about the Archons....now onto this Reaver article..

Reaver is basically living on his little murky fountain of youth from the shadow court, there really isn't much noted which points to a birthday...he is just plainly old, but probably not as old as Theresa. I would guess he comes around the time of when "The Hero" passes away and Oakvale is still thriving for a few more years.

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"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and Virtue is doing it."

[Follow me on Twitter: @mystic_wolf83]

Ok. First off the first spire was first made in the Old Kingdom before an Archon used it and destroyed everything around it.

Secondly, i believe that Reaver made his deal with the Shadow Court only Slightly after your Heroes era ended in the first fable.
When you are traveling through his back passage he mentions something like 300 years since he thinks it last used. The game is 500 years after the first fable, so Reaver is most likely about 300-400 years old.

mystic_wolf83:

he is just plainly old, but probably not as old as Theresa. I would guess he comes around the time of when "The Hero" passes away and Oakvale is still thriving for a few more years.

That sounds about right. This is a bit clunky for me since I never played the first Fable, just heard a lot about it from the boards.

So Reaver could well have been alive during the fall of the Heroes' Guild. Despite the fact that he is a Hero, he could have escaped persecution because he was never a member (with his personality, I think that's a given). It's also possible that he didn't even know he was a Hero until Lucien showed up (like Hammer).

Actually i dont think that he is a hero. I think when they say "the hero of skill" , for example, they simply mean someone who happens to be particularly adept at a particular field.

All the heros from the first one were bound together by a common ancestry. So that would mean that your hero (from fable 2) would be distantly related to garth, reaver and hammer. So i doubt they are actually from heroic bloodline.

Well I do think there is some bloodline connection, since they make that sparkily light show. Or else why not just bring any old strong, skilled, or willful being to Hero Hill. There might be some blood, just very distant and unchanneled for a time, much how the Hero from Fable doesn't fully understand the potential of his bloodline until it is awakened. Same with your Hero, they are Heroes just they are in a "dormant" mode, that's my thoughts anyways.

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"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and Virtue is doing it."

[Follow me on Twitter: @mystic_wolf83]

Acryllis:

Actually i dont think that he is a hero. I think when they say "the hero of skill" , for example, they simply mean someone who happens to be particularly adept at a particular field.

You could be right. Is there a difference? I gave up and had a look at the fanwiki (which is not a deeply reliable source of information, I know). On the Heroes page it says: "It is very rare that a hero may possess control over all 3 of the Hero disciplines (Strength, Skill, and Will). However the Hero of Oakvale and the Hero of Bowerstone possess control over these 3 disciplines." I don't know where they're getting this from though.

I kind of thought that only Heroes were capable of using Will at all. (Except Lucien, who had to do all sorts of strange and unnatural things to himself and otherwise to get where he was by the end of the story.)

Acryllis:

All the heros from the first one were bound together by a common ancestry. So that would mean that your hero (from fable 2) would be distantly related to garth, reaver and hammer. So i doubt they are actually from heroic bloodline.

We don't know anything about Hammer's ancestry, just that she was found and adopted by the Abbott as a little girl. Garth is from Samarkand, so that's kind of up in the air as well. Reaver was originally from Oakvale (about 300-400 years ago, we seem to have established), so one could possibly make some sort of case for him being related to the hero of the first Fable.

Garth may be related to Thunders bloodline, who is also from Samarkand. Which in turn would make him from distant heroic bloodline.

mystic_wolf83:

There might be some blood, just very distant and unchanneled for a time, much how the Hero from Fable doesn't fully understand the potential of his bloodline until it is awakened. Same with your Hero, they are Heroes just they are in a "dormant" mode, that's my thoughts anyways.

That actually makes a lot of sense; thank you. Garth might be an exception, though. Given the nature of his research I think he had to have known what he was. Also, when he recovers his strength in the Spire after you kill the Commandant, he definitely knows what he's doing with his Will powers.

If you listen to his diary, page five -

"I awoke from the nightmare again. One would think that over 200 years would suffice to blunt it's steel. But still I see Oakvale devoured by shadows..."

20-30 years old when he made the deal, saw the destruction, had a personality flip to cope with what he did ("But I am not he. I am Reaver" - reave = to take away by violence or by stealth; to snatch away; to rob; to despoil; to bereave, etc.), runs off to Bloodstone, lives the life of crime, kills the Pirate King and celebrates with a nice little orgy... I don't think it would've taken him too long to work his way up.

So I'd say he's about 250 years old, give or take 20 years.

Jezehbelle:

If you listen to his diary, page five -

"I awoke from the nightmare again. One would think that over 200 years would suffice to blunt it's steel. But still I see Oakvale devoured by shadows..."

20-30 years old when he made the deal, saw the destruction, had a personality flip to cope with what he did ("But I am not he. I am Reaver" - reave = to take away by violence or by stealth; to snatch away; to rob; to despoil; to bereave, etc.), runs off to Bloodstone, lives the life of crime, kills the Pirate King and celebrates with a nice little orgy... I don't think it would've taken him too long to work his way up.

So I'd say he's about 250 years old, give or take 20 years.

Huh. Well, if the last time he used his escape tunnel was about 200 years ago, that was an awfully quick personality inversion and rise to power on his part. But then this is Reaver we're talking about, so that pretty much makes sense.

Does anyone know what Theresa says when you first go through Wraithmarsh? I don't think she gives a number of years, but I did think she said that Oakvale was destroyed for the second time not long after it was rebuilt. It had to have been after the fall of the Heroes' Guild or there wouldn't have been a Oakvale Anti-Hero League. But Oakvale was apparently rebuilt during the original Fable.

It's also entirely possible that Lionhead didn't really add this up themselves. I'm totally giving myself a headache.

"This used to be Oakvale, though it has changed radically since I saw it last."

"And that was a long time ago. It has seen many a cruel deed."

"Six hundred years ago, bandits attacked the village and burned it to the ground."

"The survivors rebuilt their lives... only to have it destroyed a second and final time."

"A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends, everyone he loved."

"And now the marsh has engulfed the village, and Oakvale is nothing but a bitter memory."

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"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and Virtue is doing it."

[Follow me on Twitter: @mystic_wolf83]

mystic_wolf83:

"This used to be Oakvale, though it has changed radically since I saw it last." "And that was a long time ago. It has seen many a cruel deed." "Six hundred years ago, bandits attacked the village and burned it to the ground." "The survivors rebuilt their lives... only to have it destroyed a second and final time." "A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends, everyone he loved." "And now the marsh has engulfed the village, and Oakvale is nothing but a bitter memory."

My memory failed me then. Thank you, comrade.

Roseblight:

Jezehbelle:

If you listen to his diary, page five -

"I awoke from the nightmare again. One would think that over 200 years would suffice to blunt it's steel. But still I see Oakvale devoured by shadows..."

20-30 years old when he made the deal, saw the destruction, had a personality flip to cope with what he did ("But I am not he. I am Reaver" - reave = to take away by violence or by stealth; to snatch away; to rob; to despoil; to bereave, etc.), runs off to Bloodstone, lives the life of crime, kills the Pirate King and celebrates with a nice little orgy... I don't think it would've taken him too long to work his way up.

So I'd say he's about 250 years old, give or take 20 years.

Huh. Well, if the last time he used his escape tunnel was about 200 years ago, that was an awfully quick personality inversion and rise to power on his part. But then this is Reaver we're talking about, so that pretty much makes sense.

Does anyone know what Theresa says when you first go through Wraithmarsh? I don't think she gives a number of years, but I did think she said that Oakvale was destroyed for the second time not long after it was rebuilt. It had to have been after the fall of the Heroes' Guild or there wouldn't have been a Oakvale Anti-Hero League. But Oakvale was apparently rebuilt during the original Fable.

It's also entirely possible that Lionhead didn't really add this up themselves. I'm totally giving myself a headache.

Page five is really the only glimpse of Reaver's life before Reaver we have. A man, scared of death, makes the proverbial deal with the d, not to age or die, and in return, the woman he loved, his family, friends, everyone, died a horrible, unnatural death.
In front of his eyes.
Because of him.

Now, if that doesn't screw someone up big time, I don't know what would. Before he even takes his first step into Bloodstone, he's destroyed a whole town, maybe the only one that counts -- how much does it matter to be nice then?

600 years ago - Bandit attack/Start of Fable
300 or so years ago - Fall of the Guild (the Oakvale Anti-Hero League calls Jack of Blades a "threat of old")
225 or so years ago - Destruction of Oakvale
205 '' - Reaver becomes Pirate King.

I think.

I think so too. Thanks for writing up a timeline, that's cleared everything up I think. I also like your explanation for Reaver; he's not a likeable character, but he certainly is interesting.

mystic_wolf83:

"A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends, everyone he loved."

Reaver killed every one or the Shadow court did?

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Jopperz:

mystic_wolf83:

"A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends, everyone he loved."

Reaver killed every one or the Shadow court did?

Reaver made the deal to be young forever in exchange for sacrifices. However the shadow court decided to destroy oakvale for some reason and the swamp (formerly known as Darkwood) engulfed Oakvale and became known as Wraithmarsh.

Jopperz:

mystic_wolf83:

"A new threat came from within. A reckless young villager made a deal with the forces of shadow who took the lives of every other resident as payment. All of his family, all of his friends, everyone he loved."

Reaver killed every one or the Shadow court did?

Got the text directly from the subtitles...the way it is structured and said looks like the shadows killed everyone.

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"Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Skill is knowing how to do it, and Virtue is doing it."

[Follow me on Twitter: @mystic_wolf83]