Father Gascoigne

Father Gascoigne is a hunter of Yharnam who came from a foreign land, a towering man wielding a Hunter's Axe and a Hunter's Pistol who guards the players entryway into Oedon Chapel. His title of "Father" hails from the clergy of a foreign land though it is not recognised within the ranks of the Healing Church. Although he appears to be capable of speech and movement like that of a normal human being, the realisation soon dawns on the player that this once proud hunter has long since abandoned his sanity, his humanity and his loved ones in favour of mindless bloodshed.

## In-Game Description

*This information comes directly from the game, or from official supporting materials.*

Gascoigne's Dialogue

*Opening Cutscene:
 "..Beasts all over the shop, you'll be one of them, sooner or later..."*
*Midway through the fight:
 "...What's that smell?
 "The sweet blood, oh, it sings to me."
 "It's enough to make a man sick..."*
*Killing the player:
 "Too proud to show your true face eh ?
 "But a sporting hunt, it was !"*
*Upon deafeat:
 "...Forgive me..."*

Dialogue Referring To Gascoigne

*Eileen about Gascoigne after killing Henryk:
 "...You must've killed Gascoigne as well then. He was falling apart...I'm sure it had to be done."*
*Little Yharnam girl at Central Yharnam window:
 "...Daddy never came back from the hunt and she went to find him, but now she’s gone too I’m afraid...."
 Accepting her request to find her parents:
 "If you find my mum, give her this musicbox. It plays one of daddy’s favorite songs. And when daddy forgets us, we play it for him so he remembers."*

Gascoigne's Set Item Description

*Gascoigne's Cap:
 Hunter attire worn by Father Gascoigne.
 Similar to the hunter garb created at the workshop, only these are tainted by a pungent beastly stench that eats away at Gascoigne.
 "Father" is a title used for clerics in a foreign land, and there is no such rank in the Healing Church.*
*Gascoigne's Garb:
 Hunter attire worn by Father Gascoigne.
 The Dingy scarf is a Holy Shawl and symbol of the Healing Church, from which Gascoigne would eventually part ways.
 "Father" is a title used for clerics in a foreign land, and there is no such rank in the Healing Church.*
*Gascoigne's Gloves:
 *See Gascoigne's Cap description**
*Gascoigne's trousers:
 *See Gascoigne's Cap description**

Item Descriptions Referring to Gascoigne

*Tiny Music Box:
 A small music box received from a young Yharnam girl. Plays a song shared by her mother and father.
 Inside the lid is a small crap of paper, perhaps an old message. Two names can be made out, however faintly.
 Viola and Gascoigne.*
*Red Jeweled Brooch:
 A woman's bright-red brooch, engraved with the name Viola.
 Perhaps the jewel is a gift from a hunter. Use to change into a droplet blood gem that fortifies any weapon.
 With the proper workshop tool, various weapons can be fortified.*
*Henryk's Hunter Set:
 Hunter's attire worn by Henryk, the old hunter.
 The taciturn old hunter Henryk was once partners with Father Gascoigne, and though they were a fierce and gallant duo, their partnership led to Henryk's tragically long life.
 Henryk's unique yellow garb is resistant to bolt and will be of great help to any hunter who has inherited the onus of the hunt.*

## Description

*A summary about this subject, with minimal speculation.*

Father Gascoigne is a human hunter who hails from a foreign land and came to Yharnam, presumably in the search for a treatment for an ailment that afflicted him at the time of his arrival. The title of "Father" is derived from the clergy of a foreign land but the Church does not recognise it. Gascoigne would eventually come to work under the Healing Church, his Dingy scarf being proof of his work under their banner. Working alongside the old hunter Henryk, the two made a formidable duo that would cleanse the streets of Yharnam effectively. Eventually however, Gascoigne would separate from the Church and his partnership with Henryk for reasons unknown. Prior to the player arriving in Yharnam, Gascoigne would marry a woman named Viola with whom he has two daughters. Nightly he would embark on hunts to cleanse the city of the beastly scourge. One night however, he would depart on a hunt that would end in his demise. His wife, worried after he hasn't returned home, went in search of him but forgetting the music box that keeps him grounded to his humanity, she would fall to her beloved as he blindly killed all that would come near him.

## Player Interaction

*A short summary about the players interaction with this subject, with minimal lore speculation.*

Father Gascoigne is the first mandatory boss of the game and the player hunter meets encounters him at Oedon Tomb. He has an imposing figure, towering over the player and although he is capable of speech, he sees the Good Hunter as nothing more than an eventuality, a beast that is hiding in human form for now. So, bereft of all his sanity, Gascoigne engages us in fierce combat. Wiedling a Hunter's Axe and the Hunter's Pistol, Gascoigne quickly demonstrates his prowess as a hunter. It is only halfway through the battle that the bloodlust overtakes him and he embraces his bestial nature. Now abandoning all semblance of humanity, he trashes around wild, screaming and howling at the player. Of the once proud hunter, nothing remained. However, it appears that he still left some humanity inside his lycynthrope form for when the player vanquishes him, he manages to choke out a barely discernible "Forgive me". Perhaps a prayer to the gods of his homeland or to the Great Ones, perhaps a prayer to his loved ones, whom he has now left orphaned or perhaps a prayer to his wife, whom he slew, steeped in the stench of blood and decay. With his death, we are granted access to Oedon Chapel. A corpse can be found near said entrance, the corpse of his wife, whom he slew in cold blood, the Red Jeweled Brooch which his daugher told the Good Hunter about can be found on said corpse. With his death, his kids are now orphaned, alone on a brutal night of the Hunt.

## Interaction With Related NPCs And Extended Quest Line

The first possible interaction possible with Father Gascoigne is being able to summon him as an NPC ally against Cleric Beast. However, attempts to bring Father Gascoigne along to his own boss fight will result in him using the silencing blank to exit the world as soon as the player enters the sewers. However, there is an extended quest line involving some of his family and other NPCs.

The Hunter can meet his daughter at a window in Central Yharnam. Upon meeting her, she will ask him to find her mother for her since her mother has not come back from looking for her father. She further remarks that her mother forget to bring the Tiny Music Box along with her that she usually carries along quite often. The music box is then handed to the player and the inscription reads "viola and Gascoigne", clearly indicating that these two are the parents of the little girl at the window. Afraid, she asks the Good Hunter to look for her parents but by the time the Hunter meets Gascoigne, it is clear that he has abandoned reasoning in favor of violence. Steeped in the blood of his fallem victims, he mindlessly attacks the player and after he is slain, the corpse of his loving wife, who has come to search for her husband can be found on the rooftop of a nearby house. On her body the Red Jeweled Brooch can be found, an indication that this woman clearly was the mother. By killing Gascoigne, the Good Hunter has orphaned the little girl and it is then possible to give the brooch to her. Having now lost both of her parents and being told what fate befell them, she cries out in anguish, now alone in this cruel world on a brutal night of the Hunt. However tragic this may be, this is not the end.

If the player talks to Imposter Iosefka and Agatha, the Chapel Dweller after slaying Father Gascoigne, it becomes possible to send the little girl to either place. Wherever the Good Hunter chooses to send her, this story only can end in tragedy as upon sending her to the clinic, she'll become subjected to one of Iosefka's horrifying experiments, transforming her into a Celestial Emissary and forever losing her humanity. When sent to the Chapel, the little girl will try to reach the place by going through the sewers. That unfortunately, it will never come to pass as when she enters the sewers, the Maneater Boar hiding in the dank shadows will descend upon her, feasting on her and leaving nothing but a Red Ribbon that the Good Hunter can then retrieve by slaying the grotesque Boar.

The Good Hunter, only trying to do his best in a world of cruelty and violence, has now ended an entire bloodbline but all is not lost, since the happy family has another daughter. Maybe the Gascoigne bloodline gets to continue, perhaps the remaining daughter will survive to tell tales of her brave father, her loving mother and adorable sister.
The Hunter can meet the older sister after slaying Rom, the Vaccuous Spider. Rom hides the Mensis Ritual that beckons the Blood Moon into the Waking World and if the little girl has been sent to the chapel, the Red Messenger Ribbon can be obtained by slaying the Boar responsible for her death. Upon giving the ribbon to her older sister, she too will cry out in anguish, now completely alone, the only rememberance of her once dear family is a bloodied ribbon. However, her sadness is not as it seems, as when the player leaves the window, the sister will laugh out maniacally, gushing about how the Ribbon is now finally hers. Perhaps she was always jealous of it, perhaps the Blood Moon has driven her insane. The tragedy seems neverending as when the Hunter visits the window again, no one is there to greet him. The only thing remaining is the corpse of the older sister on the pavement below. Under the influence of the Blood Moon or perhaps disgusted by her own words regarding her once beloved younger sibling, she has flung herself from the roof, now a bloodied corpse on the ground, a White Messenger Ribbon can be found on her corpse.
Thus the Gascoigne family has found its end.

When all is said and done, perhaps it would've been better to keep silent and let the siblings wait out the night until another morning comes. After all, *Secrets are secret for a reason. And some do not wish to see them uncovered.*

An additional questline involving the brave Hunter of Hunter, Eileen, ties into the lore of Gascoigne, however only minorly so. After opening the gates in Cathedral Ward, Eileen can be found outside Oedon Chapel. She talks to the Good Hunter, warning him not to descend into the Tomb of Oedon since her target, the old hunter Henryk, the once partner of Gascoigne has been driven mad and must be taken out. Henryk, perhaps learning of the death of his old comerade went mad with grief. Eileen, now past her prime is still looking to end him. The Good Hunter chooses to help Eileen in her endeavour and after Henryk is slain, she remarks that Gascoigne's mental state has been deteriorating and that it was better this way. With Henryk gone, Gascoigne's family and closest ally have been sent into the afterlife.

## Theories

It has been postulated by many people that Viola, the wife of Gascoigne may be Henryk's daughter. The description of some items mentions the old hunter and Gascoigne parting ways, perhaps it was due to him falling in love with Viola. Henryk is reffered to as being very old, tragically so even, perhaps the reason he was driven mad to the point of needing to be taken out by a Hunter of Hunters was because his daughter was slain at the hands of his past brother in arms.

Another theory regarding the family of Gascoigne and his family is that the older sister is not actually related to them. The little Yharnam girl never mentions an older oister in her dialogue with her good hunter and the older sister clearly covets the ribbon of her younger sibling in an unhealthy, obsessive way. Perhaps she was not related to Gascoigne at all but was a girl from the neighbourhood, clearly jealous of the ribbon the the young daughter posessed.

## References

1. Thank you to bloodborne-wiki for their hard work gathering lore notes, item descriptions and dialogue.