Howaardt Darrington

Howaardt Darrington is the current head of the Darrington family and the father of Taryon Darrington. As an NPC, Howaardt is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Howaardt is a human man in his late forties with short blond hair that is receding to show his somewhat oily forehead. He has two heavy sideburns framing his very hardened square jaw.

Personality
Howaardt has a violent disposition, from throwing chairs to hitting the ground when he feels defeated and/or frustrated. He values his name, reputation, and bloodline over the actual individuals in his family. He is also willing to blame others for his mistakes, particularly Taryon when it came to almost losing everything to the Myriad. Taryon's descriptions of him point to him being a "tyrant of a father," and therefore creating a toxic home environment, which Taryon repeatedly states was hard for his mother to live in. He is not a nice or pleasant man, overall, and shunned his son for his attraction to a man. This discomfort was highlighted by his later insistence that Taryon save their family name by marrying a wealthy and well-connected woman he had never met.

Maryanne Darrington
Howaardt favors his daughter Maryanne over his son, Taryon, and named her as his heir to the family business. They were alike in taste and personality. Given Taryon's comment that Maryanne used to hit him when he was younger, it seems they also share violent tendencies.

Mariya Darrington
Mariya is Howaardt's wife. It is implied by how Taryon talks about their relationship that he stifles her and creates a toxic living situation in which she does not have much of a say. When Mariya tells Taryon her real feelings about them potentially losing everything, she expresses a desire for Howaardt not to know she feels that way. This implies there is little room for her to express her own opinions. When he was angry at Taryon for proposing a new venture that was not the same as what would have happened if Taryon married a well-connected, wealthy woman against his will, Mariya objected. Howaardt ignored her intervention and pulled away from her. Their relationship does not seem to be a happy one.

Taryon Darrington
Taryon is a mama's boy who does not understand how Howaardt sees the world. That, along with Taryon's exclusive interest in men, drove a large rift between them, and Howaardt had issues connecting with his son or showing any affection toward him. Taryon firmly believed that his father hated him, due to their interactions. Howaardt does not seem to value Taryon's autonomy and tried to force him into an arranged marriage by abducting him in order to propose it to him.

Trivia

 * Matt described Howaardt as one of the "grossest" characters he has had to roleplay, along with Thoreau Lionett. Both were fathers of a player character. Incidentally, both also live in the Truscan Vale region of the Dwendalian Empire.