Abandoned as a baby on the streets of Sigil, Tobers was brought to the Orphanarium of St. Drybyrn in the lower ward. Throughout his time there he had trouble fitting in with the other children. The glowing runes that orbitted his head marked him out as different, even among the tieflings, half elves and half orcs that filled the small orphanage. Preferring to spend his days with his head in a book rather than outside playing with the others, Tobers found the issues of biology and physiology fascinating. At age 7, he would capture insects that scurried along the floor of his room. At age 9, he was scolded by the head monk for trying to disect a rat using the dinner utensils. At age 13, he was caught testing various home-made chemical solutions on a young and particularly stupid half orc. These incidents and others prompted the head of the orphanage to have Tobers enrolled at the University for Planar Studies. There he would go on to be a diligent, though sometimes unsociable researcher.

Throwing himself into his studies, Tobers excelled in most of his classes, particularly those relating to experimentation and dissection. A voracious reader, he spent most of his free time in the library and between that and the study chambers, he was content at the school. In his seventh year, Tobers was selected for the University's field experience program. The program involved undergraduates being assigned to an adventuring party to go out and explore the planes, bringing back new samples and writing research papers along the way. Having spent most of his life until that point avoiding going outdoors if at all possible, Tobers was horrified by the prospect of spending several months or possibly years wandering the planes. Sneaking into the chemistry classrooms after classes were finished, Tobers set about mixing up a vial of mild poison. Drinking it the morning he was due to depart, he was hospitalized for several days, missing his rendezvous with the adventuring party. Over the next 20 years, Tobers' name was drawn several more times for the field work program. Incidents ranging from missing equipment to a minor incursion from one of the lower planes prevented Tobers from successfully taking part in any of the programs, much to the annoyance of the Dean. After avoiding the field work Tobers went happily back to his studies in the labs.