Cathryn Nesteruk's page

About Cathryn Nesteruk

Cathryn Nesteruk, level 1 half-orc barbarian, level 1 druid. Favored class: Druid +1 skill point. Neutral/Good.

“Most people look at a half-orc barbarian and they think that we're all the same; mindless, violent savages who care only for the next fight. They shouldn't think that way. They also think half-orcs have no society of their own and drift between human and orcish worlds. But that wasn't true of my people.”
“Yes, I am what most of you would call a savage. But not to me. In my eyes, I have learned how to survive in the wilderness. You see, while I came from orcs, I came from an outpost of benign half-orc nature-mages and defenders who made a home here in these woods. They never harmed anyone and guarded something here. It was important, but I didn't know what it was. Only the top echelon of hierophants knew.
“All I knew was that I am the last survivor of this once proud tribe, murdered by a band of marauders who wanted our secret for themselves. They attacked us in the middle of the night, and they slew us all. I survived only because my nanny came to me in the middle of the night and spirited me away to the deep woods.
“When I awoke and made my way home, everyone was dead, with the survivors dragged off in chains, and our outpost burned to the ground, along with much of our forest.
“I alone survived without being taken prisoner. But I know the epic stories of our people, and I remember the books mother taught me to read as a child. One day, I will find the survivors of my people and I will rescue them, or their heirs.
“And I will learn the secrets of the magic that my people knew and restore us to our former glory. And, perhaps, I'll learn the secret that was worth murdering us all for. I don't know what I'll do if I see those butchers again, humans and elves, but I do know that, out here on my own in the woods, I have learned how to fight.
“Yes, I can go into a rage when I think of what nanny told me was happening, and how I felt when I came back the next morning to find the ruination. But just as importantly, I've learned when not to rage, to protect myself in battle. Chess, not checkers. What good is mere battle without a strategy? Without wisdom?”
“No, I will find you and save you, my people, that is my vow. And besides, it's not as if I have to do it alone. Zondra and Nicholas are by my side. We three may not be a great army, but it's a start. Maybe, when I've found more proof, I can turn to these people who took me in, the Silver Crusaders, and ask for help to set my people free. Until then, I accept their terms that I help them help the downtrodden and rescue the helpless. I feel it's what my parents would've wanted.
"But now, something's different. I've gained enough first-hand knowledge that I finally understand what my people were, druids. And now, I am one. My people have been revived through me. But I am still not satisfied, for my quest is not over until I find survivors of my tribe and rescue them. May Great Dame Nature grant me the favor of finding them and saving them.”

In battle: Cathryn uses her feat, Combat Expertise, to drain 1 point from her attack to raise her AC by 1 until the end of turn. -1/+1 for every 4 in BAB.
She also fights defensively, causing her a further -4 to attack but with a +2 to AC.
If she has three ranks in Acrobatics, this bonus rises to 3.
Out of rage, this combined results in -4 to attack but +3 to AC.
In rage, this means -2 to attack but +1 to AC.
Against particularly dangerous enemies, she will happily draw on her Stormburst power to weaken her foe temporarily.

Cathryn is fifteen years old, and is the sole survivor (who escaped slavery) of a band of kindly half-orc druids and rangers who wished to create a society for half-orcs who were fond of nature. In searching for a safe place to start their new society, they found a great secret in a secluded part of the woods and set up camp to protect it. Nobody knows what it was, but protecting it was so important that they gave up their lives in hopes of preventing it from falling into the hands of evil.
Cathryn is a barbarian, but only because she's lived in the woods all on her own for about eight years. She aspires to be a druid, as her people were, something she has finally become now that she knows what a druid is. She was well-educated, but wasn't considered old enough to even be taught the language, or the cantrips, until she would have become twelve. And by then, they were dead or captive. Unlike most half-orc children, Cathryn and the other children in her tribe were born of loving unions, or at least of arranged marriages between half-orcs.
All Cathryn wants is to save what's left of her people, and perhaps learn why they died.
Now, just because Cathryn is a barbarian doesn't mean she's a raging savage, most of the time. She considers herself a battlefield tactician, who wants to evaluate the enemy before rushing in. She fights to protect her party members, and those who are weaker than she is.
And she is never without Zondra, her riding mule, or Nicholas, her guard dog.
As a food source, she prefers fishing or the use of Goodberry over rations, and has no objection to hunting for food, or letting Nicholas do it.
Her family was part of this religious order, but her mother was a druid's wife, a bard. That is how Cathryn knows the elvish tongue and has some training in linguistics. Her formal education was based on agriculture, which, since these people are druids and rangers, shouldn't surprise anyone. And she taught her daughter what she could, while her father, the druid, was the tribe's herbalist.
As a little girl, she survived the calamity of the invaders because her nanny hid her. And as a teenager, a year before she was found and brought to civilization, she found a group of people lost in the woods and, upon learning they had not come to harm her or steal secrets but were on a pilgrimage, she led them back to their path.
When they returned a few weeks later, they invited Cathryn to go with them, and left her at the Silver Crusade's house.

Strength 12
Dexterity 14
Constitution 16 (+2 from racial trait.)
Intelligence 14
Wisdom 15
Charisma 7
HP: 21
AC: 15
FT: 4
RF: 2
WL: 5
BAB: 1
Speed: 40 ft.
Attacks:
Scythe: Attack: +2, Damage: 2 D4 + 1, Crit X4. 10 lb. (Must use 2-handed.)
Javelin: Attack: +3, Damage: 1 D6 + 1, X2, 30 ft. 2 lb. (Must be thrown.)
Scimitar: Attack +2, Damage: D6 + 1, 18-20 X2.

Hide armor. +4 ac, -3 penalties, +4 max dex, 25 lb.

Medium size
Normal speed; 30 ft.
Darkvision up to 60 ft.
Intimidating: +2 to all intimidate checks.
Orc blood: Counts as either human or orcish.
Orc ferocity: 1X day, if brought below 0 hp but not yet dead, can fight on for one round.
Weapon familiarity: Prof. W/ Greataxes and Falchions, and treat orc-named weapons as martial.
Languages: Common, Orc, Draconic, Goblin, Elvish (learned from linguistics,) Dwarven (learned from linguistics), Druidic.
Fast movement: 40 ft w/no, lt, or med, armor and loads.
Weapon prof: Simple & Martial
Armor prof: Lt, Med, Shields.
Rage 7X per day.
+4 to St/CN, +2 will, -2 AC, no int/char/dex skills but acrobatics, fly, intimidate, & ride. Fatigued 2X rounds for each round spent raging.
Nature sense: +2 to Knowledge: Nature and Survival.
Wild Empathy: Improve the attitude of an animal within 30 ft through diplomacy. Can work on magical beasts, at -4. Roll D20, add ranger level and Charisma mod.
Nature bond: Weather Domain:
Storm burst. Target a foe within 30 ft. with a storm of wind/rain. D6 +1 per 2 levels non-lethal damage, and -2 to attack for one round. X6 per day.

Skills: 6 per level (as barbarian). 7 per level (as druid).

Handle animal: 3
Knowledge: Nature: 7
Linguistics: 4 (elvish/dwarven)
Perform: Oratory: 0 (epic story-telling.)
Ride: 6
Survival: 6
Heal: 7
Swim: 5

Feats:

Combat expertise. (Drain 1 point from attack rolls and combat maneuvers to gain +1 to AC until end of turn.)

Spells:

0: Create Water, Light, Purify Food/Drink, Guidance.
1: Obscuring Mist (d), Goodberry, Speak with Animals.

Gear: 14.9 gold 51 lb. Medium.

Scimitar
Monk's outfit (+ jacket and boots,) herself, free. 3 lb.
Scythe 10 lb
Javelin 2 lb
Hide armor 25 lb
Backpack 2 lb
Block & tackle 5 lb
Waterskin 4 lb
Guard dog
Mule
Saddle, riding (on the mule.)
Feed per day X 10
Traveler's outfit 5 lb.
Plants for healing.

Description: Cathryn wears hide armor, and under that, she wears a monk's outfit with a jacket so her breasts aren't exposed, and a pair of high-heeled boots. She has curly black hair and likes to fight with a scythe. She gives herself tattoos on her birthday, so she has ten of them, having been only seven years old when she was left alone. Her eyes are green, as is her flesh.

Personality:

Cathryn likes to take her time and ponder her choices, rather than to just rush right in. This does not mean that she won't fight, but that she would rather fight defensively, going into rage only when her enemy won't expect it.
She is also quick to tell stories that people may not like, due to her poor charisma, for her mother taught her her bardic lore and tales, which Cathryn has mixed up and twisted into one new, epic story that she thinks is the story of her people. But she was never taught how and when to shut up. When you live on your own talking to animals and trees for eight years, you tend to talk all day long.