Cedric Montgomery's page

Cedric had lagged behind a bit. He stood over the corpse of the bat and said a little prayer to the goddess of all creatures that flew, the goddess that stole his eyes.

After that he joined the others, rushing up the stairs since the rest didn't seem to be worried about make sounds.

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

"Just use that shrivelled mass that used to be a brain next time. Why would a large predatory animal attack us? We smell like rot decomposition worse than most animals can bear. I'd only worry about vultures if I were you." Idiocy. The sneaky bastard was just as bad as the oaf, if not worse.

Sorry for the delay, got swamped

Cedric follows behind the others, covering the rear guard. He follows the others in but does so slowly, not wanting to be surprised by something coming from the thick fog.

Entering late he only sees the bat after the thief already attacked it, "Why attack a bat? Are you really that bloodthirsty and eager to kill that you attack a sleeping animal? The poor thing appears to actually be alive, won't it be more beneficial to know how it managed that in a dead land?"

Knowledge: Nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

I think you mixed something up. Charon is the ferryman that takes souls over the river Styx. ;)

The rider of the pale horse is just named Death.

It's more that I'm thinking of the standard Golarion Daemons. There Charon is the Horseman of Death. But we aren't on Golarion.

It's actually too bad the big bads are Daemons, I actually intended for Cedric to slowly gravitate towards the Horseman of Death, Charon. Still could work I guess since he actually doesn't care about the slaughter but solely concerns himself with the damned that die of old age.

Cedric had been silent the whole trip, hanging around the back of the group. He'd been thinking and playing with his new feathered friend. It was strange, everything, from plant to human, was dead for miles but the ravens were very much alive. They were scavengers but it wasn't like they'd be more resistant to attacks from these "daemons", or were they? Then again, they could be attracted to the scent of carrion and came over the wall. The thing was, they were the only ones. No other birds, no insects.

Eventually they came near an old, probably abandoned, farm. "Let's be careful though, no idea what's in there. Could be a stray of the "daemon" things and we don't know how strong they are and if we can handle one, even in our current form."

Cedric wants to go out scouting with the others, though prefers to keep a decent distance from the wall. He's simply waiting for the current meeting to be over.

"I will join you on the recon, it's more use than listening to more rants. This place needs to be cleaned up and made suitable for inhabitation again but I think there are other who are more skilled than me." That and his own home was fully intact.

And Cedric will be there to try and talk some sense into people when he can. To him Victor is nothing but a bully, one with less mental faculties than the raven on Cedric's shoulder.

Cedric mumbles, "Can we kill him now, please can we kill him."

Cedric walks further towards the front, "You will doom us all. We may be dead already but that doesn't mean we can't be destroyed. What will happen to you when they tear your body to pieces? We already concluded our souls are missing and as such there will be absolutely nothing left of you when they destroy you. Use the bit of your brain that hasn't shrivelled away over the years." He walks further towards the front, "That wall is a symbol of nothing but people on the other side wanting to protect themselves from the unknown. It's best if it stays unknown so keep down the theatrics."

"I think you mix up cowardice with common sense." The broad grin reappears on Cedric's face. "Trust me, the only reason I'm against you marching into that wall is because it endangers us all."

"How do you intend to mask your smell? We don't exactly smell like roses you know." Cedric grinned and the raven on his shoulder cawed in agreement.

As the warmonger spoke he sighed, "They won't come for us if we don't give them a reason. You intend to give them just that. Be a little patient, we'll find something for you to slam your head against."

So naivety survived death? "What would you have done if a skeleton or rotting corpse walked up to you and asked directions? Scream like a baby I'd say and I don't think any of us would have acted much differently. If they see us, best they'll do is run screaming but chances are they'll launch a crusade." That, sadly, was the reality of things. Walking, talking corpses were a thing of nightmares, an abomination.

"If we want friendly contact we need to proof ourselves beforehand. And that is if we ever get that far as I think hesitant neutrality is our best hope."

Cedric scoured the town but did not find a sign of his family. The good part was that it probably meant his parents had really gotten away, the bad part was that it meant his sister and brother in law were probably too badly mangled to rise. Then again, that might actually be the best part. He decided that the old home of his parents would now be his.

While going through town Cedric sharpened his new scythe at his old neighbour's former blacksmith shop, only to discover it was of a better make than he had thought. The shop also still held a breastplate of great quality, probably too heavy to carry along when the whole street fled.
During a hunt through the remains of the temples that remained he wasn't surprised to find most desecrated and useless. Eventually though he found the altar of the goddess of wisdom and in it was a whole stays of flasks that used to contain holy water. Most of these were now murky and tainted but one, right in the middle, seemed to have escaped that fate. Cedric pocketed it before some idiot would destroy it out of fear.

So my scythe apparently was masterwork all along. I also got a masterwork breastplate, composite longbow with a str mod of 2, and adventurer's sash, a flask of holy water and 5 gold.

The meeting with Cazal intrigued Cedric and he went to see what was going on. So far most of the risen had proven peaceful and that was a good thing.

When other started to speak once Cazal was done Cedric shook his head, "I say let the savage try. On his own. Let him face the wall and let the living butcher him. Makes it easier for the rest of us."

Cedric started to move through the crowd, stopping about twenty feet before where Cazal was speaking. "I say we first map what area we have left. Do we still have an opening somewhere or are we surrounded by walls? We don't have to hurry and risk anything, we have eternity now. We need to know the exact circumstances of our current situation. While some work on that I say our brightest mind can start trying to discover what exactly caused all this and why."

With all of them ignoring him Cedric decides it's time to check out whether his sister and brother in law have also risen. He struts off, not even looking back. After that it would be time to check on his parents and brother but he doubted they were in town and hoped they were somewhere safe.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

You rang?

Soon after Cedric's death the fiend left and the ravens descended from the trees, picking out his eyes. They didn't get to do much more as something or someone knocked Cedric's lifeless body over, free from the soil and into the river. The waters dragged him along, fish nibbling on him as he passes. He was dragged along for days, hitting rocks and almost being fished out by a bear. Eventually he was deposited in a peat bog.

There he laid for years, untouched by ravaging beasts or rot.

Now, almost 20 years later the bog stirred.

He shivered. The water was cold and it was dark. Vague memories flooded his mind. Happiness at the apparent survival of his family and then horror at the memory of the fiend that killed him. Killed him. Shocked by by the thought Cedric suddenly sat up, his torso freed from the peat that covered him for so many years. He was dead, killed by some horrible monster, yet here he sat, underwater no less. He wasn't drowning though, how does something that's already dead drown anyway? A smile appeared on his face. He tried to look at his hands and arms but the dark, murky waters, made worse by the flakes of peat he stirred up, denied him sight. Without much further ado he rose up and started walking to where he saw the light.

Standing on shore was a little more difficult than standing under water in the stagnant bog as attested by his wobbly gait during the first few steps. Somehow his bones were a little more flexible than they should have been. Now, in the light of the early morning sun, he looked at his hands. They were black and leathery, skin pulled tight over what remained of bone and sinew. There were some gaps in his skin but the flesh underneath was just as black. Cedric felt more surprised than anything. What a bog can do to a body. For a moment he had no idea what to do but then he remembered being dragged downstream by the river and deposited here. He wasn't quite sure how he knew, since that was after the fiend, but it was what had happened. So he walked, first to the river and then up stream.

Walking there took longer than the time the river had needed to drag him along. During the weeks it took him he had time to think, reflect on what had happened. He had been killed but he was walking and pretty much alive, in a manner of speaking. Something or someone had done that, but why? There had been no one present when he crawled out of the mire. Besides, why would anyone do this? Kick him when he's down? In the inns in the city he had heard rumors of people raising the dead in far away countries, but those had done it to increase their own power. That wasn't an option here since there hadn't been anyone else. Eventually he came to the conclusion that whatever it was that caused this, the graceful thing was to have let his corpse be a corpse and nothing more. Yet his mother always told him not to look a gift horse in the mouth, so all that was left now was to somehow make the best of the situation.

Eventually he arrived at the spot where he had died. It must have been ages ago as there were no traces. Well, except a rusted blade sticking out of the sand, damaged beyond repair. the handle was scorched, the leather burnt away. That was it. The fiend had hit him in the back with some sort of flame, the coward, and then dragged him ashore and placed him in the sand as a sort of grizzly decoration.

As he stood there, angered by the memories of his death, a raven descended and landed on his shoulder. At first he tried to shoo it away but the raven only made a circle in the air and landed on his other shoulder. After several more failed attempts to get rid of the bird a grin appeared on Cedric's face. Stubborn bird. "Fine, you can stay. Just don't start eating bits and pieces of me." The bird cawed as if in agreement.

Suddenly he remembered how he had ended up here. He had been looking for his parents and brothers and then something, the thing that killed him, began to hunt him. The attack must have been ages ago, with all the wear on this place, so maybe the city had recovered? Maybe his family had come back? They probably didn't want to see him like he was now but he still had to figure out if they were ok. And if they new about his poor sister and her husband. That had been tragic. He once again started walking.

The moment he turned towards where the city ought to be he saw what looked like a field where crops ought to grow, yet there was nothing. Cedric decided to check out the building but found nothing. No sign of it's inhabitants nor any animals. All he found was what probably had been a brand new scythe when the farm was abandoned. A little test on the weeds around the house proved that it in fact was still sharp as it had been before, it just needed cleaning. Having been forced to leave his old blade by the river due to it being rusted by the river's waters, Cedric decides to instead pick this blade up. Just in case. It also somehow seemed strangely appropriate, matching with some people depicted Death itself.

With his feathered companion on his shoulder and his new blade slung over the other Cedric started walking towards the city. It wasn't long before he was confronted with what he had dreaded: ruins. The city was no more. Still determined to find out what had happened to his family, and to the rest of the city, he walked in.

Once within city limits Cedric soon discovered he wasn't the only one that had risen again. Most were moving towards the center of town but there was a small congregation of several walking and talking corpses and he decided to approach. "Good day, or bad, depending how you look at it I guess. Does anyone of you have any idea what happened?"

Just to be clear, Cedric lost his eyes but in the empty sockets there are sickly red lights. His nose also is mostly gone.

Victor, I'll be running around with x4 on crit :P (though base damage is only 2d4).

As for a picture, how hard is it to find a decent looking undead guy with a scythe who isn't just the grim reaper?

Herald, would you allow me to swap my Nodachi for a Scythe now? The basic idea is that the nodachi has been rusted and the blade has been broken as a result of years of exposure to water and air. He'd pick up the scythe from field he passes through on his way back to the city, the farmer there too badly mangled to rise.

If we stayed in the same spot for 20 years I'd suspect Cedric is nothing but a pair of (maybe mummified) legs, the rest washed away by the river.

I wouldn't call Cedric bloodthirsty but he sure as hell seeks vengeance. He considers himself and all undead to be abominations, but his anger is directed towards those who would twist life in such a way. Once those have been eliminated the real clean up can begin. He is very patient though, knowing he's dead already and can't die of old age.

Just know that Cedric will be there to stop you if you go to far. Like I said, he's on a crusade himself, one against undead and especially those that create them. He has an eternity for it and I think he'll need it.

Weekly Knowledge:
The natural distribution of ravens (as in in which countries are they more prevalent)
Nature: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

EDIT: Cedric is fully updated

Let's see HP
1d8 ⇒ 7

I wasn't expecting to redo first level :)

As for us rising as undead, do we do that at the site of our deaths?

Would you be ok with me going Inquisitor from here on onward?

That and would you be ok with a repurposed version of Prince of Bats were I instead get a raven (wild one so can't talk)? Would be fitting considering their corpse eating tendencies and the location of my death (great outdoors)

I'm actually thinking of turning Cedric into a reaper like character, maybe trading his nodachi for a scythe and such things. He'd be a wholly impartial harbinger of death and his end goal would actually include destroying all undead, including himself, but the ones that create undead have priority.

As a result I'm also thinking of making him switch classes to better represent his new nature and because we also have another ranger who looks like he's going down the same path as I intended for Cedric and having two identical (save for the traps) characters isn't that interesting. He'd probably go inquisitor in that case. Only downside is I won't be able to grab Favored Enemy - Undead that way.

EDIT: Been thinking of going Inquisitor before but just felt it did not fit with our starting positions. Traps are covered by our ninja, which actually makes it an easier choice.

Do we add the Undead racial class skills to our class skills and do we get good Will saves or do we get nothing from Undead hd?

How does my Wild Empathy work now? And in the future, how will Hunter's Bond work?

This was good. No sign of his family but no sign of struggle either. Those creatures outside looked like mindless, ravening things and there surely would have been traces of resistance in the house if the family got caught. Instead there was nothing. Heirlooms were gone as was most food. Yet something was off. As if something shifted among the carcasses in dad's abattoir.

At each floor he inspected it was as if something was looking at him, following him from the shadows. Then, from the corner of his eye, Cedric saw the glare of some otherworldly eye and decided to split. His family was gone without a trace, hopefully save somewhere far away, and now all he had to do was get away himself and find them. As he rushed out of the house and down the street he heard an alien cackle behind him him but dared not to look back.

Instead he ran for what seemed like hours. When he reached the river he at first though he was trapped but then remembered the ghost stories he heard around the fire, about fiends that could not cross running water, and decided to try his luck and leap.

He was up in the air, about half way, when scorching flames hit him in the back. He crossed the river, almost, but he was burned badly. All he could do for a moment is hope the stories were true but all his hope was shattered when the fiend waded into the water to pick him up and drag him back. Bereft of all hope on survival Cedric slumped and passed, content in the thought that most of his family had gotten away.

Cedric will keep on fighting in an attempt to reach his family and will probably be shouting their names while doing so. If he family are among the undead, and recognisable, he might falter a moment but will then continue in an attempt to give them their eternal rest and save them from the horror. If there are any innocents he'll try not to hurt them and instead advices them to run.

I must say I'm enjoying this quite a bit, though Cedric absolutely isn't.

Carefully Cedric goes on, inspecting the opened cupboard to get an idea of what has gone missing. This at least looked like a sign that they wanted to flee, which was enough to make him a little optimistic. He kept searching though, still looking for signs of struggle.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

None home? That could not be. Did they escape or.. Cedric didn't actually want to think of the other option. Still, if they had been taken there would be signs of struggle inside. Dad knew his way around a cleaver like none other and both his brother and the twins were young, strong and healthy. Maybe they were just holed up in the backroom?

Still not sure what to expect Cedric slowly stepped inside, blade drawn and ready for anything.

Moving in and readying the Nodachi against a charge. Using power attack if it comes to blows, no reason not to with furious focus.

Cedric moves over to the house that has now crumbled, "No, no no no no no. Not them, not now." They were finally successful and were planning a family of their own, this could not be. Not now, not ever. He wanted to search the rubble but shook his head. No one could survive this. He'd seen a tree fallen on a deer, which had still been alive when he arrived, but when he removed the tree it had died. The same would happen here, they were lost. A lone tear ran down his cheek while he clenched his jaws.

He had to tell them. Two streets down were his parents, his older brother and the twins. If he couldn't save his sister he should at the very least save them. Cedric broke out into a sprint, blade still clenched tightly.

Seeing villagers dragged off Cedric turns to run back to his sister's house, which is just down the street. He'll go in, blade ready to strike any fiend in there. If they weren't in here he'd have to rush to his parent's house to see if they arrived there.

Cedric stops at the edge of the crater, blade in hand, "What in the Seven Hells is this? This must have caused the quakes." He then looks up into the city, seeing more smoke over the houses in the distance. "We must evacuate! Next time this happens there could be victims." Cedric still holds his blade tight, unsure what to make of the situation. All he knew was that it wasn't save to stay.

Added a last moment handaxe as I had completely forgotten about the butcher's cleaver (refluffed handaxe) from his description.

The sharp light of a blaze through his small window woke Cedric up. His feet had barely touched the ground when the first rumble was heard and the earth shook. In a hurry he put on his hunting gear and grabbed his cleaver and stumbled out his own door, on his way downstairs to grab his real hunting blade, when his brother in law came out of the other room, Cedric's sister behind him, What in the seven Hells is this? Are we being attacked?"

Cedric turned to him, "I'm not quite sure, but I intend to figure it. Get dressed and get a cleaver. Mom and dad live in a better defensible part of town, see if you can make your way there." He then rushed downstairs while his brother in law rushed back into his own room to get dressed.

Downstairs Cedric grabbed his blade, a weird sword gifted to him by a wealthy client, and when he turned to leave his sister stood there waiting for him. Before he could answer she walked up to him and kissed him on the forehead, "Be save little brother," she whispered and turned and went upstairs to get dressed.

Cedric stepped out of the butchershop, blade in hand and trying to figure out what to do. He ran towards the closest pillar of smoke.

I guess that would be near the inn.

GMT +1, Netherlands

And only now do I realise the -5 probably was your time zone and not the remaining time till deadline...

Knowledge: Nature
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Knowledge about the wildlife and the plants of the region.

While most are still having fun out on the streets, Cedric is already sleeping. He has been out in the wilds for nearly two weeks, long days and short nights. He had sold his wares, eaten with his family and then collapsed on his bed and he didn't plan to wake before noon the next day.

I'll get the stats up there when I have a little more time, which should be in a few hours. I know I'm a tad late, but due to different timezones your 8 am would have been 6 am here and I was sleeping for both that time and your announcement.