Cyrus Lem's page

Didn't Cyrus' body get handed to his parents days ago? ... but maybe they've been too busy to deal with it what with the invasion preparations. Also I don't see them on the list of inhabitants, so we may have just forgotten. Anyway, I think it'd probably be his father.

Anthony Lem, Cyrus' father, slowly steps up to the graveside. He had endured much good-natured ribbing when at the advanced age of 50 he'd married his much younger wife Bethany, resulting in Cyrus' arrival a year later. Now seventy four years of age, balding and frail, his contribution to the defense of Brookside had consisted of helping to keep some of the very youngest children quiet and out of the way while the hale adults worked frantically on preparations.

And one son.

"My son was a good man," he says in a tired, hoarse voice. "Too good for this world, in a way. He wanted nothing more than to help his community. He gave years of service to the city guards in Astin. And ultimately, he gave his life in defense of his neighbors."

The old man looks down, blinking away tears. The crowd waits silently for him to regain his composure. Finally he looks up. "In the last couple of years, Cyrus took to prayin'. I don't know who he prayed to. I don't think he knew, either. All I know is that it brought him some comfort."

The old man pauses again, searching for words, for a way to sum up the life of a son he had never expected to have -- and never expected to outlive. After a few moments, he shakes his head in defeat. "Screw it," he says. "I'm no word smith. Just think kindly of Cyrus and remember he gave his life for his community. That's all. That's all I got."

Shoulders slumped, he casts the first handful of dirt into Cyrus' grave, and then shuffles off to the tearful embrace of his wife.

Oh, I see! Glad to contribute. ^_^

Wait, I'm the MVP damage dealer? Aren't I, you know ... dead?

Cyrus' inventory, for party use:

On his person:

• armored coat (ruined by axe blows)
  
• cold iron dagger
  
• heavy mace
  
• longbow
  
• backpack
  
• belt pouch
  

In his backpack:

• bedroll
  
• hemp rope (50 ft.)
  
• mess kit
  
• pot
  
• torch (10)
  
• trail rations (5)
  
• waterskin
  

In his belt pouch:

• flint and steel
  
• 30 gp
  
• creased and folded piece of paper
  

Wow, if Rally kills that orc, that'll be the second time one of my familiars has avenged my death!

GM, Vors' AoO on orc brute 3 was a critical threat, but I don't see a confirmation roll. If he confirms he might drop orc brute 3, which would save Hirda a bunch of damage.

The dice have seriously decided to hate the party this combat. Cyrus didn't roll anything above a 6 the whole time. Bleargh.

The orc's blow almost bisected the unfortunate Cyrus. His mace fell from nerveless fingers, and as he toppled forward the orc's jaws finished the job.

The first blow took me to -11. Once unconscious, I lost my dodge and DEX bonuses to AC, dropping my AC to 14, which is what the brute rolled. My CON is 12, and I am now at -18 and officially dead.

Rally gave a sharp cry of grief as Cyrus fell in red ruin.

GM, Rally is now yours to run. The rules don't really specify what happens to a familiar after their master dies; I've always assumed that they retain their familiar abilities for 24 hours afterwards, then revert to a typical animal of their kind over course the day following that. But pretty clearly, if Cyrus isn't around to give her instructions, then she should be treated as an NPC.

Cyrus' Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

The pain of his wounds and the imminent threat of further axe-work keeps Cyrus' attention fixed firmly on the orc before him.

Cyrus emitted an inarticulate shriek as the second orc smashes a greataxe across his chest. Severely wounded, he backs slightly away but continues to stand and fight.

Cyrus takes a five-foot step to I11 and attempts to smack Orc Brute 2 with his mace.

Cyrus' attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Cyrus' damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Cyrus lines up a heavy swing, but at the last moment his leg -- still wounded from the fight with the first beastie -- falters beneath him, and the blow swings wide.

Rally, clearly terrified, hesitates a moment.

An INT check for Rally to do something clever: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

Overcome by fear, Rally shifts anxiously back and forth between her two front paws, on the edge of flight but unwilling to abandon Cyrus.

Rally tucks her tail firmly between her legs -- but rushes in anyway, wanting to be closer to Cyrus.

Rally uses her move action from Round 1 to move to I 11.

Arriving at Cyrus' side, she yaps her head off to distract the brutes.

Round 2 standard action: She's going to use Aid Another to give Cyrus a +2 AC bonus against Orc Brute 1's next attack.

Rally's attack roll vs AC 10: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Then she slinks back a bit.

5-foot step to H12, and that's the end of Rally's round 2.

Cyrus feels a rush of gratitude towards Rally for risking herself on his behalf. Shifting to one side, he attempts to shove the brute backwards into its ally.

Cyrus takes a 5-foot step to J11 and attempts to bull rush Orc Brute 1 north towards J9. This provokes an AoO from Orc Brute 1; the +2 bonus from Rally's aid another would apply to this attack, I believe. I'm applying a +1 bonus on the CMB check for higher ground; GM, if that doesn't apply, please just treat the result as 1 lower. It's a little hard to tell exactly where that does and doesn't apply with portions of the map obscured by the tokens.

Cyrus' bull rush attempt vs Orc Brute 1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Heck, I forgot to put in that +1 bonus I just finished typing about. So that's actually an 11. I rather doubt that succeeds, but just in case it does, here's a second bull rush against Orc Brute 2 at a -4 penalty because he's in a straight line with #1.

Cyrus' bull rush attempt vs Orc Brute 2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Dangit, I forgot the modifier AGAIN. That second one is +1 for higher ground, -4 because it's the second one in line, so effectively the result is 10.

Well, crap, Cyrus thought as he shoved ineffectually at the massive green fellow. I thought that'd be real clever, but these guys are built like a brick outhouse.

untrained Knowledge (Local): 1d20 ⇒ 2

Well, at least it ain't Goodman Higgins bein' whipped, Cyrus thought. Wonder what the heck those are.

Throwing a rock suddenly seemed like a bad idea. Made him seem less like prey. "Whoops!" he said to the green-skinnned folk. "Err ... bye!"

And with that, he turned and fled back the way he came.

Cyrus moves 20 feet back to I10 and readies an action to smack his first pursuer with his mace.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

"Well, crap," Cyrus said. "Could be Goodman Higgins. No time to be fancy, then."

"Doc, we'll try your spider web thing. I'm gonna run in there and get their attention, try to lure 'em back through the gap. When they come after me, web as many as you can get without hitting the rest of us. Hirda, Vors, be ready to stand and fight."

Glancing up at the sky, he finished with "I really hope somebody up there decides to like us today!" And with that blunt but heart-felt prayer, he turned and charged through the gap.

Cyrus double-moves 40 feet due east to L9. GM, if I can snatch up a rock on the way to wing at one of them next round that'd be great, otherwise I'll have to content myself with hollering insults at the top of my lungs. Gee, I hope there aren't any traps along the way. That would be bad.

Ah, so it does! I missed that clause before.

I'm assuming that anyone who passes their will save still hears the sound, they just recognize it as fake.

EDIT: Ugh, I keep forgetting to change my "Post As" setting from my usual account to the Cyrus alias! At least I caught it this time.

GM, I have some rules questions about Ghost Sound.

1) Illusion spells allow a will save if interacted with. What constitutes "interacting" with a sound? Is simply hearing it enough to get a save? Does the creature have to move to the apparent source of the noise and find nothing there before getting a chance to save? Does it depend on how plausible the sound is for its environment? E.g. the sound of a wolf growling in the bushes gives no save, but the sound of a pipe organ playing in the bushes allows one.

2) Ghost Sound is close range. As a level 2 adept, Cyrus can target a spot within 30 feet of himself. Suppose he sets a ghost sound at the edge of that range. Is it heard outside the range, or is the sound limited to the area within 30 feet of him?

3) Also on the topic of range, suppose that Cyrus sets up a Ghost Sound 30 feet away from him, and then walks away. Does the sound cut off the instant that he steps away? Or does he only need to be within 30 feet at the time of casting, and then it persists for the duration of the spell? (Two rounds, in this case).

Rally yipped quietly at Cyrus. "Err, she thinks so," Cyrus said. "Maybe that plan's no good after all."

I misunderstood some of the info the GM gave me. Whoops!

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"That lone one down south is making a lot of fuss its own self," Cyrus said. "More 'n the ones up north. Wish we knew what they were on about."

"Sounds good to me -- maybe we could circle down south, make some noise or somethin' to lure him into the trees. The trick is gettin' him far enough away that he can't just shout for help. He sounds big; I doubt we can take him down before he could holler to his buddies."

Cyrus has Ghost Sound prepped, which could be used to lure one into an ambush. The hard part is not getting all the others at the same time!

Cyrus reported: "Rally says she saw a whole encampment in there, on the north end. Three tents, big ones, up on the side where Perrin's rock ... err ... friend went. There's a tree with chains on it past them; could be mebbe that beastie we fought earlier was tied up there."

Listening further, he added "There's a really big guy with green skin and a longbow down south-ways. He saw Rally, but there was some kind of argument going on up on the north side, so she pulled away before he could do anythin'."

Cyrus rubbed a hand along one shoulder, feeling a sudden chill. "Your rock-friend found 8, Rally saw 1 more. Sounds t' me like there's a whole heap of trouble on the far side of those hills. We got 5 of us, plus Perrin's rock-friend, and Rally. I dunno about Perrin's friend, but Rally probably can't do much in a real fight. Maybe distract one, at best. She's great for trackin' and lookin' ahead, but ..." he shook his head.

"If we just charge in willy-nilly, I figure we are like to die. We got to get the drop on 'em, or else back off and try t' lure 'em out so we can fight 'em one at a time, or at least in smaller bunches. And we need to pick fast before they quit their arguin' and find us."

Cyrus concentrates on fleeing and safety, mentally urging Rally to return.

Cyrus gets out his mace.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

"Aye, I hear it," he said quietly to the others. "Sommat speakin' some foreign gabble up ahead."

Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

"Could be lots of 'em, or else a few but they pass in an' out a lot," he said. "See all them tracks goin' all over and back."

Glancing at Perrin, he adds "Is your, err, pile of rocks gone to find out what's there? Good idea. I'll send Rally to peek over th' other way."

Rally is going to move cautiously to J11 and see what can be seen over the tops of those hills, then return to Cyrus and report. I doubt she can give much detail, but she can probably do presence/absence of creatures, general size of creatures, carrying weapons or not, that sort of thing.

Rally Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

@#$#. Natural 1. Hopefully anyone on the other side of those hills will think nothing of seeing a fox in the woods.

Cyrus kept his attention to the trail, following Rally's lead. The pain in his leg had dwindled to a steady ache, but every new step sent little shivers up from it. He ignored it, keeping a stoic face.

Sure hope we find the Goodman alive,

Thud. Pain.

But I don't reckon we will.

Thud. Pain.

Poor Goodwife Higgins.

Thud. Pain.

They loved each other so much.

Thud. Pain.

Hate to see somethin' beautiful like that all tore up.

Thud. Pain.

Sure is a pretty day out here.

Thud. Pain.

Things can't be so bad when there's still beauty like this.

Thud. Pain.

Just gotta keep it that way.

Thud. Pain.

Cyrus grunted, gingerly laying a hand on the dressed wound on his leg. "Well, Doc, next one we come to, you can be the meal. How's that sound?"

"Thank you kindly, Doc Alders," Cyrus said.

"Well, Rally don't think Goodman Higgins came this way, but his mule followed the big group, that-a-way. Shall we follow the mule?"

Oh good, I was hoping someone remembered to get a healer's kit, because I flat-out forgot. Are you thinking of the long-term care bonus to natural healing, Hirda? Because getting that requires a full day of treatment, you know.

"Thanks, Hirda," Cyrus said. "Titania also needs some attention, I believe. Beastie had a nasty bite!"

Cyrus is busy tracking, else he'd provide aid another checks for further Heal checks.

"Hmm. Looks like the beastie we just fought came in from east-north-east. But there're several other sets of tracks -- a lone person heading almost due west, and a pack of people with more of those creatures headed east."

Cyrus scratched his head.

GM, are any of the humanoid tracks noticeably larger than the others?

Cyrus: Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

I'm also wondering if Rally can smell Goodman Higgins' trail, and if so which direction it goes.

Rally: Survival to track by scent: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

"Oh," Cyrus says. "Well, maybe we're alike that way. I been doing a lot of praying these last couple years, and found I can do some things, I guess magic is what you'd call it. And I often find myself sayin' words I don't understand. Don't sound much like yours, though."

When Cyrus casts a spell, the verbal components are Celestial. Mind you, he doesn't actually know Celestial, so he has no idea what he's saying. It just comes out that way. Also he has no idea who his deity (or deities) might be. He's not a learned man. (And I have no idea which gods exist in this setting.) So he just started praying to anybody who might be listening; and someone or something heard. GM, please feel free to pick a source for Cyrus' magic. Something Non-evil, please.

As they travel, Cyrus speaks quietly to Perrin. "Hey, uh, Doctor Alders ... back there in the fight, you shouted in some kind of weird gabble a couple times. What was that all about?"

"Great heavens!" Cyrus blurted out as flames burst out of nowhere and washed over the corpse.

A torch would have done as well, and saved a spell for later. Ah, well.

"I reckon Rally can follow the trail easily enough. Makes me worried, though. This beastie was a dumb brute -- but that chain and collar means it had a master. Sommat smart enough to keep its hound chained. Like as not, if we find the master, we'll find any other beasties it has." Cyrus and Rally set about tracking once again.

Rally's survival check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Cyrus's survival check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"Ent things supposed to be dead before you cremate them?" Cyrus asked.

"I sure hope you're right, Titania! But ... it might take a while, and we have other things to do also."

Grunting, Cyrus got to his feet.

I'm assuming it doesn't get an AoO because it's currently unconscious.

Heal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22

He looked doubtfully at the beast. "Well, if you say so. Guess we better keep hitting it."

Putting action to words, Cyrus lined up a swing at the beast's cranium.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Panting a bit with exertion, Cyrus said "Uh ... does anyone know if there's any way to make it stay down? Or do we gotta make a great big stake out of one these trees and just pin it to the ground? Or hang it by that chain?"

GM, I'm a little unclear on how this group initiative works. I think everyone but Hirda has gone for round 1. Do we wait for her now, or what?

Drawing his heavy mace, Cyrus scrambled through the underbrush and took a swing at the disgusting creature.

Moving through H3 to I4.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 to attack, 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 damage.

Oh, dear. That's a natural 1. Sigh.

Rally tucked her tail and slunk into the bushes, trembling.

She's in H3.

The one you're using is fine.

Aww, you got me a slavering beast covered in disgusting pustules for Christmas!

He's exactly what I wanted. How ever did you know?

Questions: do the squares containing trees block or slow our movement? How long is the broken chain, and in what direction does it trail?

"Thank you, Goodwife Higgins," Cyrus said. "And I'm sorry if I seemed abrupt. I don't think we need aught else from you right now. Go rest."

Turning to the others, "Looks as though we've got a clear trail to follow into the woods. Hirda brought a hound, and Rally's pretty good at following a scent too. Between the lot of us, we should be able to figure out where to go."

And here are a whole bunch of skill checks for the GM once Goody Higgins makes her exit. I hope I'm not hogging the spotlight here -- if anyone has anything else to do here, sing out!

Cyrus: Profession (Trapper): what does Cyrus know about the Warding Woods from running traps?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Cyrus: Survival check to follow the tracks: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Rally: Survival check to follow the tracks by scent: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

I think it suits the character, actually. And that Diplomacy check created a good opportunity for RP. I don't know how Goodwife Higgins felt about Cyrus before this, but going forward she's going to remember him as the man who asked her blunt, painful questions at a terrible moment.

"Thanks, Titania," Cyrus said.

Well, I was kind of hoping for a description of what kind of noises, but with a Diplomacy of check 1, beggars can't be choosers!

Cyrus winced inwardly at his blunder. "Curse my tangled tongue," he thought. "That's why I always let Nils do the talking, back in Astin. Man could charm the pants off a snake."

It's early days yet, but I'm enjoying this a great deal. ^_^

Also -- Titania! Saaaaave me from my terrible Diplomacy!

"One moment; I'm not sure we're quite done here," Cyrus said. "We should check the barn to see if there are any clues as to how the wheat was taken. I mean, can't nobody just pack up a whole field of wheat and trot off with it on their back, right? Not without shinecraft and wizardry, anyhow. Hirda, you know farmin' and I don't really -- maybe you could look over the barn and see if there's anythin' worth seeing?"

Hirda's got Profession (Farmer) and a good Perception score, she seems like the best one to check out the barn?

Turning to Goodwife Higgins, he said "I know this is a terrible time for you, ma'am, and I'm sorry to have to do it, but I'm hopin' you can answer some questions. Any detail you can remember might be helpful."

"When did you last see Goodman Higgins alive?"

"Do you know where he was going or what he was planning to do?"

Gesturing at the disturbed ground, he asked, "It looks like there was a fight here sometime last night. Did you hear anything?"

"Have you seen or heard anything unusual recently, during the time leading up to your husband's disappearance?"

"Lastly, did he have any enemies you know of?"

Cyrus felt the instincts of his years as a guard rising to the fore. "I don't want to do this again," he thought to himself. "I don't want to suspect everyone. I hated it! It's so tiring, being constantly suspicious of everybody. But so often in the city ... it was a spouse, or a lover, or a family member. So often ... I gotta pay attention to what she says."

He's making a Sense Motive check against Goodwife Higgins as she answers the questions. GM, I'll also leave a Diplomacy check for you in case you want one for any of this.

Amazing Diplomatic Skillz of Dooom: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Rising from the tracks in the muddy ground, Cyrus turned and joined the others by the stoop. Rally stayed close by his heel. "Rest assured, ma'am, as soon as we know anythin' definite, we'll let you know. And if we can bring him home, we will."

Privately, Cyrus doubted that they would find Jeremiah Higgins alive. "But I've been so wrong so many times before about so much ..." he thought to himself, "It would be foolish to give up hope. I hope we can find her man for her, poor thing."

Responding to Cyrus' pity, Rally trotted up on the porch. Sitting in front of Goodwife Higgins, she laid one paw on the lady's shin and gave a short definitive bark.

"Rally, here girl," Cyrus called. His fox, never far away, trotted over and looked up at him questioningly.

"Could you take a whiff around these tracks?" Cyrus asked her.

Rally yipped, evidently in agreement, and thrust her nose to the ground. When she came to the canine tracks, her hackles rose up, her ears flattened, and she tucked her her tail. Backing away, she made a series of growls and yips at Cyrus.

"I don't think those are normal dog tracks," Cyrus told everyone. "Rally has never been frightened of dog tracks."

Cyrus raised a hand to scratch his ear in apparent discomfort. "Ah, I don't know as I've mentioned it before, but as late I've been learning to understand Rally a lot better. It's not like talkin', exactly, but not exactly just yips and barks, either. What I'm getting from her is 'Dog not-dog, sick, wrong, scary.' There's sommat uncanny about 'em. They don't smell right, apparently. Diseased, maybe."

Rally poked around at the other tracks also, both shod and unshod. The tracks of people in boots she seemed uninterested in, but when she came to the unshod tracks, she cocked her head, took another long sniff, and then made another series of short barks and yips.

"And she says these ones here that Hirda found, without the shoes, don't smell like any of the others. Not like the dog ones, not like the shod ones. Says they smell like ... meat, and ... dirtiness, I guess?"

"There's a girl," he said, offering her a bit of dried meat and stroking her fondly.

GM, my familiar Rally has scent, and she can talk with me (presumably in very short simple communications). I'd like her to check out the big dog tracks we just found. How do you want to handle that?

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Kn (Nature): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

"Huh. He finished the harvest, but where's the grain gone?"

Cyrus comes and takes a look at the tracks. "Could have been a dog. Pretty big one, though."

"Thomas, listen to your lady wife," Cyrus urges the man. "It don't need to be one of us here, but take someone with you if you must go. This is no time to be mule-headed!"

Ham-fisted attempt at Diplomacy: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11

"Especially since I fear Hirda's right ... if I learned anythin' in Astin, it's that the higher-ups pay close attention to the opinions of shiny coins, and not so much to the likes of us. We're on our own, we are."

Cyrus had woken early that morning, and headed into town as soon as the early sun burned away the morning mist. Overhearing the Nolton's argument, he blurted out "Oh no, not Goodman Higgins! I hadn't heard. Was it ... the same as the others?"

Sounds good by me. I also am new to PbP, but I've both played and GM'ed for years.

The longest campaign I've played in was Kingmaker, on actual tabletop (clocking in at 7.3 years).

The longest campaign I've GM'ed is a homebrew for a soloist via MapTool, which is coming up on its sixth anniversary.