Gregor Gyles's page

Gregor is hugely tall, with unnaturally broad shoulders and a freakishly thin waist that belongs on a smaller person. His limbs are long and lanky, especially his arms, which reach to his knees. He’s used to superstitious Ustlavans reacting strangely to his body, and is extremely self conscious about his appearance, though he would never say that to a stranger. He’s not an insecure person, but he knows it’s important that he presents himself well. He carries his back straight and perpetually shrugs his shoulders so his arms look shorter. Wool stuffing in his tailored doublet makes his abdomen look fuller, and he often wears a long grey cloak that wraps around his body. He has a handsome face, perfect teeth, and a silky smooth voice like the rustle of leaves in the wind. As a young man he never realized how good looking he was, but he’s learned that if people aren’t put off by his body, they can be charmed by his face. He takes good care of himself, making sure to shave often as his hair grows unnaturally fast.

Gregor’s parents were in debt to a local noble. A traveling sorcerer offered to pay their debt, but they would have to let him father a child with Gregor’s mother. He claimed he was researching techniques to be able to father a child who did not possess his own aberrant blood. Those techniques failed.

Gregor was always unnaturally shaped. The other people in his village looked down on him, pitied him, or openly mocked him, though he was personable enough and made some friends. He presented himself as a good, peaceful citizen, but physically he matured more quickly than other boys. People were scared of him. Eventually, after a humiliating event, he left his hometown to become a soldier in west Ustalav.

His time as a soldier made him more secure, but it wasn’t fulfilling. He made friends and felt accepted, but he was never going to rise through the ranks. Gregor returned home after a couple of years and met a traveling sorceress named Allie. They formed a deep romantic relationship and stayed together for some time. But when she introduced Gregor to her family, they disapproved of him, saying they couldn’t imagine him as their son in law. He got into a bitter fight with Allie and they broke up.

Gregor returned home seeing red. He used magic to disguise himself as the son of another petty noble and murdered the man his parents had been in debt to, who he blamed for his condition. It wasn’t satisfying, and Gregor resolved to hunt down his blood father. But first, he traveled to a city in order to learn to harness his latent magical powers.

After leaving that city, Gregor spent some time traveling across Ustalav, adventuring occasionally but mostly intent on finding his father. Eventually, he ran into a half brother by blood, who gave him a major clue. He started following the breadcrumbs, but stopped after running into a childhood friend. Gregor went back to his half brother, formed a positive relationship with him, and grew into a healthier, more complete person. He put aside his quest for revenge.

Gregor resolved to be a good adventurer, someone who would defend the good and the weak and be looked up to by even the strong. He was finally the person he had always hoped he would become. The Cult of the Whispering Way was stirring in the Shudderwood, and Gregor resolved to go there and do what he could to put an end to them.

Gregor's parents were named Belor and Eshe. They met while Eshe had been a soldier, Belor had written a poem for her and they had married within a year. Eshe was a strong hand with a fauchard, and received good pay, until she received a wound to the knee that left her unable to fight. The couple had no family to fall back on. They moved to the country so Belor could find work on a farm, but it wasn’t enough. Winter came. Belor had gone hungry before, but he couldn’t stand the sight of his emaciated wife wasting away. Though she begged him not to, he went out one night and murdered a goat, butchering it in a field and bringing the meat home.

The next day, they were dragged before the local noble, a man named Emanus. Before he could punish them, however, a traveling sorcerer standing by in court offered to pay their debts. Even better, he would buy them a farm, something to live on and sustain them for the rest of their lives. He asked a heavy price. In exchange, he would father a child with Eshe. He said that he had aberrant blood, tainted by the foul magics that stained Ustalav. There were ways for him to have a child with pure blood, he assured her, but he would have no way of knowing if they worked without a test. He lit candles, drew a circle, scattered sacred waters, but what did the gods care? His efforts failed.

Gregor was shaped differently from other babies. His arms were freakishly long, while his hips and waist were narrow, like the segmented body of a bug. He was strange in other ways, too. His eyes were intensely green, his hair grew in too fast, and he was too tall. In the small town he grew up in, there were only a couple dozen other children of roughly his age. Some of them were superstitious. Freak-boy, they called him. Mutant. Monster. Most of them were sympathetic. Their parents knew his, and they knew it wasn’t his fault. He never seemed violent or dangerous, just different.

Wrestling was a popular sport in the village, but Gregor never participated. He didn’t want people to get the wrong idea about him. He was a peaceful young lad who attended regular lessons with the local priest of and would one day grow up and inherit his parents farm. They had no other children, and they loved him dearly. Though he was affable and gregarious, Gregor was wary of having close friends. The closer he got to someone, the more it would sting when they laughed at a joke about him, or talked about him when they thought he couldn’t hear. There was only one child in the entire town who had never hurt him in that way: Nonek. Nonek was also the best wrestler of all the kids their age, and the fastest runner, and the best with girls. Gregor liked boys as much as girls, and Nonek was his favorite. Though the feelings were not reciprocated, the two were close.

As he grew into a young man, Gregor started to become scary. His muscles developed faster than a normal human’s, and his eyes tinted closer to yellow, a blasphemous and unnatural color. He and Nonek were part of a group of four close friends. Gradually, the other two boys began to spend time with Gregor more and more reluctantly. That made Nonek anxious, since he was friends with all three of them, and wanted the group to stay together. Gregor had started seeing a girl, and thought he wouldn’t have so much time for the other boys anyway. He told Nonek it was ok to focus more on his relationship with the other two boys. He regretted that after he broke up with the girl.

One day, Gregor was walking by the practice yard when the other young adults were wrestling. Nonek’s father, an insensitive, red nosed man, hailed him and shamed him into practicing with them. A skilled man can always beat an untrained brute, no matter how tall or strong, the man had said. Gregor threw his first opponent in the dirt. The man cursed him and said he was lucky. The whole group gathered round, shoving Nonek forward. Gregor’s friend was unhappy to do it, and it was a betrayal of sorts, but he pinned Gregor handily. Everyone laughed. The mutant’s no match for our man, they jeered. Nonek was anguished. The two drifted apart for a time after that.

Gregor started feeling different. Before, he had always been a gentle man, sad, at times, and an outcast, but never violent. Now he grew angry and bitter. He stopped saying he would inherit his family farm, and after a year he left the village he had grown up, headed west to serve as a soldier.

Gregor’s time as a soldier changed him. The people he served with, after they saw that he was no monster, treated him differently from the people he had grown up with. They would call him a freak right to his face, but not to be vicious. They were a unit, and there was no shame in being yourself among their number. They accepted Gregor. He learned to be comfortable in his own skin. When the fighting started, Gregor would sometimes lose control of himself, flying into a cold, quiet rage. His commanding officer tasked three other soldiers with keeping him in control, and the four of them grew into good friends. Gregor was even romantically involved with one of them for a time, though they eventually broke that off because it interfered with their relationship with the other soldiers.

After several years in the army, Gregor decided to return home. He was doing alright in the army, but he knew he would never be an officer, and he missed his parents. Somehow, he felt like things would be different now that he was a man. Maybe he would be comfortable there, as he had been in the army, and maybe he could reclaim the childhood he’d always wanted but never had. Things were different, but not in the way he had hoped. If people had been afraid of him before, they were terrified now. Someone had spread a rumor that he had been forced to leave the army after he’d been found eating the corpses of his fallen comrades, though that had no basis in reality. They whispered about him from behind corners, and kept their eyes down around him. It was nice to see Nonek again, and his other childhood friends, but having seen the wider world and learned that he could get by just fine, Gregor was bitter about the way the people he had grown up around treated him.

On a cold and windy day, Gregor met Allie. She was a traveling sorceress who had been passing through the village on her way to the local noble’s estate. Like Gregor, she had always felt different from other people, though there was nothing outwardly unusual about her. She saw right past his malproportioned limbs and strange, yellow eyes, or so it seemed. The two hit it off, and before long they were romantically involved. She had a laugh like spring and a kiss like sweet summer wine.

After several months together, Gregor traveled with Allie away from his village. They went on a short adventure in the mountains before returning to her home in Caliphas. Things were different there. Allie’s family didn’t like Gregor. They said they couldn’t bring him to meet their friends, couldn’t imagine introducing someone like him as their son in law. Allie didn’t support him, though she had always loved him. Things escalated. Gregor told himself he deserved more than what he was getting. They had a shouting match, Gregor’s eyes glowing yellow, veins throbbing on his forehead, Allie’s parents trying to separate them. It was bad.

Gregor spent the next week on the road back to his village seeing red. The one person he blamed more than any other for his condition was the noble who his parents had been in debt to, Emanus, who had forced them into a position to accept the sorcerer's tainted seed. Gregor blamed the sorcerer too, but that man was far away, and the noble was close. When he arrived at his village, he didn’t go to see his family. Instead he went to live at a small settlement closer to the Emanus’ estate. He bought a potion that could be used to disguise himself as the relative of another petty noble and waited until there was a party. He snuck in, waited until Emanus had to use the latrine, then took him by surprise. He wasn’t sure what he was planning on until the knife, hot in his hands, quenched itself in the man’s heart. It was quiet. Gregor escaped just as the alarm was being raised. He never told his parents, just showed up at their door the next day bedraggled and grim faced. He told them he had done something bad, that he couldn’t come back to the village anymore, though he wasn’t sure if anyone knew it was him. They said their last goodbyes, and Gregor left.

Revenge had not been very satisfying. Perhaps he would track down his real father after all. But first, Gregor needed to train. He had begun to manifest magical abilities, and he needed to learn to control them. He traveled to Vigil with the rest of his savings in search of someone who could train him. He found Isabela, a white haired old woman who agreed to tutor him. They got on well enough, though they never grew close. Gregor heard a rumor from the east, that there had been a bloody feud between two petty nobles that started when the son of one murdered the other in his latrine. The needless deaths froze Gregor’s heart, made him wonder who he really was. He thought about killing himself. Instead, he went to an inn, got roaring drunk, and lost the rest of his money in a rigged game of cards. Then he got into a fistfight and lost, badly.

He left the city and set about searching for his true father. Gregor was a real adventurer now, with experience in the army, magical training, and blood on his hands. And a quest for vengeance. Though he had lost his savings, he still had his mother’s fauchard and his suit of steel. He traveled north, to Canterwall, where he had been a soldier, and through Ardeal. There were a few interesting people along the way, but more who shunned him as a freak. Gregor was too bitter and hard shelled to make close friends at this time in his life. He drank a lot, and went on dangerous adventures with people he didn’t know very well just to scrape together enough coin to finance his hunt. He learned to control his rage, to present himself as a civilized soldier who served honourably for several years, but it was a facade that fell apart easily.

Eventually, near Chastel, Gregor stumbled on a major clue that might help him find the man who was his true father by blood. He saw another young man who looked exactly like him. The same long arms, the same freakishly small waist. The young man even had piercingly green eyes, just as Gregor had when he was younger. The young man was named Gillac, but to Gregor he was just a source of information. He led Gregor to a clue. It was an old laboratory in an abandoned building, one that had been used by the man who was their father. Gregor started connecting dots, following clues, interrogating witnesses. His pulse started to rise again. The clues led him to Chastel, he was sure he would find the man, confront him, make him face the consequences of his actions. Maybe murder him. The dark thought nestled like a raven in his mind, straining to take wing.

Then he saw Nonek, his old friend from childhood. They talked over a pint of honeyed mead. It was strange, drinking something that tasted good, instead of drinking something just to get drunk. Gregor’s unusual anatomy seemed resistant to alcohol, and he had never minded the fiery taste of strong spirits. Nonek convinced Gregor to put aside his quest for revenge, to try to do something positive instead. Gregor listened. He went back to Gillac, apologized for the way he had treated him earlier. He spent the winter with the man’s family, who were not so forgiving or understanding about their son’s condition as his own parents had been. Spring came, and Gregor’s heart thawed. He mentored Gillac, helping him navigate difficult social situations, teaching him to have ambitions beyond the narrow, prejudiced world of a rural Ustalavan village. It felt good to be strong, and it felt good to help someone. Gregor took a holy symbol of Cayden Calean away from that village, and a smile.

After that, things were different. Gregor traveled from one town to the next, offering his help to those in need. He visited a tailor and got himself some fashionable clothes as well as a boost to his ego. He figured he needed to do something in the way of atonement. He was becoming the person he had always wanted to be. Strong. Accepted. Good people were glad to have on their side, whether they thanked him or not, and sometimes they didn’t. His travels took him into the Shudderwood. Dark things were creeping beneath shadowy boughs. The cult of the Whispering Way was gathering, and Gregor was one who would stand in their way.

Each section is arranged chronologically.

Allies

Belor and Eshe, his parents
Unlike many adventurers, Gregor has always had a good relationship with his parents. He never stopped being able to depend on them as a source of stability and love in his life. He can’t visit home anymore and his parents don’t want to leave their farm, which they received from the Sorcerer.

Nonek, his best friend from childhood
Nonek is a fantastic wrestler who has competed in many of Ustlav’s cities. Gregor bumps into him from time to time and they always share a pint of their favorite drink: honeyed mead.

Octavian and Horace, his two other friends from childhood
These two were always decent friends with Gregor and always better friends with Nonek. They still live in the village Gregor grew up in, now working on his parents farm, though they sometimes travel, as farmers do while they wait for their crops to grow. Gregor has seen them once in the recent past.

Anatan, Serghu, Filip
They first met while Gregor was a soldier in the northwest of Ustalav. These are the three soldiers assigned to make sure Gregor didn’t do anything bad while raging. Gregor was romantically involved with Filip for a couple of months, but they broke things off because it was interfering with their relationship with the other soldiers. Anatan was slightly older, and might be retired now. The other two could still be soldiers, or may have moved on to other things. Gregor hasn’t seen them in a while.

Gillac, his half brother by blood
Gregor met this young man while traveling in North Central Ustalav. They have a very similar appearance, as they were both fathered by the same man. Gillac was positively affected by the presence of an older role model who proved to him that he could become a good person.

Lucia, his tailor
Gregor’s tailor was one of the few people who genuinely admired his physique. She saw him as having great potential for beauty, but only if he worked at it in a competent way. And he needed help to do that. Gregor enjoyed being groomed and primped, and she enjoyed the challenge of crafting clothing that was beautiful, highly functional and durable, and that fit an unusually shaped man. Being a homeless adventurer, Gregor keeps several changes of clothes with her, such as his summer outfit. I’m not sure what city she lives in, but ideally somewhere in central Ustalav, as Gregor would not have formed the relationship he did with her until after his time with Gillac.

Enemies

The Sorcerer
The man who is, by blood, Gregor’s father. Gregor blames this man for his unnatural appearance and the unhappiness in his life. He spent some time trying to hunt him down, and even found some clues that might be helpful, but he’s never seen him.

Nonek’s father, Nonius
He was never the same after his wife died. Nonius still thinks of himself as his son’s coach, and travels with him to competitions. In reality, he is an old, sad drunk whose son has long since surpassed him in every way.

Allie, his first love, and her family
Based in Caliphas, Allie is a sorcerer who travels frequently for her work. I’m not really sure what that is, certainly something dangerous. She never really stopped loving Gregor, but they had a major quarrel and things between them were left sour and awkward. Her family never liked Gregor, and would prefer he and she never meet again.

Beatrix, a con artist
While in Vigil taking lessons from Isabela to learn to control his magic, Gregor got scammed at a rigged game of cards. He had no business being at the table, really, he was so drunk he could barely keep track of who he was playing with. But the next day, he remembered her face.

Henric, a rival adventurer, and his party
During Gregor’s vengeful, coldhearted adventuring days near Chastel, before he met Gillac, he ran afoul of another group of adventurers. Something about stealing all the treasure from some deep crypt that had really belonged to Henric and his group. Things had nearly come to blows, but for the honeyed words of a woman Gregor was traveling with and the approach of another group of travelers. Henric vowed they would get revenge one day, Gregor rolled his eyes and forgot about the man. If confronted by him again, he might not even remember him.

Neutral

Flaviu, Gregor’s commanding officer from his time in the army
They got on ok. The man never really saw past Gregor’s aberrant appearance, and didn’t like that Gregor sometimes flew into a rage. On the other hand, Gregor was a fantastic fighter, and he seemed to get on ok with his fellow soldiers.

Isabela, Gregor’s magic tutor
The white haired old woman lived in Vigil when Gregor knew her. He paid her his savings, and she took him on as an apprentice. Their relationship was relatively professional, and they never really got close.

Gregor Gyles
Male Human Bloodrager (Steelblood) 9
CN Medium Humanoid (human)
Init +5; Perception +13
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Defense
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AC 24, touch 13, flat-footed 22 (+10 Armor, +1 Natural, +2 Dex, +1 Deflection, -4 ACP) (+1 AC vs charge)
hp 85[112] (9d10+27)
Fort +11[14], Ref +8 (+1 Ref vs trample), Will +8[10] (+2 saves vs own/allies spells)
Immune: Sickened, Nauseated
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Offense
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Speed: 30 ft.
Reach: +5ft
+1 Furious Fauchard, PA: +16/+11, 1d10+22/15-20/x2
Spiked Gauntlet, PA: +13/+8, 1d4+16/x2
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Statistics
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Str 20[24], Dex 14, Con 15[21], Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14
BAB +9; CMB +15[17] (20[24] trip); CMD 24[26] (28[30] trip, 25[27] overrun)
Feats: Power Attack, Dirty Fighting, Improved Trip, Eschew Materials, Raging Vitality, Combat Reflexes, Greater Trip, Improved Critical, Iron Will, Poised Bearing
Traits: Reactionary, Heirloom Weapon
Skills: Acrobatics +8(3), Climb +9(1), Disguise +4(2), Diplomacy +7(5), Handle Animal +5(1), Intimidate +10(5), K. Arcana +5(2), Linguistics +1(1), Perception +13(9), Ride +6(1), Sense Motive +3(3), Spellcraft +7(4), Survival +12(9), Swim +9(1)
Languages: Common, Varisian
Bloodrager Abilities:
Aberrant Bloodline
-Staggering Strike - on crit, Fort DC 10+1/2*lvl+Cha or staggered
-Abnormal Reach, +5 feet
-Aberrant Fortitude, immune to sickened/nauseated
Bloodrage (2+2*lvl+Con/day)
Indomitable Stance - +1 AC vs charge / +1 CMB/CMD overrun / +1 Ref vs trample
Armored Swiftness (+5ft speed in armor capped at normal speed)
Blood Sanctuary (+2 saves vs own/ally spells)
Armor Training (-1 ACP penalty, +1 max Dex, move normal speed)
Blood Deflection (immediate action sac spell for deflection bonus)
Spells
2nd (2/day, DC 14) - Glitterdust, Mirror Image, Resist Energy, Stone Call
1st (3/day, DC 13) - Endure Elements, Enlarge Person, Featherfall, Mount, Protection from Evil, Shield
Equipment:
+1 Full Plate 2650
+1 Furious Fauchard 8364
+3 Cloak of Resistance 9000
+1 Ring of Deflection 2000
+1 Amulet of Natural Armor 2000
+2 Belt of Strength 4000
1st level Pearl of Power 1000
Light Mace, silver
Dagger
Throwing Axe
Spiked Gauntlet
Ioun torch Ioun stone
Ioun stone, cracked incandescent blue sphere
Ioun stone, cracked dusty rose prism
Wand of Shield CL 1 (47/50)
Potions
-Endure Elements
-Protection from Evil
-Swift Girding x2
Spring loaded wrist sheath x2
-Enlarge Person x2
Cold Weather Outfit
Under Armor Outfit (worn below armor)
Tailored Travelers Outfit
Tailored Fancy clothes
Grooming Kit
Soap (50 uses)
Perfume, common, x4
Carved wooden holy symbol of Cayden Calean
Signal Whistle
Rope, silk, 100 ft
String, 100 ft
Pitons x4
Candle x10
Candlestick
Rice paper x 20
Inkpen
Ink
Chalk x10
Vial x5
Flask
Manacles, common
Earplugs
Vermin Repellant x2
Twitch Tonic
Clear Ear
Magnisum x6
Barbarian Chew x4
Mellowroot
Antitoxin x2
Holy Water x4
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