Jessop's page

"That may be a good sign. Or maybe not. Some sicknesses let up their pain just before killing you. The others are right. For now, you'll have to stay bound. Just until we can be sure. Who are you and how did this happen?"

Jessop gently unties the gag, pulling it away from the man's mouth. "Here," he says, holding his hand above the man's mouth and conjuring a small stream of water. He's doubtlessly thirsty. "Now, what was it you were trying to say?"

Jessop squats in front of the man, face grim. "If I take that off, are you going to start screaming again? If you do, I have half a mind to let this lot have you, and I think you've got an idea of what they want to do with you."

Gardsin (and everyone else), remember that Jessop healed most or all of the party for 2 hp during the last round of the fight. If you were within 30 feet, that is.

Jessop grudgingly asks the gods for assistance, channeling their energy out from him in a pulse of golden light.

Channel Positive Energy for 1d6 ⇒ 2 healing to everyone within 30 feet, selectively targeting allies only.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Jessop reels for a moment, but he lifts his shield, grits his teeth, and bears down on the creature that screamed like the wrath of the gods made flesh.

Basic Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 201d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

It's entirely appropriate. Jessop is a bit stubborn, a bit curmudgeonly, but ultimately a good guy and a loyal friend once his trust is earned. So, yeah, he's Bones.

Jessop smacks the creature with his shield, buying just enough room to bring his morningstar down with crushing force and trying to make his way toward the other wagon without giving the creature an opening.

Jessop lay's his hand on Gardsin's shoulder. "Take your shot, make it count," he says before moving out from the wagons, doing his best to put himself between the creatures and the caravan. And taking just a moment to curse the gods.

He used Bit of Luck on Gardsin. He gets to roll twice on his attack roll.

I guess it's important to know which cart Jessop and the man are in. If it's the cart with Ice Eyes and Malwyn then Jessop will stick close to the man but within reach of Ice Eyes and basically ready an action to use Bit of Luck on her (hopefully) before she shoots. If he is in the second wagon then he'll get on the ground but stay near the back of the cart so he can try to protect/assist both the man and Gardsin.

Jessop glares for a moment before searching around for a length of fabric which he bundles up and sticks in the man's mouth. Then he uses part of the remaining rope length to wrap it around the man's head, securing the gag in place while making sure it's not in danger of choking him.

"Better?"

"Now that we're talking sense, let's have a plan. Gardsin and I will stay with him. If he starts changing, I'll pin him with my shield and Gardsin can finish him. Malwyn, do you know how he will change if he mutates? Will he get bigger?"

"So easy to trust everything you hear?" Jessop says as Lem rides away. "Fine. Stop the wagon and help me unload him. Then the rest of you can be on your way."

Alright. I wasn't sure if this was some setting detail I missed in the background.

This is dependent on how much about the Corruption Jessop knows. I'd imagine he knows very little since he hasn't had that much contact with it personally.

Jessop moves between Krular and the man, raising his shield as he does so. "We don't know anything yet! All we have is the best guess of someone who claims he know what he says. We don't know if this is the corruption. We don't know that he's drawing anything to him. And I'm not watching you murder a man just because he has become inconvenient. We made him our problem when we took him along, so we'd damn well better be sure before we kill him."

Did I miss the explanation for how the corruption works? Everyone seems to know a lot about it but I can't remember reading much beyond the fact it exists.

"First you're compassionate, then you're merciless. I'll never understand you half-folk. He's raving, not fighting. Whatever made that noise is likely what did this to him. It's terrified him. Gardsin, help me bind the man."

"Calm yourself. You're under our protection, just calm yourself," Jessop says, making his words as soothing as possible, keeping his voice calm and even. "You can help us. Help us keep you safe. What is it making that noise?"

He places a hand on the man's chest as he speaks, once again summoning the orb of light.

"We've kept this man from dying, but I think he needs better care than we could give him. We should load him up and continue on. The faster we get him to the city the better."

I guess we're just waiting on Trup now?

Sighing, Jessop stows his weapon and moves to check on the man to see if there's anything that can be done. The cursed gods are a nuisance, but there are a few benefits as well.

I missed the part that he's unconscious. Well, in that case Jessop will be a bit more ready to help. He'll expend a Channel Energy to heal the man if he's not dead.

Jessop shakes his head. "He can moan and drag himself but not speak a single word in reply? It doesn't seem likely. I've found rationing your trust is far safer than assuming the best. Give him a wide berth until we're sure.

"I'm no priest," Jessop answers, but he moves toward the man anyway. "Stranger, if you need help, just say so."

"There," Jessop says, pointing at the creature. "Anyone who's not in the mood to get close to this nasty better get behind me."

With that, Jessop lifts his shield in front and interposes himself between the thing and the caravan. His shield begins to glow with the same golden light as the orb from the night before. "If you can understand me, be on your way," he says in a firm voice, hand flexing on the grip of his weapon.

Just to clarify, he cast the Light Orison on his shield. Obviously, he's pointing out where the thing is so everyone knows.

"And now there's a talking bird. Wonderful." Jessop shakes his head as he continues to wake his companions.

Noting that the moan isn't getting any quieter, Jessop begins moving from person to person, rousing them gently and telling them what's happening. He tries to move as quietly as he can, but the heavy armor certainly doesn't help.

If his movement causes whatever is out there to start coming for the camp then Jessop will go ahead with his "smack shield until everyone is awake" plan.

Jessop moves closer to Krular as quietly as he can. The gods have gone silent for the moment and he was enjoying the peace and quiet. But now, that noise, it's too disruptive.

"You hear it?" he whispers to the barbarian. "Sounds like it's moving further away, right?"

Jessop unlimbers his morningstar just in case. It's not just a good weapon. He's found that slamming it against the iron banding of his shield serves as a wonderful alarm.

As dark sets in, Jessop conjures a golden orb of light that floats just above his hand. He does his best to keep it raised until camp and the fire is made, then he moves on to checking the caravans rigging for any wear and tear in need of maintenance as well as seeing to it everyone has fresh water.

They're duties in need of doing, and the sooner he gets them over with the sooner he can try to get some sleep. The gods, they love to wake him early.

"Speaking of dinner, what's on the menu tonight?" he asks with a tired but friendly smile. Easy days make for happy nights.

Jessop watches the others moving to action, thinks about joining them, but ultimately decides that a central position would be more advantageous. Fortunately, he notes that he's already in a fine spot near the middle of the convoy and is content to remain in his place until such time as he's needed elsewhere. Very content indeed.

"Well look at that," Jessop says through a yawn. "The chatty halfling has a girl weak in the knees."

He scoots over to make room for the young woman, then settles in, kicking his legs idly.

Jessop slumps in on himself, looking for all the world like he might fall right asleep if given the chance. "Can we not do that? Pretend we're here to be friends? Let's just get from here to there with no fuss."

Harsh words and Jessop is a little guilty for the tone, but he didn't sleep well last night and the crick in his neck is killing him.

Jessop half-hops, half-crawls his way onto the back of one of the caravans, tossing his weapon and shield unceremoniously behind him. "This," he says, rapping a cloth-wrapped knuckle on his chestplate. "This is heavy."

With that, he awkwardly reaches over and tugs off a boot. A small stone falls out. Jessop scowls and begins lazily pulling the boot back on.

As it mentioned in his backstory, Jessop is traveling with the caravan because his destination is the Holy Lands. He hopes someone there will be able to "unbless" him.

Jessop pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head roughly. When he looks up again, the skin is bright red where his fingers were.

"Shut up!" he shouts, then remembers his company. Coming on the heels of Lem's performance and the introduction of a few more folk, Jessop's exclamation couldn't have been more poorly timed. He doesn't quite look embarrassed, but he sighs again. "No, not you all. Sorry. I'm Jessop. Good to know you, I guess."

"He's a half man," Jessop says. His tone is a sour mixture of fatigue and disinterest. "Is an ill-proportioned romance in the making, or has Lin set his sights too high?"

Instead of gloating or smirking at his jab, Jessop sighs heavily and works his finger around the collar padding of his armor, stretching his neck to the side like he's attempting to put his ear to his shoulder.

Looking forward to it! Thanks for giving me the chance to participate.

** spoiler omitted **

He actually doesn't know if it's some of the gods or all of them. He doesn't really care, either. Growing up in the Silveri Empire means he has virtually no religious knowledge or desire to learn. I imagine that will slowly change over time. Mostly, he just let's them talk and then goes on his merry way. It's his version of daily meditation and prayer, basically. He's mostly guided by his alignment (C/G) in what he does and which gods he's more inclined to listen to.

As for his holy symbol, it's just some random one he picked up because the gods were insistent he carry at least something. Again, he doesn't know or care to learn anything about religion. It's very possible it could be offensive to some or get him into trouble. If he ever does start to develop a respect for one of the gods, he'll probably seek out an appropriate holy symbol. He might even spend some decent coin on one, too.

Submitting Jessop Misofale Drae for consideration. I know I rolled another 13 to replace the 9, but I thought I'd keep at least one stat with a negative and another with no bonus just to keep him from feeling too good. I went back and forth on whether to make a Half-orc Monk or a Sorcerer, but seeing how many fighters are in the running I thought they might enjoy a little healing and buffing.