Modest_Proposal

Cecil Brandybuck Dahr-Ol's words brought a bit of color back in Cecil's cheeks. He was a good man, despite his recklessness. Whatever their fate - no matter what was won or lost or the mistakes made - they would be done amongst friends. Elfwynn's words did much, however, to reverse his spirits. "He will not be avenged until whatever brought those things here is destroyed or... driven away. From here and from Mountain Hall and wherever else they are crawling." He looked away. "Nothing living can be that cruel without a reason. Even spiders and wolves eat. I just don't understand." After a moment, he stood up with an open hand and a terse smile. "Let's find Gramtyng."

The song skill check I just made isn't really for anything in particular, unless you want to use it (I can't image for what, since it's not exactly an inspirational song).

Cecil Brandybuck A bitterness swelled in Cecil against his companions - of their eagerness to fight. What drove them to charge? Glory in death? Bloodthirst? Delusion? It had nearly ended them. The Beorning laid beside him, shattered and wheezing. He put his hand on the man's chest, careful to avoid his gash. "Dahr-Ol, we could not save him. The man who ran." He surprised himself with the flatness of his voice. He felt fear and hope at a dull distance. "His name was Walar." What was their fate? There was no guarantee of safety at Mountain Hall. Orcs stirred there as they left. Would there be anything to return to? The more he thought, the farther from home he became. His chest tightened. He could see their terrible faces, black and bleeding. He was convinced of it - Mountain Hall had fallen. They were alone. He tipped his head, and with only enough care to whisper, sang to himself. A wind did turn Down Red Horn Pass As I was sleeping In the grass It tumbled over Mountains tall And or’ the Walls Of Mountain Hall Title I'm still enjoying making tracks of Cecil's songs on Udio, so I've attached one to this post. If anyone has a problem with them, I'll stop. I know it's silly. I write the lyrics unaided. And with my care, Udio puts them to music. Since they have different singing voices, you might consider some of them to be renditions.

Cecil Brandybuck Cecil ignored Magric for the moment, though he knew he was right. "I do not know your name." He lifted his pipe from the man's mouth and let smoke swell behind his own trembling lips. He could taste the trace of blood, but tried not to show it. Then he gave it back as one would to a friend by the lazy sunset. "You are not alone. Others will know your name; where you have been. What should we tell them? What shall we tell Winfrith?" He froze. It was a guess, but a reasonable one. Still, he would not dwell on the name. "They are not far. What song will carry you to your people?" Despite the killings these past weeks, he had not until today truly seen death. The man's head was heavy and warm upon his knee. Bodies surrounded them, perhaps as close to life as this man was, groaning in agony and the wonder of the end. He had never so badly wished to be home and to have never left.

Yeah. At this point, we haven’t even confirmed the existence of the fortress, nor its capabilities. The orcs could just as easily be coming from a small outpost or be part of a roaming band. We could try and track down the lost island merchants. If they live, they may have facilities for healing our companions and would know much about the nearby situation. Hopeful we can gain useful info from the dying man.

T- Cecil Brandybuck -T Cecil slung his bow and bounded toward Dahr-Ol and Elfwyn, dodging the carnage as best he could until he reached an impasse… The still stranger! An arrow stuck from his back like a flag of crimson fletching. Ernstyr had already taken position by Dahr-Ol and so he sunk down. He compressed a pale wad of pipeweed between his thumb and forefinger and crammed the thick of it in his pipe. Then with practiced efficiency, he struck a flint until a rising thread made way to billowing white. He wiped off the excess. “A good three days’ pack, this is. It’d wake a fish off the plate. Come on, take a good long puff, now... Let it in.” He lifted the man’s head. Blood and mud ran down Cecil’s arm. The arrow had pierced clean through and kept his torso angled in the muck. There was nothing he could do, besides give the man a moment to make peace. He turned to Dahr-Ol without looking too closely. Ernstyr, by his testament, was an experienced healer and practiced in the wounds of war. But Cecil preferred not to think about it. That Dahr-Ol could die was an impossibility, like the falling of a stout tree. “As much as you like, now. Don’t make me beg...” He swiftly placed his knee behind the man’s head, feeling for signs of movement. Using my Herb-lore trait to score a basic success.

Understood!

T- Cecil Brandybuck -T Cecil stayed his bow, for in the melee, mud became their cloaks and faces and blood their blades. That was, until Barin clarified an orc and its limb. The remaining orcs tucked back from their hosts with wild eyes. He had seen this before - like deers after a wide shot. Instinct took his hands and he lengthened his bow. He had to put one down before it signaled others or - worse - lashed at Dahl-Ol.

Cecil Brandybuck Cecil kept an eye to the flank, expecting screaming arrows from all directions. The obscurement comforted him, but he knew it was a false comfort. Every distant rustling reed or branch kept him guessing. He strung another arrow, with a third held between his knuckles. Then he screamed again, hoping in desperate vanity that the orc might turn to look or stay his blade.

T - Cecil Brandybuck - T A sucking thud drew Cecil back to the melee. An orc laid at Dahr-Ol’s feet, but the man looked utterly spent. Blood ran down his torso and he did not move as another orc closed ranks. Not even to raise his weapon! Cecil nocked his bow. The reeds that had been his wall became an infuriating hinderance. He pressed into the clearing, bending stalks - pressing until the creature was too clear. For it was as black and horrible as the others he had seen at Mountain Hall and its blade was slick with blood. He screamed and let go his arrow.

Stupid me never thought to just use the standard dice roller.

How do I add static modifiers to dice roller? For example, if I gain a +3 to an attack roll, how do I include that in my roll?

T —Cecil Brandybuck— T Cecil curled his toes. Horror! The blur of figures were obscured in their own way by mud and mist, but there were outliers at the edge of his vision: sickly orcs, hunched with stretched out bows. They were not much larger than boars. In the fog, he could almost see them as such. He let the instinct of a thousand hunts carry him and sent an arrow hissing through the reeds. The shot, quiet as it was, seemed a grave pronouncement to Cecil. He felt all at once naked to the enemy and collapsed where he stood.

Cecil Brandybuck Like fish to a worm! He thought. Or worms to a fish... He flashed a smile, turning as he did to retreat - waiting for his comrades to drag the wounded man with bended knees. But still they crept forward! They pursued?! It took all of Cecil's restraint not to split the reeds toward Barin and Dahr-Ol and leap for their legs. It was too late, of course, the fools were proving themselves warriors in the worst of times. "No!" He whispered hoarsely. He fumbled an arrow in a panic and grabbed two more between his hairy knuckles. There was nothing for it. Time and space shrunk down to the tip of his bow as he turned half-way between the forces ahead and the route behind.

I don't have enough TOR experience to know dangerous this fight is.