Sorcha - Human Fighter

[rorytheromulan]

Sheet public. https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?id=2878192#

Sorcha, Fighter
Deity/Alignment Cuthbert, LN
Languages: Common Tongue
Age 23

Story
Sorcha had always missed her own mother. She was born in winter, in the mining town of Diamond Lake, as an only child to a single father; a smith who worked the forge long and hot, and finished tired in the evening, and thus rarely had the time or the energy for the girl during her formative years. After Sorcha's 10th winter however, something changed. Father wanted to spend more time at home, and powered through exhaustion to make time for her. He feared what little time he had left before she became a woman grown, although she did not understand, nor question his newfound proclivity for doting on her. Whatever he must have felt infected her too, and she offered to help him at the forge. After performing various tasks that built up her strength, Father acquiesced, and offered to teach her how to wield a blade between orders. For a woman, building up a physique was seen as a brazen oddity, freakish and even impious at the worst of times, stigmatizing her reputation as an unconventional lady to the people of Diamond Lake, who would chafe to refer to her such.

Before that training began however, her old man and the gawkers were not her only source of attention wanted or otherwise. Apart from a few playmates and a sparring partner at the church, armed men began coming around to make trouble for him, making demands that seemed unreasonable to him, and at times made threats that she didn't understand at first - at least, not until after the next winter. That was when the famous wizard couple, Johan and Marie, came into town looking to settle down, and ended up becoming the impromptu defenders of their new home. It turned out that Father had two problems: the outlaws who came sniffing around and money, owed for getting his business up and running, and he and Johan became fast friends after the latter had solved both. Their families would end up growing closer as Father offered Sorcha to mind their newborn infant after she was born, and even later when Sorcha joined the bill for one of the mining companies as a paid guard. The wizard came around to help her scare off thugs from a rival trying to break in and steal, sabotage, or otherwise undermine her employer's assets, saving her job in the process. Sadly, the town would not reap the benefit of a guardian sage for much longer, as John's progeny had begun to show promise according to him, and he chose to set off adventuring with the tyke in tow. Even so, the peace of mind that they brought to the town would last for a few precious years. The usual troublemakers were reticent to rear their heads should Johan deign to return.

No, a new kind of trouble would look upon this peace from without, and relish the opportunity to shatter it: undead, risen from the cairns up on the hills to the north! A shamble of the slavering fetid cannibals could quench their hunger on the desiccated remains of burial mounds no longer - and so they loped down toward Diamond Lake, her people trapped between the ancient cemeteries and the river, and fell upon their cognizant prey with soulless abandon. The clergy of the chapel to Saint Cuthbert claimed that the only way to stop them was to return a stolen idol to its resting place. Sorcha and Father were among the volunteers to protect the holy man leading the effort, but the defenders suffered horrendous wounds, and some could not be healed from the brink of death - Sorcha's own father among the unlucky ones, bidding farewell and departing the mortal coil in their last tearful moment together. The smith's daughter had always missed her own mother. Now she had lost her father, leaving her alone.

A week later from that horrible night, a week spent at the local church of Saint Cuthbert availing shelter and succor to the bereaved, Sorcha received a letter. In it, she read the tragic fate of Johan, the godsent adventurer who had left them only a few years prior. She had been declared his daughter Jessica's guardian in the event of his untimely passing. With a heavy heart, she informed the high priest out of courtesy, and her few friends, then packed for a journey to the great city of Greyhawk to collect the youth.

Named, or names for contacts
Rangolin Daurstone, former boss
Lambert, High Priest at the Diamond Lake Church of Saint Cuthbert
Geffrey, mine guard
Bethel, childhood friend, now married

Enemies
Threats to Jess among Diamond Lake officials, by proxy
Thugs who harassed her in attempts to break into her boss's property

More in Greyhawk city (?)

Personality

An aloof attitude trickles forth from the crucible of harsh times and horrific tragedies that Sorcha has endured, especially her recent suffering, that is tempered by openness. She is straightforward with her friends, and her spirits are lifted by the innocence and wonderment of children, like pleasant memories from years past. She has a particular warmth for her foster niece, Jess, with whom she enjoys playing games, and affectionately named "Blueberry" when she babysat her for the Darkwoods. She pays lip service to the Saint of Truth and Wisdom, although the strength and limits of her virtues have yet to be tested. Once-bitten, she approaches the world with cautious optimism, allowing new acquaintances a chance to prove worthy of trust. She is secretly proud of her strength but embarrassed and ashamed that it shows in her impressive-albeit-womanly physique.

Description

Sorcha is a comely pale youth of dominantly Suel stock, in her early twenties with blue eyes and straight blonde hair which she wears long. Apprentice smithing and weapon training with her late father have built up a decently impressive musculature, which she hides under traditional woolen and hempen clothing.

 

Portrait

Art is not mine.

Rolls

16, 13, 14, 12, 15, 9
5 6 2 5 - 16
3 4 4 5 - 13
6 3 4 4 - 14
3 4 2 5 - 12
6 3 2 6 - 15
2 2 1 5  - 9

HP 7+1

Assignment & Adjustment
Strength 16, Dex 14+1, Constitution 15, Int 12-3, Wis 9, Cha 13

Age is Mature. Above modified further: Str+1, Wis +1

Alignment leans Good, but doing the wrong thing for the right reasons is a possibility, barring extremes.

She has had no occasion or desire to learn more than one language (I might change my mind.)
edit: possibly learned 1 language known to a party member...

edit 2: changed my thread title to demonstrate

Edited February 12 by rorytheromulan
added origin story and Personality and Description, added Mature age bonus, updated stats for new scores, Contacts and Enemies (see edit history)

[rorytheromulan]

Quote

2 hours ago, rorytheromulan said:

Hitting the proverbial books. I've never, ever played ADnD, let alone 1e. I balk at THAC0 mechanic, but I am willing to give it the college try. but I have to know: house rule feat or mechanics to allow for Dex fighter or are we doing it R.A.W. ?

Thinking about throwing in a melee fighter to springboard off of the background for the illusionist wunderkind, and act as the IC guardian for the kid, if they permit either (?)

Nevermind. I have an idea for a gnoll attack on her hometown, but she could show up at the temple to Pelor to meet up with the kid-PC there if you agree. @Excior

Edit for more clarification: I'd like to apply dex to a short sword, as shown in the image I plan to use for the portrait, which is this:
https://i.pinimg.com/564x/a5/aa/35/a5aa359b2d4e39a16c16549653df51c8.jpg

Expand  

I have not heard from SP yet but maybe we could say this. Your fighter was an old family friend of the Darkwoods. I don't want to micromanage your character and not be presumptuous about her history. Just an idea to try to combine our histories. You knew them from your days as a guard in training for the mine managers of Diamond Lake when the Darkwoods were still living there. Perhaps you ran into some trouble with the locals especially with the corruption and greed that permeated the town and Johan Darkwood helped bail you out and provide interference. Since then you have formed a close friendship with the family and was Jessica's doting older favourite pseudoaunt. You still pretty much kept in touch even though the Darkwoods left Diamond Lake. Recently a town near the Free City Greyhawk was hit by a plague and Johan and Jessica were trapped in the town and fell sick. Johan bravely managed to create an alchemical cure for the plague but at the cost of his own life. But Jessica survived and was taken to the Free City of Greyhawk to recuperate at the Temple of Pelor there. The temple contacted you and told you that before he died Johan had left Jessica a note claiming that if anything happened to him that you would be named Jessica's guardian. Your character and Jessica have been inseparable since. It is up to you of course how you want to handle your character. This is just an idea. Maybe you could expand on this or make some suggested changes?

 

Jessica is not an illusionist by the way. She is a universal magic user for lack of a better term.

@Excior Let's move the brainstorming here.

I intend to write my Fighter as the daughter of a smith who trained her to bond and pass time since the passing of her own mother. We can have Jess' dad come and drive away folks badgering Sorcha's dad. Trying to browbeat him into giving low-to-nonexistent prices, free labor, possibly adding veiled threats - I'll have to think on it. Anyway that can be the catalyst for them working closer together to deal with common enemies and introduce them.

Oh, by the way, the fates of Sorsha's family are going to end up being a dark reflection of Jess's. Whatever her hometown, you should know that it gets attacked by gnolls who wound and kill her old man. The idea here is that his training prepares Sorsha for when she gets uprooted from her stable life and requires a good sword arm to get by. Before all that, Sorsha can be Jess' aunt & parttime minder before Johan goes off adventuring with his baby onboard.

I'll come back to this tomorrow to hear from DM and finish the crunch.

[Excior]

why are you @ing me?

[Milo Fezziwig]

Simply, it's all in the AD&D PHB1e. Everything stands unless it is in house rules. Look up your DEX...add any plus or negative modifiers due to ability score and armor/shield. Take into account your age and race. That's it. Study the PHB. YouTube how to role up a AD&D PC. The mechanics are different. Pump up your Dex if you want a Ranger or such with a lower AC. If it is for you great, if not...no hard feelings. I have only played up to 3rd edition so if your quoting mechanics from anything above that ruleset it does not apply and I am unfortunately oblivious to it.

[rorytheromulan]

OP now has link to sheet & portrait and a few general details to see at a glance. Thanks for pointing out the house rules. Glad I won't have to mess around with the weapon AC adjustment. Looks like a headache and a half.

Excior I thought you were someone else, sorry.

[Milo Fezziwig]

We are going to have " Big Fun" guys. Get your graph paper ready!

[rorytheromulan]

@CapKirk

If I've got the correct @ for the fellow playing the mage, please read this and give it the Ok. I said gnolls before, but I changed it to zombies. if I'm going to commit planting the seed in Diamond Lake, the monster will have to be something more apropos of the nearby region filled with oodles of buried dead. I also decided to combine our ideas together and have Johan help the family out twice.

Personality still pending. She's probably good with kids.

Sorcha Story Draft 1

Sorcha had always missed her own mother. She was born in winter, in the mining town of Diamond Lake, as an only child to a single father; a smith who worked the forge long and hot, and finished tired in the evening, and thus rarely had the time or the energy for the girl during her formative years. After Sorcha's 10th winter however, something changed. Father wanted to spend more time at home, and powered through exhaustion to make time for her. He feared what little time he had left before she became a woman grown, although she did not understand, nor question his newfound proclivity for doting on her. Whatever he must have felt infected her too, and she offered to help him at the forge. After performing various tasks that built up her strength, Father acquiesced, and offered to teach her how to wield a blade between orders.

The old man was not her only source of attention. Apart from a few playmates, armed men began coming around to make trouble for him, making demands that seemed unreasonable to him, and at times made threats that she didn't understand at first - at least, not until after the next winter. That was when the famous wizard couple, Johan and Marie, came into town looking to settle down, and ended up becoming the impromptu defenders of their new home. It turned out that Father had two problems: the outlaws who came sniffing around and money, owed for getting his business up and running, and he and Johan became fast friends after the latter had solved both. Their families would end up growing closer as Father offered Sorcha to mind their newborn infant after she was born, and even later when Sorcha joined the bill for one of the mining companies as a paid guard. The wizard came around to scare off thugs from a rival trying to break in and steal, sabotage, or otherwise undermine her employer's assets, saving her job in the process. Sadly, the town would not reap the benefit of a guardian sage for much longer, as John's progeny had begun to show promise according to him, and he chose to set off adventuring with the tyke in tow. Even so, the peace of mind that they brought to the town would last for a few precious years. The usual troublemakers were reticent to rear their heads should Johan deign to return.

No, a new kind of trouble would look upon this peace from without, and relish the opportunity to shatter it.

Undead! From the cairns up on the hills to the north! A shamble of the slavering fetid cannibals could quench their hunger on the desiccated remains of burial mounds no longer - and so they loped down toward Diamond Lake, her people trapped between the ancient cemeteries and the water, and fell upon their cognizant prey with soulless abandon. The clergy of the chapel to Saint Cuthbert claimed that the only way to stop them was to return a stolen idol to its resting place. Sorcha and Father were among the volunteers to protect the holy man leading the effort, but the defenders suffered horrendous wounds, and some could not be healed from the brink of death - Sorcha's own father among the unlucky ones, bidding farewell and departing the mortal coil in their last tearful moment together. The smith's daughter had always missed her own mother. Now, she missed her father, too.

A week later after that horrible night, Sorcha received a letter. In it, she read the tragic fate of Johan, the godsent adventurer who had left them only a few years prior. She had been declared his daughter Jessica's guardian in the event of his untimely passing. With a heavy heart, she packed for a journey to the great city of Greyhawk to collect the youth.

Here's music that I listened to for inspiration: Misty Mountains elevator - Darkest Dungeon Final Combat - Berserk "Forces"

I've been listening to that last one a lot lately, hm.

Edited February 8 by rorytheromulan (see edit history)

[CapKirk]

Sounds good.

[rorytheromulan]

All done, ready for O-K.

edit: scratch that. I overvalued silver pieces in the exchange for gold! I'll have to recalculate, but as it is I only overspent. Everything should be legal and correct.

2. costs and silver conversion recalculated and rebought my gear. Footman's mace dropped and different equipment acquired. Gear crunch added. Updated descriptions according to the 1e Greyhawk setting book, added some details to friends/enemies.

3. another gear update, proficiencies update

Edited February 11 by rorytheromulan
fixed gear and money (see edit history)

[rorytheromulan]

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Sorcha

Str 17, Int 9, Wis 10, Dex 15, Con 15, Cha 13, Align LN, Hit Points 11/11, Movement 9", Rnd 90', Segment 9'
Paralyze/Poison 14, Rod/Staff/Wand 16, Petrify/Poly 15, Breath 17, Spell 17, Shock 91%, Res 94%
AC 3, Parry 2, Thac0 20, To-Hit +1, Melee 2d4+1, Range 1d6+1, S/M/L 2/4/6
2nd Profession Apprentice Armorer, Languages Common, LN, Reaction +5%
 

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OOC: placeholder

Edited February 12 by rorytheromulan (see edit history)