TheWhitefire Posted March 14, 2023 Clone Share Posted March 14, 2023 Shayla Shayla - Human (Skilled) - Cultist Witch 1 | Neutral Good | Female | The Dusk Mother Background Shayla was born to a simple life, of simple ambitions and simple dreams. Her parents were farmers living outside of Sunrise, and she was their only daughter, destined to one day inherit the simple farm and the simple life her parents lead. Now normally this is where, in the story of great adventurers, we say how Shayla always longed for more, but the reality is that she didn't. She was more than content to harvest the wheat and feed the chickens, to marry a handsome young farmer and have beautiful children. Certainly Shayla was smart--her father made sure she knew how to read, how to do numbers and how to read the weather and the almanacs prepared by the diviners at the temples. She even excelled in these fields, but it never birthed ambition in her. With her father and mother every morning she rose with the sun, prayed to Lathander and Chauntea, and every day they would go about their chores. Then, a bad year came. A terrible blight struck their fields, and disease infected their cows. Her parents burned back the grain and killed the infected yearlings and tried to care for the remaining livestock and the struggling crops. But it was in vain. Spending so long around the sick animals, the disease transferred first to her mother, then to her father. They, like their cattle, succumbed not long after. They had no money for priests, so the young Shayla was left alone to tend the farm. She arose with the morning, and cursed Lathander and Chauntea. She cursed them as she tilled the blighted soil and burnt the remaining livestock. She cursed them as her eyes spilled tears into the loamy soil over her parent's new graves. Then, one sunset as she turned in for the night, a small barred owl alighted on her stoop and watched her. And then, it spoke to her. Or, perhaps, someone spoke through the owl to her. It told her to go to the middle of a neighboring field. It told her that there, she would find others who lost to the whims of fate. There, she would learn how to save her farm. All for a promise. A promise of favours to come. She followed the owl out to a field. As she approached the field, the owl gave her a fabric mask. She wore it as she walked towards a towering bon fire. And there, there she met The Dawn Mother for the first time. There she danced wild and free under the dying light for the first time. There she released her anguish and suffering and fed it to the red glow of Lathander's light being overtaken by Shar's darkness, and celebrated the freedom from both that existed in the time between. She released all ambition and all care, and cast them on the Pyre of Suffering. She knew not who she danced with, nor did she care. As the sun finally died, she and the other revellers departed. The next morning, the owl showed her how to till the ashes from the dead farm animals into the soil. It taught her special incantations to utter over the irrigation ditches, and showed her where to clean them. It took weeks, even months, and while her yield was less than previous years, it still far exceeded the blighted expectations. And each dusk, she returned to the field and to the bonfire. She listened to sermons from the elders, she praised The Dusk Mother, she danced with her and with the other masked servants. She cast her cares, her pain, her suffering away into the fires of the setting sun and the seas of the rising night. Current Life To this day, Shayla remains a dedicated servant of The Dusk Mother, a cult which visits in the fields near the town of Sunrise every dusk. While the Dusk Mother herself sometimes attends these gatherings, such appearances are rare. Who or what the Dusk Mother is exactly, no one knows. However her followers don't really seem to care. Indeed the abandonment of cares and stress for the few blessed hours of the dusk is core to their worship. That is not to say that Shayla is callous. Quite the opposite, she has a reputation for kindness and empathy that many feared had fled her when her parents died. She's rarely seen around the temples these days, and her disdain for Lathander and Chauntea seems to remain. However, she does frequent the Mayhew's, often to get a plow straightened or a scythe sharpened. She is sometimes flirtatious around Mina, but never seriously so. If Shayla has dreams of romance, she keeps them quiet. Shayla has been running the farm on her own for five years (since she was 16.) It has been exhausting, and she can feel the toll on her body even at her young age. While she is content with being a farmer's wife, currently she is a farmer but not a wife, and the prospects in town are slim. She sees that leaving her farm fallow for a few years, while she's still young enough to travel and to marry, may be her best course. Vignette TBA Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhitefire Posted March 15, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted March 15, 2023 Shayla Shayla - Human (Skilled) - Cultist Witch 1 | Neutral Good | Female | The Dusk Mother Ability Scores Defenses Str: 0 Dex: +2 Con: +2 Int: +4 Wis: 0 Cha: +1 Class DC: 17 AC: 15 (16 Mage Armor) Fort (T): +5 Ref (T): +3 Will (E): +5 Perception: +5 Attacks Spear [Thrown 20 ft] +3 1d6 P Crossbow [Crossbow] +5 1d8 P Sickle [Agile, Finesse, Trip] +5 1d4 S Needle Darts [Attack, Cantrip, Evocation] +7 3d4 P, Inflicts 1 persistent bleed on crit Skills Athletics +2 Deception (t) +4 Intimidate +1 Medicine (t) +3 Occultism (t) +7 Society (t) +7 Stealth (t) +5 Thievery +2 Arcana (t) +5 Crafting (t) +5 Diplomacy (t) +4 Lore (Dusk Mother Cult) (t) +7 Lore (farming) (t) +7 Nature (t) +3 Performance +1 Survival +0 Feats Ancestry Skill Class General Heritage: Versatile (Canny Acumen: Perception) 1st: Natural Ambition (Cackle) Background: Schooled in Secrets Feature: Witch Spellcasting Feature: Starless Shadow Patron Feature: Familiar of Stalking Night Spells Occult Spell DC 17 | Spell Attack +7 Familiar Spells Known Cantrip Daze Detect Magic Haunting Hymn Infection Enthusiasm Message Needle Darts Phase Bolt Protect Companion Shield Telekinetic Hand 1st Level Fear Force Barrage Grim Tendrils Mystic Armor Soothe Summon Fey Spells Prepared Cantrips Needle Darts Infectious Enthusiasm Daze Haunting Hymn Message 1st Level Mystic Armor Fear Focus Spells Focus Points: 1/1 Patron's Puppet cost 1 Shroud of Night Hex cost 1 Cackle cost 1 Gear Encumbered 7, Max 12 | Current Bulk 3L equipped 5 in backpack (-2=3) Money: 11 gp Equipped L Bulk Sickle [0.1] Material Components Pouch [L] Backpack [0] (L when stowed) (ignore first 2 stowed bulk) Stowed In Backpack 5 Bulk Spear [1] Bolts [L] Crossbow [1] Bedroll [L] Chalk [0] Compass [L] Cookware [0] Flint and Steel [0] 2 Weeks Rations [L] Rope [L] Soap [0] 5 Torches [L] Waterskin [L] Familiar - Stardust, Barred Owl Tiny | Minion | Familiar Perception: +5; Low-Light Vision; Languages: Common Skills Acrobatics +5, Stealth +5, All others +1 Str +0 Dex +0 Con +0 Int +0 Wis +0 Cha +0 Items Unarmored AC 15; Fort +5; Ref +5; Will +5 HP: 5/5 Speed: 25 feet (fly 40 feet) Familiar Abilities: Flier,, Fast Movement (Fly), Familiar of Stalking Night Master Abilities: Recall Familiar Familiar Picture Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhitefire Posted March 15, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted March 15, 2023 Notes For story hooks Literally anyone could also be a disciple of the Dusk Witch. Shayla runs her parent's old farm, and struggles to do so. This, ultimately, is what might drive her to adventuring. She simply can't keep up with the work on her own. Shayla owes her witch patron, The Dusk Mother, for her gifts and for her introduction into the cult. Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhitefire Posted September 8, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted September 8, 2023 Changes to make: add ancestry paragon feat, Add crossbow, sickle, and "trident" weapons to replace Scythe. Add additional gear. Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhitefire Posted December 4, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted December 4, 2023 Shayla Shayla - Human (Skilled) - Cultist Witch 1 | Neutral Good | Female | The Dusk Mother Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWhitefire Posted December 6, 2023 Author Clone Share Posted December 6, 2023 So my phone died and apparently we are using the remaster, meaning I'm gonna have to remake poor little Shayla's entire character sheet at somepoint here. Just leaving this as a note-to-self. Name xDiceName xDiceResult xDiceString xDiceRolls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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