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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rookseye" data-source="post: 2779155" data-attributes="member: 18211">Thomas SykesColonial Militiaman of Massachusetts Bay Colony <img src="http://www.pilgrimhall.org/images/josiah.JPG" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> Stats:Investigator 6– offensive optionHeight: 5’11”Weight: 195 lbs.Hair: Dark BrownEyes: HazelAge: 31Str: 13 Dex: 16Con: 14Int: 10Wis: 12Cha: 8Hit Dice: HP: 24 of 38 (8+30)AC: 13 (10 base, +3 Dex)-- touch: 13 (10 base, +3 Dex)-- flat-footed: 10 (base 10)Init: +7 (+3 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)Speed: 30’Current Sanity: 52Max. Sanity: 9920% sanity: 12Saves:Fortitude +4 (base +2, Con +2)Reflex +5 (base +2, Dex +3)Will +6 (base +5, Wis +0)Attacks:BAB: +5- Melee +6 (+5 BAB, +1 Str)-- Unarmed +6 (1d3+1, subdual)-- Hunting knife +6 (1d4+1 piercing/Crit.19-20/x2/Small)-- Hatchet +6 (1d6+1 slashing/Crit. 20/x3/Medium) - Ranged +8 or +9 [Point Blank Shot] (+4 BAB, +3 Dex)-- Musket +8 or +9 [Point Blank Shot] (Large, 2d6/x3/100 ft./9 lb./Bludgeoning and Piercing)SkillsCurrent Skill Points: 72Skill Points per Level: 8 Appraise +0Balance +3 (+3 Dex)Bluff -1 (-1 Cha)Climb* +4 (3 ranks, +1 Str)Concentration +2 (+2 Con)Craft (Gunsmith) +2 (4 ranks, Cross-class)Diplomacy -1 (-1 Cha)Disguise -1 (-1 Cha)Escape Artist +3 (+3 Dex)Forgery +0 Gather Information -1 (-1 Cha)Heal +1 (+1 Wis)Hide* +8 (5 ranks, +3 Dex)Innuendo +1 (+1 Wis)Intimidate* +6 (7 ranks, -1 Cha,)Knowledge (Geography) +1 (2 ranks, Cross-class)Knowledge (Law) +1 (2 ranks, Cross-class)Listen* +9 (6 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 Alertness)Move Silently* +8 (5 ranks, +3 Dex) Performance -1 (-1 Cha)Ride* +5 (2 ranks, +3 Dex)Search* +6 (6 ranks)Sense Motive* +6 (5 ranks, +1 Wis)Spot* +11 (8 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 Alertness)Swim* +3 (2 ranks, +1 Str)Wilderness Lore* +5 (4 ranks, +1 Wis)Feats:Alertness (Starting)Point Blank ShotWeapon Proficiency- Ranged (Starting)Weapon Proficiency- Melee (Offensive bonus feat) Improved Initiative (3rd level)Languages:EnglishEquipment:Musket with powder and ammo for 17 shotsWood Axe (Hatchet)Hunting knifeMilitia uniformThick cloakHaversack containing hardtack and dried meat for 5 daysWaterskinSmall caged lanternTen tallow candlesFlint and tinderManaclesWoolen blanketsAppearance:Thomas Sykes shows the weathered and haggard appearance of a man half-again his age. Pale in pallor, with a tall forehead, receding hairline, and beetled brows, he looks more the part of a grave digger than militiaman. His perpetually sour expression is mitigated somewhat by his wide and perceptive hazel eyes, which appear almost boyish in contrast.Sykes keeps what remains of his wiry brown hair pulled back from his scalp, beneath the tri-corner cap of his militia uniform.  Personality:A stoic and sullen man, Thomas Sykes has lived a hard life and it shows. His demeanor as a militiaman is full of forced courtesy and respectfulness to those he perceives as his “betters”: ranking officers, clergy, and gentlemen, but it is a sarcastic charade at best. His hidden contempt for his “betters” is ingrained, a result of the various hardships inflicted on him throughout his life by people with power, among them the magistrate that bound him into indentured servitude in the colonies. Ironically, the mercurial circumstances of his eventful life have reduced him to a servant of the very crown he despises in Massachusetts Bay. Although it is not impossible for a person of wealth and standing to earn Sykes’ respect, he tends to be warmer and more personable to folk of his ilk and social class, particularly the disenfranchised (he has a soft spot for slaves, indentured folk, and even Indians) and other malcontents. Acutely aware of the hypocrisy of his situation, Thomas Sykes longs for some measure of change. Unfortunately the promise of steady employment and the small measure of respect that his soldier’s life grants him is difficult to walk away from. His fear of the unknown and fatalistic nature hold him a prisoner to the life he leads even better than the decree of the English magistrate that once bound him to slavery. Background:Sykes was born to a poor fishmonger’s wife in wharfside London in the Year of our Lord, 1644. Raised in a state of abject poverty that worsened after his father’s death to consumption, he became something of an urchin and troublemaker, stealing food from the busy dockworkers and nicking whatever he could run away with from the quayside crates along the Thames. When his mother, who had become a whore, was killed by a drunken Scottish merchantman, Thomas Sykes was well and truly orphaned.By the time he was a young teenager, Sykes was leading his own small gang of petty thieves and ruffians, fighting other roving bands of urchins for both turf and the right to steal from the most easily accessible customs warehouses. In time, he was caught stealing, and went before a magistrate. Due to his relative youth, he was not hung, and it was thought that he would be better rehabilitated by being transported. So, at the age of thirteen he was shipped off to the colonies by one of His Majesty’s more forgiving magistrates. Forced to serve both as the cabin boy and all-around whipping boy of the crew the Winsome Wynonah, he learned to hate both his lot and the servants of the crown who had banished him to the New World. Embittered by the beatings, he attempted to flee when arriving in Boston Harbor, but did not make it far. He was turned over to wealthy blacksmith to work off the term of his indenture. Being least not only among the blacksmith’s many sons, but also among his many servants, life changed little from his time on the ship. Always quick of wit and deft of hand, Thomas began to pick up the trade, and his skill was eventually noticed by others when he finally found ways to foil the petty sabotage of his fellow apprentices. When the kindly John Hulme, a master gunsmith and friend of Thomas’ master noticed his work he transferred the remainder of the boy’s indenture to his care with a cash settlement. Though he did not stay but a few years in Hulme’s shop as a servant, he learned a skilled trade and stayed on for many years after as a trusted and valued journeyman. When Hulme died, Sykes was forced to leave the family employ by a jealous elder son. Unable to find work in his trade at first, he enlisted in the colonial militia, his many contacts among the officers whose arms he repaired serving him in good stead. After a short stint as an assistant armorer in the main barracks, Sykes was transferred to a more active role, patrolling town and countryside. Over the last seven years, he has become skilled at his vocation, if not completely happy with his life. Quote:"I think we can deter any of the townsfolk from trying their luck with that, Master Scudder, between the local militia and ourselves."</blockquote>

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