Fresh Cut Grass

Fresh Cut Grass, or FCG for short, is an aeormaton cleric and a member of Bells Hells. FCG is played by Sam Riegel.

Appearance
FCG has yellow metallic plating, with four chestplate stripes that look like blades of grass, and rolls around on a tiny wheel. He has big blue eyes of different shapes. FCG is made of various alloys and, being dense, weighs twice as much as he looks like he would. He is 3 foot 8 inches tall, making him taller than both Orym and Chetney.

FCG eats metal rather than organic food for sustenance. They described it as a very complicated self-repairing system designed for them by Dancer, requiring raw materials to operate. The portions of consumed materials that they don't require (such as the non-metallic components of ore) are excreted through their mouth. FCG is also able to store liquids inside and pour them out later.

Every time they confronted with the traumatic memories of their past, Fresh Cut Grass starts glitching and gains points of stress. When FCG crosses a certain stress threshold, they fall into an uncontrollable anger and their eyes turn red.

Personality
FCG is extraordinarily kind, polite, and helpful. He considers Ashton Greymoore a close friend and is keen to aid in their various crude pursuits. FCG is well aware that he is an automaton and does not believe that he has a soul. They are outwardly dismissive of their own feelings because they are not sure whether those feelings are genuine, or merely from how they were built. However, FCG has displayed emotions, including sadness about the death of their friends.

FCG is also at times judgemental or passive-aggressive when upset, notably in response to Orym accidentally losing their coin, which had been a gift from Dancer.

FCG doesn't like birds and finds them annoying.

Background
Fresh Cut Grass is aeormaton of an Aeorian make who's broken remains were purchased from a merchant caravan and repaired by their former associate Dancer. FCG was named by Dancer, who named all her creations after her favorite smells including Oatmeal, Apple Pie, and Pussy. Each construct was designed for particular tasks, and each was unique. Fresh Cut Grass was designed to heal, and believes their magic does not come from a divine source.

FCG was later part of a group of adventurers called the Division of Public Benefit working out of Bassuras. About Thunsheer 843 PD, a couple of months before joining the Bells Hells, the Rayia family of Evishi in the Oderan Wilds hired the Division to clear out giant creatures native to the area from a silver mine that the family owned east of the city. The task was more difficult than expected, and the group sustained heavy injuries. They retreated to the entrance of the cave to rest and make camp for the night. While at camp, Fresh Cut Grass suffered an unknown but untenable stressor and, in response, attacked the others. All were killed except Dancer, who narrowly escaped. The killed were eviscerated, and various descriptions by Ashton Greymoore, who later discovered the scene, suggested that the bodies were horribly mangled.

Fresh Cut Grass had no memory of the event; he believed himself to be in stasis mode while it happened and remembered the attacker to be a one-eyed monster. Ashton remembered that Fresh Cut Grass had only one functioning eye when they found him.

A week later, FCG met Ashton when Ashton was sent in by the mine's owners to find out what happened. Ashton discovered FCG, who was glad that Ashton had come to help them. Together they buried the bodies, but FCG kept some of the other automaton parts with him, including Pussy's sawblade and Oatmeal's grappling cannon.

Campaign 3
FCG had accompanied Ashton to the Spire by Fire Inn on a search for employment when a magical disturbance nearby created several animated objects that threatened to attack innocents. To fight the constructs, FCG and Ashton spontaneously coordinated with two other groups: Imogen Temult and Laudna; and Dorian Storm, Fearne Calloway, and Orym. The seven individuals' effectiveness as a team impressed Bertrand Bell, who promised to make introductions to high-placed people in the city to help them with their various goals, and took them to see Lord Ariks Eshteross.

FCG experienced some glitching after the fight with the Shade Mother, and was unable to identify Imogen's gnarlrock, but recovered after a rest.

In Bassuras, Fresh Cut Grass told Chetney to keep an eye out for Shithead, a vindictive bird who had frequently attacked him, and Chetney agreed to. Soon after, they visited Esmer, an old contact, and she revealed that Dancer was apparently still alive. FCG was shaken by this news, and experienced some glitching again both prior to and following the Deathwish Run. He also learned, from Imahara Joe, that Dancer was not his creator but rather, his purchaser, and that he was an aeormaton.

FCG contacted Dancer twice via Sending in an effort to check in with her and see if she might lend her technical expertise to the Veilscatter Scope after Ira Wendagoth's departure. The first time, she seemed rattled and provided little information. The second time, she seemed scared, telling them she had barely escaped and that she never wanted to see them again. At this, FCG seemingly went catatonic, until Chetney hit him on the head. They then attacked Chetney, and anyone else who attacked them in the ensuing fight, saying cruel things to anyone who dealt damage to them. After being knocked unconscious and then healed back by Fearne, FCG had no recollection of the past few minutes in which they attacked the party, which Imogen corroborated via her psychic abilities.

Upon returning to Bassuras later that day, Imogen contacted Dancer, claiming to have subdued FCG. Dancer was convinced to speak to FCG from a distance, and told him that his personality was his own and not of her creation, and that she had seen him as a friend. However, until they resolved the issues that had led them to kill the rest of the Division of Public Benefit, Dancer could not make peace with them. FCG and the rest of Bells Hells then went to Imahara Joe's to learn more about FCG's inner workings. Imahara Joe told them that they might be one of the aeormatons from The Care and Culling, an assassination plot from the Age of Arcanum.

Ashton Greymoore
Ashton has been FCG's closest companion since the incident at the mines. The two both live at the Krook House, and FCG occasionally helps Ashton cheat at cards.

Current items

 * Arm attachments
 * Pussy's sawblade
 * Oatmeal's grappling cannon: Makes a ranged weapon attack that, on a hit, deals 1d10 damage and the target creature is grappled. If the target creature is Medium or smaller, the creature can be pulled 20 feet toward Fresh Cut Grass. If the target creature is Large or bigger, FCG can be pulled 20 feet toward the creature.
 * Bolt thrower
 * Propeller: Intended to help FCG swim.
 * Goggles of Object Reading

Former items

 * Coin of delving, lost when lent to Orym and dropped down a shaft

Aeormaton abilities
The following abilities are assumed identical to the warforged traits from Eberron: Rising from the Last War, except where noted otherwise:
 * Constructed Resilience
 * Resistant to poison damage and advantage on saves against the poisoned condition
 * Doesn't require air, food, or drink
 * Doesn't require sleep and can't be put to sleep by magic. Rather than sleep, FCG enters "Stasis Mode".
 * Immune to disease
 * Integrated Protection: +1 AC, must spend 1 hour to integrate armor onto their body, integrated armor can't be removed unwillingly
 * Specialized Design: Proficiency in one skill and one tool

Feats and other mechanics

 * When FCG attempts to recall the attack on their prior party, they accumulate stress points, which can overwhelm them. When overwhelmed, FCG shuts down, then begins to attack and disparage those around them. While in this state, FCG has advantage on attack rolls. When FCG drops to zero hit points, they fall out of this state.

Cleric abilities
Fresh Cut Grass is a cleric of the Empathy Domain, a subclass homebrewed by Matthew Mercer. Though they use the game mechanics of a cleric, their magical abilities appear to be something they were built with, rather than something they get through worship of a god.
 * Channel Divinity
 * Turn Undead, Destroy Undead (CR 1/2)
 * Divine Domain: Empathy Domain
 * Channel Divinity: Sympathetic Binding
 * Ardent Armor
 * Bonded Blessing
 * Transfer Suffering

Spells
In addition to their domain spells, which are always prepared, FCG knows four cantrips and has access to all cleric class spells. As a 6th-level cleric, they can prepare up to nine of these spells per day.

Behind the scenes
Fresh Cut Grass's race and class were decided by Liam in a manner similar to how Sam's previous characters Scanlan Shorthalt and Veth Brenatto (as a goblin) had a race and class suggested by Liam O'Brien, though Liam stated that it was a mandate in Campaign 3. Fresh Cut Grass as a character is mainly inspired by Jack McBrayer, who is a friend of Sam's. He felt that McBrayer's personality as "a ray of sunshine and optimism" perfectly suited an automaton's programming. He also noted Ted Lasso as a likely influence, as he was watching the series before the campaign. He further asked Matt if he could play as a therapist, and this resulted in the development of the homebrewed Empathy Domain. The inspiration for this came from, when in an aside, Taliesin Jaffe asked Matt if they could make a therapy character class.

Appearances and mentions

 * Campaign 3, every episode

Quotations
FCG: Sure. Lots of things, but I want you all to get what you want first. But yeah, I want things. I need to find out who did that to my friends, and figure out if I can get them some sort of— not vengeance, but justice, I suppose? I'd like to find out what I am. That would be nice. And if there's more of me. FCG: Well, that's an opinion. And opinions are like opera. Sure, you can listen to them, but why would you, really?
 * FCG: Smiley day there.
 * FCG: (after someone accidentally dumps a piss bucket on him) Sorry I was in your way. I apologize.
 * FCG: Shiny day to you!
 * FCG: When you lie down with dogs, you wake up with puppy smooches.
 * FCG: You know, they say that the word goodbye is the hardest word to say, but it's not. It's Worcestershire.
 * FCG: Of all the cities in the world, Generosity is the capital of Kindness.
 * FCG: Carpe BM. When we're in a real shitty situation, you just got to seize it.
 * FCG: (discussing Lord Eshteross's sponsorship of the group) When you accept sponsorships, isn't that sort of selling out a little bit?
 * FCG: Dancer always said that love equals friendship plus alcohol, but I think there's more to it than that.
 * FCG: The only thing more fun than a new friend is a new friend with a secret.
 * FCG: You can accomplish anything if you believe in yourself, or if you have wealthy parents.
 * Orym: Is there anything you want?
 * Imogen: I think you are alive, FCG.
 * FCG: Your parents don't like you [Fearne]. They never did, and that's why they got rid of you. And you know what? They were fucking right! (FCG during his first rage)
 * FCG: You [Laudna] were never alive. (before fading into unconsciousness)

Trivia

 * Fresh Cut Grass's miniature was accidentally broken by Matthew Mercer during his debut episode.
 * The animation on their stat card features drifting motes of bright light.
 * As they are both a "robot" and an apparently healing-oriented cleric, Fresh Cut Grass is, in a different sense, literally a "healbot". The actual definition doesn't apply to them as it usually describes a support player who focuses only on healing other members of the party, often to the point of ignoring other abilities they may have and often in a manner considered repetitive and rote.
 * FCG is the first cleric played by a main cast member in a campaign to have no apparent connection to a deity or lesser idol