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
Fresh Cut Grass is a Harmonious Aeormaton with yellow metallic plating, big blue eyes of different shapes, and a tiny wheel he uses to roll around. There are four stripes on his chestplate that look like blades of grass. He is 3 feet 8 inches tall, and because he is made of various high-density alloys, he weighs twice as much as expected. They speak in a Southern American English accent, which is mimicked in part from Dancer.

Their chestplate is affixed to their torso by a series of clips or bolts. Behind their chestplate, FCG has a metal vat or bowl that stores objects they ingest. A number of transmutation runes are written across the bottom and around the back of the bowl. Ley tethers further connect this bowl to other parts of FCG's body through a power cord, which glows faintly violet. The transmutation runes reallocates any objects that FCG ingests so that they can repair themselves. FCG described this as a very complicated self-repairing system, allegedly designed by Dancer, that required raw materials. The portions of consumed materials that they don't require (such as the non-metallic components of ore) are excreted through their mouth. There are additional invisible runes on their chassis and on the inside of their casing; when they cast spells, both the visible and invisble runes glow.

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 who was functional during the Age of Arcanum, living in a flying city with many other aeormatons. During these times, FCG knew an angry man with graying blond hair who instilled them with fear. In contrast, FCG also was close with an older noblewoman, whom they found kind and compassionate, and to whom they also provided support.

Post Divergence, in around 838 PD, about five years prior to the events of Campaign 3, FCG's deactivated body was purchased by Dancer from individual who called themselves D, claiming that the automaton was taken from the Rumedam Desert. 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. Imahara Joe also gave FCG a coin of the Changebringer, telling him that it might help him free less lost.

Fresh Cut Grass was able to revivify Fearne following the brutal fight with Otohan Thull, which in turn meant that she could revive Orym. After the party traveled to Whitestone to attempt to resurrect Laudna, Pike Trickfoot was able to verify for FCG that he did have a soul, which somewhat unsettled FCG. The next day, FCG went to the Horizon Temple and spoke to Guide Osli Kamyda, who provided them with some understanding of the Changebringer. FCG prayed for a sign that she was listening.

In Yios, FCG was attacked by Shithead, who said that it was not a punishment; it just really didn't like them. FCG was shaken by this, and following the further attacks from the Ruby Vanguard worried he would reach a breaking point again. They also went to see Vitro Isham, an automaton expert. Vitro reaffirmed FCG's personhood and identified him as a Harmonious Aeormaton, and, by FCG's request, built a small oven in his chassis to help with his budding interest in cooking.

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.

Imogen Temult
FCG and Imogen share a number of abilities, notably Detect Thoughts, and have collaborated together several times, especially to help Ashton with their lost memories. FCG also has expressed interest in helping Imogen with her nightmares, and has joined her via Shared Dream.

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 or fly.
 * Goggles of Object Reading
 * Pearl of Power, temporary taken from Laudna's corpse.
 * Changebringer coin, gifted by Imahara Joe

Former items

 * Coin of delving, lost when lent to Orym and dropped down a shaft.
 * Immovable rod, it was decided via rollies that FCG took it from Laudna after her death. Then they gave it back to Laudna.

Aeormaton abilities
Fresh Cut Grass is known to have the following racial features as an Aeormaton:
 * Resistant to poison damage and advantage on saves against the poisoned condition
 * Doesn't require air, food, or drink
 * Doesn't require sleep. Rather than sleep, FCG enters "Stasis Mode".
 * Immune to disease
 * Can cast Calm Emotions
 * Subrace: Harmonious

Because Aeormatons are considered the Exandrian equivalent to warforged, it is also assumed they have the additional following traits from Eberron: Rising from the Last War:
 * Integrated Protection: +1 AC, must spend 1 hour to integrate armor onto their body, integrated armor can't be removed unwillingly
 * Constructed Resilience: Can't be put to sleep by magic. All other features from this trait already listed above.
 * Sentry's Rest: Inert but conscious during a long rest and thus can see and hear as normal.
 * Specialized Design: Proficiency in one skill and one tool

Feats and other mechanics

 * FCG can 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 and their stress points reset to 0. As of, the known stress points they collected were related to attempts to recall them attacking the Division of Public Benefit, but Sam also seemed to refer to unstated stress points accumulated at other times, notably during the Deathwish Run in . It is possibly implied that stress points regularly reset through an unknown mechanic. FCG additionally described themselves as feeling pain, including sometimes when healing others; this may indicate that stress points can be accumulated by healing.
 * Chef
 * Chef

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
 * Shared Exuberance
 * Divine Strike

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 9th-level cleric, they can prepare up to fourteen 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.

The name "Fresh Cut Grass" comes from an article Sam read about how the smell of freshly cut grass is the grass "screaming"; plants, including grass, release a chemical called green leaf volatiles to signal tissue damage, indicate stress, and defend themselves. He tweeted one such article (titled "Fresh-Cut Grass Smell is Your Lawn's Shriek of Despair, Science Says") the morning after, in which Fresh Cut Grass attacked the party.

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 initial connection to a deity or lesser idol.