Baolo's page

Baolo was born 18 years ago while a raging storm battered the Ijo villages that dot the northern beaches of Deperation Bay. His father, an excellent fisherman, heeded the call of Shimye-Magalla as a young man and served as priest to several Bonuwat villages.

Baolo's birth was auspicious and it didn't take long to become clear the son's gifts would exceed those of the father. From a young age, the youth was fascinated by Ijo legends, especially those that told of Shimye-Magalla and her sea-going heroes. At sea, the boy day-dreamed, visions of quests for the goddess seemingly distracting him from the lessons of fishing and the sea. But, the boy's progress told a different tale and soon his skill exceeded his peers and even many of the elder Ijo.

The call of sea and birds proved to be irresistible. Baolo dreamed of flying with them, but settled for the next best thing and became an expert sailor. Feeling his craft fly across the waves in a stiff wind left him feeling that he was nearly flying. He acted out the tales he heard from his father and other elders at sea and at the tender age of seven, the Ijo youth showed he was a more accomplished seaman than most of the adults in the tribe.

He proved his mettle in battle too. The Ijo north of Desperation Bay are caught between the savage halflings of the Kaava Lands and the sahuagin of the bay. Some of his favorite stories told of clever heroes outwitting or outfighting the two great enemies of the Ijo. But Baolo quickly learned that battle with these foes was more lethal than the tales. No quarter would be given and he needed to be swift and deadly to survive. He took to the bow immediately, finding a connection with his beloved birds in the craftwork of fine fletching and that striking quickly from a distance was effective with both foes.

The tales continued to speak to Baolo and while he dreamed of new ones, he also began to seek out legendary artifacts of his people. He found and survived his own adventures in both the bay and jungle. A year ago, Baolo was sailing in Desperation Bay, seeking the location of an ancient Ijo wreck when a strange wind came up. Trusting in Shimye-Magalla, Baolo let it take him and several hours later, his boat arrived in Eleder.

Convinced Shimye-Magalla had a plan for him, Baolo sent word to his tribe that he would be staying in Eleder. At least for a time. Finding that many of his tribe had forsaken Shimye-Magalla for the gods of the colonists, Baolo set to teaching them of the legends of their people and their goddess. But, still Baolo feels the goddess has plans for him not yet revealed and he listens for further signs.

Baolo has found Eleder to be both more and less than he had hoped. He loves the diversity of the city and the glimpse it has given him into the broader world. The bustle of the docks attracts him with the promise of voyages longer than any he has taken thus far. But, he also sees the tension between the colonials, Ijo and other tribes of the Mwangi. He knows it isn't healthy for the city or his people and does what he can to push small steps for change.

I'm sure you'll have your own take on how to introduce Baolo if selected, but based on reading the background, I have a couple suggestions that fit with the continuity of the adventure so far.

Option 1: Xarethi. While Xarethi felt the call of the sea, she also didn't feel right leaving the group alone. She was one working to bridge the gap between colonists and Mwangi and while she worshipped Gozreh rather than Shimye-Magalla, the two may very well have known one another. Perhaps she asked Baolo to assist her former teammates when she didn't feel she could continue.

Option 2: Virgil. You've mentioned that Lavinia has a friend named Virgil, a cleric of Erastil. Could go a couple ways with this. One would be to change Virgil to a cleric of Shimye-Magalla. Perhaps Baolo came with Virgil in response to her call for help with the exotic animals and Lavinia asks Virgil is Baolo can go with them to seek her brother since Xarethi has left. Another would be to replace Virgil with Baolo (unless of course there are later plans for Virgil).

Option 3: Search for the Colonial Girl. This is less well-developed, but as the group will soon be going to Portside and Lower Harbor, these would be natural places to meet Baolo during their search. He could potentially even prove to be a guide to the area.

I envision Baolo's role to be that of a ranged striker with secondary support in healing, skills, and buffing. Right now, the group has a very strong melee core with Chez, Ialda, and Kowaru, but is weak at range in spite of awesome support from Aeronniell in the opening battle with the sahuagin. The battle with Vark was a very close call and having a ranged combat specialist would definitely have been helpful.

While not a primary healer, I think the combination of Aeronniell and Baolo will provide sufficient healing support for the group, especially if we can acquire a wand of cure light wounds at some point. Since both the oracle and inquisitor can spontaneously cast, we can work to complement one another in terms of what we can do as divine casters. With 1st level spells, our only overlap right now is cure light wounds for obvious reasons.

Baolo also comes with a lot of skills and the inquisitor's ability with monster lore will come in very helpful with identifying the weaknesses of monsters. I would plan to spread his skill points around as the campaign proceeds. You can expect a jack of all trades approach to skills overall and will put the greatest emphasis in areas like stealth, perception and places where the group as a whole has gaps.

Last, I think Baolo has an important role to play in Eleder by helping bring out the conflict between the Mwangi and colonists. Ialda is the only "native" and as a half-elf, she really fits into a different niche than one of the Ijo. I don't plan to play him as a militant Ijo, but he definitely strongly associates with the Ijo and has them well ahead of the colonists in his priorities. But, he's going to be forced to work with the colonists (at least from what we've seen so far). This should set up an interesting dynamic for him as a character and within the group as a whole.

I could see some interesting philosophical debates between Kowaru and Baolo developing. He does not share Kowaru's deep passion for the sanctity of life, but would respect the viewpoint. He certainly seeks peace when possible, but has a practicality about him and if there is a possibility of being killed, will not hesitate to strike first. he will make the best possible use of the gifts of nature and while he would be strongly opposed to pollution or other intentional disregard for the sea, he does believe that survival comes first.

Baolo is a wiry man of medium build. He wears his hair and beard bound in intricate braids with colorful beads. A look certain to throw off many colonials. A bow is slung over his back with a full quiver of arrows, many with colorful fletching made from the feathers of exotic birds. A brass knife, proof against rust, is tucked into his belt and usually used for mundane tasks like cleaning fish and cutting rope, but fair as a weapon in a pinch. When swimming or fishing, he wears nothing more than a loincloth, but in Eleder, he wears his leathers, colorful loose pantaloons, and a banana-leaf cloak.

Mek wi dweet = let's do it
facety = bad-mannered

Baolo is happy-go-lucky around both colonials and the Ijo, but he feels a strong calling to turn Ijo that have converted to colonial religions back to Shimye-Magalla. He will speak little of the goddess to non-Ijo, but shows all of the signs of deep faith. Baolo is certain the land will eventually return to the Ijo. He doesn't actively work against the colonials, but knows that time is on his side. He is saddened by the darkness he sees in his people in Eleder and will do what he can to turn them back in a positive direction. He loves the sea and feels a little sadness that he isn't spending all day there, but he makes sure to spend some time each morning and evening in her embrace.

BAOLO
Male Human (Mwangi) Inquisitor (Preacher) 4
NG Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init +6; Senses Perception +9
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DEFENSE
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AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16. . (+4 armor, +2 shield, +4 Dex)
hp 28 (4d8+8)
Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +7, +1 morale vs. fear
Defensive Abilities Judgement of Sacred Protection +1; DR Judgement of Sacred Resiliency 1: Magic; Resist Judgement of Sacred Purity +1, Judgement of Sacred Resistance 4 (Electricity)
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OFFENSE
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Speed 40 ft.
Melee Knife, Brass +4 (1d4+1/19-20/x2) and
. . Unarmed Strike +4 (1d3+1/20/x2)
Ranged +1 Adaptive Greenwood Composite Longbow +9 or +7/+7 (1d8+2/20/x3)
Special Attacks Agile Feet, Judgement of Sacred Destruction +2, Judgement of Sacred Justice +1, Judgement of Sacred Piercing +2, Judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic)
Spell-Like Abilities Detect Alignment (At will)
Inquisitor Spells Known (CL 4, Concentration +6, +4 melee touch, +7 ranged touch):
2 (2/day) See Invisibility, Silence
1 (4/day) Shield of Faith, Cure Light Wounds (DC 13), True Strike, Wrath
0 (at will) Create Water, Detect Magic, Guidance, Light, Read Magic, Stabilize
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STATISTICS
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Str 13, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10
Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 18
Feats Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot
Traits Artifact Hunter (Mwangi Expanse): Knowledge (History), Indomitable Faith
Skills Acrobatics +4 (+8 jump), Climb +1, Escape Artist +4, Fly +4, Intimidate +7, Knowledge (Arcana) +5/+7, Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +4/+6, Knowledge (History) +5, Knowledge (Nature) +6/+8, Knowledge (Planes) +6/+8, Knowledge (Religion) +6/+8, Perception +9, Profession (Sailor) +6, Ride +4, Sense Motive +8, Spellcraft +4, Stealth +11, Survival +6 (+7 to track), Swim +5 Modifiers Monster Lore
Languages Common, Polyglot
SQ Determination, Inquisitor Domain: Travel, Agile Feet (5/day), Judgement (2/day) (Su), Monster Lore +2, Teamwork Feat, Track +1
Combat Gear Blunt Arrows (30/30), Cold Iron Arrows (50/50), Normal Arrows (40/40), Silver Arrows (25/25), Slow Burn Arrows (2/2), Smoke Arrows (5/5), Thistle Arrows (50/50), Knife, Brass, +1 Adaptive Greenwood Composite Longbow (Str +1), +1 Studded Leather, +1 buckler, pendant of the blood scarab; Other Gear Backpack (empty), Spell component pouch, Wooden Holy Symbol, 524 gp, 1 sp
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Agile Feet (5/day) (Su) As a free action, you can gain increased mobility for 1 round. For the next round, you ignore all difficult terrain and do not take any penalties for moving through it. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier.
Artifact Hunter (Mwangi Expanse): Knowledge (History) +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (history) checks, and Knowledge (history) is always a class skill for you.
Detect Alignment (At will) (Sp) Detect chaos, evil, good, or law at will.
Determination (Ex) (2/day) Baolo can use this ability to create the following effects. Each is a free action to use.
Aggression Baolo may reroll an attack roll that he just made before the results of the roll are revealed. He must take the result of the reroll, even if it's worse than the original roll.
Inquisitor Domain: Travel You are an explorer and find enlightenment in the simple joy of travel, be it by foot or conveyance or magic. Increase your base speed by 10 feet.
Judgement (2/day) (Su) Variable bonuses increase as the combat continues.
Judgement of Sacred Destruction +2 (Su) Weapon Damage bonus.
Judgement of Sacred Healing 2 (Su) Fast Healing
Judgement of Sacred Justice +1 (Su) Attack bonus
Judgement of Sacred Piercing +2 (Su) Concentration and vs. SR bonus
Judgement of Sacred Protection +1 (Su) AC bonus
Judgement of Sacred Purity +1 (Su) Save bonus
Judgement of Sacred Resiliency 1: Magic (Su) DR/magic
Judgement of Sacred Resistance 4: Electricity (Su) Energy Resistances
Judgement of Sacred Smiting (Magic) (Su) DR bypass
Monster Lore +2 (Ex) +2 to Knowledge checks when identifying the weaknessess of creatures.
Point Blank Shot +1 to attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons at up to 30 feet.
Precise Shot You don't get -4 to hit when shooting or throwing into combat.
Rapid Shot When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, Baolo can fire one additional time this round. All of his attack rolls take a –2 penalty when using Rapid Shot.
Track +1 +1 to survival checks to track.