About Hu Baolin================
Eidolon:
Celestial Dragon
Quadruped LG Medium outsider Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +14 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+2 Dex, +6 natural) hp 22 (3d10+6) Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1 Defensive Abilities evasion -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 40 ft. Fly Speed 10 ft. Melee bite +5 (1d6+3), 2 claws +5 (1d4+2), tail slap +0 (1d6+1) -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 15, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 11 Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16 (can't be tripped) Feats Toughness, Blind-Fight Skills Acrobatics +2 (+4 to balance, +6 to jump), Diplomacy +3, Fly +5, Perception +14, Sense Motive +6; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception Languages Common -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Darkvision (60 feet) Evasion (Ex) Pounce (Ex) Blind-Fight Background:
=========== BACKGROUND =========== Hu Baolin was born under an auspicious sign in the Year of the Sky Dragon. His parents were of nominally noble blood, though his father was a third son of a third son of a third son. Unable to truly participate in the military endeavors of his relatives more closely related to the king, Baolin's father focused his attention on expanding the family's trade network. He raised his son with stories of great heroes and valor, nurturing the kind young boy with love and attention. They traveled the Dragon Empires, father and son, after Baolin's mother passed away from illness. Baolin learned much of other cultures as they built a grand network of commerce, drinking in as much of the world as he could. They returned to their residence on the Lake of Eels frequently, where he continued his education and practiced his calligraphy. Baolin's father arranged for a great honor as a present to his son for his twelfth birthday: on a trade mission to the neighboring kingdom of Quain, they attended the ritual of the Celestial Dragon as honored guests. Baolin was troubled by what he knew of the ritual; a noble maiden would trade her heart for that of the Celestial Dragon - a supremely powerful imperial dragon with aspects of each of the five types - in order to obtain a wish from the great imperial dragon, ensuring good fortune for the kingdom in exchange for her life. Instead of celebrating the day of his birth, he dreaded going to the ritual - but he could not disappoint his father, and so he kept his qualms to himself. He was truly amazed when the Celestial Dragon appeared, circling around the city of Lanming as they continued the ritual, though his wonder could not shake his sense of the terrible cost of the act. What occurred next shocked everyone present: the so-called King of Heroes attacked the Celestial Dragon with a flurry of arcane might and martial prowess, an act for which he earned the moniker of the Burning Cloud Devil. The ambush nearly succeeded, but the dragon was not so easily killed. The King of Heroes and the Celestial Dragon engaged in a terrible battle, one in which they were both injured in body and in spirit beyond measure. After the great battle ended in a draw, the Celestial Dragon disappeared from the world. In truth, the dragon was gravely injured. In order to survive, it let its physical form disappear and slipped back into the world of yokai. In order to maintain a hold, however tenuous, on the material world, the dragon split its spirit into its five parts and merged them with the spirits of suitable onlookers. Its aspect of the sky dragon merged with Baolin's spirit, drawn in by the young boy's good heart and kind nature. The other four aspects of the Celestial Dragon fused with others present, but none so completely as Baolin with the sky dragon - likely because of his fortuitous birth sign. Over the years, the tienlung's spirit watched as Baolin grew into a man. It whispered to him occasionally, offering sage advice and guidance. On his eighteenth birthday, it appeared to Baolin for the first time in a physical form, manifesting as a tiny wyrmling that was a mere shadow of the true Celestial Dragon. It explained - as best it could, as the fragmentation robbed it of almost all of its power - what had occurred. Over time, as Baolin grew older, it would grow in power as well. Eventually, it would be strong enough to return to the material world permanently and merge with the other four aspects to reform as the Celestial Dragon. Baolin agreed to serve as its host and its gateway to the material world - receiving the Celestial Dragon's blessings of great fortune in return. Baolin eventually followed his father's footsteps as a merchant, traveling greatly throughout Tian Xia. In his twentieth year, he was called to serve in the Hu army. By nature of his birth and his training, he was given the assignment of coordinating the supply trains and logistics of the troops. He proved quite able in the role, also serving as a negotiator as the Hu armies skirmished with the armies of Clan Ma. During these battles, he kept his dragon companion as a secret - but sought out his wisdom often. After three years of warfare, King Huang called on the conflict to end, awarding the Hu Clan victory over the Ma. He was discharged from the military with the rank of ji duwei, an improvement over his father's station, and instructed to report to the Yan province for a new mission. With Baolin's twenty-fourth birthday approaching, the Celestial Dragon has advised him that it is not ready to appear in Quain - but that it is time to reveal their connection to the world once they arrive in the Yan province. Appearance:
Baolin is a handsome young man with intelligent, kind eyes. He has black hair, cut into the loose style popular in the military, and almond eyes. He wears a fine uniform of the military that gives him an air of importance, though he does not seem officious or petty like many bureaucrats. He has a birthmark on his chest in the shape of a coiled dragon that glows when the Celestial Dragon is summoned. Similarly, during the times that the dragon is present, Baolin's eyes glow with the stars of the night sky.
The Celestial Dragon is an sky dragon the size of a small horse. It shimmers with the stars of the night sky visible on its dark blue scales. Its translucent wings hold it aloft most of the time, spinning its long body through the air idly unless it needs to move quickly on the ground on its powerful legs. |
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