Taesshan
Male Human Wizard 7/Nar Demonbinder 3
Region: Narfell
Patron Deity: Oghma
Height/Weight: 5'9"/160lbs.
Alignment: N
Ability Scores
Strength: 10 (+0) [2 points]
Dexterity: 12 (+1) [4 points]
Constitution: 12 (+1) [4 points]
Intelligence: 16 (+3) [10 points]
Wisdom: 10 (+0) [2 points]
Charisma: 18 (+4) [10 points, +2 level]
Enhanced Intelligence: 18 (+4)
Combat Information
Hit Dice: 7d4+3d6+10 (hp 44)
Armor Class: 14 (10 +1 dex, +2 deflection, +1 armor)
Initiative: +5 (+1 dex, +4 improved initiative)
Speed: 30 feet
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Melee Attack +5 (+1 punching dagger, 1d4+1, 20/x3)
Ranged Attack +6 (+1 seeking heavy crossbow, 1d10+1, 19-20/x2)
Fortitude Save: +4 [+2 wizard, +1 NDB, +1 Bullheaded]
Reflex Save: +4 [+2 wizard, +1 NDB, +1 dex]
Will Save: +10 [+5 wizard, +3 NDB, +2 Iron Will]
Other Information
Skills: Concentration +13 (10 ranks wizard, 2 ranks NDB), Diplomacy +8 (4 ranks NDB), Knowledge (arcana) +11 (8 ranks wizard), Knowledge (the planes) +13 (10 ranks wizard), Intimidate +13 (5cc ranks wizard, 2 ranks NDB, 2 bullheaded), Sense Motive +6 (2cc ranks wizard, 4 ranks NDB), Spellcraft +15 (9 ranks wizard, 3 ranks NDB)
Feats: Bullheaded (region), Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (conjuration), Iron Will, Still Spell, Eschew Materials, Improved Counterspell, Improved Initiative, Reactive Counterspell
Languages: Common, Draconic, Abyssal, Celestial, Elvish
Special Abilities: Extra feat, extra skill points, favored class (any), sense demonic taint, inimical casting, iron sign, master summoner
Equipment: traveler's outfit, bag of holding (type 1), bedroll, winter blanket, scroll case, ten sheets of paper, ink and inkpen, belt pouch, fifty feet silk rope and grappling hook, waterskin, five tindertwigs, everburning torch (in the form of a small gem, with a leather loop to be hung around the neck), spellbook, +1 punching dagger, +1 seeking heavy crossbow, bolt case with fifty bolts, ring of protection +2, headband of intellect +2, bracers of armor +1, potion of cure serious wounds, two potions of cure light wounds, potion of neutralize poison, potion of blur, bag of imps, scroll of summon monster VI, iron sign, 610gp.
Spells Known
Wizard: 0th (all); 1st protection from evil, shield, mage armor, mount, obscuring mist, summon monster I, unseen servant, comprehend languages, true strike, burning hands, tenser's floating disk, forcewave, magic missile, ventriloquism, ray of enfeeblement, expeditious retreat, feather fall, jump, magic weapon; 2nd obscure object, protection from arrows, resist energy, melf's acid arrow, glitterdust, summon monster II, web, detect thoughts, locate object, see invisibility, invisibility, minor image, mirror image, blindness/deafness, alter self, knock, levitate, pyrotechnics, rope trick, ; 3rd dispel magic, nondetection, summon monster III, clairaudience/clairvoyance, tongues, hold person, suggestion, daylight, fireball, lightning bolt, blink, fly, gaseous form, haste, slow, water breathing; 4th improved invisibility, rary's mnemonic enhancer.
Nar Demonbinder: 4th Beltyn's burning blood, dimensional anchor, dismissal, magic circle against good; 5th flame strike, summon monster V; 6th planar binding.
Spells Prepared and Spells Per Day
Wizard (prepared) (4/5/4/3/1); DC = 14 + level, 15 + level for conjuring
Nar Demonbinder (per day) (-/-/-/-/4/2/1); DC = 14 + level, 15 + level for conjuring
Currently Prepared (wizard): 0th detect magic, mage hand, message, prestidigitation; 1st shield, forcewave, tenser's floating disk, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement; 2nd protection from arrows, see invisibility, web, detect thoughts; 3rd dispel magic, clairaudience/clairvoyance, lightning bolt; 4th rary's mnemonic enhancer
Appearance: Taesshan is slightly below average height and has a wiry build uncommon to the Nar barbarians. He has darkly bronzed skin, grey eyes, and closely-cropped black hair. Taesshan usually wears a collared brown cloak over a dark red robe, bound with a braided cord. Tied to the cord on the right is a red leather belt pouch with runes around the pouch's neck, which is next to a second, more plain leather belt pouch, and on the left hang several heavily-padded potion bottles. A brown cloth headband encircles his head around the temples and forehead, with flat orange crystals affixed on each side. In addition, he always wears well-worn traveling boots and gold wristbands, and under Taesshan's left cheekbone there is a small spiraling tribal tattoo. He walks in a proud, almost arrogant manner, and speaks in a smooth, cultured voice that holds the hint of an accent.
Background: Born under the name Taesshan Coyote's-Claw, Taesshan was the son of the Nar barbarian tribe Jakale's spiritual leader and witch-doctor. Consequently, he was taught in the ways of his father's path, expecting - and expected - to take over the role of shaman when his father grew too old. Young Taesshan showed reasonable aptitude for both tradition and leadership, two essential skills for any budding spiritualist in the tribes of Nar, and therefore was selected to perform the shaman's first rite of passage, where he would set out upon a quest to meditate and make contact with the spirits of the tribes, and thus determine his suitability for this position. On his eighteenth birthday, Taesshan journeyed into the wilderness, carrying only a waterskin and a spear, and wearing only a loincloth. After three days had passed, he was encountered one of the tribe's spirits - but not the one he had thought. Verzelash-Tak, a minor demon of moderate cunning and mediocre power, had been shadowing the nomadic tribe after being cast from his home in the Abyss, and when Taesshan left for his spirit-quest, Verzelash-Tak found its first opportunity for advancement. It approached the young man, masquerading as the tribe's totem, telling him his rite was nearly complete - requiring only a small ritual and pledge of eternal service to the demon itself, in the guise of the totem. While neither the ritual nor the pledge held any real power, the demon hoped to have at least a willing subject to work upon. Taesshan, unknowing, agreed to the service and returned to his tribe, where he resumed normal activity for nearly a month.
However, soon he began having terrible dreams, images of carnage dancing in his head, and would frequently find himself awakened in a cold sweat, always left with the image of two glowing green eyes staring out at him malevolently from a fog. Verzelash-Tak was trying to possess him, but lacked the power to do so. Raging and frustrated by its failure, one night the demon manifested itself in its true form, laughing at what it had done, and demanding a further service - that Taesshan murder his father. Struck by an unreasoning fear but unwilling to follow Verzelash-Tak further, he stole a horse and fled the camp, hounded the entire way by the cackling demon. Taesshan drove his horse across the plains for an entire day before it collapsed from exhaustion, and still found the demon in close pursuit. With no other option, he entered a nearby ruin, many of which were scattered across the landscape as a result of the Orcgate Wars of centuries past, but were always avoided by the tribes because of superstition and the very real danger posed by the traps, monsters, and uncontrolled magic set loose within.
Inside the ruin he found respite from the demon, but knowing the demon awaited him outside, Taesshan delved deeper into the twisting passages, seeking food, water, and shelter. What he found instead was a library, filled with spellbooks, powerful scrolls, and arcane texts. He'd learned rudimentary reading skills from his father as the part of preparation for his position, and was fascinated by the knowledge to be had. He sat down and began studying the books, later finding an underground reservoir and a cache of dried food to sustain him. One day, several weeks of study later, as Taesshan wandered through the ruins, he accidentally triggered a portal, the key of which was the spellbook he carried. Taesshan found himself in a bustling metropolis, and would have been quickly accosted by thieves and ruffians had an elderly wizard not noticed the bewildered young man standing in the middle of the street, holding a large black book that didn't quite coincide with the rest of the tribal garb he was wearing. The wizard, a kindly old man named Awareh, offered to help Taesshan, in exchange for the book, a valuable addition to his arcane library.
He spent the next several weeks studying under Awareh, and by the time the wizard had arranged transport back to the plains of Nar, Taesshan found that he didn't want to go. Instead, he made an offer of apprenticeship - Taesshan would help Awareh, who was becoming too old to move about much, in exchange for which Awareh would teach him the rudiments of magic - and an understanding of the book he had found. Awareh agreed to the first but refused the second, and would not say why. Taesshan eventually settled for what he could get, and spent the next few years in the tutelage of the wizard. He learned not only the rudiments of magic, but also the ways of civilized culture because of the plethora of duties and errands he helped Awareh with, and Taesshan soon acquired an urbane manner in addition to smoothing over his accent.
However, on one night, several years later, Taesshan found himself unable to sleep, and in passing thought of the book he'd found. He wondered what it might contain, that Awareh would refuse to tell him. Taesshan, on a sudden impulse, resolved to find and and read the book, knowing he now knew enough to understand it. He snuck into the wizard's library and quickly found the book, to discover inside, the journal of a Nar demonbinder who lived during the Orcgate Wars. Taesshan was fascinated by both the man's twisted mind as well as the record he kept of his activities - detailed enough to emulate the techniques practices detailed within. He put the book away that night, but returned several nights later, making it a habit to come at least once a week to study the newfound knowledge. Within a few months, he was showing a natural talent for the book's practices, and surprised Awareh by showing him things he'd never been taught. Feeling this was a sign that it was time to move on, Awareh enrolled him in a college of magic, where Taesshan showed a fair aptitude for summoning - at the same time learning caution, building on his experiences with the demon in his naive youth, enough that he would never call anything frivolously, and he would never try to bargain with a demon except to deceive it.
Patron Deity: Taesshan has chosen Oghma as his patron deity because he considers knowledge the tool that brought him where he is today.
Other Party Members: While working in the college of magic's library, Taesshan encountered Undinar, a water genasi who seemed somewhat wrong-footed by the entire city. Having been assigned to help Undinar, he found that the information the genasi was looking for - a tome detailing a mystical Chultan spring - also had been mentioned in the demonbinder's journal. Undinar thanked him and left, but Taesshan later remembered exactly what had been written - the water, due to a strong connection with the elemental plane of water, would provide a most powerful component in the forging of a brazen sign. He asked for and was granted an indefinite leave of absence from the college, and then proceeded to track down Undinar, who was still in the city. Taesshan offered to go with him in his journey, explaining his reasons. While Undinar never seemed to understand exactly what his purpose was in seeking the spring, the genasi agreed, grateful for aid in the unfamiliar surface world. They made their way down to Mezro, quickly becoming good friends as they did.