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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kelleris" data-source="post: 3035408" data-attributes="member: 19130">Lupaz, the Hound of Ill OmenMale Blink Dog Hexmaster 5 [race MM/Custom, class CW/Custom]Medium Magical BeastAlignment: True NeutralHeight: 2' 6'' at the withersWeight: 84 lbs.Fur: Russet BrownEyes: BlueAge: 22Str: 10 (+0) [2 points]Dex: 22 (+6) [10 points, +6 racial]Con: 12 (+1) [4 points] Int: 14 (+2) [6 points]Wis: 12 (+1) [2 points, +2 racial]Cha: 18 (+4) [8 points, +1 levels, +2 enhancement]Racial and Class Abilities:  Magical Beast (1 HD), natural bite attack (1d6), +3 natural armor, +6 Dex, +2 Wis, Darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, dimension door at will as a free action (50% failure chance), blink activate/deactivate as a free action (50% failure chance), Automatic Languages: Common and Blink Dog.Greater Hexblade's Curse 3/day (-5 on attacks, damage, saves, ability checks, and skill checks OR -8 on one saving throw OR -13 on two skills; Will DC 20 negates; duration 24 hours; range 60'), Arcane Resistance.Hit Dice: 1d10+1 plus 5d6+5HP: 41AC: 20 (+1 armor, +3 natural armor, +6 Dex)Init: +6 (+6 Dex)Speed: 40 ft. Saves:Fortitude +4 [+3 base, +1 Con, +1 resistance, -1 luck]Reflex +9 [+3 base, +6 Dex, +1 resistance, -1 luck]Will +5 [+4 base, +1 Wis, +1 resistance, -1 luck] - +4 on all saves vs. spells and spell-like abilitiesBAB: +4Melee Atk: +4 (1d6/20/x2/SBP, bite)  Skills:Hide +13  [7 ranks, +6 Dex]Intimidate +15  [9 ranks, +4 Cha, +2 charm bangle]Knowledge (geography) +10  [8 ranks, +2 Int]Knowledge (local) +10  [8 ranks, +2 Int]Move Silently +13  [7 ranks, +6 Dex]Spot +7  [6 ranks, +1 Wis]Survival +12  [9 ranks, +1 Wis, +2 synergy]Feats:Ability Focus (curse) (flaw: No Combat Training) [MM p. 203]Curse of Paranoia (flaw: Unlucky) [DR 339 p. 92]Track (blink dog bonus feat) [PHB p. 101]Daunting Presence (1st level) [LM p. 25]Empower Curse (3rd level)Curse of Ignorance (bonus Hexmaster) [DR 339 p. 92] (6th level) Languages:  Common, Blink Dog, Dwarven, ElvenSpells Known (Per Day – 5/4/2; Caster Level 5th)Save DC +42nd Level – Nightmare Lullaby, Phade’s Fearsome Aspect, Tongues1st Level – Disguise Self, Disquietude, Magic Fang, Unseen ServantCantrips – Detect Magic, Ghost Sound, Horizikaul's Cough, Mage Hand, Open/Close, ShadowplayEquipment:Periapt of Baleful Influence - 9,750gp.       This small cold iron ball occasionally seems to rustle on its own, as though it contains some poisonous insect struggling to free itself.  The periapt is a unique magical item granted to Lupaz by the elemental weirds after he joined their service, and greatly enhances his ability to inflict misfortune on others by controlling and channelling his own curse.  As long as he wears the periapt, Lupaz gains access to his Hexmaster curses as though he were 3 levels higher than he actually is and his curses last for a full 24 hours instead of 1 hour.      The periapt is a powerful item, but its nature means it also bears several drawbacks.  First, the item radiates a palpable aura of menace when its wearer is interacted with, inflicting a -2 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks made by the wearer (except Intimidate checks).  In addition, the wearer relies on the item to contain its dark power - if the periapt of baleful influence is removed at any time after it has been worn for at least 24 hours, it permanently reduces the wearer's Charisma by 6 (as the third-level cleric spell bestow curse; Will save DC 20 negates).  Finally, the benefits of the periapt of baleful influence do not apply to curses laid on citizens of the Kingdom of Knowledge, a restriction placed on the item to prevent Lupaz from opposing the Kingdom's rightful rulers.  How this restriction will apply in the current time of civil war is as yet unknown.Shard of the Dark Paths – 4,725gp.       This shard of dark crystal, which Lupaz wears on his collar, was recovered from the person of a minor shadow sorcerer after he suffered a sudden fall while traveling.  It links its bearer to a twisted parallel realm haunted by strange shadowy beasts, and allows him to call them forth as a standard action into any shadowed area within 30 feet other than the user's own shadow.  A randomly selected creature rises up from the shadow and serves willingly for 10 minutes or until dismissed.  Roll a percentile die - 1-30 means a brown bear is summoned, 31-60 indicates a lion, 61-80 an ape, 81-90 a tiger, and 91-100 a dire lion.  Summoned creatures appear dark and malign, but use the base stats for a creature of their type.  The shard of the dark paths can summon only 7 animals per week in this way, and only one at a time.Charm Bangle - 7,200gp.       This red iron bracelet is pitted and scarred, as though it had been exposed to a powerful acid.  It focuses the wearer's sense of himself and force of personality, making them more sure of themselves than they would otherwise be, granting a +2 enhancement bonus to the wearer's Charisma.  The wearer also becomes particularly adept at bullying others, gaining an additional +2 competence bonus on all Intimidate checks and extending the duration of any succesful demoralize actions to 2 rounds.  Finally, any creature unable to speak normally (whether because of physical impediment or because the creature is within the area of a silence spell) gains the ability to communicate telepathically, in Common only, out to a range of 30'.Collar of Safety - 2,500gp.       This plain, weatherbeaten leather collar - standard issue for animal servants of the Kingdom of Knowledge - provides a measure of protection to Lupaz in his travels, granting him a +1 armor bonus to AC and a +1 resistance bonus to all savings throws. Money2,325gp, 0sp, 0cp~~~~~Appearance:  Lupaz is a sleek, agile hound with dark russet fur and a strange pattern of dark fur markings on his face and shoulders.  His unusually vulpine features make him appear more cunning and intelligent than a normal canine, and make his breed impossible to place for those familiar only with the ordinary breeds of dog.  He wears a battered leather collar with an apparently cheap silver ornament and a strange shard of dark crystal dangling from it, as well as a silvery bracelet around his left forepaw.  When he's excited and isn't bothering to hide his unusual intelligence, Lupaz's features bear a perpetual sly grin, but most of the time he assumes the demeanor of an older and somewhat world-weary dog, not inclined to react much to the attentions of others.Personality:  Lupaz's personality is an odd mix of fatalism and impulsiveness.  He has not had a terribly happy life, and this background combined with his faith in the general transparency of the future to the wise gives him a certain fatalistic spirit; he does not react emotionally to any but the greatest affront, and has a strong belief in the inevitability of the vast majority of events.  Something does remain of the passionate blink dog approach to life, however, and when he is roused by a particularly difficult problem or finds himself in a particularly chaotic situation Lupaz becomes alert and focused on the task he has set for himself - his long period of service to the weirds has shown him that while most things are inevitable, decisive action at crisis points can make all the difference in the world.  His secret hope is that one day one of these crisis points, which he haunts the edges of in the pursuit of his duties, will reveal to him the mystery of his benighted fate.  This hope, however, is deeply held, and even Lupaz is uncertain how he will react if confronted with the unknown agency that has pulled his destiny so far out of kilter.Background: Everything started out well, but by the time Lupaz was growing out of his puphood and into a full-fledged member of the pack, things started to go wrong. He would lose the course of the invisible ethereal paths followed by all mature blink dogs, and get separated from the hunting pack, or fell a healthy-looking animal that would turn out to be diseased and render the whole pack sick for days, or guide a party of trusted adventurers past the dire bear that had just awakened from hibernation that very morning. Already the elders of the pack were wondering what was to be done when disaster truly struck, in the looming form of a nameless displacer beast packlord whose cruelty exceeded even the tolerance of his wicked kin. The Beast stalked the pack, striking them down one by one, and they stalked it in return, seeking the Beast's resting place and selling their lives dearly to wear it down, a deadly game of cat-and-hound that would finally be lost, and all due to Lupaz.A twig snapped underfoot at just the wrong moment, bringing the Beast down in a sudden fury of rending claws, ethereal turbulence from an impossibly failed dimension door prevented a planned retreat, and finally, most horribly, a panicked flight in a driving storm led Lupaz directly to a litter of newborn pups. Three times Lupaz sought to fight alongside his brothers and sisters, three times the curse struck, and three times Lupaz was the only survivor of his hunting party, as though fate was mocking him by sparing him. After the third time, it became clear that the pack no longer had a chance to defeat their malignant foe - too many had fallen. The lives of most of the pack were lost in vain, though they had fought bravely and selflessly, and all because of him. He fled, to spare his packmates the pain of exiling him, and wandered alone in the shadowy reaches of the Tanglebloom Forest, wandering far and forgetting his home before stumbling through blind chance on Dorakell, an outpost of the Kingdom of Knowledge. Lupaz wonders to this day whether it was good luck or ill that thus set his life on its current path, but he nevertheless found purpose again in the raucous bazaars of the border city. Hearing tell of the weirds and of their knowledge of fate and destiny, he was able to rouse himself from the bleak purposelessness into which he had settled and set out for the court of Taala, prince of the Kingdom of Knowledge, excitedly making the journey in less than a day.Arriving at the citadel, he sought entry but could not make himself understood. Finally, he resorted to resting at the gates of the palace in a last hope that someone familiar with his kind would come by and offer succor. But again, insidious fate struck. Visitors to the court of Taala began to find their luck turning sour as critical documents became inexplicably lost, messengers fell ill and brought the plague back to their native cities, and ambassadors found their own tongues twisting against them. As word spread of the strange misfortunes that struck those who sought the guidance of the weirds of late, the Kingdom of Knowledge’s reputation started to become shadowed. Angrily, Taala ordered his diviners to seek the cause and drag them before him and his counsel of weirds that the offender might be punished. And so Lupaz got the audience he sought, but not in the way in which he had hoped, as he was bound in chains of pure elemental earth and torn with cutting ethereal winds to prevent any escape and taken before the furious omnielemental prince.All who saw Lupaz's humiliated entrance thought that this was the end of it, that this accursed mortal pestilence would be eradicated in but a moment of fire and ice, but Taala spared Lupaz for a reason that he never bothered to explain to his court; his weird councilors had detected a strange knotting in the blink dog's fate, as though he were destined to find himself at many crossroads and turning points of destiny as a bringer of ill omens. And so Taala ordered Lupaz released from his bonds and sent to the courts of his rivals as a curiosity and beast of burden. Sure enough, where Lupaz went, ill omens followed - a rival would find the elemental leylines of his land weakening on the eve of a key ritual or wild beasts would devour a messenger long enough for Taala's emissaries harden a king’s heart against their competitors. Powerful and unscrupulous elements of Taala's court, who had surmised on their own the truth of their lord's sudden change from wrath to mercy, began surreptitiously to train Lupaz and bind his accidental power with powerful geases. Eventually, the disasters stopped and Lupaz was allowed to stay in the palace for a day and have his audience with the weirds.What they told him horrified him. They, the great weirds, repositories of the Kingdom of Knowledge's greatest secrets, could not discern why Lupaz's fate was such a strange entanglement, nor why his luck was so cruel. All they could do was offer him a deal: a year of service to their prince for a single question asked and answered. It was a slim thread of hope, but as the weirds spoke Lupaz could feel the years of dejected wandering opening below him like a dark abyss, and he quickly agreed. And so Lupaz came to be an observer at critical moments, following instructions whose source he has never discerned, instructions that lead him to ensure that the prophetic visions of the weirds come to pass. He served in this was for ten years. Receiving his orders via magical sending, Lupaz has no real contact with any members of Taala's court, except on the one day a year he is allowed to come to the palace and ask the weirds his lone question. At these times, the hound of ill omen finds himself the target of petty officials who hope to enlist him in the foolish squabbles of Taala's court. His refusal to engage in these power struggles alone ensured that he remained a despised outsider among the elemental aristocracy, but his usefulness still kept him in favor with those influential members of the court with the authority to call on his services.Only recently has Lupaz left behind this steady and quiet work behind the scenes, as a result of his careful questioning of the weirds. It has taken him ten whole years, but he has finally narrowed down the location of someone who can provide him with the answers he seeks to the bustling port city of Bluegorge, a city situated on the cliffs on either side of the great Crystalline Falls and, not coincidentally, one of the Kingdom of Knowledge's most frequent and important trade partners. He is aware that the terms of the questions he has posed allow that the individual he seeks has since moved on, but he has nevertheless drawn on the goodwill of a decade of unstinting service to begin taking more and more assignments in this region and, under his own recognizance, gradually developing the contacts necessary to find the trail of his quarry. It was this rekindled hope that led Lupaz to do something he would never ordinarily do, something that would finally bring him once again to the attention of elemental royalty.Bluegorge, it seemed, had somehow become a ripe prize in the eyes of the dangerous humanoid tribes living nearby - fire-aligned ogres from the adjoining cliffs, cunning water-aligned kobolds from deep within the Crystalline Falls itself, and, most terrifyingly, a vast horde of vicious gnolls from the nigh-endless Sea of Grass. The weirds' prophecies revealed the city's inevitable destruction – and the creation of another dead end, something the desperate blink dog found himself unable to tolerate after long-suppressed hope had been kindled in him once again. Certain that fate was acting against him just as he was nearing his goal, Lupaz went against his better judgment and abandoned his usual fatalism in favor of decisive action. As ogres sacked Bluegorge's outer defenses and kobolds sabotaged and murdered in the very streets of the city, he headed out into the trackless Sea of Grass in search of the gnoll horde the weirds had foreseen would deal the death blow to the ailing city. Eventually, pushing his network of contacts and his own tracking abilities to their limit, he located the horde of thousands of hate-crazed gnolls and their demonic leader, the glabrezu Narfellanax. Though divinations held Bluegorge's defeat to be inevitable, Lupaz had a plan.Disguising himself as one of the numerous hyena watchdogs in the camp, Lupaz watched and listened as the horde prepared to march, learning the goals and powers of the leaders of the gnoll horde as he did so. Once the horde finally gathered and set out to raze Bluegorge, they began to be plagued by accidents and other problems. Gnoll hyena riders scouting ahead of the main force encountered dangerous monsters regularly, their normally peerless survival training failing them; powerful gnoll champions fell in routine internecine challenges against trivial opponents; and the horde's leaders grew increasingly paranoid day by day, their will eroded by the constant flow of mishaps and untoward signs. By the time an entire week had passed, fraught with the possibility of discovery, the rabid conglomeration of tribes was beginning to fracture under the stress, losing entire tribes to desertion and leaving only the most fanatical of the gnolls to carry out the destruction of Bluegorge. But the horde was now less than a day's march from Bluegorge's already battered and disorganized militia - and the reunification that the ensuing frenzy of battle and bloodlust would bring to the horde.  Too many still remained for Bluegorge to survive, and so Lupaz put a plan into action he had hoped not to need.The shaman Crookfang, spiritual advisor to the horde's leaders and consort to demons, was the perfect pawn. Lupaz had come to her at night in the form of a demonic hyena, terrifying her guardians into submission and delivering prophecies to her regarding the next misfortune to befall the horde, visiting her again and again throughout the weeks he spent in and around the gnoll camp. Although doing so increased the danger of his covert manipulations many times over, it gave Lupaz the ear of the horde's most powerful individual. By now enraged at her inability to stop the cursed fate of the horde despite advanced warning and terrified by her newfound patron’s increasingly dire premonitions of failure, Crookfang prostrated herself in fear and supplication before her perceived ally, listening to Lupaz's words as he told her just what to do to ensure the horde's victory the following day.On the morning of the final day, the very eve of battle, Crookfang challenged the glabrezu Narfellanax, convinced by Lupaz's machinations that the demon was no true worshipper of Yeenoghu, that he was instead the cause of the horde's misfortunes. The arrogant demon accepted her challenge, and the two fought a pitched battle to the death before the assembled horde for the right to be war leader for the incipient battle. Though Crookfang was a powerful cleric and had been apprized of the demon's weaknesses by Lupaz, the demon's sheer power and hatred was insatiable - he would not be denied the blood of Bluegorge's citizens. After a long battle, Crookfang was on the verge of defeat when suddenly the watching horde fell silent. A huge hyena with sunken red eyes and scorched, blackened fur stalked into the camp, sending seasoned gnoll hunters fleeing with a glance. With a long howl, the hyena-demon sprang into the bloody circle and laid a dread curse on Narfellanax, inspiring a fanatic's rage in the almost defeated Crookfang. Striking from the ground, she cast a lethal spell, blackening the demon's flesh with a touch and casting it from this plane. As the victorious cleric rose to her feet and prepared to gather her horde, she heard an unexpected sound - vicious, mocking laughter from her prophetic ally and savior. With a blasphemous utterance taken from Crookfang's own holy texts, the high shaman and new war leader was stricken with madness, tearing her own flesh and hurling herself at the assembled horde, gibbering madly. Under the blades and fangs of her own horde, Crookfang died, leaving the strange hyena-demon the only voice of authority in the leaderless horde. And when the great hyena-demon vanished at the turning point of the battle, apparently slain, the gnolls were at last defeated in the Battle of Reeds, as that day came to be called.  Deprived of three divine leaders in the course of one day, even their fanatical morale broke and they devoured one another in their desperate bid to escape.Although he had risked death a hundred times to do it, Lupaz had managed to turn an impossible last stand into a desperate and hard-fought success for Bluegorge’s defenders, and won out when even the weirds had predicted certain failure. Though Lupaz never declared his involvement in the salvation of Bluegorge, there isn't much that can be hidden from Taala when he becomes curious. Such a reversal of the fortunes predicted by the weirds happens only once in a dozen years or more, and the feat, though it brought Lupaz's nerves - and his luck - right to the shattering point, also brought him to Taala's attention for the first time since his long-ago audience in chains. Pleased that Lupaz had done the seemingly impossible and saved a valuable ally of the Kingdom of Knowledge, Taala chose to grant Lupaz a place on his most recently completed island ship as a reward, he said, to the Kingdom's oft-forgotten mortal servants. The resources of the Kingdom were to be laid open to these mortals, their position secured, and Lupaz knew that finally this would be enough for him to find the answers he sought, if indeed anything would be enough.Of course, this kind of good fortune can't last, and especially not for Lupaz. The insurrection of the time elementals strikes Lupaz as almost inevitable now that the giddiness of his victory and reward and the despair of his exile from the Kingdom have passed. Now he is unsure what to do, knowing that he has made powerful enemies in his lifetime, any of whom could be sent after him at the time lords' whim - the Beast of long ago, the banished glabrezu Narfellanax, even the gnoll shaman Crookfang, plucked from the very moment of Lupaz's betrayal - not to mention all the others whose life Lupaz has influenced, always for the worst. Lupaz has never known precisely what party or parties in Taala's court gave him his missions, and he is well aware that should one of those parties prove to be the time elementals themselves or one of their allies, a few words whispered in the right ears would be all it would take to earn the lasting enmity of dozens of powerful individuals and organizations. Still, he sees no other way but forward - he can only pray that fate is on his side. Or at least, that it is against his enemies...</blockquote>

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