Kaida Reombath Attor, "The Little Dragon of Quiet Poison" and the "Foul Shadow of Baator"

[Ryfte]

MW Sheet

Kaida Reombath Attor

Foul Shadow of Baator and Little Dragon of Quiet Poison

"The slightest bit of toxin carries an elegance the strongest of blows can never match. It also gives the gift of a more lasting agony and suffering to enjoy."

Race: Imp
Tiny (outsider, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
Side 1: Imp 01
Side 2: Swordsage 01
Background: Assassin of Tiamat
Deity: Tiamat
Alignment: Lawful Evil

Gender: Female, Age: Unknown
Height: 1' 3", Weight: 3.2 lbs.
Eyes: Indigo w Lavender Flecks, Luminous
Skin: Ashy Gray with Indigo Scales
Hair/Horns: More distinct Indigo coloring
Tail / Stinger: Black - Indigo, Violet Indigo Stinger, 7' 2" whip-like
Wings: Ash Gray, Pale with a Violet Tint

DESCRIPTION

Kaida was once a powerful and beautiful creature. She had sweeping wings, full and strong, and glorious horns! Her body was a powerful killing machine through which poisonous toxins flowed to strike down her enemies with. Her body had been strong and hardy, capable of going toe to toe with devils of much higher ranks than she.

Now she is but a pale echo of what she once was.

She was never a hulking creature and that is still true. Not even reaching two feet in height she is as tiny as ever. Her wings are small, much less muscle supporting their frame, and her tail, as long and sinuous as ever, was tipped by a stinger that was coated in what should have been a vibrantly colored sap-like toxin. Instead it was dull, and watery, quite weak indeed.

Her choice of color is always black and gray when given the option. Sometimes she'll stray from the more "bland" colors to exceedingly dark blues and purples but she does so very rarely. Clothing with folds and hidden pouches or pockets for concealed weapons are always of interest to her and she is rarely without a hooded vest.

PERSONALITY

She has never been a disruptor of situation. Kaida is and has always been a believer in order. For her having a purpose, serving Tiamat, was order. It also helped her cope with being so different from others, the dragonblood in her. The irony of that never having been lost on her. Her tactics tend to favor those of stealth and silence whenever possible although she won't shirk from a direct confrontation if it comes to that either. She leverages her size frequently, often being overlooked by others because of it. In the company of others that she can trust, certainly not demons or yugoliths, she is still wary, merely less so.

BACKGROUND

Being Small

Many demons, devils, and yugoliths laugh at poisons. They think them quaint and provincial, amusing, a joke if you will. The fact that many of them are completely unaffected by them tends to lend them this viewpoint. Kaida on the other hand relished poison and saw the beauty that it possessed. The pain and destruction it could bring on the flesh of those whom were affected by it. It was her "Swan Song" and she felt as if she had been gifted a great honor by being an imp. Of course being more than simply an imp was an advantage as well, one many of her brethren underestimated over the years, surprised as her tiny form ripped out their throats.

Kaida trained in the alchemical arts and followed the path of her bloodline, that of the shadow dragon. Over decades and centuries her poison grew as she tailored her own body with arcane magics that enhanced her poison. Those that laughed at her were often found dead later, from poison, despite their supposed immunity.

Bound in Service

Tiamat watched the little toxic one over the centuries. Her dedication to dragonkind and her vindictiveness towards those whom lacked the respect they should possess caught the great scaled ones attention. She summoned the imp one day for a private meeting, just the great one and Kaida to make a proposal to the small one. Kaida was enlisted by Tiamat to become eyes and ears for the queen, a trusted messenger, and in some cases a deliverer of sentences. Over time the queen rewarded her servant with greater power and secrets as she grew more trusted and performed more important duties in return.

Despite being a prisoner of Asmodeus the queen, Tiamat had some sway with her captor, and Tiamat had come to trust Kaida for the more delicate needs. This was a situation she thought suited her skills and thus Kaida found herself going through the new gate with others. More well known and respected fiends, those that held more  visible, raw, power within the planes. Most of them didn't know whom she was or even notice her presence in fact, which was how she always preferred things to be, even as she slipped through the gate with them.

 

CHARACTER PROGRESSION TABLE
Swordsage 02 || Imp 02

Level	Hit Die	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skill Points	Features
01	1d8	+1	+2	+2	+2	(8+Int mod)x4	See in Darkness (Su), Subtypes (Baatezu, Evil, Lawful), Sting 1d4, Poison (1 Dex / 1d4 Dex), Natural AC +1; Swordsage: Quick to Act +1, Discipline Focus (Weapon Focus), Maneuvers Known/Readies/Stances (6/4/1); Feats: Extended Reach, Discipline Focus (Shadow Hand), Shadow Blade; Skills: Balance +08, Escape Artist +10, Hide +16, Listen +07, Move Silently +08, Search +04, Spot +07, Tumble +08;Maneuvers: Burning Blade (DW), Counter Charge (SS), Mighty Throw (SS), Clinging Shadow Strike (SH), Shadow Blade Technique (SH), Child of Shadows (Stance, SH), Stone Bones (SD), Cha +2
02	2d8	+2	+3	+3	+3	8+Int Mod	Weapon Finesse (Sting), Lesser Imp Abilities 1/day, Fly 1/day (20 min. per use), Wis +2; Swordsage: AC Bonus, New Maneuver: Wolf Fang Strike, New Stance: Hunter's Sense; Skills (9pts): Balance 1, Concentration 1, Hide 1, Listen 1, Move Silently 1, Search 1, Spot 1, Survival 1, Tumble 1
03	2d8	+2	+3	+3	+3	---	Polymorph (1st form), Resistances (acid 5, cold 5), Natural AC +2, Telepathy
04	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	8+Int Mod	Poison (1d4 Dex / 1d4 Dex), DR 5/silver or holy, Fly 3/day (40 min. per use), Lesser Imp Abilities (3/day), Dex +2
05	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Regeneration 1, Suggestion 1/day, Natural AC +3, Sting of Silence (Su), Cha +2
06	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Polymorph (2nd form), Lesser Imp Abilities (at will), Dex +2, Resistances (acid 10, cold 10)
07	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Poison (1d4 Dex / 2d4 Dex), Fast Healing 2, Poison Lattice (Su)
08	4d8	+4	+4	+4	+4	8+Int Mod	---
09	5d8	+5	+4	+4	+4	8+Int Mod	---
10	6d8	+6	+5	+5	+5	8+Int Mod	---
11	7d8	+7	+5	+5	+5	8+Int Mod	---
12	8d8	+8	+6	+6	+6	8+Int Mod	---

SOURCES / MATERIALS

Class: Cobra Strike Monk 01 [PHB / SRD and Unearthed Arcana]

Race: Imp 01 [Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Savage Species]

 

Edited May 6 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Ryfte]

Imp Monster Class

RACIAL TRAITS

• Tiny Outsider (Baatezu, Evil, Extraplanar, Lawful)
• Starting Ability Score Adjustments: Dexterity +2
• Land Speed 20'
• Darkvision: Imps can see perfectly in any sort of darkness, even that of a deeper darkness spell, up to 60'. Unlike normal darkvision they can see colors perfectly in darkness.
• Imunities: Imps are immune to fire and poison, both of which are omnipresent on their home plane.
• Automatic Languages: Celestial, Draconic, and Infernal

CLASS SKILLS

The imp's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Search (Int), Spellcraft (Int), and Spot (Wis). As outsiders they gain 8 skill points per Hit Die + Intelligence modifier and 4x for their first HD.

CLASS PROGRESSION TABLE

Level	Hit Die	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Skill Points	Features
01	1d8	+1	+2	+2	+2	(8+Int mod)x4	See in Darkness (Su), Subtypes (Evil, Lawful), Sting 1d4, Poison (1 Dex / 1d4 Dex), Natural AC +1, Cha +2
02	2d8	+2	+3	+3	+3	8+Int Mod	Weapon Finesse (Sting), Lesser Imp Abilities 1/day, Fly 1/day (20 min. per use), Wis +2
03	2d8	+2	+3	+3	+3	---	Polymorph (1st form), Resistances (acid 5, cold 5), Natural AC +2, Telepathy
04	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	8+Int Mod	Poison (1d4 Dex / 1d4 Dex), DR 5/silver or holy, Fly 3/day (40 min. per use), Lesser Imp Abilities (3/day), Dex +2
05	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Regeneration 1, Suggestion 1/day, Natural AC +3, Sting of Silence (Su), Cha +2
06	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Polymorph (2nd form), Lesser Imp Abilities (at will), Dex +2, Resistances (acid 5, cold 5)
07	3d8	+3	+3	+3	+3	---	Poison (1d4 Dex / 2d4 Dex), Fast Healing 2, Poison Lattice (Su)
08	4d8	+4	+4	+4	+4	8+Int Mod	---
09	5d8	+5	+4	+4	+4	8+Int Mod	---
10	6d8	+6	+5	+5	+5	8+Int Mod	---
11	7d8	+7	+5	+5	+5	8+Int Mod	---
12	8d8	+8	+6	+6	+6	8+Int Mod	---

CLASS FEATURES

• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Imps are proficient with all simple and martial weapons but not with armor or shields.
• Feats: An imp gains Weapon Finesse (sting) as a bonus feat at 2nd level.
• Sting: An imp has a tail stinger attack that is a primary natural weapon dealing the indicated damage plus Strength bonus.
• Poison (Ex): The imp’s sting injects a poison that deals the indicated primary and secondary damage (DC 10 + 1/2 imp’s HD from class levels + imp’s Con modifier + 2 racial bonus).
• Poison Lattice (Su): The imp's poison is supernaturally enhanced to spread through a victim without the need for a circulatory system and works differently than other poisons. It can affect creatures with poison immunity and creatures such as oozes, constructs, and undead that are typically immune due to their type. The poison itself can clearly bee seen in an infected target as it spreads across the surface of the infected creature at the same time as it burrows through the tissue or other material the creature is composed of. The target is still granted a saving throw as normal to resist the poison and it can be removed, like other poisons, via spells or other effects which neutralize or remove poisons.
• Lesser Imp Abilities (Sp): An imp’s caster level for its detect good, invisibility (self only), and disguise self spell-like abilities is equal to twice its Hit Dice from imp class levels.
• Polymorph (Su): Starting at 3rd level, an imp chooses one alternate form no larger than Medium-size (commonly a monstrous spider, raven, rat, or boar). It can take this form at will as if using the polymorph self spell (caster level 12th). At 6th level it can choose a second form.
• Regeneration (Ex): Imps take normal damage from acid, and from holy or blessed weapons (if they have a +1 or higher enhancement bonus).
• See in Darkness (Su): All imps can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, even that created by deeper darkness spells.
• Sting of Silence (Su): As a free action as part of a sting attack Kaida can channel a small stream of magic to alter the effects of her venom. The target of a sting of silence is affected as if a silence spell was cast on them except it only affects them, not a radius around them. All of the standard rules for the spell apply other than that, including the saving throw.

PRIME BOUND FIEND

Prime Bound fiends are the result of the haphazard transfiguration caused by the lattice hedge gate, while the gate did it's job of turning fiends into artificially created "native" beings of the Prime, it also had other side effects; such as stripping away most of their power, knowledge, and experiences.

• Outsider progression for HD type, saves, BAB, skills
• Fast Healing 1 per minute.  Combat useless, but means you pretty much heal up out of combat
• Immune to dismissal, banishment, cannot be hedged by protection spells etc.
• Not bound by the blood war
• You have a medallion which is engraved with your true name. This item is effectively indestructible. I advise against losing it.
• You have some memories of your previous selves. You receive a +15 racial bonus to knowledge, the old planes. This skill is of no help whatsoever regards the Prime plane.
• You will never gain the summon ability of your races
• To go up a level, a Prime Bound Fiend must eat it's body weight in freshly killed good aligned creatures of at least half it's level (round down). After eating, you go into a cocoon state for a number of days equal to your new level, during which time you are kind of helpless.
• You gain the ability to polymorph into a humanoid form.

Special Polymorph Form Rules

• This is a specific individual form which cannot be changed once selected.
• In this form you lose your fiendish physical attacks, armor bonuses, etc., but you retain your senses and magical abilities.
• The form can be chosen at any point during the first 3 character levels.
• This special form can be used 1/day per 3 character levels and the duration is 1 hour per character level.
• You can choose to "doppleganger" a humanoid you have seen, becoming a perfect physical replica of that humanoid.
• This special polymorph can hide your alignment and is undetectable and cannot be dispelled. It is a "true" alternate form for you.

 

Edited May 6 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Ryfte]

DESCRIPTION Kaida was once a powerful and beautiful creature. She had sweeping wings, full and strong, and glorious horns! Her body was a powerful killing machine through which poisonous toxins flowed to strike down her enemies with. Her body had been strong and hardy, capable of going toe to toe with devils of much higher ranks than she.

Now she is but a pale echo of what she once was.

She was never a hulking creature and that is still true. Not even reaching two feet in height she is as tiny as ever. Her wings are small, much less muscle supporting their frame, and her tail, as long and sinuous as ever, was tipped by a stinger that was coated in what should have been a vibrantly colored sap-like toxin. Instead it was dull, and watery, quite weak indeed.

Her choice of color is always black and gray when given the option. Sometimes she'll stray from the more "bland" colors to exceedingly dark blues and purples but she does so very rarely. Clothing with folds and hidden pouches or pockets for concealed weapons are always of interest to her and she is rarely without a hooded vest.| APPLICATION | SHEETKaida Reombath Attor
Female, Tiny Outsider (Baatezu, Extraplanar, Evil, Lawful), Imp, Swordsage 2

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AC/T/FF: 20/19/16 HP: 20/20 S/D/C/I/W/C: 0/+4/+3/+1/+4/+0 | F/R/W: +6/+7/+7 | Move: 30', Fly 60' (perfect) 1/day (20 min)
See in Darkness (Su)Kaida, like other devils, can see perfectly in any form of darkness as if it were full daylight.; Tail StingMelee Attack, 10' Reach, 1d4+StrMod, 20/x2

Poison
Fort save DC 16
Dexterity 1 (primary) / Dexterity 1 (secondary) MA +8, 1d4 (20/x2); Immune: Fire, Poison; SLA 1/day: invisibility, disguise self
Balance +11, Escape Artist +10, Hide +17, Jump +2, Listen +9, Move Silently +9, Search +6, Spot +9, Survival +9, Tumble +9
Maneuvers: Burning Blade (DW), Counter Charge (SS), Mighty Throw (SS), Shadow Blade Tech. (SH); Stance: Child of Shadow, Hunter's Sense

---

She stabbed at the barrier repeatedly with her tail, as always somehow. It was a strange feeling, suspended in the viscous liquid, unable to move freely through the air as she was so accustomed to. Again her tail struck against the inside of the shell, slowly though, lacking the blinding speed she somehow felt it should have. Still, after a few moments of continuous jabbing the shell gave way, a small hole that widened into a handful of radial cracks until the entire egg broke apart and spilled her tiny form half out of the shell.

Kaida peeked out from the mass of broken shell, half submerged in the sticky goop that but moments before had held her suspended in the small egg. She hunched down as far as she could as her eyes scanned the cavern, those in it, and her mind raced to catch up to the here and now. * I would not do anything without a plan... would I? And how would a plan, of any value at least, include such a place as this? Right? The armies... the gateway... we were supposed to... * Her mind was a jumble of images, scattered thoughts, and seemingly broken memories that even now felt as if they were slipping away from her. The tiny devil shook her head, small clawed hands rubbing at her temples just beneath her horns, trying to assuage the lancing pain that filled her head.

"What in the name of the great scaled one has happened?" The infernal words tumbled out unintentionally as she studied her new surroundings. There were others here, much larger than she of course. Despite her missing and broken memories that somehow seemed like something that had always been; others being larger than she. Still, somehow she knew her power, of the many that had been, had been great for she yet survived.

By the confusion the others revealed with their words they knew no more than she. She stretched her wings, or meant to at least, and felt the weakness there. The muscle and bone simply wasn't there and she couldn't fully spread them. Anger filled her in that moment, a brief flash of intense, burning hate that had no one to be directed at, or towards. She wanted to kill something, anything really, but all that was here were others, like her, nothing more than shadows of what they had been. Her tail struck at the debris around her scattering it as she started to move about, looking for anything of use. A weapon of some sort or anything else that remained of her possessions. Somehow a tail band kept nagging at her memory, along with a sense of loss, as she rummaged through the area.

Gripping a small, jagged piece of metal that could serve as a small knife she continued her "salvage" efforts. "Clearly something did not go as intended. There are so few of us here. Perhaps we were separated from the others somehow. Still, at the same time despite my weakness, somehow I feel, almost free..." She sat and threaded a leather thong through a bit of what could have been another of her kind's skin not so long ago. It was rough, crude, and definitely without style as well as a very rough fit, but it would serve as a small bit of protection from danger here.

---

OoC

 

Edited May 6 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Ryfte]

Res 2

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Ryfte]

Res 3

[Ryfte]

Res 4... and last. 😄

[Ryfte]

@Michael Would you allow the selection of the Draconic Heritage feat from Races of the Dragon for an Abishai? Normally it requires Sorcerer 1 and their "bloodline" is the source of their power. With Abishai they've been serving Tiamat in the two upper planes of Baator for who knows how long, lol. Their subtype doesn't actually include dragonblooded and I figured this would be a viable and reasonable way to add it. I mean, I'd buck for the subtype without the feat as being viable but I figure that's asking for a bit too much, heh. As they cast their SLA's as a Sorcerer of equal HD it feels like they sort of qualify there as well. *shrug*

No worries either way but I figured I'd ask. 😉

[Michael]

Sounds thematically sound to me.  Also an opportunity for me to say it's not easy being green.

[Ryfte]

3 minutes ago, Michael said:

Sounds thematically sound to me.  Also an opportunity for me to say it's not easy being green.

Thank you sir! The funny thing is, I bet if they were created after dragonblooded had become a subtype they would have likely been given it right out of the gate, heh. 😛

[Ryfte]

@Michael Instead of swapping out tongues or using the modified telepathy could I just ditch them both and cut one LA from the build? That would drop it from ECL13 to ECL12 (making it LA+6 instead of LA+7 with 6RHD).

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Michael]

59 minutes ago, Ryfte said:

@Michael Instead of swapping out tongues or using the modified telepathy could I just ditch them both and cut one LA from the build? That would drop it from ECL13 to ECL12 (making it LA+6 instead of LA+7 with 6RHD).

OK.  Also move regen down to start with 2pts at lvl 5, then +2 every 2 levels thereafter till you hit max.

[Ryfte]

@Michael Regen for all abishai is based on HD normally. They gain regen 1 per HD they have per round. Its actually one of their biggest racial abilities as far as I can tell, lol. They don't get any teleportation / movement nor do they get anything but lesser SLA's but boy are they hard to kill! Since the buildout divides the HD evenly across the ECL 12 it ends up being a single point at every odd (i.e. HD level).

I'm fine with altering it, just thought I'd explain how it was originally written up for them, i.e. tied specifically to RHD. Technically, if you were to take additional abishai HD the regeneration would continue to increase with each racial HD! Theoretically a 14HD abishai would then have Regeneration 14, lol. Abishai, making trolls everywhere jealous since eternity!  😄

For their poison it deals temporary ability damage but doesn't have a saving throw. Should I add a saving throw for it? That will weaken its other sort of primary ability (for the green version) but it will keep it in line with how poison is treated in most cases?

Edit: Amusingly enough, making your change to the regeneration gives her higher regeneration two levels earlier after delaying granting it. Okay, the progression is, I think, built out with everything (including the changes).

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ryfte (see edit history)

[Ryfte]

I'm also so on the fence how I want to build this character, lol. I definitely have locked down the Green Abishai of course... but the class build... I'm on the fence, lol.

I was going to go Soulknife / Soulbow as a ranged damage dealer... but going with my very frequent standby of Warlock could work really well with this character since they're got their 4 natural attacks progression to handle melee (if needed). Even just going straight up fighter would work well to pile on the bonus feats and then take dragon feats from the draconomicon with her regular feat slots.

Going straight Dragonfire Adept might actually be really appropriate and fun for the character as well, heh. Thematically fitting well with their focus as an abishai. Its a lot fewer invocations but supports melee well and grants the fully functional breath weapon that can have numerous breath feats applied to it. That grants the dragonblood subtype at 1st level as well... hmm... that's pretty tempting. In fact, I think that's a lock, heh.

Dragonfire Adept it will be!

[Michael]

Regen is another game changer.  Have a few levels of fearing mortality.

 

Cant help with the class choice, thats all you, though I always recommend to anyone that uses the f word to consider something from tome of battle instead.

[Ryfte]

7 hours ago, Michael said:

Cant help with the class choice, thats all you, though I always recommend to anyone that uses the f word to consider something from tome of battle instead.

I do as well usually, that's so funny. Never actually phrased it that way. 🤣

Definitely going with the dragonfire adept. Its so "on point" for an abishai its almost scary, lol.