Kai
A Varangian? druid who has chosen to follow Vasily, and now serves as majordomo for the party’s primary base in Acheron.
History
Kai was a druid of one of the druidic circles of the Varangian lands?. When the threat of the Dark Devourer and his lizardfolk worshippers arose to menace the land from the Pripet Marshes?, Kai went south to join the Acolytes of the Bear Guardian in the fight. He participated in several major offensives, including the destruction of the so-called "chaos ooze" that threatened to derail the campaign against the Dark Devourer’s forces; he worked closely with the PCs to analyze and counter the magical enhancements that protected the lizardfolk forces in their main temple-city; and he took part in the final assault on the lizards’ primary strongholds.
While working with the PCs over the course of the lizardfolk campaign, Kai was impressed with the party’s spellcasters, especially Vasily, whose far-ranging arcane knowledge and unique approach to magic fascinated the druid. Kai himself had long been interested in esoteric magical and planar lore, and he now saw a chance to learn from a master, and to be on the expanding frontier of magical knowledge. When Vasily offered Kai the chance to join the party and study at his side, the druid readily accepted, taking up residence at their extraplanar base within a minor cube of Acheron.
Since then, Kai has spent much time in the library which Nikolai and Vasily set up in the cube, reading voraciously, delving into the lore of the planes and other esoterica. He has supplemented his reading with judicious use of the Eye of Colothys to view interesting things across the realms, and has also been conducting research along various avenues, inspired by his druidic mastery of nature and his newfound access to arcane knowlege. Kai was instrumental in helping Vasily track down the legendary ship Skidbladnir, and, most recently, has come up with an innovative idea for enhancing the defensive capabilities of the cube-base.
Kai has also demonstrated an ability to keep a cool head in a crisis, when, on two separate occasions, the party’s Acheron base was invaded by bands of itinerant demons. Kai acted quickly and calmly, moving to secure the most critical contents of the base and contacting the PCs via the Eye.
Lately, as several members of the party have begun to amass increasingly large and far-flung networks of followers and associates across Midgard?, Kai has had to devote more of his time to acting as a hub of these networks, coordinating the flow of orders and information between many people in many lands, using the Eye of Colothys as communication device. He has performed this task competently, showing a talent for efficient management and an ability to keep many things in his head at once; however, the druid finds such regular interaction with so many people vague distasteful, and much prefers quiet reading and research.
Combat Statistics
Kai
Male human (Varangian) druid 16
NE Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses Listen +22, Spot +26
Defense
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural (mantle))
DR 10/magic
hp 132 (16d8+60)
Fort +16, Ref +7, Will +18; +4 vs. SLAs of fey
Immune poison, charm, heart-targeting effects, non-damaging magical cold effects, emotion effects, morale effects, penalties due to fear
Resist cold 10
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee Quarterstaff +11 (1d6–1)
Grapple +11
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th, Concentration +22)
At will — ray of frost
Spells Prepared (CL 16th [+1 in cold weather, +2 in extreme cold], Concentration +22)
- Spellstaff — wind walk
- 8th — bombardment (DC 25), frostfell
- 7th — embrace of Malbolge (DC 25), fire storm (DC 23), heal
- 6th — antilife shell, Empowered arc of lightning (DC 24), extract water elemental (DC 23), greater dispel magic
- 5th — blizzard, call avalanche (DC 22), ice sheet x2 (DC 24), stoneskin
- 4th — arc of lightning x2 (DC 24), boreal wind (DC 22), flame strike (DC 22), freedom of movement
- 3rd — control temperature, neutralize poison x2, remove disease, swift fly, touch of Malbolge (DC 24)
- 2nd — barkskin, binding winds x3, lesser restoration x3
- 1st — cure light wounds x3, entangle (DC 21) x2, faerie fire x2
- 0th — cure minor wounds, detect magic x2, light x2, mending
Spellcasting Options spontaneous summon nature’s ally; temperature control (see ice mirror shards, below); Snowcasting (see below)
Special Attacks wild shape 5/day
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 17, Wis 23, Cha 10
Base Atk +12
Feats Augment Summoning, Beckon the Frozen, Empower Spell, Icy Calling, Natural Spell, Snowcasting, Spell Focus (conjuration)
Skills Concentration +22, Diplomacy +18, Handle Animal +18, Knowledge (nature) +23, Knowledge (the planes) +6, Listen +22, Search +7, Spellcraft +21, Spot +26, Survival +24
Languages Draconic, Infernal, Russian, Sylvan, Varangian
Special Qualities a thousand faces, nature sense, resist nature’s lure, timeless body, trackless step, woodland stride, wild empathy
Combat Gear cowl of Wisdom +4, mantle of winter, ice mirror shards (eye and heart)
Special Abilities
A Thousand Faces (Su) Change appearance as disguise self at will, in human form only.
Snowcasting As a move action, add a handful of snow or ice as an additional material component to a spell to grant it the Cold descriptor. If it already has the Cold descriptor, caster level increases by +1.
Summoning Kai’s summons have +4 Str, +4 Con, and do +1d6 cold damage. In cold weather (band –1) they have +4 Dex. In extreme cold (band –3) they have max hp. Kai’s most common summons for each level of summon nature’s ally are as follows.
- 1st — wolf
- 2nd — hippogriff
- 3rd — dire wolf; Small storm elementalMM3
- 4th — brown bear; giant crocodile; 1d3 Small storm elementalsMM3
- 5th — 1d3 brown bears; 1d3 giant crocodiles; polar bear; griffon; rhinoceros
- 6th — Huge earth elemental; 1d3 polar bears; 1d3 griffons; 1d3 rhinoceri; Large storm elementalMM3
- 7th — 1d3 Huge earth elementals; dire rhinocerosFF; Huge storm elementalMM3
- 8th — 1d4+1 Huge earth elementals; 1d3 dire rhinoceriFF; 1d3 Huge storm elementalsMM3
Timeless Body (Ex) Kai no longer takes ability score penalties for aging and cannot be magically aged.
Trackless Step (Ex) Kai cannot be tracked in natural surroundings.
Wild Empathy (Ex) Communicate with animals as Diplomacy, +16 bonus (druid level + Cha).
Wild Shape (Su) As a standard action 5/day, become a Tiny–Huge animal or plant; 1/day, become a Small to Large elemental. Lasts 16 hours.
Woodland Stride (Ex) Kai can move through undergrowth unimpeded.
Magic Items
Mantle of Winter
This heavy cloak of white fur, with clasps made from the crystal claws of a frost salamander, is imbued with the power of deep winter. It grants its wearer a +2 resistance bonus to all saving throws and a +2 enhancement bonus to natural armor. The mantle also bestows on the wearer cold resistance 10 and damage reduction 10/magic.
Moderate transmutation; CL 10th; Craft Wondrous Item, barkskin, body of ice, resistance; Price 42,000 gp.
Ice Mirror Shards (minor artifacts)
These tiny shards of unmelting ice, nearly invisible to the naked eye, are said to be fragments of a mirror, once an object of great power, that was shattered into a thousand thousand pieces and dispersed throughout the world. The malevolent creator of the mirror, to which great and sinister powers are ascribed, is variously named in myth: Ahriman, Loki, Chernobog, Mephistopheles.
In some ways the mirror’s shards, if indeed that is their origin, behave as cursed items. Yet there are many who seek the shards for themselves, and few who would give up their power, once acquired.
Unlike a common magic item, an ice mirror shard is not worn as clothing or jewelry, nor carried. Rather it lodges itself in a certain part of the would-be owner’s body, from where the shard cannot be removed by physical means, save excision of the affected part; nor can the shard be removed by any spell or magic effect. Should the owner die, upon being resurrected he finds that the shard once more occupies the same body part as before death; and if he has removed the shard by divesting himself of the body part which the offending shard occupied, that limb or organ can never again be restored by any mortal magic. Other methods are said to exist of removing an ice mirror shard, but legend tells of such methods being quite diverse and entirely personal to the shard’s owner. The preceding excepted, there is nothing short of the direct intervention of a deity that can remove an ice mirror shard once it has taken residence in a mortal’s body.
The shards have other lasting effects on their owner, particular to that organ or body part in which a shard is lodged (see below). Each, however, bestows great power on the mortal who embraces the "curse" of the mirror shard, the exact nature of which power depends in some part on the mortal’s own capabilities, and the aspects of his being that he chooses to pursue.
Heart shard
A shard of the ice mirror is lodged in Kai’s heart, which has been transformed by the shard into something resembling a chunk of ice. The elemental cold which now courses through his veins does not harm Kai, but rather grants him the following benefits.
Kai is immune to all spells and effects that specifically target his heart, such as heartfreeze, heartclutch, stop heart, or clutch of Orcus. He is immune to all non-damaging magical Cold effects (such as the slow effect from a cone of cold spell), though not cold damage or nonmagical cold, such as frostfell weather. Kai is also immune to crushing despair, good hope, any similar spells or effects which create positive or negative emotions; morale bonuses or penalties of any kind, penalties due to fear (though he may still become frightened or panicked); and all charm effects.
Any time Kai casts a spell with the Cold descriptor, if he so chooses, the temperature within an emanation around him drops by one temperature band (see Frostburn, p.9). The radius of this effect is 60 feet at 9th level or below; 120 feet at 10th level or above; and 180 feet at 15th level or above. Kai may also lower the temperature band as a standard action, without casting a spell. In either case, the drop in temperature takes effect after one round, at the start of Kai’s next turn.
The heart shard makes Kai’s body tougher and more resistant to damage or physiological disruption, granting him a +2 enhancement bonus to Constitution. This bonus increases to +4 at 10th level, and +6 at 15th level.
Finally, Kai can use ray of frost, at a caster level equal to his hit dice, at will.
Due to the presence of the heart shard, Kai cannot benefit from an amulet or any other neck slot item.
Eye shard
A shard of the ice mirror is lodged in Kai’s right eye, which, though still resembling a human eye, is now an orb of magical ice. This does not obscure Kai’s vision, but grants him the following benefits.
Kai can see the world more clearly, can perceive minute details that other cannot, and his analytical talents are sharpened and focused. The eye shard grants him a +4 competence bonus to Spot and Search checks, as well as a bonus to Intelligence (+2 at 9th level or below; +4 at 10th level or above; +6 at 15th level or above.) However, Kai’s perception of other people is distorted, and he suffers a -8 penalty on all social skill checks (Bluff, Diplomacy, Gather Information, Intimidate, and Sense Motive) when dealing with creatures that possess an Intelligence score of 3 or higher.
Due to the presence of the eye shard, Kai cannot benefit from a circlet or any other head (1) slot item.