Chapter 7-209: Oh, THAT’S Why it was Making Me Take Those Feats... (1/2)

I remembered this not-a-horse falling out of the sky, hitting the ground and losing the Old God riding it as it did so. I had ignored it as it scampered for a clear area away from the vivus, totally ignored by its rider, who had commenced freezing alive. Basically, it had just stood there in its little circle about a hundred yards off, forgotten and watching as its master’s horde fell out of the sky, burned away to nothing, and then the Old God Himself had frozen, shattered, and Lit Off in the Offering to Aru.

Or, since it was night, maybe Sylune. The Sun King and Queen of Stars were pretty open-minded about such things.

The thing was no longer the bonded mount of a greater being, and so had naturally lost a great deal of its strength and aura. It was definitely a magical creature of some power and size, but no tougher than an average Nightmare now.

It was a creature of Fire. A bonded mount. An Elemental being, part of an aspect of nature...

I closed my eyes and sighed. Obviously, the things in the Shroud knew things I most certainly did not.

This thing was an Eidolon!

Every Eidolon was different, its form and growth determined by the master it was linked to. While it was technically possible for anyone to Bind an Eidolon if it was willing, Binders were the only ones who got them automatically, as their focus on Summoning magic was like a beacon to the things.

They could get even stronger than a Druid or Ranger’s Animal Companion, which were the basic standard for combat-worthy pet creatures.

Aelryinth’s big snake Feature was an example of what happened when you merged Familiar and Animal Companion, and then its status was elevated to Eidolon. It was a seriously overpowered reptilian powerhouse that could take on a lot of Powered all by itself, hence its name: it was a Class Feature better than their whole Class!...

Now this Eidolon was here, and it was looking at me. Me, who the Shroud had forced to take a bunch of Feats strictly related to powering up an Animal Companion that I didn’t think I would need.

I sighed. I couldn’t let it rove around freely, as that would just lead to it getting slaughtered repeatedly, given its nigh-demonic appearance. Indeed, it probably couldn’t even exist on this plane freely without an anchoring master...

“You want to serve me?” I asked it directly, in Pyric. The fire-gouting reply was eager, and its burning tail swished excitedly.

“Come, then.” I motioned it up and closer, the link already starting to build with that affirmation. Class Levels came together, stacked on top of one another, and began to harmonize. A burning Seal started to materialize upon its forehead.

“Let me show you what I am doing here. Watch. Judge. I will not give you a Name. Your Name is your own to decide. When you see what I am doing, and what kind of mistress I am going to be, you will tell me your Name, and your service to me will begin.”

Somewhat confused, the eidolon still stood there in the air beside me, mane burning, tail swishing, clawed hooves flaming, and the core of fire burning inside its skeletal chest clearly visible.

I kept about my task. This was not something that was going to get resolved in an hour.

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Binder and Druid Levels stacked for Animal Companion and Familiar bonuses. Binder harmonized with Arcane through Name Theurgy, so effective Wizard Level was the one that applied. Blighters could get undead Animal Companions. An Eidolon qualified for Animal Companion bonuses through the Name of Nature and Theurgic Companion.

Wizard Fake Eleven plus Corrupt not-Druid Fake Seven was Eighteen.

Familiar Effects at 18: +9 to Natural Armor, Intelligence base 14, grants Alertness, Improved Evasion, Empathic Link, shares Buffing spells when close, can deliver touch spells, can speak with master, speak with animals, lesser spell resistance, and I could scry on him as I wished. Health/Soak equal to half the Wizard’s.

Animal Companion effects at 18: 15 Hit Dice, +12 Natural Armor (non-stacking with Familiar), Attack Bonus +11; 8 Feats to assign; +6 to Str/Dex; Linked, Share Spells, Improved Evasion, Devoted, 3 ability score increases, 7 bonus tricks, Multiattack. Str 16, Dex 13, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 12, Cha 6. At 4th Level, +2 Str/Con. Low Light Vision and Scent, size L Animal, +4 Nat AC, Hoof/Hoof/Bite for d6/d6/d4, Speed 50, all using Horse as a model. Gained Combat Training and all the Tricks associated with it, a nice bonus.

So, defaulting to Heavy War Horse as a basis, it seemed...

Eidolon Benefits at 18: 14 Hit Dice, Attack bonus +14, 6+Int bonus Skill Points/level, +14 Natural Armor, Str/Dex +7, 23 (+3) Evolution points, Max attacks 6, Darkvision, 7 Feats, Str 14 Dex 14 Con 13; 7 Int, 10 Wis, Cha 11, medium, d6 Bite... a Pony-Wolf starting basis. I eyed his form, which really wasn’t equine in structure, especially those jaws, and the clawed hooves. Aesthetics?...

None of these explicitly stacked, it was take the best of each. I didn’t have to pay in Evolution points for anything one of the other advancements gave.

I had to pay for the magical abilities of this old fellow, and decide his Feats.

Once Bound, I could actually completely change the form of my Eidolon between Levels or with magic, but I was also restricted by the Druidic limitations on creatures, if I wanted to take advantage of such.

So, no dragons, for instance, although I could make him look like a dinosaur. Tempting...

For now, equine/wolf/stag worked just fine.

I went into the Evolutions, with 26 points to spend, spreadsheeting while making up the massive Node Tap at the border of the lava lake.

9k free pyromana a day in this place. This place could not be allowed to sit idle!

Let’s see. Got four legs, bite, claw, hooves, size Large, scent, low-light vision, darkvision for free, as well as a Combat-Trained mount.

Putting the Stat Line together, and taking the superior Size L boost from Evolution for free, he ended up with Str 21, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10. Base Nat AC was +4, Move was 50, with 15 Hit Dice. With base Level adjustments in place, that improved to Strength 28 and Dexterity 20. Natural AC improved to 18, so I guess the bones were worth something.

Base Claw/Claw/Bite damage was now d6/d6/d8. Multiattack was free. But now, I would have to start paying for stuff.