Forgotten Realms Fan Fiction ❯ The Cat and the Spider ❯ Prelude ( Prologue )

THECAT AND THE SPIDER

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Shan Mao. All are property of some who have biggest lawyers and more money than me, so I will not even try to irritate them.

 

Summary: A young girl from earth (probable Mary-sue or at least very powerful) is taken from her dimension and thrown into the world of Faerûn.

She is taken as a slave by the Drow in the Underdark city of Sheoloth. She must survives or die horribly (hence the need of a very powerful character).

 

 

Prelude

 

 

My name is Xian Mao or Shan Mao for those who can't properly speak good mandarin.

 

I am a normal modern Chinese teenager of sixteen years living in Beijing. Well almost normal since I was born albinos.

 

Yes, it's not common. My schoolmates called me `ghost girl' with my alabaster skin, red-pink eyes and especially my waist-long bone-white hair.

 

I live with my family: my father, my mother and my grand-mother. I am a unique child. I have however rather traditional hobbies of mine.

 

It's due to my grand-mother who showed me the old china. Because of her I develop a grand interest in the martial arts.

 

Due to my condition I couldn't enjoy outside activities because of my sun-sensitive skin.

 

I was relegated to indoors sports and throw myself into Wu Shu. Wu Shu is the national form of martial art approved by our government. It was a good base for me and enabled me to progress in others Chinese martial arts such as Tai Chi Chuan and Shaolin Kung-Fu.

 

My culture is an amazing thing for a westerner mind. Our people constantly reinvent our history and way of life with each political crisis and subsequent new governments.

 

What about me? I'm not sure. I really don't know what to think of my people. Don't get me wrong I love my country, respect my ancestors and obey my government. But I'm not sure of my place in this society.

 

For now, I'm following the current. I listen to the teachers, I do what my parents say and I learn what my grand-mother imparts on me. But I don't know what the future reserve for me.

 

Well, at least until the `incident'.

 

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Characters:

Xian Mao (Shan Mao or immortal cat, future drow name Faeryl): a Chinese girl of sixteen years. Nicknamed ghost girl because she's an albinos. Pale white skin, red-pink eyes and long bone-white hair. A few called her `Shampoo' because she practices martial arts, more specifically Wu Shu and has `cat' in her name. She is considered as a multiclass martial artist/warlock (open content rules on the net and Complete Arcane book) in the rules of Dungeons and dragons version 3.5, specialized in all-around techniques and Chi-manipulation. She is a soul-merging of her, a sacred silver-stripped female tabby cat of Eilistraee the Dark Maiden and Vierna Do'Urden, priestess of Lolth who rebelled against the Spider Queen at the very moment of her death in the arms of her brother Drizzt Do'Urden. Here is her sheet for the very moment she enters the Underdark, since she has been trained in her world, she is not a first level character:

 

Name: Xian Mao (Shan Mao/Faeryl). Class: martial artist level 3/ warlock level 1. Effective level: 6 (4 level character +2 ECL)

Race: half-drow (human-drow soul-merge). Alignment: neutral good. Deity: Eilistraee and Lolth.

Size: 1m55 (medium). Age: 16 years. Gender: female. Weight: 55 kg. Eyes: red-pink.

Hair: ivory white (silver now). Skin: pale white.

 

Strength: 13 (+1). Dexterity: 18 (+4). Constitution: 14 (+2). Intelligence: 13 (+1).

Wisdom: 15 (+2). Charisma: 17 (+3).

Hit points: 29. Armour class: 17 (no armour). Touch AC: 17. Flat-footed AC: 10.

Speed: 30 feet. Initiative: +4. Fortitude: +5. Reflexes: +7. Will: +7. (+9 against spells and spell-like effects, +11 against enchantments and enchantment-like effects)

Base attack bonus: +4. Spell resistance: 15. Grapple modifier: +4.

 

 

Attack: unarmed strike. Attack bonus: +8. Damage: 1d8+1. Critical: X2. Range: none. Type: bludgeoning. Notes: lethal or non-lethal, always light weapon, no off-hand penalty.

Attack: eldritch blast. Attack bonus: +8. Damage: 1d6. Critical: X2. Range: 60 feet. Type: ray attack. Notes: ranged touch attack, no saving throw.

 

Skills levels/total/carac: balance +4/(+8)/(dex), bluff +4/(+7)/(cha), climb +2/(+3)/(str), concentration +4/(+6)/(con), craft weaponsmithing +1/(+2)/(int), escape artist +2/(+10)/(dex), heal +1/(+3)/(wis), intimidate +2/(+5)/(cha), jump +4/(+5)/(str), listen +1/(+5)/(wis, CC), perform flute +1/(+4)/(cha), perform dance +1/(+4)/(cha), ride +1/(+5)/(dex), sense motive +4/(+6)/(wis), search +1/(+4)/(int, CC), spellcraft +1/(+2)/(int), spot +1/(+5)/(wis, CC), swim +1/(+2)/(str), tumble +4/(+8)/(dex), use magic device +1/(+4)/(cha).

 

Feats: Two-Weapon Fighting (reduce two-weapon fighting penalties by 2), iron will (+2 bonus will save) and weapon finesse (unarmed strike).

 

Regional feat: magic in the blood (You can use racial spell-like abilities three times per day instead of one.), contortionist. (+4 escape artist and considered one size category smaller)

 

Special abilities (unknown initially and powerful since Vierna was a high level priestess): immunity to sleep spells and effects, +2 bonus against enchantments spells and effects, +2 bonus against spells and spell-like abilities, +2 bonus on listen-search-spot skills, automatic search check within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door, dark vision of 60 feet, considered as a drow and a human in regard to spells, spell effects and magical objects, racial spell-like abilities 3/day (dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire, levitate, detect good, detect magic, clairvoyance, detect lie, suggestion and dispel magic), two bonus feats of martial weapon proficiency (rapier and short sword), bonus feat of exotic weapon proficiency (hand crossbow) and light blindness (due to the half-drow template and her albinism).

 

Martial artist capabilities: weapons proficiency (simple weapons, Chinese weapons due to her culture and monk weapons), bonus to armour class, flurry of blows (one extra attack par round, penalty -2 all attacks) with unarmed strike, light weapons and monk weapons, improved unarmed strike bonus feat, surge 1/day (base speed +20 feet, +2 haste bonus to AC, penalty flurry of bows and lightning flurry minus one, last three rounds + constitution bonus then fatigue), finishing move +1d6, martial secrets of agile mind (+4 points of skills) and monkey foot work (+1 bonus dodge to AC).

 

Warlock capabilities: light armour proficiency, simple weapons proficiency, eldritch blast, least invocation of leaps and bounds.

 

Languages: common (English), Chinese (mandarin and Cantonese) plus progressive discovery of unconscious knowledge of elven (drow dialect), undercommon and drow sign language.

 

No gold and equipment.

 

Eilistraee: Drow goddess who witnessed first the entrance of the young girl along with her allies Mystra, goddess of Magic (detects the rift in the Weave and closed it, she couldn't send back Shan Mao due to an edict of Ao) and Séluné, goddess of the Moon (takes pity of the young girl and decides to support Eilistraee in her actions with the mortal). She immediately saw the danger but was unable to help her. She manages to inject the essence of one of her silver-stripped female tabby cat in the soul of the mortal and mark her (silver hair) in order to give her a chance of survival. (Cat-like capabilities, including personality alterations. Agility, speed, balance, hunter instincts, night-vision and cat-level senses and claws. In fact all feline-like capacities of the monster manual who will develop in time: Speed 40 to 50 feet, improved grab, pounce, rake technique with feet-claws, lowlight vision, scent, sprint, alertness, run, track, weapon focus for the claws, improved natural attack with the claws and bite, development of claws and sharp teeth, stealthy, feline empathy, combat reflexes, improved initiative, iron will, weapon finesse for the claws, improved trip, skills: hide, listen, move silently, spot, jump, swim, balance, handle animal for feline only and climb.)

Lolth: The Spider Queen, major drow goddess who detect the passage of Shan Mao when she crossed the veil in the Underdark. She remarked the unusual amount of energy gained by the mortal during the dimensional travel and decide to exploit it. She tags her soul with the essence of one of her renegade priestesses: Vierna Do'Urden, the elder sister of Drizzt Do'Urden. (All of the half-drow template capabilities and the addition of the clerical and noble powers of Vierna, including spell-like powers of dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire, levitate, know alignment, detect magic, clairvoyance, detect lie, suggestion and dispel magic. Dark vision of 60 feet, drow blood, resistance to magic, spell-resistance, sleep immunity, augmentation dexterity and intelligence, diminution of endurance and finally bonus on the perception.) Then she unlocked the amazing energy potential in her (her warlock class due to the soul of Vierna). Finally, she redirected her flight on the city of Sheoloth (a small drow city in numbers compared to Menzoberranzan and a potential threat for the chaos goddess) and waited to see the chaos developed.