The thing that impresses anyone when first seeing Tigerblade is that he is large, both in height and girth. He stands 7 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 345 pounds without clothes. For all his bulk, however, he carries himself gracefully, and when called for, has a cat-like quickness that surprises many. He has black hair that is now graying around the temples. With his gauntlets off it can be seen that the pinkie fingers of his otherwise normal (but big of course) hands are animal-like (tiger perhaps?) and have sharp claws.

Tigerblade dresses well as befits someone who tries to impress the flock with Sif's message of Excellence and, of course, wears the holy symbol of a Cleric of Sif at all times. On his belt he wears a small woven gold pouch, which can radiate up to lamplight. When suited for battle he wears gold-edged blood-red dragon scale mail armor and wields two magnificent long swords. He is a renowned master of the two heavy blade form, and not many who face him in melee live more than a few seconds.

Tigerblade has the reputation as a gentle giant who is slow to anger, but quite determined when moved to action. He is not fond of thieves and they are very wary of him, since he is likely to take matters into his own hands immediately if he witnesses a wrong - and even if he controls himself or doesn't observe a theft, his sentient magical pouch, who has a similar phobia, tends to lash out of its own volition. He has the reputation among several of his fellow party members of having a sort of split personality: "Mr. Tiger" is his good side, and "Mr. Blade" is his evil side, names originally assigned to him by Malarky after he'd learned of the numerous incidents where Tigerblade attacked his own party members. Except for an intentional attack on Alphonso early in his career when he (correctly) believed that the latter had stolen something from him, all such behavior resulted from baleful magical items afflicting him with insanity. Those who really know him realize that he doesn't actually have an "evil side" - but even his allies tend to have contingency plans to deal with - or escape from - an insane Tigerblade running amok.

As a devoted priest of Sif, the goddess of excellence, Tigerblade founded and operates a "School of Excellence". This is located in a region of farm lands and forests on rolling hills about an hour's ride from Mansfield along a good road. The school itself is situated upon a high hill with a good view of the city in the distance. Even from afar the school is an imposing sight with a grand stone building and a smaller stone chapel near it. While it is clearly a work of fine architecture, it is only when someone gets close, do they see the extent of the artistry that went into it. Everything is designed, constructed, and embellished with great skill. Even such normally overlooked things as the stone fence and the wooden stables are works of art. The grounds consist of 25 acres of former farm land and 50 acres of light forest and have all the facilities needed for lodging and training students in the non-scholarly arts, from fighting and horsemanship to the highest mastery of various crafts. The school attracts the most gifted students (many on scholarships) and teachers from not only Mansfield, but also all over Anglia. In addition to regular classes there are learning and spiritual retreats for all ages sponsored by the Temple of Sif in Mansfield. Students and teachers at the school need not be followers of the goddess Sif (although many are), but must be non-evil and devoted to excelling in their chosen field(s).

Tigerblade's wife, his cohort Hermon, and his old friend Ivan (the latter two of whom serve as fighting instructors at his school) also live in quarters at the school. Of his other early companions, Marga, a priestess of Sif at the temple in Mansfield, is probably the only one who visits him often, now that Vandis has ascended. Of his current adventuring companions, Mambo visits him frequently, and would probably live at the school if she could, and Brianna and Zhaji always stop in to see him when they leave Sigil to visit Dargas.

Copyright © 2003 by Eden Celeste All rights reserved.

Tigerblade CR 32
Male human ranger 3/fighter 9/cleric (Sif) 20
CG Medium-size humanoid
Divine Rank 0
Init +15; Senses darkvision 60' (from goggles); Perception +32
Languages Common, Elvish, Dwarven
Height 7 ft. 2 in., weight 345 lb., age 46.
XP: (ECL 32) 496,000 + 31,999 = 527,999 + 1 = 528,000 (ECL 33)

Creatures of divine rank 0 are sometimes called quasi-deities or hero deities. Creatures that have a mortal and a deity as parents also fall into this category. These entities cannot grant spells, but are immortal and usually have one or more ability scores that are far above the norm for their species. They may have some worshipers. Ordinary mortals do not have a divine rank of 0. They lack a divine rank altogether.

A divine rank of 0 provides the following effects:

• All deities that are outsiders have all alignment subtypes that correspond with their alignment.
• Maximum hit points for each Hit Die
• A much enhanced speed:

  Size	Biped (two or fewer legs)	Quadruped (three or more legs)
  Fine	20 ft.	60 ft.
  Diminutive	30 ft.	70 ft.
  Tiny	40 ft.	80 ft.
  Small	50 ft.	90 ft.
  Medium	60 ft.	100 ft.
  Large	80 ft.	120 ft.
  Huge	100 ft.	140 ft.
  Gargantuan	120 ft.	160 ft.
  Colossal	140 ft.	180 ft.

  Use the Biped column for burrow and swim speed, regardless of form.
  Use half the value in the Biped column for climb speed.
  Use twice the value of the Quadruped column for fly speeds if capable of flying.

• A deflection bonus equal to the deity's Charisma bonus, if any.
• A variety of immunities. Unless otherwise indicated, these immunities do not apply if the attacker is a deity of equal or higher rank.
  • Immune to polymorphing, petrification, or any other attack that alters its form. Any shape-altering powers the deity might have work normally on itself.
  • Not subject to energy drain, ability drain, or ability damage.
  • Immune to mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects).
• Fire resistance of 5 + divine rank.
• Spell resistance of 32 + divine rank.
• All deities (even those of rank 0) are naturally immortal and cannot die from natural causes. Deities do not age, and they do not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. The only way for a deity to die is through special circumstances, usually by being slain in magical or physical combat.

Divine rank is a factor in several other effects, but has no visible effect for a quasi-deity:

• A field of divine energy encompasses the deity's body and provides a divine Armor Class bonus equal to the divine rank.
• A deity gets its divine rank as a divine bonus on all attack rolls
• A deity gets its divine rank as a divine bonus on all saving throws.
• A deity gets its divine rank as a divine bonus on all skill checks, ability checks, caster level checks, and turning checks.

Tigerblade found this suit of Red Dragon Scale Mail in the horde of the Sharrakan the Great Wyrm Black Dragon. It was in a chest emblazoned with the seal of Alex de Chandon, High Paladin to Emperor of Raensia. "The breast plate, arm guards, leg guards, loinguard and neck guards are all edged with gold, which lends a luxurious contrast to the deep, blood-red color of the dragon scales."

Aside from being extremely gaudy, it grants Tigerblade a +9 armor bonus and Fire Resistance 30. It's worth 172,200 gp.

Dragoncraft armor or shield (Draconomicon 117) Dragoncraft armor and shields are masterwork versions of armor and shields crafted from a dragon's hide that also grant energy resistance. A suit of dragoncraft armor or a dragoncraft shield grants the wearer resistance 5 against a specific type of energy, as appropriate for the dragon (acid for black, copper, or green; cold for silver or white; electricity for blue or bronze; fire for brass, gold, or red). This resistance is treated as an extraordinary (and hence nonmagical) feature of the object. It doesn't stack with any other energy resistance (of the same type) possessed by the character. In addition, dragoncraft armor is treated as one category lighter for the purpose of movement and other determinations. Heavy dragoncraft armors are treated as medium, and medium and light armors are treated as light. Armor check penalties are reduced by 2 (including the 1-point reduction for masterwork armor or shield). Dragoncraft armor has the normal maximum Dexterity bonus. Dragoncraft armor can be hide armor, scale mail, half-plate, or full plate armor. Dragoncraft shields can be light or heavy. Dragoncraft price: 3,000 gp (light armor); 6,000 gp (medium armor), 11,000 gp (heavy armor); Dragon part: dragon hide; Skill: Craft (armorsmithing); Weight: same as ordinary armor or shield.

scale mail: 50 gp
masterwork armor: 150 gp
medium dragoncraft: 6,000
+5 enhancement bonus: 25,000
nimbleness: 11,000
ghost ward: 13,000
moderate fortification: 51,000
greater fire resistance: 66,000
total value = 172,200 gp

Armor Check penalty = 0
Maximum Dexterity = +4

"Life Shielder": intelligent +5 transmuting collision longsword

Alignment: NG. Ego: 27.
INT 18, WIS 18, CHA 10: read all languages as well as use read magic.
120 ft. darkvision, blindsense, and hearing.
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Giant, & Draconic. Can communicate telepathically with the wielder.
Continuous comprehend languages, see invisibility.
At will detect magic, detect snares and pits
1/day greater teleport

Ormond's Pouch

Description: Pouch of woven gold, 4"x6"x2". Radiates up to lamplight (controllable).
Alignment NG. Ego: 21. Purpose: Defeat rogues.
INT 18, WIS 10, CHA 18: read all languages as well as use read magic,
120 ft. darkvision, blindsense, and hearing.
Languages: Common, Halfling, Gnome, Dwarven, Elven. Can communicate telepathically with the wielder.
Holding capacity: 50lbs, 8 cu ft. Contents impervious to damage.
May be loaned to single good-aligned person (non-LG preferred).
4d10 damage to anyone else who touches it, or can shoot ray - 4d10 (treat as magic missile) of its own volition when pursuing special purpose.
Continuous detect evil, 60' range.
1/day divination
Limited Danger Sense: limited foresight with translocation (up to 30') for initial surprise only.

Crystal of Mind Cloaking, Greater

This crystal is black as a clouded night sky.

A crystal of mind cloaking protects you against mental infiltration.

Least: This augment crystal grants you a +1 competence bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting spells and abilities.
Lesser: As above, except the crystal grants a +3 competence bonus.
Greater: As above, except the crystal grants a +5 competence bonus. In addition, if you fail a save against a mind-affecting spell or ability, you can choose to reroll the save as an immediate (mental) action. This ability functions once per day.

Demolition Crystal, Greater (weapon crystal) (MIC 65)

This blue-white diamond bears a tiny adamantine emblem of a hammer.

Demolition crystals were designed for those who fight constructs, particularly for the servants of wizards who battle enemy golems.

Least: A weapon with this crystal attached deals an extra ld6 points of damage to constructs.
Lesser: As the least crystal, and the weapon is treated as adamantine for the purpose of overcoming the damage reduction of constructs.
Greater: As the lesser crystal, and the weapon can deliver sneak attacks and critical hits against constructs as if they were living creatures.

Price (Item Level): 1,000 gp (4th) (least); 3,000 gp (7th) (lesser); 6,000 gp (10th) (greater)

Fiendslayer Crystal, Greater (weapon crystal) (MIC 65)

This perfect crystal sphere emits a faint white glow.

A fiendslayer crystal helps you fight creatures infused with evil.

Least: A weapon with this crystal attached deals an extra ld6 points of damage to evil outsiders.
Lesser: As the least crystal, and the weapon is treated as good-aligned for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.
Greater: As the lesser crystal, and if the weapon scores a critical hit against an evil outsider, that creature can't use any teleportation abilities or spells for 1 round.

Any evil creature that grasps a weapon bearing a fiendslayer crystal gains one negative level, which remains as long as the weapon is held and disappears when the weapon is no longer wielded. This negative level never results in actual level loss, but it cannot be overcome in any way (including restoration spells) while the weapon is wielded.

Price (Item Level): 1,000 gp (4th) (least); 3,000 gp (7th) (lesser); 5,000 gp (9th) (greater)

Truedeath Crystal, Greater

This amethyst is carved in the shape of a humanoid skull.

Clerics craft truedeath crystals to aid themselves and others in sending undead to their final rest.

Least: A weapon with this crystal attached deals an extra ld6 points of damage to undead.
Lesser: As the least crystal, and the weapon also functions as a ghost touch weapon (DMG 224).
Greater: As the lesser crystal, and the weapon can deliver sneak attacks and critical hits against undead as if they were living creatures.

Price (Item Level): 1,000 gp (4th) (least); 5,000 gp (9th) (lesser); 10,000 gp (12th) (greater)

manual of bodily health +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Constitution, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

manual of gainful exercise +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Strength, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

manual of quickness of action +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Dexterity, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

tome of clear thought +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Intelligence, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

tome of leadership and influence +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Charisma, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

tome of understanding +5

As a result of reading this, Tigerblade has a +5 inherent bonus to Wisdom, accounted for in the stats above. Since it has been used, the book is no longer magical.

tome of worldly memory +10 (6,000) (MIC 190)

This small book is bound in hammered silver and engraved with the continents of the world.

By studying the book for 1 minute, gain a +10 competence bonus to a single Knowledge check. If you have at least 5 ranks of the Knowledge check in question, you can peruse it as a standard action to gain the benefit. The tome functions three times per day.

Book of Exalted Deeds (Minor Artifact)

Tigerblade no longer actually owns this item, as he has used it and it vanished, as such items do when read. As a result of reading it, he gained a cleric level and a half and a +1 inherent bonus to Wisdom, both of which are accounted for in the statistics above.