Dahak -- "Ebbon"
Description
When polymorphed into a humanoid form, Ebbon still cannot be mistaken for a normal human being. The black dragon is as true to his common name as his appearance depicts. He has no hair, but his skin is as black as pitch. Even his eyes, lacking pupils, are as dark as night. There is no color and no light in his tall, muscular human shape. There is only darkness, the stench of death, and the persistent, biting sting of acid in the air. Ebbon wears long, flowing robes that may have once been black but have now faded to gray and even present gaping holes here and there (no doubt a result of his foul breath permeating the cloth). The holes permit glimpses of the mortal arms Ebbon wears and wields when obliged to do battle in this pitiful man-shape.
Sheathing his whole human form is dark-gray steel, girded from head to toe in custom field plate armor. A smooth ironshod rod mounted with a spiked ball is clutched in hand. The cruel morningstar is black like everything else about him, but one can almost see through the ghost touch weapon as if it weren't there. Strapped on his left hand, Dahak clutches a diamond-shaped shield of matte-styled black steel, a gray core protruding slightly from the center. Wrist bracers carved from ebony instead of metal are clasped on his forearm, but the etched draconic sigils suggest their mystical prowess. Most disturbing is the mask tied around his neck, often allowed to simply hang loose on his chest until battle is joined. The mask is in the shape of a human skull and fashioned from bone-white ivory. Truly, Ebbon is a force for death incarnate.
Of course, his true form is much more frightening. The mail and morningstar fade into his scale-shielded body, while the wooden bracers and ivory mask reconfigure and enlarge magically to encompass the huge black dragon. The bracers clutch to his great forelegs while the mask hangs on a longer cord around his thick neck. Dahak is over 28 feet long from snout to the sharp tip of his tail, and his powerful mass easily encumbers over 8,000 pounds. The drake's head resembles a skull due to his deep-socketed eyes and the wide and flat nasal passage. Great horns, as thick as a man's legs, curve forward from behind the ears and extend a good foot and a half past his snout. A spinal crest, as gray as a rainy day, rises highest just behind his head, then tapers off about three quarters of the way down the neck.
Bony ridges travel down the sides of all four legs. Each leg ends in three bone-white claws that are easily capable of tearing a man in half. Tough webbing extends partly between each toe to aid in Dahak's amphibious moments. From his midsection, two massive wings are furled, the leathery hide as gray as the dragon's crest. But their span easily spreads to over forty feet total. The black dragon's whole body is armored more effectively than full plate mail with the dull ebony and dark gray scales that sheathe his whole body. Dahak's underside is paler than the beast's upper body, but no less protected. The black hide seems to actually recede around the base of the skull dragon's horns and cheekbones, adding to his frightful presence. A pair of obsidian eyes radiate only unfathomable malice and cunning for all those he views. Dahak enjoys seeing the looks on other's faces when they see his rows of dagger-like teeth and choke on the stinging air that surrounds his foul, acidic breath. Dahak may dabble in necromancy, but he scarcely needs the undead to spread corruption and doom.
History
Dahak hatched in 170 AK -- 743 years ago. He survived the siblings in his nest, in the darkest reaches of Snake Swamp, Verdentia, by avoiding them. When one of his cannibalistic hatchlings came after him, he defended himself by suffocating the other beast. Sure, black dragons can breathe underwater from birth. But that doesn't mean they can breathe mud and swamp muck, and that's what Dahak introduced his famished sister to that day. His early life in the nest continued to be dog-eat-dog until he could truly fend for himself and fly away, before his much larger and meaner mother ate him. Dahak flew east, across the Derium Forest and into the shadows of the Sonodell Mountains of Darsix. There he staked his claim in a murky marsh where the rain drained from the mountains but didn't have anywhere to really run off. He dug into the mountain and began his life, eking out a survival by preying on animals. The size of the beasts he consumed gradually enlarged. Soon Dahak was preying on humanoids and goblinoids who wandered too close to his lair. When bugbears approached him to parley an alliance, he introduced himself as Ebbon (since they didn't deserve to know his true dragon name). Ebbon demanded sacrifices of war captives and treasure. In return, he would defend their mountain vale. Their treaty lasted for decades, but as Ebbon aged, his patience lessened and his boredom grew, particularly as their offerings became fewer and fewer. He began to massacre the dirty goblins left and right despite the old treaty they had. To hell with their treaty -- they weren't living up to their end of it to his satisfaction anyway.
Hardly endangered, Dahak was simply bored with this place. Using the skins of and hides of animals (and people) woven together as a great net, Dahak placed his collected treasure hoard within and carried it from the Sonodell Marsh and flew even further east. Hidden in an old forest, where the lowlands and a nearby lake gave way to a broad marsh, Dahak discovered a forgotten temple with wide halls. It radiated evil, but he didn't care -- he was quite malevolent himself. The dragon wormed into the heart of the temple, and from the engraved icons and abandoned religious tools, he discerned it was a shrine to Maranak, the dark god of death and necromancy. The corpses there enshrined were all sacrificial victims to Maranak’s endless hunger for life. But Dahak would not be frightened away. And when spirits came to haunt and mummies to crush this intruder, Dahak struck them all down with magic and claws and his deadly breath. These undead were dispatched as easily as any bugbear or ogre that tempted his wrath. On the other hand, Dahak realized, they didn't scream and whine and bitch and complain. Their company wouldn't be nearly as irritating as the living; the undead just did what they were supposed to and that was that.
Still unmoved, Dahak took the next century or so to settle into his new home. He established his hunting dominance in the marsh; the wicked humanoids who dared his homestead became food and entertainment, too. His treasure was gradually increased, but Dahak yearned for more. He felt bored and unfulfilled. The dragon slipped into a long sleep of ennui. In that rest, Maranak came to his dreams. The dark skeletal god offered to teach Dahak how to become the most powerful black dragon on the planet. He only had to devote his long life to the service of Maranak -- and that service simply included spreading the corruption and influence of the undead. Over the years, he repelled Maranak’s advances three times before finally consenting to help. Dahak felt in the center of his being that this was something he wanted to do, something he needed to do. All those pitiful little life forms out there were an annoyance to him. He wanted those silly imps, humans and goblins alike, and everything in between, to just die. It's not like Dahak needed or wanted men for food. So when he woke up from that long rest, he was granted a vision of what he would become, what he would do -- a purveyor of pure death, the most feared dragon on the planet. Dahak set to work right away, crafting zombies and skeletons with necromantic secrets Maranak whispered. He used the remains left in the temple to make these minor undead workers, who would aid him in his plans for the future. And if he had his way, a bleak future it would be indeed.
Personality
A cruel and brilliant necromancer, Dahak has no compunctions about using any and everyone to further his twisted goals. Of course, some people make good servants…others make good zombies. Dahak has excellent judgment in others' utility, so he isn't as quick to melt an intruder as other black dragons might be. Of course, intruders might wish they were just melted…
Goals
Dahak will pursue the Cleric class to mastery (20th level), then probably become a Hierophant of Maranak.
Character Sheet