Mistress Yola (CBN)

__TOC__
Pain-Mistress Yolanda Shamat
8th-level Human Death Priestess (Pain)
Str: 14
Dex: 13
Con: 15
Int: 12
Wis: 17
Cha: 13
Armor Class: 5
THAC0: 16
Movement: 12
Hit Points: 50
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Granted Powers: Negate emotion spells in others, emotion control (fear, sorrow, or hatred; up to 16 people, 1/day), focus harm spell (cause serious wounds, 17 hp damage, 1/day).
Special Attacks: By spell or magical item.
Special Defenses: Nil
Saving Throws: PPDM 7; RSW 11; PP 10; BW 13; S 12.
+4 on saves vs. pain; +3 magical attack adj. (Wisdom).
Size: 5'9”
WP: scourge, footman's mace, footman's flail, staff, whip. NWP: endurance (15), local history (13), reading/writing (13), religion (17), rope use (13), spellcraft (10), swimming (14).
Spells: bless, call upon faith (TOM), cause light wounds, command, protection from good; aid, draw upon unholy might (TOM), hold person (x2), silence 15' radius; cause blindness, death's door, dispel magic; cause insanity, cause serious wounds.
Equipment: Scale mail +1, wickedly spiked staff-mace, whip, gold signet ring (100 gp), nose ring (50 gp), electrum tiara (250 gp), belt pouch (28 gp, 34 sp, and a pair of thumbscrews), and shoulder bag with four knives, one dose of mindshadow, eight caltrops, scourge, spare whip, iron spikes and needles, a sponge, 50' of rope, flask of salt water, potion of extra-healing, and four packets of powder of the black veil (TOM).
Physical Description: Yola is a daunting figure. A tall, sturdily built woman in her early thirties, Yola has pale blue eyes and midnight black hair which she braids and coils around sharp iron needles. She has dark, swarthy features, and she speaks with an exotic foreign accent. Her stature and demeanor clearly convey a strong, commanding personality, for she carries herself rigidly erect, moves with deliberate purpose, and cows everyone around her with an icy stare.
Background: As a child, Yolanda Shamat was sold as a slave to Signor Matanzas, a priest of Loviatar who introduced her to the excruciating rites of the Pain Goddess. Yola rose in Matanzas' household to the position of chamberlain, and she ran his estate with brutal efficiency. Matanzas was a member of the Anatomical Academy, and the vivisection facilities in his estate were sometimes used as a meeting place for the Academy. Dr. Ellandra Tolbert (see her NPC sheet) attended several of these meetings and met Yola at Matanza's Estate. While their first encounter was less than cordial, it was clear that Ellandra was not intimidated by Yola's demeanor. After only a few visits to the estate, the two began to exchange polite greetings, and then pleasantries. Ellandra persuaded Matanzas to transfer Yola into her service.
Since slavery is not as prevalent in her homeland, Ellandra promptly gave Yola her freedom when she moved north to Waterdeep. In a curious mixture of gratitude, friendship, and respect, the priestess agreed to remain in Ellandra's employ as her “personal assistant.” Yola is convinced that her friend's attempts to bring back her dead husband will only result in great sorrow and pain, but as a priestess of Loviatar, she finds some measure of satisfaction at helping in this enterprise. She manages Ellandra's villa just like Matanzas' estate, though the soft northern servants have almost no tolerance to pain and are thus almost pathetically easy to control.
Yolanda is also now an established member of Loviatar's priesthood in Waterdeep, but the city's high priest reminds her too much of Matanzas. She spends as little time in the House of Pain as possible, preferring to assist Ellandra in furthering her research. She has no personal following and no interest in acquiring one.
Role-Playing Notes: Yola exudes a palpable aura of harsh, uncompromising severity that is emotionally disturbing to humans in her presence, as well as animals. Babies cry, children flee, dogs bark, and horses rear at her approach.
Anyone visiting Ellandra will first have to contend with Yola, who screens her mistress from needless interruptions. She addresses newcomers with glacial frigidity unless they have a scheduled appointment. Yola also serves as a recruiter for Ellandra, hiring adventuring parties to take care of messy or difficult business (such as acquiring new bodies for Ellandra's secret research).
Yola can be extremely unpleasant if provoked into combat. Her first action will usually be to release her dogs and invoke fear using her emotion control (save vs. spells or flee for 8 rounds). If her dogs can shield her from melee, she will first silence, hold or command spellcasters; otherwise she will wade into battle focusing cause serious wounds (see granted power) or cause insanity on an opponent. Once her spells have been exhausted, she will fight with her staff-mace (THAC0 13, Dmg 1d6+3); against unarmored victims, she may use her whip to entangle or disarm (THAC0 20 with called shot, Dmg: 1d2/1). Yola is too prudent to fight to the death. She will use her powder of the black veil and a handful of scattered caltrops to cloak her escape and deter pursuit.