Luella von Zarovich

## Character Biography

Luella was born somewhere on Ylos.  Her mother, Xaste Den’Mora, left her at a temple orphanage when she was one—both to give her a stable childhood and to hide her from her father, Telthaen Mirakael.  Sometime after she turned seven, Xaste returned to the orphanage for her.  She brought Luella to Barovia so she could meet her new adoptive father, Count Strahd von Zarovich.  Luella subsequently grew up in her new home of Castle Ravenloft and eventually became a warlock, with Strahd as her patron.

At some point, Luella left Barovia and traveled to the world of Toril. She spent the next forty years traveling with a rotating cast of adventurers, growing in power while finding her way out of a Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion, investigating a spa in the High Forest, dealing with a cult trying to launch a tower into space, getting cursed and dealing with a fungal plague.  The only commonalities linking these disparate quests together were a random assortment of books and the library-fortress of Candlekeep.  During this time, Luella looked for ways to delay her return to Barovia.

Eventually, Luella finally relented and went back home.  Initially, a furious Strahd planned to lock her in his dungeons for a century as punishment for her prolonged absence.  He reduced the sentence after Xaste intervened, grounding her for fifty years and taking back much of her magic.  Luella quickly decided she preferred her father’s original verdict.

As part of his sentence, Luella spent some time on Ylos, where she would perform random odd jobs in Duffin’s Hollow.  She briefly considered making a new pact with a Dice Goddess before the deity died of laughter.

Strahd would later convert Castle Ravenloft into a hotel so he could profit off the adventurers who kept trying to kill him.  He commanded Luella and a small group of adventurers to assist in his preparations by completing a list of tasks.  Their efforts led to an increasingly bizarre and hilarious series of unfortunate events that spanned a multitude of planes.  They ultimately completed their tasks with the help of Morgan Freeman. As a reward, Strahd ungrounded Luella and returned some of her magic.  She then checked in a couple dozen guests led by a human male who said they had come for a post-Extra Life retreat.

At some point in time, her nap was interrupted by tendrils of water that jostled a portal contained within a portrait.  Irritated by the rudeness, she strode into a tower ringed by a cylindrical staircase and confronted the people she found within.  She was unimpressed by the elven princess who tried to flirt with her, but conceded her spider mount was nice. Deciding the ambience could use some improvement, though, she cast True Polymorph to turn the giant spider into a nightmare, before returning to Barovia.

At some point, she became a dhampir.

## Other Versions

In Universe 23N, a variant of Luella met a human male by the name of William T. Riker.  As that universe was subsequently erased from existence, the details of that encounter remain unknown.

In Universe 17735, a variant of Luella opened a portal to another dimension and greeted a group of adventurers calling themselves the Avengers.  After confirming they killed an idiot known as Morbius, she told them her father had granted her permission to send them wherever they wanted to go.  She wound up bringing them to Castle Ravenloft in Barovia. The Avengers were greeted by Strahd before meeting variants of a human consulting detective named Sherlock Holmes, who advised them that cheating would help them complete the game they were playing and allow them to return home.

## Appearance

Luella looks like an elf with pale skin and platinum blond hair. Her appearance frequently confuses strangers who might mistake her for one of the walking dead.

## Character Build

* Eldritch Invocations: ?
* Pact Boon: Pact of the Tome
* Known ASIs/Feats: ?
* Known Spells (availability depending on character level):
	+ Cantrips: Eldritch Blast, Vicious Mockery
	+ 1st Level: Unseen Servant
	+ 2nd Level: Hold Person
	+ 3rd Level: Fireball, Hunger of Hadar, Incite Greed, Vampiric Touch

## Trivia

* Debuting in the first episode of Candlekeep Mysteries, Luella quickly became a fan favourite, making no less than five appearances within the course of the game (the most appearances by a single character).  She would subsequently appear in various Extra Life games.

## Quotes

"It's not their fault they're gross little ground-digging mole people." *(to a hypothetical dwarf while handing them a gold piece)\**

"I don't think you should have rights, you're a glorified chicken." *(to a hypothetical kenku while handing them a gold piece)\**

"Look I know I told that dragon about how you all wanted him dead and coveted his hoard and were planning on stealing it, but *I* didn't burn down your village. That's what you get for being racist mongrels." *(to the former inhabitants of a hypothetical village after a dragon attack)\**

*\*If Luella took sensitivity classes about sentient creature rights - Amy Godfrey, 24 November 2022*