Mrs. Baylock; or, that nice old Souldrinker Witch

[Douglas Muir 406]

Mrs. Baylock runs a little potion shop in a large town or city. She sells minor potions (less than 200 gp value) along with various soothing herbs and lotions. She has been there for years, and is well liked and respected; people think she's a kindly old lady with a few minor, useful spells.

It's all a horrible fraud, of course. She's actually an evil witch and a Souldrinker, a loathsome creature who preys on the homeless, the careless, and -- very occasionally -- children. Basically she's a serial killer who turns people into soul gems, then uses them to craft items. As a result, she has a large store of magic items -- considerably more than the normal WBL for a 12th level NPC. This makes her a tempting target, but also makes her much more dangerous.

Depending on how things work out, she's a potential partner, resource, or antagonist for the PCs. She's very alert to possible customers, possible victims, and possible threats, so she'll probably be aware of and interested in the PCs before they ever walk into her shop.

Female old human witch 10 / Souldrinker 2
NE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see invisibility; Perception +10

Defense & Offense:

DEFENSE

AC 24, touch 17, flat-footed 20 (+4 armor, +3 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural)
hp 107 (12d6+63)
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +15

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft.
Melee +1 dagger +6/+1 (1d4/19–20)
Ranged +1 dagger +11/+6 (1d4/19–20)
Special Attacks hexes (cackle, cauldron, charm [2 steps, 6 rounds], evil eye [–4, 9 rounds], misfortune [2 rounds], retribution [6 rounds], waxen image [6 uses/image])
Witch Spells Prepared (CL 11th; concentration +18)

6th -- cloak of dreams (DC 23), mass suggestion (DC 23), unwilling shield (DC 22)
5th -- baleful polymorph (DC 21), mass pain strike (DC 21), mind fog (DC 22)
4th -- charm monster (DC 21), confusion (DC 21), dimension door, poison (DC 20)
3rd -- blink, dispel magic, extended false life, lightning bolt
(DC 19), suggestion (DC 20)
2nd -- cure moderate wounds, hold person (DC 19), invisibility, vomit swarm, web (DC 18)
1st -- burning hands (DC 17), charm person (DC 18), command (DC 18), ill omen, mage armor, unseen servant
0 (at will) -- daze (DC 17), detect magic, message, read magic

Patron Deception

Tactics & Stats:

TACTICS

Before Combat -- Mrs. Baylock casts extended false life and extended mage armor every day, and casts poison into her witching gown (activating its spite effect). If time allows, she drinks a potion of bear’s endurance before combat.

During Combat -- Mrs. Baylock casts cloak of dreams on the first round of combat. Thereafter, she attacks enemies with mass pain strike, confusion, mind fog, mass suggestion, or lightning bolt. Once anyone closes with her in melee, she casts blink and unwilling shield, then targets her opponent with ill omen followed by baleful polymorph or charm monster. If her cover has not been blown, she also screams for help; this will attract 1d6 curious neighbors (low level commoners or experts) within 2d4 rounds, followed by the Watch two minutes later. PCs who cannot prove their innocence (i.e., by proving that she was really a soul-sucking murderess) will quickly find themselves in trouble with the authorities.

Morale -- If reduced to 60 hit points or fewer, Mrs. Baylock smashes her elemental gem to summon a Large air elemental with which to occupy the PCs while she flies to the ceiling or out a window to heal herself. She will be reluctant to abandon her home, however, especially if her cover has not been blown.

STATISTICS

Str 7, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 23, Wis 13, Cha 12
Base Atk +6; CMB +5; CMD 23

Feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Iron Will, Leadership, Spell Focus (enchantment), Toughness

Skills Bluff +10, Craft (alchemy) +25, Diplomacy +10, Fly +19, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcana) +21, Knowledge (history) +21, Knowledge (nature) +21, Knowledge (planes) +21, Perception +10, Spellcraft +21, Stealth +10, Use Magic Device +15

Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Sylvan

SQ permanent spells, souldrinker’s familiar (cacodaemon named Mr. Wiggles] [stores all prepared spells and patron spells, plus beguiling gift, glyph of warding, spite, summon monster V, and additional spells of your choice])

Combat Gear elemental gem (air), potions of bear’s endurance (2), potions of cure moderate wounds (2); Other Gear +1 dagger, amulet of natural armor +3, belt of incredible dexterity +4, broom of flying, headband of vast intelligence +4 (Knowledge [history] and [planes]), ring of protection +3, rod of lesser metamagic (extend), witching gown (contains poison; see above), alchemist’s lab, spell component pouch, 723 gp

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Exceptional Resources (Ex)

Mrs. Baylock's position as a prosperous shopkeeper, and her sideline in murdering people to turn them into magic-crafting soul points or valuable soul gems, have allowed her to amass wealth and magic items well beyond her standard Wealth By Level.

Permanent Spells (Ex)

Mrs. Baylock benefits from Darkvision and See Invisibility cast as permanent spells on herself.

Meeting Mrs. Baylock; or, Neutral Evil with yummy cookies:

Mrs. Baylock is older than she looks. She appears to be a plump, healthy, cheerful 65 or so. She's actually around 120 years old -- her Cauldron of Lifedrinking has dramatically slowed down the aging process. She's been living in this town for over 20 years and has hardly aged a day. Regular castings of Sow Thoughts and Suggestion keep most people from noticing anything odd, but at some point in the next few years she'll probably have to pick up stakes and move on.

She's evil, but it's worth noting what sort of evil. Mrs. Baylock wants a nice, comfortable life surrounded by nice things and friendly people. It's easier to have nice things if you have a sideline in turning people into soul gems, and it's easier to have friendly people if you can enchant or hex over the rough bits. She's not a sadist, and she's not hungry for power. She just wants what she wants.

Mrs. Baylock is pretty much always polite and sweet-tempered. She doesn't get angry. She's a natural optimist. It would be going too far to say she /likes/ people, but she finds them endlessly interesting. She's regularly kind and generous to children and the poor. Of course, that's partly pure predatory calculation, but, say, children are also interesting. And she really, really likes sweet little cookies. With tea.

Mrs. Baylock always has animals around the place: a dog, two cats, a tank of fish, a cage of mice, a raven, a lizard. She does, in fact, like animals (as long as someone else is taking care of them); being an utterly evil murderous sociopath doesn't prevent her from enjoying a purring cat or a friendly puppy. That said, most of the animals are just window dressing. The lizard, though, is her cacodaemon familiar. It needs a DC 22 Perception check to even spot the lizard lying motionless on a shelf, and it's firmly the least interesting thing in the room. (If the lizard is not there, it's because Mrs. Baylock and Lionel are keeping a "guest" in the cellar.)

Lionel:

Lionel is her cohort. He's a large, bald man in his forties with an large burn scar on his face and a vague, dreamy smile. He seems "simple" and rather kindly, and most people know him as the big man who carries parcels and mops the floor around the potion shop. In fact he's of normal intelligence and another evil, brutal serial killer. He's a Ftr 5 / Rog 5, and his job is to go out and find victims -- homeless people, visitors to town who won't be missed, the occasional lost child -- subdue them, and bring them home for "processing" in the cellar.

Mrs. Baylock has enjoyed working with Lionel, but he's middle-aged now and has lost a step. Also, Lionel is a more traditional sort of Neutral Evil. Mrs. Baylock has no trouble with torture or rape -- goodness, no, it takes all kinds my dear, and you have to let the help have their little hobbies -- but he's been getting sloppy lately, and that's bad. She's keeping an eye out for a replacement, because one of these days Lionel is going to have his own trip to the cellar. He'll make a lovely soul gem, so black and shiny; she's already thinking about how possible uses.

Cauldron of Lifedrinking:

Who knows how she came by this major wondrous item? She's had it for over seventy years now. How many hearts have been boiled up for soup in it? Really, best not to ask.

Cauldron of the Lifedrinker

This black cauldron is activated by using it to make a soup from the body parts of a victim. The victim must have been intelligent and freshly (within one minute) killed. Making the soup takes one hour; it must be consumed while still warm (within ten minutes thereafter). The cauldron gives a different result depending on which body part is used:

Brain -- the soup gives +2 to Int for one hour per level or hit die of the victim.

Liver -- the soup gives +2 to Con for one hour per level or hit die of the victim

Heart -- the soup extends the drinker's life by one year. This does not actually make the drinker younger, but rather moves the date of her entry into the next age category (middle aged, old, venerable, or dead) back by a year. The onset date of each category can only be moved a maximum of twenty years.

Only one body part can be chosen per use. The cauldron can be used once per day and can make up to three servings of soup at a time. Drinking more than one serving has no additional effect. Using the cauldron is an evil act.

[Count Coltello]

Necro to ask question where did you find souldrinker?

[JohnStone]

I Just like the reference to a PRIMUS song...thats a great interpatation of "Mrs. Baylock"

I am sure you checked:
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=480.0

Either way i see the witch as the opposite of a bard. de-buffs, intelligence, and good at what she does.

Your witch is an NPC/Villian you need protection and COOL WITCH STUFF.

im thinking...

[JohnStone]

You need a henchman. Witches cant do it on there own. it could be some sneaky rogue wierdo. or a big tuff bodyguard.
If you need to take CHA and Leadership, maybe 1 level of bard (to buff henchman...maybe WIS/Cleric)