Elfriede Voss's page

The wet pebbles on the beach reflected moonlight, but when she looked up, all she saw were low-hanging clouds. A cairn stood in front of her, and she trudged toward it. ”There’s Evil-Eye Elfriede! Let’s throw mud at her,” the wind howled, and she stared until the last echoes of her childhood tormentors’ voices faded. ”Eeew! She’s cold as a fish and twice as slimy,” the same insults she’d suffered for years in Iswixel, the little fishing village she’d grown up in. A tear in her eye, she walked on to the next cairn as the wind shifted.

”...and of course the real you is dead! I picked my teeth with her ribs! You were only ever a bargaining chip - traded for a meal and a murder. But now, daughter dearest, you’ve returned, and I think I’ll keep you!” The owner of the creaking, croaking voice hid in the fog, but she recognized it; her mother. She tripped over a loose cairn-stone and fell into the cold lake water, then stood, shivering, to peer into the fog. The hag was somewhere out there, waiting for her to come home. She walked away, toward the silhouette of a distant cairn instead.

*Pok! Cra-Pok!* ”Aaaaaiiiiaah! Hughh huughnn, hurhh, Aaaaaiiiaah!” She knew the crack of bone, and the tortured screams and pained breathing - she’d made them when her skull shifted and her right socket expanded to accommodate her malformed, milky eye. She’d suffered for months - years - at the hands of her hag mother, but that pain was unlike any other. The mist settled in, the smoke of ritual torches filling her nostrils, and she ran - ran from one cairn to the next, unable to stop herself.

”Jaki, I’m scared!” Her shadow ran with her, in the mists that whirled over the water. It ran until it couldn’t, then collapsed to its knees. The shadow of a magpie hopped in front of it. ”Jaki, I’m scared. What do I do?!” The bird cocked its head. ”Run. Run or die, Jaki gains either way!” Its caws sounded like laughter until the wind swept them away again.

The sharp crack of a hand against flesh, then another. ”Never tell anyone what I say in my sleep. My dreams are mine and mine alone, not yours to share!” Her voice, little more than a furious whisper...and Teodor’s bumbling apology. ”I’m sorry, Elfriede. It won’t happen again. I love you.” She covered her ears and ran on, but her whispered reply weaved its way through her fingers. So did Teodor’s scream of pain.

The cairns stopped. So did the screams - hers, and those she’d inflicted. She sat, her back against the last pile of stones, and breathed. Once. Twice. Thre - ”You’ll never be rid of me!” Her mother’s taloned hand dug into her arm and spun her around. ”I’m in your blood. In your mind. In your soul…” She looked into the hag’s eyes and felt a scream well up inside her, not one of agony, but of despair -

Elfriede jerked awake in a cottage in the woods...

10-Minute Background

Five Background Points
1. Elfriede was raised in Iswixel, a small fishing village on the shore of the Lake of Mists and Veils. Her childhood was defined by bullying, attempts at revenge, and loneliness - she found little solace in her mother, who was too rarely nearby to protect her.
2. When Elfriede was nearly fourteen, she followed the call to a remote promontory over the lake. There, she met her true mother, who revealed she’d been swapped at birth. Mother Elspeth began twisting Elfriede into a proper hag, teaching her magic and subjecting the girl to horrors.
3. Something went wrong with the final ritual that would have left Elfriede a hag, crushing her eye socket and ruining her left eye instead., While Mother Elspeth struggled against the wayward magic, Elfriede ran, her familiar following and goading her. By morning, the call had returned, but she had no intention of answering
4. The call continued as Elfriede travelled south, gradually growing weaker and weaker as, over years, she grew past the age that Mother Elspeth had interest in her. However, the trauma she endured with her hag mother left her easily-angered, bitter, and more than willing to hurt even those she loved. She left behind village and town, lover and friend.
5. When Elfriede arrived on the edge of the Narlmarch, a call - much like the one Mother Elspeth had lured her in with, but more pleasant - drove her deeper into the wood. Eventually, she stumbled upon a cottage, and a blind woman, who she’s visited monthly ever since. Lanyssa has offered the guidance Mother Elspeth forced upon Elfriede, but without the pain.

Two Goals
1. Elfriede’s number one goal is to avoid succumbing further to her hag’s blood. She lives in fear of her heritage, and would deny it were it not so obviously marked on her face. Her past has been defined by her hag mother, and she’s desperate to move past her bloodright.
2. In her darker moments, of which there are increasingly few, Elfriede can see herself at the head of a coven, meting out vengeance on everyone who’s wronged her. In these moods, Elfriede sees herself as strong enough to control the coven, and prevent it from hurting innocents. Whether or not that’s true is unknown.

Two Secrets
1. The call brought Elfriede out of Iswixel, but her mother’s voice also convinced her to do terrible things in the village before she left. No one died that she knows of, but she hurt a lot of people pretty badly.
2. I don’t really have a great secret she wouldn’t know. Maybe you can come up with one?

Three People
1. Lanyssa - NPC - A mentor and safe person to talk to about witchcraft, Lanyssa hasn’t pushed Elfriede so much as she’s allowed her to learn from her familiar without judgement.
2. Mother Elspeth - Green Hag - Elfriede isn’t certain her mother’s stopped looking for her. She’s not even certain that Mother Elspeth is alive - the botched ritual was out of control when she fled. She is certain she doesn’t want anything more to do with the green hag, though.
3. Teodor Aldori - Human Fighter? - A lover during her brief stay in Restov, Teodor incurred Elfriede’s wrath when he shared her sleep-talking with some friends of his. She scratched his face, destroying his eye, then fled Restov before trouble could descend on her.

Three Quirks/Mannerisms/Oddities
1. Elfriede worships a triad of goddesses - picked up from her true mother - that include Desna for travel, Pharasma for fate, and Gyronna for retribution. That her goddesses are often at odds doesn’t bother Elfriede. The more conflict, the greater the potential for power.
2. Jaki the Magpie is a great hoarder of wealth, which in this case is defined as anything shiny. Elfriede keeps a separate coin-purse for the bird.
3. Elfriede spends most of waking hours wearing an eyepatch over her left eye in an attempt to hide her malformed eye. She’s noticed people are more willing to accept someone with one eye than someone with a hideous one.

============================================================

Height: 5’10”, Weight: 155 lbs, Age: 19, Hair: Mouse-Brown, cut above the shoulders, Skin Color: tannish
Clothing: Blue woolen dress, brown linen hood and cloak, leather boots, cloth gloves.
Portrait

Elfriede’s most important goal is to stop herself from succumbing to her mother’s call. However, she has a hard time balancing the temptation of the power in her blood with her fear of the consequences of using it. In her darker moments, she sees herself at the head of a coven, and she often toys with the idea. She sees the hag inside of her when she looks in the mirror, and she hates it, but it won’t go away. The ends justify the means, and low-risk lies are commonplace, especially if the payoff is good. She can come across as cold and standoffish, mostly to avoid bringing up what she sees as her monstrous heritage.

============================================================

Elfriede Voss
Female Changeling Witch 4
CN Medium Humanoid (changeling)
Initiative +7; Perception +5; Darkvision
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 12, Touch 12, Flat-Footed 10
HP 19 (4d6+4)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6 (+7 vs. mind-affecting)
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 30 ft.
Melee
Mwk Sickle +2 (1d6-1/x2)
Ranged
Mwk Light Crossbow +5 (1d8/19-20)
Special Attacks: Misfortune Hex (DC 17), Evil-Eye Hex (DC 17), Ward Hex
Spells (Concentration +10)
0th (DC 15): Detect Magic, Detect Magic, Resistance, Message
1st (DC 16): Aphasia (DC 18), Command (DC 18), Sow Thought (DC 18), Snowball, (Ring) Hex Vulnerability, (P) Ill Omen (DC 16)
2nd (DC 17): Glitterdust, Raven’s Flight, Hold Person (DC 19), (P) Shatter
Spell-Like Abilities (1/day) Detect Magic (DC 11), Dancing Lights (DC 11), Pass w/o Trace (DC 12), Disguise Self (DC 12)
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 08 Dex 15 Con 12 Int 20 Wis 12 Cha 12
BAB +2, CMB +, CMD
Feats:
{1st} Spell Focus (enchantment): +1 DC to enchantment spells.
{3rd} Improved Initiative: +4 to Initiative
Traits:
Issian (campaign): +1 to Will vs. mind-affecting abilities.
Arcane Temper (magic): +1 to Init. +1 to Concentration.
Switched at Birth (race): 1/day, use Will in place of Fort
Arcane Malignancy: One eye is larger and has a milky film, making it painful in bright lights. -2 vs. light-based spells/effects, dazzled for 1d6 rounds in bright light/sunlight.
Skills (Format is name: total (explanation for total) (25 Ranks Total + 8 BG)
Craft (alchemy, BG): +12 (4 ranks, 5 ability, 3 CS)
Intimidate: +8 (4 ranks, 1 ability, 3 CS)
Knowledge (arcana): +12 (4 ranks, 5 ability, 3 CS)
Knowledge (geography, BG): +9 (4 ranks, 5 ability)
Knowledge (nature): +12 (4 ranks, 5 ability, 3 CS)
Perception +5 (4 ranks, 1 ability)
Spellcraft: +12 (4 ranks, 5 ability, 3 CS)
Use Magical Device: +8 (4 ranks, 1 ability, 3 CS)
Languages: Common, Giant, Elven, Draconic, Aklo
--------------------
Equipment
--------------------
Equipment (On Person): Ring of Spell Knowledge +1 (1,500 gp,_), Cloak of Resistance +1 (1000, 1), Wand of Mage Armor (750, _), Wand of Snowball (750, _), Campfire Bead (720,_), Traveler’s Outfit (_, 5), Backpack (2, 2), Mwk Light Crossbow (335, 4), 20 Bolts (2, 2), Mwk Sickle (306, 2)
Encumbrance (Lulu): Light Horse (75, _), Small Tent (10, 20), Bit and Bridle (2, 1), Pack Saddle (15, 5), Saddlebags (4, 8), 10 days’ Horse Feed (.1, 50), 5 days’ Trail Rations (2.5, 5), Witch’s Kit (21, 21)
[b]Encumbrance: 16 (26/53/80)
Finances: 511g, 4s
--------------------
Race/Class Features
--------------------
Changeling
Favored Class (witch): +1 hit points/level
Hag Magic: +2 to enchantment DC. 1/day: Dancing Lights, Pass Without Trace, Detect Magic, Disguise Self. DC=10+SL+Cha.
Green Widow: +2 to bluff vs. creatures that are attracted to Elfriede.
Darkvision: Darkvision 60.
Witch
Hexes: Standard Action, no AoO, DC=10+half level+Int.
Misfortune: target rolls twice on ability checks, attacks, saves, and skill checks. 1 round duration.
Evil Eye: target gets -2 to AC, ability checks, attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks. 3+Int rounds (successful save=1 round).
Ward: +2 to AC/Saves until warded creature is hit/fails a save. 1 ward alone.
Patron Spells - Jynx: Spells automatically known/stored: Ill Omen, Shatter
Witch’s Familiar: As familiar, but is also a spellbook.

====================================================================