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Malladonna is a little person, a halfling slightly withered by age with dark skin the color of a rotten apple. Her hair is black with shots of gray. She typically wears plain and colorless peasant clothes, as if she doesn't care about her appearance, and she sports a dark wooden necklace made up of interwoven carved spiky shapes that is her only adornment. She has foul-smelling pouches on her belt full of strange reagents and chemicals, and when she is arrayed for battle she carries a light crossbow on her back and leans on a long, twisted spear. Her voice is crackly and deep, and she speaks slowly with a bit of a sardonic drawl, perhaps because she has often gone long periods without talking at all.

While she does sometimes act impulsively, for the most part Malla is careful and deliberate in her actions. She has been beaten often enough to know that there are consequences for acting against authority and provoking people bigger than she is. She's been called mouthy and insolent, but that's because she loathes being ordered about for no good reason. But she can follow the rules when she needs to, and now more than ever she knows she must curb her erratic behavior to survive.

Malladonna ("Malla" for short) was brought to Cheliax as a child from her birthplace further south, from somewhere in the Mwangi expanse. She was the daughter of halfling slips sold into slavery, and traded into the Archbaron's service when she was still very young. She was a clever girl, but she did not ever curry favor with the staff by demonstrating her abilities, and was thought to be incapable of anything more difficult than scrubbing pots and pans or running errands. For almost fifty years, this was her life.

As a child, Malla learned to take food and drink when she could and consume it quickly before it was taken back. Because she seemed to care very little for others, and was only very concerned about getting her own, the other slips called her Malladonna Take-Leave, as in she would take what she wanted and leave the rest, or take what she wanted and leave the room. When asked to compromise or interact with others, she often said "Take it or leave it." She hates this name and never uses it herself.

Always a rebellious spirit, Malla took advantage of her perceived stupidity to occasionally sneak into the master's library and read his forbidden books: grimoires and tomes on alchemy, summoning, arcane lore, and evil outsiders. It was in one of these that she discovered the true name of a powerful devil, and when she read the complex formula that allowed her to make contact with it, the name lodged in Malla's mind like it belonged there. She knew this devil, somehow: a female creature of methodical vengeance and cruel deceptions.

Malla has fond memories of watching her great-grandmother brewing spells in her witch's cauldron back in their jungle homeland, and she remembers her watching Malla practice her jinx and nodding with approval. Granddama died before the family was captured, but before she passed she gave Malla a special carved necklace. Perhaps it was only wishful thinking, but she has always felt a presence inside the necklace. For a long time she had thought it was her granddama, but now she knew it to be this devil queen, her otherworldly patron.

In her dreams, she could hear the outsider's whispers, calling to her and offering her power and revenge in exchange for her immortal soul, and this did not seem like a bad trade to Malla. For many years she tossed and turned in bed while the devil instructed her, teaching her dark words and even darker lore, and then finally one night when the master was away from the manor she crept into an empty room at the estate and performed the vile bonding ritual that sealed their contract with her own blood.

She immediately used her newly-awakened powers to enchant her handlers, magically convincing them to leave her be while she made preparations for her escape. She browbeat her cousins into supplying her with food and weapons. Then she made her way to Longacre, with the impulsive plan of hiding out in an abandoned house on the edge of town while she figured out what to do next. She had been to Longacre before in her master's service, and she was reasonably sure no one there would recognize her, but she knew that an unattended halfling would always draw suspicion and so she worried that she would have to find some other way out of the area.

Still panting after her long journey, Malla dragged her traveling supplies through the servants' entrance and wrinkled her nose at the cloud of dust. Her dancing lights spell dimly illuminated the room, and she pulled her things across the floor to the corner. That looks safe, she thought with a touch of irony. But I'm a-thinkin' it's far enough from pryin' eyes, and that's enough for now. She paused again to listen, still unsure if she had heard something moving around in the old house, but all was silent and she let out her breath.

She realized she was ravenous. It hadn't been very long since breakfast, but she had been in such a hurry to escape that she didn't eat much and she now regretted her haste. Her nephew had insisted she take a goodly amount of wandermeal to mix with her rations, far too much in her opinion. She didn't like the taste of the powdery millet-like mixture and particularly hated how it got everywhere. So, she ate a handful of nuts and dried berries and brooded on her next move.

She must have fallen asleep, she realized, as she awoke in the dark room. She could smell the musty odor of the old linens and wood furnishings but there was something else there too. A human! she suddenly knew. She started to stand up quickly, but she felt a thin and very sharp blade barely begin to slice into her neck and she stopped. "What have we here?" a woman's voice rang out in her ear. "A bad slip, eh?" She laughed, but there was a quality of menace to her words that gave Malla pause.

Malla chose her words carefully. "My name is Malla," she said and tried to appear calm. "I din'ta think anyone was about in 'ere, just lookin' for a place to slip awhile before I continue on m'way." Even in peril, she can't resist being a bit cheeky. "A bad slip, yes'm. You goin' to cut my throat? Only there's no need for that, I ain't no threat to you. Leave me be, and I'll be gone before you know it."

There was a click, and her face was full of light. Prolly from a lantern, she thought as she shielded her eyes. That's why I can smell smoke. The weapon moved away, as the figure seemed to look her over. "Well," the woman drawled as if she was considering, "I suppose that's true. But maybe you can do me a service, in exchange for me letting you stay here. What do you say to that?"

Malla bit back her initial retort. She was sick of doing services for humans! She was no servant any longer, and she would rather kill or die than serve again. But as she pulled back from her anger, she thought how the woman had said "in exchange." She pursed her lips. "What kind o' service?" she asked. "I ain't much good at cleanin', if that's what you're aimin' at."

The woman laughed again, this time with amusement. "I'm not either, as you can see," she said, moving the lantern a little. "It so happens that I've been hired to do a job that is not, strictly speaking, legal. I'm looking for others to help me out. There's money in it for you, and maybe other rewards that it looks like you could use. And you can stay here until I gather the rest of team in a couple of days. Interested?"

Malla stared at the woman's shape as her eyes adjusted. Every instinct she had said that she should run, avoid the big people and hide until she could escape into the country. Even a life on the run is better than returning to slavery. But this woman, she was talking to her like she was an equal! She struggled with a feeling she had never felt before, fighting the pinch of emotion in her eyes as she met the woman's gaze. I could hex her now, she thought. Put her to slip, or charm her, plenty o' time to get out. Quick, quick! Then, she cleared her throat which was suddenly very thick. Not trusting her voice, she cocked her head and nodded once.

The woman extended her hand, taking Malla's and shaking it. "Great!" she said. "I'm Cimri. Glad to have you aboard!"

(The previous game for which I applied wanted answers to four questions, and I've included my answers here for more insight into the character.)

• • What is your character's connection to Longacre? Why is she here? Malladonna has lived in Longacre most of her life, or rather just outside of it on the hereditary lands of Archbaron Fex. She has recently managed to escape from her indentured servitude, and has been hiding out in a small outbuilding of Ash House, living off of provisions she stole from the manor. She was discovered there two days ago by a human rogue named Cimri, who agreed to allow her to stay there indefinitely if she would only help her with a job. They are going to meet the others tonight outside the Louslik Tannery and discuss the details.

• • Who is one NPC your character thinks of as a friend or ally? Malladonna's cousin Maynard works in the kitchens of Archbaron Fex's manor with many of their mutual relations. He is quite fat for a halfling, and especially craven. He doesn't think working for the Archbaron is as bad as all that. Sure, he is beaten when he does something wrong and generally mistreated, but he thinks it's better than the alternatives. Maynard and Malladonna do not particularly like each other, but family is family and Maynard usually does what she tells him to do out of respect.

• • What is one goal for your PC other than the one provided in your campaign traits? Malladonna would really like to see Archbaron Fex suffer, and possibly to kill him. She wants him to experience every slight and indignity she and her family have ever suffered at his hands or those of his underlings. To a lesser extent she would like to help her relatives escape his service, though that also means convincing them that they are better off free than enslaved. If that means killing some of them to make the others listen, well, so be it. (Note: This doesn't mean Malla won't work with the Archbaron if the Adventure Path requires it-- just that she will hide her resentment and look for good opportunities to take her revenge once their partnership is done.)

• • If your character is anything other than a human Chelaxian, explain how she fits in to Longacre. As an ubiquitous halfling slip in Cheliax, Malladonna must keep her head down and appear to be nothing more than a servant when in populated areas. There is always suspicion that halflings who appear too independent are escaped slaves, and while there are some in Longacre who believe they would charitably help her, she spits at their kindness. Their privilege allows them to live as they choose, and benefit from the halflings who serve them even as they shake their heads and say that it is not right. Malla wants all the humans to be enslaved, so she can have a turn holding the whip.

In combat, Malladonna is a debuffer, the anvil that tries to keep enemies from harming us and setting them up for defeat. She's also an excellent buffer, helping her allies hit better and harder and protecting them from enemy debuffs. She isn't very good at dealing damage; if things get to the point where the party needs her to face down enemies she will probably flee. That said, she will have a few damage-dealing spells for emergencies. Out of combat, she is of course an arcane caster and will max out the skills related to that, including Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (nature), and Knowledge (planes), and she will soon be able to reliably craft alchemical items and potions. She can use cure wands and will be able to infuse cure spells, so she can even play healer when necessary.

Malladonna is pretty much a what-you-see-is-what-you-get witch. She'll be concentrating on her hexes, specializing in her Bouda's Eye, and taking many of the Halfling Jinx feats that synergize well with it. Most of her spells will be finishers, because when your main trick is lowering saves, you have to have something to follow up. Her alchemist side is more supportive than aggressive, since the Blood Alchemist and Preservationist archetypes lend themselves very well to her sort of pseudo-occultist/summoner powers. She will take the Infusion discovery, so she can share around all of her extracts, and she will also concoct a familiar to spread her magic even further.

I've been running and playing Pathfinder 1st Edition since around 2010, and I've participated in PbP games for about three years now. I'm a native English speaker, and I've written professionally for several roleplaying game supplements published in the United States. I enjoy the character interactions as much as the mechanics of the game-- I perform amateur theater as a hobby and RPing scratches my acting itch. I promise to post at least once a day if you invite me to your game!