Lorycia

Lorycia

Lorycia as shown in the D&D Fight Club article she appears in
Series	Dungeons and Dragons
First appearance	Aleam Valassar, Paladin Assassin D&D Fight Club - June 9, 2006
Created by	Robert Wiese
Game information
Gender	Female
Race	Succubus Fiend of Possession
Class	Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Tanar'ri, Evil, Extraplanar)
Alignment	Chaotic Evil

For other uses of the word Succubus, see Succubus (disambiguation).

Lorycia is a Succubus Fiend of Possession who originally appeared in the June 9th, 2006 article Aleam Valassar, Paladin Assassin for the D&D Fight Club series written by Robert Wiese. While Lorycia is a Succubus, she acts by possessing others, and her current situation finds that she has been trapped inside of a Paladin, from whom she cannot escape, but possesses their body when they are asleep.

The Story of the Paladin and the Succubus

Aleam Valassar, an idealistic young janni, left his tribe in the desert to learn the ways of paladins so he could fight evil. He trained and learned quickly, and he found that his janni abilities fit in well with his training. Realizing that one could approach evil in different ways, he adopted one that involved some sneaking and surprise attacks, tactics that the evil beings themselves used. A couple years after becoming a paladin, though, the biggest and most horrific event of his life took place, and he is not even aware that it has happened.

He became involved in a quest to rid the Material Plane of a succubus demon that was possessing mortals and using their bodies to ruin their reputations and thus push them toward evil. He and his group of allies confronted the succubus, Lorycia, in an evil temple, and as the battle between good and evil waged on, the temple walls became unsteady and began to fall. Near the climax of the battle, a crack in the floor opened under Lorycia and she fell into the caverns below, followed by tons of rock and debris. To everyone, it looked like she was crushed to death. However, as she landed she made herself ethereal and possessed Aleam just as the party's wizards cast a great deal of magic to dispel the remaining demons. The magic combined with some arcane and divine energy remaining in the temple and created an unstable magic area and subsequent explosion. When the heroes returned to their senses, they were lying outside the ruins of the temple with no demons in sight.

For Aleam, however, the nightmare had just begun. When he fell asleep that night, Lorycia took over control of his body. She realized that she had become trapped within his body, but that Aleam did not know that she was in there with him. Gleeful for the opportunity and yet hateful because she was trapped, she started working on Aleam's downfall. However, demons have to sleep too, and when she fell asleep, Aleam awoke. And thus it goes with them. When Aleam sleeps, Lorycia awakes and takes control, and she makes sure that Aleam is blacked out for the period in which she is in control. When she sleeps, Aleam awakes and unknowingly takes control until he sleeps again.

Lorycia has manipulated this situation so that Aleam is not aware of her, by having him awake in the same place (she can use his spell-like abilities) and so forth. She also is turning him down a darker path without him knowing it, but pushing his training in directions suitable to her. An assassin hidden in a paladin is perfect for her goals, and that is what she is making. When she is ready, she will reveal herself to him and make him an ally in her evil causes.

How does this work in the rules? Well, two personalities are inside Aleam's body. Both share his physical traits, class levels, skills, feats, and so forth. Lorycia cannot use his paladin class features, but retains his skills, base attack bonus, base save bonuses, and feats. Lorycia is using her time to modify his training, making him better at hiding and eventually taking levels in the assassin prestige class. Aleam cannot use the assassin class features (such as sneak attack), but gets the benefit of the added Hit Dice, base attack bonus, base saves, and skills and feats from the assassin prestige class. Since he already preferred some sneakiness in his paladin style, and because Lorycia is careful in what skills she develops when she is in control, Aleam has not noticed that he is being twisted. Once she reveals herself, Aleam loses his paladin class features but can use the assassin class features. Maintaining the delicate balance is in Lorycia's best interest right now.

Lorycia's body was not destroyed (or she'd be dead). It lies in a cavern beneath the evil temple surrounded by fallen debris. It has healed, but since she is not in it, the body remains effectively lifeless. Should anyone find a way to remove Lorycia from Aleam (which should be more difficult than the usual means described in Fiendish Codex I), she would return to her body.

Statistics

Each section has a statistic block for when Aleam is in control, and one for when Lorycia is in control. To save space, the special abilities are presented only once, at the end of both statistics blocks, for each section.

Aleam at 2nd Class Level

The idealistic Aleam is unaware of his demonic ride-along, and when he is awake he pursues evil through a more cagey and sneaky approach. He feels that some of the methods of evil can be used against evil without one becoming evil oneself. In melee he uses his flashing scimitar and makes full use of his janni abilities whenever possible (especially ethereal jaunt).

Aleam Valassar (Aleam in Control)

Type	Male Janni Paladin 2
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (native)
Alignment	Lawful Good
CR	6
Init	+7
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +11, Spot +11
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	20, touch 13, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +6 armor)
hp	70 (8 HD)
Resistant	Fire 10
Fort	+14
Ref	+10
Will	+9
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	scimitar +14 (1d6+5/18-20)
Ranged	composite longbow +11 (1d8+4/x3)
Base Atk	+8
Group Atk	+13
Atk Options	Combat Reflexes, smite evil 1/day
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14
Special Qualities	Aura of good, change size, detect evil, divine grace, elemental endurance, lay on hands (4 hit points per day), plane shift
Feats	Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility
Skills	Appraise +4, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +12, Heal +5, Hide +7, Knowledge (religion) +2, Listen +11, Move Silently +11, Ride +13, Sense Motive +12, Spot +11, Use Rope +3 (+5 with bindings)
Possessions	+1 breastplate, +1 scimitar, composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	The cause of good is my shield and my strong arm

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

At will	Detect evil
3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

Aleam Valassar (Lorycia in Control)

Type	Male Janni Paladin 2
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (native)
Alignment	Lawfully Good
CR	6
Init	+7
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +13, Spot +13
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	20, touch 13, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +6 armor)
hp	70 (8 HD)
Resistant	Fire 10
Fort	+12
Ref	+8
Will	+9
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	+1 scimitar +14 (1d6+5/18-20)
Ranged	Composite longbow +11 (1d8+4/x3)
Base Atk	+8
Group Atk	+13
Atk Options	Combat Reflexes
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 17, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 18, Cha 31
Special Qualities	Change size, elemental endurance, plane shift
Feats	Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility
Skills	Appraise +7, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +14, Escape Artist +12, Heal +7, Hide +7, Knowledge (religion) +5, Listen +13, Move Silently +11, Ride +13, Sense Motive +14, Spot +13, Use Rope +3 (+5 with bindings)
Possessions	+1 breastplate, +1 scimitar, composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	Though you see a warrior of good, there is more here than meets the eye

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

• Aura of Good (Ex): The power of Aleam's aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to his paladin level (2).

• Change Size (Sp): Twice per day, Aleam can magically change a creature's size. This works just like an enlarge person or reduce person spell (Aleam chooses when using the ability), except that the ability can work on the janni. A DC 14 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.

• Elemental Endurance (Ex): Aleam can survive on the Elemental Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water for up to 48 hours. Failure to return to the Material Plane before that time expires causes him to take 1 point of damage per additional hour spent on the elemental plane, until he dies or returns to the Material Plane.

• Lay on Hands (Su): Aleam can heal wounds by touch. Each day he can heal 4 hit points. He may choose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he doesn't have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. He can use this power to deal damage to undead.

• Plane Shift (Sp): Aleam can enter any of the elemental planes, the Astral Plane, or the Material Plane. This ability transports him and up to eight other creatures, provided they all link hands with Aleam. It is otherwise similar to the spell of the same name (caster level 13th).

• Smite Evil (Su): Twice per day, Aleam can attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. He adds +2 to the attack and deals +2 points of damage. If the paladin smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.

Aleam at 6th Class Level

Though more seasoned, Aleam is still not aware of Lorycia's presence, or that she is now directing his advancement while he sleeps. Lorycia can keep him asleep much longer now, and so she has begun making him into an assassin. She always operates far away from his usual home locations (via ethereal jaunt), so his evil reputation should not catch up to him for quite a while. Because he is unaware of his body doing evil, he is not really doing any evil and his paladin status is not suffering.

Aleam Valassar (Aleam in Control)

Type	Male Janni Paladin 5/Assassin 1
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (native)
Alignment	Lawful Good
CR	10
Init	+8
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +14, Spot +14
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	21, touch 14, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +6 armor)
hp	100 (12 HD)
Immune	Disease
Resistant	Fire 10; 25% chance to negate crit from armor
Fort	+15
Ref	+14
Will	+10
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	+1 scimitar +17 (1d6+5/18-20)
Ranged	mwk composite longbow +16 (1d8+4/x3)
Base Atk	+11
Group Atk	+16
Atk Options	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, smite evil 2/day, turn undead 5/day (+2, 2d6+5, 3rd)
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14
Special Qualities	Aura of courage, aura of good, change size, detect evil, divine grace, divine health, elemental endurance, lay on hands (10 hit points per day), plane shift, special mount
Feats	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility, Power Attack
Skills	Appraise +4, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +13, Heal +5, Hide +14, Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +14, Move Silently +11, Ride +14, Sense Motive +12, Spot +14, Use Rope +4 (+6 with bindings)
Possessions	+1 breastplate of light fortification, +1 scimitar, masterwork composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	The cause of good is my shield and my strong arm

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

At will	Detect evil
3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

• Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 2nd):

• 1st -- lesser restoration

Aleam Valassar (Lorycia in Control)

Type	Male Janni Paladin 5/Assassin 1
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (native)
Alignment	Lawfully Good
CR	10
Init	+8
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +16, Spot +16
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	21, touch 14, flat-footed 17; Dodge, Mobility (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +6 armor)
hp	100 (12 HD)
Resistant	Fire 10; 25% chance to negate crit from armor
Fort	+15
Ref	+12
Will	+10
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	Scimitar +17 (1d6+5/18-20)
Ranged	mwk composite longbow +16 (1d8+4/x3)
Base Atk	+11
Group Atk	+16
Atk Options	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, death attack, sneak attack +1d6
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 18, Cha 31
Special Qualities	Change size, elemental endurance, plane shift, poison use
Feats	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility, Power Attack
Skills	Appraise +7, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +14, Escape Artist +13, Heal +7, Hide +14, Knowledge (religion) +6, Listen +16, Move Silently +12, Ride +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +16, Use Rope +4 (+6 with bindings)
Possessions	+1 breastplate of light fortification, +1 scimitar, masterwork composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	Though you see a warrior of good, there is more here than meets the eye

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

At will	Detect evil
3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

Assassin Spells Known (CL 1st)

1st (1/day)

Feather fall, true strike

• Aura of Courage (Su): Aleam is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of him gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the paladin is conscious, but not if he is unconscious or dead.

• Aura of Good (Ex): The power of Aleam's aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to his paladin level (5).

• Change Size (Sp): Twice per day, Aleam can magically change a creature's size. This works just like an enlarge person or reduce person spell (Aleam chooses when using the ability), except that the ability can work on the janni. A DC 14 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.

• Death Attack: If Lorycia studies her victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (assassin's choice). While studying the victim, she can undertake other actions so long as her attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect her or recognize her as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 15) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6+1 rounds. If the victim's saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once she has completed the 3 rounds of study, she must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if she does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before she can attempt another death attack.

• Elemental Endurance (Ex): Aleam can survive on the Elemental Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water for up to 48 hours. Failure to return to the Material Plane before that time expires causes him to take 1 point of damage per additional hour spent on the elemental plane, until he dies or returns to the Material Plane.

• Lay on Hands (Su): Aleam can heal wounds by touch. Each day he can heal 10 hit points. He may choose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he doesn't have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. He can use this power to deal damage to undead.

• Plane Shift (Sp): Aleam can enter any of the elemental planes, the Astral Plane, or the Material Plane. This ability transports him and up to eight other creatures, provided they all link hands with Aleam. It is otherwise similar to the spell of the same name (caster level 13th).

• Poison Use: Assassins are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

• Smite Evil (Su): Twice per day, Aleam can attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. He adds +2 to the attack and deals +5 points of damage. If the paladin smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.

• Special Mount (Sp): Aleam has the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve him in his crusade against evil. Once per day, as a full-round action, he may magically call his mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level (10 hours); it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular mount from service. Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed (including barding, saddle, saddlebags, and the like). Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.

Aleam at 10th Class Level

Lorycia has completely changed his focus in life, though Aleam still believes that he is crusading against evil. She believes that she must let him advance as a paladin for a while after this or he will begin to be suspicious, since she has come to like her role as hidden assassin. She still uses his spell-like abilities to help keep him from finding out the truth, but knows that eventually he will do so. She hopes to be in a position to turn him to blackguard once the inevitable comes out.

Aleam Valassar (Aleam in Control)

Type	Janni Paladin 5/Assassin 5
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (native)
Alignment	Lawful Good
CR	10
Init	+8
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +19, Spot +19
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	22, touch 14, flat-footed 12; Dodge, Mobility (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +7 armor)
hp	130 (16 HD)
Immune	Disease
Resistant	Fire 10; 25% chance to negate crit from armor
Fort	+16
Ref	+16
Will	+11
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	+2 scimitar +21 (1d6+6/15-20)
Ranged	+1 composite longbow +19 (1d8+5/x3)
Base Atk	+14
Group Atk	+19
Atk Options	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, smite evil 2/day, turn undead 5/day (+2, 2d6+5, 3rd)
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14
Special Qualities	Aura of courage, aura of good, change size, detect evil, divine grace, divine health, elemental endurance, lay on hands (10 hit points per day), plane shift, special mount
Feats	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Divine Vigor, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility, Power Attack
Skills	Appraise +4, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +4, Disguise +6, Escape Artist +15, Heal +5, Hide +20, Knowledge (religion) +3, Listen +19, Move Silently +20, Ride +14, Sense Motive +12, Spot +19, Use Rope +4 (+6 with bindings)
Possessions	+2 breastplate of light fortification, +2 keen scimitar, +1 composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	The cause of good is my shield and my strong arm

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

At will	Detect evil
3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

• Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 2nd):

• 1st -- lesser restoration

Aleam Valassar (Lorycia in Control)

Type	Janni Paladin 5/Assassin 5
Sub-Type	Medium Outsider (Native)
Alignment	Lawful Good
CR	14
Init	+8
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +21, Spot +21
Languages	Common, Ignan, Celestial; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	22, touch 14, flat-footed 22; Dodge, Mobility, improved uncanny dodge, uncanny dodge (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +7 armor)
hp	130 (16 HD)
Resistance	fire 10; 25% chance to negate crit from armor
Fort	+14 (16 against poison)
Ref	+14
Will	+11
Speed	20 ft. (4 squares), fly 15 ft. (perfect)
Melee	+2 scimitar +21 (1d6+6/15-20)
Ranged	+1 composite longbow +19 (1d8+5/x3)
Base Atk	+14
Group Atk	+19
Atk Options	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, death attack, sneak attack +3d6
Abilities	Str 20, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 18, Cha 31
Special Qualities	Change size, elemental endurance, plane shift, poison use
Feats	Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Divine Vigor, Dodge, Improved Initiative[B], Mobility, Power Attack
Skills	Appraise +7, Concentration +13, Diplomacy +12, Disguise +20, Escape Artist +15, Heal +7, Hide +20, Knowledge (religion) +6, Listen +21, Move Silently +20, Ride +14, Sense Motive +14, Spot +21, Use Rope +4 (+6 with bindings)
Possessions	+2 breastplate of light fortification, +1 keen scimitar, +1 composite longbow [+4 Str], 20 arrows in a quiver, mundane clothing, wooden holy symbol
Hook	Though you see a warrior of good, there is more here than meets the eye

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)

At will	Detect evil
3/day	Invisibility (self only), speak with animals
1/day	Create food and water (caster level 7th), ethereal jaunt for 1 hour

Assassin Spells Known (CL 5th)

1st (4/day)	Disguise self, feather fall, jump, true strike
2nd (3/day)	Alter self, pass without trace, spider climb
3rd (1/day)	False life, nondetection

• Aura of Courage (Su): Aleam is immune to fear (magical or otherwise). Each ally within 10 feet of him gains a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. This ability functions while the paladin is conscious, but not if he is unconscious or dead.

• Aura of Good (Ex): The power of Aleam's aura of good (see the detect good spell) is equal to his paladin level (5).

• Change Size (Sp): Twice per day, Aleam can magically change a creature's size. This works just like an enlarge person or reduce person spell (Aleam chooses when using the ability), except that the ability can work on the janni. A DC 14 Fortitude save negates the effect. The save DC is Charisma-based. This is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.

• Death Attack: If Lorycia studies her victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (assassin's choice). While studying the victim, she can undertake other actions so long as his attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect her or recognize her as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 15) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6+1 rounds. If the victim's saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once she has completed the 3 rounds of study, she must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if she does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before she can attempt another death attack.

• Elemental Endurance (Ex): Aleam can survive on the Elemental Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water for up to 48 hours. Failure to return to the Material Plane before that time expires causes him to take 1 point of damage per additional hour spent on the elemental plane, until he dies or returns to the Material Plane.

• Lay on Hands (Su): Aleam can heal wounds by touch. Each day he can heal 10 hit points. He may choose to divide his healing among multiple recipients, and he doesn't have to use it all at once. Using lay on hands is a standard action. He can use this power to deal damage to undead.

• Plane Shift (Sp): Aleam can enter any of the elemental planes, the Astral Plane, or the Material Plane. This ability transports him and up to eight other creatures, provided they all link hands with Aleam. It is otherwise similar to the spell of the same name (caster level 13th).

• Poison Use: Assassins are trained in the use of poison and never risk accidentally poisoning themselves when applying poison to a blade.

• Smite Evil (Su): Twice per day, Aleam can attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. He adds +2 to the attack and deals +5 points of damage. If the paladin smites a creature that is not evil, the smite has no effect, but the ability is still used up for that day.

• Special Mount (Sp): Aleam has the service of an unusually intelligent, strong, and loyal steed to serve him in his crusade against evil. Once per day, as a full-round action, he may magically call his mount from the celestial realms in which it resides. The mount immediately appears adjacent to the paladin and remains for 2 hours per paladin level (10 hours); it may be dismissed at any time as a free action. The mount is the same creature each time it is summoned, though the paladin may release a particular mount from service. Each time the mount is called, it appears in full health, regardless of any damage it may have taken previously. The mount also appears wearing or carrying any gear it had when it was last dismissed (including barding, saddle, saddlebags, and the like). Calling a mount is a conjuration (calling) effect.

• Uncanny Dodge and Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Lorycia retains her Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) regardless of being caught flat-footed or struck by an invisible attacker. She can no longer be flanked except by rogues with at least 9 levels in classes that grant the sneak attack class feature.

Aleam's Paladin's Mount

Aleam has the services of a heavy warhorse from the celestial realms. He can call this animal once per day for up to 10 hours of service. He always dismisses it when he goes to sleep for the night, so it has not caught on to Lorycia's presence either.

Heavy Warhorse Paladin's Mount

Type	Large magical beast
Init	+1
Senses	Low-light vision, scent; Listen +6, Spot +5
Languages	Empathic link
AC	18, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (-1 size, +1 Dex, +8 natural)
hp	45 (6 HD)
Resistance	Improved evasion
Fort	+8
Ref	+6
Will	+3
Speed	40 ft. (8 squares), base speed 50 ft.
Melee	2 hooves +7 (1d6+4) and bite +5 (1d4+2)
Base Atk	+4
Group Atk	+12
Abilities	Str 19, Dex 13, Con 17, Int 6, Wis 13, Cha 6
Special Qualities	Improved evasion, share saving throws, share spells
Feats	Endurance, Multiattack, Run
Skills	Listen +6, Spot +5

• Empathic Link (Su): The paladin has an empathic link with her mount out to a distance of up to one mile. The paladin cannot see through the mount's eyes, but they can communicate empathically. Note that even intelligent mounts see the world differently from humans, so misunderstandings are always possible. Because of this empathic link, the paladin has the same connection to an item or place that her mount does, just as with a master and his familiar.

• Improved Evasion (Ex): When subjected to an attack that normally allows a Reflex saving throw for half damage, a mount takes no damage if it makes a successful saving throw and half damage if the saving throw fails.

• Share Spells: At the paladin's option, he may have any spell (but not any spell-like ability) he casts on himself also affect his mount. The mount must be within 5 feet at the time of casting to receive the benefit. If the spell or effect has a duration other than instantaneous, it stops affecting the mount if it moves farther than 5 feet away and will not affect the mount again even if it returns to the paladin before the duration expires. Additionally, the paladin may cast a spell with a target of "You" on his mount (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. A paladin and his mount can share spells even if the spells normally do not affect creatures of the mount's type (magical beast).

• Share Saving Throws: For each of its saving throws, the mount uses its own base save bonus or the paladin's, whichever is higher. The mount applies its own ability modifiers to saves, and it doesn't share any other bonuses on saves that the master might have (such as from magic items or feats).

Lorycia

Lorycia - Statistics in her natural form

Name	Lorycia
Type	Succubus Fiend of Possession
Sub-Type	Medium outsider (chaotic, evil, extraplanar, tanar'ri)
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
CR	10
Init	+2
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +21, Spot +21
Languages	Abyssal, Celestial, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
AC	21, touch 12, flat-footed 19; Dodge, Mobility (+2 Dex, +9 natural)
hp	60 (6 HD)
Damage Resistance	10/cold iron or good
Immune	Electricity, poison
Resist	fire 10, cold 10, acid 10; spell resistance 18 Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9
Speed	30 ft. (6 squares), fly 50 ft. (average)
Melee	2 claws +6 (1d6)
Base Atk	+6
Grp	+6
Atk Options	energy drain, spell-like abilities, summon tanar'ri
Spell-Like Abilities	(CL 12th) At will -- charm monster (DC 24), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 22), ethereal jaunt (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), suggestion (DC 23), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only)
Abilities	Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 18, Cha 31
Special Qualities	Change shape, possession ability, tongues
Feats	Dodge, Mobility, Persuasive
Skills	Bluff +21, Concentration +10, Diplomacy +14, Disguise +19* (+21 acting, +29 when using change shape, +31 acting when using change shape), Escape Artist +11, Hide +11 (+13 when in possession), Intimidate +21, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Listen +21, Move Silently +11, Search +13, Spot +21, Survival +4 (+6 other planes, +6 following tracks), Use Rope +2 (+4 with bindings)
Hook	Your body and soul are my playground, foolish mortal.

• Energy Drain (Su): A succubus drains energy from a mortal it lures into some act of passion, or by simply planting a kiss on the victim. If the target is not willing to be kissed, the succubus must start a grapple, which provokes an attack of opportunity. The succubus's kiss or embrace bestows one negative level. The kiss also has the effect of a suggestion spell, asking the victim to accept another kiss from the succubus. The victim must succeed on a DC 24 Will save to negate the effect of the suggestion. The DC is 24 for the Fortitude save to remove a negative level. These save DCs are Charisma-based.

• Summon Tanar'ri (Sp): Once per day a succubus can attempt to summon 1 vrock with a 30% chance of success. This ability is the equivalent of a 3rd-level spell.

• Tongues (Su): A succubus has a permanent tongues ability (as the spell, caster level 12th). Succubi usually use verbal communication with mortals.

• Change Shape (Su): A succubus can assume the form of any Small or Medium humanoid.

• Possession Ability (Su): Should she ever be freed of Aleam, Lorycia can become ethereal and attempt to possess creatures or objects. The details of how this works are given in Fiendish Codex I or Book of Vile Darkness.

Additional Feats

This feat is not presented in the Player's Handbook or Monster Manual.

• Divine Vigor (from Complete Warrior): As a standard action, spend one of your turn or rebuke undead attempts to increase your base speed by 10 feet and gain +2 temporary hit points per character level. These effects last a number of minutes equal to your Charisma modifier.

Designer Notes

The D&D Website Producer challenged me with this "impossible" combination, and it took quite a while to work out a satisfactorily cool way of implementing it. It does bend the rules a little, but only a little and in ways that were thought out carefully. Aleam should make a very interesting continuing NPC and eventual villain in a D&D campaign. The rules on possession by fiends have changed from the original fiend of possession prestige class as presented in Fiend Folio; this article uses the newest version as presented in Fiendish Codex I.

External Links

• The original source of this article at Wizards.com