The Radiant Sisters

The Radiant Sisters

One of the Radiant Sisters as depicted in Dragon #353
Series	Dungeons and Dragons
First appearance	Dragon #353
Created by	James Jacobs
Game information
Homeland	The Abyss
Gender	Female
Race	Lilitu Bard
Class	Advanced Lilitu
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
Title	The Radiant Sisters
Alias	The Radiant Sisters
Setting	All Dungeons and Dragons settings and campaigns

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

The Radiant Sisters are a group of Advanced Lilitu Bards who serve the Queen of Succubi Malcanthet in the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game. They first appeared in the article The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Malcanthet written by James Jacobs which appeared in Dragon #353.

They are a group of thirteen devoted minions of Malcanthet who hold a favored status with her and their devotion is total and unwavering. The term Radiant Sister is a title which is passed from one Lilitu to another upon their passing which means there are always the same number of Radiant Sisters. Though the individuals change over time, their names by which they are known never do.

Description

The Radiant Sisters are a group of thirteen chaotic evil female Lilitu 12th-level bards who's creation and existence is one of Malcanthet's more devious plans. Malcanthet created these beings during a single night of hedonistic rapture in the birthflesh vats of Miomanta and gave them a measure of power above that of other Lilitu. From all those that Malcanthet created in that night, thirteen remain loyal to their mother.

The Radiant Sisters are extremely talented and powerful in their own right. Their reputation for being slavers, singers, generals, and lovers who hold the coveted seat of favorite among Malcanthet's minions is well known.

A Radiant Sister can be told apart from other Lilitu by the bright halo that glows above her hair in the same manner of an angel's. Each sister's halo and hair are of a different hue, and these colors give the individual the Radiant Sisters their name. They are known as: Midnight, Violet, Crimson, Snow, Jade, Ash, Cherry, Emerald, Rose, Hyacinth, Tawny, Ivory and Azure.

The demonic essence of the thirteen Radiant Sisters is eternal as long as Malcanthet rules Shendilavri. When one of the Sisters are slain, another Lilitu gains a halo and becomes the slain sister's replacement. She then immediately feels Malcanthet's call and makes her way to Shendilavri as quickly as possible to be welcomed by her new mistress and lover.

The Radiant Sisters are generally left to their own devices and methods of carrying out Malcanthet's whims on Shendilavri, but the theft of their gloves of storing or their contents is guaranteed to draw the combined wrath of every one of the Sisters.

Statistics

The Radiant Sisters are Advanced Lilitu Bards with some special abilities which are given to them upon their being chosen as one of the Sisters. The following statistics are only meant as a guide as individual Sisters will have their own specific statistics.

Radiant Sister - Advanced Lilitu Bard

Type	Advanced Lilitu Bard
Sub-Type	Medium Outsider (Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Tanar’ri)
Alignment	Always Chaotic Evil
CR	19
Init	+8
Senses	Darkvision 60 ft. Listen +22, Spot +22
Languages	Abyssal, Common Telepathy 100 ft.
AC	27, touch 19, flat-footed 19 (+9 Dex, +8 natural)
hp	119 (14 HD)
DR	10/cold iron or good
Immune	Electricity, Poison
Resist	Acid 10, Cold 10, Fire 10
SR	23
Fort	+13
Ref	+17
Will	+14
Weakness	Divine Magic
Speed	40 ft.
Melee	4 stingers +22 (1d4+3 plus poison) and 2 claws +20 (1d6+1)
Space	5 ft.
Reach	5 ft. (10 ft. with stingers)
Base Atk	+14
Grp Atk	+17
Special Actions	Combat Reflexes, Lilitu’s Gift, Halo of Malcanthet
Abilities	Str 17, Dex 26, Con 18, Int 19, Wis 20, Cha 30
Special Qualities	item use, mock divinity, shroud alignment, tanar’ri traits
Feats	Combat Reflexes, Dark Speech, Persuasive, Quicken, Spell-Like Ability (suggestion), Weapon Finesse
Skills	Bluff +29, Concentration +21, Diplomacy +31, Disguise +27, Forgery +21, Heal +22, Intimidate +31, Knowledge (religion) +21, Listen +22, Perform +27, Sense Motive +22, Spot +22
Advancement	By character class
Favored Class	Bard
Treasure	Gloves of storing, +2 vorpal whip-dagger, golden puzzle box (2,500 gp)

Bard Spells Prepared (CL 10th)

5th	lesser planar binding, mass cure light wounds, plane shift (DC 25), raise dead
4th	confusion (DC 24), cure critical wounds (2), freedom of movement, imbue with spell ability
3rd	bestow curse (DC 23), cure serious wounds (3), dispel magic, nondetection (DC 23)
2nd	cure moderate wounds (4), demoncall, enthrall (DC 22), hold person (DC 22), silence (DC 22)
1st	command (DC 21), cure light wounds (4), demonflesh, divine favor, shield of faith
0	cure minor wounds (4), detect magic, mending

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th)

At will	charm monster (DC 24), detect good, detect thoughts (DC 22), disguise self (DC 21, no limit on duration), fly, suggestion (DC 23), greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only), sending, tongues
1/day	dominate person (DC 25), quickened suggestion (DC 23), symbol of persuasion (DC 26)

• Item Use (Ex): A Radiant Sister can use any magic item as though she had successfully used the Use Magic Device skill.

• Lilitu’s Gift (Su): Once per day, a Radiant Sister can embrace a willing or helpless living creature as a standard action and grant it a +2 profane bonus to Charisma and a +2 profane bonus on saving throws. The effect persists for 24 hours or until the target creature is affected by a dispel chaos. Until the gift expires or is removed, the affected creature radiates chaos as if his alignment were chaotic. Moreover, its natural weapons, as well as any weapons it wields, are treated as chaotic-aligned for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. As long as the character possesses the gift, the Radiant Sister’s name (written in Abyssal) appears as a tattoo somewhere on the character’s body. Radiant Sisters take pains to place this mark somewhere that’s easily hidden. The recipient of a Radiant Sister’s gift cannot see his own tattoo. As long as the gift remains active, the Radiant Sister can monitor the character’s condition and location as if she had placed a status spell on that character. She can communicate telepathically with the character at all times, despite any intervening distance (even across planes), and by concentrating can observe the world around the character as if she were there in his place. Radiant Sister often use this ability to influence and trick a character into performing chaotic or evil acts. Accepting a Radiant Sister’s gift is a chaotic act and could have repercussions on the recipient’s alignment. A creature can resist gaining a Radiant Sister’s gift by making a DC 27 Will save. The save DC is Charisma-based.

• Mock Divinity (Ex): A Radiant Sister casts spells as a 10th-level Bard, except that she uses her Charisma score to determine bonus spells per day and spell saving throw DCs. She has access to the spheres of Demonic and Trickery. She cannot spontaneously cast cure or inflict spells, nor can she turn or rebuke undead.

• Poison (Su): Stinger—Injury, Fortitude DC 21, 2d6 Wis/1d4 negative levels. The save DC is Constitution-based.

• Shroud Alignment (Ex): Spells and spell-like abilities that have the good descriptor treat a Radiant Sister as if her alignment was good. Magic items are similarly fooled.

• Vulnerable to Divine Magic (Ex): A Radiant Sister’s heretical nature renders her particularly susceptible to divine magic. She makes all saving throws against divine magic at a –2 penalty, and checks to overcome her spell resistance with a divine spell gain a +4 sacred bonus.

• Halo of Malcanthet: A Radiant Sister can control the intensity of illumination her halo provides as a free action, varying it from a faint glow that is all but imperceptible to a brilliant light that provides illumination to a radius of 120 feet.

• Note: All Radiant Sisters wear matching gloves of storing. In one is stored a +2 vorpal whip-dagger. In the other a golden puzzle box in the shape of a heart is held. These golden hearts are art objects worth 2,500 gp apiece but also function as prisons. Each contains a tiny cell in which Malcanthet has imprisoned one of her more hated foes, using the minimus containment version of binding.

References

• Jacobs, James. "The Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Malcanthet." Dragon #353 (Paizo Publishing, 2007)

See Also

• Malcanthet
• Lilitu (Dungeons and Dragons)
• Thralls of Malcanthet