Loviatar, Lady of Pain

Alignment: Lawful Evil
Domains: Evil, Law [Slavery], Lust (Charm), Retribution, Strength, Suffering, Torture (Destruction), Wrath
Favored Weapon: Scourge

Loviatar is the aggressive, domineering and fearless patron of torturers, sadists, and slavers. She has a cold and calculatingly cruel nature and is also almost unreachable emotionally — toward love, fear, or even hatred. It would have to be a miracle for any deity or mortal to make a dent in her icebound heart. She has an instinct for inflicting both physical and psychological pain, and she always seems to know what to say and the way to say it to inflict the most hurt and raise the biggest self-doubts in someone, mortal or deity. And unlike most simple bullies, she does not fear pain or hurt herself and laughs at attempts to physically damage or verbally humiliate her.

Dogma: The world is filled with pain and torment, and the best that one can do is to suffer those blows that cannot be avoided and deal as much pain back to those who offend. Kindnesses are the best companions to hurts, and increase the intensity of suffering. Let mercy of sudden abstinence from causing pain and of providing unlooked-for healing come over you seldom, but at whim, so as to make folk hope and increase the Mystery of Loviatar’s Mercy. Unswerving cruelty will turn all folk against you. Act alluring, and give pain and torment to those who enjoy it as well as to those who deserve it most or would be most hurt by it. The lash, fire, and cold are the three pains that never fail the devout. Spread Loviatar’s teachings whenever punishment is meted out. Pain tests all, but gives strength of spirit and true pleasure to the hardy and the true. There is no true punishment if the punisher knows no discipline. Wherever a whip is, there is Loviatar. Fear her — and yet long for her.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Persuade a creature to allow you to inflict a small amount of pain on it. This can be as subtle as thin needles under the skin or as overt as a lashing with a whip — whatever the subject agrees to. If you can legally procure an individual, such as through legalized slavery, you may use a purchased subject instead. If no suitable individuals can be located, coil and kneel upon a spiked chain, scourge or similar onject such that your weight presses your knees into the spikes. Whip your own back while chanting praises to the Lady of Pain. Gain a +2 sacred bonus on saving throws against spells that deal hit point damage or with the Pain descriptor.

Boons
1: Slave-Taker’s Tools (Sp) command 3/day, castigate 2/day, or chain of perdition 1/day
2: Maiden’s Lash (Su) You can lash out with your melee weapon as if it were a whip, no matter what the weapon’s type truly is. Your melee weapon elongates and grows flexible, gaining an extra 5 feet of reach while still maintaining its ability to strike targets adjacent to you (provided the weapon could normally do so). Using this ability does not provoke attacks of opportunity, and you can apply this ability only to melee weapons. You can use this ability a number of rounds per day equal to 1 + 1 for every 4 Hit Dice you possess (maximum 6 rounds). The rounds don’t need to be consecutive, and activating and deactivating the ability is a free action.
3: Excruciating Strike (Su) Once per day, you can channel the power of torment through your weapon as a free action. You must declare your use of this ability before you make an attack roll. On a hit, the weapon creates a burst of negative energy. Your target takes 5d6 points of negative damage and is sickened with lingering pain, unless it makes a Fort save (DC 10 + 1/2 your HD + your Charisma modifier). At the beginning of each of the target’s turns, it makes another Fortitude attempt against the same DC, remaining sickened until it finally succeeds this save. Creatures that are mindless, or immune to negative energy damage are immune to this ability. Application of magical or supernatural healing that in a single application heals at least the amount of damage dealt by the attack negages the sickened condition.

For Followers of Loviatar

Archetypes and Alternate Class Features: Disciple of the White Rod† (Monk), Flagellant (Cleric), Vicious Conniver (Investigator), Vicious Opportunist (Rogue), Vivisectionist (Alchemist)

Specialty Priest: Painmistress† (Inquisitor)

• All Painmistresses are female, and must be Lawful Evil
• A Painmistress must choose her domain from Loviatar’s list of domains, or may choose the Imprisonment or Slavery inquisition.
• A Painmistress cannot select the Healing Judgment; all of the bonuses from Judgments are profane bonuses. This alters Judgment.
• Lasher (Su): At 3rd level, a Painmistress can use a weapon from the whip favored weapon group to deliver touch attacks. This ability effectively gives her the reach of her weapon with a touch spell or with her pain touch ability, if she possess that ability. If she desires, she can make a normal attack with the whip when delivering a touch effect, and deal weapon damage in addition to delivering the touch effects, but in this case she must make a successful melee attack rather than a touch attack. A maiden of pain can deliver a touch spell through her whip even against creatures that are normally unaffected by whip attacks. This replaces Solo Tactics.
• Enduring Pain (Su): Also at 3rd level, the Painmistress chooses a cruelty from the Antipaladin list of cruelties, treating her Inquisitor level as her antipaladin level for the purpose of determining which cruelties are available to her. Every time she successfully delivers a touch using her Lasher ability, the Painmistress also deals the effects of one of her chosen cruelties to the target. At 6th level, and every 3 levels thereafter, she selects another cruelty to add to her list. This replaces Teamwork Feats.

Divine Fighting Technique: Flensing Scourge

Feats: Bloody Vengeance, Channel Viciousness, Conversion Channel, Cruelty, Curse of Vengeance, Destroy Identity, Fearsome Finish, Flagellant, Merciless Rush, Shatter Resolve, Seductive Channel, To the Last, Welcome Pain.

Magic Items: Chain of Obeisance, Mask of Cutting Flesh, Painspike Armor, Rusting Teeth (As scourge), Scabbard of Pain, Vengeful Kiss

Prestige Classes: Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained), Pain Taster†*, Scourge Maiden†.
*Heal and Intimidate 4 ranks; gains 4 skill points/level; Disciple of Pain bonus is profane not enhancement)

Spells: Sadomasochism, Sympathetic Wounds

Traits: Demoralizing Presence, Honeyed Words, Furious Vengeance, Lover of the Law, Pain Is Pleasure, Sacred Avenger, Strength’s Fanfare, Strong Willed, The Flexing Arm, Vindictive Strike, Wisdom in the Flesh.

Unique Spell Rules

• Mystic Lash can be prepared as a 3rd-level Cleric, Inquisitor or Antipaladin spell.
• Shared Suffering can be prepared as a 2nd-level Cleric spell.

Clergy & Temples

The church of Loviatar, dominated by female humans and half-elves, is the strongest in large, decadent cities, where newcomers are often recruited from the ranks of the bored and wealthy and the authorities are often tolerant of degenerate activity. Their temples thrive in lands where slavery exists, by plying human merchandise to fill the coffers of their temples. One of the largest of such is the House of Nine Blessings in Calimport, where a regular flow of human traffick makes its way to the markets in the Shackles Ward. In countries where slavery is illegal, such activities still take place, just not openly.

Clerics of the Maiden of Pain work tirelessly to cause suffering, both widespread and personal. This work may be as brutal as flogging an encountered band of orcs until they flee or as subtle as breaking heats among young nobles by pretending to falling in love with the gallants (while disguising one’s Loviatan faith), working to break up existing amours and friendships, and engaging in scandalous dalliances before coldly spurning the victims and departing. Being a good actor and of striking beauty (or experienced in using spells to appear so) are very useful traits for a Loviatan, but the most successful Loviatans are those who understand the ways and natures of folk and so know just how to cause them the most pain and to manipulate them toward that end.