Loviatar

Loviatar is the evil goddess of agony and is both queen and servant to the greater god Bane. The Maiden of Pain is the master of inflicting physical and psychological suffering, her portfolio encompassing hurt and torture.

Description

Loviatar appeared as a slim, beautiful human maiden, with straight, thigh-length, platinum-blonde hair. She dressed in either black leather embellished with outlandish spikes or revealing white silks decorated with silver chains. She was cold and sinister in demeanor, speaking softly and moving with sensual grace. Her black blood was thick, like syrup.

Personality

Loviatar is cold-hearted and calculatingly cruel by nature, an aggressive and domineering despot that truly enjoys acts of sadism. Indeed, she has an instinct for inflicting pain, and not just physical suffering, always knowing just what to say and how to say it to best wound and discourage both mortals and other deities. Unlike most bullies however, Loviatar herself does not fear pain or even experience hurt. She is nearly impervious to any emotion, whether fear, love, or even hate. Attempts to harm her, whether through physical damage or verbal humiliation, prompt only laughter at the attempt, and more than one mortal is startled to see her advance towards them with the full intention of receiving any damage that comes from doing so.

Perhaps Loviatar's only psychological weakness is her own calculating nature. Her understanding of humanity, for example, relies on the fundamental assumption that they are innately selfish. Truly heroic or self-sacrificing behavior can untangle her carefully woven plots.

Worshippers

Bringing pain and suffering was the aim of all Loviatans, either through physical torture or sometimes more subtly and psychologically. Beauty, intelligence, and acting were useful attributes of a Loviatan, but the ability to fully understand someone was the best skill a Loviatan could acquire, as knowing someone fully could help a Loviatan inflict maximum pain, one way or another. Loviatar's followers were encouraged to wipe Ilmater's followers from the face of the Realms.

Loviatans often engaged in self-flagellation, often in the morning when praying for spells. They celebrated each season with the Rite of Pain and Purity, a ritual that involved followers dancing on glass, thorns, or barbed-wire while being whipped by higher-level Loviatans. A smaller ritual occurring every twelve days involved followers passing their bodies through the flames of candles.

During warfare, priestesses of Loviatar scourged their naked shoulders or tore their cheeks with their nails to evoke magic.

Titles used by Novices are Kneeling Ones

Confirmed Priests use the titles (in ascending order)

Taystren Adept (in Pain) Sister/Brother (in Torment) Supremar Caressor (of Terrors) Whiplass/Whiplar Paingiver Whipmistress/Whip Master High Whipmistress/Whipmaster Branded (of the God) Truescar

The last two titles are awarded to those who have been head of a temple or who have personally distinguished themselves. In the old text priests were referred to as Lovites before the use of Loviatan replaced it.

Specialty priests, called pains, operate as a separate arm of the faith. They travel from place to place carrying out the goddess's will as envoys, agents, or inquisitors rather than being permanently stationed at a temple. Ordinary clerics of Loviatar hold the pains in high regard. A temple mainly consists of clerics, but one to three pains can be called upon if needed. Mystics often are assigned to groups of pains and monk, while living only with monks and monasteries. They usually swear fealty to the temple that their abbey is a part of in the hierarchy.

The faith of Loviatar was the state religion in the country of Dambrath. Under Queen Cathtyr the priesthood of Loviatar grew to the thousands . The Crinti priestesses there had their own secret religious language, known as the "Maiden's Tongue". The Crinti considered copying the idea of the trade enclave from the Red Wizards of Thay combining a trade center and a place for the faithful to Loviatar to worship.

Relationships

For anyone, god or mortal, to even slightly affect Loviatar's cold heart would be miraculous in and of itself.

Prior to the Time of Troubles, Loviatar was a servant of Bhaal and had a heated rivalry with her fellow servant Talona. In the Year of the Harpist's Delight, −33 DR, demigoddess Kiputytto, Loviatar's sister, was slain by Talona. This made Loviatar and Talona heated rivals, leaving the Lady of Pain to torment Talona in revenge. Loviatar thought that Talona should and would eventually serve her. During that time she was also affiliated with Malar.

For a time she fell under the sway of Shar, though the return of Bane changed this, as she once again served as his consort. Loviatar's portfolio conflicted most with that of Ilmater, because Loviatar despised those who helped others. She also hated Eldath and Lliira for offering rewards without any suffering to achieve them.

Loviatar

lesser deity

Basic Information

Titles

The Maiden of Pain
The Willing Whip
The Scourge Mistress
Patroness of Torturers

Adjectives

Loviatan

Pantheons

Astoran

Serves

Bane

Attributes

Alignment

Lawful Evil

Symbol

nine-stranded whip with barbed strands

Realm

Bleak Eternity of Gehenna/Mungoth/Ondtland

Portfolio

Agony, Hurt, Suffering, Torment, Torture

Favored Weapon

Painbringer (scourge)

Following

Worshippers

Beguilers
Evil warriors torturers
The depraved

Alignments

LN, LE, NE

Domains

Destruction (Torture)
Evil (Fear)
Law (Slavery, Tyranny)