Poison Maiden - By Bill Silvey
Frequency: Rare
No. Appearing: 1
Armor Class: 5
Move 12"
Hit Dice: 2+2
% In Lair: 10%
Treasure Type: X,Q
No. Of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: By Weapon Type
Special Attacks: See Below
Special Defense: Immune to all poison
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Very
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral (evil tendencies)
Size: M (5')
Psionic Ability: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
Level/XP Value: IV/128 + 2 per HP
Poison Maidens are creatures which always appear as comely women of either Elven,
half-Elven or human race. They live in dismal, forgotten woods and copses, and are rarely sought out deliberately save by those seeking to employ the unique ability possessed by a Poison Maiden.
Poison Maidens spend their lives eating nothing but the most noxious and toxic of herbs, mushrooms, funguses and other natural poisons. They also practice a ritual of snake and spider handling during which they allow themselves to be bitten repeatedly to build a tolerance to these types of poisons as well. This makes the Poison Maiden virtually invulnerable to any sorts of poisons attack. This includes poison venom from summoned creatures (both natural and supernatural), envenomed blades, and so forth.
Poison Maidens usually fight with a short sword or a dagger which has been coated in a toxin of their own creation - usually one so caustic a save versus death must be made at -3 or else the wounded will die immediately!
Poison Maidens are sought out for special assignments by assassin's guilds and typically present themselves to their victims as interested doxies, chambermaids, and the like. However, one light kiss (or scratch from the fingernails) of the Poison Maiden is enough to doom their target.
Poison Maidens fight as 4th level Assassins (Thieves), and have commensurate abilities including Hiding in Shadows and Moving Silently.
When encountered alone, in the wild, Poison Maidens can be approached and parlayed with. Most are not unhappy with their lot in life, but some do seem to express a degree of melancholy for their very nature makes them outcasts from the civilized world. If a Poison Maiden lies with any male, her paramour will die within hours, and the Maiden will be with child. It is not known if Poison Maidens give birth to sons and if they do what becomes of them; only females have been encountered.