Vouivre

Wow.  Wow.  What a weird monster.  It was weird in the pages of Pathfinder and it’s even weirder in the Bestiary 4.

I love it.

How in hell did the vouivre come about?  Magic is the easy answer, or (in the Golarion setting) perhaps the fertile riot of life that is the First World.  Then again, if orchids in our world can evolve over the millennia to resemble the bees that pollinate them, why should dragons or behirs or lamias not evolve the same way? 

And are they women with dragons below the waist, or dragons with humanoid tails?  Who can tell?  Does it matter?

Typically a vouivre will be a side trek encounter, but it might feature as part of a larger plot—it makes an unforgettable sidekick to the Big Bad Evil Guy, and its habit of passing on the traits of its meals to its offspring gives it an excuse to hunt down charismatic or talented PCs.  The vouivre also pairs well with the more exotic snakes and fey in your Bestiary collection.  (It makes the amphisbaena look downright normal!)

Like certain other monsters that rely on the element of surprise, you can probably only use the vouivre once with the same set of players.  But what a surprise that once will be…

A rusalka and a vouivre share the same pool, posing as sibling washerwomen.  Recently there has been tension between the two—the rusalka has found a magical necklace she does not want to share, and the vouivre has begun enviously eyeing her fey “sister”’s ageless youthful body.  But they will cease any arguments if attractive prey comes along, especially of the half-elven variety.

A vouivre has come into possession of a portrait of a famous adventurer, and longs to devour her so that its child will carry her features.  It sends out nixie and gremlin servants to arrange matters so that they adventurer finds her way to it.

Drax is a vouivre crime lord.  The dragon-like monstrous humanoid rules the Whitetemple underground from quite literally underground, with lizardfolk and hobgoblins adding a little extra muscle to his mostly human gang.  Interestingly, Drax treats his female-appearing tail as if it were his girlfriend or crossbow moll—even to the point of making his men dance with her or buy her drinks.  No one complains though, because Drax always asks his tail’s opinion when he executes someone, and she’s never said, “No.”

—Pathfinder #30 88-89 & Pathfinder Bestiary 4 270

Edit: Again, sorry for the late entry.  Original post: I have to beg off tonight—another 12-hour day has me without the joie de vivre to tackle the vouivre.  And I want to get it right—it’s a truly weird monster that deserves a second (and third) look.  Bear with me and I’ll cover it (and the rest of my backlog) in the coming days.