Pairaka

Pairakas are blatantly disease-ridden divs who hide behind beautiful forms, sowing corruption and ruination—first of the morals, then of the body.  Their similarity to night hags and succubi (both in terms of bailiwicks and abilities) may catch even experienced parties off guard…at least until the pairaka attacks them for wearing the color crimson…

The Night Hag is no mean brothel.  Run by a pairaka, it is a veritable pleasure palace that caters to the rich merchants and aristocrats of Baghrev, male and female alike.  A patient creature, she uses her lustful dreams and bubonic plagues sparingly, allowing her patrons’ natural shame, jealousy, and corruption to ruin them over the seasons.  The Night Hag’s name is no accident, either—when her clients are utterly ruined, the div hands them over body and (especially) soul to a night hag confederate.  Recently, though, investigations by nosy clerics and sha’irs are moving up the div’s timetable.

A former marid, Sheliahgosh is now the Festering Tide, a foul pairaka.  She and her undead mermaid servants go from cove to cove, seducing sailors and fishermen who then carry the bubonic plague home to their wives.

A construct adventurer (perhaps a wyrwood from the Advanced Race Guide or a warforged from 3.5’s Eberron setting) is unaffected by the taboo-wallowing dreams that torment its fellows.  The pairaka responsible sends gnoll thugs and a redcap to disassemble what she refers to as “that clockwork upstart.”

—Pathfinder Bestiary 3 88

Obviously, in Golarion pairakas are likely to have strong ties to Urgathoa and might ally from time to time with various fiendish powers of disease, lust, and corruption.

I have more stuff to say.  I have a bunch of reader comments to reply to.  But once again, tonight, I must beg off and sleep. And by “sleep,” I mean: go back to work and write radio scripts. 

Saturday’s radio show is triply late: It’s going up on Tuesday instead of Monday, SXSW is over, and so is St. Patrick’s Day. Nevertheless, enjoy an hour of SXSW and other fun tunes, then we switch over to Irish and Celtic rock of all stripes.  Download it.

(Music starts about 30 seconds into the file.  If the feed skips, let load in Firefox or Chrome, Save As an mp3, and enjoy in iTunes.  Link good till Friday, 3/22, at midnight.)