SimonMoon6
2021-06-23, 11:32 AM
I've been looking at the "fluff" for lamias and lamia matriarchs for a while now. The root of my interest was considering the viability of a lamia matriarch as a PC, using Pathfinder's rules for playing as a monster, though this is completely hypothetical as I have no active games or gaming groups. I think they're pretty awesome because for merely CR 8, you get a pretty incredible gish, with 6th level sorcerer casting (with cleric spells). But then, I looked into their fluff...
What is the motivation of a lamia matriarch? She hopes to find a way to break the curse afflicting the entire lamia race.
Whoa, that's... that's like a noble, heroic motivation. That's like what a PC would have for a motivation. And it's clearly not a thoroughly selfish motivation as a lamia matriarch can turn into a humanoid form at will, so she's *really* not negatively affected by the curse at all, since she could just live her whole life in human form. So, wanting to lift the curse is only because she wants to help *others*, not just herself.
Okay, yes, it also mentions that a lamia matriarch will "mastermind all manner of foul plots" in order to achieve this (clearly impossible) goal, but that's just the act of a desperate person, knowing that they're attempting an impossible goal.
Looking at lamias themselves (the non-matriarchs), we see that they are the "inheritors of an ancient curse" who live in the "ruined and forsaken parts of the world", so it's pretty clear the lamia matriarchs do have a point in wanting to undo the curse and allow their people to live in the good parts of the world.
Also, "they delight in seeing the shrines of good deities in ruins and go out of their way to bring hardship to thriving holy places," which I assume is because they were cursed by a good deity? Or is this just them being evil because they're evil? It's not clear from the entry and I wonder if there is more fluff somewhere that talks about what happened to the lamias. Who cursed them and why? And is there any hope of the curse being lifted?
The lamia entry does go on to say that "lamias shun most religious followings—viewing such as the source of the curse that blighted them with bestial forms—lamia elders claim to hear the whispers of the scouring desert winds and know the cold whims of the stars, drawing upon such mystical sources to lead their people." So, they don't worship any deities? That's my takeaway from this. And that would make sense since they were cursed by some unknown divinity. Heck, it might even have been an evil god who cursed them for all we know.
However... when I was looking at an entry for the deity Lamashtu (aka "the Mother of Monsters"), I could've sworn that I saw that she was worshiped by lamias (though now that I go looking for this information to double-check, I absolutely can not find any such reference). Maybe I'm going crazy or maybe it's one of those Mandala-effect, Berenstain (not Berenstein) bears things.
What connection does Lamashtu have with lamias? What connection *should* she have?
Obviously, lamias should not worship her because they do not worship anyone. But... lamias are the result of a divine curse and Lamashtu is the mother of monsters... So....
Did Lamashtu create the lamia race? Did she curse a group of humans, turning them into lamias? And then, did the poor unknowing lamias turn around and worship the very deity that cursed them?
Is there any official fluff regarding any of this? Or any other thoughts on this at all?
What is the motivation of a lamia matriarch? She hopes to find a way to break the curse afflicting the entire lamia race.
Whoa, that's... that's like a noble, heroic motivation. That's like what a PC would have for a motivation. And it's clearly not a thoroughly selfish motivation as a lamia matriarch can turn into a humanoid form at will, so she's *really* not negatively affected by the curse at all, since she could just live her whole life in human form. So, wanting to lift the curse is only because she wants to help *others*, not just herself.
Okay, yes, it also mentions that a lamia matriarch will "mastermind all manner of foul plots" in order to achieve this (clearly impossible) goal, but that's just the act of a desperate person, knowing that they're attempting an impossible goal.
Looking at lamias themselves (the non-matriarchs), we see that they are the "inheritors of an ancient curse" who live in the "ruined and forsaken parts of the world", so it's pretty clear the lamia matriarchs do have a point in wanting to undo the curse and allow their people to live in the good parts of the world.
Also, "they delight in seeing the shrines of good deities in ruins and go out of their way to bring hardship to thriving holy places," which I assume is because they were cursed by a good deity? Or is this just them being evil because they're evil? It's not clear from the entry and I wonder if there is more fluff somewhere that talks about what happened to the lamias. Who cursed them and why? And is there any hope of the curse being lifted?
The lamia entry does go on to say that "lamias shun most religious followings—viewing such as the source of the curse that blighted them with bestial forms—lamia elders claim to hear the whispers of the scouring desert winds and know the cold whims of the stars, drawing upon such mystical sources to lead their people." So, they don't worship any deities? That's my takeaway from this. And that would make sense since they were cursed by some unknown divinity. Heck, it might even have been an evil god who cursed them for all we know.
However... when I was looking at an entry for the deity Lamashtu (aka "the Mother of Monsters"), I could've sworn that I saw that she was worshiped by lamias (though now that I go looking for this information to double-check, I absolutely can not find any such reference). Maybe I'm going crazy or maybe it's one of those Mandala-effect, Berenstain (not Berenstein) bears things.
What connection does Lamashtu have with lamias? What connection *should* she have?
Obviously, lamias should not worship her because they do not worship anyone. But... lamias are the result of a divine curse and Lamashtu is the mother of monsters... So....
Did Lamashtu create the lamia race? Did she curse a group of humans, turning them into lamias? And then, did the poor unknowing lamias turn around and worship the very deity that cursed them?
Is there any official fluff regarding any of this? Or any other thoughts on this at all?