| The Daedra Lords |
|---|
| Ba'al (Prince of Daedra) |
| Suspira (Lust, Desire, Hedonism) |
| Revonos (Rage, Murder, Treachery) |
| Agemnos (Avarice, Ambition, Wealth) |
| Lilith (Nature, Lycanthropy, Undeath) |
| Klepnos (Madness, Trickery, Knowledge) |
| Tallakath (Sickness, Pestilence, Death & Dying) |
| Oblineth (Ice, Winter, The Void) |
| Nocturna (Dreams, Omens, Crossing Over) |
Suspira (sə-SPĪ-rä) is the Mistress of Lust, and has been one of the most powerful members of the pantheon for as long as they have been bound to their respective spheres of influence. She draws power from any casual, inconsiderate or selfish sexual act; this includes one-night stands, orgies, adultery, bestiality, and any sexual union in which one partner benefits at the expense of the other. She also draws an energy "tax" from every incubus and succubus who "feeds" on a mortal while in her service.
Appearance & Personality
Suspira most often appears as a seductive, voluptuous woman possessing whatever features her target finds most attractive. Revealing and/or "kinky" outfits are practically a must; she has a particular taste for red leather. She often carries a whip-dagger, a long bull-whip that ends in a wickedly sharp blade.
A sybaritic hedonist, Suspira is extroverted and playful with anyone who goes along with her games, but she has a quick temper and will react violently and vengefully toward anyone who tries to spoil her fun. She also has a rather twisted sense of "fun", which often involves taking advantage of those in her company. Suspira takes particular pleasure in seducing mortals herself, though the measure of energy she extracts from her partners can be dangerously (even lethally) high. She doesn't try to kill her consorts, but if they happen to be too weak to survive her feeding frenzy — well, too bad.
Divine Intervention
Boons: People who seek out Suspira's aid are driven by the basic, carnal need to reproduce and the more sinister need to possess. Often they are desperate or twisted souls who are too ugly or too unpleasant to gain the company of their preferred sexual partner on the basis of their own merits; sometimes their sexual tastes are simply so depraved that no sane being would willingly be in the same room with them. Suspira can give these people what they hunger for: enhanced sexual prowess, improved appearance and charisma, supernatural charm and seductive powers, etc. For those willing to make the greatest sacrifices, Suspira can even turn a targeted mortal into a wanton sex slave. It was Suspira's magic, in fact, that powered the first of the three transformation spells that Nasoj used against Metamor — and when those whose genders have been changed by the Curse feel a rush of animalistic desire, it is Suspira's influence that they are feeling.
Cost: Suspira rarely asks her servants to kill; murder isn't part of her portfolio. Even rape, though it is undeniably an example of selfish sexual behavior, is not something she takes all that much pleasure in.1 What she wants, what brings her both joy and power, is the corruption of the innocent. Having sex with the village harlot gives her power, but it is one of countless acts of its kind that take place every day. In contrast, to take a pure, untainted soul — a good-hearted virgin, a disciple of Akkala, or a woman happily married to her husband — and then seduce them with dark pleasures … to lead them bit by bit into promiscuity, adultery, sadomasochism, incest, and every twisted delight of which the mind can conceive … to bring them to the point where they not only beg for such pleasures, but actually instigate them, corrupting others as they themselves have been corrupted … that is the mark of one who is truly carrying out Suspira's will. Most of the favors and quests that Suspira imposes on those who bargain with her are designed to bring about exactly this sort of dark conversion.
Disciples
Suspira's followers are many, but their influence is often subtle. They are the dashing bards and noblemen who charm their way into ladies' bedchambers; the prostitutes who single out gullible young men on busy city streets; the bar flies who chat up the lonely and despondent souls who are looking for an escape from their pain; the teachers who seduce their pupils behind closed doors. There are many people in the world who want more sex than they are currently getting; by pledging themselves to Suspira's service they gain the power to take what they want and the satisfaction of telling themselves that they are serving a greater cause.
Suspira teaches her followers that human sexual mores are an artificial constraint on behavior, a set of arbitrary rules designed to disconnect mortals from their true natures. Man is, she says, nothing more or less than a naked ape, driven by the same desires as the rest of the animal kingdom. When humans restrict their sexual options, it leads to weakness — a point that she proves by pointing to the diseases and madness that are common among the inbred nobility of most nations. She also uses dogs as an example: the pathetic creature raised to be a queen's companion is nearsighted, fragile and prone to diseases, while the mutts who mate indiscriminately in the city streets produce pups that are strong and virile.
Suspira says that when humans throw off their unreasonable attitudes about sex, and simply do what gives them pleasure, it will make the entire species fitter, stronger, and more in tune with its essential nature as a sexual animal. To her mind, and the minds of her followers, she is not "corrupting the innocent;" she is simply taking those who have been brainwashed by the moralizing of Akkala and the airy-headed nonsense of Velena and opening their eyes to see what they truly are, and to take pleasure in it. Those who place themselves in Suspira's service believe that they are furthering this holy cause.
Known Disciples:
Offspring & Servants
Suspira's most prominent offspring are the incubi and succubae, which are descended from her and her countless mortal partners. These creatures travel far and wide throughout the Material Plane and the Dreamlands, spreading Suspira's message to any who will open their arms to receive them. Suspira also has a number of unique children who serve as Daedra Nobles; it is believed that she has slept with every male member of the Pantheon, Aedra or Daedra, at least once, though in some cases this was before the alliance between the two factions was broken.
Suspira also makes use of hell hounds; one such creature; an enormous beast named Jambris, is her faithful traveling companion and bodyguard.
Symbology
Aura: Red smoke.
Holy Symbol: Two circles joined by a short line, with a longer line running perpendicular to it in a T-junction. The symbol represents the erogenous zones of both sexes.
Symbolic Creature: None — the human animal is the only creature that Suspira needs to represent her portfolio.
d20 Notes
Greater Deity
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Domains: Domination, Envy, Lust, Temptation
Weapon of the Deity: Flaming Whip-Dagger
