Environment Any
Organization solitary
Treasure standard

The Herald is a personification of lust, vengeance, and trickery. She is the chief immortal agent of the Goddess of Passion in the mortal world—bereft of morals, she seduces, tricks, or murders any creature necessary to complete her mission. In her true form she is a great wasp-like creature weighing just over 1,400 pounds. Though she can fly, her wings create a loud buzzing noise audible from over 500 feet away, so when she must be stealthy she walks or climbs. The Herald needs no armor, for her exoskeleton is as hard as adamantine. She observes her environment with an alien detachment, missing no detail but only acting when she feels the time is right.

When subtlety is necessary, she can take the shape of an exotic elf of either gender, a giant wasp, or a normal wasp. Her humanoid form is almost a caricature of elven beauty, with long ears, narrow cheekbones, and long graceful limbs—if elves look more elven than half-elves, the Herald looks even more elven than true elves, as if elves are near-perfect mortal copies of the “true” elven ideal.

In this form she lacks most of her combat ability, but can still seduce with her wits and good looks, or even use her pheromones on reluctant targets. The the Goddess of Passion's Book refers to hundreds of transparent, sealed chambers in the Goddess of Passion’s palace, each containing a sleeping creature resembling the Herald’s elven form; the goddess awakens one of these any time she needs a new herald or wants to create another one of her succubus-like avengers.

Ecology

A supernatural spirit clad in immortal ageless flesh, the Herald does not need to eat, drink, or rest, though she enjoys these activities as much as any elf. Her interests are elven interests—pleasant company, fine wine, savory food, and intricate music. She can conceive and give birth, though it is rare for her to do this as she must remain in elven form for the duration of her pregnancy and the Goddess of Passion dislikes having her herald unavailable for extended periods. Her offspring are usually mortal elves resembling feytouched, aasimar, or tieflings, though some have enough magic in them to be born as young vengeance demons. Church heretics and mad elven wizards suggest the Herald could breed with insect-like outsiders, but she has shown no interest in such things, particularly as most of them have sub-human intelligence or contrary agendas.

Habitat & Society

The Herald is a singular creature; the Goddess of Passion is only known to have one in existence at any time, so the herald usually socializes with the goddess’s succubus-like “vengeance demons” and other servitor entities. The Herald is very curious about mortal elven society, regardless of the elf’s social status, homeland, or relationship with other elves or even other races. Her interest in non-elves is similar but less ardent; she has been known to watch a particular elf (usually disguised as a common wasp) off and on for years, while non-elves rarely keep her attention for more than a few days. The Herald is a creature of spirit but has a physical body, and sometimes seeks attractive elves (using her elven form) to satisfy her carnal desires; this is a sign of great favor among the devout, though the experience is usually so overwhelming that the lucky partner cannot articulate its full extent.

The Herald has a long memory and has been known to bear a grudge to the second or third generation against an elf that offended her or one of her predecessors. She sometimes attends the goddess as a handmaiden (in elven form) or silent observer (in insectoid form). The Goddess of Passion has been known to send the Herald to meetings disguised as the goddess herself, especially when she is unsure of the other party’s motivations.