AuldDragon's AD&D Blog

Parrafaire is one of the more unusual deities, as he is a servitor of many other powers more than one who has active concerns of his own. He is a guardian of secrets and items of power, but his guardianship is not absolute. He designs traps, tricks, and riddles to test those who search for his charges in order to determine only those he deems worthy gain them. His few worshipers similarly focus on guardianship, although with a much lower focus on testing those who search for their wards.

Parrafaire (PDF Version)
(The Naga Prince, the Riddling Serpent, the Taipan Trickster, the Coiled Guardian)
Demipower of Carceri, CN

Portfolio:                 Guardianship
Aliases:                     None
Domain Name:           Minethys/Trickster’s Delight
Superior:                   Shekinester
Allies:                       Dumathoin, Emmantiensien, Gaerdal Ironhand, Gorm Gulthyn, Heimdall, Helm, Zagig
Foes:                           Ilsensine, Mask, Shargaas
Symbol:                     Male naga head with feathered ears
Wor. Align.:              Any

Offspring of Shekinester the Naga Queen, Parrafaire (PAR-rah-fair) represents the element of guardianship that infuses much of the naga race. This is not the duty-bound, stalwart defense of many other deities, but instead the protection of objects and powers that few creatures are intelligent and cunning enough to make use of. He guards his wards not with death and pain, but mind games, riddles, and complex traps designed to force those who encounter them to think quickly and act decisively.

Described in naga mythology as the offspring of Shekinester and Jazirian, who is only seen as male to nagas, Parrafaire serves his mother as a guardian of many secrets and magics. Through her, he enjoys considerable additional powers beyond what his station would allow. He designs great labyrinths around his charges, which extra-dimensional spaces, traps, and puzzles around every turn to confuse and confound seekers of his charges. Over the many centuries of his godhood, he has served many deities and mortals throughout the planes, some known widely, but many not. He has his own views of what his duties entail, and while he will not violate the letter of his contract, he may violate the spirit if he deems a seeker worthy. He was once tasked with guarding an item of great danger to an immortal king on some obscure Prime Material world, but the contract had a clause stating that “no man shall lay hand upon” the item. One of his avatars guarded it faithfully for centuries from all who tried to penetrate the vault, until,one day a cunning young woman, armed with little besides her wits and a flair for flattery managed to free the item from its resting place with her foot. Seeing his contract fulfilled, he granted the young woman the item which she used to slay the king and free her land from his tyranny. Not all such tales have such a hint of betrayal however; many wise beings learned quickly that he operated best as a warden of secrets and magics that should only be released under special circumstances.

The Naga Prince has little time to cultivate alliances, or nurse grudges for that matter. He has much in common with other deities of protection and guardianship, but while he may consider them allies, most see him as too flighty and arbitrary to perform his duty properly. He can also call on some deities whom he has served well in the past; this is not to say he prevented all access to his charges, but instead allowed them to be liberated by creatures exactly as intended by those he served. The most famous member of this group is Dumathoin, but less well-known are the powers Zagig and Emmantiensien. Exactly what he guarded for these deities is rarely recoded, although there are many myths and legends surrounding each such task. On the flip side of the coin are those few powers who feel betrayed by his performance, or who have been foiled by his traps and riddles. Most famous in the former category is Ilsensine, the illithid god; many stories connect this antagonism to the theft of magical knowledge by Diirinka and Diinkarazan, although this is in fact pure speculation.

Unusually for a demipower, Parrafaire can have up to ten avatars at a time, and is able to send them to the Prime Material plane, or any other plane, as desired; this is a special boon granted him by his mother, Shekinester, and it is believed that should she die, he would immediately lose all but one of them. Exactly why she has done this is unknown, but likely so she can make use of him as a guardian throughout the planes. The Naga Prince never sends his avatars to other planes for his own reasons, however; only when contracted to guard some item or location does he do so, and it is rare for fewer than seven of them to be on missions at any given time. He delights in building great mazes filled with devious yet non-lethal traps, puzzles, decoys, diversions, and cryptic clues to surround his charges, and will often confront intruders to present riddles directly before he will let them pass. His sole major weakness is flattery that focuses on the cleverness and ingenuity of his tricks and puzzles; heartfelt compliments about the difficulty and sneakiness of his challenges will go a long way with the Naga Prince. He cannot abide simple attempts to deceive or trick him, unless they are spectacular in their conception and execution, and genuinely surprising to him.

Parrafaire’s Avatar (12-HD Naga, Illusionist 25, Thief 20)
Parrafaire appears as a long serpent with a male human head with feathered ears, and he sports a pair of small yet strong feathered wings about a quarter of the way down his body. Running the length of his back are long, sharp spines that get shorter closer to his tail; when he is angry, they can rise like hackles and shake softly. His coloration can shift with his mood and surroundings, but normally consists of green, turquoise and gold scales in a reticulated pattern, while his feathers tend to be pale blues, yellows, and oranges. The skin of his face is golden brown, pale amber eyes, and glossy blue-black hair. He draws his spells from all schools of magic, but favors illusions, abjurations, and alterations over all others.

AC 0; MV 12, Fl 48 (MC A); HP 117; THAC0 9; #AT 1
Dmg 1d8 (bite)
MR 60%; SZ L (10 feet long)
Str 17, Dex 19, Con 15, Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 17
Spells W: 6/6/6/6/6/6/6/6/5*
Saves PPDM 3; RSW 3; PP 4; BW 4; Sp 4
* Numbers assume one extra illusion/phantasm spell per spell level.

Special Att/Def: Parrafaire favors using his magical powers to confound foes or dissuade them from attacking. If attackers persist, he prefers to retreat, but if unable to do so, he will bite foes, injecting a unique poison that causes confusion for 1 turn unless a saving throw versus poison is successful with a −4 penalty. Three times per day he can cast feeblemind, globe of invulnerability, and maze; in addition, he can instill fear in a cone (as the wand) three times per day.

The Naga Prince wears a gold band on his tail that functions as a ring of fire resistance and a ring of warmth; in addition, it confers a +4 bonus to all his saving throws. He is immune to normal weapons, as well as all poisons, paralysis, gaseous attacks, fear, sleep, hold, mind-controlling magics and psionics, and all illusion/phantasm spells.

Other Manifestations
The Naga Prince’s manifestations typically take the form of some sort of magical trap or glyph that is strategically placed to aid a follower in their duties as a guardian. These are most commonly used to guard a passage leading to the follower’s charge that they had no way of knowing about (as opposed to one they missed due to a lack of diligence). Almost any protect spell can appear, including fire traps, sepia snake sigils, and glyphs of warding. Otherwise, Parrafaire uses subtle omens and feelings to direct a follower to something he wishes they guard. He has no other common manifestations, although he has occasionally appeared as a ghostly image to give direct instructions to nagas; he never appears in this way to any other worshiper.

Parrafaire is served primarily by serpents of all sorts but especially cobras, as well as spectators and observers, and guardian yugoloths. He does not show his favor through any discoveries, but has been known to send feelings of being disapprovingly watched when he is disappointed by the actions of a priest, especially when they do not appear to be guarding a charge sufficiently well.

The Church
Clergy:                      Specialty priests, shamans
Clergy’s Align.:      LN, N, CN
Turn Undead:           SP: No, Sha: Yes
Cmnd. Undead:           SP: Yes, Sha: No

All clerics and specialty priests of Parrafaire receive religion (naga) as a bonus nonweapon proficiency. Nagas who worship Parrafaire and have access to priest spells use his specialty priest sphere list, even if not specialty priests.

Parrafaire’s small humanoid clergy is rarely encountered, with many worlds having virtually no members of his clergy. He is occasionally worshipped by savage human tribes, especially those who believe they must protect or defend some site or artifact from misuse. They are often on good terms with other deities of defense and protection, as well as non-evil trickster clergies, should they be in contact with them. Nagas who worship or revere the Naga Prince typically keep themselves isolated from the humanoid clergy, although a few choose to guide or teach the non-naga who worship Parrafaire.

The humanoid clergy of the Naga Prince build no temples. Instead, they take ancient sites, ruins, crypts, and other places that may contain items or knowledge worth protecting or guarding as holy sites and places of worship. Within these locales, they set up shrines to worship at, which usually consist of a freestanding plinth carved to resemble a coiled serpent, with a feathered human-like head at the top. Feathers of various colors, dyed if desired, are placed about the plinth and regularly changed for fresh ones. Followers believe Parrafaire can observe the sites through such plinths, in order to keep watch on his followers and their activities. Nagas who worship Parrafaire inhabit similar sites, but they do not build any religious structures at which to worship.

Novices of the Naga Prince are called Unhatched, and full priests are called Watching Serpents. The priesthood eschews individual titles, and instead refers to each other as Brother/Sister Guardian. Nagas who worship Parrafaire never use titles of any sort. Specialty priests of the Naga Prince are called Coiled Guardians. Parrafaire’s clergy contains a somewhat greater number of males (58%) than females (42%). Shamans (84%) outnumber specialty priests (16%) by a considerable margin, although the latter group is generally only found among reptilian worshippers or on the planes. Most of the Naga Prince’s priesthood is human (65%), lizard men (18%), ophidians (10%), yuan-ti (3%), marls (2%), and assorted other reptilian races (hurwaet, tortles, etc.; 2%). Nagas do not consider themselves part of the clergy, even when worshiping Parrafaire or teaching other creatures his tenets.

Dogma: Skill, mental acuity, and determination are the marks of true greatness. Those who show their worth through challenges, tests, and puzzles have shown their ability to wield power. Items and places of power should be protected and guarded against those unworthy of their power. Challenge those who would wield such power to prove their worth, and keep the power from those who fail the testing.

Day-to-Day Activities: The clergy of the Naga Prince are most often found acting as protectors or guardians of sites or relics that they believe hold great power. They hold these places against those they believe are unworthy, and set up elaborate traps and tests against those who would gains the powers they guard. Such tests are typically not lethal, but there is no doctrinal objection to making them deadly. Their tests always have multiple parts, and the clergy expands upon them regularly. They believe those who can solve the puzzles have shown their worth to make use of the power they guard, regardless of their moral outlook or plans for the power. Such things are beyond the clergy’s concern. They generally have few significant interests beyond that which they guard.

Important Ceremonies/Holy Days: Parrafaire’s clergy observes no common rites or holy days. They do not believe their faith requires any outward shows of devotion beyond what they do to guard their charges, and consider most ceremonies a waste of time and energy. Shamans have a slightly different view, however; they typically hold regular ceremonies and rituals designed to preach the importance of their duty to the tribe, and extol the service the tribe does to their deity through their guardianship. Such ceremonies are never more often than once every two months, with twice a year being the most common interval.

Major Centers of Worship: Very few holy sites are known to the Naga Prince’s clergy on the Prime Material plane. Few of his priests travel far, and they do not maintain a far-flung, hierarchical organization; sites deemed holy are local to a handful of priests or a tribe that venerates Parrafaire. His planar clergy is another story, however. Like his Prime Material followers, his planar priesthood is neither organized nor hierarchical, but they do maintain a basic level of communication, such that most priestly groups are aware of and meet three or four other groups at irregular intervals. Rather than act as guardians themselves, they are often tasked with designing traps or defenses for other beings, and they can learn more of their craft by visiting locations that Parrafaire has guarded in the past; when hearing of a possible site, they attempt to make a pilgrimage their at their earliest convenience. Few such sites are widely known, but of those that are, the most famous is the Vault of Dumathoin. This vault is no longer used by the Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain, though it is now inhabited by his petitioners. At some point in the past, however, this small underground vault near the Dwarven Mountain in the Outlands was one of Dumathoin’s many hidden caches, kept secret and guarded by an avatar of Parrafaire until some dwarves were cunning enough to penetrate the vault, solve the tests and traps the Naga Prince laid for them, and carry off the valuables hidden within. Some of the challenges Parrafaire devised can still be studied, although none remain intact. The petitioners dislike the intrusions, but have been commanded by their deity to allow the Parrafairan clergy access, so long as they are unobtrusive and respectful.

Affiliated Orders: Parrafaire’s clergy maintains no martial or monastic orders.

Priestly Vestments: The Parrafairite clergy favor colorful robes that mimic snake scales through painting, dyeing, or embroidering, with colorful feathers secured at the shoulders and chest. They keep their heads bare, with hoods and caps of any sort never worn during ceremonies. Human worshipers favor short cropped haircuts, and some lizard men shamans acquire or make wigs of hair or fur to wear during their ceremonies. The holy symbol of the priesthood is a small snake or mammal skull decorated with feathers, or a small brass model or cameo of a naga’s face with a pair of feathers attached.

Adventuring Garb: When traveling, clergy of the Naga Prince prefer scale armor and piercing weapons, such as spears and bows. They may make use of poison, but tend to favor debilitating or paralytic poisons over deadly varieties. Their equipment is frequently adorned with colorful feathers, and human members of the clergy tend to entwine feathers in their hair as well, especially behind the ears.

Specialty Priests (Coiled Guardians)
Requirements:          Constitution 12, Intelligence 14, Wisdom 14
Prime Req.:                Intelligence, Wisdom
Alignment:                CN
Weapons:                   All piercing (wholly Type P) weapons
Armor:                       Any up to scale armor, lamellar, and shields
Major Spheres:         All, astral, creation, divination, guardian, summoning, thought, wards
Minor Spheres:         Charm, healing
Magical Items:         Same as clerics
Req. Profs:                Set snares
Bonus Profs:             Ancient history (home region)

• Coiled guardians may be of any race eligible to become priests, although most are humans or reptilians (lizard men, ophidians, yuan ti, etc.).
• Coiled guardians are able to find/remove traps as a thief of the same level.
• Coiled guardians can cast phantasmal force (as the 1st-level wizard spell) once per day. They may only create inanimate objects with this power, but they persist for one round per level once they stop concentrating.
• At 3rd level, coiled guardians can cast ward against exhaustion (as the 1st-level priest spell) once per week.
• At 5th level, coiled guardians can cast glyph of warding (as the 3rd-level priest spell) once per week.
• At 7th level, coiled guardians gain minor access (1st through 3rd level) to the wizard school of illusion/phantasm. They may memorize these spells as if they were priest spells of the same level, but no more than 75% of their slots can be devoted to these spells.
• At 7th level, coiled guardians can cast hallucinatory terrain or illusionary wall (as the 4th-level wizard spells) once per day.
• At 9th level, coiled guardians can cast advanced illusion (as the 5th-level wizard spell) or permanent illusion (as the 6th-level wizard spell) once per day.
• At 12th level, coiled guardians can make a non-damaging symbol (as the 7th-level priest spell) once per week.
• At 15th level, coiled guardians can cast maze (as the 8th-level wizard spell) once per week.

Parrafairite Spells
1st Level
Ward Against Exhaustion (Pr 1; Abjuration)
Sphere:                    Wards
Range:                     Touch
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 1 day/2 levels
Casting Time:          5 rds.
Area of Effect:         10-ft. cu./level
Saving Throw:        None

By means of this spell, the caster may place a ward against sleep, tiredness, and mental exhaustion in an area. The ward can affect one room up to one 10-foot cube per level (so 4 10-foot cubes at 4th level). This spell prevents normal sleep and mental tiredness for all creatures within the area of effect. The ward has no effect on physical tiredness from exertion, although creatures need only rest to recover, not sleep. If affected by magical sleep, this ward grants a normal saving throw if none is normally allowed, and a +4 bonus to any normally allowed saving throws. This spell has no effect on hunger, thirst, or other normal daily needs. Any creature that has spent more than 48 hours within a ward against exhaustion must sleep for a full 8 hours uninterrupted within an hour of leaving the warded area, or they fall immediately into a deep slumber wherever they stand.

The material component for this spell is a pinch of dried coffee seeds, tea leaves, or kola nuts.

3rd Level
Glyph of Warding: Parrafaire’s Trap (Pr 3; Abjuration, Evocation, Illusion)
Sphere:                    Guardian
Range:                     Touch
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 Until Discharged
Casting Time:          Special
Area of Effect:         Special
Saving Throw:        Special

A glyph of warding is a powerful inscription magically drawn to prevent unauthorized or hostile creatures from passing, entering, or opening. The glyph of warding: Parrafaire’s trap is favored by priests of the Naga Prince. No other priesthoods are known to use it. The conditions, limitations, and material components for casting a glyph of warding: Parrafaire’s trap are the same as for a normal glyph of warding.

When triggered, Parrafaire’s trap creates an illusionary trap, similar to a wide variety of common mechanical traps, such as a hidden ballista bolt, a flight of arrows, a falling rock, a pit trap, etc. The illusion includes appropriate olfactory, audial, and visual elements. Illusionary damage from these traps cannot exceed 4d6 points of damage across all elements of the illusion. The glyph has no illusionary element prior to being discharged; in other words, when cast, it cannot cloak a pit or conceal a secondary passage. The discharged glyph can create illusions of pits or passages, however, and those affected can come to believe that they have fallen through a pit or been propelled through a passage, and the elements of the glyph (arrows, rocks, pits, etc.) persist for five rounds per caster level, unless disbelieved. At 15th level, the trap created by the spell can in fact be real, although not permanent. A pit trap would deal damage, but then deposit the victim back where they originally were affected by the pit, for example. Finally, in addition to normal methods of bypassing the glyph, the caster can inscribe a riddle at the location; solving it temporarily disables the glyph for 1 turn.

5th Level
Summon Guardian Yugoloth (Pr 5; Conjuration/Summoning)
Sphere:                    Summoning
Range:                     5 yds.
Components:           V, S, M
Duration:                 Special
Casting Time:          3 turns
Area of Effect:         1 guardian yugoloth
Saving Throw:        None

Using this spell, the priest can summon a guardian yugoloth to protect something of importance. The yugoloth is under the priest’s complete control, and will obey the commands of the priest even after the priest’s death. The yugoloth cannot pass more than 90 yards of the charge; attempting to do so is met with a solid, impenetrable force.

The type of yugoloth that can be summoned varies by caster level. Up through 13th level, only least guardian yugoloths can be summoned. At 14th through 18th level, lesser guardian yugoloths can be summoned; only those priests of 19th level or higher can summon greater guardian yugoloths. In order to complete the summoning, incense worth 500 gp must be burned, and a single gem of great value is consumed. The gem must be worth 500 gp to summon a least guardian yugoloth, 1000 gp to summon a lesser guardian yugoloth, and 1500 gp to summon a greater guardian yugoloth.

The yugoloth serves until the terms of the contract have been met, or for a number of years equal to the caster’s level. Spells below 6th level in power cannot end the binding of this spell early.

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