Loviatar | |
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Alias(es): | The Maiden of Pain, The Willing Whip |
Power: | Intermediate deity |
Pantheon: | Faerûnian pantheon |
Symbol: | A nine-stranded whip, with barbed strands |
Alignment: | Lawful evil |
Cleric alignment: | LN, NE, LE |
Portfolio: | Pain, hurt, agony, torment, suffering, torture |
Worshippers: | Beguilers, torturers, evil warriors, the depraved |
Canon NWN2 domains: | Evil Law Strength |
Other canon domains: | Retribution, Suffering |
Favoured weapon (NWN2): | Flail |
Canon favoured weapon: | Scourge - "Painbringer" |
Allies: | Shar, Malar, Talona |
Enemies: | Ilmater, Sharess |
Loviatar (pronounced loh-VEE-a-tar), also known as The Maiden of Pain and The Willing Whip, is the evil goddess of agony. Loviatar is a cold-hearted bully, calculating and despotic; she is the master of inflicting physical and psychological suffering and her portfolio includes Pain, Hurt and Torture. Her symbol is a nine-stranded whip, with barbed strands.
Bringing pain and suffering is the aim of all Loviatans, either through physical torture or sometimes more subtly and psychologically. Beauty, intelligence and acting are useful attributes of a Loviatan, but the ability to fully understand someone is the best skill a Loviatan can acquire, as knowing someone fully can help a Loviatan inflict maximum pain, one way or another. Loviatar's followers are encouraged to wipe out Ilmater's followers from the face of the Realms.
Loviatans often engage in self-flagellation, often in the morning when praying for spells. They celebrate each season with the Rite of Pain and Purity, a ritual that involves followers dancing on glass, thorns or barbed-wire while being whipped by higher-level Loviatans. A smaller ritual occurring every twelve days involves followers passing their bodies through the flames of candles.