Exemplars of Evil

significant portion of his treasure and magic. She used this wealth
to establish herself in the isolated Soth Tarnel, a tomb dedicated
to a long-fallen hero. From her new lair, she contacted the most
skilled of Restarann’s former spies and assassins and bound them
to her service with promises of bountiful loot.
GOALS
Emmara’s descent into evil has not been without great personal
cost. The frightening dreams that started on the night
of her conversion have grown in intensity ever since.
In these nightmares, she hurtles through the pitch black
toward a bright light. All around her loom images of herself
committing acts of depravity and violence. She recognizes
some of these crimes as actions she took while in Restarann’s
service, but others are unknown to her. The comforting darkness
begins to fade, replaced by a painful burning sensation.
As she draws closer to the light, it intensifies and expands,
engulfing her. Agony wracks her body as her very soul is
peeled away. At that point she awakens, terrified.
Emmara has developed a deranged belief that the nightmares
show the passage of her remaining life and that the bright light
represents death. Because the dreams presumably show actions
that she has yet to take, Emmara has come to believe that the
more wanton cruelty she commits, the longer she will live.
Emmara has several goals. First and foremost, she wants
to survive: The prospect of death and the loss of her soul
terrifies her, and she will commit any atrocity in the hope
of extending her life. To this end, she has waylaid many
small groups of travelers and attacked isolated farmsteads.
Emmara kills most of her victims immediately, but a few
are mutilated and tortured first. She is careful
to cover her tracks, having seen how overconfidence
led to Restarann’s destruction.
She has also come to regret forging relationships
with the lich’s spies and assassins. At the
time, her vanity compelled her to prove that
she was the equal of her former master,
if not his better. Now, however, she realizes
that the agents know too much
about her, and that they are not
particularly loyal—if they were
captured by the forces of good,
they might barter for their lives
with information about her
activities. Thus, Emmara
wants them all killed before
they can talk.
Finally, her hatred has
grown into an all-consuming
lust for vengeance against the
Free City and the lord who sent
her after Restarann long ago. In her
twisted view, both are complicit in
the pain and suffering she endured
at the hands of the lich.
Emmara’s long-term goal is
to shatter the security of
the city’s residents and give
them a taste of the misery
that she has known.
Emmara Ishandrenn
USING THIS VILLAIN
Using Emmara in your campaign is simple. The details of her
home (the “Free City”) and her former employer are left vague;
you can choose any large community on or near a coast and
name any local noble as her employer. The lord who sent her after
Restarann might be someone the PCs have also worked for.
Depending on the amount of campaign time you want to
devote to Emmara’s schemes, the PCs can encounter her in
a variety of ways. Consider how far her plans have developed
and how deeply you want the party to become involved in
her story.
The simplest approach is to introduce Emmara as little
more than a random encounter. The PCs could be among a
group of travelers that she attacks; if she escapes, the PCs can
track her back to her lair and try to finish her off. Alternatively,
the player characters could come upon the aftermath
of one of Emmara’s assaults, or discover a lone survivor who
provides a chilling account of the massacre.
Rather than begin with Emmara herself, you can hook the
party by using Restarann’s old network of spies. While in
the Free City, the PCs foil the attempted murder of a former
agent of the lich. Afterward, the grateful spy confesses his
sordid past and begs for help. He recognized his assailant as
one of Emmara’s new agents, and he tells his rescuers what he
knows about the ex-adventurer. From there, the adventurers
follow a trail of clues that lead to the Soth Tarnel.
Finally, you can have the PCs run into Emmara’s minions
first. A prominent nobleman lies dead, and murderous
gangs of cutthroats stalk the streets of the Free City. A group
of local citizens begs the PCs to
end the violence.
The adventurers
intercept and defeat
a gang of Emmara’s lackeys led by Farror,
her most talented spy. Farror flees to warn
his mistress of the unexpected resistance,
and Emmara begins plotting the PCs’ downfall
before they can derail her plans.
EMMARA IN EBERRON
Emmara is a native of Sharn. Her employer
was Sava Kharisa, the City Council representative
for Lower Central. Sava is an
outspoken individual whose support for
the city’s common folk has made her
many enemies on the council.
Restarann laired beneath
the Graywall Mountains, several
hundred miles north of
Sharn. Hidden deep within the
mountain range, his lair extended
hundreds of feet below the
ground. In these dark tunnels,
the lich’s mindless servants discovered
adamantine—and a rare vein
of byeshk. Before Restarann’s
death, substantial amounts
of both metals were mined
and hidden away. Emmara
knows the location of the
Illus. by J. Zhang
CHAPTER 6
EMMARA
ISHANDRENN
97