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Vanleth Redthorn
Female fiendish nymph assassin 4: CR 13; Medium fey (extraplanar); Hit Dice 10d6; 35 hp; Init +9; Spd 40 ft. (8 squares); AC 27 (+5 Dex, +6 armor, +6 deflection), touch 21, flat-footed 22; BAB/Grapple +6/+6; Atk +12 melee (1d6+1/19–20, +1 human bane shortsword), or +12 ranged (1d6+1/x3, +1 thundering shortbow); Full atk +12/+7 melee (1d6+1/19–20, +1 human bane shortsword), or +12/+7 ranged (1d6+1/x3, +1 thundering shortbow); SA blinding beauty, death attack, smite good, sneak attack +2d6, spells, spell-like abilities, stunning glance; SQ cold and fire resistance 10, DR 10/cold iron, DR 5/magic, darkvision 60ft., low-light vision, poison use, +2 save vs. poison, SR 15, uncanny dodge, unearthly grace, wild empathy; AL LE; SV Fort +9, Reflex +20, Will +17; Abilities Str 10, Dex 20, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 23.
Skills and Feats: Bluff +14, Climb +8, Concentration +9 (+13 casting defensively), Diplomacy +19, Disguise +10 (+12 acting), Escape Artist +14, Handle Animal +15, Heal +6, Hide +19, Jump +10, Listen +14, Move Silently +19, Sense Motive +15, Spot +14, Swim +8, Tumble +15, Use Rope +5 (+7 when binding); Ability Focus (Blinding Beauty), Combat Casting, Weapon Finesse, Improved Initiative.
Spell-Like Abilities: 1/day - dimension door. CL 7th.
Blinding Beauty (Su): This ability affects all humanoids within 30 feet of Vanleth. Those who look directly at Vanleth must succeed on a DC 21 Fortitude save or be blinded permanently as though by the blindness spell. Vanleth can suppress or resume this ability as a free action. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Death Attack: If Vanleth studies her victim for 3 rounds and then makes a sneak attack with a melee weapon that successfully deals damage, the sneak attack has the additional effect of possibly either paralyzing or killing the target (Vanleth's choice). While studying the victim, she can undertake other actions so long as her attention stays focused on the target and the target does not detect Vanleth or recognize her as an enemy. If the victim of such an attack fails a Fortitude save (DC 18) against the kill effect, she dies. If the saving throw fails against the paralysis effect, the victim is rendered helpless and unable to act for 1d6+4 rounds. If the victim’s saving throw succeeds, the attack is just a normal sneak attack. Once Vanleth has completed the 3 rounds of study, she must make the death attack within the next 3 rounds. If a death attack is attempted and fails (the victim makes her save) or if Vanleth does not launch the attack within 3 rounds of completing the study, 3 new rounds of study are required before she can attempt another death attack.
Smite Good (Su): Once per day, Vanleth can make a normal melee attack to deal +10 extra damage against a good foe.
Sneak Attack: Any time Vanleth’s opponent is denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, or if she flanks her opponent, Vanleth deals an extra 2d6 damage. This is exactly like the rogue ability of the same name.
Stunning Glance (Su): As a standard action, a Vanleth can stun a creature within 30 feet with a look. The target creature must succeed on a DC 19 Fortitude save or be stunned for 2d4 rounds. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Unearthly Grace (Su): Vanleth adds her Charisma modifier as a bonus on all her saving throws, and as a deflection bonus to her Armor Class. (The statistics block already reflects these bonuses).
Wild Empathy (Ex): This power works like the druid’s wild empathy class feature, except that Vanleth has a +6 racial bonus on the check.
Skills: Vanleth has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. She can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. She can use the run action while swimming, provided she swims in a straight line.
Assassin Spells Known (4/2; DC 13 + spell level): 1st— detect poison, ghost sound, obscuring mist, true strike; 2nd— cat’s grace, fox’s cunning, spider climb.
Typical Druid Spells Prepared (DC 13 + spell level): 0—cure minor wounds, detect magic, flare, guidance, light, resistance;1st—calm animal, cure light wounds, entangle, longstrider, produce flame, speak with animals; 2nd—barkskin, heat metal, lesser restoration, tree shape; 3rd—call lightning, cure moderate wounds, protection from energy; 4th—dispel magic, rusting grasp.
Languages:  Common, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Infernal and Sylvan
Possessions: Arrows (x20), boots of elvenkind, cloak of elvenkind, +1 human bane shortsword, potion of invisibility, ring of mind shielding, shadow essence poison (x3), +1 mithral shirt, ring of feather falling, +1 thundering shortbow, 9gp.

Before you stands an extremely attractive elven woman. The black chain shirt she’s wearing seems to cling to her body and the look she’s giving you would melt the most hard-hearted of dwarves. Her deep red hair is a striking contrast to the black chain and pale skin. Even her yellow, cat-like eyes add to this magnificent creature’s allure.

Background
Vanleth remembers nothing of her birth parents. All she remembers of her childhood is the woman who raised her and taught her how to tap the forces of nature, a woman who she only knew as mother. Never an easy child, things took a turn for the worst as she approached adulthood. In addition to the typical stresses of newly blossoming womanhood, Vanleth began suffering fits of rage and hatred that her mother could barely contain. When her eyes changed to resemble those of a cat and the stubs of two small horns appeared on her head, her mother panicked. After sitting in meditation for days, mother came back in the middle of the night with the sickle drawn and tried to kill Vanleth in her sleep. Had Vanleth been sleeping, the attempt would have succeeded. Not understanding the demonic traits, Vanleth lashed out in fury and emotional pain and killed her attacker, her mother.

The following years were difficult for Vanleth. While she regretted the loss of her mother, she felt no guilt. The woman had attacked her. She’d gotten what she deserved. Eventually, Vanleth came across a human settlement. She watched for a few days before approaching a party of woodcutters. They invited her to eat and stay with them, taking her for an elf. She had not eaten well for some time, so she agreed. That night, she awoke to them holding her down and trying to rape her. While she managed to fight them off, she suffered a serious beating at their hands. Before the sun rose again, none of the men remained intact and only one survived long enough to tell even part of the tale.

As news of the incident spread through the human community, it drew a variety of adventurers. One of those adventurers had angered a ruthless criminal in a nearby city. While this adventurer camped in the woods, he was watched by two hidden threats. Vanleth waited for the man to sleep while an assassin waited for his opportunity to complete his contract. Vanleth acted first. She sauntered into the camp, first startling, then seducing the adventurer. After agreeing to lay with him, she pushed him over and sat astride him. He was more than willing to close his eyes when she said she wished to disrobe without him watching. The knife thrust into his chest was his last surprise of the evening.

At this point, fascinated by this cool killer the half-elven assassin made his presence known. He carefully entered the clearing and introduced himself as Drogan and expressed his admiration of Vanleth’s skills. Over the course of several tense minutes of conversation, Drogan managed to convince Vanleth to stay and talk. Vanleth, fascinated by this creature with similar features, agreed but remained wary. To her surprise, Drogan did not suggest they remain together to sleep. He did request another meeting and she agreed. Over the course of two weeks, Drogan managed to talk Vanleth into joining him and learning the trade.

While the pair certainly never trusted each other, they grew to share an odd love affair. Their love was made more exciting by the belief that the other was as likely to kill as offer a kiss. Over time, Vanleth learned Drogan’s tricks and the pair became a well-known team in the kingdom’s underworld. For a time, things seemed to be going well. Both were happy, both prospered.

The assassin’s guild, while proud of their best agents, soon began to fear than they might try to take over. Certainly, no others could match their combined skills. The guild sent assassins after the king’s eldest son and slew him. When the king discovered the death of his heir, an agent of the guild appeared and explained that the attack had not been sanctioned. In fact, when Drogan and Vanleth had requested they be allowed to take the contract, the guild has refused them. The agent told the king where the pair could be found and surprised in exchange for holding the guild blameless. Of course, Drogan and Vanleth were ignorant of the crime.

The king sent a hundred men to surround Drogan and Vanleth’s home while the pair slept. They took no chances. The other residents were removed, the doors blocked, and the building torched. As the flames closed in, Drogan pushed what he owned in Vanleth’s arms and told her to avenge him. From the rooftop across the street, she watched as the building burned. She stood silently as the screams of her lover finally faltered. She waited until dawn, when the soldiers began sifting through the ashes. Then, she disappeared.

Over the course of the next few months, two seemingly unrelated things happened. Firstly, the assassinations effectively stopped within the city. There were still murders, but they were of the mundane sort. Those with the proper connections saw the assassin’s guild wither and disappear. At the same time, the city and royal guards began losing men to back street muggings, sudden bar fights, and unexplained disappearances. Soon all that remained were closeted officers and new recruits. As the average lifespan of a guard dropped, the cost to hire them rose. Once new guards were being paid triple what a veteran once made, the losses stopped. That’s when the assassinations began.

Recently:
Vanleth is about to embark on a series of attacks intended to hurt the king. Every noble house will lose a family member. Every rich merchant will bury a loved one. Once the noble and wealthy families are up in arms, each member of the royal line will become a target. Vanleth desires nothing less that the removal of the royal family, leaving the king for last.

Her preferred method is seduction. While she can literally stop a man with a look, she prefers to see the horror on a man’s face when his cheap bit of fluff slips a sword between his ribs. Her preferred weapon for assassinations is the shortsword she carries. The same sword pushed into her hands in a smoke-filled room so long ago.

Vanleth is good enough with disguises that she can usually pass for a typical elf, enhancing the racial misidentification with the addition of makeup and hiding the horn-stubs with carefully arranged hair.