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Archives of Nethys
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Esmira Vermidian

This creature's description may contain spoilers. Click to revealEsmira came to serve as Maiserene's schoolteacher not long after Raudltz and Alisendra's first child, Jinnivere, was born. She initially applied for the position of castle au pair and tutor, but that job was taken by another (whom, in time, Esmira would befriend). Even though she didn't get the position, she was so taken with the village of Maiserene that she decided to stay, taking on the role of assistant to the town's aging schoolteacher. When that teacher passed away from natural causes a few years later, the job fell to her quite naturally, as the villagers had grown fond of her sense of humor and her skill at arcane magic.

Esmira is an elderly but spry Varisian woman with long gray hair and an expression that shifts from pleased delight to stern demand with practiced ease. She wears flowing schoolteacher's robes and often paces while she talks.

Aside from delight and sternness, another expression that crosses her face is periodic sadness. On the night of the curse, Esmira helped gather the children into the schoolhouse to protect them, only to die with them as the roof burned and collapsed. While it takes her a bit to get over the fact that all of Maiserene's children are long gone, she soon settles into her new role of aiding the PCs in determining what happened to cause the curse in the first place.

Campaign Role

Esmira can not only provide spellcasting services for the PCs, but she can also aid them in their research and investigation. She's a wonderful conversationalist and is always eager to sit and chat with PCs about all manner of topics—although she prefers not to hear about the awful things that have developed in the castle. If the PCs haven't figured out how to use the standing stones at area A14, yet, she can teach them how to Meditate Among the Stones (page 36).

Side Quest

After the PCs unlock the castle grounds, Esmira approaches them to ask a favor. She talks about how she was sometimes called upon by the Arudoras to help substitute for the castle's live-in au pair and tutor when she fell ill or had to travel, and of how much trouble both of the younger Arudoras—Augsten and Jinnivere—were to handle. She listens with horror but, perhaps, not much shock if the PCs eventually share with her what became of these two Arudoras. Regardless, she notes that while her duties as a substitute instructor largely fell off in the years before the curse (as both children were, by then, adults), she did visit the au pair, Linisriel, frequently to have tea. They soon had built a friendship over the shared exertions of dealing with precocious Arudora children. While she knows Linisriel is likely long gone (if the PCs report to her about her transformation into a rakshasa, she's shocked and saddened, but thankful her friend's soul is now at peace), the last time she visited, she loaned Linisriel one of her favorite books—a tawdry romance called The Three Curious Elves If the PCs come across this book, Esmira would be grateful for its return. She can describe to the PCs the castle grounds, as well as the route she took from the trophy room to Linisriel's room in the private halls where she's sure she left the book (describing the layout of areas D15 to D7c to F2b to F4).

If the PCs return the book, she gasps in delight. At the same moment, her emotions crystallize the ambient ectoplasm into an accolade robe, which (after her surprise at its manifestation) Esmira eagerly gifts to the PCs in thanks.

Reward: Grant the PCs 40 XP for completing this side quest.

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Print Stat Block

Esmira VermidianCreature 5

Unique Medium Ethereal Incorporeal Phantom Spirit 
Source Pathfinder #224: Bastion of Blasphemies pg. 256
Recall Knowledge DC 20 (30 if Unique applies) • Ethereal (Occultism), Spirit (Occultism)
Variant female phantom
Perception +6; darkvision
Languages Common
Skills Arcana +9, Diplomacy +8, Performance +8, Society +7
Str -5, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +4
Bound to Bastardhall Unlike the typical phantom, Esmira exists fully in the Ethereal Plane and cannot shift back and forth between this plane and the Universe.
AC 14; Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +6; –1 status penalty to all saves vs. death effects
HP 50; Immunities bleed, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision; Resistances all damage 5 (except force, ghost touch, or spirit; double resistance vs. non-magical)
Bound Even in Death As phantom, but if Esmira is reduced to 0 Hit Points by any means, her soul does not return to the River of Souls. Instead, her soul is drawn into the soul vortex in the vault under Bastardhall (area I).Physical Manifestation Upon reaching rank 1, Esmira manifests a semi-physical body. She loses the incorporeal trait, her immunities and resistances, and her fly Speed, and gains a land Speed of 25 feet. She has a Strength modifier of +1, an Athletics modifier of +8, an AC of 21, 72 HP, and arcane innate spells. Her other statistics do not change.
Speed fly 25 feet
Melee [one-action] phantom dagger +7 [+3/-1] (agile, finesse, magical, versatile S), Damage 2d4+4 piercingArcane Innate Spells DC 17, attack +9; 3rd fireball, haste; 2nd dispel magic, invisibility, resist energy; 1st charm, force barrage, illusory object; Cantrips (3rd) detect magic, electric arc, light, read aura, telekinetic hand
Phantom Touch (spirit) Each time they make a Strike, a phantom can choose to deal spirit damage instead of the normal physical damage type.Spellcasting Once Esmira is rank 1 and has a physical body, she gains the following arcane innate spells. As her rank increases, her arcane spell DC and spell attack modifier increase, and she gains additional innate spells.
Rank 2 DC 19, attack +11; 4th fly; 3rd slow. Her cantrips are heightened to 4th rank.
Rank 3 DC 21, attack +13; 5th impaling spike; 4th translocate. Her cantrips are heightened to 5th rank.
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