Viconia DeVir/Combat

	Mother Superior of Shar
Viconia DeVir
	Stats
	Level 11
Race	Lolth-Sworn Drow
Type	Humanoid
HP	124; 161Tactician
AC	20
Movement Speed	9m / 30ft
Size	Medium
Weight	75 kg / 150 lbs
Initiative	+4
	Passive features
	Born into Darkness Darkvision Fey Ancestry Magic Resistance Mortal Reminder Opportunity Attack ProtectionTactician Rebuke of the Mighty Sentinel: Opportunity AdvantageTactician Sentinel: SnareTactician Sentinel: VengeanceTactician Shadow Ambush Shar's Umbrae Sharran Veil Spellguard Sunlight Sensitivity TenacityTactician
Character information
Location	Cloister of Sombre Embrace
Faction	Shar
Experience on kill	800

This page focuses on Viconia DeVir's behaviour during her combat encounter. Viconia DeVir is able to be fought in the Cloister of Sombre Embrace, which is found under the House of Grief in the Lower City. She is joined by the members of her flock.

Attacks and abilities

Viconia fights like a level 11 Cleric, capable of casting spells up to level 6 and possessing two Channel Divinity charges.

Mapping of the Heart spells

Castigate Heartform - applies a specialized debuff depending on the character's responses to the Mapping of the Heart
Mapped Terror- applies Frightened and an additional condition depending on the character's response to "What is your greatest fear?" during the Mapping of the Heart. Cast against the same target as Castigate Heartform. Two variations have additional effects that buff the Sharrans:
- Mapped Terror: Wolves - Uniquely cast against Shadowheart if she sat on the bench in the House of Grief, this ability polymorphs Viconia and two allies into wolves.
  - Bite
  - Sinister Howl
- Mapped Terror: Spiders - Polymorphs Viconia and two allies into spiders.
  - Bite

Conditions and passives

Radiant Retort

Whenever you take Radiant damage, reflect it back at your attacker twofold as Force damage.

Nightbringer's Beloved

Regain 7d8 (7~56) hit points every time you use your Channel Divinity.

Passives

Viconia's armour and weapons grant her a few passives and boosts:

Handmaiden's Mace
- Set the wearer's Strength score to 18

Viconia's Walking Fortress
- Rebuke of the Mighty
- Spellguard

Viconia's Priestess Robe
- Shar's Umbrae
- Sharran Veil

Allies

Viconia DeVir can be fought in the Cloister of Sombre Embrace. She is joined by eighteen other Sharrans:

Two Justiciar Crusaders; Owltalon and Nightmist
Five Sharran Fidelians; Gloommask, Lamnoa, Hyrald, Uttermmask and Gydd
Ten Sharran Novices
One Sentry Fredrichk

If Shadowheart is a Dark Justiciar, she can convince some of the Sharrans to fight alongside the party.

Tactics

If fought, Viconia is one of the more difficult opponents in the game. She is continuously affected by the conditions Nightbringer's Beloved and Radiant Retort and begins the battle under the effect of Sanctuary. She has a high initiative bonus and will begin her first turn using Castigate Heartform on the character who underwent the Mapping of the Heart, followed by Mapped Terror on the same target, crippling one character with a series of debuffs. Of the several variations of Mapped Terror, Ceremorphosis is potentially the worst, fully locking down one character for at least two turns with a Stun-like effect.

The easiest way around the Mapping abilities is also the most obvious: don't do the Mapping of the Heart. Avoiding the Mapping can be done by leaving Shadowheart at Camp and passing a DC Investigation 20 check to reveal a button that unlocks the entrance to the Cloister. Without the Mapping completed, Viconia cannot use Castigate Heartform or Mapped Terror.

Viconia herself is a capable striker thanks to the strength bonus from her Handmaiden's Mace, application of Divine Strike: Poison, and potential guaranteed crits from Castigate Heartform. Disarming her can be useful, but she will still have many powerful spells to fall back on.

The Sharrans possess overwhelming strength in numbers. She is supported by almost twenty allies including two powerful Justiciar Crusaders and four Sharran Fidelian mages. All of her allies are capable of controlling the arena with Darkness and casting synergistic spells like Overwhelming Grief. All possess the Shadow Ambush passive, allowing them to deal extra Necrotic damage to the party on attacks; they also liberally use Bone Chill to prevent healing.

Necrotic Resistance and crowd control are the surest ways to increase survivability against the Sharrans' overwhelming numbers. Sources of Darkvision and/or immunity to Blind are necessary for melee strikers to wade through the clouds of Darkness. The Crusaders, Nightmist and Owltalon, are second only to Viconia in power and are great targets for Crown of Madness or Dominate Person.

Counterintuitively, this is an potentially an excellent battle to use a Cleric's Divine Intervention: Sunder the Heretical, specifically in conjunction with Death Ward, The Blood of Lathander, or a similar effect. The enormous radius and large radiant damage will wipe many weaker Novices out of the initiative order; triggering Radiant Retort will surely kill the caster, but upon revival the cleric will have rejuvenated their actions, effectively giving them an extra turn. Triggering her Radiant Retort with a small source of Radiant damage, such as Sacred Flame, can prematurely block her Sanctuary and allow her to be targeted before she gets a turn.

Trivia

The bestial polymorphs from Mapped Terror: Wolves and Mapped Terror: Spiders are illusory, and thus not targetable with Dominate Beast. They also function like a Druid's Wild Shape, with the polymorphed creature returning to their original form after the beast's hit points are depleted.

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