Name: Ellsbeth
Symbol: A frilly handkerchief or a aennin with attached veil
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral

Known to those who would call upon her as Our Lady of Timely Rescues and to those who know her well as The Drama Queen, Ellsbeth is the Petty Goddess of Damsels in Distress. She is depicted as a beautiful human female, lithe, fair of skin and hair, though occasionally she sports red tresses and light freckles. Her two front teeth are noticeably oversized.

Many a fair lady, graced with a timely rescuer, has given credit to Ellsbeth after calling to the goddess in her hour of need. Little do they know that they usually have Ellsbeth to thank for their harrowing experience in the first place. Ellsbeth loves being rescued. Seeing her brave champion fight and emerge victorious, smiling contentedly as he carries her off, into the sunset. Or, almost as often, wailing dramatically, upon witnessing his pitiful death. Much of her time is spent arranging and playing out these little dramas. She loves being the heroine, but she’s also quite the voyeur and when in one of her more pensive moods, will set up some unsuspecting victim to be endangered, making sure a would be savior arrives just in time to deliver the lady, or die trying. She’s always nearby, enjoying the spectacle, usually hiding in the form of a squirrel or rabbit, but never interfering in the actual combat, as she enjoys the tragic death of a hero almost as much as seeing him triumph.

Upon those occasions when the champion fails, Ellsbeth will usually have no trouble disentangling herself from the situation. If some poor mortal was playing the Damsel, the goddess may decide to blame the victim for her rescuers failure and leave the poor lady to her fate. When Ellsbeth’s chosen gallant is victorious, she will become quite irked if a romantic involvement doesn’t ensue and may use magic to force the issue, or even punish any participants, not playing their part correctly.

For those who’ve wondered why a Dragon might demand a young maiden as tribute, instead of cold hard cash, this is due to Ellsbeth bewitching the creature. A brave knight, saving a fair maiden from the clutches of an evil dragon, is the goddess’ favorite sort of Rescue and one she will take great pains to arrange.

She is sometimes called upon by damsels legitimately in distress, or by their would-be rescuers, and she does, occasionally, answer a call for aid, arising from a situation for which she wasn’t responsible. So long as the tableau is close enough to her ideal, to excite her imagination. The involvement of an actual Cavalier or Paladin or an actual dragon (preferably in it’s lair), or if the damsel and champion are already romantically involved, makes the supplicant much more likely to draw her attention (+1 bonus on the Prayer check for each such factor).

Prayer Check	Results
Roll = Score	The champion’s primary weapon becomes the equivalent of a Sword +2, Dragonslayer for 24 hours (replacing any existing magical bonuses), whether or not this would actually be useful in the given situation.
Roll < Score	The supplicant gains the benefits of a bless spell (if the champion) or a protection from evil spell (if the damsel) for 1d6 hours.
Roll > Score	Ellsbeth will ignore the supplicant.
Natural 20	The goddess is perturbed and will arrange for another maiden associated with the situation (perhaps a sister of the damsel or champion) to be captured and threatened within the next 1d3 days. This is usually by a creature at least 1 level higher than the threat currently being faced.