Beast of the Week: Lady of the Lake

Re-reading Pyle's Arthur at the moment.  Haven't read this version since I was a kid.  And I'm really liking it.  Especially for its overly archaic and elaborate prose, trying to mimic the King James Bible, Malory, and an oral story-teller tradition with constant repetitions of set phrases.  "And they camest together with a crash verily as like to thunder, and their spears wast shriven to splinters, even to the truncheon thereof."  So a bit of Arthuriana for this week's Beast.

Lady of the Lake
AC: 8 (12)
HD: 3***
Move: 120 (40)
Attacks: 1 weapon or spell
Damage: by weapon
No. Appearing: 1 (1-4)
Save As: Elf 6
Morale: 6
Treasure Type: E +O (V)
Alignment: any
XP: 65

Ladies of the Lake are demi-humans related to nixies and elves.  They appear as beautiful human or elven women, clothed in the finest samite dresses.  Each makes its home within a lake, pond, river, or fountain.  These homes are typically part of the fairy realm or some other extra-dimensional space, the entrance of which is hidden in their body of water.  They avoid combat whenever possible, preferring to use their spells or to let their body guards and champions fight for them.  Ladies of the Lake use magic as an Elf of equal level, and exceptional Ladies of the Lake may have up to 10 Hit Dice and cast spells as a 10th level Elf.  They tend to have demi-human and woodland/aquatic monster guardians, and each Lady has a 50% chance to also have a knight-champion (Hero with plate & shield, lance, sword, war horse) to protect them.  Ladies of the Lake often meddle in the affairs of mortals they find interesting, and have been known to provide gifts of magic items to worthy or interesting mortals, offer information or give quests to passing adventurers, or to take steps to destroy the power of those who they find displeasing.