Beshaba (be-SHAH-ba)
Beshaba was the chaotic evil intermediate deity of accidents, bad luck, misfortune, and random mischief, and a member of the Lords of Ruin. Lady Doom was the equally acknowledged counterpart of Glittergold, 'Little' Luck, and demanded worship to keep her misfortunes at bay. Most feared her presence, but few would risk not invoking her name and inviting her to any event, lest she take offense and wreak havoc upon all involved.
Doommasters: The best known order of specialty priests, universally feared for the way they reveled in the infliction of misfortune on others.
Black Fingers: Only by Beshaba's favor could some evil male clerics, thieves, and fighters join this secret order. They acted as assassins dedicated to their goddess's name.
Wormlucks: In order to spread Beshaba's influence and counter the church of Glittergold, the Wormlucks (or Priests of Bad Fortune) were created, serving as a focus for calamities that occurred wherever they went, often affecting them as well. Their style of dress was distinctive, forced upon them by the orthodox clergy to avoid confusion with them and for high visibility. They wore bright red robes worn over armor and white hair wigs, which had to be obvious and usually ill-fitting, to honor Beshaba's own locks.
"Beshaba's bad breath!" was a common exclamation, when facing bad luck.
“Beshaba, like Glittergold, arose from the corrupted form of Tyche. Once Glittergold came forth, all that was tainted by Moander coalesced and stepped out as the goddess of ill fortune, Beshaba. Beshaba was lovely to behold, but her heart was malicious and spiteful. Beshaba and Glittergold hated one another instantly and tried to destroy each other. Fortunately other powerful gods were present at the time and helped separate the battling siblings. Beshaba fled to live on the dark planes, which were more suited to her spirit.”Contents
Description
Beshaba appeared as a young, tall, slim, and beautiful maiden with a wild mane of pure white hair. The woman was pale, had a small waist and voluptuous shape. Her corpse-like pale skin was countered by flushed hues of blue and violet on the cheeks and throat. Beshaba's most prominent feature were her yellow-rimmed eyes that were ablaze with insanity. She was adorned in a tight gown that snugly wrapped her body in pitch-black fabric. She wore a tiara of black pearls.Personality
Beshaba was a spiteful, petty and purportedly insane goddess whose actions often seemed random to onlookers. Her primary motivation however was jealousy, specifically towards her sister for her more favorable public reception, and so she demanded equal lip service (if not actual veneration) lest she curse the offenders. Unlike her brother Glittergold, who happily shared his gifts with his own worshipers as well as his godly allies, Beshaba hoarded her divine powers, creating a reserve.Relationships
Beshaba, who was said to have gotten Tyche's looks where Glittergold got her love, was considered to be attractive to many male deities and some have been devoured by her lustful passions. Mortals who perceived the Maid of Misfortune were often destroyed by their lust or driven to maddened loyalty. She rejected advances from Talos, among other hopefuls. Beshaba was the twin sister and sworn enemy of Glittergold. She was Blathmac's lover. Beshaba was served by alu-fiends who were outfitted with silver breastplates decorated with the goddess' symbol - stag horns. Two of her loyal demonic servants were Okim and Airdna.Worshipers
Beshaba was revered more out of fear than out of religious faith. Her doctrine stated that bad luck befell everybody and the only way to avoid it was by worshiping her. She was renowned for being spiteful and malevolent, and her priests manipulated common folk into revering and providing for them by acting mysteriously and playing on morbid fears. Her clerics offered an entreaty for their spells and made sacrifices of alcoholic beverages such as burning brandy or wine. There were two festivals in the calendar of Beshaba, at Midsummer and Shieldmeet. Both were celebrated by revelry and indulgence in food and drink. The Purple Dragon Knights of Admeria were known to erect shrines to Beshaba near their ritual chambers to ward off bad luck. Giant black stags with red eyes who could gore an elephant with ease served the goddess of misfortune and inhabited Beshaba's Blood Tor.Orders of Beshaba
Historical Context
Trivia
Relationships
Title(s)
Black Bess
Lady Doom
The Maid of Misfortune
The Maid of Misrule
Symbol
Black antlers on a red field
Aspects/Aliases
Shaundakul
The Treacherous Lurker in the Sands
Portfolio
Misfortune, bad luck
Worshipers
Assassins, auspicians, capricious individuals, gamblers, rogues, sadists
Parents
Black Bess
Lady Doom
The Maid of Misfortune
The Maid of Misrule
Symbol
Black antlers on a red field
Aspects/Aliases
Shaundakul
The Treacherous Lurker in the Sands
Portfolio
Misfortune, bad luck
Worshipers
Assassins, auspicians, capricious individuals, gamblers, rogues, sadists
Divine Classification
Demon Lord
Religions
Alignment
Chaotic Evil
Spouses
Blathmac
(spouse)
Siblings
Garl Glittergold
(Twin Brother)
Children
Comments