Chaldira Zuzaristan
Luck or Fortune
Mischief
Alternative: Freedom
Chaldira Zuzaristan is a plucky goddess✝ of luck and mischief, and a close friend to Desna. She is especially revered as a halfling deity.1234
Appearance
Chaldira is commonly depicted as a halfling woman with curly hair, a freckled face, and a tattered red and green coat held together by buttons. Her other features in these depictions vary with her worshipers'.4
Relationships
Chaldira is known to charge into battles without much planning, and as a result often needs Desna's assistance. Halflings see this as a sign of their innate racial luck and ability to survive in even the most dire of circumstances,1234 and her refusal to compromise against evil when she has luck and allies at her back. She considers herself a friend of anyone not of an evil nature. Her easygoing friendship suits Desna more than solemn deities such as Irori and Pharasma,4 and her focus on building communities endears her to Abadar and Erastil.5
She is directly opposed to Thamir despite their shared tendencies toward mischief, impulsiveness, violence, and defending against bullies and abusers. Chaldira and her followers seek to counter the misanthropic bitterness sowed by Thamir and his faithful.5
Realm
The Hearth-Grown House in the Aktun district of Axis is not quite a divine domain, but the chaotic collection of lodging and feasting halls serves as Chaldira's home and her base from which she monitors her foe Thamir and his underground domain. Chaldira also has several rooms of her own in Desna's realm of Cynosure, where she often visits to cheer up her friend or inspire her into adventures.5
Providence
Those in Chaldira's favor experience exceptionally good luck and an extraordinary ability to avoid harm in reckless endeavors. Those traits turn against followers who displease her, with the notable exception of innocents and children.4
Allies
As befits a deity of friendship, Chaldira counts many creatures across the planes as allies, whom she considers friends rather than minions or servitors. These three are the most likely of her friends to respond to spells such as planar ally:5
- Angravva
- A charming, brash, swashbuckling vulpinal armed with the famous Bravo's Barb. Angravva often follows Chaldira's dispatches to solve conflicts through diplomacy.5
- The Button Fellow
- Chaldira's herald is a 10-foot-tall rag doll covered in buttons known as both a stalwart brawler in the face of evil and a comforting confidant to those in need. He sometimes gives one of his buttons as a lucky token of his patron's favor.5
- Frog-Slayer
- A colorful celestial giant dragonfly and champion of good, Frog-Slayer was accidentally granted partial sentience. It sometimes offers its services as a mount to halfling knights.5
Church
Chaldira has no grand temples and churches exhibit little order. Chaldiran worship spaces function mainly as halls open to any in the local community, Chaldiran or not, to participate in activities that support all their community. Chaldirans recruit members of the local populace as part-time lay priests6 or to operate soup kitchens or homeless shelters from their facilities, believing that neighbors helping neighbors spreads more good than if the clergy performs all the charity work. Chaldiran priests are self-sufficient, enterprising, witty, and generous, though rarely wealthy. They serve as merry role models of harmless mischief. Her priests are social to such a degree that they are sometimes considered invasive rumormongers by those outside her faith, but Chaldirans endeavor to serve as optimistic community builders who bring hope and cheer to major life events and teach the fortuitous benefits of celebration and friendship.7
Paladins
Chaldira's paladins do not hesitate to throw themselves into battle against overwhelming odds, and are eager to be the downfall of evil foes who think they have luck on their side.
Their code acknowledges the joy of mischief and does not consider theft as inherently wrong, but prohibits them from drawing joy at the expense of others or perpetuating suffering. They act immediately to protect innocents—especially children—and help friends, and are paragons of charity and curiosity. They also charge themselves with acknowledging Chaldira when luck carries them or those around them to success.8
Religious texts
- The Peltry Fables
- Tales of the adventures of Nolly Peltry, who survives and succeeds with help from diverse and fantastical allies, are popular with children while still valued by adults.8
- Right-Side Up
- Priests often loan out this practical philosophical guide on overcoming hardship through positivity and productivity.8
Holidays
- Jestercap
- While this day of pranks on 27 Lamashan is not limited to Chaldirans, followers of the Calamitous Turn often spend months preparing elaborate feats of mischief as holy acts of devotion.8
- Swallowtail Festival
- Chaldirans trade lucky objects, such as buttons and coins, during this autumnal Desnan festival.8
References
Paizo published articles about Chaldira in Faiths of Golarion, Lost Omens Gods & Magic, and Divine Mysteries.
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Other Gods” in Gods and Magic, 51–52. Paizo Inc., 2008 .
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “Halfling Culture” in Halflings of Golarion, 17. Paizo Inc., 2011 .
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “Halfling Culture” in Halflings of Golarion, 18. Paizo Inc., 2011 .
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 “Chaldira Zuzaristan” in Faiths of Golarion, 6. Paizo Inc., 2018 .
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 “Chaldira Zuzaristan” in Faiths of Golarion, 9. Paizo Inc., 2018 .
- ↑ “Gods of the Inner Sea” in Gods & Magic, 58. Paizo Inc., 2020 .
- ↑ “Chaldira Zuzaristan” in Faiths of Golarion, 6–7. Paizo Inc., 2018 .
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 “Chaldira Zuzaristan” in Faiths of Golarion, 8. Paizo Inc., 2018 .
- Canon conflicts
- Chaldira Zuzaristan
- Halfling pantheon
- Neutral good deities
- Axis/Inhabitants
- Demigods
- Good domain deities
- Trickery domain deities
- War domain deities
- Agathion subdomain deities
- Fate subdomain deities
- Friendship subdomain deities
- Tactics subdomain deities
- Duels subdomain deities
- Confidence domain deities (2E)
- Luck domain deities (2E)
- Trickery domain deities (2E)
- Zeal domain deities (2E)
- Freedom domain deities (2E)