Besmara

Besmara

(Deity)

Titles

The Pirate Queen
the Black Lady
the Sea Banshee
Sailor's Doom

Adjective

Besmaran

Realm

On board her ship Seawraith

Alignment

Chaotic neutral

Areas of Concern

Piracy
Strife
Sea Monsters

Worshipers

Pirates

Edicts

Sail the seas, stay loyal to captain and crew, take what you want

Anathema

Betray shipmates, forsake piracy, settle on land

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Trickery, War, Water, Weather

Subdomains (1E)

Deception, Duels, Oceans, Protean, Tactics, Thievery, Storms

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (2E)

Destruction, trickery, water, wealth

Favored Weapon

Rapier

Symbol

Skull and crossbones

Sacred Animal

Parrot

Sacred Colors

Black, white

Images of Besmara

Source: Inner Sea Faiths, pg(s). 22–27 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 55 (2E)

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Besmara (pronounced bes-MAR-uh), also known as the Pirate Queen, is a goddess most commonly worshiped by the sailor-folk of the Shackles or Ilizmagorti. She is said to captain her legendary ship Seawraith throughout the seas and waterways of the Great Beyond (especially the Maelstrom), making raids on places such as Hell, Elysium, Axis, and Heaven. Pirates do not tend to be a very religious lot, and generally only call on her on their deathbeds or if in extreme danger. Those few priests who do devote themselves to her generally also are captains of their own raiding ships and have a fierce reputation. Her religious symbol is a white skull and crossbones on a black field, a universal symbol of piracy.

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Dogma

As the deity of buccaneers, privateers, and those who seek their fortune through daring sea ventures, Besmara embraces a freewheeling lifestyle that celebrates defying restrictive laws and societal norms. However, she imposes a strict adherence to the pirate's code upon her followers. Once they commit themselves to a ship, they are bound to show unwavering loyalty to their captains and crews until they reach their intended destination. She demands followers seize what they want without care for who owns it, and encourages devotees to fight dirty and sow chaos if it gives them the upper hand. She follows these guidelines as well and is actively searching for an opportunity to gain more divine power by preying on other minor gods.

History

Besmara originated as a water spirit who could manipulate monstrous sea creatures, her power grew over centuries as seafarers made sacrifices in her name. Eventually, she warred with and absorbed opposed spirits of battle, gold, and wood to ascend to the status of minor deity.

Appearance

Besmara is traditionally depicted as a woman wearing a pirate's costume, with loose-fitting clothes, distinctive black boots, and perpetually wind-blown hair.

Relationships

Besmara counts Gozreh and Cayden Cailean as divine allies, and Abadar and Asmodeus as enemies.

Servants

Besmara's herald is the haunted ship called Kelpie's Wrath.

Among her more well-known planar allies are:

• Blackwarn
• Old Vengeance
• Rusizi

Church of Besmara

A Besmaran priestess.

Besmara's followers are most commonly found in Garund, particularly on the island of Ilizmagorti and the Shackles. Most of Besmara's devotees are people whose livelihood relies on piracy, either directly or indirectly. Both pirates and privateers are counted among her faithful, but followers of other faiths will also offer prayers to Besmara for good luck at sea.

Kashrishi who focus on sea creatures and storms worship Besmara, though they tend to ignore her piratical aspects.

Religious text

Besmara's religious text is called Besmara's Code. It has many elements in common with the pirate's code.

References

Paizo published major articles about Besmara in The Wormwood Mutiny and Inner Sea Faiths, as well as a minor feature in Gods & Magic.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.