Istus (Greyhawk Action)

Greyhawk Action!

The lady of fate, is often mentioned in ceremonies but attracts little true devotion. Her cult is monastic and rarely makes a spectacle of itself.

The Baklunish pantheon is headed by Istus (IS-tus), but she rarely intervenes and her actions concern few. Day-to-day affairs are handled by more practical gods. She is known among the Baklunish as the greatest power, and acknowledged in parables and idioms such as "If fate allows!".

Istus is the most powerful of the Baklunish deities. She appears as a Baklunish woman of any age or stature, always carrying her mystical gold spindle (her holy symbol) with which she creates the strands of fate. She is aloof from all other gods, even those of her own pantheon, as she concerns herself solely with the fate of the universe and its inhabitants. Her occasional companion is a cloudlike being believed to be a prince from the Plane of Time.

She is honored in the Common pantheon as the lady of fate, but her cult is small and poor.

In Synchretism she is seen as the power behind the small moon, Celene, the Suel god Celestian who watches over the stars and planets. As Cyndor he is the Suel god of time and continuity, the handyman of Lendor. She has sponsored ascended humans who are less distant than she is, trying to guide people to live regimented, industrious lives for their own betterment. They include Labelas Enorteh the elven god of longevity and time, Merikka the Oerdian calendar godess and regulator of seasons, and finally Bralm the Suel god of industriousness and insects.

Everything is connected to every other by invisible strands that push and pull over time. The choices a person makes in life affect the pull of some strands, allowing one to alter fate in a small way, but some of these webs of fate have a strong and inevitable pull that cannot be escaped. The perceptive can come to understand these strands and watch them to predict the future. Accepting your destiny is the greatest service you can make to yourself, for dishonesty about your role in the world leads to ruin and disaster.

Clerics of Istus have seen the extremes of fate, from innocents dying horrible deaths and sadists controlling kingdoms to children recovering from mortal illness and despots felled by simple accidents. Because of this, most of her clerics are cynical or stoic, but some kinder individuals serve her because they feel they were rewarded by fate. They are called upon to make predictions and divinations for important personage all over the world.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral.

Weapon: Net, bola.

Symbol: Gold spindle.

Action Domains

Flux, Life, Order, Spiritual, Time.

Pathfinder Domains

Chaos, Knowledge, Luck (Fate), Law, Nobility.

Pathfinder Traits

• Centered
• Glimpse of Faith

Pathfinder Obedience

Deliberately lose yourself in a strange place. If there is nowhere for you to lose yourself, blindfold yourself and wander boldly for 200 steps. Gain a +4 sacred bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity provoked by casting spells or using spell-like abilities.

Boons

1. Seer (Sp) true strike 3/day, augury 2/day, or see beyond 1/day
2. Serendipitous Reaction (Su) Three times per day, you can knock aside a ranged attack that would have otherwise hit you, as if you had the Deflect Arrows feat. You need not be aware of the attack to use this ability. If you already have Deflect Arrows, you may use this feat an unlimited number of times per day, and can use it even if you are unaware of an attack.
3. Quickstep (Su) Once per day, when you would be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points for any reason, you can choose to ignore up to 10 points of damage from the attack or effect that so damaged you, possibly putting you back above 0 hit points.