Selket (Apath)

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Mistress of the Beautiful House.

The deserts of Osirion contain many species of venomous scorpions, and the scorpion goddess Selket is both a protective and punitive deity, healing venomous bites and stings and afflicting the wicked with her own deadly sting. Like many of the ancient Osirian gods, she is a funerary deity, and she is responsible for protecting the canopic jar that holds the deceased's intestines.

Selket is the goddess of embalming, and her epithet, Mistress of the Beautiful House, refers to the embalming pavilion where bodies are prepared for burial.

Along with Isis, Neith, and Nephthys, Selket assists Anubis in protecting the dead. She is often paired with Neith, as Isis is with Nephthys, and in the form of seven scorpions, she guarded Isis when Isis was pregnant with Horus. When a woman later refused the expectant mother shelter, it was Selket who punished the woman for turning Isis away.

Selket also guards the other ancient Osirian gods against the poisonous bite of Apep, and has assisted Ra on numerous occasions in his battles against the Devourer of the Dawn. Selket normally appears as a woman wearing a scorpion with a raised tail on her head, or more rarely, as a lustrous black scorpion with the head of a woman.

Selket's priests are commonly found working as healers and embalmers in towns and villages. The goddess has few temples, but she is sometimes worshiped in the shrines of Anubis, Isis, Neith, or Nephthys.

Alignment: CG goddess of embalming, healing, and scorpions.

Weapon: Scorpion whip.

Symbol: Red scorpion.

Animal: Scorpion.

Pathfinder Domains

Chaos (Azata), Good (Azata), Healing (Restoration), Repose (Ancestors, Gravekeeper), Protection (Purity).

Pathfinder Traits

Child of the Temple You have long served at a temple in a city, and not only did you pick up on many of the nobility’s customs, you spent much time in the temple libraries studying your faith. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), and Knowledge (religion) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.

Defy Madness Your direct involvement with supernatural and alien forces has left you less vulnerable to the insanity they cause. You gain a +1 trait bonus on any saving throws against confusion, insanity, madness, and Wisdom damage and drain.

Pathfinder Obedience

Meditate in an embalming parlor or lying on a coffin. Roll and unroll stretches of linen while reciting prayers from the book of the dead. Gain a +4 profane bonus against effects that cause slowness or magical aging, or poison.

Boons

1. Blessing of the Beautiful House (Sp) ray of enfeeblement 3/day, gentle repose 2/day, or slow 1/day
2. Curse of Brittle Bones (Sp) Once per day, you can use a powerful bestow curse, heightened to a 7th-level spell. This special curse causes the creature cursed to suddenly grow to venerable age. This curse imparts a –6 penalty to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, but does not grant any bonus to Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma. This ability is the equivalent of a 7th-level spell.
3. Emperor Scorpion (Sp) You can summon a celestial giant emperor scorpion once per day, as summon monster IX.

External Links

• Selket at Pathfinder Wiki.