Besmara
(a.k.a. The Pirate Queen, The Black Lady, The Sea Banshee, Sailor's Doom)
Besmara, 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.
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.
Divine Domains
Destruction, trickery, water, wealth
Alternate: Travel
Alternate: Travel
Tenets of Faith
Given the small numbers of Besmara’s priesthood, there
are few with the time and interest to build temples to
her. Most of her temples are repurposed buildings or
shipwrecked hulls, some of which are half-submerged.
A public temple always displays a jolly roger flag, and— much like a thieves’ guild providing services—its priest sells healing, local nautical charts, and hideout tips, or fences goods. In places where piracy is frowned upon, the temple has a public purpose (such as selling rope or barrels), and knowledge of its true nature is shared among pirates by word of mouth.
Far more common than temples are shrines to the goddess. In port towns, these shrines may be little nooks between buildings with a pirate f lag and a carving of Besmara’s face or an old ship’s figurehead, a carved mast jutting from a pier, or a whittled idol of a woman holding a cup. These shrines usually have a place to hold a stick of incense or a match, or a place to pour a cupful of rum or grog. The shrines with cups are designed so that when the visitor pours the drink into the cup, it trickles out of a hole in the bottom or through a channel in the figurine’s arm so it appears the goddess is drinking the offered beverage.
A priest living on a ship usually owns a portable shrine that doubles as an altar, and may store it in her quarters or display it on the deck where suddenly pious pirates can mutter a prayer mid-battle.
Anathema - Betray shipmates, forsake piracy, settle on land
A public temple always displays a jolly roger flag, and— much like a thieves’ guild providing services—its priest sells healing, local nautical charts, and hideout tips, or fences goods. In places where piracy is frowned upon, the temple has a public purpose (such as selling rope or barrels), and knowledge of its true nature is shared among pirates by word of mouth.
Far more common than temples are shrines to the goddess. In port towns, these shrines may be little nooks between buildings with a pirate f lag and a carving of Besmara’s face or an old ship’s figurehead, a carved mast jutting from a pier, or a whittled idol of a woman holding a cup. These shrines usually have a place to hold a stick of incense or a match, or a place to pour a cupful of rum or grog. The shrines with cups are designed so that when the visitor pours the drink into the cup, it trickles out of a hole in the bottom or through a channel in the figurine’s arm so it appears the goddess is drinking the offered beverage.
A priest living on a ship usually owns a portable shrine that doubles as an altar, and may store it in her quarters or display it on the deck where suddenly pious pirates can mutter a prayer mid-battle.
Anathema - Betray shipmates, forsake piracy, settle on land
Holidays
The church of the Pirate Queen has no official holidays. Her
old role as a master of sea monsters (many of which have
seasonal hunting grounds) means that in Garundi lands her
faith is remembered more at certain seasonal events. Thus,
some tribes may associate her with the return of reefclaws in
the summer or the ebbing of sahuagin attacks at the start of
winter. Besmara has grown beyond that role, however, and
doesn’t care about the old rituals as long as she is respected.
“Carve your name on the ever-changing sea
with a saber of terror and triumph.
Fight for plunder, fame, and glory, and earn your
place among the legends of the sea.”
—Besmara’s Code
Pirate’s Code
Most of a pirate’s code focuses on mutual defense and avoiding conflict through equal wealth distribution.- Every member of the crew gets an equal share of treasure. Anyone caught taking more than his fair share of loot, or refusing to report its discovery in a timely manner, shall be marooned. The captain receives extra shares of any treasure, as do shipwrights, carpenters, and officers to lesser degrees.
- Every member of the crew must tend to his own weapons and keep them ready for battle.
- Anyone who shows cowardice in the face of the enemy or deserts in battle shall have his throat cut or be marooned.
- No crew member shall hide his abilities from the crew. A sailor who can perform magic shall use his abilities on behalf of the ship.
- No crew member shall take a position on a new ship or talk of leaving until each crew member has acquired at least 100 gp worth of treasure through his labors.
- No fighting is allowed between crewmates. Quarrels shall be set aside until shore leave, at which point grievances may be settled with violence on shore.
- All crew members must obey the captain and his officers.
- Any pirate found stealing from crewmates shall take 30 lashes and be put ashore at port.
- The person who spots a sail shall have first pick of its loot.
- Any crew member who loses a limb in service to the ship shall be paid 80 gp for its loss.
- Every sailor has an equal right to vote in decisions put to the crew by the captain.
Children
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