Aya / Šerida — Goddess of Light & Divine Intercession

Game Mechanics

5.5e / 2024 — Direct Divine Manifestation

Medium Celestial (Deity), Neutral Good. AC 25; HP 600; Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (hover); CR 30; PB +9. STR 20, DEX 28, CON 28, INT 30, WIS 34, CHA 36. Saves Dex +18, Con +18, Int +19, Wis +21, Cha +22. Immunities radiant, poison; Resistances fire, psychic. Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poisoned. Truesight 180 ft.; telepathy 1 mile.

Divine Nature; Legendary Resistance (4/Day); Magic Resistance. Light Between Judgements: magical darkness within 60 feet becomes dim light unless created by an artifact or equal divine power. Intercessor: when a creature within 120 feet fails a Charisma or Wisdom save, Aya may use her Reaction to grant a reroll. Night Protection: allies within 60 feet have Advantage on Perception checks in darkness and cannot be surprised by creatures relying solely on darkness or invisibility.

Actions: Staff of Dawn +18 to hit, 3d8+5 bludgeoning plus 5d8 radiant. Morning Petition: one enemy within 120 feet makes DC 29 Charisma save; on failure it cannot target one creature Aya designates until the end of its next turn unless it first succeeds on a second Charisma save. First Light (Recharge 5–6): 60-foot cone, enemies take 45 radiant damage on failed DC 29 Con save, half on success; allies instead end frightened or charmed and gain 20 temporary hit points. Carry the Appeal (1/Day): Aya casts commune or plane shift without components, but only to seek an audience, deliver a petition or protect travellers.

Legendary Actions: Dawn Step; Staff Strike; Intercede (2); Reveal the Hidden (2) — one invisible creature within 120 ft. is outlined until end of next turn; Shelter Before Sunrise (3) — allies within 30 ft. gain resistance to all damage until start of Aya’s next turn.

5.5e cleric themes: Light, Peace and Life. Campaign Dawn Domain spells: light, sanctuary; aid, see invisibility; daylight, sending; divination, guardian of faith; dawn, greater restoration.

Pathfinder 1e — Campaign Adaptation

CR 30 / MR 8; Medium outsider (divine, good); AC 49; hp 580; Fort +27, Ref +32, Will +36; DR 15/epic; SR 41. Signature abilities: Intercessor (Su), reroll failed save 1/round; First Light (Su), radiant cone that heals allies of fear/charm; Night Protection (Su), allies ignore concealment from nonmagical darkness and gain +4 Perception; Carry the Appeal (Sp), 1/day commune or plane shift limited to petition/protection. Domains: Good, Healing, Protection, Sun, Travel.

D&D 3.5e — Campaign Adaptation

Intermediate Deity; Divine Rank 10; Outsider 20 / Cleric 20; Neutral Good. Suggested CR 38. DR 20/epic; SR 52. Salient divine abilities: Avatar, Divine Shield, Divine Spellcasting, Gift of Life, Know Secrets, See Magic. Domains: Good, Healing, Protection, Sun, Travel. Favoured weapon: quarterstaff.

What Is Aya Doing Right Now?

Aya is becoming a patron of appeals: prisoners requesting review, travellers asking protection through dangerous nights and lesser courts trying to reach greater ones. She is often invoked by people who do not deny the justice of a judgement but need mercy, context or time.

Her cult also guards night travellers. The irony is deliberate: Aya’s connection to the sun god makes her especially important when the sun is absent and mortals need someone to carry their plea until daylight returns.

Appearance & Manner

Aya appears in bright woven robes that seem lit from within, with a horned crown and the first colours of dawn behind her. She is warm but not soft-minded. Intercession is not the same as excusing harm.

Myths & Divine Relationships

Aya, called Šerida in Sumerian, is principally a goddess of light and wife of Utu/Shamash. In the Gilgamesh tradition, Ninsumun asks Aya to intercede with Shamash for Gilgamesh’s protection, especially at night when the sun god cannot watch him directly. This makes divine intercession a powerful campaign theme grounded in surviving literature.

Worship & Priesthood

Her priests serve as intermediaries. They write petitions, accompany people to courts, arrange safe travel and maintain dawn vigils. They do not promise success. Their duty is to make sure the plea is heard clearly.

Omens, Favour & Displeasure

Favour appears as the first sunlight striking a hidden road, a sealed petition arriving despite impossible obstacles, or a night watchman noticing danger one moment early. Aya disfavors denying an honest hearing, intercepting petitions, attacking protected travellers and using another person’s ignorance of procedure as a weapon.

Encounters & Adventure Use

The Unheard Petition: a dead queen’s appeal is still sealed in a temple archive and must be delivered centuries late. Night Without Dawn: Shamash’s priests cannot receive omens until Aya is rescued from a magical isolation. The Cedar Road: travellers vanish only during the hour before sunrise.

Divine Realm

The Dawn Court stands between night and the blazing halls of Shamash. Petitioners gather beneath pale gold columns while messengers move continuously between the two courts. Every doorway faces east, but dawn arrives only when Aya decides the court has heard enough.

Relics & Sacred Magic

The Tablet of Appeal guarantees that a written petition reaches the named recipient if the recipient exists and can be reached on the same plane, though it does not compel an answer. The Dawn Veil grants safe passage through ordinary darkness and reveals invisible ink at sunrise.

Historical & Mythological Context

Aya/Šerida is a goddess of light and wife of Utu/Shamash, worshipped at Sippar and Larsa. ORACC highlights her role in the Gilgamesh tradition as a figure whom Ninsumun asks to intercede with Shamash. The campaign expands that literary role into a broader patronage of petitions, mercy and protected travel.

Sources & Licensing

ORACC — Šerida/Aya: https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/Listofdeities/Aya/index.html . Game mechanics, realm, relics and present activity are original campaign adaptation.