Bast, Goddess of cats, fertility, childbirth, music, and dance

Bast is an ancient Egyptian goddess, known for her feline characteristics and associated with joy, fertility, and protection.

• Pantheon: Egyptian pantheon
• Deity Title: Bast, Goddess of cats, fertility, childbirth, music, and dance
• Deity Symbol: A cat, lioness, or sistrum
• Home Plane: The House of the Goddess in the Divine Realms
• Deity Level: Intermediate
• Deity Alignment: Chaotic Good
• Aliases: Bastet, Ubasti, Pasht, Ailuros
• Superior: None
• Traditional Allies: Hathor, Ra, Horus, Anubis
• Traditional Foes: Apophis, Apep, Seth
• Divine Artifact: The Sistrum of Bast, a sacred musical instrument that has the power to dispel negative energy and grant blessings of protection, healing, and fertility to those who hear its soothing sound.
• Servants: Cat Lords, Cat Warriors, Cat Familiars, and Cat Angels
• Servitor Creatures: Lions, Tigers, Leopards, and other large felines
• Sacred Animal: Cats, especially black cats
• Manifestations: Feline form, a woman with the head of a cat, the sound of a cat’s purring or meowing, the scent of sandalwood or jasmine
• Signs of Favor: Increased fertility, safe childbirth, success in music and dance, protection from disease and harm, sightings of black cats
• Worshipers: Bards, dancers, musicians, midwives, cat lovers, women seeking fertility or safe childbirth
• Cleric Alignments: CG, CN, NG
• Specialty Priests: Cat Dancers, Feline Healers, Sistrum Players
• Holy Days: The Festival of Bast, celebrated on October 31st, and the Birthday of Bast, celebrated on May 15th
• Portfolio: Cats, fertility, childbirth, music, dance, joy, sexuality, protection
• Domains: Animal, Chaos, Charm, Good, Protection
• Favored Weapon: Sistrum (light mace)
• Favored Class: Bard
• Favored Race: Tabaxi
• Duties of the Priesthood: Caring for cats, leading dances and musical performances, performing rituals for safe childbirth and fertility, protecting communities from harm
• Major Cult/Temple Sites: Bubastis, Dendera, Thebes, Memphis, Alexandria
• Benefits: Divine spells, the ability to turn into a cat or summon felines, protection from disease and harm, fertility and childbirth blessings, proficiency in music and dance, heightened senses and agility.

Bast, also known as Bastet, is a feline goddess in Egyptian mythology, revered for her nurturing and protective qualities. She is depicted as a graceful woman with the head of a lion or domesticated cat, and is closely associated with the sun and moon. Bast is a complex character, embodying both fierce and gentle aspects of femininity, and her story reflects the importance of balance and harmony in ancient Egyptian culture.

Bast is deeply connected to the natural world, and has a great love and respect for all creatures. She is a fierce protector of children, women, and domesticated animals, and is often called upon to defend them against harm. Despite her protective nature, Bast is also known for her playfulness and joyfulness, and is associated with music, dance, and celebration.

As a goddess of fertility, Bast is often called upon to bless women with children, and to aid in the safe delivery of babies. She is also associated with healing, and is said to have the power to cure illness and bring comfort to those in need.

In addition to her protective and nurturing qualities, Bast is also a skilled huntress, and is often depicted holding a bow and arrows. She is said to use her hunting skills to track down and defeat the enemies of Ra, the sun god, and to protect the pharaohs of Egypt.

Bast is a lithe and graceful feline goddess, with the head of a cat and the body of a woman, standing at around 5 feet tall. She has sleek, golden fur and bright, green eyes that glint mischievously in the light. Her long, pointed ears twitch as she listens to the world around her, and her nimble fingers flex as she toys with her jewelry. She moves with a fluid grace, her lithe form imbued with an almost hypnotic quality as she prowls through the world.

Bast’s ultimate goal is to maintain balance and harmony in the world, and to ensure that all beings are able to live in peace and prosperity. She does this through her protective and nurturing qualities, as well as her fierce determination to defend those who cannot defend themselves. As a symbol of femininity, fertility, and the natural world, Bast continues to inspire and empower women and animal lovers around the world.

Roleplaying Elements from

Liber Mysterium
The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

By Timothy S. Brannan and The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks Team
Full netbook can be found on the followng website

Dom of D20 / D&D 3e Netbooks and Downloads.

Bast is a goddess who delights in physical pleasures and yet maintains the quiet elegance of a feline. She is soft spoken and patient, but always a cunning dangerous opponent. Her worshipers are the sworn enemies of Set and his minions, and will attack them on sight.

Her consort is Aelurus, who appears as a tanned human male with a cat’s or lion’s head.

Duties of the Priesthood: Priests of Bast are required to keep cats as pets and to sample the physical pleasures of the world whenever they can. As one might imagine, this makes the worship of Bast a popular Profession.

Bast is an ancient Goddess and the mistress of all cats. Nearly every Find Familiar spell known invokes her name. Witches of Bast, few as they are, live a cat-like life style. They prefer the comforts and leisure life that cats enjoy. Then spend long afternoons lying in the sun and enjoying the sensuous side of life. Regardless, do not confuse leisure with laziness. Witches of Bast are dedicated fighters of evil, in particular the workings of the minions of Set. Witches of Bast may choose weapon mastry in one edged weapon at the loss of one feat. They also gain a +1 to hit and damage when fighting snakes.

The Lore of the Gods
Book 3 – The Egyptian Gods

Lead Designers
Steven Creech and Kevin Ruesch Lead Editor Steven Schend Creative Director Jim Butler Art Director
Todd Morasch Artwork Aaron D. Siddal

Bast is the protector of cats and those who care for cats. She also serves as the goddess of the home and patroness of luxury and pleasure and is often considered a fertility deity. She rules over pleasure, sex, dancing, music, and joy. Bast is a daughter of Ra and often acts as the instrument of his vengeance. She typically appears as a cat or in human form with the head of a cat, often holding the sistrum (a sacred rattle), although she sometimes takes on the war-like aspect of a lioness.

Bast Cat Goddess; Goddess of the Home; Patroness of Luxury and Pleasure

Bast is a cat-headed deity whose portfolio includes protection (as a mother protects her children), punishment of wrongdoers, and cats. She appears as a dark-skinned human woman with the head of a cat, though she can use her Shift Form ability to appear as any feline of any size. Bast is a wild deity. To those she favors she gives great blessings, but when she is angry her wrath knows no bounds. She is a fierce enemy of Apep and Set.

Though Bast’s home plane is listed as the Solar Barge, in fact she resides on Mount Bakhau at the far eastern edge of the world. This mythical mountain lies along the Solar Barge’s course through the sky, above the cavern where the Barge exits the Twelve Hours of Night each dawn. Every morning, Bast descends from her palace to fight Apep, securing the Barge’s passage out of the Twelve Hours.

Bast is one of the daughters of Re-Horakhty and is married to Ptah.

Dogma

To speak of dogma in connection with Bast is almost contradictory. Bast is a chaotic, often whimsical deity who demands no rigid adherence to principles of faith. In general, she promotes life and liberty, asserting the value of mortal life, things of beauty, and freedom from oppressive regulation. Bast hates evil, particularly Apep and his followers, and people who worship Bast generally share that enmity.

Clergy and Temples

Bast’s clerics, like most clerics of the Pharaonic deities, wear white robes and shave their heads if they are male. Clerics of Bast are charged to remain constantly vigilant against the forces of evil, as a cat watches for vermin invading the home. They often serve as the voice of the common people among the Pharaonic clergy, who are so often obsessed with royalty and the orderly function of government they they may forget those they serve. Most of Bast’s clerics are female.

Bast’s temples follow the general layout of most Pharaonic temples. Bast is also revered at countless small shrines and household altars. Due to her influence, cats hold a special revered place in Pharaonic culture, and mistreating a cat invites the wrath of Bast on the perpetrator.

Currently

Bast is currently residing in the bustling city of Cairo in the 1450s. She walks among the humans, her lithe form and feline features drawing attention, but her divine nature remaining hidden. She observes the world around her, taking note of the political and social climate of the time.

As the Ottoman Empire grows in power and influence, Bast recognizes the need to maintain balance between the mortal realms and the divine. She works tirelessly behind the scenes, using her influence to ensure that the balance is maintained and that no single power gains too much control.

She also takes an interest in the arts, often inspiring local musicians and artists to create beautiful works that reflect the harmony and balance of the natural world. She sees these works as a way to spread her message and inspire others to embrace balance and harmony in their own lives.

Despite her efforts, Bast remains wary of the growing conflict and tension in the mortal world. She knows that a single misstep could upset the delicate balance she works so hard to maintain. But even in the face of adversity, she remains steadfast in her mission to preserve the balance between the divine and mortal realms, hoping to create a better future for all.