Pantheon: Cat Lord

The Cat Lord is a mysterious deity revered by the tabaxi, whose portfolio includes protection (as a mother protects her children), punishment of wrongdoers, and cats. The Cat Lord, sometimes called Bast, is a wild deity, often appearing in dreams in either gender. To those he favors he gives great blessings, but when he is angry her wrath knows no bounds. He is a fierce enemy of Maglubiyet, Hextor, and Tiamat.

Clerical details

Domains: Cat, Chaos, Trickery, and Vengeance

Weapon: Daggers or Whip

Worshipers, Clergy & Temples

Bast's clerics wear white robes and, if they are male, shave their heads. 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 clergy. Most of Bast's clerics are female.

Due to her influence, cats hold a special revered place in many cities and towns across Azgaarnoth culture, and mistreating a cat invites the wrath of Bast on the perpetrator.

Vestments

Priests of Bast wear their hair long and style it to show off their faces and bodies to their best advantage. Priestess' wear diaphanous negligees, short vests, sheer pantaloons, gold dust, and endless gemstone beads and coins strung in ropes and made into decorative chains and fringes. Male clergy typically prefer tight-fitting breeches that are tailored to their charms and open shirts. They often wear decorative belts and vests.

Hierarchy

There is no known hierarchy among the Cat Lord's servants, but somehow they know who is in charge at any given moment.

Temples

Bast's temples follow the general layout of most temples: a foyer leading to a central place of worship with an altar at the front, with small rooms (either living quarters or meditation cells, depending on the size of the temple and the population of the city or town in which it is housed) along the sides. Bast is also revered at countless small shrines and household altars.

Rituals

Bast has few rituals, and none that are seen by any who are not followers.

Festivals

Many of the clergy of the Cat Lord are quick to downplay the idea of formalized festivals, as the Cat Lord prefers his followers to celebrate life and the things worth celebrating every day, rather than on specific days of the year.

Orders

It is rumored that the Cat Lord maintains a secret rogues' guild of burglars and assassins that focus on doling out justice to those wronged, particularly against perpetrators that avoid justice because of their elevated rank or power.

Dogma

The Cat Lord 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.