Sharess, the Dancing Lady

Alignment: Chaotic Good
Domains: Chaos [Revelry], Charm [Captivation, Lust], Good, Envy, Panther (as Baast), Pleasure, Sloth, Travel, Trickery.
Favored Weapon: Claw Bracer

The patron of festhalls, hedonism, sensual fulfillment and sensation, Sharess is a radiantly beautiful goddess, rivaled only by Sune. She is a fickle, flighty deity, who prevents anyone from getting too close to her true spirit. She has the willful independence and pleasure-seeking nature common to felines and is constantly preening and grooming to maintain her appearance. She is often depicted (especially in Mulhorand, where she is known as Bast) as a voluptuous human female with the head of a cat. Sharess enjoys toying with beautiful mortals and she cannot resist casually flirting with anyone she encounters. However, when her ardor cools and her passion is sated, Sharess is easily distracted and quick to move on to new pleasures. She dislikes snakes intensely.

Dogma: Sharess’s faithful are expected to live their lives in the decadent sensual fulfillment of themselves and others, to delve into new experiences and sate their wanderlust as would a cat. Pleasure is to be sought out at every opportunity — but never at the cost of someone else’s sorrow — and life is to be lived as one endless revel.

Life is to be lived to its fullest, in decadent sensual fulfillment of yourselves and others. That which is good is pleasurable and that which is pleasurable is good. Pleasure is to be sought out at every opportunity and life is to be lived as one endless revel. Spread the bounty of Sharess so that all may join in the endless revel of life and bring joy to all those in pain. Infinite experiences await those who would explore, so try the new as well as savoring the old.

For Deific Obedience

Obedience: Spend at least one hour achieving hedonistic satisfaction, be it alone, or by aiding other creatures in acheiving satisfaction; this fulfillment can be anything such as a full stomach, a clean body, sated sexual desires, or anything of myriad ways to sensual fulfillment. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Charisma checks and Charisma based skill checks.

Boons
1: Seductive Inticements (Sp): Beguiling Gift 3/day, Detect Desires 2/day, or Suggestion 1/day
2: Enchanting Mein (Su) Your aura of charm serves as a distraction, and to make others underestimate your prowess. Gain a sacred bonus equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum +1) on your AC and CMD whenever you wear revealing clothing and no armor.
3: Mutual Liberation (Sp) You can cast freedom once per day as a spell like ability; you can also be affected by the spell as an immediate action once per day when you are targeted by an effect that this spell would overcome.

For Followers of Sharess

Archetypes: Deadly Courtesan (Rogue), Divine Agent (Cleric/Rogue), Holy Liberator (Paladin), Seductive Infiltrator (Slayer/Bard)

Specialty Priest: Sensate† (Cleric)

Divine Fighting Technique: Sharess’ Dazzling Dance

Feats: Beacon of Hope, Bestow Hope, Hands of Valor, Protective Channel, Seductive Channel, Trailblazing Channel, Trick Spell.

Magic Items: Ring of Unquenchable Passions

Prestige Classes: Child of Baast, Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, Divine Scion (Unchained), Divine Seeker.

Spells: Nine Lives, Seducer’s Eyes

Traits: A Shining Beacon, Adventurous Imbiber, Alluring, Enchanting Conniver, Fortified Drinker, Frightening Speed, Light Sleeper, Sacred Courtesan.

Unique Spell Rules

• Animal Messenger can be prepared as a 2nd-level Cleric or Inquisitor spell (felines only).
• Animal Ambassador can be prepared as a 4th-level Cleric or Inquisitor spell (felines only).
• Nine Lives can be prepared as an 8th-level Cleric spell
• Shadow Claws can be prepared as a 2nd-level Ranger or Hunter spell.
• Summon Minor Ally can be prepared as a 1st-level Cleric spell (summons 1d3 felines).

Clergy and Temples

The church of Sharess is casually organized, although its members often work and play together. Her clerics are called Sharessin, and her specialty priests are known as Sensates. While some travellers of the planes might confuse this templar order with the planar faction of the same name — and indeed considerable tenets of both overlap — there is no established connection between the two.

The clergy of Sharess are often found in festhalls in large cities that also serve as the goddess’ temples. These festfalls cater to all the senses and include fantastic feasts, heavenly baths and massages, and every other pleasure imaginable. Wealthy festhalls often employ one or two mid-level Sharessan, and some Sharessan wander the countryside with Sharess’s blessing seeking new pleasing sensations to add to their repertoire. Courtesans in most festhalls — be they sacred or no — pay at least lip service to the goddess.

Clerics of Sharess pray for their spell at dusk, when the lure of the night first beckons. The church of Sharess celebrates more festivals than possibly any other faith in Faerûn. They are known collectively as the Endless Revel of Life. The daily rising and setting of the sun, the yearly passage of seasons, the appearance of a full moon, or nearly any other event is cause for celebration and wild revel to which the general populace is always invited. Each such festival has several outlandish titles and new festivals are added all the time as old ones are forgotten. Without comparison, however, Midsummer’s Eve is the time of greatest rejoicing among Sharess’s faithful and an occasion for the most extreme pursuits of boundless pleasure.