Diancastra

Diancastra is the trickster-goddess of the giant pantheon. Her symbol is a sea-green streak, which is based on the mysterious mark she bears on her shoulder. Her rank is given in Monster Mythology as "heroine/demigoddess," which is the same given for the hero-goddess Zinzerena.
Diancastra has many faces and wiles, from a four-foot tall, slender elven maid to a 25' tall giant. Two traits remain constant in all her forms: her green-flecked amber eyes and the streak of sea-green skin along her left shoulderblade. She is sometimes accompanied by a magical owl. Diancastra is both impudent and arrogant. She often defeats her enemies by taunting them until they are enraged beyond reason, and then ensnaring them in illusions. She enjoys worldly pleasures and drinks to excess. She can charm people, especially males, merely by gazing at them. She casts elemental spells as an 18th level wizard. She can walk on water and her skin has an automatically-renewing stoneskin effect.
Diancastra is the daughter of the creator god Annam and a mortal giant, most probably of the storm giant or cloud giant breeds. Like her half-sister Hiatea, she won divinity from her father through great deeds, but she did so through wit and guile rather than heroic feats in battle. Her father demanded that she circle the Oerth in an hour or less, and she did so by tearing a picture of the world from one of Stronmaus's atlases, walking around the image instead. Some believe the only reason Annam accepted this trick was that he believed that his only way back from his despair and ennui would be Diancastra and her wit and humor. Her other half-siblings include Grolantor, Iallanis, Karontor, Skoraeus Stonebones, Stronmaus, Surtr, and Thrym. Memnor and Vaprak are also sometimes named as her relatives.
Diancastra's adventures and misadventures are long and storied. She has stolen a magic necklace from Blibdoolpoolp, snitched spellbooks from a demigod servitor of Surtr, won a drinking contest at the Seelie Court (who trained her as a bard), and solved the puzzles of Lyzandred. She has been the lover of Deep Sashelas, who gifted her with her sea-green mark and the ability to breathe in water. She often takes on lovers for the things they can teach or give her.
Diancastra is a wandering deity, calling no plane her home for long. She lives by her wits, solving riddles, making grim sages laugh. She searches for knowledge of illusions, bardic magic, obscure legends and lore, and handsome men.
Diancastra is slowly becoming recognized as a minor fertility deity among non-evil giants, who invoke her name if they wish their romances to be blessed with children. The result is often children, called by the ominous name "Diancastra's brood," as cheeky and willful as Diancastra herself. Her cult is still very small, however, and she has no priests or shamans as yet.

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Goddess of trickery, wit, impudence, and pleasure Demigoddess

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Symbol: Sea-green streak Diancastra is a trickster goddess with many faces and wiles. Her father is Annam and her mother a giantess of unspecified race (but assumed to be a storm or cloud giant). Thus, she is half-divine in origin.

Diancastra sought, as a young goddess, to claim her divine inheritance from Annam, but unlike Hiatea, she used wit and wile to do this rather than striving to perform heroic feats in battle. Several aspects of her character are revealed in mythic tales told of her youthful career. She is brave to the point of foolishness, although she prepares and disguises herself carefully. Thus, she stole a magical necklace from Blibdoolpoolp by disguising herself as a kuo-toan and carefully watching the changing of guards at the kuo-toan goddesses' palace. Once inside the palace, she used illusions and magical aids to swiftly grasp her prize.

Diancastra is also impudent, even arrogant. She taunts stupid but proud enemies, enraging them and driving them into snares of illusion. Her taunting of a nameless demigod servitor of Surtr allowed her to lead him through a merry dance of illusions while her magical owl stole his spellbooks, which she in turn exchanged for illusionist spellbooks with a powerful human illusionist. She added a little something to that bargain, however, which brings us to another of her characteristics.

Diancastra considerably enjoys worldly pleasures, but this enjoyment also has the happy knack of furthering her own fortunes. She drinks to excess and won a famous drinking contest at the Seelie Court (sylvan gods), which further won her some admiration and tutelage in bardic skills. Like Freya the Norse goddess (with whom she is on good terms), she is disposed to lavishing her favors on males who reward her with magic, knowledge, and skills. The mark she has on her shoulder comes from her rising from the watery bower of Deep Sashelas, who gave her the gift of water breathing and stretched out one exhausted hand to touch her as she left.

This aspect gives Diancastra a burgeoning role as a minor fertility deity among the non-evil giants, some of whom invoke her name if they wish their partnerships to be blessed with children. This is a double-edged invocation, though, for it is thought that it invites the birth of a cheeky, willful, naughty child. Her cult is still very small and she has no priests or shamans. To invite one of "Diancastra's brood" into one's life is also to hazard the child being strange or fey in some way, according to giantish lore, but this may be superstition.

Diancastra travels in search of proving herself to Annam by the use of her wits in solving sphinx riddles, making solemn sages laugh with her punning and loquacity, deciphering an infamous and lethal "crossword maze" filled with cyphers by a long-dead lich-king who, in his boredom, had filled its inner recesses with magic (and elementals which had to be fought), and much else. When she presented herself to Annam, citing Hiatea's presence among the gods as a precedent for her own divine ascension, the Creator told her to circle the earth in an hour or less and he would grant this, knowing well she had no magical talents or items to aid her. Diancastra simply retrieved an atlas of the worlds from Stronmaus' library, opened it at the appropriate illuminated page, tore it out (making the gods gasp) and drew a circle around the picture of the world. Annam made her a demigoddess, and it is said that he only did this because the one back into the world for him would be for his despair to be lifted by further demonstrations of her spunk and wit. But she is still keeping him waiting, willful as she is.

Diancastra has no realm of her own, and she instead simply wanders.

Charm Person: Diancastra can cast charm person or giant 6/day by gaze to 240'. Any sentient creature looking directly into her eyes is affected as by a rainbow pattern, which also allows her to telepathically implant a suggestion. Deity of Human Origin: Or rather, Deity of Giant Origin. Downplayed, however, as she was already semi-divine due to being Annam's daughter prior to her formal ascension.

Distinguishing Mark: Diancastra has a streak of sea-green skin along her left shoulderblade, which was given to her by the elven sea god Deep Sashelas when he gave her the gift of water breathing and stretched out one exhausted hand to touch her as she left. The streak of sea-green skin is always present, even when Diancastra appears in a different form.

Expy: Strongly based on the mythological Aslaug.

Fertility Goddess: Diancastra's more amorous side has resulted in her gaining a minor if burgeoning role as a fertility goddess among non-evil giants, some of whom invoke her so that their couplings will be blessed with children. Yet these blessings are said to come with a potential cost, as there is a chance the resulting spawn will be born as one of "Diancastra's brood". Such a resulting child is thought to be rude, strange, willful, naughty, or fey in some way, though this is perhaps mere superstition.

Flying Broomstick: She owns a broom of flying.

The Gadfly: She's essentially goddess of this trope for giants.

Guile Hero: Diancastra seeks to prove herself to Annam with her cleverness and guile, and her travels involved her using her wits to solve puzzles and outwit enemies. Notable tales include her solving the riddles of sphinxes, making solemn sages laugh through her loquaciousness and skill in puns, and deciphering an infamous and lethal "crossword maze" filled with ciphers by a lich-king who had long since passed and, in his boredom, filled the inner recesses of the dungeon with magic, elementals to fight, and much else.

The Hedonist: She enjoys worldly pleasures and physical gratification, such as drinking to excess for example, and these enjoyments generally had the additional benefit of furthering her own success.

Impossible Task: When Diancastra presented herself before Annam and requested divine ascension citing her sister Hiatea's ascension as precedent for her own, Annam challenged her to circle the earth in an hour or less, knowing she had no magical abilities or items that could help her. The young giant then headed to Stronmaus's library and pulled out a page from an atlas of worlds before drawing a circle around a picture of the planet. Impressed and amused, Annam ascended Diancastra to godhood.

Loyal Animal Companion: She owns a serpentine owl.

Magical Accessory: She has a magical string of black pearls from which she can create 2d4 randomly generated types each week, the magic of each lasting for 20 + d20 days (but she can have no more than 8 magical pearls on the necklace at any one time).

Seeker Archetype: Diancastra is always attracted by the opportunity to learn more magical illusion, acquire bardic magical items and very obscure lore, and the like. If such opportunities are provided by reasonably handsome males, so much the better. Super Not-Drowning Skills: Diancastra can breathe underwater freely, an ability which was gifted to her by the elven sea god Deep Sashelas.

Trickster God: Diancastra is the giant goddess of trickery and is viewed as an impetuous and arrogant trickster with many faces and wiles. Mythic tales of her youthful career showcase her using her wit and wile to trick enemies with illusions and steal important items from them. Although she is brave to the point of foolishness, impudent and even arrogant, she does make preparations and disguises herself carefully.

Voluntary Shapeshifting: Diancastra can appear in various forms, from a four-foot slender elf-maiden to a 25' tall giantess, as she wishes. She is always recognizable by two physical characteristics, however, her green-flecked amber eyes and a streak of sea-green skin along her left shoulderblade.

Walk on Water: She can water walk freely.

Member

Giant Pantheon

100

Diancastra

100