Mahnan, Lady/Lord Luck, Fickle Shadow of Fortune

In ages long past, there lived a man (or depending on who's telling the story, a woman) blessed with exceptional good luck. Whatever chance he took, fortune always favored him.

Tired of winning whenever chance was involved, the man set out to deliberately lose. Each time chance was involved, he lost. The man played with this talent some, but quickly grew bored, because he won when he wished, and lost when he wished. People began to avoid the man, believing him cursed by the gods, or trafficking with demons to have such phenomenal luck.

The man tried everything to get rid of his luck - wizards and priests, angels and demons. None could help him. Despondent, he walked the paths of his forest home until an idea occurred to him. He made a bet with himself that he could get rid of his luck, and wished with all his might that he would win the bet.

In an instant, his shadow, and his luck, left him, to wander the world bestowing fortune, good and bad, whenever it suited the shadow.

Mahnan is the god of luck and fortune. She is a fickle Lord, giving her blessing, and curse, with random abandon. Gamblers, adventurers, and many thieves will call on her for luck. Temples to Mahnan are unassuming buildings, usually places of gambling or gaming. Worshipers are offered a choice of entrances: one for those who feel lucky (and may or may not be trapped), and another for those who do not.

Mahnan seeks to maintain a certain level of chance, randomness, and chaos in all of creation. Sometimes she is opposed to Avaryan. Other times she is opposed to Bael. All the gods and goddesses are, at one time or another, both enemies and allies of Mahnan.

People seeking good fortune for themselves, or ill fortune upon another, seek out Mahnan's priests. They are found wherever randomness and chance determine one's fate. Like the warpriests of Crom, you can find Mahnan's priests fighting on both sides of a battle.

Priests of Mahnan have no set hierarchy. By their very nature, they abhor rigid structures. The luckiest, and most favored of the Fickle Shadow, direct while those less fortunate carry out the god's wishes as they wish.

Invisibility to Undead (Sp): Those faithful to Luck's Fickle Shadow often pass unnoticed by the Undead. Priests of Mahnan gain this power at 1st level. It operates continuously and only on the priest, but is otherwise the same as the 1st level Cleric spell of the same name.

Magic Items (Ex): All priests of Mahnan can use any item pertaining to chance or randomness (Wand of Wonder, Deck of Many Things, Ring of Spell Turning, etc). Further, priests of Mahnan roll twice and choose the more beneficial of the two rolls.

Identification (Sp): At 3rd level, Mahnan's priest can Identify (as a Sorcerer of a level equal to their cleric level) magical items once per day. Whether they choose to truthfully reveal all the find is another matter.

Luck (Su): At 7th level, the priest's holy symbol functions as a luck stone while on his person.

Phenomenal Luck (Su): Upon reaching 9th level, a priest may, at his option, reroll any "succeed or fail" (such as to hit rolls, saving throws, proficiency checks, etc) die, without any bonuses, once per week. Only the second roll is counted as far as success/failure goes. If both rolls are failures, the priest failed the attempt utterly and will take full damage, penalties, etc. in spite of any protective magics or saving throws. If both rolls were successful, the priest made a spectacular success, inflicting full damage, take no damage, makes a masterwork item, etc.

Balance of Fortune (Su): At 12th level, priests of Mahnan can alter another creature's fortune for good or ill. The priest must announce the use of this power before any dice are rolled, and state the intended effect ("Increase his chances to hit," "Decrease the damage he inflicts"). The priest modifies the die rolls by +1 for every 3 cleric levels he has (+ 4 at 12th-14th, +5 at 16th-18th, +6 at 19th-20st. The effect lasts for one full round. There is no saving throw. A priest of Mahnan can use this power 1/ week.

Alter Fate (Su): Exceptionally lucky and devout priests of Mahnan can change a person's fate. Once each month, a priest of 17th level or higher can bestow a holy symbol upon another creature. The priest defines the specific event that the symbol can negate. Examples include: Death, one time (the blow that kills the recipient misses, the poison save is made, etc.), discovery (move silently roll is successful, guard fails spot check, etc.), or any skill check (the item created is a masterwork, successfully research all knowledge on the subject, etc).

Attend Gambling. Any time a bet or gamble is made, the priest must give the bettor(s) a blessing. Such a blessing takes 3 segments.

Choose Lucky Number. When the priest joins the order, she must choose a lucky number - so long as it is not a one or a 20. Any time the player rolls that number where the risk of failure is harmful in some way, the priest gains 20xp. For example, if the priest is trying to recall some arcane fact (Knowledge: Arcana) to solve a wizard's puzzle door, and the player rolls the character's lucky number - even if it results in a failed skill check - the priest gains 20xp.

Guidance. Priests of Mahnan must promote risk-taking and gambling wherever they go. They must encourage adventurers to go on dangerous journeys, wealthy people to put all their money on one bet, thieves to go after high stakes.

Law of Chance. Once each day, the priest must determine something by chance. This can range from flipping a coin to decide between venison or beef for dinner, to deciding the fate of an entire nation on the roll of a die.

Taking a Chance. Whenever the priest finds an opportunity to take a great risk, he must roll percentile dice. If he rolls less than his level times 3, he must take it. If the priest is successful in the task, he gains a +1 to the next die roll that fails by 1 (i.e. if three years later, the priest misses a save by 1, this bonus means he'll make it). If the priest fails, he gains a -1 to the next die roll that barely succeeds (i.e. if one week later, the priest rolls exactly what he needs to make a proficiency check, he fails). Afterwards, the bonus/penalty is gone. Note that these bonuses/penalties are cumulative.

Tithe. Each priest must spend at least 25% of her monetary possessions in gambling or betting (not with other party members). At least half of any money won as a result must be given to the nearest temple to Mahnan.

Favored Weapon: Rapier.

The priest will always carry an item (rabbit's foot, card, die, coin, or the like) deem "lucky" to him. They also seek to witness momentous events determined by chance - especially duels, contests, and so forth.

Priests of Mahnan can spend their 25% tithe holding games or holiday events. In fact, this is how many villages can pay for extravagant faires. These events are often used to recruit exceptionally lucky individuals into the priesthood - and to remind people to give offerings to Mahnan.

Thieves and adventurers often call on Mahnan or Saint Kitai to aid them.

(Special thanks to Chris Groves for helping create this priesthood)

Moradin

Favored Weapon: Hammer.