Outer God

From PathfinderWiki
Outer God
The summoning of an aspect of Yog-Sothoth.
(Deity)

Realm
Alignment
Varies
Worshipers
Domains (1E)
Chaos, Knowledge, Madness, Rune, Void
Subdomains (1E)
Dark Tapestry, Insanity, Language, Memory, Nightmare, Stars
Favored Weapon
Varies, but daggers are common
Source: Wake of the Watcher, pg(s). 63

The Outer Gods1 are a pantheon of utterly alien, unfathomably ancient, poorly understood deities that exist outside of reality itself, or the concepts of faith, souls, and quintessence. They are often grouped alongside the Great Old Ones, who are demigods akin to archdevils or demon lords, under the collective umbrella of the Elder Mythos, or gods of the Dark Tapestry. The Great Old Ones respect the Outer Gods and may be seen as heralds or high priests of their greater kind.234

According to many scholars (including Tabris, who calls them Those Who Remain in the Concordance of Rivals),5 the Outer Gods are so ancient that they predate the Great Beyond and Pharasma, and thus the concept of mortality itself. Many Pharasmins consider this to be blasphemous, but the truth may not be something they can accept.3

Most Outer Gods make their homes within the Material Plane, in the Dark Tapestry, the blackness between the stars. They are much freer agents than the Great Old Ones, able to travel the Dark Tapestry, other parts of the universe, and even out of time and reality.23

Outer Gods are of a vast, alien intelligence and perceive reality in such an inscrutable way that they cannot recognise their own actions as evil. For mortals, the differences between cults of the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones, collectively called the Old Cults, are practically meaningless. Those who follow them and draw magical power from their worship are almost always insane, believing that when the stars are right, these ancient beings will return to unmake the world. For their part, the Outer Gods are mostly unconcerned with mortal worship, and some do not even understand the concept of faith.2647

The total number of Outer Gods is unknown, but individual gods are known to include Azathoth, Yog-Sothoth, Shub-Niggurath,8 Nyarlathotep,9 Abhoth, and Nhimbaloth.3

References

Please note that the rules and information found in The Inner Sea World Guide 235, are superseded by those in Pathfinder 46: Wake of the Watcher.

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.

  1. Wikipedia article on Cthulhu Mythos deities, including the Outer Gods.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 James Jacobs. “Cults of the Dark Tapestry” in Wake of the Watcher, 63. Paizo Inc., 2011
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 James Jacobs. “The Elder Mythos” in In Search of Sanity, 63. Paizo Inc., 2016
  4. 4.0 4.1 Robert Brookes, et al. “Chapter 2: Running Planar Adventures” in Planar Adventures, 72. Paizo Inc., 2018
  5. John Compton, et al. “The Creation of the Multiverse” in Concordance of Rivals, 2. Paizo Inc., 2019
  6. Sean K Reynolds. “Other Gods” in Gods and Magic, 51. Paizo Inc., 2008
  7. Andrew Penn Romine, et al. “The Dark Tapestry” in People of the Stars, 22. Paizo Inc., 2014
  8. Sean K Reynolds. Cloaker” in Dungeon Denizens Revisited, 12. Paizo Inc., 2009
  9. Sean K Reynolds & Greg A. Vaughan. “Bestiary” in Skeletons of Scarwall, 76. Paizo Inc., 2008