Razmir

Razmir

(Person)

Titles

The Living God
Master of the 31 Steps

Alignment

Lawful evil

Ancestry/Species

Human (Taldan)

Class

Wizard 19

Gender

Male

Homeland

Thronestep, Razmiran

Images of Razmir

Source: Masks of the Living God, pg(s). 29

A Razmiri arcane healer.

See also: Razmiran

Razmir is the ruler of Razmiran and a self-proclaimed living deity.

Background

Early life

Razmir's early life is shrouded in mystery. According to some accounts, he grew up on a farm in the Varisian countryside, and left his simple life behind when he discovered a secret library of the runelords. Another story claims that Razmir was once a penniless boy, begging for food and sleeping under a sewer grate in Oppara. Despite their differences, all of these tales agree that Razmir came from humble beginnings.

Seizure of Melcat

Razmir appeared in the Archduchy of Melcat, in the western part of the River Kingdoms in 4661 AR, claiming he had gained divinity by passing the Test of the Starstone. While he actually has no divine abilities, his incredible arcane power was enough proof of his godhood to many people. He declared himself to the people of Xer, whose local magistrate had him arrested inside his very first temple. Razmir offered the magistrate a place in his clergy, and when the magistrate refused, Razmir turned him into a fox, then took control over Xer. He also dissolved and absorbed the city's Trades Guild into his faith.

His forces of converted faithful used the Vergan Forest to wage their continuing guerilla war against the Archduchy of Melcat while his religion quickly spread throughout the kingdom, with only the capital of Aerduin resisting. Razmir approached the city at the edge of the Vergan Forest on 17 Erastus 4661 AR and demanded that Duke Melcat convert to his faith three times; three times he was refused. That night he summoned a terrible cloud of fire, and by morning the city and all of its inhabitants had been reduced to ash and ruin. Few resisted him after that and the nation of Razmiran was born.

Further expansion

Razmir has expanded Razmiran three times since then, each at the expense of another River Kingdom, and now rules a sizable nation under the total domination of his clergy. However, his bids for further expansion by force into the River Kingdoms or Ustalav have been stymied, and Razmiran now seeks softer methods of spreading Razmir's influence through evangelization amongst the poor of its neighboring nations.

The sun orchid elixir

Razmir has been on the throne for decades and is beginning to fear his own mortality. To stave off death, he seeks vials of the sun orchid elixir from Thuvia to halt his aging until he can achieve true immortality. However, when his winning bid was fraudulently rejected (according to Razmir himself), he sent agents to Thuvia to either steal the recipe or even kidnap Artokus Kirran himself. In the past few years, he has grown increasingly more paranoid and angry, and at least two of his high-ranking clergymen have gone missing.

Tar-Baphon

After Tar-Baphon was freed from his prison in 4719 AR, Razmir sent a herald to the Isle of Terror to make an offer: should the Tyrant not disturb him and his country, he would return the favour and not openly oppose the lich. The herald returned transformed into a mask-wearing wraith claiming that Tar-Baphon would maintain peace with Razmir only if Razmiran tithed him at least 1,000 corpses per month. While it is unknown whether Razmir accepted the terms, there has been no conflict between Razmiran and the Whispering Tyrant since, and the Razmiri government is believed to be handing over corpses traditionally disposed of in communal mausoleums to instead feed the Whispering Tyrant's undead legions.

With Tar-Baphon freed Razmir began acting erratically and withdrawn from his priests, oscillating daily between devoting his attention to Tar-Baphon and acting as if the Whispering Tyrant was not worth his attention. Some of his faithful are frightened by this lapse in protection, especially in the face of the Whispering Tyrant, but the rumour has not spread far outside of the secret circles in Thronestep and First Step.

In 4724 AR, the Red Mantis assassins received a request to assassinate Tar-Baphon, on the logic that he was a false ruler of the lands he controlled. The agent making the request refused to reveal their identity, and the Blood Mistress Jakalyn imprisoned and interrogated them for months until learning that the request had allegedly been issued as a favor from Razmir, a statement Jakalyn then attempted to confirm from Razmir by pursuing him in secret to personally question him.

Relationships

Most deities regard Razmir with contempt or disdainful amusement. The only exception is the deity Sivanah who has an incomprehensible interest in the Living God. Her followers, most often veiled witches from Irrisen, are her most commonly utilised emissaries to Razmiran.

Religion

Razmir's clergy gathers tithes for his church.

See also: Razmiran priest and Church of Razmir

Razmir claims to be a god of law, luxury, obedience, and the land of Razmiran itself. He teaches that acquiring money and power grants mortals the lives they want, and are thus the only true pursuits of mortal life. He teaches these precepts through parables and simple rules that obscure its motives. Such rules include denying gold from those who oppose Razmir, that those who deny his godhood are liars, that only those who follow him will gain wealth and glory, and that every true believer is charged with defending Razmiran and Razmir's temples.

Razmir preaches anonymity and solidarity among his faithful and demands that all of his followers wear their identical masks in all interactions with nonbelievers.

Clerics of Razmir

See also: False divine magic

Razmiran priests use arcane magic to mimic the abilities of true clerics, relying on obscure spells, secret "holy" magic items, and folk remedies to fill in the gaps left by the lack of true divine magical healing.

Domains

Although Razmir is not a god and does not provide a domain of divine magic to his followers, his priests are still able to exhibit the powers of a divine domain through deceptive means.

Drugs

Tears of Razmir is a drug created by Razmir and traded by his followers to earn income for the church.

References

Paizo published an article about Razmir in Legends, an appendix on his followers in Masks of the Living God, and an article about the Harbingers in Disciple's Doctrine 20f.

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