Apsu

From PathfinderWiki
Apsu
Apsu
(Deity)

Titles
The Waybringer
The Exiled Wyrm
Maker of All
Adjective
Apsan1
Realm
Immortal Ambulatory (travelling demiplane)
Alignment
Areas of Concern
Leadership
Peace
Virtuous dragons
Worshipers
Edicts
Seek and destroy evil, travel the world, help others fend for themselves
Anathema
Fail to pursue a foe who has betrayed your mercy, attack a creature without certainty of wrongdoing
Follower Alignments (1E)
Domains (1E)
Artifice, Good, Law, Scalykind, Travel
Subdomains (1E)
Archon, Construct, Dragon, Exploration, Judgment, Toil, Trade
Follower Alignments (2E)
Sanctification (2E)
Must choose holy
Domains (2E)
Creation, dragon, protection, travel
Alternate: Freedom, introspection
Favored Weapon
Jaws or staff
Symbol
Silvery dragon above mirrored pool
Sacred Animal
None
Sacred Colors
Source: Inner Sea Faiths, pg(s). 16–21 (1E)
Divine Mysteries, pg(s). 128 (2E)
Alignment details are sourced from Inner Sea Faiths and Lost Omens Gods & Magic 130–131. In Inner Sea Faiths, Apsu's portfolio consisted of good dragons, leadership, and peace. In Lost Omens Gods & Magic, Apsu had the wyrmkin domain and lacked alternate domains.

Apsu is the patron deity of virtuous dragons, and one of the oldest gods of the Great Beyond.234 According to the draconic creation myth, he was one of the primordial dragons who shaped Golarion from the chaos of the Universe.53

History

Pre-historical draconic texts claim that Apsu and his mate Sarshallatu were the first dragons. They bore seven children,3 the first of which was Dahak.67 Apsu and Sarshallatu envisioned their children aiding them in creating the mortal reality of the Universe, but Dahak wanted only to destroy anything that his parents and siblings built.6

Apsu and the rest of his family warred with Dahak, but when Apsu prepared to slay Dahak, Sarshallatu intervened and allowed Dahak to flee to Hell.6 Apsu was heartbroken by both Dahak's endless destruction and Sarshallatu's betrayal.3

Dahak became a patron for hateful, envious, and covetous dragons, and worked toward the destruction of Apsu and his divine realm until war erupted between other deities and Rovagug. During the chaos, Dahak decreed that he would face Apsu in their final battle upon Golarion, the world that the deities were attempting to use as Rovagug's prison.6

For the rest of time, Dahak has worked to build his powers and following toward this final confrontation,6 while Apsu charged his worshippers to make reality as wondrous and harmonious as possible until the inevitably destructive war between him and Dahak begins.3 Apsu remains worried that, should Dahak win this battle, his reckless destruction could potentially weaken the chains binding Rovagug.8

Home

Apsu lairs in the Immortal Ambulatory, a demiplane of wandering stars and floating islands that moves about from plane to plane in the Great Beyond.9 The Immortal Ambulatory can embed itself in different planes and is often in Heaven. Apsu most often resides in the Opalescent Cathedral, which is located on an island at the demiplane's center.10

Appearance

A depiction of Apsu.

Apsu resembles a green-hued dragon with a tail ending in a feathered tip. Hair-like bronze-colored tendrils extend from his snout and back of his head.311

Relationships

Apsu maintains strong relationships with good deities, in particular lawful ones like Torag. Sarenrae remembers his contribution to imprisoning Rovagug in the Dead Vault. Cayden Cailean views the coming battle between Apsu and Dahak as a "good rumble", while Gorum considered it a war where his followers could fight.

Iomedae approached him after she completed the Test of the Starstone, seeking to ask him to get involved more deeply in worldly affairs; although a formal alliance is impossible due to Apsu's focus on the battle against Dahak, the two deities still agreed to defend each other, symbolised by Iomedae's draconic servant Peace through Vigilance.10

Apsu is a member of the Sky Keepers, a pantheon devoted to protecting the weather over the Mwangi Expanse from outside interference, alongside like-minded deities Uvuko and Ranginori.12

Apsu and Dahak are arch-enemies, the two having battled countless times across history. Dahak has no intention of ever aiding Apsu and focuses his entire existence on their eventual final battle.103 Haunted by his failure to stop Dahak, Apsu battles any who attempt to destroy mortal existence. He also still bears the pain of Sarshallatu's perceived betrayal3 for preventing Apsu from killing Dahak.6

Asmodeus, the only evil deity known to approach Apsu, has offered his services for some unknown reason and price, but Apsu has politely refused every time. It is rumoured that he has offered to weaken both Apsu for Dahak and Dahak for Apsu, making his true intent unclear.10

Church of Apsu

Most of Apsu's worshipers, Apsans,1 are virtuous dragons, although some non-aligned draconic creatures such as primal dragons and wyverns worship him as well.13 Few dragons practice divine magic, preferring to leave that to their humanoid allies.14 As Apsu's prime purpose is to prepare for war with Dahak, few non-dragons take up his cause, although honourable humanoids with an interest in draconic lore have occasionally taken up his faith,15 as have dragonblooded mortals and sorcerers of draconic bloodlines.3 They typically wear a gold dragon's foot brooch, or have other custom-made equipment in the shape of a dragon's foot.15

Golarion lacks much of a centralized humanoid church of Apsu. The largest congregation of humanoid Apsu worshipers in the Inner Sea region is the predominantly human Platinum Band, which maintains relatively small centers of worship in Oppara, Absalom,163 and Thuvia.3

Apsu is more widely worshiped by humanoids on the planet Triaxus, where he is the patron deity of the Dragon Legion. The Legion's leaders prohibit their priests from revealing Apsu's connection to Golarion, so younger legionnaires would not be tempted to prematurely journey there to help him. Instead, they hope to raise a grand army to offer Apsu when the time comes for him to fight Dahak.1718

The church's religious text is the Draconic Apsu, an epic poem written by the blind dragon sage Gunnarrex. Both the first day of the winter solstice and the first day of summer are considered holy days by the church.18

Followers

Apsu's herald is Oreganus, a bespectacled celestial dragon who can create solid fortifications with his breath.10

Apsu's other planar allies include:10

References

Paizo published a major article on Apsu in Inner Sea Faiths and an article in Divine Mysteries.

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

  1. 1.0 1.1 According to Mark Moreland, Paizo's in-house setting guide uses "Apsan(s)"; but this term seems to not yet have appeared in a publication. Mark Moreland. (August 25, 2024). PathfinderWiki Discord server, #pathfinder-lore.
  2. Mike McArtor. Dragons of Golarion” in Fortress of the Stone Giants, 61–62. Paizo Inc., 2007
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Misha Bushyager, et al. “Other Gods” in Divine Mysteries, 128. Paizo Inc., 2024
  4. Prior to the Pathfinder Second Edition Remaster Project, Apsu was the patron deity of good-aligned and metallic dragons. The Remaster retroactively eliminated metallic dragons and de-emphasized alignment. See Meta:Apsu.
  5. Rigby Bendele, et al. “Folklore & Mythology” in Travel Guide, 80. Paizo Inc., 2022
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Misha Bushyager, et al. “Other Gods” in Divine Mysteries, 135. Paizo Inc., 2024
  7. The origins of and relationships between Apsu and Dahak significantly differ between published sources due to multiple retroactive changes. See Meta:Apsu.
  8. Robert Brookes, et al. Dahak” in Inner Sea Faiths, 36. Paizo Inc., 2016
  9. James Jacobs, et al. “The Great Beyond” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 245. Paizo Inc., 2011
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Robert Brookes, et al. Apsu” in Inner Sea Faiths, 21. Paizo Inc., 2016
  11. In Inner Sea Faiths 18, Apsu is a silver dragon.
  12. Luis Loza. Gods of the Expanse. Paizo blog, 2021
  13. Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 188. Paizo Inc., 2014
  14. James Jacobs, et al. “Other Gods” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 228. Paizo Inc., 2011
  15. 15.0 15.1 Colin McComb. “Minor Deities” in Faiths of Purity, 18. Paizo Inc., 2011
  16. Robert Brookes, et al. Apsu” in Inner Sea Faiths, 18. Paizo Inc., 2016
  17. Matthew Goodall. “The Frozen Stars” in The Frozen Stars, 22. Paizo Inc., 2013
  18. 18.0 18.1 Robert Brookes, et al. Apsu” in Inner Sea Faiths, 19. Paizo Inc., 2016