Deity

Update needed This article should be updated to reflect canon changes noted in War of Immortals, Divine Mysteries. Please help improve it if you can; the talk page might contain suggestions.

The goddess Sarenrae battles the god Rovagug.

See also: Divine magic and Great Beyond

A deity, also called a god or goddess, is a being or force of incredible power capable of granting its power to mortal beings through divine magic. Each deity is strongly associated with specific domains, a plane (typically an Outer Sphere plane), and possibly an alignment.

On Golarion

Golarion draws the interest and intervention of many deities, including some ascended from its ranks of mortal beings through supernatural forces such as the Test of the Starstone. These deities are often grouped by their followers' region or ancestry, though their power is rarely limited to such demographics. Others still have faded from relevance but still exist, and a handful have died—most prominently, the theorized death of Aroden corresponded with the calamities of the Age of Lost Omens, and the death of Gorum ushered in the War of Immortals.

The following are, among other distinctions, the twenty most influential deities in the Inner Sea region:

• Abadar
• Arazni
• Asmodeus
• Calistria
• Cayden Cailean
• Desna
• Erastil
• Gozreh
• Iomedae
• Irori
• Lamashtu
• Nethys
• Norgorber
• Pharasma
• Rovagug
• Sarenrae
• Shelyn
• Torag
• Urgathoa
• Zon-Kuthon

Other deities of the Inner Sea region

Myriad deities have followings throughout the Inner Sea region, but a small selection of them includes:

• Achaekek
• Alseta
• Besmara
• Brigh
• Casandalee
• Chaldira Zuzaristan
• Ghlaunder
• Groetus
• Hanspur
• Kurgess
• Milani
• Nivi Rhombodazzle
• Nocticula
• Sivanah
• Zyphus

Deities of other regions

• Arcadia: Arcadian deities
• Osirion: Osirian pantheon
• Thassilon: Thassilonian pantheon
• Tian Xia: Tian Xia deities
• Vudra: Vudran pantheon

Deities by ancestry

Many peoples worship deities tied to their own kind.

• Dragon: Draconic pantheon
• Dwarf: Stone's Blood
• Elf: The Sovyrian Conclave
• Giant and giantkin:
  • Fire giant: Fire giant pantheon
  • Frost giant: Frost giant pantheon
  • Ogre: Ogre pantheon
  • Stone giant: Stone giant pantheon‎‎
  • Storm giant: Storm giant pantheon‎‎
  • Troll: Troll pantheon
• Goblin: Goblin deities, including the goblin hero-gods
• Halfling: Halfling deities
• Orc: Orc pantheon

Ascended deities

Iomedae passes the Test of the Starstone.

See also: Ascension, Ascended, Test of the Starstone, and Category:Ascended mortals

Most deities have vague or unknown origins, but a few were once mortals whose histories and ascension were witnessed and recorded to some degree. The name Ascended refers to the four deities who passed the Test of the Starstone: Aroden, Norgorber, Cayden Cailean, and Iomedae. Deities who achieved divinity by other means include:

• Emmeton Galardaria
• Gruhastha
• Hanspur
• The Iron Gods of Numeria
• Irori
• Lao Shu Po
• Milani
• Nethys
• Nivi Rhombodazzle

Divine rank

See also: Demigod and quasi deity

The words "deity", "god", and "goddess" are often used as umbrella terms that include all divinities great and small, but they can also refer specifically to full or true deities, gods and goddesses who tower over the rest of the divine hierarchy and possess nearly unlimited power.

Demigods are powerful divine immortals who do not reach the scope or power of a true god. Some, like archdevils and psychopomp ushers, serve their more powerful kin; others, such as velstrac demagogues, protean lords, and Iron Gods, are independent rulers.

Quasi-deities have the touch of divinity but are the weakest such entities, and include both ascended mortals and powerful immortals. This category encompasses a vast range of divine standings, from Drokalion, an animal barely aware of his divinity, to Treerazer, a nascent demon lord on the cusp of demigodhood.

Atheism

Despite the frequent and public intercession of deities on Golarion, some mortals refuse to believe in or rebuke the authority of divine forces. Rahadoum in particular is well known for being a militantly atheistic state.

False gods

Razmir's followers are little more than a cult of personality.

Not all who claim divinity actually wield it. For instance, followers of Razmir claim to draw divine power from their patron but instead wield deceptive occult magic.

Divinities of other planes

Many divinities, especially several groups of demigods and quasi-deities, are tied to certain planes, such as the Eldest of the First World, the Forsaken of the Netherworld, and the outsider demigods and quasi-deities of the nine Outer Planes.

Direct intervention

For all their power, deities are forbidden by informal arrangements, as well as ancient laws and edicts, from taking direct action in mortal affairs or each others' planar realms. Direct intervention at a large scale would draw the wrath of a deity's opposing powers and risk their own destruction. However, there are recorded instances of deities violating these mores, particularly Aroden's direct defense of humanity against Ibdurengian and Tar-Baphon, and Desna's invasion of the Outer Rifts and destruction of the demon lord Aolar in retribution for the possession of a mortal priestess, which led to a direct conflict between multiple deities. Deities have also created offspring with mortals.

Miracles

Miracles, defined by Lorminos, are when a god interferes directly and deliberately with an event. It is speculated that deities periodically perform miracles to affirm faith. Some gods strategically prefer to perform miracles in front of a large audience over individuals: in a place with a lot of witnesses; or to grant a well-known wish of a high profile person.

Divine attributes

Nearly all gods have certain divine attributes that distinguish them from one another. These relate to either the divine being itself, or how they are worshipped by mortals.

Areas of concern

See also: Domain

Each deity has a portfolio of areas of concern, subjects they and their followers focus on and hold in high regard. These are often related to the deity's domains.

Favored weapon

Each deity is associated with one or two favored weapons. Both priests and lay worshippers often train with and wield them in battle as a way to show their devotion. Some deities favor the use of the body as a weapon, such as Irori's favor of bare-handed martial arts, or the catfolk goddess Adanye's favor of claws alongside the kukri.

Divine servants

Most deities employ a herald and divine servitors who act on direct behalf of their deity, as gods rarely manifest directly among mortals. When they do, a deific manifestation can be "killed", but doing so has little or no effect on the deity.

Holidays

Throughout the year, churches and faiths hold certain days or times as special to their god and enact some appropriate commemoration of the day. For some faiths, this might be a public event to encourage all to revere the god celebrated in many countries where the god is worshipped.

Offspring

In especially rare cases, a god might procreate with a mortal. The resulting child is often fated for greatness and expresses supernatural powers.

A silver religious symbol of Sarenrae. See also Category:Images of religious symbols.

Religious symbol

A religious symbol is both a unique figurative representation of a deity or divine entity, and a physical symbol of that entity that is often owned or worn by their followers.

Religious text

See also: Category:Religious texts

Religious texts, which various churches consider to be of central importance to their religious traditions, often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and admonitions for fostering a religious community. Within each religion, these sacred texts are revered as authoritative sources of guidance, wisdom, and divine revelation. They are often regarded as sacred or holy, profane or unholy, representing the core teachings and principles that their followers strive to uphold.

Sacred animal

Most deities hold one type of animal as sacred to them and their followers. Some deities have no sacred animal (such as the qlippoth lords, as well as almost all of the Outer Gods and Great Old Ones), a few deities have two sacred animals (such as the four Apocalypse Riders, each of whom favors horses in addition to another type of animal), and a few deities hold all animals as sacred (such as Gozreh). Some deities hold a broader category of animals as sacred; for examples among the Eldest, all hibernating animals are sacred to Imbrex, multi-headed animals are sacred to Magdh, and migratory animals are sacred to Ng. Many gods also have a variety of favored animals, to which a deity feels a special kinship or which seem in some way symbolic of the god or their attributes or dogma.

Sacred colors

Most deities hold two or more colors as sacred, but many deities have a single sacred color (perhaps most famously the Apocalypse Riders). A few deities have no sacred color (such as Groetus), and some deities hold all colors as sacred (such as Shelyn).

Forms of worship

Organized worship of a deity or divine entity is often referred to as religion. Followers of the hundreds of known deities express their devotion differently, but some commonalities emerge from cultural and religious differences.

Deities related to a religion, mythology, or tradition are often organized into pantheons. While many people worship a single deity who might belong to a broader pantheon, some people worship an entire pantheon as a collective entity.

A pantheon itself can grant divine powers to worshippers, as can a covenant, a comparable type of collective entity. Some covenants include deities among their number, but most covenants are created by cooperation between non-deific creatures, spirits, or strange powers such as sites of battles, intelligent weapons, or the Elemental Planes themselves.

Houses of worship

Worship often focuses at holy sites or temples, but organized services are not universally required. Shows of obedience and prayers can be simple or ritualized, and are a common means among a god's faithful of communicating with their deity. Deific power is equal among those who wield it, regardless of how many followers the god has or how powerful it is in relation to other gods, though the more practical capabilities of larger congregations can have a material effect on their followers' effectiveness.

Divine classes

See also: Divine magic

The most capable among a deity's faithful often gain divine magic powers from their deity and take up a class to further specialize such gifts. In most cases this results in a cleric, champion, or inquisitor/vindicator.

References

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

External links

• Deity (real-world concept) on Wikipedia
• Religion (real-world practice) on Wikipedia