Outer God

Outer God

(Deity)

Realm

Dark Tapestry

Alignment

Varies

Worshipers

The Old Cults, The Night Heralds, neothelids, seugathi, cloakers

Domains (1E)

Chaos, Knowledge, Madness, Rune, Void

Subdomains (1E)

Dark Tapestry, Insanity, Language, Memory, Nightmare, Stars

Favored Weapon

Varies, but daggers are common

Images of Outer Gods

Source: Wake of the Watcher, pg(s). 63

The Outer Gods 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.

According to many scholars (including Tabris, who calls them Those Who Remain in the Concordance of Rivals), 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.

Most Outer Gods make their homes within the Universe, 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.

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.

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

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Please note that the rules and information found in The Inner Sea World Guide 235 are superseded by those in Pathfinder 46: Wake of the Watcher.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