The Lantern King

From PathfinderWiki
The Lantern King
(Deity)

Titles
The Laughing Lie
Realm
First World but no permanent abode
Alignment
Areas of Concern
Laughter
Mischief
Transformation
Edicts
Play pranks, seek new sources of humor, leave lit lanterns in unusual places
Anathema
Be completely honest, ruin or explain a good joke
Follower Alignments (1E)
Domains (1E)
Chaos, Charm, Madness, Trickery
Subdomains (1E)
Deception, Love, Lust, Thievery
Follower Alignments (2E)
Domains (2E)
Change, delirium, passion, trickery
Favored Weapon
Symbol
Golden lantern
Sacred Animal
Sacred Colors
Black, gold
Source: The First World, Realm of the Fey, pg(s). 24 (1E)
Gods & Magic, pg(s). 78, 126–127 (2E)

The Lantern King is one of the Eldest, a divine fey creature of tremendous power said to be able to reshape the very fabric of the First World on a whim. He is known for his capacity as a trickster god mixing caprice and mischief in god-like capacity within a realm already full of such practice. His sense of humor is vast, both in its breadth and its potential for harm, and his pranks, even well-intentioned ones, are not always pleasant or convenient. However, those that have spent a long time in his presence note that behind the Lantern King's mischief is a cunning, cosmic-level schemer influencing numerous major events across the Great Beyond.123

He has been known to be adept at riding the fine line between his antics being mischievous or outright sadistic. Though this has mainly been because he reserves his most truly horrible ideas for those who invite such cruelty upon themselves through their terrible actions.4

Appearance

The Lantern King resembles a foot-wide ball of golden light surrounded by a circlet made out of glyphs. When expressing a point or emotion, he often changes colour. Because of this resemblance, he is sometimes suspected to be the progenitor of will-o'-wisps or the original model for lantern archons, but the fey lord derisively laughs off such claims. He speaks in a booming, merry baritone which is the only indicator of his gender. The Lantern King is also capable of taking the forms of other creatures, including other Eldest, to cause mischief.3

Home

The Lantern King has no permanent abode. He wanders freely through the fields and forests of the First World, bending reality and changing lives wherever he goes, and is often blamed when a traveller is led astray. He is particularly fond of the Witchmarket, a caravan that travels across the First World and into the Universe.53

Relationships

The other Eldest cautiously respect the Lantern King, as even they are not immune to his pranks, particularly Ragadahn and the Lost Prince, whom he considers too serious. He is mysteriously friendly with Ng, and respects Shyka, who has seen all of his schemes and is hard to fool.3

Cults

The Lantern King cares little for worshippers but is willing to provide power to them whenever he feels like doing so. To meet the King is a First World expression meaning finding oneself subject to strange fortune, and seekers of the Lantern King rarely return the same.3

References

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

  1. James Jacobs, et al. “Other Gods” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 233. Paizo Inc., 2011
  2. Colin McComb. “Minor Deities” in Faiths of Balance, 21. Paizo Inc., 2011
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 James L. Sutter. “The Eldest” in The First World, Realm of the Fey, 24–25. Paizo Inc., 2016
  4. Steven Helt, et al. “Appendices” in Kingmaker Adventure Path, 600. Paizo Inc., 2022
  5. James L. Sutter. “The First World” in Sound of a Thousand Screams, 68. Paizo Inc., 2010