Zyphus

Zyphus

(Deity)

Titles

The Grim Harvestman;
The Harbinger of Unexpected Tragedy;
Most Hated Rival of Pharasma

Adjective

Zyphen

Realm

Bloodrot, Abaddon

Alignment

Neutral evil

Areas of Concern

Accidental death
Graveyards
Spite
Tragedy

Worshipers

Bitter sufferers of tragedy or loss

Edicts

Encourage deadly accidents by performing acts of sabotage or through faulty design, seek out instances of tragedy and foster ill will in the surviving victims, spread the belief that life is pointless since it all ends in the pain of death

Anathema

Engineer the same accident twice in a row, knowingly provide aid to a Pharasmin, spread hope or optimism (particularly in the face of a tragedy)

Follower Alignments (1E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Domains (1E)

Death, Destruction, Evil, Plant, War

Subdomains (1E)

Blood, Catastrophe, Daemon, Decay, Murder, Undead

Follower Alignments (2E)

LG	NG	CG
LN	N	CN
LE	NE	CE

Sanctification (2E)

Must choose unholy

Domains (2E)

Death, sorrow, soul, undeath
Alternate: Creation, pain

Favored Weapon

Pick

Symbol

Pickaxe made of bones

Sacred Animal

Vulture

Sacred Colors

Ivory, red

Images of Zyphus

Source: Inner Sea Faiths, pg(s). 88–93 (1E)
Divine Mysteries, pg(s). 163 (2E)

Alignment details are sourced from Inner Sea Faiths and Lost Omens Gods & Magic 130–131. In Gods & Magic, Zyphus's areas of concern, edicts, and anathema differ, and his domains lack creation and pain.

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Zyphus with his cultists.

Zyphus (pronounced ZIE-fess or ZAI-FUSS) is the malignant god of accidental death. A bitter enemy of the goddess Pharasma, he is worshiped by small cults throughout Golarion. These groups foment tragedy and bring about accidents in the hopes of strengthening the power of their god. His religious symbol is a pick made from a human skull, rib, and femur.

History

Legends among followers of the Grim Harvestman claim that the god arose from the first maddened soul to die a pointless death. Upon reaching the Boneyard, he refused Pharasma's judgement and escaped to pursue his own godhood.

However, the top echelons of his faith believe the accident which killed that legendary mortal—and all others killed by misfortune thereafter—was itself Zyphus.

It is written that since that time, every mortal who died in the same meaningless way was destined to be absorbed by Zyphus after death. By refusing to accept their accidental deaths, these souls are believed to lose their last protections against their souls being eternally consumed by Zyphus.

This puts him in direct competition with the goddess Pharasma, and his followers believe that once he has acquired enough souls he will be able to engineer the death of Pharasma herself.

Cults of Zyphus believe that even though the deaths they help arrange are not truly accidental, these souls are still dedicated to strengthening their patron.

Home

Zyphus' divine realm is located in a massive field of open tombs within Bloodrot, Urgathoa's home in Abaddon. He originally received it through a deal with Charon, and the daemons largely leave him alone.

Relationships

Zyphus views Urgathoa as his mentor and shares many interests with her. He is trying to convince Naderi that chance can always take away one's loved one, in the process turning her toward evil. Most other gods view him as more of an annoyance than an actual threat; he is particularly opposed by Abadar, Torag, Brigh, and especially Pharasma. His cults sometimes work alongside daemon worshippers, but are always wary of them.

Zyphus, alongside other newer deities like Cayden Cailean and Milani, have chosen to help protect the Dead Vault from being opened to free Rovagug.

Servants

Zyphus' herald is Gravedragger, a vaguely humanoid mass of grave dirt and bones also known as Grinning Jack or Grinjack.

Church

Zyphen cults are widespread, although never large in numbers. They worship in abandoned graveyards that are no longer under the protection of the Lady of Graves. His symbols are often found on arches or vaulted roofs of active graveyards as well but, used in this way, they are meant to ward off the Grim Harvestman. Recently, Zyphen cults have been active in Taldor. Zyphus has dictated no official religious text, but approves of his followers using the Letters of Harsh Truth, a collection of revelations about the folly of the gods, the dominance of chance, and how mortals should accept their inevitable and random deaths.

Most of Zyphus' worshipers are recruited from those affected by a tragedy, with a Zyphen priest often having had a hand in it. They nurse their grudges into general spitefulness and seek to inflict misfortune and sadness on others. Worshipers eventually become misanthropes that believe death is a punishment for enjoying life in the first place. Adherents of Zyphus are spurred on to create lethally hazardous scenarios through sabotage or to create things purposely engineered as defective. They are discouraged from creating similar accidents in a row; nor should they give others hope, especially in the event of a tragedy; Zyphens must never help a Pharasmin.

Cultists believe dying from an unplanned accident would be their greatest reward, so they never intentionally seek undeath; however, many Zyphen cultists do return as undead.

References

Paizo published major articles about Zyphus in Palace of Fallen Stars and Inner Sea Faiths.

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