Deity

From PathfinderWiki
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.12

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.2 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,1 and the death of Gorum ushered in the War of Immortals.3

The following are, among other distinctions, the twenty most influential deities in the Inner Sea region:45

Other deities of the Inner Sea region

Myriad deities have followings throughout the Inner Sea region, but a small selection of them includes:46

Deities of other regions

Deities by ancestry

Many peoples worship deities tied to their own kind.

Ascended deities

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:

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 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,[citation needed] 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.161718 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.[citation needed]

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.1920

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,[citation needed] and the outsider demigods and quasi-deities of the nine Outer Planes.

Miracles

Miracles, defined by Lorminos, are when a god interferes directly and deliberately with an event. It speculated that deities periodically perform miracles to affirm faith. Some gods strategically prefer to perform miracles in front of a large audience over individuals, done in a place with a lot of eyes or grant a well-known wish of a high profile person.21

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.2223 Direct intervention at a large scale would draw the wrath of a deity's opposing powers and risk their own destruction.23 However, there are recorded instances of deities violating these mores, particularly Aroden's direct defense of humanity against Ibdurengian24 and Tar-Baphon,25 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.23

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.262728 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.2930 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.31

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.2628 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.32

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).2628

Offspring

In especially rare cases, a god might procreate with a mortal. The resulting child is often fated for greatness and expresses supernatural powers.31

Forms of worship

Organized worship of a deity or divine entity is often referred to as religion.33 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.2734

A pantheon itself can grant divine powers to worshippers,2735 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.36

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.2

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 inquisitor37/vindicator.38

References

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

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 4. Paizo Inc., 2014
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 6. Paizo Inc., 2014
  3. James Case, et al. War of Immortals. Paizo Inc., 2024
  4. 4.0 4.1 Robert Adducci, et al. “Gods of the Inner Sea” in Gods & Magic, 2, 10. Paizo Inc., 2020
  5. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Godly Influence” in Divine Mysteries, 32–33, 114. Paizo Inc., 2024
  6. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Introduction” in Divine Mysteries, 8. Paizo Inc., 2024 — See also pages 122–163 for a selection of 40 notable deities.
  7. Sean K Reynolds. Irori” in Gods and Magic, 22. Paizo Inc., 2008
  8. Kate Baker, et al. Gruhastha” in Faiths of Golarion, 18. Paizo Inc., 2018
  9. Sean K Reynolds. Nethys” in Gods and Magic, 26. Paizo Inc., 2008
  10. Neil Spicer. “Fires of Creation” in Fires of Creation, 8. Paizo Inc., 2014
  11. James Jacobs, et al. “Life in the Dragon Empires” in Dragon Empires Gazetteer, 61. Paizo Inc., 2011
  12. Robert Brookes, et al. Milani” in Inner Sea Faiths, 72ff. Paizo Inc., 2016
  13. Colin McComb. “Minor Deities” in Faiths of Purity, 20. Paizo Inc., 2011
  14. Robert Brookes, et al. Hanspur” in Inner Sea Faiths, 63. Paizo Inc., 2016
  15. Robert Brookes, et al. Gyronna” in Inner Sea Faiths, 56. Paizo Inc., 2016
  16. Robert Brookes, et al. “Chapter 2: Running Planar Adventures” in Planar Adventures, 70. Paizo Inc., 2018
  17. Logan Bonner, et al. “2: Tools” in Gamemastery Guide, 127–128. Paizo Inc., 2020
  18. Logan Bonner, et al. “Building Games” in GM Core, 140. Paizo Inc., 2023
  19. Jason Nelson, et al. “Variant Magic” in Inner Sea Magic, 10. Paizo Inc., 2011 — In Pathfinder First Edition, Razmirans used arcane magic. In Pathfinder Second Edition, Razmiran priests use occult magic.
  20. Misha Bushyager, et al. Razmiran Priest” in Divine Mysteries, 290. Paizo Inc., 2024
  21. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Faith and Mortals” in Divine Mysteries, 14. Paizo Inc., 2024
  22. Amber E. Scott. “The Worldwound Incursion” in The Worldwound Incursion, 54. Paizo Inc., 2013
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 8. Paizo Inc., 2014
  24. James Jacobs. “That Witch is Dead” in Lords of Chaos, Book of the Damned Volume 2, 31. Paizo Inc., 2010
  25. F. Wesley Schneider. “Continuing the Campaign” in Shadows of Gallowspire, 69. Paizo Inc., 2011
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 316–329. Paizo Inc., 2014
  27. 27.0 27.1 27.2 Robert Adducci, et al. Gods & Magic. Paizo Inc., 2020
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 Misha Bushyager, et al. Divine Mysteries. Paizo Inc., 2024
  29. Robert Adducci, et al. “Overview” in Gods & Magic, 9. Paizo Inc., 2020
  30. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Introduction” in Divine Mysteries, 9. Paizo Inc., 2024
  31. 31.0 31.1 Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 7. Paizo Inc., 2014
  32. Amanda Hamon, et al. Animal Archive, inside back cover. Paizo Inc., 2013
  33. Religion on Wikipedia.
  34. Rigby Bendele, et al. “Religion” in Travel Guide, 92. Paizo Inc., 2022
  35. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Divine Accords” in Divine Mysteries, 236. Paizo Inc., 2024
  36. Misha Bushyager, et al. “Divine Accords” in Divine Mysteries, 236–241. Paizo Inc., 2024
  37. Sean K Reynolds, et al. Inner Sea Gods, 10. Paizo Inc., 2014
  38. James Case, et al. Vindicator Class Archetype” in War of Immortals, 64. Paizo Inc., 2024

External links

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