You Gotta Have Faith!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

In the next month or so the next book in our Pathfinder Player Companion line will be released. Faiths of Purity isn't a book about the gods. It's not even just about their clerics. It's really a book about the vast masses of the faithful, the worshipers of the gods of absolute good and their place on Golarion. It's about the living religion, and how that religion ties into the everyday lives of its followers. More importantly, it outlines the role of adventurers in the faith, and why an adventurer might choose a particular god—not merely because the god's alignment matches, or because the best spells come from his domains, but because your philosophies match. Most importantly, it's about how your story can encompass faith, and how a myriad of different heroic characters can battle evil and live in the light of the gods.

This is an awesome book that focuses on the seven major good-aligned gods, provides an outline of the god in question, and summarizes the deity's domains and interests, and why that god might be a good fit for your character. In addition to new feats, spells, and write-ups on different organizations officially sanctioned by the various churches, Faiths of Purity also discusses the various codes paladins of the different good gods live by. As a teaser, here's the code that paladins of Shelyn (yes, she has paladins) follow:

Illustration by Sara Forlenza

Paladins of Shelyn are peaceable promoters of art and beauty. They see the ugliness in evil, even when cloaked in the form of beauty, and their job is to prevent the weak and foolish from being seduced by false promises. Their tenets include:

  • I am peaceful. I come first with a rose. I act to prevent conflict before it blossoms.
  • I never strike first, unless it is the only way to protect the innocent.
  • I accept surrender if my opponent can be redeemed—and I never assume that they cannot be. All things that live love beauty, and I will show beauty's answer to them.
  • I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss. I will only sacrifice art if doing so allows me to save a life, for untold beauty can arise from an awakened soul.
  • I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint.
  • I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for beauty is lessened.
  • I live my life as art. I will choose an art and perfect it. When I have mastered it, I will choose another. The works I leave behind make life richer for those who follow.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

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Tags: Paladins Pathfinder Player Companion Sara Forlenza Shelyn
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Dark Archive

Metrosexual Paladins. I dig it.

And of course this will all be PFS legal right Hyrum ?

;)


I'm very keen on the Faiths of series. Good show on spotting an opportunity and embracing it with gusto!

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Finally, confirmation that you can legally play a Paladin of a non-Lawful Good God.
Take that all you arguers against!!!

My Paladin of Desna is teh legalz!!!

Hahahahahhahahahhhahahhaahahaahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha


Um, nowhere in rules does it say that paladins have to have a God, let alone a LG one.

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

Toadkiller Dog wrote:
Um, nowhere in rules does it say that paladins have to have a God, let alone a LG one.

It's an old argument... :/


I agree that paladins should be able to follow (mostly) any god. But, I also think that the final word would rest with the GM. Just that the GM's decision should factor in the official stance by Paizo (both paladins of Sheylin and Asmodeus have now been confirmed).

Dark Archive

I'm a paladin of asmodeus!

Sczarni

You know I tried that too, but my DM shot me down. :P So instead I had a short lived cavalier who died in a fire. :P

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Is everybody forgetting that Shelyn's alignment is NG, not CG? Paladins of a NG god(dess) is nothing new - see every Paladin of Sarenrae printed thusfar. Yes, she's a goddess of love, art, and beauty, so her having devoted holy warriors is a bit out of the ordinary, but nothing revolutionary when it comes to the rules.

Scarab Sages

Love the detail on Paladins of Shelyn. Very inspiring. I'll put that on my ever-growing list of potential character concepts.

As excited as I am about this product, I do hope that we'll get to see some of the religions of the lesser deities fleshed out, too.

As I'm playing an Inquisitor of Kols, I'd absolutely love to see some information on this god, and I'm sure PCs who worship other minor deities would appreciate a bone thrown to them.


Kvantum wrote:
Is everybody forgetting that Shelyn's alignment is NG, not CG? Paladins of a NG god(dess) is nothing new - see every Paladin of Sarenrae printed thusfar. Yes, she's a goddess of love, art, and beauty, so her having devoted holy warriors is a bit out of the ordinary, but nothing revolutionary when it comes to the rules.

All major good gods (including the CG ones) are in the companion - and the paladin codes for each of the gods is included. So CG deity LG paladin

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

See also Abadarian Paladins. It's Chaotic or Evil Gods having Paladins that's the concern, and I'd be suprised if this book changes it - there probably won't be Desnan or Cayden codes in this book.

Panish - the post says "Faiths of Purity also discusses the various codes paladins of the different good gods live by"
It's infinently possible the Desna & Cayden Cailien say 'we don't' for this bit.

Liberty's Edge

Ooh, does this mean there'll be more paladins of Shelyn around? Most people seemed to think I was a little strange when I introduced my character at the beginning of PFS games :)

I love these guidelines, and if I ever get a chance to play Saki again, I'll be stridently upholding them.

Her art, incidentally, is calligraphy... also etching. I envisioned her to have personally decorated her full plate armor with Shelyn's holy symbols, plus a poem dedicated to love and beauty written in her native script (Minkai).

Now the next question is when do we get an extended Shelyn article in the Pathfinder APs? Here's hoping for sometime in Jade Regent!

<3 Shelyn <3


Enlight_Bystand wrote:

See also Abadarian Paladins. It's Chaotic or Evil Gods having Paladins that's the concern, and I'd be suprised if this book changes it - there probably won't be Desnan or Cayden codes in this book.

Panish - the post says "Faiths of Purity also discusses the various codes paladins of the different good gods live by"
It's infinently possible the Desna & Cayden Cailien say 'we don't' for this bit.

From the product blurb: "Paladin codes for sacred warriors of each major god, as well as new organizations and knightly orders" I think this is to mean that they really have paladins of Cayden Cailean.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
flash_cxxi wrote:

Finally, confirmation that you can legally play a Paladin of a non-Lawful Good God.

Take that all you arguers against!!!

My Paladin of Desna is teh legalz!!!

Hahahahahhahahahhhahahhaahahaahahahahahahahahhahahahahaha

I thought the Argument that not all "Golarion" Good gods had Paladins, because some did not fit well with the Paladin Code. At least that is what we where told by James over and over. We already know that some Golarion non Lawful gods have Paladins, Sarenrae and Shelyn *We already knew she had Paladins*. But if they change the code to fit the god, that fixes that problem.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

I want to see Cayden's code state, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings."

Optimus Prime, Paladin of Cayden Cailean :-)

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Saki Kanazawa wrote:

Ooh, does this mean there'll be more paladins of Shelyn around? Most people seemed to think I was a little strange when I introduced my character at the beginning of PFS games :)

Probably not. the "Not Striking First" rule would be a dealbreaker to most gamers who prefer to launch attacks from surprise or at least first whenever possible.

The other problem would be the necessity to protect evil artwork from destruction.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Dragnmoon wrote:


I thought the Argument that not all "Golarion" Good gods had Paladins, because some did not fit well with the Paladin Code. At least that is what we where told by James over and over. We already know that some Golarion non Lawful gods have Paladins, Sarenrae and Shelyn *We already knew she had Paladins*. But if they change the code to fit the god, that fixes that problem.

While he reiterated that Shelyn did have Paladins, she did note that she's one of the more problematic gods for a Paladin to serve.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
LazarX wrote:


While he reiterated that Shelyn did have Paladins, she did note that she's one of the more problematic gods for a Paladin to serve.

That is why I like this Code per Code thing, fixes that problem, as long as the Code still fits the Idea of a LG PC.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I like that each god will have it's own code.


Keep in mind that the paladin's code can still vary somewhat from paladin to paladin.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Looks like the gestalt paladin-bard I played a few years ago has some soulmates in Golarion! :) Very cool writeup. That's the kind of thing that not only makes me want to buy the book, but maybe bite the bullet and adopt Golarion as a campaign world, at least for a while.

- Eridanis, maker of a homebrewed campaign world since 1983 :)


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

"It's about the living religion"

Yes!!!

Contributor

"I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss."

Excellent...

*steeples fingers*


Wow! Now THAT is a Paladin that I would love to play!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.

There are paladin codes for the following deities in this book:

Erastil (LG)
Iomedae (LG)
Sarenrae (NG)
Shelyn (NG)
Torag (LG)

Chaotic good gods do not have paladins working for them.

If you're a paladin, and you're being lawful, then you're devoutly upholding the teachings and philosophies of your deity. If you worship a deity who isn't LG, NG, or LN, you're either shirking your duties as a paladin by straying too far from your LG alignment, or you're shirking your duties to your deity by straying too far from the DEITY'S alignment, which isn't lawful behavior, which means you're ALSO not a paladin.


Oo, does this mean they'll have the Paladin codes for all of those gods printed out? I would love that; it would save on a lot of "that's against your (nebulous) code" arguments.


Spoiler:
Alignment: Killing cool concepts everywhere!

Anyway, I am really looking forward to this book. The flavor alone it could bring...

-Oroth Sunschild, Paladin of Freedom

Contributor

Liane Merciel wrote:

"I will never destroy a work of art, nor allow one to come to harm unless greater art arises from its loss."

Excellent...

*steeples fingers*

GOBLIN BARD: We're a dadaist commune of pyrotechnic performance artists! We must burn the museum and the library as part of our critique on the hoary decadence of elven society and the power of books to enslave the minds of the populace by stealing the words out of your head! And fire pretty!

GOBLIN PALADIN OF SHELYN: Yes, fire pretty! We burn ugly books in beautiful fire! Why you no like?

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
James Jacobs wrote:

There are paladin codes for the following deities in this book:

Erastil (LG)
Iomedae (LG)
Sarenrae (NG)
Shelyn (NG)
Torag (LG)

Chaotic good gods do not have paladins working for them.

If you're a paladin, and you're being lawful, then you're devoutly upholding the teachings and philosophies of your deity. If you worship a deity who isn't LG, NG, or LN, you're either shirking your duties as a paladin by straying too far from your LG alignment, or you're shirking your duties to your deity by straying too far from the DEITY'S alignment, which isn't lawful behavior, which means you're ALSO not a paladin.

So really nothing has changed, though we get a Code per God now, which I like.


I don't actually expect this to happen but... PLEASE do this for antipaladins when the faiths of badstuff comes out. I get queasy just thinking about the code of an antipaladin of Lamashtu or Urgathoa.

Verdant Wheel

James Jacobs wrote:


If you're a paladin, and you're being lawful, then you're devoutly upholding the teachings and philosophies of your deity. If you worship a deity who isn't LG, NG, or LN, you're either shirking your duties as a paladin by straying too far from your LG alignment, or you're shirking your duties to your deity by straying too far from the DEITY'S alignment, which isn't lawful behavior, which means you're ALSO not a paladin.

And if said deity give special permission to the Paladin to do that (let´s suppose an non-Golarion pantheon) ? Or the Paladin is tricked in serving an heretical practice without knowing ?


Fingers crossed for more information on the Empyreal Lords!

Scarab Sages RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32

James Jacobs wrote:

There are paladin codes for the following deities in this book:

Erastil (LG)
Iomedae (LG)
Sarenrae (NG)
Shelyn (NG)
Torag (LG)

Chaotic good gods do not have paladins working for them.

If you're a paladin, and you're being lawful, then you're devoutly upholding the teachings and philosophies of your deity. If you worship a deity who isn't LG, NG, or LN, you're either shirking your duties as a paladin by straying too far from your LG alignment, or you're shirking your duties to your deity by straying too far from the DEITY'S alignment, which isn't lawful behavior, which means you're ALSO not a paladin.

Sad Panda is Sad...

8'(


Quote:
Faiths of Purity also discusses the various codes paladins of the different good gods live by.

Consider this bought. That's something I've wanted for a long time (including while playing 3.0/3.5) :)


Easy answer.. the code of "Chika bow-bow"... AND they kiss you first.

Contributor

Draco Bahamut wrote:
And if said deity give special permission to the Paladin to do that (let´s suppose an non-Golarion pantheon) ? Or the Paladin is tricked in serving an heretical practice without knowing ?

Neither of those topics is something a player-oriented book should address--that's more of a GM-decision issue.


Extending the thought a bit: what about a drunken master (monk); he could be lawful good and a follower of Cayden Cailean?


Are wrote:
Quote:
Faiths of Purity also discusses the various codes paladins of the different good gods live by.

Consider this bought. That's something I've wanted for a long time (including while playing 3.0/3.5) :)

Often I am quite sceptical about PF books, but in this case I can absolutely agree. This is a great philosophy how a rpg source book should be.

Silver Crusade

Lilith wrote:
Fingers crossed for more information on the Empyreal Lords!

right there with you. especially in regards to Ragathiel

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
LoreKeeper wrote:
Extending the thought a bit: what about a drunken master (monk); he could be lawful good and a follower of Cayden Cailean?

A Monk is not a Paladin.

Silver Crusade

I am really excited about this book.

I kind of regret not rolling with Shelyn for my paladin now.

Shelynite Code wrote:
I lead by example, not with my blade. Where my blade passes, a life is cut short, and the world's potential for beauty is lessened.

My favorite bit. I'm swiping it for use for paladins of any deity I play in the future.

Contributor

Dragnmoon wrote:
LoreKeeper wrote:
Extending the thought a bit: what about a drunken master (monk); he could be lawful good and a follower of Cayden Cailean?
A Monk is not a Paladin.

Exactly. There is no requirement to have a deity for the monk class... its powers come from within, not from the divine, so there's no one-step rule for monks (or any other character that doesn't require a deity).


Call me whatever you like, but if I told my players they could play a paladin of Shelyn...they would call me a p#&$! and kick my ass! That has to be the worst concept of a paladin I've ever read in all my 28 years of gaming. Sorry folks, NOT buying into a wuss paladin carrying around roses and reciting poetry and kissing ass instead of kicking it. Nope.

Contributor

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Some religions actually to practice peace and mercy. *shrug*


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
hedgeknight wrote:
Sorry folks, NOT buying into a wuss paladin carrying around roses and reciting poetry and kissing ass instead of kicking it.

That's the coolest paladin concept I've heard in a very long time.


Carrying roses and reciting poetry is hardly the wussificaiton that disables a paladin from ass-kicking. I am confident that real-life paladins answering this description could be found with a little research, since courtly love flourished during the age of faith.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Draco Bahamut wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:


If you're a paladin, and you're being lawful, then you're devoutly upholding the teachings and philosophies of your deity. If you worship a deity who isn't LG, NG, or LN, you're either shirking your duties as a paladin by straying too far from your LG alignment, or you're shirking your duties to your deity by straying too far from the DEITY'S alignment, which isn't lawful behavior, which means you're ALSO not a paladin.
And if said deity give special permission to the Paladin to do that (let´s suppose an non-Golarion pantheon) ? Or the Paladin is tricked in serving an heretical practice without knowing ?

By my book? You wouldn't be a paladin anyway, so it doesn't matter. If you REALLY want to play a non lawful-good holy warrior, there are plenty of options for clerics, rangers, cavaliers, and fighters, especially with the APG out now.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

LoreKeeper wrote:
Extending the thought a bit: what about a drunken master (monk); he could be lawful good and a follower of Cayden Cailean?

Sure... although he'd still be a bit too stuffy or lawful to fit in really well with the actual priests of the faith. And he'd probably butt heads philosophically with most other worshipers.


deinol wrote:
hedgeknight wrote:
Sorry folks, NOT buying into a wuss paladin carrying around roses and reciting poetry and kissing ass instead of kicking it.
That's the coolest paladin concept I've heard in a very long time.

You're kidding? Right?

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