Hey guys,
Starting a WotW campaign in a couple months and I'm going to be a cleric of asmodeus.
I'm really interested in the exalted prestige class but am having trouble figuring out the most "convenient" way to do his obedience each morning. It almost seems not worth it.
For those who don't know, you have to carve into an unwilling subject, drain blood into a bowl, draw a pentagram with that blood, and pray on it.
The hard part is the unwilling subject. What are others doing to make it work.
Thanks for any advice.
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Obedience Using a ruby-bladed knife, inscribe symmetrical
cuts into the flesh of another creature—preferably an
unwilling sentient being you own or hold dominion over. The
blade may be solid ruby or forged of metal and edged with
serrated ruby fragments. Devout priests of Asmodeus take
pride in crafting elaborate daggers made entirely of ruby.
Drain the victim’s blood into a bowl of bone made from the
skull of a sentient humanoid. The amount of blood drained
is up to you; you don’t have to drain so much that you make
the creature weak or too useless to serve you. Use the bowl
of blood to draw a large pentagram on the ground. Kneel
within the pentagram and concentrate on the glory you will
bring to the Prince of Darkness’s name. Gain a +4 profane
bonus on saving throws against fire effects.
It doesn't have to be unwilling. Also, it doesn't even have to be human, or of the same plane. You could summon a creature, bind it while it's under your control--as long as you can complete the ritual while the summon lasts, you could complete the ritual this way.
At lvl 7 you could take the leadership feat and have a willing servant. Any asmodean temple will have chattel that you would be able to use. For a price you could probably rent/purchase one to take on your journeys.
You could use a willing party member as you don't have to kill them or drain enough blood to make them useless.
You could take the Boon Companion feat or multiclass into a class with an animal companion and use it.
You could take Eldritch Heritage or multiclass and get a familiar.
You could keep whatever victims your party happens across alive until morning and use them. Just buy some really good manacles and rope and invest in sleight of hand to keep them tied up.
There are literally tons of options.
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Goats
every god accepts goats
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Own a slave.
Also, you're going to have trouble with paladins, because they have no way of knowing that you're Lawful Evil, not Chaotic Evil.
Alternatively, you could always carry a lead sheet.
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Own a slave.
Also, you're going to have trouble with paladins, because they have no way of knowing that you're Lawful Evil, not Chaotic Evil.
Alternatively, you could always carry a lead sheet.
Any paladin that outright murders everything that detects as evil deserves his just punishment of falling. He (original post) could be LN and still worship Asmodeus but still detect as evil. Anyone playing a paladin should know that and already know that they can't go about killing all native-subtypes that detect as evil.
I don't know how I missed the word'preferably' that changes it a lot.
DM wants us lawful evil. I have no idea what we are getting into but he strongly suggested I play a cleric of asmodeus and that I wouldn't regret it.
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Any paladin that outright murders everything that detects as evil deserves his just punishment of falling. He (original post) could be LN and still worship Asmodeus but still detect as evil. Anyone playing a paladin should know that and already know that they can't go about killing all native-subtypes that detect as evil.Own a slave.
Also, you're going to have trouble with paladins, because they have no way of knowing that you're Lawful Evil, not Chaotic Evil.
Alternatively, you could always carry a lead sheet.
"Hmmm... this person is carving runes of a fiendish god into the flesh of an unwilling creature and using the blood to pay homage to them in exchange for boons... Surely my detect evil is merely on the fritz this morning."
Sorry, but divine casters that are investing in options that require further obedience to an evil deity... are going to cross that line for paladin standards.
And this isn't even getting into inquisitors, who might not care if you're lawful. And outright murder isn't the only option to a paladin that suspects Bludgeon McBeatslave isn't on the up and up, they can refuse to render assistance, report to authorities for further investigation, press charges, etc. A paladin can fall from knowingly assisting an evil character or in working to assist in an evil act, including forced subjugation and physical harm of sentient creatures.
This'll be my last post before this gets ugly, but I'll say that the suggestion of goats a good one. It's not sentient, but it is unwilling, and it's less likely to get you at the spear-head of an inquisition.
I was under the assumption the whole purpose of this particular AP is evil. Kind of a fun, organized way to play a wicked character with rules.
If bloodletting someone or something to pay homage to my god is gonna get me in trouble in this AP then I do not think it is what I or my GM thinks it is.
Is the Asmodeus obedience too much even for this campaign? A non spoiler hint would be greatly appreciated. My GM hasn't read too much into it as we are still in another campaign at the moment.
I'm guess its Way of The Wicked, WAIT I'VE GOT IT!!! When the uppity paladin from above attacks you BAM!!! Unwilling bloodletting slave.
Slaves is usually the best option.
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I was under the assumption the whole purpose of this particular AP is evil. Kind of a fun, organized way to play a wicked character with rules.
If bloodletting someone or something to pay homage to my god is gonna get me in trouble in this AP then I do not think it is what I or my GM thinks it is.
Is the Asmodeus obedience too much even for this campaign? A non spoiler hint would be greatly appreciated. My GM hasn't read too much into it as we are still in another campaign at the moment.
Ah... Way of the Wicked. Sorry, got it confused with Wrath of the Righteous (WotW vs WotR).
Yeah, go with a slave. It's the easiest and closest to the obedience.
You won't have problems in that AP if you're okay with a character that's totally okay with puckering up to Asmodeus' hooved feet.
a thing to note: the obedience feats were designed for you to get SOMETIMES, or whenever the appropriate circumstances rolled around--you can't exactly carry a waterfall around to meditate under, for example.
But don't those three prestige classes that offer early entry into the obedience's have you lose all your abilities if you don't "obey"?
okay, decanter of endless water aside.
@malaketh: the feats (at least) only lose their benefit for that day if you don't do them. i'm not sure if the PrCs include a similar clause, but if not then i sure hope you picked a feasible deity!
you'll find pathfinder is rife with needlessly restrictive/arbitrary things.
This is why I prefer to take Obedience with deities like Arshea...
This is why I prefer to take Obedience with deities like Arshea...With obediences like that you've really got to wonder what's up with evil worshippers.
A bunch of Puritanical prudes, if you ask me.
a thing to note: the obedience feats were designed for you to get SOMETIMES, or whenever the appropriate circumstances rolled around--you can't exactly carry a waterfall around to meditate under, for example.
You can levitate a decanter of endless water or put it on a high platform, surely.
EDIT: Didn't see the earlier post, but you could still spam create water above yourself, since it's a cantrip.
Asmodeus' obedience isn't meant to be THAT hard. He is a god that is very into well oiled machines, so the basic logistics aren't going to be too hard.
No, when he goes into complicated rituals with virgin sacrifices and volcanoes on eclipses, that is more of a test. If you can handle all those arbitrary problems and stipulations, and still build up a logistical network that can carry the load, then you are good material for management promotions.
That is probably why devils have a long metamorphosis when they are granted a more powerful form- they need to build up a network that can survive them being gone for long periods of time.
At least, this is how I view the whole process.