I am working on an adventure set in Rahadoum and was wondering about the first law. Simply stated the first law says let no man be beholden to a god. Obviously this forbids any caster that draws power from a deity, but what about other divine casters. Would divine casters who do not worship a deity be allowed? I am looking mainly at Druids and Rangers, but also thinking about Oracles, and Shamans. Also how would they view witches?
Just read this description of Alahazra. There you seen what his Father thought about his daughter who suddenly got Divine powers.
So I would say anything Divine is big "No, No."
The druids of the Green Faith beg to differ...
As do a good deal of the shamans.
Characters may elect to worship an evil god,
but must always be within one alignment step of their
chosen deity. For clerics, this is an especially important
choice, since the deity’s alignment determines whether
the cleric channels positive or negative energy, a decision
with significant tactical implications for the cleric and
her allies. Clerics, inquisitors, paladins, cavaliers of
the order of the star, and samurai of the order of the
star must choose a deity as all classes in Golarion that
receive spells and abilities from a specific divine source
receive their powers from a deity. Druids, oracles, and
rangers are the exception to this rule. The list is not
exhaustive, and divine spellcasters of any future classes
whose sources are added as additional resources will be
required to choose a deity unless otherwise specified.
Otherwise, characters who do not receive powers from
a divine source may choose to be atheists or to have no
deity at all.
While this is from PFS, it certainly a good indication Paizo's feelings about Golarion.
what is true in golarions universe is distinct from what rahadoum's laws have to say as well as what is commonly applied by rahadoum's common folk.
we don't have a solid statement on each type of non-cleric divine caster, beyond example of alazhra.
for all we know, her case could be an over-reaction based on common folk's ignorance,
and rahadoum law could in fact recognize/allow oracles who do not worhsip gods, but that nuance isn't widely known outside major cities/sophisticated circles.
(albeit given suppression of clerics, i'd guess providence-created oracles will be a more common form of divine in rahadoum than clerics)
alazhra's story is a bit unclear on how they know/believe her to be divine-ly connected:
AFAIK there is no ability, skill, or spell which reveals arcane/divine typing of an effect.
Things which are only known to have divine manfistations could be assumed to be divine,
but basic cure spells also have arcane versions (bard as story alludes to, witch)
and most oracle abilities in fact grant usually-arcane abilities, e.g. flame mystery...
So I have no idea on what basis Alazhra could have been identified as a "divine practitioner" in the first place,
even before one gets to the specifics of how that may or may not trigger rahadoum's laws.
broadly speaking, i guess that rangers would be least likely to trigger rahadoum's laws,
but I have no real specifics on how to assess them one way or the other...
or if Paizo does intend there to be some way to ID "divine effects"...????
There are a couple of ways to tell divine spells from arcane the easiest is that many divine spells require a divine focus instead of material components. A paladin or cleric uses an appropriate holy symbol so would obviously be violating the first law. Druids and rangers use a sacred plant instead of a holy symbol. The description of the oracle class states they can cast without a divine focus even if the spell lists that as a required component. There is no mention of any exception for shamans using divine focus, so I assume that they still need them.
Detect expertise can also indirectly reveal if your magic is from a divine source. When you cast detect magic and learn the casters domains, or mysteries that is a pretty good indication of the source. While this is not fool proof, it can be used to identify divine casters.
Spellcraft can also identify spells as they are cast. While it does not explicitly state it reveals the source of the spell it does not state it does not. As the GM this is something I would allow especially if the spell has a divine focus. I use rules similar to identifying monsters for this.
As to requiring divine spell casters to have a deity this is also my decision and I do not require all divine spell caster to have a deity. I do require it for clerics, inquisitors, and paladins. Druids and ranges draw power from nature, shamans are tapping into spirts. Oracles are unknown and not fully trusted because of this. This may not be PFS compliant or RAW but this is what I do in my game.
I am not really concerned about the actual game rules. What I am interested in is people’s ideas on how the culture would view rangers and maybe druids and shamans. I am planning an adventure for my players located in Rahadoum and I am in the process of writing up NPC’s. Personal opinions and ideas are welcome and encouraged. If you have anything official to back up your ideas that is greatly appreciated, but don’t let the lack stop you from posting your ideas.
The problem with druids is that they typically worship nature, or are perceived to do so. The thing about the first law is that it's about the damage worship does, as a mindless devotion to some vague thing outside yourself (I'm exaggerating a little to express a harsh Rahadoumi viewpoint). So I think druids would probably be a no-go, also, although they may sometimes be treated less harshly than clerics.
detect expertise is a good one, although it didn't exist until Ult Magic, so wasn't the basis of Rahadoum's backstory, or even Alazhra's...
but remember her story of being "ID'd" as divine wasn't based on detecting mysteries or divine magic,
but on the basis of the bards NOT detecting any signs of arcane-based magic (sorcery or arcana).
(however that would happen - not sure if detect expertise is the best match)
and remember, she wasn't spellcasting yet, the issue was her blind curse and (uncontrolled?) flame revelation powers(?).
regardless, both the powers are un-traditionally divine, and the spells are as well (as well as missing focus).
as far as casting, i don't see why a flame oracle casting fire spells would arouse suspision in rahadoum.
back to detect expertise, if it was used, and pinged 'mystery:fire', i'm still unsure why they would know that is divine if they are unfamiliar with oracles.
if they are familiar with oracles, then they know it isn't tied to worwship of gods or any particular gods at all.
so over-all, the story doesn't seem to reflect solid identification of her as oracle and divine-user,
rather more than fearful ignorance of not being able to identify her as standard arcane sorcery user, by whatever means posited.
(with untamed sorceror bloodlines probably the most common occurence of 'wild magical effects')
which again, leaves open the possibility that in more educated circles (e.g. the capitol) she MIGHT have had different experience.
for the rangers, druids, shamans, who have focuses, which seems the strongest give-away,
one approach might be to destroy each focus in process of casting or something,
and to then pass it off as non-standard material component... and carry more of them in their component pouch.
honestly, the same goes for clerics, albeit their symbols may be more recognizable than "a sacred plant".
re: detect expertise more broadly, it is interesting in that it wouldn't "ping" rangers, nor druids without domains...
both of whom could use 'disposable' focii "as if material components", and thus perhaps fly under the radar...???
I would say that Oracles do not violate the laws of man, however, the vast majority of rahadoumites can't tell the difference between an oracle and another type of divine caster. I feel like druids and rangers might be tolerated in to outer reaches of the nation, but never be trusted, and be hunted by the Pure legion if they are discovered. just my thoughts.
For detecting whether magic is arcane or divine (or presumably to detect whether it is psychic), you can also use Arcane Sight, which is available as a 3rd level spell for Alchemists, Inquisitors, Magi, Sorcerers, Wizards (Void specialists also count it as their specialty), and Witches. Arcane Sight can be made permanent, and the Pure Legion would probably be willing to pay for this, at least for its upper level Enforcers. For the lower level Pure Legion Enforcers, as long as they have passed their entrance exam and gained the feat Detect Expertise (which surprisingly is not in the prestige class prerequisites), they can use Detect Expertise by way of their Detect Chaos/Evil/Good/Law spell-like ability (Aura Sense) that is gained at the 1st level of the prestige class. This also works with the Detect Magic that they get at 2nd level (Divine Detective) of the prestige class.
Also, it has been posted somewhere else (can't remember if it was in the Ask JJ thread or a Rahadoum-specific thread) that Rahadoum doesn't trust and thereby doesn't allow ANY divine class, even if not connected with a deity -- it thinks that they are all too dangerous.
Edit: Not the example I had in mind, but this ought to do for starters. If I remember correctly, the answers got more severe later, but good luck finding one.