Oblivious Troll is Oblivious's page

So. Been a while.

Looking over my profile here, I basically dropped off the face of the boards when my dog died last February (I posted a couple of times since, but didn't really stick around to see if anyone read or replied to them).

I essentially missed the entire unionization saga (and don't even really know how that ended up beyond some basic good news from November). I missed Kobold Catgirl coming out. I missed the Directorsaur stepping from the forums by eighteen days.

So.

Let's just say I've missed a lot, and leave it at that.

Anyone care to talk about anything that's come up recently that they think might be interesting, lay it on me.

So, I was picking over the Witch, when a notion occurred to me. A massive, "oh god why?" rework, in fact, but one that addresses some of the things that have left me scratching my head.

I don't know that I like witches being prepared spellcasters.
I don't know that I like them being spellcasters in the Pathfinder RPG sense at all.

What if we coded them to be ritual casters (requiring the presence of their familiar for their patron to provide the figurative "juice") with a wide array of Hex options, some of which are at-will? I mean, mechanically that's an utterly insane rework that involves going scorched earth on the whole notion of the class as it has existed, but... the more I pick at them, the more I think it would help them distinguish themselves as gaining their magic in a fundamentally different way from the others.

I dunno. Probably not workable, and a definite design headache to even contemplate, but... the way the new multiclassing system works, you could address a wider array of folk magic traditions than you could before.

So, I was looking in the backmatter of Volume 5, and what do I see for volume 6?

"Developer Showcase," huh?

Haven't even laid eyes on it, but- thanks, guys. As a sendoff to 1st edition, I think it's entirely what was called for.

Inspired by this fun thread, and maybe could have just gone there, but I figured it would constitute a derail.

Basically- slap up a new 20 Core deity pantheon- the only rules? Every alignment needs at least two entries, 20 entries total (no, Yoritomo rules are not permitted here), and if a god is in the existing core pantheon, then you have to leave it out.

My first 20, with some word for word repetition from my entry in the other thread-

CG (Alas, no Ashava this time, because Acavna has the moon on lockdown)
Black Butterfly- Goddess of Silence, distance, and space. My favorite Empyreal Lord (at least... my favorite today).

Pulura- Goddess of constellations (and we'll say stars since Desna's taking a powder), homesickness, and auroral displays.

Skrymir- God of riddles, wanderlust, and wit.

NG-
Arshea- Deity (Arshea doesn't pick male or female, I'm not about to do it for them) of beauty, freedom, sexuality, all that jazz. Could also fold love into the mix if one feels a need to make the pantheon "complete," but I kind of like leaving that post absent. Certainly, those who equate sexual attraction with love would treat Arshea in that fashion.

Jaidi- Goddess of agriculture, hard work, and self-sufficiency

LG
Aesocar- God of health, medicine, creation of life.

Zohls- God of truth, investigation, maybe knowledge as a broader sphere of divine influence. I dunno.

LN
Alseta- Goddess of doors, transitions, and years. May as well give her time while we're at it.

Thoth- God of magic, wisdom, and writing- he has to cough the moon up to Acavna, alas.

N
Feronia- Goddess of sacred fires, fertility, and wildlife. I don't now much about her, but that's a neat blend of concerns.

Grandmother Spider- Goddess of illusion, weaving, trickery, and family.

Ng- God of seasons, secrets, and wanderers.

CN
Acavna- Goddess of the moon, defensive battle, and companionship.

Bokrug- God of storms, water, and revenge.

CE
Nurgal- God of the Sun, war, deserts, and so forth. I like the idea of a categorically evil sun god, and he's the sole reason Moloch isn't in the lawful evil block- and I would have his faith appropriate as much of Moloch's stuff as made sense.

Dagon- God of the sea, sea monsters... Poseidon on an increased dose of outright monstrous evil.

NE
Scal- God of annihilation, catharsis, and purity.

Vorasha- God of incurable disease, poison, toxicity. Almost gave this to Apollyon, but the inclusion of poison and some of the style motifs give Vorasha an edge. Might also expand Vorasha to be a patron of assassins if bumping up to full deity status.

LE
Mahathallah- Goddess of death, fate, vanity. My favorite Queen of the Night- almost didn't make the cut because I was going to make Charon God of Death. She violates on my general rules of thumb about death deities (they should be at least partially neutral, in my noggin). But I really, really like her, so here she is!

Dispater- God of cities, prisons, rulership. It was him or Moloch, and Nurgal gives me a lot of what I want out of Moloch, so... He's also been consistently presented as a lawful evil deity you can actually believe people might venerate. Also boots Lissala, alas.

All right, so we have tons of lore for the core pantheon (er, up to a point, I don't see Irori getting much love), and both Empyreal Lords and their fiendish counterparts have gotten some fleshing out...

But there are a few deities whose names have popped up over the years that I honestly can't seem to find much info on.Not talking about Vudrani deities, either- most of these seems to exist purely on the table at the end of Inner Sea Gods.

- Alazhra. Neutral evil goddess of dreams, night hags, and planar travel.
- Camazotz. Chaotic evil dog of bats, blood, caverns, and nocturnal predators. Per the recent planar hardcover, he has multiple divine realms to hang his hat in, but in terms of where his worshipers hang out and what they do, things are a bit hazier.
- Easivra. Lawful good deity of avians, gold, and the sun.
- Erecura. Lawful neutral goddess of deduction, mind-reading, and subtlety. We know she's Dispater's current fling, and even have some art of her, but, as with Camazotz, details on her faith are harder to pin down.
- Feronia. Neutral goddess of fertility, sacred fires, and wildlife.
- Kitumu. Chaotic evil deity of fireflies, hibernation, and swarms.
- Most of the giant deities.

Anybody know any sources where these guys get fleshed out a bit more?

All right, so, with my life getting more complicated, of course now is the time I need a unique critter...

So, here's an open call to people with more time on their hands and/or more experience building their own critters from scratch:

I need a CR 12 medium-to-large-sized neutral evil unique outsider who bills himself as "the Prince of Pleasures," but who is mostly a big, fat, horrible thing- charm abilities need not apply, although compulsions are absolutely within theme. Ideally, he's mostly-humanoid, with four arms- claw or slam attacks preferred. I see him as having an abysmal ground speed, but supernatural flight (poor maneuverability). Dexterity low, constitution high, good saves will and fortitude... and that's all I've got on him... Jabba the Hutt meets Baron Harkonnen with evil outsiders of all sorts working for him (he has Kytons, Devils, Demons, Daemons, and Oni all on his payroll as it were- no summon ability required, and plot device hand-wavery will account for his diverse hiring practices).

Thanks in advance for any unpaid labor you feel like putting in on this project...

So, we know the Bard, Paladin, and Ranger are coming back.

I really, really hope we get a way to run non-spellcasting versions of these. In PF1, the Skrimisher (and a couple of other archetypes whose names elude me at 10 PM on Sunday night) gave us spell-free rangers, and there was much rejoicing.

But if you ran a Bard, a Paladin, etc., you were stuck casting spells, even if it made little thematic sense.

I genuinely hope we get a way to swap out the current 4 or 6 level casters (not all of them... spells are pretty central to the concept of a Magus, for example, and a spell-less Bloodrager feels like a Barbarian archetype more than a class) to allow for a more... focused feel if a player so desires.

I mean, sure, you can run one of these and just not use the spells you get, but...

Those we like and those we don't- pulling this out of the "least favorite deities" thread, since even deities we LIKE sometimes benefit from the odd tap with the adjustment sledgehammer...

Hmm

I'm gonna suggest changes for some gods I like too, that I think would make them generally more likable not just the gods I hate.

Pharasma: since people complain about her being boring/not doing anything/being unimportant to the setting.

I think the solution without deleting her, would be to put something in her backstory, to show her wrath. I've toyed with in the passed making her part of a double act, she's the god of birth and fate, and the other half being the god of death and judgement. Then perhaps the other half became corrupt so she destroyed him and took his domains. Or stripped him of all his power and banished him.

The other option would be to put a god in her passed that tried to steal souls from her so she flat destroyed them completely. To show she is important to protecting the grand design.

Zyphus: Make him Pharasma's ex that she stripped of all power, so now is has this ridiculous none domain of accidental death. Or make him the ghost of the god she killed when they invaded the boneyard.

Erastil: Move him into the cities and metropolis, forget about the little village vibe and promote community and neighborliness in the big cities.

Irori: make him neutral not lawful and let him get over the gods that ascended through the starstone. because currently I see him as the god of petty b@+~*y people who say they discovered themselves and become enlightened on there gap year.

Sarenrea and Iomadea: I think there fix can be tied together. Have Iomadea's twistedness be do to Asmodeus and have Sarenrea discover this and redeem her, thus making her the true redeemer and then have Iomadea use her worshippers to help straighten out the cult of the dawnflower.

Cayden Cailean: Either make him a benevolently-intentioned Chaotic Neutral or play up his blackout event as something he regrets the criminal irresponsibility of and move his church out of bars and into the community more. They can still be brewers- they wouldn't have a god without booze, after all- but be less about the party, more about putting your feet up with a single beer at the end of the day. And maybe make a point that Cayden himself DOESN'T drink anymore- maybe add a bit where they pour one onto the ground to represent his own turning away from it as a cautionary thing BEFORE any big party kicks off. That note of regret and self-control would also give him something that other Chaotic Good deities do NOT do better and with more style.

Norgorber: Strip-mine him for the stuff that's fun (the Anaphexia, the Skinsaw Cult) and send him back to the factory. Or make him Lawful Evil and give him a parasitic relationship with the Church of Abadar where his entire faith exists secretly inside of Abadar's church hierarchy. Just to be jerks. I know that's meant to be Ghlaunder's schtick, but the god of secrets having ANY sort of public church oropen worship always struck me as insane. And why Abadar? Because his cities allow the secrets, wealth, and victim pool that Norgberites so enjoy to be collected in one place. And like all good parasites, I think Norgorber's faithful would do all in their power to insure that Abadar's church stayed healthy.

Torag: Pretty much beyond redemption as he is. I'd junk him entirely, and give the Dwarves a matriarchal figure to lead their pantheon- and make her a fire deity while I was at it. Not a goddess of the forge, but a goddess of the fires that make such creation possible. Less order and toil, more creative passion.

Gorum: Either make him evil (which is kinda boring) or take away his Chaotic Alignment and make him a world-weary deity amused by civilization's constant blather about seeking peace when they all resort to war so readily. He'd still love a good fight, but would be less about promoting conflict and more about getting ready for it.

Thamirr Gixx: Junk him. Give Halflings a neutral evil god of retribution-play up their genuine grievances, then use it to lever halflings into evil actions.

Up next...some tweaks to deities I basically like just fine...

I just wanted to say that my call to customer service to swap my sidecart around was a pleasant and efficient experience.

With some of the (miserable!) phone calls I've been party to this summer, it made this one stand out.

Paizo, your support staff rocks just as hard if not harder than the people on the production end of things.

So, we kicked this off,and due to some marathon sessions, have actually plowed about halfway through the second book already. We'll be running this in fits and starts,since unremitting villainy can really wear a group out.

The Players:
Asha Kell- LE Cleric of Asmodeus. A green-eyed redhead from Isger, she and her twin brother Sorin were raised in an orphanage run bythe Sisters of the Golden Erinyes. While she found much to admire in the Sisters, Asha was more pious than athletic, and opted to enter the priesthood. She is keeping her virginity, since no mortal man is worthy-she is keeping herself chaste until Asmodeus wills otherwise. Very much the team leader, she is also the lynchpin binding them together- Sorin is her brother, Lilliana met her in Egorian, and Tarok has become enamored of her in a perverse and highly pious fashion. Her adherenceto the Trickery Domain means that she shares some of her brother's gift for stealth and subterfuge.
Campaign Trait: Asmodean Acolyte (duh.)

Sorin Kell-LE Slayer. Also green-eyed and red-headed, Sorin is Asha's twin brother, and grew up in the same orphanage. Grateful to the Church of Asmodeus for raising him and grateful to the Hellknights for their role in helping secure Isger, he still opted to pursue a less formalized course of study. He remembered some of what he learned in the orphanage, but also remembered the value of remaining unobserved. He settled into Longacre because it struck him that a place so out of the way might be where enemies of the state with methods similar to his own might congregate. He fell in with Cimri Staelish (in more ways than one), adding a bit of finesse to her relatively simple schemes both to keep in her good graces and to hone her talents- he's genuinely fond of Cimri, having more love in his heart for her than for anyone save his sister. Of course, being an Asmodean murderer, his love only gets you so far. He has a bit of a reputation in Longacre, despite his existence as a "simple gardener," having severely beaten a couple of local boys who (correctly) suspected him of involvement in one of Cimri's minor misdeeds. Most people assume that he left Isger one step ahead of the law. As the campaign begins, Cimri asks him to find some talent to help with a bigger scheme, and he writes to his sister. She arrives with two others in tow,and thus, the die is cast.
Campaign Trait: Local Tough

Lilliana DeVries- LE Infernal-Blooded Sorcerer. A black-haired,blue-eyed beauty, she is the former trophy wife (now trophy widow) of Villem DeVries, a noveau-riche merchant in Egorian whose generous contributions to the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune earned him a minor noble title. After a tragic accident where he slipped on some ice and fell down an open cellar door, Lilliana is the primary beneficiary of his will... as soon as it clears the courts, where several of Villem's relatives are contesting it. Lilliana met Asha at a formal dinner her husband threw, and has enlisted some of the agents of the Church of Asmodeus to help in her legal difficulties. In the process, she has become firm friends with Asha, and the two of them are thick as thieves. Asha, upon hearing of the chance to directly serve the government thanks to her brother's word from Longacre, floated the idea to her friend that securing more prestige with the government will almost certainly help her win her court case- and besides, a trip to the countryside will help her cut costs in the meantime. She finds Sorin almost as charming as she finds his sister, and Tarok is a reassuring presence.
Campaign Trait: Chelish Noble

Tarok of Korvosa- LE Tyrant Antipaladin. A shaven headed, yellow-eyed mass of muscle and sinew, and the sole nonhuman in this merry bunch, Tarok is a Half-Orc taken in by the Order of the Nail after they massacred the orc tribe he was living with. Tarok has grown up convinced that the inherent savagery in his Orcish blood must be fought at every turn, and he has devoted himself wholly to Asmodeus. While not a full Hellknight, he clearly seeks to become one, and while no adherent to the Pentamic Faith, he was enraged to hear of the Order of the Godclaw being driven from their citadel. A devoted Asmodean, he has often worked with the church, and has made Asha Kell in particular the object of his peculiar brand of courtly love. She is hardly unaware of this, and seeing no problem with a loyal and devoted armored killing machine at her back, she extended him an invitation to accompany Lilliana and herself to Longacre as a bodyguard and strong right arm.
Campaign Trait: Hellknight Aspirant (duh.)

And Off We Go:

With this bunch, money made little sense as a primary motivator, so I decided that Fex and Razelago tipped their hand to Cimri a bit early- Louslik is suspected of being in contact with agents of the Glorious Reclamation, but proof is needed. Since an official call would risk tipping Louslik off, they want Cimri and her associates to make it look like a simple robbery, while in fact the actual goal is to steal any incriminating correspondence that can be found.

The Tannery heist went so smoothly it was almost boring- Sorin and Asha both had respectable Stealth scores, so they'd scout ahead with Cimri, then have Lilliana the charisma-empowered spell-slinging machine dump Sleep spells as needed (One for Abbie, one for the Gong farmers, one for Archie, and one more for Jabral), while Tarok (Mister Darkvision) brought up the rear to make sure they didn't miss anybody, and to tie up sleeping targets and blindfold any humans in case they woke up.

Having gotten in without killing anybody, they ransacked the office, taking the tannery lockbox and a bunch of correspondence from Jabral's desk. The meeting with Razelago went smoothly (since, after all, they figure he represents the State), and they spent a fairly quiet night resting up for their next batch of orders... except Sorin, who spent the night with Cimri,to his sister's mild annoyance ("So unprofessional!")

The next day, they got the sermon job- And Lilliana and Tarok(!) turned on the charm to pick up local rumors- her Charisma is much higher, but he rolled asininely well- while the Kell twins stood around flanking Cimri like red-headed bookends- which put them front and center when Sheriff Rhona showed up to start asking questions. On the second go-around, where she mentions "shady friends," Asha very politely introduced herself, tossing some comments about "I have no idea what my dear brother must have done since he moved here to give you that impression, but I assure you, I'm just here to visit family and get away from Egorian for a bit. So you're Cimri's aunt? My brother thinks the world of her, and he's mentioned your care and consideration more than once."

Respectable Bluff result, beat the Sheriff's Sense Motive like a drum.

On the piety question, I gave Asha a hefty bonus, since she's an actual Cleric and claimed it was her idea to go take in some religious instruction- "All lawful faiths have a place in Cheliax, after all."

Sorin floated the question about the Tannery heist, in a way I particularly enjoyed- he muttered that he'd "been busy," with a meaningful look at Cimri and a tilt of the head to "accidentally" show off a bite mark on his neck.

As for the sashes, Asha piped up that her friend Lilliana had suggested them, since it was through her titled connection to the nobility that Fex had graciously extended them the hospitality of Longacre,and they were just being polite.

So far, so good. The Sword Knight issued her sermon, then, after she pulls a fade, Lilliana dusted off her absolutely bonkers-insane Diplomacy to convince people that a true servant of Iomedae- "Such as the good woman who just spoke with such conviction" -would not be hiding in the woods,since, after all, "the faith of the Inheritor is still respected in Cheliax." Boom. Headhost, natural 20. I am appalled.

They headed back to their temporary housing to await the coming day- with Tarok and Asha sharing a lively theological discussion, Lilliana composing a fulsome letter of praise of Fex's handling of his domain to post back to Egorian, and Sorin and Cimri sitting up on the rooftop sharing a flask and talking about her aunt.

The next day was spent posting Fex's decrees- Sorin took note of Doctor Rohalendi's reasoned queries and decided to try and keep tabs on her. Tarok scared the living hell out of the gatekeepers Bo and Dent via the Sonny Liston method of just "lookin' at 'em" while Asha went about nailing up the decree. At the tavern, Bolgart pitched his chili right into Lilliana's face, utterly ruining her coiffure and earning him a rather strained look from Tarok and Sorin, but Asha quietly but firmly suggested that they just leave, and the group did so- but not before Tarok informed the restaurateur that "I'll remember you" in his player's best "Just saw Hotel Rwanda" voice.

At the Sheriff's office, things went a little... well, oddly. None of Sheriff Staelish's scripted comments about "thugs" would have made a heck of a lot of sense based upon their actions to date, so I had her save the rough side of her tongue for Sorin (who, after all, had been quite open about his sexual relationship with her niece), who, for his part, adopted a hilariously cheerful level of concern for "Auntie," wondering aloud "but who will protect us now?"

I suppose you had to be there.

The deputies' ambush, alas, ended up targeting Tarok, who, delighted to finally have chance to hit something, one-shotted the first of them with a nasty crit off of his longsword.

Seeing one of their own beheaded outright, the others tried to run, but Tarok wasn't having it, and he hacked down a second after charging him. The still be-chilied Lilliana hit the third with a Sleep spell, and Asha hit the last with a Command to "fall." Then Sorin trotted over and gave the prone guy a good kicking. They hauled the two living deputies into the cells, then Asha took the dead guys over to the church of Iomedae, "to see to it that their remains are decently treated." And, of course, to get the story of a "regrettable scuffle gotten out of hand, but my bodyguard does take his duties seriously, do let us know if there is anything we can do for their families."

Having gone from smooth, calm and collected to double homicide that everyone in town knew about, the merry band, pleading self-defense, headed for home and an invitation to meet the Archbaron the next day.

Spawned from this bad boy right over here for the edification of the three or four people who might care!

Snowmachine- No matter that the rest of the English-speaking world refers to them as "Snowmobiles." We're right and literally everyone else is wrong! Acceptable alternatives include "sled," "rig," "ride," and "Snow-go."

Sourdough- Our word for a long-time Alaskan who is not of strongly announced Alaska Native ethnicity. Used more in the names of companies than in actual conversation these days.

Cheechako- Greenhorn. Tenderfoot. Anyone who doesn't know what a cheechako is. Not used as much these days. (More common in the Southeast, since it's a Tlingit-derived word)

PFD- Short for Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend Check. "What are you gonna buy with your PFD?"

Outside- Anywhere beyond Alaska, but most especially the contiguous 48 States (Also, "Lower 48"). "I went Outside for Spring Break."

Lower 48- A land of pusillanimous weaklings, incapable of appreciating how tough and awesome we all are. Also that place with good restaurants, quality medical care, and where most of the population's relatives live, and where the mail is usually on time.

Oosik- The penile bone of a male walrus. Commonly placed in bars frequented by tourists, who are told to rub it for good luck.

Williwaw- A sort of pocket hurricane, most common in the Aleutians- and according to local custom, a rough Anglicization of an Aleut word (this etymology may be incorrect- I live in Athabascan country, and don't have many Aleuts to ask about it).

Muktuk/Muqtuq- Whale skin/blubber (usually bowhead, but sometimes Beluga), generally eaten raw. Tasty and loaded with vitamin C, but you'll die of old age before you finish chewing it. An Inuit/Chukchi word, most common in the northwest and extreme north of the state.

Gussuk- Someone not of Alaska Native ancestry. A corruption of "Cossack" from back in the day, and not always a terribly fond term. Losing some of its sting these days.

The Bush- Rural Alaska. Generally not accessible by road, although some villages are linked by dirt road systems.

Pipeliners- An aging breed, but anyone who worked on the Trans-Alaska Oil pipeline during its construction is considered a "pipeliner."

Floaters- Rural Alaska nickname for tourists who canoe down the river- so called because every local boat has a motor on it.

The Lights- The Aurora Borealis. "The Lights are out!"

Breakup- A sort of prelude to what most people would call spring, when the ice on the rivers starts to crack, the sow starts to melt, and we get a good look at how much garbage has been under the snow all winter.

Breakup Boots- Rubber boots- with Xtra Tuffs being the favored brand.

Bunny Boots- Extreme Cold Vapor Barrier Boots (Type II). Accept no substitutes at minus forty and colder.

Bibs- Specifically, Carhart Bib overalls rated to cold weather.

Anchortown- Anchorage, largest community in the state. Scornfully referred to in Fairbanks as "North Seattle." Anchorage returns the favor with "Squarebanks." A common joke is that the best thing about Anchorage is that it's just a short drive from Alaska.

The Alcan- The highway built during World War II which connects Alaska to the Lower 48 by way of Canada.

The Quest- The Yukon Quest dogsled race, running from Fairbanks to Whitehorse or vice-versa, depending on the year. Locally reckoned to be far superior to the Iditarod for a variety of arcane and essentially unfair reasons.

The Tripod- A tripod (shocker!) placed on the river ice in Nenana every year. People pay money to bet on when the tripod will tip over, signalling that the ice is on the way out. The actual betting process is referred to as "The Nenana Ice Classic."

Uncle Ted- Former (and now deceased) Senator Ted Stevens, so called for his tendency to bring home truckloads of federal pork-barrel money, which the state appreciated, even as we gritted our teeth and demanded the federal government stay out of our business.

Musher- One who runs a dogsled team.

Mudshark- Burbot

Dumpster Chicken- Bald Eagle.

Spruce Hen- Grouse or ptarmigan (used interchangeably, because the two fill a similar culinary role in the bush)

Dog Salmon- Chum salmon. So named because it was considered fit only for dog food by cultures with heavy runs of King, Silver (coho), Red, or Pink salmon. Not that its lowly status kept it from being a valued food source in lean times.

Probably Not Today- Bush expression- When that thing you want in the mail is going to arrive, hen the ice is going to go out, when the caribou are going to get into hunting range.

Mouse Nuts- Yu'pik nickname for cottongrass tubers, which are collected from mouse caches.

Go see it.

Some are old, some are new, but there's one thing you can take as an ironclad guarantee... If I bothered to both write one of these over on Facebook and then transcribe it here while editing out the Bad Words... I was at least a little disappointed in the movie in question.

ONWAAAAAAAAAARD!

So a recent post I made got me thinking...

Has anyone here taken a truly modular approach to the APs? While some of them don't really play well with others, I've seen a lot of talk about kitbashing RotR and Shattered Star, and I myself have used Souls for Smuggler's Shiv as a replacement for the Wormwood Mutiny (with some tweaks).

I've been running games and churning out characters in Golarion since Rise of the Runelords was... eh, call it two books in.

A major part of the setting's appeal to me has been its divine lineup- we have a Goddess of Death who despises undead and isn't malevolent, we have a Goddess of Beauty, Love and Art who manages to feel like someone you could get behind. We have Asmodeus!

Annnnnnd then we have the following two... unlike, say, Abadar, or Iomedae, who I don't particularly care for but can see a thematic and/or cultural niche they fill better than anyone else, these guys just... leave me tepid.

Talking about two of the Ascended here- Norgorber and Cayden Cailean.

Norgie, God of Sneaky Gits just... does nothing I don't have more fun using Shax or Nocticula or Mammon or Achaekek for. His four aspects and diverse cult are an interesting stab in a promising direction, but... I just don't ever have something for his followers to do I wouldn't rather hand to somebody else.

Cayden "Whoops I got drunk and woke up deified" Cailean is even worse... because apart from "get sauced periodically," most of his schtick seems to be done with more panache by the faithful of Desna. The best use I've found for his faith has been as rather pathetic comic relief, which strikes e as a poor use of a deity.

So, fans of Norgorber and Cayden Cailean... help me out here. What is it about them that you love?

(If you share my opinion, or have an even less positive one, I request that you not bother to repeat it here-I am honestly interested in finding something to like about these deities, not in a massive "YEAH, THE ASCENDED SUCK!" dogpile)

So, during a recent read-over of various historical notes, had a wingnut thought...

What about an AP that takes place entirely in the distant past of Golarion?

Trooping about in Thassilon a century or three before things went pear-shaped(yeah, the rulers are evil, but the place seemed to function), or kicking around Sarkoris (maybe even culminating in the place's transformation), or fighting against Ghol-Gan.