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Pathfinder Lost Omens: Divine Mysteries

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Pathfinder Lost Omens: Divine Mysteries

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Uncover the secrets of the gods with Lost Omens Divine Mysteries!

The influence of all-powerful deities is felt in every corner of the Lost Omens setting. Whether you're a valorous champion calling the righteous power of your patron down upon wicked foes or a sneaky rogue asking the god of thievery for a blessing on your next heist, faith and the forces behind it are key to every character's identity. Within this volume, you'll find details on the gods and non-deific faiths of the Age of Lost Omens from the perspective of their clergy and lay worshippers. The book also grants a glimpse into the machinations of a god, exploring how a new god rises, why a god takes worshippers in the first place, and what occurs when a god dies.

This 320-page resource for both players and Game Masters is the comprehensive look at all things divine, making it an essential addition to any Pathfinder Second Edition campaign and a remastered update and expansion of the popular Lost Omens Gods & Magic volume! The book updates for all of your favorite Pathfinder Second Edition deities, providing everything you need to know when playing with updated rules found in Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder Player Core 2, updating domains, spells, and other mechanics. These include expansions on existing classes like new witch patrons, new archetypes like the Rivethun emissary and powerful mortal herald, and new class archetypes like the battle harbinger option for clerics. The book also includes brand new character options and several additional divine entities never before explored in any Pathfinder reference!

Written by: Misha Bushyager, Jessica Catalan, Carlos Cisco, Rue Dickey, Brian Duckwitz, Aoife Ester, Ivis K. Flanagan, Tomas Gimenez Rioja, Leo Glass, Alastor Guzman, Thurston Hillman, Laura Lynn Horst, James Jacobs, Michelle Y. Kim, Monte Lin, Luis Loza, Stephanie Lundeen, Poorna M., Adam Ma, Jacob W. Michaels, Zac Moran, Jon Morgantini, Matt Morris, Morgan Nuncio, Daniel “Drakoniques” Oleh, Pam Punzalan, Jessica Redekop, Jaime Reyes Mondragon, Kevin Thien Vu Long Nguyen, Erin Roberts, quinn b. rodriguez, Michael Sayre, Mark Seifter, Austin Taylor, Isis Wozniakowska, and Sebastian Yūe.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-624-0

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A myopic failure to explore fantasy religion

1/5 —

Several years ago, I published an extensive essay on the failings of Paizo’s religious discussion in Gods & Magic (https://owenkcstephens.com/2022/04/21/an-essay-from-matt-daley/). I was very excited about Divine Mysteries since the book's announcement, seeing the breakaway from the OGL as an opportunity to address many of my concerns. In the time since writing my previous essay, I've sought out interfaith discussions with fellow gamers from many backgrounds and have learned quite a bit about how different communities approach and engage with religion. My hope was that the creators at Paizo would engage in similar introspection.

Much to my frustration, the opposite appeared to be true. Divine Mysteries not only reprints the most egregious passages I named in my discussion of Gods & Magic but compounds on them with numerous lore sections that display a condescending, nonsensical, and deeply unfulfilling approach to religion.

The opening chapter of Divine Mysteries is a series of essays by a psychopomp which outlines the functions of divinity within the setting of Golarion. These statements, which in-universe are based on decades of research, betray the authors’ incuriosity on matters of real-world faith and the blind spots of religion in prior fantasy writings. I’ve listed some particularly egregious examples below.

"In fact, I have discovered some mortals erroneously believe their faith is what empowers the gods! I confess, my Lady, I originally laughed off the thought, considering the mortals to be putting on airs. How are mortals to be the genesis of faith, when gods appeared before them? If such a thing were so, we might finally be rid of the accursed Urgathoa or the Rough Beast imprisoned in Golarion’s core, as few worship these beings save the most debased and vile."
This assumption outright mocks the works of other authors and misunderstands them by conflating faith with zealous praise. This completely rules out the possibility of appeasement, placation, or any other interaction with a deity that doesn’t qualify as Christian-style adoration.

"I am mildly distressed to say that most worshippers had not put as much thought into the question as I had! To the average lay worshipper or neophyte priest, the exchange of worship for power seemed to be viewed as entirely transactional, like a traveling farmer buying a lunch from a road stand! Lorminos brusquely reminds me that most mortals have little opportunity to pursue the life of a scholar, so I have done my best not to hold this view against them, even if it does ruffle my feathers."
The problems with this passage are twofold. Not only does this reduce all of the complexities, feelings, and communities of all religions down to “buying power from a deity”, but it reifies the archaic Catholic doctrine that those outside the priesthood are not worthy to understand or grapple with subjects of divinity. Once again, the book takes a narrow-minded conservative Christian talking point and applies it as a rule to Golarion’s myriad faiths.

"Mortals’ relationships with the gods are, fundamentally, transactional. Gods do not require worship to exist, and yet they do benefit from the spread of their belief among mortals, for their will cannot be done on Golarion without devotees. In exchange for worship and faith, gods may tip the scales in a mortal’s favor—evidence of a symbiotic relationship, as it were. It stands to reason that what each god hopes to achieve through the spread of their belief depends on their ideals. A miracle, for some gods, is less about the individual to whom it occurred and more about the size of its audience—that is, a god may strategically fulfill a long sought-after miracle in a highly public setting, or by answering the lofty prayer of a highly visible entertainer, diplomat, noble, or priest."
"Perhaps laypeople find comfort in feeling that the gods care about their followers’ daily goings-on and even influence mundane events. An incorrect presumption, yes, but ultimately a harmless one. I find this points to an inherently mortal tendency toward superstition"
For a book called “Divine Mysteries”, the authors of this chapter seem content to paint the gods as tremendously shallow. These passages together explain divine engagement within Golarion as a simple matter of PR stunts, with miracles existing as little more than cynical bids for power and influence that offer no care, belonging, or purpose to adherents to the faith. In such a world, Gods are not forces of nature or insights into the sublime but are more akin to clout-seeking influencers or revenue-obsessed investors who simply happen to wield godly power.

"Like any mortal, gods have interests and things they care about. Sarenrae is a god of the sun not because she is the sun or must be connected to the sun, but because as an individual, she likes the sun and everything involved with it. Some day Sarenrae could change her concerns, caring less about the sun and more about something like cooking, but it would change nothing about the sun."
While certain parallels can be drawn to specific pantheons in history and folklore, the complete detachment of divine identity from the elements which they seemingly embody strips the theology of Golarion of meaning. Reducing the incarnation of the sun or the ocean or death itself down to “this is just a super-powerful and unkillable entity who happens to like this thing at the moment” cheapens both the role of the god and the value of the force they represent.

Beyond the concerning and thematically barren statements listed above, Divine Mysteries seems to prefer using the notion of inscrutability to paper over poor worldbuilding rather than establish nuance. The section detailing the geography of various gods and the overlapping of their portfolios provides no explanation as to how or why different deities hold the same domain across locations beyond “I suspect some of the gods to be guilty of favoritism.” The authors seem unwilling to critically engage with the exoticizing history of regional and racial pantheons that runs through fantasy, dismissing the connections between communities and the gods they revere as insignificant and isolated incidents.

While some of the mechanics are interesting, I understand that Divine Mysteries is being sold first and foremost as a guild to gods and religion on the world of Golarion. To that end, I can only call the book an unqualified failure. The foundational assumptions of the setting’s theology are incurious, inorganic, illogical, and ultimately not worth your time.

To players, GMs, and fantasy writers alike, I would strongly recommend against using the materials presented within this book to explore subjects of religion in your RPG adventures. The narrow-mindedness which permeates this book regarding the nuances of faith is not only useless but actively detrimental to an understanding of how real-life religions function and how fictional religions can be utilized to convey thematic depth.

A player or GM who wishes to explore subjects of faith in an RPG setting is better off having never referenced this book, and for a text on the “secrets of the gods” I can think of no harsher condemnation.

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Paizo Employee Sales & eCommerce Assistant
7 people marked this as a favorite.

Announced for November! Product images and descriptions are not final and are subject to change. :)
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Damn that is a beefy book

Exciting! Looking forward to the new character options and updated domains/spells!
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Battle Harbinger sounds awesome!
1 person marked this as a favorite.

320 pages is BEEFY! Excited to see all this.
Silver Crusade
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Almost as big as Inner Sea Gods! Finally the Gods sourcebook I've been waiting for in 2E!
Radiant Oath
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I feel like this is gonna join Knights of Lastwall among my favorite 2e books!
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Saw some archetype pictures in the twitch stream. The Rivethun emissary is Shardra, so combining the archetype with the new animist class...
:)

Oh my, this a tome.....that's a lot of gods getting full writeups instead of simply being jammed in a list

Also, DEAR GODS.....I think the battle harbinger is the divine wave caster we all asked for.
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
keftiu wrote:
320 pages is BEEFY! Excited to see all this.

Yeah, that’s a huge upgrade from the 128 pages we have now in Gods & Magic. Definitely makes this book way more intriguing.

Hooray!
Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Hm. Only 8 creature blocks in WoI and apparently none in this thing... Was hoping Heralds would make a comeback, but alas! I'll have fun regardless.
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Feros wrote:

Saw some archetype pictures in the twitch stream. The Rivethun emissary is Shardra, so combining the archetype with the new animist class...

:)

And the Battle Herald is Oluch the war priest!

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Well, I was initially very skeptical about this book, considering it a simple remaster, but if the volume has grown so much, then I think I will watch it much more carefully.
Grand Archive
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Kavlor wrote:
Well, I was initially very skeptical about this book, considering it a simple remaster, but if the volume has grown so much, then I think I will watch it much more carefully.

yeah, being more than twice the amount of pages, that's DEFINITELY NOT a "simple remaster"! :P

7 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Nice to see a return of "Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye". At least that's what the transcript (via YouTube) seems to imply is in the book. IMHO, it works well with the whole Dark Tapestry theme I'm seeing wrt the Godsrain Prophecy.
Radiant Oath
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I really hope this means that 2025 will give us a matching Arcane Mysteries or something similar. I really want a book that spells out a whole mess of spell schools. What I think they should have is like a core curriculum (spells that any wizard attending would need to learn) and then something like specialty groups (like majors at a college). Maybe they could be something like cleric domains where certain schools would allow access to certain domains but not to others.
Grand Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
LiaElf76 wrote:
I really hope this means that 2025 will give us a matching Arcane Mysteries or something similar. I really want a book that spells out a whole mess of spell schools. What I think they should have is like a core curriculum (spells that any wizard attending would need to learn) and then something like specialty groups (like majors at a college). Maybe they could be something like cleric domains where certain schools would allow access to certain domains but not to others.

Looking at the Battle Cry! playtest, I think the big rule book for 2025 will be a "war" focused one... maybe even specifically "martial".

Is there not going to be a PDF version, or is it simply not announced until closer to publication?
ThistleHoneymead wrote:
Is there not going to be a PDF version, or is it simply not announced until closer to publication?

PDF sales always begin after release. You also get a PDF with the physical product subscription.

Radiant Oath
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Elfteiroh wrote:
Looking at the Battle Cry! playtest, I think the big rule book for 2025 will be a "war" focused one... maybe even specifically "martial".

Yes but that’s a rule book, not a setting book like Divine Mysteries or my hoped for Arcane Mysteries. Not to mention that there’s plenty of stuff in Secrets of Magic that could use a Remaster touch up (e.g., Rune magic). And as someone with a PFS Silence in Snow Witch, we could use a lot of ice themed spells.

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Will this get a sketch cover?

Very pleased to hear that the Couatl divinities will be in this one.

Thebigham wrote:
Will this get a sketch cover?

Has any Lost Omens book gotten one? I assumed that was a Rulebooks thing.

keftiu wrote:

Very pleased to hear that the Couatl divinities will be in this one.

Thebigham wrote:
Will this get a sketch cover?
Has any Lost Omens book gotten one? I assumed that was a Rulebooks thing.

I thought I heard or read something else was but maybe not. You could be right.

How manu gods are they planning to cover in this book, exactly?
The Gold Sovereign wrote:
How manu gods are they planning to cover in this book, exactly?

My understanding is "literally all of them in Pathfinder canon."

Does anyone know if the psychopomp ushers would be in this? I started reading about them and I'd like to see them updated. Plus if they're in this book we could get Yivali's commentary on them as psychopomps, which would be neat.
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
keftiu wrote:
The Gold Sovereign wrote:
How manu gods are they planning to cover in this book, exactly?
My understanding is "literally all of them in Pathfinder canon."

And adding even more!

Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I hope that Divine Intercessions will show up in this book. That was my favorite piece of content from Gods and Magic.

So excited for this!
1 person marked this as a favorite.
ornathopter wrote:
Does anyone know if the psychopomp ushers would be in this? I started reading about them and I'd like to see them updated. Plus if they're in this book we could get Yivali's commentary on them as psychopomps, which would be neat.

They're confirmed to be in it yup

Grand Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
keftiu wrote:
The Gold Sovereign wrote:
How manu gods are they planning to cover in this book, exactly?
My understanding is "literally all of them in Pathfinder canon."

Small correction, I'm pretty sure it was: "That had rule printed for PF2". PF1 had more than 400 deities. PF2 "only" need 190 deities to be converted to remaster, with a handful that might get removed for OGL. For references, Gods & Magic had 141 deities in the book.

They WILL have some new ones though, and might bring back some PF1 deities, but My own guess for the biggest number I would guess would be ~250. I still want a lot pages for deeper writeups and stuff. :P
1 person marked this as a favorite.
KaiBlob1 wrote:
ornathopter wrote:
Does anyone know if the psychopomp ushers would be in this? I started reading about them and I'd like to see them updated. Plus if they're in this book we could get Yivali's commentary on them as psychopomps, which would be neat.
They're confirmed to be in it yup

Excellent! I've been hoping for them to get more love - and it'd be nice if Vavaalrav got a new symbol that wasn't just a Celtic cross. I'd just thought it was very unlikely that'd be touched on again.

(I've been pondering using the Ruins of Nebrindae, the psychopomp temple in the plane of Air, for something, since it seemed like a great little plot hook, but decoupling it from real world religious iconography would be pretty important to me. So the cross and circle symbol would be a problem.)

Will there be a Fiend Hunter Archetype option? There seems to be a lot of specific Undead Slayer options, (Ghosteater, Knights of Lastwall, Undead Slayer, etc…) but I’m having trouble finding a specifically fiend slayer themed Archetype… (without Multiclassing mind you)
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I will be so upset if boons and curses are not in this book. It’s one of the best things for diety focused players and it was sadly not part of some of the tian xia gods in their book

Will all the gods that have been mentioned in AP material like Rowdrosh be included? Other demon lords that are Paizo's that came out in the Book of the Damned? What about pantheons like in Last Wall book?
Grand Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Will all the gods that have been mentioned in AP material like Rowdrosh be included? Other demon lords that are Paizo's that came out in the Book of the Damned? What about pantheons like in Last Wall book?

Every deity that got a "deity statblock" in a pre-remaster PF2 book is confirmed to be in. There's also a couple of "new for PF2", and some totally new for Pathfinder that ahve been confirmed. Anymore else is up in the air. That's still almost 200 deities minimum, which is A LOT, considering that Gods & Magic had ~140.

Gracias!
Horizon Hunters
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Will all the gods that have been mentioned in AP material like Rowdrosh be included? Other demon lords that are Paizo's that came out in the Book of the Damned? What about pantheons like in Last Wall book?

Not only Pantheons but also Covenants which are a way to access divine power without worshipping a god, by the sounds of it.

DomHeroEllis wrote:
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Will all the gods that have been mentioned in AP material like Rowdrosh be included? Other demon lords that are Paizo's that came out in the Book of the Damned? What about pantheons like in Last Wall book?
Not only Pantheons but also Covenants which are a way to access divine power without worshipping a god, by the sounds of it.

How theological. Covenants are different than how a witch deals with their patron?

Grand Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
DomHeroEllis wrote:
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Will all the gods that have been mentioned in AP material like Rowdrosh be included? Other demon lords that are Paizo's that came out in the Book of the Damned? What about pantheons like in Last Wall book?
Not only Pantheons but also Covenants which are a way to access divine power without worshipping a god, by the sounds of it.
How theological. Covenants are different than how a witch deals with their patron?

Based on what have been revealed, it's basically a "pantheon", but the entities powering it doesn't NEED to be deities. Like you could worship an hypothetical Covenant of Magic powered by Old Man Jatembe, Baba Yaga, and Nex... xD None of those are deities, but somehow, they are powerful, and "important" enough that it just works.

One that have been talked about is a "Good Neighbors" covenant, based on entities related to good relations in closely located people. :P
From the writeup of teh panel were they talked about them:
PaizoCon Panel wrote:

Covenants are brand new to the book, they’re a lot like Pantheons, but for other entities– so the breath of the Endless Sky is a lot of minor air entities working together to grant power as if they were Gods, some also include Gods too.

Thank you for sharing this!

I really hope this book will have options for "clerics" of Razmir. Even with Archetypes arcane casters currently don't have a good way to fake divinity with their magic (short of actually getting divine magic which would rather defeat the point), even though as I understand it his clergy was primarily wizards in 1e which had some proper rules support for the ruse. Really the original Gods & Magic should have had it already but I'd rather take it late than never. Among all the other exciting things about this book I just hope the Living God gets some attention too.
Paizo Employee Rule and Lore Creative Director
9 people marked this as a favorite.
DMurnett wrote:
I really hope this book will have options for "clerics" of Razmir. Even with Archetypes arcane casters currently don't have a good way to fake divinity with their magic (short of actually getting divine magic which would rather defeat the point), even though as I understand it his clergy was primarily wizards in 1e which had some proper rules support for the ruse. Really the original Gods & Magic should have had it already but I'd rather take it late than never. Among all the other exciting things about this book I just hope the Living God gets some attention too.

There's definitely some Razmir goodies in the book. :)

Liberty's Edge
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Luis Loza wrote:
DMurnett wrote:
I really hope this book will have options for "clerics" of Razmir. Even with Archetypes arcane casters currently don't have a good way to fake divinity with their magic (short of actually getting divine magic which would rather defeat the point), even though as I understand it his clergy was primarily wizards in 1e which had some proper rules support for the ruse. Really the original Gods & Magic should have had it already but I'd rather take it late than never. Among all the other exciting things about this book I just hope the Living God gets some attention too.
There's definitely some Razmir goodies in the book. :)

Wizard school of Faking It ?

Grand Lodge
5 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Feros wrote:

Saw some archetype pictures in the twitch stream. The Rivethun emissary is Shardra, so combining the archetype with the new animist class...

:)

So glad to see Shardra make her triumphant return. I was hoping she wouldn't be consigned to the history books after Crystal left.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

$79.99? Is this an error? Player Core 2 is the same length for $59.99.
Grand Archive
6 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Soluzar wrote:
$79.99? Is this an error? Player Core 2 is the same length for $59.99.

The 4 Core books are heavily discounted to be less of a barrier of entry.

From the blog announcing the most recent price structure:

Paizo Pricing & Sustainability Update Blog wrote:

Holding the Line on the Core

Contrary to what I’ve outlined above, we’ll keep the price of the hardcover Core books (Player Core, GM Core, Monster Core, and Player Core 2) at $59.99 through at least the first printing. We feel these books are essential first purchases for Pathfinder players and want to hold the line on price increases as long as possible to reduce the barrier of entry for new players.

SOURCE BLOG

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