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It seems that the Seven Deadly Sins are a major theme in Golarion and Pathfinder.
However, I've noticed there is one of the sins that is not patronised by any god.
Calistria oversees lust, Zon-Kuthon is the patron of envy, Urgathoa is in charge of gluttony, Norgorber does the same with greed, Rovagug is the patron of wrath and the devilish Asmodeus gets its part of the cake with pride.
But, what's the matter with sloth? Perhaps its patron god or goddess was so slothful that it didn't bother in getting its faithful and finished in the Astral?
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I have wondered the same and commented how sloth gets no respect. Sure sloth is synonimous with lazy, but lazy is what drives invention. Sloth is the mother of invention. We look for better, easier ways of doing things all the time. Any deity of invention would be a great candidate for the god of sloth.
Maybe it's a deity that no one has ever heard of because it's priests are too lazy to proselytize.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Depends on how you look at 'sloth'.
I could see a god of sloth 'pushing' his followers.
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Again, sloth doesn't HAVE to mean lazy as in too lazy to get up and do anything. Think about the mass media TV preachers who are too lazy to get out of their offices to preach across the country in tent revivals? They use mass communicatiosn to reach their audience "virtually" instead of pressing the flesh in person. These guys are the personifications of clerics of a sloth. :)
Lissala, poor wretched thing, was our patron of rune magic. Perhaps you should have a chat with her?
Oh wait.
She's dead.
Creative Director
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The seven deadly sins were a big deal for Rise of the Runelords, but beyond that they're no more overwhelming a theme than evil queens, meteors, drow, flying cities, or dog-killing goblins.
As for why there's no god of sloth... the theory there is that a god of sloth wouldn't have a very active cult, and as a result said cult wouldn't be very widespread. There's probably a god of sloth out there, but he/she/it is so minor that the religion is super-obscure. Certainly not powerful enough to be counted as one of the 20 major religions of Golarion.
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But, what's the matter with sloth? Perhaps its patron god or goddess was so slothful that it didn't bother in getting its faithful and finished in the Astral?
Hi guys,
There was actually a very good d20 supplement by Eden studios about Akrasia : the thief of time, which is exactly the goddess you describe.
The book is very good, and can highlight just how dangerous her cult can be to an area.
I'd gladly give you a reference or link, but somehow, I can't be bothered just now. Maybe tomorrow. Guess I failed my will save.
Sloth has more going for it than just plain old laziness. It also encompasses apathy and, more interestingly from an evil deity viewpoint, despair. It involves rejecting the gifts God/the Gods has bestowed upon you as well as just neglecting your duties to others and the community as a whole. Suicide also defaults to sloth.
It's really one of the more insideous sins.
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Sloth has more going for it than just plain old laziness. It also encompasses apathy and, more interestingly from an evil deity viewpoint, despair. It involves rejecting the gifts God/the Gods has bestowed upon you as well as just neglecting your duties to others and the community as a whole. Suicide also defaults to sloth.
It's really one of the more insideous sins.
sounds ideal for a jumped up Daimon (NE Fiend?) Not quote the concept of one of the four horsemen, but very much in the same vein.
Sloth has more going for it than just plain old laziness. It also encompasses apathy and, more interestingly from an evil deity viewpoint, despair. It involves rejecting the gifts God/the Gods has bestowed upon you as well as just neglecting your duties to others and the community as a whole. Suicide also defaults to sloth.
It's really one of the more insideous sins.
True, and several theologians have commented against idea of sloth just being physical couch-potatodness (though when taking to extreme, that definitely is bad for your soul). Since as has been pointed out also in thsi thread, finding easy ways is mother to invention and even God set out a day of rest in the week...so kicking back on your sofa is not a sin.
The worse segments of Sloth are, as Hal mentioned, apathy and despair...and also jadedness and cynicism, making Sloth (together with Pride) one of the sins even the most pious monks fall at. But as such, it is not very religion-friendly sin and understandably there is no major religion to actively support it. In 3.5 standard pantheon I'd say Vecna might be closest to this particular sin...
The idea the sloth is just laziness... it's a bit shallow. There is a reason it got to be one of the Seven Deadly in the first place.
That said, I can also see the difficulties in creating a Sloth deity that lives up to divine promise. But consider that the souls of the sinful who fall into the Abyss often have their soul-stuff reshaped and formed into Tanar'ri. Perhaps a particularly sinful soul who exemplified Sloth were to be reshaped into a demon of Apathy and Woe, or several such souls merged together into a bloated form that serves as a corrupting influence. Such a being may receive followers simply through it's own corrupting influence. A Paladin's code is difficult, and if one can be convinced to turn away from duty to spare some effort or self-sacrifice, you could potentially get some blackguard followers. If such a thing lead to the paladin's death, it could form into a Tanar'ri minion in the Abyss.
Just a thought, play with it. I personally love themes based on the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Virtues that oppose them.
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From m-w.com:
sloth
Main Entry: sloth
Pronunciation: \ˈslȯth, ˈsläth also ˈslōth\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural sloths \with ths or thz\
Etymology: Middle English slouthe, from slow slow
Date: 12th century
1 a: disinclination to action or labor : indolence b: spiritual apathy and inactivity <the deadly sin of sloth>
As the previous posters have already noted, the old religious conception of sloth isn't really laziness as we conceptualize it, but more like a lack of religious fervor. It's likely that the ancient church realized that an apathetic constituency threatened its very survival, and thus regarded sloth as very 'deadly'.
Just a bit of theological/historical perspective . . . "Deadly" sins are not the most serious sins (the words venal and mortal refer to severity) but are the self-destructive things, often little but cumulative, that lead to ones own spiritual death. As several have posted here, sloth is not what most people think of today. Neither are greed and gluttony. Any destructive money habits fall under greed including hording (not investing or doing good with your wealth), excess spending, wasting money, etc) Want to aquire money for its own sale is a sin, aquiring it to do good is not. In addition Gluttony does not refer exclusively to quantity, but could be an excess of taste, never being satisfied with what others feed you, etc. As C. S. Lewis pointed out in the Screwtape Letters, the woman who always demands that the harried waitress take away half her food instead of just eating half of what is on her plate is a glutton.
Rimlar
Screwtape Letters is indeed a great book for anyone interested in sins and how they work (and it is also a great book, period).
In Latin Sloth is Acedia, coming from Greek word akedia, meaning "lack of caring", so it is a mental condition. One could work days and nights and still fall for acedia...and it is also considered to be a sin which attacks worst the people who have dealt already with other sins (Lust, and Greed, and Gluttony and others are still caring, even if the caring is misguided, warped and warping).
That unearthly monk free from bindings of flesh and material wealth (while not making too big a number how free from bindings of flesh and material wealth he is, as that is approaching Lust and Greed from other direction) is still suspectible for Sloth, if he falls to think that nothing matters, everything is but dust and ashes...
And again...while this might fit into portfolio of a god representing void, nihilism and despair, it is rather hard to make any kind of sensible cult out of Sloth as that would be by nature self-destructive.
I object to one of the Sins being called "greed" on principle, because three of the Deadly Sins are about greed. Lust is greed for carnal pleasure, Avarice is financial greed and Gluttony is epicurean greed.
Are Avarice and Wrath such archaic words now that they cannot be used and instead the much tamer words Greed and Anger must be substituted?