Azata: real word or fictitious?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Just curious about the origin of the word "azata." Is it from mythology, or just invented for the bestiaries?

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I think it's made up by Paizo. It was invented becasue a) for some strange reason WotC left the guardinals open content but not the name "Guardinal" and b) it fits into major good outsiders starting their names with an "A" (angel, agathion, archon, azata).


The only I could find is that is a genus of moth for the family of geometridae. So to answer your question for the most part it is made up.


It's from the Persian/Iranian "Yazata" referring to a type of angel or demigod serving Ahura Mazda/Ormazd in Zoroasterianism. See here.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32

Cool, thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for.


Hmmm... I wonder, like as in Lt. Uhura ?


She drives a Nissan.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?

Perhaps for having all Good outsider group names start with "A" (Agathion, Azata, Angel, Archon).


Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?

Probably to preserve the angel, agathion, archon assonance.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32

Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?

I, for one, am missing the "y" now that I know it should have been there.

OP-related question: Does anyone have a link to a description of a mythological agathion that's better than the one-sentence stub currently posted on Wikipedia?


Epic Meepo wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?

I, for one, am missing the "y" now that I know it should have been there.

OP-related question: Does anyone have a link to a description of a mythological agathion that's better than the one-sentence stub currently posted on Wikipedia?

That description comes from Lewis Spence, the occultist. "Agathion," or the good one, the little lucky one (Greek), may be related to the Agathodaimon, the good daimon, similar to our notion of a Guardian Angel. For the latter creature, see Betz, Hans Dieter (1997), The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. See also here.

RPG Superstar 2009 Top 16, 2012 Top 32

Thanks, again.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Ok, bad anime stuck in my head.

Spoiler:
Agathion digivole into Agathadaimon!

Carry on...


Epic Meepo wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?
I, for one, am missing the "y" now that I know it should have been there.

It's the infamous Sometimes Y. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Also, azatas are CG. Isn't that reason enough for the missing Y?

Silver Crusade

Jeff de luna wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?
Probably to preserve the angel, agathion, archon assonance.

and also alliteration.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Ambrosia Slaad wrote:
Epic Meepo wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?
I, for one, am missing the "y" now that I know it should have been there.

It's the infamous Sometimes Y. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.

Also, azatas are CG. Isn't that reason enough for the missing Y?

Schrödinger's Y?

Sovereign Court

Merlin Porkins wrote:
Jeff de luna wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?
Probably to preserve the angel, agathion, archon assonance.
and also alliteration.

Alliteration is when you have a series of consonants, assonance is when you have a series of vowels. They're otherwise the same thing.


Gorbacz wrote:
I think it's made up by Paizo. It was invented becasue a) for some strange reason WotC left the eladrin+lillend open content but not the name "Eladrin" and b) it fits into major good outsiders starting their names with an "A" (angel, agathion, archon, azata).

Corrected that for you (didn't intend to be rude). The guardinals of WotC are called agathions in Pathfinder, hence their CG alignment as mentioned by Ambrosia Slaad above.

Just to avoid any confusion that may arise...

-- C.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

We didn't keep the "y" in Yazata because our take on these celestial beings differs relatively widely from the real-world myths (since our azatas were already locked in with creatures like the ghaele and the like), and because dropping the "y" preserved an amusing "all the good guy outsider races start with an "A".

Agathions, on the other hand, are nature spirits, and so that worked PERFECTLY for our version of guardinals, since the neutral good race is very animal-associated. So we didn't change that name at all.

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Psiphyre wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
I think it's made up by Paizo. It was invented becasue a) for some strange reason WotC left the eladrin+lillend open content but not the name "Eladrin" and b) it fits into major good outsiders starting their names with an "A" (angel, agathion, archon, azata).

Corrected that for you (didn't intend to be rude). The guardinals of WotC are called agathions in Pathfinder, hence their CG alignment as mentioned by Ambrosia Slaad above.

Just to avoid any confusion that may arise...

-- C.

Thanks for the correction, I got my asomethings confused with asomeotherthings :)


A=good

D=evil

ya it so my wife's mom Deven is evil i knew it

Silver Crusade

cappadocius wrote:
Merlin Porkins wrote:
Jeff de luna wrote:
Ravingdork wrote:
Why the heck didn't they keep the Y?
Probably to preserve the angel, agathion, archon assonance.
and also alliteration.
Alliteration is when you have a series of consonants, assonance is when you have a series of vowels. They're otherwise the same thing.

I stand corrected. And educated.

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