There is probably quite a bit on Rovagug in the faiths of corruption book. And I agree that Rovagug is on par (or at least as close as any of the well known diety's can get) with the powers of a great old one.
So it's more like trying to ignite an A-Bomb with an A-Bomb. n.-
This gives me horrible plot ideas involving attack Old Ones and the party having to free Rovagug to use as a weapon to fight back.
They just need a way to convince him to help and then get the other gods to go along.
Can someone please point me to the books that has material on all the Rovagug-lore mentioned here? I've only read Legacy of Fire and Gods an Magic. Where do the Star Towers feature? What scenario features the other children of Rovagug? Where is the story of Akaechec being created to protect Rovagugs prison?
Strong hints to Rovagugs origin and function can also be found in Book of the Damned 3 - Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
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The Star Towers are mentioned in Curse of the Crimson Throne, the novel Plague of Shaodws, and the Inner Sea World Guide.
Achaekek wasn't created to guard Rovagug's prison, he was created to stop people from threatening the Gods power. After 4 mortals ascended to Godhood via the Star Stone, Arazni, a minor-deity, was slain by Tar-Baphon, a mortal, and Lamashtu stole some of the powers of Churcanus, and the death of Aroden, the Gods realized they were not as invincible as they thought. So they created Achaekek as their agent, an assassin that would seek out those who threatened their powers and slay them. However, fearing his potential turning, they restricted his power from ever harming a true God. Achaekek can kill any being up to and including demigods, but no higher.
A mortal that wished to unleash Rovagug would threaten the Gods' power, and Achaekek seems to 'just know' when such actions or people exist.
Information on Achaekek is kind of scattered about, I suggest you use the Pathfinder Wiki and look at their sources to find more information.
In "City of Seven Spears" there's a list of gods worshipped by ancient Azlanti, and there're both Curchanus and Achaekek in it - way before the murder of Arazni, Lamashtu stealing part of Curchanus portfolio, the Ascended gods, and obviously Aroden's death - even if the latter had a slightly different portfolio and area of influence.
It seems that the gods have taken a semi-deity or low-power divine patron and appointed/elected the being into an higher role, rather than creating the divine assassin seemingly out of nowhere.
Thanks for sharing these great ideas and source information. I have a player in my group, 20th lvl Cleric of Rovagug, who completed CotCT. The campaign ended with a few looses ends and unfinished goals. The character is coming out of retirement and I'm featuring him alongside Jhavhul to release Xotani.
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Hmmm... I think, if you used Rovagug as a 'fight fire with fire' weapon against risen old Ones, it might work... but all civilization would be gone by that point. They would probably defeat him, eventually. Remember that in Lovecraft's Earth, the Old Ones did war amongst themselves and other races. The Elder Things warred with Cthulhu's race.
I'm curious to Rovagugs origin as mentioned in Horsemen... I read some of it and didn't get to that part.
I'm curious to Rovagugs origin as mentioned in Horsemen... I read some of it and didn't get to that part.
I read the whole thing (and made myself sad,) and must have missed it too.
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Wouldn't the annihilation of everything be Daemonic Neutral Evil?No, daemons just want to destroy all mortal life. Annihilating all of creation is Lawful Evil - just look at the asuras.
Actually, if I remember correctly:
Asuras want to dismantle the works of the Gods, since they themselves are created by the Gods' mistakes.
Daemons seek the destruction of EVERYTHING that exists because of their sheer hatred of existence.
Qlippoths desire the destruction of all Mortal Life in order to prevent all those sinful mortals from ending up in the Abyss and becoming demons.
It really comes down to semantics, but there it is...
So, in a twisted way, the Qlippoth would be happy if every mortal would turn to the paths of purity and follow good gods wholeheartedly so as to never end up in the Abyss.
In a way, yes, but only if it could somehow guarantee that no mortals would ever sin and end up in the Abyss again. And that assumes that an entire race of Chaotic Evil beings to accept and truly believe that no mortal will ever sin again.
Since that isn't going to happen, and them being Chaotic Evil creatures themselves, they're probably not going to accept anything less than the annihilation of all mortals.
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oh jeez, so in other words, so impossible not worth trying???
An eldritch abomination so terrifying it can kill other gods...but can't be killed itself, in a world where gods CAN and WILL take an active hand in world-shaking terrible events (see Aroden's battle against Tar-Baphon for precedent), and considering all Gods, good and evil, have a vested interest in keeping that beastie locked up tighter than an angel's underpants (wow...that made no sense at all!), I'd say yes, it would not be worth trying unless you have a very heavy death with and a desire to see the lower planes from the perspective of a, how should I put it? Permanent unwilling resident? However, it is theoretically possible that Asmodeus has the key for his own devious purposes, in which case one could make deals with him. Beware, all deals made by a god of contracts will most likely end up in his favor (case in point, he can make "fine print" on the underside of an electron...have fun reading THAT!).
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However, it is theoretically possible that Asmodeus has the key for his own devious purposes, in which case one could make deals with him. Beware, all deals made by a god of contracts will most likely end up in his favor (case in point, he can make "fine print" on the underside of an electron...have fun reading THAT!).
Can't really see Asmodeus being stupid enough to make a deal with Rovagug and actually expecting him to even put up the merest pretense of following it. Asmodeus may be the god of contracts, but that doesn't really matter when Rovagug burns the contract and kills Asmodeus.
I think you have to say Beetlejuice three times
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However, it is theoretically possible that Asmodeus has the key for his own devious purposes, in which case one could make deals with him. Beware, all deals made by a god of contracts will most likely end up in his favor (case in point, he can make "fine print" on the underside of an electron...have fun reading THAT!).Can't really see Asmodeus being stupid enough to make a deal with Rovagug and actually expecting him to even put up the merest pretense of following it. Asmodeus may be the god of contracts, but that doesn't really matter when Rovagug burns the contract and kills Asmodeus.
Less implying that he made a deal with Rovagug so much as that he was capable of adding the unstable destruction god to his machinations. He has the key, so he can THREATEN to let loose the beastie on the other gods at some uncertain point, and using a lackey could basically act as his proof of this. For instance, lets say he has a follower or some mortal he bargained with destroy the Star Towers, leaving his patented god-proof-super-special-awesome-lock-thing as the only thing remaining stopping Rovagug from rampaging again...and he's got the key...and with enough guile, he could also convince them that he holds the leash...
So, in a twisted way, the Qlippoth would be happy if every mortal would turn to the paths of purity and follow good gods wholeheartedly so as to never end up in the Abyss.
I don't think that qlippoth are even capable of understanding the concept of "good"; they turn to wholesale slaughter as it's all they know.
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There is a chapter in the Dungeons of Golarion campaign book called "The Pyramid of Kamaria". It oulines a megadungeon that was once run by a cult of Rovagug dedicated to his release, and mentions a Great Machine on the lowest dungeon level that could possibly free him if it is ever activated. Its got some pretty cool info on building a campaign with this theme, in case you're still interested in destroying the world. :D
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Rovagug's prison is known as the Dead Vault. It is the only demiplane in all of existence that is known to have a purely "physical" boundary that exists on the prime material plane. Asmodeus is the keeper of this prison, but all gods put their power into building it. If anyone tries to mess with the vault, one of two things could happen (or more if the gm says anything about it): The first thing that usually happens and is the best case scenario, is that the vault pushes away the interloper using a very complex spacial distortion effect that can't be countered. The second thing that could happen is that the interloper gains the attention of Asmodeus and he causes the prison to reach out and consume the interloper, imprisoning him/her with Rovagug, his spawn, parasites, and all other surviving creatures (interlopers and those that sacrificed themselves when Rovagug was first imprisoned, if they haven't been eaten or destroyed yet).
The prison itself isn't entirely airtight. The gods didn't know what Rovagug truly was and were rushed into creating the prison. Every-now-and-again (albeit rarely) Rovagug's power is coalesced enough outside the prison to birth a Rovagug Spawn into the world (the first and seemingly most Powerful of these being the Tarrasque). This leakage Also allows Rovagug clerics and anti-paladins to gain abilities and spells from Rovagug as a "normal" god would be able to give.
That being said, it is very unlikely that any single entity would be able to free Rovagug, but Spawn are becoming more common (though at a very slow rate) and there is a spell that can call spawn now.
Soooooo yeah, I died in my campaign..... No more quest for releasing Rovagug........
I wonder what happened?
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A thousand wish spells and a ritual oughta do it. For a spawn at least.
stray goblin arrow :( he didn't get very far
Ah. What an ignoble ending for such an epic quest. lol
That being said, it is very unlikely that any single entity would be able to free Rovagug, but Spawn are becoming more common (though at a very slow rate) and there is a spell that can call spawn now.
Additionally, this will surely attract the attention of the other gods: Sarenrae especially. While they may be content to let mortals triumph over released spawn, I would think they would directly intervene against anyone actually trying to release Rovgug itself.
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You make an assumption that Asmodeus would be opposed to loosing Rovagug. The whole thing was just his manipulation of the other gods to get them to provide him with a superweapon. The fools actually fell for it and think Asmodeus is doing them a favor. If it suits his needs and fits into a loophole in his agreement, he might be all for letting the Beast romp a bit, especially if he gains more from it than he loses.
PathfinderWiki: Asmodeus. Keeping in mind that only Asmodeus remains of the two that were . . . and is an Unreliable Narrator . . .
He was apparently one of the First two beings in existence. I read somewhere his war with Ihys weakened him to less power than most gods, relegating him to being (impersonating?) an Archdevil. Part of his writing/holding the Contract of Creation included language that returned him from being "just" an Archdevil to being a true deity. Asmodeus' mortal followers certainly hold it as dogma that the Contract of Creation will one day mean his ascendance to supremacy over the other gods. The Contract of Creation may also be part of Rovagug's prison, perhaps even the fabled key to it.
(So well off into supposition here) but if Asmodeus solo used to be more powerful than Rovagug (unlikely), and if the Contract of Creation equals the Key to the Dead Vault (highly unlikely) and if it contains within it the means for Asmodeus' ascension (possible); then yes, Asmodeus could intend to eventually use Rovagug as part of a plot to increase his own power.
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32
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So, campaign spoilers for my own campaign, the Wounded World ahead. if you play in this game, please don't venture into the spoiler area....
My current campaign is leading up to someone trying to let Rovagug out. How? Well, see if you can follow this logic (or tell me if you disagree)...
- Abadar has a Vault where the most "perfect" item of every item is kept.
- Asmodeus has the key that will unlock Rovagug.
- Perhaps there is a key, a perfect key, in the Vault of Abadar that will unlock the Cage in which Rovagug is imprisoned.
- Get that key (somehow).
- Avoid Asmodeus and Sarenrae and all the rest and make your way to the Pit of Gormuz
- Descend into the Pit of Gormuz. When you hit bottom and you have the key, Rovagug will eat you and then use the key to escape.
At least that is how it plays out in my mind. The players will be chasing after the guy with the key.