I know deities have different portfolios, but honestly, what's in a portfolio? I read that animals used to live side by side with the goodly races until Lamashtu (awesomest deity ever!) took it from one of the others she killed. How is it that a 'portfolio' can be taken in such a manner? Why is it that no other goodly god can do the same and...well what would happen? Would they balance out if one of them did? Would you have half of animals serving by the side of man while the other half serve evil or act viciously?
If you only had ONE portfolio of each, and each god could only have ONE, THEN I can understand how there's CONTROL to be had in having a portfolio. Currently, I cannot understand how special it is to have a portfolio if you do not have complete control over it. Portfolios being a TASTE or ASPECT of a deity (like something related to their past or their lives), I can understand, but the fact that they can be TAKEN from others sounds to me like they're a 'weapon/loot' of sorts. Take PCs for example: a trait or a feat can be explained by how the character grew up/lived, but his headband of intellect, while supplementing a mental score, is an item that can be taken. So, is a portfolio closer to a trait/feat or an item? If it's akin to a trait/feat, I can't understand HOW it would be taken, much less how an abstract concept can have a manifestation that can actually be taken.
And on the book of vile darkness, the MOST BEAUTIFUL book I ever had the good fortune to buy (thank you Monte Cook for this great gift), are the DCs good? I read that back in 3/3.5e they were overpowered, but are they balanced or weak in PF? The demon and devil lords look horrifically weak to be honest (Asmodeus, Demogorgon and Orcus for sure), and I'm not talking pre-conversion, I mean the very fact that they intended Asmodeus to even be a 28th(30th?) level being (the tome of horrors places Lucifer at 39th level). Some of the CRs are so low you'd assume we were looking at avatars, not the actual beings. Should I be bumping up DCs and HP (they presented a half-orc vampire barbarian, CR 18 with an HP of 93)? If so, how much (is there a section on how to recreate some of these beings as PF entities)? Some of these beings are too insanely weak EVEN at higher levels to constitute any real threat, ALTHOUGH they have disproportionately powerful spells and abilities.
