I'm trying to figure out what the best god would be for a character I'm working on. Preferably one that is a little obscure, but if, say, Nethys or Abadar is the best fit, by all means say that.
The character is a Tiefling Conjurer. His pursuit of wizardry is a function of his misanthropy, to whit, he prefers studying alone to interacting with others. That is not to say, however, that he is not interested in people, some of his favorite subjects involve culture and history. He also has a thing for discovering secrets, especially conspiracies, not for any reason, just to know. He's not exactly a mad hermit in the woods, though, he has an adoptive mother he lives with and is happy to provide for, and he lives in a town where he gets along well enough, so long as they act decently enough.
So the moral of the story is this: what is the ideal god for a conspiracy theorist know it all?
check out Sivanah.
supposedly not even her own servants truly understand her agenda, the secrets within the secrets...
she's very antagonistic with zon-kuthon and the shadow court of nidal actively pursues her followers
(which tend to be Varisian, i.e. Golarion Gypsies, who otherwise are known to be into fortune telling/harrow, etc)
you don't actually say where you character is from/lives, but as tieflings are most prominent in Cheliax,
that may be another 'character hook' as Nidal is a close ally of Cheliax...
|
Sivanah maybe? She's primarily an illusionist's deity, but she does focus on mystery, among other things. Other than her... maybe Irori? Focusing his magical pursuits on self-perfection?
The main deities of secrets on Golarion are Norgorber and Sivanah.
They are not the only ones, however. Nethys is a deity of arcane secrets, for one.
Contributor
|
You wanted obscure, so you should look at a wider range of gods and godlike beings, I offer these:
Nyarlathotep (CE, The Old Cults) conspiracies, dangerous secrets, forbidden magic.
Green Mother (NE, The Eldest) carnivorous plants, intrigue, seduction.
Ng (N, The Eldest) the seasons, secrets, wanderers.
Mephistopheles (LE, Devil) contracts, devils, secrets.
Kabriri (CE, Demon) ghouls, graves, secrets.
Pavnuri (NE, Daemon) cacodaemons, cannibalism, secret messages.
Thanks to Shaun, I can make a little list.
Norgorber (God of thieves and murder)
Sivanah (Goddess of illusion)
Nethys (Focuses on arcane secrets)
Abraxas (Demon lord, focuses on arcane secrets)
Nyarlathotep (Outer God*, dangerous secrets and conspiracies)
Ng (Fey Deity/Eldest, also a nature deity)
Green Mother (Fey Deity/Eldest, apparently lust based)
Mephistopheles (Archdevil, contracts and secrets mesh well)
Kabriri (Demon lord, focuses on secrets held by the dead)
Pavnuri (Daemon Harbringer*, secret messages primarily)
* = You'd probably need to be insane to worship this guy
I'm shocked about that myself. I actually like how mysterious Ng is, and I'm going to make a Druid who will worship him!
Good lord, all the really interesting ones are evil! Considering that the conspiracies in this game involve stuff like the Whispering Way, is there no good god that takes an interest in kicking open the doors to those dark, smoke filled rooms and watching the roaches scurrying in the light?
Iomedae doesn't count, because she doesn't kick in doors, she sets the house on fire.
Anyway, I have a confession, I've kinda been playing you guys. I was already leaning toward Sivanah, but I wondered if that was what other folks would gravitate to based on the concept. He is from Varisia, by the way.
Iomedae does not approve of the Burners of Mendev, you know.
As for interesting, I'd find Ng among the most interesting ones along with Sivanah.
|
|
Note that Sivanah is veddy interesting, because, among other shenanigans she may or may not have going on, she's apparently supporting Razmir's pretense of divinity, for unknown reasons of her own. (Sivanah's illusionist 'clergy' clergy can use shadow conjuration to create 'quasi-real' cure spells. Razmiran priests sometimes wear magical masks that can cast cause fear and cure light wounds, and the creation requirements for them are cause fear and... shadow conjuration.)
Why would Sivanah's 'clergy' be backing Razmir's gambit? Perhaps it's all part of some long-term machination to see if she can *make a god.* Perhaps she, as patron of extravagant liars, considers Razmir the most breathtakingly extravagant liar in the Inner Sea, and has a small affection for his utter cheekiness. (In a 'they're so cute when they're that age' sort of way.)
Maybe he happens to be, unknown to any but he and she, Sivanah's highest level illusionist-priest on Golarion, perpetuating a *spectacular* con on an entire nation, as an act of obeisance to his goddess.
Wait, where is it mentioned that Sivanah supports Razmir?
|
|
Wait, where is it mentioned that Sivanah supports Razmir?
Gods & Magic mentions that Sivanah's illusionist 'priests' can use shadow conjuration to cast conjuration (healing) spells (p 47) and that veiled witches from Irrisen have been seen in Razmiran, perhaps exhanging magic and perhaps as envoys from Baba Yaga (also p 47).
The Holy Mask of the Living God (p 57) is the item that can cast cure light wounds and has shadow conjuration as a prerequisite (which means that 'priests' of Sivanah are supplying the false priests of Razmir with magical curing items that allow them to maintain their pretense of being divine spellcasters).
While nothing is overtly stated, the illusionist priests of Sivanah can only use shadow conjuration to replicate cure wounds spells by Sivanah's special dispensation, so she pretty much has to approve of this support.
It's also possible that this might be un-canon, as Gods & Magic is, IIRC, the book that James Jacobs considers most in need of re-writing...
Iomedae does not approve of the Burners of Mendev, you know.
I'm not familiar with any burners, I was talking thematically. I was referencing a hypothetical god whose goal was to expose the truth behind certain things and then sit back and see what happens afterward. Iomedae wouldn't do that, because she's not much for watching as much as doing.
There are a bunch of gods already listed dealing with "secret" in the sense of "arcane mysteries" and whatnot, but let's face it: a hell of a lot of secrets are sexual.
I'd point out that Calistria, goddess of lust, trickery, and revenge, has plenty of secrets and knows how to keep them too.
First off, Lust? Not just wild sex practices, harlots' potions, and ways to make someone scream and come back for more, but extensive lists of who's been sleeping with who and who wants who. Calistria, one expects, keeps a "Naughty" list with a somewhat different definition of "Naughty" than Santa.
Second, Trickery? The easiest way to keep a secret is to confuse it with lies. The purloined letter effect. Take the great secret that the Cult of Norgorber would commit genocide to hide and publish it in the scandal sheets along with stuff made-up by drunk bards and the rantings of madmen. Calistria would be all over this. Or just lying to make people think you don't know any secret that they're looking for. This is a brothel, not a library!
Finally, Revenge? Do you know what happens to those who peek into Calistria's diary or steal a page from her little black book? Do you want to? Do you imagine it's pleasant?
I'd imagine that no one knows about the true god of secrets.
