It's really important to us (particularly to Wes and I) that our good outsiders be just as weird and alien and interesting as our evil outsiders. Too many people think "good outsider" means "boring winged paladin," and I think we've challenged that well.The empyreal lords are certainly not boring.
I’ve seen Vildeis get a lot of likes. My favorite’s Arshea; a non-shallow deity of physical beauty and sexuality, and genderfluid as a bonus! His picture on p.7 of Chronicles of the Righteous is easily one of Paizo’s best illustrations. Wish I know who the artist was…
Anyway, more questions.
1. How did you feel about the write-ups the empyreal lords got in Bestiary 4?
2. How do you feel of my critique of said write-ups?
3. What would Pharasma think about the Redemption Engine saving souls in Hell who were forced there, such as via human sacrifice?
4. Why would she condemn some to eternal damnation just because they violated a lawful religion’s taboo against suicide? She doesn’t have to send someone to Hell just to deny them Heaven…does she?
Honestly, most of my impressions of the Empyreal Lords come from Chronicle of the Righteous, which is more how I personally prefer to interact with deities and demigods anyway. As I've noted in a variety of places, to me statting up a super-powerful being like those in Bestiary 4 *always* lessens them by removing the mystery and opening them up to criticism and comparison. But that's just my personal play style--I know some folks around here have a deep love of such stat blocks, so we all compromise and try to balance each other out. And I appreciate your thorough and thought-out critique. :)
For #3, I think you'll have to read the book and see if it answers the question. ;)
For #4, it's an order of operations thing. Once Pharasma judges you, she doesn't necessarily care what happens to you. If you followed a god all your life, then when you die, she generally gives you to that god. If you transgressed against your god's faith, however, and that god wants to make its own subsequent judgment and send you to Hell, that's within its power--Pharasma isn't about to insist that a deity keep you if it doesn't want you. So it's the religion angle that makes the difference. (In a way, it's kind of like in the movie What Dreams May Come, where suicides are only damned because they believe they are...) [ANSWER EDITED AFTER CONSULTING WITH WES]
The afterlife: it's a complicated place! And as always, if there are seeming contradictions or things you don't agree with... well, what do you expect from anthropomorphic gods? :-P
james, how is the dog? Also, I will need to borrow a copy of deaths heretic, or the redemption engine, but.. I have no money. Do you accept homeade cheese pizzas and root beer floats? :P This is a joke, I am in no way asking for you to give me free stuffs. Oh, when are we going to get an adventure with an aasimar going to heaven to find his/her mother/father?
The dog is awesome, if a trifle loud when I'm trying to sleep in. :)
Also, I should point out that you can always get copies of both books from your local library! Libraries are awesome, especially now that you can go online and have the books you want shipped to your nearest branch. It's like Amazon but free. :)
And that aasimar thing sounds like a neat idea! I'd love to do more extraplanar adventures.
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Hey James
So reading your interview on the blog, I didn't realize you invented most of the Eldest. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions concerning these?
1) What are the odds of getting a campaign setting book focused on the Eldest, ala Chronicles of the Righteous?
2) What are the odds of getting new Eldest?
3) Is there a specific reason why the Eldest vary so much in alignment, but non of them are Good? Any possibility of getting a Eldest with Good in it's alignment?
1. Very, very good. ;)
2. Less good! While there are totally other Eldest out there, I want to focus on the ones closest to Golarion for now in order to keep from cluttering the field too much.
3) The original idea was to make them all neutral in some facet, to reflect the fact that their mindsets are alien and different than ours, unconcerned with our conventional views on morality. That said, I think a lot of them probably have good *aspects*, they're just not dependable in the ways we think of. Are there Eldest out there somewhere with an NG alignment? Quite possibly. But then, I think alignment is an illusion anyway. ;)
How far in advance do you guys typically announce new books?
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I wonder were my local library would keep them, they already stick harry potter, the hunger games and a few others in the kids section, sooo..... I will have to take a peek. The funny thing is, I want to find some copies of the adventure paths, not to play, but to read. Because I really need a good read.
How far in advance do you guys typically announce new books?
Around 6 months or so.
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I wonder were my local library would keep them, they already stick harry potter, the hunger games and a few others in the kids section, sooo..... I will have to take a peek. The funny thing is, I want to find some copies of the adventure paths, not to play, but to read. Because I really need a good read.
Most libraries should be able to order you whatever you want, even if they don't have it there. Just ask the librarian!
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I am terribly excited by prospects of a Chronicles of the Otherworldly*. Are other named Eldest part of the Shyka?
*name changed to protect the uncreated
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Which of the deities that sponsor paladins (Abadar, Erastil, Iomedae, Sarenrae, Shelyn and Torag, specifically) would you feel this quote resembles best?
"Reach down into your heart and you'll find many reasons to fight. Survival. Honor. Glory. But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent? There you'll find a warrior savage enough to match any dragon, and in the end, they'll retain what the others won't. Their humanity."
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Will there be anything in People of the Stars on the gods worshiped on other worlds?
"Reach down into your heart and you'll find many reasons to fight. Survival. Honor. Glory. But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent? There you'll find a warrior savage enough to match any dragon, and in the end, they'll retain what the others won't. Their humanity."
Not helpful, but I don't think any paladin would want to call herself "savage," even if it's just an inference. This seems like more a Chaotic Good quote to me, personally. Cayden comes to mind instantly.
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I am terribly excited by prospects of a Chronicles of the Otherworldly*. Are other named Eldest part of the Shyka?
*name changed to protect the uncreated
Interesting concept! I don't *think* so, but it's hard to say anything for certain with Shyka. :D
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Which of the deities that sponsor paladins (Abadar, Erastil, Iomedae, Sarenrae, Shelyn and Torag, specifically) would you feel this quote resembles best?
"Reach down into your heart and you'll find many reasons to fight. Survival. Honor. Glory. But what about those who feel it's their duty to protect the innocent? There you'll find a warrior savage enough to match any dragon, and in the end, they'll retain what the others won't. Their humanity."
Hmmm... honestly, most of them would probably get behind that, but I'm going to go with Erastil, since he doesn't really care about honor or glory, just protecting his flock.
Will there be anything in People of the Stars on the gods worshiped on other worlds?
Not to my knowledge...
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Do you have any advice for the people entering the Heroes of Magnimar contest?
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Do you have any advice for the people entering the Heroes of Magnimar contest?
Just that you should do it! A lot of times people don't enter contests because they think "what are the odds?"--but the more people who think that way, the better the odds get for the few that follow through. ;)
As long as my Half-Celestial Vampire Aroden has a chance at winning, sounds like a plan.
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Honestly, most of my impressions of the Empyreal Lords come from Chronicle of the Righteous, which is more how I personally prefer to interact with deities and demigods anyway. As I've noted in a variety of places, to me statting up a super-powerful being like those in Bestiary 4 *always* lessens them by removing the mystery and opening them up to criticism and comparison. But that's just my personal play style--I know some folks around here have a deep love of such stat blocks, so we all compromise and try to balance each other out. And I appreciate your thorough and thought-out critique. :)
Thanks for the appreciation. I like statting the divine and disagree that measurement takes away from appreciation; I also like to fondle numbers (and look forward to fondling Arshea's :3). That said, having Empyreal Lords* poorly statted bothers me as much as representing Kyonin as racist and isolationist bothers James.
Say, how do you feel about how Kyonin's represented?
*(I never know if it should be capitalized or not; it wasn't in CotR so I went with that)
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Honestly, most of my impressions of the Empyreal Lords come from Chronicle of the Righteous, which is more how I personally prefer to interact with deities and demigods anyway. As I've noted in a variety of places, to me statting up a super-powerful being like those in Bestiary 4 *always* lessens them by removing the mystery and opening them up to criticism and comparison. But that's just my personal play style--I know some folks around here have a deep love of such stat blocks, so we all compromise and try to balance each other out. And I appreciate your thorough and thought-out critique. :)Thanks for the appreciation. I like statting the divine and disagree that measurement takes away from appreciation; I also like to fondle numbers (and look forward to fondling Arshea's :3). That said, having Empyreal Lords* poorly statted bothers me as much as representing Kyonin as racist and isolationist bothers James.
Say, how do you feel about how Kyonin's represented?
*(I never know if it should be capitalized or not; it wasn't in CotR so I went with that)
I quite enjoy Kyonin, and in fact invented most of the country's landmarks back in Pathfinder #17. :)
I've never heard anyone around the office express problems with the country before, so I can't speak to that, but I personally have no problem with what we've done with it. The elves returned to a world they used to own large parts of, only to be outbred and outfought, with tons of their people splitting off from traditional elven society to go join the rest of the humanoids. The idea that there'd be a traditionalist enclave seems pretty reasonable to me.
You...might want to have a look at this.
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Hey, James, big fan. I have a question about publishing novels set in Golarion.
I have scrolled several message boards on the topic, and as an aspiring author, the situation looks bleak. Is there no way for a virgin author to get what might just be a great novel published, assuming said novel is set in Golarion?
I understand that sending out an open call would flood your office with millions of pages of crap. But I wonder if persistence COULD ever pay off in this situation.
Thoughts?
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James, I just read your interview at I Blame the Dice!, and I noticed where you were talking about Salim's classes.
But here's my question: Is Salim Mythic? He is the chosen servant of a Goddess, can fight powerful planar beings to a standstill, and walks around with a 120,000 gp magic item like it was nothing.
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You...might want to have a look at this.
Huh! News to me. Still, with all respect to everyone involved, the messageboards aren't where Paizo makes decisions. That's what meetings are for. :P
We all work together to make the books and create "canon." We're not always going to agree with each other or with every decision that's made, but that's part of the creative process--and at Paizo, the whole is very much greater than the sum of its parts. So lest people think that divergent personal opinions or messageboard comments indicate a schism, or that someone's right and another's wrong, rest assured that that's not how it works. Disagreement--sometimes passionate disagreement--is how we push each other to get better. :)
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Hey, James, big fan. I have a question about publishing novels set in Golarion.
I have scrolled several message boards on the topic, and as an aspiring author, the situation looks bleak. Is there no way for a virgin author to get what might just be a great novel published, assuming said novel is set in Golarion?
I understand that sending out an open call would flood your office with millions of pages of crap. But I wonder if persistence COULD ever pay off in this situation.
Thoughts?
Thanks for the question! Unfortunately, the answer is that nobody gets to write a Pathfinder Tales novel without first proving themselves in other arenas. Publishing your own short stories or novels through outlets with editors--publishers, magazines, e-zines, etc.--and building up your name and skills that way is still the only way to get your foot in this particular door.
You might be thinking, "But I'm a great writer! Why won't they give me the chance?" And the answer--in addition to the one you mention about an open call totally flooding us--is that even if you showed me a great writing sample, writing ability is only half of the game. The rest is all about the skills and knowledge that you pick up by working in the writing trenches for a while. Things like the ability to hit deadlines, to know how to interact with editors, to be creative under pressure, to outline well, to accurately judge how long each phase of writing will take you, and so on. As someone who's been writing professionally for a decade at this point, I know that it's been a continual learning process, with veil after veil falling from my eyes as I deal with other professional writers and editors. And it's the resulting dependability--the ability to trust an author who says "I can deliver X by Y date" because you know that they've done it before and understand the process--that is so vital to a tie-in editor like me.
Which isn't to say that there's no hope for new folks! I'm only talking about novels that are *commissioned*, as all Pathfinder Tales novels have to be in order for us to have adequate input in their creation. For the vast majority of fiction markets out there--the ones dealing with creator-owned work--you get to just write what you want to write, submit it, and hope that they publish you. Usually the answer is no. But if you keep at it long enough--gaining experience and skill and battle scars--eventually someone will say yes, and you'll get professionally published.
And then I'll welcome your new battle-hardened author self into the gladiatorial arena of my potential writers pile, and we'll see what happens. :)
Above all, don't give up hope! Writing professionally is a long, hard road, but if there's anything I've learned, it's that perseverance is the most important part. Everything else you can pick up along the way--as long as you don't quit.
Good luck!
Is Salim Mythic?
Ain't tellin'. I'm more interested in what other people think. :)
He's certainly something beyond the normal even as adventurers go.
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Is Salim Mythic?Ain't tellin'. I'm more interested in what other people think. :)
I'm going with 'Yes'. Immortality does come with the 9th mythic tier, after all.
(I doubt he's actually 9th tier, but nothing says that NPCs, especially NPCs without stat blocks, have to gain abilities in the same order PCs do.)
Actually he is immortal because Pharsma refuses to let him stay dead even when he wants to. He doesn't have to be mythic.
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I know he doesn't have to be, but 'A God has a direct, personal interest in you' sounds like as good a Mythic Source as anything else.
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1)What are your top 5 favorite sorcerer bloodlines?
2)What are your top 5 favorite cleric bloodlines?
3)Have you ever played a monster as a player character?
1)What are your top 5 favorite sorcerer bloodlines?
2)What are your top 5 favorite cleric bloodlines?
3)Have you ever played a monster as a player character?
I don't really have strong opinions on the first two, so:
3) Yup! I have no problem with monster PCs, and often play uncommon races (like tengu, or goblin, or...). While many of those got covered in the Advanced Race Guide, making them more "exotic race" than "monster" these days, I enjoy any character that will let me be a little weird (without breaking the party).
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Remember the child-goddess from Ankar-Te in Kaer Maga?
What were your inspirations when creating her?
Did you ever reveal any more details on her, beyond what we can find in City of Strangers?
Would you like to reveal more about her one day, or do you prefer for her to remain a mystery?
Did you recently get a promotion? (I.e. has your messageboard title always been "Managing Editor"? It looks weirdly unfamiliar.)
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Remember the child-goddess from Ankar-Te in Kaer Maga?
What were your inspirations when creating her?
Did you ever reveal any more details on her, beyond what we can find in City of Strangers?
Would you like to reveal more about her one day, or do you prefer for her to remain a mystery?
Did you recently get a promotion? (I.e. has your messageboard title always been "Managing Editor"? It looks weirdly unfamiliar.)
The child-goddess is actually one of my favorite things in the city. :) Of course, the *reason* I love her is that she's such a mystery--there's clearly something very weird going on inside the temple, and a variety of conflicting explanations. So as you correctly presume, my current preference would be to follow my usual philosophy and leave the story there for GMs to explore on their own. But of course, never say never. :)
And yeah, I became the Managing Editor in the last year! Before, as the Senior Editor, I was the unofficial head of the editorial team. Now I'm *officially* in charge of all the editors, as well as taking on some other managerial responsibilities. It's been really interesting so far!
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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(About editing)
a) Study it, via books, blogs, school, and just being around editors.b) Edit! Volunteer to read slush or intern for publications and editors you respect!
A) Any books you recommend? I am already working towards it as my major.
B) I live in an area that doesn't have any editors that I am currently aware of, so doing this might be hard to do in person. Is it possible to do this at a distance? How does someone approach an editor about doing something like this?
Contributor
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Remember the child-goddess from Ankar-Te in Kaer Maga?
What were your inspirations when creating her?
Did you ever reveal any more details on her, beyond what we can find in City of Strangers?
Would you like to reveal more about her one day, or do you prefer for her to remain a mystery?
Did you recently get a promotion? (I.e. has your messageboard title always been "Managing Editor"? It looks weirdly unfamiliar.)
The child-goddess is actually one of my favorite things in the city. :) Of course, the *reason* I love her is that she's such a mystery--there's clearly something very weird going on inside the temple, and a variety of conflicting explanations. So as you correctly presume, my current preference would be to follow my usual philosophy and leave the story there for GMs to explore on their own. But of course, never say never. :)
And yeah, I became the Managing Editor in the last year! Before, as the Senior Editor, I was the unofficial head of the editorial team. Now I'm *officially* in charge of all the editors, as well as taking on some other managerial responsibilities. It's been really interesting so far!
Is she at all inspired by the child-goddesses of Nepal?
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Well I just finished The Redemption Engine. So QUESTIONS!!!
I found the concept and philosophy behind the Iridian Fold as well the Szerik fascinating. Where/How did you come up with them?
Is Roshad a halfling or just really short?
Were you intending the Memory spell and Lintel Stone to be such a stinger as it was?
In the Plane That Wasn't, was the heavy impregnation imagery intentional?
Was the second Hezechor meeting really him or was it just Ceyanan being a dick?
Twice now we have had stories involving soul stealing. And twice now Daemons haven't been involved. Why do you tease me so?
Wait, there a child goddess in Kaer Maga?
(About editing)
a) Study it, via books, blogs, school, and just being around editors.b) Edit! Volunteer to read slush or intern for publications and editors you respect!
A) Any books you recommend? I am already working towards it as my major.
B) I live in an area that doesn't have any editors that I am currently aware of, so doing this might be hard to do in person. Is it possible to do this at a distance? How does someone approach an editor about doing something like this?
A) I don't really have a go-to book on editing specifically, but books on writing can teach you just as much. I'd start with The Complete Idiot's Guide to Publishing Science Fiction by Cory Doctorow and On Writing by Stephen King. Both are fun, easy, and full of invaluable advice.
B) Yes! It's probably easier that way, honestly. There are tons of awesome online publications where everyone works remotely. Just look up cool online magazines and follow their links to *other* cool online magazines, and you'll find somewhere interesting that responds favorably to your offer to read slush! (Some of my favorites are places like Lightspeed, Nightmare, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Escape Pod/Podcastle/Pseudopod, and so on.)
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Is she at all inspired by the child-goddesses of Nepal?Remember the child-goddess from Ankar-Te in Kaer Maga?
What were your inspirations when creating her?
Did you ever reveal any more details on her, beyond what we can find in City of Strangers?
Would you like to reveal more about her one day, or do you prefer for her to remain a mystery?
Did you recently get a promotion? (I.e. has your messageboard title always been "Managing Editor"? It looks weirdly unfamiliar.)
The child-goddess is actually one of my favorite things in the city. :) Of course, the *reason* I love her is that she's such a mystery--there's clearly something very weird going on inside the temple, and a variety of conflicting explanations. So as you correctly presume, my current preference would be to follow my usual philosophy and leave the story there for GMs to explore on their own. But of course, never say never. :)
And yeah, I became the Managing Editor in the last year! Before, as the Senior Editor, I was the unofficial head of the editorial team. Now I'm *officially* in charge of all the editors, as well as taking on some other managerial responsibilities. It's been really interesting so far!
Nope! Didn't even know such people existed until you said it. :)
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Well I just finished The Redemption Engine. So QUESTIONS!!!
** spoiler omitted **
And now, some SUPER-SPOILER answers!
I found the concept and philosophy behind the Iridian Fold as well the Szerik fascinating. Where/How did you come up with them?
--In many ways, they were inspired by the real-world Sacred Band of Thebes. I just thought I'd take them one step farther and make it more of a spiritual philosophy. :)
Is Roshad a halfling or just really short?
--He's just short. And honestly, he's not even *that* short, it's just that Bors is a big dude. The illustration of Iridian Fold guys in City of Strangers had a fair bit of artistic license. The illos that will show up on my new web fiction story starring them are more accurate. :P In fact, there's an image of Roshad up there right now!
Were you intending the Memory spell and Lintel Stone to be such a stinger as it was?
--Yup. Any time you start messing with memory, it demands a wink and a nudge. :)
In the Plane That Wasn't, was the heavy impregnation imagery intentional?
--...no? Except that now that you say that, yes. Yes completely.
Was the second Hezechor meeting really him or was it just Ceyanan being a dick?
--It's really him. Even Ceyanan has limits. :)
Twice now we have had stories involving soul stealing. And twice now Daemons haven't been involved. Why do you tease me so?
--BECAUSE I AM A COLD-HEARTED BALL OF SPITE, WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE, DRAPED WITH A PLATYPUS T-SHIRT FROM THE INTERNET.
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Spoiler:BECAUSE I AM A COLD-HEARTED BALL OF SPITE, WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE, DRAPED WITH A PLATYPUS T-SHIRT FROM THE INTERNET.
New favorite internet quote.
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Curious, while Rahadoum has outlawed Clerics and Oracles gain their powers from entities beyond their understanding could their exist a patriotic Rahadoumi Paladin or Inquisitor since they gain their powers from codes of conduct and allegiance to organizations and causes, not necessarily from a god?
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** spoiler omitted **New favorite internet quote.
:D
Is this name better with or without the apostrophe?
Peredin
Pere'din
When I first started at Paizo, the other developers sat me down and said, very seriously:
"Listen, this is really important: If you see fantasy names with apostrophes--cut 'em. Same for super-long names with no vowels. if you can't pronounce it, don't run it."
This is pretty much still our policy, though I think we all slip an ' in every now and again.
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Curious, while Rahadoum has outlawed Clerics and Oracles gain their powers from entities beyond their understanding could their exist a patriotic Rahadoumi Paladin or Inquisitor since they gain their powers from codes of conduct and allegiance to organizations and causes, not necessarily from a god?
People both inside and outside the offices have different perspectives on this, which is fine with me because I think that people *in world* would have differing perspectives. I imagine some Rahadoumi would be fine with it. Others would be flat-out suspicious of anyone who can use divine magic in any way (after all, how do you *prove* you're not secretly worshiping a god, or being influenced by one without your knowing)? In my mind, Rahadoum's internal war on religion is kind of like the United States' war on terror--everyone has a different take on what's going too far.
But as you all know by now, the messier a situation is, the more I like it. :D
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Curious, while Rahadoum has outlawed Clerics and Oracles gain their powers from entities beyond their understanding could their exist a patriotic Rahadoumi Paladin or Inquisitor since they gain their powers from codes of conduct and allegiance to organizations and causes, not necessarily from a god?People both inside and outside the offices have different perspectives on this, which is fine with me because I think that people *in world* would have differing perspectives. I imagine some Rahadoumi would be fine with it. Others would be flat-out suspicious of anyone who can use divine magic in any way (after all, how do you *prove* you're not secretly worshiping a god, or being influenced by one without your knowing)? In my mind, Rahadoum's internal war on religion is kind of like the United States' war on terror--everyone has a different take on what's going too far.
But as you all know by now, the messier a situation is, the more I like it. :D
Inter-House conflict! Muahahahaha :3
Mainly I think of this due to the Pure Legionnaire Salim interacted with in his childhood. Dood evoked a very much "Paladin" image to me.