Stigmata are typically described as flowing from the hands, brow, and feet, as well as the abdomen/side (Christ's wounds). I'd suggest something similar. Blood pouring out from the palms of your character's hands would certainly run the length of his or her blade and shield.
Bleeding from the eyes would also make for some cool imagery; akin to tears.
has your character been subject to any wounds sustained while fighting any evil outsiders?
the scars of these wounds could be the source of your stigmata bleeding.
I wouldn't box the character into christ like wounds...
though the imagery of bleeding hands dripping down your blade does sound cool and flavorful.
Stigmata does not have anything to do with Christ specifically. The ability says you bleed in a location appropriate to the deity you worship (Golarian deities). Using the ability channels a divine connection with your deity in the form of receiving a powerful divine blessing. The bleeding is your payment to the god for receiving the blessing. Perhaps such a strong bond between man and god is too much for the body to bear resulting in a symbolic bleeding as the power overflows from you.
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I wonder if employing stigmata mightn't offend or upset certain Catholics specifically, or Christians in general, with whom you're gaming.
I'm a staunch Roman Catholic, and frankly I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. Strikes me as, perhaps, a little too close to impinging on those with religious sensibilities.
Nobody is "impinging" on religious people by playing a make-believe fantasy character. Your religion is not diminished because I'm playing a character with a superficial reminiscence to your god.
I wonder if employing stigmata mightn't offend or upset certain Catholics specifically, or Christians in general, with whom you're gaming.
I'm a staunch Roman Catholic, and frankly I'm not sure how I'd feel about it. Strikes me as, perhaps, a little too close to impinging on those with religious sensibilities.
Does a paladin using lay on hands offend you? Because that's a bibically based term too. Honestly, as a Christian, I'm more offended by the concept that it's okay to steal themes and tropes from other religions, but not from Christianity.
Back on topic: I would tailor the stigmata to your particular god. My Holy Vindicator of Asmodeus has a pentacle of blood trace itself on his forhead and starts bleeding from there.
I'd enjoy seeing more faith-based PrCs and so on which were much less closely tied to Judeo-Christian or Eastern/Japanese mythology.
The stigmata is blatant, to be sure.
It does bring to mind if perhaps a second setting, aside from Golarion, could be developed for or if it already is.
Then again, if there was a 3PP who explored a settings with classes drawn from alternate faith and myth systems aside from Judeo-Christian and Eastern/Japanese, it would be wonderful. There may already be one.
In upcoming publications, the release of the PF shaman is nice, but the title is misleading.
While a great class, it isn't as truly "shaman" as much as a combination of classes that nods its head thematically to popular geek tropes (not a bad thing). The devs stated it shouldn't be compared to or draw from expectations of real world inspirations, iirc.
Anyhow, I'm derailing. :)
How should i describe my character's stigmata when it first happens? Does blood just start spewing out of my forearms onto my shield, and somehow or.other im harder to hit? Purely for character description as he unlocks thisnew ability. Could i have some suggestions?
I like tying it to the deity they worship, if possible. For example, let's say that they're a Holy Vindicator of Zon Kuthon, I like to have the character's blood flow from their eyes and (supernaturally) form trails that resemble chains.
Obviously, this is harder with some deities than with others, but it's the type of little character fluff that I love adding to my divine characters.
I'm a Roman Catholic and it doesn't bother me. If anything, one can take it as a compliment that they are modeling an ability that appears in your faith.
I take that as a good sign that my concerns are largely if not entirely unwarranted.
You are entitled to your own feelings. As long as everyone is an adult about it, we should all be ok.
I think what sandbox said would be the best. Wounds he received while carrying out the will of his gods would be the best idea.
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I'm glad you're not offended by the idea. It's hard to tell in a text-based medium, after all.
I just find it annoying when people consider Christian mythology "inappropriate" for RPG inspiration. A lot of it is really cool, and rich soil for growing some really interesting character concepts. My home campaign is actually heavily inspired by the interactions between a Judeo-Christian inspired monotheistic deity "taking over" a world that had previously been ruled by a pantheon of gods more reminiscent of the Greek and Norse pantheons.
The Holy Vindicator is perfect for players who want their character's theme to reference a different mythology than the usual themes.
It's entirely up to you as to how you describe it.
I've always wanted to play a nice creepy HV worshiping Calistria with scars under her eyes: "I WEEP FOR MY GOD'S PLEASURE!" Then laugh maniacally and slaughter the PC's... as the GM of course.
Zoroastrians, really? Wow.
I hadn't realized there were any Zoroastrians left, since Zoroastrianism was pretty much succeeded by Judaism and later Christianity/Islam. It's kind of like hearing that there's still Poseidon worshipers hangin' around; such ancient religions are pretty much unheard of these days.
Freddie Mercury's family was/is Zoroastrian.
Lay on hands is an obvious euphemism for healing ... and healing is hardly unique to Christianity. Stigmata is self-evidently another matter entirely, as it's associated specifically with Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. If you choose not to see the distinction, so be it.
A quick Google search turns up two other religions that feature stigmata.
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How should i describe my character's stigmata when it first happens? Does blood just start spewing out of my forearms onto my shield, and somehow or.other im harder to hit? Purely for character description as he unlocks thisnew ability. Could i have some suggestions?
I've actually been contemplating making a Monk/Cleric/Holy Vindicator who is Dex-based and has his Stigmata be his holy symbol, already having been engraved into his chest[Monk to let him walk around shirtless without suffering AC], bleeding as a glowing wound that protects him.
Well, considering I have always, for 30+ years, used real-world religion in my games, it's not an issue I shy away from, by any means. Christianity and Islam have always held sway over much of both my home-brew and historical fantasy campaigns. I find made-up gods wildly uninteresting, frankly.
You say that you find made up gods uninteresting, but you use these real-world gods in your world. Real world gods are made up, too, you know. And I say that (mostly) not as a snarky atheist, but from most religious people's point of view, every god except their own is made-up.
So what makes a real world made-up god more interesting than a made-up world made-up god?