Is Zyphus mythology accurate? how do you play it?

[BobTheCoward]

I want to find ways to make religion more interesting in my game. While working on it, I keep coming back to Zyphus, the Grim Harvestmen. There are two components to his myth 1) souls that experience a meaningless death become his and do not pass through Pharasma in the Boneyard and 2) Cultists that arrange "accidental" deaths send those souls to Zyphus.

Would you play this is true or a complete fabrication? In my game, I'm leaning toward saying it is true. It does make for a setting where the fate of a soul is a lot less clear. It may be a little too dour, so I might say whenever Zyphus feels like looking in on the material plane.

[Mark Moreland]

Ultimately, Pharasma still judges every soul, so it might not be true in every case. A paladin who happens to fall down the stairs (ha, a fallen paladin) would still likely be sent to Heaven, and a demoniac that gets run over by a cart would still probably end up in the Abyss. A neutral evil soul, however, that died a meaningless death could be sent to any one of a number of evil gods' realms, so it might be that Zyphus gets those souls. His followers, who actively try to kill people in meaningless and (supposedly) accidental ways are certainly evil, and would be dogeared for Zyphus's realm in the afterlife.

[Mikaze]

Along with that, propagating the idea keeps Zyphus' faithful invested in playing their Final Destination reinactments, which is possibly good enough in Zyphus' eyes. He might only get a few of them, but the work is as much its own reward as what it reaps.

[Cthulhudrew]

Perhaps there exist some Broken Souled Psychopomps who covertly interrupt the flow of souls into Pharasma's judgment and send them along to Zyphus?

[BobTheCoward]

That makes the bitter enemy of pharasma a little one sided. But it may be another reflection of the senselessness of daemon worship?

Is it the same for ritual sacrifice in general? Is the paladin about to be sacrificed to abraxas still destined for heaven?

[Distant Scholar]

I've been wanting to play a Neutral separatist cleric of Zyphus for a while. He's completely bewildered by the majority of the worshipers creating "accidental" deaths (which aren't accidental) or "meaningless" deaths (which, since they are done to honor Zyphus, aren't meaningless). He'd consider Zyphus not exactly someone to worship, but something to be endured, and the clergy should help people endure him (whatever way is best, good or evil).

[David Schwartz]

Perhaps the accidental deaths are not meant to take the souls of the victims, but of those around them, by leading the survivors to the conclusion that life is arbitrary and cruel. The rumor that those who die by accident go to Zyphus only adds to the sense of injustice.