Archpaladin Zousha
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Lately I've been flustered trying to plan out the mythic tier abilities I want to pick for the Wrath of the Righteous character I'm building and preparing for. Here's the basics of his story:
Eirtor Belostar-Laurelshield (or Parnknot-Bloodstone, I can't decide) was born in Mendev to Kellid parents, the descendant of Sarkorian refugees that fled the Worldwound when it opened. His life was relatively quiet until a demon slipped through the wardstones. He jumped in front of the demon, who slashed his face and cast him aside before murdering his parents. The demon was slain by Prelate Hulrun and his inquisitors, who'd arrived to question his parents on suspicion of witchcraft. Finding their suspects dead and their son barely alive, Hulrun committed a rare act of charity, bringing the boy back to Kenabres and having Iomedean priests nurse the lad back to health.
When Eirtor awakened, he was changed. His left eye, where the demon's claw struck him, had turned inky black, with a golden iris and it now seemed unable to close. Whether the lad blinked or slept or sneezed, only his right eye would ever close, his left staring ominously out of a scarred eyelid. Hulrun prepared to interrogate him, seeing this development as a sure sign of demonic taint, only to be stopped by an unlikely source: Crocris the park druid. Crocris was kin to Eirtor's parents, and vouched for him, claiming the boy could have known nothing about such matters, and even if his parents had been involved in anything, it didn't matter now, as they were dead. Hulrun grudgingly allowed Crocris to take Eirtor in.
Crocris raised Eirtor like a son, and the pair tended to Truestone Park in the city as Eirtor grew. Crocris taught him the ways of the Green Faith, and set him on the path to becoming a druid himself. But Eirtor also felt some measure of awe at the crusaders that populated Kenabres, often going among the camps near the city and watching them ride, though he had to wear an eyepatch to hide his left eye. He even held a small measure of respect for Prelate Hulrun, despite the man's stubborn zeal and suspicious nature. It's hard NOT to respect a man who saved your life, after all. During this time, Eirtor noticed that he was more hale and hearty than other children his age. One time he'd taken a kick to the head from a crusader's horse and stood up immediately after, no worse for wear. He almost never became ill, and one time even ate a poisonous weed on a dare and was completely unharmed (though he DID get in trouble after several less hardy boys attempted to replicate his feat). Crocris told him of his late parents and their time together as youths, of the glories of lost Sarkoris and her Circle of Hierophants, of Pulura's Fall and the Forest of Stones and the Crystal Citadel of Iz, now all lost to taint and evil. Eirtor decided that when he was ready, he would venture with the crusaders into the Worldwound and fight the demons that had despoiled his ancestors' home, and make a new Sarkoris for the scattered peoples. Crocris, for his part, was cynical of these grand dreams.
As Eirtor took his first level in the Druid class (specifically the Nature Fang archetype), he looked forward to the upcoming Armasse. Though a holiday brought by southerners, he couldn't wait to watch the knights parade...He had no idea that soon his destiny would come rushing to greet him...
As this story indicates, Eirtor will be taking the Exposed to Awfulness trait, and I plan on taking the Dual-Path feat to take both Guardian (which ties in with the trait) and Hierophant, both of which are potent. What I hope to do is take Divine Source three times and make Eirtor into a new god, but I'm not sure just what domains to take, based on his story and whatever themes I might want to introduce for him. I want to base him off the Celtic peoples of Britain, especially Iron Age tribes like the Iceni and later the Ebdanians of ancient Ireland and the infamous Picts, as Wes Schneider has said the ancient Irish clans were part of his inspiration for Sarkoris. My goal was to sort of create a god with Celtic/Arthurian overtones who could accomodate both druids and paladins in his faith, and wasn't completely detached from humanity's issues like Gozreh, or so monofocused on the simple life that their faithful couldn't aspire to things like heroism or kingship like Erastil.
Good is a given, as I plan on making him NG, and taking the Agathion subdomain at subsequent tiers of Divine Source, since Nirvana is the NG plane and Agathions have a bestial aspect that meshes well with druidism, even if Eirtor doesn't wildshape himself.
In other threads where I've asked about building Eirtor, the Glory Domain came up as a suggestion, especially with the Heroism subdomain and I have to agree it's a good idea. Not only are the spells it offers conducive to my goal of making Eirtor sort of like a druidic pseudo-paladin. It also ties in nicely with the sort of warrior hero culture that appears in Celtic mythology frequently with figures like Cuchulain, Fionn mac Cumhaill, Bran the Blessed and, of course, King Arthur himself.
Which leads to the inevitable question: "What next?" I have room for two more domains with the second and third Divine Source, and I can't figure out what else to take. Weather, with the Storms subdomain to sort of set myself up as a rival to Korramzadeh, the Storm King? With the Seasons subdomain to reflect the Green Faith's emphasis on the cycles of nature? Earth to represent a connection to the land? Plant, to emphasize the tree in his name (LAURELshield)? I can't decide. Any assistance you guys can give would be most appreciated. I know you're probably all tired of hearing me ask about building this guy, but I really want to make sure that I don't overload him with symbols and stuff to the point where it feels ridiculous. I want to use Celtic symbols like the wheel, various trees, swords and cauldrons, but I want to be subtle about it so the character is actually a character rather than a coat-rack to hang various Celtic stuff on.
Archpaladin Zousha
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It's too late for me to edit the title, but I should add that SPOILERS! are not an issue for me. I own all six books of Wrath of the Righteous, and have read them probably more than any other AP I own. In fact I actively seek SPOILERS! out in order to better align my character's story and progression with Pathfinder canon and the narrative themes the AP explores and the ideas it discusses. Again, any help would be appreciated. Thank you.