Witch's Brew - Cults of Mestama

[Apupunchau]

One of the things I love most about Golarion is that there is a ton of stuff left unwritten. It allows me to expand on things in my games and invent new things to further enrich the game world. A part of the setting that always interests me are the divine being they have and how the interact with their followers and each other. On one of the Pathfinder FB pages I play a little game of creativity where I ask about what kind of character you would make to follow a god. This week I'm looking at Mestama, Demon Lord of cruelty, deception, and Hags.

Sitting at our theoretical gaming table, our GM turns to us and says, "All of the characters must be followers of Mestama, although they do not need to be divine casters." What character do you make? Who is he? Why has he chosen The Mother of Witches as his patron? In what ways does he further the Demon Lord's goals? Why would he be attracted to this beings doctrine?

[Set]

Apupunchau wrote:

Sitting at our theoretical gaming table, our GM turns to us and says, "All of the characters must be followers of Mestama, although they do not need to be divine casters." What character do you make? Who is he? Why has he chosen The Mother of Witches as his patron? In what ways does he further the Demon Lord's goals? Why would he be attracted to this beings doctrine?

My first thoughts would be Witches, obviously, as well as Clerics.

After that, a Bard, focused on politics and becoming a 'power behind the throne,' combining their magic and skills, along with mundane mastery of deception through Bluff and misinformation and rumormongering, perhaps even with the Vizier archetype. The fighting style would also focus on deceptive tactics, perhaps maximizing their ability to Bluff/feint, and using spells.

Any character could simply have grown up in a Mestama-worshipping family, or even small farming community, and follow the tenets of the faith without necessarily 'fitting' any sort of theme. A Fighter could be the son of a prominent Mestaman cleric or be dating a witch whose patron is Mestama, and be kind of Mestaman by association (and interested in magic, deception, etc. growing up seeing it as the route to power). A Fighter might pick up Eldritch Heritage to fit that sort of theme even more strongly, or a Rogue might pick up some Witch spells via Minor and Major Magic rogue tricks, or even obtain a familiar, if that's an option (or specialized in animal training, and have a weasel or raven that's trained to steal objects or distract people so that they can get away with stuff).

An Oracle (Lore?) or Summoner could see the source of their Mystery or Eidolon as coming from Mestama, or being tied to Mestama, in some way. A Sorcerer with a bloodline that could be associated with hags, such as Elemental Water (with Sea Hags) or Verdant (with Green Hags) could also be a suitable choice.

Mestama being tied to other witch-patron gods, in a sort of 'divine coven,' could be interesting. Gyronna is another obvious choice for a 'divine witch,' but the third could be Lamashtu or even Calistria.

[Dragonchess Player]

Hexcrafter magi and unlettered arcanists (possibly with the occultist archetype, as well).

Just about any character with VMC witch (i.e., the Coven hex at 7th).

Cabalist vigilante could also work.

[Apupunchau]

Set wrote:

Mestama being tied to other witch-patron gods, in a sort of 'divine coven,' could be interesting. Gyronna is another obvious choice for a 'divine witch,' but the third could be Lamashtu or even Calistria.

She actually very specifically hates Gtronna

But the question isn't really what kind of character can you make. There are hundreds of could make builds. The question is what character would you make? If you had to make a character what would it be? And not just a build. Why would the character you made worship this deity?

[PannicAtack]

You know, there's actually an NPC in Darklands Revisited, under the Drow section; Swashbuckler 4/Sorcerer 4. Uses a punching dagger (Mestama's favored weapon) and has the Accursed Bloodline (because hags, obviously).

Apart from that, any particularly malicious witch. While Mestama and Gyronna fiercely hate each other, it might be worth it to read up on Gyrrona and her followers, as they're likely to have some significant overlap thematically.

[The Morphling]

Either a Cabalist vigilante, as previously mentioned, or a Hexenhammer inquisitor.

[PannicAtack]

I don't know if the Hexenhammer really makes the most sense. Isn't the idea behind the archetype the idea that witches are their enemies, but they learn their ways for the sake of winning (and not without substantial self-flagellation)?