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hello I'm new here and got really fascinated by pathfinder, how it works and how much more versatility characters can get as opposed to 3.5
I've just been working on a conversion of one of my characters from 3.5 to pathfinder, and i've been wondering what character this one would worship as its integral to her background.
I can't type the whole thing since we would be here all night but, basically. The character in question is a seductive bardic dancer, who is fully aware of said sexiness and tends to use it to her advantage to infiltrate, scout, gather intel and if need be assassinate targets (thank you sense vitals spell) However she only targets people like slave traders, tyrants, corrupt politicians things like that.
Everyone else she just swipes a few coins from under their noses for a quick meal, ya know something they would never really miss.
But before that....well let's just say she's had a rough past and from one thing to another lead her to be rescued by a group of varisian gypsies who nursed her back to health, gave her a home, and rehabilitated her from her past trauma. However a large part of this would be a worship and a certain deity that would align with her growing view points.
Problem is I can't decide which one. The first obvious one would be calistria, but if anything i think her worshiping her would have the opposite effect of what would be intended or at the very least she would be considered an outcast of the religion.
Desna and cayden are good possibilities, but i'm not 100% sure how cool they would be with her methods and...occasional brattiness.
Shelyn came close, but this is the same problem with calistria but for the opposite reason as i doubt shelyn would be cool with my character flaunting her body even if the end result is good.
And Finally Sarenrae, while she admires her and knows sarenrae is undoubtedly good, she's kinda holds a grudge against followers of the dawnflower for turning a blind eye to things like slavery.
So it really comes down to desna and cayden...so which one would fit? or is there a 3rd option?
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Worship me! ...Or don't. It's all the same, really, but I'm not canon.
Otherwise, Arshea (Neutral Good - Freedom, Physical Beauty, and Sexuality) or Limneiris (Lawful Good - Prostitution, Rites of Passage, and Virginity) might be good choices. They're Empyreal Lords - basically super-strong angels, not outright gods - but they're pretty much identical from a gameplay point of view.
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Worship me! ...Or don't. It's all the same, really, but I'm not canon.
Otherwise, Arshea (Neutral Good - Freedom, Physical Beauty, and Sexuality) or Limneiris (Lawful Good - Prostitution, Rites of Passage, and Virginity) might be good choices. They're Empyreal Lords - basically super-strong angels, not outright gods - but they're pretty much identical from a gameplay point of view.
Not so sure about limneiris since well my character will basically be chaotic good, but i'm definitely liking the feel of arshea
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I only have the description from the Inner Sea World Guide, so you may well be aware of details that I am not. But I'd have jumped on Calistria, eh, well, picked her. Why would the PC be an outcast?
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I only have the description from the Inner Sea World Guide, so you may well be aware of details that I am not. But I'd have jumped on Calistria, eh, well, picked her. Why would the PC be an outcast?
Because from what I can tell, Calistrians are on a whole very selfish and petty only really caring about fulfilling their own desires. Their mindset kinda comes off as "I do what i want and to hell with everyone else, if it helps you out great if not...well tough luck"
Like i said calistria WAS the obvious first choice all things considered, I'm just not sure that her worshiping her wouldn't have just bolstered the past trauma my character dealt with. If you can convince me otherwise though that would make things easier moving forward.
http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Calistria
This has more details and really nothing suggests that a chaotic good calistrian wouldn't get A LOT of rolled eyes at the bare minimum.
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Yes, I'd definitely vote for heretical Calistrian (I'm feeling both trickery and vengeance vibes from your description) -- play up the heretical aspect instead of trying to dodge it. Except if this is going to be in Skull & Shackles or some other marine campaign, Besmara is another possibility (but even there, one of the major potentially friendly NPCs early on is a Calistrian, and might logically have shared some of the type of background you are describing, so don't count Calistria out even there).
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Yes, I'd definitely vote for heretical Calistrian (I'm feeling both trickery and vengeance vibes from your description) -- play up the heretical aspect instead of trying to dodge it. Except if this is going to be in Skull & Shackles or some other marine campaign, Besmara is another possibility (but even there, one of the major potentially friendly NPCs early on is a Calistrian, and might logically have shared some of the type of background you are describing, so don't count Calistria out even there).
Hmm so stick with calistria but embrace heresy. welcome trickery and vengeance/judgement but not necessarily selfishness....i like it. I really like it. It would also be a good excuse for being off on her own. Nice.
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Calistria main tennent (if you will) to her faithful is to be themselves...so I have to say Calistria makes the most sense to me. I mean it is not like she is a cleric.
Look at some prevalent worshipers of her
There is Tessa Fairwind a NPC from the Skull & Shackles AP who worships her but does not really go for the whole vengeance aspects.
Than there is Vreva from the Pirate novels who is very against slavery due to past tragedy.
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Since your converting her from 3.5, who did she worship in 3.5? Knowing what deity she was established with may help in finding a better analogue in Golarion.
That said, you don't even need to change her deity unless your changing her setting anyways.
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Recently, thanks to Starfinder, I have attained an entirely different view on Desna. Check this out:
Desna and her faith have changed little since the pre-Gap era. The Song of the Spheres encourages her followers to believe in themselves, indulge their desires, experience all they can, express their inner strengths, and trust their instincts.
... this is very much so in-line with your stated character, and, though it's how Desna is expressed in Starfinder, it seems like it's implied that this was true even now.
Similarly, Calistrians need not be terrible people. In fact, they often care very passionately about their own, and this could easily lead to embracing more good-leaning heresy, especially in the Varisian wanderers, who hardly are ones for the orthodoxy of the more settled races.
Finally, though I dislike him for personal reasons (I have lots of real-life negative associations with alcohol), Cayden is actually a super-good guy, and encourages personal heroics and individualism in freedom, so he could be a fine choice. Also, he's always trying to sleep with hot chicks, so... that fits, in a weird way.
That said, are you tied to the Core 20?
If not, PF has a vast wealth of possible options for you!
Though the Osirion pantheon is relatively recently rediscovered, I believe they were once known as far away as Varisia. Both
Bastet and Hathor would thus be potentially decent choices.
From the more minor lists: in some ways, Milani would be a perfect fit, while Pulura could be one that she learned of and spun as that guiding star that leads her to the "home" that she's never before known. It's quite possible, that White Feather cultists, fleeing persecution from Quadira, live in Varisia, and she has begun to be changed by their teachings (having been attracted to something from more near her homeland); her ways are entirely different than theirs, but she may well be a believer nonetheless - a state I suggest is akin to the NPC Nathyra among the followers of Eilistraee in the game Hordes of the Underdark (an expansion of the old Neverwinter Nights, if you've ever played it); this creates a great RP opportunity for struggle, as she feels forced to use her talents in ways the mainline faith doesn't necessarily like, but might need.
Though strange, even creatures like the Eldest may have something for her. For example, though he is chaotic neutral, cults devoted to a largely-absent Count Renalc may well focus on harboring those who are betrayed, exiled and, hated by others: taking them in, championing for freedom, and seeking reconciliation, when possible.
Though it may sound nonsensical at first, even the demon lord Nocticula may be a valid patron, as there is a canonical non-evil cult of hers squirreled away somewhere in Varisia, who believes that she is secretly a fallen celestial, and may well eventually ascend back up from a demon lord into a non-evil entity - such a cult would certainly appeal to your character, as followers may believe that they, too, must live up to the "high" ideals in order to help their goddess along.
There are, frankly, too many Empyreal lords to go into. I'm going to cut out any that are lawful good (too far from your concept), and try to pair things down. Please take a look at them, though, if you're interested - there are a ton of great ones!
With Agathions, Korada could make an ideal patron to whom she feels she owe allegiance (by way of the priesthood's kindness and aid) while failing to uphold the ideals of the deity, and slowly becoming more like him. Even better is Lorris, as her focus on the disenfranchised and charity both works with and against your character's natures.
For angels, Arshea could be pretty ideal - physical beauty, freedom, and sexuality... all excellent and right up your characters ally; Arshea's tendency to make friends, not enemies could lead to conflicts in your character's traits and the mainline worship. Dalenydra is great for making more conflict in your character's ideals and that of the church, as might Neshen or Vildeis.
For azata, Ashava seems just adjacent-enough to your character without being a perfect "fit" that natural conflicts may arise, and although Cernunnos doesn't have too much in common, they are both self-willed go-getters and associated with "fertility" (which is associated with-/the virtue of rule opposite of- the sin of lust, in ancient Thassilonian traditions/modern Varisian mysticism). I don't know anything about Lada, but dancing is a thing, so there's that. Qetesh sounds like she'd have no problem with lovers and looks, but maybe the way your character applies them. Valani's focus on change and growth may well be important for your character's spiritual journey.
After beginning writing this up, like, five minutes after the OP posted, I lost the internet pretty much right away. So... mostly by vague memory, I hacked this up offline (though with links taken from the Pathfinderwiki hyperlinks), so... sorry if I messed something up. As I finally have internet back, however temporary and slow, I will attempt to post this, now... I've probably been ninja'd by now, but from my perspective I was the first to answer!
... sorry if any of these points have already been brought up, but I hope this (at least somewhat) helps!
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Calistria, Arshea and Milani were the obvious ones to me.
Arshea is even statted so could turn up in your campaign and do stuff depending on how high level it went.
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Since your converting her from 3.5, who did she worship in 3.5? Knowing what deity she was established with may help in finding a better analogue in Golarion.
That said, you don't even need to change her deity unless your changing her setting anyways.
She was based in the forgotten realms and was more or less a sunite.(or one who worships sune rather.)
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Shelyn could still be a great choice. She's probably fine with your character flaunting her body and treating it a work of art that could be admired others. So as long as your not using her attractiveness to manipulate others she's great choice for your character.
Naderi could also be an interesting choice, to say the least, if whatever past trauma your character had was somehow related to some kind of heartbreak or loss.
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Like i said calistria WAS the obvious first choice all things considered, I'm just not sure that her worshiping her wouldn't have just bolstered the past trauma my character dealt with. If you can convince me otherwise though that would make things easier moving forward.
http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Calistria
This has more details and really nothing suggests that a chaotic good calistrian wouldn't get A LOT of rolled eyes at the bare minimum.
From what I can tell, Calistrians are selfish in that they act on their desires with minimal inhibitions. That does not mean they don´t care for anyone else, and there are quite a few CG worshippers and even clerics of the deity. Faith of Balance and the other religion books have more on the topic. Basically, they are more free-spirited than anything else, and while the "eff you, got mine" attitude is not unknown in the faith, it does not define it either.
If your have a personal beef with slavers and desire to see them die and suffer, Calistria is more than fine with that. If you pursue your vendetta in such a way that it brings home the karmic aspect of vengeance, and you do it with style and while looking good, you just made the shortlist for her favor. Don´t forget, she is about more than sultry looks and exotic courtesans - vengeance is a big part of her portfolio and vigilantism is quite common among her followers. Some, less principled ones, also go into assassination, but usually the point is that someone was wronged and there is an element of vengeance in what they do. You gotta feel it, get a kick from it. Dispassionate murder is more up Norgorber´s or maybe the Red Mantis´ alley.
So far I have seen nothing about her character that indicates that she would not be a model Calistrian. Yes, she focuses her wrath on slavers and the like, because such people had wronged her greatly in the past. Nothing heretical so far, especially for a lay worshipper. In fact, Calistria would be my first choice for deity for such a character (alongside maybe Yig, unless you have an issue with snakes).
I have a bigger problem associating this character with Shelyn, though she is probably the closest Golarion deity to Sune. Shelyn is the goddess of love and beauty, and she is fairly pacifistic and defensively minded. Assassination is very unusual for her, even if the target was evil - in fact, she can be just as much (or at least almost as much) about redemption as Sarenrae is. The "flaunting" itself is not that big of a deal - she may be fairly chaste herself, but considering her portfolio (love, beauty, and art of any kind) she is unlikely to be too prudish about erotic art or some nakedness. Murdering people, now, that is not so cool in her book. That doesn´t mean a believer of Shelyn cannot ever be a spy, but killing is something they are likely to see as wrong and to be avoided whenever possible.