hello, im a somewhat new player and i'm creating a borais charcter, however i was thinking of having them worship pharasma as it would fit with there personality. but as i learned pharasma and her followers hate undead and destroy them on site, would it even be possible for a borais to be a pharasma worshiper, or would they try to destroy said borais on site like the others? i question this because there not truly undead as they still live and die, but they also are kinda undead.
Pharasma has had to learn to tolerate the undead since the days of Pathfinder, since Eox is one of the prime signatories of the Pact Worlds. In fact, Pharasma has a church ON Eox to help the rare living there find peace, and likely assist undead who regret their transformation to transition to true death.
I don't see any problem with a Borais worshiping Pharasma. He or she may want to find a way to return their soul to their body and end their curse, instead of merely puppeting their living body in a cruel mockery of life. Or they may have simply worshipped Pharasma when they were alive, and see no reason to change. Faith is complicated.
Pharasma has had to learn to tolerate the undead
Her followers perhaps, but claiming the Goddess herself does is rather misleading. Per the Core Rulebook she still wants them all destroyed.
Pharasma has had to learn to tolerate the undeadHer followers perhaps, but claiming the Goddess herself does is rather misleading. Per the Core Rulebook she still wants them all destroyed.
I imagine that a greater deity like Pharasma knows how to play the long game. Basically the current situation is like a cold war.
All she has to do is wait for the Eoxians to show their true colors (like, revelations that the Corpse Fleet is being subsidized by Eoxian leadership), and build up her forces and allies for that day.
In the meantime, it probably wouldn't hurt to have worshippers that have feet in both worlds. Actually there's a lot of interesting spy vs. spy potential there.
I think a borais may be acceptable because it is a state that can happen on a failed or some how botched resurrection attempt. Pharsama seems accepting of resurrection so if they were not intending to become an undead and did not do anything to actively cause it or seek it that is probably more acceptable than somebody who actually sought out that state or intentionally worked to become undead.
That would be one conflicted/tormented undead. Maybe he acts recklessly in hopes to get killed again, and so please his goddess.
Would not be the first person to hate his situation. And borais aren't necessarily voluntarily undead, so it could happen. Even so, it could have been a mistake you dearly regret. There are options, moreso than for a full-on undead.
I don't see it being a light and happy character, though.
Then again, worship is a one-way thing, the god does not have to like you in return.
Assuming you - the player - are not expecting any power from Pharasma, your PC could be horribly wrong about what Pharasma wants. Being ignorant or unwilling to consider all the tenets of your faith isn't exceptional either. You could just be a deluded idiot convinced he's doing the work of Pharasma.
Pharasma versus Eox is an interesting thing, and I certainly hope we'll learn more, in time.
Right now, the Pact prevents overt action. As long as Eox plays along - and they're smart enough to do so, there's not much to do. Or need to, since being evil or undead isn't usually a crime in and of itself.
Plus Eox is capable of defending itself - worse case scenario, they could dig up their big red button, make a new diaspora out of any enemy worth the trouble. We have no reason to believe they lost that tech, whatever it was, do we ?
I can't really see it working except with a character who is self-loathing or ignorant of Pharsama's general desires.
But if you want to roll with those aspects of your character...then sure I guess you could.
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Regarding Eox, according to James Sutter "In our minds, Eox has a real problem with Pharasmin insurgents/crusaders eager to break mortal law in obedience to a higher law. While it's much more hush-hush than in someplace like the Worldwound in Pathfinder, and the population of Pharasmins on the planet isn't huge, I think it's important enough to be worth mentioning, and hope to elaborate on it more in the future. :)"
See http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ukap?Why-would-there-be-a-center-of-worship-to
That's a different sort of question than "Can a sentient undead creature worship the God of Hating Undead?"
It's not about whether or not Pharasmins are on Eox, they definitely are. Some act overtly to kill undead. The question is, how would an Undead creature end up worshipping Pharasma, and if they chose to what reasons would they have for not just destroying themselves.
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Well, there are loads of stories involving characters worshipping deities that don't approve of them, or outright hate what they are. Or concepts they've betrayed or failed to uphold.
Typically that's a search for redemption, atonement, even at the cost at one's own life. Be it looking for a good death, or merely the idea that just because you've fallen doesn't mean you can stop working : you've failed, you're doomed, but there's still a job that needs to be done.
That's all that is Deathseekers, Penitents, Slayers and whatnot in other IPs.
I know I had that as an idea for a paladin of an LN god (Hoar) back in the 3.5 days, falling mid-campaign. One more for "the never got to do it" pile.
The issue might not even be of your own making : what better, more cruel and ruthless way for a bad guy to punish a Pharasmin than raising them as an undead abomination, spitting in the face of the goddess ? (See also, to a lesser degree : Arthas v. Sylvanas in WC3)
In which case you might simply be after the guilty party, be it for good old vengeance or more nobly* to stop them from doing to others what they did to you.
*(Nobly ? Noblely ? School did not prepare me for that debate in the foreign language that is english, apologies for the eventual weirdness)
Which brings to the other possibility I see: voluntary sacrifice.
Great ideals, the one true path or whatever, sometimes demand you sacrifice everything in the name of the greater good.
Everything.
Which may be more than just your life.
So the idea of fighting fire with fire, at cost of your soul, accepting that betraying all you believe in is the best way you personnaly can fight for that very same thing. 40k's Oblationist sect in DarkHeresy, that kind of thing.
It's horrible, it's obscene, it's anathema to the last degree, but it's the only way you can see to fight against - usually - an otherwise absolutely undefeatable force. In a given moment, at the very least.
Not an uncommon devil's bargain in fiction either.
Accepting, of course that the only way this ends is in your death, even after an unlikely victory.
That said, again, gods shouldn't accept that, and wouldn't give you any power. To repeat myself.
Their churches would still come after given the opportunity, even.
And more importantly that's nothing but tragic heroes, painfully aware they're doomed, no matter what they do.
Final note : as players, borderline suicidal characters can be disruptive, and easily annoying.
If you go for that - and it can be powerful story-wise and great to play, so do it if there's interest - please be aware of that and be smart about it.
Starfinder Design Lead
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There's no official restriction we've discussed yet.
I could, for example, see someone who worshiped Pharasma, then through no fault of their own became a Borai, then felt they had to use their new position to help destroy more undead in continued worship of Pharasma (while praying for true death, but not will;ing to seek it out because that would leave *other* undead at large).
It's going to be rare, and such a character is likely to not have the support of the church, but I think it could happen.
