Must a worshiper of the Godclaw only take Iomedae or Asmodeus as their patron deity to function?

[Spamotron]

For Reference: Pantheon, Godclaw

My understanding of worshiping a Pantheon is that the worshiper picks one patron deity from it as their primary so in the case of conflict between edicts and anathema, they take priority. But if a situation arises where the patron deity has nothing to say the other gods' teachings still have equal weight. Abadar, Irori, and Torag don't care that much about the things Iomedae and Asmodeus care about while the two of their teachings come into conflict almost all the time.

For example, a follower of the Godclaw has Abadar as their patron deity. During a fight a wounded foe attempts to surrender. That's something Abadar doesn't really care about but Iomedae says fight with justice and honor which includes accepting a genuine surrender but Asmodeus says granting mercy is an insult to his creed. (They aren't an "enemy of your people," so Torag doesn't care either way). His choice of patron deity appears to be irrelevant and he's in just as much a dilemma if he didn't have one at all.

So it appears that the only way to have a functional PC who worships the Godclaw is to take Iomedae or Asmodeus as your patron.

Is there something I'm misunderstanding?

[Aratorin]

Spamotron wrote:

For Reference: Pantheon, Godclaw

My understanding of worshiping a Pantheon is that the worshiper picks one patron deity from it as their primary so in the case of conflict between edicts and anathema, they take priority. But if a situation arises where the patron deity has nothing to say the other gods' teachings still have equal weight. Abadar, Irori, and Torag don't care that much about the things Iomedae and Asmodeus care about while the two of their teachings come into conflict almost all the time.

For example, a follower of the Godclaw has Abadar as their patron deity. During a fight a wounded foe attempts to surrender. That's something Abadar doesn't really care about but Iomedae says fight with justice and honor which includes accepting a genuine surrender but Asmodeus says granting mercy is an insult to his creed. (They aren't an "enemy of your people," so Torag doesn't care either way). His choice of patron deity appears to be irrelevant and he's in just as much a dilemma if he didn't have one at all.

So it appears that the only way to have a functional PC who worships the Godclaw is to take Iomedae or Asmodeus as your patron.

Is there something I'm misunderstanding?

I don't believe that is correct. You have to follow the Edicts and Anathema of the Pantheon as a whole, as well as those of your Patron Deity. Not the Edicts and Anathema of each individual god.

The Edicts and Anathema of The Godclaw are:

Quote:

Edicts eliminate chaos at its root, be an exemplar of order (worthy of not one, but five), seek the universal laws that transcend individual faiths

Anathema rest when there is lawlessness to fight, believe you know or understand more than the pantheon

[Nyerkh]

Agreed.
Also, I'm fairly confident Asmodeus would accept options other than summary execution anyway.
A trial and subsequent public execution, as a show of force. Accepting the surrender at the cost of an oath of fealty/servitude. Etc.
There's more ways to "not show mercy" than straight up slauthtering everyone, and Big A is all about those subtleties.

[Angel Hunter D]

You in fact may be straying close to anathema with this whole line of reasoning over who to take as your patron, this sounds a little too close to "believing you know or understand more than the pantheon"

[Taja the Barbarian]

Aratorin wrote:

Spamotron wrote:

For Reference: Pantheon, Godclaw

My understanding of worshiping a Pantheon is that the worshiper picks one patron deity from it as their primary so in the case of conflict between edicts and anathema, they take priority. But if a situation arises where the patron deity has nothing to say the other gods' teachings still have equal weight. Abadar, Irori, and Torag don't care that much about the things Iomedae and Asmodeus care about while the two of their teachings come into conflict almost all the time.

For example, a follower of the Godclaw has Abadar as their patron deity. During a fight a wounded foe attempts to surrender. That's something Abadar doesn't really care about but Iomedae says fight with justice and honor which includes accepting a genuine surrender but Asmodeus says granting mercy is an insult to his creed. (They aren't an "enemy of your people," so Torag doesn't care either way). His choice of patron deity appears to be irrelevant and he's in just as much a dilemma if he didn't have one at all.

So it appears that the only way to have a functional PC who worships the Godclaw is to take Iomedae or Asmodeus as your patron.

Is there something I'm misunderstanding?

I don't believe that is correct. You have to follow the Edicts and Anathema of the Pantheon as a whole, as well as those of your Patron Deity. Not the Edicts and Anathema of each individual god.

The Edicts and Anathema of The Godclaw are:

Quote:

Edicts eliminate chaos at its root, be an exemplar of order (worthy of not one, but five), seek the universal laws that transcend individual faiths

Anathema rest when there is lawlessness to fight, believe you know or understand more than the pantheon

This is correct.

You are only concerned with two sets of edicts/anathema:

• Those of your specific Deity, and
• Those specific to the Pantheon as a whole (as specifically listed in the Pantheon's entry).

If there is a conflict between these two, you need to follow your specific deity.

Pantheons wrote:

Source Gods & Magic pg. 93

A pantheon is a group of related gods worshipped either individually or together. Most pantheons are associated with a specific ancestry or geopolitical region, but rarely, a pantheon consists of deities with overlapping areas of concern. Followers work to advance the shared interests of their pantheon, directing prayers to whichever god presides over their current activity or circumstance. At the GM's discretion, champions and clerics can dedicate themselves to a pantheon. In such cases, the characters still worship a specific patron deity among those in the pantheon, but also follow the edicts and anathema of the pantheon as a whole. A character who worships a pantheon this way can gain the domains, alternate domains, and spells from the pantheon instead of those from their patron deity. They must uphold the ideals of both their patron deity and the pantheon, though the patron deity's edicts and anathema take precedence. For example, a worshipper of Iomedae could worship the Godclaw, but they wouldn't take the tyranny domain, as it would be in conflict with Iomedae's edicts. In rare cases, a character can worship a pantheon without following a patron deity. Such cases are unique and subject to GM approval.

In the specific example given, you are only concerned with Abadar and the Godclaw itself, not the individual edicts/anathema of the Godclaw's other four members.

Abadar (Master of the First Vault) LN wrote:

Source Core Rulebook pg. 437

...
Edicts bring civilization to the frontiers, earn wealth through hard work and trade, follow the rule of law
Anathema engage in banditry or piracy, steal, undermine a law-abiding court

The Godclaw LN wrote:

Source Gods & Magic pg. 93

...
Edicts eliminate chaos at its root, be an exemplar of order (worthy of not one, but five), seek the universal laws that transcend individual faiths
Anathema rest when there is lawlessness to fight, believe you know or understand more than the pantheon

Refusing to accept a surrender might possibly fall afoul of the 'follow the rule of law' Edict and maybe the 'undermine a law-abiding court' Anathema if you are operating in an area with actual laws.