What is a deities 'Portfolio'?

[Minigiant]

I asked this question here a few days ago but got no response unfortunately. Nonetheless I have continued my search for the answer and now I have gathered a fair bit of information and evidence I thought it best to share in the spirit of our beloved community.

There seems to be a trend of people who believe Portfolio simply refers to a deities 'Areas of Concern'. I am sorry but there is no rule that states that as a fact, nor is 'Areas of Concern' ever mentioned or refered to outside of a Deities profile.

My journey started with researching Variant Channeling where Portfolio was mentioned on three occasions (One of which is written for flavour text)

AoN wrote:

When you create a cleric character, decide whether she uses the standard form of channel energy or a variant presented here based on one aspect of her deity's portfolio..

AoN wrote:

The following is a list of example portfolios and the variant channeling abilities available to each.

This got me thinking, What is a Deities Portfolio? Is it their domains? Is it their Areas of Concern? Something else? Their entire profile?

Arguements for Areas of Concern

There are a few Variant Channels that are only listed by deities as Areas of Concern. To name a couple

• Dreams
• Rulership

Neither of these are Domains. Then there are options such as

• Luck
• Earth

That can be found listed as BOTH Areas of Concern and Domains

But then there are no variant channels that are ONLY domains

Arguements for Domains

When searching the Archives of Nethys I searched for the term Portfolio and here are a few examples of it in use in other classes and archetypes

AoN wrote:

An immolator must worship a deity whose portfolio includes the Fire domain. An immolator who selects the Fire domain (or one of its associated subdomains, if available) uses her domain powers at +1 caster level (this stacks with the ifrit’s fire affinity racial trait).

AoN wrote:

A theologian chooses only one domain from her deity’s portfolio rather than the normal two domains. All level-dependent effects of the granted powers from the theologian’s domain function as if she were two cleric levels higher than her actual cleric level. This does not allow her to gain domain-granted powers earlier than normal.

AoN wrote:

Expanded Portfolio (Su): At 5th level, the exalted further increases her already impressive knowledge of her chosen deity’s faith and is rewarded with increased powers in one of the spheres over which her deity holds sway. The exalted chooses a domain of her chosen deity to which she gains access, using her exalted level as her effective cleric level.

In each case the mention of Portfolio directly references domains

Conclusion

In conclusion I have come to the conclusion that Portfolios refers to both Areas of Concern and Domains

[willuwontu]

Note that in the CRB, the areas of concern are listed under the deity's portfolio, whereas domains are simply listed under a deity's domains.

[Minigiant]

willuwontu wrote:

Note that in the CRB, the areas of concern are listed under the deity's portfolio, whereas domains are simply listed under a deity's domains.

Very interesting, especially that it doesn't even use 'Areas of Concern'

[willuwontu]

Areas of Concern seems to come from Inner Sea gods, although it isn't list on their write-ups (instead on the instructions on how to use their entries).

Quote:

After the quote, the first

page of each write-up lists the god’s key statistics for
quick reference. First comes the title by which the god
is most commonly known, followed by areas of concern;
the god’s alignment; the magical domains available to
that deity’s clerics; regions around the Inner Sea where
worship of that god is particularly common; and the
nationality, race, or ethnicity with which the god is most
commonly associated. Note that while in some cases,
the information listed in the Nationality entry is literal
fact—such as for the ascended gods, who started out as
mortals—in other cases it’s more of a social or political
construct. The gods are fully capable of manifesting in
whatever physical forms they want, appearing in different
guises to different congregations, and they often existed
long before the nations that claim them in this manner.