Is Asmodeus really a god?

[Mavrickindigo]

My friend claims that Asmodeus is just a mythic level devil who has that one mythic ability to grant class levels, and has been tricking everyone into thinking he's a god this whole time.

I counter by saying that the Book of the damned vol. 1 talks about how he and his brother were two of the first beings of creation and that even Sarenrae was a mote when Asmodeus was writing the contract of reality. Then again that story was written as "supposedly" coming from the Book of the Damned, and may not exactly be as true as, say, something actually written in the body of the book.

[Orfamay Quest]

I thought in Pathfinder/D&D the defining attribute of a god was the ability to grant clerics the ability to cast divine spells. Since clerics of Asmodeus exist and can cast spells, Asmodeus is a god....

[The Dread Pirate Hurley]

The fluff text of Golarion has many contradictory origin myths. This is done on purpose. However, Asmodeus is, indeed, a god, as he has his own entry in most of the books on evil gods and has his own deity article in Pathfinder #29, Mother of Flies. The mechanical writing has never portrayed him as anything other than a god. Razmir, on the other hand...

That said, characters in Golarion aren't necessarily aware of the coosmology of the universe they live in. Asmodeus being a devil masquerading as a god could be a fun in-game conspiracy theory. But in-game characters also don't know about mythic levels...

[MMCJawa]

yeah...Asmodeus is one of the core 20 Pathfinder dieties, and so is a true god with a CR above 30, and unstattable at present

[Mavrickindigo]

Orfamay Quest wrote:

I thought in Pathfinder/D&D the defining attribute of a god was the ability to grant clerics the ability to cast divine spells. Since clerics of Asmodeus exist and can cast spells, Asmodeus is a god....

Apparently some mythic characters can grant spells.

[Distant Scholar]

Asmodeus is an imp with good PR.

[Malachite Ice]

This seems less like a post as to whether Asmodeus is a diety or not and more as to what a 'deity' is, and does he fulfill that unknown checklist.

Mechanically, in Golarion, he's a god.

As to an unknown checklist? Unknown.

MI

[Odraude]

Mechanics-wise, true gods have five domains, not four. A Mythic Tier 10 person can only grant up to 4 domains. So, Asmodeus can't be just a devil with mythic tiers.

[golem101]

As for Golarion's canon, Asmodeus is a full-blown god, and one of the eldest/most powerful too. An exemplar of divine power, given his influence in some world-defining events.

You, your friend or your DM wants to play Asmodeus as a really powerful mythic tier fiend with access to more power than usual (maybe controlling an artifact that grants it, along the control over the nine hells)?
Go for it, it's a good and fun theory to play along.

[Artanthos]

I see mythic character as more in line with the ascended in the Malazan books.

They are powerful, and may be well on their way to becoming gods, but they are not there yet.

Asmodeus, on the other hand, is very nearly a primal force of creation. He is counted amongst the eldest and most powerful of the deities. He was also instrumental in the chaining of Rovagug.

[selunatic2397]

Yup! even way back in 1.0/2.0 edition the books had archdevils/demonlords equal to a demi-god (while on their own plane...no idea where that bit of data is from...my recall blew its dice roll for my legend lore), I boosted him to a lesser god as he was THE boss devil of them all (and just to thwart my players lusting after his ruby scepter of sheer awesomeness...in 1st edition anyhoo).

I have no doubt that he has moved up the foodchain since then.

My players may think of themselves as true death monsters...BUT! The big A is someone they have absolutely no intention of taking on...maybe they are learning restraint and self-preservation?