Psychopomp Summoner working with a Necromancer? Is it possible?


Advice


So, in my groups first foray into pathfinder 2e, I'm heavily leaning towards a Summoner with a Psychopomp eidolon. I've played 1e for a long time and always been drawn to them.
However, and here comes the point of the post, another member of the party is planning on going a full-on necromancer with lichdom being the final goal.

Is there any way that these two characters can work in a party? I understand that party conflict can be a fun thing, but is this too much?


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The summoner's eidolon is just a tool, so they won't get in the way with the necromancer with lichdom.


It's perfectly fine.

As summoner you don't need to follow the same beliefs of your eidolon and you are not restricted by any anathema. Also followers of Pharasma even psychopomps have many different points of view about souls. Some are very rigid about the natural ways over river of souls others are very permissive because in the end there's no way to avoid the Pharasma judgment no matter how much you delay it.

Only you and your friend will decide how you will interact. Maybe just your Eidolon that doesn't like him but have to tolerate it because of you. Maybe you and him have different points of view and constantly discuss but respect and protect each other. There are many ways to deal with this. Try to talk with your friend maybe you both can reach very cool ideas and your interactions may be very interesting and funny to the GM and the rest of the party.

Dark Archive

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Characters having wildly different views can lead to fun role playing experiences, if the players are still engaging each other with respect.
I think of the background conversations in games like Dragon Age: Origins. Many of them disagree vehemently on many topics, but they're still working towards similar end goals (though maybe for different reasons).


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Personally, I'd go out of my way to create a character that CAN work with a necromancer, just to avoid the inevitable conflict to come. I am currently running a Psychopomp summoner in the Extinction Curse campaign and we have a necromancer in the party... but not one that makes use of undead or seeks lichdom, only uses the dark powers as weapons against enemies. Which is good since my character is a devout worshiper of Pharasma. The two characters get along famously as they both have a very specific kind of dark 'grave' humor that the other characters just don't get.


Gonna come down to why you're a psychopomp summoner. If you're a devoted servant of Pharasma then yeah, that's not going to work and one of you will need to change. If the psychopomp is a bound slave and you don't care about the outsider's ethics then you will probably get along splendidly with a lich.

Like YuriP said, the summoner isn't bound to an anathema so there's no pre-determined moral framework your character needs to abide by. It's up to you to interpret the mechanics into a character.

Wayfinders Contributor

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So... I would like to point you to an official, though less well-known piece of Pathfinder canon on psychopomps. There is a psychopomp morrigna named Tosof who serves as a parole officer for Pharasma's corner cases, like Artokus Kirran, who got a temporary approval from the local church of Pharasma to make his immortality drug Sun Orchid Elixir thousands of years ago, under two conditions:

1) He never sell Sun Orchid Elixir to a local Thuvian;
2) He would only do it until Thuvia could recover financially and stand on its own feet economically.

Thousands of years later, the Church of Pharasma has stuck by this deal, much though it frustrates them.

Source: The Artokus Kirran article from Lost Omens: Legends.

Tosof also has a brief appearance in the Jatembe article in Legends as well. Not every psychopomp working for Pharasma is completely rigid in attitude. There are some who must consider the circumstances and figure out how to go forward from there.

Hmm

Horizon Hunters

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A little origin story:

In the golden wheat fields of Geb, legions of groaning undead harvested grain that would be someday destined for Absalom. A morrigna named Tosof landed, her wings full of spiders. She glanced at the fields full of undead workers with an oddly calm expression. It was not her place to slay every minor undead in the world, however satisfying that would be. Besides, Geb would be an educational place to manifest her child. The girl would have to learn about them at some point. Better here, where they were a lawful majority.

Tosof extended out her hand, and the girl manifested as a fully formed adult. The girl took her first breath, and then turned slowly, her long red hair swaying back and forth, and the tattoos of skulls covering her silvery skin. Tosof handed a tunic to the girl, and said gently in osiriani, “You are number four.”

Because number four was ‘Tess’ in Osiriani, the girl repeated back, “I am... Tess?”

Tosof smiled. “Close enough. You are the fourth soul I have brought back into the world. Before those souls were forced to my destiny and purpose, but the Age of Omens is past, and I have learned... humility.”

Tess frowned. “I have no purpose?”

Tosof smiled. “You have one that you will find for yourself. You have free will. Grow. Learn. Surprise me.”

The girl looked around. “Why am I here?” As Tosof opened her mouth to reply, the fierceness in Tess’s countenance stopped her. Tess pointed to the legions of undead that surrounded them in the land of Geb. “Mom. Why am I here?”

The corners of Tosof’s mouth turned up. “Because your mother has a sense of humor.”

★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★

My own character, Tess, is a Pharasmin duskwalker who works for the Pathfinder Society. She was 'born' (should I say, 'made?') in Geb, where in order to survive, she could not outright slay every undead she saw. Now, she gleefully slays unintelligent undead, and undead doing obviously evil things. But there have been times she has negotiated with an undead, and she certainly had an entertaining conversation around boundaries the last time she worked alongside a PFS necromancer.

But in the end, she wore an oath to the Pathfinder Society to Explore, Cooperate and Report, and both she and the necromancer had a mission to accomplish. The other player and I had fun roleplaying our differences of opinion vocally while working together towards a common goal.

So here's my real question. Why are you building a psychopomp summoner in a party that you know will include a necromancer? If you and the other player enjoy spicy dialogue and a "frenemies" teammates vibe, it can be a lot of fun. But if you interfere with their thing, or if they interfere with your PC's thing, it can get old fast.

So... have a serious conversation out of character with the other player before going down this path and decide on boundaries in advance.

Hmm


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The answer to this question lies in why/how you're connected to a psychopomp

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