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This was something I got to thinking about as a result of a discussion in another thread. What happens after you ascend to godhood by taking the test of the starstone. I'm not after what you or a specific character would do. I'm wondering what happens in general are you just left to roam around Golarion a god on the material plane as long as you don't upset too many plans by established gods good, neutral or evil. Do you get whisked away to your new plane and have to figure out what to do now your dealing with these new powers and abilities, do you get sat down by an alignment appropriate deity to explain the divine do's and don'ts of the divine power struggle, do you accidentally level the surrounding area because your divine being is too great for the mortal world to handle and create a new eye of abernegho?
What do people think happens next after you become a god.
This was something I got to thinking about...
I wonder where my Cayden Cailean retroactive post copyright royalty checks are...
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Immediately? - Probably nothing you weren't expecting.
Only four deities have passed the test. Aroden and Norgorber likely had fully developed plans in place for what they would do after passing the test. Iomedae didn't immediately become a god after passing - she had a spark of divinity and became Aroden's herald. (Depending on which source you are reading that might have actually been her entire goal in taking the test.) She only became a full god when taking over after Aroden died.
Cayden is the only one who did it "accidentally" - just as you suggested he was drunk and did it on a bet. And afterwards he basically wandered back to the bar and said "Huh. I'm a god now. Another round."
All of the Ascended withdrew from affairs on the material plane after ascension. Aroden would be personally present the most often but his interventions grew rarer and rarer. Iomedae as a herald was present a lot but not after full godhood. Cayden Cailean probably still visits occasionally for a drink and a (non-lethal) bar fight. Norgorber might be flitting around all the time but just keeping very quiet about it. Aroden was the first to ascend and kinda got a pass from the other gods for a while as they tried to figure out exactly what this "Ascension" thing meant. I believe it's stated somewhere that he just got less interested over time. No "direct sit-down" from the gods explaining the balance of powers for the others. Iomedae got on-the-job training, Norgorber has his own reasons to keep a low profile, and Cayden's gig is mostly individual freedom, not widescale revolts.
As for the realms, it's up to you to establish one. It may not necessarily be in the same plane that corresponds to your alignment. It's more a function of your interests, assuming the other inhabitants of the plane will tolerate you. Norgorber's realm of Duskfathom is in Axis (under the city proper).
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This was something I got to thinking about...I wonder where my Cayden Cailean retroactive post copyright royalty checks are...
My virus software pitched a fit on that link.
I think becoming a deity comes at several costs. One of them is that you're now responsible in a sense for people who choose to worship you. But the other one is you have to basically stay "hands off" on the material plane from now on. You can ask your followers to keep your childhood friend "Steve" out of trouble, but if you intervene directly you're inviting all sorts of less pleasant gods to intervene in kind and nobody wants that.
Like you can probably get away with making your pet cat some sort of divine servitor and maybe your best friend can be your herald, but that involves them giving up on terrestrial concerns as well (which is going to be more of a problem for your best friend than for your cat.)
Like there's a reason Baba Yaga has chosen not to become a deity, even though she could do so trivially without the Starstone. The stated reason is that she doesn't like being asked for things, but I imagine there's some sort of "she understands she can't really meddle as much if she were divine."
This was something I got to thinking about as a result of a discussion in another thread. What happens after you ascend to godhood by taking the test of the starstone. I'm not after what you or a specific character would do. I'm wondering what happens in general are you just left to roam around Golarion a god on the material plane as long as you don't upset too many plans by established gods good, neutral or evil. Do you get whisked away to your new plane and have to figure out what to do now your dealing with these new powers and abilities, do you get sat down by an alignment appropriate deity to explain the divine do's and don'ts of the divine power struggle, do you accidentally level the surrounding area because your divine being is too great for the mortal world to handle and create a new eye of abernegho?
What do people think happens next after you become a god.
I just assumed gods were purely spiritual beings (or pure thought if you prefer) with no material form and so they only intervene through proxies.
So, after passing the test of the starstone there is a grace period whereby you have a short amount of time to wind up your mortal affairs, appoint your herald and found your first place of worship before you join the rest of the gods as immaterial spirit beings. During the grace period you only have the powers of your mortal form, but you can't be killed, or to be more precise you ascend to god immediately if killed.
I also assumed that Pathfinder gods are powerful but not omnipotent, super-intelligent, but not omniscient. Gods in my campaigns have some intrinsic power but derive most of their power from their worshippers. To kill a god you must first weaken their church. In my game Aroden died because his church faltered leaving him vulnerable. New gods are far more vulnerable than ancient gods and will quickly join with more powerful gods for protection. Truly ancient gods like those from the Dark Tapestry that predate the standard Golarian gods are practically impossible to defeat because they have accummulated uncountable number of worshippers across countless realms over vast spans of time. I don't know if this view matches Pathfinder canon, but it works for me.
Well, unless you refrain exercising your divine powers on Golarion, Gozreh is going to have a fairly vested interest in their activity. If you are not aware, Gozreh is the only actual deity that physically inhabits Golarion (ignoring Rovaggug as he is imprisoned). It may not be specifically stated, but I surmise that Gozreh plays a somewhat critical role in maintaining the non-aggression pact between the gods of the Outer Planes and their influence on Golarion.
So, you should be fairly discreet in exercising your powers. Build a church. Grant powers. Act through intermediaries and profit until you can secure yourself a realm outside the Material Plane. It should be easy enough to start with a Demi-plane.
Immediately? - Probably nothing you weren't expecting.
Only four deities have passed the test. Aroden and Norgorber likely had fully developed plans in place for what they would do after passing the test. Iomedae didn't immediately become a god after passing - she had a spark of divinity and became Aroden's herald. (Depending on which source you are reading that might have actually been her entire goal in taking the test.) She only became a full god when taking over after Aroden died.
Cayden is the only one who did it "accidentally" - just as you suggested he was drunk and did it on a bet. And afterwards he basically wandered back to the bar and said "Huh. I'm a god now. Another round."
All of the Ascended withdrew from affairs on the material plane after ascension. Aroden would be personally present the most often but his interventions grew rarer and rarer. Iomedae as a herald was present a lot but not after full godhood. Cayden Cailean probably still visits occasionally for a drink and a (non-lethal) bar fight. Norgorber might be flitting around all the time but just keeping very quiet about it. Aroden was the first to ascend and kinda got a pass from the other gods for a while as they tried to figure out exactly what this "Ascension" thing meant. I believe it's stated somewhere that he just got less interested over time. No "direct sit-down" from the gods explaining the balance of powers for the others. Iomedae got on-the-job training, Norgorber has his own reasons to keep a low profile, and Cayden's gig is mostly individual freedom, not widescale revolts.
As for the realms, it's up to you to establish one. It may not necessarily be in the same plane that corresponds to your alignment. It's more a function of your interests, assuming the other inhabitants of the plane will tolerate you. Norgorber's realm of Duskfathom is in Axis (under the city proper).
Aroden never do the test he was a mythic character by the time Atlanta fall. As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever again
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Aroden was the first to Ascend to deityhood via the Starstone.
He accomplished this by raising the Starstone (and indeed the entire island of Kortos) from the bottom of the Inner Sea. Using the exact phrase "Test of the Starstone" for Aroden? I guess we could debate the language since the Cathedral of the Starstone didn't exist until Aroden created it in Absalom. But multiple Paizo-published books refer to the four (including Aroden) who "passed the test."
I don't think there's any source that says "Cayden can't get drunk" but there are plenty that say "Cayden Cailean still enjoys drinking." (ISWG comes to mind)
As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever again
Why can't he get drunk?
What if, instead of someone already powerful (which they'd have to be, having just finished an AP), it was some 1st level adventurer, or a commoner? How would you deal with suddenly being a god and having no idea how to use power or what to use it on?
As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever againWhy can't he get drunk?
Because he’s not a liquid, I would say.
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Because he’s not a liquid, I would say.As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever againWhy can't he get drunk?
The only thing that's stopping you from drinking bodies other than liquids are the self-imposed limits of your brain.
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The only thing that's stopping you from drinking bodies other than liquids are the self-imposed limits of your brain.Because he’s not a liquid, I would say.As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever againWhy can't he get drunk?
In this case I think it would the imposed limits of the dieties brain more than yours.
The only thing that's stopping you from drinking bodies other than liquids are the self-imposed limits of your brain.Because he’s not a liquid, I would say.As for Cayden I think he only have 1 problem that he got by becoming a god and that is that he can't never be drunk ever againWhy can't he get drunk?
When you become a deity, you can fit inside a drinking glass and get passed through someone's digestive tract. This is lore, maybe.