After seeing a thread about how this upcoming book could positively build from Gods & Magic, I was reminded of something that's been bothering me since the early 2E books were released. Simply put, in a world that is so suffused with deities (including some that have ascended from mortals!), we should have more resources on those people who don't believe in the gods' divinity. This is a uniquely Golarion dynamic, especially since there is a nation, Rahadoum, built on the Laws of Mortality. These laws renounce the gods' divine mandate, and would not exist without the real presence of accessible deities.
I don't mean to use Rahadoum as a knee-jerk reaction against the gods, but rather it would be fascinating to explore the nuance that occurs when people acknowledge divine beings exist, but refuse to worship them as deities. What does a culture that grows from the roots of spurning the divine magical tradition look like? Sure, the Gods & Magic book gave us one page on the Laws of Mortality that described the Pure Legion, whose adherents move to extreme rejection of gods. But I'm thinking about the less severe approaches to the Laws of Mortality.
For example, do all believers in the Laws of Mortality reject divine healing magic? If so, that cuts out a _lot_ of PCs who might be traveling in diverse adventuring parties (e.g., the Pathfinder Society specifically).
Furthermore, is there a monk philosophy that elevates the mind and body without a spiritual focus? Although this could already be made with the current rules, how might that tradition be different than others on Golarion when started during the Oath Wars?
What about those citizens who leave or dwell on the margins of Rahadoum? How does culture impact their interactions with others? I imagine a sophist archetype who understands the rhetoric and power of the divine, thereby using/poaching it from a variety of gods to fuel their own magic or power. Not necessarily cannibalizing it (and thereby making themselves a threat to organized religions), but just acknowledging it and using it for their own non-divine purposes.
Also, is there a venn diagram where atheists in Rahadoum and Pharasma's moral neutrality overlap, as alluded to in Gods & Magic? What does that look like if it's not worship or use of the divine magical tradition?
I'd like to see a little more on this, and some crunch for character options. What about you? Is there anything you would like to see in the upcoming Divine Mysteries that we're currently lacking?
I hope there are some pantheons listed in Divine Mysteries as well. It would be nice to have options for my new cleric that aren't necessarily constrained by one deity.
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Just chiming in to say, what you're asking for is definitely a Rahadoum setting book, not something that would go in Divine Mysteries.
But, just to rattle off some answers...
- The subject of how Rahadoum functions without deist divine healing to lean on is discussed most times the country comes up (you can see Lost Omens: Legends for some discussion on their advances in medicine). It's definitely alleviated by the clearer distinctions of occult and primal magic in PF2, and we've had discussion about the roles Druids play. But yeah, the Laws of Mortality would consider receiving divine healing from a cleric or champion to be anathema.
As for whether all adherents always stick to that, of course not- just like not all followers of Sarenrae never lie, or an Urgathoan might destroy an undead in self-defense. The Death's Heretic books follow an adherent of the Laws of Mortality that sought divine intervention in a moment of crisis, and are probably the best books for learning more about the philosophy. It's definitely one of the more difficult philosophies to follow in the context of something like Pathfinder Society.
- Monks can key off of divine or occult, but both of those have elements related to spirit. The elemental monk options are probably the least tied to spiritual matters, since that tends closer to primal? As far as "how do the styles of martial arts differ historically", I don't think Paizo usually gets quite that deep into the weeds.
- Citizenry of Rahadoum is definitely something for a specific regional book and not the divine book. I don't think siphoning power off from the gods is really something that Paizo does- the gods have pretty good control over that sort of thing. Accessing divine power directly is oracle's schtick.
- "Moral neutrality" isn't something that's gonna be covered much going forward, since alignment is being dropped.
Mostly, I'm looking forward to getting access to domain spells without needing to deal with the hassle of Cleric or Champion dedications. Getting some anathema cleanup on the gods will be nice too, making things a little easier for adventuring.
Just chiming in to say, what you're asking for is definitely a Rahadoum setting book, not something that would go in Divine Mysteries.
But, just to rattle off some answers...
- "Moral neutrality" isn't something that's gonna be covered much going forward, since alignment is being dropped.
Mostly, I'm looking forward to getting access to domain spells without needing to deal with the hassle of Cleric or Champion...
By ‘moral neutrality’ I did NOT mean in the sense of the archaic alignment system of gaming systems of yore. I meant it from the perspective of a literal reading of the words. (This is one reason I’m glad we’re moving past the old ways, but it’s going to clearly take a new generation of gamers until that’s not the first thing that prrople think about in reference to those terms.) Morality is simply thinking about yourself more so than others, or commit yourself to something larger than yourself with similar orientations.
The Lady of Graves’ minions are dedicated to confirming the process of judgment on mortal souls and the delivery of soul stuff to its proper location. That is a morally neutral stance. Similarly, the Laws of Man are uncommitted to the deific battle for belief and consequently souls. If Paizo wants to truly move past the archaic alignment system, they need to provide interesting options for their dieties who follow this line of thinking, which also has implications for other parts of the setting.