Main Deities, Tian Xia Deities, Racial and Cultural Pantheons, Outer Gods, Empyreal Lords, Fiendish Divinities, Great Old Ones, Other Gods
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Common tropes
- Ethnic God: Generally speaking, the worship of each of these gods tends to be restricted to members of a single species or culture. In turn, the deities themselves tend to be most concerned with the fate of the people they oversee, and rarely pay much attention to other groups.
Draconic
Apsu
I shall protect, for I am Apsu. I shall fly the skies, waiting for my son. Our battle draws close; the time is nigh. I shall be victorious, for I am Apsu.
The Waybringer
God of dragons, glory, leadership, and peace
Alignment: Lawful Good
Apsu, the Waybringer, is one of the two great draconic deities and the patron of metallic dragons. He was one of the two primordial beings who begat the first dragon gods, and when one of these, Dahak, murdered his siblings and reforged their remnants into dragons whom he hunted for sport, Apsu took draconic form himself to hunt his son down. The long war between the two rages to this day, and after long ages spent retreating Apsu and his children have chosen Golarion as the world on which they will make their stand against Dahak.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Of Bahamut from Dungeons & Dragons, being both the gods of good dragons, though Apsu sticks closer to the original Babylonian myths.
- Arch-Enemy: Apsu, the good dragon god, has battled Dahak, the evil dragon god, countless times across history. Both focus their entire existence on the eventual final battle against the other.
- Archnemesis Dad: Apsu's nemesis is his own son Dahak.
- Did They or Didn't They?: The goddess Iomedae is served by a celestial gold dragon named Peace Through Vigilance who refers to her as "Mother Iomedae". There are rumours that she is his mother, and that Apsu is the father.
- Ethnic God: Apsu is the patron god of the metallic dragons and is predominantly worshipped by them, with his humanoid followers being few and far between.
- God Couple: There are rumours that the celestial gold dragon Peace Through Vigilance is the offspring of Apsu and Iomedae, which given their overlapping portfolios doesn't seem too far fetched.
- Martial Pacifist: He's a god of peace, but he will fight if necessary, as he did against Dahak and Rovagug.
- Monster Progenitor: Apsu and Dahak were two of the primordial dragons who created their kind.
- Old Gods: One of the oldest beings around, Apsu is, if you believe the metallic dragons, one of the beings responsible for the creation of the universe.
- Our Dragons Are Different: He takes the form of a massive metallic dragon.
- Public Domain Character: He's based on the creator-god Abzu
from Babylonian mythology.
Dahak
The False Wyrm
God of destruction, dragons, evil, and treachery
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Alternate Company Equivalent: Dahak takes Tiamat's place from Dungeons & Dragons as god of evil dragons.
- Antagonistic Offspring: Dahak's arch-nemesis is his father, Apsu the Waybringer.
- Arch-Enemy: Apsu, the good dragon god, has battled Dahak, the evil dragon god, countless times across history. Both focus their entire existence on the eventual final battle against the other.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Treachery is a part of his portfolio after all.
- Ethnic God: Much like Apsu, he's a chiefly draconic god and rarely worshipped by anyone other than evil dragons, kobolds and dragon-blooded humanoids.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: His mother, Tiamat, greatly loves him and healed his wounds, which caused a rift between her and her husband.
- Evil Counterpart: To his father.
- Final Boss: A level 24 manifestation of Dahak serves as the final enemy in the Age of Ashes Adventure Path.
- Irony: Even though that almost all dragons hate him, kobolds venerate chromatic dragons as living idols of Dahak. The dragons usually shrug this off, since association with the False Wyrm is a small price to pay for an entire clan of zealous servants.
- Our Dragons Are Different: He shattered the original dragon gods into their current state and takes the form of a huge chromatic dragon.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Dahak recognised the universal threat of Rovagug and fully committed to the effort to imprison him, forgoing a chance to betray Apsu within the battle itself.
- Public Domain Character: He is based on the evil spirit Zahhak, also known as Azi Dahaka. In Pathfinder, "azi" is the name of a race of dragons he spawned.
- Satanic Archetype: The draconic equivalent, being the rebellious, destructive son of their creator god who seeks to place himself above all others.
- Turncoat: Patron god of traitors.
Tiamat
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: While Tiamat is mentioned in some material,
Word of God is that she does not actually exist in Pathfinder Second Edition. The designers came to the conclusion that giving her even a minor role was a mistake, as while the Babylonian goddess Tiamat is in the public domain, Tiamat as a five-headed dragon god is not. She's not mentioned in Age of Ashes when it recounts the dragons' origin myth, in spite of the fact that the Big Bad of that AP is her son. It's left vague who gave birth to Dahak. - God Couple: Tiamat used to be Apsu's mate before she sided against Apsu to defend their son Dahak.
- Public Domain Character: She's based on the goddess of the same name in Babylonian mythology.
- Mama Bear: She stood up against Apsu multiple times to defend their son Dahak and denounced him for slaying their children, evil though they were.
- Monster Progenitor: Tiamat and Apsu spawned the dragon-gods who became the first metallic dragons. She later healed many metallic dragons wounded by Dahak, corrupting them into the first chromatic dragons.
- Multiple Head Case: Tiamat appears as a vicious dragon with many heads.
- The Scottish Trope: No dragon on Golarion willingly speaks Tiamat's name.
- Villain of Another Story: Despite being an important evil deity of Dungeons & Dragons, Tiamat is not worshipped on Golarion and essentially has nothing to do with it. For all intents and purposes, her son Dahak serves as the setting's evil dragon god.
Dwarven
Angradd
The Forge-Fire
Dwarvern god of fire, tradition, and war
Alignment: Lawful Good
- Fire Purifies: Angradd's followers often compare themselves to a purifying flame that moves from foe to foe, gaining strength as it consumes evil and serving as an illuminating torch in the night.
- War God: Angradd is the dwarven god of war, the righteous crusader of their pantheon. All other dwarven gods agree that Angradd is an effective and dedicated general in the fight against their foes.
- War Hawk: Angradd is the dwarven god most likely to proactively seek out and neutralise threats.
Bolka
The Golden Gift
Dwarvern goddess of beauty, desire, and love
Alignment: Neutral Good
- Love Goddess: The dwarven goddess of love and marriage.
Dranngvit
Droskar
The Dark Smith
Dwarvern god of cheating, slavery, and toil
Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Deceptive Disciple: Droskar was originally one of Torag's greatest students, until it was discovered that he had been copying his work from another whom he had enslaved.
Folgrit
The Watchful Mother
Dwarvern goddess of children, hearths, and mothers
Alignment: Lawful Good
- God Couple: Part of one with Torag.
- Team Mom: For the dwarven pantheon.
Grundinnar
The Peacemaker
Dwarvern god of friendship, loyalty, and peace
Alignment: Lawful Good
- Martial Pacifist: Grundinnar is a peacemaker who does not completely abhor violence, since he understands that his followers might go into dangerous places.
- Reconcile the Bitter Foes: Grundinnar is a god of peacemaking, who bids angry souls to lay down their arms and embrace interconnection.
Kols
Oath-Keeper
Dwarvern god of duty, honor, and promises
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Grandpa God: Kols, the eldest son of Torag, looks like an older dwarf, somewhat weary from the lies of the world.
- I Gave My Word: Kols is a god of contracts and oaths, bonds and alliances, duty and honour. Soldiers make up the majority of his non-dwarven followers. In militaries, truth, loyalty and frankness are not just virtues but necessities. Comrades-in-arms must know that an ally has their back, no matter the enemy. When lives are on the line, there's no time for doubt and deception, only trust and duty.
Magrim
The Taskmaster
Dwarven god of death, fate, and underworld
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Damaged Soul: He is tasked with fixing these. When a soul that was damaged, broken or otherwise harmed by the circumstances of its life, death or passage to the afterlife reaches the Boneyard, Pharasma sends it to Magrim's forges for him to repair and make whole again.
- Due to the Dead: The primary goal of the church of Magrim is ensuring the dead are left at peace, which requires that the proper funeral rites are observed. Corpses are to be treated with respect, cleaned and dressed or wrapped appropriately, and then placed in a secure location where they are kept safe from necromancers and the undead.
- God of the Dead: He's dwarven demigod of death, fate and the underworld. He seeks to help mortals lead ordered lives that prepare them for the afterlife, in particular since having Unfinished Business or regrets when you die can lead one to linger as a ghost, and charges his followers with counseling the living, overseeing and honoring burial rites, protecting tombs and battling the undead and those who would enslave or damage souls. He is one of the few deities who dwell in the Boneyard, Pharasma's divine realm, and is tasked with repairing damaged souls so that they can properly enter the afterlife.
- Good Old Ways: Magrim's church is a strong proponent of traditional dwarven culture, working to ensure that the dwarven language and values change as little as possible regardless of time or distance.
- The Older Immortal: He's the elder of the three firstborn dwarven gods, and views most other deities as young and brash to some degree. Pharasma is the only deity he treats as an honored elder, as she already ruled the Boneyard when Magrim himself was young.
Torag
See Pathfinder Deities.
Trudd
Elven
Alseta
Calistria
See Pathfinder Deities.
Findeladlara
The Guiding Hand
Elven goddess of art, architecture, and twilight
Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Fantastic Racism: Downplayed, Findeladlara tends to look down on all other non-elven races.
- Magic Staff: Findeladlara is often shown wielding a long staff. Often etched with measurements, it allows her perfect precision in her craft. In times of need, her staff becomes a weapon against evil and those who would bring harm to the world.
- Sacred Hospitality: Findeladlara teaches her followers to welcome the stranger at their door, offering them sanctuary from the dark and cold. Still, hospitality doesn't mean surrendering to the dangers in the dark—Ilverani are well aware they needn't let the storm enter if it would freeze the family inside.
Ketephys
The Hunter
Elven god of forestry, hunting, the moon
Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Arch-Enemy: He loathes Treerazer, and has sworn to see him and his forces defeated and cast out of Golarion.
- Earthy Barefoot Character: Ketephys, the elven god of hunting and forestry, wears fur wraps around his ankles and goes barefoot.
- Loyal Animal Companion: Has two, a Canine Companion named Meycho and a hawk named Fallen Star, whom he treats as friends and equals.
- Nature Spirit: He's a deity of wildernesses, animals and nature, and protects them against that which would threaten them.
Yuelral
Giant
Bergelmir
Mother of Memories
Goddess of family, elders, and genealogy
Alignment: Neutral Good
- The Storyteller: Bergelmir is the tender of traditions and history, the keeper of wisdom, and the chronicler of lives and lineages. As the needle and thread that stitches a following together, she unites individuals with shared dreams, traditions and values.
Minderhal
He Who Makes and Unmakes
God of creation, giants, justice, and strength
Alignment: Lawful Evil
- Evil Reactionary: Minderhal's worshippers reject new ways of thinking and acting, stubbornly clinging to the ideas that kept previous generations alive and strong. His way is the only right way, and resisting change is better than accommodating it.
- Family-Values Villain: Minderhal's church has a very strong tradition of marriage, and most tribes are led by a married couple.
- Karmic Shunning: Downplayed, while he has some worshippers, his faith amongst Stone Giants plummeted when his priests cooperated with the Thassolonian Empire, which enslaved the Giants, rather than opposing them.
- The Social Darwinist: Minderhal believes that it is natural for the strong to dominate or destroy the weak. He encouraged his followers to accept the yoke of their evil Thassilonian masters in exchange for political clout and magical might. Deformed, sickly, or weak infants are left on a mountaintop to die, and choosing to raise one is considered an admission of weakness.
- Weapons of Their Trade: Minderhal's preferred weapon is his magical crafting hammer, Weight of Tradition.
Urazra
Breaker of Bones
God of battle, brutality, and strength
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Ax-Crazy: Urazra promises his followers great strength, fortitude and immunity to pain in exchange for acts of savagery and sacrifices of flesh. Giants who oppose the cult claim it plays to the worst, most bestial aspects of giant nature and rejects both wisdom and civilisation.
Zursvaater
Prince of Steel
God of conquest, slavery, and weapons
Alignment: Lawful Evil
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Zursvaater strongly discourages infighting among fire giants, and has been known to curse royalty and nobility who instigate such conflicts, or even relocate entire fire giant fortresses to end bloody feuding.
- Arch-Enemy: Zursvaater has particular contempt for Thremyr, god of frost giants. Beyond the natural opposition of their elements, he finds Thremyr's fits of rage, as well as his bloody and disorderly style of warfare, to be distasteful.
- The Social Darwinist: Zursvaater teaches that the strong should rule the weak and be prepared for all-out war at any time lest the weak catch them off-guard.
- Villain Respect: Zursvaater regards Torag as god of pests but grudgingly respects his skill as a smith, and encourages his followers to make use of dwarven weaponry and forge-slaves when they can.
Gnome
Nivi Rhombodazzle
The Gray Polychrome
Gnome demigoddess of gems, stealth, and gambling
Alignment: Neutral
The only true deity associated with the gnomes, Nivi was once a mortal gambler who fled underground to escape her many creditors. She did and saw much in her time beneath the earth, ultimately becoming a goddess and the first svirfneblin.
- Deity of Human Origin: She began life as a mortal gnome, and was made a demigoddess by Torag in exchange for a special gemstone.
- The Gambler: She's the goddess of gamblers and games of chance, reveling in the thrill of uncertainty in the moment when a wager is made and the dice are cast. Her worship is most common among those for whom chance and uncertainty are major factors in life, and she's worshipped and prayed to through real or symbolic bets and wagers.
- Odd Friendship: With Torag, the dour and duty-bound god of the dwarves. The two have radically different personalities and outlooks, but they and their followers still get along fairly well.
- Walking the Earth: Nivi doesn't keep a stable realm — she's rumored to have had one once but to have lost it in a bet — and instead roams at will through the Material Plane and the Plane of Earth, settling for a while in gem-lined caverns before inevitably moving on.
Goblin
Hadregash
Greatest Supreme Chieftain Boss
God of goblin supremacy, slavery, and territory
Alignment: Lawful Evil
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He became leader of the other goblin-gods by fighting them everytime they tried to take the throne from him.
- Combat Pragmatist: Hadregash's followers believe that ambushes and dirty fighting are the best ways to win without suffering too many casualties.
- Master Race: Hadregash encourages his worshippers to take non-goblinoids as slaves, as that is the only role they are fit to play. If Hadregash were to have his way, goblinoids would be the dominant power on the face of Golarion.
Venkelvore
Most Glorious Neverfull
Goddess of famine, graves, and torture
Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Big Beautiful Woman: As Goblins consider obesity a sign of feminine beauty, Venkelvore is considered the most beautiful of the goblin gods
- Unholy Matrimony: She's Hadregash's consort.
- Villainous Glutton: Infamous for her hunger, she demands sacrifices of sentient beings of her worshippers to satiate their hunger. She's also the one who has blessed Goblinkind with their hunger that lead them to spread across Golarion.
Zarongel
Bark Breaker
God of dog killing,fire, and mounted combat
Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Animal Motifs: Wolves. Of all the Goblin gods, he's the most wolflike.
- The Beastmaster: He's the one that taught Goblin to ride animals like wolves and Goblin Dogs.
- Playing with Fire: Unsuprsingly, as a fire deity. He has Flaming Hair gifted to him by Lamashtu for being the first to swear loyalty to her, and is possibly the reason why the Goblins themselves have such a connection to the element.
Zogmugot
Lady Lastbreath
Goddess of Drowning, Flotsam, and Scavenging
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Attention Deficit...Ooh Shiny!: She is the easiest of the goblin gods to be distracted, specially by some shiny lost thing.
- Informed Flaw: She is described as a particulary ugly Barghest, but none of her compatriots are exactly easy on the eyes.
- Lean and Mean: Considered to be more thin than the others, and therefore the ugliest by goblin standards.
- Scavengers Are Scum: She was the one that taught Goblins to sacvenge for treasure and trash that's left on shores, and is said she rewards her followers with precious loot.
Halfling
Chaldira Zuzaristan
The Calamitous Turn
Halfling demigoddess of battle, luck, and mischief
Alignment: Neutral Good
- Foil: To Thamir, the other halfling god. They're both focused on trickery, subterfuge and cleverness, both are impulsive and prone to bouts of violence, and both claim their actions are done to better the fate of halflings in the mortal world. However, Thamir does not care about how his actions harm others, while Chaldira teaches her followers to always be mindful of how their actions affect their targets and bystanders.
- Reckless Sidekick: Non-halfling religious scholars tend to see her as this to Desna, interpreting her as a well-meaning but reckless figure who tends to rush headlong into fights and get herself in over her head, requiring the wiser goddess to get her out of trouble.
Thamir
The Silent Blade
Halfling god of greed, opportunity, and thievery
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Deity of Human Origin: Many believe Thamir was a mortal halfling who knew Norgorber before both became deities.
- Devious Daggers: Thamir is depicted as a sinister halfling, often wearing black and cloaked in shadows. His dagger can always be seen somewhere on his person, usually gripped in his hand and raised to strike.
- Evil Counterpart: Many view Chaldira and Thamir as opposite sides of a coin, due to their similarities: they are both prone to impulsive action, mischief and quick displays of violence. Both insist that their faith is about protecting downtrodden species from being bullied or abused. Followers of Thamir, however, don't care if their actions harm others.
Human
Aroden
The Last Azlanti
The Last Azlanti
God of human culture, innovation, and history (deceased)
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Already a famed blacksmith and hero by the time of Azlant's destruction, Aroden survived his homeland's fall and attained immortality due to an ancient prophecy. After spending millenia traveling the world, battling various monsters and growing his own power, he reached full godhood by lifiting the Isle of Korthos and the Starstone from the Inner Sea. After founding and ruling Absalom as its God-King, he increasingly withdrew near the end of the Age of Enthronement. Having prophecised his own return at the cusp of a new Age of Glory, humanity eagerly awaited his return. On the prophecised date, catastrophies struck, entire nations were sunk and his clerics lost all their divine power. The god of humanity had not returned, but was dead. The Age of Lost Omens had begun.
- Cultured Badass: Being a product of the highly decadent Azlanti culture, Aroden saw music, poetry and artistic expression as the necessary byproducts of a successful civilisation.
- Deity of Human Origin: Aroden was a human wizard before ascending (much like his successor, Iomedae).
- Ethnic God: Aroden used to be a human man before he ascended, his portfolio explicitly includes humanity, his goal was to make humans the best as they can be, and before his death his faith was the most widespread and influential one among the human nations of the Inner Sea region. Non-human worshippers of Aroden would be considered weirdos in the same way that non-draconic worshippers of Apsu or Dahak are.
- Fair-Weather Friend: After he increasingly withdrew from mortal affairs, he often failed to answer his followers pleas for help(including his own herald). This caused many problems down the line later, and is something of a sore spot for some who knew him.
- Fantastic Racism: Aroden stole five life-giving orbs from the Orvian vault of Vask to power the Isle of Kortos, believing that humans would put them to better use than the native xulgaths. The single orb left wasn't enough to sustain Vask, and the xulgaths degenerated while Kortos prospered.
- Founder of the Kingdom: Aroden founded the city-state of Absalom on the enormous island he had dredged up with the Starstone.
- From Hero to Mentor: After reaching godhood, he mentored Taldaris, the founder of the Taldan Empire, disguised as an old wizard.
- God-Emperor: He served as Absalom's god-king after founding the city, but increasingly withdrew from the world after about 400 years, appearing only once to fight the Demonlord Deskari.
- A Hero to His Hometown: Like many historical figures in the real world, Aroden is revered in the cultures he ruled over and controversial pretty much everywhere else he touched. in Cheliax and Taldor, where Aroden's faith was the state religion, the locals perceive him as the god that uplifted their empire that died tragically before he could bring them even greater prosperity. On the other hand, the xulgaths want revenge against him for destroying their civilization. In Arcadia where Arazni comes from, the church of Kazutal has made the public well aware of Aroden's seeming indifference towards the fate of what was once his boon companion. In Monsters of Myth, when the grandfather of an Arcadian family recounts the victory of Aroden and Arazni over the Army of Fire, one of his grandchildren calls Aroden the "stinky" and has to be reminded that Aroden saved them that day.
- Kick the Dog: He seemingly just abandoned Arazni (his herald and best friend when they were mortals) after she was turned into a lich and enslaved by Geb. Arazni prayed he would save her, but Aroden never did for reasons unknown.
- King in the Mountain: Believed by a few of his old followers to be his current status. When he died, most of his priests eventually joined Iomedae's church, but a few felt they were being tested and stayed faithful. Since it's been over a century, and as the god of humanity he didn't have a lot of long-lived people like elves in his flock, you won't find many of them left. Even the bridge to the Starstone his priesthood maintained has fallen into disrepair. There's still a few who claim he didn't really die, that he may return, etc. That said, it is confirmed that he is indeed dead.
- Last of His Kind: Subverted. For a long time Aroden was known as the last living, full-blooded Azlanti human, although it is possible that a few other ancient Azlanti have survived to the present through various means.note
- Messianic Archetype: Subverted. What was supposed to be his Second Coming instead saw him Killed Off for Real.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- Many believe that it was actually Aroden who was The Last Straw for the Alghollthu's decison to wipe out humanity: As a mortal blacksmith, he created a sword of pure diamond for the next Azlanti Emperor to wield. According to this myth, the aging Emperor, unsure of who sould succeed him, asked Aroden to pick a worthy wielder among his children. Finding all of the princes and princesses unworthy, Aroden kept the sword for himself, which in turn was the final proof for the veilded masters that humanity had gone too far.
- Putting a piece of his own soul into Xopatl's Veins of Creation caused their destruction and the end of the nations golden age. Aroden has since been branded as the foreigner who brought ruin.
- Killing the Whispering Tyrant, while necessary to stop him, ended up working to the lich's benefit, as it allowed him come back stronger than before. To this day, the Whispering Tyrant remains a major issue because of this.
- Nostalgia Filter: An in-universe example: some of the books hint that he was a lot more selfish and less noble than people remember him as. The fact that few of the people who knew him personally are even still alive at this point certainly doesn't help.
- Plot-Triggering Death: His death serves as the start for the Age of Lost Omens and directly caused the Chelish Civil War, which in turn had huge ramifications for the Inner Sea Region and lead to a lot of the conflicts impacting the plot of many adventures.
- Posthumous Character: His death serves as a Framing Device for the present era in the campaign setting.
- Riddle for the Ages: Aroden's death is one of the biggest mystery's in the world, with almost nobody having an idea why he vanished, or that he even died. What few who seem to have an idea refuse to elaborate, and few clues exist to provide a hint. From a meta angle, Paizo has made it clear Aroden's death is something they don't plan on going in depth on, leaving it a mystery that players can formulate if they wish.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: Aroden was Azlant's foremost blacksmith as a mortal, renowned for his peerless craftsmanship.
Orc
Dretha
The Dark Mother
Goddess of birth, fertility and tribes
- Evil Matriarch: A angry goddess who wants her worshippers to have strong babies so they can become strong warriors.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female orc god.
Lanishra
The Slavelord
God of slavery, subjugation, and tyranny
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Master Race: Lanishra, orc god of rulership, assures orcs of their inherent superiority over all other humanoids, and over most other creatures as well.
Nulgreth
The Blood God
God of anger, rage, and strength
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Ax-Crazy: Nulgreth is credited with giving orcs their innate ferocity, which when kindled like an ember becomes an uncontrollable inferno of rage. He eschews ranged combat, preferring to look his opponents in the eyes and feel their blood splatter on him as he kills them. He makes no complex schemes or long-term plans. He knows only bloodlust, and through his gifts of strength and rage, he impels orcs to wage bloody warfare across Golarion.
- Unstoppable Rage: Nulgreth is always in the throes of rage. Though none question his prowess in battle, Nulgreth's need for immediate gratification often conflicts with the carefully considered plans of Lanishra, Sezelrian and Varg.
Rull
The Thunderer
God of lightning, storms, and thunder
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- God of Thunder: The violent and unpredictable Rull serves as the orc god of thunder and lightning, who throws lightning bolts from the sky to impale enemies or to revel in random destruction.
Sezelrian
The Fire God
God of fire, magic, and revenge
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Evil Chancellor: Sezelrian rarely leads attacks against fellow orc gods, but often serves as an adviser to one of his brothers against another, usual in conflicts he himself instigated.
Varg
The Iron Warrior
God of iron, siege engines, and war
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Combat Pragmatist: Varg knows that intimidation can defeat an enemy as quickly as any wound, and he sees no shame in striking from behind at a foe in retreat.
- The Engineer: Varg, orc god of innovation, tactics and technology, taught the orcs how to forge blades and to build complex siege engines.
Verex
The Despoiler
God of lust, pillage, and plunder
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Combat Pragmatist: Tribes dedicated to Verex prefer guerrilla warfare to attacking en masse, and use diplomacy to deflect unwinnable fights (at least until they can attain a stronger position).
- Fate Worse than Death: Slated for one in the War of Immortals, being corrupted into a Spawn of Rovagug
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: Verex is a brazen thief who encourages orcs to take whatever or whomever they desire. He is the patron of plunderers and usurpers who take by force. Many orcs call upon him when looting a village or pillaging a rival tribe.
- Was Once a Man: Orc god, but he will be corrupted into an Eldrich Abomination by Rovagug.
Zagresh
The Destroyer
God of death, destruction, disaster
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Blood Knight: Other orc gods don't ally with Zagresh so much as direct him against those they wish to annihilate. He cares not for their machinations, only for mayhem, and as long as they provide him enemies to slaughter, he revels in the destruction.
- Destroyer Deity: Zagresh represents the primal nature of orcs, before they learned to use technology or magic, and lives only to destroy. His followers take joy in destroying the creations of civilised folk (including other orcs), and in fits of rage smash even their own possessions.
- God of the Dead: Zagresh is the orc god of the dead and undead. Orc necromancers pay homage to him, and non-necromancers pray that Zagresh will keep their dead from rising.
Serpentfolk
Ydersius
The Headless King
God of serpentfolk, immortality, and poison
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- Expy Coexistence: Ydersius is partially based on Yig, the patron god of the serpentfolk in the Cthulhu Mythos. In Pathfinder, Yig also exists; unlike in the original source material, he is not generally associated with the serpentfolk, and is actually an enemy of Ydersius.
- God-Emperor: He ruled the serpentfolk in person when he was alive.
- King in the Mountain: The few remaining serpentfolk believe that, should Ydersius' head and body be reunited, he will return to his full power and lead them in the reconquest of the world.
- Losing Your Head: Ydersius' head was chopped off and his massive, still-writhing body continued to live.
- Poisonous Person: Ydersius' bite and blood were both poisonous, and he could exude a toxic mist from his body as well.
- The Rival: He's opposed to both the Great Old One Yig and the demon lord Abraxas, with whom he competes for rulership of serpents.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: His consciousness was trapped in his head when he was beheaded, which was buried somewhere in the Mwangi Expanse and remains there to the present day.
- Snake People: He's the patron god of the serpentfolk, and he himself resembled a towering member of their species. His divine servants are all serpentine beings as well, including a naga and a marilith.
Cultural
Ancient Osiriani Pantheon
In General
The pantheon of Ancient Osirion. As humans came to control their own destinies and newer gods rose, the old Osirion gods withdrew into the Great Beyond, turning their attention to other worlds as the need for them on Golarion dwindled. Though a brief period of history saw foreign occupiers attempt to erase existence of these gods, their worship never completely died and modern archeology has led to a resurgence in their popularity.- Public Domain Character: They're the Ancient Egyptian gods — same names, same purviews, same appearances, same everything.
Anubis
Guardian of the Tomb
God of burial, the dead, funeral rites, mummification, and tombs
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- God of the Dead: Anubis, the god of mummification and protector of tombs, presides over funerals and embalming, and guides souls to Pharasma to await their judgement in the afterlife, punishing tomb robbers and defending the dead on their journeys to the Boneyard.
Apep
Devourer of the Dawn
God of chaos, darkness, destruction, and snakes
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
- God of Darkness: Said to dwell in the Tenth Region of Night, Apep always waits to seize and consume the sun again and again, until one day the sun shall rise no more and all shall be ended.
Bastet
The Sly Enchantress
Goddess of cats, pleasure, and secrets
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Bes
The Guardian Fool
God of households, luck, marriage, and protection
Alignment: Neutral Good
Hathor
Mistress of Jubilation
Goddess of dance, joy, love, and music
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Horus
The Distant Falcon
God of rulership, the sky, and the sun
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- God of Light: In the form of Horakhty (Horus of the Two Horizons), he is a deity of both the rising and setting suns.
Isis
Queen of Miracles
Goddess of fertility, magic, motherhood, and rebirth
Alignment: Neutral Good
Khepri
The Humble Hand
God of freedom, the rising sun, and work
Alignment: Neutral Good
- God of Light: Khepri is the god of the rising sun in the eastern horizon, and the scarab rolling a ball of dung across the ground is seen as a symbol of Khepri pushing the sun across the sky.
- Trickster God: Khepri is a mischievous prankster, breaking up the tedium of the long days with his antics and poking fun at those who consider themselves the commoners' betters.
Maat
The Feather of Truth
Goddess of justice, law, order, and truth
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Neith
Ruler of Arrows
Goddess of hunting, war, and weaving
Alignment:' Neutral Good
Nephthys
Mistress of the Mansion
Goddess of mourning, night, and protection of the dead
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Osiris
Lord of the Living
God of afterlife, fertility, rebirth, and resurrection
Alignment: Lawful Good
Ptah
Lord of Eternity
God of architecture, craftsmanship, creation, and metalworking
Alignment: Neutral
Ra
King of the Heavens
God of creation, rulership, and the sun
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- God of Light: Ra is the god of the sun, particularly the midday sun, and travels on a great solar barge through the heavens.
Sekhmet
Lady of Slaughter
Goddess of fire, healing, vengeance, and war
Alignment:' Chaotic Neutral
- Healer God: Sekhmet is a goddess of healing who wards off pandemics, heals warriors of their wounds and is especially revered for curing fractures.
Selket
Mistress of the Beautiful House
Goddess of embalming, healing, and scorpions
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Set
Lord of the Dark Desert
God of darkness, deserts, murder, and storms
Alignment: Neutral Evil
- Cain and Abel: Set is a sworn enemy of his brother Osiris and sister Isis.
Sobek
The Raging Torrent
God of crocodiles, fertility, military prowess, and rivers
Alignment:' Chaotic Neutral
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Sobek, the crocodile god, is violent, aggressive and prone to primal urges.
- War God: Sobek is a god of battle, patron of soldiers and armies, venerated for his ferocity, strength and military prowess.
Thoth
Lord of Divine Words
God of magic, the moon, wisdom, and writing
Alignment:' Lawful Neutral
Wadjet
The Green Empress
Goddess of good serpents, the River Sphinx, and wisdom
Alignment: Lawful Good
- Genius Loci: The great River Sphinx, the heart of Osirian life, is embodied in Wadjet, who is said to dwell in the papyrus marshes in the river's delta.
Arcadian Pantheon
Kazutal
Mother Jaguar
Goddess of community, liberty and safety
Alignment: Neutral Good
A major Arcadian deity, Mother Jaguar began her life as a goddess of war and conquest, but shifted to a more protective role in the dark years after Starfall.
- Arch-Enemy: She's a bitter enemy of Ah Pook, a cruel deity of death who seeks to destroy the communities she protects.
- God Of War: During the times of the Razatlani Empire, she was worshipped as a goddess of war, martial success and aggression, and prayed to before battle for strength and victory. She has since shifted her focus to her more peaceful modern outlook, as the dark years after Earthfall drove her worshippers to value safety and long-term stability and to call on her strength to ensure the safety of their imperiled communities.
- Live Mink Coat: She's usually depicted wearing a live jaguar like a shawl.
Iblydan Hero-Gods
The Hero-Gods of Iblydos are mortal divinities, ascended through heroic (or villainous) trials. The prophecies that allowed them to ascend have been broken with the Age of Lost Omens. The ones that exist are dying faster than new ones are being created.
- Deity of Human Origin: Most Iblydan hero-gods were born mortal, and even after acquiring divine power, remain mortal beings susceptible to age and violence.
Aerekostes
Hero-God of contingencies and intelligent weapons
Alignment: Neutral
- Living Weapon: Aerekostes is believed to be either the hero-god Ximakter trapped in his own weapon or a blade that spontaneously manifested sapience and mythic power.
Chinostes
The Fallen Blade
Hero-God of tragedy and sacrifice
Alignment: Neutral Good
Drokalion
Hero-God of lions
Alignment: Neutral
Iapholi
Hero-God of monstrous heritage and acceptance
Alignment: Neutral
Kelksiomides
The Green Warden
Hero-God of gardens, orchards, and terraces
Alignment: Neutral Good
Kelksiomides is one of two hero-gods ruling over the city-state of Aelyosos. He ascended after forgiving a band of raiders who burned his home and slaughtered his family.
- Badass Pacifist: By proclaiming forgiveness for his family's killers, letting them live and reform themselves, he proved himself an Actual Pacifist and this trope at once, to such a degree that he became a god.
- Caring Gardener: He was this even as a mere human. He is a compassionate farmer and vintner.
- Green Thumb: He is a druid, and thus has plenty of powers over nature even without being a god of gardens.
- Hope Bringer: It's why he moved to Aelyosos. He believes that fortune always follows misfortune, and is determined to bring peace and hope back to the city.
Ongalte
Hero-God of deicide
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Pharimia
Hero-God of ports and lighthouses
Alignment: None
- Above Good and Evil: Due to having the Beyond Morality ability, she is actually completely without alignment, and accepts clerics from all alignments in 1st Edition.
Psomeira
The Divine General
Hero-God of seasons and spears
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Psomeira is one of two hero-gods ruling over the city-state of Aelyosos. She ascended after inflicting a mortal wound on the thalassic behemoth Ousmariku, forcing it to retreat and heal itself.
- Sole Survivor: A common soldier when Ousmariku first attacked Aelyosos, she managed to not just outlive far stronger warriors, but was the one who forced Ousmariku to retreat.
- Weapon Specialization: She is literally the patron hero-god of spears, and more specifically the doru.
- Weather Manipulation: She is the patron hero-god of seasons, and grants the Weather domain to her followers.
Upion and Warrik
Joint Hero-Gods of promises and shield-bearers
Alignment: Neutral Good
Old Sun Gods
- God of Light: Each of the three Old Sun Gods represents one facet of the threefold sun.
- Un-person: After the rise of Walkena, his priests scoured the city of any other deities, smashing statues and temples, editing the truth to Walkena's liking and destroying the rest. The names Tlehar, Chohar and Luhar were mostly erased from public memory, with the remnants subverted to Walkena's needs. Only in the deepest hidden chambers did any sign of their original teachings still exist.
Chohar
The Golden Lion
God of justice, loyalty, work
Alignment: Lawful Good
- The Leader: Not officially, but he is the most prominent of the Lion Gods.
- The Paladin: Chohar teaches that it is one's duty to fight for the innocent and powerless, and to never wield power for one's own benefit.
Luhar
The Setting Sun
Goddess of death, dreams, destiny
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- Beast with a Human Face: Luhar is most often portrayed as a lioness with the head of a woman.
- Dark Is Not Evil: A goddess of the dusk and death, and generally considered benevolent.
- Mercy Kill: One of her edicts is to deliver these to any badly-wounded, suffering opponents, to give them calm and peace in death.
- The Night Owl: Her worshippers commonly take several naps throughout the day, so that they can help to watch for danger during the night. She is often depicted as sleeping while Chohar is awake, and vice-versa.
- Not Afraid to Die: To Luhar's followers, death is simply the final, and most precious, sleep. While still a sombre experience, it is not one that they seek to delay. When death comes, they only pray that it will be painless and swift.
- Peaceful in Death: She and her worshippers view death as a final, peaceful sleep, never to be disturbed. Not only does she hate undead for this reason, but even magically contacting the dead to ask any questions is anathema to her, something even Pharasma doesn't mind in most cases.
- Serious Business: Luhar takes sleep and dreaming very seriously, to the point where one of her anathemas is to stay up all night.
Tlehar
The Rising Sun
Goddess of iron, love, rebirth
Alignment: Neutral Good
- Good Is Not Soft: While Tlehar is not typically as strict in her justice as Chohar, she shows no mercy to those who hurt the ones they claim to love. She believes that sometimes, protecting the hope of a better tomorrow means destroying those who cast darkness over the future.
- Hope Bringer: As the goddess of the dawn, Tlehar embodies the hope that every dawn brings. When Mzali was taken over by Walkena, Tlehar kept hope that one day the dawn would bring freedom to Mzali.
- Non-Human Head: Tlehar is depicted as a human woman with the gray-furred head of a lioness.
Vudran Pantheon
The manifold gods of the Impossible Kingdoms of Vudra. Most of them are not well-known outside their homeland, but a few (most notably Irori) have achieved international fame and worship.
In General:
Arundhat
The Sacred Perfume
God of blossoms, scent, and diplomacy
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: At first glance, their portifolio main seem somewhat lackluster, but their worshippers know how to use these plants to create medicines and pacifiers.
- Otherworldly and Sexually Ambiguous: While tipically a feminine figure, they're genderfluid in nature, appearing as either a man, a woman, or an androginous figure.
Irori
See Pathfinder Deities.Chamidu
The Roar of The Storm
Goddess of children, fertility and Wild Beasts
- Gaia's Vengeance: She's a fearsome goddess that eschews the comforts of civilization and protects the wilds from pollution and others ills, and brings destruction to anyone who have angered her.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Her potrayal has her with eight arms, each carrying a weapon.
- Multiple Head Case: She has four heads, each one with one expression.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: While she can be quick to anger, she's also a protector that explicitly forbids the harm of any child.
Diomazul
The Serpent of Eighty Blades
God of austerity, retribution, war
Alignment: Lawful Evil
- Animal Motifs: Diomazul manifests as a Multi-Armed and Dangerous snake for a reason. Like a coiled snake, Diomazul is at rest but ready to retaliate at all times, and he sheds whatever pain the world may inflict on him like a serpent's skin.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Diomazul's 80 arms are folded in stillness, each hand grasping a sheathed blade. When roused to violence by enemies, Diomazul awakens and draws all 80 blades to welcome his foes.
- Reluctant Warrior: Diomazul is an evil variant. He detaches himself from the physical world in favor of meditating on its impermanence, but if roused to fight, he shows no mercy and demands that his followers do the same.
- Warrior Monk: Diomazul meditates on the world. Never disrupt his meditation. You'll regret it. Same goes for his followers, but at least then you might be able to defend yourself.
Gruhastha
The Keeper
God of the Vudran holy book
Alignment: Lawful Good
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: Being an ascended human who works to bring peace and enlightenment to mortals, he's meant to be reminiscent of a bodhisattva.
- Deity of Human Origin: He was once a human — Irori's nephew.
- Ethnic God: Downplayed. Gruhastha is worshipped most widely in Vudra, but not because he doesn't care about other cultures. Intolerance is actually forbidden among his followers, and they see all cultures' teachings as potential paths to enlightenment.
- Holy Halo: He's always depicted with a shining golden halo behind his head.
- Hot God: He's a Long-Haired Pretty Boy with multicolored angel wings and great abs.
- Hotibrarian: He oversees holy books and and happens to be very good looking.
- Nice Guy: While philosophically similar to Irori in some ways, he's a lot less austere than his uncle, and is kindly and forbearing towards most people.
- Winged Humanoid: His favored form resembles a handsome Vudran man with green wings tipped with pink primaries.
Likha
The Teller
Goddess of stories, history and truth
- Honorable Elephant: a wise and benevolent goddess that guides artists and writers to continue telling stories.
- The Storyteller: She is the goddess of stories, who commands her followers to learn, tell, preserve and adapt stories for others to hear.
Ragdya
The Sage On The Mountain
God of humor, lesson, and monkeys
- Animal Motifs: He is the god of monkeys, and is the creator of Vanaras, the monkey people of Golarion.
- Mischief-Making Monkey: He a trickster who enjoy pranks and humor.
- Patron God: Of the Vanara people, thought he is a rather distant and hands-off god.
- Trickster Mentor: His methods of teaching often involve jokes and harmless pranks that help other understand the world and themselves better through humor.
Suyuddha
The Warrior Queen
God of battle, strategy, geometry
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
- God Was My Copilot: It is said that Suyuddha travels Golarion as the mood takes her. During the Shining Crusade, a Vudrani woman appeared to counsel the knights. She gave no name, but her tactics stymied the Tyrant's hordes at every turn. She went on to found Lastwall's Crusader War College before vanishing a week and seven months later, leaving behind seven copies of the Mizravrtta Brahmodya with Suyuddha's name inked in shining gold throughout.
- War God: Suyuddha is the patron goddess of Vudra's elite warriors and an unparalleled strategist who delights in war waged flawlessly.
