
Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

Pathfinder RPG (1st Edition) Pathfinder RPG (2nd Edition) Starfinder RPG

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Gods & Magic / Gods & Magic

Rules Elements

Source Gods & Magic pg. 7 2.0
This book presents the following new rules elements.

Alternate Domains

Source Gods & Magic pg. 7 2.0
Each deity grants four domains— these are their primary domains. Some deities, however, have such expansive jurisdiction that more than four domains are appropriate for them. Many of these alternate domains are available only to characters who specialize in these areas, as they often fall outside of their deity’s main purposes or areas of focus. This book lists alternate domains a deity may have. Followers of a deity do not initially have access to these alternate domains, but a cleric can take the Expanded Domain Initiate feat on the following page to gain access to one of their deity’s alternate domains, and either a cleric or a champion from an unusual branch of their faith can take the Splinter Faith feat below to redefine the domains available to them.

Changing Faith

Source Gods & Magic pg. 8 2.0
Whether dramatic or gradual, a character may have a crisis of faith or even a fall from grace. When this happens, the character is no longer able to use the spells, feats, and other class features tied to their now-lost faith. As reflects the genuine struggle within their soul, such characters may find themselves hobbled in their actions and interactions until they are restored to good standing via the atone ritual—or, in the case of a more complete break, until they retrain.

Retraining requires substantial downtime—in most cases, at least a month. A character who wishes to retrain into a different faith with similar concerns and domains requires less time to convert than a character moving into a radically divergent faith. Thus, a cleric of Grandmother Spider might move to the worship of Calistria with a month’s tutelage and service in one of her temples. However, that same cleric of Grandmother Spider could not so easily become a priest of Asmodeus, even though both deities share the trickery domain—their longstanding animosity is reflected in their diametrically opposed doctrines and cultures. Such a conversion is not impossible but could take several months of downtime or happen piecemeal over months of in-game development. In some instances, particularly in the case of PCs or other high-profile targets of conversion, a new deity might send an emissary directly to a character struggling with a crisis of faith in order to tempt that character to righteousness or villainy. In these cases, the emissary might be able to offer a near-immediate transformation as an enticement, funneling vital and spiritual essence primed to the deity’s philosophy into the converting character to remove the need for any downtime at all. Such a transformation is not without risks, however, and may come with complications down the line.

At the GM’s discretion, characters for whom divine patronage is essential but who lose faith completely can retrain into a new class. A champion might retrain as a fighter or a ranger, swapping out faith-based feats and class features for appropriate analogues. The length of downtime required in any of these cases is at the GM’s discretion, though the player and GM are advised to work together to determine a suitable time frame that does not fully interrupt play and can help tell a satisfying story.

Divine Intercession

Source Gods & Magic pg. 9 2.0
To make their influence on Golarion felt directly—but without manifesting on the planet in all their divine glory—each god has the tool of divine intercession. Divine intercession manifests as a boon or a curse, of varying duration and power, visited upon a mortal. Curses are not triggered simply by doing something a god does not like, or everyone in Golarion would be cursed all the time; they are often reserved for followers of the god who commit anathema that aren’t strong enough to warrant ejection from the faith, or those who have committed shocking blasphemies. Conversely, an unaffiliated worshipper embroiled in high-profile actions that are anathema to a god could earn a curse. Similarly, boons are not automatically granted to anyone petitioning the god. Certainly, someone who upholds a deity’s edicts could earn a boon, especially when acting under adverse circumstances. Most often, as befits their inscrutable nature, a deity will bestow a boon or a curse for their own reasons. Perhaps a mission is of dire importance to a god’s plan for a specific place or people, or perhaps the survival of a particular character figures in their plans decades from now.

The divine intercessions provided in each entry are examples, and the GM can have any deity grant a different effect than the intercessions provided. These intercessions are special and are always at the deity’s, and thus the GM’s, direct discretion, with the GM deciding when a boon or curse goes into effect. The GM is also at liberty to remove a boon or curse as is appropriate for the game’s story. A PC or NPC can never select a feat, spell, or other rules option that entitles them to a divine boon or bestows a divine curse upon foes. Minor intercessions are memorable for the recipient, providing either a relatively modest and long-lasting effect or a spectacular but fleeting one. Moderate intercessions are hugely significant events that typically come with permanent consequences, and major intercessions can pivotally reshape a recipient’s life, granting powers wildly beyond their innate abilities or inflicting life-changing curses.

Favored Weapon

Source Gods & Magic pg. 9 2.0
Each deity has a favored weapon. These weapons are not restricted for use by their clerics and champions alone; lay worshippers often train with and wield them in battle as another way to show their devotion. Each of the favored weapons detailed in this book is available to any character with access to it. The same is true of the divine items included in this book.

Theme Template

Source Gods & Magic pg. 9 2.0
Theme templates (introduced in the Lost Omens Character Guide) allow a GM to replicate creatures and NPCs that worship specific deities. When you add a theme template that grants many additional abilities, you should consider removing one or more of the creature’s original abilities to compensate, or raising the creature’s level by 1 and adjusting its statistics accordingly so as to add the template’s abilities without taking anything away. Either way, a template adds abilities based on the creature’s final level; for example, if you raised a 6th-level creature to 7th level, adjusted its numbers, and added a template, it would gain the 7th-level or higher template abilities. A deity’s theme template works as follows.

All Creatures: Add any traits in the deity’s alignment. Remove any alignment traits not in the deity’s alignment.

1st Level or Higher: Add the deity’s favored weapon and a wooden religious symbol of the deity to the creature’s items. Add a favored weapon Strike with an attack bonus equal to the creature’s highest melee or ranged Strike (whichever is appropriate). If the favored weapon is simple, increase the damage die of that Strike by one step.

4th Level or Higher: The creature can cast the initial domain spell of one of the deity’s domains and gains a pool of 1 Focus Point.

7th Level or Higher: The creature can cast the 1st-level spell the deity grants clerics three times per day as a divine innate spell.

12th Level or Higher: The creature can cast the advanced domain spell of the domain you chose for 4th level or higher, and its focus pool increases to 2 Focus Points.

17th Level or Higher: The creature has been truly blessed. Either the creature can cast the deity’s other deity spells of up to 7th level once per day each as divine innate spells, or, at the GM’s discretion, the creature gains the benefits of one of the deity’s boons.