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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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

Rules Index | GM Screen | Player's Guide
Chapter 1: Introduction

Religion

Source Player Core pg. 35 2.0
Selection of a deity is critical for clerics, but most characters pay respect to at least one deity to find a focus in life and guide their choices, especially in times of hardship or need. Some people instead worship a group of deities arranged in a pantheon, follow a non-deific religion like the Green Faith, or adhere to a specific philosophy. Note that far more deities, religions, and philosophies exist on any world, Golarion included, than those detailed below.

Deities

Source Player Core pg. 35 2.0
Anyone can worship a deity, but those who do so devoutly should take care to pursue the faith’s edicts (behaviors the faith encourages) and avoid its anathemas (actions considered blasphemous, and could cause a god to revoke their blessings). Each deity below has their name and title, followed by a short description and cultural information, including the attributes for characters who have the Raised by Belief background. Following that are the benefits available to the most ardent devotees of the deities. You get these benefits only if you’re a cleric of the deity or some other rule specifically gives you a devotee benefit.

Sanctification

Some deities sanctify their clerics and similarly devoted followers. This gives the follower the holy or unholy trait. The holy trait indicates a powerful devotion to altruism, helping others, and battling against unholy forces like fiends and undead. The unholy trait, in turn, shows devotion to victimizing others, inflicting harm, and battling celestial powers. Deities that list “must choose” mandate gaining the trait and those that list “can choose” give the devotee the option to choose the trait or not. You can have the holy trait, unholy trait, or neither, but can never have both the holy and unholy traits.

Spells and other effects can also have these traits, making them more powerful against creatures with the opposite trait. Some spells and abilities have the sanctified trait. If you have the holy or unholy trait, when you use a sanctified ability you add your holy or unholy trait to it.

Domains

Clerics and some other devotees can gain domain spells from their deities. The following domains are used by the primary deities of Golarion. See page 113 to learn how clerics gain domain spells, and find the spells on pages 372–381.

Faiths and Philosophies

Source Player Core pg. 39 2.0
Of course, faith can express itself in more ways than venerating a single deity—or a deity at all. A few examples of non-deific religions and philosophies are presented below. These faiths and philosophies don’t have an external godhead that offers benefits to devotees.