It’s Saturday, which means it's time to talk about a god. For those of you who haven’t been a part of my explorations into the religions of Golarion here’s how it works:
Imagine, if you will,
you're making a character for a group. Your only instruction is that you must
be a worshiper of a specific god. You do not need to be a divine casting class,
although you can be. The party's purpose is to work toward the goals of this
specific divine being. I'd like not just a race/class combo, but a little bit
about why the character would choose to dedicate him or herself to this god.
Feel free to make up secret or not-so-secret orders within the church, or even
sects outside of the church you think might be interesting. With only this one
requirement, let your imagination run wild with the rest.
Today's god: Mahathallah,
Lawful Evil Whore Queen, Mistress of death, fate, and vanity.
Mahathallah’s PathfinderWiki page
Mahathallah’s Archives of Nethys entry
When Asmodeus fell, he
wasn’t the only creature bound for Hell; there were many other fallen angels,
as well as beings from other planes. Four female beings in particular sided
directly with Asmodeus upon his fall and these women became the Whore Queens.
Despite being some of the original denizens of hell, the Whore Queens found
themselves left behind in the division of power due to the misogynistic and
hierarchal structure of the realms of the Archdevils.
Mahathallah wasn’t
actually an angel; she was a psychopomp, a reaper in the services of Pharasma.
She fled with Asmodeus after she had visions of her own death. Although she has
temporarily escaped her final demise, she dies over and over every day. She
arises at dawn in her original state of beauty and decays as the day progresses
until she is nothing more than a wasted skeleton at night.
With that in mind we’ll
explore who the worshipers of Mahathallah are. Like most beings that are not
full-fledged deities, the Whore Queens followers consist of little more than
cults.
Sisters of the Broken Mirror
Many women who have
deformities choose to dedicate themselves to Mahathallah. They take her aspect
of vanity within themselves as they try and hide their misshapen bodies, much
as she tries to disguise her inevitable decay each day. These sisters seek out
illusion and shape shifting magics to aid them in their attempts at
transformation. Unfortunately the worship of a Whore Queen is a cruel and
foul practice, and the process generally makes their souls become as hideous as
their bodies. Hide as they might their physical deformities, these women
cannot conceal the deformities of their character.
This cult operates mainly
out of the Varisian city of Korvosa and began among women of the aristocracy
who feared their appearance would keep them from moving up the social ranks.
Their worship of Mahathallah also brings them into contention with many of the
cities leaders who worship Asmodeus. In reverence to their patron’s disdain for
the lord of hell, the Sisters of the Broken Mirror often work against the machinations
of Asmodeus’ followers.
The Beautiful Veils
In the lands of Taldor,
where the nobility spends their time in courtly intrigue while their peasants
starve, the cult of the Beautiful Veil makes its home. Instead of playing to
their own vanity, they gain power through the vanity of others; specifically
the women of the courts of Taldor. When appearance is everything many of the
ladies of aristocracy will do whatever it takes to one up their rivals.
The cult of the Beautiful
Veils sell their illusions to those who seek approval at court. At first the
price is mere gold, but as the noble ladies become more addicted to the
attentions they receive, the price gets higher. Depending on the needs of the
Veils, this can be noble approval of actions or parcels of land. As the noble’s
spiral into decadence they will even give away their first born and sometimes
even their very souls. You’d be surprised what one will give away for beauty.
The Lich Queens
Mahathallah fled Pharsma’s
boneyard in fear of visions of her own death. Many who fear death themselves
come to her worship. These women seek the secrets of lichdom and band together
to exchange knowledge as they grow in power. Witches, wizards, clerics, oracles
and sorcerers all take to the banner of the Lich Queens
Unlike many of the other
cults of Mahathallah, the Lich Queens are contained in one region or city.
Their search for immortality sends them far and wide across the face of
Golarion, although they do have a base of operations in Ustalav. The founder of
the cult, a minor disgraced noble who never found her path to immortality
before she died, left her mountain retreat to her sisters. This hidden walled
manor is used as a repository for the gathered knowledge of the Lich Queens.
Many tales of transformation to Lichdom line the library walls.
The chateau itself is both
geographically hidden and strongly warded. In the generations since its
founder’s death it’s been the repository for the group’s knowledge. To keep
this lore safe, ward, upon illusion, upon abjuration have been woven into the
very fabric of the stonework. The sisterhood strives to both hide their secret
knowledge from other prospective liches who do not share their faith, as well
as to defend themselves from the machinations of Liches whose knowledge they
have stolen through the ages. There are few things on earth or hell as terrible
as an angry Lich.
Deathtellers
An oracle’s visions can
vary from person to person, but the Deathtellers have a very narrow focus of
their visions, death. And those who come to petition them know this and seek
their special knowledge. These women never sought their power, Mahathallah in
her own frustration curses exactly four oracles with this ability at any one
time. The first death they ever see is their own, which drives them more than a
little mad.
When one oracle dies
another woman receives the curse and is led to their lair. The oracles reside
at the top of a frozen waterfall at the head of the Thundering River in the
mountain range that hosts the Lost Hope peak on the border of Irrisen and
Varisia. In this age of broken prophecy many will travel far and pay quite a
lot to gain accurate foretelling of the future, especially about something as
important as the nature of their own death. For these people the only recourse
is the Deathtellers. They believe that knowledge of when they will die will
help them plan a better life. In reality knowing one’s death is a curse, one
that the mad Deathtellers gleefully share.
Hell’s Belles
While not a cult specific
to Mahathallah, it is one that must be mentioned. In hell the Whore Queens are
little more than hangers-on to Asmodeus. The patriarchal misogynistic hierarchy
of Hell keeps them in this place of not quite power. To that end Mahathallah
and her sisters despise the prince of lies.
Hell’s Belles work within
the confines of Cheliax and much of their operation is centered in Egorian.
Their ordained mission is to disrupt the mortal nation which has fallen under
the sway of Asmodeus. Although the Whore Queens don’t expect Cheliax will fall
anytime soon they get joy out of throwing a monkey wrench into the Lord of
Hell’s finely laid plots and machinations.
So that's my followers of
Mahathallah, what are yours? What is the character you make with the Whore
Queen of vanity as their patron?
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