Laugh and the World Laughs with You

Sects of Picoperi

The Merrygleam, also known as the Empyreal Lord Picoperi, purveyor of jokes, pranks, and surprises. Patron to all those who think outside of the box. What kinds of people follow a god of trickery, especially one that isn’t evil? In many cultures trickster gods are revered as teachers, using their jokes to guide their people to new truths. Today we’re going to look at a few sects of the great tree snake, Picoperi.

As always, let us imagine we are sitting at our theoretical gaming table. Our imaginary GM sets out the rules for the game we will play. In this game, we are to make a follower of Picoperi. The character does not need to be a divine caster, just a devotee of the Empyreal Lord. What character do you make?

For more information on Picoperi

Picoperi’s Pathfinder Wiki Page 

Picoperi’s Archives of Nethys Page 

The League of Laughter

Tricksters, pranksters, jokesters, and fools. The League of Laughter is dedicated to two things; bringing a smile to those in pain and showing wrong doers the error of their ways. Not just anyone may join the League; there is a fine line between a teaching joke and a vindictive prank. Members of the League are not out for vengeance, they intend to educate.

You cannot search out the League to join and most members will deny its existence. When someone shows enough promise to be considered for membership the league finds them. Unsurprisingly, many of the League’s members are bards, but any person who can find laughter in life may be offered admission. Much of the membership consists of humans and gnomes, although one of their elders is a grizzled half-orc named Hern. He may look serious but his deep booming laughter is one of the most infectious sounds in all of Golarion.

The Cog and Wheel

This is a small guild of inventors out of Brevoy. The sect worships Picoperi in his aspect as the king of surprises. They believe the only way to further humankind is to embrace innovation and learn from new things instead of fearing them. The have a small tower on the border of Numeria and have become increasingly inquisitive of the technological marvels within their neighbor’s borders.

Members of the Cog and Wheel come from all walks of life but are intent on pushing the envelope. Investigators, rogues, bards, and wizards make up a majority of the small sect, though there are also a few clerics of Picoperi and oracles as well. Although mostly egalitarian with no official rank system, those who make the most useful advances in their field are held in the highest renown.

The Horizon Walkers

Picoperi is sometimes considered the patron to all travelers. The Horizon Walkers embrace this idea and look for the surprise over every hill and around every corner. This group of pilgrims spend their lives travelling, never truly settling in any one place. They also consider themselves guides to all those who are lost.

Although they don’t settle in one location, the Horizon Walkers do have a home. Deep in a wood expanse, supposedly somewhere in the River Kingdoms, is the lost temple of Picoperi. The temple looks, to mos,t unattended and a giant Kopak tree spreads its roots between the exterior brick work. Some of the Walkers claim the trees is actually the physical representation of Picoperi’s home on the plane of Nirvana. Every few years a Horizon Walker spends one year living in and tending to the temple before going back about his wandering ways.

The sects of Picoperi are no laughing matter, but have they helped you find your own punchline? Who is your disciple of Picoperi? Why have they chosen to dedicate themselves to the Empyreal Lord? Where does their devotion come from? Let me know in the comments.

Trickster gods teach us through the great jokes of the world. Like Picoperi, the CRB also tries to teach through its articles as he does through his jokes. If you’ve learned anything through the CRB, consider showing support for these endeavors by becoming one of my supporters on Patreon. Check out the Patreon page for a video message from me to you. Looking for more out of the CRB? Then you’re in luck! Google +, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook all now have a CRB presence. And if you’re as impatient as I am, have the CRB pushed directly to your Kindle with every new post by signing up for Kindle Subscriptions.

Character Exploration 42 - Najila Dunestrider

I like the idea that planar-blooded creatures are not just from human stock. This premise was brought up in Pathfinder for aasimar and teiflings but I also apply it to the elemental planar-blooded creatures. We saw this first with my orc oread and most recently with my elf undine. This week I work with my third oread character, one of halfling stock. A twin with great strength and dexterity as well as decent amount of will. From the sandy lands of Qadira, a satrapy of the Kelesh Empire. The question I answer today from the random stats and background information is “who is this character”?

Quick moving but strong with a trickster god for a patron, I decided to go with brawler as a class. Sometimes when all the jokes go wrong, she needs to fight her way out of a situation. I also like to think that the brawler’s martial flexibility represents her ability to read people and adapt to situations as needed. With that in mind I see Snake Style’s use of Sense Motive as a means to make attacks hit harder and to riposte against missed attack as something this character might take.

Najila Dunestrider

In the Keleshish Empire halflings are considered incredibly lucky. To this end many halflings travel with caravans so that their luck might rub off on the trade expedition. Many enterprising halflings have not only taken up jobs as luck bringers in caravans, but have laid claim to some of the many oases across the empire to create their own caravan stops. These stops, in many cases, have sprung into full-fledged halfling settlements, one of which is where Najila and her twin brother Nen was born.

The Dunestrider family had lived at the Abassia Oasis settlement for many generations. Both of Najila’s parents were excellent potters whose work was sought out by many along the trade route. Beyond their dedication to their craft, the Dunestrider clan also had a penchant for shrewd investment. Although not rich by any means, growing up Najilia wanted for very little.

Najila and her brother were as opposite as could be, but they were also inseparable. Like many twins they seemed to almost know each other’s thoughts. Before they could fully speak halfling, they had a language all their own which they used to communicate. This secret tongue meant the two siblings often kept things hidden from others, as they would only confide in each other.

Although not identical Nijila and Nen were similar in appearance, enough so that only their parents could tell them apart. When they hit puberty, however, their true differences began to manifest. Najila stopped growing altogether and was shorter than most other halflings, although her body proportions stayed the same she felt heavier than most. Her brown hair became the color of sand and her skin took on an almost grainy texture. Like many in the Kelesh Empire the blood of a genie, in this case a Shaitan, flowed through her veins.

Her brother, who had always been her opposite, also showed signs of genie blood. He manifested the earth’s opposite with the watery traits of a Marid. Even though their differences became more pronounced, the two could never be separated, they lived for each other and always would. And like sand and water the pair was always mud in someone’s eye.

Into their formative years, the two halfling twins lacked the hard-working trait for which generations of their family had been renowned. Najila and Nen were more interested in having fun than working hard. The two were constant practical jokers who were the only ones in on their little pranks. Although not overly bound to religious matters themselves, many claimed they were children of the Empyreal Lord Picoperi.

Their jokes never really went too far, at least not in their own eyes. When a haughty sorcerer came through town hawking his wares and flashing his power, the two jokers knew just what to do. A bit of acting on Nen’s part and a little white lie sent all the sorcerer’s snake oil into the oasis pool with no money to show for it. Suffice it to say, the finger wiggler wasn’t at all happy about it.

Where Nen was a master of words and could talk a camel out of a drink of water, Najila was a master of fists. Their jokes would occasionally get them into trouble with a capital “T” and when Nen couldn’t talk their way out of it Najila would make sure no harm came to either of them. One of her best traits as a fighter wasn’t how hard she hit but how well she read people. She could usually see a strike coming from a mile away just by reading her opponent.

The only thing the pair had in common was a certain sense of pride. They each thought they were the best there was at what they did. The problem became that they also felt they were too big for the small town. When a younger sister was born, the two decided it was time to strike out into the larger world. Sad to see them go, their parents revealed to them their “Grams” had left them an investment. When they cashed out, the twins had more than enough money to get them to any city on Golarion.

With money burning a hole in their pockets and the need for adventure burning a hole in their soul, Najila and Nen set out on the next caravan into the larger world. What Golarion holds for them only Picoperi knows, and he ain’t telling because that’s the big joke.

And there you have my little halfling oread, but is this what you would have made? Does brawler fit your thinking or is another class better? Would Picoperi be more prominent in your character’s life or is acceptance of the Empyreal Lord as a patron with minor prayers enough? What would you have done different?

Tricksters are needed because they teach us much about the world through their jokes. The CRB tries to expand our knowledge of the gaming world by examining it much the same. If the CRB has helped you expand your gaming repertoire, please consider donating to my Patreon. The CRB is also becoming a large community on social media; come join us on G+, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. My inbox is always open on all accounts.