Here is another thought exercise I really enjoy. In worlds
like Golarion that are pantheistic, the gods play a very important role. And
although there are some write ups in books like the Inner Sea Gods book, a lot
is left up to the imagination of the player with that in mind;
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, but the groups
purpose is going to be working toward the goals of this specific divine being.
And 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 think might be interesting. With only this one piece of
information that must be true let your imagination go wild with the rest.
Today's god
Korada NG Empyreal of Foresight, Forgiveness and Peace
Korada’s Pathfinder Wiki page
A Korada’s Archives of Nethys Entry
This particular exploration was shockingly not done on the
facebook Pathfinder board I frequent. One of the guys in my regular group (He
plays in my game, I play in his), pushed around some ideas regarding Korada
over the course of an afternoon. Below I have included the Skype chat log so
you can see how the thought process flowed. Names have been changed to protect
the insane and I’ve also edited for spelling. Seriously I’ll admit it was bad.
When we get excited we tend to skip letters wholesale.
Friend: Foresight, forgiveness, peace.
Friend: Future past present
Friend: unarmed strike... monks?
Friend: must be
Friend: Plan for the future that it may never surprise you
and upset your peace. Forgive
transgressions and failures of the past that they may never upset your
peace. Experience each moment that
passes through you so that you may live in eternal peace.
Friend: Paladin Order, Knights of the Holy Lotus. Dedicated to the perfection of the physical
form through combat training. Primarily
focused on Korada's aspect of Peace. The
great irony of peace via combat training is not lost on them. It is part of the paradox of life as they see
it.
Friend: When chaos attempts to force itself into the halls
of peace, the Knights of the Holy Lotus are there to meet it with a calm heart
and a hard fist.
Me: Are there feats that specialize in non lethal damage.
Friend: primarily Enlightened Paladin archetypes.
Friend: so... they are fist paladins
Me: Yeah I see them for the most part with mortal enemies
fighting with non lethal. Attempting to reason with a being as they mostly
defend themselves.
Friend: I would imagine they would try any method possible
to avoid conflict before actually engaging in it.
Me: But when something cannot be reasoned with. Cannot see
the peaceful solution they'll fight with force.
Friend: Harming others is not the major concern, it is the
loss of peace.
Me: Except undead. By their very nature undead are never at
peace. They are ripped from their final rest and need to laid back to their
peaceful state.
Friend: I like that yeah
Me: I see them a lot of times going full defense, using
combat reflex to up their AC and then standing there maneuvering out of the way
and blocking their enemies blows as they try and talk them down.
Me: Is there a way to use diplomacy during combat?
Friend: I bet there is in the new book
Friend: the heroes of intrigue
Friend: otherwise no
Friend: but they could probably use bluff
Friend: to avoid combat
Me: Well then the proper lotus paladin build may need that.
Friend: the idea could use some more work... but I think I
am drifting off to other sects at the moment here... let's see...
Friend: Foresight...
Me: Diviners
Friend: Yes!
Friend: Ascetics.
Seers.
Friend: prophecy is dead... but...
Friend: a man with two eyes can see the storm on the horizon
Friend: and a man who can see over the horizon... well...
Me: Maybe not just magical things, architects who have to
plan cities for the future. Growth is inevitable but how do you plan for what
will be.
Friend: yes exactly where I was going
Friend: One must understand consequence before taking
action.
Me: Do we dam here or build further away? Is an immediate
water sources more important or will there be future flooding?
Me: Oh man I got it.
Me: Ok there is a group of worshipper of Koroda from all
walks of life. Actually no one with a magical way of seeing the future is
allowed in this group.
Friend: ahh interesting!
Me: But they are game players. Chess maybe Go. Any game you
need to think ten moves ahead.
Me: When people need
answers to questions they will find one of these master gamers. They will
puzzle out answers to long term problems over a game.
Me: The game players don't answer outright. They ask more
questions. They make their opponent actually think the answer through
themselves.
Friend: Socratic Style.
Friend: beautiful
Friend: name.
Friend: um...
Friend: Enlightened...
Friend: light
Friend: The Lantern Keepers
Friend: ?
Friend: The Candle Men?
Me: Holy crap. They Uncle Iroh from avatar
Friend: The Watchtower.
The Lighthouse?
Friend: I was totally there like six paragraphs ago
Friend: as soon as you said they play games lol
Friend: I was like... yeah Uncle Iroh
Me: He he he
Friend: what was the name of his group?
Me: They need to be named after a piece from the game they
play
Me: They were the white lotus
Me: They were named after a rare pai-sho piece.
Friend: in Go they just use stones
Me: This is Golarion. It's a fantasy world we can make up a
game. Name it what we like name its pieces what we like.
Friend: very true
Friend: well I like the enlightened theme. Something with
light.
Me: Maybe one of the pieces is a lighthouse.
Friend: I like that.
Friend: They can be the Light House
Friend: Another sect...
Friend: Builders
Friend: Temples, cities even
Friend: Architects and city planners.
Me: The thing about Empyreal Lords is they don't really have
churches they have mystery cults.
Friend: Right. It
might be a group in a single area.
Me: The Light House Keepers can usually be found in the most
unlikely of places... bars.
Friend: like one small group of paladins living in a
mountain citadel, or a group of old men in a single city
Me: They love to sit in a dark corner with their game boards
set up.
Friend: ahh yeah I like that
Me: They watch the people and learn about people that way.
Me: They usually have a special rapport with the inner
keeper
Friend: or perhaps occasionally in a park.
Friend: at those communal chess boards they have
Friend: or something like it
Me: Because some times when someone has a question they will
sit for days playing one game as the petitioner learns their answer.
Me: Definitely the park idea too. Problem is if a park or a
city has a curfew they could disrupt the answer to a question.
Me: They need some place they can stay for minutes, hours,
days depending on the supplicant's question.
Friend: It might be good for the petitioner to stop each
night to ponder what he has learned that day.
The game can begin again where it left off.
Friend: or not
Friend: the spot might even be chosen specifically for the
petitioner
Friend: by the wise man
Friend: you must meet me on the highest roof in the city.
Me: That might work too especially if the Light House Keeper
feels the supplicant is being impatient.
Friend: or in the darkest sewer
Friend: Perhaps in the middle of a forest at noon.
Me: Yeah these guys are cool. And probably make great
adventurers. Maybe an empiricist investigator.
Friend: yeah for sure
Friend: Other ideas I am kicking around....
Friend: City planners / temple builders.
Friend: Law men who focus on keeping the peace.
Me: And then we have the reformers. This group is not just
worshipers of Kodoma. It is a mixed group of her cultists and worshipers of
Sarenrae.
Friend: people who have done something very wrong, and now
dedicate their lives to setting things right and finding forgiveness.
Me: Yup.
Me: Every last one of them has spent time in prison at some
point.
Me: They have been brought to the light. They walk a path of
personal forgiveness trying to right what they have done wrong.
Me: And they are specifically keen and reforming anyone
whose turned from the path of good because of their own actions.
Me: They weren't thinking ahead. They never realized by
killing the one man his child would turn to a life of crime.
Me: Shit I type horribly from my phone.
Friend: they must understand all effects of their wrong
action, what their repercussions in the present are, and seek to prevent it
from progressing into the future.
Me: Yes.
Friend: and ultimately, they should realize that the hardest
forgiveness to attain is their own.
Me: Deep really deep
Me: I need to save this whole conversation to a text file or
something.
Friend: I'll mail it to ya
For those of you who did not read the whole thing here are
the cliffsnotes, we came up with societies within the framework of the worship
of Korada
Paladin Order, Knights of the Holy Lotus.
Dedicated to the
perfection of the physical form through combat training. Although represent the
Empyreal Lords role of peace they train for battle. Irony that is not lost on
them. Much like Paladins of Irori the Knights of the Holy Lotus battle more
against chaos then evil. They tend to come into any situation with the goal of
a peaceful solution and are sadden when they are forced to solve a problem with
combat. They will however not suffer any undead to exist. By their very nature
undead are never at peace. They are ripped from their final rest and need to be laid back to their peaceful state.
The Light House Keepers
A group of game players who use Korada’s sacred game (no I
did not come up with a name for it) as a way to puzzle out problems. Whereas
some people will go to a diviner for a look into the future. Petitioners of The
Light House Keepers are looking to solve their own problems. The foresight it
takes to think 10 or even 20 moves ahead, helps this mystery cult provide
answers to those who seek it.
The Reformers
This is actually a mixed group of worshipers of Korada and
Sarenrae. Every last member was a criminal who at some point was imprisoned for
their misdeeds. These are people who have done something very wrong, and now
dedicate their lives to setting things right and finding forgiveness. Although
their missions seems to be redeeming those who have fallen from the light,
giving forgiveness to those seeking redemption. The final realization that
brings them true enlightenment is that the hardest forgiveness to attain is
their own.
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