Pantheism (from Faiths and Philosophies)
Pantheists serve groups of related deities. Most people on Golarion are pantheists for some minor degree, as they offer prayers to deities other than their patrons when the other deity seems relevant to an important matter at hand, rather than relying solely as their chosen patron. However, a few carry this to be its logical conclusion, adhering to a belief system that draws from the ideals of multiple gods to create a gestalt system that often resembles none of the component religions.
Aligned Pantheons (from Faiths and Philosophies)
Idealistic ecclesiastical organizations and individuals sometimes choose to revere a group of gods that share a stake in an important moral and/or ethical position. Most prominently, the Hellknights of the Order of the God Claw worship a pantheon of five lawful deities. Although their pantheon includes deities who oppose each other, and none of these gods seem likely to endorse the full range of actions taken by the Order of the God Claw, they nonetheless od demonstrate divine power rooted in this group of deities and interpret the ideal way of the world from the examples of the divine patrons, picking and choosing parts of the dogma of all five. These Hellknights, unlike the more measured and dutiful members of other orders, enforce their infernally restrictive dogma upon the world with a religious fervor comparable to the most vehement of clerics or inquisitors.
Aligned pantheons generally attract members more interested in their ideals than in the dogma of any particular member deity. As a result, they readily attract lone inquisitors and others unsatisfied with the complacency of mainstream churches. Similarly, free-spirited barbarians and especially methodical monks may be drawn to pantheons built around chaos and law, respectively.
Cultural Pantheons (From Faiths and Philosophies)
Some settlements, tribes, and nations develop their own pantheons of gods whose interactions with members are unique to that pantheon. Those gods generally share features reflecting the culture’s way of life, ideals, specializations, fears, and aspirations. In addition, as the community feels free to call upon whichever patron is most useful, they more commonly deal with deities through bargains and personal requests, ignorant of the god’s agenda, and mediated by shamans rather than through prayers aimed at learning a deity’s will, blending ecclesiastical and shamanistic beliefs. Cultural pantheons with influence over small regions, such as that of the Varisian town of Sandpoint, tend to be small. Those in large regions, such as Vudra or lost Sarkoris, tend to include a large number of beings with each community, clan, or worshiper generally paying heed to only a tiny fraction of the vast multitude. For example, while gods, demon lords, empyreal lords, and others were worshiped in Sarkoris any given clan or settlement within the region tended to revere a small sub-pantheon of only a half-dozen or so through a witch, summoner, druid, or other spellcasting intermediary.
Cultural pantheons are appealing to the leaders, champions, and visionaries of the cultures that spawn them, commonly cavaliers, barbarians, or whatever spellcasting classes serve as priests or shamans.
Racial Pantheons (from Faiths and Philosophies)
Some races, such as dwarves and elves, have deities they consider their own. These pantheons generally have a prominent head deity and numerous lesser deities that are in some way subordinate to the pantheon head. Religious practices in these groups tend to be ecclesiastical and centered around the patron deity of the race; worship of the others is practiced only when events arise that fall within a lesser pantheon member’s area of concern. The aspects of gods represented in a racial-pantheon express that race’s experience. As a result, gods well known outside the pantheon may take on an appearance so different within it that other races would have a hard time recognizing them.
Racial deities tend to attract worshipers from the more isolated segments of that race, ones who are little influenced by the religious views of other races. Adventurers from these origins tend to be exemplars of that race’s ideals, such as elven wizards, demonstrating the wide range of artistry and dwarven warriors who live for the home and forge gloriously represented by the dwarven gods. For more information of the dwarven and elven pantheons, see the Pathfinder Player Companions Dwarves of Golarion and Elves of Golarion.
Pantheists on Golarion (from Faiths and Philosophies)
A follower of a specific pantheon may take the Pantheistic Blessing feat to gain access to a spell-like ability tied thematically to his or her chosen pantheon. Note that single-class clerics gain their powers through allegiance to a single deity, and therefore cannot select this feat.
Pantheistic Blessing (from Faiths and Philosophies)
You are grated a small bit of divine power as a result of your veneration of a pantheon of deities.
Prerequisites: Wis 13, must worship a pantheon of deities.
Benefit: When taking this feat, select a pantheon from the list below. You gain the listed spell-like ability for your selected pantheon, usable once per day. If the granted spell allows a saving throw, the DC is equal to 10+ ½ your character level + your Charisma modifier.
Special: If you act out of line with the tents of your pantheon’s beliefs, you lose the ability to cast the granted spell-like ability until you have received an atonement for your transgression (as a cleric restoring lost class abilities).
Pantheons of Golarion (from Faiths and Philosophies)
Each pantheon below notes the type of pantheon, as well as the member deities and the most common sorts of worshipers found within the faith. Additionally, each pantheon grants a spell-like ability to followers who take the Pantheistic Blessing feat. An asterisk after a deity’s name indicates that he or she is the head of the pantheon.
ARCHDEVILS (ALIGNED, RACIAL, AND CULTURAL)
Deities: Asmodeus* (LE), Baalzebul (LE), Barbatos (LE), Belial (LE), Dispater (LE), Geryon (LE), Mammon (LE), Mephistopheles (LE), Moloch (LE)
Common Believers: Chelaxians, devils, diabolists, tieflings
Granted Spell-Like Ability: infernal healingISWG
ASCENDED PANTHEON (CULTURAL)
Deities: Abadar (CG), Iomedae (LG), Norgorber (NE), Aroden (prior to his death), sometimes Irori (LN) and Nethys (N)
Common Believers: Absalomians, adventurers, individualists
Granted Spell-Like Ability: divine favor
DEMON LORDS (ALIGNED, CULTURAL, AND RACIAL)
Deities: Abraxas (CE), Baphomet (CE), Cyth-V’sug (CE), Deskari (CE), Flauros (CE), Lamashtu* (CE), Nocticula (CE), Pazuzu (CE), Shax (CE), Sifkesh (CE), Zura (CE), many others
Common Believers: drow, murderers, psychopaths
Granted Spell-Like Ability: lesser confusion
DWARVEN PANTHEON (RACIAL)
Deities: Angradd (LG), Bolka (NG), Dranngvit (LN), Folgrit (LG), Grundinnar (LG), Kols (LN), Magrim (LN), Torag* (LG), Trudd (NG)
Common Believers: dwarves
Granted Spell-Like Ability: silent image
ELDEST (CULTURAL AND RACIAL)
Deities: Count Ranalc (CN), Green Mother (NE), Imbrex (LN), Lantern King (CN), Lost Prince (N), Magdh (LN), Ng (N), Ragadahn (CE), Shyka (N)
Common Believers: druids, gnomes, fey
Granted Spell-Like Ability: silent image
ELVEN PANTHEON (RACIAL)
Deities: Calistria* (CN) Desna (CG), Findelalara (CG), Ketephys (CG), Shyka (N)
Common Believers: elves, half-elves
Granted Spell-Like Ability: identify
EMPYREAL LORDS (ALIGNED AND CULTURAL)
Deities: Andoletta (LG), Arshea (NG), Korada (NG), Ragathiel (LG), Sinashakti (CG), Valani (CG), many others
Common Believers: aasimars, angels, Kellids, Varisians
Granted Spell-Like Ability: protection from evil
ORDER OF THE GOD CLAW PANTHEON (ALIGNED)
Deites: Abadar (LN), Asmodeus (LE), Iomedae (LG), Irori (LN), Torag (LG)
Common Believers: Hellknights
Granted Spell-Like Abilities: protection from chaos
SANDPOINT PANTHEON (CULTURAL)
Deities: Abadar (LN), Desna (CG), Erastil (LG), Gozreh (N), Sarenrae (NG), Shelyn (NG)
Common Believers: natives of the Lost Coast
Granted Spell-Like Ability: sanctuary
TALDAN PANTHEON (CULTURAL)
Deities: Abadar (LN)< Cayden Cailean (CG), Norgorber (NE), Shelyn (NG)
Common Believers: Taldan nationalists
Granted Spell-Like Ability: shield of faith
VUDRANI APNTHEON (CULTURAL)
Deities: Chamidu (N), Dhalavei (LE), Gruhastha (LG), Irori* (LN), Lahkgya (CE), Likha (N), Ragdya (N), Raumya (NE), Suyuddha (LN), Vineshvakhi (LN), Vritra (LE), thousands of other deities
Common Believers: Vudarni
Granted Spell-Like Ability: true strike