#pathfinder settings

[rhaetiadan]

Wolvesreign Deities of Separti: Ruah Ziva

Lore

Ruah Ziva rose to divinity approximately 750 years ago during the Anterhaetian Period during a tumultuous time when Separti was under Old Huescan rule. Modern scholars contest the exact identity of Ruah Ziva before their ascension to Sainthood, with at least a dozen regional origin myths. Three, however, remain the most widely circulated--

Asnat of Ruach Ommiad academic historians state they were born Asnat of Ruach, an orphaned child of indeterminate gender “molded from clay” by the Order of Getik to become an Ashmedai-- a powerful sorcerer-priest trained to hunt loziva, creatures from outer realms that bare no common ancestry with humanity or the Godhead. While acting as an ashmedai, Asnet began having visions that drove her to lead a cherem (holy war) against Huesca. Considering Huesca’s pantheon a form of loziva worship, she cut down Huescans without remorse and expelled them from Separti’s shores. After the slaughter Asnet was proclaimed Ruah Ziva (meaning Breath of God) by the Order of Getik as a living avatar of the Godhead, and unified the island of Separti from a fractured faith into a grand army of religious zealots. With the Separti faith’s blessing, Asnat extended her cherem south to conquer Old Huesca in what is now the Ommiad Empire. Old Huesca, brought to its knees, ceded their empire to the Separti and crowned Asnat Empress Rhaetia the First as head of their pantheon.

Dveira IX Old Huescan religious texts maintained in modern Huesca tell a very different story. If they are to be believed Ruah Ziva was born Dveira IX of Polmaria descendant from Saint Polmaria, the Consort. House Polmaria were known collaborators with the Old Huescan occupiers, believing in a prophecy that a child of Polmaria and the “world spine” would bring about a great Apotheosis where all the realm’s small gods would bow to the Breath of God. House Polmaria sought to speed this process along by intermarrying and propagating with peoples from across modern Rhaetiadan, creating large academies of Polmarian children who would be monitored for signs of divinity. It was from one of these academies in far away Xirimira that Dveira was identified as an ideal vessel for Ruah Ziva. As Polmaria was an established member of the Huescan pantheon, Dveira IX represented a personal union between both faiths ordained by the gods. Dveira was brought from Xirimira to Huesca where she was raised to rule, before being sent to her ancestral home of Separti at the behest of the Old Huescan faith to unite her people in a bloody civil war. In her victory, she was crowned Empress Rhaetia the First.

Dobka of Vazos Some Ebering folk traditions, perhaps less credibly, claim Ruah Ziva was born Dobka of Vazos and shares blood with Erik of Vazos, who would become Saint Lyeb the Lion. Though born to the island of Separti, Dobka was nonetheless of Old Ebering blood and a powerful shield-maiden in her own right. From the port fortress of Ruach, Dobka raided and plundered the world under the banner of the Separti faith. What she could not conquer through battle she conquered through marriage, alleging to have dozens if not hundreds of spouses to secure alliances under the Old Huescan tenant of Supplantation; the belief that divorce is illegitimate but previous marriages may be annulled by a new marriage, with the new spouses retroactively considered to have always been spiritually wed in the eyes of the Gods. The fact that Dobka was not of the Huescan faith was of no concern to her, so long as it provided sufficient grounds to conquer Huescan hearts and lands alike. Through conquest, battle, and romance she achieved gnosis-- knowledge of the true nature of the Godhead-- and became remembered as Ruah Ziva and Empress Rhaetia to Separti and Huesca alike.

With so many different competing cultures hoping to claim the origins of Empress Rhaetia it is ostensibly impossible to know for sure which account of Ruah Ziva’s life is true, even within her own order. Separti mysticism is rooted in obtuse gnostic symbolism and never straightforward, with competing accounts of Ruah Ziva’s life circulating wherever you look. To a true worshiper of Ruah Ziva though, it is a distinction without a difference. Saint Ruah Ziva is worshiped not for the person they were, but the covenant they represented where the Godhead chose a saint as its vessel to forge the Oversoul of Rhaetiadan. In truth, Separti religious tradition views the Godhead as a communal spiritual essence as it move towards collective Apotheosis where all of humanity might join the Oversoul as one divine being like so many cells in a single body. It is just as likely that Ruah Ziva might, in part, be all of these purported women and more creating a gestalt identity responsible for the modern mythology of Empress Rhaetia and Rhaetiadan. Regardless, there remains one commonality between them-- Before she was Empress Rhaetia, she was the Separti warrior-saint Ruah Ziva.

Symbolism

Today, much of the material wealth of Separti has been long-since mined out and shipped away across the far reaches of Rhaetiadan. During the Anterhaetian Age though, the island of Separti had such rich veins of gold it would marble the very cliffs. With gold so abundant in such an insular principality, precious species (gold, sliver, gemstones) were of little material value. Thus another rare commodity was needed to conduct trade, namely pearls, abalone, and seaglass. As trade began to open with the rest of the Realm, and several scandals involving the farming of pearls and forgery of seaglass resulted in a brief religious schism, Separti rapidly adopted a gold-backed system where the church would maintain sole ownership of minted species for international trade while a quasi-fiat currency was issued to the citizenry. By the time of Empress Rhaetia's ascension to the Huescan throne Separti had cemented itself as the only reliable and effective central banking system in Rhaetiadan, a title it has held for 750 years.

Despite this seaglass remains a strong motif in Separti art. Ruah Ziva, in particular, is often represented in golden armor adorned in mosaics of seaglass as mosaic was a unifying hobby shared by men, women, priests, poets, warriors, and nobility alike.

Bees are often considered a secondary symbol for Ruah Ziva, albeit one only shared cryptically among the Order of Ruah Ziva. It is said, often smugly in hushed tones among her most devout, that it holds a specially hidden significance about the true nature of Ruah Ziva’s connection to the Godhead that can only be understood through years of meditation and monastic study.

Order of Ruah Ziva, and the Worship of Ruah Ziva

Worship of St. Ruah Ziva in Separti is complicated. The pluralist, gestalt identity nature of Ruah Ziva in Separti mysticism differs greatly from Huesca’s interpretation of the goddess Rhaetia. Ruah Ziva is worshiped not as a living god, but as the Last Saint & Prophet who acted as a vessel for the Godhead to forge the Oversoul of Rhaetiadan. For the Separti, the world is in its final stage where gradually all magic and faith will gravitate to the Oversoul until all of humanity is united under the One True God. For 700 years, the Order of Ruah Ziva was dedicated to this interpretation acting as willing vessels for the Breath of God to help shepherd the rest of Rhaetiadan to its collective salvation.

But with the fall of the Rhaetian Era, the Order of Ruah Ziva was face with a crisis of faith. Old Huesca, once bound with Separti in the worship of Ruah Ziva through Rhaetia, gradually declined before being deposed by the Ommiads in all but the hinterlands. The dual revolutions of Gevaur and Tworoika ripped both once proud kingdoms from God's light. No, it seemed, this world’s salvation was not yet assured. The flock needed to be led, by hook or by crook, back toward salvation. Thus the order of Ruah Ziva once again took up the role of The Conqueror, marshaling their forces in the ancient fortress monastery port of Ruach to build an army capable of one last grand cherem to safeguard mankind's apotheosis.

The Order of Ruah Ziva is the most jingoistic and zealous of the Separti sects now, waiting for the right moment for a grand confrontation that they hope will restore the world to the glory of when the Breath of God swept over the land. But the scale of such a confrontation would be near apocalyptic indeed, and it remains to be seen if they would emerge the better for it.

[salligora]

My character for our next campaign!

Hes an ex whaler (leviathan hunter, Dishonored hi) that was banished from the crew since he faced something eldritch in the deep sea and, uh, became weird (he ate his crewmate) Now hes just a goofball, shapeshifter and a slutty monstrous fish

[basiloknyl]

handmade 'Don't hug me I'm scared' dice set

[dailyadventureprompts]

Setting: The Kingdom of Xophena, Realm of the Pure

Though it is famed the world over for the piety of its people and the bravery of its knights, this kingdom holds a dark secret at its heart. If you were to see the scattering of fortress cities surrounded by horror haunted wilderness it would be all too easy to believe the legends: brave warriors sallying forth to do battle against the corruption that besieges them from all sides, slaying great foes and making great sacrifices in the name of defending the innocent. If you looked closer though you would see Xophena for all its faults, the fear by which its elite drive and dominate its populace, a tradition of martial glory that justifies any action or abuse of the warrior caste, a population forced to endure toil and abject subjugation or be exiled outside the walls.

Adventure Hooks:

While travelling through the realm of the pure as part of an ongoing quest, the party run into a retinue of outrider knights on their way to destroy a rampaging aberration hiding out in a gold mine. Some of the knights scoff at the party for being common sellswords, while others recognize them as fellow doogooders-at-arms. There's glory to be had if the party join them in their mission, and more importantly, potential reward and bragging rights.... if they can keep up, the mounted cavaliers aren't going to slow down on the party's behalf.

Xophen emissaries have made an appearance in the party's homeland, courting alliances, making trade deals, and generally putting their finger on the scales of power. Distrustful of too many good offers, the party's patron is planning on a visit to Xophena in the near future and would like them to come along as extra sets of eyes and ears. Renegade heroes have a habit of seeing through the haze of political bullshit.

Xophena would make a fascinating backdrop for a campaign, as Arthurian myth crashes into lovecraftian weirdness. The best place to start would be with the party as castoffs and exiles, eking out a living in one of the few hidden hamlets built by those outcast from the social order. How do they survive? When circumstances demand that they enter one of the fortress cities do they trick their way in, or beg favour from the sanctimonious powers that be? Can they last long enough to discover the secret that has bent the world into its current cruel shape?

Background: Only a few centuries ago Xophena was just like any other kingdom, periods of prosperity and stability that dissolved into infighting as the local warrior elite squabbled for position. That of course all changed when monsters known as the Delnbrood began to wriggle out of the earth like worms after rain, causing untold devastation and forcing a societal retreat to the increasingly fortified settlements dotted about the mountainous foothills. The fear and chaos of these years restructured Xophen society into a rigid hierarchy based around tradition, faith, and survival, which has only grown more ossified as time has gone on.

Both Xophen scripture and legend will tell you that the horrors that beset them began with a treasonous sorcerer Delndrek who sought to take the throne for himself through dishonorable means and darkest sorcery. He was opposed by Tanria brightspear, a saint of the everlight who foiled his every sly attempt to seize power, until at last she cornered him and forced his surrender. Ever the coward, Delndrek sacrificed his humanity rather than relinquish his ambition, becoming an indescribable abomination, that it took the bright speared saint five days to vanquish, dying in the process. It's said that the aberrations that beset Xophena today are born from where his tainted blood struck the earth.

Like many of the tales told about the realm of the pure, this story is a lie, gilded with just enough truth to make it stick in the people's memory. Delndrek wasn't just a sorcerer, but the sorcerer of the royal family, tasked with magicing away all the problems that backwoods dynasty couldn't solve through bloodshed or political marriage. The kingdom's goldmines had always been its lifeblood, and most of the fighting in those days about who could profit from what claim. Trouble was the royal family's mines were drying up, so they threw their pet mage at the problem said that if he didn't find a solution they'd torture him till they did. Dying mines and mounting stress forced Delndrek to look deeper and deeper for an answer, and eventually led him to communion with the outergod Jysh'parun who holds dominion over the secrets of mountains. A pact was struck, the mountains ate people and spat up gold, until eventually the saint found out and decided to put a stop to things.

Cut to today, and the dependants of that very same royal family are still trying to wriggle out of the pact they instigated, spending their people's lives to fill their coffers and fight back the creatures the outer god sends to assert dominion over the realm he was promised.

Setting Details:

The church of the everlight was always strong in Xophena, dating back half a millennia to when an adherent of hers was lost on a stormy sea for months and was only able to find land when the mist parted and he saw the dawn first alighting on one of the region's seaside peaks. The mountainous temple city of First Alight still serves as the heart of the region's faith.

That faith has become just as gaudy and hollow as the rest of the kingdom: Somewhere along the line it was decided that gold was the best way to demonstrate praise to Sarenrae, both in decorating her icons and paying to erect ever grander structures in her honour. While the common people pray for the hope and strength to lead them through lean times, their tithes go to fund an increasingly bloated clergy who spend their days finding reasons that the peoples' sinful nature forestalls their goddess's promised salvation.

You don't compose ballads calling your homeland "Realm of the Pure" unless you've got some hangups around cleanliness. Delndrek's corruption has touched more than the land, as aberrant sorceries and otherworldly mutations have begun to spring up among the populace. Those with influence do their best to hide these marks, those without are scapegoated, exiled, or made an example of.

For all their privilege and brainwashing, many of the realm's knights really do believe in the cause, having largely abandoned the ways of petty armed gentry and settling instead into martial orders. While they all compete to slay the most beasts and earn the most gallant reputation, it is a deepset longing among the knights to be able to find St. Tanria's lost spear, which in the right hands is said to be able to rid the land of its blight once and for all.

Arcane magic is viewed with suspicion in Xophena, as any rogue mage could be just another Delndrek waiting to happen. Exceptions are of course made for those spoken for by the nobility.

Art 1

Art 2

[catbatart]

I've got some sets, jumbos, single d20s, and mini sets remaining from this summer!

If you want them before Christmas, order them asap!

Definitely check them out!

[thesolemnhour]

"The sun on your house's heraldry--behind the swan--do you suppose it is rising or setting?" "I think it's all a matter of perspective."

Agria Lebeda in all her radiance by @new-austin

[hazoret]

Finally had enough orphan dice to make a new large batch of randomized dice sets for the shop! If you want a nice little sampling of the colors I offer at a much lower price now's your chance!

Check out my shop here!

[crownedinmarigolds]

Fangfest 2024 - Day Eighteen - The Star

"Rejoice! For He has been reborn in Her. The Father reforged in new flesh and blood, broken free from the prison of Duat and the siren's call of the Aeons. Rejoice! For the Herald of the Good Times is among us! Praise be unto Father Set, praise be unto Kahanni. Our time beneath the soil is coming to an end, my Kindred, and the great serpent will swallow the sun as a gift to Her and She will guide us at last to our rightful seats as the Gods of humanity." The Star represents inspiration, hope, opportunity and renewed faith. While Harrakhty and Parvati met and walked with Set, in modern nights the faith began to wane the longer He remained absent. When Parvati went mad at the awakening of Zapathasura and nearly slew the temple in her fury, Harri was near a breaking point - knowing his earthly gifts were finite and he could lose his treasures and his beloved in an instant. He needed something more, something real to remind him of his faith. When a young Giovanni necromancer came to him, begging him to save her Thinblood friend in exchange for providing him a flesh and blood child, how could Harri not see this as a sign from divinity? Kahanni is his miracle child, his treasure. She has a huge weight on her shoulders, but for the entirety of the Followers of Set, surely it's worth it in the end?

[lizardcatcreations]

Atomic Firestorm

like OG firestorm, but with neon orange numbers 🔥the numbers glow SO bright under a UV light!

[eliotbaum]

You seem to draw a lot of Curse of Strahd. Loving all of them. I don't play much DnD and prefer other games but Strahd sorta lowkey speaks to my goth soul. Would you recommend it?

HAHA I sure do. ty!!

So, based on my personal experience the answer would be yes and no. It's one of the stronger modules, if not the strongest DnD module out there, but running it just by the adventure book is not something I'd recommend; plot holes, disorganized, women often get the short end of the stick... There is a whole subreddit dedicated to improving it, adding things on top, and other sources and supplements to make it a fleshed out world with depth. It's very much a diamond in the rough LOL Either way earlier editions of DnD Ravenloft and the domains of dread provide more fun gothic horror to play around with so I recommend looking into all of that stuff! It's got all the classic tropes and is truly rather dark for DnD. Low fantasy, high stakes!

Since I haven't finished the game as a player yet and as such don't know the entire original plotline, if anyone feels like adding their thoughts, by all means!

[elavoria]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @theoneandonlysemla, @sylvienerevarine, and @sheirukitriesfandom over the last weeks, thank you! I tag you all back and also @dirty-bosmer, @nostalgic-breton-girl, @1helios1, and @illumiera. : )

More Pathfinder, but this time from a tabletop Wrath of the Righteous campaign spouse and I are putting together just for ourselves [and our numerous characters] on the side of the Shattered Star campaign. Here’s Pathfinder!Amaryllia during her first meeting with her new ancient evil lich bestie—and yes Isanna is here too; this iteration of her already went through the entirety of Shattered Star:

Amaryllia took his hand in both of hers and ran her thumbs across the blood-red tattoo, taking care to touch him only gently so as not to accidentally damage his paper-thin skin, taking care not to look too surprised by his hand’s unnatural pallor and lack of warmth. The powerful pulse of life that ran through her and imbued her with a radiantly healthy glow made the latter particularly—unfairly, she thought briefly—evident when their hands were joined, but it was easy enough to disguise her alarm as wonder, for the wickedly pointed marking that adorned his hand, robes, and staff intrigued her. “What is this symbol?” she asked, lifting her eyes to meet his only to become distracted again by the ioun stones circling his head. “Why, it’s the rune of wrath,” he answered, as surprised by the question as she was by the reality of his undeath. “Only fitting for a runelord of the same, don’t you think?” “It meant kindness, once,” Isanna said stiffly. Amaryllia spared her a glance, only to frown slightly at the distaste evident in the inquisitor’s glare. “Is that true?” she asked as she turned her attention back to the lich. “Yes,” he said, though not without hesitation. “Once.” “Then it can mean that again,” she suggested eagerly. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled into his, and he offered her a small, weary smile in return. “‘Once’, my dear,” Alderpash said with a gentle, almost begrudging fondness, “was a very, very long time ago.”

[morrigan-sims]

P:WotR Portraits: Wenduag & Daeran

I did the one for Wenduag back when I was testing her legs, but today I got the idea to recreate Daeran's portrait image. I think it turned out really well, even if the colors aren't quite right and the pose is a bit awkward.

[reference pics and alternate crop of Daeran's portrait under the cut]

[facelessporcelain]

[evergreen-femme]

current ttrpg character i really wanna play is a merfolk knight with like coral armor and a lot of flowing transparent fabric to give her a jellyfish theme, using a trident and small shield (dex build obviously). she was born in a monastery for wizards and their supporters (religion and arcane magic are strongly linked in the merfolk society) and raised to be a ‘librarian knight,’ traveling the world to search for magical secrets and lore to bring back to the underwater monastery. her involvement in whatever the plot ended up being would start as her pilgrimage to earn her place as a proper knight or whatever

[edains]

Ashley Williams's Andromeda Armory Remnant Reborn

[catbatart]

My Darker Depths dice are available on etsy!

These are hand painted dice- color shift light blue cracks on deep blue dice, inked in gold!

I have these available as a full set and a single d20!