The Order of Divine Light

 And here’s the Franciscan monastic order Angela belongs to.

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Order of Divine Light (NG)

Favored Weapon: Quarterstaff

Domains: Animal, Community, [Diplomacy] Good, Healing

Subdomains: [Agathion], Angels, Family, Flowing*, [Peace], Medicine, Restoration, Resurrection

Symbol Tau cross

Sacred Colors Green, orange

Celestial Obedience

Compose a piece of poetry about the wonders of nature, praising the divine in life and in every being and element, and recite it where there are only animals and plants to hear. Gain a +2 sacred bonus on your armor class as long as you are unarmored and unencumbered.

1. Instrument of Peace (Sp): calm animals 3/day, calm emotions 2/day, or mantle of calm 1/day

2. Instant Conversion (Sp): You may cast atonement as a standard action once per day.

3. Nature’s Herald (Su): You gain the Extra Revelation feat, choosing a revelation from either your chosen mystery or the Nature mystery. If you don’t have the revelation class feature, you instead gain the druid’s resist nature’s lure ability.

Dedicated Hierophant Path Ability: Animal Friend: If you have the wild empathy ability, you can use it as if your Charisma score was 4 points higher. If you don’t have it, you instead gain it as a druid of your character level. Bonus Path Ability: Mythic fascination (marshal)

Unique Spell Rules

Cleric/Oracle

Calm Emotions can be prepared as a 1st-level spell

Charm Person can be prepared as a 1st-level spell
Charm Monster can be prepared as a 4th-level spell

Druid

Charm Person can be prepared as a 1st-level spell
Calm Emotions can be prepared as a 2nd-level spell

Charm Monster can be prepared as a 4th-level spell

Inquisitor

Calm Emotions can be prepared as a 1st-level spell

Charm Person can be prepared as a 1st-level spell
Charm Monster can be prepared as a 4th-level spell

Shaman

Charm Monster can be prepared as a 4th-level spell

Feats

Command Animals, Wilding

Monotheism in Worldcenter

 How to deal with a “Catholic” setting in Pathfinder? Here’s what I did, and there are also some mythic abilities I gave to Angela.

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Monotheism in Worldcenter

The humans born in Worldcenter are largely monotheistic (though other faiths are not openly persecuted). The church’s structure closely resembles that of medieval Catholic church- there is one God only, but several saints that can be considered Empyreal Lords and originated different Orders of friars, nuns or priests with their own alignment, domains, edicts and rules. A saint and their order can have any good or neutral alignment (so evil priests are possible, but they will be fought if discovered by good and neutral church members). Each saint also grants their own Celestial Obedience to members of their order, but only God grants Deific Obedience. Other deities are variously considered as fiends, saints, or other aspects of God.

God himself (many believers like to consider him male, though some branches of theology disagree) is considered LG, but also NG and CG for the purposes of prerequisites and followers’ alignment, as he embodies all aspects of goodness. The different nuances of this are symbolized by the three chivalric orders that serve the throne: the Knights of the Lily (LG paladins), the Knights of Ivy (warpriests, CG) and the Knights of the Red Rose (cavaliers, mostly NG). The Knights of the Red Rose are secular cavaliers, but rumors have that there is a fourth secret order of NG inquisitors acting in shadows, the Knights of the Star. Characters of different classes can belong to all the Orders, but Evangelists, Exalteds, and Sentinels receive their powers from God rather than their patron saint. Oracles and shamans are seen with some suspicion as they tend to act outside the normal church hierarchy, but they can also be highly revered by people as mouthpieces of the Lord against the establishment, should it become corrupt.

God grants all domains except Evil, and all subdomains except Blood, Cannibalism, Corruption, Daemon, Demodand, Demon, Devil, Fear, Greed, Hatred, Kyton, Lust, Murder, Plague, Sakhil, Slavery, Torture, Tyranny, and Undead (these are mostly granted by the Devil). Some domains can be slightly modified to expunge spells and powers that are too “evil”. He grants all inquisitions except Crime, Possession, Sin and Torture. The only mysteries/spirits he doesn’t grant are Dark Tapestry and Godclaw (though the equivalent of Hellknights could think to receive their powers from him). God has not a favored weapon and priests do not follow special spell rules.

Deific Obedience

Offer to cast a beneficial spell for another creature without any benefit for you or your party coming from this, and ask the benefited creature not to tell anybody about your action. If you aren’t able to do that, meditate upon a sacred text of the faith, reciting the prescribed prayers among lectures. The lectures change for every day or the year. Always try to relate the teachings offered to your daily life and find some means to improve yourself. Gain a +4 sacred bonus on Diplomacy and Knowledge (religion) checks.

Evangelist

1: Peace Bearer (Sp) sanctuary 3/day, calm emotions 2/day, or remove blindness/deafness 1/day

2: Confessor Ally (Sp) Once per day as a standard action, you can summon a balisse angel to aid you. You gain telepathy with the angel to a range of 100 feet. The angel follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to its celestial home. The angel doesn’t follow commands that would cause it to violate its alignment by committing evil acts, and it could even attack you if the command is particularly egregious.

3: Life Font (Su) You gain the Extra Revelation feat, choosing a revelation from either your chosen mystery or the Life mystery. If you don’t have the revelation class feature, you instead gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus on saving throws against necromancy spells and death effects.

Exalted

1: Merciful Disciple (Sp) cure light wounds 3/day, lesser restoration 2/day, or remove disease 1/day

2. As a Lamb Among Wolves (Ex) Gain an armor bonus equal to your Charisma modifier (minimum +1) whenever you wear no armor. If you already possess the nature’s whispers revelation, add your Charisma bonus also to your Reflex saving throws. If you already possess the prophetic armor or sidestep secret revelations, add your Charisma bonus also to your CMD.

3: Faithful Servant (Su) Select two class features among the following: channel energy, domain, hexes, oracle curse, revelations, spirit, or spirit animal. You add your exalted level to your class level in the class granting the chosen class features for the purpose of determining their effects. You don’t gain any new abilities thanks to this boon. If you don’t possess any of these abilities, or if you already use them at your character level, you instead gain Believer’s Boon as a bonus feat, and may use it to gain either the1st-level or higher-level power of any domain once per day or one minute per day, whichever applies best.

Sentinel

1: Glorious Defender (Sp) celestial healing 3/day, blessing of courage and life 2/day, or wrathful mantle 1/day

2: Severe Guard (Ex) You gain Shared Judgment as a bonus feat. If you don’t have the judgment class feature, you instead gain it as an inquisitor of your character level, and may choose any 4 judgments from the inquisitor’s list to use.

3: Battlefield Absolution (Sp) judgement undone 1/day.

Dedicated Hierophant Path Ability: Hand of Mercy: At 3rd tier, you can select any mercy available to a 6th-level paladin to apply to your channel energy ability. At 6th tier, you can select any mercy available to a 9th-level paladin, and at 9th tier, you can select any mercy available to a 12th-level paladin. Bonus Path Ability: Mythic mercy (guardian).

Godling Path Ability

This should more appropriately be called “saint path ability” in this case.

Imbued Healing (Su) At 6th tier, when you cast a spell of the healing subschool, you can expend one use of mythic power to add the effect of one spell from your domain, mystery, or spirit magic spell list to the initial spell effect, as long as you may normally cast a spell of that level.

New Hierophant 1st Tier Path Ability

Coupled Graces (Su): Whenever you spend a standard action, move action, or swift action to activate a domain power, revelation, warpriest blessing, shaman spirit power, or shaman hex, you can also activate an ability that uses mythic power as a free action. The mythic ability you activate must require the same action type as the other ability you activated or faster (a swift action is faster than a move action, and a move action is faster than a standard action).

Lady Angela De Darkenthal, Oracle of Nature

Yet another time, I return to one of my most rethought and redone characters- this time, though, should really be the last one!

My greatest struggle in adapting Angela to Pathfinder was that she was modeled upon Franciscan monks- she should be able to talk with animals and go around without an armor. I decided very soon that the Oracle class was more in character than a Cleric for her, but I wanted to give her the Life mystery and that one had no revelations that add to armor class. Plus, she had to show a duality in her abilities, as the chosen of two different deities- one of life and compassion, one of love.

Finding and liking the flavor of the Spirit Guide archetype was a big step forward, but it took a long time to realize that I just had to swap her mystery and favored spirit bond to make her perfect. Nature oracles are the very Franciscan friars I was looking for, after all. Silly me.

So here she is. The Exalted prestige class gives her other abilities she needed, and retards her access to channel energy, that was not among her powers in my campaign/novel. Angela doesn’t see anymore a contradiction in her “serving two masters”, as she’s convinced that the goddess of love is only another aspect of the god she was taught to believe in. I also added Marshal to her Hierophant mythic path, to reflect her dual vocation and give her the ability to use mercies.

Some spirit names are from the series of Everyman Minis I wrote for Everybody Games. The deific boons Angela gains will be explained in the next post!

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Lady Angela de Darkenthal (CR 22)

Female middle–aged human exalted 10/oracle 9 (Spirit Guide)/hierophant-marshal 7

LG Medium humanoid (human)

Init +5, amazing initiative; Senses Perception +7

Aura aura of good

Defense

AC 34, touch 29, flat–footed 20 (+14 Charisma, +5 deflection, +5 natural). +4 when fighting defensively (peace creed)

hp 136 (19d8+19+28)

Fort +9, Ref +20, Will +18. +4 when fighting defensively (peace creed), +2 resistance vs. evil (protection from evil), +2 morale vs. fear and emotion effects (beacon of hope)

Special Defenses beacon of hope, force of will, hard to kill, mythic saves, recuperation, vitality; SR 21 (magic mantle)

Offense

Speed 30 ft.

Melee +5 compassionate holy peaceful quarterstaff +17/+12/+7 (1d6+4, +2d6 vs. evil creatures)

Special Attacks channel positive energy 8/day (10d6, DC 26), mythic power 17/day, surge +1d10

Spell–like Abilities (CL 19th, concentration +33)

Constant- protection from evil (self only)

At will detect evil; (spending mythic power)- entangle (DC 25), barkskin, plant growth, command plants, wall of thorns, repel wood, animate plants

3/day- cure light wounds

2/day- calm emotions (DC 26), lesser restoration

1/day- bless (CL 10), charm person (DC 25), protection from chaos, protection from evil; align weapon (good), align weapon (law), calm emotions (CL 10, DC 26), compassionate ally (DC 26), qualm (DC 26); charitable impulse (DC 27), create food and water (CL 10), magic circle against chaos, magic circle against evil, remove disease, suggestion (DC 27); forced repentance (DC 28), heroism, holy smite, imbue with spell ability (CL 10), order’s wrath; atonement, charm monster (DC 29), commune, dispel chaos, dispel evil (DC 29), telepathic bond (CL 10); blade barrier (DC 30), geas/quest, heroes’ feast (DC 10), hold monster (DC 30); dictum (DC 31), holy word (DC 31), insanity (DC 31), refuge (DC 10); mass cure critical wounds (DC 10); miracle (DC 10)

Oracle Spells Known (CL 19th, concentration +33)

9th Level (6/day): miracle (DC 33), overwhelming presenceM (DC 33), true resurrection

8th Level (8/day): euphoric tranquility (DC 36), greater angelic aspect, holy aura (DC 32), mass cure critical wounds, mass heal

7th Level (8/day): greater bestow curse (DC 31), greater restoration, hymn of peace (DC 35), mass cure serious wounds, resurrectionM

6th Level (9/day): banishment (DC 30), heal, heroes’ feastM, mass cure moderate wounds, symbol of persuasion (DC 30)

5th Level (9/day): atonement, break enchantment, breath of life, hymn of mercy (DC 33), mass cure light wounds, serenity (DC 33)

4th Level (9/day): bountiful banquet, brightest light, cure critical wounds, grove of respite, imbue with spell ability, purify body, restoration

3rd Level (9/day): accept afflictionM, create food and water, cure serious wounds, daylight, glyph of warding (DC 27), magic circle against evil, mantle of calmM (DC 31), neutralize poison, speak with plants

2nd Level (10/day): abeyance, barkskin, burst of radiance (DC 26), calm emotions (DC 30), compassionate ally (DC 26), cure moderate wounds, enthrallM (DC 32), lesser restoration, soothing word, touch of mercy (DC 30)

1st Level (10/day): bless, charm animal (DC 25), command (DC 31), compel hostility (DC 29), cure light wounds, detect undead, peace bond, protection from evil, sanctuaryM (DC 29), unbreakable heart

0–Level (at will): create water, detect fiendish presence, detect magic, detect poison, enhanced diplomacy, guidance, light, purify food and drink, read magic, resistance, stabilize, virtue

Mystery Nature; Spirit Life

Statistics

Str 8, Dex 6, Con 13, Int 19, Wis 24, Cha 38

Base Atk +13; CMB +12; CMD 36

Traits Redeemer, Touched By Divinity

Feats Blissful Spell, Brew Potion, Cry of Mercy, Deific Obedience, Dual PathM, Merciful Spell, Mythic Spell LoreM, PeacemakerM, Quicken Spell, Skill Focus (Knowledge/religion), Virtuous Creed (Mercy), Virtuous Creed (Peace), Voice of the SybilM

Skills Diplomacy +47/+50, Heal +29, Knowledge (history) +26, Knowledge (nature) +26, Knowledge (nobility) +16, Knowledge (religion) +36, Perform (oratory) +43, Sense Motive +29/+32, Use Magic Device +23

Languages Common, Celestial, church sacred language, Elven, Infernal, Sylvan

SQ binding ties 10/day (10 rounds), bonded spirit (heavens, life, lore, nature, passion, peace, salvation, spring, wood), divine boons (merciful servant, as a lamb among wolves, faithful servant [bonded spirit, oracle curse]), divine brand, enhanced cures, expanded portfolio [Community/Family], divine surge (inspired spell), marshal’s order (rally), obedience, oracle’s curse (legalistic), path abilities (beacon of hope, divine countenance, endless bounty, divine source x2 [Charm/Kindness, Good/Redemption, Law], master of mercy, mortal herald [Plant domain]), perform miracle, religious speaker, revelation (nature’s whispers), unity 1/day

Gear amulet of natural armor +5 (50,000 gp), cape of effulgent escape (14,000 gp), +5 compassionate holy peaceful quarterstaff (200,300 gp), dryad sandals (24,000 gp), headband of mental superiority +6 (144,000 gp), mantle of spell resistance (90,000 gp), psalms of forgiveness (300 gp), potion of magic vestment +5 (3,000 gp), ring of protection +5 (50,000 gp), staff of life (109,400 gp).

Thank you post to my patrons!

 It’s the first post of the month, so thank you to Ronald J Paris, Zabor, and Cecil Maye, my best donating patrons! Tomorrow on my Patreon page a new piece of content at patrons’ request!