[Golarion, Mythic Heroes] Gaining Divinity and the Divine Source ability

[Kol Korran]

Hey folks. I am running the Warath of the Righteous adventure path (My players will be reading this, so please no spoilers about what happens in the 3rd module and above). In the course of the path, the PCs gain Mythic rank, due to some major artifact imbuing them with it's powers.

The party has done quite impressive things, led an army to conquer an "unconquerable" fort, faced a deadly mythic trap and saved their troops and so on. They have gained some followers on the way (Not through the Leadership, but through roleplay). In short, they are becoming a legend fast, One of tyhem even have a small spreading cult to his name.

Some of my characters thought of maybe gaining the Divine Source mythic ability, which basically enables their followers to gain spells and domains, as if the characters were deities! This has sprung up some debate, and some questions arose, which I'd love if you could answer:

1) What are the sources of Divine spells and domains on Golarion? Are these only the gods, or are there other sources? I know demon lords can give spells, can other entities do that?

2) How does one gain deity status in Golarion? I vaguely remember some mortals gained it through going through some test in some... stone?... What are the ways to gain such a power in Golarion? I'd like to incorporate something into the game, some event or such for them gaining such power, not just "Oh, you gained a mythic tier".

3) Is it possible to worship a group of god, or a small pantheon in Golarion, or do you have to worship only a single god? If the entire party decides to take this, can they be considered a small pantheon? Or if two of them decide upon it?

4) The divine source requires the first two domains to be alignment domains. Is that really necessary for other deities? I've taken a quick look through major deities (I don't have much time now), and it seems that most grant their alignment domains, but one of my players insist that many do not. Would using other domains, that do showcase the character's personality and such, be harming the concept too much?

5) Anything else I should know about such matters of divine power and followers in Golarion?

Again, my players will be reading this, so if you refer to the adventure path, please don't include anything of the 3rd module or above) Thanks in advance, Kol.

[Erik Vale]

1: To my knowledge, only god like beings, such as [Specific outsider type, i.e. Kami, Oni, Demon.] lords and gods. Unless you can worship a creed/idea, in which case those as well. However, there is a place you can go to acquire godhood... One guy managed it while blind drunk.

2: There's a maze. Supposedly it's hard to do. Do something at the centre. Reawaken as a divinity.
Also, I think there's divine sponshership, if I remember the lore about Iomedae. Remembered wrong
Edit: Test of the Star Stone. Apparently many have attempted, 3 have been known to succeed, however a few more [unamed] have survived, not as demigods but by having fled with their riches.
The first test is crossing a bottomless pit. And the area is such that you always would have onlookers, and you'd make a spectacle trying to cross.

3: I'd have to check. It seems that you can, but you only get the power from one [the one you like most or the head I think. Unless you as the DM would make a 'Pantheon' sub god, choosing domains based on the ones available within the group and the group creed.]. I do know in lore there's nothing stopping you from worshiping pantheons, and there are even ways to get bonuses, but clerics only go to one deity rules wise.

4: No it wouldn't be.

5: Gods tend to be welcoming and an inclusive group, as you can tell by Asmodius working with Iomedae fairly often, despite the good/evil disparity, but mostly due to how lawful they are. However an uppity mortal starting to grant spells to too many people may make some of the evil [or good, if evil.] ones reach out to squash him/them, making it a good idea to become very close friends with one or more other gods.

[Oazard]

1) What are the sources of Divine spells and domains on Golarion? Are these only the gods, or are there other sources? I know demon lords can give spells, can other entities do that?

Any very powerful creature that reaches the demi-god level of power can grant divine spells. (Demon lords, Nascent Demon Lords, Empyreal LordsGoblin Heroes, etc.) Oh and in Golarion, you cannot worship a concept, your power must come from another creatures (or yourself with the right mythic abilities).

[/QUOTE]2) How does one gain deity status in Golarion? I vaguely remember some mortals gained it through going through some test in some... stone?... What are the ways to gain such a power in Golarion? I'd like to incorporate something into the game, some event or such for them gaining such power, not just "Oh, you gained a mythic tier".[/QUOTE]

There is many ways and being mythic is one of the easiest, I think. There is also the Starstone Test at Absolom that anyone can try to pass (but it's a bad idea if you are not particulary strong. ) : if my memory is good, the Starstone Test adapts to its challenger.

There is many other ways for mortals to reach godhood: become a legend for your race (Many racial deities, especially Goblin Heroes), be so angry when you die that you just ascend (Zyphus, best god ever), etc.

3) Is it possible to worship a group of god, or a small pantheon in Golarion, or do you have to worship only a single god? If the entire party decides to take this, can they be considered a small pantheon? Or if two of them decide upon it?

Many peoples on Golarion worship a pantheon (like the Empyreal Cult of Magnimmar), well near everyone (For example, Sailors while make an offrand to Besmara to avoid her retribution and to Gozreh for good weathers, etc.). But you can gain power from only one deity.

4) The divine source requires the first two domains to be alignment domains. Is that really necessary for other deities? I've taken a quick look through major deities (I don't have much time now), and it seems that most grant their alignment domains, but one of my players insist that many do not. Would using other domains, that do showcase the character's personality and such, be harming the concept too much?

Yes, every deities grant two alignment domains, except deities with a neutral component (NG, LN, etc.) who grant only one and True-Neutral deities who don't grant alignment domains at all. If your player doesn't want an alignment domain without being TN, you can suggest him to take "Beyond Morality" and choose TN for his Divine Source ability. One of my player did that.