| Iomedae | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| Details | |||||
Pantheon |
Core Deities | ||||
Alignment |
Lawful good | ||||
Cleric alignment(s) |
LG, NG, LN | ||||
| Glory, Good, Law, Sun, War | |||||
Favored weapon |
Longsword | ||||
Iomedae is one of Pathfinder's deities.
Background[ | ]
At just over 900 years old, Iomedae is the youngest of the major deities of Golarion, and has only begun to reach her full potential as an independent deity in the last century. She is a righteous knight, fearless in fighting for her beliefs, and a missionary and crusader on behalf of the benign sovereignty of good and merciful justice for evil. She would rather convince evildoers to lay down their arms in honorable surrender than cut them down, but she will wield her mighty sword against those who persist in serving evil. She loathes incorrigible evil, fiend-spawn, traitors, and those who abuse good in the name of "greater" good. Now out from under the shadow of her patron, the slain human culture deity Aroden, she has proven she needs no mentor to guide her — she is valor, glory, honor, justice, and strength, and is unafraid to point her sword at the greatest evils facing the world.
Despite her youth and comparative late start, she has been instrumental in fighting evil in the world, even during her mortal lifetime as a paladin of Arazni (and, after that demigod's death, Aroden himself). Born a mortal in Cheliax, she led the Knights of Ozem in a series of victories over the Whispering Tyrant, and participated in his imprisonment. Success in the Test of the Starstone a short time later granted the valiant swordswoman a spark of divinity and brought her to the attention of Aroden, who elevated her to the position of his herald, vacated by the fallen Arazni. When the Last Azlanti died, Iomedae inherited most of his remaining followers. Though born in Cheliax, she is worshiped by many people outside that land, and most recently has taken up patronage of the Mendevian Crusades. Once the crusaders have succeeded in ending the expanding threat of the Worldwound, she plans to inspire them to wipe her homeland free of its diabolical taint.
Iomedae's avatar appears as a fierce Chelish swordswoman, resplendent in gleaming battle armor with heraldic markings, and brandishing a longsword and shield. When she is roused to battle, her white cloak turns red and her white-and-gold armor turns the silver-gray of adamantine. The light from her shield blinds all evil, the force of her aura causing the corrupt to weaken and collapse. She shows her approval of mortals by making mundane objects take on swordlike forms, bathing her chosen warriors in mysterious white or golden lights, and exerting a compass-like pull on longswords to guide her servants. Common folk pushed to defend themselves may happen upon an old, rusty blade that still has the strength of a new weapon and grows shinier the more it is used in the name of justice and honor. The Inheritor shows her displeasure by flickering lights, shattering weapons, and turning metal dull. In the rare cases where one of her paladins embraces evil, it is said that the traitor's cloak shifts to black and his shining metal armor and sword turn to dull lead.
As the major deity who was most recently mortal herself, the Inheritor has a strong empathic sense of human frailties and the costs of oppression. She ensures that her temples are havens for the weak and the overlooked, and many who initially come to her for refuge go on to become great warriors. Iomedae is both fiercely martial and adamantly feminine, and commands the respect of any deity who deals with her. She expects her mortal servants to exercise courtesy and receive the same in their dealings with one another.
The Inheritor's holy symbol is "the sword of valor," a longsword surrounded by a burst of light, whether sunlight, fire, or some other energy. She is associated with lions, horses, eagles, griffons, and hippogriffs. The primary title she uses is the Inheritor, though the Knights of Ozem call her the Light of the Sword.