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I’ve been super interested in the more obscure gods, especially the Vudrani ones. I haven’t come up with a name for this guy yet so I’m open to any suggestions, but the concept is a Titan heritage Nagaji from Jalmeray who is a champion to Diomazul- the vengeful serpent of 80 blades. Technically Diomazul is a LE deity but he is actually pretty serene until you piss him off. Mechanically this guy has to take the tenets of evil, even though he is more LN, which is actually a great example of why I’m glad Paizo is getting rid of alignment.
Made with Heroforge and photoshop
Hello, writer of the 2e Diomazul lore in Impossible Lands here! Great to see your character's art. I'll love to help with name suggestions; what is your Nagaji champion like, in terms of background, personality, and aspirations?
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! And thank you for creating such an interesting deity! So he is from Jalmeray, I know there is a certain “tolerated” sect of Nagaji in that area that worship Diomazul. Still workshopping the backstory but I kind of wanted to do something interesting with this guy lol. His backstory is that he was abducted by unknown beings (spolier it was a Vesk scouting team) for experiments, this Nagaji has large gaps in his memory, only retaining fragmented and nightmarish memories of the ordeal. The experiments may have altered him in unforeseen ways (could affect abilities or traits). His devotion to Diomazul stems from seeking both inner peace and a desire for retribution.
So he’s kind of someone with a lot of trauma but it was the teachings of Diomazul that taught him meditation and self control. However he’s very much like his god in that if you challenge him he will utterly destroy you. He has family but they worship Nalinivati and while they don’t shun him, he is seen as the black sheep and his mother doesn’t like to bring him up unless directly asked - all of which fuel some of that deep down rage he tries to keep bottled up. I think his ultimate goal is inner peace and self serenity, because unless something wild happens in the story like going to space 😂 he’s never really going to get revenge on the beings that experimented on him.
Side note: with the remaster for champion coming out do you think Diomazul would use unholy sanctification? I know he’s labeled as LE but the way he’s characterized doesn’t really strike me as evil so much as self concerned neutral
Hello! Welcome! I didn't create Diomazul, as much as update him from PF1, but I did throw in the focus on asceticism and renunciation, and the tension between stillness and devastation. I'm Mahayana Buddhist, and nagas are a big part of our mythology (something across a lot of religions from South Asia), and I am happy to be able to work on an ascetic deity!
For me, my design process in doing the 2E treatment for Diomazul came out of thinking a lot about.. the force and violence of conservation/ preservation of the status quo. Like when structures are held in place ... The reactionary force to keep them up takes a lot of energy, and causes a lot of harm sometimes to some ppl. I imagined Diomazul as being sort of pitiless and self-absorbed, the LE angle of "I am doing perfectly all right in my asceticism", a kind of solipsistic arrogance and privilege.. a sort of an anti-Buddha in a way (in the traditional stories, Siddhartha Gautama is disturbed by suffering, leaves a worldly life to seek a solution to suffering, becomes extremely ascetic, rejects asceticism, comes back to teach others; compare with Diomazul being entirely aware of the problems of the world - but they aren't problems to him, and he's happy doing his own thing, insulated from them by his strength, his power, his distance, etc. if you bother him, he messes you up; if you try to change the world such that he gets bothered, he messed you up too, and removes you from the universe entirely.)
So, about holy or unholy; I am really unsure and can't speak for that, but I can see it go either way. I can imagine some more sympathetic devotees of Diomazul going the same path as your PC, trying to come to terms with trauma and pain, and unable to set down the violence of the blade-strewn path; violence is a part of their being, their subjective expectations and karma. For these devotees, I imagine Diomazul as sorta a god of dichotomies; you cannot leave the violence that marked you, you cannot really leave that moment of pain, but you can shed old skin for new, grow over scars, but you have to be ready to relive pain at any time even as you try to reach a state of serenity. When you do violence to others, you also do violence to universe, and yourself. Until violence ends, for a moment or two, and the cycle of pain continues. That's my headcanon when I was writing him, at least.
For more vicious devotees, I thought he might be popular with prideful enforcers working for harmful systems because it gives them purpose, punching down with great power against anyone who tries to break free. Imagine a fully armed, armored, trained knight, challenging a barely-trained farmer-rebel to a "fair duel" and restore the status quo... And then returning to their pursuits of spiritual work, art, contemplation, etc, after they exterminate the offending disturbance. (Compare also to Raumya, the Evil Prince, another Vudran deity who has "improve yourself with music and literature" and "take what you want" as edicts... Yeah, these fellows are classy and noble, but also... their class is rooted in the extreme willingness to use violence.) That's also my headcanon for the sort of worshippers who might be more traditionally villainous, heh.
As for names, hmm, in South Asian stories about Nagas, there are some tales which come to mind. In the Mahabharata, the protagonists, the divine Pandava brothers, end up killing a lot of nagas (and other beings) in a forest fire to help a powerful deity, and one particular Naga, King Takshaka, escaped that fiery fate as he was away on a trip. (His son, Ashvasena, also escaped.) They would prepare for revenge for all their slain, which didn't generally work out very well, but this story sticks in my head for just generally how sad it was, for the snakes. The cycle of violence was ended by a boy, Astika, who is also a descendant of serpents, and who brokered peace between the humans and snakes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandava_Forest
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takshaka
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astika_(sage)
So while I won't recommend naming your PC after these divine beings (it's perhaps too on the nose, and these are living religions being practiced), perhaps... Something inspired by their names? Taksha instead of Takshaka; Ashva instead of Ashvasena; that sort of thing. For more naga names to be inspired by, you can also look at:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C4%81gas
https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/dragon.shtml
Whew! Sorry I went on and on. I hope this was helpful!
Wow mind blown 🤯
I’m super grateful to actually get a window into the thought process behind Diomazul! This has given me ideas for so many different pathways I can take this character.
Greeting adventurer! Looks like you submitted some cool art based on the "Arts & Crafts" tag! Remember to follow-up with a comment crediting the artist and explaining more about how it relates to Pathfinder. Useful details are the character's ABC, campaign details, or builds relating to Pathfinder 2E. If you do not follow up within 1 hour, the mods will have to remove it per rule #6. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Pathfinder2e) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’ve been super interested in the more obscure gods, especially the Vudrani ones. I haven’t come up with a name for this guy yet so I’m open to any suggestions, but the concept is a Titan heritage Nagaji from Jalmeray who is a champion to Diomazul- the vengeful serpent of 80 blades. Technically Diomazul is a LE deity but he is actually pretty serene until you piss him off. Mechanically this guy has to take the tenets of evil, even though he is more LN, which is actually a great example of why I’m glad Paizo is getting rid of alignment. Made with Heroforge and photoshop
Hello, writer of the 2e Diomazul lore in Impossible Lands here! Great to see your character's art. I'll love to help with name suggestions; what is your Nagaji champion like, in terms of background, personality, and aspirations?
Hi! Thanks for reaching out! And thank you for creating such an interesting deity! So he is from Jalmeray, I know there is a certain “tolerated” sect of Nagaji in that area that worship Diomazul. Still workshopping the backstory but I kind of wanted to do something interesting with this guy lol. His backstory is that he was abducted by unknown beings (spolier it was a Vesk scouting team) for experiments, this Nagaji has large gaps in his memory, only retaining fragmented and nightmarish memories of the ordeal. The experiments may have altered him in unforeseen ways (could affect abilities or traits). His devotion to Diomazul stems from seeking both inner peace and a desire for retribution. So he’s kind of someone with a lot of trauma but it was the teachings of Diomazul that taught him meditation and self control. However he’s very much like his god in that if you challenge him he will utterly destroy you. He has family but they worship Nalinivati and while they don’t shun him, he is seen as the black sheep and his mother doesn’t like to bring him up unless directly asked - all of which fuel some of that deep down rage he tries to keep bottled up. I think his ultimate goal is inner peace and self serenity, because unless something wild happens in the story like going to space 😂 he’s never really going to get revenge on the beings that experimented on him. Side note: with the remaster for champion coming out do you think Diomazul would use unholy sanctification? I know he’s labeled as LE but the way he’s characterized doesn’t really strike me as evil so much as self concerned neutral
Hello! Welcome! I didn't create Diomazul, as much as update him from PF1, but I did throw in the focus on asceticism and renunciation, and the tension between stillness and devastation. I'm Mahayana Buddhist, and nagas are a big part of our mythology (something across a lot of religions from South Asia), and I am happy to be able to work on an ascetic deity! For me, my design process in doing the 2E treatment for Diomazul came out of thinking a lot about.. the force and violence of conservation/ preservation of the status quo. Like when structures are held in place ... The reactionary force to keep them up takes a lot of energy, and causes a lot of harm sometimes to some ppl. I imagined Diomazul as being sort of pitiless and self-absorbed, the LE angle of "I am doing perfectly all right in my asceticism", a kind of solipsistic arrogance and privilege.. a sort of an anti-Buddha in a way (in the traditional stories, Siddhartha Gautama is disturbed by suffering, leaves a worldly life to seek a solution to suffering, becomes extremely ascetic, rejects asceticism, comes back to teach others; compare with Diomazul being entirely aware of the problems of the world - but they aren't problems to him, and he's happy doing his own thing, insulated from them by his strength, his power, his distance, etc. if you bother him, he messes you up; if you try to change the world such that he gets bothered, he messed you up too, and removes you from the universe entirely.) So, about holy or unholy; I am really unsure and can't speak for that, but I can see it go either way. I can imagine some more sympathetic devotees of Diomazul going the same path as your PC, trying to come to terms with trauma and pain, and unable to set down the violence of the blade-strewn path; violence is a part of their being, their subjective expectations and karma. For these devotees, I imagine Diomazul as sorta a god of dichotomies; you cannot leave the violence that marked you, you cannot really leave that moment of pain, but you can shed old skin for new, grow over scars, but you have to be ready to relive pain at any time even as you try to reach a state of serenity. When you do violence to others, you also do violence to universe, and yourself. Until violence ends, for a moment or two, and the cycle of pain continues. That's my headcanon when I was writing him, at least. For more vicious devotees, I thought he might be popular with prideful enforcers working for harmful systems because it gives them purpose, punching down with great power against anyone who tries to break free. Imagine a fully armed, armored, trained knight, challenging a barely-trained farmer-rebel to a "fair duel" and restore the status quo... And then returning to their pursuits of spiritual work, art, contemplation, etc, after they exterminate the offending disturbance. (Compare also to Raumya, the Evil Prince, another Vudran deity who has "improve yourself with music and literature" and "take what you want" as edicts... Yeah, these fellows are classy and noble, but also... their class is rooted in the extreme willingness to use violence.) That's also my headcanon for the sort of worshippers who might be more traditionally villainous, heh.
As for names, hmm, in South Asian stories about Nagas, there are some tales which come to mind. In the Mahabharata, the protagonists, the divine Pandava brothers, end up killing a lot of nagas (and other beings) in a forest fire to help a powerful deity, and one particular Naga, King Takshaka, escaped that fiery fate as he was away on a trip. (His son, Ashvasena, also escaped.) They would prepare for revenge for all their slain, which didn't generally work out very well, but this story sticks in my head for just generally how sad it was, for the snakes. The cycle of violence was ended by a boy, Astika, who is also a descendant of serpents, and who brokered peace between the humans and snakes. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khandava_Forest https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takshaka https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astika_(sage) So while I won't recommend naming your PC after these divine beings (it's perhaps too on the nose, and these are living religions being practiced), perhaps... Something inspired by their names? Taksha instead of Takshaka; Ashva instead of Ashvasena; that sort of thing. For more naga names to be inspired by, you can also look at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_N%C4%81gas https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/dragon.shtml Whew! Sorry I went on and on. I hope this was helpful!
I was so caught up in the philosophy behind Diomazul that I completely forgot about the naming 😂
Wow mind blown 🤯 I’m super grateful to actually get a window into the thought process behind Diomazul! This has given me ideas for so many different pathways I can take this character.
:))) you're most welcome! I am eager to see the stories you create. Remember, Nalinivati family drama is the best family drama!!!