On Deific Obedience

Deific Obedience and it’s successive/related feats open up for some very flavorful — and mechanical — benefits just for being devoted to a single deity. One of its limitations for coverting over our Forgotten Realms setting is that it requires a lot of expanded writeup of a given deity to become such a devoted servant. We will convert as needed/wanted, however a few things to simplify the system are below:

Deific Obedience Feat, et al: This is actually 5 feats that do essentially the same thing — open up your character to receive these boons and obligate them to perform according to the patron’s dogma. However the break points that they allow for different type of patrons is arbitrary, as are the entry level for each type of patron’s specific prestige class. This was geared toward Paizo’s assumption that most campaigns will revolve around “heroes” and good alignment, so the fiendish followers are given a slower entry and progression. This rule variant levels the playing field so all entry requirements and boon progressions are the same.

• Fiendish Obedience supercedes and replaces Demonic Obedience, and serves for any lower planar patron.
• Celestial Obedience and Monitor Obedience do not exist as a feat because in the Forgotten Realms only fiendish powers interlope as patrons.
• Diverse Obedience, Damned Disciple, Damned Soldier do not exist as a feat, and it doesn’t need to since each patron will only have one set of obediences.
• Entry levels on Prestige Classes are revised as below, with all of the classes prerequisites balanced for a same-entry level possibility.

Boons: Those who are obedient gain boons for completing their daily obediences and staying in accordance with their patron’s tenets. Many of the Golarion gods have three sets of boons for three different prestige classes that are meant for different focused characters (martial, divine or other); we don’t have time for that, so the first big sweeping change is each deity/fiend/other patron only has one set of divine boons that are gained with the character’s progression.

Progression: Houseruled to gain your first boon — barring any earlier gain from a archetype or prestige class — at 10th level, the second at 14th, and the last at 18th.

Trading Class Features: Divine casters may trade off one of the following (or its archetype replacement) for the Deific/Fiendish/Fey Obedience feat and their first boon:

• Cleric: One of their greater domain powers
• Warpriest: One of their greater blessings
• Inquisitor: 9th level Teamwork feat
• Oracle: 7th level revelation
• Paladin: Aura of Resolve
• Ranger: 9th level talent

Prestige classes

The prerequisites and benefits of each of the obedience prestige classes are revised as follows:

Evangelist

• Celestial Obedience, Deific Obedience, Fiendish Obedience, or Fey Obedience
• Base Attack Bonus +5 or 5 ranks Knowledge (religion) or 3rd-level divine spells.
• Must worship a singular divine being as a patron.

Exalted

• Celestial Obedience, Deific Obedience, Fiendish Obedience, or Fey Obedience
• Skill Focus (Knowledge [religion]) for deific or celestial, or Skill Focus (Knowledge [nature]) for fey, or Skill Focus (Knowledge [planes]) for fiendish.
• Diplomacy 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks.
• Must worship a singular divine being as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.
• Spell progression can advance either a divine or arcane base class as the player chooses.

Sentinel

• Celestial Obedience, Deific Obedience, Fiendish Obedience, or Fey Obedience
• Weapon Focus in patron’s chosen weapon.
• Base Attack Bonus +5 or Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks.
• Must worship a singular divine being as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.

Feysworn

• Fey Obedience
• Knowledge (nature) 5 ranks.
• Must worship a singular fey power as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.

Mystery Cultist, Proctor

• Is not available, because in Forgotten Realms celestial powers do not interlope to seek worship, nor do they have divine abilities nor bestow spells, etc.

Diabolist

• Fiendish Obedience
• Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks.
• Able to cast two conjuration spells of 3rd level or lower.
• Must worship a singular infernal duke as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.

Souldrinker

• Fiendish Obedience
• Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks
• Able to cast two nercomancy spells of 3rd level or below.
• Must worship a singular archfiend (daemon, demon, devil, et al) as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.

Demoniac

• Fiendish Obedience
• Intimidate 5 ranks, Knowledge (planes) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks
• Able to cast two enchantment spells of 3rd level or below.
• Must worship a singular demon lord as a patron.
• Must be wthin one step of the patron’s alignment.

Divine Obediences have also been added as an optional gain for our conversions of Arcane Devotee, Divine Champion, Divine Disciple, and Divine Seeker, and do not require an obedience feat as an entry requirement, rather they are a means to gain the feat and your first boon.

If you take a prestige class and gain one or more of your boons through a prestige class, and are later in another class’ progression at a character level you would gain a boon, you gain the next higher boon from the boon(s) you already possess. Thus for example, if the Divine Champion gains her first boon at level 9, at level 10, rather than your first boon, you will get the second boon from your patron.