Tsukiko's religion

[hewhosaysfish]

It's not something I'd thought about until now but...

What god does Tsukiko serve?

She is a Mystic Theurge so she must have divine casting; she's certainly not a druid; and Rich has expressed an unwillingness to venture into rules territory too far out of core (or SRD as the case may be), in case too many of his readers would be unable to follow...

So signs would seem to point to Cleric. But Cleric of who or what?

RAW allows for clerics to follow a cause instead of an actual personified deity, so that's one alternative.
(I guess there's some mileage for humor, too. Imagine Durkon's confusion at the idea of praying to the concept of 'undeath' and it answering. Imagine V's ire at the notion that someone can be granted magical power by just anything the believe in strongly enough.)

The other alternative is that she follows one of the gods of OotSworld. Which evil (or evilish) gods do we know about that fit the bill?

Loki: A Northern god. Isn't Tsukiko Azurite?
Rat: Apparently the evil on of the Southern pantheon but are the 12 usually worshipped as a whole?
Dark One: She's not a goblin.
Tiamat: She's not a dragon (or wannabe-dragon kobold).
??

Anyone got any thought?

[Ancalagon]

Probably one of the evil ones from the twelve gods. Rat seems likely.

Yet, we do not know for sure how divine-non-cleric magic in OotS works (who do druids cast their magic? We don't know).

[AgentofOdd]

In this universe, it seems that just being a champion of the undead (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0080.html) is enough for Tsukiko to cast clerical spells. Of course, random evil deity is also a legit guess.

[Morquard]

I really think, being a cleric for the cause of the undead or whatever would fit Tsukiko far more than some god.
Or well she could be some really obscure divine class thats not core, but my money is on cleric for a cause.

[Ancalagon]

Thing is, you aren't a "cleric to a cause" and suddenly get spells as present from some god.
You either are a cleric of a god or are not.

Either Tsukiko does get her spells from a god or it works differently (as for druids). You could argue divine magic could be learned in certain cases just as arcane magic.

[Kranden]

She gets her magic from the unholy god of plot related npc's

[Melamoto]

Thing is, you aren't a "cleric to a cause" and suddenly get spells as present from some god.
You either are a cleric of a god or are not.

Either Tsukiko does get her spells from a god or it works differently (as for druids). You could argue divine magic could be learned in certain cases just as arcane magic.

Not so. If a cause has enough followers and people who believe in it, then it can grant divine power to those who tap into its energies. Or at least, that's how I choose to feel the "Cause Cleric" work. It can be done by RAW, and was already brought up by Elan, so it is perfectly justified in-universe.

[Ancalagon]

We don't know. We simply don't know. Could be, could also not be.

[Sereg]

Tsukiko being a cleric of Rat is a common theory. I happen to like it and it's important to the plot in the multi-part fanfic I'm currently writing about her in the crack-pairings thread.

[amuletts]

She could be a cleric of Hel (Loki's daughter) though given the local panthion Rat is more likely I guess...

[Zherog]

Thing is, you aren't a "cleric to a cause" and suddenly get spells as present from some god.
You either are a cleric of a god or are not.

In the core 3.5 books, you do not have to worship a deity. The SRD has this bit of text:


Deity, Domains, and Domain Spells: A cleric’s deity influences his alignment, what magic he can perform, his values, and how others see him. A cleric chooses two domains from among those belonging to his deity. A cleric can select an alignment domain (Chaos, Evil, Good, or Law) only if his alignment matches that domain.

If a cleric is not devoted to a particular deity, he still selects two domains to represent his spiritual inclinations and abilities. The restriction on alignment domains still applies.

Each domain gives the cleric access to a domain spell at each spell level he can cast, from 1st on up, as well as a granted power. The cleric gets the granted powers of both the domains selected. With access to two domain spells at a given spell level, a cleric prepares one or the other each day in his domain spell slot. If a domain spell is not on the cleric spell list, a cleric can prepare it only in his domain spell slot.

(underlining mine)

I'm not in front of my books at the moment, but I believe the PHB has more than this little two-sentence blurb on the subject.

[Roland Itiative]

Hades, of the Gods of the East! (:durkon::Whoa, thar, Gods o' tha East? Never heard o' em.)

[SoC175]

Either Tsukiko does get her spells from a god or it works differently (as for druids). In OotS-world druids get their spells from a deity

[The Blackbird]

Tsukiko has used none core before now, maybe she's a cleric of Evening Glory.:smalltongue:
Though that would encourage her being undead herself.

[Mastikator]

Thing is, you aren't a "cleric to a cause" and suddenly get spells as present from some god.
You either are a cleric of a god or are not.

Either Tsukiko does get her spells from a god or it works differently (as for druids). You could argue divine magic could be learned in certain cases just as arcane magic.

A cleric of cause draws divine energy from an outer plane corresponding to his cause. So yes, clerics of cause do not not get spells as presents from some god. They get it from their cause.

Probably. I just made that up.
But it makes sense :P

[NerfTW]

I would assume she worships the god of death. Whichever member of the twelve gods covers that domain would likely be her god.

[DeltaEmil]

In OotS-world druids get their spells from a deityReally? Which strip would that be? The only druids I know of are Lirian and Leeki Windstaff, and they haven't alluded to get their spells from a deity. At least in the public strips.

[AceOfFools]

Really? Which strip would that be? The only druids I know of are Lirian and Leeki Windstaff, and they haven't alluded to get their spells from a deity. At least in the public strips.

SoD has a goddess complaining about her clerics not being able to use high level magic.

OtOH, they could just be druids that happened to worship her, and she was concerned.

[Ancalagon]

SoD has a goddess complaining about her clerics not being able to use high level magic.

That stands for all low-level-clerics.

[Raging Gene Ray]

Hades, of the Gods of the East! (:durkon::Whoa, thar, Gods o' tha East? Never heard o' em.)

An interesting idea: the Snarl can kill gods...but can it prevent those gods from being raised as undead?

Sweet zombie Zeus!

[NerfTW]

An interesting idea: the Snarl can kill gods...but can it prevent those gods from being raised as undead?

Sweet zombie Zeus!

The Snarl "unmakes" those it "kills". They no longer exist to be raised.

[Raging Gene Ray]

The Snarl "unmakes" those it "kills". They no longer exist to be raised.

But is being turned into an undead the same as being raised? Does the soul need to exist at all?

Furthermore, the Snarl unmakes mortals' souls and kills gods, but can it unmake gods' souls? Probably...but still...frickin' zombie Zeus, man!

[Zeta Kai]

Hades, of the Gods of the East! (:durkon::Whoa, thar, Gods o' tha East? Never heard o' em.)

Hades the deity wasn't definitively evil, at least in the original mythology. He tended to do less jerkish things than this brothers, anyway. It's only modern sensibilities that make it convenient to label him evil. Hades the place wasn't even all bad; it was a catch-all afterlife destination, where everyone went. In fact, the two main parts of Hades-the-place were the pit of Tartarus (our modern concept for hell), & the fields of Elysium (a sort of pastoral heaven). Both parts were on the other side of the River You-Should-Know-the-Name-of-This-One-Already.

[Kobold-Bard]

Hades the deity wasn't definitively evil, at least in the original mythology. He tended to do less jerkish things than this brothers, anyway. It's only modern sensibilities that make it convenient to label him evil. Hades the place wasn't even all bad; it was a catch-all afterlife destination, where everyone went. In fact, the two main parts of Hades-the-place were the pit of Tartarus (our modern concept for hell), & the fields of Elysium (a sort of pastoral heaven). Both parts were on the other side of the River You-Should-Know-the-Name-of-This-One-Already.

Deities and Demigods has him a L/E, just doing what needs to be done; in this case collecting the souls of the dead. His avatars are basically Marut's, they go out and collect the souls of those who evade death.

I like Rat as her God, or maybe she draws divine power from her unwavering love of the undead, like a demented version of a Paladin who draws power from unwavering courage and all that.

[SoC175]

That stands for all low-level-clerics. It's one deity complaining about his clerics to which annother deity answers that her druids are just as lame

[Asta Kask]

I like Rat as her God, or maybe she draws divine power from her unwavering love of the undead, like a demented version of a Paladin who draws power from unwavering courage and all that.

The Horned Rat? The Council of Thirteen shall not fail!!!

[Alysar]

She could be a Favored Soul.

Please correct me if it doesn't work that way.

[Ancalagon]

like a demented version of a Paladin who draws power from unwavering courage and all that.

Bringing up the question where a paladin in the OotS-world might get his power from is not always a wise thing to do. It risks large debates.

I, for one, think, as Miko shows, the gods are directly in control about and responsible for some Paladin's power.

[Kobold-Bard]

She could be a Favored Soul.

Please correct me if it doesn't work that way.

She could be, but she seems like the kind to favour versatility. FS would be too restricting.

[pendell]

The Snarl "unmakes" those it "kills". They no longer exist to be raised.

Wait wait wait wait ... Xykon was thrown into the snarl, wasn't he? His soul was in his body, right?

So how did his soul get back to the philactery instead of being instantly 'unmade' upon contact with a snarl? By the description , he should have been completely and irrevocably destroyed, philactery or no, when he came into contact with the Snarl. But it didn't happen. So what's going on here?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Kish]

Wait wait wait wait ... Xykon was thrown into the snarl, wasn't he?
No, nowhere near. He was thrown into the ward Dorukan had put over his Gate.

[Kobold-Bard]

Wait wait wait wait ... Xykon was thrown into the snarl, wasn't he? His soul was in his body, right?

So how did his soul get back to the philactery instead of being instantly 'unmade' upon contact with a snarl? By the description , he should have been completely and irrevocably destroyed, philactery or no, when he came into contact with the Snarl. But it didn't happen. So what's going on here?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

:smallconfused:

If you mean in Dorukan's Dungeon he hit Dorukan's sigils and wards, not the Snarl.

Edit: Can you believe it, I used to think ninjas were cool :smallannoyed: :smalltongue:

[NerfTW]

Wait wait wait wait ... Xykon was thrown into the snarl, wasn't he? His soul was in his body, right?

So how did his soul get back to the philactery instead of being instantly 'unmade' upon contact with a snarl? By the description , he should have been completely and irrevocably destroyed, philactery or no, when he came into contact with the Snarl. But it didn't happen. So what's going on here?

Respectfully,

Brian P.

As pointed out, that was the wards and defenses, not the Snarl. The Snarl has NOT appeared yet in the "present" time of the strip. Had anyone breached the defenses, they likely would have seen the same thing Blackwing saw, a second planet. For whatever reason, the Snarl has been dormant for now.

The bonus strip in Dungeon Crawling Fools involving a goblin entering the gate is also very clearly referring to the sigil blasting him, not the Snarl.

[mucat]

Tsukiko could simply be a cleric of the Twelve Gods, attuned to the darker side of the pantheon.

The good-aligned clerics and paladins serve the Twelve Gods as a whole, even though one or more of the Twelve seem to be evil. Presumably they recognize the need for some sort of cosmic balance, even while they themselves channel and emulate the good aspects of the gods. There could just as easily be neutral or evil clerics of the Twelve, recognizing and respecting the whole pantheon, but patterning themselves after its darker aspects.

Of course, the moment I said "respecting", the chances that I'm describing Tsukiko fell to near zero...