Pathfinder Codex

Zyphus

The Grim Harvestman, The Harbinger of Unexpected Tragedy, Most Hated Rival of Pharasma

PFS Legal

Pantheon

Other Deities

Portrait of Zyphus

Zyphus (pronounced ZIE-fess or ZAI-FUSS) is the malignant god of accidental death. A bitter enemy of the goddess Pharasma, he is worshiped by small cults throughout Golarion. These groups foment tragedy and bring about accidents in the hopes of strengthening the power of their god. His religious symbol is a pick made from a human skull, rib, and femur.

Alignment
NE
Nationality
Kelishite
Areas of Concern
Accidental death, graveyards, tragedy
Favored Weapon
Heavy pick
Symbol
Pick axe made of bones
Sacred Animals
Vulture
Sacred Colors
Ivory, red
Worshipers
Bitter sufferers of tragedy or loss
Worshipper Alignments
N , LE , NE , CE
Realms
Bloodrot, Abaddon
Centers of Worship
Galt, Nidal, Qadira, Taldor, Ustalav, Varisia

Edicts

Encourage deadly accidents by performing acts of sabotage or through faulty design, seek out instances of tragedy and foster ill will in the surviving victims, spread the belief that life is pointless since it all ends in the pain of death

Anathema

Engineer the same accident twice in a row, knowingly provide aid to a Pharasmin, spread hope or optimism (particularly in the face of a tragedy)

Obedience

Spend an hour sitting on the grave of someone who suffered an accidental death. You must reflect on how chance has wronged you and vocally reject the influence of any gods associated with these wrongs. If no suitable grave exists, spend an hour telling strangers how their religious beliefs and hopes for a just afterlife are folly and of no consequence. Alternatively, you can write this screed and post it in a public place within a settlement. If you’re away from civilization, you can instead spend an hour sabotaging a path, bridge, tool, or other device so that it’s dangerous for the next person who uses it. You gain a +4 profane bonus on Craft (traps) or Disable Device checks, chosen when you complete the obedience.

Antipaladin Code

The antipaladins of Zyphus are stealthy, and in emulation of their cruel patron deity, they’re obsessed with sowing death at the most unexpected and shocking moments. Few appear openly on the field of battle except when they impersonate followers of Gorum to incite maximum collateral damage in a skirmish or war. Although all adhere to Zyphus’s tenets, they vary in which parts of the code they emphasize. These tenets include the following adages.
  • Happiness is ignorance. I will never hide the truth of anguish.
  • I am an agent of unpredictable death. I will announce my murderous intentions only to Zyphens and those I will immediately kill.
  • Mercy is pointless. I will not stay my hand when I can slay my enemies.
  • Prophecies are empty promises. I will pay no heed to fortune-telling.
  • Tragedy must spread. I will first hurt those whose pain will also hurt many others, whether because they are beloved or because they will wreak reckless vengeance.

Boons

Deific Obedience

Required feat: Deific Obedience

Evangelist

Source: Inner Sea Faiths

PFS Legal

Champion of Cruel Chance (Sp)
deathwatch 3/day, false life 2/day, or healing thief 1/day
Resiliency (Ex)
Once per day, you can gain a number of temporary hit points equal to your Hit Dice, lasting for 1 minute. Activating this ability is an immediate action that can be performed only when you would be brought below 0 hit points, and can be used to prevent you from dying. If you have the resiliency ability from another source, you can activate these abilities separately or as part of the same immediate action.
Tragic Minion (Su)
By spending 1 minute praying over the corpse of a humanoid opponent or a humanoid who has died a tragic death, you can summon an allip (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 12) to serve you. Unlike a normal allip, this allip is of an alignment that matches yours, and has a number of hit points equal to half your total. It receives a +4 bonus on Will saves to halve the damage from channeled positive energy, and it can’t be turned or commanded. This allip serves as a companion to you and can communicate intelligibly with you despite its madness. You can dismiss it as a standard action. If the allip is destroyed or dismissed, you can’t summon another for 7 days. This ability allows you to have only one allip companion at a time.
Exalted

Source: Inner Sea Faiths

PFS Legal

Catalyst of Destruction (Sp)
break 3/day, find traps 2/day, or spiked pit 1/day
Ever Vigilant (Su)
Protected by Zyphus from a surprising death while you still have work to do for him, you’re resistant to effects that attack your life force or would affect you before you have a chance to react. You are protected by death ward, except the immunity to energy drain ends after it has prevented a number of negative levels equal to your exalted level; this resets when you next perform your obedience. You gain a +2 profane bonus on saving throws against effects that occur before your first turn in combat.
Visitor from Abaddon (Sp)
Once per day as a standard action, you can summon a pair of greater ceustodaemons (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 65) as if with summon monster II, and gain telepathy with them to a range of 100 feet. The ceustodaemons follow your commands perfectly for 1 round per Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to their home on Abaddon. The ceustodaemons don’t follow commands that would cause them to perform overly good acts or save mortal lives other than your own, and they immediately vanish if your orders contradict these restrictions.
Sentinel

Source: Inner Sea Faiths

PFS Legal

Walking Disaster (Sp)
Tragic Accident (Su)
You have a deep understanding of the Grim Harvestman’s lordship over accidental death, and can unleash these accidents on your enemies. Once per day as part of a successful attack, you can target your opponent with either inflict critical wounds or poison as a free action. The DC for this ability is equal to 10 + 1/2 your Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier. You don’t have to declare the use of this ability until you know the attack is successful.
Unfairness of the World (Su)
Once per day, you can channel all of your outrage through your weapon, afflicting your opponent with deadly negative energy. You must declare your use of this ability before you roll an attack. On a hit, the target gains a number of negative levels equal to 3 + 1/2 your Hit Dice unless it succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw (the DC for this ability is the same as your tragic accident DC). If you openly wear an unholy symbol of Zyphus, the saving throw DC to resist this effect increases by 2.

Domains

Death, Destruction, Evil, Plant, War

Subdomains

Blood, Catastrophe, Daemon, Decay, Murder, Thorns, Undead

Spells Requiring Worship

Curse of Unexpected Death

Unique Summon Rules

Source: Pathfinder #89: Palace of Fallen Stars

Unique Spell Rules

Source: Inner Sea Faiths

PFS Legal

Cleric, Warpriest

  • Daze : can be prepared as a 0-level spell
  • Mage Hand : can be prepared as a 0-level spell
  • Bungle : can be prepared as a 1st-level spell
  • Spectral Hand : can be prepared as a 2nd-level spell