Pathfinder Religion Guide: Psychopomps

My latest Religion Video focuses on the Psychopomps of the Boneyard. Today we look at common psychopomp types as well as a bunch of Psychopomp demigods.
▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
0:00 - Intro & Preamble
4:18 - Breeds of Psychopomps
9:12 - Psychopomp Ushers
11:39 - Atropos
12:45 - Barzahk
13:48 - Ceyannan
15:22 - Dammar
16:23 - Imot
17:53 - Mother Vulture
18:47 - Mrtyu
20:16 - Narakaas
21:41 - Pale Horse
23:09 - Phlegyas
24:21 - Saloc
25:37 - Tashallas
27:09 - Vale
27:55 - Vavaalrav
28:58 - Vonymos
And don't forget to Like & Subscribe!
CREDITS
The large high-res map I use is not a Paizo official map, but the work of the incomparable Rob McCaleb ( www.artstation.com/robmccaleb ) used here with their gracious permission.
Content for this video came from "Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Concordance of Rivals"
If you enjoyed this video, please support Paizo publishing by purchasing this product or others.
paizo.com/products/btq01x4d
#paizo #pathfinder #golarion #innersea #roleplaying #rpg #history #lore #d&d #psychopomps #boneyard #psychopompushers

[@SofaKingDead]

Their realm is a patchwork landscape made up of thousands of painful memories of home. WOW that is just good writing, beautiful and evocative.

[@hun1on138]

One of the oldest beings in the pathfinder universe being very petty and a sore loser brings me joy.

[@lannydunagan3628]

I literally just introduced psychopomps. One of the players where killed by level drain and the player was curious on how to be resurrected the wizard researched the idea of turning the dead player into a duskwalker

[@TheMythKeeper]

Awesome, I love a timely vid!

[@RyanVonAegir]

After getting into Pathfinder and playing Wrath of the righteous, I wish the game had included Psychopomps as a Mythic Path. They seem so interesting. Excited to see this video so I can learn more about them!

[@TheMythKeeper]

They absolutely should have!

[@Raezialien]

And add the prestige class of Mortal Usher

[@ForevertheElf]

As someone who has recently started running Mummy's Mask for my first delve into Pathfinder, I'm very intrigued by Psychopomps, as a few show up there.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Yep, and they're dotted all over the Pathfinder 'verse in general

[@ColinGrym]

This was a nice video to see because I agree with your opening statement that Psychopomps help set Pathfinder apart. So basically I get the impression that Psychopomps are the mechanics of the multiverse. They keep things ticking along smoothly and you only see them when things have gone wrong. And fixing it may involve a lot of expensive deconstruction. I'm guessing they don't like the Alghollthu/Aboleths sidestepping the normal cycle given the communal nature of their shared soul. It's satisfying to have a neutral faction so developed since death is arguably more universal than good/evil/law/chaos given that everything dies. If the domains of deities and lords are defined by the concerns/qualities of conscious creatures then certainly those dealing with the death-rebirth cycle would have to exist. On a completely unrelated note, have you ever read Kill Six Billion Demons? I just found out about it, and it's a beautifully illustrated webcomic with locations and creatures that would be excellent material for planar journeys (particularly Abyss, transitive planes, and City of Brass IMO). It also has these really unique mythological tales under some comics. As a fan of the weird and wonderful planar tales you spin I was reminded of your content while reading it. I recommend giving it a chance if you're ever in the mood for something exotic.

[@TheMythKeeper]

I had not heard about Kill 6 Billion Demons but I'm going to have to check it out now! Thanks for the support once again. Psychopomps are the guardians of the River of Souls and of the Boneyard, and they're particularly concerned with life and death, but there's another group we'll get to later (the Aeons, especially the Axiomites) who are concerned about the universe's physical laws, like time, gravity and quantum mechanics. Should be fun too!

[@simmonslucas]

This is the Monster group that i have been waiting for. They are a very pathfinder monster design that I know little about.

[@TheMythKeeper]

This is a good group, I think you'll have fun this one.

[@KOkami03]

As a devote Cleric of Pharasma, I'm quite happy you've decided to cover her servants. Also, I like to imagine when adventurers show up at Pharasma's domain, Psychopomp ushers instead take them to a lounge for them to await their party resurrecting them.

[@TheMythKeeper]

We welcome the devout!

[@agsilverradio2225]

I would think phycopomps would generally be against reserections.

[@KOkami03]

@@agsilverradio2225 Actually, they have no problem with resurrection. It's undeath they can't stand.

[@etherealhawk]

Apparently Pharasma knows exactly when a soul is just 'passing through' the Boneyard awaiting resurrection, and when it'll never be resurrected. Resurrections are known to her as the embodiments of fate, and they aren't judged until they rest, they just wait

[@burningbronze7555]

nice the death guys, honestly far more useable than the dnd neutral outsider.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Very true!

[@FiadhFeyre]

It's time for spooky! 💀💀💀

[@TheMythKeeper]

Hopefully should hit the main channel around the time for Halloween. I wish I'd realized that and pretended in the intro like it was all planned that way. 😅

[@mirrikybird]

Yet again, pathfinder provides in droves exactly what I've been trying to come up with

[@israelmorales4249]

Very adhoc with the "DIA DE MUERTOS" , Well its tomorrow but we start today with the "DIA DE TODOS LOS SANTOS"...seeing "La Catrina" in this kind of lore is interesting. On the other hand i some times use the concept of "Angel of death" or even "Valkirye"for the death of a PC. but this lore is pure gold! Thx!

[@TheMythKeeper]

I wish I had realized what day this would land! I absolutely would have mentioned that in the intro if I had (as if I had planned this!)

[@israelmorales4249]

@@TheMythKeeper don't worrie, you have a lot of work. i left you here a little bit of the creator of "La Catrina". kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2m3oaOsadSJfZYsi=t1U2UZCAlf8q0kdu

[@namelesssomebody2557]

Tar-Baphon says "Hi" to these bunch, alongside Geb and his Necrocracy

[@TheMythKeeper]

Haha, they say 'hi' and then wave goodbye while smirking

[@JamesAdams-nd1td]

I love Wednesdays. I’m kind of lukewarm on Psychopomps (which is I suppose appropriate given their nature as Truly Neutral entities), but there are some intriguing characters among the Ushers. I especially love the Saloc/Vale rivalry and how they argue over not only the judgement of souls but HOW that judgement should be. I also enjoy all the different types of Psychopomps and how imaginative and alien they look (some of them border on Lovecraftean) and the different roles they take and tasks they perform. I wonder how some of the other planes and Outsiders will change in the wake of the upcoming Remaster, but I doubt we have much to worry about changing in the Boneyard. An oddly appropriate fate.

[@TheMythKeeper]

I agree, of all the things that will change in Remaster, pretty sure, that Psychopomps are already unique and Pathfindery enough that they'll come out unscathed.

[@OMartinez91]

I love that Catrinas are a thing in Pathfinder, and it's quite fitting this video came out in Day of the Dead

[@TheMythKeeper]

I know right! I only wish I'd realized in advance when this video would land, I would have mentioned it in the intro.

[@RicardoPM777]

Psychopomps Are such an amazing group of creatures

[@TheMythKeeper]

Absolutely agree!

[@theprecipiceofreason]

Narakas entry made me tear up

[@FhtagnCthulhu]

Literally just headed out on a 40 min drive to my second game with my psychopomp summoner! Fantastic timing haha

[@TheMythKeeper]

Rock on!

[@stevenmielke1662]

As someone who adores Pharasma (my backstory is she permitted me to come back after death for vengeance against a terrible figure) this was incredibly helpful. It truly broadened my understanding of the Psychopomps and my lady's court. Thank you very much.

[@TheMythKeeper]

You're very welcome!

[@nathanburns5553]

Always a fan of seeing how the more netural aspects of the pathfinder alignment works.out

[@OldGreyGryphon]

Thanks for this video! I’ve been curious about these guys for a while now.

[@TheMythKeeper]

You'll have fun with this one I think ;-)

[@DCJMS]

Discworld has the best Psychopomp

[@InquisitorThomas]

The sky is blue.

[@alderinjan]

Yep, I'm calling this my favorite video of yours. Cheers!

[@TheMythKeeper]

Really! Wow, thank you so much!

[@alderinjan]

@@TheMythKeeper To show my devotion to the Lady of Graves. I'll add watching this vid to my Halloween traditions.

[@moonstonepearl21]

Wow. This is some detailed and intricate lore!

[@TheMythKeeper]

Just wait, Proteans & Aeons get really interesting too!

[@syvajarvi2289]

I play a ranger who archetyped into a psychopomp sorcerer. He has been fun to play. He basically is the party combat medic (secondary healer) and occult expert. I have a dark dry sense of humor so I play into that with this character…. So much fun.

[@TheMythKeeper]

This sounds like a great character concept

[@syvajarvi2289]

@@TheMythKeeper It has been fun. We role played two psychopomps as Visions, Ceyannan when I archetyped into psychopomp sorcerer and the Narakaas once I feated into sorcerer spell casting to pick up healing and cure spells to boost my Assimar Muse touched racial features.

[@mothsvidz]

I like the designs for a lot of the psychopomps, they got a nice mix of traditional bone dudes, the photogenic kind of angels, and the more uncanny creepy ones. I think writing for them could be pretty interesting, since true neutrality is a really hard thing for anyone to really conceive of and practice, and it seems like that holds true for some of the ushers. Semi-related to psychopomps. I know they announced next year there's gonna be a big shakeup with a god war thing, having an old core deity dying and a new one brought in. And while I don't personally believe they'd go this route, I think it'd be interesting if the core deity that got killed were Pharasma. A war between a bunch of deities is the only time I could see someone like her dying, and I feel like it could be a campaign where the PCs are on some kind of adventure dealing with the Boneyard, which I'd imagine would try to function as normal and remain a neutral place in all the chaos, so it'd be seemingly unrelated to whatever deific battle royale is going on, to the characters at least. And through some sort of trickery from a more malicious deity, like the accidental death guy, or maybe even direct, but veiled, help if it's one of those rare evil published campaigns, they end up forcing a situation where Pharasma is killed. She probably would have already foreseen her own death, but her character would most have accepted the inevitability of it long before. And I'd like to think that that's as far as she could ever REALLY see, so something that would happen after, like the foretold universe ending, would just be very safe predictions on her part. I think the arbiter of death dying would definitely completely interrupt whatever cosmic incident is going on, and It'd be a completely different campaign trying to rectify things before the universe actually does fall apart. There are definitely solutions, since she already has a supposed successor with the Last Sister, but she's for a new universe and I think they already announced the other god they were raising as a core deity is Arazni, who also could work, but whoever would replace her as the arbiter of souls, I would have it to where unlike Pharasma, they can't see death dates. Maybe it's because the world really was supposed to end, and while you prevent it, whatever cosmic rules are in place don't account for this and the future truly is unwritten now. I just like the idea of having the new god having to work blind basically because Pharasma's like the only thing with concrete information of the future since she knows when everything dies, but we're in the Age of Lost Omens, and I know it's called that because of Aroden dying, but I think truly making it an age where the EXACT future is unknowable by actually everyone would at least be feed into the themes. Again, I don't think it's likely to be the case at all, but she'd definitely be the dark horse I'm riding on. Anyways, excited for the Sahkil video, since that seems to be coming sometime soon, if we're on psychopomps 😉. Also who would be your best guess and/ or dark horse pick for the dead god to be?

[@TheMythKeeper]

You guessed right, Sahkils are not far away now! As for which god dies, I have no idea tbh. You're right that Pharasma would be surprising. She is very much at the center of the Pathfinder cosmology. I don't think it will be Iomedae either, because having Aroden die and then Iomedae die would feel... repetitive? Though it would be interesting for Arazni to fill that slot. My dark horse candidates would be Shelyn or Sarenrae. Honestly, no idea!

[@mothsvidz]

@@TheMythKeeper I think Sarenrae and Shelyn are pretty reasonable predictions, since they'd definitely have an impact, but it wouldn't be the hardest thing to find replacements. Asmodius I also think could be the one hit with the magic bullet since him being the main devil in charge is an import from D&D I believe, which Paizo has very noticeably and actively been trying to cut ties with after that whole OGL fiasco. And how fitting would it be for the master of contracts to be done in by one entirely outside his control. Also I just think it'd be funny for Cheliax to lose their patron deity twice in a row; it'd be a nation bad at hedging bets at that point that's for sure. But at the end of the day it's just fun to speculate, whoever it might turn out to be.

[@UltraVioletKnight]

It could be Rovagug considering Golarion went poof by the time of Starfinder, and it would be carthartic to destroy this monster. Torag was also said to disappear during the "gap". Though it's possible that 2e lore will just ignore Starfinder

[@TheMythKeeper]

@@UltraVioletKnight - Torag is actually a great guess. They have a whole Dwarven pantheon so I could easily so one of the other gods rising to prominence.

[@UltraVioletKnight]

@@TheMythKeeper Deity Equivalent of rolling up an identical player character after yours dies.

[@mrredoak1008]

I've been so excited for this video so glad it's here!! Really going to help with my duskwalker warpriest of pharasma

[@TheMythKeeper]

Great character concept! I already dig it.

[@yalasongs]

Great video! I had some questions about Psychopomp lore because I want to create a Summoner character with a psychopomp companion. :D

[@TheMythKeeper]

Hopefully you got them answered in the vid! If you have other questions feel free to drop them in the comments!

[@robfrank3423]

I'm quite excited for order and chaos

[@TheMythKeeper]

Yes, Proteans and Aeons are not far away now!

[@edwardchytil8868]

Very nice good video

[@TheMythKeeper]

Thank you!

[@Minandreas213]

Another awesome video. I really love your content and share it with other players all the time to help them dig in to the lore of places that are immediately relevant. Do you have a video on Absalom yet? It has become an important place in our current campaign and I would love a video to link them about it.

[@TheMythKeeper]

I don't yet. I've been saving Absalom to make sure I've got some big, hefty, high-value regions to cover towards the end of my region deep dive series; but I do promise I will get there eventually. I actually think we're not far off now. I've probably done videos on 70-80% of the regions in the game.

[@Minandreas213]

@TheMythKeeper Great! Looking forward to it.

[@SynderFGC]

Can't wait for the eventual Summoner + Eidolon lore video to cover how their lore and eidolons relate to the actual creatures.

[@TheMythKeeper]

I know I've been holding on class lore for a minute now. We'll get there!

[@SynderFGC]

@@TheMythKeeper can't wait. It's my favorite class 💜

[@pyroadhd]

Your videos are always awesome. Have you considered partnering with paizo to make official lore audiobooks?

[@TheMythKeeper]

I would love to do that, but I have no idea how I would navigate that process.

[@Greenknight3]

I added one in my world. Ghethk, the defiant, he became an usher when he so viamintly denied death, that he bent the either into his own realm, the field of broken blades. He is the feeling of adrenaline right before possible death, so in short he is an usher that wants you to fight death as hard as you can.

[@TheMythKeeper]

This is a great concept and fits right in there with the existing canon

[@RicardoPM777]

👏👏👏

[@Roconder]

My favourite creatures' type

[@agsilverradio2225]

4:20 For a second, I thought the vanth looked liked a winged wither-skeleton, wearing a long white loincloth; but then I noticed the "loincloth" was actually a seperate ghost-like creature..

[@TheMythKeeper]

Haha! Yes, Vanth's are often depicted protecting souls that are moving on to the next life.

[@Veridiansolar]

Dammar and Cayden Cailean must have interesting interactions,

[@justincherry4027]

Thinking of making a campaign where the enemy is a psychopomp. An agent of Death gone rogue and is trying to influence the land of golarion. I'm trying to get the same vibe as death from supernatural, an old man who is prideful because he was here before the earth and will be here far longer. So why worry about a few ants throwing a tantrum? Old man in a suit who turns into a monster in the fight like Raphael in BG3.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Love this idea

[@TacticusPrime]

Psychopomps! Get hype! Barzahk is my flappy boy.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Haha! Barzak is the best!

[@ELCare86]

Great video. Thank you. Is there a chance you have an RSS feed for people who listen on the go? Keep up the great work.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Apparently you can get audio only on music.youtube.com through the KZbin podcast functionality

[@agsilverradio2225]

12:45 "The passage." Oh, I get it. That "morbid corvid" pun nearly "murdered" me. 16:23 Looks like a biblical acurate angel. 21:41 It's the Long Horse! (🎶Maybe you don't trust him, nor do I, but he's here for us.🎶) 28:58 Quoth the raven, "nevermore."

[@TheMythKeeper]

Once again another fun collection of deities. My favorite is Phlegyas. A god for atheists tickles me.

[@agsilverradio2225]

​​​​@@TheMythKeeper Better than forfiting your soul to the true form of Asmodius. That's What athiests get in D&D lore; unless they magage to escape to Sigil to join the Ather faction; in which case the Lady Of Pain inadvertantly protects them to a degree, by keeping away all deitys, good and evil alike.

[@trajanfidelis1532]

Thanks for the video! I think these guys would be a lot scarier if they weren't called psychopomps. Psychopomp sound like a rave group or something. Lol.

[@TheMythKeeper]

Heheheh! It does 🤣

[@indigogoboy9090]

ok, question in a campaign im in, im playing a cleric of shelyn, who despises killing and would try to avoid it at all costs. Even though she has accidentally taken lives before, One adventure, while hunting down an artifact to hunt a rogue god (homebrew) we came upon a psychopomp stronghold (we didnt pass the check to recognize it as such beforehand) and when in the stronghold, my cleric heard the call of souls (because of a specific backstory/ancestry reason) and found a green crystal holding a mass of souls. She curiously touched it, and in doing so broke it and the souls inside it went inside of her and fused with her own. Now voices inside her head, these souls were ment to move on to the boneyard but they were now trapped within her. We were already being attacked by psychopomps at this point for invading their domain. Afyter we had left we had realized that my character had commited a grave sin against thre psychopomps. What do you think the psychopomps would want to do to her? Which sect of the psychopomps do you think would hunt her? Im just really curious

[@indigogoboy9090]

Also more info on this character, she was raised by her adopted father in their home that was also an orphanage, where she would preach to ythe kids about creativity and individuality. The main tipping point for us hunting down this rogie goddess is that her cult attacked her hometown and destroyed the orphanage without warning so none of the children survived

[@TheMythKeeper]

@@indigogoboy9090 - It would vary based on a few different factors. It would depend on how likely you are to defend yourself from them, how powerful you are and how well-informed the psychopomps are about you. If they view you as a lesser threat they would dispatch a team of Shoki psychopomps to retrieve the souls. Especially if they feel they can negotiate with you for the safe release of the souls. If they consider you someone that has the means to properly defend themselves they may send an elite Shoki, accompanied by a team of Esobok hunters. If they consider you a really dangerous threat, they could dispatch a Morrigna psychopomp. Regardless those are commonly the types that are sent to hunt down wayward souls and the most likely foes you'd have to deal with. Its also possible that an elite Shoki or a clever Morrigna wouldn't simply attack on sight, but try to speak to you, and maybe they can actually figure out a way to release the souls to whom you are a host. (Sidequest!)

[@indigogoboy9090]

@@TheMythKeeper oh thank you thats a really cool sidequest idea, ill see if my dm agrees tho lol

[@siddharth9407]

Basically shinigami from bleach

[@simmonslucas]

Are there any PF2e APs that predominantly feature Pyschopomps?

[@obamabiden]

they're predominant, but they do have a prescence in the story of Blood Lords

[@antonioaguera4580]

This video found its way onto my feed, but...what in blazes is pathfinder?

[@TheMythKeeper]

Its an RPG: paizo.com/pathfinder Also, the setting of some computer games: store.steampowered.com/app/640820/Pathfinder_Kingmaker__Enhanced_Plus_Edition/ store.steampowered.com/app/1184370/Pathfinder_Wrath_of_the_Righteous__Enhanced_Edition/

[@agsilverradio2225]

How would a Pharasma warshiper react to a bound undead ghost, who was willing but unable to get to the Boneyard? ... Would they try to free the spirit so it can can finnaly move on to the afterlife, or would they attempt to "free" the spirit by destroying it?

[@TheMythKeeper]

They would try to free the spirit so they can move on and only destroy the spirit if there was no other way.

[@duyas1628]

New to the channel was wondering if the art was official game art or stuff you found?

[@TheMythKeeper]

Where possible I use the official art, but not all the deities, characters and places have art, so I also use a fair bit of found art for these videos.

[@JohnBrown-no4od]

Aeons...do a video about Aeons.

[@TheMythKeeper]

It's already up on the MythWatchers Club channel ;-) ...so, coming soon!

[@olorinmagus4479]

It’s kinda hilarious how almost none of the example artworks you used matched up with your description of them. Not a criticism to be clear, I imagine finding any art at all is a pain in the ass, I just found it funny

[@TheMythKeeper]

It is literaly the hardest part of making these videos...

[@agsilverradio2225]

Saloc, would be slightly chaotic good, if not for the fact that his own philosopy puts more wegiht on intent than consiquence, and he's probly not doing it out of altruism. ... alot of these Ushers feel like they lean slightly towards one allignment or another; but not by nearly enoguh to claim fit in more with the other planes than in the boneyard.

[@TheMythKeeper]

They pulled a lot of variety out of neutral as an alignment.

[@agsilverradio2225]

@@TheMythKeeper LOL, They did. I still kind of miss the Platescape Factions of D&D's Sigil though, (Inspired by Vampire-The-Masquerade factions,) and the Rilmani led by the Lady-Of-Pain, who were basicly "Militant-Centrists." You know who I'm not gonna miss from D&D lore though; the Slaadi! They are such a strawman representation of the CN alignment.

[@TheMythKeeper]

@@agsilverradio2225 Funny enough I also had a soft spot for the Slaadi. TBH, it wouldn't be too hard to just imagine that alongside the serpentine Proteans there are another group that evolved into frog-like creatures...

[@chazzwozzio]

Pspooky pscary psycopomp 💀

[@philhudson3619]

I'm a psychoPIMP

[@agsilverradio2225]

What is the etimology of the term, "psycopomp?"

[@TheMythKeeper]

Great question ‘psyche’ means spirit and ‘pomp’ means guide in Greek so psychopomp is a spiritual guide

[@TheAlgorath]

Lookup the lampades, or specifically the lampadephoros, for more.