Erastil
| Erastil, Old Deadeye | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alignment | Lawful Good | |
| Divine Rank | God | |
| Pantheon | Golarion | |
| Portfolio | Families, Farming, Hunting, Trade | |
| Domains | Animal, Community, Good, Law, Plant; Subdomains of Archon (Good & Law), Family, Feather, Fur, Growth, Home | |
| Home Plane | Heaven | |
| Worshippers | Farmers, Hunters and Tradesmen | |
| Favoured Weapon | Longbow | |
Erastil is a Lawful Good god from the Golarion setting of Pathfinder. Erastil is also commonly known as Old Deadeye, the Stag God or Estig the Hunter. He is a fair-natured old codger, like the grandpa you wish you had, and likewise he values family above all else. Ol' Deadeye is one of humanity's oldest gods that are still actively worshiped in the Inner Sea region, and legends say that it was he who first created the bow and bestowed it upon humanity to help them overcome the challenges of a hostile world. Just how old is Old Deadeye? Well, just like grandpa went to war to fight those damn Japs before you were born, Erastil was also part of the war effort to seal the Rough Beast and trap him in the Dead Vault forever now, all before humanity really came in to being. It wasn't until ages later when Erastil really became popular once more with the humans, during the Age of Darkness, when those cocksucker aboleths summoned a magic meteor to sink Azlant, the center of human civilization of that era, to the bottom of the ocean.
In those chaotic dark ages communities of farmers and hunter-gatherers banded together to work co-cooperatively to rebuild from the ashes, following Ol' Deadeye's practical advice and guiding principles to survive. Though his faith began to wane with the growth of civilizations and cities once more, it can be assured that he is still shown reverence in any small farming community or in those wild areas that still remain. It is this conflict between modernity and practicality that drives a wedge between Erastil and Abadar. Some devotees of Erastil refuse to even enter cities because the lifestyle there is antithetical to the simple grounded living which Erastil would prescribe.
Unfortunately, there are SOME ASSHOLES in the Pathfinder community who refuse to show Ol' Deadeye any respect. Due to Erastil's utmost love of the family unit as the most basic building block of society those who live "alternative lifestyles" were fake-outraged on the Internet that a made-up god in a role-playing game would be described as frowning upon their life choices. It was intolerable to think that anygody not down with the current real-world LGBT agenda could ever be considered good or lawful, and also he's sexist 'cause he thinks that women belong in the kitchen. Naturally, they sought to have this mansplaining diety of the patriarchy brought low! Being the losers that they are, the Paizo writers bent over backwards to try to say that of course Erastil would be down to clown with everybody! I don't think anybody really bought it, and Erastil, he certainly wouldn't care. He's out hunting in his posh forested realm in Heaven's fourth layer, enjoying the good life and making fun of all those other gods and their subjects and Paizo's current crop of shitty writers, wishing they would just settle down for a change.