Erastil
| Erastil | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Aliases | Old Deadeye, The Stag God, Estig the Hunter | |
| Alignment | Lawful Good | |
| Divine Rank | God | |
| Pantheon | Golarion | |
| Portfolio | Families, Farming, Hunting, Trade | |
| Domains | Animal, Community, Good, Law, Plant, Archon (Cooperation), Family, Feather, Fur, Growth, Home | |
| Home Plane | Summerlands, Requius, Heaven | |
| Worshippers | Farmers, Hunters and Tradesmen | |
| Favoured Weapon | Longbow | |
"Nothing is more satisfying than the fruits of a day's labor!"
- – Erastil's Holy Text
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 among the giants. 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.
3.5 Golarion publications, the Gazetteer and Gods and Magic, give Erastil's nationality as Ulfen (Norsemen). How this works isn't clear since he predates the people and nation. If this is supposed to refer to how he's typically portrayed in art and visions, it still doesn't make much sense since his standard depiction has a stag's head.
Among Players[edit | edit source]
Given his "traditionalist" views, Erastil is surprisingly and thankfully the source of very little controversy - at worst, outside of people outright projecting their own politics and using him as a cover, complaints will center around his belief predetermined "place" for women, so to speak (and that has generated some relatively minor ire of course). Regardless, he's not one of the more popular Good-aligned deities among players, outside of those who want easy access to longbows. The stigma of being an asshole conservative grandpa is sadly hard to shake.
Given his Lawful alignment, however, while Erastil would believe in clearly defined gender roles, nothing indicates that he thinks inherently less of said roles or anyone who chooses to defy them - provided, after all, that they're doing their part to maintain the community and keep it safe and thriving. It should be noted that he is married to the entirely agricultural goddess Jaidi, and has two divine kids: A son named Cernunnos and a daughter Halcamora.
After years of wondering "Wait, if he just wants his followers to settle down, why would any traveling adventurer worship this guy?", 2e Gods and Magic clarified that he's perfectly okay with worshippers being adventurers, so long as they plan to eventually settle down, or are doing what they're doing specifically to protect- or provide for their home, family, or community. It also emphasized that he's not that kind of conservative, being just fine with non-traditional families and those of different gender identities or preferences as long as they pull their weight in the community.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
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Erastil being epic -
A worshipper of Erastil -
A temple of Erastil
