The Fool
The Fool, one of the Five Old Gods of Solvar, is perhaps the most enigmatic, and certainly the one whose worship confounds the serious-minded and unnerves the devout.
Titles
- The Fool
- The Wild Laughter
- He Who Dances Last
- The Jester
Domains
- Chaos
- Truth
- Madness
- Joy
Iconography & Symbols
- A mask split down the center: one half smiling, the other weeping
- A spiraling chain around an hourglass
- A blank playing card
- A two-sided mirror
Temples to the Fool are rare, but roadside shrines, and wandering bards and jesters keep his lore alive.
Worship & Legacy
The Fool's worship is paradoxical. He is beloved by tricksters and madmen, yet also venerated by philosophers, oracles, and prophets. It is said among his followers that in madness lies a purer truth. His rituals often involve games of chance, riddles, storytelling, and spontaneous acts of chaos.
In Solvar's older eras, court jesters held sacred positions. They were believed to speak divine truths in the guise of mockery. Many were buried as saints. While other gods bring law and order, the Fool brings instability and transformation.
Mythic Associations
- It is whispered in esoteric cults that it was the Fool who saw the true nature of the Betrothed's hidden desire s and called her out with laughter, sparking the first divine argument.
- The Fool's greatest weapon is a mirror said to reflect not what one is, but what one refuses to see. This mirror is feared even by the gods, and its cracks allow chaos to slip free.
- It is said that the Fool sparked the first flames of war against his brother the Soldier. His agents of chaos and destruction were ultimately defeated by the pyrrhic sacrifice of the Soldier's defenders of law and order.
Pathfinder 2nd Edition
Category: Five Old Gods of Solvar
Edicts: Speak truths others fear to utter, Laugh in the face of despair (and bring laughter to others), Embrace change and uncertainty, Create situations where the proud, corrupt, or arrogant are exposed
Anathema: Suppress laughter or creativity, Use humor solely to harm and mock, Deliberately enforce hierarchies or system that deny freedom and joy
Areas of Concern: Truth, Madness, Chaos, Joy
Religious Symbol: Two-Faced Mask
Sacred Animal: Magpie
Sacred Color(s): Red, White
Pantheons/Covenants: The Faith
Devotee Benefits
Divine Attribute: Dexterity or Charisma
Divine Font: Heal or Harm
Divine Sanctification: Can choose Holy or Unholy
Divine Skill: Deception, Performance
Favored Weapon: Staff or Sling
Domains: Change, Confidence, Creation, Trickery
Cleric Spells 1st: Illusory Disguise or Ventriloquism? 3rd: Glibness or Dispel Magic? 6th: Mislead or Freedom of Movement?
Divine Intercession (WIP)
Minor Boon: A flash of absurd luck protects you. Once per day, you can reroll a failed Reflex save or Deception check. You must use the second result, even if it's worse.
Moderate Boon: Your tongue dances and twists like a holy jester's.
- Once per hour, you can cast Illusory Disguise or Mirror Image without expending a spell slot.
- You gain a +X status bonus to Performance and Deception checks while mocking, teasing, or exposing someone powerful.
Major Boon: You are crowned as Fate’s Mad Jester.
- When reduced to 0 Hit Points, you instead teleport up to 60 feet to a location you can see and remain at 1 Hit Point once per day.
- Enemies suffer a –X circumstance penalty to strike or target you for X round after you use this ability (your survival mocks their certainty).
Minor Curse: Words betray you when you need them most.
- You take a –X status penalty to Diplomacy and Deception checks when speaking to authority figures or making serious promises.
Moderate Curse: You are marked as a target of mockery.
- Creatures are instinctively hostile toward you when you challenge authority or offer serious counsel (+X circumstance bonus to their Will saves against your verbal Influence actions).
- You suffer a –X circumstance penalty to saving throws against Emotion effects.
Major Curse: You become a joke. (The Fool reminds you: "Better a fool who laughs at tyrants than a fool who obeys them.")
- You are permanently Enfeebled X and Clumsy X until you openly mock a major authority (religious, political, military) and survive the consequences.
- Until then, you stumble, falter, and are seen as a clown and a fool — but without the sacred protection of true defiance.
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