Yarma, Quasi-deity, patron of Guards and Soldiers (LN) (M)

Yarma has the power to grant spells to her followers, although (technically, according to the Pathfinder rules) he is a Mythic Character, rather than a true deity. He is a patron of guards and warriors, and his priests teach that that combats should be honourable. Fight when you have to, defend your people and property, but don't take pleasure from killing or maiming your opponents - take surrender, when it is offered honestly. His priests are, generally, drawn from those followers who multi-class a few divine levels with their previous class.

However, make sure that you read the Powers section at the bottom of the page, if you ever consider Way as a deity for a Player Character.

Yarma is born into one of the tribes living among the lakes and their Islands. He was an inquisitive boy, apprentice to the tribe's hunters, and soon grew powerful within their number. One day as he was traveling the lakes, he found a small island that he had not explored before and decided to explore it. To his surprise he found a beautiful rock, with deep red and blue veins, at the centre of the island, and he determined to sit on it while he contemplated the serenity of the day and the abundance of wildlife. While he didn’t know it at the time, the rock was an old Spirit Rock, immensely powerful but diminished by time and a lack of worshippers.

From that day Yarma changed - he travelled, but always came back to his island and eventually made it his home. He grew powerful and gradually bought all the peoples of the lakes under his dominion. A great tower arose on his island, the spirit rock became his throne and, as he became even more powerful, and his eyes turned towards the neighbouring nations. Eventually, the tribes and races banded together to repel Yarma with his armies and new-found powers. The Tribes sent their spearmen, the Dwarves sent axe-men, while the Elves sent archers, even the Gnomes came - with their contraptions and cross bows. But Yarma and the Spirit Stone were too powerful – and then the dragons came. Yarma had his spirit stone throne carried to the top of his highest tower, and seated on it called down a rain of fire and rocks from the skies. As the throne rose slowly into the sky, Yarma started the final incantation, and a great ball of flame appeared in the sky. Small at first, it grew larger, and the armies of both sides scattered. Yarma, possessed by the Rock Spirit, laughed manically.

At the last moment, as the power of the Rock Spirit was reduced by the calling, Yarma came to his senses - and fought against the Rock Spirit/ pitting his will against the rock's wantonness, Yarma finally prevailed and tried to stop the cataclysm - but it was too much for his human body to endure, and it cost him his mortal life.

However, that wasn’t the end of Yarma. With the power of the ancient immortal in his soul, Yarma couldn’t die, and a few days later, he reincarnated, and armed with his spear and shield, set out to protect the people that Arth had saved. Now he is seen as a patron of Guards and Soldiers, wherever they might be. Arth and Yarma are often seen as related deities - and many people will say a single prayer to both deities at the same time.

His symbol is a spearhead.

Yarma doesn't have a formal church, as such. There are shrines in Porters Bar and Port Elizabeth, but nothing outside those areas. Yarma is popular with guards in his 'home' cities, and with marines, and other waterborne troops, who have to defend their vessels. Many sailors, who may have to defend their ship wear, or carry, a spearhead trinket of some sort, and tend to make a prayer to him, just before battle.

The vast majority of Priests are marines, who have a single level of a divine class (often Adept) who are capable of leading a brief prayer just before their ship is attacked. However, there are higher level priests to serve his few shrines, while there are also a few adventuring priests, who dedicate their lives to protective duties.

Shrines are rarely more than a monument, probably a statue of a man armed with shield and spear, dedicated to the patron of guards and warriors.

Yarma is a quasi-deity a Pathfinder mythic character who can grant access to two domains, and can only grant spells up to Fifth Level, drawn from the Adept Spell list – any slots for higher level spells may be filled with lower level spells. Nor does Yarma allow adepts to take a Familiar at Level 2 - Instead, he grants them access to his domains.

You are a protector, who believes in the rule of law and the benefits of an ordered and safe society.

• Touch of Law (Sp): You can touch a willing creature as a standard action, infusing it with the power of divine order and allowing it to treat all attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws for 1 round as if the natural d20 roll resulted in an 11. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
• Staff of Order (Su): At 8th level, you can give a weapon touched the axiomatic special weapon quality for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level. You can use this ability once per day at 8th level, and an additional time per day for every four levels beyond 8th.
• Domain Spells: 1st—protection from chaos, 2nd—align weapon (law only), 3rd—magic circle against chaos, 4th—order’s wrath, 5th—dispel chaos.

Your faith is your greatest source of protection, and you can use that faith to defend others. In addition, you receive a +1 resistance bonus on saving throws. This bonus increases by 1 for every 5 levels you possess.

• Resistant Touch (Sp): As a standard action, you can touch an ally to grant him your resistance bonus for 1 minute. When you use this ability, you lose your resistance bonus granted by the Protection domain for 1 minute. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.
• Aura of Protection (Su): At 8th level, you can emit a 30-foot aura of protection for a number of rounds per day equal to your cleric level. You and your allies within this aura gain a +1 deflection bonus to AC and resistance 5 against all elements (acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic). The deflection bonus increases by +1 for every four cleric levels you possess beyond 8th. At 14th level, the resistance against all elements increases to 10. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.
• Domain Spells: 1st—sanctuary, 2nd—shield other, 3rd—protection from energy, 4th—spell immunity, 5th—spell resistance.

Priests of Yarma may choose their spells from the following list:

• 0th Level: create water, detect magic, ghost sound, guidance, light, mending, purify food and drink, read magic, stabilize, touch of fatigue, vigor.
• 1st Level: bless, burning hands, cause fear, command, comprehend languages, cure light wounds, detect chaos, detect evil, detect good, detect law, endure elements, face of the devourer, obscuring mist, preserve, protection from chaos, protection from evil, protection from good, protection from law, scarify, shield the banner, sleep.
• 2nd Level: aid, animal trance, bear’s endurance, bull’s strength, cat’s grace, cure moderate wounds, darkness, delay poison, enemy’s heart, inner focus, invisibility, mirror image, resist energy, rumbling fury, scorching ray, see invisibility, tremor blast, web.
• 3rd Level: animate dead, bestow curse, blood rage, contagion, continual flame, cure serious wounds, daylight, deeper darkness, lightning bolt, neutralize poison, remove curse, remove disease, tongues.
• 4th Level: cure critical wounds, minor creation, polymorph, restoration, stoneskin, wall of fire.
• 5th Level: baleful polymorph, break enchantment, commune, heal, major creation, raise dead, true seeing, wall of stone.