Introduction
There are almost 400 different unique gods in Pathfinder 2, which is…way too many. It can be somewhat difficult to sort out who’s worth your time dedicating your immortal soul to and who is better left being trapped in an eldritch prison. In this series, I will be guiding you through each of the many gods of Golarion and going over which of their features will add the most to your Pathfinder career.
Grab your steins and warhammers, because I’m about to add a whole bunch of grudges to the book. Wait…wrong game. Today we are discussing the Dwarven gods who, surprisingly, aren’t all just about drinking, smithing, and mining greedily into the earth (They’re just mostly that).
As a disclaimer: There are many Backgrounds, Archetypes, Feats, and other such options that interact with the gods and their features in some way. If we set out to analyze them from a one-size-fits-all standpoint, this already massive project would become nigh impossible. So to keep this relatively straightforward and simple we will be examining each god from the lens of a Cleric or Champion which are the two classes most heavily involved with the features of the gods. We will also be looking at this through the lens of a classic heroic fantasy game and what is most conducive to that style of play.
Additionally, certain gods push you towards a specific style of play over another, so they will be rated over how well their features synergize with that style of play. For instance: Iomedae is a great god for more martial-focused playstyles, but not amazing for pure caster builds, so it would be pointless to examine her from that standpoint.
With those stipulations out of the way, pull out your prayer books and let’s start some theology!
When you’re ready for more, see the other articles in this series:
Understanding RPGBOT’s Rating System
RPGBOT uses a 4-tier rating scheme which is simple to understand and easy to read at a glance.
- : Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational. Nearly never useful.
- : OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances. Useful sometimes.
- : Good options. Useful often.
- : Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character. Useful very frequently.
Table of Contents
Angradd
Essentially the Dwarven war god, Angradd is all about fighting the dwarves’ old enemies and settling generations-long scores. His focus is more on getting up close and personal, so you can see the lights leave your enemies’ eyes. As such, he doesn’t offer much to full casters.
Very easy and straightforward to follow as a heroic character.
: As this is geared towards martial builds, both of these Attributes will be useful. If you’re going full caster, though, Constitution will still be useful even if strength won’t be.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: Really only useful for Champions and Warpriests. That said, you should really only be taking this deity if you plan on playing one of these builds, so it gets a higher rating for that.
Greataxe is a useful weapon with one of the highest damage scalings of any base weapon in the game and the Sweep trait is useful for an aggressive playstyle. That said, it doesn’t quite reach the level of due to it lacking some of the more useful traits that something like Greatsword has and because Angradd doesn’t give you a lot that directly synergizes with it.
All of these domains are pretty solid and synergize quite nicely with the playstyle Angradd encourages, especially Zeal.
: Duty is pretty dang useful for the more martial-focused playstyle this deity encourages. Knowledge still has its uses, but you will probably get less mileage out of it.
: Breathe Fire, Blistering Invective, and Fireball. Breathe Fire isn’t worth using, but Blistering Invective is strong and hilarious (scare a guy and set him on fire by hurling insults at him? What could be more dwarf than that?) and Fireball is Fireball .
Bolka
Bolka was created by Torag to basically be a wedding ring for Folgrit, so as a result, she’s pretty clear on what she is about. Namely, the sanctity of marriage. She’s very focused on family and bonds and offers a lot to healers and support builds. She has a distaste for violence, which is why she offers less to Martial playstyles.
Be a hopeless romantic, don’t commit adultery, and Bolka will love you.
: Wisdom is great for Clerics and Charisma is good for some Champions. Either way, you’re getting something out of it.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: I’m torn on this one. Diplomacy is a good skill for everyone to have, but as a Cleric, you won’t have the Charisma to really make this valuable. Champions, especially ones who lean into Charisma, will get a lot of mileage out of this skill. If you choose to lean into this, make sure you pick up Bon Mot to make your spells hit harder.
A classic staple for a reason. It is simple (literally) and has good damage and traits.
Aside from Confidence, most of these domains are pretty solid, especially Family.
Toil is an excellent domain, but I’m torn on whether it’s worth a class feat to take. If you have a dead level where you have nothing else you need, this is a great pick-up, though.
Soothe, Creation, and Collective Transposition. Soothe is an excellent healing spell and Collective Transposition is amazing for putting your party into a more advantageous position. Creation is useful, but a bit more situational.
Dranngvit
Basically the Dwarven equivalent of Arazni, she is the goddess of holding a grudge. Most of the other Dwarven gods acknowledge her as an unfortunate necessity and last resort, even if she no longer lives in Dwarven heaven. She offers a bit of everything but suffers from something of an identity crisis, making none of her options really stand out like they should.
: It’s really important to this deity that you settle your debts. So make sure not to make agreements you don’t plan to uphold or take a loan you can’t repay. The stipulation about holding grudges is very Warhammer Dwarf coded, but could also be problematic depending on how much leeway your GM gives you.
: Both Constitution and Wisdom are great attributes for Clerics. Wisdom is less amazing for Champions, but still handy.
: Flexible.
You get nothing.
Not a great skill for a Cleric, but if you are a Champion, there could be some use to this.
Would be a pretty mediocre weapon if not for the Fatal d8 trait, which can be absolutely brutal if you find ways to get more crits. That said, there are much better weapons for both styles of play.
: Solid domains that provide a lot of benefits to any style of build, but there’s nothing that really stands out as game-changing.
: Fate is pretty good, but Truth is mediocre at best and neither is really worth spending your class feats on unless you have a specific build in mind.
: Tailwind, Knock, and Magic Passage. For a woman who seems to value capitalism and finance, it’s odd that her spells encourage you to obtain entry into places you’re not allowed. Tailwind is a useful buff, but you probably want to heighten it to rank 2 to get its full benefits. Knock will be appreciated by your Rogue and Magic Passage, while funny to mess with the GM’s dungeons, may be more situational. That is if your GM allows its application at all in the places where it will be most useful.
Droskar
Droskar is certainly interesting . He’s the token evil Dwarf deity, having been cast out by Torag because he copied his homework from a craftsman he enslaved. Nice guy. About the most spotlight he gets is in the Crown of the Kobold King adventure path, and even there, the information that’s given isn’t much. He’s the patron god of Dwarves who refused the Quest for Sky and were abandoned by Torag in the Darklands. As the “dark smith”, his playstyle can be a bit problematic for some tables, but less so than other evil deities. He offers some solid features for many builds, however.
: Despite being pretty clearly an evil god, his edicts aren’t too difficult to follow, as they basically just boil down to “don’t be lazy,” which seems ironic, coming from him. Where it gets dicey is in the stipulation to “establish dominance,” which can be interpreted in…several problematic ways, so be sure to establish boundaries with your party.
A somewhat odd combo, but Constitution is useful for Clerics and Champions and Intelligence will help you in certain Recall Knowledge checks (Nature and Religion are notably Wisdom-based).
Harm is fine, but since you can’t take Heal, you are going to be missing out on half of its versatility unless you or your party have a lot of undead or negative healing.
Unless you’re in an evil campaign, you won’t be getting much mileage out of this and might be actively hampered by it if you come up against other unholy entities.
: Crafting is a useful skill to have and Droskar offers you a potential Intelligence boost to take advantage of it. That said, neither Clerics nor Champions will ever reach the supreme level of crafting that other classes are capable of achieving as easily.
: Decent damage with the Agile and Thrown properties. You could certainly do a lot worse.
: Overall, pretty decent selection with more of an emphasis towards a martial playstyle.
This guy gets a lot of domains. It helps that there isn’t a bad one in the bunch, especially if you go for a more martial-focused build.
: Ant Haul, Haste, and Subconscious Suggestion. While encumbrance is certainly more of a thing in Pathfinder 2e than other systems, it’s still largely ignored by most tables, so Ant Haul may not be as useful as you would hope. Haste remains a powerful spell for any character, and Subconscious Suggestion is great for being more subtly manipulative than regular old Suggestion, which feels on brand for Droskar.
Folgrit
Wife of Torag and mother of Dwarves, Folgrit used to be the patron of those who had lost family members. Her marriage to Torag ensured she would have the power to prevent such tragedies from happening again. As a result, she’s big on family, like Bolka. Her features are all focused on you creating bonds with your friends and protecting them.
: Very easy to follow. Like State Farm, just be a good neighbor.
Both Constitution and Wisdom are great attributes for Clerics. Wisdom is less amazing for Champions but still handy.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: There’s an argument to be made that Medicine is the most useful skill in the entire game (aside from Perception, of course, but it’s technically not a skill). Everyone can benefit from training in this skill.
: You will most likely be using this for the many powerful and useful magic staffs that you will uncover. Don’t use this as a weapon unless you have no other options. This is not useful for martials and this god seems to not know whether it wants to support a caster playstyle or a martial-focused one.
: Cities and Repose are both fine, but Protection and Family are the real standouts here.
: Sorrow is pretty decent, but while Duty is normally great for martial-focused characters, this deity seems to conflict with itself over whether it supports such builds or not.
Endure, Fire Shield, and Resplendent Mansion. These all have their uses for both melee and ranged-focused builds. Endure makes you more survivable, Fire Shield is like a better Shield, and Resplendent Mansion gives your party a safe haven to rest in peace.
Grundinar
Grundinar is the brother to Bolka and the patron god of friends and family ties. Technically, by the current canon, he is dead or at least seemingly erased from existence during the War of the Immortals. His features are a bit all over the place and none of them truly shine.
: As long as you are a good friend and not actively sabotaging peace talks, you will be fine.
Champions will absolutely appreciate both of these attributes. Clerics will get less out of Charisma overall, but Constitution is always appreciated.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: I’m torn on this one. Diplomacy is a good skill for everyone to have, but as a Cleric, you won’t have the Charisma to really make this valuable. Champions, especially ones who lean into Charisma, will get a lot of mileage out of this skill. If you choose to lean into this, make sure you pick up Bon Mot to make your spells hit harder.
: Decent damage with the Agile and Thrown properties. You could certainly do a lot worse.
: We have our first rainbow deity! This selection is literally all over the place in terms of quality. Ignore Confidence, only take Truth on specific builds, otherwise stick to Family and Protection.
: Repose is ok, but not good enough to justify a full feat on, unless you have a specific build in mind.
Anticipate Peril, Containment, and Wall of Force. Anticipate Peril is terrible and its benefit can be replicated by having someone in the group take the Scout Exploration Activity. Containment and Wall of Force are both great for shutting one or multiple enemies out of a fight, though.
Kols
Kols is Torag’s firstborn and he really hates it when people break oaths. A pinky swear is a sacred vow that would last an entire lifetime if he had anything to say about it. It doesn’t matter if it was made during childhood over something that isn’t even relevant anymore; you better keep that oath. As a result, his demands can be somewhat tough to follow without problems for the group and he doesn’t offer much value in exchange.
: This one is dicey. As with most other gods who demand you not lie, you need to check with your GM to be crystal clear on what counts as a lie, such as a lie of omission, having another party member lie on your behalf, etc. Additionally, the stipulation on never breaking an oath could get complicated in a game with a lot of twists and turns. What happens when the person you made an Oath to turns out to be a bastard? These are all important conversations to have with your GM before taking this god.
Both of these attributes will be appreciated by War Clerics and Champions. Cloistered Clerics get less out of Strength, however.
Flexible.
You get nothing.
Society is more niche and it’s Intelligence-based, so it won’t offer anything of huge value to Clerics or Champions, but it’s nice to have.
: Dwarven deities sure do like their light hammers. Decent damage with the Agile and Thrown properties. You could certainly do a lot worse.
: Truth is just ok, but all the others are useful for whatever build you’re going with. Nothing super exciting here, though.
Please don’t pick these unless you want your name added to the book. Aside from Glyph, none of them are worth it.
: Phantasmal Minion, Suggestion, and Unrelenting Observation. Phantasmal Minion has its uses and Suggestion is still powerful. Unrelenting Observation, however, is not a very good spell. Its uses are super niche and the situations where you would want to use it on an enemy are difficult to set up. For an 8th rank spell, it is supremely disappointing.
Magrim
The eldest of the Dwarven gods, he’s the god of fate, death and living a productive life. In dwarf society living a good life of course means forging stuff. As a result, he highly encourages crafting, artistry and creation, which is only marginally useful for Champions and Clerics who don’t focus much on Intelligence. That said, his features are still arguably useful to both, if not amazing.
Sort of a weird combination between the Edicts and Anathemas of Pharasma and Shelyn. Mostly easy to follow as long as you craft and don’t make undead. That said, it doesn’t get a blue rating as Clerics and Champions won’t have much cause to specialize in crafting.
: Both Constitution and Wisdom are great attributes for Clerics. Wisdom is less amazing for Champions but still handy.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: Crafting is a useful skill to have That said, neither Clerics nor Champions will ever reach the supreme level of crafting that other classes are capable of achieving as easily.
: Warhammer is good for a war cleric and a champion. 1d8 is respectable and reliable, while Shove does very well in Strength-focused builds.
All are solid that provide a lot of benefits to any style of build, but there’s nothing that really stands out as game-changing.
All are fairly decent, especially for martial builds, which this deity seems to encourage.
: Temporary Tool, Expeditious Excavation, and Earthquake. Temporary Tool can be useful if you or your party were so irresponsible as to lose or forget to bring your rope. Even then, the object only lasts a minute, not allowing you to do much with it. Otherwise, it’s fairly useless. Expeditious Excavation is hilariously bad and is an insult to Pathfinder 1’s Create Pit spell. Creatures have to critically fail to even fall into the pit you create and to affect a large creature you need to cast it at rank 8! Earthquake is the only saving grace here and even it largely depends on the layout of the map to get the most out of it.
Torag
See our entry in The Core 20 Deities.
Trudd
The baby of the bunch, Torag basically made him to be a glorified guard dog. It’s alright though, as Trudd has the personality of a Golden Retriever and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Trudd encourages you to be strong and defend the defenseless while being an all-around humble chad. His features are perfect for martial-focused builds of all types and he doesn’t suffer any of the identity crises the other dwarven gods suffer. As a result, he is easily the best god to worship of the entire Dwarven pantheon (yes, even better than his dear old dad Torag)
: Trudd just wants you to engage in the ultimate Jock fantasy. But like the cool and humble jock, not the high school bully, frat bro kind. Just be nice and don’t brag about it.
: Both are great for Champions and War Clerics, which is what this god wants you to lean into. Caster Clerics will still benefit from Constitution.
Heal is the better of the two to be forced to pick for most parties.
Holy is the better of the two to pick for most parties.
: Really only useful for Champions and Warpriests. That said, you should really only be taking this deity if you plan on playing one of these builds, so it gets a higher rating for that.
Warhammer is good for a war cleric and a champion. 1d8 is respectable and reliable, while Shove does very well in Strength-focused builds. Helps that Trudd gives you both the things you need to really make it shine (Strength and Athletics)
Aside from Confidence, all of these are solid, especially for a martial-focused playstyle, which Trudd highly encourages.
: Both of these are fantastic, especially for the martial-focused playstyle Trudd encourages. Honestly, they may even be more worth taking than the baseline domains.
: Endure, Haste, and Mountain Resilience. All of these spells are useful in some way for martial-focused builds, either contributing to your survivability or action economy.
