Goyoku

### God of

pirates, kirin, good-aligned dragons, thievery, monsters, storms, oceans, mountains, luck, kindness

## Meta information

### Appears in

Instrumental: A Song About the Other Side

Goyoku is the patron goddess of pirates and monsters. She is a huge gold-and-red sovereign dragon, but will also appear to some in a humanoid form.

## Overview

Goyoku was originally a deeply evil red dragon who terrorized The Majority in ancient times. So great was her rampage that Ora themselves was forced to appear before her and demand that she stop. Goyoku refused, drunk on power. Ora responded by cursing the dragon, trapping her in a mutated, diminutive form even smaller than a human. After enduring years of torture, and failing to learn her lesson many times, Goyoku was cornered by a group of heroes who showed her the importance of kindness. At this point Goyoku ascended, becoming a force of good -- which, it turns out, was Ora’s plan all along.

Goyoku’s tears can cure any wound, restore life, grant wishes, and make plants grow. She is most commonly found piloting her fleet of pirate ships through the Maelstrom.

Following her ascension, Goyoku decided she wanted to honor the memory of her cursed form. This is how the Kirin were created.

## Obedience 1

Climb to the top of a tall summit, such as a mountain peak, hill, or rooftop. Do not bring any weapons, armor, or gear except for the light clothing you wear. Stand as close to the edge of the structure as possible and meditate, focusing on the transience of your own existence. If attacked, aggressed, or approached, you must not fight back in any way, even if this would lead to your death. Gain a +1 natural armor bonus to your AC.

### Evangelist Boons

1. **Savage Summoner (Sp):** *summon monster I* 3/day, s*ummon swarm* 2/day, or *summon nature’s ally III* 1/day
2. **Terrifying Eidolon (Su):** Your eidolon gains the frightful presence evolution for free, if you wish. Whenever you gain a new level in the summoner class (or the evangelist prestige class, if your aligned class has the eidolon class feature) and you reassign your evolution points, you can choose to assign or remove the frightful presence evolution. Once your choice has been made, it can’t be altered until the next time you gain an appropriate level. If you don’t have the eidolon class feature, you can instead use *summon monster V* once per day as a spell-like ability.
3. **Tainted Ally (Sp):** Once per day as a standard action, you can summon an interlocutor kyton. The kyton follows your commands perfectly for 1 minute for every Hit Die you possess before vanishing back to its native plane. The kyton doesn’t follow commands that would cause it to act in lawful, good, or otherwise beneficial ways. Such commands not only earn a snarl of disgust from the creature, but could cause the kyton to attack you if the command is particularly egregious.

### Exalted Boons

1. **Howling Terror (Sp):** *cause fear* 3/day, *mad hallucination* 2/day, or *fear* 1/day
2. **Maddening Thoughts (Su):** Your mind constantly swirls with dark whispers and disturbing thoughts. You gain a +4 sacred bonus on saving throws against mind-affecting (compulsion) spells and effects and against divination spells and effects that attempt to read your thoughts. Anyone who targets you with such a spell or effect must succeed at a Will saving throw (with a DC equal to 10 + your Wisdom modifier + 1/2 your Hit Dice) or take 1d4 points of Wisdom damage.
3. **Monstrous Transformation (Sp):** Once per day, you can use *baleful polymorph*, except you change the target into a horribly mutated form of the chosen animal. The target takes a –4 penalty on its saving throw to resist your spell (if the new form would prove fatal for the creature, it still gains a +4 bonus on its saving throw, effectively negating this penalty). In addition to the other effects of the spell, the subject is in constant pain from its twisted and disfigured form, and takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage each round. This constant agony imposes a –2 penalty on all of the target’s ability checks, skill checks, saving throws, attack rolls, and damage rolls.

### Sentinel Boons

1. **Ferocious Battler (Sp):** *stone fist* 3/day, *bear’s endurance* 2/day, or *greater magic fang* 1/day
2. **Bestial Jaws (Ex):** Your jaw distends slightly and you grow prominent canines. You gain a bite attack that deals 1d4 points of damage if you’re Medium or 1d3 points of damage if you’re Small, plus half your Strength bonus. When part of a full attack, the bite attack is made at your full base attack bonus –5. You can also make a bite attack as part of the action to maintain or break free from a grapple. This attack is resolved before the grapple check is attempted. If the bite attack hits, you gain a +2 bonus on your grapple check and any other grapple check against the same creature this round.
3. **Scarred Form (Su):** An armorlike epidermis of thick scars covers you. You take a –2 penalty on Charisma checks and Charisma-based skill checks. You gain damage reduction 5/—. If you already had damage reduction with no method of bypass (such as from the barbarian’s damage reduction class feature), you instead increase that damage reduction by 5.

## Obedience 2

Steal a gold coin or alcoholic drink by force or trickery. Then, while recounting your latest or most impressive act of piracy and blessing Goyoku’s name for all to hear, offer your stolen item to her by throwing it into water at least 4 feet deep. Alternatively, you can recount your most impressive or recent act of piracy to someone unaware of it, although you are free to hide the fact that the act was yours. You then gain a +2 sacred bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity.

### Evangelist Boons

1. **Tricky Adversary (Sp):** *illusion of calm* 3/day, *daze monster* 2/day, or *twilight knife* 1/day
2. **Coerce Service (Su):** You understand and can exhibit the blatantly charismatic pull of your goddess, convincing others to aid you even if they normally might not. Once per day, when you attempt a Diplomacy check to bribe a target (treat as if you are attempting to improve an NPC’s attitude toward you by one step) or an Intimidate check to coerce a target, you can use this ability to gain Goyoku’s blessing to ensure further cooperation. You gain a +4 sacred bonus on the Diplomacy or Intimidate check, and if you succeed, the target is immediately subject to a *geas/quest* effect. For as long as the effect lasts, you can concentrate as a standard action and learn whether the target is actively undertaking your orders or actively defying them.
3. **Bribed Sea Monster (Sp):** The sea monsters at Goyoku’s behest follow your call at the goddess’ command. Once per day as a standard action, you can summon one of the monsters Goyoku has bribed or intimidated into aiding her followers. You must choose the monster from among the following list: adult sea dragon, sea serpent, or vouivre. The monster appears as if summoned via *summon monster*, and you must summon it into an appropriately watery environment. It follows your commands perfectly for 1 round per Hit Die you possess before vanishing. The monster doesn’t follow commands that contravene Goyoku’s interests, such as blocking waterways or giving a navy better control of a sea region; issuing such untenable instructions, if they’re egregious, could cause the monster to attack you.

### Exalted Boons

1. **Captain’s Bluster (Sp):** *command* 3/day, *aggressive thundercloud* 2/day, or *wind wall* 1/day
2. **Treacherous Mirage (Sp):** Goyoku’s blessing allows you to hide the truth once per day. This ability takes the form of either *false vision* or *mirage arcana*. You can change the illusion by spending a move action in concentration. The illusion lasts until you create a new one or dismiss this effect as a swift action.
3. **Rally Crew (Su):** The Dread Pirate lends you her divine panache, which fills all of your allies with courage and pride in their service to you. Once per day as a standard action, you can inspire all allies within 60 feet to greater speed and might. They each gain a 10-foot bonus to their speed and the benefits of *heroism*. On any attack rolls, saving throws, or skill checks benefiting from this morale bonus, your allies take no penalties due to the effects of water or weather. The bonus lasts for 1 hour per Hit Die you possess. As an immediate action, you can cause any number of creatures who disobey your orders to lose this bonus.

### Sentinel Boons

1. **Fearsome Boast (Sp):** *monkey fish* 3/day, *slipstream* 2/day, or *water breathing* 1/day
2. **Doom of Sailors (Sp):** You can immobilize ships or scatter a fleet with a wave of your hand. Once per day, you can cast either *control water*or *control winds*.
3. **Pirate Queen’s Curse (Su):** You know that the Dread Pirate’s enemies are destined to suffer, and you can deliver her wrath personally. Three times per day, you can channel a curse through your weapon. You must declare your use of this ability before you make the attack roll. On a hit, the target is cursed unless it succeeds at a Will saving throw to negate the effect (DC = 10 + 1/2 your Hit Dice + your Charisma modifier). The curse causes the target to be sickened for a number of days equal to your Hit Dice; furthermore, during this period, any creatures flanking the target or against which it is denied its Dexterity bonus to AC deal an additional 1d6 points of damage with every successful hit. This extra damage applies to the attack that delivers the curse. In addition, all creatures with a swim speed have a starting attitude of hostile toward the target. This is a 7th-level curse effect. The curse cannot be dispelled, but it can be removed through *break enchantment*, *limited wish*, *miracle*, *remove curse*, or *wish*.