Guide to Torag: Pathfinder’s God of the Forge

“… the only tools a dwarf needed were his axe and some means of making fire. That’d eventually get him a forge, and with that he could make simple tools, and with those he could make complex tools, and with complex tools a dwarf could more or less make anything.”

― Terry Pratchett

The lead deity of the Dwarven Pantheon, Torag is the God of Forging, Protection, and Strategy.

While he is predominantly a God of the Dwarves, many Humans also have taken up worship of the Torag.

Torag extorts his followers to be honorable and make sure to keep to their plans. He is a distant and quiet deity, preferring to leave his followers to make their own way in the world. 

Torag Deific Lore

Torag is an old deity, considering his role as chief deity of the dwarves.

He is known as the “Father of Creation” or the “Father of Dwarfkind.” He is a Lawful Good deity, and his chosen weapon is a warhammer, which also doubles as his church’s symbol. 

His sacred animal is the badger, and the sacred colors of his worship are gold and gray. 

Torag’s Personal History

According to the Dwarves, Torag was one of the first deities to arise from the primordial chaos that formed the multiverse.

At his great forge, he created the world and the dwarves with his mighty hammer. He forged the dwarves from stone, and the fiery sparks of his hammer striking the anvil lit the fire in the Dwarven bodies to become their souls.

For a time, Torag ruled the dwarves as a great king in their underground realm. During this time, he taught the dwarves how to craft, mine, and forge.

For centuries, the dwarven kingdoms flourished, and master craftsmen competed to forge great works for the approval of their distant king. This was seen as both bettering themselves and worshiping their God-King.

After this early Golden Age, Torag left the material plane and returned to his dwarfhome. However, he left them with a prophecy that one day his children would climb from their homes and come to the surface of the World.

This became known as the Quest for Sky and eventually led the Dwarves to join the other races on the surface of Golarion.

Torag was also known to be one of the deities who battled the monstrous god known as Rovagug. With the assistance of Gorum, the God of Battle, he forged the prison known as the Dead Vault to hold the Rough Beast.

Appearance

When Torag makes a personal appearance (which is exceedingly rare), he appears as a powerfully built dwarf. He is almost always seen working at his forge, constantly creating and shaping something. 

Torag is a god of strategy and planning, so he will never show himself without having a very good reason to.

Torag will also manifest sometimes with signs as well. A message etched in stone is often seen as his direct words.

Earthquakes are also known as a mark of his displeasure, but those who survive earthquakes are often thought of to be blessed by Torag.

Home Plane

Torag rules the dwarven pantheon from his home plane known as Forgeheart. Forgeheart is a part of the Heavens, and it is here that Torag endlessly crafts powerful weapons and armor for Heaven’s armies. 

Allies and Enemies

As leader of the Dwarven Pantheon, Torag is allied to every god of the Dwarves with the exception of Droskar.

Droskar is a former student of Torag but is now the evil deity of the Duergar or Gray Dwarves. He stands for Slavery and Pain, which is anathemic to Torag’s ways.

Most of the good deities consider Torag an ally, but he is still distant even from them. He sees Sarenrae as deluded because of her tendency for mercy.

He is closest to Erastil, who also represents community and family as Torag does. He is respectful toward Abadar as a god of Law and Civilization and enjoys a friendly relationship with the gods Cayden Cailean (despite his chaotic nature) and Iomedae.

Torag despises Moloch, whom he sees as an anathemic corruption of his own arts of creation. Moloch believes the feeling is mutual and calls on his followers to target Torag’s priests over anyone else for sacrifice. 

Zursvaater respects Torag in his capacity as a smith but cannot help but see dwarves as a nuisance at best and absolute pests at worst.

While he respects the Father of Dwarfkind, he still tells his followers to enslave dwarves when possible. 

Servants

Torag has many creatures that serve him. He considers himself kin with most burrowing and underground creatures, especially badgers. Bats are considered evil and profane for their association with Rovagug.

  • Chalkost is Torag’s divine servitor race. They are formed from the souls of dwarves who have passed on and achieved a type of “Perfection” in Torag’s eyes. They serve Torag as fellow craftsmen and laborers in his heavenly forge.
  • Ambassador Zurin is from the race of the Azer, or Fire Dwarves. Zurin is a diplomat and messenger for Torag when a more polite touch is needed.
  • The Grand Defender is a massive iron construct that serves as Torag’s Herald. It is built like a dwarf, carrying a hammer and shield.
  • Hrilga Shield-Maiden is a celestial dwarven werebear who serves Torag and is a representation of his loyalty.
  • Stoneriver is an awakened Bulette who swims through the deepest parts of the earth on behalf of Torag.

Torag’s Church

Torag’s church is exceedingly old, almost ancient. It has spread far and wide all over the world.

Torag’s church is focused on tradition and action rather than words.

Dogma

The church’s dogma focuses greatly on community and family as well as the powers of creation and honor. Those who betray their people or their charges deserve the worst fate.

Suicide is considered the gravest of sins and is frowned upon greatly by the church. Those who kill themselves are said to be thrown into Avernus, the first layer of hell.

Edicts: Be honorable and forthright, keep your word, respect the forge, serve your people

Anathema: Tell lies or cheat someone, intentionally create inferior works, show mercy to the enemies of your people

Torag Paladin Oath:

Paladins of Torag are often people who will protect their chosen charges with their last breath. They are stoic but have a deep reservoir of feeling. They most often protect both their chosen people as well as the culture of those people.

  • My word is my bond. When I give my word formally, I defend my oath to my death. Traps lie in idle banter or thoughtless talk, and so I watch my tongue.
  • I am at all times truthful, honorable, and forthright, but my allegiance is to my people. I will do what is necessary to serve them, including misleading others if need be.
  • I respect the forge and never sully it with half-hearted work. My creations reflect the depth of my faith, and I will not allow flaws save in direst need.
  • Against my people’s enemies, I will show no mercy. I will not allow their surrender, except when strategy warrants. I will defeat them, yet even in the direst struggle, I will act in a way that brings honor to Torag.

Worshippers

Torag is revered by both humans and dwarves alike. Those who follow more traditional methods of living and respect community and family often pay at least a small homage to the Father of Dwarfkind.

Torag’s church is one of the most widespread considering its age and has become a part of almost every settlement in Golarion with only very rare exceptions. 

There are many city guards who pray to Torag for a peaceful patrol or to make sure they make it home.

Clergy

Torag’s clergy is made up of an even mix of both dwarves and humans. Among the Dwarves, the majority of Torag’s clergy are clerics with a smaller portion being Paladins or Champions.

By contrast, Human clergy are almost universally Clerics, with Paladins and Champions being almost unheard of. 

Many of the Clergy are also craftsmen in some way. Most are artisans with a few seeking to combine the concept of planner and creator and take up the mantle as architects. Some clergy also double as city guards or military strategists. 

Temples and Shine

Temples of Torag are often both worship sites and workshops. They have hammers, anvils, and forges. Creation is a form of prayer to Torag, so many of the clergy and laymen choose to worship by creating something with their own hands.

Most temples are round or circular. They focus around a central forge that everyone can use as part of a community. This can be great for working together to complete one massive project or simply to share knowledge among craftsmen.

They are oftentimes built like fortresses, and if they are outdoors, they are built away from settlements. This pulls double duty: it keeps the noise pollution in the settlement down and allows for most settlements to have a fallback position in the case of a settlement coming under siege by raiders.

Holy Text

Torag’s Holy Text is known as the Hammer and Tongs: The Forging of Metal and Other Good Works. The book is heavy. The spine is bound in metal, and the pages are lacquered. This allows the book to be taken into the forge without the chance of it catching fire while it’s being used.

The Hammer and Tongs tells of multiple things. Along with being a holy text, it also has basic instructions for the creation of arms, armor, and tools. It also details methods of dealing with or killing monsters that would prey on dwarven communities.

Finally, individual copies of Hammer and Tongs will often have sections about how their local community was founded and when. This makes sure that a community will remember its roots as it grows.

Holidays

Most holidays among the worshippers of Torag are local celebrations. They commemorate the victory of the community against powerful foes. Successful battles are a celebration of the survival of Torag’s values and planning. 

Player Involvement

There is a myriad of options available for players who want to engage with and show off their faith in Torag. These range from character builds, prestige classes, magic items, and spells.

For obvious reasons, these abilities and player options are separated into Pathfinder 1st Edition and Pathfinder 2nd Edition.

Pathfinder 1st Edition

Below are some player and GM resources that can add more to a personal worship of Torag or add flavor to NPCs.

Archetypes

These archetypes are build guides for characters or NPCs who could be worshippers of Torag:

Feats

These feats are common among worshippers of Torag and could complement many character builds:

Cleric Domains

Clerics of Torag have access to these domains when they create their characters:

Subdomains 

Magic Items

These magical items are common in Torag worship or have a direct connection to the deity.

Monsters

These creatures might come as allies or enemies when involved with Torag’s church:

Prestige Classes

Torag’s church only has one Prestige Class associated with it: the Sacred Sentinel. The Sacred Sentinel is a tank-like strong character. They specialize in protecting and shielding their allies.

Spells

These spells are often used in the worship of Torag or are used by Torag’s worshippers:

Traits

Torag’s followers and worshippers can have the following traits. Remember, you can only have one trait depending on how your GM wants to run their game:

Pathfinder 2nd Edition

In Pathfinder 2nd edition, there are many Clerics and Champions of Torag. Those who are worshippers can have the following benefits including the possibility of Divine Intercession.

Devotee Benefits

Divine Intercession

Divine Intercession is a method the gods of Golarion use to make sure their orders and edicts are followed. Should someone do something beneficial to the faith or following of a Deity, they may receive boons to guide or assist them in their quests. 

Conversely, when a deity’s laws are transgressed, they may law a curse on their follower until the behavior is corrected.  

“Torag makes his pleasure or displeasure known through unsubtle signs.

Minor Boon: Torag repairs your equipment so you may continue your vigil. Once, a shield, weapon, or other item you hold or are wearing recovers all of its Hit Points. The item’s Hardness doubles for 1 minute. Torag can grant this boon just as the item would have been destroyed, preventing the item’s destruction. Occasionally, he grants this boon to restore an item important to dwarven history that has already been fully destroyed.

Moderate Boon: You are counted as family among Torag and his followers. You gain the effects of a single dwarf ancestry feat of Torag’s choice, even if you are not a dwarf as long as you maintain Torag’s blessing.

Major Boon: Standing watch or guarding a location counts as resting for you, preventing you from being fatigued due to lack of rest as long as you stand watch for at least 6 hours a day. You can recover your Focus Points (if you have them) by standing guard in addition to any other options you have available. When on guard, you gain a +4 status bonus to Perception to notice ambushes and other dangers approaching. As long as you are holding a shield, you are always Defending during exploration without needing to move at half your travel speed, and you can perform another exploration activity as well. While you are using a shield, its Hardness increases by 5.

Minor Curse: Shoddy artisanship makes itself known. Whenever an item you’re using takes damage, it is broken.

Moderate Curse: You must prove your skills at a craft by providing your own equipment. You gain item bonuses only from items you make yourself.

Major Curse: You are forever cast out of your home. Members of your community have their attitudes toward you shift two steps worse, meaning those who used to be helpful are now indifferent, those who were friendly are now unfriendly, and all others are now hostile. This doesn’t necessarily result in violence, but hostile community members generally seek your permanent exile.”

Source: Gods & Magic pg. 47 2.0