Come to think of it, yes.

So why hasn't she kicked Lamashtu over being so obstructionist on this?

You know, that's a really good question.

Hey Pharasma, why haven't you kicked Lamashtu over being obstructionist on birth control?

You know how many wandering monster encounters she contributes to the game? Someone's got to play them. She takes off a huge GM load. Enough that I'm not going to just kick her. If you want to introduce birth control to the game I'm all for it, but play the game, not me. Negotiate IC, don't start drama. I'm just a referee.

("Neutral Referee." Yeah, right. Slimeball.)

Alright, fine. I'll think about it.

Hey Iomedae, you're better at this min-maxing thing than I am. Is introducing birth control to Golarion worth it in souls saved?

I know we lose a lot of women to the lower planes over abortions and infanticide, and lot of people in general over abusive relationships they're stuck with. A lot of suffering also happens on the Material due to gender relations issues, particularly in Osirion, and that feeds multiple Evil deities power - Zon-Kuthon and Asmodeus with a side of Norgorber. And that's without getting into the softer effects of it. 

Is it worth the cost?

Yes alone, but consider the knock-on effects. You would have to compensate Lamashtu with souls to get it past her. It would cause societal upheaval; those predictably damn many people in their pursuit. Galt is an instructive example. And then there are the inevitable reactions from Urthagoa and Asmodeus.

So in the full reckoning...?

It's probably not worth it. Otherwise I would be doing it already. 

I'm sorry.

That was not the response she was hoping for, not from a player as dedicated and serious as Iomedae. 

Still, if she's being thorough, she should get the whole team's opinions on this one. 

Hey Milani, what's your opinion on introducing birth control to Golarion? 

Trying to bribe Pharasma about something, are we?

I mean it's clear she'd support it. But seriously, it would massively reduce the number of women who go to the lower planes due to abortion, generally reduce suffering, and probably do a lot of good for Osirion. Multiple neutral gods would be in favour. Even Lamashtu, the major opposition, is potentially bribable. 

The issue is, Iomedae and Shelyn seem to think it wouldn't be worth it. What would you say to that?

What did Iomedae say precisely?

"Probably not worth it."

She fits a lot of assumptions in that "probably." You must remember that she's a lawful good goddess and so she assigns higher costs to upheaval and social change than most people. 

Did she give me shit about Galt? I bet she gave me shit about Galt. 

She gave you shit about Galt. 

I knew it. 

In any case, the thing is that in cases where new ideals come forward there is a higher variability. You get more of a bimodal distribution of outcomes than a bell curve. And Iomedae is quite risk-averse: she likes sure bets when she can get them. She doesn't gamble with people's lives when she can help it.

What's your plan for bribing Lamashtu?

The idea is some kind of fecundity spell.

That's a bad plan. Commit forces to attacking her rivals in evil instead. Urgathoa and Pazuzu both have beef with her; I recommend you make an under-the-table deal against both of them as part of your bribe, since they have Excess and Temptation respectively and will both be pains in your side with this strategy anyway. Iomedae won't have considered that option, she's shaped herself too honorably.

That... would clearly help in multiple ways. What can we do about making it a clean transition so fewer people are damned?

I'm not even going to pretend to have advice that works there. It's chaotic by nature, too many people are involved.

It would be a gamble. If you win it, you win Osirion and a lot of long-term payoff potential, at some large finite cost in souls. Having a more Good Osirion puts the evil gods on the back foot - Cheliax gets a good portion of its grain from there - and also reduces the number of souls who go to Hell as a result of Lawful alignment.

I'd be willing to risk it.

Thanks for the advice. Is there anyone else I should talk to about this?

I have more advice first.

Pharasma likes to play neutral, but I bet you could get her to rule that responsibly using birth control is slightly Good. Abortion is Evil, it stands to reason taking steps to avoid it is Good. That then could go on to tip narrow cases. It's a tiny little thing, not enough to piss off anyone, and lets her pretend neutrality, but it'll add up over enough cases. 

Calistria will be so in favor of this it isn't even funny. Take some of your bribe for Lamashtu out of her. You have her over a barrel here, she'll never be able to get together a respectable coalition for this on her own given her track record of instability and double-dealing. It's only right that she should pay her fair share. 

I'll back you on this. Cayden will too. Talk to Kofusachi about it. Talk to Erastil. If you can convince Erastil you've got a case then I think you'll almost certainly have a good shot of making this work. 

Good luck.

Thank you. I'll talk to Kofusachi next, then.

Hey, Kofusachi, I don't think we've met? I didn't factor you in originally since I'm focusing my play on the Inner Sea region, but Milani said you would have advice on introducing birth control to Golarion?