Conspiracy Theories of Golarion


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

My wife is jumping back into gaming after a long time away from the table. I've gotten her interested in the the world of Pathfinder and Golarion specifically.

She's chosen to play a gnome rogue (angling for the Spymaster role in the Kingmaker AP), and her choice for her character's gnomish obsession is conspiracy theories. She wants to play a full-bore conspiracy theorist full of wild and rampant speculations -- but she wants there to be a grain of truth to them.

Now, I've already given her a few of the meta-plots of other Adventure Paths to start with (Drow, Runelords, etc.).

I'm having trouble thinking of others, especially others that might spoof some of the better-known conspiracy theories of our time. Any ideas?


Stalwart wrote:


My wife is jumping back into gaming after a long time away from the table. I've gotten her interested in the the world of Pathfinder and Golarion specifically.

She's chosen to play a gnome rogue (angling for the Spymaster role in the Kingmaker AP), and her choice for her character's gnomish obsession is conspiracy theories. She wants to play a full-bore conspiracy theorist full of wild and rampant speculations -- but she wants there to be a grain of truth to them.

Now, I've already given her a few of the meta-plots of other Adventure Paths to start with (Drow, Runelords, etc.).

I'm having trouble thinking of others, especially others that might spoof some of the better-known conspiracy theories of our time. Any ideas?

Maybe she believes that the devil worshipping in Cheliax is just a front for something much, much worse.

And then there's of course all the shadowrun-style 'dragon are the true masters of the world'-paranoia. She might think a dragon's hand is behind everything, all banks and therefore the nobility are controlled by dragons and so on...And it does make sense, to a point. They are really old, masters of magic and have more than enough wealth stored in their hoard.

Or maybe she believes one or more of the runelords survived and do actually control a part of Golarion?

And Andoran's not really the place of good and democracy it claims to be, but infested by demons, and that's the reason they are in constant conflict with Cheliax (just another battlefield in the eternal Blood War). Who else but a force of chaotic evil would give peasants and beggars the right to choose their leader? 'Everyone' knows that good leadership requires a noble bloodline. ;)


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Since the Cthulhu mythos is present in the Golarion setting you could have a "Delta green" like conspiracy going on, with alien masterminds manipulating events to their own unfathomable ends. The real truth is always hidden and those exposed to it are considered madmen. Evil cults worship ancient gods from beyond the stars plotting for their eventual return and the end of everything. The ancient Aboleth race is still present and weaving alien plots from the shadows. Serpentfolk roam hidden amongst the people of Golarion waiting for a chance to seize control and reclaim their ancient Empire. These hidden threats are largely ignored by most, and the truth behind them leads only to madness or if you are lucky death.


Are you running an Adventure Path or a homebrew campaign?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
gang wrote:
Are you running an Adventure Path or a homebrew campaign?

I'm running the Kingmaker AP. I'm sticking with Golarion as the setting. I'm leery of revealing anything about the overarching plot of Kingmaker and its final villain, even couched in guise of a nutty conspiracy theory.

Therefore, I'd like some true-ish theories from elsewhere around Golarion for fun.

Thanks for the ideas so far!

Sczarni

Stalwart wrote:
gang wrote:
Are you running an Adventure Path or a homebrew campaign?

I'm running the Kingmaker AP. I'm sticking with Golarion as the setting. I'm leery of revealing anything about the overarching plot of Kingmaker and its final villain, even couched in guise of a nutty conspiracy theory.

Therefore, I'd like some true-ish theories from elsewhere around Golarion for fun.

Thanks for the ideas so far!

The Harbingers of Fate has some juicy back-story stuff you could use. They basicly think the loss of prophecy is a conspiracy.


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Here's one I've considered using as truth in any Golarion games I run.

The Test of the Starstone isn't a method to achieve godhood, but rather a trap set by the gods to eliminate potential rivals. All of the gods, even the "good" ones are in on this.

The stories about Norgorber, Cayden, and Iomedae ascending to godhood by passing the Test are completely false, and those gods aren't at all who their worshippers believe them to be.

Some people say there is a way for a mortal to achieve apotheosis, but the pool of godly power is limited, and every new deity weakens the existing deities. So the gods created the Test of the Starstone to root out any mortals with such ambitions, and destroy them before they can discover the true path to divinity.

Others speak of a secret ancient prophecy which warns of a horrid doom to befall mortal and deity alike, to be brought about by a mortal become god.

Liberty's Edge

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The Age of Lost Omens is actually a 'Trading Jobs' day between Aroden and Cayden Cailean. Who everyone thinks is Cayden is actually Aroden on a booze cruise. People then ask where's Cayden->Aroden? Being himself, Cayden blew off work and went across the border to the neighboring cosmology and is still drinking...

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

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This guy

"You didn't think the cross hilt on Iomadean longswords was just a coincidence did you? The design was inspired by ancient Azlanti mystics who fought undersea dwelling vampires."

"But Azlant fell before Iomadae became a goddess!"

"That's what they want you to think."

Oblig edition wars joke

Spoiler:
She could see doomsday signs in every pattern of four she sees


Nethys is really Nex. All magic-users are his secret slaves and the goal is to eventually drive Geb's land of Osirion back into slavery. (OK, this one works better if you're running around near Osirion or with an Osiriani PC).


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I would think that Druma, Druman merchants, and followers of the Prophecies of Kalistrade would lend themselves to all sorts of illuminati rumours and conspiracy theories about secret handshakes, 'friends in all the right places', and financial manipulations on a continental scale.
I know you mentioned you've already done drow, but what about the conspiracy that the elves caused the Earthfall (they left just before it, after all, didn't they?) to weaken all other races and that only a serious malfunction of the Sovyrian Stone prevented them from returning immediately after the event to wipe everyone else out and take their place as sole rulers of the world. (You can possibly tie this one to something about elves vs drow, and maybe a theory that the last 'good' drow sabotaged the Sovyrian Stone before being torn to bits by his fellows, and since the malfunction was on the 'Golarion' side, the elves thought that the kin they'd left behind to monitor the situation had betrayed them, sparking the elf vs drow conflict once the elves finally fixed the stone and were able to return... After all no good restaging the event for another attempt to make your race the supreme masters of the world until you've dealt with the traitors who messed it up the first try.)

Dark Archive

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Irori, Nethys and Urgathoa haven't a lot in common, despite being gods of lore and magic, but the one thing they share is that they *made themselves into gods.*

As a result, they had always a very minor sort of cameraderie, kind of watching out for each other and having some respect for each other, because some of the older gods looked down on them for being 'nouveau riche,' undeserving of being considered 'real gods.'

That was then, this is now. They have something else in common. Where they were the 'upstarts,' undeserving and uninvited in the big boys club, now there are Iomedae, Cayden Cailean and Norgorber, who walked into a giant rock and got turned into gods.

The whole thing is insulting to these hardworking mortals who pulled thjemselves up by their bootstraps, particularly since the Starstone has a clear bias towards Aroden's girlfriends, turning both Arazni and Iomedae into servitor gods.

So the old 'we'll gang up to not get picked on so much by the old guard' soft alliance between Irori, Nethys and Urgathoa has picked up somewhat. They don't work together, their churches don't really coordinate, but they all take any opportunity to 'pay it forward' to the new upstarts, who they feel are even *less* deserving of calling themselves gods.

And so the cycle continues, with the clergy of Irori, Nethys or Urgathoa every now and then uncovering something that's just a little bit embarassing or inconvenient to the clergy of one of the 'new upstarts,' and 'accidentally' allowing that information to get out...

Sometimes, it's not about alignment, it's about who was there first.

Asmodeus, Lamashtu and Sarenrae have their own detractors, having 'come up' from the minor leagues of archdevil, demon lord and empyreal, while older powers like Erastil, Gozreh and Rovagug feel themselves to be the 'old guard,' who were gods back before just anyone could become a god, whether Outsider done good, or pretentious mortal pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, or these newfangled Starstone Scions, with their airs and unearned station.

It's the ultimate snooty old-boys club, and sometimes Desna gets the snub because she's so willing to hang out with Cayden Cailean, who is so much younger than herself. There's talk that her favored animal is going to change from the butterfly to the cougar...


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
Set wrote:
...sometimes Desna gets the snub because she's so willing to hang out with Cayden Cailean, who is so much younger than herself. There's talk that her favored animal is going to change from the butterfly to the cougar...

Not really contributing, but I had to highlight this as ROFL when I read it. Nice one!


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I love this! I knew there'd be some gold if I threw up the question to the boards.

I had thought about a few conspiracies surrounding Aroden's death, but mostly stuff about magic sling bullets and grassy gnolls...

I know, I know.

Dark Archive

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Aroden is;

a) Faking it. Looking to see which of his Starstone Scions is 'up to something' and would try to usurp his power. The self-proclaimed 'Inheritor' is gonna get a time out when he's satisfied with this experiment.

b) During Earthfall, another Azlanti god(dess) formed from the anguished deaths of tens of thousands of Azlanti, and exists as a fractured wailing thing, born of torment and confusion. Part of her wants to live again. Part of her wants every other Azlanti to die, to silence the voices forever, and 'the Last Azlanti,' Aroden, was at the top of her list. Aroden realized that she would slaughter the rest of the scattered Azlanti, unless he accepted her embrace, and held her fast, her destructive self-loathing contained. He now lies trapped within the corporeal manifestation of her wrath, the Eye of Abendago.

c) Asmodeus has been tapping the power of the prison that cages the Rough Beast to do... stuff. It's all very complicated, and nobody's business. The disasters and portents that accompanied the disappearance of Aroden had nothing to do with his disappearance. In fact, it was the use of Aroden, body and soul, to reinforce the weakened prison, and contain Rovagug, who was literally breaking free at that very moment, that caused the disasters to *stop.*

Which begs the question, if it took Aroden's very divinity to *repair* the prison, what the hell was it made out of in the first place? Or, more specifically, who?

Other questions; How did it happen? Did Aroden volunteer? Was he 'pushed?' Was Asmodeus alone in the decision, or was there a conspiracy of silence? Who else knows? Does Abadar know, and resignedly accept it as the price of keeping Rovagug contained (and, oh-so-conveniently stepping in to take over as 'god of civilization')? Does Sarenrae know, and mournfully accept that the dead god of the dead Azlanti was already on the way out anyway, and is doing more good containing Rovagug than he was fading into obsolence century by century? Did Pharasma dispassionately chart this course as she pilots the vessel of mortal fate?

d) He jumped. Aroden discovered that the Age of Prophecy ended with the apocalypse, and that he was inextricably bound to that fate. And so he flipped off destiny and killed himself, throwing prophecy into disastrous disarray, causing all sorts of upheavels, but sparing all of Golarion from a final and terrible fate. He read the prophecy and smashed the tablets upon they were written, knowing that it was written in his bones, inked in his blood. Only by destroying himself, could he stymie this destiny and save the world, although, unable to see beyond the sundering of prophecy (and his own death), he died wondering if he was saving the world, or destroying it, as whatever future lay beyond his death was obscured to him...


One from my game:

The various groups of wizards fear/hate spontaneous casters as cheaters and seek a means of short circuiting their powers. (Not true, but there are some who do..., just not those in the crosshairs!)


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Gnomes are hiding a terrible, evil, wicked, world-shattering secret.

Never trust anyone who smiles that much.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Set wrote:

Aroden is;

d) He jumped. Aroden discovered that the Age of Prophecy ended with the apocalypse, and that he was inextricably bound to that fate. And so he flipped off destiny and killed himself, throwing prophecy into disastrous disarray, causing all sorts of upheavels, but sparing all of Golarion from a final and terrible fate. He read the prophecy and smashed the tablets upon they were written, knowing that it was written in his bones, inked in his blood. Only by destroying himself, could he stymie this destiny and save the world, although, unable to see beyond the sundering of prophecy (and his own death), he died wondering if he was saving the world, or destroying it, as whatever future lay beyond his death was obscured to him...

I like this the best actually. I use something similar.


I'm sure you could come up with a few conspiracy theories about Groetus.

Paizo Employee Chief Creative Officer, Publisher

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Set wrote:

Aroden is;

That whole post was awesome.

I'm working on some Aroden stuff for my personal campaign, and it's a hoot to see how you address some of the mysteries behind the character (who I made up).

Liberty's Edge

Erik Mona wrote:
Set wrote:

Aroden is;

That whole post was awesome.

I'm working on some Aroden stuff for my personal campaign, and it's a hoot to see how you address some of the mysteries behind the character (who I made up).

Well, as a big fan of Aroden, I hope we'll see this stuff someday.

Dark Archive

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Erik Mona wrote:
Set wrote:

Aroden is;

That whole post was awesome.

I'm working on some Aroden stuff for my personal campaign, and it's a hoot to see how you address some of the mysteries behind the character (who I made up).

I'm aglow with the praise.

On the one hand, it would be cool to hear your own thoughts. On the other hand, even your 'personal campaign' thoughts might end up being taken as pseudo-canon, so perhaps it's better to not know. :)

Back on-topic;
The stuff I've offered, is, IMO, too god-centric and cosmic to be relevant. I'm pondering what sort of 'conspiracy theories' might be fun to consider that involve the Pathfinder Society (a hotbed of intrigue), or various cities / nations / ethnic groups, rather than have all the good stuff be about the gods. (Not that there isn't a ton of potential god-related hooks left, such as how nobody has ever seen Asmodeus, who holds the key to Rovagug's prison, and is a god of laws and contracts, and Abadar, whose symbol is a key, and is a god of laws and contracts, in the same place...)

Although some of the 'near gods' could be fun to play with;

What if Razmir is dead, having actually taken the Test of the Starstone and failed, and his masked disciples keep the faith alive, the most powerful of them (his original companions in life, part of a sorcerous secret society) knowing the truth, but not being willing to give up the pretense of serving 'the Living God' and having an entire nation bent to their will. What if Sivanah, goddess of deception, finds the whole thing amusing, and while she would never risk the ire of the other gods (or, most specifically, Achaekek, who finds the concept of a pretender-god not at all amusing...) by sending her Clerics in to masquerade as 'Priests of Razmir,' she offers more discrete assistance through allowing her Sorcerers and Illusionists to use Shadow Conjuration to cast healing spells.

What if Mengkare never even existed, and the entire eugenicist society is run by human philosophers splintered off from Rahadoumi anti-deists, who use the pretense of the gold dragon's involvement to keep powerful potential opponents of their 'utopia' at bay?


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It's no accident that the words "ulfen" and "elven" sound so similar. The elves have been bound in magical servitude to the ulfen kings for thousands of years. The elves disappearance from Golarion was at the behest of their ulfen masters. The elves were sent away on a mission to find something, or eliminate a dangerous enemy, or perform magical rites impossible to perform upon Golarion.

Some people think the ulfen's decreased raiding is a sign that the sinister plans of the elves and their ulfen masters are nearing completion, and someday soon all of Golarion will awaken to find themselves serving tall, blond overlords.

Of course the elves and the ulfen vehemently deny there is any connection between them, which just proves it's all true!

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Set wrote:
I'm pondering what sort of 'conspiracy theories' might be fun to consider that involve the Pathfinder Society (a hotbed of intrigue)...

Given how many of us probably play Pathfinders in PFS, it'd be fun to make them a total bad-guy group hell-bent on taking over the world in a home game.

Dark Archive

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Ooh, thread-necromancy!

More nationalistic conspiracies;

1) The boy-pharoah of Osirion is a puppet-ruler, possessed by the spirits of a long-'dead' Pharoah of Ascension, with the elemental 'servants' being servants of that Pharoah, not the boy whose body (and right to rule Osirion) he has usurped. He has opened up the land of Osirion to foreign plunder, because he uses shadowy elemental assassins to reclaim any items of true value, and has arranged for maps and clues to lead expeditions from Cheliax and Taldor to areas that he considers too dangerous to risk his own people to explore. Once they penetrate the ancient defenses, his invisible stalkers (with levels in Assassin) move in to relieve them of the items that he really wanted to secure. The 'Risen Guard' that accompany him are soldiers whose souls have been bound away in gems, while the spirits of counselors and courtiers of the Pharaoh of Ascension now possess their bodies, slowly replacing men of the present day with deathless servants of their true ruler.

2) Qadira makes noise about being an appendage of a greater empire of 'Greater Kel' or whatever. That's all smoke. The too-perfect uber-empire they claim to be but the farthest outpost of collapsed into warring city-states ages ago, and Qadira is the last shining bastion of their ancient culture, clinging to an illusion of power.

3) Andoran is ruled by the merchant-class, who overthrew the landed gentry and appropriated their lands for their own use. They are many times more ruthless and rapacious than the nobility ever were, driven by greed and profit, with no concept of either blooded nobility, or the concepts of honor, justice, chivalry, etc that are associated with the other definition of 'nobility.' Orders of knights are left preening and pandering, utterly convinced that they are champions of the people, while, behind the scenes, grasping opportunists plunder the land *and have convinced the common folk that anything that goes wrong is their fault.* Crop failure leads to famine? Well, obviously, it can't be blamed on the nobility and their terrible taxes, so it must just be that the farmers were short-sighted and didn't take proper precautions and save up a years worth of food in case of a bad year...

4) There is a shadow war in Cheliax that few even know exists. The followers of the left-hand path of diabolism are in a state of conflict with the church of Asmodeus, which they believe have defied the proper state of the infernal heirarchy, by treating Asmodeus as the only devil worthy of reverence and suppressing the churches of Mammom, Mephistopheles, Dispater and the overall philosophy of Diabolism itself (which reveres the eight archdevils *and* Asmodeus).

5) The Ulfen Guard that 'protect' the Taldan ruler conceal an embarassing truth. An unknown time ago, a weak Taldan ruler sent a naval expedition to the Land of the Linnorm Kings, and attempted to annex it, only to be overwhelmed and eradicated to a man. The ruler's son and heir remained at sea, and was captured by the Linnorm Kings, and forced to swear an oath bound by powerful magic. He was ransomed back to his father, and when he ascended to the throne, he sent for his captors, who served as his 'honor guard,' and whom he lauded and feted with extravagant favors (as well as tribute, to be sent back to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings). It has been centuries, and this 'tradition' has remained, as each Taldan ruler travels about in perfect safety, ever surrounded by his Ulfen 'bodyguards,' who don't just protect him from any threat, but also make sure that he remembers that the Crown must make regular tribute to the Linnorm Kings for this 'service...'

After all, as every Taldan ruler learns from his 'bodyguards' at an early age, "You're only king for life."

6) Rahadoum claims to tolerate no religion, but 'everybody knows' that they have their own secretive faith. They didn't expel all religion, they only expelled the churches of the gods who threatened their masters from beyond the Dark Tapestry. After a day of pretending to be anti-deist zealots, they don their tattered black robes, take up their wavy-bladed scarification knives and chant and cavort before twisting things in dark catacombs, spilling blood to mad alien forces.

7) The 'sun orchid elixir' of Thuvia is a metaphor. Alchemists often speak in metaphor, such as speaking of 'turning lead into gold,' when their true goal is to transmute impure flesh into ageless and eternal perfection. Deep in the desert, men are staked out for the sun by the dozens, and as their minds descend into madness and their bodies bake, the essence of their lives are distilled into golden droplets, that become the Sun Orchid Elixir. Only from lives stolen and cut short, can the gift of added years be drafted...

8) The Starstone is an egg, of some horrific thing from the dark places between the stars. It sings to itself, a mad tuneless song that calls people of power to it. The vast majority of them are consumed by the nascent creature, and add to it's power, however fractionally. A small percentage manage to survive it's alien madness and horror, and pull themselves free of it's tentacled grasp, slick with embrionic fluids, reborn as gods. And yet they remain the children of the Starstone, and someday it will fully awaken, and sing to them a song they cannot resist...

9) The reason that the Shackles Pirates have never been truly challenged of late is that they do not 'know secret techniques to sail around the Eye of Abendago,' but indeed have their greatest and secret base of operations *IN* the Eye of Abendago. Through rites and obeisances to unknown powers, they can sail their ships directly into the maelstrom, and enter the calm waters around this mythical 'Freeport,' which cannot be divined by magic, nor reached by teleportation, only by the secret rites known only to the captains of the Shackle Pirates. Other supposed pirate havens, such as Port Peril, are ramshackle shams, occupied by those who have violated the pirate's code, or not yet earned the right to serve on the crew of the true Pirate Lords of Abendago, who can be recognized by their staring black eyes and the lines of gills hidden beneath their collars.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

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Set wrote:

8) The Starstone is an egg, of some horrific thing from the dark places between the stars. It sings to itself, a mad tuneless song that calls people of power to it. The vast majority of them are consumed by the nascent creature, and add to it's power, however fractionally. A small percentage manage to survive it's alien madness and horror, and pull themselves free of it's tentacled grasp, slick with embrionic fluids, reborn as gods. And yet they remain the children of the Starstone, and someday it will fully awaken, and sing to them a song they cannot resist...

Power level 37.09% Cayden Cailan of Golarion... RISE

Sorry couldn't resist. Though the Andoran bit I like a lot.


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TheWarriorPoet519 wrote:

Gnomes are hiding a terrible, evil, wicked, world-shattering secret.

Never trust anyone who smiles that much.

I remember something from one of the books saying that some people suspect all gnomes of being the individual sensory nodes of an extradimensional being in the First World. Now that's a conspiracy for you!

Dark Archive

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Xenophile wrote:
I remember something from one of the books saying that some people suspect all gnomes of being the individual sensory nodes of an extradimensional being in the First World. Now that's a conspiracy for you!

Ooh, race specific conspiracies...

1) Halflings weren't originally a race, they were the result of human diabolists sacrificing some of the life-energy of their children, resulting in the children growing up stunted in stature. Their own children carry the curse, a portion of their vitality siphoned off to feed the devils, and their 'devil's luck' is a side-effect of the infernal taint that reduced their stature and strength.

2) When Dwarves first appeared in the lands of man, only male dwarves were seen, and dwarves either ignored questions about the females of their kind, or made up obvious lies. Some time later, a few 'female' dwarves were seen, bearded and not apparently any different than male dwarves, physically or socially. Years later, beardless female dwarves, occupying a different social station, were finally seen, leading to some odd conclusions;

The first theory is that when the dwarves first arrived on the surface, the true females of their people had been hidden away, to keep them safe, while the males tested the surface world to see if it was safe. The bearded 'females' were male dwarves, simply pretending to be females, to sate the curiosity of the other races. Once they determined it was safe, their actual females joined them on the surface.

The second, wilder, theory, is that the dwarves *didn't have females* when they first arrived, and were confused by the question 'where are your females' when the question was asked by surface races. They soon attempted to pretend to have females, using bearded male pretenders, until they finished *creating female dwarves* in their deep forges...


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If your rogue is from Galt, all of this would make SO MUCH SENSE!

-The fey are actually secret agents of the proteans, dedicated to unraveling all natural laws and returning the multiverse to its chaotic, wild, origin.

-All trees are actually treants. The "regular" trees are simply spying on everything that comes near and communicate via different chemical scents.

-The Aspis Consortium is not secretly a greedy mercantile conspiracy. They are only pretending to be because it makes them feel cool.

-The chaos of the River Kingdoms is the cause of the Whispering Tyrant's mighty spell, which he used to fend off the Tarrasque back over the World's Edge Mountains and into Iobaria.

-In the markets of Katapesh there is a masked lich, known as "the Seer". This undead menace is the true master of Galt's Grey Gardeners.

Dark Archive

i used a conspiracy from a sci-fi channel show called First Wave. In it, a conspracy theory nut held someone at sword pont and sad it was the sword that killed president Lincoln. when reminded he was shot. the nut yelled thats what they want you to think! substtue a presdent for a kng or say lincoln s from andor.


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Razmir was once Aroden before he drank from that well that kills the drinker and reincarnates them.

Dark Archive

OmegaZ wrote:
-All trees are actually treants. The "regular" trees are simply spying on everything that comes near and communicate via different chemical scents.

I love this one.

Scarab Sages

Set wrote:
OmegaZ wrote:
-All trees are actually treants. The "regular" trees are simply spying on everything that comes near and communicate via different chemical scents.

I love this one.

Me too!! Rest assured the first time someone in my game suffers from insanity, it will be paranoia.. and this will be their paranoid fixation. OMG, the roleplaying that could be done! :)


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Here are concipersy theories I thought of.

1.) Agents of Cheliax are keeping the red revolution going in Galt to keep people always worrying about what it would be like if there was no order

2.) the Aspis Consortium controls the lumber consorium as well as other trade companies across the world and thus controls the world.

3.) clerics of Rovagug are fueling the red revolution of Galt

4.) All the members of the Andoran elite are wealthy nobles/merchants control all of androan and the 'democracy experment' is just a shame by people who hate house Thrune. the only reason they support anti-slavery is because you can tax people where you can't tax slaves.


How about:

The Pathfinder society only claims to be a group of treasure-hunters, loreseekers and adventurers. They are really a chelaxian-funded group of spies and manipulators that work tirelessly to undermine every other political authority in the Inner Sea region... what's that? You say Cheliax has had its nose burnt by the Pathfinders? Sure. You just don't see the bigger picture...


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Anything that people believe to be true is just an implanted dream they are experiencing care of their kindly aboleth overlords. They just want you to believe that they stopped ruling the world. So many sneaking suspicions about these true rulers of mankind could not go without some truth.

P.S. When you die in your imagined world, you were actually just served up as hors d'oeuvres.


Conspiracy of the rich, in Andoran, the banking guild could set up something like the FED, support laissez-faire, promote free trade opposed to the Cheliax tyranny. They'd ally with some people in Druma. They supported Nirmathas rebellion with arms, in exchange for lands/resources. Also sold arms to their enemies. And restarted the conflict every time a chance for peace arises, using agents dressed as the other side.

Riftwardens, influenced by a group from Rahadoum seek the means to seal the world against the Outer Sphere and the gods.

Founder of the Technic League was killed by his apprentices, who then used the coils to gain the power from the stars. But the light in the sky they aimed for was a spaceship.

Free Captains were infiltrated by a group of low templars, who deserted the Cruasade, and stole half of the wardstones. The Eye of Abendego is similar to the Wolrdwound, the Free Captains can unleash demons if under pressure. They also have a Numerian spear that emits scalar waves, causing hurricanes.

After the death of Aroden, Absalom's councils are more and more infiltrated by the serpentfolk.

Most of Absalom's legendary sieges were false-flag operations to create the myth of city's invincibility.


Anyone have any thoughts about the disappearance of Choral the Conquerer and his house Rogarvia in Brevoy?

As we all know, it is said Choral was a ragtag warlord from Iobaria who came over with 300 or so knights and soldiers and managed (with the help of two red dragons) fuse Issia and Rostland together into Brevoy.

300 Years later, on they day they razed Skywatch, his entire line disappeared. Every. Single. Person. Simultaneously, Skywatch (an ancient, mysterious observatory) became a no-fly-zone and sealed itself off from the world. No one knows what is going on there, now. Curiously, dwarves in the Gushkin mountains also disappeared or at least lost contact with the world.

I think it may have to do with something he discovered in Skywatch and the promises and pacts made for his successful nation-building. I think House Rogarvia activated some sort of ancient civilization's defense mechanism. The Gushkin dwarves who built their homes in long-gone ruins of this civilization too were affected by this defense mechanism.

I'm looking at how this is connected to the curious case of the country, Iobaria.

I'm going over the Iobarian timeline looking for something or some kind of pattern but I'm (fortunately) blind to what is really going on.

I'm not sure how it all works together but methinks it has something to do with a dracolich. From space.


Erik Mona wrote:
Set wrote:

Aroden is;

That whole post was awesome.

I'm working on some Aroden stuff for my personal campaign, and it's a hoot to see how you address some of the mysteries behind the character (who I made up).

What Set wrote makes a lot of sense - Kingmaker makes allusions to the idea that prophecy (and knowing your destiny) actually erodes and/or destroys free will. so the idea of Aroden deciding to smash up the machinery of fate and destiny in order to give mankind a chance of a future made out of their own choices isn't much of a stretch.

oddly enough, this is a theme that showed up in a fair bit of white wolf products over the years (and was basically the main point of Exalted).

As to my favorite Pathfinder campaign setting conspiracies?

1. Liches and vampires control banking and trading cartels. they're using the wealth to fund researches into earth shattering experiments that strip away the secrets of life and death. not to mention that controlling transporation around the world gives them all sorts of accesss to resources and (in the case of vampires) food sources.

2. Elves. they ruled the world in ages past, and they'll rule here again. can't trust the pointy eared freaks - they're planning long term! you can tell they're up to something, always in the woods, so smug and superior. they're breeding up an army of half bloods too, as a ruler caste to infiltrate and destabalize every nation on the planet! mark my words....elves is dangerous!

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Mr. Quick wrote:

2. Elves. they ruled the world in ages past, and they'll rule here again. can't trust the pointy eared freaks - they're planning long term! you can tell they're up to something, always in the woods, so smug and superior. they're breeding up an army of half bloods too, as a ruler caste to infiltrate and destabalize every nation on the planet! mark my words....elves is dangerous!

and what's with all the carrots? What do they really need that good eyesight for?

Oh... wait. Nevermind.


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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Yeah, my guess on Aroden's death? This really is the Age of Glory. What can be more glorious than a world now ready to forge its own destiny in the fires of the glorious deeds of a determined few facing the insurmontable odds of the Worldwound, the Eye, the House of Thrune, and all else that rises to threaten the people still reeling from the blow of Aroden's death?


Nukruh wrote:

Anything that people believe to be true is just an implanted dream they are experiencing care of their kindly aboleth overlords. They just want you to believe that they stopped ruling the world. So many sneaking suspicions about these true rulers of mankind could not go without some truth.

P.S. When you die in your imagined world, you were actually just served up as hors d'oeuvres.

So....red pill/blue pill? And all those 'Gods' are simply those who've escaped the 'Dreamtrix' and are trying to counter the aboleth's schemes to use human brains for sorcerous power?

Dark Archive

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Olondir wrote:
I'm not sure how it all works together but methinks it has something to do with a dracolich. From space.

The Choral the Conqueror thing is a good mystery.

I might go a step into breaking a stereotype and have the scheming, manipulative jerks of the Surtova having been the ones that kicked the Conqueror (and his family) out of Brevoy (and, in most cases, off this mortal coil entirely), just as the rank-and-file Brevic commoner suspects, only they did so not merely to take over the nation, but to save it from something nasty House Rorgavia had cooking long-term, that involved destroying entire cities in sacrifice to power some sort of ascension.

The only (known) survivors, the Conqueror himself and his two red dragon allies, are sealed up in Skywatch.

Due to the blood ties between House Surtova and the Conqueror's line, this did in fact mean that the Surtova leadership had to kill off over a dozen of their own, who may have had the Surtova name, but carried a bit too much of the Conqueror's blood to be trusted...

So, House Surtova. Machiavellian pricks of the first order, and, unknown to most, the only reason that Brevoy isn't a wasteland of blackened fields, felled towers and charred bones.

Matthew Morris wrote:
and what's with all the carrots? What do they really need that good eyesight for?

Heh! In my head, Calistria is totally Anyanka, 'patron saint of scorned women.'


Ramarren wrote:
So....red pill/blue pill? And all those 'Gods' are simply those who've escaped the 'Dreamtrix' and are trying to counter the aboleth's schemes to use human brains for sorcerous power?

Aboleth have no need of pills, they are that good. All the "Gods" are just there as another method of confusing the dreaming masses with various beliefs they have little true understanding of. Although in the true reality, the aboleth are just going about their business while even far worse options for humanity dwell elsewhere...for now.


Aboleths are really possessed by the Lloigor.

Nidal and the cult of Lamashtu have birthed abominations of Desna, the slake-moths. They milk the creatures for dreamshit. The drug is then sold to the Sczarni in Varisia. Junkies who turn catatonic are trafficked back to Nidal.

Steel Ministry of Nidal uses hemolurgy on their citizens who show potential for sorcery. Magical talent is extracted from a body impaled on a spike. This ensures no rebellions in Nidal.


The reason reality is so thin in Versex has surprisingly little to do with Cults to the Old Ones and more to the worshipers of the Demon Lord Socothbenoth. Socothbenoth has his followers call on creature's like Skum, Dimensional Shamblers, Dark Young and things that are far less wholesome so they may have experiences beyond anything man was meant to take part in.

He loses a lot of followers to the other cults, but the results of their actions always work towards his agenda. When the Old Ones return and drown humanity in madness and chaos, those that survive the longest will be those tempered by their experiences with such creatures, and they will be lead by the followers of Socothbenoth.


Pathfinder lodges? that's the most obvious conspiracy imo. Look what happened to the most famous pathfinder.

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

By Race:

All gnomes everywhere are secretly spies for the powerful beings in the First World.

Dwarves are all secretly terrified of being buried alive. The entire quest for sky was the race fleeing in terror from their worst enemy: rocks.

Elves that returned from the stars are hosts for brain-slugs that are secretly plotting to take over the world. Only a secret race of dark-skinned elves that never abandoned Golarion can save us from them.

Humans have such a rapid breeding rate because they are a genetic experiment created by Aboleths. The purpose of the experiment? To create a race that is perfectly designed for destroying all life on a planet. So far outcomes are positive.

Halflings don't really exist, they are the collective unconscious of humanity given corporeal form. If all humans were to be wiped out halflings would stop existing because there would be nobody to imagine them.

Orcs aren't nearly as mean as they pretend to be, they don't wanna be tough guys they just want to dance.

Kobolds are all a kind of dragon larvae. Any kobold that lives over 100 years forms an egg-like chrysalis and is reborn into a dragon. When a small or larger dragon dies its body spawns one kobold per size category larger than tiny. All dragons are ashamed of this.

Goblins aren't nearly as stupid and cruel as they seem. In their villages they discuss art and philosophy and love books, but they are paid by an enormous purple golems to act like special-school drop outs in front of humanoids.


After "Gods debris" a free web book by Scott Adams which is a nice short read:

Spoiler:
There has been a single omnipotent and all knowing entity ("god"). However as being ominipotent and all knowing is incredibly boring this entity did destroy itself because what happened now was the only thing not fixed and scripted in his mind and the very deed provided a certain thrill.

Thus came the world to be and all the living creatures and entities are only fractures of the original entity (its debris).

Thus Rovagug is actually trying not to destroy everything but to restore the entity as when he has devoured every being and incorporated it into himself the entity will be revived and be able to recall all the things that happened thus providing it with much entertainment.

Also most things on The far side are pretty much the building blocks of every conspiracy you can think of (---> "car").

Dark Archive

herkles1 wrote:
1.) Agents of Cheliax are keeping the red revolution going in Galt to keep people always worrying about what it would be like if there was no order.

That one might even be really true, or, whatever force *is* keeping the red revolution going, might have eated any Chelish upstarts who showed up to stir the flames for their own propoganda purposes...

DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:
Kobolds are all a kind of dragon larvae. Any kobold that lives over 100 years forms an egg-like chrysalis and is reborn into a dragon. When a small or larger dragon dies its body spawns one kobold per size category larger than tiny. All dragons are.

That's partially true in my world, where wyrmkin kobolds are hatched a couple times a year in groups of three to seven from unfertilized dragon eggs, and either end up serving 'mom,' or being driven forth to become free-range kobolds, or are eaten, depending on how much (or little) 'mom' wants more wyrmkin servants this season...

Having the eldest kobolds cocoon themselves and turn into real dragons never occured to me, but I love it! (Some sort of 'epic progression' available only to kobolds.)

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