Distant Worlds: Everyday Life on Castrovel


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion

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Ever since The Inner Sea World Guide included descriptions of the other worlds outside Golarion, along with the spell, Interplanetary Teleport, the potential to visit some of these distant worlds have made them take on quite a bit of mystery and flavor, and with some recent releases - most notably, Distant Worlds, and in fact, the deceptively-named Inner Sea Bestiary - there is some real material to begin fleshing out several of these worlds in much more vivid detail. Much like the thread on Verces which inspired this one, this is an open space to discuss the world called Castrovel, the Green, and its everyday goings-on, its culture, and how it may have gotten that way. It might even be helpful to use this space (and the Verces thread) as a drafting space to help make the information available freely on PathfinderWiki.com more detailed and comprehensive about these alien worlds.

Castrovel is a lush planet of humid jungles, where huge beasts roam, and the lands are tended and looked over by several humanoid groups - the lashunta and the Sovyrian elves - as well the native outsiders, the formians. Because of its dense atmosphere and close proximity to the sun, Castrovel is lush, humid, warm, and savage. The elves of Sovyrian are of the same heritage as the elves of Golarion, and share their relationship during the events of Starfall and the beginning of the Age of Darkness. Little is written of the Colonies of the formians, save that they are the eternal enemy of the Lashunta and the elves. They are ruled by many queens, by a conceptual figurehead called the "Overqueen" (rather than a real figure), which were allied during an event called the Meeting of Queens.

Finally, the Lashunta - are included as playable character race/NPC stats in the Inner Sea Bestiary - are the last piece of the social puzzle on Castrovel, and by far and wide, seem to be the most interesting and complex of the groups. Psionics (telepaths and telekinetics, especially) are common, and their spell-like abilities exhibit this theme as well. They are sexually dimorphic - the males are very different in appearance and mentality from the females - but all of them seem to share a scholarliness and civilized nature, despite the loose feudal system that is in place between the segments of this race and its lands. These are the antennae-bearing humanoids which ride on saurian lizards (sometimes depicted with multiple additional limbs, and some without), with psionic powers, often scantily clad (it's because of the hot weather, I swear!), which rule in a sort of civilized savagery that borders on tribal governance, but with the apparent sanctioning by the elves of Sovyrian.

The capital of Sovyrian is called El, and lies in the central eastern portion of the island continent - and this continent lies on the southeastern portion of the map. A much larger continent to the north, called Asana, is the land of the lashunta, and its capital is on the western shore, and called Qabarat; to the east on this continent is the strange and magical Ocean of Mists. Far west of Sovyrian lies the island continent referred to only as The Colonies, is the land of the formians.

An unnamed and unmarked continent lies to the northwest on the map, and no details are given anywhere in the written text as to its nature, one way or another. Nothing is mentioned about it at all. I have some ideas which I am working on in another thread on here, which lay out some of these possible natures/origins.

The planet also appears to have a vibrant undersea ecology, however it is not well documented in the text, except for a few specimen examples: cannibalistic selkies - semi-intelligent schools of fish - massive isopods with glowing shells, which have a symbiotic relationship with delicate creatures like seahorses, which live in the cracks in their shells. On land, similarly strange creatures are described: enormous saurian horrors - segmented centipede ticks - bug-eyed mountain eels - poison-beaked sky fishers.

In addition, the weather can be quite intense (Castrovel has a larger moon, assumedly only one), and can be host to moldstorms, which can be quite deadly and sickening in their scope of havoc. There is assumed to be some measure of protection against them for the native peoples, although formians may in fact live underground in their massive hives, and avoid the issue altogether. The lashunta and the elves of Sovyrian seem to have a passive sort of peace accord, and the formians are said to be the eternal foes of the lashunta - whom they fought in the past for territory, and which I assume is now mostly settled by the formation of the Unified Hives, under the Overqueen (the alliance of the Hive Queens). No monster stats are given for formians, but it assumed that your old 3.5 material is still valid to a degree. Until psionics is released by Paizo, Dreamscarred Press' Psionics Unleashed will have to do for now.

I am under the impression that several Pathfinder Society adventures may deal with the relationship between Golarion and either Akiton, Castrovel, or both of them - and I would be open to helpful input which further defines this guess-work, if anyone knows for sure which adventure modules do, in fact, cover anything to do with Castrovel in particular. I'm thinking it may in fact be Akiton, the Contemplatives of Ashok, and the red doorway in the Mwangi Expanse, which are dealt with in an adventure, but I would rather know for sure, if anyone has any information for or against this.

More to come....? ;)


Dot-bump.

Silver Crusade

Dottan as well. :D

I'm really excited to see who the psionic societies of the Lashunta shape up.

And I have to admit, I really really want more on those cute hairless creatures with the extended heads seen in Distant World's opening banner that features apparent Sovyrian artwork.

The moldstorms actually are terrifying. That's one huge footprint to leave on how an ecosystem shapes up.

Lantern Lodge

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Mikaze wrote:

And I have to admit, I really really want more on those cute hairless creatures with the extended heads seen in Distant World's opening banner that features apparent Sovyrian artwork.

The moldstorms actually are terrifying. That's one huge footprint to leave on how an ecosystem shapes up.

I had to look up the image to be sure of what you are talking about - and now I see the little magenta critter with the long head. Also, I am assuming that you mean that this artwork is of Sovyrian, and not that the image includes an artwork of Sovyrian, which is what I initially thought you meant. The landscape in the background, along with the elvish member greeting our heroes just outside the gate, does in fact appear to be Castrovel/Sovyrian.

Here's a question though: we never truly had a detailed account of the satellites of any of the rocky worlds, save for Golarion. In fact, Castrovel's text describes one moon, but there are two in this artwork, hanging above the Sovyrian architecture.

Agreed on the topic of moldstorms. That sounds ridiculously crazy to have to deal with. They are lucky there are any survivors at all.

Psionics is mentioned, but not uber-detailed. I would think this is primarily because Paizo themselves have not covered psionics, and therefore it is primarily left to the players to dictate and lay out, prior to them doing so. Telepathy and telekinesis are mentioned. The lashunta seem to be a healthy mix of savage and civilized - they are sort of on the brink between high culture and primitives in the jungle. Aside from this, their desire to perfect the mind and its powers seems to be the central driving force of how their world-view is composed, save for basic survival. The lashunta are also said to share telepathic ability with the formians, with whom they can communicate in this way.

Castrovel has a lot of things in common with Pandora from Avatar, although there are some serious differences, too. The overgrown wildlife aspect of it is very much the same.


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It has already been said that the Formians will be in the next hardcover bestiary and they may or may not be outsiders.

This is defenitly one of my favorite of the planets in the Distant Worlds book.

I hope by the end of next year we get to find out more about the Lashunta society/culture/psychology and one day see a picture of how ugly the males are.

This world would be a good place for some new 0HD plant races.

Also Catfolk can be found on this world as well another reason I like this planet.

I really can't wait to see the stats for those creatures mentioned and the other creatures and races in the Distant World book one day.

Yeah, we don't even know the name of that continent or anything about it, I really hope we get to find out sometime soon.

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Castrovel always reminded me of pulp notions of Venus. Before it turned out to be essentially the opposite: jungly, female-dominated, green.

I've always thought there should be a connection with Vudra. In part because the RW Indians have legends of sexually dimorphic fey (the Yakshas and Yakshinis, and the Apsaras and the Gandharvas) who are reminiscent of the Lashunta.

Lantern Lodge

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There is a 0HD plant race in the Inner Sea Bestiary, called the Ghoran - so they could be there. And I love me some catfolk too.

Some of Paizo's best "reveals" seem to happen in either the APs or the PFS modules that line up closely to the year's metaplot. So that might be a good thing to keep an eye on for stuff like the lashunta culture, etc. - as an example in the setting proper. Otherwise, I think they pretty much have enough backdrop as it is, to pretty much flesh out anything else about them that one could possibly want. However, Paizo always seems ready to use its own special twist on things, and it always tends to be pretty darn good... So I guess I can wait for these things as well...... Nope! Nevermind!

This is a good enough place to help define those exact details. I'm sure someone at the Paizo offices can't help but read these silly threads and get more ideas.... >.> Sometimes it's better to do the work than to wait for someone else to accomplish it.... And then be horribly saddened when your ideas are washed over, but then get over it, and revise the story elements to fit the new needs.

JEFF! :) Can you be specific, to help define 'Pulp Venus'? I know many people might already know what this entails, but let's flesh out the details here, so we can break it down.

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Well, here's a web page on Barsoomian takes on Venus.

Essentially: alien angels, dinosaurs, the Garden of Eden, beautiful women.

Here's Burrough's version.

The reason (according to Wikipedia) is:
"In 1918, chemist Svante Arrhenius, deciding that Venus' cloud cover was necessarily water, decreed in The Destinies of the Stars that "A very great part of the surface of Venus is no doubt covered with swamps" and compared Venus' humidity to the tropical rain forests of the Congo. Venus thus became, until the early 1960s, a place for science fiction writers to place all manner of unusual life forms, from quasi-dinosaurs to intelligent carnivorous plants. Comparisons often referred to Earth in the Carboniferous period."

IN RPGs, the epitome of this treatment was/is in Space 1889.

Lantern Lodge

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Heavy cloud cover, possibly water vapors, but possibly also other gases and possibly poisons or other elements in layers above the surface (although the surface atmosphere seems to be completely breathable, part of the allure of pulp Venus seems to also have been the possibility of a layered atmosphere, with its upper layers containing no water vapor, and messing up spectroscopy readings).

Thick wilderness, dinosaurs, and megafauna of a primordial and savage world, similar to the Carboniferous period (and an amalgamation of a wide variety of other prehistoric eras). The lashunta and elves rule through maintained civility, despite the hardships of a dangerous ecosystem.

"Garden of Eden" can mean so many things now, due to its variability in more modern theories which compound on older, more 'pulp' takes on early science - from an oases-like biosphere of life in an otherwise desolate wasteland, to a booming space-port and bio-preserve in the cradle of civilization. Given the 'youthful' and 'feminine' take on the Venus-vs.-Mars polarity, it seems to indicate a land of innocence, a variant line on evolving humanoid civility (mind over magic, specifically), and a matriarchal perspective.

Vudra could, potentially, be appropriate in relationship to Castrovel. When it comes to human-like races spread out among the planets, the issue of the origin of the species has to come up. And I think it's pretty obvious by now, that - aside from the activities of the Dark Tapestry figures and beings like the aboleth - there must have been a precursor human-like race in this part of the stars, which seeded humans and other humanoids among the different planets, and had vast periods of empty history between that time, and the present state.

On the alien angels bit, there is always the possibility of a tie-in to a passive protective entity from the upper planes over a given world, even though nothing to that fact is stated anywhere. The common thread in the pulp versions of this notions seems more to indicate a bird-like humanoid being, possibly avian or humanoid, but also possibly an evolved 'innocent' being - but the alternate take on that was winged creatures that looked like corpses. Not much of a middle ground to work with. Given that Sutter specifically left this element out, I would say that perhaps - more efficient and helpful than trying to add in an avian humanoid race - the poison-beaked sky fishers might make a better attempt at filling a niche like this, and fitting the bestial wilderness theme, instead of the alien angel. Just a thought.

I really think it's worth noting this thread post, just once more: http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2p9dz?Campaign-Arc-Idea-POSTSerpents-Skull-AP#1 9


Loving this. Not as much as the Verces thread, YET, but still loving it. Keep it coming guys!

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Note also that Vudra claims to be the oldest human civilisation in Golarion (much like the Hindu tradition, actually), older than Azlant. And hit has half-elves, who, according to the old Campaign Setting book, had access to psionics.

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Distant Worlds claims that Golarion is "comparatively barbaric" in terms of Castrovel. It seems this is in terms of knowledge and psionic development, not technology, though perhaps there is also a market in psionic tech.
As a semi-telepathic species - on average they have detect thoughts - the lashunta no doubt have lower expectations of privacy and less prudery than humanoids from Golarion... To them, the elves may be repressed and secretive.


Really interesting (dotted) thread. I have a half-made world named "Pangea" that basically seems like Castrovel but with Dinosaurs, megafauna and similar stuff. Distant Worlds is a really good book, and Castrovel is my favorite planet there.
There is no image of masculine Lashunta, right? Females seems more... interesting, but would be great to have some masculine picture.

Sovereign Court Contributor

No male lashunta, yet.


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Within the Pathfinder Universe, the Elder Things appear to have been the progenitor race for many creatures. At the very least, they introduced biological life to Golarion and Akiton, probably Castrovel.

If we assume that Castrovel has a similar degree of diversity as Golarion, or at least the Inner Sea, in diversity of races, what other races inhabit Castrovel

We know for sure:

Lashunta
Elves
Formians
Catfolk?

Lizardfolk seem obvious...Serpentfolk seem likely.

What other races seem appropriate for Castrovel?

Sovereign Court Contributor

Naga and Nagaji
Gripplis

Anything with psionic or mind-magic powers.

Ghouls - given their connection to Elves.

Silver Crusade

Dragon78 wrote:
I hope by the end of next year we get to find out more about the Lashunta society/culture/psychology and one day see a picture of how ugly the males are.

I still can't shake off the notion that Lashunta guys look like some of the more wide, squat dudes Jack Kirby would draw. Especially in the face.

It just seems to click along with the females apparently coming from Frazetta/Vallejo land.


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I would not have to many undead on Castrovel it has been hinted that the planet has strong ties to the positive energy plane and/or the first world. Besides I would like to see a planet that undead are almost unheard of.

I would love to see what the Lashunta and elves think of each other.

Froghemoths would be a good fit on this planet, I wonder were they came from originally.

We will see a picture of a male Lashunta one day.

You know there was no mention of any dragons on this world.

Lashunta
Elves
Formians

Catfolk
Lizardfolk
Grippli
Serpentfolk
Nagaji/Nagas
Syrinx/Tengu/other bird races
Ghoran/other plant races
Ratfolk?
Boggard
Vanara
Charau-ka

megafauna
dinosaurs
plant monsters(many)
animals(both giant and mundane)
vermin(both giant and mundane)
little or no undead
dragons(unknown)
giants(unknown)(you know a giant based on the Lashunta would be cool)
elementals
evil outsiders(not too many)
fey(many)
oozes
monstrous humaniods
magical beast(many)
aberrations(some)


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MMCJawa wrote:

Within the Pathfinder Universe, the Elder Things appear to have been the progenitor race for many creatures. At the very least, they introduced biological life to Golarion and Akiton, probably Castrovel.

....
What other races seem appropriate for Castrovel?
Jeff Erwin wrote:
Anything with psionic or mind-magic powers.

First thing that jumped to mind was Neothelids...

Silver Crusade

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Plant-spawned "zombies" similar to yellow musk creeper victims could be a huge problem though! Especially if they can be a byproduct of certain moldstorms...

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Keeping in mind the fungus/mold thing.
Myconoid type fungus people, treants, dryads, considering all the art shows forested/jungle areas...
Huge snails, insect people (lots of variety there), slime mold,
the art on the cover of Distant Worlds shows a six legged lizard mount. Hence extra limbs and perhaps a relative of the basilisk?


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^This, so much more than undead.
I really like the idea of a planet where Undeath is so rare as to be a myth.

Lantern Lodge

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Dragon78 wrote:
Also Catfolk can be found on this world as well another reason I like this planet.

I cannot find text confirming this, even though I believed it was true. I remember reading that catfolk are found in southern Tian Xia, and decided that they could be on Castrovel, too - but this is not substantiated by anything. I welcome corrections.

Neothelids could work very well here - nothing big is mentioned regarding the subterranean depths of Castrovel. Any psionic races might be expected - however, I would be hesitant to just go plopping in any race without purpose or proposed origin. Distant Worlds does mention savage and beast-like humanoids of the wilderness who are less used to new faces, but does not specify them. While it could seem easy to just add any race we might enjoy or want there, they really need a specific origin and purpose, no matter what. It's important that we don't go too far overboard in how much we ascribe to the world, if there is indeed no precedent for it.

I personally think that the Serpent Empire of Golarion's ancient past could probably have been a much more potent and diverse force, and like Jeff Erwin's comments regarding Vudra and the nagas/nagaji, I think there is the real possibility of ancient ties to the serpent races. On that same line of thinking, lizardfolk/troglodytes make sense both as savage races, as well as possible tie-in's to the serpent races of the ancient past.

I personally also prefer a world where the massive looming darkness of the Dark Tapestry nightmares, undead horrors, and other hellish figures are not completely ransacking the place. Instead, a quiet and enjoyable place worth defending or made more interesting through something bad which is completely out of place, seems much more interesting for a change of pace. Maybe there is something protecting them from these things - ancient pacts, deteriorating ancient magics, etc.

Jungle-ish races are nice and all (and definitely following the themes of The Nymian Beastlands, which I enjoy), but the origin and purpose of any race added to the Castrovel docket should be very specific and necessary to the inclusion of any race not specifically mentioned. Since we can pretty much expect not to get a whole slew of comments regarding newly-revealed Golarion lore, we should try and keep it as clinical as possible, and let each GM add/delete as they see fit, but try and not add a whole bunch of stuff that doesn't have any real precedent. As much as I want to say the serpentfolk ancestors were there, it's not right to say it if there's no proof or surefire possibility of it.

It does say that the inter-world gates between Castrovel and the other worlds (except Aucturn) are sometimes used, and outsiders are not completely unknown to them. Castrovel and Akiton have the closest relationship via these gates of any world in the planetary system. That would mean that the races of Akiton would then become the highest possibility for inclusion, above those of Golarion. There are red-skinned lizardfolk on Akiton, but they are acclimated to the desert temperatures of Akiton - they could have descendants on Castrovel who are now acclimated to the jungles (once more, perhaps).

Jeff, I'm not sure what you are talking about, with the connection between ghouls and elves, although if it involves drow, I am not entirely sure that Castrovel has any drow - the event that spawned them being on Golarion, they might not be there. Can you explain the connection between elves and ghouls?

Mold-storm yellow musk zombies are an excellent idea.

Silver Crusade

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xidoraven wrote:

Can you explain the connection between elves and ghouls?

It's actually a really cool new spin on ghouls Pathfinder introduced in Classic Horrors Revisited, I think initially to explain the otherwise seemingly arbitrary elven anti-ghoul immunities and the reason some ghouls look fresh and some rotten(and not dependant on age):

Kabiri, the Demon Lord of ghouls and possibly the First Ghoul was apparently an elf. His role as the progenitor of ghouls shows in their appearance in "fresh mode" - Ghouls that curb their diet and stay "fresh" in appearance wind up looking like white, hairless, red-eyed elves.


Huh. I missed that.

Silver Crusade

zagnabbit wrote:
Huh. I missed that.

If you've seen an avatar here featuring a chalk white bald lady sticking her tongue out, that's what the fresh ones look like. Rival Guide had another along those lines.

Hopefully we'll get to see those ideas explored further when Nemret Noktoria gets some spotlight time! :)


My question was more on what sort of inspirations might be out there for new races. Castrovel should have it's own unique races.

Maybe some races based on insectoid models? And new plant/fungoid races might be expected.


The Formians are insectoid.

Catfolk actually make sense here, so do Grippli, and I'm not exactly a huge fan of anthropomorphic humanoids.

Maybe Aarocokra. Are they fair game? They may be IP for the other guys.

For some reason I'm thinking that Auromvorax, Golden Gorgers, would fit well here.

Silver Crusade

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This is dipping into 3rd party material, but if folks want psionic and reptilian races, Dreamscarred Press' Ophidians seem like a perfect fit.

Sovereign Court Contributor

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According to Distant Worlds, p.57, in terms of other creatures Castrovel has Cerebric Fungi, Flumphs, Mobats, and Moonflowers. The extra arms/legs thing seems to be specifically an Akiton thing, but with the many links between Akiton and Castrovel, the six legged beastie on the cover might have been originally from Akiton rather than this world.
"Beast-men" live in the wilds (p.12).
It seems that most of the dangers of Castrovel are natural, rather than unnatural, i.e., they aren't undead or outsiders.

Lantern Lodge

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Mikaze wrote:

It's actually a really cool new spin on ghouls Pathfinder introduced in Classic Horrors Revisited, I think initially to explain the otherwise seemingly arbitrary elven anti-ghoul immunities and the reason some ghouls look fresh and some rotten(and not dependant on age):

Kabiri, the Demon Lord of ghouls and possibly the First Ghoul was apparently an elf. His role as the progenitor of ghouls shows in their appearance in "fresh mode" - Ghouls that curb their diet and stay "fresh" in appearance wind up looking like white, hairless, red-eyed elves.

Although there is absolutely no precedent for a connection between elves and the first world, I tend to think of elves as being fey-kin, and perhaps influenced by the activities of the First World (which does connect to Castrovel, and may have very strong ties). Even though this is not detailed anywhere, the idea that the ghoul-elf relationship is one that makes a non-elf undead take on an elf appearance, sounds to me a bit like a twisted variant on the effects of the First World, in a warped undead variant. Since these are essentially polarized groups, and since undead behavior/physiology is often a warped mockery of more "pure" things, it makes a little sense to me. Perhaps Kabiri was once a native of El/Sovyrian/Castrovel.

MMCJawa wrote:
And new plant/fungoid races might be expected.

I have always wanted to play an intelligent vegepygmy. And - ooohhhh - maybe a plant/fungus race-creature that has an insectoid appearance...? Two birds with one stone! Ha!

I learned a long time ago, while writing about "furry" races - that even if you're not a "furry" but you still write about them, you're pretty much one of them. lol! :P I do love catfolk - I think it's a rub-off from one of my friends in high school, who had a catfolk tarot deck, and always talked about loving kitty people.

I am considering all psionic material from DSP's Psionics products on the table here. Even though it doesn't necessarily have to be a "high psionics campaign" and the world doesn't need to be littered with psionic items and their highly-progressed builders, it is the perfect setup for anything from those books. I own both Psionics Unleashed and Psionics Expanded - and look forward to Ultimate Psionics, which may include them both, and then some. Ophiduans (a reptilian psionic humanoid race similar in appearance to serpentfolk) would be a perfect inclusion.

Lastly, "beast men" - as I have learned in my own research for Nymian Beastlands - can mean a huge number of things, none of which seem to carry many limitations with them. In that sense, this is a very open niche, and could be filled by any one of a number of savage or primitive races. I made one called the Rubili (Rubil, singular), which is a more creative and realistic rendition of the Wildren race presented in D&D's Planar Handbook. That race was sort of crude and unwelcoming, so I made a severe revision to it (both mechanically and visually), to make a primitive beast-folk that could be thought of as a savage common race. They sort of look like strange warthogs, with big fore-claws for digging, hoofed toes, and a hunched appearance.

I didn't realized the many-legs things was Akiton. I thought it was Castrovel's own thing. I have been wrong before. But as Jeff pointed out, these two planets have the strongest ties and trading connections with one another, and nothing limits them from having pulled many-legged saurian critters from Akiton far in the past, and now have a native breed of their own on Castrovel!


Many interesting things, really.I love the planet,the civilized jungle details and the fact that humans and many classical reaces like dwarfs are not present here.
One detail I would like to see opinions. How can be the equatorial zone on a already hot planet? Would the polar areas be template for us, what would seem cold to the locals?

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Did anyone else catch this? Distant Worlds clearly states that the males are half the height and twice as broad as the females, yet the Lashunta text in Inner Sea Bestiary says they are only a foot-ish shorter, and makes no mention of a size category differentiation. I originally envisioned them like small dwarves, before viewing the latter publication - and in a way, the analogy still sort of remains. We could use a clarification on this.

Alaryth wrote:
One detail I would like to see opinions. How can be the equatorial zone on a already hot planet? Would the polar areas be template for us, what would seem cold to the locals?

Note that we are not told if Castrovel has the planetary-axis wobble necessary for seasons (and we also could use some clarity on its moons). I can say from experience living in southern Louisiana, that there is a sort of balancing effect on the temperature in a region where there is very dense moisture, such as swamp lands on the coast of a large ocean or gulf. So for example, if it would be 5-15 degrees above 100*dF in other similar latitudes inland, and with less water-saturated soil, it would maintain a temperature of not much higher than 100*dF, if that much. The temperature usually seemed to peak around 98*dF, and rarely if ever went above 100. I would assume that a world with an incredibly moist atmosphere, regardless of its seasonal activity, would maintain some level of temperature balance in a similar manner.

If we instead take elements directly from our scientific modern knowledge of Venus, we could in theory have a few answers to these questions, but a clarification from the devs would be much preferred. We may need to call upon the Great Sutter, despite the possibility of dark and vile intentions from between the stars if we do.....


Personally, I'm kind of 'half-visualizing' the males as some sort of a cross between duergar and svirfneblin, taking the ugliest aspects of each, and blending them together, and applying a generous peppering of fur akin to the wild dwarves of the FR setting.

Sorry for the lack of contribution, but I'm just getting back from Christmas vacation. I might be more sparse than normal due to new video ga- er, I mean, very important biznus. Yes. That is what I meant.


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While waiting for the next bestiary, it might help to hunt down the original source of the formians -- The Radio Man by Ralph Milne Farley. Erik Mona is apparently a fan and has been pushing for the formian redesign to harken back to these books. (I've never managed to lay my hands on a copy, so don't look at me for further answers.)

I wonder whether or not male lashunta have antennae. I'd assume so, but you never know.


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Both male and female Lashunta have antennae. I have always pictured the males to look like harry ugly dwarves possibly with mishapen features.

I asked Mr. James Jacobs a while back if Catfolk could be found there and he said yes, also Catfolk are from Golarion first and them found there way to Castrovel.

Lashunta might also have strange hair and/or eye color but this was never confirmed. but the first art pic had purple hair and the one in the Innersea bestiary has violet eyes and blue black hair.

I also asked Mr. Jacobs if Castrovel has a strong connection to the positive energy plane and/or the first world and he said there is a 64% of that.

It was James Sutter who said that the Formians will be in a hardcover bestiary and you can find that info on the last page of Distant Worlds product discussion section.

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Dragon78 wrote:
It was James Sutter who said that the Formians will be in a hardcover bestiary and you can find that info on the last page of Distant Worlds product discussion section.

Huge fan of formians, and particularly of the idea of them not being outsiders, but mundane insectoid 'humanoids' that have colonized various worlds and planes.

If Castrovel is a haven for psychic type stuff, perhaps the Formian 'queens' of Castrovel are psychic, gaining ever more and more power, the larger their 'hives' grow, as they tap into the latent psychic energy of their hive-mind subjects, like some ginormous telepathic gestalt.

A fight against a queen would be doomed if one snuck past their defenses to face them directly, because they would be at full power. Whittling down their hordes of hive-mind minions through various means would cut down the amount of psychic strength they can tap for that climactic final battle...


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Last I asked mr Jacobs about the formians he said they would more then likely be aberrations or monstrous humaniods. I wouldn't mind them being magical beast though myself but as long as they are not outsiders I will be happy..


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Since Castrovel is based on "Pulp Venus", it might be best to look at Pulp for information on the planet

Once obvious inspiration is the "Carson Napier of Venus" series

overview of the series

Some alien critters from the books.


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This wiki has a good list of the some Richard Burroughs Venusian races

Amtor Races

Among the possible races:

A race of blood-drinking plant people which literally grow like fruit from trees

savage and not very bright bat-winged birdfolk

frail, albino savages dressed in furs which can perspire

terrestrial fish-folk which start out life as fish

two races of primitive ape-men

furry, fanged pygmies

tattooed horned men with tails

asexual humanoids that reproduce by splitting


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Of course the biggest inspiration was the Radio Man series, which is where the Lashunta ("Cupians") and Formians come from

overview


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Any of those races would sound interesting.

Asked Mr Jacobs some questions about Castrovel.

There are dragons and giants.

99% certain there are no Charau-ka.

A maybe for polar regions with snow/ice and possibly some areas with seasonal changes.

Unlikely to see Syrinx, Vanara, Ratfolk, or Tengu.


I personally would prefer if most of the Castrovel races/inhabitants were "unique"

The way I see it, of the Core races I might expect to encounter, beyond elves:

Probably some ethnicity of humans...Azlanti colonized Akiton, which also has native humans

Some unique race of gnomes might also make sense...maybe combine them with the pygmy idea above. Feral barbarian gnomes might be a neat concept

Humans however would probably not be common, maybe the equivalent of Dwarves in Golarion. Present, but confined to limited areas and not considered a dominant race

Sovereign Court Contributor

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Dragon78 wrote:

Any of those races would sound interesting.

Asked Mr Jacobs some questions about Castrovel.

There are dragons and giants.

99% certain there are no Charau-ka.

A maybe for polar regions with snow/ice and possibly some areas with seasonal changes.

Unlikely to see Syrinx, Vanara, Ratfolk, or Tengu.

The Ratfolk were said to "may be" living in Castrovel (Distant Worlds, p.57) so I guess that's a clarification/retcon.

Based on his comments, I'm thinking that the feel for Castrovel should be pre-mammalian in tone in terms of races. Perhaps troglodytes would fit in. The lashunta, with their antennae, are sort of a mix between insectoid or mollusc-like and humanoid.
One question to ask is are the Elder Things or the Aboleths involved in the prehistory of Castrovel? I almost think the Elder Things might have preferred or primarily settled Castrovel instead of Golarion. I also see the flying polyps as being potential inhabitants of Castrovel. They just seem to fit to me...


I suspect Elder Things were involved in most of the "Earth-esq" worlds.

Aboleth would be interesting

Castrovel strikes me as a good place to run a more "savage world" style campaign, with civilization being restricted to scattered city states, only primitive technology, and the main conflicts being less "good versus evil" to being those of sheer survival.

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
MMCJawa wrote:

I suspect Elder Things were involved in most of the "Earth-esq" worlds.

Aboleth would be interesting

Castrovel strikes me as a good place to run a more "savage world" style campaign, with civilization being restricted to scattered city states, only primitive technology, and the main conflicts being less "good versus evil" to being those of sheer survival.

First off, MMCJawa - the links you provided have been very helpful, especially the alien critter pics link, and the links on the Radio Man series. A lot of that stuff is really overly-easy homebrew work, simply changing up the way a normal creature is described, or adding/revising a simple new ability to make it unique.

I would be happy if just one world actually held onto its innocence, and could serve as a "savage world," but if the elder things really did do all the hard work in the beginning, then it means it's all screwed anyways - and that pretty much loses out the innocence part. That said, it's not outside the assumption boundaries, and a pretty decent guess.

I think it might even be neat if there were hidden cities, long covered over with the creeping jungles, of a long-gone civilization - not necessarily anything the lashunta or the elves are familiar with or wish to dabble in, and as a neat sort of backdrop for a post-apoc future kind of fantasy scenario. Possibly have robots like the Aballonian hiding away in some of the inner chambers, long since abandoned.

Do you think aboleths have an undersea interplanetary gate network, like the land version for humanoids?

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I was hoping not to spam too much, but there is a psionic class I am working on right now (actually for my TNB material) which would actually work out really well for this too. Nature guardians with psionic powers definitely fit the theme. [Junglethorn, alternate soulknife class - DSP forums]

Since we know 100% for-sure that formians are present, and since I for one never like to sit around waiting for someone to make something for me to play with, maybe it could be a good idea to put up some formian re-write ideas as well. I was thinking, based on other comments posted here, and the previous edition's OGL material, it wouldn't be too hard to put together a basic cultural breakdown that might actually line up with something we might expect Paizo to produce eventually.

I think it would be cool to provide a type of formian that could be an improved familiar (Small magical beast), a PC-race 0-HD worker caste (humanoid, formian), warrior caste (Medium monstrous humanoid), taskmaster caste (Medium-Large monstrous humanoid), war-beast caste (Medium-Large Magical Beast), heirophant caste (Myrmarchs from 3.5; Large monstrous humanoid), and queen caste (Large-Huge aberration or monstrous humanoid) - possibly a flying caste. However, is there any information which lays out the types of formians described in the actual Radio Man series?


Quote:
I would be happy if just one world actually held onto its innocence, and could serve as a "savage world," but if the elder things really did do all the hard work in the beginning, then it means it's all screwed anyways - and that pretty much loses out the innocence part. That said, it's not outside the assumption boundaries, and a pretty decent guess.

Why? If the Elder Things (lawful neutral as they are) created/seeded life into the worlds, why does that negate "innocence"?

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I was not under the impression that anything Lovecraftian would be lawful neutral. Beyond that, the Great Old Ones (Forgotten Gods) in Inner Sea World Guide generally offer the domains, Chaos, Knowledge, Madness, Rune, and Void [can vary based on the specific Great Old One]. I would also think them supremely evil, since they have such little care or concern for the wellbeing of mortals - and are said to one day return to unmake the world.

Sovereign Court Contributor

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xidoraven wrote:
I was not under the impression that anything Lovecraftian would be lawful neutral. Beyond that, the Great Old Ones (Forgotten Gods) in Inner Sea World Guide generally offer the domains, Chaos, Knowledge, Madness, Rune, and Void [can vary based on the specific Great Old One]. I would also think them supremely evil, since they have such little care or concern for the wellbeing of mortals - and are said to one day return to unmake the world.

The Elder Things are the alien race from At the Mountains of Madness, not the Outer Gods. They colonised Earth - and Golarion, and created the Shoggoths as their servants. The Shoggoths later rebelled or mutated, killing most of them off, and one of the side effects of the Elder Things' experiments was the development of other life on Earth.

The Elder Things also warred with the Spawn of Cthulhu and Mi-go, and there is some possibility that they were the creators of the Elder Sign and imprisoned Cthulhu in R'lyeh.

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