Hello Pathfinders! Did you miss our Lost Omens Special stream this past Friday? Worry not—we’ve got all the reveals and surprises for you here on the Paizo blog!

Want to watch the stream for yourself? Catch the VOD on Youtube!

Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide

Coming Spring 2024, Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide details the many nations and cultures of Tian Xia. During our stream, we showcased three of these regions!

Minata

Illustration by Sammy Khalid

Eleanor gave us an overview of Minata—a nation with a wide diversity of cultures and heritages. Once ravaged by natural disasters and fighting, Minata now enjoys a time of peace and prosperity, protected by reefs said to be made of the bodies of dead dragons. Minata is known for its feasts, festivals, and celebrations.

Illustration by Paulo Magalhães

Seafaring is a vital part of Minatan culture—ingrained so deep because the first humans came to Tian Xia via Minata and then sailed further in. Because of Minata’s wide diversity of islands and accessibility by water, a variety of ancestries live here—including one as-yet-unannounced ancestry coming in the Character Guide.

Illustration by Riley Spalding

Valash Raj

Illustration by Sam White

Next, Luis took us into the Valashmai Jungle. This great forest was long thought to have no inhabitants save kaiju and monsters, but we can see that the Valash Raj civilization has flourished within these dangerous conditions.

Kaiju are still a big part of the Valashmai Jungle—so big, in fact, that there are whole cultural elements and occupations that relate to them. One such occupation is the kaiju caller, people who can communicate with the kaiju to direct them around settlements, helping communities co-exist.

Illustration by Nicholas Phillips

The Valash Raj is still a place of many dangers—not the least of which is “dinosaur season,” the time when all of the dinosaur eggs hatch and the new babies go hunting for food. But the people of the Valashmai Jungle have made lives for themselves out of the danger, and there is a rich world to explore there.

Illustration by Nicholas Phillips

Wanshou

Illustratiohn by Alberto Dal Lago

Our third region, special for this Friday the 13th stream, is Wanshou—an agricultural district with “nothing else going on,” or so says its leadership. Wanshou was devastated by over-taxation and flooding before it was brought back to prosperity by Zhanagorr, an elder kraken known throughout the land as Wanshou’s divine savior.

Illustration by Nicholas Phillips

Lots of the cultures and clothing of various Tian Xia regions take inspiration from real world cultures. James took some time to show off some of Kent Hamilton’s concept art for the denizens of Wanshou—showing a variety of headwear designed to keep citizens safe from the near-constant rains, inspired by real-world mino coats.

Concept art and notes for the region by Kent Hamilton.

One of many ways Zhanagorr maintains his grip on Wanshou is by careful manipulation of the ruling class, including the three noble houses given the honor of directly communing with him. As a result, political intrigue abounds, leading to the cultural role of a gift receiver—someone whose duty is to accept gifts (and the curses that may come with them) on behalf of the intended recipient, similar to a food taster.

Illustration by Gunship Revolution

Deities

Luis, Eleanor, and James each introduced one new deity from the Tian Xia World Guide.

Illustrations of Lady Nanbyo and Yamatsumi by Zach Causey, and Baekho by Carl Springer

The three deities chosen for this stream were Lady Nanbyo, Yamatsumi, and Baekho. Lady Nanbyo is the goddess of plagues, disasters, and bad luck. Yamatsumi is the god of mountains, volcanoes, and winter. Baekho is the god of harmony, mending rifts, and the transition between seasons.

The Tian Xia World Guide also includes new rituals. One such ritual, the trial of the unseeing blade master, was shown off during the stream. To fulfill the ritual, you must defeat 20 enemies while blindfolded, which then grants you the Blind-Fight feat.

Illustration by Carl Springer

Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide

Coming Summer 2024, the Pathfinder Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide adds a variety of character options to Pathfinder! We’re saving some of these reveals for later, as we get closer to the book’s release, but the team brought a couple of new options to the table!

Illustration by Paulo Magalhães

First, a heritage for poppets: tsukumogami! Tsukumogami are objects that are granted sentience and life due to being well cared for—or neglected and treated poorly. Their heritage abilities include giving a bonus to a skill that corresponds to the object you once were (for example, a kitchen knife tsukumogami granting a bonus to cooking), as well as sprouting a ghostly face to terrify newcomers. The team also talked about one feat from each of the currently announced ancestries: whether that’s the ability for samsarans to remember how to use the ancestral weapons of other people through their Samsaran Weapon Memory, wayangs’ ability to briefly become two-dimensional with Palm Leaf Silhouette, or tanuki’s Rolling White Bottle Form, which lets them transform into a wine bottle to roll away from harm before resuming tanuki form face-down on the ground.

Illustration by Sandra Posada

One of the new options for familiars in Tian Xia are paper familiars, with some sub-groups based on the various different paper dolls and paper crafts of the area, including shikigami familiars that can bear elemental seals or shadow puppets that can grasp objects by extending their shadows.

Pathfinder Lost Omens Divine Mysteries

After the Q&A, Luis Loza took the end of the stream to make a surprise reveal—the cover and title of the third Lost Omens book for 2024: PathfinderLost OmensDivine Mysteries.

Cover Illustration by Ekaterina Gordeeva

As part of this announcement, Luis confirmed that the book is tied into the War of Immortals event. While the deity who dies is still shrouded in mystery, Luis has revealed who will be taking their place—Arazni is joining the core twenty.

Divine Mysteries will update Gods and Magic to the remaster, giving sanctification information, remastered statblocks, and more lore to the existing deities, while also adding more divine content in the form of new gods and a few character options.

Concept art of Yivali by Kent Hamilto

The book is narrated by Yivali, a nosoi psychopomp of Pharasma. Divine Mysteries is essentially her graduate thesis, which she will present to Pharasma to become a full psychopomp.

We’re so excited for all that’s coming in 2024! We’ll have more to share about Tian Xia, Divine Mysteries, and more as time goes on.

Written by: Misha Bushyager, Jessica Catalan, Carlos Cisco, Rue Dickey, Aoife Ester, Ivis K. Flanagan, Tomas Gimenez Rioja, Leo Glass, Alastor Guzman, Thurston Hillman, Laura Lynn Horst, James Jacobs, Michelle Y. Kim, Monte Lin, Luis Loza, Stephanie Lundeen, Poorna M., Adam Ma, Jacob W. Michaels, Zac Moran, Jon Morgantini, Matt Morris, Morgan Nuncio, Daniel “Drakoniques” Oleh, Pam Punzalan, Jessica Redekop, Jaime Reyes Mondragon, Kevin Thien Vu Long Nguyen, Erin Roberts, quinn b. rodriguez, Michael Sayre, Mark Seifter, Austin Taylor, Isis Wozniakowska, and Sebastian Yūe.

Original Gods & Magic writing and design by: Robert Adducci, Amirali Attar Olyaee, Calder CaDavid, James Case, Adam Daigle, Katina Davis, Leo Glass, Joshua Grinlinton, James Jacobs, Virginia Jordan, Jason Keeley, Jacky Leung, Lyz Liddell, Ron Lundeen, Stephanie Lundeen, Jacob W. Michaels, Matt Morris, Dave Nelson, Samantha Phelan, Jennifer Povey, Jessica Redekop, Nathan Reinecke, Patrick Renie, David N. Ross, Simone D. Sallè, Michael Sayre, David Schwartz, Shahreena Shahrani, Isabelle Thorne, Marc Thuot, Jason Tondro, and Diego Valdez.

The Lost Omens Tian Xia World Guide and Lost Omens Tian Xia Character Guide are available for pre-order now! Keep up to date with every Lost Omens release with a Paizo Subscription.

While the writers of our Paizo products are always credited in the front and back of the books, a simple name in a byline doesn’t give readers much information on the people who work to bring the setting to life! We reached out to the authors of Lost Omens Grand Bazaar with the intent of promoting them—as well as any other personal work they would like to share, so that new fans of their work could find other projects, RPG products, websites, livestreams, and more to enjoy!

Art by Sandra Posada

Tineke Bolleman

The Menagerie, Familiars, Familiar and Master Abilities
Hello everyone, I am Tineke Bolleman (she/her) and I wrote the familiars and the Menagerie for Grand Bazaar. I love all kinds of animals, so getting to write a shop that puts the animals’ welfare first was great for me. And making new familiars so we all have new friends to take with us on adventures was amazing. Other than writing for Grand Bazaar, I do occasionally write for other Paizo lines. I volunteer for the Organized Play program and I’ve been a tabletop gamer for many years. You can follow me on twitter @direottergames for weird game posts, geeking out about animals, and the occasional cat picture.

Jessica Catalan (she/her)

Merrygleam, Toys, Absalom Ads
Hi everyone! My name is Jessica and I’m a freelance author and Starfinder Line Developer for the Starfinder Society. I’ve contributed to over 30 projects for Paizo, including Secrets of Magic, Galaxy Exploration Manual, Tech Revolution, Starfinder #39: The Gilded Cage, and PFS #3-99: Fate in the Future. My upcoming releases include Lost Omens Knights of Lastwall, Book of the Dead, Guns & Gears, SFS #4-09: Through Sea and Storm, and Galactic Magic.

For Lost Omens: Grand Bazaar, rather than write for myself, I wrote for my children. I wrote the toy shop, Merrygleam, its quirky shopkeep Ozi and her found family, and the toys and other goodies you’ll find inside. Additionally, I wrote Absalom Ads, a ‘training-manual-by-magical-mail’ company led by an absurdly over-the-top halfling. I hope Merrygleam, in particular, brings some joy to your world.
All the best,
Jessica

Dana Ebert

Material Changes
Hello! My name is Dana Ebert (she/her), and it was my pleasure to write about Material Changes and its illustrious proprietor, Iltara Clavela. This was my first contribution to Pathfinder, and I'm thrilled to finally be able to share it with all of you—although I must give credit for all the fabulous items available at the boutique to the extremely talented Jessica Redekop!

I didn't set out at first to write a transgender story, but the themes of transformation and revelation were so central to Iltara's character that as I penned my first draft, it became the obvious choice. As a trans woman myself, it was nerve-wracking to submit something that felt so personal, but I received nothing but support and encouragement from the outstanding team at Paizo. It is my sincere hope that Iltara's story will mean just as much to other people.

In the end, the Grand Bazaar is a triumph of a book, and I'm proud to have been part of it. If you want to know more about what I'm working on, the best places to visit are my Twitter (@MistressDanaRPG) or Linktree (https://linktr.ee/MistressDanaRPG). Feel free to DM me or give me a shout out!

Avi Kool (they/them)

Kraken's Ink Tattoo, Tattoos, Worn Items
Hi all! I’m Avi Kool, and I’m senior editor at Paizo. I had the pleasure of being co–edit lead on this book with Patrick Hurley, as well as writing the Kraken’s Ink section and a handful of worn items, including the tattoos. You can see my writing in books such as Bestiary 3 (Nosferatu) and Alien Archive 4 (The Seen), as well as in the upcoming Pathfinder Dark Archive. My NPC in this book, Arhan, is meant to be a representation of my Sephardic ancestors and their flight from imperial Spain, so this book is very near and dear to my heart. I hope you all enjoy it.

Dustin Knight

Catfish Salvage Solutions, Adventuring Gear
Greetings and welcome to the Grand Bazaar! I'm afraid my friend Tattletail is out getting more Anuli spice right now, but maybe I can help you. Who am I? Here, I'm known for peddling adventuring gear like fake blood packs and smoked goggles. Having the opportunity to write a character with a prosthesis like Tattletail means so much to me. I helped look after my late grandmother for many years, and her strength of character is something that helped inspire my work. You might also know me as a blogger on the Know Direction Network, PFS Venture Lieutenant in King County, and the host of a third-party review Pathfinder Twitch Show every Tuesday and Friday! You can check out more of my work on Drive Thru RPG, Legendary Game's Boricubos, the 52-IN-52! Project, and right here on Paizo! If you want to reach out for freelance work or just to chat, feel free to contact me @WarlockKitsune, Email, or Discord.

Art by Darko Stojanovic

Ron Lundeen

Poppets
I'm Ron. I wrote the poppets! Please love them. I do.

Randal Meyer

The Rune Room, Accessory Runes
A fan of Pathfinder since the beginning, I have always enjoyed tinkering with the rules in my own games. After joining the online Pathfinder communities, I knew that I wanted to get more involved in producing game content. That journey started with becoming a blogger at Know Direction, where I write my Groundbreaking blog (and sometimes others) and write reviews of the big GenCon releases from Paizo. I had an absolute blast writing Rakuskuk and the Rune Room. Working with the other writers made it so easy to ground him in the lore of Golarion, Absalom, and the Grand Bazaar itself. I am excited to see how his story grows. Accessory Runes are a wonderful addition to the game that I am proud to have worked on. I cannot wait to see where they go from here. When not working directly on new content, I am probably working on my other passion project... the RPG Sage. I am a big fan of playing RPGs via Discord and so I decided to write my own bot to help immerse myself and others into our games! You can learn more about it and give it a test run on my Discord Server at https://discord.rpgsage.io/

Jacob W. Michaels

Magic Armor, Staves, Wands
Hi, I’m Jacob W. Michaels, one of Paizo’s freelancers. Normally, I’d tell you here how excited I am for you all to see and play with the staves and wands I wrote. But... no, come in a little closer... closer... OK, good... the truth is I mostly just can't wait for the magic armor and runes I wrote to become available because I’ve been saving up gold pieces for a long time for them on a couple of characters. This was a great book to work on, with wonderful developers and fantastic freelancers, and we hope you love it. If you want to see more of my work for Paizo and for other publishers, please check out my profile page at paizo.com/people/JacobWMichaels.

Matt Morris

Skymetals, Spell Trickster
I’m Matt Morris, and I’ve been lucky enough to do freelance writing for Pathfinder and Starfinder for several years now, working with Paizo and a few 3rd-party companies, including Everybody Game and Rogue Genius Games.

The Lost Omens line for Pathfinder Second Edition has given me the opportunity to explore some of my favorite parts of the setting in the Lost Omens Character Guide, Lost Omens Gods & Magic, and Lost Omens Legends, and now I'm excited to be contributing to the biggest market in Absalom. If you manage to smuggle some skymetal out of Numeria or learn the secrets of the Spell Trickster, you'll be in my corner of the Bazaar!

I keep an up-to-date list of my work on my Paizo profile, and I’m always looking for interesting projects, so feel free to contact me if you are looking for a reliable writer!

When not writing, I’m teaching high school English near Philadelphia, PA.

Andrew Mullen

Mask and Moon
Howdy! I’m Andrew Mullen, and I wrote The Mask and Moon, Absalom’s premier magical dining venue; Erin Roberts did a great job on the accompanying magical food section. Speaking of, why just conjure your food when you can intricately weave cooking and magic to create something truly spectacular! (The Mask and Moon apologizes for any and all beef automaton incidents, past and future)

Read Jess’s blog entry here for particular Paizo staff members you should thank - I echo her sentiments 100%. I’m proud to work with such dedicated and talented folks. I’d also like to recognize the folks at Paizo who keep the website running, books flowing in and out of the warehouse, orders and customer concerns handled, and all the less public-facing but no less essential work of running a publishing business.

Finally, I and frequent freelancers Isabelle Thorne and Mikhail Rekun are working on the Luminant Age, a 3rd-party campaign setting for Pathfinder 2E. We recently sent Fauna of the Luminant Age to Kickstarter backers, which includes vampire anteater dogs and rats that can make you teleport to death. We’ve got more projects in the works on the run-up to the full campaign setting book—stay updated at our Twitter account!

Art by Sandra Posada

Dave Nelson

Historia Reliquary, Magic Ammunition
Greetings, traveler. You, yes you! Enter the Historia Reliquary and see the legends of Avistan long lost. Garundi history? Oh yes, we have that too, somewhere in the back. But first, look at this arrow. Carved head to look like a rhinoceros. It dates back to the Sixth Army of Exploration in Taldor. I suppose I could part with it, to someone who understands its historical significance...

Dave Nelson is a neurodivergent freelancer who is happy to have contributed to Grand Bazaar, writing the magic ammunition and the details of the Historia Reliquary. In particular he is excited to provide positive autistic representation, a cause he feels strongly about, through the proprietor of the Reliquary. Please enjoy!

Jessica Redekop (she/they/he)

Fashionable Items
Hello! I'm Jess, and I wrote the new clothing and other items available in the Material Changes shop (just the items! Credit to Dana Ebert for the rest of the Material Changes entry). I had a great time working on Grand Bazaar with my fellow authors, with Luis and Eleanor as the book's development leads, Mark as the design lead, Patrick and Avi as editorial leads, and all the other people needed to make these books happen. I am privileged to be part of this great and talented network of people who collaborate and create together, and to have such a wonderful, kind, and fierce group of peers

Erin Roberts

Relics & Remembrance, Alchemical Tapas, Magical Tapas
Hello! I’m Erin Roberts (she/her), and I’m thrilled to be making my Pathfinder (and published TTRPG) debut in Logbee! I had the absolute pleasure of writing Khisa, who shares my passion for storytelling and social justice, and her Relics & Remembrance shop. I also had a blast creating Alchemical and Magical Tapas to complement The Mask and the Moon, the restaurant written by Andrew Mullen that my tastebuds desperately wish existed.

While this is my first Paizo project, there's more to come, so keep an eye out for my work in Lost Omens Knights of Lastwall and other projects yet to be announced. You can follow all of my work (including my prose science fiction/fantasy/horror writing) on Twitter at @nirele or check out my website at writingwonder.com. And until next time, may your causes be just and your cakes impossible!

Shay Snow

Kitten’s Slumber, Magic Weapons
Hey! I’m Shay Snow (they/them) and I wrote the shop Kitten’s Slumber for Lost Omens The Grand Bazaar! I really enjoyed creating a familiar sanctuary and crafting the relationship between quiet Roswine and exuberant Cabbage, who might just a little bit be based on my orange cat, Beans! You may have also seen my writing in a couple of Starfinder Society scenarios, as well as Secrets of Magic, Tech Revolution, and Bestiary 3. I have a few more entries in upcoming books, including Lost Omens Monsters of Myth.

I also pop up around Coyote & Crow and have a few things being announced with them soon!

When not writing, I’m usually discussing Native issues and rights over on my Twitter @SpellsInSugar, where you can also sometimes catch me talking about video games and horror media. You can keep up with my work, or even contact me for hire, through my website https://shayjay.carrd.co/!

Art by Sammy Khalid

Ashton Sperry (they/them)

Tesyovensku’s Warehouse, Animal Companions, Companion Items
Howdy! I’m Ashton, and I wrote the animal companions, companion items, and the skymetal shop, Tesyovensku’s Warehouse! As someone who came out as nonbinary relatively recently, getting to write up a nonbinary character was a real treasure for me. Plus, I got to whip up some really interesting animal companions, and I think the hosteling statuette and swarmform collar offer some exciting options for characters with companions. Do me a favor and kill a Big Bad with a swarm of pangolins, if you can!

If you’d like to keep up with me online, I’m pretty active on Twitter, where you can find me as @WhoTweetedThis, also known as Game Raccoon. I post up my art there on a regular basis, talk about gaming of the TTRPG and video varieties, and generally try my dangdest to make at least one corner of Twitter a warm, welcoming, inclusive space. And be sure to keep your eyes out for Lost Omens Knights of Lastwall, which I also contributed to, coming April 2022!

Amber Stewart

Barghest’s Bin
Hey there! I’m Amber Stewart (previously writing as Todd Stewart) and I’m delighted to have written the Barghest’s Bin for Lost Omens The Grand Bazaar, combining just the right amount of quirky charm with some darker plot hooks. I swear, I write more than planar content, even if I’ve done tons of it over the years! I do love it so very much, but my work on this book let me branch out a bit more from my last several planes-themed projects, but I still couldn’t resist adding in a plot hook with the meladaemon, Inusalia the Lady of Wasting Intoxication, in Omira’s back story, to say nothing of the petrified barghest presently used as a display model for bric-a-brac in the Bin. If you like my content, I’ve got a Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/KingOfTheCrosstrade, and if you want to follow me, you can find me on Twitter @TheRealShemeska where I talk about gaming, share quotes from my home game, post stuff about my cats, and ramble about science.

Isabelle Thorne

Resplendent Rose, Armor and Shield Adjustments, Weapons
Hello, readers! I’m Isabelle Thorne, long-time contributor (five years already!) and proud trans girl. ^_^

For the Grand Bazaar, I brought to life the Resplendent Rose and its proprietor, Ralliadra. Like so many of my NPCs, she is also trans and Shelynite, and I’m incredibly happy with how she (and her music shop) turned out! Mechanically, I produced the new armor and shield adjustments, as well as the new (and, in many cases, returning) base weapons. Both of these elements build on content I produced or revised for Adventurer’s Armory 2 back when I was just starting out, and I tried to include other fan-favorites, such as a certain beloved elven weapon. I hope you enjoy my contributions!

I’m always working on new gaming content, both for Paizo and for my own Patreon, and perhaps someday for Infinite as well. I’m working on fiction, too, and will hopefully have something to show off soon! I also offer my services as an editor and developer for hire.

You can contact me at kalindlara@gmail.com (work-related matters only, please!), sign up for my Patreon to get exclusive content, or follow me on Twitter!

Jason Tondro

Lost & Found, Structures
Writing for Grand Bazaar was a delight, and I picked topics that left me a lot of room to be creative: Lost & Found seemed like the kind of shop that could have pretty much anything in it, and my other topic—magical structures—is unique to P2, with a lot of what we like to call “design space.” I could have written twice as much on both topics, if we’d had the room! If you’re looking for more of my work, I’ll be developing Starfinder and Pathfinder Adventure Paths here at Paizo for as long as they let me. You can also find me online @doctorcomics (Twitter) or on the BAMF Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/c/BAMFPodcast or your favorite podcast app) where I do a deep dive on the adventures I have developed, unpacking the entire process from pitch to post-publication.

The Age of Lost Omens

Ten thousand years ago, the world of Golarion came close to ending. Earthfall, as this extinction-level event came to be known, saw the world pummeled by a shower of falling stars that sank continents, hollowed out new seas, and destroyed civilizations. It took centuries for the world to recover, and centuries more for society to rebuild, but recover it did.

Do you want to be sure to get the latest and greatest Pathfinder and Starfinder products shipped to you directly from the Paizo warehouse upon release? Of course, you do! When you become an ongoing subscriber to one of Paizo’s many product lines, you'll have that security.

In this series, we’re diving into Paizo Subscriptions, including what you can subscribe to today and what’s just around the corner. We’ve looked at the Pathfinder Rulebook and Special Edition Rulebook Ongoing Subscriptions and Starfinder Rulebook Ongoing Subscription. Now, we’ll explore the popular Lost Omens setting line!

From the Pathfinder Lost Omens World Guide to the Pathfinder Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, the Lost Omens setting line currently includes seven hardcovers the bring deep lore and campaign-specific rules to enrich your Pathfinder game. You can start your Pathfinder Lost Omens Ongoing Subscription today with Pathfinder Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse (available now) or Pathfinder Lost Omens Grand Bazaar (scheduled for October)!

South of the forbidding Barrier Wall mountains lies a land of illustrious history and immeasurable natural beauty. Since time immemorial, the Mwangi Expanse has been home to an untold diversity of cultures and peoples, hosting powerful, isolated city-states that often paid little attention to their neighbors. Yet the turning tides of fortune have begun to usher in changes that ripple across the world, and the Mwangi people now look both inward and outward with new prospects. Pathfinder Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse lays forth both a vast landscape and a living history to be explored, in the ultimate resource for a realm of magic, monsters, and intrigue!

Be the first to market with Pathfinder Lost Omens Grand Bazaar! The Grand Bazaar is Absalom’s greatest marketplace featuring items from all over Golarion. Here, an adventurer can find equipment of all kinds to help them on their next quest, like new weapons, armors, magic items, accessibility items to enable adventures for anyone, new animal companions, and more! The Grand Bazaar is also home to countless unique merchants and shops. Game Masters can use these new shops as part of their campaigns to flesh out the world and inspire new adventures. See what’s for sale at the Grand Bazaar, and snap up the good deals while you still can!

A Merry Month of Mythical Monsters and a Magical Metropolis!

In December, you can look forward to both Pathfinder Lost Omens Monsters of Myth and the urban and fashionably late Pathfinder Lost Omens Absalom, City of Lost Omens hardcovers!

Release the beasts! Heroes abound in the Age of Lost Omens, but for every great hero, there is an even greater monster. Lost Omens Monsters of Myth provides details on 20 of the most infamous and terrifying monsters from the Inner Sea region and beyond. Uncover the secrets of some of Golarion's greatest monsters, from the Sandpoint Devil to Fafnheir, the Father of All Linnorms, and more. Monsters of Myth provides rumors, tales, and even treasures for the brave adventurers willing to face these legendary creatures!

For nearly 5,000 years, the great city of Absalom has stood at the center of the Inner Sea’s culture, commerce, and prophecy. Now, with the death of the city’s founder-god Aroden, the disappearance of the city's lord mayor, and newly launched attacks from some of its greatest foes, Absalom stands at the gateway to a new and uncertain destiny!

This lore-packed hardcover, now with over 400 pages, serves as a guide to the locations, denizens, and adventures of Pathfinder’s most famous city! Absalom, City of Lost Omens is the largest Pathfinder city sourcebook to date, presenting a fascinating locale suitable for years of adventure! A huge 8-panel poster map of the city sets the scene in unprecedented detail, so your heroes can walk upon streets paved with centuries of history, following the steps of generations of questing heroes to chart a new path in the City at the Center of the World!

Did you catch that the Grand Bazaar is Absalom’s greatest marketplace? That’s right, all the contents of Pathfinder Lost Omens Grand Bazaar reside within Absalom, City of Lost Omens!

Become a Subscriber Today!

Never miss a product release again with subscriptions that suit your playstyle. From core rulebooks, world guides, and accessories to the latest miniatures, customize your subscription and unlock greater rewards, like discounts and free Organized Play content.

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

Since the launch of Pathfinder Second Edition, we’ve released a number of adventures set in the Mwangi Expanse. The upcoming Strength of Thousands Adventure Path might be one of the most anticipated, but we've also explored the Expanse in Age of Ashes, the standalone adventure The Slithering, and multiple Pathfinder Society scenarios. Such a vast and beautiful locale invariably invites exploration beyond what has already been presented, however, and there's no better resource for that than Pathfinder Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse!

Art by Alexander Nanitchkov

Spidery Friends

Ever since the anadi shyly tiptoed their way into Pathfinder near the end of First Edition, our fans have been split between those who love anadis and arachnophobes (sorry about that). An anadi named Renali showed up in the first book of the Age of Ashes Adventure Path, and she could even accompany the heroes of that adventure as they fought off a group of hostile invaders in the town of Breachill and beyond. With the release of The Mwangi Expanse, anadis are now a playable ancestry—GMs can take cues from these rules to give Renali new abilities to help the PCs overcome their challenges, or even allow a player to use Renali as a PC!

Slithering Spoilers Ahead!

If you're still waiting to experience the events of The Slithering unspoiled, then shoo! Get out of here! But if you're a GM seeking to build on the framework the adventure provides you, consider checking out The Mwangi Expanse as you begin your preparations. Not only does the book contain more information on Kibwe, where the events of The Slithering take place, it also provides information on the surrounding area, the people who live in the city, and recent events that the locals might still be talking about—aside from the terrible ooze curse, of course! Would the sudden influx of charau-ka refugees from Usaro cause your PCs to raise an eyebrow? Could a visiting Alijae elf from the White City of Nagisa have some helpful information to offer? Has a relative or friend had a narrow escape from someone looking to cash in on the rumored Aspis bounties for kobolds?

The Slithering sees PCs venture into the city of Holy Xatramba to face down a group of demonic cultists. But The Mwangi Expanse unveils another resident of that city—the green dragon Olohimba, who considers the ruins her domain. Though thoroughly evil and happy to dine on any intruders to her realm, she considers herself an orthodox follower of Pharasma (and since she isn't a cleric, Pharasma's ban on neutral evil clerics and champions can't convince her otherwise!) Olohimba considers it her duty to the Lady of Graves to cleanse Holy Xatramba of demons, and she could be swayed to help the PCs in their predicament. Is negotiating with a dangerous and powerful draconic patron worth the risks? Or would the PCs prefer to take their chances with the demons?

Art by Gunship Revolution

College Prep

If you and your group are planning to play in the upcoming Strength of Thousands adventure path, be sure to pack The Mwangi Expanse in with your textbooks! Beyond offering a basic history of Old-Mage Jatembe, his Ten Magic Warriors, and the founding of the Magaambya, the book also takes a close look at the city of Nantambu, where the Adventure Path is set. The book outlines all the hottest spots for students looking to spend their free time, from the Black Crowned Crane restaurant to the best shops serving alcoholic “Jatembe Juice.” Unless, of course, you'd rather spend your nights in your dorm room all alone. Even the antisocial can find useful material, however: the ancestry rules for some of the Mwangi Expanse's shiest people, from the secretive shisks to the paranoid golomas. Whether you're a party animal or a studious scholar, The Mwangi Expanse is the book for you!

Eleanor Ferron
Pathfinder Developer

The Mwangi Expanse is a vast and diverse place. The region’s people hold a variety of beliefs that include gods not seen anywhere else. You can read about a number of these gods, including returning gods like Grandmother Spider and new gods like catfolk god Adanye, in Lost Omens Mwangi Expanse.

We here at Team Lost Omens thought it would be fun to take some of these Mwangi gods and match them up with other gods, both Mwangi and otherwise, to create new pantheons. Pantheons are groups of related gods that a faithful can worship as a collective, focusing on either a specific deity within the pantheon or following all of the gods together. You can find more information on pantheons in Lost Omens Gods & Magic.

Each of the following pantheons includes at least one Mwangi deity and can serve as a suitable faith for characters hailing from the Mwangi Expanse. We encourage everyone to use the following pantheons as examples when creating their own pantheons for home play. If you make your own pantheon or end up playing a character that follows one of the following pantheons, let us know!

Art by Daniele Sorrentino

Demon Bringers

Alignment LG (LG, LN, NG, CG)
Areas of Concern protection, retribution, and keeps
Divine Font heal
Divine Ability Strength or Constitution
Divine Skill Survival
Domains creation, family, might, protection
Alternate Domains cities, duty
Cleric Spells 1st: mage armor, 4th: creation, 7th: true target
Edicts create fortifications and defenses to protect those who can’t protect themselves, improve your hunting abilities, seek out evils that threaten others
Anathema exclude innocents from safe havens, intentionally destroy a shelter, allow demon summoners to live on unpunished
Favored Weapon machete

The Mwangi Expanse is full of dangers. Of particular note are the various demons and other Abyssal creatures that roam the jungles. Many of these creatures are drawn to the Mwangi Expanse by the presence of Angazhan’s or Lamashtu’s might, while others are direct servitors of those faithful to the demonic. While the Mwangi Expanse is home to many demon hunters that keep these evil forces at bay, many of them work in independent groups. It’s only with the combined efforts of the demon hunters that the Mwangi Expanse can be rid of this demonic presence and the people of the Mwangi Expanse can be safe.

The demon hunters among the Ekujae elves, Matanji orcs, Mwangi catfolk, Mbe’ke dwarves, and others began to join forces in their demon hunts and brought their respective gods with them. This led to the worship of a pantheon of righteous gods that both offered the might to destroy demons and the wisdom to defend others. Through the worship of Adanye, Chohar, Kazutal (in her form as Majagua), and Torag, these mighty hunters find the strength they need to make the Mwangi Expanse a safer place. While this pantheon didn’t originally have a name, the local Mwangi populations eventually dubbed them the Demon Bringers, as their faithful would bring home trophies in the form of demon heads, claws, or tails. Followers of the Demon Bringers use their skills to hunt demons and other evils that lie within the Mwangi Expanse. They also help create homes and fortifications for those that can’t fight, as the ultimate goal of the Demon Bringers is a safer Mwangi for all.

Art by Sophie Medvedeva.

The Freeing Flame

Alignment CN (NG, N, CG, CN)
Areas of Concern liberation, toppling tyranny, and self-realization
Divine Font harm or heal
Divine Ability Strength or Charisma
Divine Skill Stealth
Domains freedom, change, might, protection
Alternate Domains ambition, destruction, zeal
Cleric Spells 1st: anticipate peril, 3rd: fireball, 6th: mislead
Edicts free others from oppression, release harmful tethers be they physical or spiritual, work toward your best self and inspire others to follow
Anathema allow tyrants to escape punishment after their reign ends, enslave or oppress others, prevent others from honestly expressing themselves
Favored Weapon sword cane

Local stories say that the people of Vidrian had the support of the gods when the time came for revolution. Lubaiko provided the first flames of rebellion, literally igniting the first cart that led to the initial confrontation at a plantation on the outskirts of Eleder. The tales then note that the casks on the cart erupted as the first blow was struck, creating a massive explosion that woke everyone on the plantation. Many say this was Cayden Cailean’s way of showing his support. As everyone stirred about and watched those first servants and slaves fight, others were fearful of the consequences. It was the touch of hope that Milani granted them that finally gave them the strength to rise up and fight for freedom.

Whether or not the stories hold truth, the Freeing Flame remains a notable pantheon among the people of Vidrian today. The young nation broke free from the shackles of oppression and now looks toward bettering itself in the future, a mantra that many Vidrics and followers of the Freeing Flame follow for themselves. With the guidance of Milani, the courage of Cayden, and the inspiration of Lubaiko, a faithful can burn away maladies of the heart to become a person that is free to do as they wish, but also do so without infringing on others. Some follow these ideals to stop tyrants and liberate those that can’t live freely, while others take these teachings to become independent figures with little concern of others’ expectations.

Art by Maichol Quinto.

Sky Keepers

Alignment NG (LG, NG, CG)
Areas of Concern freedom, skies, storms, weather
Divine Font heal
Divine Ability Dexterity or Wisdom
Divine Skill Acrobatics
Domains air, change (Pathfinder Lost Omens Gods & Magic 112), protection, wyrmkin (Gods & Magic 119)
Alternate Domains freedom, lightning
Cleric Spells 1st: gust of wind, 4th: fly, 9th: storm of vengeance
Edicts remove anyone that would threaten those who live among the skies, encourage others to find a way to live among the clouds, honor the might of storms
Anathema interfere with the natural phases of the sky, remove a creature’s innate means to fly
Favored Weapon longbow

The only thing more expansive than the Mwangi jungles, mountains, and rivers are the skies that rest above them. There are many who would seek to take control of the skies and there are others who seek to keep the skies free for all. From evil spellcasters looking to wield the weather for their own wicked whims to deadly monsters that make them dangerous to travel, the skies are never truly safe. Thankfully, an unlikely alliance of gods works together to keep the skies over the Expanse safe.

Apsu, god of good dragons, saw how his son Dahak once tried to burn down the entirety of the Mwangi Expanse and took it upon himself to defend the skies that rest over those that put a stop to Dahak’s destruction. Uvoko, the diamond ring, is a living embodiment of the Mwangi skies and valued Apsu’s aid. Finally, with the recent release of Ranginori, the elemental lord took to reclaiming the skies from evildoers. When the three gods encountered each other, they formed the Pact of the Sky Keepers, dedicating themselves to both keeping the skies safe for all, but also maintaining the natural cycles and orders of the skies. The sky belongs to everyone, but ultimately, the sky has no master and attempts to force one’s will upon by forcibly changing the weather or committing similar acts goes against the Pact. Followers of the Sky Keepers can be found all over Golarion, but Apsu and Uvoko’s focus on the Mwangi Expanse leads to many worshippers operating in the region.

Art by Sophie Medvedeva.

Touch of the Sun

Alignment NG (LG, LN, NG, CG)
Areas of Concern compassion, rebirth, and the sun
Divine Font heal
Divine Ability Constitution or Wisdom
Divine Skill Diplomacy
Domains family, healing, passion, sun
Alternate Domains change, vigil (Gods & Magic 118), zeal
Cleric Spells 1st: soothe, 2nd: false life, 7th: fiery body
Edicts help others with changes that can improve their lives, mind those that others forget or exclude, offer second chances, stand up for others when they can’t stand for themselves
Anathema challenge the sun, ignore the pleas of others when you are able to help, refuse to give someone else a chance to offer their truth
Favored Weapon rapier

Legends state that Chohar, Luhar, and Tlehar were the first sun-kings of Mzali, building the city as a safe haven for the people of the Expanse. Their might, leadership, and kindness earned them a place among the heavens, transforming them into the sun gods of Mzali. As gods, they met Sarenrae, another goddess of the sun, and for a time, all four worked together to help the people of Golarion. Eventually, whether intentionally or otherwise, the people of Mzali forgot their sun gods. The sun gods watched as the people of Mzali forgot prayers and songs to their former gods. The sun gods wept because their people could no longer see or hear them, but Sarenrae offered them words of encouragement: there would be a time when people remembered the sun gods once more.

Thanks to the efforts of the Bright Lions of Mzali, worship of the sun gods has returned to the Mwangi Expanse. While the sun gods appreciate this renewed faith, they did not forget Sarenrae’s kindness. When asked about their disappearance, the sun gods merely state they were biding their time alongside a friend. This friendship led to the worship of the three sun gods alongside Sarenrae as a greater sun pantheon. The collective sun gods teach that kindness and second chances are pivotal values. They also note that sometimes a person needs to change into someone new before they are truly themselves and instruct that helping others with these changes is akin to helping bring new life into the world. The four gods know that there might be other forgotten gods and peoples out there that just need some kindness to make it through their period of turmoil, so they ask their worshippers to help these forgotten in whatever way they can. Finally, the sun gods make it clear that lost or abandoned gods can still find companionship among the divine and welcome these gods to join their ranks.

Luis Loza
Developer

While the writers of our Paizo products are always credited in the front and back of the books, a simple name in a byline doesn’t give readers much information on the people who work to bring the setting to life! To wrap up our look at the Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, we reached out to the authors of the book with the intent of promoting them—as well as any other personal work they would like to share, so that new fans of their work could find other projects, RPG products, websites, livestreams, and more to enjoy!

Art by Carol Azevedo

Calder CaDavid

Hello, Calder here! I was thrilled to write for some of my favorite ancestries – aasimar and orcs in Lost Omens Ancestry Guide. I’ve been a freelancing TTRPG writer for a little over two years and loving every moment. I’ve written for previous Lost Omens books, the PFS adventure (1-22) The Doom of Cassomir and several adventures for the subscription service Dungeon in a Box. I hosted and ran the actual-play and GM discussion podcast Mythos Manual, which post-modern plague may actually get back to. I work in television production and live in Los Angeles with my cat, dog and fiancé. Follow me on Twitter @CaDavidCalder. Enjoy more Lost Omens goodness!

Jessica Catalan

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica Catalan and I wrote androids and azarketi for Lost Omens Ancestry Guide. I’ve been freelancing for Paizo’s Pathfinder and Starfinder RPGs for nearly two years. In that time I’ve contributed to twenty three projects for Paizo (and counting!), including Advanced Player’s Guide, Lost Omens Legends, Starship Operations Manual, Alien Archive 4, five Organized Play scenarios, and a variety of other products that will release over the next year or so. In between freelancing and parenting, I occasionally find time to update d20diaries.com, a personal blog focusing on my family’s experiences in gaming. For a full list of my announced TTRPG credits, visit d20diaries.com/freelance-work/ You can follow me on Twitter (@d20diaries), Instagram (d20diaries), and Facebook (D20 Diaries). Contributing to Lost Omens Ancestry Guide was an absolute delight and I’m thrilled to see it hit gaming tables. Enjoy!

Art by Dominik Derow

Lyz Liddell

Hey, everyone! I’m Lyz Liddell, former designer and editor for Pathfinder, back on the job to nurture my beautiful goth children: dhampirs! When I created this versatile lineage for the Advanced Player’s Guide, there was so much more we wanted to do than we had space for, so it was a delight to put those ideas into action for the Lost Omens Ancestry Guide. Dhampirs in fiction bear an unfortunate and long-held association with violence and loss, but I wanted to break those assumptions in Pathfinder so you have the freedom to tell any stories you want with these physically, socially, and emotionally complex characters. I hope you enjoy them!

Ron Lundeen

I’m Ron Lundeen, a developer on the Pathfinder Adventure Path line here at Paizo. I really wanted to write up the fleshwarps for this book, because they could be tentacled and gross. I initially thought of them only as grotesque creations for players who want to be a monster (which their ancestry feats really reflect), but as I thought about fleshwarps' place in the world, I realized that even these physically distinct people would have conventions, hopes, goals, and self-images of their own. Incorporating these thoughts made them a much deeper and more flavorful ancestry. With a fleshwarp, you can still "just be the monster," or you can explore what it means to have a shockingly inhuman appearance in a world of wonders and terrors. Plus, Gaping Flesh is maybe my favorite feat I've ever written. You can check out my RPG advice, including an entire free Pathfinder Second Edition Adventure Path I wrote, on my blog at RunAmokGames.com. I’m available for freelance for any number of game systems at rules.lawyer.ron@gmail.com.

Art by Alex Stone

Patchen Mortimer

Hey all! I’m Patchen Mortimer, an advertising copywriter and DJ from Baltimore. You might know me from The Daily Bestiary(dailybestiary.tumblr.com and dailybestiary.blogspot.com), where I spent 7+ years writing adventure seeds for nearly every monster in the 1e Bestiaries.
It’s been a thrill contributing articles to Pathfinder Adventure Path(most recently “Prisons of the Inner Sea”) and several Pathfinder 2e hardcovers. Lost Omens Ancestry Guide was an exciting chance to return to my beloved iruxi and wander through the warrens of the ysoki. Here’s to everyone out there who thinks role-playing’s more fun when you have sharp teeth and a tail!
For freelancing, find me via email: patchen.mortimer@gmail.com. For silliness, find me on Twitter: @patchdj. For great music every week, find me Tuesdays 9–11PM (US Eastern) on the radio: wmuc.umd.edu.
PS: I want to give a big shout-out to Clean Cuts, the studio that helped bring Starfinder to life on Alexa. Way back in 2006, Clean Cuts helped me make some of my very first TV and radio commercials, and they’ve been a joy to work with ever since. So I’m *thrilled* they found their way to Paizo and the Pact Worlds—congrats all around!

Andrew Mullen

Hello from the US Southwest! I'm Andrew Mullen, who you might know from Old-Mage Jatembe's section of Lost Omens Legends and xulgath culture in the Extinction Curse Adventure Path. For Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, I worked on fetchlings and aphorites. I've always liked shadows' place in fantasy, but as someone who doesn't play much with the chaos/law axis, aphorites were a new challenge. I quite enjoyed thinking through what it means to have an intrinsic connection to order!
Ancestries aside, and assuming this blog presents authors in alphabetical order by last name, I'm going to scoop Mikhail's bit - we're working on a third-party project!
Was the world plunged into darkness because the prior civilization exsanguinated god to death, and when his eyes closed the stars went out? Was it because the wreckage of the gods' civil war blotted out the sky? In Ourichor: Fulcrum of the Luminant Age, there's no certain answer: this truth is a matter of faith. The Luminant Age is a Weird Fantasy world with a robust, nuanced take on fictional culture. But that level of detail doesn't mean an impenetrable mess of lore! We want players to be able to dive right into a game, even one that takes into account the power struggles and intrigues of a technological renaissance fueled by god's blood.
Oh, and we've got vampire anteater dogs and flying rays with gardens on their backs! Adorable!
Keep an eye on our Twitter at https://twitter.com/LuminantA - there's strange stuff on the horizon!

Art by Mirco Paganessi

Jessica Redekop

Hi! I'm Jess, and this blog means I can finally tell everyone I'm the author of the geniekin versatile heritages for Ancestry Guide. This was a real dream for me! I'm not sure I can express how much of a joy the geniekin heritages were to write, and I hope you'll enjoy reading about and playing the elemental planar scions as much as I will. For more genie content from yours truly, check out the PFS scenario Freedom for Wishes releasing in March. You can find me on twitter and instagram as @tectonomancer, and playing Xiadani the aasimar druid on Valiant, an actual play podcast on the Know Direction network.

Mikhail Rekun

Здравствуйте, уважаемые читатели! (Hello, dear readers!) My name is Mikhail Sergeyevich Rekun, and you may remember me from Lost Omen Legends (Baba Yaga) PFS 1-15 Blooming Catastrophe, and PFS 2-8 Frosty Mug, amongst a great deal of other writing. In my significantly more boring daily existence, I’m a Russian-American historian and educator, presently working in China.
In LOAG, I wrote the entries for the tieflings and the duskwalkers. Duskwalkers and I go way back—my very first assignment for Paizo was writing Duskwalker feats for the Plane-Hopper’s Handbook, and my first ‘big’ Paizo assignment was the Half-Dead backmatter in AP139 The Dead Roads.
Here and today, though, I want to mention a new project I’m working on, a bit outside of the Paizo umbrella. Ourichor: Fulcrum of the Luminant Age is an upcoming third-party setting for Pathfinder Second Edition, a Weird Fantasy Swashbuckler set in a world without stars, where players will have a chance to set the course of history—or maybe just get run over by it, as the case may be.
It’s still early days, but we have a Twitter at https://twitter.com/LuminantA and plans for some fun stuff in the near future.
Досвидания! (Goodbye!)

Art by Matheus Dorow Schwartz

David N. Ross

I'm something of a jack-of-all-trades freelance writer and developer peddling novel rules, vibrant settings, and intrigue-laced adventures. This book is also a major milestone for me: my 50th contribution to Paizo's catalog! Although I'm best-known as a writer for Paizo's various lines, I also develop rules and write new content for other clients including Petersen Games, Raging Swan Press, AAW Games, Legendary Games, and a dozen more using rules for Pathfinder (both editions), Starfinder, and D&D. This time, I'm excited to revisit catfolk and provide them with some new tricks! I previously wrote some of their Inner sea Races mechanics in first edition and helped flesh out their lore in Pathfinder Adventure Path #152: Legacy of the Lost God. My next major release will be my first Adventure Path installment, "Ready? Fight!" which comes out in May. You can find me on Twitter @DavidRossWorlds and shop most of my non-Paizo products on DriveThruRPG. I also help run Freelance Forge, a community for current and aspiring RPG freelancers.

Mark Seifter

I'm Mark Seifter, Paizo's design manager and one of the four leads on the creation of Pathfinder Second Edition.
In Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, I created the sprites. I'm a big fan of fey, and I wanted to express that in this section. Plus, since I was also working on Bestiary 3, I was able to coordinate adding three brand new types of sprites in both books, as heritages and new creatures: Thanks to the creativity of Eleanor and Luis, we came up with draxie (dragon sprites), melixies (insect sprites, often bees), and nyktera (bat sprites)!
Check out my twitch stream with Linda Zayas-Palmer, Arcane Mark, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7PM Pacific, and Saturdays at 10 AM Pacific at https://www.twitch.tv/arcanemark. We cover a variety of RPG and Pathfinder topics on Tuesdays and Saturdays, chosen by the viewers!

Owen K.C. Stephens

Owen K.C. Stephens is a former Paizo employee and 20+ year veteran of the tabletop RPG industry, who has worked on products for five editions of D&D, two of Pathfinder, the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, its Beginner Box, and more than a half-dozen other RPGs. He was delighted to work on this book, especially the opportunity to get to write some things about kobolds again. You can find his every-weekday game posts at his blog (owenkcstephens.com), support him on his Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/OwenKCStephens), and check him out on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OwenK.C.Stephens) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/Owen_Stephens).

Art by Carol Azevedo

Do you want to play a character infused with the power of other planes and the magic of genies? What about a shapeshifter: an enigmatic kitsune, or even the beastkin descendant of werecreatures? Or perhaps you’ve always wanted to play a tiny fairy riding around on a corgi? Now you can, with the release of Pathfinder Lost Omens: Ancestry Guide! We’ve just released a flurry of new ancestry boons purchasable by Pathfinder Society Achievement Points, allowing you to unlock access to every new ancestry from this book. You can find your current Achievement point balance and these boons on your My Organized Play page.

But this book has more than new ancestries. It’s chock-full of new lore, heritages, and feats to expand the ancestries and versatile heritages from the Advanced Player’s Guide and Pathfinder Lost Omens: Character Guide--so if your character’s ancestry and heritage aren’t from the Core Rulebook, there’s probably something new for you on the Character Options page! One of the ancestries featured in this book, the azarketi, will be featured in a book that hasn't been released yet: Absalom, City of Lost Omens. In the meantime, the ancestry’s rules appear as a free download here, and we’ve gone ahead and sanctioned them as well.

Speaking of expanding your horizons beyond the Core Rulebook’s ancestries, you can now receive Pathfinder Society credit for playing The Slithering. Play as a kobold, lizardfolk, orc, or catfolk on a quest to save the city of Kibwe from a horrific curse. This brings us current in sanctioning Pathfinder Adventures for credit in the Pathfinder Society.

This month’s update to the Character Options page also includes updates to the Pathfinder Bestiary. The update to the Bestiary opens up the Bestiary languages to characters who have means of learning uncommon languages, like your Multilingual PCs. I know folks are wondering about Bestiary 2 as well. We’ve started work on it, but it’s a bigger project, so we’ll need a bit more time. Once that’s ready, we’ll be sure to let you know.

We’re still working on the next project for Starfinder sanctioning and will have more information in the March update blog next week.

Linda Zayas-Palmer
Organized Play Managing Developer

We here at Paizo like to keep you up to date on our upcoming releases. Our most recent big release is Lost Omens Ancestry Guide, a book focused on expanding existing ancestries as well as providing you with brand new ancestries and versatile heritages to inspire all manner of adventurer. Let’s take a look at what’s inside.

Expanded Ancestries and Heritages

The first half of the book provides an in-depth look at ancestries and versatile heritages that premiered in previous book. Each entry presents information on how each ancestry or heritage fits in the Lost Omens setting as well as provide new ancestry feats, heritages, and lineages. The section includes the following entries.

Aasimar (Calder CaDavid): Aasimars result from celestial influence, but only rarely are they literally descended from celestials, more often coming from special blessings or the residual energies in holy places. This book presents three new lineages, emberkin, idyllkin, and plumekith, for aasimars descended from peris, agathions, and garudas respectively.

Azarketi (Jessica Catalan): Often known as “gillmen” or “Low Azlanti,” azarketis are the descendants of the Azlanti Empire. They survived Earthfall by being mutated by their foes, the alghollthus, to become an aquatic people tied forever to seas and waterways—but their history draws them back to the land. This book presents new azarketi options, exploring their magical connection to water and adds the inured, murkeyed, spined, and tactile azarketi heritages.

Check out the Azarketi ancestry today with this pdf download!

Catfolk (David N. Ross): Native to the nation of Murraseth in southern Garund, catfolk are feline humanoids who believe they were created to hunt down threats to Golarion as a whole. This book presents new options to double down on catfolk’s agility and luck and adds the flexible, liminal, and sharp-eared catfolk heritages.

Changeling (Isabelle Thorne): The offspring of wicked hags, changelings are often left in the cradles of their mortal parent’s people and raised without understanding what makes them different. They often feel disconnected from their communities early in life, the subtle call of their hag mother coaxing them to abandon those they love. This book presents the moon may, snow may, veil may, and virga may lineages for changelings descended from moon hags, winter hags, blood hags, and storm hags respectively.

Dhampir (Lyz Liddell): Dhampirs are mortals descended from a living and a vampiric parent. Marked forever by their hungers, some may learn to draw strength from the blood of others, while others drink subtler substances, such as pain. This book presents three new lineages, adhyabhau, cel rau, and ru-shi, for dhampirs descended from psychic, strigoi, and jiang-shi vampires.

Duskwalker (Mikhail Rekun): Reincarnated souls, duskwalkers gained leave to have one more chance at life. All duskwalkers have strong connections to their previous identities, but each must decide for themselves whether to learn more about their past or forge a new path. This book contains options for duskwalkers based on how their previous life ended.

Hobgoblin (Owen K.C. Stephens): Many hobgoblins have been drawn toward the nation of Oprak, which seeks to forge pacts and earn respect through methods other than war and conquest. While clearly related to their goblin cousins, hobgoblins are less frenetic and more careful planners. This book contains options for hobgoblins to assist their fellow warriors or to tap into the legendary Cantorian Spring—the source of the hobgoblin ancestry—to gain healing effects. It also introduces the shortshanks and steelskin hobgoblin heritages.

Art by Alex Stone

Kobold (Owen K.C. Stephens): These expert trap makers often live in secluded places that most other ancestries eschew. Kobolds operate in a world of larger, stronger creatures who often dismiss them—until these cunning survivors reveal what they can unleash on their foes. This book contains options for kobolds to improve their use of traps and kobold weapons, and even to grow draconic wings. It also includes the caveclimber and tunnelflood kobold heritages.

Leshy (Linda Zayas-Palmer): Leshys are immortal spirits temporarily given mortal forms in bodies made of plants and fungi. Created by powerful primal rituals, leshys come into the world fully formed and self-sufficient, independent of any settlement or even the ritualist that gave them form. This book grows the leshy options by adding the cactus, fruit, lotus, root, and seaweed leshy heritages.

Lizardfolk (Patchen Mortimer): The powerful reptilian lizardfolk call themselves iruxi and have a history that stretches back thousands of years. Patient and confident, lizardfolk explorers travel from their ancient nations to explore the world of younger ancestries and kingdoms. This book contains options for lizardfolk to gain insights from astrology or power from the bones of their ancestors and adds the cloudleaper and woodstalker lizardfolk heritages.

Orc (Calder CaDavid): Orcs were driven from their homelands by the dwarven Quest for Sky and thrust into a foreign world where they had to carve a place for themselves. A troubled history of warfare and grudges has left most orcs at odds with other surface ancestries. This book contains options for orcs to gain power from special painted warmasks. It also introduces the battle-ready, grave, and winter orc heritages.

Ratfolk (Patchen Mortimer): Small rodentlike humanoids, ratfolk are clever, adaptive, and communalist. Known amongst themselves as ysoki, ratfolk are natural explorers, travelers, and, most of all, merchants. This book contains options for ratfolk to squish, sneak, roll, and otherwise move about. It also adds the snow and tunnel rat heritages.

Tengu (Eleanor Ferron): The beaked and feathered tengu originate from Tian Xia. Nearly always in the minority, tengu have learned to use their knack for languages and blades to find space for themselves. This book contains options for tengu to store magic in specially made fans and adds the dogtooth and wavediver tengu heritages.

Tiefling (Mikhail Rekun): Tieflings are planar scions born with a fiendish stain in their blood. Though tieflings are not inherently evil, they are often mistrusted and many do find that fiendish powers and associated temptations come easily. This book presents the beastbrood, riftmarked, and shackleborn lineages for tieflings descended from rakshasas, qlippoths, and velstracs respectively.

Art by Gabriel Scavariello

New Ancestries and Heritages

The latter half of the book introduces new ancestries and heritages to Pathfinder Second Edition. Some of these entries include old favorites making their second edition premiere and even includes some brand new entries, each with their own rules options. The section includes the following entries.

Android (Jessica Catalan): Brought to Golarion by a starship crash in the land of Numeria, androids are half organic, half-machine lifeforms produced by alien technology. Though often looked upon with fear by superstitious communities surrounding the crash site, changing politics and the rise of the android goddess Casandalee have led to androids expanding their influence in nearby regions. The section includes feats that allow androids to tap into the power of their nanites and the artisan, impersonator, laborer, polyglot, and warrior android heritages.

Aphorite (Andrew Mullen): Aphorites are beings with a mortal base infused with the pure essence of law by the enigmatic axiomites of Axis. Originally designed to form a diplomatic bridge between the perfect logic of the axiomites and the constant contradictions of free-willed creatures, aphorites’ ability to choose has seen them grow beyond their original intent and into their own people. This versatile heritage allows a character use the crystalline motes that cover their body to conceal themselves or their allies.

Beastkin (Luis Loza): While most werecreatures are cursed with bloodlust at the sight of the full moon, some of their kin are born without this dire affliction. These beastkin are a source of respect and envy among their fellows, as they also lack werecreatures’ burning vulnerability to silver. This versatile heritage allows for characters with a connection of animals of any type that can tap into their animalistic instincts and senses.

Fetchling (Andrew Mullen): Fetchlings are scions of Ancient Azlant who escaped the cataclysm of Earthfall by fleeing to the Shadow Plane. As generations passed, more and more supernatural gloom seeped into these refugees until they evolved into something beyond their human origins. Fetchlings can gain control over their shadows and are shaped by the bright, deep, liminal, resolute, and wisp fetchling heritages.

Fleshwarp (Ron Lundeen): Fleshwarps are beings transformed either by magic or by technology beyond Golarion’s ken. Most commonly, they result from drow or other sinister forces transforming their victims out of sadism, yet fleshwarps can also be created from scratch through magical or alchemical manipulation of raw tissue. Fleshwarps are capable of transforming their bodies further to gain darkvision or grow new weapons. Depending on the nature of their transformation, a fleshwarp will have the created, mutated, shapewrought, or technological fleshwarp heritage.

Art by Rashad Pozdnyakov

Ganzi (Isabelle Thorne): Born wherever and whenever they’re least expected, these scions of chaos rarely conform to any overarching culture among themselves. Ganzi reside in the greatest numbers in the nation of Holomog, with their influence spilling out into Nex, Geb, and the Mwangi Expanse. The ganzi versatile heritage allows characters to tap into the power of chaos and produce random magic or new body parts.

Geniekin (Jessica Redekop): Kin to the elements and infused with the power of the planes within the Inner Sphere, geniekin live scattered all over the world, especially wherever extreme environments provide a conduit to primal energy. Most commonly found in Katapesh and Qadira, many geniekin gather in small communities both within and outside of major cities. Geniekin include five new versatile heritages: ifrits, keepers of elemental fire; oreads, wardens of elemental earth; sylphs, followers of the freedom of elemental air; undines, individuals adaptable like elemental water; and sulis, embodiments of the complex relationships between multiple elements.

Kitsune (James Case): Kitsune change shapes as easily as clothing, often living undetected among other peoples. Though these mischievous tricksters almost never gather in numbers large enough for political clout, their natural charisma and cunning mean they can have a significant impact on worldly events. Kitune are wielders of powerful magic and have the celestial envoy, dark fields, earthly wilds, empty sky, and frozen wind kitsune heritages.

Sprite (Mark Seifter): As denizens of the First World, sprites sometimes tire of their realm where choices hold no permanence and consequences don’t matter. These Tiny fey venture into the Material Plane in hopes of making their own mark. Sprites can empower their wings to grant them flight and sprite heritages vary to include draxies, grigs, luminous sprites, melixies, nykterasm, and pixies.

Strix (Samantha Phelan): These avian humanoids maintain small populations within Cheliax and the surrounding environs. Long persecuted by the humanocentric rule of House Thrune, strix have been enemies of the Chelaxian state for almost a century. This section provides feats that allow strix to take to the skies and attack with their wings, as well as the nightglider, predator, scavenger, shoreline, and songbird strix heritages.

Ancestral Gear (Luis Loza): The book’s final section provides new weapons and magic items with ties to the ancestries of Golarion.

Art by Tuan Duaong Chu

If any of the ancestries or heritages interest you, make sure to check out Lost Omens Ancestry Guide available now! We’re to see heroes of all types, big or Tiny, set out on new adventures!

Luis Loza
Developer

Last week, we shared a no-prep character, Urok, to give you a brief glimpse at the orderly aphorite versatile heritage. We have another NPC this week showcasing another unrevealed aspect from Lost Omens Ancestry Guide. This week we’re going to preview another new versatile heritage: beastkin! I’ll talk a bit more about beastkin after showing you the NPC, but for now, let’s look at our no-prep beastkin, Chea.

Chea, Student of Unfolding Wind

Born to a large family of werecrocodiles in the nation of Jalmeray, Chea was envied by her fellows for her strange lack of the werecreature's curse. Chea's mother assured the girl that her blessing proved she was meant for great things, though her bitter cousins mocked her for her soft heart and lack of killer instinct. One night when she was a teenager, she went out for a swim, sick of the insults and teasing from her peers. The beastkin accidentally stumbled across an adventurer, who was stargazing by the riverside. The strange woman didn't attack, however, instead introducing herself as Nisha and inviting Chea to come look at the stars. Nisha pointed out a glowing comet in the sky and told Chea that the star was actually an elemental lord named Ranginori, and that Nisha's fellow adventurers, the Pathfinders, were working to set Ranginori free. When Nisha left that evening, she gave her telescope to Chea. From then on, Chea spent her nights gazing up to the glowing star, whispering secret prayers in hope they might comfort the trapped god.

Chea saw the moment her bright star burst across the sky, freeing Ranginori from his uncounted years of imprisonment. Knowing the hard journey that Ranginori faced ahead of him, Chea was among one of the first to pledge her faith to the elemental lord. Encouraged by her mother, Chea approached the Monastery of Unfolding Wind in Jalmeray. Though she had to hide her true nature from her fellow acolytes, her determination saw her excel in her monk training. Yet when she returned to visit her family after her initial studies were complete, she found them decimated and scattered. The survivors gave confused, conflicted reports, but several of them claimed that Pathfinders had attacked them.

Though Chea knew her family weren't always saints, she found she couldn't let this go. The monk now searches for answers to what truly happened, and vengeance for those who killed her kin.

Art by Rashad Pozdnyakov

Chea — Creature 9

Unique, N, Medium, Beast, Beastkin, Humanoid
Female crocodilekin human Student of Perfection

Perception +18
Languages Common, Vudrani
Skills Acrobatics +20, Athletics +18, Occultism +13, Religion +16, Stealth +18, Warfare Lore +13
Str +3, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +0
Items +1 striking handwraps of mighty blows
AC 27; Fort +18, Ref +21, Will +15
HP 155

Animalistic Resistance Chea gains a +2 circumstance bonus to saves to resist diseases and poisons.

Quick Change [free-action] Trigger Chea rolls initiative; Effect Chea’s instincts kick in and she takes on an aggressive stance. Chea uses Change Shape to enter her hybrid form.

Speed 40 feet

Melee [one-action] fist +19 (agile, finesse, magical, nonlethal, unarmed), Damage 2d6+11 bludgeoning

Melee [one-action] jaws +19 (agile, finesse, magical, unarmed), Damage 2d4+11 piercing

Ranged [one-action] wind crash +19 (agile, nonlethal, propulsive, range 30 feet, unarmed), Damage 2d6+11 bludgeoning

Monk Focus Spells DC 25, attack +17; 5th (3 Focus Points) ki rush (Core Rulebook 401), ki strike (Core Rulebook 401), unfolding wind rush (Lost Omens World Guide 83) wild winds stance (Core Rulebook 402)

Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph, primal, transmutation) Chea changes between her humanoid shape or hybrid shape. She gains a jaws unarmed Strike while in her hybrid shape.

Flurry of Blows [one-action] (flourish) Chea makes two unarmed Strikes. If both hit the same creature, combine their damage for the purpose of resistances and weaknesses.

Flying Kick [two-actions] Chea launches herself at a foe. She makes a Leap or attempts a High Jump or Long Jump. At the end of the jump, if she’s adjacent to a foe, she can immediately Strike that foe with an unarmed attack, even if the foe is in midair. She falls to the ground after the Strike. If the distance she falls is no more than the height of her jump, Chea lands upright and takes no damage.

Pack Tactics If an enemy is within reach of Chea and at least two of her allies, that enemy is flat-footed against Chea.

Powerful Fists Chea’s fist Strikes are treated as cold iron and silver and don’t take penalties when making lethal attacks.

Plot Hooks

Game Masters may consider the following plot hooks as a means of integrating Chea into any Pathfinder Second Edition game.

• Chea seeks out the heroes in hopes of learning a new fighting technique to give her a further edge in combat. She’s willing to share an aspect of her training in return.
• As the heroes leave a dungeon, some ruins, or another adventuring site, Chea makes her presence known. She challenges the heroes to a fight, believing them to be Pathfinders.
• A whisper on the wind guides the heroes to Chea. The monk notes that she’s received a message from her god about the whereabouts of a gem that holds another elemental lord. Chea believes it is her fate, and the heroes’, to rescue the trapped god.

About Beastkin

Beastkin is a blanket term for any person who has gained the ability to partially or fully transform into an animal through any number of means, while maintaining a balance with their humanoid side. Beastkin might have a lineage that traces directly to werecreature parents. Other beastkin might have received their abilities from a deity or even as a result of polymorph magic. Regardless of their origin, a beastkin is tied to a particular animal, such as bat, eagle, shark, spider, tyrannosaurus, wasp, or wolf. This animal is known as the beastkin’s inherent animal. Beastkin feats allow a beastkin to further tap into their animalistic connection and gain new senses, the ability to fly or swim like their inherent animal, or even fully transform into that animal in combat. Beastkin is a rare versatile heritage and you can learn all about it when Lost Omens Ancestry Guide releases on February 24th!

Eleanor Ferron
Developer

Luis Loza
Developer

Today we’re kicking off a new batch of No-Prep Character blogs, which feature a ready-to-run NPC for busy Game Masters. This time around, Eleanor and I worked together to showcase some of the as-of-yet unrevealed ancestries appearing in Lost Omens Ancestry Guide. Each of these NPCs uses one of the new ancestries or versatile heritages featured in that book, but feature all of the rules information you need to include them in your adventures right away! This week we showcase a new versatile heritage: aphorite! I’ll talk a bit more about aphorites after showing you the NPC, but for now, let’s look at our no-prep aphorite, Urok..

Urok, Kobold Infiltrator

When the Yioxat tribe of kobolds was subjugated by a local devil, its members feared that their children might be corrupted by their parents' unwilling agreements with Hell. Yet when Urok cracked open his shell, his caretakers were shocked to see the kobold hatchling had unique gold and silver scales, unlike even the scales of a metallic kobold. Though his soul was unclaimed by the forces of evil, Urok grew up arrogant and overbearing, enforcing the strict order that the devil imposed on his tribe. He was quick to realize that his fellows weren't carrying out their tasks as efficiently as they could be, and his efforts to organize his tribe more effectively always seemed to fail. It was only after investigating that he realized how much the Yioxats were deliberately undermining his efforts, as they despised their devil overlord, and despised Urok by association.

Though he was heavily tempted to double down on his attempts to control, Urok instead fled, hiding in the wilderness as he tried to make sense of his life until this point. It was there that a Yioxat dragon sorcerer found him. The sorcerer explained that the Yioxat tribe had warded Urok's egg against evil influence before he was born, to protect him from the risk of Hell claiming his soul. Realizing that he had repaid his people's kindness with oppression, Urok decided to serve the law by returning sovereignty to his tribe. Though he doesn't want to approach his fellows just yet, he keeps watch over them, looking for an opportunity to kill the devil and free his family. However, this has also resulted in Urok clashing with well-meaning adventurers who seek to destroy the Yioxat tribe without realizing the kobolds are unwilling servants.

Art by Gin Skalauskas

Urok — Creature 9

Unique, LN, Small, Aphorite, Humanoid, Kobold
Male aphorite kobold infiltrator

Perception +18; darkvision, low-light vision
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Infernal, Undercommon, Utopian
Skills Acrobatics +20, Arcana +20, Athletics +13, Deception +16, Devil Lore +20, Diplomacy +16 Nature +16, Intimidation +16 Occultism +20, Religion +16, Society +20, Stealth +20, Survival +16, Thievery +20, Yioxat Tribe Lore +20
Str +0, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +4, Wis +2, Cha +2
Items +1 striking returning dagger
AC 27; Fort +15, Ref +21, Will +18
HP 140

Preemptive Reconfiguration [reaction] Frequency once per day; Trigger Urok would take bludgeoning piercing, or slashing damage; Effect Urok’s body anticipates the blow and the impact area briefly reorganizes into a strengthened tissue lattice that blunts the attack. He gains resistance 9 against the triggering damage type, which applies against the triggering damage

Urok can expend his daily use of Crystalline Dust when using this reaction. If he does, his daily use of Preemptive Reconfiguration isn’t expended and he can use it a second time.

Speed 25 feet

Melee [one-action] dagger +19 (agile, finesse, versatile S), Damage 2d4+8 piercing

Ranged [one-action] dagger +19 (agile, finesse, thrown 10 feet, versatile S), Damage 2d4+8 piercing

Crystalline Dust [two-actions] Frequency once per day; Effect Urok disperses the crystalline motes coating his body as a haze. He becomes concealed, though he can’t use this concealment to Hide or Sneak. The motes stay within an inch of his skin, move with you, and last for 4 rounds.

Draconic Exemplar green dragon

Kobold Breath [two-actions] (arcane, evocation, poison) Urok breathes a poisonous mist that deals 5d4 poison damage in a 15-foot cone (DC 25 basic Fortitude save). He can’t use Kobold Breath again for 1d4 rounds.

Mastermind If Urok successfully identifies a creature using Recall Knowledge, that creature is flat-footed against his attacks until the start of his next turn; if he critically succeeds, it’s flat-footed against his attacks for 1 minute.

Skirmish Strike [one-action] Frequency once per round; Effect Urok either Steps and then Strike, or Strikes and then Steps.

Sneak Attack Urok’s Strikes deal an additional 2d6 precision damage to flat‑footed creatures.

Plot Hooks

Game Masters may consider the following plot hooks as a means of integrating Urok into any Pathfinder Second Edition game.

• Urok arrives in the same town as the heroes. He is met with unwelcoming glances and even fear from the townsfolk. The pleading kobold asks anyone who will listen that he is in need of cold iron weapons to slay the devil that terrorizes his kin.
• A local noble tasks the heroes with clearing the Yioxat kobold tribe from the nearby wilderness. As they approach the tribe, Urok makes himself known and attempts to force the heroes away.
• A fleeing Urok runs into the heroes as they are travelling. He is holding a large egg and shoves it into the heroes’ hands. He explains the egg has been warded and needs to be kept away from evil eyes before he runs away.

About Aphorites

Aphorites were first forged by axiomites to serve as liaisons between their lawful progenitors and frustratingly unpredictable mortal allies. Over time, aphorites’ appearances and personalities grew to resemble their mortal comrades as they were increasingly born among mortals. Aphorites still exhibit Axis’s touch in their metallic skin coated in crystalline dust, aptitude for logic, strength in artisanship, and propensity for order and cooperation. Aphorite feats allow an aphorite to draw upon the power of their crystalline dust, analyze a situation on the battlefield to maximize effectiveness, and even call upon order to find success when catastrophic failure was all but absolute. Aphorite is an uncommon versatile heritage and you can learn all about it when Lost Omens Ancestry Guide releases on February 24th!

Luis Loza
Developer