Oliver Springett's page

Hmm looks like the magambyaa isn't the only spacefaring group of wizards in the pathfinder setting. That ship looks very familiar...

I think it's safe to say that pathfinder does equipment really, really well. Particularly 2e, in my opinion, with its weapons traits, which gives them all such flavour and sets them rightfully apart from each other.

That said, I'm interested in some of the more design/inspiration elements of the weapons, and as an avid weapon collector/fancier I can't help but wonder what the elven curve blade and aldori sword are based on.

For the curve blade, despite there being a general scimitar weapon, I am in a toss up: I'm inclined to think of the ECB as either an extremely curved scimitar like a shamshir or even a dacian falx, as it appears like both of those weapons in art.

On the other hand, I believe the aldori sword is not based necessarily as a katana, (though perhaps my pet theory that sirian's long absence and training took place in tian xia might be right after all) but rather a reference to various Eastern European 'szaber' and their various forms, as its more fitting from my understanding of that part of golarion being based at least partially on that part of the world.

What weapons do you think are really interesting and wonder about? Do you think I'm right or do you have other ideas?

Eleanor is such a sweetheart haha! I love this little creature! I love Yokai in general though, so maybe this is just extra cool to me

While different Kellid nationalities are differentiated to different degrees, I would look at underlying culture as drawing on ancient barely "civilized" residents of Eurasian steppe, possibly "proto-Indo-European". Stuff like mound graves (kurgans) is archeologically associated with these cultures, which beyond proto-Indo-European can include later Cimmerian/Scythian/Sarmatian (with Greek sources sometimes assuming relation to Celts or Thracians). Mammoth Lords can be seen to exemplify earliest phase of this, and Numeria a later phase with trade kingdoms led by warlords where metalworkers' power is mystical. I would probably place natives of Old Sarkoris and Mendev as closest to Numeria, but other wings of Kellids included Nidalese, Druma (whose campaign setting Profit and Prophecy holds most info on broader Kellid history in Avistan), and a broad presence in all of Central and North Eastern Avistan that may have been assimilated/influenced modern nationalities. (Just from naming conventions used, you could even guess a new ethnogenesis (pseudo/"not" Slavic) is occuring in NE Avistan, fusing Kellid, Ulfen and to some extent Taldane, which is vague parallel of real Slavic nationalities)

Fantastic answer.

Hey James, I noticed that aldori swords look like katana (I guess those swords also look like the European Messer, which is probably more fitting thematically but I digress.)

I re read the tale of Sirian Aldori and it feels like perhaps he journeyed to Tian Xia and was inspired or learned of samurai and katana.

I realise this could constitute a spoiler; but id love to know where he learned those moves, haha!

Thank you very much for answering Mr. Jacobs. I have a final nation question if I may ask: Bachuan, with its explicit communism, is obviously a potentially sensitive topic for a game company to cover, though obviously not impossible.

I was wondering if it's one of those settings that is largely there for DMS to do with what they will, like Sarusan, or if you think it might be possible to ham it up a little, adding some magic and wonders, to perhaps visit the nation in a published adventure at some distant point?

I know Golarion is not earth, but I enjoy, and find the strong inspirations from earth incredibly compelling and useful for getting a measure of this fantasy world, which I have come to love quite a lot.

However; there are two obscure places mentioned only quite briefly, that I just cannot quite grasp the real world parallells of; those being Iobaria (my best guess for there being some irish influence?) and Kaladay (no clue). Any insights into even small inspirations from earth for these two?