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Yama951 wrote:

I wonder how the Padishah Empire work given if it's capital is at the eastern side of the continent and Qadira is it's western border march, it puts Taldor in its glory to shame.

Qadira is called a "Satrap," and if that doesn't give an indication of Kelesh's governance structure I don't know what does.

Also, while I don't disagree with the bold (Avistan is backwards compared to everywhere else in the world), it might pay to remember that much of Kelesh's interior seems to be desert - and Rovagug-spawn-infested desert, if I remember my lore right.

I mean the potential size of the whole Empire.

A good chuck of land above Iblydos would be cursed desert.

Given that Kelesh appear to be a mix of Persia with some Mongol Empire, in my opinion.

There's two potential places of the capital.

Either the area between Iblydos and the tiny circular lake with an island in it or in the Tropic of Cancer area above the lake east to the lake with the island on it.

Either way, it implies that Kelesh is a lot bigger than Taldor at its greatest in land area.

Qadira is the westernmost part of the Padishah Empire, not the easternmost.

Whoops. Fixed.

Did they give at least a vague sense of borders for the Padishah Empire other than roughly the middle part of Casmaron?

Wow, Casmaron is huge.

I wonder how the Padishah Empire work given if it's capital is at the eastern side of the continent and Qadira is it's western border march, it puts Taldor in its glory to shame.

Vudra makes less sense climate wise to be India like given its position, if it is the large center peninsula and not the one pointing at Tian Xia.

And the southern jungles of Tian Xia are a lot hotter than what its position on the Tropic of Capricorn would entail.

Of course, given the potential answer of 'magic did it', I'll let it slide but it still boggles the mind.

On a positive note, a lot of potential places to explore now. Especially with Sarusan having a proper shape and location.

Divine Detente is good for all lawful and neutrally aligned deities, but what about the chaotic ones? I'd poise there is a cost players can't see for Divine Intervention. If they want to blow up non-believers or dump demon armies on the universe, they risk war and spiritual starvation.

And with the forces of Law beating down the ones of Chaos, well, they can't make a concerted effort. Player-characters then become a hugely powerful pawn in this divine war just on cost savings alone as long as believers are an effective way to channel will into the universe.

That's the thing. A general read on the Divine Politics of Pathfinder, and Starfinder if it hasn't changed that much, is this.

All Good Alignments are united under one faction, let's call them the Greater Good.

Lawful Neutral Axis has contracts with the other Lawful Alignments, and even some Non-Chaotic groups, but are not part of a Law faction, same goes for Lawful Evil Hell.

True Neutral Boneyard doesn't care if it's not about the undead.

Chaotic Neutral Maelstrom is also doing whatever it wants.

Neutral Evil Abaddon wants to destroy everything and so the one group everyone else hates.

Chaotic Evil Abyss is split between the demons who want to do what they want and the qlippoth who want to kill off all mortals. Demons are more agreeable than the other.

There's a cold war between the Greater Good faction and the squabbling and infighting forces of Evil. There's a different issue with the Law vs Chaos cold war.

Lawful Good and Chaotic Good are in the same team and try to keep infighting to a minimum. So the only true conflicts are the three Lawful factions vs the two non-Good Chaotic alignments.

Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Neutral are eternal enemies, same goes for Lawful Good and Chaotic Evil.

There's no Blood War so relations between Lawful Evil and Chaotic Evil are in a case by case basis. Both sides would team up if Neutral Evil was going to win.

Really, there is at least one way to wonder about the Problem of Evil. If the forces of Goodness is united against Evil, and the forces of Evil are not united and prone to infighting, then why doe Evil still exist?

My take is this.

Hell made itself a necessary evil. Asmodeus made himself useful to the forces of Goodness.

The Abyss is a never ending horde. Demons are formed from both the souls and sins of mortals.

Abaddon exist despite attempts to kill it off. Pharasma has no court nor embassy for Abaddon. It was created when her bureaucracy was overwhelmed and lost souls ended up in the empty plane before going all survival of the fittest and turn into daemons.

There would have been divine crusades to prevent them from taking power, yet they failed in stopping Abaddon from forming and entrenching itself.

Which means one thing. That the united forces of Good is impotent at some level. It could even be some metaphysical distance, the lack of supply lines, and the neutral territory between the Greater Good and the forces of Evil. Law vs Chaos is practically sidelined in comparison.

Personally, here's my head canon as to Aroden's death and the end of prophecy went through.

-----------

Aroden, the Last Azlanti, meets with Pharasma in secret as the time of the Age of Glory is soon upon Golarion.

"What is your purpose in calling me Aroden?" Pharasma asks in her neutral voice.

"I have come to know of what is to come, in order to replace the soon to be fulfilled Starfall Doctrine." Aroden replies with a bow to the goddess of prophecy.

"Very well." Pharasma says as she holds up her hands and a sphere of light appears above them. She then slowly lower her hands and watch the glowing ball of light.

"You shall lead the kingdoms of man from your throne on the kingdom of Cheliax. You shall finally save Sakoris of demonic influence before the demons open a portal to the Abyss. Light shall fall down on Nidal, it's shadows of fear will cease. Peace, progress, and hope continues on the world of Golarion for ten thousand years."

Aroden smiles at the prophecy for it shall be what he dreams of the world to become.

"But," And this word wakes him from the image, "Once the Age of Glory reaches its end, the last of Dou-Bral's towers shall fall. Rovagug is then freed from the gaping hole and Golarion will end. The gods shall do battle with the beast once more, but this time, they will fail. Soon Rovagug shall herald the beginning of the end as he kills off mortals and worlds. In a thousand years during the Age of Twilight, the last soul will be judged and Groteus will fall down on the Boneyard, and end the universe forever more."

Aroden stands in front of the goddess in shock, with his skin as pale as moonlight.

"Is there," He mutters in hope, "Is there a way to prevent it?"

"There is no way to prevent it." Pharasma replies in the same neutral voice, "It is now prophesied and so it shall be. For prophecy is never wrong."

"Unless," Aroden says in conviction as he looks at the goddess, "Unless prophecy is made wrong."

"That is true, but no one would try to defy their fate and destiny."

"Then judge me." He asks as he tries to fight the sorrow of the future.

"I only judge the dead." She says her usual tone.

"Then make me dead! Cut off my divinity and judge me!"

"Why would you do such a thing? Do you sacrifice your own divinity for simply making the prophecy not come to pass?"

"Yes! If it means Rovagug not escaping his prison, if it means the Age of Twilight not happen, if it means the end of the universe not come to pass, then yes! What is the good of divinity if it means not saving those who ask for your aid?"

"Be warned, should you go through with this reckless act, for once prophecy is made wrong, no one will know what will happen in the future."

"But that means none of that prophecy will come to pass. Am I right?"

"No one knows, for once prophecy is made false, no one will be under fate, and they will take destiny under their own hands."

"Then so be it. If it means giving at least a chance of hope in the future, I, Aroden, the Last Azlanti, shall sacrifice myself and my divinity to you, O Pharasma, to be judged under your eyes."

"Very well, but know this, should you be revived back to godhood in any way, then this act shall be in vain, and prophecy shall ring true once again." Pharasma then summon her scythe and slash the god in front of her.

The screams of Aroden echoes through the world of Golarion as a series of storms and disasters as weaves of fate and destiny tear apart. A hero of Aroden, whose name should have been remembered for defeating the demonic cult that would have open the Worldwound, instead dies when a storm knock over a gargoyle on him. The collections of prophecies that should have happened instead bound themselves together and appear in the world as the Book of 1000 Whispers. And when Aroden's screams ended, the Echo of Lost Divinity stands in servitude to the lady.

And so, on the awaited day of 4606 since Absalom Reckoning, there is silence and lost omens.

There was a really good fan theory about Aroden and Pharasma. Basically Aroden found out man was prophesied to fall. SO he went to Pharasma and asked what he could do. She said since prophecy says he's make a big return in the enxt age if he dies he'll break that prophecy and thus all prophecies. He asks if man will survive. She says she doesn't know, without prophecy though there's at least a chance. But she says if he ever find a way to come back all the prophecy will return and man will be wiped out. So he basically has her kill him.

I forget where it is. You can probably google it, but that is my favorite Aroden theory.

Do you mean this old story I wrote a long time ago?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/369t1r/fiction_the_death_o f_aroden/