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In a number of spots the Pathfinder materials mention the dead deity Aroden, who was the patron god of Cheliax and Taldor.
I've been unable to find much information about Aroden.
What sort of deity was Aroden (alignment, philosophy, spheres of influence, etc.)
What deity would former clerics of Aroden turn to if they did not agree with those devilish Thrune folks.
If none of this matters, just say "make it up", that's an ok answer. But I'd rather not if there are answers in someone's head at Paizo.
Pete
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Thanks Mike. I was thinking about it a bit more this morning and realize what I'm really looking for is the knowledge check information that players would have for Aroden. DC 10, 15, 20, 25
Actually, a knowledge check tree for most of the dieties (and local cities) would be handy. I can already piece some of it together from the player's guide info.
I think if you did that as a post here or download, it would answer a bunch of the questions that players will be throwing at your GM's for Pathfinder and the GameMastery modules. Plus it's a good teaser. Then you can still add-value$ in your full write-up's down the road.
I can always make something up (a good GM is a master of BS after all) but figure it's already in someone's head just dying to be free.
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Aroden, the Last of the First Humans, is an immortal descendant of the ancient human kingdom of Azlant, which (mostly) sank below the waters of the Arcadian Ocean west of Thassilon 10,000 years ago, when the Starstone fell from space, created the Inner Sea with its impact, and cast the world into a thousand years of darkness.
Somehow, Aroden survived. He is best known for raising the Starstone to its current resting place on the Isle of Kortos, at the heart of the city of Absalom. He thereafter ascended into the heavens, becoming the patron deity of the Kingdom of Taldor.
Over a period of a few thousand years, Taldor (which is located due east of the Isle of Kortos) spread northwest across the southern reaches of the continent of Avistan, where its frontier land claimed territory now known as Cheliax. When Taldor eventually became decadent and effete, the clerics of Aroden took their religion (and their mandate from heaven) west to Cheliax.
Aroden is a god of human culture, innovation, and history. An important prophecy suggested that he was to manifest on Golarion, presumably in Cheliax, about a hundred years ago, marking the beginning of a long-awaited Age of Glory. Instead, at the appointed hour, Golarion was wracked with three weeks of storms. When the weather broke, the clerics of Aroden found themselves disconnected from their god, and all presume Aroden is dead. After many decades of instablility, the diabolical house of Thrune claimed the throne in Cheliax, using their diabolical allies to keep the populace under control.
We are now at the close of the first century of the Age of Lost Omens, when all of the old prophecies are unreliable, and mankind must chart its own destiny.
I suspect that most clerics of Aroden have become clerics of Iomedae, his greatest servant, who is one of the few mortals of Golarion to travel through the Starstone and gain a measure of divinity herself.
Much more will be revealed about these deities in the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer and elsewhere.
Aroden, the Last of the First Humans, is an immortal descendant of the ancient human kingdom of Azlant, which (mostly) sank below the waters of the Arcadian Ocean west of Thassilon 10,000 years ago, when the Starstone fell from space, created the Inner Sea with its impact, and cast the world into a thousand years of darkness.
Somehow, Aroden survived. He is best known for raising the Starstone to its current resting place on the Isle of Kortos, at the heart of the city of Absalom. He thereafter ascended into the heavens, becoming the patron deity of the Kingdom of Taldor.
Over a period of a few thousand years, Taldor (which is located due east of the Isle of Kortos) spread northwest across the southern reaches of the continent of Avistan, where its frontier land claimed territory now known as Cheliax. When Taldor eventually became decadent and effete, the clerics of Aroden took their religion (and their mandate from heaven) west to Cheliax.
Aroden is a god of human culture, innovation, and history. An important prophecy suggested that he was to manifest on Golarion, presumably in Cheliax, about a hundred years ago, marking the beginning of a long-awaited Age of Glory. Instead, at the appointed hour, Golarion was wracked with three weeks of storms. When the weather broke, the clerics of Aroden found themselves disconnected from their god, and all presume Aroden is dead. After many decades of instablility, the diabolical house of Thrune claimed the throne in Cheliax, using their diabolical allies to keep the populace under control.
We are now at the close of the first century of the Age of Lost Omens, when all of the old prophecies are unreliable, and mankind must chart its own destiny.
I suspect that most clerics of Aroden have become clerics of Iomedae, his greatest servant, who is one of the few mortals of Golarion to travel through the Starstone and gain a measure of divinity herself.
Much more will be revealed about these deities in the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer and elsewhere.
Cool!
RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32
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Very Very cool. Sounds almost REH inspired.
Man, I just feel like *finally* a company is getting it right.
Stuff I wanted, Stuff I didn't even know I wanted - Hell, I haven't seen a single thing yet that I'm not completely geeked over.
Well done you crazy Paizo kids. Keep up the good work.
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Over a period of a few thousand years, Taldor (which is located due east of the Isle of Kortos) spread northwest across the southern reaches of the continent of Avistan, where its frontier land claimed territory now known as Cheliax. When Taldor eventually became decadent and effete, the clerics of Aroden took their religion (and their mandate from heaven) west to Cheliax.
(...)
After many decades of instablility, the diabolical house of Thrune claimed the throne in Cheliax, using their diabolical allies to keep the populace under control.
This whole cycle of empires growing, becoming decadent and collapsing reminds me greatly on Robert E. Howard's history of the world in his Conan stories.
Now you just need to introduce some man-apes - descendants from the previous rulling cultures of men, and you'll nail it perfectly. :D
Cheliax...is such a perfect name.
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Creative Director
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As it turns out... a fair amount of the folk here at Paizo are Robert E. Howard fans. And Lovecraft. And Jack Vance. And Clark Ashton Smith. And LOTS more of the writers Gygax listed in Appendix N of the 1st edition DMG. Erik reprinted that list in his forward to "The Anubis Murders," our first novel in the Planet Stories line. That list IS D&D.
As it turns out... a fair amount of the folk here at Paizo are Robert E. Howard fans. And Lovecraft. And Jack Vance. And Clark Ashton Smith. And LOTS more of the writers Gygax listed in Appendix N of the 1st edition DMG. Erik reprinted that list in his forward to "The Anubis Murders," our first novel in the Planet Stories line. That list IS D&D.
It's thanks to Lovecraft, racist though he was, that words like 'eldritch' wormed their way back into popular culture.
And by popular culture, I mean D&D. ;P|
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As it turns out... a fair amount of the folk here at Paizo are Robert E. Howard fans. And Lovecraft. And Jack Vance. And Clark Ashton Smith.
So I noticed. :-D
Thanks to you Paizo folks, I bought myself a collection of C. L. Moore's stories and first volume of Fantasy Masterworks' edition of collected Conan stories. :-)
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If Aroden is truly 'Last of the First Humans'; then where did the current race of humanity spring from?
Assuming he was male, would he have needed a female counterpart to replenish the world, or did he reproduce himself via some form of parthenogenesis or cloning?
Or were the current race of humans brought about to console him, by a sympathetic pantheon of gods, more powerful than Aroden himself?
Sorry if this has already been explained; I'm still awaiting issue 1...
If Aroden is truly 'Last of the First Humans'; then where did the current race of humanity spring from?
Assuming he was male, would he have needed a female counterpart to replenish the world, or did he reproduce himself via some form of parthenogenesis or cloning?
Or were the current race of humans brought about to console him, by a sympathetic pantheon of gods, more powerful than Aroden himself?
Sorry if this has already been explained; I'm still awaiting issue 1...
I interpreted "Last of the First Humans" as sort of "here was this group of humans who first appeared on this world, they all died off and Aroden was the last of them". So he wasn't the last human by any means, but he was the last of the first of them.
?
Not sure that explanation makes any more sense (or is even correct), but that's how I interpreted it. Maybe I'm too much of a Babylon 5 nut and am used to terms like "the First Ones" and "last of the First Ones". :)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Aroden, the Last of the First Humans, is an immortal descendant of the ancient human kingdom of Azlant, which (mostly) sank below the waters of the Arcadian Ocean west of Thassilon 10,000 years ago, when the Starstone fell from space, created the Inner Sea with its impact, and cast the world into a thousand years of darkness.
Somehow, Aroden survived. He is best known for raising the Starstone to its current resting place on the Isle of Kortos, at the heart of the city of Absalom. He thereafter ascended into the heavens, becoming the patron deity of the Kingdom of Taldor.
So Aroden looks like Patrick Duffy?
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Aroden, the Last of the First Humans, is an immortal descendant of the ancient human kingdom of Azlant, which (mostly) sank below the waters of the Arcadian Ocean west of Thassilon 10,000 years ago, when the Starstone fell from space, created the Inner Sea with its impact, and cast the world into a thousand years of darkness. (snipped)
Thank you, Erik. I love it. Now, more and more, I can't wait until the Gazetteer is published.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Aroden is considered the "Last of the First Humans" because he was (by several thousand years) the last "pure-blooded" High Azlant to die. Other survivors the the cataclysm that (mostly) sunk Azlant beneath the waves of the Arcadian Ocean interbred with other humans and, of course, died of old age. Aroden didn't ever die until recently, so he could claim to be the only living "pure" High Azlant.
Incidentally, the Azlanti were not really the "first" humans, but they were the first to develop cpmplex art, commerce, and culture, so they're the first to hit the historical record.
Much more on this later, of course. :)
--Erik
Aroden, the Last of the First Humans, is an immortal descendant of the ancient human kingdom of Azlant, which (mostly) sank below the waters of the Arcadian Ocean west of Thassilon 10,000 years ago, when the Starstone fell from space, created the Inner Sea with its impact, and cast the world into a thousand years of darkness.
Somehow, Aroden survived. He is best known for raising the Starstone to its current resting place on the Isle of Kortos, at the heart of the city of Absalom. He thereafter ascended into the heavens, becoming the patron deity of the Kingdom of Taldor.
This comes across even better when read aloud with a bad English accent as an opening credit narration.
Or Mako. ("In the time between when the oceans drank Atlantis...")
A wonderful REH background. I'd expect nothing less from the luminary scribes of Paizo! I do note that they only assume he's dead. There might be more involved here, like he and eight other deities have been trapped somewhere... ;)
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I suspect that most clerics of Aroden have become clerics of Iomedae, his greatest servant, who is one of the few mortals of Golarion to travel through the Starstone and gain a measure of divinity herself.
Hmmmm, traveling through the Starstone and gain a measure of divinity... I smell an AP: Paths to Immortality....
Very Very cool. Sounds almost REH inspired.
Man, I just feel like *finally* a company is getting it right.
Stuff I wanted, Stuff I didn't even know I wanted - Hell, I haven't seen a single thing yet that I'm not completely geeked over.
Well done you crazy Paizo kids. Keep up the good work.
Here here. And to have the writers/publishers/ed's respond to us as they do is unmatched. Very well done.
Paizo and Proud ;)
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This whole cycle of empires growing, becoming decadent and collapsing reminds me greatly of Robert E. Howard's history of the world in his Conan stories.
Isn't the concept lifted directly from human history? and described by Herodotus about two and a half thousand years ago.
I'd love to see an epic-level AP in a few years that lets the players discover Aroden's fate and confront his killer/captor.
Aroden is a god of human culture, innovation, and history. An important prophecy suggested that he was to manifest on Golarion, presumably in Cheliax, about a hundred years ago, marking the beginning of a long-awaited Age of Glory. Instead, at the appointed hour, Golarion was wracked with three weeks of storms. When the weather broke, the clerics of Aroden found themselves disconnected from their god, and all presume Aroden is dead. After many decades of instablility, the diabolical house of Thrune claimed the throne in Cheliax, using their diabolical allies to keep the populace under control.
Oh, I think I see where this is going....veerrryy cool!
Bit of a necro here, but did Azlant fall before or after Thassilon? Ten Thousand Years is the figure being given in both cases.
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Creative Director
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Bit of a necro here, but did Azlant fall before or after Thassilon? Ten Thousand Years is the figure being given in both cases.
Azlant and Thassilon fell at about the same time—I suspect that Thassilon's fall was already going on a slow burn and when Azlant fell, everything kicked into high gear in Thassilon. The falls of both empires is certainly linked. Exactly how... we haven't yet revealed (and haven't yet completely figured out ourselves!).
The "death" of Aroden is one of the most intriguing things (of many) in Golarion to me. I humbly request an AP dedicated to the story.
But wait, it's said that the Thassilonian rune magic is influenced by humans fleeing azlant, and the that the azlanti interacted with aboleths. So was there a crisis in Azlant history before the actual fall and those who fled founded Thassilon??
But wait, it's said that the Thassilonian rune magic is influenced by humans fleeing azlant, and the that the azlanti interacted with aboleths. So was there a crisis in Azlant history before the actual fall and those who fled founded Thassilon??
It's also said that the current aboleth empire is much smaller than it used to be. These crises might all be related.
Oh, I think I see where this is going....veerrryy cool!
Aroden is a god of human culture, innovation, and history. An important prophecy suggested that he was to manifest on Golarion, presumably in Cheliax, about a hundred years ago, marking the beginning of a long-awaited Age of Glory. Instead, at the appointed hour, Golarion was wracked with three weeks of storms. When the weather broke, the clerics of Aroden found themselves disconnected from their god, and all presume Aroden is dead. After many decades of instablility, the diabolical house of Thrune claimed the throne in Cheliax, using their diabolical allies to keep the populace under control.
Oh man this is rich story telling knowledge!
One of my players has a Dwarf Cleric, I think hes over 100 so he'll know about the storms and the loss of the God.Cant wait until I DM my game again (Not for another 4 weeks Boohoo)
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I'm liking these guys, too. they remind me of the Horrors, Nightmares, Avatars, and other terrible things that Black has in Magic, the Gathering. Manifestations not of wicked human souls, or chaos, but of pure, tarry, fecund evil, given whatever traits make them best at what they do. charcoal-grey, sooty, and full of grim hate.
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=42050
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=35923
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=29733
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=32210
http://ww2.wizards.com/gatherer/CardDetails.aspx?&id=97190
Creatures that seek to destroy the mind, body, and soul. a wonderfull spectrum of courruption.
I cant wait to see what this thing does, and what other creatures you have in store as well. I really like what Paizo has done with outsiders in Pathfinder, particularly the Native rural myths, like the wendigo, BLack Magga, and the SPDevil.
In a number of spots the Pathfinder materials mention the dead deity Aroden, who was the patron god of Cheliax and Taldor.I've been unable to find much information about Aroden.
I founded that the that death of Aroden was a very strong idea for the new campaign setting.
Still, I can not found the Varisian's AP traces of its legacy. No abandoned temples, relics, powerless clerics (Monk?) of Aroden. Also, I do not understand also how its death affected the other races (elves,gnomes).
Finally, if some paladin without casting abilities are going to exist in Golarion, I suggest an order of Aroden's Paladins, knight with the impossible quest of raising their god back to life.
Anyway, thanks for this nice setting.
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I founded that the that death of Aroden was a very strong idea for the new campaign setting.
Still, I can not found the Varisian's AP traces of its legacy. No abandoned temples, relics, powerless clerics (Monk?) of Aroden. Also, I do not understand also how its death affected the other races (elves,gnomes).
Finally, if some paladin without casting abilities are going to exist in Golarion, I suggest an order of Aroden's Paladins, knight with the impossible quest of raising their god back to life.
Anyway, thanks for this nice setting.
If you want to play a camapign based upon a Dead God I suggest you have a look at "Requiem for a God" by Monte Cook. Should be available as download at Drivethru. It is only 3.0 but it packs a lot of ideas and suggestions how to play the death of a god.
I founded that the that death of Aroden was a very strong idea for the new campaign setting.Still, I can not found the Varisian's AP traces of its legacy. No abandoned temples, relics, powerless clerics (Monk?) of Aroden. Also, I do not understand also how its death affected the other races (elves,gnomes).
Finally, if some paladin without casting abilities are going to exist in Golarion, I suggest an order of Aroden's Paladins, knight with the impossible quest of raising their god back to life.
Anyway, thanks for this nice setting.
I think what you might be misunderstanding is that Aroden wasn't a presence, religiously, in Varisia when he was alive.
His worship was centered in Cheliax and never migrated to Varisia (and maybe it would have, had his 'Golden Age of Man' actually taken place, but he died on the eve of it's beginning). That's kinda confusing because the Editors do explain this stuff in the background of an AP set in Varisia. However, the point they're trying to make is why Magnimar and Korvosa are the way they are (cut off from the old Empire)
Iomedae (called the Inheritor.. and that's because she's Aroden's Inheritor) has really only just gotten a foothold in Magnimar.
Hope this helps and is not incorrect either. ;)
Your idea is a great one though, for an AP actually set in Cheliax.. like the Fourth AP.
Maybe the 'Powers That Be' will create such a thing in an adventure set in the old Empire.
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Yes, I'd really like to see an AP set in Cheliax too! Everything I read about this nation is just great. I love the connection to devils and the history of a once proud nation gone foul. I can't wait to read the entry on Cheliax in the Gazetteer! And I'd like to know even more and so an AP set there or a scourcebook on the nation would be greatly appreciated!
His worship was centered in Cheliax and never migrated to Varisia (and maybe it would have, had his 'Golden Age of Man' actually taken place, but he died on the eve of it's beginning). That's kinda confusing because the Editors do explain this stuff in the background of an AP set in Varisia. However, the point they're trying to make is why Magnimar and Korvosa are the way they are (cut off from the old Empire)
Iomedae (called the Inheritor.. and that's because she's Aroden's Inheritor) has really only just gotten a foothold in Magnimar.
Hope this helps and is not incorrect either. ;)
Thanks Watcher, this help a lot.
The story of Aroden, and the way he became a god, reminds me a lot of some dude in Wrath of The Immortals... something like a technician that became a god when his starship exploded on Mystara...
so many blurred memories... i still remember when my PCs found themselves in some room with Etienne D'Ambreville (which was a god), and Ixion... and Hell between them...
can't remember the details... omg, a tear appeared in my eye...
EDIT: i think i just remembered his name... Benekander or something... i'll google it...
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Incidentally, the Azlanti were not really the "first" humans, but they were the first to develop cpmplex art, commerce, and culture, so they're the first to hit the historical record.Sounds like Azlant are analogous to the Numenoreans of Tolkien's writings.
-Skled
Seeing as they're both directly inspired by Atlantis...
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Your idea is a great one though, for an AP actually set in Cheliax.. like the Fourth AP.
Maybe the 'Powers That Be' will create such a thing in an adventure set in the old Empire.
Ah, but then you need to specify which "old Empire," as Cheliax (and Aroden's worship) was once part of another, even older empire.
So by "old Empire," do you mean Imperial Cheliax, or Imperial Taldor?
Ah, but then you need to specify which "old Empire," as Cheliax (and Aroden's worship) was once part of another, even older empire.
So by "old Empire," do you mean Imperial Cheliax, or Imperial Taldor?
LOL... This is like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as I go flying off a bridge with a scream...
I meant Imperial Cheliax, but Imperial Taldor might make as much, or more sense. Back to the roots, and avoiding attention.
Back to the previous posters' idea, the notion of a covert group of the faithful on an intense mission to discover and/or ressurect their dead God just sounds like the stuff of kick ass adventure. Especially when many powerful individuals and factions currently in power would hate to see that happen.
Not only do you have the sheer epic coolness of messing with cosmic forces, you could also fold in politics, espionage, and intrigue. You could build an entire AP out the idea.
The low levels concerning themselves with things like:
- Learning about this covert holy order, either through accident or coincidence
- Doing work with or for them, as part of gaining their trust
- A series of adventures to discover what actually happened to Aroden
- Culminate the high levels with actually doing something aboput it
Frickan thrilling, I'm telling ya. I wish I was a freelancer, so I can sell myself this idea. I'd buy it.
I draw inspirations from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as well as the recent The Mummy movies- where you have religious orders shrouded in secrecy which make them seem villainous, but they're really just very careful. Because the people who oppose them are really terrible, powerful, and ruthlessly evil. So they have to be like holy spies willing to die for their cause.
So, you see.. you'd have some kick ass cool stuff for the low levels to get involved with, and then build it up from there.
**********
On a personal note, as an old guy who loved the older Runequest Editions before Avalaon Hill bought it from Chaosium.. this kinda stuff sparks my imagination. Greg Stafford had a lot of cool ideas about Heroquesting, and what it meant to be and become a god...
But that's another conversation.
Though I'd like to see what the Paizo guys could do with the cutting edge where the lines between legend, myth, and reality become blurred.
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Another thing to keep in mind is that it's been a century since Aroden's death. Although things tend to move slowly in Golarion, a temple without any actual power just isn't going to last long. There ARE still temples of Aroden here and there, but they are always run down, decrepit, and maintained only by one or two priests (who are pitied or mocked by the surrounding populace).
Aroden did come to Varisia when the Chelaxians founded Korvosa, and IIRC there's even a run-down temple to him in Old Korvosa (it might have been cut, though, I don't remember now), but most of the holdings the church of Aroden once owned have been bought out by churches whose gods are still alive.
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Ah, but then you need to specify which "old Empire," as Cheliax (and Aroden's worship) was once part of another, even older empire.
So by "old Empire," do you mean Imperial Cheliax, or Imperial Taldor?
LOL... This is like Monty Python and the Holy Grail, as I go flying off a bridge with a scream...
I meant Imperial Cheliax, but Imperial Taldor might make as much, or more sense. Back to the roots, and avoiding attention.
LOL...I understood which empire you meant, I was just sayin'. :)
But I do think such an AP would be better in Taldor than in Cheliax. The big thing in Cheliax now is the who infernal devil-worshiping thing, and I think it's what most people like about Cheliax. And setting an AP about finding what's up with Aroden in Cheliax would move the focus away from that.
But setting it in Taldor, an ancient, declining empire where Aroden's worship started, would make much more sense, IMO. Want to rekindle the fires of Imperial greatness? Find out what happened to Aroden, and either return him to life (and give a huge shot in the arm to Taldor itself at the same time), or even become a new patron god of Taldor yourself.
Just my 2 cp.
LOL...I understood which empire you meant, I was just sayin'. :)
But I do think such an AP would be better in Taldor than in Cheliax. The big thing in Cheliax now is the who infernal devil-worshiping thing, and I think it's what most people like about Cheliax. And setting an AP about finding what's up with Aroden in Cheliax would move the focus away from that.
But setting it in Taldor, an ancient, declining empire where Aroden's worship started, would make much more sense, IMO. Want to rekindle the fires of Imperial greatness? Find out what happened to Aroden, and either return him to life (and give a huge shot in the arm to Taldor itself at the same time), or even become a new patron god of Taldor yourself.
Just my 2 cp.
I'm sold!
But I'm just a portly owl, and you're a Superstar..
Will you write for me? I'll help!
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I'll write it for Paizo, if they'll let me! :)
But re: Cheliax -
That said... It's looking like we'll be setting Adventure Path 4 in Cheliax, so you'll be seeing plenty of info about them there. Until then, the upcoming Gazetteer and Hardcover Campaign Setting will give you a few tidbits.
From his post here.