Purdy, ain't it?
Wow! It's huge..
I was just about to start the same thread, but i was going to call it (in Mike Myers scottish) "It's Huuuuge" :)
Holy crap, it is really huge.
Does it represent pole-to-pole distance from top to bottom? If so, it appears that Absalom straddles the equator. Just curious.
BTW, I am SO stoked for more!!
Sweet!
|
Very cool! I love maps.
If you've ever seen a map of Kethira where Harn is located (Columbia Games, N. Robin Crosby's world) that was a very cool map of the world. It had ocean currents, trade maps, and longitude/latitude. It would be very cool if Golarion could do something like that.
The map is very enticing. Can't wait to see it fleshed out.
Awesome!!! Finally (being the visual learner that I am) I can wrap my head around where Varesia is, its relative climate, etc. Thank you, thank you Pazio!!!
So if Osiron is down there, roughly where Egypt is if you think of the northern continent as Europe and the southern one as Africa, Absalom is smack in the middle of the Mediterranean, where Crete or Cyprus are. Varesia is roughly equal to northern France & England. North of Varesia are the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, so that's roughly equivalent to Scandinavia...
Ooh, the mind just BUZZES now that this is all put into perspective.
|
|
I'd love to develop (see developed) a 'Barbary Coast' for Golarion especially with all the new archaeological evidence coming out on that pirate culture and the slave trade there...I've not really seen a treatment of Arab-type pirate/corsairs since Al-qadim...and never have seen one of the Barbary Pirates.
O.O
Oh how sweet it is....
Very cool! I love maps.
If you've ever seen a map of Kethira where Harn is located (Columbia Games, N. Robin Crosby's world) that was a very cool map of the world. It had ocean currents, trade maps, and longitude/latitude. It would be very cool if Golarion could do something like that.
The map is very enticing. Can't wait to see it fleshed out.
Haaaaaarrrrrrrn
Not quite pole to pole, but close. Absalom is indeed near the equator. Perhaps a bit north of it.
--Erik
Now you've gotta show us the rest dude. Then we'll ask for more.
Creative Director
|
This is less than one hemisphere, I think.so what is the circumference of the planet?
how many miles/km does a degree longitude and latitude represent?thanks
It's pretty much the same as Earth, if I remember correctly. Once you start getting TOO far from Earth, then the planet would start behaving in complicated science ways that no one here at Paizo wants to (or is really equipped to) track and plot. ;)
Which is also why I argued for only one moon. How do tides work in Eberron, for example, with its 13 moons? How about lycanthropy? How dark are the nights if all 13 are out? Why doesn't more art for Eberron that shows the sky show lots of moons?
Makes things too complicated, in my opinion.
THANK YOU!
I've brought this point up many times with a DM I know who runs Eberron. I've asks that question many many times, and even though there are some people out there that have tried to quantify how the phases of all the moons work, its WAY too complicated.
Not to mention, how do you adjudicate 'Moonlight' and visibility when there might be 4 moons full one night, then the others full the next week.
If there was ever a night with all 13 full, and magical conjunctions galore, I would imagine...what would the visibility be? Full Daylight? I imagine it would be close.
Thanks for trying to keep pesky things like moon phases and months relatively easy for us DM who love Golarion to extrapolate things like this.
And before anyone who is an Eberron DM/fan brings it up, having one moon full per month I think has already been suggested, but astrologically speaking wouldn't work considering the differences in the conjuntions of the planes. By extrapolating from those time periods it would be possible to determine what the orbital times are for the moons (I actually considered this and extrapolated the information at one point because it was bugging me). Me being astrologically inclined however would then require a 3D model of the Planes/Moons chart from the Eberron book so that certain factors such as Inclination, Rotational Period, Albedo, and various others that would influence visibility, phase, etc. Needless to say, while such a thing would be possible to work up, at least for me, I didn't want to have to go through all the effort. And just ruling it to be a certain way, if you are going to cite the information provided, seems rather pointless.
Oh, and back to your other point James...the tides. That is a nightmare in the making right there. There are so many issues with conflicting tides, storms, and all kinds of meteorological issues that it doesn't really bear messing with. Don't get me wrong, I like the tone that Eberron attempts to suggest be brought to games, there are just certain things about the setting I feel are funky.
...certain factors such as Inclination, Rotational Period, Albedo, and various others that would influence visibility, phase, etc.Don't forget one of the most important factors—the surface composition of each moon. (I want a moon covered in shiny reflector tape!)
That would make it very dark for most of the time. Reflector tape is retro-reflective which means most of the light that hits it goes back in the same direction that it came from and very little goes in other directions.
|
Hi all, my very first post! I am running two parties, pathfinder, and the Game mastery modules, does anyone know where the Crown of the Kobold King is set relative to Varisa? Sorry if that has been asked before but I find these message boards a minefield, oh the problems of being a fifty year old DM!
It is located in Falcon's Hollow, which is a quite a distance from Varisia. Something in the thousands of miles range. Falcon's Hollow is on the map, somewhat northwest of Absalom.
That's awesome! There's so much room for adventure! It's like a shiny blank piece of paper...with some coast lines and filled in bits.
Hi everyone again, don't bother replying to my previous inept post as I eventually found the map with Falocns Hollow on it! I thought this message board was about the moon and cheese! Obviously you guys are far deeper than me, anyway it looks like getting involved with message boards may be fun.
To late - your question has already been answered.
So what's being done with the Golarion equivalent of Australia?
Do we in the Great Southern Land get any love? No, we never do.
I'm yet to see an adventure (even in modern) that uses an Australia-type continent... the closest we have is d20 Dark Matter, which lumps in "Ayers Rock" (which has been called "Uluru" since about 1993) and Sydney together... nearly 3000km (or close to 4500 miles) apart.
And then there's that awful Lady of Poison, the D&D (FR) novel which has a 'tribal shaman' from 'Osztland' who uses a dizheri (long hollow wood tube) as a greatclub and bardic tool... Terrible.
So, I'm starting the call now: Let's have a southern continent in Golarion, let it be huge and filled with excitement like all you fun northern-hemisphere people.
So what's being done with the Golarion equivalent of Australia?
Your chance is here.
Your chance is here.
Well, yes.
I was planning to enter anyway, but that's an excellent point, Lilith. Thank you.
Nice Map...
|
Creative Director
|
So what's being done with the Golarion equivalent of Australia?
Do we in the Great Southern Land get any love? No, we never do.
I'm yet to see an adventure (even in modern) that uses an Australia-type continent... the closest we have is d20 Dark Matter, which lumps in "Ayers Rock" (which has been called "Uluru" since about 1993) and Sydney together... nearly 3000km (or close to 4500 miles) apart.
And then there's that awful Lady of Poison, the D&D (FR) novel which has a 'tribal shaman' from 'Osztland' who uses a dizheri (long hollow wood tube) as a greatclub and bardic tool... Terrible.
So, I'm starting the call now: Let's have a southern continent in Golarion, let it be huge and filled with excitement like all you fun northern-hemisphere people.
Well... we DID put a bunyip in Pathfinder 1...
We've got lots of analogs in the game for real-world locations, and adding in an Australia analog really intrigues me. So it'll probably happen. Not sure when, though; we want to focus on the areas we're focusing on first before moving beyond to terra incognita.
|
...certain factors such as Inclination, Rotational Period, Albedo, and various others that would influence visibility, phase, etc.Don't forget one of the most important factors—the surface composition of each moon. (I want a moon covered in shiny reflector tape!)
Hey, Vic, isn't that what Albedo is all about? :)
That is why I mentioned Albedo in my post above. Vic didn't pay attention.
Shiny tape could work too though. ^_^
And Eberron is good for mice...they are probably all cheese! Vic would have a field day.
One other sad thing to consider about Eberron and its cosmology. Its actually a very good thing there aren't any truly epic BBEGs in Eberron, think of how much destruction would result if someone crafted an epic spell that say, altered one of the moon's orbits a bit. So that....oh...two of them collided.
It'd be a worldwide Siberys Storm, or at least hemisphere wide. Or if some bad guy just creates "Call down the Moon".
Wow. I really got off topic didn't I?
I really need to stop. Anyway, Golarion is looking more and more intriguing as time passes. Now with Hook Mountain Massacre too..
Just Varisia is awesome...I can't wait until I have all of Golarion!
|
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
|
So what's being done with the Golarion equivalent of Australia?
Do we in the Great Southern Land get any love? No, we never do.
So, I'm starting the call now: Let's have a southern continent in Golarion, let it be huge and filled with excitement like all you fun northern-hemisphere people.
I'm glad you brought this up. I just wrote the section giving an overview of the continents, and I did leave room for one based on Australian mythology and geographical oddities. The problem is, most Americans (including this one) are fairly ignorant of Australian culture, especially the culture of the indigenous folk.
I imagine the Maori of New Zealand have a lot of myths that would be interesting to adapt to D&D, and I adore the Aboriginal concept of the "dreamtime," but beyond that, Ayer's Rock, and thylacines, I'm not sure what to put in such a region, much less what a native of that part of Earth might want or expect from his RPG setting.
Care to fill me in?
--Erik
|
|
I had a science Digest about Australian megafauna--the kind of things people found there when they first got there. Gigantic Komodo dragons, immense wombats; further back in time I believe there were carnivorous kangaroos of some type.
Then, there's always those "drop bears...." ;)
I'll shut up and let someone from Australia speak now.
And some megacrocs.
How do tides work in Eberron, for example, with its 13 moons? How about lycanthropy? How dark are the nights if all 13 are out?
Lycanthropes are kinda screwed, which is why they're so rare in Eberron. They spend something like 15-18 days a month forced into bestial form.
|
As the early history of Australia (as far as Europeans are concerned) had it as a British penal colony, it might be interesting to make Golarian's Aussie analogue a "european" penal colony. I mean in addition to having the indigenous peoples and fauna, a few colonies of "european" expatriats trying to carve out an existence in an unknown land might be interesting. Reminds me of the Isle of Dread.
I imagine the Maori of New Zealand have a lot of myths that would be interesting to adapt to D&D
If only you knew a freelancer with an interest in myths and a familiarity with New Zealand... *cough*
|
Contributor
|
I imagine the Maori of New Zealand have a lot of myths that would be interesting to adapt to D&DIf only you knew a freelancer with an interest in myths and a familiarity with New Zealand... *cough*
Yeah, I can't think of any.
By the way, Hill Giant, my wife and I are starting to make plans to come back for a year, in about five years or so. Nothing concrete yet, but you heard it here first.
|
|
As the early history of Australia (as far as Europeans are concerned) had it as a British penal colony, it might be interesting to make Golarian's Aussie analogue a "european" penal colony. I mean in addition to having the indigenous peoples and fauna, a few colonies of "european" expatriats trying to carve out an existence in an unknown land might be interesting. Reminds me of the Isle of Dread.
I think that could be a good start. It sets up a lot of interesting conflict possibilities; between the colonists and the native population, the convicts and the authorities, the independence seeking colony and the government back home, the colony’s founding nation and rival nations who want to set up their own colony, etc.
The environment, climate, landscape and fauna, would be big factors; when Europeans first came here they were really, really unprepared, the harshness of the land was something completely outside of their experience – not to mention that as a distant penal colony they did not have the best access to resources. These factors would be mitigated somewhat in a fantasy campaign with magic, but the sense of isolation from the “civilised” world and unforseen / unusual environmental conditions should be emphasised.
Landscape features should be awe-inspiring, but not so much “grand” and “majestic” as ancient, rugged and unusual. Animals and monsters should be (for the most part) completely different to what you might find in other parts of the world, whether or not you actually go the route of mimicking real life Australian marsupials and/or mega-fauna.
The various Dreamtime stories and mythology is very cool, although I’m a bit rusty on most of them (and don’t claim to be any sort of an expert) – but there is a lot of potential there for things to be used or re-imagined for D&D. Some very general (and possibly somewhat erroneous) features include sentient animals and environmental/elemental features; spirit creatures, some friendly, some hostile (somewhat analogues to fey); The Rainbow Serpent (in some stories seems to be depicted as a Creator / deity-like being, in others more like a powerful ‘monster’ like a dragon).
There is a lot of mythology (ancient and modern) to be drawn from, a big theme is people being lost in the bush or landscape (in supernatural / mysterious terms like in Picnic at Hanging Rock, folk-lore / fictional things like Dot and the Kangaroo, or more historical like the various early European explorers of the interior who generally got completely lost, ran out of food and water, walked around in circles etc). Add to that things like Lindy Chamberlain (“a dingo stole my baby!”, Wolf Creek, the backpack murderer etc) and there is a whole wealth of stories and mythology of people just disappearing.
Another theme is mythological monsters, crypto-zoology and just plain unusual, dangerous or cool animals; the afore-mentioned Bunyip, thylacine and drop-bears, things like yowies, the Rainbow Serpent, the Minka Bird, platypus, salt-water crocodiles, various poisonous snakes, etc.
Having mentioned all these tings, I think I would rather see things that draws on themes and concepts inherent in Australia rather than picking up things whole-sale and dropping them into a fantasy world; and I have no doubt that the Paizo team would be able to do this really well, assuming there was access to the right material and ideas.
|
|
Good thoughts on an Australia like continent. I especially like the it's-just-different approach. What about insects? Huge, half-mile-high termite mounds rising out of the scrub, insects farming livestock like pigs, cows, humans. Might be a good way to introduce those psionic bug guys or something like bugs from Star Wars (Geonosians? Sorry, I'm blanking on names). The psionics kinda fit with all the Dreamtime stuff. A Maori/Polynesian empire, complete with massive catamaran warships would be cool.
Another real world analog I'd be interested in seeing is an India, or at least the idea of an ancient tropical culture with a rigid caste system, maybe a religious schism, the old gods verses a newer philosophy. Sounds very hobgoblin to me.
One other thing, if there is an Africa-ish place, cradle of humanity and all, I'm kind of tired of jungle savages. What I'd really like to see are African kingdoms at their height, maybe what they could have become if history had gone a little differently. Or what if there had been a sub-Saharan Rome? I just bought a sourcebook from Kenzer and Co. called "Svimohzia: the Ancient Isle" that looks to be along these lines. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but the pictures of huge African-flavored marble and wood cities, emperors wrapped in leopard skins and armies riding elephants are pretty neat.
|
Creative Director
|
Another real world analog I'd be interested in seeing is an India, or at least the idea of an ancient tropical culture with a rigid caste system, maybe a religious schism, the old gods verses a newer philosophy. Sounds very hobgoblin to me.
One other thing, if there is an Africa-ish place, cradle of humanity and all, I'm kind of tired of jungle savages. What I'd really like to see are African kingdoms at their height, maybe what they could have become if history had gone a little differently. Or what if there had been a sub-Saharan Rome? I just bought a sourcebook from Kenzer and Co. called "Svimohzia: the Ancient Isle" that looks to be along these lines. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but the pictures of huge African-flavored marble and wood cities, emperors wrapped in leopard skins and armies riding elephants are pretty neat.
Taking the second one first... while there ARE jungle savages in Golarioin, there's also, I believe (and Erik can correct me if I'm wrong) a lot of African-style kingdoms at their height as well.
And as for the first... there is indeed an India-inspired region in our world. It's called Vudra, and it actually has some strong themes in the second Pathfinder Adventure Path, Curse of the Crimson Throne. So stay tuned!
|
|
Good thoughts on an Australia like continent. I especially like the it's-just-different approach. What about insects? Huge, half-mile-high termite mounds rising out of the scrub, insects farming livestock like pigs, cows, humans. Might be a good way to introduce those psionic bug guys or something like bugs from Star Wars (Geonosians? Sorry, I'm blanking on names). The psionics kinda fit with all the Dreamtime stuff. A Maori/Polynesian empire, complete with massive catamaran warships would be cool.
Cool ideas man. I really like the termite thing, and the catamaran warships. And yeah, Geonosian rings a bell.