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Recently I have begun work on integrating Ptolus into Golarion to support my upcoming Dragon's Delve campaign.
I had noticed in the past that threads would occasionally pop up discussing the possibilities. This got me thinking and I decided to formally integrate the two settings, blurring the edges where necessary and making sure the two parts fit.
A recent thread reminded me that I wanted to post some of that material here.
A good portion of this conversion owes jaaronfarr a debt of gratitude.
It is my intent to update this thread whenever I can. I will present this material behind spoiler tags to help the economy of space. In many cases Ptolus was the setting that needed to change since it was entering what I considered the more "dominant" world of Golarion. But I hope I did a pretty good job maintaining the city's integrity.
My first installment presents an overview of Ptolus in the Gazetteer format. I hope to add a timeline next, integrating a few of the prominent events in Ptolus into the Golarion calendar and historical roll. I am not sure where I will go from there, perhaps I will detail a few of the setting secrets I have in mind.
I feel I should note, Aroden takes the place of Lothian in this version of Ptolus. The conflict between the churches of Asmodeus and Aroden are a big part of city politics.
Without further ado, here is the first entry. I apologize for any grevious errors in grammar or continuity. I've only run this through a couple of proof reads. If you see something, feel free to point it out.
Ptolus, City by the Spire
Semi-independent Bastion of Aroden's Faith
Alignment: LN
Capital: Ptolus (75,000)
Notable Settlements: As of yet, undetermined.
Ruler: Commissar Igor Urnst
Government: Oligarchy technically beholden to Cheliax
Language: Common, elven, dwarven
Religion: Aroden, Abadar, Brigh, Asmoedus, Diabolism, Iomedae, Torag, Calistria. The open nature of Ptolus means nearly every god in Golarion has a temple or a shrine here.
Situated on the eastern coast of the Isle of Terror, Ptolus is a semi-independent city-state that pays lip service to Cheliax in order to maintain peace for its citizens. The 3,000-foot tall tower of rock known only as the Spire dominates the city’s skyline. On a clear day the castles that festoon the Spire are visible to the casual observer and appear to be brooding over the metropolis like ancient gargoyles. But the most intriguing feature of Ptolus lies beneath the earth, where a series of tunnels, dungeons, and caverns wend their way through the solid rock of the island. Eventually these passages lead to the Darklands, connecting the subterranean ruins of Ptolus to a larger network of underworld domains.
The city’s most significant geographical feature isn’t even visible with the naked eye. Completely surrounding Ptolus is a magical barrier, a sphere that prevents outsiders from leaving its area. Known as the Praemus Boundary, this barrier also stretches high into the air above the city and deep into the subterranean world below. When trapped within, outsiders cannot leave by any means, magical or mundane. They simply cannot depart, even through extraplanar gates constructed by natives of the Prime Material Plane. This mystical fortification originates from a point just below the Spire and extends in all directions outward for about six miles. There are legends that call the imprisoning effect, the Keyhole of the Dead Vault, perhaps indicating that the area in which Ptolus sits is somehow connected to the prison of Rovagug.
Ultimately, legends and occult rumors are about the only thing most people know for certain about this region. Some believe a terrible, corruptive force lies hidden within the earth. Perhaps the dark will of Rovagug reaches out from his prison to influence the minds of mortals. Stories of great battles between good and evil are told around tavern fires, wars that waged long before recorded history. Tar-Baphon, known as Ghul the Half-God by those who dwell in Ptolus, once ruled a dark empire from the isle and it required Aroden and his trusted generals to finally slay the tyrant. The dwarves delved deep in the region and it is said their greatest shame lies in the abandoned halls of Dwarvenhearth. All of these stories and more make up local folklore, repeated in ports far from the City by the Spire. These tales, more than anything, are what lure adventurers to the Isle of Terror and dungeons of Ptolus.
As such, Ptolus has a larger than normal population of adventurers, called delvers by the locals. While the numbers certainly don’t exceed those of Absalom, 10-15% of the population would be a good conservative estimate for the number of delvers in the city. It is suggested that hundreds more arrive every week. To help combat the issues with delvers entering the subterranean ruins, the Commissar has required all adventurers to be members of the local Pathfinder Society chapterhouse. Unlicensed adventurers caught in the dungeons are usually fined or imprisoned. A Pathfinder Venture Captain even sits on the city council, providing suggestions how best to prevent the sale and theft of goods that might be rightfully called the property of Ptolus. Naturally, the steps taken have not been sufficient in preventing unregistered delvers from entering the depths. It has been suggested that perhaps a more effective means of regulating delvers would utilize incentives rather than strictures, as adventurers tend to be strong-minded and reward focused. Therefore, the Pathfinder Society is finding new ways to encourage local delvers to sign up.
Due to its central location, Ptolus is a major trade nexus for inner Avistan. Goods travel to and from the nations bordering Lake Encarthan, while extended trade routes along the Sellan River bring exotic cargo from the nations along the Inner Sea and the lands along the Crusader’s Route. Ptolus’ large elven population insures exclusive contracts with Kyonin, providing unique elven goods via the ports at Greengold.
Ptolus maintains a reputation for being one of the last bastions of Aroden’s faith. Remarkably, the Arodenite clerics of Ptolus gained the ability to cast spells and utilize their god given powers directly following the Days of Blood. How this is possible remains a mystery, though rumors suggest a portion of Aroden’s power lies hidden beneath the city. Due to this prestigious state of affairs, Ptolus serves as a prime marshaling point for the Mendevian Crusade.
As expected, this manifestation of Aroden’s power causes a great deal of conflict, most notably with the Church of Asmodeus and House Thrune. It was the priests of Aroden who incited Ptolus to rebellion against Cheliax, leading a crusade against the followers of the Prince of Darkness known as the Days of Blood. That rebellion failed, and abruptly ceased, after diplomats from House Thrune met with city leaders in the winter of 4685. Ptolus agreed to pay tithes to Cheliax and allow the open worship of Asmodeus. In exchange, House Thrune provided the right for the noble families of Ptolus to elect their own Commissar and the Church of Aroden to maintain their temples.
Ptolus is has a reputation for being racially diverse, with demographic numbers similar to Absalom. Roughly 70% of the population are human, most of those are Cheliax or Taldoran. 10% are elves, though very few of them actually hail from Kyonin. The vast majority of urban elves are Forlorn while those the dwell in the Moonsilver Forest are more deeply connected to high elven culture. A small few are known as Harrow elves, Forlorn that suffered horrible tortures during the reign of Tar-Baphon. The remaining population is made up of gnomes, halflings, tieflings, litorians, and others. Surprisingly, Ptolus also has a large population of centaurs who dwell within their own neighborhood.
Ptlous is technologically well ahead of its neighbors. Just before the arrival of Tar-Baphon to the Isle of Terror, the dwarves of Dwarvenhearth unlocked the secrets of gunpower and gear driven movement. Both of these innovations saw increased development throughout that period but saw a great setback when Ghul forced the dwarves out of their ancestral home. Once Dalenguard was founded and the Taldorians made their homes on the island these secrets were shared with human colonizers. During this time weapons and engineering marvels were commonplace in the region. Though, like the future city of Alkenstar, the early Ptolusites were careful not to let their technology leave the city walls. A small number of gear driven machines made their way to the capital of Taldor, and even a few guns were seen in the hands of the Imperial Legions, but the engineers knew that to survive these secrets needed to be kept close at hand.
As the centuries passed and the city was exchanged between nations, these engineering secrets were so well kept that they eventually became lost. Few modern citizens even know how the machines and weapons work, much less how to repair them. The city council has kept a tight control on these wonders, insuring very few are sold to foreign nations. In an attempt to re-gain some of this lost knowledge, the council has invited a group of Alkenstar exiles known as the Shuul into the city. This inscrutable organization has kept to itself since arriving, focused on building a new headquarters in Oldtown. Locals have begun calling this place the Tower of Science and the name seems to have stuck even amongst members of the Shuul.
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I enjoyed reading this as I've been trying to figure out how I am going to insert Ptolus . You seem to have covered all the bases - I particularly love the part about the boundry as that seemed like the hardest mechanism to figure out.
I do like where you're going - but I had thought of the Galchutt still being there as a much older evil - so old it had long been forgotten by the mortal races. I just couldn't figure out why they would still be there - and your idea is really good.
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Thanks for the kind words guys. I really appreciate it. I did some work on the timeline today so I should be posting that in the near future.
So far I am happy with how the two are fitting together. There are enough similarities that I can make it fit. Most of the changes are occurring to Ptolus but nothing so dramatic that the setting loses its uniqueness.
For instance, both worlds experienced a serious catastrophe in the distant past. Inspired by notes I had read, I figured why not combine the disappearance of the Vallis Moon and Earthfall into one event. So I did. Though I haven't touched on this yet, I am assuming the Vallis Moon disappeared but not before a chunk of it careened into the world, creating Earthfall.
If Paizo later contradicts that thought with canon material, I will have two choices. The most ideal one would be how to fuse the two concepts so that it still works. The less ideal would be to ignore the canon in my home campaign in favor the previous work around. For me, making it work is half the fun. :)
The thoughts about the church:
I will get to this soon, but I was thinking along the same lines. In fact, part of the deal made with Cheliax included the followers of Asmodeus giving the followers of Aroden a way to grant spells to the clerics. They revealed that a massive artifact machine known as the Divinity Siphon lay in the depths of Ghul's Labyrinth. By trapping a divine creature within the machine, the priests of Aroden could channel its power to the clerics of the city.
Of course, the priests of Asmodeus didn't grant this knowledge as a favor. They did it to help the followers of Aroden down the path of evil. Currently a powerful axiomite celestial and former follower of Aroden is locked inside. But his life force is running thin and will soon no longer be able to provide the necessary power to operate the Siphon. As such the high officials of Aroden's faith in the city are looking to find a more powerful divine being to trap within the machine. Most notably, they are foolishly considering Iomedae's herald as their next target.
I did ponder over the Galchutt for a long time. At first I considered using Protean Lords to fill that role. I finally figured I would go with Rovagug since most of the Galchutt servitors could easily be considered Spawn of Rovagug. It also tied neatly into the Golarion history. In addition, it gives the priests of Asmodeus reason to hold on to Ptolus no matter what. Once they figured they wouldn't end the rebellion through military force, they revealed the true nature of the boundary to the priests of Aroden and gave them the Siphon to keep them quiet.
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love the work thus far. I do have a question, how are you handling the races and such in regards to coverting to Pathfinder?
Thanks very much.
Here are some of my initial thoughts. I think I will work on racial write-ups similar to what is seen in the Ptolus Player's Guide after I post the timeline.
I expect to post the timeline some time later today.
For the most part, Shoal elves are Forlorn as the Emerald Hill area will be mostly populated with what Kyonin elves call Forlorn. I haven't quite figured out why they are called Shoal elves outside of the idea that the name is popular in Ptolus only. The racial write-ups I have seen don't really place any figures on how elves remained behind during Earthfall. So I figured there were a number of Forlorn left behind on the Isle of Terror when the elves departed Golarion.
Harrow elves are Forlorn that were tortured by Tar-Baphon and warped into their present forms. Other elves don't like them because they very presence makes them uncomfortable. It is an almost mystic aversion.
Litorians will be native to southern Garund and I need to find a way for a large population of them to exist in the north. I was thinking something along the lines of the "American Indians in the court of King James" idea. Some explorer brought back a number of litorians and presented them to the leaders of the city. The litorians stayed and became part of the community.
My Golarion campaign already has sibbecai. They are from Osirion and represent a sort of redeemed gnoll race. The sibbecai once served as tomb guardians during the height of the powerful pharaohs. Due to their nature, the jackal-folk were devote followers of Pharasma.
Dwarves can go pretty much unchanged. The Stonelost are just what the dwarves of Ptolus call themselves. It is a title of shame over what they lost. The Grailwarden are clan of dwarves that live in Taldor and they still guard the White Grail.
Gnomes and halflings remain much the same. I figure faen might be a good term to use for gnomes but over the years halflings got the moniker as well. This is mostly likely because some humans can't tell the difference. They see small race and think "faen". I haven't decided, but I don't see any reason why faen can't be a turn of phrase that all Taldorans use to describe gnomes. Perhaps Chelaxians use the word pech. :)
Centaurs still dwell in the city and come from the Moonsilver Forest in the north. Still working on some backstory with them.
Cherubim elves are a bit touchier. I have never cared for flying elves and they never appeared in my previous Ptolus campaign. I might use them, I might not. I don't know. But the challenge of integrating them into Golarion is likely enough for to try.
Minotaurs and Lizardfolk are fun. Both have great write-ups in Classic Monsters Revisted and that will feed how I present them.
Tieflings derive from Cheliax most likely. Though a few might have bloodlines that extend back to the time of Ghul.
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Great stuff!
I was once tinkering with the idea, that
This way, Arodens priest still get their spells from Aroden, without knowing, that their god is right there next to them, living in the Reliquary. The Siphon is just a bad joke from Asmodeus, easily getting rid of angelic opponents, without even doing a thing.
Maybe this might work, together with your ideas... I still have to think a bit more about it....
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Great stuff!
I was once tinkering with the idea, that ** spoiler omitted **
Maybe this might work, together with your ideas... I still have to think a bit more about it....
Interesting and Machiavellian. I really like it. Consider nearly all of it yanked for the purpose. Thank you!
I like the idea of Raquel being Aroden, as I had not yet decided on what to do with him. Perhaps Raquel was an avatar of Aroden, a manifestation of his power that lost his memory when Asmodeus killed Aroden. Why he is still alive is a mystery. His survival is probably exactly what Asmodeus wanted. He came to Ptolus because he was told, likely by one of Asmodeus' servants, that the secret to his existence lay in the city. Recognizing Raquel for what he really is, Lilith and the Fallen (whom in my Ptolus will likely be all demons) have sunk their claws into the avatar, making him think they serve him because of his great power. They are actively keeping his away from servants of Asmodeus, though they are not clear on what the Prince of Darkness wants with Raquel.
This might actually have been one of the key parts of Asmodeus' plan to lead the priests of Aroden to damnation, only it didn't go as he wanted. Asmodeus wanted Raquel to end up in the Divinity Siphon, so that the priests would drain the final life force of their own god to feed their greed for power. This would have insured their damnation. Instead, the actions of Lilith has meant Asmodeus needs to take a different route, one that still leads the priests to Hell.
Raquel, on the other hand, will have be handled separately. Asmodeus now needs to come up with a new tactic. He cannot stand the thought of Abyssal powers gaining control of the final portion of Aroden's power. They might even use it in an attempt to destroy the Praemus Boundary, which would be a terrible thing indeed.
I am not sure if I would allow this trapped Aroden to grant spells though. Perhaps. I would need to think on it. I don't inherently dislike the thought so let me play with it awhile. I definitely want the Divinity Siphon to serve as the path of damnation for Aroden's elite priests. It would work in both cases rather well.
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It stands to reason that Lastwall would have interests in Ptolus.
I was going to put Ptolus in Lastwall on the coast west of the river which would be the King's River and the Spire would be the new location of the Gallowspire where Ghul/the Whispering Tyrant died. Of course, Gallowspire could as easily be on the Isle of Terror and that would be poetic since it's where Aroden won the original battle.
In this scenario - Dalenguard was build by the forces of Lastwall/Taldor and Ptolus grew up around it. This actually seems to fit with most of your history.
The 'Prince' of the Aroden's Church then relocated to Ptolus when Cheliax abandoned Aroden - and it makes more sense since the priesthood can use their powers there.
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It stands to reason that Lastwall would have interests in Ptolus.
I was going to put Ptolus in Lastwall on the coast west of the river which would be the King's River and the Spire would be the new location of the Gallowspire where Ghul/the Whispering Tyrant died. Of course, Gallowspire could as easily be on the Isle of Terror and that would be poetic since it's where Aroden won the original battle.
In this scenario - Dalenguard was build by the forces of Lastwall/Taldor and Ptolus grew up around it. This actually seems to fit with most of your history.
The 'Prince' of the Aroden's Church then relocated to Ptolus when Cheliax abandoned Aroden - and it makes more sense since the priesthood can use their powers there.
Lastwall would likely be a good place as well. I chose the Isle of Terror because it was the first place Tar-Baphon showed up and where Aroden slew him, as you say. I also imagined that the crusaders used Ptolus as a major headquarters during The Shining Crusade and even to this day Ptolus provides significant support to the region.
From what I gathered, Gallowspire was not necessarily the first fortress of Tar-Baphon. But I will admit the Campaign Setting may contradict me on that. I only have the gazetteer and I don't think that's clear. That way, Tar-Baphon as Ghul could rule from the Isle of Terror the first time around and from Gallowspire when returned as a lich. That definitely means that entire region is tightly networked.
Even if Gallowspire was always the home to Tar-Baphon, Ptolus represents some major potential to help support a major offensive. He could have established a fortress there.
Though I have to admit with a name like Gallowspire, it is very tempting to combine/conflate the Spire of Ptolus with the current fortress of Tap-Baphon and I definitely think Lastwall is a very valid location for the city. Great ideas.
Edit: The more I think of this, the more I like it. I don't think I will change it for my campaign, but placing Ptolus in Lastwall makes a lot of sense. I think it would really work just as well as the Isle of Terror. Perhaps, if we learn more about the isle in the future, an even better location.
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Interesting and Machiavellian. I really like it. Consider nearly all of it yanked for the purpose. Thank you!
** spoiler omitted **...
For those who don't want to worry about the "Is Aroden alive?" potential of this story could just state that Raquel was a powerful, celestial servant of Aroden. Asmodeus could have still led Raquel to Ptolus and is hoping he will become fodder for the Divinity Siphon.
Perhaps Raquel defeated the plans of Asmodeus one too many times. :)
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Okay, now we have the timeline. This roll of years only contains information that would be reasonably known by adventurers. I have some ideas on where other dates will fall but I have not yet converted the entire timeline present in the Ptolus book.
There are some rather major changes here. For instance, Ptolus is much older than a 350 years that is presented in the setting book. This has everything to do with the dates on which Tar-Baphon was defeated. I had originally considered, based on this issue, turning Ghul into an old servant of Tar-Baphon who rose to power on the island. But, I decided, I preferred combining Ghul and Tar-Baphon so I went with that instead. I can deal with an older Ptolus actually.
I also condensed the Days of Blood into a 15 year period and changed the focus of the purge. Going after arcanists works very well in Praemal but doesn't have the same logic in Golarion. Especially in Central Avistan.
I hope you enjoy and that it gives you ideas for your own conversion projects.
550 Dwarvenhearth is established
555 The dwarves of Dwarvenhearth dig in the region, seeking an artifact known as the Skystone. They call their excavation Stoneseek
723 A druidic order known as the Circle of the Green makes their home on the Isle of Terror.
743 Stoneseek is abandoned by the dwarves.
875 Tar-Baphon makes his presence known by slaying the Circle of the Green and begins building Goth Gulgamel in the Spire.
881 Dwarvenhearth is laid to siege by the dark elves.
885 After a titanic battle, the forces of Tar-Baphon oust the dwarves from Dwarvenheart.
885-888 The armies of Ghul march across the land, enslaving neighboring kingdoms.
890 The Utterdark is summoned and encompasses all of the lands claimed by Tar-Baphon.
894 Crown Prince Rissathion of Taldor is slain by Ghul. This final act spurs Aroden to form an alliance to eliminate the Half-God once and for all.
896 The Forlorn wizard, Khelaeson, banishes the Utterdark. Aroden and his companions slay Tar-Baphon.
908 Taldor builds the fortress of Dalenguard to keep an eye on the Spire and the surrounding lands.
1357 Ptolus is officially founded. For centuries dwarves and humans had dwelt in the on island. This act represented Taldor’s formal claim on the region. The first Commissar is installed.
1385 Ten minor noble houses from Taldor move to Ptolus to help govern the burgeoning trade city. They receive vast trade agreements and large tracts of land in return for their service.
1392 The noble families form a ruling council to better advise the Commissar. Some claim it is a bid to wrest more power for themselves.
1895 Maven Balacazar unifies the criminal underworld of Ptolus.
1911 Sisterhood of Silence is founded.
1937 Inverted Pyramid is founded.
1986 The Ghost Lich rises from the ruins beneath the city and unleashes a plague of Weeping Blood. Abesh Runihan slays the Ghost Lich but dies of the plague as he strikes the mortal blow.
1992 Commissar Norid Favanar declares Ptolus as a religious neutral ground. All faiths are welcome to practice in Ptolus openly so long as they do not break the city’s laws against murder, theft, kidnapping, and rape. A portion of the city is set aside to accommodate these new temples.
2010 The Ptolus prison is founded in the dungeons beneath the city.
2012 Healers of the Sacred Heat move to Ptolus.
2026 A major High Priest of Aroden moves to Ptolus and begins construction on the Cathedral of St. Gustav.
2632 The elves return to Golarion and number of them re-establish settlements in the Moonsilver Forest to the north of the city. The Harrow elves come out of hiding and rejected by the newcomers.
2743 Choking Death kills 1/3 of the population.
3754 A number of the knightly orders stationed in Ptolus openly support the Shining Crusade. They bring back Book of Eldritch Might as a spoil of war.
3760 The Inverted Pyramid gets their hands on the Book of Eldritch Might.
3980 The Rending is felt in Ptolus.
4090 Ptolus shifts hands from Taldor to Cheliax. Nearly all of the noble families lose their holdings in Taldor and are at the mercy of their government. For the most part, Cheliax takes a hands-off approach to the city, granting a small number of lands to the noble families to help keep them solvent. Cheliax reserves the right to install the position of Commissar.
4218 Yellow Tongue sickness nearly wipes out the Slums district.
4580 The first order of Hellknights, the Order of Brazen Bull, is established in Ptolus.
4602 Darkbirth Asylum is founded.
4605 The Brotherhood of Redemption perfects the process of converting evil monsters.
4606 Aroden dies, chaos reigns as harsh storms rack the city for nearly four weeks.
4615 A great exodus of Aroden’s followers makes their way to Ptolus. Order of the Pale flees Cheliax and moves to Ptolus.
4640 House Thrune gains control over Cheliax.
4660 The Keepers of the Veil leave Westcrown and move to Ptolus.
4670 The Days of Blood begin as clerics of Aroden attempt to purge the city of the followers of Asmodeus. This spurs a bloody rebellion against Cheliax.
4672 Cheliax revokes the lands from all of the Ptolusite noble families except one, House Vladaam.
4685 The rebellion finally fails after a diplomat from Cheliax meets secretly with the city leaders. The final treaty states that the worship of Asmodeus is allowed to operate openly and the government of Ptolus is required to pay a yearly tithe to the empire. In return the nobles gained the right to elect their own Commissar and the church of Aroden escaped punishment. The exact details of the failure remain a mystery.
4698 Igor Urnst, veteran of the Isger Goblinoid Wars is elected Commissar.
4699 The Pathfinder Society is granted a seat on the city council in an attempt to control the number of adventurers descending into the dungeons.
4700 The Twelve Commanders, a council of military minded individuals, is established.
4701 Urthon Aedar appear.
4703 The Commissar attempts to establish a special unit of polymorphed town soldiers known to locals as the Troll Squad. His idea receives little support.
4708 Crime boss Kevris Killraven makes her presence known.
4709 Current Year, Scarlet Death breaks out in the city’s Slums district.
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I did ponder over the Galchutt for a long time. At first I considered using Protean Lords to fill that role. I finally figured I would go with Rovagug since most of the Galchutt servitors could easily be considered Spawn of Rovagug. It also tied neatly into the Golarion history. In addition, it gives the priests of Asmodeus reason to hold on to Ptolus no matter what. Once they figured they wouldn't end the rebellion through military force, they revealed the true nature of the boundary to the priests of Aroden and gave them the Siphon to keep them quiet.
Just read the article on the Spawn and I didn't expect there to be so few. In any case, the Galchutt could just be creatures warped by Rovagug, likely beings from the Darklands.
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I noticed a mistake on the timeline.
4580 The first order of Hellknights, the Order of Brazen Bull, is established in Ptolus.
This should read:
In 4615 it should read:
When I stated "first order of Hellknights" that wasn't meant to insinuate these knights were the first Hellknights. Instead, it was meant to indicate that the first order is Ptolus was the Brazen Bull.
I amended this issue in my notes but forgot to do the same on my timeline. Sorry about that!
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I like the timeline. I do think that with the Praemal boundary the Isle of Terror could work better - maybe that could be Palastan. The spire could work - but the boundry would pre-date the Spire by quite a while.
I wanted to change things up a bit since many of the people I play with are also familiar with Ptolus, so I'll let you know what I did with the Cosmology in case it give you some ideas:
Not even the oldest of the races of Golarion remember the Dread One and similarly knowledge of Galchutt is lost to the mists of time. The defeat of the Dread One predates the Starfall by thousands of years.
Soon after the Dread One was defeated, the forces of good wanted to figure out how he had been corrupted so completely. They learned about the Book of Inverted Darkness - and the Galchutt. Within a few generations, the Elder Elves had set a trap for the Galchutt similar to what was is described by Calista in Dark Relioquory.
The major Galchutt were mostly tricked into leaving for Leng. Except as chaotic as the Galchutt were - the trap didn't work perfectly. One Galchutt elected to remain of her own violation (Lamashtu - who truly is the Queen of Demons and the Mother of Monsters)and one remained behind tasked with the destruction of the world, Rovagug.
Some of the minor Galchutt remained as well - as some of them where not even self-aware enough to realize what had happened - they are still below Ptolus.
The freeing of the Galchutt drew the attention of the Prince of Darkness to Golarion - and he wanted to see both Lamshtu and Rovagug imprisoned - but he eventually realized that Lamashtu could be reasoned with to some extent.
With the false Dissolution, the Lords of the Seven Chains freed Praemel from it's prison status and summoned being could leave the world even before the rise of Azlant.
The heroes who tricked the Galchutt where epic wizards and priests beyond what exists today - and then sealed Caverns of the Galchutt and the Throne of Darkness below the city. They then abandoned the area - as they feared it's lingering influence on their souls.
The Throne of Darkness is an artifact of chaos that makes the entirety of the Spire seem like a trinket and it still has the power to twist and corrupt those who live a mile or so above it... there are other artifacts of chaos loose in the caverns below the city as well.
It has fueled the chaos cults - and worship of Lamashtu and Rovagug. The Caverns were sealed until the Starstone feel from the sky and loosened them.
Aroden would re-seal the seals - and keep the keys, but with his death the keys are missing - and dissolution would be a powerful evil entity (there can be many candidates) controlling the Throne of Darkness.
The Whispering Tyrant would like to be that entity and he's locked in Ghul's fortress - trying to access the top of spire and eventually penetrate the seals.
Raquel and Lilith are still here as well. Lilith would like to access the Throne of the Darkness for herself - and Raquel can't make up his mind about where he'd want to go and wants to find the truth of his parents.
Lilith, the Tyrant, Rovagug, and Lamshtu all inspire chaos cults - as do several princes of hell and demon lords.
The Malkuth still maintain a presence - because someone needs to stand against the utter evil of the place - and their presence helps keeps more of the populace from turning to the chaos cults. They know about the Galchutt - but are silent.
The elves in Ptolus are descendants of the Elder Elves - they know they must protect against an ancient evil - but even the exact nature of the threat has been lost to them.
I think this will be familiar enough to my players to seem like Ptolus - but they will no longer know what exactly to expect.
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I like the timeline. I do think that with the Praemal boundary the Isle of Terror could work better - maybe that could be Palastan. The spire could work - but the boundry would pre-date the Spire by quite a while.
I wanted to change things up a bit since many of the people I play with are also familiar with Ptolus, so I'll let you know what I did with the Cosmology in case it give you some ideas:
** spoiler omitted **...
I like what I am seeing here, good stuff.
It keeps the major themes and yet allows for the possibility of change when you need it.
Nice adaptation!
The timeline could easily be compressed and/or ignored as needed.
Using different local names for races just enhances the local flavor. That said, the world of the Tarshish Empire is a bit different from Golarion. As long as players don't ask about cosmology (I'm thinking the whole "trap the world" epic containment prison spell), you're fine.
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Nice adaptation!
The timeline could easily be compressed and/or ignored as needed.
Using different local names for races just enhances the local flavor. That said, the world of the Tarshish Empire is a bit different from Golarion. As long as players don't ask about cosmology (I'm thinking the whole "trap the world" epic containment prison spell), you're fine.
Thanks!
Actually, I reduced the containment to a single area surrounding the city. Once outsiders enter they cannot leave by any means. But natives can still travel via portals and what not. This effect is a result of the wards that hold Rovagug beneath the earth. In many ways, Rovagug replaced the Galchutt. More accurately, the Galchutt of all hierarchies still exist but they are the servants of Rovagug who have found themselves trapped in the area. In the meantime, those that are awake attempt to free their master.
Just found this topic while dithering arround between classes. I would hug you if I could...Ptolus is, as far as I'm concerned the greatest "setting" ever published for an RPG (which is saying something, as I'm a DIEHARD fan of darksun)...and Pathfinder is one of the best RPG rule sets I've ever seen (third edition shadowrun is only a competitor because it represents that "style" better than I think Pathfinder represents it's "style"...though I would rather play Pathfinder).
Haven't gotten the time to truely go through this, but I did notice one mistake in the first spoiler tag...the eigth paragraph sais something like "Ptolus has is".
I'll definately be looking into this further when I have the time. Real quick like though (if this was covered in a previous post, just ignore me and I'll find the info when I get the chance to dig in), did you get a chance to write up anything on the litorians? Planning on keeping with what Monte Cook already had game stat wise, or are you thinking of something new? Chances are I'll leave them how they appear in the book, though before I say for sure I'll need to read it again. Been about a year sense my copy of Ptolus was opened unfortunately...
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Hey all, I do have this on my mind. Especially since my upcoming campaign hinges on this getting done. :) I am working on a big project for my folklore class and it is due next Wednesday. So that is sucking up a huge amount of time. But I swear, as soon as that is done, there will be more updates.
I have a .pdf that is almost finished but I want to check with Monte to see if he minds if I post it. He seems pretty open to fan conversions, I just want to make sure something like this is okay. I don't want to cross any lines. The .pdf is a player's primer of sorts and provides some of the conversions I am looking for. After that, I plan to convert some DM info and post it as it gets finished.
As for litorians, I plan to use the stats provided by Monte with some adaptations produced by Set (poster here at Paizo). I will post a link as soon as I can find that material again. I was silly and did not bookmark it. I know where to find it on the Paizo site, but the site is moving so slowly that it might take awhile. Essentially, he turned some of the race levels from Arcana Evolved into racial feats so the litorians can upgrade their natural weapons.
Storywise, my version of litorians originate from Southern Garund. They were brought to Ptolus by an explorer and were "gifted" to the Commissar, much in the way European explorers did with indigenous peoples from Africa and the Americas. The Commissar was not exactly interested in slaves, and the litorians had no idea that was their ultimate fate, so to assuage his guilt and avoid a revolt he freed the litorian packs that came to Ptolus. Land was set aside for them in the city and outside of it. Which means there are two separate groups of litorians, those that maintain a small, nomadic civilization outside the city and those that live in the neighborhood of Mane.
Hope that helps. The primer will have more info.
Thanks for keeping up with this project. I will get back to this soon. I will most certainly get that link to litorian stuff as soon as I can. I will post the .pdf, if I get permission to do so, after my project is finished. If I cannot, I will get an idea from Monte what is acceptable and what is not so we can continue from there.
Awesomeness!
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This is great.
I just need to find a copy of the Ptolus book now...
Its still available in pdf-format at rpgnow.com or drivethrurpg.com, where you can buy pdf of a single chapter, or the whole book. A lot of other stuff (artwork from THEFORGESTUDIOS) is as well available there. I don't know if Paizo offers Ptolus-pdfs as well...
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My Pathfinder-Ptolus hybrid campaign that I just started about a month ago is really fun.
I have been watching the ideas here.
One thing I am doing is making the Delvers' Guild a local branch of the Pathfinder Society.
I have eliminated certain aspects of original Ptolus, such as characters being bound to any area, but I can see still playing that as being fun :)
My choice of location for the city makes Ptolus in the midst of some interesting potential politics between other friendly and/or rival cities:
Here, I have placed Ptolus North across from Magnimar and West of Riddleport.
I did not want to replace any existing cities in Golarion and the bay there looked quite inviting as a place for the City By The Spire!
I think that mixing Ptolus with the Golarion campaign setting is a logical choice for Ptolus fans. It does neither Ptolus nor Pathfinder any injustice - they compliment each other well, IMHO.
I am so thankful for the PFRG for many reasons, but one is that it allows my beloved city to breathe fresh air once more :)
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One thing I am doing is making the Delvers' Guild a local branch of the Pathfinder Society.
My choice of location for the city makes Ptolus in the midst of some interesting potential politics between other friendly and/or rival cities:Here, I have place Ptolus north just across Magnimar.
I did not want to replace any existing cities in Golarion and the bay there looked quite inviting as a place for the City By The Spire!I think that mixing Ptolus with the Golarion campaign setting is a logical choice for Ptolus fans. It does neither Ptolus nor Pathfinder any injustice - they compliment each other well, IMHO.
That is a good choice for the location as well. That means you can do things like tie the Runelords to the Galchutt.
For my part, I am presuming that the ancient city of Ptolus was a Thassilonian colony on the Isle of Terror (known as Isle of Palastan at the time) and that the relations with the elves were negative during that time. When the elves returned to Golarion, the new Ptolus was already there so some of them likely assumed the city was never destroyed, despite the fact it was. While Kyonin does trade with Ptolus via Greengold, I think the nation would generally distrust the city because they something is just "wrong" about it. They are also not fond of the huge elvish population living there. So many Folorn in one place is disconcerting to the high elves.
I am assuming the Delver's Guild is a part of the Pathfinder Society as well. Delver is a local term so Delver's Guild is just what the man on the street calls the society.
I agree, Ptolus is a good fit for Golarion with some changes. I love Golarion so much I just had to find a way to make it work.
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Website is nearly done. What I will likely do is just throw it up, put my primer .pdf there and then commit to moving some of that stuff around to make it work. It is going to be in a wiki format and organized just like the book. The site will contain just enough to allow for conversion but will require the Ptolus book to get full use out of it. Though, I imagine, some of material there could be helpful to just about any GM.
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I think that anyone that loves Ptolus and Pathfinder will have similarities in approach to blending the two.
I really appreciate your thread and contributions here!
I hope your campaign goes well :)
Thanks! And I am happy your campaign is going well. It is good to be networked with people who grok Ptolus as much as I do.
Exactly my problem. I've got two groups of two that I can reliably DM for (and by reliably, what I am truely saying is something quite to the contrary), that absolutely cannot mesh. So either way I'm dealing with half of a full party, and hence have to go through all adventures and reevaluate the dangers and treasure. At least in one of them we have a druid and cleric, so plenty of healing, and probably enough damage potential (plus the druids badger is a pretty scary frontliner at the moment). The other group hasn't made characters yet, so who knows what I'll wind up with there.
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Unfortunately it looks like a website for such a thing will not be in the cards for me soon. It has been agreed upon that our campaign will take place in Ptolus but not in Golarion. If people are still interested in what I had developed for the game, I can provide it in the form of a .pdf.
But it does mean a conversion site is not likely to happen. I might put together a fansite detailing new locations and mechanical conversions to the Pathfinder RPG though.
A,
I'd love to see the pdf, e-mail within spoilers
Thank you!
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I would love to continue discussing the subject.
Monte has agreed to let me post a fansite for the presentation of new locations and conversion of mechanics to Pathfinder (not that there is huge conversion or anything). I will post when the fansite goes up. Most of this material will likely be from my home campaign and might even include new mechanics.
alleynbard
I've been interested in giving Ptolus a home in Golarion, too. If you're willing to send me a copy of your pdf, I'd love to see it. Email in spoiler.