Conerica Straits - Wet or Dry?

[stugallie]

Hi:

I'm just tippeytoeing my way from D&D 4E over to Pathfinder and really like what I see. As I read, I'm building an adventure. The Campaign Setting is awesome, providing a rich environment for construction. The adventure I'm creating nestles nicely into the much-abused nation of Isger. The description of this area includes reference to the great trade route known as the Conerica Straits, connecting the Inner Sea and Cheliax to Druma/Lake Encarthan. My question is this: Are these Straits waterways, as has become the commonly understood meaning of the word, or is the word "straits" being used in the more general "narrow route" context? I get it that trade flows through the country; my question is one of how it flows -- barges or wagons?

Thanks!
- Stu

[Gamer Girrl]

stugallie wrote:

Hi:

I'm just tippeytoeing my way from D&D 4E over to Pathfinder and really like what I see. As I read, I'm building an adventure. The Campaign Setting is awesome, providing a rich environment for construction. The adventure I'm creating nestles nicely into the much-abused nation of Isger. The description of this area includes reference to the great trade route known as the Conerica Straits, connecting the Inner Sea and Cheliax to Druma/Lake Encarthan. My question is this: Are these Straits waterways, as has become the commonly understood meaning of the word, or is the word "straits" being used in the more general "narrow route" context? I get it that trade flows through the country; my question is one of how it flows -- barges or wagons?

Thanks!
- Stu

Not an official opinion, but looking at the map, Isger is pretty well land-locked, with just a bit of river coming in from Cheliax. And then there's this sentence:

Today, Isger’s famed Conerica Straits provide a web of roadways slashing across the state, leading from Cheliax in the southwest all the way to Druma to the northeast.

Makes me think your second definition is the applicable one here.

[stugallie]

Gamer Girl, you are wise indeed (as well as being a much better reader than me)! Thank you very much. I'll put my magnifying glass away and stop looking for the skinny blue line through the country.

[Charles Evans 25]

I remember this one coming up a while back for Isger on the Campaign Setting reference thread. I'm not sure we ever got an explanation as to why a road network was known as the Conerica Straits, but I think Paizo may have been busy with the Beta testing back then, and there was seldom much time for Paizo to answer questions like that.

Oh and welcome to the Paizo Messageboards, Stugallie. :)

[stugallie]

Hi Charles. Thanks for the insight. I guess we'll just consider the Conerica Straits to be one of those quaintly named aspects of the Pathfinder world, making Golarion that much richer for its quaintness. I'm sure I'll be back to the forum for more help in the future. As long as there are good helpful folk like Gamer Girrl (apologies for the previous misspelling) and you out there, I'm sure I'll find the answers I need.