I was curious about the natives of Arcadia. I am assuming that they are very closely tied to the Native Americans, but since they are in a magical fantasy setting they should have something special. Since they are separated from Golarion's brand of magic (and wizard schools), I would assume that most of them would be barbarians, fighters, druids, and maybe sorcerors. What I am trying to figure out though is what Gods do these people worship? Are the current Gods as we know them just the Pantheon for Golarion, and therefore would the other continents far from Golarion have their own Pantheons? I also was curious about the Andoran outpost that supposedly is located on the central-eastern coast of Arcadia. Is that talked about in the Andoran Companion that recently came out?
Creative Director
|
I was curious about the natives of Arcadia. I am assuming that they are very closely tied to the Native Americans, but since they are in a magical fantasy setting they should have something special. Since they are separated from Golarion's brand of magic (and wizard schools), I would assume that most of them would be barbarians, fighters, druids, and maybe sorcerors. What I am trying to figure out though is what Gods do these people worship? Are the current Gods as we know them just the Pantheon for Golarion, and therefore would the other continents far from Golarion have their own Pantheons? I also was curious about the Andoran outpost that supposedly is located on the central-eastern coast of Arcadia. Is that talked about in the Andoran Companion that recently came out?
We haven't done much at all with Arcadia yet. The natives there are likely a mix of ALL the native american tribes, from North to South. I like the idea of "what if Columbus found Aztecs and ziggurats in North America," for example. It'll probably be a long while before we do much more with Arcadia though.
Is that particular part of the setting a nod to the Pathfinder movie?
I'm sure you've probably covered this a million times before, so feel free to just point me to a previous answer, but how did Paizo decide on the name for their new system?
|
I was curious about the natives of Arcadia. I am assuming that they are very closely tied to the Native Americans, but since they are in a magical fantasy setting they should have something special. Since they are separated from Golarion's brand of magic (and wizard schools), I would assume that most of them would be barbarians, fighters, druids, and maybe sorcerors. What I am trying to figure out though is what Gods do these people worship? Are the current Gods as we know them just the Pantheon for Golarion, and therefore would the other continents far from Golarion have their own Pantheons? I also was curious about the Andoran outpost that supposedly is located on the central-eastern coast of Arcadia. Is that talked about in the Andoran Companion that recently came out?We haven't done much at all with Arcadia yet. The natives there are likely a mix of ALL the native american tribes, from North to South. I like the idea of "what if Columbus found Aztecs and ziggurats in North America," for example. It'll probably be a long while before we do much more with Arcadia though.
There is evidence of Aztec influence in parts of what is now the United States. Also, there were several cultures such as the Mound Builders.
One thing to consider is how non-humans in Arcadia (if any) may have influenced the development of some of the cultures. Also, there may or may not be some ancient Azlanti influence and ruins.
|
Creative Director
|
I'm sure you've probably covered this a million times before, so feel free to just point me to a previous answer, but how did Paizo decide on the name for their new system?
I believe it's buried in the FAQ or a post somewhere... but the name "Pathfinder" was originally created to be the name for our Adventure Path product. Basically, you find a path to adventure with the Adventure Path. It also had a cool association with the spell "Find the Path" of course. And when we came up with the name, the decision to have a very influential group of adventurers named Pathfinders in the campaign setting made perfect sense.
|
Some native american tribes have creation stories suggesting that they came down from the sky or the stars, and it might be a fun nod to that to have at least one arcadian tribe actually be from another world...
Nazca lines.
Those are the ships. The ancients of the tribes crafted their ships of stone with chalk and chant, giving them form and life. After their long journey, the greatships have since been left dormant and all but forgotten, with cities rising and falling around and even atop them.
The creation of stone vessels and guardians with chalk is not completely lost, though the Arcadian shamans and magic-men of the modern era can only wield a fraction of the power their ancestors once held, summoning stone couatls and thunderbirds to protect their tribes and temples.
I'm wondering how their history and culture will have been shaped by their five thousand years of at least occasional contact with Avistan.
|
|
I'm wondering how their history and culture will have been shaped by their five thousand years of at least occasional contact with Avistan.
Don't forget that contact with Garund and other continents are also possible. There has been some speculation and debate in our own world about contacts between the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa in the years before Christopher Columbus set sail. As travel in Golarion is a bit easier than Earth due to magic, the likelihood of multicultural influence in Arcadia rises. (I imagine each different language family on what people in Avistan call Arcadia have different names for their continent. )
|
One of my favorite museums here in Los Angeles is the Gene Autry Center (which has combined with the Southwest Museum). They had a fabulous exhibit a few years back on the scrimshaw and totemic items of the North-West tribes of North America; it showed the continuity of design down the western coast of Alaska, to northern California, and the influence from the distant past, to modern Native-American art.
I bring this up because I would LOVE to see something more with totemic magic - where you could use the power of the totems to call on animal spirits for guidance (or for fightin' the bad guys!) - like a more flavorful summon monster spell, but with extra powers related to your tribe.
For the South-West analog, I too would like to see something with Aliens, because all that Area 54 urban-legend stuff is too good to ignore. And the Hopi women already have Princess Leah hairdoos, which makes it double perfect for a sci-fi connection!