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Here is what I have on my wulfen race so far
** spoiler omitted **...
Very nice racial background write-up!
As to how I've changed Golarion? Well... I've just taken things I like about it & included them into my already-heavily-altered, not-to-be-mentioned* setting which incorporates a few things from a few other settings, too.
And, from what i hear of the Dragon Empires of Tian Xia, I might just port the whole continent to replace the current oriental one of the N2BM setting.
Carry on all!
-- C.
P.S. Oh, & Set, your posts are always awesome to read!
*not-to-be-mentioned = N2BM (because it's just so cumbersome...)
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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The notion that the silver-fluid sipping sorcerers of the technic league are slowly infecting themselves with this micro-machinery, and turning into half-man/half-machine, and having their original power-seeking goals subverted to an alien agenda, could be fun.
As long as one doesn't go too overtly 'Borg' with the idea, it could be creepy.
Amusingly, Asurans pop to mind, because I've been catching some episodes I missed recently.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Among the major changes I've considered with Golarion:
<snip>
Being a self-avowed Furry, I definitely want to add more Beast-Men races to Golarion. Namely, this collection of Beastfolk races: http://therafimrpg.wikidot.com/beastfolk
I've debated on making the red planet (I can never remember its name) being the 'furry planet' with various magics that are rare or extinct on Golarion (Rune magic, truenamers, binders, etc) Warring tribes of Litorians, Sibracai etc etc. Kind of a furry Barsoom, complete with degenerate Azlanti standing in for the Therns. The meta question would be did the Azlanti-Therns create the furry races or were they already there.
My LE fighter successfully (if awkwardly) wooed and married Amiku in RotRL (with the caveat that they are both slightly more neutral by association), so now in Jade Regent, anyone with a crush on her has large, angry, Varisian keeping them in check.
My preferred changes (some of them might have been incorporated into the World Guide, my source is the 3.5 Campaign Setting):
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*I use the Great Wheel instead of the Shrek Model (Ogres and Multiverses are like Onions, they have layers) of the Planes.
*Aroden is the Highlander. Presently he is Highlander pt 2, 100 odd years ago, he was the end of Highlander. Also, he is Leto Atreides, II, but only before he became Highlander pt 2.
*The Starstone is a sentient space ship power core.
*The Ascended Three are super mutants, and are imperfect compared to the other legit gods. Norgy keeps this secret from all mortal-kind, while Iomedae actively crusades against others trying to take the test (being the primary cause of most of the failures of the "Test"), and Cayden just really doesn't care.
*The living Urgathoan Clergy is by and large Cannibalistic.
*Elves still reverie.
*Dwarves are a racial offshoot of Gnomes who became enraptured with the planet itself and no longer have to adventure to stay alive.
*Halfling population +200%.
*Orcs are a surface dwelling race with no sensitivity to light.
*Guns are cheap and are widely available.
As far as I understand our impact on our Golarion as players...
RotRL: There's a crusading tibbit druid and his celestial cat companion roaming the wilds around Sandpoint, purging everything evil with ruthless efficiency. He's sometimes accompanied by a female shoanti frenzied berserker. (We were still running 3.5e at this point, so Lion of Talasid and Frenzied Berserker, respectively). An elven enchanter has built a palace atop the ruins of a haunted house on the cliffs and maintains an uneasy standoff with the druid. (Our party functioned great when they were clocked in. When we weren't adventuring though, there were some serious personality conflicts, most notably between the druid and the enchanter. The druid is not a fan of the enchanter's flexible moral structure and is pretty much ready to collapse those cliffs into the ocean the second the enchanter shows an inclination towards evil.)
CotCT: Korvosa is currently ruled by the Faerie Queen Imari Shiverscar (gnome bard with the Fey Heritage feats from Complete Mage). Its military is run by a dwarven cleric of Gorum (it's an efficient and violent military) and the Queen's seneschal is a mousey Ulfen cerebremancer (from Dreamscarred Press Psionics Unleashed). Korvosa is slowly being moulded into a libertine city with an emphasis on art and culture (Queen Imari is a devoted member of Shelyn's church). Did I mention the queen was originally a drug-addled prostitute? Hence Shiver-scar, shiver being a popular drug in Korvosa. I used her last name as my screenname on the forums since she was my first PF character.
Kingmaker: We're in the midst of this but... A new kingdom has appeared in the Greenbelt, called Halfheim, forged by a mercenary group called the Company of Bastards, four half-brothers (3 half-orcs and one half-elf) that are all the illegitimate progeny of one perverse (and now deceased) noble lord. The ruler of Halfheim, a blind half-elf Lore Oracle named Redric, governs with benevolence. His half-orc brothers enforce his will as his Marshall (Inquisitor of Abadar), General (Paladin of Sarenrae), and Warden (Natural Weapon Ranger). The oracle has a certain affinity for fey and he's kept us on good terms with the locals because of that, but there's a fair bit of grumbling from the half-orcs when they inevitably get pranked.
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Keep it coming it's always imo interesting to see how others have changed their campign settings. An added bonus is that you can find stuff you like and borrow. Ionewolf23k was it easy to convert the Holy Warrior class from BOR to PF standards?
Hmm, I'm glad that I'm not attending some of the home versions of Golarion presented here. No offense, but I really don't like large geopolitic changes as a whole. Not to mention far-reaching events in general.
I have to wonder why even post in this thread. While I disagree I can respect your opinion. Yet the purpose of this thread is to showcase how others have changed the setiing to fit their needs. They do and your kind of saying "well I don't like it". Kind of seems counterproductive imo.
The (slim) majority population of Nirmathas are orcs comprising mostly CN/CG-leaning tribes, descended from tribes that crossed the mountains out of Belkzen during the reign of Kazavon. These people are a big motivator behind Nirmathas' fierce independence, which leads them to greater conflict with Molthrune, a land that promises their race security in exchange for freedom. These tribes are also entangled, for better or worse, with the fey courts of Nirmathas' forests, which are somehow larger on the inside than the outside due to First World shenanigans. The orcs get on well enough with their human countrymen, and this place provides ample opportunity for half-orcs to have backstories that aren't rooted in tragedy. They have a grudging mutual respect with Lastwall, though it took a while to get there.
I hope you don't mind- I am SO stealing this.
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Sure, I'll contribute.
Most Important Single Change
No bags of holding, no Rope Trick. Part of a general effort to cut down on pocket dimension effects after I appealed to the players with "okay, so instead of cranes, ropes and tackle dwarves haul large amounts of ore to the surface for smelting by shoveling it all into sacks of holding where it weighs nothing ..." They agreed that despite the loss of utility, getting rid of bags of holding clears up more problems than it creates. And rope trick had come to be viewed as an extraordinarily cheap way of avoiding actually setting up camp and the classic encounters it creates.
This also makes the rare pocket dimension like Runeforge an awe-inspiring thing. And a giant target for the hounds of the Tindalos.
History and Cultures
A number of not-quite-retcons-more-explanations to deal with the thousands of years of history. In this case, many many kingdoms have been ground into the dust of history, the present borders of any of the given present nation-states have not been set for more than a century or so, and a great many plagues and sea monsters played their part to prevent commercial and industrial revolutions and keep populations at believable levels. A great deal of divine intervention, sorcery, and war with monstrous races has been present throughout Golarion's history, and I point out that radical depopulation (95%+) of humans and demi-humans has happened in some regions of Avistan and Garund multiple times across the centuries.
Ghouls and worse are at work in Galt presently, feeding the chaos. Unchecked, Galt will be radically depopulated and play home to numerous monstrous races for a time. It is the latest example of the often chaotic way of life on Golarion.
The relatively recent arrival of Chellish colonists en masse in Varisia was an accomplishment precisely because of the above conditions. No unsupported Chellish settlements survived more than three decades in all the centuries prior.
Cultural stagnation (as in the case of the Ulfen, the Shoanti, etc.) explained by massive, endless conflicts with ogres, giants, dragons and more. The massive kingdoms of the Inner Sea just don't know or understand the scale of carnage over the centuries that such places have been exposed to. As a direct result, players have come to regard "Shoanti Bands" and "Ulfen Marauders" as higher level encounters worth great caution.
The dwarven invention of alcohol helped them cope with surface maladies ... but also contributed to their cultural collapse. The dwarven empires and miracles of the Age of Darkness and Age of Anguish proved more difficult to maintain as their culture gradually embraced personal quality of life over toil to greater glories. The remnants of seven thousand year old dwarven roads, watch-towers, and engineering tells of a time when the sky citadels were the only safe places in a wild and savage world. Some dwarven proponents of this outlook are absolute tee-totaling fascists, but after the lengthy civil wars remain too disheartened to think of trying to rebuild a culturally homogenous dwarven state let alone trying to argue for prohibition (Cayden Cailean's divine ascention was the final nail in that coffin). Plus, Dwarf Fortress style madness, pursuit of wealth, and occasional use of magma-geddon switches to overcome siege.
There are a lot of caves and tunnels around. Orcs and Dwarves both are to blame. They just litter the landscape with dungeon fodder and often don't care.
Though awful at agriculture and often a blight on any ecosystems they stay too long in, hobgoblins and goblins both make excellent scrappers, collecting even the smallest particles of garbage metal and materials and collecting, selling or smelting them for meager gains. This is one reason some communities tolerate their existence rather than ordering exterminations or forming mobs.
Life, Technology, and the Natural World
In keeping with the knowledge that many, many civilizations, kingdoms, towns and villages have been destroyed by the horrifying and wild unknown world just beyond your wheat-fields, most people are actually rather insular and fearful of miracles and magic. In villages and small towns, heavily armed mercenaries with steel and sorcery are often appeased with offerings and encouraged to leave, occasionally with the suggestion that they kill everything vaguely dangerous in the wilderness outside of town. Oddly enough, I've found this actually helps balance out the classes a bit, as Fighters, Rogues and Monks have a much easier time persuading locals to trust and work with them than do "those mysterious will-workers with their pacts and sinister knowledge".
Druids are suspect, but no more so than other casters. As often as not, they are working to make the land prosperous and less alien. Druidic relations across species -- i.e. between say gnoll druids and human druids -- are often rather tense or outright violent as different opinions are held as to what constitutes "natural order".
Armor and weapons often looks more historical and less Frazetta or Dungeonpunk. For example, the well equipped modern guard of Free Magnimar resemble Cromwell's New Model Army in their equipment. Outside of the Inner Sea region, articulated plate is actually quite rare and valuable, connoting great wealth and servants.
Magic items of all stripes are somewhat less common, tend to come with problems or shortcomings, and disenchant over time unless their crafters were exceptionally skillful. In other words, that +1 Sword you have may break or lose its enchantment within 50 years, but that +2 Domineering Keen Axe may have been constructed over ten thousand years ago and has seen countless wars. Price levels have also decreased, to prevent the phenomenon of "this suit of armor is worth three of your small towns, would you like cash or credit?"
Some languages are magically occluded to prevent the uninitiated from understanding them. Simple spells like Tongues are not enough. Thassilon's secrets remain buried because one must find an item or ritual (or worse, an instructor) to supply initiation to the language in order for it to begin making sense. Some sanity checks may be required at first. Druidic is similar, though less Lovecraftian, and at least one "Holy" tongue exists also. The Pathfinder Society very actively pursues those who understand these occluded languages or possess an "easy" means of initiation.
The Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are out there. The Aboleths may or may not be in league with them. Many parts of the world (the unflooded Underdark, for instance) work the way they do only because of active magical interference. The study of most sciences fails (in general) because the abundance of magic actively works against experimental deign, and occasionally because someone experimenting too much may draw one elder sign too many without intending to. Plus, some gods and Elder Gods actively hunt those who would elevate humanity from its present level of advancement. (For instance, imagine trying to prove plate tectonics as a theory of the natural world with the existence of magicians and divinities capable of causing earthquakes and eruptions at will.)
<b>Nations</b>
In the Padishah Empire of Kellesh, a man may have many wives, but a woman may have many husbands as well. If you want to know why the great Persian/Mongol Horde has never quite worked up the might to push Taldor over in the nearly five-thousand years that the two empires have successfully survived, ask how many times an empire founded on enslaved genie labor, monumental magical infrastructure, and highly entangling marriage alliances can collapse and rebound in five thousand years. Taldan Mercenaries have played Xenophon a hundred times or more in the endless conflicts of the near east.
Taldor and Kellesh are regarded as extraordinary all the world over for their ability to endure so many setbacks and still remain at least nominally unconquered. For all that the two empires have had their differences, their leadership feels that they understand and need one another since all the world outside their control is clearly quite mad.
Guns have not yet spread past Alkenstar and a few nearby places. They might revolutionize warfare if their cost could be brought down. Maybe.
The center of Avistan has been home to numerous great evils, and the people of Ustlav and Belkzen in particular are alternately viewed as noble guardians (surely the first to die the next time some unspeakable otherworldly evil arises) or extremely untrustworthy (cursed, and no doubt plotting against us).
Numeria does its best to pass off the stories of super-science and iron mountains as "mere myths and fancy", the League biding its time and expanding its control and power. Though I think I'll steal the 'power source' that exists in the ruins themselves as another useful explanation for the localization of such things.
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Human-kind lost Goblinblood Wars in Isger. New Hobgoblin-led empire
WANT
In addition, I'd add the races from the Compendium of Remarkable Races. ...Both changes which, I admit, would make the Taverns of Golarion look more like the Mos Eisley Cantina then the Prancing Pony of Bree, but I like it.
If that's the one I'm thinking of:
Squole are a newborn race arising from that ooze-lake in Nex they keep dumping faulty magic items, alchemical waste, and sometimes prisoners into. They're being examined by the mages-in-charge and don't have full rights, but some have managed to sneak away from their birthplace.
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The (slim) majority population of Nirmathas are orcs comprising mostly CN/CG-leaning tribes, descended from tribes that crossed the mountains out of Belkzen during the reign of Kazavon. These people are a big motivator behind Nirmathas' fierce independence, which leads them to greater conflict with Molthrune, a land that promises their race security in exchange for freedom. These tribes are also entangled, for better or worse, with the fey courts of Nirmathas' forests, which are somehow larger on the inside than the outside due to First World shenanigans. The orcs get on well enough with their human countrymen, and this place provides ample opportunity for half-orcs to have backstories that aren't rooted in tragedy. They have a grudging mutual respect with Lastwall, though it took a while to get there.I hope you don't mind- I am SO stealing this.
Thanks!
There's a lot more material on that if you need it.
spoilered for words words words
Long story short is that Sarenrae had long been sickened by the idea of an entire race ensnared by a culture that revered Rovagug. She managed to wrangle a "chosen one", Maja Firehair(a female orc possessed of remarkable empathy, which is usually an unhealthy thing to have in Belkzen), to lead her people towards the light. Said chosen one was more CN than anything, interpreted her visions as a call to conquest, and basically forced her way into the leadership position of her tribe and handed out beatdowns and annexations to other tribes. She did make some changes in orc culture(curbing brutality and sexual inequality, defying and defiling Rovagug's works,) but she was more about getting vengeance on her oppressors than anything else. She was closer to a Gorumite than a Sarenraean.
Sarenrae was enraged that her chosen one was missing the point and decided the best way to get through to an orc was to speak the same language. She then metaphysically and physically kicked Maja's ass and made her see that there was no future at all for the orcs if they stayed on their current path. A bit of Moses and the Burning Bush vibe, if the Burning Bush was handing out beatings. Finally fully spiritually awakened, Maja started edging more and more into CG and led a change in culture along the way, while continuing her, now far more idealistic, tribal conquest.
And things actually started to come together. She had managed to win over the hearts, minds, and souls of four great tribes that had gathered under her banner in southern Belkzen. They had also made a number of enemies that wanted nothing less than to see them wiped out, mainly rival orc tribes, particularly those truly faithful to Rovagug. But more dangerous than that was Kazavon, who had consolidated power in Belkzen at that time.
Maja was hellbent on leading her people against Kazavon in a holy, frenzied crusade before Sarenrae gave her one final vision. Her mission wasn't to conquer in her goddess' name, but to preserve and safeguard the people she had managed to save. If they stayed in Belkzen, they would be wiped out and all of their work would come to nothing, and the orc race would face its eventual self-inflicted extinction. Maja's task was to lead her people to a new land where they could chart their own destiny.
Hounded by rival tribes and the servants of Kazavon, Maja's went south through the mountains of Nirmathas, around Lastwall. After weathering a rough winter and ogre attacks, they finally made their way in to Nirmathas, at that time still mostly unpopulated save for the outlying dwarven settlements that were paying more attention to what was inside the ground than on it. Maja passed when they finally arrived, and the tribes spread out.
They came into conflict with the dwarves from time to time, with the usual racial motivations, but that came mostly to a stop once "this is our side/this is your side" lines were drawn and that the orcs now greatly outnumbered the dwarves(and that the orcs were basically going "don't start none, won't be none" at that point).
The native fey courts of Nirmathas reacted differently. They and the land itself adopted these tribes in their own way. The general outlook of these fey was that they were the nobility, the superstitious orcs were the common folk. Depending on the nature of the individual fey or court, these orcs were sources of entertainment, champions, pawns in their inter-court feuds and games, etc. The orcs in turn generally see the fey as capricious nature spirits, to alternately be revered or avoided, but always approached with a healthy wary respect.
Lastwall was naturally highly suspicious(and alarmed) when orcs settled Nirmathas, and there was conflict before it became clear that most on both sides did not truly have a fight with each other. A mostly chilly, wary truce was kept after that, with Lastwall spending too much of their forces on their southern border to make certain nothing was afoot. True peace and trust between the two nations finally came when Lastwall extradited a band of war criminals that had fled into the country after wiping out a number of Nirmathi orc villages. After these criminals were hanged at the border, old wounds finally started to heal.
Human settlers started rolling into the Nirmathas area from Molthrune(and thus the Chelish Empire), which didn't really recognize the coverignty of a bunch of orcs, who were hardly organized into any sort of nation anyway. The expected conflicts did occur, but when Cheliax crumbled and House Thrune rose, the game really changed. Irgal Nirmath had established healthy relationships with the orc tribes and had earned their respect(and even had a half-orc wife who may have had a child, leading to all sorts of rumors and whispers that speak of that scion as some sort of "royalty", if Nirmathas held to such structures).
Humans and orcs are currently highly integrated in most places in Nirmathas. There are still some regions that are mostly orc and mostly human, but they're all Nirmathi. There, peaceful unions between humans and orcs are the norm rather than the exception, which means the region boasts probably the largest half-orc population in Avistan.
The Molthrune conflict is particularly vicious and painful, because there aren't (m)any real "bad guys" on either side. Molthrune does have a large population of humanoids and "monsters" that have sworn loyalty to that nation, and they've been given acceptance, honor, and station for it. The same offer has been made repeatedly to the orcs, but they remain as fiercely independant as their human countrymen.
Some particularly zealous orcs do make raids into Belkzen from time to time, but these small crusades are most often a drop in the bucket that is the ongoing Belkzen/Lastwall conflict.
Orcs may be getting on well with their neighbors, but there are still aspects of their culture that frighten or disturb others. Many of the tribes do "sky funerals", where the bodies of their dead are left on elevated platforms for carrion birds to pick clean. Some of the traditionalist tribes still have some form of ritualized cannibalism going on, where a new chief eats the heart of the old one to inherit thier strengh and wisdom. Cannibalism period doesn't hold much of a taboo in times of great need, such as during the original exodus from Belkzen. That is only performed with the willing however, and carried out with the utmost respect. (it's been noted with curiosity that there are no reports of orc ghouls in Nirmathas...)
And so on and so forth. ;)
Some minor rules to curb technology via magic:
That which is most combustible is most likely to spontaneously combust.
I.e. refined fuels and gunpowder just tend to go BOOM in worlds with magic. THe mana wastes can use this stuff because the level of magic is so low. This really cuts down on chemical development and munitions.
Electricity does not always follow the path of least resistance.
This naturally makes higher technology and electronics impossible. The superscience of Numeria can't work right/develop because this rule makes even the most advanced nanotech completely unpredictable.
You play with steam, you play with fire.
This rule is that in chaining fire, you eventually are going to attract elemental attention because of the concentrated opposed forces you're messing with. Having a fire or water elemental attracted by the activity pop up in your boiler tends to get messy.
Mechanisms are axiomatic
Any sufficiently advanced use of mechanical/geartech tends to spontaneously animate as it achieves harmony with axiomatic principles. Having your pet gearlion suddenly animate on its own with intelligence tends to be fatal to many gear crafters. This tends to cut down radically on improved engineering and mechanization/factory processes, as factories spontaneous animate and start processing those who work in them. Accordingly, nobody makes factories! Luddites are VERY wise people!
Life is power, power is Life
If you want to make people effective, you level them, you don't give them better technology. Make your commoners level 3 instead of level 2, don't improve agricultural tech, that gets you nowhere! Higher level people can do more, work more, accomplish more, and survive more. Power is in people, not more paved roads.
==Aelryinth
I'm kind of glad I started this thread. It's been an interesting read and I hope other posters add to it. I might also borror Keqluneq idea of removing bags of holding and rope trick from the campaign.
Play with dimensions, dimensions play with you
Dimensional spells and magic items tend to attract otherplanar creatures, not just Hounds of Tindalos, although those are attracted to permanent dimensional hijinks. Dimensional meddling creates weaknesses in the local Veil, and things hop across the weak spots, and lo and behold, interesting squishy things are there to play with.Have random conjuration events occur when people use spells that create pocket dimensions, teleport, or the like, pressing the idea that these things are not 'safe' in the slightest, and can actually harm the innocents in the area you are around. Teleporting away from a city may pull a demon or rogue elemental into the area behind you.
Think the French mages from 7th Sea who can 'teleport'...as long as they keep their eyes closed, and risk damnation if they do not. Teleporting is usually done only in dire emergencies or from heavily warded focus points with preparation. Long term dimensional portals standing open are universal signs of disaster...just look at the worldwound! Rumors are that used to be a standing portal to the Celestial Heavens that stood open too long...
etc.
==Aelryinth
I got rid of Elves, and by extension, Half-Elves.
There's a lot more material on that if you need it.
lots and lots of great stuff
** spoiler omitted **...
Wow, you really thought this one through! Thanks for the background info!
Some minor rules to curb technology via magic:
==Aelryinth
I'm actually pro-industry (Eberron is a favorite) but I like your ideas quite a bit.
I'm pretty satisfied with the setting as written, but I've made a handful of minor changes to my world.
-I'm working on splitting most of the demihuman races into two or three statistically identical ethnic groups with their own distinct habits and customs. For example, in my Golarion, there are two major centers of elven populations. In Kynonin, they're arrogant, aloof, and culturally advanced. They tend to take things at the typical elven pace and value cerebral or artistic pursuits. A lot of them become wizards. Tend towards red or blond hair, and their fashions favor a lot of robes. In Varisia, they're closer to nature (though hardly tribal or barbaric) and a bit more spontaneous. They prefer finding existing beauty in the world instead of creating their own, and they're more xenophobic than the Kyonin elves. They tend towards dark hair, martial pursuits (lots of rangers) and practical garb. Dwarf populations are centered in the Five Kings Mountains (standard dwarves, good architects), and distinct sub-groups have integrated into Druma (great craftsmen, more jovial, great at item creation) and various northern regions (viking dwarves, with a sub-culture in Irresen taking on the magic knack of the dwarves in Norse mythology).
-Most Red Mantis assassins are ninjas (mechanically) with none of the eastern flavor.
-Cheliax is slightly less oppressive towards its own citizenry.
-There is a greater recognition of the differences between half-orcs and orcs in many human lands, with the latter often being regarded with the "noble savage" stereotype.
-There's a special order of cavaliers in Taldor, assembled and directed by the Grand Princes daughter. They're wandering knights who are under orders to travel abroad and accomplish great deeds and render aid in the name of Taldor. The heiress apparent hopes to sow the seeds of alliance in other countries so she can later combine the ancient name of Taldor with the resources of younger nations to strengthen her claim to the Primogen Crown and perhaps begin a campaign to restore Taldor's former glory in another couple decades. They are especially active in Molthune and Andoran.
-Isger's borders are TENSE. Everyone is watching this place like a hawk, hoping to claim this vital trade route for their own with its weakened state. Offers for aid from other countries have been rebuked thus far, but some kind of power struggle seems imminent.
-The Gorilla King is an advanced girallon (or whatever they're called), not a gorilla. They just seem more demonic. In fact, the Mwangi Expanse is pretty much the girallon's niche in my version of the world, with them forming the nobility in the society of those other smaller monkey guys (can't remember their name off-hand).
-No one know its, but Aroden is alive somewhere on Golarion. His clerics lost contact with him because he was forced into a mortal (ableit unaging) body. He's either laying low or is comatose or something. Haven't quite decided yet.
-I've changed up the personae of several of the deities a little bit. Most of the gods are more like incarnations of some abstract concept (especially the older ones) and their goals and agendas are more speculated upon by mortal followers than they are understood. This is less true of the gods who were once mortals, though the older ones (Irrori and Nethys) are begin to let go of their mortal modes of thought. The younger gods also tend to take a more direct hand in the events of Golarion.
An early Golarion mod I considered was to replace the Shoanti with half-orcs. I don't much buy into the idea of orcs and humans interbreeding, so re-imagined half-orcs as being orcs who have been slightly civilized.
Just as Rome paid various barbarian tribes in Europe to war with other barbarian tribes, the Chelaxians hired several orc tribes from the Cinderlands to war against the other orcs up near Belkzen. After a few decades of this, the "friendly" orcs changed due to their interraction with the Chelaxians, becoming slightly smarter, for instance, and not as susceptible to sunlight.
Never did actualize it, but I still like the idea.
Otherwise, my mental Golarion kind of deletes or glazes over those regions I can't think of anything interesting about. I'm not sure why there's a Molthune, fer instance, and I find the Mammoth Lords to be about 30x more interesting than the Linnorm Kings.
I'm not saying there isn't an Isger (mostly because I'm too lazy to actually redraw a map without it), but it'll never get mentioned in my campaign.
I want to replace all references to "goblins" with "bugbears" but no one else in my group relishes a Golarion where most humanoids have been murdered in their sleep.
I've got some stuff simmering but the first change I did was to add some calendars. It bugged me, especially now that we're running Jade Regent, that everybody uses the Absalom calendar and that it's a one-to-one match for the Gregorian calendar.
So I started tinkering. I quickly came to a similar conclusion that one of the developers said that a year close to Earth's makes things oh so much easier. So now my Golarion has a 363 day year and a few different calendars.
The Absalom calendar is used mostly for international trade agreements as its considered a neutral calendar. It's 12 months of 30 days with a 3 day year's end festival. The first day of the year corresponds to the setting of the Starstone in its current resting spot.
The Taldoran calendar, based on the lunar cycle of 33 days/month and 11 months/year, is the most widespread. But it suffers from many of the former Taldoran states changing the year to correspond with their independence.
The Varisian calendar is based off of constellations and the sun's position. And it's a rather weird one as there's no concept of a week and the months vary from 15 days to 47 days in length.
There's some others that I have roughed out that I might never develop unless the game ends up there. Such as the Garundi calendar that has only two "months" based on when the sun passes over the equator.
So, to answer the obvious upcoming question of, "good gods isn't that confusing for your players?" Well, they asked for it, literally. Plus we mainly use the Absolam calender for date tracking (yeah, yeah, using the very calendar that caused me to make these changes) and then each character has a second calendar for their homeland. They love it, especially for journaling on.
My players wouldnt really care - but I really like what you've done with this and I wish they would. It would be great to steal it.
