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H'okay, Azlant. As far as the defunct civilizations of Golarion go, we've probably been given the most information, but it's scattered around various sources, and in nowhere are we given a clear picture what life was like or a clear extent of the empire.
So on that note, this is my attempt to congeal useful and interesting factoids on Azlant and the Azlanti, and provide sources, since the PathfinderWiki is more than a bit outdated and incomplete on the matter. From this, I hope to be able to make non-canonical but logical extensions, hypotheses, and perhaps even a supposition or two. Spoilers, to about the level of actually reading the campaign setting books, exist below, along with more specific spoilers for the Serpent’s Skull adventure path.
The Azlanti People
—Physically tended towards dark, slightly receded hair (red, brown, black), olive to pale skin, and odd eye colors, including violet. (HG, ISWG, PCCS)
—Favored colors in clothing included crimson and deep green. (ISWG, PCCS)
—Names often started with vowels, and did not use surnames. (ISWG, PCCS)
—Once the majority human ethnicity by population. (ISWG, PCCS)
—Thassilonians, their civilization an offshoot of Azlant, were ethnically Azlanti (James Jacobs)
—Those Azlanti fleeing the Earthfall intermarried with local human tribes in Avistan, forming the Chelaxian and Taldan ethnicities. They also fled to the southern coast of Avistan and the northern coast of Garund. (HG)
—No pure High Azlanti remain; some Chelaxians and Taldans with seemingly-Azlanti physical features sometimes take up the known trappings of the Azlanti and call themselves such. (HG, ISWG, PCCS)
—Aroden, due to his agelessness brought on by deific ascension, was considered “The Last (pureblooded) Azlanti” (HG, ISWG, PCCS)
—Other Azlanti-descended peoples include the aquatic Gillmen (a.k.a. “The Low Azlanti”), and the dark folk, mongrelmen, and morlocks descended from those who fled into the Darklands. Skum were originally created from Azlanti humans. (ID, ISWG, PCCS)
Azlanti Culture/Relations
—Kept slaves. (ISWG, PCCS)
—Looked down on nonhumans. (PCCS)
—Warred with the elves. (PCCS)
—Fought with the Serpentfolk, exterminating them from the surface of Golarion, and driving them back to Sekamina. (ID, ISWG, SSA)
—The Azlanti hero Savith personally slew the avatar of the serpentfolk deity of Ydersius in the Darklands city of Ilmurea, but died in the attempt. The city of Saventh-Yhi was founded in her honor above the site of Ilmurea to guard against further Serpentfolk incursions. (ID, SSA)
—Taught/mentored by the aboleth, who eventually became prideful; the aboleth responded pre-emptively by performing a Colony Drop on Golarion, thus creating Eathfall. (HG, ISWG, PCCS)
—High Azlanti mages were haughty, and generally avoided getting their hands dirty/directly touching things if possible. (CP09, FSS)
Azlanti Architecture
—Includes cupolas, interlaced designs (ISWG)
—Includes marble columns, and the Pleasure Salon of Calistria in the columned style of classic Azlanti temples. (GA)
—Favored circular and square layouts, often nested or inscribed within one another. (CP09, FSS)
—Azlanti architecture on Garund incorporated stepped stones ziggurats. (SSAP)
—Included self-opening doors in some sites. (CP09, FSS)
—Inspired much of the architecture in Absalom and Andoran; the former’s Azlanti Era of architecture was largely designed by Aroden himself. (GA, ISWG, PCCS).
—The architecture of Ilvarandin, while a hodge-podge, contains some Azlanti elements. (ID)
The Azlanti Language
—Some to much of the actual language has been lost, though there’s enough for scholars to translate from, and it remains something of a liturgical language. (ISWG, PCCS)
—High Chelaxian Opera features librettos in Azlanti. (PCCS)
—The Mordant Spire elves are probably the last society to fluently speak Azlanti. (ISWG, PCCS)
—One of the most-spoken languages of its day, and influenced such languages as Hallit, Polyglot, Taldane (Common), and Varisian. (ISWG, PCCS)
—Absalom’s motto “Ex Prothex” (“From the First”) is Azlanti. (GA)
— Saventh-Yhi = “Savith’s Grave” (SSA)
Azlanti Magic/Studies/Technology
—Ioun stones were originally Azlanti, though the Thassilonians and the Pathfinder Society would later study and advance them. (CP09, SS)
—The Azlanti were obsessed with orbits (including those of celestial bodies), and not only made orreries and models of the Dark Tapestry, but entire floating buildings revolving around a central point. (CP09, FSS)
—Certain High Azlanti forewent traditional books for auto-levitating copper-leafed codices. (CP09, FSS)
—Some Azlanti magic items were in the form of metallic plates that when activated, would disassemble themselves and reposition themselves on or floating around a person, as if an article of jewelry or clothing. (FSS)
—Most Azlanti sites bear auras of extensive preservative magics, often reducing 10,000+ years of wear down to the equivalent of a few thousand. (ISWG, SSAP)
—The Azlanti possessed advanced knowledge of optics and lenses. (CP09, FSS, ISWG, LCG)
—Under the aboleths, the Azlanti developed “unparalleled art, philosophy, and science” in addition to magic. (ISWG)
—Entrapped/imprisoned/cultivated will-o’-wisps for lighting “like tulips” in glass cylinders. (CP09, FSS, LCG)
Known Azlanti Sites/Ruins
—Most Azlanti colonies were on the borders of the Inner Sea, and generally fall into three categories: the literal foundations for modern cities, ruined/little historical significance, or undiscovered and presumably valuable. (PCCS)
—What’s left of the continent of Azlant is a continent-sized archipelago of hazardous tors, mountains, reefs, and towers, jutting up from the Arcadian Ocean, and patrolled by the Mordant Spire Elves. (ISWG, PCCS).
—Escadar on the Isle of Kortos was built on an older Azlanti site, and houses an embassy for the gillmen. (GA)
—The Sightless Sea, the largest Orvian vault of the Darklands and one of the largest holds of the aboleth, is more or less directly underneath the continent of Azlant. (ID)
—Saventh-Yhi (“Savith’s Grave”) was an inland colony in the Mwangi on Garund, above the site of the serpentfolk city of Ilmurea, and survived Earthfall. (SSA)
—The Sun Temple Colony was a semi-recent attempt by Andoran to establish a colony on the ruined continent of Azlant itself. It Got Worse™. (ISWG, LCG, PCCS)
Azlanti Religion
—The Azlanti often had seemingly bizarre interpretations of the gods, by modern standards. (CP09, SSAP)
—Abadar was seen as a god of cities and wealth moreso than a deity of law. (SSAP)
—Acavna was a goddess of battle and the moon, who vanished/died shortly before Earthfall. (SSAP)
—Achaekek was seen as a god of monsters and natural disasters than as a god of assassinations. (SSAP)
—Amaznen was a pre-Nethys(?) god of magic, whose worship (and name!) was forbidden in Thassilon; he perished during Earthfall. (SSAP)
—Curchanus, a deity of travel, beasts, and endurance and mentor to Desna, survived Earthfall to be slain by Lamashtu. (GM, SSAP)
—Desna was seen primarily as a goddess of the stars/astronomy. (SSAP)
—Groetus was a late addition to the pantheon, added close to Earthfall. (SSAP)
—The demon lord Nurgal was considered the “vengeful aspect” of the sun, and placated. (LCG, SSAP)
—Pharasma was seen as a patron of prophecy moreso than as judge of the dead. (SSAP)
—Shelyn was seen as the muse and patron of the arts, and not of beauty. (SSAP)
—The demon lord Zura was originally an Azlanti queen whose thirst for immortality led to her dark ascension. Cults of Zura were infiltrating Azlant at the time of Earthfall, and might have undermined the civilization had Earthfall not happened. (LC, SSAP)
Sources
CP09: Chronicles: Pathfinder podcast #9, with Brandon Hodge
FSS: From Shore to Sea
GA: Guide to Absalom
GM: Gods and Magic
HG: Humans of Golarion
ID: Into the Darklands
ISWG: Inner Sea World Guide
James Jacobs: The word of the Creative Dinosaur himself, i.e. from a Paizo website or forum post.
LC: Book of the Damned vol. 2: Lords of Chaos
LCG: Lost Cities of Golarion
PCCS: Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting
SSAP: Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path
SS: Seekers of Secrets
This is awesome! It really helps to have this information summarized in one place.
Thank you very much.
-- C.
This is relevant to my interests.
Dotted
This deserves to be applauded. Super awesome, sir.
I DEEM THIS POST ALSO INCREDIBLE!
Agreed! Excellent research! Will comment more later.
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There's a good bit of information in the free module "Revenge of the Kobold King"
-The Azlanti had crypts as far inland as present-day's Falcon's Hollow
-These crypts were marked by massive stone calenders (some of which ceased to function on the date of Aroden's death)
-The prince entombed in this crypt held a scepter (rod of lesser empower metamagic) and a stone tablet with the words "Zelfin Cova"
-The Azlanti has magically created huge vermin called Chariot Beetles:
"These mighty beetles once served the Azlanti war machine. They darkened the skies on their now-withered vestigial wings with a dozen war wizards on their back. These powerful specimens possessed strange abilities that allowed them to deflect magic with ease and hurl down eldritch fire to reduce enemies to ash. After thousands of years without purpose and their masters long dead, these beetles have degenerated to barely remarkable vermin, whose once army-blasting carapace now merely sparkles weakly to befuddle the minds of those nearby. They bury nearly every creature they meet, sending their victims to join their Azlanti masters below the ground."
I wonder if that "below the ground" bit refers to the morlocks?
-A minor artifact, the Azlanti Sealstone, granted passage past Azlanti wards and guardians, and alien insight into all kinds of lore (all the knowledge checks). Under Destruction, the following is noted: "If there is an easy way to destroy an Azlanti artifact, it has long since been forgotten."
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This thread is perfect Thank you. I'm going through making alterations for our version of Saventh-Yhi now and it is going to be very helpful. Here are a couple of other details.
-The Azlanti had developed stasis fields for holding people in suspended animation.
-They also had developed advanced cold iron golems for fighting the demonic minions of Angazhan in the Mwangi Expanse. The Azlanti designed them to be operated from afar. Something like a magic jar effect.
PFS Scenario 2-02 Rescue at Azlant Ridge
Dotting, this is also very helpful and awesome. Thanks!
Haha, totally dotting. Thanks. :p
Dotting
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Love. This. Thread.
:D
Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman
"Bringing Big D**n Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"
Fantastic, thanks for compiling this!
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Thanks to Christmas money and the local bookstores, it's addendum time.
Addendum:
The Azlanti People
—Emperor Xin and the Runelords of Thassilon were ethnically Azlanti. (ISM)
—Azlanti refugees may have been some of the first humans to settle in Tian Xia. (DEG)
—One theory states that a vast number of Azlanti slain during Earthfall were reincarnated on the opposite side of the world, founding Tian Xia out of the aboleths' scope of influence. (DEG)
Azlanti Culture/Relations
—According to legend, Azlant may have been taught agriculture by the coatl, and Aroden was assisted by couatl after his ascension. (MMR)
Azlanti Architecture
—Hollow Mountain, formerly the capital of Bakrakhan, Thassilon, has one of its deepest levels, the 'Castle of Night', an underground fortress, built as a “mockery of Azlant's archiecture” by the pre-Earthfall nascent demon lord Yamasoth. (DG)
—Nesh, Zura's realm in the Abyss, contains numerous “crumbling castes of Azlanti architecture”. (GB)
Azlanti Magic/Studies/Technology
—Metamagic was in use during the height of Azlant, if not before. (ISM)
—The concept of wizardly school specializations dates back to Azlant, if not before. (SM)
—The Azlanti Cube, thought to be an early cube of force predating their “invention” by Nex, was recovered from the ruins of Azlant and contains writing in a pidgin of Azlanti and Thassilonian. (CTR)
—Figurines of wondrous power predated Azlant and Thassilon, and scholars think some Azlanti figurines might still exist, based on finding Thassilonian examples. (CTR)
—Bulettes were magically engineered by the Azlanti at the start of the Age of Omens[sic]* as guardian beasts, also seeing use in Thassilon, Jistka, and Ancient Osirion. (DDR)
Known Azlanti Sites/Ruins
—Azlanti ruins exist within the Echo Wood, in the far northwest corner of the River Kingdoms; they are nominally claimed by the Protectorate of the Black Marquis. (GRK)
CTR: Classic Treasures Revisited
DDR: Dungeon Denizens Revisited
DEG: Dragon Empires Gazetteer
DG: Dungeons of Golarion
GB: Great Beyond: A Guide to the Multiverse
GRK: Guide to the River Kingdoms
ISM: Inner Sea Magic
MMR: Mythical Monsters Revisited
*You've got me as to what this refers. Possibly should have been the Age of Legend (p. 33 ISWG).
Does anyone know if the Azlanti were particularly long-lived compared to other human ethnicities? Aroden was obviously a special case, and the longevity of Xin and the Runelords could be explained as a result of their arcane mastery, but I feel like as the 'high men (and women)' of Golarion, they should have the extended lifespan that that trope tends to imply. But maybe I'm assuming/imposing too much of a Dúnedain allegory.
dot for awesomeness
Wow, this is incredibly helpful. Thank you for taking the time and effort to do this.
I think they also caused the moonscar while trying to terraform it.
The Azlant-era bas-relief in the dungeon under Windsong Abbey prophecies the fall of Azlant, the subsequent birth of Aroden, his ascension to godhood, and his death and the end of prophecy itself.
The Azlant-era bas-relief in the dungeon under Windsong Abbey prophecies the fall of Azlant, the subsequent birth of Aroden, his ascension to godhood, and his death and the end of prophecy itself.
What is the product source for this? Thanks.
Publisher, Chief Creative Officer
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This is a great thread.
My Emerald Spire level will add some interesting information to this thread, that's for sure.
And the Last Azanti thing in the Thornkeep level is an indirect reference to a major Aroden thread in my personal Kings of Absalom campaign, which I hope to publish some day. Lots of stuff in there about Aroden, his role in the final days of the Empire, his magic sword, and other interesting bits, including magical "flashback" scenes that take place during the era of Old Azlant itself.
Very interesting. Seems that like most ancient civilizations, they had a lot going for them.
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When the next addendum comes around, you're going to find Dead Heart of Xin is a goldmine of information on the Azlanti. With every new Azlant-themed piece I write, I not only get to introduce new concepts of old broken Azlanti technology, but show previously-introduced arcanotech and magic that was previously in disrepair working like it should. ;-)
This is a great thread.
My Emerald Spire level will add some interesting information to this thread, that's for sure.
And the Last Azanti thing in the Thornkeep level is an indirect reference to a major Aroden thread in my personal Kings of Absalom campaign, which I hope to publish some day. Lots of stuff in there about Aroden, his role in the final days of the Empire, his magic sword, and other interesting bits, including magical "flashback" scenes that take place during the era of Old Azlant itself.
Wait, Aroden had a role in the final days of the Empire? Hasn't it been said that he was born long after its fall?
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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When the next addendum comes around, you're going to find Dead Heart of Xin is a goldmine of information on the Azlanti. With every new Azlant-themed piece I write, I not only get to introduce new concepts of old broken Azlanti technology, but show previously-introduced arcanotech and magic that was previously in disrepair working like it should. ;-)
Well with the proverbial damn being broken with DSP in Dragon's Demand, now you just need to slip some pact magic into something Azlanti and make me a happy Hermit. :-)
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Publisher, Chief Creative Officer
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Wait, Aroden had a role in the final days of the Empire? Hasn't it been said that he was born long after its fall?
Absolutely not. Not unless someone made a terrible mistake, anyway.
It's not unreasonable to assume that he was born way after the fall of the empire, as he is allegedly the last pureblood Azlant, but in fact he was effectively immortal and then became an even more immortal god, so he definitely was around during the fall of the empire, and has been since the day I made him up.
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Wait, Aroden had a role in the final days of the Empire? Hasn't it been said that he was born long after its fall?Absolutely not. Not unless someone made a terrible mistake, anyway.
It's not unreasonable to assume that he was born way after the fall of the empire, as he is allegedly the last pureblood Azlant, but in fact he was effectively immortal and then became an even more immortal god, so he definitely was around during the fall of the empire, and has been since the day I made him up.
Sooo... what you're saying is that you're the guy who's arm we have to twist to find out how Aroden died?
J/K :P
Interesting. If Aroden was around during Earthfall, where did he go afterwards? Old Mage Jatembe reinvented wizardry without Azlanti help, so odds are good Aroden was NOT in Avistan or Garund making himself useful.
Did he go elsewhere in the world? Did he leave it entirely to roam the stars and the outer planes?
The timeline in the Inner Sea World Guide mentions Aroden for the first time when he raises the Starstone, nearly 5,300 years after Earthfall. Just where had he gone and been doing for the millennia between those two events?
Don't expect any of that will get answered, but felt like asking it.
Daviot, this is a pretty cool thread.
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Interesting. If Aroden was around during Earthfall, where did he go afterwards? Old Mage Jatembe reinvented wizardry without Azlanti help, so odds are good Aroden was NOT in Avistan or Garund making himself useful.
Did he go elsewhere in the world? Did he leave it entirely to roam the stars and the outer planes?
That's an interesting question.
As something of the 'god of the Azlanti,' perhaps, just as the death of a god can have effects on the spheres he controls (as with Aroden and prophecy), perhaps a massive disruption in the spheres of influence that in some ways define a god can have detrimental effects on the god themselves, so that the sudden and traumatic death of 99% of his race gave Aroden a spiritual / psychic shock so intense that he spent the next century or so near comatose?
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This is a great thread.
My Emerald Spire level will add some interesting information to this thread, that's for sure.
And the Last Azanti thing in the Thornkeep level is an indirect reference to a major Aroden thread in my personal Kings of Absalom campaign, which I hope to publish some day. Lots of stuff in there about Aroden, his role in the final days of the Empire, his magic sword, and other interesting bits, including magical "flashback" scenes that take place during the era of Old Azlant itself.
Take my money.
No, seriously Erik. Publish this and take my money. This sounds like an awesome idea for an adventure path.
Oh man, you could even work the "flashback" scenes into it as a quasi-time travel subplot. Like, have every player make two characters for the adventure path. One for present day, and one for the past. Like ancestors and descendants or something. At various times you'd switch characters and play "scenes from the past" that the modern day characters were psychically/magically witnessing and learning from to unravel the modern day plot-line.
By limiting the historical action to just a specific scene here and there ("snapshots in their lives") you'd avoid the risk of Hitler killing paradox, but depending on how the "past" characters do in their scenes could affect how the "modern" day side of the adventure plays out. Maybe have an adventure take place in a single dungeon in two different time periods. First the players go through the dungeon in the past and defeat the evil monster inside. Then the modern day pathfinders go through it again, fighting the new monsters that inhabit it, and can see the fallout from before (ancient traps that may or may not have sprung, undead remains of previously killed enemies, etc).
Just think of the ink you'd save by reusing maps!
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That's an interesting question.
As something of the 'god of the Azlanti,' perhaps, just as the death of a god can have effects on the spheres he controls (as with Aroden and prophecy), perhaps a massive disruption in the spheres of influence that in some ways define a god can have detrimental effects on the god themselves, so that the sudden and traumatic death of 99% of his race gave Aroden a spiritual / psychic shock so intense that he spent the next century or so near comatose?
My impression was that Aroden didn't become a "god" until well after Earthfall. That raising the Starstone and founding Absalom was the final step (or part of the final step) between Aroden the demigod and Aroden the full-on god.
So before Earthfall he would have been a high level adventurer who had become immortal, but he wasn't divine (at least, no more divine than any other high level character).
Which means it's entirely possible that he WAS active during/immediately after Earthfall. Records would be so spotty that records of his activity during that time could easily have been lost/forgotten/never recorded. As well-known a figure as he is now he wouldn't necessarily have been as well-known before the whole "bringing civilization to the tribes of Taldor" thing.
Or maybe, since he was a high level adventurer (and presumably a wizard of some sort) he was off travelling the planes when Earthfall happened. He left on some high-level adventure, and when he came back the whole planet was ruined and his people were all dead by violence or old age.
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Or maybe, since he was a high level adventurer (and presumably a wizard of some sort) he was off travelling the planes when Earthfall happened. He left on some high-level adventure, and when he came back the whole planet was ruined and his people were all dead by violence or old age.
Perhaps mighty archwizard Aroden went off to create a demiplane to which many of his countrymen fled, perhaps, and they locked the door behind them so that whatever was destroying Golarion (since they were convinced that Earthfall was just the opening salvo of an impending earth-shattering kaboom) couldn't find them.
Now, off in their own demiplane, the thousands of survivors of Lost Azlant are growing ever more baroque and self-referential, like standing water, breeding reptiles of the mind. If they ever open the doors to their self-imposed prison, which they have twisted into a fantastical gilded cage, opulent and decadent in a way that only a Melnibonean would appreciate, they may not only not recognize Golarion, they may find themselves needing to violently correct all that they see has gone so terribly wrong in their absence...