If memory serves, there's one for Ptolus in The Great Beyond, and in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting, there's the infamous Ghostbusters reference.
And it's also pretty clear that Akiton the Red and Castrovel the Green are heavily influenced by pulp-era literary depictions of Mars and Venus.
If memory serves, there's one for Ptolus in The Great Beyond
There is?
The Caves of Chaos from B2 Keep on the Borderlands is near the Worldwound. This is fairly explicit in the PFCS (in a roundabout way, p151) but was excised from the ISWG.
What ghostbusters reference?
If memory serves, there's one for Ptolus in The Great BeyondThere is?
Having checked... memory didn't serve. Darn. Maybe the PCCS? It was a mention of a hall with solars chained to something...? Did I dream this?
There is also the "infamous" Skull Island reference in "Seven Days to the Grave."
A very few orc tribes worship a "one-eyed god."
Having checked... memory didn't serve. Darn. Maybe the PCCS? It was a mention of a hall with solars chained to something...? Did I dream this?If memory serves, there's one for Ptolus in The Great BeyondThere is?
There was a location with a bunch of crucified/hung from the walls celestials in BotD III. Was that what you're thinking of?
If that's similar to something in Ptolus, it wasn't intentional. I've never actually read Ptolus, so it'd be difficult for me to give it an easter egg. ;)
Having checked... memory didn't serve. Darn. Maybe the PCCS? It was a mention of a hall with solars chained to something...? Did I dream this?If memory serves, there's one for Ptolus in The Great BeyondThere is?There was a location with a bunch of crucified/hung from the walls celestials in BotD III. Was that what you're thinking of?
If that's similar to something in Ptolus, it wasn't intentional. I've never actually read Ptolus, so it'd be difficult for me to give it an easter egg. ;)
Found it! In the Bestiary, as it turns out, so not quite a Golarion-specific easter egg: "On one world, a group of solars patrols the energy conduits of the sun, alert for any attempts by evil races such as drow to snuff out the light and bring eternal darkness. On another, seven solars stand watch over seven mystical chains keeping evil gods bound within a prison demiplane."
The bolded part being the Ptolus-reference (which is followed by a reference to the Angel with the Flaming Sword from the Bible).
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What ghostbusters reference?Google search reveals that there's a reference to a Slohr, as in "many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of a Slohr that day, I can tell you." I don't know where the reference is, though - I just read that book and didn't catch it.
Found it. It's on page 202 - the timeline mentions that the Arthfell Forest was trampled by a Slohr.
One of my favorite easter eggs was the Mask of the Red Death reference in Seven Days to the Grave. Then there is the reference to Nicholas Flamel in Seven Swords of Sin. It's one of the things I like most about Paizo and Pathfinder is they draw from history and culture to make the world of Golarion come alive.
This wasn't a reference to other campaigns, but in the GameMastery Guide, there's a shout-out to the 1st-edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide that I noticed.
Specifically, in the NPC Gallery-- Prostitute flavor text, there's a direct reference to the "Random Harlot Table" from that venerable book. (Yes, the 1st-edition DMG had a random harlot table.)
Kingmaker is filled with loads of references to Keep on the Borderlands, but I don't want to spoil it for those playing.
And in Council of Thieves, one of the thieves' guilds draws on a Fritz Lieberman Lankmar story.
Kingmaker is filled with loads of references to Keep on the Borderlands, but I don't want to spoil it for those playing.
And in Council of Thieves, one of the thieves' guilds draws on a Fritz Lieberman Lankmar story.
Please, spoil it, just put it in a spoiler tab...
There are a few easter eggs to the works of Clark Ashton Smith in The Great Beyond.
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Curse of the Crimson Throne:
Escape from Old Korvosa/Escape from New York
Skeletons of Scarwall's introduction opens with a famous quote from Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest.
I've heard tell that one NPC's character art from Legacy of Fire is basically an old man with the famous awesome-emoticon expression.
Halflings of Golarion literally has a halfling Dio.
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And speaking of Legacy of Fire - let's not forget the homage to Gary Teter's late cat.
The whole Baba Yaga thing is not only a reference to the Russian fairy tale, but also ties Golarion to the Forgotten Realms. That old hag has been very busy.
There's an homage or two in The Impossible Eye.
Could you be a bit more specific?
The entire Silver Mount area of Numeria is a reference to the old adventure Expedition to the Barrier Peaks , which was a vessel to sell the TSR game that would later be known as Gamma World.
Absalom and the Eye of Abendego have their names drawn from the Bible.
Abendego is neither spelled nor pronounced the same as the biblical Abednego, however. :)
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now. The real-world Nishapur is correct, as are the two Bible references you mention (though I changed the name of Abednego because I thought it sounded cooler and I didn't want a direct reference to the whole Shadrach/furnace thing for the hurricane.
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Absalom and the Eye of Abendego have their names drawn from the Bible.Abendego is neither spelled nor pronounced the same as the biblical Abednego, however. :)
Not to the Biblical Abednego, no, but to the commonly used pseudo-Biblical Abendego, referring to the same companion of Shadrach and Meshach, of course.
ETA: And yes, Abendego sounds far cooler.
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now. The real-world Nishapur is correct, as are the two Bible references you mention (though I changed the name of Abednego because I thought it sounded cooler and I didn't want a direct reference to the whole Shadrach/furnace thing for the hurricane.
Does this mean that the inspiration for the name of the Pit of Gormuz was the Strait of Hormuz?
I wasn't sure about it being a reference to the earlier supplement (which was 3rd party). I can't remember if I happen to have a copy or not; I'll have to check my library.
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now.The actual d20 product is Blood Reign of Nishanpur, a 3.0 adventure for the Arcanis campaign setting by Paradigm Concepts. The city name is likely based on the same Biblical reference.
Aha, right, thank you Alzirus! Now I remember. Nishanpur was the capital of Carceri, an evil kingdom that has elements that were kind of like Nidal or Cheliax--not that I feel that it was the precursor to those Golarion nations, there are plenty of differences. I remember speaking to them about reskinning the Master of Chains prestige class to a group of elite warriors for the nation called the Catenari.
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4, Legendary Games
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now. The real-world Nishapur is correct, as are the two Bible references you mention (though I changed the name of Abednego because I thought it sounded cooler and I didn't want a direct reference to the whole Shadrach/furnace thing for the hurricane.
Amusing Bible trivia:
The "fiery furnace" pericope is in the book of Daniel, as the 3 guys were youths in Chaldean Babylon along with Daniel himself. However, we still in common culture remember Daniel by his Hebrew name (rather than his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar), but the three boys by their Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (rather than their Hebrew names of Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael).
Then again, using the Babylonian names facilitates one of the oldest puns in the black Baptist denomination (certainly in my experience in it dating back to the 80s), talking about the story of "Shadrach, Meshach, and a bad negro." :) I've probably heard 10 different preachers use that joke, and it always brings a laugh, groan, or both from the congregation.
This brings up an interesting question: to what, in the Golarion context, does "Abendego" refer? Who or what was it, and why is the storm named for its eye?
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The entire Silver Mount area of Numeria is a reference to the old adventure Expedition to the Barrier Peaks , which was a vessel to sell the TSR game that would later be known as Gamma World.
Ummm....
Not exactly. "Expedition to the Barrier Peaks" was directly a link between D&D and the TSR game "Metamorphosis Alpha", and it is through "Metamorphosis Alpha" that the link extends to "Gamma World".
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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Amusing Bible trivia:
The "fiery furnace" pericope is in the book of Daniel, as the 3 guys were youths in Chaldean Babylon along with Daniel himself. However, we still in common culture remember Daniel by his Hebrew name (rather than his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar), but the three boys by their Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (rather than their Hebrew names of Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael).
Then again, using the Babylonian names facilitates one of the oldest puns in the black Baptist denomination (certainly in my experience in it dating back to the 80s), talking about the story of "Shadrach, Meshach, and a bad negro." :) I've probably heard 10 different preachers use that joke, and it always brings a laugh, groan, or both from the congregation.
Hmm, something I'll have to remember to torment my sister on (Masters of Theology). Is Belteshazzar where we get Belthezar from, or is that a different origin?
Found it! In the Bestiary, as it turns out, so not quite a Golarion-specific easter egg: "On one world, a group of solars patrols the energy conduits of the sun, alert for any attempts by evil races such as drow to snuff out the light and bring eternal darkness.
OCC:
Why is everyone again me showing up anywhere? I'm heart brokent. And I have solars looking for me too.
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Hmm, something I'll have to remember to torment my sister on (Masters of Theology). Is Belteshazzar where we get Belthezar from, or is that a different origin?
Not quite.
Belteshazzar is a name referring to a prince Bel, or "Bel protect the king." Balthazar comes from the Babylonian king Belshazzar, and that name means "Baal protect the king." Bel and Baal were Babylonian deities, with Bel being older, kind of a sun god alongside Marduk, and Baal starting out having a tradition as a ruler-god throughout the Fertile Crescent, but eventually rejected by Judaism, and turned into an adversary, with the name used in devils like Belial and Baalzebul.
Incidentally, King Belshazzar is in the Book of Daniel, and is the king that witnesses the Writing on the Wall.
Balthazar is also the name of one of the three magi who visited the infant jesus in the gospel of Matthew.
Traditionally. The Bible not only doesn't name them but doesn't give a number. They just brought three gifts so people decided there must have been three of them.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now. The real-world Nishapur is correct, as are the two Bible references you mention (though I changed the name of Abednego because I thought it sounded cooler and I didn't want a direct reference to the whole Shadrach/furnace thing for the hurricane.Does this mean that the inspiration for the name of the Pit of Gormuz was the Strait of Hormuz?
I wasn't sure about it being a reference to the earlier supplement (which was 3rd party). I can't remember if I happen to have a copy or not; I'll have to check my library.
Yes, probably, though in this case I think the influence may have been subliminal.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Ninshabur has nothing to do with "Blood City of Nishanbur," which I'd never heard of until now.The actual d20 product is Blood Reign of Nishanpur, a 3.0 adventure for the Arcanis campaign setting by Paradigm Concepts. The city name is likely based on the same Biblical reference.
Yeah, it occurred to me last night after posting that I actually HAD heard of this product (and likely mentioned it in Polyhedron news round-ups when it came out), but it was not a direct influence upon the nation in Golarion.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Hmm, something I'll have to remember to torment my sister on (Masters of Theology). Is Belteshazzar where we get Belthezar from, or is that a different origin?Not quite.
Belteshazzar is a name referring to a prince Bel, or "Bel protect the king." Balthazar comes from the Babylonian king Belshazzar, and that name means "Baal protect the king." Bel and Baal were Babylonian deities, with Bel being older, kind of a sun god alongside Marduk, and Baal starting out having a tradition as a ruler-god throughout the Fertile Crescent, but eventually rejected by Judaism, and turned into an adversary, with the name used in devils like Belial and Baalzebul.
Incidentally, King Belshazzar is in the Book of Daniel, and is the king that witnesses the Writing on the Wall.
Isn't one of the Three Magi named Balthazaar?
Anyway, Marduk is a god in D&D (and the arch-enemy of the Chromatic Dragon Tiamat), and Bel is a pit fiend in charge of the first layer of Hell.
The early AD&D guys were all over their ancient religion sourcebooks.
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Balthazar is also the name of one of the three magi who visited the infant jesus in the gospel of Matthew.Traditionally. The Bible not only doesn't name them but doesn't give a number. They just brought three gifts so people decided there must have been three of them.
According to Wikipedia, Balthasar was King of Arabia, and his name seems to be traced to a Greek manuscript about 500 AD.
It's really amusing to me how much of "Biblical" (meaning explicitly non-Biblical) history and facts in truth come from what amounts to early fan fiction.