Mr. Quick |
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with the new AP Skull and Shackles coming out, i've been reading up on the places near where the AP will presumably take place. And one of the most striking features of that area of the world is, of course, the Eye of Abendego.
what I think I know about the Eye - it formed at the same time Aroden died. it's a permanent storm. nobody's been to the center of the storm, or if they have they kept quiet about it. there's rumors of at least one ship found floating out of the Eye intact but missing it's crew, and the ship being relatively pristine despite being almost a century old.
questions:
*why* did the Eye form? was something in that area intimately connected to Aroden? or was Aroden himself in that area when he died? If the Eye formed when Aroden died, maybe it formed around the place where he died as well...if so, could the Eye be protecting Aroden's corpse?
what was in the center of the Eye before that storm kicked off? What was known about the history of that place prior to Aroden's death?
suppositions:
somehow and for some reason, the Eye is connected to Aroden. either he died there or something intimately connected to him is at the center of the storm, with the storm forming a barrier around it once Aroden died. possible temporal anomolies could be at the center of the Eye, perhaps the center of the storm is a portal to a demi-plane. it seems unlikely that there is any active intelligence behind the Eye of Abendego, which rules out any sort of conspiracy or plot...meaning that if someone could penetrate into the center of that storm, they could plunder its' treasures without consequences (or less consequnces than would be the norm anyways).
thoughts? comments? suggestions?
Martiln |
4 people marked this as a favorite. |
with the new AP Skull and Shackles coming out, i've been reading up on the places near where the AP will presumably take place. And one of the most striking features of that area of the world is, of course, the Eye of Abendego.
what I think I know about the Eye - it formed at the same time Aroden died. it's a permanent storm. nobody's been to the center of the storm, or if they have they kept quiet about it. there's rumors of at least one ship found floating out of the Eye intact but missing it's crew, and the ship being relatively pristine despite being almost a century old.
questions:
*why* did the Eye form? was something in that area intimately connected to Aroden? or was Aroden himself in that area when he died? If the Eye formed when Aroden died, maybe it formed around the place where he died as well...if so, could the Eye be protecting Aroden's corpse?
what was in the center of the Eye before that storm kicked off? What was known about the history of that place prior to Aroden's death?
suppositions:
somehow and for some reason, the Eye is connected to Aroden. either he died there or something intimately connected to him is at the center of the storm, with the storm forming a barrier around it once Aroden died. possible temporal anomolies could be at the center of the Eye, perhaps the center of the storm is a portal to a demi-plane. it seems unlikely that there is any active intelligence behind the Eye of Abendego, which rules out any sort of conspiracy or plot...meaning that if someone could penetrate into the center of that storm, they could plunder its' treasures without consequences (or less consequnces than would be the norm anyways).
thoughts? comments? suggestions?
It's all speculation on anyone's part except for the Devs. Most scholars in Golarion however, believe that Aroden's death is part of what caused the Eye to form/the Worldwound to open.
I'm pretty sure the idea is to give GMs incentive to run an adventure based on the 2 events, and maybe come up with something himself!Nix Tharel |
I think this might be something that Paizo may not want to take a stance on, as to give that power to the GM's. Aroden's death is the ultimate mystery for the Inner Sea Region. It is a very powerful thing to disclose, as it strips the ability for GM's to adapt the world to their own group.
I assume Paizo will suggest some possible ideas to GM's in the final installment of the Skull and Shackles adventure path for things to do after the Adventure Path is completed. It is possible something regarding the Eye may be mentioned.
It might have been mentioned in a Gen Con talk about the Secrets of Golarion, but I can't recall offhand. You can find a audio copy in the Chronicles Podcast.
http://www.pathfinder-podcast.com/?p=245
Nix Tharel |
It's possible that even the developers don't actually know what happened to Aroden.
If I remember what I heard correctly, they have some idea internally, but don't want to define it, and thereby force it upon others.
I think this is a good thing. As the "highest" mystery in the land, many home made epic (as in narrative) campaigns may focus upon this eventually. It gives the GM room to tell their own story.
Mr. Quick |
FallofCamelot wrote:It's possible that even the developers don't actually know what happened to Aroden.If I remember what I heard correctly, they have some idea internally, but don't want to define it, and thereby force it upon others.
I think this is a good thing. As the "highest" mystery in the land, many home made epic (as in narrative) campaigns may focus upon this eventually. It gives the GM room to tell their own story.
that's all well and good...but if you'll note, I didn't ask what killed Aroden. I asked why the Eye of Abendego formed at the exact moment Aroden died. the question of what killed Aroden isn't necessarily tangental to the reasons the Eye formed in the first place.
what IS relevent is that the Eye seems to have some sort of link to Aroden. But *why* does it have a link to Aroden? it's not like the center of that spot of ocean was previously linked to Aroden after all. what makes THAT particular spot of Golarion so special?
Cthulhudrew |
It's possible that even the developers don't actually know what happened to Aroden.
In a recent chat, James Jacobs said they actually do know, but are not ever going to reveal it.
[–]AlorhaAtlanta 14 points 10 days ago
What killed Aroden?
[–]JamesJacobsCreative Director 16 points 10 days ago
There are very few world secrets that we not only aren't planning to reveal any time soon, but are actively planning to NEVER NEVER EVER reveal ANYTIME.
This is one of those few secrets.
[–]l33tmachine 4 points 10 days ago
But, you know, right?
Need to find a mindreader...
[–]JamesJacobsCreative Director 14 points 10 days ago
I actually do know. Because even if we never say, we talk about repercussions and those repercussions need to logically flow together... which they can only do if I know what happened.
Mind reading is one way to find out, I suppose.
Nix Tharel |
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If you never say what happened to Aroden, or even provide sufficient clues to guess, how is that distinguishable from you not knowing what happened to him?
Have you ever seen a series which has very good subplots, leaving some things unsaid but with hints everywhere? And then one day, a (presumably new) writer interjects something which is completely contrary to the previously provided details?
Upholding the internal consistency of the story is what separates great works from good works. As Mr. Jacobs knows what is going on, he knows what minor details other writers might create that should be rejected from becoming canon.
Edit: Also read Cthulhudrew's post, Mr. Jacob touches upon his purpose there.
As for clues, there are many. It would be a poor mystery without clues.
James Jacobs Creative Director |
7 people marked this as a favorite. |
uriel222 wrote:If you never say what happened to Aroden, or even provide sufficient clues to guess, how is that distinguishable from you not knowing what happened to him?Have you ever seen a series which has very good subplots, leaving some things unsaid but with hints everywhere? And then one day, a (presumably new) writer interjects something which is completely contrary to the previously provided details?
Upholding the internal consistency of the story is what separates great works from good works. As Mr. Jacobs knows what is going on, he knows what minor details other writers might create that should be rejected from becoming canon.
Edit: Also read Cthulhudrew's post, Mr. Jacob touches upon his purpose there.
As for clues, there are many. It would be a poor mystery without clues.
Correct.
There's a pretty huge difference between not knowing a secret and knowing one. In that if I know what the secret is, I can talk about and present ramifications of that condition so that if, some day, we DO decide to reveal it, it'll all make sense and folks will say, "OH! That's why that was that and why that happened!" rather than "Huh... that seems random and out of the blue."
That does means there are hints, and that does mean that if someone finds them all they might be able to figure it out... I'm actually not sure there's enough hints in print already to figure it out yet, and if someone does, I'm not gonna say whether or not they're right... but there IS a plan and a reason going on behind the scenes.
Mr. Quick |
FallofCamelot wrote:It's possible that even the developers don't actually know what happened to Aroden.Actaully... I do know what happened to him.
Whether or not Aroden is connected to the Eye of Abendego, though... that's one of those mysteries we're deliberately leaving a mystery.
now you have me wondering what ELSE happened/was happening at the time Aroden died. the setting book(s) certianly imply rather heavily that the Eye was formed as a direct result of the death of Aroden...but then again, that's implication only. perhaps intentinally so? metagaming aside, that opens up a few possiblities. such as...maybe someone/something wanted people to believe that the formation of the Eye was somehow related to Aroden's death.
Or the Eye could have just been a massive side effect. that still leaves open the question of why THAT particular side effect in THAT particular place...
hmm. I shall continue to ponder this awhile. what the hell...i'm stuck here at work 'till midnight and don't have anything else to do anyways.
Mr. Quick |
Mr. Quick wrote:now you have me wondering what ELSE happened/was happening at the time Aroden died.Off the top of my head:
The rift to the Abyss known as the Worldwound opened up.
Imperial Lung Wa collapsed in Tian Xia.
hmm...ok, so lets assume for the moment that Aroden's death was indirectly responsible for the Eye forming. Aroden dies and it sets off a sort of super magical 'shock wave' across Golarion. Prophecy is all mucked up, dimensional balance is knocked off kilter...and the Eye is formed.
that begs the question of just what it was that keeps the Eye in place? I think something in the center of the storm keeps it anchored there. maybe a planar gate? if we assume Aroden's death triggered a series of magical events across the planet (which seems to be the case) then there must have been something in that particular area that was knocked around by the Aroden death shock wave thingie and the Eye was the result.
if its a gate to somewhere...maybe its a gate to an elemental plane (water or air most likely)? or maybe it's just a rip in dimensions...not set in one particular place, but several realities overlapping on top of one another. THAT'd be a mess.
uriel222 |
Correct.
There's a pretty huge difference between not knowing a secret and knowing one. In that if I know what the secret is, I can talk about and present ramifications of that condition so that if, some day, we DO decide to reveal it, it'll all make sense and folks will say, "OH! That's why that was that and why that happened!" rather than "Huh... that seems random and out of the blue."
That does means there are hints, and that does mean that if someone finds them all they might be able to figure it out... I'm actually not sure there's enough hints in print already to figure it out yet, and if someone does, I'm not gonna say whether or not they're right... but there IS a plan and a reason going on behind the scenes.
Ah, but there's the key point:
There is a world of difference between an intentional puzzle, whereby you deliberately place hints and clues to a definitive answer, and a secret, where you go out of your way to avoid revealing the information, and actively prevent hints from leaking into print.
Given that you have (almost) complete control over the information flow...
Stratagemini |
Hmmm... Could there be a planar gate in the center of the Eye of Abendego? That could explain the giant whirlpool, and also why it stays constant and stationary.
If that's true then Aroden's death only did 3 things. It changed planar alignments (creating the worldwound and the eye), it destroyed the capacity for Prophecy (Depending on how the mechanics of prophecy worked this could actually also be a consequence of the shift in planar balance), and it caused the collapse of Imperial Lung Wa.
So what was the direct cause of the fall of Lung Wa?
The Dread Pirate Hurley |
It's just a gut reaction, but since there's no support for either side, I doubt the Eye is tied so closely to Aroden's death as to house a planar gate of any kind.
Aroden's death was merely the ton of bricks that broke the camel's back leading to the Worldwound's formation. There was a cult devoted to Deskari (the demon who is primarily responsible for the Worldwound invasion) in Sarkoris (the place that became the Worldwound) since before Aroden was even a god. Reality was already considerably thinner than in other regions. Deskari had been trying to invade prior; Aroden's death merely provided that last bit needed to break through.
The Eye is hundreds of miles off the coast of Garund. This is a reasonable estimate, because the island of Mediogalti is very near the Eye and is said to be located 800 miles off the coast of Rahadoum (I still need to find a citation for this). It's possible that there's something related to Azlant in that part of the ocean. However, the actual continent of Azlant is still hundreds of miles beyond, into the Arcadian Ocean.
I don't know anything about Lung Wa, so I will refrain from commenting on that portion. But I have a question: why would Aroden have a tomb? The only being who we can be sure knew about his death before it happened was Pharasma. We don't know what killed him or how he died, so we can't assume it was a sentient force. We also don't know if Aroden knew he was going to die, so we can't include him. So, if Pharasma was the only person who knew Aroden was going to die, and nobody else knows where he is, why would he have a tomb? If the Eye held a portal to ANYWHERE, why hasn't Iomedae herself gone through to check it out?
One last point of speculation: why would the death of a god knock the planet off of its metaphysical alignment? The only reasons that come to my mind are related tot he struggle between good and evil. So I could understand how Aroden might have been a balancing force, so his death may have shifted the tide in favor of evil, so the literal representation of this metaphysical conflict was altered accordingly. But that leaves one interesting conundrum: Aroden was Lawful Neutral, not Lawful Good, so why was the balance shifted toward Chaotic Evil?
Stratagemini |
It may not have been. It may have been shifted towards chaotic. A great (Lawful) empire falls, a rift to The Chaotic (also evil) abyss. And the Eye of Abendego is just off the edge of the formerly great Cyclopean kingdom of Ghol-Gan. We don't know enough about Ghol-Gan yet to make an educated guess as to it's alignment, but there could be something involved there.
Aelryinth RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 |
Cpt_kirstov |
Mr. Quick wrote:now you have me wondering what ELSE happened/was happening at the time Aroden died.Off the top of my head:
The rift to the Abyss known as the Worldwound opened up.
Imperial Lung Wa collapsed in Tian Xia.
From the Wiki:
4606 AR in deitiesAroden's clerics are cut off from their god after storms wrack Golarion for three weeks on the eve of his prophesied return. The connection is never reestablished, leading most to believe that Aroden is dead.[1]
Births in 4606 AR
Alysande Benedict, who would eventually earn the name Lady Liberty, is born in Augustana.[2]
Deaths in 4606 AR
The mayor of Westcrown, Norren Betevesk, is murdered during riots.[3]
4606 AR in conflicts
Following the death of Aroden, and the loss of the Chelish Emperor's divine mandate, certain noble houses begin to compete for the crown. This leads to a civil war in Cheliax.[4][5]
The barbarian realm of Sarkoris is flooded with Abyssal energies and overrun by demons. The nation falls, and the blighted land is henceforth known as the Worldwound.[6]
4606 AR in politics
Imperial Lung Wa falls apart in Tian Xia.[7]
Lord Arbust Arbasti begins his rule of the Varisian city of Korvosa.[8]
4606 AR in environment
The death of Aroden is followed by tremendous storms across the face of Golarion.[9]
At the very moment of Aroden's death, the most powerful hurricane the world has ever known forms off the western coast of Garund. It is known as the Eye of Abendego and has yet to die down.[10]
The Eye of Abendego leads to massive storm surges which flood the low-lying land along the western coast of Garund, leading to the death of thousands.[10] This destroys the nations of Lirgen and Yamasa, creating the Sodden Lands.
Massive earthquakes rock the plains south of Mzali and destroy five cities, thus creating the Shatterfield.[11]
LazarX |
It's possible that even the developers don't actually know what happened to Aroden.
The simple answer is this. There's no reason for the Devs to give a biblical answr to that question as if it were. Most settings are like this... they feature an ongoing mystery that's never going to get an "official" answer. They make a deliberate choice to set that aside for home GM's to have fun with.
Mr. Quick |
i'm leaning more and more towards the theory that Aroden's death rattled the whole box of chocolates. so there must have been something previously existing in the area that got it's cork popped but good and whatever the hell THAT was formed the Eye of Abendego.
here's another thought...maybe the Eye is sentient. think about it. if it was formed via magical shockwave and its been around for over 100 years then maybe whatever is causing the storm could have given the storm itself some level of self awareness.
i'm not saying that the giant permanent hurricane is out there writing war and peace while solving 5th order quadratic equations...but it might have an order of intelligence all its own. possibly even thinking on a much vaster scale than mere mortals can imagine. if we're going to go with the theory of 'magical shockwave weakens dimensional barriers' then maybe the storm is actually some sort of elemental being from the fringe zones of the elemental plane of air. it's tied to that area because the dimensional barriers are weakest there and it's 'stuck'.
Stratagemini |
I'm not so big on that. Even in our own solar system we have eternal storms (Jupiter's red spot for one). So I don't think we need to jump straight to sentience. But lets see who gains from the death of Aroden. Cheliax comes under the auspices of Asmodeus. Sarkoris becomes a gate to the Abyss. Lung-Wa falls. And then there are two natural disasters both in Garund.
Can we graph the impact points? maybe they have something in common geographically?
Stratagemini |
So, the countries of Lung-Wa, Sarkoris, and Cheliax, all fall to violence, only Cheliax still exists. Then Two natural disasters happened in Garund. Aroden's death is also linked to terrible storms. it's possible that the Eye is connected that way. Aroden's tomb, or maybe he's just asleep. but where his body is, whatever state it's in.
That said, it could just be a storm. Jupiter in our own solar system has a Storm that's stronger and has gone on longer in teh form of the red Spot.
Stratagemini |
We don't know what caused him to die. We also don't know if JJ is toying with us. As far as I can tell, the most JJ's said is that he knows whether Aroden is alive or dead. We don't know one way or another, but the rest of Golarion presumes he's dead. He certainly isn't handing out spells.
Matthew Morris RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8 |
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My speculation is that Aroden committed suicide by breaking a prophesy centred on him. Something like "When Aroden returns, the age of man will usher in the great old ones to eat the world." Whatever it was, Aroden broke himself by defying his destiny. Think of the old paradox "Can G_d make a rock so big He can't lift it?" IT becomes can a god of predestination defy predestination?
As to the storm itself. It could be a coincidence, it could be the result of his death, it could be the result of whatever killed him. In my theory above it could be a side effect of breaking the prophesy. It could be his last act, or a cosmic level marker. "Ok, we're going to eat this plane- whoa, see that storm? It's a cosmic 'do not touch' sign!"
Or it could be a cosmic "Safe to eat now" sign...
SirGeshko RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32 |
Wasn't the Southern tip of Garund essentially broken apart by intense earthquakes?
Can't remember where I read it...
The aftershocks continue to make navigating down there incredibly treacherous, which is why my players had to go back up to the Inner Sea and pass through the Arch of Aroden, which I think is the only reason why Cheliax is still in business...
Mike Shel Contributor |
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The Eye of Abendego has been the source of much speculation and, in fact, led to the genesis of a new religion known as the Cult of the Eye. There's no way of knowing if this has anything to do with Aroden's death...
See Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Isles of the Shackles, pages 15, 38...
Matthew Morris RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8 |
Forgot to add, for Stargate: Golarion.
BYC |
I've always assumed that Aroden was exploring the depths of the Multiverse when something happened, and he died, release waves of divine energy. Or whatever energy that caused him to die hit Golarion at the same time that he was supposed to return.
Those energies caused lots of chaos (and furthered the chaotic agenda of whoever was furthering it, perhaps Rovagug or the Dark Tapestry), and those energies affects Golarions, weakening planar borders. This is what cause the Worldwound to open, this is what cause the Eye of Abendego to occur (it opened a very tiny crack to the elemental plane of air, in the middle of the ocean, causing a huge whirlpool and hurricane), and other events. The devils noticed the chaos, so Asmodeus authorized a "colony" of sorts in Cheliax. The devils are there to corrupt of course, as it is their nature, but their primary task is to keep an eye on the chaos and to contain it, using the most powerful human nation's resources as a forward base.
archmagi1 |
One problem I have when figuring out if its tied with the death of Aroden or not is the fact that so few deities have died in the PF cosmology. There are only a handful, so the repercussions of such events are hardly explored, if at all.
Of the 12 'dead' gods on the pathfinder wiki, only 3 gods have actually died. 5 were demon lords, 1 was a herald, and 3 faded out of worship.
Of the three who died, 1 was in fledgeling universe (Ihys), and may have been a contributing factor in creating Hell. 1 gifted his power to Desna and never died as a god (Curchanus), again in the pre-history days. And the third died, right in the middle of recent history.
To me, the craziness surrounding Aroden's death may be the de facto happenstance when a god is killed. Remember, this isn't Faerun, where gods died on a twice weekly basis. There is very little data on the side effects of such a cosmic event.
My personal theory is that the Eye is a relic left over from the destruction of Azlant that Aroden was keeping contained, and when his spirit exited the multiverse, the Eye sprang back up to finish eliminating the humans, one coastal city at a time.
Fract |
I sort of figured that the Eye was a fragment of Aroden, or some
derivative of his power, along with the Mayor of Ilizmagorti and
the Hermit of Mediogalti.
Oh, and the Tojanida seem to be attracted to the Eye, where they
wait "for something imminent and magnificent" (Misfit Monsters
Redeemed, pg. 56)