First of all, yes I intentionally put this in this forum, because what prompted this question is...
So, that said I wanted to see how others view Earth within the Pathfinder campaign setting. Are dwarves and such among us and we just don't know it (Is Verne Troyer really a halfling or maybe a gnome?) or did they all leave in the past... or are they died out... were they never here?
When you see a gorgeous woman with her hair dyed blue... how do you really know it's dyed, and not her natural hair color since she's a Musetouched aasimar? Do we just assume it's dyed because humans don't have blue hair and she is obviously human?
The way I see it I think is that they are here... but magic and such is so rare nowadays that we don't really see them beyond just being humans and the few that know they are not human generally keep that to themselves. So maybe Verne Troyer IS a gnome. Witchcraft and such really does work, for those that truly believe (and let's face it... most of us as much as we want to, we really don't)
Just realized I got the year wrong in my spoiler and it's too late to correct it. :(
First of all, yes I intentionally put this in this forum, because what prompted this question is...
** spoiler omitted **
So, that said I wanted to see how others view Earth within the Pathfinder campaign setting. Are dwarves and such among us and we just don't know it (Is Verne Troyer really a halfling or maybe a gnome?) or did they all leave in the past... or are they died out... were they never here?
When you see a gorgeous woman with her hair dyed blue... how do you really know it's dyed, and not her natural hair color since she's a Musetouched aasimar? Do we just assume it's dyed because humans don't have blue hair and she is obviously human?
The way I see it I think is that they are here... but magic and such is so rare nowadays that we don't really see them beyond just being humans and the few that know they are not human generally keep that to themselves. So maybe Verne Troyer IS a gnome. Witchcraft and such really does work, for those that truly believe (and let's face it... most of us as much as we want to, we really don't)
My guess/preference is that they died out, although perhaps a few vestiges remain in hidden parts of the planet. Fits in well if Pathfinder is actually PulpEarth. Lost races were a major element of fiction in early pulps
Yeah, or maybe like a Shadowrun thing would work. As the magic died, they all became essentially human except for those few vestiges (Like Harlequin in Shadowrun is an ancient immortal elf, not a 'goblinized' human)
I'm inclined to believe that Pathfinder Earth has a lot of fantastic elements, like an underground world filled with dinosaurs. If Dwarves are on Earth, they are deep underground. Elves? Well, considering Elves aren't even native to Golarion, I can see them not being on earth, either.
Meh. It be kinda weird if there were elves and dwarves on Earth.
If there's already dwarves and elves on another human planet that's way cooler than Golarion
I like that idea that Patfhinder Earth has mythological creatures still around, and they do. But elves and dwarves, or any of the other core races? Meh.
I think I've met a few people with some ogre blood in them.
Yeah, Dalsland can be a bit rough. Plenty of trolls in the forests, too.
As for elves and dwarves on earth, I'm just gonna mention that I live a 40-minute drive from Alvhem (Elfhome).
As this would be a fantastical Earth, and more specifically the whole reign of winter has a lot of Slavic mythology elements, feel free to crib from that. Maybe a few of the soldiers being surprised that the legends are real, some not caring, some disbelieving that you are not-human. Of course it could be also that an Aasamir might be viewed as an angel sent from Heaven by God, or that you are demons from hell.
As for magic, the late Victorian age actually was a height for occult groups, this is when the famous order of the golden dawn existed. Perhaps the clerics are viewed as holy mystics of God.
The 'modern age is a fallen one' schtick seems like it would be a good one to go with. The Egyptian/Osirian pantheon went between the two worlds, so other outsiders and magic might have as well. Part of the reason it's avoided in current times might be due to the downstairs neighbor- I think it's been confirmed that in Golarion-verse R'lyeh exists on Earth.
You could even have a Hyborian Age-type mythical prehistory from before magic faded/left/was broken, and there could be a lot of plot wrung from a campaign of figuring out why it did.
Edit: Poked around the wiki and found that it's been stated outright:
Magic was once as prevalent on Earth as it is on Golarion, but as time wore on magic and mysticism were replaced by science and technology, and now magical creatures have all but disappeared from the world and the existence of the supernatural is known to only a few mystics. ... A few magical creatures such as fey still exist on Earth, but are largely forgotten
So there's that.
