I may be a complete idiot, and or I might just be a GM that needs everything written somewhere, but after a brief search I didn't see anywhere in my Inner Sea World Guide where it mentions which direction any of the rivers flow. Is this something I am assumed to just know based off of my general knowledge of geography? If so, my general knowledge of geography tells me that most rivers flow in a generally southerly direction (with exceptions of course). My general knowledge also, though, tells me that most rivers flow out of the mountains and into larger bodies of water or just dwindle into marshland. For waterborne vehicle encounters the general flow/current of the river will have an effect on the speed of a vehicle. Which makes it kind of important for a GM to know in which direction, and approximately how fast, a river flows. Is there any source that talks about currents of the various rivers of the Inner Sea region?
Also, just because it felt appropriate:
Round the world and home again
That's the sailor's way
Faster faster, faster fasterThere's no earthly way of knowing
Which direction we are going
There's no knowing where we're rowing
Or which way the river's flowingIs it raining, is it snowing
Is a hurricane a-blowingNot a speck of light is showing
So the danger must be growing
Are the fires of Hell a-glowing
Is the grisly reaper mowingYes, the danger must be growing
For the rowers keep on rowing
And they're certainly not showing
Any signs that they are slowing
Generally, rivers flow down and away from mountains into larger bodies of water—find the river's start in a mountain region, then figure out the shortest distance to an ocean or lake. :)
my general knowledge of geography tells me that most rivers flow in a generally southerly direction (with exceptions of course).
Where on earth did you get that idea?
Currents are caused by Gravity with some small effect from tides that can show in deltas and the mouth of big rivers. If you are near the Mississipi most rivers will tend to flow south towards the gulf of Mexico but if you are on the East coast the rivers will flow east towards the Atlantic
Gauging by the three responses I've received so far, I would say that my assumption that I, as the GM, am to just decide in which direction the rivers flow, and decide their current speed for myself, was correct then. That is good to know, because it means I can have the rivers move as swiftly or slowly in whatever direction I choose. That makes it a lot easier.
@Lilith: I did mention that to be one of my general ideas about such things, and your support for that idea is welcomed.
@Mudfoot: I said I had a general knowledge of geography, at no point did I claim it was a substantive or even correct knowledge. I happen to live in the midwest of the United States, and around where I live all but a few rivers do flow in a generally southerly direction.
@BaronBytes: I did have the vaguest of ideas about this, but your specific lesson is welcomed, and I will incorporate that new knowledge into my decisions for rivers' flow.
Rivers flow downhill. This generally means towards the ocean. Put your finger on the river, and trace its course until it dumps into ocean; your finger has been moving downstream.
my general knowledge of geography tells me that most rivers flow in a generally southerly direction (with exceptions of course).Where on earth did you get that idea?
I always was instructed that most rivers in the US flow south to some degree, whether southeast, southwest, or just directly south. That's probably why he's thinking most rivers generally flow south too.
I live on the Kanawha River in Charleston, West Virginia. It flows northwest to the Ohio River, which then flows southwest to the Mississippi. But in school we did learn that the Kanawha River was an exception to the "most US rivers flow south" assumption. It is only "most," after all.
However, that "most US rivers flow south" assumption doesn't extend to rivers outside of the US so much. The Nile, for example, also flows north.
I doubt most rivers flow south in Golarion though. I'd go with smaller bodies of water flow downhill into larger bodies of water, regardless of direction.
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The new Osirion book gives a decent amount of info on the major rivers there.
The Asp River flows North into the River Sphinx.
The Crook River flows Northeast into the River Sphinx. It varies. It is safe to cross near Ipeq, but there's other parts with rapids.
The River Sphinx is slow and flows North; it gets even slower close to the ocean.
The Scarab River flows West into the Junira. It is fast.
The book (so far as I can tell) doesn't explicitly say what direction the Junira River moves in, but given the position of the mountains and that the Scarab flows into it, I'm nearly positive it's moving North.