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So the Malbrache are powerful devils, each one focused on a world or plane. The first Book of the Damned says that there are 12 that are known on Golarion, 1 for each of the worlds in the solar system, including the two that became the Diaspora.
I was wondering if there was a solid list as to which Malbrache was focused on what world?
My personal take is as follows:
Alichino - Golarion, since he's known as "The jester prince of the Cage".
Barbarica - Castroval, since his description mentions a jungle.
Calcabrina - I think the "dreamy mistress of twilight" would be tied to Liavara.
Cagnazzo - I'm not sure where the Hunter of Souls would put his focus. I'm inclined to think that it is Akiton, but there's part of me that wonders if it might be Aballon instead (where biological creatures "ruin" what might be his detailed plan for conquest).
Circiatto - I'm not sure which planet the Gluttonous would be connected with. Perhaps Triaxus, where gluttony an selfishness could spell doom to future generations.
Draghignazzo - Would seem to be one of the Malbrache of one of the worlds that makes up the Diaspora, since he "sleeps amid a conquest too complete".
Farafello - Eox. There's no other planet that could be described as "a land of the dead" where his conquest has been "delayed by death, but not denied."
Grafiacane - Not sure where the swarm lord would be. Perhaps Bretheda, as it is a world where the dominant race create biological tools such as tailored viruses and other servitor creatures.
Libicoco - I think that she would consider Aballon her domain. She's focused on destruction rather than conquest, after all, and there isn't much in the way of souls for her to harvest on that planet.
Malacoda - This Malbrache has already conquered 8 worlds and has brought his conquest with him, so I'm fairly confident that Apostate is "his" world. Perhaps the generation ship was trying to escape an infernal invasion of their home world/solar system.
Rubicante - I would put the prince of rust and ruin on the "dying" world of Akiton. Alternately, he could be connected with Verces, where his influence could be behind the upheaval in places like Kashak.
Scarmiglione - He shares a realm with Draghignazzo, which would mark him as the second Malbrache of the Diaspora.
Aucturn seems to be the only planet that might not have a Malbrache. The Stranger has a lot of mystery to it, including that it might not be fully on the material plane or that it seems to be a living entity in and of itself.
Does anyone have a different reading or more solid idea of which Malbrache is connected to what planet?
Huh. This is pretty well reasoned out, and is pretty cool.
Yeah, I doubt Aucturn has a malebranche, since Aucturn probably isn't a planet. Though THAT could be where the Hunter of SOuls is located, perhaps trying to piece out how to snare the twisted soul of the living world.
Malacoda operating in the shadows of Apostate, running it as an experiment, is a neat idea.
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Alichino is confirmed for Golarion. He's got active priests / cults in Ustalav and attempting to deal with the Worldwound, and yeah, the title gives it away too.
Agreed on Barbarica, Castroval has the most notable. jungles.
Definately agreed on Farafello; Eox is the only world the delayed-by-death thing works for.
Agreed on Draghignazzo and Malacoda, what with the Diaspora making sense for the two linked ones that aren't terribly active.
Agreed on Calcabrina, given the connection between Liavara and ether/dreams. Were it not for her, I'd be putting Graffiacane on Liavara due to the swarm thing and the swarms on Nchak, but I think the dreams are a stronger connection.
Agreed on Rubicante too given how Akiton is 'dying' and essentially turning red, with Aballon being a secondary choice for him given the heat.
I previously had no strong opinion on Circiatto's location, but I like your reason for putting him on Triaxis.
This leaves me with Cagnazzo , Graffiacane, and Libicocco, as Malabranche and Aballon, Aucturn, Bretheda, and Verces as planets (one of which has no Malabranche); they're the ones I'm least certain about.
I could see Hell wanting to destroy either Aucturn (what with it being particularly hard to conquer given its living state) or Aballon (due to the general lack of souls), probably putting Libicocco one one of them. I also considered place Libicoco over on Bretheda given the constant storms and vicious winds there. Ultimately Aballon seems like the best bet to me, but neither of the other two there would massively surprise me.
Out of the remaining planets, Verces is the one out of those where 'turn friends to foes with a kiss' seems closest to appropriate, so I can see Verces for Graffiacane, but Aucturn and Bretheda fit with the 'lord of swarms' thing. Ultimately I'll lean Bretheda for him too.
That would leave Cagnazzo hunting on Aucturn or Verces. I'm putting him on Verces since Aucturn is likely the odd-one-out with the planets (not getting a Malabranche since it's a living thing instead of a planet that could get conquered by Hell in a conventional manner).
Thanks for the responses.
I can see the argument that there is a Malbranche for Aucturn, especially if it means there isn't one for Aballon. I guess it comes down to whether or not Hell takes the souls of aberrations and things from the Dark Tapestry. In which case I'd also suggest it might be Grafiacane's focus, or Libicocco's like Lord Gadigan suggests.
Lord Gadigan's musing about Libicocco got me thinking about another option. Maybe she's the Malbranche of Verces. It's a planet of two destructive extremes with a thin band of civilization, so the destruction of that life might be easier to accomplish than conquest.
It isn't my favourite theory for her, but it's definitely a possibility.
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What book(s) should one read to learn more about the other planets (and about the Malebranche)? I've been trying to get more familiar with the lore of Golarion but I'm not sure where to look. I was incredibly annoyed that the Book of the Damned described what the Malebranche are but didn't name a single one.
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The Malabranche info actually is in the Book of the Damned. The titles and flavor-info is on page 51 of the 'Peerage of Hell' section under the header 'Of the Conquering Malebranche'. Their portfolios, domains, and favored weapons are on the inside back cover.
The current go-to book for info on the other planets is Distant Worlds. It's a fantastic book (one of the best in the campaign setting line) and I thoroughly recommend it.
What book(s) should one read to learn more about the other planets (and about the Malebranche)? I've been trying to get more familiar with the lore of Golarion but I'm not sure where to look. I was incredibly annoyed that the Book of the Damned described what the Malebranche are but didn't name a single one.
I recall that several Malebranche are described in The Book of the Damned I. At the very least they are among the pseudo-deities listed on the inside back cover.
For the solar system, there is only Distant Worlds.
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The current go-to book for info on the other planets is Distant Worlds. It's a fantastic book (one of the best in the campaign setting line) and I thoroughly recommend it.
Seconded!
It's light on details, covering a whole solar system in one book, but filled with great ideas. It's the perfect jumping off point for stuff like this.
Cheers!
Kinak
I have an alternative theory about Circiatto. From the description of Qidel, Aerie of the Sun, in Distant Worlds:
"In the center of the Fullbright, a narrow spire rises from the desert...From their roost atop the spire, strange bird-creatures of shining steel sail out over the landscape in predatory packs, ruled by human-shaped overlords who fly on obviously artificial wings of a similar metal.
...
Recently, data gathered from a spacecraft flying over the spire has raised new questions, as the settlement at the spire’s peak seems to be some sort of ancient temple, and divination scans have revealed that the spire itself may be hollow, a long tube that drops below ground level into some unknown depths."
Circiatto, "the gluttonous, who devourers all that he encounters, vomiting them forth as unliving slaves" -- perhaps he's actually devouring Vercites and spitting out "unliving slaves" of steel from deep beneath Qidel?
And dot.