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I *like* that the gods of Golarion have such disparate 'origin stories,' from Starstone Scion (Iomedae, Cayden, Norgorber) to self-made-god (Irori, Urgathoa, Nethys) to ascended outsider lord (Lamashtu, Asmodeus, Sarenrae) to 'born that way' (Shelyn, Zon-Kuthon) to 'possibly primordial' (Pharasma, Rovagug) to 'nobody knows' (Abadar, Erastil). And yet, in real world pantheons, the gods are usually related, and that's not the case in Golarion. Pharasma, the goddess of birth, has no kids. Erastil, the god of gettin'...
You know, while I like most of the the Golarion pantheon on an individual level, I do wish they formed more of a cohesive whole. I actually kind of prefer the idea that, at least the non-ascended Gods, are all related even if only at a distant cousin level. Too many of the gods IMHO don't have much backstory to tie them into the rest of the pantheon, or if they do it's with only one or so other gods (Zon Kuthon and Shelyn, Asmodeus and Sarenrae). I'd prefer something closer to the set up in the Greek or Norse myths.
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Oh, wait no. There was one other. Aroden is alive again. He's been reincarnated as a mortal human. Only a very few people know this, one of which is Iomedae. He is currently living in Absalom.
I love the idea of Aroden being the 'Elvis' of Golarion, with fairly regular 'sightings' in various out of the way places, doing unlikely things. "I see'd him in the arena at Tymon, fighting with one of them Azlanti swords!" "Nah, I heard he was in Pezzack, wearing a heavy hood and cloak, poling a barge at night, smuggling people in and out of that place past the embargo."
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Oh, wait no. There was one other. Aroden is alive again. He's been reincarnated as a mortal human. Only a very few people know this, one of which is Iomedae. He is currently living in Absalom.I love the idea of Aroden being the 'Elvis' of Golarion, with fairly regular 'sightings' in various out of the way places, doing unlikely things. "I see'd him in the arena at Tymon, fighting with one of them Azlanti swords!" "Nah, I heard he was in Pezzack, wearing a heavy hood and cloak, poling a barge at night, smuggling people in and out of that place past the embargo."
I like this idea too, can I steal it? :P
I love the idea of Aroden being the 'Elvis' of Golarion, with fairly regular 'sightings' in various out of the way places, doing unlikely things. "I see'd him in the arena at Tymon, fighting with one of them Azlanti swords!" "Nah, I heard he was in Pezzack, wearing a heavy hood and cloak, poling a barge at night, smuggling people in and out of that place past the embargo."
Ha! Although I'm not sure how that would work considering that, as a god, Aroden could have looked like anything, thus making positive identification difficult. His reborn mortal form doesn't necessarily look like any of his deific depictions.
And technically the way this came about is that two PCs learned that they were the reincarnations of Aroden and Arazni. They started getting weird hints when every intelligent undead they encountered reacted oddly to them (usually yelling at them like it knew or knew of them). They eventually had to deal with the re-un-birth of the Whispering Tyrant because I had his mini and I wanted to use it. This was before there was actually an adventure path for that, so I pulled out a bunch of 2e Ravenloft stuff. Fun was had.
Oh, and they had to fight undead Arazni, which was super awkward for her reincarnation.
I like this idea too, can I steal it? :P
If you mean my part of the idea - sure!
Have any GM's made changes to "your" Golarion setting as a result of campaigns or just your own customization?
...How have you made Golarion "yours"?
1.) One of my short campaigns was set in Nidal, which I depict as being much more of a "film noir"-style place. All the same Hellraiser-inspired craziness is there, it's just more behind-the-scenes and subtle. People don't walk around in black leather studded with chains (they save that for private, special occasions). The windows in Nisroch sport "Opparan Blinds" (Oppara isn't exactly Venice, but it has canals and it's not like Venetian Blinds were actually from Venice). The alleys and side-streets of Nisroch are also lit up by "Nidalese Glass" signs, which are shaped tubes of (usually red) colored glass with a continual flame stuffed inside.
Zon-Kuthon probably empowers The Chirurgeons. They a surgical experts who can make one living creature from 2 corpses. The one destroyed cannot be raised or resurrected, at least not from any part of that body. If the donor was an Orc, they may have darkvision in one eye.
I may use this as a sort of alternate cleric class when I get a group together.
I like the idea of Aroden appearing. Possibly his face is seen in a loaf of bread, in the clouds, as a face in a crowd, ect.
Loving all of this!
I don't know what is was specifically, but I never liked the Red Mantis stuff. So I had them finally piss off enough people that a coalition on mortal and divine sides group up to crush the little backstabbers and its god.
I've decided that I'm going to adapt several of the Forgotten Realms gods for My Golarion. I like a lot of them better, they seem to make sense.
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I don't know what is was specifically, but I never liked the Red Mantis stuff. So I had them finally piss off enough people that a coalition on mortal and divine sides group up to crush the little backstabbers and its god.
I feel like the Red Mantis stuff would work better for me if it actually *was* 'the assassin of the gods,' working on behalf of the gods for various reasons, such as hunting down would-be immortals for Pharasma, or targeting god-hating places or gods-defying places like Hermea, Touvette or Rahadoum (with a state of open conflict between the Red Mantis organization and the nation of Rahadoum being a major theme).
Not every god would necessarily approve of an 'assassin of the gods,' but even Iomedae has people she wouldn't mind having an 'accident' (such as leaders among the demon cultists of the Worldwound). Evil gods and many neutral gods, on the other hand, would be all for it. Abadar's church might put a contract out on a prominent brigand or pirate who is threatening mercantile trade, and had the nerve to attack one of the Banker's caravans or ships.
As it currently stands, the Red Mantis Assassins feel almost like a corruption of the original intent, unless that 'original intent' was little more than lip-service for a church that was never really anything other than a divine rationalization for managing a network of professional killers-for-hire... Either option is interesting, although each hinge on a different sort of blasphemy, which makes it delightfully ironic, given the mission statement of striking down enemies of the gods.
The faith also would benefit from being tied to creatures that actually consider themselves 'enemies of the gods,' such as Rakshasa or Divs (or Asuras or Thanatotic Titans). If the Red Mantis was in a shadow war with Rakshasa pashas of Jalmeray and Vudra, or the Div cults in Katapesh, Osirion, Thuvia, etc.
I don't love the RMA, but really the only thing I loathe about them is the darn bug-hats. Ugly!
Don't forget Lamias. Blasphemy is their thing. They put the BLAST in Blasphemy! :p
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Ooh, just remembered something;
Dragonhide is pretty cheap (2x the cost of masterwork) considering how ridiculously little of it you can make from a dragon. (You need a *Colossal* dragon to make a single breastplate for a medium character! And that will set up back 500 shiny gold pieces, or, 1/3rd the cost of a suit of full plate *not* made from a Colossal dragon...)
I laugh at this, and house-rule that 'dragonhide' armor can be made from wyverns and drakes and various other creatures of the dragon type, and kind of ignore the size thing, because that's just crazytalk.
Drakes and wyverns tend to exist in certain areas of Golarion, and 'dragonhide' armor would be more common in those locations. The Sargava / Shackles area has a decent population of Sea Drakes, which means that dragonhide is more common there, in my Golarion. The Hold of Belkzen and southwestern Ustalav's mountainous areas are similarly popular roosting sites for Wyverns, and thus, dragonhide is also a thing there, and could be found on an orcish warleader or shaman, or handed down from a wyvern-hunting Ustalavic noble to his descendants.
Bump?
No. Bumping is a part of Canon, hence it does not make Golarion "Yours" as the OP asked.
Ooh, just remembered something;
Dragonhide is pretty cheap (2x the cost of masterwork) considering how ridiculously little of it you can make from a dragon. (You need a *Colossal* dragon to make a single breastplate for a medium character! And that will set up back 500 shiny gold pieces, or, 1/3rd the cost of a suit of full plate *not* made from a Colossal dragon...)
I laugh at this, and house-rule that 'dragonhide' armor can be made from wyverns and drakes and various other creatures of the dragon type, and kind of ignore the size thing, because that's just crazytalk.
Drakes and wyverns tend to exist in certain areas of Golarion, and 'dragonhide' armor would be more common in those locations. The Sargava / Shackles area has a decent population of Sea Drakes, which means that dragonhide is more common there, in my Golarion. The Hold of Belkzen and southwestern Ustalav's mountainous areas are similarly popular roosting sites for Wyverns, and thus, dragonhide is also a thing there, and could be found on an orcish warleader or shaman, or handed down from a wyvern-hunting Ustalavic noble to his descendants.
I'm going to go ahead and steal this. Yep, it's mine now.
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First round of my FR Godly conversions:
Torm the True- is Iomedae's older brother. People like Torm better in some regions because he doesn't have the massive stick up the ass that Iomedae has. Plus, he's buds with Apsu, so lot's of goodly dragon team-ups.
Lathander the Morninglord- is Saraenrae(however you spell her name)'s dad. He's all about Sunshine(undead hating) and Babies(new life, Lamashtu smashing), he's currently trying to court Pharasma and brighten up her Emo vibe. Sareanre is all about Redemption and Sunshine.
The Norse Gods, Thor, Odin, Loki, Tyr, Fenris Wolf- Not really from FR. Converted some of them from the old Deities and Demigods book for the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and the Mammoth Lords. In Irrisen, they are referred to as the "Old Gods" because Baba Yaga banned the worship of the Linnorm Kings deities when she claimed the chunk of land from them.
Tiamat Mother of Chromatic Dragons- Basically just copied and pasted her from the FR Faiths and Pantheons book. She is still LE, tries to trip Apsu when he throws down with Dahak, but deep down, still has loving feelings for Apsu. Though Apsu would probably never admit it to the other gods, he still has loving feelings for her, but hasn't quite gotten over her betrayal.
Selune the Moonmaiden- She is worshiped mostly by goodly Lycanthropes who seek to gain control of their curse, druids, and those who travel at night under the moon and stars. Her followers are mostly female. Hates undead.
Sekolah The Shark God- NE, worshipped by bloodthirsty pirates, sahagin, skum, and other oceangoing evil.
The Elemental Gods: Kossuth the Firelord, Istishia the Everflowing, Akadi the Windstress, Grumbar the Earthlord- Kossuth is CN, Istishia is TN, Akadi is CN, Grumbar is LN. I like them a lot better than the Evil Elemental Lords of Golarion.
Thinking of booting Nethys in favor of the Magic Pantheon. Mystra the Mother of Magic, Azuth the Universalist Wizard god, Savras the All Seeing god of Divination, Velsharoon the Nasty goddess of Necromancy. Thinking of making an Elven god of Conjuration, a Gnome god of Illusion, a Dwarven god of Transmutation, a Halfling god of Abjuration, and Human Evocation and Enchantment gods.
Working on maybe bringing Shar, Bane, Lurue(Erastil's little sister?), Mielikki, maybe some of the racial gods, dwarven, elven, gnome.
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First round of my FR Godly conversions:
Auril seems like a perfect fit for an Irriseni god, worshipped by the Winter Witches. OTOH, there not being a 'perfect fit' god for the Irriseni witches could be 'as designed' to highlight that they are alien intruders to this world, and not supposed to be here...
As for magic gods, divided up by domain, Green Ronin's Plot & Poison had a pantheon of drow magic demigods, which, with the serial numbers filed off, had some amazing ideas built into them for a generic set of school-based magic demigods. (The god of abjuration, for instance, was portrayed as just a pair of eyes visible in a swirling mass of defensive spells so thick that they obscured the sight of his body. His 'favored weapon' was the spiked shield. The divination god was also the god of communications between far-flung communities and of strategy and tactics, and had his own church-run order of giant-bat riding messenger/pony express people, and 'battle heralds' who transmitted battle orders through semaphore flags or special drum signals or whatever, which, translated to the surface, would probably ride giant owls or giant eagles or giant wasps or something.)
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The Cult of the New Dawn preaches pacifism in the face of war. They come to aid of those suffering in poverty and in slavery. Their temples communes are places of light and serenity, the sound of music and children's laughter permeates in the air.
They believe that Ihys was indeed slain by Asmodeus, and with him, the universe fell to sin. That is why the mortal races suffer. Their aim is to release Rovagug, so that the mortal peoples may die, in order for the universe to be reborn and return to its previous Eden.
The Races of Man are the direct descendants of the god-like Titans.
With some adjust to the map, central Avistan is home to four different kingdoms; Raedland, Emeria, Andalia and Krydirn. Go here for your classic medieval high middle ages style adventures.
Wolfgang Baur's Southlands's races have been added to Garund, as well as the Midgard concept of God Masks.
The Elves of Castrovel, from the City of Caer Gwyn El, are beautiful, decadent and with egos the size of dragons, which they rode in ages past. When not hunting for mortal children to be brought back as slaves, they play their courtly intrigue and write songs and poems.
Kyonin, with its population long grown fond of Golarion, are all that really stand against the ambitions of their offworld cousins.
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The Elves of Castrovel, from the City of Caer Gwyn El, are beautiful, decadent and with egos the size of dragons, which they rode in ages past. When not hunting for mortal children to be brought back as slaves, they play their courtly intrigue and write songs and poems.
Kyonin, with its population long grown fond of Golarion, are all that really stand against the ambitions of their offworld cousins.
Ooh, this I like! With the fall of Azlant, the setting could use a sort of 'Melnibonean' jaded/morally dissolute 'elder race' sort of deal.
With some adjust to the map, central Avistan is home to four different kingdoms; Raedland, Emeria, Andalia and Krydirn. Go here for your classic medieval high middle ages style adventures.
Also a neat idea. Fantasy settings often seem to have thematically close analogues to Egypt, Arabia, various Asian nations, etc. and then nothing at all that smacks of Western Europe, so it's kind of cool that you've added a castles & crusades sort of region.
Good names, too! Andalia and Raedland sound 'real' ish, and not quite as wonky as some fantasy nations.
In my current campaign magic is waning and since there is less magical energy to go around, the high magicians (high level sorcs, wizards, clerics, etc) are getting sick and dying. Gods are quiet though their followers can still access some spells. The monstrous races (orcs, goblins, etc) have realized this and are encroaching on civilization since the magic is no longer as threatening.
But something also triggered the rise of psychic magic (DSP Psionics/Occult magics), though the rule remain the same; psions who get too powerful end up sick and eventually dead since their bodies try to pull too much magic from the world that cannot give enough. No one knows why psychics are only emerging now.
Because of this, specialized schools have started up training the eager guards and adventurers how to protect themselves via non-magic means (Basically fighter colleges, using DSP Path of War) and they help push back the onslaught of the monsters.
Dragons are sleeping
This is post Star Stone so Aroden is still around, but it doesn't affect the game since he's off on different sides of the world doing s%!#. Enough generations have passed that the Azlanti have become myths and legends to most people.
I also use Arcadia as the Azlanti testing ground, techno-magic bunkers and gene splicing galore. Introduced the Mind Flayers as "Project M1ND" last game :D they were not happy, lol.
In game, this justifies my no-9 level casting classes house rule for the adventure and the party will eventually find some way to fix what's happening and release the full power of magic into the world once again
Ooh, this I like! With the fall of Azlant, the setting could use a sort of 'Melnibonean' jaded/morally dissolute 'elder race' sort of deal.
Melnibonean is the idea was I going with.
I'm planning to do a dungeon crawl in an ancient elven barrow, one of many found in places such as Galt, Brevoy and my own homebrewed nations. Tombs of ancient elven mages and warriors, imprisoned by the kellid wizard-kings that led the slave uprisings, back in the Age of Legend.
The elves of Castrovel would provide a twisted hedonistic mirror to the elves of Kyonin. They would also tap into the much darker side of fairy folklore, stealing babies and all that.
Also a neat idea. Fantasy settings often seem to have thematically close analogues to Egypt, Arabia, various Asian nations, etc. and then nothing at all that smacks of Western Europe, so it's kind of cool that you've added a castles & crusades sort of region.
Good names, too! Andalia and Raedland sound 'real' ish, and not quite as wonky as some fantasy nations.
Cheers! I'm happy with Andalia and Raedland too. Not sure about the other too, but nothings set in stone. It would also be a place for more gritty medieval situations mixed with fantasy, like the Northern Kingdoms of the Witcherverse.
First round of my FR Godly conversions:Auril seems like a perfect fit for an Irriseni god, worshipped by the Winter Witches. OTOH, there not being a 'perfect fit' god for the Irriseni witches could be 'as designed' to highlight that they are alien intruders to this world, and not supposed to be here...
As for magic gods, divided up by domain, Green Ronin's Plot & Poison had a pantheon of drow magic demigods, which, with the serial numbers filed off, had some amazing ideas built into them for a generic set of school-based magic demigods. (The god of abjuration, for instance, was portrayed as just a pair of eyes visible in a swirling mass of defensive spells so thick that they obscured the sight of his body. His 'favored weapon' was the spiked shield. The divination god was also the god of communications between far-flung communities and of strategy and tactics, and had his own church-run order of giant-bat riding messenger/pony express people, and 'battle heralds' who transmitted battle orders through semaphore flags or special drum signals or whatever, which, translated to the surface, would probably ride giant owls or giant eagles or giant wasps or something.)
I couldn't agree more that Auril would fit Perfectly in Irrisen while under Winter Witch rule. But, your other point is equally valid. If the Winter Witches had a Divine patron(matron) it would undermine the regular threat of Baba Yaga's regular returns to restart the royal lineages. Returning to the first hand, cloaking the entire world in endless winter IS what Auril wants.
When my players completed RoW, I gave each of them a Boon from Baba Yaga. It seemed fitting to me that everyone in the party should get a favor from Baba instead of the group as a whole. They did not disappoint me. The Dwarf Runesmith used his boon to establish a new queen with the certain redhead that they met in book 5. He also rebuilt the nation's army with loyalists left over from the old Iron Guard, a clan of Midgard Dwarves that had been living in secret in the nearby mountains, any of the Winter Wolves that wished to continue enjoying the magic of Whitethrone, and the local populous. He became the Warmaster of Irrisen and Runelord of the Unbreakable Legions. The Drow Druid used her boon gain a lesser version of Baba Yaga's Hut, which she promptly painted blue and began referring to it as her "TARDIS". She also helped to establish a transportal to Triaxus and began importing Dragonkin for the new army and Triaxian colonists who liked the permanent winter of Irrisen. The Human Rogue used his boon asking Baba Yaga to help him regain his ancestral lands and titles taken from him by another murderous noble family. She reached back in time and recovered his family Signet Ring so that he could prove his identity and granted him a cadre of Winter Wolves to help provide security. She granted Greta the Winterwolf the ability to shift into human form at will so she and he could get married. The Human Magus/Ninja asked for her help in reestablishing his Ninja Clan in Irrisen and they became the nation's Intelligence/Need-Someone-Taken-Care-Of network. The Human Cleric of Thor used his boon to order Baba Yaga never to return to Golarion after she finished tying up loose ends with Elvanna and her offspring. He also brought the worship of the Old Gods back to Irrisen, negotiated new peace treaties with the Lands of the Linnorm Kings(his homeland) and the Mammoth Lords. With the mighty Hammer of Thunderbolts at his side, he became the Thunderpriest of Thor and Chancelor of Faith to the new queen. The Orc Barbarian/Bard asked for help in establishing a nation for Half-Orcs who wish to rise above their gruff and barbaric ways. All in all, not a bad conclusion to the story.
bump?
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When my players completed RoW, I gave each of them a Boon from Baba Yaga. It seemed fitting to me that everyone in the party should get a favor from Baba instead of the group as a whole.
That's a cool idea, and allows everyone to flesh out their own personal character goals.
I'd worry about the power potential if it weren't the end-of-campaign capstone, where the stuff granted by the boons wasn't going to unbalance an ongoing campaign (and I noticed that pretty much everyone went for social / political power, more than stat buffs or magical power or whatever, anyway, which is kind of cool).
Spells are affected by the caster. Someone who is tobacco smoke will detect tobacco smoke as poison. Any lenses of poison detection they make will detect tobacco smoke as poison regardless of who uses them.
Likewise, a cubic gate made in the orient can have faces that lead to the plane of metal or wood. A caster would have to be affected by the dark tapestry to open a gate to Leng.
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- Hermea and its wacky eugenics project doesn't exist
- Sargava and the Avistani colonies in Arcadia don't exist either
- Brevoy is a dracocracy run by morally dubious metallic dragons
- Numeria has most of its more blatant sci-fi tech hidden away by the Technic League, who basically Golarion's men in black
- I've tried to flesh out the Mwangi Expanse and fill it out with actual nations based on the four Mwangi tribes
- Bumped Brastlewark up into an actual nation for the Gnomes
Though I am enjoying the Iron Gods campaign, if I run another Golarion campaign in the future, I may do away with the canonical Rain of Stars. I would change it to a meteor strike causing radiation and mutations, but no starships and tech. The Technic League would be a cabal of magic users studying mutations in the relative isolation of the Numerian plains and possibly trying to make contact with entities of the Dark Tapestry. I like the idea of barbarian lands with pockets of civilization.
What happened to Aroden and why?The leaving this unanswered is my one major gripe with Paizo's choices around Golarion. The "preservation of mystery" is a real negative for me.
Because I'll never know the true answer, Aroden's faith will never feature significantly in my campaigns - so I always feel like I'm missing out on a real, significant part of the world history.
Aroden's death almost made me completely abandon the idea of Golarion and Pathfinder in general.
Allow me to explain. I had read nothing about Pathfinder or Galarion at the time and was one day just flipping through the setting book out of boredom. It was at this time that I happened upon a section discussing the history of Aroden, and started reading in depth. I devoured everything in that section and loved every bit of it. If Golarion featured a god this cool I was going to love this setting and game. I wanted to make a Cleric of Aroden right away. Then I got to the end and suddenly found out that he died and everything about it was a big unsolved mystery. You need to understand I had somehow discovered almost everything thing else that there was to know about Aroden before discovering his death. I then desperately went searching for more info on his death, and found it to be one of the great unsolved mysteries of the setting.
Piazo had literally taken the most interesting character in the setting, the whole reason I had any interest in it at all, and killed him off as and left it as a great unsolved mystery. I was upset and didn't come back to Golarion or Pathfinder for a few years. In the end the reason I came back and game it all a second chance was Guns.
First you rassle it down, then tie it's legs and arms together. After that you get out the branding iron and... Not what you meant.
In the games I've run there are some player induced changes naturally. Sand point is well fortified with a stone harbor. The Rusty Dragon is now run by the halfling woman who worked there. Choppers island is now essentially a wizard tower and Thistle Top is a fort and temple to Torag and Iomadae.
The Lord Mayor of Magnimar is under censure for the rest of his life. There is a very high functioning spy and artifact collection network in play in Varisia.
A firearms start up has taken root in Andoran.
There is a new demigod of Darkness, Retribution, and Endurance at work as well. In addition to a new Demon Lord doing her thing as well.
Minkai is ruled by Empress Ameiko with her Black Blooded Demon Husband and yes she is still Neutral Good.
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As I learn more of the backstory, I have to keep changing my opinion.
For example, now that I know the starstone granted godhood several times before Aroden's death, I need an excuse for that. Maybe it was only going to grant godhood 7 times. Then Aroden raptured himself to give the starstone unlimited godhood granting. The drawback being they have to be the god of something. They can choose 1 primary(there cannot already be a god of that) and 2 secondary.
I'm working on the mythic path,"There can be only one" where you have to behead a mythic creature to rise a level. If someone else beheads the mythic person or monster, the nearest being on the path gains the level. They can be raised, but they lose a minimum of one mythic level in addition to the mundane levels lost. I may need a separate topic to detail this out. It can be gained as a bloodline or mutation.
This going to take a while...
RACES
Dwarves: Changed their backstory a lot by having them be originally a race of Evil-aligned monsters in the Underdark that spent most of their time during the Age of Darkness trying to out Chaotic Evil the orcs with constant savage raids on the surface. It wasn't until Torag (who is basically a LG Drizzt with a beard and hammer) and his family mysteriously ascended to godhood and spent CENTURIES afterwards trying to redeem their society did the race reform itself and start to resemble the dwarves that we know and love.
Elves: Pretty much the same except they prefer to hanging out with long-lived races like dwarves and gnomes.
Gnomes: Pretty much the same except with Brastlewark getting upgraded into being an independent micro-state that services as the gnomes adopted homeland in Golarion.
Halflings: Pretty much the same except they get a homeland too with the River Kingdoms acting as a spiritual one with several of the kingdoms there having predominately halfling populations.
Half Elves: The stigma against half elves never made sense to me so it’s gone. Besides that, the only other change is that their even rarer since most elves think mating with humans is borderline pedophiliac.
Half Orcs: Yeah, the whole mostly sired through rape thing is gone for sure, but I also changed things up by diversifying how other races saw them. The Ulfen love them for their strength and seemingly natural aggression, Kellids somewhat respect them for the same reasons, Varisians are deeply afraid them, Shoanti hate them with a passion, Taldans mostly just shun them until they prove their Good aligned, and Dwarves try to redeem Evil-aligned ones with the teachings of Torag. Everyone else either doesn't care or relies on rumors to make their opinion.
Humans: Pretty much everyone is the same except the Ulfen who get along well with orcs and tend to enjoy savagely raiding the shorelines and making half orc babies with them.
NATIONS
The Land of Linnorm Kings: Like I said, they get along very well with orcs because their remarkably similar cultures and love of raiding villages in Varisia. There’s subsequently a pretty big half orc population here. I also played up the Viking theme to the nines and made Gorum the top god there.
Irrisen: The PC's managed to finish Reign of Winter (god that was grueling) and now the place is basically Arendelle. No, seriously, it was renamed Arendelle because my players just love their Disney references.
The Realm of Mammoth Lords: Still Ice Age land.
The Worldwound: Still WH40K Chaos land.
Mendev: Still bulwark-against-demons land.
Brevoy: Now run by a family of "civilized" red dragons that try to pass off as a respectable human noble house that doesn't scheme against one another constantly. Other than that, and there being a bunch of half dragons there, the place is still A Game of Throne land.
Numeria: Changed it so most of the advanced tech here was derelict and useless, but made sure not to remove it entirely in case I ever want to run Iron Gods.
Ustalav: Still classic horror land.
Hold of Belkzen: Still filled with Always Chaotic Evil orcs but I made that most of the tribes were in some way allied with LOLK to the east. Furthermore, they prefer worshipping Gorum and the Orcish gods over real nutcases like Rovagug or any of the demon lords.
Varisia: Still adventure-dungeon-romani land.
Lastwall: Still bulwark-against-orcs and undead land.
Nirthamas: Still super Chaotic Good land.
Molthune: Still imperialism land.
Nidal: Still torture land.
Chaliax: Ravounel is now its own independent country but other than that it's still Asmodeus land.
Isger: Who cares...
Andoran: Tried to make things a bit more interesting by having the government political divided between Caydenite and Milanite militant abolitionists that want to go to war with Cheliax, Qadira, Katapesh, and everywhere else that has slavery and a more moderate faction of Abadarites that are still abolitionist but would love to be able to get rid of the trade sanctions against nations that have slavery out of pure economic pragmatism.
Taldor: Still generic medieval Europe land.
Druma; Still weird capitalism land.
The Five Kings Mountain: Still dwarfy.
Kyonin: Still elfy.
The River Kingdoms: Just added a lot more halflings.
Galt: Still French Revolution land.
Razmiran: Still fantasy scientology land.
Qadira: Still fantasy Middle East land.
Osiron: Still fantasy Egypt.
Thuvia: Still alchemy land.
Rahadoum: Still New Age atheist land.
Sodden Lands: Still whatever this is supposed to be.
The Shackles: Still pirate land.
Sargava: Still can’t decide whether I want it gone or ruled by a bunch of LE Abadarite cultists that want to “civilize” the Mwangi.
The Mwangi Expanse: Still fantasy Africa until Paizo makes another rulebook that expands (puns!) what’s going on here.
Geb: Still zombieland.
The Mana Wastes: It and Alkenstar doesn’t exist.
Nex: Still wizard land.
Katapesh: Still erotic bazaar land.
Jalmeray: Still fantasy India land.
bump?Hey Beard, instead of making sisters, why not have him a wife? The goddess Chaunte would be excellent for that and is one of the few FR gods I even care for or remember at all..... wait is she Greyhawk, I don't know?
Chauntea is Forgotten Realms. I was planning on making Chauntea the wife of Lathander with Sareanrae(however you spell her name), as their offspring. Lathander takes a more paternal role while Chauntea maintains the Healthy Crops, Healthy Family role.
I toyed with the idea of Lathander courting Pharasma to get her to lighten(ha!) up a bit, but Chauntea + Lathander = Sareanrea makes more sense.
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bump?Hey Beard, instead of making sisters, why not have him a wife? The goddess Chaunte would be excellent for that and is one of the few FR gods I even care for or remember at all..... wait is she Greyhawk, I don't know?Chauntea is Forgotten Realms. I was planning on making Chauntea the wife of Lathander with Sareanrae(however you spell her name), as their offspring. Lathander takes a more paternal role while Chauntea maintains the Healthy Crops, Healthy Family role.
I toyed with the idea of Lathander courting Pharasma to get her to lighten(ha!) up a bit, but Chauntea + Lathander = Sareanrea makes more sense.
Eratile holds a similar domain to Chauntea, so what about him though?
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Katapesh: Still erotic bazaar land.
...er...
...did you mean 'exotic'?
Eratile holds a similar domain to Chauntea, so what about him though?bump?Hey Beard, instead of making sisters, why not have him a wife? The goddess Chaunte would be excellent for that and is one of the few FR gods I even care for or remember at all..... wait is she Greyhawk, I don't know?Chauntea is Forgotten Realms. I was planning on making Chauntea the wife of Lathander with Sareanrae(however you spell her name), as their offspring. Lathander takes a more paternal role while Chauntea maintains the Healthy Crops, Healthy Family role.
I toyed with the idea of Lathander courting Pharasma to get her to lighten(ha!) up a bit, but Chauntea + Lathander = Sareanrea makes more sense.
Maybe they're related? Or possibly married, depending on how you want to portray things.
Now that I think about it, a husband-and-wife team who collectively handles the portfolios of home, family, and community makes a lot of sense.
What happened to Aroden and why?The leaving this unanswered is my one major gripe with Paizo's choices around Golarion. The "preservation of mystery" is a real negative for me.
Because I'll never know the true answer, Aroden's faith will never feature significantly in my campaigns - so I always feel like I'm missing out on a real, significant part of the world history.
Completely agree. Our troupe did what I assume many others did, we read the history about him, and almost immediately wrote him out of the story as "dead until proven otherwise". Then we pressed on with the storyline as it is in the current day, while occasionally encountering temples still dedicated to Aroden who hold on to the hope that one day he'll return.
No Numeria in my games. That area is just a blasted wasteland where a meteor struck. But then I'm not a fan of sci-fi technology in my games.
I am totally with you there! While I've not gone so far as the meteor strike, my campaign is set in Lastwall and they have more than enough problems dealing with orcs, undead, and social unrest to worry about light sabers on the other side of Lake Encarthan. That, and the fact that we are definitely running a low magic campaign. Should we ever venture towards Numeria I'd definitely have to give serious thought to how I wanted to deal with this issue.
I decided as a GM that the reason Aroden died is because the Starstone's effects are temporary. He lost his divinity and either died or got trapped somewhere without his divine powers to get him out. This explains why Pharasma won't say anything (would devastate multiple religions and societies) and why the Starstone Doctrine was wrong (the prophecy foretelling of Aroden's return as a mortal was misinterpreted as his return to the Material Plane). It also fills a plot hole as to why the Aboleth, a race of super intelligent creatures, would punish humanity by delivering a rock that turns people into gods.
Personally I'm a fan of anything that closes plot holes, and I'll give you credit that this direction closes the hole of Aroden rather nicely. You could even go a step further and state Aroden DID in fact return, but it was after his divinity was lost and no one believed it was him.
I disagree about mysteries: Having them unanswered is a whole lot more interesting to me than tying everything up with a bow!
I have certainly added/changed a fair amount in my version of Golarion. Part of this is due to my penchant for running third-party modules, fitting them into my version of Golarion as I see fit.
I also have a tendency to steal bits and pieces of published modules, re-work them somewhat, and then put them together into something new. A map element here, an encounter there, switching theme, etc.
Sometimes, this requires making changes to setting lore. For example, I ran a modified version of TPK Games module The Reaping Stone set in Korvosa. I fleshed out some more urban aspects that I thought were lacking in the module, and pulled in a few PFS scenarios and AP set-pieces to make the campaign my own. So, in my version of Korvosa, the historical character of St. Alika has became St. Alika the Twice-Martyred, and her mausoleum stands on the banks of the Narrows in Bridgefront, Old Korvosa. There's a Sarenite mission-house now run by a Sczarni gang in Old Dock...that I lifted from the set-piece "St. Casperian's Salvation" from Pathfinder #13: Shadow in the Sky. And PFS players in my campaign might think that the version of the Jaggare Museum sure seems reminiscent of the Blakros Museum!
Oh, and over in Ustalav, a dark and ancient woodland called the Margreve stands; many say the forest itself is alive.
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I disagree about mysteries: Having them unanswered is a whole lot more interesting to me than tying everything up with a bow!
It's obviously just preference with no correct answer, but to fully explain - it's not the mystery I have a problem with (I quite like James' goal of opening up two unanswered question every time paizo answers one). It's the 'this has an answer but we're never going to tell you what it is'. I don't really find Aroden's death to be a mystery, it's been solved - it's just that the solution is a secret I'm not privy to.
There are no doubt many currently open questions that James knows the answer to and which I never will, but from my perspective they are indistinguishable from those he knows that I will learn, so they all seem like mysteries.
In my Golarion, what happened to Aroden is often used as a zen question. Monks ponder it to clear their minds for meditation.
bump
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We're now in our third campaign into "our" Golarion and I thought I'd share what we have up to this point. I had thought about posting many times in this thread, but have always changed my mind on it. I'll try to keep it as short as I can (nope I failed at keeping it short, sorry).
Our game began in the year 4711 in the country of Lastwall. The paladin of the group had secretly joined a knighthood called The Knights of Holy Judgment. The knighthood is devoted to Iomedae and are given a long leash to commence their work. Most just know them as witch hunters. In time the group was given a young man to look after and help groom for a leadership role. It was revealed later that the young man was a godling, but to which god they did not know. Their adventures allowed them a dip into the Carrion Crown adventure path and at some point they had all been blessed by Desna (the gift of purple eyes).
Eventually their path led them to Gallowspire, where the head of the knighthood waited for the young paladins return. It was revealed then that their grand plan was to sacrifice the godling, who was the bastard child of the red mantis god. By doing this, they hoped to free the Whispering Tyrant and keep him under control. The logic for the leader was that Belkzen was slowly beating back Lastwall and eventually the country would crumble. He hoped to stave that off by bringing back the tyrant and thereby drawing more crusaders to Lastwall, since they'd mostly been headed to Mendev instead. The leader of the order demanded that the paladin kill the godling (2 PC's). The paladin, with much turmoil, refused and the entire group was killed.
Seven years went by and the group was resurrected while Vigil was under attack. Another paladin the group had met in previous adventures decided to use the final scrolls on a group she had believed in. The group fled the city and headed for Nirmathas. The Whispering Tyrant had now claimed Ustalav and Lastwall. Word got round to the High Lord Watcher that the paladin had been resurrected and he demanded to see him. After learning that he had no part in the freeing of the Tyrant, he decided to exile the group rather than put them to death.
The paladin decides to head for Taldor, where he hopes to create a new shining crusade. The group goes and recruits from places like Absalom, Taldor, and Andoran. They rebuilt the Quickfall Abbey into a cathedral dedicated to Iomedae and they collected relics from the sky citadel in Belkzen to convince the dwarfs of the Five King Mountains to join them in the fight. They spent 6 years in Taldor and the crowning achievement was convincing Stavian's son (not canon I know) Juvian to rally behind their cause. After assassin's killed Stavian (we *think* it was Juvian that killed him), the group had Taldor's full support.
The group was once again on the move back north and ready to fight the Whispering Tyrant, but he hadn't been idle either. News came down as they were making their move that the Tyrant had taken his forces and aligned with the demons of the Worldwound. Together they overran the crusaders of Mendev and had now set their eyes on the refugees in Nirmathas.
Priests of Iomedae prayed in ritual to bring their goddess to the prime material plane and lead them on the battlefield. The armies first took Belkzen and broke the orcs. The prayers were then answered and Iomedae led the armies into a battle against the Tyrant, the demons, and the undead. In an epic battle that changed momentum on many occasions, the Tyrants side eventually came out on top when he slayed Iomedae.
Desperation took hold and their options were limited. The female paladin elected to take the test of the Starstone. The group teleported there and watched as she went in (NPC). Some time later, the male paladin hears her voice in his head. She had done it, but she was not strong enough to take the battlefield. Instead she blessed the paladin with all she could and brought him and the group back to the fight. Upon his return, the priests and mages had just finished putting the Shield of Arnissant back together and gave it to the paladin.
Once again the armies of light took to the battlefield, this time with the paladin leading them and fought bravely against the forces of darkness. The paladin met the Tyrant head on in the fight and he was very familiar with the shield being used against him. They're battle was colossal and each side gave out as well as they took. Spell and claw against sword and shield. As the Tyrant's strength faded, he used a powerful magic he'd been working on and cast it upon the paladin. The fabric of the sky around him ripped open to a realm of blackness and he was drawn in, having failed his saving throw.
The paladin had been thrust back into the past many thousands of years, but with the blessing received he would live for a very long time. He would watch as the Azlant culture died away and sometime later he would raise the Starstone to its current position. He would become the god of innovation and human culture. And then one day he'd feel his power failing and knew that the time grew near when he'd have to enter life as a mortal born babe.
A split second after the disappearance of the paladin, Aroden stood before Whispering Tyrant. He made motion for a reprieve, but there would be none. With bare hands, he crushed the Tyrants skull and then with arms spread he rose toward the heavens. With that rise came the rains that poured down over the battlefield. Those mortals on the battlefield felt nothing, but the demons and undead knew it for something entirely different. Holy water. The undead melted away and demons fled for safer grounds. Eventually, Aroden came back down and spoke with the group. He seemed familiar to them and yet entirely different. The group asked for one request, which Aroden granted. He left for some time and returned with a hideous black stone. The halfling of the group, known as the Traveler, asked to have the honor and it was granted. The Tyrant was no more.
In our Golarion, Aroden returned in the year 4725. Iomedae perished the same year and new goddess, Karatha "The Shield" was born. In our Golarion, the Last Azlanti was never Azlanti at all.
I have left a whole lot out and that was just one campaign in a nutshell. I'll write the next one if anyone wants to or cares to hear it.
I disagree about mysteries: Having them unanswered is a whole lot more interesting to me than tying everything up with a bow!It's obviously just preference with no correct answer, but to fully explain - it's not the mystery I have a problem with (I quite like James' goal of opening up two unanswered question every time paizo answers one). It's the 'this has an answer but we're never going to tell you what it is'. I don't really find Aroden's death to be a mystery, it's been solved - it's just that the solution is a secret I'm not privy to.
There are no doubt many currently open questions that James knows the answer to and which I never will, but from my perspective they are indistinguishable from those he knows that I will learn, so they all seem like mysteries.
Okay, I see your point. I wish Mr. Jacobs had remained mum about it, and not mentioned that there is a "real" answer to the question.
However, since it hasn't been published, and from what the Directorsaur says, never will be published, then the point is moot: Essentially, the "real" answer is just James' headcanon.
So, until it's actually published, anyone who's writing for home games gets to fill in the blanks as best served by the needs of the storyline. It's really no different than writing a city statblock and drawing a map for a Golarion city that hasn't been detailed yet. If they ever do get around to doing so, as a GM you have a choice: Let your own stand as the canonical version of the city in your word; decide you like the published version better and use that one; or make an amalgam of the two. (I usually do the latter.)
I think a great example of that was the city of Senara in Cheliax: Robert Brookes published one version on his Encounter Table gaming blog; about two months later, a very different version got published in Wayfinder #11, and then the city got an official write-up in Hell's Vengeance. (To be honest, of the three, I like Robert's version best!)
I've been reading through the last couple Bestiaries (I'm not a monster guy, generally, so apart from the art, I've rarely had much use for Bestiaries), and noticed the Deep Ones and Deep One Hybrids, which, IMO, are so much sexier than Skum or Gillfolk, and with some flavor and mechanical tweaks, I think I'd prefer the Deep Ones and Hybrids in those roles.
Over in the Strange Aeons board, Adam Daigle mentions that he would have preferred using Deep Ones to Skum had the former been available in the past when Skum were established as residing in a certain location.
Deep one like to lure adventurers into the water so aboleth can slime them.:)