OK, this has the potential to turn into a giant mess, but I’d like to establish the initial event that inspired this post and some rules on what is trying to be accomplished here.
My friends and I were playing and about mid way through the evening someone brought up the 2016 USA election and which gods would support which candidates. We had a good laugh about how Asmodeus would support both Hillary and Trump (Asmodeus always wins in the end), but then we began to ask questions about what Hell’s official governing style is, which then lead to discussion about whether or not the three chaotic domains are all an anarchaic government or if there was a difference between them, if Heaven was some form of monarchy/empire, and so on.
Now with this being the internet, civility is guaranteed to be halfway out the window even before politics are introduced. However, I thought it might be interesting to discuss what the political structures of each of the nine planes are, if we have evidence to support it.
Some rules for this topic:
1. This is all speculation. Unless an official paizo rep comes in and confirms that a particular plane holds a political structure or there is clear printed text stating such, everything you say is pure opinion.
2. This is about political structures and governments (fascist, democratic republic, anarchic, etc.), not political parties (democratic party, republican party, green party, etc.). Federal, not State.
3. The gods and other similar beings do not add anything to your speculation unless they ARE the governing body (Such as Asmodeus). Both Gorum and Cayden Cailean reside in Elysium, but they both hold different ideologies (See Rule 2). We are talking about the planes themselves.
4. Please cite sources if you are able, with links to paizo officials confirming anything or book pages and so on.
5. A sense of humor is greatly encouraged. These are FICTIONAL LOCATIONS and have no bearing on the real world or your personal life. Don’t be an otyugh’s ass.
For reference, the primary planes in question are:
Heaven: LG
Nirvana: NG
Elysium: CG
Axis: LN
The Boneyard: N
The Maelstrom: CN
Hell: LE
Abaddon: NE
The Abyss: CE
MODS: If there is a more appropriate forum for this, can you please move this thread there if this is not a good place for such a discussion. It is not my intent to start a s~&#-storm and I hope this doesn’t just get automatically pruned.
PAIZO OFFICIALS: I would absolutely love your official input on this topic, as I believe this could help reduce/end potential arguments and enlighten to some of the more glossed over “important details” of the Pathfinder universe. Other topics I consider glossed over “important details” also include when income taxes are due in particular countries in the Inner Sea and what the process for legal immigration to other countries is in the Inner Sea region (Does Sajan have a green card?).
