Azlanti Star Empire having been confirmed as a Starfinder faction is, in my opinion, quite intriguing.
I wonder how are they justified, given that Azlanti blood was very thin and almost nonexistent by even Pathfinder dates.
While this is 100% pure speculation, I think it'd be a really fun spin if they were lead by a resurrected or even undead Aroden, as Aroden was the last pure-blood Azlanti - this would at least give legitimacy to their claims of being the Azlanti Star Empire.
And besides, what could be cooler than an undead deity?
We already know that Aroden doesn't have anything to do with the Azlanti Star Empire at this point in time in Starfinder. We were essentially told this at PaizoCon. As for where they came from, I think you might have it backwards; Starfinder Azlanti didn't come from Golarion, Golarion Azlanti came from the Azlanti Star Empire, or at least its predecessor. So that Pathfinder Azlanti bloodline stuff is irrelevant.
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We already know that Aroden doesn't have anything to do with the Azlanti Star Empire at this point in time in Starfinder. We were essentially told this at PaizoCon. As for where they came from, I think you might have it backwards; Starfinder Azlanti didn't come from Golarion, Golarion Azlanti came from the Azlanti Star Empire, or at least its predecessor. So that Pathfinder Azlanti bloodline stuff is irrelevant.
What. Aren't Azlanti genetically modified cavemen according to Pathfinder lore?
That's quite the massive retcon and I'm not sure I'm at all happy about it.
I mean, Azlanti being colonisers from outer space makes half the Golarion lore not make any sense at all.
Earthfall only happened because the Azlanti rebelled against Aboleths who created them, for example.
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I'm gonna default to Aboleths did it.
My prediction: one or more Runelords managed to escape from Golarion somehow before it got disappeared. Their ancient and esoteric art of sin magic had long disappeared from the galaxy, and they decided to use it to create a new empire of their own.
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We already know that Aroden doesn't have anything to do with the Azlanti Star Empire at this point in time in Starfinder. We were essentially told this at PaizoCon. As for where they came from, I think you might have it backwards; Starfinder Azlanti didn't come from Golarion, Golarion Azlanti came from the Azlanti Star Empire, or at least its predecessor. So that Pathfinder Azlanti bloodline stuff is irrelevant.
Is this correct? I thought I remember reading on the forums somewhere that the Azlanti Star Empire grew from an off-world colony of (Golarian) Azlant.
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We already know that Aroden doesn't have anything to do with the Azlanti Star Empire at this point in time in Starfinder. We were essentially told this at PaizoCon. As for where they came from, I think you might have it backwards; Starfinder Azlanti didn't come from Golarion, Golarion Azlanti came from the Azlanti Star Empire, or at least its predecessor. So that Pathfinder Azlanti bloodline stuff is irrelevant.Is this correct? I thought I remember reading on the forums somewhere that the Azlanti Star Empire grew from an off-world colony of (Golarian) Azlant.
Yeah, actually, I think you may have the right of it.
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But was not one of the big guidelines in the starfinder lore "the Aboleths did NOT do it" ?
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We already know that Aroden doesn't have anything to do with the Azlanti Star Empire at this point in time in Starfinder. We were essentially told this at PaizoCon. As for where they came from, I think you might have it backwards; Starfinder Azlanti didn't come from Golarion, Golarion Azlanti came from the Azlanti Star Empire, or at least its predecessor. So that Pathfinder Azlanti bloodline stuff is irrelevant.Is this correct? I thought I remember reading on the forums somewhere that the Azlanti Star Empire grew from an off-world colony of (Golarian) Azlant.
This seems the most reasonable way.
Interplanetary transport could get you there without much problem.
Heck, if you knew where the planet was you could plane shift twice to reach (with some amount of error for you arrival location).
So it's not unreasonable that some Azlanti made a colony and escaped the destruction that brought down the Golarion Azlanti.
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The Azlanti had a colony on Akiton (Thanks to elf gates IIRC), so there's a precedent for off-world Azlanti colonies.
The Azlanti had a colony on Akiton (Thanks to elf gates IIRC), so there's a precedent for off-world Azlanti colonies.
Ah, yes, the cardinal rule of Paizoverse exploration: The Azlanti got there first.
I'm not a fan of that rule.
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The Azlanti had a colony on Akiton (Thanks to elf gates IIRC), so there's a precedent for off-world Azlanti colonies.Ah, yes, the cardinal rule of Paizoverse exploration: The Azlanti got there first.
I'm not a fan of that rule.
I'm not sure what you're on about, but if they used the elf gates the elves would have gotten there first (presumably).
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10 bucks says they're space Nazis.
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For reference, I think everything we know about the Azlanti right now comes from the 2017 PaizoCon Preview Banquet video (46:42).
I'm not sure what you're on about, but if they used the elf gates the elves would have gotten there first (presumably).The Azlanti had a colony on Akiton (Thanks to elf gates IIRC), so there's a precedent for off-world Azlanti colonies.Ah, yes, the cardinal rule of Paizoverse exploration: The Azlanti got there first.
I'm not a fan of that rule.
I'm "on about" the fact that there's nowhere to explore on Pathfinder Golarion where the Azlanti haven't been there before you. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case in Starfinder.
I suppose "The Azlanti got there before you" would have been better phrasing.
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I'm not sure what you're on about, but if they used the elf gates the elves would have gotten there first (presumably).The Azlanti had a colony on Akiton (Thanks to elf gates IIRC), so there's a precedent for off-world Azlanti colonies.Ah, yes, the cardinal rule of Paizoverse exploration: The Azlanti got there first.
I'm not a fan of that rule.
I'm "on about" the fact that there's nowhere to explore on Pathfinder Golarion where the Azlanti haven't been there before you. I was hoping that wouldn't be the case in Starfinder.
I suppose "The Azlanti got there before you" would have been better phrasing.
That's not actually true, there's plenty of places they haven't been.
And even for the most part, they're an ancient and advanced precursor civilization that was destroyed, "got there before you" is kinda the whole point.
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They lost the means to return and had to independently develop space travel? such as they were brought there by Aboleths specifically to keep them separate and were never given the means to return. they left by means of a gate that was destroyed. they ran into a local power and fought a massive war with them after which they felt no desire to return to Golarion after doing so much to make their new home truly theirs... Maybe they also had to wait on the Drift being created before they really had the means to scale beyond their local system. Maybe over time they forgot about Golarion. Or perhaps they wrote it off as destroyed.Have to wonder why NO ONE talked about them in PFRPG lore. That makes 10 000 years without coming back to check on their home planet
I wait eagerly for the explanation :-)
There was that big meteor falling on it...
Good time for independence.
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"So I've got good news and bad news! Bad news, we're going to be cut off from pretty much everything civilized for a few thousand years. Good news, because of that we have plenty of time to PROPERLY plan our civilization so that it can withstand the efforts of outside powers and NEVER AGAIN will we be BEHOLDEN to STRANGE AQUATIC BEINGS!"
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A high-level wizard or cleric determined to transport enough people to start a new off-world colony could probably do so in a couple weeks. 6 people per casting, two castings a day, that's 168 colonists after two weeks. Make monthly trips or so afterward to maintain contact and bring along new colonists/new blood... wouldn't be hard to get something like that started on potentially several planets.
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A high-level wizard or cleric determined to transport enough people to start a new off-world colony could probably do so in a couple weeks. 6 people per casting, two castings a day, that's 168 colonists after two weeks. Make monthly trips or so afterward to maintain contact and bring along new colonists/new blood... wouldn't be hard to get something like that started on potentially several planets.
The minimum viable population for a given species without strict regulation on reproduction is around 4000 individuals.
Even given magic and regulation I don't think 168 would cut it :)
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Well...creating a demiplane and permanent portals costs a lot of ingredients...so not so poor the man at all
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Have to wonder why NO ONE talked about them in PFRPG lore. That makes 10 000 years without coming back to check on their home planet
I wait eagerly for the explanation :-)
"Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is. I mean you may think it’s a long way down the road to the chemist’s, but that’s just peanuts to space."
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
but that’s just peanuts to space.
more like...atoms to be a little more precise, if not smaller particles
The Azlanti are space Nazis. They are the Empie, the Peacekeepers, etc. They see everyone else, even nonazlanti humans as inferior. They have a slave economy, they are powerful both technologically and magically, and are totalitarian. Its all right there in their description in the book.
And yes, their civilization evolved from an orphaned colony of the original Azlanti Empire on Golarian, not the other way around.
That being the case, I see no reason they couldnt still be controlled by groups like the aboleths and their servitors.
AtD
I feel that the Azlanti would be the fiercest opponents against the aboleths. Their homeland was destroyed because they tried to break free of the tentacled beasts, and they have that "we are the greatest race" pride that makes them want to be beholden to no one. That said, while I think they would be an enemy of the monsters of all the creatures of the dark, they are definitely evil, brutal, arrogant, slave owning, despots.
If you are on a crusade against the aboleths, you might be able to deal with them in an "enemy of my enemy" sort of way. But don't expect them to not enslave your party when you are done. Don't be surprised when they destroy the Pact World colonies. And it definitely won't be out of character when that feet of dreadnaughts show up at Absalom Station when they slice that ancient life raft in two and take the Starstone back to its rightful place in the palace of the twin (newly ascended) god emperors of the empire.
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Agreed. But from the core rulebook, which power would be the threat that keeps the Primex up at night with worry? The Veskarium was yesterday's threat, and might someday be subsumed into the pact world due to their proximity. The Corpse Fleet is a danger to colonies and navigation, but they failed to take the station in its prime. But an enemy with the resources of a Star Empire, who have not been bested in war, who has powerful magic and technology, and who have a claim upon/grudge against the mystic stone that powers the station and makes it the economic center of the galaxy? That's who I would tap for a military threat to Absalom.
But you are right, they probably wouldn't just drop out of the drift and start shooting, at first. They'd weaken the station's alliances, turn old enemies against them, disrupt their economy, assassinate those in positions of power. Only then would they appear out of the Drift, and unleash the might of the Empire.
That is unless some plucky band of heroes was there to foil their plans.
That's if they even acknowledge the presence of the Pact World System or the Veskarium.
I could also equally see an information-control state where they don't release this sort of information to their people, and they simply monitor their border with a zealotry akin to the Chiss and simply don't want to be bothered with the lesser races/places.
In such a circumstance, explorers that push the incident too hard could cause an Outbound Light-style incident wherein the ASE suddenly has concerns that the location of their homeworlds have been compromised, and pro-active measures need to be taken ASAP.
Except that it mentions specifically in the core rule book that the Azlanti Star Empire seeks to bring all inhabited worlds under its hegemony. So if you are trying to rule the galaxy as an empire in this setting, you probably have the star stone listed high on your to-do list.
Now if you are DMing it's your campaign, and you can play them however you want, and should do whatever best fits your story. But this is how I'm playing it. The goal is to invade the old star system, get some human slaves that smell better than these bothersome aliens, and bring back that magic stone to shift the center of inter-stellar travel to New Thespera where it belongs.
While this is 100% pure speculation, I think it'd be a really fun spin if they were lead by a resurrected or even undead Aroden, as Aroden was the last pure-blood Azlanti - this would at least give legitimacy to their claims of being the Azlanti Star Empire.
And besides, what could be cooler than an undead deity?
The Azlanti Star Empire would have had to split off from the Azlanti at the height of their culture's power, long before the days of Aroden. New Thespera was founded by a high-tech Azlanti expedition thousands of years ago, whereas Aroden's story stems from the collapse of Azlanti civilization.
So, if it takes 1d6 days to Drift to Absalom Station, why haven't the Azlanti tries to conquer it yet? Sure, Absalom has prodigious defenses, plus the armada, but is that the only reason the Star Empire hasn't attacked yet?
This was talked about in the back of Against the Aeon Throne. The Azlanti Space Empire's military is around as powerful as the Pact Worlds and Veskarium combined. If they wanted to, they could take Absalom Station. The issue is while it looks useful, it would take resources, and currently the Pact Worlds are not considered a threat while the Swarm (A group the Azlanti are worried about) is getting close to Azlanti space. If they Azlanti could get their army to Absalom Station in formation quickly, they would conquer without a second thought. But as things stand, they are more interested in preparing to fight the swarm than to invade the Pact Worlds.
So, if it takes 1d6 days to Drift to Absalom Station, why haven't the Azlanti tries to conquer it yet? Sure, Absalom has prodigious defenses, plus the armada, but is that the only reason the Star Empire hasn't attacked yet?
Since the Azlanti empire is at least much as powerful as the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds combined, but probably not a lot more, they'd have to devote more than half of their fleet to be sure to win an expensive battle of attrition against the Pact Worlds (and attacking Absalom Station would mean fighting all the Pact Worlds). That leaves the Veskarium forces, who are allied with the Pact Worlds and pissed at the Azlanti for taking one of their colony worlds, free to take revenge on any of 12 underdefended Azlanti planets. Or several, including the homeworld.
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Azlanti adventuring party
"Wow, there aren't just other planes there are other PLANETS!" looks up at the night sky " I wonder which one is Golarion? I can't wait to get back and tell everyon.."
Opens Planar portal. Looks up at the giant flaming death meteor heading right for their house. Closes the portal.
"So... now what?"
Cue cheesy guitar music.
And that is how the azlanti came to have a star empire.