Legacy Pathfinder and the Gap

[princedmorn]

First off; Let me apologies if this question has already been answered or theorized. I know there are already tons of posts on The Gap, but mine is centered around Elves and their role in the new Starfinder game.

Let me ask this question real quick; does anyone know when space travel actually started? I know from the Core Book that Drift Travel happened after The Gap, but was that the first and only time anyone went out of their atmosphere?
It's a really weird question because I'm wondering the time frame of The Gap. The Core Book states that there are historical records (I'm guessing from the Pathfinder timeline), and also stated in the Core Book Elves are said to live 750 years naturally. Could an elf from the Pathfinder timeline be alive to be in the Starfinder timeline?
"IF" Golarion is a "fantasy Earth", and it took 66 years from Wright Bros to Moon landing, how much longer would starflight take to have been invented. In addition to the 300 years, is my idea of an Elf who has been in both worlds possible?
In addition, what about the old Pathfinder gods? Can they still be practiced? (Especially on Castrovel)

[Mad Paladin]

I got the impression from the core rules (haven't been active on the boards, and wasn't paying too much attention to the pre-release stuff in order to not be over hyped and hate the game as a result...it's happened before) that the Gap is thousands of years long. So probably any elf that has memory problems due to the gap was not living before it (Dragons, on the other hand...).

[therealthom]

Magic 'space travel' predates the Gap.

p 507 "the elven generation whose lives extended back into the Gap continued on, broken and confused by the blank centuries in their own lives and memories."

p 430 "Those researching the cultures from Golarion, for instance, sometimes uncover documents referring to dates in AR or “Absalom Reckoning,” a measurement believed to have been used for nearly 5 millennia, ..."

In Pathfinder you could worship Aroden, it just didn't do you much good. No reason you couldn't worship other long dead gods.

[princedmorn]

therealthom wrote:

Magic 'space travel' predates the Gap.

p 507 "the elven generation whose lives extended back into the Gap continued on, broken and confused by the blank centuries in their own lives and memories."

p 430 "Those researching the cultures from Golarion, for instance, sometimes uncover documents referring to dates in AR or “Absalom Reckoning,” a measurement believed to have been used for nearly 5 millennia, ..."

In Pathfinder you could worship Aroden, it just didn't do you much good. No reason you couldn't worship other long dead gods.

I wasn't sure how to interpret it as they were the same elves or generation as in family/offspring. So, Elves (within in both timelines) would have memories of a Pathfinder campaign but not the events of the Gap, right?

[Shinigami02]

princedmorn wrote:

In addition, what about the old Pathfinder gods? Can they still be practiced? (Especially on Castrovel)

About this part specifically, it's been confirmed that the only Pathfinder-era Gods that aren't still around are Rovagug and Torag. And Shelyn's reception is spotty because she's seemingly somewhere in the Dark Tapestry. Other than those notes, all Pathfinder-era Gods are still available for worship (though maybe not in SFS) they just aren't all Core gods.

Also as far as the Elves, the point of the Gap is that Pathfinder-era games don't have direct impact on Starfinder-era stuff, so it's highly likely that it lasted longer than even the longest Elf lifetime. Truly immortal races like Dragons and Outsiders may have pre-gap memories, but it's unlikely for any of the playable races in the CRB, even elves.

[princedmorn]

Shinigami02 wrote:

...the point of the Gap is that Pathfinder-era games don't have direct impact on Starfinder-era stuff

This made way more sense now that someone said it! Thanks! :D

[john mclaughlin 11]

all i have seen is from pathfinder is a small bit about an azland trips to the near by star sytems whair they found dead races and there was something still there and they ran home fast it was from a iron god book

[Myrryr]

Since when did dragons become immortal in Golarion? According to Dragons Revisited, Arantaros was specifically so focused on dying of old age that he was working on the Sun Orchid Elixir, and got Haagenti's help (which turned him into a ravener cuz demons), but that's pretty clearly indicative of dragons dying of old age.

There's also Daralathxyl, whom Dragons Revisited mentions is 'cause for concern for all of the dragons because they don't understand how he's still alive at 2k years old', which seems to indicate their lifespans are between 1200 (great wyrm) and under 2k (Daralathxyl being too old).

Granted, that hardly prevents the innumerable undead, constructs, and other immortal creatures from living through the gap. God knows there's plenty of liches, vampires, fey and the like on Golarion or Castrovel, etc., that would easily have the lifespans to have been on Golarion before it vanished and still be around in Starfinder.

[Shinigami02]

Ah. I'll admit I'm not actually that familiar with Golarion dragons, and was just referencing them because others usually use them as an example. Outsiders still work though.

[princedmorn]

I thank everyone for there input on this topic. My main question was if I were to play an elf could it be the same character from my Pathfinder campaign and retain the knowledge of their past with the exception of events due to the Gap.

I think because there is no information on a time frame between Pathfinder and Pre-Gap, this just makes it impossible, like Shinigami02 said.

[Ventnor]

princedmorn wrote:

I thank everyone for there input on this topic. My main question was if I were to play an elf could it be the same character from my Pathfinder campaign and retain the knowledge of their past with the exception of events due to the Gap.

I think because there is no information on a time frame between Pathfinder and Pre-Gap, this just makes it impossible, like Shinigami02 said.

Probably not unless they found a way to be immortal. There are a few places in the core book which imply the Gap lasted for at least 1,000 years.

[David knott 242]

The Gap is believed to have lasted for thousands of years, so nobody who was alive should be alive in the Starfinder era unless they were put in stasis, pushed forward in time, or otherwise did not live and age through the entire Gap.

[Saashaa]

That sounds like a flavor question. I see no reason, should the character have found Immortality, why you couldn't flavor that. That being said, flavor specifically would not give any benefit in-game.

Be reasonable with your "I know that because..." comments and you should be fine.

[Saashi]

I don’t see even immortal races having memory from the Gap, or from before the Gap. The Yithians, who are essentially immortal, can transfer their minds into other bodies from across space and time in Pathfinder, however, in Starfinder, they no longer have the capabilities of crossing time, and they have no idea what they were doing in the time before the Gap. Also, they’re now being chased by the Hounds of Tindalos, despite the fact that in Pathfinder, they weren’t. I feel like the Hounds of Tindalos are probably connected to something here, because it’s odd they’d be chasing Yithians in Starfinder, but not Pathfinder. This stuff really goes deep.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

As far as I'm aware, in the event of Pathfinder characters getting "timelost" and winding up post-Gap, they don't have blanks the way a long-lived species like an elf or dragon would from the Gap, because they pre-date it, but are just as in the dark about what happened since the Gap hadn't happened yet. That they're from far back enough that their historical records weren't effected by the Gap (meaning that the results of your AP's didn't get forgotten!). It'd be like asking a person from the Renaissance what the 1920's were like, if my understanding is correct.

[Metaphysician]

On the matter of space travel, it wasn't just elves and elven gates. Various civilizations had limited spaceflight even during the Pathfinder era, notably Verces, Eox, and the Sarcesians. As in, space flight with actual ships. It was notably more *limited* than the present era, but it was absolutely there.