Gap Theories


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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Hello!

Now that Starfinder is out and we've been able to read up on the Gap, I wanted to make a thread where we can discuss theories as to what happened based on the little fragments of information we have about it in the Core Rulebook. Why did it happen? How did it happen? Where is Golarion? Why are the gods so closed up about it? Do they know what happened or is it a ruse?

If you have a theory about the Gap, share it here. We can have a nice discussion about it and see what kind of interesting plausibilities we can come up with.

* * *

I believe the gods do know what happened, I don't think they're faking it. But I also think that whatever happened was so traumatic that Golarion needed to be moved and hidden away from someone or something. The gods remain closed up about it because of a pact they all made to keep quiet, because if it leaks, the greater the chance that whoever or whatever will find Golarion.


I wonder if Rovagug was close to getting out. So they (the gods) moved it somewhere else. Maybe quantum stasis?


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Someone in the London Underground failed to mind it. Disaster ensued.


Somebody spoiled the final season of Game of Thrones to the gods. Retaliation happened.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

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Rovagug broke out (or was about to break out), possibly due to increasing worship of him and his spawn. A great struggle occurred amongst the gods and the worlds. In the end, the gods quarantined Golarion into a demiplane and erased all memories in order to keep the peace and to prevent further worship of the Rough Beast.

Afterall, other worlds call Golarion "The Cage."

The Exchange

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Your party failed to stop any one of several adventure paths, and as the world descended into an eternal reign of terror, the gods removed it.


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I'm pretty sure there's some connection between rovavug and the devourer

Liberty's Edge

MOVE ALONG! NOTHING TO SEE! NO BLACK DRAGONS. GET ON WITH YOUR LIVES. EVERYTHING IS FINE.

Scarab Sages

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path Subscriber

I'm sure the Pathfinder Society was involved....


My theory is that the Devourer and Rovagug are actually mates/brothers/parent and child/etc. The Devourer learned of Rovagug's imprisonment and went to free Rovagug and the gods sent Golarion to a demiplane somewhere and hid it's location by wiping the Devourer memory. This also wiped all lesser creatures memories. The deities decided to never again discuss where Golarion went.


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My theory is that the Devourer ate Rovagug.

Dark Archive

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grandpoobah wrote:
I'm sure the Pathfinder Society was involved....

And the Blakros Museum. Nigel finally did one thing too many in there....

Grand Lodge

My theory is that someone tried to screw with reality by altering/damaging the Akashic Record. I think that Golarion was part and parcel with the misadventure and was sucked into the plane of time as part of a quick fix.

I think that Torag was what held everything together, as is sort of trapped because of this.

And while who is responsible for causing this crim e to reality is not known, my personal dream canon would be Tar-Baphon wounhave done this to jump start prophecy and bring back Aroden if only to just kill him and vault himself into divinity.

The end result is that Aroden is returned to life, but quite mortal, and now in hiding trying to figure out how to reverse the damage Tar-Baphon has done, and just as affected by the gap as everyone else.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber
Ventnor wrote:
My theory is that the Devourer ate Rovagug.

My theory is the Devourer is Rovagug, or more correctly, the one small leak in the extra level of protection that is currently holding Rovagug outside of the known universe. The event horizon forms the "body" of what is known as the Devourer, and all sacrifices, worship, planetary bodies, etc. gets sucked in to feed the Rough Beast, wherever he is. (If "wherever" is the appropriate term, depending on dimensional theory.)

Scarab Sages

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Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path Subscriber

Perhaps Rick got black-out drunk and tried to "fix" the pathfinder rules system. the only way to put it back was to switch dimension to C-137 and start over with slightly altered game mechanics.

Vindicators 4!!!!


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I suspect Rovagug might have something to do with it. However, it would be interesting if it had nothing to do with Rovagug at all, and it was something else altogether.


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Herald wrote:

My theory is that someone tried to screw with reality by altering/damaging the Akashic Record. I think that Golarion was part and parcel with the misadventure and was sucked into the plane of time as part of a quick fix.

I think that Torag was what held everything together, as is sort of trapped because of this.

And while who is responsible for causing this crim e to reality is not known, my personal dream canon would be Tar-Baphon wounhave done this to jump start prophecy and bring back Aroden if only to just kill him and vault himself into divinity.

The end result is that Aroden is returned to life, but quite mortal, and now in hiding trying to figure out how to reverse the damage Tar-Baphon has done, and just as affected by the gap as everyone else.

My theory is similar to this, but had the Akasic Record originally running off of prophecy. It broke when Aroden died, and when it was finally fixed, it attempted to copy its memory set back into the cosmos, despite being thousands of years out of date.


DASQ wrote:
I wonder if Rovagug was close to getting out. So they (the gods) moved it somewhere else. Maybe quantum stasis?

That's part of my theory. It has a couple different parts and a couple different clues that may or may not be related. For all we know, Golarion being moved, the memory/history issues known as the gap, and the silence of certain gods are three separate things, and not connected at all. Yeah, I don't really think that, but it's good to keep in mind.

Anyway... (I don't have the books handy at the moment, so my spellings will be off)

I find it interesting that not only is Rov not mentioned (unless he's been absorbed into The Devourer), but Serenrea's role in imprisoning him and saving the universe is not really mentioned. Asmo took a hit to his station, too, and no mention of his work against Rov.

So possible theory: Gol was moved as part of a way to permanently deal with Rov. A future adventure path may involve traveling though dimensions in order to rescue the souls remaining on the world before whatever pocket universe it's been put into collapses.

On the other hand, remember that the death of Aroden started causing a lot of trouble (breaking prophecy, for instance). I think the Gap is a related to Aroden's death. What if his death caused some kind of disruption in time, radiating forward and back in time, causing the Gap? This would also account for the fuzzy edges of the Gap, as it were...


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Mad Paladin wrote:
On the other hand, remember that the death of Aroden started causing a lot of trouble (breaking prophecy, for instance). I think the Gap is a related to Aroden's death. What if his death caused some kind of disruption in time, radiating forward and back in time, causing the Gap? This would also account for the fuzzy edges of the Gap, as it were...

Supposed death. Remember it was never confirmed Aroden ever died. I think he survived the battle, but was so weak and f-ed up that he landed in the mortal realm, creating the Eye of Abendego. I think over the centuries, he recovered back to his divine state and determined the only real way to keep Golarion safe was to snatch it from the Gods with the help of other ex-mortal gods: Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Norgorber.

Due to Iomedae being a devout follower of Aroden, she volunteered to remain behind and watch over the other gods and those that weren't on Golarion during it's disappearance as well as keep it secret where it disappeared to. *shrugs*

Speculations, of course, but odd how none of the other mortals-turned-gods aren't mentioned other than Iomedae. Yer telling me not a single follower brought the faith of the Drunken God with them to space?


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
MakuTheDark wrote:
Mad Paladin wrote:
On the other hand, remember that the death of Aroden started causing a lot of trouble (breaking prophecy, for instance). I think the Gap is a related to Aroden's death. What if his death caused some kind of disruption in time, radiating forward and back in time, causing the Gap? This would also account for the fuzzy edges of the Gap, as it were...

Supposed death. Remember it was never confirmed Aroden ever died. I think he survived the battle, but was so weak and f-ed up that he landed in the mortal realm, creating the Eye of Abendego. I think over the centuries, he recovered back to his divine state and determined the only real way to keep Golarion safe was to snatch it from the Gods with the help of other ex-mortal gods: Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Norgorber.

Due to Iomedae being a devout follower of Aroden, she volunteered to remain behind and watch over the other gods and those that weren't on Golarion during it's disappearance as well as keep it secret where it disappeared to. *shrugs*

Speculations, of course, but odd how none of the other mortals-turned-gods aren't mentioned other than Iomedae. Yer telling me not a single follower brought the faith of the Drunken God with them to space?

Hmmm...I like this theory. It's a good point about Iomedae being the only ascended god who seems to be in Starfinder (as of now).


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My theory is that the game designers needed both a big mystery in the game and a way to remove Golarion completely from the setting that players can't get around. So, The Gap.

I am not a fan of The Gap because it feels like a MacGuffin. But, I like the game system quite a lot and everything else about the campaign setting, so I'll just deal with it.


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MakuTheDark wrote:
Mad Paladin wrote:
On the other hand, remember that the death of Aroden started causing a lot of trouble (breaking prophecy, for instance). I think the Gap is a related to Aroden's death. What if his death caused some kind of disruption in time, radiating forward and back in time, causing the Gap? This would also account for the fuzzy edges of the Gap, as it were...

Supposed death. Remember it was never confirmed Aroden ever died. I think he survived the battle, but was so weak and f-ed up that he landed in the mortal realm, creating the Eye of Abendego. I think over the centuries, he recovered back to his divine state and determined the only real way to keep Golarion safe was to snatch it from the Gods with the help of other ex-mortal gods: Cayden Cailean, Iomedae, and Norgorber.

Due to Iomedae being a devout follower of Aroden, she volunteered to remain behind and watch over the other gods and those that weren't on Golarion during it's disappearance as well as keep it secret where it disappeared to. *shrugs*

Speculations, of course, but odd how none of the other mortals-turned-gods aren't mentioned other than Iomedae. Yer telling me not a single follower brought the faith of the Drunken God with them to space?

Interesting theory, but the problem is that the devs have said all gods that aren't explicitly stated to be dead/gone are around until proven otherwise. Cayden is still there and still has worshipers , but he's just not one of the core gods within the pact worlds and doesn't have anything else interesting enough going on to warrant mention in the CRB.


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John Mechalas wrote:
My theory is that the game designers needed both a big mystery in the game and a way to remove Golarion completely from the setting that players can't get around. So, The Gap.

Always thought the purpose was to allow PF to continue and allow its history to change with future splat/AP stuff without affecting Starfinders timeline. *shrugs*

Luke Spencer wrote:
Interesting theory, but the problem is that the devs have said all gods that aren't explicitly stated to be dead/gone are around until proven otherwise. Cayden is still there and still has worshipers , but he's just not one of the core gods within the pact worlds and doesn't have anything else interesting enough going on to warrant mention in the CRB.

If that's the case, then that's a shame. Their disappearance would of added flavor to Golarion's disappearance. Especially since the Starstone is on Absalom Station yet there is no mention about the Test of the Starstone.

I mean, messing with the Starstone did turn four mortals into Gods. Now it chills in the center, acting like a beacon and power plant. I mean, to build Abaslom Station using the Starstone as a power source would take the act of a God to pervent, well, more Ascended to be created, right?

In fact, are there still just four Ascended after the Gap? Or perhaps there are more Ascended yet to be descovered thus why they haven't been mentioned yet :) I mean, a PF AP about doing the Test of the Starstone sounds interesting. PCs trying to be Gods and Goddesses.

Thus, the Gap helps both franchises. Continues future content for PF without breaking SF. Probably gonna have a PF AP be a catalyist to a SF AP. *shrugs*


There have probably been a few people who passed the test before the Starstone mysteriously became a space station, but if it was in the Gap it's possible those gods were forgotten completely. Hell, that would make a really good plot for an AP, investigating a mysterious cult that worshiped a god who had gotten all twisted and evil from being forgotten in due to the Gap.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

The Gap does make sense in terms of the fact that Starfinder and Pathfinder take place in the same universe just 4,000 years or so in the future. The Gap does, indeed, make it so that the lasting effects of future PF content won't affect the setting and early narrative of SF.

I would also be interested in an SF AP that deals with a forgotten Gap god, that would be kind of cool. You have to think that somewhere between PF and SF that more people Ascended though the power of the Starstone.

It also makes sense to me that the Starstone didn't lose it's power to grant godhood to those who pass the test. They just have to reach the stone in Absalom Station. It might be a Drift beacon and a power source for a mighty space station now, but I imagine that the stone itself hasn't changed. Someone who is able to get to the stone and take it's test and succeeds would become an Ascended god, I would imagine.

Hmmm, thought: What if, during the Gap, Golarion was removed to protect the Starstone for some reason? Maybe the planet was moved, and the Starstone remained where it was, now protected by the vacuum of space and other such things to keep something from getting to it, becoming a god, and destroying everything with their new god-like power? Maybe the stone is far harder to get to now that it's in the station than it was when it was in the cathedral? But now, thanks to Triune, technology has caught up to things, and the Starstone could be in danger once again?

Just a thought.


Apologies for the slight tangent, but (and this is just a personal theory) I doubt anyone would be able to ascend from the Starstone since it got moved to the station. We know that the Starstone itself acts as an incredibly powerful Drift Beacon and that it provides pretty much an unlimited power source in the general vacinity of Absolom Station, which is super useful and a good reason to lock the thing away and not let anyone near it ever. I'd imagine the Starstone itself is sealed in the very heart of Absolom Station and they probably just didn't bother creating an entrance, just put it in a perfectly sealed metal room, because if someone reached and then messed with it then Absolom Station is just gonna get destroyed.


Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Oh, I agree that the Starstone would be nearly impossible to get to due to security. But the Starstone would still work, I believe. If someone *were* to somehow bypass security and get cut they're way into the chamber that houses it, I believe they can still take the test. This might drain power, or it might not. The truth is that we still don't exactly know how the Starstone works, just that every test is different for everyone who takes it.

So, I agree it would be difficult and nearly impossible to get to the stone, but I disagree that it wouldn't work. It would work...so long as you can reach it, that's the hard part (no, I guess the test is still the hard part...). I mean, it *could* draw power from the station and cause all kinds of havoc, maybe. But I guess only the ones who set up the system for it to power the station would know that, and, thanks to the Gap, we don't know who did.


MakuTheDark wrote:

In fact, are there still just four Ascended after the Gap? Or perhaps there are more Ascended yet to be descovered thus why they haven't been mentioned yet :) I mean, a PF AP about doing the Test of the Starstone sounds interesting. PCs trying to be Gods and Goddesses.

Do we count the once-mortal portion of Trinity? Not a Starstone ascension, but...

Which brings up a question for me: Is the Starstone still able to grant divinity? It seemed like the Test was just as important as the Starstone itself. Or, perhaps the energy that could grant divinity is what's powering the Drift beacon, and either can't be redirected, or redirecting would cause untold havoc with the Drift...


It's Triune.


Mad Paladin wrote:
MakuTheDark wrote:

In fact, are there still just four Ascended after the Gap? Or perhaps there are more Ascended yet to be descovered thus why they haven't been mentioned yet :) I mean, a PF AP about doing the Test of the Starstone sounds interesting. PCs trying to be Gods and Goddesses.

Do we count the once-mortal portion of Trinity? Not a Starstone ascension, but...

Which brings up a question for me: Is the Starstone still able to grant divinity? It seemed like the Test was just as important as the Starstone itself. Or, perhaps the energy that could grant divinity is what's powering the Drift beacon, and either can't be redirected, or redirecting would cause untold havoc with the Drift...

It's a bit more ambiguous, but it is implied IF you make it through the impermeable defenses you could theoretically take the test by touching the Starstone.


Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that the test was the process of getting to the Starstone, and once you're there you just get to become a god. In that case all they'd need to do was make it impossible to get to the Starstone (put it in a giant metal box surrounded by an antimagic field) and there's no test to be had. I know if I had an infinite power source supplying everything wirelessly in a 1,000 mile radius I'd seal it in an unbreakable box and never let anyone near it. Again this is all based on a lot of assumptions and it would only take a couple of words from an official source to throw it all out the window but that's what makes theories fun! Getting back on topic for the thread though, I like to imagine that the Gap is entirely unrelated to whatever happened to Golarion. What if the Gods just said 'hey you aren't really using this planet anymore so we're gonna take it' and everyone kinda just accepted it, then something way worse and unrelated happened a few hundred years later which is what really caused the Gap.

Scarab Sages

The wrong person flushed the wrong toilet at the wrong time for all the right reasons.

Why else would some of the new maps feature toilets when they rarely or never have before?


The Aboleths did it.


Luke Spencer wrote:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but it was my understanding that the test was the process of getting to the Starstone, and once you're there you just get to become a god. In that case all they'd need to do was make it impossible to get to the Starstone (put it in a giant metal box surrounded by an antimagic field) and there's no test to be had. I know if I had an infinite power source supplying everything wirelessly in a 1,000 mile radius I'd seal it in an unbreakable box and never let anyone near it. Again this is all based on a lot of assumptions and it would only take a couple of words from an official source to throw it all out the window but that's what makes theories fun! Getting back on topic for the thread though, I like to imagine that the Gap is entirely unrelated to whatever happened to Golarion. What if the Gods just said 'hey you aren't really using this planet anymore so we're gonna take it' and everyone kinda just accepted it, then something way worse and unrelated happened a few hundred years later which is what really caused the Gap.

From my understanding of the Test of tne Starstone, this is the case. It isn't the test itself, but the stone that grants divinity. Aroden became a god simply by moving it, which is why I think a God was involved in moving the stone and built Absolom Station.

Oh damn! There is another Ascended mention in canon...Casandalee. A mortal Android who became one part of Triune!

But back to topic, I wonder if possibly the Gods had a civil war in which Golarion was a casuality along with everyone's memory?

Theory #2: More mortals have become Ascended *cough*PC that have gone beyond level 20 and passed Test of Starstone via new AP coming out ;)*cough*

The Gods who were the real OG (Original Gods), tolerated the ever growing Pantheon, but it was clear there was a divide between the Ascended and those of "true" divinity.

Then Aroden reappears (Sorry, but he has to be related to everything; until his death is confirmed, he ain't dead), rallies his fellow Ascended to overthrow the old Pantheon. Essentially, Clash of Titan/American Gods/Ragnorak kind of situation. S@#! goes straight to Hell on Golarion, till the tides change.

The OGs come up with a plan to trap and keep those that follow the Ascended on Golarion and simply winked them away from everything and everyone. And to prevent more Ascended from being created, Absolom Station is created, pretty much sealing the stone and with an added effect; the Gods wipe the memory of the Test of the Starstone from mortal minds.

Those Ascended who still do exist, exist for a reason. Iomedae and perhaps a few other Ascended (Casandalee possibly being one as well, since Triune doesn't really make an appearance till after Gap) saw the madness Aroden's war did to mortals and decided it best to contain the uspers versus out right duking it out till death.

But wait, why would Iomedae betray Aroden?! Not possible! Well, Iomedae may of seen Aroden's Azlanti origins begin to show during the conflict, and being a true Lawful Goddess she is, decided how he was going about it wasn't right. Remember, though much of Azlanti culture isn't known in PF, but what is known through their descendents and what was left of the Azlanti in SF is that they are prideful and not afraid to be conquerors.

*shrugs* Could go on, but gotta eat lol I love making theories and as Luke said, it only takes one post from Dev to blow it away :) doesn't stop the rampant imagination to connect the pieces though.


Triune, The All-Code wrote:
It's Triune.

Yeah, yeah. Didn't have my references on hand, so couldn't double check.

Still imagining a non-malevolent version of Scorpio (SWTOR) or Glados (Portal) as an avatar...


I think it is in the Drift.....


Its quite simple....there was a writer guild strike, which caused a huge gap in time. Once it was over some writers went back in time to before the gap and picked up where they left off while others didn't want to go back in time because it would have cost too much gas to make the trip. You know gas prices are not cheap. well that pretty much explains what happened. now you might be wondering who are these writers are they the gods? nope, they are the being before all those who came up with the concept of an Idea. being beyond power, they can create whole worlds and kill everything with only a few words. these are being more powerful than anything else in the game.


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My theory:

Aroden wasn't actually dead. The initial entry into The Drift on Golarion was catastrophic, and Aroden pulled it into wherever he's at to protect it. He may have expended all his power to do so. The gods are keeping quiet on this, as they suspect the initial exposure to The Drift may have been intentional on Asmodeus' part. While they work on how to properly pin the accusation on him & figure out how to deal with it, they're keeping quiet. Meanwhile, Triune, by way of trying to deal with a bad situation, has shown mortals a safe & reliable way to enter The Drift by giving them Drift Engine tech.

I think Golarion is where Aroden has been all along: alive, well, but unable in some fashion to interact with the Material Plane.


RealAlchemy wrote:
The Aboleths did it.

Yes. Where are all the aboleths?! Why does no one think of the aboleths??

Personally, I think the Aboleths have been really busy building themselves an empire called the Universal Union in another dimension/timeline, so we shouldn't concern ourselves about them anymore.


I think the Gap was caused by Pharasma.


Aqua Zesty Man wrote:
RealAlchemy wrote:
The Aboleths did it.

Yes. Where are all the aboleths?! Why does no one think of the aboleths??

Personally, I think the Aboleths have been really busy building themselves an empire called the Universal Union in another dimension/timeline, so we shouldn't concern ourselves about them anymore.

Nyarlathotep called them back to that one dimension with the squiggly colors for a strategy meeting.

Apparently, giving the humans a source of unlimited power wasn't really helping the long-term plan.


im not certain that the gap and golarion disappearing are necessarily related, or at least im not sure that they were caused by the same thing.


jack ferencz wrote:
im not certain that the gap and golarion disappearing are necessarily related, or at least im not sure that they were caused by the same thing.

Agreed. Personally, I think the Gap is related to Aroden's death, but I think Golarion's disappearance is related to it's role as the prison of Rov. Those might still be related, but not necessarily.

Liberty's Edge

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Aroden has been confirmed dead by both James Jacobs and Pharasma. IIRC his soul was judged and sent to its proper place (which was not named, should be Axis for a LN being)

I think what caused Golarion to disappear just could not take the Starstone with it, even though it apparently was able to take Rovagug along.

Did Torag build Absalom Station to confine the Starstone ? Is Torag the Absalom Station itself ? Is the Starstone the portal to where Golarion now resides ?

I think also that the facts below are related :

- The Starstone takes much of its power from the death of a goddess
- The Starstone allows mortals to become Mythic, attract the attention of the gods and even become deities themselves later on
- the Starstone is the ultimate Drift beacon
- The Drift cannot be reached by magic
- The Drift eats away at the other planes, including the planes of the gods

Not sure how it all fits though :-)

A theory : Rovagug was going to escape. Something (the gods ? a result of Rovagug escaping ?) caused the creation of a subspace unreachable by magic, even divine mythic magic. The Starstone is its only point of contact with the rest of reality. The Drift sprang into existence to bridge the gap between that subspace and the rest of reality, like a shell around the Golarion subspace and with the Starstone being the lynchpin of this new folding of reality.

By teaching FTL travel to mortals which ends up strengthening the drift, Triune is doing a jailer's job

And no god complains about the Drift tearing at their planes because every bit of it helps preventing Rovagug's escape

BTW : Maybe Tar-Baphon is the one trying to free the Rough Beast

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

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1) Rovagug broke free and wrecked the universe. Starfinder actually happens in Universe 2.0, after the Gods built a new one. The Gap is actually the result of the Gods not making a perfect copy.

Or more accurately, nothing before the Gap actually happened in this universe.

The Gap having a slightly different duration and ending point is a result of the Gods having more/less knowledge about certain parts of space (for the start of the Gap) or being rebuilt at different times (for the end of the gap.)

2) Aroden actually did return, eventually. He raised the Starstone to orbit and created Absalom Station the same way he originally raised it from the sea and built the first Absalom. The Gap is because of history 'snapping back' when Aroden's return un-broke prophecy.
Aroden then sacrificed himself to destroy Golarion, forcing Humanity to find its destiny among the Stars - Aroden is a God of Human Manifest Destiny, after all.


The Raven Black wrote:


By teaching FTL travel to mortals which ends up strengthening the drift, Triune is doing a jailer's job

And no god complains about the Drift tearing at their planes because every bit of it helps preventing Rovagug's escape

I might steal this...

Might also explain Asmodeus' decline in influence. This time, he's not the jailer, so the other gods don't have to put up with him...


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I figured Rovagug did escape, but was slain. But even a dead god may dream, and thus was The Devourer born. The devestation left in the battle with Rovagug is what kicked Golarion into some pocket dimension (where some god provided a sun to keep Golarion alive), and the Gap is the damage done to the Universe by the titanic battle of gods, where the Universe is trying to suppress its memories of such disaster.

Though I also like The Raven Black's idea.


If Rovagug escaped and destroyed the world, it wouldn't just be Golarion that vanished. It would be the entire solar system - and actually the galaxy, and probably the Material Plane as a whole. So that's not it. I think the "gap" is Starfinder's overarching mystery, comparable to Pathfinder's "what happened to Aroden." No answers.

Liberty's Edge

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james014Aura wrote:

I figured Rovagug did escape, but was slain. But even a dead god may dream, and thus was The Devourer born. The devestation left in the battle with Rovagug is what kicked Golarion into some pocket dimension (where some god provided a sun to keep Golarion alive), and the Gap is the damage done to the Universe by the titanic battle of gods, where the Universe is trying to suppress its memories of such disaster.

Though I also like The Raven Black's idea.

Thank you :-)

I like your idea of a god providing a sun and twisted it a little : Torag sacrificed himself to be that sun. But that does not make much sense for a Dwarven god.

So what about Golarion being all by itself in that empty pocket, no sun, no stars, no moon (what happened to it BTW ?). The survivors of the Exile would die quickly, except for those living below the surface. So Torag sacrificed himself to stay on Golarion and take all surface dwellers underground and lead and protect them against the bad things down there, like he did for untold ages when the Dwarves lived underground. An inverted Quest for the Sky.

In this case, either Torag is still there being worshipped by the surface survivors, or he sacrificed himself further to provide / become a haven where they could live their lives underground in good environmental conditions.


The description of Iomedae on page 487 of the Starfinder Core Rulebook says that she ascended to godhood centuries before the Gap. Pathfinder takes place 900 years after she ascends. Meaning the Gap is caused by either the Whatever of Aroden or by Pathfinder players.

Aroden's Whatever broke the reliability of prophecy in Pathfinder. My theory is that the Gap ended when someone fixed the damage, but the fix tried to overwrite the "true" history of the universe on top of the actual history. The result is that almost any memory or record was erased. Hence why the few records from during the Gap are confusing and contradictory. (So kind of like the Akashic Record thing from up thread, but different)

MakuTheDark wrote:
In fact, are there still just four Ascended after the Gap? Or perhaps there are more Ascended yet to be descovered thus why they haven't been mentioned yet :) I mean, a PF AP about doing the Test of the Starstone sounds interesting. PCs trying to be Gods and Goddesses.

Who is to say the new gods(besides Triune) are not also Ascended? Maybe the fact that they are was lost to the Gap.

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