I have a player in my new Serpent's Skull campaign (though the path isn't important to this discussion,) playing a young half-elven ranger who fought a war in a nation heavily covered in wilderness. He's boarding the ship to try and escape his painful memories.
Now, understanding that I don't keep up well with Golarion Geography that hasn't appeared in an adventure path (unless it's super awesome like Numeria,) I decided with him that he probably came from the River Kingdoms, since there's a lot of nations that want a piece of the place...
It's still early in the campaign though (3 sessions in,) so there's still time to amend things... so, does anyone have better ideas for war-torn wildlands for him to escape? Or should I be good, running with the River Kingdoms?
I have a player in my new Serpent's Skull campaign (though the path isn't important to this discussion,) playing a young half-elven ranger who fought a war in a nation heavily covered in wilderness. He's boarding the ship to try and escape his painful memories.
Now, understanding that I don't keep up well with Golarion Geography that hasn't appeared in an adventure path (unless it's super awesome like Numeria,) I decided with him that he probably came from the River Kingdoms, since there's a lot of nations that want a piece of the place... ** spoiler omitted **
It's still early in the campaign though (3 sessions in,) so there's still time to amend things... so, does anyone have better ideas for war-torn wildlands for him to escape? Or should I be good, running with the River Kingdoms?
The River Kingdoms would definitely work, but if you want another option to look at, you could check out the ongoing hostilities between Nirmathas and Molthune.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Tanglebriar in Kyonin for elves vs. demons
Worldwound for crusaders against the demons within (not much wilderness except Shudderwood)
Nirmanthas vs Molthune for the constant border war
Lastwall against the orcs from Belkin
Galt, as a revolutionary fighting the current Revolution Council.
Thanks for the ideas, guys.
Sorry I forgot to mention his favored enemy is (Humans,) so wars which were against demons or orcs or goblins wouldn't work. I'll have to go through Nirmanthas and Molthune again, there might be something there.
Galt... I dunno, Galt's never really gelled entirely for me somehow. It feels like an Alice in Wonderland forever Tea Party parody of the French Revolution; the sort of place I imagine I'd love in a dreamworld, or demi-plane, or in the First World of fey; but feels vaguely unreal, (yeah, I know, weird thing to say about a fantasy world,) like a gallows humor joke forty-four years in the telling, in Golarion.
I'll mull it over some more and get back to you.
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Galt would have been one of my first suggestions as well.
However, I think that Rabbit and Thomas have the right idea: Nirmathas. The independent forest covered region which fought its way free of Cheliax, then Molthune, and now must continually fight to keep its independence.
Just one heads up. The Campaign Setting or World Guide make it sound like the area is gearing up for war. I know JJ has said that the original intent was to make the border an actaul war zone, and that they wanted it to be an area for war campaigns with no clear good & bad guys.
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Galt... I dunno, Galt's never really gelled entirely for me somehow. It feels like an Alice in Wonderland forever Tea Party parody of the French Revolution; the sort of place I imagine I'd love in a dreamworld, or demi-plane, or in the First World of fey; but feels vaguely unreal, (yeah, I know, weird thing to say about a fantasy world,) like a gallows humor joke forty-four years in the telling, in Golarion.
This sort of thing absolutely happens in real life. It didn't in France, but you only have to look at, well, just take Guatemala's 36 year civil war as one example of many. Galt's like that, only with Revolutionary French trappings, and powerful necromancers lurking like vultures in the background.
Think also of the Forty Years War. Galt basically has that sort of thing going on too. Wars can last for generations.
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Ok, if you're running with the current timeline (where it is currently 4711) this probably won't work (as it was a 4 year war; 4689-4693), but check out the War without Rivals.
Brutal trench warfare for control of the Dragosvet Plains in Ustalav between Ustalavian Counts. Think WWI with magic - lots of deaths, very little territory changing hands. And I can definitely see non-Ustalavian forces being hired on, late in the war, as both sides began to feel the sting of losses. Eventually Count Neska of Barstoi pulled his forces back to their own county. Of course, his men had orders: burn and salt every piece of land they surrendered. 18 years later the territory once known as Furcina is now the Furrows - a barren land still scarred by empty trenches and haunted by restless dead galore.
There's not much detail right now (just a small write-up on page 192 of the Inner Sea Guide), but with the new AP being in Ustalav and Rule of Fear (the Ustalav guide) releasing next month - I'd expect more detail soon. The big downside would be the fact that the war ended 18 years ago, not exactly condusive to a young soldier concept without a little work.
Wars can last a long time. I understand that. I'm cool with that concept, (well, fictionally.)
But Galt reminds me more of goblin politics ("How long you think the new goblin king'll last?" "Give 'im a week.") than a war. What are the sides?
Galt isn't about different groups of different insurgents rising up against an oppressive government that diminished the rights and dignity of humanity. That's how it started, sure. But according to the Inner World Guide, now it's about murdering an administration that might be a month old, installing an (often completely different) leadership and then forming a new insurgency to murder them and install a new government, mostly, as far as I can tell; because they've gotten used to rebellion, or just because they like to kill and feel righteous about it.
I can't help wonder how many people toast the new leadership they helped install, full remembering what happened last year and knowing what's they're going to do to their precious governors next year.
I'll admit, maybe I'm not enough of a history buff to understand. Maybe I'm just .. more naive than I thought that this kind of a conflict seems too crazy to be real.
Gosh, I hope I haven't jacked my own post too far. You know, to be honest; I actually kind of like Galt for the origin of this character now because I can easily see how that kind of a society could mess up a young soldier who might have thought he was fighting for something that meant something. Heh. Now that's a twist. :)
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I'd like to suggest Galt as well. Read "The Secret of the Rose and Glove" web fiction, I think you'll find very ispirational (http://paizo.com/pathfinder/tales/serial).
As for Galt, it's inspired to the "the Terror", the historical period just after the French revolution ("The revolution devours its own children" was referred to this period IIRC). It really happened (but not for as ong as it's going on in Galt... this is a fantasy world after all).
Here's a wiki on that period, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror I hope it can help you to undestand what Galt is all about (basically people are so scared of the power they suspect anyone who gets it of wanting it all... and this suspect breeds fear of tiranny, and then the new leaders become too dangerous and lose their heads, and on and on...)
Well if the ustalavian war ended 18 years ago, and the character is a half elf, that would still be young for a half elf.