What answers are assigned to the mysteries of your version of Golarion?


Lost Omens Campaign Setting General Discussion


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Many entries on Golarion's lore, histories, people, or locations, are often left intentionally mysterious or obscure, subject to the rulings of the GM in their own world. Some are given a few different choices, like the origin of the Mosquito Witch, others left to interpretation, like whatever is going on in Eternity's Doorstep or the final fate of Count Ranalc, while others are confirmed but without giving us the how and why, such as Aroden's death. Which of these mysteries did you find most intriguing, and what did you decide on as their answer in your own Golarion? I'm curious to know.


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Ooh, this is a brilliant idea for a thread!

... Unfortunately, at this time I can't think of any consequential mystery which I have come up with an idea for where that answer isn't just a vague gesturing toward the collected lore about that thing. I feel like I need to go digging in though my tomes for a refresher on what mysteries there are out there in the multiverse.


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One...I don't know if it's a Mystery, but more of a curiosity...is what the Countdown Clocks have to do with the Slave Trenches of Hakotep.

Mummy's Mask and Doomsday Dawn:
By all accounts, they were set in motion under the Four Pharaohs of Ascension, about two centuries later. When Hakotep died, they were almost immediately buried by his successor, Djederet II. The 2e playtest campaign Doomsday Dawn offers no answer. So my answer is that the plan originally involved Hakotep's wife, Neferuset, and was incomplete when he died, so the Four Pharaohs and Ramlock had to pick up the slack. This has the added benefit of raising the stakes of The Mummy's Mask, from merely a tyrant installing himself and conquering his neighbours, to a world-threatening catastrophe if Neferuset gets to ensure the Dark Tapestry's plan comes to fruition.

Acquisitives

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Morhek wrote:

One...I don't know if it's a Mystery, but more of a curiosity...is what the Countdown Clocks have to do with the Slave Trenches of Hakotep.

** spoiler omitted **

can't recall from Mummy's Mask, but did she die before him?


Some non-mysteries that nonetheless make me raise a brow are the natures of Demon Lords that don't quite fit the mold of Demons. Sifkesh might've been a Devil, and consumes souls like a Daemon. Shivaska takes the form of multiple Aberrations, has some domain over Aberrations, and an uncharacteristic lawful bent. Do wonder what's up with that.

Also, I kinda like that thing Daikitsu and Nalinivati have going on. Unsure yet where I stand on whether they're actually together or not, but I appreciate it nonetheless.


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I've always liked the idea that Aroden intentionally died to break the prophecy about him and somehow throw off fate in the process, but I both think he's too much of a jerk and not cosmically important enough. Pharasma killing him to make it happen, however, feels very possible.


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Yeah, I've canonized "Pharasma had Aroden killed, for reasons she's not sharing."

Silver Crusade

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Pathfinder Lost Omens, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I actually had a very similar idea about Aroden, but I did have him act to unravel Fate--as its mistress I feel like Pharasma wouldn't be responsible for its destruction, she'd accept Aroden's survival or destruction as necessary.

Instead, I decided Aroden discovered something he wasn't supposed to and that's why he left Golarion--he spent that century at the drawing board cooking up and then discarding innumerable plans to avert this mysterious-but-dire fate...before ultimately realizing that the very nature of Fate made it unavoidable. So he yeeted himself into Azathoth and was unmade entirely. The ripple effects of this broke Fate and has caused enormous multiversal destruction but also offers a chance at avoiding whatever Fate he foresaw.

Haven't really decided what awful thing he discovered though. Leaning towards it being that this cycle of reality would be the last; for whatever reason there wouldn't be a Survivor this time and since he was doomed anyway his death by Azathoth isn't really that much of a lift. Come to think of it, that reason does give Pharasma a good rationale to have manipulated him into it...


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Yakman wrote:
Morhek wrote:

One...I don't know if it's a Mystery, but more of a curiosity...is what the Countdown Clocks have to do with the Slave Trenches of Hakotep.

** spoiler omitted **

can't recall from Mummy's Mask, but did she die before him?

She died afterward, broken-hearted.

Mummy's Mask:
In life she was really the one behind all the monstrosities the players fight in his pyramids - the devils and genies and undead and aberrations, which were originally to fight the Shory, and she was the one who tortured the Shory technomancers to reverse-engineer their Aeromantic Infadibulum. Honestly, Neferuset should really be the villain of the adventure rather than Hakotep. But she began her rise with a vision of the Dark Tapestry, being given a copy of Secrets of the Dreaming Dark bound in dwarf skin when she was made an Oracle as a child. Her love for Hakotep seems to have been genuine, because she drank a bowl of cobra venom to follow him into the afterlife, so I imagine the Dark Tapestry were very annoyed when their emissary abandoned her duties because she actually loved the guy.

My answer, then, is that the original plan for the Countdown Clocks was meant to be put in place by Neferuset, who set one in place in the Slave Trenches of Hakotep while she could, but didn't get any further before Hakotep contracted his wasting disease (suspiciously similar to the final fate of the Four Pharaohs). So when Aucturn swung away from Golarion they had to wait until the Four Pharaohs to try again, this time successfully. So in a way, the death of Hakotep bought Golarion 56 years of time for the adventurers in Doomsday Dawn to stop it just in time.

Acquisitives

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Morhek wrote:
Yakman wrote:
Morhek wrote:

One...I don't know if it's a Mystery, but more of a curiosity...is what the Countdown Clocks have to do with the Slave Trenches of Hakotep.

** spoiler omitted **

can't recall from Mummy's Mask, but did she die before him?

She died afterward, broken-hearted.

** spoiler omitted **

ah.

I really would have liked if she'd been the focus of a "Continuing the Campaign" section, although the three full write-ups presented in Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh, were pretty good.

Liberty's Edge

CrusaderWolf wrote:

I actually had a very similar idea about Aroden, but I did have him act to unravel Fate--as its mistress I feel like Pharasma wouldn't be responsible for its destruction, she'd accept Aroden's survival or destruction as necessary.

Instead, I decided Aroden discovered something he wasn't supposed to and that's why he left Golarion--he spent that century at the drawing board cooking up and then discarding innumerable plans to avert this mysterious-but-dire fate...before ultimately realizing that the very nature of Fate made it unavoidable. So he yeeted himself into Azathoth and was unmade entirely. The ripple effects of this broke Fate and has caused enormous multiversal destruction but also offers a chance at avoiding whatever Fate he foresaw.

Haven't really decided what awful thing he discovered though. Leaning towards it being that this cycle of reality would be the last; for whatever reason there wouldn't be a Survivor this time and since he was doomed anyway his death by Azathoth isn't really that much of a lift. Come to think of it, that reason does give Pharasma a good rationale to have manipulated him into it...

I must admit I do not like the idea of Aroden killing himself to end Fate because it sounds far too much like Dune's Emperor-God to me.

Also I do not see him as a heroic guy, even though I do not despise him as some on the boards seem to.

My pet theory (in its infancy really) is that someone took advantage of the disappearance of the Seal, and the breaking of prophecy that seemed to come with it, to kill Aroden now that he was no longer protected by Fate.

This requires someone who knew beforehand that such an opportunity would arise and who was ready to strike at the opportune time.

I am stuck at this point for the moment.

Maybe Urgathoa was involved as she had beef with both Aroden and Pharasma. But she does not strike me as the patient scheming kind.

Norgorber ?


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
The Raven Black wrote:
CrusaderWolf wrote:

I actually had a very similar idea about Aroden, but I did have him act to unravel Fate--as its mistress I feel like Pharasma wouldn't be responsible for its destruction, she'd accept Aroden's survival or destruction as necessary.

Instead, I decided Aroden discovered something he wasn't supposed to and that's why he left Golarion--he spent that century at the drawing board cooking up and then discarding innumerable plans to avert this mysterious-but-dire fate...before ultimately realizing that the very nature of Fate made it unavoidable. So he yeeted himself into Azathoth and was unmade entirely. The ripple effects of this broke Fate and has caused enormous multiversal destruction but also offers a chance at avoiding whatever Fate he foresaw.

Haven't really decided what awful thing he discovered though. Leaning towards it being that this cycle of reality would be the last; for whatever reason there wouldn't be a Survivor this time and since he was doomed anyway his death by Azathoth isn't really that much of a lift. Come to think of it, that reason does give Pharasma a good rationale to have manipulated him into it...

I must admit I do not like the idea of Aroden killing himself to end Fate because it sounds far too much like Dune's Emperor-God to me.

Also I do not see him as a heroic guy, even though I do not despise him as some on the boards seem to.

My pet theory (in its infancy really) is that someone took advantage of the disappearance of the Seal, and the breaking of prophecy that seemed to come with it, to kill Aroden now that he was no longer protected by Fate.

This requires someone who knew beforehand that such an opportunity would arise and who was ready to strike at the opportune time.

I am stuck at this point for the moment.

Maybe Urgathoa was involved as she had beef with both Aroden and Pharasma. But she does not strike me as the patient scheming kind.

Norgorber ?

Pet theory that I don't know if I fully buy is that Norgorber killed him with some kind of divine toxin to prove that death comes even to the gods, and in murdering Azlant's last hero and its final hope, achieved apotheosis. The god of murder then added to his portfolio the Reaper of Reputation, destroying Aroden's rep around the world. Furthermore, he crafted the STORY of him achieving godhood through the Starstone to veil the truth of his actions forever.

Boom. Murder, destruction of reputation, poison, and the theft of his godhood. All four aspects of Norgyboi.


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Not that I expect it to come up in my Mummy's Mask game (I do keep up with the 2e lore to retroactively incorporate it where I can - Impossible Lands recently came in very handy for a brief jaunt to Jandelay) but my own explanation of Aroden's death is as follows:

general Aroden lore:
Aroden was killed because his prophesied return to lead mortal humans to ascendancy would have had unintended consequences, leading him to eventually try and dethrone the Prince of Hell himself. In his dying moments, Asmodeus would have released Rovagug purely out of spite, leading to the death of the gods and the end of the universe. Or, even just by BEING on Golarion, he would have created a divine arms race that would have led to the destruction of Golarion and the freeing of the Rough Beast.

To stop this happening, Pharasma stepped in and killed him, taking his leftover power to make the Echo of Divinity out of guilt. The breaking of such a cosmically significant prophecy was what sundered prophecy itself. The fact that Asmodeus stepped in to take over Aroden's former heartland may be coincidence, or it may be to gloat about his foreseen death being averted. People still revere Aroden in the modern era, but only the same way you might leave your respects at a grave - Arodenites in Cheliax and Absalom maintain the shrines and a few temples where they can, or keep Arodenite iconography in ones taken over by Iomedae, but know there's no hope of him returning.

And if he did through some quest to heist his soul from Pharasma's Boneyard, he would be PISSED, a.) that nobody tried to stop his death, b.) that Pharasma hid it, and c.) that nobody tried to bring him back. if the reasons ever became known, and Aroden tried to enact the original plan, even his successors, inheritors and allies - Iomedae, Milani, Arazni, gods he was once allied with, and gods who would otherwise agree wiwtth his worldview and outlook - would have to intervene to stop him.


Honestly, if I ever finish my Mummy's Mask campaign, I might do a homebrew campaign based around that very idea.

Liberty's Edge

Note that this does not compute with the story of Pharasma being surprised and frightened when the Seal was gone and prophecy broken.


The Raven Black wrote:
Note that this does not compute with the story of Pharasma being surprised and frightened when the Seal was gone and prophecy broken.

Sure. But that's one story among (presumably) many. The gods of Egypt are canon to Golarion, was the universe created by Ihys and Asmodeus after Pharasma emerged into the multiverse, or was it created by Ra after he emerged from the primordial waters of chaos, or Ptah who thought it into being? Was Sarenrae a god from the beginning, or was she an angel who ascended to divinity after Asmodeus murdered Ihys? The stories mortals tell about the gods aren't literal truth, just a way of conveying their ineffable natures.

Besides which...well, Pharasma WOULD say that, wouldn't she? She's hardly own up to it, because that would mean admitting she fears her own death, which would be hypocritical of her as a Death goddess. Look at what she did to Mahathallah for trying to learn hers.


Morhek wrote:
The Raven Black wrote:
Note that this does not compute with the story of Pharasma being surprised and frightened when the Seal was gone and prophecy broken.

Sure. But that's one story among (presumably) many. The gods of Egypt are canon to Golarion, was the universe created by Ihys and Asmodeus after Pharasma emerged into the multiverse, or was it created by Ra after he emerged from the primordial waters of chaos, or Ptah who thought it into being? Was Sarenrae a god from the beginning, or was she an angel who ascended to divinity after Asmodeus murdered Ihys? The stories mortals tell about the gods aren't literal truth, just a way of conveying their ineffable natures.

Besides which...well, Pharasma WOULD say that, wouldn't she? She's hardly own up to it, because that would mean admitting she fears her own death, which would be hypocritical of her as a Death goddess. Look at what she did to Mahathallah for trying to learn hers.

Now I might be misremembering, but I don't think Pharasma did anything to get Mahathallah to her current state. She basically said "you know, you won't like what you find, but here's where you gotta go if you're determined," and what she found really scrambled her.

Now, as for where the Egyptian gods fit in all this... Well, I like them, but a whole entire other pantheon with its own creation story probably shouldn't have been included without giving them a new one. I just rule it as being the beliefs of the Egyptians who didn't know about the rest of the universe stuff and their actual stories line up more with Pathfinder canon. In that case Ra would go after Sarenrae, Achaekek, the Bound Prince, and the like.


BookBird wrote:
Morhek wrote:
The Raven Black wrote:
Note that this does not compute with the story of Pharasma being surprised and frightened when the Seal was gone and prophecy broken.

Sure. But that's one story among (presumably) many. The gods of Egypt are canon to Golarion, was the universe created by Ihys and Asmodeus after Pharasma emerged into the multiverse, or was it created by Ra after he emerged from the primordial waters of chaos, or Ptah who thought it into being? Was Sarenrae a god from the beginning, or was she an angel who ascended to divinity after Asmodeus murdered Ihys? The stories mortals tell about the gods aren't literal truth, just a way of conveying their ineffable natures.

Besides which...well, Pharasma WOULD say that, wouldn't she? She's hardly own up to it, because that would mean admitting she fears her own death, which would be hypocritical of her as a Death goddess. Look at what she did to Mahathallah for trying to learn hers.

Now I might be misremembering, but I don't think Pharasma did anything to get Mahathallah to her current state. She basically said "you know, you won't like what you find, but here's where you gotta go if you're determined," and what she found really scrambled her.

Now, as for where the Egyptian gods fit in all this... Well, I like them, but a whole entire other pantheon with its own creation story probably shouldn't have been included without giving them a new one. I just rule it as being the beliefs of the Egyptians who didn't know about the rest of the universe stuff and their actual stories line up more with Pathfinder canon. In that case Ra would go after Sarenrae, Achaekek, the Bound Prince, and the like.

Pharasma warned her about the consequences, but didn't stop her. As the goddess of death, and (at the time) prophecy, her intervention in that light would be hypocritical after letting Mahathallah fall for wanting a glimpse of her own assigned fate when she could have acted.

As for the divine provenance of Golarion's mythology versus other real-life pantheons, while I agree the Egyptian gods sit a little uneasily alongside Paizo's own pantheons, I prefer to treat those stories as just that - stories, ways Golarion's mortals interpret the world and remember their history, not literal truth. How would anyone know? Anyone powerful enough to actually go and ask the gods is going to be rare, their writings will be obscure and valuable, and probably churches discourage people questioning the gods because firm answers preclude faith. I actually strongly dislike the idea of providing an Authoritative Account of that kind of thing - the creation of the world, the birth of the universe, the wars between gods - a.) because it feels very reductive narratively, and b.) because real-life polytheism just doesn't work that way. Golarion is at least partially modelled on Antiquity when you had Jews, Romans, Greeks, Phoenicians, Egyptians, Celts, Germanics, and pre-Islamic Arabs all interacting in the phase of history the Inner Sea heavily cribs from, each with their own accounts of how the universe created and worked. As a DM, I've found a bit of ambiguity and pluralism makes the world feel a bit more lived-in.

But all that is getting a little beyond the scope of this thread.


In terms of other mysteries of Golarion, what are peoples' thoughts on why the gnomes left the First World? Did they do so of their own volition or were they kicked out, and if they left on their own were they fleeing something?

I like the idea that Golarion's gnomes arrived piecemeal over a span of time after doing the reverse of what many fairy stories do: they met travellers and accepted their invitation, stepping through a Fairy Circle only to discover they couldn't go back. In the case of gnomes, they may not have realised leaving the First World would have such dire consequences, not understanding the concept of mortality, and were surprised that crossing over had changed their natures so much that even if they could go home they would never be the same.


Morhek wrote:

In terms of other mysteries of Golarion, what are peoples' thoughts on why the gnomes left the First World? Did they do so of their own volition or were they kicked out, and if they left on their own were they fleeing something?

I like the idea that Golarion's gnomes arrived piecemeal over a span of time after doing the reverse of what many fairy stories do: they met travellers and accepted their invitation, stepping through a Fairy Circle only to discover they couldn't go back. In the case of gnomes, they may not have realised leaving the First World would have such dire consequences, not understanding the concept of mortality, and were surprised that crossing over had changed their natures so much that even if they could go home they would never be the same.

I'm a child of 4e, where the core Gnome lore was that they had fled cruel rule by fey giants; the size disparity was why they preferred such a tricksy, unfair way of fighting. Something like that could be fun! I'm always wishing for more First World villains, and "the ancient bane of Gnomes" could give them another neat hook.


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Morhek wrote:
In terms of other mysteries of Golarion

Seeing that list, I'm reminded that I actually used the Thorncrown of Iomedae in my Hell's Rebel's game.

The Pathfinders stole it (because I hate them) and House Thrune stole it back in a weird, quasi legal way because it is a cultural artifact of the Chelaxian people.

Knowing its value to Iomedaens and as an artifact, the Chelish Ship Impervious sails from Chelish port to Chelish port with a squad of Hellknights and Priests, as a continual moving vault.

The Impervious was due to dock in Kintargo when it fell under attack by the Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe the Flagship of Pirate Lord Sincere Ticktock (Our Skulls & Shackles game got weird, don't ask)

The Silver Ravens intervene and come into possession of the Thorncrown and use it to buy goodwill with the Glorious Reclaimation, ultimately using it to bring the White Majestrix to Kintargo to sit at a Peace Conference with the Imperial Majestrix.

Acquisitives

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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Kasoh wrote:
Morhek wrote:
In terms of other mysteries of Golarion

Seeing that list, I'm reminded that I actually used the Thorncrown of Iomedae in my Hell's Rebel's game.

The Pathfinders stole it (because I hate them) and House Thrune stole it back in a weird, quasi legal way because it is a cultural artifact of the Chelaxian people.

Knowing its value to Iomedaens and as an artifact, the Chelish Ship Impervious sails from Chelish port to Chelish port with a squad of Hellknights and Priests, as a continual moving vault.

The Impervious was due to dock in Kintargo when it fell under attack by the Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe the Flagship of Pirate Lord Sincere Ticktock (Our Skulls & Shackles game got weird, don't ask)

The Silver Ravens intervene and come into possession of the Thorncrown and use it to buy goodwill with the Glorious Reclaimation, ultimately using it to bring the White Majestrix to Kintargo to sit at a Peace Conference with the Imperial Majestrix.

oh man, I'd never heard of that before... I love it... might have to put that into one of my games...

Liberty's Edge

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I wonder these days if Aroden's Angels (aka Iomedae, Milani and Arazni) are the ones behind his death.


The Raven Black wrote:
I wonder these days if Aroden's Angels (aka Iomedae, Milani and Arazni) are the ones behind his death.

An interesting plot seed, but not one I can see making much sense, since Arazni had been lich queen of Geb for 800 years at that point and I don't see the goddess of honour and paladinery doing a hit on her boss. If he strayed too evil, she would not have arranged his downfall in secret, she would have called him out.


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Oh, man.

Aroden's dead, and his greatest rival is a necromancer. Why haven't I worried about that before?

Liberty's Edge

keftiu wrote:

Oh, man.

Aroden's dead, and his greatest rival is a necromancer. Why haven't I worried about that before?

"The Tyrant hovers above me in the body of a god. It's time to fight. Time to die."

(With all due respect to the awesome JSA : the Golden Age book)

I've been considering the possibilities for a long, long time.

Acquisitives

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
The Raven Black wrote:
I wonder these days if Aroden's Angels (aka Iomedae, Milani and Arazni) are the ones behind his death.

my favorite pet theory is that Erastil did it.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I've long been intrigued by the death of Grask Uldeth. Who had him killed and why?

In my version of Golarion...:
It was Grask Uldeth himself, assisted by Artax the White-Hair. They probably realized that what they built would likely crumble on Grask's death due to lack of a suitable heir. (More accurately: Artax realized it, and subtly guided Grask to that conclusion) That death could happen at any time, probably by violence. So, he would die violently... but on his terms. Artax would make for an imperfect successor, being older than Grask, but a smooth transition of power would gain the weight of tradition if it happened once. They hatched the plot together, Artax hired the assassin, Grask let himself be killed, and Artax publicly slew the assassin before he could be fingered as the client. Artax thus stepped into the void, keeping things going. He was only named Warden of Urgir, but that was an advantage. Not being formally associated with any one tribe put him in a better position to play them off of each other. Tar-Baphon's release was an unexpected boon, as the tribes rallied around him. He led them to victory, his position was finally secured, and he had a war to use to test prospective heirs. Artax has some mixed feelings about this. He was content to be the right-hand man/power behind the throne, and though he likes the extra power (and not having to guide a leader) he dislikes the openness of his position, and he misses Grask as a dear friend. He will go to any lengths to keep this secret, fearing the Holds' unity will be destroyed if the truth comes to light. Of course, there are those who would love for that to happen, and not all of them are undead...


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Mysteries of Golarion wrote:
Creation: who created Golarion & Humanity?

My version of Golarion has plenty of versions of the story with different versions and variants, but most agree that the forces of the Celestial planes allied with Hell to fight a monstrous creature and bind it under the ground. The Asmodean account is common throughout Avistan, but a rival Sarenite account where Asmodeus reluctantly offered his aid for mutual survival is more common in Casmaron. There's even an Osiriani account where Sarenrae is the daughter of Ra, and Osiriani worshippers believe that Ra led his court in battle with her before he retired as ruler, though it was Apep who was bound beneath the surface in the Twelfth Region of Night and who menaces the sun on its nightly course. The Mwangi have their own stories, and my version of Iblydos just whole cloth adopts the Greek myths, where Rovagug is more likely to be called Typhon who was buried under the earth by Zeus instead of Sarenrae.

None of which actually represent the true story in whole, which the gods allow us to guess because the truth of a war between godlike beings would be too complicated to explain and its nature too higher-dimensional to truly grasp. Like the Time War of Doctor Who, even calling it a war is too reductive. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who put him there to most people - Rovagug exists and is bound. Is he in the centre of the world, his writhing causing earthquakes? Is he trapped in a demiplane only accessible by a heavily guarded portal beneath the surface? Is he dead but dreaming like a Great Old One? Nobody really knows, nobody who was foolish enough to try to find out has survived, and it doesn't really affect the day-to-day.

Different peoples have stories of being created or patronised by different gods, but on my version of Golarion evolution took the same natural course it did on Earth with the gods making their presences felt once mortals' ancestors were capable of feeling them. The gods didn't create the world, other than setting the cosmic forces that did into motion at the beginning, but Golarion was a useful preexisting bit of bait to lure the Rough Beast to and trap him there. After that, Golarion proceeded much like Earth did, with the dinosaurs surviving underground until they reemerged in places across the world to reoccupy the Mwangi Expanse, and maybe parts of Arcadia, Casmaron and Tian Xia - my party's recent jaunt to Jalmeray featured dinosuars a.) because they were on the generic Jungle random encounter table, but b.) because I liked the idea that Khiben Said stocked the island as his private exotic zoo until the Arclords tore down the fences and let them go feral. But dinosaurs' absence allowed the Mammals to take over like they did on Earth, and with druids existing the megafauna were better cared for, especially once the elves of Castrovel arrived to found Kyonin and check the depredations of Azlant and Thassilon. The dinosaurs may even have been returned by the serpentfolk in an attempt to disrupt the ecosystems their human enemies relied on, and their absence where the Azlanti or other contemporary surface-dwelling civilisations were powerful is because it failed. But they managed to get a foothold in at least the Mwangi Expanse, South Garund and Tolguth, and I like the idea of other enclaves elsewhere because I have a vivid mental image of Keleshite merchants riding an Ouranosaurus pulling a big cart along the Golden Road, giving friendly waves to the crew of a hovering Sand Barge headed the other way.

On a related note...maybe I'm conflating a different setting, but did Golarion's prehistory consist of different phases where different beings ruled before the rise of mortals? I couldn't even guess where I heard it, but I could swear I read that the world was first ruled by the Xiomorn/Vault Keepers, then Elemental empires of genies (a citadel of which may briefly appear in Mummy's Mask in an optional eencounter) which then gave way to an age of Dragons (which endured in Tian Xia), then the Serpentfolk, before finally the age of humanity began with the Azlanti. I know that the Xiomorn came first, and created the Darklands, but can't remember where I heard about the elemental or draconic phases of Golarion prehistory and I might be thinking of another setting entirely.


I think you've got it mostly right. Dragons definitely ruled much of Tian Xia before Earthfall, but I don't think they did in most other regions. According to the wiki the term Age of Dragons is used in Tian Xia, but not in the Inner Sea.


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Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

When I ran Kingmaker, I had a whole complex answer for the disappearance of House Rogarvia, including where Choral the Conquerer went.
See the Spoiler in this old post


Oooo this is a fun question.

Origin of humans - this idea is based on article on Gigas found in the one older pathfinder adventure path books (The Twice Damned Prince I believe it was).

Essentially, during the Titan rebellion against the Gods, as well the Elysian and Thanatotic factions, a third faction of titans hid amongst the many worlds of the Multiverse. They hoped to survive by taking neither side and waiting the war out.

As we know, the Gods won and were less than impressed by the neutral titans. However, seeing that they didn't directly support the Thanatotic Titans, the Gods decided on a punishment-not-punishment. These titans would be allowed to inhabit the worlds of the Material Plane, however, they would only have a fraction of the power and a fraction of the size.

There was infact a fourth faction of the titans, who fled to the First World and became the Fomorians, but that's a story for another time.

Acquisitives

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Evan Tarlton wrote:

I've long been intrigued by the death of Grask Uldeth. Who had him killed and why?

** spoiler omitted **

in my Golarion, Grask was preparing to ally with the Whispering Tyrant, and Ardax Whitehair, an agent of Lastwall, murdered him.


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keftiu wrote:

Oh, man.

Aroden's dead, and his greatest rival is a necromancer. Why haven't I worried about that before?

I wouldn't put it past Tar-Baphon to make something like a Charnel God of Aroden to enjoy the company of, but I also think Tar-Baphon is a Yandere for Aroden, so my take is suspect.

Liberty's Edge

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Were I Tar-Baphon, after my latest humiliating defeat, I would be searching high and low for Aroden's remains.

Acquisitives

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
The Raven Black wrote:
Were I Tar-Baphon, after my latest humiliating defeat, I would be searching high and low for Aroden's remains.

Might make for a great high-level AP.

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