Second Edition LOST OMENS World Guide LOST OMENS World Guide AUTHORS Table of Contents Tanya DePass, James Jacobs, Lyz Liddell, Ron Lundeen, Liane Merciel, Erik Mona, Mark Seifter, and James L. Sutter DEVELOPMENT LEADS Eleanor Ferron and Luis Loza ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT Mark Seifter DESIGN LEAD Mark Seifter ADDITIONAL GAME DESIGN Logan Bonner EDITING LEAD Judy Bauer EDITORS Amirali Attar Olyaee, Christopher Paul Carey, James Case, Leo Glass, Avi Kool, Lyz Liddell, Luis Loza, Mark Moreland, Adrian Ng, Lacy Pellazar, Patrick Renie, James L. Sutter, and Jason Tondro COVER ARTIST David Alvarez CARTOGRAPHERS Damien Mammoliti and Rob McCaleb INTERIOR ARTISTS Biagio D’Alessandro, Klaher Baklaher, Luca Bancone, Rogier van de Beek, Tomasz Chistowski, Cynthia F. G., Mariusz Gandzel, 1 Overview 6 Michele Giorgi, Fabio Gorla, Miguel Harkness, This overview presents all of the continents and regions of the world known as Golarion, Oksana Kerro, Katerina Kirillova, as well as the planets and planes that lie beyond it—but still reach past their boundaries to Ksenia Kozhevnikova, Roman Roland Kuteynikov, Valeria Lutfullina, Andrea Tentori Montalto, influence the land of Lost Omens! Federico Musetti, Mirco Paganessi, Mary Jane Pajaron, Roberto Pitturru, 2 Absalom and Starstone Isle 12 Riccardo Rullo, Ainur Salimova, KyuShik Shin, and Yasen Stoilov One of the oldest and most influential cities in Golarion, Absalom was founded by the living god Aroden and is home to the legendary Starstone Cathedral. Several mortals have traveled ART DIRECTION AND GRAPHIC DESIGN across the Inner Sea to Absalom and gained godhood from the Test of the Starstone, and Emily Crowell, Sonja Morris, and Sarah E. Robinson countless aspirants line the streets of the city, hoping to become the next to ascend. CREATIVE DIRECTOR 3 Broken Lands 24 James Jacobs In this region ruled by scarcity and struggle, residents of the Broken Lands scratch out PUBLISHER a harsh existence, plagued by desperate demons, metal monstrosities, or the cruel and Erik Mona unfeeling predations of their own neighbors. 4 Eye of Dread 36 Where once a holy bastion against evil stood, evil has now prevailed. The icy grasp of the lich Tar-Baphon threatens to consume all that surrounds his Isle of Terror, and the warring nations within his sight must now band together or perish. 5 Golden Road 48 Named for both their golden sands and the wealth that flows through their markets, the nations of the Golden Road have built their empires on the power of trade. Here the cities run rich with opportunity, but the deserts still threaten to swallow them and all their luxuries. Paizo Inc. 7120 185th Ave NE, Ste 120 6 High Seas 60 Redmond, WA 98052-0577 The oceans of Golarion are ruled over by pirates, sea monsters, and the fickle goddess of the waves. Those who sail the high seas are subject only to themselves and their own fortune! paizo.com 2 7 Impossible Lands 72 From a city forced to live without magic to a kingdom ruled entirely by the undead, the Impossible Lands are scarred by an ancient war between two of Golarion’s most powerful mages. 8 Mwangi Expanse 84 A land characterized by its bounty, the Mwangi Expanse remains ruled by powerful and unique city-states. Yet upheaval has come in the form of a revolution—a new nation has overthrown its colonialist government and now seeks to form an alliance in the region. 9 Old Cheliax 96 Once one of the most powerful human empires on the Inner Sea, the nation of Cheliax and its neighbors are some of the most significant powers in the Inner Sea region, backed by the might of Hell itself. 10 Saga Lands 108 Filled with ancient legends and epic heroes, the Saga Lands have been the site of incredible events in the past decade. 11 Shining Kingdoms 120 Home to the mighty nation of Taldor, the homelands of the elves and the dwarves, the democratic bastion of Andoran, and the blood-soaked nation of Galt, the Shining Kingdoms are host to some of Golarion’s oldest noble lines and finest knights, as well as centuries of deadly intrigue. 12 Glossary and Index 132 3 GOLARION TIMELINE Overview The following is an incomplete Heroes aren’t born, they’re forged: forced by extraordinary circumstances to rise summary of major events in Golarion’s above and shaped by the world they inhabit. history, with a focus on those affecting This book is a guide to that world. In its pages, you’ll learn about the heart of the Inner Sea region. All dates are the Pathfinder setting, known as the Inner Sea region, from the towns and cities noted in Absalom Reckoning (ar), your heroes call home to the wild frontiers and monstrous lairs where they’ll risk counting forward (or backward) from everything in search of fortune and glory. The information presented here provides the founding of the titular city. Due to players with a sense of the setting as a whole and is perfect for both fleshing out the relative lack of verifiable records, existing character concepts and inspiring you when you’re not sure what to play. eras before the Age of Darkness are not Is your wizard a necromancer from haunted Ustalav, raised to battle the undead covered. These include, in order, the Age armies of the Whispering Tyrant, or a young student at the Arcanamirium in of Creation, in which mortal life first Absalom, the City at the Center of the World? Perhaps you’re a daring priest from appeared; the Age of Serpents, in which the burning deserts of Qadira, blasting manticores and genies with the blazing serpentfolk founded Golarion’s first light of the sun goddess Sarenrae, or a troll-hunting warrior from the icy Lands of great empire; and the Age of Legend, in the Linnorm Kings. Regardless, here you’ll find the rich details you need to give which the first human empires rose to your character the perfect backstory, as well as new backgrounds, gods, feats, power, most notably Azlant. spells, and other rules to help you customize your ideal hero. Likewise, Game Masters will find a rich and exciting world filled with hundreds AGE OF DARKNESS of inspiring characters, plots, and adventure locations to get their creativity flowing, –5293 ar The monstrous alghollthus as well as new gear and magical items to reward their band of adventurers. Will call down Earthfall to you take your group to the rugged land of Numeria in search of alien technology destroy their rebellious from a crashed spaceship? Might they fight devils in diabolical Cheliax, or instead human servants. The ally with the denizens of Hell themselves to reforge a troubled empire? They could meteorites’ impacts form venture into the ancient pyramids of Osirion, where mummies guard magic from a the Inner Sea, destroy lost age, or battle dragons in the fractious orc hold of Belkzen. Whether you want the empires of Azlant and your party to face pirates or giants, elves or dwarves, vampires or sphinxes, there’s Thassilon, and kick off a no end to the threats and treasures lurking in the ruins of lost empires, in temples thousand years of darkness. to forgotten gods—or just beyond their campfire’s light. The elves leave Golarion via The Inner Sea awaits. Are you ready? the Sovyrian Stone, or else retreat into the secluded corners of the world. The World of Golarion –4987 ar The dwarves complete their While the multiverse is a big place, most Pathfinder adventures take place on Quest for Sky, emerging onto Golarion: a planet of magic and mystery, where mortal heroes can ascend to Golarion’s surface for the godhood and terrifying monsters threaten entire civilizations. This book focuses on first time, driving the orcs the Inner Sea region, the traditional heart of the Pathfinder campaign setting, which before them. consists of the entire continent of Avistan and the northern third of the continent of Garund directly to the south. Yet Golarion is much larger than any one nation or AGE OF ANGUISH continent, and adventurers from the Inner Sea may travel far and wide in pursuit of –4202 ar Gnomes first arrive on the greatness. Below is a brief overview of Golarion’s different major regions. Material Plane, fleeing a mysterious and now forgotten Arcadia calamity in the First World. Millennia ago, the mighty Razatlan Empire spread across this vast continent, –4120 ar The Jistka Imperium rises in gobbling up weaker nations and marking its victories with vast pyramids. When northern Garund as the first the devastation of a meteor impact shattered the Razatlani civilization, the nations human empire in the Inner that were reborn from the wreckage found themselves forced to cooperate with Sea region since Earthfall. each other to survive. Arcadia’s myriad cultures have remained surprisingly –3923 ar The Pit of Gormuz opens peaceful and insular ever since, focusing their energy on the wellbeing of their in Casmaron, setting the citizens. From the engineers in the Land of Northern Lakes, who craft clever massive Spawn of Rovagug machines from unusually abundant skymetal deposits, to the hero-gods of Xopatl loose to rampage. and the distant south, Arcadia’s peoples both embrace a settled lifestyle among –3502 ar Old-Mage Jatembe and their terraced mountaintops and bayou stilt-houses and expand westward across his Ten Magic Warriors the vast plains of a still lightly populated region. Most Arcadians remain suspicious reintroduce wizardry to the of foreign cultures that are inclined toward conquest. Eager colonists from Avistan Inner Sea for the first time are thus restricted to a narrow strip of shoreline along the Grinding Coast, since Earthfall.