Golarion

History

The Age of Lost Omens

Ten thousand years ago, the world of Golarion came close to ending. Earthfall, as this extinction-level event came to be known, saw the world pummeled by a shower of falling stars that sank continents, hollowed out new seas, and destroyed civilizations. It took centuries for the world to recover, and centuries more for society to rebuild, but recover it did.

Dwarves ascended to the surface from the underground reaches of the Darklands in their legendary Quest for Sky, elves returned from the neighboring planet of Castrovel via a network of portals to reclaim their lands and traditions, and gnomes from the mysterious First World sought shelter from a now-forgotten terror. Survivors from other ancestries who had sheltered through the terror and destruction of Earthfall emerged during the Age of Darkness to reclaim their ancestral lands, from scrappy goblin tribes with a knack for surviving despite all odds against them to industrious halflings who emerged from the ruins to found societies of their own.

But humanity made the most astounding recovery. Less than 2,000 years after the near-extinction from Earthfall, the Age of Destiny saw the rise of many new human empires throughout the world. Humanity built wondrous structures, and its schools relearned magic that had been thought lost. Among these human nations walked a man named Aroden—an immortal survivor of the devastation of Earthfall. Aroden had long since cultivated a following of loyal subjects who regarded him with awe, for immortality was but one of the wonders he’d achieved. Greatest among these was his discovery of a shard of potent magic known today as the Starstone, a fragment from the stars that fell during Earthfall, which had lodged at the bottom of the Inner Sea. Contact with this alien artifact assailed Aroden with phantasmagoric visions, subjected him to a series of deadly martial trials, and posed exhausting moral quandaries that challenged his limits more than any of the arduous experiences he had yet endured. He emerged from this test a living god, and his first divine act was to raise the Starstone and the mass of land on which it had lain from the bottom of the sea to form the Isle of Kortos—also known as Starstone Isle—where he then established the city of Absalom.

In the centuries to follow, Absalom grew into one of the largest cities in the world, and Aroden’s legacy grew alongside it. As the millennia passed, his attentions increasingly turned away from the concerns of the Inner Sea’s inhabitants to otherworldly matters beyond mortal ken, but prophecy spoke of a time when he would return to Golarion and lead humanity triumphantly into an Age of Glory. As the time of Aroden’s return drew near, entire nations undertook monumental preparations to welcome him back to Golarion.

But instead, Aroden died, and with him the reliability of prophecy as well. Golarion was wracked by storms, war, and supernatural devastation as the god’s death marked the beginning of a new age—a time of uncertainty, but also a time of opportunity. This is the Age of Lost Omens, an age in need of heroes like never before.

Recent Events

• 4606 AR - Aroden dies mysteriously, leaving the Empire of Cheliax without a divine mandate. Iomedae takes on many of Aroden’s followers and legacy, becoming known as the Inheritor. The Eye of Abendego forms off of Garund’s western coast, drowning the nations of Lirgen and Yamasa. The Worldwound opens in northern Avistan; demons pour forth and destroy the nation of Sarkoris.
• 4640 AR - After decades of civil war, House Thrune allies itself with Hell to seize control of Cheliax, ushering in the current dark chapter in Chelish politics.
• 4667 AR - Democratic fervor sweeps through eastern Avistan, prompting the endless Red Revolution in Galt, as well as the more successful People’s Revolt in Andoran in 4669 AR.
• 4697 AR - The Goblinblood Wars ravage Isger, drawing soldiers from across the Inner Sea region.
• 4709 AR - Golarion learns of the existence of evil subterranean elves called drow.
• 4713 AR - Mendev’s Fifth Crusade finally defeats the demon lord Deskari and performs a ritual to close the Worldwound.
• 4714 AR - In Numeria, the artificial intelligence Casandalee ascends to godhood.
• 4715 AR - Civil unrest in Cheliax leads to the secession of Ravounel. A similar uprising is crushed in Isger by Chelish agents.
• 4717 AR - Absalom outlaws slavery, drastically reducing the Inner Sea’s slave trade.
• 4718 AR - The Runelords return from millennia of hiding, establishing the nation of New Thassilon in the region of Varisia.
• 4719 AR - The current year. Tar-Baphon has recently broken free of his prison, destroying the nation of Lastwall and ravaging Avistan before finally being forced back onto the Isle of Terror.

Important Nations

Absalom and Starstone Isles

At the heart of the Inner Sea stands the Isle of Kortos, raised from the waters thousands of years ago as Aroden’s first deific act. This amazing feat marks the dawn of the Age of Enthronement and the first year of the Absalom Reckoning calendar. The city of Absalom itself, the largest in the Inner Sea region, sprawls on the southern shore of this isle, and at the city’s heart stands the legendary Starstone Cathedral. Within the walls of this structure, the Starstone ever waits to test its next supplicants—the few mortals who pass this mystic test become gods themselves. This has made Absalom an oft-besieged metropolis, but in its nearly 5,000 years, it has never once fallen.

Absalom, called by many the City at the Center of the World, boasts a population of over 300,000, and its culture is a true melting pot in both ancestry and belief. Even the city’s architecture reflects this, as one might expect of a settlement of its age. From the towering and majestic temples of the Ascendant Court to the close-packed shops and guildhalls of the Petal District and the sagging shanties in the Puddles, Absalom’s neighborhoods never fail to present a memorable skyline. Many world-reaching organizations were born in Absalom, notably the Pathfinder Society (page 436).

Old Cheliax

At its height, the empire of Cheliax had holdings that reached from Varisia to Garund and east all the way to Galt. Aroden was prophesized to return to the world of mortals to usher in a new Age of Glory, and those prophecies predicted the Chelish city of Westcrown would be the point of his arrival. Instead, his death ignited a civil war that lasted for decades. When the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune emerged as victor, Cheliax had forever changed. Under House Thrune’s rule, Cheliax transformed into a nation that viewed Hell as a blueprint for government. The church of Asmodeus became Cheliax’s official state religion, and diabolism its most powerful philosophy. The devil had come home to rule, and while the nation’s politicians and leaders claimed that they maintained control of their fate—and House Thrune had merely formed an alliance with Hell to maintain its power and keep order—the nation’s internal and external enemies know better.

Many of Cheliax’s outlying provinces—such as Andoran, Galt, and Vidrian—revolted and became their own nations. The nation of Isger remains, at least on paper, a thrall. Cheliax values Isger for its important position as a trade route to the Lake Encarthan region, but when Isger was wracked by the violence of the Goblinblood Wars several decades ago, House Thrune did little to provide aid. As the repercussions of the Whispering Tyrant’s return to power send ripples of nervous dread through the land, Isger’s people grow fearful that they lack not only their own political strength but also that of their supposed protector, and as a result, Isger is one of the lands in the Inner Sea region most in need of heroes.

Recently, several uprisings within Cheliax have further tested the nation’s resolve. After a devastating nautical loss in the Shackles resulted in Vidrian’s independence, a new Iomedaean rebellion called the Glorious Reclamation threatened Cheliax from within. House Thrune and the Asmodean church defeated the Glorious Reclamation, but at a price—a simultaneous rebellion was successful, with a group of rebels called the Silver Ravens negotiating the successful secession of the new nation of Ravounel.

Shining Kingdoms

The empire of Taldor was historically the heart of the Shining Kingdoms. In the early Age of Enthronement, Taldor sent several Armies of Exploration to expand the nation’s borders and colonize the surrounding lands. Today, Taldor is but a shadow of its former glory, but after a recent bout of internal strife, a progressive new empress has claimed the crown, and Taldor may be on the path to recover its old glory for the first time in centuries.

To the west, the democratic nation of Andoran stands as a rising star on the international stage. Ever since the province seceded from the nation of Cheliax, Andoran’s military has helped to stem the flow of slavery, and its heroes have stood tall against all manner of peril to the common folk. But the future doesn’t look entirely bright for Andoran, for with Cheliax’s recent upsets, rumors flow that House Thrune may seek to reclaim control of its wayward thrall. Given the looming threat of the Whispering Tyrant, an all-out war between these two powerful nations could be disastrous.

Gods

Gods of Good

• Erastil - Old Deadeye - LG god of family, farming, hunting, and trade
• Iomedae - The Inheritor - LG goddess of honor, justice, rulership, and valor
• Torag - Father of Creation - LG god of the forge, protection, and strategy
• Saranrae - The Dawnflower - NG goddess fo healing, honesty, redemption, and the sun
• Shelyn - The Eternal Rose - NG goddess of beauty, love and music
• Cayden Cailean - The Accidental God - CG god of ale, bravery, freedom, and win
• Desna - The Song of Spheres - CG goddess of dreams, luck, stars, and travelers

Gods of Neutrality

• Abadar - Master of the first Vault - LN god of cities, law, merchants, and wealth
• Irori - Master of Masters - LN god of history, knowledge, and self-perfection
• Gozreh - The Wind and the Waves - N god of nature, the sea, and weather
• Nethys - The All-Seeing Eye - N god of magic
• Pharasma - Lady of Graves - N goddess of birth, death, fate, prophecy, and time
• Callistria - The Saovred Sting - CN goddess of lust, revenge, and trickery
• Gorum - Our Lord in Iron - CN god of battle, strength, and weapons

Gods of Evil

• Asmodeus - The Prince of Darkness - LE god of contracts, pride, slavery, and tyranny
• Zon Kuthon - The Midnight Lord - LE god of darkness, envy, loss, and pain
• Norgorber - Blackfingers, Father Skinsaw, The Gray Master, Reaper of Reputation - NE god of greed, murder, poison, and secrets
• Uragotha - The Pallid Princess - NE goddess of disease, gluttony, and undeath
• Rovagug - The Rough Beast - CE god of destruction, disaster, and wrath
• Lamashtu - Mother of Monsters - CE goddess of aberrance, monsters, and nightmares