PathfinderWiki:Featured articles/2012
|
Featured Content | ||
|---|---|---|
| Featured articles | Featured media | Did you know? |
| • About featured articles | • About featured media | • About did you know |
| • Past featured articles | • Past featured media | • Past did you know |
| • Nominate did you know | ||
January 9 - River Freedoms
The Six River Freedoms are the closest thing the River Kingdoms have to a unified set of laws is the code of justice. They are normally ranked in ascending order of importance. Thus free speech is not considered as important as freedom from slavery, for example. read more
- Recently featured: Thassilon • Ustalav • Waydon Endrin
January 16 - Lashunta
The primary humanoid inhabitants of the planet Castrovel are the Lashunta, who live in an educated, civilized matriarchal society. The beautiful Lashunta women are constantly plotting and maneuvering for political positions within their city-states. The protection of their settlements also falls to them, and bands of lizard-mounted Lashunta women are constantly fighting back rampaging fauna that encroaches on their civilization. read more
- Recently featured: River Freedoms • Thassilon • Ustalav
January 23 - Paladin
Where fighters are the pinnacle of martial combat, the paladin blends martial skill with devotion to a righteous deity, cause, or organization. The paladin is held to a much higher standard than members of any other classes, including clerics and monks. If a paladin betrays these standards they face spiritual penalty as well as the possibility of facing a penance, or even worse being removed from their order. read more
- Recently featured: Castrovel • River Freedoms • Thassilon
January 30 - Sahuagin
The sahuagin are one of the most populous aquatic races to dwell upon Golarion's ocean floors much to the chagrin of the ocean's other races. They can be found living in most of Golarion's temperate seas from the Obari Ocean and the Inner Sea to the near endless expanse of the Arcadian Ocean. read more
- Recently featured: Paladin • Castrovel • River Freedoms
February 6 - Titan
Titans are primordial creatures of near-godlike power who predate the mortal races. They created the gigas, who in turn spawned the first giants. Few titans exist these days and they inhabit only the remotest corners of Elysium and the Abyss. Some believe that humans were not the creation of the gods, but instead are direct descendants of the giants of old, making the titans their ultimate progenitors; these theories, however, are the product of speculation and lack any proof. read more
February 13 - Angel
Angels are a group of altruistic celestials native to the planes of Nirvana, Heaven, and Elysium and represent all the multiple interpretations of goodness. They include such noble beings as planetars, solars, and astral devas. Though most angels are impeccable bastions of goodness and honesty, those that serve trickster gods may lie and deceive to further a good cause. The term "angel" is sometimes used as a catch-all term for any sort of good outsider especially one like the azatas, archons, or agathions. read more
February 20 - Beast of Lepidstadt
The Beast of Lepidstadt is a flesh golem from the region of Vieland in northwestern Ustalav and as far as the residents of that region believe a menace beyond compare. The Beast of Lepidstadt was created twenty years ago, gaining its name after it committed a series of grizzly murders in the city of Lepidstadt that heralded its arrival. read more
February 27 - List of works
Numerous books, scrolls, plays, poems, and other works have been written in the thousands of years of Golarion's history. Some such as the Acts of Iomedae are widely read. Others like The Chronicles of Aeromancy are practically unknown. read more
- Recently featured: Beast of Lepidstadt • Angel • Titan
March 5 - Troll
A troll is a monstrous giant with a rough, green hide, clawed hands, and a bestial face with a hideous, tusked underbite. These fearsome monsters regenerate all damage not inflicted through fire or acid, and a full-sized troll can regrow from even a tiny scrap of flesh. read more
- Recently featured: List of works • Beast of Lepidstadt • Angel
March 12 - First World
The First World is so called because it is believed to be the gods’ first draft of the subsequent plane which would later split into the Material Plane and the Shadow Plane. It is coterminous with the Material Plane and the Shadow Plane, but exists outside the standard cosmology, being somehow “behind” the other two planes. read more
- Recently featured: Troll • List of works • Beast of Lepidstadt
March 19 - Vigil
Vigil is mainly a fortress and a beacon that draws the warriors of good, but it is also the capital of Lastwall and a city of music, joy, and faith. It was founded at the height of Taldor's Golden Age at the conclusion of the Shining Crusade, as a glorious symbol of the triumphant empire, literally its "last wall". The Watcher-Lord of Lastwall resides in Vigil and possesses final authority "over all matters relevant to the prosecution of the Crusade". read more
- Recently featured: First World • Troll • List of works
March 26 - Eliza Petulengro
Eliza Petulengro is a venture-captain in Absalom but hails from war-torn Galt. She is a talented diviner with a photographic memory for text, names, and faces. Soft-spoken and polite, she has a pleasant habit of calling initiates by name even after meeting them only once. Though she appears bookish, this is just a façade to deter suitors and keep her affairs private. read more
- Recently featured: Vigil • First World • Troll
April 2 - Outer God
Gods of the Dark Tapestry form two categories, in so far as such chaos might be categorized: the Outer Gods and the Great Old Ones. The Outer Gods are equivalent to true deities, whereas the Great Old Ones are less powerful: more akin to demigods, like the archdevils and demon lords. The Great Old Ones respect the Outer Gods and may be seen as heralds or high priests of their greater kind. Outer Gods are much freer agents than the Great Old Ones able to travel the Dark Tapestry, other parts of the universe and even out of time and reality. For mortals, though, the differences between cults of gods of either category is practically meaningless. read more
- Recently featured: Eliza Petulengro • Vigil • First World
April 9 - Geb
A kingdom forged during the Age of Destiny by a necromancer of incredible power and insidious vision, Geb is now renowned as a land of the undead. The Kingdom of Geb began as a colony of Ancient Osirion, and takes its name from the exiled Osirani necromancer Geb who became the land’s ruler. The kingdom is located in southern Garund and is as far south as many Avistani maps of the continent extend. read more
- Recently featured: Outer God • Eliza Petulengro • Vigil
April 16 - Drider
Driders are twisted amalgams of humanoid torsos with the bodies of giant spiders typically found in the Darklands and often associated with the cruelty of the wicked drow. They appear as typical humanoids from the waist up, with a head and two arms reaching from their torso. Below the waist, however, they possess a monstrous spider's thorax and eight arachnoid legs. Femals retain their sleek, beautiful, and elven shapes above the waist; below, their spider bodies are similarly sleek and smooth. Males, though, are much more bestial. Their faces are a horrific blend of drow and spider, and their bodies are spiny and rough. read more
- Recently featured: Geb • Outer God • Eliza Petulengro
April 23 - Flauros
Flauros lords over his domain of the Bloodpyre Fields, a realm of burning seas and constantly erupting volcanoes that seems like a dark reflection of the Plane of Fire. His home is an adamantine castle suspended within the caldera of the largest volcano of the realm near the realm of his putative red dragon lover, Fhengasma read more
April 30 - The Shackles
The Shackles is a stretch of land and a number of nearby islands in western Garund, directly to the south of never-ending hurricane known as the Eye of Abendego. It is the haven of the notorious Shackles Pirates, built on the ruins of the ancient cyclops kingdom of Ghol-Gan. There are many ruins of an ancient civilization, which left behind disturbing carvings depicting cannibalism and blood sacrifice. The leaders of Shackles society are the Free Captains, the most powerful of whom serve on the Pirate Council. The leader of the council is Kerdak Bonefist, the Hurricane King. read more
May 7 - Vegepygmy
A vegepygmy is a sentient plant that is created when a creature is infected and slain by russet mold. Among the youngest of the Darklands races, these strange beings are a product of the sporecrafting gardens of the drow House Udrinor. Working toward the goal of making a sustainable source of food in the Darklands, they harvested a number of strange molds and exposed them to strong doses of Caphorite rays. Although the results were barely sentient, these early examples did prove self sustaining and worthy of further experimentation. Over time the sporecrafters worked to increase their intelligence and gave them a rudimentary ability to care for their own communities. It was a great surprise to their creators that once these initial vegepygmies died their bodies decayed into a strange patch of rust-colored mold, now known as russet mold. read more
May 14 - Zura
Zura is believed to be the first vampire in all of creation. It is said that she was an ancient Azlanti queen who possessed a lust for eternal life so great she eventually resorted to feeding on her own kind. Even thousands of years later people still whisper the legends of her decadent, savage feasts and her baths of warm human blood. Some scholars even claim that her ascension heralded the beginning of the ancient Azlant empire's descent into decadence and eventual destruction at the beginning of the Age of Darkness. read more
May 21 - Grandmaster Torch
Grandmaster Torch is one of Absalom's most notorious information brokers. While he can most often be found in his lair within the Siphons beneath the Puddles district, he has been known to travel Golarion for research and "business." Little is known of the early life of Grandmaster Torch before he became an information broker. He was a field agent for the Pathfinder Society, but his career came to an end in one of the tombs he was exploring. read more
May 28 - Dark folk
Dark folk are descendants of Azlanti survivors who fled into the Darklands following Earthfall. During the Age of Darkness they split into three morphologically distinct groups: the smaller, and more numerous dark creepers, and their leaders, the dark stalkers. A third subset, the dark slayers, are ranked between the two other sub-races, although they sometimes take on leadership positions over groups of dark creepers as well. read more
- Recently featured: Grandmaster Torch • Zura • Vegepygmy
June 4 - Gray Gardeners
The Gray Gardeners are the hooded executioners of Galtan justice and as such, are violent, mob-ruled, and rarely just. During the ever-changing revolutions that have soaked Galt in blood for the last forty years, the Gray Gardeners have remained a constant. They have seen revolutionary leaders rise, and then separated their heads from their bodies scant months later. They are the guardians and maintainers of the Final Blades, the guillotines which are the most feared symbols of Galtan justice. read more
- Recently featured: Dark folk • Grandmaster Torch • Zura
June 11 - Nixie
A nixie is a small, aquatic fey creature that makes its home in lakes, rivers, and ponds. They often serve as the de facto guardian of their watery homes. Nixies resemble human-sized, elven children in their proportions, but when one looks closer the differences are obvious. Nixies can dwell in any body of fresh water ranging from ponds and streams to mighty rivers and huge lakes. Their only preference is for their home to be relatively isolated from civilization. Even when far from other intelligent races, nixies still try to conceal their homes, going to great length to remain hidden. Nixies, while sometimes found alone, often dwell in tribes of up to eighty creatures, although only in the largest lakes and rivers. They prove tenacious guardians of their homes, normally using trickery and deceit to get rid of intruders, but are not above resorting to violence if such methods prove ineffective. read more
- Recently featured: Gray Gardeners • Dark folk • Grandmaster Torch
June 18 - Mestama
The demon lord Mestama is the patroness of witches, hags, and vengeful widows, and is known as the Mother of Witches and Lord of Deception. She appears as a withered, ancient crone with sunken and sometimes monstrous features. Mestama boasts flesh-shearing talons instead of fingers, a pair of jet black, raven-like wings, and a donkey's tail, making sure none would mistake her for just another aged hag. Mestama's Abyssal realm is known as the Barren Wood: an aptly named, dying, coniferous forest. Distant parts of certain woodlands (particularly in Nidal, Taldor, and Galt) are said to contain direct connections to the Barren Wood. read more
- Recently featured: Nixie • Gray Gardeners • Dark folk
June 25 - Axe beak
An axe beak is an aggressive, flightless bird which possess a fierce hunger for meat. Able to keep up with a horse, axe beaks are fearsome predators. The charge of an axe beak is so fast and effective that it often knocks opponents off their feet. read more
- Recently featured: Mestama • Nixie • Gray Gardeners
July 2 - Zarta Dralneen
Paracountess Zarta Dralneen is a beautiful Chelish woman who serves as diplomatic envoy to Absalom. Although cultured and refined, Dralneen is a master manipulator who uses her charms and diabolical power to her advantage. Her loyalties lie with House Thrune, although rumours persist that her machinations have yet to bear significant gains for her patrons and that her favour with them is slipping. read more
July 9 - Seugathi
Seugathi are a subterranean race of intelligent, tentacled worms that serve even more bizarre, alien masters in the darkest depths of the earth. They dwell—or at least begin their lives—in the deepest depths of the Darklands in the Orvian vault of Denebrum, for it is the home of their dark masters. These monstrous creatures follow strange orders that often seem completely insane to humans. read more
- Recently featured: Zarta Dralneen • Axe beak • Mestama
July 16 - Irespan
The Irespan is the largest and most impressive monument in all of Magnimar and overshadows the city's poorest district known as Underbridge. The Irespan is actually the remains of an enormous bridge that stretches into the Varisian Gulf, standing over three hundred feet above the sea and over a hundred feet wide. It is, like most of the monuments that dot the Varisian landscape, a remanant of ancient Thassilon. read more
- Recently featured: Seugathi • Zarta Dralneen • Axe beak
July 23 - Tiger
Tigers are large, feline apex predators that inhabit some temperate, tropical, and subtropical forest regions. They kill and eat all kinds of large animals, even other big cats. Tigers thrive in areas that offer fresh water and cover from prey. Tigers are among the most common great cats on Golarion, and as such have been adopted by many nations and religions as symbols. The tiger is one of the national symbols of Bachuan (the other being an imperial dragon). The Vudrani goddess Chamidu is said to ride a tiger with human hands for paws. Cheu Chem, a servant of the god Irori, is a sentient white tiger from the heavenly realms. read more
- Recently featured: Irespan • Seugathi • Zarta Dralneen
July 30 - Pathfinder RPG playtest
In an unprecedented approach to open gaming, Paizo Publishing, LLC conducted a public playtest of their Pathfinder RPG from March 2008 to February 2009. This year-long process involved three PDF alpha releases and a beta release, published both as a PDF and softcover print version. Initial playtesting was conducted in general discussion, but beta testing was done in two-week blocks from September 2008 to late February 2009, each focusing on a different aspect of the game or chapter of the final book. By the playtest's end, over 45,000 individuals had downloaded the rules and contributed with over 100,000 posts to the discussion threads on Paizo's playtest messageboards. read more
August 6 - Castle Korvosa
Easily the most imposing structure in a city of monumental architecture, Castle Korvosa is the fortress-citadel home of the monarchs Korvosa. The castle itself is built on an ancient four-sided, flat-topped pyramid known as the Grand Mastaba, built millennia ago by the Shoanti people. Built on the mainland's Citadel Hill, it can be seen from anywhere in the city. read more
- Recently featured: Pathfinder RPG playtest • Tiger • Irespan
August 13 - Serpentfolk
The serpentfolk are an ancient warmblooded race of snake-headed reptilian humanoids who once controlled the vast Ydersius empire in the time before the Age of Darkness. Their empire was defeated by the Azlanti, but the serpentfolk evaded total extermination by retreating into the Darklands. Most contemporary serpentfolk are degenerate, bestial creatures prowling the underground ruins of their ancient cities, but a few true serpentfolk remain. These highly intelligent specimens lay plans for their people's return to arcane supremacy, and the triumph of their rejuvenated civilization read more
- Recently featured: Castle Korvosa • Pathfinder RPG playtest • Tiger
August 20 - Blast shadow
Blast shadows are born of intense, fiery conflagrations. They rise from the ashes filled with a burning hatred for all living things, looking to spread the pain they experienced during their demise. They look like hellishly burnt versions of whatever creature they once were, blackened skeletal creatures with many chunks of burned flesh still clinging to them. Blast shadows are normally found lingering near where they were created so they are most commonly found around the burnt wastelands caused by some fiery apocalypse. read more
- Recently featured: Serpentfolk • Castle Korvosa • Pathfinder RPG playtest
August 27 - Colson Maldris
Major Colson Maldris of the Andoren Eagle Knights is the most senior member of the organization permanently stationed in Absalom. His position near the Grand Lodge allows Major Maldris an inordinate amount of influence over the Pathfinders within the organization, and he uses this to operate a number of clandestine missions as part of larger Pathfinder Society operations. read more
- Recently featured: Blast shadow • Serpentfolk • Castle Korvosa
September 3 - Ghul
Sometimes a Janni dies in a state of disfavor with Fate; as a parting curse from its race's age-old enemy Ahriman, such an ill-favored genie may come back from the dead as a ghul, a ghoul version of genie-kind. Ghuls appear somewhat like the Janni they where in life except their body looks emaciated with their skin draw tightly over cord-like muscles. They tend to haunt the abandoned graveyards and desolate necropoles of the desert. Often the same deserts where their former Janni tribes roam. read more
- Recently featured: Colson Maldris • Blast shadow • Serpentfolk
September 10 - Kyonin
The homeland of the elven race on Golarion, Kyonin was almost completely evacuated by the elves just before the fall of the Starstone. They only recently (by elven standards) returned to Golarion to reclaim their ancient homeland and have set about trying to repopulate their magnificent home while dealing with a world much changed from the one they left thousands of years before. Queen Telandia Edasseril rules the nation from the capital city of Iadara, while the nascent demon lord Treerazer threatens the entire realm from the blighted region of Tanglebriar. read more
- Recently featured: ghul • Colson Maldris • Blast shadow
September 17 - Absalom Reckoning
Absalom Reckoning or AR is the most commonly used calendar in Avistan and Garund, and possibly in all of Golarion. In Absalom Reckoning the day of the month is always listed first, followed by the month and the year and generally followed by the letters AR. It takes its beginning from the date of the founding of Absalom, which occurred on 1 Abadius, 1 AR. read more
- Recently featured: Kyonin • ghul • Colson Maldris
September 24 - Sekamina
Sekamina is the middle realm of the Darklands, deeper than shallow tunnels of Nar-Voth and more well-known than deep Orv. This region consists of vast and seemingly unending underground caverns and tunnels that span continents. Found here are massive chambers, great underground rivers, and almost unfathomable lakes. Most of the entrances to Sekamina require traveling through Nar-Voth first, but there are a few deviations to this. read more
- Recently featured: Absalom Reckoning • Kyonin • ghul
October 1 - Death's Heretic/Index
This week, we're featuring something a little different. Most Pathfinder books lack an index, but some of our Chroniclers have been working to address this deficiency. See, for example, this index of Death's Heretic. Say you want to write an article on Faldus Anvanory. You can check the index to find out not only where he's mentioned, but also where to find the most detail about him. And hey, wasn't there something about a naga in there somewhere? There sure was... check it out
- Recently featured: Sekamina • Absalom Reckoning • Kyonin
October 8 - Duergar
The duergar are a race of evil dwarves who inhabit large underground cities in Nar-Voth. They are relatively similar in appearance to a dwarf, except for the lack of hair on its scalp and its ashen-gray skin. Duergar effectively control the longest and widest tunnel system in Nar-Voth, known as the Long Walk, which is heavily patrolled, and runs between the cities of Hagegraf and Fellstro. read more
- Recently featured: Death's Heretic index • Sekamina • Absalom Reckoning
October 15 - Skinsaw Cult
The Skinsaw cult is a centuries-old organization originating in Vyre, Cheliax. At least one branch of the cult is believed to be active in Magnimar. This faith of the ascended god Norgorber is divided into four distinct branches, each overseeing one aspect of the deity's portfolio. Three are fairly well-known, but the fourth, however, is not readily admitted. read more
- Recently featured: Duergar • Death's Heretic index • Sekamina
October 22 - Doru
Doru are the least powerful type of div, and generally serve as messengers for more powerful fiends. Like all divs, they relish misery and destruction. They resemble the severed head of a monstrous humanoid with writhing hair, bestial teeth, and huge horns. A doru is typically much larger than a humanoid head, measuring over a foot high and weighing around ten pounds. read more
- Recently featured: Skinsaw Cult • Duergar • Death's Heretic index
October 29 - Burnt Offerings
While Golarion appeared in print earlier, Burnt Offerings was the premier of the Pathfinder brand as we know it today. Within its pages James Jacobs introduced us to terrifying yet comical goblins, the Sandpoint devil and set the stage for the epic Jade Regent adventure path. To celebrate the launch of their new adventure path line, Paizo commissioned a special edition GenCon cover by Wayne Reynolds. The book was a wild success and won three ENnie awards in 2008. While Burnt Offerings has been out of print for some time, it has been updated to the Pathfinder RPG rules set as part of the Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition. read more
- Recently featured: Doru • Skinsaw Cult • Duergar
November 5 - Evangelist
Evangelists are a type of kyton. "Evangelist" is their proper name in kyton society; they are also known as chain devils due to a common misconception that they are devils from Hell, and are often simply called kytons because they are the type of kyton most commonly encountered on the Material Plane. Evangelists are rumored to be the result of more powerful kytons breeding with mortal victims, but the truth is unknown. read more
- Recently featured: Burnt Offerings • Doru • Skinsaw Cult
November 12 - Ulfen
The Ulfen are a human ethnicity once feared across all of Avistan for their fierce and merciless winter raiding. This is no longer the case; now the Ulfen people are renowned for their enormous size, prowess as warriors, and their unique smell. Ulfen bodyguards are considered a highly desirable thing around the courts of the Inner Sea. read more
- Recently featured: Evangelist • Burnt Offerings • Doru
November 19 - Ogrekin
Ogrekin are the spawn of the hideous forced unions between ogres and whatever humanoids they can overpower. Grotesque creatures, no two ogrekin look the same, each bearing different deformities caused by its aberrant ogre parentage. Ogrekin are just as evil as their ogre parents and are universally shunned by other humanoids. read more
- Recently featured: Ulfen • Evangelist • Burnt Offerings
November 26 - Aspis Consortium
The Aspis Consortium is a trade organization with interests in many parts of Avistan and Garund. What distinguishes them from other trade groups is the size of their operations, and their willingness to do whatever is necessary to accomplish their goals. While it is not unknown for merchant groups to sell weapons to both sides in a conflict, the Consortium might take it further and actually have a hand in starting the strife to begin with. read more
- Recently featured: Ogrekin • Ulfen • Evangelist
December 3 - Dogslicer
A dogslicer is an often curved, primitive bladed weapon used primarily by goblins. It is generally a short, single piece of crude iron or steel which is sharpened on one side with a crude handle attached. Holes are often punched into the metal in order to make it easier for the relatively weak goblins to wield. read more
- Recently featured: Aspis Consortium • Ogrekin • Ulfen
December 10 - The Six Trials of Larazod
The Six Trials of Larazod is the fictional account of a Chelish tiefling named Larazod Rilsane. This opera in seven acts was written by Lokoris Sarini in the early 46th century AR and was banned for over a century until the rise of House Thrune legitimized the worship of Asmodeus. Despite the spectacle and fame of this piece, perhaps the most interesting aspect of the play is that it is rarely performed to completion. The reality of these trials in their most lethal form—as the play's stage directions detail—prove so intense that nearly every performance ends in the gruesome onstage death of the actors playing Larazod and his companions, those who vow to join him in his darkest hour and face the trials alongside him. As such, performances of The Six Trials of Larazod are rare, but typically provide macabre entertainment for the most decadent of audiences. read more
- Recently featured: Dogslicer • Aspis Consortium • Ogrekin
December 17 - Shax
The demon lord Shax revels in acts of sadistic torture, cruelty and bloody murder. He is said to dwell in the Abyssal realm of Charnelhome, which is supposed to resemble a realm of endless rooms each filled with horrific torture implements. Shax does not have any sort of organised church thanks to the deranged nature of most of his worshipers: his cultists are generally lone deranged killers or warmongers seeking luck and glory in their deeds. read more
- Recently featured: The Six Trials of Larazod • Dogslicer • Aspis Consortium
December 24 - Wildwood Lodge
The Wildwood Lodge is an ancient order of druids who reside within the Verduran Forest of central Avistan. Every year on the summer solstice the druids of the Wildwood Lodge meet for a Moot of Ages on the Isle of Arenway in the Sellen River. For these gatherings, druids from all over Golarion travel there to present their findings to the assembled Old Faith community. Conclusions are generally not reached through logic and the enforcing of dogma, but rather by listening for and interpreting the Will of the World, the collective intelligence of nature itself. read more
- Recently featured: Shax • The Six Trials of Larazod • Dogslicer