History TabletopGame / Pathfinder

* Lovecraft Country: The description of the Lost Coast from Burnt Offerings, the first chapter of Rise of the Runelords, reads like a description of the Dunwich area.

* ObviousRulePatch: Many, but most notably, Energy Drain is now no longer permanent (generally). Thus, energy draining undead are no longer massively broken relative to their challenge rating.

** A few others as well, here and there. As well as something of a reverse.

* {{Expy}}: The [[SnakePeople serpentfolk]] are similar to ''D&D'''s yuan-ti in function (ancient evil snake folk living in ruins) but different in appearance, powers, and culture.
** Actually they're more of a return to form - yuan-ti were expies of RobertEHoward's serpentfolk; Pathfinder's serpentfolk are for all practical purposes identical to the archenemies of King {{Kull}}.
** Intellect devourers, though a preexisting ''D&D'' monster, have become the default stand-in for mind flayers in the "psionic brain-themed underground aberration" department.
*** Another preexisting monster tied to mind flayers, neothelids, also picked up a part of their role, in this case the "[[CosmicHorror immensely powerful psionic horrors worshipping worse beings and plotting to destroy/enslave everything else]]" part.
** Rovagug, the god of destruction, is the replacement for Obox-ob, the [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils demon lord]] who was the BigBad of lead designer James Jacobs's campaign which eventually became Golarion. Jacobs "sold" Obox-ob to Wizards of the Coast when he included the demon in their ''Fiendish Codex'' book (fair enough as he took the name from the 1E ''Monster Manual II'').[[hottip:*:Rovagug did exist in Jacobs's original campaign but was a more generic god of the underworld.]]
** A weird case: In ''D&D'' 3E, there were two "underground fish-people" races: kuo-toa (the more popular and better-known) and skum. The skum were open-source under the Open Gaming License; the kuo-toa were not. So Paizo took the skum and made them thematically more like the kuo-toa (and HPLovecraft's Deep Ones), turning them into an {{Expy}} of the other fish-folk.

* LesYay: Between three of the four major good-aligned goddess, no less.

* OurElvesAreBetter: They have MonochromaticEyes, and their primary goddess is one of lust, trickery, and revenge. Otherwise also pretty standard. They bailed on the planet during the Age of Darkness, only returning en masse within the past few millennia when a demon took over part of their ancestral homeland.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Absalom is Jerusalem. Amanandar is Hong Kong. Andoran is the early United States. Brevoy and Iobaria are medieval Russia. Dtang Ma is Thailand. The Erutaki are Inuit. Galt is revolutionary France. Hongal is Mongolia. Hwanggot is Korea. Iblydos is ancient Greece. Irrisen is [[RussianMythologyAndTales the fairy tale version of Russia]] (complete with BabaYaga!). Katapesh is Arabia. Kelesh is Persia. The Lands of the Linnorm Kings are Scandinavia. Lung Wa and its many Successor States are China. Minata is Indonesia and the Philippines. Minkai is Japan and so is Shokuro. The Mwangi Expanse is DarkestAfrica. Ninshabur is Babylon. Osirion is Egypt. Qadira is also Arabia (with some Persian influences). The Arcadians are Native Americans, and so are the Shoanti[[hottip:*:though the Shoanti are also influenced by RobertEHoward's Picts]]. Sarusan is Australia. Taldor is the Byzantine Empire. Ustalav is [[{{Uberwald}} fantasy Transylvania]]. The Varisians are the {{Roma}} (Gypsies). The Varki are Sami (native Finnish). Vudra is India. The Wall of Heaven is Nepal. Xa Hoi is Vietnam. Zi Ha is Tibet.

** Most of the standard 1st-through-3rd edition archdevils made the transfer to Golarion, albeit altered. The ones who came along in 2E or 3E (Bel, Levistus, Malagard, and Glasya) were dropped in favor of their 1E [[PublicDomainCharacter public domain]] predecessors (Geryon and Moloch), with a new one, Barbatos, rounding out the line-up.

* DemonLordsAndArchdevils:
** Most of the standard 1st-through-3rd edition archdevils made the transfer to Golarion, albeit altered.
** Sadly, most of the demon lords had to be left behind and replaced by a new batch due to copyright reasons (though Orcus, at least, remains). On the other hand, most of the really important ones were {{Public Domain Character}}s (Orcus, Demogorgon, Pazuzu, Dagon, Kostchie, Baphomet...). The biggest losses lore-wise were Graz'zt, Fraz-Urb'luu[[hottip:*:who ''is'' open source thanks to creeping into the 3.5 3rd-party ''Tome of Horrors'', but Paizo deliberately doesn't use him because he's so closely tied to ''TabletopGame/{{Greyhawk}}'']], Pale Night, Yeenoghu, and Zuggtmoy.

** The only race of fiends without godlike rulers are the demodands, who are instead ruled over by the [[RageAgainstTheHeavens thanatotic]] [[OurTitansAreDifferent titans]].

** Sadly, most of the demon lords had to be left behind and replaced by a new batch due to copyright reasons (though Orcus, at least, remains).
*** On the other hand, most of the really important ones were {{Public Domain Character}}s (Orcus, Demogorgon, Pazuzu, Dagon, Kostchie, Baphomet...); About the only significant losses lore-wise were Grazzt, Fraz-Urb'Luu, Pale Night and Zuggtmoy.

* ScienceFictionVersusFantasy: strongly on the fantasy end of things, but some species of aberration are creatures from outer space.
** The illustrations, by-and-large, have a more Renaissance feel to them than Medieval, and some look outright like early Steampunk. For obvious reasons, [[RuleOfCool no one has complained about this]].

** A favorite Third-Party class, the Artificer, makes a habit of skirting the line between the two - it's specialty is creating weapons, items, and generally [[MadScientist anything it can get its hands on]] and creating gadgets that are {{Magitek}} at their core.

* ReimaginingTheArtifact: The whole idea behind some of the Bestiaries; in particular, "Misfit Monsters Redeemed" reimagines [[OurMonsterAreWeird some of the most bizarre creatures]] of the Gygax-era bestiaries.

* ArmorIsUseless: Per 3.5 armor only boosts AC, which is useless against anything not a physical attack and at latter levels, if something using a physical attack wants to hit you, they will. At least methods of removing the penalties to movement speed are everywhere now.

* ColonyDrop: Caused ten thousand years ago by the [[EldritchAbomination aboleths]] to punish their [[{{Atlantis uppity human pawns}}]]. Resulted in [[TheNightThatNeverEnds a thousand years of darkness]] and [[ApocalypseHow a Class Two dieback of surface civilization]].
* CosmicHorror: Turns up everywhere, when you scratch under the surface. Nasty elder gods, ancient non-humanoid civilizations, weird and inimical aliens, and direct references to [[CthulhuMythos the Mythos]]. The guys at Paizo love HPLovecraft.

** Aaand all bets are off now that Yithians have been statted up in ''Bestiary 3''. Although why anyone would have believed them considering the very Earth-specific shoggoths were statted in the first Bestary is a mystery.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Absalom is Jerusalem. Amanandar is Hong Kong. Andoran is the early United States. Brevoy is medieval Russia. Dtang Ma is Thailand. The Erutaki are Inuit. Galt is revolutionary France. Hongal is Mongolia. Hwanggot is Korea. Iblydos is ancient Greece. Irrisen is the fairy tale version of Russia (complete with BabaYaga!). Katapesh is Arabia. Kelesh is Persia. The Lands of the Linnorm Kings are Scandinavia. Lung Wa and its many Successor States are China. Minata is Indonesia and the Philippines. Minkai is Japan and so is Shokuro. The Mwangi Expanse is DarkestAfrica. Ninshabur is Babylon. Osirion is Egypt. Qadira is also Arabia (with some Persian influences). The Arcadians are Native Americans, and so are the Shoanti[[hottip:*:though the Shoanti are also influenced by RobertEHoward's Picts]]. Sarusan is Australia. Taldor is the Byzantine Empire. Ustalav is [[{{Uberwald}} fantasy Transylvania]]. The Varisians are the {{Roma}} (Gypsies). The Varki are Sami (native Finnish). Vudra is India. The Wall of Heaven is Nepal. Xa Hoi is Vietnam. Zi Ha is Tibet.
* FantasyGunControl: Averted in Alkenstar, a city-state located in a region where magic doesn't function, which has encouraged the inhabitants to develop non-magical weapons and technology, including firearms. Played straight most everywhere else, as most people don't see the use for loud, unreliable

* HumansAreSpecial: Subverted. The rise to power of the first human civilization, Azlant, was covertly backed by [[EldritchAbomination aboleths]], and one can argue that humanity wouldn't have the status it now does without that start and its consequences.

* LightIsNotGood: Shining Children (creepy borderline-EldritchAbomination evil outsiders with light and fire themed powers) and Lurkers in Light (creepy extraplanar evil fey with abilities that make them most dangerous in well-illuminated areas) from the second Bestiary.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Like all fantasy settings Golarion has its fair share of these, but the names of the [[EldritchAbomination Spawn of Rovagug]] REALLY take the cake with names like "Festering Ulunat, the Unholy First, "Great Doom Chemnosit, the Monarch Worm", "The Tarrasque, Armageddon Engine", "Unyielding Kothogaz, the Dance of Disharmony", "Wrath-Blazing Xoanti, the Firebleeder", and "Volnagur the End-Singer".

* TheNudifier: The "Instant Armor" spell replaces any garments worn. Normally not a problem as the types of armor it creates cover the full body, but as a force effect, the armor is opaque.

* OurGhoulsAreCreepier: If they can curb their appetite they look like [[EvilAlbino chalk-white, hairless, red-eyed elves]], perfectly "fresh" and even beautiful at times. But if they indulge their hunger for flesh, [[BodyHorror they putrify and start rotting away as new meat replaces the old...]]

* TheRepublic: Andoran, bastion of enlightenment, democracy, and liberty.

* {{Roma}}: Varisians are the FantasyCounterpartCulture version. They've been luckier than their RealLife counterparts, though, as they tend to be fairly easily accepted, and there are quite a few settled lands where they're an important minority or even the majority human group.

* SealedEvilInACan: All over the place. The biggest evil, in the biggest can, is the apocalypse god Rovagug the Rough Beast, sealed into the molten core of Golarion by all the gods who survived his initial rampage.

* UnholyMatrimony: Dispater [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils rules a layer of Hell]] and, according to the ''Book of the Damned'' supplement, is happily married.

* WickedWitch: The Witch character class doesn't ''have'' to be one of these, but if they want to, they have access to all the tools needed, including a wide range of curses, an annoying cackling laugh, the ability to [[EatsBabies smell small children]], and being able to [[ImAHumanitarian cook people in a cauldron to make magical foods]].

** The ''Ultimate Magic'' splatbook adds more Discoveries, many with a BodyHorror and MadScientist vibe. Also lots of Herbert West shout-outs.

* {{Atlantis}}: Azlant, complete with Sub-Mariner-looking "gillmen."

* BeneathTheEarth: The world beneath is known as the Darklands and draws inspiration from pulp fiction of the early 1900s, such as EdgarRiceBurroughs's {{Pellucidar}}. It's divided into three "layers"--the uppermost is home to fairly normal humanoids like [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]] and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]], the middle layer is home to more reclusive races like the [[OurElvesAreBetter dark elves]], and the deepest pits are artificial Vaults, vast terrariums which may be Lost Worlds or the homes of [[EldritchAbomination unspeakable horrors]].

* BoisterousBruiser: Cayden Cailean, god of freedom, bravery, and alcoholic beverages, is what happens when a Boisterous Bruiser achieves godhood... ''by accident''.

*** His father was a boisterous, life-loving wolf spirit/god who was more than happy to see his errant son come home. [[spoiler: Now it is the Prince in Chains, a skinless, eternally tormented "hateful creature of broken flesh, pain and chains," and Zon-Kuthon's herald. Even the flesh of him isn't its own - in his tortures, his son stripped it all away, using it to create his own monsters, and chains, leather, and necrotic flesh from other victims. As a deity who holds torture to be the highest form of art, Zon-Kuthon is believed to consider the Prince-in-Chains his masterpiece]].

* ColonyDrop: Caused ten thousand years ago by the [[EldritchAbomination aboleths]] to punish their uppity human pawns. Resulted in [[TheNightThatNeverEnds a thousand years of darkness]] and [[ApocalypseHow a Class Two dieback of surface civilization]].

** Aaand all bets are off now that Yithians have been statted up in ''Bestiary 3''. Although why anyone would have believed them considering shoggoths

* DealWithTheDevil: Lots of devils in PF make deals, but Mephistopheles, of course, is the best at it.

*** On the other hand, most of the really important ones were {{Public Domain Character}}s (Orcus, Demogorgon, Pazuzu, Dagon, Kostchie, Baphomet...); About the only significant losses lore-wise were Grazzt, Fraz-Urb'Luu, Pale Night and Zuggtmoy.

** The only race of fiends without godlike rulers are the demodands, who are instead ruled over by the [[OurTitansAreDifferent thanatotic titans]].

** Asmodeus aided the good and neutral gods against [[ChaoticEvil Ro]][[CompleteMonster va]][[CosmicHorror gug]], even providing the lock to [[SealedEvilInACan seal him away]].

* EvilIsDeathlyCold: The kingdom of Irrisen was conquered by the immortal WickedWitch [[RussianMythologyAndTales Baba Yaga]], who placed it under a spell of eternal winter.

** Actually they're more of a return to form - yuan-ti were expies of RobertEHoward's serpentfolk; Pathfinder's serpentfolk are for all practical purposes identical to the archenemies of KingKull.

** A weird case: In ''D&D'' 3E, there were two "underground fish-people" races: koa-toa (the more popular and better-known) and skum. The skum were open-source under the Open Gaming License; the kuo-toa were not. So Paizo took the skum and made them thematically more like the kuo-toa (and HPLovecraft's Deep Ones), turning them into an {{Expy}} of the other fish-folk.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Absalom is Jerusalem. Amanandar is Hong Kong. Andoran is the early United States. Brevoy is medieval Russia. Dtang Ma is Thailand. The Erutaki are Inuit. Galt is revolutionary France. Hongal is Mongolia. Hwanggot is Korea. Iblydos is ancient Greece. Irrisen is the fairy tale version of Russia (complete with Baba Yaga!). Katapesh is Arabia. Kelesh is Persia. The Lands of the Linnorm Kings are Scandinavia. Lung Wa and its many Successor States are China. Minata is Indonesia and the Philippines. Minkai is Japan and so is Shokuro. The Mwangi Expanse is DarkestAfrica. Ninshabur is Babylon. Osirion is Egypt. Qadira is also Arabia (with some Persian influences). The Arcadians are Native Americans, and so are the Shoanti[[hottip:*:though the Shoanti are also influenced by RobertEHoward's Picts]]. Sarusan is Australia. Taldor is the Byzantine Empire. Ustalav is [[{{Uberwald}} fantasy Transylvania]]. The Varisians are the Roma (Gypses). The Varki are Sami (native Finnish). Vudra is India. The Wall of Heaven is Nepal. Xa Hoi is Vietnam. Zi Ha is Tibet.
* FantasyGunControl: Averted in Alkenstar, a city-state located in a region where magic doesn't function, which has encouraged the inhabitants to develop non-magical weapons and technology, including firearms.

** If, on the other hand, Zon-Kuthon worshippers kindly invite you to a party in your honor, [[{{SchmuckBait}} you should probably politely decline even though there is certainly going to be really good food and drink.]]
* FogFeet: Wendigos.

** OurGoblinsAreDifferent: The goblins of Golarion are dangerously stupid pyromaniacs who loathe dogs and horses (the feeling is mutual), are terrified of writing (it can steal your soul!), and sing horrible merry songs about eating babies. Hobgoblins are as militaristic as the ''DungeonsAndDragons'' norm but are so universally ambitious that they can't hold an army together for long, being an entire race of [[TheStarscream Starscreams]]. Bugbears are psychotic serial killers who live for the smell of fear and are unnervingly good at hiding in places nothing that huge should be able to fit—[[NightmareFuelUnleaded like behind your door, or under your bed]].

* ReimaginingTheArtifact: The whole idea behind some of the Bestiaries; in particular, "Misfit Monsters Redeemed" reimagines some of the most bizarre creatures of the Gygax-era bestiaries.

* {{Roma}}: Varisians are the FantasyCounterpartCulture version.

** A favorite Third-Party class, the Artificer, makes a habit of skirting the line between the two - it's specialty is creating weapons, items, and generally [[MadScientist anything it can get its hands on]] and creating gadgets that are {{Magitek}} at their core.

* SevenDeadlySins: Originated as the seven ''virtues'' (rewards) of rulership, formulated by an ancient emperor. His seven subordinates promptly twisted them into the more familiar sins.

* WorldOfSnark: Going by the flavor text alone, one could be forgiven for concluding that almost every single iconic character is a borderline HeroicSociopath who speaks entirely in snarky one-liners.

* {{Alchemy}}: The alchemist is a base class introduced in the ''Advanced Player's Guide''. It focuses on infusing chemical reagents with magical energy, creating potions, poisons, mutagens, and incendiaries. Its ultimate (20th-level) ability is the "grand discovery", which can take numerous forms, including immortality or the creation of philosopher's stone.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: While there are always exceptions at the [=GM's=] discretion, supplementary materials would kindly remind you that aside from those singular individuals, the savage humanoids of Golarion are ''gleefully'' evil, if not insanely so. Part of the motivation behind the "Second Darkness" adventure path was to rewind back to the days when the Drow were unrepentantly, unforgivably evil, before the creation of [[ForgottenRealms a certain heroic dark elf ranger]].
* AndIMustScream: The drow love doing this to their captives via fleshwarping magic.

* BeneathTheEarth: The world beneath is known as the Darklands and draws inspiration from pulp fiction of the early 1900s, such as EdgarRiceBurroughs's Pellucidar. It's divided into three "layers"--the uppermost is home to fairly normal humanoids like [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]] and [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]], the middle layer is home to more reclusive races like the [[OurElvesAreBetter dark elves]], and the deepest pits are artificial Vaults, vast terrariums which may be Lost Worlds or the homes of [[EldritchAbomination unspeakable horrors]].

* BondageIsBad: Zon-Kuthon, who is basically a [[{{Hellraiser}} Cenobite]] homage as an evil god.

** Zon-Kuthon was a god of love and beauty like his sister Shelyn before going on a journey outside reality, meeting [[{{CosmicHorror}} something]], and coming back as the broken and twisted god of pain, darkness, and loss.
*** His father was a boisterous, life-loving wolf spirit/good who was more than happy to see his errant son come home. [[spoiler: Now it is the Prince in Chains, a skinless, eternally tormented "hateful creature of broken flesh, pain and chains," and Zon-Kuthon's herald. Even the flesh of him isn't its own - in his tortures, his son stripped it all away, using it to create his own monsters, and chains, leather, and necrotic flesh from other victims. As a deity who holds torture to be the highest form of art, Zon-Kuthon is believed to consider the Prince-in-Chains his masterpiece]].

** Also, the Prince in Chains, herald of the god of pain. And kytons (previously called ''chain'' devils), whose bodies are essentially living spiked chains.

* CosmicHorror: Turns up everywhere, when you scratch under the surface. Nasty elder gods, ancient non-humanoid civilizations, aliens, and direct references to [[CthulhuMythos the Mythos]]. The guys at Paizo love Lovecraft.

** Oh no! You can't see beyond 30 feet infront of you, but you can see in the infrared spectrum and at level 15 who cares about having difficulty seeing, you can see in a fashion that's better than regular sight.

** The only race of fiends without godlike rulers are the demodands, who are instead ruled over by the [[OurTitansAreDifferent titans]].

** The fanservice isn't just of the sexual variety. A foreward to one of the Jade Regent adventures notes several great things about a story that combines ninjas with vikings - such as having a good excuse to paint a cover featuring ninjas fighting on a burning longboat.

** Can sometimes cause [[DungeonsAndDragons 4e]] to almost [[TastesLikeDiabetes Taste Like Diabetes]] in comparison.

* CosmicHorror: Turns up everywhere, when you scratch under the surface. Nasty elder gods, ancient non-humanoid civilizations, aliens, and direct references to the Mythos. The guys at Paizo love Lovecraft.