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Tian Xia in General
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The analogue of East Asia and Southeast Asia.
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople): Tianxia
is a Chinese cultural term that translates to "everything under heaven", used to refer to China itself and often extended to other East Asian countries by their residents.
Bachuan
- Retcon: Almost all references to communism in 1st Edition Bachuan lore, which depicts it as a caricature of the PRC and DPRK with no redeeming qualities, were dropped in favour of a more vaguely-defined 'Pei ideology'.
Chu Ye
Once a land praised by it's tradicional medicine, Chu Ye was conquered by shapershifting Oni, becoming a horrible tyranny where its' human population spend their days trying to appease their hedonistic lords.
- Family Extermination: Oni execute not just those caught supporting rebellion, but their entire extended family as well.
- La Résistance: Mizu Ki Hikari is the resistance movement in Chu Ye, whose sole goal is driving all oni out of their country.
Forest of Spirits
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Japan by way of PrincessMononoke.
Goka
- Capitalism Is Bad: Many Gokans feel worn out and let down by a society consumed by capital and industry. As physical and emotional tolls mount, matched by spiraling global uncertainties, young people are beginning to question the wisdom of leading such interminably taxing lives.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Hong Kong and Macau.
- Merchant City: Goka is famed for harbours teeming with a thousand fleets. Tian enterprises seeking overseas expansion and foreign capitalists interested in Tian Xia's resources often find their way here, and their investments fatten the city coffers.
- Non-Indicative Name: The speaker of the Gokan parliament bears the title of Emperor, Empress or Liege, and is sometimes mistaken as a monarch.
Hongal
- Born in the Saddle: The horse-masters of Hongal are said to be among the best riders in Tian Xia. Children learn to ride before they learn to walk, and horses are sometimes better treated than other family members.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of the Mongols.
Hwanggot
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Korea.
Jinin
Capital: Ayajinbo
Ruler: Shogun Jininsiel Ryuikiatsu
An elven nation in central Tian Xia. Its inhabitants descend from elven refugees, who fled Earthfall underground and followed an oracle to Tian Xia.- Beneath the Earth: Almost as much of Jinin lies below ground as above. The tunnels that brought the elves to Jinin remain an important part of their homeland, and their dawnsilver mines continue to provide the foundation of the economy.
- Hidden Elf Village: Downplayed. The Jininese enjoy a certain air of mystery, and while they are generally open for vistors, they discourage actual immgration.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Jinin is a nation of elven Samurai and Ninja.
- Retcon: In 1st Edition, Jinin was depicted as weeaboo elves who adopted aspects of Minkan culture like samurai and ninja. This approach was largely discarded in 2nd Edition in favour of a more authentic elven culture.
Kaoling
A Hobgoblin nation, formed after the fall of the Empire, when the squabling sucessor states of the region were conquered one by one. A harsh, militaristic society were any deviation is punished.
- Determinator: As an outcome-based culture, Kaoling is known for hyperfixation on its goals.
Kwanlai
The home nation of the Tengu, it was a impoverished colony during the Lung Wa Empire, until it freed itself just when the Empire fell.
- We ARE Struggling Together: Kwanlai's history is awash with squabbling tengu clans, unable to cooperate long enough to establish any government larger than a city-state until it was conquered by Lung Wa. Over a century after the fall of their oppressors, Kwanlai still struggles with cooperation.
Lingshen
- Sibling Rivalry: During his life, King Shixin encouraged his children to plot and fight against one another, rewarding whoever proved strongest. After his death, the royal heirs continued to fight.
Huang Shixin
- Cain and Abel: Huang Shixin killed all of his siblings despite their lack of interest in taking the throne.
- Soul Jar: Upon his death, Shixin's soul was placed inside a construct body, uniquely prepared using the most advanced magics his wizards commanded. Shixin retains his personality and intelligence in his new, immortal body.
Linvarre
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: A counterpart to Europe's Asian colonies, where settlers intermingle with natives and create a hub of mixed ancestries.
- Meaningful Rename: After declaring independence, Amanandar renamed itself Linvarre, a combination of the Tien word for lotus, which is associated with rebirth in Tian Xia, and an old Taldane word for kingdom.
Minata
- Cannibal Tribe: Many barbarians living in Rendah Pulu enthusiastically practise cannibalism.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of Indonesia and the Philippines.
Minkai
Capital: Kasai
Ruler: Jade Regent Soto Takahiro (1e), Empress Ameiko Amatatsu(2e)
A relatively isolated nation within Tian Xia, the Empire of Minkai remained outside of imperial Lung Wa's grasp. It is renowned for its Samurai, Ninja and culture emphasising loyalty and honor.- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of (feudal) Japan.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Characters from Minkai get to treat the Katana (as well as a few other uncommon weapons commonly associated with Samurai and Ninja)as common.
- Samurai: A staple of Minkai, given its role as "fantasy feudal Japan".
- Yakuza: They also exist in Minkai, with various Clans controlling different businesses or cities.
Toishihebi
CE male mature adult forest dragon, CR 15
A forest dragon who lairs in the necropolis of ancient Minkai rulers.
Nagajor
- Civil War: Nagajor has always been a federation of hundreds of transient kingdoms. While the naga never had any ambitions of foreign conquest, they had no qualms about warring with each other. After the Ivory Accord, war between the kingdoms was put to rest.
Po Li
- Secret Police: Po Li's secret police, the Lapis Watchers monitor insurgencies, political spies and religious usurpers. They might appear in any positions, even common labourers in rural settlements. The group's existence has never been openly declared by the Oracular Council and most citizens believe that it is mostly rumours or paranoia spread by worried critics.
- The Theocracy: Everything in Po Li centres around the faith of the Eternal Emperor. Every household, business, shop and administrative building has scrolls, iconography and altars dedicated to him.
- Vestigial Empire: While its territory now encompasses a small area around Lung Wa's old capital, Po Lian culture prides itself on being a window into Lung Wa's past as a unified empire.
Quain
- Expy: Of martial arts Wutai
Shanguang and the Wall of Heaven
The Avalanche King
A void yai who rules a city state of oni and slaves.- Person of Mass Destruction: His fights with Musafti have leveled swathes of Yjae.
- Slave Mooks: He keeps yeti slaves as servants and warriors.
Lokoa
LN male human monk 15/guardian 4
- Artificial Limbs: Rumor says the gauntlets and mask he always wears are replacements for body parts destroyed by an old enemy.
- Power Fist: He always wears ivory gauntlets, which complements his hand-to-hand fighting style.
- The Rival: To Shebe.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: He wears nothing but a loincloth, a mask, and his gauntlets.
Shebe
NG female human wizard 16/archmage 3
- Blow You Away: Her specialty is air magic.
- The Rival: To Lokoa.
- Spy Catsuit: She wears a skintight suit of silver scales.
Musafti the Burning
CN male human fighter 18/champion 2
- Blood Knight: He leads the conflict against the Denizens of Leng and oni who invade the city.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: He carries a shield said to be made by Old Maga Jatambe. If he's wounded, it open up equal wounds on the one who dealt the blow.
- Person of Mass Destruction: His fights with the Avalanche King have level several stretches of Yjae.
- Playing with Fire: He's always wreathed in flames.
- Technicolor Fire: The fire around him burns blue.
Yellow Harridan
CN female advanced mythic lamia harridan oracle 10
A handmaiden of the High-Priest Not To Be Described and the leader of Leng's forces on Yjae.- The Unfought: She's never been fought, only her underlings.
Shenmen
- Anarcho-Tyranny: Shenmen’s government is nearly nonexistent. Bandits, giant spiders, evil fey, strange monsters and undead wander throughout the land and prey upon vulnerable mortals.
- The Necrocracy: Shenmen is beset by the ghosts of imperial officials who believe that Imperial Lung Wa still stands and that they play crucial roles in its bureaucracy.
- Puppet King: The leaders of Shenmen's towns and villages are generally kept in thrall to a jorogumo, either via magic or fear.
Songbai
- Sudden Name Change: In 1st Edition, this nation was named Shokuro, after the surname of Shogun Shokuro Akatori. The name Songbai was introduced in 2nd Edition.
Tang Mai
- Good Counterpart: To Nex, as while Nex is regularly ravaged by its own elitist magocrats, Tang Mai has achieved a peaceful, universally-educated society that regularly trains everyone in magic.
- The Magocracy: Was founded by five sorceresses, and in the modern day Maiese academia is largely indistinguishable from government due to how magically-inclined both the royal family and the country in general is.
Tianjing
- False Utopia: Visit Tianjing, and you will be awed by a seemingly paradisical society ruled by empyreans. Stay there, and you'll realize that the empyreans are terrified of the qlippoth rift and are falling apart at the seams due to lack of resources and an overconfident, feckless government.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Tianjing exists because of this - a massive portal to a qlippoth-infested part of the Outer Rifts opened there, and Tianjing was founded by descendants of the celestials that forced it closed to watch over it forever. Unfortunately, a lot of Tianjing has come to take the seal for granted, and it's started to fray.
Valashmai Jungle
- Abusive Precursors: Is named for them, the extraterrestrial, imperialistic Valashi, and created by their reckless experimentation. The Valashi are gone, but some of their relics remain and are a target for adventurers.
- Feudal Overlord: The Valash Raj is a decentralised monarchy. Local feudal lords are allowed to rule their traditional kingdoms so long as they pledge loyalty and pay taxes to the Valash Raj. In return, the Raj is expected to protect them from threats.
- Hostile Terraforming: The result of a failed version by the Valashi, instead destroying them when the kaiju retaliated (the slave revolts didn't help).
- Hungry Jungle: A deathtrap rainforest to anyone even vaguely unprepared, filled with monsters.
- Kaiju: Most kaiju are native to or regularly visit Valashmai, either because the Valashi created them or because they were drawn to it to collect a debt for abusing the local ecology.
Burning Agony
- Breath Weapon: It breathes ants.
- Our Dragons Are Different: It's a three headed draconic creature that spews ant swarms.
Old Ebon Claw
- Panthera Awesome: Old Ebon Claw is a tiger and referred to as immortal, which is probably hyperbole but possibly not. What is certain is that it's killed thousands of hunters who've tried to kill it.
- Red Baron: The One-Eyed Hatred.
Agmazar the Star Titan
NE Colossal undead (cold, kaiju)
An ancient weapon from Verces meant to be used against Eox, only for the Bone Sages deflected it to land on Golarion.- Back from the Dead: As a failsafe, the energies that created it would cause it to rise again if slain.
- Detachment Combat: Its arms can detach and function independently.
- Gravity Master: Agmazar can radically alter gravity in a number of ways, from replicating telekinesis to slowing falls. One of its more potent uses is completely reversing gravity, an effect which starts with a 100ft radius and doubles every round Agmazar concentrates, up to 409,600 feet.
- Kaiju: It towers over nearly everything.
- Final Solution: It's utterly dedicated to destroying undead.
- You Are What You Hate: It hates all undead, but it is itself undead.
Chalim Malgta
NE female mongrelman oracle 15/hierophant 3
The high priest of a group of mongrelmen living in the temple city of Kashang.Old Executioner of the Mountains
NE variant mythic treant druid 10
The leader of an army of treants who wage war against civilization.- Armor-Piercing Attack: Its attacks are infused with magic, letting it pierce adamantine with ease.
folder:Bodhjeva
CN female zecui sorcerer 12/archmage 6
The broodmother of a band of zecuis living in the Swamp of the Dark Brood.- The Dreaded: The tribes that know of her fear her as much as the end of the world.
- One-Man Army: She's wiped out and consumed tribes of lizardfolk all on her own.
- Red Baron: The Devourer Goddess, the Many-Horned Queen, the Great Mother of Xills.
Bokashi, Lord of Burning Hearts
CE male invincible fire yai fighter 8
The leader of an army of fire giants and oni who dwells on the slopes of Thunderblood Peak.- Summon Magic: He supposedly knows how to call upon elemental forces from deep within the mountain he calls home.
Wanshou
Zhanagorr
- Cult of Personality: Zhanagorr makes minimal effort to hide its true form, but most of Wanshou's population sees their leader not as a terrifying monstrosity but as the Divine Savior, less mortal and closer to something godlike in power.
- Engineered Heroics: Though it appeared as a hero in Wanshou's darkest hour, the kraken Zhanagorr actually caused its near destruction. Less than a handful of individuals alive today are aware that the Season of Torrent was summoned by Zhanagorr, who arrived at the apex of the disaster to 'save' the battered and defeated people.
Xa Hoi
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: A nation ruled by dragons, organised into thousands of clans, where people primarily self-identify by regional affinity, venerate past leaders as saints and practise religious syncretism? Yep, you're looking at a fantastic version of medieval Vietnam.
Tuan Huy
N male juvenile sovereign dragon, CR 12
The leader of the island of Majapahit.
- The Exile: He resides in Minata, having been declared persona non grata in his homeland.
- Special Person, Normal Name: You would not normally assume a dragon to have a combination of middle name and given name that any random Vietnamese guy could have like Tuan Huy.
Xidao
An underwater kingdom ruled by athamarus.
- Underwater City: A entire underworld nation in fact.
Zi Ha
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: One of two of Tibet.
