History Characters / PathfinderShiningKingdoms

* Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: The Emperor is guarded by the Ulfen Guard, a fantastic counterpart to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varangian_Guard Varangian Guard]].

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of the later Roman Empire with a touch of the British. Its relationship with Casmaron, as well as a greaco-roman touch to many Taldan names, also brings to mind the UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire.

A wealthy trading nation and the center of the Prophecies of Kalistrade. This secular semi-religion permeates every level of drumish soiecty, from the ruling Resplendent Bureaucracy, down to its army, the infamous "Blackjackets".

* BadassArmy: The Mercenary League, better known as the "Blackjackets", is highly paid, well-eqiupped and fiercely loyal.

* ProudMerchantRace: Justified. Due to its valuable location ahore of Lake Encarthan and alongside Isger's trade routes, Druma has always been a haven for trade, even during the times of Ancient Thassilon, long before Earthfall. The plutocratic nature of the Prophecies only served to reinforce this trend (or led to its quick embrace by the Drumish, depending on who you ask).

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: As a mercantile oligarchy masquerading as a theocracy, it is a mixture between various Italian mercantile republics and the Papal States.

[[folder:Galt]]
-> '''Capital''': Isarn
-> '''Ruler''': Chairwoman Camilia Drannoch
Like Andoran, this nation broke off from Cheliax when House Thrune took over. Unlike Andoran, however, the transition has not gone well [[spoiler:thanks to a [[EldritchAbomination Conquerer Worm]] that lives under it and thinks the revolution is way too entertaining to stop.]]

* FailedState: In 4667, the former Chelish province of Galt pop revolted and broke away after the devil-worshiping Thrune dynasty took power in Cheliax. The attempt to establish a democratic republic devolved into a RevolvingDoorRevolution in only a year after a prominent revolutionary was murdered by Red Mantis assassins. Galt has been limping along in complete economic collapse with only token governance ever since: over half the seats in the Senate are vacant and the only significant power center is the Gray Gardeners, the secretive order of executioners who maintain the final blades upon which accused enemies of the Red Revolution are beheaded. [[spoiler:The Gray Gardeners are, of course, the issue - they were hijacked and turned into the nihilistic cult of the Conquerer Worm, seeing ''any'' order as a failure of the revolution, and wanting to rule the wreckage left over when it finally gets bored and leaves.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: French Revolution in the ReignOfTerror phase. A Reign of Terror that has gone on for fifty years. [[spoiler:At the end of the canon adventure ''Night of the Grey Death'', either it will have destroyed itself or settled down into Napoleonic France after the Conquerer Worm and its cult was thrown out.]]
* TheManInFrontOfTheMan: Everyone suspects the Gray Gardeners are the only true rulers of Galt, as they're the only things that survive from Council to Council. [[spoiler:Everyone is correct; the inner circle of the Gardeners is the cult of the Worm orchestrating the chaos.]]
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Each Revolutionary Council rises to power by chopping off the heads of the last Revolutionary Council and imposing a new Terror, only to be overthrown by the next bunch of revolutionaries. [[spoiler:Subverted, as it turns out it's not their fault - most of the Revolutionary Councils mean well, but the Worm manipulates the Grey Gardeners into ''making sure'' the honest revolutionaries never have a chance.]]
* RevolvingDoorRevolution: The central problem with Galt's revolution is that the people of Galt can't seem to get it to stop. Revolutionary governments rarely last more than a few years before being deemed corrupt, tyrannical or insufficiently revolutionary by new groups of firebrands, who then overthrow them, become the new government, and are soon after overthrown in turn. Almost fifty years of this process have led to almost total collapse of all governmental and civic services. [[spoiler:Just as intended, as Conquerer Worms love the political drama constant political and social upheaval create.]]
* YourSoulIsMine: Final Blades, the guillotines of Galt, imprison the souls of those they kill for the dual purposes of preventing their resurrection and keeping souls, and the power that they bring, out of the clutches of Hell. The actual impact that this has had on the River of Souls is negligible, since by the time of the game's default present they have only captured a minute number of souls from a universal point of view, but some material implies that a few psychopomps are starting to take notice. [[spoiler:They've certainly captured enough to create merged specters that will [[EveryoneDiesEnding clear the board]] when the Worm gets bored, though.]]

[[folder:Taldor]]
-> '''Capital''': Oppara
-> '''Ruler''': Grand Princess Eutropia Stavian (2e)
Taldor was once a powerful empire that dominated the continent, until Cheliax broke away and formed their own Empire.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of the later Roman Empire with a touch of the British.

-> '''Head of State''': Supreme Elect Andira Marusek

-> '''Head of State''': Chairwoman Camilia Drannoch

-> '''Head of State''': Grand Princess Eutropia Stavian

* FailedState: In 4667, the former Chelish province of Galt pop revolted and broke away after the devil-worshiping Thrune dynasty took power in Cheliax. The attempt to establish a democratic republic devolved into a RevolvingDoorRevolution in only a year after a prominent revolutionary was murdered by Red Mantis assassins. Galt has been limping along in complete economic collapse with only token governance ever since: over half the seats in the Senate are vacant and the only significant power center is the Gray Gardeners, the secretive order of executioners who maintain the final blades upon which accused enemies of the Red Revolution are beheaded. [[spoiler:The Gray Gardeners are, of course, the issue - they were hijacked and turned into the nihilistic cult of the Conquerer Worm, seeing ''any'' order as a failure of the revolution.]]

* TheManInFrontOfTheMan: Everyone suspects the Gray Gardeners are the only true rulers of Galt, as they're the only things that survive from Council to Council. [[spoiler:Everyone is correct.]]

Like Andoran, this nation broke off from Cheliax when House Thrune took over. Unlike Andoran, however, the transition has not gone well.

* FailedState: In 4667, the former Chelish province of Galt pop revolted and broke away after the devil-worshiping Thrune dynasty took power in Cheliax. The attempt to establish a democratic republic devolved into a RevolvingDoorRevolution in only a year after a prominent revolutionary was murdered by Red Mantis assassins. Galt has been limping along in complete economic collapse with only token governance ever since: over half the seats in the Senate are vacant and the only significant power center is the Gray Gardeners, the secretive order of executioners who maintain the final blades upon which accused enemies of the Red Revolution are beheaded.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: French Revolution in the ReignOfTerror phase. A Reign of Terror that has gone on for fifty years.
* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Each Revolutionary Council rises to power by chopping off the heads of the last Revolutionary Council and imposing a new Terror, only to be overthrown by the next bunch of revolutionaries.
* RevolvingDoorRevolution: The central problem with Galt's revolution is that the people of Galt can't seem to get it to stop. Revolutionary governments rarely last more than a few years before being deemed corrupt, tyrannical or insufficiently revolutionary by new groups of firebrands, who then overthrow them, become the new government, and are soon after overthrown in turn. Almost fifty years of this process have led to almost total collapse of all governmental and civic services.
* YourSoulIsMine: Final Blades, the guillotines of Galt, imprison the souls of those they kill for the dual purposes of preventing their resurrection and keeping souls, and the power that they bring, out of the clutches of Hell. The actual impact that this has had on the River of Souls is negligible, since by the time of the game's default present they have only captured a minute number of souls from a universal point of view, but some material implies that a few psychopomps are starting to take notice.

* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: He's an ethnic Garundi (i.e. fantasy African), fully bald, the president of the only large democracy in the Inner Sea, and a paladin to boot.

* FromNobodyToNightmare: He's the son of a fisherman who helped lead one of the first uprisings against Chelish rule in Andoran, which seized control of the Augustana shipyards. This led to him becoming one of the leaders of the People's Revolt that overthrew the Chelish aristocracy and established Andoran's democracy.

* BaldOfAuthority: The Supreme Elect, Codwin I of Augustana, fit this description.
* {{Eagleland}}: Andoran is the sunshine and rainbows version of the United States.
* NobleBirdOfPrey: Fitting their American theme, Andoran uses a lot of eagle imagery.

!!Bee-Man of Bellis
Once a druid and forest oracle, Vernon Vestha's obsession with reading the future in the patterns of his beloved bee swarms eventually led him to fuse with them.