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Katapesh
Capital: Katapesh
Ruler: The pactmasters of Katapesh
A small nation that broke away from Osirion. Although it was founded by Sarenite expatriates, desperation gave it a new idol-wealth.- Bazaar of the Bizarre: Most of what can be purchased in Katapesh is more mundane, but when they say that everything can be bought and sold there, they mean everything-provided you know where to look.
- Black Market: It's not illegal to sell anything in Katapesh, but the Nightstalls exist so that merchants can sell things like slaves and unicorn horns without getting a black eye from more empathetic residents.
- City Guards: Katapesh has laws in the interest of smoothly facilitating trade, and it's the Zephyr Guard's job to enforce them. Unsurprisingly, they accept bribes.
- Heinous Hyena: The Lamashtu-worshipping gnolls are native to Katapesh, and they don't take kindly to newer residents. They're bandits and slavers who the few remaining adherents of Sarenrae in Solku work to drive back.
- Merchant City: Katapesh is known for the slave trade and pesh, but just about everything can be purchased there.
- Slave Market: Okeno is home to the most infamous slavers in the Inner Sea region, and when their competitors include Cheliax, that's no small feat.
- Vice City: Crime isn't as common as you'd think in Katapesh, but a city where the only motive is profit is bound to be corrupt. Okeno is even worse, as it's where all the slavers come from. Solku meanwhile is an aversion, as it's the center of Sarenrae's faith in the region.
Pactmasters
The mysterious cabal that gouverns Katapesh.
- Dimensional Traveler: They are Witchwyrds, an alien race that crosses plantes and planes for trade.
- Shadow Dictator: The Pactmasters work behind the scenes, leaving the day-to-day affairs of running Katapesh to Pactbroker Hashim ibn Sayyid.
Hashim ibn Sayyid
Lawful Evil veiled master
- Kill and Replace: The real Hashim ibn Sayyid was killed only a few weeks after taking office and replaced by the veiled master Olordaera. While Hashim's usurpation by Olordaera went unnoticed, the Pactmasters are beginning to suspect something strange is afoot, though they are not yet sure what that may be.
The Brazen Clutch (Vyraxis, Assarriah, and Kharumm)
Chaotic Good female and male wyrmling brass dragons
A trio of bronze dragon hatchlings being held by the Aspis Consortium for sale.- The Chessmaster: Ever since they learned that they were going to be sold separately and that brute force wouldn't help them escape, they've been scheming and manipulating to get out.
- Dwindling Party: There were five of them, but one was sold and another died due to mistreatment.
- God Guise: Some of their guards hold dragons in superstitious reverence, something they deliberately exploit.
Osirion
Capital: Sothis
Ruler: Ruby Prince Khemet III
A truly ancient empire, Osirion's founding is used to mark the end of the Age of Anguish, when humanity reclaimed the world. Covering much of northern and eastern Garund, it eventually declined and was taken over by first Quadira and then a Kelshite Sultannate. After more than 3 millenia of occupation, Orision reclaimed its independence under a restored Pharao, Khemet I.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Osirion is based on Ancient Egypt.
- Foreign Ruling Class: The native Garundi population was long ruled by an imported Keleshite upper-class. With its new independence, native rule returned, but tensions between the two groups remain.
- Rightful King Returns: Khemet I was originally a priest of Abadar in Absalom, but traced his lineage back to ancient pharaos.
Jadis-Vell
An ancient lich who became one accidentally during a series of experiments where she deliberately infected citizens with plague. She was slain and her phylactery destroyed but her fragmented consciousness still lingers within the remains of her circlet.- Our Liches Are Different: She survived the destruction of her phylactery, though she's unable to form a new body.
- Soul Jar: Three pieces of a circlet are her current body.
Qadira
Capital: Katheer
Ruler: Satrap Xerbystes II
The eastern-most land of the Inner Sea is the western-most Satrapy of the vast Keleshite Empire. A gateway to the mystical wonders of the east as well and the speartip of a proud empire, Quadira is a place of both wonder and danger.- "Arabian Nights" Days: The closest one in the Inner Sea Region, with Bottled Genies and Flying Carpets.
- The Church: The State religion is the church of Sarenrea, with the Goddess' tenats of healing and forgiveness often clashing with the Satrapy's national ambitions. The church's latest push to abolish slavery has cost it some follwers in Quadira's various port-cities.
- Sacred Hospitality: In Qadira, hospitality is both sacred and formalised, with breaches of etiquette risking deadly feuds.
- Space Cold War: Quadira has repeatedly clashed with the Taldan Empire to its north, although the accession of the capable Grand Princess Eutropia (and a vizier forced on him by the Padishah Empire) has forced Satrap Xerbystes II to cease his saber-rattling and direct his focus inwards.
Rahadoum
Capital: Azir
Ruler: Rahadoum
This northern Garundi nation has forsaken all gods and forbids their worship within their borders.- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Downplayed, buts its abendonment of all gods in reminiscent of major secularisations in history, mostly Turkey under Atatürk.
- Nay-Theist: Rahadoum was founded on a single principle: let no mortal be beholden to a god. Rahadoumi do not doubt the existence of the gods—rather, they reject the idea of worship, seeing the gods as powerful and capricious aristocrats who use mortals as toys. All forms of deity worship are outlawed. Possession of holy texts or symbols can result in heavy fines or exile, while preaching is punished by imprisonment or worse.
Amir
A human who converted to the worship of Kabriri and carried the Ghoul Stone.- Category Traitor: He worships Kabriri, something usually only done by ghouls.
- I'm a Humanitarian: As part of the worship of Kabriri.
- Uncertain Doom: He crawled into the Darklands, "never to see the sun again." Whether he died or just became something else that prefers the night isn't clear.
Thuvia
Capital: Merab
Rulers: Ilepodus, Prince Zinlo, Queen Zamere, Kharane, and Guldis
This nation is the home of the sun orchid, a key ingredient for a potion of youth.- Death World: Outside the cities, water is so scarce that some known as the Water Lords came into power by controlling this precious resource. Also, as if a mundane desert wasn't bad enough, the deserts of Thuvia are cursed, manifesting deadly creatures from the minds of travelers and sometimes even transforming them into monsters. Mirages in Thuvia can be very real and very dangerous.
- The Federation: The cities are independent, but allied with each other. A different one is responsible for selling the sun orchid elixir each year. Beyond that, each one has a different culture.
- Aspenthar is the most martial of the cities, and its leader is plotting to conquer the others.
- The citizens of Duwwor live In Harmony with Nature.
- Lamasara is a center of the arts.
- Merab was the birthplace of the inventor of the sun orchid elixir, and is still a center for alchemy in the Inner Sea region. As a result, it is the largest of the five.
- Pashow is the smallest of the cities and known for its study of magic.
- Immortality Inducer: Thuvian society has developed around the sun orchid elixir, a potion capable of reversing ageing. Every year, six vials are auctioned off—never to fellow Thuvians, lest they incur Pharasma's wrath—in a one-bid auction, with all proceeds (including the losing bids) going to the government.
- Terminally Dependent Society: Artokus Kirran's intent was for the trade of the sun orchid elixir to sustain Thuvia until it could become a power in its own right. Unfortunately, while each city has its own industries, the sun orchid elixir is still overwhelmingly the nation's greatest source of income.
Artokus Kirran
True Neutral male human alchemist
The inventor of the sun orchid elixir, and therefore the most famous and brilliant alchemist in the Inner Sea region, if not Golarion.
- The Ageless: He uses the sun orchid elixir to keep himself alive so that he doesn't have to share the formula, as otherwise it may end up in the wrong hands. His agreement with Pharasma was that he would stop taking it when Thuvia no longer needs it, but with the death of prophecy that may never happen.
- Hermit Guru: Prefers to stay away from the public eye, to the point that his own students have theorized he is dead.
- Really 700 Years Old: The sun orchid elixir was invented over 3,000 years before the present, and for all that time Artokus Kirran has been the only one who knows how to make it.
- Unusual Pets for Unusual People: Artokus Kirran's familiar is a talking meerkat named Tukalo who teaches classes in his place.
Deyrubrujan
Lawful Evil female great wyrm blue dragon
A blue dragon who plots to influence the bidding of the Sun Orchid Elixir.
- The Chessmaster: She prefers secrets to treasure or territory, as they give her the tools to manipulate entire cities with a few whispered words.
- Revenge by Proxy: When a Chelish soldier failed to follow through with his part of a deal but died before she could get revenge on him, she slew his living heirs and razed their village.
