Absalom Reckoning

From PathfinderWiki
A sundial; still a popular way of telling time.
See also: Portal:History, Holidays and festivals, and Imperial Calendar

Absalom Reckoning, or AR for short, is the most commonly used calendar in Avistan and Garund and possibly all of Golarion. In Absalom Reckoning, the day of the month is always listed first, followed by the month and the year and generally suffixed with the letters "AR".

Origin

Absalom Reckoning takes its origin from the moment the god Aroden lifted the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea and founded the city of Absalom, an event dated to 1 Abadius, 1 AR. This event also ushered in the Age of Enthronement in which human nations began to be founded in the Inner Sea region inspired by Aroden's example.12

Days, weeks, months, and seasons

In Absalom Reckoning, each day on Golarion has 24 hours, each week has seven days, and each year has 52 weeks. A year is also divided into 12 months, although once every four years an extra day is added to the end of Calistril to make up for the slight variance in the planet's orbit around the sun. The last leap year was 4720 AR, and the next will be 4724 AR.324

Days of the week

The Cosmic Caravan showing the months of the year.

Although most days of the week are assigned for work, a few also have other meanings in most Inner Sea region cultures.25

  • Moonday: Generally a work day with some religions holding ceremonies at night.
  • Toilday: A work day.
  • Wealday: A work day.
  • Oathday: A work day on which it is often considered advantageous to sign contracts and oaths.
  • Fireday: A work day that is most often the market day.
  • Starday: A work day.
  • Sunday: Generally a day of rest and one devoted to religious observances.

Months of the year

Each of Absalom Reckoning's months are associated with a specific deity.24 Each month has commonly used alternative names that lack such direct religious connotations.65

Month Pronunciation Common
name
Days Description
Abadius (ah-BAY-dee-us) Prima6 31 days 01The first month of the year, named in honor of Abadar.
Calistril (KAHL-izz-trihl) Snappe6 28 days 02A late winter month named for Calistria, goddess of revenge.
Pharast (fah-RAHST) Anu6 31 days 03An early spring month named after Pharasma, the goddess of birth and death.
Gozran (GOHZ-ran) Rusanne6 30 days 04A stormy month named for the god of the wind, Gozreh.
Desnus (DEZ-nuhs) Farlong6 31 days 05A mild month named for the goddess Desna.
Sarenith (sa-REHN-ihth) Sola6 30 days 06The sun goddess Sarenrae gives her name to this sun-blessed month.
Erastus (eh-RAS-tuhs) Fletch6 31 days 07Named in honor of Erastil.
Arodus (AIR-oh-duhs) Hazen5 31 days 08Although he is no longer widely worshiped, the summer month is named for the dead god Aroden.
Rova (ROH-va) Nuvar5 30 days 09The beginning of autumn is named after the violent god Rovagug. (Dwarves dispute naming a month after such a destructive and evil deity and instead name the ninth month Torawsh after their creator god, Torag.7)
Lamashan (lah‑MAHSH‑ahn) Shaldo5 31 days 10Named for Lamashtu, the goddess of monsters.
Neth (NEHTH) Joya5 30 days 11Named for Nethys, the two-faced god of magic.
Kuthona (koo-THOH-nah) Kai5 31 days 12The shortest day of the year comes during the month named after the god of darkness, Zon-Kuthon.

Seasons

The Inner Sea region has four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall (or autumn). The months of Kuthona, Abadius, and Calistril are considered to fall in winter. Spring falls during Pharast, Gozreh, and Desna, while summer occurs during Sarenith, Erastus, and Arodus. Finally, Rova, Lamashan, and Neth are considered fall.4

Other calendars on Golarion

Lunar calendar

Just as Absalom Reckoning is based on Golarion's orbit around its sun, some people and cultures use a lunar calendar that dates time using phases of the moon, and where each full moon is given its own name.8

Imperial Calendar

Absalom Reckoning is by no means the only way of counting time on Golarion. On the continent of Tian Xia, the most common dating method is known as the Imperial Calendar, which began at the founding of Yixing, Tian Xia's first empire. As this happened exactly 2,500 years before year 1 of Absalom Reckoning, converting from one date to the other is quite easy.9

Stasian calendar

The Stasian calendar, introduced in Irrisen since the installation of Queen Anastasia in 4713 AR, is also named after the Irriseni queen. The Stasian calendar is 2,700 years behind Absalom Reckoning for unknown reasons; for example, the year 4722 AR is the year 2022 on the Stasian calendar.10

References

Absalom Reckoning also corresponds to real-world calendars. See the Canon Policy for details.

  1. Erik Mona, et al. “Overview” in World Guide, 10. Paizo Inc., 2019
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Erik Mona, et al. “Chapter 5: The World” in Campaign Setting, 238–9. Paizo Inc., 2008
  3. Erik Mona, et al. “Overview” in World Guide, 9. Paizo Inc., 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 James Jacobs, et al. The Inner Sea World Guide, 248. Paizo Inc., 2011
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Paizo Inc., et al. “Time & the Calendar” in Travel Guide, 7. Paizo Inc., 2022
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Paizo Inc., et al. “Time & the Calendar” in Travel Guide, 6. Paizo Inc., 2022
  7. Sean K Reynolds. Torag” in Curse of the Lady's Light, 74. Paizo Inc., 2012
  8. Tim Akers, et al. Blood of the Moon, inside back cover. Paizo Inc., 2013
  9. James Jacobs, et al. “Regions of the Dragon Empires” in Dragon Empires Gazetteer, 15. Paizo Inc., 2011
  10. This is intentionally distinct from the in-universe year on Earth being 2,795 years behind AR, per Luis Loza. Stasian Calendar as mentioned in the Travel Guide, Paizo messageboards.