Absalom Reckoning
- See also: Portal:History, holidays and festivals, and 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 (Leap Day)3 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 4724 AR, and the next will be 4728 AR.4256
Days of the week
Although most days of the week are assigned for work, a few also have other meanings in most Inner Sea region cultures.27
- 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.25 Each month has commonly used alternative names that lack such direct religious connotations.87
Month | Pronunciation | Common name |
Days | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abadius | (ah-BAY-dee-us) | Prima8 | 31 days | Abadar. | The first month of the year, named in honor of
Calistril | (KAHL-izz-trihl) | Snappe8 | 28 days | Calistria, goddess of revenge. | A late winter month named for
Pharast | (fah-RAHST) | Anu8 | 31 days | Pharasma, the goddess of birth and death. | An early spring month named after
Gozran | (GOHZ-ran) | Rusanne8 | 30 days | Gozreh. | A stormy month named for the god of the wind,
Desnus | (DEZ-nuhs) | Farlong8 | 31 days | Desna. | A mild month named for the goddess
Sarenith | (sa-REHN-ihth) | Sola8 | 30 days | Sarenrae gives her name to this sun-blessed month. | The sun goddess
Erastus | (eh-RAS-tuhs) | Fletch8 | 31 days | Erastil. | Named in honor of
Arodus | (AIR-oh-duhs) | Hazen7 | 31 days | Aroden. | Although he is no longer widely worshiped, the summer month is named for the dead god
Rova | (ROH-va) | Nuvar7 | 30 days | 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.9) | The beginning of autumn is named after the violent god
Lamashan | (lah‑MAHSH‑ahn) | Shaldo7 | 31 days | Lamashtu, the goddess of monsters. | Named for
Neth | (NEHTH) | Joya7 | 30 days | Nethys, the two-faced god of magic. | Named for
Kuthona | (koo-THOH-nah) | Kai7 | 31 days | Zon-Kuthon. | The shortest day of the year comes during the month named after the god of darkness,
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.5
References
Absalom Reckoning also corresponds to real-world calendars. See the Canon Policy for details.
- ↑ “Overview” in World Guide, 10. Paizo Inc., 2019 .
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 “Chapter 5: The World” in Campaign Setting, 238–239. Paizo Inc., 2008 .
- ↑ “Festivals & Holidays” in Travel Guide, 25. Paizo Inc., 2022 .
- ↑ “Overview” in World Guide, 9. Paizo Inc., 2019 .
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 “Holidays and Festivals” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 248. Paizo Inc., 2011 .
- ↑ In Pathfinder First Edition works, leap years occurred every eight years. The Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook 419 changed this to every four years. James Jacobs subsequently confirmed this was a retroactive correction.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 “Time & the Calendar” in Travel Guide, 7. Paizo Inc., 2022 .
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 “Time & the Calendar” in Travel Guide, 6. Paizo Inc., 2022 .
- ↑ “Torag” in Curse of the Lady's Light, 74. Paizo Inc., 2012 .