PathfinderWiki:Featured articles/2014
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This index lists featured articles from 2014. For other years, see History. To nominate a featured article, see Nominations. For upcoming featured articles, see Featured article queue.
December 30 - Sean K Reynolds
Sean K Reynolds was born in a coastal town in southern California. A professional game designer since 1998, his gaming credits include the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Magic of Faerûn, Living Greyhawk Gazetteer, Dark Matter, Monster Manual (3rd edition), Fiend Folio, Champions of Valor and Savage Species as well as the ever-popular "Core Beliefs" columns in Dragon Magazine. On June 27, 2008, Paizo Publishing announced that Sean had been brought on board as a staff designer and that he would be working on the full array of Pathfinder products. read more
- Recently featured: Mediogalti Island • Brass golem • Black Fang
January 6 - Hill giant
Hill giants are among the least civilized members of giantkind. They are also among the most nomadic of giants, traveling in small clans of kin wherever they can find easy pillaging. Hill giants are brutal, selfish, lazy, and stupid. They revel in senseless destruction and solve all their problems with violence. read more
- Recently featured: Sean K Reynolds • Mediogalti Island • Brass golem
January 13 - The Coins
The Coins district in Absalom resides just north of the great city's docks. The area is home to much of the trade, both legal and illegal, that occurs within Absalom. The transient nature of its primarily merchant population facilitates the illicit exchange of drugs, slaves, and other contraband. Despite its reputation, some areas of the district remain more respectable, such as the Monger's Mart and the Grand Bazaar, where the potential for profit outweighs the risk of unlawful dealings. But wherever money changes hands, tempers and greed can get the best of even the most civil of men, and the Coins reports more murders than any other district of Absalom save the Puddles. read more
- Recently featured: Hill giant • Sean K Reynolds • Mediogalti Island
January 20 - Jadwiga
The Jadwiga are the direct descendants of the Witch Queen Baba Yaga. They are the ruling class of Irrisen, with the descendants of Elvanna, the current queen of the land, holding the highest political and social positions. The term Jadwiga comes from Queen Jadwiga, the first ruler of Irrisen, but is often mistranslated as "children of the witch-mother". read more
- Recently featured: The Coins • Hill giant • Sean K Reynolds
January 27 - The Compass Stone
The Compass Stone: The Collected Journals of Eando Kline is an eighteen-part serialized novella following the journey of Pathfinder Eando Kline. While the novella was known simply as "Pathfinder's Journal" during its initial release as part of the Pathfinder's Journal series, it was released in spring 2011 in compiled ePub format under the current title to distinguish it from the ongoing series of AP fiction. The ePub includes an introduction by James L. Sutter, end-chapter game appendixes, as well as a final appendix detailing Eando Kline and his game statistics as he appears in the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path. read more
- Recently featured: Jadwiga • The Coins • Hill giant
February 3 - Junker's Edge
Junker’s Edge and, by extension, Junk Beach are the ultimate destinations for much of the garbage and unwanted items in the town of Sandpoint. Such refuse is gathered by a half-orc dung-sweeper, Gorvi, and those in his employ and dumped over the cliff. Despite protests by the faithful of Gozreh, Sandpoint's town council feels it's best to allow such waste to managed by the tides. read more
- Recently featured: The Compass Stone • Jadwiga • The Coins
February 10 - Tanglebriar
The Tanglebriar is a vast swamp in southern Kyonin, wedged between the Fierani Forest to the north and the Five Kings Mountains to the south. Although technically within the borders of Kyonin, it has become the largely uncontested domain of the demon lord Treerazer since he was driven there by the returning Sovyrian elves in 2632 AR. The realm grows ever more in appearance like Treerazer's lost Abyssal home. read more
- Recently featured: Junker’s Edge • The Compass Stone • Jadwiga
February 24 - Aboleth
The known history of the aboleth stretches all the way back into the Age Before Ages, into the time of ancient Azlant, and even before that, into the mythical Age of Creation. The aboleth claim to have had a thriving civilization on the oceans' floor before even the gods took notice of the world. These claims cannot be substantiated, as no record of this time has survived the intervening millennia. What is known is that during the Age of Legend, the aboleth raised the native Azlanti humans from barbarism, teaching them their control of magic. read more
- Recently featured: Tanglebriar • Junker’s Edge • The Compass Stone
March 10 - Rise of the Runelords
Rise of the Runelords was the first adventure path released in the Pathfinder Adventure Path line and debuted in August 2007. Written by James Jacobs, Richard Pett, Nicolas Logue, Wolfgang Baur, Stephen S. Greer, and Greg A. Vaughan, the six-part adventure arc has been released in individual Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes, a compiled and updated anniversary edition hardcover, as the inaugural Pathfinder Adventure Card Game base set, and in the form of Pathfinder Legends full-cast audio dramas. read more
- Recently featured: Aboleth • Tanglebriar • Junker’s Edge
March 17 - History of Osirion
Osirion is one of the oldest of the nations of Golarion, having existed in one form or another since the beginning of the Age of Destiny. From its founding over eight thousand years ago, to the recent ascent of Khemet III, Osirion has seen periods of greatness, and periods of decline read more
- Recently featured: Rise of the Runelords • Aboleth • Tanglebriar
March 24 - Zirnakaynin
The massive city of Zirnakaynin is not only the largest drow settlement, but also the most populous city in the Darklands. It has stood for over eight millennia and spreads out over three enormous caverns in the realm of Sekamina, far below the surface nation of Nirmathas. read more
- Recently featured: History of Osirion • Rise of the Runelords • Aboleth
March 31 - Norgorber
Norgorber is known as a deity of thievery and assassination, as well as a keeper of secrets. He is called the 'Reaper of the Reputation' by some, but he has more insidious titles among his other worshipers. He remains an enigma to most, and his true motives are unknown. Many of his own followers remain ignorant of his plans and designs. Norgorber is the only evil aligned god amongst the Ascended. read more
- Recently featured: Zirnakaynin • History of Osirion • Rise of the Runelords
April 7 - Sandpoint Mercantile League
The Sandpoint Mercantile League was a small business endeavor created in 4667 AR in Magnimar by four powerful merchant families, all of whom had designs on settling the region where the small town of Sandpoint now stands. Rather than work against each other, they consolidated their efforts and formed the League. These four families, the Kaijitsu, the Valdemars, the Scarnettis, and the Deverins, sailed north to claim their land after securing the rights from the Magnimar Charterhouse. Yet when they arrived, they found the place already settled by a particularly large tribe of Varisians, who held the region as a traditional place to spend the winter. read more
- Recently featured: Norgorber • Zirnakaynin • History of Osirion
April 14 - People's Council
The People's Council is a 350-member elected body responsible for governing the nation of Andoran. The council's primary purpose is to "safeguard the interests of every single citizen of Andoran". It holds public meetings regularly in the capital city of Almas every six months, and special sessions can be called as needed. The Council as a body is responsible for the selection of mayors for each of Andoran's municipalities, as well as the appointment of a supreme vicar to serve as an adviser to the Supreme Elect. read more
- Recently featured: Sandpoint Mercantile League • Norgorber • Zirnakaynin
April 21 - Talmandor
The avoral Talmandor is the celestial patron of the nation of Andoran. He is said to be the voice of three of the nation's largest faiths: Iomedae, Erastil, and Shelyn. Because of this, his words bear great weight, and few question his devotion to the greatest good for the greatest number. read more
- Recently featured: People's Council • Sandpoint Mercantile League • Norgorber
April 21 - Khorramzadeh
The balor Khorramzadeh is one of the two most powerful of the Worldwound's many warlords, and rules the city of Iz. He is known as the Storm King, as his form is bathed in lightning rather than the fire usual to balors. read more
- Recently featured: Talmandor • People's Council • Sandpoint Mercantile League
May 5 - Basileus
Basileus is Asmodeus' herald and serves as the voice of Hell itself. He generally takes on the appearance of an unearthly beautiful male of a race matching the observer's. Upon closer inspection though, one can see hellfire burning from within his eyes. Basileus is rarely encountered on the Material Plane, since he typically serves as an ambassador or envoy between Asmodeus and other deities or planar authorities. Rather than being promoted from within the infernal horde, Basileus was created by Asmodeus himself to be the perfect emissary. read more
- Recently featured: Khorramzadeh • Talmandor • People's Council
May 12 - Sable Company
The Sable Company of Korvosa is an elite, hippogriff-mounted company of marines. The commandant of the Company does not answer to the ruling monarch of the city-state, instead reporting directly to the Seneschal of Castle Korvosa. While the Korvosan Guard patrols the streets of the city, the Sable Company has jurisdiction over the skies and waters around Korvosa. The two organizations work closely together and the marines rely on their ties with the Guard to further coordinate efforts with the Hellknights and the Acadamae, both of whom are not on good terms with the Sable Company. read more
- Recently featured: Basileus • Khorramzadeh • Talmandor
May 26 - Neruma
Unusually for the Shackles, the city of Neruma is not on the coast. It is one of the few major settlements on the mainland, and is situated in the north east, along the Terwa River and close to the borders with the Mwangi Expanse and the Sodden Lands. Neruma is a centre for trade between the Shackles and those two neighbouring regions. The main trading item purchased here is slaves, but other items of value also occasionally make their way along the river to Neruma. read more
- Recently featured: Kyton • Basileus • Khorramzadeh
June 2 - Cayden's Hall
Cayden's Hall in the Ascendant Court district of Absalom is a large, boisterous meadhall and temple of Cayden Cailean, built of wood as was the original meadhall from which Cayden set out to take the Test of the Starstone. Due to the drunken revelry, religious bonfires, and consequent accidents, this is the 14th temple built on the current site near a large fountain, which is itself at least the fourth site to house Cayden's temple. read more
June 9 - Ilsurian
Ilsurian is a small agricultural and fishing town situated on the northern banks of Lake Syrantula at the mouth of the Skull River. It was founded in 4631 AR by Ilsur, a former First Sword of the Knights of Aroden and his followers, all of whom were dissatisfied with the direction Korvosa took following the collapse of the Chelish Empire. The residents take great pride in their civic duties and almost every citizen participates in elections. read more
- Recently featured: Cayden's Hall • Neruma • Kyton
June 16 - Halfling
While their small stature generally keeps halflings out of the spotlight in human settlements, the small folk have nevertheless found a niche for themselves and play an important role in Golarion. Halflings grew up among the human cultures of Avistan, alongside and often overlooked by the growth and success of those nations and regions they inhabited. They have their own rich tales and heroes that few of the bigger folk have ever even guessed at. read more
- Recently featured: Ilsurian • Cayden's Hall • Neruma
June 23 - Jervis Stoot
In 4687 AR, when Jervis Stoot made clear his intentions to build a home on the island just north of the Old Light, locals in Sandpoint paid him no mind. Jervis had already garnered something of a reputation as an eccentric for his one-man crusade to carve depictions of birds on every deserving building in town. Stoot never made a carving without securing permission, but his incredible skill made it a given that if Stoot picked your building as the site of his latest project, you seized the opportunity. read more
- Recently featured: Halfling • Ilsurian • Cayden's Hall
June 30 - Rusty Dragon
The Rusty Dragon is the oldest inn in Sandpoint and thanks to its owner and its ever-present "Help Wanted" board, one of the most popular and adventurer-friendly as well. Owned and operated by Ameiko Kaijitsu, the inn can be found just past the southern bridge overlooking the Turandarok River at the corner of Market and River Streets. Known for its spicy and exotic foods, it is a favorite at the community's annual Swallowtail Festival free lunch. read more
- Recently featured: Jervis Stoot • Halfling • Ilsurian
July 7 - Dretch
The lowest rank of demon Dretch are at the bottom of the demonic pecking order, what they lack in strength, ability and intelligence they make up for in numbers. They are sometimes known as sloth demons, or simply "the wretched". read more
- Recently featured: Rusty Dragon • Jervis Stoot • Halfling
July 14 - Cyth-V'sug
Cyth-V'sug is the demon lord of fungus and parasites. Originally a qlippoth lord, he is older than any of the demons now residing in the Abyss. It is though that Cyth-V'sug was spawned by the qlippoth lord called Oaur-Ooung and later ascended and transformed into a demon lord. read more
- Recently featured: Dretch • Rusty Dragon • Jervis Stoot
July 21 - Daggermark Assassins' Guild
Three centuries ago, an assassin army left their home in Casmaron just before it was destroyed by a firestorm. The army battled its way through Casmaron and into Avistan in search of a new home. They eventually took over the town of Rivermark, in the River Kingdoms, and re-named it Daggermark. The legacy of those assasins exists to this day as the Daggermark Assassins' Guild. read more
- Recently featured: Cyth-V'sug • Dretch • Rusty Dragon
July 28 - Dhalavei
Dhalavei is the goddess of unmaking and secrets. Her sole design seems to be the fragmenting of bonds, trust, and the destruction of the universe, though mediated by an obsession with planning and organization. Her three aspects as worshiped by her most important sect, the Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, are mysteries, deception, and black destruction. read more
- Recently featured: Daggermark Assassins' Guild • Cyth-V'sug • Dretch
August 4 - Carbuncle
Carbuncle A carbuncle is a strange, tiny, armored reptilian creature with a gemstone horn in the center of its forehead and strange magical powers. Carbuncles possess a simple form of empathy or telepathy, and can attempt to impress its thoughts or will on nearby sentient creatures. read more
- Recently featured: Dhalavei • Daggermark Assassins' Guild • Cyth-V'sug
August 11 - Gunworks
The Gunworks of Alkenstar City was built in 4620 AR and has been the primary source of firearms in the Grand Duchy and the rest of the world ever since. Manufacturing only one small-arms weapon a day and five siege weapons a year, one would think this massive facility highly inefficient considering its size and twelve-hour workdays. In fact, the Gunworks is capable of a much higher rate of production but maintains a slow schedule to keep the market price of the weapons artificially high by limiting supply. read more
- Recently featured: Carbuncle • Dhalavei • Daggermark Assassins' Guild
August 18 - Heidmarch Manor
Home of the noted Pathfinders Canayven Heidmarch and Sheila Heidmarch, Heidmarch Manor is the first Pathfinder lodge in all Varisia, serving as the Pathfinder Society's base of operations into the rest of Varisia. Heidmarch Manor is located in Magnimar, the so-called "City of Monuments", within the prosperous Alabaster District of the city's wealthy Summit area; the manor lies just north of the Triodea in the neighboring Naos District. The manor contains all the usual amenities of a Pathfinder lodge—including some with a Varisian twist. read more
August 25 - Groetus
The god Groetus hangs in the form of a bloated moon above Pharasma's Boneyard in the Outer Sphere, silently watching. Only the other gods know whether the moon itself is the god, or merely his dwelling place, and they have proven reluctant to discuss the matter. Adventurous folk who have braved the surface of this place are either never heard from again, or are discovered soon after as the newest of the god's insane faithful. read more
- Recently featured: Heidmarch Manor • Gunworks • Carbuncle
September 1 - Seltyiel
The bastard son of the duped Lady Phiaura Bhrostra and the brigand-sorcerer Lairsaph, Seltyiel was never meant to survive. Through guile and illusion, the half-elf was conceived as a living disgrace to the sonless Bhrostra family—stern, martial-minded traditionalists who had long hunted the woodland bandits. read more
- Recently featured: Groetus • Heidmarch Manor • Gunworks
September 8 - Pit of Gormuz
The Pit of Gormuz is a 20-mile-wide chasm located in the Windswept Wastes of eastern Casmaron. Over thousands of years, a dozen Spawn of Rovagug have emerged from the Pit to threaten Golarion, and legends tell that the god Rovagug himself was bound at the bottom of the Pit in time immemorial. read more
- Recently featured: Seltyiel • Groetus • Heidmarch Manor
September 15 - Ameiko Kaijitsu
Ameiko Kaijitsu is best known in the Varisian town of Sandpoint as the proprietor of the Rusty Dragon, the most popular tavern in town. A member of the town's small aristocracy, she is the eldest daughter of Lonjiku Kaijitsu and Atsuii Kaijitsu, and half-sister of both Amaya and Tsuto Kaijitsu. read more
- Recently featured: Pit of Gormuz • Seltyiel • Groetus
September 22 - Agathion
An agathion is a member of a group of neutral good-aligned outsiders who have delayed transcendence in order to defend the realm of Nirvana and meditate on its deeper mysteries. Each group of agathions follows the teachings of a transcended elder master, a powerful agathion that has been granted far greater power by the plane itself. read more
- Recently featured: Ameiko Kaijitsu • Pit of Gormuz • Seltyiel
September 29 - Lamia matriarch
Leaders of the lamyros race when harridans are not around, the lamia matriarchs constantly plot and scheme. Like all lamyros, they are creatures of vice and indulgence, cursed by the god Pharasma in ancient times. From the waist up, a lamia matriarch appears to be a beautiful human woman whose form seems more suited to the harem than the battlefield. Below the waist, her body tapers into a snake's tail, several times the length of her torso and covered completely in snake scales. read more
- Recently featured: Agathion • Ameiko Kaijitsu • Pit of Gormuz
October 6 - Brigh
Brigh is the goddess of invention and particularly favors creations that take on a life of their own, like clockworks or constructs. Unfortunately, the sort of creative minds who engage in the sort of invention that Brigh most favours, are those who are not prone to worship—they tend to devote themselves to invention instead. As a result, her following is not very large. Many of her followers see her as the personification of their chosen form. No one seems to know whether Brigh was once a mortal granted divinity or whether she was a construct granted not only life but a potent spark of true divinity. read more
- Recently featured: Lamia matriarch • Agathion • Ameiko Kaijitsu
October 13 - Thriae
The thriae (singular and plural) are a race of bee-like humanoids, all of them female. Many are renowned for their gifts of cryptic prophesying. They have the upper bodies of slender, beautiful human women with long, thin insectoid wings. Their lower bodies consist of a bee's abdomen—including its stinger—and two insectoid legs. The average thriae is 6 feet tall and weighs between 150 and 200 pounds, with seers trending smaller in size and warriors larger. read more
- Recently featured: Brigh • Lamia matriarch • Agathion
October 20 - Arch of Aroden
The Arch of Aroden is a monolithic arch hundreds of feet in height which stretches across the Hespereth Strait in far southwestern Cheliax, linking the Inner Sea to the Arcadian Ocean. Despite the fact that the arch spans two continents, both ends have been a part of the nation of Cheliax since their victories in Garund in 4137 AR, much to the consternation of the neighboring nation of Rahadoum. read more
- Recently featured: Thriae • Brigh • Lamia matriarch
October 27 - Goblinoid
Goblinoids are a family of related humanoid races. Though varied in form, all goblinoids have certain traits in common, notably sharply pointed ears, a shared language, a lifestyle of hunting and raiding, and an aptitude at stealth. Most goblinoids have an evil reputation and enjoy causing pain and suffering, though their methods and motivation for doing so vary between races. It is common to find goblinoids of different species working together, often led by the cunning and ambitious hobgoblins. read more
- Recently featured: Arch of Aroden • Thriae • Brigh
November 3 - Grandmaster Torch
Grandmaster Torch is one of Absalom's most notorious information brokers. Little is known of the early life of Grandmaster Torch before he became an information broker. Grandmaster Torch was a field agent for the Pathfinder Society, but his career came to an end in one of the tombs he was exploring. Cursed and left for dead by his peers, he nevertheless managed to escape back to Absalom. His true name, like his career as a Pathfinder, has been left behind in that ancient tomb. read more
- Recently featured: Goblinoid • Arch of Aroden • Thriae
November 10 - Earth elemental
Plodding creatures comprised of rock, earth, or crystal, earth elementals are strong but slow creatures native to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Their only universal feature is their eyes, which are always made of some variety of beautiful and often at least semi-precious gemstone. Like other elementals they come in a variety of forms often imitating Material Plane life forms. Some look like a primitive, barely carved statue of whatever creature's form they have taken. Interestingly the larger elementals almost universally take a humanoid form. read more
- Recently featured: Grandmaster Torch • Goblinoid • Arch of Aroden
November 17 - Iz
Once the capital of the barbarian Kingdom of Sarkoris, Iz is now the headquarters of the Abyssal forces occupying Golarion. Demon princes send emissaries to the various "embassies" there, in the hopes of advancing their devious causes. When the Worldwound opened, the city was located a full-day's ride southwest of the tear in reality. read more
- Recently featured: Earth Elemental • Grandmaster Torch • Goblinoid
November 24 - Age of Darkness
The Age of Darkness was a thousand year period in which the sun's light was blocked by the ash knocked into the atmosphere by the meteoric impacts of Earthfall. It began with the impact of the Starstone in -5293 AR and lasted until the sun's light had been restored, roughly in -4294 AR. During the Age of Darkness, all major civilizations across Golarion were destroyed, ushering in a time of anarchy and destruction. read more
- Recently featured: Iz • Earth Elemental • Grandmaster Torch
December 1 - Oread
Oreads are genie-kin whose ancestry includes the touch of an elemental being of earth somewhere along the line, often that of a shaitan. Stoic and contemplative, oreads are a race not easily moved, yet almost unstoppable when spurred to action. They remain a mystery to most of the world thanks to their reclusive nature, but those who seek them out in their secluded mountain hideaways find oreads to be quiet, dependable, and protective of their friends. read more
- Recently featured: Age of Darkness • Iz • Earth Elemental
December 8 - Chimera
Chimeras are the descendants of monsters created by Lamashtu. These monsters, the male orthrus and the female legendary chimera still remain in remote parts of Golarion but are much rarer than chimeras. Their strange combination of heads was the result of Lamashtu’s desire to create a carnivore that could also survive on grass and thorn bushes when prey was scarce. read more
- Recently featured: Oread • Age of Darkness • Iz
December 15 - Whispering Way
The Whispering Way is a cruel and secret organization and philosophy promoting undeath that has been active for thousands of years. The tenets are whispered one to another and never written down. The central philosophy of the Whispering Way is that undeath is the truest form of existence. The undead know no pain and no fear, and so have nothing to distract them from their pursuit of power. read more
- Recently featured: Chimera • Oread • Age of Darkness
December 22 - Decemvirate
The Decemvirate is the ruling body of the well-known Pathfinder Society and is headquartered in the Grand Lodge in Absalom. As per the name, it is composed of 10 experienced Pathfinders. The identities of the Decemvirate are a closely guarded secret, and their motivations are often shrouded in mystery, Pathfinder members often shrug-off strange orders from above as simply the "will of the Ten". Nevertheless, members of the Society are sworn to absolutely obey the will of the Decemvirate, or risk expulsion or an even darker fate. read more
- Recently featured: Whispering Way • Chimera • Oread
December 29 - Herald
A herald is the incarnate embodiment of a deity's will. These unique creatures are often sent as messengers or to assist the followers of a god. Their appearance on Golarion is rare in the extreme, and they only ever do so with the express permission of their divine patron. read more
- Recently featured: Decemvirate • Whispering Way • Chimera