Pit of Gormuz

Tarrasque rises from the Pit of Gormuz.

The Pit of Gormuz is a 20-mile-wide chasm located in the Windswept Wastes of central 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.

Description

The land around the Pit consists of cracked mud and sickly plants, swept by strange gales. The Pit itself is a great chasm that stretches 20 miles from side to side and appears impossibly deep, but those brave enough to peer over the edge claim to have seen a vague dull glow at the bottom that haunts their dreams afterwards.

In truth, the Pit is deeper than any have dared to explore. It descends 2 miles through two layers of the Darklands, cutting all the way to forbidding Orv. It is therefore the most direct route between the surface and the Darklands, and also why the area is under constant threat of Rovagug's leaking fury.

Locations within the Pit

The following are some of the locations within the Pit of Gormuz.

• Bones of the Challenger
• Broken Empire
• Court of Fallen Righteousness
• Crater of Carnal Joining
• Offal Mountain
• Trough of the Rough Beast

History and legend

During the Age of Creation, an alliance of gods defeated Rovagug, imprisoning him within the demiplane named the Dead Vault far beneath Golarion's surface in what today is the Pit of Gormuz.

The goddess Sarenrae repaired the gash in the earth into which the Rough Beast had been flung, and commanded her followers to avoid the smooth scar that remained, knowing that the Rough Beast's proximity could affect any mortal. Her faithful living in nearby Ninshabur misinterpreted her instructions, however, and instead flocked to the area, eventually founding the settlement of Gormuz there.

Believing Gormuz to be a holy city of Sarenrae, people from all over Casmaron flocked there for millennia, but were slowly corrupted by the imprisoned god Rovagug's dreams. Sarenrae continued sending portents and visions to her faithful in Gormuz during this period, but they were ignored or misinterpreted. She finally sent her herald Kohal to the people of Gormuz in -3923 AR, but they had been so corrupted that they destroyed him instead.

In great wrath, Sarenrae smote Gormuz with her scimitar, destroying it completely, and created an enormous rent in the earth that eventually became known as the Pit of Gormuz. The opening of this pit would lead to the Spawn of Rovagug harassing the surrounding area for the first time.

The Keleshite sultans claim that Gormuz was a holy man who guarded the Pit for 1,111 years, only finding rest once the Age of Darkness had passed. Orc oracles maintain that Gormuz is in fact the name of the first of the spawn, and that the arrival of a dark comet will signify its return to life.

Megafauna continue to be prevalent around the Pit, with the locals believing they are infected with Rovagug's rage due to how violent they are.

Similarities between the Pit and the Vast Scar in Yad Iagnoth, and the Vast Scar's hypnotic nature, has led to numerous theories on the cause, many of them blasphemous. The most controversial suggest that when Sarenrae opened the Pit of Gormuz, she might have done so under an influence not her own.

Spawn of Rovagug

The following are some of the Spawn of Rovagug believed to have emerged from the Pit over the past few millennia.

• Chemnosit
• Tarrasque
• Ulunat
• Volnagur
• Xotani

Cults of Rovagug

The Pit is naturally sacred to worshipers of the Rough Beast. It is an annual pilgrimage site for many of his local cults, who travel there to toss goods, slaves, or other valuables into the Pit as sacrifices, hoping to gain Rovagug's attention and favor.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.