Rahadoum

The nation of Rahadoum was founded on a single principle: let no mortal be beholden to a god. Proposed by philosopher Kalim Onaku as a way to end the Oath Wars, this principle quickly expanded into a governing manifesto dubbed the Laws of Mortality. In the eyes of the Rahadoumi, religion is a form of indentured servitude—the sale of one’s immortal soul. Worse, faith encourages violence and division between mortals while blinding believers to reason. Though often labeled as atheists, 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. In the Rahadoumi mind, it’s better to live in freedom, with all the hardship it entails, than to spend eternity as a thrall.

All forms of deity worship are outlawed in Rahadoum. Possession of holy texts or symbols can result in heavy fines or exile, while preaching within its borders is punished by imprisonment or worse. With the exception of clerics and others who channel the gods’ power, however, religious visitors are still welcome to trade in the ports or study in the nation’s esteemed universities, so long as they do not proselytize or conduct religious rituals while there. Immigration to Rahadoum is also encouraged, with the dockside propagandists welcoming with song all those willing to “reject and rejoice.” Faiths that resemble religion but do not venerate divine beings are viewed with suspicion but tolerated—notably the Green Faith, since druids hired by the government present one of the best bulwarks against the nation’s rapidly accelerating desertification.

Enforcement of the laws governing religion falls to the Pure Legion, a sophisticated military organization based out of an unconquerable fortress called Shepherd’s Rock high in the Napsune Mountains.

A council of representatives from every major settlement and nomadic group rules

Sun Orchid Elixir

This Thuvian elixir offers extended life and a second youth.

Sun Orchid Elixir

ITEM 20

Traits: rare, alchemical, consumable, elixir, necromancy

Price varies by auction

Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L

Activation ◆ (Interact)

When you drink this elixir, you physically become as you were in whatever phase of your youth you desire. Your new body begins in peak health, regardless of what your actual condition was at that age. Any physical or mental imperfections— including scars, lost limbs, and curses, diseases, poisons of 20th level or lower— are removed, and you regain your full Hit Points. You immediately begin to age normally again, with your natural lifespan extended as if you had never aged past your

new

apparent age. You retain all your memories.

Unlike Crafting most items,

brewing

the sun orchid elixir takes 1 month’s time. While an individual vial of sun orchid elixir isn’t unique, the formula is unique, and it’s known only to Artokus Kirran of Thuvia.

VENICAAN COLLEGE OF MEDICAMENTS AND CHIRURGERY RELATIONS

The nations along Garund’s northern shores are connected economically by the Path of Salt, a vital coastal trade route stretching across the continent.

Nevertheless, ancient tensions run high: Rahadoum and Thuvia dislike each other due to conflict between the atheists and Sarenites, while oft-conquered Thuvia trusts neither its neighbors nor anyone else, knowing how many foreign governments would happily invade to take the sun orchid elixir for themselves. Osirion, for its part, is pragmatically friendly toward both of them, saving its distrust for Qadira and the Keleshites who oppressed it until recently. In the south, Katapesh makes a point of maintaining trade relations with everyone—though the recent international turn against slavery is causing problems—and Qadira doesn’t care what anyone thinks as long as trade flows and Taldor doesn’t challenge its borders.

MERAB Rahadoum, voting every 5 years to appoint one of the members as head of state, called the Keeper of the First Law. Ordinary Rahadoumi tend to be independent and educated, debating the latest political issues and philosophical treatises with the ardor of Chelaxians following penny operas.

The Rahadoumi economy relies on ingenuity, with a huge merchant and artisan class exporting high-quality crafts and mechanical innovations. The absence of the gods’ influence allows arcane magic to flourish, and mercenary groups train elite warriors tough enough to forgo their peers’ reliance on divine healing.

Rahadoum’s capital of Azir seems almost like two different cities. To outsiders, it’s a bustling river port and the center for trade in the region, with brightly colored markets and huge, hypermodern buildings whose architects use the latest feats of engineering to seemingly break geometry with their fanciful shapes. Yet just behind this facade is a sprawl of slums and trash-walled tenements, where refugees from desertification across the nation struggle to survive and join the city’s middle class.

Fifty miles offshore, the island of Nuat feeds the capital’s masses with the best farmland in the nation. It also harbors much of Rahadoum’s navy. Unfortunately, while the island’s sailors excel at protecting the seas near Azir from the Shackles’ Free Captains, no amount of military presence has been able to drive out the Thin Men—ghostly spirits that haunt Nuat’s cane fields and terrify its residents.

Rahadoum’s government is concerned primarily with the future and innovation. It cares little for the relics of the past, leaving the study of such things to wizards from Manaket’s esteemed Occularium. In the deep deserts and remote reaches of the Napsune Mountains, legendary Jistkan ruins including Lost Yemal, the Tomb of Emperors, and the Hanging City of Teskra stand ripe for adventurers able to brave their ancient traps and resident monsters, as does the magically lush Eternal Oasis. Yet reaching such destinations means contending with fierce lamia bands, the sand traps of giant antlions, and legendary threats like Khanjar-Khanayr the Stone Maw, the fiendish dragon who lurks in his mountain lair of Ghataking, waiting for a sign that it’s time to rise up and lay waste to the region.

Rahadoumi Healing

With limited access to divine healing magic, Rahadoumi often become adept at using ordinary medicine for when dangerous situations arise.

Godless Healing

FEAT 2

Traits: general, skill

Prerequisites Battle Medicine, can’t have a patron deity

You recover an additional 5 Hit Points from a successful attempt to Treat your Wounds or use Battle Medicine on you. After you or an ally use Battle Medicine on you, you become temporarily immune to that Battle Medicine for only 1 hour, instead of 1 day.