Tian Xia Character Guide

Lost Omens Second Edition
Parade in the night!

In a land built from the flesh and bones of dragons, adventurers band together to
seek their fate! Familiar faces take on new guises in the land of Tian Xia, traveling
alongside peoples unique to the continent. The Tian Xia Character Guide features
new heritages for existing ancestries, such as kijimuna gnomes and chrysanthemum
leshies, as well as brand-new ancestries who have lived among the Dragon Empires
since time immemorial. Explore an expansive world of options for your character,
LOST OMENS TIAN XIA CHARACTER GUIDE

from the kinetic grace of dance and martial arts, to the subtle skills of cooking and
alchemy, to the complex relationships between the elements. Will mastery of these
techniques lead you to your goals, or will temptation and rivalry tear you asunder?
LOST OMENS
Tian Xia
paizo.com/pathfinder PZO13002-HC Printed in China.
Character Guide
LOST OMENS
Tian Xia
Character Guide
AUTHORS
Table of Contents
Eren Ahn, Jeremy Blum, Logan Bonner, Alyx Bui, James
Case, Banana Chan, Rick Chia, Hiromi Cota, Dana Ebert,
Eleanor Ferron, Basheer Ghouse, John Godek III, Sen H.H.S.,
Joan Hong, Daniel Kwan, Jacky Leung, Jesse J. Leung, Monte
Lin, Jessie “Aki” Lo, Adam Ma, Ashley Moni, Collette Quach,
INTRODUCTION4
Christopher Rondeau, Joaquin Kyle “Makapatag” Saavedra,
Michael Sayre, Shahreena Shahrani, Kienna Shaw, Philip
Shen, Tan Shao Han, Mari Tokuda, Ruvaid Virk, Viditya BACKGROUNDS10
Voleti, Grady Wang, and Jay Zhang
Backgrounds��10
DESIGN LEAD
James Case Rare Backgrounds��12
DESIGNERS
Joshua Birdsong, Logan Bonner, James Case,
and Michael Sayre
MAGIC AND THE SPIRIT WORLD 14
DEVELOPMENT LEAD
Eleanor Ferron The Elements��18
DEVELOPERS Dragon Champions of the Zodiac��21
Eleanor Ferron, Jason Keeley, Luis Loza,
and Landon Winkler
EDITING LEAD
Ianara Natividad
PEOPLES24
EDITORS Dokkaebi Goblin��34
Felix Dritz, Patrick Hurley, Avi Kool, Priscilla Lagares, Lynne
M. Meyer, Zac Moran, Ianara Natividad, Solomon St. John, Hungerseed��36
and Simone D. Sallé
CULTURAL CONSULTATION
Kijimuna��38
Sen H.H.S., Joan Hong, Shahreena Shahrani,
and Tan Shao Han
Tian Kobold��40
COVER ARTIST Tian Leshy��42
Ekaterina Gordeeva
INTERIOR ARTISTS
Tian Lizardfolk��44
Mylene Bertrand, Yanis Cardin, Nicholas DeLuca,
Fabio Gorla, Sammy Khalid, Vira Linevych, Paulo Magalhães,
Tian Sprite��46
Alexander Nanitchkov, Guilherme Nery, Arthur Oliveira,
and Sandra Posada Tsukumogami Poppet��48
ART DIRECTION Kitsune��50
Sonja Morris
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Nagaji��51
Adriana Gasperi
Samsaran��52
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Luis Loza Sarangay��58
PUBLISHER
Erik Mona
Paizo Inc.
15902 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE,
Unit B
Woodinville, WA 98072-4572
paizo.com
Tanuki��64
Wayang��70
Yaksha�� 76
Yaoguai��82
CHARACTER OPTIONS 88
Five-Breath Vanguard��90
Strategist Marshal��91
Spirit Warrior��92
Starlit Sentinel��94
Fan Dancer��98
Cooking��100
Medicine��106
Tian Innovation��110
Wuxia��112
Familiar Sage��116
Martial Arts��118
Companions and Familiars��122
Tian Equipment��126
GLOSSARY & INDEX 132

Chapter 1:
Introduction
Tian Xia Ordu-Aganhei
Songil
Sea
Ivory Sea
Hongal
• Muliwan
Forest of
Koeh Lau ◊ Spirits AOKORI GULF
Bunkats
u River
EVDERGAZ CHASM
y River
in g Sk
Roar
SAPPH ◊ Mount Kumijinja
IRE SO
Ruins of Maiaji ◊ • Nokkaichi UND
City of Bone and Juniper ◊
AI HI
NT US
NS
OU IF
Mount Tsukiyo ◊
M AM
• Hokkoˉ shi
K
NIGHTFORD MOUNTAINS Jyito
Labyrinth of the Two Hells ◊
Spiritscar ◊ • Tsukiwa ChuYe OSOGEN GRASSLANDS
Menhu Suu ◊ Zi Ha CHUYOKAI FOREST
River
SANKYOˉ DAI
KE
agon
Shanguang • Tsering Springs ling Dr
LS
Craw
Pavilion of Falling Flowers ◊ MOUNTAINS
AN
• Kirahata
G
Numijaan
M
LAKE
OU
Sakakabe • TSUKISHIZUKU
KY
NT
AI
Ayajinbo
OJI
◊ Chotilema’s Boudoir
NS
NM
Grave of Moyoshi Shoda ◊
Xidao
OU
Qintong • Mewru •
r
SESERAGI
Rive
Sangpo-Jong
NT
Enganoka •
Kaoling FOREST
Tag
huri
AIN
ir
Wall of
yu
Seyt
• Lekshey
Wanshou
S
AY
Riv
Heaven War
er
A-
as hi R
SILVERMIST iver
M
Pobashabla •
AR
WOOD Rangdol • • Toduc Wa Yashabaru
New Oppara
Sak
ehiy
• Funako
aku
Jinin Linvarre Uruuknus •
Riv
er
Ilu
Akafuto •
Awahana
sh
Sea King’s Gorge
eR
• Vannisaria
iv
er
• Seidoyaji
Riv
Kamiteki Rive
Nightswallow’s Rest ◊ Okim •
Dhucharg Minkai Hiyosai •
er
r
ive ◊ Daigaki Castle ◊ City of Whistling Swords
gR
SEA OF EELS trin Hisuikarasu
ks • Todorokaze
Sil
Kwanlai
r
Dragon-Eel Port ◊
Tuunma
River
KIM ◊ Vale of Green Spears
Yin-Sichasi • Mallaru UM
OUN
TAI Kasai
N S • Wanshi
• Baakai Nagaiyamatsu •
KANGSHUR • Oda
ISLAND SORUI
River Mukinami
Pine KAIMUKO GULF
Black
GOSS
SPECTERWOOD WOOD
Zetang AOGAITO
Tianjing
AME
Shogokabe •
◊ Cradle of Immortality ISLAND
Goka Songbai
R MO
• Langkhu • Sze
Goka HEISONG BENCHU
FOREST BAY
UNTA
Lingshen Shenmen SEA OF Peijia

INS
Mount Lamjung ◊ • Gao Bie NAIKANG

• Pek Peh
GHOSTS Bachuan BAY
• Cinnabar Market
r
ive
r
ive
gR
◊ House of 1,000 Silks R

SZAEZAN CRAGS • Baifen ao
in
Celestial Dragon Temple ◊ n gD

ail
Xio
W
Go
lde
nR
ive
r • Anjing Hwanggot
◊ Ten Thousand Summer Palace
• Khitai
Temple of the Whispering Spider ◊ • Danjing
ERYIU FOREST
SHIBOBEKAS
He Ming Xiwu CHANG LIAO Haseong
tR un JUNGLE • Eongman Bog • Maecho
n Swea
Drago • Inahiyi
er
Riv
Iron Mountain ◊
Quain • Nanzhu MEIGUAN Gw
ang
ILL
S
H
LAKE AI
• Vannarak
Changdo Thap Samut • LO
M
SEE • Yuming ◊ Emperor’s Footprint KI
THI
NG Po Li
HIL • Jitai
LS Uthong •
Round Mountain ◊ • Tuotuo

SIKHYEU Tang Mai Surat Prakan ATAS PULU
EMBARAL RIFT • Thulsadus Ngon Hoa
FOREST Pho Yim ◊
Clicking Caverns ◊
• Kalibi
EI
L AN D
KUL
Zom Kullan
Xa Hoi Minata
Nagajor • Kutaban
TENGAH PULU
Star Titan’s Grave ◊ BELEM
Embaral • Waunomani
Ocean Kashang ◊
BUKORANG
KAWAK’S GRAY GULF
RUN • Jainai
Thunderblood Peak ◊ Arung ◊
Rakarit
CHENLUN MOUNTAINS Valash Raj
Swamp of the Dark Brood ◊
AK
S • Buwayang Okaiyo
PE Ocean
Valashmai Jungle S AN
DI RENDAH PULU
SU
• Lahayusa
• Owairua
OLAKAPUNA
GOROYASA
6 Valashmai Sea LAKAPUNA

• Pawainui
300 Miles
Introduction TIAN XIA
CHARACTER
GUIDE
Despite frequent appellations by Avistani scholars as the explorers leave the relative safety of foothills and ridges INTRODUCTION
“Dragon Empires,” Tian Xia is much more than a land to seek Yjae, the legendary flying city, while deep within
of dragons and emperors. While draconic machinations these heaven-piercing peaks, Shory aeromancers and oni BACKGROUNDS
and imperial ambitions have indeed hewn momentous warlords carry out a secret extraplanar war. Lung Wa
MAGIC AND
paths, no wyrm or potentate can truly speak for or lay emperors also considered the nearby Shanguang Desert a THE SPIRIT
claim to the continent’s monumental entirety. Tian Xia is nominal part of the empire, but its courts and cartographers WORLD
vast, and its wonders are manifold. No singular class of consider its deserts as empty of value. Beyond these official
being, no matter how powerful, can hold it comfortably reckonings, those shining sands host wondrous marvels, THE ELEMENTS
within one destiny or horizon of definition. where Mutabi-qi nomads tend to thousand-year oases
ZODIAC
The quintessential Tian Xia instead resides within its of flower and fruit and compose thankful ballads for the
peoples and places. For over 10,000 years, these vistas mercies of benevolent kaiju. PEOPLES
have witnessed untold numbers of aspirations, labors, In northernmost Tian Xia, near the Crown of the World,
and tragedies. Myriad climates and environs sprung stretch the endless skies and steppes of azure-gold Hongal. CHARACTER
OPTIONS
from these lands and waters, upon which countless While many know of Hongal as one terminus of the Path of
ecologies and societies trace tangled contours. The pulse Aganhei connecting Tian Xia with Avistan, the indigenous TIAN
and passage of so many lives echo within Tian Xia’s Tian-La horse lords and herders trace their own paths amid EQUIPMENT
soul. The azure-shadowed peaks and sand-dancing the ever-shifting winds, mustering the mettle and wit to face
gorges enfold its peoples’ dreams and celebrations, even fiendish adversaries and commercial opportunities alike. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
as the boundless waves and monsoon-whistling islands The Path of Aganhei wends eastward through the primeval
embrace their remembrances and lamentations. Forest of Spirits, where mighty kami watch over the woods’
Witness Tian Xia, where the quotidian rhythms of ancient soil and deep-drinking roots. This sacred land
communities and habitats speak on even terms with the swells with numinous power, drawing spirits and peoples
desires and excesses of sovereigns and dragons. With who revere nature into the embrace of its green canopies;
patience and presence, the polyphonies of Tian Xia’s together, they resist depredations and impositions of
histories, struggles, and transformations shall ring more industrialists and warlords. The Path of Aganhei dips south
clearly, and its truths become luminous to experience into Minkai, a fiercely independent empire, once poised to
and behold.
REGIONS OF TIAN XIA

While the 16 Successor States, comprised of the former
provinces of imperial Lung Wa, greatly influence
contemporary Tian geopolitics, it would be remiss to
ignore those independent lands beyond the empire’s grasp.
Dynastic superpowers, faded or resurgent, have shaped
many Tian societies’ ideals and habits, from language and
custom to law and commerce. However, such conceptions
and folkways are neither all-encompassing nor necessarily
indicative of imperial identities or loyalties.
After all, the peoples of the peripheries—Tian Xia’s
ungovernable highlands, remote jungles, coastal
peninsulas, and open seas—care little for the
heartlands’ dynastic claims, and they worry even
less whether those dynasties are named Lung,
Shu, or Yixing. While irruptions of imperial power
might variably profit or inconvenience regimes in
these so-called outskirts and enable or deny these
regional elites’ access to metropolitan wealth and
prestige, an empire is hardly necessary for these
independent existences to function and flourish.
Few fathom the Wall of Heaven, that aloof, massive
mountain range, as anything more than a barrier of Tian
Xia’s western coast, yet it contains histories and mysteries
threaded through with tempest and shadow. Tian-Yae
7
replace fallen Lung Wa as Tian Xia’s most powerful empire. Nearby Minata, despite its storied Taumatan heritage
Riven between contradictory demands of modernity and and technical prowess in shipbuilding and wayfinding,
tradition, and scarred by oni manipulators, the land now tends to be overlooked by outsiders as a haven for pirates
undergoes reformation under its unconventional empress. and raiders, a reputation that similarly discourages
The southern lands also challenge those accounts that intrusions. Indeed, the Wandering Isles’ harsh monsoons
emphasize the centrality and significance of Tian-Shu or and typhoons, alongside Tian-Sing maritime prowess,
Tian-Min polities on the continent. Thanks to the Embaral have proven enough to turn would-be conquerors into
Ocean’s proximity, the south exhibits a preponderance bloodied flotsam and headless jetsam. The constant
of Casmar influence and interaction. Vudrani names or murmurs of Mount Shibotai, the most terrifying of Tian
Keleshite architecture are widespread, while the well- Xia’s volcanoes, also presents an exceedingly effectual
regarded teachings of Iro-Shu (as Irori is known locally) deterrent in dissuading long-term expansions.
were popularized by missionaries and pilgrims from To many in the heartlands’ feudal empires, these diverse
Sumadhadra off east Vudra. Such cultural flows aren’t regions have generally been perceived as distractions from
one-way. While some scholars claim Nalinivati worship more important concerns of dynastic continuity. This
is a Vudran religion brought over to Tian Xia via the approach persists among the three self-styled “true scions”
Darklands, Nagajor’s nagaji stridently oppose this claim, of Lung Wa: military juggernaut Lingshen, prophecy-
citing their homelands as the source of this faith and their proclaiming Po Li, and heroism-exulting Quain. Most of
ancestors to be the transmitters of these teachings to these nations still cling to ideals of bygone imperial glory,
Vudra and beyond. each believing their unique strengths qualify them for the
Nagajor shares a southeastern border with Xa Hoi— Mandate of Heaven. Some dream of restoring or founding
perhaps the most exemplary form of a “dragon empire,” empires to unite Tian Xia and pay scant consideration as
for it’s a nation bound in fealty to sovereign dragons— to whether the rest of the continent desires it. These more
and both nations also share security interests in repelling belligerent states steep deeper into the ferment of war
the hostile incursions of clockworks and insurgents from while claiming to do so for the sake of peace.
the nearby Clicking Caverns and Darklands. Thanks to Other Successor States are wary of hegemonic claims,
its draconic patronage and Tian-Dan patriotism, Xa Hoi especially if they’ve suffered from imperial abuse or exist at
remains a magical and martial powerhouse. cross-purposes with these scions’ ambitions. The Republic
8
of Bachuan, with its history of being exploited by Lung Wa, idyllic land of celestial-touched exorcists and bell-ringing
has no patience for empires old or new; it seeks to establish temples might appear harmless and benign, but all know
TIAN XIA
its own existence with a suppressed, pre-imperial heritage of the stories of ancient qlippoth sealed and slumbering
alongside the cultures of the Tapestry People, the new beneath Tianjing’s placid earth. CHARACTER
residents from the Ruby Phoenix’s Tapestry demiplane. Lastly, some polities have never fallen under direct Lung GUIDE
Kwanlai, home to many tengu communities, was treated Wa rule, by dint of being settled in areas too obscure, INTRODUCTION
as a Lung Wa dumping ground and penal colony, taxed in remote, or uninhabitable. The elf forest nation of Jinin,
silver and labor, and received little development or support shielded from others by stealth and spellcraft, pursued BACKGROUNDS
for its overcrowded population. While imperial courts a policy of relative autarky, thus largely avoiding most
MAGIC AND
traditionally treated Songbai with perfunctory cordiality, of the tumults of Lung Wa’s rise and fall. Similarly, the THE SPIRIT
on account of it being the empire’s rice basket, Lung Wa’s athamaru-ruled underwater realm of Xidao proved WORLD
disintegration led to Lingshen’s immediate iron-fisted impractical for imperial conquest and became a valued
campaigns to seize Songbai’s fields and subjugate their trading partner for its ready supply of pearls, coral, and THE ELEMENTS
farmers. Perhaps Kaoling is most stridently opposed to other pelagic wonders. Despite the plentiful jade within its
ZODIAC
the ambitions of so-called “true scions,” as this hobgoblin mountains, the samsaran domain of Zi Ha ended up too
polity was carved out from the corpses of no less than six harsh and inconvenient for Lung Wa colonists; instead, PEOPLES
conquered Successor States. a tributary relationship of trade and cultural exchange
Some Successor States are reclaiming their post-imperial emerged. The prevalence of imperial Lung Wa’s religious CHARACTER
OPTIONS
identities from Lung Wa’s brutal collapse. Tang Mai, Goka, taboos proscribing the shedding of samsarans’ sainted,
Hwanggot, and Linvarre, each retaining its unique cultural immortal blood might also have led to such a peaceful TIAN
and economic independence with bygone Lung Wa, have coexistence, but it remains to be seen if such beliefs would EQUIPMENT
stepped on different paths to determine their destinies. Tang similarly stay the true scions’ grasping hands.
Mai’s confederations of sorcerous gentry pursue their own GLOSSARY
& INDEX
means of nation-building. Meanwhile, Goka, with its near
monopoly on Tian Xia’s western sea trade, conducts business
as usual to grow networks of mercantile soft power—but
this time, all the money remains in Gokan banks, not
tributed to some distant coffer. Hwanggot, the Kingdom
of Flowers, possesses undisputed mastery of aesthetics and
diplomatic influence, sharing its rich traditions of material
and intangible culture to engage Tian Xia in new futures
of amity and shared destiny. The multicultural nation of
Linvarre has come a long way from its historical roots as
the Taldan colony of Amanandar and grown into its own as
a land that values tolerance, syncretism, and independence.
Some Successor States present metaphysical
challenges to imperial ambition. There
are lands haunted by ghosts, fiends,
and stranger otherworldly entities. It’s
doubtful Shenmen’s cruel spider women
and undead Lung Wa bureaucrats
will entertain any aspirant’s claims to
sovereignty; any expedition foolish
enough to foray into their lands
will find itself bleached of blood
and spirit. Rain-damp Wanshou also
spells doom for any claimants. The
mysterious savior god who has uplifted
the waterlogged land from poverty swiftly
punishes those who dare pose as rivals to
their power. The oni shogunate of Chu Ye
similarly doesn’t suffer any attempt to intrude
upon its territories. If any pompous unifiers dare
show themselves in this once-pastoral land, the
ferocious warriors are ready with blades, claws,
and teeth in anticipation of the feast to come.
While the perils of all these lands are present and clear for
all to see, Tianjing’s hazards can be easily overlooked—this
9
Backgrounds
At 1st level, when you create your character, you gain a JEWELER
background of your choice. This decision is permanent; As an artisan by trade, your materials of choice are precious
you can’t change it at later levels. If you gain the trained metals and stones. You’re a trained jeweler with an eye for
proficiency rank in a skill from your background and structure and beauty. Your designs reflect your creativity and
would then gain the trained proficiency rank in the same years of training. Maybe you mastered your craft through
skill from your class at 1st level, you instead become trial and error, or perhaps this trade was passed down to you
trained in another skill of your choice. through your family. Regardless of how you acquired your
The following backgrounds are particularly suitable skills, you’ve sought the life of an adventurer.
for characters from Tian Xia. More backgrounds can be Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Wisdom or
found in Player Core 84-88. Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost.
You’re trained in Crafting and Gem Lore. You gain the
ACUPUNCTURIST Crafter’s Appraisal (Player Core 2 229) skill feat.
UNCOMMON
Access Tian Xia origin OCEAN DIVER
You’ve studied qi and its abilities to heal the body through UNCOMMON
assessment and regulating qi flow. You know occult Access Tian Xia origin
techniques that originated in Chu Ye before its masters were You’re one of the sea people, the divers who inhabit the rough
driven away when oni took over. You might have encountered shorelines. Diving into foreign depths with neither magic nor
a master willing to teach an eager student or felt the relief air reserves, it’s your job to haul up seafood to feed your
of its practice on your own body, taking your interest to communities. Tourists come to watch you, listening to your
greater heights. whistles and songs as they crane their necks to catch sight
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Wisdom or of the pearls you sometimes bring to the surface. They might
Dexterity, and one is a free attribute boost. call you mermaids, but you know better. You’ve seen the true
You’re trained in Medicine and Acupuncture Lore. You gain folk of the sea as you’ve gathered shellfish in your nets. You
the Battle Medicine skill feat. know to wear white to ward off sharks and worse. When
adventure or treasure is found in the waves, you’re one of the
BACHUAN REVOLUTIONARY few who could possibly deal with it.
UNCOMMON Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Constitution
Access Bachuan origin or Wisdom, and one is a free attribute boost.
Your heart yearns for change and burns for your people. You You’re trained in Athletics and Ocean Lore. You gain the
refuse to conform to the laws that bind you, so you rebel in Underwater Marauder skill feat.
flashy ways. Your hair is either shaved or grown wild and
loose. Your clothes don’t conform to Bachuan’s society, often RUNAWAY NOBLE
cut out in garish shapes and dyed in vivid colors. Your call UNCOMMON
for change is a dire battle, and not every rebellion is well There are many reasons for noble blood to abandon their
equipped. Whether you choose to fight another day or bring responsibilities. Whether you fled for safety, for love, to sate
your cause on your adventures, that’s up to you. a spontaneous spark of rebellion, or to escape unbearable
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Wisdom or expectations, you’ve left your lavish life behind for one of
Strength, and one is a free attribute boost. newfound experiences. However, how prepared you are for a
You’re trained in Society and Law Lore. You gain the Sign life on the road is something else entirely.
Language skill feat. Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Charisma or
Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost.
GOSSIP You’re trained in Diplomacy, and either Genealogy Lore or
Everyone has a nosy auntie, a talkative uncle, or a gossiping Heraldry Lore. You gain the Bon Mot skill feat.
relative. Just like them, you don’t mind the chatter from the
eternal grapevine. Whether you seek out gossip or just happen REMITTANCE AGENT
to be at the right place at the right time, you heard rumors of When money, goods, or merchandise need to be moved
greater exploits away from the comforts of home. Word gets by, over great distances, remittance agents are better and more
and so should you, so why not give adventuring a try? trustworthy than your local mercenary. You know the ins
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Charisma or and outs of trading routes and the protocols that come with
Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost. them. While some might consider you a standard adventurer
You’re trained in Diplomacy and a Lore skill of your choice. or mercenary, you know you can get the job done better and
You gain the Hobnobber skill feat. safer than anyone else.
10
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Constitution TRAVELING GOURMAND
or Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost. UNCOMMON
TIAN XIA
You’re trained in Society, and either Labor Lore or Mercenary Access Tian Xia origin
Lore. You gain the Experienced Professional skill feat. With plenty of time to hone your culinary skill, you can
CHARACTER
make the most out of any dish you create. You have much GUIDE
SILK FARMER experience with using the most difficult and hardiest of INTRODUCTION
UNCOMMON ingredients, as Zi Ha is known for housing many carnivorous
Access Tian Xia origin plants, toxic fungi, and hardy, woolly animals. There are BACKGROUNDS
You’ve studied and mastered the art of sericulture. The many reasons why a seasoned chef like you would seek
MAGIC AND
cultivation of silkworms to produce silk is an important adventure, whether to expand your palette or to explore THE SPIRIT
industry that requires an intense amount of study and care. other countries’ cuisines. WORLD
The unchanging routine of a silk farmer could make any Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Dexterity or
adventure an epic one by comparison, and perhaps that Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost. THE ELEMENTS
prospect led you toward adventuring. You’re trained in Survival and Cooking Lore. You gain the
ZODIAC
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Wisdom or Forager skill feat.
Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost. PEOPLES
You’re trained in Crafting skill and Sericulture Lore. You
gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat. CHARACTER
OPTIONS
STREETFOOD VENDOR TIAN
You’re an inspired chef, trying to make it as big as you EQUIPMENT
can out on the open road. You travel with a wood or iron
cart that doubles as your portable business and shelter. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Struggling for funds or fighting for a place to set up shop
are common plights in your daily life. However, there’s
no one hungrier than a budding adventurer, and you’re
very affordable, always there with the perfect meal.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Strength or
Dexterity, and one is a free attribute boost.
You’re trained in either Crafting or Society, and Cooking
Lore. You gain the Seasoned skill feat.
TIFFIN BOX DELIVERER

UNCOMMON
Access Tian Xia origin
Known to some as a dabbawala, you work for a delivery
service, delivering and returning sturdy tiffins with hardy
lunches for those who can’t afford to bring lunch with them
on their morning commute. Maybe you saw something you
shouldn’t have while out on your deliveries. Maybe you want
more than just a mundane life. Either way, you know to
prepare a lunch or two for your future adventures.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Dexterity or
Intelligence, and one is a free attribute boost.
You’re trained in Society and Labor Lore. You gain the
Streetwise skill feat.
WEAVER
You’re a skilled weaver, crafting your pieces either by hand
or by loom. Whether you revere yourself as an artist or not,
none can deny the beauty of your craft. However, the life of
a weaver isn’t the most exciting one, and your fingers itch for
an adventure.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Dexterity or
Wisdom, and one is a free attribute boost. DABBAWALA
You’re trained in Crafting, and you’re trained in Basket
Weaving Lore, Tapestry Lore, or Textile Lore. You gain the
Specialty Crafting skill feat.
11
RARE BACKGROUNDS your life at a crucial moment. Perhaps you are mystically
Some backgrounds are so unusual that just having them bound by the red string of destiny, or perhaps your clash was
makes a character extraordinary. Rare backgrounds should preordained by the oracles of Po Li. Whatever the case, either
be chosen only after a discussion between the GM and the fate or your own will keeps you driving forward to fight with
other players as to whether one would apply for a particular them once more.
character in your group’s game. You and your GM work out who your rival is and how they
fit in to your story. You become trained in two Lore skills
BANISHED CELESTIAL related to your rival, which you and your GM choose.
RARE You gain two free attribute boosts; you choose one, and the
You were once something supernatural—a heavenly agent, GM chooses one to complement your rival. So long as you are
grim reaper, immortal phoenix, or demonic tyrant. For some not in the presence of your rival, you gain the Diehard general
reason, you’ve been forced to live in a mortal form. You might feat and a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against the
have been sealed by the holy power of a monk or cruelly doomed condition. When in the presence of your rival, you lose
betrayed and slain, but most likely, your superiors punished these benefits but gain a +1 circumstance bonus to attack rolls
you for your hubris. You can’t remember your previous life and damage. If your rival becomes your ally or a member of
very well, if you’re even aware you were once anything more your party, you gain the Diehard and save bonus benefits, as
than you currently are, but you aren’t completely forsaken by long as that’s the case.
the powers that once ruled your life. You often find a spark
of enlightenment in failure, as fate nudges you to correct the FAVORED
mistakes or tragedies that caused your unmaking. RARE
You gain two free attribute boosts. You choose one, and the You’re a trained, elegant artist or entertainer for the upper
GM chooses the other based on your past life. echelon of society. You might be a skilled crafter, a master
You’re trained in any one skill of your choice and any performer, a highly sought host or companion, an up-and-
one Lore skill of your choice. You gain the Enlightenment in coming political darling, or a fashionable courtesan, but you’ve
Adversity ability. gained the eye of a powerful political patron. Whether it’s the
Enlightenment in Adversity [reaction] (fortune); Frequency once pressure of your profession or your patron’s expectations,
per day; Trigger You critically fail a skill check with a skill whatever drove you to leave your current life behind for that
you gained from the banished celestial background; Effect of a chaotic adventurer’s must be worthy of breaking tradition.
The next time you attempt a skill check using the skill that Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Intelligence
triggered this ability within the next minute, roll twice and or Charisma, and one is a free attribute boost.
take the higher result. You’re trained in Diplomacy, Performance, or Society.
You’re trained in a Lore skill of your choice. You gain the
EAGLE HUNTER Name Drop reaction. At the GM’s discretion, you can ask your
RARE patron for further assistance and favors, such as monetary or
You’re a hunter bonded to an eagle animal companion political support. You must keep your patron’s favor to avoid
since youth. You’ve trained your eagle to hunt with you, losing your benefits; what this entails is between you and
simultaneously becoming an extension of yourself and a trusted the GM but usually implies never publicly speaking or acting
partner you can rely on. The nomadic peoples of Hongal created against your patron’s wishes. If you offend your patron, you
this practice to hunt across their hardy terrain. You hunt small lose Name Drop until you reconcile with them.
game, typically foxes and hares, or participate in hunting events, Name Drop [reaction] (auditory, fortune); Frequency once per day;
drawing crowds of spectators. Perhaps it was the prospect of a Trigger You fail or critically fail a Deception, Diplomacy,
greater audience that called out to you, or maybe the promise of Intimidation, or Society check; Effect Reroll the skill check.
larger game outside of your usual hunting grounds. Who knows You must use the second result, even if it’s worse.
what lures a hunter toward adventure?
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Strength or WARDED BY KAMI
Wisdom, and one is a free attribute boost. RARE
You’re trained in Nature and Hunting Lore. You gain the Pet You’ve lived among kami, gaining a wellspring of spiritual
general feat and the Train Animal skill feat, but you can use power found deep within the Forest of Spirits. You’ve heard
these feats only to gain and train eagles. Your trained eagles many rumors of what lies beyond the safety of your home
can perform the Aid action when you attempt a Nature, and, for better or worse, they intrigue you. Whatever your
Perception, or Survival skill check. This benefit applies to only reasons for leaving, you’re still bound to whatever entity
you and other characters with the eagle hunter background. serves as your ward. Whether you return to the place of your
birth or find a new land to call home is up to you.
FATED RIVAL Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Intelligence
RARE or Wisdom, and one is a free attribute boost.
You are bound in an adversarial relationship with another You’re trained in Occultism and Spirit Lore. You also gain
person or creature. You might have been close once, before a ward that binds you to a specific animal, plant, object,
everything went wrong, or they might have drastically altered or location of your choice. Once per day, you can spend an
12
Interact action to merge with your ward and heal Hit Points You’re trained in Astrology Lore. You also gain the
equal to your level. This action has the healing trait. ability to cast a divine innate spell, as determined by your
TIAN XIA
sign. The frequency with which you can cast this spell is
KAIJU STALKER listed below; cantrips can be used as often as you wish. As CHARACTER
RARE normal, you cast non-cantrip innate spells at the lowest GUIDE
The lands of Tian Xia can be as dangerous as they are beautiful, rank available to that spell, such as 2nd rank for water INTRODUCTION
and like any land, it calls for hunters. A normal hunter’s breathing, and cantrips are heightened to half your level.
game varies in size, with the deadliest quarries possessing Additionally, once during the prominent time for your sign BACKGROUNDS
venomous fangs or a ferocious bite. A monster hunter must (typically once per year), you can cast your sign’s spell
MAGIC AND
be prepared for more supernatural maladies and terrors. As a without expending its normal use. THE SPIRIT
kaiju stalker, you venture into the Wall of Heaven, Valashmai The Underworld Dragon (Intelligence): ignition; at will WORLD
Jungle, or another land where the bounties are much bigger. The Swordswoman (Dexterity): gale blast (Player Core 2
A mere scale or feather is your grandest trophy—the survival 246); at will THE ELEMENTS
of your community your ultimate prize. The Sea Dragon (Constitution): water breathing; once
ZODIAC
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Strength or per week
Dexterity, and one is a free attribute boost. The Swallow (Dexterity): jump; once per day PEOPLES
You’re trained in Athletics and gain one Athletics skill feat of The Ox (Strength): ant haul; once per day
your choice, best suited toward the style of hunting you prefer. The Sovereign Dragon (Charisma): command; once per day CHARACTER
OPTIONS
You’re trained in Kaiju Lore. When rolling a Recall The Ogre (Strength): fear; once per day
Knowledge check using Kaiju Lore and you have sight of one The Forest Dragon (Wisdom): tangle vine; at will TIAN
item that belongs to the kaiju you’re attempting to Recall The Blossom (Charisma): dizzying colors; once per day EQUIPMENT
Knowledge about, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the The Dog (Constitution): clear mind; once per week
skill check. The item can range from a scale to slime, to a The Sky Dragon (Intelligence): bless; once per day GLOSSARY
& INDEX
footprint, or to crafted or harvested goods. The Archer (Dexterity): sure strike; once per day
PROFESSIONAL LETTER WRITER

RARE
You make a living out of reading and writing letters for
people who are eager to keep in touch with their loved ones
over long distances. Many of these people are semiliterate
and can’t afford magical communication, such as sending or
dream message spells. You aren’t always fluent in the many
disparate languages you’re asked to record, but with your
many books and dictionaries, you get by. Your services are
important to the community, despite your craft being a rarity.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to Intelligence
or Charisma, and one is a free attribute boost.
You’re trained in Scribing Lore. You gain one skill feat of your
choice between the Specialty Crafting or Multilingual skill feat.
During your daily preparations, you can choose one additional
language that you know. You can change this language the
next time you make your daily preparations.
ZODIAC BOUND
RARE
Fortune tellers and oracles claim that a person’s zodiac sign
influences their personality and fate, and while it might
not be true for all, it seems true for you. You were born
under a powerful manifestation of a specific constellation,
corresponding to a symbol of the zodiac. When you gain this
background, choose a specific constellation from those listed
below. Your associated constellation determines one of the
attribute boosts you gain and an innate spell. The list includes
benefits for the constellations of the Dragon Empires Zodiac,
but you might have been born under a different constellation
and gain different benefits as determined by the GM.
Choose two attribute boosts. One must be to the attribute
PROFESSIONAL LETTER WRITER
tied to your sign, and one is a free attribute boost.
13
Magic and the Spirit
World
The mortal world and the spirit world in Tian Xia are of another element, and spirits that embody all five.
separate yet integrated, different but alike in equal Yet another scholar might call the mortal world the
measures. Each influences the other, and to ignore one in familiar one and the spirit world strange, but a spirit
favor of another invites danger and disaster. Those who would describe the mortal world as equally strange.
strictly categorize the mortal world as “civilized” and And if our family and ancestors can become ghosts,
obsessed with order and the spirit world as “wild” and are they no longer human and now only purely spirit?
ridden with chaos can easily lose their way or become Think of the spirit world as a river and the mortal
oblivious to the problems and potential of either world. world as air. Wind can affect the movement of water,
and the movement of water can affect the air nearby.
THE SPIRIT WORLD Without water, the air becomes dry. Without air, the
Ask a dozen scholars what the spirit world entails, and water would exist in a void. Some beings live purely
one gets 24 informed opinions. One might categorize in water, while others live purely in air, but it’s also
the mortal world as flesh and blood and the spirit possible for one to step through the air into water
world as all other things under heaven, but there are if one knows where to look. If an air-breather isn’t
incarnate spirits and spirits who are obsessed with careful, one can drown in water, and a fish (a spirit)
blood and flesh. One might call the mortal world all who leaves the water dies gasping soon after.
that has been born, but spirits can be born from the Like reflections in the water, the spirit world can be
stone, river, trees, and even buildings. Another might seen as the extreme mirror of the mortal world in terms
call mortals those with a balance of the elements, but of emotion and thought. A grudge can be made manifest
there are mortals who lack one or have too much and last for centuries in the spirit world. Love can turn
14
into a physical feature of the land. Often what mortals things, even inanimate objects, have a kind of memory
find frightening in the spirit world is a manifestation of and sense of their surroundings. Because it “sleeps,” a
TIAN XIA
their fears and vices reflected back upon them. Those thing doesn’t really react to mortal life. Waking then
pure of heart and soul feel no fear, perhaps finding means the desire to engage with the mortal world, CHARACTER
beauty in the spirits instead. such as a teacup suddenly rousing and running away GUIDE
Scholars also agree that the spirit world tends from bad tea. Consequently, a spirit can also go back INTRODUCTION
to intersect with the extreme edges of the mortal to sleep. The oldest spirits—such as mountains,
world. A bloody battlefield quickly becomes whole forests, rivers—sleep often, only waking BACKGROUNDS
haunted by the victims of war. An overgrown when angered or disturbed and thus causing
MAGIC AND
forest, shrouded in mists and completely earthquakes, fires, and floods. Convincing THE SPIRIT
cut off from mortals, can awaken on its them to sleep again might require a large WORLD
own. Concentrating magical power into a sacrifice. Small things can wake up in
space might push it into the spirit world. similar ways, though due to their size THE ELEMENTS
Changes also happen in the other direction. and influence, they cause mostly harmless
ZODIAC
Cleansing a battlefield, returning it to a distractions, and a small offering usually
place of life with trees and wildflowers, lets appeases them. PEOPLES
the haunted dead sleep. A blessed saint can Further blending the line between
bring the beatific aspect of the spirit world worlds, mortals join the spirit world after CHARACTER
OPTIONS
to them, while a maliciously greedy scholar, death as ancestral spirits, ghosts, or the
sitting upon piles of gold and silver, can hungry and forgotten dead. This is why TIAN
summon an avaricious spirit. people must treat their dead ancestors EQUIPMENT
In this way, the spirit world and the mortal well, for these spirits can linger and
world influence each other. The haunted, perhaps even take an active part in day-to- GLOSSARY
& INDEX
bloody battlefield might create a pall over the PRAYER WHEEL day life. If treated poorly, the hungry dead
village nearby, causing a shadowed, haunted might haunt a family or leave altogether,
air to settle makes the villagers skittish, nervous, becoming the forgotten dead. Ancestor’s Day serves
and even ill. This cycle can further deepen, with the as an annual reminder for communities to not only
villagers becoming violent or even turning into a fallen clean the graves of their predecessors and leave an
yaoguai. In truly blessed places, the opposite cycle can offering to make sure their ancestors are satiated, but
develop. With a sense of peace and belonging, spirits also to leave something for those forgotten dead (and
might find themselves in accepted roles as guardians offer incense or food to Fumeiyoshi
of a city or temple or participants in industry as well). This gesture is both practical
or trade, blessing the people there with and a mercy; communities don’t want
knowledge and improving their skills the hungry dead haunting them and causing
and happiness. Such boons, in turn, misfortune.
bring people to the location in hopes of A mortal, however, doesn’t have to die to
fostering more prosperity and happiness. become a spirit. They can embody the purity
A shrine erected at a crossroad of an aspect so strongly that they transform
to leave offerings can keep the into a spirit. How does this change differ from
local spirit fed and happy, and it ascending or becoming an immortal?
might reciprocate by protecting While becoming a spirit is a kind of
travelers who take that path. immortality, ascending to heaven
Sometimes, the awakening turns the mortal into more of
of a spirit might come about themselves, with their thoughts,
from pure belief. A whole village feelings, and identity amplified. A
can think of a nearby ancient tree mortal becoming a spirit turns into
as a spirit and beg it to awaken to that singular aspect. For example,
fight bandits. When it roars to life the Butterfly Lovers aren’t
and chases away those brigands, butterflies, nor deities of love, but
which came first? The spirit or a symbol and manifestation of
the belief? To paraphrase a famous love itself. Love becomes their sole
poem, did the yaoguai already exist concern and nothing else. When
as that tree, or did the villagers spirits become mortal, such as the
dream up the idea of a yaoguai Great Flood, then the spirit takes
in the tree? Maybe it’s both. on all the nuances, differences, and
A thing “wakes” to its spirit contradictions of mortality. They
JESA
form when it begins to relate to might express love, but they now have
its environment like a mortal would. All other emotions—fear, hatred, happiness, jealousy,
15
hope, and so on—as well as thought and the ability the grain of the meat. A physician who can bring the
to change their minds and emotions to something else. terminally ill back from the edge of death might be
Spirits have modeled mortal behavior, such as viewed as a magician, as in the case of Qi Zhong,
founding cities in the spirit world—sometimes in god of medicine and of magic. Someone who achieves
isolated places like the Forest of Spirits, the Sea of mastery of a skill can therefore give the impression
Ghosts, Kwanlai, Wanshou, or Chu Ye, especially if of having divine and magical powers, and in fact, a
they wish to escape mortal influence. In other cases, practitioner might actually ascend because of that
spirits found cities within mortal cities, a reflection mastery.
that can be crossed over in one direction or both ways. For some, magic involves tapping into bits and
When mortals say a city feels more crowded than it pieces of leftover divinity, which has relevance
should, they’ve felt the presence of a spirit city. to the knowledge theory. After all, knowing and
Spirits of the city go about their business much as understanding these bits of divinity still require
mortals do. They work, trade and buy things, farm learning and insight. Immortals in heaven can
food, and assemble buildings. They play games. They manipulate the stuff of chaos to make impossible
argue and create communities. The difference is what things. Mortals can do similar feats, but under the
they value. While some spirits understand mortal constraints of mortal existence. Many arts in Tian
money, most value stories, art, emotions, magic, music, Xia seek to tap into the inherent divinity of the world,
entertainment, and novelty. Spirits have “invited” either externally or internally. Sages seek mystic
artists to their cities by surreptitiously opening portals power via precise control over the self. Alchemical
and luring, scaring, or pushing such mortals through. arts seek to purify the body of the impurities of age,
As long as the artist keeps their head straight, performs sin, and death through ingested tinctures or a carefully
as asked, and accepts payment (in leaves, old brushes, controlled diet. Magicians and imperial ministers call
or sometimes even gold), most return to the mortal on minor spirits to do their bidding, or find magic in
world unscathed. Most. divine chants and sutras. Some seek the direct favor of
the Celestial Court, performing acts of awe inspiring
MAGIC IN TIAN XIA piety in the hopes of pleasing heaven and receiving
The theories and practice of magic in Tian Xia is as gifts from the gods in return.
varied and syncretic as its philosophies and religions. Others understand magic as the adjustment of the
Some practitioners simply view magic as deep, amount of one or more particular elements within a
specialized knowledge. In fact, any expertise can person, place, or thing, as per Qi Zhong’s teachings.
resemble magic. The blacksmith who forges metal Each element is associated with a color, fluid or
both flexible and resilient might seemingly have material in a vessel, astrological positioning, physical
magical powers, especially if that metal lasts for ages positioning, and temperament. Each element affects
or withstands even divine powers. The butcher’s trade other elements in a chained cycle, so a magician
might be deemed mystical when their knife never must carefully adjust each one to achieve the proper
dulls because they can cut a perfect seam in between equilibrium. Such adherents can literally add the needed
element to the thing, feed a patient the related food,
add a symbolic detail to attract a deity’s blessing for
that element (such as adding a name or a prayer
on paper and wood), or employ countless other
means to adjust these elemental balances.
Lastly, magic can be seen as the ability to
manipulate the energy of a physical entity,
both within and without. Qi, the energy
that flows throughout the world, can be
manipulated, collected, and expelled from a
body, place, or thing. Too much expulsion
drains a body or vessel. Too much
pooling turns the qi sluggish and
difficult to manipulate. The use of
qi isn’t about leaving something
half-empty or half-full, or in
some kind of perfect, unchanging
equilibrium, because that leads
to stagnation. Instead, the key
to mastery is knowing when
to expel or pool qi, letting
a thing breathe like a
16
mortal does. A practitioner utilizes knowledge of feng levels will find themselves confronting the Celestial
shui, manipulating the body, utilizing pressure points, Court sooner rather than later.
TIAN XIA
prescribing certain foods, applying cold treatments and The dangers of magic present many reasons why
cold presses, and physical exercise to change the flow some magicians aim for the practice of cultivation first.
CHARACTER
of qi. For objects and physical spaces, qi manipulation By adapting the body to magic, perfecting the use of qi, GUIDE
requires the placement of plants and trees, rocks and adjusting one’s elemental tendencies, or transforming INTRODUCTION
walls, and even people to slowly pool or rapidly expel oneself to be closer to a divine ideal, a magician can
energy. limit magical spillover while improving and learning BACKGROUNDS
The average person treats someone who uses magic about their process—with the latter benefits proving
MAGIC AND
like any other expert in their field. Thus, practitioners useful for even mundane practitioners. Due to the THE SPIRIT
are as admired, feared, loathed, and loved as anyone rigor necessary to achieve such states, people might WORLD
with incredible skill. Some value expertise, and find magicians cold and distant, not realizing the
others feel threatened by it. A scholar can be equally cosmic consequences and side effects of their power. THE ELEMENTS
impressed by a magician as they are jealous of magical Magicians who want to affect change in the mortal
ZODIAC
knowledge. A farmer can be equally excited to find a world often use intermediaries. For political change,
magician capable of helping them through a period they advise monarchs toward action. Those who want PEOPLES
of drought as they can be fearful of magical power or to change the land itself might teach others how to
angered at not receiving more potent aid. A sovereign work their environments or engineer what they need. CHARACTER
OPTIONS
might invite a magician to their court to serve like And those who need to fight an evil will recruit heroes
any scholar or advisor, or they could consider such from the jianghu world of martial arts. TIAN
a figure an ambitious threat to their rule, filling their EQUIPMENT
bureaucracy instead with ignorant sycophants. Like
any who wield a sought-after skill or who command GLOSSARY
& INDEX
great power, magicians can find both positive and
negative attention in equal measure.
People thus tend to judge magicians by their ethical
and moral actions more than by their magic—or
perhaps magicians receive even more scrutiny because
of their magic. After all, the average person can’t
split a mountain, and their mistakes can’t make or
break a village. Lest a magician fall into the trap of
hubris, they should keep in mind that their power can
affect the spirit world just as potently. They might
not care about the village they just destroyed, but
the awakened spirits of that land, of the mountain
they split, might rise up to eliminate such a threat,
regardless of intentions. When a magician’s power
threatens heaven itself, the deities might strike down
the offending individual for their hubris.
How a magician crosses that line varies by context,
the temperament of the deity taking responsibility for
the transgression, and the attitude of said magician.
Yamatsumi might ignore someone invoking a volcano,
even if the eruption takes out a significant part of
the countryside, because the Mountain Lord sees
occasional volcanic destruction as desirable. Should
that magician demand dominion over volcanoes or
continue to cause destruction, however, Yamatsumi
might intervene. A favorite trick of Shizuru’s court,
especially by Yaezhing, is to ascend a disruptive
magician to celestial status, letting them fall into
the trap of pride—thinking themselves recognized
for their power—only for Yaezhing to immediately
punish them since they now fall under his purview.
Hei Feng and the dragons find this trick hilarious,
causing thunderstorms in the mortal world as a result.
Magicians who become too powerful risk controlling
gods themselves, and any who reaches such vaulted
17
The Elements
According to Tian legend, the scholar-god Qi Zhong THE ELEMENTAL CYCLE
was the first to understand the nature of the elemental Tian Xia elementalists believe that the power of
cycle, and it was he who introduced the people of elemental magic is derived not from the elements, but
Tian Xia to the power of the five elements: metal, from the ceaseless elemental cycle, an endless cosmic
wood, water, fire, and earth. Blessed with the rare gift process of generation and destruction that takes place
of elemental sight even before his rise to divinity, Qi between the elemental Planes of Wood, Fire, Earth,
Zhong saw the raw elemental energies of existence Metal, and Water. Key to this cycle is balance. While
in their purest forms. From his transmitted teachings imbalances might arise, they’re temporary; the natural
came the first understanding of the elements, an equilibrium of the five elements will rebalance itself
understanding that would shape Tian culture and over time. As each of these elements are simply key
tradition for centuries to come. phases in an ever-changing cycle, some elementalists
Notably, the Tian elemental system includes the prefer to refer to them as the Five Stages, to emphasize
elements of metal and wood. These two elemental planes their nature as agents of transition and change. In this
were largely cut off from the rest of their neighbors framework, two elemental cycles turn in counterpoint
for millennia, their importance neglected by much of to one another, one of growth and one of restraint.
Golarion. Some speculate that this philosophical belief in In the former, wood feeds fire, fire feeds earth, earth
the importance of these elements, as well as their eventual feeds metal, metal feeds water, and water feeds wood.
rebalancing, is what allowed Tian Xia’s elementalists to On the other hand, wood counters earth, earth
retain a connection to the elements of wood and metal. counters water, water counters fire, fire counters
With the reemergence of the Plane of Wood and Plane of metal, and metal counters wood. These cycles are seen
Metal, the practice of these elements is beginning to spread as natural processes, forces of nature balancing and
through Golarion as a whole once more, though Tian counterbalancing one another into eternity.
physicians, philosophers, and magicians remain among As the foundation of early Tian cosmology, the
the best trained to read and manipulate these energies elements served as the framework through which all
18
natural processes were viewed. Many pastoral societies cycle, it’s connected to the season of budding
categorized different seasons by their corresponding growth and young stalks reaching up toward the
TIAN XIA
“element”: spring was referred to as the Season of sun. The element of wood is one of action and
Wood, and summer as the Season of Fire. Each year is of expansion, of life and of purification. Those CHARACTER
also assigned an element, and the elements under which born under the element of wood are thought to be GUIDE
an individual was born—that is, the combination of sociable and adventurous but also capricious and INTRODUCTION
year-element and season-element—are traditionally short-tempered.
said to influence one’s personality. For example, those • Water is traditionally associated with the season BACKGROUNDS
born during an earth year might be stereotyped as of winter and the color black. In the harvest
MAGIC AND
gentle and steadfast people who usually work well cycle, it’s connected to the period of stillness after THE SPIRIT
with the meticulous and no-nonsense natures of those harvest when farmers wait for the cold of winter WORLD
born during a metal year. to pass while conserving energy and resources for
Unsurprisingly, Tian elementalists pay close attention to the next season’s planting. The element of water THE ELEMENTS
these associations, hiring geomancers, doctors, diviners, is one that calms and soothes, washing away
ZODIAC
and martial artists to best empower the elements of impurities and ailments. Those born under the
their choosing. Medicine, emotions, natural landmarks, element of water are thought to be gentle and PEOPLES
and constructed monuments can all affect the elemental wise but also indecisive and unassertive.
association of a landscape, and many Tian cities are • Fire is traditionally associated with the season of CHARACTER
OPTIONS
carefully built with these philosophies in mind. Elemental summer and the color red. In the harvest cycle,
practitioners often attempt to live in ways associated it’s connected to the period of flourishing and TIAN
with their connection to the elements. Kineticists of EQUIPMENT
water sometimes blindfold themselves to enhance their
hearing, a sense which is associated with their affiliated GLOSSARY
& INDEX
element. Meanwhile, those who magically manipulate
metal are often sought out for beauty tips and
moisturizing creams, as the element is
associated with the skin.
The elemental cycle has also
been historically projected
onto the process of dynastic
transition, a practice originating in
the Shu empire that has lasted into
the present. Rulers would become
associated with an element depending
on significant events that occur during their
reign. For example, an emperor who leads their nation
through a period of economic decline might become
associated with the element of metal. As the element
of metal feeds into the element of water, the ideal
next ruler should be one reminiscent of water: calm,
flexible, and wise. Potential successors to the throne
would leverage that expectation to their advantage,
trying to justify themselves as the ideal candidate—not
only in policy, but in elemental birthright.
A summary of the five Tian elements and their
associated traits is as follows.
• Metal is traditionally associated with the season
of autumn and the color white. In the harvest
cycle, it’s connected to the harvest season as well
as with the subsequent withering of unharvested
crops. The element of metal is one of restraint as
well as of decay or aging—the strength of steel
on one hand, the inevitable rust of iron on the
other. Those born under the element of metal are
thought to be steadfast and organized, but also
unbending and rigid.
• Wood is traditionally associated with the season
of spring and the color green. In the harvest
19
flowering when nature is in full bloom and crops elements as a natural analog to one’s body and mind. As
have grown to maturity. The element of fire is one the bodies and minds of living creatures can be mapped
that both warms and burns, as dynamic as it is onto the four base physical elements of earth, fire, water,
dangerous. Those born under the element of fire and air, as well as the fifth immaterial element of void,
are thought to be friendly and passionate but also element-based medicine is relatively common in Minkai.
headstrong and vindictive. Healers envision ailments as an imbalance of the body’s
• Earth is traditionally associated with the color vital elements, then tailor remedies accordingly. Under
yellow and the transition between each of the four this philosophy, the elements exist in a hierarchy of
seasons, the central axle upon which the wheel of importance, as follows.
the year turns. In the harvest cycle, it’s connected • Void represents pure immaterial energy, associated
to the planting of new seeds and the planning with creation and potential. In the body, the
that comes with it, the transition between crop element of void is connected to one’s thoughts and
cycles. The element of earth is one that sustains consciousness. In the mind, void is connected to
and stabilizes, that centers and unifies. Those creativity, invention, and one’s innate spirit. Some
born under the element of earth are thought to be Minkaian elementalists believe that void energy
practical and patient but also stubborn and prone keeps souls tethered to the physical bodies of
to overthinking. living creatures, an energy that ties the elemental
planes to one another.
Other Schools of Thought • Wind can never be confined and represents
The five-element cycle forms the main understanding of movement, freedom, and growth. In the body, the
the elements in Tian Xia, but many variations of the cycle element of wind is connected to one’s breath and
have appeared in different regions of the continent over respiratory system. In the mind, wind is associated
its long history. The Plane of Air, known to Tian scholars with the accumulation of knowledge and wisdom.
but typically not included within the elemental cycle, is • Fire is energetic, passionate, and consuming.
considered by many to consist of pure qi, cementing an In the body, the element of fire is connected to
association between breath and vital energy. The Silk one’s metabolism and digestive system. In the
Virtues sect of herbalists, dedicated to Qi Zhong, instead mind, fire is associated with one’s ambitions and
combine the elements of wood and air: this syncretic motivations.
element of wood is considered to be the vital essence of • Water flows where it’s directed, formless and fluid.
plants and trees, rather than a physical substance. In the body, the element of water is associated
Certain regions of the continent have developed their with blood and the circulatory system. In the
own elemental systems. In Minkai, elementalists see the mind, water is associated with the capriciousness
of emotion as well as one’s ability to adapt to new
environments or circumstances.
• Earth is stable and grounded, resistant to
change. In the body, the element of earth
is associated with flesh and bone. In the
mind, earth is associated with a basic sense
of sureness, confidence, and interiority:
one’s ability to hold their ground and stay
firm in their convictions.
In Vudra, the connection between
the elementalist and the elements is
particularly important. Vudrans
believe that the invisible element of
spirit flows throughout seemingly
empty space, connecting living
things to the elements and imparting
them with life. Thus, Vudrans identify
earth, fire, water, wind, and spirit as the
five elements. From spirit came breath—
and thus wind—and from wind came
energy, which birthed fire, then
water, then the earth. The element
of spirit is sometimes compared or
associated with the phenomenon
of sound—invisible and capable of
traveling through the material.
20
TIAN XIA
CHARACTER
GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUNDS
MAGIC AND
THE SPIRIT
WORLD
THE ELEMENTS
ZODIAC
PEOPLES
CHARACTER
OPTIONS
TIAN
EQUIPMENT
GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Dragon Champions
of the Zodiac
The fortunes and fates of the Dragon Empires are laid belonging to a mighty Grand House of the Zodiac and
bare to those who can interpret the stars and their drawing their powers from these constellations.
constellations. These stars guide all who dwell beneath
their light, gifting mortals the strength of the Zodiac THE UNDERWORLD
guardians. The Tian people widely use the Dragon DRAGON
Empires Zodiac to mark the progression of years, Legends say Tian Shen went to Nagajor and was
months, and hours with one of its 12 constellations, tasked to remove a many-headed serpent. The creature
though each nation can have a variation of the Zodiac terrorized Nagajor by boiling and poisoning rivers,
and its relation to their calendar and fortune. The creating toxic wastewater, and polluting the region
Oracular Council of Po Li uses the Zodiac to craft known as Kuanendya. Every time a head was cut
official state policies considered sacred by the Po Lian off the serpent, another would grow back. Tian Shen
populace. In Zi Ha, calendars are marked and guided beseeched the aid of an underworld dragon, who
by the Zodiac, and at the new moon of the Sky Dragon, brought the hero’s many wives through geysers from
brave adventurers trek the mighty Mount Tsukiyo. various parts of Tian Xia. His wives all pointed to the
The origins of the Dragon Empires Zodiac trace serpent’s body, marred with fresh, fearsome battle scars
back to whispered folk legends of the Dragon seemingly caused by a larger beast. Following his sage
Champions of the Zodiac and their founder, Tian wives’ advice, Tian Shen leapt onto the serpent’s heads,
Shen, who championed the 12 Impossible Trials of the playing an enchanting melody on a flute while dancing
Zodiac. The members of the clandestine society of the to soothe the serpent. He promised to defeat the larger
Dragon Champions of the Zodiac serve as incubators beast terrorizing the many-headed serpent, and in turn,
and protectors of Tian Xia’s greatest treasures, each it agreed to leave the land alone. Those born under this
21
constellation, also known as the Guardian, might be resolute, daring, and charismatic but are also known to
tenacious and foresighted but also secretive, brooding, be foolhardy, hot-tempered, and opportunistic.
and cold.
THE SEA DRAGON
THE SWORDSWOMAN Then, Tian Shen traveled to Xidao and was tasked to
Next, Tian Shen traveled to Songbai and was ordered to stop an invasion stemming from the vast depths of the
sow 100 wheat fields in one day to feed a village suffering Aya-Maru trench, a great, dangerous chasm spawning
from famine. A passing merchant swordswoman offered millions of monsters. With Tian Shen’s legendary might
500 unbreakable swords in exchange for providing and the aid of some powerful Xidaoan heroes, they
her bread for one year. Tian Shen heartily agreed and thwarted the fearsome creatures. However, the fighting
thanked the swordswoman for her generosity. Then, was so fierce, it caused huge waves to crash against
with great ingenuity and marvelous speed, he roped the the coast, flooding the towns above and widening the
500 swords to 100 imperial dragons, poking holes in foreboding Aya-Maru. Tian Shen heroically leapt into
bags with seeds and attaching one to each dragon’s tail. the waters to save the villagers before any drowned.
As the imperial dragons flew over the fields, the swords Those born under this constellation, also known
cut great furrows into the earth while the bags filled as Father Ocean, might be gracious, generous, and
those furrows with seeds. With the fields successfully vigorous but also tempestuous, brash, and fickle.
sowed, the village prospered. Those born under this
constellation, also known as the Warrior, might be THE SWALLOW
Afterward, Tian Shen found themself in Kwanlai and
was tasked to win a drinking contest against the god
Hei Feng. By secretly poking a hole in his own cup and
acting very drunk, Tian Shen won. In disbelief, Hei Feng
later investigated the cup and discovered the hero’s ploy.
Outraged, the storm god began chasing Tian Shen across
the nation. Tian Shen asked for help from three different
birds, each one teaching him how to fly, glide, and run
across the treetops to evade the angry god. Those born
under the Swallow might be alert, sociable, and agile but
also flighty, impetuous, and argumentative.
THE OX
Next, using their new wings, Tian Shen flew to Tang
Mai, a land whose people had a great affinity for
magic. He was tasked to retrieve the golden scepter
belonging to a master of magic, a founding sister tied
to storms. Outraged at Tian Shen’s attempted thievery,
the sister summoned an ox larger than any Tian Shen
had ever seen. The animal’s charge pushed the hero
so far back into the coast that he created a massive
trough that filled and became a river. He eventually
slammed into a rock face, causing large rocks to fall
and become freestanding protrusions in the ocean like
a beast’s jutting horns. Humbled, Tian Shen spent a
year under the sister’s magical apprenticeship before
she gave him the golden scepter. Those born under the
Ox, whom Tian-Tangs and Tian-Hwans call the Water
Buffalo, might be dependable, honest, and solid but
also inflexible, narrow-minded, and angry.
THE SOVEREIGN DRAGON

Then, Tian Shen rushed to Xa Hoi, ordered by the
sovereign dragon emperor to help judge a litigation
in the dragon court. An arrogant noble and humble
farmer both claimed ownership of a piece of land. The
wise Tian Shen asked the noble and farmer to race
across the land, with the winner claiming rightful
ownership. The bright farmer explained the fastest
22
path to the pretentious noble, emphasizing the muddy the Blossom, also known as the Cherry Tree, might
and coarse conditions as a warning. The haughty be beautiful, artistic, and insightful but also fragile,
TIAN XIA
noble rejected the farmer’s knowledge as useless, and egotistical, and stubborn.
the farmer won the race and the land using that very
CHARACTER
route. Those born under this constellation, also known THE DOG GUIDE
as the Empress, might be calm, charismatic, and noble Traveling into a nation of complete darkness, Tian Shen INTRODUCTION
but also arrogant, demanding, and manipulative. was tasked to bring back the head of a carnivorous
giant flytrap in Zi Ha in order to distill its poison and BACKGROUNDS
THE OGRE produce an effective antidote. Without any ability to
MAGIC AND
Tian Shen was tasked to travel through Shenmen from see in the dark, Tian Shen struggled to find his way. The THE SPIRIT
one end of the land to the Sea of Ghosts without walking giant plant near the Tsering Springs almost devoured WORLD
on the earth or flying. Luckily, during his journey, him, but a hound from a hunter’s guild rescued him.
he witnessed a fierce battle between a jorogumo, Tian Shen expressed his gratitude for the hound’s THE ELEMENTS
transformed into a giant spider, and a brutal ogre. After remarkable aid and offered to be their assistant. For
ZODIAC
the bloodied ogre won and then subsequently fled, Tian one year, Tian Shen learned from the hound, thereafter
Shen pulled a single strand of silk from the giant spider gaining a heightened sense of smell that allowed him PEOPLES
and used it to walk across the nation with mythical to track down and capture a giant flytrap. Those born
balance. Those born under the Ogre, also known as the under the Dog might be friendly, loyal, and optimistic CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Trickster Guardian, might be strong, self-sufficient, and but also lazy, aggressive, and gluttonous.
daring but also selfish, aggressive, and solitary. TIAN
THE SKY DRAGON EQUIPMENT
THE FOREST Passing through to the Wall of Heaven, Tian Shen
DRAGON was tasked to help a small village experiencing GLOSSARY
& INDEX
With much haste, Tian Shen traversed drought and fires. Desperate, he beseeched a sky
through the lands now known as Bachuan dragon to grant him magical protection so that
and their deep forests. There, he was tasked he could summit the oxygen-deprived Mother
to protect several villages threatened of the World, the tallest mountain in Tian
to be washed away by a severe storm. Xia at a staggering 37,000 feet, and pass
Bewildered, Tian Shen sought out the aid into the Plane of Air. With the sky dragon’s
of a forest dragon, who delivered 10,000 aid, Tian Shen retrieved a piece of the sky
tree trunks to him so that Tian Shen and brought much-needed rain to
could build a dam. He did so in one day the people. Those born under this
and rerouted the flooding, creating more constellation, also known as the Lord
land for the people to live on. Those of the Sky, might be intellectual, graceful,
born under this constellation might be and easygoing but also distrustful,
shrewd, cautious, and sensual but also disdainful, and envious.
dishonest, vengeful, and remote.
THE ARCHER
THE BLOSSOM Finally, Tian Shen traveled to the city of
Much to their surprise, Tian Shen was Anjing in Lingshen and was challenged
tasked in retrieving an idyllic maple tree to display his infamous accuracy
in Minkai prized by Tsukiyo, prince of the with an arrow to the city’s greatest
moon, for its rare hue and rich amber sap. warriors. His opponent taunted
When Tsukiyo confronted Tian Shen about Tian Shen endlessly, which made the
the hero’s task, Tian Shen spoke truthfully hero lose focus and, consequently,
and asked for the god’s permission to take the match. Seeking to refocus his energy
the tree. Tsukiyo agreed but gave Tian and thoughts, he sought out a master
Shen a choice: the tree to replace the in qigong and spent many months
maple would be either a beautiful cherry rebalancing his qi alongside a famous
tree that only lives for a few years and dowager empress. In a heated rematch,
flowers with breathtaking blossoms that Tian Shen pinned an arrow in the
bloom for only a month, or a hardy dead center of the bullseye with each
cherry tree, deplete of any beauty subsequent arrow splitting the last,
but able to withstand any storms or using qigong to reign supreme. Those
quakes, lasting till the end of time. Tian TIAN SHEN born under the Archer, also known
Shen chose for Minkai to have a tree as the Breath, might be observant,
with fleeting beauty, which is why cherry patient, and self-assured but also
blossoms only bloom briefly. Those born under indulgent, distant, and jealous.
23
Peoples
The peoples of Tian Xia have warred, bickered, and the Valashmai Jungle. Their hostility toward explorers
cooperated for as long as any of them can remember, and travelers attempting first contact is legendary,
through the rise and fall of empires and apocalypses and to this day, most remain unseen and haven’t been
both. Their histories have sent ripples throughout the contacted by the humanoid nations stretching from
continent, and no matter how far-off and insignificant Nagajor and to the north. These two groups are so
one group might believe another to be, the impact each distinct that they feel as little kinship toward each other
has had on the world connects them all. as any other people feel toward them.
The catfolk of greater Tian Xia have built strong
AMURRUNS traditions around travel and commerce. In millennia
Culturally, catfolk are an ancestry of stark contrasts. past, many amurruns settled in Nagajor as refugees
On one hand, amurruns are well integrated into Tian during wars and displacements between the human
Xia’s major civilizations, as well as being known for the kingdoms. From there, they fell into regular seasonal
nomadic caravans they’ve routed between the climes of migration patterns, returning north to avoid the worst of
the continent. On the other hand, groups of isolationist the monsoon rains every year. While many have settled
amurruns have deeply entrenched themselves within in nations throughout Tian Xia since (and indeed, some
never left), pilgrimage and travel has embedded itself
within amurrun cultural consciousness. Amurrun clans
commonly bounce between multiple homes managed
by different families, carry dual citizenships, and have
coming-of-age ceremonies that involve reaching distant
holy lands. In a way, they form one organic network
that crosses all borders, passing gifts and knowledge
from one corner of Tian Xia to another through a
hundred hands.
While not much information on Valashmai
catfolk is widely known, they’re often seen side by
side with the lizardfolk of the jungle subcontinent.
Together, they’ve staked territories around Valashai
ruins, and the few diplomatic interactions they’ve had
with explorers have come with the firm assertion of
their shared and rightful legacy as the true inheritors
of the ancient Valashai. With how little information
persists about the jungle’s ancient reptilian empire, the
accuracy of their claims is a question only they can
truly answer.
Not all amurruns in Tian Xia are native to the
continent. Travelers of all ancestries sail across the
Embaral Ocean from the Inner Sea and the Impossible
Lands to come ashore upon the sprawling docks of
Goka, and catfolk are no exception. These migrants,
merchants, scholars, and adventurers are as varied as
they are scattered across the continent—and as likely
to assimilate into native amurrun populations as they
are to forge their own paths with their impressionable
catfolk children in tow. Golarion is a big place, and
Tian Xia echoes in all its corners.
ELF
ELVES
In their escape from Earthfall, a group of elves followed
the oracle Jininsiel and her vision of a dawnsilver tree
to the forested heart of Tian Xia, where they founded
the nation of Jinin. These elves spent centuries in
protective isolation but have since opened their doors
24
to diplomatic relationships and cultural exchange with Those seeking knowledge brave frigid mountain
their neighbors. peaks and soaring cliffs to engage the attention of
TIAN XIA
Tian elves are unique from their distant cousins in metallic sky dragons, whose coils pierce the clouds.
other parts of Golarion, as they have a culture rooted Their wisdom is a great boon to any Tian with the CHARACTER
in ancient Avistani traditions and infused with cultural patience and strength of intellect to make sense of their GUIDE
practices learned from their neighbors in Tian Xia. Their cryptic musings. INTRODUCTION
physical appearances have attuned to a combination of Tian Xia’s myriad port communities make yearly
the continent’s native flora and rare imported flowers offerings to fickle sea dragons—masters of storms BACKGROUNDS
from Avistan that have long gone extinct elsewhere. and the open ocean—for safe passage through their
MAGIC AND
Flowers play a prominent role for Tian elves, with domains. Within the depths of Xidao, such dragons THE SPIRIT
blossoms used in important ceremonies, lauded in art, are directly revered as the former rulers of the realm’s WORLD
implemented in the names of sword fighting styles and many aquatic city-states.
grandmasters, and incorporated into cuisine. Due to Tians living on the wilderness’s edge take care not THE ELEMENTS
this intricate connection to nature, many people view to encroach upon the wooden domains minded by the
ZODIAC
elves as figures of ethereal beauty. formidable forest dragons, for these reclusive guardians
With thousands of years of time and energy spent punish trespassers with the expulsion of entire PEOPLES
honing expertise in the arts and sword fighting, elves in communities. Recently, people in the Valashmai Jungle,
Tian Xia are seen as masters of both blade and brush. Xa Hoi, Tang Mai, and Minata have grown bold, felling CHARACTER
OPTIONS
People all over the continent seek out elves for their greater swathes of protected forest with each passing
skills and knowledge, and elves are eager to learn what year. Dire rumors from these areas now speak of the TIAN
techniques and products have been developed elsewhere. disappearances of entire villages, swallowed overnight EQUIPMENT
Even in their isolationist period, these elves helped their by the jungle and a forest dragon’s wrath.
neighbors from behind the veil of protective illusions by Adventurers delving the lightless depths in search GLOSSARY
& INDEX
providing gifts of food, tools, and healing magic. This of valuables might instead find a covetous underworld
spirit of friendliness and community continues to be a dragon, fiery in breath and temperament. These dragons
core tenet of how Tian elves interact with other people. constantly plot to expand their hoards, and treasure
They strive to treat others with dignity and restraint, seekers can never be sure if they themselves aren’t a
and they practice cultural appreciation and exchange part of one of these plans. Underworld dragons are
with other nations. However, elves who have spent also surely behind the recent rumblings and volcanic
most of their lives in the sequestered borders of Jinin eruptions felt across Tian Xia, though the greater
or otherwise disconnected from the rest of Tian Xia design behind these events remains cloaked in shadow.
might accidentally mistake humans who seem familiar Benevolent or malicious, sociable or reclusive, most
for their ancestors, or assuming that one individual is imperial dragons demand total respect and unwavering
representative of an entire region. obeisance from their subjects. Guided by these magnificent
Elves continue to be an unusual sight in other Tian creatures, it’s no wonder that the nations of Tian Xia are
nations but have become more common over time, as known to the wider world as the Dragon Empires.
traveling to share and learn has been encouraged within
Jinin. Though they still pose a mysterious and slightly
standoffish presence to others, elves in Tian Xia feel a
deeper kinship to fellow Tian people than to other elven
cultures.
IMPERIAL DRAGONS
Since time immemorial, imperial dragons have guided
Tian Xia and its peoples under Shizuru’s divine
mandate. Unlike their cousins in the Inner Sea, many
imperial dragons have a vested interest in mortal
affairs. There are five distinct types of imperial dragons,
each with their own elemental affinity that represent
the five strengthening and counteracting forces: wood,
fire, earth, metal, and water.
Sovereign dragons of the earth still cleave to their
ancient responsibility as guides and guardians of the
Tian people and can be seen in mortal forms across
the continent’s many courts, as both advisor and
ruler. Notably, Xa Hoi boasts an unbroken lineage HALFLING
of sovereign dragon emperors, reaching back to its
founding six millennia ago.
25
HALFLINGS
Halflings are surprisingly rare in Tian Xia compared to Golarion’s other
continents. Academics have often debated why, though the legendary
Ruby Phoenix Hao Jin almost certainly had much to do with it. Ever
the preservationist, the sorceress sequestered away many settlements and
communities into her personal demiplane, the Hao Jin Tapestry. Most
of these settlements were small enclaves of oppressed minorities facing
expulsion or eradication during the tumultuous expansion and collapse of
the Lung Wa empire, which just so happened to include many halflings.
For much of the Age of Succession, the majority of Tian Xia’s halflings
lived in the tapestry and were arguably no longer residents of Tian Xia at
all. But times have changed. The tapestry fell apart, and Hao Jin relocated
many of the people living within it to an immense underground tunnel-
forest dragon ridden stone sphere known as Round Mountain. She then safely evacuated
those people by depositing Round Mountain back where it came from—the
Darklands under Bachuan.
Tian Xia’s halflings culturally radiate from this underground cosmopolitan
city (more specifically, from its entrance to the surface world in Po Li).
The largest populations now dwell in Bachuan and Tang Mai, but small
populations of halflings exist throughout Tian Xia, especially foreign
halflings in cities with access to the rest of Golarion, like Goka. Back when
they lived in the tapestry, halfling communities had found a societal niche
as farmers for the rest of the resettled people within the demiplane. They
carry this agrarian cultural backbone with them to this day, tempered with
an appreciation for diverse multicultural city-states and arcane magics that
comes from living a few millennia in a sorceress’s extra-dimensional vault.
They’re often found happily integrated into city centers and hinterlands
throughout the continent, eternally adaptive and enmeshed in vast support
sea dragon networks of friends adopted into found families.
They’ve also found a new societal niche now that they’ve returned to Tian
Xia—taming the Darklands. It isn’t uncommon to find pockets of halflings
in every corner of the continent where surface polities and institutions have
need to explore and embed themselves sustainably underground. Halflings
are still a rare sight to the everyday citizenry of developed Tian Xia, but
their ongoing history has made them far more common in the haunts and
journeys of adventurers, embedded in every frontier and visible practically
everywhere, if one knows to look.
HOBGOBLINS
The hobgoblins of Tian Xia have battled their way into a mighty nation.
Founded on the belief that efficiency and intelligence lead to power and
strong leadership, hobgoblins have carved out an influential presence both
sovereign dragon on Tian Xia’s surface and in the Darklands. Their expansion has slowed, but
extending their borders always remains on the minds of the ruling councils.
Despite their focus on war, the hobgoblin nations have stayed relatively
peaceful internally, due to their emphasis on order and the plethora of
guards that keep the law. On the outside, hobgoblin society can look like
a utopia for so-called “monstrous” ancestries. In reality, their prominent
surface nations are built on the backs of the people they conquer, creating a
sizable population of non-hobgoblins without citizenship or political rights
who are forced to work for the government.
The capital of Kaoling, Dhucharg, is the shining example of what most
hobgoblins feel cities should be. The capital provides an excellent model of
productivity with minor crime. The intelligent and robust bring guidance
to its citizens, and organized food pantries provide guaranteed sustenance
to hobgoblin citizenry. The Council of Nine’s rulings and decisions keep
the nation running like a well-oiled machine. After the extensive 12-
underworld dragon hour workday, the nightlife becomes vibrant as people shed their work
26
clothing to participate in revelry. Hobgoblins wear colorful clothes and
an assortment of jewelry to play cards, dance, and eat at local restaurants
TIAN XIA
and gambling houses.
Yet, Kaolingan hobgoblins are brutal. Even breaking the simplest laws
CHARACTER
could lead to a public execution or violent punishment based on the justice GUIDE
system, allowing no room for error. Even petty theft can result in flogging INTRODUCTION
that leaves people incapacitated for weeks. The Ministry of Blood, a temple
to Yaezhing, created a ceremony for those convicted of high crimes, to the BACKGROUNDS
applause of hobgoblin citizens. Despite the public adulation for this harsh
MAGIC AND
punishment, most private citizens try to resolve problems themselves rather THE SPIRIT
than involve the law. WORLD
Tian hobgoblins who live in the underground city of Rahk Lo find their
way to the surface through tunnels leading into Kaoling and Shanguang. hobgoblin THE ELEMENTS
These hobgoblins keep a friendly disposition to their non-hobgoblin
ZODIAC
neighbors, and their efficient expansion focuses on an explorer’s mindset
rather than a conqueror’s. Their emphasis on survival in harsh situations PEOPLES
sees them inclined to cooperate with strangers rather than compete—
however, they’re still dangerous and deadly toward anyone they see as an CHARACTER
OPTIONS
obstacle to that survival.
Hobgoblins have a long list of enemies, especially among the border TIAN
nations whom they war with. They particularly dislike Jinin and desire EQUIPMENT
the dawnsilver veins within that nation’s borders. Recently, Kaoling even
assaulted the border of Zi Ha, earning them backlash from nearly every GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Tian nation. Despite this aggressive attitude, Kaoling has found allies
among some of Tian Xia’s merchant companies, who sell Kaolingan-made
arms and armor to the rest of the world.
HUMANS
Humans are everywhere. They thrive throughout Tian Xia, reaching every Kitsune
corner of the continent and making up the majority of most nations’
populations. Humans are so populous and diverse that it can be hard to
pin down shared cultural values, customs, or universal traditions. They’ve
spread so far and been the dominant force in so many projects of statecraft
that they essentially have no remaining shared ancestral identity.
Nonetheless, their influence can be felt in powerful ways throughout Tian
Xia. Beyond culture, values, and rituals, the needs and capacities of the
human body have shaped the flow of all civilization on the continent as
surely as mountains divert rivers. Time in a day is measured around when
humans wake and sleep, calendars are built around human food crops and
human-habitable biomes, and practically all languages on Tian Xia have
been constructed such that humans can speak and write them. Every road,
every door, and every tool is built to fit or diverge from the universal fulcrum
of human hands, human feet, human eyes and ears and teeth. naga
The one major exception to this continental hegemony can be found in the
south. Nagajor historically barred humans from its borders for thousands of
years, and the Valashmai Jungle is, to this day, almost completely untouched
by human hands. The deep jungles and swamps of southern Tian Xia have
resisted human occupancy through a serendipitous alliance of organized
arms and roaming kaiju hunting grounds. Though even this shall not last—
humans have started to settle in the Nagajor Empire now that the borders
have been opened, and many human expeditions have reached deep into the
heart of the ancient Valashai Empire. It’s less a question of “if” humanity
will finally settle every coastline of Tian Xia, and more “when.”
The continent’s eight native human ethnicities are collectively known
as Tian. Tian-Dans, Tian-Tangs, and Tian-Hwans are primarily associated
with their homelands: Xa Hoi, Tang Mai, and Hwanggot, respectively. Each
nation is a shard of the imperial core of ancient Lung Wa, their peoples
all subtle reflections of each other. Tian-Las, Tian-Sings, Tian-Mins, and nagaji
27
Tian-Yaes range farther afield to the steppes of Hongal JOROGUMO
to the north, the wandering isles of Minata to the In Shenmen, locals share stories of monsters and
southeast, the eastern subcontinent of Minkai, and dark magic that inhabit the land—most commonly of
the desert of Shanguang. Their relative isolation from the part-humanoid and part-spider creatures called
central Tian Xia has bred deeper diversities and cultural jorogumo who live hidden beneath the ground and
drift. The dusky-skinned Tian-Shus are the most in the darkest corners. They weave webs of silk and
populous of all and found throughout the continent. dark illusions, using their beauty and charm to entice
Foreigners abound in Tian Xia as well, and that travelers and other victims. Prey are taken for food or
means foreign humans. Travelers from throughout used in rituals to conjure more dark magic and spirits.
Golarion find themselves on the continent, especially Occasionally, they suffer an even more terrible fate,
in port cities like Goka, with historic enclaves of becoming live incubators for the jorogumo’s young. The
Vudrani settlers in Nagajor and all manner of northern origins of jorogumo have long been up for debate. Some
travelers from Avistan and Casmaron settling in the tales state that they’re corrupted fey creatures; others
north via the Crown of the World. The nation of say they’re followers of Norgorber who ascended to
Linvarre, founded by a group of orphaned Taldan their current form. For most in Shenmen, their presence
warriors, in many ways exemplifies Tian Xia’s history is completely supernatural and unexplained.
of immigration, as it has significant populations of Jorogumo are solitary creatures but still consider
mixed-ancestry humans and traditions that blend Tian themselves part of specific “broods,” and so
and Avistani practices. jorogumo society can be likened to a web
of interconnected estates and fiefdoms,
ruled from a silken throne by a singular
leader who has proven themself to
be the strongest of them all. This
leadership is often challenged, and
a jorogumo who’s both physical
and mentally strong can try to oust
the current leader and win over the
seat of power. Whatever happens
in the contest—be it a battle of arms,
magic, or wits—jorogumo always
publicly respect the outcome. Vengeful
resentment or opportunistic schemes are
best left to private matters.
Jorogumo have been seen performing rituals near
waterfalls, using a twisted form of druidic magic and
sacrifice to strengthen their magical powers and bind spirits
to their will. While some claim Norgorber or Lamashtu
as their main patron deity, the amount of dedication any
individual jorogumo has to either varies. Some wholly
devote themselves to a deity, while others see religious rites
as a cultural practice rather than a matter of faith.
Fortunately for most of Tian Xia, most jorogumo
don’t seem to care about the happenings in anything
outside of Shenmen. They keep an extremely strong hold
on what they have, using their magic to protect their
lands above Yin-Sichasi. Many jorogumo have a close
relationship with the dark spirits in Shenmen, calling on
them to terrorize the land and anyone who tries to take
it away from them. The fact that no such retaliation has
occurred in the wake of Linvarre’s recent encroachment
into their territory has left many outside observers leery.
For all their predatory nature and loner tendencies,
JOROGUMO
jorogumo are notably open to dealings with other
ancestries. Those daring and desperate enough can
prove themselves to jorogumo. If they can gain a
brood’s favor, typically through a show of strength
or power, they can form a temporary alliance, and
solidifying such an alliance is one of the few instances
28
when jorogumo are willing to leave Shenmen. Tengu are the one exception.
Jorogumo and tengu have feuded with one another for generations; while
TIAN XIA
jorogumo often keep a broad-minded eye on travelers for the perfect prey,
when they see a tengu in their lands, their only goal is to kill.
CHARACTER
GUIDE
KITSUNE INTRODUCTION
It’s hard to know how many kitsune reside in Tian Xia—and that’s by
design. Kitsune have a long and storied history of marginalization and BACKGROUNDS
oppression inflicted by the many empires that span Tian Xia’s history
MAGIC AND
books. This history goes hand in hand with their shapechanging abilities. THE SPIRIT
The more kitsune hide, the more they’re treated as outsiders, and the more WORLD
they’re ostracized, the more they hide.
As a result, kitsune suffuse Tian Xia in a subtle and ever-flowing culture oni THE ELEMENTS
that mimics their host communities. Kitsune are, in many ways, human.
ZODIAC
They’re also elf, tengu, amurrun, nagaji, and on and on, both lifelong
members of existing clades and also something more: something hidden PEOPLES
and disciplined, an arm’s length apart. Kitsune embedded in societies of
other humanoids are often just as ignorant about their greater community CHARACTER
OPTIONS
as everyone else is. They know their immediate families, they might know a
few kitsune family friends, and they know how to spot another kitsune in TIAN
public, but that’s it—otherwise, they’re just like anybody else. EQUIPMENT
Not all kitsune have embedded themselves in societies of other
humanoids, delving into lifelong shapechanging regimes. Some locations GLOSSARY
& INDEX
in Tian Xia have large populations of kitsune who live openly, with full
integration (or simple majorities) in local society. The first and most famous
is the Forest of Spirits, bordering Minkai in northern Tian Xia. Controlled
by kami, the forest has always been hostile to civilization and civilization’s
humanoid agents, unless those agents happen to have skilled negotiators, a suli
role kitsune are well suited for. Kitsune have always had strong ties to the
spirit world, and kitsune clans in the forest found themselves a prosperous
niche maintaining the delicate balance between kami and outlander, forest
and road. The Spirit Road itself is an important highway through the forest
that would quickly fall apart without its kitsune keepers.
Behind the Forest of Spirits, the second largest population of kitsune
living openly are the kitsune clans in Kwanlai. War and invasion have
wracked Kwanlai’s complex history, and the tengu clans quickly found
value in the shapechanging capabilities of kitsune agents to act as
smugglers and spies. After the tremendous assistance kitsune provided
against the constant invasions from Wanshou, the five major tengu clans
lavished glory and gifts upon the kitsune clans, exalting them as a major
player in the nation’s local politics. Kwanlai’s capital of Hisuikarasu has
the largest population of kitsune to openly live within the boundaries of
any humanoid nation to date. tengu
NAGAS
Nagas are brightly colored serpents with humanoid faces and no limbs.
Typically between 10 and 16 feet long, these imposing beings can weigh in
excess of 300 pounds, and they possess natural magic that allows them to
compensate for their lack of digits—however, the limitations of these spells
mean they often rely on limbed servants and allies to perform tasks beyond
their capabilities, like construction.
The vast majority of nagas live in the kingdoms of Nagajor. Ancient
beyond reckoning, nagas have inhabited the land since pre-history and
rule kingdoms as varied as any region of Golarion. Common traits include
matriarchy, the veneration of naga deities, deference to nagas as legal or
ceremonial nobility, and a tendency toward hermitage. Whether or not a
given naga has any wealth, authority, subordinates, or titles, they’re due all
the respect of royalty. Those who wish to establish a nation in Nagajor are ysoki
29
expected to find a naga to serve as its monarch, even if in high regard, which is reflected in their tendency
only in a ceremonial role. toward matriarchal societies and their ambitious desire
Nagas who have wealth often become astrologers, to better themselves. Devotion to Nalinivati isn’t just
seers, and arcanists, amassing vast stores of knowledge prayer, it’s everyday living culture. Nagaji religious
over the centuries. Across Golarion, however, many practice is holistic, and one can find nagaji anywhere
nagas choose to live as ascetic hermits, forfeiting praying at sunrise, blessing food with sprinkled water,
money, servants, and luxury to guard some ruin, and paying respect at thresholds to places of knowledge
sanctify a landmark, or simply study the stars for and magic before entering. Specific ritual times, types
decades on end. These nagas are often repositories of offerings, construction of shrines, and more are
of forgotten lore, their long life spans and keen passed down through generations and slightly differ
memories preserving secrets long forgotten by the by household tradition. Even nagaji who don’t worship
rest of Golarion. Such hermits might be virtuous or Nalinivati will never damage books and never pass salt
villainous, and they’re often the only nagas outsiders by hand, like their mothers taught them.
to Nagajor will ever meet. Nagaji families are diverse with no separation
In the rest of Tian Xia, nagas are largely defined between various nagaji-kind. They’re polyamorous,
by those hermits, meaning nagas are often viewed believing a healthy brood contains many for protecting,
as secretive, isolationist mystics. Even visitors to teaching, and growing. They don’t have words for
Nagajor generally deal with nagaji instead of nagas. cousin because the members of a single generation are
As such, meeting an influential naga is often a surprise all seen as siblings. A traveling nagaji can often find a
to foreigners. The reality of urbane, social, educated relative to stay with. While family is very important,
nagas with attendants, shrines, or palaces clashes with blood relations only complicate their quick tempers.
ideas of isolated asceticism. Among the politically Feuding communities usually find themselves connected
influential of Tian Xia, the royalty of nagas and the by some relationship, and even that small connection
perceived divinity of their mandate is emphasized demands familial respect in times of conflict.
instead. Nagas—who are distant and unlikely to Art plays a large role in connecting sprawling nagaji
contest the characterization—are portrayed as communities. Nagaji waste nothing, even using their
absolute, unquestionable sovereigns who embody the shed skin as materials. They personalize their homes
essence of good rulership, as believed by the local and wardrobes with the beautiful, molted patterns of
cultures who venerate them. For such politicians, their friends and family, signaling common relations to
meeting nagas who are deeply detached from their others. It’s customary for elders to gift their shed skin
satrapies can be quite a shock. to younger generations so that they might protect and
brighten the lives of these youths even after death.
NAGAJI
Nagaji strongly believe that to keep the wheels of ONI
civilization turning, a strong foundation must be built Unlike most ancestries and peoples within Tian Xia,
and maintained. They’re among those proud builders oni aren’t quite born so much as made. Spirits can
who take their expertise very seriously, regarding hard be created as divine protectors of elements in nature
labor as the most righteous form of serving the world. that can’t protect themselves, after which they become
Many nagaji take pride in being farmers, builders, kami. When a kami fails at its sacred task, whether
chefs, healers, and guards. deliberately or not, they can be corrupted by envy, rage,
Nagaji are an ambitious people. Stemming from or despair, retreating from incorporeality into the realm
their deep devotion to Nalinivati, they pursue of the physical and all its delights. They permanently
knowledge to share with each other, encouraging the take on humanoid forms and become oni.
young to explore, join other cultures, and bring back As a result, oni don’t have a culture as one would
what others might be lacking. This outlook leads to expect from other humanoid ancestries—they don’t
guilds forming between nagaji groups to innovate form families or pass down language, rituals, or values.
labor. While outsiders might assume this culture of Instead, they have a shared origin, and it’s a shared
sharing would lead to a more unified people, nagaji origin of dissonance with their original noble purposes.
remain prideful and picky about tradition—nagaji Oni tend to form within the world in places with a high
love to learn, but hate having their hometown methods concentration of spirits, materializing as bitter and
proven worse. One village’s technique might differ in angry and with a plan. They’re usually violent, selfish,
such a way that hostility breaks out when a foreign and more than capable of using their shapechanging
child is sent to study there. This hostility might not abilities to manipulate other creatures and insert
always be violent, but internal family politics knot and themselves into positions of trust and authority. As
stew. The dust usually settles eventually, as the greater a result, oni are generally malicious invaders, either
good is always the priority. working alone or in groups to undermine local societies
As strong devotees of Nalinivati, their naga goddess and get what they want (often in some combination of
creator, nagaji hold her teachings of family and respect hedonistic pleasures and social power).
30
Oni can be found throughout Tian Xia, usually and rituals, Tians will express their deep admiration for
in places that humans have difficulty accessing and their ancestors’ bravery and sacrifice in defense of the
TIAN XIA
settling. They’re common in places of great spiritual land against the unholy horde, sharing how they teach
power—many oni live within the Forest of Spirits their youths to remember their sacred duties through CHARACTER
between Minkai and Hongal, and a faction of night folk songs and tales of ancestral heroes. GUIDE
oni occupy the Yjae sky city ruins over the Wall of In Minata, travelers might hear stories of INTRODUCTION
Heaven. Oni warlords have also occupied the southern mysterious, ethereal beings inhabiting a magnificent,
Chenlun Mountains in the Valashmai region, forming a hidden mountaintop city, known as Angakasapurna. BACKGROUNDS
cluster of bandit states that hoard ancient artifacts as These beings, known regionally as orang bunian, are
MAGIC AND
mutual deterrence and raid the surrounding lowlands described as elegantly dressed otherworldly beings THE SPIRIT
for wealth. whose appearances resemble humans. Few residents WORLD
Sometimes, oni can be found in places that humans know that the orang bunian are, in fact, jann who
have settled. For example, Chu Ye was once a human live atop a mountain in tall, fortified buildings that THE ELEMENTS
border province of Lung Wa famed for its healers that pierce the sky. Near the bottom of the mountain live
ZODIAC
was then fully conquered by oni in the continent-wide their mortal descendants, sulis, who carefully guard
chaos that followed the fall of the Lung Wa empire. the land against intruders. Orang bunian protect their PEOPLES
After a year of butchery, a sort of order was restored beloved children and refuge by covering the island in
by the void oni Tsuneni, the new shogun of Chu Ye. thick mists and illusions. For that reason, sulis who CHARACTER
OPTIONS
The human population continues to deplete under their decide to venture beyond the island find themselves
overlords’ tyrannical rule, and oni forces push out to unable to return. Some spend the rest of their lives TIAN
regularly invade neighbors like Hongal. wandering the isles in search of clues that might EQUIPMENT
Not all oni have warlike tendencies, most famously someday lead them home.
those of Hao Jin’s returned Tapestry People. While GLOSSARY
& INDEX
they still lived on the demiplane, they’d managed
to completely integrate into the multicultural
communities inside Hao Jin’s Tapestry. Now that these
peoples have been returned to Tian Xia in Bachuan, the
oni of Round Mountain continue to defy expectations
by working with their fellow returned compatriots in
boisterous cooperation.
PLANAR SCIONS
Tales of supernatural beings from other planes abound
in Tian Xia’s oral narratives. Many families whose
children manifest wondrous, supernatural powers,
such as halos and jewel-toned eyes, are often eager
to recite (or spin) tales hearkening the adventures
and exploits of their godly, celestial ancestors.
Humbler families claim, when asked, that their
children merely received the blessings accrued
by their ancestors, whose devotion and service
pleased the gods. Other families whose children
manifest uncommon or seemingly fiendish traits,
such as small horns, a tail, or large claws, cast
blame on their ancestors for having incurred
the wrath of gods or evil spirits. Regardless
of the source of their perceived blessing or
curse—whether it be the gods, demons, spirits,
or ancestors—Tian locals generally believe that VANARA
supernatural and spiritual beings not only once
walked, lived, loved, and fought in the land in the
distant past, but that they continue still to guide
and influence mortal lives.
Travelers visiting Tianjing will note its residents’
devoted communication with their ancestors and
likely observe Tians generously offering daily food, gifts,
and prayers in thanks for their ancestors’ continuing
care and guidance. If asked about their familial customs
31
TENGU
For centuries, those tengu who stayed “in the roost” of their ancestral
homeland of Kwanlai lived as mistreated and exploited inhabitants of the
powerful Lung Wa empire. Through policy and intense force, Imperial Lung
Wa worked to crush local tengu culture. Thus, unlike the migrating tengu
diaspora across Golarion who display a level of cultural flexibility and
readily adopt local customs, those who remained in Kwanlai hold to their
heritage and traditions with tenacity.
The tengu of Kwanlai have a rich culture of passing memories from
one generation to another through stories and song. They remember the
cruelty of Lung Wa and even the names, faces, and specific acts of barbarity
certain members of the Lung Wa elite enacted upon them through history.
tian-dan Bold, geometric patterns are dyed onto the fabric they use for their clothes.
Ancient melodies played on a 13-string zither dance through the air at
gatherings and festivals. They still cook the tender bamboo shoots from the
Vale of Green Spears, the earthy aromas wafting from every home during
the full moon. Their houses rise into the air on tall, wooden stilts with
staircases winding around to the top.
One thing Kwanlai and diaspora tengu share is that they form incredibly
close communities. Families take care of each other’s children and raise them
together in a creche. No individual is ever alone. Aid can always be found
at hand in a tengu neighborhood. With their long history of oppression in
the Lung Wa empire, they’re happy to welcome anyone of any background
into the fold.
Tengu who remain in Kwanlai work to overcome their generational
trauma from their past with Lung Wa. As a result, they chafe under too
much governmental oversight, whether at home or on the world stage.
tian-yae Though such tengu are more law-abiding and lawful than their diaspora
brethren, they still have a strong anti-authoritarian streak. It doesn’t take
many rules and regulations to spark rebellion. They have no qualms about
bringing in contraband, “liberating” taxes from local provincial leaders, or
leaving artistic representations of their displeasure on government buildings
in protest. Despite their history, tengu in Kwanlai see themselves as a young
nation with much to prove, so they’re passionate and enthusiastic about
participating in the politics of Tian Xia as a whole.
VANARAS
As vanaras embark on personal journeys of enlightenment, some have
inevitably found their path veering eastward from Vudra, across the Embaral
Ocean, and toward the Dragon Empires. Goka’s nature as a port city and
revolving door for varying peoples and philosophies makes it a magnet for
curious vanaras. The city’s thrill of competition has enticed many to set up
tian-hwan shop as teahouse owners, innkeepers, professional gamblers, or any other
profession that might provide the opportunity to speak with as diverse
a crowd of travelers as possible to gain new insight—and if problematic
visitors offer the chance for a vanara to teach a lesson with a well-devised
prank, then so much the better.
Yet, the hustle and bustle of the city isn’t ideal for all vanaras looking to
expand their horizons, and many seek a more solitary experience amid the
indomitable Wall of Heaven. Just as Ragdya eventually found wisdom on the
peak of Bahmenu, so do these vanaras believe they might find the answers
they seek among the temples, peaks, and valleys of this mountain range.
Whether at shrines of Ragdya, Irori, or other deities that offer wisdom,
vanaras living on the Wall are often found in pairs, walking together on
their journey.
Vanaras with a healthy wanderlust travel throughout Tian Xia, though
most tend to avoid Nagajor on the basis of their historical relationship
tian-min with the naga empire. Quain draws vanaras who seek answers on the path
32
to becoming a true martial arts master. One group of vanaras is said to
have taken up permanent residence within the Eryiu Forest. In Lingshen,
TIAN XIA
the tale of a vanara who reached the highest echelon of nobility before
being sculpted into a terra-cotta statue has inspired communities of vanaras
CHARACTER
striving to join the great warrior hero. Vanaras in the Forest of Spirits have GUIDE
sought the wisdom and perspectives of kami. Even some lahkgyan vanaras INTRODUCTION
have tried to find solace in nations where more wicked powers reign, away
from traditional communities. BACKGROUNDS
Vanaras are inevitably compared with Sun Wukong, a practice that
MAGIC AND
causes no small amount of chagrin. Though they hold no malice toward the THE SPIRIT
monkey king, his tendency for chaotic pranks is the exact type of reckless WORLD
behavior that vanaras attempt to distance themselves from in their journey.
This association means that traveling vanaras often experience biased THE ELEMENTS
treatment from many who assume them to be troublemakers. Most vanaras tian-la ZODIAC
work diligently to avoid these labels and instead try to display their love of
community and endless desire to learn. PEOPLES
Time has seen some Tian vanaras with altered features. Some have fur
and hair colors of black or pale reds, and the aquatically inclined vanaras CHARACTER
OPTIONS
of Minata have become identifiable through their distinctly shaped and
decorated noses. TIAN
EQUIPMENT
YSOKI
Within Tian Xia, the nation of Diguo-Dashu is one of the largest gatherings GLOSSARY
& INDEX
of ratfolk in the world, with innumerable clans banding together for
survival while also competing among themselves for the Darklands’ limited
resources. Many ysoki have similar patterns of black fur and red eyes, but
the ratfolk of Tian Xia boast a wide range of earthen tones to their fur.
Years of adaptation and a need to climb the unpredictable caverns of the tian-shu
Darklands have given these ysoki exceptionally strong and dexterous claws
that help aid them in tasks requiring delicate precision. This combination
of natural talent and cultivated wit have shaped ysoki into some of Tian
Xia’s greatest strategists, inventors, artists, doctors, and (perhaps most
notoriously) thieves.
A focus on success stems from the strong drive within their social circles.
Ysoki pride themselves on having a clear goal and achieving it. A clan of
several hundred ratfolk intent on mining ore will hold tremendous respect for
a clan of 10–20 who task themselves with discovering new ways to harvest
material—and it’s extremely common for alliances to form among several
clans who can benefit from each other’s strengths. Self-expression is heavily
valued, and these mutual alliances allow for individuals to shift between clans
more closely aligned to their interests without losing all ties to their family.
This push for personal discovery has resulted in ysoki worshipping a tian-sing
range of deities. Faith is viewed as a transaction, rather than something
to settle the spirit. All ysoki are aware of how Lao Shu Po’s legacy frames
their people in a negative light. Wary of being judged by association, ysoki
often refer to her instead as the Great Grandmother. Most ysoki leave small
offerings at shrines that appear familial in nature regardless of their personal
beliefs, subtly expressing reverence to their eccentric Great Grandmother in
a way that respectfully encourages her followers to direct their mischief at
another home.
Ysoki have a tendency to be intolerant of those who they believe
squander their good fortune. Wasteful behaviors are considered insulting
and belittling to those around them, which can make it difficult to build
trust with other cultures who might be spoiled from living with abundance.
Still, though ysoki can find it difficult to trust outsiders, they form bonds of
deep kinship with any they call friends. Friendship is held in high regard,
and the very act of betrayal against friends or family can result in being
outcast (or attacked) by all ysoki communities. tian-tang
33
Dokkaebi Goblin
The dokkaebi goblins native to Tian Xia, found especially GOBLIN ANCESTRY FEATS
in Hwanggot, are an idiosyncratic people as strange as The following ancestry feats are available to goblins.
the creatures of old ghost stories, yet simultaneously so
common you could buy dinner from one. Dokkaebi have 1ST LEVEL
an intrinsic affinity for illusion-based magic, but use
most of their talents to prank others. DOKKAEBI FIRE FEAT 1
Dokkaebi are artisans at heart. They specialize in pottery, GOBLIN
both decorative and utilitarian, sought by aristocrats and Prerequisites dokkaebi goblin heritage
commonfolk alike. There’s a very simple reason why You can create illusory wisps of ghostly blue flame. You can
Tian goblins developed such an interest in pottery: cast ignition as an innate occult cantrip at will. A cantrip is
the infamous goblin love for fermented foods. heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded
Where Avistani goblins delight in pickling anything up. Your Dokkaebi Fire is purely illusory; while it emits light,
and everything, dokkaebi prefer long fermentation, it deals mental damage instead of fire damage (so it can’t light
sometimes beyond what others might find palatable. objects on fire or affect mindless creatures), and it has the
More information on goblins in general can be found illusion and mental traits instead of the fire trait.
on pages 54–57 of Player Core. Special If you have the Burn It! feat, its effects apply to
your dokkaebi fire even though it deals mental damage—
GOBLIN HERITAGE dokkaebi consider these flames as real as any mortal fire,
Goblins in Tian Xia have access to the following heritage. and so they are.
Dokkaebi Goblin (Uncommon) PHANTOM VISAGE [one-action] FEAT 1

Your ancestors mastered illusion-based magic, giving GOBLIN ILLUSION OCCULT VISUAL
you an innate understanding of it. You can cast Prerequisites dokkaebi goblin heritage
figment as an innate occult cantrip at will. A cantrip You cloak yourself in illusions to mask your nature. Your
is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level Phantom Visage is a specific alternate form of a Small or
rounded up. You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Medium humanoid ancestry prevalent where you grew up
Will saves against illusions. (typically human), though it doesn’t need to have analogous
physical features to your natural goblin form. Your Phantom
Visage counts as setting up a disguise for the Impersonate
use of Deception. If you use any unarmed attacks you
gained from a goblin heritage or ancestry feats while in your
Phantom Visage, the illusion immediately breaks. You can
maintain your Phantom Visage indefinitely, and you can shift
back to your true goblin form by using this action again.
TANGLE OF LIMBS FEAT 1

UNCOMMON GOBLIN
Access dokkaebi goblin heritage or Tian Xia origin
Dokkaebi have a strong tradition of wrestling. You become
trained in Athletics, and you gain the Titan Wrestler feat. If you
would automatically become trained in Athletics (from your
background or class, for example), you instead become trained
in a skill of your choice.
5TH LEVEL
PHANTOM RESEMBLANCE FEAT 5

GOBLIN
Prerequisites Phantom Visage
Frequency once per day
Your can now draw from experience to wear any face you
remember. When you use Phantom Visage, you gain the
DOKKAEBI effects of a 3rd-rank illusory disguise for 1 hour or until you
shift back, whichever comes first.
34
GLORIOUS GAMTU [one-action] FEAT 5 Strange pottery
GOBLIN OCCULT Dokkaebi are strong enough to carry
TIAN XIA
Prerequisites dokkaebi goblin heritage onggi pots as tall as they are, and
Frequency once per day sometimes even larger. If they need
CHARACTER
You can access the mystical power that dokkaebi refer to as a hat. You conjure a to transport such a pot to another GUIDE
magical gamtu hat, which is a magic item of light Bulk. The gamtu persists for 1 settlement overnight, they’ll sleep inside INTRODUCTION
hour, and you can give the gamtu to another creature to wear. of what they’re transporting for warmth.
Activate—Hat Trick [two-actions] (manipulate) Effect You tap the hat and gain the effects of This practice has led to many comedic BACKGROUNDS
a 2nd-rank invisibility spell, which lasts for the spell’s normal duration, until the stories of people who found a perfectly
MAGIC AND
hat is removed, or until the hat’s normal duration runs out, whichever comes crafted dok or hangari on the side of THE SPIRIT
first. After the spell ends, the gamtu disappears. the road and brought it home, only WORLD
to find a disoriented dokkaebi pulling
9TH LEVEL themself out of the new pot. The people THE ELEMENTS
of Tian Xia have since learned to not
ZODIAC
GOBLIN CLUB [one-action] FEAT 9 disturb onggi left on the roadside, but
GOBLIN OCCULT the commonality of such happenings PEOPLES
Prerequisites dokkaebi goblin heritage inspired many urban legends that
Frequency once per day dokkaebi are born from earthenware. CHARACTER
OPTIONS
You can summon a mass of magic energy in your hand that, naturally, you use to
smack those who offend you. You conjure forth a spectral bangmangi club for 1 TIAN
minute, which appears in your hands, though you can give it to another creature EQUIPMENT
to wield. This weapon is a +1 striking ghost touch club.
At 13th level, the bangmangi is a +2 greater striking ghost touch club. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
WHISPERS IN THE NIGHT FEAT 9
GOBLIN
Prerequisites dokkaebi goblin heritage
You weave your illusions with greater ability, allowing you to play tricks and slip
through the night. You can cast darkness and ventriloquism as 2nd-rank innate
occult spells, each once per day.
13TH LEVEL
FLAMES OF VISION FEAT 13

UNCOMMON GOBLIN
Access dokkaebi goblin heritage or Tian Xia origin
Dokkaebi were among the first goblins to pioneer gazing through flames, spectral
or physical, to cast their senses far and wide. You can cast clairvoyance as a 4th-
rank innate occult spell twice per day. To see through the spell’s eye, you must be
staring into a source of fire.
Special If you can cast ignition, including from the Dokkaebi Fire feat, then you can
cast that spell as part of casting clairvoyance. Instead of the cantrip’s normal
effect, you conjure flames in your hand, which persist for the duration of
your clairvoyance spell for you to gaze through.
17TH LEVEL
PERFECTED GAMTU FEAT 17

GOBLIN OCCULT
Prerequisites Glorious Gamtu
Your hat embodies the illusory grandeur of a master dokkaebi. Your gamtu now
grants its wearer a +1 item bonus to Stealth checks when worn, and its Hat Trick
activation can grant your choice of 2nd-rank invisibility or 6th-rank invisibility.
In addition, the gamtu can be removed while Hat Trick is activated. Doing so
removes the effects of invisibility from the original wearer, but the spell doesn’t
end. Instead, the effect continues to elapse; if another creature puts the gamtu on,
ONGGI
they’re immediately affected by invisibility, which lasts for the remaining duration
of Hat Trick.
35
Hungerseed
Oni in Tian Xia are commonly seen as evil creatures from your other parent’s ancestry whenever you gain
satisfied only by blood and carnage. Not all of them an ancestry feat.
have such violent hungers, however, and even the worst
aren’t so far removed from the most gluttonous or HUNGERSEED FEATS
ambitious mortals. Stories of humans taking an oni The following ancestry feats are available to hungerseed
bride are often told in rural villages and, occasionally, characters.
a child is born with telltale oni horns or a third
eye. Commonly called half-oni or onispawn, these 1ST LEVEL
hungerseeds—named after oni’s legendary appetites—
are often difficult youths, as their adolescent tempers HUNGRY EYES FEAT 1
often outweigh their common sense. HUNGERSEED
Hungerseeds appear incredibly diverse physically. Your eyes can see through darkness with an oni’s visual
Many features, such as their skin, horns, feet, and hair, acuity. You gain low-light vision, or you gain darkvision if
are often influenced by their oni parent and, while you already have low-light vision.
many share the hulking stature of an oni, others have Special You can select this feat twice, once to gain low-light
lithe and slender builds or are even notably shorter than vision and a second time to gain darkvision.
both parents. They walk a fine line between mortal and
supernatural, one clawed foot in each world. ONI WEAPON FAMILIARITY FEAT 1
As a nation controlled by oni, Chu Ye has the HUNGERSEED
highest population of hungerseeds in Tian Xia. While Oni prefer large, cruel weapons for smashing their foes to
hungerseeds can occupy almost every profession, pieces, and so do you. For the purposes of proficiency, you
they often choose combat roles to complement their treat the khakkhara (page 127), nodachi (page 127), ogre
oni heritage. Many of them feel safer in Chu Ye than hook, and tetsubo (page 127) as simple weapons.
in other regions, as they don’t have to deal with the The ogre hook is an uncommon martial weapon that costs
misconceptions of their lineage. However, some feel out 1 gp, deals 1d10 piercing damage, has 2 Bulk, requires two
of place for not fully being oni, and become wanderers. hands to use, is in the pick weapon group, and has the deadly
Others form mercenary bands, to find work and a shared d10 and trip weapon traits.
camaraderie in their mixed heritage. At 5th level, whenever you get a critical hit with one of
Characters of Tian origin have access to the hungerseed these weapons, or with your horns unarmed Strike, you get
versatile heritage. its critical specialization effect.
You Might... ONI FORM [one-action] FEAT 1

• Be drawn toward physical pursuits or solutions. CONCENTRATE HUNGERSEED POLYMORPH PRIMAL
• Struggle with feelings of ravenous hunger and Frequency once per 10 minutes
lightning-quick rage. Your horns flash briefly as you grow in size and ferocity. Your
• Find yourself involved in the spirit world, which size increases to Large, and you’re clumsy 1. This doesn’t
you’re a part of, whether you like it or not. change your Speed, reach, or other statistics except as noted
here. Your worn equipment automatically resizes to suit your
Others Probably... new form, though it immediately returns to its original size if
• Assume you’re a powerful combatant. it leaves your possession. This form is the same age and body
• Focus on your oni heritage over your mortal type as your true form and has roughly analogous physical
background and ties. traits, such as hair color. Using Oni Form counts as creating
• Fear you and consider you malevolent. a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception. You can
Sustain your Oni Form for up to 10 minutes, though you must
Hungerseed (Uncommon then spend at least 10 minutes in your natural form before
Heritage) using Oni Form again.
One of your parents was an oni or a hungerseed. You
possess a pair of horns, ranging in size from conical 5TH LEVEL
nubs to lengthy protrusions. You might have other
signs of your parentage, such as colorful skin, fangs BLOODSOAKED DASH FEAT 5
and claws, or a third eye in your forehead. You gain HUNGERSEED
the oni trait. You gain a horns unarmed attack that Injuries don’t bother you anymore—in fact, the pain invigorates
deals 1d6 piercing damage and is in the brawling you. If you’re at or below half of your maximum Hit Points,
group. You can select from hungerseed feats and feats you gain a 10-foot status bonus to all of your Speeds.
36
ONI’S MASK FEAT 5 Your eyes glow a deep red and your body courses with
HUNGERSEED adrenaline as you obtain a fraction of the power of the kishin
TIAN XIA
You aren’t as malleable as your oni ancestors but still can disguise oni. You attempt to Demoralize all creatures within a 10-
yourself. You can cast illusory disguise as a 1st-rank primal innate foot radius; you don’t take a penalty when you attempt to
CHARACTER
spell once per day. This spell can’t disguise your horns, though Demoralize a creature that doesn’t understand your language. GUIDE
you can still hide them normally with a hairstyle or a hood. You also gain the following abilities for 1 minute. INTRODUCTION
• 40 temporary Hit Points.
STORMING GAZE [two-actions] FEAT 5 • A fly Speed equal to your Speed. BACKGROUNDS
HUNGERSEED PRIMAL • The effects of 6th-rank runic body, and your horns deal
MAGIC AND
You can open or energize a notable third eye on your forehead an additional 1d4 electricity damage. THE SPIRIT
to strike with storming power. You deal 3d4 electricity or • Bloodsense as a precise sense with a range of 60 feet, WORLD
sonic damage in a 15-foot cone; Storming Gaze gains this trait. allowing you to detect freshly spilled blood; this allows
Each creature in the area must attempt a basic Reflex saving you to accurately detect creatures taking persistent bleed THE ELEMENTS
throw against the higher of your class DC or spell DC. You damage, creatures whose Hit Points are currently at half
ZODIAC
can’t use this ability again for 1d4 rounds. or less of their maximum, and freestanding puddles or
At 7th level and every 2 levels thereafter, the damage droplets of recently spilled blood. PEOPLES
increases by 1d4. Kishin Rage lasts for 1 minute. Once it ends, you’re stunned
3 as you recharge and recenter yourself. CHARACTER
9TH LEVEL OPTIONS
TIAN
BLOOD MUST HAVE BLOOD FEAT 9 EQUIPMENT
HUNGERSEED
You tap into a bottomless hunger for carnage. You can cast blood GLOSSARY
& INDEX
vendetta and share life as 2nd-rank primal spells, each once per
day as 2nd-rank divine innate spells, each once per day.
GREATER TRANSFORMATION FEAT 9

HUNGERSEED
Prerequisites Oni Form
You can assume your oni form more easily, and with greater
benefits. Your oni form lasts for 10 minutes without the
need to Sustain it. While in your oni form, your
reach increases by 5 feet.
13TH LEVEL
TEMPEST GAZE FEAT 13

HUNGERSEED
Prerequisites Storming Gaze
Your third eye grows stronger and more powerful. When you
use Storming Gaze, you can increase the area to a 30-foot cone
and double the number of damage dice; half deal electricity
damage, and half deal sonic damage. If you Storming Gaze in
this way, you can’t use it again for 1 hour.
ONI RAMPAGE [reaction] FEAT 13

HUNGERSEED
Trigger You’re reduced to less than half your maximum Hit
Points by a creature within your reach.
Nothing invigorates you more than your own freshly spilled
blood. You gain the effects of haste for 1 minute.
17TH LEVEL
KISHIN RAGE [one-action] FEAT 17

HUNGERSEED MORPH PRIMAL
37
Kijimuna
Gnome Enclaves Gnomes known as kijimuna live in communities throughout Tian Xia and
Anywhere one might find danger or tend to have a strong affinity for trees and water magic. Kijimuna have wild
discomfort on Tian Xia, one can also red hair, skin that ranges from brown to crimson, and bright scarlet, gold,
find an enclave of kijimuna gnomes. or brown eyes. With variably-sized drums, flutes made of bamboo from
Kijimuna gnomes are drawn to the the Vale of Green Spears, and a shrill yet melodic whistle, their music has a
novelties and perils of the huge city of lively, upbeat tone. Kijimuna break out their instruments for any reason, but
Goka. In Jinin, they live in the beloved especially during festivals and celebrations.
trees of elves. Because of their shared Kijimuna make their homes in trees that grow near the shores—as high
inclination toward emigration, tengu up as they can, preferring banyans when possible. Mechanical or magical
and kijimuna gnomes can sometimes lifts climb up the roots and trunks of their trees. Staircases sometimes
be found living together. lead to nowhere, and doors open onto thin air. Occasionally, windows
The largest kijimuna gnome peer into the center of the tree at nothing. These homes provide novel,
settlements in Tian Xia are located and sometimes dangerous, experiences for gnomes, as well as for anyone
along the shores of Minkai’s southern who enters.
reaches, an area with a warm, tropical Kijimuna always have their homes constructed near a large body of water,
environment all throughout the year. sometimes a lake but most often the ocean, as they seem drawn to the sea in
The balmy breezes rustle the leaves their pursuit of new sensations. They’re master fishers, though they eat only
and the exposed, dangling roots of the select parts of the fish they catch (namely the eye), leaving the rest to their
banyan trees, while flowers bloom all non-kijimuna companions. Despite their ease in the water and at catching
year long and perfume the air. seafood, kijimuna are repulsed by octopuses, an instinctual phobia not unlike
a fear of spiders. In their quests for adventure and excitement, they often sign
on with ships hunting sea monsters, enlist as sailors, or join up with groups
of pirates.
For more about gnomes and their society, see pages 50–53 of Player Core.
GNOME HERITAGE
Gnomes in Tian Xia have access to the following heritage.
Kijimuna Gnome (Uncommon)

Your ancestors lived in the trees and fished in all the waters of Tian Xia.
You gain your choice of the following benefits. Once made, this choice can’t
be changed.
• You can climb any banyan. You gain the Combat Climber feat, and if
you roll a success on the Athletics check to Climb, you get a critical
success instead.
• You can catch any fish. You gain a swim Speed of 15 feet.
GNOME ANCESTRY FEATS

The following ancestry feats are available to gnomes. Some rely on special
kijimuna magic, but many might be learned by any gnome who spends time
in Tian Xia’s trees and seas.
1ST LEVEL
FISHEYE FEAT 1
GNOME
Prerequisites kijimuna gnome heritage
You can gain the magic of the seas by eating your favorite seafood. This gives
you an advantage when diving, escaping notice after pilfering a valuable artifact
from a local warlord, moving through poisonous fumes, or sleeping next to a
particularly gassy adventuring partner. If you eat the left eye of a fish, you gain
the Breath Control feat for the next hour, and that feat’s benefits apply against
effects that have the olfactory trait in addition to those that have the inhaled
38
trait. As this feat is temporary, you can’t use it as a prerequisite for a permanent Other Relations
character option like a feat or access to a spell. With surprisingly close relationships, the
TIAN XIA
elves of Jinin and kijimuna gnomes bond
5TH LEVEL over their love of nature and commonly
CHARACTER
form adventuring parties together. Their GUIDE
BRINY BEVERAGE FEAT 5 dispositions for travel and creating INTRODUCTION
GNOME new settlements often means that
Prerequisites kijimuna gnome heritage tengu and gnomes, especially their BACKGROUNDS
You can survive off the sea as well as gain insight from its waters. You can drink various diaspora, forge close bonds and
MAGIC AND
saltwater and quench your thirst as though it’s freshwater. In addition, once per communities. The nomadic Tian-Las and THE SPIRIT
day, you can take a gulp of seawater using an Interact action to gain imprecise rugged Mutabi-qi of Shanguang also WORLD
wavesense with a range of 20 feet, which lasts for 1 minute. This wavesense share a mutual respect with the daring
functions only within the body of water you drank from. kijimuna gnomes. THE ELEMENTS
The innate drive for adventure and
ZODIAC
9TH LEVEL new experiences often leads gnomes
to be curious, meddlesome, and PEOPLES
SCARLET STRANDS FEAT 9 mischievous, putting them at odds
GNOME with the secretive, cautious people CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Prerequisites kijimuna gnome heritage of the floating city of Yjae. Anywhere
The innate magic in your blood turns your signature crimson tresses into more with strict laws or rigid thinking tends TIAN
than just a stylish coiffure. If you pluck three strands of your bright red hair to have strained relationships with the EQUIPMENT
and spend 1 minute braiding them together, they magically transform into a restless, wandering, and often chaotic
strong, 50-foot, crimson rope. This rope can hold 1,000 pounds—great for lashing nature of kijimuna gnomes. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
down sails in a storm, rappelling down a cliff to a hidden treasure, or tying up a
Minkaian criminal with a sizable bounty on her head. You can have only one hair
rope in existence at a time; if you braid a second, your first rope unravels back
into three hairs.
Your hairs can also form a net to catch fish or foes. Once per day, you can
cast 4th-rank web (Player Core 2 255) as an innate primal spell, which takes
the form of a crimson fishing net. You must have a hand free to pluck a few
strands of your hair that you throw as part of the spell. The hairs regrow when
the spell ends.
13TH LEVEL
ARBOREAL CONVERSATIONALIST FEAT 13

UNCOMMON GNOME
Prerequisites kijimuna gnome heritage or at least one primal innate
spell from a gnome heritage or feat; Access kijimuna gnome
heritage or Tian Xia origin
With your close connection to primal energies and the First
World, you can communicate with trees. You can cast
speak with plants as a 4th-rank innate primal spell twice
per day.
KIJIMUNA WHISTLE FEAT 13

UNCOMMON GNOME
Prerequisites kijimuna gnome heritage or at least one primal innate spell
from a gnome heritage or feat; Access kijimuna gnome heritage or Tian Xia
origin
Your connection to nature—and trees, in particular—has become so strong that
you can summon the plants you befriended in the forests of your youth. Once
per day, you can whistle the distinct, cheery sound that’s a signature of the
kijimuna gnome community to cast summon plant or fungus as a 5th-rank
primal innate spell. The spell loses the manipulate trait as the incantations and
gestures used for this spell involve only whistling. Nearby kijimuna gnomes
automatically recognize this celebratory trill and will usually answer or join in
the music making if they can.
39
Tian Kobold
Kobold Enclaves Long ago, kobolds discovered that proximity to powerful magical creatures,
Due to their closeness to Tian such as dragons, could impart power into unhatched kobold eggs. As a
politics, younger working imperial result, these innovative reptilian humanoids found themselves in service to
kobolds can be often found in mighty magical beings, taking extreme pride in their patrons. In Tian Xia,
cities and largely populated areas. kobolds, who typically stand around 3 feet tall, are frequently associated
However, they usually settle down with imperial dragons, spirits, yaoguai, immortals of the Celestial Court,
and have families of their own in and kaiju.
the continent’s hilly areas. These Kobolds who serve the imperial dragons or Heaven itself have a long
small villages have everything from tradition of being petty bureaucrats and scribes. These kobolds are respected
self-sustaining vegetable gardens to and often have high status despite their slight stature. Kobolds who follow
fish farms. Every 15 days, they host imperial dragons resemble their patrons: they have horned heads, they’re
town hall meetings, where they vote wingless, and they balance themselves with tails that stretch almost as long
on village matters. Whether the topic as their bodies. They also practice spells and magic based on the five elements
involves what to do with an invasive that are harnessed by the imperial dragons. Each kobold has a unique
goat species or if they should build a understanding of these elements and, as such, they’re sometimes found in
new communal pool, there’s always villages selling and using these spells for medicinal purposes.
something to discuss. Those kobolds who have less talent at crafting or fall short on the exams
. end up in other careers. Imperial kobolds who choose a different line of work
are often found in royal courts or monasteries, tending to the koi that live
in the gardens and ponds. Kobolds believe that taking care of these beautiful
fish can bring the koi closer to their dragon ancestors—and one day, if they’re
lucky, the koi that they care for will transform into a magnificent imperial
dragon and grant their stalwart caretaker a wish of their heart’s desires.
Though such a story has been documented (and the divine dragon carp Jin
Li seems to indicate such a thing is possible), it remains unclear whether the
vignette stemmed from fact or rumor.
Kobolds associated with kaiju live in the distant regions of their patrons,
such as the deserts of Shanguang or the Valashmai Jungle, and are thus rarely
encountered. While they can’t communicate with their chosen patrons any
better than other residents of Tian Xia, they often serve as caretakers or
repositories of knowledge about these kaiju. Kobolds who receive a sliver of
their kaiju patron’s power have a primal might that can shake the earth and
rock the heavens, packed into their compact forms.
The kobold ancestry can be found on pages 20–23 of Player Core 2.
KOBOLD HERITAGES
Kobolds in Tian Xia have access to the following heritages.
Heavenscribe Kobold (Uncommon)

Your connection to wise and celestial imperial dragons has led others
to seek your advice. You can speak Draconic. Whenever you critically
fail a Diplomacy check to Make an Impression or Request, you get a
failure instead.
Mightyfall Kobold (Uncommon)

Your proximity to a mighty kaiju has caused you to grow strong and
hardy. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry instead of 6. Instead of
the normal attribute boosts and flaws, you can choose to gain a boost to
Strength, a boost to Charisma, and a flaw in Intelligence.
KOBOLD ANCESTRY FEATS

The following feats are available to kobolds with cultural ties to the
Dragon Empires, or those who have absorbed the magic of an imperial
dragon or a kaiju.
40
1ST LEVEL A Tall Tale
There once was an imperial kobold by
TIAN XIA
KOI SECRETS FEAT 1 the name of Huang Xiao. He oversaw
cleaning the gardens of a public
CHARACTER
UNCOMMON KOBOLD
Access Tian Xia origin park, sweeping the leaves out of the GUIDE
Due to their beautiful colors, ornamental koi are often found in parks and gardens where koi pond, and feeding the orange INTRODUCTION
townsfolk roam. They hear the gossip and rumors that folks above the water spread. and metallic fish. A trickster kitsune
You can ask questions of, receive answers from, and use the Diplomacy skill with fish. named Fa, having been told off by the BACKGROUNDS
As you are a friend of koi—who also strive to be a mighty being one day—koi (as well kobold once in the past for walking
MAGIC AND
as carp and goldfish) have a starting attitude toward you of one step better (typically on the flower beds, grew tired of the THE SPIRIT
making them friendly). proud groundskeeper and decided WORLD
to play a trick on him. Fa hid in one
5TH LEVEL of the bushes next to the pond and THE ELEMENTS
created an illusion, causing a dragon
ZODIAC
DUCK! FEAT 5 to grow out of the water. This trick
KOBOLD startled the kobold so much that he PEOPLES
Your long experience with your erratic patrons and their peers has given you a lot of ran into town, telling everyone about
practice in hitting the deck when you hear the rumbling of a powerful entity. When what he just saw and leaving Fa CHARACTER
OPTIONS
you roll a critical failure on a Reflex saving throw against an ability that targets an giggling in the park.
area and was caused by a Huge or larger creature, you get a failure instead, and TIAN
when you roll a success against such an effect, you get a critical success instead. EQUIPMENT
FRIEND OF THE FAMILY FEAT 5 GLOSSARY

& INDEX
KOBOLD
Prerequisites heavenscribe kobold heritage
You come from a long line of imperial kobolds—if you meet a stranger who has
some political standing in Tian Xia, they might know someone from your family line.
You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy checks to Make an Impression or
Request when speaking to politicians or other officials.
13TH LEVEL
IMPERIAL DRAGON POTION FEAT 13

KOBOLD
Prerequisites heavenscribe kobold heritage, expert in Crafting
During your daily preparations, you can spend 10 minutes to create a variant energy
breath potion, which has the kobold trait in addition to its normal traits. The variant
potion is influenced by imperial dragon magic, granting it the effect corresponding
to your dragon benefactor; the DC for the breath is the higher of your class DC or
spell DC. The potion becomes inert if not used by your next daily preparations, so
it has no value if sold.
Dragon Effect (Save)
Forest Insects dealing piercing damage in a 15-foot cone (Reflex)
Sea Water dealing bludgeoning damage in a 30-foot line (Reflex)
Sky Lightning dealing electricity damage in a 30-foot line (Reflex)
Sovereign A psychic roar dealing mental damage in a 15-foot cone (Will)
Underworld Flames that deal fire damage in a 15-foot cone (Reflex)
KAIJU’S FOOTFALLS FEAT 13

KOBOLD
Prerequisites mightyfall kobold heritage
You channel the might and mass of a kaiju. You can cast enlarge as an innate primal spell
twice per day, targeting yourself. The first time each turn you High Jump, Leap, or Long
Jump while affected by this spell, creatures of your size or smaller adjacent to where you
land must attempt a Reflex save against your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher.
Failure The creature is knocked prone.
Critical Failure The creature is knocked prone and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage.
At 17th level, you can choose to heighten this innate enlarge spell to 4th rank.
41
Tian Leshy
Unlike other leshies, Tian leshies often spontaneously which takes the form of a tea. At level 6, you instead create
emerge from the natural vessel they were born in, whether a moderate antidote; at level 10, a greater antidote; and at
it be a bamboo stalk or a peach fruit, and then dance across level 14, a major antidote. The tea loses its effectiveness if
the world with traits very similar to humans. These leshies not consumed before your next daily preparations.
tend to have supernatural quirks in their appearance
that give them away: strange eye colors, twig-like hair, Peachchild Leshy (Uncommon)
leaf-shaped ears, and the like. Their bodies might have a Your leshy spirit took hold in a massive peach fruit before
verdant hue, their back might be curved like a bonsai, or your body split forth from it, possibly emulating a past
they might be as short and shy as makahiya. hero who was born in the same manner. You look like a
More information on leshies can be found on pages human child, though with a perpetual flush of pink to
66–69 of Player Core. your complexion and perhaps a few peach leaves growing
from your body. The nature spirit inside you puts certain
LESHY HERITAGES animals at ease. You can ask questions of and receive
Leshies in Tian Xia have access to the following heritages. answers from household animals and livestock, such as
dogs or pheasants, as well as use Diplomacy to Make
Chrysanthemum Leshy an Impression on and Request things of them. Most
(Uncommon) domesticated animals have an indifferent or friendly
You look like a human child, though with a grand crown starting attitude toward you and give you time to make
of chrysanthemums growing from your head, ornate as an your case, though other animals react to you like any
emperor’s. These petals have medicinal properties, granting other adventurer.
you a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against
poison. Furthermore, during your daily preparations, you LESHY FEATS
can harmlessly pluck a few petals from your head and The following feats are available to leshies.
steep them in fresh water to create a single lesser antidote,
1ST LEVEL
CHILDLIKE PLANT FEAT 1

LESHY
Prerequisites chrysanthemum leshy heritage or peachchild
leshy heritage
You’re adept at hiding your plantlike features to pass as a
human. You become trained in Deception (or another skill
if you’re already trained in Deception). You don’t require
a disguise kit when attempting Deception checks to
Impersonate a human. In addition, you gain a +4 circumstance
bonus to Impersonate checks to pretend that you’re a human
version of yourself, rather than a leshy. This bonus doesn’t
apply to other checks to Impersonate humans.
5TH LEVEL
UNASSUMING HEROES FEAT 5

UNCOMMON LESHY
Access peachchild leshy heritage
You have a talent for making friends through simple kindness,
often among stray animals or other creatures that people
tend to overlook, and your inherent magic can make these
acts take on additional power. As an Interact action, you can
feed a small treat, such as a millet dumpling, to an animal that
CHRYSANTHEMUM LESHY has an indifferent or better attitude toward you. For the next
1 minute, one of the animal’s unarmed attacks becomes a +1
striking unarmed attack. If it was already a +1 striking attack,
it instead gains the effects of the ghost touch rune.
42
NOBLE BLOOM [reaction] FEAT 5 Other Relations
UNCOMMON EMOTION LESHY MENTAL VISUAL Tian leshies very often consider
TIAN XIA
Access chrysanthemum leshy heritage tsukumogami as cousins or siblings,
Trigger An ally within 30 feet would be reduced to 0 Hit Points but not a natural extension of who they are.
CHARACTER
immediately killed. A spirit inhabiting a tool or a toy can GUIDE
Frequency once per day seem very similar to a spirit inhabiting INTRODUCTION
Certain plants and flowers hold a reputation throughout Tian Xia for being strong a crafted plant body, after all—some
and upstanding, able to weather adversity. In the moment your ally would succumb leshies even believe that tsukumogami BACKGROUNDS
to their injuries, you stand tall and bloom proudly, radiating this strength for them. or poppets crafted from wood or hemp
MAGIC AND
Your ally avoids being knocked out and remains at 1 Hit Point, and their wounded are simply another form of leshy. THE SPIRIT
condition increases by 1, as does your own. Tian leshies very often work WORLD
alongside Tian sprites deep in the
9TH LEVEL woods and the forests. They have THE ELEMENTS
a somewhat symbiotic relationship:
ZODIAC
KODAMA CALL FEAT 9 leshies can grant food, shelter, and
UNCOMMON LESHY protection, while sprites can offer PEOPLES
Access Tian Xia origin help with manual labor for anything
The small spirits known as kodama pride themselves in taking care of trees and other leshies need. Tian leshies find the CHARACTER
OPTIONS
vegetation, and they’ll happily come to your aid as well. You can cast helpful wood spirits closest kinship with yakshas, who are
(Pathfinder Rage of Elements 196) as a 2nd-rank innate primal spell twice per day. likewise spirits of nature, and some TIAN
leshies believe they were yakshas EQUIPMENT
GREEN DASH [one-action] FEAT 9 before being summoned or attracted
LESHY to their current vessels. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Frequency Once per 10 minutes
Requirements You’re adjacent to a tree, shrub, or plant that occupies at least a
5-foot square.
The spirits of vegetation send you on your way, letting you move in a burst of speed. You
Stride with a +15-foot status bonus to your Speed. You can Burrow, Climb, Fly, or Swim
instead if you have the corresponding movement type.
SASH OF THE WIND FEAT 9

UNCOMMON LESHY
At your request, the nature spirits of the air and wind spin themselves into an
iridescent sash loosely draped around your shoulders that buoys you through
the sky. You can cast fly on yourself as a 4th-rank innate primal spell once per
day. If the sash created by this feat is removed, the spell immediately ends.
13TH LEVEL
FLOWER CHIMERA FEAT 13

UNCOMMON LESHY
You call on a guardian of the wild to burst forth from the land to aid you. You
can cast spiritual guardian as a 5th-rank innate primal spell once per day, even
if you don’t have a deity; this guardian manifests as a kami or other nature
spirit. When you reach 17th level, you can heighten this spell to 7th rank.
17TH LEVEL
RETURN TO THE SEED FEAT 17

LESHY
Once per month, when you die, you can instead choose to fade away. Your corpse
is swallowed by the earth, leaving behind only a seed. This seed is very fragile with
an AC of 10 and only 1 Hit Point. Another creature can spend 1 minute to plant the
seed in a safe space and water it. If so cared for, the next morning a tree grows from
PEACHCHILD LESHY
it with a single large fruit or flower bud that splits open to reveal you, alive and
returned to maximum Hit Points.
43
Tian Lizardfolk
Bakuwa iruxi are the prevailing lizardfolk in Xa Hoi, LIZARDFOLK HERITAGES
Minata, and the Valashmai Jungle. They’re taller and Lizardfolk in Tian Xia have access to the following
bulkier than their Avistani relatives, covered in thick heritages.
armored plates and bony outcroppings. Notable human
leaders throughout the region’s history have sought the Bakuwa Lizardfolk (Uncommon)
council of bakuwa elders, who show mutual respect to Your body is covered in bony plates. Your plates are
those who prove themselves trustworthy. medium armor in the plate armor group that grant a +4
Hidden along the rivers of Nagajor are communities item bonus to AC, a Dex cap of +1, a check penalty of
of makari iruxi. With tusks or horns, sharklike teeth, –2, a Speed penalty of –5 feet, a Strength value of 16, and
and a trunk-like nose that can amplify their roar or have the aquadynamic and comfort traits. You can never
curl upward to expose their gums, makari warriors are wear other armor or remove your plates. You can etch
known to put on a war face to terrify and demoralize armor runes onto your plates.
their enemies. Despite their appearances, makari iruxi
are so well known for protecting neighboring human Makari Lizardfolk (Uncommon)
villages from encroaching nagas that humans often leave You have a trunk-like snout and a connection to the
gifts along the rivers and carve depictions of makari on divine. The tradition of any spells or magical abilities
the outsides of temples. you gain from a lizardfolk heritage or ancestry feat is
The lizardfolk ancestry can be found on pages 24–27 divine instead of its normal tradition (usually primal).
of Player Core 2. You gain your choice of the divine lance or forbidding
ward cantrips, which you can cast as a divine innate
cantrip at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank
equal to half your level rounded up. When you cast this
cantrip, it loses the manipulate trait, as you cast purely
by roaring and flaring your trunk.
LIZARDFOLK ANCESTRY
FEATS
The following ancestry feats are available to lizardfolk.
1ST LEVEL
CROCODILE’S TWIN FEAT 1

LIZARDFOLK
Prerequisites bakuwa lizardfolk heritage or makari
lizardfolk heritage
Your egg contained your twin, a crocodile. Considered a
rare and auspicious event, you share a magical bond with
this sibling. You gain a tiny crocodile as a familiar.
Special You can take this feat only at 1st level.
SPIRIT COFFIN FEAT 1

UNCOMMON LIZARDFOLK
Access bakuwa lizardfolk heritage or Tian Xia origin
A hump forms on your back that allows you to attack and
trap spirits. Your weapon and unarmed attack Strikes against
incorporeal creatures become magical. If they’re already
magical, they instead gain the effects of a ghost touch rune.
Special If you have access to this feat but aren’t a bakuwa
lizardfolk, your body doesn’t change when you take this feat.
You must instead wear a physical coffin, which is a small
wooden chest of light Bulk that you specially anoint during
BAKUWA LIZARDFOLK
your daily preparations. If your chest is missing or destroyed,
you lose the benefits of spirit coffin until you’ve replaced and
re-anointed it.
44
9TH LEVEL Other Relations
Lizardfolk who live and hunt in the
TIAN XIA
ANCESTRAL FORM FEAT 9 marshlands sometimes come into
conflict with neighboring sarangay, and
CHARACTER
LIZARDFOLK
Prerequisites bakuwa lizardfolk heritage or makari lizardfolk heritage the two peoples have a tumultuous GUIDE
Casting your memory back deep into the past, you take the form of an ancestral history of raiding and fighting against INTRODUCTION
guardian. You can cast animal form on yourself as a 3rd-rank primal innate spell one another. By comparison, many
once per day. You must choose the crocodile form (Pathfinder Howl of the Wild 57), iruxi communities along the rivers BACKGROUNDS
which is listed below for convenience. and coastlines coexist peacefully near
MAGIC AND
• Crocodile Speed 25 feet, swim Speed 30 feet; Melee [one-action] jaws, Damage 2d8 human towns and cities, where they’re THE SPIRIT
piercing; Melee [one-action] tail (agile), Damage 1d8 bludgeoning; can hold your often regarded as descendants of WORLD
breath for the duration of the transformation. dragons and afforded significantly more
respect than in other parts of Golarion. THE ELEMENTS
RIVER ADAPTATION FEAT 9 It isn’t uncommon for lizardfolk to visit
ZODIAC
LIZARDFOLK these places to do business, though
Prerequisites makari lizardfolk heritage they don’t often seek permanent PEOPLES
Webbing sprouts on your legs and tail as you shift to a more aquatic form. You can residence since the unsolicited
cast feet to fins as an innate divine spell once per day. This innate magic relies on reverence and doting from strangers CHARACTER
OPTIONS
your makari heritage, limiting the effect to yourself but allowing you to cast it more can quickly become tiresome.
easily than a common mage; you can target only yourself with the spell, but you TIAN
can Cast the Spell as a free action if you’re within a body of water when you cast it. EQUIPMENT
13TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

& INDEX
FERRY THROUGH WAVES [two-actions] OR [three-actions] FEAT 13
LIZARDFOLK
Prerequisites River Adaptation
Requirements You are swimming and have a free hand.
The waters around you permit you passage, a privilege you can
share with a willing ally. You hold on to an adjacent ally and Swim,
carrying them along with you. If you spend three actions Ferrying
through Waves, you instead Swim twice. If your ally would need to
attempt any Athletics checks to Swim while you’re Ferrying through
Waves, you roll the check and your result applies to them.
SPIRITUAL HEADHUNTER FEAT 13

LIZARDFOLK
Prerequisites Spirit Coffin
Your spirit coffin can temporarily detain the spirits of those you kill, allowing you to
ask them one last question before they pass on. If you kill a creature with a slashing
weapon, you can decapitate it and trap the spirit of its head in your spirit coffin. Once
before your next daily preparations, you can cast talking corpse as a primal innate spell,
which targets the spiritual head trapped in your coffin, not its physical corpse. A ghostly
version of the head manifests from the coffin to answer the questions, taking a –2
status penalty to its Will save to resist the spell. After the spell resolves, or 1 day
later, the head is released and rejoins its spiritual body. You can trap only one
spirit in this way at a time.
17TH LEVEL
MOONEATER [two-actions] FEAT 17

UNCOMMON LIZARDFOLK PRIMAL
Prerequisites bakuwa lizardfolk heritage
You call on the spirit of the dragon that devoured the moon to temporarily
swallow a celestial body and blind onlookers with its visage. You can cast
eclipse burst as a primal innate spell once per day. When you Cast the Spell, the
MAKARI LIZARDFOLK
sun or moon appears to eclipse to all creatures within 500 feet of you. For 1
round after Casting the Spell, the area is reduced to dim light.
45
Tian Sprite
Sprite Enclaves Sprites possess deep connections to magic, along with mercurial personalities
Most sprites avoid mortal that only lightly touch on propriety. The generations of these tiny beings
settlements, not due to any inherent born in Golarion, known as the Wingless, find themselves closer to mortals
magic, wards, or consecrations than their fey precursors, as evidenced in their lack of wings. In Tian Xia,
against their presence, but because people generally accept the blending of magic and the mundane, and many
they simply don’t want to live see sprites as another, albeit magical, part of this world. However, mortals
where they aren’t welcome. In often confuse sprites with yaoguai, spirits, or even tiny deities, which leads
villages, towns, or cities that have to widely different opinions on sprites from region to region—some sprites
accepted them, sprites often build might find themselves welcomed in one town, only to be treated with
small subcommunities, unlike in suspicion in another.
other continents of Golarion where For more information on sprites, see Pathfinder Lost Omens Ancestry
they might often avoid places of Guide 126–131.
civilization. Regardless of where they
live, sprites share a strong kinship, SPRITE HERITAGES
treating each other like a long-lost Tian sprites have access to the following heritages; additionally, the draxie,
cousin—occasionally annoying, but grig, melixie, and nyktera heritages are uncommon in Tian Xia.
still family. Most have long since
adopted the Tian practice of calling Dijiang (Uncommon)
each other brother, sister, cousin, You have the form of a faceless, leathery ball with short fur, six legs, and a
uncle, or grandma regardless of connection to primordial chaos. While you have no face, head, mouth, eyes, or
familial connection. ears, you can somehow hear, speak, see, eat, and breathe just fine (though it’s
unclear exactly how). Your erratic nature means you often react to stimuli in
unpredictable ways. When you roll a failure (though not a critical failure) on a
saving throw against an emotion effect, you get a success instead.
Gandharva (Uncommon)
You’re descended from the self-proclaimed musicians, poets, and dancers of the
gods, with a body that’s part humanoid and part horse or bird. If you gain wings,
they come in many different brilliant colors. Due to your celestial connection,
the tradition of any spells or magical abilities you gain from a sprite heritage
or ancestry feat is divine instead of its normal tradition. You become trained
in Performance (or another skill of your choice if you’re already trained in
Performance), and you can cast summon instrument as a divine innate cantrip.
Kanchil (Uncommon)
You have the head of a mouse deer and hooves instead of feet, with a
reputation for being clever and persuasive—able to get yourself out
of sticky situations with wordplay and a bit of luck. You become
trained in Deception (or another skill if you were already
trained in Deception). You gain a +1 circumstance bonus
to Deception checks to Lie when specifically attempting
to avoid danger or punishment (such as trying to
convince a dragon not to eat you), to Deception DCs
against Sense Motive checks to uncover such lies, and
to initiative rolls when you roll Deception for initiative.
Leungli (Uncommon)
You have the head of a goldfish or carp and scales
that come in an auspicious combination of stark white,
black, orange, red, and gold. If you gain wings, they
appear much like the wispy hairs of a dragon. You
DIJIANG gain a swim Speed of 10 feet and the amphibious
trait. Like all creatures with the amphibious trait,
you can breathe both water and air.
46
SPRITE ANCESTRY FEATS New Sprite Sparks
The following ancestry feats are available to sprites with ties to Tian Xia, though The Sprite’s Spark feat (Ancestry Guide
TIAN XIA
some have since become common across Golarion. The Corgi Mount feat 130) lets sprites fling magical blasts
(Ancestry Guide 129–130) is uncommon in Tian Xia. as an unarmed attack, with a damage
CHARACTER
type based on their heritage. Dijiang, GUIDE
1ST LEVEL gandharva, kanchil, and leungli sprites INTRODUCTION
with Sprite’s Spark gain the following
CHARMED SLEEP FEAT 1 unarmed attacks. Each has the trait BACKGROUNDS
SPRITE associated with the damage type,
MAGIC AND
When you sleep, you turn into an inanimate object a little smaller than a human’s except for the leungli’s surging splash, THE SPIRIT
thumb—easily overlooked and carried. Being in your Charmed Sleep counts as setting which has the water trait. WORLD
up a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception (except that you Impersonate Dijiang primordial pulse (spirit)
an object instead of a creature), it gives you a +4 status bonus to Deception checks Gandharva celestial song (sonic) THE ELEMENTS
to prevent others from seeing through your disguise, and you add your level even Kanchil puzzling bolt (mental)
ZODIAC
if you’re untrained. While in your Charmed Sleep, you can be picked up and carried Leungli surging splash
as easily as any small object. This effect immediately ends as soon as you wake. (bludgeoning) PEOPLES
5TH LEVEL CHARACTER

OPTIONS
SPEAK WITH THE SLEEPING FEAT 5 TIAN
UNCOMMON SPRITE EQUIPMENT
You can speak to all inanimate objects and the slumbering spirits within them. Once per GLOSSARY
& INDEX
day, you can speak to an object and ask it a question to gain the effects of object reading
(Player Core 2 248), though the object gives you its response 1 minute later (as it takes
the spirit within the object some time to rouse). An object’s ability to answer is limited
by its particular nature; a pair of shoes might know where their owner has walked, while
a house knows the history of the denizens within, but not what they do elsewhere.
ELEMENTAL SPARK FEAT 5

UNCOMMON SPRITE
Prerequisites Sprite’s Spark (Ancestry Guide 130)
Access Tian Xia origin (but see Special)
You’ve learned to alter the magic of your sprite’s spark, imparting them with elemental
energies. The range of the unarmed strike from your sprite’s spark increases to 30
feet. Choose one of the elements below. Your sprite’s spark gains the versatile trait,
allowing you to choose a different damage type when attacking with it. When dealing
this different damage type, your sprite’s spark gains the element’s trait.
Water versatile B
Wood versatile vitality
Fire versatile fire
Earth versatile P
Metal versatile S
Special If you’re a kineticist, an elemental sorcerer, or a geniekin versatile
heritage other than suli, you also have access to Elemental Spark,
though you must take the corresponding element; for instance,
a hydrokineticist would have access to water, or an ardande
geniekin would have access to wood.
17TH LEVEL
ALONG THE DEEP RIVER FEAT 17

UNCOMMON SPRITE
Access Tian Xia origin, or you’re a follower of Sangpotshi.
Once per year, when you die, you turn into an immaterial ball of
light. After a week, you return to life with the effects of a successful KANCHIL
(but not critically successful) 9th-rank reincarnate ritual. You always reincarnate
into a sprite, but you reincarnate as a randomly selected sprite heritage.
47
Tsukumogami Poppet
While awakened poppets remain a minority among Tian POPPET HERITAGE
Xia’s residents, they vastly outnumber the unawakened Poppets in Tian Xia have access to the following heritage.
mannequins or dolls seen in Avistan. Most commonly,
they arise from umbrellas, lanterns, and flasks made from Tsukumogami Poppet (Uncommon)
gourds, though any household or commercial object can You have the form and memories of a common tool.
become a type of poppet known as a tsukumogami. Choose one Lore skill related to what kind of tool you
Tsukumogami are enriched by the countless hours of were; for instance, Cooking Lore for a kitchen knife or
blood, sweat, and tears crafters placed into the tool’s spoon. You’re trained in this skill, and you gain a +2
physical body. Continued care and respect from their circumstance bonus to checks to Aid with this skill. If
new home continues this process, eventually culminating you take the Helpful Poppet feat (Grand Bazaar 63), the
in the tsukumogami’s awakening. Though no one knows bonus increases to +3.
the exact threshold necessary for awakening, popular While most poppets are made of stuffing, cloth, or soft
wisdom and artificers generally believe it takes 100 years metals, some tsukumogami are made of other materials,
of loving use and maintenance. changing the poppet weakness to fire. If your body is
More information about poppets can be found in primarily wood or cloth, you have the normal poppet
pages 60–65 of Pathfinder Lost Omens Grand Bazaar. weakness to fire. If your body is primarily metal, you’re
instead weak to electricity; if its primarily ceramic, you’re
instead weak to cold.
ANCESTRY FEATS
The following ancestry feats are available to poppets.
1ST LEVEL
MADE FOR COMBAT FEAT 1

POPPET
Prerequisite tsukumogami poppet heritage
You can use your body as a deadly weapon. You gain one
of the following melee unarmed attacks, which must be one
that matches your body (for instance, tsukumogami wrap for
a tsukumogami that’s a bolt of cotton).
• A blade unarmed attack that deals 1d6 slashing, has the
versatile P trait, and is in the sword weapon group.
• A spoke unarmed attack that deals 1d4 piercing,
has the agile and finesse traits, and is in the knife
weapon group.
• A wrap unarmed attack that deals 1d4 bludgeoning, has
the grapple, nonlethal, and trip traits, and is in the flail
weapon group.
Special You can take this feat only at 1st level, and you can’t
retrain into or out of this feat.
SUDDEN TERROR [one-action] FEAT 1

POPPET
Prerequisites tsukumogami poppet heritage
You leverage your body’s amorphous nature to spook others.
Attempt to Demoralize a creature within 30 feet. Demoralize
loses the auditory trait and gains the visual trait, and you
KASA-OBAKE don’t take a penalty if the creature doesn’t understand your
language. If you were hidden to the creature, you gain a +2
circumstance bonus to your check, and if you succeed, the
creature is frightened 2 instead of frightened 1. All creatures
that witnessed you use Sudden Terror are then temporarily
immune to your Sudden Terror for 24 hours.
48
MINUSCULE MENTEE FEAT 1 Adapting Poppet Feats
POPPET While tsukumogami have very
TIAN XIA
You’ve found a fellow poppet on the cusp of awakening and decided to help. You different bodies than other types of
gain a poppet familiar (Pathfinder Lost Omens Pathfinder Society Guide 123). poppets, they can take any poppet
CHARACTER
feat they meet the prerequisites for, GUIDE
5TH LEVEL just like any other heritages. However, INTRODUCTION
their feats might manifest in unique
INSULATED POPPET FEAT 5 ways that match their bodies; for BACKGROUNDS
POPPET instance, an umbrella tsukumogami
MAGIC AND
Prerequisite tsukumogami poppet heritage, you have a metal or ceramic body with the Shiny Button Eyes feat might THE SPIRIT
You’ve used insulating wraps or special glazes to reduce your weakness to current have brightly colored spots on their WORLD
and temperature. You no longer have the weakness to either electricity or cold brim instead of literal buttons. The
caused by your tsukumogami heritage. GM should also adapt poppet feats THE ELEMENTS
that deal with toys specifically to
ZODIAC
NO HANDS, NO PROBLEMS FEAT 5 match your tsukumogami form; for
POPPET instance, a sandal tsukumogami with PEOPLES
Prerequisite tsukumogami poppet heritage the Harmless Doll feat would be able
After a lifetime of using temporary, ghostly limbs to manipulate objects, you hardly to blend in places where footwear is CHARACTER
OPTIONS
need real hands. You can extend your limbs to perform simple Interact actions at common (like in a house’s entranceway
a range 5 feet beyond your normal range, after which your limbs contract back to or a shoemaker’s store), rather than TIAN
their normal length. You can also cast the telekinetic hand cantrip as an arcane or someplace toys or dolls are common. EQUIPMENT
occult innate spell at will, which always takes the ghostlike form of telekinetic hand
and is tethered to your body via a snaking, illusory arm. A cantrip is heightened to GLOSSARY
& INDEX
a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up.
9TH LEVEL
SOLIDARITY [one-action] FEAT 9

POPPET
Frequency once per 10 minutes
You bestow some of your own life energies to mend damage. You touch a
non-magical object of 2 Bulk or less, or a magical object of 1 Bulk or less,
and you restore Hit Points to the target equal to twice your level. You lose as
many Hit Points as the target regained. This direct transfer of vitality means
that no effects apply that would increase the Hit Points the target regains
or decrease the Hit Points you lose. This transfer also ignores any temporary
Hit Points you or the target have. You can’t reduce your Hit Points below 1
using Solidarity. You can’t replace lost pieces or repair an object that has been
completely destroyed.
Special If you have the Minuscule Mentee feat, you can use Solidarity to heal
your familiar.
13TH LEVEL
AWAKEN THE OBAKE FEAT 13

POPPET
Not every tool is well cared for, and those that are treated badly might awaken
as malevolent spirits. You can temporarily evoke the spirit within a nearby
mistreated tool to cast fear as a 5th-rank innate arcane spell once per day. When
you do so, the terrifying magic of the spell originates from a single unattended
object within 30 feet of you instead of from you, and you measure the spell’s
range from that object. If a target becomes fleeing as a result of the
spell, they’re fleeing from that object instead of from you
as their mind fills with the absolute certainty that KOTO FURUNUSHI
the object will come to life and attack them with
malicious glee.
49
Kitsune
KITSUNE HERITAGE You’re especially nimble while in your full fox shape. While
you’ve Changed Shape into a fox, you gain the following benefits.
Palace Echoes Kitsune • You can use your own Speed if it’s higher than 20 feet.
You descend from kitsune who possessed such • You can use your own Athletics modifier for checks to
compelling powers of persuasion that they High Jump or Long Jump.
could walk into a palace at sunrise and end up • You can scale short distances with a bit
as the power behind the throne by nightfall. of a running start. When you attempt to
You gain the Nudging Whisper action. Climb, and your previous action was to
Nudging Whisper [one-action] (curse, divine, emotion, Stride at least 20 feet along solid ground,
mental) Effect You lace your words with you gain a climb Speed of 20 feet for the
echoes of your ancestors’ magic. If your duration of that Climb action.
next action is to Request, you gain the
effects of the Shameless Request feat, and if 9TH LEVEL
your next action is to Lie, you gain the effects
of the Confabulator feat. If you critically fail FOX ARSON FEAT 9
at either check, the target and anyone who FIRE KITSUNE
witnessed you fail becomes immune to your Prerequisites Foxfire (Ancestry Guide
Nudging Whisper for one day, though this 124)
doesn’t necessarily let them know that you When you critically hit with a foxfire
attempted to charm them. Strike, the target takes an additional 1d4
Your alternate form is a common Medium humanoid persistent damage of the same type as the foxfire. You gain an
ancestry prevalent where you grew up (typically human) item bonus to this persistent damage equal to the foxfire’s item
called a tailless form. bonus to attack rolls. When the target taking persistent damage
comes into physical contact with another creature (for instance,
KITSUNE ANCESTRY FEATS if one of its allies touches it while Administering First Aid), you
can use a reaction to command the flame to leap to the second
1ST LEVEL target, ending the persistent damage on the first creature and
moving it to the second.
SEVEN CHANGES PERFORMANCE FEAT 1
KITSUNE MANY GUISES FEAT 9
Prerequisite trained in Performance KITSUNE
While kitsune are known for their magical illusion powers, you’re Prerequisites Shifting Faces (Ancestry Guide 125)
skilled at stage magic, especially costuming and quick changes. You can use Shifting Faces three times per day instead of
You gain the Quick Disguise feat. You can use Performance in once per day.
place of Deception for the purposes of Impersonating someone.
13TH LEVEL
5TH LEVEL
LARGER THAN LIFE FEAT 13
REKINDLED LIGHT [reaction] FEAT 5 KITSUNE
HEALING KITSUNE VITALITY Prerequisite Shifting Faces (Ancestry Guide 125)
Prerequisites Star Orb (Ancestry Guide 124) When you Change Shape, you can assume the form of a creature
Frequency once per day that’s Large or Huge in size. In addition to your increased space,
Trigger You or an ally within 30 feet of your star orb familiar you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Intimidation checks.
would be reduced to 0 Hit Points but not immediately killed.
You temporarily drain your star orb familiar’s energy to save 17TH LEVEL
an ally. The target avoids being knocked out and remains at
1 Hit Point, and their wounded condition increases by 1. The FOX POSSESSION FEAT 17
target then regains Hit Points equal to your level. When the UNCOMMON KITSUNE
familiar’s energy is drained, it becomes dormant until your You can project a spiritual form to possess another. You can cast
next daily preparations. possession as an innate divine spell once per day. The target of
your possession assumes one or more unusual quirks, such as
VULPINE SCAMPER FEAT 5 more angular features or strange food preferences, giving the
KITSUNE target a –1 circumstance penalty to their Deception DC when
Prerequisites fox alternate form someone uses Sense Motive to see if they’re possessed.
50
Nagaji TIAN XIA
CHARACTER
NAGAJI HERITAGE VENOM GULP FEAT 5 GUIDE
NAGAJI INTRODUCTION
Shimmertongue Nagaji Prerequisites nagaji venomous spit unarmed attack
You were born with a keen sense for magic, able to You can store prepared venom in your throat and spit BACKGROUNDS
taste its unique effects in the air. You gain magicsense it at your foes in addition to your own toxic spray.
MAGIC AND
as a vague sense that has a range of 30 feet—like all You can Interact to store a dose of injury or touch THE SPIRIT
vague senses, it’s only about as precise as an poison in your throat; when using this action, you WORLD
average human’s sense of smell, meaning do not risk envenoming yourself as long as the
you generally can predict only if magic is poison is your level or lower. The next time THE ELEMENTS
present; however, each tradition of magic you attack a target with your venomous spit
ZODIAC
has a unique taste to you, allowing you to unarmed attack, the poison is expended. If you
identify the tradition of magic present. successfully hit the target, they are exposed PEOPLES
to the poison in addition to the other effects of
NAGAJI ANCESTRY your spit. As long as you are holding venom in CHARACTER
OPTIONS
FEATS your throat, your speech is noticeably difficult
to understand. You can hold only one dose of TIAN
1ST LEVEL poison like this at a time. EQUIPMENT
IT TAKES A VILLAGE FEAT 1 9TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

& INDEX
NAGAJI
Your community bond creates better HYPNOTIC GAZE FEAT 9
dynamics when working together. You gain a NAGAJI
+4 circumstance bonus to checks to Aid. Prerequisites Hypnotic Lure (Impossible Lands 49)
You can widen your field of vision, allowing you to affect
NALINIVATI’S LIGHT FEAT 1 more creatures with your Hypnotic Lure. Once per day, when
NAGAJI you use Hypnotic Lure, you can affect all creatures in a 30-
Your slit eyes expand to absorb light and can see in the foot cone, rather than one creature within 30 feet.
darkest of places. You gain darkvision.
Special You can select this feat only at 1st level, and you can’t 13TH LEVEL
retrain into or out of this feat.
SYNCHRONOUS SLITHER [reaction] FEAT 13
THROAT POCKET FEAT 1 NAGAJI
NAGAJI Trigger An ally within your reach leaves a square during
You’ve trained to use unique nagaji eating habits to your a move action they’re using and ends their movement
advantage. By manipulating your throat muscles, you can adjacent to an enemy.
create a pocket of air to store up to four items of light Bulk or You’ve learned to travel at your ally’s rhythm and use their
less without risk of dissolving. None of these items can have movement to adjust your own position. You Stride up to half
a dimension longer than 1 foot. As long as you have at least your speed. This movement doesn’t trigger reactions from the
one item in your throat pocket, your speech is noticeably enemy your ally moved adjacent to.
difficult to understand, and you have a visible bulge in your
neck. Placing an item in your throat pocket or retrieving one 17TH LEVEL
is an Interact action. You can empty your throat pocket with
a single action, causing everything you had stored in it to fall FORM OF THE BELOVED MOTHER FEAT 17
to the ground in your square. Any item that was covered in UNCOMMON NAGAJI
dirt or grime comes out clean. Access Tian Xia origin or follower of Nalinivati
You channel the blessings of Nalinivati to transform into a
5TH LEVEL manifestation of her will. You can cast 5th-rank animal form
as an occult innate spell once per day, but you can choose
METABOLIC CONTROL FEAT 5 only snake form with the spell. You can spend an additional
NAGAJI action casting animal form to also cast 5th-rank slither
You’re able to better control your body’s metabolism to centered on your location; Nalinivati’s will ensures that the
preserve energy. After eating a proper meal, you can go shadow snakes created by the spell never harm you, so
without food and water for 1 week before taking damage from you’re unaffected by the spell. If you Dismiss animal form,
starvation and thirst. You aren’t fatigued during this week. the effects of slither end as well.
51
SamsaraN
Samsarans, as the tale goes, originated with a group of individual samsaran achieves this goal of enlightenment,
scholars in Zi Ha who ventured into the mountains to or irrevocably fails at making any progress toward it.
find the cure for an illness ravaging their village. After At that time, a samsaran’s soul passes onto the Great
weeks of peril, they found a freshwater spring filled Beyond, and their body melts into pure water. For those
with pure magical life essence. This water brought the samsarans who succeeded at enlightenment, they find
scholars back from the brink of death and cured the a time of peace and satisfaction in the afterlife. Those
villagers. Given a new chance at life, everyone who drank who have failed instead encounter an afterlife filled
the water devoted the rest of their life to learning and with misery, punishment, reminders of past failure, or in
experiencing the world fully. Upon death, this devotion, extreme cases, nothing, leaving the souls to waste away
combined with the magical essence now infused in their for the rest of time.
bodies, transformed these people into the first samsarans. While samsarans can recall parts of their past
Samsarans dedicate themselves to achieving incarnations, these recollections often feel like half-
enlightenment—a true understanding of everything remembered dreams. By combining these snippets of
and everyone in the world around and beyond them. memories from the past with new knowledge from
Unlike duskwalkers, samsarans reincarnate many their current life span, samsarans can view and connect
times over, with some accumulating thousands of lived with the world in entirely unique ways. The detachment
lives. This cycle of reincarnation continues until the that comes with countless lifetimes sometimes makes it
difficult for samsarans to empathize and connect with
others, however.
If you want to play a character who experiences a
repeated cycle of existence, seeking out new knowledge
and experiences as you walk a path to learning everything
you can about the universe, you should play a samsaran.
You Might...
• Be single-minded toward a goal to complete the
next step of your enlightenment.
• Have a deep sense of curiosity for other people and
their perspectives.
• Take things at a slower pace, putting things off until
the next cycle of reincarnation.
Others Probably...
• Think that you’re very knowledgeable and wise.
• Assume that you’re deeply spiritual and detached
from worldly matters.
• Consider you immortal and envy your ability to
reincarnate.
Physical Description
Samsarans reflect the diversity of whatever ancestry they
had in their first mortal life cycle, and only upon their
first rebirth do they take on the unique features of their
kind. The reincarnation cycle gives samsarans blue skin
tones, often in a pale shade but ranging to the deepest
midnight navy as well. They have pupilless eyes that are
typically pallid in coloration, comparable to the moon.
Samsarans also have transparent and colorless blood,
resembling crystal clear water.
When samsarans die, they reincarnate as a baby born
to a humanoid couple of non-samsaran ancestry, often in
MOUNTAINEER SAMSARAN the area a particular samsaran held the most affinity for
in their previous life cycle. While they might share some
features with their previous incarnation, the similarity
52
is more like the shared appearances between a parent and child rather than Rarity
identical duplication. Samsarans age at the same rate as humans, and unless Uncommon
TIAN XIA
they succumb to unnatural causes of death, they die of old age at 100 years Common in Zi Ha, Po Li, and Goka
old. Children born to samsarans live their first life cycle as the mortal ancestry
CHARACTER
their parents had and will take on the unique skin color and eyes of other Hit Points GUIDE
samsarans only after their first death. 8 INTRODUCTION
Society Size BACKGROUNDS

The ultimate goal for samsarans is to reach enlightenment, but there’s no Medium
MAGIC AND
singular path to walk or prescribed way to do so. Rather, each samsaran THE SPIRIT
must explore the universe and learn its many secrets in their own way. Some Speed WORLD
samsarans find their way into schools, where they study niche research topics 25 feet
for decades at a time. Others act in the service of different gods, each religion THE ELEMENTS
offering them guidance to understanding the universe. Many enter periods of Attribute Boosts ZODIAC
long internal reflection, isolating themselves from the outside world, while Constitution
a handful venture out into the world to experience everything firsthand. Wisdom PEOPLES
From one incarnation to another, a samsaran can also switch up their path, Free
pursuing a new avenue of knowledge and experience than they’d done for the CHARACTER
last few centuries. Attribute Flaw OPTIONS
Even with the independent nature of the path to enlightenment, Charisma TIAN
samsarans don’t necessarily go through their journeys alone. Samsarans EQUIPMENT
value community as spaces to share knowledge, find support and safety, and Languages
establish a connection with similarly minded people. Samsaran communities Common GLOSSARY
& INDEX
are often tightly knit, and their enclaves small. With a focus on knowledge and Samsaran
connection to the world, these samsaran enclaves typically occur in schools Additional languages equal to your
and temples. Trusted non-samsarans are invited into these communities to Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive).
share their expertise and to learn from the collective knowledge of samsarans Choose from Chthonian, Diabolic,
in different stages of the enlightenment journey. Conflicting perspectives Draconian, Empyreal, Jotun, Petran,
and experiences are welcome, with samsarans encouraged to talk through Pyric, Sussuran, Thalassic, and
differences to come to a better combined understanding. any other languages to which you
When samsarans travel outside of their enclaves, they often live nomadically have access (such as the languages
until they find something they want to study. If their journey takes them to prevalent in your region).
a non-samsaran community, they might spend several cycles learning and
experiencing life within that community, lending their knowledge to the people Traits
there and becoming a member until the call of enlightenment leads them away. Humanoid
Rarely do samsarans have children, but when they do, the child isn’t born a Samsaran
samsaran. Rather, the child bears the ancestry of their parents before they too
reincarnated into samsarans, such as a human child born to samsarans who Low-Light Vision
were human in their first life. Thus, it’s tradition for children of samsaran You can see in dim light as though it
lineage who haven’t gone through their first rebirth to be adopted by non- were bright light, so you ignore the
samsaran communities and experience a fully mortal life. This practice isn’t concealed condition due to dim light.
done out of cruelty or neglect; most samsarans believe that spending this first
lifetime among one’s kin is a fundamental element that can never be properly Cryptomnesia
experienced after reincarnation. Some samsarans do choose to raise their You retain bits of knowledge from your
children themselves, but they usually keep members of their child’s ancestry former lives. You gain a +1 circumstance
as close friends to maintain the important connection in this first lifetime. bonus to untrained skill checks.
Regardless of their upbringing, once the child dies and reincarnates for the
first time, their parents will traditionally bring the child into a samsaran Wanderer’s Soul
community to begin their path to enlightenment. Your soul is especially able to return
While a core part of a samsaran’s identity is preserved in the reincarnation to the cycle of reincarnation. When
cycle, their gender, appearance, and perspectives change from incarnation you’re the subject of raise dead,
to incarnation. Even with memories shared between life cycles, when a reincarnate, or a similar ritual that
samsaran is reborn, they’re treated as a different individual than their would return you to life, the primary
previous incarnations. caster uses the outcome one degree
For samsarans, the journey is the destination, so they don’t rush through their of success better than their roll. You
lifetimes trying to reach enlightenment as quickly as possible. Every incarnation, always return to life as a samsaran,
a samsaran usually focuses on a goal that will further their understanding of even if the ritual would reincarnate
the world. However, if the goal isn’t accomplished in one lifetime, it gets carried you into a body of a different ancestry.
53
over into the next reincarnation cycle, with some goals Sample Names: Altuin Nurture, Davare Clarity,
lasting several hundred years. The blending of lifetimes Enkhma Defense, Jochi Spellcrafter, Narintya Softheart,
combined with the fact that the reincarnation cycle Sarange Lawseeker
continues indefinitely until enlightenment is achieved—or
failed—gives samsarans a skewed sense of time. With as Beliefs
many lifetimes as they could possibly need to accomplish With their lives centered around seeking enlightenment
or undo anything they want, urgency isn’t a common and the laws of the reincarnation cycle, many
concept for samsarans. samsarans tend toward structure and order, tempered
Samsaran names are shaped both by their previous by compassion and empathy drawn from existences
incarnations and their present one. Their first names are spent in a variety of bodies. A samsaran’s beliefs can
given to them by the parents who raised them in their also change between incarnations, with the experiences
current life cycle and therefore reflect the region and of the previous lifetime impacting their worldviews in
culture where they’re reborn. Upon reaching adulthood, the current one.
samsarans give themselves a second name that reflects Many samsarans are drawn toward religion and
what they learned in their previous incarnation or deities, which provide community and a framework
represents their goal for this life cycle, such as virtues to understanding the world that helps guide their path
they hope to embody or concepts they wish to better to enlightenment. With each samsaran’s path being so
understand. Most samsarans don’t use traditional independently unique, samsarans might follow any of
surnames, but if they wish to have one, they often a wide variety of gods in any given lifetime. However,
combine the names from their last two incarnations. Tsukiyo is often cited as the patron god of samsarans
since many samsarans feel kinship toward his own
tale of rebirth and the eternal cycle of the moon. Some
tales even suggest that Tsukiyo had blessed the magical
springs the first samsarans drank from.
Popular Edicts achieve greater self-understanding, find your
personal path toward enlightenment, take your time on
journeys
Popular Anathema live without intention or purpose, prevent
others from genuine attempts at learning, stagnate in
thought or passion
SAMSARAN HERITAGES
A samsaran’s past lives can bear great influence on
their current incarnation. Choose one of the following
samsaran heritages at 1st level.
Healer Samsaran
In seeking enlightenment, your past incarnations have
wandered away from the ancestral homelands of Zi Ha,
exploring the different nations of Tian Xia and elsewhere
in Golarion. Your past incarnations had dangerous
encounters while traveling, and you frequently have
flashbacks to healing wounds. You become trained in
Medicine. If you would automatically become trained in
Medicine (from your background or class, for example),
you instead become trained in a skill of your choice. When
you use Medicine to Treat Wounds on yourself, you can
use your special techniques to add your level to the Hit
Points you regain from the treatment.
Mountaineer Samsaran
Your past incarnations dwelled in the caves on the
snowcapped mountains of Tian Xia, so your body has
become adept at surviving frigid storms. You gain cold
resistance equal to half your level (minimum 1). You treat
environmental cold effects as if they were one step less
ORACULAR SAMSARAN
extreme (incredible cold becomes extreme, extreme cold
becomes severe, and so on).
54
Oracular Samsaran Samsaran Misconceptions
Your past lives have provided heightened insight to the spiritual world The samsarans’ reincarnation cycle
TIAN XIA
and current and future events, as history repeats itself. Choose arcane, is an object of fascination for many
divine, or occult. You gain one cantrip from that magical tradition’s spell people. Those seeking eternal life
CHARACTER
list. You can Cast this Spell as an innate spell at will, as a spell of your ask samsarans what the key is to GUIDE
chosen tradition. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your constant reincarnation, and some INTRODUCTION
level rounded up. even try to emulate samsaran
lifestyles in the hopes of becoming BACKGROUNDS
Sanctuary Samsaran samsaran themselves. There’s also
MAGIC AND
Your past incarnations were reborn in sanctuaries in northern Zi Ha, and you the assumption that samsarans are THE SPIRIT
have recollections of being trained to concentrate and focus for long periods all highly spiritual and wise, and WORLD
of time. Your hazy flashbacks also reveal useful scripture in the books your people often seek them out for advice
past lives had eagerly consumed. You gain the Tap the Past action. without much regard for their actual THE ELEMENTS
Tap the Past [free-action] (fortune) Frequency once per day; Trigger You’re about to expertise or knowledge. A small
ZODIAC
attempt a check to Recall Knowledge; Effect You concentrate on the glimpses handful, upon learning about the
of a previous life to find a memory of a tome or an applicable lesson from healing abilities of samsaran blood, PEOPLES
your past. You roll a second time and use the higher result. If you roll a believe that getting their hands on
critical failure, you get a failure instead. If you roll a success, you get a critical a samsaran’s blood will gift them CHARACTER
OPTIONS
success instead. immortality.
TIAN
Wilderness Samsaran EQUIPMENT
Your preceding lives have been reborn in various remote environments
away from major settlements in Tian Xia and beyond. Your past GLOSSARY
& INDEX
manifestations have had to learn how to survive on their own, and you
recall this will to survive while possessing very little resources. You
become trained in Survival. If you would automatically become trained
in Survival (from your background or class, for example), you instead
become trained in a skill of your choice. You can ignore difficult terrain
from trees, foliage, and undergrowth.
ANCESTRY FEATS
At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional
ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th
levels). As a samsaran, you select from among the following ancestry
feats.
1ST LEVEL
ALL THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN [reaction] FEAT 1

FORTUNE MENTAL SAMSARAN
Trigger You fail or critically fail a Will save against an emotion effect.
Even in the face of overwhelming tribulation, you find solace in the notion that
this feeling is fleeting; all things are merely part of a never-ending cycle. Reroll
the triggering saving throw with a +1 status bonus. You must use the second
result, even if it’s worse.
ELUCIDATING VISION FEAT 1

SAMSARAN
Your eyes have seen many things in your past lives, and your sight seems to
have grown more powerful over your lifetimes. You gain darkvision.
INNATE UNDERSTANDING FEAT 1

SAMSARAN
Vague connections to the knowledge and prowess of your past help guide you
in tasks that this life might not understand. You can attempt skill actions that
SANCTUARY SAMSARAN
normally require a character to be trained even if you’re untrained, and you gain
a +2 circumstance bonus to the check when doing so.
55
REMNANTS OF THE PAST FEAT 1 5TH LEVEL
SAMSARAN
Memories of your first life are strong and continually ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE [reaction] FEAT 5
return to you, even after several incarnations. You gain SAMSARAN
the Adopted Ancestry feat and can choose any common or Frequency once per day
uncommon humanoid ancestry with the feat. You also gain Trigger You’re about to roll initiative.
the Additional Lore general feat for your chosen ancestry’s You instantly recall a memory from one of your countless
Lore, such as Dwarven Lore or Ratfolk Lore. past lives that heightens your awareness of your
surroundings and quickens your response. You gain a +4
SAMSARAN LORE FEAT 1 circumstance bonus to the triggering roll. You become
SAMSARAN quickened for 1 round and can use your extra action only
You have untold ages of knowledge beneath your belt, to Recall Knowledge or Step.
focused on the pursuit of enlightenment. You gain the
trained proficiency rank in Religion and Society. If you AND WILL DO SO ONCE MORE FEAT 5
would automatically become trained in one of those skills SAMSARAN
(from your background or class, for example), you instead Prerequisites All This Will Happen Again
become trained in a skill of your choice. You’ve learned how to let go of most worries and move
You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for past them. The trigger for All This Will Happen Again
Samsaran Lore. instead becomes, “You fail or critically fail a Fortitude,
Reflex, or Will saving throw.” You still can use All This Will
SAMSARAN WEAPON MEMORY FEAT 1 Happen Again only once per day.
SAMSARAN
The training of your past lives and even of those of BLOOD LIKE WATER FEAT 5
samsarans who came before is deep-seated and guides SAMSARAN
your movements in combat. Choose two weapons with The watery fluid in your veins doesn’t flow in the same
an ancestry trait from two different common humanoid way as traditional blood. Your DC on flat checks to end
ancestries, or other ancestries you have access to. You gain persistent bleed damage is reduced from 15 to 10, or from
access to your chosen weapons. You have familiarity with 10 to 5 after receiving especially appropriate assistance.
these weapons—for the purposes of proficiency, you treat
any of these that are martial weapons as simple weapons THOUSAND-YEAR GRUDGE [reaction] FEAT 5
and any that are advanced weapons as martial weapons. OCCULT SAMSARAN
At 5th level, whenever you get a critical hit with one Frequency once per day
of these weapons, you get its critical specialization effect. Trigger You succeed at a Demoralize check.
You can call upon your former lives and project all of your
accumulated frustration, failure, and despair through your
eyes at a target, overwhelming their senses. One creature
you successfully Demoralized becomes sickened instead of
frightened, with the same condition value. The DC to recover
from the sickened condition is your Intimidation DC.
9TH LEVEL
I WILL RETURN FEAT 9

SAMSARAN
Your special connection to death and rebirth allows you to
sense when it’s your time to enter the Great Beyond, and
now isn’t the time. You gain +2 status bonus to saving
throws against death effects. You gain the Diehard feat. The
first time each day that you lose the dying condition, you do
not increase your wounded condition.
LIFE’S BLOOD [two-actions] FEAT 9

SAMSARAN HEALING VITALITY
Your journey to enlightenment has made your blood
possess nigh-immortal properties, allowing you to heal
others. You sacrifice some of your vitality to heal another
SAMSARAN HOME willing living creature that’s adjacent to you, coating its
wounds with your blood. You lose 3d6 Hit Points, plus an
56
additional 1d6 Hit Points for every 2 levels you have beyond 10th. This damage Other Relations
can’t be resisted, prevented, or negated in any way. The target creature regains Samsarans hold good relationships
TIAN XIA
a number of Hit Points equal to the damage you took. Creatures you heal in this with neighboring communities to
manner are then temporarily immune to your Life’s Blood for 24 hours. facilitate trade and carry out the
CHARACTER
unique tradition of having samsaran GUIDE
MEMORY OF SKILL [one-action] FEAT 9 children live their first life cycles with INTRODUCTION
SAMSARAN mortal non-samsaran families. Other
Frequency once per day than these trusted communities, BACKGROUNDS
Your years of training in a previous life didn’t go to waste with your death, and you samsarans tend to remain fairly
MAGIC AND
can call upon this training when you most need it. Choose one skill. You temporarily secluded, if mostly to protect THE SPIRIT
increase your proficiency rank with that skill by one step for 1 minute (from untrained to themselves from anyone who might WORLD
trained, trained to expert, and expert to master). This temporary increase adjusts your wish them harm.
proficiency bonus and allows you to use skill actions based on this increased proficiency THE ELEMENTS
as normal. Memory of Skill can’t increase a skill’s proficiency rank beyond master.
ZODIAC
SECRETS OF THE PAST FEAT 9 PEOPLES

SAMSARAN
You’ve established a stronger connection with your past selves and can play out CHARACTER
OPTIONS
the memories of your lifetimes in an instant, helping you draw on knowledge
that lives deep within your mind. You can cast hypercognition as an occult TIAN
innate spell once per day. EQUIPMENT
13TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

& INDEX
MEMORY OF MASTERY [one-action] FEAT 13
SAMSARAN
Prerequisites Memory of Skill
Flashes of past selves surface in an instant, especially when you’re under
duress. You can use Memory of Skill once per hour instead of once per day.
WATER TO WATER [one-action] FEAT 13

SAMSARAN
You allow your body to collapse into water, then reconstitute your corporeal form
elsewhere. You can cast translocate as an occult innate spell twice per day; the spell
additionally gains the water trait. If you Cast this Spell while standing in a body of
water of at least ankle depth, you don’t need to perform any incantations or gestures
to Cast the Spell (typically preventing reactions, such as Reactive Strike), and the spell
gains the subtle trait as you simply fall into the water without so much as a splash.
17TH LEVEL
THE CYCLE CONTINUES [reaction] FEAT 17

SAMSARAN
Trigger You are reduced to 0 Hit Points and would gain the dying condition or
would otherwise die.
Death is as natural as breathing to you, and you can move past it as easily as the
other troubles in your life. You prevent yourself from dying and regain Hit Points
equal to 6d8 plus half your level. If the cause of your death was a condition or
effect that would still cause you to die after regaining Hit Points, such as a high
value on the doomed condition, you suppress that effect for 1 minute.
THIS TOO SHALL PASS FEAT 17

SAMSARAN
Prerequisites And Will Do So Once More
Mortal worries are such simple matters to you that you leave them behind
almost as quickly as you experience them. You can use All This Will Happen wilderness samsaran
Again once per hour, rather than once per day.
57
Sarangay
Sarangay are carabao-headed people who have long Sarangay tend to be rare and appear even rarer within
survived deep in the forests across Tian Xia. Many the diverse confines of adventuring cities. When they
adventurers have thought them to be monsters at first, leave their society, it’s typically because they either have
but sarangay are nothing more than a thriving society a duty to fulfill or they must depart in order to save their
who value their community and their souls above all community. In the rising chaos of the modern lands of
else. Their cultures are built upon the intense desire to Tian Xia, more sarangay have begun to venture out into
protect their communities and their chosen leader. Their the world, either preemptively investigating potential
horns are said to be a crescent moon, and their towering threats or facing a breakdown in their own societies. The
statures are said to have come from their ancestors most tragic sarangay are those who wander alone because
being stretched so far up to reach their Father Moon they have nothing and no one to protect and care for.
while their Mother Earth kept them close to her bosom. If you want to play a character who is at home in the
They revere the great Father Moon, their First Ancestor, wild, possesses inherent occult power, is sharply aware
and endeavor to protect and exalt nature above all else, of their impressive strength, and comes from a proud
for they understand that they’re part of it. culture, you should play a sarangay.
You Might…
• Show off your head gem to loved ones but hide it
from those that you don’t trust.
• Exalt a warrior culture that focuses on protecting
what’s yours as well as the forests and lands around
your settlements.
• Be overly protective of those you care about, even to
violent ends.
Others Probably…
• Are circumspect about the topic of your head gem,
either out of empathetic respect or scheming greed.
• Trust your word when you say you would protect
the ones you love.
• Underestimate just how gentle you can be when it
comes to those you care for.
Sarangay are tall warriors with humanoid bodies that
almost always have naturally heavy builds. They average
at about 6 to 7 feet tall and have visibly muscular
physiques—sarangay very often describe humans and
similarly built ancestries as “slender” due to the difference
between their typical figures. Their eyes are black orbs with
white crescents for pupils. They have large, clawed hands,
while their legs end in hooves that have the capacity to
topple trees. Sarangay reach adulthood when their horns
reach 2 feet in length. Their jewelry tends to include large
horn platings, nose rings, and excessively large bangles
made of gold common in the forests where sarangay live.
From birth, every sarangay has a giant gleaming
stone upon their brow known as their head gem, which
houses their soul. When sarangay choose a partner, they
switch their head gems with each other and are in love
for the rest of their lives. Unsurprisingly, sarangay are
belligerent against anyone who would steal these gems.
Unfortunately, the size, quality, and rarity of the head
FULL MOON SARANGAY gems give them a staggering market value, and their
spiritual associations attract unscrupulous magicians.
58
Callous nobles of Tian Xia love to carve such gems into decorations or Rarity
display the gems upon their desks and in their lavish living areas. Rare
TIAN XIA
Society Hit Points CHARACTER
Sarangay are strong individually, but together, they’re considered unbeatable. 8 GUIDE
Most sarangay communities are small villages deep within the forests, but INTRODUCTION
they demonstrate the same amount of diversity as the other ancestries of Tian Size
Xia. These settlements are built out of houses that can be easily destroyed and Medium BACKGROUNDS
remade; these residences can be moved with the shifting seasons and tides, to
MAGIC AND
avoid invaders and other threats, and to uphold the proper geomancy of a Attribute Boosts THE SPIRIT
village. The center of a village is always the house of the village chief, usually Strength WORLD
known as the datu, or sometimes ratu. The datu’s house is known as the kraton, Charisma
a large multi-storied palace made of the best hardwood, lacquered and oiled, Free THE ELEMENTS
making it less disposable than the other houses.
ZODIAC
The datu is surrounded in their daily lives by their closest companions, Attribute Flaws
usually either their own kin or a coterie of vassals who are indebted to the datu Wisdom PEOPLES
and are obliged to fight as the datu’s own warband of faithful knights. Those
sarangay related to the datu are often known as nobles, and they can take on Languages CHARACTER
OPTIONS
any profession of their liking. The rest of the village is made up of commoners Common
who do a large amount of the work for the village. They render a part of Additional languages equal to your TIAN
their labor to the datu in return for the protection and prestige of the datu’s Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). EQUIPMENT
stewardship. This hierarchy isn’t mandated by some divinity, but rather out of Choose from Empyreal, Fey, Nagaji,
respect for a worthy leader. Datu who are deemed unworthy by the rest of the Petran, Pyric, Sussuran, Thalassic, GLOSSARY
& INDEX
village are often overthrown by the concerted efforts of the commoners, who Yaksha, and any other languages to
then choose a better datu, who can even come from their own ranks. which you have access (such as the
Sarangay hold their gleaming head gems in the highest regard, for the gems languages prevalent in your region).
are said to contain their souls and all their memories. If a sarangay’s gem
is destroyed, it can regrow through the help of a shaman’s ritual, but the Traits
gem-less sarangay falls into a state of dreamless stupor until then. Entire Humanoid
warbands are formed in villages to protect against poachers and adventurers Sarangay
who would steal head gems to achieve untold riches.
Sarangay usually have names that are two to three syllables long and that Horns
are usually one or two words, depending on the cadence. They tend to have Your powerful horns are formidable
consonants paired together to create hard yet regal sounds that exalt the weapons. You have a horns unarmed
ancient tongue and names of their ancestors. attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage
Sample Names: Dakal, Davvun, Karatallu, Kasta, Kunnasi, Makkan Vulan, and has the shove trait. Your horns are
Mangi Yavu, Mappia, Nallutu, Ngatta, Nikanni, Sikamu, Tadday, Tullung, in the brawling group.
Uzzin, Vulu Vvuga
Head Gem
Beliefs Upon your brow is a gem that houses
Despite their inherent occult powers, sarangay are very attuned to the forces your soul. When casting any spell or
of nature and the rhythms of wild places. They particularly hold the moon, ritual to return you to life, your intact
which they call Ama Vulan—Father Moon—in the highest regard. Sarangay head gem can be substituted for your
believe their horns represent the moon in its crescent phase, and their head body. While you can freely remove
gem is the moon at its fullest. During the full moon, sarangay perform intricate your head gem, it’s typically impossible
rituals to earn merit and favor from Father Moon, whom they believe to be for another creature to forcibly remove
their First Ancestor. Other than Father Moon and Mother Earth, they pay or destroy your head gem unless you’re
proper reverence to the thousand little gods who live in the leaves, in the killed or permanently incapacitated
droplets of water, in the embers of a bonfire. Sarangay believe that nature is first; at the GM’s discretion, powerful
inherently divine and alive, living much like they do. magic or abilities can circumvent this
Popular Edicts protect what’s yours, seek to understand the duality of the earth and restriction. If your head gem is removed
moon, spend time enjoying the rhythms of nature or destroyed, it can be regrown using
Popular Anathema betray a worthy leader, remove your head gem without good cause a day-long ritual. When this occurs,
any remains of the previous gem
SARANGAY HERITAGES immediately crumble to dust.
Sarangay have existed throughout Tian Xia for ages, and their clans are
named for the phases of the moon. Choose one of the following sarangay
heritages at 1st level.
59
Full Moon Sarangay so too do you conjoin the dark from the bright, the red
You were raised in a shamanic tradition transcending a from the blue, the wind from the sea. Your ancestors
single sarangay community or heritage. You spent your were tall and burly with shiny black fur, light spots or
youth under the guidance of a shaman elder, who taught markings, and short, tightly curved horns. You become
you to commune with spirits in the hope that you’ll one trained in two Lore skills of your choice, and you gain
day use that knowledge to advise and guide your people. a +1 circumstance bonus to Recall Knowledge checks
Those from your tradition are priests or shamans who using those skills.
channel the spirits and see things others can’t. You gain an
ancestry attribute boost to Wisdom instead of Strength, New Moon Sarangay
and you gain an attribute flaw in Constitution instead of Some people call you a dwarf sarangay and your kind
Wisdom. You gain the Folk Healer ancestry feat. “hiding ones.” Others whisper you go out with the
moon when the moon “goes hunting”—a common folk
Half Moon Sarangay saying for when the new moon vanishes from the sky.
You come from one of many traveling communities Your elusive ancestors built their lodgings in the shade
that migrate seasonally along Tian Xia’s vast rivers and of bamboo thickets, and your ancestral communities
mountains, bringing news and tidings to villages along valued caution and independence, passing down the
their path. Your people connect sarangay communities knowledge of walking lightly and moving like smoke
to one another across vast distances and are symbolized through bamboo. Your ancestors had dark brown or
by the half moon, which conjoins the light and dark; gray fur with white markings and a V-shaped pair of
flat, triangular horns. Your size is Small instead of
Medium. You gain 10 Hit Points from your ancestry
instead of 8 and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to
Athletics checks to Shove.
Waning Moon Sarangay

Your ancestors were named for the moon in transition,
ever-changing and ephemeral. They’re the keepers
of secret arts, just as the waning moon hides its face,
and their communities were highly regarded for their
storytellers, performers, and artists. You lived among
your community on the outskirts of forests or rivers,
where many answers came as riddles, and you learned
to see the world from different perspectives. Your
people are often red or fawn colored, with prominent
eyes and flat, compact horns. You become trained in
your choice of Acrobatics, Crafting, or Performance.
Once per day, when you roll a critical failure with
the chosen skill, you can reroll the check, taking the
new result, even if it’s worse. Rerolling in this way
is a fortune effect.
Waxing Moon Sarangay

Your ancestors dwelled in the swamps, fens, and
flooded forests, where they contended with fierce
predators and formed raiding parties to claim scarce
resources. Blessed by the growing crescent, you’re one
of the eviscerators, and you can overcome threats that
lurk in murky waters as well as those that hunt on land.
You’re a powerful swimmer with brown or gray fur and
backward- or downward-curving horns. You gain a +2
circumstance bonus to Athletics checks to Long Jump
or Swim.
SARANGAY ANCESTRY FEATS

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain
an additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at
HALF MOON SARANGAY
5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a sarangay, you
choose from among the following ancestry feats.
60
1ST LEVEL Sarangay Enclaves
Sarangay societies are overwhelmingly
TIAN XIA
AWAKENED JEWEL FEAT 1 centered on the forested regions
of Minata’s many islands. Devotion
CHARACTER
OCCULT SARANGAY
You once held the head gem of a deceased ancestor or loved one, and it to their communities and a strong GUIDE
awakened a mysterious power in your own. You gain one cantrip from the occult preference for warmer climates means INTRODUCTION
spell list. As long as you possess your head gem, you can cast this spell as an that sarangay rarely travel afield,
innate spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your and their belligerent attitude toward BACKGROUNDS
level rounded up. potential threats practically assures
MAGIC AND
that few people can force them to THE SPIRIT
CROWN OF BONE FEAT 1 move. Legends of a hero known simply WORLD
SARANGAY as Red Ox Sage still circulate in the
When you came of age, you were blessed by the Mother Earth with a thickened Lung Wa successor states, suggesting THE ELEMENTS
skull, which was celebrated as an auspicious sign among your community. Your that sarangay might have once had
ZODIAC
horns come together to form a bony plate that protects your head from heavy enclaves in the forests of Quain. If any
impacts. The damage die for your horns unarmed attack increases to 1d8, and it sarangay still reside there, however, PEOPLES
gains the concussive trait. they seem to keep well to themselves.
CHARACTER
OPTIONS
FOLK HEALER FEAT 1
SARANGAY TIAN
Your community recognizes you as a shaman or other animist, a status you obtained EQUIPMENT
through lineage, apprenticeship, or a supernatural event. You’re trained in Medicine
and Occultism. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills GLOSSARY
& INDEX
(from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a
skill of your choice. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Medicine checks to Treat
Wounds and Treat Disease.
SARANGAY LORE FEAT 1

SARANGAY
You listened carefully to the tales passed down among your community. You gain
the trained proficiency rank in Nature and Survival. If you would automatically
become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class, for example),
you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.
You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for
Sarangay Lore.
TRAVELER’S COUNSEL FEAT 1

SARANGAY
Prerequisites half moon sarangay
On your travels, you’ve resolved countless disputes and
counseled those in need. You’re trained in Diplomacy. If you
would automatically become trained in Diplomacy (from your
background or class, for example), you instead become trained
in a skill of your choice. The first time each day you would
roll a critical failure when Gathering Information or Making an
Impression, you get a failure instead.
5TH LEVEL
DEFLECTING JEWEL [reaction] FEAT 5

OCCULT SARANGAY
Frequency once per hour
Trigger You’re the target of a ranged attack while you possess
your head gem.
Requirements You’re aware of the triggering attack.
You walk the line between two sides of something, such as
NEW MOON SARANGAY
belonging to two clans, having a mixed allegiance or faith, or
being caught between two possible fates. Your dual nature
61
has attuned your head gem to the half moon, and it has TIKLING BIRD TWIRL [reaction] FEAT 5
manifested the power to ward away attacks by drawing a line SARANGAY
between them and you. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Trigger You roll a critical hit on a melee Strike against an enemy.
AC against the triggering attack. You trained your footwork by dancing to music between
snapping bamboo poles, and your increased mobility helps
THE MOON WEAVER’S ART FEAT 5 you succeed when hunting dangerous beasts or fighting
SARANGAY multiple opponents. This style of bobbing and weaving and
You’ve learned to create minor illusions by collecting strands of alternating fight and flight disorients your enemies and
moonlight and weaving them together to create small images allows you to choose your engagements. After resolving your
or cloaking veils. You can cast either illusory object or invisible attack, you can immediately Step, Stride, or Swim.
item (Player Core 2 247) as an occult innate spell once per day.
WARDING JEWEL FEAT 5
SMOKE THROUGH BAMBOO FEAT 5 OCCULT SARANGAY
SARANGAY A life of hunting and battle has caused your head gem to
Prerequisites new moon sarangay attune to the waxing moon, which has manifested in the
You’ve spent significant time slipping silently between power to protect you from harm. Your head gem protects you
bamboo thickets, and your light-footedness allows you to by making your skin difficult to pierce. While you possess
navigate even the thickest forests and brush with ease. When your head gem, you gain resistance 2 to piercing damage
you Step, you can move 10 feet instead of 5. This enables you and resistance 1 to slashing damage. The resistance to each
to Step into and within difficult terrain as long as you can type of damage increases by 1 at 9th level and every 4
meet the extra movement cost. levels thereafter.
9TH LEVEL
ANCESTRAL HEALER FEAT 9

SARANGAY
Prerequisites Folk Healer
Following the traditions of those who came before you, you’ve
learned how to banish effects that cloud the mind, body, and
spirit. You can cast a 4th-rank clear mind or sound body as an
innate occult spell once per day.
PARALYZING JEWEL [one-action] FEAT 9

INCAPACITATION OCCULT SARANGAY
Your dedication to the ideals of art and beauty allows your head
gem to access the power of the waning moon. While you possess
your head gem, you can overwhelm foes with a sense of reverent
wonder. Enemies within a 15-foot emanation must attempt a
Will save against the higher of your class DC or spell DC.
Critical Success The enemy is unaffected.
Success The enemy is fascinated for 1 round.
Failure The enemy is stunned 1.
Critical Failure The enemy is paralyzed for 1 round.
SPIRITUAL ECHO FEAT 9

OCCULT SARANGAY
Prerequisites Awakened Jewel
You possess the head gem of a deceased ancestor
or loved one, which has begun to resonate with your
own. While you possess this gem, you gain the ability to
Cast a Spell as a 4th-rank occult innate spell once per day.
The type of spell is determined by the clan of the sarangay to
whom the head gem belonged, which you choose when you
take this feat. In addition, choose a Lore skill to represent
WANING MOON SARANGAY knowledge the deceased had. You become trained in that Lore
skill. If the gem is lost or destroyed, it can be regrown as if it
were your own head gem.
62
Full Moon spirit sense (Player Core 2 252) Head Gem Headaches
Half Moon status The existence and potential theft
TIAN XIA
New Moon darkness of sarangay head gems can provide
Waning Moon creation enticing plot hooks and complications
CHARACTER
Waxing Moon blood vendetta in a game—however, these hooks GUIDE
might not be very fun for a sarangay INTRODUCTION
13TH LEVEL PC, who loses access to many of their
ancestry feats without their head gem, BACKGROUNDS
LIGHT-BENDING JEWEL FEAT 13 nor for a GM, who might not want to
MAGIC AND
SARANGAY account for the large sums of money THE SPIRIT
Your ability to walk unseen through the world has given you the new moon’s that a head gem might obtain. For WORLD
blessing. Once per day, while you possess your head gem, you can cast either this reason, it’s assumed that head
invisibility or translocate as a 4th-rank innate occult spell. gems can’t be forcefully removed from THE ELEMENTS
a sarangay unless they’re killed or
ZODIAC
REJUVENATING EMBRACE FEAT 13 completely incapacitated. It’s likewise
SARANGAY up to the GM how much a head gem PEOPLES
You rejuvenate your spirit by taking your rest where Mother Earth embraces Father is worth, if anything. For rituals
Moon. When you rest outdoors, you can choose one of the following benefits, which where sarangay exchange their head CHARACTER
OPTIONS
lasts until your next sleep cycle and can’t be changed. gems, use a modified version of the
Father Moon’s Vigilance While sleeping, you don’t take a penalty to Perception heartbond ritual (Player Core 2 268) to TIAN
rolls for being unconscious. allow the pair to use each other’s head EQUIPMENT
Mother Earth’s Care After 8 hours of sleep, you regain additional Hit Points equal gems for ancestry feats.
to your Constitution modifier plus your level. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
SHELTERING JEWEL FEAT 13
SARANGAY
Your head gem has accessed the power of the full moon through your determination
to heal and protect your loved ones. You can cast vital beacon as a 5th-rank innate
occult spell once per day, so long as you possess your head gem.
17TH LEVEL
CONVOCATION OF EARTH AND MOON [one-action] FEAT 17

CONCENTRATE OCCULT POLYMORPH SARANGAY
You call upon Mother Earth and Father Moon to fill you with light.
A cocoon of moonlight momentarily envelops you, and you emerge
in a towering form made of swirling energy, tattooed in stardust
and clad in regalia of silver and mother of pearl. When you use
this ability, you gain the benefits of both the 4th-rank enlarge and
fly spells. This form lasts for 5 minutes or until you use this action
again to return to your normal form.
If you have your head gem, it radiates an aura of moonlight,
causing creatures that start their turn adjacent to you to become
dazzled until the beginning of their turn unless they succeed at a
Will save against your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher.
TRAMPLE [three-actions] FEAT 17

SARANGAY
You know how to leverage your size and momentum when using
your horns attack, and can use your movement speed to overrun
your foes. You Stride up to double your Speed and can move
through the spaces of creatures at least one size smaller than you,
Trampling each creature whose space you enter. You can attempt to
Trample the same creature only once in a single Trample. You deal piercing
SARANGAY HOME
damage equal to the damage of your horns unarmed attack against these
creatures, which can attempt a basic Reflex save against the higher of
your class DC or spell DC.
63
Tanuki
Tian Xia is replete with magically gifted ancestries—such tanuki know in their bellies: that the ups and downs of
as tengu, kitsune, yakshas, and yaoguai—whose powers life are all just a big joke, and if everyone’s going to be
bring them high regard and who, in turn, use their gifts made a fool in the end, you might as well be the fool who
for responsible ends. Tanuki aren’t one of these ancestries. gets to dance and have fun along the way! Life’s a party,
Instead, the shapeshifting raccoon dog–like humanoids and tanuki intend to enjoy it as much as they can before
use their powers of illusion and transformation in ways their luck inevitably runs out.
more people should: for fun! Tanuki delight in pranks If you want to play a character who loves to have
and practical jokes, especially those that allow them to fun—occasionally at another’s or your own expense—
take the high and mighty down a notch and show them who’s always up for a party and perhaps a bit too clever
what life is like for everyone else. Where other peoples for their own good, you should play a tanuki.
take pride in their storied histories, noble traditions, or
intricate ceremonies, tanuki take pride in their simplicity You Might...
and disregard for the world’s many rules. Though some • Live life to the absolute fullest, getting into whatever
might claim this outlook reduces tanuki to uncouth trouble that approach might bring you.
rubes, tanuki feel it makes them more cultured; after • Take pride in your duties and accomplishments, no
all, one must know a rule to bend it, and one must matter how humble.
understand a norm to break it. • Be accustomed to the role of underdog and take it in
That being said, their laid-back natures can cause stride, seeing failure as a wonderful punchline.
tanuki, and others, no end of trouble. Their focus on
living in the moment can often mean they’re brought Others Probably...
low by a problem they could’ve solved earlier with little • Find you the life of any party.
effort. At the end of the day, tanuki rarely come out on • Know you’ll always have their back.
top, and even their victories tend to be mixed with small • Hope you aren’t about to play a joke on them.
defeats or embarrassment. A tanuki bard might save
the day with the power of his music, but only because Physical Description
he played so off-key that bandits mistook him for a Tanuki are short humanoids who resemble bipedal
fearsome ghost. Tanuki are usually just fine with such raccoon dogs, usually growing between 3 and 4 feet tall.
an outcome, though. There’s a truth to the world that They tend to have rotund bodies, with large bellies that
appear even wider due to their thick fur. A tanuki’s face is
likewise round, with wide-set, alert eyes outlined
within a dark mask of fur. Tanuki have a
single bushy tail that they take great pride
in and to which they ascribe their powers.
These qualities together give tanuki a strong
cultural appreciation for rounded shapes over
sharp angles, such as daruma dolls, circular
doors, and the moon.
Tanuki often wear simple, rustic clothing,
opting for plain garb over elegant frills or
shining jewels. However, tanuki are known to
go all-out for festivals and similar celebrations,
which they see as the perfect opportunity to enjoy
life to the fullest. Many tanuki make it a point to
always carry a red vest and dancing towel in case an
impromptu party breaks out.
Society
Tanuki know that, among the many people of Golarion,
they’re underdogs, possessing neither the mastery of the
heavens that tengu command nor the divine favor that
kitsune enjoy. All things considered, tanuki know they
have to support each other, building tight communities
VIRTUOUS TANUKI where everyone knows each other’s names. These
communities tend to exist on the outskirts of villages,
64
often in abandoned warehouses or farms or else near temples and other Rarity
public buildings. When tanuki societies overlap with those of other peoples, Uncommon
TIAN XIA
they usually function unseen with their own codes of honor, rarely noticed Tanuki are common in Minkai, the
by those in power. Forest of Spirits, and Goka.
CHARACTER
Tanuki love celebration and will hold any number of parties for even the GUIDE
smallest accomplishments—a project such as building a new bridge might Hit Points INTRODUCTION
have a kick-off ceremony, a toast when the plans are decided, a morale lunch 10
when the workers have assembled, a banquet upon finishing the bridge, and BACKGROUNDS
a festival to dance over the bridge when it opens to the public. This proclivity Size MAGIC AND
is sometimes brought up as a reason for why tanuki endeavors tend to take Small THE SPIRIT
an interminably long time (with some failing spectacularly along the way), WORLD
but tanuki feel that it’s important to celebrate what small victories they can. Speed
Besides, the community bonds forged among the participants are as much a 25 feet THE ELEMENTS
part of the project as the actual building itself.
ZODIAC
Tanuki tend toward unglamorous names with functional meanings, such Attribute Boosts
as those that describe a tanuki’s birth order or the weather or season on Constitution PEOPLES
the day they were born. Tanuki surnames tend to be similar, describing Charisma
either their family’s profession or location in a town. These conventions Free CHARACTER
OPTIONS
make tanuki names feel relatively old-fashioned, though some avant-garde
tanuki give their children (or themself) a grandiose name in defiance of their Attribute Flaw TIAN
traditional station. Wisdom EQUIPMENT
Sample Names: Ame, Chiyo, Chosuke, Hinata, Mari, Nao, Saya, Taro, Terao,
Rei, Ichiro, Jiro, Saburo, Shiro, Satsuki, Mutsu, Nanami, Hazuki Languages GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Common
Beliefs Tanuki
Tanuki count no member of the Celestial Court among their own—a fact Additional languages equal to your
they see as further evidence that they have to stick up for each other since Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive).
there’s no tanuki deity looking out for them—but they find themselves Choose from Elven, Fey, Gnomish,
drawn toward gods such as Kofusachi, whose boisterous and compassionate Goblin, Kitsune, Tengu, and any other
approach to life they consider aspirational. Though tanuki hold deep languages to which you have access
reverence toward the moon, they tend not to worship Tsukiyo, knowing (such as the languages prevalent in
he finds loud worship agitating, and they take care to not invoke his name your region).
or imagery during harvest moon or lunar new year celebrations to ensure
their cheers and belly drums don’t draw his attention. Tanuki with Inner Traits
Sea cultural traditions tend to revere Cayden Cailean, seeing the blood of a Humanoid
tanuki in his commoner status (and drunken accomplishments), with some Tanuki
tanuki statues even depicting Cayden with a big belly and leaf atop his head
to suggest that he was simply a tanuki in human form, tricking the Avistani Change Shape
even to this day. [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph, primal,
Tanuki generally use their powers to humble the rich and snobby; at the tanuki) You can transform into a
very least, they create illusions with no more evil in their hearts than a simple mundane raccoon dog, using the
joke (or a free meal taken from one who can afford it), rather than acting out statistics of pest form. This is a
of malice. However, there are some tanuki do harbor resentment, which can specific raccoon dog form that’s
take root and fester in their hearts. These tanuki turn to cruel ends, known for the same age and body type as
all manner of nefarious deeds, chief among them cooking their enemies into your true form and has roughly
soups or stews once they’ve finished tricking them. analogous physical traits, such as
Popular Edicts Choose excitement over stability, let bygones be bygones, make hair color. Using Change Shape
your community laugh counts as creating a disguise for the
Popular Anathema Feel entitled to social status, prank one of lower means than Impersonate use of Deception. You
yourself, wallow in your failures lose any unarmed Strikes you gained
from a tanuki heritage or ancestry feat
TANUKI HERITAGES in this form. You can remain in your
A tanuki’s heritage reflects a unique virtue that beats in the tanuki’s heart. raccoon dog form indefinitely, and you
Choose one of the following tanuki heritages at 1st level. can shift back to your tanuki form by
using this action again.
Ascetic Tanuki
It’s said your round form is the result of calmness and restraint, not indulgence.
You gain scent as an imprecise sense with a range of 30 feet. The GM will
65
usually double the range if you’re downwind from Effect Realizing that discretion is the better part of valor,
something you’re trying to smell or halve the range if you opt to put some distance between you and a threat.
you’re upwind. In addition, you gain a +2 circumstance You gain the fleeing condition until the beginning of your
bonus to Perception checks whenever you’re trying to next turn, and you Stride.
locate food, drink, or a consumable item that’s ingested
(such as a potion or elixir) using your scent. Steadfast Tanuki
Your pride in your true tanuki form knows no bounds.
Even-tempered Tanuki You gain your choice of Everyday Form or Teakettle
You’re possessed of a serenity uncommon to other tanuki, Form as a bonus ancestry feat.
who always seem to be flying off the handle. You gain a
+1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against emotion Virtuous Tanuki
effects. If you roll a success at a saving throw against Many tanuki carry a gourd of alcohol to remind themselves
an emotion effect, you get a critical success instead, but to act with virtue, and by these standards, you’re quite
when you roll a failure at a saving throw against an virtuous indeed. You gain poison resistance equal to half
emotion effect, you get a critical failure instead. your level (minimum 1). You can eat and drink things
when you’re sickened. You can’t become incapacitated by
Courageous Tanuki conventional alcohol if you don’t wish to be.
Your heart beats with the courage of those who came
before you, giving you the kind of bravery only a TANUKI ANCESTRY FEATS
tanuki can demonstrate. Whenever you gain the fleeing At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an
condition, you also gain a +10-foot circumstance bonus additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th,
to your Speeds that lasts as long as you’re fleeing. When 9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a tanuki, you choose from
you have the fleeing condition, instead of having to spend among the following ancestry feats.
all your actions trying to escape, you can act normally
for one action but must still spend the remainder of your 1ST LEVEL
actions fleeing. You also gain the Tactical Retreat ability.
Tactical Retreat [reaction] (emotion, fear, mental, tanuki) Trigger You EVERYDAY FORM FEAT 1
gain the frightened condition; Frequency once per hour; TANUKI
There’s nothing better than being a tanuki, but sometimes you
need a less conspicuous form when going into the big city
or other crowded places. When you Change Shape, you can
assume the form of a common Small or Medium humanoid
ancestry prevalent where you grew up, typically human. This
everyday form is a specific form with the same age and body
type as your true tanuki form and has roughly analogous
physical traits, such as hair color.
IRON BELLY FEAT 1

TANUKI
A good laugh comes from the belly, and by laughing every
day, yours has grown quite strong. You have a belly melee
unarmed Strike, which deals 1d6 damage, is in the brawling
group, and has the forceful trait.
Special It’s never too late to learn to laugh, so you can select
this feat at any level and retrain into and out of this feat.
SCORCHED ON THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN FEAT 1

TANUKI
By ritualistically marking your fur with fire, like an infamous
tanuki of legend, you protect yourself against future flames. You
gain a black stripe down your back that looks charred. Your flat
check to remove persistent fire damage is DC 10 instead of DC
15, which can be reduced to DC 5 with appropriate assistance.
The first time each day you would be reduced to 0 Hit Points
by a fire effect, you avoid being knocked out and remain at 1 Hit
Point, and your wounded condition increases by 1. Two hairs
plucked from your tail can be used as flint and steel to create a
STEADFAST TANUKI
fire, emitting a strange crackling sound as they ignite.
66
TANUKI LORE FEAT 1 Tanuki Families
TANUKI Tanuki place a high value on family
TIAN XIA
Tanuki love to play two things: tricks and music. You become trained in Deception as the cornerstone of the community,
and Performance. If you would automatically become trained in one of those skills with courtship, weddings, and
CHARACTER
(from your background or class, for example), you instead become trained in a skill important childrearing milestones GUIDE
of your choice. being among the few things tanuki INTRODUCTION
You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for Tanuki Lore. never make a joke of. Tanuki families
tend to be large, and older siblings BACKGROUNDS
TEAKETTLE FORM FEAT 1 instruct younger siblings on how
MAGIC AND
TANUKI to get by in tanuki society. Despite THE SPIRIT
Your shapeshifting is advanced enough to take the form of not just creatures, but their focus on family, tanuki’s habit of WORLD
objects as well. When you Change Shape, you can assume the form of a simple tool constantly pranking each other means
or object of 1 Bulk or less, such as a teakettle or umbrella. When transformed into that complex systems of family feuds THE ELEMENTS
an object, you can function as that object for allies to use; for instance, turning into can pop up when things get out of
ZODIAC
a crowbar so you can help an ally pry open a crate. You can speak while in object hand, though these grudges tend not
form, but you can’t attack, cast spells, or move except to Crawl (usually by hopping to last long since tanuki are equally PEOPLES
or flopping across the ground in an undignified manner). quick to let things be water under the
bridge (often as a new feud pops up; CHARACTER
5TH LEVEL for instance, two once-rival families OPTIONS
might join forces, but only to prank a TIAN
FALSE PRIEST FORM FEAT 5 third family). EQUIPMENT
TANUKI
Prerequisites Everyday Form GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Nobody respects tanuki, but most everyone respects an esteemed priest, so what
better form to take if you want to get by a little easier? When you Change Shape,
you can assume the shape of a priest or other religious official from a religion of
your choosing. While in your false priest form, you can attempt Deception checks to
Recall Knowledge about Religion, and you can cast divine lance and haunting hymn
as primal innate cantrips. If you critically fail at a Deception check while in your
false priest form, your transformation is broken, returning you to your tanuki form,
and you’re so embarrassed that you can’t resume your False Priest Form until your
next daily preparations, after you’ve taken a night to sleep on it.
HASTY CELEBRATION [reaction] FEAT 5

EMOTION TANUKI VISUAL
Trigger You critically succeed at an attack roll against an enemy, or an enemy
critically fails their saving throw against one of your effects.
After even the briefest success, you get caught up in the moment and
begin to party, cheering your allies on.
You grant all allies within 60 feet a
+2 circumstance bonus to attack
rolls and damage until the end
of your next turn. Unfortunately,
while you sing and dance, you
aren’t keeping an eye on your
surroundings like you should,
making you off-guard to all
enemies until the end of your
next turn as well.
LEAF TRANSFORMATION FEAT 5

UNCOMMON ILLUSION TANUKI
You know how to run an enterprise that others would never be
able to get off the ground—some say it’s your savvy acumen or
jovial manner, but you know it’s because you can cut costs
by transforming leaves into money. You can use Deception EVEN-TEMPERED TANUKI
to Earn Income, and you gain a +1 status bonus to your
67
check if you do so. The illusion doesn’t hold long, though! 9TH LEVEL
The GM rolls a secret d20; that many hours after concluding
your check, the money transforms back, likely inviting MANY FACES FEAT 9
consequences depending on how far the bills traveled from TANUKI
you in the time they were transformed. Frequency three times per day
Prerequisites Everyday Form
PONPOKO FEAT 5 Putting on a new face offers a great way to get a fresh
TANUKI perspective on life. When you Change Shape into your
No true tanuki would ever be caught without a musical everyday form, you gain the effects of a 3rd-rank illusory
instrument to play under the full moon. You can attempt disguise for 1 hour or until you shift back, whichever comes
Performance checks and cast spells by drumming on your first, except it’s a polymorph effect rather than an illusion.
belly; this requires that you have at least one hand free, and like However, your transformations can be broken with a good
playing an instrument, it grants the Perform action the auditory shock; if you gain the frightened or stunned condition while
and manipulate traits. When Casting a Spell, your gestures transformed, your transformation ends, returning you to
can include drumming your belly. If you do, any attempt to your tanuki form, and your confidence is so shaken you can’t
recognize a spell cast this way gains a -2 circumstance penalty. attempt to resume that specific disguise again until your next
daily preparations.
STATUE FORM FEAT 5
TANUKI MUD BOAT’S PASSAGE FEAT 9
Prerequisite Teakettle Form PRIMAL TANUKI
An inconspicuous statue in front of a shop is the perfect form You instinctively create magical boats that keep your feet
to wait for things to blow over. When you Change Shape, you dry (mostly). You can walk on the surface of water and
can assume the form of a statue, shop sign, or other heavy other non-damaging liquids, moving at half your normal
object of up to Large size. Using statue form counts as setting Speed, as a magical boat forms under your feet to carry you.
up a disguise for the Impersonate use of Deception, except Unfortunately, this magical boat is made out of mud, so you
that you can Impersonate an object instead of a creature, it can’t get very far—if you end your turn without reaching solid
gives you a +4 status bonus to Deception checks to prevent ground, the boat dissolves, and you sink.
others from seeing through your disguise, and you add your
level even if you’re untrained. Your weight increases to PHANTOM ORCHESTRA FEAT 9
match the object you’re impersonating while in statue form, TANUKI
allowing you to use your spell DC or your class DC instead of An easy way to trick others is to throw your voice into a nearby
the relevant DC to resist forced movement (usually Fortitude), forest or thicket to make strange noises. You can cast 2nd-rank
if they’re higher. You can speak while in statue form, but you ventriloquism as an innate primal spell once per day. You can
can’t attack, cast spells, or move. also cast the figment cantrip as a primal innate spell at will,
heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up.
ROLLING WHITE BOTTLE FORM [reaction] FEAT 9

TANUKI
Prerequisite Teakettle Form
Trigger You Drop Prone or otherwise become prone.
As you fall to the ground, you transform into a white bottle,
gourd, or sake jar, then roll away before anyone can pick you
up. You Crawl up to two times, and your movement doesn’t
provoke reactions—you somehow always roll just out of
reach. When you come to a stop, you return to your tanuki
form, face down on the ground.
13TH LEVEL
COMBINED FORM [reaction] FEAT 13

TANUKI POLYMORPH
Trigger An ally within 30 feet uses a polymorph effect.
Frequency Once per hour
Cooperation and coordination are the secrets to getting by
in tanuki society. When the triggering ally transforms, you
Stride to their square and join shape with them, melding into
ASCETIC TANUKI their transformation. While you’re melded in this way, you
grant them the effects of either a 2nd- or 4th‑rank enlarge
68
spell as well as temporary Hit Points equal to your level; if their polymorph effect The Fox–Raccoon Wars
would normally grant them temporary Hit Points, you increase the amount by Kitsune and tanuki are infamous for
TIAN XIA
your level instead. While you’re melded, you can’t be separately targeted and you feuding with one another when they
can’t act except to speak or to use Change Shape to exit the Combined Form, which meet, though these confrontations
CHARACTER
ends the effects of enlarge on your ally and removes any remaining temporary Hit are almost never violent, and both GUIDE
Points they received from this ability at the time. If the triggering ally becomes ancestries would be revolted at the INTRODUCTION
unconscious or the triggering polymorph effect ends, you automatically exit the thought of their rivalries becoming
Combined Form. so. Tanuki view kitsune as supremely BACKGROUNDS
snobbish and as constantly putting
MAGIC AND
PONPOKO-PON! [two-actions] FEAT 13 on superior airs, while kitsune see THE SPIRIT
PRIMAL SONIC TANUKI tanuki as incarnations of crass behavior WORLD
Requirements Ponpoko and overindulgence. Tanuki are
Whether it’s because you play especially vigorously or are simply off-key, the music quick to boast how they’re better at THE ELEMENTS
of your belly drum can physically wound your foes. You deal 7d4 sonic damage to shapeshifting than kitsune, a gibe that
ZODIAC
all creatures in a 30-foot cone, with a basic Fortitude save equal to your spell DC or brings a sneer to any self-respecting
class DC, whichever is higher. Such vigorous drumming does leave your belly a bit kitsune’s face, but one that kitsune are PEOPLES
sore, though, preventing you from using this ability again for 1d4 rounds. hard-pressed to prove wrong (though
At 15th level and every 2 levels thereafter, the damage increases by 1d4. they often point out their much wider CHARACTER
OPTIONS
range of magical powers, much to
SPLENDID ILLUSION FEAT 13 tanuki’s consternation). TIAN
TANUKI EQUIPMENT
You cover your surroundings in outlandish fantasy. You can cast 6th-rank illusory
scene as a primal innate spell once per day. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
17TH LEVEL
LANDSCAPE FORM FEAT 17

TANUKI
While walking down the road on a moonlit night, one might be puzzled to find a
shop or hill that wasn’t there before. In reality, this is a tanuki at the height of
their power. When you Change Shape, you can transform into a building or terrain
feature up to 50 feet tall and up to 50 feet on a side. Mundane features of your
landscape form function as normal—for instance, if you transform into a hot spring,
the hot spring contains relaxing hot water, and if you transform into an inn, the inn
contains bedrooms, beds, and delicious food—though no aspect of your landscape
form can be an active hazard that can cause damage or impose conditions, and any
objects created within your landscape form turn into leaves if taken outside of it.
You can speak while in landscape form, but you can’t attack, cast spells, or move.
You can remain in landscape form for up to 8 hours, and when you exit landscape
form, it dissolves around anyone who was inside of it.
START THE FESTIVAL! [three-actions] FEAT 17

TANUKI
No distance can stop tanuki from making their way to a good party. You whistle
and point, and 808 tanuki, in their raccoon dog forms, somehow appear from
the surrounding terrain and fill a 30-foot burst within 120 feet. The tanuki
scurry over the ground, leap through the air, and climb up walls and
surfaces, dealing 6d8 bludgeoning damage to all enemies in the area
as they’re trampled and danced upon. The tanuki continue to party in
the area for the next minute, dealing 3d8 bludgeoning damage to
any enemy that ends its turn in the area and transforming the area
into difficult terrain (though the tanuki allow you and your allies
to pass normally). Creatures in raccoon dog form can attempt to Hide
within the mass of tanuki. After 1 minute, the tanuki clap 30 times and run
off to the next party. You can Dismiss the effect, though if you do, the tanuki
grumble as the party ends early. TEAKETTLE FORM
69
Wayang
Wayangs are diasporic sojourners from the Netherworld negative experiences were part and parcel of existence, the
where they lived and worked alongside their allies, light- engineers of the Desecration exploited mortal emotions to
weaving d’ziriaks. Both peoples shared affinities for artistic oppress both the Universe and its shadow Netherworlds.
expression and spiritual introspection, inspiring each other’s Realizing these planar interconnections, wayang leaders
sensitivities to color, form, and function; they also bolstered reached a bold conclusion: no world is free until all worlds
each other’s defense against rampaging dragons, oni, and are. To prevent the Netherworlds’ colonial oppressors
undead. This idyll collapsed from divine meddling; some from harnessing mortal souls and to reclaim the darkness
say when Abadar sentenced Zon-Kuthon to exile in the from its present state of malice and anguish, more wayang
Netherworld, the Midnight Lord’s deific presence distorted expeditions arrived in Tian Xia with exorcists and curse-
the plane into a nightmarish domain, while others accounts breakers to purify paths to the Netherworld and starve its
ascribe fiendish sources to this doom. despots of spiritual power. Toward this end, wayang sages
Whatever the reason, wayang and d’ziriak communities devised the Dissolution, a philosophy of drawing strength
suffered terribly; Kuthites and velstracs colonized the and peace from one’s inner darkness. They shared their
Netherworld, engulfing it in religious wars of slaughter teachings discreetly with those in Tian Xia touched by
and brutality—an ongoing catastrophe that wayangs and darkness, instead of leaving such people to be preyed upon
d’ziriaks refer to as the Desecration. Despite both peoples’ by velstracs and other depraved entities.
valorous resistance, with every generation, space and If you want to play a character who is at home in the
resources became scarcer. When the Age of Ashes created shadows of Tian Xia’s oceans and jungles, is heir to mystic
passageways between the Netherworld and Golarion, and martial arts drawing upon the Netherworld’s untainted
many wayangs sailed away for a better life. power, and pursues obscure struggles against dark forces,
These curious wayfarers became Tian Xia’s first you should play a wayang.
wayangs, who shared their skills and labor to eke out a
solidarity of subsistence with Earthfall’s survivors. These You Might...
explorers also observed how Tian Xia’s suffering souls • Seek out Tian Xia’s dark places, such as mountainous
weakened barriers to the Netherworld, whose malignant caves, shaded mangroves, or rainforest canopies.
overlords absorbed the negative emotions to grow in • Be curious about this sunlit world, so different from
power. While disappointments, melancholia, and other your home’s occluded vistas, and seek out new
experiences to inspire your artistic expressions and
meditative introspection.
• Dream and work toward a time when your people can
overthrow your invasive masters.
Others Probably...
• Consider you creative and seek to commission you as
an artisan or appraiser.
• Fail to understand your people’s motives and distant
struggles.
• Whisper frightful rumors about
your origins and attribute
curses to your presence.
The rigors of an interplanar struggle and life on or near
the seas of Tian Xia grant many wayangs wiry frames,
and many carry themselves with a gravitas that belies their
small stature. Despite long journeys under cloudless skies,
wayangs’ skin (ranging from ivory white to duskwood
black) doesn’t sunburn easily, a blessing attributed to the
darkness’s love for its children. Thick shadows flit and
dance almost like a second layer of skin upon wayang
bodies, sheltering them from the sun’s glare. Wayangs
SHADOW OF THE WANDERER further decorate their skin with intricate patterns of paint,
which non-wayangs often misinterpret as scarification or
tattoos. With concentration and training, wayangs can
70
move their shadows independently of their body, an ability that both warriors Rarity
and storytellers use to great effect, either in aiding their ambushes or illustrating Uncommon
TIAN XIA
their performances. Wayangs tend to grow their hair long, construct elaborate
headdresses of shell and horn to hold their hair up in immaculate hairstyles, and Hit Points CHARACTER
favor long scarves or shawls over their shoulders. 8 GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
Society Size
Wayang society encompasses many tensions between communal and Small BACKGROUNDS
individualistic behaviors. While wayangs organize themselves into collectives
MAGIC AND
modeled after agrarian villages or seafaring crews where everyone has to do their Speed THE SPIRIT
part for the shared betterment, hermits and iconoclasts are also afforded special 25 feet WORLD
places in wayang society. While individual wayang villages or ships might look
to their leaders for direction in everyday matters, these leaders in turn also look Attribute Boosts THE ELEMENTS
to solitary gurus and unconventional visionaries for guidance and inspiration. Dexterity
ZODIAC
The wayang political universe is composed of multiple overlapping mandalas, Charisma
concentrations of influence around central charismatic and powerful figures, such Free PEOPLES
as experienced chieftains, ingenious artisans, or intrepid captains. In turn, these
individual concentrations cohere around yet other figures famed for righteousness Attribute Flaw CHARACTER
OPTIONS
or wisdom, such as sagacious teachers, virtuous princes, or masterful occultists. Constitution
This approach to social power is useful for organizing diverse diasporas scattered TIAN
across islands and planes; each collective practices sufficient independence to Languages EQUIPMENT
pursue their own journeys while retaining enough interdependence to respond to Common
others’ calls for help and friendship. Shadowtongue GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Wayang interactions with other communities usually take place as visiting Wayang
artisans bearing handcrafted goods of precious materials and exquisite quality. Additional languages equal to your
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these items also provide potent supernatural Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive).
protection against fiends and undead. Despite the high demand, wayangs don’t Choose from D’ziriak, Diabolic,
sell them, but instead offer them freely only to those blessed by shadows, such as Minatan, Nagaji, Thalassic, Vudran,
particular sorcerer bloodlines. Wayang emissaries use these gifts to aid potential Yaksha, and any other languages to
allies and strengthen them against other forces of darkness. In time, many also which you have access (such as the
hope to instruct their newfound friends in the secrets of the Dissolution and call languages prevalent in your region).
upon their strength to overcome the Desecration.
Wayang names combine Tian-Sing, Minatan, and Vudrani elements, hints to Traits
the vast distances they’ve traveled. Names also tend toward the allegorically Humanoid
evocative, alluding to the names of places, gods, ancestors, and lineages. Few Shadow
wayangs named after gods adhere to those deities’ teachings, however, a fact Wayang
that’s infuriating to etymologists and theologians. Such supernatural names are
instead chosen for their prestige and power, not piety—a practical decision for Darkvision
outsiders seeking protection and power in an unusual land. You can see in darkness and dim light
Sample Names: Putri Rubah Hebat, Hakim Gunung Api, Raja Ribut Hitam, just as well as you can see in bright
Adik Musang light.
Beliefs
It’s common for a people with such long histories of alliances and respect for
community to abide respectfully within society. Wayang society also has positive
perceptions toward less pragmatic individuals; many resourceful wayang
explorers and artisans embrace attitudes of curiosity and free-spiritedness. Life
in darkness teaches the value of skepticism while discouraging moral absolutism
or extremism. Wayangs are seldom cruel, perhaps as conscious rejections of
the Desecration. Though few champion great causes, many practice quiet
benevolence and empathy for those also suffering from oppression or cruelty.
Wayang religion is largely syncretic, incorporating Iroran austerities of
meditation and self-mastery, Sangpotshi and Pharasman metaphysics of
planar transmigration, and beliefs in the Netherworld’s indigenous spirits and
ancestors. Gods are generally seen as tutelary spirits who can help individual
supplicants gain supernatural power. In particular, many invoke Lao Shu Po,
whom wayangs call Sister Mousedeer. Her cleverness and ability to outmaneuver
more powerful divinities and repurpose their power proves especially inspiring
71
to anti-colonial efforts. Ascetics seeking power and spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to
wisdom also emulate Ragdya and Diomazul. Notably, half your level rounded up.
despite valuing community and civilization, few worship
Abadar due to his place in condemning the Netherworld Shadow of the Sailor
to Zon-Kuthon’s debasement. Ironically, some fallen Your shadow flits across the surface of the water, and so do
wayangs have become Kuthite adherents and now strive you. You can walk on the surface of still water and other
to capture and torment their former fellows. non-damaging liquids, moving at half your normal Speed.
Popular Edicts act selflessly toward your community, make You can attempt to walk along the surface of flowing water
powerful allies, reject the Desecration of darkness, seek as well, still moving at half Speed, but to do so, you must
inspiration for your art succeed at an Acrobatics check to Balance using the DC
Popular Anathema cause a creature unnecessary pain, make of a Swim check to move through the water; on a failure,
compromises in the pursuit of freedom, sell your creations you fall into the water. This Acrobatics check doesn’t use
without concern, talk openly about the Dissolution an action.
WAYANG HERITAGES Shadow of the Smith

Each wayang finds themself, and their shadow, drawn to a Your shadow is thick and liquid, like it could quench the
particular archetype, like a role in a performance. Choose finest ore. You gain the Inscribe Shadow Pamor action.
one of the following wayang heritages at 1st level. Inscribe Shadow Pamor [one-action] (occult, shadow) Frequency once
per minute; Effect You plunge your fist or weapon into your
Shadow of the Courtier shadow, enveloping it in a rippling, damask-like pattern of
Your shadow dances alongside you. You gain the darkness. If your next action is to Strike, the shadows cling
Impressive Performance skill feat, allowing you to Make to your foe with your attack, obscuring its vision. On a hit, the
an Impression using Performance instead of Diplomacy. target of your Strike becomes dazzled until the start of your
Once per day, if you fail, but not critically fail, a check next turn. The target can use an Interact action to tear away
to Make an Impression, you can play it off as part of a the clinging shadows and remove the dazzled condition. On
performance, allowing you to reroll the check; this is a a critical hit, the shadows are particularly stubborn and can’t
fortune effect. be torn away.
Shadow of the Hermit Shadow of the Wanderer

Your shadow seems somehow full of secrets and mysteries— Your shadow blazes out ahead of you, clearing your path.
secrets that it shares with you. Choose one cantrip from the Your Speed increases by 5 feet.
occult spell list. You can cast this spell as an occult innate
WAYANG FEATS
At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an
additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th,
9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a wayang, you choose from
among the following ancestry feats.
LEVEL 1
AEGIS OF THE DISSOLUTION FEAT 1

WAYANG
You are a friend of shadows and know how to avoid the troubles
they bring. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws
against effects with the darkness or shadow traits.
DANCE OF THE MOUSEDEER [one-action] FEAT 1

ILLUSION OCCULT SHADOW VISUAL WAYANG
You move your body in a pattern that evokes the small and clever
Sister Mousedeer, misdirecting enemies and filling their vision
with shadows to hide behind. Attempt a Performance check
against the Perception DC of a single enemy within 30 feet.
This has all the usual traits and restrictions of a Performance
check. You can affect up to two targets within range if you
have expert proficiency in Performance, four if you have
master proficiency, and eight if you have legendary proficiency.
Critical Success Imaginary shadows rise up in the target’s vision,
SHADOW OF THE SMITH
hiding you from sight. You gain greater cover against that
72
enemy, which provides a +4 circumstance bonus to AC and to Stealth checks to Hide, Wayang Enclaves
Sneak, or otherwise avoid detection. As the shadows are illusory, you don’t gain Many wayangs dwell in southern Tian
TIAN XIA
the typical bonus to Reflex saves from greater cover. These benefits last until the Xia near Minata and the Valashmai
beginning of your next turn, or until you move from your current space, use an attack Jungle. The artisan town of Senja
CHARACTER
action, or become unconscious, whichever comes first. in the Valashmai Jungle’s southern GUIDE
Success As critical success, except you gain only standard cover (a +2 circumstance Chenlun lives under the auspices INTRODUCTION
bonus instead). of the fire oni, Otar Sultan. The
Critical Failure The opponent grasps the movements of your dance, becoming goldsmiths of Senja craft exquisitely BACKGROUNDS
temporarily immune to your Dance of the Mousedeer for 1 day. filigreed golden-silver flowers and
MAGIC AND
bronze gamelans as tribute to THE SPIRIT
INHERIT THE DREAMING HEIRLOOM FEAT 1 the unlikely philosopher-sultan in WORLD
WAYANG exchange for his recognition as valued
Whether you always carried it or perhaps only recently inherited, you have a pusaka— subjects and protection from the area’s THE ELEMENTS
an heirloom containing a spirit who you communicate with in your dreams. Choose one other fire oni warlords.
ZODIAC
item of light Bulk to be your pusaka. It becomes a magic item that has the occult trait. In Minata, Tengah Pulu and Rendah
As long as you sleep with this item in reach and spend 10 minutes during your daily Pulu’s stormy coasts and thick PEOPLES
preparations pampering the spirit within, you can Activate the pusaka that day. mangroves provide ideally overcast
Activate—Ancestral Recollection [one-action] (concentrate) Frequency once per day; Effect conditions for wayang settlement. CHARACTER
OPTIONS
The spirit within the pusaka advises you on a subject they knew in life. Pilgrim smiths sail for the Wandering
When you gain this feat, select one Lore skill about a profession and one Isles’ volcanic craters and undergo TIAN
about a type of environment, such as Accounting Lore and Forest Lore. meditative rites to journey into EQUIPMENT
When you Activate the pusaka, you attempt to Recall Knowledge using the Netherworld, where they mine
one of these skills (you become temporarily trained in these skills for this rare umbral volcanic ores. Weapons GLOSSARY
& INDEX
check). Once you make your choice of Lore skills, they can’t be changed. crafted from these ores develop a
Activate—Guide My Dreams [two-actions] (concentrate) Effect You ask the spirit within distinctive wavy pamor and prove
the pusaka to show you the way. You cast guidance as an occult cantrip. A invaluable for exorcising ghosts and
cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up. slaying fiends.
REFINED MOTION IN DARKNESS FEAT 1

WAYANG
The ability to move elegantly and undetected through darkness aided your
people as they fled the Netherworld. You can move 5 feet farther when you
take the Sneak action, up to your Speed. In addition, as long as you continue
to use Sneak actions and succeed at your Stealth check, you don’t become
observed if you end a Sneak action in dim light or darkness, as long as you
have cover or greater cover or are concealed at the end of your turn.
WAYANG LORE FEAT 1

WAYANG
You can use your knowledge to enhance your performances or aid
you in hiding. You gain the trained proficiency rank in Performance
and Stealth. If you would automatically become trained in one of those
skills (from your background or class, for example), you instead become
trained in a skill of your choice.
You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for Wayang Lore.
WAYANG WEAPON FAMILIARITY FEAT 1

WAYANG
You learned to fight with weapons that help you keep your distance
or make the most of striking from shadows. You gain access to and
familiarity with the blowgun, fighting fan (page 127), kris (Pathfinder
Lost Omens Impossible Lands 221), longspear, machete (Pathfinder
Treasure Vault 25), sai (page 127), and trident. You have familiarity
with these weapons—for the purposes of proficiency, you treat
any of these that are martial weapons as simple weapons and
any that are advanced weapons as martial weapons.
At 5th level, whenever you get a critical hit with one of these SHADOW OF THE SAILOR
weapons, you get its critical specialization effect.
73
LEVEL 5 Critical Success You step on the foe’s shadow, bringing a cold
dread. The opponent is frightened 2; its shadow remains
DISSOLUTION’S CLARITY [free-action] FEAT 5 pinned underfoot, stretching and deforming to remain
WAYANG connected to your square, and indicates where it has gone
Prerequisites focus pool even if you lose sight of the foe. The creature can’t reduce
Frequency once per day its frightened condition below 1 as long as you remain on its
Requirements You’re in an area of darkness. shadow. Your connection to its shadow breaks if the distance
The Dissolution teaches that darkness can bring clarity and between you and the target exceeds 120 feet or if you don’t
focus, serenity and strength—and so you draw on nearby end your turn adjacent to the target. Once your connection
shadows to replenish your magic. You regain 1 Focus Point, up to to its shadow breaks, the enemy is immune to Dance of the
your usual maximum. Tiger for 1 hour.
Success As critical success, except the creature is only frightened
SHADOWPLAY [one-action] FEAT 5 1 and your connection to its shadow breaks at 60 feet instead
ILLUSION OCCULT SHADOW WAYANG of 120.
Requirements Your last action was a melee Strike that damaged
your opponent. DISSOLUTION’S SIGHT [one-action] FEAT 9
As your blow lands, you detach from your shadow to get the drop OCCULT WAYANG
on your enemy. You attempt to Tumble Through the opponent’s Frequency once per hour
space, with a +2 circumstance bonus to the Acrobatics check. If Accepting your inner darkness means that no outer darkness
you succeed, your shadow rises up from the ground, flanking can obscure your sight. You gain greater darkvision for 1 minute.
your opponent until the beginning of your next turn.
ROUSE THE DREAMING RELIC FEAT 9
LEVEL 9 WAYANG
Prerequisites Inherit the Dreaming Heirloom
DANCE OF THE TIGER [one-action] FEAT 9 The spirit within your pusaka resonates with other magical items
EMOTION FEAR MENTAL OCCULT WAYANG in your possession. Your pusaka gains the following activation.
Tales tell of the Tiger stalking the Mousedeer for days, hidden Activate—Replenish Heirloom [free-action] (concentrate) Frequency once
and instilling dread upon its prey. Your dance embodies the per day; Effect Your pusaka uses its power to spark one of
character role so well you can trail an opponent from its own your depleted magic items to life. You Activate an Item you’ve
shadow. Attempt a Performance check against the Will DC of a invested even after you’ve used that activation the maximum
single adjacent enemy. number of times for its frequency. You can do so only if the
item’s level is half your level or lower, the activation has a
frequency of once per day or more frequent, and you haven’t
already used the activation this round.
SHADOW TEMPO [reaction] FEAT 9

WAYANG
Trigger An ally within your reach uses a move action or leaves
a square during a move action they’re using.
As your ally moves past you, you match your movements to
their rhythm, following them across the battlefield. You Stride
up to your Speed but must follow the same path that the
triggering ally takes. You must end your movement adjacent to
the triggering ally (or in the last square you were able to move
if your ally is able to move farther than your Speed).
LEVEL 13
DALANG’S ALLY [one-action] FEAT 13

OCCULT SHADOW WAYANG
You move your shadow as a master puppeteer, allowing it to
dance around your enemies and serve you in combat. Until the
start of your next turn, your shadow darts around with your
foes, providing flanking for you against all enemies within your
reach. Flanking with your shadow is the same as flanking with
an ally and so is subject to effects like all-around vision or the
WAYANG DJONG
deny advantage class feature.
74
DANCE OF THE JESTER [two-actions] FEAT 13 Wayang Tattoos
WAYANG Wayang “tattoos” are blotted shadows,
TIAN XIA
Through your incredible dance skill, you can embody the character of the Jester, able which all wayangs possess in addition
to take control of the shadows of other players on stage (much to your amusement). to their “normal” shadows and can
CHARACTER
Attempt a Performance check against the Fortitude DC of a single enemy within 30 feet. control with fluid ease. In civil or GUIDE
Critical Success Your shadow and the opponent’s synchronize, forcing your target to courtly contexts, many wayangs form INTRODUCTION
match your movements step for step. You perform any two of the following actions: these small clusters of supernatural
Drop Prone, Release an object, Stand, Step, or Stride. You must perform two different darkness into distinctive tessellated BACKGROUNDS
actions. Your opponent also takes these actions, moving in the same direction as you patterns, proudly displaying their
MAGIC AND
(for instance, if you Stride north, so does your opponent) or Releasing an object when heritage and links with their ships, THE SPIRIT
you do. The target is then temporarily immune to your Dance of the Jester for 1 day. crews, and homelands. WORLD
Success As critical success, except you can take only one action, not two, before During rituals and performances,
your target becomes temporarily immune to your dance, and you cannot move the dalangs (puppeteers) masterfully THE ELEMENTS
target into hazardous terrain. animate these shadows into
ZODIAC
puppets to tell sacred and historical
PALM-LEAF SILHOUETTE FEAT 13 stories on large leather screens, PEOPLES
EXPLORATION EXTRADIMENSIONAL OCCULT WAYANG to the accompaniment of gamelan
Frequency once per day musicians. Many wayangs also use CHARACTER
OPTIONS
You can make yourself as flat as a paper doll or shadow. You can spend 1 minute in a similar (but far less elaborate)
motionless meditation before performing an odd step that takes you partially out of means of nonverbal communication, TIAN
this plane, leaving your body completely flat. In this state, you can slip under doors, displaying pleasure or unhappiness EQUIPMENT
through tiny cracks, or anywhere a single sheet of paper could, but you can’t cast with subtle shifts of shadow.
spells, activate items, or use actions that have the attack or manipulate traits. You GLOSSARY
& INDEX
remain in this state for 1 minute unless you choose to return to normal sooner as an
action, which has the concentrate trait.
SLAY GIANTS UNSEEN FEAT 13

WAYANG
In the darkness, your attacks can bring any red-faced giant to their knees. Once per
hour, if you critically succeed at an attack roll against a Large or larger enemy and
you’re in an area of darkness, unseen hands reach from the shadows and pull the
target to the ground, knocking them prone.
LEVEL 17
DISSOLUTION’S SOVEREIGNTY FEAT 17

WAYANG
With discipline born from a lifetime in darkness, you convince the shadow of an
enemy to fight by your side. You can cast duplicate foe as an occult innate spell
once per day. The duplicate is the target’s shadow, which takes three-dimensional
form and grants it the shadow trait; for the duration of the spell, the target loses
their shadow. If the target is in an area of darkness when the spell is cast,
the created duplicate has 15 more Hit Points.
SEVER THE DREAMING SHADOW FEAT 17

WAYANG
Prerequisite Inherit the Dreaming Heirloom
As you whisper to your pusaka, it attempts to cut away an enemy’s shadow,
leaving them in an eternal sleep. Your pusaka gains the following Activation.
Activate—Cut the Shadow [two-actions] (concentrate, manipulate, mental) Frequency
once per day; Effect Your pusaka becomes a kris made of darkness and
drives itself into an adjacent enemy’s shadow. That enemy takes 80 mental
damage with a basic Fortitude save against your spell DC or class DC, whichever
is higher. If this reduces the creature to 0 Hit Points, the target doesn’t die, but its
shadow is severed from its body, becoming a shadow spawn (Monster Core 306)
that attempts to flee from the target’s body. As long as the shadow spawn exists,
the target remains in a dreamless slumber; if destroyed, the target regains its WAYANG HOUSE
shadow and awakens (if its body was kept properly while unconscious).
75
Yaksha
Away from shining citadels and opulent palaces, reticent of the metamorphic First World into stable regions to
yakshas shelter Tian Xia’s rural hinterlands from natural provide refuge for destitute fey.
disasters and otherworldly depredations. Famed for Yakshas faced great hostility in the First World; their
resolute vows and prowess with primal magic, yakshas sheltering of impoverished fey didn’t garner sympathy but
shield the indigent and protect the wilderness, punishing instead drew scorn from others. Affronted fey aristocrats
those who threaten either with bone-crushing fury. Yaksha saw yaksha sanctuaries as a challenge to their authority,
legends recall their origins as divine spirits, overseeing the and the stolid plainness of yaksha domains offended the
safety of roads and abodes in a primeval world of vast fey’s aesthetic sensitivities. Thus, yaksha communities
storm forests and titanic flame floods—the First World, increasingly became targets and, at some uncertain time,
a realm of boundless potentiality. During the Great were banished to the Universe. Some of these exiles came to
Abandonment, when the gods left the First World, many settle in obscurity amid Tian Xia’s forests, a fact that planar
yakshas rejected this exodus, instead staying to perform scholars record as a tragedy. After all, if these yakshas had
their duties as caretakers. Despite the realm’s sudden dearth left alongside the gods earlier, they would surely enjoy
of divine power, the remaining yakshas swore primordial greater prominence and privilege on Golarion.
vows, allowing them to channel power from the nearby Yet most yakshas spurn such sentiments, instead
Creation’s Forge into primal magic and transform swathes expressing quiet pride in fulfilling their vows where
even the gods failed. Yakshas view their departure not
as a dereliction, but an execution of duty. Their histories
claim this egress paved the way for other persecuted fey
to escape, and thus their relocation aligned with their
obligations. Many yakshas still enjoy amicable relations
with fey emigrants, protecting them and their descendants
from First World pursuers. Just as many wander bucolic
back roads and shadowy swamps, guiding lost travelers,
repairing flood-torn bridges, or simply nurturing the green,
growing earth—a fundamental pillar of the land. Such
stalwart custodianship has earned the reclusive yakshas a
reputation for being hospitable, if enigmatic, guardians of
the wild.
If you want to play a character who’s a guardian
spirit and has complex relationships with gods and
fiends alike, swears primordial vows to uphold noble
duties, and acts on behalf of the humble and forgotten,
you should play a yaksha.
You Might...
• Have sworn vows to safeguard little-known rural
communities or remote wildernesses.
• Be stoic yet not unfeeling, accepting others’ burdens to
make sense of your own identity.
• Inordinately enjoy puns and wordplay, being so
familiar with carefully worded vows.
Others Probably...
• Gain amusement from trying to trick you into agreeing
to promises to do chores or petty favors.
• Assume you to be tireless and self-sacrificing and
expect you to never complain about responsibilities.
• Disdain you as simpleminded and unsophisticated and
assume you have little interest in etiquette or fashion.
YAKSHA Physical Description

Yakshas aren’t born flesh-and-blood into the world.
Instead, these guardian spirits occasionally manifest when
76
two conditions are met: a surfeit of positive emotions must exist within an Rarity
untamed area, and a great need for protection must arise within this land. When Rare
TIAN XIA
both conditions are met, yakshas might appear to answer common folk’s prayers
and protect the beleaguered land. Hit Points CHARACTER
Yakshas often appear as humans with strikingly distinctive physiques; while 8 GUIDE
some stand around 7 feet with powerfully muscled statures, others boast robust INTRODUCTION
portliness and stand no more than 4 feet. All possess luxurious, banyan-like Size
manes of hair that they bind in topknots or under headscarves. The primal power Medium BACKGROUNDS
of yaksha vows can sustain them for a thousand years. Ironically, due to perilous
MAGIC AND
nature of their vows, few yakshas live more than a century. Attribute Boosts THE SPIRIT
Constitution WORLD
Society Charisma
Most yakshas eschew pomp and disregard civilization’s excesses. Instead, Free THE ELEMENTS
they gather in provincial sects or assimilate among borderland peoples. While
ZODIAC
some of the First World’s yakshas reigned from kingly temple-cities, Tian Xia’s Attribute Flaws
yakshas discourage such grandiosity. Contemporary yakshas attribute love of Intelligence PEOPLES
lucre and prestige as temptations that led some of their number to join the Great
Abandonment. Gathering in large numbers also attracted the wrath of the cruel. Languages CHARACTER
OPTIONS
When the First World’s yakshas sheltered weaker fey within their temple-cities, Common
offended fey gentry launched war after war upon them. Thus, most yakshas keep Fey TIAN
to the margins of society today and do what they can to help the world around Yaksha EQUIPMENT
them. Where the poor and humble can be found, yakshas might also dwell to Additional languages equal to your
serve as protectors or avengers, enshrined in the lowborn’s forlorn hopes and Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). GLOSSARY
& INDEX
desperate wishes. Choose from Empyrean, Diabolic,
Yakshas choose names reflecting their nearby communities’ cultural Nagaji, Tang, Tengu, Vudran, and
influences. They often pick personal epithets as they swear their primordial any other languages to which you
vows, representing qualities or natural phenomena they aspire to embody. For have access (such as the languages
example, a pacifistic warrior of the Valashmai Jungle might pick Ahimsaka, a prevalent in your region).
name denoting nonviolence; a Minkaian sorcerer might name themself Osugi
after a splendid tree. Names inspired by traditional idioms are also popular; Traits
yakshas often truncate such formulaic expressions to create terse, allegorically Spirit
dense names. Yaksha
Sample Names: Ahimsaka, Fanren Meng, Hariti, Iryoku, Janavasbha, Kyoju-
Yasha, Mahavana, Osugi, Pattana, Tataka, Wu Shizhi Low-Light Vision
You can see in dim light as though it
Beliefs were bright light, and you ignore the
As guardian spirits, many yakshas are drawn toward benevolence. Their concealed condition due to dim light.
existence advocates adhering to vows and emphasizes empathy and service,
which nurtures compassion. Few, though, are both kind and disciplined;
witnessing divine desertion and imperial injustice has caused yakshas to doubt
the efficacy and fairness of a hierarchal society, and such skepticism makes it
hard for them to feel impartial about such communities. It isn’t unheard of
for yakshas to act recklessly and without consideration for their vows. Wild-
haired, ferocious yakshas have been known to devour entire taboo-violating
villages, and Iroran stories mention forest monastics taming such marauding
yakshas to lead them upon the path of repentance and enlightenment.
The popularity of Iroran teachings among otherwise religion-averse
yakshas gives these stories credence. Irori’s lessons of self-mastery sit easily
alongside yaksha discipline, and Irori’s mortal origins helps temper yakshas’
typical disdain for divinity. Yamatsumi’s worship is also not uncommon,
though yaksha adherents often couch prayers as respectful requests to a
more powerful sibling rather than supplications to a superior. While yakshas
stridently oppose Lady Nanbyo’s calamitous doctrines, they reserve their
greatest antipathy for other god-spurning beings, and they relentlessly battle
the cults of rakshasa immortals and asura ranas.
Popular Edicts guide the lost and weary, provide refuge to the weak and downtrodden,
swear primordial vows
Popular Anathema break a vow, gorge yourself on the extravagance of civilization
77
YAKSHA HERITAGES Additional Edict do your utmost to aid or rescue those trapped
Yaksha heritages are based on their primordial vows to or affected by natural disasters
defend peoples and places; yakshas instinctively become
aware of these primordial pledges established by their Deny the Traitors’ Rebirth
earlier‑arriving kin. Swearing such a vow completes a You swore a vow to deliver others from rakshasas and
yaksha’s translation from the First World to the Universe. asuras, whom yaksha legends have condemned as corrupted
As an individual yaksha binds themself to guardianship, kin. To counter their shadowy schemes, your vow grants
the vow renders permanent physical and spiritual you darkvision and a +1 circumstance bonus to Perception
transformations that manifest as yaksha heritages. checks to Seek or Sense the Motives of rakshasas and asuras.
All yaksha heritages come with one or more additional Additional Edict confront rakshasas and asuras you come across
edicts or anathema. Unlike the popular edicts above, you (as long as you have a reasonable chance of success); in the
must add the edicts from a heritage to your character. If you unlikely event you find a benevolent rakshasa or asura, you
repeatedly ignore these precepts, you lose your abilities from don’t have to confront them
your yaksha heritage and any magical abilities from your
ancestry. These can be regained only if you demonstrate Respite of Cloudless Paths
your repentance with an atone ritual. Choose one of the You swore a vow to protect the waylaid and the lost.
following yaksha heritages at 1st level. Both environmental heat effects and environmental cold
effects are one step less extreme for you (incredible heat
Deny the Firstborn Pursuit becomes extreme, extreme cold becomes severe, and so on),
You swore a vow to shelter others from the First World’s and you gain a + 1 circumstance bonus to saving throws
cruelties. Wise to fey’s mind-affecting abilities, your vow against environmental features or hazards, such as floods,
grants mental resistance equal to half your level (minimum rockslides, and sandstorms.
1), and a +2 circumstance bonus to Nature checks to Recall Additional Edict assist lost or incapacitated travelers
Knowledge about fey.
Additional Edict confront cruel fey you encounter (as long as Respite of Loam and Leaf
you have a reasonable chance of success) You swore a vow to preserve the very foundation of
sanctuary: the great earth and all that grows upon it. Your
Deny Lady Nanbyo’s Charity vow grants you the land’s spiritual power; you gain one
You swore a vow to release others from natural calamities. cantrip from the primal spell list. You can cast this spell as
Your vow grants you the strength to carry 1 more Bulk an innate primal spell at will. A cantrip is heightened to a
than normal before becoming encumbered and up to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up. Your roots
maximum of 2 more Bulk, as well as a +1 circumstance in the world grant you the plant trait.
bonus to Athletics checks to Force Open or Escape. Additional Edict cure or remove blight and pollution from the
plants and soil you encounter
Respite of a Thousand Roofs

You swore a vow to shelter and feed the poor. Your
vow grants you adroitness with carpentry, cook pot,
and cloth; you become trained in Crafting and Cooking
Lore, and you gain the Improvise Tool skill feat (Player
Core 2 231).
Additional Edict help the impoverished to the extent you’re able
by repairing their abodes and clothing or by feeding them
YAKSHA ANCESTRY FEATS

At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an
additional ancestry feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th,
9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a yaksha, you choose from
among the following ancestry feats.
1ST LEVEL
ASH-PIERCING GAZE FEAT 1

YAKSHA
Neither cinders nor winds shall prevent you from
seeing those who need help. You automatically
succeed at the flat check to target a concealed
RESPITE OF LOAM AND LEAF
creature if that creature is concealed only by smoke or mist.
78
AVOWED INSIGHT FEAT 1 Yaksha Enclaves
YAKSHA When the itinerant Iron Needle
TIAN XIA
Prerequisite Yaksha heritage with an edict that requires you to confront a certain type exorcists aren’t thwarting schemes of
of creature fiends and fey across southern Tian
CHARACTER
You become trained in the Lore skill corresponding to one creature type mentioned Xia, they discreetly tend to victims of GUIDE
by your vow (for example, Fey Lore if your heritage is deny the firstborn pursuit). these malefactors’ plots. The Sandsea INTRODUCTION
Whenever you successfully Recall Knowledge about this type of creature, you gain Sect of elementalists wanders the Wall
a +1 circumstance bonus to AC and saving throws against that creature’s attacks of Heaven, consoling spirits of wind- BACKGROUNDS
and abilities for 1 round. tossed sand separated from the seas.
MAGIC AND
Songbai’s Yecha Clan of porcelainists THE SPIRIT
BAMBOO AND SILT REPOSE FEAT 1 trace their name to yaksha forbears WORLD
YAKSHA who revealed secrets of primal
At home among mire and copse, you flit from river to tree with a dragonfly’s shimmering claymaking. The Disobliged, a loose THE ELEMENTS
grace. You ignore non-magical difficult terrain due to light undergrowth and shallow association of martial antiheroes, had
ZODIAC
bogs, mud, and water, and you treat non-magical greater difficult terrain due to these their heyday in Lung Wa, when they
features as difficult terrain instead. opposed merciless imperial edicts. PEOPLES
Their terrifying founder, Buzhi Ren,
HOWLING ASPECT [one-action] FEAT 1 infamously slew a thousand Butterfly CHARACTER
OPTIONS
MORPH PRIMAL YAKSHA Blades with their blood-soaked nine-
Frequency once per 10 minutes ring sword. TIAN
Pulling your hair loose into flames and gnashing your teeth into ragged fangs, you howl EQUIPMENT
a vow of ire, and your form surges to meet the demands of your deadly promise. For
the next minute, you gain two unarmed attacks. You gain a tusks melee unarmed GLOSSARY
& INDEX
attack that deals 1d6 piercing damage, is in the brawling group, and has the
finesse and unarmed traits. You also gain a flame-hair melee unarmed
attack that deals 1d4 fire damage, is in the brawling group, and has the
agile, finesse, and unarmed traits.
METICULOUS RESTORER FEAT 1

YAKSHA
Waste not, want not; your steady eye allows you to restore
craftwork quickly while conserving valuable material. You gain
the Quick Repair feat. In addition, when you roll a critical failure
while attempting to Repair an item, you get a failure instead.
SAGE OF SCATTERED LEAVES FEAT 1

YAKSHA
The epics of your people’s tragic yet proud history blaze like burning
leaves in the forests of ancestral memory. You gain the trained
proficiency rank in Nature and Religion. If you would automatically
become trained in one of those skills (from your background or class,
for example), you instead become trained in a skill of your choice.
You also gain the Additional Lore general feat for Yaksha Lore.
TANGLE-TONGUE’S WIT FEAT 1

YAKSHA
Your talent for language is a blessing from the yaksha makers of old.
You learn two new languages, chosen from languages you have access
to. You also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your saving throws against
linguistic effects.
UNWAVERING GUIDE FEAT 1

YAKSHA
Sharp-eyed and sure-footed, your presence is a boon to those you guide. When
you Scout, you grant your party a +2 circumstance bonus to initiative rolls
instead of the normal +1. When your group uses the Hustle activity, they can
HOWLING ASPECT
use your Constitution modifier to determine how fast the group can Hustle
together, even if it isn’t the lowest in the group.
79
5TH LEVEL fruits, nuts, and vegetables sufficient to feed 5 people flourish
overnight around you, ripe for the picking.
COLUGO’S TRAVERSAL FEAT 5
PRIMAL YAKSHA STEM THE TIDE FEAT 5
Forbidding valleys and sheer cliffs can’t curb your vows to PRIMAL YAKSHA
reunite the lost. You can cast your choice of gentle landing or You can cast protector tree (Player Core 2 249) as a 1st-rank
jump as a primal innate spell once per day. At 9th level, these primal innate spell once per day. At 7th level, the spell is
spells are heightened to 3rd rank. heightened to 2nd rank, and every 2 levels thereafter, the
spell is heightened an additional spell rank.
NOURISHING SYMBIOSIS FEAT 5
YAKSHA WITHSTAND THE STORM [reaction] FEAT 5
As you recuperate from your wounds, life energy flows from YAKSHA
you to the land and back to you again. During downtime Frequency once per day
mode, when you take the Long-Term Rest activity, you regain Trigger You would take cold, electricity, fire, poison, or
an additional 24 Hit Points after the first 24 hours of rest. You sonic damage.
can use the Subsist activity during a long-term rest and don’t Your skin hardens like bark and gains the sheen of glazed
need to spend any additional time to do so. When you do so, clay, lessening the wild’s ruinous sting against your body.
You gain resistance equal to your level against the triggering
damage type.
9TH LEVEL
ABJURE THE FALSE KIN FEAT 9

YAKSHA
Your vow reminds you that there can be brackish vinegar
hiding within honeyed words, helping you detect attempts to
influence your mind. If you roll a success on a saving throw
against a mental effect that doesn’t deal damage, you get a
critical success instead.
FIEND-TRAMPLING STATURE FEAT 9

YAKSHA
Fiends unfortunate enough to be trampled beneath your feet
or rent within your grasp are swiftly granulated into bone
kindling and blood powder, and the pain of your strikes
prevents them from action. Whenever you critically hit
a creature that’s prone, grabbed, or restrained, it can’t use
reactions for 1 round.
FOUR-ARMED ASPECT [one-action] FEAT 9

MORPH PRIMAL YAKSHA
You intone vows to shoulder others’ pains; in response, your
torso sprouts an additional pair of arms to help you bear
those burdens. For the following minute, you can
carry 3 more Bulk than normal before becoming
encumbered and up to a maximum of 6 more Bulk.
You can also use these arms as free hands to
perform only the following actions or activities:
Disarm, Grapple, Shove, and Trip. After this minute or when
you become unconscious, whichever comes first, these
additional arms fade away.
HORN AND BONE INCANTATION FEAT 9

PRIMAL YAKSHA
TRANSCEND THE AZIMUTH
You invoke mantras of tellurian rebirth. You gain the ability
to cast animal form and humanoid form as 2nd-rank primal
innate spells, each once per day.
80
WITNESS OF EARTH FEAT 9 Other Relations
UNCOMMON PRIMAL YAKSHA Sprites and gnomes show cordiality
TIAN XIA
The primal magic in your soul offers the patient earth’s timeless counsel. You learn the toward yakshas, a legacy of First
atone ritual. When you use the atone ritual on yakshas and you roll a critical failure, you World friendships. Leshies and
CHARACTER
get a failure instead, and if you roll a success, you get a critical success instead. mountainkeeper tengu respect GUIDE
yakshas’ affinity with nature, while INTRODUCTION
WORLD-PROTECTOR’S HOSPITALITY FEAT 9 kami often see yakshas as valued
PRIMAL YAKSHA allies. Samsarans and yakshas BACKGROUNDS
Prerequisite Meticulous Restorer learn from each other’s spiritual
MAGIC AND
Through your spiritual power, you impede starvation and restore pantries. You can perspectives, but power-seeking THE SPIRIT
cast create food and cleanse cuisine as 2nd-rank primal innate spells, each once per yaoguai tend to scorn self-denying WORLD
day. Additionally, when you cast these spells, you instantly restore Hit Points to the yakshas as diffident fools.
containers storing these magical comestibles as though you’ve succeeded at a Repair Human stories portray yakshas THE ELEMENTS
action using your proficiency in your spell DC in place of your Crafting proficiency. as protectors of wealth, but treasure
ZODIAC
hunters are eventually disappointed—
13TH LEVEL and punished—when these treasures PEOPLES
turn out to be the well-being of the
ADAMANTINE MANTRA FEAT 13 yakshas wards. Due to ageless feuds, CHARACTER
OPTIONS
PRIMAL YAKSHA fierce animosities rage between
You attain your true potential as a tutelary spirit. You can cast blessing of defiance yakshas and the two fiend clans of TIAN
(Secrets of Magic 91) as a 5th-rank primal innate spell once per day. rakshasas and asuras. EQUIPMENT
GERMINATION OF RESOLVE [free-action] FEAT 13 GLOSSARY

& INDEX
YAKSHA
Vitality floods your trammeled soul, offering you rejuvenation, if not quite rest. For each
effect that causes the enfeebled or fatigued conditions to affect you, attempt a Nature
check to counteract that effect. The counteract rank of Germination of Resolve is equal
to half your level rounded up.
WILD-HAIRED FURY FEAT 13

YAKSHA
Your broken bones jut at odd angles, yet this pain only adds to your anger and prowess.
You add the combined value of your doomed and wounded conditions as a circumstance
bonus to damage rolls with your melee attacks (for example, if you were doomed 1 and
wounded 2, you would gain a +3 circumstance bonus to your melee damage rolls).
17TH LEVEL
STRENGTH OF EIGHT LEGIONS FEAT 17

POLYMORPH PRIMAL YAKSHA
You meditate for 24 hours in a one-time ceremony within a forest or
cave; after your seclusion, your frame and limbs swell with warlike might
to enact your vows. You permanently gain the effects of enlarge, and your
maximum Hit Points increase by your level. The ceremony transforms
most of your gear to the appropriate size for your new body (though
powerful items like artifacts or items strongly tied to their original size
can’t transform, at the GM’s discretion).
TRANSCEND THE AZIMUTH FEAT 17

PRIMAL YAKSHA
As the earth drinks the light of sun and moon, so does your steady vow
imbibe superlunary forces, ready to be unleashed with a moment’s mantra.
You can cast cosmic form (Secrets of Magic 97) on yourself as
a 7th-rank primal innate spell once per day, your shadow
lengthening and becoming a mandala of fundamental energies.
In addition to the spell’s normal effects, you can Sustain the spell to switch
between the sun battle form and the moon battle form once per turn. yaksha house
81
Yaoguai
Yaoguai usually begin as simple animals, plants, or as divine punishment for a misdeed they committed.
objects before finding a way to awaken to sapience, For those wishing to change back, a long journey of
becoming strange shapeshifting creatures in the process. atonement or discovery lies ahead, while those who
Often originating from an infusion of ambient energy accept their new forms seek ways to solidify their control
into their original form, yaoguai attain their powers over these innate gifts and amass power.
through training their innate magic. Taking care not If you want to play a character who seeks to change
to expose their true appearance and nature, yaoguai of themself fundamentally through power, experience, or
the same origins or species sometimes form enclaves in transcendence, you should play a yaoguai.
which they dedicate their lives to honing their powers or
engaging in hedonistic pursuits—though the two aren’t You Might...
mutually exclusive. Yaoguai who lack a solid community, • Keep an ear out for ways to attain, unlock, or train
meanwhile, feel compelled to cultivate themselves until your power such that you can transcend your being.
they transcend their origin, which might allow them to • Distrust the intentions of others if they’re capable of
join society and experience a new kind of freedom. harming you, especially other yaoguai.
Sometimes, extraplanar beings or humanoids are • Be insulted when your abilities are questioned.
transformed into yaoguai by rituals, arcane mishaps, or
sheer coincidence. For some, this occurrence was their Others Probably...
heart’s desire, though others see their transformation • Show interest or awe at the powers you wield or
have at your disposal.
• Are shocked and dismayed to learn that your true
shape isn’t the form you appear to be.
• Assume you’re malicious by nature and envious of
society in general.
A yaoguai’s original form can be virtually anything. It’s
faster to conclude that if something exists, so long as it
basks in the perfect conditions for enough time—usually
on the scale of thousands of years—it might just become
a yaoguai. Yaoguai inherit a wide range of features based
on their pre-awakened form; a yaoguai born of animals
might have fur or pointed ears; one derived from an
object might have stone- or metal-like skin. Due to their
wild appearances, many adventuring yaoguai travel by
night, which invites suspicion. Thus, shapeshifting into
a humanoid form is one of the many arts yaoguai
practice meticulously, even if all they can achieve is
a form that retains many of their yaoguai features.
Some yaoguai prefer such a form. Perhaps
they’re confident that they have nothing
to hide or they like the ease of access
to their yaoguai powers in this
incomplete form. Others aim
to perfect their humanoid
form until they become
indistinguishable from any other humanoid creature.
Many yaoguai are born adults, though their
humanoid forms can be of any apparent age. The
average life span of yaoguai, in general, is often a
reflection of their power. The most powerful yaoguai
can easily challenge the life span of dragons, living
up to several thousand years, if not becoming agelessly
BORN OF ANIMAL immortal. Rumors abound, therefore, that yaoguai might
have ruled much of Tian Xia once upon a time.
82
Society Rarity
Roughly three types of yaoguai exist: those who stick with other yaoguai, Rare
TIAN XIA
those who hop in and out of non-yaoguai societies, and those who live among
other societies in disguise. Yaoguai who keep to themselves might be solitary Hit Points CHARACTER
with a small number of associates who live a good distance away. Yaoguai 8 GUIDE
of similar origins might share a domicile and consider themselves part of a INTRODUCTION
found family, with the most senior member acting as the parental or older Size
sibling figure. Some groups have more of a master-student or ruler-retainer Medium BACKGROUNDS
dynamic, particularly if the leading yaoguai is significantly more powerful.
MAGIC AND
Yaoguai who dip in and out of other cultures are often tricksters who Speed THE SPIRIT
prank the communities they frequent. As bothersome and malicious activity 25 feet WORLD
draws attention, most yaoguai groups wisely keep their pranks helpful or
tasteful to ensure their longevity. The pranks in such cases might consist of Attribute Boosts THE ELEMENTS
completing tasks or punching up at a local despot. Unfortunately, there are Charisma
ZODIAC
always powerful entities willing to sponsor yaoguai with evil intent, which Constitution
such yaoguai take as permission to rob and attack settlements without Free PEOPLES
abandon. These infamous stories are the reason why yaoguai bounty hunting
is a booming industry in Tian Xia and why yaoguai who live in non-yaoguai Attribute Flaw CHARACTER
OPTIONS
communities go to extreme lengths to keep a low profile. Often, these yaoguai Intelligence
live by themselves, in pairs, or in trios at most, as they fear numbers might TIAN
betray their safety. Languages EQUIPMENT
Yaoguai who spontaneously come to be typically pick their own name, Common
which might cheekily refer to their natural form. Other yaoguai gain a Additional languages equal to your GLOSSARY
& INDEX
name by what others call them, often a nickname that stems from a specific Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive).
ability, physical trait, or a particular event or action that made them known. Choose from Aklo, Draconic, Elven,
These naming schemes can feel like a trap for many yaoguai, however, as it Fey, Kitsune, Naga, Sakvroth, Tengu,
accentuates their yaoguai nature rather than their experience or personality. Ysoki, and any other languages to
Being bestowed a name that is unrelated to being yaoguai, or is uniquely which you have access (such as the
theirs, identifies them as an individual and is a considerable honor for many, languages prevalent in your region).
even more than titles or wealth. For some, restoring a lost or disgraced name
is the desired equivalent. Traits
Sample Names: “Lamplight” Deng (lamp), Geomi (spider), Mindeulle Humanoid
(dandelion), Qing Yeliu (green snake), Qiu Haitang (pogonia), Sekiko (stone) Yaoguai
Beliefs Change Shape

There’s the misconception that yaoguai are wicked by nature, no matter [one-action] (concentrate, occult, polymorph,
their intent or actions. This is far from the truth, especially with regard to yaoguai) You transform to or from your
yaoguai who live among humanoid communities or seek to transcend their true yaoguai form into a humanoid
being. Most yaoguai can be as heroic as any other of Tian Xia’s wandering alternate form, which is a common
adventurers. If a yaoguai came from an established yaoguai community, Medium humanoid ancestry prevalent
they might lean toward pragmatism, though there are also a few reckless where you were born (typically human).
tricksters. Yaoguai who spent much of their formative years by themselves This form is the same apparent age
or with a very small group of compatriots are often impulsive unless they and body type as your yaoguai form
follow a cultivation school or philosophy that demands otherwise. Some and has roughly analogous physical
yaoguai are particularly susceptible to the influence of their environment traits, such as hair color. Using Change
and peers, meaning they change their opinions more easily and rapidly than Shape counts as creating a disguise
other ancestries. for the Impersonate use of Deception.
Various yaoguai enclaves revere Shizuru and Tsukiyo, as it’s believed that You can remain in your humanoid
the power of sunlight and moonlight grants most yaoguai their awakening. form indefinitely, but you revert to
Qi Zhong is often cited and worshipped as the guiding teacher of the first your yaoguai form after 1 hour of
yaoguai who ascended to divinity, Sun Wukong. Though Sun Wukong unconsciousness or 1 minute after death.
ascended through dubiously ethical methods, nearly all yaoguai know of
his tales and exploits, even if the Monkey King isn’t a particularly popular
subject of worship.
Popular Edicts discover your name, leave a good impression wherever you go, seek
ways to cultivate your power and transcend your nature
Popular Anathema accept the limitations placed upon you, defy the laws of your
enclave, dismiss an opportunity for growth
83
YAOGUAI HERITAGES Born of Celestial
Yaoguai literally come in all shapes. The entity you were You were once a powerful celestial before an escape or
before awakening as a yaoguai determines your origin. great punishment left you trapped in a mortal shell, with
Choose one of the following yaoguai heritages at 1st level. only vague memories and limited power. Due to your
You gain the benefits for a form only while in that form. residual divine power, the tradition of any spells or magical
If you’re a yaoguai with a versatile heritage, you still abilities you gain from a yaoguai heritage or ancestry feat
select a yaoguai heritage to inform your character’s story, is divine instead of its normal tradition (usually occult).
but you don’t gain any of its mechanical effects. You can • Humanoid Form Fragments of divine memory still
take the Awakened Yaoguai Heritage feat to gain these litter your mind. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus
effects and qualify for feats that require a specific heritage. to Religion checks.
• Yaoguai Form Celestial power flows through you.
Born of Animal Choose one cantrip from the divine spell list. You
You were a simple animal until the sun enlightened you. can cast this spell as an innate divine cantrip at will.
• Humanoid Form Animals can sense the power of A cantrip is heightened to a spell rank equal to half
your presence. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your level rounded up.
Intimidation checks against animals and beasts and
don’t take a penalty for attempting to Intimidate Born of Elements
animals or beasts you don’t share a language with. You were an aspect of nature—the rain, the wind, a ray of
• Yaoguai Form You can dash like an animal. If you light—until the wild essences gave you a soul. Due to your
have both hands free, you can increase your Speed natural connection, the tradition of any spells or magical
to 30 feet as you run on all fours. abilities you gain from a yaoguai heritage or ancestry feat
is primal instead of its normal tradition (usually occult).
• Humanoid Form You remain attuned to the natural
world. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to
Survival checks to Sense Direction, and you don’t
take a penalty if you don’t have a compass.
• Yaoguai Form The power of nature flows through
you, ready to lash out. Choose electric arc, frostbite,
ignition, needle darts (Rage of Elements 144), timber
(Rage of Elements 198), scatter scree (Player Core 2
250), slashing gust (Rage of Elements 71), or spout
(Player Core 2 252). You can cast this spell as an
innate primal cantrip at will. A cantrip is heightened
to a spell rank equal to half your level rounded up.
Born of Item
You were an object until the moon breathed life into
you. Choose one Lore skill related to what kind of tool
you were; for instance, Cooking Lore for a cleaver or
Farming Lore for a rake. You become trained in this skill.
• Humanoid Form You retain memories of the
tasks you performed as an object. You gain a +1
circumstance bonus to the Lore skill you obtained
through this heritage.
• Yaoguai Form Your time as a mindless object makes
it harder to affect you mentally. If you roll a success
on a mental effect, you gain a critical success instead.
Born of Vegetation
You were a plant or fungi until the rain gifted you a
mind. You gain your choice of the plant or fungus trait.
• Humanoid Form With fresh vegetation, you can
better aid those in need. You gain a +1 circumstance
bonus to Medicine checks to Administer First Aid.
• Yaoguai Form When anyone uses the Medicine skill to
Treat your Wounds, add your level to the Hit Points
BORN OF VEGETATION you regain from that treatment. Additionally, the
creature attempting the check gains a +1 circumstance
84
bonus if you have the plant trait and are in bright light, or the fungus trait Yaoguai Motives
and are in darkness. A yaoguai’s heritage often informs
TIAN XIA
what they hope to achieve. Plant and
ANCESTRY FEATS animal yaoguai might seek to become
CHARACTER
At 1st level, you gain one ancestry feat, and you gain an additional ancestry fully human or humanoid, or at least GUIDE
feat every 4 levels thereafter (at 5th, 9th, 13th, and 17th levels). As a yaoguai, find a way to peacefully live among INTRODUCTION
you select from among the following ancestry feats. humanity. Yaoguai who spawned
from objects and nature often desire BACKGROUNDS
1ST LEVEL respect and appreciate those who
MAGIC AND
treasure their presence. The banished THE SPIRIT
CRAWLING FORM FEAT 1 celestials are either looking to WORLD
YAOGUAI consolidate their power as yaoguai or
Prerequisites born of animal or born of celestial heritage something powerful enough to return THE ELEMENTS
You can transform into a small animal or celestial creature to scurry and spy. You them to their celestial form.
ZODIAC
can Change Shape to assume a crawling form. While in crawling form, you gain the
effect of a 1st-rank pest form, except you can transform only into a shape matching PEOPLES
your heritage; for example, if you were once were a wolf, you turn into a wolf puppy.
CHARACTER
OPTIONS
MORPHIC STRIKE FEAT 1
YAOGUAI TIAN
You can lash out with a portion of your previous self. You gain EQUIPMENT
a melee unarmed Strike depending on your heritage, described
below. You can use this unarmed Strike in either your humanoid GLOSSARY
& INDEX
form or your yaoguai form. These Strikes are in the brawling
group. Like other unarmed attacks, you can improve this
attack with handwraps of mighty blows.
• Animal [one-action] claw (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6 slashing
• Celestial [one-action] spirit touch (magical, sanctified, spirit),
Damage 1d4 spirit
• Elements [one-action] elemental current (magical), Damage 1d4; this
ability deals the same damage type and gains the same elemental
traits of the cantrip you gained from your heritage
• Object [one-action] striking surface (sweep), Damage 1d8 bludgeoning or slashing
(chosen when you gain this feat)
• Vegetation [one-action] root (reach), Damage 1d6 bludgeoning
NATURAL MUTAGEN FEAT 1

YAOGUAI
You can distill your natural shapeshifting ability into an elixir that grants a
lesser ability to morph. When you gain this feat, select a common 1st-level
mutagen. Each day during your daily preparations, you can make one
temporary vial of the selected mutagen. It dissipates by your next daily
preparations if not consumed. If the mutagen has multiple versions
(such as a greater version), your mutagen automatically becomes this
higher-level version when your level equals the mutagen’s level.
POLYMORPHIC ESCAPE [reaction] FEAT 1

OCCULT POLYMORPH YAOGUAI
Trigger You would become grabbed, immobilized, prone, or restrained.
You polymorph into a tiny vermin, a cloud of leaves, or another shape that
allows you to escape. Attempt a DC 16 flat check; on a success, you ignore the
triggering effect and can Step. You then return to your humanoid shape.
TWILIGHT DWELLER FEAT 1

YAOGUAI
You’re accustomed to shaded forests and caves. You gain low-light vision. If you
already have low-light vision, you gain darkvision. BORN OF ITEM
Special You can select this feat twice.
85
YAOGUAI HISTORIAN FEAT 1 AWAKENED YAOGUAI HERITAGE FEAT 5
YAOGUAI YAOGUAI
You know extensively about your own kind. You gain Prerequisite You have a versatile heritage.
the trained proficiency rank in Occultism. If you would You’ve delved into the power of your legacy. You gain all the
automatically become trained in this skill (from your mechanical benefits of the yaoguai heritage you selected at
background or class, for example), you instead become first level, allowing you to take feats and gain any benefits
trained in a skill of your choice. You also gain the Additional that require a specific yaoguai heritage.
Lore general feat for Yaoguai Lore.
Once per day, you can gain the benefits of the Assurance BOLD DEFIANCE [free-action] FEAT 5
feat for either Occultism or Yaoguai Lore. You choose to use FORTUNE YAOGUAI
this as a free action when you attempt the affected skill check. Frequency once per 10 minutes
Trigger You Change Shape.
5TH LEVEL You harden your form as you dance between shapes. You gain
temporary Hit Points equal to your level that last for 1 minute.
AMONG HUMANITY FEAT 5
OCCULT POLYMORPH YAOGUAI IMMOBILE FORM FEAT 5
Frequency once per day YAOGUAI
Your talents in shapechanging allow you to pass unseen. When Prerequisites born of item, born of elements, or born of
you Change Shape into your humanoid form, you gain the vegetation heritage
effects of 3rd-rank illusory disguise for 1 hour or until you shift You take on the shape you had before you awoke to hide
back, except it’s a polymorph effect rather than an illusion. in plain sight. When you Change Shape, you can assume
the form of an immobile plant, object, or natural feature of
Tiny, Small, or Medium size, as suits your heritage. Using
your immobile form counts as setting up a disguise for
the Impersonate use of Deception, except that you can
Impersonate an object instead of a creature, it gives you a
+4 status bonus to Deception checks to prevent others from
seeing through your disguise, and you add your level even if
you’re untrained. You can speak while in immobile form, but
you can’t attack, cast spells, or move.
KIN HUNTER FEAT 5

YAOGUAI
Prerequisites Yaoguai Historian
You’re adept at combating other supernatural creatures.
When you succeed at a Recall Knowledge check using
Occultism or Yaoguai Lore, you gain a +1 circumstance
bonus to damage with weapons and unarmed attacks
against that creature and all creatures of the exact same
type for the next minute. If your attack would deal
more than one weapon die of damage (as is common
at higher levels than 1st), the bonus is equal to the
number of weapon dice or unarmed attack dice.
Additionally, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus
to saving throws against their abilities for the
next minute. For example, if you’re facing three
jiang-shi, you would gain these bonuses against
all three of them.
SIGNATURE WEAPON FEAT 5

YAOGUAI
Your energy saturates one of your weapons; it might be one
inherited or one tied to your history. Pick a weapon and give
it a name; this weapon gains the unique trait. You gain access
to its critical specialization effect. You can spend one action
saying the name of your weapon, summoning it into your
BORN OF NATURE empty hand if the weapon is unattended and within 1 mile; this
is an occult teleportation effect.
86
If your signature weapon is destroyed, you can spend three You can cut through illusions with such precision that
days and three nights saturating a new weapon with your all those around you find their senses sharpened as well.
TIAN XIA
energy, creating a new signature weapon. Whenever you disbelieve an illusion, all allies within 15 feet
can use a free action to attempt a saving throw to disbelieve
CHARACTER
9TH LEVEL the illusion as well. GUIDE
INTRODUCTION
BRILLIANT VISION FEAT 9 IMPROVED SIGNATURE WEAPON FEAT 13
YAOGUAI YAOGUAI
BACKGROUNDS
You ignore concealment from clouds, dust, fog, mist, smoke, Prerequisites Signature Weapon
MAGIC AND
and similarly loose matter. You can also cast see the unseen as Your signature weapon takes on the properties of mystical THE SPIRIT
an innate occult spell once per day. materials renowned for defeating undead, spirits, and WORLD
other such creatures. Your signature weapon is treated as
FOREVER AMONG HUMANITY FEAT 9 dawnsilver, duskwood, and peachwood for the purposes of THE ELEMENTS
YAOGUAI overcoming resistance.
ZODIAC
Prerequisites Among Humanity
Passing unseen within society is second nature to you now. UNNERVING TERROR [two-actions] FEAT 13 PEOPLES
You can use Among Humanity three times per day instead of AUDITORY EMOTION FEAR MENTAL YAOGUAI
once per day. Frequency once per day CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Requirements You’re in yaoguai form.
QUICK RECOVERY [free-action] FEAT 9 You let out a mighty howl, chant of death, or speak with eerie TIAN
YAOGUAI repetition that plants fear in others. All enemies within 30 EQUIPMENT
Frequency once per day feet must attempt a Will save against your class DC or spell
Trigger Your turn begins, and you have the wounded DC, whichever is higher. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
condition. Critical Success The target is unaffected.
You use your command over your form to repair life- Success The target is frightened 1.
threatening wounds. Reduce your wounded condition by 1. Failure The target is frightened 1 and off-guard.
Critical Failure The target is frightened 2 and off-guard.
UNLEASH YAOGUAI MIGHT FEAT 9
YAOGUAI 17TH LEVEL
As you enter your yaoguai form, you draw upon your internal GENTLE DEATH AND REBIRTH FEAT 17
magic to assume an even greater form. When you Change OCCULT YAOGUAI
Shape to enter your yaoguai form, you can spend an additional You were once born from the energies of the land and nature,
action to gain the effects of enlarge and an additional effect and by their power, you can return to life again. Once per
based on your heritage. This effect persists for 1 minute or year, when you die, your remains become protected as if
until you Change Shape again. under the effects of a 5th-rank peaceful rest spell. If your
• Animal Your hide thickens, granting a +1 circumstance remains are brought and buried within 1 mile of where you
bonus to AC. were born, after a week, you return to life with the effects
• Celestial You recover some of your celestial perfection, of a successful (but not critically successful) 9th-rank
granting you and all allies within 15 feet a +1 status resurrect ritual.
bonus to attack rolls.
• Elements You’re surrounded in wind and dust, granting LEGENDARY MONSTER FEAT 17
concealment each round that you spend at least 1 action YAOGUAI
that has the move trait. You can’t use this concealment Prerequisites Unleash Yaoguai Might
to Hide or Sneak, as normal for sources of obvious Your yaoguai form has reached its pinnacle, allowing you
concealment. to assume (or perhaps, return to) the form of a monster of
• Object Your skin transmutes partially into an inorganic legend. You can Unleash Yaoguai Might any number of times
substance, granting resistance 5 to your choice of per day. Once per day when you Unleash Yaoguai Might,
bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing. you can gain one of the following additional benefits, which
• Vegetation You trigger an accelerated growth, gaining persists for 1 minute or until you Change Shape again.
fast healing 5. • Your body grows to impossible heights. Your enlarge
effect is heightened to 4th rank.
13TH LEVEL • Your spiritual power erupts to punish your enemies. You
deal an additional 1d4 spirit damage with all Strikes and
ELUCIDATION [free-action] FEAT 13 attack spells, and your Strikes and attack spells gain the
YAOGUAI spirit trait.
Prerequisites Brilliant Vision • You can leap off the air itself. You gain the effects of the
Trigger You succeed at a saving throw to disbelieve an illusion. fly spell.
87
88
Character Options TIAN XIA
CHARACTER
GUIDE
Tian Xia is a land for everyone, so immense and filled Ready? Discover! INTRODUCTION
with diverse cultures that some ancient scholars believed Tian Xia’s upheavals and innovations might inspire
nothing more could exist under the heavens. Both adventures with themes of identity crises and shifting BACKGROUNDS
native and visiting adventurers will find places where loyalties. Characters from such backgrounds might
MAGIC AND
everything feels different, yet the types of people and become embroiled in ideological tensions between THE SPIRIT
the motivations they have remain constant wherever one traditionalist and reformist clans, or perhaps navigate WORLD
goes. Tian Xia births both heroes and villains. Customs and negotiate such uncertainties toward a better
might change, but hopes and dreams stay the same. tomorrow. For more investigative adventures, Tian Xia is THE ELEMENTS
Whether the nearby faces resemble your family or belong fraught with secrets and conspiracies, both terrestrial and
ZODIAC
to entirely different peoples, the person behind each one transcendental. Characters with the detective, fortune
has applicable lessons to teach. teller, noble, and scholar backgrounds might become PEOPLES
Let the swashbuckler from Taldor marvel at Goka’s drawn into schemes of courtiers and concubines alike.
soaring temple eaves—Empress Yin of Minkai did the Even the placid mountains, idyllic valleys, and verdant CHARACTER
OPTIONS
same when she first set eyes on the city-state. The wonder rainforests of Hwanggot, Tianjing, and Nagajor have
that an alchemist from Nantambu feels when witnessing potential as sites of intrigue; characters from the acolyte, TIAN
the healing power of acupuncture echoes what Yixing astrologer, hermit, and pilgrim backgrounds might run EQUIPMENT
sailors experienced over 4,000 years ago in Chu Ye. afoul of feuding sorcerous sects, uncover dreadful secrets
Cultural exchanges continue among Tian Xia’s diverse behind obscure prophecies, and battle over coveted GLOSSARY
& INDEX
nations even as it engages the wider world of Golarion. cultivation materials rumored to grant apotheosis.
Diplomatic Hwans will quickly point out there’s no A wealth of character options awaits in the following
shame in ignorance unless one refuses to learn, so fear not sections, from millennia-old martial arts traditions
when experimenting with Tian Xia’s magical cooking. to innovative mechanical creations that rival those
Heed the strategist marshal’s wisdom before delving into of Alkenstar. They come from a variety of cultures to
the Clicking Caverns of Xa Hoi. Learn about Tian Xia’s represent the diversity in Asia, but many might feel
pantheon and its deities’ codes. Perhaps one of them familiar to you. Most have depictions in literature or
conjures a yearning to become a holy champion that no cinema that you can draw upon to understand how they
previous god could inspire. integrate with your characters. If you’re inspired by the
gravity-defying acrobatics of wuxia films, for example,
you’ll find feats to bring those fantasies into Pathfinder.
ADAPTATION IS UNIVERSAL In other cases, the options expand on existing concepts,
Pathfinder has deep Western roots. Explorations of like how the bakuwa lizardfolk heritage expands this
other cultures in Pathfinder inevitably retain some ancestry in ways that might better evoke the myths of
Western societal assumptions, but adaptation can the Philippines. Of course, sometimes the rule of cool is
be respectful or ridiculous imitation depending on all you need. Who hasn’t wanted to fuse with a magical
execution and intent. While Tian Xia is inspired by being and arise as a phoenix? The familiar sage archetype
Asia, it isn’t the same thing as the continent that allows you to do just that!
exists in our real-world Earth, nor is it meant to be. Whether you’re playing a visitor to or a native of
Just as every table has its own variation of Pathfinder Tian Xia, a Tian expatriate or a recent immigrant, these
mechanics and lore—its own house rules and canonical options are here to help put mechanics and character
endings—so too does Pathfinder interpret content options in your hands to engage with the setting. The
from other societies. Tian Xia World Guide and the preceding chapters of this
We’re creating new stories to explore together, book told you what exists in the world, and now you
continuing a tradition of myths traveling and can explore how it does so. The world and its people
evolving to fit new contexts. Legends change with are more than an interchangeable backdrop. Living in
each retelling, and Asian diasporas in the West have a Tian Xia means learning the philosophies behind its
different view of their histories than the populations martial arts, understanding its perspectives through art
of the nations from which they came. The crucial and dance, savoring its cuisine, and mastering the craft
element is to respect the people in these stories: of forging its many tools, items, and weapons. Smell the
their heritage, their histories, and their role as active flora to identify its medicinal properties or give its fauna
participants in the challenges they face. We’re all a good head rub as you adopt a new animal companion.
human in the end. Anyone who’s willing to approach Follow in the footsteps of Tian Xia’s founders from the
the world with an open mind will find that every place days when the ash of Earthfall was still settling, and take
can become their home. your place in this world!
89
Five-Breath Vanguard
Tian elementalists of the School of Five Breaths seek RENEWING CYCLE FEAT 10
mastery over the five elemental martial arts expressed ARCHETYPE HEALING MAGICAL
by the following stances: Ironblood Stance for metal, Prerequisites Five-Breath Vanguard Dedication
Mountain Stance for earth, Reflected Ripple Stance The first time each round that you Cycle Elemental Stance,
(Secrets of Magic 202) for water, Stoked Flame Stance you gain temporary Hit Points equal to half your level
(Secrets of Magic 202) for fire, and Tangled Forest Stance that last until the start of your next turn. After you’ve
for wood. They’re collectively referred to as the elemental gained temporary Hit Points for entering a specific
stances. Those of the School of Five Breaths who practice elemental stance, you can’t gain temporary Hit Points
martial arts are taught to harness the elemental cycle by from entering that stance again until you’ve entered every
learning, mastering, and moving quickly between the other elemental stance you know or 10 minutes passes,
elemental stances, creating a versatile and potent martial whichever comes first.
art form. Monastic training is essentially a requirement for
five-breath vanguards, but martial artists from a variety of INDUCE IMBALANCE [two-actions] FEAT 14
classes might find ways to master the techniques. ARCHETYPE FLOURISH
Prerequisites Five-Breath Vanguard Dedication
FIVE-BREATH VANGUARD DEDICATION FEAT 6 Requirements You’re in an elemental stance.
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION Your blows can disrupt the delicate balance of elemental
Prerequisites Two of the five elemental stances (Ironblood energies that keep a body in good health. Strike the target
Stance, Mountain Stance, Reflected Ripple Stance, Stoked using the unarmed attack associated with your current
Flame Stance, and Tangled Forest Stance); Access Tian Xia elemental stance. On a success, the target must attempt a
origin or exposure to Tian elementalism Fortitude save against your class DC. On a failure, the target
You flow like the elemental cycle, adapting your stance and is clumsy 2 until the end of your next turn. On a critical
techniques constantly in response to whatever circumstances failure, the target is clumsy 3 for 1 minute. Elementals take a
you face. You gain the Cycle Elemental Stance action. –2 circumstance penalty to their save.
Cycle Elemental Stance [one-action] Requirements You’re in one of the
elemental stances; Effects Stride or Step, and then enter a PROTECTIVE CYCLE [reaction] FEAT 16
different elemental stance from the one you’re currently in. ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Five-Breath Vanguard Dedication
Trigger You take damage from an attack.
Requirements You’re in an elemental stance.
You react to harm by flowing into an
elemental stance with new advantages.
You Cycle Elemental Stance and gain a
+2 circumstance bonus to AC until the end of your
next turn.
FIVE BREATHS, ONE DEATH [three-actions] FEAT 18

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Induce Imbalance
Requirements You’re in an elemental stance, and the target is
under the effects of Induce Imbalance.
You cycle through the elements in a devastating combination
attack. Strike the target using the unarmed attack associated
with your current elemental stance, then Cycle Elemental
Stance. Then, Strike the target with the unarmed attack
associated with your new elemental stance. You can continue
to Cycle Elemental Stance and Strike until you’ve made a
Strike using the unarmed attack of every elemental stance
you know, applying the multiple attack penalty as usual. If
you successfully hit the target with all five elemental Strikes
using this ability, it must attempt a Fortitude save against
your class DC or die as each elementally associated organ
within its body shuts down; this is a death effect.
90
Strategist Marshal TIAN XIA
CHARACTER
In central Tian Xia, these strategists pore over records of GENERAL’S GAMBIT [three-actions] FEAT 12 GUIDE
battles that came before them, searching for innovative ARCHETYPE INTRODUCTION
tactics to tip the tide. The following feats are an Prerequisites Marshal Dedication, Strategist Stance
expansion of the marshal archetype (Player Core 2 204). You move strategically forward to draw the enemy’s attention BACKGROUNDS
away from your allies. You Stride toward an enemy and
MAGIC AND
STRATEGIST STANCE [one-action] FEAT 4 attempt to Create a Diversion, except you can use Society or THE SPIRIT
ARCHETYPE STANCE Warfare Lore instead of Deception. On a success, in addition WORLD
Prerequisites Marshal Dedication, trained in Society or to the normal outcome for Creating a Diversion, the enemy
Warfare Lore becomes fascinated with you until the start of your next turn THE ELEMENTS
You find the most strategic options for you and your allies. When and can’t use reactions against allies in your aura. On a critical
ZODIAC
you use this action, attempt a Society or Warfare Lore check. The success, the enemy becomes fascinated with you until the
DC is usually a standard-difficulty DC of your level, but the GM end of your next turn. PEOPLES
can assign a different DC based on the circumstances.
Critical Success Your marshal’s aura increases to a CHARACTER
OPTIONS
20-foot emanation, and it grants you and allies
a +1 status bonus to Reflex saving throws. Once TIAN
per turn, when you succeed or critically succeed EQUIPMENT
at a Recall Knowledge check to gain information
about an enemy creature, the target of the Recall GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Knowledge check becomes off-guard to the next attack
made against it by you or an ally in your aura.
Success As critical success, but your aura’s size doesn’t increase.
Failure You fail to enter the stance.
Critical Failure You fail to enter the stance and can’t take this
action again for 1 minute.
KNOW YOUR ENEMY [one-action] FEAT 8

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Marshal Dedication, Strategist Stance
Requirements You’re in Strategist Stance.
You aim to turn knowledge into power against your foes. Attempt
a Recall Knowledge check against an enemy you’re observing.
Any ally within your aura who’s trained in the skill you use to
attempt the Recall Knowledge check can use their reaction to
Aid you on the check without having prepared to help first.
FORM UP! [two-actions] FEAT 10

ARCHETYPE AUDITORY FLOURISH
Prerequisites Marshal Dedication
You’ve trained in battle formations for a plethora of situations.
Choose a formation. Allies within your aura can use their
reaction to Stride up to their Speed and take a place in the
chosen formation. Allies can’t benefit from this movement if
there isn’t room for them in the chosen formation. If there
are more eligible allies than there are available spaces in the
chosen formation, you choose which allies benefit.
Line Your allies gather adjacent to you and each other to
form a straight line in a direction of your choosing.
Wedge Your allies gather into any space that would
be covered by a 15-foot cone originating from you in a
direction of your choosing.
Cluster Your allies gather into any space that
would be covered by a 15-foot emanation in
an aura around you.
91
Spirit Warrior
Warriors can draw powers from the joy and the sadness Impression on animals and to make very simple Requests of
in their hearts, spiritual gifts and burdens they can share them. In most cases, wild animals will give you time to make
and give to others. They cultivate experiences from their your case. You gain a +2 circumstance bonus to Diplomacy
adventures to nurture and grow their spiritual power, checks to Make an Impression when interacting with a beast,
learning to channel it through martial arts techniques fey, or kami. You gain the following edict.
tailored to their style and personality. Once they’ve Edict You must aid any animal or nature spirit in need unless
created a martial art that combines a favored weapon and it violates your other tenets or puts someone else at risk
specialized unarmed techniques, spirit warriors learn to of immediate harm.
channel spirit energy through their limbs and weapons.
Spirit warriors are typically found in the Forest of Spirits, TRICKSTERBANE OATH FEAT 4
the Chuyokai Forest, and the Valashmai Jungle. ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication
SPIRIT WARRIOR DEDICATION FEAT 2 You’ve sworn an oath to ferret out and destroy malevolent
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION shapechangers who pose as mortals with evil intent. You
Access Tian Xia origin gain a +4 circumstance bonus to Perception checks to detect
You’re a warrior who trains your spirit and body to work in a shapechanged creature’s disguise, and a +2 circumstance
perfect harmony, enhancing your attacks with your spiritual bonus to attempts to Recall Knowledge about shapechangers.
energy while fighting with a ferocious martial technique that Whenever you use Overwhelming Combination against
combines blade and fist. The damage die for your fist changes a shapechanged creature, you attempt to counteract one
to 1d6 instead of 1d4, and your fist gains the parry trait. You polymorph effect on that creature. The counteract rank is half
don’t take the normal –2 circumstance penalty when making your level rounded up, and the counteract check modifier is your
a lethal attack with your fist or any other unarmed attacks. Charisma modifier + your proficiency bonus with the weapon
You gain the Overwhelming Combination action. used to Strike as part of your Overwhelming Combination. You
Overwhelming Combination [one-action] (flourish) Requirements gain the following edict.
You’re wielding a one-handed melee weapon or a melee Edict You must reveal and slay evil or predatory shapechangers
weapon with the agile or finesse trait; Effects Make two you discover or encounter, as long as you have a reasonable
Strikes against a target within your reach, one with the chance of success.
required weapon and one with your fist unarmed attack.
If both hit the same target, combine their damage for the CUTTING HEAVEN, CRUSHING EARTH FEAT 6
purposes of its resistances and weaknesses. Apply your ARCHETYPE
multiple attack penalty to each Strike normally. Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication
Your skill in combining fist and blade has grown into a
KAIJU DEFENSE OATH FEAT 4 seamless art where each attack makes an opponent more
ARCHETYPE vulnerable to the next. As long as you have invested and are
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication wearing a set of handwraps of mighty blows, you also apply
You’ve sworn an oath to defend the helpless from dangerous their runes to a single weapon you’re wielding that can be
titanic beasts, including kaiju that roam the surface of used with your Overwhelming Combination ability. You gain
Golarion. Attacks made as part of your Overwhelming the following benefits.
Combination ability gain a +4 circumstance bonus to damage • When you successfully Strike an opponent with this
against a creature at least 2 sizes larger than you, or +6 if weapon, it’s off-guard to the next Strike you make
you have master proficiency with the weapon you used. You against it with a fist unarmed attack before the end of
also gain a +2 circumstance bonus to saving throws and DCs your next turn.
against kaiju hazards. You gain the following edict. • When you successfully Strike an opponent with your
Edict You must do everything within your power to protect fist unarmed attack, it’s off-guard to the next Strike
others from massive creatures they can’t defend themselves you make against it with a one-handed, agile, or finesse
from; in the event the victims are evil or actively trying to melee weapon before the end of your next turn.
harm you or other innocents, you don’t have to save them.
FLOWING PALM DEFLECTION FEAT 6
SACRED WILDS OATH FEAT 4 ARCHETYPE
ARCHETYPE Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication The simple and precise movements of your hands allow you to
You’ve sworn an oath to protect the holy places within deflect blows with the same efficacy as a raised shield. When
nature and the spirits that dwell within, from ancient trees to you parry with your fist, increase the circumstance bonus to
primordial wild guardians. You can use Diplomacy to Make an AC it grants from +1 to +2.
92
SPIRIT OF THE BLADE [one-action] FEAT 6 INTERCEPTING HAND FEAT 12
ARCHETYPE FLOURISH ARCHETYPE
TIAN XIA
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication
You charge your blade with spiritual energy, allowing it to cut Your particular martial art includes various defensive actions
CHARACTER
through spirits and fiends with fearsome efficiency. The next designed to remove your opponent’s ability to cause harm. GUIDE
Strike you make with a melee weapon or fist unarmed attack Your fist unarmed attack gains the disarm trait. You gain the INTRODUCTION
deals an additional 1d6 spirit damage. This bonus damage is lost Disarming Interception action.
if you don’t attempt a Strike before the start of your next turn. Disarming Interception [reaction] Requirements You have your fist BACKGROUNDS
At 10th level, you deal an additional 2d6 spirit damage positioned to parry; Trigger An enemy within your reach
MAGIC AND
with this ability, and at 18th level, you deal an additional 3d6 targets you or an ally with a weapon Strike; Effects You THE SPIRIT
spirit damage. attempt to Disarm the weapon the enemy is attacking with. WORLD
You gain a +2 status bonus to this Disarm check, and if the
SWORD-LIGHT WAVE [two-actions] FEAT 6 check is successful, the triggering attack is disrupted. If THE ELEMENTS
ARCHETYPE the Disarm attempt is a critical success and you have a
ZODIAC
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication hand free, you can catch the disarmed weapon in your
You channel spiritual energy through your weapon, unleashing hand instead of it falling to the ground in the target’s space. PEOPLES
it as a torrent of devastating power. Make a ranged Strike
against an opponent within 60 feet using a one-handed, agile, or SWORD OF SEALING [two-actions] FEAT 12 CHARACTER
OPTIONS
finesse melee weapon, or your fist unarmed attack. The attack ARCHETYPE
is made at your normal proficiency with the chosen weapon Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication TIAN
or fist unarmed attack and has the same traits, damage dice, Your spiritual power pierces both body and soul, pinning your EQUIPMENT
and runes, but all damage dealt by the attack is spirit damage. foe in place. Make a melee Strike with a one-handed, agile, or
finesse weapon, or your fist unarmed attack. On a successful GLOSSARY
& INDEX
GODS’ PALM [one-action] FEAT 8 hit, the target must succeed at a Fortitude save against
ARCHETYPE FLOURISH the higher of your class DC or your spell DC, or become
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication immobilized. The target can end this immobilization with a
You control your spirit energy when you attack, using it to successful Escape attempt using the higher of your class DC
reinforce yourself or to thrust past your enemy’s physical or your spell DC as the Escape DC.
defenses. Make a fist Strike; on a success, you can choose
to either deal all damage from the attack as spirit damage, or
deal damage as normal but gain a number of temporary Hit
Points equal to half your level that last for 1 round.
SHELTERING PULSE [two-actions] FEAT 8

ARCHETYPE MANIPULATE
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior Dedication
You thrust your hand or weapon into the ground and release
a pulse that creates a sheltering nexus of energy for you and
your allies. Choose an unoccupied square within 15 feet. The
nexus appears in a 15-foot emanation around that square
and lasts for 3 rounds. You and your allies gain a +1
status bonus to AC while in the area.
TRANSCENDENT
DEFLECTION [reaction] FEAT 10
ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Spirit Warrior
Dedication
Trigger An enemy within your reach would damage you or
your ally with an attack.
Requirements You’re wielding a one-handed, agile, or finesse
melee weapon.
You charge your weapon with spiritual energy and intercept
the attack. The weapon becomes broken, and the target is
unharmed by the attack. If you’re carrying another one-
handed, agile, or finesse melee weapon, you can immediately
Swap it for the broken weapon.
93
Starlit Sentinel
Though the zodiac is known throughout Tian Xia for SPECIAL SENTINEL TECHNIQUE FEAT 4
subtly watching over the continent, sometimes the 12 ARCHETYPE
constellations find more direct action necessary. When a Prerequisite Starlit Sentinel Dedication
grave threat arises, a zodiac constellation might shine on You can channel the power of your constellation into a unique
an everyday student or worker, granting them the power technique. You gain either the luminous stardust healing or
to transform into a powerful alter ego to repel those shining starlight attack focus spell, which you can cast only in
threats. Though most of these starlit sentinels act covertly sentinel form. When you gain this feat, decide a name for your
when the world is asleep, some become well known either technique, which becomes the spell’s incantation.
as urban legends or outright celebrities, though usually If you don’t already have one, you gain a focus pool of
only as their alter ego. Some might find themselves pulled 1 Focus Point, which you can Refocus by spending 10 minutes
between the dual pressures of an unassuming civilian outside of your sentinel form to reflect on the values of your
identity working in a market by day, and the defender constellation. Starlit sentinel focus spells are arcane spells. You
of that same market from rampaging oni or qi-stealing become trained in spell attack modifier and spell DC, and your
jiang-shi under the light of the stars. Due to a quartet of spellcasting ability for these spells is Charisma.
well-known female sentinels operating out of Goka, many Special You can take this feat a second time, gaining the focus
have come to believe that the zodiac chooses only girls as spell that you didn’t gain the first time.
its champions, but the heavens care little for such mortal
concerns and are equally likely to grant their power to MAJESTIC PROCLAMATION [two-actions] FEAT 8
those of any gender. Starlit sentinels are rare, even in Tian ARCHETYPE
Xia, and individual sentinels are unique; a new sentinel Prerequisite Starlit Sentinel Dedication
empowered by a given constellation won’t awaken as long Requirement You’re in your sentinel form.
as the previous sentinel of that constellation is active. You announce your name to your enemies, bringing your
constellation to bear in a blinding display. Attempt to
STARLIT SENTINEL DEDICATION FEAT 2 Demoralize all enemies within 30 feet. Demoralize loses the
RARE ARCHETYPE DEDICATION auditory trait and gains the visual trait when used this way. In
You’ve been chosen by one of the constellations of the Tian addition to the regular effects of Demoralize, enemies become
Xia zodiac. You gain a transformation seal: a mundane-seeming dazzled for 1 minute on a successful check (and also blinded for
item of light Bulk, such as a ring, brooch, or key, that has the 1 round on a critical success).
arcane trait. If your seal is ever lost or destroyed, you can gain a You can use Majestic Proclamation as a single action if
replacement by spending 1 week of downtime in introspection your previous action was Starlit Transformation.
to reconnect with your constellation. You, and only you, can
transform into your sentinel form by Activating the seal. BLADE OF THE HEART [one-action] FEAT 10
Activate—Starlit Transformation [one-action] (arcane) Frequency once ARCHETYPE EMOTION
per hour; Effects Light swirls around you, transforming your Prerequisite Starlit Sentinel Dedication
armor, clothing, and a single weapon in your possession into The bonds of the heart are stronger than any steel, more
a specific alternate outfit. While your equipment might look powerful than any magic. You plunge your transformed
dramatically different, it functions as normal. If someone weapon into the heart of a willing adjacent ally, where it phases
attempts to discern your identity, they must use a Seek harmlessly into their body. As you pull the weapon out, your
action to attempt a Perception check against your Deception ally’s heart inscribes one of the following weapon property
DC, as if you were using the Impersonate action. Your runes on your weapon: corrosive, flaming, frost, shock,
Deception DC against such attempts is 20 + your proficiency thundering, or vitalizing. The first time you use Blade of the
modifier instead of the normal DC. Unlike with Impersonate, Heart with a given ally, the GM should decide which rune best
you don’t have to attempt a Deception check to interact with represents your shared relationship (such as elegant frost for a
someone to conceal your identity—a check happens only if respected mentor or brash thundering for a boisterous sparring
someone else specifically tries to uncover it. You remain in partner); thereafter, each time you use Blade of the Heart with
your sentinel form for 10 minutes or until you use Starlit that ally, you draw the same rune. This rune lasts for as long as
Transformation again to change back to your normal form. you remain in sentinel form and counts toward your maximum
While you’re in sentinel form, your transformed limit of runes as normal.
weapon shines with starlight and gains a +1 status bonus At 16th level, you draw the greater version of the rune
to damage rolls with the weapon. You can fling bolts of instead.
starlight from your weapon with a Strike action, using your
melee attack modifier with the weapon. These bolts deal 1d4 DESPERATE WISH FEAT 12
force damage, have a range of 60 feet, are affected by your ARCHETYPE
weapon runes, and have the arcane and force traits. Prerequisite Starlit Sentinel Dedication
94
You call out a desperate wish to the stars to save a
friend. You gain breath of life as an innate arcane spell,
TIAN XIA
which you can cast once per day only while in sentinel form.
Interceding in such a direct way temporarily exhausts your
CHARACTER
constellation’s magic, causing you to revert from your sentinel form GUIDE
once the spell is cast. INTRODUCTION
SENTINEL’S ORBIT FEAT 14 BACKGROUNDS

ARCHETYPE
MAGIC AND
Prerequisite Starlit Sentinel Dedication THE SPIRIT
Just as your constellation traverses the sky, so too can you. When in WORLD
your sentinel form, you gain a fly Speed equal to your land Speed or
20 feet, whichever is higher. THE ELEMENTS
ZODIAC
Focus Spells
PEOPLES
LUMINOUS STARDUST HEALING [two-actions] FOCUS 2
RARE CONCENTRATE HEALING MANIPULATE SPIRIT
CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 creature
You scatter twinkling sparks from your sentinel weapon, replenishing your allies’ TIAN
fighting spirit and driving out evil. The target regains 16 Hit Points. If they were EQUIPMENT
affected by a possession effect, you attempt to counteract the effect, casting out the
possessing entity on a success and preventing them from possessing the target again GLOSSARY
& INDEX
for 1 week. If you fail, the entity is immune to being cast out by this spell for 1 week,
though you can still heal the target as normal.
Heightened +1 The amount of healing increases by 8.
SHINING STARLIGHT ATTACK [two-actions] FOCUS 2

RARE CONCENTRATE MANIPULATE
Area varies (see below)
You brandish your sentinel weapon, summoning the
image of your constellation above your head. The
constellation then releases a powerful blast that deals
2d10 damage to all enemies in either a 30-foot line or
15-foot cone, with a basic save against your arcane spell
DC. Enemies that critically fail are dazzled until the start of
your next turn. The damage type, traits, area, and saving throw
are determined by your zodiac constellation (see below).
Heightened +1 The damage increases by 1d10.
Constellation Attack (Area, Save, Damage Type; Traits)

Underworld Dragon Volcanic vents (line, Reflex, fire)
Ogre Wild club swing (cone, Fortitude,
bludgeoning)
Swordswoman Falling blades of light (line, Reflex,
piercing)
Forest Dragon Swarm of insects (cone, Fortitude,
poison)
Sea Dragon Pressurized seawater (line,
Reflex, piercing; water trait)
Blossom Storming petals and pollen (line, Fortitude; poison,
plant, wood)
Swallow Wing gust (cone, Reflex, slashing; air)
Dog A biting dog (line, Reflex, slashing)
Ox A trampling ox (line, Reflex, bludgeoning)
Sky Dragon Draconic lightning (line, Reflex, electricity)
Sovereign Dragon Psychic roar (cone, Will, mental)
Archer Hail of silver arrows (piercing, cone, Reflex)
95
Dance and Art
Dancing is the art of expression through sequences can play an important part in pulling audiences into
of motion. Some dances are carefully choreographed the stage the fan dancers set. As performers who often
to the slightest positioning of the fingertips, while welcome important dignitaries, the most distinguished
others are wholly improvised. In Tian Xia, many fan dancing troupes have battle training that allows
forms of dance have roots in historical events, natural them to aid in the protection of their hosts and guests.
observation, and religious allegory. The art of learning Different yet similar to the fan dance, the powerful
and perfecting these dances can enhance the dancer’s and elegant sword dance embraces the union of
balance, discipline, flexibility, resilience, and strength. swordplay, dance, music, and sometimes magic.
From a young age, many Tian children enjoy dancing A sword dance can be energetic and lighthearted,
in festivals or attending dance classes with their peers, dramatic and emotional, or anything in between, but
and even warriors use dance as a way to hone their it primarily focuses on expressing the heroism and
bodies and minds. Various types of dances can be skill of a warrior. Sword dancers use music and their
seen throughout Tian Xia, from practiced art forms martial prowess to tell stories, and they might wield a
that require years of rigorous training, to energetic single sword, dual swords, or a sword and a shield. This
festival dances that are passed down from generation art form is most often seen in nations with powerful
to generation. While the styles might vary, even many and skilled militaries like Lingshen and Kaoling, but
who don’t dance professionally recognize the benefits fighters from other nations have adopted and adapted
these disciplines and expressions can impart. sword dancing as a way to enhance their physical and
The types of performing arts across Tian Xia are vast mental fortitude. Sword dancing can be performed
in number, and even the same style of performance can solo, duo, or in a group, and most performing groups
seem like an entirely new art form based on regional use fake swords or blades with unsharpened edges—
variances. Some performances find beauty in flowing though it isn’t rare to see some groups using real,
elegance, while others emphasize precision and power. sharpened weapons as a testament of their confidence,
Traditionalists might strictly follow the techniques discipline, and skill with the blade. Retired warriors
passed down by previous generations, striving to preserve will sometimes take up sword dancing as a way to
the forms refined by their ancestors and predecessors, continue to train and engage with students off the
while others take a more modern approach to their battlefield. Swordmasters who have honed their sword
art, sometimes creating a fusion of cultures as they dancing skills alongside their blades are exceptionally
pull aspects of movement and music from their varied agile and can quickly tune into their opponents’
backgrounds. For most Tian cultures, the performing rhythm to find openings more easily.
arts are rooted in each culture’s history and experiences, In addition to the roving dancers that travel the
so the differences and distinctions between their various islands of Minata during Tamung, the wandering isles
artistic styles inspire a sense of pride. celebrate the holiday of Katigulangan. Typically the
The delicate and graceful fan dance originated in last holiday of the year, this celebration honors both
Hwanggot as a cultural display for visiting diplomats. one’s ancestors and the great heroes of Minata’s past.
The dance alternates between swift-flowing motions, The recounting of these hero stories often involve
slowly exaggerated gestures, and crisply powerful reenactments performed by dancers with musical
movements. The dance, known as buchaechum, is accompaniment. Some of the most locally celebrated
often—but not always—performed in a coordinated heroes include Adarna, a mysterious woman who
group. Its various forms can be found across Tian appears in times of great need and once protected
Xia, and it’s often performed as a way to welcome the coasts of Atas Pulu from rampaging giants; Ang
distinguished guests. Fan dancers perform spinning Iloka Luag, a hero tasked with three impossible feats,
sequences that are dizzying even to spectators and use including retrieving a magic seed from the bottom of
their fans to evoke imagery of ocean waves, fluttering the ocean, beheading the Manananggal Queen, and
sails, soaring dragons, and flowers drifting down redirecting a typhoon; and Chois Yeo, who recognized
from treetops. Fan dancing troupes typically have the signs that the great dragon Baku was stirring in his
two members of a performing group who can draw slumber and lulled him back to sleep with a xylophone
in primal or divine magic and who weave magic and made from mermaid scales.
spells into their performances to enhance the visual In festivals across Tian Xia, dances dedicated to
impact of the imagery they conjure with their fans or inspired by imperial dragons fill the streets with
and bodies. Called jiggong, these casters skillfully vibrant colors and raucous music. Called the march
incorporate magic incantations and gestures into their of the imperial dragons, the dance is less of a march
movements unbeknownst to most of their audiences. and more of an energetic acrobatic performance.
While not every performance incorporates magic, it With flutes, percussion instruments, and stringed
96
instruments in hand—all of which vary depending to inspire the next generation of artists. Some troupes
on the region—the streets fill with shouting and the within Nightfall hold training camps and seminars for
TIAN XIA
rhythm of rain and thunder as chains of dancers form students and prospective members, but membership
and grow along the streets. Dancers tie a ribbon with to the company is by invitation only. Nightfall is CHARACTER
a pattern of a specific type of dragon (specific to each headquartered in Goka, but smaller branches can be GUIDE
festival) to their wrists and move in a chain—the found in most major cities. INTRODUCTION
person in the back grabbing the ribbon of the person
in front of them from the tail of the dragon all the way BACKGROUNDS
to its head. Each dancer follows the movement of the
MAGIC AND
dancer in front of them. Some professional imperial THE SPIRIT
dragon marchers can create a dragon that can run WORLD
along walls or even do flips. This dance is believed
to have originated as a dragon summoning ritual THE ELEMENTS
but is now a symbolic performance that signifies
ZODIAC
prosperity and good fortune while also fostering
community interconnection. Occasionally, real PEOPLES
dragons do make appearances at festivals to enjoy the
march of the imperial dragons, to the delight or horror CHARACTER
OPTIONS
of festivalgoers.
Straying from the traditional roots of many Tian TIAN
dance forms, Goka Contemporary (GoCon for EQUIPMENT
short) is a relatively recent form of dance that
has emerged from the streets of Goka. GoCon GLOSSARY
& INDEX
originated as a marketing strategy to develop
brand loyalty for competing merchant ships
traveling through Goka, but it has evolved into
a cultural phenomenon as these shipyard idols
inspired students to start their own groups with
unique traits or visuals that separate them from
others. GoCon groups typically have two to
nine members specializing in dancing, musical
instruments, performance magic, rapping,
singing, or a combination of the above. While
known for flashy and eye-catching performances,
GoCon groups also draw from their regional, cultural,
and religious heritages. The popularity of GoCon has
reached a point where academies have been established
for dancers who aspire to have successful debuts, and
choreographers have opened studios where elders can
learn. Goka’s unique brand of “beautiful garden”
singers, groups of famously handsome and
fashionable male singers, has likewise adopted
dazzling dance presentations to accompany their
musical performances.
Young students of the arts across the continent
who wish to perform professionally might look
for troupes and companies to join, but among
the countless options, there’s no company more
prestigious than Nightfall. With the motto “only the
brightest stars shine at nightfall,” the company is
renowned for its outstanding performers and artful
performances with roots all across Tian Xia. The
dancers of Nightfall enjoy opportunities to perform
for highly distinguished officials and families for a high
profit, but they’re also required to perform regularly
at events accessible to the general public to fulfill
the company’s mission: to instill a sense of wonder
through the balance of movement and stillness, and
97
Fan Dancer
Fan dancers display exceptional elegance and control You’ve trained in drawing the eyes of your audience to specific
as they drift across the stage, specializing in spinning aspects of your performance through the careful manipulation
movements that are, at times, like a trickling brook and, of your fans and body. While wielding a fan, you can snap
at others, a swift and powerful river. While some fan open, flutter, or otherwise manipulate the fan to briefly distract
dancers use their skills to gain the advantage in combat, observers around you, giving you and adjacent allies a constant
others adeptly manipulate their fans to distract their +1 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks to secretly Conceal an
enemies and create openings for their allies. Object and to Thievery checks to Steal or Palm an Object.
Some fan dancer abilities require you to be wielding
one or more fans, which can be a fighting fan (page 127) SWEEPING FAN BLOCK [reaction] FEAT 6
or a normal fan used as an improvised weapon. AIR ARCHETYPE
Characters with Tian Xia origin have access to the fan Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication
dancer archetype. Trigger You’re targeted by a ranged attack that uses
ammunition.
FAN DANCER DEDICATION FEAT 2 Requirements You’re wielding two fans, one in each hand.
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE DEDICATION You leap up on one leg, snapping your fans open alongside
Prerequisites trained in Performance; Access Tian Xia origin your head before sweeping them across your body. When
You sweep across the battlefield, manifesting both the gentle you’re the target of an attack using ammunition (such as
spring breeze and the crisp autumn gusts. You become an arrows, bolts, sling bullets, and other objects of similar
expert in Performance. At 7th level you become a master size) while wielding two fans, whirl your fans to disrupt the
in Performance, and at 15th level, you become legendary in incoming attack with gusts of air, gaining a +2 circumstance
Performance. Whenever you Feint while holding a fan, you bonus to AC against the triggering attack. If the triggering
can give your Feint the air trait. If you do, you can Stride 10 attack misses, you can redirect the ammunition into a nearby
feet before or after as part of the same action. pocket or container where it can be retrieved and reused.
PETAL STEP FEAT 4 PUSHING WIND FEAT 8

ARCHETYPE AIR ARCHETYPE AURA
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication
You have a mastery over your own movement and can Requirements You’re wielding a fan.
distribute your weight to dance lightly over the ground As you spin and glide your fans alongside your allies, you kick
like petals drifting on the water. You gain a +1 circumstance up a mild wind that gently carries you all forward. So long as
bonus to your Stealth checks to Sneak and aren’t detectable you’re holding a fan, you and allies who start their turn in a 30-
by tremorsense. foot aura emanating around you gain a +5-foot circumstance
bonus to land Speed for 1 round; you also gain this bonus to
SOLO DANCER FEAT 4 your fly Speed if you possess one, but it can’t grant you the
ARCHETYPE SKILL ability to fly if you wouldn’t otherwise be able to.
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication, expert in Performance Additionally, the air impedes the movements of your foes.
You often dance alone with a grace exceeding that of most While holding a fan, the area in a 10-foot aura emanating
other performers, carrying yourself with a poise and confidence around you is difficult terrain for all enemies.
that draws the attention of those around you. You can always
roll Performance for initiative, and during the first round of TWIRLING STRIKE [two-actions] FEAT 8
combat, creatures that act after you are off-guard to you. ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication, Twirl Through
TWIRL THROUGH FEAT 4 Requirements You’re wielding a fan.
ARCHETYPE SKILL Your fans, one raised up alongside your head and the other
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication alongside your hip, become a blur as you twirl across the
You sweep across the battlefield in a fluttering of movement battlefield. Attempt to Tumble Through an enemy’s space
honed from years of coordinating perfectly spaced using Performance; on a success, you can make a melee
movements alongside fellow dancers. When you attempt to Strike against the enemy with a fan you’re wielding at any
Tumble Through an enemy’s space, you can use Performance point during the movement. On a critical success, the enemy
instead of Acrobatics. is off-guard against this attack.
FLUTTERING MISDIRECTION FEAT 6 CLOSE FORMATION FEAT 10

ARCHETYPE SKILL ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication Prerequisites: Fan Dancer Dedication, master in Performance
98
You practiced fan dance as a member of a large group, DRAGON’S JOURNEY [one-action] FEAT 14
coordinating your moves together to create living art and AIR ARCHETYPE FLOURISH MOVE
TIAN XIA
heightening your sense of spatial awareness. When you wield Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication
two fans, each in a different hand, you gain tremorsense as an Requirements You’re wielding two fans, one in each hand.
CHARACTER
imprecise sense with a range of 20 feet. Your movements are like that of a dragon weaving a serpentine GUIDE
path between your enemies and allies. Using your fans, you INTRODUCTION
DIZZYING SPIN DANCE [three-actions] FEAT 10 slice the air and create a path of least resistance, allowing
ARCHETYPE you to move across the battlefield with an ethereal grace. You BACKGROUNDS
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication, Twirling Strike Stride, your movement doesn’t trigger enemy reactions, and
MAGIC AND
Requirements You’re wielding a fan. any allies you pass within 5 feet of can immediately use their THE SPIRIT
You’re practiced in using your fans to spin with dizzying reaction to Stride, moving in the same direction. Allies must WORLD
speed. Tumble Through an opponent’s space, and then Strike end their movement as close as possible to you or another
that opponent. If both the Tumble Through and Strike are ally who benefited from this ability. During Dragon’s Journey, THE ELEMENTS
successful, the opponent is off-guard to the next attack made ally movement doesn’t trigger reactions.
ZODIAC
against it before the start of your next turn, and you can
attempt to Tumble Through the space of a different opponent PEOPLES
and Strike again with the same effect. If this second Tumble
Through and Strike are successful, you can repeat CHARACTER
OPTIONS
these actions a third time against a third opponent.
TIAN
FLUTTERING DISTRACTION [reaction] FEAT 10 EQUIPMENT
ARCHETYPE MANIPULATE MISFORTUNE
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Trigger An enemy attempts a ranged or melee Strike against
an ally within 30 feet.
Requirements You’re wielding two fans, one in each hand.
You’re trained in snapping and fluttering your fans to draw
the eyes of observers around you. You manipulate your fans
to create a distraction. The enemy must roll its attack twice
and take the lower result.
SWEEPING FAN REDIRECTION FEAT 10

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication, Sweeping Fan Block
You can redirect ammunition back at the creature that fired
it with sweeping gusts of wind. When Sweeping Fan Block
prevents an attack from hitting you, instead of recovering
the ammunition, you can make a ranged Strike against the
triggering target using the normal attack bonus and damage
of your fans as part of the same reaction. You also apply any
special effects the ammunition might have.
PEONY’S FLOURISH [three-actions] FEAT 14

ARCHETYPE INCAPACITATION VISUAL
Prerequisites Fan Dancer Dedication
As you spin around and create wide arching circles
with your fans, you manifest a mosaic of peonies that
confuses your enemies. Stride twice and then attempt
a Performance check against the Will DC of each
creature you passed adjacent to.
Critical Success The creature is stunned 3 and dazzled
for as long as they’re stunned.
Success The creature is stunned 1 and dazzled for 1 round.
Failure The creature is dazzled for 1 round.
Critical Failure The creature is unaffected and temporarily
immune to further uses of Peony’s Flourish for 24 hours.
99
Cooking
Cooking is important to every culture that requires food WANDERING CHEF DEDICATION FEAT 2
for sustenance. From the most gilded palace in Goka all the ARCHETYPE DEDICATION
way to the most hidden campfire in the Valashmai Jungle, Whether trained in a noble kitchen or a humble home, you
communities gather to prepare and consume food together. know how to cook delicious dishes and source ingredients
In a very real way, civilization is built around it. From the from the wilderness or urban settings. You become trained
structure of cities around agriculture, to the calendars and in Crafting; if you were already trained in Crafting, you
their planting and harvest seasons, to the rise and fall of instead become trained in a skill of your choice. You can use
days around communal mealtimes, people must eat. cookware instead of an alchemist’s toolkit to craft alchemical
foods. When using the Subsist downtime activity, you can
WANDERING CHEF use Crafting or Cooking Lore in place of Survival, and if you
No matter where you go in Tian Xia, one thing you can roll a failure, you get a success instead.
always find with some reliability is good food. Tian Xia’s You gain the Quick Alchemy benefits, but can use it only to
many talented chefs practice a wide array of cooking create consumables, and the consumables must be alchemical
techniques, and many can be found traveling between food (such as those presented on pages 104–105 or on pages
the continent’s states and regions as frequently as any 46–51 of Pathfinder Treasure Vault). Any items you choose
adventurer. Chefs from Zi Ha wander to expand their with Alchemical Crafting must be alchemical food, but they
knowledge of cooking techniques, while culinarians can be 1st level or 2nd level instead of only 1st level.
from the Lung Wa Successor States visit foreign courts to You create up to 4 versatile vials during your daily
display their pride in their regional cuisine. preparations. Typically, a wandering chef’s versatile vials take
the form of parcels of foraged ingredients.
MORNING SIDE DISHES FEAT 4

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Wandering Chef Dedication
You know a proper breakfast should have a variety of sides.
You gain the advanced alchemy benefits (Player Core 2 174),
and you can create 5 alchemical food consumables during
your daily preparations.
ADDITIONAL SERVINGS FEAT 6

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Wandering Chef Dedication, expert in Crafting
or Cooking Lore
Your number of versatile vials per day increases to 5.
Special At 12th level or higher, you can select this feat a
second time to increase your number of versatile vials per
day to 6. At 18th level or higher, you can select this feat a
third time to increase your number of versatile vials per
day to 7.
FOOD PRESERVATION FEAT 6

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Morning Side Dishes
Your techniques extend the storage life for certain ingredients
and food through pickling, alcohol, or fermentation. When
you use advanced alchemy to create alchemical food, you can
designate one infused item to not automatically expire when
you next make your daily preparations. When you preserve
another item in this way, the previous item becomes inedible.
The number of items you can preserve during your daily
preparation and the maximum number of items you can have
preserved before spoiling older items increases to two if
you’re an expert in Crafting or Cooking Lore, to three if you’re
a master, and to five if you’re legendary.
100
• Earth Reduce the drained condition by 1. For 1 hour, gain
FEAST PLANNER FEAT 10
a +3 item bonus to saves against being enfeebled.
UNCOMMON ARCHETYPE
• Metal Reduce the stupefied condition by 1. For 1 hour, gain TIAN XIA
You learn the fortifying brew (Player Core 2 267) ritual, but
a +3 item bonus to saves against being stupefied. CHARACTER
• Water Reduce the frightened condition by 2. For 1 GUIDE
you instead prepare dishes for a lavish meal that have the
hour, gain a +3 item bonus to saves against deafened or
same effect as the drinks from the normal version of the ritual. INTRODUCTION
drained.
You perform both aspects of the ritual yourself, acting as both
primary and a secondary caster. You must still attempt the COOKING RITUALS BACKGROUNDS
secondary check normally performed by a secondary caster. As any chef will tell you, cooking is magic. While sorcerers
MAGIC AND
In addition, you can use Crafting or Cooking Lore for both throughout the world have dabbled in applying arcane THE SPIRIT
the primary and secondary checks. The ritual gains the primal forces to culinary problems, the simple art of preparing food WORLD
trait as nature spirits attend to you and your guests. has a deeper history, one that common folk throughout the
world have long grasped and used to create wonders. This THE ELEMENTS
PACKED WITH FLAVOR FEAT 12 is especially true in Tian Xia, where ancient bonds tie the
ZODIAC
ARCHETYPE lands to the people who cultivate them.
Prerequisites Wandering Chef Dedication, expert in Crafting Rituals are spells that take much longer to cast than PEOPLES
or Cooking Lore usual and can be performed by anyone with the correct
Edible morsels you create are particularly potent and bursting skills, not just spellcasters. The rules for casting rituals CHARACTER
OPTIONS
with flavor. When you Craft alchemical food or magical appear on page 389 of the Player Core.
morsels that allow a saving throw, or that grants an ability TIAN
that allows a saving throw, you can change its DC to your EQUIPMENT
class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher. When a creature
consumes alchemical food, magical morsels, or potions made GLOSSARY
& INDEX
by you, it also gains 5 temporary Hit Points that last for 1
hour. If you’re a master in Crafting, it gains 10 temporary Hit
Points instead.
COSMIC COCKTAIL FEAT 14

ARCHETYPE
Frequency oncer per day
Using the liquors, vinegars, and fruits or herbs at your
disposal, you spend 1 minute to create a cocktail with colors
reminiscent of space and its stars. If immediately consumed
after creation, you temporarily see everything all at once, and
you gain a new understanding of the universe. You gain the
effects of a truesight spell for 10 minutes. Use your Crafting
or Cooking Lore for any counteract checks.
REGIONAL SPECIALTY FEAT 14

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Morning Side Dishes
You can create dishes that reflect the food sources endemic to
your environment and medicinal food techniques utilizing the
cycle of the five elements. When you create alchemical food
from Morning Side Dishes during your daily preparations, you
can add one elemental benefit of your choice to each of the
items. This benefit comes in addition to any other effect of
consuming the item. Each element has an immediate benefit
and a +3 item bonus to certain saves that lasts for 1 hour after
the food is consumed. The item bonus increases to +4 if the
alchemical item is 18th level or higher.
• Wood Remove one source of persistent bleed. For 1
hour, gain a +3 item bonus to saves against disease and
poison effects.
• Fire Reduce the clumsy condition by 1. For 1 hour, gain
a +3 item bonus to saves against being doomed or
frightened.
101
BONDING MEAL RITUAL 2 have a +4 circumstance bonus to Deception and Diplomacy
UNCOMMON checks to convince anyone from the community where the
Cast 1 day; Cost 10 gp meal originated from that they are from that area or were
Primary Check Cooking Lore, Crafting, Performance, or present for events you described. Even after the raw magic
Survival (trained) infusing the memories fade, the memories don’t, and your
Many grow up and spend their lives eating with others, and friends will be able to make the dish just as well as you can.
doing so binds them—to their families, communities, and Chances are, they like it just as much as you did.
cultures. Food can form long-lasting bonds, and with a bit of Success As critical success, except your friends get a +2
extra work, those bonds can be shared. circumstance bonus to Deception and Diplomacy checks
You prepare a meal for a small gathering of up to 10 close instead. They also can’t make the meal themselves but
friends, enough people to comfortably eat together at one table probably look forward to tasting it the way you make it if
or in one circle. As you collect and prepare the food, you call you ever offer to cook it again.
upon spirits of home and memory. As they work through you Failure Your friends see the vision as planned, but the magic
and guide you, you perfectly recreate a dish that emotionally doesn’t quite take. As success, but no one receives any
connects you to a place of your past: perhaps your mother’s bonus. The real treasure will have to be the friends you fed
cooking when you were a child, or the way you and your along the way.
comrades-in-arms cooked rations together when you fought in Critical Failure Your friends see the vision as planned, and
the war. When you’re done, you share the meal and tell your the magic takes hold—but it goes wrong, like a bad case
new friends the story that comes with it. As they eat and drink, of indigestion. The memories are scattered around the
any participants of 4th level or lower sink into a snapshot of rest of their psyches, and it takes a week to settle down
your past and can borrow insights from it for future use. properly. They confuse parts of your past for theirs, and
Critical Success Your friends are vividly taken through your they take a –2 circumstance bonus to Deception and
memories as you relive them, and they hold onto the Diplomacy checks for the next week against anyone from
experience even after the fugue ends. For the next week, they your old community, as they confidently apply the wrong
expectations from their lives across the one you were
trying to introduce them to.
Heightened (4th) Participants up to 8th level can gain the
benefits, and the cost is 40 gp.
Heightened (10th) Participants of any level can gain the
BUTTERFLY BENDER RITUAL 3

UNCOMMON
Cast 2 hours; Cost Alcohol worth a total of 20 gp × the ritual
level; Secondary Casters 2
Primary Check Medicine (trained); Secondary Checks Diplomacy
Sometimes, the problems in your life are too oppressive.
Sometimes, you have a case you need to crack and you have
no idea where to start. When you’ve exhausted all options
and willpower, you might as well just get drunk and call it
a night. The butterfly bender is a ritual to kill two birds with
one stone. By twisting fate around a session
of hard drinking, you and a small party (no
more than five people) suspend judgment,
memory, and even consciousness as
you all hurl yourselves into
the arms of destiny and
politely ask for a favor.
You all get blackout drunk
and, if all goes according to
plan, you’ll wake up with some
progress upon a quest you’ve all
undertaken—hopefully, without too much
collateral damage.
102
The participants of the ritual wake up the next day with some of the following, Alchemical Food
determined by the results of the ritual. Any options that aren’t chosen are On page 46 of Pathfinder Lost Omens
TIAN XIA
temporarily lost to you. Grand Bazaar, four alchemical
• Your dignity. foods were introduced, and even
CHARACTER
• A common item that has the consumable trait of a level no higher than more alchemical foods were added GUIDE
that of the ritual, which might be useful for an upcoming challenge. If lost, in Pathfinder Treasure Vault. The INTRODUCTION
you misplace all of your currently carried items—including keys to where following alchemical feats are
your equipment might be stored. With a modicum of effort, you recover your designed to work in concert with BACKGROUNDS
items within 1 day. these items and any other alchemical
MAGIC AND
• A new friend or connection, as though you’d succeeded at a Diplomacy foods introduced here or in the future. THE SPIRIT
check to Make an Impression with a relevant NPC up to the ritual’s level. If The following traits apply to items in WORLD
this is one of things lost, an existing friend refuses to speak to you for 1 day. this section.
• A useful piece of information, as though you’d succeeded at a Diplomacy Processed: An alchemical THE ELEMENTS
check to Gather Information. If lost, you take a –4 status penalty to your next consumable that has the processed
ZODIAC
check to Recall Knowledge. trait can be created with Quick
• A convenient opportunity of the GM’s choice. If there’s no immediately Alchemy but is too complex to PEOPLES
relevant opportunity, you find an opportunity to Earn Income at the ritual’s create in a single action. Using Quick
level + 1. If lost, the result of your next attempt to Earn Income is one degree Alchemy to create a processed item CHARACTER
OPTIONS
of success worse. takes 1 minute. If the item would take
Critical Success Pick two options from the above list. The GM then gives you a more than 3 actions to Activate, the TIAN
bonus 3rd option of their choice. time the item remains potent after EQUIPMENT
Success Pick two options from the above list. you create it is equal to its activation
Failure Pick one option from the above list. time. For instance, a processed item GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Critical Failure Pick two options from the above list. The GM gives you one of them. that takes 10 minutes to Activate
would remain potent for 10 minutes
FEAST OF SUPPLICATION RITUAL 5 when created with Quick Alchemy
RARE instead of remaining potent only
Cast 3 hours; Cost 25 gp; Secondary Casters 2 until the start of your next turn. This
Primary Check Cooking Lore, Crafting, Performance or Survival (expert); Secondary trait doesn’t change other specifics
Checks Deception or Thievery of Quick Alchemy. You could, for
When mortals attempt to sway gods, spirits, and other beings of great spiritual example, use double brew to create
power to take sides in mortal affairs, those powers demand to be impressed. And two of the same processed item over
what better way to impress than a cook-off? This old ritual has roots in the spirit- the course of 1 minute.
adjudicated village festival contests of rural Tian Xia. Two or more rival parties must
participate, performing the ritual simultaneously as assistants gather and prepare
ingredients while each team’s head chef does their best to create the ultimate dish
to satisfy their patron’s palate. Cheering bystanders are usually involved. While
the primary caster—the chef—is always busy with cooking, it’s very normal for the
secondary caster assistants to spend most of their time interfering with the other
teams and slowing them down.
Critical Success You’ve truly blown your
patron away with the competition and the
meal you’ve expertly crafted. The supernatural
patrons you sought to impress grant a
request as if you’d received a critical
success to Make a Request of
them, even if they’re indifferent
or unfriendly to you. If there’s
some argument or confusion on
what request should be granted,
the patrons grant the request
of the team that achieved the
highest overall result. At the
GM’s discretion, the attitude
of any patrons pleased by the
ritual can permanently increase
toward all participants in the ritual. In
addition, the sheer theatricality and flair
103
of your cooking has earned you deep respect and die-hard fire. When the modified alchemical food is consumed, the
fans from the spectators, doubly so if you tied with another user’s mouth goes numb temporarily. Once within the next
contender. hour, they can spend a single action to breathe a gout of
Success You’ve created a wonderful meal that your patron flame in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the cone takes
loves. The supernatural patrons you sought to impress 1d6 fire damage for every two levels you have with a basic
grant a request as if you’d received a success to Make a Reflex save against your class DC.
Request of them, even if they’re indifferent to you. If there’s
some argument or confusion on what request should be FERMENTING LIQUORS [one-action] FEAT 4
granted, the patrons grant the request of the team ALCHEMIST HEALING MANIPULATE
that achieved the highest overall result. At the GM’s Frequency once per day
discretion, the attitude of any patrons pleased Requirements You have a hand free.
by the ritual can permanently increase You always have a special batch of preserved
toward all participants in the ritual. liquor ready for each day. You serve your
All contestants have still earned the liquor to a willing adjacent creature. The
jovial respect and appreciation of creature recovers Hit Points equal
the crowd for cooking something to twice your level. Additionally,
entertaining and lovely. for 1 hour, all Diplomacy checks to
Failure You’ve created a dish that influence the creature gain a +1 status
doesn’t impress. The winner of bonus.
the competition is declared in the most
unsatisfying and mechanical of manners— CLOUD BUNS GLITTER CRYSTALS FEAT 8
someone has to win, but no one is happy about ADDITIVE ALCHEMIST HEALING
it. The supernatural patrons you sought to impress You can mix a blend of crushed flowers and alchemical salt
politely make their excuses and leave as soon as they into an alchemical elixir with the healing trait or alchemical
have a chance. At the GM’s discretion, the attitude of food. Choose one of the following effects: reduce the drained
any patrons who experienced the meal can permanently condition by 1, reduce the stupefied condition by 1, remove
decrease toward all participants in the ritual. the dazzled condition, or remove the deafened condition.
Critical Failure Your team’s dish is ruined at the last The creature who consumes the modified healing elixir or
possible moment in a spectacular manner. You completely alchemical food gains this benefit in addition to the food or
embarrass yourself, and the attitude of the supernatural elixir’s normal effects. This has no effect against permanent
patrons who experienced this farce permanently decreases conditions.
by one step toward you. If you haven’t earned the ire of
your patron host, you’ve definitely lost the respect of any SOUR BOMB FEAT 10
onlookers or spectators. ADDITIVE ALCHEMIST OLFACTORY
You can mix ingredients with a powerful sour smell
ALCHEMICAL COOKING into an alchemical bomb to make its explosion
Alchemical cooking is an art form relatively an overpowering stench. Any creature hit by
new to much of Golarion but has a the bomb must attempt a Fortitude save
history of skilled practitioners against your class DC in addition to the
in Tian Xia. Some of the bomb’s normal effects.
most popular techniques for Success The creature is unaffected
alchemical gastronomy were beyond a strong craving for pickles.
pioneered organically, including Failure The creature is sickened 1.
experiments like applying alchemist’s Critical Failure The creature is sickened 2,
fire as an ingredient to flash-fry noodles and fleeing for 1 round from the smell.
or using alchemical reagents as preservatives
in rice liquor. Many of these experiments CHILLED FIRE NOODLES ALCHEMICAL FOODS
went exceptionally poorly, but others Alchemists use different ingredients based on
developed into proven techniques that traveling chefs what they find at their disposal. Their cooking techniques
and restaurateurs have since shared across the continent. can be viewed as out of the ordinary. Nevertheless,
Most Tian chef alchemists are instantly recognizable due they’re masters of distilling alcohol, vinegars, and tonics.
to their specially designed cookware, which looks like a
series of clay pots. IRON WINE ITEM 1
UNCOMMON ALCHEMICAL CONSUMABLE ELIXIR
NUMBING SPICE EXHALATION FEAT 4 Price 3 gp
ADDITIVE ALCHEMIST Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
You can mix alchemically preserved peppers into an Activate [one-action] (manipulate)
alchemical food consumable to spice it up with alchemical Access Tian Xia origin
104
This strong, clear liquor is made from fermented rice. When this effect is active, whenever a damaging attack or effect
you drink a cup of iron wine, your sweat becomes highly would reduce you to 0 Hit Points, you can use your reaction
TIAN XIA
combustive for the next 10 minutes, igniting with the slightest to immediately end the benefits of dragon pearl and remain
bit of friction. This causes your unarmed attacks to deal conscious and standing with 10 Hit Points, increasing your
CHARACTER
an additional 1d4 fire damage for the duration of the effect. wounded condition by 1. GUIDE
Drinking more than one cup of iron wine in a single day INTRODUCTION
gives you weakness 5 to fire until your next daily MAGICAL MORSELS
preparations. Magical culinary traditions across Tian BACKGROUNDS
Xia vary in their accessibility to different
MAGIC AND
RAINBOW VINEGAR ITEM 4+ ingredients and the values of those dishes THE SPIRIT
UNCOMMON ALCHEMICAL CONSUMABLE ELIXIR passed from one generation to another. WORLD
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Activate [one-action] (manipulate) CHILLED FIRE NOODLES ITEM 1+ THE ELEMENTS
Access Tian Xia origin UNCOMMON CONSUMABLE MAGICAL
ZODIAC
Black swill with multicolored Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
ribbons makes this vinegar look like Activate [three-actions] (manipulate) PEOPLES
an oil spill. Ingesting a dose of rainbow Access Tian Xia origin
vinegar makes your sweat acidic and These cool noodles are served with dark CHARACTER
OPTIONS
nonconductive for 10 minutes. During fermented sauces and vinegars before
this time, your unarmed attacks deal finally being tossed with spicy chili oil. When TIAN
an additional 1d4 acid damage, and you you consume the noodles, you temporarily EQUIPMENT
GHOST FOWL PORRIDGE
have resistance 10 to electricity. Vampires find ignore the -1 status penalty to AC and saving
this vinegar particularly harmful and take an additional 2d4 throws caused by the fatigued condition for 1 hour. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
acid damage instead. Taking more than one dose of rainbow Type chilled fire noodles; Level 1; Price 3 gp
vinegar in a single day gives you weakness 5 to acid until Type greater chilled fire noodles; Level 4; Price 15 gp
your next daily preparations. You temporarily ignore the -1 status penalty to AC and saving
Type moderate; Level 4; Price 15 gp throws caused by the fatigued condition for 4 hours.
Type greater; Level 12; Price 110 gp
The resistance increases to 15. You deal an additional 1d8 CLOUD BUNS ITEM 4+
acid damage with your unarmed attacks, or 2d8 acid damage UNCOMMON CONSUMABLE MAGICAL
against vampires. Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Activate [one-action] (manipulate)
PRESERVED MOONFLOWER ITEM 7 Access Tian Xia origin
UNCOMMON ALCHEMICAL CONSUMABLE White, pillowy dough surrounds an interior containing
Price 60 gp minced meats, spices, and herbs. The dough is steamed
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L with elemental magic to make it light and airy while
Activate [one-action] (manipulate) keeping the meaty center moist. When you consume a bun,
Access Tian Xia origin a set of small clouds form around your feet that grant you
Though these preserved vegetables aren’t actual moonflowers, a fly Speed of 30 feet or your speed, whichever is lower,
they’re made using a moonflower-distilled vinegar. When for 1 round.
consumed, tendrils sprout from your veins and curl around Type cloud buns; Level 4; Price 17 gp
you, granting you a +2 status bonus to saves against void Type greater cloud buns; Level 9; Price 150 gp
effects for 10 minutes and reducing your wounded condition You have a fly Speed of 30 feet or your speed, whichever
by up to 2. Eating more than one preserved moonflower is lower, for 1 minute. You also have a +2 item bonus to
dish in a day doesn’t grant further benefits and makes you Acrobatics checks to Maneuver in Flight.
drained 1.
GHOST FOWL PORRIDGE ITEM 9
DRAGON PEARL ITEM 10 UNCOMMON CONSUMABLE MAGICAL
RARE ALCHEMICAL CONSUMABLE PROCESSED Price 140 gp
Price 180 gp Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L Activate [one-action] (manipulate)
Activate 1 minute (manipulate) Access Tian Xia origin
These fermented and dried tea leaves are rolled into a ball This robust porridge—made from a cockatrice distilled into
shaped like a pearl. When brewed as a tea and consumed, it a broth, hot peppers from a demonic source, and various
promotes an outpouring of vital energy that surges through toppings—causes diners to utter a ghostly wail from the intense
your body. For the next 10 minutes, you have resistance 15 heat. Consuming the porridge grants you a +2 item bonus to
to void damage, and your unarmed attacks deal an additional saving throws against being petrified for 1 hour. You also gain
1d6 points of vitality damage on a successful Strike. While resistance 3 against physical damage for the duration.
105
Medicine
Medicine is a holistic part of life in Tian Xia. Different THE FIVE ELEMENTS
cultures utilize different treatments, but the philosophy Pei Zing teaches that every aspect of life is tied to at least
that day-to-day choices affect health underpins them all. one of the five elements. Broad categories and examples
Everything from the foods one eats to the emotions one are provided to categorize afflictions and Crafting
feels changes the body. Medicine is less about treating ingredients. The GM determines the element if the
symptoms of illness and more about keeping the body association isn’t clear. Categories include the following.
balanced to prevent illness in the first place. • Season: The time of year you encounter an affliction
Pei Zing herbalism dominates in Tian Xia. Samsarans or ingredient, such as summer causing heat stroke
in Zi Ha developed it over lifetimes of experimentation, or spring being the time an herb grows.
and Qi Zhong, the god of healing, spread its practice. • Taste: The flavor of an ingredient.
It links all aspects of life to one of five elements: wood, • Vector: The cause of an affliction.
fire, earth, metal, and water. Some nations layer other • Color: The appearance of an ingredient.
practices atop Pei Zing concepts. Chu Ye developed • Dragon: The domain of an imperial dragon.
acupuncture, which focuses on how qi flows through the • Emotion: Feelings that can cause or are a symptom
body. Minkai ascribes negative and positive energies to of an imbalance in the body’s elements.
all things. Vudran meditation and exercise techniques • Organs: The parts of the body most affected by
influence nations with strong martial arts traditions, that element.
such as Quain and Goka. An excess or a deficiency of each element can cause
afflictions, and healers treat those conditions by choosing
medicinal ingredients based on their elemental associations.
A patient worried about their newly opened business,
for example, might go to the doctor for indigestion. The
doctor would diagnose that the patient’s anxiety created
an excess of earth, triggering a stomach affliction. Then,
knowing that food associated with metal, wood, or water
can treat an excess of earth, they might tell the patient to
drink hot and sour soup with black fungus mushrooms
because spicy ingredients are associated with metal, sour
ingredients are associated with wood, and black-colored
ingredients are associated with water.
Using Pei Zing Elemental

Medicine
Pei Zing herbalism creates consumables for preventive
uses or treating long-term afflictions. It isn’t as suited for
pressing situations, such as healing wounds sustained
in battle, instead granting bonuses to patients that help
them ward off or recover from various afflictions. A
character who wishes to use Pei Zing herbalism to treat
patients can do so using the new Prepare Elemental
Medicine activity.
PREPARE ELEMENTAL MEDICINE FEAT 1

UNCOMMON EXPLORATION GENERAL MANIPULATE SECRET SKILL
Prerequisites trained in Crafting, Herbalism Lore, or Medicine;
You diagnose your patient, then prepare and administer
a dose of elemental medicine to a creature. Healer’s tools
contain basic ingredients for crafting elemental medicine,
though you might also need to gather more potent
ingredients from your environment. The medicine’s effects
last 24 hours, and no character can benefit from more
than one elemental medicine at a time. Attempt a Crafting,
Herbalism Lore, or Medicine check against a standard
106
PEI ZING ELEMENTAL ASSOCIATIONS
Wood Fire Earth Metal Water TIAN XIA
Season Spring Early summer Late summer Fall Winter
CHARACTER
Taste Sour Bitter Sweet Pungent Salty
Vector Wind Heat Damp Dry Cold GUIDE
Color Green Red Yellow White Black INTRODUCTION
Dragon Forest Underworld Sovereign Sky Sea
Emotion Anger Exuberance Anxiety Grief Fear BACKGROUNDS
Eyes, liver, Tongue, heart, small Mouth, spleen, Nose, lungs, large MAGIC AND
Organs Ear, kidney, bladder
gallbladder intestines stomach intestines THE SPIRIT
Elements to Treat WORLD
Fire, earth, metal Earth, metal, water Metal, water, wood Water, wood, fire Wood, fire, earth
Excess
THE ELEMENTS
Elements to Treat
Water, wood Wood, fire Fire, earth Earth, metal Metal, water
Deficiency ZODIAC
DC of the recipient’s level (in the case of especially well- Prepare Elemental Medicine. The GM decides that bog PEOPLES
known or obscure afflictions, the GM should apply an rot is an affliction caused by an excess of earth because
adjustment to lower or increase the DC, respectively). As the disease vector is damp feet and, therefore, that an CHARACTER
OPTIONS
the minute qualities of the patient’s condition can change elemental preparation associated with metal, wood, or
on a day-to-day basis, you must attempt a new check to water can be used to treat the disease. Fumbus rolls a TIAN
prepare elemental medicine each day you treat a patient, critical success, so the GM tells him this information and EQUIPMENT
even if the affliction you’re treating doesn’t change. You recommends that a water element preparation would be
can diagnose and treat up to 6 creatures during your daily best for Harsk. With this information, Fumbus decides to GLOSSARY
& INDEX
preparations, making a separate check for each patient. prepare a sesame seed tea for Harsk (as sesame seeds are
Critical Success You accurately diagnose your patient. The black and, therefore, associated with water), granting the
GM decides the elemental imbalance causing the patient’s dwarf a +2 circumstance bonus to his save.
symptoms (which elements, as well as whether it’s in The next day, Harsk is looking better but hasn’t
excess or deficiency) and then, using the information from completely recovered from the bog rot. Fumbus decides
the Pei Zing Elemental Associations table, notifies you to continue his treatment and attempts another check
what element of medicine is needed to remedy it. With this to assess and treat Harsk’s condition. Unfortunately,
information, you then accurately identify the elemental a natural 1 results in a critical failure. The GM
property of a given ingredient, and then use it to prepare informs Fumbus that although he’s on the right track
an excellent elemental medicine that grants the recipient a by attempting to treat bog rot with an elemental
+2 circumstance bonus to saves against the affliction. preparation involving wood, the spinach that Fumbus
Success As critical success, but the bonus is +1.
Failure You fail to diagnose your patient. The GM doesn’t
tell you what elemental imbalance is causing the
patient’s symptoms, and therefore, you can’t prepare an
elemental medicine.
Critical Failure You misdiagnose your patient. The GM decides
the elemental imbalance causing the patient’s symptoms
and then tells you a different, false diagnosis or notifies
you that the elemental ingredient you’re attempting to
treat the symptoms with is actually incorrect. Either
way, your mistaken treatment imposes a –1 circumstance
penalty to saves against the affliction.
In addition, characters who have access to Prepare

Elemental Medicine also have the ability to use Crafting,
Herbalism Lore, or Medicine to Recall Knowledge about
elemental afflictions and associations generally, which
they can do even if untrained, as with other uses of
Recall Knowledge.
Example
During their journey through the waterlogged lands of
Wanshou, Fumbus discovers that his companion Harsk
is fighting off a case of bog rot. He attempts a check to
107
Integrating is using is actually a fire ingredient, as its dominant characteristic is that it’s
Traditional Medicine bitter (Fumbus assumed it was associated with wood because it was green).
The Pei Zing Elemental Associations This medicine is no good for Harsk’s earth excess affliction, and it imposes
table draws heavily on real-world a –1 circumstance penalty to the poor dwarf’s save.
traditions of herbal medicine. If you’re
knowledgeable about this type of Preemptive Medication
treatment, feel free to let it guide either Since the effects of elemental medicine last for a whole day after consumption,
your suggestions about elemental you can take it preemptively. If you’re attending a party where the host is
afflictions to your players or your known to poison their guests with toad tears, you can take medication before
choices about what ingredients might the meal to gain a bonus to saving throws against wood-deficiency afflictions
be associated with what element. (if you succeed at your check, the GM might tell you that toad tears affect the
However, feel free to improvise and to eyes, draining your mental faculties and your ability to respond in anger). So
let your players enjoy describing their long as the medicine is active, it improves your chances against the poison,
rationale for elemental associations regardless of when you’re exposed to the affliction.
of various ingredients—Golarion is a
huge fantasy land filled with all sorts MEDICAL SKILL FEATS
of ingredients that don’t exist in the This section presents skill feats tied to Tian Xia’s medical practices that any
real world, leaving plenty of room to character can master, regardless of their ancestry or class. Characters from
make up elemental associations of Tian Xia have access to these feats, though some practices are seen more
your own. Perhaps herbs that grow on frequently in individual nations or regions.
the side of volcanic Mount Kumijinja
are associated with fire, a leaf from ACUPUNCTURIST FEAT 1
the great tree of the Valashmai Jungle DOWNTIME GENERAL MANIPULATE SKILL
is associated with wood, or a flower Prerequisites trained in Medicine; Access Tian Xia origin
blessed by priests of Qi Zhong might be You’ve studied the routes by which qi flows through the body. The needles stored
perfectly balanced in all five elements! in your healer’s tools can manipulate its flow and improve health when applied to
specific meridian points. You spend a day studying an ally to attempt a Medicine
check to improve their qi against a standard DC for your ally’s level. The ally is
then immune to all uses of Acupuncturist for 1 week.
Critical Success You grant your ally the choice of a +2
circumstance bonus to one downtime activity skill
check within the next week, or the ability to roll
twice on their next saving throw within the next
week against an affliction and take the higher
result; this is a fortune effect.
Success You grant your ally a +1 circumstance
bonus to one downtime activity skill check
within the next week.
Critical Failure Your ally takes a –1 circumstance
penalty to all downtime activity skill checks within
the next week.
ENERGY FORTIFICATION FEAT 2

UNCOMMON GENERAL SKILL
Prerequisites Prepare Elemental Medicine, expert in
Occultism; Access Minkai or Forest of Spirits origin
You learn Minkaian traditions about the void and know
how to manipulate the five elements to fortify vitality
and void energies in the body. When you Prepare Elemental
Medicine, you can choose to use Occultism instead of the usual skills. If you
do, the medicine also grants the recipient resistance 2 and weakness 2 based
on the element you chose. A wood, earth, or water elemental medicine grants
resistance to void damage and weakness to vitality damage, and a living recipient
loses its immunity to vitality damage for the duration. A fire or metal elemental
medicine grants resistance to vitality damage and weakness to void damage, and
an undead recipient loses its immunity to void damage for the duration.
If you’re a master in Occultism, increase the resistance and weakness to 4. If you’re
legendary, instead increase them to 8.
108
PEI ZING ADEPT FEAT 2 Many physical poses can fortify one’s health, but some
UNCOMMON GENERAL SKILL poses need more than one body to accomplish. As you
TIAN XIA
Prerequisites Prepare Elemental Medicine, expert in Crafting, and your eidolon pose in tandem, you each channel qi
Herbalism Lore, or Medicine; Access Tian Xia origin into a protective barrier in a 30-emanation until the start
CHARACTER
You’re practiced at timing preparations to the point where of your next turn. Creatures within range of either you or GUIDE
you can treat multiple patients at once. During your daily you eidolon gain resistance to your choice of acid, cold, INTRODUCTION
preparations, you can administer up to two elemental electricity, fire, or sonic damage equal to half your level. In
medicines to different recipients. addition, any Medicine check targeting a creature with this BACKGROUNDS
If you’re a master in one of the prerequisite skills, you can resistance gets a +1 status bonus (or a +2 status bonus if
MAGIC AND
administer to up to four recipients, and if you’re legendary, you’re a master in Medicine). THE SPIRIT
you can administer to up to eight. WORLD
MEDITATE ON THIS! [one-action] FEAT 14
TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT FEAT 7 UNCOMMON BARBARIAN CONCENTRATE EMOTION INCAPACITATION
THE ELEMENTS
UNCOMMON GENERAL SKILL MENTAL RAGE
ZODIAC
Prerequisites master in Crafting, Herbalism Lore, or Medicine; Prerequisites trained in Medicine or Tian Xia Lore; Access
Access Hwanggot origin Tian Xia origin PEOPLES
You learn Hwan temperature classifications for the You meditate to alter your qi, coloring it with your resentment
elements—wood and water are cold elements, while fire, and anger. Until the start of your next turn, whenever you hit CHARACTER
OPTIONS
earth, and metal are hot elements. When you Prepare a creature with an unarmed Strike, or an adjacent creature
Elemental Medicine, you can alter the environmental deals piercing, slashing, or bleed damage to you, the creature TIAN
effects on the recipient’s body. If you created hot elemental that you hit or that damaged you must attempt a Will save EQUIPMENT
medicine, the recipient ignores the effects of severe cold against your class DC. The creature is then temporarily
while the medicine lasts. If you created cold elemental immune for 1 minute. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
medicine, the recipient ignores the effects of severe heat Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
while the medicine lasts. Success The creature is frightened 1.
Failure The creature is frightened 2.
MEDICAL CLASS FEATS Critical Failure The creature is frightened 3 and fleeing until
This section presents feats that various classes can learn the end of its next turn.
from Tian Xia’s medical practices.
INTENSIFIED ELEMENT STANCE [one-action] FEAT 6

UNCOMMON DRUID RANGER STANCE
Prerequisites trained in Medicine; Access Tian Xia origin
Requirements You were the recipient of elemental medicine (see
Prepare Elemental Medicine) during your last daily preparations.
You expend the elemental medicine in your body to
empower your attacks, though you can’t consume any
more elemental medicine until the next day. While in
Intensified Element Stance, your strikes and damaging
spells deal an additional 1d6 damage against certain
creatures, depending on the type of elemental medicine
you expended. If the person who crafted the elemental
medicine expended was legendary in the skill they used,
increase this damage to 2d6.
Earth acid damage against water creatures
Fire fire damage against metal creatures and constructs that
are primarily metallic
Metal electricity damage against wood or plant creatures and
constructs primarily made of wood or plant matter
Water sonic damage against fire creatures
Wood cold damage against earth creatures and constructs
that are primarily made of rock or earth
PROTECTIVE POSE [two-actions] FEAT 8

UNCOMMON MANIPULATE SUMMONER
Prerequisites trained in Medicine; Access Tian Xia origin
Requirements You and your eidolon are within 30 feet of
one another.
109
Tian Innovation
Inventors in Tian Xia are a varied and shrewd Invoking the name of Sun Wukong’s extending cudgel, Ruyi
bunch united in their love of manipulating gears and Bang (page 131), you activate hidden levers and cranks in your
cogs. They include tinkerers who reverse engineer innovation, making it swiftly extend outward like a battering
clockworks uncovered in the Clicking Caverns beneath ram. Make a melee Strike with your weapon innovation; your
Nagajor and Xa Hoi, explosive technicians who profit reach for that Strike is 30 feet.
from maritime tensions between Wanshou and Xidao,
and martial artists who augment their attacks with the DUO DRAGON KICK [two-actions] FEAT 4
wonders of machinery. Further technological marvels INVENTOR
are unearthed from ancient empires, as the citizens Prerequisites construct innovation
of Valash Raj dredge up mysterious silver disks and Requirements Your construct innovation is adjacent to you.
circuits from the earth, bending these relics to suit their You’ve practiced an impressive spin technique with your
own peculiar needs. A long and storied tradition of construct, automatically attacking in tandem as you
gunpowder has fueled many of these innovations, as launch each other through the air. You Command your
well as a legacy of imperial scholarship that has allowed construct companion to fight alongside you, after which
upward mobility for the brightest of minds. you both Leap in the same direction, making an unarmed
The exchange of ideas across the continent and Strike at the start or end of the Leap; this uses your
to lands even further abroad regularly sees new or companion’s actions for the turn. If the Strikes both hit the
perfected technologies appear at a rapid pace. Black same creature, combine their damage for the purposes of
market traders in the Golden League and beyond scour resistances and weaknesses.
the underworld for anything that might give them Unstable Function You spin farther and higher, though
an edge with their customers, keeping a keen eye on the extreme movement risks discombobulating your
Hwanggot’s iron ships. Ysoki slumlords and Kwanlai innovation. Add the unstable trait to Duo Dragon Kick.
tengu dismantle any new devices they find, often Increase the distance of your Leaps by 10 feet if horizontal
creating cheaper and better alternatives to produce or 5 feet if vertical.
in their workshops. With new trade routes depositing
innovations from the farthest reaches of Golarion in SILK BRACELET [two-actions] FEAT 6
Goka, Linvarre, Minkai, and other Successor States, UNCOMMON INVENTOR MANIPULATE
Tian Xia’s innovators are quickly becoming masters of Prerequisites armor, construct, or weapon innovation;
the world’s technology, adding flair completely unique Access Tian Xia origin
to the Dragon Empires. Taking inspiration from Desna’s image as a giant silk moth
in Tian Xia, you’ve attached a bracelet to your innovation
Inventor Feats that generates ultra-strong silk strands mixed with venom.
The following feats are available to inventors. You can unleash this substance as part of an attack. Make
a melee Strike. If it hits, the target takes damage from the
OIL FIRE [one-action] FEAT 2 Strike as normal and must attempt a Fortitude save against
FIRE INVENTOR MANIPULATE UNSTABLE your class DC with the following effects.
Prerequisites armor innovation Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Requirements You have a foe grabbed. Success The silk imposes a –10 foot status penalty to all the
Your armor includes flame-resistant gauntlets with oil-filled target’s Speeds for 1 round.
finger joints. These joints can split apart, dousing your Failure As success, and the target takes an additional 1d4
opponent in flammable oil and then igniting it. The opponent persistent poison damage. The poison damage increases
must attempt a Reflex save against your class DC. to 2d4 at 12th level and 3d4 at 18th level.
Critical Success The grab ends. Critical Failure As failure, and the target is immobilized until
Success The grab ends, and the target takes 1 persistent the end of their next turn.
fire damage. Special If your innovation is a minion, it can take this action
Failure The target takes persistent fire damage equal to half rather than you.
your level.
Critical Failure The target takes persistent fire damage equal XIDAO SEA MINE DROP [two-actions] FEAT 6
to your level. UNCOMMON INVENTOR
Prerequisites Diving Armor; Access Tian Xia origin
WUKONG EXTENSION [one-action] FEAT 2 You’ve rigged your armor innovation with a gizmo that can
UNCOMMON INVENTOR MANIPULATE UNSTABLE safely synthesize two sea mines a day, holding them in a
Prerequisites weapon innovation; Access Tian Xia origin or protected compartment. You must be submerged in water to use
worshipper of Sun Wukong this action, and the mines only detonate if they’re underwater.
110
You off-load a mine onto an unoccupied square within powder also erupt from the shell, dealing 3d4 piercing
your reach. The mine is primed to explode when a Small or damage plus 2 persistent fire damage (basic Reflex save
TIAN XIA
larger creature moves into its square, or when you Interact against your class DC) to all creatures in a 5-foot emanation.
to Activate your gizmo’s remote detonation button, which
CHARACTER
explodes a single mine up to 50 feet away. As a 1-minute CELESTIAL CACOPHONY [three-actions] FEAT 12 GUIDE
activity, you can hide a mine. Creatures can detect a UNCOMMON FIRE INVENTOR MANIPULATE SONIC VISUAL INTRODUCTION
hidden mine as they would any trap or hazard, using your Prerequisites weapon innovation; Access Tian Xia origin
Craft DC as the Stealth DC. If you don’t Conceal the mine, Your weapon contains a detonation chamber that launches BACKGROUNDS
its position is obvious. fireworks, sparklers, and black powder pellets that sizzle,
MAGIC AND
Any creature in a 5-foot emanation around the mine twist, and scatter on the ground in a cacophonous manner THE SPIRIT
when it detonates takes 3d4 bludgeoning damage and 1d4 liable to annoy the entire Celestial Court. All creatures in WORLD
piercing damage, with a basic Reflex save against your class a 15-foot cone extending from your innovation take 3d4
DC. The bludgeoning damage of your mines increases by 1d4 fire damage and 3d4 sonic damage with a basic Fortitude THE ELEMENTS
at 8th level and every 2 levels thereafter. Any mines that save against your class DC; both the fire and sonic damage
ZODIAC
haven’t detonated when you make your daily preparations increase by 1d4 at 14th level and every 2 levels thereafter.
become inert and harmless. The area affected by the cone becomes difficult terrain until PEOPLES
Unstable Function You push the safety limits of your the start of your next turn. Creatures moving through this
gizmo, forcing it to synthesize and launch additional sea area must succeed at a Reflex save against your class DC or CHARACTER
OPTIONS
mines, exceeding the daily limit. Add the unstable trait to take 2d4 persistent fire damage.
Xidao Sea Mine Drop. You create up to 3 additional sea mines Unstable Function You rattle your weapon violently to TIAN
that you can immediately deploy in different unoccupied make it belch out even more pyrotechnics. Add the unstable EQUIPMENT
spaces up to 30 feet away. trait to Celestial Cacophony. The area increases to a 30-foot
cone, and all damage dice increase from d4s to d8s. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
GUARDIAN LION ROAR [two-actions] FEAT 8
AUDITORY INVENTOR SONIC
Prerequisites armor, construct, or weapon innovation
Your innovation is augmented with plates shaped to
resemble the gaping maws of guardian lions, which
you can energize to expel a stream of sonic energy
reminiscent of a lion’s powerful roar. All creatures
in a 20-foot line from your innovation take 2d8
sonic damage with a basic Fortitude save against
your class DC. Creatures that fail this save become
off-guard for 1 round. The damage from this effect
increases by 1d8 at 10th level and every 2 levels
thereafter.
Unstable Function You press concealed
switches in the guardian lions’ plates, extending
their reach and power. Add the unstable trait to
Guardian Lion Roar. The range of your roar increases
to a 60-foot line. Creatures that succeed (but not critically
succeed) at their save also become off-guard for 1 round.
On a critical failure when attempting the flat check for this
unstable action, you take sonic damage equal to your level
instead of fire damage.
Special If your innovation is a minion, it can take this action
rather than you.
GEOBUKSEON RETALIATION [reaction] FEAT 10

UNCOMMON FIRE INVENTOR MODIFICATION UNSTABLE
Prerequisites armor innovation; Access Tian Xia origin
Trigger You would take damage.
Your armor has a retractable spike-covered shell reminiscent
of Hwanggot’s heavily armored geobukseon, or “turtle
ships.” The shell unfolds across your body, giving you a +4
circumstance bonus to AC and resistance 2 to bludgeoning,
piercing, and slashing damage until the end of your next
turn. Spiked chains propelled by small bursts of black
111
Wuxia
This section showcases new options for practitioners You can create a special weapon, qi-infused fabric, by
of qinggong, the art of lightness. Qinggong is a natural Interacting to grip a length of cloth of 1 Bulk or less
progression of developing one’s qi (refined life energy, also and filling it with your qi. If you Interact to draw the
known as ki). While everyone is capable of producing qi object, you can do this as part of that action. For most
through their bodies, an individual must often undergo unfurling brocade magi, this item is a scarf, sash, ribbon,
specialized training to produce sufficient qi needed for or a similarly voluminous article of worn clothing, such
qinggong and other feats of supernatural martial arts. as long sleeves. You can use the fabric as a bladed scarf
(Treasure Vault 25). Unlike a normal bladed scarf, you
QINGGONG MAGI have the option to wield the fabric in one hand instead
The following section presents two new hybrid studies of two. Its damage die is d4 if held in one hand. If you’re
for magi who utilize qinggong and its related arts of qi wearing handwraps of mighty blows, you can apply any
manipulation. These techniques are popular within Tian of its runes to the fabric, provided those runes could be
Xia’s jianghu—the martial arts world—and allow experts added to a bladed scarf. This begins when you wield the
to defy gravity with Quain’s magic sword arts or to turn fabric and ends when you cease doing so.
the softest cloth deadly with Po Li’s silk thread techniques. While in Arcane Cascade stance, the magical energy
flowing through your fabric partially animates it to
Hybrid Studies accomplish an even greater range of tricks.
Characters from Tian Xia have access to the following • If you critically succeed at an Athletics check to
magus studies. The list of studious spells notes which Disarm, you can spend a single action immediately
additional spells the studies grant for the studious spells afterward to flick your fabric, causing the disarmed
class feature. object to fall to the ground in your space rather than
in your opponent’s.
Aloof Firmament (Uncommon) • Your fabric gains the grapple trait. If you succeed at
You’re a philosopher of the sword who codifies your an Athletics check to Grapple using your fabric, you
study of qinggong along principles arcane and martial. can spend a single action immediately afterward to
Your blade teaches morality and immortality, and you pull the creature 5 feet toward you.
illustrate its lessons with an academician’s rigor. Through • When you attempt to Trip a foe using your fabric, the
your training, you’ve learned to move about with grace target can be two sizes larger than you instead of one.
and create opportunity to strike foes. Conflux Spell home among mulberry leaves
You gain the Cat Fall general feat, though you benefit Studious Spells 7th: web (Player Core 2 255), 11th: whirling
from it only as long as you aren’t using a shield and are scarves (Divine Mysteries 261), 13th: planar tether
wearing light or no armor.
While in Arcane Cascade stance, your steps become even Conflux Spells
lighter, giving you the benefits of the Quick Jump general The hybrid studies in this book grant access to the
feat. When you Fly, Leap, High Jump, or Long Jump while following conflux spells.
in that stance, your movement doesn’t trigger reactions. If
you take one of these actions, the next Strike you make HOME AMONG MULBERRY LEAVES [one-action] FOCUS 1
before the end of your turn with a one-handed weapon in UNCOMMON MAGUS MANIPULATE
the sword group has greater damage from Arcane Cascade. Requirements You’re wielding qi-infused fabric (see above).
Increase the extra damage to 4; increase it to 6 if you have Qi-formed threads unravel from your fabric on conjured
weapon specialization, or to 8 if you have greater weapon needles as your attack makes contact with an enemy and
specialization. You must have your other hand completely wraps it in place like an insect in its cocoon. Make a melee
free; the extra damage doesn’t apply if you have a free-hand Strike with your qi-infused fabric. On a success, the target
weapon or other item in that hand, even if you would is immobilized until the start of your next turn, though it
normally be able to use the hand for other things. can attempt to Escape against your spell DC. On a critical
Conflux Spell sky laughs at waves success, your needles anchor in the target’s nerve centers
Studious Spells 7th: water walk, 11th: wall of wind, 13th: variable after the threads bind it, making it your choice of clumsy 1
gravity (Secrets of Magic 138) or enfeebled 1 until the start of your next turn, in addition to
immobilizing it.
Unfurling Brocade (Uncommon)
You disdain others’ reliance on crude contrivances of iron, SKY LAUGHS AT WAVES [one-action] FOCUS 1
instead favoring the elegance of fabric, with thread and UNCOMMON MAGUS MANIPULATE
brocade your panoply. Your mastery of qinggong allows Requirements You’re wielding a one-handed weapon in the
qi-infused fabric to tear flesh, bind blades, and pierce steel. sword group.
112
You soar and leave the world’s squabbles behind before your The web lasts for 1 minute but ends early if your Arcane
violent intentions ground you once more. Fly up to your Speed, Cascade ends or you leave the web.
TIAN XIA
then make a Strike with your sword against an adjacent If you Cast a Spell from a spell slot while in the web, the
creature at the end of your movement. If you don’t have any strings glow red until the beginning of your next turn, dealing
CHARACTER
other means of flying, you fall after the Strike. If you can’t end damage equal to the spell’s rank to any creature other than you GUIDE
your movement adjacent to an enemy, this spell is disrupted. that moves through the web. The damage occurs at the end of INTRODUCTION
the creature’s movement, with a basic Reflex save against your
Magus Feats spell DC. A creature can take this damage only once each round. BACKGROUNDS
The following feats are available to magi who meet the
MAGIC AND
prerequisites. UNSHEATHING THE SWORD-LIGHT [two-actions] FEAT 10 THE SPIRIT
ARCANE LIGHT MAGUS WORLD
DISTANT WATERBIRD’S POISE [reaction] FEAT 4 Prerequisites aloof firmament hybrid study, Spellstrike
ARCANE MAGUS Requirements Your Spellstrike is charged, and you’re wielding THE ELEMENTS
Prerequisites aloof firmament hybrid study, Spellstrike a one-handed weapon in the sword group.
ZODIAC
Trigger You hit a target with a Spellstrike. Honed through 10,000 battles, your sword’s mere light can
You flow around your foe, using the magic of your attack to shatter ambitions and break armies. Make a melee Spellstrike PEOPLES
carry you away. You Leap, High Jump, or Long Jump, and this with a sword, with a spell that isn’t a cantrip or focus spell.
movement doesn’t trigger reactions from the creature you hit. Countless copies of your sword, made of light, fall around CHARACTER
OPTIONS
If you High Jump or Long Jump, you don’t have to perform the you, dealing damage equal to double the spell’s rank to each
initial Stride (nor do you fall if you don’t Stride 10 feet). creature within a 10-foot emanation of the target, excluding TIAN
The lightness of your steps persists after the jump, granting you and the target of the Spellstrike. The damage is of the EQUIPMENT
you the ability to land on or walk on the surface of water or same type dealt by your sword Strike and is treated as cold
other liquids until the end of your next turn. iron and silver. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
HEAVEN-EARTH ENCOMPASSING SLEEVES FEAT 4
ARCANE EXTRADIMENSIONAL MAGUS
Prerequisites unfurling brocade hybrid study
Your magic extends to your garments. During your daily
preparations, you can weave magic into a single suit of fine
or high-fashioned fine clothing with long sleeves or a train,
such as a robe or cloak. This clothing becomes a set of
sleeves of storage (GM Core 296), allowing you to store
items in either the sleeves or the train (you choose
which during your daily preparations). This treatment
also makes the clothing more durable; its Hardness
increases by an amount equal to your level, and
its Hit Points increase by an amount equal to
twice your level.
These benefits end if you prepare a new set
of clothing, if someone else attempts to wear the
clothing, or if you lose ownership of the clothing.
When it ends, all items stored within the clothes fall
into the nearest available space.
At 9th level, the clothing becomes greater sleeves
of storage instead.
VERMILION THREADS [reaction] FEAT 10

ARCANE MAGUS
Prerequisites Arcane Cascade, unfurling
brocade hybrid study
Trigger You use Arcane Cascade.
Your Arcane Cascade sends threads to the four
directions, creating a web of strings dyed by your
skill and your enemies’ blood. The web fills a 15-foot
burst centered on you and is difficult terrain. You can ignore
the difficult terrain, and the strings can support your weight,
allowing you to walk on them as though you were benefiting
UNFURLING BROCADE
from fly.
113
CULTIVATOR (ARCHETYPE) Cultivator focus spells are treated as qi spells for
Cultivators are seekers of immortality who practice prerequisites, counting the number of qi spells you possess
occult disciplines to refine their qi. By gathering and their effects, such as a jiang-shi’s Drain Qi.
and purifying vast quantities of qi and enriching
their bodies’ qi with energies from the Universe IMMORTAL LIGHTNESS FEAT 4
and Creation’s Forge, these warriors pursue—or ARCHETYPE
“cultivate”—immortality and gain mastery over life Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication
and death. Many cultivators seek to become ageless You breathe, allowing your golden core to release qi into the
immortals with awe-inspiring mystical powers known meridians governing your lower body, and break into a burst
as xian and potentially even ascend to divinity as of speed that could shame arrows in flight. You gain the
minor officials of the Tian pantheon. More unorthodox athletic rush domain spell (Player Core 377) as a focus spell.
cultivators instead mingle qi with the Void and the
Netherworld’s dark energies. LOTUS ABOVE THE MUD FEAT 6
While humanoid cultivators are the norm, it isn’t ARCHETYPE
unheard of for animals, trees, rocks, or even household Prerequisites Immortal Lightness
objects to cultivate their qi and become powerful Your qi, dancing ever diligently toward cultivation, eludes
yaoguai (page 82). The mountains of Shanguang, the grasp of the world’s muck and mire. When you cast
Shenmen, and Zi Ha are famed sites for cultivators, your adapt self or athletic rush focus spells, you ignore
as are the bamboo groves of Songbai and the verdant difficult terrain until the end of your next turn.
heart of the Valashmai Jungle. All types of cultivators
are watched over carefully by Tian Xia’s imperial THREE CLEAR BREATHS FEAT 6
dragons, for cultivators go against Heaven’s will in ARCHETYPE
seeking to transcend their ontology and destiny. There Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication, Constitution +2
is little place for the timid among cultivators, as they Through your disciplined condensations and circulations
seek to stand among the most powerful beings of both of qi, you’ve caught a fleeting glimpse of cultivation’s
earth and Heaven. As a result, their personalities tend promise, and your health has handsomely profited along
to be extreme, possessed of otherworldly benevolence, the way. You gain the Breath Control, Diehard, and Fast
hellish wrath, or unmoving poise. Recovery feats. You must meet the prerequisites for these
The intense effort and discipline required to reach feats as normal. For each of these feats you already have,
the peaks of cultivation weed out most aspirants before you can instead gain a different feat from the following
they can even truly begin, and the tribulations that most list: Canny Acumen, Fleet, and Toughness.
cultivators attract winnows the rest. While calamity
drives many to cultivate, rumors persist that gods WISTERIA-AND-PEONY REUNION [free-action] FEAT 6
and dragons alike test and punish cultivation’s path ARCHETYPE HEALING VITALITY
with yet more hardship and woe. For every cultivator Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication
who eventually attains immortality, a thousand more Frequency once per hour
aspirants meet their ends in the cruelest fates. Trigger You Cast a focus spell.
Cultivators are rare, even within Tian Xia. Your roots of qi stand firm, shaking off pains and aches
like the returning flowers and leaves shed during winter’s
CULTIVATOR DEDICATION FEAT 2 snow. You regain Hit Points equal to your level plus the
RARE ARCHETYPE DEDICATION maximum number of Focus Points in your focus pool.
Prerequisites trained in Occultism
Through an esoteric, often exacting, regimen of meditation, CULTIVATOR’S KEEN EYE FEAT 8
diet, and exercise, you’ve learned to transform your body’s ARCHETYPE OCCULT
inner workings into a crucible of planar and spiritual Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication
energies. These austerities allow you to refine your body’s Attuned to all arrangements of qi, you gain lifesense (Monster
vitality into qi, the foundation of all cultivation. Core 359) as an imprecise sense with a range of 30 feet. You
You become an expert in Occultism. In addition, you can also sense the presence of precious materials in the same
gain the adapt self domain spell (Pathfinder Lost Omens range, which cultivators refer to as “cultivation materials.”
Divine Mysteries 262) as a focus spell. It costs 1 Focus When you participate in rituals, you can substitute all or
Point to cast a focus spell, and you start with a focus pool part of the ritual’s cost with an equivalent value of precious
of 1 Focus Point. You refill your focus pool during your materials. This applies only to costs in valuable substances
daily preparations, and you can regain 1 Focus Point by like diamonds, not to rituals that require specific items to
spending 10 minutes using the Refocus activity meditating function; the GM makes the call if it’s unclear.
to refine essence into qi, which circulates and refills your
focus pool. Your cultivator focus spells are occult spells. GHOST-PATH EPIPHANY FEAT 10
You’re trained in spell attack modifier and spell DC. Your ARCHETYPE
key spellcasting attribute for these spells is Wisdom. Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication, you aren’t holy
114
Deviating from the orthodox path, you tread an THE IMMORTAL ATTAINS THE SUMMIT FEAT 16
inauspicious descent littered with flowers of death; this ARCHETYPE
TIAN XIA
heretical choice will, in time, earn you the enmity and fear Prerequisites Three Pecks of Dew
of more traditional cultivators. You become sanctified with Your cultivation bearing glorious fruit, you behold Heaven’s
CHARACTER
the unholy trait. You also learn the call spirit and commune will. Returning from your vision of the Holy Mountain, GUIDE
rituals, which can be used to contact only undead or you become an immortal with mystic potency over the INTRODUCTION
entities from the Void or the Netherworld. terrestrial realms of wind and water.
When you cast a ritual, you can reduce the number of You cease aging and, regardless of your actual existential BACKGROUNDS
secondary casters by 1 as you direct decaying fragments state, now register as a living being to effects that can
MAGIC AND
of your own soul, felled by your proximity to death, to detect living creatures (such as lifesense or spiritsense). THE SPIRIT
assist with the ritual. When you do, you must fulfill any In addition, you learn the control weather and plant WORLD
requirements for the secondary caster, and you attempt the growth rituals. You can use Occultism instead of Nature
secondary check normally performed by that secondary for these rituals. On a success with one of these rituals, THE ELEMENTS
caster. You can’t replace a secondary caster who’s the you gain the effects of a critical success instead.
ZODIAC
target of the spell (as in the atone ritual).
PEOPLES
THREE PECKS OF DEW FEAT 10
ARCHETYPE
CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Prerequisites Cultivator Dedication, you aren’t unholy
At this stage of cultivation, your body is as much spirit as TIAN
flesh. While still fettered to the physical realm, your form EQUIPMENT
flourishes without needing
conventional food or drink, GLOSSARY
& INDEX
and your natural healing now
rivals that brought by scalpel and suture.
You become sanctified with the holy trait. When
you perform the Subsist downtime activity, you can use
Occultism for the skill check (instead of the skills normally
associated with your environment). If you do so, this
activity gains the vitality trait as you subsist on ambient
qi within your environment’s dew-laden air and create
shelter from solidified emanations of qi.
Additionally, when you Refocus, you can also Treat
Wounds at the same time. If you do so, you can use
Occultism for checks to Treat Wounds and disregard the
need for a healer’s kit; this activity gains the vitality
trait as you circulate healing qi through your own
body or transfuse your ally with healing qi.
THE BITTER SCHOLAR’S PROMOTION FEAT 16

ARCHETYPE
Prerequisites Ghost-Path Epiphany
Tian Xia’s shining cities belie its empires’ long shadow of
death, darkened by thousands of years of suffering
and injustice. You pursue immortality not through
tuft-hunting with Heaven’s dragons or their imperial
brats; yours is the power to crack its corrupt wheel,
for you can now release the ghost gates to expedite
the dead’s revenge at being cheated of their fates.
You cease aging and, regardless of your actual
existential state, now register as an undead to effects
that can detect undead (such as lifesense or spiritsense).
In addition, you learn create undead rituals for
gashadokuro (Pathfinder Book of the Dead 95), jiang-
shi (Book of the Dead 158), and shui gui (Pathfinder Lost
Omens Tian Xia World Guide 298). On a success with one
of these rituals, you gain the effects of a critical success
instead.
115
Familiar Sage
According to Tian Xia’s scholars, spirits and apparitions Create Familiar Fulu action, which you can use once per day;
are commonly believed to embody various aspects of life, at 12th level, this increases to twice per day, and at 18th level,
objects, and concepts. These spirits might choose a form it increases to three times per day.
that strikes their fancy or inhabit one that best reflects their Create Familiar Fulu [two-actions] (concentrate, manipulate) Frequency
personality, temperament, or philosophy. Sometimes, an once per day or greater (see above); Requirements Your
apparition achieves a greater awareness that results in familiar is within 30 feet, and you have one hand free; Effect
a spiritual awakening. Such entities might develop a You make a pinching motion, and your familiar dissolves into
strong magical connection to the world that elevates and magical energy that re-forms between your fingers as a fulu
separates them from others of their kind. Over time, they magical item. The fulu must be at least two levels lower than
might form connections or mystical bonds with worthy your level, and you don’t need to spend the normal monetary
individuals to serve throughout their chosen partner’s cost in magical components or attempt a Crafting check. You
lifetime, possibly continuing on to watch over their can then choose to Affix a Talisman as part of this activity
partner’s descendants and becoming spiritual household to affix your familiar fulu. While transformed, your familiar
guardians. Typically, these apparitions are remnants of doesn’t grant its normal benefits, and it remains transformed
humanoid souls or personifications of spiritually infused until your next daily preparations or until you Activate the
items or locations, but in some cases, primal spirits fulu, at which point your familiar reappears in an unoccupied
form similar bonds, granting a greater connection to space adjacent to you.
the five elements and the natural world. Regardless of
the fundamental nature of these spirits, those who have TEMPEST CLOUD’S SPEED FEAT 6
mastered the ability to conjure and control a familiar can AIR ARCHETYPE MAGICAL
form a bond with them that unlocks a unique and potent Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication
well of shared magical energy. Requirements You aren’t encumbered.
You and your familiar coordinate to channel elemental air.
FAMILIAR SAGE DEDICATION FEAT 4 Your familiar gains the following ability.
ARCHETYPE DEDICATION Path of the Tempest [two-actions] (air) Frequency once per 10 minutes;
Prerequisites You have a familiar, and you’re able to cast spells. Effect Your familiar summons winds that speed up and
You’ve forged an empowered mystical bond with your protect you. You gain a +10-foot status bonus to your Speed
familiar. You gain the Enhanced Familiar feat, increasing your until the end of your turn. When you Stride this turn, you
familiar’s number of abilities. don’t trigger reactions. In addition, you don’t need to Stride
Special You can take Familiar Sage Dedication even if you before a Long Jump this turn.
haven’t yet gained three feats from the familiar master
archetype, and you can take Familiar Master Dedication FAMILIAR RITUALIST FEAT 8
even if you haven’t yet gained three feats from the familiar ARCHETYPE
sage archetype. You can’t select another dedication feat Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication, ability to cast a ritual
until you’ve gained two other feats from the familiar Your familiar’s magical presence can serve as an aspect
master or familiar sage archetypes. of a ritual. When you cast a ritual, your familiar can serve
as a secondary caster, fulfilling any requirements for the
FAMILIAR’S RESOLVE [one-action] FEAT 6 secondary caster as well as a secondary check. You can’t
ARCHETYPE SPELLSHAPE replace a secondary caster who’s the target of the spell.
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication
When you weave magic, your familiar traces symbols that throw GOLDEN DRAGON’S BOUNTY [one-action] FEAT 8
off fear and doubt. If the next action you use is to Cast a Spell, ARCHETYPE SPELLSHAPE
you or an ally within 30 feet gain a +2 status bonus to saving Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication
throws against effects that would cause you to be doomed or Your familiar alters the material of a spell into that of a
frightened for 1 round. At 14th level, you or an ally gain a +3 precious metal. If the next action you use is to Cast a Spell
status bonus to saving throws against these effects instead. that deals bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, that
damage is your choice of cold iron, silver, or steel for the
FULU FAMILIAR FEAT 6 purposes of weaknesses, resistances, vulnerabilities, and the
ARCHETYPE TALISMAN like. At 14th level, adamantine is added to the list of metal
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication, expert in Occultism choices. The spell gains the metal trait.
or Religion
You can imprint your familiar’s spiritual essence into a fulu LIGHTNING RINGS’ INTERVENTION FEAT 8
(Secrets of Magic 158), a small paper charm that can be ARCHETYPE ELECTRICITY MANIPULATE
affixed to objects, creatures, or structures. You gain the Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication
116
Your familiar learns to empower spells with an electrical Requirements You’re adjacent to or sharing the same space
discharge. Your familiar gains the following ability. as your familiar.
TIAN XIA
Lightning Needles [one-action] (electricity) Requirements You Cast You and your familiar learn the secrets of elemental fire,
a Spell that had the air or electricity traits this turn; allowing you to merge together to become a legendary
CHARACTER
Effect Your familiar absorbs excess electrical charge and creature—a phoenix. You can cast monstrosity form as an GUIDE
unleashes a 5-foot emanation of static electricity that flows innate occult spell once per day, except you can transform INTRODUCTION
into creatures’ meridians. Creatures in the emanation that only into a phoenix, and your familiar must be adjacent to
fail a Fortitude save against your spell DC become clumsy you before you Cast the Spell. When you Cast the Spell, your BACKGROUNDS
1 until the end of their next turn. If a creature is soaked familiar merges into your form. While transformed, you gain
MAGIC AND
or standing over or in water inside the emanation, it also the Blazing Conflagration action. THE SPIRIT
takes 1d4 persistent electricity damage on a failed save. Blazing Conflagration [three-actions] (fire, healing, light, visual) WORLD
Requirements You’re transformed into phoenix form by
SEAL OF THE GOLDEN DRAGON [reaction] FEAT 10 the monstrosity form spell granted by this feat; Effect You THE ELEMENTS
ARCHETYPE MAGICAL dismiss phoenix form while a fiery corona erupts from you
ZODIAC
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication, Golden Dragon’s Bounty as searing light. Each creature in a 10-foot burst takes 16d6
Trigger You would take acid, cold, electricity, poison, fire, or fire damage with a basic Fortitude save against your spell PEOPLES
sonic damage. DC; creatures that critically fail are blinded for 1 round. You
Requirements Your familiar has the resistance ability and is gain 8d6 temporary Hit Points. At 18th level and again at CHARACTER
OPTIONS
adjacent to you. 20th level, the burst deals an additional 2d6 fire damage,
Your familiar coils around you, protecting you with its and you gain an additional 1d6 temporary Hit Points. TIAN
magical resistance. You gain the benefits of your familiar’s EQUIPMENT
resistance ability until the start of your next turn. If your
familiar has any upgrades to this ability, such as major GLOSSARY
& INDEX
resistance, you gain them as well. Once per day, if your
familiar’s resistance is a different damage type, your
familiar’s resistance ability changes to the appropriate type.
If you already have resistance of the same type, choose the
higher of the two.
LIGHTNING RINGS’ OVERCHARGE FEAT 12

ARCHETYPE ELECTRICITY MAGICAL
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication, Lightning Rings’
Intervention
Your familiar can adopt an electrical form to empower weapon
strikes. Your familiar gains the following ability.
Lightning Armillary [one-action] (electricity) Effect Your familiar flies
around and around an adjacent ally’s weapon or hand,
dissolving into multiple rings of lightning. Until the beginning
of your next turn, the affected weapon or unarmed attack
deals an additional 1d6 electricity damage, or 1d8 electricity
damage if you Cast a Spell with the air or electricity trait this
turn. Your familiar remains in lightning ring form, preventing
it from being targeted or taking any actions.
VEXING TEMPEST [one-action] FEAT 12

AIR ARCHETYPE SPELLSHAPE
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication, Tempest Cloud’s
Speed
Your familiar channels elemental air around it to unleash a
disruptive gust that sends creatures flying. If the next action
you use is to Cast a Spell that has the air trait, all creatures
within a 15-foot emanation of your familiar must attempt a
Reflex save against your spell DC or be pushed 10 feet away.
On a critical failure, they’re also knocked prone.
PHOENIX’S FLIGHT FEAT 16

ARCHETYPE FIRE MAGICAL POLYMORPH
Prerequisites Familiar Sage Dedication
117
Martial Arts
Whether on the road defending against bandits, in to forge himself anew, to become his own greatest work.
the wilds staving off dangerous creatures, or on a By striking his flesh against wood and earth and metal,
bloodstained battlefield, knowledge and techniques to he tempered his body until his bones became stronger
prevail in combat have shaped the fates of rulers, soldiers, than any steel and his skin became thick like dragon’s
and commoners alike since the earliest days of civilization hide. He lifted great stones until his strength surpassed
in Tian Xia. Over time, a collection of techniques, driven that of giants. With the newfound power of his form, he
by a philosophical principle, sometimes crystallizes into cleaved through the mountain tunnels, forming many of
a codified system of fighting that can be mastered and the passages that remain to this day. He was Shan Gang,
taught to others: a martial art. Some study martial arts the first great master of the philosophy that would come
as a means to a functional end, hearkening back to the to be known as Adamantine Body.
origins of martial arts as a way to incapacitate, if not Practitioners of the Adamantine Body philosophy
kill, an enemy. Others practice martial arts as a form of are known for their immense physical toughness and
self-expression, displaying their prowess in competition unrivaled durability. Due to the discipline required
against other martial artists. Some master their art to to hone their bodies into unbreakable armor, their
preserve a rich cultural heritage passed down from master wills are often just as doughty. They favor simple and
to student across many generations. Certain ascetics even straightforward attacks, preferring to test themselves
study martial arts as an all-encompassing way of life, the directly against an obstacle. It’s said that their very skin
pursuit of physical and spiritual self-perfection achieved can repel blades, and that whenever two masters of the
by honing the body and mind into a perfected vessel for Adamantine Body come to blows, the sound of their
the soul. This section explores the ways an adventurer strikes echoes like thunder throughout the land.
might interact with, and be a part of, the martial arts Practitioners of the Adamantine Body philosophy are
traditions of Tian Xia. likely to take feats like Adamantine Body, Mountain
Stance (Player Core 2 118), One-Inch Punch (Player
MARTIAL ARTS PHILOSOPHIES Core 2 122), and Ironblood Stance (Player Core 2 123).
Martial arts styles are a mirror to the cultures that
birthed them. As a people’s needs and desires change, Cyclone’s Path
so too do the styles they practice. In a time of war, one Far above the clouds in the remote mountain villages
martial art style might rise to prominence for its ruthless of the Wall of Heaven dwell fighters who leap from
practical applications. In times of peace, that style might peak to peak, carried by the wind. Their expertise in
soften and evolve, shifting to focus on aesthetic beauty, qinggong, using qi to fly through the air while fighting, is
self-expression, or pursuit of a philosophical ideal. unmatched in all of Tian Xia. A master of the Cyclone’s
Just as martial arts styles are the product of the cultures Path philosophy can launch themself at an earthbound
they belong to, they also form some of the institutions foe, grab hold, and fling their opponent into the hard
and societal structures of those cultures. A martial arts mountainside or off the edge of a waiting cliff, then soar
school could hold as much weight in a person’s life as away again without ever touching the ground. Their
their familial house. A school might hold political power, lightness in spirit empowers their lightness in body,
and rival schools often fight in the streets for territory and and a desire for freedom has required them, on many
prestige. In addition to being a place of learning, structure, occasions, to repel would-be interlopers by way of force.
and camaraderie, a martial arts school serves as an avenue Practitioners of the Cyclone’s Path are likely to take
for those without houses to elevate themselves by learning feats like Dancing Leaf (Player Core 2 120), Rushing
how to fight and gain employment as mercenaries, Goat Stance (119), Whirling Throw (Player Core 2 123),
bodyguards, or prize fighters. Wind Jump (Player Core 2 124), Grandmaster Qi Spells
The following are some of the histories and (see qi form; Player Core 2 127), and Godbreaker (Player
philosophies of martial arts styles that have made their Core 2 127).
mark in the realm of Tian Xia.
Phoenix Dance
Adamantine Body For centuries, the theater troupes of the Feng Wu Ke have
Long ago, deep beneath the Iron Mountain, a dwarven traveled from city to city in Tian Xia, entertaining all
smith put down his hammer, stopped the bellows, and let from the poorest rice farmer to the rulers of empires with
his furnace go cold. He despaired at the realization that garish reenactments of climactic battles and the deeds of
no blade or bludgeon he forged could ever be greater great heroes. Though the roads are fraught with danger,
than the one who wielded it. Even the most impregnable one must pity any bandit or beast who dares to attack
armor was worthless if the one who bore it lacked these roaming thespians. They spend their days perfecting
strength of both body and spirit. And so, he set his will their craft, wielding decoratively deadly weapons with
118
theatrical flourish and fatal precision. It’s said that every 1d8 bludgeoning damage, are in the brawling group, and have
brightly colored article of clothing, ornate tassel, or shining the forceful, nonlethal, shove, and unarmed traits. When you
TIAN XIA
piece of jewelry worn by a Feng Wu Ke might disguise an make a ramming horn attack and your previous action was
instrument of violence. Internal disputes between members to Climb, Stride, or Leap, you gain a circumstance bonus to
CHARACTER
of the troupe can be settled by contests of forms, judged by damage equal to the number of weapon damage dice. You can GUIDE
other troupe members to see whose technique is both more make ramming horn Strikes while Climbing even if you don’t INTRODUCTION
convincingly lifelike and dramatically inspiring. have a free hand.
Characters trained by the Feng Wu Ke prefer BACKGROUNDS
weapon-based martial arts using elaborate weapons TWISTING PETAL STANCE [one-action] FEAT 1 MAGIC AND
like the bladed scarf, fighting fan, feng huo lun, and MONK STANCE THE SPIRIT
temple sword. They’re likely to take feats like Monastic Prerequisites trained in Deception WORLD
Weaponry (Player Core 2 118), Qi Spells (inner upheaval; Requirements You’re unarmored.
Player Core 2 119), Elemental Fist (Player Core 2 120), Your body moves like a petal twisting on the wind, confounding THE ELEMENTS
Advanced Monastic Weaponry (Player Core 2 121), your opponents while using their energy against them. You can
ZODIAC
Projectile Snatching (Player Core 2 123), and Whirling make gale blossom strikes that deal 1d6 slashing damage. These
Blade Stance (Player Core 2 126). strikes are in the brawling group and have the agile, finesse, PEOPLES
nonlethal, shove, and unarmed traits. While in Twisting Petal
Titanic Embodiment Stance, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus to Athletics checks CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Many martial arts have their foundation in a set of to Shove and a +2 circumstance bonus to your Fortitude DC
movements, a focus on a particular set of limbs, or the use to avoid being Shoved. You also gain a +1 circumstance bonus TIAN
of a particular weapon. Not so for Titanic Embodiment, EQUIPMENT
a martial arts philosophy that favors pure physical
strength above all else. Practitioners of the Titanic GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Embodiment philosophy are often unusually large
members of their ancestry, possessed of great girth and
power. They learn to use their weight and mass, or that
of their exceptionally large and heavy weapons, to smash
through opponents and physically remove obstacles that
stand between them and their foes. Titanic Embodiment
warriors who integrate grappling techniques into
their style often gain a reputation for being fearfully
inescapable, with crushing grips that can squeeze the life
from their opponents. Weapon-using practitioners of this
philosophy favor heavy and destructive weapons with
straightforward uses, like the tetsubo (page 127).
Characters who follow the Titanic Embodiment
philosophy are likely to take feats like Monastic Weaponry
(Player Core 2 118), Dragon Stance (Player Core 2
118), Crushing Grab (Player Core 2 119), Kaiju
Stance (120), Knockback Strike (Player Core 2
124), and Shattering Strike (Player Core 2
127). Weapon-using practitioners can find
great value in the Mauler archetype (Player
Core 2 207).
MARTIAL ARTS
FEATS
This section includes new feats for both the
monk class and the martial artist archetype.
Monk Feats
RUSHING GOAT STANCE [one-action] FEAT 1
MONK STANCE
Requirements You’re unarmored.
You enter the stance of an unruly goat, lowering your body PHOENIX DANCE
and preparing to butt heads with your foes. The only Strikes
you can make are ramming horn attacks. These strikes deal
119
Real-World Martial Arts to Deception checks to Feint and a +2 circumstance bonus to your Perception DC to
The styles and philosophies in this resist an opponent’s Feint attempt.
section are neither exhaustive nor
prescriptive. After all, in the nation of ADVANCED MONASTIC WEAPONRY FEAT 6
Quain alone, it’s often said “There are MONK
more martial techniques than stars in Prerequisites Monastic Weaponry
the sky—and they all think they shine Your rigorous training regimen allows you to wield complex weaponry with ease.
the brightest.” If you’re inspired to For the purposes of proficiency, you treat advanced monk weapons as if they were
create your own martial art, we do our martial monk weapons.
best to give you the feats you need
to do so. A martial artist who’s adept MOMENTOUS CHARGE [two-actions] FEAT 6
at blocking and parrying will likely MONK
find great value in feats like Crane Prerequisites Rushing Goat Stance
Stance (Player Core 2 118) and Deflect Requirements You’re in Rushing Goat Stance.
Projectile (Player Core 2 121). The You rush into your enemies with great and reckless force. You Climb, Stride, or
Whirling Throw feat (Player Core 2 123) Leap, then make a ramming horn Strike. On a success, the target of the Strike is
is a great choice for players looking to pushed up to 10 feet directly away from you. On a critical success, the target is also
emulate judo throws, and Tiger Style stunned 1.
wushu can be depicted with the aptly
named Tiger Slash (Player Core 2 123). KAIJU STANCE [one-action] FEAT 8
Choose the feats that emulate the UNCOMMON MONK POLYMORPH STANCE
moves you’re most excited about and Access You’ve encountered a kaiju and survived.
create your own legendary martial art! Requirements You’re unarmored.
Your encounter with one of the rare forces of nature known as kaiju has imbued you
with knowledge of a martial art that allows you to emulate a fraction of their power.
When you enter Kaiju Stance, you become Large and are clumsy
1. The only Strikes you can make are shattering earth attacks.
These strikes deal 1d8 bludgeoning damage, are in the brawling
group, and have the backswing, fatal d12, reach, and unarmed
traits. On a critical success with a shattering earth attack, all
creatures other than you that are within 10 feet of the target,
including the target itself, take 1 point of bludgeoning splash
damage per weapon damage die.
While in Kaiju Stance, you ignore difficult terrain.
SCATTERING IN SPRING [reaction] FEAT 8

MONK
Prerequisites Twisting Petal Stance
Trigger An enemy within your reach targets you with a melee attack, and you’re
aware of the attack.
Requirements You’re in Twisting Petal Stance.
You evade an incoming attack by twisting your enemy’s tactics in your favor. You
gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against the triggering attack. If the attack
misses you, you can immediately attempt a Feint or Shove against the triggering
attacker; if you roll a success, you get a critical success instead.
FIVE-GODS RAM [three-actions] FEAT 12

MONK
Prerequisites Rushing Goat Stance
Requirements You’re in Rushing Goat Stance.
You attack in an unceasing flurry of charging headbutts. Stride
or Climb and then make a ramming horn Strike. If the Strike is
successful, you immediately push the target back 10 feet, then Stride or Climb and
make a second ramming horn Strike against them. If the second Strike is successful,
you immediately knock the target prone, but if the second Strike is a failure or if
you’re unable to complete all the required actions, you become stunned 1. Both
Strikes count toward your multiple attack penalty, but the penalty doesn’t increase
CYCLONE’S PATH
until you’ve made both of them.
120
WHIRLING IN THE SUMMER STORM [three-actions] FEAT 12 With your strong will and even stronger body, you shrug off
MONK an otherwise devastating blow. You gain resistance equal to
TIAN XIA
Prerequisites Twisting Petal Stance 2 + half your level against all damage from the triggering
Requirements You’re in Twisting Petal Stance. attack or effect.
CHARACTER
Your hands move in a hypnotic and distracting flurry that GUIDE
throws your foes off-balance before you cast them away with ECHOING VIOLENCE [free-action] FEAT 18 INTRODUCTION
a violent pirouette. You Step. Then each enemy within your ARCHETYPE DEATH INCAPACITATION
reach must attempt a Will save against the higher of your Prerequisites Martial Artist Dedication BACKGROUNDS
class DC or your Deception DC; on a failure, they’re off-guard Frequency once per minute
MAGIC AND
to melee attacks from you and your allies until the end of Trigger You critically succeed with an unarmed Strike against THE SPIRIT
your next turn. Then, Shove up to three adjacent enemies; an opponent. WORLD
each Shove counts toward your multiple attack penalty, but Your powerful attack causes damage that reverberates
you don’t increase your penalty until after you’ve resolved all through your opponent’s body, shaking muscle from bone. THE ELEMENTS
the Shove attempts. The creature takes 10d6 bludgeoning damage with a basic
ZODIAC
Fortitude save against your class DC. If it critically fails, it
WORLD-BREAKING FOOTFALL [two-actions] FEAT 14 immediately dies as your blow tears apart its body internally. PEOPLES
MONK
Prerequisites Kaiju Stance CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Requirements You are in Kaiju Stance and are touching
the ground. TIAN
You slam the ground and unleash a fearsome roar, sending EQUIPMENT
broken shards of earth flying in all directions. The ground in
a 20-foot emanation around you becomes difficult terrain, or GLOSSARY
& INDEX
greater difficult terrain if it was already difficult terrain. All
other creatures within the emanation take 7d6 bludgeoning
damage with a basic Reflex save against your class DC. You
then can’t use World-breaking Footfall for 1d4 rounds.
WAKE OF DEVASTATION FEAT 20

MONK
Prerequisites Kaiju Stance
Requirements You’re in Kaiju Stance.
Like a kaiju, you leave a trail of destruction in your wake. Your
shattering earth attacks gain the razing trait (Player Core 2
274). Whenever you succeed with a shattering earth attack
while standing on the ground, the earth buckles under the
force of the blow, and all the squares beneath you become
difficult terrain. Whenever you critically succeed with a
shattering earth attack against a creature standing on the
ground in an area of difficult terrain, you pummel the creature
into the earth; they become immobilized until they succeed at
an Escape attempt against your class DC.
Martial Artist Feats

The following feats are an expansion of the Martial
Artist archetype that can be found on page 206 in Player
Core 2.
New Additional Feats: 4th Rushing Goat
Stance, Twisting Petal Stance; 8th
Advanced Monastic Weaponry,
Momentous Charge; 10th Scattering
in Spring; 14th Five-Gods Ram, Whirling in the Summer
Storm
ADAMANTINE BODY [reaction] FEAT 8

ARCHETYPE TITANIC EMBODIMENT
Prerequisites Martial Artist Dedication
Trigger An attack or effect would deal damage to you.
121
Companions and Familiars
The people of Tian Xia are no strangers to animals, and CRAB CANNON [two-actions]
Tian Xia’s animals are no strangers to people. With an Your durian crab curls itself up tightly, taking the shape of a
entire continent of beasts and magical creatures to choose ball. It then launches itself with its powerful claw at a target
from, cultures and individuals often partner with beings within 20 feet. When it lands, it makes a claw Strike, except
from the natural or magical world to survive. the damage is bludgeoning instead of piercing. On a hit, the
target becomes dazzled for 1 round and the Strike deals an
ANIMAL COMPANIONS additional 1d8 damage, or 2d8 additional damage if your crab
From small felines to large hounds and towering equine is specialized.
mounts, animal companions aid adventurers and
commoners alike, both in and outside of combat. Hermit Krait
There are countless tales of young children wallowing in
Durian Crab the shallow waters, pressing the mouth of a seemingly
In the southern provinces of Nagajor, Xa Hoi, throughout empty shell to their ears, hoping to hear roaring waves,
the archipelago of Minata, and hidden within the thick only to be met with a reptilian hiss and the bite of two
overgrowth of the Valashmai Jungle are the notorious killer fangs. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes
crustaceans known only as durian crabs. Using their large, to hermit kraits, in multiple ways. On the surface, the
powerful claws, they scale the trunks of tall trees, hiding creature seems like a mundane shell taken over by a den
their presence away from even the most observant of prey. of snakes, but any attempt to pry it from its home will
When the time is right, they fall, plummeting onto their only kill it, revealing a strange, reptilian creature with a
prey and letting the momentum and prickly thorns of their multitude of heads.
shells earn them their quarry. Size Small
Size Small or Medium Melee [one-action] fangs (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6 piercing
Melee [one-action] claw (agile), Damage 1d6 piercing Str +2, Dex +3, Con +2, Int –4, Wis +1, Cha +0
Str +3, Dex +2, Con +1, Int –4, Wis +2, Cha +0 Hit Points 6
Hit Points 6 Skill Stealth
Skill Stealth Senses low-light vision, scent (imprecise, 30 feet)
Senses darkvision Speed 20 feet, burrow 15 feet, swim 20 feet
Speed 20 feet, climb 20 feet, swim 20 feet Support Benefit Your hermit krait bites at your foes with
Support Benefit Your durian crab launches itself as part of your venomous fangs. Until the start of your next turn, your Strikes
ranged attack to throw your enemies off balance. Until the that damage a creature in your hermit krait’s reach also deal
start of your next turn, as long as your crab is within your 1d6 persistent poison damage. If your hermit krait is nimble or
reach, your ranged Strikes that deal damage to a creature savage, the persistent poison damage increases to 2d6.
within 30 feet make the target off-guard until the end of Advanced Maneuver Defensive Curl
your next turn. Your crab scuttles or launches itself back to
the same space from which you threw it immediately after DEFENSIVE CURL [one-action]
making a Strike, allowing you to hurl it multiple times. The hermit krait pulls its heads into its shell to protect itself.
Advanced Maneuver Crab Cannon It gains a +2 circumstance bonus to AC and a +4 circumstance
bonus to any check to pretend to be a mundane shell. Any
creature that hits the hermit krait with a melee unarmed attack
while it’s in its Defensive Curl takes 2d6 persistent poison
damage as one of the krait’s heads lashes out from within the
shell. While in its shell, the hermit krait can’t move or take other
actions that require using its limbs, but it can extend out of the
shell as a single action, ending the effects of Defensive Curl.
Sundaflora
UNCOMMON
Sundafloras are friendly, bipedal creatures with
brightly colored, overlapping waves of petal-like
scales covering most of their body. Though rare to
find, they’re most common in the artificial garden
landscapes of Goka, usually seen waltzing around
SUNDAFLORA the grounds with their hands clasped together,
giving off a pensive appearance.
122
Size Small from the provinces of Hongal down to middle Tian Xia in
Melee [one-action] claws (agile), Damage 1d6 slashing the regions of Quain and Po Li. Here, herds of hundreds, if
TIAN XIA
Melee [one-action] clubbed tail, Damage 1d8 bludgeoning not thousands, have established themselves as nomads who
Str +2, Dex +3, Con +1, Int –4, Wis +1, Cha +1 have trekked from one end of the continent to the other
CHARACTER
Hit Points 6 as an unchanging tide of nature. Naturally, this resilience GUIDE
Skill Performance has led to their incorporation into these regions’ steeds and INTRODUCTION
Senses low-light vision, scent (imprecise, 30 feet) livestock, despite their inherent foul stench.
Speed 20 feet, swim 15 feet Size Large BACKGROUNDS
Support Benefit Your sundaflora inspires your allies with its Melee [one-action] hoof (agile), Damage 1d6 bludgeoning
MAGIC AND
calm demeanor and agile steps. Choose one ally within 30 feet Melee [one-action] horn, Damage 1d8 piercing THE SPIRIT
of your sundaflora. They gain a +1 circumstance bonus to their Str +3, Dex +2, Con +2, Int –4, Wis +1, Cha +0 WORLD
next attack roll to Strike a foe within your sundaflora’s reach. Hit Points 8
The bonus lasts until the first time your ally uses it or until the Skill Survival THE ELEMENTS
beginning of your next turn, whichever comes first. Senses low-light vision, scent (imprecise, 30 feet)
ZODIAC
Advanced Maneuver Flower Dance Speed 40 feet
Special mount PEOPLES
FLOWER DANCE [two-actions] Support Benefit The next creature to make a melee attack
MOVE VISUAL against the yzobu or its rider before the start of your next CHARACTER
OPTIONS
The sundaflora stands tall on its hind legs and begins to wave and turn is overwhelmed by the creature’s terrible stench and
dance, showing off its dazzling beauty to distract your attackers. must attempt a Fortitude save. This DC is equal to your class TIAN
It attempts to Feint the target creature, using its Performance DC or spell DC, whichever is higher. On a failure, the attacker EQUIPMENT
skill instead of Deception. If successful (or critically successful), takes a –2 circumstance penalty to its attack roll. This ability
the target is off-guard to you, rather than to your sundaflora. has the olfactory trait. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Advanced Maneuver Raging Stampede
Tikar Urchinpad
Tikar urchinpads are curious creatures that look similar RAGING STAMPEDE [two-actions]
to jellyfish, have heads that resemble a floating plant The yzobu Strides and then makes a horn Strike. If the Strike
or pad, and make use of their slimy tendrils to consume hits, the target is pushed 10 feet.
creatures that attempt to rest on the urchinpad’s head.
Tikar urchinpads tend to float about in still water, soaking
in the warmth of sunlight, not a care in the world. To
the untrained eye, they appear only as a myriad of small,
colorful squares sprawled out across a round pad, forming
silhouettes of shapes that dazzle across the water’s surface.
Size Small or Medium
Melee [one-action] tendril (agile, finesse), Damage 1d6 slashing
Str +2, Dex +3, Con +2, Int –4, Wis +1, Cha +0
Hit Points 6
Skill Stealth
Senses scent (precise, 10 feet)
Speed 10 feet, swim 40 feet
Support Benefit Your tikar urchinpad attempts to wrap its
tendrils around your foe’s limbs, pulling it off balance. Until
the end of your next turn, as long as you’re adjacent to your
urchinpad, if you attempt to Shove or Trip an opponent and
roll a critical failure, you get a failure instead.
Advanced Maneuver Wrapping Tendrils
WRAPPING TENDRILS [one-action]

Requirements The urchinpad’s last action was a successful
tendril Strike.
The urchinpad makes another tendril Strike against the same
target. If this Strike hits, the target is also grabbed, as if the TIKAR URCHINPAD
urchinpad had successfully Grappled the target.
Yzobu
Yzobus (Pathfinder Bestiary 3 300) are large equines
abundant through the northeastern regions of Tian Xia,
123
FAMILIARS Versatile Form: The crafted body of your familiar allows
From calligraphy wyrms to elemental wisps, familiars you to make adjustments to it when required. Once per
are magical creatures bound to a master through day, you can spend 10 minutes to change one familiar or
supernatural means. master ability your familiar possesses. To select this ability,
Characters of Tian Xia origin have access to the following your familiar must be a construct, and you must be at least
specific familiars (Player Core 2 170) and familiar abilities. trained in Crafting.
Familiar Abilities Master Abilities

Play Dead: Your familiar pretends to be inanimate, hiding Kindling: You can immolate your familiar’s body for
its supernatural capabilities. It can Hide without any a surge of power. Once per day as a free action, when
cover or concealment from creatures that don’t realize it’s you Cast a Spell that has the fire trait, deals damage, and
alive, so long as it’s in a location where it wouldn’t seem doesn’t have a duration, you can sacrifice your familiar to
out of place. If the familiar succeeds, onlookers still see it, empower the spell. Your familiar is immediately slain, and
but they mistake it for an inanimate object. After being you gain a status bonus to that spell’s damage equal to
fooled once, they realize your familiar is alive, and it can’t twice the spell level.
Hide from them in that way again.
SPECIFIC FAMILIARS
Kinnars
The kinnari seats herself, pressing an instrument of gourds
and strings to her shoulder. The kinnara stands ready, with
his tail upright, preparing for his beloved’s rhythm. Kinnars
are half-human, half-songbird lovers who sing, dance, and
perform for and with each other, forever accompanying
each other in their arts. Severance creates suffering,
and neither can stay apart from the other else they both
become heartbroken and die. While most kinnar pairings
serving as familiars include a female kinnari and male
kinnara, kinnar pairings of different genders aren’t
uncommon. Kinnar familiars have access
to all of their familiar abilities regardless of
the genders of the kinnars.
KINNARS
UNCOMMON CELESTIAL
Required Number of Abilities 6
Granted Abilities darkvision,
independent, lifelink, manual
dexterity, speech
Dazzling Show [two-actions] (move, visual)
Frequency once per minute; Effect Your kinnara
flashes his brilliant feathers. Each creature within a
30-foot emanation must attempt a Will save against
your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher, or be
dazzled for 2 rounds.
Soul Bond Your kinnars’ spirits are intrinsically linked. While
they’re two beings, they’re still considered a single creature,
act as a single creature, use normal familiar statistics, and
are subject to all of the normal effects that come with being
a single creature. Their linked spirits allow them to stave off
attacks against their mind. If your kinnars are subjected to a
mental effect that allows a saving throw, they roll twice and
take the higher result; this is a fortune effect.
Vina Song [two-actions] (auditory, concentrate, divine, incapacitation,
mental) Frequency once per hour, see below; Effect Your
KINNARS
kinnari elegantly plays her instrument. Each creature within
a 30-foot emanation must attempt a Will save against your
class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher, or be fascinated for
124
1 round. A kinnar can use this ability again on the next round SHIKIGAMI
to continue the song and force affected creatures to attempt CONSTRUCT
TIAN XIA
another Will save; on a failure, a creature is fascinated for an Required Number of Abilities 6
additional round. Once the kinnar stops playing, they can’t use Granted Abilities construct, flier, kindling, play dead, tough,
CHARACTER
this ability again for 1 hour. A creature that succeeds at any versatile form GUIDE
save or has its fascination broken is temporarily immune to Flatten Your familiar can flatten itself to the width of a sheet INTRODUCTION
that kinnar’s Vina Song for 24 hours. Kinnars are of paper, easily fitting through the smallest of cracks and
immune to this ability. gaps. So long as a door or other obstacle has a gap that can BACKGROUNDS
fit a sheet of paper, your familiar can move through it without
MAGIC AND
Lantern Wisps needing to Squeeze. THE SPIRIT
Lantern wisps appear as colorful, hand-made Mass-Produced If your shikigami dies, you can rebind WORLD
lanterns aimlessly floating around in the its spirit to another paper doll during your next
dark of the night, seemingly always with daily preparations. THE ELEMENTS
its flame lit in full. They house harmless, Seal-Bearer During your daily preparations,
ZODIAC
little wisps that have settled into forgotten you can inscribe a symbol or seal upon your
children’s playthings. shikigami that corresponds to the air, earth, PEOPLES
fire, metal, water, or wood element.
LANTERN WISP If you use the shikigami’s kindling CHARACTER
OPTIONS
CONSTRUCT ability that day, it applies to
Required Number of Abilities 6 a spell that deals damage TIAN
Granted Abilities construct, flier, with the relevant trait to the EQUIPMENT
kindling, resistance (fire and chosen element, instead of
cold), tough only the fire trait. GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Stunning Flare [one-action] (fire, light,
magical) Frequency once per 10 minutes; Tapir Sage
Effect Your lantern wisp unleashes a large burst Tapir sages are intelligent creatures
of flame, casting an unnaturally bright light. Each that desire to protect the natural world. They
PAPER FAMILIARS
creature within a 15-foot emanation must attempt carry large rattan baskets on their backs.
a Fortitude save against your class DC or spell DC, whichever
is higher, or be blinded for 1 round and then dazzled for 2 TAPIR SAGE
rounds after. UNCOMMON BEAST
Required Number of Abilities 6
Makhluk Wayang Granted Abilities darkvision, kinspeech, speech, toolbearer, valet
Makhluk wayangs are shadow puppets, pieces of show and Pot of Tea (healing) Your tapir sage is trained in the art of
tell made animate, carrying no more than the personalities herbal medication and can prepare a pot of healing tea. Once
they were crafted to inhabit. Unlike the wayang people, your per day, your familiar can spend 10 minutes to brew fine
familiar is a shadowy incorporeal being without a body tea leaves and herbs. The tapir sage must focus on the tea
of its own. A makhluk wayang possesses a simple puppet during this time—if it performs any other action, the tea is
made of leather or, sometimes, from thick parchment. ruined, though the tapir sage can start over again. Once the
pot of tea is brewed, the tapir sage can serve two cups of tea
MAKHLUK WAYANG with each of the below actions; each time, it gives 1 cup to
CONSTRUCT an adjacent ally, and it drinks 1 cup itself. The three infusions
Required Number of Abilities 8 must be poured and offered in order (for example, the tapir
Granted Abilities construct, manual dexterity, play dead, speech, sage can’t serve the second infusion until it has served the
tough, versatile form first). The tea remains good for 1 hour after brewing; if not
Shadow Projection [one-action] (shadow) Your makhluk wayang projects drunk by this point, the pot goes cold, and any remaining tea
its shadow into a larger silhouette of itself, allowing it to grasp loses its power.
things outside of its obvious reach. It increases its reach to • First Infusion [two-actions] The infusion restores a number of Hit
10 feet for the purposes of taking non-hostile Interact actions Points equal to 1d8 times half your level (minimum 1d8) and
until the end of your turn. grants a +4 circumstance bonus to the next saving throw
against disease or poison attempted within 24 hours.
Shikigami • Second Infusion [two-actions] The infusion restores a number of
Shikigami are small spirits typically summoned and Hit Points equal to 1d4 times half your level (minimum
bound to a paper figure, so confined to carry out the 1d4) and grants a +2 circumstance bonus to the next
deeds and embody the will of their masters. More often saving throw against disease or poison attempted within
than not, the naivete of these amateur practitioners of 24 hours.
esoteric magics means they’ll find themselves at the • Third Infusion [two-actions] The infusion grants temporary Hit
mercy of their own shikigami. Points equal to your level for 1 hour.
125
Tian Equipment
Weapon Traits Countless conflicts, struggles, and perils shaped the arms and armor found
The following weapon traits are used throughout Tian Xia. These items are an integral thread in the tapestry of the
in the weapons presented here but rise and fall of empires. Some weapons evolved from simple hunting and
don’t appear in Player Core. agricultural implements; others were crafted specifically for battle and
Brace: A brace weapon is bloodshed. Across Tian Xia, arms and armor serve not only combative
effective at damaging moving functions but also carry diverse symbolic weight. In some regions, blades
opponents. When you Ready to like the katana or sword cane also serve as symbols of status and power
Strike an opponent that moves associated with social class, while others, like the khakkhara or trident,
within your reach, until the start carry religious connotations.
of your next turn, Strikes with the Trade and travel have ensured each item can be found anywhere on the
brace weapon deal an additional 2 continent. Characters of Tian Xia origin have access to the weapons on the
precision damage for each weapon Tian Melee Weapons and Tian Ranged Weapons tables.
damage die it has. • Regional variations of weapons like the kalis, kris, karambit, and
Fatal Aim: It’s possible tekko-kagi are found in Minata, Nagajor, Tang Mai, and the
to hold the stock of this EAGLE-TALON CUDGEL Valashmai Jungle.
weapon under one arm so you can • Weapons like the tetsubo, katana, naginata, wakizashi, kusarigama, and
fire it with a single hand as long starknife are found in Chu Ye and Minkai.
as the other hand isn’t holding a • Regional variations of weapons like the longsword (often locally called a
weapon, shield, or anything else you jian), zhuazhi bang, shuan ji, liuyedao, and nodachi are found in Hongal,
would need to move and position, Po Li, Quain, Tianjing, and Xa Hoi.
to ensure the weapon doesn’t slip • Weapons like the sukgung and gakgung are found in Hwanggot.
out from under your arm. However, if • Weapons introduced from Avistan, such as the falcata, main-gauche, and
you use both hands, the weapon can rapier are found in Linvarre.
make fatal attacks. When you wield Most common adventuring items in Pathfinder Player Core can also be
the weapon in two hands, it gains the found across Tian Xia. They might take different forms, like a writing set with
fatal trait with the listed damage die. a brush and inkstone instead of a quill and inkpot, scrolls made of strips of
Holding the weapon underarm stably bamboo, and religious symbols and texts featuring local iconography.
enough to fire is significantly more
complicated than just releasing one New Weapons
hand from the weapon, so to switch Liuyedao (Willow-Leaf Saber): The liuyedao, or willow-leaf saber, is a
between the two grips, you must do common, one-handed military saber with a moderately curved blade designed
so with an Interact action rather than for slashing and chopping attacks.
Releasing or as part of reloading. Shuan Ji (Double-Sided Halberd): The shuan ji is a polearm featuring a long
Razing: Razing weapons are spear point on one end and two crescent-shaped blades that allow the wielder
particularly good at damaging objects, to strike with either side of the weapon.
structures, and vehicles. Whenever you Tetsubo: The tetsubo is a war club constructed out of heavy wood shod with
deal damage to an object (including iron studs, designed for smashing through armor and defenses. A tetsubo made
shields and animated objects), entirely out of metal might also be referred to as a kanabo.
structure, or vehicle with a razing Zhuazhi Bang (Eagle-Talon Cudgel): This niche close-combat weapon
weapon, the object takes an amount of resembles a flail with articulated talons used to hook onto an opponent’s
additional damage equal to double the clothing or armor.
number of weapon damage dice.
Tengu: An item with this trait is Magic Items
created and used by tengu. Tian Xia features a variety of magic items only possible thanks to the crafting
techniques and materials found on the continent. Characters of Tian Xia
origin don’t automatically gain access to any uncommon or rarer items.
CARESS OF THE GREAT SERPENT ITEM 18

UNCOMMON MAGICAL
Price 24,000 gp
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk 2
This +3 greater striking extending urumi was fashioned after the legendary eight-
headed orochi serpent, with its whiplike metal blades carved to resemble the many
heads of the mythical beast, and its hilt wrapped in scaled leather. These weapons
126
TIAN MELEE WEAPONS
Simple Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
TIAN XIA
Spear 1 sp 1d6 P 1 1 Spear Monk, thrown 20 ft.
Staff 0 1d4 B 1 1 Club Monk, two-hand 1d8
CHARACTER
Uncommon Simple Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits GUIDE
Katar 3 sp 1d4 P L 1 Knife Agile, deadly d6, monk INTRODUCTION
Tri-bladed katar 1 sp 1d4 P L 1 Brawling Disarm, fatal d8, monk
Martial Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits BACKGROUNDS
Bo staff 2 sp 1d8 B 2 2 Club Monk, parry, reach, trip
MAGIC AND
Glaive 1 gp 1d8 S 2 2 Polearm Deadly d8, forceful, reach THE SPIRIT
Kris 7 sp 1d4 P L 1 Knife Agile, deadly d8, finesse WORLD
Meteor hammer 3 gp 1d8 B 2 2 Flail Backswing, disarm, reach, trip
Liuyedao (willow-leaf saber) 3 gp 1d4 S L 1 Sword Agile, deadly d4, finesse, sweep, versatile P THE ELEMENTS
Panabas 1 gp 1d6 S 1 1 Axe Forceful, sweep, two-hand d10
ZODIAC
Starknife 2 gp 1d4 P L 1 Knife Agile, deadly d6, finesse, thrown 20 ft.,
versatile S PEOPLES
Sword cane 5 gp 1d6 P 1 1 Sword Agile, concealable, finesse
Uncommon Martial Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Bladed scarf 3 gp 1d6 S 1 2 Flail Disarm, finesse, reach, sweep, trip
Fighting fan 11 sp 1d4 S L 1 Knife Agile, backstabber, deadly d6, finesse, monk TIAN
Jiu huan dao (nine-ring sword) 9 sp 1d8 S 1 1 Sword Sweep EQUIPMENT
Kama 1 gp 1d6 S L 1 Knife Agile, monk, trip
Katana 2 gp 1d6 S 1 1 Sword Deadly d8, two-hand 1d10, versatile P GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Khakkhara 2 gp 1d6 B 1 1 Club Monk, shove, two-hand 1d10, versatile P
Kukri 6 sp 1d6 S L 1 Knife Agile, finesse, trip
Kusarigama 2 gp 1d8 S 1 2 Knife Disarm, monk, reach, trip, versatile B
Naginata 3 gp 1d8 S 2 2 Polearm Deadly d8, reach, versatile P
Nunchaku 2 sp 1d6 B L 1 Club Backswing, disarm, finesse, monk
Sai 6 sp 1d4 P L 1 Knife Agile, disarm, finesse, monk, versatile B
Sansetsukon (three-section staff) 2 gp 1d8 B 2 2 Flail Backswing, disarm, monk, parry
Shuan ji (double-sided halberd) 3 gp 1d6 S 2 2 Polearm Backswing, forceful, reach, versatile P
Tekko-kagi 2 sp 1d4 S L 1 Brawling Agile, disarm, finesse, free-hand, monk,
parry
Temple sword 2 gp 1d8 S 1 1 Sword Monk, trip
Tengu gale blade 4 gp 1d6 S L 1 Sword Agile, disarm, finesse, tengu
Tetsubo 3 gp 1d10 B 3 2 Club Razing, shove, sweep
Tonfa 1 sp 1d4 B L 1 Brawling Agile, finesse, monk, parry, twin
Urumi 2 gp 1d6 S 2 1 Flail Deadly d10, sweep
Wakizashi 1 gp 1d4 S L 1 Sword Agile, deadly d8, finesse, versatile P
Zhuazhi bang (eagle-talon cudgel) 1 gp 1d6 P L 1 Flail Disarm, grapple, razing, trip
Advanced Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Nodachi 6 gp 1d8 S 2 2 Sword Brace, deadly d12, reach
Uncommon Advanced Weapons Price Damage Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Butterfly Sword 2 gp 1d4 S L 1 Sword Agile, concealable, disarm, finesse, monk,
parry, twin
Feng huo lun (wind and fire wheels) 2 gp 1d4 S L 1 Knife Agile, disarm, finesse, monk, parry, twin,
versatile P
Hook Sword 3 gp 1d6 S 1 1 Sword Disarm, monk, parry, trip, twin
Kalis 3 gp 1d8 S 1 1 Sword Deadly d8, versatile P
Karambit 2 gp 1d4 P L 1 Knife Agile, fatal d8, finesse, versatile S
Three-section naginata 12 gp 1d8 S 2 2 Flail Deadly d8, forceful, sweep, versatile B
are commonly used by those who worship an orochi, raiding in exchange. You can make up to eight Strikes with a –2
and threatening settlements to obtain sacrifices for the beast penalty, each against a different target within 30 feet. For
in hopes of being granted some modicum of its power. each Strike you choose to make, you take 1d6 piercing
Activate—Serpent’s Kiss [three-actions] (concentrate) Frequency damage. Each attack counts toward your multiple attack
once per day; Effect You use your urumi as an effigy with penalty, but don’t increase your penalty until you’ve made
which to call upon an orochi’s power, offering your blood all your attacks.
127
TIAN RANGED WEAPONS
Simple Weapons Price Damage Range Reload Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Heavy crossbow 4 gp 1d10 P 120 ft. 2 2 2 Crossbow —
Martial Weapons Price Damage Range Reload Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Chakram 5 sp 1d8 S 20 ft 1 L 1 Knife Thrown 20 ft.
Composite Longbow (level 1) 20 gp 1d8 P 100 ft. 0 2 1+ Bow Deadly d10, propulsive,
volley 30 ft.
Gakgung 2 gp 1d6 P 100 ft. 0 1 1+ Bow Deadly d8, monk,
propulsive
Shortbow 3 gp 1d6 P 60 ft. 0 1 1+ Bow Deadly d10
Sukgung (level 1) 7 gp 1d8 P 200 ft. 1 1 Crossbow Fatal aim d12
Uncommon Martial Weapons Price Damage Range Reload Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Shuriken 1 cp 1d4 P 20 ft. 0 — 1 Dart Agile, monk, thrown
Uncommon Advanced Weapons Price Damage Range Reload Bulk Hands Group Weapon Traits
Daikyu 8 gp 1d8 P 80 ft 0 2 1+ Bow Forceful, propulsive
Hongali hornbow (level 1) 11 gp 1d8 P 40 ft. 0 2 1+ Bow Deadly d6, propulsive
Repeating crossbow 15 gp 1d8 P 120 ft. 0 1 2 Crossbow Repeating
CELESTIAL PEACHWOOD SWORD ITEM 17 blood of its creator, imbuing violent intent within its crimson
RARE HOLY MAGICAL VITALITY curves. When you critically succeed at a Strike made with a
Price 15,000 gp deathseeker, the target feels the blade’s unbridled bloodlust
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L trying to consume it and must attempt a DC 24 Will save; this
From blade to pommel, this sword is carved from a branch effect has the incapacitation trait.
of the now-extinct celestial peach tree. The blade of this Critical Success The target is unaffected and is temporarily
+3 greater striking holy vitalizing peachwood (page 129) immune for 24 hours.
shortsword has ancient runes that can permanently destroy Success The target takes an additional 1 persistent bleed
the most powerful undead—if you are willing to pay the price. damage, and the DC for recovering from persistent bleed
An undead creature of 12th level or lower that takes damage is 17, or 12 with particularly effective assistance.
damage from a Strike with the sword takes 10d6 vitality Failure As success, except the target is also confused for 1
damage with a DC 35 basic Fortitude save. This damage is round. It gets a flat check to recover from this confusion
separate from the Strike itself and isn’t included in any effect when it critically succeeds at a Strike against another
based on the Strike’s damage. creature or reduces another living being to 0 Hit Points,
Activate—Violent Exorcism [reaction] (concentrate) Frequency once but not when it takes damage.
per day; Trigger You critically hit an undead creature with Critical Failure As success, except the target is also confused
the sword; Effect The creature must succeed at a DC 35 for 3 rounds. It gets a flat check to recover from this
Fortitude save or be destroyed. If the undead fails its saving confusion when it critically succeeds at a Strike against
throw and is destroyed, you suffer a backlash, taking 1d6 another creature or reduces another living being to 0 Hit
void damage per level of the destroyed undead. Points, but not when it takes damage.
CLOAK OF WAVES & CLOUDS ITEM 19 FLASHBLADE ITEM 6+

INVESTED MAGICAL MAGICAL
Price 38,000 gp Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 2
Usage worn cloak; Bulk L A sleek and impossibly lightweight blade attached to a haft
This magical cloak was crafted from the feathers and scriven with lightning bolts make up this +1 striking nodachi.
scales of a legendary giant fish that could transform into a Activate—Prepare Flash [two-actions] (concentrate) Frequency once per
resplendent bird. 10 minutes; Effect You concentrate with complete focus on
Activate—Cut Air and Sea [one-action] (concentrate, manipulate) Effect your surroundings, breathing in the flashblade’s magic to
The cloak ripples, becoming either giant eagle feathers or make you lighter and faster, and the blade of your sword more
iridescent fish scales. Until you next Activate the cloak, flexible. You Ready a melee Strike, increasing the flashblade’s
you gain either a swim Speed of 60 feet and the ability to reach for that Strike to 15 feet. If the trigger doesn’t occur,
breathe underwater or a fly Speed of 40 feet. this doesn’t count against the flashblade’s frequency.
Type flashblade; Level 6; Price 230 gp
DEATHSEEKER ITEM 8 Type greater flashblade; Level 12; Price 1,900 gp
MAGICAL This is a +2 greater striking nodachi, and the activated reach
Price 500 gp increases to 20 feet.
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L Type major flashblade; Level 17; Price 14,700 gp
A hauntingly beautiful and masterfully crafted blade, this This is a +3 greater striking nodachi, and the activated reach
+1 striking wounding kris has been whet with the spilled increases to 25 feet.
128
HEAVENLY ROLLING FLAMES ITEM 14 KOTODAMA BELLS ITEM 4
UNCOMMON MAGICAL UNCOMMON MAGICAL
TIAN XIA
Price 4,500 gp Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
Usage held in 1 hand each; Bulk L This set of bronze bells bear engravings with symbols
CHARACTER
This set of +2 greater striking flaming feng huo lun is warm to representing the word “awaken.” Among kotodama magic GUIDE
the touch and wreathed in the bright red and orange glow of users, who seek to touch the souls of objects using the INTRODUCTION
a constantly flickering flame. While wielded, you gain cold power of words, the peals of these bells are known to
resistance 2, and you treat the effects of environmental awaken the spirits of even inanimate objects. BACKGROUNDS
cold as one degree lower. Heavenly rolling flames can Activate—Awaken the Soul [two-actions] (auditory, concentrate,
MAGIC AND
be Activated only if you wield two of them, and manipulate) Frequency once per day; Effect You ring THE SPIRIT
Activating them counts against the frequency for the bell and focus on an object of negligible Bulk within WORLD
both weapons. 10 feet. The bell’s toll animates the object for 24 hours.
Activate—Rolling Flight [two-actions] (concentrate) The object becomes a minion that can’t attack but can THE ELEMENTS
Frequency once per hour; Effect You attach move and take simple Interact actions
ZODIAC
the wheels to your feet, and their constant appropriate for an item of its type, as
movement and energy allow you to move determined by the GM. For example, PEOPLES
through the air. You gain a fly Speed of 20 feet a piece of chalk can write a message or draw a
for 10 minutes. While in use in this way, you symbol, a hand fan can open or fan in a particular CHARACTER
OPTIONS
can’t wield the wheels as weapons. You direction, or a magnifying glass can set itself up
can spend an Interact action at any time BOW OF SUN SLAYING to dramatically reveal incriminating evidence. TIAN
to end this effect and re-grip the heavenly The animated item has AC 5, 5 Hit Points, a EQUIPMENT
rolling flames. If you lack enough free hands to wield Speed of 10 feet, and automatically fails all saves. If the
them, you drop them in your space. object is broken, it can no longer move, though it can still GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Activate—Speed of Heaven [two-actions] (manipulate) Frequency Interact as appropriate for an item of its type. As normal
once per day; Effect You cast haste as a 3rd-rank occult with minions you control, you must Command the object
spell, but you can target only yourself. to grant it actions.
JIAN OF LIFE’S DUALITY ITEM 13 KOTODAMA WHISTLE ITEM 3

UNCOMMON MAGICAL UNCOMMON MAGICAL
Price 3,000 gp Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk —
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L This small wooden whistle bears an engraving with a symbol
This +2 greater striking longsword sports no extravagant representing the word “query.” Practitioners of kotodama
characteristics save for a blade of pure, unblemished ivory magic use these whistles to speak with the spirits of objects.
and a hilt of unmarred obsidian. It takes on the propensity of Activate—Question the Soul [one-action] (manipulate) Frequency
its user, turning whiter or darker based on their actions. once per day; Effect You place your hand on an object and
The effects of life’s duality are based on the number and play a single note on the whistle, causing the item to stir
type of charges it has. It begins with 0 charges and can gain and respond to your questions for 1 minute. During this
either dark or light charges, up to a maximum of 3 charges time, the object attempts to answer your questions to the
of one type. A charge dissipates after 10 minutes or when a best of its ability but can provide an answer of only “yes”
charge of the opposite type is gained. If you have a charge of or “no.” In most cases, an object has knowledge only of
one type and would gain the opposite type of charge, you lose events it was personally present for and has no particular
your current charges. knowledge skills to interpret the events it has seen. If the
Life’s duality gains a dark charge when it critically succeeds object can’t answer a question with a simple yes or no
at a Strike against an opponent or reduces the Hit Points of answer, it stays silent.
a living enemy to 0. For each dark charge it has, it deals an
additional 1d4 void damage (maximum 3d4). PEACHWOOD MATERIAL 8+
Life’s duality gains a light charge when you use a spell, skill UNCOMMON PRECIOUS
check, or ability to restore at least 10 Hit Points to an ally. The Access Tian Xia origin
damage healed must have been inflicted by a significant foe Peachwood, often cultivated by Pharasmin priests, can ward
or threat. For each light charge it has, you gain 1d4 temporary against undead—even incorporeal ones. However, the wood
Hit Points at the end of each round (maximum 3d4). loses its magical properties when it comes in contact with
Activate—Burst of Duality [three-actions] (concentrate) Requirements metal, requiring advanced carpentry to make full use of it.
Life’s duality has 3 dark charges or 3 light charges; Type peachwood branch; Price 600 gp; Bulk L
Frequency once per day; Effect You unleash the sword’s Type peachwood lumber; Price 6,000 gp; Bulk 1
charged energy in a magical display. You cast a 3-action Type standard-grade peachwood object; Level 8; Price 500
5th-rank harm spell if you have 3 dark charges or a gp per Bulk
3-action 5th-rank heal spell if you have 3 light charges (DC Type high-grade peachwood object; Level 16; Price 7,500 gp
30). The sword then reverts to having 0 charges. per Bulk
129
Peachwood Items Hardness HP BT TIGER FORK ITEM 5
Thin Items UNCOMMON MAGICAL
Standard-grade 4 16 8 Price 275 gp
High-grade 6 24 12 Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk 1
Items The tiger fork is a +1 trident with the disarm and grapple traits. It
Standard-grade 5 20 10 has wide, flaring prongs that can be used to fend
High-grade 8 32 16 off deadly beasts and entrap opponents during
Structures combat. While you have another creature Grabbed
Standard-grade 12 48 24 with the tiger fork, you gain a +1 circumstance bonus
High-grade 18 64 32 to saves against forced movement effects.
Activate—Fork Grip [one-action] (manipulate) Requirements Your
PEACHWOOD TALISMAN ITEM 6 last action was a successful Strike against a creature; Effect
UNCOMMON CONSUMABLE MAGICAL TALISMAN You can activate the tiger fork to attempt to Grapple the
Price 40 gp creature. This attempt uses the same multiple attack
Usage affixed to armor; Bulk — penalty as the required Strike.
Activate [one-action] (concentrate) TWISTING GALE ITEM 14
Symbols of good fortune and luck are carved UNCOMMON FORCE MAGICAL
on this thin, square wooden plaque. It STAFF OF SUN WUKONG Price 4,200 gp
smells of sandalwood from the blessings Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 2
placed upon it. After activation, for the next minute, This +2 greater striking impactful sansetsukon is made of metal
you can sense attacks from undead. You aren’t off-guard to colored pale blue that echoes howling winds when swung and
hidden, undetected, or flanking undead of your level or lower, emits the force of a storm when it connects.
or undead of your level or lower using surprise attack. However, Activate—Sonic Gale [reaction] (concentrate, force, magical) Trigger
they can still help their allies flank. You critically hit with the twisting gale; Frequency once per
10 minutes; Effect The energy of your follow-through erupts
PEACHWOOD WEAPON ITEM 12+ from your opponent in a wave of concussive energy. You deal
UNCOMMON sonic damage equal to your normal Strike damage with the
Usage varies by weapon; Bulk varies by weapon twisting gale in a 30-foot cone behind your target. Creatures
Access Tian Xia origin in the area, not including your target, must attempt a basic
Peachwood weapons have an auburn tinge in direct sunlight. Fortitude save against your class DC.
Peachwood is treated as duskwood for undead creatures’
resistances or weaknesses related to duskwood (bypassing WAND OF PURIFICATION ITEM 5+
a jiang-shi’s resistance, for example). In addition, peachwood MAGICAL WAND
weapons bypass a small portion of the resistances of any Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L
undead creature. Strikes with a peachwood weapon treat an This cypress onusa rod is decorated with a number of paper
undead’s resistances against physical damage as 2 lower for streamers that rustle when shaken to direct purification magic.
standard-grade peachwood, and 4 lower for high-grade. Wands of purification contain either cleanse affliction, clear
Type standard-grade peachwood weapon; Level 12; Price mind, or sound body, decided when the wand is created.
2,000 gp + 200 gp per Bulk; Craft Requirements At least Activate Cast a Spell; Frequency once per day, plus overcharge;
250 gp of peachwood + 25 gp per Bulk Effect You cast cleanse affliction, clear mind, or sound body
Type high-grade peachwood weapon; Level 18; Price 19,000 gp of the indicated level. If your counteract check would be
+ 1,900 gp per Bulk; Craft Requirements At least 9,500 gp of sufficient only to suppress the effect until the beginning of
peachwood + 950 gp per Bulk your next turn, instead of to fully counteract it, then you can
Sustain the Activation of the wand each round to suppress
SUN HERALD’S STYLUS ITEM 14 the effect for an additional round, to a maximum of 1 minute.
MAGICAL You Sustain the Activation by shaking the wand, so if at any
Price 4,000 gp point you release or otherwise drop the wand, the effect
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk 1 immediately stops being suppressed and resumes on the
This writing instrument was made from the spur of one of the target as normal.
giant divine roosters that heralds the presence of Shizuru. Type 2nd-rank spell; Level 6; Price 250 gp
While you hold it, you gain a +2 item bonus to Calligraphy Lore Type 3rd-rank spell; Level 8; Price 500 gp
and Medicine checks. Type 4th-rank spell; Level 10; Price 1,400 gp
Activate—Rejuvenating Ink [two-actions] (manipulate) Frequency once Type 5th-rank spell; Level 12; Price 3,000 gp
per day; Effect Drawing a circle on the ground with your Type 6th-rank spell; Level 14; Price 4,500 gp
stylus, you cast field of life centered on yourself. Type 7th-rank spell; Level 16; Price 10,000 gp
Craft Requirements The feathers must be plucked from a living Type 8th-rank spell; Level 18; Price 24,000 gp
divine rooster or given by the bird to a chosen mortal. Type 9th-rank spell; Level 20; Price 70,000 gp
130
Craft Requirements Supply a casting of cleanse affliction, clear NAVARATNA OF THE SOLAR RUBY ITEM 13
mind, or sound body, as appropriate. UNIQUE ARTIFACT DIVINE
TIAN XIA
Usage worn; Bulk L
WORLDRINGER ITEM 5+ These nine flawless gems are set within a golden necklace,
CHARACTER
UNCOMMON MAGICAL their centerpiece a holy ruby pulled from the center of a GUIDE
Usage held in 1 or 2 hands; Bulk 1 sun. So long as you are wearing the navaratna, you ignore INTRODUCTION
This +1 striking khakkhara is topped by an ornate finial depiction all environmental effects due to temperature, do not take
of a small-statured traveler with animal companions. While the penalties due to wind, and ignore all damage and effects BACKGROUNDS
rings of a khakkhara are normally meant to alert others of one’s from droughts, floods, and earthquakes. You are also
MAGIC AND
presence, the magic of the worldringer enhances the chimes to immune to damage from starvation. The navaratna does THE SPIRIT
entreat upon those who hear it. not otherwise grant you resistance against damage (such WORLD
Activate—Chimes of Command [three-actions] (manipulate) Frequency as fire or cold damage).
once per day; Effect You call upon beings of this plane or Activate—Sutra of the Flawless Servant [reaction] (concentrate, THE ELEMENTS
another to hear your call. Choose summon lesser servitor divine, fortune) Frequency once per hour; Trigger An
ZODIAC
(Secrets of Magic 134) or command. You Cast the chosen Spell ally within 30 feet fails a saving throw against an
at 1st rank (DC 19). When casting summon lesser servitor in environmental effect or a spell with the air, earth, fire, PEOPLES
this way, you must choose to summon a magical animal. or water trait; Effect You offer a prayer for your divine
Type worldringer; Level 5; Price 160 gp protection to extend to your companion. The creature CHARACTER
OPTIONS
Type greater worldringer; Level 14; Price 4,200 gp rerolls the triggering saving throw with a +2 item bonus.
The weapon is a +2 greater striking khakkhara. Chimes of They must take the new result, even if it is worse. TIAN
Command grants you the choice of casting summon lesser Destruction The navaratna must be swallowed by a fiendish EQUIPMENT
servitor or command as 5th-rank spells (DC 33). divine lion; the lion must then by killed by drowning in a
lake of naga venom and left to rot for a year. At the stroke of GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Artifacts midnight on the final day, the artifact is destroyed.
Legendary items frequently feature in tales told across the
continent. Locating one such storied artifact can be an STAFF OF SUN WUKONG ITEM 20
entire adventure all its own! UNIQUE ARTIFACT DIVINE
Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 2
BOW OF SUN SLAYING ITEM 20 Also known as Ruyi Bang, this +3 major striking greater
UNIQUE ARTIFACT COLD DIVINE extending grievous bo staff is a legendary artifact wielded by
Usage held in 1 hand; Bulk L the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. Unlike normal bo staves, the
The Bow of Sun Slaying is a +3 major striking greater frost Staff of Sun Wukong is made of solid iron with two brilliant
composite shortbow constructed out of wood, horn, and sinew. gold bands at either end.
It bears carvings of a long-forgotten demigod who legends say Activate—Meteor Slam [one-action] (concentrate, manipulate)
possessed the ability to destroy the sun with a single arrow. Frequency once per day; Effect You extend the staff with
Activate—Darkness for My Foes [one-action] (concentrate) Frequency the force of a meteor, dealing 10d10 bludgeoning damage
once per day; Requirements Your last action was a to a single creature within 120 feet and making it enfeebled
successful Strike against your foe with this weapon; Effect 1 for 1 day. All other creatures within 10 feet of the target
You whisper, “Darkness for my foes,” and the target of your (except the staff’s wielder) take 8d10 sonic damage (DC 43
last attack takes 10d6 cold damage and 10d6 spirit damage basic Reflex save).
(DC 45 basic Will save). Activate—Close at Hand [free-action] Effect It’s said that Sun Wukong
tucked this magical staff behind his ear during his travels.
FROST FAIR YANYUEDAO ITEM 14 When not in use, the Staff of Sun Wukong shrinks to the
UNIQUE ARTIFACT COLD MAGICAL size and weight of a needle or toothpick, making it highly
Usage held in 2 hands; Bulk 2 concealable (+4 circumstance bonus to Stealth checks to
The Frost Fair Yanyuedao is a +2 greater striking yanyuedao hide it from sight). In this form, the item has negligible Bulk.
(use statistics for glaive) once wielded by a legendary military You can Activate this ability again to return the staff to its
general from Goka. This weapon was constructed from pieces normal size.
harvested from a dragon’s body. When in an area of severe cold Activate—Cloud Somersault [one-action] (manipulate) Effect You
or colder (GM Core 95), the Frost Fair Yanyuedao becomes a +3 use the shapeshifting capabilities of this relic to propel
major striking yanyuedao with a glowing blue cutting edge and yourself great distances. You Leap up to 50 feet in any
the following ability. direction.
Activate—Dragon Chill [one-action] (manipulate) Effect Until the end of Destruction Despite being made of iron and gold, mundane
your turn, the Frost Fair Yanyuedao gains the effects of a heat sources can’t damage the Staff of Sun Wukong. Magical
greater frost rune. While under this effect, if you critically fire similarly has no effect on this relic. The only way to destroy
succeed at a Strike using this weapon against a creature this item is to expose it to the intense heat of a specific volcano
who has resistance or immunity to cold, that creature must in the depths of the Songil Sea (though which volcano remains
attempt a DC 31 Fortitude save or be slowed 1 for 1 minute. shrouded in myth).
131
Glossary & Index
This appendix contains brief explanations and page Casmaron One of Golarion’s continents. Located to the west
references for the content presented in this book, of Tian Xia. World Guide 7
including new rules, locations, deities, and organizations. catfolk Humanoids with feline features and a love of
discovery. See amurrun. 24, Player Core 2 8–11
Abadar God of cities, law, earth, and wealth. Player Core 35, Cayden Cailean The god of bravery, ale, freedom, and wine.
Divine Mysteries 34 Player Core 35, Divine Mysteries 50
access Certain uncommon abilities, feats, and other options celestial Creatures who hail from or have a strong connection
have an Access entry. Characters who meet the criteria in to the planes of Heaven, Nirvana, and Elysium.
the entry gain access to that option. GM Core 23 Celestial Court The organized society of Tian Xia’s immortals
alchemist and divinities, ruled over by the goddess Shizuru. Tian Xia
alchemical cooking feats 104 World Guide 23
Amanandar Country renamed Linvarre when it gained Clicking Caverns A series of Darklands tunnels and caverns
independence. Tian Xia World Guide 131 that surfaces near the border of Nagajor and Xa Hoi. Filled
amurrun See catfolk. 24, Player Core 2 8–11 with haunted flesh-eating clockwork machines. Tian Xia
ancestry A broad family of people that a creature belongs to. World Guide 69–70
dokkaebi goblin 34–35 cultivation The art of improving personal power through
hungerseed 36-37 meditation and training. Often associated with martial arts
kijimuna gnome 38–39 or supernatural abilities. 114–115
kitsune 50 Crown of the World The glacial continent at the very north of
kobold 40–41 Golarion. Connects to Avistan and Tian Xia.
leshy 42–43 Daikitsu God of agriculture, craftsmanship, kitsune, and rice.
lizardfolk 44–45 Known as the Lady of Foxes. Tian Xia World Guide 25
nagaji 51 Darklands The immense area of caverns, vaults, and passages
samsaran 52–57 beneath the surface of Golarion. World Guide 7–8
sarangay 58–63 dawnsilver A rare metal that resembles silver with a
sprite 46–47 blindingly bright shine. As strong as steel but much lighter.
tanuki 64–69 Dewangayaw A name referring to the triad of deities Srikalis,
tsukumogami poppet 48–49 Sritaming, and Sribaril. Tian Xia World Guide 41
wayang 70–75 Desna Goddess of dreams, luck, stars, and travelers. Player Core
yaksha 76–81 36, Divine Mysteries 54, Tian Xia World Guide 46
yaoguai 82–87 dokkaebi An ethnicity of goblin most common in Hwanggot.
animal companion An animal that fights alongside you. Known for innate magic abilities and skill at illusions.
122–123 34–35
Arcadia One of Golarion’s continents, lying to the east of Tian Earthfall A cataclysmic event in -2793 ic during which a rain of
Xia. Pathfinder Lost Omens World Guide 6–7 meteorites fell upon Golarion and caused massive destruction.
archetype A special additional theme for your character that Eternal Emperor The emperor of Lung Wa, stated to be
you can choose using your class feats. reincarnated in each successive ruler of that land.
cultivator 114–115 Worshipped by the state religion of Imperial Lung Wa and
familiar sage 116–117 the theocratic Successor State of Po Li.
fan dancer 98–99 familiar A Tiny creature mystically bonded to you. 124–125
five-breath vanguard 90 First World A plane that overlaps the Universe and is said
martial artist expansion 121 to be a “rough draft” of existence. It’s home to vibrant
spirit warrior 92–93 landscapes and fey. GM Core 177–178
starlit sentinel 94–95 five-breath vanguard 90
strategist marshal expansion 91 Fumeiyoshi God of envy, graves, infamy, and undead. Known
wandering chef 100–101 as the Lord of Envy. Tsukiyo’s brother. Tian Xia World
Aroden God of humanity, innovation, culture, and fulfillment Guide 26
of destiny. Now deceased. General Susumu God of fear, glory, warfare, and death.
Avistan One of Golarion’s continents. It makes up the northern Known as the Black Daimyo. Shizuru’s half-brother. Tian
half of the Inner Sea region. Xia World Guide 27
backgrounds 10–13 Grandmaster One of a thousand master cultivators of Quain
Boneyard A plane where the souls of the dead travel in the who dominate martial arts.
afterlife. Home to the monitors known as psychopomps. Hao Jin A powerful Gokan sorceress famous for bearing the
GM Core 179 power of a phoenix. Legends 46–48
132
Hao Jin Tapestry A demiplane created by Hao Jin to save kobold Small and scaly people who frequently lurk
people and places at risk of destruction. Eventually underground or in the lairs of powerful creatures. 40–41;
TIAN XIA
unraveled and destroyed due to warring factions using it Player Core 2 20–23
for their own purposes. Legends 46–48 Lady Jinxi God of daybreak, liminal spaces, twilight, and CHARACTER
Heaven A plane that embodies order and compassion and is solitude. Known as the Poet of Dawn and Dusk. Tian Xia GUIDE
home to the celestials known as archons. GM Core 180 World Guide 32 INTRODUCTION
Hei Feng God of the sea, storms, tengu, and sailors. Known as Lady Nanbyo God of earthquakes, plagues, fire and suffering.
the Duke of Thunder. Tian Xia World Guide 28 Known as the Widow of Suffering. Tian Xia World Guide 33 BACKGROUNDS
Hell A cruel plane separated into nine distinct layers and Lamashtu God of monsters and nightmares. Player Core 37,
MAGIC AND
home to the fiends known as devils. GM Core 180 Divine Mysteries 74, Tian Xia World Guide 46–47 THE SPIRIT
hobgoblin An ancestry created by infusing goblins with the Lao Shu Po God of night, rats, and thieves. Known as the Old WORLD
power of the Cantorian Spring. Player Core 2 12–15 Rat Woman. Tian Xia World Guide 35
huli jing See kitsune. 50 leshy Living plants animated by primal spirits. 42–43; Player THE ELEMENTS
hungerseed A name for those who have oni ancestry. 36–37 Core 66–69
ZODIAC
Ichimeiyo A system of proper conduct attributed to the lizardfolk A reptilian ancestry known for adaptability and
goddess Shizuru. Tian Xia World Guide 48 natural prowess. 44–45, Player Core 2 24–27 PEOPLES
Imperial Calendar The most commonly used calendar in Tian Lung Wa A massive Tian Empire that lasted from 6642 ic to
Xia, consisting of 52 weeks across 12 months. The current 7106 ic. Known for its far-reaching power and influence, CHARACTER
OPTIONS
year is 7224 ic. but also its corruption and abuses. Tian Xia World Guide 12
Imperial Dragons Namesakes of the Dragon Empires and magus TIAN
guardians of Tian Xia before humanity arrived. They hybrid studies 112–113 EQUIPMENT
embody five elemental forces. 25, Tian Xia World Guide 14 medicine
inventor medical class feats 109 GLOSSARY
& INDEX
Tian innovations 110–111 medical skill feats 108–109
Irori God of history, knowledge, and self-perfection. Player Pei Zing elemental medicine 106–108
Core 37, Divine Mysteries 70, Tian Xia World Guide 29 monk
iruxi See lizardfolk. 44–45, Player Core 2 24–27 martial arts 118–121
item An object you carry, hold, or use. Items sometimes grant Mugura and Nrithu Rival gods of dance and storytelling,
an item bonus or penalty to certain checks. lovers and rivals, fame and gratitude. Tian Xia World
alchemical food 104–105 Guide 36
artifacts 131 munsahir Fire elementals with a strong resemblance to dwarves.
magic items 126–131 Founders of the Jade Hegemon in the Valashmai Jungle.
weapons 126–128 Mutabi-qi An ethnic group local to the Shanguang Desert and
Ivory Accord A historic truce signed between Nagajor and the Wall of Heaven, who live primarily nomadic lives. Tian Xia
Yixing Empire in 1503 ic. Tian Xia World Guide 161 World Guide 185
Jade Hegemon An ancient elemental empire that existed in naga Serpentine beings with magical powers and keen
southern Tian Xia, founded and ruled by munsahirs. intellects. Monster Core 236–237
jaathoom Invisible genies of dreams and nightmares who can nagaji Serpentine people created by the goddess Nalinivati. 51
transform into owls. Monster Core 157 Nalinivati God of snakes, sorcery, fertility, and family. Tian
Jin Li God of challenges, dares, promotions, and self- Xia World Guide 37
improvement. Known as the Golden Dragon Carp. Tian Xia Netherworld A shadowy reflection of the Universe with
World Guide 30 twisted landscapes cast in perpetual half-light. GM Core 178
jorogumo Shapeshifting beings that can appear as a ogre Large and densely muscled humanoids. Monster Core
beautiful woman or a giant spider. Known to devour 250–251
humanoids or use them as living incubators for eggs. oni Failed kami tempted by despair or hedonism to incarnate
28–29 into mortal forms. Monster Core 252–255
Jotun A language spoken primarily by giants and giantkin. Outer Rifts An endless winding plane full of dangerous
kaiju Semi-intelligent beasts of enormous size and uncertain chasms and home to the fiends known as demons and
origin. Most common in the Valashmai Jungle, but known qlippoth. GM Core 181
to reside elsewhere on Golarion. Pathfinder Society A globe-trotting organization dedicated to
kami Divine nature spirits that serve as guardians to exploration and the reclamation of lost relics. Pathfinder
objects or places. Most common in Minkai and the Forest Lost Omens Pathfinder Society Guide
of Spirits. Pharasma God of birth, death, fate and prophecy. Known as
kitsune Vulpine people known for their ability to change the Lady of Graves. Player Core 37, Divine Mysteries 86,
shape. 50 Tian Xia World Guide 47
kijimuna An ethnicity of gnome most common in the south Phi Deva God of humans, the defenseless, and the collective
of Minkai. Known for an affinity with banyans and the sea. good. Known as the Thousand-Souled Chorus. Tian Xia
38–39 World Guide 38
133
planar scion A blanket term for several versatile heritages Tapestry People A catch-all term for the many disparate
representing people descended from a distant planar peoples who once resided within the Hao Jin Tapestry. Tian
ancestor or with a strong tie to another plane. Player Core Xia World Guide 53
78–81 Taumata Empire An ancient and magnificent civilization that
poppet A small and unsophisticated construct usually used as a once spanned across the isles of Minata. Tian Xia World
helper or a toy. On rare occasions, may gain sapience. 48–49 Guide 139
Qi Zhong God of elements, cycles, health, and medicine. tengu Avian people with a strong resemblance to crows.
Known as the Master of Medicine. Tian Xia World Guide 39 Player Core 2 32–35
qlippoth Horrific and primordial creatures native to the Outer Tian-Dan An ethnic group local to eastern Tian Xia,
Rifts. Monster Core 280–283 especially the nation of Xa Hoi. Proudly claim descent
ratfolk A rodent-like ancestry known for a devotion to their from dragons.
communities. Player Core 2 28–31 Tian-Hwan An ethnic group local to eastern Tian Xia,
ritual especially the nation of Hwanggot.
cooking rituals 101–104 Tian-La An ethnic group local to northern Tian Xia, especially
Rovagug God of destruction, disaster, and wrath. Known as the nation of Hongal. Often nomadic due to their harsh
the Rough Beast. Player Core 38, Divine Mysteries 90 living conditions.
Ruby Phoenix Tournament A grand martial arts tournament Tian-Min An ethnic group local to northwestern Tian Xia,
held in Goka every 10 years. The grand prize is a treasure primarily Minkai and the Forest of Spirits. Known for
from Hao Jin’s vault and is highly coveted. occasionally having unusual eye colors.
Sarenrae God of healing, honesty, redemption, and the Tian-Shu The most populous of Tian ethnic groups, common
sun. Known as the Dawnflower. Player Core 38, Divine to the central nations of Tian Xia. Took the name in honor
Mysteries 94 of the first emperor of Shu.
samsaran Blue-skinned people native to Zi Ha, who Tian-Sing A name for a group of diverse ethnicities local to
reincarnate upon death and recall pieces of their past lives. the isles of Minata. Often have wavy black hair and sepia
52–57 skin tones.
sarangay Powerful carabao-headed warriors who live on Tian-Tang An ethnic group local to eastern Tian Xia, especially
the isles of Minata. Known for the magical gems in their the nation of Tang Mai. Sometimes incorrectly referred to
foreheads that are said to contain their souls. 58–63 as Tian-Dtang.
Shelyn God of art, beauty, love, and music. Known as the Tian-Yae An ethnic group with roots from both the Mutabi-qi
Lady of Chrysanthemums Tian Xia World Guide 47, Divine and the Shory people of Yjae.
Mysteries 98 Tien A common trade tongue spoken among many people in
Shinonome The sky dragon herald of the goddess Shizuru. Tian Xia.
Shizuru God of ancestors, order, the sun, and growth . Known tripkee Tripkees are a family of frog-like humanoids. Player
as the Ruler of Heaven. Tian Xia World Guide 40 Core 2 36–39
Shory An ancient empire prominent in central Garund around Tsukiyo God of jade, the moon, and spirits. Known as Prince
1 ic and famous for its flying cities. Pathfinder Lost Omens of the Moon. Tian Xia World Guide 43
Mwangi Expanse 17 tsukumogami Intelligent, mobile objects formed from the
Spawn of Rovagug Nigh-invincible monsters spawned from union between a 100-year-old object and a kami. 48–49
the god Rovagug, known for massive destruction. Valashai Massive, alien reptilians who landed in the
spirit warrior 92–93 Valashmai Jungle during Tian Xia’s prehistory. Tian Xia
sprite Diminutive, whimsical, and exuberant creatures from World Guide 233
the First World. 46–47 versatile heritage
starlit sentinel 94–95 hungerseed 36-37
strategist marshal 91 Vudra A vast peninsula in southeastern Casmaron.
Successor States A collection of 16 nations that formed after wandering chef 100–101
the fall of Imperial Lung Wa. wayang Small people native to the Netherworld. Immigrated
Sun Wukong God of drunkenness, nature, and trickery. to Golarion after Earthfall. 70–75
Known as the Monkey King. Tian Xia World Guide 42 yaksha Divine spirits who emigrated to Golarion from the
Tagamallaru A catch-all word for an ethnicity of river peoples first world. 76–81
who live along the Ilushe River of Linvarre. Tian Xia World yaoguai Beings who usually begin their existence as simple
Guide 135, 137 animals, objects, or plants, but have found a means to
Taldor An empire in decline in southeast Avistan which seeks transcend their original forms through the power of
to reclaim its former glory. World Guide 128–129 cultivation. 82–87
Taljjae An elusive creature that resides in Hwanggot, known Yaezhing God of harsh justice, murder, and punishment. Tian
most for the masks they wear. Monsters of Myth 96–101 Xia World Guide 44
tanuki A name for both a raccoon-like animal native to Minkai Yamatsumi God of mountains, volcanoes, and winter. Tian Xia
and sapient tanuki who possess shapeshifting powers. World Guide 45
64–69 ysoki See ratfolk. Player Core 2 28–31
134
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Creative Directors • James Jacobs and Luis Loza Controller • William Jorenby
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TIAN XIA
Director of Visual Design • Sonja Morris Director of Sales • Cosmo Eisele CHARACTER
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BACKGROUNDS
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CHARACTER
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OPTIONS
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Second Edition
LOST OMENS
Tian Xia
World Guide
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Lost Omens Second Edition
Parade in the night!

In a land built from the flesh and bones of dragons, adventurers band together to
seek their fate! Familiar faces take on new guises in the land of Tian Xia, traveling
alongside peoples unique to the continent. The Tian Xia Character Guide features
new heritages for existing ancestries, such as kijimuna gnomes and chrysanthemum
leshies, as well as brand-new ancestries who have lived among the Dragon Empires
since time immemorial. Explore an expansive world of options for your character,
LOST OMENS TIAN XIA CHARACTER GUIDE

from the kinetic grace of dance and martial arts, to the subtle skills of cooking and
alchemy, to the complex relationships between the elements. Will mastery of these
techniques lead you to your goals, or will temptation and rivalry tear you asunder?
LOST OMENS
Tian Xia
paizo.com/pathfinder PZO13002-HC Printed in China.
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Tian Xia Character Guide

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Lost Omens Second Edition

Parade in the night!

LOST OMENS TIAN XIA CHARACTER GUIDE

GLOSSARY & INDEX 132

Lingshen Shenmen SEA OF Peijia

Mount Lamjung ◊ • Gao Bie NAIKANG

◊ House of 1,000 Silks R

Celestial Dragon Temple ◊ n gD

Round Mountain ◊ • Tuotuo

Star Titan’s Grave ◊ BELEM

Swamp of the Dark Brood ◊

6 Valashmai Sea LAKAPUNA

REGIONS OF TIAN XIA

TIFFIN BOX DELIVERER

PROFESSIONAL LETTER WRITER

THE SOVEREIGN DRAGON

Dokkaebi Goblin (Uncommon) PHANTOM VISAGE [one-action] FEAT 1

TANGLE OF LIMBS FEAT 1

PHANTOM RESEMBLANCE FEAT 5

FLAMES OF VISION FEAT 13

PERFECTED GAMTU FEAT 17

You Might... ONI FORM [one-action] FEAT 1

GREATER TRANSFORMATION FEAT 9

TEMPEST GAZE FEAT 13

ONI RAMPAGE [reaction] FEAT 13

KISHIN RAGE [one-action] FEAT 17

Kijimuna Gnome (Uncommon)

GNOME ANCESTRY FEATS

ARBOREAL CONVERSATIONALIST FEAT 13

KIJIMUNA WHISTLE FEAT 13

Heavenscribe Kobold (Uncommon)

Mightyfall Kobold (Uncommon)

KOBOLD ANCESTRY FEATS

FRIEND OF THE FAMILY FEAT 5 GLOSSARY

IMPERIAL DRAGON POTION FEAT 13

KAIJU’S FOOTFALLS FEAT 13

CHILDLIKE PLANT FEAT 1

UNASSUMING HEROES FEAT 5

SASH OF THE WIND FEAT 9

FLOWER CHIMERA FEAT 13

RETURN TO THE SEED FEAT 17

CROCODILE’S TWIN FEAT 1

SPIRIT COFFIN FEAT 1

13TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

SPIRITUAL HEADHUNTER FEAT 13

MOONEATER [two-actions] FEAT 17

5TH LEVEL CHARACTER

ELEMENTAL SPARK FEAT 5

ALONG THE DEEP RIVER FEAT 17

MADE FOR COMBAT FEAT 1

SUDDEN TERROR [one-action] FEAT 1

SOLIDARITY [one-action] FEAT 9

AWAKEN THE OBAKE FEAT 13

IT TAKES A VILLAGE FEAT 1 9TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

Society Size BACKGROUNDS

ALL THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN [reaction] FEAT 1

ELUCIDATING VISION FEAT 1

INNATE UNDERSTANDING FEAT 1

I WILL RETURN FEAT 9

LIFE’S BLOOD [two-actions] FEAT 9

GLOSSARY & INDEX 132

Dokkaebi Goblin (Uncommon) PHANTOM VISAGE [one-action] FEAT 1

TANGLE OF LIMBS FEAT 1

PHANTOM RESEMBLANCE FEAT 5

FLAMES OF VISION FEAT 13

PERFECTED GAMTU FEAT 17

TEMPEST GAZE FEAT 13

ARBOREAL CONVERSATIONALIST FEAT 13

KIJIMUNA WHISTLE FEAT 13

FRIEND OF THE FAMILY FEAT 5 GLOSSARY

IMPERIAL DRAGON POTION FEAT 13

KAIJU’S FOOTFALLS FEAT 13

CHILDLIKE PLANT FEAT 1

UNASSUMING HEROES FEAT 5

SASH OF THE WIND FEAT 9

FLOWER CHIMERA FEAT 13

RETURN TO THE SEED FEAT 17

CROCODILE’S TWIN FEAT 1

SPIRIT COFFIN FEAT 1

SPIRITUAL HEADHUNTER FEAT 13

MOONEATER [two-actions] FEAT 17

ELEMENTAL SPARK FEAT 5

ALONG THE DEEP RIVER FEAT 17

MADE FOR COMBAT FEAT 1

SUDDEN TERROR [one-action] FEAT 1

SOLIDARITY [one-action] FEAT 9

AWAKEN THE OBAKE FEAT 13

IT TAKES A VILLAGE FEAT 1 9TH LEVEL GLOSSARY

ALL THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN [reaction] FEAT 1

ELUCIDATING VISION FEAT 1

INNATE UNDERSTANDING FEAT 1

I WILL RETURN FEAT 9

LIFE’S BLOOD [two-actions] FEAT 9

SECRETS OF THE PAST FEAT 9 PEOPLES

WATER TO WATER [one-action] FEAT 13

THE CYCLE CONTINUES [reaction] FEAT 17

THIS TOO SHALL PASS FEAT 17

SARANGAY LORE FEAT 1

TRAVELER’S COUNSEL FEAT 1

DEFLECTING JEWEL [reaction] FEAT 5

ANCESTRAL HEALER FEAT 9

PARALYZING JEWEL [one-action] FEAT 9

SPIRITUAL ECHO FEAT 9

CONVOCATION OF EARTH AND MOON [one-action] FEAT 17

TRAMPLE [three-actions] FEAT 17

IRON BELLY FEAT 1

SCORCHED ON THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN FEAT 1

HASTY CELEBRATION [reaction] FEAT 5

LEAF TRANSFORMATION FEAT 5

ROLLING WHITE BOTTLE FORM [reaction] FEAT 9

COMBINED FORM [reaction] FEAT 13

LANDSCAPE FORM FEAT 17

START THE FESTIVAL! [three-actions] FEAT 17

AEGIS OF THE DISSOLUTION FEAT 1

DANCE OF THE MOUSEDEER [one-action] FEAT 1

REFINED MOTION IN DARKNESS FEAT 1

WAYANG LORE FEAT 1

WAYANG WEAPON FAMILIARITY FEAT 1

SHADOW TEMPO [reaction] FEAT 9

DALANG’S ALLY [one-action] FEAT 13

SLAY GIANTS UNSEEN FEAT 13

DISSOLUTION’S SOVEREIGNTY FEAT 17

SEVER THE DREAMING SHADOW FEAT 17

ASH-PIERCING GAZE FEAT 1

METICULOUS RESTORER FEAT 1

SAGE OF SCATTERED LEAVES FEAT 1

TANGLE-TONGUE’S WIT FEAT 1

UNWAVERING GUIDE FEAT 1

ABJURE THE FALSE KIN FEAT 9

FIEND-TRAMPLING STATURE FEAT 9

FOUR-ARMED ASPECT [one-action] FEAT 9

HORN AND BONE INCANTATION FEAT 9

GERMINATION OF RESOLVE [free-action] FEAT 13 GLOSSARY

WILD-HAIRED FURY FEAT 13

STRENGTH OF EIGHT LEGIONS FEAT 17

TRANSCEND THE AZIMUTH FEAT 17

NATURAL MUTAGEN FEAT 1

POLYMORPHIC ESCAPE [reaction] FEAT 1

TWILIGHT DWELLER FEAT 1

KIN HUNTER FEAT 5