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GALT
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Galt

(Nation)
CN
Land Shining Kingdoms
Alignment Chaotic neutral
Capital Isarn
Ruler Citizen Camilia Drannoch
Government 4721 AR—: Council
4667–4721 AR: Revolutionary anarchy
Demonym Galtans
Adjective Galtan
Languages Common, Hallit
Religions Calistria, Cayden Cailean, Erastil, Iomedae,
Norgorber, Shelyn

200 km
Paizo CUP, Acknowledgments
100 mi

Images of Galt

Source: The Inner Sea World Guide, pg(s). 70ff. (1E)

World Guide, pg(s). 126 (2E)
The statblock reflects Galt as of 4719 AR. Details after that point are from
Firebrands.

Galt (pronounced GALT)1 is a land in the Shining Kingdoms of

northeastern Avistan where once high ideals were long laid low,
and mob rule led to rampant paranoia and chaos.2|3 Only the
fall of the feared Gray Gardeners in 4721 AR has broken Galt's
feverish cycle of revolution known as the Red Revolution, and
the nation's fate is now at an inflection point, with forces seeking
to pull the nation either toward long-awaited stability or back into
a chaotic morass.4

HISTORY

A Gray Gardener prepares a final blade.

FOUNDING AND UPRISING

Galt was founded during the early years of the Age of
Enthronement as a province of the Empire of Taldor in 115 AR.5

Galt has always been a nation of free thinkers and radicals

renowned for brilliant poets, artists, and philosophers whose
ideas shaped the politics of the whole of Avistan. Despite being
acquired by Cheliax during the Even-Tongued Conquest, which
commenced in 4081 AR following Cheliax's secession during
the Taldan conflict with Qadira, Galt continued to uphold this
image. It drew independent thinkers to its prestigious
universities and adventurers to its unspoiled forests.6

Galt's tumultuous fall into mob anarchy began after the death of
Aroden led to the ascension of House Thrune in Cheliax in 4640
AR. Seeing the blatant devilry and capricious cruelty of their
new masters, dissent began to bubble up in Galt. One of the
most elegant proponents of this unrest was by the aiuvarin
philosopher Hosetter, who wrote the scathing political essays
Imperial Betrayal. These essays helped increase dislike of
Imperial Cheliax and spread dissent across Galt, Andoran, and
even into the heartland of Cheliax itself.7|8|9

Then Darl Jubannich, the poet of Woodsedge, capitalised on

this by publishing his own attack on Cheliax and the concept of
the divine right of kings called On Government. This created
further hatred of the new government of Cheliax which quickly
blossomed into all-out rebellion. Mobs tore down all the symbols
of Chelaxian oppression and executed those they felt were
sympathisers, predominantly the nobility.7|8|9

Queen Abrogail I responded to these rebels with a heavy hand,

which only further incited the polity, and Galt soon declared
independence in 4667 AR. Hosetter and Jubannich, along with
other heroes of the revolution, formed the Revolutionary Council
to rule the newly independent nation, and one of the council's
first decrees was the creation of the final blades, Galt's feared
magical guillotines.7|8|9

THE RED REVOLUTION

Little did they understand the beast they had created, for within
five years the first Revolutionary Council had been overthrown
by another set of bloodthirsty revolutionaries who wanted
change and executed the first council as counter-
revolutionaries. This began the cycle of bloodshed and
revolution after revolution that has lead to Galt's decline into a
nation inhabited by mobs of paranoid, revolutionary
fanatics.7|8|9

Many of Galt's most prominent scholars and wizards fled the

nation or were killed.10|11 Andoran, once sympathetic to Galt's
anti-aristocratic ideals, closed its borders in the Verduran Forest
to Galtan refugees for fear of the Red Revolution's spread.9|7
Galt's surviving nobles fled for other nations near and far, from
northern Taldor12 to the city of Kridorn in Iobaria.13

After Hosetter's death, more than a dozen governments ruled

Galt, none effectively.3|9 Galt's cities, formerly centers of art and
learning, fell into ruin. Without a strong central government,
Galt's armed forces collapsed, allowing brigands and fell beasts
to flourish in the wilds.3|9 The Revolutionary Council persisted
without progress through many incarnations, often renamed as
the Cabinet of Skulls, the Cailean Council,9 the Common
Council, the Eye of Law,9| 2 or the Galtcreed Pact.14|2

Firebrands infiltrated Galt in 4716 AR soon after the

organization's creation, inspired by a coup of self-proclaimed
Firebrands called the Blade Breakers. The Firebrands
responded too late to assist with their rebellion but helped free
their members from Gray Gardener imprisonment.15 The first
true Firebrands insurrection in Galt also failed, but several
agents survived and remained in the nation, including Handish
Tremmel, who as of 4723 AR continues to work on behalf of the
Firebrands to smuggle messages and people out of the nation
through the Verduran Forest.16

FALL OF THE GRAY GARDENERS

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Unbeknownst to its populace through the decades of chaos, the

unending cycles of revolution were in fact the machinations of a
conqueror worm and its cult, with the Gray Gardeners acting as
its public arm. Its deployment of the final blades was a plot to
compress enough souls to release gray deaths, massive
disasters of undeath, in every Galtan city to ultimately destroy
the nation.2

The Gardeners themselves manipulated much of Galt's chaos,

staging execution festivals and funding the bandits that
terrorized its rural regions,17 and were empowered by a psychic
network of worm prophets.18

The Gardeners staged an attempted coup in 4721 AR,15 an

event called the Masque of the Gray Death in which they
opened their Gray Monastery headquarters in Litran for the first
time. In an unprecedented act of transparency, the Gardeners
claimed they would unmask themselves. However, the
announcement was a ploy to consolidate Galt's ruling class into
one place and release a gray death upon them.17

A band of foreign Firebrands thwarted the plan, culminating in

the destruction of the Gray Gardeners, their Gray Monastery,
and several of the once believed indestructible final blades. As
of 4723 AR, these adventurers were believed to still pursue the
destruction of the nation's remaining final blades.16|19

GEOGRAPHY
Galt is located on the easternmost edge of Avistan, and is
bordered by the River Kingdoms to the north, Kyonin to the
west, and Taldor to the south. The vast Whistling Plains of
Casmaron are to its east.7|20

Galt is a fertile area of predominantly plains but also boasts

several large forests within its borders, such as the Verduran
Forest and the Boarwood. It contains several beautiful cities,
and before the Revolution the capital of Isarn was renowned as
a city that bordered on a work of art.7|20

GOVERNMENT
HISTORICAL
For decades, few who claimed power kept their heads for more
than a few years. The Revolutionary Council that rules Galt
changed leadership with shocking regularity as a new group of
bloodthirsty revolutionaries claimed power, although the
previous governing council had been in power longer than
most.3

For over a decade, the previous chairman Citizen Korran Goss,

a talented demagogue, skillfully united the Council by diverting
the mob's anger away from himself and the Council and
attributing Galt's problems to neighboring nations, particularly
Andoran.7|9 However, like many leaders before him, Korran
became the target of a brutal wave of violence that not even his
immense charisma could control,3 and he was succeeded by
Citizen Camilia Drannoch.21|11

POST-REVOLUTION
As of 4723 AR, the Revolutionary Council's chair is Citizen
Camilia Drannoch, who lost her mother Apalma—the nation's
ambassador to Kyonin—to the final blades at a young age and
strives to destroy them.21|11

She became a household name and earned a seat on the

Revolutionary Council by exposing the Eye of Law as a hag
coven. She has since survived multiple coups, and became
Chairwoman when her predecessor Citizen Goss was torn apart
by an angry mob. She enacted several popular reforms to bring
back some stability, notably putting an end to xenophobic
policies and improving foreign relations.21

Drannoch firmly believes that Korran's tendency to attribute

Galt's problems to external forces only exacerbated the
country's plight. During her tenure, the Revolutionary Council
has ostensibly initiated a campaign to eliminate rogue elements
and destabilizing influences within Galt. However, in numerous
instances, this endeavor has primarily served as a means for
Drannoch to maneuver the mob into ousting those who could
challenge her authority.3

SENATE
Even though the Revolutionary Council makes most of the
decisions in Galt, a legislature of elected senators exists and is
supposed to look after the interest of the common citizens.
Originally composed of 300 representatives, as of 4711 AR their
number had dwindled down to around 100 thanks to the Gray
Gardeners. New elections are supposed to happen every eight
years but were continuously postponed due to internal conflicts
for decades.

With no practical way of replacing these senators, their

presence provided a small modicum of stability in the otherwise
anarchic nation. While their power was largely ceremonial, the
senators still met monthly for week-long sessions of posturing,
demagoguery, and debate, and no one achieved political power
in Galt without their support.9

ORGANIZATIONS
GRAY GARDENERS

Gray Gardeners abduct a man in Litran.

Main article: Gray Gardeners

For decades, the only stability in Galt's government were the

Gray Gardeners, executioners of Galt. They maintained their
power and safety through anonymity, as no member could be
targeted by an angry mob, and most feared the threat of
execution via a final blade should they move against the
organization. Because of this, no Gray Gardener ever
voluntarily unmasked themself.7|8|3|2

The Gray Gardeners were based in the Gray Monastery of

Litran, rather than in the capital of Isarn, home of the
Revolutionary Council.7|8|3|22

The Gardeners themselves created the final blades beneath

their headquarters,17 and the artifacts demonstrated a strong
resistance to physical damage. However, as of 4719 AR rumors
circulated in Isarn that covert operatives had discovered a ritual
capable of destroying the last remaining blades and thereby
releasing all the trapped souls within them.3 These rumors were
later validated when the ritual was decoded by the Firebrands
who halted their coup plot.18

After their failed coup in 4721 AR, the Gardeners were officially
disbanded. However, due to their concealed identities, all
surviving members remain potentially active in Galt, along with
any final blades not already located and destroyed by the
Revolutionary Council or the Firebrands.16

FIREBRANDS
Main article: Firebrands

Galt has been a significant front of the revolutionaries of the

Firebrands since 4716 AR. The breaking of the Gray Gardeners
further emboldened Firebrands and their operations within the
nation. A cell known as the Unmaskers pursues alleged Gray
Gardeners to expose them for their crimes, while another called
the Sheperds of the Lost researches the fates of people who
vanished through the prior decades.16 The Able Jinxers also
assist in moving refugees out of Galt.23

Firebrand Ambre Morel works with the church of Abadar to

return wrongly confiscated property to its owners, while the
Firebrand Professor Thistle wanders the nation to help rebuild
its newly independent educational system. Firebrand cells also
provide material support to Citizen Drannoch, the head of the
Revolutionary Council as of 4723 AR, who struggles to
coordinate their efforts.11

However, as the nation transitions to more stable self-rule

without the influence of the Gray Gardeners, the continued role
of foreign Firebrands remains a contentious topic. Idle
Firebrands have also gathered a reputation for being restive
and volatile.11 Some Firebrands departed Galt for Taldor after
the fall of the final blades, raising concerns among the Lion
Blades that Taldor was their next target for destabilization.24

BROKEN GHOSTS
Main article: Broken Ghosts

An anarchic sect known as the Broken Ghosts threatens to

undo Galt's progress toward stability and plunge it back into
chaos. Named for the now-shattered final blades and souls
released from them, the fiercely independent and elusive group
has a particular animosity toward the Firebrands for, as the
Broken Ghosts describe it, hypocritically forcing their own
ideologies upon others instead of promoting true freedom.11

KNOWLEDGE OF AGES
Main article: Knowledge of Ages

An occult society called the Knowledge of Ages holds the final

blade known as Razor Jenni in a hidden chamber beneath the
Torvin Academy of Edme. They conduct near-nightly séances in
an attempt to commune with its captured souls, many of whom
were intellectuals and political philosophers executed in the Red
Revolution.11

PATHFINDER SOCIETY
Main articles: Pathfinder Society and Woodsedge Lodge

The Pathfinder Society maintains a small lodge in the Galtan

city of Woodsedge.3 As of 4723 AR, its venture-captain was
Armeline Jirneau, who succeeded Eliza Petulengro after the
latter unmasked herself as a member of the Decemvirate.25

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Until recently, Galt's neighbors worried that Galt would send
bloodthirsty mobs over its borders due to the xenophobic
rhetoric of the previous chairman of the Revolutionary Council,
Korran Goss.9

ANDORAN
Andoran, once sympathetic to Galt's anti-aristocratic ideals,
closed its borders in the Verduran Forest to Galtan refugees.
After the Red Revolution broke down into bloody mayhem,
Andoren leadership feared that the chaos might spread to them,
as Andoran was founded with many of the same guiding
principles as Galt's revolution.9|7

The Andoren government attempted but failed to dissuade

Firebrands from intervening in Galt around 4716 AR,
considering it a hopeless cause, but the Firebrands' travels
through Andoran contributed to the nation later becoming a
hotbed of the organization's training and recruitment.26

Citizen Drannoch entered into a clandestine alliance with

Supreme Elect Andira Marusek, who also wishes to get rid of
the final blades. Knowing that Marusek would balk at some of
the unsavoury things she had to do, Drannoch limits the flow of
information to what she wants Marusek to hear.27

CHELIAX
Believing that outdated ideologies across Golarion will soon be
discredited, Drannoch openly supported and dispatched agents
to aid rebels in the former Chelaxian colony now known as
Vidrian, and to the former Chelaxian archduchy and now
breakaway nation of Ravounel.28

GEB
Citizen Drannoch has sought an alliance with Geb, with the
hopes that their knowledge of undeath will help free the souls
captured in the blades.21| 11 She has offered intelligence on Nex
and the Spire of Nex in exchange for aid and lobbying to allow
any freed undead to continue existing in Geb or to help their
souls pass on to the afterlife. Geb has begun to consider
Drannoch's offer due to his lack of living spies to infiltrate Nex.27

KYONIN
The elven lands to the west are separated from Galt by the
Sellen River and the elves monitor this border carefully. The
elves are somewhat sympathetic to the harried refugee camps
on the other side of the river but such sentiments do not extend
to allowing Galtan exiles access to their lands.29 Despite not
allowing Galtans to cross into Kyonin, representatives of the
elven government have recently established a minor presence
in Isarn.3

Citizen Drannoch holds little love for her birth nation of Kyonin,
and its Queen Telandia Edasseril is reluctant to align her nation
with any cause, including Galt's. Some of her detractors have
begun to refer to her and the female leaders of neighbouring
countries as the "Four Queens".27

RIVER KINGDOMS
A few exiled members of Galt's nobility fled to the River
Kingdoms, where they have been amassing armies of
mercenaries to eventually take back their homeland. The two
most prominent of these Revenant Princes are Lord Halidan
Tarne and his cousin, Casal Tarne. While Halidan leads regular
raids into Galt, Casal prefers to bide his time and gather his
forces, waiting for the perfect time to strike and bring down the
Revolutionary Council.9

TALDOR
Taldor long held a dim view of the revolutionaries to its north.
Under the rule of Grand Prince Stavian III, all travelers from Galt
were searched, and a worrying number of handbills insisting
that the Taldan people rise up and overthrow the government
were discovered in caravans and ships. Some of the senatorial
class lobbied to send the military north to end the revolutionary
nation once and for all.30

The prefecture of Northern Tandak is particularly strained due to

an influx of penniless nobles exiled from their Galtan homes,
combined with the "soft invasions" of bandits and brigands from
the north. This left a substantial strain on the territory's
resources and frustrated the regional government.12

Grand Princess Eutropia Stavian, Stavian III's successor

following the War for the Crown, has since offered friendship to
the Revolutionary Council, while Drannoch believes that
Eutropia is holding back, and seeks to radicalise her so Eutropia
can realise Taldor's true potential.27

INHABITANTS
Galtans were once renowned for their free-thinking and lust for
life, but during the long years of revolution this has slowly turned
bitter and violent. They have become fanatical, revolutionary
zealots, and their lust for life has turned into a bloodlust towards
those they perceive as responsible for the terrible conditions
now prevalent in their land. All too often, the residents of Galt
are forced into homelessness, as the infrastructure of Galt has
long since collapsed and food has become a scarce commodity.

The people of Galt are generally distrustful of strangers, which

was not helped by the previous chairman of the Revolutionary
Council's fiery rhetoric that blamed all of Galt's problems on
outsiders. As such, few foreigners visit Galt and those who do
have to be very careful that their neck does not end up meeting
one of the feared guillotines of Galt.7

ADVENTURERS
While foreigners must constantly watch for roving bands of
bloodthirsty mobs, Galt attracts adventurers from outside of the
country. They sometimes come to loot the hastily abandoned
homes of departed nobles or seek to reclaim a lost birthright.6

RELIGION
After the Red Revolution, the worship of the demon lord of traps
Andirifkhu rose across Galt. Her worshippers tended to focus on
Andirifkhu's mastery of mechanised forms of execution and
torture. While Andirifkhu worshippers are usually lone fanatics,
those operating in Galt tended to form small cells of up to half a
dozen followers. These cells remained isolated and showed
little interest in cooperation with each other,31 and their fates
since the fall of the Gray Gardeners in Galt is unknown.

Champions and clerics of Milani worked alongside Firebrands in

Galt.32

REFERENCES
For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject,
see the Meta page.
1. ↑ Erik Mona, et al. “Appendices” in Campaign Setting, 246. Paizo
Inc., 2008
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Ron Lundeen. “Chapter 1: Secrets of Litran” in
Night of the Gray Death, 4. Paizo Inc., 2021
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Erik Mona, et al.
“Shining Kingdoms” in World Guide, 126. Paizo Inc., 2019
4. ↑ James Beck, et al. “Chapter 4: Firebrand Efforts” in Firebrands,
116–117. Paizo Inc., 2023
5. ↑ Mark Moreland, et al. “Life in Taldor” in Taldor, the First Empire,
11. Paizo Inc., 2017
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 James Jacobs, et al. “Galt” in The Inner Sea World Guide,
70. Paizo Inc., 2011
7. ↑ 7.00 7.01 7.02 7.03 7.04 7.05 7.06 7.07 7.08 7.09 7.10 7.11 Erik Mona, et
al. “Chapter 2: The Inner Sea” in Campaign Setting, 74–75. Paizo
Inc., 2008
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Erik Mona & Jason Bulmahn. “Gazetteer of
Nations” in Gazetteer, 31–32. Paizo Inc., 2008
9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13
James Jacobs, et al. “Galt” in The Inner Sea World Guide, 71. Paizo
Inc., 2011
10. ↑ Kevin Andrew Murphy. The Perfumer's Apprentice, 2. Paizo Inc.,
2012
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 James Beck, et al. “Chapter 4:
Firebrand Efforts” in Firebrands, 117. Paizo Inc., 2023
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mark Moreland, et al. “Gazetteer” in Taldor, the First
Empire, 28. Paizo Inc., 2017
13. ↑ F. Wesley Schneider & Steven Schend. Kingmaker: Iobarian
Timeline . Paizo blog, 2010
14. ↑ James Jacobs & Greg A. Vaughan. “Exploring the Darklands” in
Into the Darklands, 5. Paizo Inc., 2008
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 James Beck, et al. “Chapter 1: Introduction” in
Firebrands, 10. Paizo Inc., 2023
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 James Beck, et al. “Chapter 4: Firebrand
Efforts” in Firebrands, 116. Paizo Inc., 2023
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Ron Lundeen. “Chapter 1: Secrets of Litran” in Night
of the Gray Death, 5. Paizo Inc., 2021
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Ron Lundeen. “Chapter 3: Writing in the Crypts” in Night
of the Gray Death, 55. Paizo Inc., 2021
19. ↑ This refers to the events of Night of the Gray Death, of which a
successful outcome involving the Firebrands was made canon in
Firebrands 116–117. See Meta:Galt.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Erik Mona, et al. Campaign Setting, Poster Map. Paizo
Inc., 2008
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Amirali Attar Olyaee, et al. “Camilia Drannoch”
in Legends, 38–39. Paizo Inc., 2020
22. ↑ Ron Lundeen. “Chapter 1: Secrets of Litran” in Night of the Gray
Death, 4–5. Paizo Inc., 2021
23. ↑ James Beck, et al. “Chapter 2: Among the Firebrands” in
Firebrands, 34. Paizo Inc., 2023
24. ↑ James Beck, et al. “Chapter 1: Introduction” in Firebrands, 20.
Paizo Inc., 2023
25. ↑ Kate Baker, et al. “Chapter 3: Pathfinder Society Lodges” in
Pathfinder Society Guide, 108. Paizo Inc., 2020
26. ↑ James Beck, et al. “Chapter 1: Introduction” in Firebrands, 18.
Paizo Inc., 2023
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 Amirali Attar Olyaee, et al. “Camilia Drannoch”
in Legends, 39. Paizo Inc., 2020
28. ↑ Amirali Attar Olyaee, et al. “Camilia Drannoch” in Legends, 38.
Paizo Inc., 2020
29. ↑ James L. Sutter. “Kyonin” in A Memory of Darkness, 52. Paizo
Inc., 2009
30. ↑ Joshua J. Frost. “Taldor, Empire in Decline” in Taldor, Echoes of
Glory, 10. Paizo Inc., 2009
31. ↑ Paizo Inc., et al. “Chapter 1: Fiendish Divinities” in Book of the
Damned, 16–17. Paizo Inc., 2017
32. ↑ James Beck, et al. “Chapter 1: Introduction” in Firebrands, 19.
Paizo Inc., 2023


"•"• Galt, land of eternal revolution

Settlements

Azurestone · Dabril · Edme · Halvon

· Isarn (capital) · Litran · Rosehaven · Stavintower

· Tregan · Woodsedge

Geographical features

Boarwood · East Sellen River · Fog Peaks

· Horun Plain · Southern Hymbrian Forest

· Kantele River · Mount Cania · Mount Rein

· Nordein Glacier · Qi-Oamatok Pass · Sellen River

· Stormflood River

Points of interest

Dread Dungeons · Low Highway · The Minaret

· Thrylheim


"•"• Nations of Avistan

Nations by region

Absalom Absalom

Broken Lands Brevoy · Mendev · Numeria · Razmiran

· River Kingdoms · Sarkoris Scar

Eye of Dread Belkzen · Gravelands · Molthune · Nirmathas

· Oprak · Ustalav

Golden Road Qadira

High Seas Hermea · Mordant Spire

Old Cheliax Cheliax · Isger · Nidal · Ravounel

Saga Lands Irrisen · Lands of the Linnorm Kings

· New Thassilon · Realm of the Mammoth Lords

· Varisia

Shining Kingdoms Andoran · Druma · Five Kings Mountains · Galt

· Kyonin · Taldor

Historical nations 

Geography 

Categories: PathfinderWiki featured articles

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Nations Nations of Avistan Andirifkhu/Locations

This page was last edited on 27 November 2024, at 16:55.

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