Darklands

Brooding deep beneath Golarion lies another world, a dark mirror giving broken ref lections of the surface above. These endless caverns are called the Darklands in children’s tales or around campfires—or at the council tables of dwarven war chieftains and elven inquisitors. To the folk who live in the lands below they go by many names: Nar-Voth, Sekamina, Orv, the Vaults, Cold Hell, Evernight, the Hunting Grounds, or simply Home.

While many races live there and even thrive in its harsh environs, those that are aware of a surface realm universally lust after its resources, soft living, and prey so abundantly available, while at the same time cursing its burning sunlight, mysterious weather patterns, and the agoraphobic openness that is anathema to most Darklands races. The inevitable result is a deadly animosity to any surface-world visitors daring to descend into the night below, into a world where even the air one breathes or the ground one walks upon can kill. Such are the dangers facing anyone daring to venture into the Darklands.

Geography

Entrances to the Darklands

Just because a cavern or dungeon is deep does not mean that it is part of the Darklands. Most such places are simply natural or artificial caves that connect only to the surface and do not delve any deeper. In order to truly qualify, an underground location must possess connections to the greater system of tunnels and caverns of Nar-Voth or Sekamina.




The Darklands can be divided into three distinct layers, each with their own characteristics, inhabitants, and hazards

Nar-Voth

Sekamina

Orv

Ecosystem

Major populations of duergar, drow, or dero.

Natural Resources

The volcanoes and gaping pits bring up all kinds of minerals and gems from beneath the earth: gold and silver, iron and copper, diamonds and sapphires.

There is also the rare magical metals to be mined like skymetal and Mithral.

Even rare still would be the magical gemstones.

All of these riches is enough to bring all manners of people to try their luck underground.

Tourism

Finding one's way through the Darklands can be a dangerous and time-consuming undertaking, not only because of its belligerent inhabitants, but because the physical structure of its tunnels and chambers complicate travel. Although more linear, artificial tunnels and grottoes exist (most notably in Orv), the large majority of passages in the Darklands are the result of natural processes and are twisting and confusing, often ending in cave-ins, pits, or other impassable obstructions.

Everyone knows that monsters live below. You’ve all heard the stories of the deformed men who dwell in blue-litten tunnels, the shapeless crawling horrors with acid for skin, and the dark-skinned demonworshiping elves. You may scoff at some of the stranger stories, of fish capable of controlling the minds of nations or of hidden lost worlds of primeval wonder and horror. I have been below, and I know better than to scoff. Count your blessings, uplander, since when night falls your sun is never more than a few hours away. Here, the night lasts forever, and the monsters never sleep.
—Koriah Azmeren Pathfinder Chronicles, Volume 4

Type

Underground / Subterranean

Related Reports (Primary)

• Session #85 69 - "All roads lead to the Darklands" Report