Apostae

Apostae

(Cosmos)

Titles

The Messenger

Type

Planetoid

Diameter

1/5

Mass

1/250

Gravity

1/10

Atmosphere

Normal or none

Year length (PST)

243

Day length (PST)

7 days

Orbits

Sun

System

Pact Worlds system

Inhabitants

Drow, Orc, Half-orc,
formerly Ilee

Images of Apostae

Source: Core Rulebook, pg(s). 458-459

More information about this subject might be available on PathfinderWiki.

Apostae is a small planetoid that orbits the sun of the Pact Worlds system, and has a highly ecliptic orbit, almost perpendicular to Absalom Station. It is generally believed that the planetoid originated somewhere beyond the system and was caught in the sun's gravity thousands of years before the Gap, but whether this was a natural occurrence or it was intentionally placed there is unknown.

Geography

An Apostaean cityscape.

Apostae is not an actual planet: it has no geological component, and its surface never changes without outside interference. The only major geographical features on Apostae are great cracks, craters with huge sidewalls and glassy bottoms, and towering slabs of rock torn from the surface. Hundreds of chasms criscross Apostae, the largest of which are thousands of miles long and 40 miles deep. These chasms are never mentioned in pre-Gap records, and archaeology points to them being only 8 to 12 centuries old. The drow believe that they are the result of a forgotten weapon test during the Gap; other theories point to this being evidence that Apostae is literally coming apart. Other theories posit that Apostae is an ancient generation ship or another kind of self-contained environment.

Apostae is a barren, airless world riddled with atmosphere-filled caverns and tunnels through to the planetoid's core. Many of these chambers are empty, but others hold ancient machines, permanently comatose alien forms, or vaults of advanced technology and weapons. The city's barren surface houses only one major settlement: the drow-controlled city of Nightarch. Nightarch is the only known point of entry into Apostae's interior, with several other entrances on the world's surface blocked by huge, locked, and indestructible doors. Most of Apostae's interior has never been explored, and certain chambers mentioned in pre-Gap records like the Chamber of Life  and Worldheart  have never been found.

History

The few research teams who explored Apostae before the Gap encountered a now-extinct race called the ilee that dwelled inside the world's tunnels. Strangely, nothing in the records suggests the ilee themselves had any knowledge of their origin, giving rise to theories that they may have degenerated over millennia between the stars or may have been a captive, servitor race that outlived their masters. No one knows what happened to kill off the ilee.

Since the end of the Gap, Apostae has been primarily in drow hands. How and why the drow arrived on Apostae is a mystery, but most believe they were led there by their demonic patrons shortly before Golarion's disappearance.

Apostae has been attacked several times post-Gap by the elves of Castrovel in an effort to "cleanse the corruption" of the drow. This resulted in the Pact Council imposing strict sanctions on the Castrovelians, but to little effect.

Inhabitants

In addition to the ruling drow, Apostae is home to various other races that originated on Golarion, includinge orcs, half-orcs, mongrelmen, and troglodytes. Despite centuries of effort to expand their holdings and increase their meager population, the drow only partially control the world's interior. Despite their lack of complete control of Apostae's interior, and their limited holdings on the surface to one major city, the drow still claim Apostae as their home world and became signatories to the Absalom Pact over the loud objection of the elves of Castrovel.

The majority of Apostae's surface is devoid of life, except for the rare few elementals. The interior of Apostae is home to numerous types of constructs, especially wandering berserkers and stoic guardians. Scout teams exploring the deeper parts of Apostae have also described vicious, crab-like carnivores before connection is lost, never to be seen again.

Government

Like the bone sages of Eox, Apostae's drow houses do not work together as a unified government and only come together to elect ambassadors according to the laws of the Absalom Pact. Other than this, each house acts independently, most operating as family-run corporations that deal in arms or other technology retro-engineered from what is discovered within the sub-surface tunnels and chambers of Apostae. The most powerful house is House Zeizerer, which controls Nightarch. Orc, half-orcs, and other races who live in drow settlements are second-class citizens at best, with no say in political matters, treated mostly as laborers or subterranean cannon-fodder by the drow.

Settlements

Nightarch is the largest city on Apostae's surface. A major spaceport, the city hosts bustling markets dealing with personal and starship weaponry, mercenary squads of orc and half-orc warriors, fleshwarping augmentations, and custom weapons designs. Visitors often come through the city to search for alien technology in the caverns below, either on official contract or by slipping through the drow's defenses. Visitors also come to study the eponymous arch at the city's center. The arch is similar to many others in the city that link it with most of the other Pact Worlds but is covered in strange markings that defy all efforts at analysis. The arch activates spontaneously at rare and random intervals creating a gate to unknown landscapes; so far none who have entered these portals has ever returned.

Economy

Apostae is the headquarters of Arabani Arms Ltd., a weapons trafficker controlled by the drow.

Religion

The drow of Apostae worship powerful demon lords, but other forms of worship can be found on the planetoid, the most common being those of Besmara,, the Devourer, Pharasma,, and Zon-Kuthon.