Cheliax
For over half a millennium, Imperial Cheliax was the dominant power across Avistan. When King Aspex the Even-Tongued broke Cheliax away from Taldor, annexed Andoran, and conquered Isger and Galt, he began a centuries-long era of glory that saw Chelish influence—political, cultural, and military—spread across the continent. Bolstered by the favor of Aroden, patron god of humanity, the empire ascended to become a jewel of human civilization, an honor it held unchallenged for centuries. Cheliax’s golden age ended with Aroden’s death. In the turmoil that followed, the diabolist House Thrune made an infernal pact with the powers of Hell, the terms of which remain shrouded in deep secrecy. The result of that grand bargain, however, still reverberates across the world. Allied with Asmodeus’s legions of fiends, Queen Abrogail I seized power, beginning a dynasty that has held the Chelish throne for nearly a century.
Today, Cheliax is a proud but diminished empire, renowned for its wine, opera, and glorious architecture, but also for the devils in its streets and the cruelty of its laws. Under Thrune rule, the poor are viciously oppressed, crimes are punished by agonizing public excruciations and executions, and slavery is both commonplace and harshly practiced, with none of the legal protections that existed in Aroden’s day. The Church of Asmodeus is the state religion, and other faiths are permitted only by House Thrune’s sufferance.
Yet Cheliax is also a realm of high refinement, stunning and sophisticated art, and undeniable grandeur in both public and private spaces. The polished elegance of Egorian, the bustling naval yards of Ostenso, and the aging magnificence of Westcrown—even with the damage from that city’s recent rebellion only partially repaired—are among the wonders of human civilization. The empire’s opera halls, palaces, and cathedrals are unrivaled in their splendor, even if the Asmodean cathedrals’ resplendence bears a decidedly sinister cast. Cheliax’s citizens tend to be ambitious, educated, and formidably intelligent; they deal with devils as equals or even treat the infernal as their lessers, never approaching the powers of Hell as abject supplicants.
Not all of the empire’s citizens are fond of fiends, though outsiders sometimes assume otherwise. The various orders of Hellknights model themselves after Hell’s ruthless discipline and unyielding law, but they do not venerate devils and, indeed, require recruits (known as armigers) to win knighthood by slaying a devil in single combat. Additionally, Iomedae, the chivalrous goddess of crusaders, was born in Cheliax, and the Inheritor’s righteous faith remains strong there, despite recent events exacerbating the long-standing strain between Iomedae’s church and that of Asmodeus.
Moreover, because Chelish culture values brilliance in nearly any pursuit, and because its nobles are perpetually striving for advancement against one another, it thinks itself more meritocratic than many societies on Golarion. Low-born but talented individuals can always find patrons willing to advance their careers in exchange for profits or reflected glory and can often marry or bribe their way into titles of their own in time. The Hellknights, too, offer ready advancement for those who prove themselves in service. However, Cheliax is also merciless in enforcing the downside of its “meritocracy”: those unlucky enough to lack the qualities it values are treated as completely worthless, undeserving of even basic dignity. Furthermore, this supposed meritocracy applies only to humans. Halflings, hellspawn, and the winged strix are shut out from opportunity altogether. Chelish halflings are almost all either servants or slaves, and they are treated with peremptory disdain. Hellspawn, who are descendants of humans with fiendish blood, are held in even lower regard, for they are seen as the fruits of an abhorrent lapse in selfcontrol while dealing with fiends. The seldom-seen strix—enigmatic, black-winged humanoids—are commonly considered brutes, barely even capable of language.
These and other contradictions in its nature make Cheliax one of the most complicated of the world’s nations. Those contradictions have only sharpened over the past decade, which has not been kind to the infernal empire. Though still mighty, Cheliax has suffered a number of stinging setbacks. It lost a major armada in the Shackles, a significant blow to Chelish naval power that put an end, at least temporarily, to Cheliax’s hopes of expanding into the Mwangi Expanse. Next, a violent rebellion calling itself the Glorious Reclamation erupted in Westcrown, causing widespread social unrest before Queen Abrogail’s forces were able to crush the rebels and restore order. While Iomedae’s faith has not been outlawed in Cheliax following the Glorious Reclamation’s defeat, it is watched much more closely, and its adherents have learned not to criticize the queen in even the mildest of terms. Simultaneously with the Glorious Reclamation, a second rebellion broke out in the Archduchy of Ravounel, which declared itself an independent nation—a bitter pill that House Thrune was forced to swallow lest it suffer truly unacceptable consequences.
All these blows have pushed Cheliax into a position more precarious than it has occupied since the first days of the Thrune Ascendancy. The empire’s enemies, most notably Andoran, circle eagerly around it, waiting for a chance to pounce. They may find, however, that Cheliax remains a wily and dangerous adversary, and its weakness may be deliberately exaggerated as a ploy to draw in the foolish.
Today, Cheliax is a proud but diminished empire, renowned for its wine, opera, and glorious architecture, but also for the devils in its streets and the cruelty of its laws. Under Thrune rule, the poor are viciously oppressed, crimes are punished by agonizing public excruciations and executions, and slavery is both commonplace and harshly practiced, with none of the legal protections that existed in Aroden’s day. The Church of Asmodeus is the state religion, and other faiths are permitted only by House Thrune’s sufferance.
Yet Cheliax is also a realm of high refinement, stunning and sophisticated art, and undeniable grandeur in both public and private spaces. The polished elegance of Egorian, the bustling naval yards of Ostenso, and the aging magnificence of Westcrown—even with the damage from that city’s recent rebellion only partially repaired—are among the wonders of human civilization. The empire’s opera halls, palaces, and cathedrals are unrivaled in their splendor, even if the Asmodean cathedrals’ resplendence bears a decidedly sinister cast. Cheliax’s citizens tend to be ambitious, educated, and formidably intelligent; they deal with devils as equals or even treat the infernal as their lessers, never approaching the powers of Hell as abject supplicants.
Not all of the empire’s citizens are fond of fiends, though outsiders sometimes assume otherwise. The various orders of Hellknights model themselves after Hell’s ruthless discipline and unyielding law, but they do not venerate devils and, indeed, require recruits (known as armigers) to win knighthood by slaying a devil in single combat. Additionally, Iomedae, the chivalrous goddess of crusaders, was born in Cheliax, and the Inheritor’s righteous faith remains strong there, despite recent events exacerbating the long-standing strain between Iomedae’s church and that of Asmodeus.
Moreover, because Chelish culture values brilliance in nearly any pursuit, and because its nobles are perpetually striving for advancement against one another, it thinks itself more meritocratic than many societies on Golarion. Low-born but talented individuals can always find patrons willing to advance their careers in exchange for profits or reflected glory and can often marry or bribe their way into titles of their own in time. The Hellknights, too, offer ready advancement for those who prove themselves in service. However, Cheliax is also merciless in enforcing the downside of its “meritocracy”: those unlucky enough to lack the qualities it values are treated as completely worthless, undeserving of even basic dignity. Furthermore, this supposed meritocracy applies only to humans. Halflings, hellspawn, and the winged strix are shut out from opportunity altogether. Chelish halflings are almost all either servants or slaves, and they are treated with peremptory disdain. Hellspawn, who are descendants of humans with fiendish blood, are held in even lower regard, for they are seen as the fruits of an abhorrent lapse in selfcontrol while dealing with fiends. The seldom-seen strix—enigmatic, black-winged humanoids—are commonly considered brutes, barely even capable of language.
These and other contradictions in its nature make Cheliax one of the most complicated of the world’s nations. Those contradictions have only sharpened over the past decade, which has not been kind to the infernal empire. Though still mighty, Cheliax has suffered a number of stinging setbacks. It lost a major armada in the Shackles, a significant blow to Chelish naval power that put an end, at least temporarily, to Cheliax’s hopes of expanding into the Mwangi Expanse. Next, a violent rebellion calling itself the Glorious Reclamation erupted in Westcrown, causing widespread social unrest before Queen Abrogail’s forces were able to crush the rebels and restore order. While Iomedae’s faith has not been outlawed in Cheliax following the Glorious Reclamation’s defeat, it is watched much more closely, and its adherents have learned not to criticize the queen in even the mildest of terms. Simultaneously with the Glorious Reclamation, a second rebellion broke out in the Archduchy of Ravounel, which declared itself an independent nation—a bitter pill that House Thrune was forced to swallow lest it suffer truly unacceptable consequences.
All these blows have pushed Cheliax into a position more precarious than it has occupied since the first days of the Thrune Ascendancy. The empire’s enemies, most notably Andoran, circle eagerly around it, waiting for a chance to pounce. They may find, however, that Cheliax remains a wily and dangerous adversary, and its weakness may be deliberately exaggerated as a ploy to draw in the foolish.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Chelaxian
Leader
Leader Title
Founders
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Related Ethnicities
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