Garundi
Empire-builders and scholars, gracious companions and fearsome warriors, traditionalists and innovators, the Garundi are members of a rich, complex culture that can seem self-contradictory to outsiders. Most visitors to Garundi cities find the citizens well traveled, quick to laugh, slow to forget, informed about both history and current politics, and avid students and teachers. Optimism balanced with ambition drives Garundi toward the future rather than letting them dwell in the past. Contemporary with the Azlanti, the Garundi were the first to build new kingdoms and empires in the wake of Earthfall, creating some of Golarion’s most powerful and enduring magical empires, including Shory, Osirion, Jistka, Geb, and Nex, reaping both glory and horror from the unforgiving desert sands.
As a people, the Garundi are deeply restless and eager to broaden their horizons. Many Garundi seek to leave their settled lives behind at some point to find greener fields or new opportunities, traveling the world alone or as part of a caravan. For them, while life might be blessed or terrible at any given moment, the shade is always moving, and the wise traveler moves with it.
Traditional Garundi clothing reflects a people accustomed to traveling under a relentless sun, covering the wearer’s body and head in billowing, lightweight layers of robes, skirts, shawls, and wraps. Veils are common, especially among travelers, and Garundi traders import a variety of dyes and fabrics, allowing their clothing to stand out in a riot of colors, patterns, and regional fashions gathered from all corners of the world. Individual travelers incorporate elements of the foreign cultures they visit into their personal styles, and a canny enough observer can often reconstruct a Garundi’s travels from her dress.
Though each nation, city-state, village, and community defines status differently, a Garundi’s position with his people is usually based on his knowledge, wisdom, and expertise. Authors, professors, scholars, and wizards are highly respected and frequently serve in a community’s governing body or as advisors to its leader, while those whose circumstances leave them without the time to travel or pursue their areas of interest are pitied regardless of whatever material wealth they possess. Even the poorest and most overworked Garundi try to find a little time to learn and better themselves, knowing that even if the world’s doors are closed to them, the gates of the mind are always open and welcoming for any who would enter.
Garundi view hospitality as a nearly sacred obligation, since many have known lean times and relied on their neighbors, just as their neighbors have relied on them. Guests can expect not only food and shelter, but also whatever knowledge their hosts can offer, whether that takes the form of a tour of the host’s home city, advice on how to navigate the community, or introductions to local experts. The importance of group meals is inviolate, and even old enemies set aside their differences when eating together; the thought of spilled blood or poisoned food at the dinner table is anathema.
Millennia of scholarship have stuffed the libraries of northern Garund to the rafters. To further augment their collections, some such libraries station representatives at city gates and in markets to seek out travelers with previously unknown texts they can purchase or copy. While some Garundi—generally those who intend to make a career of teaching or research—set aside a portion of their life to devote completely to study, most pursue training, attend public debates and lectures, or study with a mentor off and on throughout their lives. A Garundi laborer might eat lunch in a park while listening to a renowned professor discuss his latest work, and friends might cheerfully argue about the latest monograph by one of their city’s scholars along with the rest of the day’s news as they gather for afternoon coffee or dinner. Many Garundi learn to read early in childhood, and balance the study of mathematics, poetry, and history with household chores and play. The Garundi also highly value apprenticeships, exchange programs with distant universities, and experience gained through travel, which affords one the chance to acquire firsthand knowledge of topics ranging from languages to local combat techniques to healing and medicines, as well as access to a wider pool of potential instructors.
Garundi empires are built—at least initially—around intellectual, scientific, economic, and magical superiority attained through such pursuit of knowledge. Time and again throughout history, the sound infrastructure, ideological freedom, and ample resources of Garundi nations have attracted immigrants and client states in droves, and eventually the Jistka Imperium, Osirion, Geb, Nex, and others simply flexed their economic or military might to officially consolidate lands already under their sway.
With territories abutting Mwangi lands and shared with Keleshites, the Garundi alternately intermingle with and fight these neighbors. These groups make up the largest outside influences on Garundi culture; Mwangi and Keleshite elements can invariably be found in Garundi fashion, jewelry, slang, cooking, art, and scholarship.
Among nonhumans, the Garundi associate most closely with the Pahmet dwarves native to Osirion, benefitting greatly from the dwarves’ knowledge regarding architecture, nature, and the divine. Many of the great Garundi empires were built on the backs of halflings, who sometimes served an underclass and were at other times simply enslaved. Though both cultures value adaptability and personal betterment, this forced subjugation has caused relationships between Garundi and the halflings of northern Garund to remain strained to this day. Some gnolls who share territory with the Garundi frequently attack lightly defended nomadic Garundi clans and caravans to capture Garundi as slaves, but occasionally muster to attack cities as well.
People from many of Avistan’s more reserved cultures may view the genial Garundi as insincere, or else mistake their warmth as a sign of greater closeness or trust than the Garundi intend to convey, but most come to appreciate the wealth of knowledge and expertise with which a Garundi acquaintance gifts his companions. Garundi tutors, scholars, and professors are in high demand throughout Avistan.
The Garundi also adventure to push the limits of their abilities. They excel in roles that emphasize study and precision, and particularly shine in the domain of arcane magic. Some of the Inner Sea’s greatest alchemists, arcanists, wizards, and other specialists hail from the schools in Quantium and Sothis. Martially oriented Garundi often draw on their communal upbringing to master teamwork and fighting in small units, and might be called on to defend far-flung branches of their clans. Regardless of their vocations, many Garundi feel testing their skills against unpredictable challenges is the surest way to mastery.
As a people, the Garundi are deeply restless and eager to broaden their horizons. Many Garundi seek to leave their settled lives behind at some point to find greener fields or new opportunities, traveling the world alone or as part of a caravan. For them, while life might be blessed or terrible at any given moment, the shade is always moving, and the wise traveler moves with it.
Appearance
The average height for Garundi is several inches taller than the average for humans overall, but their large expressive eyes, high cheekbones, and mouths that tend to turn up at the corners soften their imposing broad-shouldered physiques. Their skin tones occupy a spectrum ranging from tawny to dark russet. Freckles and birthmarks are both common and admired; those without such natural ornamentation sometimes add facial tattoos instead. Garundi hair is usually dark brown or black, though lighter shades of brown are not uncommon. They often go grey early. The hairstyles of both men and women range widely; hair may be cropped short, left long, or worn in braids or locks. Many Garundi are fond of entwining brightly colored thread or ribbon into their locks, adding scattered beads or jewels, and using thread or wire to partially wrap sections of hair and set them off from the rest.Traditional Garundi clothing reflects a people accustomed to traveling under a relentless sun, covering the wearer’s body and head in billowing, lightweight layers of robes, skirts, shawls, and wraps. Veils are common, especially among travelers, and Garundi traders import a variety of dyes and fabrics, allowing their clothing to stand out in a riot of colors, patterns, and regional fashions gathered from all corners of the world. Individual travelers incorporate elements of the foreign cultures they visit into their personal styles, and a canny enough observer can often reconstruct a Garundi’s travels from her dress.
Naming
Garundi masculine names include Annaber, Himmi, and Tabat; feminine names include Ghida, Leysa, and Tiziri; and gender-neutral names include Hannan, Kadin, and Maimun.Society
Garundi culture blossomed from an unforgiving landscape in which an entire community might be wiped out by wind, drought, or floods without warning, leaving people with nothing but one another on which to rely. This forged a determined population, capable of bouncing back from adversity and making the best of new situations. Each community takes responsibility for all its members, and each member feels deep bonds with the other members of her community. While often savvy traders, even wealthy Garundi tend to speak of their wealth in terms of knowledge and experience rather than material goods. Time or bad fortune might steal gold and wear away silk, but knowledge is an investment that only grows, even during war and drought. Garundi seek to understand the past and learn its lessons, but strive not to be bound by it. This attitude extends to mourning, during which a person’s experiences are celebrated and his possessions distributed among family and friends. The congenial Garundi make friends easily, holding that wealth— especially knowledge—is best displayed by sharing it with others.Though each nation, city-state, village, and community defines status differently, a Garundi’s position with his people is usually based on his knowledge, wisdom, and expertise. Authors, professors, scholars, and wizards are highly respected and frequently serve in a community’s governing body or as advisors to its leader, while those whose circumstances leave them without the time to travel or pursue their areas of interest are pitied regardless of whatever material wealth they possess. Even the poorest and most overworked Garundi try to find a little time to learn and better themselves, knowing that even if the world’s doors are closed to them, the gates of the mind are always open and welcoming for any who would enter.
Garundi view hospitality as a nearly sacred obligation, since many have known lean times and relied on their neighbors, just as their neighbors have relied on them. Guests can expect not only food and shelter, but also whatever knowledge their hosts can offer, whether that takes the form of a tour of the host’s home city, advice on how to navigate the community, or introductions to local experts. The importance of group meals is inviolate, and even old enemies set aside their differences when eating together; the thought of spilled blood or poisoned food at the dinner table is anathema.
Faith
Nethys, as both god of magic and a Garundi who achieved divinity, is the most widely worshiped Garundi deity, followed closely by Pharasma, whose faith drives Garundi beliefs about death. Garund’s extreme climates and dramatic natural features—including its vast northern deserts, bleak mountain ranges, and the edge of the Eye of Abendego—put Garundi at the mercy of nature’s whims, impelling many to pray to Gozreh. Keleshite traders and the Keleshite conquest of Osirion spread the worship of Sarenrae, and worship of the ancient Osirian pantheon still survives in Osirion and its neighbors. Garundi living in remote areas might worship tribal deities. Cults of Urgathoa and various empyreal lords, demon lords, and other outsiders are present, though rare, in major cities. Religion is banned entirely from the nation of Rahadoum, though faithful inhabitants still worship in secret.Culture
Though Garundi see the past as prologue and the future as an unburdened blank page, their culture resonates with 10,000 years of history. They have forgotten more than most cultures have had time to learn, and have so influenced the sum of mortal magical knowledge that only a very few modern wizards cast spells without the stamp of Garundi magical discoveries. For such an ancient and widespread people, few elements as simple as food or mode of dress hold true across the entire population. Yet Garundi culture’s core values—the importance of learning, magic, and family—remain constant.Seeking New Horizons
Scholarship is a primary path to prestige in Garundi society, though the Garundi respect for expertise extends even to areas of knowledge seen as low-status in other cultures. In many cultures, the populace is divided between those who have attended institutions of higher learning and those who have not; for Garundi, such distinctions are less clear-cut—particularly for urban Garundi, who are well connected to the outside world and surrounded by opportunities for education. And even Garundi who lack the good fortune to pour themselves into scholarship or travel the world are likely to broaden their horizons by hiring on with caravans, finding mentors to tutor them, or attending public debates on matters of civic interest.Millennia of scholarship have stuffed the libraries of northern Garund to the rafters. To further augment their collections, some such libraries station representatives at city gates and in markets to seek out travelers with previously unknown texts they can purchase or copy. While some Garundi—generally those who intend to make a career of teaching or research—set aside a portion of their life to devote completely to study, most pursue training, attend public debates and lectures, or study with a mentor off and on throughout their lives. A Garundi laborer might eat lunch in a park while listening to a renowned professor discuss his latest work, and friends might cheerfully argue about the latest monograph by one of their city’s scholars along with the rest of the day’s news as they gather for afternoon coffee or dinner. Many Garundi learn to read early in childhood, and balance the study of mathematics, poetry, and history with household chores and play. The Garundi also highly value apprenticeships, exchange programs with distant universities, and experience gained through travel, which affords one the chance to acquire firsthand knowledge of topics ranging from languages to local combat techniques to healing and medicines, as well as access to a wider pool of potential instructors.
Garundi empires are built—at least initially—around intellectual, scientific, economic, and magical superiority attained through such pursuit of knowledge. Time and again throughout history, the sound infrastructure, ideological freedom, and ample resources of Garundi nations have attracted immigrants and client states in droves, and eventually the Jistka Imperium, Osirion, Geb, Nex, and others simply flexed their economic or military might to officially consolidate lands already under their sway.
High Magic
Arcane magic suffuses Garundi lives, building cities, taming storms, conjuring otherworldly creatures, and transforming enemy armies to stone. The Garundi approach magic as a rigorous and testable science—not some vague and mysterious force—and build upon the work of previous generations while always keeping an eye toward innovation and discovery. The learning and organization that backs Garundi empires naturally gives rise to arcane expertise, and many of Golarion’s greatest magical empires stand and fall on their arcane might.Clans
Clans make up the basic units of Garundi culture; more than an extended family, a clan may consist of a dozen of more bloodlines sharing a history, pooling resources, intermarrying, and coming together during crises. In the deserts, clans wander as nomadic tribes, surviving by hunting and trading. In cities, clans most often represent neighborhoods or fill the roles of professional guilds, but they can also be based on areas of study, or the teaching lineages of specific mentors. The primacy Garundi give learning often leads them to define clan and family in ways that might be baffling to outsiders, using terms that describe different degrees of blood kinship to indicate emotional closeness or other ties, including those related to learning and fields of study. A Garundi scholar may refer to others who attended her academy as cousins, and to fellow proteges of her mentor as siblings, for these groupings represent family units that to that Garundi are as closely binding as blood ties. Teachers are seen as parental figures—and given the harshness of the desert environment in Garund, those who teach the young in nomadic clans or small villages may well end up as caretakers for orphaned students.Relations
As a well-traveled and ancient people, the Garundi have friends—and enemies—in every nation of the Inner Sea region. But while individual travelers may be warm, good-natured, and gregarious, Garundi nations have a certain disregard for younger cultures and are slow to tie themselves politically or economically to such neophytes. Most modern Garundi hate to throw away resources on blood feuds and protracted wars, seeing armed conflict as a natural disaster as unpredictable, unwelcome, and unavoidable as a flood or a famine. At the same time, when a nomadic Garundi clan finds a place to settle, they aggressively build up and defend their new home, and those who wish to join them must prove their worth.With territories abutting Mwangi lands and shared with Keleshites, the Garundi alternately intermingle with and fight these neighbors. These groups make up the largest outside influences on Garundi culture; Mwangi and Keleshite elements can invariably be found in Garundi fashion, jewelry, slang, cooking, art, and scholarship.
Among nonhumans, the Garundi associate most closely with the Pahmet dwarves native to Osirion, benefitting greatly from the dwarves’ knowledge regarding architecture, nature, and the divine. Many of the great Garundi empires were built on the backs of halflings, who sometimes served an underclass and were at other times simply enslaved. Though both cultures value adaptability and personal betterment, this forced subjugation has caused relationships between Garundi and the halflings of northern Garund to remain strained to this day. Some gnolls who share territory with the Garundi frequently attack lightly defended nomadic Garundi clans and caravans to capture Garundi as slaves, but occasionally muster to attack cities as well.
People from many of Avistan’s more reserved cultures may view the genial Garundi as insincere, or else mistake their warmth as a sign of greater closeness or trust than the Garundi intend to convey, but most come to appreciate the wealth of knowledge and expertise with which a Garundi acquaintance gifts his companions. Garundi tutors, scholars, and professors are in high demand throughout Avistan.
Adventurers
Between their wanderlust, clan structure, and ability to make fast friends, Garundi fall easily into the adventuring lifestyle. While they may boast to companions that they’re motivated more by the drive to broaden their horizons than the desire for riches, few are averse to profiting from their exploits, and Garundi adventurers are quick to point out that wealth provides greater freedom to learn and explore.The Garundi also adventure to push the limits of their abilities. They excel in roles that emphasize study and precision, and particularly shine in the domain of arcane magic. Some of the Inner Sea’s greatest alchemists, arcanists, wizards, and other specialists hail from the schools in Quantium and Sothis. Martially oriented Garundi often draw on their communal upbringing to master teamwork and fighting in small units, and might be called on to defend far-flung branches of their clans. Regardless of their vocations, many Garundi feel testing their skills against unpredictable challenges is the surest way to mastery.
Where on Golarion?
Wanderlust, curiosity, and extensive trade routes make the Garundi one of the most far-ranging peoples on Golarion, and even noble families of northern Avistan may trace their bloodlines back to the desert sands. The Garundi largely populate northern and eastern Garund, making up the majority in every nation there save Katapesh. In Thuvia, they have heavily intermarried with the Mauxi subgroup of the Mwangi. They also make up a healthy minority in Absalom, Jalmeray, Katapesh, and the Shackles. Perhaps most famously, the Garundi people founded Osirion, land of the pharaohs and the oldest surviving human nation along the Inner Sea. Despite several centuries of rule by the Keleshites, the Garundi people of Osirion adapted well to the influx of foreigners, and have since regained control of the nation.Though the Garundi have dwelled in northern Garund since before the Age of Darkness, no evidence links ancient Garundi bloodlines to the Azlanti people who once controlled the Arcadian Ocean. Similarly, while most scholars believe that the Garundi originally migrated north from southern Garund, not even the oldest Garundi nations have records detailing when this expansion took place or precisely which southern Garundi group the northern Garundi originally stemmed from.
While Garundi remain most common in the lands around the Inner Sea, their explorers and traders can be found in nearly any foreign court. Distant Vudra has seen many emissaries in both political and commercial capacities, facilitated by Nex’s gift of the island of Jalmeray. Garundi caravans have long traversed overland routes through the Padishah Empire of Kelesh to Kaladay and far Tian Xia, and there are even rumors of expeditions to Arcadia.
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Playing a Garundi
Builders of empires and keepers of ancient arcane traditions, Garundi make gracious hosts and gregarious neighbors. Their communities can be found throughout the Inner Sea region.If you’re Garundi, you likely:
- Enjoy the comforts of urban life and easy access to renowned places of learning.
- Have studied under a mentor in a chain of scholastic traditions stretching back for centuries.
- Do not consider the process of education a finite one, instead seeing it as a lifelong pursuit.
- Take pride in your people’s history of building empires, the mark they have left on the Inner Sea region, and the influence they continue to wield in the present.
- Consider long-time colleagues and companions to be as much your kin as are your blood relatives.
- Assume most non-Garundi want to take advantage of your people’s discoveries, though you doubt they would actually be able to understand them.
- Believe you live in a pyramid, in the desert wastes, or among ancient monuments to long-dead rulers.
- See your people as never satisfied with the land or the magical accomplishments they control.
- Expect you to be an expert on magic, history, urban planning, and the mysteries of the desert.
- Believe you have seen a mummy, answered a sphinx’s riddle, or know someone who drank the sun orchid elixir.
- Assume you worship Pharasma, Nethys, or some obscure Osirian deity.
- View you as either a dusty scholar, a deep desert explorer, or a practitioner of powerful (and probably dangerous) magic.
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