by Dave Gross
Abyss: Plane of evil and chaos inhabited by demons, where many evil souls go after they die.
Abyssal: Of or pertaining to the Abyss.
Acadamae: Notoriously effective and amoral school of magic in Korvosa.
Aiudara: Magical portals created long ago by the elves in order to help them step easily across vast distances. Sometimes referred to as "elf gates." Many have been lost to the ages.
Anaphexis: Deadly cult devoted to keeping secrets at all costs. For more information, see Prince of Wolves and Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear.
Aroden: God of humanity, who died mysteriously a hundred years ago, causing widespread chaos, particularly in Cheliax (which viewed him as its patron deity).
Asmodeus: Devil-god of tyranny, slavery, pride, and contracts; lord of Hell and current patron deity of Cheliax.
Avistan: Northern continent of the Inner Sea region, on which both Kyonin and Cheliax are located.
Azlant: The first human empire, which sank beneath the waves long ago.
Bleaching: Sickness suffered by gnomes who aren't regularly exposed to new experiences. Often fatal.
Bleachlings: Gnomes who succumb to the Bleaching but don't die, instead becoming strange, colorless versions of themselves. Shunned by most normal gnomes.
Brightness: An elven philosophy of personal self-perfection, the pursuit of which can take many routes.
Brimorak: Goat-headed demon with a burning sword and hooves.
Bugbear: Large, humanoid monster related to the goblin. Extremely violent and ill-tempered.
Calistria: Also known as the Savored Sting; the goddess of trickery, lust, and revenge.
Calistrian: Of or related to Calistria or her worshipers.
Century Root: Stump of a massive tree located in Kyonin, of much significance to the Fierani tree-people.
Chel: Derogatory term for a citizen of Cheliax.
Chelaxian: A citizen of Cheliax.
Cheliax: A devil-worshiping nation in southwestern Avistan.
Chelish: Of or relating to the nation of Cheliax.
City of Mists: Iadara.
Cleric: A religious spellcaster whose magical powers are granted by her god.
Demon Lord: A particularly powerful demon capable of granting magical powers to its followers. One of the rulers of the Abyss.
Demons: Evil denizens of the Abyss who seek only to maim, ruin, and feed.
Desna: Good-natured goddess of dreams, stars, travelers, and luck.
Devils: Fiendish occupants of Hell who seek to corrupt mortals in order to claim their souls.
Dragon Temple: Monastery in Quain where monks are trained to accompany the royal emissary to the Dragon Ceremony every twelve years. For more information, see Master of Devils and Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Dragon Empires Gazetteer.
Druid: A spellcaster who draws power from nature (sometimes called the Green Faith, or the Green).
Dryads: Fey women who bond with trees.
Duxotar: Commander of the city guard in Westcrown.
Dwarves: Short, stocky humanoids who excel at physical labor, mining, and craftsmanship.
Earthfall: Event which occurred thousands of years ago, in which a great meteorite called the Starstone fell to earth in a fiery cataclysm, sending up a dust cloud which blocked out the sun and ushered in an age of darkness.
Eel Street: Rough neighborhood in Egorian.
Egorian: The capital of Cheliax.
Elemental: Being of pure elemental energy, such as air, earth, fire, or water.
Elven: Of or pertaining to elves.
Elves: Race of long-lived and beautiful humanoids. Identifiable by their pointed ears, lithe bodies, and pupils so large their eyes appear to be one color.
Endless Cairn: An ever-expanding tower-mausoleum in Kyonin that's slowly sinking into a swamp.
Erages: Village in Kyonin populated entirely by half-elves.
Erithiel's Hall: Long, mysterious mound in Kyonin, believed by many to be the barrow of an ancient hero.
Familiar: Small creature that assists a wizard, witch, or sorcerer, often developing greater powers and intelligence than normal members of its kind.
Fey: Creatures deeply tied to the natural world, such as dryads or pixies. May also have ties to the First World.
Fiends: Creatures native to the evil planes of the multiverse, such as demons, devils, and daemons, among others.
Fierani (Creatures): Intelligent, mobile trees native to the Fierani Forest.
Fierani Forest: Ancient forest which occupies most of Kyonin's territory.
Final Blade: Guillotine used in Galt.
First World: The precursor to the Material Plane, from which fey and gnomes originated.
Forlorn: Elves raised in human society—so called because the difference between human and elven lifespans causes them to outlive generations of human friends and family.
Galt: A nation crippled by constant, violent democratic revolution. Fond of beheadings.
Garund: Southern continent of the Inner Sea region.
Gnomes: Small humanoids with strange mindsets, originally from the First World.
Goatherds: Small-time street gang in Egorian.
Goblins: Race of small and maniacal humanoids who live to burn, pillage, and sift through the refuse of more civilized races.
Goka: Port city on the western edge of Tian Xia, far to the east of the Inner Sea region.
Golarion: The planet on which the Pathfinder campaign setting focuses.
Green: Also called the Green Faith; the worship of nature from which druids draw their magical powers.
Greengold: Trading city in Kyonin; the only place in the elven nation where humans may travel freely.
Greensteeples: Ancestral manor of Varian Jeggare's family line.
Gremlins: Tiny fey known for their mischief and malice.
Half-Elves: The children of unions between elves and humans. Taller, longer-lived, and generally more graceful and attractive than the average human, yet not nearly so much so as their full elven kin.
Hell: Plane of evil and tyrannical order ruled by devils, where many evil souls go after they die.
Hellknights: Organization of hardened law enforcers whose tactics are often seen as harsh and intimidating, and who bind devils to their will. Based in Cheliax.
Hellspawn: Someone with fiendish blood, such as from ancestral interbreeding with devils or demons.
House of Thrune: Current ruling house of Cheliax, which took power following Aroden's death by making a compact with the devils of Hell.
Iadara: Illusion-shrouded capital of the elven nation of Kyonin.
Infernal: Of or related to Hell.
Infernal Compact: Common name for the treaty by which Cheliax joined forces with Hell in exchange for power.
Inheritor: Iomedae.
Inner Sea Region: The heart of the Pathfinder campaign setting, centered around the eponymous inland sea. Includes the continents of Avistan and Garund, as well as the seas and other nearby lands.
Iomedae: Goddess of valor, rulership, justice, and honor, who was a holy crusader in life before passing the Test of the Starstone in Absalom and attaining godhood.
Katapesh: Merchant nation southeast of Thuvia.
Ketephys: Elven god of the hunt.
Korvosa: Largest city in Varisia and outpost of former Chelish loyalists, now self-governed.
Kyonin: An elven forest-kingdom in eastern Avistan. The center of elven power in the Inner Sea region. Largely forbidden to non-elven travelers.
Lady Luck: Desna.
Lady of Graves: Pharasma.
Leucrottas: Predatory monsters with the body of a stag and a head like a badger's. Notorious for their cunning and perfect mimicry of humanoid voices.
Lich: A spellcaster who manages to extend his existence by magically transforming himself into a powerful undead creature.
Lord of the Blasted Tarn: Treerazer.
Mwangi: Of or pertaining to the hot, southern jungle
region known as the Mwangi Expanse; someone from that region.
Mwangi Expanse: A sweltering jungle region spanning a huge portion of the Inner Sea region's southern continent.
Ogres: Hulking and brutal humanoids with little intelligence and an enormous capacity for cruelty.
Omesta: Strange double city in Kyonin in which elves live on the ground, and gnomes live in a collection of tree houses in the forest canopy above.
Order of the Scourge: Hellknight order devoted to punishing lawbreakers and oathbreakers, based near Egorian.
Osirion: Desert kingdom ruled by pharaohs.
Paladin: A holy warrior in the service of a good and lawful god, granted special magical powers by his or her deity.
Pathfinder: A member of the Pathfinder Society.
Pathfinder Society: Organization of traveling scholars and adventurers who seek to document the world's wonders.
Pharasma: The goddess of death, birth, fate, and prophecy.
Prince of Law: Asmodeus.
Prince of Lies: Asmodeus.
Qadira: Desert nation on the eastern side of the Inner Sea.
Quain: Nation far to the east of the Inner Sea region, in Tian Xia.
Ranger: A swift and stealthy warrior uniquely suited to a particular terrain, often used for scouting and skirmishing.
Razmiran: Nation bordering Kyonin, ruled by a self-proclaimed living god.
Razmiri: Worshipers and subjects of Razmiran.
Retreat: One of many terms used for the elven exodus following Earthfall, during which the elves of Golarion avoided the Age of Darkness by using magical portals to travel to a mysterious refuge called Sovyrian, only to return millennia later.
Riffle Scroll: Magical scroll shaped like a flipbook, which is activated by flipping the pages rapidly.
River Kingdoms: A region of tiny, feuding fiefdoms and bandit strongholds, where borders change frequently.
Riverspire: Elven tower-city in southern Kyonin.
Saint Lymirin: Former priestess of Iomedae, now honored as a saint by the faithful; often depicted as an eagle-headed woman with wings.
Sargava: Former Chelish colony which successfully won its independence.
Sarini: Noble family of Cheliax, well known as jesters for the ruling House Thrune.
Satyrs: Male fey with horns and the legs of goats.
Savored Sting: Calistria.
Scroll: Magical document in which a spell is recorded so that it can be released when read, even if the reader doesn't know how to cast that spell.
Shelyn: Goddess of art, beauty, love, and music.
Shevaroth: City of Kyonin that was sacked by demons long ago.
Signifer: Hellknight spellcaster, who specializes in fighting with magic rather than physical weapons.
Sorcerer: Spellcaster who draws power from within, and does not need to study to cast spells.
Sovyrian: Mysterious realm to which the elves retreated after the catastrophe of Earthfall.
Sovyrian Stone: Powerful magical artifact which allowed the elves to leave and escape destruction after Earthfall, during the Age of Darkness.
Spellbook: Tome in which a wizard transcribes the arcane formulae necessary to cast spells. Without a spellbook, wizards can cast only those few spells held in their minds at any given time.
Starknife: A set of four tapering blades resembling compass points extending from a metal ring with a handle; the holy weapon of Desna.
Starstone: A magical stone that fell from the sky and was later raised from the ocean floor by the god Aroden. Has the power to turn mortals into gods.
Taldane: The common trade language of Golarion's Inner Sea region.
Taldor: Former empire in the Inner Sea region, now mostly fallen into decadence.
Tanglebriar: Southern section of the Fierani Forest in Kyonin, long since corrupted and held by the demon Treerazer and his minions.
Tender of Dreams: Desna.
Thassilon: Ancient empire once located in northwestern Avistan.
Thassilonian: Of or related to ancient Thassilon, as well as the name of its language.
Tian: Of or pertaining to Tian Xia.
Tian Xia: Continent on the opposite side of the world from the Inner Sea region.
Tien: The common language of Tian Xia.
Tines: Extremely rude gesture from Cheliax, implying that the viewer will be impaled on a spike.
Tobongo: Sentient tree people native to the Mwangi Expanse.
Treerazer: Powerful demon who came to Golarion long ago and inhabited the Fierani Forest during the elves' retreat after Earthfall. Though the elves returned and forced him back into the southern section called the Tanglebriar, he and his minions remain the biggest threat to the nation's safety.
Trick Alley: Neighborhood in Egorian known for prostitution.
Ustalav: Gothic nation bearing a reputation for strange beasts, ancient secrets, and moral decay.
Varisian: Of or relating to the region of the frontier region of Varisia, or a resident of that region. Ethnic Varisians tend to organize in clans and wander in caravans, acting as tinkers or performers.
Venture-Captain: A rank in the Pathfinder Society above that of a standard field agent.
Vermleks: Worm-demons that inhabit corpses and move them around like puppets.
Viridian Crown: Symbol of office for the ruler of Kyonin.
Walking Man: Ancient artifact in the shape of a giant topiary man, which takes one step each year toward Erages.
Wandering Spheres: Artifact in Kyonin believed to be a broken orrery, though of an unknown solar system.
Westcrown: Former capital of Cheliax, now overrun with shadow beasts and despair.
Will-o'-Wisps: Tiny, glowing creatures which appear as bright spots of floating light and feed on fear.
Witchbole: Twisted tree-fortress of the demon Treerazer.
Wizard: Someone who casts magical spells through research of arcane secrets and the constant study of spells, which he or she records in a spellbook.