Any of the following Ancestries are appropriate for this campaign - other canon Ancestries are still be fine, following the typical guidelines (Common and Uncommon is okay, please ask about Rare). The Ancestries (and Rarities) listed below, reflect the deeper connection that some Ancestries have to the Expanse, but the Magaambya is known of across Golarion, so people of any ancestry may seek out membership and tutelage at the esteemed academy.
Common Ancestries
Dwarves are somewhat less common, and the two major dwarven societies hold a unique reverence for dragons.
To an outsider, catfolk might look like panthers distorted by some trick of the light. Others tend to conflate them with hermetic jungle druids or werecreatures, isolating themselves far from civilization. To those of the Expanse, the sight of bipedal pantherlike people moving through the thick foliage is one of the gravest omens of death that can be observed. This results from the area around the Southern Garundi city-state of Murraseth being a fertile breeding ground for poisonous and venomous fauna and flora, such as mambas and moonlighter nettles, as well as home to dangerous natural terrains and traps. The natural dangers of their homeland mean many catfolk—also known as amurruns—focus on traveling safely while doing as little harm as possible or tending to those who have injured themselves in the undergrowth. If these wandering catfolk find others in need of aid, they usually offer to help. Still, rumors persist.
Though these catfolk treat Murraseth as the center of their civilization, many travel to satiate their curiosity. Some venture in secret to purchase supplies from trading outposts or settlements that ask few questions or hire lizardfolk guides on the behalf of adventurers stranded in Southern Garund. Murraseth catfolk are quick to emulate catfolk from other parts of Golarion to avoid any stigmas they might face from Mwangi natives.
Elves make up a sizable chunk of the population as well, most of them descended from the Mualijae elves who remained on Golarion rather than retreating to their ancestral home of Sovyrian in the wake of Earthfall.
Mwangi gnolls, known to themselves as “kholo,” are eminently practical and pragmatic hunters and raiders. To gnolls, honor is just another word for pointless risk. Any loss of a gnoll affects not just the individual, but their packmates and kin as well. Wasting time on anything but victory, whether it’s mercy or cruelty, is seen as little shy of immoral. Gnolls see effectiveness as a cardinal virtue and believe that the best fight is one that never gives the opponent a chance to strike back. Mwangi gnolls are masters of ambushes, tactical feints, and psychological warfare—none of which endears them to their neighbors.
Equally misunderstood is the gnoll practice of ancestor worship and endocannibalism. Gnolls consume their dead as a sign of reverence, holding a grand feast and transforming the bones of the fallen into art or weapons. Gnolls extend this honor to respected foes, hoping to bring their enemy’s cunning or strength into the clan. While it’s a sign of admiration, not everyone sees it that way.
Reclusive and canny, gripplis are treetop survivalists who harvest their homes’ bounty and defend themselves against terrible threats. Their reliance on cunning and simple tools has led to gripplis being mischaracterized as primitive, yet this overlooks their shaping of the land with hidden orchards and camouflaged causeways that allow gripplis to live in prosperous peace. Gripplis are most likely to emerge from their forest homes to trade, explore, and combat threats that would despoil the world.
Halflings dwell mostly in the shadows of human societies, often going unnoticed by taller peoples. One notable population is the Song’o, whose reclusive communities disavow adventure but won’t hesitate with self-defense.
Like nearly every corner of the world, humans are the most common ancestry in the Mwangi Expanse. While civilizations, such as the Shory Empire, have risen and fallen over the ages, many human cultures in the Expanse date back eons, leading to an incredible wealth of knowledge passed on over time.
The kobolds of the Mwangi Expanse seem separated into two groups: those much like other kobolds found around Golarion, who are cowardly and reclusive; and those who boldly strike out into the jungle, bluntly offering tracking skills and blades to adventurers whenever and wherever possible. This second group are the most likely to be encountered in the region, as they hover near taverns in most cities and major outposts that tolerate them. They often butt heads with the iruxis plying the same trade, undercutting the lizardfolk to make as much as gold and treasure possible. That income is then traded in cities and hustled back to their tribes settled at home. In areas where it is sometimes hard to get necessary food and supplies, the work of these kobolds is essential to the survival of all.
Settled Mwangi kobolds tend to build within the boughs of large trees when possible, organizing themselves and their stores expertly to stay as far from predators as possible. Even with these precautions, they are sometimes captured by more powerful beings and forced into service—their knowledge of alchemy exploited to nefarious ends.
The lizardfolk of the Mwangi Expanse are far less insular than lizardfolk (also known as iruxis) elsewhere. Many Mwangi iruxis utilize their skills as rangers and fighters to serve as mercenaries on the behalf of the nations that once encroached on their territories. Others work as merchants who open and manage trade hubs and waystations across the Expanse—always staffed in groups of three and with extremely strict terms on fair trade. Crossing an iruxi trader is ill-advised; betraying an iruxi mercenary even more so. Due to the potential competition and market share as guides, iruxi and Mwangi kobolds often clash. Kobolds often undercut the prices of iruxis and are willing to work for almost anyone. Iruxi rarely negotiate with adventurers who consider hiring kobolds, citing their capriciousness and potential untrustworthiness.
While the Terwa Lords are the only established lizardfolk nation in the Sodden Lands and wider Mwangi Expanse, all major lizardfolk nations and several smaller congregations can be found represented in the Sodden Lands. Though the reason behind this has never been made clear, many speculate that the Sodden Lands act as the seat of a lizardfolk council.
Orcs across the Expanse have a reputation as heroic demon hunters, and they and their half-orc kin are treated with the highest respect by most Mwangi societies. Foreigners who treat orcs with aggression will likely find themselves shunned or outright exiled.
Half-Elf and Half-Orc are both Versatile Heritages, meaning that they replace your default Heritage - typically the "other" half is human, but this is a common trend, not a requirement.
Uncommon Ancestries
Gnomes do live in the Expanse, but in small numbers, and they have no specific enclaves they can point to as a stronghold within the region.
Goblin populations barely exist outside of the coast—pirate goblins, who are usually monkey goblins, are the most common. As a result, Mwangi peoples more often view goblins they encounter with curiosity rather than prejudice.
Some believe that leshys are the will of the Expanse made manifest, tapping into ancient power to defend their source. It’s more likely that leshys are descendants of vessels once filled by particularly powerful spirits, generations removed and now fully self-perpetuating. How remains a mystery, and leshys themselves haven’t been forthcoming with more information.
Depending on their location, leshys might make their homes in the boughs of the trees, tucked into the gnarled roots, or nestled within the undergrowth. No matter what, they are nearly invisible to all but those with highly trained eyes. Though they never seek trouble out, leshys can usually be counted on to aid those in need of help in the jungle—though Mwangi leshys are far flightier than most and are just as like to simply watch and see if someone can handle themselves.
Versatile Heritages are also appropriate, especially the Planar Scions (Aasimar, Duskwalker, and Tiefling) and Geniekin (Ifrit, Oread, Suli, Sylph, and Undine)
Rare Ancestries
As a communal and peaceful people, anadi ancestors endeavored to establish trade with the neighbors of their homeland. However, these anadi soon learned that most others found their appearance to be extremely objectionable. Wishing to avoid conflict, ancient anadi retreated into isolation until they could find a solution. The answer came when their greatest scholars innovated a fusion of transmutation and illusion magic that allowed them to assume a humanoid form. The technique was developed, perfected, and eventually taught to the overwhelming majority of anadi.
Early efforts with their new approach to diplomacy have yielded much better results, though sporadic contact means that some outsiders whisper false legends about anadi, such as claims that they are humans who transform into monstrous spiders at moonrise. Even contemporary explorers have reported anadi as humanspider hybrids. The anadi people of the current day strive to slowly but surely create a world where they no longer need to hide their true nature.
Conrasus aren’t entirely clear on their own origins. Some historians think them a failed experiment of a wizardly cabal—possibly a splinter of artificers from the ancient Jitska Imperium—who desperately hoped to bind a pleroma to bolster their army but who accidentally conjured shattered scraps of the aeon instead. Others believe conrasus were built by their ancestors using an accelerated, iterative evolution process as natural as one designed by those who build portions of their own bodies could ever hope to achieve. Most likely, it is a mix of the two.
Though just as capable of being dangerous as any intelligent creature on Golarion, golomas have a deep-rooted psychological understanding that they are prey, and that all two-eyed people are predators. As a result, golomas rarely reveal themselves to others, and when they do, they often adopt threatening personas as a means to protect themselves. Even those few golomas who venture out into greater Mwangi society often have trouble relating to other ancestries, due to their strong differences in perception and mindset.
What, you want even more options than the plethora of options on Archive of Nethys? Well then, what are you waiting for? GM approval is required. More Ancestries!
