Valiant Concept Art by Noé Leyva

Hey, everyone! Instead of your regularly scheduled Monstrous Physique, I’m going to take some time to talk about Valiant, the new actual play podcast that will be premiering here on the Know Direction network in several weeks. In case you missed the announcement at the end of the Lost Omens Legends Breakdown episode, let me tell you know what to expect.

Valiant is a Pathfinder 2E actual play podcast that I’m running! It’s set in Golarion, but isn’t a play through of an existing adventure path or module. Instead, I am homebrewing an original campaign just for the show. Valiant doesn’t take place in the Inner Sea and instead takes place on the other side of the globe in Arcadia. Specifically, it takes place in the southwestern region of the northern half of Arcadia in a spot that’s kind of the equivalent to the American Southwest. The reason I’m setting it there is because it’s the perfect place for a western.

Yup, that’s right. It’s going to be a story about fantasy cowpokes.

It wouldn’t be a western without six-shooters, however, so in order to best tell a fantasy western story, I homebrewed a new set of gun rules for 2E and a gunslinger archetype that all of the characters take for free. Yup! Valiant has gun rules! Since they were originally designed for this show, I figured it would be fun to share these rules with Know Direction Patrons so you can play with these rules at home! Expect these in the coming weeks. I will continue to share any new material I make for Valiant with you KD Patrons, so if you want access to some cool stuff, make sure to sign up!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing details on the player characters in the campaign, including some cool character art by Sheppi Rodriguez. I’ll wait to announce the players with these character bios, so instead let’s return our focus back to the setting.

Valiant begins in the small city of Altameda. The city is on the edge of the Arcadian frontier and it has the benefit of resting at the crossroads between several major geographical features. Altameda rests on the edge of Lake Tapipallati (the Big Lake to the locals) with the Glass Desert immediately to the west. Altameda is nestled between two sets of the mountains, the Gold Cliff Mountains to the northwest and the larger Mildanesi Mountains to the far east. Finally, a large prairie sits north of the city with the fey-filled Urmavin Oasis (the Small Lake to Altameda locals) located within the prairie. This direct access to several regions makes it easier for Altameda to tap into local resources. In cases where the people of Altameda are not accessing these resources directly, outside businesses still use Altameda as a staging point or as an important checkpoint for travel.

Altameda is a city where business is booming. The famed Skymark family runs a number of major business in town, including the Skymark Mining Corp. which mines in the nearby Gold Cliff Mountains and the Skymark Foundry which processes most of the minerals from the mines. Another notable business is the Josmond Water Services, a storied business as old as Altameda. Other business include the Stormcloud Ranch just outside of town and the New Arcadian Parcel Service which delivers all throughout the region.

Ultimately, Altameda is a city of opportunity, be it an opportunity for a new job or the opportunity to lay low after drawing too much attention. We’ll get to explore more of Altameda and the surrounding region as we continue with the show. For now, just think of a typical western town on the frontier with a big fantasy and magical twist.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the world of Valiant and look forward to the show when it premiers in a few weeks!