“Tell others what you see here. Tell them Nex has returned, and he is not amused.”1
I did warn you…
It’s Nex Time!
These last few articles especially time, when we were Investing In: Impossible Magic, I spent a whole lot of time excitedly digging through the remastered Magus and Summoner, our shiny new Necromancer and Runesmith, archetypes, spells, impossible spells, magic items, and more. I ended by promising that Nex time we would talk Lost Omens lore and whatever news came out of Gen Con. Well, Gen Con happened. Paizo announced a pile of things. And Impossible Magic quietly changed the state of Golarion! You were warned!
Paizo tells us right in the book that it contains the story of adventurers searching for the ancient archmage Nex, who has been sealed for thousands of years within a prison of his own making. That story is broken into six parts spread throughout Impossible Magic, and those little pieces become increasingly important until the final pages. I love how the fiction supports the rulebook and vice versa. We are seeing major Lost Omens setting events. Hellfire Crisis had its own implications too..
So dear readers: there are enormous Impossible Magic SPOILERS ahead and a touch of Hellfire Crisis too. If you want to experience The Search for Nex yourself without knowing its ending, go read those sections first. We’ll still be here!
The Search for Nex
While Impossible Magic is primarily a rules book, there’s a rather important bit of Lost Omens hiding between all those class details and spells. Each major section opens with another installment of The Search for Nex, and by the end it does something Pathfinder setting books don’t get to do every day bringing back a major figure of history. In this case Nex back.
I’m not going to walk through the story scene by scene because you should absolutely read it yourself if you have the book. The short version is that two groups converge on the long open Refuge of Nex. Seltyiel and the Necromancer Usharak are hunting Nex at the behest of the demon lord Abraxas, while Ija and the Automaton Pallemi have befriended an amnesiac young man they call Kekeeli. Eventually they discover that Kekeeli is something extraordinary: a newly created living vessel intended for Nex. An impossible spell supplies the magical catastrophe necessary for Nex’s soul to reach that vessel, and the missing archmage finally steps back into Golarion.
Nex Did Not Come Back to Pick Up Where He Left Off
The important thing isn’t just that Nex lives again. It’s the attitude he brings with him. Nex looks down upon Quantium and isn’t proud of the civilization that maintained his legacy. He’s disgusted. He sees poisoned water, failing engines, and infrastructure struggling to maintain wonders he created centuries ago. His conclusion isn’t that his people need his help. He decides he made them too safe and comfortable. In his view, Nexians stopped innovating because they inherited a world filled with wonders without being forced to create enough new ones of their own.
The legendary king hasn’t returned to find his kingdom endangered and pledging to restore it. This archmage looks at the entire nation like a disappointing experiment! Then he decides to shake the beaker and I’m all for it. Nex destroys the Bandeshar, his own floating palace, and scatters its shattered pieces across the Impossible Lands and surrounding nations. He deliberately leaves witnesses alive and sends them out into the Inner Sea with one message: Nex has returned, and the world should remember why it feared him.
I had a feeling this wouldn’t be a warm homecoming or even grand return, but more a threatening announcement, which I’m not too surprised by. It also immediately complicates the politics of Nex. Whatever authority people hold today, whatever institutions have developed in his absence, and whatever vision modern Nexians have for their nation, the literal founder of the country has walked back into the story. Worse, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in respecting what everyone did while he was gone. I hope we get a supporting path here soon.
I love that his first critique is essentially, Why haven’t you accomplished more without me? I find that wonderfully terrifying and a perfect set up for play!
The Impossible Lands Just Became Unstable Again
You can’t talk about Nex for very long without talking about Geb. (I do wonder about those two sometimes; EDIT and their heated rivalry) Their ancient war didn’t merely establish political borders. It physically rewrote the region between them. Impossible Magic reminds us that parts of the Mana Wastes remain saturated with runaway magical energy and radiation from that conflict. The Living Nexus archetype even establishes that people exploring these regions can return fundamentally altered, their bodies transformed into vessels capable of absorbing and redirecting magic. Centuries later, people are still being changed by the magical fallout of the last time Nex and Geb seriously went at one another.
Now one of them is back. We don’t know what happens next, and I don’t want to turn possibilities into predictions. Geb learning that Nex has returned is not some local diplomatic issue. Their conflict created the Mana Wastes. Alkenstar exists in a region defined in no small part by the consequences of their warfare. Nex returning therefore isn’t merely important to Quantium; it changes the strategic reality for basically everyone living in and around the Impossible Lands.
Nex doesn’t appear to be returning from centuries of isolation with a newfound appreciation for moderation. Quite the opposite. He tells Usharak (our iconic Necromancer) that traditional paths to immortality like those pursued by Necromancers aren’t particularly interesting to him. Nex claims he has instead learned to harness gods, draining and shaping their power, and says he has only one remaining step before his own ascension. I’m rather interested in that plan. Nex was already one of the greatest mortal spellcasters in Golarion’s history. Apparently that isn’t enough anymore. The next phase of his story might not be about reclaiming Nex at all. It might be about becoming something more and Nethys may want to be concerned. Again, I sense an exciting Adventure Path!
Golarion Is Paying Attention
Another name worth remembering here: Abraxas. The demon lord knew something was happening before Nex actually returned. The door to the Refuge had apparently been open for roughly a decade, but its magic had recently begun accumulating power in a new way. That change was enough for Abraxas to recognize what was coming and send agents to interfere. I love that little detail because it immediately expands the scale of the event.
Nex reappeared on the political radar of Geb, Alkenstar, and his own Arclords but to many more. Powers well beyond mortal governments were already watching. Now everybody else gets the news too. Nex specifically sends witnesses throughout the Inner Sea to spread word of his return. He’s not hiding. He’s not spending ten years rebuilding his strength in a secret tower while the PCs slowly discover mysterious clues. He wants Golarion to know he’s here.
That gives Paizo so many directions to go with the Age of Lost Omens. What does Geb do? How do the nations around the Impossible Lands react? What does Nex’s own government do with a founder who seems disappointed in them? What do powerful magical institutions make of someone claiming to have harnessed divine power? What do the gods think of that claim?
Pieces of the Bandeshar Everywhere
There is also a much more immediate consequence that almost feels like Paizo throwing adventure hooks directly at GMs. Nex destroyed the Bandeshar, sure, but he also scattered it. The remains of one of the greatest magical palaces in the world have been launched throughout the Impossible Lands and neighboring countries. We aren’t told that every piece contains a forgotten artifact or an angry magical experiment waiting to escape, so I’m not going to claim that but come on.
If I’m running anywhere near the Impossible Lands right now, a chunk of the Bandeshar is landing somewhere inconvenient. I wonder if the game where I’m playing a Necromancer will see such. Maybe somebody wants what’s inside it. Maybe nobody knows what’s inside it. Maybe two governments insist the same piece belongs to them. Maybe something Nex created a thousand years ago has suddenly found itself sitting in the middle of someone’s farm!
The important lore implication isn’t any one of those possibilities. It’s that the return of Nex has already physically changed the map beyond Quantium. His first act produced consequences other people now have to deal with, and I expect he wants to see what they do with it. More tests and considering his attitude that seems appropriate.
Quantium Wasn’t Exactly Standing Still
There is some irony in Nex accusing his nation of failing to innovate because elsewhere in Impossible Magic we learn that Quantium has just accomplished something enormous.Nexians can create new Automatons!
Automatons have traditionally been remnants of ancient Jistkan magic, but Arclord Pamalus Cryd, military advisor Ancylla Grittink, and a team of Nexian mages and artificers have recreated the process. They did so with the help of an Automaton named Hikanmian, who was initially captured and faced dissection before convincing Cryd to let them assist with the research instead. Love how that’s woven into the Next story. So now Quantium is producing dozens of new Automatons, production continues to increase, and neighboring nations are already nervous about the possibility of Nex fielding a construct army.
I find that to be exactly the kind of magical innovation Nex claims his people stopped pursuing: the recreation of an ancient method for making an entirely new generation of living constructs. But it’s also being developed with military ambitions and depends upon the uncomfortable cooperation of an Automaton whose freedom isn’t nearly as secure as anyone should be comfortable with. The Newly Minted Automaton heritage therefore represents more than another character option.
There is now a new population of Automatons being born in Quantium. What relationship will those people have with Nex? No idea but that is one hell of a campaign question!
What Nex Taught the Wizards
The four new arcane schools also tell us quite a bit about Nex without needing a page of conventional setting lore.
The School of Breathtaking Influence teaches political and mental manipulation, and we’re explicitly told those spells are staples in Quantium, where ambition and ruthlessness are considered measures of success. The School of Keen Inquiry is tied by reputation to Her Most Keen Eye, Nex’s spy network, making information gathering, surveillance, and the control of secrets into an academic tradition. There’s also Nexian Spaces, where students retrace Nex’s work with demiplanes and ultimately learn to treat space and planar boundaries like something that can simply be remodeled. Finally, the School of Quantic Control draws upon the geniekin of Quantium’s Wish, whose work maintains the capital’s infrastructure through frankly ridiculous manipulation of elemental forces and physical reality.
Put those together and you get a better portrait of Nexian magical culture than simply calling out Nex has lots of powerful wizards and varied arcane studies. Magic in Quantium is political power. It’s espionage. It’s architecture. It’s public infrastructure. It’s a means of controlling people, information, space, and eventually reality itself. Gee, sure sounds like Thassilon to me…
This does make Nex’s complaint about stagnation even more revealing. This is already a society where people attend schools teaching them to reshape dimensional geometry, and Nex still thinks they’re not trying hard enough. I mean come on man, maybe adjust the performance expectations.
Old Magic Still Has Stories to Tell
There are little pieces of Golarion history hiding inside the spell section too. Impossible spells aren’t presented as a completely new discovery suddenly appearing in 4726 AR. They’re legendary acts that have surfaced at extraordinary moments throughout history. Call of the Quenching, for example, is associated with Aroden and Arazni calling upon the Boundless Sea against Cuetzmonquali and the Army of Fire. The Everfull Moon is connected to a Linnorm King defending her realm from Irriseni invaders.
This changes how I think about impossible spells in the setting. These are very powerful spells that adventurers can eventually learn and they’re the kind of magic that becomes history. The book tells us mortals can perform only one impossible spell in the existence of their soul, while even immortal and truly divine beings face limitations on wielding this kind of power. So when one appears in an old legend, the interesting question becomes: What circumstance was important enough that someone spent their one impossible act on it?
Even seemingly smaller spells occasionally tell us something about how Golarion works. Speak with Magic establishes that while magic itself isn’t intelligent, spells and magical items possess an essence that reflects their purpose and creator strongly enough that someone can literally converse with it about its history. I adore things like that as rules quietly become metaphysics of how the world works. Not that you can’t change it of course!
The World Nex Returned To
Nex’s return is obviously the headline. However, the rest of the book makes sure he’s returning to a world that continued changing without him. The Mana Wastes still mutate people because of his ancient war with Geb. Quantium has developed magical schools out of the philosophies and technologies he left behind. His people have recovered one of the great lost secrets of Jistka and started creating new Automatons. Impossible Magic has continued surfacing throughout history in moments when ordinary magic wasn’t enough.
Of course Nex looks at all of that and says not good enough. That’s the part I think matters most going forward as he’s returning, he’s activate, but he doesn’t like what he sees. He’s got the power to make change and doesn’t like what’s developed while he’s gone. He’s going to do something about it, basically immediately creating new challenges and changes exploding his own palace across several countries. I’m very curious what he considers a productive second day.
Gen Con Announcements!
Also as promised last time, let’s talk Gen Con! Sorry to miss it, which I would’ve anyway had I been able to my cousin’s wedding. Alas I missed that too. So let’s talk a jam-packed (if windy and wet) con! EDIT: Shout out to Alex for speaking with us during Know Direction Live about his convention experience!
Gen Con brought us a look at Paizo’s future, and there is a lot coming. For Pathfinder, I’m particularly excited about Lost Omens: The Saga Lands, arriving May 5, 2027. We’re going back to some foundational Pathfinder territory with Varisia, New Thassilon, the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Irrisen, the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, and the Hold of Belkzen all covered in one 192 page sourcebook. Then June brings Invaders from the Dark, a level 1 through 10 Adventure Path set around an alien conspiracy and invasion. This one is particularly wild because Paizo specifically calls out guidance for bringing Starfinder rules into Pathfinder, so we’re putting the promised compatibility between the two games directly into an Adventure Path. Excitedly, Gen Con 2027 gets Tome of Dungeons split between Delvers, Dungeons, and Denizens with new Daredevil and Slayer classes along with playable Awakened Ooze and Gargoyle ancestries. Yeah, can I do Gargoyle with Ooze versatile heritage?
Starfinder isn’t exactly sitting quietly while Pathfinder steals its aliens either. Gen Con’s announcements included a Second Edition Beginner Box planned for May 2027 and Galactic Arsenal around Gen Con 2027, with the latter diving into factions and corporations alongside new archetypes, equipment, starships, and additional options for characters such as the Mechanic. I’m especially interested in the connective tissue developing between the two games. Paizo already describes Starfinder Second Edition as fully compatible with Pathfinder Second Edition, but Invaders from the Dark turns that from an abstract rules promise into “okay, here’s an actual Pathfinder campaign where we’re going to show you how to do it.” I’m really excited for that!
Many got to see the new 13 Omens, Paizo’s modern supernatural horror RPG from Jason Bulmahn and Joe Pasini. Paizo describes it as rules light, focused on a dark reflection of our own world filled with specters, killers, cursed places, and things we probably should not investigate but absolutely will because this is a roleplaying game. Gen Con attendees got the Preview Edition, the first story Bequeathed, and an Omen Dice Set, while Paizo is also making the preview PDFs accessible through its reservation campaign. The Gen Con keynote recap reports the Kickstarter launches on the extremely appropriate date of October 13, 2026. I really like that Paizo is trying something outside Pathfinder and Starfinder here, especially something deliberately built to get into a tense horror story quickly. I love 10 Candles and Dread so excited for the suspense roleplaying!
The Impossible Has Only Started
I really enjoyed Impossible Magic when I was digging through all the mechanical possibilities for the last article. I think I appreciate the book even more because the title isn’t only talking about impossible spells. Pallemi represents people recreating magic thought lost for ages. Kekeeli represents a life that seemingly shouldn’t have been possible. Seltyiel carries a spell that fundamentally resists ordinary magical limitations. Nex has somehow found ways to harness divine power, transfer his soul into a specially prepared living body, and now believes godhood is within reach.
The whole story keeps asking where the edge of magic actually is. And Nex’s answer appears to be: there isn’t one. So where does that leave Golarion? The Bandeshar is shattered. Nex is alive. Geb will eventually hear the news. Abraxas already knows. Quantium has just discovered that its legendary founder thinks they’ve spent centuries embarrassing him. And Nex himself believes he is one step from becoming something more than mortal.
Meanwhile, Paizo is already telling us we’re headed back into the Saga Lands, invading Numeria with aliens, crossing Pathfinder and Starfinder at the table, crawling through dungeons with sentient oozes, and wandering into the dark with 13 Omens. There is a whole lot to Invest In. And thankfully they’re getting their product back too! Until next time, please remember to support one another and, of course, much love to all!
Investing In:
I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!
I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!
Sources
Banner – The Search for Next, Part 6 banner modified, Impossible Magic, Paizo
- The Search for Next, Part 6 excerpt, Impossible Magic, Paizo
- The Search for Next, Part 4, Impossible Magic, Paizo
- The Search for Next, Part 5, Impossible Magic, Paizo
- 13 Omens product banner, Paizo
