Quote:
Originally Posted by Keefe the Thief  You know, i donīt have a horse in this race, but... isnīt "contains references to the Realms, to Greyhawk, to classic modules" pretty much the counterpoint to "fresh"?
Just saying. |
Heh, Good point.
But I honestly think they have achieved a really great synergy of the classic elements with just little twists to give it a new take. First and foremost, it is a lot the same. That is what the great majority of PF fans want, more of the stuff they have already been enjoying.
But they have tons of cool
little changes that make it a fresh feel on exactly the classic stuff. It is like the end product is very much the same, but the path getting there is a little different.
For example, dwarves were a completely subterrainian race until a few thousand years before "today". They tunneled up following a prophecy of sky and in doing that drove orcs to the surface before them. And now that they have been on the surface, spreading out, for a long time, they are dying out. That back story could be placed on just about nay setting you wanted. It fits the preconceived notions of dwarves and their relationship to the rest of the world, deep mines and ancient wars with orcs. But it also enhances interactions with other races. It would be pretty easy, for example, to assume that a lot of elves are still ticked at the dwarves about the whole orcs thing. Classic, yeah. But fresh.
They have good mechanics people at Paizo. But story is their wheelhouse. That is where they really are the powerhouse of the industry.