Time for my first review.
Today I'll review the
Pathfinder Chronicles: Gazetteer.
Disclaimer: I admit I am a bit biased so take that as you may.
When I was finally able to download the pdf copy of this book I was excited to say the least. I had been eating up the Paizo Pathfinder Adventure Paths with relish and a shake since they first got announced and I thought Varisia was, quite possibly, the coolest frontier land I've ever seen in a fantasy campaign setting. It was, however,
only the frontier and didn't tell me much of the rest of the world.
From what I read of Varisia the rest of Golarion could only be cool and upon reading through the book cover to cover (something I don't do as much as I should) I found it to be my new favorite campaign setting! I always found Greyhawk generic and boring, I loved the Forgotten Realms and while I grew into D&D with that setting it got too convoluted and the changes they've been talking about for 4th Edition have made me cry. I've been needing a replacement. One with a fantasy world that had classic elements like Paladins and Wizards and sneaky thieves in pirate dens and so on, but one that also had enough of a twist, enough added flavor, that it set itself above generic and boring D&D without doing something extreme (i.e. Darksun).
In my mind this Gazetteer delivers.
They managed to cram a lot into a mere 64 pages but they managed to fit the role of classes in the world, an entry (albeit not terribly large) for every kingdom and nation, as well as an entry for each of the gods that finally gave people more information than the players guides to either of the AP's offered. Now none of this was in any way complete information but it was more than enough for a GM or Player to work with. More than enough to run a game in Devil Worshiping Cheliax or a Crusade in Mendev. Speaking of which, how's that for a twist to a campaign? Crusading Paladins who fend off actual hordes of Demons from the Pit that flood forth from a place called the World Wound. A permanent portal to the abyss? An entire campaign could be placed in such a place. Or imagine if the good guys lost? That's just one of the kingdoms.
Now, like all Pathfinder Chronicles products to date, the Gazetteer is very light on the crunch. However what crunchy bits that are there are quite tasty. From an ability that allows clerics to spontaneously cast from a domain without spending a precious feat to a feat that fighters can take that give them more skills and make them a little more versatile in that regard. There's not much, I'll admit, but what's there adds even more flavor to an already tasty campaign setting.
What about the Pathfinder Campaign Setting?
Now some people have mentioned that the Gazetteer isn't worth it, that it will be out ranked and out rivaled by the Pathfinder Campaign Setting that comes out in August. On some level that is true, the campaign setting contains far more information than the book has and even includes information on the cosmology and expanded information on the Gods and probably has a bit of crunch as well. But what's great about the Gazetteer is that it's a 100% player safe and is cheaper than the campaign guide. I intend on buying the Campaign Setting and using the Gazetteer as a sort of players guide for my games or a quick reference guide when all I need is a little information on a country.
Can I use it with 4th Edition?
Do you have an inkling of creativity? Sure.
Now the world of Golarion was created with 3.5 in mind. It was created to use classes, prestige classes, Vancian magic and more. However, with a little work and determination I imagine anyone can make it work with 4e. There would have to be a few changes but I can't see why someone who loves 4th edition couldn't use this setting let alone this book. Most 4e settings I've come across have some massive cataclysm that brings the world to it's knees and vastly alters magic and darkens the world (admittedly I've only seen three of these, one home brew, one 3rd party and the Realms) in Golarion one of the gods perished and threw the entire world out of whack so it shouldn't be hard to translate that into why magic is different. If that was even necessary.
For those 4e people who want a few ideas from a fellow GM on how to use this product here:
Read through the book.
Now read the entries on Last Wall, or the previously mentioned Devil worshiping Cheliax or Demon haunted Mendev again.
Now imagine if a worst case scenario occurred (or nearly worst if worst resulted in the end of all life and the destruction of the world
).
Wouldn't that fit nicely with 4e's 'Points of light in the darkness' schtick? I think so. Three possible campaigns right there by twisting the setting a bit and you don't even need to do that really.
I give this product 5/5 or 100%
It's a strong product for its page count, perhaps a little pricey but honestly I think you get your dollars worth as the only bad thing I can think about is that it leaves me wanting more on this world.
Hope that helps,
Renfield.
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