Pathfinder 1E Golarion: I'm very impressed

[Mouseferatu]

So I haven't read the entirety of this campaign setting--I picked it up at GenCon, and I've been hopping around the book, reading bits of it--but I'm really impressed with what I've read. I especially love the pantheon (particularly the evil gods) and the setting's view on the arch-fiends.

It's exceedingly difficult to write a generic fantasy setting* for D&D in this day and age, but I've found more than enough in Golarion to make the purchase worthwhile, and to get the story juices flowing. I'll almost certainly be adapting aspects of it for my own campaigns in the future--regardless of what system I'm using.

*I don't mean "generic" in a bad way, here. I'm just talking about settings that try to focus on traditional Western fantasy.

Kudos to all the folks at Paizo for a fantastic product. I hope to be picking up more Golarion materials in the future, and possibly even to pitch a few ideas here and there.

 

[Treebore]

What I really like about Golarian is that it has a bit of everything. So I can run things in areas where I can use ideas from Ravenloft, my Rome stuff from Green Ronin, Greek stuff from Necromancer, etc...

Very nicely done.

 

[jaerdaph]

I've heard Golarian likened to the original Forgotten Realms boxed set, and now Ravenloft. Two very good things.

So what aspects of the setting give that impression? I think I want to be sold on Golarian.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Absolutely! After buying the APs and some setting material, I let it sit for several months before really taking a good look at it. Once I took the time to really start digesting it, it took all of a day or two to fall in love with it. This is a great setting.

 

[mach1.9pants]

I agree, the Campaign book and the Companions which go with it a very crunch lite as well, so ideal for other systems. I have just read the Cheliax Companion and t rocks, I would recommend to all! The Golarion world is how a campaign setting should be done, IMO (like 3E FR), the 4E way just doesn't cut it. If I want to use a pre-published world I want to be able to get very detailed info on the sections I want to use, and I can ignore what I don't like. There are far too many gaps in the 4E books, even basic stuff, which (as they are re-published settings) assume a level of knowledge in the setting already. The Eberron one, which I am not familiar with, was very confusing to me. Several important terms are nit defined anywhere in the books....I had to crack open my 3E one!

 

[Darrin Drader]

I've heard Golarian likened to the original Forgotten Realms boxed set, and now Ravenloft. Two very good things.

So what aspects of the setting give that impression? I think I want to be sold on Golarian.

If you want Raveloft, look at the lands of Geb and Ustalav. If you want something like Al-Qadim, look no further than Katapesh. Egypt? Check our Osirion.

My favorite parts of the setting are Cheliax, which is a bit like an evil holy Roman Empire with strong ties to Asmodeus, the World Wound, which is a giant area inhabited by demons due to some planar rifts that opened. I also dig most of the southern continent because all of it has a definite pulpy/African feel to it. You have pirate havens, a vast jungle, imperialism, and vast areas that are similar to the medievel Middle East.

There are also some aspects of the setting that are just plain cool, like the back story behind Varisia, the Hell Knights, the Red Mantises.

Another thing - no uber characters that dominate the world. No matter where the characters are, they are at the front and center of the action.

 

[jaerdaph]

Thanks, Darrin. It also sounds like it's exactly what I want in a campaign setting - a framework on which to hang things, or a fertile soil to sow my own seeds in.

 

[an_idol_mind]

I've heard Golarian likened to the original Forgotten Realms boxed set, and now Ravenloft. Two very good things.

So what aspects of the setting give that impression? I think I want to be sold on Golarian.

I would actually liken it more to Mystara in that it's a massive world with dozens of different fantasy cultures - some based on real world culture while others are fantasy (and sometimes sci-fi) gone gonzo. Also, the events in the different regions of Golarion seem fairly contained to the region where they occur, as opposed to the Realms where many of the setting's major events are felt across the globe.

Golarion is much more internally consistent than Mystara was, but that's the setting it reminds me most of.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Golarion is awesome because it's chock-full of details and fun stuff! You could literally run almost any kind of campaign you wanted. Just plunk it down on the map.

 

[ggroy]

The main reason I've been using Golarion for my "sandbox" 4E game, is that it has very little to no canon baggage at the present time. The "canon lawyers" have not taken over the setting (yet).