Pathfinder 1E Is Golarion an "evolving" setting, or is it static?

[Desdichado]

Let's say for the sake of argument that there's an adventure path centered around closing the Worldwound link to the Abyss and in the final adventure of the AP, the Worldwould is closed. Ahem.

Does this mean that the setting has now changed--or is this just an adventure that happens for the sake of gameplay, and then the official setting goes back to exactly how it was before that?

 

[biotech66]

I had this question a while ago and asked. The answer might make you a little unfulfilled though. Every Pathfinder is just about to happen as with the novels, comics, and tales. So, Pathfinder is static. However, at your table it is evolving. Unlike the Forgotten Realms, the world doesn't change with time. There are lots of cool stories about to happen, but the AP hasn't concluded because it technically never started.

 

[gamerprinter]

While I don't use Golarian much, though I sometimes use the APs set in Golarian. I am pretty sure its a static setting though. Consider that Paizo hasn't even produced a fully detailed map of their world beyond what they started with, as I think they want to fully explore it in various APs before actually creating a finalized map.

Personally, I prefer settings that stay static, only subject to change based on individual GMs run games and their players choices. The whole Grand Injunction setting upgrade with Ravenloft, killed all my interests in Ravenloft at the time. I wasn't looking for change, and when change comes through canon, I often giveup on that setting. I'd like to see as complete a world as possible and any possible changes are based on changes created in specific campaigns, not because a developer thought it was time for an update.

 

[billd91]

The setting is pretty much static, though there were minor additions to the timeline when the Inner Sea Guide got released compared to the Campaign Setting.

Some of the APs are assumed to happen after other APs though. So there is some dynamism at that level.

And, of course, the Pathfinder Society adventures also have some dynamism, driven mostly by the themes for each season and the events at the big PFS special events. But that's not the official setting as much as it's a particular implementation thereof.

 

[Crothian]

It has to be static. If the official Pathfinder setting closes the world wound and has books that reflect that those are worthless to everyone who has never run that AP.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I dunno if/when Paizo will ever do a Pathfinder 2nd edition, but my guess would be "Golarion is static until/unless there's an edition change, but might be advanced a few years, with a few major changes, at that point."

 

[Ezequielramone]

Shattered Star occurs after Rise of the Runelords, but you don't even have to know what is Rise of the Runelords.
Golarion is advancing in time constantly. A year in our world is a year in Golarion, so we don't see much advance. Take the Inner Sea World Guide and you'll se the "current" year was 4712 (2012), and now, take any campaign setting book with a timeline and you will se that the "current" year is 4714 (2014).
So, time is going on, but at the same speed that normal world. You can use any product of pathfinder and consider it "actual" in any year you are playing, if you want to be 100% cannon just eliminate the things that still didn't happen or say that nothing past sinse the last year in the timeline of the region you are playing (that could be 2 or 3 years, it's possible that nothing happened in that time).

I'd say YES, Golarion is dynamic (I won't use "evolving")

Note: The 3rd ed Forgotten Realms Campaign Settings says that the time goes in a different rate that the normal world, but I don't remember that rate.