Paizo Spicy hot take: Golarion isn't a setting...

[Desdichado]

... It's multiple settings jammed together, and because the tone differs so much from region to region, any given campaign is usually best handled by treating the region you're in as if it's the whole setting. Ustalav, for instance, has a very specific tone, so if you have a campaign set there, there's probably not any reason to even treat the rest of the setting as if it even exists.

 

[Reynard]

Okay. But how is that different than Mystara?

 

[payn]

Eh, you can focus on one area or many. I've done both. Having one well supported setting, however, is a really good strength of Pathfinder.

 

[jdrakeh]

Okay. But how is that different than Mystara?

Or Faerun, for that matter.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

 

[HaroldTheHobbit]

OP isn't wrong, it is a multi setting, just as Faerun. But for me GMing Savage Pathfinder that's a feature, not a flaw. Having a known world with familiar cosmology, gods etc makes it easy to play campaigns with very different themes without having to invent the wheel.

 

[Morrus]

It's basically Pathfinder's Forgotten Realms. Both have lots of regions each with their own identity.

So I guess.... I mean it is a setting, but it has sub-settings!

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, I know every setting has regions with geological or cultural tropes. But in Golarion, each region also has unique mood, tone, theme and even genre AND each region is specifically more self contained and autonomous of every other region than any other setting in familiar with. There's very little connective tissue between even neighboring regions other than, like, the Pathfinder Society. Each region has its own iconic villains and challenges, A River Kingdoms campaign vs a Galt campaign won't have, say, the equivalent of the Red Wizards of Thay as go-to villains. Golarion more than any other setting I've looked at is one where you don't set your game in Golarion, you set it in Cheliax or Varisia or whatever, and the region acts, for all intents and purposes like the entirety of the setting during that game.

 

[payn]

Yeah, I know every setting has regions with geological or cultural tropes. But in Golarion, each region also has unique mood, tone, theme and even genre AND each region is specifically more self contained and autonomous of every other region than any other setting in familiar with. There's very little connective tissue between even neighboring regions other than, like, the Pathfinder Society. Each region has its own iconic villains and challenges, A River Kingdoms campaign vs a Galt campaign won't have, say, the equivalent of the Red Wizards of Thay as go-to villains. Golarion more than any other setting I've looked at is one where you don't set your game in Golarion, you set it in Cheliax or Varisia or whatever, and the region acts, for all intents and purposes like the entirety of the setting during that game.

What this tells me is that the regions are so nuanced that you can spend entire campaigns in the specifics. I dont see this as a problem.

 

[Ringtail]

Yeah, I know every setting has regions with geological or cultural tropes. But in Golarion, each region also has unique mood, tone, theme and even genre AND each region is specifically more self contained and autonomous of every other region than any other setting in familiar with. There's very little connective tissue between even neighboring regions other than, like, the Pathfinder Society.

Now that's just plain wrong.

If you want to dive deep into the setting, you'll find plenty of connective tissue. Such as Galt, Andoran and Cheliax (and therefore most of Cheliax's vassals like Isger) were all once part of Taldor at its peak. You can find trade route information for how the different regions interact and what their goods are and there are plenty of places where culture seeps out. Its not uncommon to find former Galtan nobles and even the Grey Gardener's in the River Kingdoms. There's also Chelaxian influence on Varisia, or the Varisian presence in Ustalav.

The regions do have unique tones to them, because the designers want any kind of campaign to be possible in Golarion, and I totally think each one can stand on its own as a mini-setting, but the entirety of Golarion is far more coherent that "kitchen sink" criticisms say. And there are plenty of Adventure Paths that have a theme (like Strange Aeons, Lovecraftian Horror) that travel all over the world without losing the theme.

What this tells me is that the regions are so nuanced that you can spend entire campaigns in the specifics. I dont see this as a problem.

Totally true, I think FR might still edge it out in published material, but Golarion has a lot written about it, which makes digging into these regions a delight.