Pathfinder 2E The Golarion Role Playing Game

[Campbell]

Reading through the Core Rulebook and Bestiary one thing that really struck me is that Pathfinder 2 is intimately tied to Golarion in a way that the first edition was not. These are not just Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, Goblins and Gnomes. They are the Pathfinder versions of them which in this edition emphatically means the Golarion versions. From small things like a Dwarf's Clan Dagger to big things like Gnomes that came from the First World and must contend with the bleaching the unique struggles and cultures of these races are directly embedded into the fabric of the game. You can also see this in the Bestiary entrees for Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Kobolds. It's also particularly prominent in classes like the Barbarian, Bard, Champion, Cleric, and Sorcerer. These classes are embedded into Golarion with features that tie them directly into the world.

I think this can be seen with even more strength when you take a look at the supplement lineup for the next year. The Lost Omens line absolutely dominates the schedule. We will be seeing detailed write ups of the various cultures for the core ancestries, write ups for meta regions and organizations, full page spreads for many of the gods with curses and blessing they can provide, and archetypes that are directly embedded in the setting. We are even going to get an entire supplement devoted to the city of Absolom and a lore heavy adventure that takes place around the city.

I am personally a big fan of this embrace of Golarion. What are your thoughts?

 

[Parmandur]

Generic RPGs not tied to a setting are not in style. 5E has the Great Wheel cosmic setting, Call of Cthulu has the Weird 20's, Traveller has the Third Imperium, Vampire has the World of Darkness, Runequest has Glorantha, Pathfinder has Golaron, and Starfinder has Golarion...in....spaaaaaace!

I think it ended up being the de facto case for PF1, and PF2 is made stronger by embracing that.

 

[ccs]

I'm good with it.
Nothing they write will prevent me from running my version of their world or stealing stuff for my 5e group.

 

[Staffan]

Generic RPGs not tied to a setting are not in style. 5E has the Great Wheel cosmic setting, Call of Cthulu has the Weird 20's, Traveller has the Third Imperium, Vampire has the World of Darkness, Runequest has Glorantha, Pathfinder has Golaron, and Starfinder has Golarion...in....spaaaaaace!

Point of order: Starfinder specifically does not have Golarion in space. It has the rest of the solar system in question, but Golarion itself is gone.

 

[Parmandur]

Point of order: Starfinder specifically does not have Golarion in space. It has the rest of the solar system in question, but Golarion itself is gone.

Golarion....lost....in.... spaaaaaace

 

[CapnZapp]

That reminds me - second season should not be too far off.

The best thing about that show was how hard it trolled all the Dr Smith haters

/a Parker Posey fan

 

[Morrus]

They're clearly trying to move away from D&D IP. Thus the baked-in Golarion, the monster name changes in the Bestiary, etc. Not so much that they're not still using the OGL though. But it's definitely a branding move.

Age of Lost Omens is a MUCH better setting name than "Golarion". Fantasy words never make great setting names. It's "Game of Thrones" not "Westeros" for a reason.

 

[CapnZapp]

Us Swedes are especially thankful.

"Västerås" is a medium-sized Swedish city that gives off a decidedly un-fantastical vibe...

 

[Kaodi]

There are a couple of different naming conventions, but I would definitely say that most of the successful settings do fall under the rubric of having been named for a concept, not a world.

Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Birthright, and Al-Qadim all fit this mold.
Planescape and Spelljammer are similar, but they are also meta-settings so it is not quite the same.
Blackmoor, Greyhawk, Ravenloft, Nentir Vale, Kara-Tur, and Maztica, are all named for geography within larger worlds.
Eberron and Mystara are the main examples of the planet as setting naming convention, and maybe Ravnica? Eberron has done okay for itself with that name, and it may not have had much of a choice in the matter since "Dragonshard" and "Dragonmark" would tread on the toes of "Dragonlance" . But where does Eberron fall in the popularity rankings compared to Dark Sun and Ravenloft? And does anyone even play Mystara any more?

 

[Acolyte of Zothique]

There are a couple of different naming conventions, but I would definitely say that most of the successful settings do fall under the rubric of having been named for a concept, not a world.

Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance, Birthright, and Al-Qadim all fit this mold.
Planescape and Spelljammer are similar, but they are also meta-settings so it is not quite the same.
Blackmoor, Greyhawk, Ravenloft, Nentir Vale, Kara-Tur, and Maztica, are all named for geography within larger worlds.
Eberron and Mystara are the main examples of the planet as setting naming convention, and maybe Ravnica? Eberron has done okay for itself with that name, and it may not have had much of a choice in the matter since "Dragonshard" and "Dragonmark" would tread on the toes of "Dragonlance" . But where does Eberron fall in the popularity rankings compared to Dark Sun and Ravenloft? And does anyone even play Mystara any more?

WotC did some research into which of their published settings were most popular. Eberron was in the top tier in terms of popularity and, so far, is the only D&D setting getting a an old school 5E campaign setting guide. The other top tier settings were: Forgotten Realms, Planescape, Dark Sun and Ravenloft.

I'd say Eberron is very popular.