Pathfinder 1E What's after Golarion? (and what's the future of Pathfinder?)

[GreyLord]

We've got PLENTY planned for 2014. We haven't said much at all about what's going on in the second half of the year at all yet, in fact.

We haven't announced them yet though... but stay tuned!

And I was hoping you'd spill the beans!

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Golarion is fine as a kitchen sink but there are reasons for people to want fundamentally different setting concepts, and no amount of detailing more kingdoms in Golarion is going to address the wants of those people. This is why TSR DID create so many different settings back in the day. For the most part each one filled a bit different niche (admittedly WoG and FR seem to be largely in the same niche, but still). Its not like DS or SpellJammer could be realized within the context of Oerth...

Of course there's no reason to think that such worlds won't be left entirely to niche 3PP products. Its certainly one way to stay focused, though it might ultimately feel a bit like PF is 'stuck in Golarion'.

 

[Morrus]

This is why TSR DID create so many different settings back in the day. For the most part each one filled a bit different niche

And it killed TSR stone dead. If anything, TSR showed Paizo exactly what not to do.

 

[James Jacobs]

And in fact, while you can certainly call Golarion a "kitchen sink" setting, I think that's a gross oversimplification. One of the big driving goals for us with Golarion was not to make a "generic, kitchen sink" setting, but one that embraced a wide range of settings. You can run a classic Eurocentric game, a horror game, a science-fiction meets fantasy game, a "The undead are the ruling class" game, an Egyptian themed game, an Arabian Nights game, a pirate-themed game, a viking-themed game, and so on and so on.

And we DO periodically move beyond that as well. The Dragon Empires where we went for more Asian-themed stories, for example. And Distant Worlds touched upon the idea of playing on other, alien planets. All of these are part of the same campaign setting, though, and that allows us to focus on just one setting without falling prey to the setting-fracturing that helped kill TSR.

 

[Zardnaar]

And it killed TSR stone dead. If anything, TSR showed Paizo exactly what not to do.

Yup TSR was losing something like 3 million a year on average during 2nd eds run. I know Planescape was a bad setting in terms of bleeding money and Dragon Dice was also quite bad in that regard. 1 million sets ordered, 70k sold. I think things became critical after 93 or so not 100% sure when they started bleeding money.

 

[Jester David]

And I wouldn't call our 2014 schedule an off year at all... We're releasing more in 2014 than we ever have before!

I used "off year" because I wondered if the scheduling and book choices had more to do with responding to 5e than purely doing your own thing. WotC and D&D is too big not to work around and the Advance Class Guide doesn't seem to further Iron Gods or many future APs in the same was as Ultimate Combat or Mythic Adventures. I don't see the absence of a solid swashbuckler class being the driving reason we have't seen a Galt AP.

I didn't mean to imply Paizo wasn't putting out lots of good stuff in 2014, just not a lot of stuff I think is good. My current game is Rise of the Runelords and my next two campaigns (barring group implosion) are also Paizo APs, but my group is not so involved in Golarion as to care about Inner Sea Gods. And they're all familiar enough with the system that the Strategy Guide has little interest. It's weird looking at the schedule and, apart from a couple Player Companion books, not seeing many must-buy products.

 

[James Jacobs]

Fair enough.

That said, I'm pretty sure at least one more thing we've not yet announced will appeal to you in particular...

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm looking for an easily convertible AP myself. Last one I looked at was Skull and Shackles.

 

[James Jacobs]

I'm looking for an easily convertible AP myself. Last one I looked at was Skull and Shackles.

Convertible to what? "Mummy's Mask" might be a good choice coming up next February...

 

[Zardnaar]

Convertible to what? "Mummy's Mask" might be a good choice coming up next February...

Some sort of OSR game. 2nd ed or Adventurer Conquer King. I love the PF APs but my king maker one fell apart at level 10 do to a bit to much min/maxing by the players. I have been mining my copy of the Inner Sea world guide and I'm guessing Osirion (sp?) can equal Nithia on Mystara. My pantheon is a mox of PF deities and some 4E and homebrew ones and my PCs are wary of the Red Mantis Assassins even in AD&D which I find funny.