So what about the actual Inner Sea World Guide? I've been reading the various Pathfinder Chronicles books, such as those on religions, factions, races and even the smaller gazetteer, so I was hesitant to pick this up for fear there would be a lot of duplication. I'm suggesting they take another look and consider the parts, even if the whole is less appealing. I mention this because many people I know discount Golarion because it doesn't have the feel they're looking for. I wish I could bottle and sell that sentiment.
Pathfinder inner sea world guide gods free#
However, as a mature gamer, I'm free and capable of using what I like and discarding the rest (cough, Numeria, cough). Adventure staring you right there in your face.įrom a GM perspective, Golarion is incredibly useful, even if as a whole it doesn't quite come together like what I'm used to. While I enjoyed the many semi-realistic nations of Greyhawk, adventuring in that setting was on the margins, in the interstices of cultures and nations.Golarion, in contrast, has great swaths of African-like jungle, Egyptian-like desert ruins, frosty barbarian reaches, frightening ocean going trade routes, seas of quicksand and Atlantis-like lost worlds.
Pathfinder inner sea world guide gods full#
However, and this is an exceedingly big however, man is Golarion chock full of adventuring potential.
Here's my confession: I honestly don't care much for the Golarion "good guys," the baseline nations and cultures that underlie the place. What strikes me most about the Golarion setting is that it's designed to be functional. In any case, how I feel about Golarion and my personal setting baggage will color a lot of what I say about it, and your baggage will likely flavor how you'll receive it. Some of the Paizo designers worked on Greyhawk, so my guess is they have similarly strong feelings towards setting design. Campaign settings are really important to gamers, so the Paizo world of Golarion had some awful big shoes to fill. By looking at the sales of our D&D 4E Dark Sun books, many of which were sold to people I know don't even play 4E, Athas holds some nostalgia.
For many people, especially the younger crowd, their world was Faerûn, AKA the Forgotten Realms. Every hex held the potential for adventure. I recall staring for hours at the giant fold out map from the Greyhawk Gazetteer that was taped to my bedroom wall. My gaming world of choice, like many people, is the one I started with.