Does Pathfinder's "Lost Omens World Guide” Help a PF2 Newbie Learn About Golarion?

In this episode, I review the Pathfinder campaign setting book, “Lost Omens World Guide!” And also, we talk a lot about the Forgotten Realms and mean comments.
Thanks so much to WorldAnvil for sponsoring this video! Visit www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike and use the promo code SUPERGEEK to get 51% off any annual membership!
www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike
Chapters:
00:00 - How Pathfinder Avoids the Forgotten Realms Problem
06:52 - A Word From Our Sponsor
08:46 - Why Do We Use Published Campaign Settings?
12:22 - Does Golarion Have a Clear Premise and a Distinct Tone?
15:51 - Does Golarian Have Iconic Imagery, Character Creation, and Plot Hooks?
18:23 - Does Golarion Have Daunting Lore and Blank Spaces on the Map?
21:18 - Outro
Highlight Reel Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
Music from Epidemic Sound
Recommended Reading:
Playlist: Campaign Settings Reviewed: • Campaign Settings Revi...
Why I Don't Like the Forgotten Realms (as the Default 5E Campaign Setting)
• Why I Don't Like the F...
Ravenloft: The Perfect Horror Setting? (Domains of Dread Campaign Setting Review)
• Ravenloft: The Perfect...
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[@SupergeekMike]

Do you have another favorite resource that provides a lot more lore about this setting? Thanks so much to WorldAnvil for sponsoring this video! Visit www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike and use the promo code SUPERGEEK to get 51% off any annual membership! www.worldanvil.com/supergeekmike

[@MySqueezingArm]

Lost Omens World Guide has so many little lore nuggets. All of the archetypes hint at the larger world of Golarion

[@anthonyledel2072]

Just a fun note. The AI Goddess rose to deity hood in one of the first edition adventures while being an NPC that traveled along with the party to defeat an evil AI Demi god. And is important to starfinder.

[@einkar4219]

they are important to starfinder is a little bit understatement, they are reason why starfinder happened

[@anthonyledel2072]

@@einkar4219 only like 1/3rd

[@synmad3638]

Thank you for this. I was recently searching for opinions on Golarion and was frustrated to see that when asked "is Golarion a good setting?" most fans basically say "it sure has a lot of stuff" (same with Forgotten Realms)

[@Shane-hx4xp]

I just started the video so I’m not sure if it’s mentioned but The Myth Keeper is a great channel that goes in depth to pathfinder lore.

[@zefiewings]

I love your points here and in the Forgotten Realms video and it's shocking how many people missed the point. There is a difference between a setting being a good story or an optional setting and being a good default setting. And there is a difference between there having been any potential for something having been a good default setting and the actual execution of what happened. How many movies have you seen where there were some good ideas but they just weren't executed well or didn't come together in an interesting way? When that happens you can just say "Oh it wasn't a bad movie, it had good ideas it just wasn't fun to watch." yeah man, being entertaining in some way to watch is the function of a movie. If it's not good to watch it's not a good movie even if there was potential it could have been. (I'm simplifying obviously since there are different ways to be good to watch like fun or interesting or makes you think) In the same way, you can't say "oh it's not a bad default setting, it's just hard to parse the information and it's scattered in an obtuse way that requires 3rd party intervention to get to the good stuff." That's the point of a default setting; to be an easy starting point. It's the default, it's where you start your 'new save file'. If a video game dropped you in a high-level area with no level or gear and you can't live long enough to get any, it doesn't matter if there is cool stuff in there most people aren't going to play long enough to see it!

[@cchaves95]

I'm so glad someone else picked up that Anastasia Romanov is in the world of Golarion. Something even more obscure, she was also the Little Matchstick Girl until Baba Yaga whisked her away to Golarion, and raised her to be a Witch.

[@dividendjohnson4327]

I've been a Golarion and Pathfinder fan for over a decade, and I've literally never pieced together that the Eye of Dread is almost reverse Mordor. I mean, it's a pretty recent development--Golarion as a world moves with the various adventures--but still. Thanks for giving me that and making me love that bit of the world all over again.

[@w4iph]

Golarion is Fantasy STEW. In a good stew, every piece is distinct and provides myriad flavors and textures, but those flavors marry together to create a cohesive and unified flavor profile, disparate elements enriching each other. I like stew

[@crazy4bricksthebrickbrothe722]

You are making me hungry…

[@julzbehr6696]

Yay! Pathfinder content

[@Nac117]

As someone recently getting into Pathfinder as a system, and through some adventures set in the world of Golarion, I've really taken a shine to it. Hearing even more details about it through this is amazing, and hugely inspires me as both a player and GM (also, because of that level of inspiration I finally got my World Anvil sub, so thanks for that). Also as someone recently getting into Pathfinder as a system, really interested for that alluded-to future video of looking at P2E as a system. I've fallen fairly hard for it, but I look forward to your level-headed take on it. Great stuff as usual!

[@andrewhildner]

This is great! I agree I might not run pathfinder but I still might use golarion

[@SingularityOrbit]

Absolute agreement on the need for better setting information in D&D. The writers assume new players will just get everything through cultural osmosis . . . but from where? I've been involved with D&D since 1981, and a few days ago I finally figured out how the School of Illusion works. It's "illusions," right? So, Minor Illusion and Disguise Self . . . but also Shadow Blade, which makes a sword out of Shadowfell energy . . . and Phantom Steed, which summons an animal with a saddle which you can ride until it vanishes. How is Shadowfell darkness and a summoned animal in any way "illusion?" So I went digging on a fan wiki, the Forgotten Realms Wiki. If you understand that the gods/archfiends/etc. in the Outer Planes shape the Material Plane, and that the Feywild and the Shadowfell are Echoes of the Material Plane, and really internalize all of it, then it becomes clear: the School of Illusion is actually the school of using leftover deity-level "possibility magic" in the Weave of the world to make deity-level changes, but only temporarily. (Which means Invisibility doesn't make anything invisible; it raises the likelihood of someone not being visually noticed to 100% -- but anything they change in the world is still noticed.) I had to do all that research to figure out because I needed to know why See Invisible both nullifies Invisibility (you see them as normal because your probability of seeing them is back to normal) and lets you see ghostly images of otherwise-unseen ethereal creatures (because they're close by in the Ethereal Plane, which is just a fuzzy boundary away from the Material Plane). I had to go through all of that work just to actually get a grip on a single school of magic, which a DM needs in order to design new spells so that they fit into the existing rules, or to judge how different monsters are affected by the subjective effects of spells. What does the monster actually see, hear, or smell as a result of the spell? Would an powerful fey creature respond in a particular way to someone summoning a Shadow Blade as opposed to an Eldritch Knight summoning their bonded weapon to their hand? I once had a DM get irritated at me because I had my character mention, without having encountered a ghost before, that ghosts can possess people -- is that common knowledge, a widely-known bit of folklore many believe correctly, or is it unknown by commoners? D&D is a massive pile of unsorted lore. Some of its systems work on that lore, like the schools of magic. I'll bet there are explanations in books somewhere for why crossbows can be fired multiple times in six seconds by highly skilled people, or why it's highly likely that a high-level character will survive falling off a high cliff every time. We really shouldn't have to buy old Forgotten Realms novels off eBay and PDFs of 2nd edition gazetteers to learn what's needed to run the game, let alone settings they're publishing for the current edition.

[@emmakane6848]

I recently started planning a campaign and went to the Forgotten Realms wiki for inspiration and learned about the history of the weave (a fundamental aspect of magical theory) and had to go through five different pages to understand it fully. As someone who started in 5e I definitely agree about the confusion that the way they present this information can cause.

[@torlight]

Honestly, VERY well said about the similarities and differences between Golarion and the Forgotten Realms; I had a lot of the same issues w/Faerun, completely agree with your takes. I had little to no interest in the world as it was presented in 5e, then Baldur's Gate 3 rolled around and really showed what people who know the setting can do with it. Re Golarion, I've loved the setting for a long time, I've been playing in it for over 15 years, from 3.5 D&D to when it became Pathfinder and on into PF2; hell we even ran 5e games in Golarion for a time! The more they add just fleshes out and opens up more avenues of exploration, not just into the nations or regions themselves, but on the ancestries and histories, on -magic- and how it's presented in world, and it warms my heart that they aren't afraid to change things (but not by moving the world forward 1 to 2 hundred years or something silly like Faerun). This year, even, they're killing a major god from the pantheon in a long-running event players will be involved in. TL:DR I really like the setting, it's rich and representative, as well as fun to play in. I hope you have a great time with it!

[@drexalnewb1500]

I think one of the advantages Pathfinder Second Edition has when it comes to its lore, is that it is just a continuation of the 12 years of lore First Edition had. Golarion was the core default setting for 1e, and it's just been continued here. Compare that to D&D, which I'm pretty sure has changed what the default setting is every edition (please correct me if I'm wrong about that). That also helps keep people who played 1e interested in the setting going into 2e. Did you play the Carrion Crown Adventure in 1e? Well here is what has changed in Ustalav since the events of that adventure. Played Jade Regent? Here is what has changed in Tian Xia since then. The fact that they just had to continue lore instead of write it from scratch probably helped make the setting feel fleshed out. While I still prefer the system of Pathfinder 1e over 2e, I do love that the lore that has existed since 1e is still being continued forward.

[@Keryusupercoologuy]

One thing I love is that this book comes *after* a decade of first edition adventures having their own plots and stories, but it doesn't feel like a world of "solved" adventures. Like, that AI God you mentioned. She's a consequence of the Iron Gods AP but she still has open story concepts to use, there's more to her. Personal favorite detail: The current ruler of Irrisen and how she got to be there. Look it up, it's amazing

[@michaelturner2806]

I've been running a game with the module Abomination Vaults, since it uses the same fishing/logging village of Otari as the Beginner Box and a couple other adventures. I haven't read a lot of the lore, but sure enough, the Big Bad is someone who wants to attack Absolom. I have a core group of three players, currently down in the fourth level of the AV dungeon, but I wanted to leave the game a little open. I've got enough material to host open-to-all level 1 one-shots in the area, possibly to recruit a fourth or fifth player. The pregens in the Beginner Box help a lot with that. Also thanks for the video highlighting Pathfinder. I was worried your channel might be too focused on a game system I don't play and a show I don't watch, but so far there's been a lot of game-neutral content and advice I can apply to ttrpgs in general.

[@jmarquiso]

all the AI and android stuff is AMAZING when you get to Starfinder. I love Casandalee.

[@DuckHunterVideos]

Starfinder is so fucking good, I love it

[@jackalbane]

I think one of the reasons why, even if people don't always play the Adventure Paths, many people tend to use the Golarion setting for their homebrew games because it's already interesting and full of tidbits that you can run with. As a previous PF1E player, pretty much most of my games used at least the pantheon of Golarion, if not full stolen concepts.

[@grais4856]

I love how even the 1e lore books are still incredibly valid for reading and getting ideas and hooks from. Paizo does answer some of their mystery hooks they posit, and some areas have drastocally changed in universe over time (looking at you beautiful Varisia/poor Lastwall) but even the stuff piblished a decade ago has great ideas that can be tweaked or borrowed for your campaign and fit into the world

[@claudiamcfie1265]

We started in Forgotten Realms, then when we switched to Pathfinder I created a homebrew world that had a parallel version of the sword coast and other locations from lost omens merged in it.

[@kadmii]

i see a pathfinder video, i click

[@Lockfin]

The Lost Omens line are some of the best fantasy setting material in TTRPGs right now. They are consistently phenomenal products. I’d recommend the Mwangi Expanse or Tian Xia books if you want to see Golarion’s take on West African and East Asian inspired fantasy respectively, both with hearty contributions from people of those cultural groups. For something a little less grounded, the City of Absalom book is a massive gazetteer for the most significant city in the setting and the Impossible Lands book gives you a look into an area of the world defined and devastated by the eternal war between two wizards.

[@postopken2789]

Love to see more Pathfinder videos on this channel! I like Golarion a lot, its a classic fantasy world with all the bits and bobs you expect to find while still managing to surprise you. Elves are aliens?? Gnomes have to play pranks or they turn greyscale and go mad????? Yes please!

[@thor7af3]

I feel like pathfinder 1e's version of the inner sea had more "powder kegs" and adventure prompts than 2e, especially since Paizo has advanced the time line of Golarion and assumed that several preexisting conflicts have resolved, such as the closure of The Worldwound in the far north. I also feel like the setting book itself doesn't do a lot to make linking monsters into the settings and adventures easier for a gm: the setting books are highly focused on mortal conflicts and politics. I would appreciate more "powder kegs" or adventure hooks that explicitly include monsters in Golarion

[@Shane-hx4xp]

Pathfinder is where I started my TTRPG journey. I love the setting and the lore, especially with their second game Starfinder.

[@ultrakitten674]

as far as places to fill in yourself i think the continent is named Sarusan, there is nothing actually written about it from pf1 or 2, it is an area that is hard to reach or people who go there if they do come back come back with thier memory of the location wiped. you could totally make it your own setting while still using all the golarion lore. you could have a character from the inner sea, or Tian Xia who ended up shipwrecked there so you could still use all the location specific background or archetypes if you wanted.

[@disembodiedvoicek]

Well, it looks like in the 2024 refresh they are going to move the default setting to Greyhawk. Hopefully there is an effort made to publish new or republish old Greyhawk materials.

[@synmad3638]

Isn't Greyhawk just the "case study" setting for the DM's Guide, with the Forgotten Realms continuing to be the default?

[@disembodiedvoicek]

@@synmad3638You’re correct! Forgotten realms will be all over the PHB. However, ostensibly the DMG is for the DM to build their games. Which I think is analogous to what Mike’s talking about in this video.

[@trajektoria]

What I truly love about Pathfinder lore are the deities and other planes in general. Super interesting, I'm stealing ideas and gods for my own campaign left and right.

[@FernandoDolande]

I'm always happy to see more pathfinder love out there. I would offer to run some Pathfinder games for you and your friends over Foundry, but I'm sure you already heard that a few times already! My advice would be to give more of the Lost Omens books a try. The gods book is great! Also, it wouldn't hurt to read some of the Pathfinder adventures, and see how they compare side by side to the WOTC books.

[@ZombieNikuchan]

I definitely enjoy the setting of Golarion. I appreciate the "salad bowl" or "buffet" style of being able to run any adventure there.

[@strwrbttlfrnt]

I have only read the Alkenstar book for the outlaws of Alkenstar campaign and it really helped me make my characters backstory and i didn't even read the whole book and im trying to convince myself to convince myself to starting to read the book mostly because i find the world and everything very interesting.

[@akirakun9]

I've been playing in Pathfinder for years now, we're on our 4th campain in the world with my group of friends (we alternate as GM and Player). I personally only play as a PC and i've not read much of the lore of the world, because it's easy to spoil yourself if you get lost in the sauce. Archive of Nethys is such a great ressource for all thing pathfinder, everything you list on the paizo website is available for free on there. We are currently playing the Agent of Absalom campahin (we're in the middle of book 2) and have been running a Age of Ashes campaign in parallele and both game couln't be more different in term of feel and ambiance. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your foray into Golarion !!! The Rule Lawyer has some pretty good video comparing both DD5 and PF2 systems if you are curious or want another view on them !

[@Keovar]

Not only does Paizo offer a lot of information about Golarion, there are also YT channel guides like The Lore Tour, a prior edition with plenty of still-relevant setting info, and novels as well. Oh, and Golarion has a few computer games from which you can learn some lore, so D&D's Forgotten Realms isn't unique in that way either. Paizo also supports their organized play system, far more than WotC does with Adventurers' League. You can reference all the PF1, SF.,& PF2 rules online, for free, on the Paizo-approved Archives of Nethys. PathfinderWiki and StarfinderWiki are great resources too, and Pathfinder Infinite & Starfinder Infinite fill the same role as DMs Guild.

[@FranklinLongallnitelong22]

I know it sounds almost sacrilege to even try any new system...But it's freedom from the known to taste the unknown. That to me is the reasons other systems are popping up all over. Then it is also the system one has to get comfortable with to tell the story YOU want to tell...I once played a game based off the Wheel of Time world...that system was quite different the standard DnD system...as for storytelling that don't change with the system you use...Once the game moves along the story becomes the narrative and the system is just the tool you use.

[@ThePromesian]

Who says it's sacrilege though, more people should keep an open mind and try other systems!

[@Cerif55]

Paizo is releasing Starfinder 2e very soon with a playtest coming out in a few months. Starfinder 2e will use all the rules and mechanics of Pathfinder 2e so, moving between the two systems will be MUCH easier once it releases.

[@Spark_Chaser]

The SCAG is roughly the equivalent of a book about the US just talking about the West coast out to Nevada and western Idaho. It sounds like this book is actually talking about the full area, at least in some detail.

[@endlesspotentialenergy6294]

I've enjoyed delving into pockets of the Golarian setting and like the variety (Varisia, Numeria, Nirmathas, Thuvia, and Cheliax in particular). I've had the benefit of playing through the adventure path featuring that A.I. god, beginning to end in PF1e. Started as a psionic gunslinger (Ultimate Psionics shoutout) who retired after his story arc; continued as an elemental, support focused sorceress who was a devotee of The Black Butterfly (Sirocco and Particulate Form were my top spells, honourable mention to Web 🤭). Characters from that campaign have become legacy characters that have come up in future games too! **Spoilers** This is the Iron Gods AP. The factions present were interesting, leading to some PCs choosing built-in history/ties, which was fun. We had two different NPC allies at points (Isuma and Casandalee), and I even ran the second NPC for our DM when our party built an android body for her to inhabit - very durable with some support abilities, but bad at combat. My sorceress developed a meaningful friendship with Longdreamer, and our party treated Torch as our homebase. My favorite combat was a fight on and around a high-speed train in transit during the final dungeon (sorceress was able to fly alongside and keep up with the occasional double move, and could grant resistance to laser fire). Our DM treated tech as a burgeoning presence in the rest of the world, though common to Numerians. The Conan-esque barbarians variously clashing or adopting tech was fun to play with. Highly recommend the AP/setting as a result, though i'm sure some amount of that is due to my DM 😌

[@jacobwillis7596]

I think the issue people are having with the forgotten realms video is that it comes off as a review of the setting itself, not a review of 5e's products in that setting. For instance I ADORE the Ravenloft setting but I really don't like its 5e version. I would feel kinda disappointed if only the 5e single book was reviewed and put something I love in a negative light. I don't think that's your intention but I can see how it could be read that way.

[@nicholasromero238]

Golarion is the only d20 setting I've used and you pretty much hit the nail on the head when you mention how they like to offer hooks, but also leave enough space for DMs to fill in the blanks. There are few things I absolutely *loathe* as a DM than a player being like "well actually according the 5th legend of drizzt book, x is caused by y, not z like you said" and it's why I tend to run homebrew games with people who are absolutely lore fiends; they can't do something like that and they get the fun of digging into the lore while we play. Golarion has enough space to kind of fill in the blanks with cool stuff while having the benefits of already being fleshed out and giving the players something to bite into, so to speak, when making their characters. I also like that while the rules of 2e are obviously engineered to work in Golarion, the world itself works just fine if you decide to run it in 5e or Savage Worlds or what have you

[@CountryBwoy]

When I first started playing D&D (about 6-8 years ago) I got real excited and scoured the Internet for more info. In all of that I, of course, ran across Pathfinder material and always kinda liked their art style over WoTC. With the exception of a couple of books I have (Occult adventures and Intrigue adventures) I never really looked closer into PF's world. Thanks to this here video I'll have to fix that.

[@paulzhuromskyy1228]

I'm honestly not a fan of Golarion as a setting, primarily because it is a kitchen sink setting. This makes it attractive to many DMs, because you can just pick and choose details you like, but to me, the lack of a more overarching theme irks me. It feels more like a theme park than an actual world.

[@ani_anonymuncle]

"Filling in every blank spot leads to Glup Shitto. Glup Shitto leads to pointless debates. Pointless debates become hate."

[@Femmigje112]

My biggest issue with Golarion is that it’s also tied to game mechanics. Some feats have an ethnicity requirement, or spells that has its effect change based on which deity you worship. Because of this, making a homebrew setting work for Pathfinder feels like an even more daunting task. Golarion is a fun design, there’s always some funny thing to point out (like a god who was once a mortal who succeeded in a deadly test on a drunken dare, or the fact that a wizard lives on the sun), but if the Fantasy Stew isn’t to your taste you have to work extra hard to create something for yourself. I’m not expecting Fabula Ultima’s no setting plug-and-play system, but having a setting dig into the mechanics feels rather restrictive

[@claudiolentini5067]

That's a legit complaint, and i also wish they had made it a tad less linked to the setting. luckily many of the "setting restrictions" can be removed with minimal mechanical impact

[@ghqebvful]

Another issue with going to oler editions of D&D for lore is that the lore and state of the world changes drastically between editions, at least as far as I've seen. I never played another edition than 5e but 5e stuff is very different from what I hear in youtube videos discussing older stuff

[@lugh.i]

The answer Is absolutely yes. Thanks for the upload.

[@angelusdemorte3]

But real talk Mike: I love Galorian Lore the most! The new gods are so dope!

[@Stephen-Fox]

Ooh, I've missed your setting reviews. Would love to see more of these if you have time. (Particularly for settings associated with games other than PF2e, D&D5e, and similar games that have their design or at least aesthetic roots in WotC era D&D, but I get that your wheelhouse is that faux-medieval/renaissance heroic fantasy with enough diversity for an anthropomorphic rat, a goblin, a talking bush and a lizardfolk to be adventuring together and not draw too many weird looks when riding into a human majority town so setting reviews for settings associated with that sort of game are going to be more common on your channel) And just a heads-up on Starfinder being intended to be integrated, since you kind of undersold that - It's to the point that the upcoming SF2e is apparently meant to be _fully_ cross-compatible with PF2e (I don't think that was the case with SF1e) - All classes, ancestries, etc made for SF2e should work with and be balanced against all of the ones in PF2e. There's also some pretty funny lore regarding the Ysoki (Ratfolk) relating to the cross compatibility of Starfinder and Pathfinder - They're both found in Galarion, and on the Starfinder setting's Akiton almost identical to the point of sharing a language, and as far as I can tell from what I've seen of the setting (This is something I learnt while making a ratfolk for a Pathfinder campaign so there's likely more going on here than what's outlined in the brief paragraph or so about it in the Ratfolk writeup that's available on Archives of Nethys), no one in-universe has a clue what the hell is going on to make that possible.

[@claudiolentini5067]

I personally would love some more non-faux medieval /reinassance settings that go absolutely gonzo in terms of available species

[@renedegames7219]

Hot take, the Sword Coast (+ 10 towns) is the Forgotten Realms, because all the video games are set there.

[@RottenRogerDM]

Setting books can range from the thin World of Greyhawk from 1980 which is mainly an idea prompts or so detail you know who killed who in 1452 in Waterdeep. Campaigns should never require the GM to read multiple stories across multiple books, media, and you tube vids to know the setting. Settings should give you plot hooks and evil GM Ideas and plenty of blank spaces to put your flavor into the campaign.

[@mistaree8394]

I mostly play PF2E these days and Golarion is a very solid setting but one of my favorite settings is Eberron. I run my PF2E game in a modified Eberron.

[@doomhippie6673]

Try the Dark Eye Almanach. That's an interesting one. Of course it's not for Pathfinder but for "The Dark Eye".

[@tonysladky8925]

WOTC themselves are missing the best part of the Forgotten Realms: Acquisitions Incorporated (well, prior to the recent pseudo-reboot in Greyhawk). The Forgotten Realms are an over-the-top fantasy kitchen sink that routinely intersects with about a bajillion other genres (the biggest thing to happen to the Forgotten Realns recently is a video game about an alien invasion, complete with at least one UFO crash for f***'s sake) that just pretends to be a played-straight epic fantasy setting. The Acq Inc DMs are some of the only people who I feel understand the assignment of the Forgotten Realms. Also, I'm still early in the video, not sure if this is gonna be the call to action, but on the off-chance it is: Guildmaster' s Guide to Ravnica is my favorite 5E setting book. Unique setting, good supply of player options, both in terms of new/reposted mechanical options or advice for how to use older options, a robust selection of factions to interact with, a good supply of setting-specific loot and monsters for DMs, and a modular starter adventure.

[@djseggrighfscu1616]

I really enjoy the pathfinder content. I’m reading the player handbook core to learn the game. I hope that I can Gm the game soon

[@kelpiekit4002]

Probably hold off on Starfinder until the 2nd edition is released since they are working on it at current, unless you're just after the setting books like Pact Worlds or Near Space. I'd love to see you doing a setting view on the setting of 7th Sea since it is so strongly tied to our world. Does it feel like a fantasy location or more like the Earth but with monsters of games like Call of Cthulhu and World of Darkness? And does that add to useability and immersion for you or detract?

[@arovner75]

I love me some Pathfinder/Golarion videos!

[@roywilliams1580]

I can see your point regarding the Realms, but its a great setting if your willing to dig getting into it. I wished WotC broadened the setting outside the SC, but that is their choice. My games are all over, but I've been playing realms since the 80's. I was sad it was chosen for 5th, and is why I am happy to see Oerth/Greyhawk as the new setting. That way its the toilet setting.

[@EasilyBoredGamer]

Im just in general not happy with how 5e does pretty much all of its setting books, half of them are dedicated to player options leaving me with maybe 120-150 pages of information, more often than not requiring me to dig up 3e or sometimes 2e books from drivethrurpg just to plug gaps

[@heaiiyasha]

Well looks like 5.5 is going back to Greyhawk as it's official setting. But I don't think it's going to be any better.

[@Cassapphic]

Considering how well bg3 did I think most of their published adventures will still be FR, which means greyhawk can stand out as a more stripped back setting than can have more directed lore and advice.

[@ilmari1452]

An interesting take - I agreed with most of your thoughts on the Forgotten Realms, but for Galerion it'll have to be "agree to disagree". I genuinely see it as a fantasy soup and not in a good way. The sheer diversity of fantasy and scifi themes butting up alongside each other stops me from being able to take any of it seriously. Also, I really don't like the designation of good and evil states, particularly the offensive charicatures of the Good American Revolution in Andoran, and the Evil French Revolution in Galt. I can recognise my own bias though - and if Golarion does it for other people, then good for them! There are fantasy worlds aplenty for all of us.

[@angelusdemorte3]

Sounds like you're on the right Path...

[@anthonyledel2072]

It definitely can have an elevator pitch. The story of pharasma and rovagug And his chaining to the heart of the world.

[@narvalin5905]

Also, a drunk Human attaining godhood on a drunken bet?

[@einkar4219]

​@@narvalin5905he wasn't just drunk, he was drunk to the point that he doesn't remember what had happened during starstone test when he achieved goodhood

[@andrewshandle]

"That's how you get Star Wars fans" made me laugh out loud for real. 😉

[@JoULove]

I keep thinking it's Galarian as in Galar from Pokémon Sword and Shield 😂

[@shadygrunt1684]

Yeah. Not a huge fan of Galorian. I play pathfinder 1e and just homebrew my own setting

[@davidribeiro1064]

For what it's worth I bounced of Golarion even harder than from FR. Usually it's the Adventure Paths that are really good.

[@matthewconstantine5015]

Pathfinder as a game doesn't interest me at all. I already don't like D&D generally, and the Pathfinder system seems to take a lot of the things I don't like about it and turn them to 11. That said, their setting seems fun. I've got a book or two from it that I thought I might mine for other games. If I were going to get into Golarion, I'd probably go with the Savage Worlds version, as Savage Worlds is a system that is MUCH more to my liking.

[@Ocaisionallysane]

For me I like a lot of what I hear about Golarion but I’m not running pathfinder so I don’t feel right using it in 5e for example. If anything makes me trepidatious it’s that kitchen sink nature where I feel maybe there too much to handle.

[@claudiolentini5067]

The kitchen sink nature is actually handled oretty well, because for the most part is a series of scattered "mini settings" that allow you to play different genres and themes and they manage to build up towards a cohesive narrative

[@jemleye]

My issue with Golarion is that it is even more of a kitchen sink fantasy soup than Forgotten Realms. Much of the expanded lore admittedly makes Forgotten Reals complicated now, but the main core of it is a connected world. Places and kingdoms in Golarion feel very, very disconnected. I guess you can have your horror games, epic fantasy, court intrigue, French Revolution, and Mad Max barbarians on the same continent, but that just comes off as way too mixed focus to me. That just never felt like a viable coherent world to me, rather a plot hole galore mixed technology and idea sink I am unable to take seriously if the campaign ventures into more than one overly specifically defined area of the world.

[@manueltorresart2345]

Oh boy, Japan is getting weirder with their isekais. Now it's a pc that begins making awful crappy art stealing other artstyles that becomes a god in another world.

[@MySqueezingArm]

First

[@PalleRasmussen]

I am not sure. I am not too keen on it. But I know that Forgotten Realms absolutely suck from a historian's perspective.

[@chandlerwerenka4462]

damn, 10 views in 2 minutes? mike fell off