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When the books are released it will be 4718 in Golarion. But not much has happened in the world since 4709.
They've announced in the PF2 FAQ that they're updating the world and several of the APs will have assumed to have happened, but several nations had looming events that they purposely avoided building an AP around in case GMs wanted to use those hooks. But it feels weird to have those powderkegs just sit and not change for a full decade.
What events and changes should occur across the Inner Sea? Or, more specifically, what would you LIKE to see.
For example, the Worldwound should probably be closed, reflecting the end of Wrath of the Righteous. But while new demons are not emerging, the region would likely still be tainted by Abyssal energies with stray demons wandering.
Razmiran was mortal so a decade would have been hard on him. Or would he have gotten that last level, hit 20, and gained immortality?
Or was he discovered? 10 years was a long time. Did he break a leg or get an illness and have to seek a real cleric?
Nirmathas should be either have been conquered by Molthune and is an occupied nation, or Molthune lost the war and Nirmathas has gained loose independence and is a burgeoning free nation.
Several small kingdoms should have emerged from the River Kingdoms.
Is Galt still French Revolution Land? By the current year, the land would have been undergoing revolution for fifty years, which is five times that of the real French Revolution. Or has the kingdom found its Napoleon?
Andoran is kinda boring as the good nation of good, who are really anti-slavery. It's a place people are from or work for but isn't a good place for adventure itself. Most Andoran adventures just happen to take place in Andoran and don't involve the nation proper.
Paizo probably shouldn't be *too* afraid to tweak or advance the timeline, so long as things don't change too much. So long as it still feels familiar and like Golarion. Campaign settings are largely system agnostic. Once you have the rules for Inner Sea factions and feats you can use the old campaign settings, setting campaigns in the previous era.
It's also be fun to give unnamed adventuring parties credit for certain historic events, like exposing and deposing Razmiran, and allow GMs to have a campaign set a year or two in the past and play through those events to let their PCs be those characters.
What would YOU like to see change and happen to the Inner Sea?
Many of those questions are interesting, moving the clock forward a decade or so makes sense. One thing I'd like to find out what happened to Aroden, preferably in AP format.
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Some of that was already confirmed, eg. the Worldwound is closed, but it's still chock full of demons and taint.
I'm super curious how did Reign of Winter play out canonically (because that's one where even if you win there's more than one way things could have turned out) and if there's an Independent Republic of Ravounel with Cheliax constantly hoping to send a fully armed battalion to remind Kintargo of their love.
Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.
Considering nearly all the APs take very little in-game time to resolve (with the exception of maybe Kingmaker), I'd actually love it if we got canon resolutions for all of them.
The Worldwound is closed. Ravounel is no longer part of Cheliax. Nirmathas and Molthune have reached peace after uniting to fight the Ironfang Legion. Ameiko sits on the Jade Throne. The Lost City of Xin, risen from below the waves and ripe for plunder. And so on and so forth.
I mean, Paizo is already on record saying all the APs happen, just not the timeline. I feel 10-12 years is enough time for them to happen (especially since most of them can happen simultaneously).
It would be an interesting decade, to be sure.
Nocticula may become a goddess. Some other small changes to the pantheon maybe.
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I think I made similar thread to it, but it didn't really gain interest so yay that someone made second thread so I have new chance to discuss this!
So uh yeah, I'm myself interested in Module related changes, like what is state of Acadamae after Academy of Secrets and what happened to Ravenmoor and such.
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They've said they aren't instituting any major changes that didn't happen in an AP or module, so Galt is likely still having a revolution (or series of revolutions...which is believable, some countries in Africa, for example, have had series of revolutions that continued around that long with only short breaks), Razmiran is probably both still alive and not immortal (and thus getting super desperate) and so on and so forth.
But the following things are probably the major changes to expect:
-The Worldwound is gonna be closed (Wrath of the Righteous)
-There's going to have been some serious political upheaval in Cheliax (Hell's Vengeance and Hell's Rebels)
-Irrisen will have a new Queen (we probably even know who, though it's an AP spoiler) and will probably have started serious reforms (Reign of Winter)
-The Technic League in Numeria may well have had their power broken and a new minor God may have arisen (Iron Gods...I'm slightly shaky on this one as I still hold out hope for playing it)
-The River Kingdoms will definitely have changed layout a bit (Kingmaker)
-Korvosa will have new rulers (Curse of the Crimson Throne)
-The Drow will no longer be a secret (Second Darkness)
-Nirmathas may well be in a better position in regards to Molthune (Ironfang Invasion).
-Taldor will have undergone serious political upheaval (War For The Drown)
-Whatever changes Return of the Runelords institutes.
There's some incidental changes in other stuff, but most of the other APs are more about stopping something than causing something that reshapes the setting.
Some of that was already confirmed, eg. the Worldwound is closed, but it's still chock full of demons and taint.
I'm super curious how did Reign of Winter play out canonically (because that's one where even if you win there's more than one way things could have turned out) and if there's an Independent Republic of Ravounel with Cheliax constantly hoping to send a fully armed battalion to remind Kintargo of their love.
Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.
Reign of Winter was one of my curiosities as well, it can go so many ways. Ending slavery in Irrisen and overall taking things down a notch or two makes it an Adventurer's winter wonderland. Having Baba Yaga making a land grab or some other power play would be exciting as well.
Varisia has a lot to change the landscape even before the Runelords come back.
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I think the upcoming Runelords adventure wil herald some changes to Varisa, so it's uncertain what will happen there. And Taldor is undoubtedly going to be struggling to recover from it's recent civil war.
Razmiran
Razmir emerged in 4661 and declared himself a god. That's 57 years ago, so even if he was 20 at the time he'd be 77 now. He's old.
I think he'd be gone. Again, chalk that up to generic adventurers.
Instead, the nation is a land that has lost its leader & living god, and is torn between the faithful (who believe Razmir's avatar was deposed and he returned to the Great Beyond) and the sceptics. The church is ostensibly in charge still, but their control is tenuous, but still all that stands between the nation and implosion.
Andoran
This land really needs more…
But I think it's obsession with freeing slaves would have led it to declare war with Cheliax. After the Glorious Reclamation caused uprisings (and Ravounel to secede from that nation) Andoran would see it's opportunity to attack, when Cheliax was distracted by internal strife. Perhaps under the auspices of liberating Isger. So there's open war on the seas and the western borders of Andoran.
Few campaign settings have open war. It's casually looking war or tension with the war taking place between editions. I think being the nation at war is what Andoran needs. Especially if the war isn't going well. Lots of adventure hooks there. Getting allies, making supply lines, quelling local unrest, finding spies, etc.
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The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
Razmiran's death and/or Andoran going to war are thus simply not gonna happen 'offscreen' and are very unlikely things to throw into Return of the Runelords. So they aren't gonna happen.
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Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.
Boo!
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The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
Razmiran's death and/or Andoran going to war are thus simply not gonna happen 'offscreen' and are very unlikely things to throw into Return of the Runelords. So they aren't gonna happen.
Which is a problem, and why I started this thread. Because there's still time for changes.
After all, the core rulebook isn't due for a year and change and a potential revision to the campaign setting would likely be the year after given the work required.(Given the time delay, this means we're *really* looking at the Golarion of 4720.)
It's weird for some nations to have undergone drastic changes while others have basically been frozen in time for 12 years, since the Gazetteer was published in '08.
A new edition is a time to fix things that are broken in the rules. Why not also fix things that aren't working in the lore as well, like Andoran being this generic, forgettable location.
Or Razmiran realistically being in his 80s, if not pushing 90. Even with a dash of Sun Orchid Elixir, he's super old and likely frail. By the time they get to that AP he'll be so old defeating him will likely amount to getting a single Trip attack off that will break his hip. (And it's also suddenly weird that he never managed to gain that last level in over a decade.)
Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.
Clearly Aroden traveled to the future to create the Gap for the Starfinder series.
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Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.Boo!
I don’t get why having a mystery such a bad thing.
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Clearly Aroden traveled to the future to create the Gap for the Starfinder series.
Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.
But not before seeding the past with good goblins!
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Yeah I think there is little need for huge story-shifts between the editions (besides something on Goblins would be nice imo), but I hope we see some love for the underdeveloped regions (and Core Races), especially in form of APs and Campaign books. As much as I like Cheliax and Varisia, I feel like it has seen enough action, while places like Razmiran, Nex/Geb, Five Kings Mountains, etc. seem to have been left untouched. Obviously the Inner Sea Region is such a huge setting that it takes a time to cover every aspect, but I hope we some new themes and myths explored with the new edition.
Razmir's age shouldn't be too much of a concern though, because powerful arcane casters can often find a way around that, but it would be a fun idea to play a bunch of acolytes who to climb in rank in the clergy to become the new "Razmir" once he dies for whatever reason. Maybe there have been already multiple Razmirs without the populus knowing.
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Given the penchant of Razmir's faithful for masks, it's also entirely possible that somebody just took his spot.
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I don’t get why having a mystery such a bad thing.Aaaand it was confirmed that Aroden's fate will remain a secret.Boo!
It varies.
The unsolvable mystery is good for driving things forward. Especially if there is no real canon answer. Or it's a MacGuffin for the setting (i.e. what caused the Gap? Who are the Dark Powers of Ravenloft? What's in the Sugar Bowl?)
And it's much better than a mystery with a lame answer. Or where the answer is just another mystery who answer is another mystery, etc.
If there IS an answer and the answer is good, then it's just keeping an element of the setting hidden from the GMs. It's a story they can't tell, a bit of world lore they can't incorporate into their game.
Yeah, Paizo want to leave it open for GMs in case they have better ideas and not to invalidate their plots. But GMs can always choose to ignore any official revelations for house canon. And giving a real answers gives GMs more choices and ideas than they had before.
I think Paizo made a mistake by formalizing the answer and then revealing there IS an answer. Because that just teases the fans. They should have been more vague and said "we're leaving the answer to that for the fans..."
At this point, what they should do is give out five "answers". The Paizo answers and associated plots. And one is the official answer. Probably. Maybe. But they won't confirm or deny. That retains some mystery and gives GMs options but doesn't lock them in.
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Having felt burned by other games' devs by random and dramatic changes to their settings between rules revisions (as a fan of Wraith: the Oblivion I'm not sure I will ever forgive White Wolf for blowing up that part of their setting just because they didn't want to update that sub-ruleset, and let's not even talk about Forgotten Realms)...
I am a big fan of "as few changes as possible." Acknowledging that various APs/modules happened is fine and makes sense, with subsequent outcomes, but I do not want to have to relearn half a setting on top of learning a new revised ruleset. There's so many stories we can tell with existing setting material.
I recognize that may feel too static to the few but die-hard fans who read every adventure, module, and novel like career Netflix bingewatchers. Unfortunately, I don't think doing otherwise would be in service to the larger player base which likely hasn't so obsessively followed everything.
Hopefully the areas that hadn't seen a lot of action in 1e will be the subjects of 2e APs.
The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
Razmiran's death and/or Andoran going to war are thus simply not gonna happen 'offscreen' and are very unlikely things to throw into Return of the Runelords. So they aren't gonna happen.
Pretty much the only way changes like that would be introduced would be as setup for an adventure path, if such changes in some way make for better adventures. Or, if the status quo from the previous edition was unsustainable but the method for resolving it was too boring to make an adventure path out of.
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Yeah, changes should include in-lore reason for Goblins to not be kill-on-sight (that isn't locked behind playing a certain yet-to-be-published PF1 AP), and why Resonance just became a thing.
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PFS has actually been hinting at stuff with Andoran for a while now, actually, heavily implying that while it is ostensibly the Good Freedom nation, its government is also corrupt as hell. It's not a reflection of the perfect Democratic Republic, but of, frankly, early American governance, where ostensibly it's of the people by the people and for the people, but is in reality an oligarchy of the wealthy and formerly noble who just traded in their estates and titles for government seats. Which I think is a really cool setting for a political intrigue campaign, although not necessarily for an AP.
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Yeah, changes should include in-lore reason for Goblins to not be kill-on-sight (that isn't locked behind playing a certain yet-to-be-published PF1 AP), and why Resonance just became a thing.
And also they should explain explictly in lore how people suddenly can only do three actions every six seconds and why they now have more feats than they did previously.
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I am a big fan of "as few changes as possible." Acknowledging that various APs/modules happened is fine and makes sense, with subsequent outcomes, but I do not want to have to relearn half a setting on top of learning a new revised ruleset. There's so many stories we can tell with existing setting material.
I recognize that may feel too static to the few but die-hard fans who read every adventure, module, and novel like career Netflix bingewatchers. Unfortunately, I don't think doing otherwise would be in service to the larger player base which likely hasn't so obsessively followed everything.
As someone who felt burned by Dragonlance the 5th Age/ Age of Mortals, I sympathize. There really should be as few changes as absolutely possible and no Realmshaking Events. No destruction of iconic locations and no major changes to entire regions.
But there should be the feeling of progress. Small evolutions that make sense. New leaders. Problems that have been solved. New problems arising from things that seemed settled. New discoveries. New factions.
Otherwise, they should just keep the setting at the old timeline. (Which would totally be an option.)
Updating things does work in the favour of die hard fans, but it also benefits those less obsessed fans. Because it fills them in on the events of the APs. And might encourage them to check out some skipped content.
Yeah, changes should include in-lore reason for Goblins to not be kill-on-sight (that isn't locked behind playing a certain yet-to-be-published PF1 AP), and why Resonance just became a thing.And also they should explain explictly in lore how people suddenly can only do three actions every six seconds and why they now have more feats than they did previously.
Not sure if sarcasm...
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Or Razmiran realistically being in his 80s, if not pushing 90. Even with a dash of Sun Orchid Elixir, he's super old and likely frail. By the time they get to that AP he'll be so old defeating him will likely amount to getting a single Trip attack off that will break his hip. (And it's also suddenly weird that he never managed to gain that last level in over a decade.)
I can't remember where I read it but something did confirm he's gotten his hands on the Sun Orchid Elixir once or twice.
Is the question "what changes should go into the setting when 2nd edition is launched" if so I think we pretty much have the answer- Adventure Paths are canonical and incremental natural change is happening all over.
If the question is "what should they do to the setting immediately after Pathfinder 2nd edition launches" that's a different kettle of fish. It wouldn't surprise me if the first PF2 AP is a banger. Since in these things you can affect bigger change if you let players participate.
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Yeah, changes should include in-lore reason for Goblins to not be kill-on-sight (that isn't locked behind playing a certain yet-to-be-published PF1 AP), and why Resonance just became a thing.
For the resonance bit, well, it replace the slot mechanics. it just means that it's now possible to have more than one amulet, but 10* is still too much. And really, I don't remember them explaining in-lore why you couldn't wear two amulets. And in fact, that just bring the rules closer to the lore. I don't see why they should change the lore for that.
*arbitrary number for an imaginary appropriate character
Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
I don't think that's quite accurate, although we're deep into the land of nuance here.
There won't be "Realms-Shaking Events" outside of APs, and you're probably right that major changes like killing Razmir or upending Andoran are unlikely to happen. But there will likely be _some_ non-AP changes, particularly if we perceive a nation as "kinda boring" or where it stretches credulity that nothing has changed over 10 years.
We haven't decided what to do with Galt yet, for example. While we certainly agree that that revolution has been going on a long time, I suspect there's still significant feeling within the company that it would be fun for PLAYERS to resolve that particular issue. I'd expect that the new "status quo" for that nation sets things up for a future AP to finally resolve the issue, and thus minor changes serve to lead into a cool story slightly down the road.
Dunno. We'll see. This is an interesting thread. Thanks for it!
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Having felt burned by other games' devs by random and dramatic changes to their settings between rules revisions (as a fan of Wraith: the Oblivion I'm not sure I will ever forgive White Wolf for blowing up that part of their setting just because they didn't want to update that sub-ruleset, and let's not even talk about Forgotten Realms)...
Yes!
If I want a change in the setting, I will darn well change the setting!
But it should remain a toolbox, and not have tools randomly taken away (or changed) because of some meta-story that may not be happening in my version of the setting.
I'm still salty about the Time of Troubles, and the blowing up of the World of Darkness certainly didn't do White Wolf any favors.
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Yeah, much as I love Old World of Darkness, the way they handled metaplot was just not great, and caused all sorts of issues.
Yeah, changes should include in-lore reason for Goblins to not be kill-on-sight (that isn't locked behind playing a certain yet-to-be-published PF1 AP), and why Resonance just became a thing.
Resonance doesn't really need a huge explanation. Nowhere in any lore (as opposed to at a game table) have I seen someone violate its restrictions on consumables, and aside from that it replaces Item Slots, which were already a limitation on how many items you could wear. Hints of something like it existing in-world can also be found in the Alchemist and Occultist Class descriptions.
And it being based on Charisma is utterly consistent with the Use Magic Device skill.
The goblin thing is an in-world change and absolutely does require an in-world explanation (which I expect we'll get, probably in Return of the Runelords), but Resonance? Nah.
The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
Razmiran's death and/or Andoran going to war are thus simply not gonna happen 'offscreen' and are very unlikely things to throw into Return of the Runelords. So they aren't gonna happen.
Which is a problem, and why I started this thread. Because there's still time for changes.
After all, the core rulebook isn't due for a year and change and a potential revision to the campaign setting would likely be the year after given the work required.
(Given the time delay, this means we're *really* looking at the Golarion of 4720.)It's weird for some nations to have undergone drastic changes while others have basically been frozen in time for 12 years, since the Gazetteer was published in '08.
A new edition is a time to fix things that are broken in the rules. Why not also fix things that aren't working in the lore as well, like Andoran being this generic, forgettable location.
Or Razmiran realistically being in his 80s, if not pushing 90. Even with a dash of Sun Orchid Elixir, he's super old and likely frail. By the time they get to that AP he'll be so old defeating him will likely amount to getting a single Trip attack off that will break his hip. (And it's also suddenly weird that he never managed to gain that last level in over a decade.)
But why resolve them when you can do an Adventure about them instead?
Razmir being old and ancient and about to keel over (although he is a wizard ruling a nation...somehow I don't think he is that bad off) just makes him more desperate, and much more likely to set in motion events that involve PCS
The suggestions you make are simply not gonna happen. The folks at Paizo have specifically and explicitly said that there will be no 'between edition' changes. Nothing that hasn't been featured in an AP or other adventure.
But there will likely be _some_ non-AP changes, particularly if we perceive a nation as "kinda boring" or where it stretches credulity that nothing has changed over 10 years.
We haven't decided what to do with Galt yet, for example. While we certainly agree that that revolution has been going on a long time, I suspect there's still significant feeling within the company that it would be fun for PLAYERS to resolve that particular issue. I'd expect that the new "status quo" for that nation sets things up for a future AP to finally resolve the issue, and thus minor changes serve to lead into a cool story slightly down the road.
Dunno. We'll see. This is an interesting thread. Thanks for it!
Somehow this makes me think that Hermea and Rahadoum are going to get a bridge dropped on them...
I hope Galt still remains chaotic...it's one of my most longed for AP's. ESPECIALLY if the hints of a Conqueror Worm being maybe involved are true.
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A thread on Half-Orcs got me wondering, can we see more of an emerging Orc civilization that has some positive characteristics so that non-Orcs would happily spend time with Orcs? I know there has been rumblings of something like this going on in Belkzen, and I would like to "there are some non-savage Orcs out there" to be committed to the page somewhere. I don't think we're ever going to run out of the savage kind anyway, and "Orcs have a society and a culture" shouldn't be a wholly alien idea to most people (I mean, everybody played Skyrim.)
After all, even Genghis Khan had *some* fairly progressive (for the time) policies. Orcs can still be plenty "harsh and rugged" but some of them needn't be moreso than like "Kellid people."
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[...]
I'm still salty about the Time of Troubles, and the blowing up of the World of Darkness certainly didn't do White Wolf any favors.
Well, they kinda tied themselves up with this one, promising there will be an end of the world... they postponed it for some years, but it went stale and it was becoming kind of a joke that the end would never come. When came the time to make a new edition, they realized it was the time to fulfill the promise, and it let them make the big tonal shift then wanted to make (the old tone was also getting out of fashion fast).
Personally, I loved that change, as the old tone felt weird to me, and the new one was way more my kind of horror. But eh, now they are releasing new books again (even if they could choose some better people to write some of them...)Yeah, much as I love Old World of Darkness, the way they handled metaplot was just not great, and caused all sorts of issues.
[...]
And yeah, I agree, it was beginning to be hard to make new things in that world as a storyteller, that soured me from premade settings and metaplot for a while, it took Paizo to endear me back to the concept.
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Razmir's age shouldn't be too much of a concern though, because powerful arcane casters can often find a way around that, but it would be a fun idea to play a bunch of acolytes who to climb in rank in the clergy to become the new "Razmir" once he dies for whatever reason. Maybe there have been already multiple Razmirs without the populus knowing.
The dread pirate Razmir!
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Razmir emerged in 4661 and declared himself a god. That's 57 years ago, so even if he was 20 at the time he'd be 77 now. He's old.
I think he'd be gone. Again, chalk that up to generic adventurers.
On the contrary, an 87 year old Razmir would still have all of his spellcasting power, which is what made him feared in the first place. He's likely to be feeling his age, getting more ruthless and desperate in pursuit of real immortality by now. Maybe willing to resort to lichdom because he knows the Lady of Graves isn't likely to be a fan of his divine charade.
There's all sort of seeds for an AP there, and it'd be a shame to resolve it "off-panel".
I expect we will likely see some changes in the River Kingdoms more then anywhere else. Numerous places may have small pop-up empires or someone new may have become in charge of an area. For instance Artume's lost heir, Edryd, is almost 30 now based on the timeline, and i feel that Waike may have finally abandoned his cash cow, or been overthrown. A kingdom may have sprung up in Lorics Fells for example as well.
A thread on Half-Orcs got me wondering, can we see more of an emerging Orc civilization that has some positive characteristics so that non-Orcs would happily spend time with Orcs? I know there has been rumblings of something like this going on in Belkzen, and I would like to "there are some non-savage Orcs out there" to be committed to the page somewhere. I don't think we're ever going to run out of the savage kind anyway, and "Orcs have a society and a culture" shouldn't be a wholly alien idea to most people (I mean, everybody played Skyrim.)
After all, even Genghis Khan had *some* fairly progressive (for the time) policies. Orcs can still be plenty "harsh and rugged" but some of them needn't be moreso than like "Kellid people."
There are unexplored areas of Glorian (and homebrewed worlds). There could exist an orc civilization that had been "undiscovered" until recently.
Since orcs will worship any warlike power, these could worship the Aesir pantheon. I see great appeal to Orcs in (some variations of) Odin, Thor, Frigga, Tyr, Magni and Modi. Viking culture could fit the Orcs.
Why would the Aesir do this? Maybe they want to establish a foothold in Glorian (or homebrew world). Just a thought.
More likely to be widely known by the general populace:
Varisia - massive changes excepting Kaer Maga and the Shoanti's homelands. New rulers in Korvosa and Magnimar plus the new shiny place in Xin-Shalast unless Return takes care of that.
Cheliax - lost a region, crushed a revolt, less stable than in 4708.
Taldor - well, we're not all the way through yet, but there's a new Empress in all likelihood.
Belkzen - a lot fewer nasties thanks to the BBEG and his pet Wyrm/Great Wyrm Red Dragon getting put down before sailing who-knows-where with a floating fortress full of giants and dragons, oh my.
Trade route re-opened across the polar ice with a new Jade Empress running the show in Minkai.
A new Hurricane [ruler] has unified the pirates of the Shackles, more or less.
New pharoah or whatever in Osirion. Certainly a lot of new piles of rubble.
New leadership for Irrisen.
A large new [nation] has acquired most of the fractious River Kingdoms under their banner, crushing Pitax in the process.
The 'happy ending' of the Ironfang Invasion, whatever that is.
Probably the best-known 'globally' will be the closure of the Worldwound a few short years ago.
Less likely to be known about:
New Andoran colony via the Ruins of Azlant.
New Gawddess via Iron Gods (not sure myself on the specifics).
Likely that very few or no one knows about:
Second Darkness, Legacy of Fire, Carrion Crown, Serpent's Skull, Strange Aeons and the meaty details of the Ruins of Azlant.
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Razmir's age shouldn't be too much of a concern though, because powerful arcane casters can often find a way around that, but it would be a fun idea to play a bunch of acolytes who to climb in rank in the clergy to become the new "Razmir" once he dies for whatever reason. Maybe there have been already multiple Razmirs without the populus knowing.
Powerful arcane casters typically survive by becoming liches, which Razmir doesn't want to seem to do. And then that land just becomes another "ruled by an eeeevil undead necromancer" nation.
I love the idea of an acolyte that adopts the Mask and identity. Especially if he because he honestly believes he's a vessel for the god, being a true believer.
Or Razmir is body hopping via a modified magic jar.
We haven't decided what to do with Galt yet, for example. While we certainly agree that that revolution has been going on a long time, I suspect there's still significant feeling within the company that it would be fun for PLAYERS to resolve that particular issue. I'd expect that the new "status quo" for that nation sets things up for a future AP to finally resolve the issue, and thus minor changes serve to lead into a cool story slightly down the road.
12 years is also long enough for chaos to have ended, a government to arise and take control. And then collapse in a spectacular bout of incompetence returning things to the previous status quo. Only all the more tragic because, for a few too brief years, things were good...
Or, alternatively, the fragile new government is arising and is on the verge of collapse. Giving PCs the opportunity to either assist it out of the belief that an incompetent government is better than the preceding chaos. Or take it over to try and fix things personally. Or knock it down in the hopes what emerges after will be better.
I hope Galt still remains chaotic...it's one of my most longed for AP's. ESPECIALLY if the hints of a Conqueror Worm being maybe involved are true.
I wonder if Paizo could get away with a decade spanning AP.
One that starts in 4710 with the chaos of Galt, with each volume covering a span of a several years, working to the "present" and the revised status quo, showing how it was the work of the PCs.
And then potentially further resolving events in the nation during the final volume or two.
It'd be nice to have a story that takes place over a less compressed timeframe. I remember finishing Rise of the Runelords and thinking "Man, I kept track of pretty every day and that whole campaign could have fit into a long summer vacation..."
There's all sort of seeds for an AP there, and it'd be a shame to resolve it "off-panel".
Re: Razmir
If the new timeline and Gazetteer refers to him being "assassinated by a group of adventurers" then it doesn't happen off-panel. It happens on-screen by groups who want to be the ones responsible.In the same way that AP events happen onscreen for people who play them and offscreen for people who skip those APs.
It's just setting up a climax for homegames, preemptively making it canon.
Quite a few changes could be handled in that fashion. Campaign mad libs. "And the last purchaser of the Sun Orchid Elixer was ______, member of a noted mercenary company."
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It's funny as a lot of the little mysteries and "powder kegs" (as Wolfgang Baur describes them in Midgard) left smoldering in the setting weren't touched in APs because they were being left for players and homegames. So the APs went off and told stories on the side that often didn't change the status quo.
And now, a decade later, we're wondering if they should be still ready to go off or not.
So, it has been confirmed that all APs will have happened? I know some were definitely moving forward, but I wasn't sure on all of them. I'd be okay with it, but I kinda want the worldwound to still be open, as well as certain other adventure be left unsolved. Otherwise, it does seem like a super dense decade for adventuring.
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There are unexplored areas of Glorian (and homebrewed worlds). There could exist an orc civilization that had been "undiscovered" until recently.
For Golarion specifically, while I haven't played Giantslayer, I would imagine that there is a power vacuum in Belkzen after it's over. So you could just describe about how some Orc leader has stepped into that void as a reformer who wants to focus more on building than destroying. It's a radical notion for orcs, but sometimes there are radicals.