Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Korvosa (OGL)

4.90/5 (based on 14 ratings)
Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Korvosa (OGL)
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The city-state of Korvosa, largest in all Varisia, has prospered over the last century since its abandonment by its founding nation of Cheliax. Its port brims with black-and-red-flagged ships—the colors of both Korvosa and Cheliax—endlessly trading fineries from the south for Varisian curiosities and her land’s natural bounty. As such, Korvosa rightfully claims to be the most cultured and civilized city in the region, yet visitors might also grant the city-state the titles of most decadent, exploitative, and socially stratified.

This 64-page book serves as an exhaustive guide to the city, including details on all major points of interest, profiles on the city’s movers and shakers, and countless adventure hooks for enterprising GMs to expand upon. It also includes a full-color poster map of Korvosa. While designed for use with the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path, this information-packed supplement is useable in any fantasy RPG campaign.

Written by Mike McArtor

ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-078-0

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: The map in this book should have been inserted using contact cement, but it was inadvertently bound in instead. Please do not attempt to tear it out; instead, carefully cut it out.

How to Remove Your Korvosa Poster Map


You'll need the book, a piece of thick paper or thin plastic (we used a file folder) that a blade won't easily cut through, a ruler, and a flat cutting device such as a razor blade or a sculpting tool. (Please don't cut yourself!)



You can see that when the poster was bound into the book, an extra 1/4" of poster was printed for the binding. This 1/4" contains only water areas—cutting the poster out doesn't cut anything off the map.



We placed our file folder snug into the binding between the poster and the interior pages of the book. Make sure whatever you use cannot be easily cut through or you will damage the interior pages.


(Click on this picture to enlarge.) Place your ruler between the two folds of the poster so that the layers from bottom to top go:

Interior pages
File folder
Bottom of poster
Ruler
Top of Poster

Make sure you line the ruler up as straight as possible with the top edge of the poster so that you get a perfectly rectangular poster after the cut.


Carefully fold back the top layer of the map, making sure to keep the ruler straight and in the same spot you just lined it up at. Then, cut slowly and carefully down the edge of the ruler. Do not cut yourself. Do not press hard enough to cut through the file folder or whatever you've chosen to cut on. You only want to cut through two thin layers of poster, not through the file folder.



And there you go! You should have a 1/8" slice of paper left bound into the book, there should be no damage to the interior pages (or binding!), and the result is no more leftover paper than you'd find in a book with a bound-in, perforated, poster map.




The result is a beautiful map of Korvosa!

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Lost Omens Subscription.

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZO1106


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Fantastic Sourcebook

5/5

Published under the "Pathfinder Chronicles" line (that would evolve into the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line), the Guide to Korvosa is a 64-page soft cover gazetteer of the city. Its release was timed in conjunction with the release of the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path, but the text carefully avoids any spoilers. Indeed, it was written so that players could take advantage of it as well--only a single small chapter at the end contains any secret GM-only information. The book is also almost completely mechanics-free so that it could be used with any ruleset. Although an older book (2008), it's still the best singe source for information on Korvosa that's available.

The interior design of the book is quite nice, with plenty of sidebars, maps, and headshots of important NPCs in the city. The inside front- and back- covers are an in-depth timeline of events in the city's history. One of the best things about the book is that it comes with a four-panel pull-out map of the city--I had mine laminated as it's still the best visible representation of the city I'm aware of.

Chapter One is a four-page introduction It summarises some very basic things about the city, such as its symbols and motto, Korvosan slang, punishments for different crimes, and a useful few paragraphs about the "Korvosan Mindset". Did you know Korvosans respect order, look down on Varisians and Shoanti, and that there's only one thieves' guild and that it's fully registered with the government? Things like this are crucial for figuring out the "feel" of a fictional city, so when I run some adventures in Korvosa I'll do my best to make use of it. I'm still trying to figure Korvosa out--it's not an "evil" Cheliaxian city, but comes across as darker than Magnimar while still being cosmopolitan.

Chapter Two comes in at a hefty 28 pages and covers various areas and buildings within the city. The chapter has a good explanation of Korvosa's role in the region and a summary of its external holdings (Korvosa is essentially a city-state and controls several small towns and villages in the region). Each of the city's neighborhoods are described and given individual inset-maps. Key buildings are fleshed out, with particular attention to the Acadamae (Korvosa's most prestigious school of magic) and Castle Korvosa. I could totally imagine running an Acadamae-focussed campaign someday! There's good detail about Eodred's Walk, a plaza of fourteen shops that will likely handle most of what PCs will need when making purchases. Neighborhoods like the Shingles and places like the Church of Aroden and the Pantheon of Many are memorable features. Having read Curse of the Crimson Throne, I can tell how well locations that feature in that AP are incorporated here, but again in a completely non-spoilery way that wouldn't flag their importance to players. Overall, it's a well-written, detailed, and interesting overview of the city.

Chapter Three is a 14-page overview of important people and organisations within the city. It's here you'll read about the city's government, military orders, prominent families, religious groups, and criminal gangs. There's a complex separation of powers when it comes to the city's government, and with the influence of noble houses and legacy of the city as a Chelaxian holding, there's tons of rooms for intrigue, factionalism, and politics. In short, it's a great setting for a non-hack n' slash campaign. However, the chapter doesn't focus exclusively on the powerful elements in the city: there's a good description of what "normal" people are like in Korvosa. The chapter provides important insight and is done well.

Chapter Four is a short, four-page history of the city. It contains an account of the long series of clashes with the Shoanti after the city's founding, its origins as a Chelaxian colony, and how internal disputes in Korvosa led to the founding of Magnimar.

Chapter Five is a ten-page section on the city's secrets, and is best read only by a GM. It goes into more depth on what's really happening in the Acadamae, on the ins-and-outs of dangers within the city (such as cults and underground vaults), and more on the city's criminal organisations. I particularly like the idea of the Darklight Sisterhood, a Chelaxian-only rival to the Pathfinder Society! I should note that there are some spoilers for Curse of the Crimson Throne (particularly Chapter Three) in this section.

The book ends with a little three-page appendix that contains the only game mechanics in the book: a list of what classes and levels notable NPCs are, a stat block for the Sable Company Elite Marines, and a (frankly not very good) random encounter table for different parts of the city.

Overall, I think the Guide to Korvosa is a fantastic sourcebook on the city. It contains essential information on pretty much everything I would want. I know some folks will differ, but I actually didn't mind the lack of "crunch" at all--there's so many feats, traits, spells, and NPC stat blocks scattered across hundreds of other Pathfinder books, so I was happy to just get a focus on the description I need in order to make the city come alive. Although the book is long out of print, it's available for purchase as a PDF on the Paizo website, and I'd strongly recommend it.


Portuguese - Br

5/5

Embora eu tenha ouvido falar de um bom trabalho nas descrições das cidades de Forgotten Realms, meus únicos referenciais de suplementos sobre cidades são os livros sobre Sigil em Planescape e as cidades de Mystara. E baseado nisso posso dizer que o trabalho em Guide to Korvosa é muito competente e um dos melhores que eu já vi. O livro realmente nos faz visualizar as ruas de Korvosa e seu complexo povo, participar de seus problemas e ansiar por vivencia-los. Fora descrever a cidade de uma maneira enciclopédica, ela descreve de uma maneira viva e pratica que permite começar as exploração de seu contudo de maneira imediata. A leitura é prazerosa (com exceção de ficar tentando entender onde começa e termina cada distrito) e mesmo sem nunca usar a cidade como está escrita, certamente se ganha muito embasamento e ideias para construir ou incrementar sua próprias criações. Assumidamente Korvosa é a cidade mais bem desenvolvida de Golarion e um local onde não somente existem aventuras quanto drama para começar e terminar inúmeras histórias.


Maxmax is WHAT?

5/5

A campaign setting book in the "just fluff" department. It has no crunch (the only thing that comes close is a couple of statblocks and some encounter tables in the appendix), is light on art (for being a Pathfinder product) and you couldn't push more words into a 64 page product if you tried.

Introduction (Very Good+)
Except for the general introduction block of text, this chapter actually has a lot of usefull roleplay stuff most other setting books never bother with. Common phrases, how people live and other basic (and interesting!) odds and ends.

Places (Very Good)
Vividely describes districts and important places in said districts, simple enough. One of the few weaknesses of the book is the maps in this section - more contrast would've been nice. The places are not ondimensional, seems organic and logical (and not to mention, good places to have things going on).

People (Very Good)
Mostly a chapter on the important factions of people in the city, nobility, guards and so on. Slight dissapointment that there is no sidebar of what the populace tends to work with (rough percentage or something), but no biggie.

History (Good)
While the city history seeps through most of the other chapters, the important bits gets bigger blocks of texts here (there is a timeline on the inside of the cover, talk about max use out of space!), but most of it just feels like repetition of the first chapters with a few extra details collected into one place.

Secrets (Very Good+)
The primary adventure hook section. Good enough to just read, but it has ideas for all kinds of adventures, making it the most GM friendly part.

As an aside, the book is well written, fluid to read and never encountered any editing that messed things up, which makes the book even better.

Near perfect!


Devil-Light, before you take on Cheliax....


This suppliment continues in Paizo's fine tradition of setting the bar. Extremely useful; no filler, packed with intrigue. Five Stars, maybe more. Check my full review A Guide to Korvosa


5/5

Top notch and full of details.

As with anything Paizo the production values and art is outstanding.

A great urban setting.


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Been into Burton on Trent (UK) to locate a copy today.
The Acadamae sort of reminds me of a twisted version of Hogwarts with an evil Dumbledore (minus the glasses) in charge. Have been scrutinising the GM reference/errata thread carefully.

I was not surprised, upon double checking the credits, to find Richard Pett (of The Styes infamy) had been on the design team. :D

Great work all of you.


If anybody's curious, I found the full cover here.

Scarab Sages

Lilith wrote:
If anybody's curious, I found the full cover here.

Holy hell that's pretty.


Illessa wrote:
Holy hell that's pretty.

I know. I wish it was available as a print...

Dark Archive

I love this book. Having read it through a couple of times now, I can look at the map and imagine strolling through the streets, passing by landmarks and the personalities associated with them, watching the sometimes-sudden transition from one district to the next.

I'm looking for partners in creating a fan-made index for the book. I've described a possible way for us to do so here, and am very open to suggestions as to how this work might be done even more easily. Please see the link in the initial post for an idea of what I'm shooting for.

Dark Archive

I accidentally posted my Gazetteer review here on Korvosa. Could someone move it? Thanks!

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

joela wrote:
I accidentally posted my Gazetteer review here on Korvosa. Could someone move it? Thanks!

D'oh! I think I deleted it... Sorry...

Dark Archive

Vic Wertz wrote:
D'oh! I think I deleted it... Sorry...

I think you were aiming at my Pathfinder RPG AR3 review :)

Striving to be the 3.x heir in the wake of Dungeons & Dragons 4E, the third alpha release of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game still looks more like a collection of houserules than a coalescing ruleset.

Regarding the Gazetteer review. No sweat. I'll post it again and, this time, under the correct product!

Dark Archive

Illessa wrote:
Lilith wrote:
If anybody's curious, I found the full cover here.
Holy hell that's pretty.

Dang...!


In my copy of the Guide o Korvosa the map is bound to the book in a different way, namely with the central fold of the map on the inside. This means that when I cut out the map in the way advised here, I do not cut away marginal sea areas, but I cut away the very center of the city, and I shall have two maps of half Korvosa. What am I to do?

Dark Archive Contributor

Ogre Jelly wrote:

In my copy of the Guide o Korvosa the map is bound to the book in a different way, namely with the central fold of the map on the inside. This means that when I cut out the map in the way advised here, I do not cut away marginal sea areas, but I cut away the very center of the city, and I shall have two maps of half Korvosa. What am I to do?

Hey Ogre Jelly, if you haven't done so already I encourage you to send this question to Cosmo via email or by posting in the customer service section of these boards. :)

The Exchange

Q: does this product contain information pertaining to the various vassal settlements surrounding the actual city of Korvosa, or just the city itself?

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

Samuel Peer wrote:

Q: does this product contain information pertaining to the various vassal settlements surrounding the actual city of Korvosa, or just the city itself?

Each settlement receives a paragraph or so writeup, but it's nothing huge. You can piece together a bit more info with the help of the timelines, and perhaps even the Varisia article in Pathfinder 3, but the book's main focus is the city of Korvosa itself.

The Exchange

Thanks, yoda8myhead.

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2009 Top 4

I just started running the Crimson Throne adventure path and of course I'm using the Guide to Korvosa as an aid, but there are some things I cannot find. For one is laws, and I know that they were not written down in form so the GM could use want he needed when he saw fit, but I think there are some that I think should be announced formally.
Like is slavery outlawed in Korvosa?
Is it illegal to go into the sewers?
and stuff like that.


On page 9 of the book you say that the tuition to the Acadamae is expensive. However, unless I missed it in a footnote or a designer's note, you never actually state the amount necessary to attend to join the wizard school or if there's a monthly cost per student. Likewise, how much does it cost to attend the University of Korvosa?

Was there a reference in another Pathfinder book about being able to bypass a certain wizard school's entry examination by paying an exorbitant amount (I think around 5,000 gp)? Was that in reference to the Acadamae? Thank you for your help in this matter.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

CloudCobra wrote:

On page 9 of the book you say that the tuition to the Acadamae is expensive. However, unless I missed it in a footnote or a designer's note, you never actually state the amount necessary to attend to join the wizard school or if there's a monthly cost per student. Likewise, how much does it cost to attend the University of Korvosa?

Was there a reference in another Pathfinder book about being able to bypass a certain wizard school's entry examination by paying an exorbitant amount (I think around 5,000 gp)? Was that in reference to the Acadamae? Thank you for your help in this matter.

The actual cost for tuition in the Acadamae was purposefully left vague—it's a lot, but as it turns out, what might be a lot for one game group is pocket change for another. The point is that it should be a fair amount that helps to ensure that it's mostly a "rich-kids club." A few thousand gp is probably not an outrageous total, and I suspect that a lot of the students arrange for loans from the Acadamae and end up more or less being in the school's debt well after they graduate. In any event, unless an entire group of PCs is in the school, it's probably not a great idea for a PC to join the Acadamae, since students don't have time to adventure and if they DO they'll probably get expelled.

As for the less-prestigious University of Korvosa, tuition is probably only a fraction of the Acadamae's—probably a few hundred gp a year.

There should, of course, always be exceptions. The Acadamae might waive its fees for a particularly bright young student, and an older wizard might be granted an honorary diploma or teaching position if he's famous and a staunch supporter of the Acadamae. And there's certainly some corruption within the Acadamae's walls as well; if you find the right administrator and pay the right price, anything (including passing grades on an exam) can be bought. That, though, is something best left to be worked out in actual game play and roleplay, perhaps with several Diplomacy or Bluff checks or other tasks ("Sure, I'll waive your entry fee, but only if you go find me the fabled "Robes of the Red Ruin" supposedly hidden in an old shrine in the Mushfens first!").

Dataphiles

Hi, I got this book several months ago and thoroughly love it, and especially the big poster map which came with it. I am a huge fan of maps, next to monsters they are my favorite thing to pore over. Which brings me to my point, The Pdf that comes with the book does not include an electronic copy of that beautiful big map with all the street names and everything. (I Particularly love Dead Shoanti Road) Is it possible to have that as a downloadable jpg for people who purchased the pdf?

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Tukadian wrote:
Hi, I got this book several months ago and thoroughly love it, and especially the big poster map which came with it. I am a huge fan of maps, next to monsters they are my favorite thing to pore over. Which brings me to my point, The Pdf that comes with the book does not include an electronic copy of that beautiful big map with all the street names and everything. (I Particularly love Dead Shoanti Road) Is it possible to have that as a downloadable jpg for people who purchased the pdf?

Check your "My Downloads" page again—the poster map should be available there as a separate entry.

Dataphiles

Vic Wertz wrote:


Check your "My Downloads" page again—the poster map should be available there as a separate entry.

So it was, thanks! And again, love the work.


I had a question about this supplement when combined with the Curse of the Crimson Throne players guide. In the players guide, when dealing with how various classes fit into the city, they make mention of a group of feral druids who live in West Dock and are generally scoundrels. However, the Guide to Korvosa makes no mention of this group. I have both products and would love to give the druid in my group more information but I simply don't have it. Have I missed the entry on them somewhere?

RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32

Beneaththescreen wrote:
I had a question about this supplement when combined with the Curse of the Crimson Throne players guide. In the players guide, when dealing with how various classes fit into the city, they make mention of a group of feral druids who live in West Dock and are generally scoundrels. However, the Guide to Korvosa makes no mention of this group. I have both products and would love to give the druid in my group more information but I simply don't have it. Have I missed the entry on them somewhere?

Information can be found on the following pages: (Thank the gods for searchable PDFS!)

Page 21 - West Docks: [snip] Unwelcome but stubborn druids frequent the docks, proselytizing the evils of civilization and urging f ishermen and crabbers to release their catches back into the river. These unwashed scoff laws frequently cause minor skirmishes when they attempt to enforce their ideals with more than just words.

Page 27 - (bottom of first column) Thaviun claims Posh and Turtle is the best inn north of Cheliax, an assertion that has created an unfriendly rivalry with the Goldlager in Magnimar. Rumors abound that the Goldlager’s owner, Brewmaster Rogehres Tarlo, has recently contacted the belligerent druids who prowl Korvosa’s docks. Indeed, the generally vocal but lazy druids have recently begun protesting in front of the Posh and Turtle, agitating for Old Tom’s release. On multiple occasions, the Korvosan Guard has had to forcefully remove the druids, who promise retribution against Thaviun.

Page 44 - Elves: Almost as rare as druids in Korvosa, the handful of elves here all hail from the Mierani Forest.

And that's it!


Thank you so much! That answered all my questions! Yay!!! I love helpful people!

Scarab Sages

I just noticed that this book is not on the Community Use Approved Products List. Is this intentional?

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Arazyr wrote:
I just noticed that this book is not on the Community Use Approved Products List. Is this intentional?

Nope. It's now in Section 1. Thanks for letting us know!

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I know it's nobody's priority, but out of random curiosity is there any chance that we'll ever see "one file per chapter" pdf versions of this book, Guide to Darkmoon Vale, Classic Monsters Revisited, and/or the Gazetteer?

Paizo Employee CEO

IconoclasticScream wrote:
I know it's nobody's priority, but out of random curiosity is there any chance that we'll ever see "one file per chapter" pdf versions of this book, Guide to Darkmoon Vale, Classic Monsters Revisited, and/or the Gazetteer?

I had Wes put this on the list of things that need to get done. It is literally the last priority, but if we have some time, we'll get these put together!

-Lisa

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Thanks, Lisa!


I don't suppose there's any chance you have copies of just the poster map available? I'm not at all comfortable cutting into my book to extract it, so the opportunity to buy a separate copy of the map would be very welcome :)

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Are wrote:

I don't suppose there's any chance you have copies of just the poster map available? I'm not at all comfortable cutting into my book to extract it, so the opportunity to buy a separate copy of the map would be very welcome :)

We do not.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

The poster map of Korvosa is included in the Curse of the Crimson Throne Map Folio .


The writers could have used a bit more imagination inventing some of the names for NPCs. Yaris Verso and Phaeton Skoda for example, while comical, do not tell a very imaginative tale of the writers.

Liberty's Edge

Are there any plans to issue a new print run of the chronicle to coincide with the release of the updated Curse of the Crimson Throne?


Henry,

I think James Jacobs has stated there will be no new print run and that AP itself sort of serves as stand alone thing.


On page 39 of the sourcebook "Guide to Korvosa" they mention the "Apostate Rebellion".

I can't find any other reference to this, so I have no idea what they're talking about. Is this event known by some other name?

I could figure out that it had to do with Cheliax; is it maybe another name for the Thrune Rebellion (or how is it called?)

Media Specialist, SmiteWorks USA (Fantasy Grounds)

Hello everyone! This is now available for purchase from Fantasy Grounds or on Steam. Sync your FG account first to get it a discount equivalent to the PDF Price ($12.99)

Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Korvosa
Publisher: Paizo Inc.
System: Pathfinder RPG and D&D 3.5/ OGL
Type: Supplement
Get it on Steam

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