Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Cities of Golarion (PFRPG)

The poem is actually something I wrote for my "Shadows Under Sandpoint" campaign, which deals a LOT with Ilvarandin, the midnight milk, and an invasion of the intellect devourers of that sleepy coastal town. The PCs found a copy of the poem in a book on their first adventure; the poem was HEAVILY annotated with adventure hooks and intriguing concepts by a mysterious NPC, and it's been a great way to get the PCs into the whole plotline.

As for its actual inspiration, there's not really just one source, but Samuel Taylor Coolridge's "Kubla Khan" was definitely the major source of inspiration for me in writing the poem. William Butler Yeats, Shakespeare, and Lovecraft also had a bit of influence on it though.

It appears to have influenced my wife, too.

And just for you, James, in honour of Ilvarandin;

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
Its wrinkled form, bereft of hair!
A magic circle may suffice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
'Fore paws can sunder yonder head,
And drink the milk, in human guise.

Unfortunately, Rime of The Ancient Mariner isn't going to fly as an AP chapter, given PCs access to infinite Create Water,...

Day after day,
Day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion.
My crewmates threw me in the brig,
And made me apply the lotion.

"Use your orisons!" they cried,
Til I broke down, swore "F***it!".
Now it's "Water, water, everywhere!"
Til we ran out of buckets.

are those the only lost cities listed in the book , sice it says include, I figured I'd ask .....

My physical copy arrived today, so I have good reading material for the next day or two!

are those the only lost cities listed in the book , sice it says include, I figured I'd ask .....

Yes, six cities, at 10 pages per city, each one with a proposed campaign arc.

how many pages of those 10 pages each are actual fluff and not a campaign arc??

how many pages of those 10 pages each are actual fluff and not a campaign arc??

The campaign arc section is 1000-1500 words for each, out of around 6000-7000 words, so about 15-25% or so is suggested campaign use and the other 75-85% is fluff seasoned with crunch.

Steelfiredragon wrote:

how many pages of those 10 pages each are actual fluff and not a campaign arc??

The campaign arc section is 1000-1500 words for each, out of around 6000-7000 words, so about 15-25% or so is suggested campaign use and the other 75-85% is fluff seasoned with crunch.

In addition, the campaign notes should be useful for almost any game master wanting to use the cities, since they contain lots of plot hooks, ideas, and minor details.

I would add that the campaign materials are also incredibly useful as a guide to level-appropriate adventuring, and have suggestions for what is and isn't appropriate for PCs of certain levels to face if you decide to take them to whatever lost city they'll be exploring. Very helpful in that it puts numbers and level ranges with the fluff.

I finally got my copy today, and I'll echo Brandon's words: those sections are very, very helpful and useful for any GM.

Wow... I still feel a bit overwhelmed after reading it. If I could give this product more than five stars, I would; it's a textbook example of how to write a RPG guide to lost and ruined cities. Great maps, well-written songs and poems and vignettes in the form of letters, evocative language, inspiring adventure hooks and NPCs, very nice monsters, awesome flavour... and practically nothing to criticize. Nothing. Every city feels and looks very different from each other, and even though it's only 10 pages per city, you'll get more than enough juicy lore and game information to run a campaign in any (or all) of them!

Perhaps it tells something if I say that this book made me feel almost as excited as watching the best torturers in Order of the Rack practise their craft on Taldorian dandies! ;)

I'd recommend this book for any GM, and I wish I had had something like this when I was a fledgling Dungeon Master so many years ago.

After looking at the credits I realized that Brandon and Jason (and Michael, too, but haven't seen him post in a while) are the twisted masterminds I should be thanking.

Really great work, guys! What's best is that I can't even pick a favorite out of the book, although Ilvarandin, Storasta and Sun Temple Colony are the ones I'm most likely to utilize in the near future.

Sold!

After looking at the credits I realized that Brandon and Jason (and Michael, too, but haven't seen him post in a while) are the twisted masterminds I should be thanking.

Really great work, guys! What's best is that I can't even pick a favorite out of the book, although Ilvarandin, Storasta and Sun Temple Colony are the ones I'm most likely to utilize in the near future.

Glad you enjoyed it. I think the book came out great too and think folks should be able to get a lot of mileage out of it. Even if they aren't running Golarion, a lost city is something you can plunk down anywhere in your campaign world, and each of these has a cool schtick about it that would make it fun to run.

Thank you, Paizo, for publishing this masterwork. It is, in my honest opinion, at the very top of everything you have done so far, and it has rekindled my PF love after some of the recent books were just ho-hum.

Now, please do the right thing. It's easy. Get people to work on 'Lost Cities' II, III and IV - at the very least! :D You can never have enough ruined cities. Kidding aside, I would love to see more volumes in this vein.

After looking at the credits I realized that Brandon and Jason (and Michael, too, but haven't seen him post in a while) are the twisted masterminds I should be thanking.

Really great work, guys! What's best is that I can't even pick a favorite out of the book, although Ilvarandin, Storasta and Sun Temple Colony are the ones I'm most likely to utilize in the near future.

Thanks Asgetrion!!!

(Though I should pull back the curtain and confess Sean Reynolds is the guy who really makes a book like this shine.)

It was a lot of fun to participate in this project. And now I get to read the other entries which I am loving.

Thanks for the props, you guys! I was especially thrilled to be able to return to lost Azlant so soon after From Shore to Sea and expand on some of the themes introduced there. Showing what those orbiting lenses are capable of was particularly satisfying!

All the writers really showed up with their 'A' game for this one.

Of course we'll want to hear about any adventures you set in these lost cities!

Thanks for the props, you guys! I was especially thrilled to be able to return to lost Azlant so soon after From Shore to Sea and expand on some of the themes introduced there. Showing what those orbiting lenses are capable of was particularly satisfying!

All the writers really showed up with their 'A' game for this one.

Of course we'll want to hear about any adventures you set in these lost cities!

Tru dat. I enjoy hearing stories about how people have used the stuff we write. Iz fun!

Asgetrion wrote:

NSpicer wrote:

I gotta admit, I enjoyed Cities of Golarion and I'm looking forward to the Lost Cities now. Lots of cool product announcements, guys!

+1! I'm super-excited about these new products -- looks like another good year for all Paizo customers! :)

I wonder... will there be a map folio for 'Lost Cities', too?

Maybe. Would that be cool?

YES! I really liked the Map Folio for the Cities of Glorion. It was something really gave the players a feel for the city as it was map I could put out for them to see.

(Though I should pull back the curtain and confess Sean Reynolds is the guy who really makes a book like this shine.)

And I'll be humble and point out that it was mainly James Jacobs and James Sutter who did the development work on this, not me! Yay, Jameses!

Er hem. It is exactly as I thought - pulling back the curtain keenly reveals that I have no real clue what happens behind the curtain.

(Thanks Jameses!)

Asgetrion wrote:

After looking at the credits I realized that Brandon and Jason (and Michael, too, but haven't seen him post in a while) are the twisted masterminds I should be thanking.

Really great work, guys! What's best is that I can't even pick a favorite out of the book, although Ilvarandin, Storasta and Sun Temple Colony are the ones I'm most likely to utilize in the near future.

Thanks Asgetrion!!!

(Though I should pull back the curtain and confess Sean Reynolds is the guy who really makes a book like this shine.)

It was a lot of fun to participate in this project. And now I get to read the other entries which I am loving.

Well, you know that I could never compliment my archnemesis -- the dreaded SKR -- so I'm happy that it's actually Jameses whose stellar editing I should be thanking. ;)

Now that I've got your attention, I want to say that even though I won't probably be running adventures in Tumen (or Kho, for that matter) in the near future, it's full of goodness; Panthereons, the elemental clans, the Aqualinth, Cult of the Last Theorem... just amazing stuff! If I'll ever run a campaign in Osirion, some of it will definitely revolve around Tumen. :)

As far as I'm concerned, this is a MUST-HAVE book, and not just for Pathfinder GMs; it would a wonderful sourcebook for any RPG!

I heard a previous mention somewhere of a possible map folio to complement this (like the Cities of Golarion one).

I'd like to vote for that too (or propose it, if I'm imagining things).

This is one of Paizo's best sourcebooks, imo - it even rivals Kaer Maga (my favourite).

I got this book last week and have been skimming through it as fast as possible. This is an insanely useful book for me. Running a campaign in the ROTRL genre about the Runelord of Pride. The information about different ruins, specifically the Sun Temple,

I don't normally take the time to post about Pathfinder. I think it's all pretty great stuff, but this book in particular made me want to say something.

I'll throw in my two cents here: this is probably the most useful product to come out of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line in a long time. Storasta and Tumen are worth the price of admission alone.

I hope hope hope that the upcoming Dungeons of Golarion is set up in a similar fashion.

I'm reading this product (finally!) and I've come across a rule question. On page 22, under the Crystal Creature template, under the dazzling form ability, after describing the dazzle effect, the description suddenly starts talking about a crystal xorn and being blinded every round as a gaze attack. Was this bad editing, or is text missing?

I'm reading this product (finally!) and I've come across a rule question. On page 22, under the Crystal Creature template, under the dazzling form ability, after describing the dazzle effect, the description suddenly starts talking about a crystal xorn and being blinded every round as a gaze attack. Was this bad editing, or is text missing?

Editing artifact. Originally the sample creature stat block in that entry was an advanced crystal xorn (Arzuu Mandilawi, mentioned on p. 19), but that was replaced with the updated PF stats for the derhii. However, the crystal creature template info was ported over as a sidebar and the bit about the crystal xorn was left in there.

William Sinclair wrote:

I'm reading this product (finally!) and I've come across a rule question. On page 22, under the Crystal Creature template, under the dazzling form ability, after describing the dazzle effect, the description suddenly starts talking about a crystal xorn and being blinded every round as a gaze attack. Was this bad editing, or is text missing?

Editing artifact. Originally the sample creature stat block in that entry was an advanced crystal xorn (Arzuu Mandilawi, mentioned on p. 19), but that was replaced with the updated PF stats for the derhii. However, the crystal creature template info was ported over as a sidebar and the bit about the crystal xorn was left in there.

So no blinding attack?

I believe there is a minor continuity error in the Storasta entry, likely due to turn of phrase. On page 29 it states:

Lalizarzadeh led that assault and thereafter made it her base of operations overlooking the city for nearly a century.

This would likely place the fall of Storasta before the fall of Drezen in 4638 AR, which is contrary to previous statements about Storasta being the last of the Sarkorian cities to fall. Probably just me nit picking, but it complicates matters when attempting to establish a reasonable date for the cities loss.

Probably my favorite Golarion book! I wish I could read Kho but a Serpent's Skull game I'm playing in seems destined to make its way there.

Just noticed this:

tribal witches and shamans

joined with druids of old Mendev and Numerian war-clans,
swearing blood oaths that if this was to be their end, they
would make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance.

What you did there. I see it.

So yay, finally did review for this. Dunno if doing review for this old products affect developers thoughts at all, but I really wanted to get my opinion on this out :'D I mean, its unlikely at this point that Paizo will ever do "let's detail location after AP's events" thing again, but I can hope...

Any of other people who has read the book, what did you think of the "After the RotR Xin-Shalast" section of the book? I'm curious to hear your guys' thought on it.

So yay, finally did review for this. Dunno if doing review for this old products affect developers thoughts at all, but I really wanted to get my opinion on this out :'D I mean, its unlikely at this point that Paizo will ever do "let's detail location after AP's events" thing again, but I can hope...

Any of other people who has read the book, what did you think of the "After the RotR Xin-Shalast" section of the book? I'm curious to hear your guys' thought on it.

Reviews are great, even if they're a while after the publication date. I know that I watch the recent reviews panel along the left-hand side of the page, and I often open up Paizo product reviews from there. Sometimes that's a reminder that a particular product exists (reminding me to look through that book again for adventure ideas), sometimes it inspires me (and no doubt others) to push that book's ideas and materials in an upcoming product, and sometimes it helps us refine how we organize material or present a concept.

Let us know what Pathfinder material excites you!

CorvusMask wrote:

So yay, finally did review for this. Dunno if doing review for this old products affect developers thoughts at all, but I really wanted to get my opinion on this out :'D I mean, its unlikely at this point that Paizo will ever do "let's detail location after AP's events" thing again, but I can hope...

Any of other people who has read the book, what did you think of the "After the RotR Xin-Shalast" section of the book? I'm curious to hear your guys' thought on it.

Reviews are great, even if they're a while after the publication date. I know that I watch the recent reviews panel along the left-hand side of the page, and I often open up Paizo product reviews from there. Sometimes that's a reminder that a particular product exists (reminding me to look through that book again for adventure ideas), sometimes it inspires me (and no doubt others) to push that book's ideas and materials in an upcoming product, and sometimes it helps us refine how we organize material or present a concept.

Let us know what Pathfinder material excites you!

Yay! Glad to hear that

I'll be crossing fingers for Sun Temple Colony related stuff since its best location in the book imo :D