RSS RSS Facebook Twitter Email
Pathfinder / Setting / Player Companion

Pathfinder Player Companion: Humans of Golarion (PFRPG)

3.00/5 (based on 21 ratings)
Pathfinder Player Companion: Humans of Golarion (PFRPG)
Show Description For:
Non-Mint

Print Edition Unavailable

Add PDF $9.99

Non-Mint Unavailable

Facebook Twitter Email

Masters of the Realm

Brave, cunning, and adaptable, humanity dominates the countries of the Inner Sea. Discover the legendary history and secret ambitions of humankind, the most populous race of the Pathfinder campaign setting. With the potential to do anything they set their minds to, humans have become unrivaled heroes, infamous villains, and even deities—and now the course of humanity’s future is in your hands. Learn of the varied and distinctive ethnicities of humankind, from rugged Ulfen vikings and scheming Chelish diplomats to noble Garundi travelers and mysterious Tian merchants, and master the unique skills and traditions they use to face the dangers of a world that refuses to be tamed.

Humans of Golarion presents a player-friendly overview of the fantastical human cultures of the Pathfinder campaign setting, along with new rules and information to help players customize characters in both flavor and mechanics.

    Inside this book, you'll find:
  • Information on the physical traits, philosophies, traditions, histories, and cultures of humans—the most populous race in the Inner Sea
  • Insights on each of Golarion’s major human ethnicities, designed to help players create distinctive and exciting characters ready for any adventure
  • A detailed map charting the historical migration for the most common human ethnicities in the Inner Sea region
  • Revelations about Aroden, the fallen god of humankind
  • Notes on the lost empires of humanity, such as Azlant, Thassilon, the Jistka Imperium, Ancient Osirion, and more
  • New traits, spells, and weapons for each human culture

This Pathfinder Player Companion is set in the Pathfinder campaign setting and works best with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or the 3.5 version of the world's oldest fantasy roleplaying game, but can easily be incorporated into any fantasy world.

Written by James Jacobs, Colin McComb, Sean K Reynolds, Amber Scott, and Larry Wilhelm

Each bimonthly 32-page Pathfinder Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for social, magic, religious, and combat-focused characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-315-6

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

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Product Availability

Print Edition:

Unavailable

PDF:

Fulfilled immediately.

Non-Mint:

Unavailable

This product is non-mint. Refunds are not available for non-mint products. The standard version of this product can be found here.

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

PZO9417

See Also:

6 to 10 of 21 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>

Average product rating:

3.00/5 (based on 21 ratings)

Sign in to create or edit a product review.

Retreads not welcome

1/5 —

One sentence capsule: This product is a waste of time, energy, money, and space, that simply culls flavor text from other, better products and puts it into a single deeply disappointing volume.

Slightly expanded review: As a dedicated player of humans, I had long been disappointed by Paizo's lack of options for that race. Although we are repeatedly told that humans are Golarion's most adaptable, widespread, versatile, and successful race, there is virtually no game-mechanic crunch to support that. The extra feat and extra skill point equate to raw power, yes, but there is virtually nothing a human character can do that a member of any other race can't do as well. Dwarves get Steel Soul; elves and half-elves get the Arcane Archer prestige class; gnomes get Gnome Trickster; half-orcs can have Keen Scent; halflings are sometimes Well-Prepared. Humans can be Eclectic or have Racial Heritage, which...lets them act more like other races. This is the book that should have filled that gap, but instead we get more fluff about different cultures and a couple of pages about a god who's been dead for a century.

This was a chance for Paizo to give players reasons why humans are so successful in so many different areas of Golarion by giving them something, anything, that they can do that other races can't. A few feats, a prestige class, something. Instead, Paizo fumbled its roll.

No effort, no stars

1/5 —

Piazo really needs to make an effort to offer more than what players already have anyway. Any GM could have cut and pasted handout sheets from other sources for players to read other than to have them use the material offered in this book. Piazo didn't write thie book for GMs or for players. GMs want more... players want more. Piazo needs to focus on giving MORE to people when people pay good money for MORE.

Having detailed background information on a dead god is not worth the sticker price -- and labelling the book as targeted to players only is not justification to skimp. As a GM, owning the Inner Sea Guide does not mean you have all of the information printed in Orcs of Golarion or Dwarves of Golarion or Goblins of Golarion... but evidently the rules have changed for Humans of Golarion. I bought Orcs and Dwarves so I could have MORE, and MORE is what I paid for and MORE is what they gave me!

It is dishonest to publish the book this way and NOT provide the caveate "pretty much most of what you read in here can be found elsewhere." It is also dishonest to charge people for something they already have.

To be honest, this book should have been titled, "Some stuff about Aroden." Piazo should scrap this project, and re-offer it as colorful and cultural Companions going into detail for every human racial group on Golarion. THAT would be more player oriented -- what does a player with a Varisian Character need to know about Garundi that the GM doesn't? Why does that player need to know anything about Aroden that a GM doesn't?

This companion was a swing and a miss. No bones about it.

Not exciting, but a good book

3/5 —

See my full review here.

There has been quite a bit of criticism of Humans of Golarion. Many people feel that the book doesn’t offer much new for people who already own the Inner Sea World Guide or its predecessor, the Pathfinder Campaign Setting. To a certain extent this is true. Each human racial group, for example, gets a one-page write-up like the equivalent one-page write-up in the Inner Sea World Guide. They are not word-for-word copies. Instead, the Humans of Golarion write-ups present a more player-orientated description of the groups. However, there is no denying that the information contained within them is very similar to that in the Inner Sea World Guide, and people who have read that book (or the Campaign Setting) are not going to discover much that is new in them. As such, Humans of Golarion seems a much less exciting or interesting read than the other race books, as it doesn’t provide new insights into humans in the way that a book like Gnomes of Golarion provides new insights on gnomes.

I think one thing that needs remembering, though, is that the target audience of Humans of Golarion isn’t really GMs who are thoroughly familiar with the Inner Sea World Guide or its predecessor. For players who are new to the Golarion setting, it provides a good overview of human cultures, and for all players (new and old alike), it provides game options (such as traits and spells) for human characters. If you want more in-depth information about the various human societies, there are other books available in the Player Companion line that do just that: any of the books on specific countries, such as Andoran, Spirit of Liberty or Cheliax, Empire of Devils. After all, these are primarily human countries, and they provide new insights into those cultures.

One thing Humans of Golarion does offer that you won’t find in any other book to date is full information on the faith of Aroden. As a dead god, Aroden doesn’t have much of a following left, but he was an extremely important god in the history of the world, and his legacy still has a major impact on current life. There may not be any true clerics of Aroden left, but there are still a few worshippers who cling to the belief that one day Aroden might return. The two-page write-up on Aroden provides players and GMs with a valuable resource on what kind of faith those hold-outs follow. Also, if a GM wishes to set a game in Golarion’s past before the death of Aroden, players now have all the information needed to play a cleric of Aroden in such a campaign.

Overall, while Humans of Golarion is not the most “exciting” book in the Pathfinder Player Companion line, it does what it sets out to do: provide an overview of human cultures and offer options for human characters. Indeed, despite its more mundane qualities, it is a book that is likely to see more in-game use than some of the other race books, such as Goblins of Golarion. As such, it’s a book worth having. Just don’t expect to be wowed.

Well, Elves and Orcs got books, so why not Humans of Golarion?

4/5 —

Rounding out the Races of Golarion books Humans of Golarion falls short because it focuses on races where other books (orcs, gnomes) delve deeper. Still, for a player creating a new character, it is a great resource. Check my full review: Humans of Golarion

Split purchase

3/5 —

While there are several aspects of this book I really enjoy, any player who already has the Inner Sea Guide will probably feel let down.

For the full review head over to seekersofsecrets.com

6 to 10 of 21 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | next > last >>
Search Thread

Search this Thread:

51 to 100 of 114 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | next > last >>
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Steelfiredragon wrote:

they are tooo, planar humanoids they are still humanoids.....

well I guess I won't be getting this book right away then.......

good thing too, as it was a toss up between this one and another paizo book...

Well, they are outsiders(native) :) Tieflings have a large (and excellent) article in 1st episode of Council of Thieves.

Besides, the planetouched don't feature as prominently in Golarion as they do in FR or default 4E.
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I've added the author credit to the product description. (The image is still a mockup.)
Liberty's Edge
Steelfiredragon wrote:
they are tooo, planar humanoids they are still humanoids.....

Their "type" is outsider, not humanoid.

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Tim Statler wrote:
Mike Silva wrote:
Half-Halflings
Quarterlings?

Mathematically, a human/halfling child would be a three-quarterling.

Am curious to see if this book wiill throw up any race/class combos that grant alternative features such as class abilities/racial skills/racial weapon proficiencies etc...

Never quite envisioned a Ulfen Skald wielding a rapier or whip for instance... but throwing axe and hand axe might be a better fit...

BD

How about half-dragons, or can we expect that in a book about dragons?

There are indeed still Azlanti around. Check out the adventure "From Shore to Sea."
Vic Wertz wrote:
I've added the author credit to the product description. (The image is still a mockup.)

I hope they keep that same, handsome fellow on the cover though.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

I've updated the product image and description to match the finished product.

That's an upgrade! =)
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Nice cover
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Wow, that is an AWESOME cover!

This is the direction I have wanted Golarion artwork to go in since the beginning. Keep it up!
Elorebaen wrote:

Wow, that is an AWESOME cover!

This is the direction I have wanted Golarion artwork to go in since the beginning. Keep it up!

Yes, exactly my thoughts too. It's less cartoony.

And that's just how I picture an Ulfen in my head.

This will be an interesting one, I might get it. :)

If you ask me, humans are awesome. Not just as a fantasy race, but as a species. Human cultures always strive to DO something, to alter the world around them and craft the landscape. Dwarves dig great mines within mountains and fill the halls with wonders, Elves (depending on what version you're using) live on and among giant trees, but Humans... Humans seem to do something entirely different. Humans MAKE mountains. We divert rivers to provide irrigation, we turn islands into peninsulas to gain an advantage if we're trying to take down a fort, we flood the majority of countries to make the rest of said countries impenetrable. Whenever a group of us settle in one place, large buildings appear, the wild is beaten back and fenced, and great monuments arise in what must be amazingly fast time for the longer-lived races. Even when we move about, we still strive to create or change things, even if only through deed. We seek to create for creation's sake, and alter nature around us, even as we are unsure about our own nature. This becomes even more of a stark contrast to other races if your setting has humans being relatively recent and the dwarves and elves being much older. :D And this isn't even starting on our biology (look up "persistence hunt")

Sorry for the little rant. >_> But yeah, I kinda hope they delve well into humanity as a whole in addition to the specific types in Golarion. Looking forward to the bit about philosophies of/on humans, as well as the traits/spells and (most of all) weapons. (here's to the rare hope the monk spade makes it in) :)

WE ARE VIKINGS!!

Is that Ulfen facing Valeros under the effect of an Enlarge Person spell? Because if not... then boy, they sure raise 'em big in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, don't they?

Seriously, do they breed with giants or the like?
Shadow Lodge
Eric Hinkle wrote:

Is that Ulfen facing Valeros under the effect of an Enlarge Person spell? Because if not... then boy, they sure raise 'em big in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, don't they?

Seriously, do they breed with giants or the like?

You could say they have a thing for "tall" women. :)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Which, in hindsight, might not have been the best choice for monster for the cover, since a giant doesn't really look like anything more than a giant human anyway.

But still... it's a cool painting.
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

Paizo Employee Creative Director
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

Then the cover's doing it's job perfectly! (by making folks think of a cool Conan story)

Sovereign Court Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

My first thought was this. My favorite all time cover, ever...

Drogon wrote:
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.
My first thought was this. My favorite all time cover, ever...

Good call Drogon, that is one of my favorite Dragon covers, right behind the Bridge of Sorrows.

Dark Archive

That cover is stunning.

Will it be a poster ?
Dark Archive
CaptainTrips wrote:
Good call Drogon, that is one of my favorite Dragon covers, right behind the Bridge of Sorrows.

Ooh, Den Beauvais, good choice! I bought the Warlock 5 comics just for his art. It was pretty bad for the first four issues or so, but he really grew into it, towards the end, and it was beautiful.

baron arem heshvaun wrote:

That cover is stunning.

Will it be a poster ?

Maybe you can get the original painting! http://lucasgraciano.blogspot.com/2011/04/pathfinder-cover.html

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
baron arem heshvaun wrote:

That cover is stunning.

Will it be a poster ?

Generally, we can only justify posters for the big hardcover releases.

Nickolas Russell wrote:
Maybe you can get the original painting! http://lucasgraciano.blogspot.com/2011/04/pathfinder-cover.html

Asking never hurt anyone. I asked Craig Spearing about the possibility of purchasing prints of some of his Pathfinder artwork and now I have 3 pieces (Tomb of the Iron Medusa, Godsmouth Heresy, and funeral procession) lying at home, awaiting a fitting frame.

Even if Paizo aren't willing to put a lot of money into posters for their non-hardcover lines (which is perfectly understandable in my opinion), their generous deals with freelance artists allow the artists to sell prints of their artwork, should they be so inclined. At least that is my understanding based on personal experience and previous comments by Paizo staff.
Set wrote:


Ooh, Den Beauvais, good choice! I bought the Warlock 5 comics just for his art. It was pretty bad for the first four issues or so, but he really grew into it, towards the end, and it was beautiful.

Ah, I did not know he did a comic. I'll have to look out for it. Thanks for mentioning that!

Dark Archive
CaptainTrips wrote:
Set wrote:


Ooh, Den Beauvais, good choice! I bought the Warlock 5 comics just for his art. It was pretty bad for the first four issues or so, but he really grew into it, towards the end, and it was beautiful.

Ah, I did not know he did a comic. I'll have to look out for it. Thanks for mentioning that!

It's a messed up comic, and went directly down the waste-disposal chute when he and his writing partner left it around issue 12 ish.

The art went from clunky in the first few issues, to stunning, during the last half of the run. He really loved the character of Savashtar, it seems, and drew the hell out of him in the later issues.

The plot? I'm not even sure what was up with it. Like Fathom or Witchblade or the Darkness or Cyberforce or Wildcore, it was the sort of thing I read for the pretty, pretty pictures. :)
Liberty's Edge

"A detailed map charting the historical migration for the most common human ethnicities in the Inner Sea region"

This, has made me go from luke-warm to very excited about this book. I've come to LOVE the detail taken in crafting the world, an things like this are why Golarion is one of the best rpg settings I've ever read.

Hey, if you look real closely here, I think that statue in the background is Karzoug. Man, he gets illustrated more than any other non-iconic - which is fine by me, because Karzoug is teh awesome.
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Generic Villain wrote:
Hey, if you look real closely here, I think that statue in the background is Karzoug. Man, he gets illustrated more than any other non-iconic - which is fine by me, because Karzoug is teh awesome.

It's just one of his many, many, many statues. Dude liked to put up statues of himself.

(Are they fighting in Xin-Shalast?)
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Generic Villain wrote:
Hey, if you look real closely here, I think that statue in the background is Karzoug. Man, he gets illustrated more than any other non-iconic - which is fine by me, because Karzoug is teh awesome.

Karzoug is kind of an iconic—he's an iconic villain. As is the Whispering Tyrant.

hehehehe the whyspering tyrant major secret is that he's a runelord..... hahahahahaha

just kiding,
Karzoug and WT are the iconic villians of Golarion.

the bimbo queen of Cheliax can not even compare with them.

however Baba Yaga is the super iconic villian of Golarion, becasue she spands worlds and the other three can't even begin to compare with her power.
Contributor
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

You mean this?

My first thought, too. Fantastic cover.
Liberty's Edge

Delayed. Booh! :(
Colin McComb wrote:
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

You mean this?

My first thought, too. Fantastic cover.

Colin,

Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking of. :^)
Colin McComb wrote:
CaptainTrips wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

heh...

Actually, the "ulfen" that the humans are fighting is in fact supposed to be a frost giant.

Very cool, as the first thing I thought of when I saw the new cover was the "Frost Giant's Daughter" Conan story.

You mean this?

My first thought, too. Fantastic cover.

Yes, that art was what I though of when I saw the Humans of Golarion cover. Not to say I think that the Humans of Golarion cover is a ripoff, merely that both are very good and happen to have a similar theme.

Silver Crusade

Book on humans, can't wait! Love the cover. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this one.

Bel. :)

Hmmm... looks pretty cool, I might have to subscribe to this line too...

Curses; June is upon us and still no actual release date. D:
Ashram wrote:
Curses; June is upon us and still no actual release date. D:

I made a similar comment in Wake of the Watcher. Vic replied that "...we just haven't put the final shipping schedule into the system (we're waiting to find out whether the Chase Cards are going to make this shipment or the next)."

Contributor
Ashram wrote:
Curses; June is upon us and still no actual release date. D:

I would just like to reply with this:

" PDF:
Will be available for purchase Wed, Jun 15, 2011. "
Liberty's Edge
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Just wanted to echo some of the other comments... STUNNING cover art.
Dark Archive

I was actually hoping to see more info on the various ethnic backgrounds. Seems like a lot of info that is already available in 3 or 4 other books.

Be positive.... be positive...

I really like the migration map! And the cover, like everyone else.
Dark Archive
Elorebaen wrote:

Wow, that is an AWESOME cover!

This is the direction I have wanted Golarion artwork to go in since the beginning. Keep it up!

Ditto. Really screams sword and sorcery, not the MMO stuff usually dominating today's fantasy art (though I admit I enjoy the detail. And the swords bigger than the wielder.)

Was REALLY looking forward to this - since ti was announced but the final version has left me a little... flat to be honest.

Lots of colour and flavour on the different human ethnicities but like bigkilla mentioned you can find that info in a bunch of other sources.

Traits were nice [like traits - traits always welcome] as were the spells, but was expecting something that built on previous info not merely reprinted it.

Don't get me wrong I liked it, but not as much as I'd hoped... Maybe Humans of Golarian deserved to be a bigger Player's Companion given the breadth it was trying to cover?

I'm presuming alot of the cutural "crunch" is being saved for "Inner Sea" books?

I want a companion about the Kellids, this will not have enough pages.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I also am somewhat unimpressed by this book. The three things that I appreciated are: migrations map, writeup on Aroden and weapon groups for new Golarion armament (however, I dearly hope this part gets reprinted in Ultimate Combat).

I understand that not making "Humans of Golarion" would draw ire as to why other races get their books and humans not, but in the end it feels a bit forced.
51 to 100 of 114 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Paizo / Product Discussion / Pathfinder Player Companion: Humans of Golarion (PFRPG) All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.