Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound (PFRPG)

So, any feedback from buyers on how the book is?

It's good. Gives a nice overview of the way that the Worldwound is partitioned and suggestions for what sort of adventuring might take place (ala the most excellent Irrisen book). Bestiary has some good demons in it as well.

Thanks, I own the Irrisen book, so that gives me a good idea of what is going on in this one. Very helpful. :)

nighttree wrote:

Try try again ;)

So do we get much information on Sarkoris, their Druids/Circle of Hierophants, or the Threshold ???

Yes; there's a fair bit of information on Sarkoris and the druids/Circle of Hierophants. Not much information on Threshold, though...

Wrath of the Righteous spoiler: ** spoiler omitted **

To be honest, I'm always suspicious of that that being the case when there seems to be little information on specific location in a product like this that deals with an upcoming area in future adventures.

James, what is the name of the Half Dragon/demon? Is it stated up somewhere?

BTW Pazio did a very good job on the world wound book the best book in quite a while. I ma looking forward to the Mythic adventures book if is as good as the world wound book it will be hella cool.

There's some buff people hanging out in the Worldwound. One has 28 class levels, another 25 (and both have some decent CR templates too boot).

Lots of interesting adventure places, including some places where the local threats aren't as overwhelming as they would be in the centers of power, so that you can justify some mid-level non-mythic/epic adventuring as well.

I like how the Warmonger Wasp (an extraplanar construct) is specifically called out as something that can be conjured with planar binding or planar ally. The outer/upper/inner/lower/downer planes are chock full of constructs, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, undead, etc. who work for various planar powers, and it's good to see that the 'outsiders only' restriction can have some exceptions.

My only quibble with the book is on p. 4, which explains why the demons of the Worldwound haven't conquered the world, which is apparently, 'they don't want to yet.' That reminds me too much of the pat answers in 3rd edition about why shadows hadn't killed every living thing in the world with their Create Spawn power in one glorious night, because 'uh, they just don't do the thing we gave them the power to do and an insatiable hunger to do...' or the infamous 'Plan' of the Cylons in Battlestar relaunch, which was apparently, 'almost win, but then stop.'

If the demons of the Worldwound have the capability to overrun the planet, and haven't, I'd prefer the answer be something more along the lines of 'Iomedae, Torag, Irori, Asmodeus, etc. said no and closed the portal, and now they have to work to pry it open for a few seconds to squeeze some demon reinforcements in' or 'the wardstones don't let them leave, even by walking.' A mechanical reason, not a 'they chose not to,' which, IMO, takes away from the heroism of the defenders, since the only reason they are 'holding back the forces of the Worldwound' is because the forces of the Worldwound just aren't that into them and haven't even really tried yet.

If evil is boiling into the world, I want them to be *trying to win,* and the heroes holding them at bay to actually be stopping them, not standing around patting themselves on the back, unaware that their foe has not yet begun to fight. Tense existential fight, with the fate of the world hinging on the successes and failures of this war, not a subtle Machiavellian waiting game, like what is going on in Cheliax, where there's a generations-long campaign of seduction to make Diabolism not just acceptable, but cool.

Set - I see your point, but have a slightly different take on it.

I see the Wrath of the Righteous AP as the answer to the question. As in Deskari has just started his all out invasion, and it's now up to the mythic'd PCs to step in and stem the tide.

But yeah... there's more than enough to keep adventurers on their toes. I'm looking forward to tying in a side-trek to Pulura’s Fall at some point in the WotW AP.

I really love the Warmonger Wasp, its SO much better than the boring Retriever, I use the Warmonger Wasp instead now, I always used Bebilith for the role of the Retriever but now the Warmonger Wasp takes over and the Bebilith can go back to its role as demon eating terror.

Never liked the Retriever because it looked so much like the Bebilith, this wasp thing is much different.

Ah, everything that has happened before we're just minor demon skirmishes. Here comes the hostile takeover!

I really love the Warmonger Wasp, its SO much better than the boring Retriever, I use the Warmonger Wasp instead now, I always used Bebilith for the role of the Retriever but now the Warmonger Wasp takes over and the Bebilith can go back to its role as demon eating terror.

Never liked the Retriever because it looked so much like the Bebilith, this wasp thing is much different.

I'm glad that you liked the Warmonger Wasp, it was really fun to work on. :)

Ah, everything that has happened before we're just minor demon skirmishes. Here comes the hostile takeover!

And I still can't type from an Ipad--"were" just minor skirmishes.

It's not that the demons aren't trying to win... they are.

It's more like, the act of winning is more important than winning. If they have a choice between winning a war that lasts a month and losing a war that lasts 100 years... they'll pick losing the war after 100 years of causing pain and strife every time.

Because there's always more demons to try again.

Gancanagh wrote:

I really love the Warmonger Wasp, its SO much better than the boring Retriever, I use the Warmonger Wasp instead now, I always used Bebilith for the role of the Retriever but now the Warmonger Wasp takes over and the Bebilith can go back to its role as demon eating terror.

Never liked the Retriever because it looked so much like the Bebilith, this wasp thing is much different.

I'm glad that you liked the Warmonger Wasp, it was really fun to work on. :)

I really liked it, and to know that Constructs are my least favorite group, this is pretty much one of my top 3 constructs so far! So good work, I hope to see much more such cool monsters from you! :-)

It's not that the demons aren't trying to win... they are.

It's more like, the act of winning is more important than winning. If they have a choice between winning a war that lasts a month and losing a war that lasts 100 years... they'll pick losing the war after 100 years of causing pain and strife every time.

Because there's always more demons to try again.

Its so cool and nice that paizo's Creative Director is such a maniac for demons! I love it that they receive so much attention this year and in pathfinder overal!

Just want to give a shout-out to whoever thought to include the ruins of fallen Yath, complete with the return of Isilda. The fall of Yath was presented in The Worldwound Gambit as a fairly major event, so it's nice to see it being incorporated into the backstory here.

To those who missed it: the tower of Yath was the setting for much of The Worldwound Gambit, a Pathfinder Tales novel from two or three years back. It has so-so ratings -- apparently a lot of reviewers didn't like it -- but I thought it was pretty good: full of weird imagination and horror, just as a trip to the Worldwound should be. It's basically Ocean's Eleven in the Abyss. What's not to like?

Anyway, the PFT books don't often get cited in major products like this. And I thought this was nicely done -- you don't have to have read TWG to appreciate this, but if you have, so much the better.

Doug M.

Just want to give a shout-out to whoever thought to include the ruins of fallen Yath, complete with the return of Isilda. The fall of Yath was presented in The Worldwound Gambit as a fairly major event, so it's nice to see it being incorporated into the backstory here.

To those who missed it: the tower of Yath was the setting for much of The Worldwound Gambit, a Pathfinder Tales novel from two or three years back. It has so-so ratings -- apparently a lot of reviewers didn't like it -- but I thought it was pretty good: full of weird imagination and horror, just as a trip to the Worldwound should be. It's basically Ocean's Eleven in the Abyss. What's not to like?

Anyway, the PFT books don't often get cited in major products like this. And I thought this was nicely done -- you don't have to have read TWG to appreciate this, but if you have, so much the better.

Doug M.

I did the assorted adventure locations chapter in question, and while I wrote Yath's entry as well, I can't really take credit for the idea of having Yath in there in the first place. Yath post 'Worldwound Gambit' was listed as one of the 'must include' adventure locales (among other locations that were 'must includes') in the guidelines I was handed.

And yes, 'Worldwound Gambit' was an awesome story and comes highly recommended. It's written in present tense, which isn't something you typically see in a novel, but given the whole Ocean's 11 atmosphere, it works and it's done well. But then again, Robin Laws wrote it, so of course it's awesome. :)

@Luthorne - Glad you enjoyed the nightmare fuel. With two biologists in the same house working on this project, this is what can happen to your poor PC's. *evil fanged parasite-ridden demonic grin*

Yep, those were my fault. I'd have to check the material again, but at first glance I think they may have either moved over or toned down a notch some of the most deeply disturbing parts of those critters, which I created years ago for the sole purpose of giving my players nightmares and uncontrollable itchy, creepy, crawly sensations. And I mean my players, not their characters. Can't say I blame them. The originals of those were seriously vile and nauseating. :)

Just want to give a shout-out to whoever thought to include the ruins of fallen Yath, complete with the return of Isilda. The fall of Yath was presented in The Worldwound Gambit as a fairly major event, so it's nice to see it being incorporated into the backstory here.

To those who missed it: the tower of Yath was the setting for much of The Worldwound Gambit, a Pathfinder Tales novel from two or three years back. It has so-so ratings -- apparently a lot of reviewers didn't like it -- but I thought it was pretty good: full of weird imagination and horror, just as a trip to the Worldwound should be. It's basically Ocean's Eleven in the Abyss. What's not to like?

Anyway, the PFT books don't often get cited in major products like this. And I thought this was nicely done -- you don't have to have read TWG to appreciate this, but if you have, so much the better.

Doug M.

Yeah, part of my preparation for all of the Worldwound related stuff (This book and Wrath of the Righteous and Demons Revisited) that I was writing and/or developing and outlining was to read "The Worldwound Gambit." I wanted to include as much from that book as possible, since there was a lot of stuff in there that didn't really have in-world context yet. When it came to the question of including something about Yath or not... it was a no-brainer—since up until this point, that novel's like the most we'd said on the region, it HAD to be included in some way.

There's some stuff from the Worldwound Gambit that appears in Wrath of the Righteous too... but not as much, and it's a LOT more subtle... mostly to do with the paladin Yaniel.

Great book all around, with so many creatures of very high CR that even the most quiet part of the area is a TPK waiting to happen.

This book is Paizo's take on the now classic damned lands trope.

It strongly evokes L5R's Shadowlands, Arcanis' excellent Sealed Lands, some parts of the Midnight setting and the Deadlands RPG while still being a Golarion book with the Paizo touch and creativity I enjoy (the undead druids are quite good IMO)

In fact I can easily imagine taking some locations and NPCs from the other settings and plugging them almost as is in the Worldwound (especially those from the Sealed Lands).

I was also impressed by the many creatures in the Bestiary (Demons and others too). So many surprises to spring at your hapless PCs.

A small point though :

Several NPCs (named and encounters) mention taking Mammoth Rider at level 7.

But this PrC requires Handle Animal 9 ranks, Ride 9 ranks, which means you cannot take it before level 10 at the earliest IIRC.

Is there a way around the requirement or is that a mistake in the statblocks ?

And yes, 'Worldwound Gambit' was an awesome story and comes highly recommended. It's written in present tense, which isn't something you typically see in a novel, but given the whole Ocean's 11 atmosphere, it works and it's done well. But then again, Robin Laws wrote it, so of course it's awesome. :)

There are thousands of present tense novels.

Have you noticed the succesful line of novels called The Hunger Games? Present tense.
Seen those 50 Shades of Grey books in the shops? Present tense.
Atwood's classic, oft-studied The Handmaid's Tale? Present tense.

I Capture The Castle?
Rabbit, Run?
Disgrace?
Wolf Hall?

All award-winning classics that are written in present tense.

Present tense can also be inserted into past tense narratives, like in Jane Eyre, or mixed fairly equally with present tense, like in Bleak House.

I don't know why some fantasy fans seem to get their knickers in a twist about this. Maybe because fantasy often needs a broad, sweeping third-person to communicate the writer's brand-new world that they have created.

Robin Laws' ability to build worlds in present tense shows her/his mad skills in structure and narrative.

Present tense is one of the options available to writers. It is a way to create certain types of effect and remove others.

In this case, the story was effectively a crime-caper novel and Laws used the present tense in the same way that Dashiell Hammett uses present tense in The Maltse Falcon and other hard-boiled crime fiction.

There are thousands of present tense novels.

Have you noticed the succesful line of novels called The Hunger Games? Present tense.

Oh I'm not saying it can't be used to write a really awesome novel. Clearly Robin Laws did just that here. It's just -at least in my experience- somewhat different to see a book written that way.

Seen those 50 Shades of Grey books in the shops? Present tense.

Tense has nothing to do with how poorly these are written.

Atwood's classic, oft-studied The Handmaid's Tale? Present tense.

I Capture The Castle?
Rabbit, Run?
Disgrace?
Wolf Hall?

All award-winning classics that are written in present tense.

I'll admit, I've never actually read any of these. In fact, I've never heard of them. Bemoan my science-heavy rather than liberal arts educational background. :)

Present tense can also be inserted into past tense narratives, like in Jane Eyre, or mixed fairly equally with present tense, like in Bleak House.

This is how I'm most used to seeing it used, and it works well when used to step outside the primary narrative and show something from one character's perspective.

Haven't went super indepth with this book yet but so far it ranks up there with Cronicles of the Rightous as one of my favourite settings books. Lots of new exciting monsters that a dm can make whole adventures around. Of course a lot of locational info as well as a timeline. Again haven't had it too long so much more reading to do.

Lastly I love the cover art! More from this artist please! This was one of the reasons I bought the book. The artist who did Champions of Purity and Blood of Angels does amazing work as well. More more more from those two please . :)

A small point though :

Several NPCs (named and encounters) mention taking Mammoth Rider at level 7.

But this PrC requires Handle Animal 9 ranks, Ride 9 ranks, which means you cannot take it before level 10 at the earliest IIRC.

Is there a way around the requirement or is that a mistake in the statblocks ?

I noticed this too. I just assumed they had the levels mixed up. So it should be barbarian 10 mammoth rider 6.. I think anyways.

So I'm looking through this again and a question popped up about Areelu Vorlesh when I came across the what level they have for her. What was her level before the whole Worldwound business? I know she's going to be a foe in mythic AP that takes the characters levels and tiers close to all the way up to the cap. That means she needs to be at that level to make an effective opponent, but as it is she must be one of the most powerful people to ever walk Golarion, up there with people like the most powerful of the Runelords, Nex, Geb, Tar-Baphon, among others.

I have a feeling it's more likely at some point she probably had quite a jump in power given to her than she was almost that powerful all along as everybody else at that level is legendary in the setting, and she was an unknown prisoner before the Worldwound was created.

Which raised the question. Did Deskari give her that type of power, and do all outer plane lords have the ability to impart that level of ability to their minions if they want? If not how did it happen and will the later parts of Wrath of the Righteous give an answer to that?

Hey,

This is a Great Book, well the parts of it that're correct anyway!
Non, no this is no fluff or setting issue, but a Major printing one!

My Issue
Pages 17 to 32 are missing completely.
The Bestiary starts at page 40 as it's printed, and gets to the first page of the Lilitu then jumps back to page 33 and continues all the way to the bestiary at page 40 again!, which is correctly printed, up to the end of the book.
So in summary I have pages 17 to 32 missing and double printing of pages 33 to 48.

What can I do? return to the store and wait for another copy (this one has taken since release day to get to me already), send to distributor or return to paizo and get one re-shipped to me?

Any help

This has happened before, unfortunately. I'm pretty sure Paizo will suggest that you contact the store through which you purchased the book first and have them help you. If you cannot resolve the issue with the store, get in touch with Paizo's customer service.

Just want to say, I'm going through the Wrath of the Righteous AP now and it's really nice how this integrates with it. You don't *need* this to run the AP -- they're completely independent -- but it's definitely a useful resource that will add to the fun. Which is as it should be.

Doug M.

This product is now available in Print on Demand.

From the perspective of a "modern" Pathfinder player (who got back into it after a lengthy break thanks to the Owlcat CRPGs and PF2), this is definitely one of the more worthwhile "historical" PF1 products to pick up for its setting information and whatnot. It's one of the primary repositories on Sarkoris lore (and was one of the primary sources Owlcat used when constructing the WotR game adaptation) and provides a very good snapshot of how things were in Sarkoris just prior to the Fifth Crusade. It has a lot of still-pertinent information on the layout of the land and its people, it's just about the only major source for how the worship of Pulura worked in Sarkoris and where her major holy sites were, and you can extrapolate where a lot of the "hot spots" remain if you combine the information here with what's in the Lost Omens World Guide and have a general idea of the kinds of hazards that might remain.

It's definitely worth considering picking up or consulting, especially if you're going to be running an adventure in the larger Broken Lands area and would like to look for some backstory hooks.