paizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Foliopaizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio2023-10-04T17:26:07Z2023-10-04T17:26:07ZPathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio: Lovely unlabeled art. And Oppara (4 stars)Ryskyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpya1rc?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-War-for-the-Crown-Map-Folio2018-10-15T11:38:29Z<p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>Don't know the art term for it but the first map is more painting than map, with a beautiful idealized illustration of Meratt surrounded by various other artistic depictions, definitely something you would see hanging up in a Taldor frame.</p>
<p>The second map is all map, a a basic outline of Oppara and its districts, which are labeled, with no flourishes.</p>
<p>Back to illustrations for the third we have the entire country of Taldor (and the isle of Kortos and Absalom, so bonus) lovingly painted.</p>
<p>If the first and last had a few more labels this would have been 5 stars, or if the Oppara map had been made like the other two. If the other two had been made like the Oppara one I'd be disinclined to buy the Folio, maps like that don't interest me that much.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>Don't know the art term for it but the first map is more painting than map, with a beautiful idealized illustration of Meratt surrounded by various other artistic depictions, definitely something you would see hanging up in a Taldor frame.</p>
<p>The second map is all map, a a basic outline of Oppara and its districts, which are labeled, with no flourishes.</p>
<p>Back to illustrations for the third we have the entire country of Taldor (and the isle of Kortos and Absalom, so bonus) lovingly painted.</p>
<p>If the first and last had a few more labels this would have been 5 stars, or if the Oppara map had been made like the other two. If the other two had been made like the Oppara one I'd be disinclined to buy the Folio, maps like that don't interest me that much.</p>Rysky2018-10-15T11:38:29ZPathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio: useless maps (1 star)Matt Bakerhttps://paizo.com/products/btpya1rc?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-War-for-the-Crown-Map-Folio2018-09-27T07:10:10Z<p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>These are not maps. They are art poster folios. They are eye candy that utterly useless for gaming with. I would have to memorize all of Taldor to make them useful. My players ask me the names of places all the time. I feel like an idiot because I do not know and I don't have time to memorize them and so I point at the map and say, hey, here be monsters but I have no idea what else is here.</p>
<p>I suggest that you make actual maps and sell them as separate from this pack if you need to.</p>
<p>I am saddened and disappointed. The art quality is great but the lack of place names is utterly frustrating. It is almost like you think they are too precious to put names on. Just have someone do it with calligraphy. It would have been nice to have a real map of Taldor too. I just do not know why you do this. I used to look forward to getting maps of the areas of your world. Not anymore. In fact, real maps are one of the greatest features of game worlds. The place names inspire mystery and lead to stories. </p>
<p>I will never buy these things again and I own every single adventure path. PLease sell actual maps.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>These are not maps. They are art poster folios. They are eye candy that utterly useless for gaming with. I would have to memorize all of Taldor to make them useful. My players ask me the names of places all the time. I feel like an idiot because I do not know and I don't have time to memorize them and so I point at the map and say, hey, here be monsters but I have no idea what else is here.</p>
<p>I suggest that you make actual maps and sell them as separate from this pack if you need to.</p>
<p>I am saddened and disappointed. The art quality is great but the lack of place names is utterly frustrating. It is almost like you think they are too precious to put names on. Just have someone do it with calligraphy. It would have been nice to have a real map of Taldor too. I just do not know why you do this. I used to look forward to getting maps of the areas of your world. Not anymore. In fact, real maps are one of the greatest features of game worlds. The place names inspire mystery and lead to stories. </p>
<p>I will never buy these things again and I own every single adventure path. PLease sell actual maps.</p>Matt Baker2018-09-27T07:10:10ZPathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio: Pretty Useless (2 stars)Feroshttps://paizo.com/products/btpya1rc?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-War-for-the-Crown-Map-Folio2018-09-07T22:33:24Z<p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>For an explanation of how I use the five star review method, see my entry on <i>So What's the Riddle Like Anyway?</i> <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy8uz5?So-Whats-The-Riddle-Like-Anyway" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. </p>
<p>Here we have another Map Folio for Campaign use, this time for the <a href="http://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/adventurePath/warForTheCrown" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">War for the Crown AP</a>. I judge these Map Folios on their looks and usefulness as game aids, with their ability to enhance a campaign being the most important criteria. I understand why they are in the Campaign Setting subscription: They generally have maps that further detail regions of Golarion and thus have some use outside of the campaign they are designed for. They are usually made up of three maps, one of which is a colourful representation of the region in which the campaign is set. This folio is no exception to that rule.</p>
<p>The first map in the folio is a stunningly illustrated map of the county of Meratt, where the second part of the campaign takes place. It is an amazing medieval style map with side portraits and everything…and it is totally unlabelled. Seriously, this is just ridiculous. No cartographer would release a map with only the name of the county it is depicting and nothing else. No one would believe this handout looks like a map they might purchase in game without it being written on by the GM. And if the GM isn’t a calligrapher, it’s going to mar an otherwise beautiful map. What a waste.</p>
<p>The second is a standard gaming map of Oppara, one of the biggest and most important cities in the Inner Sea region of Golarion. It has labels of the various districts, but no specifics. Compare this to the map of Magnimar from the <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy8w7h?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Shattered-Star-Poster-Map-Folio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Shattered Star Map Folio</a> and there is no contest. The detail and usefulness of that map far outstrips this rather lacklustre presentation of Oppara. </p>
<p>The third and final map of the folio completes the failure. Once more a beautiful painted map of Taldor with no labels beyond saying that it is Taldor. What is the point? How can this be used for any other setting when Taldor is written right on the map? And if the intent is to not let it be used in other settings, why not mark the various places on the map? I saw improvements with the <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy9tos?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Ironfang-Invasion-Poster-Map-Folio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ironfang Invasion Map Folio</a> and hoped the trend would continue. It was not to be. If perhaps I could know the reasoning behind the lack of labelling? That might help.</p>
<p><b>Final Thoughts</b>: The title of this review is a play on words. These maps are very pretty and as game aids all but useless. I would actually give this folio one star if not for the absolute magnificent job the cartographer/artists did on the graphic visuals of these maps. With a little work, these can be used as game aids. But the point of buying something like this is to <i>reduce</i> the amount of work as a GM, not add to it. I am very disappointed. I really wanted a lovely map of Taldor to add to my collection of maps of Golarion and once again have been handed wall art. Two out of Five stars.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Campaign Setting: War for the Crown Map Folio</b></p><p>For an explanation of how I use the five star review method, see my entry on <i>So What's the Riddle Like Anyway?</i> <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy8uz5?So-Whats-The-Riddle-Like-Anyway" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. </p>
<p>Here we have another Map Folio for Campaign use, this time for the <a href="http://paizo.com/store/pathfinder/adventures/adventurePath/warForTheCrown" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">War for the Crown AP</a>. I judge these Map Folios on their looks and usefulness as game aids, with their ability to enhance a campaign being the most important criteria. I understand why they are in the Campaign Setting subscription: They generally have maps that further detail regions of Golarion and thus have some use outside of the campaign they are designed for. They are usually made up of three maps, one of which is a colourful representation of the region in which the campaign is set. This folio is no exception to that rule.</p>
<p>The first map in the folio is a stunningly illustrated map of the county of Meratt, where the second part of the campaign takes place. It is an amazing medieval style map with side portraits and everything…and it is totally unlabelled. Seriously, this is just ridiculous. No cartographer would release a map with only the name of the county it is depicting and nothing else. No one would believe this handout looks like a map they might purchase in game without it being written on by the GM. And if the GM isn’t a calligrapher, it’s going to mar an otherwise beautiful map. What a waste.</p>
<p>The second is a standard gaming map of Oppara, one of the biggest and most important cities in the Inner Sea region of Golarion. It has labels of the various districts, but no specifics. Compare this to the map of Magnimar from the <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy8w7h?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Shattered-Star-Poster-Map-Folio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Shattered Star Map Folio</a> and there is no contest. The detail and usefulness of that map far outstrips this rather lacklustre presentation of Oppara. </p>
<p>The third and final map of the folio completes the failure. Once more a beautiful painted map of Taldor with no labels beyond saying that it is Taldor. What is the point? How can this be used for any other setting when Taldor is written right on the map? And if the intent is to not let it be used in other settings, why not mark the various places on the map? I saw improvements with the <a href="http://paizo.com/products/btpy9tos?Pathfinder-Campaign-Setting-Ironfang-Invasion-Poster-Map-Folio" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Ironfang Invasion Map Folio</a> and hoped the trend would continue. It was not to be. If perhaps I could know the reasoning behind the lack of labelling? That might help.</p>
<p><b>Final Thoughts</b>: The title of this review is a play on words. These maps are very pretty and as game aids all but useless. I would actually give this folio one star if not for the absolute magnificent job the cartographer/artists did on the graphic visuals of these maps. With a little work, these can be used as game aids. But the point of buying something like this is to <i>reduce</i> the amount of work as a GM, not add to it. I am very disappointed. I really wanted a lovely map of Taldor to add to my collection of maps of Golarion and once again have been handed wall art. Two out of Five stars.</p>Feros2018-09-07T22:33:24Z