Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Druma, Profit and Prophecy

Announced for June! Product image and description are not final and are subject to change.

Ooh, interesting! Looking forward to learning more about this region and it's philosophy.

It being a larger book and not one of the companions is a plus.

I think there's a typo in the title I believe that should say:

"Druma: Profits and Prophets"

So we are going to talk business in this fantastic book? But what could the forces of Abaddon be scheming there?

DRUMA LODGE!

This is one of those books I've been waiting for since Golarion debuted.

Any word on the author?

Oh. This book isn't a joke. Interesting.

I'll have to pick this one up when it comes out...

This is one of those books I've been waiting for since Golarion debuted.

Any word on the author?

Oh hi. And... ummmm *looks up at that Compton fellow*

Also... DRUMA LODGE! :D

Steve Geddes wrote:

This is one of those books I've been waiting for since Golarion debuted.

Any word on the author?

Oh hi. And... ummmm *looks up at that Compton fellow*

Brilliant, thanks.

Good luck, you two. I don't envy you having to meet these expectations!
(let alone exceed them, as seems likely)

Might or might not get this one.

Thurston Hillman wrote:

Steve Geddes wrote:

This is one of those books I've been waiting for since Golarion debuted.

Any word on the author?

Oh hi. And... ummmm *looks up at that Compton fellow*

Brilliant, thanks.

Good luck, you two. I don't envy you having to meet these expectations!
(let alone exceed them, as seems likely)

I will neither confirm nor deny they have worked on this book for years.

*sings* Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're giving none away

Another campaign setting detailing an inner sea realm is always something i am looking forward to.

After 10 years we are still missing a good portion, i really hope PF 2.0 will continue to do them at a good pace (usually 2 per year, if i remember rightly)! ;-)

But what could the forces of Abaddon be scheming there?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And you'll stop claiming we're up to anything if you know what's best for you!

The Gold Sovereign wrote:

But what could the forces of Abaddon be scheming there?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And you'll stop claiming we're up to anything if you know what's best for you!

........ Ok... Famine... Sir... '-'

*shrinks until becoming a wyrmling*

Ima be honest, when I just read that Druma was apparently going to be the last PF1 campaign setting book, I was kinda disappointed. I've been asking for ones on Nex and Geb almost since PF began, and I'm super bummed we haven't gotten them yet.

However reading the description(which will only get better once we're closer to release) has me kinda interested and excited for this book.

While I might not grab it right away, I will most likely be getting it at some point.

I would rather have Lastwall, Mendev, 5 Kings, Kyonin, Galt, Brevoy, and lots of Garund.
Hope those who are interested in Druma enjoy it, though.

The passion of the authors, John Compton and Thurston Hillman, on the topic of Druma is 90% of the reason I wanted to get this book on the schedule. When authors are passionate about something it always shows through in the final book. I think that there are people who aren't too into Druma who will have their minds changed after reading this book!

The passion of the authors, John Compton and Thurston Hillman, on the topic of Druma is 90% of the reason I wanted to get this book on the schedule. When authors are passionate about something it always shows through in the final book. I think that there are people who aren't too into Druma who will have their minds changed after reading this book!

Golarion has a huge variety of countries representing both different styles of play and different hooks that have captured our imagination for a decade. "Whoa, Geb is a nation of undead!" "Wow, Rahadoum is staunchly anti-divine in a setting with proven gods!" "Awesome, the Lands of the Linnorm Kings lets me play a not-Viking who slays dragons!"

Druma's largely been "Huh, they're rich and have a cult." It's easy to dismiss such an outwardly safe and affluent place as Druma in a setting of high fantasy, especially when we've had so little information about it so far. In a way, though, this has been a wonderfully mostly-blank slate with which to depict such an important place. Druma's location means it's played a major roll in Avistani culture, politics, and history for 11,000+ years, and we've explored that extensively in a way that really helps link together the Lake Encarthan region as a whole. If you want to better understand the Five Kings Mountains, Kyonin, Isger, and even stretches of the River Kingdoms, pre-Varisian Ustalav, Sarkoris, Mendev, and more, you'll want a solid foundation in Druma.

As for danger, this book's also been a chance to drop in plot hooks all over the place—because Thursty and I thrive on adding plot hooks in gazetteers. Both of us work on adventures for a living, and ensuring that there's ample opportunity for adventure in this nation was key from the day we started planning this. Before you had 4 pages about Druma. Soon you'll have 64 pages that pull back the curtain on the exciting possibilities and mysteries that await.

All of which is to say we're really excited about this book and the opportunity to transform Druma from an easily overlooked mercantile nation into the medium for countless new stories, the glass through which we can understand setting's history, and the keystone that holds central Avistan together.

This will be the 14th Campaign Setting, detailing the 15th avistani nation of 26.

I just re-read the four-page entry in "The Inner Sea World Guide" and it still doesn't excite me.

Now i am sure that this book will be written very well and have some surprisingly cool parts, but it is my second-least expected one (behind only Jalmeray).
I'll still buy it, though. ;-)

Can I still sing Money by Pink Floyd every time I see Druma though, John?

Interesting to see a (plutocratic?) government that Druma runs on.

Also daemons???

As somebody who is excited for Druma content, this is awesome for me! It’s a very useful nation for coming up with character backgrounds.

The passion project nation books have been excellent all around. Can’t wait to check this one out.

The passion project nation books have been excellent all around. Can’t wait to check this one out.

Agreed, they're some of my favourites.

I hope that the Campaign Setting product line isn't going to rest alongside PF1E or as we go deeper into PF2E. Rules might be different, but not the setting, so people could still use 2E sourcebooks to create their own stories in the nations not covered in 1E. Not only nations, but there are still lots of pieces in the setting to be covered.

Earlier this year, I bought a copy of the Core Rulebook, just because my existing copy was in such poor condition that using it was getting me down. I mention this because it was the only RPG-related purchase I've made - and the only Paizo product I've bought - since that time over 5 years ago (when I bought the NPC Codex Box). I just never saw any such product that I've wanted to buy in all that time...

...until now. Finally, Druma gets some attention! I've been waiting for SOME area that interests me to get some love, and I've seen nothing on Nex, Geb, Galt, or anything. (A few modules take place in Galt, but as far as I know, they do nothing with the revolutionary aspect of it.) Not since Irrisen got some love in 2013 have I seen such an interesting place get this kind of attention.

And on that note... will any other book help the Druma fad along? For instance, is there some module coming soon that takes place in Druma, or has Druma-related NPCs, or something? (For that matter, perhaps some already existing product does this, and I just don't know about it. Does anyone know of one?)

Having said all that, I feel I should mention a disclaimer: my book wishlist is so long, the Druma book may have to wait a while. <sigh> I USED to be a bigger Paizo fan. Back in the day, I spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Paizo stuff...

Okay, I'm derailing. And whining. I'll stop now. Maybe come June my wishlist will be shorter.

...until now. Finally, Druma gets some attention! I've been waiting for SOME area that interests me to get some love, and I've seen nothing on Nex, Geb, Galt, or anything. (A few modules take place in Galt, but as far as I know, they do nothing with the revolutionary aspect of it.) Not since Irrisen got some love in 2013 have I seen such an interesting place get this kind of attention.

And on that note... will any other book help the Druma fad along? For instance, is there some module coming soon that takes place in Druma, or has Druma-related NPCs, or something? (For that matter, perhaps some already existing product does this, and I just don't know about it. Does anyone know of one?)

Thanks for your enthusiasm!

There hasn’t been any announcement of any Druma-specific adventure at this time. However, you might have missed a few fun adventures in the past few years. Be sure to check out Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-22: Bid for Alabastrine, a social scenario that involves intrigue and auctioning off shares of a Drumish city on the Isgeri border. There’s also a good examination of the Goblinblood Wars, including a quest in Druma, in Pathfinder Society Scenario #9-16: Fallen Family, Broken Name.

On the topic of future adventures, that’s a big point of what this book is about. Druma’s long been a place where we know a little about the economy and religion, but not a lot about its people, history, ruins, and opportunities. Thursty and I are big on writing adventure hooks, so when we write articles (like Aelyosos in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores or half of the cities in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Realms), a big goal*** is seeding in as many future stories as we can for GMs to read the material and say, “Aha, I can see exactly how to use this place in my own campaign.” That’s as true in this book. Why? Because when we’re flipping through books contemplating what the next organized play scenarios are going to involve, we love spotting reminders that these are places to explore, not just to admire from afar. We’ve been very fortunate that so many of our colleages feel the same way and have included so many inspirations for the organized play campaigns to borrow over the year, and we’re happy to continue that tradition.

So even if there’s no Druma adventure announced at this time, I encourage you both to let Paizo know of your interest by leaving a review for this book once it’s released and to know that there are lots of story hooks coming your way come June 2019!

***Okay, admittedly I tend to obsess as much about ensuring the history, culture, demographics, weather patterns, and geology/plate tectonics make sense, in approximately that order.

Looks awesome... Not that I don't sympathize with people looking forward to other regions, buy IMHO Druma has huge setting potential. Exactly that people seem to ignore it as non-controversially rich, prosperous, and boring, is major part of it's creeptastic appeal. Which to my ears sets off alarm bells, and begs questions of skeletons in the closet and worse.

Most of this also feels extremely rules-agnostic, whereas I can see Geb for example involving things that new edition rules will definitely be relevant to. Druma's schtick is something that also necessitates setting information, whereas 'undead slave nation' can to some extent speak for itself. I do hope when Geb is written up, it gets very solid tie-in to Ancient Osirioni culture, though.

BTW, the call-out to 'history of Kellid people' sounds curiously in-line with exactly what I had dreamt up re: Druma, given it's lack of overt Taldan origin despite not presently being overtly culturally distinguished (aside Prophecies), so doubly interested to see how you develop that aspect. And if I end up gob-smacked by plate tectonics of Encarthan region, all the better!

BTW, the call-out to 'history of Kellid people' sounds curiously in-line with exactly what I had dreamt up re: Druma, given it's lack of overt Taldan origin despite not presently being overtly culturally distinguished (aside Prophecies), so doubly interested to see how you develop that aspect. And if I end up gob-smacked by plate tectonics of Encarthan region, all the better!

John has done a phenomenal job putting together a fairly comprehensive history of the region, and when we came up with the promotional text, I basically demanded he make mention of the Kellid material you can expect to see in here. It's one of the more interesting elements that we realized needed exploration once we dug into the writing, and we ended up getting approval to put in a fair bit of lore that the setting has never really touched on. Even some regional stuff outside Druma that's pretty focal to the Lake Encarthan region (take from that what you will!)

Very VERY much looking forward to this book! Very curious to see the political landscape between the daemons, the fey, and the Kalistocrats. Also hope that there will be some good information on the Blackjackets.

Thanks for your enthusiasm!

There hasn’t been any announcement of any Druma-specific adventure at this time. However, you might have missed a few fun adventures in the past few years. Be sure to check out Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-22: Bid for Alabastrine, a social scenario that involves intrigue and auctioning off shares of a Drumish city on the Isgeri border. There’s also a good examination of the Goblinblood Wars, including a quest in Druma, in Pathfinder Society Scenario #9-16: Fallen Family, Broken Name.

On the topic of future adventures, that’s a big point of what this book is about. Druma’s long been a place where we know a little about the economy and religion, but not a lot about its people, history, ruins, and opportunities. Thursty and I are big on writing adventure hooks, so when we write articles (like Aelyosos in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Shores or half of the cities in...

I really, REALLY tried to give Druma and the Kalistocracy some love in my 2013 RPG Superstar final's adventure pitch, The Scrollmaster's Ransom. Looking forward to seeing what the Blackjacket's of the Mercenary League are up to!

--Vrock Market Crash

Be still my beating heart! Fantasy economics are my jam, so I've been itching to learn more about Druma for years. Really dig the whole Lake Encarthan region and this completes the picture.

What's kinda cool about Druma is not just the potential to play a wannabe-Kalistocrat (which kind of requires some winging it, as the 'sexual and dietary restrictions' are up in the air*), but also that Kalistocrats make great 'quest-givers,' since they are always hiring folk to do their work (dirty or otherwise) for them.

An 'turn the inherited business into an international trade empire' AP starting in Druma, could be an interesting follow up (using the popular 'build something sub-game inside the AP' concept that made Kingmaker such a hit). I remember being super-disappointed back in Second Darkness when it moved away from the Golden Goblin. I certainly don't want to play 'Papers and Paychecks' in my gaming time, but I also like building lasting things as much as tearing them down, and found it discouraging when the entire point of the first adventure (save the business!) becomes irrelevant in the second and later adventures.

*When I did it, I avoided anything from the real world, not wanting to push any buttons or invite any comparisons between the Kalistocracy and a real world religion, and had my Kalistocrat refuse to eat anything that would have been more profitable if kept alive (like wool-bearing sheep or egg-laying chickens), but that was pulled straight from my butt.

What's kinda cool about Druma is not just the potential to play a wannabe-Kalistocrat (which kind of requires some winging it, as the 'sexual and dietary restrictions' are up in the air*), but also that Kalistocrats make great 'quest-givers,' since they are always hiring folk to do their work (dirty or otherwise) for them.

An 'turn the inherited business into an international trade empire' AP starting in Druma, could be an interesting follow up (using the popular 'build something sub-game inside the AP' concept that made Kingmaker such a hit). I remember being super-disappointed back in Second Darkness when it moved away from the Golden Goblin. I certainly don't want to play 'Papers and Paychecks' in my gaming time, but I also like building lasting things as much as tearing them down, and found it discouraging when the entire point of the first adventure (save the business!) becomes irrelevant in the second and later adventures.

*When I did it, I avoided anything from the real world, not wanting to push any buttons or invite any comparisons between the Kalistocracy and a real world religion, and had my Kalistocrat refuse to eat anything that would have been more profitable if kept alive (like wool-bearing sheep or egg-laying chickens), but that was pulled straight from my butt.

Given your interests, I think you'll find a lot of fun material in this book. Among other things, Thursty and I put a lot of consideration into ensuring that Druma's adventure potential was robust enough to support a Druma-centric Adventure Path should the opportunity and interest arise.

(And yet another sourcebook whose original announcement I appear to have missed.)

... Druma? Interesting choice, and I look forward to seeing how the authors make it even more interesting. Passion projects for the win! :)

I'm glad we're getting a sourcebook on Druma, instead of something nobody wants, like a book on the Starstone.

I'm glad we're getting a sourcebook on Druma, instead of something nobody wants, like a book on the Starstone.

Disclosure: I've talked to both John and Thursty about this book over the years.

I for one am looking forward to this book. Druma is an interesting place in and around Lake Encarthen that has a ton of potential. It borders Isger so we get an idea of how the Black Jackets fought in the Goblinblood wars; it borders the Five Mountain Kingdoms so we get an idea of how the dwarves must needs trade with a bunch of, to them, weird humans. This book might give us an overview of trade in on Lake Encarthen; somebody needs to sell stuff to Lastwall!

I also agree with you that no one wants a book on the Starstone.

So you have nothing to complain about. Enjoy.

Thanks!

I want a book on Starstone. There, you're both wrong.

I want a starstone supermodule, not a campaign setting book. I don’t see much point in more background information - I want to see a specific test.

That sounds good to me. Since we already know the final adventures, we know that ain't happening.

I hope that we either get some more stuff for PF 1.0 sometimes down the line, or probably much more likely, that it will be really easy to convert PF 2.0 stuff into 1.0 rules and vice versa.

It is possible with Pathfinder & Starfinder, at least with the most basic stuff, so i am holding up hope for the future. ;-)

I hope that we either get some more stuff for PF 1.0 sometimes down the line, or probably much more likely, that it will be really easy to convert PF 2.0 stuff into 1.0 rules and vice versa.

It is possible with Pathfinder & Starfinder, at least with the most basic stuff, so i am holding up hope for the future. ;-)

Flavor is convertible....so I'm sure those of us sticking with PF1 will still follow specific area's of interest and convert the material back to PF1....but other than what has already been announced...I don't expect much support for PF1. They will be trying to get people to transfer over to PF2.

That sounds good to me. Since we already know the final adventures, we know that ain't happening.

We know the final PF1 adventures. A Starstone module/AP/setting book could very well happen under PF2 or PF3 or whenever Paizo decides it's the right time.

When the stars are right?

:)

Aaaannnddd..... we're off topic.

I'm glad we're getting a sourcebook on Druma, instead of something nobody wants, like a book on the Starstone.

I wanted a Druma book... for a long time, in fact! :D

Sorry for the derail.

So, how about that Druma! My apologies to anyone working on the book. I'll buy it and probably love it.