The heroes of the Age of Lost Omens forge their path through an uncertain world, but that world has been shaped by many others who came before or who now stand beside them! Lost Omens: Legends provides details on 42 of the Inner Sea region's biggest personalities, from queens and kings that rule the present to distant figures from Golarion's past. Uncover details from the inner lives of movers and shakers from all around the globe, as well as the secret techniques, items, and knowledge PCs might gain from encountering these larger-than-life figures!
Written by: Amirali Attar Olyaee, Alexander Augunas, Kate Baker, Jason Bulmahn, Alexandria Bustion, Carlos Cabrera, Calder CaDavid, Jessica Catalan, Natalie Collazo, Ryan Costello, Jr, Greg Diaz, Fabby Garza Marroquín, Jaym Gates, Alice Grizzle, Steven Hammond, Nicolas Hornyak, James Jacobs, Michelle Jones, Kristina Sisto Kindel, Aaron Lascano, Ron Lundeen, Stephanie Lundeen, Sydney Meeker, Liane Merciel, Matt Morris, Patchen Mortimer, Hilary Moon Murphy, Dennis Muldoon, Andrew Mullen, Mikhail Rekun, Michael Sayre, Mark Seifter, Ashton Sperry, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Isabelle Thorne
ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-254-9
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Basics- Welcome to the Age of Lost Omens and Golarion! Pathfinder Lost Omens: Legends is the current standing of the world of Golarion and its people. It updates the setting from Pathfinder 1st ed. to Pathfinder 2nd ed., gives a good overview of the major areas of the Inner Sea, and provides some player options to help players get some mechanical links to the areas of their game. Let’s look at the pieces of this book.
Mechanics or Crunch-This book has some solid mechanics, but I’d still like a bit more. What is really surprising is this book has archetypes for each region's specific known combat enthusiast. Think of having a Special Forces archetype if you were to do a write up on the US. That is surprising and enjoyable. Also there are backgrounds for each area. Both of those are VERY welcome in the equivalent of a fantasy high school geography book that only the GM might spend a lot of time reading through. I would like a bit more though. Give me some ancestry feats that all the people from an area might get. It doesn’t matter if you are an orc, dwarf, or human, if you come from the cold place of ice and snow, odds are you picked up some cold tolerance! Even some more general feats would be good additions to this book. What is here is some solid mechanics that you don’t often see in these books, but I would just like a bit more to really drive home that players need this book. 4.5/5
Theme or Fluff- This is another solid area of this book, but the book needs a bit more to fully round it out. This book is both too short and too long. If you read this from cover to cover you will not enjoy it as much as if you just wanted to read about one area quickly. You wouldn’t read all of wikipedia in one day, but you would drop in to read quickly on an area if you are studying as an example. This honestly is a fantasy high school geography book as you will get 10-20 pages on an area. That is a good introduction, but the book needs a bit more like who are the gods and more world building. Those things are mentioned, but I feel I need more on them. As a Pathfinder 1st ed. player, I know a lot of that world stuff, but for a new player, they will have to do outside research on who some of the key players are. I learned a few things that maybe I missed before, and I can see where Paizo is setting up the next 10 years worth of adventure paths in the mix, but I felt like I needed a bit more content to better understand the world if I was an outsider. 4.5/5
Execution- PDF? Yes. Hyperlinked? NO! If you buy a college textbook today or even a highschool text on an ipad, it is hyperlinked. This is getting crazy as this is an over 100 page civics book and I have to scroll around and find random bits I want to read more on. What is here is good. If you read in chunks, it reads well enough and is enjoyable. If you marathon the book in one sitting, then it’s not as much fun as it does feel too long and too short. Long for its got LOTS of information, but short because I feel like I need some explanation on a few of the players. The art is good and you get a few headshots of major movers and shakers in the world ,so you can drop them in your game. The layout is nice in general with enough breaks to make the reader not go crazy staring in a textbook. I just need a few more additions to really make this an amazing book 4/5
Summary- I have compared this book to a textbook often, and it is a well done textbook. If you needed to learn what most people in an area would know about the region, this would be a great resource to give the players. Also, if you like me haven’t read every splatbook or adventure path put out by Paizo in the last 10 years, then this is a good way to get deep into the world quickly. Now, there is room for improvement. I need a bit more on the world. Gods play an incredible role in the setting, and I feel like they don’t get enough exploration in this book. I also love what’s here mechanically, but I want more. So, all players, not just who decide to make a hellknight, can lay claim to a heritage from Cheliax. Also, PAIZO LEARN TO HYPERLINK! Let me click around your book with ease please. Most textbooks do it now, and your world textbook needs to as well! This is a good world book with a few key flaws that keep it from being great. 86%
A game-changing book for anyone with even a passing interest in lore.
This book has probably been one of my most anticipated Pathfinder books I've ever purchased. And it's a book I frankly never expected Paizo to release, prior to being announced. At least across the tabletop systems I've played, it's been pretty rare to see a book dedicated entirely to the dramatis personae of a campaign setting's world. I assume this is because, unlike the setting's locations or monsters or gods (which usually receive lots of attention), the PCs themselves are the only characters that any given party is guaranteed to spend a large amount of time exploring. So the world outside of the PC's immediate sphere of influence is often treated as an afterthought.
Not here. After more than a decade, Golarion has turned into one of the most complete and lifelike fantasy worlds in tabletop RPG history, with history and heroes worth reading about, and never has that been so apparent than in this book. These are the stories of the champions, explorers, tyrants, inventors, healers, warlords and revolutionaries that made Golarion what it is, both throughout its past and into its present. Each entry has just the right, concise content to give you a feel for who this character really is. For her Infernal Majestrix, Abrogail Thrune, a dark tragedy worthy of stage adaptation. For Artokus, a charming insider-take on the elusive Einstein-esque alchemical genius from the eyes of his ever-loyal meekrat familiar. For Old Mage Jatembe, the enlightened ancient hero who disappeared in ages past after inventing the art of wizardry, a selection of famous parables and myths of his greatest deeds and adventures. And so many more. Each turn of the page brought a new atmosphere, a new story, and new exciting secrets revealed for plot threads that have been unfurling through years of storytelling.
To go along with the gorgeous artwork that captures each character to perfection, each entry also explores the complex relationships many of these "legends" share with each other, giving a fascinating view of the dynamic power struggles and alliances that are playing out in Golarion on a global stage (evoking plots that feel like they could belong in some of the best seasons of Game of Thrones). Also included are tools GMs can use for players, including abilities that these legends might bestow as patrons to worthy heroes (or villains). Baba Yaga can teach witches who call upon her name to animate household objects a la Disney's Fantasia. Avarneus can equip characters with the most advanced spy equipment this side of a dimensional portal to an MI6 armory. Players can attempt to outmaneuver Abrogail Thrune herself in negotiating infernal contracts (if they dare), awarding power at hidden costs.
There's so much here, for players and GMs both, and it's all SO INCREDIBLY WELL DONE. Like, seriously. The passion and imagination and enthusiasm that's packed into this book just spills out on every page. I can't praise it enough. Easy five stars, and I sincerely hope this book sees a sequel. Legends has transformed Golarion from a world inhabited by monsters, into a world inhabited by monsters with motivation, and allies that might stand with you against them.
I don't mind at all that the descriptions don't have stat blocks.
I bought both the Sandpoint and Druma books in spite of the stat blocks because of the awesomeness of the content. I really would have preferred both of those purchases to have been written to use in either PF1 or PF2.
If PF1 players want new content, then version-neutral setting content and lore makes it easy for them.
"Canon" isn't stat blocks. If something is going to be canon, keep it version neutral.
That cover is amazing (yay Tessa Fairwind!) and it sounds like the book has some truly awesome stuff for us in it, very much looking forwards to it! :D
It all looks good to me. I like stat blocks and all, but I'm also fine without them if we are getting a ton of lore for interesting characters from the setting.
This looks cool.
Yea, some of them (that might be in there?) could be quite high CR foes. Tar-baphon and such. I always loved the epic rules, mythic rules, and all that stuff. I have no idea if PF2 could even support mythic rules? Or if maybe if could support them even better. That's a question Jason and the team would have to try to answer.
Exciting!
Love the concept of this book
And the cover art
Really hope there will be big portrait for all of these people, not just small portrait like in the previous book... I think there will be enough place since there's no stat blocks
First book that is not a must have for me for Pathfinder 2nd Ed, but totally understand the excitement of others. Hoping an Equipment book comes out for PF II for me and some of my players.
The Echo Wood is my favorite region on Golarion(second only to Azlant). So I really wish to see the important figures in the Echo Wood like Baron Tervin Blackshield, Lady Tyressa Vishov and Lady Commander Audara Drovust in this book. I'm honestly not sure whether the mayors of some backwater towns in the backwater frontier can be included in the list for the 42 of the Inner Sea region's biggest personalities or not, though.
After listening to the Know direction podcast from PaxUnplugged with Luis, really Exited about this one!
I really love the idea of "unlocking" options (spells, feats, archetypes) through interactions with these legends/npcs. It is a really cool concept and a really neat way to add some of these characters into your game as a GM (and interact with them in the world as a player)
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
This seems like an amazing addition for DMs to enrich their games. I cant wait to read through this and broaden my knowledge on the world. Great idea by the creative team and I can say with confidence that the more if these you make, the more I will buy! Also, as an older gamer I will be playing through the APs of PF1 for years still. Too slow to keep up with the pace paizo publishe. So rules neutral Source books are great. It is also nice to get stats when you need quick enemies, so I know there is a strong need for that for the PF2 crowd, but I appreciate the idea of continuing to enrich everyone's game! Not that I wouldn't just use the data anyway if it came as PF2...
It's not a book of stat blocks to kill, that what the Bestiary is for!
This is a book of important people, their organizations, quests they can give, boons they can grant and abilities they give access to.
Have we ever gotten confirmation on how big of a book this is? I'm assuming it's around 125 pages like the bulk of the other Lost Omens products, so my guess is this will be structured like Gods & Magic? Some of the biggest names get four pages, the next tier get a couple, and the majority get a page or less? With a bit of room for additional things like backgrounds or boons or items or whatever else is included?
Actually, I suppose we'll start getting some teasers and details in a couple days or so...
Have we ever gotten confirmation on how big of a book this is? I'm assuming it's around 125 pages like the bulk of the other Lost Omens products, so my guess is this will be structured like Gods & Magic? Some of the biggest names get four pages, the next tier get a couple, and the majority get a page or less? With a bit of room for additional things like backgrounds or boons or items or whatever else is included?
Actually, I suppose we'll start getting some teasers and details in a couple days or so...
If we take the number of characters covered into consideration, we are probably getting two pages for each of the 42 of them. A page of lore, a page of options. I'm just dreaming of full body illustrations for each of them (Specially Nex and Geb, if they are included).
But I suppose we are going to see more of this book at Paizocon Online.
Thought it would be interesting to have a list of already confirmed legends included in the book.
- Old-Mage Jatembe
- Her Infernal Majestrix, Queen Abrogail II
- Hurricane Queen Tessa Fairwind
- Whispering Tyrant
- Grand Princess Eutropia
- Nex
- Geb
- Great Dwarf King Taargick
- Linnorm King White Estrid
- Magaambya member that I can't remember...
I would also love to see the likes of Azaersi, Baba Yaga, the Black Triune, Kevoth-Kul, Blood Mistress Jakalyn, or the Elven Queen.
Yet, my greatest hope is to see non humanoid NPCs included, like Mengkare, Treerazer, or even Kazavon. I'm sad that the Gorilla King is no more, for he was one of my favorite NPCs.
Nex and Geb illustrations are 48 minutes into this video specifically. And they are fantastic illustrations. I can hardly wait for this book to come out.
I don't mind the $35 for the printed book. I know printing is expensive, but $25 for the PDF? Come on now. The cost of the printing is much higher than $10 per book.
I don't mind the $35 for the printed book. I know printing is expensive, but $25 for the PDF? Come on now. The cost of the printing is much higher than $10 per book.
The Lost Omens titles are disproportionately more expensive as PDFs than the other books. I assume it's value-weighting tied to the fact that so much of it is Paizo's copyrighted materials.
I don't mind the $35 for the printed book. I know printing is expensive, but $25 for the PDF? Come on now. The cost of the printing is much higher than $10 per book.
You are correct that printing is expensive.
Don't forget also that high-quality art is expensive. Layout and graphic design are expensive too, if you're paying your workers what they deserve (and since Paizo staff are all local, I certainly hope they're being paid enough to keep up with Seattle-area CoL). Well-written words should be expensive, but because of the saturation of interested amateurs in the industry (and the low price-to-quality ratio expected by customers), even the comparatively well-paying Paizo doesn't pay nearly enough for a dedicated freelancer to come anywhere close to surviving on RPG industry writing.
In short, I'm frankly amazed you can get a product anywhere near the quality of this for as ridiculously cheap as $35 or even $25. I'm glad that lots of people will have the opportunity to enjoy it, at least.
I don't mind the $35 for the printed book. I know printing is expensive, but $25 for the PDF? Come on now. The cost of the printing is much higher than $10 per book.
From the beginning*, Paizo has priced their PDFs (with the exception of the core books, which they have offered at a significant discount) at approximately 70% of the print price. $35 x 0.70 = $24.50.
Or you can subscribe to the print product and get the PDF for free.
*:
That link goes to a Product Discussion thread which is still suffering from the bug of jumping away from the post you link to. Here is Vic's post that you can scroll down to (post #295):
Vic Wertz wrote:
*all* of our PDFs were priced at about 30% off the print price.