Pathfinder Lost Omens: Travel Guide

*squees in professional*

Moonmelon Festival?

*squees in professional*

Moonmelon Festival?

That can't be what I think it is....

I sincerely hope this book has just a minimum of crunch (an odd item/spell).

Gonna get me my Golarionite Tourist Visa now!

Thanks Luis! :D

And I wish Lost Omens books would have more crunch :(

Nothing makes a culture/world pop quite like fashion and food. Incredibly hyped for this.

Awesome! A slice of life book is just what we needed.

J03_M4M4 wrote:

keftiu wrote:

Can anyone name a sport on Golarion other than boundball?

Blood Pig.

While the game itself is obviously the invention of a sadist (not me, nor Richard Pett, but ONLY the King of Old Korvosa), Blood Pig is intended to be a new take on a local ball game similar in some ways to soccer or basketball.

The adventure we put that in, "Escape from Old Korvosa," takes a lot of cues from one of my favorite movies, "Escape from New York,' (there might be similarities in the title, for example). In "Escape from New York," the Duke of New York solves things by doing an over the top bloodsport type thing... while in the sequel, "Escape from L. A." there's a simliar plot point involving a high-takes basketball game. Both of those are the original inspiration for including a game called Blood Pig invented by the King of Old Korvosa.

And I always thought Blood Pig was inspired by the real-world Afghan sport buzkashi.

I’m cool with Lost Omens books having nothing but details about lore and culture! I love having the finer details of the world fleshed out so I can add color to city exploration and roleplay.

Sounds like if someone had read my 2e Lost Omens wishlist! Count me in ^^

TBH, this kind of subjects have never really raised more than polite curiosity on my part. Now I would be delighted if Paizo can, once again, make me love something I was previously only very mildly interested in.

Is that Sandpoint on the cover? Super excited to be revisiting that place, if so. First read that book while stranded at a bus station, and stayed up practically the entire night reading it. Absolutely lost myself in that gorgeous book – still one of my definitive favorites. Eager to see more of Varisia in 2e, especially since we've only gotten city-states so far from the region, and...there's so much more to explore. Really Breath of the Wild-like, with all the ruins-dotted wilderness, nomadic peoples, villages, variety of different cultures, lack of any government beyond regional powers, and the general sense of ancient history imprinted on the landscape. Please more.

Aside from that, this almost sounds like Lost Omens' own answer to ye olde "Ed Greenwood Presents: Elminster's Forgotten Realms" book. That's been one of the more useful books I've owned for GMing purposes, so I'm beyond excited to have one dedicated to Lost Omens specifically. Seriously, I have crammed two entire bookshelves for material like the kind being presented in this book. Very possibly going to be my favorite Lost Omens release.

Guy whose face is covered by logo does look like Father Zantus...

Also on background there appears to be Aldern Foxglove and his dog? I guess its supposed to be Swallowtail Festival of RotR, but I'm confused of what happened to Aldern's fancy hair xD

I’m cool with Lost Omens books having nothing but details about lore and culture! I love having the finer details of the world fleshed out so I can add color to city exploration and roleplay.

Nothing would end my personal investment in the LO series of books faster than this because, to be quite honest, I'm already disappointed in the crunch to flavor ratio for all of the LO line of books.

If things continue to shift in this direction I at least hope that whatever OTHER non-LO books come out shift toward offering more rules, options, and mechanics to make up for it. There is something like fifteen years of backlogged lore, set dressing, and world-building at this point so I just cannot personally justify buying an RPG book where 2/3 or more of the book is content that completely ignores that this is an actual GAME with rules and crunch. If as a company they find that more lore heavy books sell better then that's a wise decision from a financial standpoint but speaking for myself and the people I regularly play with, I would much rather spend my money on actually adding things to the G part rather than the RP because we can come up with, improvise, and research the lore for our table on our own well enough but the actual rules and options are why made me interested in ANY of Paizo products in the first place oh so many years ago and I'd hate to see that fall to the wayside.

willfromamerica wrote:

I’m cool with Lost Omens books having nothing but details about lore and culture! I love having the finer details of the world fleshed out so I can add color to city exploration and roleplay.

Nothing would end my personal investment in the LO series of books faster than this because, to be quite honest, I'm already disappointed in the crunch to flavor ratio for all of the LO line of books.

If things continue to shift in this direction I at least hope that whatever OTHER non-LO books come out shift toward offering more rules, options, and mechanics to make up for it. There is something like fifteen years of backlogged lore, set dressing, and world-building at this point so I just cannot personally justify buying an RPG book where 2/3 or more of the book is content that completely ignores that this is an actual GAME with rules and crunch. If as a company they find that more lore heavy books sell better then that's a wise decision from a financial standpoint but speaking for myself and the people I regularly play with, I would much rather spend my money on actually adding things to the G part rather than the RP because we can come up with, improvise, and research the lore for our table on our own well enough but the actual rules and options are why made me interested in ANY of Paizo products in the first place oh so many years ago and I'd hate to see that fall to the wayside.

Moving on to play Advanced Squad Leader reflavoured as a fantasy game is always an option.

Elfteiroh wrote:

Also, Oh gods!

I cannot wait for this!
This sounds very close to an "inner sea" almanac that James Jacobs hoped to see be released one day! <3

It's absolutely that same thing I've been prodding for us to do for... A long time.

A wandering directorsaur! I've missed you James! And this book has me extremely excited, the Lost Omens line is just firing on all cylinders right now.

willfromamerica wrote:

I’m cool with Lost Omens books having nothing but details about lore and culture! I love having the finer details of the world fleshed out so I can add color to city exploration and roleplay.

Nothing would end my personal investment in the LO series of books faster than this because, to be quite honest, I'm already disappointed in the crunch to flavor ratio for all of the LO line of books.

If things continue to shift in this direction I at least hope that whatever OTHER non-LO books come out shift toward offering more rules, options, and mechanics to make up for it. There is something like fifteen years of backlogged lore, set dressing, and world-building at this point so I just cannot personally justify buying an RPG book where 2/3 or more of the book is content that completely ignores that this is an actual GAME with rules and crunch. If as a company they find that more lore heavy books sell better then that's a wise decision from a financial standpoint but speaking for myself and the people I regularly play with, I would much rather spend my money on actually adding things to the G part rather than the RP because we can come up with, improvise, and research the lore for our table on our own well enough but the actual rules and options are why made me interested in ANY of Paizo products in the first place oh so many years ago and I'd hate to see that fall to the wayside.

The Lost Omens/Campaign Setting Line have always been lore heavy over mechanics, that’s not a “change”.

The Rulebook line is separate from the Lost Omens line.

Nevermind that this is a RolePlaying Game, the RolePlaying and the Game are both important.

My main point is that if LO were to become 100% about flavor (or really, anything with 75% plus word/page count dedicated to it) as proposed by the quoted individual then that would signal the end of my support for the product line without hesitation and to personally appeal that this NOT occur as is my right as a customer.

Thanks for the backtalk and snark though.

While Travel Guide will have a few mechanics here and there, it will likely have the lightest mechanics footprint yet. This isn't evidence of any kind of trend, though. We adjust the amount of mechanics based on the needs of the book and mechanics are not going away from the Lost Omens books. Knights of Lastwall will have a fair amount of mechanics (over 20 pages by my count which include new archetype feats, new class feats, magic items, spells, and equipment). Future books in the LO line will also have a fair amount of mechanics.

This book is an intentional departure into lots of information focused on roleplay and worldbuilding to hopefully better flesh out the setting and make it feel more alive. I'd love to hear what people think about this little "experiment", but also remind them that we will always have more mechanics and player options in the future.

I know that "fluff" is viewed as a pejorative around these parts, but I want to observe that "fluffy" is also an appropriate adjective for "warm blankets that cats like" which just seems like a positive all around.

The nice thing about mechanically light books is that sitting down to read them feels like less of a chore.

James Jacobs wrote:

Elfteiroh wrote:

Also, Oh gods!

I cannot wait for this!
This sounds very close to an "inner sea" almanac that James Jacobs hoped to see be released one day! <3

It's absolutely that same thing I've been prodding for us to do for... A long time.

A wandering directorsaur! I've missed you James! And this book has me extremely excited, the Lost Omens line is just firing on all cylinders right now.

Yup, I'm still here. Just not as active on the boards now and am mostly limiting my posts here to answering specific questions that I feel confident in the answers to. It does no one (particularly me) any favors these days to get more whimsical or playful or emotional in my posts here these days, so I've mostly avoided the boards as a result.

That said!

Glad to see so many folks excited about this book. I hope it does well. It's a book I've wanted to do pretty much as long as we've been doing Golarion—the "Life" chapter in the hardcover Inner Sea World Guide we did for 1st edition being an attempt by me to show how this sort of thing would look but that chapter only had a few pages to cover what needed so much more.

I wish I had more time to have been more directly involved in the creation of this book now that it's finally coming out, but that wasn't in the cards with me working on Kingmaker and other stuff. That said, I can't imagine the topic being in any more capable and talented hands than Luis and Eleanor, and the outline they created for this is incredible. Being able to experience the book as a reader first instead of a creator is a rare gift for me, and I'm incredibly grateful for Luis and Eleanor's hard work and creativity and passion and pure awesomeness in this and all the Lost Omens books they've been creating over the past few years!

This sounds absolutely wonderful. I am super excited for this.

I know that "fluff" is viewed as a pejorative around these parts, but I want to observe that "fluffy" is also an appropriate adjective for "warm blankets that cats like" which just seems like a positive all around.

The nice thing about mechanically light books is that sitting down to read them feels like less of a chore.

I've said so elsewhere, but...

The thing I'm really hoping for from this book is that it gives more of the perspective of like a regular person in the Inner Sea, something that was less present in the books about important people or important places.

It's good to know about the movers and the shakers of the setting, and the points of interest just in terms of shaping plots from the top level, but players on the ground are going to spend a lot more time in places that aren't the biggest cities dealing with regular-degular folks and that stuff is super important for adding texture to the story.

I've said so elsewhere, but...

** spoiler omitted **

I didn't mean to poke a sore spot, and for that I apologize. The first thought on reading about this book would be that it evokes the same sort of feeling you get when you curl up in a warm spot with some sort of pleasant seasonally-appropriate beverage (it's cold here). The nice things about lore books is that you can let them wash over you in a way that "parsing reams of new spells and items" doesn't allow (in my experience).

There have been some books of late that were a slog to work through as the GM (even though they were good books) and I'm looking forward to one that's more of a joy to read.

I love this and would absolutely buy ten more books like it. :D I can never get enough lore.

James Jacobs wrote:

I've said so elsewhere, but...

** spoiler omitted **

I didn't mean to poke a sore spot, and for that I apologize. The first thought on reading about this book would be that it evokes the same sort of feeling you get when you curl up in a warm spot with some sort of pleasant seasonally-appropriate beverage (it's cold here). The nice things about lore books is that you can let them wash over you in a way that "parsing reams of new spells and items" doesn't allow (in my experience).

There have been some books of late that were a slog to work through as the GM (even though they were good books) and I'm looking forward to one that's more of a joy to read.

You can just say "plushy" and avoid the whole problem, you know.

I will take as many lore-heavy books as possible, personally.

Gimme gimme gimme!

This book sounds amazing!

It does no one (particularly me) any favors these days to get more whimsical or playful or emotional in my posts here these days, so I've mostly avoided the boards as a result.

James Jacobs, you are a creative person whose imagination fueled many of the worlds that we all jointly play in. Please, be as whimsical, playful and fun as you wish here on these forums. I am here for it.

James Jacobs wrote:

It does no one (particularly me) any favors these days to get more whimsical or playful or emotional in my posts here these days, so I've mostly avoided the boards as a result.

James Jacobs, you are a creative person whose imagination fueled many of the worlds that we all jointly play in. Please, be as whimsical, playful and fun as you wish here on these forums. I am here for it.

Thanks, that's nice to hear. Not everyone feels the same, alas. BUT! I don't mean to derail the thread, so back to talking about the Travel Guide!

I'll be first to confirm that yes, that is the Sandpoint Swallowtail Festival on the cover. It being the first festival we put into the world, it seemed right to be the festival we featured on the cover of the book that (among other things) talks about festivals!

PossibleCabbage wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

I've said so elsewhere, but...

** spoiler omitted **

I didn't mean to poke a sore spot, and for that I apologize. The first thought on reading about this book would be that it evokes the same sort of feeling you get when you curl up in a warm spot with some sort of pleasant seasonally-appropriate beverage (it's cold here). The nice things about lore books is that you can let them wash over you in a way that "parsing reams of new spells and items" doesn't allow (in my experience).

There have been some books of late that were a slog to work through as the GM (even though they were good books) and I'm looking forward to one that's more of a joy to read.

You can just say "plushy" and avoid the whole problem, you know.

Undead kobolds?!?!

Hype intensifies!

We will gladly accept any additional allowed teases and snippets :3

Looking forward to the flavor of this book since I love slice of life stuff, I am personally hoping it includes a few paragraphs for maybe playing the sports at the table (mini VP system?), maybe a few more tapas in the margins of the cuisine section, stuff like that. I love the lore, but little things I can use in a homebrew setting are always nice-- I can use some of the lore that way.

I don't even play the tabletop game but I still buy the books because I love the lore.

Oh, exciting!

I agree that the LO book line is very fun too read. I am always excited for new LO offerings currently. Haven't been disappointed yet.

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

James Jacobs wrote:

It does no one (particularly me) any favors these days to get more whimsical or playful or emotional in my posts here these days, so I've mostly avoided the boards as a result.

James Jacobs, you are a creative person whose imagination fueled many of the worlds that we all jointly play in. Please, be as whimsical, playful and fun as you wish here on these forums. I am here for it.

Thanks, that's nice to hear. Not everyone feels the same, alas. BUT! I don't mean to derail the thread, so back to talking about the Travel Guide!

I'll be first to confirm that yes, that is the Sandpoint Swallowtail Festival on the cover. It being the first festival we put into the world, it seemed right to be the festival we featured on the cover of the book that (among other things) talks about festivals!

Have you been getting complaints in private? D: Anyway, either way if public board doesn't feel like safe space for you anymore, it is good to take break for mental health yeah. Hope it has helped!

I know that "fluff" is viewed as a pejorative around these parts, but I want to observe that "fluffy" is also an appropriate adjective for "warm blankets that cats like" which just seems like a positive all around.

The nice thing about mechanically light books is that sitting down to read them feels like less of a chore.

It's also important to remember that, while this forum is very mechanics-minded, that doesn't represent the whole community. I've definitely seen the opinion that Lost Omens books should have even more lore compared to mechanics in the PF2 subreddit (though the style of the Mwangi book seemed to be the most popular).

good luck with this book I'll be skipping it though. Mechanics lite is one thing but I don't see anything here, I could be wrong. I like to have some mechanics in my books. if some mechanics are mentioned I'll go back to being a buy. I should have skipped that map folio earlier

Mentioned upthread.

While Travel Guide will have a few mechanics here and there, it will likely have the lightest mechanics footprint yet. This isn't evidence of any kind of trend, though. We adjust the amount of mechanics based on the needs of the book and mechanics are not going away from the Lost Omens books. Knights of Lastwall will have a fair amount of mechanics (over 20 pages by my count which include new archetype feats, new class feats, magic items, spells, and equipment). Future books in the LO line will also have a fair amount of mechanics.

This book is an intentional departure into lots of information focused on roleplay and worldbuilding to hopefully better flesh out the setting and make it feel more alive. I'd love to hear what people think about this little "experiment", but also remind them that we will always have more mechanics and player options in the future.

I'm so unbelievably excited for this book, it sounds like it's really gonna flesh out the inner sea and make it a more believablea nd alive setting. The lost omens team have been killing it so far and I doubt that'll stop here!

PossibleCabbage wrote:

I know that "fluff" is viewed as a pejorative around these parts, but I want to observe that "fluffy" is also an appropriate adjective for "warm blankets that cats like" which just seems like a positive all around.

The nice thing about mechanically light books is that sitting down to read them feels like less of a chore.

It's also important to remember that, while this forum is very mechanics-minded, that doesn't represent the whole community. I've definitely seen the opinion that Lost Omens books should have even more lore compared to mechanics in the PF2 subreddit (though the style of the Mwangi book seemed to be the most popular).

I was actually thinking about this reading the reddit thread, but I can't actually decide if its 'most normal people just want cool lore to read about because its fun and accessible and the forums are sweaty' or 'mechanics more or less still drive sales, but there's a vocal contingent who are really into lore and downplaying mechanics plays well in online subcultures' obviously the fact that I can't decide sort of presents the possibility that there isn't a clear majority.

What's extra weird about it is that I'm not sure how much Golarion outpaces other settings in terms of engagement, like, last I checked a massive percentage of games were homebrew stories that steal bits and pieces of official lore. The less focused people are on the setting, the less I'd expect lore to be the driving force.

My guess is that the general consumer base is just diverse in this respect.

I’m one of the most vocal forum members here and do not play PF2. I am exclusively buying Pathfinder products for lore and art.

Are there a lot of folks like me? Maybe not, but there’s some.

One of the biggest selling points about playing Pathfinder for my group is the pre-written adventures, and the lore of Golarion is a big part of what makes them so interesting to me. :)

I play APs but the games I run are homebrew, I love the books for the art and inspiration.

If there is one thing I want in mechanics for this book, it is cooking. Stuff like Kingmaker or the Tales of games always had a special place in my heart. Otherwise, I don't need much in the way of mechanics.

I really just like RPG books. I've bought more books than I could ever play and I will continue to buy more.

If there is one thing I want in mechanics for this book, it is cooking. Stuff like Kingmaker or the Tales of games always had a special place in my heart. Otherwise, I don't need much in the way of mechanics.

I really just like RPG books. I've bought more books than I could ever play and I will continue to buy more.

Well, previews showed us that cooking is part of Kingmaker for 2E :D

Would be awesome if there were some actual Golarian-esque recipes here and there :3

Looks interesting and I'll pick it up at some point but not a big priority unless some of this ties into a specific AP setting I am running or playing in. Nice to see that many will get better use out of it than I.

Tom