One thing that is realy grabbing me with both hands with Pathfinder is the feeling of being in at the beginning of a new world. It's fantastic being able to see things growing and developing with Golarion. The fact that we can all chat about it and have tha Paizo staff answer or comment on things is wonderful. Greyhawk was old when I started playing twenty one years ago. The Realms were great but also seemed like playing in someone elses sandbox (as have so many other settings) and Ebberon always seemed to me to be just WOTC 'Great Experiment'. But Pathfinder is just hitting all the buttons first time out. Fantastic job guys. Keep it up!
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WOTC 'Great Experiment' is one way to put Eberron.
Another way to put Eberron would be; the campaign setting of a company that doesn't have the time, intelligence, or resource to properly convert/update any of the existing campaign settings.. Realms included.. so they get someone to create something original so they can make up the rest as they go.
Is it a wonder they can't/won't commit to talking about 4E Eberron? There's more Eberron material now then any designer would want to read before making an updated 4E supplement. On top of that, Wizards already used up all their excuses for turning a campaign setting upside down with the Realms. :P
Don't be surprised if in 2009 we see another contest for a new campaign setting and little to no information on 4E Eberron.
That aside, something I like about Pathfinder is that there is a a lot of new yet strangely familiar stuff in the setting, and still lots more to explore. :)
I agree totaly with your comment on Ebberon. I think the only other setting that came close to Pathfinder was some if the early Necromancer Game stuff. As for Pathfinder; it's been a long time since both myself and my players have felt this refreshed about the game. It reminds me of how we first felt when we were new to D&D and everything was a new experience. Pathfinder has in my oppinion recaptured that 'essence' of the game, a feat that the behemoth that is WOTC couldnt seem to manage eventualy let slip through their fingers.
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There's more Eberron material now then any designer would want to read before making an updated 4E supplement.
Hm, wasn't that the reason why the designers decided to rebuild the Realms ? ;)
But to get on topic I totally agree with what you said about Pathfinder. I haven't seen my players so interested in the world their characters live in for a long, long time and it's exciting to see them explore Golarion with a sense of wonder they lost a long time before as far as older settings are concerned.
Yeah, my players were even raving about how different the goblins were, like "Something out of a nightmare Gremlins meets Critters film"
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There's more Eberron material now then any designer would want to read before making an updated 4E supplement.Hm, wasn't that the reason why the designers decided to rebuild the Realms ? ;)
Shush you. :)
Yeah, my players were even raving about how different the goblins were, like "Something out of a nightmare Gremlins meets Critters film"
To me they gave goblins personality and personality = fluff, something 3.0 hasn't really been about.
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My favorite thing is how well the world of Golarion and the Rise of the Runelords campaign can simultaneously entertain my 2 veteran players as well as my 2 first-timers. All 4 of my players are enjoying every aspect I have presented to them. I remember one of the veterans commenting about the goblins that they were nothing only to be impaled the next encounter by a horsechopper while being set on fire by another goblin. My first-timers get the feeling of being on the same level as these two vets as far as world knowledge and experience.
It is such a great feeling to be on the ground floor of something as new and exciting as this. I don't know any other company that could get me this excited about a campaign setting. Kudos Paizo.
I heartily agree. Golarion is a cool name to begin with. No phoenetic spellings of Earth or hyphenated apostrophized madness that is simply meant to sound fantasy-esque. It rolls off the tongue and doesn't get in the way.
Every time I've seen a post by any of the writers that reveals a little more about the world I have been impressed and excited to find a way to work it into my next game session (be it necromancer lich kings, or enlightenment on the never-ending dance habits of certain runelords of greed).
In comparison to the old campaign worlds they offer an ominous and beautiful story setting that we can really use to spin some yarns as DM's. And the best part is that even when the Golarion campaign book is released I whole-heartedly believe it'll be hundreds of pages worth of sugar soaked awesome
I mean look at the old campaign worlds. Even when Forgotten Realms first launched...it felt like I was playing a part in someon else's play and the best I could hope for was that one of the uber npc's knew my character's name.
Greyhawk always felt like an old penny with Lincoln's face rubbed off..it saw a lot of good use but in the end it lacked detail.
The rampant discontinuation of support for Greyhawk by WotC and the total FUBAR of 4E Forgotten Realms was enough to make me think there has to be something better out there.
Awesome job Paizo. You may advance to the next level.
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Yes, something about Golarion just seems so...old school. I've only been playing for like, 3 years, and most of that has been Me DMing the occasional eberron adventure & playing in homebrew, yet I know old-school when I see it. Paizo's setting doesnt pander to real-world parallels, it makes use of the rich world history we have, and our fiction, both modern and ancient. It lives up to everyone's expectations of a fantasy world, yet comes out with surprises.
My players sit down and say.
"Oh. Ghouls. shame we dont have a cleric. Bring out the CLW wands."
Five minutes later
"S@@~, S&+#, S$*&. Did they bite you? DID THEY BITE YOU?"
I simply cant wait to run HMM, and I now regret teasing them a weeks ago with banjo music. I think I may have ruined a big surprise. well, at least I have the giants to look foreward to.
I've not been this excited since I picked up the SSS "Creature Collection I" back just before the 3.0 MM came out at GaelCon. Clever writers, looking at a setting not just as a backdrop to some monsterbashing, but a place with layers of plots, stratum of McGuffins and thick with Character Hooks. Please, please please Paizo, offer some support for 3.5 players post 4.0- I'm enjoying the journey and don't want to stop.
We are that exited about the new world that both myself and my players have all taken the day off work so we can devote a whole day to Golarion. They have so far only just started Burnt offerings. Let's see what happens after today!
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Shush you. :)
No offense meant. I don't like the FR-related changes either though to my surprise it seems as if the resulting "new" realms could work very well for me.
It was just that I have a soft spot for Eberron in my heart, too ;)Yes, something about Golarion just seems so...old school.
yeah, old school it is, but it is also highly innovative. One of the things I like in Eberron so much is the little twists on well-known races and classes which sets it apart from other worlds.
It's the same thing with Golarion. But where Eberron takes steps to regions D&D has never gone before, Golarion succeeds in staying (more) true to the history of the game. Which basically means that Paizo succeeded in squaring the circle.