I'm brand new to Pathfinder (I've been away from rpgs for ten years), but love what I've seen so far. I'm wanting to run some things in the official setting, but I'm a little thrown off by which book is which. There are guides in the Chronicles, guides in the adventure paths, and guides in the Companions sections. There are 3.5 guides and PF guides. There is a Gazetteer. There are guides to factions and guides to cities. There are bits and pieces all over the place, and I have no idea how they all fit together.
I get that the Chronicles represent the setting proper, and the Companions are written for players, but do the Companions have enough information for a GM to run a game in an area, or do the Companions and the Chronicles guides overlap, and if so, which one where?
I'm wanting to start running a game in Golarion. There is the Pathfinder Campaign Setting book. There is also the Inner Sea book. Am I correct that the latter is an update and will replace the prior? If so, is it worth spending $50 (a lot of money for a single parent of two) for a book that will be obsolete in a few months? If not, is there anyway to get the basics on the world other than keeping my players in limbo until February?
What other materials are going to be obsolete with the release of the new book? Are half of the guides (the 3.5 guides) going to become irrelevant afterward and need replacing with new ones?
An easier question, to get me started: I'm getting the Serpent's Skull adventure path via subscription. What area is this set in, and more importantly, which of the myriad guides will apply to this area directly?
Yes, I know there are a lot of questions there. Pathfinder is going through a bit of a reorganization right now, going from being a product associated with That Other System to being its own product. I'm sure it will sort itself out eventually, but walking into the middle of it with no background on things is a bit confusing. I can't really afford to invest money in the things I don't need (say, guides to things I'll never see), or worse, in things that are going be be outdated in a couple of months.
Thanks for any help.
Wow, that's quite a few questions. Let's see if I can answer them all! :)
Thanks for your patient answers. I really appreciate it.
I'm putting the book you linked in to my cart as we speak. Even though I've been out of it for ten years, the ten years prior to that I spent almost exclusively as a GM. I really like to know a world before I use it, and I very much prefer to know a region well before I run something there. It lets me convey more atmosphere and gives me more tools should I feel like breaking up the pace with a side quest, or should the players go somewhere completely unexpected.
Say, you aren't the Zurai from OO are you?
Thanks for your patient answers. I really appreciate it.
I'm putting the book you linked in to my cart as we speak. Even though I've been out of it for ten years, the ten years prior to that I spent almost exclusively as a GM. I really like to know a world before I use it, and I very much prefer to know a region well before I run something there. It lets me convey more atmosphere and gives me more tools should I feel like breaking up the pace with a side quest, or should the players go somewhere completely unexpected.
Say, you aren't the Zurai from OO are you?
Glad to help.
Yeah, the Chronicles/Campaign Setting/Companion guides are very nice books in their own right; I was just making sure you knew that you don't need anything except for the 6 books of an Adventure Path in order to run that Path. Additional information is always useful, of course.
Yes, same Zurai :)
Yes, same Zurai :)
Same Greybird, er, Blackhawk
Also, since it did not seem to get a big announcement, probably because of all the convention stuff going on lately, the free Serpent's Skull Player's Guide is available for download now.
Ahhh. I saw you mention that you picked up Pathfinder; didn't think I'd see you over here, though.
Yep, I grabbed the Serpent's Skull already, but thank you. I'll likely check into the Societies, Cities, and Gods books, grab the region books as I need them, and hold off on the big one until the new release, then.
Ahhh. I saw you mention that you picked up Pathfinder; didn't think I'd see you over here, though.
Yeah, I stick my head out of my shell from time to time. ;)
Er, by "societies" I was actually referring to the factions guide. Stupid caffeine deprivation.
Zurai gave an excellent overview. If you do end up waiting for the revised campaign guide but need something sooner, you might consider the gazetteer. It's a relatively cheap option and gives a good overview of the world so you could get started. Having said that, I suspect it will end up being pretty redundant once the upcoming player's guide to the inner sea and hardcover worldbook are out, so whether you pick it up should really depend on how patient you are.
I should have also mentioned that if you go to this link that you can download a free map of the Inner Sea region and you will be able to better see where you are playing.
Other guides that should be useful are the Heart of Jungle (The Mwangi Expanse) and Sargava - The Lost Colony.
I've read both and they are quite good.
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Zurai gave an excellent overview. If you do end up waiting for the revised campaign guide but need something sooner, you might consider the gazetteer. It's a relatively cheap option and gives a good overview of the world so you could get started.
Also the Wiki has a bunch of search able information, so if you have questions on what book to find things in, that could be a good spot to look as well...
I appreciate all the help. There are some good folks here. That, in and of itself, is a mark in Pathfinder's 'pros' column.
Just one more question (you believe me, right?)
Which supplements (Chronicles, Companions, etc) would complement Rise of the Rune Lords?
Hmm. I don't think there really are many that would help with Rise of the Runelords. That was already finished before they started publishing any of their setting stuff. There isn't a general Varisian guide book, nor one for the Storval Plateau, and those are the two regions the AP covers. Also not a book for Magnimar, the one big city the PCs will certainly come across.
Just one more question (you believe me, right?)
Which supplements (Chronicles, Companions, etc) would complement Rise of the Rune Lords?
Rise of the Runelords will also need some converting done to it since it was written with the 3.5 rules and not the PRPG rules.
Hmm. I don't think there really are many that would help with Rise of the Runelords.
Awesome. You've made me spend enough money here already!
Yeah, I checked into the conversion. I've already got a list of bookmarks on already converted RL material, and I'm handy with conversion anyway. My old RPG world was made for Rolemaster, then converted for AD&D, GURPS, and WFRP at various times.
Converting from 3.5 to Pathfinder is really easy anyway. You can actually get away without actually converting just about anything if you're feeling lazy. The only things you really want to keep an eye out for are spells and monsters; a ton of spells got changed in Pathfinder and sometimes they don't work the way the Adventure Path describes, and they adjusted the stats of a lot of monsters, so sometimes the Challenge Ratings will be off.
Wayfinder! It's free. ^_^ (Also, not canon, or official. But free!)
Wayfinder! It's free. ^_^ (Also, not canon, or official. But free!)
I already grabbed that, too. Coincidentally, I just finished listening to a Know Direction podcast about it. ;)