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I want to play Golarion for a couple of reasons.
A) Paizo puts out such high quality material, I'd like to be able to hop on PFS, and use the Gods out of the book.
B) I'd like to be able to use all the Player Companion books to their fullest
C) Full. Color. Poster. Map.
But there are things that deter me from it
A) I've put a lot of work into my own campaign setting, the Land of Perils
B) The planar cosmology isn't well defined enough
C) The four horseman make Daemons/Yugoloths really weird for me
D) I don't know how to build a campaign based off of what I've read on the wiki.
Can people sell me on Golarion?
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I want to play Golarion for a couple of reasons.
A) Paizo puts out such high quality material, I'd like to be able to hop on PFS, and use the Gods out of the book.
B) I'd like to be able to use all the Player Companion books to their fullest
C) Full. Color. Poster. Map.
All decent reasons, though I'll go on to list others. :)
But there are things that deter me from it
I'll address these point by point.
A) I've put a lot of work into my own campaign setting, the Land of Perils
Okay, that one I can't do much about. I mean, obviously, if using one setting, you cannot use another, though specific elements of said setting could easily be adapted into Golarion if you desire.
B) The planar cosmology isn't well defined enough
Huh? The cosmology is actually extremely well defined. Ask a question about it and I'll bet I can give you a fairly definitive official answer. I mean, it's not as detailed as, say, Planescape, but nothing is, and it's pretty solid.
C) The four horseman make Daemons/Yugoloths really weird for me
How are they weird, specifically? Also, removing them is perfectly acceptable and effects little. As long as you keep Daemons nihilistic soul-eaters, the rest of the game world marches on with no real issues regarding the precise nature of their rulers.
D) I don't know how to build a campaign based off of what I've read on the wiki.
What part of it is problematic for you? Is it too disconnected? Too low-powered? Too high powered? Not enough adventure hooks? What? I'm betting your problem is pretty solveable, but I can't know that until you describe it in more detail.
Whatever it is, I'll bet it's at least partially solved if you buy the Inner Sea World Guide. The wiki is for specific information about the setting, it's not really designed (or organized) to build it up for you fom scratch.
Can people sell me on Golarion?
Well, I can certainly try. :)
I'd read the Pathfinder Tales section of this very website. It's all at least fairly good fiction, with some of it phenomenally so, and it gives a lot of inspiration on the setting. I was already sold on the setting when I read it, but it might've sold me even if I wasn't.
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Can people sell me on Golarion?
Since you insist!
There is a nice market I know of in Cheliax where you would probably fetch a good price. You may become some devils plaything, so I hope you don't mind.
I could sell you in Absalom, but I have heard the life expectancy in the slave pits is deplorable. You look kinda weak and the buyer may not get his full value from you.
If you are a fan of the beach, Katapesh may be a good place for you to be sold. But if you have an addictive personality, it may not be, as most owners prefer the slaves aren't addicted to pesh.
Qadira may also be a good bet. Don't know much about it, but you can always gamble.
As has been said before, the planar cosmology is pretty well defined. Check out the Great Beyond for example. It basically highlights the cosmology of Golarion in greater detail.
The Daemons of Golarion are not Yugoloths. They fit the same slot as the Yugoloths in terms of NE Outsiders, but they are based on a different concept. I really like the Yugoloths, but the way Paizo set up the Daemons in Golarion, I felt at home immediately. Check out the Book of the Damned III, it contains great material on them. However, if you prefer the old Yugoloths, you can just use the old material with a few general changes. If you have any questions about them, give it a go. I will try to make them sound 'nice'. :-)
Keep in mind that you cannot expect to find as much material on the cosmology and the Daemons as there is in older D&D editions as they had much more space to do so. However, as you can see on the message boards, if you have any questions, you will get answers (as I just did this morning by Todd and James).
Could you explain the last point in greater detail? I honestly do not understand it.
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D) I don't know how to build a campaign based off of what I've read on the wiki.
Also remember that
1) those of us who write on the wiki do so in our spare time. This means there are entire books that have no been added.2) The wiki is written as in 'in world encyclopedia'. Thus some of the rumors and such in the sourcebooks do not always make it into the articles (that is another reason why we provide citation references, so you can look it up on the sourcebooks)
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D) I don't know how to build a campaign based off of what I've read on the wiki.
I outlined my first campaign off the wiki, before I got my hands on the Inner Sea World Guide, so I think I know what you're working with here. Honestly, I'd grab the book first chance you get, but let me share my experience.
The trick with designing campaigns for Golarion is that it's very modular. Each country has its own internal theme, so they're not really defined by their neighbors or an elaborate metaplot.
First things first, then, decide on what themes you want to touch on. My first campaign I wanted the PCs to be the defenders of a community that couldn't depend on anyone else. And my second I wanted to bring in a heavy elemental theme.
If you're not quite sure what you're looking for, I'd suggest looking over plot synopses for the different Adventure Paths. Even if you don't run the paths, you can lift themes from them. I whole-heartedly lifted the villains from Rise of the Runelords, for example.
Once you've got a theme, track down the country that best fits it. If you want that little town that needs defenders and can't depend on its government, Isger and the River Kingdoms are great bets. If you want a deep elemental theme with genies, Thuvia is surprisingly cool.
Honestly, after you've chosen your country, you can ignore a lot of the setting. It's huge, after all. Read up on your country and its neighbors, mapping out how your plot will snake through them.
That's what's always worked for me. If you need any help mapping themes to countries, these boards can be a great resource.
Cheers!
Landon
As a place to start I'd get the inner sea primer that has the short layout for players of each of the countires . Pick a country that has a theme you like then focus on that area.
There are also some areas that have more info on them because adventure paths have been written or moduals.
For? Example I think four ap have started in varisia.
If your not looking for an adventure path but want assistance starting. Dark moon vale works really well there are several sequencial moduals along with several others in the region.
Hollows last hope, crown of the kobold king, revenge of the kobold king and hungry are are the dead, make for a good horror theme help you get started. They also provide important background info on something me major important events which a dim Getting used to the world can then build on.
The fall of the last dwarven empire in the five kings mountains.
The seals holding the whispered ng tyrant.
With the second of those you could take the characters to lvl 20 on the potential storyline.
Anyhow I suggest all this because assuming you don't mind a horror themed game there is a lot of background material in those moduals especisly d5 hungry are the dead for adventure hooks. This would let you feel out the setting while not committing to an ap and after lvl 6ish if you don't jump to some of the other nearby modusls you can then write your own stuff.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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The best part about Golarion, is you, as a GM, can go anywhere.
Ye' good olde Gygaxian Dungeon Delve? Rooms, monsters, and traps smashed together without real thought to ecology? (Spire of Nex)
Want to be a noble brotherhood fighting in the trenches against an innumerable horde of foes, searching desperately for a way to stop the flood before you, and the rest of the world, are overrun by chaos? (Worldwound/Mendev).
How about a group of freedom fighters (a la Vichy France or Polish Resistance) trying to topple your corrupt government with only token assistance from a nearby allied nation? (Cheliax/Andoran)
Maybe magic isn't your thing, but you like a bit of Steampunk and mutants in your RP? Or, go even further and tell an Outlander style sci-fi story? (Mana Wastes/Numeria)
Or maybe you like magic. Magebattles, zombie farmers, genies, massive constructs, pocket dimensions, living spells. Tangling with near immortal archmages for control of their very nations. (Nex/Geb)
I know, a professor of archeology and his team traveling to the far corners of the earth to find artifacts of importance and great power, then bringing them home safely for study and academic advancement of all mankind. (Indiana J- I mean Pathfinder Society, anywhere ^_~)
Conversely, you're a merchant guild trying to make a living by selling pieces of history to the highest bidder, but your efforts are continuously stymied by a shadowy organization that seems to be collecting artifacts for some sinister, unknown purpose. (Aspis Consortium)
Basically, what kind of campaign do you want to run?
Golarion has a place for it.
The best part about Golarion, is you, as a GM, can go anywhere.
Ye' good olde Gygaxian Dungeon Delve? Rooms, monsters, and traps smashed together without real thought to ecology? (Spire of Nex)
Want to be a noble brotherhood fighting in the trenches against an innumerable horde of foes, searching desperately for a way to stop the flood before you, and the rest of the world, are overrun by chaos? (Worldwound/Mendev).
How about a group of freedom fighters (a la Vichy France or Polish Resistance) trying to topple your corrupt government with only token assistance from a nearby allied nation? (Cheliax/Andoran)
Maybe magic isn't your thing, but you like a bit of Steampunk and mutants in your RP? Or, go even further and tell an Outlander style sci-fi story? (Mana Wastes/Numeria)
Or maybe you like magic. Magebattles, zombie farmers, genies, massive constructs, pocket dimensions, living spells. Tangling with near immortal archmages for control of their very nations. (Nex/Geb)
I know, a professor of archeology and his team traveling to the far corners of the earth to find artifacts of importance and great power, then bringing them home safely for study and academic advancement of all mankind. (Indiana J- I mean Pathfinder Society, anywhere ^_~)
Conversely, you're a merchant guild trying to make a living by selling pieces of history to the highest bidder, but your efforts are continuously stymied by a shadowy organization that seems to be collecting artifacts for some sinister, unknown purpose. (Aspis Consortium)
Basically, what kind of campaign do you want to run?
Golarion has a place for it.
Don't forget playing as PIRATES!!!!!!yarr!(Korvosa and Riddleport)
Thanks for all this, it was useful to me too and I expect to many new players.
Golarion didn't jump out at me like, say, Mystara did, but from what I've read it's far better than Eberron or Forgotten Realms.
As mentioned above, one of the greatest strengths of Golarion is the 'something for everyone' nature. For pretty much any campaign theme, there's a place on Golarion it will fit naturally and you'll have high quality support material to help you flesh out that area (with varying degrees of quantity: for a traditional 'frontier' setting you have Varisia with stacks of support, for gothic horror there's Ustalav with quite a bit of support and if you want a mercantile nation there's Druma with not so much material yet).
One of the problems with that is that it's hard to 'label' Golarion or give a 'ten words or less' description, the way you can with lots of other campaign worlds. Consequently, I think the best approach is to start with a small, tightly focussed campaign located wherever is going to suit the theme/style of game you plan on running. As you run your game, keep an eye out for supplements which interest you and you'll gradually fill in the gaps and come to have favorite places and 'meh' places. What becomes clear is that it's relatively easy (compared to other campaign settings) to just ignore the bits you dont like - you dont even have to replace them or rejig them to suit your preferences. With the exception of some key places (like say Absalom) there isnt a lot of interaction between the various regions, so its pretty easy to run a campaign and just not mention the bits of Golarion which leave you cold.
I agree with you about the cosmology being somewhat sparse, but I think that's a function of them struggling to establish some new assumptions against thirty years of D&D cosmology which has been so thoroughly explored and built on over the years. Plus, generating something new just takes time.
The stuff they've done is fairly clear and usable, in my view (although daemons are part of the setting which I really like, so perhaps it's also a matter of taste). The trouble is that, so far, there just isnt as much cosmological detail around - given they've only had five years, that's hardly surprising. Plus, depending on one's history with gaming, there's always the problem of having to "unlearn" assumptions perhaps carried over from D&D which could lead to new stuff seeming to be out of place (or weird).