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I've seen talk on these boards of potential Player Companions you all would like to see and we even had a panel at PaizoCon partially dedicated to this topic, and so far your input has been great! I'd like to use this space to compile your ideas and come up with some more as we come closer to 2014 and continue to iron out our schedule. Your ideas could inspire or even lead to the next Player Companion!
So, the question is: What Player Companion books would you like to see in the future?
It'd be great if we could come up with some ideas for books that fit into the sublines we've already created in the Player Companion line—series like the "Blood of...", "People of...", "...of Golarion", and "...Handbook" books. That said, if you have other ideas too, for sure shout 'em out!
So far, we've established the following "sublines" within the Player Companion line.
Blood of...
What kinds of "Blood of" books haven't we covered that you'd like to see? I've seen mention on the boards of some interest in a "Blood of Dragons" and a "Blood of Elements" book, as well as significant talk about a "Blood of Chicken" book of some sort, but are there any others you'd like to see?
People of...
One of the coolest ideas I've seen on these boards is a People of Magic-type Player Companion that focuses on the nations on the eastern side of Garund. I personally would love to see such a book, what with Alkenstar being near and dear to my heart. The linked thread also has a bunch of other awesome ideas, including people from Absalom (People of the City?) and people from the Mwangi Expanse. We've made it kind of a theme to cover about three nations in each of these books, so what other interesting groupings can you think of? Or is there some other way we could use this line?
...of Golarion
We recently released Kobolds of Golarion, much to many readers' delight, and I'm curious what other sorts of creatures deserve the full Player Companion treatment! We've already hit all the core races (or will have with Bastards of Golarion) as well as goblins, but what else do you think would fit in one of these books?
...Handbook
New rules and tips for slaying monsters are always useful, and the Handbook series (including Dungeoneer's Handbook, Dragonslayer's Handbook, and the forthcoming Undead Slayer's Handbook) has been great at providing new character options centralized around these themes. Are there other monsters, environments, or obstacles that you'd like to see given the Handbook treatment?
Other Ideas
What about something completely new? A new subline could be cool, as would a Player Companion that could stand all on its own. With Magical Marketplace and Alchemy Manual just over the horizon, there's plenty of room for more of these themed books chocked full of new items and character options.
For all of the above, what kinds of things would go in the Player Companion you'd like to see? New rules? New rules subsystems? Flavor? Expanded lore? Unusual art? New maps? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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I would also like to see something on making constructs, clockwork items, creatures (and prosthetics?). "Artificer's Handbook"?
Now this is interesting! I can see a book like this tying easily into some of the Inner Sea's most fabled locales, like the Golemworks in Magnimar or Quantium in Nex. Sort of a how-to-build-it guide for adventurers. Hmm!
I would also like to see something on making constructs, clockwork items, creatures (and prosthetics?). "Artificer's Handbook"?Now this is interesting! I can see a book like this tying easily into some of the Inner Sea's most fabled locales, like the Golemworks in Magnimar or Quantium in Nex. Sort of a how-to-build-it guide for adventurers. Hmm!
I would greatly enjoy this one. Probably buy two.
I would like to see "Necromancer's Handbook"; looking into all the aspects of raising the dead, using deadly magic, how others look at necromancers throughout the inner sea, ect
By any chance do you see this Necromancer's Handbook as a sort of foil to the Undead Slayer's Handbook? While the two are not necessarily diametrically opposed, I can see such a volume being the "evil version" of the Slayer's Handbook in some ways. Or would you rather it be tackled in a completely different manner? (I know it's hard to say without seeing the Undead Slayer's Handbook first, but right now I'm just wondering based on theme and concept what you had in mind.)
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Extraplanar Handbook. Tips on dealing with travel to the outer planes and dealing with outsiders visiting Golarion.
Wilderness Handbook. Dealing with traveling thru deep forest, vast deserts, etc.
Tournament Handbook. Dealing with jousting, courtly intrigue, dueling, etc.
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Tournament Handbook. Dealing with jousting, courtly intrigue, dueling, etc.
Hmm! Would this differ significantly from Knights of the Inner Sea? If so, how? Perhaps "Nobles of the Inner Sea" or something to that effect? I like the idea of giving more details on where tournaments are held within the Inner Sea region (including all sorts of bloodsports, coliseums, and arenas) and perhaps building off of the performance combat rules in Ultimate Combat. What else could go in here?
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Hi Patrick,
Firstly, I'll get behind a few of the ideas already raised. Blood of the Elements/Genies is my number one request in the Blood of... line. I would snap that up immediately. I'd like to see it expand the elemental touched races away from just genies. Having Oread clans up in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings would really appeal to me. Spread those guys and gals around.
The Artificers Handbook would really work for me. I'd love to see more detail on building constructs, expanding the possibilities of animated objects, non-magical means of creating artificial intelligences, that sort of thing. That is a very appealing idea.
A thieves book would be great too. One of my favourite 2nd ed. books was the Complete Thief's Handbook. Thieves and assassins guilds and the organisations that oppose them are great fodder for PCs and villains alike. There's an instant conflict within the terms of the book that would allow all sorts of people to get use out of it. Catching a thief could be as much a focus as being one.
While I loved Kobolds of Golarion, I can't see much of a future in these books for more humanoid monsters. It's getting too far away from PC relevant territory and into GM aids. I love hobgoblins and have always championed them as a potential PC race, but I'm not sure going down that kind of route would be a good move. The Revisited books are probably the place for these things.
One race I would really like to see fleshed out would be Androids of Golarion. I would say the market for that might not be there but, given recent announcements, there might be after all. I really like changelings too, and would get behind some kind of book that supports them. Maybe that incorporates other fey-touched races (yes, I know hags aren't fey but they're from the same tradition).
For the People of... line, how about People under the Yoke (or something like that) about Nidal, Ustalav and Geb. Not geographically related but all featuring people suffering under supernatural tyranny. Maybe sub Razmiran in for one of them. Osirion, Thuvia and Rahadoum make for a more obvious trio, but I guess something along those lines is already on the schedule for early next year?
The Tournaments idea is good. I really like the performance combat rules and think they could be developed further. Maybe broaden its scope to cover all sorts of entertainment and call it Festivals of Golarion. As well as gladiators and jousting knights you could have rules for participating in games of Ruk (from Katapesh), new bardic masterpieces, archetypes for different types of religious celebrant to lead these festivals, ways in which festivities can enhance ritual magic (calling planar allies of Cayden Cailean during an epic - sorry, mythic - drinking session), for instance.
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By any chance do you see this Necromancer's Handbook as a sort of foil to the Undead Slayer's Handbook? While the two are not necessarily diametrically opposed, I can see such a volume being the "evil version" of the Slayer's Handbook in some ways. Or would you rather it be tackled in a completely different manner? (I know it's hard to say without seeing the Undead Slayer's Handbook first, but right now I'm just wondering based on theme and concept what you had in mind.)I would like to see "Necromancer's Handbook"; looking into all the aspects of raising the dead, using deadly magic, how others look at necromancers throughout the inner sea, ect
Maybe, though not necessarily an evil version, who says all necromancers are evil, there might be a few neutral ones out there...
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What would I want? Let's see ...
Blood of the Fox
People of the Empires
Kitsune of Golarion (Just in case I was being too subtle with the previous two.)
I would also settle for Shapechangers of Golarion, with a healthy-sized section devoted to the greatest of all shapechangers, Cosmo. Wait, no! I meant the kitsune! I MEANT THE KITSUNE!!!
*blinks*
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But seriously, more kitsune stuff please. I can't write it all on my own (would if I could!), and more kitsune art = more chances for me to see actual kitsune figures in the Pathfinder Battles line. :D
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Merfolk of golarion (or alternatively, perhaps blood of the ocean?)
Gnolls of golarion would be cool too (although I'm doubtful there's the same interest in playing them as for the "cuter" monsters).
Armies of golarion or a mercenary's handbook would be on my list too.
I think a reprise of andoran, cheliax and taldor is long overdue.
For me the player guides are all about flavour, not mechanics. The ones I like are generally the ones useful for playing a character from there, rather than playing a campaign set in that region.
One thing I'd love that you haven't quite given me yet (no doubt too expensive, but since you asked....) would be a "trail maps of golarion". A bunch of parchment styled "in game" maps of various nations, regions, cities. Perhaps even one or two replica "treasure maps", a map of some portion of absalom's sewer system, etcetera... Things a PC might have and that could be potential plot hooks. I'm imagining a book unstapled with the maps being able to be removed from the booklet (but not full on poster sized a la the map folios).
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Ignoring things like costs, I'd also like a "book of hometowns". Bearing in mind I haven't yet seen towns of the inner sea, I'm thinking of a book containing a dozen small towns/villages each with a two-page spread with a half page map, a half page picture of the place and a page of text - life in the region, peculiarities of the locals, some town specific traits, feats or even archetypes/spells.
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Finally (although this might be spreading the product line a little too broadly). I'd like to see a guide for playing PCs from further afield. Although I set all my games on golarion, I'd love to have some guidelines on creating characters from the other planets or the other planes. Including not only mechanics and flavour related to creatures from those areas,, but also some discussion/suggestions as to how a 1st level extraterrestrial or extra planar PC may have found themselves in the inner sea.
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People of the Ocean (both above and below the surface)
Kitsune of Golarion
Blood of Elements
Blood of Dragons
Skirmisher Companion : how to at last make the mobile combatant we all dream of
I would enjoy a Necromancer Companion too : how to make the best use of undead, organizations that sponsor necromancers and those that oppose them (including free-willed undead), how to disguise your activity (and creations), how to create better/stronger undead, how different countries and religions view necromancy ...
Flyer Companion with clearer rules about 3D combat, rules for getting flying mounts ...
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A book about Martial Arts. "Empty Hand" or "Way of the fist" or something suitably dramatic like that. It could have some more martial arts feats and talk about the training academies.
We could use a book about the plane of Shadow. Maybe a "Blood of Shadows" book, or possibly just "People of the Shadows" depending on how you want to take it. Either way, I think the plane of Shadow needs more love.
Sieges of Golarion
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I would also be very interested in something that touches on the themes of old Lirgen. I'm not really sure what it'd be though. Astrology. How are readers of prophecy dealing with the shattering of prophecy? Are they going mad? Are other beings co-opting their attempts to prophesize, giving false information to influence their nerfarious plots? How has the use of Divination magic changed since then?
Heck, it could just be Diviners of Golarion.
Or maybe a series going into every single school of magic? Talking about its evolution over time, and giving options for every school. Not just for spellcasters either. Conjuration themed fighters, rangers who use nature themed illusions to lead astray their marks? Magi focusing on abjurations, protectors of people?
Lots of possibilites with that sort of theme.
And Necromancers of Golarion would fit in just swimmingly.
These could be the Diviner's Handbook (or more likely, Grimoire)
Or how about Feytouched of Golarion?
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First, thank you for asking the customers for feedback.
Second, I apologize if this post seems argumentative or adversarial as that’s not my intent.
I’ve been a fan of the Companion line since its inception, but I think it’s time to figure out what the Companion line is intended to be.
For me, the biggest draw and really the sole reason I would put a Companion book in a player’s hands is to provide an aid that would enable them to develop a character that is more closely tied to the Golarion world and any campaigns set within them. The early companions certainly did this in spades, but suffered from the valid criticism that they seemed more geared toward GM gazetteers than Player’s Companions. Of late, however, the Companion line seems to have swung too far the other way, turning primarily into a crunch-laden book. There are still elements of Golarion lore, of course, but they seem to have been scaled back to accommodate the new “Companion formula”. While there are exceptions, the Companion line has gone from a “must-buy” to a “will this really add to my game?” line.
Of the “new format” Companions, the Varissian one is the gold star – everything in that book adds to player’s knowledge of the region and integrating into various aspects of the setting. There have been some similarly strong entries: Knights and Pirates come to mind. I also enjoy some of the “Blood of …” entries as well but it seems we’re stretching the concept after the next few entries. While I don’t mind a “Blood of Genies” or somesuch, “Catfolk of Golarion” has no appeal, especially when there are still large swaths of the Inner Sea region that haven’t received decent “integrating your character” content.
Entries like the Dungeoneer’s Handbook, Quests and Campaigns, and Dragonslayer’s Handbook hardly feel Golarion-centric. They’re needlessly crunch-heavy with feats, archetypes, equipment, and spells. They’re interesting ideas, but I think that they’re better fodder for the RPG line. They certainly are not something that I would hand to a player to read for inspiration on how to better integrate their characters in Golarion. In fact, they require more GM oversight than the early Companions. Much of the content is fine, I just think it would be better served in a different line. Either that or the Pathfinder Companion line should be renamed the Player Options line because some of these books are definitely losing their Golarion-specific focus.
This next comment is an unfair comparison as it deals with a different setting, different publisher, and a game world with far fewer published words than Golarion. That said, when I think “Player’s Companion” I think of this line or books like the Varisia Player’s Companion. The line I’m referring to are the Player’s Guides from Kobold Press for the Midgard setting. These books also have archetypes, feats, traits, and spells but they are absolutely dripping with setting lore.
That’s what I want from the Player’s Companion line - player’s introduction to creating characters from a particular region. Focusing on a particular theme is fine but I feel that while Paizo has done an incredible job of avoiding the “Splats for splats’ sake” model employed by WotC, if there is one line that is guilty of falling into that trap, the Companion line is guilty of it. Too much crunch and much of it is only thinly tied to Golarion.
I want the Companion line to return to “must-buy” status for me rather than its current spot of “line I don’t know if I want it, I certainly don’t need it”. Given the August Gen Con product explosion, I cancelled my subscription to the Companion line to keep my monthly Pathfinder spend from being too ridiculous. I had every intention of renewing the subscription in September. Right now, “People of the Sands”, “Blood of the Moon”, and “Bastards of Golarion” sound like they’ll have enough Golarion-lore to make the buy list (although the “skinwalker” stuff in Blood of the Moon has it on the fence as it sounds uber-niche). The rest of it sounds like crunch-heavy books that can easily have the Golarion-lore stripped out of it. Re-upping my Companion subscription is starting to look like a long-shot rather than a forgone conclusion.
Players may love the new formula and I suspect the sales volumes support that crunch-heavy model, but I’ve rapidly tired of it. Return to content like Varisia – Birthplace of Legends and you’ve got me back.
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Random thoughts after reading the other entries in this thread;
Blood of Genies – Oread, Sylphs, Undines and Ifrit are relatively new races, without the same sort of history that comes with Aasimar and Tieflings, so a book that explored them (and the Suli and the Half-Janni?), perhaps even including some variations (similar to the variations, in both size and bloodline, of Aasimar and Tieflings), could be neat. There’s an assumption that most of the ‘genietouched’ races are related to (or their nature altered in some less intimate way by) Djinn, Efreeti, Shaitan or Marids, but mixing that up and having an elemental-touched person related more to an elemental subtype dragon, giant, yai, mephit or similar elemental-themed non-genie creature, could make for more versatility within the larger racial type (just as a ‘fiend’-touched person could be related to a devil or a rakshasa or a div). Plus the size-difference thing mentioned in Blood of Angels and Blood of Fiends. No reason why an Oread (or Fetch or Dhampir, for that matter) couldn't have come from Halfling or gnomish stock, and be size Small.
I'd prefer this be a setting-specific product, just so that it can better suggest where I might see an Ifrit or Oread in Golarion, than just read generic stuff like 'they tend to be found in mountainous regions' or whatever. Since these races are 'newer,' they tend not to appear in older products, so it might be useful to get something new and focused on them out there, so that we might 'discover' that there is a thriving community of oreads in the Darklands, clustered around a sporadic gateway to the elemental plane of earth, and serving as a 'beachhead' for their Shaitan ancestors, who want to safeguard this planar breach to both keep visitors from Golarion from wandering into their own territory, and as a sort of waystation for their own agents coming to Golarion to further their own schemes.
Similarly, do Undines have a population in the Shackles, or along the coastline of the Sodden Lands, far from the centers of Gillman power? Are Sylphs unusually common in the storm-tossed peaks of central Ustalav, where those in the know climb rain-slicked cliff-faces to shout questions above the howling winds to their sky-dancing oracles?
People of the Darklands – covering, to a lesser degree, Drow, Duergar and Svirfneblin, and perhaps even PC-friendlier versions of other Darklands races like Dark Folk, Derro or Vegepygmies.
Necromancer’s Handbook – addressing balance issues that come up with self-replicating undead types (shadows, etc.), care and ‘feeding’ of undead minions, different necromantic options (death cleric, bones or juju oracle, undead bloodline sorcerer, necromancy specialist wizard, less usual choices like Zon-Kuthonite shadow druids or undead aspected Summoners or Paladins who focus on putting ghosts and haunts to rest though a combination of resolving the issues that keep them unquiet, and smiting the heck out of them if they prove unwilling to go gently into that good night), as well as different playstyles (non-evil necromancers, spirit-talkers, ancestral speakers, spirit guides, mediums, Gebbite plantation managers who are all about using mindless undead as cheap labor and have zero interest in mustachio-twirling evil, etc.). There’s a huge amount of design space lying fallow in this area, which is generally present in core, but discouraged in actual gameplay by some setting assumptions.
Urban Adventures / The City as Dungeon – I occasionally struggle with city stuff, so I wouldn’t know what to suggest here, as I obviously need it more than most.
Guilds of Golarion – mercenary companies, fighting schools, thieves guilds, wizards academies, bardic colleges, monastaries and temple hierarchies. Something for almost every class, dealing with the organizations that teach those fighters their feats and rogues their talents, and the tribal councils and secret societies from which barbarians rage powers are handed down to new worthies.
Soldiers of Golarion - Definitely something dealing with military schools, regional armies, complete with feats and / or styles and / or alternate class features preferred among, say, the armies of Qadira or the Padishah Emperor or Osirion, as compared to what I assume would be the very much different preferred equipment and training of the armies of Cheliax, Taldor and Andoran. There are eight schools of wizardry built right into the game. There should be as many or more different ways to design a fighter, built right into the setting, from lightly armored mobile dervishes to plate-armored juggernauts to mounted skirmishers. If there was ever a good place for these ‘roles’ that have been showing up in recent Companions, it would be in a book devoted to highlighting the very different fighting styles of the different nations of the Inner Sea, and to mechanical options geared towards making them both look and feel and play quite differently, *and yet also be effective.*
Races of… is otherwise getting pretty far afield with Core + Bestiary 1 races. We’ve already seen Goblins, Kobolds and Orcs, leaving future products to delve into Hobgoblins or Gnolls or Lizardfolk or Bugbears, none of which really have leapt out yet as the ‘new hotness.’ Gnolls, maybe, but they seem less relevant for a PC treatment than the 'genie-touched' or 'races of shadow' or whatever.
People of Reason - dealing with how the ‘atheist’ cultures or non-theist philosophies of Golarion function, could answer a lot of questions (and perhaps raise some new ones!) about how the people of Rahadoum, Razmiran, Hermea, Touvette, etc. function, as well as explore non-explicitly-theist ‘faiths’ such as the Green Faith or the Prophecies of the Kalistrade or even Shoanti ancestor / totemist practices.
Inner Sea Trade – feats and skill options for players would deal with haggling and cost reduction and selling stuff for 60% value instead of 50% value or whatever, while the ‘trade map’ across the centerfold would have a sexy lingerie shot of the inner sea region with the different trade goods dominant in each nation, and the most common trade and shipping routes outlined, so that GMs can get a feel for where to place caravan adventures or pirate ship attacks and what sort of goods would logically be in those caravans or merchant ships. I vaguely recall something similar in one of the old Greyhawk Gazetteers, and that was cool for GM use, while the assorted feats / skill uses / etc. could be good for players (along with perhaps some region-specific items of equipment, such as alchemically treated ‘hot-weather armor’ popular in desert country X or whatnot).
Book of Shadows / Races of Shadow – Fetch and Wayangs, plus a shadow-touched racial template to represent elves, dwarves, etc. who came from the plane of shadow via some portal in Shadow Absalom or who serve in the 'Umbral Court' of Nidal (and might be not only shadow-people but also have fey touched natures)? Indeed, given both Nidal and the Wayang having both fey ties and shadow-plane ties, perhaps a 'book of shadows' product might introduce the notion that, unknown to outsiders, due to that paranoid nation's shroud of state secrecy, the Wayang have been a presence in Nidal all the time, and when the Kuthonite Wayang of Nidal travel abroad, they disguise themselves as fun-loving colorful gnomes, so that their mere existence remains a secret to even Nidal's neighbors in the Inner Sea...
People of the Ocean – Mermen, Sea Elves, Undines and Gillmen, plus some PC options for Locathah or even Malenti / Sahuagin? (Gillmen would suggest that the book by Golarion-specific, although Gillman information could be side-barred for a more generic line book…) Where in the Inner Sea, Steaming Sea, etc. are the various aquatic races concentrated? How much of the sea is ‘civilized’ by these races, and how much ‘wilderness’ dominated if at all by sea dragons, aquatic linnorms, krakens, dragon turtles, merrow, scrags, aquatic giants, aquatic hobgoblins (koalinth?), gargoyles (koapoacinth?), ghouls (lacedons?), aquatic fey, marids, etc., etc.?
In light of that last sentence, I'm thinking this might make a better 64 page product. The Seas around the Inner Sea region are pretty huge, and there's a crap-ton of different races down there, some of them pretty significant to the setting (the sunken Azlant area, inhabited by some combination of Gillmen and Aquatic Elves associated with the Mordant Spire Elves, and, for all we land-lubbers know, engaged in a centuries-long war to control the Azlanti ruins, being just one example...).
Magic of X - Books related to traditional schools of magic. Necromancy and conjuration tend to get above average amounts of love, but a focus on Abjuration, Divination or Illusion magic could be interesting. Such books from 3PP sometimes focus on the wizardly aspect of said schools, while it might be interesting to explore their development in clerical and druidic magic, or sorcerer bloodlines / domains / etc. that deal with specific schools.
Non-traditional schools of magic. Pre and post-Saoc Brotherhood astrology and astromancy. Numerology, both as relates to the ‘countdown clock’ of the ‘Pharoah of Numbers’ and as relates to the workings of the esoteric mathemagicians who correspond with the equally abstruse green dragon scholars of the topic. Arcane scholars who focus on the creation (or terrible amalgamation or malformation...) of new life, in the fleshforges of Nex, or using the transformative fleshwarping elixirs of the Drow. Magic-workers who like to mess with space and time, starting with magics like rope trick, and eventually forming their own demiplanes.
There's already been a touch of this in Inner Sea Magic, introducing Primal Magic, but there's a ton more potential out there.
In 2nd edition's Spells & Magic, new 'schools of affect' or whatever were designed, including 'Specialists' of Shadow Magic or Time Magic, while the Scarred Lands setting included 'Specialists' of the Phylacteric Vault in such fields as Oneiromancy, or 'Cabalists' who studied methods by which to tap theurgic divine power or the teachings of the gods to enhance arcane spellcasting. Tying that sort of stuff to Golarion, how might a Varisian wizard who reveres Desna develop arcane variations quite distinct from how a Mendevian wizard who prays to Torag functions, despite being the same base class?
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Fey of Golarion. A 0 HD playable Fey race would be wonderful! But one which could provide LOTS of variation - much like how tieflings and aasimar have different types. Some might be beautiful and have strong nymph blood, others that are hideous because they're descended from gremlins, some have wings due to their pixie ancestors, others have hooves and horns because their great, great, great grandfather was a satyr, etc. If I had to choose one book, this would be it. Please make it so!!!
A revised Elves of Golarion book. The old one is 3.5 and there seems to be some discrepancies. I'd like an updated and 'fresh' take on them that really pins down their attitudes and how they behave in Golarion. Do they retain their haughty attitude and petty concept of elven supremacy over the 'less' races common in other fantasy works? Or are they more worldly, vibrant, and friendly?
Crafts and Professions. A book fleshing out the most common crafts and professions and where they hail from in the Inner Sea Region. Also, I'd like to see a way for them to see use in adventuring. For example, a listing of herbs (common, uncommon, and rare) that provides DCs for someone with ranks in Profession (herbalist) to find and successfully harvest a dose (perhaps an extra dose is given upon beating the DC by 5 more), or grow and cultivate some of their own. This could also be applied to metal ores for miners, silk or cloth for tailors, gemstones for Craft (jewelcrafting), etc.
Blood of the Oceans. Featuring merfolk, undine, gillmen, sahuagin, aquatic elves and half-aquatic elves.
Races of the Darklands. This would give ideas for playing drow - perhaps even non-evil or surface-dwelling ones! - and half drow (and where each may occur), svirfneblin, and duergar. Since they're so unusual, perhaps provide a few social mores, common foodstuffs, local traditions, and customs - small touches like these can really help ground a race.
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Blood of Genies – only if the Golarion-specific ties are included as suggested
Guilds of Golarion – although I’d prefer separate books per organization type
Soldiers of Golarion
Urban Adventures – I’d rather see centered around distinctions between cities in a particular region. Absalom would merit its own book, but Cities of Cheliax, cities of Taldor, cities of Osirion, etc.
Inner Sea Trade
I like the Magic-themed book ideas, but a Companion-style book with its current format would be a poor treatment, I think. I’d love to see it in the Campaign Setting line, however.
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A revised Elves of Golarion book. The old one is 3.5 and there seems to be some discrepancies. I'd like an updated and 'fresh' take on them that really pins down their attitudes and how they behave in Golarion. Do they retain their haughty attitude and petty concept of elven supremacy over the 'less' races common in other fantasy works? Or are they more worldly, vibrant, and friendly?
It is interesting that Golarion Elves seem more 'fey' than 3.X Elves, capricious, fickle, maybe a little bit dangerous to be friends with, but never boring!, and yet, in Golarion, Elves aren't tied to fey, as they were in Greyhawk, but are actually aliens!
Golarion's Gnomes are very cool and distinctive. With the luck and jinx-focus in Halflings of Golarion, that race has also seen some unique flavor. Both Elves and Dwarves could perhaps use a touch up, to make them more Golarion-flavored (and, as with the Halfling luck thing, tie some of their racial qualities into something flavorful, instead of just being random bonuses or themeless legacies).
Crafts and Professions. A book fleshing out the most common crafts and professions and where they hail from in the Inner Sea Region. Also, I'd like to see a way for them to see use in adventuring. For example, a listing of herbs (common, uncommon, and rare) that provides DCs for someone with ranks in Profession (herbalist) to find and successfully harvest a dose (perhaps an extra dose is given upon beating the DC by 5 more), or grow and cultivate some of their own. This could also be applied to metal ores for miners, silk or cloth for tailors, gemstones for Craft (jewelcrafting), etc.
Neat. Might tie with an 'Inner Sea Trade' type product.
The Craft rules and their interactions with the game have always seemed like a red-headed stepchild. Does it really cost the same amount to craft a poison in your lab at home or to extract it from a dead monster right there in front of you? Weirdness abounds.
Blood of the Oceans. Featuring merfolk, undine, gillmen, sahuagin, aquatic elves and half-aquatic elves.
Ooh, good catch. I forgot about half-aquatic elves and undines in my own 'Races of the Inner Sea' thoughts. A half-aquatic elf should probably be marginally different from a half-regular elf. Replacing Adaptability or some of the diplomacy stuff with a weak Swim speed, or at least Swim as a class skill and a bonus to Swim checks and holding one's breath underwater for crazy long times (minutes instead of rounds?), would probably suit them.
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I'd like to see an "Inner Sea Traders" type book (with some fleshed out details on crafts and professions as others mentioned). But more importantly I'd like such a book to explain what is so valuable in Sargava and points south that make it worth running the Eye and the pirates in the Shackles to get to.
There are some awesome ideas in here! I won't have time to respond to everyone who's posted, but rest assured your thoughts are being read and carefully considered. Keep 'em coming! :D
Or maybe a series going into every single school of magic? Talking about its evolution over time, and giving options for every school. Not just for spellcasters either. Conjuration themed fighters, rangers who use nature themed illusions to lead astray their marks? Magi focusing on abjurations, protectors of people?
This is pretty interesting. The only hangup I can see is that it would effectively lock us into doing eight or nine of these books, which is quite a commitment. If there were another way to tackle this theme, such as combining like schools of magic into the same book or even presenting all of the schools in one Player Companion, I can see this being more viable.
Magic of X - Books related to traditional schools of magic. Necromancy and conjuration tend to get above average amounts of love, but a focus on Abjuration, Divination or Illusion magic could be interesting. Such books from 3PP sometimes focus on the wizardly aspect of said schools, while it might be interesting to explore their development in clerical and druidic magic, or sorcerer bloodlines / domains / etc. that deal with specific schools.
Now this would be quite the way to tackle more magic themes and options in Player Companions! I quite dig the "Magic of..." naming convention, too. What did you envision the X in Magic of X as being? A nation, region, theme, people, or maybe something else entirely? Tying into my last post replying to Cheapy's thoughts, I can definitely see a mesh of his idea and this, with options and flavor for non-casters as well as casters being presented in the same book.
I think the idea of focusing on schools of magic is a good one. I was thinking about it too.
I can see why eight books would be too many, although I think there is enough meat in each one to support a whole companion. This is especially true if you were looking at the full gamut of spellcasting types. Two pages of new spells; a double page spread on how casters of that tradition go about item creation; a discussion of an interesting wizard college somewhere on Golarion dedicated to it (or several); tips and tactics for using that type of magic; etc and so on.
Saying that, if it is more viable to roll them into fewer books, I could see the following two:
Magic of Sensation - the big, showy, exciting schools. Conjuration, Evocation, Necromancy and Transmutation.
Magic of Subtlety - the clever yet modest types of magic. Abjuration, Divination, Enchantment and Illusion.
I'm sure you could shift them around to fit slightly different concepts (maybe Enchantment for Necromancy) but that's my grouping off the top of my head.
These would definitely be appealing to me as a customer. I think the schools are such a major part of the game's lore, it's a shame they're not emphasised the way they could be (as Warhammer does, for instance). This has been true in almost every incarnation of the game. The Runelords have put some of that right of course, but the concept deserves a good outing on its own, purely metaphysical, terms.
This is pretty interesting. The only hangup I can see is that it would effectively lock us into doing eight or nine of these books, which is quite a commitment. If there were another way to tackle this theme, such as combining like schools of magic into the same book or even presenting all of the schools in one Player Companion, I can see this being more viable.Or maybe a series going into every single school of magic? Talking about its evolution over time, and giving options for every school. Not just for spellcasters either. Conjuration themed fighters, rangers who use nature themed illusions to lead astray their marks? Magi focusing on abjurations, protectors of people?
You could maybe do it in 3 books. Divide 'em up by Forbidden Schools, or something. So One book has 4 schools, and the other book has their 4 forbidden schools. Then the third book could be Divination, since there's a lot to talk about with regards to prophecy, divination, astrology, etc :)
Well, ignoring the fact that I don't think there's a one-to-one mapping of forbidden schools anymore, and even the thassilonian specialists have to pick two schools? But you could do something like that! Also ignoring the fact that there are 8 spells, and I was including universalist. Doh.
Physical affecting vs Metaphysical?
So Evocation, Conjuration, Transmutation, Necromancy. And then Illusion, Enchantment, Divination, Abjuration.
See, I should've read Whale_cancer's post. Because we're on the same wavelength, which means it needs to happen.
See, I should've read Whale_cancer's post. Because we're on the same wavelength, which means it needs to happen.
Great minds...
(Although, I'm not the aboleth you think I am)
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Magic of XNow this would be quite the way to tackle more magic themes and options in Player Companions! I quite dig the "Magic of..." naming convention, too. What did you envision the X in Magic of X as being? A nation, region, theme, people, or maybe something else entirely? Tying into my last post replying to Cheapy's thoughts, I can definitely see a mesh of his idea and this, with options and flavor for non-casters as well as casters being presented in the same book.
There's already a fair amount of 3rd party books that explore magic divided by schools.
I'd be tempted to mix it up.
Magic of the Faithless and the Devout could deal with both arcane and divine magics that have developed in Golarion as a result of anti-theist places like Touvette or Rahadoum, or places like the Kalistocracy or Hermea that would prefer to keep the faiths of the Inner Sea marginalized in their lands, and develop arcane solutions to their various needs. Instead of just tossing out some generic spells that happen to be arcane or divine, toss out some ideas for effects that *define* the arcane or the divine (and, at times, in Golarion, the rifts between them), such as anti-theist arcane magics developed in Rahadoum to create some sort of arcane vortex in an area that forces all divine casters to make concentration checks to cast their spells, and weakens divine magic already in existence so that arcane casters find it easier to dispel, or divine spells that have differing effects on those who share the faith of their caster, or who share the quality of faith in general (having lesser effects on non-believers) or even spells that cause non-believers to become staggered. Other specifically arcane or divine spells might have nothing to do with the theism/anti-theism kerfluffle, and just represent different schools of thought or areas of focus, or, in the case of the church of Nethys, explore divine or arcane spells that capitalize on blending the two magic sources, perhaps even creating some synergistic spells that must be memorized in a pair of spell slots, one divine and one arcane, to evoke synergistic effects in the hands of a mystic theurge (or an arcanist and divine caster casting their spells simultaneously as a team).
Magic of the Umbral Court would be more Golarion specific than 'The Big Book of Illusion,' which has probably already been covered by Super Genius Games or even some old 3rd party 3.X stuff like the Mongoose Games Encyclopedia: X series or the Fantasy Flight Games School of X line. Where Illusion magic is focused in the Inner Sea other than Nidal, such as among the Varisian Wanderers, or the Veiled Mages of Qadira, could also be highlighted.
Instead of a dozenth 3rd party book on Necromancy, Necromancy of the Inner Sea would deal with how it works in places where it is accepted (Geb, most clearly, but also some areas of Cheliax, Korvosa's Academae, Osirion, etc. and among various Inner Sea faiths, such as that of Abadar, rumored to use animated 'gilded men' as utterly reliable vault guards).
Breaking down the schools based not on just a bunch of new spells, but on potential new sub-specializations (like the newish curse and disease sub-schools), would be one way to make things new, or to focus on what sorts of arcane magic are preferred by various cultures and faiths (Abadarites seem likely to be way into abjuration and divination and perhaps transmutation magics, but regard illusion magic or conjuration-creation magic with a wary eye).
Obviously there's plenty of design space lying around here, taking the various schools and stuff and explaining how they apply to Golarion. Golarion took gnomes and goblins and 'made them their own,' and I think it's just as possible to seize some magical esoterica and 'make it their own' as well, as the Scarred Lands setting kind of did with shadow magic and blood magic.
As my homebrew thread demonstrates, there's potential for a *ton* of new stuff just based off of Thassilonian Sin Magic, not just generic spells of school X, but actual spells that relate to both gluttony *and* necromancy (like the ability to steal traits from a dead creature by eating part of it, or giving an undead a bite attack and the ability to gain healing by eating their victims), or pride *and* illusion, or envy *and* abjuration.
Nex and Numeria also seem like places that would have very distinct schools of magic. Techno-sorcerers, addicted to strange fluids seeping from the Starmount? A book detailing something along those lines, and other interactions between magic and science, from places like Alkenstar, in deep Duergar forges, or among the surreal followers of Brigh, could be way more interesting (and Golarion-focused) than 'Evocation of Golarion' and 'Transmutation of Golarion.'
And, eventually, Magic of the Mind, detailing that mysterious Vudran practice, that one used to have to travel to Jalmeray to learn.
Blood of Nature
Crow, Cat, Rat, Monkey, Snake, and Frog!
People of the Lake
Countries around Lake Encarthan
Underwater of Golarion
Underground of Golarion
Wilderness Handbook
Plane Travel Handbook
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People of the Streets (ab-ba-dee-da-day!)
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Tournament Handbook. Dealing with jousting, courtly intrigue, dueling, etc.Hmm! Would this differ significantly from Knights of the Inner Sea? If so, how? Perhaps "Nobles of the Inner Sea" or something to that effect? I like the idea of giving more details on where tournaments are held within the Inner Sea region (including all sorts of bloodsports, coliseums, and arenas) and perhaps building off of the performance combat rules in Ultimate Combat. What else could go in here?
So could we have Gladiator's of Golarion? You have Taldor and Katapesh with arenas and plenty of other locations with simple fighting pits.
So could we have Gladiator's of Golarion? You have Taldor and Katapesh with arenas and plenty of other locations with simple fighting pits.Tournament Handbook. Dealing with jousting, courtly intrigue, dueling, etc.Hmm! Would this differ significantly from Knights of the Inner Sea? If so, how? Perhaps "Nobles of the Inner Sea" or something to that effect? I like the idea of giving more details on where tournaments are held within the Inner Sea region (including all sorts of bloodsports, coliseums, and arenas) and perhaps building off of the performance combat rules in Ultimate Combat. What else could go in here?
This is definitely sounding like an interesting idea, that's for sure. What would you put in Gladiators of Golarion? As in, say each spread features a different arena or fighting pit or what-have-you. What sorts of information/rules/flavor would you like to see on arena X?
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What I'd really like to see is an occasional GM Companion :)
I think I'd prefer People of X to the Blood of X or X of Golarion types. Focusing on a few regions allows for options for pretty much any race in that location, and really helps with themed campaigns or general campaigns. Kobolds of Golarion, for example, was way too specific. I appreciate trying to put kobolds in another light, but it really like very few players will make use of the options there, especially considering how many were kobold-only. Blood of Night tried to expand beyond just the dhampir race, but it ended up being really clumsy with trying to include rules for vampire PCs, which a lot of GMs probably aren't okay with.
The Xslayer books look promising, if they end up more like the Dragonslayer book than the Demonslayer one. The problem with the later is that it spent a lot of page space on things like worldwound roles and demon summoning when the focus is supposed to be on killing them.
Books related to an aspect of every day Golarion life, like Faiths and Philosophy would be preferred by me. They're general enough to have mechanics for a number of different concepts, and can provide a lot of insight into the world that isn't repeated in other books. Faiths and Philosophies also had the perfect fluff to crunch ratio, in my opinion.
Also, this may be unpopular, but whatever you guys produce, I'm really hoping you stop wasting space on roles. I'd much rather have new mechanics to help represent the role, rather than your interpretation on how a player could fit into the role, which should be evident by the fluff text anyway. They're really boring blocks of text, and I'd much rather see that space used for feats, archetypes, prestige classes, sells, items, fluff, or artwork.
I second the call for a decent 'Dwarves of Golarion'.
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A little idea on the X of Golarion, it may be better to break down the scope of the X of Golarion to maybe one or two books, so we can get some really juicy pieces on the culture and traits of the race, so something like Dwarfs book would be "Kings of the Mountains" and "Sky Seekers" and Elven books would be "Keepers of the Forest" and "Reclaimers of the First World" or something like that
I think a "Blood of the Elements/Genies" is a given, so I'll just add my opinion to that pile.
Honestly, the "Handbook" line feels like a lot of really superfluous splat-rules add-ons. I found the Dungeoneer's Handbook really hollow; after you take off the dubious crunch there's not much else going on.
The "Varisia, Birthplace of Legends", though, is another beast entirely. It provides player-friendly fluff AND associated crunch, often on the same page! It has been useful to me on three different campaigns (Varisia homebrew, RotR and now JR) and will continue to do so every time someone builds a Varisian, Shoanti, or others.
Although it's probably too close, I'd love to get a book about the Kellid people in all their representations (Mammoth Lords, the Tiger Lords on Kingmaker's AP, etc); maybe a Barbarians of Golarion detailing different barbarian peoples and how they see some elements of society (such as the rage of their barbarians, arcane magic, technology).
ps.: Also agree with Mechalibur on the roles (they're boring blocks of text which everyone skims through; give me something new instead). The roles would make an excellent blog post accompanying the release of each book, though, or a "web enhancement" as it was in the 3.5 age.