Almanach of Golarion? (Know Direction podcast...)

[Dryder]

So, on the latest Know Direction podcast episode, James Jacobs talked about a book which Jefferson named ALMANACH OF GOLARION. A book with a lot of little details about Golarion, like

- where does good whine or coffe comes from
- special recipies
- small stories about certain places in a city
- etc.

I immagined a book like those awesome VOLO'S GUIDES from back in the days.
JJ said that probably nobody would buy such a book.
Well, I opened this thread to proof him wrong - so, who's in?!

[the Haunted Jester]

+1 for me. I would love to see a book like this.

[Amanuensis]

I have been waiting a long time for a Cultures of the Inner Sea Hardcover, focusing on everyday life and material culture of the various ethnicities. This would be a great resource for GMs who want to breathe life into the campaign world.

Ideally, such a book would use rules language very sparingly. Please tell me all about Vudran sweets, but don't waste precious space on the related Craft (confectionary) DCs. I want to know more about Chelish opera, but I have no need for a trait that grants me a conditional bonus against bardic performances from a mezzo-soprano.

The name in the thread title is misleading though. Almanacs are periodicals with astronomical/calendrical information and structured accordingly.

[Dryder]

Actually, IIRC, JJ said exactly this! No crunch, fluff only!
I would love to have a BIG book. This would become the most often used book for me. So much, that I would actually need to buy two of 'em!

And sorry about the misleading title!

[Cole Deschain]

I'd be all over this.

That said, after they got burned on Art of Dragon Magazine, I'm not sure how much messageboard chatter they're going to give credence...

[Dale McCoy Jr]

Hell, I'd buy it. I really don't buy any book outside of the RPG line (except adventure paths that interest me personally), but something like this, yea, I'd buy it.

[Eldred the Grey]

+1 to buying, this book would help to add more substance to the world. Helps give more atmosphere to games and descriptions of both surroundings and characters.

EtG

[Daw]

I'd buy it

[Dale McCoy Jr]

Just a thought, this would make a great blog series that could be gathered up into a book at a later date.

Just saying.

[Gorbacz]

Not interested at all. This feels like one of those books everybody asks for and nobody buys in the end, just like art books.

[Rysky]

I buy the art books ;_;

[Gorbacz]

Rysky wrote:

I buy the art books ;_;

Art of Dragon Magazine is still clogging up Paizo's warehouse, despite being priced at 4 USD, down from 35 USD.

[Mosaic]

I'd buy this and use it frequently. But then, I'm a dork for small details like celebrations, food, customs, etc. I love little things like trade-route maps and and lists of what resources are mined/grown where.

[John Compton]

Dryder wrote:

Actually, IIRC, JJ said exactly this! No crunch, fluff only!

I would love to have a BIG book. This would become the most often used book for me. So much, that I would actually need to buy two of 'em!

And sorry about the misleading title!

As a polite suggestion, consider saying "flavor" in lieu of "fluff."

[GeraintElberion]

Gorbacz wrote:

Not interested at all. This feels like one of those books everybody asks for and nobody buys in the end, just like art books.

Volo's guides seemed to sell pretty well.

[Gorbacz]

GeraintElberion wrote:

Gorbacz wrote:

Not interested at all. This feels like one of those books everybody asks for and nobody buys in the end, just like art books.

Volo's guides seemed to sell pretty well.

You mean the old ones back from the time when the customer base was so big you could sell almost anything as long as it had the D&D logo on it or the recent one which is pretty much "Monster Manual II" rebranded to avoid connotations with the endless streams of splatbooks of 3e/4e era?

[Dryder]

The old ones, I am sure. But this thread is not about the decission to print such a book (Paizo seems pretty able to make such a decission on their own), but if there is an interest in such a book.

[Dryder]

John Compton wrote:

Dryder wrote:

Actually, IIRC, JJ said exactly this! No crunch, fluff only!

I would love to have a BIG book. This would become the most often used book for me. So much, that I would actually need to buy two of 'em!

And sorry about the misleading title!

As a polite suggestion, consider saying "flavor" in lieu of "fluff."

Thank you, for pointing this out to me!!!

[Aventhar]

I would absolutely buy it.

[GeraintElberion]

Gorbacz wrote:

GeraintElberion wrote:

Gorbacz wrote:

Not interested at all. This feels like one of those books everybody asks for and nobody buys in the end, just like art books.

Volo's guides seemed to sell pretty well.

You mean the old ones back from the time when the customer base was so big you could sell almost anything as long as it had the D&D logo on it or the recent one which is pretty much "Monster Manual II" rebranded to avoid connotations with the endless streams of splatbooks of 3e/4e era?

Well, yeah, I mean the old ones; I didn't know there were new ones.

I have very little idea about the size of the tabletop customer base. How has it changed since the '90s?

[Gorbacz]

Say, D&D alone was 80m today's dollars, today the whole PNP RPG industry is something like 35m.

[GeraintElberion]

Gorbacz wrote:

Say, D&D alone was 80m today's dollars, today the whole PNP RPG industry is something like 35m.

Ouch.

[Razcar]

I would buy it guaranteed. This could add the GM seasoning that would make Golarion really come alive. I could see many players buy this as well, as long as it contains lots of cool, fun details and lore to sprinkle over your characters.

Personally, I don't see the comparison between this book and an art book. A flavor book I would actively use in play, both when making characters and GM:ing. An art book, while I could show pics to my players, wouldn't get nearly as much practical use.

[ulgulanoth]

I'd buy this, give us the Almanac!

[Brinebeast]

I bought both Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home and More Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home from the Dragonlance setting and loved them both. I would definitely buy similar books for Golarion!

[Here4daFreeSwag]

Since them Volo's Guides and Last Leaves stuff were both soft-covers in their print incarnations, could Paizo theoretically have this Almanac be in the soft cover format similar to the softcover Core rule-book? It still might be pricey but would it be as pricey as a hardcover format?

[Ernest Mueller]

I'd buy it. Golarion is one of the key distinctive elements of Pathfinder and I love the little flavor sidebars in all the products... I make it a point to get them into the game and the PCs love it. The "drinks of Illizmagorti" was a hit...

[Crimson Cadaver]

I agree - this sounds amazing.

[Amanuensis]

This topic made me revisit my old 'The Dark Eye' stuff--my introduction into RPGs at the tender age of 12. What drew me into the hobby were the detailed potion recipes that read like they came straight from a medieval alchemist's compendium and the disturbingly detailed ritual descriptions that supposedly allowed mortals to summon unspeakable horrors from the planes of chaos. These things made the campaign setting come alive and had their effect on the susceptible mind of a teenager.

I don't think that in-character descriptions are really necessary for a product like this, but they certainly help readers to immerse themselves in the campaign setting.

[karlprosek]

I loved the old Volo's Guides. I'd buy a Volo's Guide to Absalom (like a Lonely Planet but with magic) or Volo's Guide to the River Kingdoms, sure.

[Cpt_kirstov]

I'd buy it - as one of the pathfnder wiki contributors, anything more than 5% crunch in a book is too much in my personal opinion

[Brother Fen]

Durvin Gest's Guide to the Inner Sea?

[Oceanshieldwolf]

I have never cracked open a Volo's Guide.

While I make no effort to hide my general lack of interest in the Golarion Campaign Setting it pales into insignificance compared to my general distate for the Forgotten Realms.

And yet, even I would buy such a book - I'm thinking of running some of the APs for my son, and might as well set them in the CS they were written for.

Some might point to the Pathfinder Wiki, and mention that much (nigh all?) of the flavor information is held there. I may not be a digital native, but I am no luddite, and I like PDFs and Wikis. But, as my son now plays Minecraft, I find I would much prefer a physical book to flip through to find recipes rather than navigate the Minecraft wiki, as good as it is.

So, a flavour guide to Golarion, (with cross-cultural calendric, seasonal and other almanac-al information as well as more natural science information) replete with mores and asides from various points of view would be fantastic to simply, concisely and easily allow GM to insert flavor to enrich the experience, the verisimilitude of the setting. Layers of meaning, plot-conversable tidbits.

CAVEAT

For the love of all that is Golarion, please do not put this into the voice of a "canny" Volo-ersatz-Polo explorer-cum-adventurer. Nothing pains me more than developing a dislike for an overblown and mendacious fool that becomes the lens through which to perceive an entire world. To say nothing of the white male aspect of Volo. If it must, let it be a diverse and disparate chorus of voices.

Personally, I'd prefer it voiceless, but I can see how that might be less compelling.

[MMCJawa]

I would buy it, but then I am also skeptical if there are enough people who would to make it worthwhile.

[Alex Smith 908]

Gorbacz wrote:

Say, D&D alone was 80m today's dollars, today the whole PNP RPG industry is something like 35m.

While the sentiment here is true, it's also excluding the weird confounding variable. For some reason back then the most profitable part of the D&D brand was its tie in novels. For every sourcebook sold there were at least five Drizzt novels sold.

[Haladir]

This is totally the kind of book I would buy!

As a GM, I am drifting away from PFRPG rules, but I'm sticking with the Golarion campaign world. Consequently, I'm now FAR more interested in the flavor/lore-focused Campaign Setting books than the rules-heavy books. Because none of the rules matter when you're running the game in Dungeon World, Fate, or Swords & Wizardry.

[graywulfe]

Brother Fen wrote:

Durvin Gest's Guide to the Inner Sea?

OR Milinarsted's Guide to the Inner Sea. I'm sure Ryan Costello could be convinced to allow that... :D

[Cole Deschain]

Oceanshieldwolf wrote:

So, a flavour guide to Golarion, (with cross-cultural calendric, seasonal and other almanac-al information as well as more natural science information) replete with mores and asides from various points of view would be fantastic to simply, concisely and easily allow GM to insert flavor to enrich the experience, the verisimilitude of the setting. Layers of meaning, plot-conversable tidbits.

CAVEAT

For the love of all that is Golarion, please do not put this into the voice of a "canny" Volo-ersatz-Polo explorer-cum-adventurer. Nothing pains me more than developing a dislike for an overblown and mendacious fool that becomes the lens through which to perceive an entire world. To say nothing of the white male aspect of Volo. If it must, let it be a diverse and disparate chorus of voices.

Personally, I'd prefer it voiceless, but I can see how that might be less compelling.

The whole "voice" issue is really easy to resolve, actually, while still keeping an in-universe flavor

The setting has an entire organization dedicated to wandering around and Seeing Stuff, but the sorts of details here would be considered "dull" or common information by most of the Pathfinder Society...

So it could exist as an in-universe book (I'm not big on Volo, but I have every single Van Richten's Guide ever published), but one without a personal touch.

"We had some initiates write this trivial drivel down as a punishment detail. They did a fine job, but understandably didn't choose to leave their own stamp on it. With their punishment completed,we see no reason to humiliate them by including their names."

[Razcar]

Oceanshieldwolf wrote:

CAVEAT

For the love of all that is Golarion, please do not put this into the voice of a "canny" Volo-ersatz-Polo explorer-cum-adventurer.

I agree. That's been done to death and just eats up the word count. I'd like to see the pages of this long-due book crammed with as much info as possible about e.g. the trade routes of Golarion, where the best pear brandy is made, and Cheliax' main exports (apart from APs). I know it sounds weird, but minimal fluff in the flavor book please!

[Aaron the Paisley]

I would absolutely buy this book. It should also have things like when to use Chelish and when to use Chelaxian.

[Brian Darnell]

These kinds of books are always on my must by list. I'd get it the second it came out. I love nitty gritty books that feel like they could be actual books in the campaign setting. Volo's guides and Aurora's Whole Realms catalog are my prized possessions in my RPG collection, I used them in every game I ever ran back in the day and I reference them for Pathfinder still. A Golarion Almanac would make my decade.

[Mark Moreland]

Aaron the Paisley wrote:

I would absolutely buy this book. It should also have things like when to use Chelish and when to use Chelaxian.

Chelaxian refers to a person of the Chelaxian ethnicity. It can be used as an adjective to refer to a thing that is associated with Chelaxians.

Chelish is used to describe things or people of or from Cheliax. The nation.

See? No book needed.

[Aaron the Paisley]

Mark Moreland wrote:

See? No book needed.

I still want the book. ;-)

[Nathan Nasif]

I'll buy it.