I think the River Kingdoms as a whole have a chaotic theme because it's basically a cluster of micro states. There's no reason you couldn't take a piece of land in the River Kingdoms and declare a bastion of law or whatever you want. Wouldn't this thread make more sense in the playtest section?
Doesn't Varisia fit that too? One of its themes is frontier exploration.
Or Iobaria.
When they first came out with the inner sea map in the gazetteer, that was my first thought as well. Everywhere is known. There's no frontier, no region that is fir the gm to make whatever it is they want.
|
When they first came out with the inner sea map in the gazetteer, that was my first thought as well. Everywhere is known. There's no frontier, no region that is fir the gm to make whatever it is they want.
arcadia. casmaron. southern garund.
it's also your game - just say that "X is like this" and it is.
The Mana Wastes are largely unexplored too, though that comes with its own problems given it's a "no casters allowed" setting.
When they first came out with the inner sea map in the gazetteer, that was my first thought as well. Everywhere is known. There's no frontier, no region that is fir the gm to make whatever it is they want.arcadia. casmaron. southern garund.
it's also your game - just say that "X is like this" and it is.
Again, they're pretty themed. Even worse, they're in a completely different region of the planet. Plus, being currently undeveloped is different than purposely left undeveloped as a region for GMs to do with as they see fit.
Compare those suggestions to this part of the forgotten realms. The shaded area is of the seird coast region and is free of development, letting GM's to set up a an unknown gnome kingdom, an unrecognized hobgoblin military camp, or whatever else. Or Cormyr could claim it and the Western Heartlands decides they don't want to let that happen. It's not pre-themed. It is right next to some of the most active regions in the setting.
Sure it's my game and I can change it how I wish, but I could just make my own setting if I'm doing that.
In any given campaign you can do whatever you like, so long as it doesn't impact on whatever else is happening. So if you're playing RotRL which all happens in Varisia, and one of your players wants to play a civilised Hobgoblin alchemist, you could declare that Belkzen is run by civilised (if perhaps warlike) hobgoblins rather than gangs of orcs.
Or if you want a land of volcanoes and dinosaurs, you could just declare that Nirmathas and Molthune are boring and put it there instead. I don't see that you need any particular place on the map to be undefined, as the regions of Golarion generally don't have a huge impact on each other, and what impact they have can usually be downplayed or ignored. You're the GM.
|
|
When they first came out with the inner sea map in the gazetteer, that was my first thought as well. Everywhere is known. There's no frontier, no region that is fir the gm to make whatever it is they want.arcadia. casmaron. southern garund.
it's also your game - just say that "X is like this" and it is.
Again, they're pretty themed. Even worse, they're in a completely different region of the planet. Plus, being currently undeveloped is different than purposely left undeveloped as a region for GMs to do with as they see fit.
Compare those suggestions to this part of the forgotten realms. The shaded area is of the seird coast region and is free of development, letting GM's to set up a an unknown gnome kingdom, an unrecognized hobgoblin military camp, or whatever else. Or Cormyr could claim it and the Western Heartlands decides they don't want to let that happen. It's not pre-themed. It is right next to some of the most active regions in the setting.
Sure it's my game and I can change it how I wish, but I could just make my own setting if I'm doing that.
err... I'd recommend reading the book which that map was taken out of, which was the FR setting book for 3E (one of the greatest RPG products of all time). There's TONS of detail for that region in the book; it's just not part of any political system, which is what the map you are pointing to displays.
And... aren't you kind of making your own setting anyway by coming up with this brand new region?
There is some space betwen Galt and Castrovin Sea, and AFAIK there's no information about it. You can put a lot of things in there, and it's still pretty close to the Inner Sea.
This region would border Iobaria to the north, River Kingdoms and Galt to the west, Taldor to the southwest, Empire of Kelesh (including Qadira) to the south, and Castrovin Sea to the west. But inside, you can put whatever you want.
There are regions ripe for development all across the Inner Sea. Just find the desired environment and start building.
There are regions ripe for development all across the Inner Sea. Just find the desired environment and start building.
This would be my approach I think. If I wanted a frontier-town I'd look to Varisia. A city-state I'd go to the River Kingdoms. Some network or three-city-kingdom could easily be a split off nation from the chaos that is Galt (or an autonomous region in Qadira).
Personally, a campaign setting with blank bits would irritate me more, I suspect. I think there's enough gaps around the edges and there are so many themes touched on by the Inner Sea nations that whatever you're looking to add will fit somewhere with not a lot of work (unless it's truly out there like dragonriding mind flayers or something - but that's not going to fit "in the gaps" easily either).
I did like the Forgotten Realms approach initially of declaring Sembia "off limits" for official expansion, so DMs could tinker/adjust it without having to fear being contradicted by canon down the track. As I understand it though, even that didn't last.
|
|
There are regions ripe for development all across the Inner Sea. Just find the desired environment and start building.This would be my approach I think. If I wanted a frontier-town I'd look to Varisia. A city-state I'd go to the River Kingdoms. Some network or three-city-kingdom could easily be a split off nation from the chaos that is Galt (or an autonomous region in Qadira).
Personally, a campaign setting with blank bits would irritate me more, I suspect. I think there's enough gaps around the edges and there are so many themes touched on by the Inner Sea nations that whatever you're looking to add will fit somewhere with not a lot of work (unless it's truly out there like dragonriding mind flayers or something - but that's not going to fit "in the gaps" easily either).
I did like the Forgotten Realms approach initially of declaring Sembia "off limits" for official expansion, so DMs could tinker/adjust it without having to fear being contradicted by canon down the track. As I understand it though, even that didn't last.
or heck, just make Galt or Druma or Molthune whatever you want. They are barely sketched out, and no one would notice them being gone.
Also, golarion is structured so that the countries really don't interact with each other (aside from... Worldwound and Mendev...) in any serious way. If you were to just cut out... say... Numeria and change it from TECHNO-BARBARIAN HELLSCAPE into... say... "Jane Austen Land of Tea, Crumpets, and Domestic Intrigue-land"... nothing would really change.
The trouble with that is if a player gets excited by a sourcebook down the track.
Personally, although I change published settings a lot, I prefer to keep such changes additive. Although I may not care for science-fantasy (and am unlikely to set an adventure there), I don’t want to stymie a player who comes up with some Numerian-based background for their PC.
I mean, anyone can fill in middle ground, but what the OP wants is a large land mass that they can draw the mountains, forests, swamps, and cities upon.
Personally, I'm cool with Golarion as is, but whatever, it never hurts to ask, and I had a blast filling in that blank continent in Forgotten Realms.
Again, Iobaria.
By definition not the best-mapped place around, between Avistan and Casmaron, a lot of lore of little kingdoms popping up in the mostly-empty.
I mean, anyone can fill in middle ground, but what the OP wants is a large land mass that they can draw the mountains, forests, swamps, and cities upon.
Personally, I'm cool with Golarion as is, but whatever, it never hurts to ask, and I had a blast filling in that blank continent in Forgotten Realms.
No, middle ground to fill in is basically all I was asking for, as the Inner Seas doesn't really have any.
Swords Coast FR having strips of independent city states and 'wilderness' with scattered kingdoms and big states listed as having small states of 'no collective character' or theme as the example, or the Five Kings Mountains type area but not Dwarfs, the River Kingdoms but not chaotic, Ustlav but not vampire, Vudra but not India as pathfinder examples, not blank continents.
Just middle ground, unthemed land In the Inner Seas.Like it doesnt even need to be a new region. It'd be better if it wasnt. Just the off note or line saying, 'The territory of Druma also contains numerous independent states and kingdoms who rely on Kerse for trade', and East of Taldor lies many small states, recent colonial and ancient tiny nations who have in the past appealed to Taldor for their defence.'
'Aside from recent colonies and major cities Varisia also is home to minor powers and nations noted for their diversity.'Just little, there are other things here too.
That would be perfect, be almost nothing to implement, require no change to the maps just acouple minor lines in the books.
But open up alot for building characters and running games as right now sure you can ignore the books, but ignoring the books is surely not the best answer to want the books to demand?
What is it about Varisia (or the region north of that - between Varisia and the Land of The Linnorm Kings) that doesn't suit your needs?
What are you looking to add?
Again, Iobaria.
By definition not the best-mapped place around, between Avistan and Casmaron, a lot of lore of little kingdoms popping up in the mostly-empty.
Good suggestion.
|
|
Good suggestion.Again, Iobaria.
By definition not the best-mapped place around, between Avistan and Casmaron, a lot of lore of little kingdoms popping up in the mostly-empty.
There's lots of what is essentially blank space in the Inner Sea. Heck, most of Galt hasn't even been described, and that's a massive country. You could fit all the galt-canon into a tiny portion of that space, and leave room for the smoking caldera of the alien spawning crater MT NUKA-DOOM, which is leaching shadowstuff throughout the satrapy of Trollhattan and its bitter rival, the Salamander Kingdom of ARGH!
Golarion is a big place, even with all the filling.