I really like the Golarion setting for Pathfinder. I plan on using it when I next run a D&D game. It feels like a weird mix of the Known World, but with the supplements and adventures that were coming out when Forgotten Realms was in 2e. What I mean is that it gets tons of support, novels are starting to appear (and Prince of Wolves is very good if you liked Ravenloft), and it just feels very alive. I hope this continues, as I think the world is one of the better ones that have been released for D&D style games.

I used Golarion for my 4E sandbox game back in 2009.  My game was mostly in Varisia, which had some areas mapped out and some details.

At the time we were basically using Golarion as a shoo-in, instead of using the 4E Forgotten Realms which the other players didn't really like much.

Quote from: danbuter;429264I really like the Golarion setting for Pathfinder. I plan on using it when I next run a D&D game. It feels like a weird mix of the Known World, but with the supplements and adventures that were coming out when Forgotten Realms was in 2e.

I've thumbed through the campaign setting book and I agree. I really like the world they've set up, and it does look a lot like what GAZ series-era Mystara could have looked like.

Quote from: danbuter;429264What I mean is that it gets tons of support, novels are starting to appear (and Prince of Wolves is very good if you liked Ravenloft), and it just feels very alive. I hope this continues, as I think the world is one of the better ones that have been released for D&D style games.

I fear this will be ultimately bad for the setting. It sure as hell killed my interest in FR in the 2e era (I only warmed up to FR much later, when I discovered the 1e boxed set).

In a way, it is for me too. In that I am not using it as a setting in and of itself, but I am liberally ripping it off for my own game, just like I did FR 2e. :cool:

Quote from: Caesar Slaad;429285In a way, it is for me too. In that I am not using it as a setting in and of itself, but I am liberally ripping it off for my own game, just like I did FR 2e. :cool:

I did that too with the 3E/3.5E version of Forgotten Realms, whenever I was DMing a game with players whom I knew were FR "canon lawyers".

After awhile, I started using the Castlemourn setting in such games with FR "canon lawyers" as players.  With Castlemourn, the only thing these FR "canon lawyers" could say is that Castlemourn was designed by their "hero" Ed Greenwood (and very little else).

Yeah! Fucking golarion, piece of shit-- wait... you were saying "its like the 2e Realms" as a compliment?!

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;429305Yeah! Fucking golarion, piece of shit-- wait... you were saying "its like the 2e Realms" as a compliment?!

In answer to your question,


I mean don't get me wrong. I didn't actually RUN the 2e realms, and the Mary Sue Elminster was at its height (and it was the intro to the 2e Drow of the Underdark that convinced me of it). But that era gave me:
1) A ton of cities via the CC map pack for CR.
2) Lots of cool ideas about magic.
3) Undermountain
4) The 3 deities books, which gave the most in-depth and flavorful treatments of deities/religions to date, and ruined me for products to follow.

True story about the last one: In my heyday as a reviewer, I started working with an online mag by Steve Jackson game called D20 weekly. One of the reviews I wrote for them was the 3e Deities and Demigods, which I pretty much slammed for being a monster manual because it was such a step backwards to the Jim Wardish "Deity monster manual" from the 2e FR deity books.

Unfortunately for me, about the time I polished off the review and submitted it, the editor of the very same book took over as editor of D20 Weekly, and he took it personally and threw the review back in my face. What finally was printed in d20 weekly was a kidgloved version.

But yeah. 2e FR wasn't all awesome. But it sure delivered some awesome. And Golarion is a bit like FR sans an Elminster-figure. (Edit: Or Drizzt figure.)

Quote from: danbuter;429264Golarion - it feels like when FR was 2e

Yes, this is EXACTLY it - which is why I stopped purchasing Golarion products.

While I thought parts of FR 2e were overdone, there were a hell of a lot of good products released for it. The Waterdeep box set is still one of the best city supplements ever made. Same with the deities books. And a lot of the novels were excellent (though I didn't like the Disaster of the Year crap that occurred with Odom).

Basically, at this point, I don't want setting products to do the imagining for me. I loathe over-developed settings and storylines and metaplot and nitpicky "canon" bullshit and so on. I don't hate Golarion, and as a matter of fact, what I have (a bunch of supplements, the first three or four adventure paths for it, and the campaign setting of course), I like greatly.

I just don't want that amount of detail. I'm more likely to go for the Majestic Wilderlands, the Grey Box FR or the 1983 World of Greyhawk boxed set these days, because I want the setting to be mine, not [insert 'canon' publisher's name here]'s. The more detail you add to your published setting over time, the more likely I am to discard entire parts of the background, which will have repercussions on the interest I might have on other products down the line, etc.

In the end, I don't want that amount of detail. It smothers my imagination instead of firing it up.
So I'm no longer purchasing Golarion products.

I've always liked FR 1e best...the Grey Box and the first few supplements like Waterdeep and the North and the Savage Frontier were the best, and most often used in my games back then.  It all went to shit after novels started coming out based in the world. (I didn't even mention the "D" word)

When an RPG publisher comes up with a line of novels set in the RPG setting of their choice, I know that for me, it jumped the shark.

Glorarion seems pretty good to me so far, but the only thing I've invested anything in is the "Kingmaker," adventure path with some of the associated books (the River Kingdoms and Glorarion god-pantheon run down) tacked on to get a better feel for that general world area.

Might look at the "larger picture," of the place, though, going on what you guys are saying.

Golarian is a great 1st to 10th level setting made by designers experienced with 1st to 10th level play. They should definitely stop trying to pretend otherwise.

Quote from: Benoist;429353When an RPG publisher comes up with a line of novels set in the RPG setting of their choice, I know that for me, it jumped the shark.

Does that include a comic book series? Cause one of the settings in your sig has one.

Jus' sayin'.