Wednesday, September 10, 2008

An Old New World

Golarion is a new world. We hope, however, that in many ways it feels like an old world -- comfortable, familiar, understood. Not only did we find inspiration for Golarion from such classic authors of fantasy as Robert E. Howard, Jack Vance, and -- yes -- Professor Tolkien, we also continue to find inspiration in the ancient tales and legends of our own planet Earth.
--Mike McArtor, in his introduction to the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting

2 comments:

  1. Whilst I think these are all good influences to have for a campaign milieu intended to support Dungeons & Dragons or swords & sorcery adventure gaming, I wonder if we are also reading the rhetoric of "generic" fantasy.

    Whilst I never really bothered with Pathfinder, I did pick up the free adventure Revenge of the Kobold King on Free RPG Day. Though the adventure was something of a railroad and the extensive statistic blocks were jarring to say the least, I did find it quite impressive, and the more I read of it here the more I warm to the setting.

    I think, as a player, I could quite enjoy the products Paizo are putting out. As a game master, I think I would be too tempted to try and convert it to another system.

    Anyway, that was a long prelude to saying that I am enjoying your reviews of, and extracts from, Pathfinder material, and look forward to reading more.

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  2. Anyway, that was a long prelude to saying that I am enjoying your reviews of, and extracts from, Pathfinder material, and look forward to reading more.

    There will definitely be more, because I like the cut of Paizo's jib -- even if the Pathfinder RPG isn't something I can really get behind (nor much of their business plan). They're the closest in spirit to the TSR of the Golden Age (1977-1983) in the games biz today and I can't help but root for them. Still, there's lots of stuff they do that I can't support and that feels as if they're trying to be "WotC Lite," which is unfortunate. Golarion is one of the most intriguing fantasy settings in gaming in many a year and it's a testament to Paizo's creativity and commitment to the sources of our hobby. I just wish the game they're supporting -- and the way they're supporting it -- wasn't a recipe for disaster.

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