tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post8861678632888466333..comments2024-03-28T15:30:09.903-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: REVIEW: Pathfinder Chronicles GazetteerJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31594446726858875632008-07-28T19:30:00.000-04:002008-07-28T19:30:00.000-04:00Alex,I agree. That would have been a good approach...Alex,<BR/><BR/>I agree. That would have been a good approach for Paizo to have taken, but my guess is that their business model wouldn't have allowed for it. Much as I love these guys, they're very much a modern RPG company and that means an ever-increasing stream of highly detailed setting information.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-52880339260921730442008-07-27T19:00:00.000-04:002008-07-27T19:00:00.000-04:00I am sure Paizo's publishing model will pretty muc...<I>I am sure Paizo's publishing model will pretty much require that they flesh out every last inch of the setting over time, slowing adding tons of canonical minutiae that will simultaneously hamper referee creativity and make the setting inaccessible to newcomers.</I><BR/><BR/>I think one possible response to that would be to keep expanding the world (growing the map) instead of revising and building upon the world (growing the history). Thus, a referee can pick a point on the map, read the appropriate book, and get started, without having to consult later books.Alex Schroederhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17104864340940538702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59050924797355530162008-07-27T14:25:00.000-04:002008-07-27T14:25:00.000-04:00Asmodeus IS a Devil.Self-definitionally within the...<I>Asmodeus IS a Devil.</I><BR/><BR/>Self-definitionally within the context of Golarion, you're absolutely right, but <I>Pathfinder</I>'s Asmodeus is not a devil in the medieval sense of a fallen angel, is he? More to the point, devils in <I>D&D</I> did not traditionally have clerics -- worshipers perhaps but not clerics. In game terms, that makes a difference.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6994585793689794902008-07-27T14:17:00.000-04:002008-07-27T14:17:00.000-04:00At the same time, I'll admit to rankling a bit abo...<I>At the same time, I'll admit to rankling a bit about yet another presentation of Asmodeus as a god rather than as a devil. I realize that this is an idiosyncratic bugaboo of mine, but I mention it nonetheless.</I><BR/><BR/>Asmodeus IS a Devil. Lamashtu is a Demon. Rovagug is technically a Lovecraftian horror. Four of the gods are mortals that ascended to godhood in the same fashion as dead Aroden, and at least one of the good "gods" is an Angel.<BR/><BR/>Gods in Golarion are extremely powerful beings that have worshippers.cappadociushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03444938548248623609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85105060616837851982008-07-27T10:16:00.000-04:002008-07-27T10:16:00.000-04:00It's a very good product overall and I really do l...It's a very good product overall and I really do like the vibe of Golarion. My main beef with it is that (art aside, which is mostly a matter of taste) I am sure Paizo's publishing model will pretty much require that they flesh out every last inch of the setting over time, slowing adding tons of canonical minutiae that will simultaneously hamper referee creativity and make the setting inaccessible to newcomers. I could live with the art much better if I knew the setting itself were better insulated from the vicissitudes of modern gaming business plans.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-46950364991464731722008-07-25T21:25:00.000-04:002008-07-25T21:25:00.000-04:00Thanks for this review. Golarion sounds like quite...Thanks for this review. Golarion sounds like quite an interesting campaign setting. The only thing I have ever read for Pathfinder (aside from the rulebook) is the Free RPG Day module "Revenge of the Kobold King", which I thought was quite good, as far as D20 products go.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05646247954542936623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3599424967620444512008-07-24T23:12:00.000-04:002008-07-24T23:12:00.000-04:00I have the Gazetteer and like it a lot, for many o...I have the Gazetteer and like it a lot, for many of the same reasons. I've actually been thinking of NOT purchasing the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting when it comes out in August, which will undoubtedly go into even more detail on each of the kingdoms of Golarion. Instead, I could just use the Gazetteer, which would allow me a lot more freedom as a DM to develop things the way I want them to be. Not entirely sure which way I want to go with that, yet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-16103714708244183662008-07-24T22:09:00.000-04:002008-07-24T22:09:00.000-04:00In general, each nation gets about five paragraphs...<I>In general, each nation gets about five paragraphs of information, which is about four paragraphs too long in my opinion. In a gazetteer of this sort, I would much rather have only the barest of bare bones, not only because of space considerations, but also because the sparer the entries, the more room there is for the individual referee to make a nation his own.</I><BR/><BR/>Absolutely agreed. It's easy to say "just throw out what you don't like," but it's less of a chore to start from a skeleton and add things than it is to list everything in canon that doesn't apply in your campaign.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10856299661187809371noreply@blogger.com