johnnype said:
What setting specific books are there? Will the setting material in the AP books be reprinted in the hardback I thought I saw? I guess what I really want to know is this, If I'm interested in the setting only (no adventures) what book(s) do I need.
Thanks.
To an extent, all Pathfinder books are setting-specific. They're all set in Paizo's world, Golarion. The adventure paths and adventures deal with specific areas and NPCs in the world, but are designed to be easily placed in whatever world you're running.
Each Pathfinder issue has some material on the world, ranging from the journal(general stories and neat tidbits from a first-person perspective), to several pages dedicated to cites or Golarion's deities. Most is designed to provide depth and background to the adventure path.
Generally, from what I understand of the Gamemastery/Pathfinder Modules line, is they contain the Golarion view on the material contained purely in the adventure. Crown of the Kobold King, for example, has all the need-to-know material on how kobolds work as creatures in Golarion.
The Pathfinder Chronicles line is probably what you're looking for, as it's mainly the background material on the setting itself. From what I understand, the campaign setting expected in August is going to give a top-down view of the world, everything you need to know on running games in Golarion. Emphasis on need, as it seems there's no end to the awesome stuff they have pouring out of the world. From there, they have the "Guide to:" series, expanding on specific areas. The first one came out this month, and focuses on the city-state the first two adventure paths take place in, if I'm correct. They have a book on classic monsters in Golarion coming out in April, and an overview on the gods coming out in October.
The Pathfinder Companion line was recently announced, and is designed as a player's perspective guide to the world. As nothing comes out until August, this has a fair bit until we know a lot about it.
I'm pretty sure nothing is pure reprints, just different views on the content. For example, one of the Pathfinder issues did a Core Beliefs style rundown of Desna, who will also be in the Pathfinder Chronicles book on gods and magic. It's not going to be a reprint, but a different angle on the material. To get the full Golarion info package, you'll want to buy everything. If you're not interested in adventures, Pathfinder Chronicles is probably what you'll want to take a closer look at.
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