Pathfinder 1E Summary or Intro paragraphs about Golarion?

[Elodan]

I plan on using Golarion as the world for my new campaign. Anyone know where I could find a good couple of paragraphs to introduce the world to my players?

Thanks.

 

[Redbranch]

I just started a new campaign set in Golarion. If found this site invaluable:

PathfinderWiki

 

[MichaelSomething]

How about saying, "It's suppose to be like the Forgotten Realms, except it's low fantasy and less detailed."

 

[Gorbacz]

Actually, not. Golarion doesn't have level 20 bartenders running inns with 1d3 epic characters and 50% chances for a CG Drow Ranger...

 

[Elodan]

How about saying, "It's suppose to be like the Forgotten Realms, except it's low fantasy and less detailed."

My previous campaigns were based in the Realms (figured new rules, new world) so it might not be a bad way to explain it to them.

I was hoping more for a sort of brief primer on the world. Possibly something like:

The inner sea region of Golarion is made up of two continents containing many nations such as devil-aligned Cheliax, freedom-loving Andoran, the fading former empire of Taldor and the undead run Nex...

These nations are populated with gnomes, refuges of the first world, elves who abandoned the world during the time of darkness and many varieties of humans such as the Ulfen who....

The death of the god Aroden a little over 100 years ago has caused divination to become unreliable. Other recent events include...


I loved the 10 things to know about Eberron and would love to see something similar for Golarion.

Yes. I'm being lazy here.

 

[fletch137]

I loved the 10 things to know about Eberron and would love to see something similar for Golarion.

Funny, I did just that very thing as part of prep to run Curse of the Crimson Throne. It's skewed towards that campaign, but here's my big picture list:

Ten Things Everyone Knows About the World

1. The world is called Golarion.
2. 10,000 years ago, the Starstone fell to Golarion, creating the Inner Sea, obliterating the human civilizations of Thassilon and Azlant, sending the elves packing to parts unknown, and kicking of 1,000 years of darkness from dust and ash in the atmosphere.
3. During the darkness, dwarves and orcs migrated from the Darklands below to claim territories on the surface.
4. The Inner Sea now separates the continents of Avistan to the north and Garund to the south.
5. Aroden, the Last Azlanti, used the Starstone to gain divinity and housed it in his own temple at the center of Absalom, the island city he brought into being in the heart of the Inner Sea.
6. As the darkness lifted, human cultures began rebuilding along the edge of the Inner Sea. On Avistan, the Taldor Empire sprang up under the watchful eye of Aroden, while on Garund, Osirion developed under the rule of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension.
7. Taldor expanded across Avistan under a number of Armies of Exploration, settling the lands to the west that would later become Cheliax and Andoran, and coming into conflict with Katapesh to the east and the returning elves seeking to reclaim their abandoned holdings to the north.
8. Growing decadence within Taldor lead to Cheliax seceding from the Empire and becoming the heart of Aroden worship, awaiting the First Man’s return to reclaim the crown of the empire.
9. 100 years ago, the day of Aroden’s prophesied return was instead met by the god’s death. Storms raged across Golarion and prophecy itself became unreliable, ushering in the Age of Lost Omens.
10. In the absence of its god, Cheliax fell to devil worship under the banner of Asmodeus. In the chaos, Chelaxian territories, such as Andoren to the east and Varisia to the north, asserted their independence.

 

[Elodan]

Funny, I did just that very thing as part of prep to run Curse of the Crimson Throne. It's skewed towards that campaign, but here's my big picture list:

Ten Things Everyone Knows About the World

1. The world is called Golarion.
2. 10,000 years ago, the Starstone fell to Golarion, creating the Inner Sea, obliterating the human civilizations of Thassilon and Azlant, sending the elves packing to parts unknown, and kicking of 1,000 years of darkness from dust and ash in the atmosphere.
3. During the darkness, dwarves and orcs migrated from the Darklands below to claim territories on the surface.
4. The Inner Sea now separates the continents of Avistan to the north and Garund to the south.
5. Aroden, the Last Azlanti, used the Starstone to gain divinity and housed it in his own temple at the center of Absalom, the island city he brought into being in the heart of the Inner Sea.
6. As the darkness lifted, human cultures began rebuilding along the edge of the Inner Sea. On Avistan, the Taldor Empire sprang up under the watchful eye of Aroden, while on Garund, Osirion developed under the rule of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension.
7. Taldor expanded across Avistan under a number of Armies of Exploration, settling the lands to the west that would later become Cheliax and Andoran, and coming into conflict with Katapesh to the east and the returning elves seeking to reclaim their abandoned holdings to the north.
8. Growing decadence within Taldor lead to Cheliax seceding from the Empire and becoming the heart of Aroden worship, awaiting the First Man’s return to reclaim the crown of the empire.
9. 100 years ago, the day of Aroden’s prophesied return was instead met by the god’s death. Storms raged across Golarion and prophecy itself became unreliable, ushering in the Age of Lost Omens.
10. In the absence of its god, Cheliax fell to devil worship under the banner of Asmodeus. In the chaos, Chelaxian territories, such as Andoren to the east and Varisia to the north, asserted their independence.

Great stuff there. Going to steal a fair amount of it. Thanks.

 

[Elodan]

I went ahead and pulled something together. This is mostly because I can't expect most of my players to read a 16 page player's guide but I figure a less than one page introduction to the world should work. Of course, I probably should have just grabbed the intro from the campaign setting .

I'll probably add a 5th paragraph that leads into the 1st adventure (most likely Serpent's Skull #1).

Comments are welcome.

The inner sea region of Golarion is made up of two continents; Avistan to the north and Garund to the south. Spread across Avistan are many nations of varying peoples and beliefs; these include the frozen kingdoms occupying the Land of Linnorm Kings; devil-aligned Cheliax, freedom-loving Andoran, the fading former empire of Taldor and the city-states of Varisia. While the majority of the area's nations may be on its northern neighbor, Garund contains the dark jungle of the Mwangi Expanse which is surrounded by such as the pyramids of the celestial monarchy Orision, the grasslands of undead-run Geb, the bazaars and markets of Katapesh and the magic-blasted wasteland of Nex.

These nations are peopled with gnomes, refuges of the First World who constantly look for new experiences and wonders to stave off the Bleaching; dwarves, grim and determined warriors and craftsman who find joy in hard work; elves, masters of arcane magic who share a bond with the natural world and whose long lives lead some to believe they are unpredictable and flighty; halflings, often overlooked because of their small stature but are filled with unparalleled optimism and a willingness to endure; and most populous of all, humans. The light skinned and pale haired Ulfen sailor and traders; the cultured and aggressive Chelaxian aristocrats and wizards, the proud and noble Garundi clans; and the colorfully clothed Varisian wanderers are just some of the many human cultures on Golarion. There are also numerous other humanoids living in the area. Humans have cross bred with several of these species with the most successful pairings resulting in half elves who live “in between” their parent cultures and half orcs who are often seen as unfortunate or unwanted.

The peoples of Golarion pay homage to scores, perhaps hundreds, of gods. While the gods do not walk amongst their worshippers, the do talk an active role in the world. Some of the more widely spread deities are Iomendae, goddess of justice and valor; the drunken hero, Cayden Cailean patron of freedom; Desna, goddess of travelers and good luck; the goddess of beauty and love, Shelyn; the uncaring Nethys, god of magic; and diabolical Asmodeus, god of tyranny.

Ten thousand years ago the Starstone fell to Golarion, creating the Inner Sea, obliterating the human civilizations of Thassilon and Azlant, seeing the elves depart to parts unknown, and kicking of a thousand years of darkness from dust and ash in the atmosphere. During this Age of Darkness, dwarves and orcs migrated from the Darklands below to claim territories on the surface. Aroden, the Last Azlanti, used the Starstone to gain divinity and housed it in his own temple at the center of Absalom, the island city he brought into being in the heart of the Inner Sea. As the darkness lifted, the following ages saw human cultures rebuild along the edge of the Inner Sea. On Avistan, the Taldor Empire sprang up under the watchful eye of Aroden. While on Garund Osirion developed under the rule of the Four Pharaohs of Ascension, Taldor expanded across Avistan under a number of Armies of Exploration, settling the lands to the west that would later become Cheliax and Andoran, and coming into conflict with Katapesh to the east and the returning elves seeking to reclaim their abandoned holdings to the north. Growing decadence within Taldor lead to Cheliax seceding from the Empire. Cheliax become the heart of Aroden worship and awaited the First Man’s return to reclaim the crown of the empire. One hundred years ago, the day of Aroden’s prophesied return was instead met by the god’s death. Storms raged across Golarion and prophecy itself became unreliable, ushering in the Age of Lost Omens. In the absence of its god, Cheliax fell to devil worship under the banner of Asmodeus. In the chaos, Chelaxian territories, such as Andoren to the east and Varisia to the north, asserted their independence.