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HomeTabletop RPGDungeons & DragonsThe setting for DnD’s biggest rival is about to get even bigger

The setting for DnD’s biggest rival is about to get even bigger

If there’s one area where Pathfinder objectively beats Dungeons and Dragons, it’s the number of campaign setting supplements it receives. Publisher Paizo has just announced ‘Lost Omens: Shining Kingdoms’, a new setting guide for a “classical high fantasy” region of the Pathfinder world Golarion, which will release on June 4.

Obviously, more doesn’t mean ‘better’, but comparing the Pathfinder and DnD release schedules does show real differences in what the two games are prioritising. DnD has basically ignored standalone setting books for most of fifth edition – the last setting guide that wasn’t bundled into a campaign was 2021’s excellent ‘Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft’, while the upcoming ‘Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide’ won’t release until late this year.

The product listing for Shining Kingdoms promises an “expansive hardcover guide to six key nations of the Inner Sea”, the ‘default’ setting for most Pathfinder campaigns. After the wild and wonderful Tian Xia setting guide (from May last year), this promises a return to more traditional fantasy.

So we’ve got “Andoran, a bastion of democratic governance”; “Druma, a trade hub”; the “fractured kingdoms of the dwarves” in the Five Kings Mountains; the “illusion-cloaked homeland of the elves”, Kyonin; “Galt, a land wracked from violence and revolution”; and “the ossified remnants” of Taldor, once a powerful empire.

Cover art for the RPG book Shining Kingdoms, part of the Pathfinder DnD rival range - a group of adventurers approach a red dragons

It doesn‘t get much more classically fantastical than that. The book will contain new character options like “archetypes, equipment, magic items, spells, animal companions”. You’ll have the option to join “important local factions”, including the “Eagle Knights of Andoran”, the “Shieldwrought Striders” in the Five Kings Mountains, “Kyonin’s Wylderhearts” demon hunters, and the “Lion Blade spies of Taldor”.

There’s also a “bestiary of monsters” and a fold-out poster map. The book will retail at $59.99 (£47.96), and goes on pre-order in May.

This kind of product, which backs up lore with a bevy of character options, is one way that Pathfinder is more like classic DnD editions (particularly 3.5) than modern DnD. Back in the ‘00s, barely a month went by without an official supplement releasing with extra options for your DnD class, some new monstrous DnD race you could pick as your character (with level adjustment), and all manner of bonuses and options to create a thematically appropriate character (or grief the GM with a broken build).

If you’re interested in other ways that modern DnD differs from its past incarnations, check out Mollie Russell’s retrospective on 2024 and DnD’s ongoing digital transformation. To get a sense for what Pathfinder’s setting guides are like, this article explains some of the most fun features of the Tian Xia setting guide.

Source: Wargamer

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