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Hello and welcome back to the Gallant Goblin!
Today we’re taking a look at the Lost Omens:
Legends book for Pathfinder second edition.
Many thanks to Paizo for sending us a review copy.
Paizo releases a number of different
kinds of books for their games.
This one is in the Lost Omens series of setting
books that flesh out the land, the history,
the culture, and the people of Golarion.
These books are released quarterly.
Lost Omens: Legends is a Who’s Who of Golarion,
as well as a history book detailing the major
events of the last generation or so
and how history was impacted and
shaped by the people in this volume.
Here’s a list of everyone included in this book:
43 different heroes, villains, and those whose
true agenda may still be somewhat shrouded.
I think one area in which Pathfinder
shines over Dungeons & Dragons
is that Pathfinder seems to have a much deeper
lore, mostly thanks to books like this
which are more plentiful for Pathfinder.
Having well known and fleshed out major
NPCS spread throughout the world
gives your stories and campaigns
certain anchor points
that can help you ground your characters and your
story and connect your adventures over the years.
Just having one of these characters show up in your
story is like getting an audience with a celebrity.
It's like Beyoncé invited you around to dinner.
There are many big events going
on in the background in Golarion
during current and ongoing
Pathfinder adventure paths.
While your characters are toiling
away at their own goals,
major conflicts and societal changes
are happening all around them.
Including these and the people behind
the scenes pulling the strings
and pushing on the fringes of society can give
your world just much more context and flavor.
Your players will feel like they’re really rooted
in a real world that they’re able to influence
and that's continuing to go on no matter what they do.
Now, many of the events detailed in this
book are from previous adventure paths
and they assume a certain ending to those paths.
So if you played through those adventures
in your ongoing campaigns
and things turned out differently, it may
affect some of the material in this book.
Those connections to adventure paths are noted
for each entry so you don’t miss anything.
And if you are currently or plan to
play one of those older adventures,
you may want to glance at those sidebar
notes so you don’t accidentally get spoiled
for your Pathfinder first edition adventures.
Now let me give you a quick example of how
these major events detailed in this book
are used as context for current stories,
even ones releasing today.
Not so long ago, Absalom was placed under siege,
and the person in charge of the city’s defenses, Wynsal
Starborn, offered freedom to any slaves in the city
who were willing to fight to protect
the city from the invaders.
Thereafter, Starborn saw to the abolition of slavery
throughout the city and in neighboring nations.
Now this is the backdrop for the new standalone
Pathfinder adventure released today
called the Slithering.
You can see our review of that one by
clicking the "i" in the corner of your screen.
In that adventure, the city of Kibwe in the
Mwangi Expanse is dealing with the unrest
among its entrenched slave trader class after they
recently followed Absalom’s lead in freeing their slaves.
For more information about The Slithering and that
background, go ahead and watch our other review.
Now, in the broader world, this conflict over
slavery can bring you into conflict or alliance
with a number of NPCs detailed in this book
including Abrogail Thrune II,
queen of the nation of Cheliax,
which holds a sizable halfling slave population.
Or you may meet with Andira Marusek,
the leader of the nation of Andoran,
who has dedicated her life to the fight of abolishing
slavery throughout the Inner Sea region.
And none of these important people exist in a vacuum.
They all have connections to each other,
which are detailed in the book as well.
There are even handy little charts like this
to help you navigate these connections.
The book provides more than
history and context though.
Many of the people detailed here also come with
something that they can offer as a reward
if player characters earn their trust.
It may be magical items, access to secret alchemical
formulas or arcane spells, or even special feats.
Baba Yaga is presented here as a rare witch patron.
New god options are presented
representing the Old Sun Gods.
There’s a new archetype if you’d like to be a
member of the Bright Lions organization,
making you part revolutionary
warrior and part undercover spy
trying to free the massive temple-city
of Mzali from oppression.
There are also player handouts that
can be used as story devices
including journal entries, letters, maps, and more.
This book also provides the GM with a
lot of storytelling and gameplay options.
Imagine having one of your players delve deep
into a buried temple in the Mwangi Expanse
only to discover a single page from
the spell book of Old-Mage Jatembe,
one of the most influential arcane
figures in Golarion’s history.
They can learn a rare, ancient spell
that no one else on Golarion knows.
That’s the kind of thing this book offers.
For players, it can give you a
deeper knowledge of the world
so you can create characters that have
more roots and beliefs and culture.
You can work with your GM to
see if certain NPCs in this book
can be brought into your ongoing adventures.
Lost Omens: Legends is available now.
It has an MSRP of $34.99 [USD] for the hardcover
print edition or $24.49 [USD] for the PDF version.
The next volume in the Lost Omens
series is about the Pathfinder Society,
a globe-spanning organization of adventurers that
quite often includes your player characters.
That book is scheduled to come out in October,
and then in February we have the
Lost Omens: Ancestry Guide,
which promises to greatly expand the
ancestry options for your players
while also helping the GM have a deeper cultural
knowledge of the NPCs in their world.
If you’re like: Theo, I must have all these books,
then check out the link in the video description
down below for the Paizo subscription program.
They’ll send you each book, plus the PDF copy,
and if you sign up for multiple subscriptions
to different series of books,
you can qualify for store discounts, free
subscriptions, and other goodies.
Otherwise, the books should be available through
your local game stores or in online shops.
In the comments section down below,
let me know which Pathfinder
or even D&D or Starfinder character you
would like to have invited over for dinner.
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Thank you for watching today.
We dropped quite a lot of Pathfinder and Starfinder
reviews today, so don’t miss those.
We’re taking a look at the first book in the new Agents
of Edgewatch adventure path for Pathfinder,
the new standalone Pathfinder adventure, The Slithering,
plus the new Pathfinder Advanced Player’s Guide
and the Starfinder Starship Operations Manual.
Please drop us a like down below
if you found the video helpful!
Subscribe so you don’t miss out on our future videos.
Please continue being safe out there and
I’ll see you next time at the Gallant Goblin!
