It’s no secret that I’m a fan of ocean and aquatic adventures, campaign settings, and all related nonsense. I did Aquatic Summer, where it was all about that. And now Paizo is getting in on the action, and has released Lost Omens High Seas. Let’s dive in!
NOTICE: Paizo provided me with a digital copy of this book for review purposes.
Background
Pathfinder’s first edition was relatively late into its operational lifespan when it dipped into the waters of Golarion in a serious way. Books like Pirates of the Inner Sea and the Skull & Shackles adventure path hit in 2012, but lacked depth (no pun intended). In 2017, two years before its second edition, Pathfinder got some serious support with the Blood of the Sea and Aquatic Adventures books. But honestly, it was thin coverage for the topic. Golarion has deep (again, no pun intended) roots in its aquatic sub-settings, and they deserved better. Now, we’ve had hints about the aquatic world of Golarion throughout 2nd edition and its remaster, but only hints until now. Lost Omens High Seas (LOHS) seeks to bring part, not all, but part of the fantastical aquatic sub-setting of Golarion.
The Good
Launching Spots. A significant challenge to any campaign sub-setting is offering up spots that adventures can launch from and act as home bases that players might actually want to be from. LOHS offers solid areas and several viable cities, all far from the conventional Inner Sea setting without losing that Pathfinder flavour. As much as I love The Shackles, I think Hermea was the best one.
Ancestries! Four of them to specific, and it’s an awesome addition to the ones appearing in previous works. Athamaru, Merfolk, Aquatic Elves, and Tripkee appear in the book, and I immediately went team Tripkee.
MAPS! Oh the glorious maps. There’s a large overview one covering the Steaming Sea, Fever Sea, and eastern part of the Arcadian Ocean. Then there’s a smaller set of interactive maps (with the pdf edition of the book) that has islands, cities, and the details needed for GMs and players to get a more personal vibe with things.
The world building. I’m liking how they’re actually developing the languages and religions of Golarion past a vague description and a “the following deities are popular with…” The book strives to increase immersion (damnit, still no pun intended!), and offers a solid approach to it by limiting its scope to a smaller, comparatively, region of the world’s seas and oceans.
The Bestiary is outstanding. It’s not large, but it’s comprehensive and the new additions are rock solid entries to the operation. They’re also appropriate to the primary geographical area for the book.
The Bad
The ancestries are barebones. Extremely barebones. The issue is that they’re expansions on existing ancestries and require Player Core 2 (Tripkee) or Howl of the Wild (Athamaru, Merfolk) to make work at full capacity. Meaning if a table doesn’t have those books, they’re less likely to use them. I know AoN is a thing. I think one or two new complete ancestries, and the ones present as additions to existing ones, would have made for a more useful book. LOHs also fails to point players and GMs in the direction of the books needed to use the ancestries presented.
Equipment is lacking. This was an opportunity to lay out some sweet nautical and aquatic equipment, and it’s not there. There’s no mundane armour or weapons. There are a lot of great spells, and a lot of great magic items, but there’s nothing for the beginning adventurer. This is a consistent weakness in the remaster series. It feels like things are for more established characters and less ones starting out who want vibes to match the setting.
Tenuous linking to the main Inner Sea setting area or the Mwangi Expanse sub-setting. There are links, I’m not saying that there aren’t any, it’s just they aren’t strong. There’s a whole plotline happening with Hell and Cheliax, there’s so much in the Mwangi Expanse, but there’s not a lot of solid connective tissue there to help GMs and players create a complete setting vibe. It leaves you feeling like the High Seas are separate but not integrated.
The Ugly
Brevity and page count. For what it presented, and the area covered, the book was at least 20 pages or so short. It needed space to breathe and get into the nuts and bolts of things that are what makes Pathfinder what it is. The book feels like there should have been more at multiple points. It’s longer than previous books in the last edition, but still shy of where it needs to be to excel.
Final Thoughts
This is a practical book that’s on the high end of Rank B, and that will be worth getting for many tables. Its strengths are in the world-building and efforts to make the High Seas feel like they can standalone. The challenges are that there’s not enough to make it truly competitive with other books, and it stands alone too well. So if you’re in the aquatic adventures niche with me, a collector, or have some ideas you need aquatic awesomeness for? This book is a winner. If you’re deep into most adventure paths or the Inner Sea’s political mess or over in Tian Xia? This isn’t an essential, but it is handy. Honestly though, as a starting point? It’s good. I hope Paizo puts out more aquatic supplements! Check out the book here.
