G is for GOLARION

My favorite published gaming world these days is Paizo's Golarion.  While I enjoy building a world from scratch, from my own starting points and with carefully chosen elements (with input from players, of course), I also enjoy the richness of a well-designed world made by the cooperative labor of many imaginations.  Golarion is a high magic, polytheistic, kitchen-sink world that is the work of many designers and authors.  You can play in it, run it, or just read about -- moreover, you can read stories set in it by good authors.

If you are unfamiliar with Golarion, Tracy has written a series of introductory posts on it at Troll in the Corner.  The PathfinderWiki has over 6,000 articles detailing the world that are freely available.  And the mountain of material from Paizo continues to grow.  If you want a descriptive dip of the toe into Golarion, grab the Inner Sea Primer.  If you're a fan of fantasy fiction, then check out the Pathfinder Tales line.  You can start with the Web Fiction for free, but I don't think you get the full experience until you try a novel.  Any of them are good, and you can check out the blurbs and reviews for indications of what is up your alley, but my recommendation for a first would still be one of the two authored by Dave Gross.  And not just because he writes about my favorite character, Count Varian Jeggare. Okay, maybe partly...

Also, if you are a fan of the Lovecraft mythos, you will enjoy Golarion as a game world as it includes lots of nods towards Innsmouth.  Lovecraftitis has not, as yet, infected the fiction.  It will be interesting to see how long that state of affairs will continue.