This is something I have always felt. The best replacement for Mystara, an ultimate theme park world, is the best theme park world, Pathfinder's Golarion.
Not the new Golarion, mind you, classic Golarion minus all the steampunk. If I wanted a steampunk game, I would have bought one, and I do not want guns in my fantasy unless this is pirates. No robots, automation, robot companions, android characters, walking cars, trains, airships, no, I am sorry, no steampunk in Golarion. Save it for Starfinder. Sometimes I can't tell Pathfinder 2E and Starfinder apart, which feels wrong.
Fantasy is fantasy - no guns, no cowboys, and no robots.
There are times I feel Pathfinder 2e leans too heavily into steampunk and gonzo sci-fi, and the world suffers as a result. I do not want androids walking around my fantasy world, nor do I want robot companions. I do not walk mecha-cars, trains, motorized thrones, or airships. The original Golarion world is very cool, a really strong fantasy setting with just a touch of sci-fi - but this can ultimately be ignored or replaced by "alien magic "if you wish. The 2e world has so many crazy species and ancestries running around it feels like Mos Eisley at times or some anime TV show where every living thing has to talk and have stereotypical human emotions.
On the other side, as the D&D Gazetteer line went on, the setting books got more humorous and way out there. The Thar supplement leans into the humor and really does a good job. And they started breaking immersion and introducing flying ships and all sorts of crazy technology by the last few additions to the line. At times I felt the designers were either bored, unsupervised, or TSR did not really care much about the world by the end and told them, "anything goes, do what you want."
Both worlds have a few huge problems, but Golarion 1e has the fewest, Golarion 2e has the most, and Mystara sits in the middle.
With Savage Pathfinder, I get all of it back in style, though I have to admit, Castles & Crusades is ruling my fantasy needs at the moment. I am waiting for the second Savage Pathfinder set to come, and then I will dive in with the Advanced Player's Guide. I love the classic world feel of the Pathfinder 1e world, and it is much more mature and confident, sort of like a fantasy book written for mature readers and older audiences. The new 2e world is incredible, but it feels more like a "for all audiences" game that includes kids; the tone has changed substantially, and I do not feel the world is written for me anymore.
But I always felt the Pathfinder world was a better Mystara, and it hits many of the excellent theme park notes with dedicated areas with flavor and fun. You have a Norse area, Ravenloft area, undead kingdom, lost continent, pirate place, your typical demon kingdom, demon invasion area, Kingmaker sandbox, the adventure kingdom, and many other classics. Anything you want is here.
I have to admit, finding these exact theme park locations in Swords & Wizardry with Lost Lands was surprising, and they are done a touch better here with full campaign support. They are not as integrated into the larger world as well, however, but that is a good thing and a bad thing. In Lost Lands, the theme park areas are almost standalone campaigns, and if I wanted to run them that way, it is an option. With Pathfinder, if I wanted to run one of the areas as a standalone, it would be very hard to pull the rest of the world out.
Mystara has a few issues, like a lack of an evil kingdom and a few tone-deaf areas, which seemed okay at the time but, in hindsight, made me raise an eyebrow. A kingdom that bans religion and gives clerics the death penalty? An Arabian Knights area that sounds fun but is way too small and shoved in there. A lack of an evil kingdom. The continent felt too settled and divided, like a Renaissance Europe, with little room for exploration and discovery. And some of the later iconic areas, like a spooky Ravenloft-style area, missing. The continent also feels small when I would love it expansive and with room for evil to lurk and heroes to settle unexplored lands.
Golarion is similarly divided up, but the scale feels much larger, and most areas in a kingdom's border feel all dangerous outside settled areas. Golarion has decades of hindsight on what is fun and what gamers want. It can deliver areas that support iconic experiences, and it does.
This was an easy one since it just fits so well. Plus Golarion has the adventure paths in style and those more than make up for the loss of the Mystara gazetteers.
The only problem is the rules. The Pathfinder rules are very different than OGL, so I am playing this with non-OGL or B/X systems, such as Pathfinder 1e, 2e, or Savage Worlds. The latter will likely be my pick since it is easier to manage than the other two.
If I want an OGL hit, I will stick to Lost Lands (Greyhawk) or Aihrde (Realms) and the C&C rules.
When I want that pulp Mystara adventure with a Pathfinder flair, I will dive into Savage Pathfinder.
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