Reddit reviews Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords Anniversary Edition

First off, the Inner Sea World Guide has all the information you need about the lore, and to sparknotes that just doesn't even do it justice. However, I will try.

Races: Humans (many varieties actually), halflings, gnomes, dwarves, elves, half-elves and half-orcs. There are more advanced ones, but these are the core playable races. Strangely there are fewer "types" of non-human races, but a plethora of different types of humans.

Cultures: So many it's hard to know where to start. The different types of humans cover many of the cultural differences. You really need to narrow your question down if you want an explanation of them. Examples: Varisians are like gypsies, Chelaxians are like caucasian opportunists, and Shaonti are like barbarian vagabonds.

Countries: Depending on where in the world you want to set your campaign, there are so many options here. Varisia is well-covered and kind of a frontier "America" like setting. Ustalav is a Transylvania-like country with lots of undead and spooky atmosphere. There are many more, but if you can dream it, you can probably find something similar in the setting.

Major players: Nothing like Elminster or Drizzt in terms of popularity, but you will see Ameiko Kaijitsu a fair amount. Babba Yaga is an ice witch I think and a big player in a recent adventure path.

Important events: Also very region specific and well covered in the book I recommended. Something that happened in Geb has very little impact in the Greenlands. That being said, a god was once killed and was replaced by a super good paladin (the new god Iomedae).

My biggest recommendation is looking at the Inner Sea World Guide and deciding what area looks cool. Each area is covered in 2-3 pages, it has religions, all the human races, and it has a few neat tidbits about prevalent factions and so on as well. You sound like someone who likes to make up your own stuff built off of an established lore, so this next recommendation may interest you quite a bit less. However, if you like pre-made campaigns of exceptional quality, I would recommend the Paizo adventure paths. They are phenomenal; the detail is beyond imagining, and they are actually very fun and generally well-balanced. If you go that route my top recommendations are: Rise of the Runelords for the group that likes a linear, vanilla adventure; Kingmaker for the group that likes an open world where they can have a real impact; and I also enjoyed the first book of the Carrion Crown adventure path, but I wasn't as into the second one. There are six books to each adventure path (all inclusive in the anniversary edition of the Rise of the Runelords), and they usually go from level 1 to level 16-20. There are also one-shots called modules that are pretty fun and some are free.

Overall, there's way too much to cover, but there are a few resources for you to check out for help. The one thing Paizo does really well are its Adventure Path books, so I can't recommend them enough (even for people dead set on making up their own stuff). You can at least draw some ideas from them if nothing else. They also really help you understand the "canon" as they bring you through a series of events that "actually happen" in the world.

Rise of the Runelords, except I converted it to D&D 5ed. We played every-other week for two years (with a 3 month break in the middle while our druid had a baby in real life.) Lots of fun, despite the constant point A to B structure.

Absolutely! I plan to use my Pathfinder modules extensively. For the most part, the only conversion to be done is on traps and monsters. Once the Monster Manual releases, you should be able to find the new stats for the same creature or find a comparable creature.

I can't recommend the Pathfinder AdventurePath series of adventures enough. They take your group from level 1 to 15 or 20 in full campaign of adventures.

Here's the list:
http://paizo.com/pathfinder/adventurePath

Rise of the RuneLords is really good, especially the new hardback updated super edition. $46 for an entire CAMPAIGN of adventures! Your FLGS might have it as well for a bit more (but good to support them).

http://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Runelords-Anniversary/dp/1601254369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404695616&sr=8-1&keywords=rise+of+the+runelords

Inner Sea World Guide - lore about Golarion in general, and a world history. Lots and lots of really cool info, the "go-to" book for lore in Golarion/Pathfinder

Inner Sea Gods - lore about the core deities in Golarion and their religions, as well as some info about some of the outlying, less-common deities/religions.

Pathfinder Player Companion: Varisia, Birthplace of Legends Quite a few adventure paths take place or start in Varisia, particularly the city of Sandpoint.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Magnimar, City of Monuments A major city in Varisia that also is involved in a number of adventure paths.

The Rise of the Runelords adventure path is a great introduction for new players and new GMs into Golarion and pathfinder in general.

Ninja edit: www.pathfinderwiki.com is another great resource, and is just lore-based as opposed to including things like stats for creatures and that sort of thing. More detail is in the books that are referenced for each page, but that site will get you started with things like the gods, various countries, and prominent events in Golarion history.

https://www.amazon.com/Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-Runelords-Anniversary/dp/1601254369

Sorry to be a pain but would this be the book to get?

Unless it's significantly cheaper I'd suggest buying he anniversary edition. Fully updated for Pathfinder.

Unless that's what you meant in which case you can ignore me!