Publisher: Paizo Press
RPG System: Pathfinder 2E
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide begins with a wonderful introduction that sets the tone for the entire book. “This book was overwhelmingly written by people of Asian descent, but even so, it can’t encapsulate every single viewpoint from the world’s largest continent, just as it can’t offer every single detail on Tian Xia.” The introduction acknowledges the vastness of Tian Xia as a continent, highlighting its immense diversity in nations, people, cultures, goods, and creatures. It also stresses the idea that we are people first and our culture second, with a call for respect without the use of stereotypes. This sets an incredible foundation that pushes back against decades of misrepresentation, including microaggressions, stereotypes, and racism.
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide establishes a respectful and inclusive tone from the beginning. Written primarily by people of Asian descent, the book addresses the challenges of representing a continent as culturally diverse as Asia. It emphasizes the importance of depicting people as individuals beyond stereotypes, marking a positive shift from the problematic portrayals that have historically plagued fantasy.
What’s Inside?
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide is packed with over 300 pages of content, offering the definitive guide on the continent of Tian Xia. The book begins with an introduction that sets the tone of cultural respect and inclusivity, followed by a history section that spans 10,000 years. This overview provides important context for Tian Xia’s development, highlighting key events, empires, and political shifts. From there, readers are introduced to the Imperial Dragons, religion, nations, politics and so much more.
The book rounds out with a 25-page bestiary filled with new creatures and stat blocks while also directing readers to other sourcebooks for more creatures not included in the guide.
The physical version of the book also includes a poster with a map of Tian Xia.
Storytelling & Worldbuilding
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide is an exceptional resource for both storytelling and worldbuilding, offering Game Masters a wealth of material to craft immersive campaigns. The book’s opening section, which spans 10,000 years of history, provides the backdrop for players to engage with the continent’s political and cultural developments. The timeline makes it easy to weave historical events and long-standing conflicts into campaigns.
The history brief is followed by a section on Imperial Dragons. These beings are not just powerful creatures—they are central to the politics and cultures of Tian Xia. Each dragon has distinct motivations, personalities, and spheres of influence, making them more than just adversaries or allies in combat. Instead, they serve as key figures in the world, capable of shaping entire regions or serving as long-term plot drivers.
Religion plays a significant role in Tian Xia’s storytelling depth, with 30 pages dedicated to deities, philosophies, and virtues. Over 20 gods are explored in depth, each associated with different regions and cultures. The deities are given tons of lore, covering their areas of concern, divine powers, and edicts, as well as practical gameplay mechanics like cleric spells and avatar abilities.
The nations and regions of Tian Xia serve as the meat and potatoes of the guide’s worldbuilding. Each nation receives between 5 and 10 pages of detailed content, including history, government, rulers, religions, and resources. The guide also provides pronunciation guides for place names and characters, emphasizing the importance of cultural sensitivity and accuracy. This wealth of information allows GMs to build entire campaigns around the politics, economies, and societal structures of Tian Xia’s nations, creating stories that feel grounded in a richly developed world. Additionally, the interconnectedness of the nations and regions—through trade, conflict, alliances, and shared histories—makes it easy to create continent-spanning campaigns where the actions in one region may have consequences in another.
Finally, the book’s 25-page bestiary adds even more storytelling potential by introducing new creatures that are integral to Tian Xia’s ecosystems and mythologies. These creatures range from charming beings to terrifying monsters that challenge players in both combat and narrative depth. The inclusion of stat blocks for ships and a table referencing additional creatures from other sourcebooks further expands the possibilities for GMs, who can easily integrate these monsters into their campaigns.
Gameplay & Mechanics
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide offers some additions from a gameplay perspective for players and GMs. The most significant addition is the bestiary, which gives tons of new creatures to challenge and inspire players. These creatures each come with stat blocks that make running encounters easy. The inclusion of ship stat blocks is excellent, with at least 5 ship stat blocks that allow players to run naval combat, or at least properly record damage from hazards in a way that’s compliant with the game’s rules.
Beyond the bestiary, the religion section features a few cleric spells and abilities tied to the deities. This makes the religion section much more than just one for flavor and lore – it aids in character creation and growth as well.
Artwork & Presentation
The Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide is another gorgeous book from Paizo. The artists have gone beyond generic depictions of East Asian aesthetics, incorporating influences from across a wide range of Asian regions, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions. Every piece of art feels authentic, representing the unique styles, clothing, and architecture of each nation in Tian Xia, which helps bring the world to life in a way that feels respectful and true to its inspirations. You won’t find the Japanese-inspired areas simply having samurai, ninjas, and geisha. You will see an actual representation of history and culture here for so many regions, and that feels like a first in this space.
The layout of the book is easy to follow, with well-organized sections that allow GMs to quickly find relevant information. Each region and nation is presented with detailed maps, pronunciation guides, and sidebars, making the information accessible.
Is It Worth It?
For GMs who want to create believable and respectful stories within Tian Xia, there simply isn’t a better resource out there. Paizo has created a world guide that completely changes how fantasy fans should look at settings inspired by Asia. Pathfinder Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide is almost worth it just for the visuals and inclusivity alone. Players will also get tons of mileage out of this book as well, especially if they want their characters to feel authentic.
Although it might be pricey, this is one of the best RPG books I’ve ever had the pleasure of covering
Stay tuned for our video review of the Tian Xia World Guide next week!
