Pathfinder CRPG with Avellone and without Obsidian announced

[Harry Easter]

Also the Kickstarter's fully Funded now and working on the first two Stretch Goals, Camping and the Magus Class.

 

Hurray. BTW: I remembered that the lead developer was the head of Nirval Interactive, which developed Heroes of Might and Magic V. That was a good game, so I',m more positive that this could be a good game.

[Stratagemini]

New Update on Spells! is it just me? or does it look like this update includes an image of what looks a lot like a Bandersnatch? Or maybe a Hodag?

Edited June 26, 2017 by Stratagemini

[Stratagemini]

After the latest Update I figured it was time to add some stuff to the list:

 

As Always New Things we know are in Bold.

I'm not employed in any capacity by Paizo, or Owlcat Games, this is all stuff I've managed to gather myself and there may be errors. If there are, I try and correct them as soon as I can.

 

Regarding the Kickstarter:

-The game will be published in 2018.

-The Kickstarter is Live, Funded, and can be found Here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/owlcatgames/pathfinder-kingmaker/

-There was also a Reddit AMA. It can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/6hgqqm/amasession_with_the_devs_of_pathfinder_kingmaker/

-The kickstarter is an attempt to add "more companions, more depth to the companions, more dungeons and wilderness to explore, … and more new quests and content by famous Pathfinder authors and RPG authors." also more original music, and more voiceover. Basically it exists solely to fund extra cool stuff for the game.

-Mass combat is a late kickstarter stretch goal since it requires a lot of assets.

-To make up for Mass Combat's absence the PCs get to do cool stuff like infiltrate behind enemy lines. Making alliances is expected to give you different army options if they are able to implement mass combat.

- Rest is the first planned Kickstarter stretch Goal. During rest periods, players will be able to send companions out to hunt, thus reducing the need to buy rations, and will be able to set traps and alarms. They'll also be able to assign companions to guard against random attack.

-The Initial goal of the Kickstarter is to make the Kingdom system more awesome. See Kingdom section for more details.

-Chris Avellone will I'll be writing a module for the Kickstarter in tandem with Paizo.

-Both OS X and Linux Releases are Kickstarter stretch Goals.

-Additional Classes and Races from other sourcebooks will be revealed in the Kickstarter and in the form of stretch goals.

-Archetypes are a stretch Goal.

-New Locations are a Stretch goal.

-An epic Dungeon is a stretch goal.

-A Goblin Companion (who is not an Alchemist) is a Stretch Goal.

-Custom companions (like in pillars of Eternity) may be a stretch goal if there's interest in it from backers. They are currently in discussions about it.

-Camping is the first stretch Goal. This is a comprehensive system for getting to know characters and being attacked in your underwear while sleeping. Realms of Arkania was specifically referenced as an influence. It is detailed in this update.

-The Second Stretch Goal is the Magus.

-It seems like the Stretch Goal after the magus is an additional story chapter.

-A Twitch stream is planned foor later in the campaign. It seems like it will involve Chris Avellone.

- The release versions won't find anything not included in the KS versions. 

-Buying the game after release will also cost more than getting the $28 digital edition through Kickstarter.

-There will be additional Add-Ons added to the Campaign, but they have not been announced or released yet.

-The Miniatures of the Jabberwock and the Companion that come as Add-ons and as part of certain tiers come pre-painted.

-All of the items mentioned in the Kickstarter are planned to be ready upon initial release. There are no plans for DLC currently.

 

Regarding the Base Game:

-The game is Single Player only. Multiplayer and DM tools are being looked at as late game stretch Goals.

-The base game (un-kickstarted) is both already mostly complete and includes all 6 AP Modules. The whole story is there with details being Fleshed out by Chris Avellone.

-A capstone is planned possibly taking characters to level 20. We do not know if this is a kickstarter plan, or a base game plan.

-You can build and develop a kingdom of your own, this is in the base game. The Kickstarter will make this better. From people who played the Demo, There are already some cool kingdom events.

-The game will include diplomats from neighbors, including Brevoy and Irrisen (and possibly Mendev?). If you make alliances, that could unlock different buildings for your kingdom. There will be allies available for every alignment.

-The game is run on an engine developed using the Unity engine. It is Isometric in look and feel.

-There will be plenty of side-quests.

-You will be able to be evil, but it will be a cruel and cunning "smart evil" such as talking two enemies into killing each other, rather than just asking for more money as a quest reward. The Creative Director once suggested how much easier it would be to rule a kingdom of undead, than living, breathing citizens; because living citizens have all sorts of complaints about life, and hunger, and so on. The undead just obey. And are (usually) quiet. Except the zombies. Also, the design policy is not to have being Evil cut you off from content to punish them, but to balance content across all alignments.

-The base game includes a forty hour main storyline, and forty to eighty to forty hours of fun side content.

-There will be a lot of new content unique to this version of the Stolen Lands -- just like it would be in any DM's version.

-The game "will have a certain degree of linearity: just like in the table-top game, some challenges will arise, and it would be up to you how you'll tackle them. You can't avoid being the baron(ess), then the king/queen, since it's the premise of the game. However, you'll be free to explore the Stolen Lands, find lots of events unrelated to the main course of events, and choose how to act there. So, you're guaranteed to meet the persons you can see on the covers of the Adventure Path books, but you'll meet them inside a large sandbox."

-Game spans Levels 1 - 20.

-All 21 Core Deities are in. Groetus is in and players will be able to worhip him. Arshea is not in.

-The Physical version of the Game will be DRM-free. The digital version will have a choice of distribution platforms.

-"We're planning to carry the adventure to places the Adventure Path doesn't go (but it's a natural extension), so veteran players have something new to experience." This likely means the First World.

-"Even enemies you would normally regard as beasts and threats could find a home in your kingdom and provide new opportunities for your kingdom's growth."

-The game is a blend of Narrative and Combat, and neither one trumps the other.

-There are some pretty long dungeons in the game, and you will have to fight for your survival there. You can complete one level of the dungeon in approximately 1 hour.

-You can fail or ignore quests and they'll have big repercussions (not always negative). There are absolutely moral dilemma quests, which become more complicated once your companions weigh in and suddenly you have two moral dilemma layers to deal with.

-Foreshadowing will definitely be added for "The Big Bad." So states Chris Avellone. It will be threaded into each chapter.

-They have also taken pains to forshadow Jhod in module 1's arc.

-The end game is consequent with the player decisions, and furthermore, even if your decisions were "bad," they were your decisions, and even evil has its day.

-The Base game is localized in: English, German, French and Russian. Additional language localizations are planned as Stretch Goals.

 

Setting:

-The game is set in Golarion in the Stolen Lands, And the First World.

-You will be able to talk to companions from as far as Absalom and even Thuvia about their homelands.

-You will meet ambassadors from neighboring countries. And you can form alliances with them. There are 9 Ambassadors currently (one for each alignment) and they include the Witches of Irrisen.

-There are events from other Kingdoms so you get to see the "Spectrum of Golarion."

-You will encounter several iconics as an NPCs, and Amiri as a companion.

-The game will use Ambient sound.

-There are rabbits and birds out in the wild, and they are planning to put some animals in settlements too.

-Music and sounds are discussed in this update.

-If you like Maps, this is your update.

-Exploration is discussed in this Update.

 

Character Creation:

-The Game includes all the Races and Classes from the Core Rulebook. 

-There are around 10 Animal Companions in the base game.

-There are around 10 Familiars in the base game. No word either way on Red Pandas. I remain hopeful. Avellone is petitioning Owlcat to allow Owlcat familiars.

-There will be NO Grippli, not even as a stretch goal, due to licensing issues since Grippli are WotC IP. While the information was delivered tongue in cheek, there will be no Deep One Hybrids either.

-There are pregenerated builds and recommendations for all the choices and options.

-The current plan for Character Creation is point buy. The Devs have stated that they may also consider rolling characters as an optional alternative.

-Stats will be point buy by default, with an option for rolled stats due to backer demand.

-You will be able to select portrait for your character, these will all be Paizo approved. the ability to use custom portraits is still in discussion.

-You will be able to select face, hair style, skin tone, hair color (and gnomes will definitely have crazy colors available for them). Owlcat is also trying to add different body types, is am not promising it right now.

-You can select a deity your character will worship. Divine classes will have to select specific deity. Paladin codes will be referenced to, but not strictly mechanically upheld.

-There will be favored class bonuses, including racial options, but probably not all of them.

-Character creation design is not finalized, but Owlcat plans to include character background in some form in it. From the Character sheet update it looks like they're using the background system from Ultimate Campaign.

-While it is not yet finished, it looks like there will be Traits as part of the background system.

-Custom Portraits may be Implemented.

-They are currently working on a method to prebuild your character all the way to level 20 if you want to and then level up at the click of a single button.

-All Base Stats exist unchanged.

-Different Sizes and base land speeds are accomodated.

-Different Vision Types (such as Low-Light Vision) are accomodated.

-This Update deals with your character sheet. The interface is not finished yet, but it gives a pretty good sense of what is going on.

 

Classes

-The game includes:  Alchemist, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Inquisitor, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorceror and Wizard. The Magus is the second Stretch Goal Unlocked at $600k.

-The Rogue follows rules from Pathfinder Unchained. The Barbarian is also Unchained but can choose between the normal and Unchained version of Rage. The Monk is as yet undecided.

-Multiclassing is in the game.

-Prestige Classes are in the Game. We don't know which ones for certain besides Arcane Trickster, but it seems a safe bet to assume all Prestige classes from the Core Rulebook at least. The Devs have also mentioned wanting to include the Aldori Swordlord.

-Bards will have access to Bardic masterpieces.

-You can become a Fallen Paladin if your alignment shifts too much.

-Since there is no mounted combat, Cavaliers and Samurai will probably not be making an appearance. Paladins also have different versions of divine bonds, most common of them being a weapon bond.

-Since there has been no mention of Guns so far it des not seem like Gunslinger will be in the game.

-There are currently no plans to include the Occult Classes: Kineticist, Medium, Mesmerist, Occultist, Psychic, and Spiritualist.

-The community manager has heard no mention of Ninja being included.

-Given these facts, it seems like the most likely classes to appear as Stretch Goals are: Oracle, Summoner (probably the Unchained version), and Witch, followed by the various classes in the Advanced Class Guide. This is pure speculation on my part, but seems logical.

 

Skills

-As of right now, Skills are: Acrobatics, Perception, Coercion, Physique, Knowledge: Arcana, Knowledge: World, Stealth, Thievery, Lore: Nature, Lore: Religion, Use Magic Device.

- Crafting skills and Profession skills are not in the game.

-Thievery is used for disarming traps.

 

Feats

-There will be more than 300 feats.

-Feats are drawn from many books beyond the Core Rulebook, including but not limited to: the Advanced Player's Guide, The Inner Sea World Guide, and Ultimate Magic.

-Feats verified to be in the game include: Elemental Spell Focus, Evocation Spell Focus, Arcane Shield, Ray Shield, Touch of Serenity, Extra Lay On Hands, Undead Master, Fortune Teller, Sunlight Summons, and Fleet.

-While Item Creation Feats are replaced by the Royal Artisan System and will not be in the game, the Character Sheet updated shows that Scribe Scroll does exist as (at the very least) a Wizard Class ability.

 

Spells

-While they are still being worked on, the game already includes over 300 spells.

-There are already more than 15 spells to choose from for each of the three first spell levels, with more to come. 

-Spells we have seen or that have been mentioned so far are: Owl's Wisdom, Bless, Hold Person, Snowball, Blazing Hands, Greater Blade Dash.

-You can learn more about spells in this update.

 

Multiplayer and Modding:

-Base game is Single Player only.

-While DM Tools and Multiplayer were floated as possible stretch goals early on, the Devs want to focus on making a good Single Player game first and foremost and so they don't want to promise that they will be available.

-Modding is a separate issue that they are not focused on at this time.

-There are no plans for a DM client option. This is something to examine for Future Games.

 

Regarding Companions:

-There are either 10 or 11 Companions in the Base Game.

-Companion characters are a mix of New characters, iconic Pathfinder characters, and characters already existing in the AP.

-Amiri, the Iconic Barbarian, is a companion with a lot of backstory and events happening around her throughout the game. Amiri is the only Iconic Companion.

-Jubilost Narthropple is a companion. He a cantankerous gnome, is kind of a jerk, and you can fail to recruit him if you screw up your attempt to help him out with his wagon. He's also a character from the original AP. He is an alchemist now and uses a Heavy Crossbow by default.

-Valerie is a blonde haired Human Woman from Brevoy. She is also a Fighter who Worships Gorum, and a failed Paladin of Shelyn.

-A halfling that looks suspiciously like Lem is a companion.

-A bard is a companion. He decides to join you because he wants to record your story. This companion has not been seen yet and may or may not be the halfling.

-Octavia is a female Half-Elf wizard/rogue/arcane trickster.

-There is a Blonde male who looks like an Elven inquisitor of Sarenrae.

-There is a Half-Orc who definitely looks like a Magus (or maybe he's the bard)?

- There is what looks like either a Taldan or Ulfen Human male Fighter.

-Ekundayo, is a Thuvian Ranger from Absolom. He is Lawful neutral, has a Hound Animal Companion, and uses a Bow.

-There is a Goblin Companion. This Goblin is sadly, not an Alchemist. The Goblin Companion is a Stretch Goal.

-Harrim is a Dwarven Cleric of Groetus. He has a Mohawk looking hairdo.

-There will be companion Romance, but it isn't the only relationship option. This Includes LGBTQ+ romance options. This kicks in as quickly as Module 1.

-Companions can disagree with you, leave you, and even turn on you if they don't like you. They do NOT need to be in your party for this to happen. Companions are living people and don't stop existing just because you leave them home.

-The story can change considerably depending on your party composition.

-Each companion has an expandable novel style bio that expands as you learn more about them and progress in the game.

-You can take 5 Companions with you in a party at one time.

-You can level up your companions based on your own preferences, even changing their classes if you wish, there is however a suggested path, and you can have them auto-level if you wish instead.

-You will also be able to choose from several AI behaviours for your party members, allowing them to use spells and abilities or spend resources on their own. You can switch AI on and off for each character separately, there will be various options for AI.

-Each companion will have one or several levels in a predetermined class when you meet them. You can level them any way you wish from there on out, but their "starting class" is preset.

-Chris Avellone really wants to write Amiri and Jubilost. But negotiations as to who gets to do what are still ongoing.

-Companions definitely have an opinion, will act on that opinion, and will act strongly on that opinion (leaving the party is only one possible ending for companions you butt heads with). Mentions have been made of Companions turning on you as well.

-There are some companions that simply are impossible to influence with your charms, only your actions.

-Some of the companions come from as far as Absalom and even Thuvia and you will be able to talk to them about those lands.

-Companions' stories carry through (heroic and tragic, though both are not set in stone for each character) throughout the game to the very end.

-Companions have their own choices of deities. (Presumably these are pre-selected for them).

 

Combat

-Combat format is Real Time with Pause. There's going to be an option for auto-pausing combat at the beginning of each "turn", essentially making it quasi-turn-based. "Turns" last approximately three seconds.

-Combat includes: initiative, attacks of opportunity, sneak attacks, Power Attack (as a toggle), Fighting Defensively, Spontaneous casting of heal spells, and Channeling positive energy. 

-Combat maneuvers exist in-game and use CMB and CMD. Trip is included, but Grappling is not.

-Armor Class, Touch AC and Flat Footed AC are all things.

-All three Saving Throws exist unchanged.

-Weapon Proficiencies seem unchanged.

Both Range Increments and Reach seem to be part of the game. You can see your weapons' range on your character sheet.

 

 

Other Mechanics:

-The game currently includes a comprehensive Alignment meter which plays a significant role in the game. There are a lot of choices that shift your alignment towards one of the nine possible, and your current alignment sometimes affects the way NPC react to you. Avellone likened it to how alignment was implemented in Planescape Torment. The Alignment system is meant to be descriptive, not prescriptive. There's a really cool Alignment graph that tracks your progression over time.

-There is No Crafting, instead there's a Royal Artisans system that will make magic items (and even Artifacts) for you. Scribe Scroll still exists however.

-You can either auto-select the best party member for a skill check, or manually select who you want to attempt it.

-Difficulty levels are: Core Rules (similar to tabletop Pathfinder but real time, not turn based), adapted rules (less deadly for less experienced, crits deadliness reduced), story mode (really simple combat), Iron man (tougher monsters, just one save that overwrites itself so accept your mistakes), and custom (for example, core rules with reduced crits).

-The level up screen will suggest options to you sort of like Amazon's "If you liked X you might also like Y."

-Wings will be in the system, and they will do something cool "we instead may, for example, give a sorcerer an ability to create strong winds and push the enemies away with a flap of his wings or will allow him to reposition himself on the battlefield by flying up and landing elsewhere."

-The AI can help you control the characters in battle.

-There will be no Flying in Combat or Mounted Combat.

-This update can tell you About Mechanics and Character creation.

-Regarding Flanking and Reach: "Exact positioning is far less predictable in the game without a grid and therefore we have to make it less important. For that we will have simplified rules for everything that works with positioning on the field. For example, reach weapons will have greater range and no penalties in melee, but will not give the wielder an attack of opportunity when the target moves from 10' to 5' squares. And we are still testing several approaches to flanking."

-"There will be no grappling for characters, for monsters with special abilities based on grappling rules for it will be greatly simplified."

-No Leadership feat. You're already running a kingdom and your party are your cohorts.

-There IS permanent companion death, but not on all difficulties. It depends on your play mode: (story) companions get back up, (normal) companions get up but are at death's door and will die permanently if hit again, and (hardcore) they're dead. Resurrection and Raise Dead are part of the experience, though. There will be more difficulty levels than those 3, and you will be able to choose from a lot of options to customize difficulty for yourself.

-Following evil deities will have consequences in the relationships with other countries and NPCs.

-There is some randomization of loot from ordinary creatures, such as the amount of gold and other minor items they carry, but boss loot will be fixed.

-All item slots which exist in the tabletop will be represented in Kingmaker. 

-There are 5 Belt Slots for Consumable items like potions.

-You will have 4 weapon sets available to swap between. Non-selected (but still equipped) Weapon sets will show up on your character model. and you will be able to draw them both in combat and on the inventory screen with an accompanying animation.

-Exploration is not a standalone system. Random encounters will happen on the map, as will skill checks and the discovery of new areas, you can run from random encounters as well.

-Explanation of Characters, Animation and Inventory

-Firearms do not seem to be included in game, but there has been no definitive word from the devs either way.

 

 

The Kingdom:

-There are playable companions as well as NPCs you can assign to kingdom roles (from Ultimate Campaign), with enough choices for 2-3 options for each role.

-Advisers will give advice based on their personality. this may not be the best advice. You will have to interpret it.

-Expanding The Kingdom is the initial goal of the Kickstarter.

-You can add more than 14 regions to your kingdom.

-There are 300 Kingdom Events and 100 Kingdom Projects.

-You can ally with outside Factions, there are 9 allies currently, one for each alignment. these include the Witches of Irrisen. They'll be walking around the streets of your capitol.

-The Kickstarter aims to:

--Make the Kingdom's appearance reflect your alignment and choices.

--Let you recruit royal artisans to your kingdom that make you cool stuff (including Artifacts). The Creative Director Alexander Mishulin also mentioned a "Royal Cook (Cooking Royal Artisan)" But that may have been a joke.

--Add more responsiveness to your choices (for example saving a troll family could let you unlock a Troll Bridge building and a Legendary club they make for you, and how you solve problems would unlock different rewards for them).

--Add randomized Kingdom events that make your kingdom different in every playthrough.

-This Update can tell you more about your kingdom.

-Kingdom Roles will be similar to Ultimate campaign, but with fewer roles for less redundancy. There is no Heir, and Ruler has been modified so you don't need high Charisma. Also your player character gets the role of king no matter what. Leaders will be tied to certain stats and there will be positions that are based on Charisma (Like Grand Diplomat)

-Your state is a barony at first with some of the roles absent, but they will become available as your state upgades to a kingdom.

-"It's not really Kingdom management without the political drama, really, and Owlcat realized that from the get-go with the design." Chris Avellone says. He also says "It's pretty Game of Thrones. I don't say that lightly."

-Your vassals will have an opinion about you, and if they are unhappy - different events could happen, including their opposition to you.

-Owlcat is not really holding back on evil/seediness in the Kingdom. You can build Brothels. Building Brothels doesn't make your kingdom evil.

-The Stolen Lands is divided into 14 regions (number of regions may be subject to change). Most of them will have settlements of some kind, including those in AP, like Varnhold.

-There will be buildings that require certain alignment and alliance with one of the ambassadors. Some will be tied to the certain resolutions of the story encounters and kingdom events. 

-You will have to make decisions involving your neighboring countries, which will all have consequences.

-Expect to see Embeth Woodsmen, Mivoni Aldori or some other neighbors (and not only neighbors) visiting you.

-As your Kingdom grows regions in your kingdom become better defended and advisers point out new areas on the map within your kingdom's boundaries. Also you will move faster as roads in your Kingdom improve.

 

 

Miscellaneous Stuff:

-Owlcat is in close contact with Paizo in developing this. They're also running 4 simultaneous Kingmaker campaigns.

-Character sheet screens are super detailed.

-Tooltips exist which provide Golarion and Pathfinder-based lore.

-Initial languages for Localization are: English, German, French, and Russian. More may be available as Stretch goals based on popular demand.

-Digital Release is planned for GOG and Steam.

-No matter what Race you play you can choose your Gender and Skin tone.

-The premium digital version includes some backer-only in-game items (a special cloak, a helmet and a ring, as well as one unique and quirky spell). The regular digital edition comes with a cloak.

-Chris Avellone has expresed desire for Owlkittens to be in the game. I continue to hold out hope for a cool Owlkitten pet.

-There will be an option for the colorblind, and all spoken text will be available in written form (wither in interactions or in logs) for the hearing impaired.

-Beta is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

-The alpha is planned for fall this year (2017).

-Owlcat is working on a "smart AI," which will keep you on your toes especially against enemy spellcasters. This probably does not mean a learning, evolving AI.

-Inon Zur, composer for Icewind Dale II, Baldur's Gate II, Fallout 3 & 4, Escaflone, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age II, and Power Rangers: Turbo is composing the music.

-Character models will depict the items they are wearing. Owlcat is planning to make color schemes available, but that is not set in stone.

-The team consists of at least 4 programmers/6 artists and animators (and 20+ on outsource)/15 designers (system, UI, level, narrative), and 1 Chris Avellone (possibly more than one). Those are just the tech, art, and design teams—they also have a QA team and a management team.

-Amiri is apparently the iconic for the image on Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens' business card. She is also one of their cats.

-There are currently no plans for DLC.

-Expect a lot of influence from the four campaigns of Kingmaker they are running.

-They love magic items and want to make them more interesting

-Everything you equip including consumables and weapons you are not currently wielding, shows up on your character.

-One of the devs has a really neat axe.

-Update by Chris Avellone on narrative design.

 

 

System Requirements:

Minimal system requirements

Video: Intel HD Graphics 3000

CPU: Intel Celeron 1037U @ 1.80GHz

RAM: 4 Gb

OS: Win 7

Resolution: 1366 x 768

Recommended system requirements

Video: ATI Radeon HD 5770/GeForce GTX 960M

CPU: Intel Core i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz

RAM: 8 Gb

OS: Win 7

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

[Stratagemini]

This Update promises a Post Adventure Path Story Chapter, and Linux and Mac Support at 700k. Archetypes after that.

[Stratagemini]

I think I recall some people complaining about the use of Real Time with Pause earlier on this thread. Apparently RTwP was implemented due to legal issues with the OGL and Wizards of the Coast. So Turn-Based was never really on the table for a Pathfinder game as a legal impossibility.

[redneckdevil]

As a GM, I actually welcome the real time with pause, but that's because of a lil nitpick I have with turn base for the flow of combat.

[Stratagemini]

New Update by Inon Zur on the Music of Pathfinder (which sounds pretty neat, not gonna lie)

[Gromnir]

iwd is our favorite game soundtrack, but iwd 2 is such a close second as to be functional equal.  inon zur did a fantastic job on the icewind dale sequel.  as such, while game music is rare a major concern for us, am looking forward to what mr. zur does for kingmaker.

 

 

didn't read the zur link, but will look at it eventual.

 

am still ambivalent 'bout this kickstarter but am hopeful the title is successful as am wanting to see future pathfinder crpg titles released.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Agiel]

Devs are indeed a bit of an unknown factor, which has deterred me from backing it, but if the reviews on release show it to be as much worth my time as PoE and D: OS then I'd be happy to pay the full MSRP for it. It has frequently been observed that the IWD games were great combat RPGs in search of a great story and something like PS: T was a great story in need of a great combat RPG.

 

Hope that like the Icewind Dale games the PC soundsets are similarly awesome (as opposed to the mostly atrocious ones in NWN2 which I'm revisiting right now). 

 

 

Particularly fond of the female HOW_1 voiceset, which exudes the right mixture of confidence, competence, wit, bloodthirst, and feminine charm. Sadly I've been unable to discern who the voice actress is.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Agiel

[injurai]

Just only now saw this.

 

«I’m a Paizo fan, and a Pathfinder fan. I like the setting, the art style, the adventure paths, the card game, and the iconic characters. I’ve enjoyed playing Pathfinder with my friends (we used to be part of an Ocean’s-11 style game), and I’ve enjoyed the comics, the world, and the overall setting. I’m excited by the prospect of bringing Pathfinder to the computer RPG world, and hope gamers will enjoy playing in the Pathfinder universe.»

 

This MCA quote is ridiculous. It sounds like one of those parody's of Trump based on him during the election cycle...

 

The campaign seems well put together. Way more so than anything InXile has attempted. I've never experienced anything Pathfinder so I'm not particular interested in that aspect. I can see the cartoony 3D graphics being a bit more appealing to people who aren't into rp-realism. Might make this more of a hit with the youtube crowd.

[Hiro Protagonist II]

This looks like the game I was expecting with PoE which I found disappointing. I'm liking what I see even though I've never played or don't know anything about the pathfinder universe.

[Labadal]

Cool stretch goal.

 

New stretch goal – 3 Archetypes or alternative features for each class

A satisfying RPG experience relies heavily on your ability to create just the character you want, to bring your character concept to life as accurately as possible. But some character concepts are not conventional and stray away from well-trodden paths. Yet classes were made with specific, more general concepts in mind, and while they allow many different builds – some less conventional approaches are left unsupported. The Pathfinder RPG has a feature that covers those wishes: Archetypes.

Archetypes are not new classes on their own, but merely modifications of an already existing class, although the extent of modification varies greatly from case to case. Archetypes remove some class features from their base class, change others, modify existing choices and numerical bonuses of the class. In some cases, they just replace one feature with a feature of another class, and in some cases, they replace significant parts of the class, with an array of completely new abilities.

Sometimes you want your character to specialize in a certain specific part of their class far more than representatives of this class usually do. For example, let's say you want to play a cleric that concentrates on summoning monsters, but find that this specialization is hard to achieve with just the conventional cleric. There is an archetype that fits this purpose perfectly. The Cleric's Herald Caller archetype concentrates on summoning allies to fight for him. While he loses his ability to wear medium armor, equip shields and only has one domain, he can convert his spells into summoning spells in the middle of combat, and the creatures he summons are far more formidable and numerous.

 

 

Sometimes you want to take a different approach to a conventional role, for example, to create a tanking fighter that relies on his swordsmanship alone – yet every time you look up your abilities your conviction wavers. You see that equipping a shield would make your character a better tank, but you never envisioned him hiding behind a shield in battle. On the other hand, not using one makes you feel that you aren’t using your character to his full potential. In this case, you may look for an archetype instead – and find one that fits your idea. For example, the Aldori Defender, a fighter archetype with his roots in the fencing school of Aldori Swordlords, prefers to master his parrying techniques instead of relying on shields.

 

 

And sometimes you want to go even further. For example, create a magus, who is skilled with a bow. There is simply no way to do that with the basic magus class – his abilities work with one-handed melee weapons, and the bow is neither. Only archetypes can help you with this, and there is one designed specifically with that purpose in mind. The magus' Eldritch Archer archetype allows him to use his abilities with any ranged weapon and, instead of charging his blade with close combat spells, this archetype allows the magus to charge his attacks with long range spells, shooting fiery rays from his crossbow or launching bolts of lightning together with a javelin.

And that’s not the extent of possible archetypes – there are far more of them in Pathfinder. There’s the Sword Saint, a magus archetype that abandons armor and some of his spellcasting to become a master of one chosen weapon. There’s the Vivisectionist – an alchemist that replaces his signature ability to throw bombs with deadly sneak attacks. Ecclesitheurge – a cleric, favoring the perfection of his divine magic abilities over his martial prowess. Armored Hulk – a heavily armored barbarian. Sacred Huntsmaster and Mad Dog – inquisitor and barbarian with animal companions. And the list goes on and on.

 

 

Some classes, like Sorcerer or Wizard, while lacking these vast amounts of archetypes, have alternative class features that can replace them - subschools and wild bloodlines. We want to add even more choices, and depth to our game, to both, improve the base gameplay and provide replayability. Archetypes are a good way to do both, for they will add more meaningful choices to character creation and development, will allow us to add personalities to some companions in the form of archetypes, and to increase the variety of enemy encounters - for enemies will have archetypes, too.

What do you think about the archetypes listed above and which Pathfinder archetypes are your favorite? Let us know in the comments section!

[Messier-31]

General Kenobi.

 

Regarding Companions:

(...)

-Amiri, the Iconic Barbarian, is a companion with a lot of backstory and events happening around her throughout the game. Amiri is the only Iconic Companion.

-Harrim is a Dwarven Cleric of Groetus. He has a Mohawk looking hairdo.

• Amiri, seriously, what in the Nine Hells is this crappy looking thing you are wielding? Because if that's a sword, then I'm dumping you and your weapon the minute I see you. Wannabe anime features are worse than karate-kid-monks in fantasy settings.
• Harrim, take notes Obsidian, because you suck at dwarven companions, and this one seem pretty decent.

Ait, now about the game and setting itself.

 

If I understand correctly PATHFINDER is a copycat of the D&D (some call it 3.75 ed). Same alignment system, same core races, same other races (drow and duergar ffs), similar relations between material plane and cosmology... even Darklands are basically Underdark with a different name. I'm not totally rejected by this, because these similarities make me feel kinda "at home" but with different details. Also I'm a sucker for cliche human/elven/dwarven/halfling/orc/goblin tropes in fantasy, guilty as charged.

 

What bugs me is some of the worldbuilding. There are some questionable ideas implemented and I don't dig some of the crazy names Paizo came up with. Most of my knowledge comes from the http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Pathfinder_Wiki. Here are a few examples:

• Golarion - name of the world/planet the setting takes place. This is quite a long name, that doesn't fit the world, because it is tricky to pronounce. Eora, Arda, Toril (short for Abeir-Toril), these are much more catchy.
• Taldor - name of a country, but as far as I know this is a dwarven personal name from Forgotten Realms
• Absalom - the biggest city in the world, but this is a personal name from the Bible
• Cheliax - name of a country, but sounds like some fiend from other plane of existence (OK, this one is more of a personal quirk)
• General lack of naming consistency - Take a look at the Inner Sea map, or the entire world map. Let's stick to the Cheliax for a little bit longer: there are settlemetnts like Westcrown (English vibes), Pezzack (Arabian vibes), Corentyn (Irish vibes), Brastelwark (German vibes), Ostenso (Italian vibes), Egorian (no vibes whatsoever). What culture is in Cheliax? Because I sure don't have a clue.
• Numeria - a land where technology is on the sci-fi level, but why? Why robots and lasers in a medieval fantasy setting?

 

I do want to try this game out, but am being mistrustful a bit.

Edited July 4, 2017 by Messier-31

[Raithe]

General Kenobi.

 

Regarding Companions:

(...)

-Amiri, the Iconic Barbarian, is a companion with a lot of backstory and events happening around her throughout the game. Amiri is the only Iconic Companion.

-Harrim is a Dwarven Cleric of Groetus. He has a Mohawk looking hairdo.

• Amiri, seriously, what in the Nine Hells is this crappy looking thing you are wielding? Because if that's a sword, then I'm dumping you and your weapon the minute I see you. Wannabe anime features are worse than karate-kid-monks in fantasy settings.
•  

 

 

Obviously the image comes from the iconic anime style... But the backstory is that as a Barbarian she gets those boosts to strength, and her native tribe has a fair bit of conflict with Frost Giants from the nearby mountains. So she has this a sword she claimed from the first Giant foe she killed that she's able to use whenever she goes into barbarian rage/frenzy. If I recall correctly.

[Mamoulian War]

To understand, why Cheliax has such "inconsistency" in general naming, you have to read some fictional history about the region, where is now Cheliax. It's empire in the service of devils, that's the why the name of the empire sounds devilish, too. There was a lot of wars in this region, and lot of towns and settlements did belong to different states/empires in history.

 

If you are interested about history of Golarion, the only places, where to find complete lore is Paizo's Inner Sea World Guide and Inner Sea Gods books.

 

About copycating the DnD, well, it's up to everyone taste. I really do not like where WotC headed with 4th and 5th Editions, so I am really happy, that PFRPG is based on OGL version of DnD 3.5, and feels familiar, with most of the content and makes it better.

 

The only thing, which I do not like in the rules is non-magical crafting :-P

 

And about Numeria, well there are some other regions, completely different to other places, and what makes you quation their decision to put that content, there is also backstory about that, also possible to find in the ISWG, but also in the People of the Stars Player Companion, or Campaign Setting. Aaand also the is the Great Beyond book, which also covers extra-golarionians, or in other words aliens, which have a big conection to Numeria as well...

[Messier-31]

 

Obviously the image comes from the iconic anime style... But the backstory is that as a Barbarian she gets those boosts to strength, and her native tribe has a fair bit of conflict with Frost Giants from the nearby mountains. So she has this a sword she claimed from the first Giant foe she killed that she's able to use whenever she goes into barbarian rage/frenzy. If I recall correctly.

 

Whatever the reason, this just looks terrible.

 

To understand, why Cheliax has such "inconsistency" in general naming, you have to read some fictional history about the region, where is now Cheliax. It's empire in the service of devils, that's the why the name of the empire sounds devilish, too. There was a lot of wars in this region, and lot of towns and settlements did belong to different states/empires in history.

 

And they didn't rename them after conquest because...?

[Agiel]

And it looks more ridiculous than, say, a giant hand summoned by a Wizard to crush his or her foes?

[aluminiumtrioxid]

Whatever the reason, this just looks terrible.

 

It doesn't.

[Belle Sorciere]

Looks fine to me.

[Messier-31]

Ruh-roh... I see a ridiculously oversized sword.

 

 

And it looks more ridiculous than, say, a giant hand summoned by a Wizard to crush his or her foes?

 

 

 

Whatever the reason, this just looks terrible.

 

It doesn't.

 

 

 

Looks fine to me.

 

 

Good: Agiel, aluminiumtrioxid, Belle Sorciere

Bad: rjshae, Messier-31, ShadySands

 

Let's just say de gustibus non est disputandum, and be done with it.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Messier-31

[Mamoulian War]

 

 

To understand, why Cheliax has such "inconsistency" in general naming, you have to read some fictional history about the region, where is now Cheliax. It's empire in the service of devils, that's the why the name of the empire sounds devilish, too. There was a lot of wars in this region, and lot of towns and settlements did belong to different states/empires in history.

And they didn't rename them after conquest because...?

Well evil Soviet Empire also did not renamed our cities during occupation from 1968-1990 to sound more Russian )

[ShadySands]

I don't like the huge sword either

[Kirk]

"Well evil Soviet Empire also did not renamed our cities during occupation from 1968-1990 to sound more Russian )"

 

No, they didn't in Czechoslovakia after 1968, but they did so earlier - Zlin became Gottwaldov, Katowice became Stalinogród, Chemnitz became Karl-Marx-Stadt and so on. The same happened in Ukraine and in Russia proper.

 

But that's not on topic.

 

I backed this game, even though I do know nothing about Pathfinder (I barely knew that it exists) and have some hopes in it. I'm not emotionally invested the way I am in Pillars or was in Torment: Numenera, but still I feel some thrill reading updates. I just hope for a good isometric RPG game Baldur's Gate style - and that's it.

Edited July 5, 2017 by Kirk

[Mamoulian War]

"Well evil Soviet Empire also did not renamed our cities during occupation from 1968-1990 to sound more Russian )"

 

No, they didn't in Czechoslovakia after 1968, but they did so earlier - Zlin became Gottwaldov, Katowice became Stalinogród, Chemnitz became Karl-Marx-Stadt and so on. The same happened in Ukraine and in Russia proper.

 

But that's not on topic.

 

I backed this game, even though I do know nothing about Pathfinder (I barely knew that it exists) and have some hopes in it. I'm not emotionally invested the way I am in Pillars or was in Torment: Numenera, but still I feel some thrill reading updates. I just hope for a good isometric RPG game Baldur's Gate style - and that's it.

Zlin became Gottwaldov not beacuse of Soviet Union, but becuase of Communistic party of Czechoslovakia in "honor" of the first post-war leader of Communistic party. It wa pure inside job. Chemnitz to Karl-Marx-Stadt also inside job, Gottwald and Karl Marx were not Russians nor Soviets.

 

I know Ukraine and Baltic are completely different case, but I was just showing an example, that even in occupation, there is no need to convert all city names to the empire nomenclature

[Gromnir]

I don't like the huge sword either

the oversized sword in question annoyed us to the point we complained 'bout it on the paizo boards way back when the iconic barbarian were first revealed.  unfortunate, our typical complaint 'bout aesthetic disconnect were falling on deaf ears. complain 'bout a cartoony looking hammer or breastplate in WoW is silly given how the overall aesthetic o' WoW is clear meant to be cartoony with comic book-style color palatte and near universal ridiculous proportions. converse, a WoW character wielding a historic accurate warhammer would be o' concern to us as such would be similar out-of-place as is the pathfinder barbarian iconic's sword.  

 

at paizo there were considerable nerd rage regarding the barbarian's sword.  arguments were all too familiar as were people fighting for many pages o' thread 'bout whether such a weapon were plausible. 

 

afterwards we foreswore the paizo boards.  only other time posting were in regards to the inquisitor class.

 

HA! Good Fun!