Pathfinder CRPG with Avellone and without Obsidian announced

[Raithe]

It's simple. A sword like that makes sense when wielded by a Frost Giant. It is a little silly for a normal sized human to attempt to pick up a giant's weapon and wield it, but hey, in a world of magic, and strength boosting rage frenzy... Sometimes the apparent rule of cool will win out over basic physics.

[Agiel]

Basic physics would also have dictated that Frost Giants would have faced an evolutionary dead-end millennia ago due to the square-cube law. If one were to spontaneously manifest on a planet with similar gravity as ours then it would have dropped dead from a heart attack in an instant.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Agiel

[Messier-31]

Yeah, well, as long as that sword can be replaced with something less ridiculous, said character may not end up on my ignore list.

[Mamoulian War]

According to the sword. Just check her Statblock

 

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/npcCodex/iconic/amiri.html

 

At level 12, she has STR score of 30 in rage, 24 base stat. Compared to STR of average human in Golarion, which is 10, I do not see the reason, why she would not be able to swing this sword, like average humans are able to swing a wooden stick...

 

According to Carrying Capacity table, STR 24 means to be able carry up to 233lbs and still be light load. Her real carrying capacity is 700lbs.

 

While raging, she can carry with light load stuff up to 532lbs, while her maximum carrying capacity is 1600lbs.

 

That effectively means, she is able to lift off ground 1400lbs, respectivelly 3200lbs while raging, without shedding a single sweat drop...

 

1000 pounds is 453,9 kg

 

To compare it further, Adult Red Chromatic Dragon has STR score of 31...

 

Now tell me, do you still think, she is unable to swing such a big sword?

 

You should be more familiar with the stuff you critize ;-)

 

Edit. Even with her starting level 1 STR 16-18, she is able to carry around 230-300lbs depending on raging, without feeling any fatigue... that means 8 hours without need of break.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Mamoulian War

[Messier-31]

Now tell me, do you still think, she is unable to swing such a big sword?

 

It's not about whether she is able/unable to use it.

 

It's about how ridiculous it looks from an aesthetic pov.

[Mamoulian War]

I would completely agree with your take on aestethics, if a commoner with STR 8 to 10 would wield such a weapon. Yes you are right, it would be completely ridiculous.

 

But she can use it. Even if she would swing with trunk of a big tree, it still would feel normal for her, because according to game rules, she has the physical qualities to perform such a task.

 

You should not compare her statue to other humans from Golarion, nor Real Life. She should be compared to the Dragon. Yes she does look different, but she is almost as powerful...

 

Would I be able to swing such a sword? Not even in my dreams.

 

Would she be able to swing it? Absolutely.

 

Therefore, according to the rules of PFRPG and the laws of the PF Universe, the sword is fitting her.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Mamoulian War

[Mamoulian War]

Comparing Golarion and Earth is the same as comparing Earth and Mars.

 

If humans could travel to Mars, with their current physical statue, they would be able to lift aproximately 3 times heavier load, then their are able to lift on Earth.

[Messier-31]

I would completely agree with your take on aestethics, if a commoner with STR 8 to 10 would wield such a weapon. Yes you are right, it would be completely ridiculous.

 

But she can use it. Even if she would swing with trunk of a big tree, it still would feel normal for her, because according to game rules, she has the physical qualities to perform such a task.

 

I have physical qualities to wear multiple rings on every finger. Still ridiculous.

[Mamoulian War]

Well some people have different tastes. For one person it's ridiculous, for some a way of self-expression :-P

 

Look here

 

 

He might look ridiculous to you, but that does not make his "equip" unrealistic ;-)

Edited July 6, 2017 by Mamoulian War

[Messier-31]

I take it he is like that 24/7   

[blotter]

A sword like that makes sense when wielded by a Frost Giant.

 

 

Not really. Bastard swords sized for humans average around 4 feet in length in Pathfinder, according to the wiki (http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Bastard_sword). According to that same wiki (http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Frost_giant),Frost Giants are generally around 15 feet tall. There's no specific mention of the average height for humans in Pathfinder that I could find (not that there needs to be either), but if you go by http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/ageHeightWeight.html#core-race-random-height-weight, it's probably around 5'3" for women and 5'8" for men. Given that the sword's "only" about as tall as her, it'd probably be on the petite side for an ogre's bastard sword, let alone a frost giant's.

 

Regardless of whether it's too big, too small, or just right in terms of size, it's still pretty damned ugly to me.

[Stratagemini]

Not really. Bastard swords sized for humans average around 4 feet in length in Pathfinder, according to the wiki (http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Bastard_sword). According to that same wiki (http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Frost_giant),Frost Giants are generally around 15 feet tall. There's no specific mention of the average height for humans in Pathfinder that I could find (not that there needs to be either), but if you go by http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advancedRaceGuide/ageHeightWeight.html#core-race-random-height-weight, it's probably around 5'3" for women and 5'8" for men. Given that the sword's "only" about as tall as her, it'd probably be on the petite side for an ogre's bastard sword, let alone a frost giant's.

 

Regardless of whether it's too big, too small, or just right in terms of size, it's still pretty damned ugly to me.

 

 

I'm pretty sure it was retconned to only be a Bastard Sword for her. For the Giant, it's a knife. Like a Bowie Knife in size, but still a knife.

[Mamoulian War]

The studio opened Paypal for pledges/preorders.

[blotter]

 

 

 I'm pretty sure it was retconned to only be a Bastard Sword for her. For the Giant, it's a knife. Like a Bowie Knife in size, but still a knife.

 

In the origin story from http://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Amiri Amiri's motivation depends on one-upping a tribesman who boasted of seizing a frost giant's dagger as a trophy and describes the weapon she finds by the frost giant corpse as an "immense bastard sword", but it could be out of date. The handle would be a bit odd in light of that, but that's easily explained by her getting some smith to customize the weapon to be more manageable for her. It does make for a less impressive origin story though: the first tribesman brags about his frost giant dagger, Amiri finds a slightly bigger dagger, tries brandishing it before her other tribesmen when she learns they were trying to goad her into getting herself killed, and exiles herself from her tribe after she hacks up these other tribesmen in the midst of falling over herself trying to wield this slightly bigger dagger. 

 

Then again, they said the earlier dagger was the size of the guy's arm, so maybe it was more of a letter opener or pocket knife for the frost giant in question (though frost giants don't appear to be too big on reading, or wearing pants for that matter), and there is a more respectable distinction to be drawn between a letter opener and a bowie knife.

 

I still don't like the thing, but the story does make more sense that way.

[Messier-31]

"Your Neighbors in the Stolen Lands: Future Allies and Adversaries"

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/owlcatgames/pathfinder-kingmaker/posts/1932826

 

Brevoy

I like the concept. Two different nations combined by the powerful ruler, and in decline since his house "disappeared". Did some digging in the wiki, seem this conqueror was an outsider, and came from the east. Has a Targaryen vibe to it.

 

River Kingdoms - Mivon

Dueling as a way of governing. The gameplay takes place in Stolen Lands, but it would be a shame not to highlight such lore somewhere in game.

 

River Kingdoms - Pitax

Some really nice info in the update, not many *artists* in games... but that name sounds like some damn Pokemon [why.jpg]

 

Numeria

Already stated my concerns about sci-fi tech stuff in a medieval fantasy, but the abovementioned update says close to nothing about it, so maybe this Numeria thing will not be such a big deal after all.

 

"New stretch goal - Goblin companion"

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/owlcatgames/pathfinder-kingmaker/posts/1932923

 

As it turns out, Nok-Nok aspires to be more than a warty, scabby head-drum – he is convinced that he is a deity-to-be. He’s just having some difficulty making anyone else realize it. He can recite many tales of heroics and can expound at great length on how he’s bravely fled from dogs, how he set fire to his own hair when he couldn’t find firewood (he neglected to cut it from his head first), and how he’s learned how to block kicks and punches by using his head as a shield. And that’s just the beginning of his legendary journey to greatness.

 

Tiax wannabe, anyone?

Edited July 10, 2017 by Messier-31

[Stratagemini]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/6maqvu/ama_with_the_devs_of_pathfinder_kingmaker_on_july/ There's an AMA going on Now.

 

There's a Twitch Stream with someone named Chris Avellone scheduled for later tonight.

[Raithe]

Numeria...  Well, it's an odd one. But think of it as Conan of Cimmeria's homeland if an alien spaceship had crashed down like the Tunguska blast a few thousand years before. Lots of barbarian tribes, areas of oddball mutations from strange "mystic" energies, the occasional half-repaired robot with dodgy programming, and some creepy wizard/scholar types trying to understand the "weird artifacts" that get unearthed.

[Stratagemini]

Right. Lets see if I can get this in before the Twitch Stream. This may or may not be the last update to the list itself during the course of the kickstarter campaign:

 

Also there's a Twitch Stream Schedule for tonight at 9:00pm PDT / 12:00am EDT* / 4:00am GMT* / 6:00am CET* (*Technically begins tomorrow instead of tonight). It can be found here.

 

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/

-For those who cannot use Kickstarter, you can Pre-order the game here: https://owlcatgames.com/preorder Preorders go to funding the Kickstarter Stretch Goals, but the price on Preorders will increase once the campaign is finished funding.

-There were also two Reddit AMAs. They can be found here, and Here

-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 be writing a module for the Kickstarter in tandem with Paizo.

-Both OS X and Linux Releases were Kickstarter stretch Goals. They were funded and are now available platforms for the game

-Additional Classes and Races from other sourcebooks will be revealed in the Kickstarter and in the form of stretch goals. One is the stretch goal after Nok-Nok. Likely at 1 million dollars.

-Archetypes are a stretch Goal.

-A Goblin Companion (who is not an Alchemist) is a Stretch Goal. He's just been announced and Nok-Nok seems to be a Goblin Rogue.

-Custom companions (like in pillars of Eternity) will NOT be a stretch goal. But if there's interest in it from backer they will implement them. They are currently in discussions about it.

-Camping was 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. This goal was funded and will be in the game.

-The Second Stretch Goal was the Magus. This goal was funded and will be in the game.

-The Third (and current) Stretch Goal is an additional story chapter (as wel as mac and Linux versions). The New Chapter will be a direct continuation of the main Story (like the continuing the campaign article in the last module of the original AP). Estimates put it at adding another 10 hours of Gameplay. There is no word yet what the content of this chapter will be.

-The fourth stretch goal is Archetypes. Three for each class with some classes getting things like Sub-schools and Wild Bloodlines isntead (or possibly in addition).

-The fifth stretch goal is a New Companion.

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

- The general release versions will not anything not included in the KS versions. That is, Kickstarters will not be at a disadvantage compared to teh general public.

-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. So far a digital walkthrough and an extra premium digital version (if you've already pledged at a level which grants you one in the first place) have been announced.

-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.

-Owlcat has implemented Social Achievements, and one of the things we can all get is a non-combat Faerie dragon pet.We have already unlocked neat Wallpapers for backers and are working on more.

-Pre-orders will go towards stretch goals, but the prices will increase once the Kickstarter campaign ends.

 

Regarding the Base Game:

-The game is Single Player only

-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 worship 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 foreshadow 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.

-There are multiple endings to the game, and even aside from that, your party composition (and alignment) will factor into both the plot and the endings as well, so the replay value is high.

-The game is pretty faithful to the original AP, but not every dungeon and quest is laid out in the exact same manner. Owlcat is moving some elements around, introducing familiar characters at different points (and re-introducing where appropriate). They are also adding new content, so there will be surprises for players who have played the AP already (above and beyond the differences inherent from your individual DM's particular unique take on the AP).

-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. Non-companion NPCs will be able to be Romanced as well as some Companions (not all of them though, good romances take time to write and develop).

-You will have a lot of save slots. You will not be able to save in combat or dialog. Aside from that you will be able to save wherever you like. And there will be Ironman mode with just one save slot.

-There will be Adjustable Blood and Gore settings.

 

 

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.

-Inon Zur himself talks about the music of Pathfinder 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. None of them are Dinosaurs.

-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. Aasimar and Tieflings are similarly unlikely for the same reasons as Grippli.

-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.

-Your character will be Voiced. You will be able to select a voice for your character from several options. Although only critically important or emotional dialog will be fully voiced-over, so you will mostly hear your character in combat. While support for custom voice sets has not been confirmed, with a bit of work, fans have been able to put new custom voice sets into Unity games before.

 

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.

-If the campaign hits 800k (which seems incredibly likely) archetypes will be available. There will be three for each class (although some classes may get alternate class features instead or in addition, such as Wild Bloodlines for Sorcerors and Sub-Schools for Wizards). The archetypes and features already in development are: Alchemist - Vivisectionist, Barbarian - Armored Hulk, Mad Dog, Cleric - Herald Caller, Ecclesitheurge, Fighter - Aldori Swordlord, Inquisitor - Sacred Huntsman, Magus - Eldritch Archer, Sword Saint/Kensai, Sorcerer - Wild Bloodlines, Wizard - Subschools.

-Currently the game only has weapon divine bond for paladins, but Owlcat intends to implement the alternative Divine Bond Options in the Healer's Handbook. The Creative Director makes no promises though.

-Druid's Wildshape and Polymorph will be from a predetermined list, though there is the possibility of making some shapes unlockable. Special attacks will follow teh rules as closely as possible.

 

 

Skills

-As of right now, Skills are: Athletics, Mobility, Perception, Persuasion, Knowledge: Arcana, Knowledge: World, Stealth, Trickery, Lore: Nature, Lore: Religion, Use Magic Device.

-Skills have been condensed, similar to the way Consolidated Skills are Handled in Pathfinder: Unchained

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

-Trickery is used for disarming traps. Feinting is also under Trickery.

-Persuasion has three subcategories: Intimidate, Bluff, and Diplomacy. Bonuses like the Half-Orc Bonus to intimidate will target the appropriate subcategory.

-Lore: Nature includes:knowledge about animals and insects, survival in the wilderness, handling animals, and healing wounded or sick companions (which sounds like Survival, Handle Animal, Knowledge: Nature, and Heal). Lore Nature can be used to forage for Food.

-Lore: Religion includes: Knowledge about Gods, Outsiders, and healing mental afflictions. 

-Knowledge: World includes: information about Golarion, races, cultures, history, and current interactions, trade, and politics (Local, Geography, History, Nobility,a nd possibly Appraise?)

-Knowledge: Arcana includes: information about various unnatural phenomena, eldritch spells, enchanted items and otherworldly entities such as elementals and magical beasts (Arcana and Spellcraft).

-The Difference between "Knowledge" and "Lore" is that Lore will be Wisdom-based.

-In certain events in tha alpha, where a specific skill is required and not only can you select which party member should attempt the skill check, but the game also highlighted which character was most suitable for the task at hand. 

- The game takes note of certain things you may have in your inventory, in order to help with skill checks. For example if you picked up a rope and/or crowbar, that could help you on a difficult strength-check, or an encyclopedia volume might help on a specific knowledge ckeck.

-The skills update can be found here.

-When you are speaking checks are made by party member with greatest bonus to the required skill. In kingdom checks there are Leaders that can solve some events on their own.

-Traps are treated the Same as in the Pathfinder, you have to roll Perception vs DC of the trap, every character rolls separately. There is no special "search" mode to do that.

 

 

 

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. Amiri will have her iconic weapon available and viable even for later parts of the game

-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. Chris Avellone really wants to work on him because Jubilost is a gigantic ****.

-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. She was once a "Bonded Servant" to Numeria's Technic League. She is friends with teh Half-Orc companion Regongar.

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

-Regongar is a Half-Orc Magus who is also Octavia's Friend. He seems to be either Chaotic Neutral or Chaotic Evil. He escaped (possibly with octavia) from the clutched of Numeria's Technic League. he likes using intimidate. Regongar was originally statted as a Sorceror, but since the Magus was unlocked, he is now a Magus.

-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.

-Nok-Nok is a Goblin Rogue Companion. He is currently a Stretch Goal. He believes he is on his way to becoming a god. You can read about him here.

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

-Akiros Ismort will not be a companion.

-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 behaviors 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. Currently there are fairly simple options for the AI (switched off, using attacks that do not spend anything, make use of everything aside from AoE and consumables, etc). This may be subject to change in the future.

-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).

-You can of course put any gear you want on all the characters without restrictions (though this may be restricted on lower difficulties to keep newer players from doing things like putting full plate armor on the party wizard).

-You can influence companions' personality but that will rarely go as far as changing their alignment.

 

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. -The decision to use RTwP was a legal one.

-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.

-Combat is a lot more Managable in Kingmaker than Pillars of Eternity according to Chris Avellonne who has worked on both games.

 

 

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.

-There is a party-wide inventory, which isn't limited by anything but weight. Bags of holding will still be useful to increase the amount of stuff you can carry, but you don't get X amount of inventory spaces like in a certain older RPG, where you'd eternally lose one slot by filling it with a baby.

-The game seems like it will allow you to have all the loot picked up you've left all over the area if you don't want to click on each and every corpse.

-There will be features such as mounts and the like to carry your stuff (but not mounted combat).

-Heavier Armor will slow movement, just like in the tabletop version of the game.

-Things like bosses and monsters in certain areas or the location of secrets will not be randomized.

-However, some things will be randomized. There will be hundreds of random kingdom events, which will be different with every playthrough. There will also be random encounters, much like in the classic Fallout games, where you may bump into enemies, merchants, weird and wacky NPCs and the occasional easter egg whilst exploring the world map. And with all the companions, decisions and different outcomes and results depending on your decisions and actions.

-Owlcat intends to implement improved familiar. They are still discussing list of familiars available for it though. Dweomercat cub is on the list right now.

 

 

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." "On the narrative side, you’ve got a whole bunch of rival nations interested in your efforts, and each of them have their own way of trying to manipulate the situation. This is challenged further by your advisors and people in your own court, who have their own conscious and unconscious agendas on how the affairs of state should play out – they may be offering advice they think is best, for example, but I found myself always analyzing their backstory, their personal failings in the past (and present), and then counterbalancing their advice and judgments against the personality to see if I should trust them at their word. So, yeah, I was getting some GoT vibes and having a lot of fun."

-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.

-Your capital will reflect your alignment both visually and in the behavior of your subjects.

-Despite Chris Avellone calling it "very Game of Thrones," there are no Marital alliances planned.

-There are some story events that will be easier to complete with your kingdom supporting you, for example they will provide you with special kingdom project that (if it is completed in time) will give you additional options in the story event. And vice versa certain choices in the story will unlock new options for your kingdom.

-You can choose your kingdom's alliances/enemies on different playthroughs (it's not always the same, it depends on your choices).

-Owlcat intends to implement State religions that with religions giving different bonuses and penalties both to your kingdom and relations to your neighbors.

-Owlcat are considering implementing several spells for use with the kingdom system (like Stone Shape).

 

 

 

 

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. Owlcat's "ultimate plan is to be available on all popular distribution platforms, so our players may choose the most convenient way to download the game."

-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.

-Interview with Studio Head of Owlcat Games Oleg Shpilchevsky and Creative Director Alexander Mishulin.

-According to Chris Avellone: "the lead narrative designer. Alexander Mishulin is the Project Director/Creative Director, and he’s… well, “fan” is probably the wrong word I’d use for how he feels about Pathfinder, it seems like he’s been playing it forever, and he knows the systems and world in and out."

-A mini-Interview with Chris Avellonecan be found in the first two posts of this thread.

-Kingmaker Seminar Video from Paizocon. Now also in Podcast-form!

 

 

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

 

Mac and Linux are supported (thanks to the $700k Stretch Goal) but no System Requirements are released yet.

[Gromnir]

~$897k with a bit over an hour remaining. (edit: finished at $909k)

 

can't help but wonder what a kingmaker crowdfunded project woulda' achieved if it were obsidian developing it instead o' owlbear. 

 

the kingmaker pnp adventure path were kinda an open-world sandbox, and it were making considerable use o' non-combat solutions as well as unique combat encounters. 'course having already played kingmaker, Gromnir knows kingmaker... which kinda sux. the big reveals ain't big reveals to those o' us who already played kingmaker, and we cannot unknow how to deal with more than a few intriguing events. 

 

*shrug*

 

for every kingmaker development positive, we can think o' a couple negatives, so am continuing ambivalent.

 

if feedback from the beta is positive, we will purchase.  would be nice to play a pathfinder inquisitor in a crpg, but only if the crpg is decent.

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps if kingmaker is successful, am thinking is a foregone conclusion future pathfinder adventure paths will be developed.  am a little disappointed the kickstarter couldn't generate more money, but there is nevertheless still a chance kingmaker will be the start o' more/better pathfinder crpgs.  hell's rebels and mummy's mask are solid adventure paths and while we would prefer new material, we could see our self being enthusiastic 'bout crpg developments o' those pnp products... depending 'pon what we see from the initial kingmaker offering.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Gromnir

[HoonDing]

Girls with big swords are all the rage today.

[redneckdevil]

I was hoping more along the lines of carrion crown or rise of the runelords for their first game game.

I to think the Kickstarter would gathered much more attention and money if obsidian was doing it. I would backed if obsidian was doing it.

[Kirk]

I'm a little bit surprised that they achieved 900k, I didn't think they're gonna make it. I'm glad, 'cos I wanted a goblin companion but I don't have great expectations. I'm just hoping for a decent crpg, to play it once or twice, nothing more. 

 

I know that they are "borrowing" things from Pillars (some of them openly, some of them not), but I'm not upset. The thing is that Pillars are now something to follow and for me this game is just a economic-class product to kill time with while waiting for something big like Deadfire and its DLCs. So the more the better.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Kirk

[anameforobsidian]

I'm not crazy about the fact that they went to kickstarter while having the backing of a billion dollar publisher, so I didn't back it.  I am excited to play it though.  It definitely took a good hard look at Pillars during development, but that's a good thing.  A new isometric renaissance with several companies picking up each others ideas and pushing them further is a good thing.  Maybe Pillars 3 will have a build planner (though it has less need), the way Kingmaker is planned.  They don't all have to be the same, but the more people creating similar works, the more techniques get developed to deal with common problems.

[SonicMage117]

I'm not crazy about the fact that they went to kickstarter while having the backing of a billion dollar publisher, so I didn't back it.

Same, I just didn't want to be the one to say it since everyone here is touchy.

[Gfted1]

Them's fightin' words...