Pathfinder: Kingmaker

[Sardan]

 

Looks interesting:

 

 

Quote

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is an isometric single-player RPG based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Kingmaker Adventure Path. 

 

The Game World 

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is the first single-player computer RPG based on the acclaimed Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. The game invites players to Golarion, a world rich with history, mystery, and conflict, and gives players the chance to claim part of this world as their own.

 

Pathfinder has considerable depth, not only in its lore, but also in its game mechanics, and in the freedom it offers you to develop your own unique character. You can customize your character with a wide range of classes and powers including specialized archetypes, powerful arcane and divine spells, choosing from a multitude of class abilities, skills and feats. Pathfinder allows players to create heroes (or villains) that fit both their individual gameplay styles and their personalities.

The Story

 

In the north lies the Stolen Lands, a region that has been contested territory for centuries. Hundreds of kingdoms have risen and fallen in these lands, and now it is time for you to make your mark—by building your own kingdom! To do so, you’ll need to survive the harsh wilderness and the threat of rival nations… as well as threats within your own court.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is based on Paizo’s award-winning Pathfinder Adventure Path of the same name. You certainly don’t need to be familiar with the story, but if you are, you will encounter characters you know and love. Either way, you will experience a host of brand-new events, companions, allies, and threats that expand and enhance the original Adventure Path. With help from Paizo and their authors, the story and quests have been expanded by RPG writer Chris Avellone and the Owlcat team, allowing for even more adventure in the already rich narrative of the Stolen Lands.

 

While Pathfinder: Kingmaker is a single-player game, you won’t be adventuring alone. Pathfinder: Kingmaker features a diverse cast of companions and NPCs, including iconic characters from the Pathfinder setting itself. You’ll need to decide who to trust and who to watch carefully, as each companion has an agenda, alignment, and goals that may differ from yours. Your journey will become their journey, and you’ll help shape their lives both in the moment and well into the future.

 

Your Kingdom 

We chose to adapt the Kingmaker adventure path because it features a host of open-world mechanics, allowing players to experience the story at their own pace as they explore the Stolen Lands, which will challenge you as both an adventurer and a ruler.

 

Most importantly, the game allows you to claim these lands as your own, letting you carve your own kingdom from the wilderness. While classic dungeon crawling and exploration lie at the heart of this adventure, diplomacy, politics, and the ability to lead troops in the field are also part of the challenge. Choose your allies well, and keep them close while exploring ancient tombs and ruins—and while dealing with politics in your own court.

 

As you’ll discover, building a kingdom goes beyond simply building a stronghold: Your kingdom is a reflection of your character and your choices throughout the game. It is a living thing shaped by your alignment, your allies, and your ability to lead your people. Not only can your kingdom expand, opening up new territories and allowing you to build new towns and communities, but your capital city will physically change based on your decisions, your policies, and even whom you choose to ally with. As your kingdom grows, a number of factions and neighboring countries will come to you to seek favor—and to test your strength.

 

If you fail, your kingdom will be destroyed, but if you succeed, you’ll have made a nation where countless others have failed.  

Your kingdom awaits! Do you have the strength to rule it?

 

 

 

I'm quite wary of kick-starters but this is right up my street.  Looks like the Temple of Elemental Evil game I thoroughly enjoyed (and the last proper D&D game as far as I am aware).  Pathfinder is a version of D&D 3.5 and this particular Campaign was very highly regarded.

 

The Kickstarter has finished but it is available for pre-order here.  I'm tempted...

[Nespresso]

 

Looks interesting. 

[davejm]

Bump 😀

 

Did anyone play this?  Not sure how this buzzed my radar, but I ended up watching loads of videos and bought the game recently.  Since then I've spent an age suffering from choice paralysis on character creation 😆

 

Pondering whether to use the turn based mode, and current class considerations are Ranger, Eldritch Archer or Sorcerer.

[Captain Kelsten]

I played it a bit. It was…okay. The sequel, Wrath of the Righteous, was far better for the most part. 

[Zael]

It's one of my favourite crpgs. I too preferred Wrath of the Righteous but there's not a lot between the two imo. It can be quite dense though if you're not used to crpgs or the Pathfinder ruleset.

[davejm]

I've played most of the CRPGs, but no exposure to Pathfinder before.

[Zael]

Yeah you should be fine then. It has a few finnicky things like different Armour Class values or just feats in general. But if you're used to games played in the older editions of D&D you'll be grand. 

[Captain Kelsten]

Pathfinder is needlessly complex as a system imo but doesn’t take too long to figure out if you invest the time. 

[ox1973]

There's a steep learning curve, but it's worth it I would say. Don't get many games this dense these days (and I mean that in a good way!)

[davejm]

Still can't get through character creation 😆 I've narrowed it down to Sorcerer for a charisma based build, or Sage Sorcerer for the INT focus.  Thoughts?

[Zael]

Casters are a lot of fun. Just make sure you understand the whole metamagic and spell focus stuff. Basically the way Pathfinder works even though you get access to a bunch of spells, by the time you hit mid/late game only the schools of magic you've focused on/empowered spells through metamagic will be able to hit anything.

 

Think of it like how a melee character specialises in a single weapon, casters are the same in Pathfinder. 

[davejm]

Thanks, yep I'd clocked that from watching a few videos the last few days so I'll keep that in mind as I do my build.

[davejm]

What are your thoughts on the usefulness of CHA vs INT?  Sorcerer and Sage Sorcerer seem similar, just using either stat as their base.

 

WIP Sorcerer (CHA focussed)

 

WIP Sage Sorcerer (INT focussed)

[Zael]

In terms of the stats themselves I wouldn't compare the two. First off go with the kit you prefer and base the stat off that.

 

If you really want to plan things out then it does kind of matter if you want to multiclass. There are so many builds in Pathfinder I couldn't give you an example for the Sorc or Sage Sorc off the top of my head but if you do want to multiclass into a class that uses INT as a primary stat then you want to pick Sage for example.

 

In terms of the raw stats themselves from what I can remember neither govern saving throws, Charisma will help you with persuasion checks, INT with Arcane and you get more skill points with higher INT. 

[davejm]

Cool, I'm just gonna dive in and not worry too much.  I'll just pick one and go with it.

 

I'll be playing on a low difficulty anyway.

[Zael]

Sounds good. Generally the rule of thumb with pure casters is you don't want to multiclass with them since getting to the next level of spells is so crucial. It tends to go the other way where classes will dip into Sorc or Wizard.

 

As long as you know about metamagic and spell focus you'll be absolutely fine with just going pure Sorc. 

[Mr. Gerbik]

1 hour ago, davejm said:

What are your thoughts on the usefulness of CHA vs INT?  Sorcerer and Sage Sorcerer seem similar, just using either stat as their base.

 

WIP Sorcerer (CHA focussed)

 

WIP Sage Sorcerer (INT focussed)

Am I weird that crpg stat screenshots like these make me want to get this game  asap?

[davejm]

1 minute ago, Mr. Gerbik said:

Am I weird that crpg stat screenshots like these make me want to get this game  asap?

 

Maybe, but that makes me weird also as seeing the character creation screens in videos and cheap price has hooked me in

[Zael]

Oh another tip that popped into my head. The game has an amazing difficulty menu, go into it and have a look. The game defaults to RAW which is probably fine for pen and paper Pathfinder but imo doesn't work for a video game.

 

Things like healing fully and getting rid of all status effects on a rest, dead companions rise after combat etc. 

[davejm]

Just now, Zael said:

Oh another tip that popped into my head. The game has an amazing difficulty menu, go into it and have a look. The game defaults to RAW which is probably fine for pen and paper Pathfinder but imo doesn't work for a video game.

 

Things like healing fully and getting rid of all status effects on a rest, dead companions rise after combat etc. 

 

Yeah, I've gone for the easy difficulty with some tweaks similar to what you mention there.

 

I've switched on the turn based mode too as I tend to prefer this in CRPGs.