Following the recent announcement, narrative designer Chris Avellone held a special Pathfinder: Kingmaker Q&A to answer some burning fan questions. Along with discussing his own affinity with the pen-and-paper Pathfinder game, Avellone revealed more about the game’s story and the player’s quest in the River Kingdoms.
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For those who aren’t dedicated tabletop Pathfinder players, Kingmaker is one of Pathfinder’s already established ‘adventure paths’. These are pre-made adventures where players make their own character and progress through a set storyline with its own themes and unique gameplay mechanics. In the case of both the original adventure path and Pathfinder: Kingmaker, players are tasked with building their own kingdom from the ground up. For Avellone and the team at Owlcat Games, Kingmaker has enough “breathing room to add more narrative and quests without disrupting the classic adventure path itself,” so both new and veteran Kingmaker players can get something out of this CRPG.
“Many of the characters and setting from the pen-and-paper version of Kingmaker” will appear in the game says Avellone, but there are changes which should make veterans “pleasantly surprised” with this redone version of the Kingmaker adventure. There will be plenty of sidequests for players to complete as they run through Pathfinder: Kingmaker, with there being “other ways to achieve your goals” besides just swordplay or speechcraft.
Much like the actual tabletop games, Pathfinder: Kingmaker will have you gathering a motley crew of supporters to help build your kingdom. Familiar faces from the original adventure path will show up, with players being able to recruit Amiri to their party.
All of your companions will have their own story arcs, with the overarching story of Kingmaker “chang[ing] considerably depending on your party composition.” Your party members aren’t “simply walking backpacks and stats” says Avellone, as they can leave or even betray you based on certain decisions you make during the campaign. Each companion has their own alignment and set of principles, so acting against their beliefs make cause them to leave your group.
Romancing your party members is an option as well, but be wary that a night-time tryst may sow the seed of another character’s betrayal. You can also be completely evil if that lights your candle, with Avellone stating that players can be both “cruel” and “cunning” when it comes to completing quests.
You can check out the whole interview with Mr Avellone right here, and expect more news about Pathfinder: Kingmaker later in the year.