Kingmaker—Assembling the Perfect Party

Monday, September 17, 2018

One of the key elements of tabletop roleplaying games like Pathfinder is the collaborative storytelling that comes from a party of different characters all adventuring together. In many cases, the inter-party conflicts and dynamics of a campaign are as memorable as the overall plot like the villain and her motivations. In a single-player digital adaptation of such a game, capturing that same sense of disparate personalities is vital to making the final game feel like Pathfinder. Pathfinder: Kingmaker, from developers Owlcat Games emulates this cherished aspect of the genre perfectly with their wide array of supporting characters players can combine into the perfect team.

While players have the ability to create their own cast of companions after completing the game's tutorial and prologue, the eleven pre-made companions provide a wide variety of character types, both adhering to and bucking genre tropes to play with. Each has a backstory linking them to the game's overarching plot, an intricate series of side quests focusing on their character development, and interpersonal dynamics both with the player and their fellow companions sure to add hours of additional entertainment as they banter while making camp or interject their thoughts during key encounters.

Which companion is your favorite? Who are you most excited to get to know (and possibly romance)? Which ones do you see as comprising your default adventuring party?

Amiri

The kellid barbarian Amiri hails from the harsh Realm of the Mammoth Lords, where she was exiled from her nomadic tribe for daring to challenge traditional gender roles. Unwelcome in her homeland and resentful of anyone who doubts her battle prowess, Amiri is more eager to prove her worth to her new "chieftain"—you!

Ekundayo

Born in Absalom, the teeming City at the Center of the World, to a Garundi family, the reserved ranger Ekundayo sought only a peaceful family life in the River Kingdoms when raiding trolls forced him on a different path. A devoted follower of Torag, Ekun now seeks revenge for his slain loved ones and a new start, be that with decent companions he meets along the way or on his own.

Harrim

The dwarf cleric Harrim is the embodiment of the nihilistic faith of Groetus, god of the end times, which he doesn't so much as proselytize as ooze from every pore in his dour body. Ever ready to remind his companions of the futility of, well, just about everything, he may just as well adventure with them than do anything else. Everyone's going to end up dead at the end of time, anyway, so why not die in the service to the Stolen Lands' new ruler?

Amiri, Ekundayo, and Harrim

Jaethal

Elves are known throughout Golarion for their otherworldly grace and alien demeanor, but the inquisitor Jaethal takes this aloofness even further—by being a unique undead in service to Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony and undeath. On the run from her past in Kyonin—the type of murder and betrayal you'd expect from someone angling for the favor of such a fell god—Jaethal serves at her own whim, perhaps wanting nothing more of her companions than potential corpses for a future undead army of her very own.

Jubilost

Few authors in the world have as lengthy and prestigious bibliography as the esteemed gnome alchemist, Jubilost Narthropple. Hailing from the centers of learning in metropolitan Absalom, Jubilost doesn't suffer fools lightly, and he believes everyone to be a fool. Though his arrogance makes him few friends, his interest in the mysteries of the gnomes' origins in the First World and his expert knowledge on just about everything (at least in his own mind) make him a valuable resource in uncovering some of the region's most enigmatic mysteries.

Linzi

Your first and most loyal companion, Linzi was kicked out of the Academy of Grand Arts in the neighboring River Kingdom of Pitax after she wrote less-than-flattering things about the city's King Irovetti. The optimistic halfling bard has selected you to be the subject of her magnum opus, a book telling a tale of high adventure written by those involved, at the time of their exploits instead of decades later based on second-hand reports.

Jaethal, Jubilost, and Linzi

Nok-Nok

Most civilized creatures see goblins as little more than monsters, and sometimes, even goblins see their kin in much the same light. Nok-Nok, a rogue with ambitions of being "the fith gawd" (an addition to the four-member pantheon of goblin hero gods), is one such case. Bullied and tortured by his tribe, he's more than happy to work with longshanks who don't abuse him, and will gladly prove his loyalty and worthiness to you, as long as you give him plenty of things to stab along the way.

Octavia

A former slave of the Technic League mages of neighboring Numeria, the half-elf arcane trickster Octavia is a ray of sunshine despite the gloomy conditions of her life prior to meeting the game's hero. Octavia has an optimism that rivals Linzi's and a sense of compassion that's hard to ignore should you act the tyrant in her company.

Regongar

Octavia's closest and oldest friend, the half-orc magus Regongar, is decidedly less optimistic and compassionate than his partner. Cruel, hedonistic, and vengeful, Regongar would rather kill his enemies quickly and without fuss (especially his former captors among the Technic League) than delay the drinking and love-making to follow, a stark contrast to Octavia's more forgiving approach.

Nok-Nok, Octavia, and Regongar

Tristian

Soft-spoken and aloof, the human cleric Tristian hails from the Padishah Empire of Kelesh far to the east, where he was raised in the church of the sun goddess Sarenrae. With a grace becoming his celestial patron, the wandering priest spreads the word of the Dawnflower—as well as her tenets of healing, light, and redemption—into the heart of the Stolen Lands, and if he had his way, into the hearts of his companions as well.

Valerie

Bestowed by divine beauty and charm, the noble-born human, Valerie, was raised in a convent dedicated to Shelyn, goddess of art and love, set on the track of a paladin of the Eternal Rose. She wasn't interested in any of that, however. Tired of countless suitors inundating her with mediocre art the tenets of her faith prohibited her from ripping up and throwing in their faces, Valerie instead took up the life of a trained fighter, mastering the defensive and offensive applications of the tower shield. Now in the baron or baroness's employ, Valerie is staunchly loyal and invaluable on the battlefield.

Tristian and Valerie

Of the 11 companions in the game, four are romanceable—Valerie for male PCs, Tristian for female PCs, and both Octavia and Regongar for both male and female PCs. Whether you pursue a romantic relationship with any of them is your choice, but regardless of your decision, each of your companions provides endless possibilities for bringing the collaborative, party-based excitement of the Pathfinder RPG to life!

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is available for preorder on Steam and GOG.

Mark Moreland
Franchise Manager

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20 people marked this as a favorite.

The fact that I can't romance Nok-Nok is deeply upsetting to me.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I just pre-ordered this weekend

I'm so hyped for this

Thank god its still 1st edition!!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Who are the artists?

Silver Crusade

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Blog wrote:
The recently released Pathfinder: Kingmaker . . .

Wait, did I miss something??


Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

I cannot wait for this game to come out!!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Love the art and companions. Crossing my fingers this game lives up to the greatness inherent in its potential!

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I prefer to build my own party, so this has no impact to my playthroughs.


Patrick Newcarry wrote:
Who are the artists?

2nded


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Patrick Newcarry wrote:
Who are the artists?

I think all of the companion portraits are by this artist.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Yeah, I'm gonna be honest Paizo Publishing, I don't like any of them. There are too many evil and chaotic neutral based characters and don't even get me started on the undead elf who worships a goddess of disease and misery (I'm sure the townsfolk of the Barony will just LOVE her to PIECES, probably by chopping her to pieces and then burning the remains).

Even the good aligned ones are lackluster to me (of which there seem to be only two) and even then we don't get a Paladin. Not to mention we only get one companion of each Core race which is very disappointing. I was hoping for more variety and choice and a greater number to choose from. I am very glad however that we can create our own party without these characters.


"So three clerics, a bard, and a fighter walk into a bar..."

-A party setup you can actually have with the core NPCs, and also the start of a probably very funny joke.

I like the art a lot, and since I'm running iron gods, I'll probably want both of the numerians in my party. Also Linzi because Bards, and Anri because Barbarians.

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Thanks the gods for modders.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Berselius wrote:

Yeah, I'm gonna be honest Paizo Publishing, I don't like any of them. There are too many evil and chaotic neutral based characters and don't even get me started on the undead elf who worships a goddess of disease and misery (I'm sure the townsfolk of the Barony will just LOVE her to PIECES, probably by chopping her to pieces and then burning the remains).

Even the good aligned ones are lackluster to me (of which there seem to be only two) and even then we don't get a Paladin.

Personally, I see the lack of a paladin as an advantage. And the ones prone to moralizing at you do so because of their personalities and personal history rather than a 2 letter code stuck on their character sheet.

But as far as Good goes, there are at least 3 (not sure on alignments of the goblin or gnome), but Linzi, Ekundayo and Tristian are all Good.

Plus at least a couple can be alignment shifted (one step).

Though to be honest, I don't think it was up to Paizo. Double checking lore and mechanical changes, yeah. But not story/character bits.

Given that they picked up Chris Avellone as a writer, I'm a little surprised all the characters are relatively relatable (well, probably not Nok-nok), and not just philosophical concepts repeating a catchphrase.

---
I'm a little more puzzled that there are so few full casters and they're both clerics. Octavia comes preset as rogue/wizard, which is a little annoying. (granted, arcane trickster comes at no effort, but still)

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

No romance for for Amiri, Ekundayo, or Jaethal? Awww, I'm sad now ;_;

Still super excited about this game though hehe :3


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

No romancing Nok-Nok? Or Amiri?

ALAS.

Shadow Lodge

6 people marked this as a favorite.

Yes, the Padishah of Kelesh, well-known for producing... fair-skinned blondes?

Scarab Sages

I hope it’s an option to ban or flat-out kill the undead Urgathoan murderer. Even if her art is awesome (like all of them). I could accept a redemption story that starts out like this, but it doesn’t sound like one.

Would have hoped Valerie had actually become a Paladin! :P I guess I’ll have to play him myself, then...

Looking forward to it!

Scarab Sages

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Ninjaxenomorph wrote:
Yes, the Padishah of Kelesh, well-known for producing... fair-skinned blondes?

Called Tristian! Yeah, that struck me as weird too.


Super excited by this but wish it was coming to consoles as well. Yes I know its heresy to say so lol. I used to be a hardcore PC gamer then tempered into a couch console gamer as I got older. Wont stop me from picking this up however.

Second Seekers (Jadnura)

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I am unreasonably excited about a companion cleric of Groetus! I bet that'll lead to some fun banter.


Yeah, the cleric of Groetus reminds me of Troy’s character in Raiders of the Lost Continent! He’s a definite pick.


Some of them look interesting, for sure.

As is, I won't get to play this for some time, so I guess I'll reserve final judgement until later.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Cannot wait to play!

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Ninjaxenomorph wrote:
Yes, the Padishah of Kelesh, well-known for producing... fair-skinned blondes?

It's highly possible there's a background reason for that.

Failing that, all sorts of people live all over Golarion. Why does he have to be a typical member of the populace? Most places in Golarion aren't known for having a large half-orc population, but that's never stopped me from playing one.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

Aw, the least interesting characters have romance options. But at least we got Amiri!


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Catharsis wrote:


Would have hoped Valerie had actually become a Paladin! :P

There are backstory reasons going on there. The snippets I've seen are actually fairly interesting.

Spoiler:
Though had her teachers been a little less addled, they could reasonably have pawned her off on a church that fit her better.

It's always weird when settings based around a big pantheon behave like monotheists. A cultural stumbling block of the writers, usually


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Vexies wrote:
Super excited by this but wish it was coming to consoles as well. Yes I know its heresy to say so lol. I used to be a hardcore PC gamer then tempered into a couch console gamer as I got older. Wont stop me from picking this up however.

Nah I think it's legit wish, lots of similar games have eventually come to console. But it'll come down to sales and time and I vaguely remember owlcats touching on this but their focus is computer release. I'm just happy they included a Mac version :-)


3 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm rather impressed with the diversity of alignments in your companions!

Especially since most games just give you a bland variety of five Goody Paladin/Wizard/Clerics, one Chaotic Neutral Rogue, and a single Evil Barbarian/Antipaladin that stands in the corner and doesn't have a single reason to even be in the same room as the rest of the party but they had to add at least ONE evil companion, but inevitably is programmed to betray you if you don't talk to them, which they never encourage you to do.

Sorry, it always bothers me when evil Characters are an afterthought! They might be the majority of the foes you fight, but if they're well written they have their reasons for acting the way they do, or believing what they believe. When my Character becomes King/Queen, I want to hear all of the advice/opinions, not just those who match my own corner of the chart.


Nezzmith wrote:
When my Character becomes King/Queen, I want to hear all of the advice/opinions, not just those who match my own corner of the chart.

I have a feeling you will like this game ;)

Also, after you become a ruler, you can get certain non-companion NPCs to be your advisors. And they also come from different corners of the chart.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Jurassic Pratt wrote:
Ninjaxenomorph wrote:
Yes, the Padishah of Kelesh, well-known for producing... fair-skinned blondes?

It's highly possible there's a background reason for that.

Failing that, all sorts of people live all over Golarion. Why does he have to be a typical member of the populace? Most places in Golarion aren't known for having a large half-orc population, but that's never stopped me from playing one.

Sure, but given that there's only one non-white character (other than the green ones) wouldn't it be better to have a Keleshite human that actually looks Keleshite, and still has an interesting background.

Scarab Sages

Is it possible to change the NPCs’ alignment with time? Would be cool if Valerie could be brought back to the fold of Paladinism, perhaps with a good example. :)


Sure, but given that there's only one non-white character (other than the green ones) wouldn't it be better to have a Keleshite human that actually looks Keleshite, and still has an interesting background.

Different ethnicities reside in different parts of both Earth and Golarion. White people live in Africa, Black people live in America, people of Indian descent live in London, and perhaps not everyone from Kelesh has to conform to stereotypes of what a Keleshite is "supposed" to look like.


Desna's Avatar wrote:

Different ethnicities reside in different parts of both Earth and Golarion. White people live in Africa, Black people live in America, people of Indian descent live in London, and perhaps not everyone from Kelesh has to conform to stereotypes of what a Keleshite is "supposed" to look like.

I suspect focusing on the ease of travel and immigration in the modern world rather than 'hey, this cast of characters could have been slightly more diverse' is missing the point.

Especially since the Golarion fiction I've read is pretty keen on describing a lot of lands as fairly insular with strong ethnic identities. People react to characters as Chelish (or 'Chels'), or Varisians or what-have-you, and if a Keleshite human was born and raised in Ustalav, the neighbors would definitely still refer to him as 'the Keleshite.'

Nothing I've seen about not-Egypt, Katapesh or wherever else suggest the Keleshites would behave differently- Tristian would be treated as Taldane or Ulfen or whatever ethnicity he actually is.

Liberty's Edge

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Ninjaxenomorph wrote:
Yes, the Padishah of Kelesh, well-known for producing... fair-skinned blondes?

There are 11 non-Kelish ethnicities mentioned as living in the sprawling Padishah of Kelish. Not unbelievable that one of the is fair-skinned. He could also be from a Ulfen family living in the Padisha as well. Nobody is scratching their head about Ekundayo coming from Absalom.

Scarab Sages

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Vylatka wrote:
He could also be from a Ulfen family living in the Padisha as well. Nobody is scratching their head about Ekundayo coming from Absalom.

We're not arguing that it's impossible, but rather that it's a bad choice.

As for Ekundayo: Absalom is a melting pot. If he hailed from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, people would in fact scratch their heads at the choice.


Voss wrote:
Desna's Avatar wrote:

Different ethnicities reside in different parts of both Earth and Golarion. White people live in Africa, Black people live in America, people of Indian descent live in London, and perhaps not everyone from Kelesh has to conform to stereotypes of what a Keleshite is "supposed" to look like.

I suspect focusing on the ease of travel and immigration in the modern world rather than 'hey, this cast of characters could have been slightly more diverse' is missing the point.

Especially since the Golarion fiction I've read is pretty keen on describing a lot of lands as fairly insular with strong ethnic identities. People react to characters as Chelish (or 'Chels'), or Varisians or what-have-you, and if a Keleshite human was born and raised in Ustalav, the neighbors would definitely still refer to him as 'the Keleshite.'

Nothing I've seen about not-Egypt, Katapesh or wherever else suggest the Keleshites would behave differently- Tristian would be treated as Taldane or Ulfen or whatever ethnicity he actually is.

Methinks your concepts of "diversity" fairly limited, and apparently strictly focused on skin color. As mentioned above, multiple ethnicities reside in Kelesh, and imagining one as light skinned doesn't exactly strain credulity. Let's be open-minded.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Catharsis wrote:
Vylatka wrote:
He could also be from a Ulfen family living in the Padisha as well. Nobody is scratching their head about Ekundayo coming from Absalom.

We're not arguing that it's impossible, but rather that it's a bad choice.

As for Ekundayo: Absalom is a melting pot. If he hailed from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, people would in fact scratch their heads at the choice.

Whether it's a "bad choice" or not is purely a matter of opinion, but I'm guessing you wouldn't have had a problem if they had a dark-skinned character hailing from a region traditionally associated with light-skinned residents. Quite the contrary, you and others would likely be trumpeting and celebrating the "diversity" and how "progressive" the choice was.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Desna's Avatar wrote:
Catharsis wrote:
Vylatka wrote:
He could also be from a Ulfen family living in the Padisha as well. Nobody is scratching their head about Ekundayo coming from Absalom.

We're not arguing that it's impossible, but rather that it's a bad choice.

As for Ekundayo: Absalom is a melting pot. If he hailed from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, people would in fact scratch their heads at the choice.

Whether it's a "bad choice" or not is purely a matter of opinion, but I'm guessing you wouldn't have had a problem if they had a dark-skinned character hailing from a region traditionally associated with light-skinned residents. Quite the contrary, you and others would likely be trumpeting and celebrating the "diversity" and how "progressive" the choice was.

Paizo has had dark-skinned people in light-skinned areas, and light-skinned people in dark-skinned areas. I don't have a problem with either of those, in fact I think its a good thing. My problem is that Paizo's ratio of light-skinned characters in darker-skinned areas is vastly higher than the reverse, (only 3 out of 8 iconics from Garund are black) and this sample of characters pushes that ratio higher. Ekundayo comes from Absalom, an area with no native population that is therefore very ethnically diverse, but whoever wrote this felt they needed to specify that he was from a Garundi family, whereas Tristian comes from Kelesh, an area with a majority population that does not look like him, and yet the writer did not take any space to specify his origins.

Scarab Sages

Desna's Avatar wrote:
As mentioned above, multiple ethnicities reside in Kelesh, and imagining one as light skinned doesn't exactly strain credulity. Let's be open-minded.

Can you think of a real-life pale blonde ethnicity native to a desert country?

The name Tristian clearly implies that he’s not even culturally Keleshite. Now, if his migrant background had somehow informed his backstory, or if he had actually traveled to Keleshite lands to study Sarenrae’s worship in its heartland, that would actually have been interesting.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

If you like these character designs, most (if not all) of them are going to be available as pre-painted miniatures in the "Pathfinder Battles: Kingmaker" miniatures set available on october 24th, along with a lot of the creatures from the computer game! ;-)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Catharsis wrote:
Desna's Avatar wrote:
As mentioned above, multiple ethnicities reside in Kelesh, and imagining one as light skinned doesn't exactly strain credulity. Let's be open-minded.

Can you think of a real-life pale blonde ethnicity native to a desert country?

The name Tristian clearly implies that he’s not even culturally Keleshite. Now, if his migrant background had somehow informed his backstory, or if he had actually traveled to Keleshite lands to study Sarenrae’s worship in its heartland, that would actually have been interesting.

None of that matters. Nobody said Tristian is "native", just that he was raised by the church of Sarenrae. Maybe he is adopted after being abandoned by travelers passing through? Maybe his parents moved to Kelesh as pilgrims or evangelists for the church?

By the way, light skinned people immigrate to real-world desert countries, such as Saudi Arabia, and have children, who then become natives of said desert country.

You seem to lack imagination in this particular circumstance, and seem to be trying to fit things into boxes of black and white, instead of expanding upon the world of possibilities with the thought that grays can exist, and everything is not always the same.


5 people marked this as a favorite.
Captain collateral damage wrote:
Desna's Avatar wrote:
Catharsis wrote:
Vylatka wrote:
He could also be from a Ulfen family living in the Padisha as well. Nobody is scratching their head about Ekundayo coming from Absalom.

We're not arguing that it's impossible, but rather that it's a bad choice.

As for Ekundayo: Absalom is a melting pot. If he hailed from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, people would in fact scratch their heads at the choice.

Whether it's a "bad choice" or not is purely a matter of opinion, but I'm guessing you wouldn't have had a problem if they had a dark-skinned character hailing from a region traditionally associated with light-skinned residents. Quite the contrary, you and others would likely be trumpeting and celebrating the "diversity" and how "progressive" the choice was.

Paizo has had dark-skinned people in light-skinned areas, and light-skinned people in dark-skinned areas. I don't have a problem with either of those, in fact I think its a good thing. My problem is that Paizo's ratio of light-skinned characters in darker-skinned areas is vastly higher than the reverse, (only 3 out of 8 iconics from Garund are black) and this sample of characters pushes that ratio higher. Ekundayo comes from Absalom, an area with no native population that is therefore very ethnically diverse, but whoever wrote this felt they needed to specify that he was from a Garundi family, whereas Tristian comes from Kelesh, an area with a majority population that does not look like him, and yet the writer did not take any space to specify his origins.

The majority of America is white. That doesn't mean we can't represent other colors or a diversity of ethnicities here. Perhaps not specifying Tristian's background is a way to pique interest and get people playing the game to find out more.

Some of these posters seem to be bringing too much real world racial sensitivity into their fantasy worlds.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Again, my problem isn’t that there is a white person from a majority-Keleshite country. My problem is that there is not also a Keleshite person from an Avistani country, a trend that is often repeated in Paizo prducts and media in general. By doing this, the game deprives a group of people of representation without adding any.
And yes, real world sensitivities about race are relevant, since 1. Go Latino is heavily based on the real world, and 2. this game is made and played by real world people who hold real world biases and sesnsitivites. Lack of diversity and/or whitewashing are legitimate concerns, and ones the people at Paizo clearly care about. (If I thought they didn’t, I wouldn’t be posting about this. I also wouldn’t really be interested in playing this game.

Lantern Lodge Customer Service & Community Manager

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Please remember that players who you feel "bring in too much real world racial sensitivity" may have viewpoints, wants and needs regarding the content of their games that are different from your own. Their viewpoints are legitimate and their concerns and feelings are valid opinions. Continually pressing the argument to explain away their concerns or justify and logic out a specific individual situation is coming across as dismissive and somewhat hostile towards the concerns being voiced regarding whitewashing or lack of diversity.

In so many cases where people express concerns regarding content, be it regarding race, orientation, gender, or other marginalized groups, there's often ways to justify a single, individual situation. But when we look at that individual situation on a broader scale or in a historical context, it can play into a larger pattern of discrimination or lack of representation. When someone brings up concerns that something is playing into these patterns, take a breather to listen or learn rather than justify why you feel their opinion is wrong. Ask questions to find out why they feel the way they do instead of trying to convince them their feelings are not valid.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Captain collateral damage wrote:
Go Latino

*Golarion. Autocorrect is fun!


Sara Marie wrote:


there's often ways to justify a single, individual situation.

...

Ask questions to find out why they feel the way they do instead of trying to convince them their feelings are not valid.

I don't disagree with anything you're saying there Sara. I just think these parts of your post contain broadly applicable wisdom that bears the emphasis of being repeated.

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