A Pathfinder Abomination Vaults ARPG coming to Kickstarter!

ARGP feels a little like a dumbing down if I'm being honest. RPG's settings like Pathfinder are about adventure and story and depth, not really just hit this, hit that..

The ARPG scene already has its big dogs, Diablo, PoE etc.. all the others drop quickly into obscurity. The trailer didn't really seem to throw anything new at the genre to make it stick out other than a Pathfinder setting and characters. And if that is all that is being brought to the genre then your better off sticking to CRPG's it's what Pathfinder fans want anyway.

I'd hate to seen all that money and effort tank like Pathfinder Online sadly did and all because it targeted the wrong audience (PvP fans). lets not make the same mistake again with an ARPG, when what real fans want are as previously mentioned more CRPG's or a PVE MMO.

I'd also like to say that while I respect the opinions of those who don't want games based on existing APs, I'm in the opposite camp. I actively want more. Mainly because they're the only way I personally get to experience a lot of these stories. Only so much time IRL to play so many APs, and Wrath in particular was one that my group was never going to get to. So I'm really glad to get to experience these stories anyway.

Plus, I'm a visual guy. I love seeing the result of all this professional work and money being put into these great set pieces and locations.

Also just in general people getting to experience these great stories that aren't necessarily exclusive to playing a tabletop game. It's been really cool sharing the experiences of the Owlcat games and their stories with people who have never played a tabletop game, and probably won't play something more longform like an AP due to time and general commitment with a group of people.

I'd hate to seen all that money and effort tank like Pathfinder Online sadly did and all because it targeted the wrong audience (PvP fans). lets not make the same mistake again with an ARPG, when what real fans want are as previously mentioned more CRPG's or a PVE MMO.

Careful on assuming your perspective on this are what the "real fans" want. There are people in this thread who are fine with this direction for at least one game.

While this wasnt what I was expecting, I sm pretty willing to give it a chance. Between the various board games Paizo and partners have released, it seems pretty obvious to me they eant to expand and build upon Pathfinder/Golarion as a setting to inspirr and build things in.

I would love a crpg running on pathfinder 2e mechanics... but they also never said that would be the case. I an willing to see where this adaptation lands on its own merits.

Gotta admit I'm a bit apprehensive about an ARPG for this- but if there's any AP that would work for that genre, Abomination Vaults is definitely the one.

Looks interesting, but not my cup of tea from the sounds/looks of it. I'm not looking to play Diablo with a Pathfinder skin over it. I'm looking for something more like Kingmaker, or Baulder's Gate (I know that is from the other company, but loved the first 2) or Neverwinter Nights (again, other company, but you get the point).

Interested to see what the other game turns out to be.

Looks really interesting, but far too many spiders for me to be able to handle it T-T

Hope the kickstarter campaign goes well, though!

oh, one thing i noticed in the video, it seemed like you could make combination attacks with allies. like ezren making the wall of fire and then amiri spinning through it to launch balls of fire. The teamwork aspect seems like it could be really cool.

What a let down. Everyone was excited for a turn based tactical RPG with Pathfinder 2e rule set and you bring us an Action RPG in a saturated market. I don't think I'll back this game. I guess I'll wish you luck. How can you not make a crpg? Owlcat real time crpg (turn based mode isn't that great and there is no Recall knowledge system?)with pathfinder 1e rule set is really not the same thing.

There is one thing I have big problem with, but I'm assuming it might change over course of game development and it might be more of pre alpha game look.

But I don't really like the "floating bridges/paths above nether" aesthetic of the dungeon in the trailer. Besides it being some sort of minor cliche in modern hack and slashes, it just doesn't scream "abomination vaults" in my head. Like I'd rather have the place look like its built on stable ground on layers, but if they are going for that aesthetic at least let us see the silhouette of lower floor :'D

Everything else gameplay and art style wise seems decent to me, but I'm just not big hack and slash fan because I don't feel like there is often enough story/character interaction meat for me.

Hmmm... In one hand, I, like many others, was expecting a CRPG and was really excited about it. It's been announced that two games were in production, and I think that people theorized that one of those games would be smaller in scale; if that hasn't been downright announced already and I'm mixing things up. Still, I can't imagine this ARPG being the smaller game, so maybe there's no CRPG in the horizon after all...

In the other hand, my heart goes out for the devs. I hope they've had realistic expectations as for how the reactions for the announcement would go, but I'm not seeing an overwhelming positive reaction so far. I hope it's not disheartening.

I really love Golarion, and honestly, I'd be glad to have a game that isn't a CRPG set on the Lost Omens setting anyhow. An ARPG itself though... It's not quite the kind of game that I super love, independently. So I hope the game is more than a simple dungeon-crawl with brief expositions here and there, and it is evocative in a way.

I will say this: Between no game at all and something that is trying to be its own thing, I'd rather have the second option, even if it only offers a Golarion-like coat of paint. Here's hoping that the game is a blast, though!

Just look at the comments, and look at the twitter announcement, you can count the number of "yay a pathfinder ARPG's" comments on one hand literally.

You're right, there are plenty of negative comments. To actually count the comments, I went through the first page of this thread and saw: 7 comments I would categorize as neutral or at least intrigued/willing to give it a shot, and 6 comments I would categorize as very interested or even excited (mine being one of them). The rest are negative or discussing other things.

So you may be fine with it, but you aren't a majority, or even close to being one ;)

I'm not claiming to be a majority. I'm claiming that your gatekeeping of what a "true fan" wants is weird. I, and the other people who are expressing similar opinions as me, can be a true fan too and be ok with more things, simple as that. I'm also not sure the attitude you're putting into your comment here is necessary either. Please stop with that.

I think I'll pass. There are better choices for hack and slash games on the market and it's not why I purchase Paizo or Paizo-licensed products.

Honestly more hyped for this than yet another retread of Diablo.

This is great news! I'm excited and plan to back!

The replies in this thread though... so much salt & vinegar. I get that action games aren't everyone's cup of tea, but please try to tone down the negativity.

We already have 2 huge, amazing Owlcat turn-based games. I expect there will be a PF2-based one coming along in time. Having some breadth of genres flying the Pathfinder flag is good for the game.

I think I'll pass. There are better choices for hack and slash games on the market and it's not why I purchase Paizo or Paizo-licensed products.

Didn't you just say you weren't purchasing anything from Paizo ever again just a few days ago?

Day 1 backer on this. I am super hype for it!

Let's gooo! This is how Diablo got its start. A megadungeon that you slowly delve the depths of.

Gonna be an awesome time as a couch co op experience.

I'm a bit taken aback by the not-zero amount of people here who are part of this community built around a social gaming experience that are not happy about it being a co-op game.

Blows my mind.

I've learned the official Paizo website is a very poor reflection of the Paizo community as a whole. You'll find a lot more modern and fresh views on other social sites tbh. On the topic of the game, this looks rad as hell, but sad Merisiel doesn't appear to be here considering she's in the art for the AP. Poor Kyra is gonna be lonely lol.

I'm excited for this, but it definitely doesn't scratch the same itch for me as Owlcat's CRPGs do.

But maybe I won't be spending 500 hours in character creation for this game?

DonKeebals wrote:

Holler when you and Owlcat make another CRPG

Not gonna happen. Word is that Owlcat was not interested in doing PF2 games and that is why Paizo had to find a new partner

If true, this is kinda disappointing.

I'm really disappointed. I was hoping for pf2e version Kingmaker. I was hoping to crawl though a dungeon in a party I created just like I DM for many friends and stuff on foundry. I will not back this

Granted, the footage looks neat, but there's not a single scene that I recognize from the adventure.

I have the adventure, but I am planning to try to wrangle a 5e friend into running the 5e version of this, so haven’t perused it. Can anyone who has played it comment on this? There’s every possibility these are just testbed environments.

Kinda apples & oranges though. PFO was a decade ago. It tried to jump on the MMO bandwagon when MMOs were in rapid decline.

PFO had a lot going against it, but the two main things that killed it (totally my own opinion here, fwiw) are that 1) it was pushed out in alpha state, and 2) lack of accessibility. A finished game might have held on to more players, or at least not driven them away at the outset, enough so to keep evolving. The Eve-style MMO was also very niche, and was never going to catch a wide audience.

A modern APRG computer game is a lot more approachable from a casual gamer standpoint. Even as good as they are, the Owlcat games are pretty dense. This kind of game has a lot of positive potential for Paizo, Pathfinder and the industry.

I get that the genre isn't for everyone. I'm not a big fighting game fan but they're great fun with a couple friends hanging out. The same could be said for this -- thinking Shadow over Mystara from years back.

I think to clarify first, you shouldn't assume because people say they didn't expect or want an ARPG that that is a negative comment as it isn't. Its a preference and opinion. A negative comment is just tearing something done for the sake of tearing something down and that isn't what most people are doing at all.

Sure, that just comes down to a difference in definition. Here I was simply assigning the category of "negative" to be "any unhappy reaction to the news", not actually toxic or anything like that. On the note of how one's intention can differ from how others receive it....

As for True fans those are your works not mine, you took two worlds "real fans" from my entire first post and decided to apply your own meaning of what I was saying and run with it, which si as funny as it is sad. As for the attitude I am putting into my comments, what is that exactly as apparently you are super informed on me?

I have been nothing but civil, and explained my concerns and their relevance, everything else is just you and your assumptions about me and what I mean and say. Stop projecting ;)

Your original quote that I'm responding to is this:

...what real fans want are as previously mentioned more CRPG's or a PVE MMO.

Regardless of what you intended, I'm letting you know that the way others such as me can receive this is that anyone who has an opinion differing from this line is not a "real fan", and that's really weird.

I'm not super informed on you, I'm only informed on the words you have said in this thread, and how they are coming off. The multiple posts of yours now that end in a wink emoji seem smug/mocking/otherwise weird, as an example. Not civil. I don't know what your intention is, but I'm telling you it can easily be read as unnecessarily off-putting.

If your intention is to be civil, then I'd suggest avoiding that wink emoji in this kind of context at bare minimum. I really can't think of how it's meant to be a positive thing in this context.

Not exactly what I expected, but I'm curious! I had fears that BKOM, a mobile/indie video game company might try and be too ambitious with doing their games for Pathfinder. But seeing them keeping it simple with an ARPG is kinda nice. I'll probably check out the KS once it's live and grab a copy.

Seeing as the possibilities for genre have opened up, I wonder what the second game BKOM is doing? I could see them taking some of the standalone adventures and turning them into different genres of video games. Maybe even a simple visual novel/dating sim would be interesting to see.

Meh. ARPG seems like a terrible fit... was hoping for a proper CRPG using 2E rules. Owlcat, come baaaaack :)

I'm so looking forward to this! Hopefully console release is in the planning as well. Only downside is that Merisiel is not one of the starting characters, but always a possibility to add her in later. I was really worried this was going to be some point and click thing that I end up ignoring, but this seems like a good fit for a 3-book AP.

Not gonna lie, heard action rpg and was crushed, but I'll be darned if it doesn't look solid in extreme pre alpha build. They've been working on it for a time methinks. Having played AV not much looks recognizable. but that's alright too.

I like tactical turn-based RPGs as much as the next Pathfinder fan, and was definitely hoping to see CRPG using 2e action economy and rules.

With that out of the way:

I love non MMORPG co-op videogames. I like the option to sit with friends in person or online and play through an adventure together. I have fond memories of the original BG Dark Alliance game. (Less fond of the modern iteration of that).

To people who are unhappy there's only 4 characters: If additional characters aren't stretch goals for the kickstarter campaign I'll eat my hat.

To people who are unhappy this isn't the thing you were expecting: Successful games based on the Pathfinder IP makes the IP more attractive to other videogame companies, which increases the likelihood you'll see the kind of game you want to see in future. If a game like this succeeds, which has a much broader appeal than just die-hard turn-based tactical RPG fans, a publisher might see the value in creating a turn-based CRPG for the narrower market.

Anyway, the people behind this are probably very excited about the project and have been putting a lot of love and effort into this game, so even if it isn't what you were hoping for please wish them luck in the campaign.

Maybe back it at a digital level, and see if maybe you can be surprised by stepping out of your genre comfort zone.

The thing is, while I agree that people looking at a product specifically because they're a Paizo fan are more likely to want a CRPG than an ARPG- and you also have to take into consideration then midrange or casual fans that would buy *either* or *both* if both existed... on top of which, ARPGs are an ENORMOUSLY wider market outside the roleplayer base. Even if you take the assumption of "Paizo fans that will buy a CRPG" > "Paizo fans that will buy an ARPG" to be definitively true (which I'm not convinced is the case), "Paizo fans that will buy a CRPG + Non-fans that will buy a CRPG" is almost certainly lower than "Fans that will buy an ARPG + non-fans that will buy an ARPG".

Of course, debating over that is fairly pointless; we'll have empirical evidence of what sort of interest there is once the Kickstarter goes live!

As I said I don't think it will have zero appeal, but an ARPG is a much harder sell, and to far fewer people than all the folks here who love Pathfinder as an I.P and RPG's in general and who would have gone nuts for another CRPG.

Some may even argue an ARPG is an RPG as its in the name, but as I said in my first post ARPG's are a dumbing down on all levels of what is a beautiful game to begin with you lose the complexity and joy for the sake of FX. It's tantamount to an RPG being given the Michael Bay effect lol Sure it will look impressive and be all showy, but underneath the Fx its still amounts to a simplification of an awesome I.p.

And then you have the issue of (and again like I said) what will set this ARPG apart from the others of an already saturated market, with some LONg established favorites already. there have been lots of ARPG's and they have almost all vanished into obscurity outside of Diablo and PoE.

The video didn't really show anything to set it aside other than the fact it is using the Pahtfinder I.p and that doesn't matter to most computer game fans unless they also happen to be Pathfinder fans and most of those are going to prefer a CRPG or something similar.

The Kickstarter campaigns success doesn't really factor into the longevity or appeal of the game, you only have to look at Pathfinder Online for that. That game had a successful Kickstarter and many stretch goals and still ended up dead as a dodo, because no Pathfinder fan could work out why it was a PvP game lol

I hope its successful, I hope it survives, I love the PAthfinder I.P, but doesn't change the fact that it isn't the kind of game most of us were hoping for. I mean are we PAthfinder fans not the target demographic for Pathfinder related games? The developers clearly do awesome work, the game preview was visually very good, but the genre left a lot to be desired And that's kinda the point sadly :(

I had fears that BKOM, a mobile/indie video game company might try and be too ambitious with doing their games for Pathfinder. But seeing them keeping it simple with an ARPG is kinda nice.

Same here. Better a Pathfinder ARPG at least some players enjoy than a RPG that never gets released. Or worse, released in horrible shape, with no hope to ever become polished...

If Owlcat Games hadn't already released the CRPG then I would have been very dubious about this being a generic game with a PF paintjob. This sounds like a cool ARPG take on something that has already has a solid CRPG showing, and oh hey, if you like the setting, there's this Pen and Paper game.

Get more people interested in the world regardless of the medium.

I'll back it, but I'm not hyped yet.

I'm curious how they will adapt the battle of the Bands and devil contract parts.

I'm excited for this!

When I saw "Abomination Vaults" I insta-hit the "notify me" button. But... a multi-player game that can't be played solo? Not a CRPG implementation of the PF2E rules engine? I'm already having second thoughts. :-(

Hey, now we have some details, excellent! I've enjoyed a couple ARPGs but they're not usually my jam, I'll wait for more info about gameplay but I do hope it's successful.

Oh, I'm quite willing to expect some divergence from what I described as "the PF2E rules engine". I would like to see, some day, a CRPG implement of the three action economy. But if it doesn't come pretty soon, I'll probably never see it (I'm 75).

I did enjoy Kingmaker. I expect I'll enjoy Wrath of the Righteous too when I get to it. And I did enjoy Diablo, back in the day. For me, the main drawback to this appears to be the "must be multi-player" aspect, as I much prefer games I can play solo. There's also the question whether it'll be available on MacOS (I doubt it). That's a deal killer for me. <shrug>

Where are people seeing mandatory multiplayer for this game?

If it's "up to four players" I'm pretty sure that supports 1 player. I've played plenty of co-op games solo.

Where are people seeing mandatory multiplayer for this game?

If it's "up to four players" I'm pretty sure that supports 1 player. I've played plenty of co-op games solo.

Yeah, didn't notice anything that says it HAS to be co-op. If it is similar to Gauntlet, it'll let you play solo (but it'll be much more fun with 2-4 total players).

I like it…( but I do like Diablo kind of games too) and I understand the choice of AP and why this is the first thing of the 2 to come out with. But pretty please tell us, your community, that the second part of the deal will be a pf2e crpg ( ideally not based on an existing AP) and that this will take more time and thus we will get the specifics of that later.

and I wasn't able to recognize any of enemy models being from pathfinder either

It did have the disclaimer that the art was not final and was merely to show the intent, also there’s good chance you won’t recognize a lot of critters in it given Paizo ditching the OGL so a lot are probably gonna look different.

Yeah its also part of why I'm not making final judgements this early and why I'm considering backing. Like there is time to add tongues to ghouls or make Scalathrax look more green and snake like rather than just spiders and make those weird mutant aberration spiders look like recognizable pathfinder creature(I vote Gogiteth! they aren't swarm creatures, but they are lovely)

But yeah, regarding Iconics I do hope they get lot of flavor dialog at least like something like playable characters of vermintide and such.