Pathfinder Beyond Pen-And-Paper

[TheDisgaean]

In celebration of the release of the first Pathfinder hardback compilation, I thought I'd post this little thought:

PF got a very nice comic book adaptation, it's getting a so far impressive looking online game, and it's even getting its own Munchkin set! This got me thinking: what would Pathfinder be like as an animated series. And before you start ranting about the deterioration of western animation and TV in general, hear me out first.

First, let's get a few things straight here. I'm not talking about just any animated adaptation. I mean a full blown TV series. While they wouldn't have to worry about ratings as much if they made it direct-to-DVD series like the Mass Effect or Dragon Age anime movies, or even going for something like a late-night timeslot on Adult Swim/Toonami, (And chances are they'd have to.) that's the easy way out. I'm talking how the Pathfinder universe would translate into a half-hour cartoon. How could they work around ratings and censorship regulations? How much of the characters, plot, and setting would need to be changed to meet them? And how can they do it to while preserving as much of the original source material as possible?

Finally, I'd like to lay a few ground rules:

1. Keep jokes about how it could go wrong, rants, and voice actor speculation to a minimum. I'm hoping paizo actually takes this post to heart,, and would like to keep it as professional and clear as possible.

2. If you want to suggest a voice actor wishlist, please include an example of a character that voice actor played that has a voice and personality similar to what you have in mind, as well as what adventure, module, or product that Pathfinder character appears in.

3. Be clear and detailed with your posts. I want to know how and why you think it could or couldn't be done.

Anyway, that's it for now. To kick things off, here are my major thoughts:

A. The Six Iconics as...
The most logical course of action I can think of is doing what the comics did and have the main cast consist of the iconic characters. Since I'm only familiar with the six from "Dark Water Rising", I'm only going to post who I think should voice them (Chances are at least one person has heard of them):

Valeros (Iconic Fighter)...Travis Willingham (Roy Mustang; Fullmetal Alchemist; Free; Soul Eater)

Words can't describe how perfect I think this is. Watch the English dub of Soul Eater episode 13 or Fullmetal Alchemist and you'll understand.

Seoni (Iconic Sorereress)...Wendee Lee (Kiva; Megas XLR)

This was the hardest one to pick. Seeing as Seoni was the serious one in the comics, I needed a choice that best exemplified that, and I couldn't think of anyone else.

Merisiel (Iconic Rogue)...Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Nel Tu; Bleach)

This was also a tough one, as I always imagined Meri having a higher-pitched voice. This clip pretty sums it up (Maybe lower the pitch a little):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuYlDe_evnk

Ezren (Iconic Wizard)...Tom Kane (Magneto; Marvel Vs Capcom 3; Narrator; Fat Princess)

Ezren was an odd one. In my head, he speaks like Sean Connery, and Tom Kane was the closest I could find.

Kyra (Iconic Cleric)...Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman; Justice League)

Eisenberg's voice for Wonder Woman had the strong, serious tone worthy of a respectable cleric, but with the right amount of compassion needed for one of a goddess of mercy.

Harsk (Iconic Ranger)...John DiMaggio (Too many good ones to name)

Gruff dwarf + guy who plays gruff characters, works out. As long as DiMaggio doesn't use a Scottish accent and doesn't him sound like Bender.

B. Val's Booze
A big problem (Other than the homoerotic undertones) is alcohol. Specifically, Val's love of the stuff, and Cayden Cailean. There are many ways to handle this. I feel the best way is to substitute Val's thing for ale with food. It's not the best solution, but it's the closest thing I can imagine Kyra berating him for. As for CC, one could place a focus on the more "daredevil swashbuckler" side of him if it came down to it.

That's all I have at the moment, let's hear what you have to say.

FLAME SHIELDS UP! :)

[Rynjin]

Why would you say a late night (like Adult Swim) timeslot is the "easy way out"? Seems like it's more of a faithful adaptation.

In my opinion, trying to adapt something that caters to at least a teen and up demographic into something entirely for kids is doomed to be of a lower quality than something that embraces its source material and runs with it. It doesn't have to be super gory or adult, but it has to be something close ENOUGH to what it came from that it doesn't come off as being a bit stifled.

I'd say shoot for Toonami, but that's effectively a part of Adult Swim now.

Well, speaking of Toonami, whenever I think of gruff characters, Stephen Blum (Tom the host of Toonami, Wolverine in many animated adaptations, Spike Spiegel in Cowboy Bebop, too many other roles to name) jumps to the top of my list. Bonus points because he voiced Oghren (Dragon Age: Origins). So I think he'd be a good fit for Harsk. As for the others, I got NO clue. There are so many voice actors I love to see in pretty much any role.

While Travis Willingham is a good fit, Christopher R Sabat (Vegeta/Piccolo in Dragonball Z, Zoro in One Piece, many other roles) could probably do a great Valeros as well. They have very different vocal talents, however. Sabat is better at over the top/very energetic/boisterous characters but he always voices a good warrior type.

As for Ezren, I can't shake the voice of Chuck Huber (Professor Stein in Soul Eater. Coincidentally one of my favorite characters in any anime. Also Hiei in Yu Yu Hakusho, another cool character.) from my head. He's got just the right amount of age and gravitas behind his voice to voice a 40-something man (which he is), and he can play very driven and intelligent characters who are a bit gruff very well.

The rest I have little opinion on.

[Craig Frankum]

Valeros: Mark Hamill anyone? Has to be one of my favorite voice actors.

[Troubleshooter]

Craig Frankum wrote:

Valeros: Mark Hamill anyone? Has to be one of my favorite voice actors.

My first thought was The Joker, but I'd be willing to handle the aural/visual mismatch just to have new Joker material from Hamill.