Feargus Urquhart was interviewed by PC Gamer about Pillars of Eternity.
Concerning the possibility of a tabletop RPG, he said:
So, that's the first thing we're really looking at, and also, absolutely on the tabletop roleplaying. We're not sure yet how we're going to do it, we were kind of going back and forth on, do we use the game's rules, do we use someone else's rules, do we come up with another set of rules? And it's something we're going to be talking [about] soon. But absolutely, we want to expand. New books, roleplaying, all that kind of stuff.
I take him at his word, but since Obsidian has partnered with Paizo before, has there been any discussion?
I just thought I would shake the bushes, see what flies out. Probably nothing, but you know? Watcher.
It would be awesome if Paizo developed a game for Pillars. The question is, do they have the resources to do so? Paizo's still a pretty small company with its hands full with Pathfinder.
It would probably translate well enough to a tabletop system well enough, depending on what they use to generate randomness (3d6? 1d20?) ... OTOH, many of the game's mechanics are already clearly derived from the d20 System... the talents are basically feats, there are limited attacks of opportunity (i.e., disengagement attacks), many of the spells are very obviously based on D&D spells, etc. So it may feel "too" derivative to stand alone. Still, there are also notable differences... I like the idea that armor affects accuracy but is not otherwise restrictive (to apply the concept in d20, you would make ACP always apply to all rolls, but there is no arcane spell failure; some fighting classes getting abilities that reduce the effect). I agree I like the attribute system--perhaps even better than most others I've encountered, and I like how there's really no such thing as a dump stat.
The most video gamey part is the high level of health/endurance from the start (it begins in the hundreds, IIRC)--lot of numbers to track. The concept of the system would be easier to track in P&P than a video game though.
While an interesting idea, something like this seems to be more in Green Ronin's wheelhouse (like what they did for Dragon Age Pen & Paper RPG) than Paizo's.
While an interesting idea, something like this seems to be more in Green Ronin's wheelhouse (like what they did for Dragon Age Pen & Paper RPG) than Paizo's.
AS long as they actually make it more like the actual CRPG rather than what they did with Dragon Age.
While an interesting idea, something like this seems to be more in Green Ronin's wheelhouse (like what they did for Dragon Age Pen & Paper RPG) than Paizo's.
While you might be correct in that Green Ronin is most seasoned in doing licensed adaptations, I would reckon that it might be a conflict of interest for Green Ronin (or even possible contractual conflict) given that indeed, they already have the license for Dragon Age.
It wouldn't be the first, or last, time that a company did business with two other companies who compete with each other.
Activision for example works with Disney, Universal, Viacom and Paramount to make games based on franchises from each.
Mechanic used in Pillars is something of a love-child between HARP and OMNI (roll d100, add attack bonus, subtract defense), D&D 4th edition (four Defenses - AC Deflection, Fortitude, Reflexes, Will), d20 Modern/Star Wars Saga (more generic feats talents alternating with class talents abilities, except the odd/even pattern is reversed), D&D 5th edition (Wizard spellcasting).
I'm not saying it's impossible or that Green Ronin shouldn't do it, just that it might not be possible under the circumstances. Even if there's no legal impairments, they may decide that doing a game for Pillars would be too similar to what they've already done with Dragon Age and the AGE system (or even simply that they're too busy with AGE, etc.).
Of course, on the other hand, they might not. I'm just speculating with what makes sense to me personally.
It wouldn't be impossible for them to do it themselves. The existing PILLARS OF ETERNITY worldbook created by Obsidian and published by Dark Horse is okay (if a little bit too deliberately "weirdly" written). The trick would be if they had the time/experience to do a P&P game proper justice.