Is there any chance we will ever get a Pathfinder equivalent of BG3?


Pathfinder Second Edition General Discussion


I mean, not the D&D setting, but is there any chance of Paizo hiring Larian Studios to make a Pathfinder game or something similar?


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WotC's parent company is worth about 8 billion dollars, last I checked; Paizo is not. Temper your expectations accordingly.

There's two lovely PF1 games from Owlcat.


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Also BG3 was a labor of love that Larian pushed all their chips in on that they had accrued from their previous two big hits (Divinity: Original Sin). Very few games, for any franchise, are going to earn that much trust from the bean counters. BG3 was in development for six years, and it shows.


Well, I guess the scale of BG3 is too large. I wish they would make more Pathfinder video games. It doesn’t need to be something as big as BG3 or the scale of Owlcat games; even something smaller, like just one well-designed dungeon featuring some of the class mechanics, would be great in my opinion.

Dark Archive

Even D&D5 is not getting a game like BG3 anymore, if you read the statements from Larian you don't even have to read between the lines to see how Hasbro/WotC really dropped the ball on that one.

I look at Solasta (and Solasta 2) as maybe more approachable levels of refinement.


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
R3st8 wrote:
Well, I guess the scale of BG3 is too large. I wish they would make more Pathfinder video games. It doesn’t need to be something as big as BG3 or the scale of Owlcat games; even something smaller, like just one well-designed dungeon featuring some of the class mechanics, would be great in my opinion.

We are getting two Pathfinder games in the future which are both already in production. First an Diablo-like game called Abomination Vaults from BKOM Studios and secondly a turn-based game, which is a little bit like BG3 but with a much smaller production scale, called The Dragon's Demand by Ossian Studios.

We can hope that more games will come out in the future. I'd really love to see another Owlcat game using the Pathfinder 2E rules.


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My entirely amateurish understanding is that a game studio is usually licensing something if it's bigger than themselves. You get more customers by licensing something more widely known and popular. If Larian Studios wanted to make another video game, I don't think paying to use Pathfinder's setting and rules would actually help them because of how famous they are.

BG3 sold at least 15 million copies. I don't have good numbers for how popular PF2 is, but Wrath of the Righteous sold over a million copies. That's a good enough proxy for me. So I guess in terms of expectations, maybe temper them to game studios with no more than a fifteenth the notariety/funds that Larian Studios had before BG3 came out.

You can check the Kickstarter progress on Dragon's Demand here.


Dr. Frank Funkelstein wrote:

Even D&D5 is not getting a game like BG3 anymore, if you read the statements from Larian you don't even have to read between the lines to see how Hasbro/WotC really dropped the ball on that one.

I look at Solasta (and Solasta 2) as maybe more approachable levels of refinement.

What do you mean did something happen?


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There is already Dawnsbury Days on Steam. It's a fun little PF2 game, and just got an expansion that is hopefully just the first one.


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R3st8 wrote:
Dr. Frank Funkelstein wrote:

Even D&D5 is not getting a game like BG3 anymore, if you read the statements from Larian you don't even have to read between the lines to see how Hasbro/WotC really dropped the ball on that one.

I look at Solasta (and Solasta 2) as maybe more approachable levels of refinement.

What do you mean did something happen?

Larian Studios said they're not doing DLC or a sequel for BG3. Around the time the game launched and started getting awards, WotC laid off a lot of people, including the ones who had coordinated with Larian. (It's worth noting that Larian has said that it wasn't something that WotC did that made their decision- they need to start work on the next game, and they tapped out everything they could get from 5e with BG3.)

With D&D licensing out to gambling companies now and trying to bring video game development in-house, though, they're certainly not making it as appealing for another company to come along and license for something like BG3 as it would have been otherwise.


R3st8 wrote:
Dr. Frank Funkelstein wrote:

Even D&D5 is not getting a game like BG3 anymore, if you read the statements from Larian you don't even have to read between the lines to see how Hasbro/WotC really dropped the ball on that one.

I look at Solasta (and Solasta 2) as maybe more approachable levels of refinement.

What do you mean did something happen?

WotC at the very least fired a lot of their people and from those most if not all which Larian interacted with. Probably also was something more about the business, but I don't remember/know.

Dark Archive

If you're purely interested in PF2 mechanics, there is a mod in development for BG3 that overhauls the system to PF2. It's made good progress so far but it's still rough. Something worth looking into if you're interested in toying around with and contributing to finding bugs. If you're looking for something more fully developed, give it a year and it might be finished.


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
QuidEst wrote:
My entirely amateurish understanding is that a game studio is usually licensing something if it's bigger than themselves. You get more customers by licensing something more widely known and popular. If Larian Studios wanted to make another video game, I don't think paying to use Pathfinder's setting and rules would actually help them because of how famous they are.

Also generally the process for getting the license to make a video game is that the game studio reaches out to the IP holder, not the other way around. So if you want a Pathfinder game at the level of Baldur's Gate 3, you should reach out to your favorite game studio, not Paizo.

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

It depends on what you mean by "equivalent of BG3."

Owlcat has a pair of long, in-depth, character-heavy computer RPGs with lots of replayability in Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous. However, they are top-down and not fully voiced.

Overall, I don't think there's going to be another Baldur's Gate 3 for a long time. And I don't think Larian will be chasing licenses owned by other companies now that they have a blank check to do whatever they want.

Paizo Employee Community & Social Media Specialist

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This is not something that's in the works, but it would certainly be awesome! Let's all put it into the universe that it's a thing we want (I would love it to, truly).


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I'm not gonna sugar coat it.

No. Just plain and simply, No. BG3 cost a ton of money and licensing to get a big studio to work on it. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that at least double Paizo's entire yearly income was spent just on the initial development of BG3.

A Pathfinder game works best in the same way pathfinder does, as a indie scene darling that isn't as big as its mainstream peers but does enough to make a good earning and good quality.

Envoy's Alliance

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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Frankly, I'd rather see a Pathfinder version of "Honor Among Thieves".

I mean, unlike D&D, Paizo has specific characters built in to be the stars of the movies (the Iconics) and a various story lines that could be adapted.


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Zoken44 wrote:

Frankly, I'd rather see a Pathfinder version of "Honor Among Thieves".

I mean, unlike D&D, Paizo has specific characters built in to be the stars of the movies (the Iconics) and a various story lines that could be adapted.

Pedro Pascal as Ezren, let's make it happen.


I really should reinstall Steam and pick up Dawnsbury Days. I backed The Dragon's Demand... I'm really looking forward to it, but it's still quite a ways off.


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I'd be happy with something like Owlcat's work but for 2E, which is why I backed the Dragon's Demand kickstarter. In the modern area I am most interested in someone developing an engine that can be used for many adventures, like Neverwinter Nights crossed with VTTs. A full jumbo campaign is great, but relies on very strong writing, while a bunch of bite-sized adventures can have hits and misses without much fuss until someone comes up with The Script for a larger-scale romp built on by-then well-tested technology.

Paizo Employee Community & Social Media Specialist

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Master Han Del of the Web wrote:
Pedro Pascal as Ezren, let's make it happen.

I have the power to dream, and I am currently dreaming this.


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BG3 is an amazing game, but WotR is a better game in my opinion, so we already have an "equivalent to BG3" crpg for Pathfinder.

The real question is whether or when we will get more of them, or if we will ever get one for pf2e.


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It's probably not as popular but I'd personally love something less grandiose but more stylistic for Pathfinder video games. Something like a more 2d turn based rpg or maybe something akin to FF tactics.

Grand Lodge

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I'd like a Pathfinder game that isn't based on already published content. I've run Kingmaker twice, played in Wrath of the Righteous, and have also run Dragon's Demand. The Owlcat games were good, but I totally knew the plot going in. Same with WoTR. There were some differences, but nothing major. Brand new content would be cool (in the Golden Road section of Golarion pleeeeeeease).


QuidEst wrote:

My entirely amateurish understanding is that a game studio is usually licensing something if it's bigger than themselves. You get more customers by licensing something more widely known and popular. If Larian Studios wanted to make another video game, I don't think paying to use Pathfinder's setting and rules would actually help them because of how famous they are.

BG3 sold at least 15 million copies. I don't have good numbers for how popular PF2 is, but Wrath of the Righteous sold over a million copies. That's a good enough proxy for me. So I guess in terms of expectations, maybe temper them to game studios with no more than a fifteenth the notariety/funds that Larian Studios had before BG3 came out.

You can check the Kickstarter progress on Dragon's Demand here.

That doesn't always track. Look at The Witcher and where it started, and Cyberpunk before 2077 and Edgerunners launched. If you have a product that stands out from the crowd, you can get it made into something special.


RPG-Geek wrote:
QuidEst wrote:

My entirely amateurish understanding is that a game studio is usually licensing something if it's bigger than themselves. You get more customers by licensing something more widely known and popular. If Larian Studios wanted to make another video game, I don't think paying to use Pathfinder's setting and rules would actually help them because of how famous they are.

BG3 sold at least 15 million copies. I don't have good numbers for how popular PF2 is, but Wrath of the Righteous sold over a million copies. That's a good enough proxy for me. So I guess in terms of expectations, maybe temper them to game studios with no more than a fifteenth the notariety/funds that Larian Studios had before BG3 came out.

You can check the Kickstarter progress on Dragon's Demand here.

That doesn't always track. Look at The Witcher and where it started, and Cyberpunk before 2077 and Edgerunners launched. If you have a product that stands out from the crowd, you can get it made into something special.

Good point about Cyberpunk! But I don't think it holds for The Witcher- my understanding is that it was the very first thing the game studio made themselves, rather than localized. So the book series probably was better known at the time, although I could be wrong.


QuidEst wrote:
Good point about Cyberpunk! But I don't think it holds for The Witcher- my understanding is that it was the very first thing the game studio made themselves, rather than localized. So the book series probably was better known at the time, although I could be wrong.

The point with the Witcher is that the books weren't overly popular in the West. The game took a risk, and even then, it was a slow burn with the first Witcher game reviewing well but being niche in terms of sales. The setting and characters sold the game.

I'm not sure PF2's themepark world and iconics can compete with Johnny Silverhand and Geralt and the worlds that come along with them. D&D has a hard enough time reaching outside of the gaming space, I don't see what Pathfinder (as it currently exists) can do to break out. Ironically, the edgy stuff from PF1 might have been better for that, as low-budget horror is easier to pull off than high fantasy.


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I would really love a BG3 with pathfinder

there are a few pathfinder games out there but their scale is a few levels at best if they stick close to the rules

I played BG3, but after playing pathfinder2e for so long I couldnt get halfway through the first act because at every gods forsaken corner I stumbled over 5e and thought to myself 'that would work so much smoother in pathfinder'
not to mention that larian did some homebrewing and aimed the campaign to end at lvl 12 because of the technical limitations of the system

ffs please make a pathfinder game, it works the whole level range!
and you get more then one choice in defining your build!
and you dont have to decide between attributes and feats!
and...

I could rant on for a quite a bit
I heard that larian has 2 games in the work, which are both their thing, which I get after being annoyed with wotc


Programming Bard wrote:

BG3 is an amazing game, but WotR is a better game in my opinion, so we already have an "equivalent to BG3" crpg for Pathfinder.

The real question is whether or when we will get more of them, or if we will ever get one for pf2e.

This.

Bg3 was awesome, but WOTR has much more replayability.
I got bored after replayling BG3 twice, while I literally spent hundreds of hours into replaying all mythic paths.


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Tactical Drongo wrote:
I would really love a BG3 with pathfinder

I'm not sure if you've found and read it (possibly even here), but there's this mod which does exactly this. It's still buggy and not 'full' I suppose, but should be playable and there's A LOT of stuff in it. And the guys continue to improve and evolve it.

Like, the number of things they've fixed in the last two weeks is insane. [I know it means a lot was broken, but they do work on it :) ]

Grand Archive

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Hi! I made an account here as I'm thinking about doing some PFS PbP, but I can answer questions about the mod here too if anyone has any?

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