Exploring Pathfinder Kingmaker’s Map and Kingdoms
Exploration is an important part of the new Pathfinder: Kingmaker game. Get a preview of the exploration and kingdom gameplay here.
Pathfinder: Kingmaker is an upcoming cRPG from Owlcat games that looks to bring one of the most beloved adventure paths to life. This marks the first time a Pathfinder adventure has seen second life on the screen–and I cannot tell you how exciting it is that they picked this one. As we talked about before, the folks at Owlcat are working closely with Paizo and luminary Chris Avellone to develop a story that befits a campaign set in this world, but they’re bringing their own ideas and priorities as well.
Today we’re here to talk about Exploration in this game. Roaming through the Stolen Lands is an important part of the game. It’s part of the core of Pathfinder’s DNA, and in the game, After all, you’re going to be the ruler of your own kingdom, which you can design and care for and shape in your own image. And if you are meant to be running these lands, then, they should be exciting and worth exploring.
At a glance, you can wander along roads or rivers or the edges of forest to try and discover locations that your characters can travel to, and it’s possible that your characters might also discover information about a location (possibly through normal questing) and trek off through the Stolen Lands to reach this place your characters have only heard about.
But along the way, you might run into trouble–up there you can see the party is about to have a random encounter. What’s really intriguing to me is that your characters’ skills will allow you to decide how to deal with the encounter. Do you fight, or try and sneak around it? Another thing they say will have an impact is the strength of your kingdom. As your kingdom grows in power, you’ll be able to keep your lands safer, or to have patrols, additional information, or other resources at your disposal to aid in either discovery or safety as you explore the Stolen Lands.
Through these kinds of interactions, Owlcat hopes to have your kingdom function as a companion/character unto itself.
If you’ve seen some of the updates from their Kickstarter page, you’ll know that they’ve got a number of systems that will help determine the character of your kingdom. There are events that unfold and prompt decisions from your character. When you discover bandits lurking on the roads, do you send an adventurer out to slay them? Do you approach them with a fellow bandit? Do you send someone to steal their treasure and distribute it to your own people? Each of these is a possibility with different consequences for your kingdom.
But there’s more than just events (including a few randomly generated ones that change your kingdom each time you play) that outline the nature of your kingdom. It’s in the buildings you choose to construct, in the people you choose to recruit. Do you hire dwarven smiths, or build theatres? This is an expansive system, and one I’m excited to try and play with. Now, with the amount of complexity they’re looking to delve into, it could weigh down the game–but Kingmaker is about running a kingdom. It’s about the interaction between your character and their lands–so I’m glad to see Owlcat focusing as much as they are on this aspect of the game.
If you haven’t yet, there’s still plenty of time (about two weeks) to head on down to their Kickstarter and back them. They’ve already blown past their funding goal, and this is a great chance to acquire some phenomenal rewards.
Back Pathfinder Kingmaker today
Now to see if I can recreate the Thunderdome in this game. What kingdom will YOU build?
