Pathfinder RPG Online

[Antimodes]

Dear Umut,

My name is Ryan Dancey. I'm the CEO of Goblinworks, the company that's making the Pathfinder Online MMO. Lisa asked if I could write a few words about the game for this email update and I was happy to oblige.

As you may know, my background goes deep in tabletop RPG gaming. I worked with Lisa at Wizards of the Coast on the 3rd Edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and I was responsible for creating the Open Gaming License which enabled Paizo to create the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

What you may not know is that after I left Wizards of the Coast, I had a chance to move into the MMO business. I worked at CCP Games from 2007 to 2010 as their Chief Marketing Officer. CCP developed and publishes EVE Online, the most successful "sandbox" style MMO, and is working on DUST514, a first-person shooter set in the EVE universe, and World of Darkness, the MMO based on the White Wolf game world featured in Vampire: The Masquerade.

After I left CCP I made a beeline to talk to Lisa about Pathfinder. I think it's an ideal property to use as the foundation of a virtual world. After about a year of detailed discussion with Lisa and the Pathfinder creative team, we formed Goblinworks to make that dream a reality.

We're setting Pathfinder Online in the River Kingdoms. In a lot of ways, the game draws inspiration from the Kingmaker Adventure Path. We're aiming at a power level similar to that featured in the early Kingmaker Adventure Path releases—approximately the power of characters between 5th and 12th level in the tabletop RPG.

You'll have the experience of entering a land that is mostly wilderness, with a few scattered areas of civilization, and a vast territory dotted with the settlements of pioneers. You'll find all sorts of adventure waiting for you in the game, including marauding bands of monstrous humanoids, mysterious ruins, and dark caverns in the earth.

This world is based almost entirely on the actions of the players. Almost every item in the game will be crafted by player characters, made from resources harvested and processed by player characters.

The game will be incredibly persistent. When you make a building, that building will remain in the world for all to see until the day it is destroyed. Players will be able to found outposts in the wilderness, add to and improve them over time as they grow into settlements, and eventually take control of the territory around those settlements.

Some characters will be classic adventuring heroes, seeking fame and fortune as they explore the world. Others will be known as master artisans, others will become titans of industry, and still others will become diplomats and spies, playing the game of thrones between settlements as they grow into kingdoms. Some characters will be highwaymen and robbers. Some will be soldiers, either committed to a settlement or as mercenaries! The possibilities for characters in Pathfinder Online are tremendous!

We're running a Kickstarter to increase the funding available to Goblinworks for the game. If you back the Kickstarter at the $35 Adventurer level you'll reserve your copy of the game at a sizable discount to the expected suggested retail price. If you back the Kickstarter at the $100 Crowdforger Pioneer level, you'll be able to participate in Early Enrollment, and have a real and lasting impact on the way the game is designed—a process we call Crowdforging.

You can find all sorts of information about the project on the Kickstarter page, or by reading the Development Blogs we publish every other week at on the Goblinworks blog.

I'll also invite you to join the conversation between the developers and the community on the messageboards.

Thanks to Lisa and all the crew at Paizo for giving us this opportunity! Have a happy and festive holiday, and my best wishes for a Happy New Year!

Ryan Dancey
CEO, Goblinworks