Wrath of the Righteous

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Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is a CRPG by Owlcat Games based on the Adventure Path of the same name published by Paizo, and a follow-up to Pathfinder: Kingmaker. The game tells the same general story from the tabletop campaign but done within the confines of it being a one player game. Owlcat also took the chance to add in a bunch of new content and characters which range from fairly good to rather mediocre, and to add more support for playing as an evil character since the original adventure path kind of assumed all the players would be good-aligned.

The Basics

You play a character built using a modified Pathfinder system. You character can be any of the typical fare ranging from Dwarf and Elf and Gnome but also Aasimar, Tiefling, Oread, Dhampir, or Kitsune. From there you pick a class from any of Pathfinder's core classes as well as Alchemist, Arcanist, Bloodrager, Cavalier, Hunter, Inquisitor, Kineticist, Magus, Oracle, Shaman, Skald, Slayer, Warpriest, and Witch. Each of these classes also has six archetypes each. You also pick from a curated selection of feats, design a player avatar and choose or upload a picture of them and start the game.

The Mythic Paths

The game has a modified version of the Mythic Path system used in the adventure path, using new paths with different rules to the tabletop. Only the player character can get a Mythic Path, with your companions only getting the "Mythic Companion" path which offers only Mythic Abilities and Mythic Feats, but none of the unique shit specific to the player's Paths. You choose your path fairly early on in the game and which choices are available to you depends on whether you have unlocked them through certain character interactions. Each path also has alignment restrictions, and choosing a path with an unsuitable alignment has the game give you a quest that shifts your alignment to something acceptable. Once chosen, the path gives you a spellbook that goes up to level 6 spells as you increase in Mythic Rank (except the Angel and Lich, which go up to ninth level spells) and a grab-bag of powers. All of them also give you the power to summon some thematically-appropriate minions, such as the Azata summoning more benevolent fey and nature spirits or the Aeon summoning various constructs.

Six paths are available when you choose a Mythic Path.

  • The Aeon is unlocked when you find the remains of a destroyed Aeon, and requires that you be lawful in some way, or True Neutral. Its main abilities are Enforcing Gaze, which allows you to buff allies and debuff enemies in an area around you, and Aeon's Banes, which are pretty much just Inquisitor's Banes but much stronger and they stack with Inquisitor's Banes. They also become immune to many different status effects as they increase in rank.
  • The Angel is unlocked early on in the main quest and requires you to not be evil. It offers some powerful divine spells and players with levels in a full divine caster class can merge their Angel and class spellbooks. Their main abilities are Sword of Heaven, which makes their weapon attacks deal holy damage as well as making their healing and damaging spells more effective and can later be upgraded to grant various other bonuses, and Angelic Aura, which buffs allies within 50 feet and can be upgraded to grant various other bonuses. It also shows up quite a bit in dialogue, since taking on the aspect of goodness personified tends to be a good way to convince people you're trustworthy.
  • The Azata is unlocked by helping some people and then singing with them, and requires you to not be Lawful or Evil. They get Azata Perfomances, which are pretty much just Bardic Performances but much stronger (and their uses per day stack with those of Bardic Performances), and a list of Superpowers (powerful passive buffs) to choose from at certain levels. Some of the Superpowers include All-Skilled, which grants a bonus to all skill checks and proficiency in all equipment; Supersonic Speed, which grants a permanent Haste effect and 20% chance to dodge all melee and ranged attacks; and Zippy Magic, which makes all single-target spells also hit another valid target within 30 feet of the original as well as making damaging single-target spells deal bonus damage. They also get a free animal companion in the form of a Havoc Dragon named Aivu, who will interject in conversations and interact with NPCs much like your humanoid companions.
  • The Demon is unlocked early on in the main quest and requires you to not be good or lawful. Its main mechanic is the Demonic Rage, which is like a Barbarian or Bloodrager rage but it also improves spellcasting, and Demonic Aspects, which let you pick between various aspects that give you a bonus both in-combat and out of it. Generally agreed to be the worst of the paths in terms of both gameplay and story.
  • The Lich is unlocked when you find an evil wand and keep it with you until you get to a basement in a particular chapel. It offers some powerful arcane spells (mostly necromancy, of course) and players with levels in an full arcane caster class can merge their Lich and class spellbooks. Its main mechanics are the Skeletal Champion, a permanent undead minion that can be upgraded in various ways as you increase your rank and equipped with whatever magic swag you and your companions don't need, and Lich Powers, which are similar to the Azata's Superpowers in that they let you pick between various powerful bonuses. Some of the Lich Powers include Decaying Touch, which lets your natural weapon attacks deal bonus unholy damage and reduce the target's Strength; Withering Life, which makes all of your spells deal ability damage; and Indestructible Bones, which grants DR10/- and make it so enemies that hit you get a penalty to attack rolls until the end of combat. They also get a few passive abilities that buff spellcasting in general and Necromancy in particular, and are unable to romance any of the companions due to one of the steps on the path of Lichdom involving killing your ability to feel love.
  • The Trickster is unlocked by playing a trick on some enemies early on in the game, and requires that you be True Neutral or some kind of Chaotic. It grants sneak attack dice and lets you sneak attack with healing spells, as well as allowing you to pick a few Mythic Tricks which let you use skill checks to do things like automatically demoralizing every enemy at the start of combat or identifying magic items so well that they inexplicably become more powerful.

On top of these six options, there are four that the player can switch over to later in the game.

  • The Devil can be accessed by either choosing the Aeon path and being both evil and competent enough that hell offers you a job, or by picking the Azata path and being so terrible at being Chaotic Good that you become Lawful Evil.
  • The Gold Dragon is unlocked by giving the Storyteller a scale and a claw (which can be found right next to the wand that unlocks the Lich path) of Terendelev, investigating her lair, meeting her gold dragon mentor and being very Sarenrae-like about one of the cultists squatting there. If everything is done right, he shows up at the beginning of Act 5 to fry some demons and say you have what it takes to be cool and shiny too, if you want to.
  • The Swarm-That-Walks is accessed by interacting with what's left of a Vescavor Queen and doing some research into swarms. It allows your character to become a ravenous humanoid swarm of locusts, devouring crusader and demon alike and generally being such a menace that the crusaders have to put the crusade on hold so they can fight you instead. Switching over to this path causes all of your companions to abandon you, but you make up for it by being able to split your swarm up into copies of yourself, being able to create more copies the more corpses you devour.
  • The Legend is accessed by choosing to cast away any extraplanar influence and instead draw only on your own personal might for your mythic power. This removes all but one of your Mythic Abilities and Feats, but gives a massive boost to XP gain and doubles the level cap, allowing you to go up to character level 40.

The Companions

  • Arueshalae the Succubus Ranger is a Chaotic Neutral succubus who got her empathy switched back on by a goddess and has since been working to redeem herself. The player can help her in this goal, causing her to turn Chaotic Good, or they can cause her to fall back into Chaotic Evil. She's extremely useful in this game due to having evil outsiders as her favored enemy in a game full to bursting of the things, as well as the ability to share her favored enemy bonuses with the rest of your party. She can be romanced regardless of gender (which is actually one of the ways to redeem her), but if she's turned evil she can only be romanced by a player going down the Demon Mythic Path.
  • Camellia Gwerm the Half-Elf Shaman is the True Neutral bastard daughter of a nobleman. Though she's also wearing a magic necklace that conceals her true alignment, which is probably chaotic evil. She can be romanced by male characters.
  • Daeran Arendae the Aasimar Oracle is a Neutral Evil sociopathic nobleman who joins your party mostly just because he thinks fighting the demons would be entertaining. He can be romanced regardless of gender.
  • Ember the Elf Witch is a Neutral Good young girl (young by elf standards anyway, she's actually as old as the Worldwound) who came to the Worldwound with her parents many years ago, who were wrongly accused of treason and burned at the stake. She's got a special Witch archetype created just for her that turns her into an Oracle/Witch hybrid, replacing her patron with an Oracle's Curse and making her a Charisma-based spontaneous caster.
  • Greybor the Dwarf Slayer is a True Neutral mercenary who really only follows you because you pay him to. If you stop paying him, he leaves.
  • Lann the Mongrelfolk Monk is a Lawful Neutral archer. He's also Wenduag's ex-boyfriend who shares a mutual hatred with her, and picking one to join your party will mean you'll need to wait a while before you can recruit the other. Assuming you don't let Wenduag kill him, that is. He can be romanced by female characters.
  • Nenio the Kitsune Wizard is a True Neutral Scroll Savant Wizard who is generally regarded by players as being either pretty funny or extremely annoying.
  • Regill Derenge the Gnome Hellknight subverts the general gnomish stereotypes by being joyless, stoic, brutally pragmatic, and Lawful Evil.
  • Seelah the Human Paladin of Iomedae is Pathfinder's iconic paladin.
  • Sosiel the Human Cleric of Shelyn is a friendly man who is very good at killing things with a glaive. In the adventure path he had a boyfriend, but here he's single and available to be romanced by male players.
  • Wenduag the Mongrelfolk Fighter is a Neutral Evil cat-spider-woman who only cares about getting stronger, and joins the player because they've proven themselves very strong indeed. She's also Lann's ex-girlfriend who shares a mutual hatred with him, and picking one to join your party will mean you'll need to wait a while before you can recruit the other. This big difference compares to the original adventure path, where she was just a minor antagonist who fought the players and then died. She can be romanced by players regardless of gender.
  • Woljif Jefto the Tiefling Rogue is a Chaotic Neutral Eldritch Scoundrel who is a member of a group of tiefling thieves, and joins the player if they choose to have him released from jail. In gameplay terms, he's absolutely terrible.
  • Trickster-Exclusive companion: Nurah Dendiwhar the Halfling Bard is an antagonist who is initially Chaotic Evil, but can be turned Chaotic Neutral as part of recruiting them, assuming you can pierce her maze-like shell of personal issues and lead her away from devotion to Baphomet.
  • Lich-exclusive companion: Staunton Vhane the Undead Dwarf Warpriest is an antagonist who you eventually kill, and if playing as a lich can choose to raise as your undead thrall.
  • Lich-exclusive companion: Delamere the Undead Ranger was a loyal priestess of Erastil in life, devoted enough that her remains were preserved as holy relics. A lich player who finds these remains can choose to reanimate her as an undead minion. Despite her current circumstances and inability to disobey you or end her own existence no matter how much she wants to, she remains loyal and devoted to her god.