At Gen Con today Obsidian Entertainment (developer of South Park: The Stick of Truth and Fallout: New Vegas) announced that they are partnering with Paizo Inc. to produce games based on the Pathfinder tabletop roleplaying game.
Pathfinder is quite simply one of the finest RPGs created- spun off of D&D and perfected with numerous updates. It's one of the most acclaimed tabletop games that exists, and many people jumped in to the universe thanks to their handy Adventure Paths, which allowed game masters to bring an epic story to the table with ease.
Paizo's recent Pathfinder Adventure Card Game was a card version of their roleplaying system, allowing gamers to play through their classic first Adventure Path Rise of the Runelords in a faster, infinitely replayable form. It was remarkable how much of the (intricate!) rpg they managed to cram into a card game, and they steadily released expansions that let you play through the entire sprawling Runelords story.
Now that Obsidian has enterered this partnership with Paizo, the first video game released will be a digital version of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. a 1-4 player co-op game for tablet devices. As in the original you will choose a unique character, each of which has his or her own deck of cards and stats. You can choose classes and roll up a character, just as in the rpg, and customize your deck to your heart's content. You'll fight monsters, avoid traps, and get new equipment all the while playing through a story and gaining new loot.
"At Obsidian we have a long history of working with the greatest RPG franchises, and we're thrilled to get to play in the Pathfinder universe now," said CEO Feargus Urquhart, the man with the greatest name in gaming. "We're huge fans and can't wait to bring what we do in the electronic gaming world to Pathfinder fans everywhere".
This is a long-term agreement and this card game adaptation is just the beginning. Pathfinder is a massive franchise that has reached out to comics, novels, figures, toys, and an MMO RPG.
"Obsidian is a video game developer at the top of its game", said Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens. "Being able to bring that type of experience and passion to Pathfinder can only mean great things, both for our loyal Pathfinder community and for all fans of great CRPG's."
If you attend Gen Con this week you'll be able to try out an early prototype of the digital Pathfinder Adventure Card Game in the Paizo booth (#203) and in the Obsidian booth (#2151), which is also featuring the first consumer hands-on for their massive Kickstarter success Pillars of Eternity. More on this exciting news as we hear it!
