About this project
$1,091,194
8,732
SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
First, we are now FUNDING STRETCH GOALS!
The first goal will be to fund the addition of GNOMES to Pathfinder Online. That is the result of the First Crowdforger Poll. Gnomes beat Halflings by a hair, just 9 votes out of over a thousand responses. Never fear, Halflings will be added to the game, but Gnomes will get the priority for development!
Gnomes go into development when the Kickstarter hits $1.06 million!
Our second goal is to fund a major new game system. It will either be Pets, Additional Gods, or Fast Travel & Mounts. Your votes will determine which of these systems is prioritized for development first!
Second, we are now WORKING ON NEW MINIATURES!
We will be continuing to add WizKids Pathfinder Battles pre-painted plastic figures to all the Crowdforger Reward Tiers (and any Add-Ons that feature them too!) Every $100,000 we reach above the funding goal means we add an additional miniature. The figures that will be included are to be determined.
Third, the EMERALD SPIRE WILL GET BIGGER!
Announcing Chris Pramas joining the Emerald Spire All-Star Design Team!
Every $100,000 in pledges over $1.050 million adds more Emerald Spire content. Chris will be included in the book when we get to $1,050,000!
Sean K. Reynolds will be the next designer added to the team at $1,150,000. Also, when Sean is added the Emerald Spire will be 160 pages and we'll be adding an additional Flip-Map to the Multi-Pack! Let's make that happen, people!
We are a team of experienced game designers and videogame developers who have joined forces to make a next-generation fantasy sandbox MMO, called Pathfinder Online.
Thanks to our community of committed enthusiasts we completed our second Kickstarter. The funding from this project will enable us to substantially accelerate the schedule for Pathfinder Online.
We invite you to join the community and the conversation on the Pathfinder Online discussion forums.
This page has been preserved intact from the end of the Kickstarter. Our thanks to everyone who helped make this success possible!
INTRODUCING THE PATHFINDER ONLINE KICKSTARTER!
Since the start of the campaign, we have added extensive Bonus Content to many of the Reward Levels. To see a summary of the current status of the most popular Rewards, please click this link:
After we announced that UNITY will be our primary middleware platform (and that we'd be making a version for Macintosh!) we released the Environmental Experience so that you can get a taste of how our Technology Demo assets look in the new engine. To play the Enviroinmental Experience in Firefox, Chrome or Internet Explorer, click this link:
WE ARE FUNDED!
Awed, humbled, utterly blown away by your love and support. Words fail us.
Having reached our funding goal is such an amazing achievement. We'll be the 10th most funded videogame project in Kickstarter history. We are showing the videogame industry that there's a place for a fantasy sandbox MMO, FUNDED BY ITS PLAYERS.
This is history-making stuff here, people. And you are a part of it.
The Last Daily Deal!
This is the Daily Deal for today. Everyone who backed the project from 10:00am today on will receive a copy of this item!
Here is the complete list of Daily Deals. If you're curious how to get access to the items you missed, read the "Adventurer and Crowdforger Reward Bonus - Invite A Friend: Shieldmate" info under the Kickstarter Reward Level header.
@Andius on the Pathfinder Forums, complied this awesome list of what makes the game different from other MMOs you may have played in the past.
Pathfinder Online is a fantasy sandbox MMO by Goblinworks based on the Pathfinder tabletop game. It uses a unique process called "Crowdforging" to determine what features are implemented in the game, in what order.
Here is a brief list of some of the highlights of this game:
1. No Grinding- Pathfinder Online uses a skill training system like that of EVE Online. You train skills by choosing what skill you want to train and allowing the time required to elapse. You don't train any faster by farming mobs or spamming your abilities than you do exploring the world, role playing with your friends, or even being offline. You will need to complete certain achievements to complete a skill and open up new avenues of training.
2. No Classes- Unlike other games that give you a narrow range of abilities as you train your class, in Pathfinder you gain levels in different Roles based off what you have trained.
3. Player Structures- Build your own homes, taverns, farms, and even cities! The Pathfinder Online world will be filled with places players can use to build and customize their own homes, businesses and communities.
4. More Than A Gankfest- Unlike other Open World PVP MMO's currently on the market, Pathfinder Online actively discourages meaningless PVP. A meaningful alignment system that actually offers mechanical advantages to lawful and good aligned organizations, and a functional bounty system that allows the player to choose which players and organizations can collect the bounties they set discourages random and meaningless killing. Beyond this, the admins are taking a hard stance against 'griefing', in which players specifically seek to ruin the experience of other players, often through using game mechanics in ways that weren't intended. Griefing in PFO can be a bannable offence.
5. All Players are Useful- This won't be like games where a new player has 49 health and a veteran has 49,000. The attacks from that new player won't automatically miss the veteran. A new player will be weaker, but still able to make a meaningful contribution to combat. As a sandbox where group sizes aren't limited, this means all players are useful, and don't have to segregate themselves by level.
6. Trade is Meaningful- In Pathfinder Online players must manually transport items to their intended destination. Most shops are player-run, and there will be goods more abundant in or even exclusive to certain regions. Merchants, traders, and even auctioneers are all viable professions.
Every 2 weeks we publish a Development Blog about Pathfinder Online on the Goblinworks website. Those blogs contain a wealth of information about the design and the ideas we have for the game.
@Valkenr on the message boards assembled links to "the blog posts everyone should read".
We are also pleased to announce that new WizKids Pathfinder Battles Miniatures are being added to the rewards for all Crowdforger Pioneer levels and above! Crowdforger Buddies will get 2 of each miniature, and Crowdforger Guilds will get 6 of each miniature.
Because you can only select one Reward, the Add-On system was evolved by the Kickstarter community as a way to include additional benefits for backing a project. To use Add-Ons, increase the total amount of your pledge by the specified sum. Leave your Reward selection unchanged. In the post-Project Kickstarter Backer Survey process you'll be able to tell us how you want to allocate the Add-On pledge money!
Please direct questions about Add-Ons directly to Goblinworks via email.
Changing your Pledge amount will NOT affect your Daily Deal start date.
Crowdforger Buddy and Crowdforger Guild Rewards produce 2 and 6 Pathfinder Online Accounts respectively. You will be able to assign these accounts in the post-campaign survey process and there is no rush.
$10 - Class Pack
When characters arrive in the River Kingdoms in Pathfinder Online, they do so with little wealth or equipment to their name. A Class Pack will provide the character with a selection of items appropriate to a lower level character
of the class selected when the class pack is used. Each pack will include a weapon, a suit of armor (torso, legs, and helmet if applicable), and three or four other items of such as thieves tools, shields, boots, gloves, belts, hats,
etc. One Class Pack is required per character. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$10 - Honorable Title
Prior to arriving in the River Kingdoms, your character served with distinction elsewhere and was recognized for that service. You'll be able to choose a formal title for your character of Sir, Dame, Master, Brother, Sister, Father
or Mother. You will be able to control when this title is displayed to others in-game. One Honorable Title is required per character. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$10 - Secret Salute
You will have access to a special title that commemorates your participation in the Kickstarter. Titles are selectable in game and you can determine when this title is displayed to other characters. You will be able to trigger an
on-command "emote" animation available only to Kickstarter backers! A fun way to commemorate the Kickstarter and to show solidarity with other Backers in-game! All characters on your account will have these
benefits.
$15 - Additional Player Pack
You packed with foresight before arriving in the River Kingdoms! You'll get an extra Player Pack that you can assign to any character you create, or sell on the in-game market to players who didn't plan as well for their journey along the Crusader Road! One Player Pack is required per character. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$15 - Regional Trait Pack
Players can purchase Regional Traits Packs for their characters that give them background elements of coming from a specific country or region in Golarion. A Region Trait Pack will provide the character with an achievement
stating the country they hail from, a title, and a small mechanical effect, all based on the country of origin selected when the pack is used. Select one from: Absalom, Andoran, Cheliax, Five King’s Mountain, Galt, Katapesh,
Kyonin, Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Mwangi Expanse, Osirion, Qadira, Rahadoum, The Shackles, Taldor, Ustalav, and Varisia. One Regional Trait Pack is required per character. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$20 - Additional Alliance Pack
Your network of contacts is exceptional. As you arrive in the River Kingdoms you are able to make friends faster than your peers. You'll get an extra Alliance Pack that you can assign to any character you create, or sell on the
in-game market to players who didn't make a great first impression. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
(Note that each character can only gain the benefit of one Alliance Pack at a time)
$20 - The Memorial of Honor
In the middle of the Crusader Road is a mysterious structure that calls to nearby travelers. Characters who approach and are recognized elicit a display of eldritch power from the construct. Activating the structure removes unwanted disabilities that may have been inflicted in battle or by the acts of other characters. In addition, you may opt to have your real name inscribed on the monument, visible to any who choose to pause for deeper inspection. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times, once for each Character you wish to honor.
$20 - Twice-Marked of Pharasma
All characters in Pathfinder Online are marked by Pharasma and are thus able to return from the dead at the soulbinding points. You bear the same mark as all other characters but you have a second, distinctive mark
as well. None know why you bear this mark, nor what it may portend in the future, but be sure that Fate has many surprises in store for those who are Twice-Chosen by the Lady of Graves. The bearer of this second Mark
will have access to content and mechanical benefits distinct to those who are Twice Marked! One Twice-Marked of Pharasma Add-On is required for each character. You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$30 - Three Months of Game Time
Extend the subscription time included with your Reward by +3 additional months! (Limit 3 per Pathfinder Online account)
$35 - Adventurer Reward Tier
You can Add-On as many Adventurer Rewards as you wish. They will not be able to play the game until the Adventurers are invited to join. They will be eligible for Daily Deals as of the date you increase your pledge by $35 increments, not the date of your first eligibility.
$50 - Miniature Multiplier
Get an additional set of all the WizKids Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic miniatures from the Crowdforger levels! You may purchase this Add-On multiple times. Available only to $100 Crowdforger Pioneer Backers (and higher). There is no shipping charge for this Add-On.
$100 - 1 Year of Game Time
Extend the subscription time included with your Reward by +12 additional months! (Limit 1 per Pathfinder Online account)
$100 - RPG Print Pack Add-On
For Backers who want to get the Emerald Spire Superdungeon and Flip-Mat Multi-Pack in print as well as PDF. The RPG Print Pack includes a hardcover print edition of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon, featuring an exclusive
cover available only to Kickstarter backers; a print edition of the Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multi-Pack; a print edition of the Pathfinder Tales novel The Crusader Road; and an Emerald Spire Campaign Cards game
accessory. Also includes 2 bonus Reaper metal miniatures!
Add $15 for shipping to non-US addresses. Canada and Mexico are not US addresses.
You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
$500 - Hellknights Most Wanted
You get all of the physical RPG products in this Kickstarter including the Emerald Spire Superdungeon hardback, the Emerald Spire Dungeon Flip-Mat Multipack, all of the Crowdforger-level Pathfinder Battles miniatures, 2 bonus
Reaper metal minis a print copy of the Pathfinder Tales novel "The Crusader Road", and the Emerald Spire Campaign Cards game accessory. As an added bonus, you will get PDFs of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon, the
Emerald Spire Dungeons Flip-Mat Multipack, and the Pathfinder Tales novel The Crusader Road.
In addition, you will provide Goblinworks with a proper name for a character and a 300-word description of that character for use on a wanted poster from the Hellknights in Fort Inevitable. You will even be able to tell us what
your character is wanted for in the 300-word description. We will then use Paizo's Pathfinder artists to render a full-color head-shot of that character and then use that head-shot to create a wanted poster of your character. A
PDF of all the wanted posters created with this reward add-on will be included along with the Emerald Spire Superdungeon PDF, and the wanted fugitives will appear on the random encounter charts for the Echo Wood area around Fort Inevitable and the Emerald Spire.
To top it all off, you will have the opportunity to use that head-shot as a unique avatar on the paizo.com messageboards!
Add $15 for shipping to non-US addresses. Canada and Mexico are not US addresses.
You may purchase this Add-On multiple times.
Please direct questions about Add-Ons directly to Goblinworks via email.
We have added numerous updates, upgrades and bonus content to the Reward Tiers. There is a link at the top of the page to a complete Pledge Guide showing all these changes. The following describe some of these updates in more detail.
Adventurer Reward Bonus - Character Name Reservation:
You'll
be able to reserve the name of your first Pathfinder Online character!
As as part of the post-Kickstarter survey process you'll be able to
give us your first, second and third choices for your first character
name. They'll be assigned in the order you first backed the project at
the $35 Adventurer level or higher. (If all three of your choices are
taken by earlier backers, we'll contact you to arrange for more
options!) We reserve the right to limit the use of certain names for
legal, marketing and community management reasons.
Adventurer Reward Bonus - The Pathfinder Tabletop RPG Experience:
You'll
receive a PDF of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, and the
Guide to the River Kingdoms sourcebook. Together these two books are a
$23.98 value. The heart and soul of the Pathfinder Online game comes
from its tabletop roots, and we're pleased to be able to bring you this
benefit thanks to our friends at Paizo Publishing! We also encourage you to join the Pathfinder Society and find a regular gaming group in your area so you can start adventuring in the world of Golarion TODAY!
Adventurer Reward Bonus - Destiny's Twin:
As a special feature of Adventurer accounts, you'll be able to have two characters training skills at the same time! While one character is learning how to master the martial arts and gain renown as a warrior, your other character can be learning the intricacies of the crafting system and earning a name as an industrial powerhouse! As long as your primary character is earning skill points, so will its counterpart - FOREVER! The value of this benefit could easily reach hundreds of dollars if you became a long-term player of Pathfinder Online. (You will not be able to log in and play both of these characters at the same time)
Adventurer Reward Bonus - Head Start:
You will be invited
to the last month of Early Enrollment so you'll get a jump start on all
players joining on Release. This benefit will be added to the $35
Adventurer Reward Tier.
Adventurer and Crowdforger Reward Bonus - Invite A Friend: Shieldmate
Invite
a friend to the Kickstarter, get a synergy bonus! After the
Kickstarter ends you'll be able to either invite or accept a Friendship
link with another Pathfinder Online account. Once an invitation is
accepted, both accounts will unlock a special bonus: All characters on
both accounts will have the Shieldmate Mark. Any time two or more
characters with the Shieldmate Mark are in a group (regardless of if the
account holders are Friends or not), all the characters with the
Shieldmate Mark in that group will get a synergy bonus.
(Buddy
and Guild Rewards provide 2 and 6 Pathfinder Online accounts,
respectively. You can allocate these accounts as you see fit and there
will be plenty of time to allocate them - there is no rush. Buddy and
Guild accounts are not automatically Friends, and you can opt to friend
other players instead of the other Buddy or Guild accounts in your
Reward.)
You can only offer or accept one Friendship invite, so
you cannot round-robin the Friendship links. A-B-C-A is not OK. Only
A-B.
In addition, the two Friends will get access to the Daily
Deals as of the earliest pledge date of the two backers. This is a way
for you to enable a Friend to get Daily Deals back to the date of your
first eligibility!
Crowdforger Reward Bonus - $1 Million Early Enrollment Upgrade
We've heard a lot of concern from people who want to switch reward levels, but don't want to lose their place in line. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to get into the best reward level for them. We looked at the numbers pretty carefully, and we believe it will only stretch our enrollment slots by about 1000 people to offer this benefit to the Crowdforger pledges up to $1 million.
We're going to allow
all Crowdforger pledges received before the $1 million milestone into
the first month of Early Access. So go ahead and switch levels around
however you wish over the next day or so, and don't worry about losing
your place in line. Once we hit $1 million, the normal system will be
back in effect.
Crowdforger Reward Bonus - Reaper MIniatures
Our friends at Reaper have provided us with a great addition to the Crowdforger Rewards! Baron Tervin Blackshield, ruler of Thornkeep, and goblin commander of the Accursed Halls, Murgmo, come from the pages of the Pathfinder Online: Thornkeep book. These unpainted metal miniatures will be included free for all Crowdforger Rewards AND to the RPG Print Pack Add-On and the Hellknights Most Wanted Add-On! We've already got a sneak peek at Murgmo!
PDF Superpack Available to ALL CROWDFORGER LEVELS!
Paizo's community is very strong, and that includes friends at many excellent third-party publishers that make roleplaying products for use with the Pathfinder RPG. Paizo reached out to those publishers and asked them if they would be willing to donate a PDF or two (or sometimes even more) that we could bundle up and offer as part of the Crowdforger Kickstarter backers, and the response has been absolutely amazing—including Paizo's own contribution, it currently includes 59 products from 37 different publishers, with a total retail value of $318.50! Here is a list of what's currently in our PDF Superpack—publishers are still joining in, so this list could grow even bigger!
- Paizo Publishing: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms
- 0one Games: Basic Paths: Fangs from the Past
- Abandoned Arts Games: Class Acts: Clerics, Class Acts: Fighters, Class Acts: Rogues, Class Acts: Wizards, Feats of Subterfuge
- Above Average Creations: Oracle Curses
- Alluria Publishing: Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting
- Dragonwing Games: Torn Asunder: Critical Hits
- Drop Dead Studios: The Artisan
- Ennead Games: Background and Details Kit, Vol. I: Fantasy, Hive Mind Feats
- Eridanus Books: Gritter, Veil of Truth: Corporate Solution
- Faceless Entertainment: Eat, Drink, and Be Merry #1: The Giggling Gorgon
- Four Dollar Dungeons: The Firemaker
- Game Room Creations: The Modern Path: Arcana of the Modern World, The Modern Path: Heroes of the Modern World 2.0
- K2 Games: Classic Encounters Revisited: The Inn
- Kobold Press: Zobeck Gazetteer
- Lost Spheres Publishing: Transcendent 10 Spells of Synergy: Elemental Exchanges
- Louis Porter Jr. Design: Enemies of NeoExodus: Folding Circle
- Pelgrane Press: Lorefinder
- Purple Duck Games: The Gods of Porphyra, Legendary I: Legendary Blades, Purple Mountain I: Temple of the Locust Lord, Random Encounters Remastered
- Raging Swan Press: All that Glimmers, Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands, Scions of Evil
- Rising Phoenix Games: Lunatic Labyrinth
- Shadowland Press: Secrets of the Synod Horrenda: Conjuration Spells
- Solace Games: Undead Evolution Series: Zombies
- Thor's Gate: Book of the Summoner
- Tilquinith's Gaming Tools: Creature Stat Cards
- Tricky Owlbear Publishing: Learning Curve: Apprentice-Level Characters
- Zaboom Press: Unusual Races: The Del'shy
- Zombie Orpheus Entertainment: The Mask of Death
- Zombie Sky Press: The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Prelude
- 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming: Inkantations: A Sourcebook of Tattoo Magic & Body Art
- AdventureAWeek.com: A13: Rise of the Drow, Part 1—Descent into the Underworld
- Clockwork Gnome Publishing: Finwicket's Bestiary: Along the Faerie Path, The Rogues Gallery: The Cloven Hoof Syndicate
- Dreamscarred Press: Third Dawn Adventure Path—From the Deep #1: Uncertain Futures
- Fat Goblin Games: Racial Ecologies: Guide to the Feyborn
- Fear The Boot: Bloodmoon Goblins
- Frog God Games: Cyclopean Deeps #1-#2, Slumbering Tsar #1-#2-#3, Unusual Suspects
- Lee's Lore: 100 Cantrips, 100 Male Gnome Names, Fantasy Maps: Bless'd Harbor, True Naming
- Legendary Games: The Way of Ki
$35 – Adventurer
$175 – Crowdforger Buddy:
$500 – Crowdforger Guild:
$1,000 - Crowdforger Alpha
Risks and challenges
Because Goblinworks has the funding to make Pathfinder Online, even if the timeline is a long one, there is only a very small chance that the game will never see release. One of the largest costs for a computer game project of this scope is the costs for people. If there are significant delays that prevent us from releasing the game to paying customers on time, we would need an influx of capital to make it to the later release. If we couldn’t get that capital, then the release of the game could be in jeopardy. Also, if we were to lose a key member of our staff, it could impact our ability to produce the game. Thankfully, we have contracts in place for all of our key staff, so it would take an extraordinary situation for us to lose one of them.
The key Goblinworks staff has started and grown many successful companies. They have seen MMO games through to completion. In any project of this scope, there will be unseen challenges that will spring up, but the depth of experience of our staff makes us confident that we will be able to meet those challenges head on and defeat them.
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Funding period
- (48 days)