Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

Lore & Background

The game is set in the world of Golarion, where the Worldwound—a magical chasm allowing demons to travel from their home dimension to the mortal world—has plagued the country of Mendev. Mendev has fought a series of wars called Crusades against these demons, but has been slowly losing ground because demons killed in the mortal world return to life in their home realm. The player-character survives a demonic surprise-attack outside the Mendevian city of Kenabres and discovers they possess strange magical 'mythic powers' from an unknown source. After leading a counterattack, they are appointed Commander of the Fifth Crusade by Queen Galfrey. The Commander deploys armies against demonic forces while recruiting party members and eventually retakes all land save the Worldwound itself. Their mythic powers grow, setting them onto one of several mythic paths—such as becoming an angel, trickster, or lich—which significantly affect abilities, leadership style, and personal fate. The Commander learns their powers originate from an experiment by Areelu Vorlesh, a half-demon mad scientist who created the Worldwound. Vorlesh attempted to place her murdered child's soul in the young Commander's body, creating the mythic power source, then erased the Commander's memory. The mythic source was activated by the stress of the attack on Kenabres and fueled by battles with powerful beings. The Commander can choose to abandon their mythic powers, becoming a 'Mortal Legend'. Vorlesh reveals that the Worldwound is bound to their two souls, and one must die in the chasm for it to close. After a battle near the Worldwound's entrance, the Commander can push Vorlesh into the chasm, jump in themself, or use other solutions based on their mythic path. Some mythic paths allow co-opting the Worldwound for their own purposes. A secret ending requires specific actions and research; the Commander learns Vorlesh is trying to become a demigoddess, and can gather materials to complete that goal after defeating her, gaining near-immortality alone or with Vorlesh and/or party members.

Reader's Guide

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is notable for its adaptation of the tabletop Adventure Path and its expansion of the ruleset from its predecessor, Pathfinder: Kingmaker. The game builds on the earlier engine to address concerns raised by critics and players, adding new character classes and the mythic progression system. Its Kickstarter campaign in February 2020 raised over US$2 million against a requested US$300,000, enabling several stretch goals. Six major downloadable content releases expanded the game: Inevitable Excess (March 2022), Through the Ashes (April 2022), The Treasure of the Midnight Isles (August 2022), The Last Sarkorians (March 2023), The Lord Of Nothing (November 2023), and A Dance of Masks (June 2024). These added new campaigns, classes, archetypes, companions, spells, feats, and personal events. The game received 'generally favorable' reviews on Metacritic, with IGN praising its story and technical improvements but criticizing military management, and PC Gamer noting inconsistent writing quality. It was nominated for 'Role-Playing Game of the Year' at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. By January 2023, it had sold one million copies worldwide. A controversy arose on 24 July 2023 when update 2.1.5m added the third-party analytics program AppsFlyer, prompting backlash over privacy concerns and a mandatory updated EULA; the next day, update 2.1.5n removed AppsFlyer.

Did You Know?

• The game's Kickstarter raised over US$2 million, far exceeding its US$300,000 goal.
• The secret ending allows the Commander to become a demigod, optionally sharing that power with Vorlesh or party members.
• A 2023 update briefly added the analytics program AppsFlyer, which was removed the next day after community backlash.
• The game sold one million copies worldwide by January 2023.