Paizo's recent crowdfunding project, Pathfinder Quest, is a runaway hit on Backerkit. The board game, which promises an authentic GM-less version of the fantasy TTRPG experience, was fully funded in just 90 minutes and has been steadily reaching stretch goals since going live.
The Pathfinder Quest Backerkit Campaign
According to the campaign page, Pathfinder Quest is a cooperative board game designed for 1-4 players. Like the beloved Pathfinder TTRPG, players can create their own characters, choosing their ancestry, class, and abilities. Alternatively, they can play as pregenerated characters based on Iconics like Valeros, Harsk, and Ezren.
Those characters will embark on a campaign spanning 12 possible adventures. These adventures will be packed with exploration, combat, and choices that will ripple throughout the multisession campaign. Each of these adventures is designed to last roughly two hours and strikes a balance between random dungeon crawls and a more curated, in-depth experience.
Pathfinder Quest isn't a direct translation of the TTRPG. Dungeon navigation, combat, and leveling up are still present, but mechanics are more streamlined. Whenever an action is taken, you roll Quest Dice, which are D6s, and you refer to the game's Challenge Book to determine the results of your action. In addition, it appears damage is not represented as hit points, but as wound tokens.
The game is available in two editions. The standard edition contains everything you need to play. Dice, ability cards, various books, character and enemy standees, etc.. The second is the Backerkit-exclusive Deluxe Edition, which includes special variants of those game pieces and sculpted miniatures. These miniatures are perfectly scaled to work with existing Pathfinder miniatures for your home game.
The pledge levels for Pathfinder Quest are as follows:
- Apprentice Adventurer for $100: A standard edition copy of the game, as well as any physical and digital stretch goals
- Veteran Dungeoneer for $120: A deluxe edition copy of the game, as well as any physical and digital stretch goals
- Dragon's Hoard for $240: A deluxe edition copy of the game, a unique set of magma dice by FanRoll, four player mats made by GameHead, A Hero Miniatures set by Titan Forge, and a Narrative Companion App by Forteller
- Miniature Menagerie for $450: A deluxe edition copy of the game, a Hero Miniatures Set, Early Encounter Creature Miniatures set, Late Encounter Creature Miniatures set, and Time Dragon miniature
- Animal Companion for $1000: Collaborate with Paizo to create an Animal Companion Card based on your pet or an animal of your choosing. This includes a high-quality art print illustration and 20 copies of the Animal Companion Card to use in the game
At the time of writing, the Pathfinder Quest campaign has raised $256,592, more than three times its initial funding goal of $75,000. This has unlocked several stretch goals for the campaign, including additional dice, new undead enemy miniatures, the Oracle class, and a treasure chest-shaped custom organizer for all game components as an optional add-on. The campaign ends on October 17.
