History VideoGame / PathfinderKingmaker

* {{Familiar}}: There are somewhere around 10 different options for Familiars in the base game. This mostly helps out Wizards, but some other classes and archetypes can get one too.
* FantasyPantheon: Lots of gods (over 20) from Golarion.

* FantasyGunControl: The game does not include firearms or firearm rules despite the Pathfinder RPG system including a Gunslinger class. Made even more jarring by the fact you interact with the country of Numeria (who is your north-western neighbor) and Technic League agents, which in the original setting often use high-tech guns as their weapon of choice. (Similarly, none of the rules for refurbishing hi-tech weapons are in the game, and you cannot play as a Technomancer.)

** Some enemies are labeled more vaguely until they reveal their abilities. For instance, a Bandit Alchemist will be simply named "Bandit" until they throw a bomb or use an extract, presuming you don't have the perception to guess their profession (or in the case of creatures/monsters, the appropriate lore stat) at a glance.

** The final stage of Valerie's questline has her put through a church trial over the circumstances of her quitting the Church of Shelyn. Should you talk your way through to the "good" ending [[spoiler:where the goddess Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar]], the paladin leader will [[KnightTemplar lose his temper and attack you]]. On tabletop this probably would have made Shelyn [[{{Depower}} revoke his magic]] him on the spot for violating [[https://aonprd.com/DeityDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Shelyn her paladin code]] and/or ceasing to be LawfulGood,[[invoked]] but since this is the only situation in the entire game where such a mechanic would be relevant, Owlcat probably didn't consider it cost-effective to write code for, and you have to fight a fully-powered paladin.

** The climax of Chapter 3 has the PlayerCharacter's capital city come under attack by a horde of monsters [[spoiler:summoned from the First World by waterborne "seeds"]], capped off by a gigantic owlbear. Depending on your choices immediately beforehand, one of two recurring [=NPCs=] ([[spoiler:either Kesten Garess or Jhod Kavken]]) can die here (defending the city or trying to enter the chapter's dungeon, respectively). The owlbear's pelt is made into a rug in the city tavern afterwards.

* OneTimeDungeon: After defeating the Stag Lord and establishing your own barony, the Stag Lord's Fort gets renovated into the town of Tuskdale; its incarnation as a dungeon cannot be revisited to gather any loot left behind or uncollected.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Lake Silverstep Village has Ivar, [[spoiler: whose children died from falling off a cliff after he'd told them a fanciful tale about how they could see a silver dragon from it during a new moon]].

** Some enemies which you are supposed to encounter multiple times will be impossible to attack as they will stay green (like friendly [=NPCs=]) and be immune even to area spells you may be throwing their way.

Three pieces of DLC were released. ''The Wildcards'' (December 14, 2018) adds a new playable race and a class, and a new companion with her own storyline. ''Varnhold's Lot'' (February 28, 2019) casts you as the HyperCompetentSidekick in a neighboring barony, sorting out some big problems. This story runs parallel to and can be referenced in the main campaign. ''Beneath the Stolen Lands'' (June 6, 2019) has you fighting through a MegaDungeon where there's perhaps a deeper threat than what lies at the bottom.

** Random luck and a low advisor's ability can make it so that solving a problem or opportunity actually makes it worse than if you'd left it alone.

** A segment of Act 1 involves a war between tribes of kobolds and mites, both small-sized, weak, typically evil species. The conflict is depicted as evenly matched, with the player acting as the third party in a traditional KingmakerScenario. However, in game terms (and observed play), it should be an easy win for the mites - they have DamageReduction to ordinary weapons, and the kobolds don't employ firebombs, poison, many spellcasters, or the Cold Iron that mites are weak to. Realistically, the player taking the Sootscale Tribe's side is the only chance they have for victory.
** The final stage of Valerie's questline has her put through a church trial over the circumstances of her quitting the Church of Shelyn. Should you talk your way through to the "good" ending [[spoiler:where the goddess Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar]], the paladin leader will [[KnightTemplar lose his temper and attack you]]. On tabletop this probably would have made Shelyn {{Depower}} him on the spot for violating [[https://aonprd.com/DeityDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Shelyn her paladin code]] and/or ceasing to be LawfulGood,[[invoked]] but since this is the only situation in the entire game where such a mechanic would be relevant, Owlcat probably didn't consider it cost-effective to write code for, so you have to fight a fully-powered paladin.

** It is possible to end up without a Councilor for Kingdom Management, which will force you to use one of Anoriel's helpers for the role, and incur the penalty to Councilor actions from such. Specifically, of the three potential candidates, [[spoiler:Shandra must be selected at the very start of the game, without any indication what function she could actually serve (and the player's main sponsor recommending a different aide), Tsanna is a Chaotic Evil priestess who is likely to be killed or arrested by the player long before there's any indication she's recruit-able, and Tristian betrays the party and may be fought and killed as a result.]]

* StealthInsult: Emphasis on "Insult" during the Rushlight Tournament, as King Irovetti "compliments" your fledgling Kingdom while describing in laborious detail just how screwed up it is, [[spoiler: and insinuates that you'd killed a member of a wealthy family who was passing through]]. With a high enough Bluff skill, you can turn this around by mentioning a fact or two that Irovetti would prefer keep quiet, interrupting your speech with a coughing fit. The same can be accomplished by utilizing a ChekhovsGun.

* TieInNovel: Creator/ChrisAvellone composed a tie-in tabletop ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' adventure titled "The Puzzle Box" that is available in the PC version's DLC stores.

* {{Troll}}: The Lantern King is an especially malevolent one and Shyka the Many floats between this and TheGadfly.

The game is modeled quite heavily on the tabletop experience and in the style of classics such as ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', with combat in RealTimeWithPause (a turn-based mode emulating tabletop Pathfinder was added in the Definitive Edition patch). The game focuses on the player building their own barony in the wilderness and facing many threats, like in the corresponding module.

Three pieces of DLC were released. ''The Wildcards'' (December 14, 2018) adds a new playable race and a class, and a new companion with her own storyline. ''Varnhold's Lot'' (February 28, 2019) casts you as the HyperCompetentSidekick to a neighbouring barony, sorting out some big problems. This story runs parallel to and can be referenced in the main campaign. ''Beneath the Stolen Lands'' (June 6, 2019) has you fighting through a MegaDungeon where there's perhaps a deeper threat than what lies at the bottom.

** The Young Dweomercat, who you meet early in your travels and save during a random encounter. For a while, the Dweomercat will pop up during your random encounters to save your low-level party members. "Claw thee, claw me!"

** You can hire mercenaries who level with the rest of the party and can fill any council position, albeit at a -4 DC penalty that non-mercenary advisors don't face. Nifty for filling the Treasurer office early or having a backup Councillor in case you miss or kill off the three unique candidates for the office. Since mercenary advisors tend to favor neutral solutions, they can also help cover situations in which all your available advisors are of alignments or temperaments that conflict with your own.

** In ''Varnhold's Lot'', the PC can seduce NPC Willas Gunderson while investigating him. After the FadeToBlack, the bed is completely trashed and the innkeeper complains to you about holes in the ceiling.

** You can be any alignment on the grid, including Evil, but that doesn't mean that your enemies and your kingdom's enemies (even the evil ones) are going to give you a pass.

** A segment of Act 1 involves a war between tribes of kobolds and mites, both small-sized low-challenge LawfulEvil mook species. The conflict is depicted as evenly matched, with the player acting as the third party in a traditional KingmakerScenario. However, in game terms (and observed play), it should be an easy win for the mites - they have DamageReduction to ordinary weapons, and the kobolds don't employ firebombs, poison, many spellcasters, or the Cold Iron that mites are weak to. Realistically, the player taking the Sootscale Tribe's side is the only chance they have for victory.
** The final stage of Valerie's questline has her put through a church trial over the circumstances of her quitting the Church of Shelyn. Should you talk your way through to the "good" ending [[spoiler:where Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar]], the paladin leader will [[KnightTemplar lose his temper and attack you]]. On tabletop this probably would have made Shelyn {{Depower}} him on the spot for violating [[https://aonprd.com/DeityDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Shelyn her paladin code]] and/or ceasing to be LawfulGood,[[invoked]] but since this is the only situation in the entire game where such a mechanic would be relevant, Owlcat probably didn't consider it cost-effective to write code for.

** It is possible to end up without a Councilor for Kingdom Management, which will force you to use one of Anoriel's helpers for the role, and incur the penalty to Councilor actions from such. Specifically, of the three potential candidates, [[spoiler:Shandra must be selected at the very start of the game, without any indication what function she could actually serve (and the player's Swordlord benefactor advising them to avoid her), Tsanna is a Chaotic Evil priestess who is likely to be killed or arrested by the player long before there's any indication she's recruit-able, and Tristian betrays the party and may be fought and killed as a result.]]

** You get an oddly large number of chances to [[spoiler: introduce yourself by name]] in Act 3. There's a loading screen tip which you've surely seen a dozen times by now that warns you this might be a bad idea but most people will do it anyway in order to be polite or intimidating. [[spoiler: Subverted; it doesn't actually help. If you don't say it someone else will.]]

* VitriolicBestBuds: Maegar Varn and Cephal Lorentus in the ''Varnhold's Lot'' DLC. The one is a [[invoked]] ChaoticGood rogue and [[InformedAbility a naturally gifted tactician]] but bad at seeing the big picture. The other is a LawfulEvil wizard (and a worshiper of Asmodeus) who is a very gifted manager, but often overly suspicious of others' motives. They argue in every scene, but they're best friends. {{Parodied}} late in the DLC's major dungeon, where you observe illusory versions of Maegar and Cephal arguing about whether to build a hospital on a cursed cemetery, or to put a mill on the cemetary and the hospital in a plague-ridden wasteland.

''Pathfinder: Kingmaker'' is an isometric RolePlayingGame developed by Creator/OwlcatGames, based on the ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' Roleplaying Game's "Kingmaker" Adventure Path. The game includes writing by Creator/ChrisAvellone, and was released on September 25th, 2018.

The game is modeled quite heavily on the tabletop experience and in the style of classics such as ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', with combat using RealTimeWithPause (a turn-based mode emulating tabletop Pathfinder was added in the Definitive Edition patch). Due to the story focusing on a local lord, the game places emphasis on realm-building, with player decisions affecting several aspects of the gameplay. The game focuses on the player building their own realm in the wilderness, then expanding upon like the corresponding module.

A DLC titled ''Varnhold's Lot'' was released February 28, 2019, in which the PlayerCharacter is Maegar Varn's [[HyperCompetentSidekick general]] and has to deal with the various problems the new barony is facing. The story runs parallel to and can be imported into the main campaign.

* AdaptationalBadass: The original Adventure Path was balanced for four player characters (controlled by individual players) and not as a CRPG with six controllable characters. Most of its enemies (especially the {{Arc Villain}}s) have drastically increased power as a result.

** You can hire mercenaries who level with the rest of the party and can fill any council position, albeit at a -4 DC penalty that non-mercenary advisors don't face. Nifty for filling the Treasurer office early or having a backup Councillor in case you're afraid you'll kill off or miss the three default candidates for the office. Since mercenary advisors tend to favor neutral solutions, they can also help cover situations in which all your available advisors are of alignments or temperaments that conflict with your own.

** This is the core of [[spoiler: Enneo's]] crusade against followers of Urgathoa: he doesn't hesitate to murder innocents or set them up to die for his hunt. It says something when siding with the undead is the NeutralGood option.

* FatalFlaw: {{Pride}} is the defining flaw of over a dozen major characters ranging from significant [=NPCs=] to several companions to every noteworthy antagonist from the tutorial villain to the GreaterScopeVillain. Most of the game is spent observing, managing, and dishing out the consequences of misplaced pride.

*** When you meet Ivar, you can hear his entire story. [[spoiler:Riven with guilt over "killing" his family with a well-intentioned story that led to tragedy, he "cursed" himself at their graves, screaming he was a monster... and this turned him into a werewolf. Anyone familiar with Pathfinder will immediately sit up, because '''this is not how lycanthropy works in-setting at all'''. No matter how great your guilt, you can't just get really sad and angry and turn into a werebeast; it takes a very powerful curse spell, almost on par with a Wish or Miracle, to forcibly lycanthropize someone outside of them having the curse spread to them via bites or whatnot. This is an immediate red flag that something ''powerful'' is at work in the Stolen Lands.]]

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: The Lantern King is this to the rest of the Eldest due to his destructive sense of humor and DisproportionateRetribution. [[spoiler: Magdh, Shyka, and The Lost Prince have no problems helping the player deal with him in the secret ending.]]

** A segment of Act 1 involves a war between tribes of kobolds and mites, both small-sized low-challenge LawfulEvil mook species. The conflict is depicted as evenly matched, with the player acting as the third party in a traditional KingmakerScenario. However, in game terms (and observed play), it should be an easy win for the mites - mites are [[TheFairFolk Fey]], meaning they have DamageReduction. The kobold's low strength and simple weapons rarely hit hard enough to land ScratchDamage at all, the kobolds don't employ firebombs or poison, they have few spellcasters, and there's only a single ColdIron weapon available that the mites intentionally hid because they know they're weak to it. Realistically, the player taking the Sootscale Tribe's side is the only chance they have for victory.
** The final stage of Valerie's companion questline has her put through a church trial over the circumstances of her quitting the Church of Shelyn. Should you talk your way through to the "good" ending [[spoiler:where Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar]], the paladin leader will [[KnightTemplar lose his temper and attack you]]. On tabletop this probably should have cost him his class features on the spot for violating [[https://aonprd.com/DeityDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Shelyn Shelyn's paladin code]] and/or ceasing to be LawfulGood,[[invoked]] but since this is the only situation in the entire game where such a mechanic would be relevant, Owlcat probably didn't consider it cost-effective to write code for it.

* GoldSilverCopperStandard: Averted like on most infinity engine games.

** It is possible to end up without a Councilor for Kingdom Management, which often spells inevitable doom due to the position being needed to resolve numerous events. Specifically, of the three potential candidates, [[spoiler:Shandra must be selected at the very start of the game, without any indication what function she could actually serve (and the player's Swordlord benefactor advising them to avoid her), Tsanna is a Chaotic Evil priestess who is likely to be killed or arrested by the player long before there's any indication she's recruit-able, and Tristian betrays the party and may be fought and killed as a result.]]

* StrawMisogynist: A lot of the Six Bears (Amiri's old tribe) fall squarely into this trope. Notably even the other barbarian tribes encountered in the game aren't shy about calling them idiots for it.

** The game stops just short of forcing Jubilost into the party (bottlenecking at the river crossing where he can be found and having Linzi gush over his work as an author). He's an alchemist, and comes equipped with a daily supply of acid bombs at the very beginning of a chapter where almost every encounter is rife with trolls who can only be killed by fire or acid. He's also the only non DLC character who can be made a Treasurer, meaning he's practically mandatory for kingdom management. On a lesser note, you'll likely recruit Ekundayo before reaching Trobold, a character who is heavily invested in taking revenge on the trolls, which is very helpful if your party didn't already have an archer to make use of the oversized, acid-tipped magical longbow Devourer of Metal hidden in the trolls' fortress.

* TimedMission: Some quests need to be addressed before the time limit expires. In Act 1, you must defeat the Stag Lord within three months or you lose the game. Furthermore, there are certain events that build up while you manage your Kingdom, and if you don't address the problem in a timely fashion, it's a Game Over.

*** Fortunately, any mercenary you hire can be placed in any advisor position, though they receive a flat -4 penalty regardless of the role. Rarely the ideal choice, but always an option.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: A number of bosses can be befriended (provided you have the correct alignment), but the one that portrays this trope most solidly is [[spoiler: Armag, the barbarian warlord, who will [[BloodBrothers declare you blood-siblings]] if you spare him]].

* StupidEvil: A lot of the Chaotic Evil options are just murdering allies or other NPCs for no reason whatsoever beyond feeling like it; for example, while talking to the head of the Academy during the Rushlight Tournament, you have the option to attack her out of the blue, saying something along the lines of "Down with schools and teachers!". Rarely is a Chaotic Evil choice actually smart in a way that isn’t an alternate excuse for something a different alignment would also do, and even fewer of those choices have any semblance of self-preservation for you and your kingdom.

* StupidEvil: A lot of the Chaotic Evil options are just murdering allies for no reason whatsoever beyond feeling like it. Rarely is a Chaotic Evil choice actually smart in a way that isn’t an alternate excuse for something a different alignment would also do, and even fewer of those choices have any semblance of self-preservation for you and your kingdom.

* ObviousBeta: The game's initial release wasn't very smooth. It was littered with bugs and issues, with [[GameBreakingBug some of them preventing the completion of quests]]. A lot of the early encounters and random encounter tables were also unreasonably difficult to the point of a guaranteed party wipe (looking at you, random weretiger); a patch to relieve the most absurd parts of the EarlyGameHell came in the first day.

* MedievalStasis: While the source material has early modern technology like firearms, ''Kingmaker'' does not feature any of this and sticks to a medieval tech level. Partially because the Stolen Lands are so wild and untamed, that there isn't any chance to develop technology, and within the game's story, not enough time passes for more advance technology to be workedin.

* MedievalStasis: While the source material has early modern technology like firearms, ''Kingmaker'' does not feature any of this and sticks to a medieval tech level.

* NoodleIncident: Early in ''Varnhold's Lot'', Maegar and Cephal both refer to a past adventure hunting a witch named Noose.

** The game stops just short of forcing Jubilost into the party (bottlenecking at the river crossing where he can be found and having Linzi gush over his work as an author). He's an alchemist, and comes equipped with a daily supply of acid bombs at the very beginning of a chapter where almost every encounter is rife with trolls who can only be killed by fire or acid. [[spoiler:On a lesser note, you'll likely recruit Ekundayo before reaching Trobold, a character who is heavily invested in taking revenge on the trolls, which is very helpful if your party didn't already have an archer to make use of the oversized, acid-tipped magical longbow Devourer of Metal hidden in the trolls' fortress.]]

** The BonusBoss mentioned below requires that you kill 45 mini-bosses throughout the Stolen Lands - thankfully, this is retroactive.

* BladeOnAStick: Spears, Scythes, Glaives, Etc.
* BonusBoss: In the Valley of the Dead there is a room Tristian [[SchmuckBait strongly advises you not to enter]]. If you do enter it, you'll face an Astradaemon and two Thanadaemon.
** [[HeroOfAnotherStory Blakemoor the Wizard]]'s ArchEnemy Siroket will show up if you help him and attack both of you. She carries one of the game's [[InfinityPlusOneSword best weapons]] and she knows how to use it.
** Kill 45 or more minibosses from all around the Stolen Lands and find the key inside the old well (once your capital advances to the rank of City) and you will be able to [[spoiler: challenge Farnirras the Pensive, a lich with some of the strongest spells in the game. In his treasure stash are some godly-tier weapons and accessories]].

** The same thing goes for the key to unlock the BonusBoss. It requires that you defeat 45 specific monsters - but once you get down to the final few, trying to figure out which ones are ''left'' is an exercise in frustration.

* StupidityIsTheOnlyOption: In Vordakai's Tomb, even warned as you are by the tooltips and possible in-game knowledge (such as speaking to Kaessi about it), it is impossible to [[spoiler:make your companions keep their mouths shut and avoid spawning more Soul Eaters during the halfway point. The smartest option is for the PlayerCharacter to pick the characters best suited for dueling a Soul Eater whenever prompted by Horagnamon (Jaethal in particular is completely immune to ability drain because she's undead)--or, if using Kaessi, name her because that isn't her true name and thus an attempt to send a Soul Eater after Kaessi will fail. [[ButThouMust It is also impossible to avoid giving Horagnamon the player character's name]] thanks to one of The Nameless Sisters.]]

* {{Superboss}}: Ilthuliak the black dragon and Farnirras the lich would have been this at launch, but the Stolen Lands DLC adds an actual [[spoiler:Spawn of Rovagug at the bottom of the Tenebrous Depths]] which decisively takes the cake.

** Early on, you can stumble across a camp at the Old Sycamore that is strewn with corpses, and checking it lets you see there are enough supplies to sleep there for one night. Doing so [[spoiler: brings out Viscount Smoulderburn, a CR '''14''' enemy who liberally applies fear effects]].

A sequel, ''[[VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous Pathfinder: Wrath of The Righteous]]'', was announced on December 2019, based on the Adventure Path of the same name. A Kickstarter campaign for the game launched in February 2020, and concluded on March 11th of that year, [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/owlcatgames/pathfinder-wrath-of-the-righteous/ having raised $2.05 million US dollars]] (more than double what the ''Kingmaker'' Kickstarter did).

** Many Chaotic Evil choices let you attack enemies unprovoked, some of which may be simple commoners who will go down before they can even draw a weapon.

** In Lostlarn Keep, [[spoiler:Varn is parted from the others early on, sent back to Varnhold through a portal. Cephal is left on the other side of a cave-in after protecting the rest of the party from falling rocks. And finally, at the very end of the dungeon, the Horned Hunter unceremoniously kills off the remaining party members other than the General.]]

** Random luck and a low advisor's ability can make it so that solving a problem actually makes it worse than if you'd left it alone.

** "Baleful Polymorph" is implemented as a 5th level spell on the druid, sorcerer, wizard, and magus lists. It turns the target into a small, harmless animal.

*** On a similar tack, [[spoiler:the whole story of the Scythe Tree deep in the Narlmarches. It used to be a dryad queen, who was transformed into a Scythe Tree via what appears to be a local curse superstition wherein you place a curse on someone by throwing a coin in a well. This same curse has forced multiple individuals into undeath, as well. Even another local NPC in-universe will point out that, by most magicians' experiences, this is ''total nonsense''; that's not even how proper curses work in-universe, the creation of undead of that power isn't even usually the domain of curses regardless, and in particular permanently turning a dryad queen into a damned ''scythe tree'', against her will, is pretty much the exclusive domain of the most powerful 9th-level or Mythic magic. Although she doesn't speculate further, the NPC herself points out that something a hell of a lot more powerful than some wisps in a well have to be at work to make something like that happen the way it did.]]

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The final stage of Valerie's companion questline has her put through a church trial over the circumstances of her quitting the Church of Shelyn. Should you talk your way through to the "good" ending [[spoiler:where Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar]], the paladin leader will [[KnightTemplar lose his temper and attack you]]. On tabletop this probably should have cost him his class features on the spot for violating [[https://aonprd.com/DeityDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Shelyn Shelyn's paladin code]] and/or ceasing to be LawfulGood,[[invoked]] but since this is the only situation in the entire game where such a mechanic would be relevant, Owlcat probably didn't consider it cost-effective to write code for it.

** It is possible to end up without a Councilor for Kingdom Management, which often spells inevitable doom due to the position being needed to resolve numerous events. Specifically, of the three potential candidates, [[spoiler:Shandra must be selected at the very start of the game, without any indication what function she could actually serve (and the player's Swordlord benefactor advising them to avoid her), Tsanna is a Chaotic Evil priestess who is likely to die at the player's hands long before there's any indication she's recruit-able, and Tristian betrays the party and may be fought and killed as a result.]]

** During Chapter 1, Oleg's Trading Post serves as the player's hub, where they can rest safely and dump vendor trash. The trading post is attacked by bandits working for the StarterVillain midway through the chapter.

* ImprobablePowerDiscrepancy: A lot of the enemies you encounter, especially later in the game, have been drastically increased in power from their tabletop equivalents in order to provide a better challenge. An example of this is the 'Mature Leopard' you encounter in a random encounter in the early game, which is a 10 HD animal as opposed to the 3 HD leopards have in the tabletop.

* IKnowYourTrueName: Can bite you in the ass in the Valley of the Dead. [[spoiler: Every time you reveal your or one of your companion's names within earshot of Horagnamon (who constantly attempts to taunt you into doing so) a Soul Eater, which must be fought alone by that character, is summoned right before the confrontation with Vordakai. Unfortunately, your companions grab the IdiotBall Horagnamon tosses them and reveal their own names if you don't. Your best bet is to voluntarily name companions who can hold up against ability damage--notably Jaethal, who once again [[YouCantKillWhatsAlreadyDead is immune to it because she's undead]], or Kaessi (a DLC companion), since that ''isn't'' her true name.]]
* KaizoTrap: When exiting the [[WhamEpisode Verdant Chambers]] after [[spoiler: defeating the last Sister and rescuing Tristian]], there is one last trap right in front of the exit which if not evaded or disarmed will wallop your ''entire party'' with [[LevelDrain Energy Drain]], potentially killing a few members instantly. Ouch.
** A particularly thorough player with very high Perception can stumble upon the trap ''much'' earlier, as it's right in front of a DoorToBefore, but Erastil help you if you trigger it by mistake.

* KnightTemplar: Hegend, a paladin of Shelyn who appears during Valerie's companion quest. [[spoiler: If Shelyn forgives Valerie and removes her scar, Hegend completely loses it and orders his fellow paladins to kill Valerie in the middle of the temple. Not only do he and his followers die fighting your party and the other Shelyn worshippers, but the bloodshed desecrates the temple rendering it unusable.]] Subverted with Fredero Sinnet, the other paladin of Shelyn who appears in the quest chain, as he turns out to be more reasonable [[spoiler: and will attack Hegend when he goes nuts if Shelyn forgives Valerie]].

* MarathonLevel: Vordakai's Tomb features two entire floors with death traps, encounters with groups of undead cyclops, undead that can damage or [[LevelDrain permanently drain]] your ability scores and levels, hordes of [[WolfPackBoss ''dozens'']] of zombies at a time, a fight with Soul Eaters that [[DuelBoss you and up to two party members will have to fight one-on-one]], and tops it off with a boss that, at the very least, is mercifully straightforward. Oh, and the exit [[PointOfNoReturn seals itself after the first encounter]], so you have to complete it all in one go. It also got infamous as ThatOneLevel, so much that a patch added a few camping supplies just outside the boss room so the players wouldn't be forced to fight him completely drained of all their resources.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: Lake Silverstep Village has Ivar, [[spoiler: whose children died from falling off a cliff after he'd told them a fanciful tale about how they could see a Silver Dragon from it during a new moon]].

* RomanceSidequest: Four options - Valerie, Octavia, and Regongar for males, Tristian, Octavia, and Regongar for females. And a fifth, hidden option for both genders - [[spoiler:namely, Nyrissa herself]], though it crosses into GuideDangIt territory. Of course, the Wildcards DLC adds even more bi Romance with a female Tiefling.
** The Varnhold's Lot DLC has Maegar Varn for a female General and a one-night stand with Willas Gunderson for both.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Maegar Varn and Cephal Lorentus in the "Varnhold's Lot" DLC. The one is a [[invoked]] ChaoticGood rogue and [[InformedAbility a naturally gifted tactician]] but bad at seeing the big picture. The other is a LawfulEvil wizard (and a worshiper of Asmodeus) who is a very gifted manager, but often overly suspicious of others' motives. They argue in every scene, but they're best friends. {{Parodied}} late in the DLC's major dungeon, where you observe illusory versions of Maegar and Cephal arguing about whether to build a hospital on a cursed cemetery, or to put a mill on the cemetary and the hospital in a plague-ridden wasteland.

* AdorableEvilMinions: Not only are there a fair amount of Kobolds, Goblins, and Mites around (and you can make friends with as many of them as you wish, though your citizens might not appreciate it), but you get to recruit an adorable evil goblin minion of your own (regardless of your own personal alignment as the player character).

* CharacterClassSystem: Being based on D&D, it has the classics: Bard, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard. It also has some prestige classes and classes from other sources (Alchemist, Inquisitor and Magus).
** The "Wildcards" DLC introduced the Kineticist.

* CurbStompBattle: Many Chaotic Evil choices let you attack enemies unprovoked, some of which may be simple commoners who will go down before they can even draw a weapon.

* CursedWithAwesome: The sorcerer Class has Bloodlines which can stem from anything from dragons to demons to undead and more. They all give the Sorcerer awesome powers, new spells, and access to more feats.
** Later in the game the PlayerCharacter can [[spoiler: get cursed by Lamashtu. However, since she's a Goddess of Monstrosity and Horrors, the curses you can get are fairly benign, or even beneficial]].

** In "Varnhold's Lot" the PC can seduce NPC Willas Gunderson while investigating him. After the FadeToBlack, the bed is completely trashed and the innkeeper complains to you about holes in the ceiling.

* DiscOneNuke: The unique longbow Devourer of Metal you can find during the "Troll Trouble" chapter. Despite being only a +2 weapon, it has a powerful acid damage enchantment and like Amiri's bastard sword it hits with the force of a Large weapon, and therefore remains competitive even into the endgame.
** From the very start of chapter 2, it is fairly trivial to sneak by the Crag Linnorm at the Bridge Over the Gundrin River area by using an invisibility spell. The body it guards contains a bounty of treasures - including a +2 Flaming Earth Breaker, a powerful weapon for that point in the game with an enhancement that is excellent against the many Trolls encountered in the chapter.

* FailedASpotCheck: Be sure to invest points in the Perception skill on your party or else you wont notice all those lootable objects lying in front of you. Perception is also needed to locate new areas on the map. If you fail, you have to come back later when you level up.

** It is possible to end up without a Councilor for Kingdom Management, which often spells inevitable doom due to the position being needed to resolve numerous events. Specifically, of the three potential candidates, [[spoiler:Shandra must be selected at the very start of the game, without any indication what function she could actually serve (and the player's Swordlord benefactor advising them to avoid her), Tsanna is a Chaotic Evil priestess who is likely to die at the player's hands long before there's any indication she's recruit-able, and Tristan betrays the party and may be fought and killed as a result.]]

** Kingdom Management. You can also set it to Auto, but you wont be able to disable it once the game starts. This also locks you out of all artisans, their sidequests and their monthly gifts including [[InfinityPlusOneSword their masterpieces]].

* LudicrousGibs: Critical hits that reduce enemies to 0 hit-points cause them to explode. Useful in the case of trolls, since they need to be either damaged by fire or acid or be gibbed like this to stay dead. Counterproductive with many magical and non-magical beasts, which can be skinned for their valuable pelts if they aren't gibbed.

* NonLethalKO: Characters reduced to 0 hit points fall unconscious. They die when their hitpoints equal their Constitution score as a negative number, though on 'Normal' difficulty and below they will instead suffer a 'mortal wound' the first time and have to be killed again before they're down for good.

* {{Polyamory}}: Possible in two ways. In the base game, you can romance both Octavia and Regongar, thus joining their existing relationship. If you have the "Wild Cards" DLC, you can romance [[spoiler: a pair of [[TwinThreesomeFantasy Tiefling twins]] who can't exist in Golarion at the same time]].