Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is an upcoming MMORPG based on classically spirited MMOs of the past; so much so that "classically spirited MMO" is at this stage almost synonymous with the title. Today though, I would like to tackle how Pen and Paper Tabletop Role-Playing games are a huge inspiration and factor in the creation of Pantheon - and how, while playing, you will see glaring similarities between the two.
The most obvious of examples would be the approach to the World Quests or Discovery and Exploration Quests scattered in every corner of the world - known as Perception Quests. They take the form of a dialog that will pop up on your screen should you start investigating a particular object, wander into a less traveled area, or stumble upon something interesting. The text that you will read is but a hint, like what your character might be thinking or a comment from a Dungeon Master to entice you further. Now, the Perception system is it's own category of gameplay loop in and of itself involving factors such as your race, class, events you've done before, items in your possession, or even your perception level and whether you have decided to be a "Keeper" or not. So everyone may or may not receive the Perception popup, which makes it more intriguing when one does get it. Once you've seen one though, you will want to know more. Upon digging deeper, you will soon find yourself on a quest without markers, without borders, one that could lead you to absolutely anything and anywhere. On paper, it's exciting, but in action, it's exhilarating and nothing in any MMO has made me feel more like I'm playing a Pen and Paper RPG, full of infinite possibilities quite like this system.
Recently, I was allowed into a public session with some other content creators and we dived deep into a dungeon cave to unearth it's secrets and mysteries. This wasn't your typical instanced dungeon, it is open and public, but the very first thing that really changed our attitude was the pure darkness of it all. Torches lit the cavern walls, or the fireball from our wizard would light the room upon impact and it really changed our behavior. This reminded me heavily of just how much slower and more careful you might tread through a dark, dank dungeon in a pen and paper RPG. Would we have had a racial ability to see through the darkness, it would have helped, but relying on nothing but torches really changed the behavior of our entire group as we crept through narrow passageways; always wary of the next group of monsters.
TheNathanNAPALM is one of the foremost authorities on MMORPGs; his YouTube and Twitter channels are full of amazing and entertaining Pantheon content so you'd be a fool not to give him a follow. If you enjoyed this article on Pantheon and table-top games, don’t forget to check out the rest of The Pantheon Series – including our previous guest posts by PantheonPlus and BazgrimTV.
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