First Day on the Job

Learn how to manage your new capital in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. This guide covers your first day, kingdom stats, advisors, and the start of the 'An Ancient Curse' quest.

After the banquet concludes, you find yourself in your nascent capital, built upon the ruins of the Stag Lord's fortress. Kesten Garess awaits to greet you, offer initial quests, and provide a tour. He'll inform you about the presence of Jhod, your chosen emissary, and a blind elf named Desna. After the tour, you'll enter your residence.

In your throne room, you'll be introduced to the kingdom map. Your emissary will explain its features and urge you to appoint ministers from your companions and followers. You'll also be reminded to return to your capital regularly for official business, as petitioners expect to meet with the baron to maintain the realm's stability.

This marks a significant shift in gameplay. Many quests, including main story objectives, will now be initiated, advanced, or resolved through your kingdom's management. You'll continue exploring, fighting monsters, and completing quests, but must now balance these activities with managing state affairs in the capital.

Kesten will then guide you through your capital.

This transitions from theory to practice as Jhod and Tristian present themselves as your first petitioners, informing you of a powerful curse in an area near the capital called Bald Hilltop. This initiates the quest An Ancient Curse, which will unfold in multiple parts throughout the game, requiring periodic returns to the capital. The curse manifests as monster invasions in the Bald Hilltop area, and failure to address these threats promptly will negatively impact your kingdom stats. The first battle at Bald Hilltop is scheduled for 41 days from this point.

A day later, the quest How to Build a Kingdom begins, presenting you with the Kingdom Map. The tutorial highlights your Kingdom Stats, which are crucial for kingdom management. While seemingly distinct, these stats and advisor roles are interconnected.

There are ten Kingdom Stats that measure various aspects of your kingdom's development. Each stat will eventually have an Advisor, but initially, only five have one: Community (Regent), Loyalty (Councilor), Military (General), Economy (Treasurer), and Divine (High Priest). Kingdom Stats are typically gained by successfully resolving Events or constructing buildings. They can be lost by failing to address certain events, acting as a 'soft timer' for kingdom challenges. For instance, failing to stop monster raids will decrease Kingdom Stats, leading to increased unrest.

You can assign characters to advisory roles via the 'Advisors' tab. The assigned advisor influences the type of response to events (e.g., a military response with the General). Having more advisors increases the number of events you can handle simultaneously and provides more options for each event. While the outcome can be influenced, successfully resolving events and maintaining Kingdom Stats is the primary goal.