A Dance of Masks is the sixth and the last premium DLC for cRPG Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. Where the events of the previous DLC packs explored the adventures of a separate cast of characters or were set in a procedurally-generated set of islands, A Dance of Masks is seamlessly integrated into the main game in the same way that The Last Sarkorians pack is. That distinction immediately sets it apart from the rest.
Add in the fact that it possesses a unique, much more humorous and hopeful tone (although it is also affected by your chosen Mythic Path, and the Swarm playthrough would be very different from an Angel one), and it is really nothing alike with the content Wrath received up till now.
Get your best outfit and saddle your horse, it’s time to set off to Kenabres once more! This is our Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous – A Dance of Masks DLC review. Note that the review contains spoilers to the events of the DLC, if you’d like to avoid knowing what happens, you might want to skip it.
The events of the DLC take place in Chapter 5, after the return of the Commander and their ever-noble retinue from the depths of the Abyssal city Alushinyrra and the expedition to Iz. Kenabres, the town attacked by Demon Lord Deskari at the very beginning of the game, is now rebuilt and throwing a festival in honor of the one and only Commander of the Fifth Crusade.
You can take part in the festivities at any time before the point of no-return – namely entering Threshold to face Areelu Vorlesh – having your loyal companions tag along with their own mini-quests. While the mood in the city is quite joyous, the inhabitants and your retinue alike do not forget that the war is still ongoing. Some prefer to drown their sorrows or party like there is no tomorrow, while others stay vigilant and anxious, expecting something to happen at any moment.
It is up to you whether you will announce your presence and reveal yourself as the Commander, or stay incognito through the entire festival. There are certain differences between the approaches and how they feed into the plot of the DLC.
Following in the spirit of Mass Effect’s Citadel DLC, A Dance of Masks offers a way to learn more about who your companions are outside life-or-death situations and hopeless battles. There is even some extra romance content if you were inclined to partake. Rejoice the 12 people who romanced Galfrey (yours truly included), the Queen has a few scenes as well, though they all happen at the very end of the DLC and are of the expected “love vs. duty” type.
If you wanted to try out wine with Sosiel, play a prank on all the guards that pulled Woljif’s tail, play into Daeran’s vanity only to see him briefly show his more touching side, and more – the DLC will give you opportunity for all that and more.
However, not all companions were made equal, and some have noticeably less content than others. In fact, Trevor not only didn’t get a quest of his own, he also wasn’t voiced. Which seemed incredibly jarring against everyone else being as vocal as they can be. In fact, even Azata’s Aivu got a complete voice-over for the entire game in the update! It seems the cookie dragon stole the poor man’s voice in the process.
Of course, a DLC to Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous DLC cannot exist without combat. After all, it is the bread and butter of the game. To that end, while the city revels in festivities, you will learn of a conspiracy taking place right under your nose… again.
Cultists skulk around Kenabres, and their interest seems to be solely focused on you and yours. Very quickly, you will uncover that self-proclaimed god Razmir has his eyes set on your Mythic Powers, posing both as a puzzle and as a challenge for your latest opponent.
Razmir’s ambitions get in the way of your celebrations as his cultists kidnap your companions and eventually force the Commander to go along with their plans – to a degree. However, peace was never an option, and soon enough you find yourself back on your feet and ready to throw hands.
The battle content can be roughly split into 2 sections:
- Following a couple of must-do battles, there is an optional otherworldly arena sequence;
- As a part of the main story, you will experience a short dungeon crawling section that is not even half as big as the prologue in the Shield Maze. It consists of a storybook sequence and a few encounters that culminate in a small mini-boss battle.
Narrative-wise, the whole Razmir plot felt like an afterthought to the activities you partake in Kenabres with your companions. It does not reach a true conclusion either, ending in an unsatisfying and flat “Well, that just happened. Back to partying!”
If there was a continuation, similar to how the events of The Lord of Nothing picked up where Through the Ashes left off, it might have been a worthwhile set-up for adventures to follow. But, as of now, A Dance of Masks is the last DLC for Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, nor is there a sequel set anywhere near Razmiran, and so the events of Kenabres should be taken at face value.
Additionally, A Dance of Masks comes with a new set of character Archetypes, focusing on Classes that were left out of a similar update that arrived along with the Lord of Nothing. If you were looking for something fresh for a new playthrough now that all the content for the game had been released, you are in luck.
There are some truly fantastic options like Titan Fighter that has no difficulty using two huge weapons or Living Grimoire Inquisitor that punishes demons with the written word of truth thanks to their special weapon: a large sacred tome.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous – A Dance of Masks favorably compares to other premium DLC packs of the game due to being seamlessly included into the main campaign, much like The Last Sarkorians. It is one final adventure for your Commander and their companions (or one final feast for the Swarm), featuring a limited amount of variability and reactivity, and giving you a chance to bid farewell to this cast of characters that accompanied you for a lengthy epic adventure.
It is also incredibly short, featuring very few Mythic Path interactions, an unsure tone that can’t decide whether it wants to be humorous or serious and thus not accomplishing either (for an Angel at least), and an uninspired dungeon sequence.
Now that all the premium DLC content is out, it’s time to replay Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous anew – or for the first time if you were patient enough to wait until this point. Note, however, that playing it for the first time and trying to consume as much content as possible, including the DLC, might prove to be a disjointed experience.
