Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the latest creation of Owlcat Games and an indirect sequel to the studio’s previous work, Pathfinder: Kingmaker. The game gained quite the interest and support of the community during the active period of its Kickstarter campaign. In addition to standard stretch goals for extra funding, the team also tasked the players with fulfilling certain social goals – following the company on Instagram, subscribing to the Youtube channel, etc.
The last among those social achievements was the addition of an extra romance option to Wrath of the Righteous, featuring none other than Queen Galfrey herself. Galfrey is the long-lived sovereign of Mendev whose youth has been prolonged by the Sun Orchid elixirs acquired by the church of her patron goddess, Iomedae. As Owlcats pointed out, she led the Four Crusades against the forces of Abyss, cheered for the victories of her people, mourned their losses and outlived most of her friends.
Both male and female Commanders have a chance at winning the royal heart. Unlike other romance options such as Arueshalae and Daeran, Queen Galfrey is not a party member. And, being a non-companion, interactions with her are fairly limited and spread far apart over the course of the game compared to the more present NPCs that have a chance to tag along with the Commander.
Between that status, her biography and the general disposition as a Lawful Good Paladin Queen, don’t expect a quick fiery romance with an immediate pay-off. While not as drawn out as the relationship between the fallen nymph Nyrissa and the ruler of the Stolen Lands in the secret ending of Pathfinder: Kingmaker, it is nevertheless a story about duty vs courtly love. And, as long as the Worldwould exists, duty dictates where it goes.
Beware, ALL the spoilers ahead!
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/f7ehzm/do_it_for_queen_galfrey/
Now that you’ve agreed to spoilers, here’s the TL/DR version:
- Act II: Invite the Queen to join the Crusade with Angel/Aeon dialogue option, flirt with her in the following conversation (must do or the romance won’t trigger); reach Drezen in a timely fashion with “green” morale for an extra scene (optional);
- Act III: Give the Lexicon of Paradox to the Queen (optional), wait for the Queen before attacking Midnight Fane for an extra conversation (optional);
- Act IV: Ask the Storyteller to check on the Queen for you;
- Act V: Show Galfrey’s farewell letter to the Storyteller to learn what she was feeling when writing it, don’t let the Queen die in Iz – easier done if she was given the Lexicon of Paradox in Act III. Don’t agree to stay friends -> ??? -> Profit!
Extra notes: During Act V, the romance will succeed only if you are Angel, Aeon, Gold Dragon or Legend. Also make sure you are not in a confirmed romance with a different character around the same time. It can come as somewhat of a surprise with Sosiel and Lann for male and female Commanders respectively.
If you need more information, proceed onward!
ACT I – Battle for Kenabres
With the Queen ruling over Mendev from the capital city of Nerosyan and the game starting with Demon Lord Deskari crushing a party in Kenabres, it will be a while before you get to interact with Galfrey yourself. However, there will be plenty of characters mentioning the Queen’s name before her entrance.
Simply progress through the Burning City, recruit your available companions, unlock a variety of Mythic Paths and try to get enough materials to complete the errand “Restoring a Broken Gold Buckle” that will give you the Covenant of the Inheritor item.
For that, you require a Shard of Holy Symbol located in the burning house on the Market Square of Kenabres (bottom left part of the location) and 5 Magic Essences to give to the Storyteller. There is a total of six of them in Kenabres, some require to pass high Perception checks while others are more obvious:
- Estrod Tower
- Horgus Gwerm’s Mansion
- Blackwing Library (hidden door, requires high Perception check)
- Grey Garrison x3
Once you are done exploring the city and finishing up side-quests, commence the attack on Gray Garrison, find the Elven Notes for the Storyteller, deal with Minagho and decide the fate of the Wardstone of Kenabres.
During the celebration of your victory in the Defender’s Heart, you will get to meet Galfrey face-to-face for the first time. In general, the Queen seems to favor more serious Good or Lawful responses with a touch of sarcasm and mischief here and there, when the situation seems lighthearted enough – like approving of her setting Daeran up to be your advisor.
ACT II – Banner Over the Citadel
Your actions during the battle for Kenabres see you become the Knight Commander of the Fifth Crusade, officiated by the Queen herself. Your first task: taking back the citadel of Drezen and recovering the Sword of Valor, an artifact that has the power to prevent demons from using teleportation.
If you collected enough Magic Essences for the restoration of the belt buckle, you can find the Storyteller in the camp and ask him to repair the relic.
Inviting Queen Galfrey to join the Crusade (Must Do)
Act II has a number of interactions between the Commander and Queen Galfrey, provided you invite her to join you on the march for the lost fortress. To do that, you need to talk to the Queen in the Commander’s Tent in the camp, and ask her what she is going to do next.
After snarking about the Commander’s lack of subordination, the Queen will reveal that she intends to return to Nerosyan to oversee the future of the Fifth Crusade. Here you can use either Angel or Aeon Mythic Path dialogue choice to convince her to join the force advancing towards Drezen.
The Queen Incognito (Must Do)
After agreeing to march towards Drezen with the Commander’s army, the Queen reveals that she will be pretending to be a knight from a lesser order to keep her identity hidden. At this point, she leaves to quietly return later without fanfare.
When you leave the camp and come back, you will run into a royal messenger by the Commander’s tent. He will announce that the Queen had arrived in the camp incognito. Talking to her at this point provides you with more dialogue options – and chances to flirt!
Ask the Queen about her reasons for joining the Crusade, followed by the personal question about the Galfrey that bards and historians cannot see. To start the romance, you have to choose one of the two following flirty options in the conversation, depending on how shameless your character is:
- Mendev is lucky to have such a queen. And I am twice as lucky – for she has agreed to fight by my side.
- I look forward to working closely with you, and who knows? Maybe feathers won’t be the only things flying.
Galfrey will react in a certain way depending on whether your Commander kissed her hand in Act I or went for a simple handshake. Either way, the game is on!
Restoring the Covenant of the Inheritor (Optional)
Having restored the Covenant of the Inheritor, you can show the relic to the Queen. Even if you decide to keep the belt buckle, you can still learn more about Galfrey’s past by asking her questions related to the armor piece.
It does not seem that restoring the relic and giving it to Galfrey is required for a successful romance. However, in case there is some kind of hidden reputation counter (like it was with Nyrissa in Pathfinder: Kingmaker), it is worth handing the relic over to its previous owner. It gives you a tiny bit of experience and the Queen’s gratitude.
If you didn’t find enough Magic Essences during your stay in Kenabres, worry not. You will get an opportunity to restore the relic and give it to the Queen/keep it for yourself in Act III when you cross paths with the Storyteller again.
Leper’s Smile
Your next chance to make a favorable impression (or screw things up) comes as you traverse the treacherous bug-infested location known as the Leper’s Smile. It is a combination of storybook sequence options you choose with the actual gameplay choices you make as you scour the location of the Vescavors.
First, you get to choose which NPC or companion will lead the bait team into the battle to give the Commander a chance at swiftly reaching and dispatching the Vescavor Queen. I have chosen Sosiel to lead the squad and had him hold position and fight for the lives of the soldiers. Reportedly, there are other winning combinations such as Lann + Scatter but I have not tested it myself.
Meanwhile, your character and their chosen party members will have to rush through the location and kill the queen bug to disperse the swarm. For the best possible result, DO NOT LOOT ANYTHING until after you are done with the Vescavor queen. You can pull the halfling out of the crevice for the price of a small poke to your morale, though!
Afterward, you can hoover up everything that isn’t nailed down. And maybe the nails, too, while you are at it. You also might want to hop into the cave next to the queen’s body to pick up items needed for the Lich and Gold Dragon Mythic Paths. Even if you don’t intend to follow them, it’s still extra experience and loot!
Do not attempt to use the Vescavor slime at the battle of Drezen with the Queen present, she will not stand for it. It is a part of the Swarm-That-Walks Mythic Path unlock, and it requires you to let Galfrey return to Nerosyan instead of joining the Crusade.
Strike from the Sky
Just as your little Crusade seems to be progressing at a nice pace towards Drezen, a flock of gargoyles led by a named Nabasu demon will descend upon your camp in the middle of the night. They will whisk away half of your party as well as a number of NPCs – including one certain female knight from a lesser order that kept her distance from everyone. Whoops.
Clear your camp of the attackers, gather your forces and advance towards the Lost Chapel. Fight your way up the mountain, rescuing NPCs and companions alike.
As you enter the Chapel itself, you will see a group of ghouls tormenting imprisoned crusaders, trying to turn them away from Iomedae. This is where Queen Galfrey will make her appearance. In the following dialogue, the Queen will explain that she allowed herself to be captured hoping to help whomever she could once the gargoyles landed. Galfrey will then ask Commander if they were worried – I went for the “yes, of course” option, but the conversation seems to have no effect on the romance either way.
The chosen paladin of Iomedae will then round up the survivors and lead them to Anevia. Finish up exploring the Lost Chapel (drop by Zacharius to say hi if you have his wand), receive your new Mythic feat, chat with Arueshalae to recruit her early and be prepared. Drezen awaits!
Taking over Drezen
There isn’t much to say about the actual combat for Drezen in the context of the guide: you arrive, besiege the city, spend a lot of time in gruesome combat, loot triple the party weight in various pieces of gear and consumables, recover the Sword of Valor and claim your destiny.
This is the point where you commit to a Mythic Path. The requirement for successful romance on not to be on an Evil or Chaotic-aligned Mythic Path at a specific point in Act V. So your choices are Angel, Aeon, Legend and Gold Dragon. Starting out as, for example, Azata or Trickster and swapping into the late-game Mythic Path also works, according to various reports from players on Steam and Reddit.
I have chosen the Angel Mythic Path, so everything down below will be coming from its perspective. If you have anything to add from the point of view of other Paths, let me know in the comments below.
Be vigilant about companion relationships, too! Having an active romance with a different character will cause Galfrey to break off the relationship with the Commander at a certain point. Some characters, like Lann for female Commanders and Sosiel for male Commanders, can cost you a romance that way.
ACT III – Crusade Begins
With the siege of Drezen done and the city back in the hands of the followers of Iomedae, the Fifth Crusade can begin in earnest. You get your expanded Crusade management – in addition to leading the army, you can also start building up your infrastructure and issue decrees, tackle problems, solve events, restore a variety of relics and more.
Queen’s Gratitude
If you manage to take over Drezen efficiently, with few losses and morale in the green, the Queen will commend your dedication to the Crusade – and offer a personal gift (and grant you achievement Queen’s Gratitude).
Despite roleplaying a rather serious Lawful character, I chose the flirting option in the dialogue below to tease her about the ring. It comes up in a much later conversation in the game so it was worth it.
After this point, the Queen returns to Nerosyan to attend to her royal duties, leaving the day-to-day Crusading in the (hopefully) capable hands of the Commander. It will be quite some time before you hear from her again.
Lexicon of Paradox (Optional)
During your adventures in Areelu’s Laboratory, you will come across the first part of the Lexicon of Paradox, the Architect’s notes on the Worldwound, demons, and more.
Pocket it for later, to give to Galfrey at the end of Act III. This step is entirely optional, but it will make a certain quest in Act V easier, especially if you aim to reach the secret ending. The Queen will return this half of the book to you at a later point if you are not on Evil-aligned Mythic path, so you can still assemble the full Lexicon of Paradox.
On the Cusp of the Abyss
Know Thy Enemy is a quest in Act III that has the Commander investigate the origins of the demons with strange new powers, like the one that led the pack of gargoyles in Strike From the Sky. It takes place in the Ivory Sanctum and leads to the final quest of the chapter, On the Cusp of the Abyss.
You want to wait for Queen Galfrey to arrive to assist with the attack on Midnight Fane, a rift into the Abyss located deep underneath Drezen. It takes her about a month to come to the city with her army – simply continue adventuring, completing time-sensitive tasks and doing your Crusade-related duties until the quest notifies you of her arrival. She will be waiting for you in the Citadel.
If you are on the right path, after you are done discussing the Fane and the upcoming attack, the Queen will ask to talk to the Commander alone before the assault. Agree to accompany her and listen to what the character has to say. Don’t be overly flirty or flippant in this conversation, choose the option about hoping that after the war she will be able to choose for herself.
Midnight Fane
Inside the Midnight Fane, the forces of the Crusade will split into two groups. The Hand of the Inheritor and Galfrey will remain in a defensive position to draw the demons’ attention to themselves while the Commander and their party explore the dungeon.
The Paladin will also mention that powerful demons are likely to attack her and the group, and when that happens they will sound a horn, hoping for the Commander’s help – make sure to assist them, it will happen twice through your adventures in the Fane – both times as you run into the High Priests.
Once you are done with the boss of the dungeon, the Queen will hold a review of your character’s conduct as the Knight Commander of the Fifth Crusade, meticulously going through your decisions and choice of friends. She then will announce that she is stripping the protagonist of the rank.
You can convince Galfrey to let your character keep the position of the Commander by using the Angel-specific dialogue option or by appealing to the Queen’s sense of justice provided you have no strikes besides the Sword of Valor and are Aeon, Angel or Azata. Recruiting Arueshalae counts as one such strike even if you don’t bring her with you to the Fane, but you can talk Galfrey into letting the matter go.
The outcome of the quest is the same, regardless: your party is venturing into the Abyss with the Hand of the Inheritor while the Queen remains on Golarion to lead the armies of the Fifth Crusade.
If you lost the title due to your Mythic Path choice or the actions you took previously in the game, worry not. It is not a deal-breaker.
ACT IV – Into the Abyss
Long-Distance Relationship Simulator (Must Do)
With the Commander (the ex-Commander?) traveling into the Abyss, there will be no opportunities to directly interact with Galfrey in Act IV. Through the conversations with various NPCs that chose to accompany you, you will start noticing that not all is well with the Queen. Those close to her note that the ruler of Mendev has been acting unusually harsh and is seemingly broken by her long tenure as the leader of the Crusades.
Continue following the quests until you run into the one and only Storyteller. The elven mage will mention that not everyone in Drezen is happy with the Queen’s decision to send the Commander into the Abyss, there are even whispers that Galfrey is jealous of the Commander’s glory and powers and acted to get rid of the Mythic party. While your character traverses the Midnight Isles, the Queen is actively preparing forces to advance into the heart of the Worldwound.
You can and should ask the Storyteller to check on how the Queen is doing for you, and receive a response with a small token a few quests down the line. As far as Act IV is concerned, this is all the interaction you get. The joys of trying to consistently interact with a non-companion NPC, huh?
ACT V – Endgame
With your exciting vacation in the Abyss coming to an end, it is time to return to Golarion and start fulfilling the duties of the Knight Commander of the Fifth Crusade once more. Armed with new knowledge, tremendous power and (perhaps) some unusual allies, the Commander ventures back into the Midnight Fane and finds their way to the material plane.
Returning to Golarion
Throughout your adventures in Act IV, a variety of NPCs made small remarks about how the time moves differently in the Abyss – but completely disappearing for six months was not a part of the plan! Upon return, the Commander finds Drezen in a very different state from the one they left it in. The city is on fire and is being besieged by demons, with the brave defenders pushed into the Temple’s catacombs for their base of operations.
As it turns out, with no word from the Mythic party and the Hand of the Inheritor for half a year, everyone thought that the group that was tasked with going into the Abyss had perished. With the belief that no reinforcements are coming and the mission might have been failed, Queen Galfrey gathered the armies of the Crusade for the last desperate push against the Worldwould.
The Paladin was unwilling to submit to another drawn-out agony of incremental losses for 70 years, getting pushed into a defensive position against an overwhelming enemy force. Especially considering that this time it would be demons empowered with the Nahyndrian Crystals if the hero truly perished in the Abyss and did not stop the production of these mythical items beforehand.
In doing so, the fair Queen repeated Staunton Vhane’s Drezen party trick that is to die for, namely, took the Sword of Valor out of the city, opening it up to demon teleportation. Admittedly, Galfrey did evacuate the city first, leaving the volunteers to guard the Wardstone (if you saved it), and fought her way deep into the enemy territory. But Drezen is still under constant attacks, and you will have to rebuild your armies from scratch (nooo, my Marksmen!!!). At least your Generals stick with you to rain some magic punishment and you can spend millions gained in the Abyss to acquire the Crusade currencies and quickly bolster your army with new recruits.
Galfrey’s Farewell Letter (Must Do)
If there is one person that is completely unsurprised by the arrival of the Commander, it is the Storyteller who had complete trust in your character’s abilities… and a prophetic vision of the Mythic hero’s return to Golarion. This wingman of the faithful took it upon himself to go through the Queen’s things in order to track her whereabouts for you.
While doing so, he managed to find a hidden farewell letter addressed to the Commander and written right before the armies of the Crusade set out for the fallen city of Iz. After the initial battle for Drezen is over, you can also ask the Storyteller to tell you what the Queen was feeling while writing it.
The Storyteller does not judge if you decide to pry. After all, everything is fair in love and war!
Do pry, really, it’s important.
The battle of Iz
Galfrey, Irabeth, unnamed arcanist specialists of Mendev and others believe that the key to closing the Worldwound could be found around the place it originated from. Since the initial fall of Drezen orchestrated by Minagho, the Crusaders did not manage to push quite that far into the enemy territory – letting this opportunity slip by would have been an unforgivable mistake as far as most characters seem to be concerned. Armed with the knowledge from the Lexicon of Paradox (or working on a hunch otherwise), the Queen took her armies to the fallen Sarkoris capital city, Iz, in search of this knowledge.
So this is where you catch up with the armies of the Crusade and have the long-awaited meeting with the Paladin of Iomedae. Needless to say, the Queen must survive Iz for the romance to continue, so aid her as soon as possible.
During the chat with the Queen, the Commander has an option to ask about the real reasons behind the expedition into the Abyss and the unfair way Galfrey went about it. The Paladin then confirms the words of various NPCs: she was indeed jealous of the Mythic hero’s powers and afraid of what they meant for her, the Crusade’s figurehead and symbol of duty.
You can also troll the monarch of Mendev about her farewell letter and the knowledge shared with you by the shameless Storyteller. The further chatting will have to wait until the characters find themselves in safer surroundings: demon-infested ruins on the edge of the Worldwound are not the best place to be exchanging quips or talking about feelings.
Mechanically, the following sequence seems to be the place where the game either confirms or breaks off the romance with the fair queen. At this point, you should have enough “reputation” with the character by inviting Galfrey to join the Crusade, choosing the correct dialogue options in the available conversations, showing yourself a capable Commander, etc. Additionally, you must be either Angel, Aeon, Gold Dragon or Legend.
You also want to make sure you do not have an ongoing romance with another character, some of the party members can decide if they are in a relationship with the Commander all on their own – looking at you, Lann. Male Commanders better watch out for Sosiel.
The Aftermath
After the battle of Iz is over, the united armies of the Fifth Crusade fall back to Drezen to begin the preparations for the final assault against the Threshold fortress. This is a little moment of peace and respite before the end of the world. Also, your chance to finish off side quests, researches, decrees, companion-related tasks and more before the point of no return.
If you were just about to despair that it has been a hundred+ hours, the endgame is upon us and the two dumbasses, one mythic and one royal, did not even hold hands yet, worry not. There will be some hand-holding going on here if you can talk the queen into drinking with your character in a tavern.
This is where all of those “must do” choices come in handy as it takes some convincing to get the Queen to consider her feelings. Choose the lighthearted option about mixing business and pleasure to get the conversation going – and enjoy the characters actually interacting and talking about feelings for once!
At the very least, until the cold reality of the bloody war against the endless forces of the Abyss catches up, and Galfrey remembers her first love – Duty. The Queen then harshly informs the Commander that there is nothing between the two of them and never was, and leaves to attend to her royal responsibilities.
Heartbroken, the Commander yeets themselves into the Worldwound, closing the rift in the process.
The end.
While the scene might feel like a dismissal, cold break-up or even failing to lock into the romance, worry not. The world is not ending just yet! The Queen has been informed of the Commander’s feelings and forced to acknowledge her own. With the ball squarely in her court, now it’s up to Galfrey where it all goes.
Meanwhile, the Fifth Crusade is going to the Threshold fortress, the heart of the Worldwound.
ACT VI – The Final Threshold
This is it, the true endgame. Prepare your armies and companions, top-up on scrolls, potions, wands and other consumables, rest and get ready for the gruesome combat sequence that will make you remember the House at the Edge of Time fondly.
Before venturing into the heart of the Worldwound, you will have a chance to have one final conversation with your companions and important NPCs, the Queen being one of them. Galfrey then confesses that being so close to victory allowed her to wonder about what happens next, after the Crusades are done – something unthinkable for the woman that had been the queen of Mendev for a hundred years, most of which were during the conflict with the Abyss. And the simple truth is that she no longer wants to be the monarch of Mendev and would rather follow her own heart – but she hopes it isn’t Daeran who is chosen to be her successor.
This is where the romance comes to its logical successful conclusion, and grants you an achievement called “A Flame” – finding love in the midst of the war with the Abyss.
The Queen then expresses the wish to accompany you into the final battle, joining the party as a hidden companion option alongside Trever. Surprisingly, for a chosen of Iomedae and the Paladin Queen of Mendev, her gear is not all that great – she doesn’t even have the Covenant of the Inheritor you (might) have restored for her!
The conclusion is simple: level Galfrey up, grant her Mythic powers and take Seelah’s stuff, including Radiance, to give it to the superior Paladin (Seelah Greatly Disapproves) to take on the end of the world in style, hand-in-hand. This is it, folks. Proceed through Threshold keep, claim your destiny – and enjoy the ending slides!
There is a variety of outcomes depending on the choices you have made through the game, for your character, their companions, love interest and the world at large. This journey has been long, at times quite arduous and slow, but it has certainly been worth every minute spent. 9.5/10, would recommend after some bug fixes in later Acts.
Not enough snarky comments from Daeran about the situation, though. I needed him to troll the Commander and his royal cousin about the whole affair like there is no tomorrow. Hopefully, I’ll see you all with a new update when Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous DLC #1 launches.
If you are looking for another RPG with romances, consider checking out our list to see if anything catches your attention!
