Gaming The World of Eora: Pillars of Eternity 1, 2, and Avowed!

I'm a huge fan of the Pillars of Eternity games. They were true spiritual successors to Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 and they revitalized my interest in the CRPG genre. I loved the world they created cause it's not often you see fantasy rpgs that take place in colonial times as opposed to medieval times.



But we're not getting a Pillars of Eternity 3. Instead, we're getting Avowed, a game that takes place in the same setting but is not mechanically related to the Pillars series. While Pillars 1 took place in the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood, a country whose history has a parallel with colonial times USA, Pillars 2 took place in the Deadfire Archipelago, with heavy tones of Native Hawaii's relationship to the US. Both games dealt heavily with the topics of colonialism on a broader scale while dealing with the topic of past lives, guilt, and belief on the more personal scale.

Avowed takes place in the Living Lands, a largely unexplored frontier region, a little bit after Pillars 2. Pillars 2 had....grand implications about the metaphysical nature of the universe they all lived in, so I'm wondering how the game is going to handle that. I'm excited. I love CRPGs but I also love Elder Scrolls style combat. But my main concern is always going to the story.

 

It’s a good combination on paper: Obsidian, Elder Scrolls style gameplay in an exponentially better setting, the ability of a studio I like to spend lots of parent company money on a pet project…

I’m a little annoyed that I’m probably going to have to wait a year or two for them to port it to PS5, though. I guess I can use that time to finally finish Pillars.

 

Posting because I just started getting into the CRPG genre with PoE 1 and would like help.

And shared excitement for avowed!

 

Let me give you my universal CRPG tip in that case: Save early, save often, save in multiple files, reload if something goes horribly wrong. The oldest games in the genre actually expected you to learn by constantly dying and subsequently rolling new parties. Then in the mid to late 90s they upgraded that to “merely” learning by dying every so often*. Having a lot of recent saves will both keep you from being wiped by a string of bad luck and give you safety nets to experiment with combat ideas.




*In my experience PoE does not do anything quite as nasty as OG Baldur’s Gate which was perfectly willing to wipe you out with a random encounter while you rested, but why chance it?

 

I was just thinking that Pillars of Eternity was probably gonna be my next series replay after I get back to the DA series before Veilguard...

 

The expanded gameplay video they've put up today is well worth watching.

Graphically, I can't see anyone now objecting to how it looks. Has environmental interaction. A load of upgrade and conversation options.

Really like what I'm seeing.

 

I’d like to get into this, but I have real difficulty with post-medieval historical fantasy stories. It’s too modern a period, and one in which we know too much, and so the fantasy elements feel much more forced (and somehow, cheesier) than they do in dark ages/ medieval mythic fantasy stuff.

Same reason Imperial Rome fantasies don’t work that well for me, while fantasies set during the mythic period before the collapse of the Mycenaean Greek civilization work wonders. It’s the eras with big gaps of actual recorded history that lend themselves best to historical fantasy.

Despite all that, maybe I’ll check it out.

 

As a fan of geopolitics, I think you'll find the post-medieval nature of this world to be very interesting. There's an interconnectedness to this world that you will like. For example, without giving away specifics of the first game, it takes place in a country called The Free Palatinate of Dyrwood. Dyrwood and Readceras were the two countries that formed from colonies that broke away from the Aedyr Empire, a powerful empire of mostly elves and humans. However, that land was not uninhabilited when colonized by the Aedyr, and the problems with the locals of Eir Glanfath continue to present day. Furthermore, there's also the prior war between Dyrwood and Readceras called The Saint's War, which has had an effect on a lot of your party members. These are all topics that are explored quite a bit in the first game. If you're a fan of the 1600s and 1700s history, this game's setting will be of interest to you,

it's on sale on steam right now!

 

You've convinced me, Lord. Bought it today!

 

I haven't booted up Deadfire - has a very bad rep on PS4 but PS5 takes the edge off apparently - but the first Pillars of Eternity was rendered accessible enough for me to both enjoy and finish. And that's with it having a pause-unpause combat system that I find tricky.

 

The porting company’s track record is kind of… not great… so if you can play PoE on a desktop or laptop, I think it’s highly advisable.

 

Folks! It's been a long time since this thread has been updated, but now that I've 100%ed Veilguard, my focus is shifting towards Avowed which will be coming out Feb 18, 2025. That's pretty close! And the game, so far, is looking pretty good.



The gameplay is really giving me an Oblivion/Skyrim feel, so if you've been feeling like you're waiting too long for Elder Scrolls 6, this might be the game for you. From what we know, this game does take place shortly after Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire, however as far as I know it doesn't involve the Watcher. But it does mean that we are probably going to start seeing the effects of the Earth-shattering thing that happens at the end of Pillars 2.

EDIT: and yes, you heard that companion's voice correctly: that was Garrus.

 

And the script was very funny for him too.

Only things I'm unconvinced by is sending this out in Feb. Also suspect XB will render it digital-only, so £70, no discount.

Suppose there's also that Q of whether it gets ported to PS5.

 

I never could get in to Skyrim but I will try to get into this as I have liked pretty much everything Obsidian has given us

 

@Point Given did you ever play Deadfire?

 

Do need to get around to that one.

Enjoyed the first game despite being terrible at CRPG.

 

I can’t get into fantasy set in post-medieval eras. The interesting thing about dark age and medieval fantasy (and that set in the deep ancient world vs. the classical one) is that there are so many gaps in our historical knowledge of those times, that filling them in with myth and fantasy seems appropriate. But we know so much about the colonial world that fantasy in that setting just strikes me as silly and gimmicky, and so I can’t get into it. My loss. Looks like a fun game.

 

So, game editions:

Digital - standard

Digital- deluxe

Premium Steelbook physical edition...

....which is an empty code in box edition.

It isn't going down well.

Suppose I better hope for a PS port.

 

Well, we're about a month away from Avowed, so I figured now's a great time for some primers/refreshers on the World of Eora. This will be a condensed version and mainly for those who don't want to spend all their time perusing the wiki.

Spoiler: very large map of Eora

The world of Eora is one akin to the Age of Exploration on Earth. So expect muskets alongside swords, empires that are maritime, companies and bourgeoning capitalism. This explanation will be largely spoiler-free: no major events from either POE 1 or 2 will be discussed.

The Three Old Empires:
The Aedyr Empire: a slowly declining empire of Elves and Humans in the continent known as Aedyr. They had colonies in the Eastern Reach, but those colonies broke away some hundred and fifty years before POE 1 and became Dyrwood and Readceras. They are still relevant to world affairs, but they are not as powerful as they once were.

Old Vailia: formerly the Grand Empire of Vailia, a now defunct empire of Humans and Dwarves. A wealthy empire, Vailia's loss of its holdings in the Eastern Reach had a far more negative impact than Aedyr's. With wealth and people fleeing to the new world, Vailia descended into warring factions and irrelevancy. The most prominent faction of Old Vailia you might meet are the Principi sen Patrena (Princes without a homeland), a large confederation of Pirates who plague the Deadfire.

The Great Kingdom of Rauatai: An old empire formed by Aumaua refugees who fled the Deadfire during the creation of Ondra's Mortar. Unlike the other two old empires, Rauatai can't stop winning. They are extremely prosperous, wealthy, and technologically advanced for their time. As the era of directly administered colonialism nears its end, Rauatai was able to adapt and play the game of great companies and indirect economic colonialism, most notably in the lands of their former home: the Deadfire Archipelego, where they are encountered as the Royal Deadfire Company.

The "New World" (the Eastern Reach and Deadfire):
The Free Palatinate of Dyrwood: One of the two major Aedyr colonies, they won their independence from the Aedyr Empire 150 years before POE 1 in the War of Defiance. The Dyrwood is what you expect from colonial era USA: immigrants, frontier life, conflict with the natives. The Dyrwood is also the center of animancy research, which was outlawed in the Aedyr Empire. This is where half of POE 1 takes place.

Eir Glanfath: a loose nation of tribes consisting of elves and orlans, Eir Glanfath suffered the most from Aedyr and Vailian colonialism. They are a lot closer to the gods of Eora and they do not approve of colonists approaching or entering Engwithan ruins. There's not much more to say about Eir Glanfath without delving into spoilers, but this is where the second half of POE 1 takes place.

The Penitential Regency of Readceras: a theocratic nation who also won their independence from the Aedyr Empire. The follow the god Eothas. They are largely known in POE 1 for the Saint's War. Some 30 years earlier, a farmer named Waidwen became an avatar for the god Eothas. Declaring himself a divine king, he then led Readceras in a brutal holy war against the Dyrwood. This conflict has a major impact on the region and a lot of what happens in POE 1 is a consequence of this war or attributed to it.

The Vailian Republics: a very rich coalition of city states, think the UAE but Italian. Their successful bid for independence from Old Vailia brought down the entire Vailian Empire and they now control a majority of Old Vailia's wealth. The play the game of commerce and empire well, with the Vailian Trading Company having a major presence in the Dyrwood and mounting a successful rivalry to the Principi and the Royal Deadfire Company.

The Deadfire Archipelgo: The setting of POE 2, this is where the Aumaua are from. The ones who did not flee the creation of Ondra's Mortar, they are an old and intransigent island culture. Having fended off the Aedyr and Vailian colonialism, they now suffer from new attempts to take their resources and control their destinies, as the Royal Deadfire Company, Vailian Trading Company, and Principi sen Patrena contest with each other in the Scramble for Deadfire.

 

Thanks for this. Where/when does Avowed take place in all of this? Definitely planning to play it.

 

It looks like Avowed is gonna take place a few years after the end of Pillars of Eternity 2.

I'll be doing more posts like that, just got a little busy/depressed.