Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming first-person RPG Avowed is set in the Living Lands, a frontier island in the north of the world of Eora. Eora is the setting of the studio’s previous Pillars of Eternity games, though none took the players to the diverse hills and valleys of the frontier.
Eora is packed full of warring nations, different races, and religions which vary in intensity from casual observation to full-on holy war. With the change in setting from previous games, here are just some of the factions which could make an appearance in Avowed, and just how likely players are to see them in the Living Lands.
The Living Lands is a frontier island with no single set government. They are described in sources from Pillars of Eternity as a “lawless land where communities band together, fall apart, and fight petty wars with each other constantly.” The Kith races of Eora are relatively integrated with the exception of the Wild Orlans, but since Dwarves are the chief explorers and colonizers in Pillars of Eternity it is likely players will see them leading the way across the factions of the Living Lands.
One group very likely to make an appearance is the Kind Wayfarers. The Wayfarers are knights-errant who follow traditional notions of chivalry and set out to help the travelers of the world, adventuring all across the world of Eora in their quest to do so. These paladins often live humble lives with few material possessions, but as a result their order itself has also struggled to find funding. As a result, much of the Kind Wayfarer’s funds comes from their cooperation with the Hand Occult in mapping unknown parts of the world.
The Hand Occult is a clandestine group of elite priests of Wael, one of the gods of Eora who deals with dreams, mysteries, and revelations. While secretive, the organization has published several popular books, like the “Almanac of the Eastern Reach—For Colonists, Explorers, and Curiosity-Seekers.” These two groups come hand-in-hand, one representing the scholarly side of exploration while the other does much of the heavy lifting. They are both very likely to be seen in the Living Lands.
The Leaden Key is another religious organization, this time in service of Woedica. Once queen of the gods, Woedica is the goddess of hierarchies and “rightful” rule. It is revealed in Pillars of Eternity that the gods were in fact created by the ancient Engwithan society by sacrificing souls to animancy machines in order to create beings based on singular ideals for the Kith to worship. The Leaden Key is led by Thaos ix Arkannon, the immortal Engwithan steward of the gods, and aims to preserve the gods’ secrets.
Engwithan ruins will likely feature heavily in Avowed, with their Adra pillars extending underground across Eora. It is unlikely that many other characters beyond the Watcher in Pillars of Eternity know the true nature of the gods, and so they still have a big stake in protecting their secrets, especially any new mysteries which could be uncovered in the unexplored north. They will likely be present in Avowed, and perhaps at odds with the Leaden Key and their quest for knowledge.
The Circle of Archmagi, like the Leaden Key and the Wayfarers, extends its influence across all of Eora including the Living Lands. The Circle is elite and rarely meets, but often when they do the results are catastrophic, as their magic is often used to chaotic and destructive ends. In one case, the Circle of Archmagi intervened when a small silver-mining town was being bartered between nobles, opening a sinkhole that swallowed up the entire town and allowed the mages to become rich in the jewelry business.
In Pillars of Eternity, the Watcher is asked to join the Circle of Archmagi. This establishes that people can either duel the other mages to gain entrance, or simply donate enough money to gain acceptance. The Circle of Archmagi will likely make an appearance in the Living Lands, and perhaps the player character in Avowed will also have an opportunity to join.
The Bleak Walkers are another Paladin order, but unlike the Kind Wayfarers they are known for their brutality, which they use when hired by nobles to quickly end conflicts and snuff out rebellion. With Avowed‘s setting likely seen as free real estate among many nobles back in the Kith civilizations, the Bleak Walkers could make an appearance as mercenaries on their behalf. Though most nobles have historically only used the Walkers as a last result, they are more likely to make an appearance in the free-for-all frontier of the Living Lands than most other places in Eora.
The Goldpact Knights are a similarly mercenary group of Paladins who will likely make an appearance in the Living Lands for the same reason as the Bleak Walkers. However, while the Bleak Walkers ultimately have a moral imperative – to end conflict even by terrible means – the Goldpact Knights are bound only by their mercenary contracts. They could likely be hired by powerful forces or by the protagonist in Avowed.
Though the Aedyr Empire has waned in power over the years with the secession of former colonies like Dyrwood and Readceras who battled during the Saint’s War, the empire’s expansionist policies will likely see their influence felt in the Living Lands. The loss of other colonies could even incentivize the Empire to expand its holdings in the Living Lands. The descriptions of the region as given by Obsidian, however, imply that the Living Lands is far from untamed, and it is unlikely that players will see the Aedyr Empire with many permanent holdings in the region.
The world of Avowed is filled with other factions who base their creeds off of the gods they worship, though it is mainly the Paladin groups which set out to frontier locales like the Living Lands. Avowed will also likely include new factions specific to the region, and with the Living Lands in a constant state of political flux, many players will be hoping to have an influence over a dynamic game world of warring groups and secretive sects.
Avowed is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.
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