The Living Lands could be a setting that initially appears to be generic and predictable, but which reveals itself to be far more than first meets the eye. The origins of the gods of Eora as seen in Pillars of Eternity borders on sci-fi, with the Engwithans building ginormous machines to manage the souls of the dead, create their own gods using animancy, and discover the answer to life’s existential questi
The Living Lands are a great blank slate for Obsidian to create a setting that is more prone to player influence than other open-world RPGs, with factions fighting over unclaimed land and settlements rising and falling. Avowed ‘s setting also has the potential to have a main quest that tells a less predictable story than other fantasy RPGs, blending elements of medieval fantasy with science-fiction and a hint of existentialism. It will be up to Obsidian to take full advantage of the elements of Eora that could make the Living Lands stand out, but if it does the game may be able to step out of Skyrim ‘s shadow, creating a world that is more ambitious both in terms of the player’s impact and the complexity of its p
Avowed will be set in the Living Lands, an ecologically diverse northern frontier in Obsidian’s world of Eora, first seen in the two Pillars of Eternity games. While Bethesda is working on The Elder Scrolls 6 , Avowed ’s setting has an underrated advantage over the next Elder Scrolls game’s most likely locati
In Pillars of Eternity , Woedica is the deposed queen of the gods. She is the goddess of justice, oaths, and rightful rule, with a strictly authoritarian streak. Like all the gods in Eora, she was actually created by the long-extinct Engwithan civilization from a single ideal using the souls of the Engwithan populat
The Avowed trailer may not have revealed much about the game, but what it does show suggests that it is likely set significantly before Pillars of Eternity , in a far more standard medieval fantasy setting. The only weapons seen in the trailer are medieval, while the voice-over hints that Avowed may be set in a specific earlier part of Eora’s history when Woedica was queen of the gods of Eo
Considered a new take on the New Vegas formula was The Outer Worlds . Set in a distant solar system, The Outer Worlds shared many themes and mechanical similarities with Fallout . It even carved out its own little fandom. However, without Bethesda’s engine or the Fallout 3 assets to work with, there were some areas where it fell flat that Avowed will need to av
It is possible that guns may still exist in Avowed , even if the game is set some time before the Pillars of Eternity games. Avowed will be set in the Living Lands , a wild northern frontier filled with competing factions and strange beasts. It may be that the Living Lands are less technologically developed than the heart of Eora’s empires, but that more modern technology like guns can still be fo
In fact, those differences could be the source of many of the “petty wars” across the landmass, while allowing players to interact with cultures that feel as alien as Morrowind ’s, seeing the difference imprints those cultures leave on the unmarked territory of the front
As much as Avowed News ’s gameplay resembles The Elder Scrolls based on what little has been revealed so far, exploring its world doesn’t risk revealing too many more similarities. The world of Eora has a huge amount of lore that far fewer players have come into contact with than The Elder Scrolls ’ story. From the fact that many of its nations are recently liberated colonies to the idea that the gods of Eora were artificially created using animancy – the science of souls – Avowed ’s world could be just as rich as The Elder Scrolls ’ with the advantage of being far less famil
Avowed is set in the Living Lands, an ecologically diverse frontier continent in the north of Eora, the world from Obsidian’s Pillars of Eternity CRPGs. The studio will need to work hard to distinguish Avowed ‘s setting from the competition. There are even reasons this task may be trickier than it was with Pillars of Eternity . However, the Living Lands also offer some unique opportunities Obsidian shouldn’t let pass it
The Avowed trailer hints that the game may be set during Woedica’s reign. There’s mention of war turning “heroes into queens and kings.” Not only is this well within Woedica’s purview – rightful rule – but the narrator’s claim that “now our oaths are lost” suggests that these rulers made deals with Woedica , and are now being punished for not living up to their end of the bargain. Even the word “avowed” itself has strong links to Woedica’s dom
The Living Lands could be a fantastic frontier setting if it also plays with the fear of the unknown in the same way. Players might find entire settlements mysteriously abandoned, for example, motivating them to find out what happened from a sense of insatiable inquisitiveness rather than any in-game reward. Skyrim ’s Dragonborn DLC shows how frontiers like the Living Lands can be used in RPGs to inspire unique dread, but also inspire a unique curiosity which can be a key motivator in open world explorat