With the release of Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed in just a few short weeks, fans of Pillars of Eternity and newcomers to the world of Eora might want to get up to speed on what to expect when they dive into the Living Lands. To bridge the gap between the beloved Pillars games and the wild Living Lands, Obsidian has announced a five-part lore series titled Lore of Eora, which will begin on January 21st, 2025 with episodes running weekly for 5 weeks.
The series is designed to provide players with foundational insights into the rich universe of Eora, whether they’ve played Pillars of Eternity or are venturing into it for the first time.
I had the privilege of speaking with Kate Dollarhyde (narrative designer), John Cotto (area designer), and Kari Nishimura (creative services manager) about the lore series and what players can expect from their journey into the Living Lands.
A Bridge Between Games
The first episode of the lore series focuses on the species of Eora and their significance in Avowed. Better known as Kith, the races of Eora have been detailed in various ways in previous games. As Nishimura explained, the series serves as a refresher for Pillars of Eternity fans while providing essential context for new players.
“This is like a little bite-sized thing,” Nishimura shared. “Some people [such as] new players, they don't understand the significance of what it means to be coming from the Aedyr Empire as opposed to like somewhere that we've been before in the Pillars games... Some people, they're like, 'I don't have a lot of time and I don't want to play the whole two games.' It's like, yeah, you don't have to." She went on to explain that the Lore of Eora series will simply condense the world, its inhabitants and some history to get you up to speed and on your way into the Living Lands of Avowed.
Where Lore Meets Gameplay
One of the standout features of Avowed is how the lore is embedded into gameplay. According to Dollarhyde:
“We have, you know, our Lore tooltip feature that's actually in the game. But you know, people want to get invested in the world a little bit before they actually play the content and get an idea in their head of like what kind of envoy they want to be, what it means to be an elf or a human within the Aedyr Empire, what the Aedyran Empire is in the lore. So that's sort of what the Lore of Eora series is intending to do is sort of like get people up to speed, start, you know, thinking about the character you want to role play before you have to hop in the game and start making hard decisions based on all that context”.
While understanding how it all interconnects outside of the game will be streamlined through the new series, the world of Eora itself has changed significantly, and not just through the lore. With a drastic shift in how you'll experience the world, Kate Dollarhyde added that the shift to a first-person perspective has allowed for greater immersion in the world of Eora:
“This is the first time we're seeing a lot of our creatures in 3D up close." She explained. "Now you see [the Orlans] for example, in first person they are covered in fur, they have the big ears. If you've seen some of our pre-footage for Avowed with Yatzli, she has the pink buns, she's an Orlan. It's been really fun sort of translating those Pillars essentials into first person."
"Now you can actually see our Amaua, which are our big, seafaring, more muscular species," Kate continued. "They have scales, but you can't see that or even really reference it, but in first person, you can actually see them, and they glimmer. They really look like they came from the sea. They have pointed shark teeth. It's been really fun to see that aspect of Eora come to life in Avowed. Just the stuff that we couldn't realize in the isometric perspective”.
Unveiling the Living Lands
The Living Lands, where Avowed is set, is a fresh frontier for players, yet its lore is deeply rooted in the Pillars of Eternity universe. John Cotto described it as “wild and wacky,” and we've kind of had some allusion to that in previous games. Cotto went on to explain why the Living Lands will be unlike anything you've experienced in Eora yet:
“It is a place that is populated mostly by exiles, outcasts and dissidents, criminals, rebels, it's a lot of very colorful personalities all in one place. And it's sort of a powder keg that is waiting to blow and then the representation of cultures that we have previously shown in Pillars one and two, they're sort of turned on their head... because they've left [the mainland] and they're here now. And, you know, they have to adapt to this very different environment.”
Dollarhyde elaborated on the cultural dynamics, saying:
“The folks who left the Rauatai and Aedyr Empire and have their own little settlement in the Living Lands... are going to create a unique cultural basis here. So, that's a lot of the fun stuff to explore in the setting, taking all the stuff that's known in the previous games and then giving it... like a little twist. It's like, what's the Living Lands version of this? Why did the people who exist here come here? Why are the creatures that are here the way that they are? Why are they different? And that's some of the stuff that we explore through the Lore of Eora series and in the game.”
What the Lore Series Covers
The five-part Lore of Eora series is structured to prepare players for Avowed's release. The first episode introduces the species of Eora, while subsequent episodes explore the Aedyr Empire, the pantheon of dieties, the metaphysical concept of animancy, and finally, the Living Lands itself.
However, even apart from this mini-series, players will still have a lot to uncover when they finally jump into the game. Lore is built into bits and baubles that the team scattered throughout every facet of exploration.
Cotto teased that both new and returning players will find surprises in Avowed.
“There is a lot to find... off the beaten path that has nothing to do with the critical path of the game.” he said. But most importantly, Dollarhyde concluded that your best bet is to enjoy the game however you choose, and the lore will be there no matter which way you intend to play.
“For folks who haven’t played the games before and maybe just want to hop into Avowed, just explore the game as you naturally would and go where your inclinations lead you. Because we've done a lot of work to not overload the player with exposition when they get into the game so that they're inundated with all this lore... But it's there if you want to go find it. So, anything that piques your interest, if you dig into it, you'll probably find more,” she stated.
The Lore of Eora series promises to enrich the Avowed experience for every type of player, blending the legacy of Pillars of Eternity with fresh adventures in the Living Lands. The first video premieres January 21, and the countdown to the February 13th, 2025, launch begins!