A Magical Feature Inspired by Fantasy RPGs Could Be Huge…

Spoilers for Pillars of Eternity and PoE 2: Deadfire ahead.

Obsidian Entertainment's Avowed has been quite highly anticipated since its announcement in 2020 as a return to a genre and space the studio is oft-known and well-liked for. Following some of its departures from previous AAA-style releases like The Outer World in the form of Pentiment as well as the studio's CRPGs like Tyranny and the Pillars of Eternity series, Avowed promises to bring players into a larger open-world in an epic fantasy setting replete with robust first-person gameplay and open-ended interesting narratives.

A number of these components may initially invite comparisons to Skyrim for Avowed due to general resemblances, but key differences between the IPs have been noted by the developer. Perhaps more relevant is that Avowed will actually be set and versed in the established world of Pillars of Eternity. Despite being separate and distinct from Skyrim/The Elder Scrolls etc., though, there are still some cues Avowed can take from it and others, particularly regarding some aspects of its approach to how magic could work, and how this element might be integrated into the plot and gameplay.

Avowed is set for a Fall release window as a day one Xbox Game Pass exclusive.

One Possible Avowed Inclusion Inspired By Other Fantasy Titles Could be Its Secret Weapon

Magic and 'Animancy' in Pillars of Eternity

As it is set in its world, Avowed will likely contain at least some broad connections to Pillars of Eternity' s groundwork in the area of magic, and specifically what is known as "animancy," the study and application of soul-based and powered arcane abilities. This is a central part of much of Pillars of Eternity's setting of Eora and its history, and is intricately tied to its broad story as related to the universe's races, cultures, and characters. Eora runs on a kind of reincarnation cycle, with old souls being able to return in a new body, sometimes with their memories of past lives partially intact and/or at odds with their current personality.

During the main quest of the first title, players learned quite a lot about animancy and how important and equally dangerous it could be within the setting when they visited a research academy run by a group of local animancers, who provided extensive exposition on its rules and effects within the lore. The sequel took this a huge step further, with the ending of Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire a literally soul-shattering plot turn, at least for the characters. One of its gods, Eothas, revealed his plan to forcibly break the soul-cycle that sustains Eora, an act with major implications for its overall narrative, and one as yet unresolved.

A commonly seen inclusion in fantasy games like Avowed is a collection of sorcery-related institutions, each devoted to a particular brand/type of magic in their respective settings. Some easily recognizable examples of these would be Hogwarts Legacy, Skyrim's College of Winterhold, and the Academy of Raya Lucaria in Elden Ring. While it's not known yet how big of a factor Deadfire' s cliffhanger will be for Avowed's narrative, given that animancy (as well as other more "traditional" magic like fire, lightning, etc.) Plays an important role within Pillars of Eternity and Avowed's shared setting, it might make a lot of sense as well as add variety and player choice for it to have a suite of joinable factions each focused on a different specialization of magic, affecting players' class/skills on top of any related story options.

Avowed' s latest gameplay trailer also showed off wands being used as weapons alongside other spell casting abilities, and so far it looks like magic-leaning playstyles and mechanics will be included to a solid degree. Obsidian has a good reputation for letting fans decide their own path in terms of character, abilities, and morality in its titles. Avowed playing into this by offering a variety of magic and related factions/questlines, each with their possible benefits and drawbacks, would be a great inclusion and way for it to offer even more immersion and agency.

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