14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Obsidian working on Pillars of Eternity is not using any classic fantasy universe for its upcoming party-based role-playing experience, and that means it is free to develop an entirely new fiction related to the undead and their abilities and appearance.
The game will create a world where each condition and ability can be linked to multiple sources and Eric Fenstermaker, the lead narrative designer, wants gamers to have plenty of backstory to explore each enemy and character they meet.
In a forum-based update he explains that, “Let's say you are a wealthy noble who would like to cheat death. There are a variety of options at your disposal, but this offer from a shady animancer sounds the most painless. All he is going to do is bind your soul to your body, so that way when you die, your soul stays put and you still retain all your motor control.”
The fiction of Pillars of Eternity makes soul the source of all the individuality of a person, but even if it does not disappear, the mind and the body can still decay, leading its owner down the path of the undead.
Obsidian says that the first stage is called fampyr, with the character eager to feed on flesh and only affected by limited decay, able to actually pass as human in some situations.
Once decomposition sets in, a dargul appears, and once the hunger for human meat can no longer be controlled, the character turns into a gul.
When all mental faculties decay, the stage is called revenant, and once reflex is the only reason for a person’s actions, they become a skeleton.
All the undead stages are included in the game world of Pillars of Eternity, and gamers will have to use different tactics and skills in order to take them out.
The developer also suggests that the undead state can be avoided, saying, “there are supposedly other ways - certain alchemical tinctures, ancient architecturally-embedded machinery, self-pleasure (according to some disapproving Dyrwoodan moms), etc.”
Pillars of Eternity is set to arrive only on the PC in the final quarter of this year, and Obsidian promises that it will deliver a classic role-playing game experience with deep party-based combat and solid narratives.
The game was funded on Kickstarter, and all those who have backed it can follow the way the development process is going via the official forums.