Avowedis Obsidian Entertainment’s upcoming first-person fantasy RPG. Many fantasy fans were quick to notice the similarities between the game as shown in its reveal trailer andThe Elder Scrollsseries, leading some to wonder if Obsidian is aiming for Bethesda’s spot in the roleplaying market.
There is one key way that the world ofAvowedmay not be like Tamriel. The game’s universe has been shown to have significantly more modern technology than most ofThe Elder Scrolls' world. Many fans will be wondering, however, if that meansAvowedwill include guns.
RELATED:Avowed May Show What a Microsoft-Kojima Deal Could Do
Technology In Pillars Of Eternity
Avowedis set in the same world as Obsidian’s isometricRPG seriesPillars of Eternity. That world is named Eora, and inPillars of EternityEora resembles the early modern era in many ways. Although there are Dwarves, Elves, the diminutive Orlans, and the giant coastal Aumaua, much of the technology, architecture, and fashion seems like its taken from the 16th through to the 18th centuries.
This is particularly noticeable in the second game,Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. The sequel let players get behind the wheel of a galleon and fire cannons, though the first game also had a clear early-modern slant to its technology. In the originalPillars of Eternity, players witnessed the creation of a powerful weapon known as the Godhammer Bomb which combined magical know-how with the expertise of artillery specialists to make an explosive powerful enough to kill a god’s avatar.
Technology is been shown to develop over the course ofPillars of Eternity’s story, but the lore also indicates that different periods in the history of Eora had different levels of technology. There was an ancient civilization known as Engwith, composed of all of the mortal races of Eora.The Engwithansbecame extremely technologically advanced, and were able to build giant towers that ran deep underground. They were even able to create machines which allowed them harness souls and create the gods of Eora. Eventually, however, their civilization collapsed and much of their technology was lost.
When it comes to the question of whether players will be able to use guns as a weapon inAvowed, the game’s setting in time is key. If the game is set in the same period asPillars of Eternitythe answer is almost certainly yes. However, there are indications thatAvowedmay be set long before the events ofPillars of Eternity, in a very different period ofEora’s history.
RELATED:One Small Problem With The Outer Worlds Could Make A Huge Difference In Avowed
Avowed’s Time Setting
WhilePillars of Eternity’s technology and culture resembles the early modern period, many of the visuals intheAvowedtrailerappear far more medieval in style. Instead of firing guns or cannon balls, the battle shown in the trailer uses a row of archers on top of a castle wall. There’s also evidence thatAvowedtakes place beforePillars of Eternitybased on some of the trailer’s narration.
TheAvowedtrailer’s voiceover mentions oaths twice, as well as heroes becoming queens and kings, and says that the player “must face the monsters our sins have borne.” All of this phrasing points to Woedica.Woedica is one of the gods of Eora, and aspects of her domain include rightful rulership, oaths, and vengeance. She is even known to appear as “the Strangler,” an old woman who murders those who break their solemn oaths.
Woedica appears in bothPillars of Eternitygames, but there are reasons to think that the focus on her in the trailer may also indicate the time period in whichAvowedis set. Woedica was once the queen ofthe gods of Eora, but she was eventually overthrown by the other deities in the pantheon. As such she is also known as the Exiled Queen or the Burned Queen, having been burned by Magran, the goddess of fire and war.
Before her overthrow, however, Woedica was the most powerful and dangerous of the gods. TheAvowedtrailer hints that the upcoming RPG may be set in Eora before Woedica was overthrown. If so, this would explain the difference between the technology seen in theAvowedtrailer and the guns and cannons known to exist inPillars of Eternity. Assuming that technology progressed at roughly the same rate in Eora as it did inEarth’s history,Avowedwould be set several centuries beforePillars of Eternity.
Avowed’s Combat
Ultimately this would mean that there would be no guns inAvowed. That may be for the best, however. While it’s easier to balance many different weapon types in an isometricRPG likePillars of Eternity, balancing the variables in real-time combat between guns, swords, and magic may not work as well in a first-person RPG. A lack of guns may end up making the world ofAvowedmore similar to Tamriel, but that may be a necessary sacrifice in order to get the first-person fantasy RPG formula to work smoothly.
It is possible that guns may still exist inAvowed, even if the game is set some time before thePillars of Eternitygames.Avowedwill 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 found.
If nothing else, the fact that Obsidian has shown that Eora has the capacity to change technologically could make it more immersive than many fantasy worlds.The Elder ScrollsOnline, for example, revealed that the surface civilizations of Tamriel have been technologically stagnant for at least a millennium. It may be unlikely that players will have access to guns inAvowed, but the full extent of the game’s combat system has yet to be revealed. Even without guns thespell system inAvowedhas the potential to satisfy the itchy trigger fingers of players with a love of ranged combat and explosions.
Avowedis in development for PC and Xbox Series X.
