A new look atAvowed’s character creator reveals an immersive feature that allows players to choose their characters' backgrounds.Avowedis the new action RPG by Obsidian Entertainment,developers ofFallout New Vegas,The Outer Worlds, andPentiment. It takes place in the universe of another Obsidian game - the fantasy world of Eora,the setting ofPillars of Eternityand its sequel. Like most fantasy settings, it’s a vast and varied world, containing all manner of people from all walks of life. And those many paths will be front and center inAvowed, according to a new preview.
A post on the officialAvowedX (formerly Twitter) account, further detailed in theXbox Wireblog, reveals thatplayers will be able to choose one of multiple backgrounds for their characters inAvowed. These encompass any number of fantasy archetypes, ranging from Arcane Scholar to Noble Scion to War Hero - and those are just a few of the ones they’ve shown us in this sneak peek. As inPillars of Eternity, backgrounds may be race-specific, and will definitely have an effect on gameplay and the branching story.
Avowed Devs Set The Stage Before It Even Begins In-Game
How Avowed’s Character Customization Works
InAvowed, the choice of background will be more than a tick on the custom character’s status screen: they have real gameplay effects, too. The player’s choice of background will determine two major factors in their playthrough: first, their starting weapon, and more importantly,how others react to their words and actions. But don’t worry, backgrounds aren’t meant to function as limits; although your initial choice determines your starting weapon, you can eventually use any other weapon or skill you unlock, regardless of background.
Of course, this also goes along withan in-depth visual character customization system, allowing you to set your character’s appearance. Unlike Pillars, Avowed only has two playable races - human and elf - but it appears to have a much wider range of cosmetic customization choices, as seen in another post from the Avowed X. Options include facial shape/features, hairstyle/color (with intensely detailed highlight options), scars, markings, and organic growths like mushroom caps or tree branches.
The Character Creation In Avowed Is Thorough & Game Changing
A Good Omen For Avowed
The end result ofAvowed’s background system is thateven these early-game decisions feel impactful, and will have reverberating effects throughout the entirety of your campaign. People have different expectations of, say, a War Hero than they do a Court Augur, and each individual’s perspective is different from the next. For example, someone mistrustful of superstition may find it more difficult to accept the word of an Augur, or a War Hero might inspire awe in those who have followed their exploits.
Avowed Features “Incredible Freedom”, As The Developers Claim Players Will Choose Their Own Adventure
The developers behind Avowed are promising players an incredible amount of freedom to make choices with all kinds of consequences.
These expectations may help or harm you, depending on how you choose to respond to them and conduct yourself in the company of others. It’s not dissimilar to systems employed in other RPGs, including inPillars of Eternity. A more recent point of comparison would be theDungeons & Dragons-inspired backgrounds ofBaldur’s Gate 3. In that game,backgrounds occasionally unlock unique dialogue options, but they’re more often used for doling out Inspiration Points. InAvowed, it seems like they’ll do more of the former, expanding the impact of the player’s choices on the gameplay and story.
And if nothing else, I have to admit, this character creator looks great. It bodes well for the nature of freedom of choicein Obsidian’s next game, and is certainly exciting for anyone who enjoyedPillars of Eternity. It’s still too early to understand the character creator’s full depths, but it’s a promising early look atAvowed.
Sources:Avowed/X (1,2),Xbox Wire
Avowed
Avowed is an upcoming RPG release from Obsidian Entertainment, the creative minds behind Fallout: New Vegas and The Outer Worlds. Avowed will reportedly take place in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity.
