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Project Eternity Kickstarter Update #40: Orlans and Gods

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Project Eternity Kickstarter Update #40: Orlans and Gods

Game News - posted by Infinitron on Wed 30 January 2013, 14:32:26

Tags: George Ziets; Josh Sawyer; Obsidian Entertainment; Pillars of Eternity

We have another meaty Project Eternity Kickstarter update this week. This one is written by George Ziets, and discusses a topic that is close to his heart - pantheon design. Have a snippet:

Deities can be a good starting point when developing a world. They reflect the views and beliefs of the world’s inhabitants, and they can inspire ideas for characters, organizations, and conflicts.

You’ve already heard a few of our gods mentioned in passing: Magran, goddess of fire and war; Berath, god of cycles, doors, and death; Eothas, god of light and redemption. Josh invented these gods when he was first developing the world, and they play important roles in the region where the game will be set. But we’ll need a lot more gods to fill out the pantheon.

Here are a few of the elements we consider for each new deity:
  • What is the god's name, and what are his/her "aliases" (e.g., "The Twinned God" for Berath).
  • What is the god's portfolio? That is, what aspects of life or the world do they represent (e.g., mortality, greed, summer, commerce)?
  • What allies and foes do they have amongst the other gods?
  • What are their symbols?
  • How do they manifest in the mortal world?
We list this information for each deity, as well as providing a detailed description. Players won’t necessarily get to see all this stuff, but it’s useful background for the art and design teams, so that the world feels like a consistent, coherent whole.

One other thing to bear in mind: for the most part, our deities aren’t good or evil. They’re somewhere in between – closer to the multi-dimensional gods of the ancient world. Every deity has his or her own agenda, which isn’t bound by notions of alignment. Sometimes they can be helpful and benevolent. Other times – not so much.
As an example, George reveals another one of Project Eternity's gods - Woedica, "The Exiled Queen", who manifests in the world as a leathery-skinned old woman clad in tattered finery who murders those who break solemn oaths. Am I the only one thinking "Ravel Puzzlewell"?

The update also reveals a full-sized portrait of Project Eternity's halfling Orlan detective NPC, which was hidden in the tileset screenshot from last week's update:

orlan-tn.jpg

You can read the entire update here.

There are 33 comments on Project Eternity Kickstarter Update #40: Orlans and Gods

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