WithAvowedlooking like a success for Obsidian, I’m hopeful it can help revive a project I thought was dead. It’s possible thatAvowedcould even help shape the project, as they are both part of the same fictional world. Several people at Obsidian have expressed their interest in future work related toAvowed, so I’m hopeful this seemingly abandoned game can factor into those talks in some way.
Avowedis a spin-off ofPillars of Eternity, Obsidian’s original CRPG series. While thePillarsgames have a dedicated fan base, they haven’t enjoyed the same mainstream popularity as otherCRPGs likeBaldur’s Gate 3.Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfirewas crowdfunded, which usually means a studio sees a game as too risky to make without getting some money upfront. Hopefully,Avowed’s success is a turning point for the IP and will breathe new life into an abandonedPillarsproject.
Avowed Could Revive The Pillars Of Eternity TTRPG
The Pillars TTRPG Was A Backer Reward For Pillars 2
One of the backer rewards fromPillars of Eternity 2’s crowdfunding campaign wasa tabletop RPG system based on thePillarsfranchise. Initially, things were looking good for the project, first with an abbreviated 30-page guide, and later an alpha version of the rulebook being released. However, this alpha from 2019 was the last official release the game received. While Josh Sawyer - director of bothPillarsgames - continued to share information about the game on social media, a finalized version of the rules was never released.
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Back in 2023, Sawyer shared onTwitterthat he was thinking of redesigning the game’s core mechanics. In the two years since, there has still not been a new official release for the TTRPG, butSawyer is still working on the project as of January 2025, sharing screenshots of the revised rules onBluesky. Now thatAvowedseems to be doing well, I’m hoping this can bring enough momentum for thePillarsTTRPG to finally be released.
Forbesreported that Microsoft is happy withAvowed’s sales numbers so far, and now that people are actually playing the game there is more positive word of mouth surrounding it. This will hopefullycreate some momentum,not just aroundAvowed, but the entirePillars of Eternityfranchise. Some recent comments from Obsidian developers connected to the franchise have me hopeful that the TTRPG could be on track to an official release.
Obsidian Developers Have Discussed Doing More With The Pillars IP
Multiple People At Bethesda Have Expressed Interest In The Future Of The Franchise
According toGamesRadar, Josh Sawyer recently said thatthere is interest at Obsidian in creating aPillars of Eternitytactics game. While Sawyer didn’t seem confident it would get made, that interest could mean continuing work on the TTRPG. Combat systems for pen-and-paper RPGs share some similarities with tactics games, so this energy could be directed toward finishing thePillarsTTRPG if a tactics game isn’t happening.
Avowed’s Game Director Carrie Patelhas also expressed interest in continuing her work on the series. AlthoughPatel is more likely talking about DLC forAvowedor a potentialAvowed 2, the more interest in thePillarsIP at Obsidian, the more likely it seems the TTRPG could be finished. The game could also present a solution to another issue Josh Sawyer mentioned about a potentialPillars 3.
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In an interview withTouchArcade, Sawyer mentioned that he would only be interested in doing aPillars 3if it had a larger budget, and also said he’d like it to be turn-based.A TTRPG could be a good way to test out these new turn-based mechanics, and it would also give Sawyer more freedom to design campaigns within thePillarsworld without worrying as much about the budget.
Avowedis a fun action RPG, and I wouldn’t be sad if thePillarsIP continued to move in that direction instead of reviving the TTRPG. As a fan of thePillarsfranchise, I’m at least happy that more players are falling in love with the world of Eora in some form. Still, I am holding out hope thatAvowedhas created enough momentum for the series to move forward in multiple ways, including finishing the pen-and-paper RPG.
Sources:Josh Saywer/Twitter,Josh Sawyer/Bluesky,Forbes,GamesRadar,TouchArcade
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.
