Avowed Story and Lore Explained (Summary)
Image Credit: Obsidian Entertainment, Avowed
Avowed takes place in the world of Eora, which you might recognize if you've played Pillars of Eternity. If not, don’t worry—We’ll catch you up. The world is packed with gods, magic, and questionable moral decisions, which means it’s basically your standard fantasy setting, but with extra existential dread.
Obvious warning, but spoilers ahead!
The World of Eora and the Aftermath of the Broken Wheel
Before we jump into Avowed, we need to rewind a little to Pillars of Eternity 2. That game ended with a god named Eothas breaking “the Wheel,” the system that controls reincarnation. If that sounds like a bad thing, it’s because it is. Souls are now floating around aimlessly, the gods are freaking out, and the people of Eora are... mostly just confused because news travels really slowly in this world. Lucky for us, the full disaster hasn't hit yet—it's simmering in the background, like a casserole of doom that won’t be ready for another generation or two.
Meanwhile, the gods have also decided that instead of taking energy from naturally reincarnating souls, they'll just start sucking the life force out of their Godlike followers. If you were blessed (or cursed) by the gods before, you’re now on their all-you-can-eat buffet. This means that by the time Avowed starts, Godlike are rare, and most of them are either dead or hiding.
Enter: You, the Envoy
In Avowed, you play as an envoy from the Aedyr Empire, which is basically the powerful, colonial empire of this world. You’re also one of the few surviving Godlike, though nobody can quite figure out which god touched you. That’s probably not ominous at all. Your mission? Head to the Living Lands and deal with something called the Dream Scourge, a creepy fungal infection that’s spreading across the region and making people go insane.
Except, the moment you arrive, your ship is attacked, and you wash up on shore like an overly ambitious tourist who didn’t check the local warnings. Everyone else from your ship? Dead. The only survivor? A guy named Stemma Ral, who’s infected with the Dream Scourge and looking a lot like you. You put him out of his misery, and then you start hearing a voice in your head—because nothing says "chosen one" like unexplained telepathy.
Welcome to Paradise (It’s Not)
Your first stop is Paradise, the only Aedyran-controlled settlement in the Living Lands. Here, you meet Kai, an Amawa warrior, and pick up your first companion. You’re supposed to report to the Aedyran ambassador, but—plot twist—they’ve gone missing. Turns out, they were hiding in a cave, avoiding a bear. Very diplomatic. Once you save them, they suggest you speak to Inquisitor Ludwin, the leader of the Steel Garrot, a very serious military order that enforces Aedyran law.
Before you can do that, though, an assassin shoots you dead in the street. You get better. Because of course you do.
You also meet a Watcher, one of those special people who can see and communicate with souls. They try to figure out what’s going on with you but come up with nothing. Meanwhile, you hunt down your assassin and get your first major choice—kill them, let them go, or force them to confess their crime and get executed anyway. No matter what you pick, tensions in Paradise are rising, as the locals aren’t thrilled about Aedyr turning their free-spirited frontier into yet another controlled colony.
The Dream Scourge and the Science Problem
Your next stop is Fior, where a group of animancers (soul scientists, basically) are trying to study the Dream Scourge. Animancy is controversial because playing with souls tends to lead to things like mass possession and existential horror. The Aedyr Empire, being the fun police, has banned animancy, which means animancers have fled to places like the Living Lands where they can experiment without anyone asking too many questions.
The local leader, Vidaro, doesn’t believe the Dream Scourge is real, while a scientist named Giata is desperately trying to prove it is. You side with one of them, but either way, Fior gets torched by the Steel Garrot. If you tried to stop them earlier by uncovering a traitor in their ranks, the destruction is a little less severe, but the town is still in ruins. Now you have to decide where to send the survivors—either to Thirdborn, a rugged settlement, or to Paradise, where they’ll have to hide their work from Aedyr.
The Big Reveal: Who’s That Voice in Your Head?
After some adventuring, you finally get an answer about the mysterious voice speaking to you. It belongs to a god named Sadal. Here’s the kicker: Sadal is not like the other gods. While the rest of Eora’s deities were artificially created by ancient super-geniuses, Sadal seems to be a naturally occurring god, born from the souls trapped in the Living Lands' isolated Audra network.
This, of course, made the other gods very insecure, so they had Sadal locked up and wiped out their worshippers, the Godless. Now, they’re imprisoned in a place called the Garden, and they really, really want you to set them free. Oh, and by the way? They caused the Dream Scourge. Not on purpose, mind you—just a side effect of being an imprisoned deity with too many emotions.
The Endgame: To Free or Not to Free?
The final act has you making your way to the Garden, dealing with Inquisitor Ludwin (who may or may not be dead, depending on your choices), and making the big decision:
Kill Sadal – Put an end to the god once and for all, stopping the Dream Scourge but eliminating a unique, naturally occurring deity.
Free Sadal – Let them out, trusting that they’ve learned from their mistakes.
Merge with Sadal – Become a new being together, which is either profound or deeply creepy, depending on how you look at it.
Regardless of your choice, the game wraps up with a final battle for the fate of the Living Lands. You decide its future—whether it remains under Aedyran control, gains independence, or becomes something in between. You also get to see what happens to your companions, all of whom have their own arcs and endings based on your decisions.
And That’s Avowed
In the end, your choices shape the world—at least for now. Whether you helped the Living Lands thrive, doomed them to Aedyran rule, or just caused more chaos, one thing is clear: history is still unfolding, and the big consequences of the Broken Wheel are yet to come.
So, you know, maybe keep an eye out for Pillars of Eternity 3.
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