1 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome to Pillars of Eternity............................................................1 How To Use This Manual ..................................................................2 System Requirements ......................................................................2 Character Creation ...........................................................................3 Game Interface .................................................................................5 Default Controls ..............................................................................12 Combat ..........................................................................................15 Stronghold ......................................................................................19 Crafting and Enchanting .................................................................22 Races and Sub-Races ....................................................................23 Classes ..........................................................................................29 Special Abilities ...............................................................................32 Skills ...............................................................................................44 Dispositions ....................................................................................45 Spells .............................................................................................47 Equipment ......................................................................................64 Tables .............................................................................................69 3 4 WELCOME TO HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL PILLARS OF ETERNITY This manual is intended as an introduction and reference guide. It is not required to successfully complete the game by any stretch of the Obsidian Entertainment invites you to our latest foray into the world imagination. Nowhere in its pages will it divulge which treasure chests of fantasy RPGs. Pillars of Eternity is a spiritual successor to the are trapped or which doors should never be opened. The only way to isometric-style games of the late 90’s, such as Baldur’s Gate, Icewind fi nd that out is to play Pillars of Eternity. Dale, and Planescape: Torment. Pillars of Eternity introduces the new fantasy setting of Eora, the country of Dyrwood, and an as of yet Early sections of the manual offer broad details about the game untold story that sheds light on some of the mysteries lurking under mechanics, such as the types of choices that might infl uence character the surface of this campaign setting. generation. The further you go, the more the details get granular and based around hard data. Why did we make Pillars of Eternity? It was for more than simple nostalgia. Some of the best told stories have emerged from this Pillars of Eternity offers a variety of options for gamers who wish to “old school” approach to gaming. The techniques of the previous tailor their experience of the story. This manual should ultimately serve generation were too valuable to leave in our rearview mirror – from as a presentation of the tools at the gamers’ disposal. How you use narrative depth to richness of atmosphere, compelling characters, and them is entirely up to you! a style of play customized to the user’s chosen experience. What’s more, we wanted the opportunity to bring new lessons and evolved skill sets to an art form that was already strong in its heyday. Pillars of Eternity will look and play better than its forbearers, and benefi t from INSTALLATION the wisdom that made them great. Place the Pillars of Eternity DVD into your DVD-ROM drive. If your We also wanted to craft an experience that resonated with seasoned computer is AutoPlay enabled, a window will automatically pop up on players while inviting those for whom this is their fi rst adventure. Since your Windows desktop. Double click the install icon to install the game Pillars of Eternity is partially an echo of well-loved games, many of to your hard drive. During installation, you will be prompted to insert its themes and mechanics may seem multiple DVDs to continue installation. Open your DVD-ROM drive, familiar. However, this game is the fi rst insert the requested DVD, and hit OK to continue installation. expression of a multiverse yet to be explored. Join us on this fi rst step into an unpaved frontier. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Minimum System Requirements • Operating system: Windows Vista or greater / Mac OSX 10.5 (Leopard) / Ubuntu Linux 12.04 or greater • Video Card: Model Shader 3 Compatible Video Card, 512 MB or better • Processor: 2.6 GHz Pentium IV or equivalent AMD Athlon processor • RAM: 4GB RAM • Hard Drive: 25 GB Hard Drive Space 1 2 Starting Out Class Selection The Main Menu presents the available options before starting a game: You may choose from eleven different classes: Barbarian, Chanter, Cipher, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, and 1. New Game Wizard. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses. For more • Begin a new game of Pillars of Eternity. information on each individual class, see the info pane for the classes on the right hand side of the character creation screen. 2. Continue • Load a saved game. Attribute Points 3. Options You are granted a pool of points to spend across your attributes where • Opens the options menu. you see fi t, to further customize your character. Attributes consist of: 4. Credits Might • View the game credits. • A character’s physical and spiritual strength. Affects Damage with all attacks, Healing, and the Fortitude defense. 5. Exit • Exit the game. Constitution • A combination of the character’s overall health and stamina. Affects Endurance, Health, and the Fortitude defense. CHARACTER CREATION Dexterity Once you enter the Character Creation screen, you’ll be led through • An abstraction of a character’s hand-eye coordination, balance, a series of decisions to craft the character you will play on your and overall grace. Affects Action Speed and the Refl exes defense. adventures across Eora. Perception • A character’s senses, as well as their instinctive ability to pick up on Gender Selection details. Affects Accuracy with all attacks, the Range of all non-melee You can play as either a male or female character in Pillars of Eternity. spells and abilities, and the Refl exes defense. Both men and women are found in a wide variety of stations and professions, depending on the culture from which they hail. Intellect • A character’s logic and reasoning capabilities as well as their tactical instincts. Affects the size of all Area of Effects and the Will Race Selection and Defl ection defenses. Pillars of Eternity has six races to choose from: Aumaua, Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Godlike, and Orlans. Once you’ve selected your race, Resolve you can select the subrace for your particular character. Each race has • A character’s inner drive, determination, and the emotional intensity its own set of modifi ers that differentiate it from the other races. they can project to others. Affects Concentration (to resist Interrupts), Durations of all spells and abilities, and the Will defense. 3 4 Culture Selection and Background Left-clicking these buttons perform the various actions listed below: Next, you’ll be asked to pick a culture that your character hails from, as well as a general background for your character. This selection will Attack: Mouse cursor enters Attack mode. infl uence how denizens of Eora may react to your character throughout the game. It can also affect your base Attributes present different Background options. Each culture will present different Background Cancel: Cancel movement and other actions. options. Appearance and Name Select All: Selects all party members. Next, you’ll be able to modify the appearance of your character, as well as select a portrait and voice to represent them throughout Inventory: Opens the currently selected party the game. Finally, you’ll be able to input your name. member’s inventory. Character: Opens the currently selected party GAME INTERFACE member’s character sheet. Action Bar Journal: Opens the party’s journal. The primary toolbar at the bottom of the screen is a constant presence throughout Pillars of Eternity, and the hub of many useful shortcuts. Party Formation: Opens the party formation options. Camp: Brings up the Resting screen. Scouting Mode: Toggles Scouting Mode, allowing stealth and the detection of hidden objects. Area Map: Opens the Area Map. Stronghold: Opens the Stronghold screen, used for Stronghold management. Options: Opens the Options Menu. Pause and Slow Mode: Inner circle of the button slows the game speed. Outer ring pauses the game. 5 6 Character Screen Journal The Character screen is where you can see each party member’s There is a wide variety of information to be found here. Under the attributes and skills, as well as how close to leveling up that character Quests tab, you can keep track of the quests your character has is. To the right hand side of the screen are the combat records for the encountered, as well as see the individual task progress for each party as well as individual members. Here you can fi nd information on quest. The Journal keeps track of your character’s biography total damage done, critical hits, damage taken, and more. as you play the game. The Cyclopedia has information on the creatures you’ve met on your journey. Finally, the Notes tab is where you can keep your own notes for the game. 7 8 World Map Options Menu Auto-Pause