With its upcoming gameAvowed, Obsidian is bringing its stellar role playing chops to a more typical fantasy adventure. As such,Avowed’s party camp opens the door for an excellent trope in the fantasy genre.
Avowedmay be charting new waves with its combat system, but in other areas, Obsidian is embracing the tried and true features of RPG and fantasy games. One fan favorite feature of both is the party and companion system, which has been confirmed forAvowed. It has also been revealed that the player will have a base camp for non-active party members to rest at. The camp will likely be a location where the player can rest and upgrade weapons while their party members interact with them and each other. Attached to the idea of a restful base camp comes another trope that Obsidian might want to lean into; the familiar twist of an ambush at camp could be the perfect addition toAvowed’s story.
In Fantasy RPGs like Avowed, A Rest Stop Isn’t Always Restful
ManyRPGs, especially ones focused on fantasy, will offer players an area to rest between quests or major story missions. These bases or camps are typically non-combat areas where the party doesn’t have to worry about enemies, and can instead socialize, furthering companion side stories, upgrade or change gear, or decide where to go next. Most base camps also grow based on the characters the player allows to join them.
But on occasion, developers like to use these locations to lure the player into a false sense of security. By having enemies ambush the player when they feel safe, it adds a twist to the gameplay that fans are sure to remember. This is also a good way to up the steaks towards the end of the story. After all, if the player isn’t safe in their own home, they can’t be sure they’re safe anywhere.
Balder’s Gate 3spoilers ahead.
One game that has used its base camp to great effect isBaldur’s Gate 3, which includes multiple story twists that players might encounter. Towards the beginning of act 3, players encounter a little girl named Yenna who has lost her mother, and havethe option of allowing Yenna to stay in their camp. If they do, there is a chance they will return to find that she has been kidnapped, setting them on the path to recover and defend her. This is an example of how base camps can be used to offer further stories, but the game also includes a more intense camp encounter. Later in Act 3, there is a chance that vampires will ambush the camp while the player is asleep as part of Astarion’s questline. This leads to an unavoidable combat segment within the player’s safe haven.
Why An Ambush Could Help Avowed
InAvowed’s story, the player will be a chosen envoy from a distant land who has come to investigate unknown lands. This gives the game a great excuse to hold the player’s hand a bit at the beginning, which might enforce their need for companions to join them. The idea of a stranger coming into unfamiliar territory might also become an inciting incident for enemy factions. Over the course of the game, the antagonistic threats might need to find them and prove their strength. If the enemies are against the player exploring their lands, it would stand to reason that making a base camp in their territory would draw their ire. In this way, the camp ambush would not only raise the stakes, but also play into the major themesAvowedmight be exploring.
WithAvowed’s heavy emphasis on combat, the more chances the game has to force players into battle, the better.Playing a pacifist run may not be an option inAvowed, so the game needs to work doubly hard to give players meaningful combat experiences. Forcing them to defend their camp and their companions gives emotion to this particular battle. Self-defense is the perfect way to encourage even peaceful players to take up arms.
Though sometimes seen as a negative, with the proper implementation, tropes can become a powerful tool.Avowedhas plenty of opportunities to use tropeslike the party camp ambush to its advantage as it pushes players into unfamiliar territory. So long as the game doesn’t feel stale or overly familiar, popular fantasy tropes could be a welcome inclusion amongAvowed’s inventive new systems.
Avowed
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger. Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands - an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?
