Paving the Road to Hell in Pillars of Eternity

A proverb that I used to have difficulties understanding was “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Being an impressionable lad with illusions of altruism and gentlemanly etiquette, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how doing something good could lead to something so bad. While age and a bit of hopeful wisdom have answered those questions since, the upcoming 10th anniversary of Pillars of Eternity got me thinking about my own disastrous run in the game and how well the proverb applied!

Note! Beware of Pillars of Eternity spoilers.

So, for the uninitiated, Pillars of Eternity is an isometric RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment with the aim of calling back to the classics of the genre, such as Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment. Like its spiritual predecessors, Pillars put a lot of effort into telling a complex story with a lot of grey morality, complex characters and situations, and a general feeling of an apathetic world recovering from an apocalyptic event and suffering the consequences.

To put it into as concise a sentence as I can, one of the gods started a tiny little massive war and led his faithful into battle via a human avatar. The other gods and factions were not amused and used the magical equivalent of a nuclear bomb to stop the god and his forces. What resulted was the death of the mortal avatar — and some say even the god himself — and a magical plague that caused children to be born without souls. Cheery, eh? It is here where we find ourselves as an unwilling “chosen” set to handle things while the gods keep doing their “remote and mysterious thing”.

Now, I love deep lore and expansive worlds to explore, so this seemed very much like my jelly and jam. However, due to having to learn a same-but-different rule system from Dungeons and Dragons, most of my meagre mental resources were filled with complex charts translating Will, Resolve, and Deflection into forms my single brain cell could understand. As such, there wasn’t much room left to fit the broad strokes of the world, never mind the nuances and subtleties of the different cultures and peoples of the land.

Whenever I play a game where choices matter, I stay true to myself in the first playthrough, choosing whatever I would myself. This playstyle, more often than not, ends up with me being a big ol’ goody-two-shoes trying to be friends with everyone, only seldom interrupted with some dips into homicidal murder if someone hurts my pets or friends. However, in the case of Pillars of Eternity, with its thrice-damned complex and deep narrative, I started getting into trouble. While I could go over my numerous failings and horrors, I think one character in the bunch was whose road I paved the most, Pallegina mes Rèi.

Pallegina is an avian Godlike (think human with a pinch of godly goodness mixed in) paladin from the region of the Vailian Republics. The Vailian Republic is itself a Renaissance-esque confederation of sovereign city-states with a firm belief in success, shrewdness, and wit, making them some of the most ruthless traders in the world. The Vailian Trading Company is pretty much the East India Company if that helps make the connections. So, as one can imagine, a paladin of this fine area is expected to exude these virtues, as Pallegina often tries to do whenever possible.

During our world-saving exploits in the game, we end up in the village of Twin Elms, which hosts a large population of… well, let’s call them druids for simplicity. The residents of the Elms are sitting on the ancient ruins of a precursor race and have found much technology and magic within that they hoard jealously. Pallegina, being of the mercantile Vailians, is tasked with setting up an exclusive trade agreement between the druids and her people. The problem? This deal would divert the little trade Twin Elms has with the mainland of Dyrwood (where the game is set) and cause rising tensions all around. Caught between her duty as a paladin/representative and her goal, Pallegina looks to the main character on what to do. And so the paving began.

Being the aforementioned goody-two-shoes that I am, I wanted to make everyone happy. While naive, it usually works out if you play your cards right, even if not everyone is thrilled… at least that’s what my history with videogames has taught me! As such, I began advising poor Pallegina to find a solution where Dyrwood wouldn’t be cut out entirely so that she could still complete her mission without all that political tension. Maybe if I had read up on the lore, paid more attention to her dialogue, or simply been a bit more ruthless, things would be different, but it is what it is.

Despite having the best intentions, I failed to take into account Palleginas culture and the very possible ramifications it could bring. In my eternal optimism, I thought having the say of a paladin would smooth over any rough patches and everything would be okay. It was not. Things looked hopeful as we drafted up a new contract that would benefit Vailia without absolutely bankrupting a recovering Dyrwood and it seemed that was that. However, as soon as the world-safety threatening doomsday was sorted, the Vailian Republic quickly used their vast political and monetary powers to render the contract basically useless. Everything we worked to do was dashed, the Republics got what they wanted… and Pallegina was banished from her home.

I still feel wretched thinking back on that ending screen. My blind insistence that her culture would act like mine, as well as my ignorance toward the Vailian way of life did not end well… now, you can argue that this could be seen as a good ending, as Pallegina had a reason to leave the greedy land, but the thing is, the ending itself goes as far as saying she never really felt at home anywhere she went. My poor heart. To add insult to injury, some time down the road I met the errant warrior in Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, she refused to join my party due to my choices.

Now, Pallegina was in no way the only life I ruined with my inane bumbling and goldfishy memory, but her plight is the one that has stuck with me over the years. Pillars of Eternity truly showed me how you can do everything for the right reasons and make the right choices and still end up doing more harm than good, often to those around you. I hate Obsidian for making me break out of my idyllic optimism, but it really shows you how rich and multilayered the world of the game is that, after years, I still have regrets.

If you haven’t tried out the games and are hungering for more after playing through Baldur’s Gate 3 for a fifth time, maybe consider giving Pillars of Eternity a look! While not quite the same, it does hit the same notes and has some dark turns of its own. If nothing else, you have a chance to familiarise yourself with the lore for the upcoming Avowed, which is set in the same universe!