Encampment

The Encampment is the starting area of Pillars of Eternity.

Background[ | ]

The caravan is camped in small glade, by the edge of a forest, near the entrance into the ancient Engwithan ruins of Cilant Lis.

Points of interest[ | ]

The caravan camp is inside a small glade and consists of several wagons, bedrolls and a campfire. Above the caravan camp is the entrance for Cilant Lis. The available boxes contain some generic loot, like copper pands and one or two potions. One of them is locked, showcasing how lockpicking works.
The river dominates the western part of the map, with a group of bandits/looters slain by the Glanfathans in the south-eastern corner. They carry some minor loot. On the other shore, in the south-western corner, is a small camp with some loot and a hidden The Disappointer in the tent.
The springberries you need to solve the quest are located in the upper left corner of the map, defended by a single young wolf.

Characters[ | ]

Odema, the leader of the caravan.
Calisca, a hired meadow folk fighter guarding the caravan and temporary companion.
Heodan, a meadow folk rogue and merchant. Depending on your dialog options another temporary companion.
Sparfel, a hired hand tasked with getting water.

Related quests[ | ]

Main quests[ | ]

A Moment's Respite
The Gilded Vale – Get to Gilded Vale.

Enemies[ | ]

Beasts:

Wolves
- Young Wolf

Natives:

Glanfathans
- Glanfathan Leader
- Glanfathan Hunter
- Glanfathan Huntress

Animals[ | ]

Deer
Horse

Loot[ | ]

Notable loot[ | ]

The Disappointer: Unique pistol, in the abandoned tent to the southwest.

Containers[ | ]

Crate (Locked, Difficulty 1):

Potion of Minor Endurance

Crate:

Tent (Hidden, Difficulty 0 - The abandoned camp to the west):

Beer:

Beer

Corpse:

Plants[ | ]

Behind the scenes[ | ]

The encampment is the only outdoor level in the game without a day/night cycle, and is fixed at night regardless of the time.
This area contains developer commentary.

“

With Pillars of Eternity we strive with every level to both evoke the essence the beloved Infinity Engine games, as well as introduce something new and engaging for players to experience in the world of Eora. The caravan encampment was no exception to this goal.

As the introduction area and the first impression of Eora has to offer, it really needed to speak to the player from the get-go. Keeping in mind this principle, we needed to begin the game with an image that instilled simultaneously the feeling of adventure players may be familiar with from a Dungeons & Dragons setting, while introducing them to our own unique world. The idea of a caravan held around a flickering campfire both seemed familiar and befitting as the humble beginnings to a grand adventure. By setting the scene before a large ancient ruin with peculiar stone-like objects growing from the ground, we felt this would introduce them to some of the key landmarks of the Dyrwood.

Another principle on our design was non-linearity, Pillars of Eternity is a game about choice and consequence. We didn't want our introduction to feel like an entirely guided experience, so we opted to keep the flow of the level pretty open to exploration. Once the player has finished speaking with Odema, they are free to wander around the immediate area and examine their surroundings, even find clues that foreshadow their inevitable ambush, a situation that very quickly teaches the player the concept of consequence in our world.

”

~ Matthew Perez, Junior Designer