Ciphers are one of the playable classes in Pillars of Eternity.
Ciphers are uncommon and often misunderstood individuals with extraordinary mental abilities. Like wizards and priests, they have many talents that draw directly from their souls, but ciphers have the unique ability to peer through the spiritual energy of the world to manipulate other souls. While wizards use complex formulae in large tomes and priests tap into the passion of their faith, ciphers are able to operate directly through the power of their minds... and yours.[1]
Description
Background
Ciphers latent mental talents are a relatively recent discovery, that occurred naturally among the Glanfathan population.[2] Over a century ago, during the Broken Stone War, soldiers in the Dyrwood reported wild tales of having their minds invaded, of seeing comrades lose control of themselves, of orlan and elven Glanfathan warriors wielding knives engulfed in purple flames that "cut away" the souls of their victims. The war was a new experience for everyone involved, so many Dyrwoodans dismissed many of the more outlandish tales over time. But over the decades that followed, more settlers reported similar violent encounters with Glanfathan guerilla fighters. In the War of Black Trees, Dyrwoodan animancers confirmed many of these experiences across a wide number of soldiers and settlers. However, with Dyrwoodan settlers in a state of war with the population of Eir Glanfath, the researchers couldn't find many Glanfathans who were willing to talk about it.
In the years that followed the Dyrwoodan revolution for independence, relations between Eir Glanfath and the Dyrwood thawed, the tribal princes of Eir Glanfath allowed Dyrwoodan animancers to speak with some of their brîshalgwin, the elite warriors that had terrorized Aedyrans and Dyrwoodans in past wars. From the brîshalgwin, the animancers learned that Glanfathans had developed mental abilities that allowed them to perceive and contact what animancers categorized as "housed" souls, i.e., souls held within a physical vessel.
Excited by these revelations, animancers in Defiance Bay began working with the brîshalgwin, whom the animancers had previously described as ciphers due to their mysterious nature. Given Dyrwoodans' general discomfort with the Glanfathan language, the cipher name stuck and continues to be used in everyday conversation.[3] Since they were able to figure out a lot of new techniques that help them expand their abilities and learn to master them.[2]
Ciphers were feared for a long time because people didn't understand how they accomplished what they could do. Even today, some people still regard ciphers with a lot of suspicion, and their place in the world is still being defined.[2]
Attributes
Highly Recommended:
Recommended:
Abilities
- Focus
Focus is a resource that ciphers need to cast their powers. Ciphers begin combat with a modest amount of Focus and their more advanced techniques demand large expenditures of Focus. Additionally, repeated uses of even minor powers will quickly drain a cipher's Focus, requiring them to dive into physical combat and deal melee or ranged damage to generate more.[3] Josh Sawyer stated in an interview with PCGamer "So what you want to do is send your cipher into combat with traditional weapons to build your focus. When it’s maxed out, their inherent damage bonuses get turned off because their focus is full and they can’t drain any more."[2]
Soul Whip is the Cipher's passive ability that activates in combat as long as the Cipher's Focus level is below maximum. Causes the Cipher's weapon(s) to generate a field of parasitic energy that lashes out at the target, increasing Damage inflicted and generating Focus for the cipher. It can be used with ranged weapons.
Powers require Focus and a nearby target other than themselves, one with a "housed" soul. In practical terms, this means that ciphers must always target a nearby ally or an enemy with their powers. It is impossible for them to target themselves, a distant target, or open ground.[3] They have lot of single target damage powers, powers that inflict afflictions and powers which effect jumps from target to target.[2]
Progression
| Level | Ability gained | Starting Focus | Max Focus | Able to learn power of level | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | ||||
| 1 | Soul Whip | 7 | 30 | X | ||||||
| Two powers | ||||||||||
| 2 | One power | 10 | 40 | X | ||||||
| 3 | Two powers | 12 | 50 | X | X | |||||
| 4 | One power | 15 | 60 | X | X | |||||
| 5 | Two powers | 17 | 70 | X | X | X | ||||
| 6 | One power | 20 | 80 | X | X | X | ||||
| 7 | Two powers | 22 | 90 | X | X | X | X | |||
| 8 | One power | 25 | 100 | X | X | X | X | |||
| 9 | Two powers | 27 | 110 | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| 10 | One power | 30 | 120 | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| 11 | Two powers | 32 | 130 | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| 12 | One power | 35 | 140 | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| 13 | Two powers | 37 | 150 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
| 14 | One power | 40 | 160 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
Talents
- Biting Whip – As long as the cipher's Focus is below maximum, their Soul Whip deals 20% more damage in melee and ranged combat.
- Psychic Backlash – Whenever the cipher is attacked, targeting their Will defense, the attacker may get stunned themselves, with the cipher's Accuracy -10 counting against their own Will.
- Brutal Backlash – Whenever the cipher's Psychic Backlash talent strikes, this brutal upgrade adds 20 Raw Damage to the stunned effect.
- Draining Whip – As long as the cipher's focus hasn't reached its maximum, their Soul Whip will generate 33% more Focus while in combat.
- Greater Focus – The cipher's maximum and starting Focus are increased by 10.
Related items
| Icon | Name | Item type | Enchantments |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Brîshalgwin Mindmarker | Amulet |
|
|
Twin Sting | Crossbow |
|
|
Stormcaller | Hunting bow |
|
|
One-Eyed Molina's Gold-Fingered Spike-Flinger | Arbalest |
|
Notable characters
1 Minute Guide
References
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