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Article - Tyranny's take on evil isn't just nuanced, it's disturbing
Tyranny is a party based RPG brought to you by Obsidian via Paradox, who were previously behind the successful Pillars of Eternity. Unlike Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny is not rigidly attempting to adhere to the classic Baldur’s Gate style. As such, Tyranny explores a unique narrative while veering away from some hallmarks of the more classic CRPGs. There is much more of a focus towards choice, reactivity and replayability, as well as a shorter game expected to be at least 25hrs long.
In Tyranny, the grand war between good and evil is over. The forces of evil, led by Kyros the Overlord, have won. The Overlord’s merciless armies dominate the face of the world, and its denizens must find their new roles within the war-torn realm, even as discord begins to rumble among the ranks of Kyros’ forces. You will be interacting with the populace in the Overlord's forces as a powerful Fatebinder - judge and executioner of Kyros' Law -- roaming the lands to inspire loyalty or fear as they bring control to the last holdouts of the Tiers.
Classless Levelling & Character Creation
Tyranny shakes things up by using a classless levelling system. This means you are not stuck into a particular archetype class dictating possibilities. Instead your actions and skill usage will grant you ranks that will determine how you develop. During character creation, you will decide the background of your character by determining how they joined Kyros' army. A primary & secondary expertise will then be chosen, which determines your combat styles and choice of abilities.
Conquest
Following character creation, Conquest will give you the opportunity to decide how the last 3 years of the war play out, at the final lands of the Tiers, by actively deciding on your actions through that time. This involves various scenario options and decisions to make with wide ranging consequences that in essence act as world creation. You will be shown what your choices mean in terms of your character’s immediate skills and abilities, as well as known outcomes.
The decisions you make will have ramifications for the Locations you will explore in the game as well as Quests. During this portion of the game, you are literally shaping the world, modifying cities and towns demographically and geographically based on choices you’ve made. Consequences of these actions in the game could lead to altered alliances, companions and denizens’ attitudes towards you or factions, altered narrative and even larger changes to the world.
Skills
Skills in Tyranny are grouped into three broad categories: Weapons, Support, and Magic. Weapon skills determine how accurate your character is when wielding weapons of that type. Support skills determine how good you are at avoiding being hit in combat, as well as how nimble, sneaky, or knowledgeable your character is. Magic skills determine how precisely your character can draw various magical sigils and control the forces they evoke. Skills increase as you use them, but there will be challenge involved. You can’t fight characters who are far below your level to gain experience, or climb up and down the same wall over and over.
Attributes
Tyranny uses six core attributes to define characters. Attributes also determine the base values of skills. Each skill has a primary and a secondary attribute that contribute towards the skill’s rank. Attributes also contribute towards secondary statistics, such as the Endurance, Will, and Arcane resistances. The six core attributes are:
- Might – your character’s physical strength and attack power.
- Finesse – your character’s physical precision.
- Quickness – your character’s speed and reaction times.
- Vitality – physical health and force of personality.
- Wits – intelligence and arcane potential.
- Resolve – ability to endure physical and mental challenges.
Unlike Pillars of Eternity where characters gain experience as they complete quests and objectives but Individual combat encounters or conversations had no effect on level – In Tyranny as you use skills they gain experience. When they gain enough experience, they increase their skill rank. When a skill increases in rank, your character gains experience towards their next level.
A benefit of this is that it makes even optional combat encounters rewarding for the player. This is balanced by functionality to allow players to level up their skills in conversations too. Player choices that are gated by skill requirements will add experience to those skills when they are used. Additionally, if you use a skill to intimidate an encounter into fleeing, skill experience is granted to the party equivalent to what you would gain if you fought them. This won’t be exact, as there are too many decisions that players can make during combat to replicate it exactly.
As your party members increase in level, they can improve their Attribute scores and purchase new Talents from Talent Trees. Your character has 6 distinct trees to purchase talents from, while your companions have their own unique trees - 2 per companion. Whether it’s through combat, conversations, or interacting with objects in the world, you can steer how your characters develop. You also gain some experience for completing quests and objectives.
Reputation
While reputation still effects how you are seen by the various factions of the world, reputation also grants your character greater power. Positive and negative reputation is gain from the various factions and major characters. New abilities are gained based on the reputation you have with different factions – whether this is positive or negative for any particular faction. These exist as Loyalty and Fear, both granting a variety of powers.
Combat & Magic
This game follows real-time-with-pause mechanics for combat, much like Pillars of Eternity, however there are some new twists involved. There are now Companion Combo possibilities - abilities that allow your character and a companion to work together in concert to create a powerful effect. You also have the ability to craft and make your own custom spells, augmenting them further with “shapes” to alter their effects. These can be combined to your desire and further enhanced over time.
Tyranny handles hit points differently than Pillars did. Instead of the combination of Health and Endurance, there is a single Health bar to focus on. As attacks deal damage, your character’s Health is reduced. When it reaches 0, a character falls unconscious (or dies, depending on game options). Characters can be revived using special abilities or consumables, or they will regain consciousness at the end of combat and begin regenerating Health.
Other important changes include the removal of friendly fire; consumables are now instant action, triggering a short cooldown on all other consumables for that character once one is used (to prevent spamming); Interrupt has been tweaked so that only some abilities interrupt targets - interrupted targets have any queued actions cleared and enters recovery (duration dependant on the ability used).
Spires
These structures are part of your stronghold and are found in many different locations. Little is known about the purpose and history of these Spires. As you explore the Tiers you have the opportunity to gain access to several of these Spires. Claiming a Spire unlocks several gameplay benefits including - Reduced Travel Time; Upgrading Your Spires & Hiring Recruits
There are four possible upgrades you can build on a Spire, but you can only build one per Spire permanently, so you will have to find more to build more while prioritising what you need. These include:
- Infirmary - provides a place where healers and alchemists can gather. You will be able to brew your own potions and poisons and prepare various plants to be safely consumed by your party
- Library - attracts Sages and scholars from around the Tiers. Allows your recruits to research hidden lore – from powerful magical Sigils that allow you to enhance and customize your spells, to stories of ancient Artifacts that you might be able to forge anew
- Forge - allows you to increase the quality of your weapons and armor, improving their damage and defense characteristics. The Forge also allows you to create unique Artifacts and special named items that you won’t find anywhere else in the game
- Training Grounds - Lets you attract skill trainers, able to increase your party members’ skills to the highest ranks
Kyros
For over 400 years, the armies of Kyros the Overlord have marched across the known world, conquering everything and everyone in their path. Some have surrendered and some have simply been crushed, but all the same, those who remain have come to know a new order: Kyros’ Law.
There is no force in the world as terrifying as a direct Edict from the Overlord. Kyros possesses the unfathomable power to pass judgement upon the world with only a sentence or two -- words that, when spoken, can rewrite the very fabric of reality with devastating spells. The lands under Kyros’ rule bear the scars from these Edicts -- shattered cities, crumbled mountains, and worse. Few remain with the will to risk another Edict by defying Kyros’ Law.
For a figure whose name is known to everyone, it is perhaps strange how little is truly known about Kyros. Those who are close to the Overlord say that direct knowledge is irrelevant -- whether one fears, serves, or reveres Kyros, in the end it is obedience that is the key to surviving in the Overlord’s world.
Fatebinders
While the Overlord’s rule is absolute, the Empire is too large for Kyros to directly control everyone. Instead, Kyros grants authority over different parts of the Empire to the Archons. Some Archons are governors of provinces or military districts, others control important groups like armies, mage guilds, or specialized agents like the Fatebinders.
Each Archon is granted limited autonomy over their area of control. As long as they serve Kyros’ goals and do not break any of the Overlord’s laws, Kyros permits the Archons to rule their armies and provinces in a manner of their choosing. Because of this, the Archons and the groups they control will often clash with one another. The Fatebinders were created by Tunon the Adjudicator, Archon of Justice, to solve these problems.
As a Fatebinder and servant of Tunon, it is your duty to resolve disputes that arise between the different armies and mage guilds or citzens appealing for judgement. You decide whose actions are best in line with Kyros’ laws, mediate where you can, and order punishments – and executions – where required.
Factions
There are several factions fighting for power or the approval of the Overlord. Though the Overlords forces are overwhelmingly large and made up of all kind of people, beast and monsters, two of their biggest armies has been sent to conquer the tiers: The Scarlet Chorus and the Disfavored.
The Scarlet Chorus
The largest of Kyros’ forces is the loose collective of the Scarlet Chorus -- more a crazed horde than an orderly army. Led by the enigmatic Voices of Nerat, the Archon of Secrets, the Scarlet Chorus enforce the will of Kyros through sheer unstoppable fury and overwhelming numbers.
When the Scarlet Chorus overtakes an enemy, the survivors are given the choice to join their ranks or perish -- leaving the Chorus mostly populated by those desperate or insane enough to accept the offer. Leadership within the Scarlet Chorus is simply a matter of outlasting or usurping one’s superiors, and most do not get the chance to try.
The Disfavored
Only the finest of trained warriors are accepted into The Disfavored, the elite army led by Graven Ashe, Archon of War. Though they are the smallest of Kyros’ forces in number, their superior training and unparalleled discipline make them more than a match for any army who would oppose them.
The Disfavored believe first and foremost in order and discipline, and do not act with cruelty. However, against any who would violate Kyros’ law, they are without mercy or pity, and are not above any brutal tactic or method to secure a victory -- for in the end, that is all that matters.
Archons are women and men who possess incredible powers. They are more than just skilled fighters or mages. Each Archon has unique abilities that set them above the rest of humanity.
No one knows how Archons gain their strength, but dozens of Archons currently bow to Kyros’ will. Some Archons were born to power and privilege. Others were beggars in the street before their powers manifested. The only common thread among Archons is that they serve Kyros. Or they die.
Tunon – Archon of Justice
Tunon the Adjudicator is the Archon of Justice and creator of the Fatebinders. Eldest of the Archons in service to Kyros, he has served the Overlord for over 400 years. Though legends tell of many Archons of Justice in the years before Kyros’ ascension, none have been born to challenge Tunon’s claim to the title in the past centuries. Tunon is a cold and dispassionate figure, devoid of emotion and sentiment. All that moves him is his devotion to Kyros’ law.
The full extent of Tunon’s powers is unknown. What is known is that the other Archons, beings of immense power in their own right, fear his judgment almost as much as they fear the Overlord’s displeasure.
The Voices Of Nerat - Archon Of Secrets
Few in the Empire speak of the Voices of Nerat for only the foolish wish to draw the eye of Kyros’ Spymaster and torturer. The Voices serves Kyros with a fanatic’s devotion. Even the slightest hint of treason is enough to draw his wrath.
In recent years the Voices of Nerat has formed his own army under Kyros rule. Forsaking the whispers of his spies and the sanguine gloom of his torture chambers, the Archon of Secrets now marches to war as leader of the Scarlet Chorus.
Only Kyros and the eldest Archons remember the Voices’ origin, and they do not speak of it.
Graven Ashe – Archon of War
Graven Ashe is the Archon of War and general of the Disfavored, one of Kyros’ elite armies. He has the ability to take on the pain and wounds those under his command. His soldiers will rise from the battlefield, healed of all but the most lethal wounds.
Before serving Kyros, Graven Ashe fought against the Overlord in defense of his homeland. His abilities brought him to the attention of Blood Ruin, then Archon of War and leader of Kyros’ invading soldiers. Victorious and weakened from that massive battle against the Archon, Graven Ashe was dragged before Kyros. No one knows what the Overlord said, or did, to the rebellious general but from that day forward, Graven Ashe served Kyros loyally as the new Archon of War.
Bleden Mark - Archon Of Shadow
The eyes of Bleden Mark watch from every shadow. He is Kyros’ executioner, tasked with ending the lives of those Kyros deems dangerous. There is no army that marches behind Bleden Mark, no city hails him as ruler, and no great monument that boasts his name. While the other Archons surround themselves with human trappings, Bleden Mark is cloaked solely in shadow.
Though Bleden Mark owes allegiance to Kyros, the Archon of Shadows is often used to carry out Tunon’s judgments. Those whom Tunon finds unworthy, or guilty of breaking the law, will die. It does not matter how many soldiers or mages a guilty woman surrounds herself with – who can protect themselves from their own shadow?
Verse
Verse represents the bravado of the Scarlet Chorus. She’s constantly proving herself, challenging others, prodding for weaknesses, and delighting in the social power play within Kyros’ more volatile army. Her free spirit and playful sarcasm make her a fitting counterpoint to Barik and his iron walls of emotional repression.
Verse is a Scarlet Fury – one of the elite fighters in the Chorus, possessing training in all manner of exotic weapons and fighting styles. Combat for Furies is an art form, a coordinated dance ruled by passion over reason or tactics.
Like all members of the Chorus, Verse started out as a civilian in the southern continent of the Tiers – an ordinary girl on an ordinary farm. When the armies of Kyros arrived and started conscripting from the local populace, Verse recognized her calling. She was one of the few mad enough to volunteer and begin her new life in the howling mob, where she made a point of rising in the ranks with bloodthirsty ambition.
Barik
Barik is the quintessential Disfavored soldier. He embodies all of the rigid and uncompromising values that Graven Ashe’s iron legion holds dear. He’s polite, respectful of authority, and doggedly intolerant of anyone born outside of the Overlord’s long shadow.
During the war against the Tiers, Barik did not retreat with the rest of the Disfavored when word came that the Overlord Kyros was about to proclaim an Edict upon the realm of Stalwart. As Kyros’ Edict of Storms swept across the land, Barik was caught in the magical winds – winds that bore the weapons and armor of Barik’s phalanx and the enemies they fought. . To this day, Barik wears his armor of fused iron and bronze – durable protection, yet an unyielding mark of his failure. No one has been able to free him from the armor he was sealed into by Kyros’ Edict.
Lantry
Lantry is a Sage of the School of Ink and Quill. He’s a man of letters and numbers, a student of magic and nature, and an archivist obsessed with the accurate accounting of important people and events. His life’s work has been contributing to the Chronicle, the running archive-of-all-things built over the ages through the long work of hundreds of Sages.
Lantry uses his arcane training to witness history where it happens, as it happens – for him, magic is a tool to gain access to the battlefields, backroom dealings, and hidden ceremonies that most have to read about after the fact. As a student of history, Lantry has a certain adoration for Kyros, for no one has the power to define the unfolding march of events quite like the Overlord – nobody in recorded history even comes close.
Kills-In-Shadow
Kills-in-Shadow is a monster. She’s frightening and hairy. She stinks of wet animal and has an insatiable bloodlust for violence and slaughter. She’s also a clever hunter, a brutish, skilled fighter, and is tenaciously loyal (unless, of course, she has sensed a weakness) to whomever she chooses to follow, whether that be her ruthless sister, Creeping-Death, who was the last leader of their savage tribe, or a human Fatebinder stronger than even the toughest of Beastwomen.
As the last survivor of her tribe, she’s on a single-minded hunt for blood and vengeance, and will not be satisfied until each and every Disfavored has been wiped from Terratus. If most Beastwomen are hyenas, Kills-in-Shadow is a lone lioness–proud, regal, and wholly deadly. Drawn by a spectacular display of strength and prowess, she is now stalking the Fatebinder’s scent.
Eb
Eb is a member of an order of mages that study manipulation of water in all its forms. Though their magic makes them formidable in battle, the School of Tides devoted their efforts to the study of the arts and cornering trade along the coasts. While these efforts gave the school prestige and acceptance, they’ve also turned the school into a peaceful order, one unready for war and they were defeated with ease during Kyros conquest.
Having lost her husband, children, home, school, and realm to the war, Eb’s life is now little more than battle and living on the run. With the death of her three mentors, Eb is now the last of her kind.
Proud to have been born unbowed to Kyros but unburdened by the delusion that she has any chance of winning, Eb now wages her own war against the invaders, rallying to whatever band of Tiersmen is still willing to fight. Though she knows true victory is impossible, that won’t stop her from slaying as many of the foreign invaders as she can on her way out.
Sirin – Archon of Song
Sirin caused the death of more people before she was seven than most soldiers do in their entire careers. One of the few mages on Terratus who was born with magic, Sirin first displayed her abilities the first time she cried. Her parents quickly learned anyone who heard Sirin’s voice was compelled by the emotion behind it.
Eventually, tales of Sirin’s voice reached Kyros, who knew that if this child truly was as powerful as everyone said, she could be a power tool for conquest. Using the Voices of Nerat, Kyros kidnapped Sirin from her family and delivered her to the royal court for training.
Once she was deemed ready (and properly under control), she was given back to the Voices of Nerat to help the Scarlet Chorus in their recruiting efforts. From that point on, her voice was used to convince any and all to join the Scarlet Chorus and fight for Kyros. But Sirin knew that she – and her voice – were simply a means to an end and that the moment she stopped being useful, her life was forfeit, so she did her best to recruit as many bodies as she could for the Chorus while planning a means of escape if the opportunity ever presented itself.
