The gods of the Pillars of Eternity universe are a relatively unique pantheon when compared to the gods of most major fantasy settings. They did not create the world, or the kith (the intelligent species of Eora) but were in fact created by them. Their bodies were built by an ancient culture, the Engwithan’s, and housed with thousands of souls to power them. From there, the gods took up their roles as overlords of the cosmos, guiding the souls of the Kith into new bodies after their deaths, contributing to the Wheel — the continuous cycle of death and rebirth.
But not all gods were created equal, and since Pillars of Eternity is one of the best Obsidian games, you know the gods in it will be varied in goals and morality. Some were imbued with attributes that asserted good moral character above all else, some were given a sense of unwavering duty to their role, and others were designed to be spiteful and cruel.
11 Skaen
One might pray to Skaen to rebel against a powerful overlord — in doing so they would be instructed to create an Effigy. This monstrosity comes into being when the oppressed are willing to commit unspeakable acts on their fellow worshipers, to set themselves free. A mortal is chosen to become a vessel that Skaen will manifest in, but first, they have their ears and nose cut off, their eyes gouged out, and then numerous other unspeakable rites are conducted. Even then, Skaen might not accept the offering.
If successful, the Effigy is immune to pain and won’t stop until the oppressors are killed, and once successful will drop dead. But Skaen is a God that abhors all power, and as soon as the powerless become powerful, they fall into his line of fire. He also happens to be the only god that accepts human sacrifices in-game; the Watcher can sacrifice one of their companions to him, and if that doesn’t scream evil we don’t know what does.
10 Woedica
Once destined to be the ruling God of the pantheon, Woedica’s fall from grace led to a bitter and resentment-fueled campaign against the world of Pillars of Eternity, which was only stopped when the Watcher intervened. Bitter that she was not more powerful than the other gods, she concocted the hollowborn crisis, with the help of Thaos ix Arkannon, causing thousands of children to be born without souls.
Thaos had planned for all the lost souls to be diverted to Woedica, to empower her so that she would become the ruler of the other gods, disregarding the lives she had taken to get there. She is also besties with Skaen - what an evil, deceitful, pair they make.
9 Ondra
Legend tells that Ondra, the god of the seas and the oceans, fell in love with the moon. In her attempts to bring them together, she grasped only a part of the moon, causing it to plummet into the ocean, resulting in catastrophe across the world’s coastlines. It is believed that her pursuit of the moon is what causes the tides. It’s a nice story if you ignore the wanton destruction, but it’s not the truth.
In actuality, Odra had been attempting to drag the moon down to the world to destroy the Engwithan’s, and all traces of them. Her plan was stopped only by Abydon, who put his own body in the path of the moon, sacrificing himself to save the races of Eora.
Attempting to kill everyone in the world is not the best look, and is the main reason she is so low on the list.
8 Rymrgand
Rymrgand is the god of all manifestations of erosion and collapse — not the attributes you might personally worship, but to each their own. The worst thing Rymrgand does to the player is revealed when you start the Beast of Winter DLC for Pillars of Eternity 2 — he asks you to enter his realm, the white void, and take down a dragon whose very presence there is affecting his fragile ego. Sounds easy enough.
The worst part is what happens when you try to leave — what a surprise, the God of erosion and collapse betrays you, offering you the choice of death now, or inescapable death later.
7 Galawain
Galawain is the god of the hunt, and is known as “the father of all monsters”. He is also the god of the Nature godlike — one of the races you can choose during character creation. Since the Watcher spends most of their time slaying monsters, it’s fair to say they’d have had a much easier time if Galawain didn’t exist. What’s worse, is that if you actually try to defend yourself against some of these monsters, and end up killing them, Galawain has a go at you.
In the Seeker Slayer Survivor DLC for Pillars of Eternity 2, he boastfully warns you that if you step foot on his island, his monsters will kill you, and then gets angry when they don’t. What did he expect from a protagonist?
6 Magran
Magran is not the most cool-headed god — she acted without much thought and was easily goaded by Woedica into killing the mortal aspect of Eothas during the Saints war, but since then has supposedly learned her lesson. The only problem is that she may now be overly cautious — when Eothas rises once more, she calls for the Watcher to merely watch what he does, taking no action until they learn of his plots.
As with most of the gods in Pillars of Eternity, Magran is selfish, hot-tempered, and vengeful - the only reason she doesn’t rank lower is because there are plenty worse than her.
5 Hylea
After Magran killed the mortal avatar of Eothas, her followers began enacting what became known as “purges” against all the remaining followers of him. Homes were set aflame, temples torn to the ground, and worshipers murdered. During this time, Hylea’s followers, at great risk to themselves, offered shelter to the Eothasians, demonstrating their god’s values. Hylea also happens to be linked to one of the best companions, Pallegina, by way of her being an avian godlike.
If you request this gods help in the first game, she offers, arguably, the most benevolent solution to the hollowborn crisis. She asks that you return the souls into the bodies they were meant for, allowing children who were born without souls to be whole again. Sure if you take her help, and then betray her, she sets swarms of birds on the world, trading the deaths of countless towns and villages, for the lives she was promised.
4 Wael
Wael is all about having a good time. One of his followers asks the Watcher to find a lost scroll, and once successful, Wael communicates with them directly, telling them to lose it again, simply for the fun of making someone else have to search for it.
When Eothas begins his campaign to destroy the wheel and set the Kith free from the machinations of the gods, Wael describes it as the most interesting thing to have happened in ages. Wael is a breath of fresh air compared to the serious and stoic nature of the other gods.
3 Abydon
When Ondra attempted to pull the moon down from orbit to destroy the Engwithan civilisation, Abydon stood against her. Literally. He smashed the falling moon apart with his hammer, and when that wasn’t enough, he used his own body to absorb the fragments of the moon still falling to the surface, sacrificing his godly form for the people of Eora.
Abydon is the reason that we even have a setting to play in - without him, the world would have been destroyed, and all life and culture with it. With the Watchers help, Abydon can regain his knowledge of this event and take up his role, once more, as the god of perseverance.
2 Eothas
The god of renewal and light has had a difficult ride in the world of Pillars of Eternity. After taking mortal form and leading a peasant revolt, Magram turned against him, creating a bomb with the power to kill a god and proceeded to drop it on him. After 20 long, silent, years Eothas returned — he took possession of the giant Adra statue underneath Caed Nua, and made for the ruins of Ukaizo, intending to shatter the wheel, and break mortals free from the interference of the gods.
Eothas truly believed what he was doing was for the good of the kith, and even saved the Watchers life a few times throughout Pillars of Eternity 2 — even if he did get them killed at the beginning of the game. Nobody’s perfect.
1 Berath
Berath, at first, might appear distant and cold, but that’s only because they are exactly that — being the god of life and death affords a certain amount of stoicism. When Eothas destroyed Caed Nua and journeyed to the Deadfire Archipelago, for who knows why, Berath was the first god to actually act, rather than stand around talking about it forever.
When finally confronted, Eothas can be convinced that one of the gods should be empowered to lead the rest — Berath is the god he chooses. Sure, innovation comes to a grinding halt with their rule, but at least the world is less likely to end with them at the helm.
NEXT: The Best CRPGs And Why You Need to Play Them
