Pillars of Eternity is a 2015 role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive for Windows, OS X, and Linux.

During the beginning of the game, the protagonist experiences an awakening of power due to a disastrous supernatural event, discovering they are a "Watcher": a person who can see past lives and interact with souls.

Pillars of Eternity sees players assume the role of a character defined as a "Watcher" – a person able to see and interact with the souls of people, viewing the memories of those deceased or communing with those who linger – operating on role-playing mechanics that include party-based real-time-with-pause tactical gameplay.

The game is played from a fixed isometric viewpoint consisting of 3D models against two-dimensional pre-rendered backdrops,[4][5] in a similar vein as its spiritual predecessors  – Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment.

[7][8] Each class of the eleven available  – fighter, rogue, ranger, barbarian, monk, paladin, wizard, druid, priest, chanter, and cipher  – benefits from certain prominent stats in the game, and features a set of abilities unique to them,[9] which can be used in battles with hostile enemies and creatures: for example, the cipher can use the soul of an enemy in order to attack them,[9] and druids can shapeshift into a beast and cast spells.

[18] During the course of the game, the player will build up a reputation with various factions, depending on the decisions they make in conversations and with resolving quests.

[21] After making some progress in the game's main story, the protagonist will take over a stronghold, which acts as a base where players can improve it with new buildings.

[22] Battles in Pillars of Eternity focus on a system in which each enemy in the game has a set of different defensive stats.

[23] To recover lost health and endurance, as well as certain abilities, players can either rest by setting up a camp or buying a room at an inn.

[25] The Eastern Reach contains several nations, including the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood,[26] a former colony of the mighty Aedyr Empire that won its independence through a revolutionary war;[27] the Vailian Republics, a confederation of sovereign city-states; and the Penitential Regency of Readceras, a quasi-theocratic state ruled by priests of the god Eothas.

[19] A factor of great conflict all over Eora is the recent scientific discovery that souls are real and can be transferred, stored, or molded.

Though the study of souls, called animancy, is a young field of science, the implications for society at large has been vast, led to rapid advances in technology, and caused several rifts and clashes in the different religious communities, which has marked the era as a time of great turmoil.

Available companions include: Edér, a fighter and worshiper of one of the god Eothas;[14][29] Aloth, a wizard and child of parents who served nobility;[14][30] Durance, a disillusioned priest and follower of Magran, a goddess of war and fire;[14][31][32] Sagani, a ranger who is on a quest to search for an elder from her village;[14][33] Grieving Mother, a strange cipher who cannot normally be fully seen by other people, and has a personal connection to the hollowborn problem;[14][34][35] Pallegina, a paladin who works for the Vailian Republics;[36][37] Kana Rua, a chanter who was sent by his people to recover a book of sacred text;[38][39] and Hiravias, a druid who has been banished from his tribe.

[14][42] Taking refuge in a cave, the player character witnesses some cultists perform a ritual on a machine that can strip souls from their bodies.

[14] Dyrwood is cursed by the Hollowborn Plague: children are being born without souls, leaving them totally unresponsive, in a way similar to a permanent vegetative state.

The world of Eora was plagued by religious conflict, and the Engwithans had hoped to end these by discovering who were the true gods.

The people of Eora were united in worship of a common pantheon, ending centuries of religious conflict and promoting the spread of civilization.

His life mission is to ensure that nobody discovers the truth about the Engwithans' artificial gods, otherwise people might question their legitimacy.

Thaos stole the souls of the Hollowborn to empower the goddess Woedica, who hates animancy and would see it destroyed.

[53] Though the other gods have an interest in protecting their secret, they do not want Woedica to dominate them, and so they help the Watcher breach the defenses of Thaos' lair.

[58] There were multiple competing pitches for Pillars of Eternity's storyline within the studio, and the one worked on by Eric Fenstermaker and George Ziets ultimately won, after which Fenstermaker, who previously worked as a writer on the company's Fallout: New Vegas, was designated the game's lead narrative designer.

[64] On September 10, 2012, Obsidian's webpage began teasing about a new game (entitled "Project X"), it initially was a number 4 encircled by an Ouroboros.

[72] In the last day of the campaign, Pillars of Eternity surpassed Double Fine Adventure as Kickstarter's most-funded videogame at the time.

[74] Feargus Urquhart, Obsidian's CEO, explained why they chose to use a crowdfunding model for Pillars of Eternity instead of the traditional developer and publisher arrangement: "What Kickstarter does is let us make a game that is absolutely reminiscent of those great games, since trying to get that funded through a traditional publisher would be next to impossible.

"[75] In an interview, Josh Sawyer said that being free of the limitations of a publisher would enable them to "delve into more mature subject matter[...] slavery, hostile prejudice (racial, cultural, spiritual, sexual), drug use and trade, and so on will all help flesh out the story".

It was stated that Paradox's role would be taking care of marketing and distribution of the game, while Obsidian would still retain the rights to the intellectual property.

[87] On March 17, 2015, Obsidian confirmed that Pillars of Eternity went gold, indicating it was being prepared for production and release.

[90][91] PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game were released on August 29, 2017, with the title Pillars of Eternity: Complete Edition.

[2] A two-part expansion, Pillars of Eternity: The White March, was announced by Obsidian at Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015.

[104] Eurogamer criticized the game for lack of humor compared with Baldur's Gate and Morte from Planescape: Torment, called the quests as "fairly stock" and the characters "forgettable".