I hope there is a rich story telling tradition in PoE.

I love campfire tales, communal storytelling (now it's your turn!) and stages in the tavern where every night is open mic night, as it were.

 

It's a great way to learn lore, provide an opportunity to reduce the pacing somewhat. (though you can just ignore the show if you're the kind of player who doesn't care) and just to enrich the world.

 

Probably not a good idea in a game with little to no voice-over, but one can dream, right?

Even with no voice-over, you could 'click the speaker' as if to initiate conversation and get the story in dialogue window (with occasional 'stop listening' options as well as 'continue' in case you get bored).  With a bit of background music appropriate to what's being told, that'd be atmospheric enough.

Edited July 19, 201411 yr by Silent Winter

music would be an important part then, because it has to support the vibe. I wonder how many people listened to the entire story of the sand-people in Knights of the Old Republic, with HK-47's interjections and everything.

A mini game as used in New Vegas' Caravan or the first Witcher's Dice Pker, but played out in one of the Interactive tableau's Poe is using?

 

A Chanter telling Saga's or boasting of his deeds, perhaps with cunning kennings thrown in to his delivery? A chance to play a mini-game of choosing the appropriate lines catered to the audience or a character perhaps, with many different rewards from coin to the patronage of a potentate?

 

Feats of strength or agility, lifting and carrying great stones like the Husafell of Iceland, or tumbling tricks such as backflips, footraces, walking on ones hands and the like?

 

Wrestling if grappling rules are included in the game, or a Pankration like alternative if fisticuff's is the preferred method of unarmed combat, maybe a demonstration between two Monks?

 

The sale of treats and delicacies peculiar to the local palette? Like the fruits one can buy in Sigil's market or the drinks they can consume in the Smouldering Corpse?

 

A skilled Animancer or charlatan offering glimpses into ones past lives, and offering cures for what ails the Soul?

 

A Wizard or Alchemist amazing with displays of fire and smoke, light and shadow etcetera?

 

If these events were delivered within the illustrated interactive tableau's that Poe uses one can easily imagine the background scenes drawn, two opponents leaning over a game table deep in thought on their next move, the Chanter declaiming in the midst of a crowd, a competitor staggering onward under a great weight or breaking the finish line with a cheering crowd all around, something like King of Dragon Pass' evocative illustrations but reflecting Poe's aesthetic.

 

Edit: Perhaps an Animancer, noble or tribal Chieftain might have an auditorium (animatorium?) of Soulstones similar to the sensory stones of Torment, where one can glimpse lives and situations from across Eora, a chance to gain experience, research a long dead subject, or just enjoy the unique charm of the setting?

Edited July 19, 201411 yr by Nonek

Bards. Bars. Brothels. Bare-knuckle boxing.

It might be interesting to venture into an Opium Den (Svef Den?) establishment, something breaking from the normal tropes we all know, it might also be a place of refuge for a character whose addiction gets somewhat out of hand. Presumably all of the clientele would wish to remain unknown, perhaps necessitating masks and hoods, and thus making such a place ideal for clandestine meetings. Or interrupting such.

 

It might be quite a nice unique encounter as well fighting or talking amidst the heady, dream inducing fumes of the Svef. Perhaps a prominent and upright member of the aristocracy can be bribed, if evidence is attained as to his passtimes? A character may even find truth within the hallucinations perhaps?

Edited July 20, 201411 yr by Nonek

Obviously, given what we know so far, we can assume they LARP most of their time.

Prostitution and substance-use have been officially confirmed, I take it. 

 

 

"While designing the world of Pillars of Eternity, we drew from the full spectrum of the human experience, touching on broad subjects like religious and cultural conflict, oppression, and political upheaval alongside the smaller-scale travails of day-to-day life," says Olivia Veras, another of Pillars' level designers.

 

"We don't need to shy from the depiction of sexuality, or pull our punches when it comes to the effects of violence on individuals and communities. The people of Pillars of Eternity, as in our world, are multifaceted, and prone to the same virtues and vices. They might hold superstitious or bigoted beliefs, or covet their neighbour's wealth. They might visit brothels or indulge in narcotics after a long day."

 

The forum link function is busted, but the above article is from the Red Bull Games article dated June 11. 

Juggling geese. Goslings - they are juggled.

Quaint!

Quaint is the word, or is it quail?

 

Nevermind. Juggling geese, hmm, I'm not sure the birds themselves approve. I see fear in the eyes of these ducklings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrVKnJ36tNQ