Critical Role, Meet Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

[Aarik D]

Hello Watchers and Critters alike!

 

Yesterday we announced Obsidian's partnership with Critical Role for Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire. Fans of both series have been trying to create parties with Vox Machina characters since the release of the original Pillars of Eternity... so we're excited to announce that now you can do it with their voices, too!

 

But that's not all the cast of Critical Role is doing in Deadfire. Along with the return of Matthew Mercer, all the cast members will be voicing major characters in Pillars II. Today we're very happy to share who the cast will be voicing and tell you a bit about those characters. Enjoy!

 

 

Edér and Aloth – Matthew Mercer

Edér - A farmer and veteran of the Saint's War, Edér fought alongside the Watcher in the Dyrwood and now accompanies his old ally to the Deadfire Archipelago. His easygoing manner and dry wit belie a strong sense of responsibility and commitment. Eothas' return into the world raises questions for Edér about the god he once worshipped and later fought against. If he can help restore the Watcher's soul, then just maybe he can get some answers of his own, too.

Aloth - Aloth is a wizard from Aedyr and an old ally from the Watcher's journeys in the Dyrwood. Meticulous, thoughtful, and pragmatic, his experiences in the years since meeting the Watcher have shaped him. They've also brought him to the Deadfire on a mission of his own. With the Watcher's help, he hopes to uncover the truth behind one of the oldest and most secretive organizations in Eora.

 

 

Maia Rua – Marisha Ray

Maia is an elite sharpshooter serving a tour of duty for the Royal Deadfire Company. With the help of her bird of prey companion, Ishiza, Maia can scout environments both in and out of combat. Reassigned from her mission and sent to assist the Watcher, she and Ishiza are grateful for the chance to sail the treacherous waters of the Deadfire for some adventure and target practice.

 

 

Serafen – Liam O’Brien

As a shiphunter of the Príncipi sen Patrena, Serafen uses his psychic abilities to guide pirates to merchant vessels ripe for plunder. Serafen's captain offers the furry blue pirate's expertise to the Watcher, and Serafen brings with him his unique perspective on the politics and cultures of the Deadfire - as well as a long history of wronged rivals, lovers, and adversaries.

A self-proclaimed expert in all things involving his tongue, Serafen's bawdy humor, felonious tendencies, and strained relationship with the truth don't always endear him to his fellow travelers.

 

 

Tekēhu – Travis Willingham

Tekēhu is a marine godlike and accomplished watershaper. While others would harness his talents to intimidate enemy ships and enrich Huana culture, Tekēhu wishes to spearhead an artistic revival and bring change on his own terms. His people have a very rigid idea what it means to be born of a god, so he delights in paddling against the current and defying the wishes of those who seek to control him.

 

 

Xoti – Laura Bailey

Xoti is a half meadow, half savannah folk priestess who believes it is her divine duty to shepherd lost souls through the Beyond. As a worshipper of Gaun, the aspect of Eothas associated with harvests and the death side of the cycle of rebirth, Xoti wields a sickle and a lantern in order to reap souls for her god. When she was a young girl, she was one of thousands of Readcerans who came to Deadfire fleeing the devastation that followed the vorlas blight and the Saint's War. Her family, like many others, established themselves as farmers, and it was then that Xoti claims Gaun began to speak to her through prophetic nightmares. Xoti is eager to chase down the manifestation of her god so that she might better understand and aid his mission on Eora.

 

 

Rekke – Sam Riegel

Rekke is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. When the Watcher finds him, he speaks a language none among the party have ever heard before - not that it stops him from speaking his mind. In the Watcher's company, he quickly proves himself to be a capable fighter and easy-going traveling companion. The youngest member of the party, he amuses himself by playing pranks on his newly found friends.

 

 

Ydwin – Ashley Johnson

An expert in the metaphysics of Eora and a skilled practitioner of animancy - the wildly controversial science of the soul - Ydwin holds as deep an interest in the Watcher's abilities as in the living god wading across the Deadfire. Analytical, courteous, and possessed of a rapier wit, she seems the ideal compatriot - assuming you don't object to her dangerous avenues of scientific inquiry.

 

 

Eothas – Taliesin Jaffe

Eothas is the god of light, redemption, and rebirth.  A generation ago, he manifested his power in a farmer named Waidwen to lead what became known as The Saint's War.  After the armies of the Dyrwood destroyed St. Waidwen, Eothas disappeared from Eora.  He was not heard from again until he restored and animated the statue beneath the castle of Caed Nua. Destroying the castle, drawing the souls out of its residents, and leaving the Watcher of Caed Nua for dead, Eothas then marched into the ocean and made his way for the Deadfire Archipelago.  His motives are unknown.

 

 

You can pre-order Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire through Critical Role via our publisher, Versus Evil. We will be updating that page up until launch so we can highlight the characters, the cast, and more!

[AndreaColombo]

Great cast!

 

Now it’s time for ... SAMPLES! :D

 

On an unrelated note—have Aloth’s and Xoti’s portraits changed since they were first shown?

[Doxy]

Bring i n the samples!!!

[blindinkpoet]

Wouldn't it be cool if this meant that Rekke and Ydwin were upgraded to full companions?

[Yria]

On an unrelated note—have Aloth’s and Xoti’s portraits changed since they were first shown?

Xoti's definitely did (I liked the old face better, but they seem to have fixed her hood), and I think so did Ydwin's. 

 

The youngest member of the party, he amuses himself by playing pranks on his newly found friends.

 

That's how you act when you find yourself in a foreign land where nobody speaks your language! 

 

I'm kinda worried about Xoti now, I don't think there ever was a single Laura Bailey's character that I liked. Her voice is fine, but their personalities somehow always annoyed me to no end. Hope this time will be different. 

Edited April 11, 2018 by Yria

[jaganntha]

[AndreaColombo]

Here is her original portrait:

 

https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Xoti

[Baltic]

Are they making the portraits better resemble their voice actors?

Edited April 11, 2018 by Baltic

[Nanawatzin]

I'm like totally in love both in Laura and Travis, soooo that's a amazing news for me. Unfortunately I will have to put Laura's character on side, mostly because I already established my first party. But boy oh boy, next time this priestess will be allowed to travel in me for good and bad. :3

 

Also seeing Pikey playing as a Ydwin going to be soooooooooooooooooooo good. :D

[Dr. Hieronymous Alloy]

what I'm gathering from this is that Eothas joins the party

[Aramintai]

Ydwin's portrait also seems to be somewhat different compared to this:

[BlackMageJawa]

We need an option to have the game play a clip of Matt saying "How do you want do do this?" when you land the final blow in a major encounter.

[Nanawatzin]

Ydwin's portrait also seems to be somewhat different compared to this:

Yeah. Xoti, Aloth and Ydwin look different than before. :3 Maybe others as well but with less visible changes.

[topologista]

i don't know if it's my own dirty mind but reading tekehu's description i can't help but notice:"...harness...spearhead...rigid...delights in paddling...control". 

[Nanawatzin]

i don't know if it's my own dirty mind but reading tekehu's description i can't help but notice:"...harness...spearhead...rigid...delights in paddling...control". 

You're not the only one but shhhhh...

[Del-Vey]

I'm pretty excited about everyone exсept Maya (I'm sorry Marisha).

 

P.S. If someone needs a Russian translation, it's already here...

Edited April 11, 2018 by Del-Vey

[Talahar]

I'm not surprised one bit that Taliesin voices a frickin' god. Art imitates life, right?

[rjshae]

I thought Ashley Johnson looked familiar from somewhere. Blindspot.

[Yosharian]

Big improvement on Ydwin's portrait.

[Verenti]

I'm kind of disappointed by this. I mean, I get that the fans of Critical Role are very passionate and number many people who work at Obsidian. However, this feels like nepotism to me. I don't know what the sort of process that goes into selecting voice actors, so maybe its normal to hire cadres of actors from a single pool. However, I'd like to think the selection process is more meritocratic than that. These actors are undoubtedly talented. I'm not saying otherwise. Why just give them all  the main roles in the game though? Why couldn't we have other people attempt for these roles?

 

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but personally I would have liked to see a more open process (which I can only assume from looking at this roster that it absolutely wasn't) with actors who aren't voicing someone in every game. I like Laura Bailey. I have the Lucina amiibo on my desk. She's good at her job, but she's almost like Troy Baker or Nolan North. When you are like "Oh, that's person X" the performance loses some of its charm. You stop recognising the character as an independent character and instead start viewing them as an extension of the actor. Like every Tom Cruise movie. I don't even bother learning his characters names anymore. I love Tom Cruise movies, but I don't go to them to be immersed in the story telling.

 

This is all a bit rambling and I'm sure I'm in the minority here. I just feel that this is going to lessen my enjoyment of the game. Just saying my peace.

[Aerothorn]

I actually have the same issue with Bailey - she is very talented and I don't begrudge her the work at all, but I have an ear for voice actors and she's so ubiqitous that I always recognize her, and it's an immersion-breaking experience (Steve Blum has been doing this to me for the last 20 years, and manages to play at least a minor role in 50% of all video games released).

That said, I recognize that I'm in a small minority there and it would be silly for Obsidian to factor that in - the vast majority of players don't notice specific voice actors, much less care that much about it.

(Also - if it's really an issue, you can just not have Xoti in your party!)*

*Big caveat: I have never listened to Critical Role. Ironically, if I had I'd find this hugely disappointing, as it would definitely ruin my immersion hearing all the characters voiced by people from a podcast I listened to all the time. But again, I'm probably in a minority there.

[injurai]

It's funny how Matt looks like the love child of Eder and Aloth.

 

Also, I really enjoyed reading the new character bios.

Edited April 12, 2018 by injurai

[Urthor]

Did Ydwin get upgraded to full companion?  I thought she was a sidekick  who had the stats and voiced dialogue, but wasn't fully fleshed out

[JediCosmin]

You guys got Illidan Stormrage to voice an Orlan!!

Nice!

[jf8350143]

From what I hear in the streaming, Xoti and Serafen actually sounds quite different comparing to their other characters。 No need to get disappointed right now, since we don't know how most of them sounds like at the moment.