So I followed the game in early EA and just got back to it recently.
I was able to have my first look at act3 (been a while)!
Heavy dark fantasy vibes here. It’s was quite unexpected for me to be that “moved” from a H&S. Not typically what you expect from the genre.
Anyway, amazing job Crate, your game really made me feel uncomfortable to play!
Which brings me to Darkvale Gate : Oh boy I like what them cultists did to the place!
Thing is, I am playing a Witchblade and I am not too sure where to stand. I mean I am a follower of Dreeg, Solael and Ch’thon (I put my first point in Dying God!) right?
Helping Devil’s Crossing made sense, common foe plus they got me out of a tight spot so fair enough. But what about helping the Black Legion? Going against my patron Deity?
I am not sure I want to displease the witch gods. I guess they wouldn’t be too happy about a rogue occultist interfering with this big scheme of theirs.
Worse couldn’t they just turn off the tap? You’ve been a bad devout, no more possessions for you!
I fully get it that a side story cannot be made for each mastery, just that I am a bit confused as to where I stand as an Occultist.
I tried to get a bit of lore from the forums, wiki and discord around the PC Occultist (why is he such a nice guy/girl no blood sacrifices and stuff) but couldn’t find much.
Would gladly welcome any piece of lore you got that would make me feel better following the witch gods!
Otherwise I’ll just go playing an Inquisitor, that does seem fitting.
I did wonder about that recently too but upon reading the mastery description it says occultists “borrow” the powers of the witch gods. Borrow doesn’t mean serve but I don’t know the exact nature of the relationship between Occultist mastery and other parties/entities in Cairn. Also I don’t know the lore behind hidden path quest and why the witch god guardians are slayed by the PC. I’m sure there will be a better explanation though…
Chthon isn’t one of the Witch Gods though. That’s Dreeg, Solael, and Bysmiel.
The way I see it, Chthon’s acolytes are doing something a little different with their blood harvesting chaos magic.
I don’t think an Occultist should be conflicted about fighting Chthon any more than an Arcanist should be fighting the Aetherials, that is to say, not much at all.
This is just my interpretation, but there seem to be a couple of factors as to why the witch gods would approve of your actions in the game.
They need worshippers. Especially Bysmiel and Solael for their need for puppets and life force respectively. This would mean that they are opposed to the destruction of humanity.
They don’t want Ch’thon to come back. If Ch’thon were revived, all the gods, including the witch gods, would probably be destroyed in a fit of divine vengeance for his murder.
They don’t want the Aetherials to gain power. The aether and the eldritch realm seem to me to be opposed. The witch gods are looking out for their power by preventing the opposition from growing stronger. This could also apply to Korvaak or any of the other primordials as well as the cult of Ch’thon.
In short, they are being selfish. They want to preserve their divinity and prevent other divinities from gaining ground. At least that’s how I see it.
Thanks for pointing out that Ch’thon isn’t one of the witch gods. It does make a difference then.
So… If I got it right : both the cultists and the PC are using witchcraft (Dreeg, Solael, and Bysmiel powers) but only the cult is following Ch’thon. The PC is trying to prevent whatever (no spoilers please) their scheme is about.
That’s why no funky stuff like blood sacrifices from the PC. Sweet.
And yeah there’s nothing peculiar about followers of the same gods fighting each other I guess. Especially when we are talking about witch gods, who do seem a bit dodgy to say the least.
Regarding the Arcanist vs Aetherials, I reckon the “burn the witch” quest in blood grove sheds some light on the matter :
If you rescue the “taken”, she’ll say that Arcanist have been manipulating aether energy for ages long before the Aetherials (who are also using it obviously) showed up again. It would seem that the Aether isn’t an Aetherial thing but rather some neutral form of energy.
Anyway thanks guys, I do feel better playing my Witchblade ^^
Yes, and the Occultist PC and Cultist enemies may be even more separate than that. I don’t think followers of the Cult of Chthon are really involved with the Witch Gods or Eldritch powers at all. They seem to be pretty much focused on the blood/chaos magic of Chthon.
Dead right about the Aether; to humans it was just a neutral magic source for decades before the Aetherials popped out. IIRC the Aetherial realm was a pre-existing place that served a prison/place of exile for the Aetherials.