Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software has been making CRPGs for a very long time now, and his newest trilogy, the Avadon series, sees its third entry today. The Avadon series looks at the balance between security and freedom. By putting the player in the shoes of a Hand of Avadon, an agent of a widely feared organization tasked with doing whatever is necessary to keep an alliance of nations safe from their enemies, the games open the player up to choices and considerations about the value of having an elite force which is above the law. Avadon 3: The Warborn tackles this premise in an environment where security has broken down and war is taking its toll.
At the start of Avadon 3, Avadon isn't doing so hot. The fortress of Avadon has all but been destroyed and the leader of Avadon, Redbeard, was removed from what was supposed to have been a lifetime appointment. Another leader was appointed in his stead, and Redbeard is now on the run. Meanwhile, the Pact is at war on multiple fronts. The nations outside of it have all struck at once, but there are also rebels inside its borders, dissatisfied with how the rules of the Pact have disrupted their way of life.
The player character is a Hand of Avadon stationed at an encampment on the border. There's been no contact or support from Avadon in a long time, so the player is an elite agent above the law and with no guidance. This intrigued me immensely; usually, the Avadon games pit a player with ruthless orders against terrified people just trying to live their lives, but to be above the law and masterless seemed like an interesting direction to take things. This didn't last long, however, and it felt like a missed opportunity.
Fortunately, all of Spiderweb Software's games feature great writing, even on the side quests, which fleshes out the world and its societies through example. In the ten hours I've put into the game, Avadon 3: The Warborn has put a lot of emphasis on the humanity of folks on all sides of a war. From the village across the border that helps you out because they don't want to get caught up in the fighting to a rebellion on the verge of surrender because they have a problem they can't solve on their own, people on all sides of the conflict are written as people with understandable motivations rather than cookie-cutter enemies.
Facing the fact that everyone is just trying to navigate life gives the player choices punch that they otherwise wouldn't have. If you know someone wasn't holding information back, but have orders to ruin their life because someone above you doesn't believe that, what do you do?
You can get Avadon 3: The Warborn now on Steam, GOG, and directly from Spiderweb Software. It retails for $20 with a launch discount on Steam and GOG and is availble for Windows and Mac OSX.
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