Avowed's massive anniversary update adds new playable races, but they don't get any unique dialogue because there were 'no dedicated narrative people available'

Avowed’s massive anniversary update adds new playable races, but they don’t get any unique dialogue because there were ‘no dedicated narrative people available’ | PC Gamer Skip to main content Open menu Close main menu PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES US Edition UK US Canada Australia Subscribe Sign in View Profile Sign out Search Search PC Gamer Games Hardware News Reviews Guides Video Forum More PC Gaming Show PC Gamer Clips Software Codes Coupons Movies & TV Magazine Newsletter Affiliate links Meet the team Community guidelines About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine SubscriptionWhy subscribe?Subscribe to the world’s #1 PC gaming magTry a single issue or save on a subscriptionIssues delivered straight to your door or device From$1Subscribe now Don’t miss these RPG ‘We lost things such as physics in games:’ The dev behind my most anticipated RPG thinks players are craving more interactive games, not just ‘moving around in a static 3D environment’ RPG The best parts of my favorite World of Warcraft classes are being turned into new heroes for Fellowship’s pre-season 2 update this week RPG Todd Howard says there’s no Starfield 2.0 coming: The next big update is for people who already love Starfield, and if you don’t, ‘I don’t think this is going to change that’ Baldur’s Gate Surprise! Baldur’s Gate 3 got a fresh patch. Unsurprise! It’s vanishingly small, but at least it repairs some corrupted saves Third Person Shooter I wish I wasn’t missing out on new quests in Arc Raiders just because I’m not willing to grind the old ones every two months World of Warcraft Blizzard isn’t going to let World of Warcraft players suffer from outdated character customization for long, but it’s going to take some time to fix RPG The Outer Worlds deliberately doesn’t do racial or gender discrimination in order to zero in on class, but ‘that made the tone of the game feel off,’ says director Tim Cain RPG Huge new Avowed update adds New Game Plus, playable dwarves and Orlans, and quarterstaffs RPG I’m sorry to break it to you, but don’t expect to be able to play an evil pest in Crimson Desert: ‘Would I recommend a full playthrough in that playstyle? Eh, I don’t know’ RPG Bloodlines 2’s Valentine’s patch adds further customisation options and lootable blood bags, because nothing says ‘I love you’ like the vampire equivalent of a ready meal RPG The best Elder Scrolls game that isn’t an Elder Scrolls game is getting a big patch in February and free DLC in March RPG The mystery of The Game Awards statue in the desert may be solved, and I have to admit I did not see this one coming Baldur’s Gate Baldur’s Gate 3 started on top and kept on climbing: Larian said it wouldn’t make a sequel, then drip fed us an expansion’s worth of free updates into 2025 RPG Some of the stars of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Final Fantasy 16 will be blessing Solasta 2 with their voices RPG Divinity will officially wave goodbye to Original Sin 2’s broken armour system PopularNEW: PC Gamer Clips!Arc RaidersBest PC gearFalloutGame Quizzes Games RPG Avowed Avowed’s massive anniversary update adds new playable races, but they don’t get any unique dialogue because there were ‘no dedicated narrative people available’ News By Fraser Brown published 19 February 2026 The new races are just a “mechanical distinction”. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Obsidian Entertainment) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter PC Gamer Get the PC Gamer Newsletter Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Want to add more newsletters? Every Friday GamesRadar+ Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you’re going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them. Signup + Every Thursday GTA 6 O’clock Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O’clock experts. Signup + Every Friday Knowledge From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what’s on the horizon. Signup + Every Thursday The Setup Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more. Signup + Every Wednesday Switch 2 Spotlight Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo’s new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play. Signup + Every Saturday The Watchlist Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered. Signup + Once a month SFX Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month! Signup + An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter Avowed’s 2.0 update, also known as the anniversary update, is a meaty one. New stat bonuses, custom difficulty modifiers, NG+, the new staff weapon type, a photo mode—it’s a lot. The most significant new addition, though, is undoubtedly the arrival of three new playable races.If you’ve not played Avowed yet, you might be surprised to hear that, until now, only humans and elves were playable. This is a significant departure from Obsidian’s previous games set in Eora, the Pillars universe, which offered plenty of choice at character creation.The in-fiction reason for this limitation is that, where the main character is from, elves and humans are the dominant peoples. But that’s a bit of a bummer for roleplayers, so now you can also play as a dwarf, an orlan or an aumaua. Related articles Huge new Avowed update adds New Game Plus, playable dwarves and Orlans, and quarterstaffs Avowed says sorry gang, no fall update this year, but to make up for it the devs are rolling together a bunch of features into a ball and putting them out in February Blizzard isn’t going to let World of Warcraft players suffer from outdated character customization for long, but it’s going to take some time to fix It’s pretty common in RPGs for your choice of race to have an impact that goes beyond your stats and skills. This is also true of Avowed, where there’s some unique dialogue based on your race. Not so for the new additions, however, which offer a me