In addition to these, the character may make use of five skills – Stealth, Athletics, Lore, Mechanics and Survival – which confer bonuses in various situations, such as unlocking containers and gaining bonuses when resting outside inns. Each class of the eleven available – fighter, rogue, ranger, barbarian, monk, paladin, wizard, druid, priest, chanter, and cipher – benefits from certain prominent stats in the game, and features a set of abilities unique to them, which can be used in battles with hostile enemies and creatures: for example, the cipher can use the soul of an enemy in order to attack them, and druids can shapeshift into a beast and cast spells. New games begin with players creating a character, with the choices they make on the character's race, background, stats, and class – except their appearance – impacting what choices can be made in dialogues with non-player characters (NPCs) or interactive objects. The game is played from a fixed isometric viewpoint consisting of 3D models against two-dimensional pre-rendered backdrops, in a similar vein as its spiritual predecessors – Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. Pillars of Eternity sees players assume the role of a character defined as a 'Watcher' – a person able to see and interact with the souls of people, viewing the memories of those deceased or communing with those who linger – operating on role-playing mechanics that include party-based real-time-with-pause tactical gameplay.

Gameplay An example of dialogue in the game, depicting the interface. A game set in the same shared universe as the Pillars of Eternity games, Avowed, was announced in 2020 and is slated to release in 2024. A sequel, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, was released in May 2018. A two-part expansion pack, The White March was released in August 2015 and February 2016, respectively. The game also won various awards and accolades, including best RPG of 2015. Pillars of Eternity received critical acclaim upon its release many critics praised the game for its world and immersive writing, along with the strategic combat, and also said that it is a worthy successor to the games it was inspired by. The objective of the game is to find out what caused their awakening and how to solve the hollowborn problem. During the beginning of the game, the protagonist experiences an awakening of power due to a disastrous supernatural event, discovering they are a 'Watcher': a person who can see past lives and interact with souls. The infants in the Dyrwood are plagued by a recent phenomenon in which they become 'hollowborn' upon birth, meaning they are born with no soul.

The game takes place in the fantasy world of Eora, mainly inside the nation of Dyrwood.

The campaign raised over US$4 million, which was the highest funded video game at the time. Obsidian started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for it in September 2012. The game is a spiritual successor to the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale series, along with Planescape: Torment. It was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux on March 26, 2015. Pillars of Eternity is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive.

Pillars of eternity gameplay