With Path of Exile: Harvest, we introduced a new character, Oshabi, the warden of the Sacred Grove. Today we're going to talk about her development and where she fits into the Path of Exile world and narrative as a whole.
Before we get too deep into the nitty gritty of how and why Oshabi came about, be sure you don't mind having some things spoiled, as we are going to touch on a few story elements!
When we're developing a league and need to introduce a character, it's often the case that the art comes first. This was the case with Oshabi. We often create concept art for characters that may or may not ever see the light of day. If a character concept sounds like it might fit a league's theme, we'll get a model made and start figuring out who that character is. In Oshabi's case, her art came from concept art that we had created for an apparition microtransaction.
While creating the backstory and character for Oshabi, we ran through a lot of scenarios about who she was, where she came from, and what her role would be both mechanically and within Harvest's story. In an early iteration, she was an 'ethical' cannibal who wanted to grow monsters as a viable guilt-free foodstuff. An offshoot of that idea also had the Harvest monsters as so addictively delicious that she could enjoy nothing else, and contained many warnings for the player to never try it. I still like the idea of an 'ethical' cannibal character and have already tried to get it into at least one more league! Maybe one day...
Those of you who have made it to the end of the Harvest narrative know what happens. Those that don't want to be spoiled, you've been warned!
Oshabi, as warden of the Sacred Grove, oversees the garden in which most of the Harvest gameplay happens. She says the garden speaks to her, returning a gift she lost long ago. She is using the garden to cultivate and harness an energy she calls the Lifeforce. The problem is, the Lifeforce may just be Corruption by another name.
With each new league, there's going to be added complexity, even with the story. We have a few mystical forces at play in Path of Exile -- Corruption, Divinity, the transformative and alluring powers within the Atlas etc... And it's important to keep them feeling distinct. We as players may be aware of all these elements, but the characters have a far more limited viewpoint. Aligning Lifeforce with Corruption solved the issue of creating yet another mystical energy, while also working with what we know Corruption to be capable of doing: creating and mutating monsters, changing items and people, and tempting people into ruin.
Nowadays, it's a fairly safe assumption that every league will need some sort of pinnacle encounter -- something to work towards across the league that will provide the most difficult league-related content and most valuable league-related rewards. I don't remember exactly when it was that we decided Oshabi would become the end boss, but I do remember we spent a good long while trying to figure out how to turn the NPC into the villain.
Now, we've done leagues in the past where we've done this (Synthesis!), and we handled that by moving the burden of being the central point of interaction from Cavas to Zana. We wouldn't have that luxury this time, and would have to ensure that anything Oshabi provided in terms of league mechanics would be required before she could become the endgame encounter. And we decided that once that point was reached, she'd be gone. Not just temporarily, but permanently.
With Synthesis, Cavas was intended to be a villain. We wanted you to feel betrayed, and wanted you to understand that, though Cavas had his reasons, his cause was unjust. For Oshabi, we wanted you to feel pity. She had done some morally questionable things in the past, but she was ultimately the victim of temptation and Corruption. She was duped, lured in by Corruption's siren song, and would suffer indefinitely as a result.
Her introduction mentions that when she dies, she hopes the land lets her stay dead. Unfortunately, nothing stays dead in Wraeclast for long.
