I was way-laid by PALADINS -and must defend myself?

[Slayer Seraph]

So I am still new to Pillars of Eternity. I am loving the game so far. But I have some gripes with it. mainly how dungeons feel like a grind & crawl and how exploring the wilderness involves fighting groups of foes including animals that don't even seem to have a reason to be hostile.


Ok, so after spending a great deal of time in that grim place called Gilded Vale- I set out south-west to a forest area called Magran's Fork. Right after entering the new location I noticed a small hut and the place seemed so colorful and peaceful - the hut was abandoned and as I walked a few steps south of it I was ambushed by furious high level and well equipped Paladins accompanied by a wizard. Order of the something.

Now I know Paladins in this game don't necessarily have to be good and just. But they are still order knights and champions - not mere bandits and outlaws. They shouldn't just randomly go hostile and attack hapless wanderers.
It makes no sense.
They didn't even say anything. And they weren't anything there which demanded secrecy and elimanation of witnesses. They just stood there between the flowers, admiring nature.

This feels like odd (and a bit poor) level&world design- as well as gameplay&story design.

In Baldur's Gate 1, 2 and ToB -most fights had some kind of context. Even random monsters and humanoids had some kind of reason to be there and attack you. They will often initiate a conversation or just have some white text floating over their head indicating why they are hostile.

But in PoE I happen across so many random groups of enemies: animals, monsterous humanoids, and now even Paladins- they are all immediately hostile. Worse yet- they don't seem to DO ANYTHING nor PROTECT any loot or home. Wolves aren't even that hostile in reality (and neither should they be in fantasy). They avoid contact with people.
There was a group of blue-skin small people who I happened by and slaughtered - they had ZERO loot and were just standing there in the middle of the woods near the road. Guarding nothing.
Please tell me it gets better..
Also is threre is any explanation why these Paladins wanted my party dead?
I feel bad about killing all these random opponents in random circumstances and locations. And it feels pointless to die in fights that have no meaning and context too! And you die a lot in HARD mode.

Thanks

[WiNiZ]

They(The Paladins) drop a note...read it :)

[Gregorovitch]

Are you always exploring in scout mode? If you do you will see mobs before they see you and can avoid them or engage as you see fit. You can use double speed to increase the pace of scouting if you get bored with the slow pace, has no effect on stealth rating.

Generally there is little reason to kill random mobs without good reason - you don't get any XP to speak of for it and the value of the loot is genenrally marginal - unless they got shiny armour and big swords and are most likely an important high level story group in which case early game you probably have no business tangling witrh them anyway, certainly not until you get some sort of quest relating to them.

[Drake]

Those were goldpact knights, it's an order of paladin that reveres... money, so if they get paid to do stupid ♥♥♥♥, they'll do it because money is god. There is another order of fearful paladins, the bleak walkers, who believe that the only way to peace is to purify the battlefield by killing everyone till both sides stop the war.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

Wolves aren't even that hostile in reality (and neither should they be in fantasy). They avoid contact with people.

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

In Baldur's Gate 1, 2 and ToB -most fights had some kind of context. Even random monsters and humanoids had some kind of reason to be there and attack you.

In almost all these games, animals you encounter in the wilderness are hostile. Quoting the Sword Coast Survival Guide:

Wolf

The wolf is a very active, cunning carnivore, capable of surviving in nearly every climate. Shrouded in mystery and suspicion, they are viewed as vicious killers that slaughter men and animals alike for the lack of better things to do. Northern wolves exhibit colors from pure white to black. Southern wolves are reddish and brown. Although fur coloration varies with climate, all wolves have various features in common. They have powerful jaws; wide strong teeth; bushy tails; tall, strong ears; and round pupils. Their eyes, a gold or amber color, seem to have an almost empathic quality

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

There was a group of blue-skin small people who I happened by and slaughtered - they had ZERO loot and were just standing there in the middle of the woods near the road. Guarding nothing.

https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Wicht

[Burusagi]

Goldpact Paladins are actually little more than glorified, holier-than-thou mercs. :D

And those are usually the ones who attack you like bandits.

[Slayer Seraph]

Hey people! Thank for detailed answers. Those clear things up, well enough. Though I still wish there was some kind of background or story-cues related to such encounters.

Originally posted by VorteX:

They(The Paladins) drop a note...read it :)

Yeah! I didn't read the note because I had to quit the game, said I will check it later. Oops.

Originally posted by Gregorovitch:

Are you always exploring in scout mode? If you do you will see mobs before they see you and can avoid them or engage as you see fit. You can use double speed to increase the pace of scouting if you get bored with the slow pace, has no effect on stealth rating.
Generally there is little reason to kill random mobs without good reason - you don't get any XP to speak of for it and the value of the loot is generally marginal - unless they got shiny armour and big swords and are most likely an important high level story group in which case early game you probably have no business tangling with them anyway, certainly not until you get some sort of quest relating to them.

No experience at all ? Really. Not that I care much about XP, I certainly never was one to XP-farm or anything. I use scouting often, and I use fast mode when I feel it's necessary or when backtracking or clearing spots of the map. So I toggle between fast/normal on the fly. I generally prefer not to scout "stealth-walk" all the time because it kinda hurts the flow and doesn't make too much sense. But it depends where I am. I guess I'll just have to get use to it.
Interesting, I guess I can decide to skip some encounters if I wish and worst case bump into them later when I'm already stronger. I do like to explore everywhere thoroughly making sure I didn't miss anything and admiring the scenery - so I tend to engage more often than not.
Although so far I did avoid some fight : for instance - the Temple underneath Gilded Vale - with a party of just 3 (Aloth, Aeder and myself) I managed to clear up with great effort - the 1st floor, but the 2nd underground floor was too much. I think I left 2-3 rooms there and probably more. I decided to leave the place and  return to it later when I have gathered another party member or gained some levels.

Originally posted by Sajah:

Those were goldpact knights, it's an order of paladin that reveres... money, so if they get paid to do stupid ♥♥♥♥, they'll do it because money is god. There is another order of fearful paladins, the bleak walkers, who believe that the only way to peace is to purify the battlefield by killing everyone till both sides stop the war.

Ha! That's a weird explanation if ever there was one - but it sure answers a lot. Personally I think it's super silly - to have an order of money-worshippers that are basically bandits with moral-justification and an order with "codes". To me it doesn't make much sense.
Dictionary.com WORD OF THE DAY - today was, by funny coincidence, "PALADIN", here's what it say:
http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2017/08/03/paladin
1. any determined advocate or defender of a noble cause.
2. any one of the 12 legendary peers or knightly champions in attendance on Charlemagne.
3. any knightly or heroic champion.
They sure don't seem noble or heroic to me. haha

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

Wolves aren't even that hostile in reality (and neither should they be in fantasy). They avoid contact with people.

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

In Baldur's Gate 1, 2 and ToB  -most fights had some kind of context.  Even random monsters and humanoids had some kind of reason to be there and attack you.

In almost all these games, animals you encounter in the wilderness are hostile. Quoting the Sword Coast Survival Guide:

Wolf
The wolf is a very active, cunning carnivore, capable of surviving in nearly every climate. Shrouded in mystery and suspicion, they are viewed as vicious killers that slaughter men and animals alike for the lack of better things to do. Northern wolves exhibit colors from pure white to black. Southern wolves are reddish and brown. Although fur coloration varies with climate, all wolves have various features in common. They have powerful jaws; wide strong teeth; bushy tails; tall, strong ears; and round pupils. Their eyes, a gold or amber color, seem to have an almost empathic quality

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

There was a group of blue-skin small people who I happened by and slaughtered - they had ZERO loot and were just standing there in the middle of the woods near the road. Guarding nothing.

https://pillarsofeternity.gamepedia.com/Wicht

Wow- that explain why the Wicht are so “empty”, hostile and messed up. I wish the game had some kind of a hint- about what these "children" are doing there. I hope at least that some quest later will shed some light on them.

About animals:
“hey are viewed as vicious killers that slaughter men and animals alike for the lack of better things to do” - wow that’s really stupid way to describe wolves. They almost make them sound bored, so they kill for fun? What are they... cats? ( I love cats!)
Pretty much every video game that's an RPGs nowadays - wolves and animals are totally hostile, unless they are Herbivore. It doesn't make much sense, I don't like hurting animals, even in video games. Especially not killing them. I  prefer avoiding them when possible. Or interacting with them peacefully when possible.
Which is why in Skyrim my Mage was a master of Illusions - and I had all the perks for Calm and charm spells, with perks to be able to affect stronger animals. I would just charm them, play around with them, and move along.

Originally posted by Alcohol Fueled Brewtality:

Goldpact Paladins are actually little more than glorified, holier-than-thou mercs. :D
And those are usually the ones who attack you like bandits.

No kidding. Man... that's rather silly concept. I don't like the take on Paladins here, but I guess they wanted it to be different. When you read the Paladin description they talk about radical, fanatical zealots - almost as if Paladins are more fanatical maniacs than normal but unique individuals.

----> It's funny because it makes my Baldur's Gate reference , in the title, so relevant and fitting. LOL XD.

[Drake]

That said, even in d&d there are "evil paladins", blackguards for example are paladins of evil deities.

The goldpact are kind of the same stuff (more neutral). All other orders of paladins (except bleak walkers which are real violent inquisitors) are about good and lawful behaviors.
You can actually make a character of each of those orders, you'll see the description.

[ColeTrain1034]

I would argue that enemies getting immediately hostile is more realistic than the alternative. Sure, every little detail is explained in games like Baldur's Gate. But if some thug were to attack you in real life, he doesn't start by screaming out, "Let me tell you why I'm attacking you!"

In general, you must be more patient and read more in this game. Every gripe you have is explained somewhere in the game, but sometimes not until much later. There is, for instance, a good explanation for why those "blue-skin small people" are immediately hostile, and why they stand around aimlessly in the woods. But you'll have to talk to some people to find out why.

As for the paladins, people have already pointed out that Goldpact Knights are essentially mercenaries, but these in particular have a specific goal. The ones thai attack you in Magran's Fork have been given specific orders (on the note they dropped), that are arguably honorable, dependent on the perspective.

Even the wolves' hostility is explained in their bestiary entry and the flavor text on their pelts.

All in all, things are not spoon-fed to you in this game, but everything is there. You have to find it yourself, so just look more closely. Yes, the game breaks from many standard "fantasy tropes," but so many of those stereotypes were set up by things like D&D and The Lord of the Rings. Personally, I think there's no problem in changing traditional views on fantasy - if writers don't, we end up with carbon copies of every other fantasy world already out there.

[psychotron666]

Wichts are usually abandoned by their parents who don't have the heart to kill their kids but instead leave in the wild.

The main story pretty much answers questions in regards to the hollowborn and why they're happening.

[Gregorovitch]

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

No experience at all ? Really. Not that I care much about XP, I certainly never was one to XP-farm or anything.

Well, to be clear, you get a certain amount of XP per monster of a specific type until you have filled out their bestiary entries and have complete knowledge ofd their stats and powers. It varies how many you have to kill to complete the entry but for most monsters it will be aboutr 5 or six and you will get a total of about 1000-ish XP, maybe a bit less often a bit more, for dispatching all of them. After that you don't get any more XP for killing more of them. The XP you get for completing quests is vastly more than that, and also in almost all cases you will kill the required number of monsters of each type questing naturally (although it can be helpful to have prior knowledge about monsters when dealing with quest fights obviously).

There is more than enough XP in the game to make this anon-issue though. The game is designed so you can do fine following a "kill only if I have to" policy. In fact ther's an achievement for completing the game killing less than a certain number of enemies, it's not many either, and it doesn't seriously affect your character development/levelling.

TBH I often explore areas to see what I can find and kill stuff in the way if I have to to do so. In the case of yourt paladins, I guess I would be very tempted to see what I could get out of murdering them since they don't seem inclined to talk. You never know what they might drop. Depends how strong I felt - I might come back later if they looked to scary etc.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

Wow- that explain why the Wicht are so “empty”, hostile and messed up. I wish the game had some kind of a hint- about what these "children" are doing there. I hope at least that some quest later will shed some light on them.

You will get opportunities to learn about them and ask some people questions about them.

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

Pretty much every video game that's an RPGs nowadays - wolves and animals are totally hostile, unless they are Herbivore.

There are non-hostile animals in PoE, such as stags, red deer. Squirrels and various leporidae are missing in PoE I think. You probably know other rpgs where bears, wild boars, snakes and lizards consider humans a prey species. The BG series included.

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

It doesn't make much sense, I don't like hurting animals, even in video games. Especially not killing them. I  prefer avoiding them when possible. Or interacting with them peacefully when possible.

You are not forced to attack the wild boars in the Magran's Fork area. Scout ahead carefully, avoid them.

Originally posted by Ransom Seraph:

Which is why in Skyrim my Mage was a master of Illusions - and I had all the perks for Calm and charm spells, with perks to be able to affect stronger animals. I would just charm them, play around with them, and move along.

You can learn talents/spells to charm animals, but then you need to flee from combat to end combat.

[Oxiras]

Open up your journal after defeating a new type of mob, there you will see lore of the creature. In the case of the Wichts they provide a large chunk of what is going on in the world.