We don’t need more ‘Female Characters’, we need more ‘Piety’s.
For those of you who may or may not be unaware, Piety is a notable female character in Path of Exile, a hack and slash MMO known for its immense amount of customizable fighting systems. Piety is a character that you have repeated contact with throughout the game, and a character we need more of.
As the story goes, Piety originally went by the name Vinia and went to school learning a very important subject known as Thaumaturgy. (For those of you wondering, translates into ‘miracles, magic’, etc.) In order to pay for her schooling she also worked as a prostitute until she was captured to be burned at the stake for her crimes.
And already, without a jump in logic needed we already have a female character a cut above the rest – she’s a student, a woman so dedicated to the idea of her learning that she prostituted herself. Learning that, mind you, was forbidden. She’s not only morally questionable, but dedicated.
She was able to convince a man in power, known as Dominus, that she should be given amnesty. She not only received amnesty, but became Dominus’ number one subordinate thanks to the information she gave.
To make a long story short, she leads Dominus and his allies to Wraeclast, a war torn, terrifying land with many dark, magic secrets and begins her studies again along with many others. This time, using Exiles that were banished to the island as material.
So already, from the very outset of the game, you are, for all intents and purposes, a lab rat for her studies. Almost every other boss, creature and character in the game doesn’t actually study Thaumaturgy. They were either created by it, are ancient inhabitants of the island or are fellow exiles themselves. Bar Malachai, Piety is the only active, main story line character bar Doryani to study Thaumaturgy (and Doryani is believed to be either long dead or trapped elsewhere.).
Fast forward a little later, she makes her first appearance in the game – she’s the first enemy/non friendly npc to talk to you. She introduces herself as Piety of Theopolis and then, mysteriously disappears. What was she doing there? Reading a book - written by a woman named Shavaronne. (Did I mention many women in this game are ancient, powerful beings who have connections with blood, death and mass murder? From this, we get even more foreshadowing of even more powerful women in this game.)
Fast forward past the first boss battle and to act 2 of the game, Piety is there again, attempting to get her hands on an item known as the Baleful Gem. She abandons it and, better off, she challenges you to get to act 3 before another boss battle occurs with a spider, lightning monstrous creature.
You meet her again in act three where she’d kidnapped a man for experimentation. This is the first time you get to fight her and her pack of goons together, and she’s been expecting you. This is the first fight you two have where she demonstrates that she knows magic, she throws balls of lightning at you and calls bolts from the sky…indoors. If you’re lucky enough to win this, you find you still aren’t quick enough to save the man she’s kidnapped for experiments, or to even kill her. She escapes.
Act 3 is Piety’s highest point in narrative in the series.
Her lair - The Lunaris Temple - is one of the biggest and most oppressive set pieces in the game. Women with their organs pulled from their bodies and twisted into weapons, men with fiery abilities, sentient blood creatures rising against you, necromancers and soldiers all doing her bidding but worst of all, the gruesome sight of tens upon hundreds of bodies stacked up and strewn around. All of them await in Piety’s lair.
Should we also discuss the giant that awaits you that, for many people – especially pre 2.0 patch – was considered to be amongst the deadliest bosses in the game for players that choose to go ‘Melee’? How about the people on stretches, supposedly dead mid-surgery? Or the gigantic pile of bodies that await you in the room that you two have your second of many fights in? Some of whom, she revives to assault you? Or the torture equipment ranging from simple chains to the infamous and brutal Judas Cradle?
When I walk through the Lunaris Temple I don’t feel like I’m going to fight a random woman. I feel like I’m going to fight someone who knows the very best ways to pull me apart, to destroy me. I feel like I’m going to fight a truly mad, dedicated, terrifying, intelligent individual who could very well triumph over me.
In short: There are fucking bodies literally lining this place and its surrounded by an ocean of blood and random screaming is happening and PLEASE DEAR GOD NO MORE.
This entire set piece proves beyond any remaining doubt that Piety isn’t just a woman who prostituted her way into power over men and knows a little magic. She’s a dangerous opponent, a boss fight – more than once – and later on she’s a noble, sacrificial hero who fights alongside you. She’s noted by a main quest giver himself as one of the greatest threats on the island bar the final boss within the third act of the game (Dominus) who she outlives in the current story-line. She isn’t just another female villain, she’s a constant presence throughout the game that has her own views, standpoints and goals. You fight both alongside her and against her at multiple intervals – and with the way Path of Exile works, its fully possible that she could return.
After act 3, if you beat Dominus, you find she’s outlived him – and with the way she escapes in after your fight in act 3 (through a portal) its very likely she’s planned that all along. Meaning, Piety isn’t just a subordinate any more.
The entire game is practically building up to fighting Piety later, not Dominus, who you are told you have to kill next. You get rid of him, congrats – you move onto act 4. To, after a few more quests, battle Piety again – and this time she’s more powerful then ever before, summoning eyeball minions, spinning around and conjuring tornadoes of blood.
If you survive to beat her, congratulations – she’s not going to kill you. Instead, this is the awesome team up moment. You band together, kill a few bosses for her and then, together you battle Malachai. This is where she makes her grand sacrifice and dies for your cause and depending on your character, calling you her ‘greatest creation’. It’s, hands down, up there with the most badass moments in the game’s story line – thus far.*
Her importance and dominance in the game is nearly omnipresent. She is, as the story goes, the very reason the island is like this in the first place. The very reason you keep going is to get rid of her. You couldn’t beat Malachai without her. She’s one of the biggest of the big bads, possibly even more then Malachai who is the current final storyline boss.
Not only that, but she represents many ideals. Her dream of using magic to further advance humanity could be considered a somewhat realistic Pro-Transhumanist view and even better, her views don’t change because you beat her. There isn’t some ‘Oh, you were right all along, let me throw away this foolish dream and be carried off in your arms!’ moment. She says she was only wrong in how she conducted herself and that she’ll continue, fighting by your against the bigger boss.
And that’s why Piety is such a great character, and why we need more of her. Enough with the non-notable, ‘badass with the boys’ token woman character whose only purpose is either to stop developers from being called out for sausage party status or to appeal to a female demographic who, frankly, deserves better.
Her actions have a purpose that connects to her and her character alone. She’s doing this for her ideals. She’s driven. She’s strong. Intelligent. Capable. Manipulative. Terrifying.
Give us women whose actions mean something. Women who terrify. Women who mass murder. Women who would strike outright fear in the hearts of everyone because she is capable of some horrific actions, not just scary to men because she has a vagina.
Make women interesting, not just present.
*If you read the extended cannon of the game, through items, in game audio files gained from inspecting landmarks and information given to you by npcs, its very, very possible that she could come back. Corrupted or otherwise. A spear through the chest means little in Wraeclast.
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