Should you send the animancers to Thirdborn or Paradis in Avowed?

Deciding whether to have the Emerald Stair animancers relocate to Thirdborn or Paradis in Avowed seems like a choice with a major outcome during the “Ancient Soil” quest, but that’s only halfway true.

The outcome is influential – though you never get the chance to see it until later. Unlike most of Avowed‘s important choices, this one is independent of every other decision in the game, so you don’t have to fret over multiple outcomes.

This Avowed guide explains what happens if you send the animancers to Paradis or to Thirdborn during “Ancient Soil” and when you find out the consequences.

[Ed. note: This guide contains spoilers for Avowed.]

Should you send the animancers to Thirdborn or Paradis in Avowed?

Making this choice is mandatory, and there’s no way to miss it. Governor Vidarro and Pere Quilicci force you to make a choice after the “Ancient Soil” main quest, when Fior mes Ivèrno is either in ruins or barely hanging on.

Despite how urgent the choice seems when Vidarro and Quilicci ask for your input, your decision has no noticeable ramifications until Avowed‘s ending. You might hear a few pieces of dialogue about the outcome in Thirdborn or Paradis, and Yatzli mentions her fear for Quilicci’s life if the animancers are in Thirdborn when you decide what to do with the ruins at the end of Shatterscarp’s main quest.

However, you never actually see the animancers in Paradis or Thirdborn, nor can you speak with them about their new home.

Bear in mind that the outcome from this choice is the same regardless of whether you managed to save Fior mes Iverno at the end of Emerald Stair’s main quest. No matter what happens, the animancers have to leave their city. There are no achievements or rewards tied to either outcome, either, so you lose or gain nothing based on your choice. Pick whichever outcome you think is best.

Below, we’ve broken down the narrative outcomes of Avowed’s Thirdborn or Paradis choice.

If you choose Thirdborn in ‘Ancient Soil’

You get a special illustration during the ending and learn that the animancers forged a strong bond with the people of Thirdborn by finding common ground in the adversity of scraping a living in Shatterscarp.

If you choose Paradis in ‘Ancient Soil’

You get a special illustration during the ending and learn that the animancers faced challenges upon first arriving in Paradis, where the Aedyrans treated them with hostility and suspicion. However, the animancers’ knowledge of farming and agriculture helped them carve a space for themselves in the region and softened attitudes toward them.

For more Avowed guides, while you’re in Emerald Stair, here’s where to collect all Totem of Defiance pieces, see all of the region’s treasure maps — Earthly Aegis, Painter’s Regret, and Practical Pockets — or check our “Nature vs. Nurture” side quest walkthrough.