Factions

Lore & Background

Grim Dawn takes place in Cairn, a setting in which humanity has been brought to near extinction by a trans-dimensional war. The conflict begins when the humans in the setting begin to contact Aetherial entities from another dimension. Using what was learned from these entities, they open a portal to bring one into their own dimension and learn that the Aetherials could possess humans, and that these humans would retain enhanced abilities after the spirit was removed from the host. The people then released more Aetherials into the world, who themselves opened more portals and would intend to use humanity for their own purposes. This attracted the attention of another race known as the Cthonians, who declared war to destroy humanity before it could be completely dominated. The war caused enormous numbers of casualties to the human population and damaged the fabric of reality, causing additional horrors to manifest. The remaining human survivors reside in scattered enclaves, observing the war to learn of their enemies' weaknesses and using powers gained from exposure to the warp to prepare to retaliate at the invaders.

In Their Own Story

The tavern in the village of Kainengoth smelled of iron and stale ale. Mara set her Warden's sword on the table, the flat of the blade catching the firelight, and watched the Sorcerer across from her peel a ward off a dead courier's fingers like a man peeling an orange. "You could have just killed it," she said. He smiled, all teeth and ozone. "I could have. I chose to learn what it was wearing."

Reader's Guide

The game features several non-player character (NPC) factions, with some of them friendly to the player, and others hostile. The player can earn favor with some factions to unlock additional quest lines, vendor discounts and special faction-based items and augments. Some neutral factions can be turned into allies, but aiding one will make the enemy of another. Hostile factions will remember your deeds and deepen their hatred, sending out large packs and elite heroes to hunt the player down. Some initially friendly factions may also become hostile depending on player choices.

Did You Know?

• Grim Dawn had sold 7 million units (including its DLC) by February 2022.
• The game was developed using the Titan Quest engine.
• There are ten distinct character classes in the game, with six from the base game and four from expansions.
• The game has three difficulty levels: Normal, Elite, and Ultimate, with Normal also offering a Veteran mode.
• Hardcore mode makes a character's death permanent, and Hardcore characters do not share a stash with Normal mode characters.