Obsidian Entertainment's highly anticipated fantasy RPG, Avowed, has finally landed in 2025, and players are diving deep into the vibrant world of the Living Lands. While the game has been praised for its engaging combat and rich atmosphere, some quests are gaining notoriety for less celebratory reasons. One particular side quest in Shatterscarp, "One Last Drink," has become a major talking point within the community, as many players are hitting frustrating, progression-halting bugs. For those struggling with the Avowed one last drink avowed questline, know that you are not alone, and the community has been hard at work trying to find solutions.
The Kowha Conversation Stopper
One of the most common issues players encounter happens early in the quest when they need to speak with an NPC named Kowha. Upon approaching him in the Ruined Village, many find themselves unable to initiate a conversation. Instead, their own companion, often Giatta, will begin repeating a single line of dialogue, such as, "Isn't this where Captain Ngunu wanted us to go?" It's like your own follower is ghosting you for Kowha! This loop effectively blocks any further progress, leaving players stuck.
Community investigation suggests this bug often triggers if you've already cleared the Ruined Village of enemies before officially starting the quest. The game's scripting seems to get confused, preventing the quest stage from advancing. It’s a real head-scratcher, but don't give up hope just yet. 🤔
A Poison Plot Gone Wrong
A separate, equally frustrating bug plagues the quest's conclusion. During "One Last Drink," players uncover a plot by Captain Ngunu to poison some of his crew. You can find an NPC named Ruanga and agree to help her turn the tables on the captain by switching the poisoned drinks. The problem? Even after agreeing to help and having the poison in your inventory, the game often doesn't provide the option to perform the switch.
Players report that when they go to collect the drinks, they are only given the choice to proceed with Ngunu's original plan, leading to the deaths of Ruanga and Kowha. This seems to happen if you find the poison before speaking with Ruanga and securing her cooperation. The quest's internal logic just throws its hands up and defaults to the tragic ending, completely ignoring your intentions. Trying to report the plot to the local authorities with the poison as evidence also, bafflingly, leads nowhere.
Known Workarounds and Community Fixes
While we wait for an official patch from Obsidian, players have discovered a few potential workarounds for these issues. They require either a bit of luck or a willingness to reload an older save.
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For the Kowha Bug:
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Thoroughly Search the Area: Some users have had success by backtracking and searching the Ruined Village again. The culprit is sometimes a small, easily missed group of enemies on an upper ledge or in a far corner. Defeating them can sometimes reset Kowha's state and allow you to talk to him.
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The Drastic Main Quest Option: If the above fails, a more severe workaround involves progressing the main story in Shatterscarp to the point where a major event occurs. This event can result in Kowha's death, and you can then complete the quest objective by looting a note from his body.
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For the Poison-Switching Bug:
- Reload and Re-sequence: The most reliable fix is to reload a save from before you picked up the poison vial. Proceed with the quest by speaking to Ruanga first. Once you've agreed to help her, go and retrieve the poison. Following this "intended" sequence seems to enable the correct dialogue options.
A Symptom of a Larger Issue?
The troubles with the Avowed one last drink avowed quest have sparked a broader conversation about the game's quest design. Many feel it's a microcosm of a larger theme in Avowed: the illusion of choice rather than true player agency. The game presents you with evidence like a poison vial and dialogue options to warn people, but the systems behind them are sometimes too rigid to react, making those choices feel hollow.
Comparisons have been drawn to games like The Outer Worlds and even the Elder Scrolls series, with players noting that Avowed has fantastic ideas but sometimes stumbles in bringing them all together cohesively. It's not that the game is bad—far from it—but these moments can leave you wishing the world reacted more dynamically to your actions. As we move through 2025, the hope is that future patches will not only fix these specific bugs but also refine the underlying systems to better honor player choice. For now, tread carefully in Shatterscarp, and maybe keep a few extra save files handy. 😉