Getting Started with Pillars of Eternity Modding

Pillars of Eternity modding is straightforward if you've used Unity Mod Manager before — and roughly an hour's learning curve if you haven't. UMM is the standard mod loader for Mono Unity RPGs (Pillars, both Pathfinder games, several smaller Obsidian-adjacent titles), and the patterns transfer between them.

This guide walks the standard install on the Definitive Edition.

Step 1 — Confirm Definitive Edition

Steam's default install of Pillars of Eternity is the Definitive Edition (bundles all DLC plus the White March expansions). Confirm via the main menu's version label.

If you have the original 2015 release without White March, most mods still work but some assume specific DLC content.

Step 2 — Install Unity Mod Manager

Unity Mod Manager is a standalone installer. Download, extract, run UnityModManager.exe.

In UMM's UI:

From the Settings tab, click Add Game, select Pillars of Eternity, and point it at your game install (e.g. C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Pillars of Eternity/).
UMM detects the Mono runtime, validates the install, and prepares the patcher.
Click Install in the Settings tab. UMM modifies the game's UnityEngine.dll to add its hook (don't worry — UMM keeps a backup, and uninstall reverses the change).

After install, launching Pillars normally loads UMM alongside it. Press Ctrl+F10 in-game to open the UMM menu.

Step 3 — Install your first mod

Pillars mods live primarily on Nexus. Download any UMM-compatible mod (look for "UMM" or "Unity Mod Manager" in the description).

The mod download is typically a .zip containing a folder named after the mod, with an Info.json and a .dll inside.

Two ways to install:

Drag the zip onto UMM's Mods tab — UMM extracts to the right location.
Manual — extract the mod folder into Pillars of Eternity/Mods/ directly. Same result.

Restart Pillars. The Mods tab in UMM (press Ctrl+F10 in-game) now lists your mod with an enable toggle.

Step 4 — Recommended first mods

A few popular ones for new modders:

Deadfire Rebalanced (renamed/forked variants exist for PoE 1) — adjusted class balance.
More Stash Slots — UI mod that expands the inventory beyond vanilla limits.
Berath's Blessings Restored / Modified — restores or modifies new-game-plus bonuses.

Browse Nexus's "Most Endorsed" for Pillars to see the current popular crop.

Step 5 — Configure mods in-game

The UMM menu (Ctrl+F10) shows each installed mod with:

Enable/disable toggle (no restart needed for most mods)
Settings page (if the mod author defined one in the manifest)
Logs (for debugging)
Update check button (if the mod's manifest declares a homepage)

This is UMM's killer feature: mod settings don't require editing config files. The author exposes settings declaratively, UMM renders them as a UI.

Common gotchas

UMM menu doesn't appear (Ctrl+F10 does nothing). UMM didn't install correctly. Re-run the installer's Install button, or re-point it at the game directory if you moved Pillars.
Mod loaded but has no effect. Check the UMM logs — most mods log their initialisation. If the mod expects a feature your game version doesn't have (pre-DLC), it'll fail silently.
Conflict between two mods. UMM doesn't enforce load order strictly. Try disabling one mod at a time to identify the culprit.
Game updates broke UMM. Rare — Pillars has been stable for years — but possible. Re-run UMM's installer to re-patch the new UnityEngine.dll.
Pillars II mod won't load. Pillars 1 and Pillars II (Deadfire) have separate mod ecosystems. They share UMM but not mods.

If you like the UMM modding workflow, the same patterns apply to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, Pathfinder: WotR, and Pillars II. See Pathfinder: Kingmaker guide for that game's specifics.