There’s a long tradition of science fantasy that blends sword and sorcery of high fantasy with science fiction in one way or another.

What happens if you skip the Awakening and stuff like that?

I don’t know. I’ve never played it and not done them (well I’ve only played it once, but I’ve played through Exile II) I’m sure you get XP for doing them. Maybe some Vanahtai in the rest of the game treat you differently and you miss out on something later? There’s probably evidence of that that I just forget.

If you don’t pay homage at that crypt where the spirit demands it, then he does bad stuff to you. Because I remember it from Exile, which has different mechanics, I don’t know what the consequences are. Probably everyone gets Dread Cursed or something.