Awesome! I have personally been pitching my AGS game to the more mainstream gamer / tech-nerd community as, "Like an RPG, minus the combat". So I really like the concept of taking that idea further in Unavowed, with an actual RPG designer. RPGs have always had great storylines, but then often they can get bogged down in the programmer-wonkishness of the combat. Also, basically making combat a central component makes it really hard not to ultimately have your main character be a mass-murderer -- of goblins and trolls, or cyborg guttersnipes in a cyberpunk RPG -- but a mass-murder nonetheless. This can make it tough to suspend teh disbelief and strains the storytelling. It lessens the narrative impact of actual deaths.
So I applaud the effort, and Jennifer Hepler. Really looking forward to this!