Jack T. Lamplighter

This is functionality we used to have, ans was supposed to added to SotAbot a long time ago. Thanks to @Sen Iso on the SotA Discord for triggering the memory! If this is setup correctly, all posts made in the Announcements forum section will be also posted in the Discord announcements channel. Ravalox View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings us a preview of new Lava Fish which are soon to arrive to molten hot pools of magma near you! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and... Avatar’s Update #393: New Lava Fish Preview! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings us a preview of new Lava Fish which are soon to arrive to molten hot pools of magma near you! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements New Lava Fish Preview! Latest news Q&A Friday Livestream! New Store Items: Leather Flame Armor Set, 6 Building Block 110-Packs & More! New Vault Round! August Login Reward: Giant Potted Sunflower! R80 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Flame Items! Double EXP Continues! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win a Topiary Keep Dragon Statue (No Trade) Community Event: Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: 2nd Annual Team Fishing Contest Contest! Community Event: Black Rose Chronicles 10 Community Event: Show Your Stats, Win Your Stacks Raffle Community Event: Mythical Dance Party in Sparrowfall Community Event: Release 80 Dance Party in Knightmare Falls Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players New Lava Fish Preview! Anglers of New Britannia! Gather your gemmed lures and lava fishing poles, for new lava fish will soon be added to molten hot magma pools near you! Pictured above is the elusive Coelacanth, but we have four new varieties of lava fish inbound. These new fish will be available to all lava anglers in Novia, Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur: Coelacanth Trilobite Ichthyosaurus Plesiosaurus Albeit Mistrendur will receive new lava fishing locations as Episode 2 content is revealed, new or improved lava fishing locations are also coming to Episode 1 locations: Blackblade Passage Bunker C Etceter Crag Mines K’rawl K’rul NW Blackblade Mountains Quel Passage Sunless Barrens Verdantis Mines The new lava fish and improved lava fishing locations are just some of the many new features to arrive in Shroud of the Avatar this year. Stay tuned as we reveal more of the models for the new lava fish in the near future! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, August 7th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “wishing I was fishing” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! New Store Additions: Leather Flame Armor Set, 6 Building Block 110-Packs & More! For those wanting a more rustic version of the Virtue Flame Armor Set, the Leather Flame Armor Set is now available! Strike fear into the hearts of your enemies whilst wearing these dauntingly wicked leather armor pieces! Seven new building block sets have been added to your arsenal of construction materials! These new blocks come in the same 110-packs and size variants as the previous block sets. The new AND old sets can now be placed as Player-Owned Town decoration. All block sets can now scale from .5 to 1.3! New Block Letters and Numbers Sets have arrived! These sets have primary and secondary dye layers and can scale from .5 to 2.0! Additional items recently added to the store are the new Player-Owned Town Property Markers Set and the Player-Owned Town Wagons, Boats, Balloons Hatches and Signposts! Leather Flame Armor Set White Marble Building Blocks 110-Pack Black Marble Building Blocks 110-Pack Polished Granite Building Blocks 110-Pack Fallow Granite Building Blocks 110-Pack Polished Wood Building Blocks 110-Pack Iron Building Blocks 110-Pack Block Letters Set A-Z (Dyable, 5 Punctuation Types Included) Block Numbers Set 0-9 (Dyable) Player-Owned Town Property Markers Set Player-Owned Town Wagon (Dyable) Player-Owned Town Boat (Dyable) Player-Owned Town Balloon (Dyable) Player-Owned Town Hatch (Dyable) Player-Owned Town Signpost (Dyable) Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which are announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small number of additional items becoming permanently available on the Crown Store: Jester Staff Jester Wand Construction Crane Construction Scaffolding Construction Planks Construction Stone Cart Construction Ropes Construction Barricade New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, August 13th at 1PM CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Brindle Greyhound Decoration Pet Druid Town Home Elven Four-Story City Home Viking Brynhildr Shield Pattern Pack Aether Sword Ladies’ Admiral Outfit Black Ice Wings Oracle Eye Mirror Spike Trap August Login Reward: Potted Giant Sunflower! Gardening time, Avatars! Now, with this wondrous Potted Giant Sunflower, players can enhance their gardens even further! Simply log in during the month of August, and this potted sunflower will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 80 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Flame Items! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 80 are Lord British and flame themed! Reward Program members must login during Release 80 to receive these login items: Lord British Plate Gauntlets Flame Trident Flame Cloak The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room (To be revealed later) 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools Lord of the Isle Crown (In-Game Wearable Item) Unique In-Game Emote (To be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win a Topiary Keep Dragon Statue (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Topiary Keep Dragon Statue (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Fetid Water Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Rajazel (@simon1974) Valor (@Galorn) Falling Waters Fortress (@Tazar) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Rhun Ruins Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Bunker C (Near the ore nodes at -19.058, -16.081, 179.324) Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: Rajazel: If a winning fish comes from Rajazel, @simon1974 will donate an extra 1000 COTOs to that winner! See Simon’s forum post for more information. Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: 2nd Annual Team Fishing Contest Anglers! The Second Annual Team Fishing Contest is nearly upon us! Phamyns and crew are planning a team fishing contest! During the week of the contest, the Official Catnip Games Fishing Tourney will be suspended to encourage maximum participation in this annual event. Many prizes will be available! Once players determine their 2-Person team, please contact @Phamyns on the forums or via in-game mail with your team name! When: August 28th Noon CT to September 4th Noon CT For more information about the contest, please read the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Black Rose Chronicles 10 Attention Avatars! The Shroud of the Avatar community is INCREDIBLY creative, and many community members have composed short stories, poems, and other creative works. Asclepius, along with a number of other narrators have had the privilege of rendering them into audio form. There is a huge vault of podcasts on the Caverns site with well over 200 amazing creative contributions. Recent efforts from Asclepius have brought yet another fine piece of orated fan fiction into the library. Please take some time to listen to a story by Belladonna Rose which was masterfully orated by Asclepius, part 10 of the Black Rose Chronicles! For more information about these reoccurring broadcasts on Avatar’s/Virtue Radio, please contact Asclepius on his forum post about this topic. Community Event: Show Your Stats, Win Your Stacks Raffle Titania Xylia and friends have created a raffle related to your play time in-game! For each hour your character appears in the stats, whether it is one kill, death or receipt in-game. You will receive a raffle ticket. Eventually, your raffle entries will be reported on your character’s page on their API site, so expect this feature shortly! Once raffle entries are showing on the character pages, search for your character’s name using the search bar just under the banner at shroudoftheavatar.net to determine your number of raffle entries. To participate, all you have to do is share your stats in the API. To share your stats, simply right-click your health bar at the top-left corner of your in-game screen, the select “Show name in public stats.” Prizes will be mailed in-game the during first week of September! Raffle prizes are chosen randomly. Players can only win once in a raffle. For more information about the raffle rules or prizes, please visit Titania Xylia’s forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Mythical Dance Party in Sparrowfall Mythical Music Radio Presents the Mythical Dance Party! Also listen in on Mythical Music Radio with your Aether Vibration Devices! Location: Sparrowfall (Near Xenos) Host: DJ DarkStarr a.k.a. Starr Long When: Saturday, August 15th, 1:00 – 3:00 PM CT Listen || Website || Attend In-Game Location Join us along the riverwalk in Sparrowfall as we dance to the music of DJ Darkstarr! Sparrowfall is located in Elysium not far from Xenos next to Port Phoenix and Silver Hold. Once you enter the city, turn left and follow the riverwalk just a short distance from the docks. Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information about the party, please stop by the forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Release 80 Dance Party in Knightmare Falls By Royal Warrant, Virtue/Avatars Radio presents the Release 80 Dance Party & Stress Test Location: Knightmare Falls When: Saturday, August 15th, 3:30PM – 5:30PM CT For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming Release Dance Parties, find out here! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitled Black Rose Chronicles Background music by Smartsound With the intent to make the best use of the daylight Bella moved out and down the road. But despite the time of day it was overcast and quite foggy. She could see the fog rise above the cliff edges from the river below. Whoever carved this place out was insane. Those cliff edges were very steep and jagged. Keeping her wits about her she could hear things rambling about in the brush and bushes. No telling what was out there to greet her. In the short distance she could make out what looked like abandoned buildings. To the right was a burned-out husk of one building. That didn’t look good. Suddenly from out of nowhere one of those zombie creatures and two skeletons came towards her. Quickly she pulled her sword out and took a full swing at them all. Clattering of bone and the ill sounding smack of her blade against flesh made her wince. That sound is one she will never get used to. Wiping the blood from her blade on the grass she stood and proceeded down the road. Over a period of half an hour or so she dispatched everything that came forth. Even some of the lower ranked Cultists were taken out silently. Weaving between two of the back buildings of the area she saw a bonfire glow. As she crept closer she could hear chanting from the three cultists moving around it. And suddenly something happened. Quickly she pulled her bow out and lined an arrow up to fire. There in the midst of the fire stood a mishappened woman…covered in blood and bandage. Raising her hands to the sky and chanting some sort of spell. OH NO you don’t Bella thought to herself. Firing off a shot it hit the woman and she turned in Bella’s direction. Pulling out two more arrows she fired another volley and the woman collapsed into the flames. Blue light spewed up high in the sky and then vanished. She was gone. But that didn’t stop the cultists from making their way towards Bella. Coming out from the cover of the broken-down garden wall she fired off rapid shots at each one…taking them down quickly. Checking each cultist to make sure they were dead she found a few gold pieces and she pocketed them quickly. As she made her way close to the bonfire she noticed that a strange color ooze was all around on the ground. There was no way she was touching that stuff. So she just moved on. Climbing across the wall and heading towards the edge of the old town again she heard the chanting. Same sounds same set up. As carefully as she could she watched and waited. Again the woman appeared. Rapid fire shooting and down she went. Again she took out the cultists too. This must have been what Captain Kinsey was talking about. She would be sure to report this. By the time she made her way back to the tattered road going towards Ackerley’s place the sun was beginning to go down. Picking up the pace she made her way to the shack. Fighting every step of the way with zombies, skeletons and wolves. Exhausted she was happy to see that broken down shack . As she started to knock on the door Ackerley open it and smiled. “Knew you would make it back. I told ya so. Besides I heard all the noise nearby and took me a peek through the shutters. I saw you taking down some of that riff raff out there. You be a good one with that there sword. Glad to see you back.” With that he took her by the arm and ushered her inside. Shut and bolted the door. Then went about his business. Shaking her head she made her way to the water basin and bucket and cleaned herself up a bit. Looking about there was nothing hot to eat so she grabbed a pot and rooted around for something to cook. Putting what vegetables she could find together she made a quick stew. After an hour or two it was done and Ackerley made sure he scooped himself a big bowl of food like it just magically appeared there. After eating he went back to his work. Bella curled up on the smelly cot and quickly fell asleep. Dreams took over as she slept. She was standing on the bridge of her ship. Tight grip on the wheel and Jack standing next to her. He looked out to the horizon and smiled as the wind blew through his tousled hair. Smiling to herself she thought back to all they had been through together. Always a steady hand on the ship and at the ready to jump into action no matter what. And his caring nature for her warmed her heart but scared her just the same. Looking at the horizon herself she shook off the thought of anything other than the job at hand, her ship and crew. No time for personal entanglements. Then there it was….ahead. The Vortex. Glowing and pulsing and getting larger as they approached. Trying hard to steer the ship away it seemed to just suck them in. All hands were on deck manning the sails and doing there best to secure the ship. Closer and closer and then darkness. She woke with a sweated brow. Looked about the room and saw the old man at his worktable. Did he ever sleep? Slowly pulling herself up to a sitting position she reached down for her boots. Pulled them on and stood. As she approached the old man he turned with a wary look on his face. Startled she took a step back. “Ahhh tis you Outlander. Forgot you were in the house for a moment. Tend to get busy with my potions and work forgetting all else.” He reached to the side of the table and turned to Bella. Handing her a flask with a slight green glowing liquid inside. “Here be the medicine Capn Kinsey be wanting. This should fix up any ills in the camp for sure.” Pressing the flask in her hand he returned to his business. Nothing else said. Bella gathered up her belongings and went out the door. A slight overcast took the sky. She thought to herself she hoped it wouldnt rain today. She was tired of the rain. Stepping out into the courtyard she could hear the rustling in the bushes and surrounding forest. She would be happy to shut this place away from her and the sooner the better. Such vile creatures roaming about and she longed to get back to some sort of civilization. Echoes From the Caverns The post Black Rose Chronicles 10 – by Belladonna Rose – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update reveals all the new Player-Owned Town teleporters! In addition to wagons, governors and stewards will also be able acquire and place teleportation Balloons, Hatches, Boats and Signposts! Also, seven new building block sets are currently in design and will become available soon! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring... Avatar’s Update #392: Play Release 80 Now! Player-Owned Town Teleporters! Building Blocks Preview!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update reveals all the new Player-Owned Town teleporters! In addition to wagons, governors and stewards will also be able acquire and place teleportation Balloons, Hatches, Boats and Signposts! Also, seven new building block sets are currently in design and will become available soon! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements New Player-Owned Town Teleporters! Latest news Q&A Friday Livestream! New Building Blocks Preview! August Login Reward: Giant Potted Sunflower! R80 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Flame Items! New Vault Round! Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! World & UI Changes Crafting & Economy Changes Combat Balance & Changes Updated Player-Owned Towns Bug Fixes Double EXP Continues! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Community Event: Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: 2nd Annual Team Fishing Contest Contest! Community Event: New Stream Announced by Oriayan! Community Event: Alphaine the Decoration Master Strikes Again! Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players New Player-Owned Town Teleporters! As of Release 80, governors and stewards are now able to acquire and place Player-Owned Town (POT) interconnection teleporters as well as Player-Owned Town teleportation signposts! The interconnection teleporters allow for teleportation to another Player-Owned Town. Teleportation signposts allow for teleportation within the same Player-Owned Town. The new interconnection teleporters can be placed anywhere in a town which permits land decoration, but the boat can only be placed on water. The governor or steward can then right-click the teleporter and select “Change Destination” which reveals a filterable list of all the available Player-Owned Towns present in the game. The teleporter can be directed to any Player-Owned Town regardless of proximity. Once the destination is selected, the steward or governor then selects “Teleport” to assign the new destination to the teleporter. The teleporter is then ready for use, and any player utilizing the teleporter will zone to the designated location. The interconnection teleporter can be relocated and the destination reassigned as many times as the governor or stewards desire. The new signpost teleporters can also be placed anywhere in a town which permits land decoration. Once placed, players can then activate the signpost to be presented with a list of teleport options within the town. Locations selectable are typical to the static signposts already present in POTs, such as: Central, Town Boundary 1-4, Docks (if applicable) and the Town Crier. Selecting any of these locations does not cause the player to experience a load screen, the player will simply teleport straight to the new location instantly. The signpost teleporters can be relocated as often as the governor or stewards desire. Also, these new teleporters will greatly reduce the number of manual adjustments developers are required to perform from service vouchers. The less time spent adjusting towns manually means developers will have more time to spend working on game improvements. With the introduction of these teleporters, vouchers can no longer be utilized for new developer created POT interconnections, but players can still request interconnections to NPC towns using service vouchers until the NPC town teleporters become available. Novia and Hidden Vale POTs must be within close proximity to NPC towns to request an interconnection. Mistrendur towns are still waived from the NPC town proximity requirement since Episode 2 content on Mistrendur is still very much in design. All existing developer created POT interconnections are still valid and will not be affected by the addition of these new teleporter types. These new teleporters have been carefully designed to offer some wonderful customization options. In addition to the aforementioned flexible placement option, all of the teleporters can also be dyed with primary and secondary colors. The teleporters also feature decoration surfaces! In the future, be on the lookout for Heraldry POT Teleporters and NPC Town Teleporters! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 31st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! New Building Blocks Preview! Builders of New Britannia! Seven new building block sets will be added to your arsenal of construction materials very soon! These new blocks will come in the same 110-packs and size variants as previous block sets. These new AND old sets will no longer be limited to just property decoration. Going forward, ALL block sets will be permitted as Player-Owned Town decoration. Six of these new sets will arrive on the Crown Store, and one set will be reserved for crafters only. Pictured above, the displayed blocks are 4x2x2. From left to right, the new sets are as follows: White Marble Black Marble Polished Granite Fallow Granite Rough Wood (Crafted) Polished Wood Iron These new building block sets are just some of the amazing items coming to decorators in Shroud of the Avatar this year! Stay tuned for more great decorations in the months ahead! August Login Reward: Potted Giant Sunflower! Gardening time, Avatars! Now, with this wondrous Potted Giant Sunflower, players can enhance their gardens even further! Simply log in during the month of August, and this potted sunflower will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 80 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Flame Items! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 80 are Lord British and flame themed! Reward Program members must login during Release 80 to receive these login items: Lord British Plate Gauntlets Flame Trident Flame Cloak The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 30th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Kobold Masks Set 2 Viking Chest Elven Elder Archer Armor Pattern Pack Blackened Metal Baby Clockwork Dragon Brown Nomad Hat Ornate Flamberge Pattern Pack Kobold 4-Story Great Hall City Home Metal Crossbow Elven Cloak Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! Stiletto Heels – Low Slung with Straps BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which are announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small number of additional items becoming permanently available on the Crown Store: Construction Crane Construction Scaffolding Construction Planks Construction Stone Cart Construction Ropes Construction Barricade Black Ice Building Blocks Ice Building Blocks Dragon Helm Dragon Longbow Dark Unicorn Mask Black Horse Mask Aether Dragon Statue Aether Lich Statue Dark Thorn Wand Black Ice Wand Black Ice Staff Black Ice Elemental Statue World & Miscellaneous Changes These miscellaneous updates affecting the game world or aspects of the user interface (UI) patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80: Timothy the Enchanter: (spoilers) Timothy the enchanter in Ardoris now gives a daily quest to collect bones from the Archlapin’s lair. This quest is available all year. Master quest designer Keith “Sannio” Quinn added this quest to further support all seasonal monsters having off-season quests. Love Letters: The daily love letters quest in Necropolis Barrens now has a much larger quest reward. Mistrendur Adventure Scenes: All of the adventure scenes in Mistrendur are now set for Episode 2 access holders only. Luminous Atavists: Once again the Avatars have pressed the Atavists into hiding. The Atavists will not be available until their season returns. Pumpkin Head: The notorious Pumpkin Head has returned! With his powers restored, Avatars will once again be able to face this gourd-headed being in East Vauban Foothills. Kingsport: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat. The Brave Coast: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat. Estercove: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat. Port Mirren: This player village received interconnection boats as well as an Overworld access boat. Player-Owned Town Web Form: Town owners will now have a MUCH more efficient and less confusing form to complete when submitting initial set-up or change requests for Player-Owned Towns. Crafting, Items & Economy Changes These changes to the player economy, in-game items, or crafting patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80: POT NPC Building Limits: The NPC building limits have been increased for Holdfast to Town sized POTs. See the player guide for more information. POT Container Limits: Megalopolis sized towns now have a container limit of 12. Ornate Giant Grim Reaper Statue: This statue has received improved VFX for the glowing eyes. Shadow Creature Loot: The shadow creatures of Spindelskog now drop recipes and Shadow Essences for 3 varieties of Shadow Potions. Ringmaster’s Vest: This new elusive artifact drops from Tier 15 ranged liches throughout New Britannia. Players will most commonly encounter these liches in Upper Tears behind the waterfall. POT Decoration Placement Now Allowed For: Rough Stone Building Blocks Dark Rough Stone Building Blocks Black Ice Building Blocks Ice Building Blocks Wooden Runic Letters Set Ornate Runic Letters Set Elven Essences: Buy orders can now be placed for these essences on player vendors. Custom Titles: Improvements have been made to the title mechanics to allow developers to send custom titles to players. Expect some of these titles to work their way into developer run community events as prizes in the near future! Combat Balance & Changes These changes to combat skills or concepts patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80: Elixir Extension: This skill is now available and resides within the Tactics tree. The duration of consumable effects are extended. Training this skill untrains the “Elixir Receptive” skill in the Focus tree. Elixir Receptive: This skill is now available and resides within the Focus tree. The effectiveness of consumables is increased. Training this skill untrains the “Elixir Extension” skill in the Tactics tree. Bard Skills: Most of the bard skills received cast time reductions but also equivalent effect reductions. Stacking bard skills can produce equal effects and cast times to the previous versions. Updated Player Owned Towns These updates affected Player Owned Towns which patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80: Allaman: Added interconnections. Arlia: Moved to Novia, east of Nightshade Pass. Caesaromagus: Added new hamlet southwest of Xenos. Crystal Cove: Updated interconnections. Dark Bayou: Changed to Swamp Island and moved offshore. Dragon’s Reach: Changed name from D’Jernstad. Changed biome to Island 01a. Moved offshore to north of Ulfheim. Goldfield: Moved to Hidden Vale overworld near Kingsport and updated interconnections. Goober’s Gas Station: Upgraded to Village. Changed biome to Forest 01b. Islands of Wonders: Upgraded to metropolis. Knightmare Falls: Added interconnections. Knight’s Watch: Changed to City. New Britannia Swap Meet: Fixed missing interconnections. Noshima Island: Upgraded to Metropolis. Added interconnections. Rock Ridge: Added interconnections. Sentinel Stand: Upgraded to Town. Sleepy Hollow: Added new Hamlet southeast of Brittany in Novia. The Fields of Misery: Added new village to Hidden Vale, north of Braemar. Twin Traders: Added to Hidden Vale overworld near Kingsport. Valor: Added new Holfast to Mistrendur. Bug Fixes Albeit many bug fixes patched in during R79, will go live with R80, or will go live shortly after R80. Here are some of the highlights! Fixed excessive damage from shadow creature corruption ability. Purify now clears corruption ability from shadow creatures. Fixed pattern names for Stiletto Heels and enabled masterwork/enchant option. Added banners to Spindelskog and Myrkur on the Overworld. Players can now only have a single “Summon Samael” whistle in their inventory while adventuring in Malice. Fixed issue where corrupted pet names could cause the client to hang at 94%. Restored textures to numerous magenta objects throughout the game. Various quests received typo fixes. Mesmerizing Melody no longer has a 100% chance to mesmerize targets regardless of level. The following items can now be placed on the floor in dungeons as decoration: Box Tent Carved Decorative Tombstone Wishing Well Water Well Ancestor Tombstone Stone Crypt Gravestone Tombstone Headstone Rectangular Tombstone Triangle Topped Tombstone Heraldry Polearm Ornate Scythe Ornate Scythe 2017 The following items can now be placed on the bottom floor as decoration: Elven Elite Fighter Boots Hedge Spiral Tree Hedge Sphere Tree Flat Shovel Fixed an issue which caused Magic Mover/Property Manager stored properties to become hidden from view. This only occurred when the stored plot had zero items from the owner yet did have items from another resident on the property. Any plots affected by this bug will once again become visible in the stored property list after the patch. Quest flag improvements added to Confluence Chamber questline. Red cloth questline improved with better task clearing upon completion. The stairs in the city-sized shogun home now all feature the proper texture. Micsere Ingots quest has received greatly improved tasks and compass markers. The Oracle’s daily Virtue quest has been altered for improved functionality. Navmesh improvements were made to the Valhold tower location. Spawn location improvements made to Central Brittany, Storms Reach, Point West, Northwood, and Tartarus. Stair railings in Westend are once again attached to the stairs. North Quel Way NPC’s now have custom dialogue. Quest item loot options were improved in the war room of Understorm Gold Mine. All random encounters in Mistrendur now exit to Mistrendur instead of Novia. Additional ankhs were added to Lost Whiteguard Silver Mine so players can resurrect regardless of death location. Companion armor quests received significant compass marker and quest polish in the following locations: Storms Reach, Understorm Gold Mine, Longfall Woods, Resolute, Verdantis Foothills, Verdantis Mines, Desolis, and the Epitaph. Conversations for Conrad, Ariel, Fiona, Whitte, Pip, and Isabel Spalding were also improved. The Thin Pipe Set on the Crown Store no longer has 1 thick pipe piece within the set. Many inventory item icons were lightened for better viewing on darker backgrounds. This will be noticeable in player inventories and in the Crown Store. The Large Elven Tent inventory icon now matches the actual item. Many Crown Store items received improved descriptions. Duplicate character level-up chat messages have been removed. A failed reshaping of a Rotunda between the spawn options no longer consumes the Crowns of the Obsidian. Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Freshwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Silverdale Market (@Xee) Britt Mart (@Tailz) Crystal Cove (@Scooby Doo) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in The Brave Coast Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Oracle Colossus Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No spinoff events submitted Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: 2nd Annual Team Fishing Contest Anglers! The Second Annual Team Fishing Contest is nearly upon us! Phamyns and crew are planning a team fishing contest! During the week of the contest, the Official Catnip Games Fishing Tourney will be suspended to encourage maximum participation in this annual event. Many prizes will be available! Once players determine their 2-Person team, please contact @Phamyns on the forums or via in-game mail with your team name! When: August 28th Noon CT to September 4th Noon CT For more information about the contest, please read the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: New Stream Announced by Oriayan Avatars, we have a new streamer tearing up the aether vibrations on Twitch! Oriayan is returning to Novia after a long absence. Currently Oriayan is completing the main questline and re-learning the basics of combat, builds, and crafting. Come hang out and enjoy the show! Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/Oriayan When: Monday to Friday, 11AM to 4PM CT Recent Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/688374302 To learn more about Oriayan’s stream, please visit his announcement post on the official forums. Community Event: Alphaine the Decoration Master Strikes Again! Art lovers and decoration masters! Come check out Alphaine Nine’s most wondrous decoration feat yet! An enormous castle lot has been decorated by Alphaine Nine and friends. Alphaine’s work is on the exterior, but please also take the time to explore the interior work as well! Where: Brittany Estates, East Entrance When: August 1st, 8AM-11PM CT Players can also locate the house by accessing the Town Crier in Brittany Estates. Double click the crier, then in the available housing window look for the castle lot owned by CatherineRose. For more information about this event or to express your thanks to Alphaine, CatherineRose and friends, please visit the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma The Enigma event is now live! The goal is pretty simple : 2 sheets with riddles have been hidden, 1 in Robyn Hood’s town Novia Market, the other in Lys Market. You need to find these riddles and solve the enigma. To enter the contest, you need to find both sheets and send your final answer via in game mail to Terrence Phillip (Co-Owner of Lys Market). Starts: Now! Ends: August 3rd, 9PM CT Where: Lys Market & Novia Market When we receive your answer, if it is correct, you will be entered in the lottery for a chance to win one of our awesome prizes! The prizes will be drawn the 3rd of August at 9PM CT! Bjorn Dyonisys will be conducting the drawing on his town lot in Lys Market. Main Prize: 1 Row Lot Deed with a Viking 2-Story Row Home More prizes and information are available on the event announcement post in the official forums. Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Avatars! Here's the draft for the R80 notes which I'll get officially posted for everyone's reading pleasure tomorrow morning. I still have to another proofread, but anyone spotting stuff will greatly speed up my work tomorrow and your efforts are greatly appreciated! But in the least, here's the draft and a sneak peek of what's patching in tomorrow! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WZ6pe07ZimV8rgm4wXbz5PNgRFpy7zO-4xgW3gdSLVc/edit?usp=sharing View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update gives us a quick look at what’s coming our way for the PvP Queue System. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and... Avatar’s Update #391: PvP Queue System Sneak Peek! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update gives us a quick look at what’s coming our way for the PvP Queue System. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements PvP Queue System Sneak Peek! Latest news Q&A Friday Livestream! Double EXP Continues! New Vault Round! Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! R79 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Community Event: Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Christmas in July Community Event: New Stream Announced by Corlag the Bard Community Event: Interview with the Dragon Part 11 Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players PvP Queue System Sneak Peek! Developers are currently hard at work designing a PvP Queue System which will greatly aid players in PvP matchmaking. The system will be designed to provide fair match-ups as well as ease of gameplay. Albeit some of these items could change significantly as the system continues to develop, here are some of the initially planned components to the system currently in design: Players will be able to view a list of other players looking for PvP. The list of available queued players will display within brackets relative the player’s level viewing the list. The planned brackets (approximate) will be as follows: 20+ Levels Below 10-20 Levels Below +/- 10 Levels 10-20 Levels Above 20+ Levels Above Players will receive a warning that credit will not be received for any competitions which are 20 levels below their own level. Initial versions will feature a simple “JOIN” button, but later versions will include the following: Map Selection: Players will be able to select from a list of possible maps. Level Limits: Players will be able toggle exclusion from any competitions 20 above or below their level. Competition Type: Players will be able to select whether the fight is to be ranked or practice. When challenging a player, the following dialog boxes will appear: Player acknowledging the challenge will be presented with a dialogue box, “Waiting for player to accept…” Player receiving the acknowledgement will be presented with the dialogue box, “Your challenge has been accepted! Click “Engage” to begin, or click “Retreat” to decline…” When a player accepts the competition by clicking “Engage” in the dialog box, both players will transport to the chosen scene or a random scene if none were chosen. Initially, only a single scene will be available, but more scene options will be added in the future. Competing players will zone to random spawn locations within the selected scene, at which time the battle will begin. The battle scene will continue until one player dies or leaves the scene. Results for each match will be collected to populate win/loss metrics. Once a player leaves, logs out, or dies, both players will zone back to either their previous location or a hub type scene, depending up their previous location. Initially, players will utilize the existing PvP leaderboards, but a robust PvP ranking system will be soon to follow. Some maps may feature timed mechanics which force players into battle such as rising lava or a shrinking death field. This new PvP Queue System is just one of the amazing new features coming your way this year. Stay tuned for future announcements as the PvP Queue System design continues to progress. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 24th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 30th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Kobold Masks Set 2 Viking Chest Elven Elder Archer Armor Pattern Pack Blackened Metal Baby Clockwork Dragon Brown Nomad Hat Ornate Flamberge Pattern Pack Kobold 4-Story Great Hall City Home Metal Crossbow Elven Cloak Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! Stiletto Heals – Low Slung with Straps BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which will be announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small glimpse of additional items becoming permanently available for purchase: Kobold Dwelling Village Home Viking Cloak & Helm Set Large Elven Tent Viking 1-Story Village Home Shogun 3-Story Keep Village Home Demon Wings July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79! Lord British Plate Chest Armor Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated) Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated) Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Freshwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Silverdale Market (@Xee) Britt Mart (@Tailz) Crystal Cove (@Scooby Doo) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in The Brave Coast Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Oracle Colossus Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No spinoff events submitted Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Christmas in July Hear ye, Hear ye! The Graceful Bard, aka Lauremir Elenir, is hosting a Christmas in July Pool Party at her dungeon in Immortal City! Featuring Live electronic Christmas covers by “thegracefulbard” herself, as well as fun raffles, a costume contest, and troll totem dungeons. When: July 24th, 5PM CT Where: Immortal City, Lauremir Elenir’s Dungeon Host: https://twitch.tv/thegracefulbard Party starts at 5pm CST! See you there! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums Community Event: New Stream Announced by Corlag the Bard Corlag the Bard has recently returned to Shroud of the Avatar after a long time away. He’ll be streaming the game regularly on his Twitch Channel. Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/corlagthebard Recent Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/686788003 To contact Corlag the Bard or to learn more about his stream, please visit his announcement post on the official forums. Community Event: Interview with the Dragon Part 11 Attention Avatars! Recent efforts from Asclepius have brought yet another fine piece of orated fan fiction into the library. Please take some time to listen to Interview with the Dragon Part 11 written by Draxenath and masterfully orated by Asclepius. For more information about these reoccurring broadcasts on Avatar’s/Virtue Radio, please contact Asclepius on his forum post about this topic. The Shroud of the Avatar community is INCREDIBLY creative, and many community members have composed short stories, poems, and other creative works. Asclepius, along with a number of other narrators have had the privilege of rendering them into audio form. There is a huge vault of podcasts on the Caverns site with well over 200 amazing creative contributions. Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma The Enigma event is now live! The goal is pretty simple : 2 sheets with riddles have been hidden, 1 in Robyn Hood’s town Novia Market, the other in Lys Market. You need to find these riddles and solve the enigma. To enter the contest, you need to find both sheets and send your final answer via in game mail to Terrence Phillip (Co-Owner of Lys Market). Starts: Now! Ends: August 3rd, 9PM CT Where: Lys Market & Novia Market When we receive your answer, if it is correct, you will be entered in the lottery for a chance to win one of our awesome prizes! The prizes will be drawn the 3rd of August at 9PM CT! Bjorn Dyonisys will be conducting the drawing on his town lot in Lys Market. Main Prize: 1 Row Lot Deed with a Viking 2-Story Row Home More prizes and information are available on the event announcement post in the official forums. Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party [Forum Post by Lily Byrd] The Mad Splatter Tea Party takes place every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month, which is a tea party in my back garden at my home in Jade Valley. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes we just sit and talk about life in Novia. Where: Lily Byrd’s Cottage and tea garden is south of the Hall of Inquiry and Learning When: 3pm CST, July 26th (Usually every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month) Attire: This is a role playing event tea party so come as your avatar We play games, we eat cake and drink…various teas and drinks… There are goofy prizes for winning games if we play them. See you there, Lily Byrd. Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next instalment of this wonderful story by Draxenath. It is entitled Interview with the Dragon Goddess Background music by Smartsound Part 15: Conclusion Many years passed between the interview and the writing of this conclusion. I have spent countless hours reading books at the ancient library. The amount of knowledge contained within its books would empower the people to do unimaginable things that could either bring prosperity or self-destruction. Time and time again, The Goddess would remind me: “The majority of the sentient mortals are not ready for the knowledge and technology amassed by Humenalia. She had a chosen few who would be her disciples and the ones applying the knowledge within this library for the good of the inhabitants of Curiosity”. It was a fairly large metropolis with several thousands of inhabitants, completely isolated from the outside world in order to prevent the theft and misuse of its technology. Deep down, I really want to share all of this knowledge with the world, but I am also worried it might be used for terrible purposes. Maybe Amaxis thought the same and left it there to be mostly forgotten and thought of as myths. When I started this interview, I was not expecting to have the pleasure of finding this fountain of unlimited knowledge. As for my expectations towards Draxenath, I thought she would be more like Amaxis, a proud deity who would never admit fault and would proclaim any of his opponents as enemies of the world. Instead, I found a strong yet fragile goddess, grieving over past mistakes and feeling devoid of purpose after what she felt was a sign that mortals did not appreciate her devotion to them. Today, I see a determined goddess striving on her new purpose, “healing Humenalia and making preparations for their glorious return”. That makes me reflect on the importance of finding purpose in life. The loss of her purpose drove her to seclude herself and attempt to end her own life. Asking her about her life and letting her know her legends are passed on and prayers are still directed at her after all this time slowly burrowed through her hardened scales and into her heart, driving her to consider if there is yet a new purpose for her to find and live for. As for me, I am now traveling the world with a trusted companion, spreading copies of this interview, and working on a new project of my own, of which no details will be provided for now. -End- Echoes From the Caverns The post Interview with the Dragon Goddess 11 – by Draxenath appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings a sneak peek into what’s coming your way in R80! Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters are soon to arrive which can be customized and placed by players! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the... Avatar’s Update #390: Player-Owned Town Teleporters Preview! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings a sneak peek into what’s coming your way in R80! Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters are soon to arrive which can be customized and placed by players! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters Preview! Latest news Q&A Friday Livestream! Double EXP Continues! New Vault Round! Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! R79 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Community Event: Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Whyte Roc Museum Features New Art Pieces Community Event: Orchestral Stones Rendition Revealed Community Event: New Stream Announced by Shaner9er Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters Preview! Player-owned Town governors, stewards and residents rejoice! Coming very soon for Release 80, governors and stewards will be able to place and adjust the destinations for Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters! A wagon is depicted in the images, but balloon, boat, and hatch varieties are also coming! The governor or steward simply right-clicks the wagon and selects “Change Destination” which will reveal a filterable list of all the available Player-Owned Towns present in the game. Once the destination is selected, the teleporter will then be ready for use, and any player utilizing the teleporter will zone to the designated location. The destination assigned to a teleporter can be adjusted as many times as the governor or steward desire. Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters can be directed to any Player-Owned Town regardless of proximity. Governors and stewards will be able to place these anywhere in their towns which allow for decoration placement as long as the town has remaining decoration slots. Being able to place the teleporters freely throughout the town means teleporters are no longer limited in placement at a town’s central hub location. Also, this new teleporter type will greatly reduce the number of manual adjustments developers are required to perform from service vouchers. The less time spent adjusting towns manually means developers will have more time to spend working on game improvements. These new teleporters have been carefully designed to offer some wonderful customization options. In addition to the aforementioned flexible placement option, the wagon teleporters can also be dyed with primary and secondary colors. Wagon teleporters also feature multiple decoration surfaces! In the images below, a dyed wagon has been depicted using pink and white dye. Decoration surfaces are present on the drivers bench, the interior bench as well as the interior floor of the wagon. These new Player-Owned Town Interconnection Teleporters are just one of the many amazing features to come your way this year. In the not too distant future, Player-Owned Town Sign Post Teleporters will become available, allowing players more options to teleport within the same town. Also, heraldry versions of the teleporters are in the pipeline! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 17th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! For some extra prizes while we answer questions, we’ll be playing a round of “Where in the World is Atos?” On stream, Atos will reveal a location in the game. The first player to reach his location will win a prize! Each player may win up to 3 times each. To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 16th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Ring of Stones Village Home Windmill Village Home Kobold Radiant Energy Capacitor Evil Eye Emote Cabinet of Virtue Pallas’s Cat Obsidian Tower Town Home Leather and Metal Kilt Large Tiki Statue Latest Store Additions: Stiletto Heels & More! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! Stiletto Heals – Low Slung with Straps BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which will be announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small glimpse of additional items becoming permanently available for purchase: Kobold Dwelling Village Home Viking Cloak & Helm Set Large Elven Tent Viking 1-Story Village Home Shogun 3-Story Keep Village Home Demon Wings July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79! Lord British Plate Chest Armor Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated) Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated) Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Fetid Water Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Dark Bayou, Novia Near Brittany (@Fiero Steele) Bard’s Rest (@TaiKee Vetrae) Stormsong Vale (@Phamyns) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Dysborg Ruins Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Spectral Mines Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No spinoff events submitted Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Whyte Roc Museum Features New Art Pieces The Whyte Roc Museum of Fine Art is open and new art pieces have been added to the collection! Be sure to head on over to Whyte Roc and ascend the largest hill. You’ll find an old Obsidian Keep that’s been repurposed for something quite virtuous — sharing art with the Avatars of New Britannia! If players notice any missing art pieces, please be sure to suggest them or even make donations to Cypher Black. For more information about the Whyte Roc Museum of Fine Art, please visit the main forum post on the official forums. Community Event: Orchestral Stones Rendition Revealed During the final minutes of the R79 Release Party which aired on Virtue/Avatars Radio, a most wondrous rendition of “Stones” was played for all the listeners and partygoers of New Britannia. This version was orchestrated by Erandoom with arrangement and vocals by Lauremir a.k.a. The Graceful Bard on Twitch. “Stones” is a song with a considerably long history throughout the Ultima series of games, and was originally written by David “Iolo” Watson and Kathleen “Gwenno” Jones. To learn more about the “Stones” musical score, be sure to read more at Ultima Wiki. Players can listen to this beautiful rendition on Alleine Dragonfyre’s Twitch Stream hosted by DJ Darkstarr himself! Please be sure to visit this forum post and offer both Erandoom and Lauremir a big thank you for their hard work and dedication to the community! Community Event: New Stream Announced by Shaner9er Avatars, we have a new streamer tearing up the aether vibrations on Twitch! Shaner9er a.k.a. Zeek Latreck runs dungeons or goes fishing. Also, Shaner9er delves into an real world astronomy by sharing video right from his telescope! Come hang out and enjoy the show! Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/shaner9er Recent Video: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/679933603 For Shaner9er’s schedule, clips and perhaps simply to say hello and thank you to Shaner9er, please visit his announcement post on the official forums. Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma The Enigma event is now live! The goal is pretty simple : 2 sheets with riddles have been hidden, 1 in Robyn Hood’s town Novia Market, the other in Lys Market. You need to find these riddles and solve the enigma. To enter the contest, you need to find both sheets and send your final answer via in game mail to Terrence Phillip (Co-Owner of Lys Market). Starts: Now! Ends: August 3rd, 9PM CT Where: Lys Market & Novia Market When we receive your answer, if it is correct, you will be entered in the lottery for a chance to win one of our awesome prizes! The prizes will be drawn the 3rd of August at 9PM CT! Bjorn Dyonisys will be conducting the drawing on his town lot in Lys Market. Main Prize: 1 Row Lot Deed with a Viking 2-Story Row Home More prizes and information are available on the event announcement post in the official forums. Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party [Forum Post by Lily Byrd] The Mad Splatter Tea Party takes place every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month, which is a tea party in my back garden at my home in Jade Valley. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes we just sit and talk about life in Novia. Where: Lily Byrd’s Cottage and tea garden is south of the Hall of Inquiry and Learning When: 3pm CST, July 26th (Usually every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month) Attire: This is a role playing event tea party so come as your avatar We play games, we eat cake and drink…various teas and drinks… There are goofy prizes for winning games if we play them. See you there, Lily Byrd. Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update offers a quick look at Lord British’s Castle! Located in Mistrendur, this upcoming high paced adventure scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and will feature ever increasing difficulty as you progress through the scene. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and... Avatar’s Update #389: Lord British Castle Preview! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update offers a quick look at Lord British’s Castle! Located in Mistrendur, this upcoming high paced adventure scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and will feature ever increasing difficulty as you progress through the scene. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements Lord British’s Castle Preview! Latest news Q&A Friday Livestream! Double EXP Continues! New Vault Round! Latest Store Additions: Lord British 2020 Birthday Cake, Stiletto Heels & More! July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! R79 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Catnip Games PvP Collections Tourney Community Event: Beran’s Reach Artwork Revealed Community Event: Lord British’s Birthday & Release 79 Celebration Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma Community Event: Beat of Novia in Crystal Cove Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Lord British’s Castle Preview! Master world builder Keith “Sannio” Quinn is hard at work designing an upcoming adventure scene known as Lord British’s Castle! Here are a handful of screenshots for this scene which reveal a splendid stronghold with walled-in grounds. The gorgeous gardens, theater, and décor would be quite inviting to guests under normal circumstances, but alas, these are not normal times, Avatars! Something is amiss at Lord British’s Castle in Mistrendur, and only Episode 2 Access holders will be able to rally to our ruler’s aid! The Lord British’s Castle adventure scene will feature dynamics similar to Chillblain’s Compendium of Pain and Suffering but to the extreme! Also known as the Challenge Dungeon, Chillblain’s Compendium of Pain and Suffering is an old dungeon accessible at the graveyard in Braemar of the Hidden Vale. As players progress through the Challenge Dungeon, each room becomes more deadly than the one before. The entire Challenge Dungeon features 20 waves of enemies which were originally intended to be nearly undefeatable. Alas, the player base has grown greatly in power since the Challenge Dungeon’s inception and adventure parties have long since vanquished the dangers within. Seeking greater challenges, players will soon be able to test their strength and wit in Lord British’s Castle, an entirely new Challenge Dungeon type experience for the Episode 2 continent of Mistrendur. “Lord British’s Castle! Frequently under assault by those who want to slay the ruler of New Britannia or pillage the vast fortune rumored to exist within his private vault. Even now, deadly enemies have breached its walls and overrun the stronghold’s hallowed halls. Your reasons to venture to Mistrendur and into Lord British’s home will be your own, but know that each room will throw you against waves of the toughest enemies you have ever faced!” These words from Sannio should inspire caution amongst the intrepid. Those first to storm the gates of Lord British’s Castle will soon learn that the waves of enemies within will continue to grow in power such that even the greatest of New Britannia’s warriors will eventually fail. How far into the castle will your band of companions venture? What treasures could be within? Soon, Avatars, all will be revealed, and a challenge unlike no other will await thee. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 10th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 16th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Spyglass Oracle Statue Head Tower Town Home Kobold Mage Mask Obsidian Tower Village Home Ornate Kobold Metal Storage Chest Elven Fighter Armor Elven House in a Hill Obsidian Order Throne Latest Store Additions: Lord British Birthday Cake, Stiletto Heels & More! This year’s Lord British Birthday cake is still up for sale until July 12th along with the other Lord British recurring items. When used, this wondrous cake creates 4 cupcakes, also unique to the 2020 birthday celebration! Also, tear up the dance floors, Avatars! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! 2020 Lord British Replenishing Birthday Cake Stiletto Heals – Low Slung with Straps BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which will be announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small glimpse of additional items becoming permanently available for purchase: Aggressive Spider 3-Pack Attacking Spider 3-Pack Still Spider 3-Pack Blue Tile Roof 2-Story Row House Blue Tile Roof 3-Story Row House Rustic 2-Story Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Loft Village Home Gift Boxes 3-Pack Silver Clockwork Armor Silver Clockwork Armor Pattern Pack Smoke Virtue Emote July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79! Lord British Plate Chest Armor Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated) Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated) Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Saltwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Beran’s Reach (@Duke Vallas [BEAR]) PaxLair (@Sean Silverfoot) Novia Market (@ldykllr) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Kas Ruins Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Sunless Barrens Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No spinoff events announced Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Catnip Games PvP Collections Tourney Greetings Avatars! A new PvP developer run event is upon us! Where: Paladis Shardfull When: July 11th 10AM CT (30 minute event) Once we get a feel for how long it takes me to pull and organize the data, we might see making these 1 hour events in the future. To enter, please reply to this thread with the following information: Your Character Name Your Planned Objective (see below) OBJECTIVES: These are the objectives possible for players. Each registered competitor can select only one objective. Bonus objectives listed further below are available to everyone. Points per objective might be adjusted as we approach the date of the event. You can change your chosen objective up to 1 day before the event. Keep in mind, the more people taking a single objective makes it less valuable. Dungeoneer (1 pt): loot Granite Blocks from either Obsidian Golems or Granite Nodes. Plant Slayer (3 pts): loot Chaos Plant Pollen from either the Redthorn Flowers or the Flesh Flayers. Tree Chopper (3pts): loot Maple Wood from chopped down maple trees. Master Gatherer (3pts): loot Raw Cotton from Cotton Plants. Ebon Slayer (4 pts): loot Lesser Staves from Ebon Cultist Wizards. Master of Mayhem (NA): Unregistered players simply on a kill fest, no prizes available. BONUS OBJECTIVES: These objectives are available to everyone. Do not select these as your main objective. You can do these in addition to your main objective chosen above. Deathmonger (1 pt): loot a body part off of a player.​ Mushroom Lover (5 pts): loot gold ore from the Paxillus Involutus fungus creature rare spawn.​ Daemon Slayer (15 pts): loot a Daemon Hoof from the Dolorast Vrul rare spawn.​ Points are earned upon each loot of the creature/node per the guide above. You are awarded points for the loot action, not the # of items within the loot. For instance, if you loot an Obsidian Golem and he has 2 Granite Blocks on him, that’s still 1 point for the kill and successful loot of granite. It is NOT a per/item point system, it’s related to a per kill/harvest action. PRIZES: The following prizes are available. Players may donate additional prizes in the name of their guilds or towns to sweeten the pot. All prizes are no-trade. 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Trophies and Participation Trophies (tabletop version) are depicted in this video: 1st Place: Large PvP Shard Trophy, Player Owned Town Row Lot Deed 2nd Place: Medium PvP Shard Trophy, Obsidian Streetlamp 6-Pack 3rd Place: Small PvP Shard Trophy, Obsidian Sentinel Dragon Statue Participation: Tabletop Participation Shard Trophy Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees of the PvP and Fishing events, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the PvP and Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. After the first week of these events, likely there will be a pause for planning before additional weeks start rolling in. CROSSOVER / SPINOFF PRIZES OR EVENTS: The following prizes or events are offered by players in an attempt to “sweeten the pot” of prizes offered by the developers: @Spinok is has sent in 3 Hearts of Vrul to go to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners For more information or to register for this event, please see the main forum post on the official forums. Community Event: Beran’s Reach Artwork Revealed A member of the Beran’s Reach community has released the first in a series of art pieces depicting various aspects of life in the Megalopolis of Beran’s Reach. Kumakaze’s work is a splendid example of the creativity abounding within our community. This particular art piece is of the main entrance by the central market. Beran’s Reach has a fantastic design clearly proving the dedication and time the governor and stewards have instilled upon their beloved town and residents. Be sure to go to the original forum post on this topic from Duke Vallas and offer your comments of appreciation for this wondrous art! Community Event: Lord British’s Birthday & Release 79 Celebration By Royal Warrant, Virtue/Avatars Radio presents the Release 79 Dance Party & Stress Test Location: Immortal City at Toff’s Premiere Nightclub, Chaotica Host: DJ Darkstarr (a.k.a. Starr Long) When: Saturday, July 11th, 1PM – 3PM CT Fireworks needed! Our Pyrotechnics Department head, @Lauremir Elenir you may know her as TheGracefulBard on Twitch, is collecting the fireworks. Please send them to her in-game by FRIDAY JULY 10th!!! Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming Release Dance Parties, find out here! Community Event: Lys & Novia Market Enigma The Enigma event is now live! The goal is pretty simple : 2 sheets with riddles have been hidden, 1 in Robyn Hood’s town Novia Market, the other in Lys Market. You need to find these riddles and solve the enigma. To enter the contest, you need to find both sheets and send your final answer via in game mail to Terrence Phillip (Co-Owner of Lys Market). Starts: Now! Ends: August 3rd, 9PM CT Where: Lys Market & Novia Market When we receive your answer, if it is correct, you will be entered in the lottery for a chance to win one of our awesome prizes! The prizes will be drawn the 3rd of August at 9PM CT! Bjorn Dyonisys will be conducting the drawing on his town lot in Lys Market. Main Prize: 1 Row Lot Deed with a Viking 2-Story Row Home More prizes and information are available on the event announcement post in the official forums. Community Event: The Beat of Novia in Crystal Cove Virtue/Avatars Radio presents The Beat of Novia! The Beat of Novia is an Electronic & Dance Music Radio Show on Avatars Radio Simulcasted on Virtue Radio and Twitch TV every Friday night from your venues! Location: Crystal Cove Host: DJ Alleine Dragonfyre When: Friday, 8PM CT For more information, check out the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update takes us into a sneak peek at Tanglemire! Located in Mistrendur, this new town/adventure scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and will be the first new town scene for Epsiode 2! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been... Avatar’s Update #388: Tanglemire Sneak Peek! Lord British Birthday Q&A Friday Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update takes us into a sneak peek at Tanglemire! Located in Mistrendur, this new town/adventure scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and will be the first new town scene for Epsiode 2! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements Tanglemire Sneak Peek! Lord British Birthday Q&A Friday Livestream! Crowns, Deeds & Two Hour Flash Sales! Double EXP Continues! New Vault Round! New Store Additions: Lord British 2020 Birthday Cake, Stiletto Heels & More! July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! R79 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Catnip Games PvP Collections Tourney Community Event: Black Rose Chronicles 9 Community Event: Lord British’s Birthday & Release 79 Celebration Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! Community Event: Virtue Radio Weekly Schedule! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Tanglemire Sneak Peek! Tanglemire is one of the upcoming new town scenes coming to Episode 2 Access holders! Inhabited by a deeply superstitious Norgardian-style populace, the people of Tanglemire protect their borders with Spirit Warders that impede the incursion of creatures from Spindelskog. The shadow-like beasts from within that nearby darkened wood infect their weary minds with crippling dread. The people of Tanglemire are ruled by a group of “elders” struggling to preserve their village, but how long can they delay the inevitable demise of their beleaguered settlement? What aid might an Avatar bring to a people so burdened by doubt and fear? “Life is a never-ending struggle for Tanglemire, a fading outpost in the north of Mistrendur virtually abandoned by the Norgard Empire. Surrounded by freezing cold, deadly swamps, and a haunted wood, it’s no wonder that the desperate locals have turned to unusual means for protection. But how long will their decaying “spirit warders” keep them safe from the untold horrors that threaten these peaceful people?” The outskirts of Tanglemire, in similar fashion to Valhold, will feature a variety of enemies to defeat and challenges to overcome. Much of the Tanglemire content will ultimately land somewhere in the middle of the Mistendur storyline, but upon release, Tanglemire will still feature an initial quest. Additional quests will be added as more Episode 2 content is released in the time ahead. Lord British Birthday Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, July 3rd at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and Richard “Lord British” Garriott de Cayeux, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! Be sure to pop by to wish Lord British a very happy birthday! To enter the prize drawings, type “happy birthday Lord British” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales! In celebration of Lord British’s birthday, various sales will begin on Friday morning and extend throughout the holiday. Crowns will be on sale for 20% off. Deed Upgrades will be 30% off! To upgrade a deed, place the deed into your inventory, then right-click the deed to reveal upgrade options. But that’s not all! Two Hour Flash Sales will also commence on Friday morning! So watch your clocks, Avatars! A new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the in-game Crown Store every 2 hours! Players have until Monday, July 6th at 1PM CT to take advantage of these great discounts, at which time all 3 sales events expire. Happy shopping, Avatars! Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 9th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Wood & Plaster 2-Story with Front Porch Town Home Jester Carnival Mask Black & Chrome Ornate Aeronaut Outfit Kobold 2-Story with Rooftop Deck Village Home Kobold 3-Story with Open Deck Town Home Question Stovepipe Hat Large Knight’s tent Small Obsidian Obelisk Fireworks 45-Piece Assortment 1 New Store Additions: Lord British Birthday Cake, Stiletto Heels & More! This year’s Lord British Birthday cake has arrived! When used, this wondrous cake creates 4 cupcakes, also unique to the 2020 birthday celebration! Tear up the dance floors, Avatars! The new Stiletto Heels are a perfect addition to any wardrobe worthy of a night out with friends. Also, cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! 2020 Lord British Replenishing Birthday Cake Stiletto Heals – Low Slung with Straps BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Many items are being loaded into the Vault and will rotate in periodically which will be announced each week as they go live, but here’s a small glimpse of additional items becoming permanently available for purchase: Aggressive Spider 3-Pack Attacking Spider 3-Pack Still Spider 3-Pack Blue Tile Roof 2-Story Row House Blue Tile Roof 3-Story Row House Rustic 2-Story Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Loft Village Home Gift Boxes 3-Pack Silver Clockwork Armor Silver Clockwork Armor Pattern Pack Smoke Virtue Emote July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79! Lord British Plate Chest Armor Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated) Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated) Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win an Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Ornate Greenhouse 4-Story Row Home (No Trade) to two lucky winners! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Freshwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Fallin’ Green (@Chirp) Whyte Roc (@Cypher Black) Brittany Fort (@Sonja) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Verdantis Shardfall Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Bunker C (Near the ore nodes at -19.058, -16.081, 179.324) Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No spinoff events announced Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Catnip Games PvP Collections Tourney Greetings Avatars! A new PvP developer run event is drawing near. Please bear with us as we work out the details. The first few events will likely be test runs and very experimental. Where: Paladis Shardfull When: July 11th 10AM CT (30 minute event) Once we get a feel for how long it takes me to pull and organize the data, we might see making these 1 hour events in the future, and we might be pushing this into a weekly schedule depending upon interest. To enter, please reply to this thread with the following information: Your Character Name Your Planned Objective (see below) 1st or 2nd Event (you can participate in both, but are only eligible for prizes for 1) OBJECTIVES: These are the objectives possible for players. Each registered competitor can select only one objective. Bonus objectives listed further below are available to everyone. Points per objective might be adjusted as we approach the date of the event. You can change your chosen objective up to 1 day before the event. Keep in mind, the more people taking a single objective makes it less valuable. All registrations will be made public on the tracking spreadsheet (see further below). Dungeoneer (1 pt): loot Granite Blocks from either Obsidian Golems or Granite Nodes. Plant Slayer (3 pts): loot Chaos Plant Pollen from either the Redthorn Flowers or the Flesh Flayers. Tree Chopper (3pts): loot Maple Wood from chopped down maple trees. Master Gatherer (3pts): loot Raw Cotton from Cotton Plants. Ebon Slayer (4 pts): loot Lesser Staves from Ebon Cultist Wizards. Master of Mayhem (NA): Unregistered players simply on a kill fest, no prizes available. BONUS OBJECTIVES: These objectives are available to everyone. Do not select these as your main objective. You can do these in addition to your main objective chosen above. Deathmonger (1 pt): loot a body part off of a player.​ Mushroom Lover (5 pts): loot gold ore from the Paxillus Involutus fungus creature rare spawn.​ Daemon Slayer (15 pts): loot a Daemon Hoof from the Dolorast Vrul rare spawn.​ Points are earned upon each loot of the creature/node per the guide above. You are awared points for the loot action, not the # of items within the loot. For instance, if you loot an Obsidian Golem and he has 2 Granite Blocks on him, that’s still 1 point for the kill and successful loot of granite. It is NOT a per/item point system, it’s related to a per kill/harvest action. PRIZES: The following prizes are available to BOTH time slots. Players may donate additional prizes in the name of their guilds or towns to sweeten the pot. All prizes are no-trade. 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Trophies and Participation Trophies (tabletop version) are depicted in this video: 1st Place: Large PvP Shard Trophy, Player Owned Town Row Lot Deed 2nd Place: Medium PvP Shard Trophy, Obsidian Streetlamp 6-Pack 3rd Place: Small PvP Shard Trophy, Obsidian Sentinel Dragon Statue Participation: Tabletop Participation Shard Trophy Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees of the PvP and Fishing events, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the PvP and Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. After the first week of these events, likely there will be a pause for planning before additional weeks start rolling in. CROSSOVER / SPINOFF PRIZES OR EVENTS: The following prizes or events are offered by players in an attempt to “sweeten the pot” of prizes offered by the developers: @Spinok is has sent in 3 Hearts of Vrul to go to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners For more information or to register for this event, please see the main forum post on the official forums. Community Event: Black Rose Chronicles 9 Attention Avatars! The Shroud of the Avatar community is INCREDIBLY creative, and many community members have composed short stories, poems, and other creative works. Asclepius, along with a number of other narrators have had the privilege of rendering them into audio form. There is a huge vault of podcasts on the Caverns site with well over 200 amazing creative contributions. Recent efforts from Asclepius have brought yet another fine piece of orated fan fiction into the library. Please take some time to listen to a story by Belladonna Rose which was masterfully orated by Asclepius, part 9 of the Black Rose Chronicles! For more information about these reoccurring broadcasts on Avatar’s/Virtue Radio, please contact Asclepius on his forum post about this topic. Community Event: Lord British’s Birthday & Release 79 Celebration By Royal Warrant, Virtue/Avatars Radio presents the Release 79 Dance Party & Stress Test Location: Immortal City at Toff’s Premiere Nightclub, Chaotica Host: DJ Darkstarr (a.k.a. Starr Long) When: Saturday, July 11th, 1PM – 3PM CT Fireworks needed! Our Pyrotechnics Department head, @Lauremir Elenir you may know her as TheGracefulBard on Twitch, is collecting the fireworks. Please send them to her in-game by FRIDAY JULY 10th!!! Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming Release Dance Parties, find out here! Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! [Forum Post by Jikininki] Independence Weekend Fireworks Show! Come avatars for a grand celebration! Join us for fireworks, games, fun and giveaways! ​ Where: Krabnevir (South of Sanctus Spine and West of Nightshade Pass) When: July 5th, 1pm CT Free sparklers and wine for all that attend! Simply find Emmory Watsyn or Althaea Hanalli near the docks in town and open trade. The event will be being streamed for all by Fzol on Fizzlefactor via Twitch. So, be sure to find him and steal some camera time! Special guest appearance by Elvis! For more information, please see the full announcement thread on the official forums. See you there! Community Event: Virtue Radio Weekly Schedule [Forum Post by Alleine Dragonfyre] Avatars! Here’s the latest and greatest line-up from those DJ’s over at Virtue Radio! Players can tune-in using their website or in-game devices such as Clockwork & Aviator Helmets, Clockwork Pets or Aether Vibration Amplifiers! Podcast and Poetry with DJ Asclepius, Mondays 7pm CT Radio Oz with the Doctor DJ Asclepius, Every 4th Wednesday 7pm CT DJ Jarkith Chaotic Country, Thursdays 10PM CT DJ Alliene Dragonfyre: The Beat Of Novia, Fridays 8PM CT DJ Mick Foley Holds the Rocking Power Hours, Saturdays 2PM CT DJ Stryker: Lost in the Spaces, Sundays 9AM CT DJ Celith Wraine: Faster and Louder, Sundays 7PM CT Interested in DJ’ing on Virtue Radio? Send a PM to any of our staff members @Alleine Dragonfyre @Celith Wraine @Stryker Sparhawk, @Asclepius for help! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings us an entirely new adventure scene — Spindelskog! Located in Mistrendur, this new scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and features a new quest and several new creature variants! Also, many changes are coming to how we process Player-Owned Town vouchers. Dynamically scaled scenes have received a new style tier marker, and subscriber reward login items will... Avatar’s Update #387: Play Release 79 Now! New Adventure Scene: Spindelskog!View the full article

Sorry folks, but we decided to do a last minute texture change on this item, which made it into the build BUT the new screenshots for the store didn't quite make it in time. So if you want to see the actual BBQ station, click the preview option in the store to see the rustic texture. The new screenshots will patch in on the next patch. Here's what it looks like actually: View the full article

Hey folks! Here's the draft for the R79 notes which I'll get officially posted for everyone's reading pleasure tomorrow morning. I'm not quite done, however. I still need to scour the JIRA's for any items that didn't make it into the patch notes, so expect a few more things to pop in with the final version. I didn't really have a chance to proof read much yet, so I'm sure there's some mistakes here and there. Anyone spotting stuff will greatly speed up my work tomorrow and your efforts are... DRAFT: Release 79 Notes View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update brings us an entirely new adventure scene — Spindelskog! Located in Mistrendur, this new scene is for Episode 2 Access holders, and features a new quest and several new creature variants! Also, many changes are coming to how we process Player-Owned Town vouchers. Dynamically scaled scenes have received a new style tier marker, and subscriber reward login items will receive more varied themes going forward. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements New Adventure Scene: Spindelskog! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Player-Owned Town News! New Scene Difficulty Tier Markers! Reward Item Collections! Crowns, Deeds & Two Hour Flash Sales! New Store Additions: BBQ Smoker Cooking Station & More! July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! R79 Reward Program Login Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! New Vault Round! Double EXP Continues! World & UI Changes Crafting & Economy Changes Combat Balance & Changes Updated Player-Owned Towns Bug Fixes Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Community Event: Special Celebration Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery Community Event: The Beat of Novia Returns Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players New Adventure Scene: Spindelskog! Spindelskog is an entirely new Episode 2 adventure scene in Mistrendur! Spindelskog is located far to the northwest of the continent on the westernmost island. Hidden within the tangle of an ancient forest, this adventure scene contains dangers never before faced by the Avatars of New Britannia! Shadowy beasts lurk within, such as the Onus and Feram Cavas! These vile creatures posses terrifying abilities sure to thwart any trespasser! Skarde, a brave traveler from Tanglemire stands just within Spindelskog’s entrance and awaits the arrival of any Avatar brave enough to test their mettle beneath the sun deprived canopy of this accursed wood. He speaks of the “pale ones” and warns newcomers of the curse which plagues this blighted land. Currently a Tier 10+ adventure scene, Spindelskog will soon be adjusted to offer a variety of additional scaled difficulties. The scaled versions of the scene should patch in shortly, but in the meantime, please enjoy the first available version at “Easy” difficulty. Upcoming difficulty tiers to be added are tentatively Normal (Tier 12) and Hard (Tier 14). Only players with Episode 2 Access will be able to adventure within this new scene. Will you aid Skarde upon your visit to Spindelskog? If so, bring your companions, oh brave ones! The dangers here are not to be taken lightly. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 26th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “soaking up the rays” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Player-Owned Town News! New Player-Owned Towns Available: In celebration of Lord British’s birthday and in the foreseeable future, players will once again be able to purchase new Player-Owned Towns on the web add-on store. The player town feature of the game is one of our most intriguing and enjoyable systems, and now more players will have a chance to become a governor. All new towns can be placed directly on the overworld in Novia and Hidden Vale, but Mistrendur placement is still exclusive to those who purchased Episode 2 transfer vouchers or Episode 2 new town vouchers in the past. Town Service Voucher Changes: Until now, there were two town service vouchers. The $50 Player-Owned Town Transfer Voucher allowed players to transfer an entire town from account to account and the $25 Player-Owned Town Submission Form Unlock Voucher was used for all other POT-related tasks. Both vouchers are being replaced by the new ones described below: $25 Player-Owned Town Minor Work Request: Tasks that are covered by this voucher include: Add or change the targets for up to 3 interconnection teleporters (balloon, wagon, boat, or hatch, as appropriate for the POT biomes). Note that Mistrendur POTs still have the exclusive ability for unlimited distance in their interconnection change requests, while Novia and Hidden Vale towns will still be limited to interconnection locations within a geographical proximity. (Since Mistrendur still lacks much in terms of nearby content for those governors, we thought it best to allow them to keep and even add interconnections regardless of distance. Future plans include allowing POT governors to set up their own interconnections thereby minimizing the need for interconnection-related vouchers.) Slightly adjust the location(s) and/or orientation(s) of their interconnection teleporter(s). (Note that interconnection teleporters must remain by the central hub of each POT but can be moved, for example, from one side of a bridge to the other, or from one side of the docks to the other.) POT owners with multiple interconnection teleporters of a given type can request that they be replaced with a single list teleporter. (For example, a POT with 5 boats can request they be replaced with a single “list teleporter” that links to the same 5 targets.) Move an overworld POT to a new overworld location, or from one nested location to another nested location. Mistrendur POTs can move to Novia or the Hidden Vale if they so choose, but Novia or Hidden Vale towns cannot yet move to Mistrendur without an applicable Episode 2 Town voucher. $50 Player-Owned Town Major Work Request: Tasks that are covered this voucher include: Transfer a POT to another account. Change the POT’s name, biome, or both. Note that the POT will need to be emptied prior to implementation otherwise all belongings in the POT will be moved to their respective owners’ banks. Also, all interconnection teleporters will be migrated to the newly created version. (Previously biome and name changes were available with purchase of a $25 voucher, but after much consideration, these requests now require the $50 voucher due to the amount of work required to perform these tasks. In both cases, the town must be entirely reset, which takes a considerable amount of developer effort and time.) Merge two POTs. (NEW!) Now, governors can request the merger of two Player-Owned Towns! If both POTs are owned by two different players, as with a transfer between accounts, both parties must provide permission for the merge to customer service (at support@portalarium.com). The owner(s) will designate which POT will be removed from the game, and which POT will receive the value of the town to be removed. A town’s value cannot exceed the value of a Megalopolis, which currently is the largest town size available. Change a nested POT to become an overworld POT. POTs nested within Novia or the Hidden Vale can move to the overworld map of either Novia or Hidden Vale. POTs nested within Mistrendur can move to the overworld maps of Mistrendur, Novia, or Hidden Vale. (As a goal, we’re providing a means for all nested towns to find their way onto the overworld map. Expect more placement options to become available as continents continue to be added to the game in upcoming episodes.) Note that POTs without Episode 2 access that move to the overworld may find themselves too far from old interconnection targets, so please keep this in mind when choosing an overworld location. Two minor work request items may be requested with a major work request voucher, but each voucher is still limited to 3 interconnection changes/additions. For instance, with the major work request, a governor could also include as many as 3 interconnection changes (as the 1st minor work item) and a teleporter change from balloon to a wagon (as the 2nd minor work item). Player-Owned Town Crown Upgrades: Players may now officially request town upgrades using Crowns of the Obsidian (a.k.a. Crowns or COTOs). We’ve managed to perform some of these upgrades in the past, and now the process is completely refined and ready for full implementation. Simply put in your request through customer service (at support@portalarium.com), indicate which town is to be upgraded and in which character’s inventory the appropriate amount of Crowns is available. Customer service will remove the Crowns from your character and initiate an upgrade request. Also, your town’s record will be updated such that if you choose to purchase an upgrade via the web store, this option will still be available. This upgrade option is exceptionally helpful to teams and guilds who upgrade their towns through a collaborative effort. These upgrade requests must be performed by the governor and the governor’s character must be the one holding the Crowns used for the upgrade. Town Form Changes: Very soon, the online POT form will be revamped. When players access or unlock their online POT form, we sometimes receive feedback or notice confusion about certain aspects of the form. Through the years, portions of the form have become either obsolete and/or misleading to governors making change requests for their town. We want to improve and streamline every governor’s experience, and the changes to this form is a part of that desire. Expect all of these town service changes to become available as we approach Lord British’s birthday. We hope governors enjoy the improved experience, and we welcome any upcoming new governors to the Player-Owned Town system. New Scene Difficulty Tier Markers! With the arrival of the new dynamically scaled difficulty concept for Episode 2 adventure scenes, players will start seeing a new type of difficulty tier marker to provide a graphical representation of the player selected difficulty just inside the entrance of each applicable scene. The difficulty levels available are “Easy,” “Normal,” “Hard,” and “Extreme.” The old tier markers had up to 5 skulls on a spike–the more skulls, the harder the difficulty. Also, a ribbon on the top meant “plus” in that there was at least one large section (not just one enemy) within that same scene that was a notably higher difficulty. These new tier markers include five shelves. A skull on the bottom shelf means you’re in the Easy version of the scene. A skull in the second shelf from the bottom means you’re in the Normal difficulty. Third from the bottom means Hard. Fourth from the bottom means Extreme. The top shelf is reserved for the “plus” marker or some other future use. Tier markers also appear in the overworld, and Mistrendur’s tier markers are handled in a special way. For example, if the scene has a Normal and a Hard difficulty, the overworld tier marker will have skulls both on the Normal shelf and the Hard shelf to let you know both modes are available. We hope you enjoy these new tier markers. As more scaled scenes arrive in the Episode 2 continent of Mistrendur, these new markers will be a great indicator to the dangers players are about to face. Reward Item Collections! Recent player feedback about the decoration and gear login items created each month for Rewards Program subscribers has led the team to rethink what types of rewards are delivered in a given release, in order to appeal to all different types of players. A desire for more immersive or functional gear items became evident as we read through the feedback. Moving forward, players can expect a more varied selection of items in order to provide a balance between intriguing gear, immersive decoration, and vanity/fun type login rewards. To further enhance the login items provided for the Rewards Program, a collections type concept has also been implemented. During Lord British’s Birthday Bash in 2017, a unique plate helm was delivered to players which never received any other plate armor counterparts to complete the set. In the months ahead, one additional piece of Lord British Plate Armor will be forged by master artist Damon and delivered to players amongst their Rewards Program login items. The Lord British Chest Plate Armor arrives this month as our first piece in a collection of new Lord British-themed items. For the time being, the helm will still cycle through the Vault periodically as a rare and more difficult item to obtain. When this collection is fully delivered, expect other amazing collections to become available to subscribers in the future. Also, reward and monthly login items will become available in the Crown Store towards the end of each month in case subscribers want to receive addtional copies of these items, or if non-subscribers would like to acquire them separately without a subscription. Crowns, Deed Upgrades & Two Hour Flash Sales! In celebration of Lord British’s birthday, various sales will begin on Friday morning and extend throughout the holiday. Crowns will be on sale for 20% off. Deed Upgrades will be 30% off! To upgrade a deed, place the deed into your inventory, then right-click the deed to reveal upgrade options. But that’s not all! Two Hour Flash Sales will also commence on Friday morning! So watch your clocks, Avatars! A new batch of 9 sale items will rotate into the in-game Crown Store every 2 hours! Players have until Monday, July 6th at 1PM CST to take advantage of these great discounts, at which time all 3 sales events expire. Happy shopping, Avatars! New Store Additions: BBQ Smoker Cooking Station & More! Cooks now have a wondrous second option for a crafting station style — the BBQ Smoker Cooking Station! Just perfect for the outdoor BBQ with fellow Avatars! This new cooking station will become available very shortly. For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! BBQ Smoker Cooking Station Aviator Glasses Horn-Rimmed Glasses Rectangular Glasses Round Glasses Thick Steam Pipes 10-Pack Thin Steam Pipes 10-Pack Also, we’re scouring the realm for items that have long been missing from the store. Here’s a small glimpse of additional items once again becoming available for purchase in the coming weeks: Blue Tile Roof 2-Story Row House Blue Tile Roof 3-Story Row House Rustic 2-Story Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Balcony Village Home Rustic 2-Story with Loft Village Home Gift Boxes 3-Pack Silver Clockwork Armor Silver Clockwork Armor Pattern Pack Smoke Virtue Emote July Login Reward: Picnic Table & Bench Set! Get to cooking, Avatars! Now, with this splendid picnic set, players can have a stylin’ BBQ with friends! The tablecloth can be dyed, so players can show off their guild colors or simply color coordinate with the various items placed upon the table. Simply log in during the month of July, and this picnic set will become available in the Rewards Window. Release 79 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Lord British & Summer Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 79 are Lord British and summer themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 79! Lord British Plate Chest Armor Pig on a Spit (Turns when activated) Veggies on a Spit (Turns when activated) Aviator Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Horn-Rimmed Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Rectangular Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) Round Sunglasses (Lens and Frame Dyeable) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, July 2nd at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Hula Emote Barn 2-Story Village Home Brown Chaperon Hat Viking 2-Story Stronghold Village Home Kobold Fighter Mask Island Spear Island Flower Crown Island Dress Saddle with Stand Double EXP Continues! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Hourly EXP attenuation limits have also increased. Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! World & UI Changes These miscellaneous updates affecting the game world or aspects of the user interface (UI) patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79: Spindelskog: The first unique Episode 2 scene has been added to northwest Mistrendur. This scene features a new quest and a variety of new creature variants. Only players with Episode 2 Access will be able to enter this scene. Myrkur: This new scene features dynamically scaled challenges and is based upon the existing dungeon known as Despair. This new scene is located on the eastern island of Mistrendur, along the southeastern shore just east of the “serpent’s mouth.” Myrkur is also only available to players with Episode 2 Access. Dynamic Creature Names: The names of dynamically scaled creatures now feature names indicating their relative difficulty. Kingsport: Added a list teleporter boat to “Coastal Towns” (Brave Coast, Estercove, and Port Mirren) on the newly-expanded docks at Kingsport. Crafting, Items & Economy Changes These changes to the player economy, in-game items, or crafting patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79: Vault Automation: The store’s Vault now rotates every week instead of every 2 weeks and is fully automated. This change will free up significant developer time since the Vault items will no longer require manual loading. Dragon Skinning: Meticulous collection skinning results of dragon corpses has been greatly improved. Upscale Stable: This decorative stable can now be partially decorated. Fancy Storage Shed: The walls of this decorative shed can now be decorated. Focus Battery: This item now drains focus at a MUCH lower rate. BMC Ring: Only one Ring of the Unknown BMC Member can be equipped at a time. Basement NPC Limits: All basements have received an additional 3 slots for NPCs. Store Item Polish: Many store items received improved descriptions. Some store items received drastic price reductions such as some of the 4-Story Row Homes, the larger Ornate Moondials, the large Stone Dragon Statues, and the large Topiary Dragon Statues. POT Water Conversion Statues: Newly purchased salt and fetid water conversion statues are no longer considered Heritage items and can now be traded between players. Beach Towels: All beach towels can now be placed as POT decoration items. PvP Shard Trophies: These upcoming developer PvP prizes can be placed as POT decoration items. Jabbering Bertha: This off-hand item can now be placed as a decoration. Stone Castle Wall Packs: All 4 varieties of the stone castle wall packs now come with 5 additional straight pieces to match the number of pieces included in the Shogun and Viking castle wall packs. Glowing Mushrooms: These decorations can now be placed in dungeons. Stackable Items: The following items are now stackable in a player’s inventory… Premium Hot Tubs Chimney Pieces Ornate Elven Streetlamp Copper Bathtub Kobold Corkscrew Wind Power Generator Kobold Distillation Device Ornate Tavern Counter Ornate Tavern Counter with Gate Large Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 Medium Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 Large Tiki Statue Lord British Round Table Lord Marshall Benefactor Throne Ornate Mantle Garland Strand 2017 Ornate Mantle Garland Swag 2017 Round Palapa Virtue Oktoberfest Tent Adobe Stables Large Adobe Dome Medium Elven Tent Ornate Gazebo Small Adobe Dome Combat Balance & Changes These changes to combat skills or concepts patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79: Nightmares: This tamed pet’s attacks are now considered fire attacks. Ring of Fire: The creature-casted version of Ring of Fire now features light blue tinted effects to help distinguish it from player-casted versions. Aggro for the player version has also been increased. Meteor Shower: Aggro for this ability has been increased. Control Points: Some mobs within control points have new challenging abilities for players to overcome. Eastreach Gap: This scene has received additional balance passes as well as various bug fixes. Healing Burst: The range of Healing Burst now increases with Life Specialization. Vexlyns Ember of Conflagration: In a balancing effort, this artifact now comes with a 25% focus cost penalty. Provoking Shout: This new heavy armor skill applies a buff to the user which dramatically increases aggro generation. Armor Durability Changes: New behaviors have been assigned to durability damage for armor. Durability Multiplier is a new stat which causes heavier armors to be less susceptible to durability damage than lighter armors. For more information, please see the original announcement on this topic. Tamed and Summoned Pets: Adventurers should now notice a significant decrease in the reaction time for pets. Updated Player Owned Towns These updates affected Player-Owned Towns which patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79: Alexandria: Moved to Mistrendur, upgraded, changed biome, and added interconnections. Aranal: Changed biome and name (formerly New Heaven). B’ar Teiliener: Added new Crossroads Village to Mistrendur. Bard’s Rest: Changed governor. Crystal Cove: Moved to Mistrendur. Daedscua: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur. Dark Bayou: Added new POT to Novia north of Brittany. Erana’s Peace: Changed biome and name (Sequanna’s Peace). Moved to Mistrendur Goober’s Gas Station: Added interconnection with Arx Draconis. Haunted Keep of Mistrendur: Changed name and biome. Iron Gate: Moved to Mistrendur. Knightmare Falls: Added interconnections. Mistrendur Ruins: Changed biome and name (formerly En Nox). Multivisium: Added interconnections. New Britannia Swap Meet: Changed owner. Added interconnections. Novia Market: Added interconnection with Siren Song Bayou. Obsidian Ridge: Moved to Mistrendur. Sea Bear’s Black Market: Changed biome, moved toward center of Mistrendur, and added interconnections. Bug Fixes Albeit many bug fixes patched in during R78, will go live with R79, or will go live shortly after R79. Here are some of the highlights! Fixed several POTs in Mistrendur that were not accessible. The Skrekk Caverns crash issue has been resolved. For many situations, the 94% crash issue has been fixed. A typo was fixed in Roedberk’s Journal in South Majestic Forest. Various NPC names were fixed in Lamech’s Bazaar. Rhoswen no longer grants Quentin’s quest if already completed in Solace Bridge Outskirts. Lamech’s Bazaar is no longer limited to party mode. Fixed issues with stairs at the Hunter’s Cabin in Highvale Outskirts. Navmesh improvements made in Highvale Outskirts. Sound effects for floor traps in Highvale Outskirts now limited in audible range. Fixed a typo in Carmelo’s “Divine” response in Bramble. Fixed a typo in the “Ask Martin About Red Cloth” journal entry for a Soltown quest. Fixed an issue where Hagen in Far Hinterlands wouldn’t give a reward in some situations. Several hex map displacement issues with the Mistrendur overworld map have been corrected. Affected towns should now align appropriately with their actual location. Soltown barmaid and innkeeper now have different shifts so they no longer leave work at the same time. Showing Japeth’s poem to Emma now properly provides an experience reward. Keyholes on a door in Artifice are once again functional. Patrator now spawns correctly in South Longfall Wetlands. Level 3 Troll Totems now show stack quantity in a player’s inventory. Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events June 25 – Release 79 July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade)! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Special Celebration You are invited to a very special celebration party! Celebrate and witness with us the renewed hope of life. Remember together there was a yesterday. There is today and now there is joy in the hope for many tomorrows. Join together to celebrate that Minerva has completed chemo treatments for the horrible disease of cancer. Host: Darkstarr a.k.a. Starr Long will be at the DJ Booth and on Mythical Music Radio! Where: Ordinis Mortis in the Cherry Tree Orchard When: Saturday, June 27 from 11AM TO 1PM CT CatherineRose has a request for each of you. Please write a note to Minerva about what she means to you and how grateful you are that she has survived. Many of you have survived cancer as well and know that her struggle is not over. There will be many days that will take great effort to even take one step forward. As the party begins, let us walk up the Path of Hope and join Minerva as we walk together in this hope. Bring a candle. Bring your notes and a rose. Go to the head of the Path of Hope. We will walk together and place the items into the container provided. When Minerva is in pain or sadness and she reads your notes, she will remember that sorrow will be for the night, but joy comes in the morning. Let us celebrate with loud and thunderous music as Dark Starr sounds the trumpets of joy! For more information, please refer to the forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Saltwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player-Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Rock Ridge (@Redhammer) Devil’s Lair (@Trinity) Rinzai (@Griffler) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Rhun Ruins Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Oracle Colossus Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: Rock Ridge: @redhammer has brewed up prizes for the largest fish for each type caught in Rock Ridge. Check it out here! Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery To officially launch Lys Market opening and with the collaboration of Novia Market owner Robyn Hood, the new Lys Market and Novia Market lottery has begun! The goal is pretty simple: find a lottery ticket in either town listed on random player vendors! So you will have to search through the vendors inventories to find your ticket! (ONLY ONE TICKET PER PLAYER, so please don’t buy more than one…) When: June 9th to June 28th Where: Lys Market & Novia Market Prizes: 1200 Crowns, 150K Gold, 100K Gold, Artifacts & More! The drawing and prize deliveries will occur on June 28th at 6PM CT. A party will also take place at Lys Market at this time, so get out your dance clothes! For more information, please visit this forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: The Beat of Novia Returns Virtue/Avatars Radio presents The Beat of Novia! The Beat of Novia is an Electronic & Dance Music Radio Show on Avatars Radio Simulcasted on Virtue Radio and Twitch TV every Friday night from your venues! Location: Tune in on Virtue/Avatars Radio Host: DJ Alleine Dragonfyre When: Every Friday, 8PM CT For more information, check out the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Mad Splatter Tea Party Summer is soon here! Summer is perfect for tea. Summer asks nothing. Please join us for the Wander in the Woods Tea Party! We will have tea and cake and possible other delectibles. Location: Lily Byrd’s tea garden in Jade Valley Time: 3pm CT, June 28th (Usually every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month) Attire: This is a role playing event tea party come as your avatar We play games, we eat cake and drink…various teas and drinks… There are goofy prizes for winning games if we play them. See you at three for tea, Lily Byrd. More more information, please see the main thread on the official forums. Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! [Forum Post by Jikininki] Independence Weekend Fireworks Show! Come avatars for a grand celebration! Join us for fireworks, games, fun and giveaways! ​ Where: Krabnevir (South of Sanctus Spine and West of Nightshade Pass) When: July 5th, 1pm CT Free sparklers and wine for all that attend! Simply find Emmory Watsyn or Althaea Hanalli near the docks in town and open trade. The event will be being streamed for all by Fzol on Fizzlefactor via Twitch. So, be sure to find him and steal some camera time! Special guest appearance by Elvis! For more information, please see the full announcement thread on the official forums. See you there! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with the next chapter of a wonderful story from Belladonna Rose, entitled Black Rose Chronicles Background music by Smartsound Heading across the rope bridge she nodded to the guards again on both sides. Then made her way towards the swampy area. Here is where she was told the bandits hide out. At first glance it did not look like a great hiding place. Making her way through she took out a couple of the pesky bandits and checked them for heirlooms and such of the Solace Bridge survivors. She found a couple. Making her way across the nasty waters she saw a cabin on stilts. This must be the hideout. As she walked up she saw a small tombstone with a candle and flowers. With a sad memoir or ode to a young girl. Lilianna. That is the name of the daughter of the couple in camp. Strange this be way out here. As she rose up from the stone she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning she was face to face with a haggered looking bandit. “Was a sad day when my Lilianna died. I swore I would always remember her sweet angelic face.” Puzzled Bella stepped away from him. “Are you the one who stole the painting from her parents. If so I would appreciate if you could return it so they can move on from this horrid place.” Chuckling under his breath he turned and walked towards the cabin. “Aye. I took it cause it belongs to me. Lilianna painted that portrait of herself for me so that I could remember what she looked like. Before she could give it to me the Bridge was attacked and she died to those foul undead things.” Clearing his throat trying to hold back his anger he went on. “Her parents found it next to her body and took it….claiming it was their. When I saw them come into camp I snuck in and looked through their things and took the painting.” Bella looked down at the ground mulling over what he said. Does she take the painting from him in a fight or does she disregard the whole thing. “I understand it means a great deal to you. But it means a great deal to them as well. They lost their daughter horribly and this is the only thing to give them piece. Would you not part with it for that fact.” He looked her up and down and grinned. “Ahhh you be one of them Outlanders here to help set the world to right again. Nah. I keep it. They can deal with their grief just as I have. If it werent for them and their peddling ways they would never of beenin Solace Bridge and my sweet Lil would never of died. They can rot for all I care.” Walking over to a small campfire he squatted down and looked up at Bella. “I have a copy you know….of the painting. Not as good as the original but you can take it…they can have it and never know the difference.” He poked around the embers waiting for Bella to answer. Not really knowing which way to go she decided she would take the copy back. If they never knew she created it to begin with they might not know the difference. She struck a deal with the bandit leader. “Might I know your name sir. I am Belladonna Rose.” “Aye. Pleasantries escape me of late. My name is Yardley. “ “I have decided I will take the copy back to them. But mind you if they see it is not the true painting I will be back to take it from you.” Trudging back to the camp Bella approached the couple by the campfire. She softly cleared her throat to get their attention but they neither one looked up. Stepping in between them she stood the painting gently infront of them and when they glanced up they both gasped in surprise. “Ohh My. It is the painting. However did you find it?” the gentleman asked. The lady burst into tears and hugged her husband tightly. Bella could see they were both happy and overjoyed to see the painting. “My name is Belladonna Rose and I was told you were looking for this. One of the guards told me to search the bandit camp in the swamps so I made my way there. I talked to a man named Yardley and he admitted taking it. I explained your grief and he handed it over to me.” “Lady Langston and I greatly appreciate your service.” Smiling he handed me a small pouch full of coin and shook my hand vigoursly. They seemed to be pleased enough and so I bid them farewell. As Bella started to move away she overheard Lord Langston tell his wife they had just enough funds to make the trip to Ardoris. There they can get back to their lives again. Smiling Bella walked to the one merchant tent to grab a bite of something to eat. Timothea the merchant told her how proud she was that she was able to retrieve the painting and set the Langstons at ease. Offering her a warm bowl of stew she talked about Farmer Filmore. Expressing how nor he or his farmhand Dawson had been to town in a while and asked if she could check on him. Bella smiled and said she was heading that direction anways so she would check in on the old farmer. As she ate her rough meal she ran through the list of people she needed to track down. A scout by the name of Rhoswen was on the way to the Filmore Farm. She would check in with her first. And then move on . She needed to stop at the alchemist shack near the cemetary and see if Master Ackerly had the medicine ready for an ailing man in camp. And also to head to the old village and check out the disturbance by the Ebon Cultists. It was going to be a long day for sure. Taking a few coins from her pouch she bought a few staples to get her through her journey. Again she saluted the guards at the bridge and crossed over. This path was starting to get too familiar. By now the bandits along this road had decided to leave her alone. She had dispatched enough of them over the last day or two so they wanted no part of her. She finally reached the stone bridge which was the first indication that she was heading into new territory. Before she crossed she noticed the bushes shuffle a bit and there was a young woman in guard clothing. This must be Rhoswen. Approaching cautiously she introduced herself to the girl. In return she learned that Rhoswen and the guard Quentin were in love and she was greatly worried about him. He had moved on up the road to scout around and had not returned. Bella assured her she would find out where he was. Another task Bella thought. Making way over the bridge she passed a few more bandits. Same as before. They turned and went the opposite direction. In the short distance she saw a wagon on the side of the road. Full of arrows and what looked like claw marks. As she got closer she saw blood on the ground which lead towards some rocks to the left of the road. She followed the trail. There sprawled on the ground face down was a man in guard clothing. Next to him a note. She read the note and exhaled slowly. Quentin. Putting the note inside her vest. Hoisting the dead guard onto her shoulder she grunted making her way back to the road. Ahead she saw the sign for Filmore’s Farm. She would leave the boy there and retrieve him later. Making her way down the path to the farmhouse she saw the old man walking about. She approached slowly as not to startle him “Ahhhh so ye found me worker did ya. Knew he would end up dead sooner or later. Thank ye for returnin him to me.” He pointed towards the small shed and told me to take him up there he would deal with it later. Inside the dusty cobwebbed room was a small bed. And on that bed was a young man filled with arrows. Dead. She laid poor Quentin on the bed alongside the other boy and went back out to talk to the old man. “Pardon me sir would you be Farmer Filmore? I was asked by Captain Kinsey to check on you while I am out this way. And sorry to tell you but that boy I brought in was one of the Captain’s scouts killed out by the road.” “Ohh. Damn. Thought it might be Dawson. He has been gone a long time and thought that be him. I be guessing he will show up sooner or later.” Bellad shook her head. Apparently the old man wasnt that worried that he didnt check the shed for his missing help. Not her concern at the moment. She asked if he were alright and he expressed that his prized pet Betty went missing and that if I would be kind enough to take a few moments to find her. Telling Bella of the wolves in the area that have been harrassing him. She nodded slowly and set off to look for Betty. Since when did she become such a bleeding heart. Something must of rattled her brain in that shipwreck. Off she went past the barn and into the rocky terrain behind the farm. Sure enough a large pack of wolves were pacing about in a small den under a rock outcropping. She moved in and took them out one by one as they attacked. The pack leader then pounced on her from above the rocks but she quickly took care of him. There on the ground was a collar with a coin shaped object hanging from it. On the coin the name Betty was engraved. She quickly took the head of the leader and headed back to Filmore. Once she tossed the head on the ground at his feet she handed him the collar. Sniffling he went inside his home and brought out a nicely made leather tunic and handed it to her. “Thank ye stranger. You did me a good deed by finding my poor Betty. Here take this and may it help you on your journeys.” Sniffling more he moved on to his house and shut the door behind him Well if that dont beat all. She looked at the tunic and saw if was finely crafted. Pulling off her vest she put the tunic on. Nice fit indeed. This should come in handy. She yelled to Filmore that she would be back to get Quentin on her return trip. No response. Oh well. Leave him be. Back up the road again she looked at the scribbled map that Kinsey had given her. The cemetary was up ahead. It was near on to evening and the sun was starting to dip below the mountains. Not a good time to be around a graveyard you fool. Laughing at herself she moved on. From the corner of her eye she saw a large rambling form coming towards her. Stopping she pulled her bow out and aimed. As it approached she saw it was covered in blood. Moving a lot like those zombie creatures. No way was she about to get into a fight with that thing. Firing as fast as she could she shot at the thing. And it quickly went down. When she got to it she saw a book laying next to it. Ballad of Bloody Bone. For heavens sakes. This is what those children were going on about. Well that is one thing now off my list. Wiping the book off with some leaves she put it in her pack. As she turned her head to look back at the corpse she realized it was gone. Looking around her she got an ill feeling about that creature. After a short walk she was at the edge of the graveyard to the left and across the road to the right was a worn shack. Skeleton creatures were walking around outside the front. Running to the edge of the broken down wall she shott a volley of arrows at them and heard more noises from behind her. Running around the wall she ran straight to the shack threw open the door and slammed it shut behind her. A finely dressed man turned quickly and looked her up and down. Apparently those things didnt bother him in the least. “Ahhh another Outlander. You can tell Kinsey I dont have her medicine ready yet. Missing an ingredient and I cant get into the graveyard to get it. Those pesky bone clankers wont let me out the door.” Confused Bella looked at the old man. He turned back to his table and started muttering something about an olfactory gland. What in the world was that. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder and asked what it was he needed. “Ahh yes. I be needing that gland off them zombie critters in the graveyard. Tis what I need to make the cure for that poor man in the camp up the hill of Kinsey’s. Like I said cant get past them bone clankers. And what be your name girly.” “Belladonna Rose sir and yours.” “ I be Ackerly Master of Herbs and Fine Medicines” “Well Ackerly sir. If you allow me to rest the night here I will be willing to get your gland things for you so you can finish the medicine. Then I can retrieve it for Kinsey on my way back through. I need to get to the burned out village to report on the Ebon Cultists there and then retrieve a fallen guard and take him back to the camp.” “Well aint ye the busy one today. There be a cot over there you can take your rest at and probably best to wait til morning. Them critters outside there dont like the daylight that much. So make yourself comfortable and we will get to work come morning.” With that he went back to his work and paid Bella no attention afterwards. Laying down on the cot she curled into a ball and tried to sleep. The moaning from outside was distracting and the clatter of bottles from Ackerly didnt help but she soon fell asleep. The sun started shining through the cracks in the back wall of the shack and she could smell something very pleasing as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Ackerly was cooking something on the stove. Turning he smiled as he walked over handing her a plate of fried eggs. This would be very refreshing to Bella. She hadnt had eggs in a long while. Eating quickly she took the plate and put it in the bucket by the stove. Then started gathering her things for the day. Ackerly told her what to look for from the zombies in the graveyard. Warned her to turn off the valves that were spewing green gas everywhere or else she would end up like those critters. With that he waved her off and went about his business. Slowly opening the door she notice that the skeletons were no where to be seen. Good for that. Keeping her bow at the ready she set out across the road. She had left her pack at the shack so was able to move a bit more quickly. Once she went through the gates she could hear that horrid noise from the zombies. Gurgling and moaning as they seemed to gasp for the last strains of air and humanity. After the third or fourth creature she finally got the gland from one. Wiping off her skinning knife she headed back to Ackerly. And anxiously to beg for a pan of water to wash. This ‘do gooder’ business for sure a messy job. Entering the shack the old man turned and smiled. “Ahh I see you made it back alive. Good good. And did you get the gland I asked for.” “Of course I did or else I would not be back. I do not shirk my tasks dear sir.” “Yes yes…i see that. Dont get your knickers in a twist. Just surprised a lady as yourself was up for that task. Most folks tend to either not go or come back looking as green as the gas over there. Some folk just dont have the stomach for nasty business as that.” She handed him the jar with the gland inside and grabbed a pail for water. She went out in the small courtyard and found the working pump. The water was cool and crips but felt good against her skin. She was never of a mind to not enjoy a good wash whether it be warm or cold water. That was one thing the crew teased her about. How clean she liked to be. She giggled softly to herself remembering that small bit about the crew. When she went inside Ackerly told her he would have the medicine ready by the time she passed back through again and that he had no doubt she would make it back safely. Bella thought it odd that he held so much asteem for her without even knowing her. That was fine by her. Again she was off into the unknown. Ackerly told her the old town wasnt too far down the road and she should have no trouble finding the cultists. He told her she would find them in two spots as he had seen them when he was foraging for herbs. And he warned her as well as they were a nasty bunch of evil for sure. She thought to herself…what part of this journey hasn’t been nasty. Echoes From the Caverns The post Black Rose Chronicles 9 – by Belladonna Rose – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update highlights the introduction of a new dynamically scaled adventure scene based upon the existing dungeon known as Despair. Myrkur, the name for the spin-off version, will be available to Episode 2 Access holders shortly! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the... Avatar’s Update #386: Dynamically Scaled Scene: Myrkur! Lord British & Atos Q&A Livestream!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update highlights the introduction of a new dynamically scaled adventure scene based upon the existing dungeon known as Despair. Myrkur, the name for the spin-off version, will be available to Episode 2 Access holders shortly! For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements Dynamically Scaled Scene: Myrkur! Lord British & Atos Q&A Friday Livestream! New Vault Round! Latest Store Additions: Steam Pipe Sets & Town Improvement Items! Double EXP Returns! June Login Reward: Floppy Beach Hat! R78 Reward Program Login Items: Beach Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Summer Showdown Group Combat Event Community Event: Gixtravaganza Jubilee 2020 Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery Community Event: The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr Community Event: 6th Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball Community Event: The Beat of Novia Returns Community Event: Wander in the Woods Tea Party Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Dynamically Scaled Scene: Myrkur! Dungeoneers of New Britannia, ready thine weapons and prepare to brave the depths of Myrkur! This new scene will be located on the eastern island of Mistrendur, along the southeastern shore just east of the “serpent’s mouth.” Myrkur will be available to all players with Episode 2 Access. A cloned version of Novia’s Despair, Myrkur is the newest scene to receive a dynamically-scaled version. In the deepest depths of Myrkur are teleporters that allow players to conveniently switch between the normal and “extreme” difficulty versions of this dungeon. Initially, Myrkur’s dynamic nature will scale creature difficulty and experience, but plans are in the works for this scene’s loot to also scale in the future. The two difficulties initially available for Myrkur are as follows: Normal (Tier 10) Extreme (Tier 15) Dynamically Scaled Difficulty will not only scale the tier level of spawns, but also the experience awarded for each opponent defeated. Most new adventure scenes added to the game will feature scaled difficulty options, but not every scene will receive the same difficulty levels. All scenes will have some type of dynamic scaling, with a few exceptions that include scenes which are primarily story-driven or based in social interactions. The upcoming loot scaling will not only affect items dropping from creatures, but also chests and gathering nodes found within these scaled adventure scenes. Chests and gathering nodes will scale very soon, with loot scaling going live shortly after more testing occurs. Recently, the first scene to feature this new dynamic tech was Lamech’s Bazaar, a cloned version of the beautiful Tier 2 location known as South Midmaer Way. Lamech’s Bazaar features revamped spawns and NPC dialogue adjustments and is fully integrated into the new dynamic system. The 3-day reward buff which also resides in South Midmaer Way is still available in Lamech’s Bazaar, but there are plans to alter that buff to vary with the scaled options offered for the scene. The scaled reward buffs for Lamech’s Bazaar are as follows: Easy (Tier 7): +30 Dexterity, -10 Strength Normal (Tier 10): +30 Dexterity, -10 Strength Hard (Tier 12): +40 Dexterity, -10 Strength Extreme (Tier 18): +20 Dexterity, +10 Damage Avoidance Myrkur isn’t the only new scene coming to Mistrendur. Available in Release 79, Spindelskog will become the first unique adventure scene designed specifically for Episode 2. Players with Episode 2 access will experience new and exciting adventures in a very dark and gloomy forest. With plans to also make this scene dynamically-scaled, Spindelskog will add much variety to a player’s adventure options. So take caution, adventurers! Shadowy creatures lurk within the gloom beneath the smothering canopy of this depraved and ancient forest…. Lord British & Atos Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 19th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Lord British, Chris “Atos” Spears, and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! That’s right, Avatars! Lord British will be on the livestream today! Be sure to greet him with a hearty hello and plenty of questions about his latest adventures. To enter the prize drawings, type “soaking up the rays” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, June 25th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Airship City Home Battle Banner Wizard Tower Village Home Hacked Oracle Crawler Decoration Pet Red Squirrel Decoration Pet Battle Banner Elven Peaked-Roof Village Home Viking Three-Story Stronghold Town Home Longboat Dry Dock Aether Aeronaut Helmet Latest Store Additions: Steam Pipe Sets & Town Improvement Items! For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs are available on the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! Currently live on the Crown store are 8 more varieties of Row Homes. The Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun, and Elven 2 and 3-story Row Homes are now once again available! These permanent additions to the store were previously part of the expired bundle concept and are just a glimpse of what’s returning to the store in the months ahead. Also, all Row Home prices have been normalized to match the prices of the already present Viking Row Homes. This brought about a huge reduction in price to the Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun and Elven 4-Story Row Homes. (Of note, other items also received very large price reductions/normalizations to include the Stone Dragon Statues, the Topiary Dragon Statues the larger Ornate Moondials, and the Obsidian Stone Fence.) We also noticed we never loaded in the Town-Sized version of the Flaming Dragon Statue, which should patch into the game shortly. Other new items added to the store are for Player Owned Town Governors and Stewards! New to the Crown Store, all of the Player Owned Town NPC’s, Statues, Decorations, and Devotionals are available for purchase separately and nestled inside a new store category called “Town Improvements.” Upon purchase of a new town, players already receive a large variety of these items automatically, but through the years, Player Owned Towns have received additional slots for placement of town items. With the new Megalopolis sized town, it became very clear to us that we simply haven’t provided a way for town Governors and Stewards to acquire additional items to fill these available slots, nor did we provide the flexibility town owners would prefer in utilizing a larger number of a particular asset. Now, these concerns have been alleviated! The Player Owned Town NPC’s, Statues, Decorations, and Devotionals can only be placed as decoration by town Governors and Stewards. We hope you enjoy all the additions to the Crown Store! Thick Steam Pipes 10-Pack Thin Steam Pipes 10-Pack Obsidian 2-Story Row Home Obsidian 3-Story Row Home Kobold 2-Story Row Home Kobold 3-Story Row Home Elven 2-Story Row Home Elven 3-Story Row Home Shogun 2-Story Row Home Shogun 3-Story Row Home Flaming Town-Sized Dragon Statue Armor Merchant NPC (female) Armor Merchant NPC (male) Banker NPC (female) Banker NPC (male) Bartender NPC (female) Bartender NPC (male) Caretaker NPC (female) Caretaker NPC (male) Combat Merchant NPC (female) Combat Merchant NPC (male) Cooking Merchant NPC (female) Cooking Merchant NPC (male) Crafting Merchant NPC (female) Crafting Merchant NPC (male) Decorations Merchant NPC (female) Decorations Merchant NPC (male) Fishing Merchant NPC (female) Fishing Merchant NPC (male) Guard NPC (female) Guard NPC (male) Homes Merchant NPC (female) Homes Merchant NPC (male) Magic Merchant NPC (female) Magic Merchant NPC (male) Pet Merchant NPC (female) Pet Merchant NPC (male) Tavern Customer NPC (female) Tavern Customer NPC (male) Town Crier NPC (female) Town Crier NPC (male) Weapon Merchant NPC (female) Weapon Merchant NPC (male) Armor Shop (NPC Building) Cemetery (NPC Building) Dragon Bones (NPC Building) Guard Tower (NPC Building) Moon Tower (NPC Building) Oracle Confirmatory (NPC Building) Oracle Guardian Statue (NPC Building) Stables (NPC Building) Titan of Courage Statue (NPC Building) Titan of Love Statue (NPC Building) Titan of Truth Statue (NPC Building) Devotional of Compassion Devotional of Courage Devotional of Honesty Devotional of Honor Devotional of Humility Devotional of Justice Devotional of Love Devotional of Sacrifice Devotional of Spirituality Devotional of Truth Devotional of Valor Double EXP Returns! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Hourly EXP attenuation limits have also increased. Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! June Login Reward: Floppy Hat! Just in time to hit the beaches, this floppy hat is perfect for abating the sun during shoreline festivities. Simply log in during the month of June, and the hat will become available in the Rewards Window. Time to catch some rays, beachgoers! Release 78 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Beach Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 78 are beach themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 78! Surf’s up, Avatars! Beach Towels (4-Pack, Dyeable) Male Swimsuit (1-Piece, Uses Chest & Legs Slots, Dyeable, Also fits females) Female Swimsuit (2-Piece, Dyeable, Also fits males) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events June 25 – Release 79 July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Sep 24 – Release 82 Oct 29 – Release 83 Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade)! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Saltwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Rock Ridge (@Redhammer) Devil’s Lair (@Trinity) Rinzai (@Griffler) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Rhun Ruins Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Oracle Colossus Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: Rock Ridge: @redhammer has brewed up prizes for the largest fish for each type caught in Rock Ridge. Check it out here! Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Summer Showdown Group Combat Event The Summer Showdown Group Combat Event hosted by Grumpy Krabnevir was streamed on Twitch by none other than streamer extraordinaire, FizzleFactor! PvP’ers clashed in a multi-bracketed battle deep within a Player Created Dungeon beneath the Player Owned Town of Krabnevir! Also, please thank Grumpy for his efforts on the announcement thread for this event, and encourage him to run this awesome event again! Community Event: Gixtravaganza Jubilee 2020 The time has come for our big 2020 Gixtravaganza Jubilee Celebration of Excellence! All are cordially invited to Gix’s rooftop party in Bard’s Rest (nested in Novia Markets) for a day of merriment and prizes. We will start bright and early at 8:30 am CT. I have collected a handful of exciting items and COTOs that we will be giving away throughout the party. This is a celebration for my viewers on the Lavagix Twitch streaming show so be sure to tune in even if you are unable to attend in-game. For more information, please see the original thread on the official forums. Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery To officially launch Lys Market opening and with the collaboration of Novia Market owner Robyn Hood, the new Lys Market and Novia Market lottery has begun! The goal is pretty simple: find a lottery ticket in either town listed on random player vendors! So you will have to search through the vendors inventories to find your ticket! (ONLY ONE TICKET PER PLAYER, so please don’t buy more than one…) When: June 9th to June 28th Where: Lys Market & Novia Market Prizes: 1200 Crowns, 150K Gold, 100K Gold, Artifacts & More! The drawing and prize deliveries will occur on June 28th at 6PM CT. A party will also take place at Lys Market at this time, so get out your dance clothes! For more information, please visit this forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr WRFB presents The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr! Location: Snug Harbor When: Sunday, June 21st, 1PM – 3PM CT Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming WRFB parties, please contact @Lazarus Long or @Jack SinAssist on the forums. Community Event: 6th Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball [Forum Post by Bowen Bloodgood] It is time once again for the Soldier’s Memorial Ball. (Yes this is really our 6th year!) This year we are returning to the glorious ballroom at Caer Dracwych with DJs from Avatar’s Radio. We shall have DJ’s Asclepius in the morning and the Dark Lord Celith Wraine in the afternoon. When: Sunday, June 21st, 9AM to 1PM CT Where: Caer Dracwych While I’m quite pleased with our ballroom, I am looking for a little help from the community to put in the finishing touches in the form of heraldry and maybe a dragon head or two. Heraldry needed is in the form of plate armor, short banners and shields (any shield type will do). Anyone interested can either PM me for details, send donations via in-game mail or leave items in the library donation chest located just inside the observatory (dragon heads needed: 2 Red and 1 Purple). As always, this is a formal event. Time to break out your best! For more information, be sure to read the forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: The Beat of Novia Returns Virtue/Avatars Radio presents The Beat of Novia! The Beat of Novia is an Electronic & Dance Music Radio Show on Avatars Radio Simulcasted on Virtue Radio and Twitch TV every Friday night from your venues! Location: Tune in on Virtue/Avatars Radio Host: DJ Alleine Dragonfyre When: Every Friday, 8PM CT For more information, check out the main forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Wander in the Woods Tea Party Summer is soon here! Summer is perfect for tea. Summer asks nothing. Please join us for the Wander in the Woods Tea Party! We will have tea and cake and possible other delectibles. Location: Lily Byrd’s tea garden in Jade Valley Time: 3pm CT, June 28th (Usually every 3rd or 4th Sunday of the month) Attire: This is a role playing event tea party come as your avatar We play games, we eat cake and drink…various teas and drinks… There are goofy prizes for winning games if we play them. See you at three for tea, Lily Byrd. More more information, please see the main thread on the official forums. Community Event: Fireworks, Giveaways, and Fun! [Forum Post by Jikininki] Independence Weekend Fireworks Show! Come avatars for a grand celebration! Join us for fireworks, games, fun and giveaways! ​ Where: Krabnevir (South of Sanctus Spine and West of Nightshade Pass) When: July 5th, 1pm CT Free sparklers and wine for all that attend! Simply find Emmory Watsyn or Althaea Hanalli near the docks in town and open trade. The event will be being streamed for all by Fzol on Fizzlefactor via Twitch. So, be sure to find him and steal some camera time! Special guest appearance by Elvis! For more information, please see the full announcement thread on the official forums. See you there! Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update spotlights some significant changes to Armor Durability! Durability Multiplier is a new stat introduced to differentiate armor durability damage between the armor types. Also, Provoking Shout is a new ability in the Heavy Armor skill tree which greatly increases the aggro tanks generate during combat. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming... Avatar’s Update #385: Armor Durability Changes! New Ability: Provoking Shout!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! This week’s update spotlights some significant changes to Armor Durability! Durability Multiplier is a new stat introduced to differentiate armor durability damage between the armor types. Also, Provoking Shout is a new ability in the Heavy Armor skill tree which greatly increases the aggro tanks generate during combat. For those wishing to participate in any community activities, upcoming one-time and recurring community events have been announced! Be sure to also review the Players Guide and Known Issues list for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes. Now, let’s see what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar: News Announcements Armor Durability Changes! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! New Ability: Provoking Shout! Episode 2 Access update! New Store Items: Steam Pipe Sets & Town Improvement Items! New Vault Round! Double EXP Returns! June Login Reward: Floppy Beach Hat! R78 Reward Program Login Items: Beach Theme! Streaming Reward Program Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles Upcoming Events Calendar Community Updates Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Community Event: Release 78 Dance Party Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney Community Event: Summer Showdown Group Combat Event Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery Community Event: The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr Community Event: 6th Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands Project to Support: Rodasurf Project to Support: Jar Wars Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Crowfall Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Armor Durability Changes! New mechanics to distribute armor durability damage have been introduced! Now, players will notice certain types of armor are less susceptible to durability loss than others. A “Durability Multiplier” has been applied across the board, and adjustments have also been made to an equipment’s “chance to be hit.” Durability Multiplier scales with armor type as follows: Cloth: 100% Leather: 150% Chain: 200% Plate: 300% For example, when plate armor piece is hit for 300 damage, it will experience the same durability loss that a cloth piece would have sustained at 100 damage. This change allows for heavy armor wearers to survive more attacks at less durability loss than their lighter armor wearing companions. Also, a 100 cap on damage and how it effects durability loss has been removed. Now, incoming damage will affect durability loss in a scaled fashion. The adjustments to an equipment’s “chance to be hit” should also provide a more sensible approach to durability loss. For instance, head slot items will now have a lower chance to be hit. Also, with the recent addition of the second ring slot, both rings will now have a chance to be hit. Overall, some players might notice as much as a 25% increase to armor damage, but the damage is now applied more systematically and fairly across the armor types, slots, and adventure roles. Soon, a new concept of magical “damage sinks/magnets” are coming. These new items will attract more damage than other gear currently equipped in your inventory as a way to protect your more powerful and expensive pieces. Also coming up, expect changes to shield behavior as well as Masterwork/Enchantment concepts in a continued effort to enhance tanking gameplay and the overall party experience. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Another weekly Community Livestream is this Friday, June 12th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other development team members for a community 1 hour livestream! Today’s topic will talking about the latest durability changes for armor and the new Provoking Shout ability in the Heavy Armor Tree. To enter the prize drawings, type “soaking up the rays” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website add-on store. Please submit questions into Twitch Chat by inserting !question at the beginning of your text. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! New Ability: Provoking Shout! Tanks rejoice! For those heavy armor users struggling to protect their high DPS or healer companions, a new skill has been introduced into the Heavy Armor skill tree — Provoking Shout! This new skill provides a buff which dramatically increases aggro generation from all sources throughout the duration of the buff. Heavy Armor Specialization increases this duration significantly. So if a player was specialized in heavy armor and had the Heavy Armor Specialization Skill at 80, Provoking Shout at 80 would add 100% aggro generation to all sources for 120 seconds. If the Heavy Armor Specialization Skill was at 120, Provoking Shout at 120 would add 150% aggro generation to all sources for 150 seconds. The creation of Provoking Shout is a strong step towards improving tank mechanics and overall improvement to the adventure party experience. Episode 2 Access Update! Avatars! Soon, Mistrendur adventure locations will be limited to Episode 2 access holders! For those players who’ve already received Early Access Episode 2 either through direct purchase or through pledge/bundle items, no changes will occur. These players will still be able to enter all of the Mistrendur scenes currently present and any future ones added, such as the upcoming dark forest scene, Spindelskog. For players yet to receive Early Access Episode 2, they will no longer be able to enter the dynamically scaled Lamech’s Bazaar, or The Ruins of Utheim which provides access to the Bard Skill Trainer. Players without Episode 2 Access will also not be able to enter the soon-to-arrive Spindelskog (which will also be dynamically scaled) nor any future Episode 2 adventure and NPC town scenes. All players, regardless of Episode 2 Access, will be able to roam the Mistrendur overworld map and be able to access any Player-Owned Town within the continent. Soon, shadow creatures will be discovered in the new lands… “Amidst the fetid swamps of the Northwest of Mistrendur hides Spindelskog, a rotting and decrepit old-growth forest. Swathed in ancient webs and choked with detritus and weeds, this forest can go without sunlight for months at a time. Within this foreboding darkness, the summer growth falls into decay and the webs and shadows creep across the woods. It is home to creepies and crawlies, huge predators and mysterious creatures of shadow.” If you have not already, please join us in the exploration of Episode 2 content. Every new adventure scene will be dynamically scaled for difficulty, and new challenges and creatures await thee! New Store Items: Steam Pipe Sets & Town Improvement Items! For the Avatars seeking to display pipes throughout their properties, two new Steam Pipe 10-Packs will soon be added to the Crown Store! Thick and thin varieties of pipes can now extend throughout your dungeons, basements, homes, and towns as a wonderful display of technology! Currently live on the Crown store are 8 more varieties of Row Homes. The Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun, and Elven 2 and 3-story Row Homes are now once again available! These permanent additions to the store were previously part of the expired bundle concept and are just a glimpse of what’s returning to the store in the months ahead. Also, all Row Home prices have been normalized to match the prices of the already present Viking Row Homes. This brought about a huge reduction in price to the Obsidian, Kobold, Shogun and Elven 4-Story Row Homes. (Of note, other items also received very large price reductions/normalizations to include the Stone Dragon Statues, the Topiary Dragon Statues the larger Ornate Moondials, and the Obsidian Stone Fence.) We also noticed we never loaded in the Town-Sized version of the Flaming Dragon Statue, which should patch into the game shortly. Other new items added to the store are for Player Owned Town Governors and Stewards! New to the Crown Store, all of the Player Owned Town NPC’s, Statues, Decorations and Devotionals are available for purchase separately and nestled inside a new store category called “Town Improvements.” Upon purchase of a new town, players already receive a large variety of these items automatically, but through the years, Player Owned Towns have received additional slots for placement of town items. With the new Megalopolis sized town, it became very clear to us that we simply haven’t provided a way for town Governors and Stewards to acquire additional items to fill these available slots, nor did we provide the flexibility town owners would prefer in utilizing a larger number of a particular asset. Now, these concerns have been alleviated! These items can only be placed as decoration by town Governors and Stewards. We hope you enjoy all the additions to the Crown Store! Thick Steam Pipes 10-Pack Thin Steam Pipes 10-Pack Obsidian 2-Story Row Home Obsidian 3-Story Row Home Kobold 2-Story Row Home Kobold 3-Story Row Home Elven 2-Story Row Home Elven 3-Story Row Home Shogun 2-Story Row Home Shogun 3-Story Row Home Flaming Town-Sized Dragon Statue Armor Merchant NPC (female) Armor Merchant NPC (male) Banker NPC (female) Banker NPC (male) Bartender NPC (female) Bartender NPC (male) Caretaker NPC (female) Caretaker NPC (male) Combat Merchant NPC (female) Combat Merchant NPC (male) Cooking Merchant NPC (female) Cooking Merchant NPC (male) Crafting Merchant NPC (female) Crafting Merchant NPC (male) Decorations Merchant NPC (female) Decorations Merchant NPC (male) Fishing Merchant NPC (female) Fishing Merchant NPC (male) Guard NPC (female) Guard NPC (male) Homes Merchant NPC (female) Homes Merchant NPC (male) Magic Merchant NPC (female) Magic Merchant NPC (male) Pet Merchant NPC (female) Pet Merchant NPC (male) Tavern Customer NPC (female) Tavern Customer NPC (male) Town Crier NPC (female) Town Crier NPC (male) Weapon Merchant NPC (female) Weapon Merchant NPC (male) Armor Shop (NPC Building) Cemetery (NPC Building) Dragon Bones (NPC Building) Guard Tower (NPC Building) Moon Tower (NPC Building) Oracle Confirmatory (NPC Building) Oracle Guardian Statue (NPC Building) Stables (NPC Building) Titan of Courage Statue (NPC Building) Titan of Love Statue (NPC Building) Titan of Truth Statue (NPC Building) Devotional of Compassion Devotional of Courage Devotional of Honesty Devotional of Honor Devotional of Humility Devotional of Justice Devotional of Love Devotional of Sacrifice Devotional of Spirituality Devotional of Truth Devotional of Valor New Vault Round! The current round of Vault items are available until Thursday, June 18th at Noon CT. At that time, the next round of 9 items will be available for two weeks, and then the next, etc. Aeronaut Wearable Pack (Leather) Shiba Inu Dog (Decoration Pet) Arrow Trap Flaming Bagpipes Upscale Stables Saddle and Bags with Stand Virtue Clockwork Wings Fire Dance Cross Emote Fire Dance Emote Double EXP Returns! Head out into the lands of New Britannia and charge headlong into the dangers therein, Avatars! For the near future, Shroud of the Avatar players will receive double experience points (EXP) for their endeavors in Adventure and Crafting! Hourly EXP attenuation limits have also increased. Please take advantage of the extra experience points! Stay home, stay safe and explore New Britannia! June Login Reward: Floppy Hat! Just in time to hit the beaches, this floppy hat is perfect for abating the sun during shoreline festivities. Simply log in during the month of June, and the hat will become available in the Rewards Window. Time to catch some rays, beachgoers! Release 78 Reward Program Login Reward Items: Beach Theme! Avatars! Rewards Program login reward items for Release 78 are beach themed! Reward Program members will receive these items immediately upon logging in during Release 78! Surf’s up, Avatars! Beach Towels (4-Pack, Dyeable) Male Swimsuit (1-Piece, Uses Chest & Legs Slots, Dyeable, Also fits females) Female Swimsuit (2-Piece, Dyeable, Also fits males) NOTE: You must login during the release to receive each release’s rewards. The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following: 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month Monthly Login Reward Items (3 per month) Exclusive Title every 3 months 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith 6 Months: Keeper of the Word 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including: Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills Are You a Livestreamer? Soon, the Streaming Reward Program will be returning. As the details are getting reworked, we’ll reveal more information. Traditional streaming rewards included an exclusive in-game Streamer Camera for being a veteran of our Streaming Program! Expect the camera reward to return! More goodies will come to your way as the program fully develops. Thank you for streaming Shroud of the Avatar! Recent Shroud of the Avatar Livestreams Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on our TWO Twitch Channels: twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar and twitch.tv/communityoftheavatar — be sure to get these channels on follow and get the latest information right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel (complete with “Mojito the dog” cam). Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at our other social media venues: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ Catnip Games Twitter: https://twitter.com/catnipgames Shroud of the Avatar Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShroudofAvatar Shroud of the Avatar Discord: https://discord.gg/GuBXakQ Lord of the Isle Episode 2 Bundles As one of the biggest and earliest supporters of Episode 2 you will be granted the largest lot deed in the land (Castle), the title Lord (or Lady) of the Isle, a tour of Lord British’s property, and dinner with the game leaders including Lord British himself! Only 24 of these unique bundles will be sold! Complete List of Rewards: Lord of the Isle Place Anywhere Castle Lot Deed: Tax Free Forever (when placed in a POT) and Tax Free for 1 Year (when placed outside of a POT). Placeable on water as well as land! Title: Lord of the Isle or Lady of the Isle Unique Lord of the Isle Home (pictured above) NEW – Town Size Upgrade (if a town is not owned by the LOTI supporter, they may gift this size upgrade to another town owner. Maximum possible town sizes will be taken into account, but the Megalopolis size just became available!) Choice of 1 House currently available in the store Castle Basement currently available in the store of your choice Castle Wall Set currently available in the store of your choice (with enough for Castle Lot) Unique Lord of the Isle Dungeon Room 140,000 Crowns 1000 Bank Slots Pick 12 Prosperity Tools 2 Unique in-game items (to be revealed later) Early Access to Episode 2 Episode 1 Box and map signed by the team 1 hour one-on-one with Chris for design discussion (via video-conference) One real silver ring crafted personally by Lord British: Numbered 1 – 8 In-game version of the Lord British ring: Numbered 1 – 8 (including a place-able decoration version) Tour of Lord British’s property Fine dinner and drinks with Lord British, Darkstarr, and Atos at a location TBD in Austin or NYC. NOTE: Digital items that are currently available will begin delivery as soon as Release 62 (Jan 31, 2019). Other items will be delivered at a future date TBD. NOTE: Travel costs NOT covered by Catnip Games for Tour & Dinner. Upcoming Events Calendar Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums: 2020 Events June 25 – Release 79 July 30 – Release 80 Aug 27 – Release 81 Meretz: Win a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade) Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy! Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away a Shogun Lighthouse Village Home (No Trade)! AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes. What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY! Community Event: Release 78 Dance Party By Royal Warrant, Virtue/Avatars Radio presents the Release 78 Dance Party & Stress Test Location: Celestis at The Adventure Club Directions: Take the small boat at the Northeast dock, and enter the Mirror Dungeon in the Spired House on the Hill When: Sunday, June 14th, 11:00AM – 1:00PM CT Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming Release Dance Parties, find out here! Community Event: Catnip Games Weekly Fishing Tourney For the Anglers of New Britannia, a weekly developer run fishing event has arrived! These weekly tournaments start at Noon CT every Friday and will last until Noon CT the next Friday. Players may register towns to be put into a registry list which will dictate most of the venues available for the fishing competition. Every week, the venues shift to the next 3 towns from the registry. Also each week, a new spotlighted PvE and PvP scene cycle into the contest. Each category (POT, PvP, PvE) features different prizes and goals. All fish must be caught within the timeframe of the contest. Here are some of the details: Largest Freshwater Fish (Town): Prizes: Player Owned Town Row Lot Deed, Large Gold Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught from one of these towns Arlia (@Zeek Latreck) Caer Dracwych (@Bowen Bloodgood) New Britannian Market (@Lord Andernut) Largest Fish (PvP):​ Prizes: 2 Chained Obsidian Shard 3-Packs, Large Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Paladis Shardfall Largest Lava Fish: Prizes: Fishing Rod of Prosperity, Large Bronze Fishing Trophy Rules: Must be caught in Sunless Barrens Consolation Prizes: Prizes: Silver Fishing Trophy Rules: Everyone who submitted an entry that did not win an above prize Spinoff/Crossover Events: No player crossover events have been announced. Prizes provided by the Community Manager will be available for attendees, but governors, guild leaders and players are welcome to sweeten the pot by providing additional prizes based on objective criteria entirely of their own design. In fact, please consider planning events to overlap the duration and chosen weekly locations of the Fishing developer events. Please post these events in the in-game events forums and the Community Manager will promote accordingly. Expect a constant stream of weekly events, each to feature new locations and new objectives. Head on over to the Fishing Event Forum Thread for more information. Happy adventures, Avatars! Community Event: Summer Showdown Group Combat Event [Forum Post by Grumpy Krabnevir] 2 Teams Enter, One Team leaves​! This is a group combat event for the purpose of providing a fun and entertaining tournament atmosphere for players to participate and win prizes. There will be limited team slots available on a first come first serve basis. A team slot is not committed to a team until all signup requirements have been met and verified. This event is for fun and entertainment, it may not be perfect. Contestants are welcome to check out the course prior to the tournament. The dungeon will not have active spawns. When (Pre-Event Newcomer Bracket): June 14th, 12:00 Noon CST (Austin Time) When (Main Event Bracket Starts): June 14th, 2:00 PM CST (Austin Time) Where: Judgement Square Prison Cage Dungeon located in Krabnevir Overview: Using opposing entrances, 2 teams enter the gauntlet and race along equally distant paths until they encounter the opposing team at the main center fight room. The objective of each team is to successfully defeat and get past the opposing team and be the first complete live team to exit the gauntlet through the opposing team’s entrance. Any team that successfully kills all opposing team members need only to resurrect any dead teammates if necessary and exit the opposing team’s entrance with all team members alive. There are no ankhs within the gauntlet, if you resurrect in the foyer, you are out of the match and your team loses. ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST EXIT ALIVE THROUGH THE OPPOSING TEAM’S ENTRANCE FIRST TO WIN. Tournament Structure: Each Tournament will be a bracket tournament with double elimination with the winner of the winner’s bracket facing the winner of the loser’s bracket for a ONE ROUND championship match. Tournament entries will be accepted up until 24 hrs before the start of the tournament. Tournament seeding will be determined by random selection… For more information (and there is MUCH more), please visit Grumpy’s Forum Thread on the official forums. Community Event: The New Lys & Novia Market Lottery To officially launch Lys Market opening and with the collaboration of Novia Market owner Robyn Hood, the new Lys Market and Novia Market lottery has begun! The goal is pretty simple: find a lottery ticket in either town listed on random player vendors! So you will have to search through the vendors inventories to find your ticket! (ONLY ONE TICKET PER PLAYER, so please don’t buy more than one…) When: June 9th to June 28th Where: Lys Market & Novia Market Prizes: 1200 Crowns, 150K Gold, 100K Gold, Artifacts & More! The drawing and prize deliveries will occur on June 28th at 6PM CT. A party will also take place at Lys Market at this time, so get out your dance clothes! For more information, please visit this forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr WRFB presents The Snugs Harbor Sashay with DJ Darkstarr! Location: Snug Harbor When: Sunday, June 21st, 1PM – 3PM CT Come out and sport some awesome dance moves, trade emotes and recipes, chat with friends, launch off fireworks and simply have a lot of fun! For more information, check out the main forum post on the official forums. If you’d like to learn how YOUR town can become a site for upcoming WRFB parties, please contact @Lazarus Long or @Jack SinAssist on the forums. Community Event: 6th Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball [Forum Post by Bowen Bloodgood] It is time once again for the Soldier’s Memorial Ball. (Yes this is really our 6th year!) This year we are returning to the glorious ballroom at Caer Dracwych with DJs from Avatar’s Radio. We shall have DJ’s Asclepius in the morning and the Dark Lord Celith Wraine in the afternoon. When: Sunday, June 21st, 9AM to 1PM CT Where: Caer Dracwych While I’m quite pleased with our ballroom, I am looking for a little help from the community to put in the finishing touches in the form of heraldry and maybe a dragon head or two. Heraldry needed is in the form of plate armor, short banners and shields (any shield type will do). Anyone interested can either PM me for details, send donations via in-game mail or leave items in the library donation chest located just inside the observatory (dragon heads needed: 2 Red and 1 Purple). As always, this is a formal event. Time to break out your best! For more information, be sure to read the forum thread on the official forums. Community Event: Black Sails Saga – From the New Lands [Forum Post by CatherineRose] Another chapter of the Black Sails Saga has begun, Avatars! When the creative minds of CatherineRose and friends start writing a new chapter, it can mean only one thing — adventure awaits thee! Typically, these stories start as forum story writing and role-play, which then work their way into the game as role-playing adventures. Upon the chapter’s end, a giant battle between players usually takes place, so be sure to get involved now. Ready thine quills and ink, oh pirates of New Britannia, for a grand player-made adventure awaits thee! For more information, please contact CatherineRose for an invite to the planning conversations on the forums. Months before this day ……….. A spy for our Black Sails had given a message to one of the guards to warn us that as the great leader @Antrax Artek was leaving his headquarters with his army and as he made his way toward the battle which was underway in Blood Bay, a strange purple mist began to overtake the army. As the spy looked on with horror he saw one by one of each of the soldiers fall to the ground. Their bodies began to shake as if a great monster were picking each up and violently throwing each into the air. Upon falling to the ground they did not move from any position whether arms were out stretched or bent into grotesque shapes. All succumbed in like manner even the great Antrax himself as well. The next strange and frightening thing to happen was that each of the soldiers beginning with Antrax woke. They stood up at attention as if ready for orders to be given. Yet they were in some kind of stupor or trance. Antrax turned, in this trance as well, and shouted orders to his army. “We are to battle in Blood Bay. You will kill all living avatars except for any in our own army, Antax Army. You will kill all Pirates as well as all Obsidians. Let their blood reach from the edge of the cursed water’s of Blood Bay across the battle ground until it flows and touches the mountains . Let no one escape your sword.” “Show no mercy.” Antrax and his army did just that. Blood ran deep from all this death. The deadly purple mist affected all who marched through it. No one was spared. Mass confusion took place as well. No one that day had the ability to think like a fighter. No one that day could distinguish allies from enemies. In time the purple mist cleared from the survivors bodies. Antrax and his army returned to his headquarters. The Black Sails and Allies who survived, that were able, began to train for the next battle. We knew we would never retreat. We would never give up the goal of having peace. The evil Obsidians had again used the powerful knowledge they possess to continue their quest to control and then to destroy all of Novia. However,we knew our purpose would l not be thwarted. We repaired our ships, bandaged our wounded. We also, sadly buried the many dead. I received, from one of my guards this message which was intercepted by one of our spies: “I, Lord of a Obsidians, Master of all the World, now order you bring together our most feared fighters as well as the strongest of the trained animals which are scattered about Novia. Bring them to the Underworld under the purple mist in Blood Bay where the four rivers of Lava meet. Antrax and his army along with The pirates and allies are working to becoming again. Ha! They will not be strong enough to go against the mighty Obsidians.. We will go to the place called Malus and stop them from crossing into their new lands… (continues on the forums) Project to Support – RodasurfAvatars! Yet another news outlet has spotted Darkstarr on a RodaSurf board. Be sure to check out this latest sighting in this latest Austin360 news article! Darkstarr and the Rodasurf team also dazzled us with another interview which aired on Spectrum News not too long ago! The RodaSurf board is an accessory to the Onewheel XR device. Simply snap and lock the Onewheel into RodaSurf’s latching system, and you’ll be surfing the streets before you know it! For the full article PLUS a fantastic video, be sure to head straight over to the Spectrum News Website and see our beloved Lord of Chaos show off his latest venture! Project to Support – Jar Wars While you are delving into Virtual Reality (VR), be sure to check out this exciting and hilarious new game, Jar Wars! Our very own Darkstarr has been busy on some side projects, one of which is Jar Wars, a slapstick multiplayer game made just for VR enthusiasts. Battle your friends with wacky weapons and intriguing gadgets for total domination of the Moon! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Dragon Fight Darkstarr has also been hard at work with the team for Dragon Fight VR which recently went live on Steam! Dragon Fight VR is an internal experiment to capture the “essence” of a dragon fight, the classic penultimate experience of every fantasy story. We wanted to create a short visceral, realistic experience stripped of user interface, lobbies, scores, levels, and other visual intrusions that might distract. There were some key elements of fighting a dragon that we wanted to capture and we felt VR was uniquely qualified to convey: Face to face with a large scale hostile creature trying to kill you Using a sword and a shield Fire! Nowhere to run! This started out as an internal experiment to learn some things about VR’s capabilities, be reductionist in our designs, etc. We felt that the experiment was successful enough to release as a free experience to share. Enjoy! Available for free on Steam! Project to Support – Crowfall Be part of shaping the next great MMO by becoming a Crowfall Backer! Crowfall is the first and only online Throne War game. You can win. Join intense PvP battles that demand strategy, survival and a fierce competitive spirit. Reap the spoils of war as an Eternal Champion! Claim virtual territory on behalf of your guild or faction. Capture mines, mills, and quarries to secure resources, build castles, and besiege your neighbors. Scavenge artifacts and relics from the Dying Worlds and install them in your temples to grant blessings to your vassals. Capture lost spirits to do your bidding — or bind them into your weapons to infuse them with sorcerous power! Project to Support – Avatar Express [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot] I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site. If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening. You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no committment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immidiate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game. It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts! So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us! Resources – Players Helping Players The official SotA New Player Welcome Forum and the Player Created Resources Forum have the best player created resources for Shroud of the Avatar, whether it’s a Player Written Guide, a Video Walk-through, or a Wiki-type Website. Visit the official Community Resources page for a complete listing of all things community. View the full article