Jack T. Lamplighter

Making her way out of Kingsport she saw vast lands before her. From what she could hear in the conversations in the tavern there were several towns dotted around the massive island. Many boats were anchored on the shorelines and she could see smaller islands off in the distance. Turning around she saw massive groves of trees and even a swampy area along the coast. This should make for some interesting exploration. Right outside Kingsport proper there was a huge galleon ship. Assuming it only takes me back where she came from. Then a few strides away were a couple of smaller towns. Heading to the west along the coast she walked to the gate of one of those towns. This would be a good start. The sign at the gate said Silverston As she walked across the bridge the center of the town looked pleasing. Central crafting area with all she needed to use. Vendors along the edges to buy what wares would be needed. Tavern that looked promising for a hot meal and drink. There were several row houses staggered along the walkways that seemed to be occupied and several along the river’s edge as well. Further back there was a most beautiful home she assumed was the mayor’s house. Fountains and other buildings dotted the area. For some reason as she took in the sights she felt at ease. A sort of peace fell over her. After a few moments a kind looking gentleman and another more regal figure appeared walking down the cobblestone pathway. They both looked up at the same time and saw Bella standing there looking about. Gently she pulled her backpack from her shoulder and sat it at her feet as the two men approached. The one man smiled brightly and outstretched his hand. “Welcome welcome to Silverston. My name is Andrew Silverston and this is my town. I see you have that look of a well travelled sort.” The other gentleman gave a slight cough and smile behind his hand. “Thank you kind sir. Yes I have traveled quite a bit over the last month or so. Came all the way from Soltown.” The more regal gentleman offered his hand and introduced himself. “Aye are you one the Outlanders that have arrived in Soltown. My name is Astor Cerberus.” She looked the man up and down. His demeanour was casual and not offensive. “Yes Sir. I arrived from the sea by way of some vortex. I have lost my ship and crew along the way. I hope to one day find some of them if they survived.” Both men shook their heads and then took her by the arms gently. The regal one hoisted her pack on his shoulder and they led her to the tavern. “Let go into the tavern and have a pint while you tell us your tale.” Winking at Astor . “And we might tell you our tales as well. For we too are or once were Outlanders as well.” She let them lead her to the tavern and for the first time since she had arrived in this strange land she felt safe and well met. This might just be a good place to set down roots as she had the feeling she would be here for a long while. Sitting at the table with a pint of ale in hand. She regaled the men with her story. They both nodded often at the things she said . Once she was done they chimed in as well often repeating things she had said. They too had similar experiences . They talked about the area and what they had been doing for a what seemed like to them ages. They both agreed that for their troubles and adventuring they had amassed some wealth and established themselves Clearing his throat Astor spoke up first. ” I have been all over the lands and currently live in Beran’s Reach. Its a nice place and I have many a friend there but I would like to settle in my own town for a change. Master Silverston here has gotten an itchy foot and wishes to travel so he has offered to sell his fine village to me for a reasonable fee.” With that comment he winked at Andrew and they both chuckled. “If you are of a mind to settle M’lady we or should I say Astor would love to have to take up residence here. “ Smiling at the gentlemen she nodded and from there they discussed the costs and such to gain a home in the town. After a few more months of traveling about Hidden Vale she had gained the funds to purchase a plot of land. Small to start out with but was enough for her. With tools in hand she cleared the parcel and set about gathering the materials she would need to build her first home. Tired, dirty and sore for most of the time she was pleased to have busy work to keep her mind occupied. Something other than rescuing folk and killing the evil in the lands. Although the latter part was always present. With the crafting tables in the middle of town it was easy to do what she needed. And her little spot by the river was just perfect for her. Bella had met many a folk in Hidden Vale and even in the small town she now lived in. She helped others gain wood and stone to build their own homes. And as new travellers found their way into town she aided them as well. It was becoming quite a bustling town. So much that Astor decided to expand the town. And that is where Knight’s Watch came into existence. She was pleased with the name as it seemed fitting. The town sitting seaside faced outwards to the horizon and they could watch as ships came in and out when they happened to do so. A lot of trade ships were far and few between lately. Apparently, the unrest across the lands had caused problems on the water as much as on land. As they sat around the tavern one evening her and a few of her friends in the town decided they would work together to thwart the lands of the madness. They all agreed, and she formed a guild of her friends. They then became the Keepers of the Watch. Fitting name for sure. As the town grew so did the guild. Standing on the docks one evening Astor was watching out across the waters. Bella approached and clapped him on the back. “Master Cerberus. Tis a fine evening dont you think?” Not turning to look her way he smiled and nodded “Yes indeed.” They stood there for a fine long time watching as the sunset on the horizon. Turning towards town he started telling her what he had planned for the town and asked if she would be interested in becoming a steward and helping out. Stopping she looked at him and smiled. Extended her hand and there they shook in agreement. First building was the Guild and Magistrate building by the stone bridge. Easily seen from the docks and the bridge. Here they would conduct their guild and town business. This pleased her very much. Just outside the hall there were wagons that could ferry folk to neighboring towns like Kingsport and other smaller villages about. On the docks once shored up a bit and more stable there were also transport ships to some of the island towns around Hidden Vale. Things were definitely looking up for Knights Watch. So many new folk were coming into town Astor decided to place some Row houses along the dockside…..he called it a Promenade. He always like using fancy words. Here he hired vendors to sell the residents wares and also offered temporary housing for those who have yet the means to build their own homes. It was all working out for sure. Standing high on one of the rises in the back of town Bella looked out over the sprawling landscape. Houses dotted the scene all about. Dirk Blackpool had claimed the land on the small island at the lake. Others had claimed spots within town. To make room for more homes in town Astor had built and elegant shogun crafting pavilion to hold all the crafting stations. It was wonderous to see when you walk through the clock tower from the docks and thriving Promenade. The vendors were often busy there now and it was nice to see more folk come to town and visit. With the boats and wagons commerce picked up a bit from Kingsport. Many adventurers found their way to Knight’s Watch. She smiled as she saw a ship come into the bay. One day she thought to herself. One day she will find her ship or better yet build another Black Rose and sail around this new land she had started calling home. She knew she would never make it back to where she came from. It weighed heavy on her heart that her family was still there, and she had no way to let them know she was alright. And there was no way for her to get back. Often, she missed the old lands, friends, and her family. But she was making new friends and her guildmates have become her new family. With that thought in mind she made her way down the path and back into the town. She had a task at hand and had strayed from it for long enough. Echoes From the Caverns The post Black Rose Chronicles 14 – by Belladonna Rose – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Read by Amber Raine Chapter Eight. Of Dragons and Men. Creeping quietly down the seemingly endless tunnel in the dim illumination from the main passageway above by feeling along the slimy walls with their hands took all the concentration that any of them had. No one wanted to be the one to stumble and make noise that could be heard below. They had doused their torches. At this point in the dark, going ever downward didn’t seem to be quite their brightest idea. Each step led closer to a battle that none of them wanted, especially not deep in a mine tunnel against trolls. Dirt. That’s almost all anyone could smell. The grit of it got between their teeth and everyone could feel it choking them if they breathed too deeply. And it was dank. Shallow breathing was the only deterrent to feeling as if they had taken in a pail full of wet dirt. Dirty and dank. Oh, and dark. Especially the dark. Their torches left with the packs in the tunnel above. Zyrina shuddered. The unknown dark brought old memories of the world she had escaped and new fears of the dark places she had encountered in this world and she didn’t have difficulty breathing shallowly. She held on until the images from the past finished flashing into her consciousness. Those old experiences might help her keep alert to danger, but they were not this dark passageway heading toward trolls and she needed to stay focused on what was right in front of her. Even if she couldn’t see it. She had avoided trolls since that incident in the mountains years ago and was not looking forward to repeating the experience even though she was a far better shot with her arrows than she had been when she first arrived. The tunnel went on and on. Just as she was going to call everyone back and try a different tunnel, she could sense the ground underneath level out. The others had gathered in a huddle ahead, whispering. “There’s a cave. I can smell trolls.” Torgin whispered hoarsely. “Torgin, you go in first, and get their attention. Zyrina will follow,” Phlebus nodded at her as she joined the group. “I will be right behind Zyrina and Lucy can follow me.” He lit a small spark of light into the palm of his hand with a quickly spoken magic phrase then paused to look around the anxious faces. “Alright?” “Yep.” “Okay.” “Sure.” There was a troll just inside the cave entrance that threw great boulders which wobbled the ground. It swung a massive axe over its head and struck at Torgin over and over missing by a hair’s breadth as he ducked and rolled away from the blows each time. Torgin indeed had its full attention. He led it on a merry chase near the entrance, teasing it even as he did so. “Come on, you big lout!” Zyrina peppered it with her arrows as soon as she emerged from the dark tunnel into the dimly lit cave and could see her target. She too danced in a circle following Torgin while he baited the troll. Phlebus stepped just inside the entrance and began reciting a spell while the power of his words manifests as a ball of energy between his outstretched hands. Lucy crouched near Phlebus, chanting the words to spells of healing that were directed to Torgin and Zyrina, wrapping them in a protective continuous healing warmth. Then without warning, Torgin’s voice changed from teasing to an order. “Jump!” Not understanding Torgin’s order was for her benefit, Zyrina didn’t jump and soon found herself frozen in place by a stunning strike the troll managed to land that affected everyone who was in touch with the ground. Afterward, when she unfroze, it took nearly a half a minute for her to regain control over herself again. Her entire body had been rigid while she fought to free herself. When she finally did, she shook her head to clear it before stepping back a few paces trying to get out of range. She saw both Lucy and Phlebus also regain their own control after being stunned and they began casting again, as their spells had been interrupted by the stun. “Jump!” Torgin called out again. Zyrina jumped just as the troll’s blow hit the ground again. This time she did not get stunned and from that point forward listened carefully for Torgin’s voice among the clashing and bashing of axe and hammer. Meanwhile she continued to pepper the troll with shot after shot of arrows tipped in the poison of spiders. Just as the troll they were fighting seemed to weaken and buckle, another one came into sight. Then there were two more and the group was fully engaged in new fights even as the first troll fell. These were all small trolls, thankfully. Zyrina had seen a full grown one before and could tell the difference in the trolls’ strength and size from a full grown one, even in the gloom of the caves. Regardless of their size, each of these small trolls could easily snap any one of their spines in a second if they were caught and were utterly trying to do just that. She saw Torgin take a blow that would have killed her. The troll threw him across the cave, and he lay still for a moment while she shouted and got the trolls attention, before Zyrina saw him jump up and run back into the fray. Lucy was fully occupied casting spell after healing spell to keep both Torgin and Zyrina alive during the onslaught. Phlebus had managed casting without interruption long enough between jumps to create a fire ring on the floor of the cave that Torgin led the trolls into time and time again. The fire ring did not affect Torgin at all, but the trolls were not having as much success in the ring. The fire there seemed to melt them, and they dropped like snowmen in a lava pit. “I didn’t know you could do that,” Lucy looked over at Phlebus who was breathing heavily and sweating from his effort. He nodded but didn’t speak. “More! Back here.” Zyrina’s shouted warning came in time for Phlebus to cast and release yet another burning ring of fire for Torgin and Zyrina to lead the three trolls into with their teasing dance, arrows, and axe blows. One of these was a full-grown troll. It was twice the size of the others and twice as difficult to kill but it moved slower and somehow Zyrina and Torgin managed to stay out of the grasp of the unexpectedly agile smaller trolls and avoid the larger and more deadly one. This time the struggle went on far longer than any of them had thought they could manage to fight and yet they did not break or come to more harm than Lucy could swiftly dissipate with her healing magic. In the end there were five very dead trolls in the cave and four sweaty and exhausted humans catching their breath. “Well, that was FUN!” Torgin looked rejuvenated after their efforts, and grinned from ear to ear, still swung his axe just for the pleasure of hearing the swish as it arched through the air. Phlebus sank to the ground horrified and exhausted by the fighting. His experiences with causing death had been mostly academic in the last decade, and before that most of the killing had been done by Zyrina with her bow and arrows. Being directly responsible for the death of another being, even one as dangerous and vile as a troll took a toll on Phlebus. After checking everyone carefully for injuries and healing the last of the superficial wounds from the clash, while Zyrina and Torgin were occupied in claiming treasures from the dead trolls’ vest pockets, Lucy lit her torch and wandered around the edges of the cave until she discovered a smaller cave tucked behind a rock screen deep inside the massive cave where they had fought the trolls. “Hey, I think I found the room Jon was mentioning in his last testament.” It was a small cave indeed and crammed with all sorts of things for experimentation. Near the entrance was a prison cell which held only a human skeleton. Throughout the room were several vats of humans suspended in some sort of fluid. No one could make out if they were sleeping or dead. An operating table was to the right with knives, saws, books and various potions lay displayed there. Near the back, on a large desk with a fancy Obsidian style chair with its jutting lines and uncomfortable seat, were stacks of journals and papers. Something fluttered by and Zyrina ducked automatically. “Bats,” she muttered to herself, “of course there are bats.” Once inside, Zyrina stared back at the entrance to the bigger cave, with her bow drawn. She was convinced they were not safe backed into this small area after that fierce battle. Were there more trolls? Were they coming? The others could go look through the books, and papers to find out what this place was used for. She was going to guard the doorway. Torgin found himself staring at the bones of someone in a prison cell on a cot and the discarded skin of a young green dragon on the floor. He didn’t know what it meant but it gave him a pain in the pit of his stomach that made him want to harm whoever had been experimenting and torturing living beings here in this dark dank cave. Lucy moved around the room reading the papers and experiment books, trying to make sense of what was obviously some sort of lab. On a worktable, Lucy found and read aloud the record of the latest experiment. “Oh, listen,” she recited, “…’The creation of a human dragon, out of the young dragon hatched from one of the viable northern Drachenfald eggs procured for the cabal and Merrik Dougan, the human subject’.” “What?” Torgin looked shaken. Lucy continued, “’…We have failed to produce a dragon with a controllable human mind and all we managed was a human with a dragon mind. The human dragon, who calls himself Merrik Dragon, refuses to follow the simplest instructions and is far too independent of a thinker to become any sort of tool we can use in the Southern Branch. We have no control over him. The experiment is a failure. Even the Dougan family Lichs didn’t recognize him any longer; when they attacked, he was no help to us at all.’” Torgin’s skin whitened as he heard what had been done to Merrik. Torgin who was still examining the dragon skin spoke, “So…. This skin and that skeleton are the leftovers from combining the human and the dragon? Isn’t Merrik Dougan the owner’s son of the inn upstairs?” After nodding, Phlebus took over, reading out of a journal he had picked up while listening to Lucy. “’…The human retained its dragon memories and its human ones too. After several experiments, the dragon/human continues to insist on being called Merrik Dragon. He has no memory of how he came to be. The matter is out of our hands now as he escaped months ago. The Dougan family lichs rose up and attacked us shortly after the experiments on Merrik began and he fled in the confusion.’” Phlebus thoughtfully added, “the Dougan family lichs apparently took exception to their family member, Merrik Dougan being used in an experiment. I’m betting that’s why they rose up from the crypts in the first place.” Lucy took over with another entry. “Listen to this: ’Yesterday, while we were in the room of magical casting trying to revive that old dragon leg bone we took from the Jade Valley Graveyard into an undead version of itself, we were attacked again, viciously.’” She quoted, “’The lichs attacked without warning, disrupting our magical spell today and they took over the room of conjuring. We were forced back here to the room of experimentation. We have hired trolls to guard the outer cave and to protect our work from those lichs attacking here again, as we were barely able to survive their first attack. The trolls don’t seem to care who they kill, and it has been a struggle even to get in and out of our own room here.’” Phlebus read, “’However, while displacing us from the room of casting, they have stolen the tome of magic we were using, and we go to retrieve it from the lich stronghold in our room of casting. We need that book to complete our work and do not want Nestor to know we have lost control here.’” “And now lichs have some old magic book?” Zyrina summed up, not having taken her eyes off the entrance to the room they were exploring. Lucy was still reading and started to summarize what she was finding, “There is another notation here from a Red Branch mage that says lichs have attacked and stolen the tome containing the secret Obsidian Magic Spells they had been using. Another dragon had been summoned to try to link with another ‘volunteer human’ but the link broke when the lichs burst in and killed everyone and took over the room of casting where the magic book lay beside the dragon bone.” She looked up at Zyrina, “Do you think that’s the dragon we faced at the graveyard last night?” “Considering the timing, I’d say yes.” Zyrina still didn’t look away from the door. It was as if she didn’t trust the trolls that they had defeated to stay dead. “I want to know where that room of casting is located.” “As do I.” Phlebus agreed as he scanned the journals on the desk for more information. Lucy went on from her readings, “’There were few survivors from the lich attack. Those of us left are desperate to recover the tome because the spell to summon a dragon from bone of a dead one had been successful; the dragon bone had been forming and its completion only thwarted by yesterday’s attack of angry lichs, and theft of the magic tome containing the spell. We are determined to recover the tome and I write just before we leave to get it, and our room of casting back from them.’” “There are no directions to the location of the lich stronghold except to say, ‘further into the tunnels’, which doesn’t help us much.” Phlebus muttered. “We’ve got to recover that spell book before the Southern Red Branch take it back from the lichs.” Lucy was firm and she was determined. In her eyes, enough innocent living beings had been lost to these experiments. Zyrina nodded. So did Torgin and Phlebus. Lucy continued to collect samples of mushrooms she had found growing near the dark edges of the small cave. Phlebus took some time to review everything they had learned so that everything was clear in his mind before he spoke again. “So, as far as I understand, the Dougan ancestors, now lichs themselves, seemed to have risen when Merrik Dougan, their direct descendant, was experimented upon a few months ago. And that’s when they killed all the visitors to the mine, as well as attacking these mages from the Southern Red Branch.” “Yes, that’s right,” Zyrina nodded. “The lichs attacked everyone, even Merrik, after he was changed because they no longer recognized him as their own blood.” “Then,” Phlebus took up the thread of events again, “Lichs attacked again and interrupted a magic casting and stole the magic book that the Southern Red Branch mages had been using to recreate Obsidian spells as well as claiming the room referred to as the room of casting.” Torgin spoke then, “The lichs were protecting their family the only way they knew how, by keeping the Tome of Magic from anyone. They’re not likely to hand it over to us either.” “How did the trolls get here?” Phlebus didn’t want to ask but he needed to know. Lucy added after straightening up from her labours, “I read a scroll over there that discussed that. These trolls were brought to the cave by the elven mages themselves, from some other stronghold of theirs. It wasn’t named. They were brought to guard the entrance to the experiment room after the first lich attack some months previous.” It all seemed to make sense to Phlebus now, but he was still unclear why anyone had turned to stone. There was a far deeper mystery here than he suspected but was beginning to understand that the magic book was central to all the horror. “Who is Nestor?” Torgin brought up a point the others had nearly overlooked. Lucy and Zyrina both shrugged. “I don’t know yet Torgin, but The Southern Red Branch mages need to be chased away from Jade Valley regardless of who they report to. I’m betting whatever is affecting the animals and people in this valley is directly related to them being here.” He repeated, “We are going to have to take the book from them and take back these tunnels and rooms for the Dougan family.” Phlebus was grim but decided. “Let’s go.” Torgin seemed eager to leave the room. He was still staring at the dragon skin and the skeleton of Merrik Dougan and didn’t seem to be able to shake the horror from his eyes. He could not fight this kind of evil and he felt helpless in the face of what had happened here. There was nothing he could do to change anything, and he was not used to the feelings of a helpless bystander in any situation. It shook him to the core of his beliefs. “It sounds like the mages are just ahead of us, if they have indeed left to reclaim the room of casting, so beware. We might come upon the mages in the tunnel or worse, lichs.” Zyrina continued, “And we don’t know where this lich holdout is, but it has to be down these tunnels somewhere.” “Remember that map on the bulletin board when we first arrived down here in the mines?” Phlebus reminded them. “There was a chamber discovered that was marked along that main passage we had been in before coming down here. It’s to the left near the end that we have not yet come to. Maybe we can start there?” Everyone was in agreement. With that, Torgin led the tired group back up through the long dark dank tunnel to the main corridor far above this horror, turning to the left when he reached the passage. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Bool 1, chapter 8 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 98 (R98), our primary focus was bugs but we did manage to sneak in a number of new game elements! First off, more large cats (black panthers, jaguars, snow tigers) have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, a entirely new category of powerful but fragile artifact has started to appear in some scenes. 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: Release 98 Patch Notes! Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 98 (R98). A handful of combat balance changes and other fixes will be patched in within the next week before moving on to our February release More big cats have finally made their appearance in Novia: Jaguars, Black Panther, and Snow Tigers With the exception of the very rare, very powerful version of each species, all big cats can be tamed! Jaguars and Black Panthers have chances to spawn in: Forest road encounter in Novia, Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur Ravensmoor Verdantis Shardfall Norgard Fens Sawtooth Thicket Snow Tigers have a chance to spawn in: Snowy Tundra encounters in Novia and Mistrendur Jotungrund Added a randomize button to the character creation screen. Added a street light to Righ Inis on the overworld map to make it easier to find. Added big cat trophy heads and rugs Added Lua function ShroudPlayerGold to get current gold amount of the player. Added pristine to the new big cat head component Added ShroudOnPlaySound which will catch Lua and UI sound name and also ShroudStopUISound() which is used with the first function to stop a sound from Being played in the UI channel right when its being played. Added ShroudSceneMusic(active) lua function to stop or re-enable back the scene music. Adjusted and added missing deco surfaces for the Lord of the Isle Aquarium dungeon room. SOTA-70104 Aerie: Fixed an issue where the “Find Another Blacksmith” compass marker was displaying prematurely. SOTA-70085 Ardoris: Added a compass marker for players finding certain evidence related to the black arrow murders. SOTA-70078 Ardoris: Improved the journals, responses, logic, and compass markers related to meeting with Siranto, Khasi, Pintar, Damai, and the spirit-talkers. Ardoris: Improved the logic which Shaaria uses to clear her “Give Advice to Shaaria” task. SOTA-70092 Ardoris: Removed a redundant keyword from Rolf the guard’s conversation, to stop build errors. Ardoris: The “Meet with Siranto” task has had several text improvements, including being renamed to “Mention Undead to Siranto.” Ardoris: Updated the tasks related to Samael and Kardan Marbane pointing the avatar to talk to Min Liang Tan. SOTA-65292 Bard songs vfx should no longer continue after the song is over. Battle of Solace Bridge: Corrected spelling of “Soltown” in “Tell Abigail About Charlotte” journal entry. SOTA-70094 Big cats collision was overly large and made it difficult to loot things with a large cat pet out. These have now been adjusted downward to make them less annoying. Big cats should all now have a ROAR ability that grants different effects Big cats will no longer pounce while rooted. Blood River Massacre: Improved how the “Find a Weapon” task resolves itself and archives this task. SOTA-70080 Blood River Outskirts: Adjusted the path grid to help keep a deer from spawning within a certain tree. Added POI-specific music at the outposts and ziggurat. SOTA-70143 Broochash: Avatars cannot choose to skip a conversation with Albreda if they have Umberjack’s “shakedown note” for her. SOTA-70079 Castle ATOS now has a Scene Map. SOTA-70149 Castle Atos teleporter now takes you to Castle Atos Castle Atos: Moved items floating over the storehouse shelter to rest on the roof. Castle Atos: Removed line-of-sight conversation requirement from the banker. SOTA-70126 Castle Atos: The faction for the chickens in Castle Atos have been changed to “chicken” faction, allowing them to be attacked. SOTA-70100 Castle Atos: The Storehouse Containers in Castle Atos have been updated, and the unique turn-in item at the uncommon crate requires 2 Purple Wyvern Eggs. Crown Shop: added castleSet wizard’s tower village home to store Deep Savrenoc Timberland: Resource nodes are now correctly set to tier 4. SOTA-70139 Dungeon Kit: Fixed a low LOD version of a single door drame wall piece. East Vauban Foothills: Updated the terrain by the lake to help accommodate players still on the ruins when they sink. SOTA-70066 Elysium Mines: Adjusted several ore nodes to improve pathing while mining them. SOTA-70138 February 2022 Login Reward: Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool Fix: Fixed a bug in vendor items list window that were not showing the numbers of items sent to bank. Fix: Fixed Lua functions ShroudUnsetMask and ShroudMinMaxSize which was always returning false. Also removed the transparency on panel when draging it around which caused problems while setting your own transparency on panels. Fixed an error thrown when doing a “Get Direction” on vendor listing when scene has changed. Fixed deco issue with Leather Flame Armor Fixed deco issue with Triangle & Acara Shield Fixed icon for ball of clay -adjusted block of clay icon brightnesss Fixed icon for Ornate Wooden Hot Tub -increased contrast on hot tub icon Fixed loot issues with 6 Wax Cylinders. Desolis I and II, Sands of Grunvald, and Into the Epitaph now drop properly in the Epitaph at a relatively small rate per creature. Solania now has a small chance to drop from the demon in Solania Catacombs. Kas Ruins now properly drops from the Lich Boss in Kas Ruins at a 100% rate. Fixed storage item count on Celestian Commode Frost giant should now give XPs to even a large party Greyacre: Corrected the spawn-in orientation at the southwest entrance to face the road. SOTA-70098 Halls of Artifice: Fixed a typo in a trigger warning UI message. SOTA-70082 Improving horse hoof sounds. (Spoiler alert, they still are not good but now just less bad) Jaanaford: Renamed the “Travel to Jaanaford” task to “Ask About Bonesteel in Jaanaford” and improved the logic which archives it. Also, improved the logic in Jenna Karttunen’s responses regarding bonesteel. SOTA-70081 Jaguar and Panther: Added to Forest Road Encounter in Novia (southwest), Hidden Vale, and Mistrendur. SOTA-70136 Jaguars and Panthers: Added new NPCs to Ravensmoor, Verdantis Shardfall, Norgard Fens, and Sawtooth Thicket. SOTA-70136 Jaguars, Snow Tiger, and Black panthers have started appearing in the wilderness. K’rul: Increased the size of a certain doorway to ensure players could always pass through. SOTA-70125 Kingsroad: Adjusted some spawner locations and rates for better distribution. Overall, there should be one or two additional spiders, bears, and skeletons in the scene. Also, added ranged and caster skeletons, and a chance for a tier 2 wolf. More nightshade may spawn near the graveyard. Some garlic may spawn along the road. Kingsroad: Fixed a broken spawner to stop build errors. Kobold Expeditionary Camp: Updated the “Free Sir Patrick!” task to be more clear and correct regarding that task. SOTA-70145 Kobold Expeditionary Camp: Updated the logic used by the compass marker when doing the “Free Sir Patrick!” task. SOTA-70144 Large Cats now feature unique loot tables per cat type and size, and all wolf items have been removed from their loot tables. Loot, 9 Ephemeral Relics were added to the game and will appear as extremely rare drops throughout the world of New Britannia. Ephemeral Relics are typically more powerful than their crafted counter parts, but cannot be repaired and feature a small amount of durability. Use these relics wisely for important battles! Malice: Updated the logic which archives the “Speak with Sequanna” task after completing the Path of Love. Many female NPCs were incorrectly using a male or neuter voice, especially in the Perennial Coast area. This has now been corrected. Massive and Legendary crocs will now have different stats. Moonlight and Sunlight enchantment will now appear in the tooltip of the equipments. Mounted head and rug trophy recipes for big cats -added bigCats head item componnet for recipes Necropolis: Added a connection to the Midmaer Passage near the exit to Midras Ruins. SOTA-69908 New elf loot tables for Despair. New Lua functions ShroudLoadSound(filePath, AudioType), ShroudListSound(), ShroudPlaySound, ShroudStopSound() and a new enum AudioType. Lua scripters now have 5 audio channel to play sounds on at once.More information can be found on the API Doc and a demo on will be shown on forum scripting section. New lua functions ShroudOnPlayFX and ShroudStopFX which will give ability to lua scripter to stop an fx from being played. Look at the API doc for more information. Northwest Blackblade Mountains: Adjusted how close NPCs can get to a certain exit volume. SOTA-70107 Novia: Moved the banners above Mud and the Naryad Moors to be above the treeline. SOTA-70097 Ore Nodes: Corrected the scaling on high-tier ore nodes. Pet sheet will now be displaying dodge and magic resist. Plains Road Encounter: Removed the”line-of-sight” conversation requirement from the merchants that appear after the boss wave, to help stop them from canceling conversations. SOTA-70147 Players will no longer get trapped with the fishies in the Lord of the Isle Aquarium dungeon room. SOTA-70104 Players will now be able to place a Dry Docked Huge Pirate Galeon (Keep sized home) on a Castle lot as well as a Keep lot. SOTA-69091 port_pirate_galleon_town_playerHouse: Secret door sound effects are now located at the secret door. POT Arx Draconis Lowlands: Upgraded to Town from Village. SOTA-70113 POT Moonglow: Added new Holdfast west of Fortus End. SOTA-70091 POT Rajazel: Upgraded to City from Town. SOTA-70089, SOTA-70088 POT Silverdale Market: Upgraded to City from Town. SOTA-70103, SOTA-70101 Previously, the new tall 5 story Town lot sized house would block decoration in some towns with higher elevation. This should now be fixed. Process Big Cats recipes -added carcasses for loot R98 Reward: Heart-Shaped Console, Queen’s Sitting Room Set: Heart-Themed Coffetable, Heart-shaped end table, Heart-backed white & gold throne Ravensmoor Player Dungeon Room Deco Surface fixed. SOTA-70135 Savrenoc Stronghold: Adjusted a location where NPCs would get stuck in a world object. SOTA-70099 Savrenoc Stronghold: Instead of the northeast and east entrance sharing one compass marker and entry point, these two are now split into two separate compass markers and entry points. (Players will continue to spawn by default into the same location, called East Entrance.) SOTA-70083 Seasonal Monsters: Changed the name of Krampus’s list to “Krampus’ List: Naughty Boys and Girls” to help players find it in their inventories. Seasonal Monsters: Krampus has gone dormant until next year, while Envy Angel has returned to Necropolis Barrens. SOTA-68642 Set Ancient Essence to be valid ingredient for smelting Set Standing stone deco recipes to be discoverable since they are re-teachable. Several issues which could cause creatures to stop spawning in some scenes have been fixed. This was most common in cities. Snow Tigers: Add new NPC to Snowy Tundra Encounters in Novia and Mistrendur, Vertas Pass, Brightbone Pass, and Jotungrund. SOTA-70136 Solace Bridge Outskirts: After finding the missing scout, the avatar will get a task to ask her about Ebon Dawn (to ensure a more obvious transition to the “disrupt ritual” quest). SOTA-70105 Solace Bridge Outskirts: Fixed typos in in the Deliver Bloody Bones journal entry, and another in Talk to First Memory of Three journal entry. SOTA-70109, SOTA-70108 Solace Bridge Outskirts: Moved a lantern than wasn’t working when looked at from certain distances and angles. SOTA-70065 Solania: Updated the logic used by Merriweather in her responses about Simone’s book quest. SOTA-70087 Soltown and other scenes: Corrected typo for “Town Crier” in teleport-to-zone lists. SOTA-70062 Soltown: Regenerated Arabella’s conversation components to help prevent “not found” error messages. SOTA-70146 Spectral Mines: Changed the archlapin bone quest items to be destroyable. SOTA-69429 Taming Frenzy finally has a unique icon! The Breach: Adjusted the path grid to better accommodate the Blackened Clockwork Dragon. SOTA-70068 The various large cats in New Britannia now have a chance to drop Cat Claws, which can be utilized in a new potion recipe, the Potion of the Stalking Cat. This potion grants a small bonus to Rend, Sneak Attack, and when attacking from behind. This recipe is a somewhat rare drop from the elves in Despair. Toned down Chaos Shield visuals to be less distracting Updates to big cat stats to make adult, ferocious, and obsidian cats have different stats. Upper Fortus: Fixed a typo in a letter found on a table in a building. SOTA-70096 Wyvern Eggs: Set “Merchant Availability” to “Not Available” to stop build errors. Xenos: Updated the “Enter Artifice” journal entry to be more specific and to “Enter Halls of Artifice,” among other improvements. SOTA-70086 Known issue: Young Snow tigers appear orange (fixed patch 1) Player Owned Town Updates: Arx Draconis Lowlands: Upgraded to Town from Village. Moonglow: Added Holdfast to Novia, west of Fortus End Rajazel: Upgraded to City. Silverdale Market: Upgraded to City. February Login Reward: Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool! Log in during the month of February, and you’ll receive a Heart-Shaped White & Gold Footstool! Be the envy of all your neighbors with this amazing piece! Release 98 Subscriber Login Rewards: Ancient Xenossian Winged Plate Helm, Heart-Shaped Console, and Ornate Large White & Gold Heart-Backed Throne These new heart-themed furniture items will also be featured in the Crown Shop in the new Queen’s Sitting Room Sets. Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 98 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection includes the last of the Ancient Xenossian collectibles: The Winged Ancient Xenossian Helm. It also includes two new heart-themed furniture items: The Ornate Large White & Gold Heart-Backed Throne, as well as the Heart-shaped Console. Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 98 to receive these special login items: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 (about 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 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month: 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 Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses: Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful! 24 Additional Deck Slots! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives! The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched. The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums. Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels! In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action! The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives. Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team! Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows: Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter” Single Ant Cloak Lady Bug Backpack Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids” Ant Farm Insect Leg Table Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles” Bug Painting B Bug Sprayer Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths” Butterfly Chair Corpion Chair (Pictured Below) Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies” Hacked Oracle Flyer Giant Blue Butterfly Pet Butterfly Mask Dragonfly pet Fairy Wings Monarch Butterfly Pet Dragonfly Wings Hacked Oracle Crawler Blue Butterfly VFX Orange Fireflies VFX Orange Butterfly VFX If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums. Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program! Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I! Phase I: Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply. Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar. Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual. Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come). Rules: To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application. To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program. Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program. Items of Note: SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord. Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material. Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them! Upcoming Release Dates 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. The upcoming 2022 Release Schedule is as follows: This release: Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish) Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content) Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish) Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content) Community Updates & Resources Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums. Note, we are putting a hold on our official Catnip Games events while we train up our new community person! Special Announcements: Quel Regional Market Now Open: Tired of searching endlessly for what you’d like to buy? Well, the Britannian Mining Company feels the same way, so they’ve created a well-organized and easily accessible vendor town. And the best part… All row lots inside the settlements are FREE for any merchant in New Britannia to claim! Recurring Events: Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all! Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Chrismas/Holiday Themed Items! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R96’s contest period lasts until December 28th! Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs. M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available! Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out! Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting! 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules. RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun! PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there! Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT! New Player-Created Resources: Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed! Community Calendars: Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in! NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you! SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better! Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun! One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these! Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones. Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread. Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures. Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum. Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum. Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out! Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out! Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play. Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community. SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars! Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now! We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job! Project to Support: Shard RPG Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad. Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals. Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character! Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah! So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG! Project to Support: Ember’s Adrift! Help support one of our team members’ other projects, Ember’s Adrift! While not live yet, they will be releasing a schedule soon detailing their timeline. Check out their newly released video here: 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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

Read by Chatull Aventari Chapter Seven. Of Nine. Near the tunnel that led to Kobold Quarters and the Mining Office was a crate of soaked torches. Zyrina lit one by striking her flint with steel, then passed it to Phlebus and lit another for Lucy to carry. She notched her bow and saw Torgin unlatch his war axe and take it in hand. From this point Phlebus led into the darkness of the shaft before them. Torgin followed Phlebus with his axe at the ready and Zyrina covered the back of the group, following Lucy. After some time Phlebus whispered, “The Kobold quarters should be somewhere along here and to the left at the first fork we find, if the bulletin board is to be believed.” He sounded unsure as he peered into the dark past the flickering of Phlebus’s torch. “Why are you whispering?” Lucy whispered. Torgin shushed her, “Shh. No talking.” Lucy shrugged her shoulders and peered past the flickering light of her own torch and into the glow of light that Phlebus’s torch threw onto the walls of the passage ahead. Whatever the torches had been dipped in before the wax wafted by now and then, and it was not pleasant but preferable to the stench of kobolds. It was hard to miss. It took her much of her willpower not to wretch from the smell of them. To distract herself, she began to search the tunnel for something interesting. It had been dug tall enough to walk upright; even Torgin ahead of her didn’t have to crouch and there was plenty of room above her head. She was relieved not to have to worry about hitting her head. She saw Torgin duck a few times but not as many times as she would expect in a tunnel dug by kobolds. Lucy asked herself why the kobold had dug such tall tunnels for themselves then remembered not to ask anyone out loud just in time. Kobolds are not much different size than humans. There must be a reason the tunnels were tall and even thought she could not work out why they were, Lucy was thankful that she didn’t have to watch for things to bump into her head. There were small rocks loose underfoot, too, and she stumbled once or twice on them before getting her footing. “You alright?” Zryina whispered into Lucy’s ear while touching her arm. Lucy nodded her head and gave a grateful smile over her shoulder. It was a matte black in the tunnel and she was thankful for her new friend’s presence here in the dark, guarding the rear. Feeling her touch made Lucy feel less alone in the dark. Even so, her torch lit the way well enough for her to make out spiders on the walls and ceiling who silently scurried out of sight. The tunnel was free from webbing and even though the sight of spiders did alarm Lucy, she knew they were far from being the biggest danger. The thought of liches wandering in the tunnels turned Lucy’s blood cold and she shivered. She could feel bumps forming on her arms and her hair stiffen on the back of her neck. Those ancestors of the Dougan family who had risen in the form of liches were not to be taken lightly. They had already killed. As Phlebus had told them all earlier at the inn after he read aloud from one of the books borrowed from the Hall of Enquiry “The original Dougan in that family became a Dread Lord from the earliest records of the family line.” Dread Lords who decided to become liches were more powerful than anything Lucy ever wanted to face. They were the monsters in tales for children to frighten them out of dangerous places. “Beware the lich” was a common warning from mothers to their children where Lucy grew up. She shuddered a little as she walked on in silence. After an eternity walking into the dark, they halted just outside of what looked like an entrance to a room, a round one. The dirt tunnel connected to a small rectangular doorway into the room, and it looked like the circular chamber inside was considerably older than the tunnel that led to it. It must have been built before The Fall in order for it to have been buried so deep underground. The marble room was empty except for four thrones at the opposite side, set facing the doorway. “This is the kobold quarters,” Phlebus sounded relieved. “We should find some answers here.” And with that he strode into the room confident the answers were just ahead. Farther back in the line Lucy heard muffled shouts as she waited her turn to get through the door after Torgin. The attack began without warning. “Look out Lucy!” Torgin’s shouted warning came in the nick of time too. Lucy didn’t see the several kobolds in the room until she ducked through the door. Upon hearing Torgin’s warning she quickly sidestepped behind one of the pillars that made a circle around the room and pressed herself against the smooth carved stone. There was a circle of pillars just inside the room supporting an open gallery circling the room. Kobolds were everywhere. These were not miners who attacked, at least not miners that Lucy had ever encountered before. One of the kobolds cast a spell that attempted to drain her reserves of focus. She could feel the tug on her energy reserves straining to leave her breast, but before the kobold spell found its mark, she countered with a shield of air thrown haphazardly around herself in a bright bubble. At the same time arrows started raining down from the gallery above. The archers could not reach her behind the pillar and all the warriors were concerned with Torgin’s swinging axe. With a few moments to herself she began casting a spell that would help heal her friends using the moisture she could gather from the room. Soon a small shower blew through the room and fresh healing rain fell on each of their heads as they defended themselves from the kobold’s onslaught. As soon as that was established, she began gathering her focus again and to chant slowly. She started with Torgin and sent him a healing grace that would continue to heal him for almost half a minute then began recasting it to target each of her friends with the boost. Torgin didn’t hesitate and within the blink of an eye had swung his axe around in a circle knocking down the nearest of the kobold warriors. The kobolds all turned to attack this massive whirling slicing danger. They began circling Torgin and concentrating their attack on him. Or what soon became their defence from him. Their superior numbers may have been more effective on a less experienced warrior but this time Torgin beat them back one by one, pounding the ground around him with his foot to send a ripple of force that damaged all the enemies around him. He could feel his sister’s healing spells strengthening him even as he dodged the blows from his attackers. Behind him lay a swath of mangled bodies as he moved around the room swinging, stomping, and shouting. A few escaped to the tunnels before anyone realized they were fleeing but most of the attackers were cut down by the fury of Torgin’s attack. Moving silently and gracefully following Torgin around the room, Zyrina had concentrated on picking off the archers above whose arrows pestered Torgin as he fought. She shot with precise strikes as she darted out from behind the pillars to release her arrows then just as quick, she would dash back to safety behind the marble columns as she circled the room. Her aim was exact and soon the gallery above no longer sent arrows down toward Torgin. Phlebus caught a glimpse of Zyrina as she sprinted up the staircase with her bow at the ready. He assumed she was going to check for lurkers above. Phlebus still stood just inside the entry behind another of the pillars near Lucy. He continued mouthing the words of power for various spells using the air around him to both weaken the attackers and strike them down, even when the ground trembled from Torgin’s pounding. Though he was within range, Phlebus only swayed a little with the wave of energy that passed through him. He was not stunned nor frozen. His lightning could be seen, smelled, and heard as it rippled between attackers chaining them together for a blast of damage over and over. Electricity’s familiar sweet, pungent aroma wafted by, but did not unsettle him. He concentrated on attacking and disrupting the mages who were healing and protecting the others, and his spells did just that. With Torgin and Zyrina’s physical attacks and Phlebus’s psychic attacks the entire fight took barely a quarter of an hour. Catching his breath once the skirmish finished, Torgin took a moment to look around the room as he came out of his battle trance. Roaring loudly with his head thrown back, he stood in the center of the room surrounded by dead Kobolds. Lucy and Phlebus were near the entry looking as if they had both been drained of some of their life force. Meanwhile Zyrina was still silently creeping around the gallery to see if any kobolds were hidden and after a thorough search, she flushed out just one other archer, who she dispatched without delay. “What the Titans was that about?” Torgin wiped his face and spat out then began to clean some of the blood from his axe by wiping in on the clothing of one of the fallen. “What kind of miners are these anyway?” “Is everyone alright?” Lucy interrupted Torgin to ask anxiously as soon as the fighting stopped. There were nods all around the group. She could see a few cuts and scrapes, but no one had an arrow to remove or any gashes that required her immediate attention. Breathing a sigh of relief, she took a closer look at the fallen. “What was that?” Phlebus wanted to know, too. “Did they think we were liches?” “I don’t think so,” Lucy answered him as she inspected the bodies closest to her. “These aren’t miners. Look at their clothing, their weapons. These are warriors, mages, archers. This isn’t just a few, what are they doing here?” Zyrina stood at the top of the staircase, “Better come up here, I found the mining office.” She called down to the others. There were two sets of stairs that each circled the outside wall on opposite sides of the room and led up to the gallery. Up the stairs and inside the Dougan Family Silver Mining Office, which had a small arched entrance, everyone followed Zyrina in. She went to the farthest end of the room and began going through the cupboard. Phlebus went straight for the large wooden desk. In among the papers and debris there he spotted a note that had meaning. It had been left with other papers and things in the mess on the desktop. “Listen,” he called out then read out loud to the others; Dis note is for yer eyes only Jon. We found something. Was deep down under. We tunnel deep. Deeper than before. You go see. You find out. Go left and left to get to the place. Go down. You see. Others know I been passing info to you. I do not think we meet again, Jon. They coming to kill us all. They come from below. In deep tunnel. Go left, you will see. [Here there is a large splatter of fresh blood and the rest of the note is illegible.] You been good friend, Or’tuk While Phlebus had been searching the desk, Torgin had been looking around the office. There were large samples of different kinds of stone blocks in one part; some of them were stones he had never seen before. It almost seemed like the stone was aware of him. It spooked him enough to move away to another area. He found the supply depot in another corner, and looked instead at supplies for mining; shovels, axes, and pails. But the most chilling thing in the room was a stone statue of a kobold with an expression of terror on its face. Torgin could not ignore it for long and found himself facing the statue for a long time before he spoke. “Looks like he didn’t make it out.” Torgin patted the shoulder of the statue. “No wonder they attacked us without warning. They were already under attack from something else, all right.” “Where’s Jon?” Lucy asked looking around. “Not here,” Phlebus confirmed. “I wonder if he made it to his meeting before these kobolds were attacked or if he even saw this message.” “Do you think Jon might have gone to find the something the kobolds found?” “Yes, I do.” Phlebus spoke quietly. “And even if he didn’t, we are going to go find it ourselves. There is something down there that we need to see. We better be ready, there are probably more kobolds around, I saw several run out of the room while we were fighting.” “And whatever attacked them is probably still around as well.” Zyrina added. “Oh, great.” Lucy was packing up her herbs after having tended the last of the injuries while the others searched the room. “What now?” Phlebus looked up again from the note he was rereading. Zyrina grinned, “I think we go see what the kobolds found and dug up. Let’s see what spooked them so bad that they attacked us on sight.” Phlebus nodded. “Yes. Exactly.” Now rested, they each gathered their packs and bags which they had dropped at the entrance to the mining office. They filed out of the office and down the staircases, through the rotunda stepping over and around the bodies there. Zyrina bent and collected as many of her arrows as she could gather as they moved through the bodies and into the tunnel once again. Lucy gathered the torches that had been flung when the fighting started and relit them from a torch on the wall. She handed Plebus one and kept one. Phlebus once again led the way with Torgin close behind. Lucy followed and Zyrina again guarded the rear as they moved quietly through the long passage. They found themselves far more alert than they had been while traipsing into the kobold quarter. This time the slow walk through the dark tunnel felt even longer than the last eternity. When they found the juncture where a tunnel on the left went down, there was also an opening on the opposite side of the tunnel into a large cavern. Lucy had a peek inside. “Um. You better come in here,” she called out to the others. Inside the large cavern among the effects of miners who had abandoned their gear, axes, picks, pails, and a wagon to haul out the large stones that lay cut and ready to haul, Lucy had spied a corpse. He was quite old and wrinkled. She knew it hadn’t been long since he died because his lantern was still lit and the ink by the tipped over inkpot beside him was not dried out. “Do you think this is Jon?” she asked, pointing to the corpse. “Dunno yet, Lucy.” Zyrina knelt down to see if there was anything to identify the dead man. She found a scrap of paper tucked under his arm. “He’s still warm.” “Not dead long then.” Phlebus clarified. “Yes, it is him,” she smoothed the paper and brought it closer to Lucy’s torch to read out loud to the others who gathered around the fallen man, “I think this is his writing, listen.” Last statement of Me, Jon The Caretaker It was a trap!! The Mining Foreman told me they dug deep an’ found some kinda treasure but it was a lie!! What they found were TROLLS!!…there was something else down there too. A little room I din’t have time to explore in when I was running from them trolls. I ‘scaped back to this ol’ hotspring but a small pack of kobolds came running at me an’ injured me something fierce. They have went on full revolt now. I leave anything I gots to Owain Byrd, my ol’ drinkin’ buddy. they are coming….. I am too beaten and broken to continue… “Well, I suspect he hasn’t been here all that long. It looks like he was just ahead of us.” Phlebus’s voice sounded sad and disappointed. “I wish we had gotten here in time to help him. I sure would have liked to know what he knew.” “Phlebus, that’s callous.” Lucy scolded him. “Ah, my apology Lucy. I wasn’t thinking of his family or friends, only my need. You are right.” Torgin knelt a moment then spoke, “We are going down the tunnel, aren’t we?” Phlebus nodded in the gloom but they all knew the answer. “I wonder what’s in that room that Jon didn’t get to explore. Maybe that’s where the treasure is?” Zyrina speculated. “I don’t know if it is treasure, Rina. It might be something else completely. The kobolds didn’t seem to know.” Zyrina nodded and turned to leave. “Hang on a minute,” Phlebus called out. He got himself ready to face yet another battle. “Trolls take some time to prepare for, don’t you think?” Zyrina grinned, “Na, we have faced worse than a troll or two,” and she laughed. “Torgin’s digestion, for one.” Laughing, Lucy clapped Torgin on the back, “There have been a few surprises already, like that sketchy meal at that inn just south of Midland. Remember? But trolls aren’t the worst thing in the world, especially with Torgin along.” Torgin and Zyrina joined in the laughter and Phlebus broke down and joined in as well. It felt good to release some of the tension of the last few hours. Lucy of course, had spread out a blanket and had a picnic set upon it by the time they finished laughing. “We aren’t going to battle trolls on an empty stomach.” She was firm and directed them all to the small wash basin she had set up for them, as well. “How do you do that Lucy?” Zyrina wanted to know, choosing a sandwich. “Practice.” Was all Lucy would say about that. “Eat. Eat! Eat!!” Lucy was right, of course. They had no idea how much time had passed, and their hunger had built up. The sandwiches and fruit were a welcome break. It didn’t take long. Within moments of the last bit of remains of their picnic cleaned up and the basin packed again, Phlebus and the others were ready to carry on down the tunnel that they now knew ended in a battle with trolls, and possibly more kobolds if any had survived. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 7 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Chapter Six. Dear Jon. Read by Asclepius Early in the morning after packing their bags for the day, three of the companions sat around dainty maple tables in their inn sipping hot beverages and enjoying their breakfasts. Crisp blue skies in the early autumn light bolstered Lucy, Zyrina, and Phlebus who had spent much the night tossing and turning. Torgin slept like a log. The cook had outdone himself this morning. Phlebus was nowhere to be seen. The chef delivered yet another platter (this time cut fruit) to the table, smiling at Zyrina as he did so. “He’s sweet on ya,” Lucy mumbled between mouthfuls of the most delicious egg dish she had ever tasted. “I think you exaggerate, Lucy.” Zyrina sipped at her mug of hot spiced tea and nibbled the fresh morning roll she had slathered with local honey. “Would splain the personal delivery of our meals by the chef.” Torgin reasoned as he chewed his third round of sausage with fried sweet onions. He winked at Zyrina. “Perhaps it’s Torgin who the cook prefers.” Zyrina argued. Torgin’s booming laugh nearly drowned out Plebus who had heard the last bit of banter and he walked in the front door of the inn. “Leave Rina alone, you both know he’s a happily married man. Don’t start rumours.” Phlebus was not smiling. “We’ve got to think about repercussions to the chef.” “What’s got your goat, Phle?” Torgin wanted to know, not in the least circumspect. “I met with Jon earlier this morning down by the dock where he was booking the transport into one of the ships of several stone statues that had been removed from the mine. The statues are being sent to the schools of learning around New Brittania to try and find an antidote to the magic used.” Phlebus stopped to thank the server and take a sip of the tea he had just been given. “Jon is just as elusive as Ivan has been, but he has agreed to talk with all of us this afternoon at the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot about what he knows and saw that night.” He added, “After he went back to work, I wanted to get some more information about the history of the valley. I just came from the Hall of Enquiry and Learning. The librarian didn’t have many records. Her collection methods are sporadic and not very well organized but what she has was helpful. She’s an Outlander too. Her memory is long but has gaps and she only has things that she has collected in her own travels. Certainly not a full history of the valley, even. She has no recollection of when that dragon was slain as it was before she came to the valley, but she had a record of most of the keepers of the dragon bones, back over a hundred years. Jenny was listed as the very last one.” “Why did they stop having a keeper of the bones?” Lucy asked perplexed then added, “Why did they have a keeper of the bones?” Phlebus set his empty teacup down and helped himself to a plate with a large colourful omelet and some toasted bread. He tucked into the plate with gusto while Torgin filled his teacup from the pot. Between bites he explained “Let’s see, at first it was to make sure no one took the dragon bones. People being people, they wanted souvenirs of the battle. After the dragon meat was divvied up between the people of Jade Valley, the keeper kept the bones from being taken from where they fell. That way, everyone could come see the size of it and remember how much damage it did before it was finally killed. The dragon skeleton was mentioned in one of the first records as a trophy from one of the many valiant deeds of Calan Caitlin. He slew the dragon all by himself a hundred years ago or so. Dragons have been seen flying over the valley ever since. Sometimes they attack, and that is why the valley has lookout towers surrounding it. I’m sure you’ve noticed them.” Zyrina acknowledged, “I had wondered when I saw the towers.” Lucy and Torgin nodded in respect for the warrior who killed the dragon. Then, Lucy asked, “Do you think the stone dragon in the middle of the markets has anything to do with what is happening here?” “I don’t think so, Lucy.” Phlebus shook his head then considered it for a moment before going on, “I don’t know. Maybe, but we have no information on that statue, it could be just a statue. Next time I’m at the Hall of Learning I will ask about it, too.” “Sometimes a statue is just a statue.” Torgin added but he too started thinking about the massive stone dragon in the middle of the markets. “And sometimes a stone is a dragon.” Lucy was not willing to give up so easily and stuck her tongue out at her brother. Before the pair broke into a more serious argument Phlebus went on, “The keeper of the bones was tasked with preserving the skeleton so that everyone could see it, and also so thieves didn’t run off with bits of it. Shortly after it was killed rumours about it coming alive in the dark started circulating. So, the keeper was tasked with watching the bones for any strange behaviour. By the time Ivan’s granny Jenny was keeper, hardly no one remembered the story of the dragon fight and several bones had been dragged away over the decades.” Phlebus looked over at Lucy to add, “Maybe the missing bones affect the spell and that might be why it didn’t finish forming last night. Anyway, the council decided that when Jenny died, they would not reassign the Keeper of the Bones. So, she was the last official with that title. However, her family kept up the tradition informally, and Ivan is the current Keeper of the Bones. They stop thieves. Mostly the rumours of attacks at night do the job for them and no bones have gone missing from the skeleton for at least a couple decades.” Seeing Zyrina’s eyebrows go up, Phlebus turned to her and addressed the question he was sure she was going to ask. “She had no record of when bones went missing.” Plebus stated, “None of the Keepers have tried dispelling those rumours; they help to keep thieves at bay.” Zyrina grunted acknowledgement to the answer for her unspoken question. “Did you find anything out about whether or not dragon bones have come alive before?” Lucy asked. Nodding, Phlebus answered “Lily Byrd said there were rumours, but no one would admit to going to the graveyard after dark and that’s supposed to be the only time it has occurred. Though some folks talk if they think no one will know who they are so she had a list of some of those dates when people were rumoured to have turned to stone in the past. It’s in her draft notes for a book she’s compiling called the folk tales of the valley series. Compelling work. She has noticed the stone statues have been appearing in the area for nearly 3 decades. This is not new here, but it has never been this frequent in the past, that anyone can remember.” Zyrina raised her eyebrows, “The librarian is a fount of information, I see. I’ll have to take time to chat with her again myself before we leave Jade Valley.” “First, it’s time to go find Jon again and hear what he has to say on the subject.” Torgin grunted, then he argued, “If those dragon bones have something to do with turning people to stone and it’s getting more frequent, we are going to have to find the cause.” “Right. Meet back here in an hour and we will head over, alright?” Phlebus made the decision they were all waiting for. Zyrina hurried over to the vendors to fetch the few things Lucy asked her to find, and a few things she wanted for her own pack. Jade Valley market was bustling that morning and the cries of dock workers, vendors, seabirds, and children playing gave a sense of contentment and safety to the morning that none of the companions shared. Looking around, Zyrina was heartened to see the signs of humanity carrying on even with such a burden of sadness and loss in the community. She had noted this morning that more stone statues had been found and were moved to the side of the docks, for future transport after the bustle of the markets slowed. Zyrina had watched the process the morning before as well. The sounds of commerce and village life lay like a thin protection for the peace of mind of these villagers. She knew that like her, they could smell the fires still dotted the countryside and could just faintly catch a whiff of the carcasses burning in pits just outside the town itself. She stopped to ask at the guild house for directions to the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot before returning to the River Rider Inn. “Follow the road north, then round the bend, you’ll come to it soon ‘nuff.” Jeeves confirmed, pointed past the inn where she was staying. “Frojenta Lane.” “Thank you, Jeeves.” Zyrina left for her inn to meet the others. After gathering outside their accommodation to organize their bags, the companions shouldered their packs and headed north along the road. It was only a short walk after all and as the fresh sea air picked up speed it soon blew away the burning smells from the morning pits. Then at midday, as they rounded a bend in the dirt path, something delicious spiced the air. They followed the scent all the way to the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot at the next corner. The restaurant was on the main floor of what looked like a four-story wooden inn with a lovely front porch just meant for resting on. “Hallo!! Anybody here?” Torgin’s voice boomed out in the silence inside the Stewpot. There was a piano in one corner and what looked to be a pipe organ along another wall. The bar looked sort of clean, mostly well-stocked, and there was a distinct odor of dragon stew simmering somewhere in a kitchen that made their mouths water. There were tables and long benches for travellers to use scattered throughout the room as well as a few small wood round tables with chairs, and stools at the bar. “I smell the dragon and the stewpot, but I don’t see a raven,” Torgin spoke tongue in cheek. Lucy giggled at her brothers attempt at a joke. “Tis too early for that, brother. Ravens don’t show themselves to strangers.” Finally, the back door opened, and a lovely young woman came through carrying a keg over her shoulder as if it were a feather pillow. In her other hand she held a pamphlet called the Sticky Beak Flyer and was engrossed in her reading as she walked. She didn’t look strong enough to pick up a heavy cloak let alone a keg but there she was doing it right in front of them, one armed with a full keg. After setting it nonchalantly on the counter she continued to read, her nose nearly touching the page. “Is your name Raven?” Torgin asked while dodging the elbow to his ribs from his giggling sister. The sound of Torgins’s voice cut through her reading and gave the barmaid a start. She dropped her pamphlet, then became flustered. “I did not see you zere,” she stammered. “H H Hello zere an’ welcome to ze Raven ze Dragon and ze Stewpot. I am called Liz, Henry’s daughter.” She indicated over her shoulder at the figure sweeping the back door stoop, “What can I bring you?” “Ale, stew and bread, with thanks.” Torgin took a step toward her as she started pulling the ale they requested from a spout on the open keg behind the counter into a large pewter jug and asked, “Is Ivan’s Uncle Jon around somewhere?” “Jon? Old Jon?” She asked while keeping a careful eye on the stream of ale. “Zee caretaker down ze mine?” “Yes.” Torgin nodded. “He was going to meet us.” “Well, ee’s usually around the Stewpot every day ‘bout this time, but I’ve not seen ‘im since early zis mornin’ talking with your frien’ zere.” She indicated Phlebus with a nod of her head. “I bet trouble down the mine, has caused thees delay. Zis is usually ze delay zat keeps ‘im from comin’ for ‘is soup.” She bustled around them setting down two jugs of ale and a basket of sliced bread. “If you ask me zere’s somezing amiss zere. Ee told me zee kobolds were on zee verge of rioting over somezing zey dug up. Ee had a meetin’ with zee minin’ boss zis mornin’.” “What do you think it is?” Lucy asked while setting her pile of bags on the floor near the table. When she finished, she started filling mugs from the fresh pitcher of ale Liz had set on the table. As she walked to their chosen table with the large pitcher of ale and several mugs she shrugged, “I dunno. Eet has been a long while since zee tours shut down so I doubt it’s more killing or disappearing. An’ zen Merrik Dougan went missing a couple months ago, too. Zere ’as been search crews looking for ‘im in ze tunnels.” “Who is Merrik Dougan?” Zyrina asked after thanking Lucy for her mugful. “That would be Elaine’s son. I believe she has daughters too. Jenny’s friend married into the Dougan family of Frojenta Lane.” Phlebus answered the question before the barmaid could. “That’s right.” Liz nodded. “Ee’s usually around the place causing trouble with ‘is friends and making stew with ‘is sister.” She went on sadly, “Today we had to do it without ‘im again. ‘ee is not zee same since returning to us.” Phlebus grinned at her and turned to ask, “If Old Jon is down in the mine how do we find him?” “Well, you may go into zee mine and find ‘im yourself. Zere’s only one way into ze mine after ze fire and cave in.” The barmaid indicated the small door at the back of the Inn, “Through zat way around ze back, an’ you will see a crypt for Charlotte tucked in by ze greenhouses there. Remember to watch your step in ze dark. We don’t want anyone else dying down zere. It’s too sad.” “What fire?” Zyrina asked quickly. “Is that Charlotte the spider?” Lucy asked before Liz could answer Zyrina’s question. “Else?” Torgin inquired at the same time as Zyrina. Liz stood with her hands on her hips at the side of the table and tried to answer all their questions, “Well, yes Jon can tell you all zis, but after ze cave in, there was a passageway that opened up between the crypt and the mine. The miners ‘ave been using zis entrance in ze crypt ever since zen. I don’t know when eet might be fixed.” She looked around conspiratorially, “I ‘eard zere are family spirits ‘ere in ze mines and zey have been attacking anyone zey come across. You aren’t goin’ to see me goin’ down ze crypt, no way, even eef Jon has sworn some sections are completely free of danger, like zee fishing grottos.” “Fishing grottos in a family tomb?” Torgin was more and more confused but willing to believe almost anything about the area at this point. He chuckled. “Well yes, ze mine has mostly dried up some time ago, an’ ze Dougans started givin’ mine tours and fishing tours in some of ze back damp caves where zeey didn’t find ore to mine. It kept the business going when zere was no more silver. Zat’s when zey built ze food court.” She started wiped the table next to them with a rag while continuing, “It was after all zat when ze cave in happened, it opened a passage to ze family crypt an’ some of ze ghosts killed many tourists.” Liz stopped speaking when Lucy gasped, then nodded her head emphatically, she continued to explain, “Yes zis is true. That’s when ze family hired ze Kobolds to dig a new entrance to ze mine further away, and to fill in ze gap zat opens zee family crypt to ze mine itself. Zey are not finished yet.” She stopped scrubbing at the table to say, “Zat old mine entrance iz covered over by ee green’ouses now. You would never know zere had been a mine here if you didn’t ask me.” She paused before adding, “Zis hardly seems right, ze spirits wandering around a mine like zat.” Liz shuddered then shook her head and sighed with real loss. She added, “Inside, to find your way around, zere is an information booth just inside ze entrance wiz map on ze bulletin board to ze left. Eet will give you some guidance to find zee Food Court and the other areas of ze mine. Stay out of the ones marked danger and you will be fine.” She smiled unconvincingly, “Zat is where Jon usually does ‘is business, I believe, at ze food court counter.” Both Zyrina and Lucy followed Liz into the kitchen and asked more questions about the history of the mine and the barmaid answered as she dished up their bowls of dragon stew. Torgin was sitting at the bar with the bowl that Liz had handed him before filling the rest of the bowls. Kitty was at his feet eating a bowl of dragon kibble that Liz had placed on the ground for her. Torgin and Kitty were both shovelling food as fast as they could and weren’t paying any attention to the talk around them. Still at the long table, Phlebus took out a parchment and ink from one of his packs. With quill in hand, he swiftly scrawled a couple of letters: Damieth Nara, Lycaeum Center of Learning, Brittany, Novia Sir, stopping whoever is controlling the dragon bones from continuing with their plan to use magic of the ancient Obsidians in this manner is moving forward. I believe we have a solid lead to follow here finally. You have my full report sent earlier today. We have not discovered the source of the magic yet but have decided to question a witness of one of the times that this magic was used. We go to interview him today inside a mine that people have been disappearing from regularly and also getting killed in as well. I know we are getting close to finding an answer, I can feel the magic afterglow strongly here. I will write again when I have some more concrete knowledge and not just rumours. This dragon, whether or not under the control of mages using Obsidian magic, will destroy the whole valley (not just the farm animals) if we can’t stop it from fully forming. I have not yet found the shard that you suspect is involved. With respect, Phlebus And one other: Trida Moonwalker, Lycaeum Center of Learning, Brittany, Novia Ma’am, my group have discovered that there may be some Obsidian shard magic in use here in Jade Valley. I spoke privately with the caretaker of a local mine who is quite concerned with the Kobold miners who are skittish at best working near humans but seem to be holding some secret back from him, also with unprovoked attacks by liches, and with the disappearance of residents and the subsequent reappearance as stone statues of themselves. The governor was correct, there is some malign of spirit here. I can’t place the source yet, but we are getting closer. You have my report from last night. The dragon bones turning were not the first attempt at this magic. Turning Novians to stone with magic is not something I’ve heard about before. I don’t know the reason for that yet either. I am having several of the stones shipped to you. Please see if the magic that binds the is reversable. Are they truly lost? I had a restless sleep and I’m sure the others did too. I left them at the inn early today to go search out more history at the Hall of Enquiry and Learning. Now we are meeting Jon and I will learn more about what he suspects, then report back. I don’t think Jon is as forthright as he could be about what he knows, but he does know something, and I’ll find out what. We are going to go ahead into the Dougan Family Crypt and Silver Mine where he is the caretaker. This magic uses shards. It smells different and feels different in the middle of my body somewhere. Greasy oily, and somehow warped in some way. I have informed Damieth Nara. See if anyone at the library has heard of old magic being revived anywhere else in Novia using shards, and send what they find to me here, please, care of the inn. With respect, Phlebus PS you were right, travelling is harder than I remember from my youth. “Will you take these to the mail for me?” Phlebus held out the sealed parchments and a few coins to Liz when she brought his stew over to him. “Yes certainly, sir.” She placed the bowl of stew in front of him, then tucked the money into her apron pocket and took the empty pitchers off the table. “I’ll get zose papers after I’ve had a wash. No need to get gravy on your letters. Would you like more ale?” “Yes, please.” Phlebus nodded. Later after they’d eaten, she still seemed adamant about not going into the mine but did take the time to lead them over to the very strange entrance to a mine, the crypt. Liz kissed each of them once on each cheek before sending them off, “Give Jon an ‘ello from me, an’ tell him ‘is seat is kept warm for ‘im when ee’s back topside.” This stone tomb which served as the entrance to the Dougan family Silver Mine on the south side of the Raven the Dragon and the Stewpot Inn was sandwiched between the inn and the inn’s full greenhouses. There were no indications that it was anything other than the resting place of Charlotte the Spider. “Why on earth would they build a mine near a family crypt.” Torgin was still confused. “The ancestors would be disturbed by this activity, wouldn’t they?” He was truly perplexed and barely understood the concept of keeping dead bodies in the first place, as the customs he was familiar with involved a pyre and flame for the dead, to help them on their way to the other side. But he was ready. His axe was out. The opening was a tight fit for him, but he wiggled through the lid after Zyrina followed Phlebus inside. Kitty leapt into to the crypt right behind him. “Maybe they had no choice, maybe the ancestors wanted this.” Zyrina shrugged while she reasoned while she studied the map on the bulletin board, “and that’s why the silver was discovered.” She had become accustomed to the various ways someone in Novia could fall into an entrance to some other location, and not all of them friendly or safe. Her first experience was looking too deeply into a beautiful old mirror that led to a night of battle she would not ever forget. By now this should seem normal, but it never did. “Dead ancestors guiding the living to find silver?” Phlebus joined in. “That hardly seems likely. I thought she said digging the tunnels for that spider led to the discovery. That seems far more probable.” “Where’s Lucy?” Zyrina asked Torgin. “She was fixing something in her bag, she’ll find us soon enough.” Torgin indicated back over his shoulder to the exit. “Let’s get over to the food court and find Jon the Caretaker.” Still outside the inn, Lucy had accidently dropped several packages of herbs out of a hole that spilled from one of her bulging small bags. She had been scooping up the small packets and then stuffing them back into a different bag, all the while enjoying peering through the windows of the full greenhouses nearby. When she finally looked up from her perusal of the plants there, she found her friends had gone into the crypt without her. Fifteen minutes later Lucy was the last to catch up to the group. After a quick glance at the bulletin board to get her bearings, she jogged over to the food court and found the others arranged in comfortable positions around a wooden small table in the middle of a large room. She was a little out of breath when she scooted in. She lifted a chair from a neighboring table, set it down and plopped into it. Then she looked around the mining cafeteria where they sat, as each of her companions stared quietly into their unknown futures while they waited. There was a story telling corner that had colourful cushions to sit on while listening to stories the miners told. Further along she could see a shop set up with mining souvenirs and clothing for sale, and a long wooden counter dividing the kitchen from the eating areas with many small table and chairs combinations where they sat now. “Where’s Jon?” She asked looking around the empty room. Phlebus gave Lucy a moment to compose herself before he began to speak. “He wasn’t here when we arrived, but there was part of a letter left on the bar.” It began mid-sentence: ‘…the dead got up and started killing the tourists. Ain’t seen nothin like it afore that, Owain. The spirits of the Dougin Family got up outta their caskets and followed some kind of lich or sumptin inta the mines. They killed a bunch o’ people who were down for a tour too. Was carnage and took a long time to clean up and find em all without runnin’ inta one o’ them liches while doin’ it, too. They ain’t came back to their restin’ spots yet neither and that’s why the family crypt is still empty. Gotta round em up somehows and get em back into that family crypt. The family decided to close the mine to the public. That’s when Merrik disappeared again, you’ll remember him. Gone for months, he was. That Kobold miner Or’tuk found him wandering round an old unused tunnel deeper than kobolds usually dig. He was gone for so long that the family was just thinkin’ on settin’ up a memorial. They were all relieved ta ha’ Merrik back, though he’s not said much about wha’ happened to him and don’t seem to have memory of any part of his life before making his way out of the depths of the mine where he’d bin. He ain’t the same neither. He bin changed by them tunnels doing who knows what to stay alive. We’d give up on seein him agin and then he popped right out of the mine like he were jus’ gone down this mornin’. Stinky though, smelled like an old dragon fart.’ The page ended and there was no more writing on the back either. She looked up, confused. “We think he was partway through writing that” Phlebus explained holding up lemons found near the writings then he shrugged, “or possibly it’s disappearing ink. Can’t tell. Maybe both.” He held up 2 other blank pages that had been found with the partial letter to Owain. “There was this., too.” Zyrina handed Lucy the other paper they had found. “Look.” Jon, Dis note for you only. I gotta talk in your ear. Come on over to the mining office in the Kobold Quarters. Now. Or’tuk, Captain, Kobold Mining Company After reading she handed the letters back to Phlebus. Then Lucy took a moment to think about what she had read and finally asked, “What now? Still find Jon? Think he’s still over at the Kobold quarters mining office?” “Yes,” Phlebus nodded several times, “whatever is going on down here we need to find Jon. There is far too much coincidence in the lich attacks here on the innocent right when stone statues and dead animals started becoming more common, let alone dragon skeletons coming alive.” Phlebus found himself searching deeply into the faces of those dear to him around the table. He sought a connection with each of them. After he had their full attention, he smiled. It was time to give a rousing talk to inspire the group. Trida Moonwalker had warned him of this moment in any group’s adventure. They looked ragged and anxious. He began, “We need to find a way to stop whoever is trying to form a dragon from those bones. You know this. We all know the dangers of a full-grown dragon attack upon a small village like this. Not one of us looked away when the mist dragon formed in the graveyard last night. You were all ready to battle and not one of you tried to flee.” Wryly grinning he continued, “And I know you are each just as dedicated to finding answers as I am. Thank you, my friends, for that support.” “I know the townspeople are all preparing as best they can for whatever is facing them, but they have no way to fight something as overwhelming as magic that makes dragon bones fly or something that can turn villagers to stone.” Phlebus paused for a moment before going on. He finished carefully, “We can only hope their preparations will keep them safe. Whomever is behind this must be stopped before they manage to succeed. I know none of us are looking for a battle, and I will do my best to avoid any further confrontation, let alone whatever else it is we are getting ourselves into here in this underground lair while we search for Jon the illusive Caretaker. There won’t be reinforcements. Let’s go.” No one moved. Zyrina snorted “that was the WORST pep talk I’ve ever heard. We are alone. We might die. And we might fail. No one is coming to help us. Come on, say something a little more encouraging, won’t you?” Phlebus looked at Torgin, who looked at Lucy. Phlebus turned to Lucy and raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘your turn’. Lucy shifted, uncomfortable all of a sudden. After clearing her throat, the quiet woman gathered her thoughts and then spoke clearly and with passion, “I see before me the smartest, strongest, most caring people that I know. With our combined skills we can manage anything we find. I am absolutely certain of it. There isn’t much reason to wait is there? I mean, we know why we do what we do, we are the best at what we do, and it’s time to go do it! We stand together. We do not flinch. We find the truth of the matter.” She finished with a grimace, “Let’s go stomp these liches!!” Gracefully she rose from her chair to turn and point her sturdy arm out of the food court and across the mine’s entrance to where she had seen the Kobold Miner’s Quarters on the map earlier, before striding boldly out of the cafeteria. Torgin muttered, “Get ‘em sis,” as he petted Kitty behind her ear. “Oh!” Looking up into the silence after Lucy’s speech, Phlebus hastily collected his bags and stepped into the mining entrance behind Lucy. Then quickly out of the way of an empty mining cart that came barreling by on its track. The mining cart was a relic from the Public Tours the Silver Mine. It had been used to give to the locals and occasional outlander tours of the area before ghosts and liches started attacking everyone. “See? Now, THAT is a pep talk” Zyrina nodded finding herself raring to go tear into the unknown. She finished by saying to Torgin, “Sometimes action is the best pep talk of all. Let’s go find some answers,” and with that strode out behind Lucy and Phlebus. Torgin bringing up the rear, hesitated only a short time. “Kitty stay here,” he quietly ordered before gathering his supplies back up and stepping out behind his group of friends. Kitty didn’t hesitate and made her way to the cushions on the floor of the reading corner. Circling once or twice, she had herself curled up in a comfortable napping spot within seconds. Torgin could hear her purring as he walked out of the room. Directly across from where he stood was an entrance to the Kobold Quarter and mining office located somewhere down a dark tunnel behind a large wooden statue of a Kobold. It had a barrier that said keep out blocking the passage, but Lucy and the others had moved some of it out of the way by the time he caught up. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 6 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 97 (R97), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, large cats have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, wyvern eggs have also been added as loot to the game. These eggs can be... Play Release 97 Now! Lions, Lionesses & Tigers! Wyvern Eggs! UI Improvements!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 97 (R97), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, large cats (lions and tigers) have been added, most of which can be tamed! Players will find these new creatures scattered through many scenes throughout New Britannia! Also, wyvern eggs have also been added as loot to the game. These eggs can be utilized as decorations or even used in a new cooking recipe! Further uses for these eggs will be added in the future. 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 Release 97 Patch Notes! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Crown Store: New Town-Sized Home, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs & More! January Login Reward: Caduceus Wand! Release 97 Subscriber Login Rewards: Caduceus Staff & Lion Cub Pet! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives Streamer Rewards Program Upcoming Release Dates Community Updates Community Events & Resources Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer Project to Support: Shard RPG Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Release 97 Patch Notes! Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 97 (R97). This release is a short release due to the holiday season, but we still managed to provide a considerable amount of new items and changes to keep everyone entertained. Additional content, improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R98 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 97! Happy holidays! World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes: Big cats have finally made their appearance in Novia: Lions and lionesses and tigers, oh my! With the exception of one very rare, very powerful lion, all big cats can be tamed! Lions and lionesses have chances to spawn in these locations: Desert Encounter Plains Encounter Crag Foothills Midras Ruins Sequanna Colossus Oracle Colossus Elysian Ruins Spectral Peaks Tigers have chances to spawn in these locations: Forest Road Encounter Swamp Road Encounter East Veiled Swamp Far Hinterlands East Longfall Wetland Kas Ruins Twins Foothills The Fall Aerie: Improved the logic for “help” responses by both Devotional Caretakers. Ardoris: Improved the logic for archiving the “Meet with Khasi” and “Meet with Siranto” tasks for avatars if Min is defeated before these tasks are completed. Ardoris: Merchant Guildmaster Cai Lau now always has the “Sheng Lau” keyword available to ensure all localized versions have access to that keyword. Blood Bay: Removed the chances that the ebb and flow of lava will block lava fishing at both volcanoes. Blood River Outskirts: The “Ask Phineas for Poison” compass marker should never appear after the Phineas Drumplemouth questline is complete. Castle Atos: The shrine buff will now work correctly when 1-3 players are in scene. Castle Atos: Several stuck spots have been fixed. Castle Atos: Player’s should no longer appear to fall when exiting to Novia. Castle Atos: The scene has received a number of new decorations, to include a piano in the tavern, toilets, and benches. Castle Atos: Now features an interactive well to obtain water. Castle Atos: Now features a seasonal Yule tree in the plaza. Castle Atos: Mage of Mystery Quang has replaced Divum. Castle Atos: Blocked the underside of a staircase from view. Castle Atos: The chef daily quest at Castle Atos now provides more varied and increased rewards, to include the very occasional wyvern egg. Castle Atos: The Shrine will now grant the blessing again if the buff was cancelled and the shrine reentered. Caverns of Skrekk: Added/updated props of some buildings near the palace. Central Brittany: Reactivated the Krampus quest given by Kinga and Ronin. Central Brittany: Updated some parts of Arabella’s trivial responses. Control Points: “Mages of Mystery” in all control points have lowered their teleportation fees. Crossing to the opposite side of the same control point is now 15 gold, while teleporting to a different control point is 50 gold. (Those worthy of being teleported to the Manor of Mystery is still free.) Desert Encounter: The sculptor merchants that sometimes spawn in these scenes will now always be humanoid. Despair: Several visual glitches have been fixed. Estgard: Improved “safety” logic that archives the “Convince Knight in Estgard” tasks when players complete the Path of Courage. Forest Encounters with Unicorns: Fixed an issue that cause the “great threat” message to appear prematurely. Graff Gem Mines: Adjusted the location for a skeleton that was spawning halfway into a wall. Halls of Artifice: The “spike cage” room mechanics have been updated to include a trigger warning and two very visible locks. One of these locks replaces the hidden pressure plate and it’s disastrous results. The avatar can now make a mildly-informed choice as to which lock to use. Also, two children in a cage in a different room have been replaced by two adults. Hills Encounter: Updated the path grid to help stop a certain wolf from leashing sometimes. Hilt Fortress: Fixed a stuck spot in the Obsidian Forge area. Jaanaford: Updated the logic which displays the compass markers related to the Broken Echoes Silver Mine’s foreman. Jotungrund: Assigned lower LOD meshes to rock mesh colliders to allow for easier access to particular resource nodes. Jotungrund: Avatars that were told by Wymond about his bone chips quest but didn’t accept it should now be able to do so. Jotungrund: Several “stuck” spots have been fixed and several floating boulders fixed. K’rul: Fixed a stuck spot in a gazebo. K’rul: Moved large automatons out of small rooms. Added props to an empty shed. Lord British’s Castle: Fixed an issue where a secret door wasn’t opening. Manor of Mystery: Moved floating mandrake roots to the ground, removed candles on the floor near a building entrance, and shifted the pink-purple cloth on the return teleporter disc to purple. Manor of Mystery: Removed redundant mages. Moved floating mandrake to the ground. Avatars with the “incorrect reputation” in the manor may find the mages will notice this and teleport them away. Manor of Mystery: Some mages of mystery referred to the old price of 500 gold for passage. They now know to only ask for 50 gold. Mysterious Swamp: The rare Spawn of Sobek, T15 crocodile is now tameable! Nightshade Pass: Moved a small floating rock to the ground. Oracle Temple: Improved the logic that dismisses the “Find the Cerulean Lens” compass marker. Overworld: The default option for new players will be to show town names in non-runic letters. Player-Run Towns: These towns have received a minimal complement of NPCs and crafting stations near their default entrances, and all Player-Run Towns allow for POT only deeds to be utilized: Aldhaven Estercove Greyacre Highiron Holtrot Kingswood Lochfield Northshire Owl’s Wash Port Mirren Ravensend Redmill Righ Inis Shadowmist The Brave Coast Valemark Westhollow Player Villages: All “player village” scenes have been reclassified as Player-Run Towns which enables placement of POT only deeds within their borders. POT Forest 01b template: Removed anomalous world objects. Serpent’s Spine Foothills: Squirrels now have a chance to spawn instead of rabbits. Shaminian Hills: Adjusted the mechanics of the magical elevator to help ensure the crystal receptacle stays in the proper state. Added a “Reset Platform” button near the top of the elevator for situations where the receptacle might still go out of sync. Skrekk: Added/updated decorations within some buildings. Skrekk: Updated the compass marker for “Caverns of Skrekk” to read as such. Solace Bridge Outskirts: Avatars cannot use the “skip conversation with merchants” option for Ackerley’s until after they finish his quests. Soltown: Stanley now has small quests that point players to Arabella in Soltown and Baozhai the guard in Castle Atos. South Majestic Forest: Fixed typos in CBY-60053’s responses about the virtues. Spite: Fixed the icons for several compass marker discoveries, including the Moratorium. The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed a typo in Miloslava’s “stone” response. The Outlaws’ Run: Moved floating roots to the ground. The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed typos in “Tell Guard About Mlroslava” journal entries. The Rise: Fixed decoration issues in one room. Valhold: New avatars who don’t meet the requirements cannot access the interior of Valhold Palace. Vertas: Improved the response and journal from Kiakis regarding his suggestion of going through Vertas Pass to Jaanaford. Petrified Dragon Eggs on store now come in 3 packs. The Saddle and Bags with Stand decoration item is now called Saddlebags with Stand since there is no saddle present on the item. Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes: Wyvern Eggs and a related food recipe are now available: These eggs have a small chance to drop from wyverns, with higher tier wyverns having greater chances. Elves in Savrenoc Stronghold now have a small chance to drop a Wyvern Egg Salad recipe, which increases a character’s Song Duration by an additional 25% for 2 hours. These eggs can also be placed as decorations. More recipes for these food components are coming soon! Soon, the Castle Atos storehouse containers will accept wyvern eggs as the uncommon crate item, so hold on to your extras! Mimic Pets can now sit and dance! Spider room recipes to include the spawned version are now available. A pedestal to enable spawns has been added to the Hilt Spider Room with Spawns. The Hilt Spider Room Pristine now features improved decoration surfaces. Fixed typos in the Acaran Gauntlet upgrade recipe display names. Celestian Sofa is now dyeable in primary slot. The Bottle of Wine and Elven Bottle of Wine can be rotated on an additional axis. Lava pool decorations will no longer damage players when dragged over a player in decoration placement mode. Mounts that are locked in inventory can once again be used. The Ravensmoor teleporter steps now feature improved collision and no longer require players to jump to ascend the steps. Streamer bundles now have a unique color (purple) compared to other supply bundles when placed as a decoration. The 2021 Extra Live cloak will now correctly salvage to the 2021 pattern instead of the 2017 pattern. The Antique Shop now features improved decoration surfaces. The Labrys Axe pattern now has the proper display name. Combat & Skill Changes: Ardoris Arena: Ardoris arena now has skill caps, level caps, and a 75% reduction in stats provided by gear. Players who are flagged for open world PvP or in a PvP scene now receive a 5-second resurrection debuff instead of a 15-second debuff. Lightning Storm: Fixed an issue which caused lightning storm to stun excessively by ignoring crowd control resistance effects. Now fizzles as intended. Now applies aggro properly to the caster. Lightning Storm can no longer be parried. Lightning Storm now properly consumes the listed reagents. Cone of Cold will now use fewer reagents. Summoning spells should now level more quickly. The rate at which many mobs parry has been dramatically reduced. A number of potions no longer erroneously expire when a player dies. Summoning spells should now level more quickly. Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes: Castle Atos now features unique freshwater fishing loot tables! The first unique item, which is a rare drop, is a Floating Barrel (Flotsam). Use this barrel as a water decoration in your Player-Owned Towns or on your water lot properties. Players can also open the barrel (which destroys it) to receive a considerable amount of Elven Brandy, Satyr Spirits, or Kobold Spirits. Mustard seeds are now available on various cooking merchants throughout New Britannia, which is one of the ingredients for Wyvern Egg Salad. Streamer Bundles are available by request for highly active streamers to provide as prizes. The Player Livestreams & Videos forum will be updated soon with a thread to provide qualification information. Streamer bundles now only provide no-trade items. The Delicate Feather of the Phoenix now drops for players without the phoenix feather quest. User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes: Player health bars are now MOVEABLE! This option can be enabled in the options menu, which is set to “off” by default. The player dungeon UI has received a significant update. Now, players may select dungeon pieces from their inventory while the dungeon piece selection UI is open. A new option in the options menu has been added which allows players to be mounted automatically upon scene load, which is set to “off” by default. The inventory search bar filter has been improved. Now, search results also consider the original name for a renamed item. Fixed an issue which caused the scene to reload repeatedly, and logging has been improved to help analyze future related bugs. Fixed an issue which caused the Lua object ID to change when a previously created object was destroyed. The Lua function ShroudOnSceneLoaded() will now execute only once after all the game objects are fully loaded. Additional Lua changes, fixes, and additions are now live. Documentation with updates can be found here. The chat window no longer changes a private message target when the intended private message target has logged off. Player-Owned Town Changes: Duanor: Upgraded to Town. Greymorn: Upgraded to Hamlet. Hawker’s Retreat: Added new holdfast to Hidden Vale, northeast of Wynton’s Folly. Jade Mountains: Upgraded to Hamlet. Jade Valley: Upgraded to Megalopolis. Norstead: Moved to Novia, southwest of Estgard. Reverie: Upgraded to Town from Crossroads Village. Wolves Den: Upgraded to Crossroads Village. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, December 17th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “happy holidays” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store. Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT! Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our 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 Crown Store: New Town-Sized Home, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs & More! Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the in-game Crown Store. Available today on December 16th, a new town-sized house! This 5-story home not only features a widow’s walk, but also veranda on the 4th floor. Stone Five-Story w/ Veranda (Town Home) Becoming available on December 24th, Enchanted Wyvern Eggs! Added this release are 8 smaller versions which drop as loot throughout New Britannia, but players can also acquire these store versions which are larger AND glow in the dark! Enchanted Black Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Blue Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Green Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Orange Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Purple Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Red Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted White Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Enchanted Yellow Wyvern Egg 3-Pack Becoming available on December 31st, a gorgeous semicircle display table! Time to redesign your bar and merchant areas, because this item is a MUST have: Ornate Wooden Semicircle Display Table Becoming permanent year-round store entries, these 30 prior seasonal items from the winter recurring and vault sections of the store will remain on the store after the winter season ends on February 8th: Breathe Blue Fire Emote Breathe Emote 6-Pack Breathe Snow Emote Fountain of Frozen Waters Frost Pipe Frozen Bagpipes Ice Elemental Statue Ice Hot Tub Ice Nightmare Mask Ice Wings Icy Ancient Stone Cathedral Icy Ancient Stone Room Fishing Grotto Juggle Snowballs Emote Reindeer Decoration Pet Snow Emote Snowflake Pattern Cloak Virtue Ice Crown Virtue Ice Gown Outfit Virtue Ice Shield Virtue Ice Sword Virtue Ice Wand Virtue Icicle Cloak White Raven Decoration Pet White Reindeer Decoration Pet White Rottweiler Decoration Pet White Squirrel Decoration Pet Winter Lynx Decoration Pet Winter Pattern Glass Chandelier 3-Pack Winter Pattern Glass Floor Lamp 3-Pack Winter Pattern Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack Also, the Winter Seasonal are still available! Here’s a listing of all of these seasonal items. Some will feature only for 1 week in the Vault, but others will remain in the store throughout the holiday season, so don’t miss out! Winter items will be available until February 8th: 2016 Winter Holiday Soundtrack Blank Yule Card 2017 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2018 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2020 A 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2020 B 5-Pack Candy Cane Wand Ceiling Yule Tree Dark Yule Outfit Giant Haunted Yule Tree Giant Yule Tree 2015 Giant Yule Tree 2016 Giant Yule Tree 2017 Giant Yule Tree 2018 Haunted Sleigh Haunted Snow Family Haunted Snowman Mask Haunted Yule Tree Holly Wreath with Candles Hat Holly Wreath with Sparklers Hat Krampus Mask Krampus Statue Kwanzaa Table Decorations Large Haunted Yule Tree Large Yule Tree 2016 Large Yule Tree 2017 Large Yule Tree 2018 Menorah 2014 Menorah 2015 Menorah 2016 Menorah 2017 Menorah 2018 Menorah 2020 Menorah 2021 Ornate Mantle Garland 2017 12-Pack Ornate Mantle Garland 2018 12-Pack Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2014 Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2015 Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2016 Ornate Sled Ornate Sleigh Ornate Snow Family 2015 Ornate Snow Family 2016 Ornate Snow Family 2017 Ornate Snow Family 2018 Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack Ornate Yule Music Box Ornate Yule Wreath 2015 Ornate Yule Wreath 2016 3-Pack Ornate Yule Wreath 2017 3-Pack Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 3-Pack Red-Nosed Reindeer Mount Small Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack Small Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack Snow Globe 2020 Snowdragon Snowflake Pattern Cloak Snowman Mask 2015 Snowman Mask with Hat & Moustache 2018 Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2016 Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2017 Tabletop Elf Statue with Yule Hat Tabletop Haunted Yule Tree Tabletop Yule Tree 2014 Tabletop Yule Tree 2015 Tabletop Yule Tree 2016 Tabletop Yule Tree 2017 Tabletop Yule Tree 2018 Traditional Yule Hat Yule Elf Outfit Yule Gift Box 2016 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2017 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2018 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2020 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack Yule Hat Yule Stockings 2016 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2017 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2018 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2020 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack Yule Tree 2014 Yule Tree 2015 Yule Tree 2016 Yule Tree 2017 Yule Tree 2018 Yule Velvet Bodice Ensemble Don’t forget! Hometown is an amazing resource for players. At Hometown, which is located just east of Soltown, players can examine available houses, Player-Owned Town templates, and even new Crown Store items. Why not be certain you like it before you make a purchase? So head on over to Hometown and check things out! If you have questions about what’s on display in Hometown, please visit this forum thread and post a question. To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year! January Login Reward: Caduceus Wand! Log in during the month of December, and you’ll receive an Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Wand! Show your enemies you mean business by wielding this intricately designed magical item. Release 97 Subscriber Login Rewards: Caduceus Staff & Lion Cub Decoration Pet! Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 97 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection adds another item to the Ancient Xenossian set and more! The Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Staff adds yet another style to available staves, and this staff is simply amazing! The intricate metal work along the staff’s head truly draws the eye. For those excited about the new lion and tiger creatures added to the game this release, you’ll be even more excited to hear you’ll be receiving a Lion Cub Decoration Pet as a subscriber login reward. This little fella is a cutie! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 97 to receive these special login items: Ancient Xenossian Caduceus Staff Lion Cub Decoration Pet 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 (about 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 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month: 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 Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses: Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful! 24 Additional Deck Slots! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives! The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched. The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to clean up the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums. Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels! In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action! The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives. Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team! Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows: Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter” Single Ant Cloak Lady Bug Backpack Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids” Ant Farm Insect Leg Table Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles” Bug Painting B Bug Sprayer Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths” Butterfly Chair Corpion Chair (Pictured Below) Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies” Hacked Oracle Flyer Giant Blue Butterfly Pet Butterfly Mask Dragonfly pet Fairy Wings Monarch Butterfly Pet Dragonfly Wings Hacked Oracle Crawler Blue Butterfly VFX Orange Fireflies VFX Orange Butterfly VFX If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums. Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program! Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I! Phase I: Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply. Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar. Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual. Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come). Rules: To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application. To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program. Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program. Items of Note: SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord. Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material. Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them! Upcoming Release Dates 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. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows: Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content) Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish) Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content) Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish) Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content) Community Updates & Resources Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums: Catnip Games Contests: Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia! Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases. Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars! Special Announcements: Quel Regional Market Now Open: Tired of searching endlessly for what you’d like to buy? Well, the Britannian Mining Company feels the same way, so they’ve created a well-organized and easily accessible vendor town. And the best part… All row lots inside the settlements are FREE for any merchant in New Britannia to claim! One-Time Events: Holiday FIshing Extravaganza: Don’t miss out on this amazing holiday fishing contest in Crossroads Alleys. Good luck, Anglers! Mysteria Yule Gift Exchange: Join in on the holiday festivities in Mysteria for their special gift exchange party. Happy holidays! BMC Holiday Raffle: Want to win some amazing prizes, BMC has placed raffle tickets across their vendors throughout New Britannia. Win up to 300K gold! All We Need for Christmas: Music at M’hul Island! Once again, Eveara is hosting a musical get-together on M’hul Island to celebrate the holidays together with music, dancing, wine and fireworks. Come out and join in the festivities on Sunday, December 26th at 1PM CT. Lightbringer Isle Christmas Ball: Hemnu Lightbringer and friends are hosting a wondrous 1st Annual Christmas Ball at Lightbringer Isle. Grab your party favors, and journey to this very well decorated Player-Owned Town on December 24th at 2PM CT. Feasting and festivities abound! Jade Dragons New Year’s Eve Party: Head on over to the Jade Tavern in Jade Valley at 10PM to Midnight CT on December 31st to celebrate the New Year with friends, family, fireworks, and random prizes! This is the 7th Annual party they’ve hosted, so don’t miss out on this tradition! Music will be provided by DJ Celith Wraine from Virtue Radio. Recurring Events: Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all! Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Chrismas/Holiday Themed Items! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R96’s contest period lasts until December 28th! Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs. M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available! Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out! Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting! 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules. RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun! PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there! Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT! New Player-Created Resources: Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed! New Fan Fiction: Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest! Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 3 Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 4 Capt. Nyghtingale of the 31st Vanguard Fleet: Cid Deckard has posted a wonderful fan fiction video for all to enjoy! Community Calendars: Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in! NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you! SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better! Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun! One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these! Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones. Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread. Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures. Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum. Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum. Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out! Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out! Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play. Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community. SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars! Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now! We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job! Project to Support: Shard RPG Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad. Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals. Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character! Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah! So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG! Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming! Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:  The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game: More Enemies! More Environments! More Magic Spells! RPG Quests! Weapon Forging and Crafting! Much, much more! If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available! 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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

Chapter Five. The Bones. Read by Celith Wraine Down the slope a little from the farming area, just behind the tall white wooden clock tower in among the swaying trees stood a maze of an old graveyard. On closer inspection the graveyard was a series of graveyards, some of them crumbling with headstones that no longer were readable. The old headstones and pockmarked sarcophaguses lay scattered seemingly randomly in a maze of half destroyed stone fences and decaying stone buildings covered in moss and vines. Large trees now grew in and among the markers, sometimes thrusting up through the displaced stones of the destroyed buildings themselves. Passing the area earlier on their way to the windmill, none of the group had paid more than a passing glance at the old graveyard because they were all focused on the windmill and the large sky ship anchored above the town’s gardens. Looking up at the clock Lucy exclaimed, “Four in the afternoon! We’re missing tea!” She grumbled a little, “I hate missing tea. It usually means I’m doing something that I don’t want to do, like going to a graveyard to look for a half-drunk storyteller to hear the end to a very frightening story that he heard decades ago and none of the story might have anything to do with our mission in the first place.” Hot tea currently unavailable, she continued grumbling under her breath even as she rummaged through her bags and eventually pulled slightly squishy packages of leftover cheese and mostly fresh bread from her seemingly bottomless pack and a stoppered flask of cold tea. “I was hoping to be back at the inn, but these will have to tide us over for now,” and she offered the food and drink to everyone. The group sat under the shade of the clocktower to eat their food and everyone had a moment to have a good look at the graveyard where they were to find Ivan. “I didn’t realize Jade Valley had been here quite long enough to have so many old graves.” Zyrina noted thoughtfully while she chewed the last of her bread slowly. “Some of these are hundreds of years old.” Brushing the crumbs away she waited until everyone had finished eating to suggest, “Well let’s get started. He’s got to be here somewhere.” Phlebus started walking toward the nearest section to look for signs of Ivan or a gate with a skull but was easily distracted by reading the graves he passed. Zyrina followed him. Lucy was already distracted and excitedly digging up a plant that she found near one of the crumbled walls and Torgin left to start looking at the other end of the graveyard area. Torgin was the first to spot the old graveyard with the skull on its gate. “Over here.” He stood near the road, waving. As the others found their way over, Lucy stared at an old set of bones close to where Torgin waited. It looked like a massive dragon had died here some ages past. Torgin was beckoning the others to take a path that snaked from the road past the dragon bones. “I remember passing these,” Lucy mumbled. “D’you think these are the bones that Jenny was the keeper of? Some are missing.” As she inspected the skeleton of the dragon she took stock of several missing rib bones. She ran her hands along the massive row of ribs sticking out of the ground as she caught up with her brother. They felt warm to her touch. The sun must have warmed them, she thought to herself and nervously laughed a little. “This way.” Torgin indicated a small overgrown stone path that led behind the dragon bones, right to a small, fenced graveyard. The metal skull gate was obvious, and the yard was surrounded by a rusting spiked metal fence and some kind of prickly hedge that appeared to be dead. “I wonder why this part is fenced.” Lucy mused. Phlebus peered around at the many graves that were not enclosed. “Maybe these ones aren’t as old, Lucy.” He suggested, “it doesn’t look as decrepit as the rest of them.” Zyrina had walked a little way away to get a closer look at a human sized stone shape nearby. “Is that another of those stone statues, Rina?” “Yes, it looks like it.” Zyrina shuddered a little. The statues were so lifelike that Zyrina had a difficult time looking into their eyes. She wondered how long this one had stood in this spot, as some of its hat and edges of its cloak lay in bits and pieces at its feet. “This one is older than the others, Phle.” Zyrina reported. “It’s beginning to crumble.” Meanwhile, Torgin pushed the skull door open and led the way into the graveyard. Fading afternoon light cast long shadows on spiderwebs all around them. He prudently kept his dagger to hand in case the weaver of the web appeared. Lucy took a moment before following the others. Before she entered, she pulled a torch out of her pack and lit it with her flint and steel. The light cast was enough to keep from tripping on the grave markers or get caught in the strong spider webbing that could be seen throughout the area. Just when they were sure they had missed Ivan, he coughed near the large spider covered fountain made of skulls carved into marble that filled the middle of the little graveyard and startled Lucy enough that she squeaked and jumped back causing a chain reaction of her companions wielding their weapons to protect her from whatever danger she had discovered. “Spooked a little are ye Miss?” Ivan cackled delightedly at his joke but soon became somber again as he led them further into the shadowy maze. As they followed him, winding their way among the headstones, Ivan continued his story. “Granny crept after her friends into this part of the graveyard that night though she was full o’ fear o’ tha’ ol’ story she had heard whispered in the dark, and dread o’ tha’ terrifyin’ spider they was seeking for Elaine. Granny didn’t wanna be there because she had heard tales from her elders ‘bout th’ dragon bones comin’ live after dark and turnin’ livin’ humans to dead stone. She pleaded as they edged closer and closer, ‘Stop. Please. Let’s come back in the daytime. Strange things happen here after the sun sets. Those dragon bones might come alive. It hunts the valley after midnight for the gullible and mesmerizes you before it seals your fate in a covering of stone. There is no cure, no antidote.’ She pleaded, repeating the story her family had told her from when she were a young’un, but it didn’t have the effect she was hoping for. ‘That’s a tale to keep babies from wandering away from their homes. There ain’t anything scary ‘bout this place.’ Jon declared. Even her little brother Jon wasn’t ‘fraid an’ his bravado made the others bold enough to scoff at Jenny’s story an’ her fears. Granny said the oldest of the group, Tristan, paused for a split second, looking slightly concerned but then caught Elaine watching him and he stuck out his chest and swore that he HAD to see the dragon bones that night. He, who was obviously showing off for Granny’s pretty friend, insisted they have a look at the old dragon bones after collecting the spider for Elaine and before they disperse for the night. He promised to leave with them after they all peeked. Granny’s friend, Elaine, finagled Granny Jenny to stay to find tha’ spider and then she promised she would leave with Granny, and so would the others. There was no way Granny would leave her little brother or Elaine in the middle of the night in a graveyard and so she bravely decided to stay, too. Tristan turned to go find the spider before exploring the dragon bones and hesitant as they were, the rest were not about to be left behind. The kids looked for spiders among the old graves, finally finding just the one Elaine was searching for, a Ferocious Red Arachnid. She was elated, and after putting a collar on the fuzzy pet, named her spider Charlotte. ‘Good, let’s skedaddle.’ Granny Jenny sighed with relief.” The story came to a sudden halt. By this point Ivan had led the group to the part of the graveyard with his Granny Jenny’s grave. Ivan stopped talking and laid a yellow flower at the base of his Granny’s headstone and then each of the companions had knelt and given a moment of silence and respect for Ivan’s Granny, too. Then Ivan led them back to the skull gate and continued his tale as he walked toward the dragon bones. “Somewhere along the way my Uncle Jon had picked up a stick and when all four had arrived at the head of the dragon skeleton, he heroically thrust his stick into the eye socket of the dragon’s skull proclaiming his victory over his foe. Then things changed and not in the way any of them would forget.” Ivan indicated an area near the fence. “Granny stood in this very spot when the Dragon woke up and looked her straight in the eye with its glowing red eyes. She could feel the breeze as the dragon started to breath in and then the heat as it expelled hot billows of soot and ash from great glowing nostrils formed of shadow and mist. In the instant they were hidden from sight of those penetrating eyes, Granny instinctively reached out and took hold of Elaine and her brother on either side of her. Both had frozen in fear and she pulled them into tha’ small stone crypt over there just as the dragon drew another breath and spewed boiling foul gray smoke all around itself.” Here Ivan pointed to a still intact stone crypt nearby. “The oldest boy did not jump out of the way. Tristan felt the mist before he saw it, and when the dragon’s eyes started glowing, he let go the hand of the pretty girl Elaine. He took a very deep breath, drew his sword, then sprang directly at the dragon, shouting as loud as he ever had and distracted it from his companions. He disappeared into the magnificent swirl just as Granny closed the crypt door behind herself. Granny, Uncle Jon, and Elaine with Charlotte tucked up in her cloak didn’t move till well into the next day when the light was strong and the normal sounds of birds calling out in the woods soothed their nerves. They emerged to find the dragon had reverted to dust and bones. In the defined horror of bright light, they could see that their brave friend had been turned to stone, caught in a pose as he attacked the dragon to save their lives, just like Granny’s elders’ story had predicted. No one ever admitted what happened to the boy when officers of the realm came asking about his condition. Their questions eventually faded after years of looking for reasons with no answers. Jenny, Jon, and Elaine didn’t talk about it much, only enough to tell their families what had happened. They din’t want ta forget why no one was to go in th’ graveyard after dark. The spider Elaine found in the dark that night grew to a most unusual size and was so aggressive, tha’ it had to be taken down into the tunnels o’ the family crypt an’ kept away from regular folk. Elaine continued to love Charlotte until that spider passed years ago. Built a special sarcophagus for her an’ ever’thin’. Most o’ the family credits digging that spider’s grave with the discovery of silver all around their family crypt. Became quite famous for awhiles. Mining it all went on for many years.” Ivan stopped there for another drink from his flask, and a quick nervous squint up at the darkened sky. Then he went on, “My Granny Jenny an’ her best friend, Elaine, and my Uncle Jon all made it through that night. They had some kinda pact to not talk ‘bout the dragon and tha’s why I only heard tha’ story tha’ one time. It stuck wit me though, and that’s the truth.” He thought a moment before adding, “Though, I bet my Great Uncle Jon could tell you more about that night now’s everyone else has died off, iff’n yer interested.” Raising his eyebrow he addressed Phlebus directly this time. Phlebus nodded and Ivan went on again, “You’se can find him drinkin’ down at The Raven, The Dragon, an’ The Stew Pot down in the Valley. It’s over on Frojenta Lane north o’ th’ Jade Markets, near the Dougan family Silver Mine and Family crypt tha’ I was tellin’ you’se ‘bout. Ask anyone.” Ivan takes another quick scan of the darkened sky and nervously adds, “I NEVER go ta the graveyard after dark an’ it’s getting’ dark. Anyhoo that’s the endin’. How Ivan’s granny saved the day and lost a friend.” And that was indeed the ending of Ivan’s’ tale. With a quick wave of his bottle he disappeared before anyone even blinked. Then, in the quiet of the early evening, our companions all heard a distinctive fiery snort and then felt more than saw the cold billowing mist begin to rise from the pile of bones right in front of them. It formed the outline of a dragon around the bones, solidifying as it gathered. Phlebus and Zyrina exchanged a look, and the other two did as well. Each quietly loosened the fastenings on their weapons and readied their various potions and lotions in preparation for whatever might be behind this new development. Even as a dark mist started seeping toward them, they moved into a protective formation around Lucy who was still fumbling with the bandages she had prepared earlier. They then moved as a single organism into the mist toward the moving dragon bones. Ahead, the pile of bones writhed slowly in the dark, forming itself into its full beauty and glory but the dragon was not yet breathing fire. It exhaled a thick black ash, cold and unnerving. The mist slowly became skin and muscle that covered the dragon bones as the form coiled around itself. Its slick orange scales glistened, and its eyes, its eyes GLOWED. Arrows notched, swords brandished, spells cast, and the companions were as ready as they could be to battle this shadowy menace. Then just as they were ready to strike, the dragon just as suddenly as it had begun twisting, it abruptly stopped moving. The mist slowly dissipated, and the now re-exposed bones lay innocently along the roadway. The dragon’s eye sockets were as empty as the rest of the skeleton. “What the Titans was that!!” Torgin was shaken more than he wanted to admit. He dropped his axe to his side but did not put it back in its holster. He searched the area for another attack. “I don’t know, brother but it’s gone now. Time to leave before it comes back.” Lucy was firm. She turned to the little stone path and led the way back to the main roadway. As they moved slowly away from the bones, not one of them turned their back on them until they were partly around the bend and down the hill and completely out of sight, even then each of them glanced back nervously from time to time. “I’ve never seen a dragon do that before.” Zyrina kept her bow notched. She was unnerved and shaking. Phlebus looked like he wanted to say something but just didn’t know how to start. “I I I’ve never even heard of a magic that could form a dragon from old bones.” He stammered. “I don’t want to say this because you are going to think I’m crazy but,” he took a breath before going on. “That seems like Obsidian magic from the age when they created Elves, Trolls, and Kobolds.” “Come on, Phlebus,” Zyrina scoffed. “That magic’s been gone since before I arrived here; for centuries before.” Lucy spoke up, “Phlebus I don’t think you are crazy. But what happened? Why didn’t it attack us? Where did it go?” “Maybe something went wrong partway through spellcasting?” he offered. It was the only thing he could think of. The sudden disappearance of the mist and the receding of the form reminded him of when he was learning and a spell would collapse half way through if he lost his concentration or if something moved in his sphere of awareness. “What spellcasting? Did you see any spellcasters?” Torgin looked around as if he would spot one in the darkness as they walked down the hill toward town. “Nope I didn’t see anyone else, except that dragon. Did you?” Phlebus looked around the group but no one spoke up. “They can’t have been very far away though, spells like that have a range, or so I’ve read. I’ve never seen one performed before. Unless…” Phlebus drifted off into thought. “Will that dragon be back tonight?” Lucy nervously asked as she pulled yet another torch from her pack and lit it with the one that was dying. She swung it in a wide circle around the group as if protecting them with its light. Shrugging Torgin looked to Phlebus for an answer, as did Lucy. “I doubt it.” He shrugged. It didn’t seem like making anyone more scared was the answer but Phlebus knew he had no idea if the dragon would return. It was puzzling indeed. He wanted to find more information about the dragon in the graveyard, and about the boy who had been turned to stone. “Unless what?” Zyrina was watching Phlebus who had been thinking. He looked up, “What?” “Unless what?” She repeated. “Oh, nevermind, it’s not important.” Phlebus shrugged, appearing nonchalant. “Just a passing thought.” He smiled reassuringly. Zyrina was not reassured, she knew that look. Phlebus had an idea but wasn’t ready to share it yet. She just hoped he would be ready before it was too late. She suspected he wanted to look something up in a book before spitting it out. “I think I need to talk with Ivan’s Uncle Jon at The Raven, The Dragon, and The Stew Pot after a cup of hot tea, supper, and a good night’s rest tonight. There’s nothing we can do now except try to find out more information from the locals. Maybe somebody has seen this before or noticed mages around, or strangers.” Phlebus decided when the group reached the sanctuary of their inn a little while later. “There is shard magic being used here, and I need to find the source of it before there is more destruction and death.” “Moonshard?” Lucy looked concerned. “Did moonshards fall around Jade Valley too? I thought they fell farther north?” “Not that I have heard, Luce, but some shards are small enough to transport without too much trouble. I’m going to speak with that librarian again in the morning. She might know some of the history of the dragon bones and whether there are any shards in the valley.” “So, the plan is to gossip with the locals, and see who knows something they want to share? I can do that.” Torgin was the first to offer with a grin as the prospect of supper and storytelling began to form in his mind. “I’ll help.” Lucy offered as well. Zyrina just nodded. Phlebus pushed open the door and led the way to the crowded restaurant inside. The server suggested they go up to the roof and he would bring their supper up when it was ready. The rooftop pub was also full of people. Apparently, they were not the only ones who wanted to gossip about what the group had found on their first day of the inquiry. Torgin found an appreciative audience for his tale of their experiences in the graveyard. Many ales were foisted on the explorers to aid their storytelling. The gasps and cries of surprize let Phlebus know that the dragon hadn’t formed like this in anyone’s recent history. He burned to find out what was causing the magic and what the dragon would be used for. By the time Torgin and Lucy were drunk and singing loudly around the piano with the bar maids, and Phlebus was engrossed in a conversation about wheat and barley with one of the locals, Zyrina slipped away to her bed. She had had enough excitement for now and needed some time alone to think about what she had seen. The locals in the pub laughed and called them babies from the city when Torgin told their tale and scoffed at the story telling as ‘tall tales’ but she could tell not one of them doubted what had happened for a minute. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon series – Book 1, Chapter 5 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Chapter Four. The story. Read by Alleine Dragonfyre The winding dirt path up to the windmill and the community garden was indeed just behind Elnoth’s home and the companions soon found themselves climbing a steep slope, past Frojenta Lane. “So how long has it been since you’ve seen Phle?” Lucy asked Zyrina as they fell in step on the climb. Phlebus and Torgin forged ahead and continued their argument about whether covered wagons or air balloons were faster travel. “Where’d you meet?” Zyrina took a moment to answer. She half wanted to join the conversation on balloons or wagons and not talk about her friendship with Phle. Her opinion was firmly on the wagon as the most efficient form of land travel. Yet, reminiscing didn’t feel dangerous today, as they strolled in the afternoon sun. She had to really think about how long it had been since the last time she saw him in person. “Let me think.” She stalled. Lucy’s question had brought up long forgotten memories of herself as a young woman barely in her twenties who had been through an unexpected portal and transported to Novia from the Outlands. She was reminded of the intense fear she felt when she landed near Solace Bridge so many years ago. By Novian reckoning it had been almost a century ago. Trust had been hard for her, especially here in a completely different world than the one she came from. She didn’t take to strangers very well and spent most of the time alone in Novia. When she first arrived, someone called Edvard needed help for the survivors at the battle of Solace Bridge, and then he had sent her to on to Soltown and from there she made her way to Ardoris. She had never been able to protect herself but along the way she began to learn. “Let’s see, I met him in Ardoris. At that time the city of love had been reeling because of the continued separation between Priestess Khasi and Shogun Suranto. There is still much unrest even in its once serene streets.” “Love,” Zyrina snorted and though to herself. She had spent a long period trying to sort out the cause of the friction between the Shogun and the Priestess and had concluded that love was more complicated than she could imagine. After a pause to catch her breath Zyrina went on, “I was down at the Traveller’s Docks to meet someone and while I waited, I had been gossiping with one of the barmaids, Emma, just outside The Tavern of the Wind. In all the bustle of the dock a call of “Thief, Thief!” rang out and then someone came careening out of one of the alleys chased closely by a displeased merchant who caught up with them at the dock. Shouting at the young man all the while about respect and honour, I gathered that food had been stolen from the merchant. Eventually the merchant finished yelling and shaking the thief and tossed him into the canal just outside the tavern. Turning and continuing his loud tirade against thieves he left huffing and shouting at everyone he met. It was obvious the thief couldn’t swim, and I couldn’t leave him to die so I fished the miscreant out of the canal. It was Phlebus. That was about fifteen years ago.” “Phlebus stealing?” Lucy looked shocked then slapped her thigh and laughed. “That explains so much.” “Hmm, well that day we sat together in a small park while he dried. Then he was kind enough to offer to share his food and shelter. He had stolen a bun earlier and then some cheese just before I found him drowning. The cheese survived the dunking in the water. We ate that in a cozy spot under a bush just outside of Ardoris. Then we slept there. It wasn’t much. But it was enough.” Phlebus and Zyrina had become inseparable from that moment on. He taught her how to pickpocket on the streets of Ardoris and she taught him how to read and how to swim. Over the six years they spent together in Novia before Phlebus went to school, they escaped many close calls with various city guards and various dubious encounters on the roads between cities. He had been her greatest and dearest friend through it all. Zyrina continued, “It helps to have a travelling companion.” Nodding toward Torgin ahead on the path, Zyrina noted, “you know how it is. You’ve always had one. This world constantly surprises me. It is similar but not like the Outlands at all.” “A companion? Torgin?” Lucy snorted, “my brother can be accused of many things, but he is not a man of much conversation and his value as a companion is limited.” Lucy may have understated the value she placed on her brother’s companionship, but she understood Zyrina’s point. “Still, he was someone you shared your time with and who watched your back for you.” Zyrina argued her point. Zyrina smiled, Phlebus had had her back in every fight they’d been in. She recalled one especially close call with an extremely obnoxious mountain troll. They had been tasked with taking one of his toenails to someone who would pay dearly for it. Phlebus and Zyrina found out why they were being paid so much when they discovered the mound of human skeleton bones the troll had piled beside his cave. They fought back-to-back in that one. It had taken all their skills combined to survive. She smiled wryly remembering the exhilaration of jumping off that high bridge into a waterfall during the dramatic escape and Phle right beside her on the way down. ‘I got it!’ he had shouted, holding up a filthy gnarled toenail when they both found themselves alive on the bank of the river far downstream from the trolls and their bridge. “So, why’d you part ways?” Lucy probed partly stirring Zyrina out of her memories. The sale of that toenail paid for Phlebus to attend the academy in Central Brittany. And he excelled. Once he got into the school there were scholarships and awards, too. Through the years, Zyrina proudly kept his messages to her describing the goings on at the castle library. There were not many letters, but she cherished each one, they were now tucked in a waxed cloth in the safety of her pack. She had missed his company and his inquisitive mind. “Becoming a scholar was what Phlebus was meant for, certainly he needed to be near books in a way that I don’t.” Zyrina confessed after careful thought. While Phlebus attended school, Zyrina found steady work with her bow. It kept her fed, and it kept her employed. There were many people in this land who needed help and would pay a bit of gold for the service she provided. Zyrina became a tracker, a guide, and in the end a bodyguard. It was a life she found satisfying. The last four months in the mines of Elysium was as settled as she had ever been in Novia. “Hmmm. I think it’s about nine years.” Lucy stopped walking suddenly, “The entire time he’s been in school?” Lucy was incredulous. “Mmhmm. I didn’t realize so much time had passed until he wrote to me about this mission. All he said was that he needed my bow, and that the pay was going to be low. He didn’t tell me the nature of this mystery.” Lucy snorted. After a few more steps she asked, “Why now? I mean after all this time, why did you decide now was the time to join him? He has asked for your company before this, I know he has.” Zyrina looked over at Lucy’s kind face. She appeared to be extraordinarily protective of her friend Phlebus. Zyrina admired the quality of loyalty and said gently, “Time passes differently for me and more time passed than I was aware of, and then it just became easier not to go visit because I’d been away for so long. He was the first Novian I became friends with, and I believe he knew I would come if he actually needed me, not Oh this is too hard, and I need you to come rescue me from here. I can’t live on my own.” Here she paused before adding as an afterthought, “I thought all Novians would be like him, but it turns out he is special. When he wrote asking for my support, I came as soon as I could.” She shrugged. Lucy nodded enthusiastically. “He’s not as helpless as he appears though, is he?” Zyrina laughed, “No. He’s very rarely helpless, but he wouldn’t survive on his own outside of a city anymore. He’s out of practise.” “Phlebus talked about you occasionally in the first year. He admired you greatly, but less after you didn’t rescue him from himself. I half expected you to turn up in the city and claim him when he nearly bombed his first year at the academy, you know?” Shrugging Zyrina confided, “I almost did but somebody wiser than me stopped me from going. They told me a tale just before I started out to collect him that made me see that Phlebus and I didn’t have the same path in life. If I had claimed him then, he would never have become who he is now.” “It nearly broke him, you know?” “Yeah, it nearly broke me too.” Lucy stared with compassion. “It was awful. He was sure you would come.” Zyrina walked in silence for a little while. “So, I hear you are a healer. Do you use magic, too?” Zyrina changed the subject. “Yes, sometimes, but I like to rely most often on the potions and lotions that support life. I find each of us reacts a little differently to magic and to potions, but with proper life supports we all heal at a greater rate. So, unless the injuries are acute, I use herbal skills and cooking to mend.” “Where did your interest in plants start?” “Where did your interest in tracking and archery start?” Lucy countered. “Who says I’m interested in tracking and archery?” Zyrina tried to look innocent and pretended to trip over a root on the path. They both laughed then. Going first Lucy began, “I suppose it was my grandmother who got me interested in plants. We used to go picking herbs in the forest together and she would talk about how she would preserve each herb and what kinds of things the plants would help us with if we let them. She had a real affinity with life. I spent much of my youth helping her to care for the plants in her garden and spent a lot of time learning how to find rare ones in the other areas of the world from her. Then I learned to preserve her medicines. When I got a little older, I used to go with her to help people who needed her. She spent her life restoring her neighbours and community with her plants and healing touch until her death. I still miss her, especially when I’m sick. I went to Central Brittany to learn more about plants and on the way learned some healing magic spells as well. It was quite a surprise to find out I could heal people with magic as well as and sometimes better than with the plants alone.” Lucy had not meant to be quite so personal with her response to the question but Zyrina made it easy to trust her and just be honest about what she thought and believed. It was refreshing. She didn’t demand answers but waited until Lucy was ready to open up a little. “Your grandmother must have been very proud of you.” “Now you.” Lucy said looking over at Zyrina who was still mulling over what Lucy had said about having a grandmother healer. “Well, I didn’t learn how to track or how to shoot a bow until I arrived in Novia.” “That was what, a hundred years ago?” Lucy teased. Zyrina snorted, “By Novian calendars, more or less.” “Go on.” “Sure. Well, Phlebus and I had been living on the streets of Ardoris until the guards made us move along. I think we might have been in a community up around Desolis, by the time that I shot my first short bow. Up till then I had been learning to use a pair of knives that Phlebus and I took off a Red Sash Bandit. Anyway, I picked up an elven bow off one of the creeps that Phle and I had to fight off one night when the creep tried to steal my blanket, and more if he could’ve gotten it.” Zyrina stopped talking for a moment. She looked over at Lucy, “When I first arrived, I did pick up a bow, and I used it at close range on a few undead and skeletons but hadn’t really stuck with it and my aim was really bad. I sold it for food. I didn’t need it in the city, and I needed food to live. But in Desolis, it felt good to have another one in my hands.” The deserts had been a fine learning arena, lots of space and few citizens to get in the way. The cacti and the small rabbits and birds of the desert became the first moving targets. “Too much time on your hands?” Lucy wanted to know. Zyrina shook her head to clear it a bit from the memory, “Yeah, absolutely. After picking up that bow, I spent my free time shooting at targets and then small desert animals that I could aim for. I lost most of my arrows back then.” In their early days together, she and Phlebus spent much of their time searching for spent arrows in the sand near Desolace. After all this time she was still very frugal with arrows and didn’t waste an arrow if she could recover it. Grinning she went on, “We ate much better after I learned to hit them. Squirrel and rabbits, birds, and then later fish. Yes, even fish. I didn’t like to miss because it usually meant we didn’t eat if I missed.” She looked somber as she recalled those hungry days. “Tracking was something I learned as a child.” Then she suddenly stopped talking and started walking a little faster. It was fast enough that speech was no longer possible for either of them. “Where are you living these days?” Zyrina changed the subject again, after catching her breath again at the top, knowing only that after her first assignment that Lucy had left the city, same as Torgin. “Do you know the Mistrendur at all?” Lucy inquired. “A little, enough to know of the three main islands, and the serpent shape but I don’t know the history of the Mistrendur.” Nodding Lucy declared, “not many do.” She went on, “I live on the West Island, Slangeholle, where the tail of the serpent would be, up in the Grenfol mountain range in a cabin in the woods near a hamlet called Jade Mountain.” “Huh? The Jade Empire stretches from Jade Valley all the way to the Mistrendur?” Zyrina seemed surprised. “I knew of an island in the Hidden Vale controlled by the Jade Empire, but I didn’t know about the Mistrendur. There are Jade Dragons everywhere it would seem.” “There are two Jade communities up in the Mistrendur. Jade Garden is the other, on the middle island, the belly, Slangemagge. If you like Jade Valley, you would LOVE it there. Seriously, after this inquiry why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you around both Jade Empire towns. There is a balloon that takes us all the way there from Jade Valley.” “I’ll think about that. I sure would like to see what could be prettier than this town right here right now.” Zyrina’s gaze swept back down to the crescent shaped harbour and busy markets below. “Yes, this harbour is stunning. The Jade Dragons seem to have a fair share of talented gardeners in their midst. I think the leader of that guild is even a Royal Gardener. We met him at the meeting, Governor Hari. They have four towns in their empire. I haven’t been to the one up in the Hidden Vale, Jade Island, but I still think Jade Valley is the prettiest.’ “Why live in Jade Mountain if you think Jade Valley is the prettiest?” “I live in Jade Mountain because it feels like home to me.” Lucy added, “There are a few young people there that I like to keep an eye on, as well. Years ago, I promised another of the Outlanders that I would care for the orphans, they were children then. I am fond of them both.” Nodding while looking down at the seaside valley below, Zyrina spoke “This is stunning and quaint. I don’t think I’ll forget this town.” “There it is,” Torgin called out from the road ahead, pointing toward a large sky balloon. “That’s not a windmill, brother.” Lucy shouted back. “The windmill is near that balloon, remember?” Phlebus soothed with his map and papers pulled out and open before the twins started fighting about this, too. “It sure is windy enough up here for one.” Lucy found her breath stolen from the force of the gusts but managed to squeak out her comment regardless. And it was indeed windy where the windmill was found, among the barns, the gardens, and the sky ship moored above all. Ivan was outside of the windmill fiddling with a piece of machinery when we arrived. “Hello.” Zyrina called out. As she got closer she could still smell alcohol on him and now as well, the black greasy mess that he was currently spreading all over the bit of metal he held. “Are you drunk, Ivan?” She asked him straight out. “There youse all are!” He didn’t even look shocked at the question as he shook his head, “Not so much as I can’t fix this here gear here.” Ivan started laughing at his own joke. “Will you tell us the story, then?” Phlebus wanted to know without so much as a how do you do. “I can give you a hand with that,” he added rolling up his sleeves and picking up a wrench. “No, I’ve got it, thank’ee mightily.” Sighing and setting down the gear, Ivan picked up an old rag and began to clean his hands. “Well, surely I’ll tell it to you’se. Since you’ve come all this way n’ all.” He took a swig from a brown jug, he then offered it to the companions. They declined. Even Torgin. Without another pause Ivan began as he continued to grease the metal piece he had picked up again, “When I was a youngun’ an’ my granny was still the gravedigger and keeper of the dragon bones here in the valley, a Bard from far away came to the village. It was worth granny’s wrath to stay up late tha’ night, hidden o’ course, to hear the stories and songs. When that old Bard…can’t recall his name anymore, Ningo? Jingo? Oh! Mingo, that’s it. He’s a Outlander, like you.” He turned to look directly at Zyrina for the first time. “What’s a keeper of the Dragon Bones?” Lucy wanted to know as Phlebus shushed her. Ivan just stared at her for a moment, and then went on with his story without answering her question. “Well anyways, tha’ Bard stopped in for a bowl o’ granny’s pumpkin soup just after the leaves fell that autumn.” “Just soz ya know, Bards were and still are the best source of news for young’uns and growups about gossip and battle and wars for a wide swath of the neighborin’ towns and villages on the island. Anyways, tha’ night after that there bard tol’ tha’ story bout the glory’us Calan Caitin fighting all alone against two massive trolls and a bunch o’ mages at the Battle of Upper Tears. Afterward when the growups had all settled down agin an’ granny had her whistle whetted, I heard the scariest tale you ever did hear.” He paused here to take another drink from his jug and this time Torgin joined him. “Mingo spoke up then, after accepting a large frothing mug and letting the crowd quiet down. ‘I’d like a moment to think of another, does anyone else have a tale to share to warm this dark night whilst I quench my thirst? Surely, Jenny will tell one? How bout that ol’ graveyard story, Jen?’ Granny grunted as she sat back down by the fire after addin’ another log and took a long pull from her pint of ale before beginnin’. Tha’ Bard nodded and smiled a little, to encourage her, like. He strummed his harp low and quiet so’s we could hear granny talk. It looked to me like he was settlin’ to listen. Or maybe he was anticipatin’ the fresh ale my Da’ was pouring for him.” Ivan paused for another swig before going on. This time each of the companions had a swig from the jug in turn while Ivan continued. “…well anyway…so Granny she starts talkin’ low and quiet and tells o’ the black fog. The dark dank fog that rolled in the afternoon of her sixteenth birthday. After the cake and the singin’, an’ during a game o’ truth or dare. The one friend o’ hers, Elaine Dougan, had it in her to try an’ catch a big ol’ graveyard spider for a pet and so she dragged the 3 of ‘em along on the dare ta go ta the graveyard after dark with their school friend Tristan, Granny Jenny’s younger brother, my Uncle Jon and Granny Jenny. There were four of em, just like you four, huh. Interestin’. Anyway. Even if they looked scared, they were also mostly curious to see the graveyard after dark, too. Or maybe they just wanted to do something slightly dangerous to show off to their friends later. Anyhoo’, Granny and her pals went sneaking into the old ruins. Hmmm.” He giggled gleefully, “I gots an idee in my noggin’: Heya know what? Let’s go on down to the ruins and I’ll finish tellin’ yoz’ all the tale in the very spot my Granny said she…well…let’s not get tellin’ the tale out of order.” He directed, “Meet me in the Skull Gate Graveyard yonder to th’ clock tower. Yeah, you prob’ly passed it on the way here. An’ meet me at my granny’s grave in the back corner when you is done yer restin’.” Ivan took a last swig off his pint and tucked it back under his arm then pointed west, toward the old graveyards. They turned as one to follow the line of his pointed finger. By the time they turned back he was gone. This time he disappeared quicker than any of the companions would have dreamed he could. They looked at each other and grinned. “My my, what has granny gotten herself into?” Torgin mocked. He was now intrigued to find out what Ivan’s ol’ Granny Jenny had done but didn’t want to be the only one, so he ridiculed. “Graveyard? Bring it on!” Lucy chortled and joined in, “What big ears you have grandmother.” Torgin joined Lucy and the pair of them became incoherent with laughter. Recognizing the sarcasm and the nervousness of the unknown, Zyrina found herself grinning a little. She could see a little more of what drove Torgin, bravado and brains. In her experience those often were a lethal combination especially in group settings. Her eyes narrowed as she judged whether Torgin would be a liability during this adventure or an asset. She decided in the end that his quiet demeanor and skill with his axe offset any false bravado he might possess. Ivan could not be more annoying, disappearing all the time just to tease them with more information. Zyrina wanted to know why Ivan was leading them to a graveyard instead of just meeting them there in the first place. She was ready to go after Ivan until she realized that Lucy had wandered off and was petting one of the sheep in the nearby pens. While Torgin and Zyrina gathered Lucy back to the group, Phlebus had vanished into the windmill to have a look at the system of gears that turned the wind turbine. He was found halfway up the inside, sketching the design of cogs for further study. Finally, the companions were all ready to backtrack to the graveyard, and to find Ivan for a third time. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon series – Book 1, Chapter 4 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Happy Thanksgiving! In observance of the holiday, various rewards and sales have begun: +100% Adventure and Crafting EXP Holdfast Player-Owned Towns 20% Off! 2-Hour Flash Sale Items 25% Off! Crowns of the Obsidian 20% Off! 5X Additional Crowns in Loot Drops! Player-Owned Town Upgrades 20% Off! (Crown Upgrades Only) Deed Upgrades 20% Off! Episode 2 Access $4 Off! New Character Slots $2 Off! All these sale & reward items will last until Monday, December 6th at Noon CT, so don’t miss out! Happy shopping, Avatars! View the full article

Sorry guys, I didn't remove all the quest data from the Delicate Feather of the Phoenix (which was a copy from the quest version), so anyone not on the quest did not receive their feathers. On Tuesday, I'll look through the data, compare to the fix time on this (patch incoming), and send anyone the average amount of feathers they WOULD have have received. Apologies. Chris will try to patch this in ASAP. View the full article

Folks might have noticed the pattern's name indicates its a pattern for the Lord British Two-Handed Axe. This is just a display name error, and applying the pattern should provide the correct visuals. I've submitted the fix for the display name, and it should patch in shortly. View the full article

Chapter Three. Stew and a Brew. Phlebus woke early, as did Zyrina but the twins would not be roused. They slept the morning away. After breaking her fast, Zyrina wandered the markets, talking with the locals, occasionally making a small purchase here and there. She saw Phlebus wander over and into the Hall of Learning again but did not follow him. She found a bench in the markets and took a seat to take in the warmth of the morning sun. Finally, one of the old women of the village sat near her to rest a moment in the market before continuing. “Morning to you.” Zyrina offered companionably. “Mmmhmmm.” The wrinkled old woman leaned on her cane and peered over at Zyrina. “You are one of those strangers that’s here to find out what is happening to the valley, are you? What’s your name?” “I am Zyrina, and yes I am an Outlander here with my friends to help.” “That’s fine, I’ve met Outlanders before, some of them live here in this valley. Zyrina? Are you alone in this world?” she squinted over at Zyrina who was squirming a little at the thought of her personal life. “No, ma’am. My family are in the lands I left.” “Why are you here? What’s in it for you?” She didn’t hardly wait for Zyrina to take a breath between questions. “Well, I’m helping a friend who needs help. Have you heard any of the old stories of the valley? When did this happen before?” Zyrina boldly asked back. “Hummphffttt. Stories.” She looked over at some children running around their mother as she shopped in the early morning. “Stories are for children. You aren’t a child.” For a moment Zyrina thought that was all she was going to say. She remained still for the longest time before going on, “Yes, I’ve heard the stories. You better speak with Matt when your friends wake up. He will tell it right.” She paused before adding, “Ask about Charlotte. He’ll know what that means.” She nodded to Zyrina and left with the young mother and her children as they moved further along the markets. Calmer now she walked with one child on each arm helping the old one to walk and both of them chattering away about everything in sight. Zyrina mouthed Charlotte? Who’s Charlotte? It was nearing the midday and Zyrina could wait patiently no longer. She headed back to the River Rider Inn on the north side of the markets. It was time to rouse the sleeping giants but, in the end, when she arrived, they were both up, washed, fed, and were having a little sparring match in front of the Inn, much to the delight of the smattering of youngsters watching them. After declining to join the fun, she watched Phlebus as he hurried back from the library with several scrolls tucked under his arm. “Couldn’t resist finding more to read?” she teased him with a smile as he came into earshot. “I’ll just be a minute while I put these away.” He said as he disappeared down the stairs to the hotel below the inn. It was easy to find Elnoth’s. As their server had pointed out, it really was kitty-corner to the inn where they were staying. A short time later, after knocking on Elnoth’s large solid wooden door, the companions were admitted by a booming voice. “Enter!” Once inside they could tell the voice was coming from up the staircase to the right of the large stone building. It was a beautifully kept home. The owner had good taste in his furnishings and even had a piano in one of the rooms. “Please, come in. I’m sorry I’m not at the door to greet you. May I announce you?” Phlebus shouted up the stairs, “Elnoth the Viking Elf has invited us here, to his home so we may speak with Matt, his butler. My name is Phlebus of Midgard and I speak for my party.” “Ah yes, I’ve been expecting you all morning.” “Interesting means of communication from a butler.” Torgin whispered to Lucy. Zyrina shushed the twins. Torgin grinned back. “I am Matt. Please come up the stairs and straight ahead. I’m presently in the kitchen.” It was odd behavior for a butler, but Phlebus shrugged his shoulders and started climbing the stairs with the companions trailing him. In the kitchen they found Matt, who seemed to be frazzled and short of patience. “My apologies for the rude greetings to you all, I am afraid I could not in all good consciousness leave the kitchen to the darting eyes and quick hands of Ivan here.” He nodded over at the hunched figure sitting at the long kitchen table. “I’m sorry that I won’t be able to take the time to explain what I told Elnoth, sirs and madams, but I found old Ivan wandering in the markets earlier and he is the one about who I was telling Sir Elnoth.” He seemed quite relieved that the group had arrived and offered them stew and ale. “Ivan told me the story in the first place, so I’ll leave you to his storytelling.” “Sure, that sounds lovely,” Lucy nodded to Matt. “Didn’t you just finish breakfast?” Zyrina whispered to Torgin, who nodded and licked his lips hungrily. “Can’t you smell that stew?” Torgin countered. “It’s Ivan’s Gran who remembers seeing the things. Most of the rest of us don’t remember that long ago but Ivan is willing to tell you the story for a pint of ale and a warm meal. I have served him his meal and ale here in the kitchen and here is stew and ale for you all to enjoy. I must get back to my duties and can speak no more with you on this topic. Please don’t leave Ivan alone in the house. Master Elnoth would be horrified.” Shaking Ivan’s shoulder a little to rouse him from the little nap he was apparently taking, Matt shouted, “Ivan, here are the group who wish to hear your old tale.” And with that flourish, Elnoth’s butler Matt made his way into other parts of the house to whatever important duties called him. The companions turned to Ivan who was slouched over the table with an empty mug in front of him staring curiously back at them. Ivan nodded his greetings to them as they each introduced themselves one by one and shook his hand. Ivan then picked up his ale and took a last swig of the dregs before beginning to speak in a creaky voice. “Good Day to ya folks, I gots to get up ta the Jade Farm windmill ta fix a cog before it spews. I bin awaitin on you’s all morning an’ ain’t got time to wait any mores.” His speech was slurred but understandable. “Meet me up top o’ the mountain west of here when you’re finished your meals. Find me at the Windmill near the Jade Farm airship.” And poof. The bent, wrinkled, and slightly gray tinged caretaker who the butler had introduced as Ivan and who seemed to be unable to even sit up straight just simply disappeared. “Where’s the windmill?” Zyrina wanted to know. “Didn’t he say up by the airship? That’s to the west of here up the mountain a bit.” Phlebus was studying one of the diagrams that he pulled out of his bag. “Did you get that from the librarian this morning?” Zyrina asked him. “Yes. There were a few scrolls that she let me take out for the day.” The kitchen smelled like Ivan had been drinking with Matt for quite a long stretch of time and the stench of his person lingered, too. He was spry and quick, that’s for sure. None of them expected it. Lucy smiled. She liked the unexpected. “Eat up we have a hike after our lunch.” Torgin was already half through his stew and eyeing up Phlebus’s bowl. “Back off, that’s MINE.” Phlebus snatched it away from Torgin’s reach. “Oh, so you did notice the food.” Torgin’s hearty laugh rang out alongside his sister’s. “See he’s not a zombie,” he nodded to Zyrina who picked up her own bowl and bared her teeth to Torgin. “There’s more on the stove, you fool.” Lucy said between spoonfuls from her own bowl. “Even good stew is no reason to steal from others.” “Do you think he really knows something useful?” Torgin asked thoughtfully as he refilled his bowl and then gobbled that one too, in record time. Phlebus nodded. “Yeah, I think he does.” “I don’t know why everyone is so reluctant to talk about it. I tried to learn something in the market this morning. Tightlipped citizens here in this valley.” Zyrina added, “I learned nothing.” “Let’s find the windmill.” Lucy decided, having finished her second bowl of stew and wiped all the dregs up with her last bit of bread. “Thank you, Matt” Torgin politely bellowed, “We’ll let ourselves out.” Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 3 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 96 (R96), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, players can now explore a new social hub scene called Castle Atos! This scene will be the focal point for providing many social in-game events, content, and rewards in the future, and already we’ve populated this new scene with... Play Release 96 Now! Castle Atos! The Ancient Undead! Dread Artifact Update!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 96 (R96), players will experience a large variety of changes to the game. First off, players can now explore a new social hub scene called Castle Atos! This scene will be the focal point for providing many social in-game events, content, and rewards in the future, and already we’ve populated this new scene with many activities and items to keep players entertained. The reward blessing present there even scales in power with the number of players in scene! The Ancient Undead attack! This ancient race of creatures are appearing throughout New Britannia. Will you be able to defeat them? Dread Artifacts can now be patterned, and evictions will move move evicted items to the Property Manager window instead of a player’s bank. SO many changes, so what are you waiting for? Get in there and play Shroud of the Avatar! 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 Release 96 Patch Notes! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Crown Store: Statues, Xenossian Helmets, Wax Cylinders & More! December Login Reward: Snow Goggles! Release 96 Subscriber Login Rewards: Wood-Burning Stove, Snowy Pine Trees, Labrys Axe! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives Streamer Rewards Program Upcoming Release Dates Community Updates Community Events & Resources Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer Project to Support: Shard RPG Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Release 96 Patch Notes! Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 96 (R96). This release is a short release due to the holiday season, but we still managed to provide a considerable amount of new items and changes to keep everyone entertained. Additional content, improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R97 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 96! Happy holidays! World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes: A new danger has arisen in some remote locations. A previously-unknown ancient undead humanoid, from before any recorded history, has emerged to threaten all of humanity. Ancient Undead now have chances to appear in Despair, Opalis Ruins, Mysterious Swamp, Forest Road Encounter, Plains Encounter, Plains Road Encounter, and Swamp Road Encounter. These new arrivals to New Britannia will soon provide unique loot items in R97, but these horrific and powerful beings are currently in-game now. Go test your mettle! Castle Atos is a new social hub scene and is now available to players. Head on over and explore this new town, and hang out with your friends! With launch of this scene, we worked hard to populate it with as many new items as we could in the short release cycle, but more are coming! Castle Atos will appear on the overworld map (along the road between Soltown and Solace Bridge Outskirts) in the first patch after release. Look for new additions in upcoming months! Here are some of the features available at Castle Atos now: Unique Blessing: Adds a health, focus, and melee critical hit damage reduction bonus to your character, and the power level of the buff is directly proportional to the player count in the scene. Get your friends over there and get a stronger buff! Special vendor items! Initially only new Wax Cylinders have been added to the innkeeper, but each merchant features a unique merchant item table for future additions, so be on the lookout! Here are the Wax Cylinders available at Castle Atos: Sunrise in Jaanaford The Streets of Aerie The Harbors of New Britannia Love Returns to Ardoris Along the Fallion River I Along the Fallion River II Within the Mists of Brookside The Solace River Castle Atos Lament of the Titans The Markets of New Britannia New Quests! Theater stage for in-game plays and concerts! Feast hall for parties! Giant aquarium with swimming dolphins! Public Cache Chest! Storehouse Containers! These are some of the features that will be added to Castle Atos in the near future: Unique fishing loot! More unique vendor items & crafting recipes! Unique storehouse container turn-in items! New music has been added to a variety of scenes. A new Wax Cylinder is available from the innkeeper at Fire Lotus Tavern in Owl’s Head. A new streamer bundle has been created. Keep an eye out for news about how to obtain this bundle to provide to your viewers! Halls of Artifice: Added safety teleporters for avatars who get caught in the void between teleporters. Jotungrund: Added POT-specific music to the entry camp and barbarian camp in the crevasse. Kobold Expeditionary Camp: In the “Save Sir Patrick” scenario, moved incidental kobolds away from the wave battle fighting ring. Lord British’s Castle: Added props to secret room. Do you know where the secret room is? Mysterious Swamp: Added a chance for an ancient undead enemy to appear in the lich areas. Necropolis Barrens: Moved a love letter to the ground that was unreachable due to being in a tree. Necropolis Barrens: Removed a love letter within Envy Angel’s house onto the nearby floor. North Drachvald Spur: Fixed an issue where a climbable rope on the “jumping puzzle” tower wasn’t functioning. Northwood: Added responses for “help” and “health” to Daemyn the guard. Northwood: The “bye” button for Saha Rohandas now works properly. Opalis Ruins: Added random chance for ancient undead to appear in the “lich boss” fight. Random Encounters: Added possibility of ancient undead appearing in undead scenarios for Forest Road, Plains, Plains Road, and Swamp Road Encounters. Resolute: Added hints that the avatar needs to talk to the gate guard to get the gate opened by way of signs next to the gate and a “fail” message on the gate switch. Also, once the guard opens the gate for the avatar at least once, the avatar can use the outer switch on their own, at will. Seasonal Monsters: Pumpkin Head has gone dormant again while Krampus has awakened. Shaminian Hills: Expanded the timespan which the time-locked sarcophagus lid can be opened, from 15.00-16.00 (2.5 minutes) to 13.25 to 17.25 (8.125 minutes). Soltown Catacombs: The skull orator is more emotive while standing in his location. Also, he’ll do his best to ensure his nearby lantern stays lit. Soltown: Abigail will now have a compass marker for avatar’s who saved Charlotte. Also, after helping Stanley and saying “help,” he’ll sometimes point those same avatars to Abigail to ask her about Charlotte. South Drachvald Spur: Moved an ankh to ensure it was above ground. South Quel Woods: Changed tier from 3 to 3+. Changed logging office area to a mansion. Changed logging camp to an infested, abandoned farm. Lighting all 4 prop scarecrows in the farm’s fields within 30 seconds will initiate a short wave battle that ends with the Scarecrow seasonal monster. Added some higher tier enemies in farm area. Added some mandrake and higher tier iron ore in farm area. South Quel Woods: In the Scarecrow fight, there can be up to 3 fire elementals during the “spider waves,” and there are now a few seconds between each wave. Also, added some hay piles into the farm field. The Outlaws’ Run: Added an additional safety method to clear the “Mention Miloslava to Milosh” task. The Outlaws’ Run: When telling Miloslava about Milosh, she now clearly asks if you’ve talked to her about the colored stones. Ulfheim: All tiered resource nodes within the barbarian community have been changed from tier 5 to tier 8. Ulfheim: Removed orphaned ore nodes to stop build errors. Understorm Gold Mine: Fixed a typo in the “Search for Evidence in Understorm Mine” journal entry. Valhold: To gain access to Valhold Palace to talk to Grannus, players must have the amulet AND finished the “save Sir Patrick” quest. Jotungrund: Updated the signal tower compass markers to help them appear when you have the signal tower quest. Several mount visuals have been improved/fixed. Greenhouse store entries now include information in the description explaining they only function as decorations if placed as a POT decoration. The Yew Tree decoration is now called Epic Yew Tree, and it has received the same price reduction as the other epic trees received last release. Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes: Dread Artifact Update: The Bonesteel Crown, Heart of Sorrows, and the Scepter of Dread can now be placed as decorations, but remain no-trade items. The three cabalists of the related anti-virtues (Dolus, Temna, and Nefario) now each drop a no-trade Obsidian Forge recipe (all 3 recipes become available as drops in the first patch after release) for creating no-trade patterns for the related dread artifact, but these recipes only drop if the looter has completed the related storyline to obtain the particular artifact. Once the no-trade pattern is applied to an item, that player can either utilize the item themselves with the Dread Artifact visuals, or they can trade/sell such items to other players at will. The final patterned items are fully tradeable. The Phoenix now drops a 1-3 Delicate Feathers of the Phoenix, one of which is required as a quill in these recipes, but this delicate feather can only be utilized one time before it dissipates into dust. These feathers will be utilized in future recipes as well, so keep on the lookout for new crafting opportunities on the horizon! The pattern for the Heart of Sorrows is our first VFX pattern introduces a new concept for the neck slot. Soon, more neck slot patterns will be added to the store and via in-game loot drops to allow for further character customization, such as glowing eyes! Each Dread Artifact now features a small amount of Adventure Level scaling in their stat bonuses. The Gem Studded Roll of Leather, Gold Studded Roll of Leather, Silver Studded Roll of Leather, Bronze Studded Strip of Leather, Copper Studded Strip of Leather, and Iron Studded Strip of Leather have been reduced in power significantly. Brave spelunkers will now be able to decorate their Player-Made Dungeon spider rooms! In addition, a pristine version of the room is now available which does not feature the webs and rubble. “With spawns” versions of these rooms are also available and drop from the spiders within Hilt Fortress! The Ornate Triple Connection Stone Dungeon Foyer now features additional decoration surfaces to include the ceiling. Basement Hatches can now be placed on other decorations that accept child objects such as walls and blocks, accept other decorations on top of them, and they can also be placed on all ground/floor type surfaces on a property which accept decoration items. The Teleporter to Compendium of Pain and Suffering decoration item can now be placed on other decorations which accept child decorations such as walls and blocks. The Tropical Flower Hairpieces (dyeable and non-dyeable versions) can now both be salvaged for eternal patterns which can be applied to head slot items. An issue has been fixed which prevented salvage of the Ornate Circlet. The Ornate Circlet’s pattern now indicates that it is an Eternal Pattern instead of a regular Pattern. Interactive items placed around the book player-made dungeon entrance should now function correctly. The new lava pools no longer conflict with fishing water type conversion statues. Removed a floating black square from various Player-Made Dungeon rooms. Dungeon Entrance Tapestry and Dungeon Entrance rug have been renamed to Tapestry of the Ruins of Ravensmoor and Rug of the Ruins of Ravensmoor so players to not mistake these items with Player-Made Dungeon entrance abilities. The holiday Menorahs have been updated to function this year. 2 new community cloaks have been added for Extra Life charity events. The “Bass (Deco)” now properly rotates on an additional axis. Combat & Skill Changes: Gear scaling tech has been created and applied to two PvP scenes: Obsidian Trials and Ardoris Arena. These two locations feature gear scaling of 0. A new system which allows tuning of PVP vs PVE damage has been implemented. Currently, this new tech has been applied to ranged Auto-Attack, Aimed Shot, and Blinding Shot. Damage to all 3 of these sources has been reduced by 10% vs. PvP targets. Summoned pet spells from the magic schools now level more quickly. Additional logging has been created for PvP-related combat as we prepare for upcoming PvP balance work. PVP flagging bonus experience has been increased from 10 to 25% Player dungeons and basements will no longer grant XP bonuses for PVP players. Lightning Storm now features SFX, a unique skill icon, and VFX improvements. Lightning storm has been restored to the original, faster cast time. Stun durations present on Lightning Storm are now increase with skill level instead of decrease. Cone of Cold has received improved visuals. Dig In features no longer causes flickering in the buff bar. The globe from the Light spell now hovers properly over your character after dismounting. Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes: Many new Wax Cylinders are dropping as rare loot in adventure scenes throughout New Britannia. Will you find them all? Dolus Approaches I Dolus Approaches II The Laboring Fauns Avara’s Curse The Dragon Clan The Ice Plains of Jotungrund The Bear Clan Into the Epitaph Tartarus The Hallowed Plains Rhun Ruins Dysborg Ruins The Faun’s Sorrow The Solania Catacombs Desolis I Desolis II Frozen Tears of a Lost Tribe Kas Ruins Norgard Fens Longfall Road Libris Ruins Desolate Hills The Boar Clan Spectral Peaks Ulfheim Halls of Despair The Sands of Grunvald Solania Yew The scarecrow boss now occasionally drops pieces of canvas fabric instead of the recipe for canvas fabric. User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes: Non-destructive evictions! When a player’s property is evicted by governors, stewards, tax defaults, or even lot activity expirations, the property will now be placed in the owner’s Property Manager (Magic Movers) window. The Player-Made Dungeon interface for selecting dungeon pieces in decoration mode has been improved. Fixed a bug that caused the inventory list to flicker when it contained a teleporter item that pointed to a scene that no longer existed. Added 5 new Lua functions: ShroudCurrentDeck() ShroudDeckList() ShroudGetDeckCardList([deckName]) ShroudEmoteList() ShroudPlayEmote(emoteName) Conversationalist scripts will now properly return integer values. Compass markers now display by priority. Quest markers are in front, destination markers are in the middle, and all other markers appear in the back. Guild member names now sort properly in the guild window. The Companion Level stat on gear now properly applies to summoned pets. MANY more functions have been added to your Lua toolbox! Go check out the updated API document! There are also script examples in the Lua section of the forum! Player-Owned Town Changes: Dragon Hold: Added new holdfast in Novia along the mountains northwest of Soltown. Fidra: Added new Holdfast to Hidden Vale near Port Titan. Litwarf Hird: Added new Holdfast to Mistrendur near the center of the middle island. M’hul Island: Upgraded to Village. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, November 19th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “pumpkin spice and everything nice” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store. Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our 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 Crown Store: Statues, Xenossian Helmets, Wax Cylinders & More! Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the in-game Crown Store. Available today on November 18th, a Large Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station! This station features expert cooking station bonuses and features gorgeous visuals for any kitchen decoration theme. For decorators wishing to show their holiday spirit, the 2021 Menorah, Gift Boxes, and Stockings are here! Players wishing to decorate their towns and properties with statues — MANY new statue varieties are now available on the Crown Store to include various pedestals upon which other decorations can be placed: Large Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station Menorah 2021 Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack Angel Woman Statue Communing Woman Statue Cubic Stone Pedestal 3-Pack Demon Statue Fine Horse Statue Gargoyle Statue Gryphon Statue Guardian Angel Statue Guardian Statue Lion Statue Monk Statue Nun Statue Pegasus Statue Robed Guard Statue Winged Demon Statue Winged Gargoyle Statue Winged Lion Statue Giant Angel Woman Statue Giant Communing Woman Statue Giant Demon Statue Giant Fine Horse Statue Giant Gargoyle Statue Giant Gryphon Statue Giant Guardian Angel Statue Giant Guardian Statue Giant Lion Statue Giant Monk Statue Giant Nun Statue Giant Pegasus Statue Giant Robed Guard Statue Giant Winged Demon Statue Giant Winged Gargoyle Statue Giant Winged Lion Statue Tabletop Angel Woman Statue Tabletop Communing Woman Statue Tabletop Demon Statue Tabletop Fine Horse Statue Tabletop Gargoyle Statue Tabletop Gryphon Statue Tabletop Guardian Angel Statue Tabletop Guardian Statue Tabletop Lion Statue Tabletop Monk Statue Tabletop Nun Statue Tabletop Pegasus Statue Tabletop Robed Guard Statue Tabletop Winged Demon Statue Tabletop Winged Gargoyle Statue Tabletop Winged Lion Statue Low Rectangular Stone Pedestal Low Rectangular Stone Pedestal with Scrollwork Low Round Stone Pedestal 3-Pack Low Square Stone Pedestal 3-Pack Stone Marker 3-Pack Becoming available on November 26th, two new Ancient Xenossian Helmets! Both the side-plumed and the tall-plumed versions feature dual dye layers so players can customize them with the wide variety of dyes available. Also becoming available is a new Wooden Dunk Tank! Every festival needs a dunk tank, just as every person sometimes needs a good dunking. The dunk tank requires a player, an operator, and a willing “victim.” While the victim stands on the trap doors above the water, the operator presses the secret button on the back wall of the tank. Each press changes which switch will trigger the trap doors. When all is ready, the player throws one of the four switches and finds out if they’re luckier than the victim! For those wishing to see a working example of the dunk tank, there’s one in the village of Castle Atos. Ancient Xenossian Side-Plumed Plate Helm Ancient Xenossian Tall-Plumed Plate Helm Wooden Dunk Tank Becoming available on December 3rd, more Wax Cylinders for your listening pleasure! Play these sensational songs right from a Phonograph device or even place into your Player-Owned Town’s soundtrack! Wax Cylinder – An Ambush Awaits Wax Cylinder – Flight of the Raven Wax Cylinder – Harvest Day Wax Cylinder – Hiding in the Shadows Wax Cylinder – Homecoming Wax Cylinder – Mindless Wandering Wax Cylinder – Mystic Echoes Wax Cylinder – Sleep Beckons Wax Cylinder – The Hero Returns Wax Cylinder – The Messenger Wax Cylinder – The Playful Unicorn Wax Cylinder – The Stalking Cutpurse Wax Cylinder – Victory March Becoming available on December 10th, an Epic Snowy White Pine Tree! The largest of this snowy line of trees, you’ll need a very large property lot or a Player-Owned Town to place this magnificent decoration: Epic Snowy White Pine Tree Also, the Winter Seasonal and Fall Seasonal items are still available! Here’s a listing of all of these seasonal items. Some will feature only for 1 week in the Vault, but others will remain in the store throughout the holiday season, so don’t miss out! Winter items will be available until February 8th, and Fall items will be available until December 12th: 2016 Winter Holiday Soundtrack Banded Turkey Decoration Pet Blank Yule Card 2017 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2018 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2020 A 5-Pack Blank Yule Card 2020 B 5-Pack Breathe Blue Fire Emote Breathe Emote 6-Pack Breathe Snow Emote Candy Cane Wand Ceiling Yule Tree Dark Yule Outfit Fall Wreath 2017 Fall Wreath 2019 Fountain of Frozen Waters Frost Pipe Frozen Bagpipes Giant Haunted Yule Tree Giant Yule Tree 2015 Giant Yule Tree 2016 Giant Yule Tree 2017 Giant Yule Tree 2018 Haunted Sleigh Haunted Snow Family Haunted Snowman Mask Haunted Yule Tree Holly Wreath with Candles Hat Holly Wreath with Sparklers Hat Ice Elemental Statue Ice Hot Tub Ice Nightmare Mask Ice Wings Icy Ancient Stone Cathedral Icy Ancient Stone Room Fishing Grotto Juggle Snowballs Emote Krampus Mask Krampus Statue Kwanzaa Table Decorations Large Haunted Yule Tree Large Yule Tree 2016 Large Yule Tree 2017 Large Yule Tree 2018 Menorah 2014 Menorah 2015 Menorah 2016 Menorah 2017 Menorah 2018 Menorah 2020 Menorah 2021 Ornate Cornucopia 2014 Ornate Cornucopia 2015 Ornate Cornucopia 2016 Ornate Cornucopia 2017 Ornate Mantle Garland 2017 12-Pack Ornate Mantle Garland 2018 12-Pack Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2014 Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2015 Ornate Replenishing Snowball Box 2016 Ornate Sled Ornate Sleigh Ornate Snow Family 2015 Ornate Snow Family 2016 Ornate Snow Family 2017 Ornate Snow Family 2018 Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack Ornate Yule Music Box Ornate Yule Wreath 2015 Ornate Yule Wreath 2016 3-Pack Ornate Yule Wreath 2017 3-Pack Ornate Yule Wreath 2018 3-Pack Red-Nosed Reindeer Mount Reindeer Decoration Pet Small Ornate Wall Garland 2017 12-Pack Small Ornate Wall Garland 2018 12-Pack Snow Emote Snow Globe 2020 Snowdragon Snowflake Pattern Cloak Snowman Mask 2015 Snowman Mask with Hat & Moustache 2018 Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2016 Snowman Mask with Stovepipe Hat 2017 Speckled Turkey Decoration Pet Tabletop Elf Statue with Yule Hat Tabletop Haunted Yule Tree Tabletop Yule Tree 2014 Tabletop Yule Tree 2015 Tabletop Yule Tree 2016 Tabletop Yule Tree 2017 Tabletop Yule Tree 2018 Traditional Yule Hat Turkey Decoration Pet Turkey Statue Virtue Ice Crown Virtue Ice Gown Outfit Virtue Ice Shield Virtue Ice Sword Virtue Ice Wand Virtue Icicle Cloak White Raven Decoration Pet White Reindeer Decoration Pet White Rottweiler Decoration Pet White Squirrel Decoration Pet White Turkey Decoration Pet Winter Lynx Decoration Pet Winter Pattern Glass Chandelier 3-Pack Winter Pattern Glass Floor Lamp 3-Pack Winter Pattern Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack Yule Elf Outfit Yule Gift Box 2016 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2017 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2018 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2020 3-Pack Yule Gift Box 2021 3-Pack Yule Hat Yule Stockings 2016 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2017 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2018 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2020 3-Pack Yule Stockings 2021 3-Pack Yule Tree 2014 Yule Tree 2015 Yule Tree 2016 Yule Tree 2017 Yule Tree 2018 Yule Velvet Bodice Ensemble Don’t forget! Hometown is an amazing resource for players. At Hometown, which is located just east of Soltown, players can examine available houses, Player-Owned Town templates, and even new Crown Store items. Why not be certain you like it before you make a purchase? So head on over to Hometown and check things out! If you have questions about what’s on display in Hometown, please visit this forum thread and post a question. To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year! December Login Reward: Snow Goggles! Log in during the month of December, and you’ll receive Snow Goggles! This head slot item can be salvaged for an eternal pattern so players can apply this visual to any head slot item which accepts patterns. Release 96 Subscriber Login Rewards: Wood-Burning Stove, Snowy Pine Trees, & Labrys Axe! Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 96 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection adds another item to the Ancient Xenossian set and more! The Ancient Xenossian Two-Handed Labrys Axe has a dye layer on the handle, the Small Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station features the bonuses of an expert cooking station, and the Snowy White Pine 6-Pack is a wondrous way to make your towns and homes look more winter themed! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 96 to receive these special login items: Ancient Xenossian Two-handed Labrys Axe Small Wood-Burning Stove Cooking Station Snowy White Pine Tree 6-Pack 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 (about 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 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month: 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 Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses: Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful! 24 Additional Deck Slots! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives! The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched. The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to cleanup the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums. Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels! In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action! The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives. Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team! Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows: Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter” Single Ant Cloak Lady Bug Backpack Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids” Ant Farm Insect Leg Table Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles” Bug Painting B Bug Sprayer Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths” Butterfly Chair Corpion Chair (Pictured Below) Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies” Hacked Oracle Flyer Giant Blue Butterfly Pet Butterfly Mask Dragonfly pet Fairy Wings Monarch Butterfly Pet Dragonfly Wings Hacked Oracle Crawler Blue Butterfly VFX Orange Fireflies VFX Orange Butterfly VFX If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums. Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program! Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I! Phase I: Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply. Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar. Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual. Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come). Rules: To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application. To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program. Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program. Items of Note: SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord. Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material. Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them! Upcoming Release Dates 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. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows: Release 96 – Nov 18 (Polish) Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content) Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish) Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content) Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish) Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content) Community Updates & Resources Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums: Catnip Games Contests: Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia! Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases. Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars! Special Announcements: Player Meet-Up in NYC: Ravalox will be traveling to the east coast and is inviting players and friends to join him at Dave & Busters in NYC on Saturday, November 20th at 4PM ET. If you’re able to attend, get over there and meet some of the SotA community! Goodbye Norah East: “I am sorry to inform that Norah East passed away from her battle with cancer. Best archer, best crafter, best friend. We will miss you Norah…” A Final Farewell to a Beloved Player: Posted by Trezir Pyle, “It is always sad to hear about people passing. Its even harder when that person is a valued member of our community, as well as a good friend to each one of us. For the past month, Twistar has been fighting Covid. On Saturday, Oct. 2nd his fight ended. May he finally be at peace and rejoined with family and friends who have passed before him. On Monday Alphaine, Death Herself created a memorial service to honor Twistar. The service was perfect. For those who could not make it, here is the memorial video created by Alphaine.​” One-Time Events: Mysteria Fishing Contest: Join us for some magic in Mysteria with a spin off contest for this month’s Catnip Fishing Tournament. Our contest begins on Thursday, November 18th at Midnight CT. Recurring Events: Dragon Hold Fishing Invitational: Located above the Whiteguard Foothills, Dragon Hold hosts a monthly fishing contest with prizes allocated per trophy type as well as largest overall fish. Rules and prize details can be found on the notices at the fishing shop easily reached by teleporter. Happy fishing and good luck to all! Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Feast items such as Brewing Ingredients, Turkeys, and more! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R95’s contest period lasts until November 23rd! Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs. M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available! Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out! Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting! 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules. RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun! PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there! Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT! New Player-Created Resources: Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed! 24 Hour CotO Store Sale Thread: Wanna be able to see what’s on sale while not in-game? Tirrag has been taking the time to post a screenshot of the daily sale items to help players find elusive sale items. Check it out! Artifact Survey Tool by Tirrag: Please head on over to this forum thread and check out Tirrag’s new Artifact Survey Tool! What better way to get involved than by contributing to the data which helps players find their most sought after treasures? New Fan Fiction: Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest! Arkah’s Doings 1 Arkah’s Doings 2 Stone Dragon Series, Chapter 1 Stone Dragon Series, Chapter 2 Community Calendars: Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in! NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you! SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better! Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun! One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these! Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones. Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread. Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures. Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum. Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum. Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out! Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out! Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play. Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community. SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars! Project to Support: Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer Immersive theatre. 3D binaural sound. Real ghostbusting. Get your tickets now! We are excited to share, Starr “Darkstarr” Long’s (Executive Producer at The Acceleration Agency) latest project: Secret Cinema’s “Ghostbusters: The Gates of Gozer.” Travel back to the ‘80s and experience never-before-seen storylines based on the original film in this live virtual adventure. Get ready for the jaw-dropping detail of any Secret Cinema event, brought to you online and to a whole other level! Team up with the Ghostbusters to investigate paranormal activity, explore the infamous 550 Central Park West and uncover spine-chilling secrets from other dimensions. The world needs saving and you’re the one for the job! Project to Support: Shard RPG Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad. Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals. Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character! Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah! So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG! Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming! Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:  The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game: More Enemies! More Environments! More Magic Spells! RPG Quests! Weapon Forging and Crafting! Much, much more! If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available! 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 95 (R95), players will experience a very LARGE variety of changes to the game. Pet equipment has arrived! The first 6 gear items and 6 subcomponents are now available to create at your crafting stations! A new decoration concept called “platforms” allows players to place decorations on uneven terrain! Lava Pools... Play Release 95 Now! Pet Equipment! Platform & Trap Decorations! Scarecrows Attack & More!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 95 (R95), players will experience a very LARGE variety of changes to the game. Pet equipment has arrived! The first 6 gear items and 6 subcomponents are now available to create at your crafting stations! A new decoration concept called “platforms” allows players to place decorations on uneven terrain! Lava Pools are the first line of player-placed traps that actually damage players, which can be utilized for concepts like PvP arenas or lava fishing endeavors! The Conversationalist and Lua systems have been greatly expanded with new functions! SO many changes, so what are you waiting for? Get in there and play Shroud of the Avatar! 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 Release 95 Patch Notes! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Halloween Sales Event! Crown Store: Fall Elm Trees, Cannibal Stew Cauldron, Haunted Dolls & More! November Login Reward: 1-Story Fall Elm Tree 3-Pack! Release 95 Subscriber Login Rewards: Witch Doll, Cauldron, 2-Hand Xiphos Sword! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives Streamer Rewards Program Upcoming Release Dates Community Updates Community Events & Resources Project to Support: Shard RPG Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Release 95 Patch Notes! Below is a list of game changes and new content that are live as of Release 95 (R95). This release is a content, improvement, and bug fixes month. Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R96 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 95! Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes: 12 crafting recipes for pet gear and their subcomponents have been added to the game. Players can now craft gear items for their pets and place them onto the recently-added examine window for pets! Players must first craft the subcomponents which are needed to craft a Collar, Toy, or Accessory. These subcomponents are called Strips and Rolls. Rolls have effects more related to tank type abilities, and Strips have effects more related to DPS type abilities. The first round of Collar, Toy, and Accessory recipes includes 6 options, and each of these pet equipment slots feature a tank-related and DPS-related item. For instance, the first offering for a DPS accessory is called the Leather Harness of Speed, and the first offering of a tanking accessory is called the Chain Harness of Resistance. DPS-related items allow room for 3 Strips and 1 Roll in the recipe, allowing players to stack more DPS-related subcomponents into the mix, and tank-related items allow room for 3 Rolls and 1 Strip in the recipe, allowing players to stack more tank-related subcomponents. These recipes drop as loot throughout New Britannia, and for those wanting to charge right in and find these items, here are the drop locations: Gem Studded Roll of Leather: Skeletons in Graff Gem Mines. Gold Studded Roll of Leather: Ebon Dawn in South Drachvald Spur. Silver Studded Roll of Leather: Bandits in North Drachvald Spur. Bronze Studded Strip of Leather: Barbarians and the Dragon in Ulfheim. Copper Studded Strip of Leather: Satyr and Fauns in Spectral Peaks. Iron Studded Strip of Leather: Liches and Skeletons in Despair. Leather Harness of Speed: Elves in Shaminian Hills. Chain Harness of Resistance: Invaders and Chests in Lord British’s Castle. Leather Collar of Motivation: Barbarians and the Frost Giant in Jotungrund. Leather Collar of Warding: Kobolds in Norgard Fens. Leather Ball of Haste: Bandits and Druid in Outlaw’s Run. Leather Ball of Dodging: Bandits in Longfall Woods. We hope you enjoy this first round of pet gear which is available to all players as of R95. More pet gear items, subcomponents, and even Ephemeral Relics are coming to the pet gear system, so stay tuned! Platforms! A new decoration type called platforms becomes available for R95 which provides the decorators in New Britannia the ability to enhance the uneven terrain areas of their Player-Owned Towns! Here are some key features of this new decoration type which will greatly expand how and where governors and stewards can decorate their towns: These special decoration items feature special collision which allows them to be placed on uneven surfaces, then players can place other decorations on top of these platforms. They work great as bases for statues, lights, or any decoration which allows itself to be placed on another decoration as a child object. The first round of these items are only available from the in-game Crown Store and and become available on November 12th, but crafted versions will be coming shortly in a more limited fashion. These platforms currently do not allow for any wall decorations to be placed upon them, but taller versions such as the Stone Platform versions will soon feature a small decoration surface for this concept along the top edge of one side primarily for hanging objects like banners or wall lights. Players can expect many decoration changes in the future related to this concept which includes the following: Items such as castle walls and fences will receive updates to allow for better placement on uneven terrain. Items such as statues will also receive updates for uneven terrain placement, but most will also receive settings allowing for placement on other objects which accept child objects (if not already possible.) Foundation Property Markers inbound! Utilizing concepts similar to the new platform decorations, special property markers are being designed which allows players to slightly elevate their property onto a foundation, and these foundation property markers can be placed onto uneven surfaces. Floating Island Property Markers inbound! Although the image provided features a test of concept utilizing a simple giant block, soon players will gain the ability to place special property markers in their Player-Owned Towns which allow for a property to be placed on a floating island similar to the one in Rhun Ruins. Although these islands will be stationary, they will feature signpost technology allowing governors and stewards to provide their guests and residents easy access to each and every floating island within their borders. Initially, these special property markers will only be offered in Row, Village, and Town sizes, but perhaps City, Keep and Castle sizes will join the system at some point in the future. The property stone beneath the floating island which interacts with the island will also be placeable on uneven terrain. Lava Pools! During R95, players will gain the ability to place traps that actually damage other players! The first line of these “traps” are actually raised pools of lava which allow for other decorations to be placed inside of them, and they become available in the Crown Store on November 5th. These decorations are fantastic for player-decorated PvP arenas and any lava fishing endeavors. Many more trap types will be coming in the future, many of which will be crafted, so be on the look out! Spider Essences now drop as loot so players can discover Spider Totem recipes during crafting to enhance their Stone Dungeon Room (Spider Encounter) with spiders! Spider Essences dropping as loot will become available with a patch very shortly after release. Conversationalists now feature improved functionality when the owner is not present, and they also can play many emotes and even save custom variables! Just utilize this syntax in your script to make your Conversationalist perform these new options: Emotes: First place this in the beginning of your Ink script: EXTERNAL playEmote(emoteName) EXTERNAL saveVariable(varName) EXTERNAL loadVariable(varName) Then place this example as code in any line you wish an emote to play: ~ playEmote(“Aeroplane”) Custom User Defined Variables: First define your variables in the beginning of your Ink script: VAR numberOfTimesWeTalked = 0 Then place this example as code in any line you wish to increment the count: ~ numberOfTimesWeTalked = numberOfTimesWeTalked +1 Through use of custom variables, players can now ensure one Conversationalist will know if a player has spoken to ANOTHER Conversationalist. Other new variables: adventurerLevel producerLevel playTimeNumber (minutes) playTimeString (days, hours, minutes) PVPFlagged (1/0) NBDayOfWeek NBMonth NBSeason NBPeriodOfDay NBPhaseOfMoon NBWeatherName NBWindType VirtueTruth (Returns -1 for < -50, 0 for -50 to 50, and 1 for > 50) VirtueLove (Returns -1 for < -50, 0 for -50 to 50, and 1 for > 50) VirtueCourage (Returns -1 for < -50, 0 for -50 to 50, and 1 for > 50) Pressing the hotkey to display the “unwatered” indicator for planting beds now causes the effect to last 60 seconds instead of requiring the player to hold down the hotkey for a long duration. Animation lengths for sowing seeds, watering plants, and harvesting plants have been reduced so that players utilizing Elven Brandy no longer experience animations delaying their next agriculture skill attempt. Also lock times and cool downs have been reduced to provide a smoother transition from one agriculture skill attempt to another. The “Leather from Scraps” recipe now requires 12 Leather Scrap instead of 6, but also produces 2 Leather instead of 1. Fertilizer options no longer display in the agriculture sow seeds crafting interface. The Rise: Shaft player-made dungeon room now features spawns! Dungeoneers can apply either a Troll or Elf totem to activate the mixed spawns for this room. Also, the white rectangle is no longer visible in either version of the room. This room now also features improved collision and decoration surfaces, as well as improvements to the invisible walkway. The Imbued Jewel of the Ringmaster now provides 8 additional Tame Level instead of 6. 2 varieties of buckets can now be salvaged at a carpentry table. All varieties of Acaran gear are now viable pattern remover targets. The Cabalist robe and various hoods are now dyeable. These items no longer allow players to apply a dye since they do not feature dye layers: Wealthy Merchant Boots Fancy Merchant Gloves Fancy Merchant Boots Ancient Xenossian Greaves Angled Tabard Gambeson Hood Split Tabard Gambeson Boots Split Tabard Gambeson Gloves Split Tabard Gambeson Hood The variety of fireplace and chimney recipes that were broken for many players should now be fully functional. The Ancient Staff of Death is now invisible during stealth. The effects of the Frogkin Ring and Transformation potions on female avatars now look much more like the male versions of these effects. Glass objects in the Gothic Display Case now render correctly. Female hairstyles no longer poke through the front of Tiki Demon Mask, and hair now fully displays for both males and females when wearing the mask. All variations of the 4 artifact fishing rings now feature improved tooltips to indicate salvage and upgrade information, if applicable. The Obsidian Order Plate Helm can now be hidden on male and female avatars. The Ornate Scarecrow 2016 no longer indicates the year in the display name. Deed, City (PA, Tax Free, Water) can now be upgraded to Deed, Keep (PA, Tax Free, Water), which can in turn be upgraded to Deed, Castle (PA, Tax Free, Water). The Obsidian Streetlamp can now be placed on other decorations which accept child objects such as blocks and walls. The legacy version of the Epic Pax Ring now provides the appropriate jewels upon salvage. Any players who salvaged these items before the fix have already been sent any missing items via in-game mail. The legacy versions of the Epic Warlock’s Chain, Ancient Staff of Death, Ancient Staff of Anarchy, and Troll Belt now provide the appropriate chances to receive components used to craft these items upon salvage. Any players who salvaged these items before the fix have already been sent any missing items via in-game mail. The Warlock’s Chain recipe now only requires a Common Heart of Vrul. Combat & Skill Changes: Lightning Storm: A new spell has been added to the Air Magic tree which summons a “volatile cloud of highly charged air which rains down lightning bolts on those caught within” the effective radius. Those so unlucky to be caught within this blast area are very likely to be stunned for a short period. This skill will be available on the trainer after the first patch this release. Chaotic Shield has been redesigned. This Chaos Magic spell now creates a field of chaotic energy boosting Confusion Resistance, Chaos Bolt Damage, Torpid Torment’s focus damage rate and range, Tabula Rasa’s range and the chaos mage’s Chaotic Feedback skill. Chaos Specialization increases the duration and power of these effects. This spell is considered a shield spell, and only a single shield spell can be active at any given time. The Tabula Rasa skill has received additional benefits if Chaotic Shield is active, giving it new abilities that are effective versus players and NPC targets. As before, the spell’s abilities cause enemy player targets to instantly discard all glyphs which are then replaced with new glyphs from their deck, and Chaos Specialization adds a chance to apply a draw speed debuff to enemy player targets. Now, Chaos Specialization also adds a damage-over-time and knockdown effect which affects both enemy player and NPC targets, but ONLY if Chaotic Shield is your active shield spell. Elysium Illumination has been redesigned. This Sun Magic spell now provides a Sun Attunement buff and also features improved healing pulses, damage pulses, and duration. All 3 of these values scale slightly with skill level and attunement, but also significantly increase if specialized. The damage pulses affect all enemy targets, with additional damage applied to undead. Elysium Illumination is now considered a shield spell, and only a single shield spell can be active at any given time. Searing Ray now has a 15% chance to apply a small Blind effect on your opponent for 10 seconds if specialized in Sun Magic and Elysian Illumination is your currently active shield spell. Verbiage about shield spell restrictions have been added to all shield spell tooltip descriptions. Design and implementation of new or improved damage effects are underway! Already, players utilizing bludgeon weapons will see improved effects vs. skeletons, with more changes in the pipeline for all creatures to have different resistances and vulnerabilities to bludgeon, piercing, and slashing damage types. Damage math for magic has been adjusted. Throughout the life of the game, player intelligence has increased far more than skill level. With this change, Intelligence will contribute less to magic damage and skill levels will contribute more to magic damage. Overall, almost all players will see a net increase in magic damage. Ring of Fire, an AOE spell in the Fire Magic tree, has been updated. The base tick timer has been increased from 2.00 to 2.25 seconds. The base damage range for each tick has changed from 2-5 to 1-5. This change provides roughly a 20% reduction in the spell’s DPS, but no change was made to the possible max damage per tick. Tamed wyverns should now be more responsive, attack faster, and also have poison that scales in power. Functionality for aggro abilities have been improved. Cone of Cold is now a 4X EXP skill. A player’s level in this skill could lower as a result of this change, but the total EXP the player applied to the skill was not changed. NPC spell casters in Superstition Canyon now feature increased damage and improved heal other abilities. Ice Fist no longer indicates that it has an effective radius in the spell’s description, and the description has been improved to indicate all possible effects. Multiple applications of Earth Attunement no longer apply to a character upon each cast of Splintering Strike. This Earth Attunement bonus no longer stacks, but Earth Specialization instead increases the effect’s amount. The skill’s description has been updated to reflect the changes. The tooltip description for Earth’s Embrace no longer indicates a movement speed penalty exists, and a new duration bonus for Earth specialized casters has been added to the spell’s effects and description. The loading tip related to maintained skills no longer indicates decay verbiage. When setting a specialization skill to maintain, the skill’s tooltip no longer indicates decay verbiage in the description and now mentions that only a single specialization skill be be set to train at a time. The tooltip for Anthem of Alacrity now better indicates the durations, and charging the skill now properly applies charged effects. Corpion poison attacks are now labeled as Corpion Spit or Corpion Sting in their tooltip descriptions. Spits no longer remove focus but instead cause a very small Focus Damage Rate debuff of 0.1. Also, the spit poison lasts 10s instead of 20s and only allows 1 stack instead of 3. These poisons can still be purified, and these changes do not affect tamed pet attacks. Players will now be able to move quickly after being attacked while fishing. Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes: All loot drop iterations of the Uncommon magical attunement rings now drop as a Common at an increased rate. At this point, all attunement ring drops should now be of the Common tier. Player Vendors placed in dungeons and basements will now populate the “Vendor Listings in Zone” window with all vendors currently placed within the dungeon or basement. Troll Heads and Lich Skulls now drop more regularly as loot. Attenuation limits have been increased from 12 million EXP to 15 million EXP. Subscribers to the Reward Program now receive greatly improved results from Obsidian Potions effects! User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes: Subscribers to the Reward Program now receive 24 extra deck slots, doubling the amount available. Hotkey assignments are now available for the previously available decks 13-24, but also for the newly created subscriber decks 25-48. Lua functionality has been greatly improved. UI elements function more quickly than before, and MANY new commands, functions, and hooks are now available and listed in this forum thread maintained by DevilCult. South Broken Road now features an in-game map. Both versions of Highvale now feature in-game maps. Going AFK no longer causes your Avatar to sit. Pet follow settings will now be remembered between sessions and scene loads. The Pet examine window now indicates Aggro Power instead of Taunt Power, which now calculates the base pet Aggro Power of the pet, gear items, and buffs. Evictions times have been increased to 60 days to allow players more time to catch up on unpaid rent for their taxed properties. Work is already underway to develop “Non-Destructive Evictions” by programmer extraordinaire Wizardsmoke. This new feature will place decorated property into the Property Manager (Magic Movers) interface rather than disassembling it and dumping individual items into a player’s bank. This feature will become available soon, so stay tuned! World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes: Castle Atos: A new location is coming soon to Novia named Castle Atos! The bustling castle grounds will be a welcoming place for new and veteran players to gather. Special events will be held in and around the castle plaza! Avatars will find quests here as they learn about the castle residents, including the rivalry between royal chefs and a certain game the children play. Other features include crafting stations, merchants of all kinds, trainers, a public vendor, a Mage of Mystery, an Altruistic monk, unique adventuring and crafting buffs, and much more! Future features include the entrances to new, unique dungeons of widely ranging difficulty. Come relax in the tavern, or perform for others on the tavern stage! Work on your weapon skills at the training grounds! Host your own wedding reception in the Great Hall! Meet and visit with other adventurers around town! New Scarecrow Enemy: On the edge of the South Quel Woods is a abandoned farm with buildings of rotting wood, overgrown fields, and decaying scarecrows. They say the farm is cursed, and that its fields are haunted by a frightful spirit possessing the form of one of the scarecrows. Many have have gone to the fields and tried burning the scarecrows, only to learn that this is exactly what draws out the fiendish tatterdemalion. Be warned: None of those foolish enough to summon this monstrosity have ever returned! (Will patch in shortly after release). Aether Creatures: Aether creatures will no longer spawn in the world. Desolate Hills, West Vauban Foothills: Fixed a staircase that was missing visible stairs. Jack of Diamonds: Rain should no longer come through the decks of the airship. Jotungrund: The Frost Giant no longer has skewed visuals when dead. Jotungrund: Elementals near the signal towers will now be tier 5 most often, but with a roughly 1 in 12 chance that one tier 14 elemental will spawn, instead. Jotungrund: Updated the compass markers for the signal fire quest to have markers appear more often at the signal towers. Jotungrund: Updated the ground hazard in the frost giant fight to help allow avatars to cast ground-targeting abilities. Jotungrund: Wymond can offer a quest to get a bone chip. Obsidian Panopticon: Added occasional creaks to the heavy chains holding up the prison cell rings. Owl’s Head: Removed a “Myra” keyword from Todd’s responses. Penmawr Island: A puzzle-related treasure chest will now always have some “treasure” when it restocks. Plains Encounter: Adjusted some of the terrain to better hint at the edge of the playspace. Skrekk: Updated the kobold hacker’s responses to be more clear about how he modifies virtue data. Solace Bridge Outskirts: Fixed an issue where Bancroft thought he already met an avatar he was actually meeting for the first time. Soltown: Removed a redundant listing for POT Sirens Cove from the Player-Owned Town teleporter wagon. South Majestic Forest: Fixed typos in CBY-60053’s conversation. Spectral Mines: Fixed an issue where ore nodes weren’t appearing in the scene. Spite: Fixed typos in Snag Baldrake’s conversation. Spite: Removed a “line of sight” restriction on Xia to help keep conversation errors from happening. Spite: Updated conversation references for “Lake Tempest” to “Stormwater Lake.” Tenebris Harbor: Each time Dekker’s treasure chest restocks, it should have at least one item. Also, all overturned chairs should be nonfunctional. The Outlaws’ Run: Improved Milosh and Lucien to help keep them from cutting off their respective conversations in some cases. The Outlaws’ Run: Updated the responses which the guards use to task avatars with finding Miloslava. The Sirens Foothills: Fixed a staircase that was missing visible stairs. The Rise: Reinforcements have arrived! More elven melee and skeleton enemies have been added and several elven archers have been removed. Troll’s Bridge and Random Encounters: In the overworld preview listings, fixed an issue with merchants being listed as within these scenes when they likely weren’t in them. Also, fixed an issue where the sculptor merchants in Desert Encounters weren’t selling anything. Verdantis Mines: Fixed several stuck spots. Split a certain spawner set to help ensure the associated NPCs spawn with a better distribution. The tree curtain visuals on the edge of scenes are no longer quite so dark. Mounted players are no longer dismounted when switching scenes. The Upward Acceleration Potion 3-Pack store entry no longer displays the scene change disclaimer 2 times. The Icy Cave Stone Hallway Set on the Crown Store now features transition pieces to ancient stone. The Snow Paver set is now available year round in the Crown Store. Player-Owned Town Changes: Ironhall: Upgraded to Teralopolis. Ironhall Highlands: Removed POT. PaxLocus: Upgraded to Town. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, October 29th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “pumpkin spice and everything nice” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store. Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our 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 Halloween Sales Event! Happy Halloween! In observance of being generally spooky and mischievous, bonus EXP and various sales have begun: +100% Adventure and Crafting EXP Holdfast Player-Owned Towns are 20% Off! 2-Hour Flash Sale Items are 20% Off! Crowns of the Obsidian are 20% Off! Player-Owned Town Upgrades are 20% Off! (Crown Upgrades Only) Episode 2 Access is $4 Off! New Character Slots is 40% Off! All these sale items will last until Tuesday, November 2nd at Noon CT, so don’t miss out! Happy shopping, Avatars! Crown Store: Fall Elm Trees, Cannibal Stew Cauldron, Haunted Dolls & More! Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the Crown Store. Available today on October 28th, a Haunted Doll 6-Pack! These creepy dolls each feature a unique animation when activated. For decorators wishing for more tree varieties, the Fall Elm Tree 6-Pack is now available! These trees feature highly forgiving collision, allowing players to nestle them very closely together. There is even an Epic-sized version of this tree now available! Players wishing to collect additional Celestian furniture pieces, the new Celestian Chandelier 3-Pack is available! These beautiful lights are perfect for lighting up Shogun-styled homes. Also now available, a Bubbling Cauldron of Cannibal Stew! Hungry now? Haunted Doll 6-Pack Fall Elm Tree 6-Pack Epic Fall Elm Tree Celestian Chandelier 3-Pack Bubbling Cauldron of Cannibal Stew Becoming available on November 5th, lava pools! These scorching hot pools of molten hot magma are the first in a series of upcoming damaging trap decorations becoming available. Players can utilize these lava pools for PvP arena traps/obstacles or the anglers of New Britannia can cast their lines in for some lava fishing. Each lava pool is configured to fit on a particular lot size, so the small version can fit on a row-sized lot, the medium version can fit on a village-sized lot, and the large version can fit on a town-sized lot. All 3 can easily fit on a town-sized lot at the same time. Each pool also comes with stairs that are separate decoration items, and these stairs have also been added separately to the store in case players find other uses for them: Rectangular Stone Lava Pool, Large Rectangular Stone Lava Pool, Medium Rectangular Stone Lava Pool, Small Stone Stairs 5-Pack Becoming available on November 12th, a new decoration concept called Platforms! Platforms are primarily utilized for providing decoration surfaces on uneven surfaces throughout a Player-Owned Town, but can also be fantastic for simple raised decoration areas in flat areas, transitions between water and ground, and even simply as water decorations. Each pack contains 6 small, 3 medium, 2 large and 1 huge platform: Stone Platform 12-Pack Wide Stone Platform 12-Pack Black Marble Platform 12-Pack Wide Black Marble Platform 12-Pack White Marble Platform 12-Pack Wide White Marble Platform 12-Pack Fallow Granite Platform 12-Pack Wide Fallow Granite Platform 12-Pack Polished Granite Platform 12-Pack Wide Polished Granite Platform 12-Pack Iron Platform 12-Pack Wide Iron Platform 12-Pack Becoming available on November 19th, 11 former Vault or Harvest/Fall seasonal items have become a regular part of the Crown Store and will always be available: Ornate Scarecrow Scarecrow Mask Giant Scarecrow Brown Pilgrim Bonnet Brown Pilgrim Hat Autumn Leaf Shield Autumn Leaf Trident Autumn Fairy Outfit Autumn Fairy Wings Autumn Leaf Mask Autumn Fairy Crown Don’t forget! Hometown is an amazing resource for players. At Hometown, which is located just east of Soltown, players can examine available houses, Player-Owned Town templates, and even new Crown Store items. Why not be certain you like it before you make a purchase? So head on over to Hometown and check things out! If you have questions about what’s on display in Hometown, please visit this forum thread and post a question. To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year! November Login Reward: 1-Story Fall Elm Tree 3-Pack! Log in during the month of November, and you’ll receive a 3-pack of small Fall Elm Trees! This new tree style is gorgeous, and if you’d like more, ALL sizes are now available on the Crown Store! Release 95 Subscriber Login Rewards: Witch Doll, Cauldron, 2-Handed Xiphos Sword! Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 95 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection is Halloween themed! Subscribers will received the new Haunted Witch Doll if they log in during R95, which is an interactive doll decoration with a unique animation! If you need a bubbling cauldron of stew, look no further! Subscribers will also receive the Bubbling Cauldron decoration featuring effects that can be toggled. Also, an Ancient Xenossian 2-Handed Xiphos Sword will also be delivered to subscribers this release! Subscribers to the Reward Program must login during Release 95 to receive these special login items: Haunted Witch Doll Bubbling Cauldron Ancient Xenossian 2-Handed Xiphos Sword 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 (about 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 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month: 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 Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses: Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful! 24 Additional Deck Slots! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives! The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched. The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to cleanup the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums. Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels! In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action! The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives. Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team! Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows: Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter” Single Ant Cloak Lady Bug Backpack Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids” Ant Farm Insect Leg Table Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles” Bug Painting B Bug Sprayer Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths” Butterfly Chair Corpion Chair (Pictured Below) Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies” Hacked Oracle Flyer Giant Blue Butterfly Pet Butterfly Mask Dragonfly pet Fairy Wings Monarch Butterfly Pet Dragonfly Wings Hacked Oracle Crawler Blue Butterfly VFX Orange Fireflies VFX Orange Butterfly VFX If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums. Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program! Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I! Phase I: Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply. Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar. Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual. Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come). Rules: To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application. To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program. Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program. Items of Note: SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord. Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material. Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them! Upcoming Release Dates 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. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows: Release 95 – Oct 28 (Content) Release 96 – Nov 18 (Polish) Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content) Release 98 – Jan 27 (Polish) Release 99 – Feb 24 (Content) Release 100 – Mar 31 (Polish) Release 101 – Apr 28 (Content) Community Updates & Resources Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums: Catnip Games Contests: Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia! Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases. Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars! Special Announcements: Goodbye Norah East: “I am sorry to inform that Norah East passed away from her battle with cancer. Best archer, best crafter, best friend. We will miss you Norah…” A Final Farewell to a Beloved Player: Posted by Trezir Pyle, “It is always sad to hear about people passing. Its even harder when that person is a valued member of our community, as well as a good friend to each one of us. For the past month, Twistar has been fighting Covid. On Saturday, Oct. 2nd his fight ended. May he finally be at peace and rejoined with family and friends who have passed before him. On Monday Alphaine, Death Herself created a memorial service to honor Twistar. The service was perfect. For those who could not make it, here is the memorial video created by Alphaine.​” One-Time Events: Proudfoot’s Ironhall Fishing Contest: Proudfoot Underhill got lucky and fished up a second Cloak of the Master Angler! He doesn’t want to be no greedy fisherfling, so he’s giving it to the angler who catches the biggest fish in Ironhall during the contest period. Submit your fishes from October 13th until November the 13th. When Eve Meets All Hallows: In celebration of both R94 and Halloween, Eveara would like you to join her (and my piano) for a musical get-together on M’hul Island on October 30th at 4PM CT. Nothing fancy, nothing formal – just some music, fireworks, and casual socializing. Stop on by! Missing Associate: VulcanJedi and crew have posted an intriguing lead-in to an immersive player quest in the Player-Owned Towns forum. Will you aid in the search for the missing associate, Atton? Atton was last seen in the Extra Life Guild Bunkhouse on the island of Mysteria. Pumpkin Patch Trophy Hunt: Aeolus Adara in Silverdale Market is hosting a Pumpkin Patch Trophy Hunt! Pumpkin Patch man Aeolus Adara was transporting hundreds of pumpkins on his journey to Soltown and the wagons wheel fell right off! Before he knew it. thugs surrounded him and robbed him of all his pumpkins! Recover these Pumpkin trophies for poor ol’ pumpkin man Adara and the largest pumpkin sent receives prizes! Recurring Events: Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Feast items such as Brewing Ingredients, Turkeys, and more! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R95’s contest period lasts until November 23rd! Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs. M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available! Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out! Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting! 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules. RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun! PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there! Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT! New Player-Created Resources: Crafting Q&A with Coswald Dirthmire: Recently, streamer extraordinaire Coswald Dirthmire hosted a crafting Q&A session in the town of Haven Ridge. As the 3rd installment of Haven Ridge’s Q&A series, it turned out to be a highly informative event. Please watch the video and see what you missed! 24 Hour CotO Store Sale Thread: Wanna be able to see what’s on sale while not in-game? Tirrag has been taking the time to post a screenshot of the daily sale items to help players find elusive sale items. Check it out! Artifact Survey Tool by Tirrag: Please head on over to this forum thread and check out Tirrag’s new Artifact Survey Tool! What better way to get involved than by contributing to the data which helps players find their most sought after treasures? New Fan Fiction: Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest! Arkah’s Doings 1 Arkah’s Doings 2 Stone Dragon Series, Chapter 1 Stone Dragon Series, Chapter 2 Community Calendars: Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in! NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you! SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better! Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun! One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these! Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones. Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread. Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures. Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum. Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum. Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out! Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out! Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play. Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community. SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars! Project to Support: Shard RPG Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad. Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals. Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character! Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah! So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG! Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming! Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:  The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game: More Enemies! More Environments! More Magic Spells! RPG Quests! Weapon Forging and Crafting! Much, much more! If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available! 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: 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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

And now we have the first part of a great story from Arkah EMPStrike, entitled Arkah’s Doings Background music by Smartsound Arkah set his last trunk down on the floor in his house. That made 5 large trunks, 4 backpacks, 2 sacks, 3 barrels and 3 crates. “Phew” he wiped his forehead as he stepped outside his door to tie up his horse, Trots McHorsington. “Sorry about all the work buddy!” he apologized and fed McHorsington a carrot. “His name is awful!” said Xalia, who made herself very unhelpful in an armchair by the fireplace. “Well,” Arkah scoffed, “it’s not Your name.” He said this while tossing stuff out of a trunk placed on his bed. “You don’t have to introduce him at parties. Besides, we’re so far out in the boonies that noone’s gonna care.” Ever since the gas incident in Caelestis Canton, Arkah felt it better to move his research even further away than Malas. To the edge of the world in fact: a little known backwater village called Goti on the far shore of Norgard, about as remote as a man can get. After packing everything away and thoroughly scattering his notes about, a knock came at the door, which was still open. “Greetings, Arkah.” A black hooded figure poked his head inside. Arkah stood up, from his paper-scattering, “Do i know you? Because you know me, Arkah, and that makes me suspicious so forgive me, would you like some tea?” Arkah offered the man a cup of demon tea he had been drinking and the man briefly declined and moved on to his purpose for being there. “I need to discuss your recent research with you. The research that prompted you to move so far away from civilization.” Arkah took on a more serious tone, “Go on” Xalia was quietly writing on a piece of paper by the fireplace, barely listening. “I saw what transpired in Blood Bay, and though it was not your intent, I believe you may have stumbled upon something that could both kill people and cause certain others to want to kill you and your partner Professor Teekington.” the hooded man said pointedly. “Oh.” Arkah was rubbing his beard in thought. “Well I don’t know who would want to hurt me but I can definitely see what you’re on about the…..curse or gas or whatever it is being dangerous.” Arkah thought back to a rather large flesh-eating plant he had to dispose of before moving. “I contained what I could and relocated here.” “Indeed.” the hooded man replied, “But I am afraid you left unintended, and not surprisingly undetected lingering effects behind, and Grunvald may be in danger.” “Well….dammit.” Arkah said, almost nonchalantly. “I had hoped any traces of what was left would be so dilute that it would be benign.” The hooded man shook his head, “It grows, almost as if alive, and seeks out hosts. If you have done what I think you have done, Nature could turn against Caelestis Canton, and possibly a larger swath of northern grunvald.” Arkah stopped rubbing his beard for a moment and narrowed his eyes. “Deez?” The hooded man nodded. Arkah’s jaw dropped and he began yelling, “You caused ALOT of trouble around Ordinis mister! I spent DAYS looking for Deez and Johnny Mark, and you just disappear and never even…wait you didn’t actually kill anyone. Then, who did we find in the river and behind the inn? Why were you-“ The hooded man interrupted, “Come, let us travel to Grunvald. Give me asylum in Ordinis Mortis so that I may conceal my location while we work, and in exchange I will explain the happenings of the past.” Arkah and the hooded man rode Trots McHorsington up the hill in Ordinis to the Guild hall. “I posted a bulletin letting folks know not to attack you. Some of them might still remember you.” The hooded man, who had been adorned in cultist garbs felt his appearance was more of a concern but felt honesty would avail him better than deception with these people. “I thank you Arkah. I will begin my concealment ritual and remain hidden here while we begin our investigation.” Arkah helped the hooded man down off Trots and turned about. “Well, I’m off to Caelestis to see what’s up! Join me as soon as you feel it is safe to do so.” The Hooded man nodded and waved as Arkah rode away on Trots, and then began setting up the stones for his concealment spell. Several days later: (This event has already happened)https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/f…ent-defectors-and-curses.166127/#post-1305833 ___________________________————————————____________——————————————______________________ Arkah returned to Ordinis at full gallop and almost vaulted off Trots as he approached the hooded man, clearly in a panic. “You ahhhh…..working a concealment spell are ya? Keeping yourself hidden, hmm?” The hooded man’s tone betrayed confusion, “Yes? why?” “There are a lot of cultists gathering just up the road.” Arkah said wide eyed and nodding. “So, why are there cultists outside the city? Why do they feel like camping out there?” Arkah had a nervous hand on his dagger. The hooded man sighed. “I… honestly don’t know. They couldn’t have possibly detected me and I haven’t spoken to-” Arkah interrupted, “spoken to anyone, yea, except there’s a bunch of guys dressed like you amassing outside. Why?” “They are after me.” Said the hooded man. “After you?” Arkah replied sharply and in the exact same tone, “Why?” “I am a ‘traitor’ to the cultists.” The man spoke without hesitation. “They want to see that I face Their justice. But they couldn’t possibly be so sure that I am here as to be amassing a force outside the city. I am at a loss, I do not know how they know.” he said more quietly as if in deep thought. Suddenly a voice boomed over the plains. “We know the traitor is here, and we will take him. You will give him to us so that he may face our judgment, for true Justice.” It was echoey and loud yet calm-toned. Suddenly screams rang out from he Docks down the hill. “WHO ARE YOU? HELP AAAAHHGGG” Someone had just been killed. “Arkah ran out of town to try and find help and returned with a small band of powerful fighters “This is the place. The traitor is to be captured alive. Advance on the town until he is found.” The Ebon Dawn commander’s voice echoed everywhere at once from an unknown location. A vicious battle ensued as cultist soldiers poured into the city, at best being slowed down by the small band of fighters. “Hold them off until i can prepare a sufficiently powerful Cleansing Rain spell to wipe them out!” The hooded man projected his voice to the fighters the same way he had communicated with Teeka so long ago. And they fought on. One cultist spotted a magic stone pillar hidden in an alley behind the markets in Ordinis. “”I see…an illusory field, very clever.” The Ebon Commander’s voice boomed, “Once it is destroyed, you will face justice in disgrace like the coward you are…”. The Defenders became more determined, and even the most elite of the cultists could not push through them. “If you fall…you will do it again. ASEN-IGNIS-CORP-OBIX”. A smouldering red fog began materializing near the injured cultist soldiers that remained, and they began writhing and screaming as their forms were twisted and flesh melted from their bones, leaving only charred flaming skeletons that immediately began spewing and tossing fire at all of the brave fighters defending the city. ‘Oh gods my magic does not work on them!’ One of the defending wizards said to herself, as the burning undead chased them through the streets. Just then the hooded man’s voice rang in their minds, “”It is ready!”. His incantation quickly echoed over the plains. “”Desen-Wast-Umbra-Obix-Vatu” Clouds began to gather and rain burst forth from the sky in a fierce thunderstorm. “What…what is this?!” The ebon commander screeched as the screeching became more 3 dimensional allowing the fighters to find his location from the sounds. The remaining skeletons were quickly extinguished. The first fighter on the field was the last, as she approached the screams only to find a spirit remained, which she quickly banished. The Battle was won! “Thank you, strangers.” The hooded man’s voice rang in their minds one last time as the skies began to clear. Echoes From the Caverns The post Arkah’s Doings 1 – by EMPStrike – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

Arkah approached the hooded man, who seemed exhausted. “So uh,” Arkah put his hands behind his head, “that was…a lot.” The hooded man sat on the ground, “Yes, I think I should probably get to Caelestis Canton as soon as possible. I don’t know how they knew me or that I was here, but if they knew then others may know and come looking.” He shook his head at the thought and looked at Arkah, though his eyes weren’t visible beneath his hood, “They may already know why we’re here and be waiting for us.” Arkah was rubbing his nose fervently, stopping to respond, “Yeah. Maybe.” He rubbed his sleeve on his face once before letting his arms fall to his side, swinging. “But we can send someone ahead that shouldn’t draw any attention to make sure it’s safe.” The hooded man uttered something and began to fade into shadow, but failed, and instead stood up again, “Very well, I’ll wait for your word to move. When you are ready, I will remove the stones holding the illusory field and proceed to Caelestis.” ———— Deez threw a hand of cards down on a table in front of Dem “Hah!” He shouted, just as Dem threw down his hand. Deez now looked angry. “Hahaha! That’s right my friend, Royal Flush.” Dem reached out and seized a small pile of coin that lay in the center of the table as Deez grumbled, “No one’s THAT lucky.” “Hey, you won last week.” Dem said trolling Deez. There was a knock at the door. “We play every day you bastard.” Deez scoffed playfully as he stood to answer the door. “How’s it going Arkah.” Deez greeted Arkah with his back turned as he made his way back to his seat. “Oh, you know” Arkah chortled unconvincingly. “Wanna make some money?” Deez propped his feet up on the coffee table where they had been playing cards. “I’m listening.” Arkah put a map down on the table at Deez’s feet and dramatically pinned it with a dagger on a small island off the coast of Paxlair. Deez sat up and studied the location. “I need someone to go here and guard a statue at the site of my old lab.” Arkah handed Deez some coordinates and a small pouch of gold. “Keep an eye out for cultists specifically.” “What about me?” Dem said, counting his newly won gold. “You’ve already been paid,” Deez said, motioning tward Dem’s gold with a grimace. “Besides, Malus only has two guards at the moment.” Dem mouthed Deez’s words back at him sarcastically then happily took his gold into a back room. Arkah threw up a directionless wave as he walked out the door, then poked his head back in briefly, “Oh and try not to breath the gas.” Deez didn’t question it. He readied his things and headed to Caelestis Canton. Arkah helped the hooded man onto his horse, “Deez says the coast is clear, literally.” He snickered at his own joke. “…Nothing? Anyways…” They began riding the road to the east toward Paxlair. After reaching the town they quietly made their way to the docks, where the ferryman to Caelestis Canton waited. After arriving in Caelestis and meeting up with Deez at the contamination site, they were briefly attacked by confused blackbirds. “Agh I forgot about these.” Arkah announced sharply as he swatted with both hands. “I want to show you something Arkah.” The hooded man knelt near one of the blue spruce surrounding the site, and he pointed out one of the roots breaking ground a bit of the way out from the base of the trunk. “Roots.” Arkah said proudly, as if guessing correctly. The hooded man walked a little further north and knelt again dusting a few leaves aside and pointed. “More roots.” Arkah said again, not yet seeing where he was going with this. The man walked even further north, much further than the roots of such small trees should extend, and pointed at the ground again. Arkah scratched his head, “Are you sure these are the same roots?” As if on cue, the exposed root seemed to bury itself in the dirt as if it was aware it were being watched. “Whoa!” Arkah leaped back and grabbed the man quickly letting go and composing himself, standing akimbo, then pointing frantically at the ground, “Did you see that – what was that??” He asked frantically. “The trees you planted have kept the air clear and safe, but in doing so has funnelled all the contaminate into the ground. The entire island is affected.” The man said walking back to the site. “Well…well shoot man I didn’t know.” Arkah defended himself, “I’m not sure how to fix this.” “Me either, but i have not come without ideas.” The hooded man produced a small sack. “I’ll need a lot of garlic and mandrake root. Luckily I have plenty of sulfur left over as it was not needed in the illusory field.” The man walked to the edge of the nearby ruin and placed a sack on the ground. “I will also collect any materials i can from passers-by.” “Right.” Arkah said snapping and pointing in no particular direction while looking around. “And I’ll go see what else I can find that may help.” The next event actually occurred in game – The ‘failed Experiment’. The adventure is detailed in a Twitch video which is unfortunately not now available. Suffice it to say that our heroes were victorious. WEEKS LATER Arkah, crouching in a bush in a small grove of trees next to a clearing, guzzled a green potion and wrapped the empty flask several times in a thick cloth. He cradled it to his chest and quietly smashed it, as is customary. A blue pit dragon that had been preying on a stag in the field looked up for a moment and let out a concerned growl. Arkah remained perfectly still. The dragon’s concern faded, and it returned to its meal. Arkah pulled a darker green flask from his pouch and began coating a dagger with its contents. Before he could finish, he heard a roar from above loud enough to make him stumble backwards onto his butt. The dragon in the clearing looked up and returned the loud roar before taking wing. Arkah poked his head from under the canopy just enough to see a hoard of blue pit dragons flying out toward Spindrift Bay. “They don’t normally hunt in packs.” He said, rubbing his chin. “They aren’t known to migrate either” he said to himself. “I wonder if this has anything to do with that thunder.” Earlier, Arkah remembered, there was a thunderous noise that came from the east coast, but not a cloud in the sky. It was a little odd but, he thought, it may have just been a couple of dragons fighting over territory. Arkah picked up his pack and began following the dragon hoard towards Spindrift Bay. Arkah could see smoke rising from the coast as his ferry approached the west end of Spindrift Bay. The Ferryman looked nervous as they began to approach Northwood. “I’ll have to take you up the coast a ways. Word is dragons have been attacking.” The Ferryman said while changing course northward. “Understandable!” Arkah said with a bit of a nervous giggle. He surveyed the skies as they sailed but found nothing. Suddenly a desperate roar echoed from a distant mountain, crushing the gentle sound of the waves against the boat. The ferryman looked startled. “Maybe this isnt-“the ferryman was interrupted – “Head south!” Arkah shouted, confusingly pointing northwest. It was a tiny speck of a dragon taking wing from the distant mountain. “I need to cross the sea, take me south Brittany please!” “My meter is still running.” The ferryman said trying not to let his voice tremble. ————————- The Galleon pulled into port on the south end of the main island of Mystrendur. Arkah and his horse, Trots, went ashore. ‘I still have all my supplies from Drachvald, no need to stock up!’ He happily thought as he mounted Trots. “Let’s find their feeding grounds!” He said to Trots as they galloped northward through the mountain passes. After some time travelling, he spotted a large heard of deer. He looked around and saw sulfur deposits on nearby stones. Trots McHorsington was hidden in a small grove of trees and left to graze. Arkah crouched in the shrubs and waited. After a while Arkah started to doze off. His eyes began to struggle to stay open, until something kicked him so hard in the back, it sent him flying into the herd of deer in the field, landing flat on his face and scaring the animals off into the nearby mountains. McHorsington had run off with them. Arkah was in a daze and smouldering a bit. He managed to turn his head enough to see a small dragon charging at him. “The hell?” The dragon stopped. Near him, its fangs bared. Arkah’s vision was a bit blurry now, but he could clearly see the dragons eyes glaring, it wasn’t feeding. “Do. Not. Follow.” The dragon growled. It sent chills through Arkah. He just noticed the wet streaks beneath its savagely angry looking eyes as its pupils narrowed and it turned to fly swiftly into the mountains. Dragons did not speak to humans. Why did this one? Trots returned cautiously, and Arkah called him over. He mustered enough energy to pull himself onto his back before passing out completely. A horse carries an unconscious man on the path in front of the White Raven in and stops for a moment, lowering its head to find a spot to graze. The man, clearly Arkah at this point, moans and rolls off the horse. The back of his neck seems blistered, and his clothes were singed. “Uhnn…Mchorsntonyawait here” he muttered, almost incoherently as he rolled over on his back on the ground. McHorsington wandered off with his head to the ground looking for lush grass. Arkah kept his eyes closed and yelled “Imaneeda poshn! Red poshn ugn.” He was out of breath and reached into the pack that had fallen with him, felt around for a flask and passed out. Arkah awoke in the same spot he had fainted in. Trots was grazing nearby. He finished retrieving the imbued regeneration potion from his pack, chugged it painfully, and smashed the bottle on the ground next to him as is custom. The burns on his neck and back began rapidly mending, but his clothing remained charred. He looked around the intersection and saw a few concerned villagers. “Excuse me!” Arkah raised his head pointing at a man beneath a nearby cherry tree. “Welcome to the bank, good sir.” the man said in greeting. Arkah looked behind the man at the wagon sitting out in the open. “Hmm..” “I am Jason. If you need to make a deposit or withdrawl, we will take care of you.” the man nodded twards the cart. “No thanks!” Arkah said, dismissing his mild security concerns. “I’m actually lost, where is this?” “Meridian.” Jason replied, “A ways east and south of Tanglemire.” Arkah thought for a moment. “Tanglemire?” Jason crossed his arms, “Yessir.” Arkah looked at Trots with narrow eyes. Trots looked back at Arkah blankly chewing grass. “Who brought me here?” Arkah asked “I saw only you and your horse arrive, sir.” Jason replied with a slight yawn. Arkah looked back at Trots. Trots continued to return the look blankly. “And we are….south of the main island. Correct? One would….have to have hired a ferryman to get here?” Jason was ignoring Arkah at this point and already well into a thorough flirting with the magic merchant across the street. Arkah shrugged and climbed atop Trots, heading along the road in some direction. Jason stands on the balcony of Cafe Istanbul, leaning heavily on the rails, and watching Jason and a stranger and a horse have an awkward conversation. He squints malevolently at the banker. I hope you enjoyed the snow, my nemesis. I hope that horse kicks you! And that minstrel spreads a hilarious limerick about it! Jason spits angrily and mumbles: Imposter….shaved-head-having bank-storage-loving…. Jason Statham wanttobe… He turns suddenly and returns indoors to resume his fate as this stories over-qualified dishwasher. (somewhere in the past, before the blizzard)–“Where is everyone?” Arkah asked the NPC banker named after Jason, proprietor of Cafe Istanbul. –“They are in the future,” answered the NPC, somewhat to Arkah’s surprise. “Winter has come, but you are too early.” –“How do I get to them….in the future?” Arkah inquired. –“Just wait……” (Picking up where we left off….on a clear morning after a heavy snowfall)–TimeLord had given up on Mingo. The old bard sat before the fireplace vacantly staring into the flames, holding his pipe which had long gone out. With a sigh TimeLord loaded a few more logs onto the fire and went out the front door, there to meet Arkah. –“We don’t’ see many horses in these parts stranger,” TimeLord said by way of greeting. “however there is a stable just around the corner, past Frida’s small farm.” –“Thankee kindly,” Arkah said with a nod. –“When you are done at the stable,” TimeLord said, gesturing across the way, “join us over at Cafe Istanbul.” –“Is Mingo TheBard there?” –“in a while I think he will show up.” –Arkah urged his horse through the snow to the aforementioned stable. TimeLord made his way back to Cafe Istanbul. Frida noted the absence of Mingo. “Mingo iz not with you?” she asked. –“Alas,” TimeLord replied, “I fear he is entranced by some dream of RL.” –“I hope it is a good dream,” FireAngel commented. –“I think not,” TimeLord said with a shake of his head. “I think it is a nightmare.” Echoes From the Caverns The post Arkah’s Doings 2 – by Arkah EMPStrike – narrated by Asclepius appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

This chapter is read by Addy Chapter two. At the Tavern Phlebus had a finely tuned sense of when Torgin was willing to listen, when he wanted to drink, and when he was ready to brawl. Since it had been a long week of rough travel from Central Brittany, complete with a tour of local rotting corpses (including complimentary aromatic country air) and because Zyrina had claimed he would buy the first round, he held out a tray full of too many ales for five people. “Well, this is exactly as promised. Well done Phle.” Torgin rubbed his hands together. The twins exchanged looks with each other and grinned. He was not smiling at Zyrina on purpose. Lucy took a wooden tankard of ale in each fist as did Torgin, then lifting the pints aloft they waited impatiently for Elnoth, Zyrina, and Phlebus to join them. Phlebus handed Zyrina one of the three remaining mugs, offered one to Elnoth, and took the last one for himself. Then he set the tray aside, raised his ale alongside his friends, and Phlebus and the twins all spoke in solemn unison, “To the chase” before the three downed them in nearly one gulp. “Is that a ritual or something?” Zyrina asked. “Yes, a ritual.” Phlebus began to explain as he picked up the tray and headed to the bar again. “When we each go on our first mission outside of the school this is the toast we make,” added Torgin. “Every time we drink until the mission is over,” Lucy finished. “Well, cheers.” Elnoth added his own toast. Zyrina matched it with “for Honour,” then tapped mugs with Elnoth. By the time she finished her first swig and wiped her mouth, Phlebus had returned and set four more of the same ale down in front of the twins and took their empties to be filled before sitting down to enjoy his second pint while Zyrina and Elnoth still sipped their first. “So THAT’S why you didn’t want to get the first round,” Zyrina clapped Phlebus on the shoulder and gave a hearty laugh. “They are on their own now,” he grumbled. “Torgin is large,” he added with a wry shrug, “and he likes a wee ale upon occasion.” Zyrina nearly choked she laughed so hard. It was about as big of understatement as Phlebus was ever to make. Torgin made even Lucy look tiny and she ducked when going through doorways. He scowled at the world even in his sleep. He fought with everything in his path and everyone knew it except him. Zyrina had also observed that he also had no understanding of ‘quit’ and he had a heart worth knowing. “Where did you get the snowy lynx, Torgin?” Zyrina asked. She hadn’t said anything earlier about the large feline that had been following Torgin silently from the shadows since they met up in Xenos. The cat lay curled at Torgin’s feet now, resting but not asleep. Her ears twitched occasionally. “Lucy gave Kitty to me for my birthday, isn’t she perfect?” Torgin looked lovingly at the cat curled at his feet. “Oh, Torgin, it’s not like you were pleased.” Lucy interjected, “You protested and swore at me and told me you didn’t need any ball of fur before that kitten wrapped you around her finger.” She leaned closer to Zyrina and added, “On the very first day, that fluff ball just ignored all his loud grumbling, yawned, and curled up on his shoe to sleep.” Lucy was enjoyed telling this story of her big scary brother being at the beck and call of a tiny ball of fuzz. “He sat there for an hour until the kitten woke up and he’s been devoted ever since.” “And Kitty is the name you chose?” Zyrina wondered aloud. “Kitty doesn’t have a name. I call her Kitty because I don’t know her name.” Torgin replied stiffly. “I think Torgin believes Kitty will talk to him and tell him her name.” Lucy guffawed. Zyrina raised her eyebrow and looked at Torgin again. He was blushing now. Zyrina hid her grin. “You don’t know everything sister,” was all Torgin would say on the subject. The twins started reminiscing and soon they were lost in their own world and began speaking words that Zyrina hadn’t heard before. Zyrina leaned over to Phlebus and whispered, “What language are they speaking now?” “I don’t know, though it’s possible it’s one they made up. I have been trying to learn it with no success,” Phlebus whispered back. After the animated discussion with Torgin about the origins of Kitty, Lucy was again shy. Preferring to exist in the vagueness of the background she sunk into her chair and nursed her drink for a time. The rest of the companions were scattered around the table listening to Elnoth’s description of the Snow Walkers of the high mountains that famously travelled to Jade Valley each winter and had just left as the weather warmed up. Torgin took a final deep guzzle to the dregs of his ale, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, signalled for another round to the server, then settled back to listen. “So, what’s this tidbit that we are all waiting to learn?” Phlebus leaned to the right and asked Elnoth. Elnoth, set his drink down and began, “Well, it’s been entertaining to have a tipple with you. Thank you.” He pulled out a small bottle of ink, a quill, and a parchment from his pack. “These mutilations and the stone statues aren’t the first time this has happened here.” “What? Why was this not brought to the attention of the council earlier?” Phlebus wanted to know. “Not sure,” Elnoth shrugged, “but I think old-fashioned rumours don’t belong in council, do you? My butler, Matt, has been muttering for weeks about the old stories coming true but he wasn’t willing to talk in front of the whole council. He is hoping you will come over and talk with him directly. He knows what the old folks from hereabouts told him, and he thinks you should know it too.” “What old stories?” Torgin asked. Elnoth took a drink before going on, “I didn’t ask him but there have been rumours about this happening here in the ancient past.” “How long ago?” Phlebus looked concerned. “Well, let’s see Matt knows somebody who knew somebody who knew something, but that’s all I know.” Elnoth took one of the fresh ales the server brought over. “When may we talk with Matt?” Zyrina wanted to know even before Phlebus could form the same question. “Sure, how about tomorrow?” Elnoth completed his scribbling and put the lid back on the ink bottle. “I’ve written a letter of reference, so Matt knows I’ve sent you over, in case I’m not there when you arrive. My home is on the north side of the guild hall, you should be able to see it from your Inn.” He looked up, “you are staying at the River Rider Inn, aren’t you?” “How’d you know that?” Phlebus wanted to know. “We didn’t even register yet.” “Because it’s a small town, Phle,” Zyrina nodded and took a sip. Phlebus looked horrified. “What else do you know about us?” Elnoth took a deep breath and revealed, “Well you and those human giants over there met in the city when you were all studying magic. They hail from the far north and they are a few years older than the rest of you.” He nodded at each twin and went on, “Torgin’s good with an axe and Lucy is a renowned healer. Let’s see,” he said looking at Zyrina, “you’ve got a reputation around Novia as an Outlander with a fine shot with that bow of yours and a chip on your shoulder regarding Novians.” Zyrina shot him an intense look of suspicion. “And you are an Ardoris orphan with a brilliant mind and a great deal of skill with magic.” He added looking Phlebus up and down not quite believing what he had heard. Taking in the look that Zyrina shot him Elnoth went on, “Ah, don’t be like that, you know word spreads in a village faster than a wildfire. The governor shared Phlebus’s correspondence with the rest of the council before the meeting today, is all. No need to get all hot under the hat.” “Well how about you even the score and tell us who you are?” Zyrina demanded. “Fair enough.” He puffed out his chest a little, “I’m one of the finest Master Crafters of weapons, amulets, armor and also a Master Enchanter here in Jade Valley. I have a few varied businesses and rental properties scattered in a few towns around Novia. Here’s my card.” He handed Zyrina a small rectangle of hardened paper. “All right then.” Zyrina took another sip, read the card, and relaxed a little. So, a gossip and a businessman is what she thought to herself with a grin. Elnoth the Viking Elf, at your service For fine weaponry, armor, and enchants Jade Valley, Elysium Torgin and Lucy’s argument about who had actually spotted the mandrake near the bridge got louder and louder and finally could not be ignored. First there was a great deal of loud shouting and fist pounding. A few threats of violence and some tipped beers, then they hugged each other and vowed their eternal love for each other. Eventually they started to sing and dance to the great delight of the locals in the tavern that night. Kitty ignored it all with a flick of her right ear, as if it was normal to hear such fighting. Neither of them had listened to Elnoth’s gossip, though they made sure he always had a fresh ale. Phlebus took a swig, then as Lucy and Torgin finished their song, he began singing and swaying to an old folk song: ‘Long ago ran the sun on a folk who had a dream And the heart and the will and the power: They moved earth; they carved stone; moulded hill and channeled stream That we might stand on the wide plains of Wiltshire. Now men asked who they were, how they built and wonder why That they wrought standing stones of such size. What was done ‘neath our shade? What was pray’ed ‘neath our skies As we stood on the wyrd plains of Wiltshire. Oh what secrets we could tell if you’d listen and be still. Rid the stink and the noise from our skirts. But you haven’t got the clue and perhaps you never will. Mute we stand on the cold plains of Wiltshire. Still we loom in the mists as the ages roll away And we say of our folk, “they are here!” That they built us and they died and you’ll not be knowing why Save we stand on the bare plains of Wiltshire.’ Lucy and Torgin couldn’t resist joining in, and the townsfolk at the pub also began singing along. The old songs broke down barriers between strangers faster than any reassurances of good will and Phlebus was intent on hearing the gossip from each of the patrons of the pub that evening before they left. After the song, Zyrina gathered up the letter of reference Elnoth had set on the table, and she sat in a corner nursing her ale until the others were ready to leave. It was a long wait. Of course, by that time Elnoth had wandered back home. When Phlebus noticed his absence, he insisted that in the morning they go to hear what Elnoth’s butler has to offer. “But It’s just old stories, Phle. Why do you want to hear more of those?” Torgin wanted to know. “Because many truths live in old stories, and I am looking for something ancient. Maybe the answer is in the past.” “Whoa, now that’s some fine reckoning.” Lucy seemed to agree with Phlebus. “Fine, but I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn again.” Torgin insisted. “We sleep till we are done sleeping. Agreed?” “Agreed.” Phlebus approved. “As long as we are all up before midday.” “Sure.” Lucy nodded. “Sounds good.” Zyrina finished up Scribbling into his book for a minute he wrote time to meet someone who knew somebody who knew somebody who knows something and see what knowledge they can add. He needed more information to confirm what Phlebus suspected was happening to disturb the valley. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, chapter 2 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

This chapter is read by Amber Raine and Asclepius The Stone Dragon Series The Treasure of Mystery Island (coming soon) The Stone Dragon The Quiet Mage The Magic Book (coming next) By Lily Byrd Dedication: First of all, I am thankful to the creators of the Ultima Series and The Shroud of the Avatar. Without their vision I would not have seen the story I wanted to tell. I dedicate this story to those who play through my quests in Shroud of the Avatar. Thank you to the many players and developers of Shroud of the Avatar who have given me ideas, items, use of properties, and time to develop this story and the quests thus far. I am especially thankful for the help of Mal Hari and the rest of the Jade Dragons. Their support and help has made everything better. To those who offer their spaces for me to invade, Dragosani Valynshar, Mal Hari, Calan Caitin, Rinaldi, One Zero, Elnoth, Merrik Dragon, Whereit, List Rostov, Thoryk, PeteWe TheDisoriented, Scroda, and Minerva: thank you. They have each hosted in-game properties and/or the use of their game characters in my story. Without these players there would not be quests nor stories to tell. I particularly want to mention the people who have helped me with editing. Alley Oop, E.P. Buck, John Braga, and Zoe Agashi you are the rocks on which my imagination grows, thank you for your efforts and your time. Lastly, I am supported by a few long time players from the Ultima series who also play Shroud of the Avatar. Merrik Dragon, Alley Oop, and Ravalox have spent hours and hours talking with me about the games, the lore, the traditions and the details. They have encouraged me to keep telling the story and their help and encouragement has made this project possible. All remaining mistakes are mine alone. None of this story or the characters in it are representations of anyone or anything on Earth. May love courage and truth guide your day and keep you safe. With respect, Lily Byrd June, 2021 First Edition: June 20, 2021 ByrdPress NBBN 00115-002 Prologue: Novia just north of the Cascade River along the North Midmaer Way in the foggy rain of autumn. The soaking wet wool hood hid the tall man’s face. Emyrs stood, shaking underneath an equally drenched grey cloak. Bent over a slender staff and clutching it for stability, he did not think he would survive this encounter. “Who is he?” The woman’s voice was melodic and cutting. “Some washed up mage from a corner of Elysium in a small port community called Jade Valley.” Answered another, deeper but equally melodic voice. Emyrs could hear his captors’ discussion. None of them made any move to hide their words but he had not yet seen them clearly. Elves? He had been so very certain he had been undetected leaving with the book. He was mistaken. “Is he alone?” “Yes, Ma’am.” As soon as he touched it, Emyrs knew it was something that needed to be kept from harm, perhaps examined by Lord British or one of his mages; at the very least kept in a safe place until it could be studied. Magic books were rare, and old ones nearly unique. This one book’s recovery became his quest from the moment he saw it. No one questioned him, not even Lily Byrd. She knew he wouldn’t have hidden it if it weren’t for their safety. “Did he have it?” “This?” “Indeed. This.” The voice was smug and satisfied. There was no softness or joy in the acquisition. Emyrs expelled his lungful of air and his shoulders slumped even further. They had already found his small bag with the book tucked into the pocket of his saddlebag. That meant he had no worth to them anymore. The magic book was lost, again. “I’m going to take this back to the Southern Red Branch. Belthyr, I don’t want to meet this mage again.” “Yes, Goldie.” Emyrs felt the first blow, and each blow with varying amounts of pain and suffering as his consciousness fled and returned to the continuing horror over and over. “He’s dead now.” “Yup looks like it to me.” “Let’s go get some of that stew.” The thud of a last kick mercifully took his awareness one more time. “A darkness fell with no hope of dawn; a noise with no hope of music…perhaps we brought the fall upon ourselves.” Sequanna, Titan of Novia. Part One. The Stone Dragon Chapter one. In the woods. Jade Valley was finally in sight. Zyrina (zi-REE-na) and Phlebus (FLEE-bus) turned back to look for their two trailing companions. Eventually, the exceptionally tall and sturdy forms of a man and a woman carrying large packs on their backs meandered out of the covered wooden bridge. A large snowy lynx followed them, also at a leisurely pace. Zyrina called out, “Meet us in town, laggards!! We’ll be waiting. Phlebus promises to spot you a drink when you manage to catch up.” She continued down the path toward the small harbour village about fifteen furlongs ahead. Phlebus looked at her sharply, “Thanks a lot.” “Don’t mention it. I’m sure you would’ve done the same.” She teased, knowing full well he would NEVER have offered something like that on her behalf. She grinned at Phlebus’s dirty look then turned back to see Lucy (LOO-see) wave and Torgin (TORE-gun) Featherbright simply nod. The lynx appeared to ignore all of them as she focused on something in the distance. Zyrina squinted a little to see clearer and realized the twins with their long white hair were now bent over and engrossed in a water plant they were inspecting near the bank of the river. Those two friends that Phlebus met in the city while he was at school didn’t seem to be in a hurry to arrive anywhere, ever. As Lucy had informed Zyrina earlier, ‘I don’t hurry,’ and she was not lying. Zyrina had joined the twins and Phlebus just two days before. They all travelled together from Xenos where their ships had both docked on Elysium Island within hours of each other. The journey from Xenos at the North of Elysium Island to Jade Valley in the South of the island gave Zyrina plenty of time to get to know both Torgin and Lucy. She felt she understood why they were friends with Phlebus. Turning slowly and sighing a little she sprinted, and it didn’t take Zyrina long to catch up with Phlebus. His quick even stride, still as familiar as his lanky frame, carried him faster than she normally walked, and it had been easy to fall behind on this journey into the little port valley. The desire to slow down, breathe, and just wander down the dirt road through the shady forest had been a heady experience after the darkness of the mines where she had been working for months. Protecting miners who searched for silver had been a lucrative endeavor for Zyrina. It taught her how to be aware of her surroundings using all her senses, not just sight. It also taught her to stand up for her own needs and wants, and how to push for what she expected in a crowd of men who might otherwise overlook the slight brown-haired woman with the quiet voice. She had enjoyed keeping the miners safe from the various dangers in the mines in exchange for some of the silver ore. She had wanted a new pair of boots, and it cost dearly to have a pair made by a talented master-worker with all the precision and skill that she demanded. Working in the mines was the best way she knew of for getting some quick funds, and she now had a good bit of silver stashed in the only bank she trusted in the whole land, a new pair of boots on her feet, and had learned several colourful phrases with which she annoyed her friends. Zyrina grinned as she remembered Phlebus’ incredulous look the first time he heard her speak freely. Torgin and Lucy simply roared with laughter. Today, in the sunlight she found herself drawn to the warmth and brightness which rejuvenated her natural glow inside and out. After taking a deep breath she coughed and choked a little. She had been expecting the fresh crisp spring air that they had been enjoying the entire walk from Xenos, but here on this side of the river, the atmosphere was filled with a disgusting stench that wafted everywhere. Something was up in this unusually quiet community, and it was decidedly rotten. “What is that smell, Phle?” she covered her nose with her arm and wretched a little. “It’s disgusting. It didn’t smell like that at River’s Cross back where we entered the valley on the other side of the bridge.” Phlebus heard the footstep of his oldest friend fall in beside him, but he did not turn, he simply pointed. There was a cart sized lump of something just off the side of the path. He was focused on the decay, and on the magic residue left there. This was old magic, He recognized it, but he had never seen any old magic in person before. He didn’t want to miss any part of what he was experiencing. Earlier this morning as they descended into the valley, the woods had seemed peaceful, to him. The river had flowed lazily, and the air was sweet with a hint of chill late in the spring. But here nearer to the village, something malevolent and dark had steeped the land. Governor Hari had written about the darkness in his plea. It was harming humans, animals, and birds of all sizes. Phlebus’s body hair stood fully at attention as it had done since they crossed the covered wooden bridge. He was wholly focused on all his senses. Phlebus shook his head to clear his mind. His training had taught him to respect the knowledge of his body. His body could sense something his mind couldn’t. He was bothered that he could not pinpoint the location of the disturbance This magic came from something he could sense and not pinpoint. “This is the reason we are here, Rina.” Phlebus had so far put off telling her what he had learned from the Governor in their private correspondence, and now he was more than ever determined to meet with Governor Hari before dark. “Farmers and woods people are definitely spooked.” He said, neutrally. “Those people we tried to speak with as we came into the valley certainly had something on their mind. I know hill folk are generally not forthcoming or welcoming but them backing away from us and hiding was more than just usual suspicion of those ‘from away’.” Zyrina thought back to earlier in the morning just inside the boundary of Jade Valley when the foursome had finally gotten one of the woodsmen to talk with them instead of skittering away into the shadows of the woods like the others did. “I can see why they would be nervous.” Zyrina didn’t know how to keep the smell from engulfing her and took shallow breaths through her mouth, hoping to lessen the overwhelming stench. This was far worse than even the dankest of mines. “Remember what that woodsman told us after we first got to the valley?” “Name’s Bob, good day to ye?” Zyrina’s eyes twinkled as she mimicked Bob’s words. “Yes, Bob.” Phlebus smiled even in his seriousness. She could always get him to grin. Bob had stopped after loading his cart with the wood he that he had stacked to wipe his brow with the sleeve of his tunic. He didn’t balk or run. He simply nodded his head and then stared until they introduced themselves. First, Bob removed his hat and placed it on a nearby stump then placed his axe up on his cart. They discussed the weather and the health of his family and theirs. As he drank cool water pulled from the waterskin he wore laced around his neck, he listened to their travel story politely, but it was obvious that Bob didn’t care one smidgeon about anything outside his own valley. “Have you heard any local rumours?” Torgin eventually wanted to know. At this invitation Bob nodded his head, he didn’t falter to voice his concern; even if these folks who stopped to pass the time of day were from away. “Ain’t nothin’ right about them carcasses, nor them statues.” He spat on the ground. “What carcasses?” Lucy asked. “What statues?” Torgin wanted to know. Bob stared at Lucy a moment before going on, “T’ain’t right, somebody should do something ‘bout that, yup.” He shook his head and wiped his brow before donning his straw hat again and picking up his pack to move on, “You’ll see soon ‘nuff if’n you are headin into Jade Valley, that’s for sure.” He donned his pack and started pushing his half full cart of wood before him. “Stay back from the corpses you come across. They explode after a while. You let the council know what I said. Good day to y’all, may the titans keep you.” With that he nodded and turned back to his cart and the companions moved on, thoughtfully. Bob wasn’t what Zyrina would call ‘a talker’. Zyrina recalled the look in his eyes, of fear and suspicion. She had mistaken it for suspicion of strangers but now she understood that it was something more local. “These are the carcasses Bob was talking about?” “Yes. More and more rotting carcasses of various sized animals have been appearing near Jade Valley in the last few months; each of them bearing the afterglow of magic. The loss of livestock has been causing havoc in the community.” “Well, that’s just disgusting.” Zyrina repeated over and over, hardly comprehending the appalling mess that had completely spoiled her simple walk through the woods with an old friend. They passed bloated reeking corpses of what might have been cows. Phlebus had seen nothing like this in all his training. He was nothing if not thorough and since this was his first assignment outside of the libraries and classrooms where he had spent most of his adult life, he was nervous about getting it right. The one they had managed to get close enough to inspect before it exploded like the others was fetid, charred, and had the telltale blue afterglow of magic clinging to its remains. These were not natural or accidental deaths. There was absolutely magic involved. He made a thorough inspection of the rotting form while Zyrina sat a distance away digging through her various pockets and bags. “I won’t be long. Somebody has been using magic.” Was all he said before going back to his inspection. “Think it’s Obsidian magic?” Zyrina wanted to know. Of course, he had read about deformed creatures created hundreds of years in the past when the Obsidians had experimented by creating races of elves, Kobolds, and other creatures. Sometimes the creations did not survive their creation. But there were no more Obsidians. The Obsidians were four hundred years in the past. Or so it was said. This magic was not old and dusty, fading on the shelves at the castle libraries. It was real and present and vile and right in front of him. Whatever caused this, it was not something that he had experience with and that was the point of his first assignment. This carcass was twisted and tortured looking, and it was deformed. He was now fully interested in finding out who had done this. And why. “Not sure yet, Rina.” Was all he would commit to saying. After the long and arduous journey with Lucy and Torgin, by covered wagon, boat, and foot all the way from his rooms in Novia’s largest city of Central Brittany, in Midmaer, to the southeast of Novia on the island of Elysium at the end of nowhere, he was ready to collapse. He found he missed the peaceful quiet and the more neutral odors of his city home. He had not imagined he had come all this way to inspect rotting corpses, but here he was, sketching away in his book. He plotted on getting back to his home and his comforts as soon as he could. He dreamed of a hot bath while he worked on drawing the rotting lump. Finally, he finished and retreated when the body began hissing and just in time to avoid the ensuing explosion. “Whoever did this had no business having animals in their care.” Zyrina looked revolted. “Yes, I agree. And now we’ve got to find out what’s causing this. Or who.” Zyrina just looked him straight in the eyes assessing what she’d got herself into, and after awhile nodded her head slowly. “Okay,” was all she said before covering her mouth and nose with the clean handkerchief she had dug out of her bag. She handed him one too. “You sure that’s clean?” He deadpanned and she burst out laughing. “Does it matter at this point? It still would smell better than these corpses.” She went on, “there is something creepy going on here, that’s certain Phle. I’ve never seen anything like this in all these years travelling around Novia.” Phlebus nodded but did not share his suspicions with Zyrina. Until he was sure he wasn’t going to say a thing. That’s how he had always been, but he did take time to add her remarks to his notes about the corpse. Earlier, Zyrina had been teasing him that he was full of “book learning but not real learning.” It annoyed him that she might be right, but he wasn’t going to show any indecision to his oldest friend, and he was not going to chance being wrong without knowing more about what had happened. She had gathered some useful practical skills while she travelled, and he knew she would not stop teasing him till he proved to her that he too had gained useful skills, he had indeed been studying with mages at the castle libraries (it was useful knowledge), and he hadn’t spent the entire nine years drinking with his friends, the Featherbright twins in Central Brittany. The handkerchief helped a little though, and he was thankful that she had thought of it. While he was tying the kerchief, Phlebus looked back and could see the distant figures of Torgin, and Lucy had finally left the riverbank. They looked small from this distance. He sorted and picked up the rest of his belongings to move on. He was glad of the company of his friends for his first assignment, even if some of them dawdled. They had made him feel secure and protected in the wilds. The twins had been advised by the mages in Central Brittany before they had left the city and he hadn’t had to talk with them about the mission. They already knew. He hadn’t seen the twins since they had graduated a few years earlier than he had. After their first assignments they had each moved out of the boarding-house and out of the city. So, this was a joyous reunion for them all. He was pleased to meet up with his oldest friend, Zyrina, even if he became slightly tongue tied in her company. After passing a few farms at the edge of town, where the buildings started to be built closer together the smell faded into the breeze off the nearby bay. Zyrina took off her mask and took another deep breath. “I’ve always loved the smell of the sea,” she admitted. “We met by the sea. Remember?” Phlebus was smiling lost in his own memories now. She laughed, “Yes. Pulling you out of the water in Ardoris was the best thing that ever happened to me, even if you looked like a drowned rat.” “I did not!” Phlebus was indignant and took a breath to go on in his own defence but something caught his eye. Zyrina turned to look too, “What the titans are those?” There were two statues near what was obviously the Center of Justice; one of a man who had his hands up as if to shield his face, and the other a boy who looked as if he were in the act of turning and running. “I don’t know, Rina.” The statues disturbed Phlebus in a way he could not explain. These were life-sized stone statues of what looked like normal folk going about their daily business, but frozen mid action. Phlebus became more thoughtful and even quieter. It was beginning to be clear why the governor had called for help. Those statues really bothered him. Before he speculated about them, he needed to find out more information. To snap out of his disturbed state, he asked Zyrina an unrelated question. “How long has it been Rina? You’ve hardly changed at all.” “I think about five years now, isn’t it?” “At least,” He nodded in agreement. “Probably longer.” It had been far longer, almost a decade by his reckoning. She had hardly changed, though. Her gleaming dark hair and intense green eyes had not altered one bit and her caramel-coloured skin showed no signs of aging even if her cheeks had lost their baby fat. It was like she had been frozen in time. She had always had a small sparse frame and she still vibrated with pent up energy but had gained a steady hand and eagle eye when her arrows were notched. No matter her age, he was glad for her company and her bow. It didn’t shock him really, as he knew she was an Outlander, but it was startling to realize how much he had aged in their time apart. She seemed ageless to him; not much older than when they had parted. He hadn’t thought much about her being ‘from away’ and had forgotten until seeing her in person again and confronting the stark difference in their age now. He knew Outlanders aged differently than Novians did, but now the question of how much difference would have to wait until he was back at his libraries with his teachers. He saw Zyrina glace back at the twins in the distance and could tell she wanted to know more about them, but he would wait for her questions. They were sure to come. He felt like she was still a little wary of the friends he had arrived with from the big city. “Think they will catch up before dark?” she asked. Nodding his head, and grunting companionably, Phlebus thought about the last few days of travel; even if there were still some awkward silences in the group as they all got familiar with each other’s routines and movements, they had found their groove. It didn’t take long with true friends to regain the ease of companionship even after a long absence. Also, now he knew how ill equipped he had become; his survival skills were rusty from nearly a decade of study. ‘You just need to think faster than in your libraries, Phle.’ Lucy had informed him yesterday after killing the snake that had curled up in his sleeping bag when he froze. ‘Don’t hesitate. Just decide.’ “Where’d you meet those two?” Zyrina finally ventured, indicating back along the trail with a toss of her head. It was as if she had read his mind, and he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. “At the Byrd Boarding-house in Central Brittany. They graduated a few years before me, but we were room mates for a good long while before they left.” He reminisced as he strode. “When I arrived at the academy in Central Brittany, after getting registered and finding a room in the boarding-house, I met the other boarders who were Lucy and Torgin. They invited me to the markets that first day and I gladly joined them. I soon found out that they went everywhere together. Twins.” He went on, “I was so young, I was barely able to keep my jaw shut as I spun in circles wandered around the square staring at towering buildings.” He explained, “I had spent most of my life on the streets of Ardoris, as you know, but this city was more. More of everything. That first day I felt like a complete country bumpkin. I forgot even the basics of walking in a strange city. When I stopped to listen to a bard play a lively tune, before I knew what had happened, there was a quick scuffle beside me. Torgin emerged from the swirl of fabric, holding a youth by the scruff of the neck and demanded the kid return my purse. He did. I hadn’t even noticed the kid near me, let alone the light fingers on my purse. I begged Torgin to release the child because I remembered being a young’un looking for something to eat, and we watched him scamper off and then snatch another unwary shopper’s purse before dashing away again. The twins had laughed heartily and clapped me on the back, nearly knocking me down. Luckily, they took a shine to me. We three spent many years studying and partying together before they left the city three years ago after their first assignments.” He smirked a little remembering. “They seem like they are good friends.” Zyrina noted. “Yeah, they are.” “I hope they have nose coverings too.” “Me too,” he grimaced. He looked Zyrina straight in the eyes. She looked worried. “We’ll find out what’s happening and put a stop to it.” he vowed. Zyrina nodded, too. “Good.” It was all she said. “Libraries don’t have these problems.” He sniffed through the mask. Zyrina chuckled. She knew Phlebus’s time in libraries had not prepared him for the olfactory feast of the countryside let alone the brutality of decayed flesh. It had been a long time since he had slept under a bush with a stolen bun. Mulling over the new sights and smells, Phlebus thought about the correspondence he had had with the Governor after his instructors told him this would be his first assignment. Governor Hari had originally asked Phlebus’s teachers for help and they had chosen Phlebus to step into the world outside the city and away from his scrolls. One day he was at his favored table in the castle library reading intently and the next he was ready to leave his home, his studies, and his teachers. He was made awkward by the suddenness of his re-entry into the world outside the boarding houses, libraries, and pubs he had become accustomed to frequenting. At least his favorite teacher, Isolde the Elder had given Phlebus a clearheaded pep talk, taken him to be fitted for a proper weapon and mage armor, offered a few magic travelling scrolls for emergency use, and a small bag of dried herbs and reagents before sending him into the world. It was more than he had arrived at the school with nine years before and because of those kindnesses and more, Phlebus wanted to solve this mystery for Governor Hari, for his teachers, and for his own satisfaction, too. Before his departure from the city, Phlebus had reread the correspondence from Jade Valley. Governor Hari had been concerned about this menace to his otherwise peaceful valley home. His letters had urgently begged for assistance from the high mages at the capitol city without giving much detail, but Governor Hari was certain that there was more to his problem than just local youth out playing pranks on the farmers in this valley. He wanted answers and knew this was more than his local law enforcement could deal with. Strolling in silence alongside him, Zyrina realized she had taken to the twins right away. She and Phlebus had been writing each other irregularly but had not been in each other’s company for the entire nine years that Phlebus had been studying with the old mages and scholars at the libraries in the capitol city. There was much unknown between them now, like the twins in his life, but it was still a comfortable silence none the less. Neither had ever bothered to hide anything from each other and that had not changed. They would catch up, but it would take its own time. She watched Phlebus deep in though as he walked beside her. Zyrina was thoughtful as well. Zyrina was not from Novia like Phlebus. She was one of those others; someone from away. She didn’t talk about the Outlands she had come from, though she always worded it as ‘escaped from’. She never talked about it. Not ever. The rift that had opened and swooped her in its magical blue light and deposited her here in this land of Novia had come just when she most desperately needed to escape, and she was willing enough at the time. Well, it was a permanent escape of sorts; or a prison she could not leave. She smiled, grimly. There was no way back either way. Not that she wanted to go back, even all these years later she still worried that she may have been followed. Looking over her shoulder and trusting no one was second nature to her by the time she met Phlebus. He had been an orphaned sixteen-year-old, and she had barely been out of her teens. Now Phlebus had aged. She could see it in his face, and in his manners. He was grown to a fine-looking man and still had that gentle manner that she remembered fondly. Being an outlander Zyrina did not age like Novians. Decades would go by for Novians and Zyrina would feel time passing as if it were not even a year. There were other differences too but aging and time was the starkest one. It alarmed many of the Novians she met, and so it was not something she made known to strangers, though many found out regardless. It meant she didn’t die either. Yes, she had been wounded, and had felt the piercing of death several times in battle but somehow each time she would find herself waking up again, wounds healed, with her weapon in her hand. Phlebus may have gone straight to the libraries of Central Brittany upon reaching adulthood, but Zyrina could not be contained by the classroom and decided to travel the whole of Novia to learn about the place she had been deposited and to learn about how to survive here on her own. She moved with the experience she had acquired in her travels. No gesture was wasted, and she always knew exactly where she was in the world. She also had an uncanny prescience for danger approaching which Phlebus appreciated since apparently, he had none left from his experience as an orphan on the streets of Ardoris. He had been either oblivious or startled several times along the way by thieves, animals, and skeletons that haunted the roadways looking for unwary explorers. Now, he hurried his pace for the last bit toward the center of town because he wanted to be done with this interview with the town council and booked into his lodgings before the late night was upon them. He grinned, knowing exactly how to speed things up a little. “Come on Rina, I’ll race you the rest of the way there.” He readied his bags, then called to her “three, two, Go!” They were off running full tilt. Their laugher and woops of delight in the footrace kept them occupied the rest of the way to the town center. After the gruesome finds earlier, it was superb to shrug off the seriousness of their journey and enjoy the race. Jade Valley wasn’t large, but obviously was an important center for harbour trade and commerce for this area. The docks were active and bustling. There was a well-developed market filled with vendors arranged in three large squares in front of the harbour. Facing the market on its west side was a large wooden building that was the town’s guild hall. The Jade Dragon’s crest that hung just in front fluttered in the breeze off the bay, its black material stark in the sun and the bright green of a dragon with three daggers prominent. Phlebus remembered seeing it on the top of the scroll that the governor had sent to the Academy. After locating the guild hall and finding themselves with time to spare while they waited for the twins to catch up, Phlebus and Zyrina made their way over to the Hall of Enquiry and Learning to see what the historians in the valley could tell them. I watched these strangers approach the Hall of Enquiry and Learning. Zyrina and Phlebus met me, Lily Byrd the Keeper of the histories of the Jade Dragons of the Jade Empire and the Librarian of the Hall. On my map of Jade Valley I showed them where to find the Town Crier down at the docks. Little did I know then that this was to become the beginning of a new friendship that would span their lifetimes and cause me to write about these adventures using the stories they divulged to me. As a Keeper of the Histories here in the valley, I asked numerous questions of these interesting travellers from so far away. They were kind enough to indulge me and answered each question thoroughly. Zyrina was not loud or impatient and had a dry sense of humour that had me in fits of giggles more than once. I could tell we would be friends. Phlebus kept wandering off while we talked and picked up different scrolls and books as he did so. I appreciated that he put them back exactly where he took them from as few were inclined to do. It was obvious he knew his way around a library. Soon I felt as if I had known Zyrina for years and felt comfortable about letting Phlebus explore in the library without supervision. After our conversation, Zyrina waited for her wayward companions to catch up, and I went back to cataloguing recently donated books. “Phlebus look.” Zyrina called out. I could see that she had come across some interesting local information about the history of this town. “Can you believe the grit of these people? They are way out here at the edge of the world.” I heard her telling Phlebus about her discoveries. Unsurprisingly, Phlebus wanted to return to the Hall before they leave the valley to learn more about the plucky Outlanders who settled in the area. I then rejoined the conversation to talk about the travelling scholar study rooms available on the second floor. I offered him a place if he wanted to stay and learn more after he was done figuring out what was going on in Jade Valley. Just then the largest man I’d ever seen dressed in clothing of the far north with long tangled white hair and beard and a massive axe slung across his back stood at the doorway. He was stunningly handsome. My voice trailed off as I stared. “There’s no ale here Phlebus, you have tricked us!” The giant of a man squeezed through the open library door and his voice rang out in the empty Hall. He winked at me, and I blushed, completely captivated by the sheer magnificence of the man. “We KNEW we would find you here.” An equally large and graceful woman in the same northern clothing, with striking eyes and stark white hair now paused in the door before she squeezed through right behind him. “This isn’t a pub, but I bet the librarian knows where one is located.” She winked at me, too. “These slowpokes are Lucy and Torgin Featherbright. Twins, as you can see.” Zyrina introduced them. “This is Lily Byrd, the librarian.” I blushed again and stammered a little greeting before offering, “T T There is the Singing Bear Pub across the street, inside the Byrd’s Nest Inn. That’s my family’s business and you will be welcomed there. There is also the Jade Valley Outdoor Pub and Pavilion just down the way, on the west side of the markets, beside the Guild Hall and of course The River Rider Inn on the North side of the markets. Oh, and the Raven the Dragon and the Stew Pot further to the north over on Frojentia Lane.” “Yes, we came across the outdoor pub on our way here.” Lucy nodded thoughtfully, “after the meeting we will go back there and collect that round that Phlebus has offered.” “I think Zyrina will get the second round since she offered me up for the first!” Phlebus grinned at his friends. “Hey!” Zyrina responded, “No fair, Phlebus is the one with the money bags.” “And you aren’t?” Phlebus made a pantomime of opening a squeaky purse. Much to the delight of Lucy and Torgin. “I’ll go with you over to the Guild Hall, I’m attending the meeting too and it’s about to begin,” I offered shyly, and then escorted the four to the company of Governor Hari up on the top floor of the guild hall, and other officers of the Jade Empire Council in the officer meeting room took over host duties. When we entered, Rinaldi offered them seats and another officer of the guild, Elnoth, handed out a single ale to each of them with a grim look and then introduced them to the rest of the officers who were present while I found my seat. “Well thank you, this will hit the spot.” Torgin did not stand on ceremony and downed the ale in one gulp, then picked another pint off the tray while wiping the foam from his upper lip. The meeting of officers of the town and the newcomers started shortly after the last of the stragglers found seats around the large wooden table with the guild’s crest etched into its surface or standing near the back of the room where there were still spaces available. I sat with the other officers and waved at a few townsfolk who were standing near the back of the room observing. After a short formal welcome and introduction, each officer soon revealed what knowledge we had acquired about the disturbing events of the past two months to the newcomers. The stories were more of the same sort of thing that Phlebus and the others had discovered on their walk into town. Animals dying and stone statues of townsfolk who were never seen again appearing willy nilly throughout the valley. It had been going on for months and none of us felt safe. Scowling deeper after each speaker, with each passing moment Phlebus was becoming more and more withdrawn. This was not an easy thing to solve, nor was it a simple problem. The rest of the company listened attentively but kept their opinions to themselves. After repeated stories of bloated and dead farm animals, and stone statues of people who had gone missing the room had all been spoken, Lucy reported what Bob had wanted the councillors to hear. “Do you think this could be the pranks that local children would play?” Governor Hari thoughtfully asked. “There have been rumours going around town about a few youngsters starting fires and such. Or have we uncovered some evil from the past? Is it in other towns too?” Then everyone became still and turned expectantly, waiting for the newcomers’ response. Now that it was his turn to speak, Phlebus stood and cleared his throat then thanked each of the previous speakers for their collective knowledge. He then began, “Children don’t dabble in blood magic, nor turn anyone to stone.” There were nods in the crowded room. Phlebus went on, “These magics are old, and I haven’t seen this before. I don’t know if anyone living has seen this kind of magic. The only reference I could find before I left Central Brittany was to some obscure Obsidian tome from over four hundred years ago. I could not locate it before I left the city. When I return to Central Brittany, I will search that text out and see what it says. In the meantime, we will settle in for the night, and tomorrow have a good look around the valley to see what we can find out here. We will meet in a week to give you an update on our discoveries.” The meeting ended in agreement. I stood and made my way over to the newcomers to say good night before making my way home. This was going to take several pages to write about in my journal and I wanted to get started right away. “I’ll leave you all to your evening, and if you need any more information in the morning feel free to knock on the cottage door if I’m not at the Hall of Enquiry, alright?” I turned to Phlebus and saw him nod before turning to farewell the others. “Meet me at the pavilion over by the outdoor pub,” Elnoth whispered to Phlebus as he was leaving the meeting room. “I know something that might help you in your search.” Phlebus nodded once and continued to the staircase with his companions in tow. Even he was now ready for some food and drink and some time to talk with his friends regarding his suspicions that had been confirmed at the meeting. He waved to their new librarian friend before heading out in exactly the wrong direction. Without any assistance our wayward heroes eventually found the Jade Outdoor Tavern and the Pavilion right next door to the guild house. Everyone agreed to never listen to Lucy about direction ever again. Echoes From the Caverns The post The Stone Dragon Series – Book 1, Chapter 1 appeared first on Echoes from the Caverns. View the full article

This will be in the first patch coming shortly after release -- apologies for the mistake. I'll get any missing jewels out ASAP after the patch. "The legacy version of the Epic Pax Ring now provides the appropriate jewels upon salvage. Elgarion will determine who salvaged these items prior to the patch and send missing jewels to any applicable players via the in-game mail system shortly after the patch." View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 94 (R94), shoppers in New Britannia can now search for player vendor contents by zone! A robust number of changes to fishing have occurred which affects bait recovery, bait scarcity, and fishing artifacts! More than 70 additional gear patterns have been added to the game. So many Loot, Quality of Life (QOL), and... Play Release 94 Now! Zone-Wide Vendor Listings! Fishing Changes! 70 New Gear Patterns & More!View the full article

Greetings Fellow Avatars! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 94 (R94), shoppers in New Britannia can now search for player vendor contents by zone! A robust number of changes to fishing have occurred which affects bait recovery, bait scarcity, and fishing artifacts! More than 70 additional gear patterns have been added to the game. So many Loot, Quality of Life (QOL), and User Interface (UI) improvements await thee, Avatar! 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 Release 94 Patch Notes! Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! Crown Store: Shields, Furniture, Wax Cylinders & More! October Login Reward: Lei Flower Necklace! Release 94 Subscriber Login Rewards: Xiphos Sword, Tiki Demon Mask, Tall Tiki Statue! Bug Brigade & Testing Directives Streamer Rewards Program Upcoming Release Dates Community Updates Community Events & Resources Project to Support: Shard RPG Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Project to Support: Dragonfight Project to Support: Avatar Express Resources: Players Helping Players Release 94 Patch Notes! Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 94 (R94) in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R94 is a polish, improvement, and bug fixes month. New content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R95 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 94! User Interface, Lua, & Performance Changes: Vendor Listings In Zone: A new UI window called “Vendor Listings In Zone” has been added to the game. When players visit a scene, this window can be displayed by assigning a custom hotkey in Options/Controls then pressing the applicable hotkey. Now, players will no longer be required to go from player vendor to player vendor within a zone to see all the items available. This window provides each item’s name, posting date, weight, price, posting character’s name, as well as the player vendor’s name. Players can utilize a variety of sorting options, and a search filter is also available. Also, players can receive compass directions to a player vendor by selecting the item, then clicking the “Get Directions” button on the bottom right corner of the window. Initial design of this interface can still be a bit slow to load in towns with very large player vendor inventories, but the development team will continue to improve the load times for this feature in the releases ahead. Lot deeds can now be upgraded through 2 upgrade channels instead of the 6 channels previously available. So instead of upgrades showing just 2 options from each possible channel, the system now selects the next 10 possible upgrades above the current value of the deed being upgraded. Now, “Founder Deeds” and “Everything Else” are the only remaining channels utilized. The Crafting Station UI now allows players to filter for items that can be salvaged. (First patch after release.) A new map has been added for Upper Fortus. The map for Whiteguard Foothills has been recreated to correct rotation and alignment issues. Health and Focus regeneration is now displayed on the character sheet. The social window now features a search field. Crafting components which provide virtue related stats to crafted gear will now correctly show those stats in the tooltip. The default selection for party loot options is now “Roll” option instead of the “Free For All.” Pressing escape now closes the leaderboard window. Various tooltips for materials and crafting components now properly show their related stat correctly as a percentage. The”Right-Click to Repair” feature no longer generates an error when toolkits are placed inside of bags within your inventory. The character sheet now properly displays a character’s critical chance when unarmed. Tooltips for patterns now properly display the icon for the pattern’s applied visuals, if applicable. The stats on the pet examine window now display differently for summoned and tamed pets to accommodate the differences such as available stats and related player skills. Added the Lua function “ShroudGetPlayerOrientation()” which returns the direction the player is facing in degrees. Universal chat once again works when short messages are sent. Party members once again display properly in the party list panel. Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes: 70 patterns have been added to the game. The vast majority of these patterns are for crafted gear such as Bone Armor or Obsidian Armor. A few quest items now also provide patterns upon salvage, and 1 premium item was missing a pattern which was also added: Aeronaut Boots Aeronaut Gloves Aeronaut Helmet Aeronaut Jacket Aeronaut Leggings Bear Headdress Boar Headdress Bone Boots Bone Chest Armor Bone Gauntlets Bone Helm Bone Leggings Brown Fur Hat Bucket Helmet Clockwork Wings Cloth Tunic Dragon Headdress Fancy Circlet Fancy Merchant Boots Fancy Merchant Gloves Fancy Merchant Pants Fancy Merchant Shirt Fancy One-Man Band Hat Fancy One-Man Band Shirt Fancy Tiara Floppy Hat Gustball Helm Gustball Jersey Gustball Leggings Gustball Shoes Head Bandage Holly Wreath Hat Judgewig Long Kilt Luminous Atavist Robe Merchant Shirt Merchant Skirt Miner’s Helmet Obsidian Hand Axe Obsidian Plate Boots Obsidian Plate Chest Armor Obsidian Plate Gauntlets Obsidian Plate Helm Obsidian Plate Leggings Obsidian Spear Obsidian Sword Obsidian War Hammer One-Man Band Hat One-Man Band Shirt Ornate Circlet (Premium, Eternal Pattern) Paper Party Hat Perennial Coast Farmer Tunic Perennial Coast Farmer Sandals Perennial Coast Farmer Hat Perennial Coast Farmer Leggings Perennial Coast Peasant Dress Perennial Coast Peasant Slippers Perennial Coast Peasant Leggings Plain Stovepipe Hat Primal Bear Headdress Shepherd’s Crook Short Kilt Short Medieval Shirt Simple Circlet Simple Tiara Spider Legs Cloak Stag Headdress Tin Foil Hat Wizard’s Hat Wolf Headdress A new recipe has been added to the game allowing players to craft a Wooden Trough. The recipe can be located at the carpentry merchant in Ardoris. The Ancient Staff of Anarchy recipe now crafts a common version of the staff instead of an uncommon and now also requires an Ancient Essence. All tiers of the Ancient Staff of Anarchy can be salvaged for small amounts/chances for ancient essences and components that were used to craft this staff. The Ancient Staff of Anarchy recipe’s display name now matches the item crafted. The Ancient Staff of Death recipe now crafts a common version of the staff instead of an uncommon and now also requires an Ancient Essence. All tiers of the Ancient Staff of Death can be salvaged for small amounts/chances for ancient essences and components that were used to craft this staff. The Ancient Staff of Death recipe’s display name now matches the item crafted. The Belt of the Troll Lord recipe now crafts a common version of the belt instead of an uncommon and now also requires an Ancient Essence. All tiers of the Belt of the Troll Lord can be salvaged for small amounts/chances for ancient essences and components that were used to craft this belt. The Belt of the Troll Lord recipe’s display name now matches the item crafted. The Warlock’s Chain recipe now crafts a common version of the necklace instead of an uncommon and now also requires an Ancient Essence. All tiers of the Warlock’s Chain can be salvaged for small amounts/chances for ancient essences and components that were used to craft this necklace. The Warlock’s Chain recipe’s display name now matches the item crafted. The Copper Chain of Elemental Power and Iron Chain of Mystic Power now only require common versions of the artifact attunement rings utilized in their recipes. Experience received has been slightly increased for crafting the common Belt of the Troll Lord, the Ancient Staff of Death, and the Ancient Staff of Anarchy. The experience received has been greatly increased for crafting the common Warlock’s Chain. Devotionals now provide 3, 4, or 5 day buff lengths depending upon the town’s size. For those wishing to display an empty coat hook as decoration, a new recipe for a Coat Hook has been added to the game which is available on the decoration merchant above the bank in Central Brittany. The Master Mage potions now feature increased mastery effects for each school. An additional buff has also been added to each potion: Air: Increases Lightning range. Chaos: Increases Torpid Torment range. Death: Increases “Near Death” bonus. Earth: Increases Root range. Fire: Increases Fire Elemental power. Life: Increases Healing Grace duration. Moon: Increases Shadow Form stealth power. Sun: Increases Phoenix power. Water: Increases Water and Ice Elemental power. Restoration Potions now feature a 6 stack limit for the Elixir Receptiveness debuff as was already present on Focus and Health potions. Also, Restoration Potions can no longer be imbibed if your overall Elixir Receptiveness is at or below 0% with all buff and debuff sources for that stat considered. Fried Carp now only takes 3 seconds to eat instead of 10, which puts its “Cast Time” equal to other foods. The Ancient Xenossian Heraldry Round Shield is now dyeable in both channels and should properly display heraldry. Fixed the inconsistent naming of unicorn poisons and potions. A bug was fixed which caused the crafting windows to recalculate all viable options per frame when open and using the search filter. This was usually not noticeable for most players, but this bug could be crippling for players attempting to craft with extremely large inventories. All 6 varieties of Obsidian Potions of Transformation can now be dismissed by the player by right-clicking the buff icon in your active buff bar and selecting the “Dismiss” option. Sack of Wheat Grain as well as the sacks of Salt, Flour, and Sugar now have much more forgiving collision so you can scooch them closer together which makes their edges appear like pliable cloth. They also can now be rotated on the additional axis, placed on exterior floor surfaces, and placed as POT decorations. Level requirements at expert crafting stations were not always showing correct changes. This has been fixed. Items reshaped with the patterns from the Xen Penetrator, the Halberd of the Sun, or the Shard of Night will no longer display tooltip descriptions as if they were an artifact. Adjusted the decoration settings on the Large and Small Haystacks to improve placement behavior. All 10 variations of the Quiver of Jealousy artifact can now accept back slot patterns. The Wash Pitcher now has forgiving collision and can be placed very closely to other items. The pitcher can now be placed as a POT decoration. The Wash Basin now allows items, such as the Wash Pitcher, to be placed on its shelving and underneath it. The stand can now be placed as a POT decoration. The Tower Archway Teleporter can now have other decorations placed upon it such as wall-hung banners and wall lighting. Due to the existence of 2 items called Ornate Vile Halberd, the store version has been renamed to Ornate Obsidian Halberd as well as the associated eternal and regular patterns. Decorative Hops Plant and Decorative Hops Plant (Mature) are now plural to better depict the multi-plant nature of the decoration. The Fire Elemental Statue now features a much less extreme flicker effect. The VFX in the Lava Hot Tub are no longer removed when GPU Occlusion is set to on. Optimal harvests for Tea Plants now have a chance to provide a mature version of the decorative tea plant as intended. Previously, both success possibilities were set to only provide the non-mature version. The following items can now be placed as POT decorations: Floppy Hat Sunglasses/Glasses Large Porcelain Vase Mining Lantern 13 fruits and vegetables Flame Trap Spike Trap Arrow Trap Music instruments A large variety of flasks, bottles, jugs, pitchers, beds, fish, bowls, plates, cups, and mugs 4 colored powder bowls 4 colored powder jars All rugs A large variety of dirty and rusty armor and weaponry The 5 flower-filled urns from the Crown Store The crafted Pillow decoration Wax Cylinders Wax Cylinders can now be placed atop one another or have other decorations placed upon them if those decorations can be child objects. Any scenes with skill caps (such as the PvP Shardfalls or any POT that has requested skill or adventure level caps) will now only affect adventuring skills. Previously, crafting and gathering skills were affected which has been fixed. The Aether Infusion crafting component is no longer inappropriately available at cooking merchants. The collision has been improved on the Azalea and Black Elder bushes to allow for much closer placement of other decorations and more possibilities to create densely vegetated decoration areas. The Gothic Footstool, Gothic Heavy Study Chair, Gothic Wooden Chair, and Gothic Bench no longer accept dyes since these items were not designed to be dyeable. The looted “Small Knife” is now called “White-Handled Knife” and can be salvaged at a blacksmithing station. Three crafted knives are no longer missing their inventory icons. The new Leather Backpack pattern should now properly apply to back slot items. Fixed the issue with the Leather Backpack not properly acting as a container when used as a decoration. The Red Stall Awning can now be placed on pavers. The Tame Health Level Modifier stats on the Legendary and Epic versions of the Belt of Control have been fixed and are no longer reversed between the 2 tiers. Updated the tooltip and store descriptions for Potions of Green Growth, Potions of Growth, Potions of Diminutive Stature, Potion of Upward Acceleration to indicate the effects provided by these potions do not persist through scene changes. Combat & Skill Changes: Cone of Cold: A new water magic spell has been added to the game! To help boost the DPS for water mages, this frontal cone attack AOE has been added to the Water skill tree. This skill not only does significant water damage, but it also features an Attack Speed debuff. Players specialized in water magic will also receive an increased Attack Speed debuff and a reduced cooldown. Celestial Blessing no longer features a static bonus of 20 to 4 types of magic resistance. Now, the resistance amounts scale based upon your skill level, meaning many if not most players will notice a reduction in the bonuses provided, but players can obtain greater amounts of resistance as they increase the skill’s level. This skill also can now stack which allows players another avenue for increasing the spell’s effects. The focus penalty has also been increased and now scales with skill level. Moon specialized players receive extra bonuses to these resistance effects, and they also receive a greatly reduced focus penalty. Inner Strength can now be stacked to improve its strength effect as well as its duration. VFX for Death Shield have been toned down to be less distracting. Anthem of Alacrity can no longer be cast on the overworld. Creatures will now only play the flinch animation if they take at least 1% of their health in a hit. Larger creatures being attacked by groups were spending 100% of their time playing the flinch response despite barely being injured. Frost giant health has been reduced by 33%, should no longer flinch from small amounts of damage, and should turn more quickly. The bug which prevented fishing from breaking stealth has been fixed. Distract will no longer be set to “maintain” for newly created characters. Players without the Bard specialization will no longer inappropriately receive the Anthem of Alacrity bonus for Dexterity in their spell effects. Splintering Strike no longer inappropriately indicates an increase to weapon damage. The Ice Spiders in Highvale Outskirts can now properly apply an icefield damage and slow effect to their victims, and the icon indicator showing they have an active ice field cast is now visible. Dig In now properly displays the specialization benefit in the tooltip which is a Combat Block Modifier provided to the caster. Lowered the audible sound range of Solar Flare significantly so it cannot be heard over long distances. The tooltip for Corpse Explosion now indicates corpses can be exploded up to 3 times rather than indicating a corpse is “consumed” at some point. Spinning Attack now properly applies a Damage Avoidance debuff when the bleed effect is applied for specialized polearm users. Stone Fist’s spell description now indicates specialized earth magic users also receive a lock time reduction for the skill. Ghost’s Drain Strength ability now has a unique icon which appears in the active buff bar when that debuff is present. Player Economy, Rewards, & Loot Changes: Two Pax Rings can now be equipped at the same time. Pax Rings now have a MUCH lower bait recovery bonus, and they now feature a saltwater fishing bonus. The Pax Ring can now be salvaged to possibly yield an Imbued Jewel of the Saltwater Angler, which provides bait recovery and saltwater fishing bonuses. The Pax Ring now primarily drops as loot from the pirates at Penmawr Island, but is also still present as a possible drop from storehouse container rewards and in Tarian’s daily quest. 3 new fishing artifacts have been added to the game: Ring of the Fetid Water Angler, Ring of the Freshwater Angler, and the Ring of the Lava Angler. These rings feature buffs towards fishing in a particular water type, as well as bait recovery bonuses equal to that of the Pax Ring. These artifacts can be tiered to the Epic level, and can be salvaged like other artifact rings to receive 3 new Imbued Jewels related to their artifact’s stats. The Ring of the Freshwater Angler can be found in Upper Fortus as a rare drop from Kobolds. The Ring of the Fetid Water Angler can be found in Norgard Fens as a rare drop from Kobolds. The Ring of the Lava Angler can be found in Verdantis Mines as a rare drop from Elves. These new rings also have a small chance to drop as loot in the new Odd Container (Flotsam) item that can be found while fishing. Anglers can now get an Odd Container (Flotsam) caught in their lines. This container can be placed as a decoration, but works like a supply bundle which is specifically made to be obtained from fishing. Among many items that players can find throughout the world of New Britannia, the Odd Container has a small chance to drop a Cloak of the Master Angler which features a bait recovery bonus and a fishing range bonus similar to the Fish Finder Cloak. This cloak can be salvaged for an ancient essence and a pattern, which can be applied to other back slot items. Currently, lava fishing has a chance to yield the Odd Container (Flotsam), but will eventually receive a container with unique visuals, likely made of gemstone, to better depict something that can remain intact beneath the lava’s surface. Just to provide a sneak peak at an upcoming concept, the Cloak of the Master Angler is actually considered a “Relic” and thusly will not be tiered for upgrades. Existing non-tiered artifacts or new magical gear items coming in future releases will soon either be tiered into the artifact system, will be classified as an Enduring Relic, or will be classified as an Ephemeral Relic, which will be explained fully in future releases as more are created and the concept is fleshed out. If any existing artifacts are reclassified as a relic, they will still receive balance updates to make them viable/useful as equipment items. An example of upcoming Ephemeral Relics would be the upcoming magical torches to arrive sometime in the future. Here’s a short list to preview the concept: Artifact: Common to Rare, Repairable, Tiered, Low to Medium Power. Enduring Relic: Rare, Repairable, Not Tiered, Low to Medium Power. Ephemeral Relic: Very Rare, Not Repairable, Very Low Durability, Not Tiered, Medium to High Power. Ephemeral Relics will likely either feature reduced power when equipped when flagged for PvP, or PvP flagged players will simply not be able to equip them. Baked Pacu now features a larger bait recovery bonus and a descriptive tooltip to warn players that consuming more than one Baked Pacu will not provide additional effects. The Fish Finder Cloak now features a much lower bait recovery bonus and now also includes a fishing range bonus. Fishing baits have received a balance pass for their drop rates, and a review of the effectiveness for each bait will be performed in upcoming releases: Earth Worms now drop much more frequently from good and great plant harvests, and earthworms now also have a chance to drop during good and great harvests for: Barley, Cotton, Garlic, Hops, Immortality Fruit, Mandrake, Nightshade, and Royal Elderberry. Drudge Leeches now drop more regularly from Zombies, and Zombie children have the highest drop rate. Minnows now have a significantly greater chance to catch Tiny Squids in Saltwater and Pale Leeches in Fetid Water. Red Worms now have a significantly greater chance to catch Sardines in Saltwater and Drudge Leeches in Fetid Water. Earthworms now have a significantly greater chance to catch Herring in Saltwater and Blood Leeches in Fetid Water. The fishing bait recovery soft cap has been removed. With this release’s realignment of bait recovery buffs available from the various items in the game, the actual bait recovery skill is once again fully relevant. Players can still obtain bait recovery bonuses up to AND slightly above the old bait recovery soft cap, if desired. With the changes to bait drops this release in mind, we’ll continue to monitor bait creation and destruction in the game to determine the proper balance, but ultimately the goal will be for players to sell baits to other players as important aspects of the economy and to ensure each bait has an important role to play in fishing. The Frost Giant’s Eye variations now provide a power boost to Cone of Cold instead of Ice Field, and still retains its attunement bonuses. The Imbued Gem of Ice Field has been renamed to the Imbued Gem of Cone of Cold, which also now features a Cone of Cold power boost instead of Ice Field buffs. 8 new wax cylinders are scattered throughout the world as rare loot items. The looted wax cylinders can be salvaged into wax and some metal scraps, and they appear in the following locations as loot: March of the Automatons: Automatons Awakening of the Reapers: Reapers Vertas: Elves in Vertas Pass Satyr Masters: Satyr Fighters The Heart Song of Elysium: Ghost Boss in Elysium Mines The Wandering Wisp: Wisps The Ruins of Midras: Kobolds in Midras Ruins The Fall of Opalis: Kobolds in Opalis Ruins Acaran gear now drops more readily. The boots have small chances to drop from Tier 5 and above Ebon Dawn archers. The gloves have small chances to drop from Elven melee Tier 5 and above. The helm has small chances to drop from skeleton casters Tier 5 and above. The legs have small chances to drop from clockwork monkeys Tier 5 and above. The torso has small chances to drop from lich casters Tier 5 and above. The shield has small chances to drop from zombies Tier 5 and above. Higher tier creatures provide greater chances for the items to drop. Tier 6 and Tier 8 mining nodes now feature different EXP rewards. Many Tier 1 and Tier 2 gathering nodes varieties no longer provide higher tier crafting components such as Emerald Ash Borers or Pine Resin. The recipe for the Potion of the Master Chaos Mage now drops more frequently from the demon in Solania Catacombs. The loot chances for the new craftable kobold tent recipes have been increased slightly. The three new Aether potions and nine new magic mastery potions are now available on the player vendor “Manage Orders” listing. Players choosing to pay rent with Crowns now receive 300 gold credit for each Crown instead of 60. World, Quests, and Miscellaneous Changes: Large or Huge Wyverns can now be tamed to receive a powerful Ferocious Wyvern as a pet. Juvenile dragons have started appearing in the world which can also be tamed. Work has begun on a new adventure scene, The Manor of Mystery — coming soon! Aerie: The door to the textile merchant house is now functional. Aerie: Updated one of Arabella’s journal entries that relates to the favors of the three Titans. Brittany Fields: Fixed an archway with a bad LOD issue. Desolis: Added training dummies and archery targets atop the prison wall above the guards. East Sanctus Forest: Moved a floating axe to the ground. Estgard: Fixed a typo in Svanhild’s “hello” response regarding the gold she awards. Also, rain should no longer pour through the temple roof. Etceter Crag Mines: Added a couple of quartz nodes to the crystal cavern. Greymark Forest: Slightly increased respawn rates for some kobolds. Also, one tier 6 “Kobold Commander” will sometimes appear in one of the two kobold camps. Halls of Artifice: Added safety teleporters in the void between rooms for players who somehow get stuck outside the play space. Jack of Diamonds: Captain Jack Price now gives a quest to obtain certain kobold weapons. Jotungrund: Frost Giant’s hazard damage values balanced to provide a riskier battle. A missing texture was added back into a VFX present in the Frost Giant’s battle. Added elementals near the signal towers. Added quest to find a missing sled dog. After finishing the first signal fire task, players should now receive a special recipe reward from Hisa. Players who have already finished that task will receive the same recipe the next time they complete one of the daily signal fire tasks. Fixed an issue where the frost giant battle’s hailstorm hazard was automatically removing some visible materials. Fixed several LOD issues. Fixed several stuck spots. Added more ankhs. Players can no longer “turn off” sections of the Frost Giant’s “wind wall.” Mentioning “Hisa” to Wymond will no longer repeatedly unlock her name. The compass marker for the “Crevass Entrance” is now the “Crevasse Entrance.” Updated the logic in one of Salvi’s responses. Spurious Red Ice Snarler spawner removed from the camp. Lamech’s Bazaar and South Midmaer Way: Added palm trees in areas with coconuts. Obsidian Panopticon: Fixed an issue where Max would sometimes give multiple daily quest items. Oracle Temple: Players can no longer block their storyline progression by leaving after they receive the “find the pages” tasks but before they get the other quest data in the “not yet done” response. PvP Arenas: Added ankhs to PvP arenas in Ardoris and Owl’s Head. Updated or removed outdated objects. Updated path grid. Random Encounters: Encounters with young dragons now have a chance to spawn juvenile dragons. Resolute: Added an extra “hello” response for Whitten, to better direct certain players to his “armor shipment” response. Savrenoc Stronghold: Fixed an issue where some stairs had their collision displaced. Skrekk: Fixed a typo in the hacker’s “name” response. Solace Forest: Corrected the scale of incorrectly-sized resource nodes. Solania: Fixed a typo in Sada’s “mine” response. Soltown: Improved the logic which Jeanne uses to clear the “Return the Necklace” task. South Celestial Wetlands : Corrected the scale of oversized resource nodes. South Drachvald Spur: Avatars cannot have more than 10 Lucky Leather in their inventory. Also, this item will cannot be collected after finishing the associated quest. South Hinterlands: Removed hidden torches and adjusted ambient sounds. South Majestic Forest: Fixed various typos. Spectral Mines: Added a couple of quartz nodes in the crystal cavern. Sunless Barrens: Avatars cannot have more than 10 Sunless Cloth in their inventory. Tanglemire: Updated the logic which Trygve uses to accept Amulets of Testimony. The Obsidian Panopticon: Improved the quest logic used by Max when first offering his package delivery quest. The Outlaws’ Run: Added new “missing relative” quest, including new NPC responses, compass markers, and maze puzzle update. Added quest to find Miloslava. After turning in a daily coffee seed quest, the compass markers for finding the seeds will stop appearing. Fixed a logic error in the responses for Milosh which was causing build errors. Increased the difficulty of changing the hedge maze to access the village. Successfully using the colored stones is now the quickest way to the village. Removed loot from an already-destroyed barrel. The outlaws now have a proper “boss” conversation response. Updated some of the response logic used in Miloslava’s conversation. Added many piles of leaves and gave each butterflies/fireflies. Slight adjustment of some creature spawns. Fixed a typo in some NPC responses. Fixed an issue where some patrollers required a special navigation component. Fixed stuck spots. Outlaws have a variety of new descriptive names. Some foliage has been removed/adjusted to provide better visibility. Removed loot from pre-destroyed crates. The compass markers to find seeds now display “Search Piles of Leaves for Seeds.” Upper Fortus: Moved floating objects to the ground. Vertas Pass: Replaced a certain crate with an “indestructible crate” object. Virtue Recalibration Kit: Added a journal entry for those who acquire one of these kits, that explains their usage. Also, the Virtue Recalibration Kit is no longer flagged as a quest item so it can be traded and stored in containers. The terrain in Shaminian Hills should once again be visible! The SFX for the haunted abandoned fountain in Etceter have been fixed. Other players standing on slanted objects should no longer appear to bounce. Players feet should no longer slide while on the overworld maps. Players should no longer see other players/NPCs sink into the ground. Fixed a small Avatar speed slowdown on the overworld. The final lot deed price adjustments in a 6 month series of price reductions has been applied to all applicable deeds. Store entries for deeds were updated to new deed name format. All non-water store deeds now come with a starter house. All foyers and dungeon entrances which were added to deed store entries have been removed. For players wishing to see the values for deeds to determine upgrade costs, this information is on display in the (Player) Artifacts, Gems, Consumables, Misc Info spreadsheet. The old homes sale has finally been removed from the store fully, but in conjunction with this effort, the home prices have been greatly realigned. The vast majority of home prices have been reduced, though some went up slightly. All vault homes are now in the regular store, though the vast majority of these homes were heritage which will be retained. A small number of home names were improved to help with differentiation between homes, and a very large number of home store entries had names that didn’t match the actual home’s display name, which has been fixed. Added a light to the Minecart Dungeon Foyer Entrance. Players no longer take damage from hot coals in the Northwood blacksmith, and the floating armor has been fixed. Visual glitches in the Northwood Bank have been fixed. Players will now remount automatically after switching scenes if they were previously mounted. The store butterfly icon (VFX & Fireworks) and the store pumpkin store icon (upcoming Spooky Seasonal) are no longer blurry. Instruments, Phonographs, Wax Cylinders, Aether Vibration Devices, and SFX items have all been combined into the same store category called SFX & Music, now with each featuring their own subcategory. Any gear or decoration items featuring radio capabilities now also appear in the Aether Vibration Devices subcategory such as aeronaut helms and clockwork armor sets. Added 6 pack and 12 pack store entries for the Upward Acceleration Potions so it matches the format of other vanity potions. Adjusted crafting station prices so they scale better between the Choose 1, 5, and 10 packs. Choose 1 packs lowered in price significantly, and choose 5 and 10 packs reduced in price slightly. A new store category called “VFX & Fireworks” has been added to the store. Moved Fireworks to this new section from Emotes. Moved VFX to this new section from Outdoor Decorations. Shields and shield patterns now have their own subcategories in the store. Player-Owned Town Changes: Alynne’s Rest: Added new village to the crossroads north of Soltown. Daylight: Added new nested Holdfast to Hidden Vale. Dragomir Mori: Removed POT. Gobi Rose: Added new Crossroads Village in Grunvald in Novia. Haven Ridge: Upgraded to Metropolis from Town. Ironhall Highlands: Upgraded to Megalopolis. Kustingen: Changed name to Kuestingen. Midnight: Added new nested Holdfast to Hidden Vale. Latest News Q&A Friday Livestream! The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, October 1st at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a community 1-hour livestream! To enter the prize drawings, type “pumpkin spice and everything nice” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store. Please submit questions using in-game universal chat by typing “askadev” before your question. We’ll do our best to answer these questions live on the stream, and we’ll even be periodically posting answers to some unanswered questions in the forums each month. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4 PM CT! Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live very frequently on twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar — be sure to get the channel on follow for notifications so you can join us right as we go live! Also, if you’ve missed our latest streams, check out our archive of content at our YouTube Channel. Like! Follow! Subscribe! Prizes!!! Don’t forget to also join the Shroud of the Avatar team and community over at all our 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 Crown Store: Shields, Furniture, Wax Cylinders & More! Many new store items are coming your way in the month ahead! Keep an eye out each week as the following items become available in the Crown Store. Available today on September 30th, set 3 of the Xenossian Round Shield series! These shields feature stunning blazons and even have a small dye layer at the top and bottom of the shield. Players can now also purchase single Prosperity Tools! No longer will players be forced to purchase entire packs of Prosperity Tools, and each is now individually offered! New “Celestian” furniture pieces are now also available on the store! These Perennial Coast themed items are a must have for anyone decorating Shogun style! Ancient Xenossian Round Anglerfish Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Bull Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Deer Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Gryphon Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Pegasus Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Plumed Helm Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Snake Witch Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Snakes Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Sun Swirl Shield Ancient Xenossian Round Shield Set 3 Carpentry Hammer of Prosperity Celestian Altar Table Celestian Cabinet Celestian Commode Celestian Dragon Rug Celestian Footstool Celestian Painted Birds Room Divider 3-Pack Celestian Sofa Celestian Stand Celestian Tea Table Celestian Wooden Armchair 6-Pack Celestian Wooden Chair 6-Pack Cleaver of Prosperity Cooking Pot of Prosperity Cubit Measure of Prosperity Fishing Rod of Prosperity Harvesting Axe of Prosperity Hoe of Prosperity Loom Shuttle of Prosperity Mortar and Pestle of Prosperity Pickaxe of Prosperity Sickle of Prosperity Skinning Knife of Prosperity Smelting Tongs of Prosperity Smithing Hammer of Prosperity Tailoring Scissors of Prosperity Tanning Knife of Prosperity Becoming available on October 8th, 61 additional Crown Store items! All of these items were previously stretch goal items, telethon rewards, login rewards, or subscriber login rewards, but are now offered once again to the community as regular store items: 4-Piece One-Man Band Baby Copper Clockwork Dragon Decoration Pet Blue Cylinder Glass Set Blue Dragon Mask Blue Electric Katana Colorful Mallard Duck Pet Copper Clockwork Armor Electric Sword Training Helm Electric Sword Training Orb Eternal Pattern: Brewery Basement Entrance Eternal Pattern: Distillery Basement Entrance Eternal Pattern: Dragon Dungeon Entrance Eternal Pattern: Prison Cage Dungeon Entrance Eternal Pattern: Winery Basement Entrance Fish Throne 3-Pack Flaming Foyer-Sized Dragon Statue Giant Brown Rabbit Decoration Pet Giant Grey Squirrel Decoration Pet Giant Horse Statue Green Dragon Mask Horse Statue Icy Cave Stone Hallways Set Large Lord British Telescope Marlin Statue Mighty Lightning Hammer Miniature Fire Elemental Pet Miniature Greyhound Pet Oktoberfest Banner Potted Cherry Pie Plant (Heliotrope) 3-Pack Purple Dragon Mask Red Electric Sword Replenishing Aerial Blue-Yellow-Red-Silver Combo Fireworks Box Replenishing Aerial Silver Serpent Crackle Combo Fireworks Box Replenishing Aether Glowing Dye Box Replenishing Cycling Carnival Dye Box Replenishing Silver Fireworks Box Round Palapa Round Striped Metal Star Shield Sailfish Statue Silver Serpent Spear Silver Serpent Wand Tigershark Statue Traveler’s Wagon Virtue Balloon Virtue Ice Bow Virtue Ice Staff Virtue Oktoberfest Banner Virtue Oktoberfest Tent White Flower Topiary Bear Statue White Flower Topiary Dragon Statue (City Lot Size) White Flower Topiary Dragon Statue (Keep Lot Size) White Flower Topiary Dragon Statue (Town Lot Size) White Flower Topiary Dragon Statue (Village Lot Size) White Flower Topiary Elemental Statue White Flower Topiary Golem Statue White Flower Topiary Kobold Statue White Flower Topiary Satyr Statue White Flower Topiary Statue Pack White Flower Topiary Zombie Statue White Marble Ballroom A Wooden Duck Decoy Becoming available on October 15th, a Crumbling Titan of Courage Statue Set! All the pieces of this statue can be placed as separate decorations. Also, for those wanting big cushions to sit on, a Large Cushion 3-Pack has been added to the store which features a single dye layer: Crumbling Titan of Courage Statue Set Large Cushion 3-Pack Becoming available on October 22nd, 20 new Wax Cylinders! These wondrous little objects can be inserted into Phonograph type devices so players can listen to them in-game. Be on the lookout for other Wax Cylinders which have been added to loot as rare drops: Wax Cylinder – Charge of the Norgardians Wax Cylinder – Crossing the Shimano Wax Cylinder – Dance of the Fireflies Wax Cylinder – Echoes in the Temple Wax Cylinder – Journey to Brittany II Wax Cylinder – Lamenting the Fallen Wax Cylinder – The Bay of Storms Wax Cylinder – The Burning Caverns Wax Cylinder – The Endless Forest Wax Cylinder – The Journey to Brittany I Wax Cylinder – The Lone Wolf Wax Cylinder – The Lumbering Bear Wax Cylinder – The Road to Soltown Wax Cylinder – The Shores of Celestis Wax Cylinder – The Siege Wax Cylinder – The Sorceror’s Tower Wax Cylinder – The Underworld Wax Cylinder – The Villagers Awaken Wax Cylinder – The Voyage to Mistrendur Wax Cylinder – Valhold Many items have also been added to the Vault rotation. These items were previously stretch goal items, telethon rewards, login rewards, or subscriber login rewards. Players can expect these items to appear in the Vault periodically in the future, many of which will appear shortly or during their applicable season: Aeroplane Emote BirdTrick Emote Black Trimmed Pinstripe Tuxedo Breathe Fire Spiral Emote Butterfly Mask Damask Lace White Wedding Dress Dice Roll Emote Flowerwand Emote Frost Pipe Hustle Emote Juggle Snowballs Emote Masquerade Mask Metal Darklamp Mouthcoil Emote Nightmare Mask w/ Flaming Coconuts Ornate Hitching Post Rainbow Emote Virtue Balloon Cluster Virtue Tuxedo To see a full listing of all the items which rotate through the Vault, we have prepared a forum post showing all items which could appear throughout the year! October Login Reward: Lei Flower Necklace! Log in during the month of October, and you’ll receive a Lei Flower Necklace! Time to hit the beaches and celebrate to issue in this month’s “island” collection theme. Release 94 Subscriber Login Rewards: Xiphos Sword, Tiki Demon Mask, Tall Tiki Statue! Avatars! Rewards Program login items for Release 94 are a must have — don’t miss out! This month’s collection is “island” themed! Subscribers will received the new Tiki Demon Mask if they log in during R94, which is a wondrous wall decoration and can also be worn as a mask to scare your friends! If you hope to wear this mask dancing around a Tiki Statue, well no worries! A new Tall Tiki Statue will also be delivered to any subscribers logging in during R94. This statue can be stacked with the Large Tiki Statue so players can make an even larger totem if so desired. And to continue the Ancient Xenossian gear series, the Xiphos sword will become available to subscribers this release! Reward Program members must login during Release 94 to receive these special login items: Ancient Xenossian Xiphos Sword Tiki Demon Mask Tall Tiki Statue 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 (about 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 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month: 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 Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting Bug Brigade & Testing Directives! The Bug Brigade was established to improve how the community and the development team work together to improve the game. Since the Brigade’s inception, the program has gone through a number of changes and was eventually placed on hold. The stability of the game is as important to the development team as it is to the players, therefore the program was revamped and was recently relaunched. The Brigade has been up and running for two months now, and the volunteers are getting into a good rhythm for verifying and submitting bugs to the developers. If you have reported a bug that has not yet been addressed, please be patient while the backlog is being worked. The Brigade is working diligently to cleanup the backlog of bug reports posted by players on the forums. Every month, a considerable amount of development time will be spent working many of the verified bugs which have been submitted to the team by the Bug Brigade. This focused effort on bug fixes would not be possible without the recent efforts of the Bug Brigade. Please take the time to thank these bug hunting aficionados when you encounter them in your travels! In turn, the development team would like to express a big thank you to the Bug Hunters! These community members are doing a fantastic job bringing so many bug reports to the team, and they’re doing it in a way which makes the process smooth and efficient. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Already, much improvement has been noticed by the development team, and we’re so very excited to see the program successfully back in action! The development team would also like to thank all of those who took time out to participate in the QA Testing Directive for the upcoming Mount System. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs were identified and fixed prior to the system going to the Live Server! Keep up the great work! For those that wish to participate in future bug hunting endeavors, please check the forums regularly for upcoming QA Testing Directives. Also, the Bug Brigade would like to welcome its newest Bug Moderator, Echondas! Please congratulate him the next time you see him in-game or on the forums. This new member expands the Bug Moderator team to: Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn. Thank you Moderators! Your efforts are highly valued by the development team! Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing, and the bug rewards are back! And they are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows: Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter” Single Ant Cloak Lady Bug Backpack Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids” Ant Farm Insect Leg Table Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles” Bug Painting B Bug Sprayer Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths” Butterfly Chair Corpion Chair (Pictured Below) Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies” Hacked Oracle Flyer Giant Blue Butterfly Pet Butterfly Mask Dragonfly pet Fairy Wings Monarch Butterfly Pet Dragonfly Wings Hacked Oracle Crawler Blue Butterfly VFX Orange Fireflies VFX Orange Butterfly VFX If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, signup and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravolox in the main Bug/Feedback forums. Updates to the Streamer Rewards Program! Several months ago, a program was proposed for the Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar. The ultimate goal being to showcase Shroud of the Avatar while giving SotA streamers a reward for their efforts. The program is currently in Phase I, with Phase II technology currently being discussed and worked internally. So, let’s talk Phase I! Phase I: Streamers who wish to be included in the Streamer Program must contact Laney via in-game mail or in a private message on the forums with their Character Name and Twitch Channel information. If you have already signed up for the program in the past, fear not, you’re on the list, and you don’t need to reapply. Streaming Rewards Program participants must adhere to our Terms of Service (TOS) and Community Rules while Streaming Shroud of the Avatar. Streaming Rewards Program participants must stream at least 10 hours of Shroud of the Avatar ACTIVE game play to remain in the program with reward accrual. Streamers will receive a one-time digital reward of in-game items after meeting the program’s requirements: Streamer’s Cloak, Streamer’s Camera, and a brand-new LIVESTREAMING title. Future incremental rewards will occur at 6-month intervals. (More information to come). Rules: To qualify for Streamer Rewards, each streamer must continue to meet the minimum requirements for 60 days after application. To accrue additional rewards, Streamers must stream SotA a minimum of 10 hours per month, tallied on the 1st day of each month, to remain in the program. Streamers must be actively playing the game during their streams. Being away from the keyboard (AFK) for short periods is acceptable. If Twitch indicates the streamer is playing SotA but they are streaming other content or a timeout/login screen, they risk being removed from the program. Items of Note: SotAbot: Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord. Graphics & Overlays: An optional “Streamers Kit” is available to the participating streamers as well as all players of Shroud of the Avatar, which includes graphics, overlays and other material. Watch the forums for more information, coming soon, regarding Titles, future rewards and for info on Phase II of the program. We love our Streamers, so get out to Twitch and follow them, watch them, and support them! Upcoming Release Dates 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. The upcoming 2021 Release Schedule is as follows: Release 94 – Sep 30 (Polish) Release 95 – Oct 28 (Content) Release 96 – Nov 18 (Polish) Release 97 – Dec 16 (Content) Community Updates & Resources Greetings event holders and event attendees! So many fun and exciting events are available in the upcoming weeks. Be sure to get out there and participate, make some new friends, perhaps make some great emote, recipe, or gear trades, or get some adventuring and role-playing into your mix! Here are spotlighted events or updated community resources that we’ve noticed popping up lately on the official forums: Catnip Games Contests: Catnip Games Monthly Fishing Tourney: Greetings Anglers! The monthly Catnip Games Fishing Tourney is live! Join in on the fun! SO many prizes available for the anglers of New Britannia! Catnip Games Monthly Screenshot/Video Contest: Avatars! For those of you skilled with the camera or screenshot key binding, a monthly screenshot and video contest is underway which features a large number of valuable prizes. The focus will be for players to submit creative or informative screenshots and videos of content introduced to the game during the latest 3 monthly releases. Catnip Games Monthly Treasure Hunting Contest: Want to go hunting for rare items? Want to see if you can beat other players in this quest for treasure? Well join in on the monthly treasure hunting contest, Avatars! Special Announcements: The New Britannia Theater Troupe Needs YOU: If you would like to join this band of merry story writers and voice actors, give Asclepius a reply on the forums or send him a PM. Already there is a very rich selection of past work written and performed by the troupe which is available in audio form here at the Caverns.net. One-Time Events: Epic Swordsman Q&A: Sara Dreygon, epic swordswoman and writer of The Guide to Becoming an Epic Swordswoman hosted a Q&A session at the Lucky Lute in Haven Ridge recently, and here are the results! Missing Associate: VulcanJedi and crew have posted an intriguing lead-in to an immersive player quest in the Player-Owned Towns forum. Will you aid in the search for the missing associate, Atton? Atton was last seen in the Extra Life Guild Bunkhouse on the island of Mysteria. Pumpkin Patch Trophy Hunt: Aeolus Adara in Silverdale Market is hosting a Pumpkin Patch Trophy Hunt! Pumpkin Patch man Aeolus Adara was transporting hundreds of pumpkins on his journey to Soltown and the wagons wheel fell right off! Before he knew it. thugs surrounded him and robbed him of all his pumpkins! Recover these Pumpkin trophies for poor ol’ pumpkin man Adara and the largest pumpkin sent receives prizes! Recurring Events: Mad Splatter Tea Party: The Mad Splatter Tea Party takes place in Lily Byrd’s back garden in Jade Valley. This month’s episode will be held on Sunday, June 13th at 3PM CT. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes attendees just sit and talk about life in Novia. Get your role-playing hats on and come on over! Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding the loot in New Britannia with junk: Wizard Hats! It’s time to clean this trash up that’s plaguing the loot tables, so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that you find in loot. Turn in what you find every contest period! R93’s contest period lasts until September 28th! Ironhall Tournament & PvP Training: The Player-Owned Town of Ironhall holds weekly player training events every Saturday at 1PM CT. Events are held in the village of Virtus Mons in Ironhall and can be reached easily via use of the fast travel signs. M’Hul Island Monthly Fishing Contest: Join Asmodi M’hul and friends at M’hul Island for their monthly fishing tournament that lasts from Release Day to Release Day! Prizes are available! Lightbringer Isle Fishing Contest: Why not earn some extra prizes each month and participate in Lightbringer Isle’s monthly fishing tourney? Lots of fantastic prizes — don’t miss out! Combat & Crafting Sunday School: Head on over to Immortal City every Sunday from 7PM to 9PM CT to learn the tricks of the trade in combat and crafting! 500 Crown Leisurely Fishing: Sonja Solar and friends are running a continuous fishing contest in Brittany Fort “Now and Forever for All Eternity” which has wonderful prizes and objectives. You can now win 500 Crowns for record fishies caught in Brittany Fort by anybody at any time in history for display in Sonja Solar’s fishy aquarium museum. Be sure to watch the video indicated in the “Brittany Fort” link provided in the first post to see the full explanation of the contest rules. RHEC Traveling Pop Up Fishing Contest: Keep an eye out in universe chat, trade chat, and the forums! Asmodi M’hul will routinely announces at least one pop up fishing contest every week for those anglers out there anxious for extra prizes and fun! PvP Fishing with RHEC: The RHEC anglers of New Britannia will be hosting PvP fishing contests in The Brave Coast! There are 3 tourneys which will take place on July 23rd and July 24th from 7PM to 9PM CT, and July 25th from 5PM to 7PM CT. Hope to see you there! Lightbringer Isle Auction: Ladies and gentlemen! The Citizens of Lightbringer Isle welcome you to the weekly auctions! The auctions are about bringing together people from all corners of the community, with the Lightbringer Isle’s market being the perfect place to do so! Join us every Sunday at 11AM CT! New Player-Created Resources: 24 Hour CotO Store Sale Thread: Wanna be able to see what’s on sale while not in-game? Tirrag has been taking the time to post a screenshot of the daily sale items to help players find elusive sale items. Check it out! Artifact Survey Tool by Tirrag: Please head on over to this forum thread and check out Tirrag’s new Artifact Survey Tool! What better way to get involved than by contributing to the data which helps players find their most sought after treasures? New Fan Fiction: Latest Podcasts from TheCaverns: Asclepius and friends have posted another batch of new podcasts in the Echoes from the Caverns section of TheCaverns.net! Check out the latest! Interview with Death Heart of the World Six Short Scary Tales The Death Cake The Isle of Xee 3D Portal Adventure, Chapter 1 The Box with No Soul Tales from The Fall — The Cataclysm: Time Lord brings players of Shroud of the Avatar a wondrous poem about the Cataclysm, which has been recently posted in the Fire Lotus Tavern area of the forums. Community Calendars: Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in! NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you! SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better! Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun! One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these! Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones. Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread. Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures. Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum. Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum. Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out! Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out! Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play. Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community. SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars! Project to Support: Shard RPG Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad. Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals. Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character! Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah! So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG! Project to Support: Shadow of Valhalla Shadow of Valhalla is a visceral physics-based VR combat game with dynamic RPG elements, set within an ancient realm of Viking lore and mystic powers! Early Access beta includes “endless horde mode” featuring a variety of enemies with progressive difficulty. Also, players can discover many magic spells to unlock! So much more is coming! Finn Staber with Chicken Waffle, will join the Shroud of the Avatar team on Twitch during their Friday the 28th livestream to showoff this new Early Access game! Also, here is a teaser video on YouTube:  The development team is working hard to create additional environments and new quests! Shadow of Valhalla is available on Steam as Early Access. Additional features coming to the game: More Enemies! More Environments! More Magic Spells! RPG Quests! Weapon Forging and Crafting! Much, much more! If you would like to learn more about Shadow of Valhalla, be sure to stop by the main webpage for the game as more news becomes available! 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: 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 commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like. Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate 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! The Catnip Games development team now brings the players of Shroud of the Avatar another round of new content and improvements. For Release 93 (R93), two new adventure scenes have been added to the game, Jotungrund and The Outlaws’ Run! 12 new potions and potion recipes have arrived! 2 new artifacts! New quests! MANY new craftable items, and a long list of UI improvements and bug fixes are also live as of R93.. Check out the update below! For those... Play Release 93 Now! New Adventure Scenes, Quests, Potions, Recipes, Artifacts & Much More!View the full article