Avatar’s Update #308: R60 Livestream Today + Viking, Kobold, & Spooky Expirations Last Day!

Greetings Fellow Avatars! Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

News Announcements

Community Updates

Release 60 Livestream Today (Cornucopia)

The Release 60 Livestream is set for Friday November 30! All Avatars from around the world are welcome to join us in the livestream activities. We will be doing deep dives, answering questions, having sales, handing out prizes, and tracking towards stretch goals.  By popular demand we have resurrected a set of stretch goals we missed from previous releases (and added a few new roleplay ones) to make a Cornucopia of Dragons, Dungeons and Roleplay in honor of the harvest season!

LIVESTREAM SCHEDULE (Central Time Zone)

Monthly livestreams are on Twitch and include answers to your gameplay questions, world building tours, prize giveaways, sales on items, and more! Here is the schedule:

  • 3PM: Introductions
  • 3:30PM: Deep Dive 1: Story
  • 4:00PM: Deep Dive 2: Combat
  • 4:30PM: Deep Dive 3: Player Made Dungeons
  • 5PM: Ending Announcements

STRETCH GOALS (Cornucopia of Dragons, Dungeons, and Roleplay!)

As a special bonus, we are offering funding rewards to any player that makes a minimum purchase of $5 during a twelve hour window during the day of the livestream, on November 30 from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (Nov 30 17:00 to Dec 1 05:00 UTC). By popular demand we have resurrected a set of stretch goals we missed from previous releases (and added a few new roleplay ones) to make a Cornucopia of Dragons, Dungeons and Roleplay in honor of the harvest season!

All purchases during the twelve hour window will count towards the stretch goals, not just the four hours of the livestream! Also participation in the Rewards Program counts towards our stretch goal totals!

Please note that we have extended availability of the stretch goals to every Friday of the release for 12 hours per the new Stretch Goal Tracking Changes.

  • ACHIEVED $10K: Dragon Mask Set (multiple color variants) with smoke VFX
  • ACHIEVED $25K: Aether Axe, Aether 1H Spear, Aether 2H Bludgeon
  • ACHIEVED $35K: Construction Decorations (Crane, Pulley, etc)
  • ACHIEVED $50K: Torture Set: Torture Chair, Torture Table, Rack
  • ACHIEVED $65K: Traveller Wagon
  • $75K: Dragon Sword & Dragon Polearm
  • $85K: Unique Dungeon Encounter Room with Fishing Spot
  • $95K: Celestial Themed Wizard Robes

*Please keep in mind that stretch goal rewards take time to develop and will most likely not be available until Release 61 at the earliest. We will keep you updated!

12 HOURS OF SALES:

We will be having twelve hours of sales around the livestream from 12:00 PM to 11:59 PM CDT (Nov 30 17:00 to Dec 1 05:00 UTC)! Items in the following categories will be on sale at approx. 50% off. As noted above, all purchases during this time will count towards the stretch goals!

WIN THESE GREAT PRIZES!

We will be giving prizes away on an hourly basis with many being given away multiple times. Enter for a chance to win a prize by either logging into the game and typing “Horn of Plenty” into chat OR by purchasing any item from our store during the livestream!

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS

We will be answering questions throughout the livestream, so submit them in the comments section of the original post or on Discord chat during the event.

Please do NOT post questions containing:

  • More than 3 questions in total (post all three in a single reply)
  • Bugs or other problems best posted in the bug forums
  • “When is this coming” or anything related to schedule (for those answers please refer to our quarterly updates or our post release plans)
  • Questions with more than a couple of sentences. Please keep them brief! We will likely understand the context of your interest, so just ask the question and we’ll be able to respond.
  • For bug reports and extra idea suggestions, please use the forums for this purpose.

A Final Thought: We see a LOT of repeat questions. Please consider reviewing one of the other missed question posts, previous monthly livestreams, livestream transcripts, and/or reading our Post Episode 1 plan post before posting a question. Your question might have already been answered.

Watch @ShroudofAvatar updates throughout the day of the livestream. See you on Twitch!

Viking & Kobold Expirations (Last Day!)

Today is the last day to purchase the Viking and Kobold Bundles and select items! To celebrate our first holiday season since launching the Viking and Kobold Bundles are expiring at 11:59 PM CT today (November 30). As a limited time bonus we have added Episode 2 access to these bundles! We will also be expiring several of the items that are included in those bundles including pets, weapons, decorations and homes. We are also discounting these items, some as much as 30% For City level bundles this means a $1000 discount!

NOTE: This is a final expiration. Upgrades will not be allowed after these bundles expire.

 

Spooky Expirations (Last Day!)

Today is the last day to get our Spooky Recurring and Spooky Rare 2018 items! The Recurring items won’t be back until Fall of 2019 and the 2018 items are going away forever! So grab some of these items from the Add On Store like Jack O Lanterns, Day of the Dead Masks, Spider Web Cloaks, and Zombie Pets before they disappear! Here’s the complete list of Spooky items that are expiring today:

2018 Spooky Rares (Expiring Today Forever):

Spooky Recurring (Expire Seasonally):


Crown Migration for Release 61

Forum post by Chris “Atos” Spears]

Starting in Release 61, we will be simplifying the crowns to simply be crowns rather than a specific metal type. No action is required by players and we will migrate these all during our Release 61 update window when the servers are down.

For example, if you now have 23 gold crown and 7 iron crowns, you will simply have 30 crowns after the migration. If you have crowns placed as decos, they will simply look like gold crown after the migration.

Going forward, all Obsidian potions will simple cost a crown vs a specific crown metal type.

50% Item Fridays & 20% Crown Weekends Holiday Sales

To celebrate our first holiday season since launching we are putting most items* in the store on sale for 50% off, our deepest discounts ever, every Friday noon to midnight, until December 21, 2018!

Additionally we are having our first sale on Gold Crowns of the Obsidians ever! Some packages are discounted as much as 20% every weekend through December 21, 2018!

*Note that this sale does not include the already discounted and expiring Bundles and associated items.

Winter 2018 Items Appear

With winter almost upon us the Winter 2018 items have appeared! These winter holiday items are only available until February 1, 2019 and then they are gone forever so get them while they are ice cold! This year we added functionality to the Menorahs where they now light the correct number of candles per day during Hanukkah (note this is retroactive for all Menorahs).

Winter Recurring Items Return!

Winter is coming and with it winter recurring items have returned for a limited time, including the Ice Nightmare mask and Ornate Sleigh! Get these rare items while they are cold because they will go away again until next winter on February 1, 2019.

Automatic Redemption of Rewards Release 61

As part of our continuing improvements to Quality of Life in Shroud of the Avatar we are going to remove the extra step required when receiving purchased items inside the game. You will no longer have to click on a “Redeem Rewards” button. Instead we will automatically send the items to your rewards interface when you next login to the game. If you are currently logged in then they will appear as soon as the purchase transaction completes. We are also going to provide an onscreen notice for when rewards are delivered to your Rewards Interface. This improvement will go live with Release 61 on December 13, 2018.

Upgrading Bundles with Crowns (ends 12/21)

As many of you know we are expiring all of our bundles before the end of the year. Viking and Kobold bundles expire today (November 30). Elven, Obsidian, and Shogun bundles expire on December 21. In Release 59 we added the contents of the bundles to crown vendors as single purchases, however they do not have any upgrade functionality. Based on numerous requests from those of you who have been saving up your crowns we are going to offer an alternative path for upgrading bundles using crowns. For a limited time (offer ends December 21, 2018) you can purchase a service voucher to use crowns to upgrade your bundle!

If you wish to upgrade your bundle with crowns please email us at support@portalarium.com BEFORE purchasing the voucher. In the request please list the name of the bundle you wish to upgrade, and the bundle you wish to upgrade it to (e.g., Elven 2-Story Row Tax Free Bundle to Elven Village Tax Free Bundle). We will then determine how many crowns you need for the upgrade and notify you of that amount so you can decide before proceeding. Only then will you purchase the voucher and we will then remove the crowns from your inventory. Requests received after the expiration date (November 30 for Viking and Kobold, December 21 for Elven, Shogun, and Obsidian) will not be honored.

Please note that we will be using the non-sale exchange rates that are currently on the store for this transaction.

 

Elven, Obsidian, & Shogun Expirations

To celebrate our first holiday season since launching the Elven, Obsidian and Shogun Bundles are expiring at 11:59 PM CT on December 21, 2018! As a limited time bonus we have added Episode 2 access to these bundles! We will also be expiring several of the items that are included in those bundles including pets, weapons, decorations and homes. We are also discounting these items, some as much as 30%! For City level bundles this means a $1000 discount!

NOTE: This is a final expiration. Upgrades will not be allowed after these bundles expire.

Shroud of the Avatar Boxed Editions $40 off Holiday Sale!

For those of you who missed the opportunity to purchase the Collector’s Boxed Edition of Shroud of the Avatar during the Kickstarter (expired on January 4, 2016) can now purchase the retail Boxed Edition from Amazon. Additionally for a limited time we are also offering a signed version of the retail Boxed Edition (see above) for purchase directly from our website! To celebrate the holidays these two versions are on sale for $40 off their regular price until December 21, 2018 ($49 on Amazon, $99 for signed)!

These editions include:

Physical Goods:

  • Game Box signed by Lord British* (signed edition only)
  • Game Manual
  • DVD in case
  • Runic Translation Card
  • Ankh Trinket
  • Cloth Map
  • Our Epic Origins

Digital Items:

  • Digital Download of Shroud of the Avatar, Episode 1 (Full Game Access)
  • 30 Bank Slots to store your gear
  • 1 Gold Crown
  • Pick 1 Obsidian Potion
  • Digital Download of Shroud of the Avatar, Episode 2 (Full Game Access when released)
  • Exclusive Title: Visionary
  • Exclusive Emote (exact emote to be created at a future date)
  • NEW: Unique Item (to be created at a a future date)

Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Gold Crowns, AND receive rare stretch-goal items from our monthly livestreams! This program automatically enrolls you in the monthly livestreams (counts as the $5 minimum purchase) along with other perks.

For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

  • 9 Gold Crowns of the Obsidians every month
  • Automatic Participation in the Monthly Livestream Stretchgoals (counts as the $5 minimum purchase)
  • 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
  • Pick any Dye 12 Pack every 6 months
  • Pick any three of the 7 Obsidian Potions every month, including:
    • Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
    • Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
    • Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
    • Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
    • Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
    • Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills

Weekend Sale: Patterns

In Release 60 we increased the rate at which patterns are gained from salvage when you are a Grandmaster. To celebrate all patterns, including Heraldry and Dungeon Entrances, are on sale this weekend!

Upcoming Events Calendar

Nov 30, 2018 – Release 60 Livestream
Dec 13, 2018 – Release 61
Dec 17, 2018 – Release 61 Dance Party
Dec 21, 2018 – Release 61 Livestream
Jan 31, 2019 – Release 62
Feb 1, 2019 – Release 62 Livestream
Feb 28, 2019 – Release 63
Mar 8 – 17, 2019 – SXSW
Mar 18 – 22, 2019 – GDC
Mar 28, 2019 – Release 64
Apr 25, 2019 – Release 65
May 30, 2019 – Release 66
June 27, 2019 – Release 67
July 25, 2019 – Release 68
Aug 29, 2019 – Release 69

Visit the official Community Calendar to see the great lineup of activities our amazing community has planned for this weekend! And be sure to check out this month’s Release Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events.

Community Event: Grinch’s December Pacu Fishing Adventure

[Forum post by Weins201]

Grumpie Weinie’s Pacu December Pacu Fishing Challenge;

For all those fishers out there is a Pacu that changes its location to random POTs each day at Midnight Server Time (CST) Today it was Formosa and Blackstone Gate. Blackstone gate was Nested and the Name I had to look up in SOTA Wiki ;-) Ohh and Blackstone Gate was PvP ;-)

In celebration of this new type of fish and mechanic I am holding a Pacu fishing Tournament.

This will be a Winner / Loser (smallest) take all for each day. Fishers will have to send me 1 COTO and the fish caught from either the daily POTs. I will compile all the entries and reward the Largest and Smallest fish for each day. Prizes are 75% / 25% Soo if 4 people enter – 3 cotos to Largest and 1 to smallest. 12 = 8 / 4. I will deliver cotos as soon as winner is determined, on the third day after.

(( if you have a trust issue msg me we can work something out, but I really am not worried about the COTOs just the Community Participation))

Now you have to ask a Town Crier “fish” or “fishing” and they will tell you where the fish are being caught for that day. It changes each night at Midnight CST. Travel to one (or both) of those locations and when you catch a Pacu and wish to enter it all you have to do is Mail me in game. Send 1 Coto and the fish(s) you wish to enter. Today I had to say “catch” – White Heart and Diamond Fields (28 Nov)

Mail is required as the Time stamp will be used to break a Tie, Earliest entry will win. Sooooo if you Catch a Large or Small I would go as fast as you can and mail me your entry. It appears that Pacu have a range of normal from .7 – .8 Length. The large is .9 and 1 (( from Titanforges Tourney) and Small .6 (( At the moment .7 is the smallest found and it is Normal, so assuming a small is .6 :-( ))

Now if you catch a Fish early in the Day say a Large .9 length send it in as soon as possible and if you catch any more you wish to enter later on just mail the fish in you already sent me a Coto Earlier on. 1 Coto to enter each day you want to participate as all paid in make the reward possible ;-)

I know this timing could benefit those in Time zones that leave this “Daytime” for them an advantage but I do not have a way to offset this.

Now I will take entries on the day of thru the day after. so on the 1st starting day (1 Dec) you can enter fish caught that day (sent 1 dec) or sent on the day after, ((the 2nd )) (any more days out will be ignored / returned) (Please use Subject for which day you are entering for) ( I will be able to figure it out but just makes it a little easier)

You can also come just hand them to me if you find me online. I will start a group each day while I am playing you can Teleport to deliver to me directly. Deliveries will get time stamped from Logs from the time of trade.

On the 3rd I will place the Winner/Loser fish (trophy if it is mounted or want it mounted) in the Fishing Hall I have thrown up near the entrance to my Island. I will also place a chest for each day and place all other fish in there until returned)

I have already created a Excel Spread sheet which I will update here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YiAeynrjswQtVZ2YJIWh1-itOxrhybnctGKanALlwyI/edit?usp=sharing

Now these “Hot” Pacu POTs rotate each day so I will entertain additions from the POT owner for that day. I.E. if this ends up in my town I will open it up to Largest Fish from Each Fresh Water Category with Winner / Loser winning Cotos 8 / 2 If this does drop into GHH you will not need to spend more to enter other than the 1 Coto for Pacu, all other fish can just be dropped off I will place a chest if this happens. I wll of course place this chest on that day. If POT owners want to also add I can work and place a hest for that POT and we can work out prizes throughout the day. If the POT owner does initiate his own daily contest please add it to this post and let me know ASAP you can also as a POT owner just drop a box in a location at your town to have fish dropped off ;-)

Path from Brittany Area to Grumpie Hermits Hide-a-Way

From Main Entrance to Hall and there is a Mailbox near behind the banker.

I will place a Fishing Vendor in the Town Enterance area also.

Summary Daily 1 Coto entry Winner / Loser take all for catching a Pacu from one (both) of the “Hot” fishing POTs each day.

Entries must be mailed (hand delivered) to me on the day or Day after only for Time stamp to break ties.

I will pay out 75%/ 25% to the Winner / Loser (smallest) each day on the 3rd days after. 1st rewarded on the 3rd . . . . .

All Pacu will be returned after the tournament.

((( if you wish to add me as a friend for this please send me a message with request while I am in game )))

If there are any questions or concerns please post them here I will work on any issues as fast as I can.

Port if you can add Time to the trophy Data that would be AWSOME ;-)

Ok good luck to all – ;-)

The Hall is set up – after each days winning is determined I will Display the winner / loser and place all other entrants in the box for viewing.


Community Event: 3rd Annual Holiday Party for All!

[Forum post by Datendrache]

Every year we (a group of fun-loving, Holiday Merriment seeking, multi-guild, jolly Avatars) come together to throw a Holiday event filled with gift giving, music, dancing and excitement! This year, we’re planning to put together the most incredible Holiday Party we can!

Avatar’s Radio Beat of Novia, Secret Santa Gift Exchange and Door Prizes:

Who: Hosted by DJ Alliene Dragonfyre
When: December 21st, 8:00pm NBT/Central
Where: Player Owned Town of Festival at the Festival Keep

Friday Fight Night

Who: Hosted by Alphaine Nine
When: December 21st: 5:00pm NBT/Central (subject to change)
Where: Festival PvP Arena
Note: Special “Holiday Prizes” will be given out to winners, including a 125-Point Dungeon Entrance and a Commission-Free Vendor. More prizes will be announced, and this is in addition to the FFN prize pool.

Secret Santa Gift Exchange

If you wish you participate, here are the rules:

1) Either deliver in person or mail your gift to in-game character ‘Engineer‘ with a note or titleindicating its for Secret Santa.
2) All people who give a gift will receive a random gift that another player contributed.
3) If you are at the Party, it will be delivered to you directly. If you are unable to attend, it will be mailed to you.
4) If you provide more than one gift, the gifts will be distributed to attendees, people standing on the streets, new players, or other lucky avatars. You won’t receive more than one gift, but you are certainly generous!
5) Please keep the value of the gifts below 10K gp if at all possible.

Door Prizes

Door prizes will be given out to players in attendance!

Fireworks Bags

Bags of Fireworks will be given out to players throughout the night! Let’s Light it Up!!!!

And more!

Please check back in on this page for new announcements, we have more things being planned while we work out the details. :)

Community Event: Novia Market R60 Grandmaster Bundles

[Forum post by ldykllr]

NoMa Grandmastery Bundles (R60)

Every month we are offering four professional-grade bundles:

  1. Adventurer’s Bundle – some of the highest grade gear available in the land, ready to take a novice adventurer to the journeyman level! This month we are featuring armor from Robyn Hood (@ldykllr )!
  2. Crafter’s Bundle – Are you an aspiring crafter? This month we are offering a MEGA Bundle with all the mats to get you started in all 5 crafting skills (Cooking, Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Alchemy)!
  3. Music Bundle – For all our music lovers out there! This bundle has all the instruments you could ever want, courtesy of @Kron Caledon with a special selection of music selected by @Lace !
  4. Consumable Bundle – A great selection of food and potions to help you on your adventures throughout Novia, courtesy of @Zeetocht !

These bundles will be raffled on December 28th (2 weeks after R61 release – extended due to short release schedule). Tickets are on sale now and priced especially for beginners at 500gp each bundle.

No matter how many tickets a character purchases, they will only get a single chance at winning that bundle – so purchase only one ticket per bundle!

We are hosting the ticket vendors and a display table of what each bundle entails at Market Square, at the south end of NoMa (if you check in with the town crier, it is the only City lot in town and under Governor Robyn Hood’s name). As you wander past all of our merchants, please do some window shopping and take a look at what all of our residents have to offer!

(Screenshots below to help you find your way).

Cheers,
Ben & Robyn

Screenshots

Location of the Market Square in Novia Market


Community Event: Novia Market 1st Annual Yuletide Giveaway

[Forum post by ldykllr]

Announcing the 1st Annual Novia Market Yuletide Giveaway!

  • When: December 1st, midnight NBT – December 31st, midnight NBT
  • Where: Novia Market, located just south of Britanny along the road
  • What it is: For the ENTIRE month of December, ANY purchase made at an eligible vendor (see map below) will enter you into a prize drawing! 1 entry per purchase at an eligible vendor PER day (example: 15 participating vendors, if you purchase an item from each = 15 entries for the day).

The PRIZES include:

  • 1 MILLION in GOLD prizes (and not just small amounts – 2 x 250k is up for grabs!)
  • Furniture (including sets!)!!!!!
  • Gold COTO’s
  • Artifacts
  • Rares — (Dragon Eggs, Aether Weapons, Bunny prints, Homes, etc)
  • Resources and rare crafting mats!
  • Pets!
  • GM crafted items!
  • …and much, much more! (I would list everything, but there is so much!)

Prizes will be drawn LIVE on New Years Day at 1900 NBT at Market Square on the South End of Novia Market (the same place where we have our Grandmastery Bundle Raffle tickets every month – look for the City lot under “Robyn Hood”)

Additional vendors may be added to the map, so check back before shopping!

Map of eligible vendors:

Community Event: Welcome Quest Release 60

[Forum post by Duke Gréagóir]

By Appointment to
His Majesty Lord British
Welcome Quest Makers​

You are invited to join the Welcome Quest in Release 60.

It will be held on Sunday, December 9, 2018 starting at 12pm (noon) central time/New Britannian time and lasting an hour. It is in your in-game Events book.

Greagoir Pendragon will be active 30 minutes before the event and during the event. So you can teleport to Greagoir Pendragon if you wish.

We are traveling to the town of Ordinis Mortis , south east along the river from Central Brittany.

Are you with us?

Purpose:

The Welcome Quest is a quest for all people to see many towns and establishments. It is created as a way for people to visit many player-ran locations. It involves each town and establishment to give the quest person some information and then instructions to go to the next location (a town or establishment) to do something. The path may be sequential from place to place or in parallel to multiple places at the same time. The goal is for towns and establishments to showcase their places, educate the people, and work with other player-ran towns/establishments.

We are proud to be the first player-ran quest in SotA! We do it for all of you. :)

More information is located at
http://sotawiki.net/sota/Community:Quests/Welcome_Quest#Welcome_Quests_in_Releases

Welcome Torch changes – testing and answers due to burnout

With Release 38, all torches changed physically. The durability started to decrease when the torch is held onto. This change also affected the Welcome Torch you receive from the Welcome Quest.

With Release 41 you now can repair your own Welcome Torches with a carpentry repair kit and a carpentry table.

Community Event: The Stone Dragon Player Quest

[Forum post by Lily Byrd]

Come to Jade Valley near the Elysium Mines. It’s a Player owned town. When you land on the bridge check your map, find the Jade Valley Graveyard marked, and go there. The quest is in the graveyard. You will find the first 2 books on a pedestal at the entrances. There is a prize for finishing: It is a copy of the story, a candle, a chair, a rug, and a bowl of dragon stew.

Brought to you by the Jade Valley community; May your ancestor’s wisdom not be forgot.

Chapter one of the Stone Dragons

Part one of two.

Zyrina and Phlebus turned back to stare at their two trailing companions as they finally meandered out the near side of the old wooden covered bridge and Zyrina called out, “Meet us at the old graveyard in the Jade Dragons tool shed and workshop on the top floor, Laggards!! We will have drinks waiting.” She then turned back and sprinted to catch up with Phlebus. His quick stride, still as familiar as his lanky frame, was faster than she normally travelled, and it was easy to fall behind in this peaceful valley. The desire to slow down, breathe deeply, and just be in the woods was strong. Not strong enough to slow the pace of a focused and determined Phlebus though. He was single minded about this rumor they had heard and was determined to talk with the graveyard caretaker before dark and be at the River Runner Inn beside the river in Jade Valley tucked into his bed with a lovely hot rum toddy to comfort him before the chill of the night was upon the land. The rumor was disturbing to say the least. More and more fetid carcasses of various sized animals were said to be found in the valley all of them bearing the scarring and the afterglow of dark magic.

Zyrina had been teasing him that he was full of “book learnin’ but not real learnin’”. It annoyed him that she might be right, but he wasn’t going to show any soft bits to his oldest friend. He knew she would not stop till he proved to her that he had indeed been studying with mages at the castle libraries, that it was useful knowledge, and he hadn’t spent the entire 7 years drinking with his friends in Central Britanny. Though she had taken to the twins right away, and conversation flowed as if they’d been speaking for years, she was still wary of the friends Phlebus had arrived with from the big city. The two oldest friends had been in contact by mail but had not been in each other’s company for the entire seven years that Phlebus had been studying with the old mages. There were some awkward silences as they got familiar with each other’s routines and movements while exploring Jade Valley, but their old familiarity was finding its well-worn path and they were more and more comfortable as the afternoon wore on.

Zyrina had taken the last 7 years to travel around the entirety of New Britannia learning how to survive on her own and how to protect those she cared about. That concise energetic woman full of grand ideas possessed an eagle eye. Her aim with her bow was not to be discounted and Phlebus always felt a little safer when she walked with him through the woods. Like tonight, the woods seemed peaceful, the river flowed lazily around the bend and the air was sweet here, with a hint of chill, but there were lurkings that Phlebus could sense under the veneer of safety. Something moist and dark was hidden here in this valley and it was harming animals and birds of all sizes. His arm hair stood fully at attention. 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. First, they would talk with the caretaker at the Jade Dragons Tool Shed and Workshop property and see what knowledge Ivan could add to what Phlebus suspected was happening to disturb the valley. The companions had passed wagons with body parts and some with whole animals who were on their way to the village’s burn pile with the remains and they spied other people working on clearing up the various bodies to get ready for the wagons. It was obvious why Jade Valley wanted this mystery solved. And obvious why they thought it was something more than normal pranks that never ever include death or decay.

Earlier at the Hall of Inquiry and Learning near the stone bridge the librarian had taught them to use the local map for this valley (Mal Hari has done a bang-up job of keeping the map up to date and most public locations are marked (press M on keyboard)). Just when the group was getting directions to the Jade Dragons guild hall which faces the large stone dragon in the local market square, Rinaldi sauntered into the building and overheard their conversation. He introduced himself as one of the officers of the guild attending the meeting and he willingly guided the four to the company of Mal Hari and other officers of the Jade Empire Calan Caitin, Elnoth, Froji, Joe, Maganda Hari, Merrik Dragon, One Zero, and Paston Bane, up on the top floor of the guild hall. Each gave what knowledge they had acquired to the companions. Phlebus had been corresponding with the local Governor, Mal Hari, by mail. He had been concerned about this new twist in his otherwise peaceful valley home. Mal was certain that there was more to it than the local youth out playing pranks on the farmers in the valley. He wanted answers. Each little bit Phlebus learned added to his theory that this indeed was not the pranks of children.

The putrid odor of decaying, mutilated carcass was not something Phlebus wanted to breathe. Ever again. His libraries had not prepared him for the olfactory feast of the countryside let alone the brutality of burned decayed flesh rotting in spoiled fields. Mal originally asked Phlebus’s teacher for help and Trida had thrust Phlebus back into the world outside the city and away from his scrolls. He was ready, but he was made awkward by the suddenness of his reentry into the world outside the libraries and pubs he had become accustomed to frequenting. At least Trida had given Phlebus a pep talk before sending him into the world and then waved goodbye to him and because of those kindnesses and more, Phlebus wanted to solve this mystery for Mal Hari. He hurried his pace for the last bit toward the Stone Dragon Graveyard because he wanted to be done with this interview and back to his lodgings before the late night was upon them.

Continued in Chapter One. Part Two. At the Graveyard in Jade Valley until 25 November 2018


Meretz: Win a Replenishing Fireworks Mega Set

Win the Replenishing Fireworks Mega Set & earn free SotA in-game items daily!

Whether you move a little or a lot, as a Meretz user you rack up valuable Meretz Points (MPs). The more MPs you have, the more stuff you can buy!

Think: in-game SotA goodies, Sweepstakes entries, Relics by Rild giveaways, and tons more. With Meretz, we launch several sweepstakes every month. This month, we’re giving away the Replenishing Fireworks Mega Set – valued at $119! You can also enter to win a Relics By Rild $50 Gift Card and other cool prizes. AND, use your MPs every day for in-game items like potions and emotes.

What’re you waiting for? Download Meretz TODAY!

Project to Support: Underworld Ascendant 

Looking for different dungeons to explore?

Our friends at OtherSide Entertainment just launched Underworld Ascendant on Steam! The team includes people who created games like Thief, System Shock and the Underworld series. It’s a first-person dungeon Action-RPG where there’s no one right way to play. Mix and match a variety of different skills to sneak, fight or use magic to survive this large and highly-interactive dungeon full of traps, monsters and challenges. Play now to receive bonus items and a 15% discount: Purchase on Steam!

And as a reminder our worlds are tied together with similar world origins and portals between! You can even purchase cross promotional items but you must be quick as they are expiring soon!

Project to Support: Moustache of the Avatar

Every year we form a Movember team called Moustache of the Avatar to raise funds for Movember. To date we have raised over $3300 through fundraising for Movember. We have also created dedicated items for our Movember Make a Difference store including a Moustache Helm, Shield, and Cloak. Last year we even created Darkstarr and Lord British Follicular Reliquaries with Darkstarr and Lord British versions of the Movember items. Those items and other Movember tagged items have raised over $7,000 for Movember to date!

With Release 60 we added the 2018 Snow Family and 2018 Snowman Mask which this year feature moustaches in honor of Movember! You can participate by contributing to our Moustache of the Avatar team, joining the team to help us raise funds, or by purchasing any of our Movember make a difference items:

Project to Support: Lore Finder

Discover forbidden lore which warps your body and reality itself. The more you know, the worse it gets.

Become K.C. Morgan, paranormal investigator, and search a New England mansion for your missing father. Battle the forces of corruption infesting the mansion armed only with your wits and an old .38 revolver, and gather scrolls of forbidden lore. But the more you discover, the more warped and twisted the world – and you – become.

Uncover the story of Lore Finder, a 2D metroidvania and a modern queer reimagining of the cosmic horror genre. Coming to a PC near you on Steam.

Try the demo right now in your browser, or download the PC Windows version. Support the Kickstarter from Enniko who helped develop the musical instrument system for Shroud of the Avatar!

Resources – Players Helping Players

SotA_NewPlayerWelcome_Forum

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.

 



2 Comments


  1. Sean SilverfootSean Silverfoot

    1. Have you given any consideration to a Stewart being able to have access to edit/update the map of a POT?
    2. What is the reason all Heraldry, except the shield, have disappeared from the Obsidian Vendors?


  2. PerashimPerashim

    1. In Ep. 2 Will there be Undead Wyverns us necromancers can command?
    2. Could the focus treespecialization provide a smaller, but universal boost to summons so there is not only a “generalist’ option for summoners, but also for those who want to invest a ton into their favorite?

Comments are closed.