Play Release 97 Now! Lions, Lionesses & Tigers! Wyvern Eggs! UI Improvements!

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

Community Updates


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:

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:

  1. Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
  2. Single Ant Cloak
  3. Lady Bug Backpack
  4. Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
  5. Ant Farm
  6. Insect Leg Table
  7. Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
  8. Bug Painting B
  9. Bug Sprayer
  10. Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
  11. Butterfly Chair
  12. Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
  13. Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
  14. Hacked Oracle Flyer
  15. Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
  16. Butterfly Mask
  17. Dragonfly pet
  18. Fairy Wings
  19. Monarch Butterfly Pet
  20. Dragonfly Wings
  21. Hacked Oracle Crawler
  22. Blue Butterfly VFX
  23. Orange Fireflies VFX
  24. 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:

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

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.