It took us longer than expected to finalize the changes to the pledge tiers, but after much brainstorming, editing, debating, re-editing, soliciting community feedback, editing again, staring at them some more, tweaking here and tweaking there, we’re finally ready to make the updated pledges public! We did our best to walk the tightrope between ensuring the modified rewards are appealing to new backers while showing our deep appreciation for our special early backers with lots of Exclusive Early Founder rewards. If we were ever in doubt about whether a reward should be reserved for our Early Founders, or made available to new backers, we leaned towards reserving it exclusively for our Early Founders. As you read through the updated tier descriptions outlined below, we feel certain that most of you will agree the new tiers contain enough great rewards to attract new backers, while reserving a great many awesome rewards for our very special Early Founders!
Title Changes
We also want to thank all of you that provided feedback about how we should handle in-game honorific titles for new backers and Early Founders. There is quite a lively thread filled with great title suggestions over on the forums (https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?topic=community-feedback-request-for-new-tier-titles). We did our best to weigh all the suggestions, and balance the varied considerations. Our primary goals for the title modifications were 1) Provide special, easily identifiable, titles to the Early Founders, 2) clean up some of the title ranking inconsistencies and generic titles, and 3) allow Early Founders to choose from any of the titles, including the new backer titles, the special founder titles, and even the inconsistently ranked and generic titles originally described in the Kickstarter tiers.
There were several suggestions to make the Early Founder titles stand out visually by using a different colored font, which is a great idea! Thus, all Early Founder titles will be in gold colored font when viewed in-game! Additionally, most of the Early Founder titles either have a special prefix, or are ranked higher than the new backer title for the same tier. Several community members posted the proper ranking of titles, which we also cross-referenced with Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_and_noble_ranks). The biggest changes were with the Lord tier and above (where we didn’t adequately research proper ranking when we originally named those tiers and titles). We did our best to balance the divergent community opinions regarding these title changes.
Grace Period Ends at 12 pm CST on May 20th; Early Backers Lock-In Lower Tier Prices
The new tiers will go live at 12 pm CST on Monday, May 20, 2013. The prices for the tiers have increased an average of about 10%, but all backers that have pledged any amount prior to the end of the grace period will be able to upgrade their pledges thru April 7, 2014 at the old, lower prices! So if you haven’t already pledged, then hurry up and get your pledge in before the end of the grace period so you can lock in the lower prices for your future tier upgrades!
NEW TIER DESCRIPTIONS
$45 Tier – Adventurer
- DRM-free, digital download of the game
- Exclusive Early Bird Alpha + Beta Access (estimated Alpha delivery in December 2013)
- Available only to pre-launch backers, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Benefactor” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
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** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $40
- Available only to Early Founders, your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Pioneer” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
- One (1) starter shield, uniquely identifiable as a Founder shield
- Get ready to show off (and teach) your special emote! Each tier will include its own unique, teachable emote!
- Digital download, serialized, Shroud of the Avatar novel by Tracy Hickman
$55 Tier – Immortal Adventurer
- ALSO INCLUDES ADVENTURER LEVEL REWARDS
- Available only to backers, you will receive one Immortality Fruit seed. With the Farming Craft you can plant the Immortality Fruit seed, which will bear a single fruit. When eaten, this fruit will fully heal you, and leave you with a single seed which can be planted and harvested, over and over, for all eternity. The Immortality Fruit seed can be transferred between players.
- Be the envy of all the other players when they see you wielding new skills they don’t have access to! You will have 2-weeks, Early Skill Access to some new skills as they are added to the game.
- Digital download, high quality scanned images of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original typewritten, high school English class essay of “The Story of Mondain in the World of Sosaria“. This is the original story that was the foundation of Richard’s Ultima games.
- Digital download, high quality scanned images of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original handwritten notes for the “Akallabeth!” (yes, the original spelling included two “L’s” in the title) Dungeons & Dragons campaign he designed as a teenager, and that became the foundation of his first commercial RPG, “Akalabeth.”
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Adventurer” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
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** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $50
- Special cloak for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying unique symbology identifying you as an early Founder of the game.
- Available only to backers, you will receive one Royal Elderberryseed. Planting the Royal Elderberry seed will yield a Royal Elderberry which is necessary for crafting the unique, Royal Purple Founder’s Dye. There will be no other source, ever, for creating the Royal Purple Founder’s Dye. Utilizing the Royal Elderberry to craft the dye will also bear a single seed which can be planted and harvested, over and over, for all eternity. The Royal Elderberry seed can be transferred between players.
- Get your last name early! Ordinary adventurers must reach higher levels to display a last name for their character, but not you! Immortal Adventurers will have the right to select and display both a first and last name right from the get-go!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Immortal Adventurer” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Special in-game item designed by Chris Roberts, available only to backers, uniquely identifiable as a Star Citizen artifact! (What could it be? A special weapon? A special crafting tool? Whatever it is, you can bet it’s going to be useful!)
$65 Tier – Founder
- ALSO INCLUDES IMMORTAL ADVENTURER LEVEL REWARDS
- Access to the private Developer’s Blog
- One (1) non-combat pet (out of 3 to choose from)
- Special tunic for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying unique symbology identifying you as a Benefactor.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Pilgrim” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
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** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $60
- Kill almost any enemy you encounter with a single blow using your Crystal Sword! The Crystal Sword, uniquely identifiable as a Founder’s sword, shatters after a single use. (Let it be known that Lord British is impervious to the Crystal Sword)
- Special tunic for your in-game avatar to wear, proudly displaying unique symbology identifying you as an Early Founder of the game.
- Two (2) starter melee weapons, uniquely identifiable as Founder weapons
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Founder” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$90 Tier – Royal Artisan
- ALSO INCLUDES FOUNDER LEVEL REWARDS
- In addition to Episode 1, you will receive the DRM-free, full digital content of the future Episodes 2 & 3 (including Beta access to Episodes 2 & 3)!
- You will receive one (1) starter-level, indestructible, artisan’s tool for the skill of your choice.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Artisan” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $80
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Artisan” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Two (2) starter ranged weapons, uniquely identifiable as Founder weapons. One of the range weapons will be a crossbow based on a unique design by David “Iolo” Watson!
- Unique ability to tame an elusive monster that an ordinary player could never tame!
$110 Tier – Virtual Collector
- ALSO INCLUDES ROYAL ARTISAN LEVEL REWARDS
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Archivist” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A unique, in-game, musical lute specially designed by David “Iolo” Watson!
- Digital download Runic Language Translation Print
- Digital download PDF Art Book
- Digital game soundtrack
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $100
- You will receive one (1) starter-level, indestructible, crafting tool for the skill of your choice.
- One (1) starter armor, uniquely identifiable as Founder armor
- Get your own Family Crest for display on your shield, tabard and house flag, made from a customized image uploaded by YOU! (Submitted Art subject to Developer Approval)
- You will receive the box cover art as a digital, uniquely framed, in-game decoration for your house.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Archivist” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$135 – Explorer-All Digital
- ALSO INCLUDES VIRTUAL COLLECTOR LEVEL REWARDS
- In addition to Episodes 1, 2, and 3, you will receive DRM-free, digital download versions of the final TWO, full-length, standalone games, Shroud of the Avatar Episode 4 and Episode 5 (including Beta access to Episodes 4 & 5)!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Cartographer ” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $120
- You will receive the new world map as a digital, uniquely framed, in-game decoration for your house.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Cartographer” and “Explorer” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$140 – Explorer
- ALSO INCLUDES VIRTUAL COLLECTOR LEVEL REWARDS
- In addition to Episodes 1, 2, and 3, you will receive DRM-free, digital download versions of the final TWO, full-length, standalone games, Shroud of the Avatar Episode 4 and Episode 5 (including Beta access to Episodes 4 & 5)!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Cartographer” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Full size cloth map of the new world
- Special Collector’s Box
- Recorded media game (format of recorded media TBD)
- Recorded media game soundtrack (format of recorded media TBD)
- Old-school style, illustrated, printed manual
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $125
- You will receive the new world map as a digital, uniquely framed, in-game decoration for your house.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Cartographer” and “Explorer” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$165 Tier – Collector
- ALSO INCLUDES EXPLORER LEVEL REWARDS
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Curator” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Mysterious physical artifact! (Is it an ankh? Is it a serpent necklace? What could it be?)
- Special Collector’s Box
- Recorded media game (format of recorded media TBD)
- Recorded media game soundtrack (format of recorded media TBD)
- Old-school style, illustrated, printed manual
- Full size cloth map of the new world
- Physical copy of the Runic Language Translation Print
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $150
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Curator” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Physical reprint of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original typewritten, high school English class essay of “The Story of Mondain in the World of Sosaria.” This is the original story that became the foundation of Richard’s Ultima games.
- Physical reprint of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original handwritten notes for the “Akallabeth!” (yes, the original spelling included two “L’s” in the title) Dungeons & Dragons campaign he designed as a teenager, and that became the foundation of his first commercial RPG, “Akalabeth.”
- Official Collector’s Coin
$220 – Patron
- ALSO INCLUDES COLLECTOR LEVEL REWARDS
- Your name permanently listed in the in-game Domesday Book
- You will receive a digital, framed certificate of your inclusion in the Domesday Book, as an in-game decoration for your house.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Patron” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $200
- Hand signed, physical reprint of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original typewritten, high school English class essay of “The Story of Mondain in the World of Sosaria.” This is the original story that became the foundation of Richard’s Ultima games.
- Hand signed, physical reprint of Richard “Lord British” Garriott’s, original handwritten notes for the “Akallabeth!” (yes, the original spelling included two “L’s” in the title) Dungeons & Dragons campaign he designed as a teenager, and that became the foundation of his first commercial RPG, “Akalabeth.”
- Printed Novel by Tracy Hickman
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Patron” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$275 Tier – Ancestor
- ALSO INCLUDES PATRON LEVEL REWARDS
- Your (or your character’s) name permanently displayed on an in-game, centrally located, tombstone as an ancestor of the old world.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Ancestor” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $250
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Ancestor” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- You will receive a duplicate of your digital tombstone as an in-game yard decoration for your house.
$375 Tier – Navigator
- ALSO INCLUDES ANCESTOR LEVEL REWARDS
- Cloth map hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Navigator” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $350
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Navigator” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$450 Tier – Developer
- ALSO INCLUDES NAVIGATOR LEVEL REWARDS
- Access to private Developer’s Chat/Forums
- PDF version of Developer Design documents
- SotA will not only be crowdsourcing content from users but also crowd sharing! At least once a month SotA will release Unity content packs for download by those at the Developer tier (and above)! These Unity content packs contain a large number of game assets which can be used, free of charge in your own creations. This includes using the assets in games you intend to sell with the only requirement is that we are named in the credits!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Tinkerer” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A digital, framed “Tinkerer” Certificate as an in-game decoration for your house.
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $400
- Your name will be proudly displayed in the in-game credits, along with Richard Garriott and the rest of the development team!
- Printed “Tinkerer” Certificate, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Royal Tinkerer” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Help create and name a character in the game
$550 Tier – Citizen
- ALSO INCLUDES DEVELOPER LEVEL REWARDS
- Rent free, Village Level Property Deed, transferable between players.
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Citizen” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A unique, upscale, Benefactor Citizen’s home (available only to pre-launch backers)
- A unique, in-game, musical piano for your home!
- Special Benefactor Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $500
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront Cabana! Yep, you heard it right, a waterfront Cabana, sitting on stilts, in the water, attached to your Village property by a bridge (**Village waterfront lots available to Village, Town, or City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Available only to backers, be the envy of the neighborhood with your upscale Early Founder Citizen’s home, uniquely identifiable as a Founders Citizen house!
- Get your very own, unique Founder’s house pet, to lavish you with adoration every time you return home!
- Printed novel signed by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Noble Citizen” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Printed Village Property Deed, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
$575 – Edelmann
- ALSO INCLUDES CITIZEN LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Edelmann” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
- Rent free, Village Level Property Deed, transferable between players
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Unique, upscale, German Benefactor Edelmann’s home (German home styles to be submitted and voted on by community; available only to pre-launch backers)
- Unique Beer Brewing Ability adhering to the German beer purity law, Reinheitsgebot. Only you will be able to teach this unique beer formula to others!
- An animated, German Automaton house decoration (we are inspired by the Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich)
- Unique, in-game, Deutsche Dogge house pet (or maybe a Dachshund)
- Special Benefactor Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $550
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Hoher Edelmann” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player)
- A waterfront, German-style Cabana, sitting on stilts, in the water, attached to your Village property by a bridge (**Village waterfront lots available to Village, Town, or City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
- Printed Shroud of the Avatar novel signed by Tracy Hickman and Richard Garriott!
- Printed Village Property Deed, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
$800 Tier – Knight
- ALSO INCLUDES EDELMANN LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Rent free, Village Level Property Deed, transferable between players
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Unique, upscale Benefactor Knight’s home!
- Available only to backers, a unique Benefactor Knight’s piece of furniture, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house.
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Sir/Dame” and “Knight” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Special Benefactor Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $750
- Be the envy of the neighborhood with your upscale Early Founder Knight’s home!
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront Knightly Lighthouse, sitting on an island, attached to your Village property by a bridge (**Village waterfront lots available to Village, Town, or City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Your very own, unique, Founder’s house servant, appropriate to your stature as a Knight!
- One Expert level crafting station for your home, uniquely identifiable as a Founder’s crafting station.
- A unique piece of furniture, fit for a Knight, identifiable as a Founder’s piece, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house (What could it be? A Knight’s Round Table, perchance?)
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Sir/Dame” and “Knight Commander” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$1600 Tier – Lord
- ALSO INCLUDES KNIGHT LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Rent free, Town Level Property Deed, transferable between players.
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Baron” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A unique, upscale, Benefactor Lord’s home (available only to pre-launch backers)
- Available only to backers, a unique Benefactor Lord’s piece of furniture, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house.
- Special Benefactor Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $1,500
- Many of you asked for it, so here it is: a uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront Houseboat! Yep, you heard it right, a waterfront Lordly Houseboat, floating on the water, attached to your Town property by a bridge (**Town waterfront lots available to Town or City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Available only to backers, be the envy of the neighborhood with your upscale Early Founder Lord’s home!
- Your very own, unique, Founder’s house servant, appropriate to your stature as a Lord!
- Two Expert level crafting stations for your home, uniquely identifiable as Founder’s crafting stations.
- A unique piece of furniture, fit for a Lord, identifiable as a Founder’s piece, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house (What could it be? A Lord’s Throne to go with your Knight’s Round Table?)
- Get your very own, unique Founder’s house pet, to lavish you with adoration every time you return home!
- Printed Town Property Deed, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “High Baron” and “Lord” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
$3,000 Tier – Baron [S O L D O U T]
- ALSO INCLUDES LORD LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Rent free, City Level Property Deed, transferable between players.
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Count” and “Baron” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront Frigate, fit for a Baron, floating on the water, attached to your City property by a bridge (**City waterfront lots available to City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Available only to early backers, be the envy of the neighborhood with your upscale, Early Founder Baron’s home!
- Your very own, unique, Founder’s house servant, appropriate to your stature as a Baron!
- Two Expert level crafting stations for your home, uniquely identifiable as Founder’s crafting stations.
- A unique piece of furniture, fit for a Baron, identifiable as a Founder’s piece, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house.
- Get your very own, unique Founder’s house pet, to lavish you with adoration every time you return home!
- Town Hall group video conference with Richard “Lord British” Garriott! (one video conference per group; groups up to 10)
- Printed City Property Deed, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
$3,700 Tier – Baron 2
- ALSO INCLUDES BARON LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Rent free, City Level Property Deed, transferable between players.
- A special, commission free Vendor!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Viscount” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- A unique, upscale, Benefactor Baron’s home (available only to pre-launch backers)
- Special Benefactor Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
- Available only to backers, a unique Benefactor Baron’s piece of furniture, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house.
- Town Hall group video conference with Richard “Lord British” Garriott! (one video conference per group; groups up to 10)
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $3,500
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront, double-decker Galleon, as befits your status as a Baron of the Highest Order, floating on the water, attached to your City property by a bridge (**City waterfront lots available to City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- A uniquely identifiable, Founder’s High Baron crown!
- Available only to backers, be the envy of the neighborhood with your upscale Early Founder Baron’s home!
- Your very own, unique, Founder’s house servant, appropriate to your stature as a Baron!
- Two Expert level crafting stations for your home, uniquely identifiable as Founder’s crafting stations.
- A unique piece of furniture, fit for a Baron, identifiable as a Founder’s piece, as a digital, in-game decoration for your house.
- Get your very own, unique Founder’s house pet, to lavish you with adoration every time you return home!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Earl” and “Baron” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- Printed City Property Deed, hand signed by Richard “Lord British” Garriott
- Special Founder Level plaque as a digital, in-game decoration for your house
$5300 Tier – Duke
- ALSO INCLUDES BARON 2 LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Marquis” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
- VIP access to special round-table design discussions hosted by Lord British (Event entry fees and travel expenses not covered; includes at least two round-table discussions to be held at those events occurring no later than twelve months following the delivery of the game).
- Full tour of the Portalarium studios in Austin, Texas for a behind the scenes look and personal design discussion with the game team.
-
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $5,000
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront, island Castle, as befits your status as a Duke, sitting on an island, attached to your City property by a bridge(**City waterfront lots available to City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Direct interaction with our team artists to model custom character features for your avatar’s head, different from the avatars of all others (can be based on your own likeness; all avatar images must be approved by the development team).
- A uniquely identifiable, Founder’s Duke crown!
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Duke” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
$11,000 Tier – Lord & Lords Of The Manor
- ALSO INCLUDES DUKE LEVEL REWARDS
- (property deeds, houses, and duplicated rewards limited to 1 per pledge)
- Join Richard “Lord British” Garriott in a personal tour of the actual Britannia Manor and its collections (choose 1 of 4 offered dates; travel expense not covered).
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Archduke” to be proudly displayed for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
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** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
- (* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
- Early Founder Tier Price: $10,000
- A uniquely identifiable Founder’s, waterfront, grand, island Castle with Keeps, as befits your status as a Lord of the Manor, sitting on a large island, attached to your City property by a bridge (**City waterfront lots available to City property deed holders; early founders and higher value pledges have lot selection priority **)
- Direct interaction with our team artists to model custom character features for your avatar’s head, different from the avatars of all others (can be based on your own likeness; all avatar images must be approved by the development team).
- A uniquely identifiable, Founder’s Lord of the Manor crown!
- While digging through his collection, Richard Garriott found another twelve original copies of the rare collectible, Akalabeth game in the original, hand-made packaging! So we’re increasing the limit on Lord of the Manor from 10 to 20! (Lord’s of the Manor will also receive one of these original Akalabeth’s)
- Your in-game avatar will receive the honorific title of “Grand Duke” and “Lord of the Manor” to be proudly displayed in gold colored font for all to see (title visibility controlled by player).
Why does the Lord get a “High Baron” title? Was that a mistake?
Baron is in reality the lowest level of the peerage, Lord is a generic form of address, the original ranks were a little out of alignment, these changes correct the previous problems.
Hi Sargon – it was brought to our attention on the forum thread about titles (by Hakadek) that “…Lord itself is not actually a rank, but a generic reference to members of the peerage. A Baron is most likely to use the title ‘Lord’ rather than ‘Baron’.” Further research on Wikipedia confirmed this. We failed to take this into account when we named the “Lord” and “Baron” tiers during the Kickstarter campaign. We believe it is important to allow backers to select titles that correctly reflect peerage ranking, thus we added the “Baron” and “High Baron” titles to the Lord Tier, and also added the “Count,” “Viscount,” and “Earl” titles to the Baron/Baron 2 Tiers. “Count/Viscount/Earl” are all higher titles, officially, than “Baron/High Baron”. Early backers will have access to all the titles, old and new, so they can select whichever titles they prefer. No matter which title they select, all early backers will see their titles displayed in-game in gold colored font. We apologize for any confusion these title adjustments may cause!
Ok, makes sense, but I guess that should make the High Baron’s crown (Baron 2) an Earl’s crown instead?
I’m happy with this.
“all backers that have pledged any amount prior to the end of the grace period will be able to upgrade their pledges thru April 7, 2014 at the old, lower prices!”
Do existing backers get to upgrade until 2014 and still receive “early founder rewards” or do they just get the cheaper prices, but will not get the early founder rewards at the higher tier?
Hi Dame Lori – all backers that pledge prior to the end of the grace period will be known as “Early Founders” and they will be able to upgrade at the cheaper prices thru April 7, 2014 and they will also receive the Exclusive Early Founder rewards for any tier they upgrade to. Does this answer your question?
Sure does! Thanks Dallas
I’m pleased with these updates. Is there a date yet on the availability of the developer forums?
I have to express me extreme displeasure with the decision to color in-game titles with gold. For the record, I’m against this decision and find it in poor taste. Disclaimer: I’m a Lord tier backer.
That said, there are more important things to do than fight about colors. I’m just disappointed that Portalarium is in the business of squandering powerful game mechanics over this, or even worse introduce multi-colored names into the mix.
my* extreme displeasure.
Extreme displeasure is a pretty strong emotion to have over a title color. Did they even say where title is displayed, what other colors will be used in game to indicate status, and how they will interact?
If it isn’t beside the name then what use does gold lettering have with a title? I mean, at that rate we may as well make titles WingDings and color them neon pink if they aren’t visible. That is meant to be funny.
I’ll wait until I see it in action in an Alpha state before I make a firm decision whether to fight it in the end. However, as I see it in my mind now, it’s a shortsighted decision as I’m seeing a format of [title] [name] and possibly [title].
Its 1 color and you can turn it off.
Well, not sure about turning off the color after re-reading it..anyway
Gunga Din Wins Again !!
Hmmm, turning off the title color. That sounds like a feature we need to seriously consider!
Yes it would be a nice feature if we could turn it off. Or, if other colors are added in the future, we could choose the color.
Indeed, this time. I guess it’s what the kids like these days.
I’d be happy with an option to turn it off though, however it still negates my argument against it to begin with…
I think it will work out fine, Dallas could add the option to turn it off. Maybe you will even want the gold showing, depending on how it looks with the rest of your name.
I disagree. I don’t think it will work out fine at all in the long term. I think it’s a shortsighted decision that closes a useful mechanic off that could be used later; or worse, involving a different color title next to a different colored name which is the absolute worst outcome of all.
I really don’t care about the color specifically, though I think gold is a poor choice, it’s the fact that Portalarium is willing to sacrifice a useful game mechanic over something so… frivolous. It’s upsetting to say the least.
Its not much of a “game mechanic”. I’m more concerned about the mechanics in handling crafting / PvP / Guilds etc.
Its just another option the DEVS decided to give us.
It’s exactly the fact that the DEVS decided to give us this option that concerns me.
It is a game mechanic. The color of a name can mean many different things depending on how the mechanic is implemented. As I stated before, it’s a fast way to differentiate a Game Master from a Volunteer from a regular player. Look at how it is handled in the website chat: red = dev; purple = mod; gold = regular user. It can be a quick way to differentiate a PvP enabled player from a non-PvP enabled player.
I’m ultimately more concerned about those mechanics (crafting/PvP/economy etc) too, but if they’re willing to squander useful mechanics like these this early on in development then it gives me a lot of concern down the road when it comes to the really important stuff.
We’ll see, Gunga Din. It’s just a worrying sign for me.
It’s a fair question about PvP. If someone who gets the “gold” treatment sets themselves open to PvP, what is their color? And if they aren’t red, can they ambush other players who let their guard down assuming you aren’t a red and represent no threat?
I’m not a hard core PvP guy, but I can see this concern for sure.
Your making a lot of assumptions there
Firstly Chris recently stated that they are going to try to make it so if your PVP you wont actually SEE anyone who is non PVP and vis versa, much better than a colour difference
Secondly devs WONT be backers, so why would they ever be gold?
Thirdly who says there actually WILL be volunteers in this style of game and if there is what makes you think they wouldn’t be using something different?
Fourthly why do you think recognizing those of us who are willing to back the project from the start, who have helped make the project and who probably have a fair amount of knowledge about the project because we played it right from alpha is “frivolous”?
I’m with you Vandigeth. I agree that they could have instead used colors in names/titles to be more meaningful, or to let players choose the colors they want displayed. (or even disabling names/titles). They could still allow that, so only in default mode would titles display gold, but it would be garish if they required it displayed in gold for all players. I guess we’ll see what they have in mind once it gets closer to release.
I’m guessing you are referring to using colored character names/labels to indicate certain statuses (for example red if they are hostile to you or green if they are poisoned). Hopefully it won’t be an issue. We’re not sure at this point if that would be useful in this game. There may be another feature planned that does a comparable, or better, job of making those indications. At the very least, I don’t think it would be too hard for the Devs to implement a hierarchy for colored labels. Ones that are used to indicate an important status could override the founder color.
@Sir Asguard
The assumption they’re making is that they will never need this option in the future and therefore swearing it off as a Kickstarter backer reward. It’s exactly the opposite of how you’re seeing it.
I was using the chat as an example. Did you read the post? In web-site chat they use red for dev, purple for mod and gold for regular user. How was that not clear? What did you miss? It’s *an example* of how the mechanic works.
Thirdly, why not have volunteers? That’s what Mods are… why not have player run events by event volunteers? Have you played an a community based multiplayer game before? Further, yes they can do something different but *using a colored name is immediately effective to everyone seeing it without question*.
“Fourthly”, as you put it, backing the project is not frivolous. Burning up valuable game mechanics over gold colored titles to feel important is frivolous. We know we’re backers, we’ll have the swag, people will know we’re backers. What more ego stroking can a person possibly need? Is it really worth burning a mechanic like this over feeling important for being an early backer? It’s poor game design; plain and simple.
@Kultan Agreed, but once it’s promised off as a backer reward then it becomes much more difficult to backpedal on later. It’s easier to let the option exist and not use it rather than burning it on something as non-value added as gold titles for backer status. Perhaps it is true that they can put in overriding status colors, but I still find it confusing and unnecessary to a) new players and b) how is it any less confusing then a prefix or symbol based system?
Or nothing at all.
I actually preferred Royal Citizen to Noble Citizen, however I’m cool either way. However, I’m wondering what an anti-virtuous, PK player feels about being called “Noble”.
Are there plans for pledge upgrade items to be added outside of the predefined tiers, or are these updated tiers the full extend of the funding campaign?
The funding campaign will continue in several ways:
1) Whole new tiers will be added occasionally
2) New rewards will be added to existing tiers
3) Limited time offers for special rewards will be made available
4) A monthly payment (layaway) plan for tiers will be available soon
5) A SWAG add-on store will be available soon
Will it be possible to place titles after one’s name? For instance, a Lord of the Manor always places this title after the name (John Doe, Lord of XYZ)?
Can one title be placed before and another after one’s name (Lord John Doe, Baron of XYZ……or Sir John Doe, Lord of XYZ, etc)?
We probably wont have a definite answer till more systems and titles get fleshed out in the game. They have said one idea is to have achievements unlock titles displayed after the name, so Sir John Doe Slayer of Wombats. for 100 wombat kills, and then after 1000 kills you might get Sir John Doe Eradicator of Wombats. So to include your idea it would be Sir John Doe Lord of Britons Eradicator of Wombats.
I guess it works.. and sounds impressive, but that would have to be reserved for some in game feature, and not displayed over one’s character… it’s just getting way too long.
Thank you Mishri, you rock sir! Do you recall where the devs said achievements may unlock after the name?
For the Royal Artisan ($90) it says that late-adopters get this reward:
“You will receive one (1) starter-level, indestructible, artisan’s tool for the skill of your choice.”
But for the Virtual Collector ($110) it says that only early adopters get the same reward…
I assume this was overlooked, as it makes no sense to me. Either they get both, or neither.
One issue I noticed:
$90 Tier – Royal Artisan
…
You will receive one (1) starter-level, indestructible, artisan’s tool for the skill of your choice.
$110 Tier – Virtual Collector
…
** Exclusive Early Founder Rewards **
(* Exclusive Early Founder Rewards are only available to Backers who pledged any amount prior to May 20, 2013)
…
You will receive one (1) starter-level, indestructible, crafting tool for the skill of your choice.
Is this a mistake?
Sorry hit enter to quickly
Is that a mistake or are they different things?
Artisan’s tools and crafting tools were meant to refer to different things. The crafting system in SotA has a raw material harvesting mode, which may require an artisan’s tool (i.e. harvesting tool). The second phase is a crafting mode, which may require a crafting tool to turn the raw materials that were harvested into a finished product.
When we were brainstorming rewards during the Kickstarter campaign we didn’t always choose the best wording. In hindsight, “harvesting tool” would have been a more accurate choice instead of “artisan’s tool”. These terms are subject to change once the crafting system is implemented.
As we said in the intro text to this posting: “…If we were ever in doubt about whether a reward should be reserved for our Early Founders, or made available to new backers, we leaned towards reserving it exclusively for our Early Founders.” In the case of the indestructible crafting tool included in the Virtual Collector tier, we decided to keep it reserved for Early Founders.
Do all of you think we should make the indestructible crafting tool available to new backers, or keep it exclusive to Early Founders?
Thanks for the reply, only noticed it when I read the tiers because I was already higher than that when the $90 was introduced
As to the question about whether I feel it should be backer only or not I would probably say yes it should be available after founder (or whatever we are now called). Don’t have any particular reason as to why except to say that why make one founder and one not so for constancy sake I would say give it to the slowpokes too. That said its not a huge issue for me either way so *shrug*
I posted a breakdown of the titles in the forums. Not the greatest of formats but a quicker read.
(https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?topic=community-feedback-request-for-new-tier-titles)
All I can say is, I’m glad they’re FINALLY ending the early pledge drive. What has it been a month? For those of us who pledged and pledged and pledged again to reach the $2 million in the last 24 hours, it’s time to say the original fundraiser is over. People have more than ample opportunity to get their money in. A week was more than enough time. A month later is almost getting insulting.
Is there a limit for ks and new tiers? I currently plan to upgrade my original ks pledge to the knight tier sometime in 2013. How will I know that there is a free slot avaiable?
I would like some clarification on the limits for the number of backers at each tier level as well. Particularly, I hope the citizen and up tiers stay limited so as to not devalue the property of those who came in during the KS campaign. I can understand if the numbers are increased because of the double map size stretch goal that was met, but make sure the increase is proportional.
Also, it will be nice to know when certain levels are nearing their limits, for those on the fence who may be persuaded to up their pledge before it’s gone.
Adding the limit/count of backers per tier is on our list of features to add to the SotA website ASAP (however, it won’t be included in today’s publish).
Thank you dallas. I am gonna upgrade my pledge as soon as this is implemented.
Thanks very much for the info.
Good point raised by @Duffrey. Even though the starting continent now has doubled in size since the original Kickstarter (and therefore, presumably, more slots have become available), I believe that an up-to-date count of the number of available slots available for each tier should be listed when everything goes live next Monday.
A question regarding “pledged any amount”. I assume that if one were an original donor from kickstarter, who pledged even the base tier for the game ($25 for the first responder, iirc), they would be eligible for later upgrades as an early adopter?
Yes
Ehem, i will state my feelings about the changes – everything is fine except – Royal additive *n is insultingly generic + oooh look at that it’s GOOOLLDDDDDDdd * tries to bite it old miner style* pthoee… except it isn’t. Some more creative color palette would be in order or old-school viking sword in nick background or as a small icon by it (on/off ofc.).
New pledger here. It’s more than fair that earlier backers are getting a bonus and I can see they’ve been generous in the shut off window (just 3 days ago) but is it really necessary to wave those bonuses in front of new pledgers so prominently on the tiers screen
It’s basically saying “look at all this cool stuff you can never have”, just at the time when you’re considering pledging money for the game
Just suggesting you keep that info somewhere a little less “in your face”, you want new pledgers to feel that warm fuzzy and excited feeling about what their tier reward will give them, not to think “hmm, should I bother ? – I’ve clearly missed out on the cool stuff…”
@Edreamer – completely agree with you. We will be editing the pledge descriptions soon so only Early Founders will be able to see the exclusive rewards they are receiving.
^ Agreed. Just because some of us (ahem, *cough*) may have missed the kickstarter campaign by a week or so… It’s not really fair to assume that we are somehow less valuable than the early backers. By the way, I have pledged at the LORD level so I am obviously very supportive of the game. On the other hand, every time I consider upping my pledge for one of those nifty City lots – I can’t help but be distracted by all the cool little widgets and gizmos that I WON’T be getting… Also, can we add some more “benefactor level” home templates up on the website too please? I’d like to see how my home will compare to all the illustrious founders, who found out about this game a few weeks before I did.