This week’s Player Owned Town spotlight takes us to Veritas Sanctuary nearby the Longfall region. Here is the town’s story as told by governor Dereck Visaard:
We are happy to announce a new town on the Path of Truth, Veritas Sanctuary. The town, released in R45 and located in the Longfall region of Novia adjacent to Blood River and Blood River Outskirts, is devoted to the search for Truth in a forsaken land.
Veritas Sanctuary has a rich history dating back prior to the Obsidians’ rise to power when a band of humans and elves allied to escape their former masters from the north and find sanctuary and a new life in the Longfall area. Ruins of the ancient settlement still exist in town and can be seen in the northern and southern residential areas. In fact, an ancient wizard’s tower has been restored and is available for rent for those who dare to tempt the ancient magic that still lives there.
Most recently, the town has been settled by an active group of avatars who hail from Earth as far west as Western Canada and as far east as Prague. Most residents are online and in town daily.
Our mission in Veritas Sanctuary is to create a unique, active, and engaging community for new and established residents and visitors while providing a strategic base of operations for players on the Path of Truth and an excellent sales location for discerning vendors. To that end, the town council has master-planned the community to cater to all playing styles and will continue to invest in the town as it grows. The town is also guild-neutral, meaning that anyone is welcome to take up residence, whether solo or a member of any guild.
Master Plan and Amenities
Veritas Sanctuary is a master-planned community built out over several months in 3-4 phases. Phase I includes a town market with expert crafting tables and full-strength devotionals (+5); a northern residential community built atop ancient ruins; a town square with a tavern, library, amphitheater, dance floor, and 2 inns with free rooms for new players; and a few rental properties for players that want more than a room but aren’t ready to purchase a deed yet.
Phase II, planned to complete before January 2018, will include gaming areas (gustball, chess, checkers, PvP arena, PvP maze, and more); southern residential community; a large farming community; and enhancements to the town square. Phases III and IV will tentatively include additional areas and features that cater to RP quests and unique living experiences, such as estates properties. The planned experiences will depend on when and how Portalarium enables sailing, custom NPC dialog, custom spawners, and more planned for the 2-year roadmap.
Here is the high-level master-plan showing Phase 1’s layout:
Here is an interactive map with several points-of-interest, current market vendors, and future development notes, courtesy of sotamap.com.
Veritas Sanctuary has a town council of 3 avatars, who span GMT-7:00 to GMT+8:00 time zones and who are in-game daily:
- Dereck Visaard: Governor
- Twilight Tempest: Mayor
- Therdan Redwauld: Librarian and Keeper of the Stones
The council meets bi-weekly on Mondays at 9am NBT at the Amphitheater of the Ancients. Meetings are held in the open for all residents. Town business will be discussed and voted upon, and then implemented for resident benefit. Veritas Sanctuary is truly a town for the people by the people.
Additionally, town residents include pledge-level backers and long-time players in the Ultima universe along with new players, representing multiple established guilds.
Additional Town Features and Resident Amenities
The market near the town entrance, named Dragonbane Market, provides a full set of expert crafting tables with convenient access to an Oracle, Banker, mailbox, all NPC merchants, and full-strength (+5) combat devotionals (Note: combat devotionals will be swapped out for crafting devotionals during crafting events).
Several market lots are available to claim (no reservation needed) alongside existing resident vendors selling a variety of materials, provisions, gear, deco, and rares. We also have a dedicated auction house and will begin hosting regular crafting events and auctions in the market at R46 launch.
Dragonbane Market also has the 1st dedicated auction house in New Britannia, the Veritas Sanctuary Auction House, constructed by Therdan Redwauld and Psyche Aetherfract (@Psyche in forums). Regular public auctions are starting to be held as of Release 46.
All town residents can list items on the market’s 3 commission-free resident vendors and have free access to the town’s public garden and water source to grow and harvest reagents and food supplies. Players may live in one of the residential communities or the farming community and still bring their items to market without investing in a market spot and vendor.
The town square, located south of Dragonbane Market, is appropriately named The Scholar’s Square and was built around an ancient ring of stones found by the new town’s settlers.
We will begin hosting monthly SotA Astronomy classes at the square’s moondial in October. As SotA gameplay becomes much more dependent upon astronomy over the next several months, it will be increasingly important to understand the impact of the night sky on game activities. We will help players understand that in our classes.
The square features unique attractions that are consistent with the town’s mission:
Helen Garriott Memorial Library – Dedicated to the inspiration behind the creator of the Ultima universe and @Lord British‘s loving mother. See the post here for more on the library which will be a permanent fixture in town.
Ring of Stones and Bones of an Ancient Dragon – Center of the town’s lore and a beautiful creation by Therdan Redwauld (@Sarek in forums). Many elves and humans gave their lives in an ancient battle. The ring of stones and the sacred tree immortalize their sacrifice. The site was evidently imbued with an ancient magic that gives off an eerie glow to this day. It’s quite peaceful at night…
Amphitheater of the Ancients – A uniquely designed amphitheater created by the town’s Mayor, Twilight Tempest (@Nighttempest in forums) . Regular concerts and performances will be held in this space along with town meetings. Town residents are welcome to schedule public or private events. Message Twilight Tempest if you’d like to schedule an event.
Dance Floor of the Ancients – Another fine creation by Twilight Tempest, the dance floor is adjacent to the amphitheater and will be the center of the town’s after-parties. This finely apportioned dance floor has plenty of room for spectators and dancers with multiple aether vibration consoles for stereo sound and a DJ booth!
Inn of Scholar’s Solace – 1 of 2 inns in the Scholar’s Square, with a scholarly theme. The lobby boasts intimate spaces for study, courtesy of Twilight Tempest, and the inn provides modern conveniences for residents such as a mailbox and remote bank access device.
Our onsite greyhound, Winston, will surely provide an excellent reading companion. 13 rooms are available for rent and new players stay for free! Message Dereck Visaard if you would like a room.
The Traveler’s Trinket (under construction, will open in early October) – The town tavern, located in Scholar’s Square, which will offer local and regionally brewed drinks for the discerning palate once alcohol brewing comes online.
Dragonslayer’s Inn (under construction, will open in early October) – Our 2nd inn in the Scholar’s Square with a battle theme. The lobby will have relics of various battles, a PvP basement, and will also include modern conveniences.
Vyrin and Womby’s Bookstore (under construction, will open in October) – The infamous scholars of New Britannia will open their Veritas Sanctuary chapter.
We are also privileged to have Serafina’s Boutique – a unique boutique located on the north side of Dragonbane Market near the docks and operated by @Serafina. The boutique features a variety of new and rotating add-on store and craftable items. It’s an excellent place to see new in-game items before buying them. Items will be rotated as new items become available each release. I stumbled upon the rumored Angel of Death as she was merchandising….
I watched briefly, mesmerized by her magical aura but then I got caught
I fled for my life!
A few rental properties, ranging from row to island keep, are available for rent in the northern residential community and northern island including a restored ancient Wizard’s Tower, a restored ancient Lighthouse, and a recently built Duke Founder’s Keep.
As of R46, Veritas Sanctuary Prison is now up and running on Verity Isle, due east of Scholar’s Square.
We have excellent accommodations for ruffians and those who disrupt the peace…
And for that special class of criminal, we have “The Hole” which was recently overrun and locked from the outside…please help!
More information on the town mission, master-plan, and phased expansion can be found at the Governor interview here, conducted by Lightiger. Thanks @Lightiger!
Town Events
Governor Visaard has decreed that Veritas Sanctuary will regularly host a variety of launch events that cater to different playing styles. See the event post here for the recap!
Additionally, in October (R47 launch) we will have a town-wide RP quest event that will surely impress all those looking for a scare and a unique, player-driven quest line. In November (R48 launch) we will have a series of PvP events. More details will follow as we get closer to that time, but the goal is to have at least 1 event of each style (crafting, RP/adventuring, performing arts, and PvP) per quarter.
In Closing
We invite all avatars to visit Veritas Sanctuary, at the very least to pay tribute to Helen Garriott at the memorial library. Many lots are open to claim, and we have a vibrant community of residents!
There are so many towns to explore throughout New Britannia. If you are interested in becoming a part of the Veritas Sanctuary community, you can contact Dereck Visaard or any other community members that live in the town.
Do you have a town, guild, or other group we can spotlight? Message community manager Berek with the details!