Play Release 102!


Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 102 goes live May 26th at 10:30 AM CDT.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 102 (R102), we offer expanded character customization!

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 Player Guide and Known Issues for additional information on recent changes and upcoming fixes.


News Announcements

Community Updates

 


New Character Customization Options

Make Your Mark!

A basic set of face and body markings (tattoos, scars, freckles, etc.) has been added to character creation, with a greatly expanded set (including new hair colors) available at the New You Salons in Central Britanny (uphill northwest from the docks, on the left before the fountain) and Ardoris (behind the magic shop at the docks).

When previewing markings, be sure to spin yourself around! Many options have components on upper and lower torso, upper and lower arms, back, or sides and back of head that may be hidden by some hairstyles. You’ll now be shown without clothing in the mirror, so body art will be clearly visible. Placement and coloring for each are fixed.

A random button was also recently added to the character design interface, which can produce some startling results with the new options available!

There is also a new “Load” button in the interface: when you finish creating or modifying a character, the settings you chose will be exported to a text file on your computer that can be imported when you return to New You, whether with the same character or another, if you wish to match customizations exactly across multiple characters. Only the basic appearance and morph features from character creation can be reloaded this way, not options exclusive to the New You Salons.

(As always, if you pay to enter New You and leave by canceling and discarding your changes instead of finishing, the salon manager will remember that you have a credit and allow you to re-enter without additional payment.)

Face in New You mirror with purple hair and face and body tattoos

 


Release 102 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 102 (R102) in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! R102 is a polish, improvements, and bug fixes month. Content, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R103 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 102!

Crafting, Decoration, & Inventory Item Changes:

  • An Altar Lockbox recipe will be added to North Paladis deco merchants in a patch soon after release.

    Altar Lockbox

  • Fixed issue with mini greyhound deco pet. SOTA-68886
  • Fixed incorrect name on saber-toothed tiger carcass. SOTA-70412
  • Set Dread Artifacts to use normal repair kits. SOTA-70402
  • Removed dye slots from Flaming Skull Mask. SOTA-70421
  • Removed dye slots from Ancient Xenossian Winged Plate Helm. SOTA-70420
  • Cloth tunic should now show correct skin color at bottom of the neck. SOTA-69111
  • Fixed visual issues while wearing a frogkin ring and some specific body/legs equipments. SOTA-68146
  • Wearing bodice bottoms on a male character should now show the correct skin color. SOTA-68719

Combat & Skill Changes:

  • Obsidian Snow Leopards should now be tameable. SOTA-70248

User Interface, Store Information, & Lua Changes:

  • Added UI when exiting the game to rate and/or comment about your game session. Feel free to give us your opinion! The survey is completely optional and only appears when the game asks you to confirm you want to exit to the main menu or quit.

    The exit survey is intended to help us identify issues and get feedback from new and old players. This does not replace bug reports, feedback on mechanics, wishlist requests, or AskADev questions.

    The purpose for the rating and feedback is mainly to determine what new players think of the game and their overall session experience. Of course, feedback from existing players is welcome as well, but please do not flood the survey feedback with duplicate information already being sent through AskADev or the forums, especially as the forums will allow for better detailed feedback from the veteran players on specific issues.

  • Added CapsLock detection at login screen (for Windows only)
  • Moved the currently equipped deck name near the Swap Deck icon button so it doesn’t hide under the alternate deck name
  • Made the name of the equipped deck white, but still bigger than the alternate deck to differentiate them
  • Hair and eye colors will stay the same instead of changing back to default when visiting New You Salons
  • Fixed the sounds functions in Lua which had index problems being off by 1

World and Quest Changes:

  • The Archlapin has gone into hiding for the year, but the Luminous Atavist is now making his presence known in encounters in Grunvald and in Northern Grunvald Barrens. Speak to Ranees Binders in Desolis to learn more.
  • Aether Dragons, Aether Liches, and Aether Corpions have awoken in their respective stomping grounds while the two-tailed comet is within range of the world.

    Aether Corpion in a desert

  • Removed cap on crafting skills in Shardfalls. (Adventurer cap remains unchanged.) SOTA-70106
  • Fixed the town crier conversation being broken after saying “I lost my mail” for the mail delivery quest. SOTA-70486
  • Blackblade Foothills: Fixed an area of lava that was causing damage too far from the source. SOTA-70468
  • Blackblade Pass: Corrected compass marker names and locations for exits to Southeast Blackblade Mountains and Northwest Blackblade Mountains. SOTA-70496
  • Blood River Outskirts: Updated the “Poison Vigilante Food Supply” journal entry to clarify a replacement poison item can be collected from Phineas.
  • Blood River: Added extra opportunities to archive Arabella’s “Travel to Blood River” task with Robert Villines’ hello responses and the task’s “flag to complete” mechanism. SOTA-70360
  • Broken Echoes Silver Mines: Compass markers for the “Stop the Broken Echoes Foreman” should no longer appear until after acquiring that task. SOTA-70474
  • Castle Atos: Fixed a stuck spot in the bank. SOTA-70513
  • Caverns of Skrekk: Fixed non-interactive crates and regenerated the path grid. SOTA-70472
  • Crypt of the Avatar: Fixed an issue where the player couldn’t cast location-based spells on some floors. SOTA-70469
  • Crypt of the Avatar: Fixed issues including replacing a missing section of hallway, correcting hallway materials, and removing mysterious black effect throughout the scene. SOTA-70461
  • Desolis: Added additional compass markers for the “Obsidian Logbook” quest. Also, added “Obsidian Logbook” to description on all books. SOTA-70477
  • Grusk: Fixed a typo in one of Vishpop’s stories. Added a lantern near the lighthouse keeper.
  • Grusk: Fixed an issue with Vishpop’s story about “Skyfall,” which was only showing the final “come back tomorrow” comment.
  • Helpful Automaton: Added “helpful automaton” NPCs to Aerie, Blood River Outskirts, Castle Atos, Central Brittany, Grusk, Highvale Outskirts, Resolute, Solace Bridge Outskirts, and Soltown. In addition to useful tips, they offer helpful guidebooks, but only once! Additional tips will be added to their conversations over time.
  • Hilt Fortress: Fixed a bad path grid on a spiral staircase.
  • Hilt Fortress: Moved an inaccessible ore node to a nearby location where it can be mined. SOTA-70483
  • Hilt Fortress: Updated the compass markers that point avatars to the Obsidian Forge. SOTA-70482
  • Kingsport Sewer: Duke Rath’molag’s “Talk to Prisoner” task should only be given to the avatar upon his first death. SOTA-70446
  • Lost Whiteguard Silver Mine: Avatars entering Aelfraed’s Cathedral should no longer get the “Find Evidence that Wen is at Peace” compass marker unless they are on the previous stage of the quest. SOTA-70473
  • Midmaer Passage: Corrected location of compass marker for exit to Midras Vault. Added compass markers for exits to Mysterious Crypt and Necropolis. SOTA-70499, 70497
  • Midmaer Passage: Fixed an area of the water that allowed avatars to swim above the water. SOTA-70467
  • Necropolis Barrens: Converted the “destructible” Love Letters into an official resource node. SOTA-70478
  • Necropolis: Added compass marker for Exit to Midmaer Passage. SOTA-70498
  • Northwood: Fixed a visible “seam” in the terrain textures at a certain lot location. SOTA-68464
  • Rhun Vault: Fixed a stuck spot. SOTA-70494
  • Ruined Keep: Rebaked the navmesh. SOTA-70495
  • Solace Bridge Outskirts: Moved zombie spawners away from the bridge connecting to the guardpost bivouac.
  • Solace Bridge Outskirts: Sedgewick now also rewards feathers at the end of his arrow crafting quest. SOTA-70493
  • Solania Catacombs: Improved the path grid. SOTA-70466
  • Soltown: Fixed typos in Stanley’s “Baozhai” response. SOTA-70476
  • South Midmaer Way and Lamech’s Bazaar: Ensured palm trees are near each possible coconut resource node location. SOTA-70470
  • Spite: Slightly randomized the placement of the red rugs in the Mortuarium.
  • Spite: Updated the responses from Thetis to stop her from repeating herself. SOTA-66957
  • Tenebris Harbor: Moved a tree that was poking through a building wall. Regenerated the path grid. SOTA-70471
  • The Outlaws’ Run: Fixed several large rock formations which NPCs had trouble navigating and would sometimes walk through. SOTA-70512
  • Troll’s Bridge: Added a couple of places where wolves can spawn. Randomized where a chest can spawn.
  • Xenos: Fixed bumpy terrain within a housing lot that was blocking placement of decorations. SOTA-70457
  • Yew: Moved several problematic trees away from housing lots because their branches were reaching into the lots. SOTA-70481
  • POT Mountain Template: Increased the radius of ambient bird sound effects.

Player-Owned Town Changes:

  • Mith Trysull: Changed owner
  • Rampage Island: Upgraded to Crossroads Village
  • Shearwater Island: Changed biome to Island 01 and upgraded to Crossroads Village

 


Latest News and Q&A Friday Livestream

The weekly Community Livestream is Friday, May 27th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Chris “Atos” Spears and other members of the development team for a 1-hour community livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “Boats and blossoms” 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. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT!

Atos and other members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team go live 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:

 


Sales and Bonus Events

For Memorial Day weekend, the currently-running lot upgrade sale will be increased from 20% to 30% and Crowns of the Obsidians will go on sale (20%)! These will end Tuesday, as well as the currently-running double XP.


Release 102 Subscriber Login Rewards

Furnish your ritual space with fine pieces (…for whatever rituals you are performing; we don’t judge.) The Rewards Program login items for Release 102 really dress up a space. This month’s collection includes a Large Altar, a Table Altar, and an Octagonal Side Table.

 

Large Altar

 

Table Altar

 

Octagonal Side Table

Subscribers to the Rewards Program must log in during Release 102 to receive these special login items.

The Shroud of the Avatar Rewards Program lets you earn the best rate on purchasing Crowns, AND receive monthly reward items! For the low price of $9 USD per month you will receive the following:

 

  • 900 Crowns of the Obsidians every month
  • Monthly Login Reward Items (about 3 per month)
  • Exclusive Title every 3 months
    • 3 Months: Keeper of the Faith
    • 6 Months: Keeper of the Word
    • 9 Months: Keeper of the Vow
    • 12 Months: Keeper of the Flame
    • 15 Months: Keeper of the Oath
    • 18 Months: Keeper of the Pledge
    • 21 Months: Keeper of the Bond
    • 24 Months: Keeper of the Promise
    • 27 Months: Keeper of the Covenant
  • Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
  • Pick any three of these 7 Obsidian Potions every month:
    • Potion of Capacity: Increases carrying capacity
    • Potion of Conservation: Reduces reagent use chance
    • Potion of Expedience: Swift gathering on all gathering skills
    • Potion of Precision: Increases Meticulous Collection to all gathering skills
    • Potion of Preservation: Reduces armor and weapon damage
    • Potion of Reclamation: Increases Salvage and Repair to all production skills
    • Potion of Stamina: Decreases focus use from sprinting
  • While subscribed to the rewards program, players also receive these special bonuses:
    • Obsidian Potions are significantly more powerful!
    • 24 Additional Deck Slots!


June Login Reward

Log in during the month of June and you’ll receive a Double Candle Stand with which to lighten your nights.

Double Candle Stand


Crown Store Updates

New in the crown store for release day:

  • Large Ornate Altar
    Large Ornate Altar

 

  • Altar Pew
    Altar Pew
  •  

  • Altar Bench
    Altar Bench
  •  

  • Tall Candle Stand
    Tall Candle Stand
  •  

  • Short Candle Stand
    Short Candle Stand
  •  

    Arriving June 1st:

    • Double Candle Stand
      Double Candle Stand

     

    Arriving June 17th:

    • Large Altar
      Large Altar

     

    • Table Altar
      Table Altar

     

    • Octagonal Side Table
      Octagonal Side Table

     

    The Darkstarr store items are leaving the store on Saturday, May 28th:

    • Darkstarr Basement Entrance Eternal Pattern
    • Darkstarr Chaos Throne
    • Darkstarr Chaos Throne (Reverse Colors)
    • Darkstarr Clock Tower
    • Darkstarr Clock Tower (Reverse Colors)
    • Darkstarr Fur Collared Cloak
    • Darkstarr Pavers
    • Darkstarr Shield
    • Darkstarr Shield Pattern Pack
    • Lord British vs Darkstarr Battle Banner
    • Mosh Emote

    The Summer Seasonal store items will become available Friday May 27th:

    • Firedancer Outfit
    • Fire Dance Emote
    • Fire Dance Cross Emote
    • Flame Scimitar
    • Flame Shield
    • Flame Stained Glass Table Lamp 3-Pack
    • Flaming Bagpipes
    • Hula Emote
    • Island Spear
    • Island Flower Crown
    • Island Dress


    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 relaunched.

    The Brigade has been up and running and the volunteers (Alley Oop, Echondas, and Justyn) are in 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! Much improvement has been noticed by the development team and we’re so very excited to see the program’s continued success!

    The development team would also like to thank all of those who take time to participate in QA Testing Directives. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, many issues and bugs can be identified and fixed prior to content 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.

    Don’t forget, the Bug Brigade is open to all players in good standing and bug rewards are SWEET! They will be awarded on a monthly progression basis with only minimal requirements to qualify. The available rewards to receive in progression via qualifying participation are as follows:

    • Antennae Head Gear and Forum Title 1: “Bug Hunter”
    • Single Ant Cloak
    • Lady Bug Backpack
    • Bug Painting A and In-Game Title 2: “Associate of Aphids”
    • Ant Farm
    • Insect Leg Table
    • Many Ants Cloak and In-Game Title 3: “Bachelor of Beetles”
    • Bug Painting B
    • Bug Sprayer and /bugspray Emote
    • Bug Painting C and In-Game Title 4: “Master of Moths”
    • Butterfly Chair
    • Corpion Chair (Pictured Below)
    • Yellow Fireflies VFX and In-Game Title 5: “Doctor of Dragonflies”
    • Hacked Oracle Flyer
    • Giant Blue Butterfly Pet
    • Butterfly Mask
    • Dragonfly pet
    • Fairy Wings
    • Monarch Butterfly Pet
    • Dragonfly Wings
    • Hacked Oracle Crawler
    • Blue Butterfly VFX
    • Orange Fireflies VFX
    • Orange Butterfly VFX

    If you’ve come to think of Shroud of the Avatar as your home, sign up and help make New Britannia a better place to live! To learn more about joining the Bug Brigade, please read the announcement thread by Ravalox in the main Bug/Feedback forums.


    Streamer Program

    Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar can participate in a program to showcase the game and be rewarded for their efforts. Any Streamer who wishes to be included in the Streamer Program can contact Laney via in-game mail 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 the LIVESTREAMING title.

    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.

    Monthly Streamer Bundles:

    On the 1st of each month, qualifying streamers will be eligible to receive 50 Streamer Bundles. Bundles will be sent out to Streamers via in-game mail.

    A few things you need to know:

    • Streamer Bundles are intended to be given away to stream viewers, not consumed by the streamer.
    • Streamers are not allowed to put paywalls in place for the Streamer Bundles. (For example, giving away Streamer Bundles once the stream reaches a certain number of bits, subscriptions, or donations).

    Other Items of Note:

    • Streamers in the program will be included in the SotAbot StreamPop function, appearing in the player-streaming channel in Discord.
    • 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.
    • 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.

    Upcoming Release Dates

    Be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page for spotlighted events plus links to various areas to post or find events on our forums. The upcoming 2022 Release Schedule is as follows:

    • This Release 102 – May 26 (Polish)
    • Release 103 – June 30 (Content)
    • Release 104 – July 28 (Polish)
    • Release 105 – August 25 (Content)
    • Release 106 – September 29 (Polish)
    • Release 107 – October 27 (Content)
    • Release 108 – November 17 (Polish)
    • Release 109 – December 15 (Content)

    Community Events & 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! The R102 Fishing Tournament runs from 27-May-2022 at 12:00 AM (00:00) CDT to 30-Jun-2022 11:59 PM (23:59) CDT. Note that the R101 Tournament is still running for a few more hours until midnight on Release 102 day; you can still compete for the longest fish in the R101 tournament! Details for R102’s contest are posted here!

    • 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! The R102 Treasure Hunt runs from 27-May-2022 at 12:00 AM (00:00) CDT to 30-Jun-2022 11:59 PM (23:59) CDT. Note that the R101 Hunt is still running for a few more hours until midnight on Release 102 day; you can still compete in the R101 Hunt! Details for R102’s contest are posted here!

    Recurring Events:

    • Trash to Treasure Dropped Items Turn-In: Some unscrupulous fella has been flooding all of New Britannia with junk: Headdresses, Wings, Backpacks, assorted miscellany of every sort. It’s time to clean this trash up and so a bounty has been placed on all gear crafted by Coswald Dirthmire that is turned in each contest period!
    • 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!
    • Lightbringer Isle Auction: Lightbringer Isle has changed their auction from weekly to monthly, to be held the Sunday after release at 11AM CT!

    Community Calendars:

    • Avatars-Virtue Radio Calendar: Just when are all those talented DJ’s and streamers broadcasting? Don’t just guess, check out there very helpful calendar! Never again will you wonder when’s the best time to tune in!
    • NBNN Calendar: This calendar provides a great schedule for NBNN and WRFB programing as well as many other community events. If you’re a fan of the Laz & Jack show or even if you’re hoping to catch them in action for the first time, this is the calendar for you!
    • SotA Event Calendar: Event participants, take heed! Thoryk Omara has done a wondrous job creating a community event calendar which is available to all players of Shroud of the Avatar. Please make an effort to support this new calendar. The more resources players have at their disposable for event notifications, the better!

    Community Event Resources: Here are some fantastic resources for tracking down community events or posting your own events. Become involved! Create! Explore! Make friends! But most of all, have fun!

    • One-Time Community Events Forum: Sometimes events happen only a single time, so you’ll not want to miss out on these events as they occur. Check out the forums routinely to spot these!
    • Recurring Community Events Forum: Some events occur on weekly or monthly schedules which are a great way to routinely meet up with friends and to make new ones. Be sure to check this forum frequently for new events or time changes to existing ones.
    • Game Master (GM) Potion Request Procedures: Shroud of the Avatar has an amazing in-game consumable for player event holders — the Potion of Temporary GM Powers! Players wishing to enhance their in-game community event by having GM Powers at their disposal need to simply follow the procedures outlined in this forum thread.
    • Player Event Trophies and Special Item Requests: Would you like to request a special trophy or renamed item for a player event you’ve created? Head on over to this thread to see what’s available and to obtain more information about request procedures.
    • Player Radio Station Forum: If you want to check out the latest and greatest from our in-game radio stations, go to the radio stations forum! If you’re a DJ, be sure to advertise your time slot and venue in this forum.
    • Player Livestreams & Videos Forum: If you’re searching for a Shroud Streamer to watch, head on over to the streamer forum! If you are a live streamer for Shroud of the Avatar, be sure to advertise your Shroud stream by posting in this forum.
    • Town Directory Forum: Want to find a town to live in or get your town listed in the directory, head over to the forums and check it out!
    • Guild Directory Forum: Looking for a guild or want to get yours posted in the guild directory? Head on over to the forums and check it out!
    • Fire Lotus Tavern: This wondrous role-playing and story writing forum is the spot to be if you love fan fiction and role-play.
    • Community Resources: Looking for links to community and official resources for Shroud of the Avatar? Well look no further. On this page you’ll find links to a plethora of helpful resources created by the dev team or the community.

    SO many options to stay tuned-in with fellow community members. Please take advantage of all these wonderful options. Happy adventures, Avatars!


    Project to Support: Shard RPG

    Shard Studios invites you to enter the fantastic world Dárdünah, the vast shard of a shattered realm, as presented in the colorful pages of the SHARD RPG! Many years in the making, this system allows players to choose from a wide variety of animal people who are the main cast of the many adventures this otherworldly setting offers. Skyships glide through shimmering clouds past majestic crystal peaks. Giant insects prowl alien jungles or lurk in the sparkling emerald seas. Warriors with blades of diamond and amber duel across crimson sands. And mystics chant in shadowy chambers as their spirits wander abroad.

    • Intro Sheet: For a quick glimpse into the world of Dárdünah, be sure to download the intro pdf! It’s packed with great information and features beautiful artwork, not unlike the artwork found throughout the many pages of this gaming system’s gorgeously designed manuals.
    • Core System Manuals: It’s easier than ever to delve into Dárdünah, World of the False Dawn, with the Core Books Bundle! If you’ve never had the opportunity to experience this unique gaming system and setting, now’s your chance! This bundle includes two beautifully illustrated, full-color, hardcover books: the original Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts book! They contain everything you need to begin your adventures, and include instructions for the ritual magic and martial arts combat systems. These manuals also include 90 new Animal Templates upon which to base your character!
    • Other Shard RPG Products: So many more manuals and gaming materials are available! Everything an avid tabletop role-player and game master needs to delve into the world of Dárdünah!

    So if you’re ready to experience a gaming world like no other, check out what Shard Studios has created for tabletop role-players on the Shard RPG official website! You’ll most certainly be immersed and amazed by the offerings of the Shard RPG!


    Project to Support: Embers Adrift!

    Help support one of our team members’ other projects, Embers Adrift! While not yet live, they plan to release later this year and you can join the closed beta now by pre-ordering from embersadrift.com. Check out their newly released video here:


    Project to Support: Avatar Express

     

    [Forum post by Vladamir Begemot]

    I’m pleased to report that The Avatar Express is clacking away furiously. News is being delivered and we have established systems to deliver it directly to your brain. You can use one of those systems by following us on Twitter at @avatar_express. Even more reliable due to its fully automated nature is joining us on the Discord server. News items are posted there via RSS. Or you can subscribe to RSS directly on the site.

    If you run an event, quests, etc, please consider helping out by self reporting. The Shroud community is big, and many things are happening that are never seen by others. With 10k monthly users, we would need a full time staff to track down everything that is happening.

    You can fill out the contributor form, message @that_shawn_guy here or post in the Discord server that you would like to help. There is no commitment once signed up, you can post as much or little as you like.

    Writing up your own events has several benefits beyond the immediate exposure. It serves as a record for others to see the history of New Britannia as we create it, in an attractive format. Publishing in the Express also has a higher chance than the forums of being seen by search engines and random readers, thus bringing more eyeballs and new players to the game.

    It will even make posting in the forums easier! You can upload images to your news item, and then link to those images in your forum post. No more need for 3rd party image hosts!

    So if you have something going on in your guild or town, or want to be a Reporter, Cartographer or Historian, please join us!


    Resources: Players Helping Players

    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.