Play Release 147!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 147 goes live February 23rd at 10:30 AM CST.

Welcome! The Catnip Games development team marks this monthly release of Shroud of the Avatar with new content and improvements. For Release 147 (R147), we offer green things and feathered things and i wouldn’t trust either of them.

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

 

The Vault is Permanently Closed

We have many things planned for 2026 and beyond and we’re being careful not to promise things in the manner done by past management. I’ll continue posting in my development blog to give a peek into what we’re working on (and what we’re working toward.)

Over the last few years we have been working to make the game more stable, to provide a solid base to work from. Over the last year or so, we significantly improved the visuals as well as the performance of the game. Even as these efforts are still ongoing, we have put together the plan to move the game forward.

The team recently discussed the Vault section of the Crown Store. Long-time players will remember that many Vault items originated as limited-availability rewards from past events (such as Portalarium Telethons and similar events or promotions). Those items were made available to players through the Vault, with their display names adjusted to indicate “Vault Edition” to distinguish them from the original event versions.

The existence of the Vault as a Crown Store feature has been controversial. The rarity and provenance structure we now have in place is in direct conflict with the Vault as a feature. Therefore, as of this release (R147), the Vault has been removed from the Crown Store and the items within it have been retired.

Vault Edition items already purchased by players will remain in game and retain their “Vault Edition” indicator.

Please note: Vault items are considered scarce, even though multiple versions may exist in the game (original telethon or event versions, Vault Editions, and later variants such as newer year-tagged or re-textured versions.

Since many years and multiple management teams have been involved, here is a bit of a timeline:

  • Release 55 (July 6, 2018): Under Portalarium, the original Player Rewards program was started. This program automatically enrolled participants for the monthly telethon livestream stretch-goal items. Without the rewards program, obtaining these items would require a minimum five-dollar purchase during the telethon. The program allowed players to get all the stretch goal items without actually attending the livestream.
  • Release 65 (April 25, 2019): The Vault was introduced specifically for the sale of Vault Edition versions of telethon stretch-goal items. Portalarium added some items from the telethon catalog into the Vault each release manually.
  • Release 66 (May 29, 2019): The recurring telethons ended, shifting the method of obtaining Stretch Goal items solely to the Rewards Program and/or the Vault. (Rewards program participants would receive up to 3 stretch-goal items monthly).
  • Release 71 (October 2019): Catnip Games took over the game. The development team was still made up entirely of the remaining first-generation Portalarium developers.
  • Release 77 (May 22, 2020): The program was relaunched as the “Subscriber Program” and the exclusivity of the items was officially changed to a period of 10-14 days between subscribers receiving the items and them being placed into the standard Crown Store. This provided subscribers first dibs and the ability to display or trade the items with others before they were generally available.
  • The practice of adding telethon and other special rewards to the Crown Store or Vault ceased after the exit of the second-generation development team members circa March of 2022.

In summary, the original Player Rewards Program ended with the telethons in 2019. The current Subscriber Program does not provide permanent rarity. The current subscriber program tiers offer items that, in total, well exceed the monthly cost and can be traded or sold to others in game, in addition to the other time-based items and benefits, such as exclusive titles.

We have replaced the vault method with a process to provide the players with opportunities to obtain true rares through a number of methods. The Ultra-Rare and Bug Hunter programs have been the best ways to obtain items that will not be sold in the Crown or Web Stores. The initial Ultra-Rare offerings began with the 10th anniversary of Release 1 in December of 2023. These items are released periodically as bonus items accompanying a qualified purchase on the web shop. Going forward, there will be additional classes of rare items (Rare and Very-Rare). These items will be obtained in game, but will be made rare by spawn rules, drop frequency, appearance rates, or other methods. These three classifications of items will never be added to our website or into the Crown Store under any category.

There will be increased offerings of new Ultra-Rares as we move forward into 2026. We are working on the structure now and should have things ready for some different types of offers, special events, and (of course) COTO bonus items.

In addition, we are preparing a new collectible set of in-game items that will provide opportunities to collect items with varying degrees of rarity within the set. Spawned Rare and Very-Rare items will also start making their appearance in game in 2026.

We have been working to create a backlog of items so we are not always under the gun to create assets required for a monthly commitment. The delivery delay of the Ultra-Rare Dolls offering is a good example of what can happen if assumptions are made regarding the amount of time required to create and test assets during a single release cycle. The haunted doll Ultra-Rares vulcanized our determination to not advertise and offer items until they are ready. For example, if we were to have a telethon-style event, any items that would be on offer would already be in game and ready to ship.

A major issue in the past was the lack of written policies and restrictions around limited items, along with insufficient hand-off to newer generations of the development team. Going forward, we now have a structure in place that will support varying rarity levels of items including protection of the permanent exclusivity of Ultra-Rares.

Monthly Login Rewards for subscribers who help support the development of the game will continue to have a 10-14 day exclusivity, after which these items will continue to help support the game by being placed into the Crown Store.

The monthly Login reward for players who log in each calendar month will continue to be no-trade at the time of delivery.

Items flagged as Rare, Very Rare, and Ultra-Rare will include description text indicating how they were introduced and their rarity level. Items created as scarce, limited loot, rare world items, server spawns, or special ‘Ultra-Rare’ bonuses for specific events or sales will be governed by written policy. These classifications of items will only ever be distributed in the manner each is originally intended.

We will not be repeating the methods of past management. Past eras of management would change course, possibly too easily in some cases. We have a course plotted, and even though we have a firm plan to execute, we do read all of the feedback, bug reports, and feature suggestions. If ideas, suggestions, or feedback can fit in with our established plan, we will consider them but players may not see a detailed response from the team on them.

For the last three years, we have been cleaning up, organizing, and restructuring systems and content across Shroud of the Avatar and 2026 should be a significant year as more of that work becomes visible to the players. Keep in mind that we are a very small team and we appreciate your patience as we work to deliver a better game with every release. With your continued support, more amazing, mysterious, and dark things will unfold in New Britannia!

This is an extremely busy first quarter, lots of writing needs to be done to flesh out policies, overhaul the website with better, easier-to-find FAQs, details, and … and …

This team is dedicated to moving the game forward and expanding content while continuing to improve the quality of the game. With support from the community who also want the game to succeed, we can increase the number of developers and ensure that New Britannia’s future very bright (if the oncoming darkness in future episodes is dispelled of course!

Thank you for playing and supporting the game!

– Ravalox

 

Wine Cabinet Ultra-Rares

Now through the 6th of March, we are offering some bonus items when players buy qualifying COTO packs on the website.

With a purchase of a 10K COTO pack, players will receive a bonus Large Vintage Wine Cabinet along with eight wine bottles.

With a purchase of a 6K COTO pack, players will receive a bonus Small Vintage Wine Cabinet along with (the same) eight wine bottles.

The cabinets and wine bottles are Ultra-Rare. As an additional bonus, a non-rare carrying crate for the wine bottles will also be included.

To qualify, the COTOs must be claimed by logging into the game (online) while the special offer is in place, which is through March 6th, the end of the sales and bonuses period for the release.

These cabinets and bottles are ready to deliver after the Ultra-Rare bonus event ends and will be in Hometown for viewing when Release 147 goes live.

This Ultra-Rare offering will help fund a series of collectible regional wine bottles. We are planning to introduce these bottles with beautiful Scottie-original custom labels representing some of the regions and more notable cities of New Britannia. The bottles will appear in the game in various ways including, but not limited to, quests, gold purchase, and limited or scarce loot.

These bottles will arrive in the game in waves. Once a new wine rack is completed and the first set of bottles is in game, the rack will be added to the Crown Store.

Sound too easy? Think again! Some of the bottles will be scarce and harder to find than others. Some of them will actually be Rare and may take some time to find and complete your collection. Think of a Trading Card Game or sports card collection: some are harder to get than others, but not impossible.

Details of what cities, regions, or maybe even dungeons will have bottles to offer and how to get them will be found IN GAME. Do not ask the Devs, they will not tell… this (besides killing players during the Annual Egg Hunt) is how we have our fun!

The wine rack itself will act as organized storage for the collected bottles. More details on the look, feel, and function of the rack will be posted in the forum when nearing completion. (No doubt there will be work streams as it is being created.)

– Ravalox

 

Infrastructure Geek Update

We successfully reduced our footprint in the datacenter by two more servers. Virtualization and consolidation into new hardware proceeds as hoped! I have yet another server that I purchased which should (when put in place) reduce our build times and improve performance overall, not to mention eliminate more old hardware.

As noted in other articles this month, there is much happening. In order to accomplish our goals, all these things need to be worked on in parallel as much as possible. With these last few physical changes, I should now have room to virtualize and shift processes around without having to spend so much time in the datacenter.

This also should allow us to deploy [REDACTED] and a [REDACTED]. :O

– Xolavar

 

Release 147 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 147 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R148 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 147!

Crafting, Decoration, Gear, & Inventory Item Changes:

  • The existing chickens everywhere are now named Red Chickens, both in the wild and as animal spawners. New chickens are a horse of another color. SOTA-71955
  • A Red Chicken Decoration Pet has been added to pet merchants everywhere.
  • Four recipes for Chicken Coops and Feeder Troughs have been added to decoration merchants on Elysium. SOTA-72725
  • Increased available sizing on hay piles to fit in coops.
  • Made water troughs stackable in inventory.
  • If more than one of the same doll is placed into a doll cabinet on the same lot, the additional dolls will now place and appear as expected.
  • Rebuilt the craftable Large Fountain to fix an LOD problem.
  • The Wooden Bindings that may be used to make Wicker Trays have been limited to plain maple and pine so no one accidentally uses their better materials. We mean it this time. SOTA-72707
  • Added appropriate text descriptions to some ultra-rares that were missing them. SOTA-72778
  • Added description and dev notes for the three Rectangular Stone Lava Pools.
  • Fixed item descriptions for the three ultra-rare dolls.

Combat & Skill Changes:

  • Earth’s Embrace will now persist across sceneloads.

User Interface, Store Information, Inky, & Lua Changes:

  • Vault removal! Bethesda! Keep your Vaults to yourself! (All Vault items disabled and existing categories renamed to remove “Rare” and “Vault” references.)
  • Corrected icon of the book “Lord British Sings Work Songs.”
  • Changed the woodcut on the alchemy section header page of the recipe book to the alchemy woodcut rather than the blacksmithing one.

World and Quest Changes:

  • Seasonal Monsters: The Envy Angel will go dormant and the Arch Lapin will return on March 16th.
  • Aerie: Fixed an issue with the mage shop where players were able to interact with some objects within the building while still outside. SOTA-72859

Player-Owned Town Changes:

  • Avallon: Upgraded to City.
  • Saxon’s Landing: Upgraded to Metropolis.

Player-Owned Dungeon and Basement Changes:

  • Updated player dungeon totem icons for trolls, spiders, and one stray kobold.

 

Latest News and Q&A in the February Livestream

The post-release Community Livestream is Friday, February 27th at 4PM CT on Twitch! Join Stephen “Ravalox” Reinen and other members of the development team for a 1-hour community livestream!

To enter the prize drawings, type “green eggs” into any in-game chat channel OR make a purchase on the website Add-On Store before the live drawings at any time on the day of the stream; that is to say, after midnight CT.

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. Watch on Twitch, Friday at 4PM CT!

Members of the Shroud of the Avatar development team stream 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 on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ShroudoftheAvatar/ and on Discord at https://discord.gg/shroudoftheavatar.

 

Sale Events

A sale will run from February 23rd through March 6th:

  • The sale section of the Crown Store will be 30% off instead of 20%.
  • Crowns of the Obsidians will be 20% off and qualify for bonus items.

 

Release 147 Subscriber Login Rewards

The Rewards Program login items for Release 147 are a Cinereous Mossy Stone Fountain, a Grey Chicken Decoration Pet, and a Large Crafting Woodcut (Choose One). Do it yourself, don’t let the chicken pick.

See the other ten below.

Subscribers to the Rewards Program must log in during Release 147 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 a low monthly price, you will receive the following:

Tier 1  $9 (plus tax)  900 COTOs and 3 Obsidian potions monthly
Tier 2 $18 (plus tax) 2000 COTOs and 6 Obsidian potions monthly
Tier 3 $27 (plus tax) 3500 COTOs and 9 Obsidian potions monthly

  • 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
    • 30 Months: Keeper of Countless Devotions
    • 33 Months: Keeper of Thirty-Three Corpions
    • 36 Months: Keeper of Thirty-Six Serpents
    • 39 Months: Keeper of Thirty-Nine Tulips
    • 42 Months: Keeper of Forty-Two Roses
    • 45 Months: Keeper of Forty-Five Lilies
    • 48 Months: Keeper of Forty-Eight Daisies
    • 51 Months: Keeper of Fifty-One Staves
    • 54 Months: Keeper of Fifty-Four Daggers
    • 57 Months: Keeper of Fifty-Seven Arrows
    • 60 Months: Keeper of Sixty Swords
    • 63 Months: Keeper of Sixty-Three Coins
    • 66 Months: Keeper of Sixty-Six Gems
    • 69 Months: Keeper of Sixty-Nine Jewels
    • 72 Months: Keeper of Seventy-Two Goblets
    • 75 Months: Keeper of Seventy-Five Rings
    • 78 Months: Keeper of Seventy-Eight Amulets
  • Pick any Dye 12-Pack every 6 months
  • Pick any three (or six, or nine, for higher tiers) 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!

 

March Login Reward

Each account that logs in during the month of March will receive a one-time gift of a Nest with Eggs. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like they are golden eggs.

 

Crown Store Updates

New in the crown store for today’s release:

  • Buff Chicken Decoration Pet
  • Animal Spawner, Buff Chicken
  • Animal Spawner, Grey Chicken
  • Isabelline Mossy Stone Fountain
  • Large Mossy Fountain
  • Cinereous Green Stone Fountain
  • Isabelline Green Stone Fountain
  • Large Green Fountain
  • Elven Glass and Metal Pitcher Set
  • Medium Agriculture Woodcut
  • Medium Alchemy Woodcut
  • Medium Blacksmithing Woodcut
  • Medium Butchery Woodcut
  • Medium Carpentry Woodcut
  • Medium Cooking Woodcut
  • Medium Milling Woodcut
  • Medium Smelting Woodcut
  • Medium Tailoring Woodcut
  • Medium Tanning Woodcut
  • Medium Textiles Woodcut
  • Medium Crafting Woodcut Pack

for March 1st:

  • Nest with Eggs 3-Pack

…and for March 6th:

  • Cinereous Mossy Stone Fountain
  • Grey Chicken Decoration Pet
  • Large Agriculture Woodcut
  • Large Alchemy Woodcut
  • Large Blacksmithing Woodcut
  • Large Butchery Woodcut
  • Large Carpentry Woodcut
  • Large Cooking Woodcut
  • Large Milling Woodcut
  • Large Smelting Woodcut
  • Large Tailoring Woodcut
  • Large Tanning Woodcut
  • Large Textiles Woodcut
  • Large Crafting Woodcut Pack

The Valentine’s Day store items will be available through Friday February 27th:

List of Valentine’s Day items:
  • 2025 Valentine Hearts Cloak
  • Blank Valentine’s Day 2016 Card 5-Pack
  • Blank Valentine’s Day 2017 Card 5-Pack
  • Blank Valentine’s Day 2019 Card 5-Pack
  • Breathe Hearts Emote
  • Breathe Pink Hearts Emote
  • Double Smoke Heart Emote
  • Heart Hot Tub
  • Heart Top Hat
  • Heart-Shaped Footstool
  • Heart-Shaped Spear
  • Heart-Themed Rectangle Gift Boxes Valentine’s Day 2024 3-Pack
  • Heart-Themed Rectangle Gift Boxes Valentine’s Day 2025 3-Pack
  • Heart-Themed Round Gift Boxes Valentine’s Day 2024 3-Pack
  • Heart-Themed Round Gift Boxes Valentine’s Day 2025 3-Pack
  • Rose-Themed Square Gift Box Valentine’s Day 2024 3-Pack
  • Heart-Themed Square Gift Box Valentine’s Day 2025 3-Pack
  • Smoke Heart Emote
  • Triple Smoke Heart Emote
  • Pair of Mugs of Hot Cocoa
  • Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2017 3-Pack
  • Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2018 3-Pack
  • Valentine’s Day Gift Boxes 2019 3-Pack
  • Valentine’s Day Gift Box Set 2026
  • Victorian Valentine’s Card (Style 1) 5-Pack
  • Victorian Valentine’s Card (Style 2) 5-Pack
  • Victorian Valentine’s Card (Style 3) 5-Pack
  • Victorian Valentine’s Card (Style 4) 5-Pack
  • Victorian Valentine’s Card (Style 5) 5-Pack
  • Square Heart-Themed Box of Chocolates (Style 2)
  • 2016 Cupid Ensemble
  • 2016 Cupid Heart Cloak
  • 2016 Valentine Hearts Cloak

Although there are not currently enough items to make a whole new category for them, a few St. Patrick’s Day items can be found in other categories (Wearables and Outdoor Decorations) from Monday February 16th through Thursday April 16th:

List of St. Patrick’s Day items:
  • Garden Leprechaun
  • Leprechaun Bowler Hat
  • Leprechaun Bowler Hat with Shamrock
  • Leprechaun Hat
  • Pot o’ Gold
  • Cinereous Green Stone Fountain
  • Isabelline Green Stone Fountain
  • Large Green Fountain

 

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, Flair Minamoto, 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 Butterfly Pet (Blue)
  • Butterfly Mask
  • Dragonfly pet
  • Fairy Wings
  • Monarch Butterfly Pet
  • Dragonfly Wings
  • Hacked Oracle Crawler
  • Blue Butterfly VFX
  • Orange Fireflies VFX
  • Orange Butterfly VFX
  • Autumn Fairy Wings
  • Green Fireflies VFX
  • Landing Flies 3-pack
  • Blue Fireflies
  • Mounted Ladybug Specimen
  • Mounted Rhinoceros Beetle Specimen
  • Mounted Firebug Specimen
  • Mounted Diving Bug Specimen
  • Mounted Asian Ladybug Specimen
  • Swallowtail Butterfly Pet
  • Mounted Potato Beetle
  • Silver Bug Sprayer
  • Mounted Maybug Specimen
  • Mounted Stag Beetle Specimen
  • Mounted Hissing Cockroach Specimen
  • Yellow Ladybug Backpack
  • Baby Black Widow Spider Decoration Pet
  • Red Fireflies
  • Baby Green & Yellow Spider Pet
  • Purple Fireflies
  • Black Butterfly Mask
  • Bug Painting D
  • Mounted Minotaur Beetle
  • Gold Bug Sprayer
  • Baby Black & Orange Spider Pet
  • Orange Butterfly Chair
  • Common Bug VFX (Choose One)
  • White Butterfly Mask
  • Golden Dragonfly Pet
  • Bug Painting E
  • Common Bug Pets (Choose One)
  • Purple Butterfly Chair

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.

 

Streaming Program

Streamers of Shroud of the Avatar can participate in a program to showcase the game and be rewarded for their efforts. Any player in good standing who wishes to be included in the Streaming 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 Streaming 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 Streaming Bundles:

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

A few things you need to know:

  • Streaming 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 Streaming Bundles. (For example, giving away Streaming 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 fan graphics 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 2026 Release Schedule is as follows:

  • This Release 147 – February 23 (Quality of Life)
  • Release 148 – March 30 (Quality of Life)
  • Release 149 – April 27 (Content)
  • Release 150 – June 1 (Quality of Life)
  • Release 151 – June 29 (Quality of Life)

 

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.

Recurring Events:

  • Lightbringer Isle Auction: This newly-resumed auction will be held by Hemnu Lightbringer the Sunday after each Release at 2000 EST / 1900 CST / 0100 BST / 2400 UTC.
  • The Nebula Time Trials are intended as a fun competition amongst players, but also a way for players to compare builds, playstyles, learn from one another and just generally have fun together. Each trial will consist of a challenge along the lines of “kill this mob” or “complete this quest” and while prizes will be awarded based on completion time, everyone who enters will receive something. Check this main post for links to the individual trials as they occur.
  • Monthly Release Fishing Contests: This is a rotating, multi-location contest sponsored and organised by Rajazel, The Town Museum and its Governor Diablotine.
  • Mad Splatter Tea Party: One Sunday of each quarter, Lily Byrd hosts a tea party in her back garden at her home in Jade Valley. There are drinks and eats, there is sometimes music, there are often party games with prizes, and sometimes they just sit and talk about life in Novia. All are welcome to join but this is a role playing event tea party: please come as your avatar!

Community Calendars:

  • Avatars 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!

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.
  • 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: Ma Vie en Rogue

Sorceress Dragon of the team behind the Ultima Dragons’ 25th Anniversary Bash is creating a new, narrative-driven Roguelike RPG, Ma Vie en Rogue! The game will feature fun, engaging gameplay, many varied worlds, unlimited character customization, dozens of unique NPCs, pets, and monsters, sweet pixel art, and so much more. Richard Garriott has given his official endorsement, so watch for the Lord British character and Ultima-inspired Easter eggs! The Kickstarter is complete and early access release is now open. Check it out on Steam here!

 

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 Basic Compendium and the Magic and Martial Arts books! 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! Check out their official trailer here.

 

Resources: Players Helping Players

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.



Leave a Reply