Play Release 148!

Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Release 148 goes live March 30th 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 148 (R148), we offer spring things, some of which are red in tooth and paw.

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

 

Join the Annual Egg Hunt!

Get ready to jump into the action: the Annual Egg Hunt is back and it’s bigger than ever for our 6th in-game celebration! Join Laney and the Dev Team for an hour of fast-paced fun during one of our event windows on Saturday, April 11th in Mount Midir:

We’ve opened multiple time slots so players across the globe can join the excitement. Stock up on your jump potions, equip your Frogkin rings, gear up in your Boom Bunny gear, and be ready to defend yourself from anything! Keep your eyes open… this year’s event includes some brand-new surprises you won’t want to miss!

 

Release 148 Patch Notes

Below are a list of the updates that are live as of Release 148 in the game of Shroud of the Avatar! Polish, additional improvements, and bug fixes are inbound for R149 next month. We hope you enjoy the changes that are live today as of Release 148!

Crafting, Decoration, Gear, & Inventory Item Changes:

  • Immature and mature tea plants can now be crafted into all planting beds and pots. SOTA-72320
  • Reversed the mesh normals for tea plants so the sun shines on the TOPS of the leaves. SOTA-72599
  • Made both kinds of grapes placeable as deco and eatable as food. SOTA-72240, SOTA-72862
  • Improved the placement function of all existing fireplace/chimney sets. SOTA-72805
  • Added distance culling to the Macabre and Fancy Doll Cabinets.
  • Improved the spawning locations of all animal spawners and adjusted carrot size of the carrot-based ones.
  • Increased allowable player scaling of carrots.
  • Made slight name revisions to past Annual Monthly Fishing Contest Cloaks. SOTA-72695
  • Stopped the Ancient Sextant from consuming a Teleport to Zone Scroll if the player has any. SOTA-72777
  • Fixed spawning problems for giant brown rabbit animal spawner. SOTA-70384
  • Removed blue artifacts from the Ornate Floral Kimono’s dye slots.
  • Removed the unusable extra dye slot from the Witch Hat.
  • Removed the unusable extra dye slot from dyeable boiled eggs.

Combat & Skill Changes:

  • Updated NPC Ring of Fire Visuals. SOTA-72784

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

  • The mouse will no longer activate tool tips when the game is not in focus or if the mouse is not inside of the game window.
  • Fixed the store shelf name of the Large Crafting Woodcut Pack.

World and Quest Changes:

  • The waters of New Britannia are back to normal (for varying definitions of normal.)
  • Forest 01 Road Encounter: Fixed an issue where Shandy’s merchant cart wasn’t appearing. SOTA-72905
  • Ferig’s Battle Camp: Quinn the quartermaster has expanded his list of items for sale to include wine crates. Fixed a typo in his “Hello” response. SOTA-72870, SOTA-72906
  • Soltown: Players can no longer skip the conversation for the vendor menu of Emma the Barmaid while they are at a certain Soltown quest step. SOTA-72902
  • Vikland: In the village, replaced a wall painting with a world map to fix an error.

Player-Owned Town Changes:

  • Obsidian Caverns: Added new holdfast north of the Obsidian Trials in Novia.
  • Rajazel: updated the loading screen.
  • POT Forest 01, 01a, 01b, and 01c templates: Replaced several hand-placed trees with ones painted onto the terrain layer, allowing them to be removed with placement of objects such as tree removers. SOTA-72872 through 72875
  • POT Forest 02 template: Replaced hand-placed trees with ones painted onto the terrain layer, allowing them to be removed with placement of objects such as tree removers. SOTA-72880
  • POT Mountain 01 template: Replaced several hand-placed trees with ones painted onto the terrain layer, allowing them to be removed with placement of objects such as tree removers. SOTA-72888
  • POT Swamp Island 01 and 01a templates: Replaced hand-placed trees with ones painted onto the terrain layer, allowing them to be removed with placement of objects such as tree removers. SOTA-72882, SOTA-72883
  • POT Tropical Island 01 and 01a templates: Replaced hand-placed trees with ones painted onto the terrain layer, allowing them to be removed with placement of objects such as tree removers. SOTA-72884, SOTA-72885

Player-Owned Dungeon and Basement Changes:

  • Fixed placement of the Portrait of a Bloody Ghoul in all of the Player Dungeon halls and rooms. SOTA-72903
  • Rebuilt Hilt Basement Spider Encounter Room. Corrected room placement failures, rebuilt navmesh, and corrected the Spider Totem textures.
  • Rebuilt Navmesh for the Ancient Stone Hall Intersections L and T.
  • Built Navmesh for the Lava Lake Dungeon Room.

 

Latest News and Q&A in the April Livestream

The post-release Community Livestream is Friday, April 3rd 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 “spring ahead” 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 spring sale will run from March 30th through April 10th:

  • The sale section of the Crown Store will be 30% off instead of 20%.
  • Crowns of the Obsidians will be 20% off.
  • Deed Upgrades will be 30% off.

 

Release 148 Subscriber Login Rewards

The Rewards Program login items for Release 148 are a Blue Spring Fountain with Floating Candles and a pair of dyeable Gothic or Dark Gothic Curule Armchairs (Choose One Set) from which to sit and watch it.

Subscribers to the Rewards Program must log in during Release 148 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!

 

April Login Reward

Each account that logs in during the month of April will receive a one-time gift of a Spring Floral Still Life Desktop Painting.

 

Crown Store Updates

New in the crown store for today’s release:

  • Fancy Doll Cabinet with Default Wallboard Set
  • Macabre Doll Cabinet with Default Wallboard Set
  • White Rabbit with Brown Spots Decoration Pet
  • Animal Spawner, White Rabbit with Black Spots and Carrot
  • Animal Spawner, White Rabbit with Brown Spots and Carrot
  • Animal Spawner, White Rabbit with Black Spots and Clover
  • Animal Spawner, White Rabbit with Brown Spots and Clover
  • Spring Floral Still Life Painting
  • Special Occasion Gift Box Set
  • Ornate Shelfless Stone Fireplace 4-Pack
  • Ornate Shelfless Stone Fireplace 9-Pack
  • Large Ornate Shelfless Stone Fireplace 4-Pack
  • Large Ornate Shelfless Stone Fireplace 9-Pack
  • Ornate Shelfless Stone & Wood Fireplace 4-Pack
  • Ornate Shelfless Stone & Wood Fireplace 9-Pack
  • Large Ornate Shelfless Stone & Wood Fireplace 4-Pack
  • Large Ornate Shelfless Stone & Wood Fireplace 9-Pack

for April 1st:

  • Spring Floral Still Life Desktop Painting

…and for April 10th:

  • Dyeable Gothic Curule Armchair 2-Pack
  • Dyeable Dark Gothic Curule Armchair 2-Pack
  • Blue Spring Fountain w/ Floating Candles

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) 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

The Spring Equinox store items will be available from Monday March 16th through Monday May 4th:

List of Spring Equinox items:
  • Brown Bunny Ears & Slippers Set
  • Bunny Ears & Slippers Set
  • Decorative Dyeable Egg Pack
  • Flower Crown
  • Flower Leap Emote
  • Flower Emote
  • Lepus Mask 2017
  • Lepus Mask 2018
  • Silver & Gold Lepus Mask
  • White Lepus Mask
  • Rabbit Tailed Bodice Ensemble
  • Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2016
  • Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2017
  • Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2018
  • Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2019
  • Equipable Eggs Basket and Replenishing Confetti Eggs Basket 2024
  • Spring Fountain w/ Floating Candles
  • Blue Spring Fountain w/ Floating Candles

 

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 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.



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