Introducing Veritas Sanctuary

Avatars,

We are happy to announce a new town on the Path of Truth, Veritas Sanctuary. The town, released in R45 and located in the Longfall region of Novia adjacent to Blood River and Blood River Outskirts, is devoted to the search for Truth in a forsaken land. The town has a rich history dating back prior to the Obsidians’ rise to power when a band of humans and elves allied to escape their former masters from the north and find sanctuary and a new life in the Longfall area. Ruins of the ancient settlement still exist in town and can be seen in the northern and southern residential areas. In fact, an ancient wizard’s tower has been restored and is available for rent for those who dare to tempt the ancient magic that still lives there.

Most recently, the town has been settled by an active group of avatars who hail from Earth as far west as Western Canada and as far east as Prague. Most residents are online and in town daily.



Our mission in Veritas Sanctuary is to create a unique, active, and engaging community for new and established residents and visitors while providing a strategic base of operations for players on the Path of Truth and an excellent sales location for discerning vendors. To that end, the town council has master-planned the community to cater to all playing styles and will continue to invest in the town as it grows. The town is also guild-neutral, meaning that anyone is welcome to take up residence, whether solo or a member of any guild.

Master Plan and Amenities

Veritas Sanctuary is a master-planned community that will be built out over the next several months in 3-4 phases. Phase I includes a town market with expert crafting tables and full-strength devotionals (+5); a northern residential community built atop ancient ruins; a town square with a tavern, library, amphitheater, dance floor, and 2 inns with free rooms for new players; and a few rental properties for players that want more than a room but aren’t ready to purchase a deed yet. Phase I will be complete in time for R46 launch!

Phase II, planned to complete before January, will include gaming areas (gustball, chess, checkers, PvP arena, PvP maze, and more); southern residential community; a large farming community; and enhancements to the town square. Phases III and IV will tentatively include additional areas and features that cater to RP quests and unique living experiences, such as estates properties. The planned experiences will depend on when and how Portalarium enables sailing, custom NPC dialog, custom spawners, and more planned for the 2-year roadmap.

Here is the high-level master-plan showing Phase 1's layout:


Here is an interactive map with several points-of-interest, current market vendors, and future development notes, courtesy of sotamap.com.

Veritas Sanctuary has a town council of 3 avatars, who span GMT-7:00 to GMT+8:00 time zones and who are in-game daily:

• Dereck Visaard: Governor
• Twilight Tempest: Mayor
• Therdan Redwauld: Librarian and Keeper of the Stones

The council meets bi-weekly on Mondays at 9am NBT at the Amphitheater of the Ancients. Meetings are held in the open, for all residents to contribute. Town business will be discussed and put to vote, and then implemented for resident benefit. Veritas Sanctuary is truly a town for the people by the people.

Additionally, town residents include pledge-level backers and long-time players in the Ultima universe along with new players, representing multiple established guilds.

Additional Town Features and Resident Amenities

The market near the town entrance, named Dragonbane Market, provides a full set of expert crafting tables with convenient access to an Oracle, Banker, mailbox, all NPC merchants, and full-strength (+5) combat devotionals (Note: combat devotionals will be swapped out for crafting devotionals during crafting events). Several market lots are available to claim (no reservation needed) alongside 8 existing resident vendors selling a variety of materials, provisions, gear, deco, and rares. We also have a dedicated auction house and we will begin hosting regular crafting events and auctions in the market at R46 launch.









Dragonbane Market also has the 1st dedicated auction house in New Britannia, the Veritas Sanctuary Auction House, constructed by Therdan Redwauld and Psyche Aetherfract (@Psyche in forums). Regular public auctions will be held starting in R46.



All town residents can list items on the market’s 3 commission-free resident vendors and have free access to the town’s public garden and water source to grow and harvest reagents and food supplies. Players may live in one of the residential communities or the farming community and still bring their items to market without investing in a market spot and vendor.



The town square, located south of Dragonbane Market, is appropriately named The Scholar’s Square and was built around an ancient ring of stones found by the new town’s settlers.







We will begin hosting monthly SotA Astronomy classes at the square's moondial in October. As SotA gameplay becomes much more dependent upon astronomy over the next several months, it will be increasingly important to understand the impact of the night sky on game activities. We will help players understand that in our classes.

The square features unique attractions that are consistent with the town’s mission:

Helen Garriott Memorial Library – Dedicated to the inspiration behind the creator of the Ultima universe and @Lord British's loving mother. See the post here for more on the library which will be a permanent fixture in town.



Ring of Stones and Bones of an Ancient Dragon – Center of the town’s lore and a beautiful creation by Therdan Redwauld (@Sarek in forums). Many elves and humans gave their lives in an ancient battle. The ring of stones and the sacred tree at its center immortalize their sacrifice. The site was evidently imbued with an ancient magic that gives off an eerie glow to this day. It’s quite peaceful at night...



Amphitheater of the Ancients – A uniquely designed amphitheater created by the town’s Mayor, Twilight Tempest (@Nighttempest in forums) . Regular concerts and performances will be held in this space along with town meetings. Town residents are welcome to schedule public or private events. Message Twilight Tempest if you’d like to schedule an event.



Dance Floor of the Ancients – Another fine creation by Twilight Tempest, the dance floor is adjacent to the amphitheater and will be the center of the town’s after-parties. This finely apportioned dance floor has plenty of room for spectators and dancers with multiple aether vibration consoles for stereo sound and a DJ booth!



Inn of Scholar’s Solace – 1 of 2 inns in the Scholar’s Square, with a scholarly theme. The lobby boasts intimate spaces for study, courtesy of Twilight Tempest, and the inn provides modern conveniences for residents such as a mailbox and remote bank access device.



Our onsite greyhound, Winston, will surely provide an excellent reading companion. 13 rooms are available for rent and new players stay for free! Message Dereck Visaard if you would like a room.



The Traveler’s Trinket (under construction, will open in early October) – The town tavern, located in Scholar’s Square, which will offer local and regionally brewed drinks for the discerning palate once alcohol brewing comes online.

Dragonslayer’s Inn (under construction, will open in early October) – Our 2nd inn in the Scholar’s Square with a battle theme. The lobby will have relics of various battles, a PvP basement, and will also include modern conveniences.

Vyrin and Womby's Bookstore (under construction, will open in October) - The infamous scholars of New Britannia will open their Veritas Sanctuary chapter.

We are also privileged to have Serafina's Boutique – a unique boutique located on the north side of Dragonbane Market near the docks and operated by @Serafina. The boutique features a variety of new and rotating add-on store and craftable items. It’s an excellent place to see new in-game items before buying them. Items will be rotated as new items become available each release. I stumbled upon the rumored Angel of Death as she was merchandising....



I watched briefly, mesmerized by her magical aura but then I got caught


I fled for my life!

A few rental properties, ranging from row to island keep, are available for rent in the northern residential community and northern island including a restored ancient Wizard’s Tower, a restored ancient Lighthouse, and a recently built Duke Founder’s Keep.

As of R46, Veritas Sanctuary Prison is now up and running on Verity Isle, due east of Scholar's Square.



We have excellent accommodations for ruffians and those who disrupt the peace...



And for that special class of criminal, we have "The Hole" which was recently overrun and locked from the outside...please help!



More information on the town mission, master-plan, and phased expansion can be found at the Governor interview here, conducted by Lightiger. Thanks @Lightiger!

Town Events

Governor Visaard has decreed that Veritas Sanctuary will regularly host a variety of launch events that cater to different playing styles. Our first set of events as held on September 29th – October 1st in conjunction with R46 launch as part of our town debut. See the event post here for the recap!

Additionally, in October (R47 launch) we will have a town-wide RP quest event that will surely impress all those looking for a scare and a unique, player-driven quest line. In November (R48 launch) we will have a series of PvP events. More details will follow as we get closer to that time, but the goal is to have at least 1 event of each style (crafting, RP/adventuring, performing arts, and PvP) per quarter.

In Closing

We invite all avatars to visit Veritas Sanctuary, at the very least to pay tribute to Helen Garriott at the memorial library. Many lots are open to claim, and we have a vibrant community of residents. And don’t forget to join us for an exciting weekend of activities at the R46 launch!

 

Two weeks and a half ago, there was nothing.
It is extraordinary how Veritas Sanctuary has set a marker on the map in New Brittania and how quickly it has been developing ever since. The town is expanding rapidly due to helping hands of brilliant and unique town residents, executive involvement and participation in town management.
It is like an explosion that detonated, yet a flourishing instead of a destructive one.
I see you at the events taking place from Sept 29th - October the 1st.

 

Hey, I live here. Or at least I will, once I've finished grinding away to get enough gold for the house model I want. Though it amuses me slightly to be living out of a chest on the property like a hobo. I should at least put a campfire there or something.

 

Hehe, I saw your chest! Welcome to town. I friended you in-game...let me know if you need anything. And I'll add you to the resident vendors so you can list items.

 

Avatars,

I wanted to provide an update on the town. Many things have happened in one week's time!

Veritas Sanctuary Prison is now open on Verity Isle. We'll add town quest lines shortly, but if anyone would like to be a resident, feel free to visit the town and disrupt the peace!

Also, the Spooky Angel of Death was sighted in Serafina's Boutique....perhaps all the new R46 items drew her attention...you must investigate!

Construction is nearing completion on The Traveler's Trinket and the Dragonslayer's Inn and several more residents have moved in to Dragonbane Market and New Hieron.

And, we had an excellent weekend of events! More details on the events are here.

Phase 1 is complete. We will tentatively start construction on phase 2 in the R47 timeframe.

Come by and visit!

 

Avatars,

It's been a while since we provided an update on the construction and expansion in Veritas Sanctuary. Phase I of construction, referenced above, was completed shortly before the 2017 holidays when the town was a town-size POT. After the holidays, the town was upgraded to a city-size POT and over the last few months, residents have been hard at work building out the Phase 2 expansion. I am pleased to report that Phase 2 is now complete and open for business. I'd like to thank all the town residents and benefactors who contributed RMT funds, gold, COTOs, crafting supplies, and precious time to build, test, and refine the new southern areas!

And for our German friends: Es haben sich einige aktive Spieler aus Deutschland in Veritas Sanctuary niedergelassen. Damit heißen wir jeden Spieler auch in deutscher Sprache herzlich willkommen und laden dazu ein sich in Veritas Sanctuary niederzulassen. Als Ansprechpartner dient Catweazle Waldschrath. (Anflüstern: /w Catweazle Waldschrath, <text> oder eine private Nachricht an @CatweazleX hier im Forum)

What's New?

Town historians explored the ruins south of Scholar's Square further and confirmed that the elven refugees from Vertas settled near two ancient trees along the river. One of the trees still stands at the riverbank, while the other evidently fell sometime before the refugee's arrival. The few records we found relate that the mighty stump was sprouting new leaves when the elves arrived, so they built a small shrine there to commemorate a new start and appropriately named the tree "Hope Tree" symbolizing their hope of starting a new life. To honor their memory, we built the Hope Tree Market around its remains.









The market features a full set of expert crafting tables, NPC merchants, an Oracle and banker, several new row and village spots for player vendors, and an upgraded auction house named Veritas Coliseum on the south side of the market. Yes, the Veritas Sanctuary Auctions will soon return!



The southwest quadrant of Hope Tree Market (4 row spots, 1 village) will feature 100% elven homes to respect the area's elven heritage. The remainder of the market has no housing restrictions.



On the west side of Hope Tree Market and along the back of Scholar's Square is a new gaming area featuring an Ornate Gustball Field, life-size chess and checker boards, a picnic area, and a Winners Circle Pavilion for award ceremonies. It ties the market and the square together. We're working with the SotA Gustball League to ensure that Veritas Sanctuary is a regular destination for the league. Residents and visitors are welcome to play or practice anytime!







Here's a nice view from the hot air balloon over the gaming area, showing the relation to the hope tree market, the coliseum, the winner's circle, and the elven quadrant:



You can also follow along with the in-game map to see the new areas:



South of Hope Tree Market lies the ruins of the elven village of Little Vertas, named by the elven settlers after their hometown. New village and town lots have been placed among the ruins to form the new, southern residential area of town.







Residents report that distant voices and echoes can be heard faintly in the ruins at night…brave travelers should investigate...

To the west of Little Vertas, along the road, lie the ruins of a combat arena. During excavation, historians found records of an extended Obsidian siege of the area. Evidently, the cabalists forced elves and humans to fight Satyrs in gruesome gladiator battles for their own amusement and erected an arena to promote their twisted entertainment. The arena has been restored and to honor the brave elves and humans that fought against their will, we have named it Courage Arena and will host regular PvP tournaments! The arena is located away from decorated homes or common areas, so there is no performance lag during combat even on less-powerful machines and was designed and validated by PvP experts so it's great for melee, ranged, and magic 1x1 or group battles including defend the flag scenarios.















To the south of Little Vertas across the covered bridge (or at the Town Boundary 2 teleporter) is Veritas Farms, featuring town- and village-sized farming lots and a community garden area with water sources, a banker, mailbox, and farming merchant. Lots are available for farmers to use with quick in/out access for planting/watering/harvesting. Veritas Sanctuary also offers employment to new players at Veritas Farms. New players can work in the fields, gain crafting XP and level agriculture skills, and make some cash for their efforts! Message @Dereck Visaard if you want a job at the farm.





We have also polished the entrance to the northern Dragonbane Market. There are now 4 community, commission-free vendors available for free to town residents (that own/rent a spot in town not directly in a market):



And we added 3 more full-strength combat devotionals (for a total of 5):



Honor = +1.3 Combat Focus per second and +5 Carpentry
Sacrifice = +1.3 Combat Health per second and +5 Agriculture
Love, +5 Dexterity
Truth, +5 Intelligence
Courage, +5 Strength

Note: We'll evaluate traffic impact with the 3 additional devotionals and may tweak it based on resident feedback.

The community also has a Discord Server and Patreon site where players can stay informed on town features, projects, and events, resident/vendor information and services, and donate funds to support community events such as the auctions and future town expansion. So, come experience the beauty and rich history of Veritas Sanctuary (The Sanctuary of Truth)! Explore the new sections, shop the northern and southern markets, tour the Helen Garriott Memorial Library, or take a SotA astronomy class. You may find a few surprises not mentioned here…

-Dereck