I'm interested in what the 'Forsaken Virtues' are. If they will be Lord British's 8 virtues from Ultima. Or does the Oracle (assuming this is the Deity?!?) have different values in which the New Brittanian's live by. Is patience one of them? I need patience, REALLY WANT TO PLAY SOTA ALREADY!! Will there be an opposing Deity to the Oracle, will there be numerous Gods, all with different virtues? God of War, God of Magic, God of Crafting? Religious NPC's that attend meetings like The Fellowship from Ultima VII? I could go on.......
Richard mentioned in an early dev chat, that he had found that "Love, Truth, Courage" were very much a common theme in many cultures (he brought up the "Wizard of Oz" for instance). I suspect those three central tenets will be part of this game. Not sure about the eight sub-virtues which flowed from those. I have not heard whether they will be part of the new canon, or have been "lost to the ages". If you are really keen on learning more about the canon of the new game, you may want to consider reading the "Blade of the Avatar" novel. It is still a work-in-progress (being released a chapter at a time), but it does outline how the world will most likely be like. It is available via the website store.
To answer some of the questions. It's been made pretty apparent that the world of SotA is in fact the future of the world of Ultima. I've never seen a LB game that had actual gods or any established long-term religion. It's just never been part of his story telling. The old virtues will certainly be part of the game but they no longer hold much sway. Like much of the history of the world the virtues it seems are more or less forgotten.. or at least not given the reverence they once had. From what I can tell from the book so far, there are some few in the world who still hold the virtues and avatars in some high regard but for the most part they are relics of the past and there are certain matters of prophesy causing avatars to be considered a blessing and a curse. It's very much a world of a new order. LB isn't in charge anymore. As for the Oracle.. I think there's a lot of information intentionally withheld. I personally find the Oracle somewhat dubious. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
The oracle is secretly a mongbat overlord. One which has slumbered away for millenia in the deep hold of the mountains.
A secret mongbat overlord acting as a virtuous supreme being to lure devout followers, and then unleashing his/her (I've never actually thought of mongbats being of both genders before, or are the females considered harpies and males mongbats?!?) fury with their new found army. How delightfully evil. Thanks for the replies, I have just upgraded to Founder, and am downloading the 'Blade of the Avatar'. Indeed it will! It's going to be very interesting how it all plays out in all aspects of the game. So many cool ideas, everyone seems super psyched to play.
The reason Wizard of Oz was brought up is because Dorothys companions are the basis and representation of the Principles. Scarecrow (Truth), Tin Man (Love), Lion (Courage).
Just because something looks creepy and dubious on the outside doesn't mean its creepy and dubious on the inside! Don't be judgmental. :> :> :>
