Shroud of the Avatar – Update of the Avatar #77
Good Evening and Best Wishes Friends and Fellow Avatars!
I hope you have all enjoyed this week’s E3 announcements and information. Certain announcements definitely made my week along with confirmation on many other changes in the world of electronics and gaming that have me looking forward to future games and changes from many developers in the upcoming months. With today’s update, here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:
- Big Week for SotA at E3!
- Knight Marshal Tower Keep
- Royal Artisan Pledge Rewards
- Royal Founder Rewards
- Elves As Playable Race Stretch Goal
- Oracle Cloak
- Village Pavillion
- More Row Houses
- Through the Lunar Rift!
- 10% Pledge Bonus!
- Alienware $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupons
- Upcoming Events
Big Week for SotA at E3!
It was an exciting week at E3, where Richard Garriott, Starr Long, and Finn Staber were demonstrating SotA as a featured game at the Plantronics booth!
The team also premiered the new video trailer for Shroud of the Avatar at E3! Narrated by Bill Johnson (voice of The Guardian in Ultima), with the musical track “Ascendance” by Space Bards. Enjoy!
If you’re a fan of Plantronics Gaming Headsets (like the dev team and many of us backers are), then check out their Plantronics Gaming Facebook page, and if you like what you see then give them a “Like”!
Knight Marshal Tower Keep
The glorious Knight Marshal Tower Keep (included in the Knight Marshal pledge tier), shown below sitting on the Knight Marshal’s town lot, is comprised of 3 floors and a roof deck, with 3 great rooms and 12 alcove rooms (and a secret room, too).
Royal Artisan Pledge Rewards
Included in the Royal Artisan Pledge rewards is the Artisan’s Box of Plenty. YOu have to check out this sweet design. I honestly wish this existed in real life… as a hobbyist woodworker, I may need to make this myself even just to have in my own home. In the game however, this unique box will generate a random resource or reagent once per week:
Also included in the Royal Artisan’s rewards is one (1) starter-level, indestructible, artisan’s tool for the skill of your choice, uniquely identifiable as a Benefactor’s tool. Here are all the tools you get to pick from:
Royal Founder Rewards
We’ve completed in-game versions of several more of our uniquely identifiable Royal Founder items (see Starr’s forum post for complete list). “Royal Founders” are backers that have a pledge made prior to May 20, 2013 (see FAQ): Royal Founder items have a white background, differentiating them from the blue background of “Founder” items. The Royal Founder items for this week include:
- Starter Shield (included in the Adventurer Pledge rewards)
- Cloak (included in the Immortal Adventurer Pledge rewards)
- Cloth, Leather, Chain, & Plate Starter Armor (included in the Virtual Collector Pledge rewards)
Elves As Playable Race Stretch Goal
This week we’re adding Elves as a playable race to the Stretch Goal Store. For this stretch goal, players will be able to choose an Elf as a playable race during character creation.
The elven items available for purchase are a cloak, bow, warrior armor, mage robes, archer armor, and elven home. Here are the items we currently have images for:
Oracle Cloak
Although the influence of the Oracle has waxed and waned over the many years of her existence, you can show your devotion by proudly wearing this Oracle Cloak. There is a secret in-game effect that wearing the Oracle Cloak will invoke. Now available in the Add-On Store at 50% off!
Village Pavilion
Just arriving at the Add-On Store is the new Village Pavilion. Perfect for late night hot tub parties, or set up as your own crafting workshop! You may recognize this building as the public crafting pavilion in Owl’s Head.
Get Your Village Pavilion Now for 50% off!
For a limited time the team is offering 50% off this home! Reserve yours (or send as a gift) at the Add-On Store!
More Row Houses
We have some new row houses available in the Add-On Store this week, including a variety of Blue Tile Roof Row houses and a 3-story Wood & Plaster Row house!
Blue Tile Roof Row Houses
Included in the new line of Blue Tile Roof Row homes are the 2-story (4 rooms), 3-story (6 rooms), and 4-story (8 rooms with fourth floor balcony) row houses, available now in the Add-On Store:
Wood & Plaster 3-Story Row House
Next in the line of Wood & Plaster Row homes is this 3-story, 6-room row house, now available in the Add-On Store:
Here are sample interior views from the Blue Tile Roof and Wood & Plaster Row homes:
For a limited time the dev team is offering 50% off these Row Homes! Reserve yours (or send as a gift) at the Add-On Store!
Through the Lunar Rift!
These tales, told as a weekly series of journal entries written by Gina “FireLotus” Dionne, will feature the people and places of New Britannia and give you a bit of insight, and hopefully some inspiration, when creating your own stories while exploring the lands of Shroud of the Avatar.
The Chaos Outside of Kingsport
When I first arrived in New Britannia, the trade routes were still open. I’ve always been very hands on when it comes to my work, so I of course wanted to see where I was getting my supplies first hand of course. Not that getting the chance to dip my toes in the brand new ocean didn’t play a part in my decision. Ok, a chance to swim in a whole new ocean was actually the main reason I spent several days in a caravan headed for Kingsport, but traveling for business certainly sounds more responsible. And I did happen to make a few contacts that are still proving to be useful. So all in all, it was a good trip. I just didn’t know it would be my last.
Then the trade ships from Brittany stopped, and the future of the quaint little seaside town of Kingsport seemed pretty dire. It’s a shame too, I met some really good people during my short time there. Some pretty entitled people too (that over-inflated guild master could certainly do with a lesson in humility) but mostly good folk that certainly did not deserve the hardship they suddenly found themselves in.
They were holding their own though, at least until all manner of creatures moved their way up and into the wilds outside of Kingsport. It was around the time when rumors of the undead started though, that the local trade routes stopped running. Even though most folks refuse to even acknowledge the possibility of the dead walking among us, it wasn’t that unbelievable for me. After all, I already knew first-hand that powerful magics had once again begun to permeate this realm.
You see, where I’m from, magic is more of an idea than a reality. You can imagine my surprise when I was trying to meditate, trying to ground myself, and suddenly, a tangle of snake-like roots shot up from the ground and wrapped around my legs. That was my first experience with “real” magic. After that, not much surprised me anymore when it came to the powerful forces at play here in the Vale.,,
Read the rest of the story in the forums
Only 21 Days remain to get your 10% Pledge Bonus!
If you were thinking of pledging your support to the development of Shroud of the Avatar, or upgrading your existing pledge, now’s a great time to do it! Thru Lord British’s birthday on July 4, 2014 we’ll add an additional 10% to your pledge! Don’t miss out!
For all new pledges or pledge upgrades that you purchase for yourself, or as a gift, between 12:00 am CST June 5, 2014 and 12:00 am CST July 5, 2014 Portalarium will add another 10% to your pledge! (Note: the original date started on June 6 but since we published the new reward information in the public forums on June 5 it was decided to start the pledge bonus promotion a day earlier)
For example, if you love the new Row House included as a bonus reward in the Ancestor tier and purchase the pledge for $275, we will add an additional $28 to your pledge account ($275 times 10% equals $27.50 rounded up to $28; our pledge package doesn’t handle cents so we round up to nearest dollar).
Alienware Sponsors $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon
Alienware’s powerful gaming rigs are a perfect match for Shroud of the Avatar! To show their support, Alienware is sponsoring $20 SotA Pledge Upgrade Coupons to members of their Alienware Arena community!
These coupons can be used to start a SotA pledge account (for new backers), or to add $20 to an existing pledge account. If, for example, you have a $90 Royal Artisan Pledge, you can use the Alienware coupon to bump you up to a $110 Virtual Collector Pledge.
Pretty sweet deal, right? So, hurry over to the Alienware Arena website and get your $20 Pledge Upgrade Coupon now!
[NOTE: Only one Alienware Pledge Upgrade Coupon can be used per account. Coupon does not apply to Add-On Store items]
This Week In the News
June 11 – Shroud of the Avatar E3 Interview with PC Gamer: Lord British Speaks to his People
June 12 – VentureBeat: Lord British Keeps Fans Updated on Progress of Shroud of the Avatar
Upcoming Events
2014.06.26 – Release 7 Access
2014.07.04 – SotA at RTX
2014.07.24 – Release 8 Access
2014.08.09 – SotA at synDCon
2014.08.21 – Release 9 Access
2014.08.29 – SotA at Dragoncon
2014.09.25 – Release 10 Access
2014.10.23 – Release 11 Access
2014.11.14 – Duke & Lord of the Manor VIP Design Roundtable with Lord British and Portalarium Studio Tour
2014.11.15 – HoBLotH II: Legends of the Hearth
2014.11.20 – Release 12 Access
2014.12.18 – Release 13 Access
As I like to do every week, huge thanks go out to the dev team for their hard work along with so many of our community members who continue to contribute amazing ideas and feedback. As I caught up in the forums, I saw alot of great info and thoughts from many ppl. Keep up the good work and the fight to have one of the best polished and designed RPGs of the currrent gaming era….
