Greetings Fellow Avatars!

Here’s what we have for you in this week’s edition of Update of the Avatar:

New Female Avatar

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Kevin “Uglyfist” Wells]

Hello again everyone. First, I want to give many thanks to the community for the flattering and constructive feedback from my last post about the male avatar update. It was a great experience and totally made the work feel worth it with all the positive feedback.

It’s player character polish debut time again, and I’m very excited to say that the female avatar has been updated. Much like the male avatar update, I started from scratch and built and integrated the character over a two-release period.

With this update, the idea was to take what we had, and without completely changing the aesthetic, remake the art in a way that improves the quality but doesn’t completely change the look and feel with which players are already so familiar. Basically, the goal was to keep the female avatar looking as she was before, but with more polish and bit of a push toward an athletic look.

Also, as with the male avatar update, I have to give thanks to Matt Schmitz and Fletcher Kinnear for helping me get this new character working well with animations and all the many equippables.

I hope you guys love it and I can’t wait to hear back from everybody.

Kiln Cistern (a work in progress)

NOTE: Kiln Cistern is scheduled to go live in R31

[From a Dev+ Forum Post by Dan “PlagueofLocust” Brennan]

Kiln’s water supply is in jeopardy! Something foul is going on within the Kiln Cistern. It falls to you to navigate its system of locked doors and flooded hallways to reach its deepest chamber. Rise to the challenge and solve the problem before the good citizens of Kiln run out of precious water.

Final Duke Tour & Roundtable

This past Friday, May 13th, marked the final time that Dukes and Lords of the Manor could claim their Studio Tour and Roundtable rewards. On that day, sixteen Dukes, Duchesses, Lords, and Ladies descended upon Portalarium to tour our humble quarters to see where the magic happens. Lord British himself led the tour and lauded our attendees with tales of the misadventures of the earliest days of game development.

The tour wound its way through the offices where various team members showed works in progress and gave attendees insights into how they did their jobs.

After the tour, Richard “Lord British” Garriott, Starr “Darkstarr” Long, and Chris “Atos” Spears led the attendees in a series of Roundtable discussions about various aspects of the game including story, crafting, player towns, and combat.





New Community Manager: Berek

We are incredibly excited to welcome our new community manager Mathew “Berek” Anderson to the team! He’s an old school Ultima Online player, an ice cream lover, and an original Shroud backer.

Firelotus introduced him to the community this Monday with this forum post:

I have wonderful news for all of you, Avatars! As we approach Final Wipe, and ultimately launch, we want to be sure that the Community continues to grow and evolve into all that it can be. To do that, we are bringing in a new community manager who will be dedicated to you, our amazing Community! Our team has a lot planned for the upcoming milestones, especially R32, and having a Community Manager in the office and focused on Community is a big part of it.

Please show your support by welcoming Mathew “Berek” Anderson to the community as Senior Community Manager for Shroud of the Avatar! He has been a dedicated fan of the game since the beginning. Berek is here for you, will support your creativity and passion as I have done, and is always ready to answer your questions, and… most importantly, to listen to what you have to say. He will be active in the forums, in game, and on all of our social media channels, so feel free to reach out to him.

We have found an amazing person to take on my mantle, so I am confident you are in the best hands! I am thrilled that Mathew is joining the team, as there is so much that we have wanted to do to enhance our work with the community, and with him at the helm, we will now have that opportunity!

Mathew comes to us as a local Texan, so we didn’t have too far to look. Previously, he’s worked on several MMORPG projects, and I’ve also heard a few rumors that he has one of the largest rune libraries in Ultima Online. No, it’s not Goodman’s, but it is on the Atlantic shard.

All of us at Portalarium are looking forward to working with him on some pretty exciting opportunities we have coming up for you in the months ahead, so stay tuned on that front.

And I know that right about now, some of you are wondering what is happening to FireLotus…

Another important part of the next few milestones will be finishing up the story and breathing life into Novia, and that is where my focus will be moving forward. So, do not feel saddened! The Bard in me rejoices that I will be able to immerse myself in story and lore! I will still be here with you, though in more of a support role for all things community. And I will even have more time for Dev-led Events and RP!

Welcome to Novia, Berek! Huzzah!

FireLotus

Royal Bard

Berek then followed up by introducing himself:

Thanks Gina! Greetings and salutations community!

I’m excited and proud to be the new community manager for Shroud of the Avatar. When I had the opportunity join Portalarium and work with such an amazing community, I had to make the move. I believe that a great game is made most successful by what I call the Community Glue. The amazing Portalarium team combined with a positive, friendly, and respectful community are the ingredients for that glue.

When it comes to Shroud of the Avatar, I’m all in – watching every Hangout of the Avatar, NBNN update, participating here in the forums, and of course checking out all of the community activities in the game itself. There’s always something to look forward to and amazing to look back on every day in this community. I wish I previously had more time to play and get to know all of you, but that’s ok, because now we have that chance .

Hopefully this is all great to hear, but you probably still want to know who the heck I am…

The story begins in a highly contested land called Felucca, where the rule of law is in the hands of the individual. This was the first time I explored an MMORPG world, and was nearly my last. I was minding my own business, simply fishing alongside a creek, when a thief came up to attack me. Little did he know that I was once lord of a nearby kingdom and quite able to handle a petty thief.

As the thief struggled with my hand bag, I managed to grab my short sword, hitting him on the head with the blunt edge. Stunned, but not deterred, the thief pulled a large dagger out from his back scabbard, taking a jab at my torso. This was no thief, but an assassin! As the assassin attempted to recover from a poor strike, I swung quickly upward, slicing through his outstretched wrist and severing his hand.

While the assassin screamed in rage, an old man on horseback came up along the nearby trail. He quickly stunned my would-be assassin with a lightning strike spell, allowing me to secure the assassin. The old man and I then headed to the nearby town of Minoc to turn the assassin into jail, and post a town hall notice that the local roads were to be watched carefully over the next few days.

After that incident, I was forever known by my new friend and the town’s people as Berek, Illustrious Lord and Skilled Fisherman!

On the less dangerous but no less adventurous side of my career, my community management experience started at various MMORPG networks like Stratics.com. I was also a guide in the EverQuest guide program, as well as getting my house decorating priorities in order in Ultima Online. A few years ago, I swam across the ocean to China to teach English for a year, before returning and continuing my work at studios like Portalarium.

Most importantly for you, I am not so much a ‘manager’, but your guide and supporter, a supporter for your shared quest to build a great community for Shroud of the Avatar. I’ve seen many faces interested in the game since the Kickstarter, so I’m keen in working with all of you to make this community a success. There’s a lot of exciting game content coming up, so let’s work together to make it a fun experience for all avatars!

For now, some fun facts about myself:

Favorite all-time board game is Settlers of Catan (Explorers & Pirates specifically)

Shamefully lost every competitive LARP event I’ve been a part of

Favorite films include Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, 2001, Goonies, Labyrinth, Neverending Story

I’m a techy, so I love randomly rearranging and upgrading parts in my computers

First person to guess my favorite dessert gets a SotA t-shirt .

For all other mischievous shenanigans, you can visit my website at: http://www.mathewanderson.com, or just ask me here.

See you in New Britannia!

Mathew “Berek” Anderson

Senior Community Manager

Shroud of the Avatar

The thread took many fun twists and turns from there but by far our favorite was when community member, enderandrew, described what he imagined the interview process must have been like (and got it fairly accurate):

Starr: I see you worked with Stratics and your resume looks good.

I see you worked with Stratics and your resume looks good. Joseph: Hey, I’m back in the office. Do you like fart jokes and whiskey?

Hey, I’m back in the office. Do you like fart jokes and whiskey? Berek: What?

What? Lum: You may also be required to sing and dance to David Bowie.

You may also be required to sing and dance to David Bowie. Berek: What kind of community are you running here?

What kind of community are you running here? Richard: What is your stance on cannibalism and killing kids in games?

What is your stance on cannibalism and killing kids in games? Berek: Did you just say what I think you said?

Did you just say what I think you said? Chris: Where are we going to put him? The Dippy Bird is using our last desk.

Where are we going to put him? The Dippy Bird is using our last desk. Everyone: We just got another $2,500 in pledges. Everyone do a shot!

We just got another $2,500 in pledges. Everyone do a shot! Berek: I thought you only did that during telethons.

I thought you only did that during telethons. Starr: The secret to cramming in tons of content and features with a small team and never missing a release is to maintain the Ballmer Peak. Now, do you know how to correctly pronounce Corpions?

The secret to cramming in tons of content and features with a small team and never missing a release is to maintain the Ballmer Peak. Now, do you know how to correctly pronounce Corpions? Berek: Are you talking about scorpions?

Are you talking about scorpions? Chris: He’ll have to work on that.

He’ll have to work on that. Lum: You’re forgetting the important questions. Does he own birds?

You’re forgetting the important questions. Does he own birds? Berek: You lost me at Ballmer Peak.

Image Courtesy of xkcd

And in case you are worried that he won’t be able to keep up with our shenanigans here’s a pic of Berek as Deadpool wearing a Pikachu beating a Pikachu with a sword:

Spring Telethon Rewards

As mentioned in Update #175, our Spring Festival of the Avatar Telethon was a huge success! We achieved all the Stretch Goal Rewards and even had to create new ones! We were so grateful by the incredible outpouring of support from our community that we accelerated development of the rewards and they will be available in Release 30!

Starting with Release 30, Spring Telethon Funding Stretch Goal Rewards will be rewarded to any backers that pledged a minimum of $5 from the start of the Spring telethon, until Midnight May 2 (Spending Store Credit to make $5 minimum purchase does not apply). Here’s a sneak peek at the Flower Crown, Butterfly pet, and Dragonfly pet:

Shroud of the Avatar Wax Cylinder Soundtrack Volumes 2 & 3

Phonograph in image not included with soundtrack bundles

Forty more of your favorite Shroud of the Avatar songs are available now in the Add-On Store! Soundtrack Volumes 2 and 3 include the following wax cylinders:

Soundtrack Volume 2

“Banks and Arts” by Santa Clause

“Build and Fortify” by Kailef

“Combat and Adventure” by Kailef

“Combat and Control” by Kailef

“Courage” by Holt Ironfell

“Court of Souls” by Kailef

“Deep and Dark” by Kailef

“Dungeon Exploration” by Richard Daskas

“Elven Pride” by Dougyfresh

“Evil” by Steven Goldman

“Fall of Pride” by Aftermath_FIN

“Hail Novia” by Aftermath_FIN

“Hard Road Ahead” by Richard Daskas

“Long Roads to Nowhere” by Kailef

“Mysterious Cavern” by Santa Clause

“Pride and Profits” by Kailef

“Satyr Enslaver” by Santa Clause

“Smelly Sewers” by Santa Clause

“Travesty of Justice” by Dougyfresh

“Work and Play” by Ome

Soundtrack Volume 3

“Bayous and Underbrush” by Richard Daskas

“Caverns of Doom” by Santa Clause

“Combat and Ruins” by Kailef

“Dark Alien Magical Warping” by SirWombat

“Davy Jones Aint Got No Bones” by Santa Clause

“Deep Dungeon” by Jenna

“Elven Environments” by Dougyfresh

“Elven Sadness” by Dougyfresh

“Falsehood” by Holt Ironfell

“Fire and Brimstone” by Peter Boiko

“Hail Novia (Live Vocals)” by Aftermath_FIN

“Hills Exploration” by Richard Daskas

“Muck and Stink” by Richard Daskas

“Old Mines” by Kailef

“River Styx” by Kailef

“Shackled Fawn” by Santa Clause

“The Garden of Sorrow” by Quetzalcoatl

“Valor and Cowardice” by Santa Clause

“Volga Sea Shanty” by Richard Daskas

“Yo Ho Hum I Really Need Some Rum” by Richard Daskas

You will need a phonograph placed on a property in-game to play these wax cylinders. These bundles are automatically included with Player Owned Towns, so town owners can visit a banker next time they log in to the game to claim them.

Ornate Iron Wall Light 3-Pack

These ornate iron wall lights provide decorative lighting for any room or exterior wall. Available now in the Add-On Store!





68 Day Countdown to Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 1

As we march toward the Final Wipe and Lot Selection milestone, we are having a Summer 2016 Expiration Event split into Two Parts!

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 1

At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on July 27, 2016, we are expiring the homes and basements from the Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2 pledges. We are also expiring new Player Owned Towns (upgrades of existing POTs will continue to be available). All other rewards (including tax free property deeds) that are currently available in the remaining pledges will continue to be available. The final wipe of all game data will also occur at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on July 27th. To commemorate this momentous milestone, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 1, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Wipe at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).

Summer 2016 Expiration Event, Part 2

At Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC) on August 22, 2016, we are expiring ALL remaining pledges, including: Adventurer, Founder, Royal Artisan, Explorer, Ancestor, Edelmann, Knight Marshal, Lord Marshal, Duke, and Lord of the Manor 2. To commemorate the final expiration of all remaining pledges, we are holding a 12-hour Summer Telethon Part 2, starting at 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC) and running right up to the Final Pledge Expirations at Midnight CDT (5:00 UTC).

Community Resources – Players Helping Players

The official SotA Player Created Resources Forum is the place to find 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. Here are a few samples:

In-game Community Events

Our amazing community has another great lineup of in-game events planned for this weekend. Special thanks to community member SpookyJenny (aka Jenny Phoenixfyre in-game) for her help in compiling the schedule of player events from the Avatar’s Circle Community Events calendar and the Events of the Avatars community calendar:

Recurring Events

RPOTA Monthly $170 Writing Contest Here ye! Here ye! Biographers, Historians, Diplomats, Journalists, Story Writers, Quest Designers and Videographers! RPOTA is in dire need of your amazing talents! Role-Players of the Avatar is hosting a monthly contest to award those most famous with their quill or camera! (details)

The Unreliable Travel Guide The Unreliable Travel Guide, created at the SotA Writing Round Table, is not an event, but a collection of hilarious short stories published by two drunken layabouts who have nothing better to do than try to derive a dishonest income from newly arrived avatars. (details)

Avatars Radio (Daily Programming) Welcome New Britannians to Avatars Radio – Radio of the Avatars. Rocking your socks off from the town of Radio City with the Terrestrial and New Britannian bards together under one roof through the power of the Moon Towers. Check out their daily program of amazing DJs: http://avatarsradio.info/schedule.php

NBNN Lunch with Laz & Jack (Weekdays, 12pm CDT) Join NBNN every weekday for Lunch With Laz & Jack. They will be covering the daily goings on in SOTA. Calendar updates, Relevant issues happening in the days news. Come chat with us about upcoming events and general information. http://nbnn.info

Order of Vengeance Guild Meeting (Mondays, 9pm CDT) Held at the Guild Hall in Vengeance

PaxLair Town Manager Hour (Tuesdays, 2:00pm CDT) Join PaxLair’s Town Manager, Sean Silverfoot, to ask questions about PaxLair, being a Citizen, holding a lot and any other questions concerning PaxLair or any of it’s boroughs: Dragons Watch, Tenakill, Lockbrier, Island of Wonders, Knowhere, Sea Nymph Grotto & Serentiy Isle. (map)

EVL Monster Mash Dungeon Crawl (Tuesdays & Saturdays, 7pm CDT) Every Virtue is Lasting will be holding a dungeon crawl every Tuesday (for advanced players) and Saturdays (for newer, less experienced players) to provide fun and experience for our members and guests. All are welcome! The meeting point for Tuesdays is in Owls Head (map) at the center of town near the trainer (Zenie is your teleportation Avatar and dungeon master), and for Saturdays it is in Soltown (map; Shady Death is your teleportation Avatar and dungeon master) (details)

EVL Virtue League PVP Tournament (Wednesdays, 7pm CDT) Looking to break into the PVP scene but don’t want to be placed against established god-like players? We have you covered with two divisions, one for the newer, less experienced player, and one for the cream of the crop who have something to prove! (Chaos Caverns underground at Virtue Oasis on the Hidden Vale; details)

Stryker Sparhawk’s Happy Hour Wednesdays (Wednesdays, 8pm CDT) Stryker will travel to one of the local Novia taverns for an hour to open a bar tab for drinks in hopes of sharing stories, news, critique of the arts, music, dancing, and otherwise unplanned mayhem. Teleport to Stryker Sparhawk (details)



Friday, May 20

7pm CDT Phoenix Republic PVE Nights (also on Thursday nights at 7pm) Join the Phoenix Republic as we send our weekly foray into the control points, dungeons and other of the most dangerous locales. Each week we will depart to a different PVE locale to help train our combatants. Contact Kazyn Phoenixfyre or Malakas for more info!

7pm CDT Vengeance Madness PVP This is an Open PvP event where everyone fights it out in a royal rumble to see who the ultimate death dealer is! An hour of PvP madness that you cannot miss. The person who ends up with the most kills will be the champion! This is an opportunity to test skills, templates, items, and strategy, but most of all to have fun! An hour full of madness you cannot miss out on! Whether you are a usual PvP’er or not… Anyone is welcome to come out and join us. Winners may win entries into the BMC-Grid Iron. (City of Vengeance; teleport to Bambino LudoVate; map).

7:30pm CDT Friday Night Astronomy Interested in New Britannia Astronomy? Just enjoy gazing at the stars? Join us every week as we explore the night sky above New Britannia. (Player Town of Caer Dracwych, map; teleport to Bowen Bloodgood; details)



Saturday, May 21

7:00am CDT Wake Up New, Britannia!!! With Woftam and Selene Woftam and Selene Noctua broadcast on AvatarsRadio from the Wake Up New Britannia Studio in Owlshead (right behind the crafting pavillion). Includes Interviews with the Community, Contests for in-game Gold, What’s new for the week in New Britannia, and your Best Bets for SotA weekend events! (details)

9:00am CDT PaxLair Working Hours Come to PaxLair and see what’s happening! For two hours (more or less) we work together on projects, create ideas and have fun together. It’s sort of a weekly time to gather and do things together. Everyone in Novia is welcome! (PaxLair, map; or teleport to Winfield or Sean Silverfoot)

9:00am CDT (and 1:00pm CDT) 2nd Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball The 2nd Annual Soldier’s Memorial Ball will be hosted this year at Caer Dracwych (map) and featuring the sound of Avatar’s Radio (details).

11:00am CDT Church of the Dark Star – Saturday Service High Priestess of Chaos, Amber Raine, and the Dean of the Novian Academy, Kazyn Phoenixfyre, welcome you to the Church of the Dark Star. A shared project, built upon equality, where all are welcome. Services range from what is Chaos and Order to how they affect different aspects of our life. The path you choose is yours. (Alternating locaions; details)

6:00pm CDT Port Phoenix: Social Nights Come out and join the republic in one of many potential events (chosen new each week). Each week we get together for everything from fishing, to music, to gustball to PVE duneoneering and adventuring. (Contact Kazyn Phoenixfyre for details)

7:00pm CDT EVL Monster Mash Dungeon Crawl Do you crave adventure and don’t want to battle alone? EVL has your back with our fun packed PVE nights hosted weekly! An EVL dungeon guide will assist newer less experienced players in their pursuit of adventure and glory! It meets in Soltown (map) and your teleportation avatar and guide for the evening will be Shady Death.

7:00pm CDT EVL Monster Mash Dungeon Crawl 8:00pm CDT Overthrow Vengeance PVP Event Come overthrow Vengeance! If there’s no fighting it’s because the PKers didn’t show… if there is only death it’s because the virtuous didn’t show to protect those of us who are still weak and unable to protect ourselves (Vengeance, map; details)



Sunday, May 22

8:30am CDT PaxLair Meeting Come see what PaxLair is up to in Novia and other town areas! Many people also attend from towns and guilds for a bit of a weekly wrap-up and what’s happening. Good discussions! (PaxLair, map; or teleport to Winfield; teamSpeak: 43.245.163.15:10099)

11:00am CDT Hospitaller Weekly Voice Meeting Everyone is welcome to our player community’s weekly Hospitaller meeting. It is open to anyone and everyone, not just Hospitallers. We talk about many things and work hard to find ways to help new players. This meeting is one hour long and we have additional sidebars after the meeting. (Soltown, map; Discord Chat Channel, SotAHelp.org)

2:30pm CDT Gustball Training Want to learn how to play Gustball? Need some tips on how to improve your deck or hone your skills on the field! Join Coach Sheamus McGuinness of EVLs for a 30 minute Gustball lesson and practice session just before the big game at 3pm (Owl’s head, map; or teleport to Sheamus McGuinness)

3:00pm CDT Gustball The game of Gustball is a great community event, not dissimilar from soccer or football, where Avatars of all levels & skill can compete in a fun, friendly game that uses the Gust skill (1st level Air Magic spell) to blow a Gustball into your opponents goal. (/whisper or teleport to Sand, Sheamus McGuinness, or Bambino Ludovate, details)

4:00pm CDT EVL The Gauntlet THE GAUNTLET is a combination of American Gladiators & American Ninja Warrior. This timed obstacle course is run by a single Avatar and the fastest time is the overall winner! The EVL Gladiators will do their very best to slow you down using a variety of magic spells along the course. A free event suitable for all levels of Avatars. Competitors can look forward to TOP PRIZES every month for the winner and runner up. Held in the underground town of Chaos Caverns, connected to Virtue Oasis (map; teleport to Sheamus McGuinness or EVL; details)

5:00pm CDT BMC Grid Iron Feast and Registration Register to compete in the BMC Gridiron and mingle with other participants and spectators before the big fight! (Blackrock Cove on Novia near Etceter Crag Mines, map; see forum post for details)

5:30pm CDT BMC Gladiator’s Grid-Iron The BMC is proud to present the nastiest, the foulest, the most feared arena in all of New Britannia! The Grid-Iron is equipped with a pit-style arena, locker rooms, a VIP round-table, betting & vendor booths, and all the blood-sport you can handle. (Blackrock Cove on Novia near Etceter Crag Mines, map; see forum post for details)

7:00pm CDT PaxLair Meeting Come see what PaxLair is up to in Novia and other town areas! Many people also attend from towns and guilds for a bit of a weekly wrap-up and what’s happening. Good discussions! (PaxLair, map; or teleport to Winfield)

8:00pm CDT Fishing with Winfield Come sit with Winfield on a log or rock to hear some fish tales or tell your own. Chat about anything from the moons to the earth worms. Spend a relaxing day in nature near a stream or lake — bring insect repellent or a sword. (some fishing spot or pond, teleport to Winfield; details)



Be sure and check out the Release 29 Events thread in the SotA forums for additional events that may not be included here.

Upcoming Events

2016.05.26 – Release 30

2016.06.01 – The Hearth of Britannia: Legends of the Hearth III

2016.06.30 – Release 31

2016.07.27 – Summer Telethon Part 1 + Pledge Homes / POT Expirations (Final Wipe at Midnight)

2016.07.28 – Release 32: Lot Selections

2016.08.22 – Summer Telethon Part 2 + Final Pledge Expirations Episode 1 (Pledge Expirations at Midnight)

2016.08.25 – Release 33

2016.08.26 – Syndcon 2016

2016.09.02 – DragonCon 2016

2016.09.21 – Austin Games Conference

2016.09.29 – Release 34



Backer Shipping Addresses

In preparation for shipping backers’ physical pledge rewards later this year, we have added Shipping Address fields to your Account Profile page. To enter your shipping address, log in to the SotA website, select “Account” in top right corner, then select “Edit Profile” located in top left corner, beneath your Avatar image:

For country and regional tax assessment purposes, our tax accountants have requested that we start collecting a buyer’s physical/shipping address for all purchases, whether digital or physical. We’ve tried to streamline that process as much as possible, such that once you’ve entered a physical address we will pre-populate the address fields with your default address.



Recommended Projects to Back

Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises

Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises is a Medieval Real-Time Strategy game combining classic RTS elements with modern fast-paced, epic scale single and multiplayer battles across beautifully rendered 3D maps. It is being built by some of our Shroud community members Indie, Reiken, Knightmare_X, and ZioRed. They are currently in Early Access on Steam and could use your support.

Avalon Lords: Dawn Rises features three different multiplayer game modes played out within a beautifully sculpted 3-dimensional environment. In Conflict Mode you will need to gather resources, construct buildings and recruit soldiers in order to defeat your foes. Combat Mode puts you straight into the action; you can recruit your forces in the Army Builder and deploy them in battle without the need for gathering or building. Finally, join your faction allies in Empire Mode to help conquer locations across the land.

The story begins in the Plains of Spero, where five great City States rule over the land. Tensions have risen to boiling point, and several powerful City Lords wish to take control of the region and name themselves king. Peaceful negotiations have descended into to all-out war, plunging the region into chaos. Lords fight against each other to gain power and land – each one hoping to claim the throne. You start as a minor general in the City of Avon, one of Spero’s five City States. Lord Avon has sent you out to form a new city in a strategically desirable part of the realm and defeat anyone seeking to claim those lands for themselves. Along the way you will meet a rising leader who seeks to unite the warring Lords under one order – the Order of Dawn.