Announcements - 2000/02 - Shadows of the Past

''Material retrieved from original Zone caches available at http://web.archive.org.

Weddings: Spring Brings New Expressions of Love - 2/11/00

''Original Link (now dead) - http:www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewspast2.asp

"Shadows of the Past" Have Been Cast Over Dereth

February 17, 2000

Baby bunnies, drifting motes of pollen, and new flowering plants have appeared, and sorcerers and workmen across the land have been creating huge safe havens for public affairs, but nature and humanity are not the only powers altering the world of Dereth. No one yet knows the full consequence of the Quest for Frore, where bands of heroes broke an artifact responsible for the land's killing winter freeze. For a month, dreadful new Shadow creatures have been stalking the wilderness, accompanied by floating crystals that launch pyrotechnic attacks. While searching for guidance in ancient texts, scholars have found mention of powerful weapons that once defeated the Shadows. But can they be recovered before the battlefield is set? Already, a vast bridge of volcanic glass has materialized over the River Prosper; mysterious new catacombs have been discovered; and weary and bedraggled adventurers report harrowing trials at the whim of a godlike, invisible being.

"Shadows of the Past" continues our tradition of advancing the Asheron's Call story through major monthly events. Characters of all levels will find new mysteries to explore and challenges to face in the common effort to oppose the massing Shadows. We look forward to meeting you in Dereth!

''Original Link (now dead) - http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/ashenewsFeb17build.asp

Asheron's Call Build Notes, February 17

Here are all the tiny little details of the game update that was made on February 17, 2000. This list is culled from "check-in" notes submitted by the game developers themselves.

We won't reveal many changes concerning the Shadows that have advanced upon the land and other story development, as these include major new opportunities for players to drive the saga forward. We don't want to take away the fun of discovery. As usual, the Town Criers, Barkeeps, and Scribes may know the latest news! Also, the trades of crafting and selling are always in flux, so changes to prices and abilities of items are not always detailed here.

Detailed Notes for builds 2270-2277:


 * Spring has sprung. Pollen drifts, bees buzz, and bunnies make baby bunnies.
 * The damage done by melee weapons -- such as swords, maces, daggers, spears, and so on -- is now affected more by the strength of the combatant. Strong warriors will find that they do more damage per hit than before. This does not affect missile or unarmed combat. Note that this applies to monsters as well, so be careful when facing monsters that wield weapons!
 * Players using melee weapons have a slightly faster attack speed than before. This also applies to a small subset of weapon-wielding monsters.
 * Amazing new things to do for all levels of players, some of them worth many many hours of fun. If only we would tell you what they are?
 * New Meeting Halls, ideal spots for large groups to gather, have been unveiled near every major town. The scribes sell books that tell you where they are.
 * Anyone want to buy a bridge?
 * Loot has been improved for a few monsters.
 * Objects contained in corpses will no longer be deleted by housekeeping (until the corpse rots and they are dumped out on the ground). This may help fix reports of empty corpses, though there still may be more to such reports, and we continue to investigate.
 * Mage robes are a bit more useful than they were. They drain mana more slowly and cast another helpful spell.
 * Gharu'ndim robes should now be wearable. Other errors in mage robe names also fixed.
 * Swift Killer spells 2-6 had wrong descriptions. Spells worked properly, but the text for the spell description had the old value by which the spell adjusted the item's speed.
 * The range of thrown weapons is now no longer often displayed as zero. The range now assumes a Strength of 100, though . . . your mileage may vary.
 * All Koujia Sleeves produced by the treasure system will now be wearable. Unwearable sleeves that have already been created, however, will remain unwearable. Please don't sell them and continue the pain; drop them somewhere secluded, or give them to a collector.
 * Explanation text on Urgent Assistance and Abuse panel has been modified. If your abuse report goes unanswered, feel free to repeat it every few minutes until you hear from an Online Team member.
 * NPCs are now restricted to moving no more than five meters when giving an item to someone.
 * There was a bug that made lightning quarrels too easy to make, as compared to other elemental quarrels. They are now just as difficult to make as their elemental cousins.
 * You are less prone to have your ability to move curtailed by an automatic emote your character does while standing around.
 * Fletchers, start a-whittling . ..
 * Typo in success string when making Carol's Carrot Cheese Soup fixed.
 * Double-clicking on parchment in a corpse should now pick it up, not attempt to write on it.
 * MacDugal (Bandit Castle NPC) is wearing a girth now and his underwear isn't showing anymore.

Asaina al-Arqis read late into the day, poring over ancient texts for some reference to the gigantic bridge-like structure appearing and disappearing over the river near Holtburg. At dusk, soon after she'd lit her candle, a weariness stole over her that could not be explained by the warm spring air, and she soon bowed her head upon the desk. When she finally awoke much later, the larger moon had just begun to rise, and by its light, she could see the dead candle with barely a dimple around its wick. She began to stretch her arm, then stopped -- the desk was bare where her manuscripts had been.

Something rasped on the floor behind her, and she leapt from her chair. A bone-white figure clad in tatters emerged from the stacks. Its attention as bent over a book in one hand. In its other, it held the missing parchment. Heart pounding, she cast about for escape as it slowly raised its head, to reveal eye sockets like pits floored with angry-hot magma. Instinctively, she averted her eyes. A lich! But who, and why?

"The fools in Frore," said the undead monster, "made a toy of the prism, and now the old magic is loosed; the suspended war resumes. Many hidden things will return, and the heretic will kidnap and toy with your people. Reassemble the weapons and fight him! Rally your feeble people, Asaina al-Arqis. Tonight I let you live."

She understood none of this. "Who is the heretic?" she asked, but received no answer, and realizing too late that she should not look up, she stood transfixed by those burning eyes. The horror of that stare lingered with its afterimage glow as the lich grinned, faded, and was gone.

In the spirit of this season of hearts and flowers, the faithful Sentinels of Dereth will soon be conducting Wedding Ceremonies for all willing lovebirds. As our new society on the edge of chaos matures, so grows the desire to express devotion that goes even deeper than a fellowship or allegiance. Though this ceremony has only the powers and benefits that the betrothed bring to it, a wedding union symbolizes a bond that endures the many trials of life in Dereth.

Microsoft announced that beginning tomorrow, Thursday, January 20, a Dark Thaw will descend over the land of Dereth in the dynamic world of Asheron's Call. As the snow from last month's event retreats to higher elevations, new perils have stalked out to greet adventurers. Mysterious new creatures, floating crystals and shadow monsters, have begun to dot the landscape. Gamers are urged to remain on guard, as no one yet knows what their appearance signifies. "Dark Thaw" is part of the ongoing storyline in Asheron's Call, and is the second in a series of monthly events.

After his long journey gathering spell components, Kobo Taki hurried through his estate, barely pausing in the courtyard to greet his gardeners, who labored among puddles and dwindling humps of snow. Once in his study, he locked the door and, after a quick search, located the book he needed and scanned frantically through its pages for a particular passage: "If the crystal breaks, its scions will appear and shadows will well up over the earth." Did this apply to the floating crystals and shadow creatures he'd seen on his journey? Finding no more information, he pulled a chair up to the window and gazed over the waterlogged fields. It was common knowledge that a band of heroes had dispelled the recent winter. After battling their way to the lair of undead necromancers, they had destroyed the giant crystal that sucked the heat from the land. Perhaps this crystal was the one in the text. If so, the heroes may have unwittingly brought down a terrible curse...

Greetings to everyone!

I am Brian Haines, the Event Team Manager for Asheron's Call. Some of you have no doubt seen me lingering in the game as Jaraq or in the game lobbies as Jaraq@AC. I just wanted to introduce myself to the community and give people the scoop on what I do. As Event Team Manager, I am tasked with helping you the players organize and run your own events in the game. This includes parties, scavenger hunts, weddings, or gatherings to venture out and smite evil monsters! These are just a few examples as Events are limited strictly by one's imagination. However it is important to note that the Event Team can't conjure up monsters or quest items to help, such things would have to be from the game environment naturally. Large scale events such as the Sudden Season's events are done by Turbine and Microsoft.

There is now a Web page available where players can go to and check on upcoming User-Run Events/Gatherings and you can also fill out a form to have your own Event posted/promoted for everyone to see. This will serve as a valuable resource of information for you, the players. One I hope you'll visit often. :)

Please check this out and list your own event by going to: http://www.zone.com/asheron-oldscall/tournament.asp. The Web page will not be the only thing to help you in running Events as I will be forming a group of volunteers to make a team which will help in the game. Exact details are still being ironed out, however these individuals will be called Scribes. Should you be interested in becoming one, an email to me would be the first step. Please have the subject set as ATTN Scribes: so that I can easily identify the content of the email. Scribes will basically be there to help players run their events. They will not be able to create items in the game however.

More details will be posted soon as they become available. I look forward to working with you all to make Asherons Call as enjoyable as possible. Please do not hesitate to email me with questions or comments, my box is always open. ;)