Ancient Powers

August 2008

See also 100th Update Preview

August 25th Teaser Images
Special thanks to Frelorn for all his hard work!

Teaser - Link
War had finally come to Freebooter Isle. The tropical fortress resounded with the shrieks of combatants, the cries of the wounded, and the ever-present hum of magical energy. Even as the keep’s foundation stones shook with the magical energy unleashed by both besieging and defending forces, two men sat in the deepest subterranean fortress levels and enjoyed a quiet drink in the last few undisturbed moments they had. The two men were old friends, comrades in a long-ago war on another world, and had not seen each other in years. Still, they seemed to be uninterested in making conversation or trading stories about their adventures, as was the usual conduct of two Aluvian veterans meeting over mugs of beer. Instead, they both seemed to be more curious about listening to, and analyzing, the sounds of battle that filtered down to them through the many passageways that led to the surface from this room. There was one particularly deep, resounding boom from above, followed by a moment of silence. Then, rising above the piteous cries of the wounded and dying, there came the staccato beat of many boots, running down stone corridors. The taller of the two men stood up and adjusted his weapon belt. He tipped his cap to his companion. “That’ll be it, then,” he said. “The gate’s gone, the flags will be up shortly I’m sure, and you’ll soon have some new temporary business partners.” The other man, still seated, nodded his head. “Aye, I’m sure they’ll be down here soon enough, demanding to confiscate me stocks and expectin’ the laird o’ the castle treatment, just for clearin’ the front yard of all that scaly trash.” His companion shrugged melodramatically. “You could give it up, MacTavish. Just accept my offer. In the days to come, with so many people to play off against each other, there will be riches beyond even your greediest dreams. High risk, high reward, never boring. And you’re guaranteed an equity position in the group, of course…” “’Tis a tempting offer, old friend,” MacTavish said. “But I’m too old to get back into the game. Either that or I’ve gotten too soft here, working for the Shrouds. I’m content to leave the risk to the young bucks now and just take a percentage off what they bring in.” He stretched elaborately, popping and cracking a few joints as he did so, as if to punctuate his point about his advancing age. “What a pity,” the other man said as he stepped away from the table. “I could have taught you the secrets to life and death, a secret known only to a handful of people on this odd, troubled world. Knowledge I haven’t yet shared with any of my eager acolytes.” MacTavish shook his head. “Even more reason to turn ye down. I’ve only just gotten used to the lifestones… I know me limits. I know I’m just a smuggler and a brigand, I know I’ve not got the courage or the craziness to take on such power. In truth, I wonder what that power will do to yer own head,” he said, chuckling lightly to try and take some of the sting or challenge out of his words. When he looked around, though, his friend was gone. Even with a smuggler’s keen senses, he’d not heard the man depart. All for the best, he reflected. He finished his beer. “Say hello to me cousins, when ye see them again,” he muttered to the darkness as he stood.There was a sound from the far end of the complex, the extended shriek of a great door moving on rusted hinges. That was followed shortly by the tromp of several boot heels as a small party entered the tunnels, presumably a delegation from the victorious conquerors of Freebooter Isle, coming to claim the entire island as their own. Out of the dark corridors stepped a man and a woman, at the head of a column of soldiers in red and gold armor. The man was, by his form and bearing, an old warrior and a commander of soldiers. He was Gharu’ndim, and his age and scars marked him as a veteran of the Gharu’ndim resistance against the Viamontian invasions back on their home world of Ispar. He was dressed in elaborate plate armor, the color and ornamentation of which reflected his rank as a senior officer of his Society. The giant mace in his right hand still steamed from the blood and ichor of the Moarsmen he’d slain on his way to clearing the path into the fortress. The woman was older, well into her elder years, and wearing a simple grey robe that carried not a hint of decoration or even a badge of rank. Even so, MacTavish recognized her as Nuhmudira, blood sorceress, former member of Queen Elysa’s royal council. She was the warlord in charge of this group.She carried herself with the same kind of arrogant self-assurance and cold-eyed stare as that of his friend who’d just left walked… And no wonder, MacTavish thought, as they both had mastered the same secrets to life and death… The old woman’s gaze swept the room until it settled upon him. “You are the smuggler captain MacTavish?” she asked in an imperious voice that echoed the underground chamber. “That’s me, milady,” MacTavish nodded pleasantly. “I’ll guess ye’re the witch Nuhmudira that I’ve heard so much of.” Nuhmudira gazed blankly at him, not even bothering to acknowledge his question, and pressed on with her own agenda. “Where is he?” “Ye’ll have to be more specific than that, milady. Where is who?” He was being more insolent than he strictly needed to be, and that was probably because he was still buoyed up by drinks with his famously arrogant and self-assured friend. He sat back down and leaned back in his chair, kicking his boot heels up on the table. “You know exactly who I mean,” the woman hissed. “The assassin, Oswald! He was just in here, and he skulked out just before my troops could get down here to capture him. Don’t try and lie to protect him, I can smell his stink still in this room.” She looked to the soldier who stood next to her.“General Tamiar, have your men secure the entire facility. I want no one leaving or entering without my warrant.” The general bowed and turned to issue orders to the troops who’d entered behind them. Nuhmudira stepped forward to confront MacTavish, who was still lounging insolently in his chair. “Aye, me friend was down here. I see ye’re already familiar with him. We were just downing a couple o’ brews and talking about old times. We were in the wars together, back on Ispar, ye see.” Nuhmudira sneered. “I know all about your war service with Oswald, knifing Viamontian scouts in the back as they marched throughout your benighted country of drunken ruffians and half-civilized brutes. I’m more interested in why you’re treating with him now, placing yourself in a very precarious position with my own occupying forces here.” MacTavish laughed. “Don’t think to threaten me like that, lady,” he cautioned her. “I’m not some apprentice ye can order about and abuse. I’ve got me own backers who look out for me, and I imagine we’ve got some wares in our stocks that even yer own soldiers, well supplied as they must be, will find useful. So it wouldn’t be in yer best interests to kill me and cut off yer supply of such rare and wonderful items…” Nuhmudira stared down at the insolent smuggler with unconcealed contempt. “My people have given me a briefing on why it is we should tolerate your presence on this island, and they have even convinced me that you are too useful to kill outright. But I will suffer none of your insolence, and if I find even a hint that you are colluding with Oswald against me, I will bleed you on an altar and bribe your masters to forget the inconvenience.Because even they have a price, smuggler.” The surety of her words and the dangerous gleam in her eyes made MacTavish sit up and adopt a slightly more polite posture. “Aye, I’ll keep it respectful from here on out, milady,” he said. He was about to say more when there was a series of explosions from outside and a rumble that shook the walls of the underground redoubt. Shouted commands rang out from the corridors as Nuhmudira’s soldiers ran back to the surface, alerting each other to the presence of another group of invaders on Freebooter Isle. The old woman barked a couple of commands at the soldiers nearest her, preparing to head back up herself. MacTavish smiled broadly as he addressed Nuhmudira again. “As I was saying, I’ll be respectful from here on out, and I look forward to a mutually beneficial arrangement between yer Society and the trade consortium who backs me… Provided ye can hold the island against yer own competition, milady. Looks like there’s someone out there taking issue with yer plans for domination. Worry not though, I’ll be here, ready to do business… with whoever comes back down the corridor.” Furious, Nuhmudira trudged back up the tunnels to organize the defense of the keep, even as the smuggler captain’s laughter echoed bitterly in her ears.

Release Notes - Link
Greetings and welcome to the 100th content update for Asheron’s Call! This is a special time for all of here at Turbine, having reached this most incredible milestone. With this update we wanted to make sure we did something special for the players. For the longest time, the one thing we have been asked for was an Elder Game system. So with this update, we are giving players the beginnings of that system. We are also giving our PvP players something to fight over, with two new PvP controllable towns. The entire staff here at Turbine is proud to be able to release this update to our players as a small token of our appreciation for everyone who has heard the call over the years. So lets get in to all the new and exciting things coming this month in Asheron’s Call!

Societies are Coming!
A new faction system has been introduced with this update. Players wishing to join one of the three new Societies will speak with one of the Society Recruiters located in the capital cities of Dereth. The Celestial Hand will be in Hebian-to, the Eldrytch Web will be in Cragstone, and the Radiant Blood recruiter will be located in Zaikhal. Once players choose which society they wish to join, they will begin their journey with the initiate quests. The recruiters for each society will have all the details a player will need to make their choice as to which side to join. When a player completes the tasks set out by one of these recruiters, they will be well rewarded and then instructed on how to claim their rewards. As part of this new system, some creatures will now be able to discern which faction you and they are a part of. NPC’s who are part of your faction will not attack you, however if you get too close to those belonging to another faction, they will attack. These NPC’s can and will also attack each other, if they come in contact. Deception and Assess Person now have another use for players involved in the Faction system. All players who join a faction will display which faction they belong to in their description panel. Based on a skill check of Assess Person and Deception, some players may be able to “hide” which faction they are a part of. This ability can be particularly useful in conjunction with the new Land Control elements of the game.

PvP Land Control
Two new PK towns have been added to the game. The first of these towns is located just north of the Vesayen Isles, while the other town is located in Northern Osteth, near the top of the Dereth mainland. Each town will start out being held by a rogue faction of Moarsmen who will need to be defeated in order to gain control of the town. Players who want to control one of these towns will need to be player killers, however. Non-player killers will be able to fight the NPCs of the town, but will not be able to claim control of the town. Each town will have three banners that a PK must gain control of in order to take the towns. Once all three of these banners are “controlled” by the same faction, the town will be owned by that faction thus granting access to the Black Market. This portal will only be useable by the members of the controlling Society. The Black Markets are the provenance of the Shroud Cabals, unscrupulous humans who have allied with the Virindi to exploit the factional chaos sown by the three new Societies. Players may use the various Vendors and NPC’s in the Black Markets to buy unique items. The Archmage and Shopkeep will also have some nice extra items unavailable elsewhere. Some of the items players will be able to purchase only in the Black markets will include XP gems which can be purchased for MMD’s and level 8 dispel gems. There are some other items of high value that these vendors will sell as well.

New Loot Tier
A new tier of loot is now available to players. This new tier of loot will have a base wield requirement of level 150 and will have the potential to generate with level 8 spells and or Epic level cantrips. There will also be the chance that this new tier will be part of a greater set of armor. Pieces which are part of a loot generated set will have a base level 180 requirement in order for players to equip them. Spell components for the creation of level 8 spells will also be found in this new higher loot tier. This new level of loot will mainly be found as rewards from questing, but there will also be a chance for players to collect Mana Shards off some landscape creatures, which they can then use to purchase keys to gain access to this new tier of loot. In addition, we will be adding these keys to several of our older quests in the coming months, starting in September. Here is a breakdown of how players will get keys for the new tier of loot. Basic Mechanics
 * Get 10 Pristine Mana Shards via hunting.
 * Bring the 10 Shards to the Shard Collector within one of the three Mana Forges in Cragstone, Hebian-To and Zaikhal, and get a key.
 * Use key on the chest for the desired loot.

Hunting areas that Pristine Shards will be available:
 * Graveyard of Despair
 * Dark Isle
 * Freebooter Isle
 * Moarsman City

Alternate key mechanics:
 * Society Rank Gateway Quests give Keys the first time they are completed.
 * Society Trade Tokens can be used to purchase Treasure Writs, which can be turned in for a Key once every 2 weeks

Level 8 Spells
Level 8 spells have been introduced into the game. To accommodate the desire of some players to have a research system in the game while at the same time accommodating others’ lack of desire to participate in a research system, we have implemented a new system for learning level 8 spells. Players may obtain quills, inks, and glyphs from our new highest tier treasure profiles which may be used to craft spells. Quills may be combined with the new Mana Scarab item (which is also the casting scarab for level 8 spells) in order to craft infused quills. Infused quills may be crafted with inks to create a combination of the two. This combination may then be crafted with a glyph to create a level 8 scroll. All components may also be traded or sold to a vendor, and the scrolls may likewise be traded or sold to a vendor. We anticipate that those who wish to participate in the system will enjoy it, while those who do not will be able to obtain the scrolls they need through trading. It should also be noted that not all spells exist at the level 8 tier – notably, we have elected not to implement Creature Other buffs, Life Other buffs, Life Other imperil and vulns, the self debuffs, and the item spell Defender. In addition, the Item spell Blood Drinker 8 will appear only on treasure and will not be available as a player-castable spell. If crafting something you expected to work fails, very likely the spell simply does not exist for level 8. You will not lose components upon failed crafting, and there is no skill associated with level 8 spell crafting, so feel free to experiment safely with the various components and see what you may accomplish!

New Areas
A new landmass has appeared near the Vesayen Isles, known as Freebooter Isle. While many of the landscape features will look familiar to the region, many of the creatures that will appear on this new landmass will be changed in some way. Creatures on this island will also have a chance of dropping Mana Shards, which can be used to purchase keys for the new tier of loot. In order to gain access to this new island, players will need to join one of the new Societies. There is a new Moarsman city that has been discovered. Players will need to discover how to access this new area. The Graveyard has been expanded to help accommodate the number of players who will be hunting there for Society-related tasks. So there are just some of the things we have in store for Asheron's Call in August. Please remember that along with everything listed here, there are several new quests and exciting things going into the game for the August event.

Town Crier Rumors
Viamontian Town Criers

Town Crier tells you, "The Empyrean Graveyard of the Direlands seems to have... expanded, and the Societies are sending more and more of their scouts through the area. A troublesome development, don't you think?"

Town Crier tells you, "News! A mysterious organization of smugglers and thieves has opened up a couple of black market trading posts.  They claim no allegiance to any ruler or society, but they offer their business to whichever society is strong enough to control their local town."

Town Crier tells you, "Adventurers have come across a new strong castle in the northernmost mountains of Dereth. It's called Northwatch keep, and apparently it is the site of some squabbling between the three new Societies."

Town Crier tells you, "You've heard of the three new secret societies of Dereth, yes? The Celestial Hand, the Eldrytch Web, and the Radiant Blood have started openly recruiting.  They've each sent a recruiter to one of the mainland capital cities.  I'd want to visit all three towns to speak to each recruiter and see what they're about."

Town Crier tells you, "There's a newly discovered island off the southeastern coast of Dereth, but as yet we don't seem to know how to get there or what lives there."

Town Crier tells you, "News! There's been a lot of new activity on the Dark Isle.  It seems the three Societies are quite interested in that island."

Town Crier tells you, "There's a newly discovered island to the south of Dereth. Rumors are that it's home to a bunch of Moarsmen, but very few people seem to know how to get there..."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal. Pyreal Rumor 1 You Give Town Crier Pyreal. Pyreal Rumor 2

Mainland Town Criers

Rumor 1 Rumor 2 You Give Town Crier Pyreal. Pyreal Rumor 1 You Give Town Crier Pyreal. Pyreal Rumor 2

Ulgrim Rumors
Rumor 1 Rumor 2 You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout. Stout Rumor 1 You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout. Stout Rumor 2

New Locations

 * Freebooter Isle
 * Moarsman City
 * Graveyard Expanded