Announcements - 2009/05 - Secrets of the Apostates
May 2009 - Patch Page
[?? ACvault]
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=477
Secrets of the Apostates
Magaritta du Jacquette was sitting at her desk in the Arcanum’s collegium of researchers, drafting a new advisory for travelers headed to Moarsman Isle, when there was a loud crash outside her door. There was the distinct sound of fragile glass breaking, and the sound of round metal things rattling around on the stone floor of the building. She sighed, put her pen down, and went to her door.
Opening it, she found her research assistant on his hands and knees, sweeping up the shattered remnants of some fabulously esoteric device. It may once have been a standard-issue theodolite that was commonly used by all the researchers in this wing of the Arcanum complex, but her assistant, the aptly named Ned the Clever, had spent the better part of the last two months modifying it with intricate, hand-tooled parts made from crystal, glass, and rare metals. The requisition forms she had had to fill out to get him all the resources he needed had been fearsome.
“What happened, Ned?” she asked him.
“Ah, I was just on my way to see you, director…” Ned replied, distracted. He had pushed all the broken glass and tangled metal rods into a rough pile, and was now collecting a bundle of scrolls that had gone flying apart in the chaos.
“Yes, Ned?”
Ned straightened up, scrolls hugged tightly to his chest. “I’ve made a breakthrough!” he announced proudly.
Magaritta opened the door wider and gestured for him to come inside. Ned looked uncertainly at the pile of broken theodolite in the hallway, then back at her. “We’ll have one of the junior assistants clean it up.” She whistled down the hallway and gestured at one of the bright-eyed young students who poked their heads out of their shared study room. “Come on in, and tell me what you’ve found,” she told Ned.
After he’d settled himself in a chair and arrayed his scrolls on her desk, Ned began speaking.
“I went out into the Direlands, on a hunch, and took some readings myself with my modified theodolite. Or what once was my modified theodolite, anyway… “
Magaritta interrupted him. “I thought I’d asked you to stop risking yourself on these field excursions?”
Ned looked a little defensive. “Well the readings I needed to take were really quite complex, and I don’t think any of the other assistants has had the proper training or experience with some of the variables I track with my equipment…” His gaze flicked back to the door, behind which they could hear the sounds of the theodolite being cleaned off the floor.
Magaritta nodded, smiling in spite of herself. “I know your old instincts as a tracker and mapper are hard to overcome. But really, it’s gotten quite dangerous out there, and you have a research job now, a job I think you do quite admirably, so I think it’s the best use of your time to stay here. But let’s leave that aside for now.”
Ned nodded, happy to be done with the subject. “I think I’ve found where the Apostate Virindi are stockpiling Aetherium!” he said, beaming.
Magaritta rocked back in her seat. “How did you ever do that?”
Ned gestured at the scrolls on the desk. “I’ve documented the research there. In short, I identified some resonances between pyreal and Aetherium, and cross-compared them against data on Virindi resonances…”
Magaritta stopped him again. “But all the data we gathered on Virindi resonances was for the older Virindi, the ones who still follow the original Directive.”
Ned nodded. “Well, that’s what I had to do the field research for. I had to get some readings on Apostate Virindi.”
Magaritta sighed. “Ned, we may never civilize you.” She favored him with a smile. “Nevertheless, you continue to amaze me with your resourcefulness and dedication. I’ve long felt that you have surpassed me in research techniques, especially in work that’s relevant to the hostile parts of the island.”
Ned blushed from the compliment. “Well, I’m just trying to do what seems best. But as I said, when I factored in the resonance data from the Apostates and conducted a thorough geomantic survey of the Direlands, I found a particularly strong emanation of both Aetherium and the unique signature of the Apostates... And in the unlikeliest source, actually. In fact after I was done presenting my findings here, I thought I’d get my Mattekar coat back from the armorers and -”
“No, Ned. No more field research.” Magaritta put on her most serious expression.
“Well I’ve just found the stockpile, I don’t know what they’re doing with it yet. I need to get down there and observe it for myself before we can figure out what they’re doing with all that Aetherium.”
“Ned, that’s not a proper use of your time. Put the lust for adventure aside. Do what Aliester does and send some intrepid scout out to do what you need. Do you hear me? You’re in research now, not field applications.”
Ned looked disappointed. “As you say, director. But can I at least go out to recruit the scouts myself?”
Magaritta laughed. “As you will. Clearly I can’t keep you cooped up in the collegium too long, can I? Just… wear Arcanum robes, eh? Your Mattekar coat and that dented purple helm must remain in the armory. I don’t want you tempted to go haring off into the wilderness after any more Virindi.”
“As you say, director,” Ned repeated with a mischievous smile.
Rollout Article
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=478
May 2009 Rollout Fiction
Hiding behind a stack of crates, Adso cursed and wiped his blade off. Around him lay three dead Hea Tumeroks, who’d jumped him in the tunnel leading to this room. He’d been surprised by this last rush. Either he was losing his touch with sneaking and skulking in monster-clogged dungeons, or the denizens of this particular complex were especially paranoid.
He was willing to bet it was the latter option. The Tumeroks and their Virindi masters here were evidently on high alert. Even finding this place had been a challenge. He had scoured the length and breadth of the Direlands with only vague notes about resonances and mineral deposits to guide him. It was work he was unused to. He was well accustomed to sneaking and killing. He was a past master of stalking a target through hostile terrain, or setting up lethal ambushes for a dangerous foe. He was very good at infiltrating a secured location and either stealing something or killing someone in the midst of fanatically well-prepared guards.
Adso was less experienced in investigation, especially following the clues and notes of often clueless academics who expected him to know what they were talking about when they suggested that he seek cave openings in “predominantly sedimentary” rocky terrain. Master had told him it was time for him to learn new tradecraft, and had assigned him to work with some famously distracted and notoriously flaky geomancers.
He was especially irritated by being forced to use small, tricky devices rigged out of glass and charged hunks of metal to track whatever mystical emanations the scholars thought they were after. He’d been following the guidance of a small “crystal aetheriometer” for the last hour, making his way slowly down tunnels patrolled by Apostate Virindi and their newly re-acquired allies, Hea Tumeroks. Wherever the small, glowing needle pointed, he was supposed to go, and report on what he saw. Indeed, Adso was most annoyed by having to carry paper and a quill with him, as if he were supposed to record his experience even while dodging the spears of Tumeroks and the spells of Virindi.
Sighing, he proceeded down the tunnel. He made it a few dozen strides before encountering another pair of Tumeroks, out patrolling the tunnels. From the sounds nearby, he must have been near some barracks. He could smell the foul meat they had spitted up for dinner, could hear crackle of cookfires and the grunts of Tumeroks engaged in ritual sparring.
The tunnel was bereft of cover to hide behind, and the patrol noticed him easily. They bellowed an alert before charging him, and another half-dozen Tumeroks in blue armor came boiling into the tunnel behind them. A Virindi drifted almost lackadaisically into the tunnel behind all of them, flinging spells at him even as he dodged and parried the assaults of multiple warriors.
Adso gave himself completely to his fighting instincts. He trusted in the enchantments protecting his armor to ward off truly lethal blows, and concentrated on killing his enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible. He danced into the fray, blades in both hands whipping out with lethal strikes. He jabbed his left blade up into a Tumerok’s throat even as his right blade swung low to gut another, slashing through a gap in the beast’s heavy breastplate. He felt multiple spear and blade impacts on his armor, but the enchantments held. There would be bruises, but he would survive.
He rolled to his knees as he disemboweled another Tumerok, and took refuge beneath its falling body to shield himself from the whirling blades hurled at him by the Virindi’s magic. He shrugged off the corpse, dodged another streaking spell as it shrieked down the hallway at him, and leaped to stab through the Virindi’s mostly-insubstantial form with both hands. He ripped the blades up through the Virindi’s cloak, then crossed his blades through the Virindi’s masked face, and the thing imploded. The empty cloak fluttered to the ground.
He stopped to take inventory of himself. He was bleeding in half a dozen places, but most of them were shallow wounds. He drew a potion from his belt pouch and gulped it down quickly, gritting his teeth as the enchantment of the potion knitted his wounds together and revitalized him. That done, he reached into another pouch to consult the crystal aetheriometer. His fingers closed on splintered glass and loose metal.
He cursed. The device was broken. It must have absorbed a blow from a Tumerok weapon during the melee. Or perhaps took a glancing shot from one of the Virindi’s concussive War spells. Or maybe he’d simply crushed it as he rolled and dove through the fight.
Adso was crouching in the hallway, staring at the ruin of what had been a finely tuned crystal device, when he felt an explosion of pain in his ribs. He was flung several feet down the hallway by a devastating blunt impact. The force of the strike was shocking. His armor enchantments hadn’t helped at all. He could tell that at least a couple of his ribs were crushed, and there was definitely some internal bleeding. He rolled to his feet, aetheriometer forgotten, and sized up his newest opponent. The hallway was dimly lit, but he could make out a tall, humanoid shape that walked with a lurching gait, and wore an incongruously floppy straw hat atop a blank, yet malevolent face. What really captured his attention, though, were the heavy, glowing fists attached to its gangly arms.
“Oh, Pwyll’s bloody bones,” he muttered through bloody lips. “Not more of these guys, too…”
Release Notes
Original Link - http://ac.turbine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=474
May 2009 Release Notes
Hello there and welcome to the Release Notes for the May 2009 event, Secrets of the Apostates! This month we see some changes to existing quest experience and some new quests have appeared as always. An old friend has put up his tent in Zaikhal, who players will want to go speak with. So lets see what’s new and exciting this month in Asheron’s Call!
- The Core Jester has had his interactions reorganized so that the gives are the first action, this should help reduce the number of people losing cores from dragging monsters through the GY and then needing to heal while trying to turn in the core.
- The xp reward for the following quests has been increased:
- Fiun Healing Machine
- Abayar's Laboratory
- Gaerlan
- Prodigal Mosswart
- Prodigal Olthoi Egg Turn In
- Pookie should work as before, where he won't agro unless attacked or ID’ed.
- The Fiun Spellcasting Gloves are now enchantable.
- A new PK dungeon has been added to the game, head over to Baishi to check it out. Just make sure you are a Player Killer before you try to enter!
- The NPC for the Dreams of the Hopeslayer quest now makes you wait 13 days on turn ins. Also the pickup has been changed from a static flag to a 13 day timer.
- The skeleton jaws have had their drop rate increased.
- A new level of crystalline crag has opened up.
- The Dereth Explorers quest has been updated.
- The Monthly kill task has been updated.
- There is a new person in the town of Zaikhal who some might recognize. Make sure you go say hello to him.
- Based on player feedback, Spell Component Exchangers have set up shop at the Mana Forges.
Letter to the Players
Original Link - '
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Developer Comments
Spell Component Exchanger
5/15/2009 - Link
The spell component exchanger was something we had been talking about since the 100th update. We had been discussing on if a system like this was necessary and how we would implement it. Strong support of this idea from our players, both on the forums and in game, led to the decision to add this feature.
This was the most requested feature when players were asked in game across all servers, I wouldn't count that as spam.
For those who asked, this will work just like the rare exchanger but without the casino key. The cost is 1 MMD per trade, and all components have essentially the same chance of showing up (due to the math a few components have a .05% difference in chance).
We do listen to the requests of players. Some we agree with some we do not. A particular player spamming the forums with his particular idea wouldn't sway our decision.
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