Picking up the Pieces

July 2009 - Announcements Page

Teaser Images
Click image for full size version.

Discoveries
Patch Size: 1,134k (Client: 4,480k)

Town Crier Rumors
Free Rumors:
 * Town Crier tells you, "News! Rand the Hunter in Holtburg has updated his list of creature bounties!"


 * Town Crier tells you, "News! The Dereth Explorers' Society has updated its list of markers to explore! Speak with Sean the Speedy in Holtburg to learn more."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Scouts report powerful, but rarely seen, new terrors on Moarsman Isle and Freebooter Isle!"


 * Town Crier tells you, "The town of Mar'uun seems to have been destroyed! One can only wonder what went wrong there."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Things are afoot with the bandits who have been menacing Baishi and Lin. Head to Baishi to see what's going on."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Word is that explorers have discovered pieces of some strange metal creature, shaped like a man, but not a golem. I wonder what such creatures portend for Dereth?"

Pyreal Rumors:
 * Town Crier tells you, "Have you heard about the artifacts discovered by a gang of bandits in the Sho lands? They seem to be parts of some kind of metal man, never before seen in Dereth."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Have you heard about the fell creatures now stalking Moarsman Isle and Freebooter Isle? They seem to be rarely seen, but they are quite menacing."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Rand the Hunter has marked a new set of creatures for bounties. Seek him out in Holtburg. You may wish to bring your fiery weapons for some of the bounties..."


 * Town Crier tells you, "Sean the Speedy in Holtburg awaits map-loving adventurers to find the next set of marked locations. Here's a hint: seek out the depths of some of the more perilous monster lairs of Dereth."


 * Town Crier tells you, "We've heard interesting reports about the bandits who are threatening Sho towns like Baishi and Lin. Some scouts think the bandits had a falling-out over some relics they encountered deep in a newly discovered dungeon. Speak with Carolyn Woron in Baishi to learn more."


 * Town Crier tells you, "What happened to Mar'uun? The whole town now seems to have been destroyed! But scholars think there may be some way to discover what really happened there."

Ulgrim Rumors
Free Rumors:
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Did you know that I'm the one who marks all those points of interest for the Dereth Explorers' Society? I've been trying to keep my involvement discreet, but I could no longer live with the lie.  Those spots I've been marking were my favorite drinking spots before I settled down here.  That's right, even on the islands that no one knew about until I'd been here for years!  That's just how darn good I am."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Don't you believe what that Carolyn Woron tries to tell you. All that kerfuffle with the bandits threatening Baishi and Lin resulted from a dispute over booze.  She's just trying to protect her drunken father's reputation.  Hmph.  I have no patience for drunkards.  Now get me another stout."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "No, I haven't been to Moarsman Isle or Freebooter Isle lately. I find that the smell of those islands is intolerable in the summer, and not even a very hoppy beer can deaden the odor.  Why, is something going on there?"


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh ho, Rand's got people chasing after K'naths now, eh? He was telling me about them before.  He seemed to think they bore a striking resemblance to the game pieces in a strategy game that was popular back in Ispar.  I told him to pass me whatever he's been drinking."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh, I feel sorry for those poor lost souls stuck in Mar'uun. I offered them sanctuary here, but for some reason they felt they'd rather risk the vagaries of portal magic than settle down in Ayan Baqur.  I think the Virindi make them nervous."

Stout Rumors:
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Have you heard about the pieces of armor and other metal bits the Baishi bandits discovered? Everyone's in a tizzy trying to figure out what it means.  I know what it means.  It means another exotic race of aliens is getting ready to cause trouble for us.  Applesauce, I tell you!  Applesauce!"


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Hey, if you're in the mood to explore the marker points that the Explorers' Society laid out, see if you can find my favorite mug. I left it at one of those spots.  Oh, wait, never mind, I have it here.  Well, you can still help me.  Bring me another stout to fill the mug with."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I always say, truth will out. And the truth is that Carolyn Woron's father is a drunk who's trying to cover his own besotted behind about what really went wrong in those tunnels.  Never trust a drunk, my friend.  Now, about that other stout you promised to get me...


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I've been all over this island trying to find Rand's bounties. Awful inconsiderate of him to hide them somewhere.  The modern bounty hunter is used to finding all his targets in one geographically convenient area.  But when has Dereth ever been geographically convenient?"


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh, you may think the Apostate Virindi have been quiet for a couple of months, but I know better. They're underground, collecting stuff and making themselves an army.  Just you wait.  And don't say I didn't warn you."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Sometimes I have dreams. Terrible dreams, about some snake-headed huntsman coming after me with his horrible hunting creatures.  Good thing that's just a dream, and not some actual terrible thing that stalks the land."


 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Well, it seems things have settled down a bit at the Crystalline Crag. I may head over there just to cause some more trouble.  No, wait, I mean, I might go and make sure things remain peaceful."

New Quests

 * Ries Woron's Story - See how Ries Woron and his brother discovered the Gear Knight parts. Reward is a 1 use Mana Forge Key.
 * Creeping Blight Champions - Find rare, randomly spawning bosses on Freebooter Isle and Moarsman City. The bosses drop a Mana Forge Key directly in their loot when defeated.
 * Portal Space Time Travel - Through the magic of the time travel you must help convince Marcus and Wren that their experiments will destroy Mar'uun in the future which is actually your past.

Updated Quests

 * Dereth Exploration - 10 new Markers were added.
 * Monthly Game Hunter - New creatures to hunt:
 * Virindi Consul, Virindi Desecrator and Virindi Profane
 * Shadow Phantom, Shadow Spectre, Shadow Wraith and Abyssal Shadow
 * K'nath in the Valley of Death
 * Sleech on Dark Isle
 * Olthoi Larvae
 * Land Control - The Array Crystal now spawns little crystals to defend it. The crystals attack everyone regardless of what society they belong to.

New NPCs

 * Carolyn Woron - Now found in Baishi. Part of the Ries Woron's Story quest. Carolyn Woron has since been removed from Baishi bar as of 7/27/09. According to, Carolyn was removed as part of the plan for the quest and will return a few days before the next patch.
 * Do Za-I the Weaponsmith - Found in Lin's Armor and Weapons building. Speak of the troubles Ries Woron brought with him.

Updated NPCs

 * PvP Arena Master - renamed to Isparian Combat Arena Master

New Locations

 * Resonant Portal - Randomly appearing portals found in the direlands. Part of the Portal Space Time Travel quest. These portals NPCs, not items - they cannot be selected with the [ ] keys.

Updated Locations

 * Thug Hideout - No longer has any Thugs but just some level 1 mice and level 145 Rats. The locked doors and lever doors are all open so no Lockpick or keys are required now. There is a new area just beyond the Throne Room where you find Fiona's Charm that you give to Carolyn Woron in Baishi.
 * The PvP Arena in Baishi has changed its name to Isparian Combat Arena.
 * The Mar'uun portal has been renamed "Resonant Portal" and is white rather than purple. Also it is now non summon/tie/recall. Still no level restriction and the inside of the dungeon is the same as last month.

New Titles

 * Timeless Adventurer
 * Virindi Informer

Portal.dat

 * [[File:Portaldat 200907.png]]

New Creatures

 * {|cellpadding=5


 * -valign=top




 * }

Images
Click image for full size version.

Known Issues

 * The fail to enter chat channels bug persists.
 * Ries Woron's Story is buggy. At least on the server of Leafcull, several people have been unable to complete the quest. The Unknown Warrior appears in the cave, jumps down the pit, then instantly disappears and does not finish his dialog. Sometimes, the quest is stuck in this state. Sometimes, the virindi, their minions, and the exit portal will appear despite The Unknown Warrior disappearing.
 * Recalling and speaking to Carolyn Woron again has resolved this issue for some players by allowing them to restart this sequence.
 * The Uncovering the Renegades quest is not allowing some characters to pick up the message shard at the end. This may be related to their flagging status before the patch.
 * Chests inside the Mana Forges will occasionally fail to reset properly and will only contain a single spell component when opened (a key is used up).
 * An Exploration Marker in the Eater Pit dungeon is inaccessible to those you have previously completed the quest associated with that dungeon. The dungeon will be accessible next patch.

Typos

 * Ned the Clever tells you, "I put togeather [sic] several diagrams and several notes for the researchers based off their notes." -- Incorrect spelling of "together".
 * Ned the Clever tells you, "Sundering a barrier between the planes of existance [sic] and time..." -- Incorrect spelling of "existence".
 * Ned the Clever tells you, "Truely [sic] shocking." -- Incorrent spelling of "truly".