┌─── ∘️ January 2025 Newsletter ️∘ ───┐
Frostfall, year 1640

Happy new year!

January marks Avalore's fourth month running, and with it, a lot of learning as we navigate running the server. We have heard lots of great feedback from the playerbase regarding our first and current server campaign, and responses can be found below as well as future related plans.

We have received a large influx of applications to our Lore team, and we thank you greatly! We are processing them with some wait times, but it is looking good and our number of DMs is increasing for events, patrons, and fables, which is exactly what we needed. We are still seeking mentors for processing whitelists and doing new player outreach; this is something that can be performed in a non-staff capacity, although you are still welcome to apply for staff as well if you also have interest in working more with our behind-the-scenes.

We have some very exciting updates planned for this month, so get cozy indoors this January with some roleplay to kick off 2025.

° New & Upcoming

Campaign Updates

• The Honourless Campaign is set to finish this month!
  • Discussion and some updates on the campaign were announced during the most recent Community Update. Notes summarizing it, including discussion on the server campaign, can be found below in the 'Community' section.
  • It should be noted that we plan to navigate future server campaigns differently, including working with player DMs, in light of how quickly the playerbase has grown. Future campaigns should better accommodate our player numbers, and we thank you all for your patience as we learn together.
    
    

Content Updates

Alchemy

• The Avalore alchemy plugin is set to be released either late this week, or next!
  
  • Information on how the plugin works will be released alongside it, but a sneak-peek can be found below in the Avalore Community Update

Arcane

• A new patron developed by @ArgetIstalri and @Bookwormpower will be released this month! Their school of focus will be Artifice.

Cantrips

• Across-the-board reworks are still coming but have been pushed back due to higher priority updates first
• Same with the attack cantrip

Feats

• Feats related to alchemy will be released after a public release test period with the plugin itself, roughly 2-3 weeks
• Polearm Reach will be adjusted to be more generalized
• Quickfooted will see further changes for balancing

Combat/Misc.

• Evasion rebalance will come this week alongside other changes

Lore Submissions

• At this time we have a large backlog to process; while they aren't closed, expect a large wait time for lore submissions

XP

• Staff are now permitted to award 1-2 XP to players for in-character and out-of-character things! This can include contributions to the server through creative projects, cool things in-character, and more.
  
  

Community Updates

General

• A general reminder to both have fun and be safe roleplaying on other servers with people you may not know as well!
• Sexual innuendos and adult humour are fine between consenting friends; however please remain mindful that others may not wish to see comments like this in excess in public channels. This includes sharing your thoughts on art.
  

Avalore Community Update - January 4th, 2025

• This session includes feedback, discussion, and some sneak-peeks on:
  • Goings-on in the MCRP sphere
  • The Honourless Campaign
  • Avalore Moderation
  • Player settlements
  • Player Q&As
• A full summary of the session can be found here.

Forums

• An NPC Index has been added and can be found here.

° Player Events & Projects
Player-lead events and projects of Avalore, curated by the editor and Community Team to feature for the month.

Player Events

• TBD -  Necrobotany: Dipping for Seconds: Necrobotanist Beatrice Vimsight is putting out another request for brave residents of the Spire to dispatch of more undead.
• First Come, First Serve - Poached Hams: A bounty has been put out in the region targeting groups of several poachers that have moved into the area.
• Jan. 6th - The Kegmaster Comes to Town: Try your luck with Old Man Milton's mystery kegs down at the Spire's tavern!
• Jan. 6th - Speed Dating II: The first one being such a success, Miko is hosting a second speed dating event at the Full Cask! Note that characters seeking only platonic companionship are still very welcome to participate.
• Jan. 8th - Something Foul in the Waters: A call to seek out and defeat a wicked beast of the ocean that has been spotted north of the Spire, impeding upon local business. 
• Jan. 25th -  Charity Masquerade: The Spire hospital is throwing a charity masquerade ball to try and keep their funds at pace with the growth of the settlement. Open to all!

Editor's Pick
The editor's top pick for this month's player projects.

• lumiMarkers: A wonderful utility tool for DMs made by @lumiscosity! This is a pre-made script that runs through Figura, so it is required for use. This is incredibly useful as a visual marker for players, and a really awesome contribution to our community for use!

Player Projects

• Poetry of Helara Umeneri: A collection of in-character writings from one of the Spire's militia captains.
• Nat's Figura Concepts: A very cool collection of figura model concepts for Avalore's creatures! Verification in our Discord server is required to view. 

° Player Submissions

Please feel free to submit Avalore-related content to be featured in our monthly newsletter via DMs if interested. This can include (but is not limited to) puzzles, art, in-game photography and creative writing.

 
by @Daniel

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