Friday, April 29, 2016

droughtlands lore


Droughtlands

Fallen into dust

Even those unschooled in Telara’s history would see at once that the Droughtlands were not always barren. Leaving Freemarch for this desert, travelers see the ruins of proud towers and mighty walls dotting the landscape like the shattered bones of a fallen giant. Worn smooth by sandstorms and centuries, these tumbledown stones number among the final remnants of the Eth Empire.

Once the heart of civilization and progress, the lost cities of the Eth draw hungry eyes across Telara. Ascended, dragon cultists, rift spawn, and unaffiliated explorers all seek to harvest the riches and knowledge that may lie hidden beneath the shifting sands.

Trouble in the Hook

A vast rock formation stands in the heart of the Droughtlands, called Lantern Hook for its resemblance to… well, a giant lantern’s hook. Within lies a city of the same name, where merchants hock their wares in well-lit caves. Paths wind in and out of the stones, leading sometimes to beautiful vistas, and sometimes to a seedy and dangerous underbelly.

For Lantern Hook has its share of dangers, as criminals host illegal gambling dens in out-of-the-way stone chambers, and squeeze the merchants for protection money. The Lantern Hook Irregulars toil to clean up the passages, but it’s easy to hide dirty deals and worse in the sprawling caves under the Hook. Former brigands themselves, the Irregulars have plenty of experience dealing with criminals, but they may need help from the immortal Ascended to end the crime wave.

Raiders of the ruins

From Lantern Hook, adventurers can strike out for any of the perilous regions of the Droughtlands, where they will encounter the desert’s various factions, only a few of whom will greet the Ascended with anything but hungry maws. The most reasonable by far are the Arcane Hand, a neutral order of scholars devoted to reviving Eth culture and learning without the irresponsible use of technology.

Another group willing to tolerate outsiders is, surprisingly, the Trumasi cyclops tribe. These brutes have lived in the Droughtlands since the Age of Dragons, casting off their service to Laethys. If an Ascended can prove as strong and savage as a cyclops, the Trumasi might even pledge their aid against enemy rift-spawn who’ve come to ravage the desert.

Such mighty allies are a necessity in a scorching wasteland where centaur bands devour sentient meat, and kobolds chase trappers from their hunting grounds. Harpies soar between the desiccated towers of the Eth, unwittingly guarding ancient wonders and perhaps even the secret of why these glorious cities fell.

Worst of all, the Stormbrood of Maelforge has invaded the Droughtlands, a Dragonian warband who seek only to further the aims of their rapacious god. Dragonians are the Flame Sire’s favored strategists and their presence can only mean that Maelforge will not be satisfied until the desert is a sea of jagged glass.

“Ahh, now this place brings me joy,” said Sothul, leader of the Stormbrood, to his lieutenant.

“Look at it, Morkael! The sun scalding your scales, and searing sand between your claws. Wild herds of centaur roam the dunes, hunting and feasting on helpless travelers. See the harpies soar between the ruins of ancient folly! Ruins! What better gift for the Flame Sire than the hollow bones of civilization? I hear the yapping of kobolds by night, and there are even cyclopes to fight in the hills when these Ascended grow tedious. Heat and ruins and endless monsters!"

“This, Morkael, is the paradise Maelforge will make for us across all Telara!”

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

shimmersand lore


Shimmersand

There are two lights

In Shimmersand, there are two lights: the light of the sun, burning above, and the light of civilization, buried below. For here among the mountainous dunes lies the heartland of the Eth Empire that flourished before the sons of Mathos ever came down from their hovels. Some few of the ivory towers of the Eth still remain, jutting up above the sand, their secrets calling to courageous Ascended, greedy merchants, and foul cultists alike.

Only the mightiest Ascended can brave the sands alone. The desert is hot and hostile; in some places, travelers must crunch along on sun-made glass. What little water one finds is unsafe, as in Scaldwater Fields, where buried veins of magma heat the pools to boil the reckless drinker’s throat. Yet the magic of Earth and Fire is strong in Shimmersand, and the Ascended come in droves to keep this desert and its secrets out of the clutches of the cults.

The buried heart

Little remains of ancient Eth, every bit of it priceless. In sand-scoured ruins lie devices that could once make the desert flower, make a foe fall in agony, or bring life to armies of golems. Yet every ruin is beset by wild beasts or sinister cultists, and the constant rifts make treasure-hunting a risky prospect. Locals say the greatest treasures lie in an ancient laboratory under Charmer’s Caldera, but exploring an active volcano in search of a legend strikes many as folly.

The Dragonslayers

Shimmersand is not without civilization, and the prosperous port of Fortune’s Shore has become one of Telara’s largest cities. Yet Fortune’s Shore cannot hold a candle to the Eth city-states that once rose proudly from the sands. Beset by Wanton infiltrators—who see a flourishing city as ripe for glorious destruction in Maelforge’s name—Fortune’s Shore could well join the cities of the Eth beneath the dunes.

Shimmersand is also home to the Dragonslayer Covenant, a proud and ancient order dedicated to stamping out the Blood Storm wherever cultists scheme and dragons tread. Though Asha Catari was once a respected Dragonslayer, the Covenant shows no favoritism toward Defiant or Guardians and will richly reward any Ascended who help cleanse Shimmersand of Blood Storm corruption.

A letter from Kasia Phelorn of the Dragonslayer Covenant, Warden of the Flatyard, sent to both Cyril Kalmar and Asha Catari

To the legendary leader of the Guardians, and my old friend Asha,

Help us. Our prison facility here at the Flatyard has reached capacity, and these new cultists are not so easily cowed as the others. The inmates are in a state of constant riot. My guards rightly fear to enter the detention yards, as several of their brethren have already disappeared in the night. A mass-breakout seems imminent. Ignoring the ruin any escapees will wreak on Telara, a breakout will destroy the Flatyard’s fearsome reputation among the dragons’ slaves. 

Please, for your untarnished honor, for the love you bear me, send down your Ascended. We must crush these prisoners’ ambition, or they will crush Shimmersand, and the rest of Telara not long after”

Monday, April 18, 2016

[Off Topic] Patch 3.6: Celebration of the Ascended!

      Well well! It's Rift's 5th year anniversary. 5 years this game has been live. I just can't believe so much time has passed, it's shocking! So many wonderful memories in this game, so many memories to come! I'm excited for all the in game fun that's going to happen in this year's Carnival of the Ascended. Thankfully, they've changed some stuff up too and added things! Here's a few things they've added into the game for this year!
  • IA: A new Carnival themed IA has been introduced that apparently involves boglings in Tempest Bay! The boglings are terrorizing everyone in the city and its up to us Ascended to put a stop to the dastardly critters. I actually like boglings. They are kind of cute.
  • Frog Artifacts: Seems kind of random.....but hey, I love shinies! New artifacts are out that are half shiny and half frog. So that means they will be hard to catch. Hone your reflexes and collect all new artifact sets. Woot!
  • Shimmersand Story Rifts: Oh wow neat! Apparently there's 4 new special Rifts that will tell some lore in Shimmersand. Why Shimmersand? I've no idea....maybe it has something do to with the Bahmi and their canyon home? You get to beat up the Blood Storm (again) and also the Teth (which I'm not too sure on other then he's the big bad this expac.....)
  • Minion Adventure: There's a new Minion Card available in the store called Zephyr. When you get it, a new Minion Adventure opens up for you in the adventure tab and you can do a whole quest chain with your minions.
  • More Stuff: There's apparently new daily quests, new rewards, like pretty new cosmetic armor, a new Saga quest chain, and lots of other stuffs! There's rewards like mounts, new wing looks, fans, cakes, masks, portrait badges, a dimension key, emotes, and backpacks!
Carnival of the Ascended Update! Now that I've finally had a taste of the carnival, I've got to say, I'm loving it! It's a lot of the same as the previous years, but there's also a lot of new things. One of my all time favorites is the new Vigil Wings. Omg they are beautiful!! (confession time: I have a wing fetish). I bought them for 900 credits and don't regret it! Now all my characters have them in their wardrobe in various colors! Yes, they can be dyed!!!! Soooo pretty! Another really amazing thing I love is the new Twisted Carousel Ram mount. That thing is totally awesome. He's very unique in his gait. Instead of the other mounts, he trots, like a prancing pony, and it's very obvious too. From the back, front, or side, he is a very flashy boy! I am so glad I was able to save up 5 doubloons to buy him!! <3 I made some videos of the Carnival as well, that I'll upload here at some point!

     I'm actually pretty excited for this holiday and can't wait to log in tonight after work and check it all out! The Carnival is one of my favorites and its also the most fun, with all kinds of quick fun activities to do! On top of the holiday event, there is of course some content stuff. Not much, but here's hoping the next one will be pretty big no? So there's new soul callings for everything this time around! We've got:
  1. Warchanter-Warrior Soul- A healing soul with "Enchanted Commands"
  2. Runeshaper-Cleric Soul- Support soul that does dmg as well as boosts your allies.
  3. Frostkeeper-Mage Soul- A Healing soul that if you play WoW is kind of like a Discipline Priest. You use shields to protect and assist your allies.
  4. Maelstrom-Primalist Soul-A ranged DPS soul that allows you do massive dmg at a distance.
  5. Shadeborn-Rogue Soul- multi target DPS.
There's also a new tier of PA (Planar Attunement) to earn and get points for, there's new daily log in rewards for everyone, new PvP updates, and apparently there's another part of the update happening in May that will give us a new raid!!! Woot, a birthday present! I'll have to consider wether I think it's worth it to buy the new soul pack or not. After all, next week BlizzCon tickets go on sale and I'll need to buy those, as well as a plane ticket and hotel booking for the trip. Also I'm going to Edmonton in June to see the Warcraft movie in IMAX 3D ANNNNNND I'm attending an Expo in September with a costume I'm currently working on! So many things to do, so little time to actually accomplish anything. It's rather frustrating. But it's nice to just spend a night relaxing and having fun on Rift, and that's what I plan to do tonight! So for now, Dark out, and enjoy the Carnival!! :)
 

Monday, April 11, 2016

moonshade highlands lore


Moonshade Highlands

Moonshade

Echoes of Hammerknell

East of Iron Pine Peak lies the Moonshade Highlands. Here, into Telara’s oldest mountains, the Dwarves carved Hammerknell Fortress. While other delves have their renown, Hammerknell has ever been the heart and soul of Dwarf civilization. Using a mysterious technique called runebinding, the Dwarves filled their capitol with wonder and luxury to rival the cities of the Eth, and last far longer.

But when the rifts came, something went horribly wrong. Like their kinsmen in Lord’s Hall, the Dwarves abandoned Hammerknell. Unlike at Lord’s Hall, their exodus was not disciplined but panicked, leaving a majority of the terrified Dwarves sealed within. No Dwarf will discuss their reasons for leaving, but the great delve’s tunnels spread far underneath Moonshade, and travelers claim to hear terrified Dwarves scratching at the stone deep underground, seeking escape.

Abyssal depths

Moonshade rests on Telara’s eastern coast, where pilgrims from Sanctum built the harbor town of Three Springs. Where there is water, Abyssal cultists sneak ashore, ready to turn the lush wilderness into a terrifying mire. Not only do pulsating Water Rifts burst across the skies over Moonshade, but quivering, clammy Watertouched skulk in Acrid Basin, Moonshade Pools, and Kelpmere, ready to drag explorers to a watery grave.

To make matters worse, Brenin, a Tidelord of the Abyssal, has reared his faceless head in Moonshade. Like the deepest waters for which they are named, Abyssal methods are dark, terrifying, and heartlessly efficient, and Brenin sends cultists through the Highlands, seeking a way into the delve. Whatever is locked within Hammerknell must be truly horrible if Akylios wants it so badly.

Life in Death

Death and Life Rifts likewise wreak havoc across Moonshade. While the leader of the Endless presence remains mysterious, a powerful satyr named Gorvaht has terrorized the countryside for some time. As in the Dwarven garden of Runic Descent, many local Lifetouched have been corrupted by Death, becoming dark and twisted where before they were vivacious… and twisted. It is possible that Gorvaht wishes to remain dedicated to Greenscale, and rages against this Deathly infection.

Back when Hammerknell prospered, the elite Runeguard were renowned throughout Telara: Dwarves who gave up a comfortable underground existence to protect their city’s gates under the alien sky. When their people fled Hammerknell, it was the Runeguard who closed the gates, sealing in whatever evil had awakened in the deeps, as well as thousands of their own people.

Since then, the Runeguard have been as living ghosts, fighting to keep Hammerknell sealed even as they are haunted by the pain of their abandoned kin. Rumors persist that some Runeguard are ghosts in the literal sense, chained to Moonshade by guilt. Some runecrafters still linger in Moonshade as well, and they might know what waits in Hammerknell, if they weren’t all murderously insane from the terror unleashed under the mountain.

From the journal of Scotty Malm, Dwarven orphan and student of divine magic at Quicksilver College

“No way out,” the voice says. No, not says. Scratches jagged letters in my head, in a dream that comes every night. It’s a wonder I haven’t gone mad, though my classmates say it’s because Dwarves are too dense for any crazy to slip in.

Still, I hear them; clawing at the stone till their fingers wear to nubs. My people. I have always heard I had roots in Moonshade, so maybe once I’m done studying, I’ll head to Hammerknell Fortress and offer my services to the Runeguard… if I ever graduate, that is. It’s funny, when I was a beardless boy playing Runeguard-and-riftspawn, the elders would grumble and turn away. “Play Guardians instead,” they’d say. How could the mighty Runeguard be a source of shame?

Even if I didn’t want to go, they tug at my mind. Dragging me toward Moonshade, toward those terrible doors. Far below the soil, I can hear them begging me: "Help us. Forgive us. The dark is so vast…”

Thursday, April 07, 2016

pvp stuff


Warfronts

Battle rages across Telara, not just between Ascended and riftspawn but between Telara’s defenders. The Guardians fight for a divine plan that forbids heretical Eth machines, while the Defiant will not let the Guardians doom Telara with their prejudices. Throughout the world they clash in vicious warfare.

A few battlefields in particular see the Guardians and Defiant constantly commit their forces, each unwilling to cede a major resource or territory. These Warfronts host the most terrible and thrilling combat, as the Ascended pursue tactical objectives that will advance their own faction and harm the other.

pvp

Weekend Warfronts

Every weekend, a different Warfront becomes a hot spot for conflict between the Guardians and Defiant. New Warfronts and Warfront modes often debut as Weekend Warfronts, which always reward extra Favor and Prestige.

Alternate Warfront modes

There are many ways to dominate a battlefield, so several Warfronts feature alternate modes that change the rules for Ascended combatants, giving you a whole new way to strike down the enemy and reign supreme.

Library of the Runemasters

Maximum team size: 15

Minimum player level: 10

Victory condition: Collect 1,000 points within 20 minutes by carrying Dwarven Rune Vessels or defeating enemy players

Within the depths of Hammerknell, Guardians and Defiant battle to control Dwarven Rune Vessels. These artifacts, used to bind mighty planar beings, could prove invaluable to the armies of the Ascended.

Dwarven Rune Vessels have been found in the Library of the Runemasters, and players must hold onto them to secure victory. But be warned! The Vessels’ dark power can eat away at the souls of the Ascended. Earn points for your team by slaying enemy players or by carrying a Vessel as long as possible, surviving both the enemy onslaught and the relics’ ever-increasing waves of corruption.

Black Garden

Maximum team size: 10

Minimum player level: 10

Victory condition: Collect 500 points (by holding the Fang of Regulos or killing players) within 20 minutes

When Telara’s defenders destroyed Regulos’s body, they sealed his Fang in a shrine at Black Garden to keep it out of the hands of cultists. Both Defiant and Guardians feel they should take exclusive ownership of the Fang, as the other faction is clearly unfit to safeguard such a dire relic.

Both factions must race to seize the Fang of Regulos, but the relic itself has a malign twist: the longer a combatant holds the Fang, the more it erodes his body and soul, dealing damage that increases over time to become nearly unbearable. This makes the carrier easy prey for his enemies, but each side gathers points the longer they hold the Fang. The side with the most points within twenty minutes wins the battle.

Alternate mode: Stockpile

Maximum team size: 16

Minimum player level: 10

Victory condition: Collect 500 points or the most points in 20 minutes by cleansing dark orbs and killing enemy players

When Telara's defenders destroyed Regulos's body, they sealed his Fang in a shrine at Black Garden to keep it out of the hands of cultists. Both Defiant and Guardians feel they should take exclusive ownership of the Fang, as the other faction is clearly unfit to safeguard such a dire relic.

Carry orbs of Regulos's dark power to the cleansing altars. One Ascended can carry up to three orbs, but each will slow its bearer, creating an easier target for enemy fighters.

The Codex

Maximum team size: 15

Minimum player level: 20

Victory condition: Collect 1,000 points by holding vital positions, OR the most points in 20 minutes

The monks of Thontic have long guarded ruins where the powerful and dangerous mysteries of the Eth are buried. The Defiant were thrilled when one of their archaeological digs uncovered archives that held one of the most powerful of these secrets. Yet before they could extract and utilize the material, the silent monks alerted their Guardian allies, who attacked immediately.

Now, opposing forces struggle to control the dig site by posting the most guards at several important tactical locations. While the central Codex itself is worth the most points, the Vault, the Statue of Thontic near the Guardian camp, and the Translation Scope close to the Defiant position are also worth taking.

Whitefall Steppes

Maximum team size: 15

Minimum player level: 30

Victory condition: Capture 3 sourcestone, OR the most enemy sourcestone within 20 minutes

The Storm Legion overran two neighboring villages, dragging off the townsfolk as slaves of Crucia. In so doing they left behind a handful of sourcestone idols that could give the owners an edge in the war for Telara. Both the Defiant and Guardians have arrived on the scene and captured some of the sourcestone, and each seeks to capture the other side’s supply without losing any of their own.

Similar to a game of Capture the Flag, Whitefall Steppes features teams of Ascended defending their cache of sourcestone while trying to steal the precious mineral from their enemy’s base. Teams can only capture sourcestone when their own supply is secure, and the first side to capture three idols, or the most idols within the allotted time wins the battle.

Port Scion

Maximum team size: 20

Minimum player level: 50

Victory condition: Accrue 1,000 points, OR the most points in 45 minutes, OR slay the enemy commander

Once Port Scion was the pride of the Mathosian Empire, perhaps the richest city in Telaran history. Now it is overrun by the undead, forcing both Ascended factions to fight each other as well as hordes of walking corpses if they hope to capture this grand city for themselves.

This huge Warfront offers Ascended plenty of challenges and many ways to help their team. Heroes might strike at the Endless Court presence, destroy fell idols to the dragons, or wear down the other faction’s guards. Truly bold Ascended can assault the enemy camp and try to assassinate the enemy high commander, whose death signals defeat for his faction.

PvP Rewards

rewards

Bought with blood

While the thrill of battle is compelling, even the most blood-thirsty berserker can only kill out of the goodness of his heart for so long. To make sure their loyal forces are armed and eager, both Guardians and Defiant strive to compensate every Ascended according to his or her contribution to the war effort. Whether Warrior, Mage, Rogue, or Cleric, rich rewards await whenever you follow your faction’s banner into battle.

Favor

Favor measures an Ascended’s esteem in their faction’s military. Every act of PvP combat, including open-world fighting, PvP quests, participating in a Warfront, and more will help spread word of your deeds and earn you Favor. This currency can be exchanged for gear, mounts, and more to help you ruin the other faction’s day in tangible, bone-crunching ways.

Prestige and Prestige Ranks

Once you reach maximum level, you can begin to earn Prestige, or "PvP XP." As you rise in Prestige, you will climb through the ranks of your faction’s military. Rank has its privileges, and every new rank unlocks rewards all its own.

Plunder and glory

When it comes to the spoils of war, you can’t argue with the classics. Victorious fighters have long taken trophies from the slain, and in Telara, dead enemies drop useful loot. Those who go to war to reap eternal glory will not be disappointed, as RIFT™ offers plenty of Achievements so challenging they’ll make your friends’ jaws drop, and your enemies’ jaws fly off, probably in the direction you swung your mace.

Saturday, April 02, 2016

scarwood reach lore


Scarwood Reach

Scar

The scarred wood

The very name Scarwood Reach is a tragedy, a testament to the glorious, enchanted forest that grew here, and to the bleak fact that the woods have been cut away, perhaps forever. Now, only a few of the trees that dominated the landscape remain. The servants of Greenscale seek to cover Scarwood in new growth: not stately evergreens, but the unchecked growth of the Plane of Life, which will choke out the native life as roots can choke a riverbed, spreading out from Scarwood to cover all Telara.

Granitewoods once covered this area, trees as gray and solid as their namesake stone, wrapped with vines and growing nearly to the sky. The sacred forest was a testament to the eternal might of the gods. As such, the Mathosians thought it only right that the gods’ chosen servants cut down a few granitewoods to build the central parts of Port Scion. With enchanted axes and much ritual, the Mathosians logged a few of the sacred trees.

The Mathosians cut down granitewoods responsibly, taking only what they needed for the grandest works of architecture. Then during the reign of Aedraxis, the forest fell at an alarming pace to build war machines for the tyrant. Soon, scant few granitewoods were left save mighty Auldwarden and a small copse purchased as a preserve by Carwin, farseeing bastard prince of Mathos.

Scar

Sins of empire

Today the Guardians leave Scarlet Gorge to face a dustbowl full of hills bare as diseased scalps. Carwin’s preserve stands in dignified mourning over Scarwood, a stone monument to Carwin himself nestled between the roots of one tree.

This memorial is one of a network of shrines to brave Mathosians that served to protect the forest from harm. In his haste to harvest granitewood, Aedraxis neglected these shrines, and now their power lies dormant, unable to stop Death itself from gaining a foothold in what was once the most vital place in all Telara.

Two-headed ettins, stitched together from pilfered meat, misshapen flesh golems, and worse have been spotted in Scarwood of late. The locals have begun to disappear, and their family members dream of loved ones screaming in agony and wake up itching as if someone has been passing a needle and thread through their skin.

Perhaps by reactivating the shrines, the Guardians can save their people from whatever hideousness is afoot. But to do so they must travel all through Scarwood, from the troll-haunted hollows of Auldwarden, largest tree in all Telara, to the resting place of Carwin deep under the chalky earth.

Life and half-truths

As demand for granitewood rose, so did the fortunes of the local loggers, fortunes that fell once the forest was all but gone. Unable to live in harmony with the land as they once had, the contrite woodsmen sought any means they could to bring the forest back.

Along came Prince Hylas and House Aelfwar. Concealing their loyalty to Greenscale, Aelfwar used the Elves’ status as allies to Mathosia and protectors of the wild, claiming their Life magic could turn Scarwood into a lush forest within days.

They did not lie. The town of Granitewood Crossing is no more, having served as the origin-point for an explosion of Life energy never before seen in Telara’s history. Its ruins are overgrown by the barbed and bulbous foliage native to the Plane of Life. In perhaps the dragons’ greatest triumph during this age of rifts, the land around the village perfectly mimics the Plane of Life upon the face of Telara.

Though the odd Life Rift blooms here as insult to injury, no rift is required to keep the aggressive flora stretching outward, Lifetouched creatures spawning as if from the ground. Even now, the Life-spawn claw at the gates of Perspice.

This unnatural forest expands daily, goaded on ever faster by an ancient Eth machine that once made the desert bloom. Asha Catari herself has come to Scarwood and seeks the aid of her fellow Defiant in wrenching this relic from Aelfwar’s talons.

From the report of Kaspar Massi, Defiant Resource Manager

“It appears we need a new staff at Keenblade Mill, as some enterprising Guardian has recently hacked the laborers to bits and smashed all the machines. Fortunately, the enchanted saw blade cannot be destroyed. We will mourn the murdered souls, and the mill will save Scarwood from the Lifetouched. In the meantime, I must assign new laborers and gut this Guardian like the wretched dog he is. As they used to say on the caravan roads: when someone kills your camel, buy a new camel. And make the man eat his weight in sand. These were not camels but my friends and neighbors. I will heat the sand to glass in his belly.”

From the report of Frederick Kain, Marshal of the Sanctuary Guard

“Scratch one mill full of Defiant scum. They swore up and down that they were just using the equipment to fight the Life invasions, but I knew different. Found a missive in the foreman’s office that details the Defiant plan to cut down Carwin’s grove. Idiots. Without the shrine in that grove, nothing would protect Scarwood from the rifts. Ah well. Can’t reason with a Defiant any more than you could a length of cordwood, and an axe is the right answer for both.”