01AUG24 - Eaglesbrood Faction Relaunch

The DEVS are pleased to announce the relaunch of the Eaglesbrood Faction. This is the first major update to Faction content since their content launch in October 2010, subsequent content updates in December 2010, and hub expansion in July 2011.

This relaunch includes:

• Completely rewritten profile and lore.

• Four new NPC units with custom art and stats.

• Four new, mysterious eyrie spawn points with custom art.

• Additional relationships with other Factions vis a vis new inter-factional standings (IFS).

• A revamp of the ‘Brood’s Default Racial Standings (DRS).

• A new “Mythical” race classification (replacing “Monstrous” for the previous Eaglesbrood Faction).

The Lore

The new profile and lore for the Eaglesbrood replaces the previous version, which spoke of the Giant Eagles as mythical, monstrous specters that had long passed into legend, with the human “Eagle Hunter” being the only NPC unit associated with the Faction. 

The remake of the lore is based on a document from Illyriad’s mythos, entitled, “Word of Li Lon Go, Third Adept of the House of the Tranquil Waters.” This document presents a creation story that references the Eagles:

In the beginning there was a time of peace. The Divine Land of the Five Ranges was governed by many Daimyo who respected and feared the Gods and dared not wage war upon each other. The Gods, although happy to be worshipped, felt that there lacked a cohesion to the races of men and believed they could be much greater than they were. Mankind so far was a disappointment. 

A great debate arose between the six Gods of the Upper Circle on what to do about it. Zao Kesh, the god of Wind and Horses, argued that the mountains were irrelevant and the men of the plains should rule. Ten Kulch, the God of the Black Bile, argued that all man should only worship him in his vile ceremonies. The reclusive Taolin Vu, God of the Heights and Eagles did not participate much in the dialogue, only to add that all the mud-crawlers as he deemed the valley people, should respect their natural superiors, the mountain dwellers. Tamarinda Laka, the Goddess of Knowledge and Peace, tried her best to keep the argument civil, but secretly instructed her devotees to prepare distant mountain strongholds to preserve the ancient knowledge, should the Gods not come to any agreement and bloodshed ensue. Wen Babo, the God of Music, Archers, and Thieves, wanted gaiety and art spread throughout the lands. 

Since the lore directly associates Taolin Vu with both mountains and eagles, we used this as a cue to remake the Faction’s lore, and to tie in the Kanchalka people: 

Ultimately, however, the argument was decided by the great Lao Te Shin, First amongst the Gods. He avowed that each God may have their own area and Race of men to follow them. To Zao Kesh, he gave the Plains of Keshalia and the Horse Nation of Tipu Khan. To Taolin Vu, he allocated the mighty Mountains of Taomist and the mountain men of Kanchalka. He banished Ten Kulch to perform his bloody rites in his desert fastness of Kajadum, far to the South and named his followers the Hashashin. Tamarinda Laka did not wait to be given a land or people. She retreated to the distant mountains of Tamarin, far to the North, with her warrior monks, the Tien Zao, to the fastnesses they had prepared in advance. For himself, Lao Te Shin kept the most fertile valleys of Laoshin, the breadbasket of the world, upon which to build his great cities. These cities were to be known as the Forbidden Empire. He curtly told Wen Babo that he deserved no land, but could be worshipped in taverns and other houses of ill repute.

We feel that this mythos strongly suggests a connection with Taolin Vu, the Giant Eagles, and the Kanchalka, making it relatively easy to reforge their lore without having to make something brand-new that might seem anachronistic or out-of-place.

IFS and DRS Standings

The new and edited inter-factional standings (IFS) were also inspired in part based on this source material. For example, Lao Te Shin’s banishment of Ten Kulch was the impetus for a negative rating with the Hashashin; the association with the Kanchalka gives them a very positive ranking, etc. Some of the IFS stats are inspired by the new DRS stats as well.

We have reworked the Default Racial Standings to be less extreme than previously, when they were treated as “Monstrous.” We’ve done this so that players of all races will have an opportunity to interact with the Eagles, with some having a slight advantage over others.

“Mythical” Race Classification

The Giant Eagles were originally classified as part of the “Monstrous” race. With the rewriting of the lore, we saw an opportunity to create a new “Mythical” race. The Eagles will be categorized as such, and this new Mythical classification offers us a new avenue for future content updates and launches for Factions. The Eagles are not mere animals, nor are they monsters. They are sentient, spiritualized beings that are closely associated with the gods characterized in Li Lon Go’s ancient text.

Eyrie Locations

Some Factions have spawn points instead of trade hubs. We decided to make the Giant Eagles’ eyries something new and different from both trade hubs and spawn points. You will notice that they have identifiable locations on the map, and there are custom icons for each of them. 

Unlike trade hubs, which appear on the Strategic Map and Faction profile pages, the positions of the eyries are not documented within the game; players will need to search for them. Clues to their geographic locations can be found in the mythos and new Faction profile.

While the Giant Eagles are an Elgean Faction, we did give them a dual presence in both Elgea and the Broken Lands, so that players in the BL might have an opportunity to interact with them.