RELEASE WEEK: Release 2.5 of 3

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We're not quite finished with the full Release 3, but thought we'd give 
you a 2.5 to keep you busy; the complete Release 3 will come out over 
the next few days.

RELEASE 2.5 of 3 - DAWN OF FACTIONS
NPCs (Non-Player Characters) are now seeded across the map.

They 
appear on NPC terrain squares (Dolmens, Barrows, Ruined Towers and the 
like), can be scouted and/or attacked, and respawn on the same schedule 
as the Resource squares.

There are 3 distinct types of Faction 
which you should become familiar with.

NATURE
Nature has, currently, 3 types of beast
 who will spawn on the map, in order of viciousness:
Wild 
Dogs

Wolves

Bears

The Nature Faction is 
considered non-sentient; these poor beasts will be perplexed when you 
show up on the square but will defend it with their lives.

Nature
 Faction units show up on the map as icons of Wild Dogs, Wolves & 
Bears.

MONSTER
The
 Monster Faction consists of organized monsters who will defend their 
territory at all costs.

There are currently 2 Monster Factions: 
Arakvar and Serpentkin.

Arakvar
The
 Arakvar are a rigid society of giant spiders, organized under their 
brood mothers.  They work in unison to provide a tight knit defence, and
 it has been known for a particularly large and enraged Arakvar Nest to 
counter-attack against a particularly dangerous foe.

Serpentkin
The origins of Serpentkin 
are lost to the Histories of Illyria.  Legend has two competing 
versions.  

First, that they were intentionally created by the 
foul magics of the demented mages of Yorak, who were subsequently 
destroyed by what they had unleashed.  Alternately, that they have 
simply always been here - deep underground - but that the scent of flesh
 has brought them to the surface.

Monster Factions can be 
very dangerous when in number.  Nests, hives and Lairs can be large, and
 the defenders are organized - including ranged units and commanders 
amongst them.

Arakvar & Serpentkin show on the map as icons 
of Spiders and Serpents respectively.

HUMANOID FACTIONS
Potentially the most 
dangerous of all the NPCs, there are 5 Factions.

Crimson Dawn
The most heartless, vicious and 
downright lethal of Mercenary Companies, Crimson Dawn are an elite 
fighting unit, fielding all unit types and strategies in the field.  
Crimsom Dawn is led by a Legendary commander known only as Honehn.  His 
origins are unknown.  Crimson Dawn will give no mercy and no quarter - 
and expect none either.

Treggar's
 Crows
This company was founded nearly a century ago by 
Treggar the Exile - a cousin of Dwarven King Graythorn.  Treggar fell 
spectacularly out-of-favour with his King and ended up taking a large 
band of malcontents to found his own Empire in the far reaches of 
Illyria.  The exact location of their base is unknown, but they often 
roam through the Kingdom on their own missions and are generally a 
feared fighting force.

Brotherhood
 of Kerala
Elves who fall from grace are generally 
referred to as Dark Elves and exiled from the Elven heartlands.  Those 
who survive in the wild sometimes run into - and join - the Brotherhood 
of Kerala.  The Brotherhood is a mystic organisation who occasionally 
hire themselves out to the highest bidder in order to fund the expansion
 of the City of Temples.

Bayne's
 Irregulars
Bayne is a well known and truly gifted 
Mercenary commander.  The company he has formed consists of many of 
Illyriad's best trained soldiers, and he fields a full set of fighting 
troops.  Bayne's philosophy of combat is simply that only the best will 
do - and he has no qualms about taking in soldiers of any race to fight 
with his Irregulars - so long as they are experts in their field.

Marauding Skullsplitters
There's 
almost nothing Orcs like better than to kill things and eat them.  Orcs 
who become dissatisfied with the lack of leadership in their city will 
head out in the surrounding countryside and prey on passers-by for their
 own amusement, enrichment, and belly.
Factions appear on 
the map simply as Occupying (Neutral) armies.FACTION SIZES
Nature and Monster factions 
give you an indication of their size when you click on them.  
Be
 aware, however, that size is not necessarily an indication of 
lethality.  For example (if we introduce them) "A few Enraged Mammoths" 
is likely to be a lot more difficult than "A few Wild Dogs".
Humanoid
 Factions must be scouted to ascertain their strength and composition.
In
 fact, we strongly recommend that you scout each and every NPC encounter
 before deciding whether to engage.
Faction size comes in 10... 
err... sizes 
Few
Handful
Several
Pack
Many
Gathering
Horde
Throng
Host
Legion
The
 sizes range from less than 5 to more than 5000.
We hope you 
enjoy this new content, and you now have an outlet for your aggression 
that doesn't involve other players.
We have large plans for 
Factions in the future.

OTHER
 FIXES
Sending zero goods to a square on the map 
would cause an error; this now
 correctly returns an informative message instead.

Diplomatic

 units were proving far too stealthy as their visibility time was 
mistakingly in terms of seconds rather than minutes. This has now been 
resolved.

The diplomatic and military recall 
buttons now have a timer to tell you how long you have left 
to rescind your orders.

Edited by GM Stormcrow - 27 May 2010 at 23:00