┌─── ∘️ February 2026 Newsletter ️∘ ───┐
Darkmoon, Season of Winter

Art by @godonellart on Twitter

“The first day of the Winter season remarks the presumed deadline for the harvest; anything left unsewn shall not be reaped and anything unreaped shall not be sewn. Some preliminary crops are laid out in the mid-late Winter in preparation for Vernus, but the primary trait of Winter is death — stockpiles are exhausted, climates are harsher, and days are shorter. Those unprepared shall not last the cold unscathed.”

- Standard Calendar, from The Compendium

This month's newsletter contains important Moderation changes, newcomer staff, Undercity news, updates to Fey and more!

This winter month's @adamunavailable drawing depicts the Lady of the Lake fable... With a face! A goth face, a certain knight must be delighted...

° New & Upcoming

Moderation Updates

Roleplay Standards Update

• A long-overdue update to the Roleplay Standards section of the server's Rules is now out! Please make sure to read it in it's entirety and refer to it when needed, here's a small summary of the changes made:
  • Foreword is elaborated on to clearly state the purpose of the Standards, OOC Etiquette and Value of Time are merged into one section, wording improved.
  • PvP Conflict in Roleplay receives a major update, giving both advice for smooth PvP and guidelines on how it should be carried out by the players involved. These apply both to regular PvP and Faction vs. Faction Roleplay.
  • Public and Private Areas across the map have been specified for the purposes of scene-entering and PvP, with different RP and player combat expectations for each.
  • Maintaining a Healthy Emotional Boundary With OOC & IC has been updated with mentions of OOC Character Bleed and how to handle it.
  • Player Consent Regarding IC Conflict and Consequences now includes elaboration on when PvP Consent can be revoked and mentions when it may be renegotiated mid-scene in special circumstances.
• Many thanks to @Faye Spiritscribe for helping write the majority of these new changes! As well as to @liciors and @2kelp for their insight when this moderation project began!

Community Updates

Community Team

• Please welcome @MerryLights and @mallsharkz as our newest members of community team!

Build Updates

Undercity

• Minor updates to pathways, finishing touches and a small cave network have been added to the Undercity!
• ARM Plots within the Undercity are now set up!
• The underground Catacombs are nearing completion! A large-scale project by @Ropefish that introduces a dangerous dungeon-like area.

Lore Updates

Lore Team

• Please welcome @Megladon , @MsTorii and @FortuneFool to the Staff DM role, as well as @Insert to Lore Team!

Bestiary

• Watch out, Insects! With @ShinyB 's submission the bestiary page has been updated with a new roster of various and unique insects you may find around world! Furthermore, Lore Team gradually has been looking into and processing new submission with the occasional playtests popping up! Keep your eyes to the skies!

Fey

• @Moony has taken up leading Fey as a lore concept and DMing them, alongside @Nerdocalypse and @catmerization ! This 'team' has already made some progress, here's some notable updates on Fey, addressing frustrations players have felt with them in the past:
  • As fey have been perceived as exceedingly powerful (or wholly unbeatable) previously, 4 Tiers of power have been created, from puny sprites to powerful patrons, all with codified stats and limits to set expectations on what encountering each entails. Fey are not meant to be undefeatable creatures, and their DMing will reflect this from now with the aid of these tiers.
  • Methods of Expulsion have also been provided, true-naming, ignoring, spells or a good ol' tussle among others yet undiscovered by the public in order to ward off bothersome Fey. Note that not all methods will work for all Fey, however near-every Fey will have ways to be banished by PCs if they wish, these changes will account for the severe lack of player agency and potential for derailing seen in previous iterations of Fey RP.
  • Players can look forward to a higher presence of Lesser and Minor Fey! Small motes, sprites and elemental creatures have been overshadowed by the 'typical' Fey of heavily consequential deals, long-term curses and a focus on RP trickery and debate over simple initiative-rolling. These are, however, only a fraction of the world's Fey and not an accurate representation of them in their entirety.
• Please look forward to future updates on Fey from Moony and co.!

Systems Updates

Systems Team

• Please welcome our previously mentioned @catmerization as the newest member of Systems Team!

Vampires

• The Vampiric Feats are now live in-game! All can be found on the Feats page under their own section.
• Three new craftable items have been added;
  • The Hunter's Vambrace - A tool that applies the effects of silver when a target is Grappled.
  • Silvered Projectiles - A tool that applies the effects of silver to attacks from Longbows, Recurve bows, Crossbows, or Slings. 
  • Vampiric Stake - A consumable that halves the time it takes to fully slay a vampire. 
• Clarified spell descriptions as they pertain to Vampires.
  • Spyhon has been updated to restore 4 HP if the blood is consumed by a Vampire.
  • Starlight has been updated to clarify that the light is not equivalent to Daylight. 

Hindrances

• Mutant and Arcane Hindrances are live! They replace our previous set of generic hindrances to fit the fantasy of magic and mutations better. These new hindrances can be found at the bottom of the Feats page.

Technical Updates

Vampires

• The /bite command has been added for vampires to use when feeding, a 2 AP/GP damage attack that allows them to heal by drinking a target's blood.

Traits

• Trait tags (Such as 'Mage', 'Vampire', etc.) have been moved from the character card to the /stats command page.

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

Player Projects

The Austell Doctrine, by the Council of the Spire ( @Pyrias )

° Player Photos
Players are able to submit photos through our Photo Album forum (via our Discord server) to be featured in our newsletter, and even used as promotional material for Avalore!

Speed Dating - @Insert

The Second Fey Tribunal - @D_K

First Undercity Fight - @HunterOfNightt

Wailing Corridor - @D_K

Forum Meeting - @Megladon

Brooding Triumvirs - @Insert

Something Looming - @Megladon

Moonbane - @dogshitfartelectric - @Dinomono

Reach from the Ruins - @aux

The Looming Fortress - @D_K

Beached Shark - @Megladon

Warlords Meet - @Insert

Horizon - @MerryLights