Talk:Tutorial/The Battle of Solace Bridge

Tutorial/The Battle of Solace Bridge

File:SotA BattleSolaceBridge1b.jpg
Location	Battle of Solace Bridge
NPCs Involved	Edvard the Wanderer
Enemies Involved	Skeletons (x3)
Quest Items	Bridge Defender's Sword

The Tutorial provides an introduction to Shroud of the Avatar, and includes a number of hints for the new user.

Quest

You begin in an instance of Solace Bridge, where you are approached by Edvard the Wanderer.

Hello, traveller! I am Edvard, a wandering bard of some renown. And you seem to have picked a most interesting time to visit Solace Bridge... there has been a battle here recently, you see. The undead have put this trading post to the torch, and many are still about. If you have a sword and your wits about you, let us be off! Or... Well, you do need a sword, don't you?

The following hint is shown:

Edvard's Trying To Help!
To talk to Edvard, just type as if you were talking to another player online. You don't have a sword, so tell him so by typing "Yes" within the conversation dialog and hitting return.

Follow the instructions to advance the conversation:

You're really going to need that sword before we go much further. The undead don't respond well to polite conversation. There's a sword over there in that weapons rack right behind me, why don't you go get it and come back? I'll be right here.

A new hint appears:

You Need A Sword!
To get the sword from the nearby rack, first open your backpack by clicking on the "pack" icon in the upper right, then drag the sword from the rack into your backpack. Then to talk to Edvard again, just double click on him.

Take the Bridge Defender's Sword from the weapon rack nearby. The next hint is shown.

Try Out Your Sword

Now that you've equipped your sword, feel free to take a few swings at the practice dummy nearby. Use the Z key to draw your sword and then approach the practice dummy (it's between Edvard and the gate to the north). If you have too many panels open, you can close them with the X button at the top right. The "window" icon in the upper right has a drop-down menu of panels you can reopen at any time.

As you approach the dummy another hint will appear.

Try Your Skills
To attack the practice dummy, move close to it and double click on it. You'll see a few icons appear along the bottom of your screen; these are special skills you can use to make your enemies die faster. When you're done practicing your swordplay, talk to Edvard again.

Double-click on Edvard to begin a conversation.

All right, time to move. See that gate off in the distance to the north? It has a switch that you'll need to trigger to move further into the courtyard. Once you do, well, I hope you remember which end of that sword points out, because it sounds like there are a few skeletons watching the bridge - and past that, the lunar rift to Braemar. I'm not that much help in a fight, so I'll take the long way around once you distract the skeletons and meet you by the rift. Good luck, adventurer!

Say your farewells, then approach the gate to the north. A hint will appear.

The Gateway
To open the gate, double click on the switch just to the left of the gate. Many gates and doors require operating such switches, and some may require keys as well.

Outside of the gate is your first combat challenge; a skeleton. As you approach, a new hint will be shown.

Prepare Yourself!

You are close to an enemy! It will attack you and possibly kill you if you don't defend yourself! Double click on it to attack, and use your combat skills to defeat it! Your health appears as a red bar under your name (as does the enemy under his). Your focus, or ability to use skills, is the green bar below that. If your health drops too low, drink a red potion to restore your health (it's on the right of your hotbar).

When you engage the skeleton, another hint may appear.

Finally, when you defeat the skeleton, a congratulatory tip will be shown.

Victory!

Congratulations! You have defeated your first enemy. If you've been wounded in the battle, sheath your sword (using the Z key) to heal faster. Health regenerated very slowly when your sword is unsheathed. You want to be at full health before moving on, more enemies are near! To see what the skeleton was carrying, double click the body, then drag anything within to your pack or just press the "Take All" button. Note that animals don't carry coins but you can still harvest them for crafting materials by double clicking their corpse if you have the right harvesting tool, such as a skinning knife. Continue across the bridge and look for Edvard on the other side. You may have to fight a few more skeletons on your way.

As noted, two more skeletons await you before the end of the bridge. Defeat them, making sure to loot them of their valuables. On the other side, Evard awaits. As you leave the bridge, another tool tip appears.

Escape?
Looks like Edvard made it out and is ahead of you. Talk to him again to find out how to leave.

Tutorial/The Battle of Solace Bridge

File:To Braemar.png Hint

Double-click on Edvard to speak with him, then make your way up toward the lunar rift, where a tooltip will appear.

Thanks for clearing those skeletons for me, traveller. I'll stay here to heal up a bit; come back and look me up if you get a fair notion. Up on the hill ahead you'll find a lunar rift - just run through it to go to the village of Braemar. Once there, the guard may give you a hard time at first; but if you're honest with him things should go well. Farewell, and good luck, friend!

To Braemar!

This is a lunar rift, which acts as a teleporter to distant lands. This one will take you to Braemar, a village on an island called the Hidden Vale, where your adventures will continue - but now you will be joined by other payers, and can work with (or against) them to accomplish great deeds! Note that Shroud of the Avatar is still very much a work in progress! When the game's story is closed to completion, you will see the Battle of Solace Bridge again, but in a different setting, and the opening of the game will be different. Thank you from all of us on the development team at Portalarium, and we hope you enjoy Shroud of the Avatar as we continue to develop it. Remember the virtues that were forsaken, and your path will be bright and long.

Climb the path and double-click on the glowing energy within the lunar rift to travel to Braemar. When you arrive in Braemar, a new hint will be shown.

First Steps

Welcome to New Britannia, Avatar! Below, please find a list of helpful Commands and UI Elements to help you get started in the world of Shroud of the Avatar. Moving Through the World Avatars can move through the game world using the W-A-S-D keys. You can also move forward using the mouse by holding both the left and right buttons down simultaneously. Double-tapping the 'A, S, or D' key allows the Avatar to perform a directional roll. Rolling consumes a small amount of focus and requires a short rest period before it can be done again. Pressing the 'Space-Bar' will cause your Avatar to jump. Holding the 'Space-Bar' down before releasing will allow for a higher jump. Jumping does use a small amount of focus, but also has a chance of breaking some stun and root effects. The 'Num-Lock' key allows an Avatar to auto-run without a key being pressed. Press the 'Num-Lock' key aagain to cancel this action. An Avatar can also choose to walk instead of run by typing /walk in the chat window. Typing /run toggles the ability to run back on. Looking Around the World You can use your mouse in order to pan the camera and get a better view of your surroundings. Holding the right mouse button while moving the mouse around allows the Avatar to pan the camera and look around without moving ('mouse-look'). Doing this while running or walking also allows you to steer your Avatar with the mouse. The mouse wheel can also be used to pan the camera in and out, allowing a first person view perspective or a wide angle view of your surroundings. When combined with 'mouse-look', it also allows for some great screen shorts of your avatar. In order to take a screen shot, simply click 'F11' and a JPG of your current screen is saved in your Shroud of the Avatar install folder. If you would like to toggle off the UI for your screen shots, use the 'F9 key. User Interface The menus for the game appear in the upper right hand corner and include the following options: Stained Glass Window: A list of many useful windows in the game. Crossed Swords and Shield: Opens the Avatar Window, which includes a view of the character, basic stats, and the characters equipped items and bags. Saddlebag: Opens the Avatar's Inventory window(s). Gears: Opens the option menu, which includes customizable settings for Audio, Video, and other controls. Also includes an option to 'Quit' the game. Question mark: Launches a web browser to display the Player Instruction Document. Sealed envelope: Launches a web browser to display the bug reporting forum for the games current release. Other important UI Elements At the top-center of the screen you will find a directional compass with the name of the area you are currently in. You current Health and Focus can be found in the upper left corner, with the status of your current target (if selected) displayed next to it to the right. The Non-Combat Ability Bar is located at the bottom-center of the screen and can hold non-combat spells, tools, maps, and consumables. Players can customize the contents of the Non-Combat Ability Bar by dragging items and non-combat spells onto it.

Almost immediately, a guard will confront you. Tell him you come from Earth.

Halt! All new travellers must answer a few simple questions! Where are you from, stranger?

Conversation

You are now in conversation with an inhabitant of the game world (a non-player character, or NPC). While you are focused on the NPC, you cannot move or take other actions. You can leave this focus by pressing Escape, or by telling the NPC goodbye. You can talk to NPCs like you would anyone else (they have some limited understanding of what you type). Words and concepts that NPCs understand are highlighted and underlines. You can click on these topics, or you can type whatever you like within the chat window. Most NPCs respond to the following topics: What is your name? or name What do you do? or job How do you feel? or health How can I help? or rumors Farewell or bye br>You do not ordinarily know the name of NPCs until you ask. Their name will change overhead and in your chat log, once you learn them. NPCs may also tell you about other NPCs. Occasionally NPCs will ask you to do things. This is similar to "quests" in other games you might have experience with, although Shroud of the Avatar is more freeform and based on how you react to the world and vice versa. Still, many NPCs may need your help with something. Asking them "how can I help" is a good way to determine what, if anything, you can do for them. If an NPC tells you something particularly important, you will automatically take notes on it in your personal journal. By default, this is accessed via the "J" key. NPCs may react differently to you based on your experience with the virtues. If you have a reputation as a liar, some NPCs may not believe you. If you have a reputation for being a coward, some NPCs may not trust that you can protect them. There is no way in game to know directly your relation to the virtues - although the Oracle (a mysterious entity who can be found in most cities) will give you a general description if you ask.

Thank you for your honesty. Most people would not admit to such. If you are looking for honest work, just ask anyone how can I help - you can try that now with me, for example.'

I wrote in my journal about my conversation with this guard.

Ask him how you can help, and he will reward you with experience and some contacts in the Vale.

There are several people who could use your assistance, such as the innkeeper, Flynn, and the hunter, Bodan Koren. Try speaking to them and inquiring what you can do to help. Once you have finished there, you should journey north to the city of Owl's Head, where Lord Enmar leads the defense of the Vale.

Experience awarded! (200)

You have been given a description of Bodan Koren.

You have been given a description of Flynn Gilson.

You have been given a description of Lord Delbert Enmar.

I wrote a new new entry in my journal.

Experience

Avatars begin their journal through New Britannia relatively weak, but have the potential to grow in skill and focus. Defeating monsters is just one of the ways you can earn Experience Points, whcih si tracked at the bottom of the screen. Earning Experience Points increases your Adventurer level (which increases your maximum Health and Focus) and earns you additional Skill Points. Adventurer level and experience point totals can be reviewed at any time using the 'C' key to open the Character Sheet or by hovering your cursor over the Experience Bar at the bottom of the screen.

Quests and Tasks

Questing in Shroud of the Avatar is quite different from the RPGs you have be used to playing. There are no "traditional' "quest givers" waiting for you to arrive around a central hub, nor are they glowing or marked with punctuation above their heads to get your attention. Instead, they can be found anywhere in the world; in Taverns, on the street, in their homes, living their lives out until you discover them and ask, "Is there anything I can help you with?" To interact with an NPC, select them with your left mouse button and hit the ENTER key to bring you your chat log. Type the text you want conveyed to the NPC in the chat box, then hit ENTER again. Double-clicking on friendly and neutral NPCs will also start a conversation with them, assuming you do not have a weapon equipped. All NPCs respond to at least the following keywords and phrases you may remember for earlier RPGs: name -- What is your name? job -- What do you do? health -- How are you? help -- What can I do to help you? bye -- Farewell. (This will close the conversation tab for that NPC.) If you are unsure if you have been given a quest, be sure to check your Journal by clicking the 'J' key. Quests are quest updates are automatically logged in your Journal in case you ever need to check your progress. Some quests are very straightforward, while others may require you to travel to different areas where you will need to speak with other NPCs or complete several different tasks. Checking your Journal often can keep you on track. Adventuring with Others Shroud of the Avatar can be played as a single player adventure, but most find it fun and rewarding to meet challenges with like-minded friends. These are called Adventure Parties. Players can be invited to Party with, if the player doing the inviting is already the leader of a party of it they are not currently in a party. When invited to a Party, a dialog will pop up that the player may accept or decline. Parties are limited to eight members. /invite <playername> - Invites a player to an Adventure Party /leave - Leave your active Adventure Party The leader of an Adventure Party can manage all members via the Social Menu accessed using the 'F' key. All Party members are shown in the Social Menu, along with their current status. Off-line Party members will remain in the Party, but their name will be greyed out. If the Adventure Party leader disconnects or leaves the party, leader status will be assigned to a new party member. Most areas are shared by everyone in them. This includes most city, town, road, and wilderness scenes. It is possible to encounter Avatars not in your Adventure Party in these scenes. Other scenes are specific only to your Avatar and members of your Adventure Party. These are called Adventure Scenes. If you are inside an Adventure Scene, you will only see players that are in your party.

Travel Onward

Other hints will appear as you first interact with the world.

Tutorial/The Battle of Solace Bridge

File:Journal Hint.png Hint

When you first open your Journal, the following tip will appear.

Your Journal

Hail Avatar! You have made a discovery worthy of remembering! Your Journal is how your Avatar keeps track of information that they learn as they travel through New Britannia. To access the Journal, tap the J key. To close it, simply click tap the J key again. Each time you gather clues about the people you meet and the places you visit in Shroud of the Avatar, they are recorded in the Journal. Quests and quest updates are also logged in your Journal, so if you ever need to check your progress on a quest, be sure to check your Journal. Players also have access to a Crafting Journal, which can be accessed by tapping the 'B' key. You will begin with a few recipes already logged in your Crafting Journal, and any new ones you discover will be recorded here.