In our previous Revisited articles, we’ve explored some of the most memorable locations in the Riven Realms – their histories, atmosphere, and the music that brings them to life. But this revisit is a little different. When we announced our intention to complete the Valley of Sleepers’ storyline, we were deeply grateful for the feedback and enthusiasm you shared with us, and the Patreon pledges that went into the Vagrus jar. It was encouraging to see how many of you still remember this eerie corner of the Jagged Waste and how much you’d like to see its story reach a proper conclusion. So, while we’re working on this bit of content, let’s briefly revisit the Valley.

Hey everyone,

What a month it's been! We spent it looking back at the five year history of Vagrus and its development with you through the Revisited series, the anniversary update, and the team's retrospective. Seeing your memories shared as well, from your first comitati to hard-won endings, was the best part of the celebration.

In this series of “Revisited” articles, we’re taking a look at iconic or interesting locations in the playable part of the Riven Realms and invoke their unique atmosphere. 

This time around, we’re taking a look at the Great Stairs, a location we first introduced a year ago. Many once-mighty edifices of an age long past still dot the volcanic landscape of Varnurud, the ravine-ridden, broken ridges of the northern Mountains of Fire. Among the most impressive such structures is what the savage inhabitants of the region simply call “the Great Stairs”, although it was once known as the Stairs of Baldar. In the ancient days of the Third Age, the kingdom’s Dwarves used these to ascend to the tall ranges of Norrgadar, or down to Varnurud – often with cargo. By present day, the stairs have crumbled so badly that it is difficult to believe they were ever safe to traverse. Rumor has it that many scavengers found their deaths trying to reach the highest point, if only to gaze outward and take in the magnificent view of the valleys below.

We’re back and we've got news to share! First, our ‘Cultured’ Support Pack is approaching its release, and second, we’re updating our official soundtrack (OST) very soon, which will then include tracks from our At the Heart of Ruin expansion. Additionally, we’ll also be updating our Patronage Pack, which will now include wallpaper pieces from Sunfire and Moonshadow, Old Acquaintances, and At the Heart of Ruin.

Hey everyone,

This update not only brings another round of fixes and tweaks, but also adds a lengthy quest called “The Gangs of Varnurud”, changes a location in the expansion, and introduces Fog of War to certain parts of At the Heart of Ruin.

Shoutout to Trese Brothers on Cyber Knights: Flashpoint

Before getting into 1.260, we’d look to mention our good friends at Trese Brothers, who’ve just hit a big milestone for their tactical RPG, Cyber Knights: Flashpoint, released earlier this year, while also running a sale. This deep tactical RPG puts you in charge of cyberpunk mercenaries, sending squads on tense heights amidst the megacorps and crime syndicates of the 23rd century. Like Vagrus, it’s a challenging, complex game. It’s not an open world experience or narrative-focused, instead mixing hand-crafted content with clever procedurally generated systems and a huge variety of character build options, for extreme replayability. If you like games like XCOM or Shadowrun, this one’s worth a look!

What makes a great set of stairs, you might ask? Well, that’s a tough question, we say. In our At the Heart of Ruin expansion, there are many sets of great stairs, but only one is called the Great Stairs – at least that’s what the locals would say. Whether those locals are bloodletting miscreants who worship an unknown entity that demands depraved sacrifice, madmen who delight in the act of burning themselves and others alive, or men who believe themselves to be beasts after discovering a dead Wyvern that they thought was a divine creature of the skies, that’s what they would say. There are other… more cultured locals, of course – even ones that’ll talk to you – but they each share a different brand of insanity. Enjoy, we say.

Behold the captivating cityscape of exotic Kabur, the Jewel of the North. It is one of the most prominent locations in Sunfire and Moonshadow, the expansion of Vagrus that has gone live on Steam, GOG, and Epic. This alluring city lies in the northwestern part of the continent of Xeryn, nestled at the mouth of the valleys at the foot of the Brown Mountains. Kabur, in its colorful magnificence, is dotted with slender towers and shiny onion-shaped domes. Tarkians have laid its foundations even though it is located far away from Tark, and it has become a melting pot of cultures Imperials consider to be exotic. A Handjari Prince rules the metropolis in the name of the Emperor, trying to make a tidy profit in these difficult times of war and insurrection in the north.

This week we’re excited to share one of the expansion’s most intriguing locales: the Fadhuldak Mountains. Part of the forlorn Brown Mountains spanning the western border of the Bronze Desert, the peaks, valleys, and ranges that make up these mountains are home to beastly denizens mostly, although allegedly there are some wayward people prowling these lands, too.

Another week, another lore post - this time we return with the third part of our ongoing series of articles about perilous ruins of the Riven Realms (more specifically, the northern regions called terra supra). We will look at three more very dangerous places that used to be centers of civilization in the fabled past, before the Calamity ruined most of Xeryn. This time, on the chopping block are Urad, the city lost in the fog, once-mighty Quathos of the Dwarves, and ominous and all too quiet Valley of Sleepers. Let’s dive in!

Following on from our earlier post in October, we now present the second installment of our ongoing series, ‘The Most Dangerous Ruins of Terra Supra’. This week we’re taking a look at three more of Xeryn’s most feared and dreaded ruins, several of which once stood as proud loci of a formerly glorious civilization, before the Calamity’s fallout wrought unforeseen destruction and corruption upon the Riven Realms. Without further ado, let’s delve right in!