Hollow Eve Festival 432/Web Site Announcements
The Massive Arachnid -- Life and...
Hollow Eve Approaches!
Plagued by years of competing magics, reality-warping corruptions, disasters and conflicting Immortal whims, the Giant Mechanical Spider is like nothing else recorded in Elanthian history. Is it alive? Is it merely a construct? Does Kurmin appreciate the magnitude of what The Spider has become, and can he continue having it arrive for future festivities?
Hollow Eve approaches, and the closing chapters of the Spider are upon us. Take part in the events leading up to the year's biggest festival as they unfold, and learn more of the Spider's ultimate fate!
Hollow Eve opens Thursday, October 31st!
Corn Maze opens Friday, November 8th!
(We aim for around 9PM Eastern, depending on events and final reviews!)
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What is Hollow Eve?
Hollow Eve is our biggest festival, and it happens every year! It all started in 2008, and every year since we've added MORE to make it even bigger and better!
This year is no exception! Join us on the Spider for:
- New and returning merchants!
- New and returning games!
- An exclusive gift only available to attendees!
- Live merchants and alteration sessions!
- TONS of raffles with Kentikatili!
- An auction!
- ...and much more!
How do I get a ticket?
We've changed how this works from previous years! Access is handled in game via SimuCoins now rather than through the Box Office! Tickets will be available opening night. Just take one of the blade spiders to the festival area, and you'll find a table selling an invitation for Simucoins.
The invitation is considered the 'Admit 1' ticket from previous years. You cannot enter the festival without buying one of these and REDEEMing it. These do not bond, so you can absolutely sell/gift/trade them to other players, too!
Great! How about my other characters?
In Platinum and The Fallen, the invitation is considered 'Admit All' -- every character on your account is eligible to attend once you redeem an invitation!
In Prime, however, additional characters will each require a Hollow Eve authorization. These will also be on the same table the invitation was! When you REDEEM an authorization, it adds an additional slot to your Hollow Eve access. The next character you take (who hasn't already claimed a slot) will consume that slot and have access to the festival. You cannot purchase or redeem an authorization for your account unless you have redeemed an invitation first! Once you have redeemed 4 authorizations (puts you at 'Admit 5'), your account is considered Admit All, and all characters on your account can attend without any additional authorizations!
Like the invitations, the authorizations do not bond, either! You can sell, trade, or gift to fellow players as you like!
What's all this noise about spiders?
Kurmin made a deal with Harawep years ago, and as a result, both Kurmin AND the Massive Arachnid were changed forever! Kurmin looks more like a spider than a Gnome, and the giant, once-metal spider that housed the Hollow Eve festivities is changing at an alarming pace to be more biological than mechanical.
This transformation has come at a cost, however! The Spider is sick, according to leading arachnologists around the realms, and is need of your help! Terrifyingly powerful tomiek-iguji broodlings and countless other metal-augmented spiders have begun plaguing the cities and trade routes! Their webs are clogging major travel ways, closing businesses and disrupting life everywhere! Worse, still, the broodlings strike from below and drag their victims to deep burrows and inject them with powerful toxins!
The arachnologists claim all of this is being done in service to the Massive Arachnid, that the webs are somehow transporting something vital back to the Arachnid to help it heal as it continues its transformation.
But some don't believe it! Angered by the disruptions to their own business empires, agitated businessmen are decrying the skittering land octopuses and vowing to see every last spider in the realms obliterated!
How do I join in?
It's not too late! These events will run throughout the duration of the festival, so there's still time to earn special titles and more! Just check the common portal locations (NEWS 4 1 lists them in-game!) and seek out either the agitated businessman or the concerned arachnologist! Both have TASKs needing to be done!
That's right! There are two sides this year! Will you aid the arachnologists in their efforts to learn more of what's affecting the Spider and how they can help it? Or are you fed up with the too-many-legged sacs of goo and ready to join the businessmen's crusade to slaughter them all and be done with it?
The decision is yours, and whichever side prevails may have lasting ramifications for years to come...
[Rewards will be available once the event opens, depending on your participation level!]
What merchants are coming back?
GREAT question! We have a list on the forums of what's planned right now! Keep in mind, Hollow Eve is a living, breathing event that grows and changes as it goes on! If your favorite shop isn't in the list, don't fret just yet, it may make an appearance before things wrap up! Likewise, due to real life or QC complications for the staff involved, it's possible something we have planned may not make it, but we'll do everything we can to avoid that!
Ok ok, here's the list: Shops!
Where can I learn more?
- Elanthipedia's Hollow Eve tracking is handy!
- Connect with other players via the Hollow Eve forums!
- Check out the FESTIVAL verb in game!
- Follow us on Twitter for notifications of updates/live events!
- Check out the BONUS command ingame for special event statuses.
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Be sure to watch this news item for updates and previews of some of what you can expect to see at this year's event! Don't forget to follow our Twitter so you don't miss out on announced events and merchants, and the FESTIVAL verb in game will list special events to look forward to!
The Spider is Unwell!
- In the lounge in the upper abdomen, several robed humans stand together. A group of seven, each of these men and women wear elaborate robes draped in swathes of colorful wildlace. Most remarkable about them, however, is the fact that they seem to move completely in unison, even when making the slightest adjustments to their posture or footing. In perfect unison say, "The spider is ill! Pray to the Crone that the spider is cured! Time is of the essence!" In response, you hear some shoppers speaking to one another in hushed tones, one saying, "I dunno, this is getting a little weird for my tastes! I'm going to spend my tickets and get out of here!"
- The spider heaves and sways, something is not right! Terrified shopkeepers are eyeing precariously placed wares as the spider shakes, rocking the fairegrounds, and strange things are happening!
OOC: Things are coming to a head, and the spider is unwell. If you have remaining fest tickets, spend them soon, as events may prevent you from spending them in the future!