Hi, Lead Writer Ragingrage here again with another Dev Diary! Hope you are all enjoying the end of summer, the return of school, and the many many inventions, missions, and shenanigans of the Of Gods and Gears update.

JayBean, Project Lead, has recently completed a Development Roadmap outlining what's next for Anbennar.

Please take a look. And then read on, as today I'll be building off that to add more detail about our planning and thinking. If you’re on the Discord (where the dev channels are all open to public viewing) you may already have an inkling, and if you’re playing with the Bitbucket you might be already testing some of this new content, but otherwise here’s a taste of the myriad and mysterious things that lay ahead.

The Light and Dark Update

The Light and Dark Update (known colloquially as “LaD”) will be Anbennar’s next major update. Anbennar’s sun and light will blaze fiercer than ever, but in its shadows, dark entities will come to the fore like never before. Currently planning for release (though subject to change) at the end of October!

We’ll start by delving into the light:

Bulwar

Bulwar, the land of the sun, is receiving multiple major updates. The New Sun Cult is getting Shinto-style mechanics, representing the role of Surael’s chosen, the Sun Elves, in the state. In some countries they shall rule as near-on God-Kings, in others, they shall solely serve in the clergy to avoid any of Surael’s chosen being tarnished by worldly affairs.

Many New Sun Cult Incidents, with unique sets available to human and Sun Elven states, will allow you to reshape this status. A future Dev Diary will explain these in more detail, but expect everything from a response to the death of the New Sun Cult’s founder, Taelarios Irlliazuir, to the consequences of those who come to Surael’s land worshipping their own ‘One God’. The hugbox won’t stand a chance… but you might!

There are also enhancements coming to Bulwar’s other major religions. The Old Sun Cult is getting Holy Orders (including one unique to Karashar), along with holy sites, offering powerful bonuses if they can kindle their fire from coals and reclaim Bulwar’s major citadels and temples. The demonic Xhazobkult will receive powerful orthodox-style mechanics, razing and sacrificing innocents to enhance your demonic power and conduct terrifying rituals.

There are also a number of new mission trees with which to explore this content. Azka-Sur stands strong as Bulwar’s bastion against the demon-gnolls and heretic-elves of the east, and will benefit from a reworked Surani Refugee system. In the west, the bastard Deggarion hopes to restore Azka-Evran’s prominence by driving the goblins out of Bahar, reforging Jaher’s legendary spear along the way. A different approach will be taken by Re’uyel: Bahar’s great republic faces a choice between the Old Sun Cult, the New Sun Cult, and the teachings of Jadd missionaries, with different missions for each choice all leading towards restoring Bahar’s glory.

Most resplendent of all is the Land of the Sun, Surakes, a formable for Bulwari humans of any religion. Featuring incredible flavour, a unique choice of national heroes and anthems, and some bonkers modifier stacking, Bulwar has never been brighter.

Castanor

Once, a silver dragon confronted the demonic Xhazobine, burning her away with heavenly fire. In LaD, Castanor will rise from the ashes, offering the chance to do the same -- and much more.

Formable out of the Wars of Escanni Consolidation if you have integrated Castonath’s patricians into your realm, Castanor features Anbennar’s biggest MT ever (yes, no joke, it’s roughly the size of Aelnar and the Jaddari -- combined) along with a suite of unique mechanics. Navigate a choose-your-own-adventure-style Castanorian Trials system in picking a Castan, field the legendary Castanorian Legions to reap their unique event-driven bonuses, and spread Castanorian culture like a blanket over all Halann’s humanity.

Castanor features unique writing, flavour, content, and mechanics on a scale unprecedented in Anbennar. I promise, you’ve never played anything like this before.

But they are not the only thing that may emerge from the Wars of Escanni Consolidation. Let’s have a look at LaD’s darker offerings now:

The Black Demesne

Castanor was once corrupted under the Sorcerer-King Nichmer, who conquered much of Cannor and was only stopped by the arrival of the elves. Now you may form the Black Demesne, and see Nichmer’s wildest dreams achieved -- and surpassed.

The Black Demesne represents the dreams of Escann’s most ambitious Witch-Kings. But no Witch-King rules alone. By relying on your acolytes, you can spread across Cannor like a wildfire, conquering entire realms at a time (and bringing terrible bordergore with you). Be careful though, for no powerful mage ever rests as subservient.

If you can handle their challenges, you’ll be able to master magic like you’ve never seen it before: drain the Deepwoods dry to fuel powerful spells, build an undead army featuring creatures out of your foes’ worst nightmares, and even see your acolytes (and perhaps your ruler?) become similarly nightmarish.

Moredhal

But one’s own magic is not the only appealing path towards power or evil, and the powerfully evil and evilly powerful state of Moredhal will offer another direction for winners of the Wars of Escanni Consolidation. A devilish one.

Embracing the Infernal Court, the evil flip-side of the Regent Court, Moredhal will bind devils into their service as they pursue projects beyond the Wroth Prince Kazraiel’s wildest dreams.

Adventurers Wanted!

The dark doesn’t just come in bucketloads, like the above represent. It also drizzles across the world. After all, Anbennar is a D&D inspired setting, and what’s D&D without its random encounters, handled by adventuring parties?

To represent these, a brand new Adventurers Wanted! system has been added. From trolls demanding tolls, to pernicious goblin bands, to sketchy cultists, around the world you’ll face a number of these infestations. If you give them support, your local adventurers will hopefully be able to handle these, though a peaceful resolution might see you gain bonuses by accommodating these new additions to your realm.

There will of course be a lot else to the update: from missions for the adventurer formables of Esthil and Elikhand, to Seinathil missions for the musically inclined, to the opening of that legendary Feywild portal in a unified Eordand Mission Tree, and much more! Still, enjoy the highlights above, and more info will be coming in future Dev Diaries.

The Warlords of Haless Update

Next on the plate is the Warlords of Haless update. This will add the continent to the east of Rahen and the Forbidden Plains, Anbennar’s fantasy equivalent of Asia. Just for starters, it will include almost a hundred new tags with flags and ideas, along with a half-dozen new religions (featuring Protestant and Hindu mechanics) to complement them. You can check that out in the Haless build, accessible on the Discord (check the pins in #questions-and-help) but there’s a lot more planned than what we have already.

The Spirit System

But that really is just for starters. Haless is a land of spirits, which have long been suppressed to varying extents by the High Temples which litter the land. Halessi gameplay will be defined by the spirit system, a set of dozens of events that represent the spirits’ interactions with your monarch and nation. If you keep the local high temples strong, these will be mostly warded off, though an angry spirit or two might still wreck havoc.

But what if you don’t? After all, the High Temples contain vast secrets, and if you sponsor mages or adventurers to study these you can reap rich rewards. You may even be able to lead such investigations yourselves, with an adventuring system that’ll convince you the Clausewitz engine was built for RPGs. But a temple, once damaged by said exploration, can not be repaired. And if the fabric of protection they offer around Haless grows weak, well, I’ll keep the details a secret but know the fate of Halcann will never be the same.

There are others with designs on the High Temples as well. Followers of the Lefthand Path may seek to corrupt them; after all, why should the Oni banish spirits when they can instead bind them to use their power, and the Jiangshi will eagerly invite spirits in so that they might drink their chi like blood. And what about those black-robed figures who come with merchant ships, speaking of a strange god fragment and intently curious about what lays within Haless’s most important reliquaries?

A Rahen Overhaul

Rahen is currently in game, but with the Haless update will come a number of major additions to the region. You may have seen the beginnings of this if you’ve played there already, with the Raj Cohesion system implemented in OGaG, but there’s a lot more on the way.

Most notably is an implementation of the Rahen Caste System. Rather than conventional estates, Raheni countries (and followers of the Golden Palace school of High Philosophy) will have castes. Depending on which castes are permitted to harimari and humans, these will offer different bonuses. They can be the bedrock of a stable state, given their importance to Raheni life ever since Harimar, and if you navigate their tensions well you’ll have access to powerful privileges and other rewards.

But these tensions can also tear your country apart, as you’ll be able to explore in a newly-updated Blood Lotus. One of Anbennar’s hardest disasters (dwarves, eat your heart out) is getting reworked -- you may be able to avoid it by opening up the castes, but to do so will not come without a price. The Raheni Mission Trees have also been reworked to engage with the caste system in a variety of ways.

Beyond that, the Corruption of the Ministries, which plagues the Harimraj’s Lotus Court, is being entirely reworked. Featuring a new religion and multiple dynamic event chains, you’ll have a chance to lead the Harimraj to overcome its decadent nature -- or simply see it burn, and build a new kingdom out of the ashes.

Missions Galore

Haless, you may be aware, is actually available for play right now on the Haless Fork, accessible on Discord. But we don’t want to release it until it’s polished and content-packed, in line with your and our expectations for Anbennar. That of course means that the release will feature countless new Mission Trees -- some of the highlights being:

• The Command (Lead the Hobgoblins on massive, Haless-reshaping, campaigns)
• Bianfang (Conquer Yanshen, as benevolent king or brutal tyrant)
• Arawkelin (Be the middleman of Haless, as a sun-elf influenced nation)
• Bhuvauri (Slave soldiers go brrrrr)
• Lot Dekkhang (Mercenary nobles go BRRRRR)
• Hon Sai (The Ghost Emperor wills it!)
• Azjakuma (Forge a Demon-Empire as the Oni)
• Azkare (A Sunrise Empire rises in Haless)
• Nuugdan Tsurai, Gawamuud, and Daxugo (A bird rider horde from the north, what happens next? Killing the face-stealers, brutal disasters, and more!)
• Verkal Ozovar (Obligatory dwarf content, featuring scions and magic)
• Jingqiu (What tastes better than blood? Chi.)
• The Xiaken (*The WUXIAken) and their formable, the One Xia
• The Yanzhin (A league of city-states, each with their own path to unification)

And Beyond…

Our plans don’t stop at Haless, though timelines do grow fuzzy, and everything is subject to change.

Sarhal

The Africa-inspired continent south of Bulwar already has a lot of lore fleshed out, though active development will wait for Haless nearing completion. I’ve been authorized by the Khetarch to give you a preview of what you can expect:

• The Chosen of the Khet, an Emperor of China-inspired system for those chosen by the demigods that float down the Mother’s Sorrow
• Gnollish content; whether it’s becoming a new Xhazobine for the demon-bent to reaping the riches of Sarhal and beyond for those (slightly) more civilized.
• Lizardmen, guided by rare and powerful Naga.
• An archipelago filled with halflings, cloves, and secrets.
• Dealings with merfolk, including an estate.
• A ton of pirates!
• Much much more!

Insyaa

After Sarhal will come the last piece of Halann: the fabled land of Insyaa, that massive island east of Haless and west of Aelantir. At game start (and currently) it is surrounded by a massive storm, but if you can [REDACTED] the [REDACTED], or [REDACTED] the [REDACTED] using [VERY REDACTED], that will clear up, allowing access to the continent, and the continent access to you. Inside, you’ll find:

• The Mechanim, a warforged race created by [DESTROYED BY KAIJU] who have existed for millennia but find themselves running out of pieces to repair themselves with.
• An Incan/Polynesian-inspired civilization in the northern islands, whose relation with the mainland consists of [BEEP BOOP DELETED] and [VANISHED WITHOUT A TRACE].
• Kaiju-style monsters, [NOPE] experiments and bio-[NOPE SQUARED] who wander the land to this day, fighting each other and trampling underfoot any who get in their way. Unless, of course, you [GENUINELY NOPE], or [SO MUCH NOPE YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE].
• Explore the [REDACTED]-Temples, using the in-game [OH MY GOD THIS IS SO REDACTED] system which, if successful, will [HIDDEN UNTIL AND UNLESS YOU PLUNDER THEM AND GOOD LUCK WITH THAT].
• Countless other horrors and wonders, such as ancient [DATA EXPUNGED], powerful [VANISHED], not to mention hints as to the [COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY GONE].

This is only a fraction of all the content that’s currently being planned for Anbennar. It represents some of the big things we’re working on, but there’s plenty more. From mission trees around the world to innovative new systems, there’s not a piece of Halann that wont be getting something (yes, that even includes Taychend). If you want to be a part of that, check out the last Dev Diary and get involved. Otherwise, to keep up to date, check out the subreddit and discord. Hope you’re as excited as I am for all the stuff we have in the pipeline!