By Danny "Ralsu" Gourley



Runes of Magic is the latest free-to-play
massively-multiplayer online game in development by the folks at
Frogster Interactive Pictures. The game features a dual-class system
using 36 unique classes and boasts over 600 quests that tell the epic
story. Other bells and whistles include extensive player housing,
player-vs-player duels, and promises of content updates every 3-4
months.



Frogster recently released an overview of the starting zone for style="font-style: italic;">Runes of Magic, and
Ten Ton Hammer has the details.

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style="font-style: italic;">Don't let the
serene appearance fool you. This place used to be home to sacrificial
rituals.

The Howling Mountains

The gloomy word howling in the name of the Howling Mountains does not
correspond to the mellow landscape. In earnest though there was a
meeting place of lower daemons here and especially the Barrow was a
venue for the wild hordes. In certain nights they performed bizarre
sacrificial rituals in the Barrow’s monumental stone formation. Due to
the accompanying screams the area was later called the Howling
Mountains. Some years ago the Council of Varanas and the Eye of Wisdom
repeatedly cleansed the region with great wraith expulsions and the
force of arms. At the time the first humans settled there, no howling
could be heard, which has once reverberated through the valley. Since
then travelers and adventures experience the Howling Mountains as an
open ley, which can be

perceived at a glance. The surrounding mountains and spiky stone
formations can nonetheless instill a slightly eerie feeling of
discomfort.



Once a meeting place of lower demons and wild hordes that is nowadays
characterized by a mellow landscape, there are also ominous places in
the Howling Mountains. The Barren Caves for example.
Formerly a breeding ground of terrifying daemons they even now instill
fear into the humans heart. It is said that goblins now dwell there and
that they have begun to look for the daemon’s treasures.



style="font-weight: bold;">Hidden Valley

The Hidden Valley received its name because of its hidden location. In
all four directions this deep-set region is surrounded by towering
mountains. This is why the Hidden Valley was only discovered after the
adventure guild “Silvershadow” was looking for the sources of different
bodies of water. In

addition to one of the springs they also detected traces of ore. To
mine the ore the Council of Caranas founded the Pioneer’s Colony.



The Pioneer’s Colony

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Humans had to abandon
this mine to the invading goblins.

In the idyllic scenery of the Howling Mountains the Council of Varanas
build a base. With its clear lake and its picturesque waterfall, its
proud forests and newly discovered veins of ore the Pioneer’s Colony is
rich in both beauty and raw materials. A small mine to the west of the
village is the newest

excavation area in the region. After mushroom-beings in great numbers
appeared all of a sudden “Silvershadow” sent out many young adventures
to settle the matter and help with the mining so that the region might
prosper.



The Hidden Valley Mine

After the founding of the Pioneer’s Colony the mine yielded a steady
supply of ore for years. It did not take long though before a band of
goblins launched a surprise attack. They even brought cave crabs with
them as if to publicly announce that the ore was now theirs.



In light of the goblin’s attack and the crab’s furious digging, the
mine’s stonewalls became loose. That was the moment the humans decided
to abandon the mine in order to focus on the ore vein to the west of
the settlement. This was a temporary measure until all goblins and cave
crabs could be driven away.



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