Welcome to Althanas' grand (grand, grand, grand?) reopening! We've shed the .0 moniker and are getting back to our roots with a number of new projects and features. Here's a run down of all the major changes:

  1. The new theme! Folks, we've finally done it. Thanks to Sultan over at sultantheme.com, we finally have our very own theme for Althanas. This is unique to our site. No more borrowed and poorly modified skins. That said, I did most of the template modification myself and I'm a terrible coder. If you see anything wonky, please let me know in the Bug Thread I created in Your Word. If, like me, you're absolutely in love with our background, you can download it here and use it as a background on your monitor. If you're curious, Sultan created it with a Wacom Tablet!

  2. We've added a Community Area to Althanas! Let's face it, sometimes we lose our muse, or feel like expressing our creativity (or wasting our time) in different mediums. That's okay. The best part about Althanas is the members anyway. The Althanas Community is a way to reach out and link up with Althanas members outside the site. On launch, we have a link to our Discord chat. If you're unable to download that application, the Althanas Ajax Chat is always running! Sadly, I gave up Facebook for 2019, but our Facebook community is bustling. I've included a link there as well. Finally, there is a link to the Playstation Network Community. I'm heading that one up. Every month, I plan to set up a game night and play selected games with other members. If you can't attend or don't have the game, don't worry! I'll stream on Twitch and open up Shareplay from the party. If you're interesting in hosting a community group (perhaps on Steam or XBL) or maintaining an Althanas social media account (e.g. Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram) let us know in the community thread.

  3. Stonevale has been updated! After hearing your suggestions, and realizing how important it is to you guys, your very own head administrator, Philomel, has made it a mission to improve upon our newbie stomping ground. Check the forum out. There you'll find new missions, unrestricted RP (see below for more details), an updated mentor/mentee system and EXP boosts for everyone willing to help out.

  4. Stone materials have been added to the Bazaar! Now there will be no more guesswork over the cost and value of your precious earth materials! Check out the Bazaar Guide for more information.

  5. Near and dear to my heart, the WIKI IS FINALLY COMPLETE! Okay, no Wiki is finally complete, but the core information has been transferred over from the old site and has been updated to reflect recent FQ events. As I promised probably 2-3 years ago (my dependability is questionable), that means the content submission system is now live. I know you guys have wanted to leave your mark permanently on Althanas for awhile. The wiki is freely editable for minor details and if you want your work recognized as official canon (i.e. uneditable), you can submnit your addition using the Content Submission forum. Details on how to get your submission approved are located here.

  6. Finally, and most importantly, we've made a major change to the incentive system on Althanas (EXP/GP). Now, all EXP and GP awarded is linked to your account, rather than your character. Basically, this means that a) you can RP in non-competitive threads without a registered character on Althanas (which is handy if you're having trouble thinking of a character); b) you'll earn full EXP for RPing in the Althanaverse (see the forum for how you can have your non-Althanas RP featured); c) you can have your non-competitive RP workshopped by other players or reviewed by staff judges and; d) you can easily hop perspectives in your writing. We'll still hold true to the old one character one account rule in competitive RP (including Citadel battles, tournaments and comparative RP), but we'll allow you to freely transfer EXP to another character (at the expensive of your current character's power level, of course). In addition, only your registered (main) character can affect Althanas canon (NPCs linked to that character notwithstanding).

Well, these are the changes. Come join us this weekend (5/4/19 to 5/5/19) for a celebration of all things Althanas. We'll be active in the Discord, as well as on the site. There will be opportunities for easy EXP and places to rekindle with long lost friends. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let us know in the feedback thread in the Your Word forum!