Chapter V – Fires of Shadowforge sees the reappearance of a race of Dwarves that has lain hidden beneath the ground of Taborea. The Shadowforge Dwarves are close relatives of the Fireboot Dwarves and also share their unique ability to manipulate dark elements to improve their mastery of blacksmithing. However, after a dispute with their dwarven brethren, they were banished below the surface of the earth to live out their existence. They founded a new kingdom within the cave systems to the east of the region, and spent their time channelling spiritual energy and perfecting the art of runecraft. The years spent underground out of reach of the sun, coupled with their ardent experimentation with the dark elements, have drastically altered their appearance, making their skin pale and their eyes the fieriest among their kin. Their curious tattoos also serve to distinguish them from their kinsmen above the surface.

Two arcane classes, Sorcerer and Champion, are also being introduced with the new race. Details will be published over the coming weeks on the two classes and their skills as well as more information on the new regions.

The public vote at this year’s German Game Developer Award has gone to the free-to-play online role-playing game Runes of Magic, with the game receiving the award for Best International PC Game 2009. Publisher Frogster has also announced that it has reached another major milestone: The game, developed by Runewaker Entertainment, now has more than 2.5 million registered players in the United States, Europe and Korea.

Players from all across Germany were summoned to cast their votes for their favorite games of 2009. Within the category of Best International PC Game 2009, Runes of Magic found itself battling such titles as Risen and Anno 1404. The award ceremony was held at a grand gala event in the Essen Lichtburg — Germany’s largest film theater.

The award was accepted on behalf of Frogster and Runewaker Entertainment by Frogster management board member Dirk Weyel, who commented: “We are thrilled to receive this trophy, especially with it being one awarded by actual players themselves. We would like to thank our community, and we'll continue to work intensely on making Runes of Magic even more fun and exciting.”

To celebrate the day and also as a thank-you, Frogster is giving every player with a character that has reached level 11 at least 100 Rubies, which will be automatically credited to players’ accounts this week. Further information about the German Developer Awards can be found at www.deutscher-entwicklerpreis.de.

*Rubies have to be used within 30 days due to technical limitations.

*slap*

"Stupid insects," the aging warrior growled, fighting his way through swampy puddles and flailing his arms to repel mosquitoes. His helmet's visor wasn’t helping.

"You should have listened to me," the mage said. "This potion of mine might not smell too nice, but it would have solved that problem for you."

The mage, who hovered millimeters above the slimy surface of the swamp, rolled up the sleeves of her robe and said with a smirk, "As you can see: not a single sting."

"Oh, do shut up!” cried the warrior. “Watch where you’re going, lest you tumble and land head first in this slurry."

But the mage grinned wider and giggled.

Exploring the newly discovered lands northeast of Ravenfell, the warrior and the mage saw exotic plants as high as mountains and marshes full of insects lusting for the blood of wary travelers. And now they were stranded in this bog having been chased halfway through it by Tiktaalik, fearsome creatures that are half fish and half man.

Adventurers who had explored these lands before them had said something about a human settlement, which was where they were heading. The warrior and the mage didn’t think it could be much farther — just behind those trees over there.

Maybe the humans in the settlement had a quest or two that would pay well. Maybe they knew more about the Trolls and the Naga and the other foul creatures roaming these lands. Whatever the case, the warrior and the mage were about to find out.

Welcome to the Weeping Coast!

Before releasing “Chapter Two: The Elven Prophecy,” we’re making available a new zone: the Weeping Coast.

The swampy land with its branching channels lies northeast of Ravenfell, and dangerous creatures such as the Tiktaalik, Nagas and Trolls threaten passersby. With the introduction of the Weeping Coast, we will raise the level limit to 52 and introduce 200 new quests.

Scheduled for August, the release of the Weeping Coast will mark the beginning of the multistage launch of “The Elven Prophecy.”

A new trailer has been added to our video section and offers a glimpse at the new territory.

A new feature has been added to Runes of Magic: Public Encounters.

The first such scenario is the "Attack on Segarth Outpost" in Dragonfang Ridge. The outpost, long besieged by the Cyclops and their allies, now faces another danger: wolves!

In this new type of encounter, all players passing the area are called to arms to save the outpost from massive waves of attacking wolves under the command of Axis, the Wolf King.

Successfully repelling the attacking forces will yield fortune and fame for all participating adventurers.

For the future, according to Runewaker's Tony Tang, "We can well envisage introducing the top villain Demon Lord or one of his vassals in a public encounter in a new zone."

The new Public Encounter starts every three minutes near Segarth Outpost in Dragonfang Ridge with all passing players being able to join when they like.

MMORPG.com: 2008 Reader's Choice Awards: Most Anticipated Game for 2009

Runes of Magic has been nominated under 7 other MMORPG titles to recieve the Award of the "Most Anticipated Game 2009".

"Runes of Magic is the only representative from the free-to-play (item mall) genre of MMOs to make our Most Anticipated list this year. Impressive support for this game
has landed it with an 8.42 anticipation rating from our users. The game itself promises a dual class system, server vs. server PvP, “individually developed sills and spells”, a very nice looking 3D world and more!"

Now is your time! Your voice counts!
Head over to MMORPG.com and register here (or log in if you have an account) and vote for us!

Link: RoM-Forum
Link: MMORPG.com

Now also available in french: The MMORPG website "univers-virtuels.net" offers you new material about Runes of Magic in form of an Interview with Daniel "Danatros" Ullrich, the Director of Product Management.
If your're french and eager for more insight into Runes of Magic, you shouldn't miss this opportunity!

Here is a small snippet of the 3 pages long Interview:

[...]Daniel: Runes of Magic est un projet ambitieux du développeur Runewaker Entertainment. Le jeu de rôle en ligne est totalement persistant dans un monde intégralement fantasy. Runes of Magic est actuellement en phase de beta fermée et nous visons une sortie mondiale pour Décembre 2008. Le principal concept sous-jacent au développement est d’inclure les fantastiques fonctions que les aficionados du genre souhaiteraient voir sortir depuis si longtemps..[...]

Link: to the Interview on univers-virtuels.net
Link: to the RoM forums

Starting on page 19, thirteen1.com has featured Runes of Magic on 2 pages in their 7th issue.
Read about their first steps and revelations in the world of Taborea:

[...]"It's obvious that a lot of effort has gone into making sure the details are right. In fact the first thing you notice upon entering the game is how polished the overall presentation of RoM is"[...]

Don't miss this great article!

Link: to Issue 9 - Thirteen1.com
Link: RoM Forums

The MMORPG website "MMOsite.com" offers you new material about Runes of Magic in form of an Interview with Daniel "Danatros" Ullrich, the Director of Product Management.
If your're eager for more insight into Runes of Magic you shouldn't miss this opportunity!

Here is a small snippet of the 3 pages long Interview:

[...]Daniel: Runes of Magic is grounded firmly on Western and medieval mythology. Varied landscapes, towns, villages, mountains, forests and characters with much detail and a high resolution create a lively atmosphere. Runewaker has put a lot of effort into creating a consistent game-world with many interactive elements like fires or candles you are able to ignite in your player house for example.[...]

Link: to the Interview on MMOsite.com
Link: to the RoM forums

Even the press cannot stop to talk about Runes of Magic.
The Online Gaming Magazine "Thirteen1" features an article about Runes of Magic:

Thirteen1 is celebrating it's half-year anniversary with this month's edition...and showing everyone that they're here to stay!
To celebrate this milestone, there is a whole host of top-notch content to keep you occupied; including our very own Runes of Magic part.
In-between the article writing and USB missile firing, The Thirteen1 team travelled to Leipzig, harassing the stalls like crazed lunatics to bring you all of the best bits from this years GC.
Remember, the Thirteen1 team runs around like idiots so you don't have too...
With a flurry of thrills, spills, competitions and a furious mass-debating session, be sure to check T1 out and let us know what you think on our community forums!
You can read the latest issue, OUT NOW by visiting http://www.thirteen1.com

-Thirteen1 Editor

On page Seite 33 of the magazine -here- you can find the article about Runes of Magic.
In addition they offer you a competition for 10 Closed Beta Keys!

Link: Thirteen1
Link: RoM-Forums

Not too long ago you had the opportunity to enjoy the first part of an interview at RPGVault from IGN with Axel Schmidt, PR Manager at Frogster.
The second part of that Interview is now available, featuring things like the death system, pets and mounts, as well as the Cash Shop.

[...] Group play will have some strong advantages for managing the game's various challenges, and for facilitating your overall progress. Some quests can only be accomplished by parties. [...]

Link: Interview at RPGVault
Link: Forum