Shadowbane is a free player-driven fantasy computer role-playing game (MMORPG) created by Wolfpack Studios and published on March 25, 2003 by Ubisoft for Windows and Mac platforms. Shadowbane once required a monthly fee to play in addition to purchasing the client software, though on March 15, 2006 it was made free to both download and play.[1] Starting in June of 2006, Stray Bullet Games took over development of Shadowbane due to the closure of Wolfpack Studios. A system of short ads, displayed when the game is opened or closed and when a character dies (with at least 10 minutes between death ads), was introduced on March 6 of 2007 to provide revenue for the game.[2] Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates video games. ... Wolfpack Studios is an Ubisoft company based out of Austin, TX. Founded in 1999, their sole product has been the fantasy MMORPG, Shadowbane, with its accompanying two expansions. ... Stray Bullet Games, LLC is an American video game developer that was founded in June 2006 by Frank Lucero, Ala Diaz, Ivan Enriquez, and Mike Madden. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ubisoft Entertainment (formerly Ubi Soft) is a computer and video game publisher and developer with headquarters in Montreuil, France. ... A game engine is the core software component of a computer or video game or other interactive application with real-time graphics. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Entertainment Software Rating Board logo The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games and other entertainment software in the United States and Canada (officially adopted by individual provinces 2004-2005). ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... A Compact Disc or CD is an optical disc used to store digital data, originally developed for storing digital audio. ... Pentium III logo The Pentium III is an x86 (more precisely, an i686) architecture microprocessor by Intel, introduced on February 26, 1999. ... 300 MHz Motorola PowerPC 750 processor with off-die L2 cache on the CPU module of a PowerMac G3. ... Random access memory (usually known by its acronym, RAM) is a type of data storage used in computers. ... Microsoft DirectX (Direct eXtension) is a collection of application programming interfaces for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. ... OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a standard specification defining a cross-language cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 3D computer graphics (and 2D computer graphics as well). ... A graphics/video/display card/board/adapter is a computer component designed to convert the logical representation of visual information into a signal that can be used as input for a display medium. ... A computer keyboard is a peripheral partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard. ... A contemporary computer mouse, with the most common standard features — two buttons and a scroll-wheel. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... Wolfpack Studios is an Ubisoft company based out of Austin, TX. Founded in 1999, their sole product has been the fantasy MMORPG, Shadowbane, with its accompanying two expansions. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ubisoft Entertainment (formerly Ubi Soft) is a computer and video game publisher and developer with headquarters in Montreuil, France. ... Microsoft Windows is the name of several families of proprietary software operating systems by Microsoft. ... The first Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, upgraded to a 512K Fat Mac. The Macintosh or Mac, is a line of personal computers designed, developed, manufactured, and marketed by Apple Computer. ... is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Stray Bullet Games, LLC is an American video game developer that was founded in June 2006 by Frank Lucero, Ala Diaz, Ivan Enriquez, and Mike Madden. ... Wolfpack Studios is an Ubisoft company based out of Austin, TX. Founded in 1999, their sole product has been the fantasy MMORPG, Shadowbane, with its accompanying two expansions. ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

The game takes place in a dark fantasy world called Aerynth (however, the world will sometimes depend on the server. Most servers have their own unique world map). Gameplay features many aspects typical of computer role-playing games, such as experience points, character classes, and fantasy races. Character creation is extremely detailed, allowing players to create literally thousands of different race/character combinations. A fantasy world is a type of fictional universe in which magic or other similar powers work. ... Gameplay includes all player experiences during the interaction with game systems, especially formal games. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Experience points (often abbreviated as exp or xp) are a representation of a characters advancement and improvement in skills in role-playing games and computer role-playing games. ... A character class represents a characters archetype and career in some role-playing games (RPGs). ... Many fantasy stories and worlds call their main sapient humanoid species races rather than species. ...

Some have claimed that Shadowbane is not really free to play due to the client requiring a FilePlanet account in order to download. However it can still be downloaded with non-subscriber FilePlanet accounts and from other sources, both for Windows[3] and Mac[4]. FilePlanet is a video game download service that provides free game patches, mod files and media downloads to its users. ...

Gameplay

Shadowbane is notable for emphasizing player-versus-player combat, implementing non-conventional races and specializing in siege warfare (players building cities and trying to raze enemy players' cities) whereas the majority of MMORPGs released since Ultima Online restrict player killing to certain areas of the game or special dedicated PvP servers. Ultima Online (UO) is a popular graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), released on September 25, 1997, by Origin Systems. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Players are also allowed to own cities and capitals and most of the property and cities in Shadowbane are player owned. In effect, Shadowbane's war status is decided by the players rather than the game company. Whether a guild city goes to war with another guild city is entirely up to the leaders. A government system is also implemented in the game. This allows players to be in total control of the Shadowbane world.

There are no quests in the game, which can turn many MMORPG players off. However, most players agree that Shadowbane's PVP, Nation, and Siege Warfare system make up for this fault. Even now, Shadowbane is considered one of the best PVP MMORPG. An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ...

The first expansion, Rise of Chaos, was released on December 9, 2003. On December 7, 2004 the second expansion, Throne of Oblivion, was released. December 9 is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 341st day of the year (342nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Characters

Races

There are twelve races available in the game:

• Aelfborn (Half Elves)
• Aracoix (Flying Birdmen)
• Centaurs (Half man, half horse)
• Dwarves (Stonemen)
• Elves
• Half Giants
• Humans (Heirs of the All-Father)
• Irekei (Desert-dwelling Devilmen)
• Minotaurs (The Beast Men, creation of the elves)
• Nephilim (Flying demon-like creatures)
• Shades (The Pale Ones who are linked to the process of death, and have a gaunt, skeletal appearance.)
• Vampires (Powers and spells consume health instead of mana or stamina.)

In Norse mythology, a half-elf is the offspring of an elf and a human. ... In mythology, the Aracoix are a race part human and part bird, with a humans body, and a birds head and wings. ... See also centaur (planetoid), Centaur (rocket stage) Guido Reni, Abduction of Deianira, 1620-21 In Greek mythology, the centaurs (Greek: Κένταυροι) are a race part human and part horse, with a horses body and a human head and torso (illustration, right). ... This page is about a mythological race. ... A small forest elf (älva) rescuing an egg, from Solägget (1932), by Elsa Beskow An elf is a creature of Germanic paganism which still survives in northern European folklore. ... Half-giants are a mythological creature, born to a giant and a human, or some other creature. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... Irekei are a race of beings in the popular online roleplaying game, Shadowbane. ... In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature that was half man and half bull. ... Nephilim are considered by some to be supernatural beings, specifically the offspring of human women and “sons of God” (proposed to be fallen angels), who appear significantly in several books of the Bible, as well as in the Torah and some non-canonical Jewish writings. ... A Shade in the mythological or supernatural sense can be one of many things. ... Further reading Christopher Frayling - Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula 1992. ...

Classes

There are four basic classes; Fighter, Healer, Mage and Rogue. Not all races may use every class. At 10th level, each character must choose to promote to a specific profession, such as a Ranger or Assassin. Two classes, Fury and Huntress, are for female characters only whilst the Warlock is for male characters only. Which professions are available are dependent on the race and base class of the character.

In addition, each character can take up to three disciplines, from a list of over thirty, though like with Professions, access is limited by race and class. The level hard cap is level 75, and at level 70 a fourth discipline slot is unlocked.

World Maps

Shadowbane has also been known for its large map, which contains a large amount of continents. Shadowbane's world map depends on the server. Most servers have a different map from each other.

Two of the most popular maps are Vorringa and Aerynth.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 650 × 480 pixelsFull resolution (650 × 480 pixel, file size: 72 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a map of the game Shadowbane, and used in the Shadowbane article. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

External links

• Official Shadowbane site
• Stray Bullet Games site
• Gamezone Shadowbane Interview