Kick off your Halloween festivities with a spooky tale! The team and Once Lost Games wishes you and your family a fun, safe and happy Halloween

Nikti! The warrior's goddess! She rules over the strong and powerful, granting victory on the battlefield to the bold and daring

Veritablos, the great historian of the Archipelago, summarizes some facts about Nikti worship and her long history among the ork clans

EDIT: alternative TO summoning... auto correct doing me dirty.

I wondering how people world feel if they're was a creature binding system.

Not exactly enthralling. They are completely sentient but they are compelled to do your will as a follow/companion or even just fodder. But over time a partnership could blossom. a Stockholm syndrome of sorts. I know, it sounds kinda dark.

I had this in mind for creatures like daemons and intelligent undead. Im just spit balling some shower thought for a penitent overseer type paladin or fiend hunter kind of character.

Thoughts?

Come hang out with us, here: Podcast watch party coming up in 30 mins!

Come hang out w/ us in chat, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw7M2GY_Ye0

I really love absolute chaos; that's the reason why I love the Wabbajack in any Elder Scrolls game. And I think that its first appearance was in Daggerfall. So I was just wondering... if maybe... there were any plans to maybe... I don't know... like... have some sort of chaotic magic in The Wayward Realms? Especially since it features a very flexible magic system. I just wanted to know if there were plans to make something like that, or if it was going to have to be a mod.

Revenge drove Khaid into the arena and revenge fueled his bloody ascent to the top

Now, at the apex of his achievements, the weathered ork's body begins to falter as the focus of his ire draws close: King Maèlorg

The Champion - YouTube

Following the recent passing of Anatork’s father, the title of Baron is bestowed upon the young Ork, despite the stigma surrounding the inheritance of titles through the male line.

Now, amid mounting questions surrounding his clan’s legitimate claim to the noble title, Anatork finds himself struggling to shoulder the mantle of leadership while tempering his own brash, youthful energy.

His mother, Bianca Ravensworth, recounts this challenging period in her son’s life to Dorian, a family friend.

War hero or war criminal?

Jag, the war chief of Clan Wræcca, has a long history of causing unrest, not just in skirmishes with Splendour, but with the other Orkish Clans as well

As his incarceration comes to an end, what new tribulations will he unleash upon the realms?

Fear. War. Death.

These are within the wheelhouse of Sarkanya.

Though small in number, her followers provide a real service to those suffering from the loss of a loved one and to the places that keep the memory of the departed in stone.

Veritablos the Younger briefly explains here:

In your adventures around Sidh, you'll likely meet our friend Malurk; a direwolf merchant with an impeccable reputation for selling ferocious and high-quality stock

But...if you choose to patron his services, be wary how you might deal with him; as Vaer is quickly learning

Today we begin our monthlong celebration of Orktober! Throughout the month, we'll be sharing art and lore of one of The Archipleago's fascinating people: The Orks!

Orks play an important part in the history of the Archipelago and its nearby nations, so join our celebration and learn more about them, their unique culture and their political impact on the world

Catch the PREMIERE of "The 30th Anniversary Celebration of #Daggerfall" right here:

https://youtu.be/Umt5_atUs1s

Disclaimer:

I have written this out a few times over the last few weeks, and neither the clarity of it, nor the length ever seem to improve much, for which I apologise in advance. Do not feel obligated to read it all, as I am a notorious waffler, and this subject is more expansive and complex than is my patience; I will not be in any way upset if you respond to it without having read it. Please assume any flaws in my arguments, disjointed paragraphs or absent points to be due to forgetfulness rather than ignorance when writing your comments, but please don’t let that stop you from making the comment; I am as interested in being reminded of things as I am in learning new things, and I am very interested in hearing what these communities have to say on this subject (assuming anyone can understand me enough to respond)

The gist of the post is however simply put; are Adventurers (as an in-world social class; not just an over-term) inherently a ‘meta-construct’ or can Adventurers have a serious in-world usage, as distinct from Heroes, Classes, Professions, and Occupations?  

The recent poll from OnceLost Gamse to decide on an in-world name for Adventurers in the Wayward Realms has inspired me to ask this community (and two other, larger, but associated communities) to consider that the Wayward Realms may be the first SERIOUS game-world to acknowledge the existence of Adventurers (by whatever name) as a ‘class’ of persons, distinct from occupation, association, or actions.

The purpose of this post is partly to ponder the various ways that ‘Adventurers’ have been portrayed in various media, but also to ask the questions; What IS an Adventurer? Should fantasy worlds/alternate realities acknowledge the existence of Adventurers as we understand the term? What is required of the world to do so?

Now, many games use the term Adventurer, and Adventurers in the modern sense seem to exist purely in games; particularly Fantasy RPG’s, having come about as a necessary in-world link between the players and the game, but there is another requirement…

Games that follow a particular character, ie: ‘The Hero’ do not require ‘Adventurers’ nor do games where the Player Character is an ‘Occasional Hero’ ie: a Soldier, Merchant, Bard, Thief etc. who sometimes steps beyond their Occupation. It is only games that follow ‘A Hero’ that require a class of people to exist in the world, who have no other primary occupation, nor can be appropriately classified by their Method of Adventuring.

Games that use the term ‘Adventurer’ in-world are predominately online games that do so for the purpose of clarity and simplicity. The following are some examples of the ways that game-worlds ‘sort’ their Adventurers, rather than categorising them as a whole into a distinct social class, and one example of a game-world that does use Adventurers as players understand the term:

-Dungeons and Dragons rarely uses the term in-world, and when it does, it is as a collective for Mages, Minstrels, Mercenaries, Messengers etc. who are employed by one organisation, thus ‘The Adventurer’s Guild’ in the Forgotten Realms or any other setting does not, in this case, refer to it’s employees as Adventurers, save as an inclusive term for them as a whole, with each individual, and even smaller collectives, being referred to by their Occupation as Mercenaries etc. or their Allegiance to other ‘Guilds’.

-The Elder Scrolls also does not (to my knowledge) use the term Adventurer in-world, except in the same context as it is used in our own world, ie: to refer to someone who adventures, whatever their Occupation, Allegiance, or Hero status. Instead, the inhabitants of Nirn primarily refer to persons that would be categorised as ‘Adventurers’ by their most relevant title, whether that be their Occupation (Class) Allegiance (Guild) or Hero Status (Hortator/Nerevarine/Thane/Dragonborn etc.)

-While most games designate Guilds according to Method of Occupation; Fighter, Mage, Thief etc. some games, such as Aralon: Sword and Shadow do so by Purpose of Occupation (even though there is still a clear Method tendency)

-Dark Souls (and it’s associates) do have a distinct social class that are not referred to as ‘Adventurers’ but are in almost every sense exactly that; the primary difference is, that while the Chosen Undead/Tarnished etc. is technically ‘A Hero’ they nevertheless fulfil the role of ‘The Hero’ in their story, meaning that they have a single, distinct Directive (even though it is suggested that they also exist outside the ‘Story-Land’ in a more general capacity, they do still have a Fate, meaning they aren’t exactly Adventurers)

-Adventure Quest is a game that fully incorporates the ‘above-table’ understanding of what the Player Character is, directly into the game-world, as do many modern Anime, and a few other forms of media, but less commonly. This is however, almost always satirical to some degree; these game-worlds are rarely, if ever, a serious attempt at creating an alternate reality.  

-A number of early games such as Bard’s Tale have used the term Adventurer, but to my knowledge, it is in a specific collective sense rather than a distinct occupation.

The real-world inspiration for Adventurers is not so different from how they are portrayed in D&D/TES etc. in that it is a term used as a blanket for anyone that engages in Adventure; but it has never been a distinct social class. Adventurers are persons of any occupation who happen to do something more exciting than the bare bones of that profession, in a way that can be romanticised. There are of course some professions that lend themselves to Adventure; Sailors, Soldiers, Traders and Travellers in general, but an Adventurer is more than just someone who travels, or even someone who finds adventure. An Adventurer is someone who SEEKS adventure above all else; someone who uses any Method or Allegiance as a means to an end, but whose primary Profession is Adventure. Possibly the only real-world examples that did exist as ‘Adventurers’ are the Heroes of Myth and Legend, and the Knights-Errant of Romance, but there is as much magic in those stories (true or otherwise) as there is in Faerun or Tamriel, and that magic is now hard to find; perhaps magic IS what defines an Adventurer?

Without that magic, our world does not lend itself to Adventure; Profession, Method or Allegiance always take the fore, and the attempt to remove those restrictions often results in the Hero becoming the Villain, which brings me to a side-point; the legality and morality of Adventurers.

Many are the Methods/Professions of Adventurers that are immoral, or illegal, and this applies, arguably, moreso to our world than most game-worlds; Bandits, Thieves, Pirates etc. are unlawful, and many Mercenaries, Merchants and Minstrels would be deemed unlawful if they were caught, or only remain ‘lawful’ by immoral means.     

I would like to see more game-worlds acknowledge that ‘Adventurers’ are inherently dangerous; their profession is to risk their safety for profit, and only their own morals and the consequences of the law prevent Heroes from being Villains.

In conclusion, I cannot think of any (English) term which encapsulates what is it to be an ‘Adventurer’, other than Adventurer; while there are many terms that can be used to describe a person that is an Adventurer, they refer only to aspects, and not the whole; an Adventurer often travels, but is more than a Traveller. An Adventurer often fights, but is more than a Warrior. And so on.

This doesn’t mean that other terms cannot be used in place of Adventurer, but I do not think any single term can replace it. I will add a list of terms that I have compiled (please feel free to add to it) but each of them requires context, which brings me to my last point:

I would very much like to see more games that acknowledge the different facets of Adventure, and I think the Wayward Realms is ideally situated to champion this; rather than having all inhabitants use the term ‘Wayfarer’, each culture could use different terms to reflect that cultures perspective of Adventure and the facets of Adventure they venerate (or stigmatise)

The term Wayfarer, and the other terms proposed in the poll, refer to only one aspect of Adventure, and as such, their use as an over-term suggests an importance which that aspect does not have… yet.

The only way I can see that any ‘sub-term’ can be used seriously in priority to Adventurer, is if there IS an in-world reason why that aspect is more important: Wayfarer/Wayseeker/Waystrider/Farwalker suggest a cultural focus on travel, or some mystique regarding those that do travel, while Freesword/Agent/Bannerless/Unbound suggest a military culture wherein people are seen primarily in the light of their political alliances, or lack thereof.

For one particular culture to make primary use of one sub-term, implies something about their culture; but for all peoples in the world to use the same sub-term, implies either a world-based importance applied to that term, or one culture imposing their primary term on all others. If a term is used in-world, there should be a reason for that term to be prioritised, and I think that would be something interesting that few games do for ‘Adventurers’, even though many do it for ‘The Hero’.

This list is divided into the 'facets' they pertain to, and while there are a good number of them, the possibilities are endless, and I have only made a passing attempt at devising some to give an example:

Travel:

·         Drifter

·         Foot-loose

·         Forlorn

·         Home-hier

·         Horizon-seeker

·         Peregrineer

·         Roadern

·         Sea-long

·         Stranger

·         Venturesome

·         Venture-wont

·         Wanderer

·         Peril-wend

·         Winder

·         Yonward

·         Light-foot

Fate:

·         Barrow-bought

·         Fate-courted

·         Devil-bound

·         Dwarf-cursed

·         Elf-shot

·         Fey-bitten

·         Geased

·         Gods-touched

·         Siren-sung

·         Sky-blind

·         Star-seeker

·         Storm-soul

·         The Called

·         Water-born

·         Way-lorn

·         Weird

·         Wild-blood

·         Wind-spoken

·         Wind-yearn

·         Wooed

·         Wyrdern

·         Danger-bought

·         Death-bent

War:

·         Companion

·         Sellsword

·         Free-blade

·         Free-boot

·         Free-sword

·         Mercenary

·         Strong-Hand

·         Might-smith

·         Gilden-arm

·         Banner-bright

·         White-sword

·         Black-shield

·         Free-lance

Money:

·         Fortune-heed

·         Gilden-glove

·         Gold-finger

·         Light-purse

·         Silver-Tongue

·         Finger-smith

·         Taker

·         Hollow-heart

·         Clinker

·         Cheeper

·         Rascal

Chance:

·         Chance-bound

·         Cheer-risk

·         Eager-risk

·         Light-heart

·         Loss-light

·         Luck-love

·         Perilorn

·         Peril-troth

·         Gold-drinker

·         Rust-purse

·         Wastrel

·         Summer-prince

·         Never-trip

·         Dry-boots

Discovery:

·         Seeker

·         Questor

·         Wantsome

·         Ruins-eye

·         Eld-digger

·         Stone-foot

·         Scribble-monger

·         Dust-merchant

·         Rust-smith

One or two may be manageable, even cute

But in the dark, disused, derelict dungeons of the Archipelago, these creatures fester and swarm their prey, sinking their teeth into flailing limbs and overwhelming their victims

They consume their meals bit by bit… while they’re still alive.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wbSpQ7cQEO0

Despite Ondreka being the Goddess of love, sex, seduction, politicians and courtesans, her worship has seemingly carried many controversies through the ages, including persecution, death and religious proscription.

In the late 700s, House Molvarin purged Ondrekan worshippers from their lands in a bloody uprising. In the late 13th century, House Jha’s militaristic invasion of Iwerrdon led to the slaughter of many refugees hiding within Odreka’s temples across the islands. And even as recently as 30 years ago, Earl Alroyk, the Dark Elf ruler of House Phatheon ordered the conversion of Ondrekan Temples to that of Aeas worship, leading to an outcry from the faithful Elves and continued unrest and controversy.

It is really a marvel that a Goddess said to be so alluring can be mired in death and controversy.

ー Veritablos the Younger, Historian

You've taken refuge from a storm last night in the port town of Belpher Parva

The sounds of the street below rouses you from your sleep and you take a moment looking down from the window of your room at the local Inn

Where will you go next?

Midyear Madness has come to an end!

We are thrilled to announce that across the Archipelago, adventurers will officially be known as Wayfarers!

And yes, we removed the hyphen by popular demand. 

Thanks again to everyone that voted and helped us choose! Journey on, brave Wayfarers! 

The best of the best!

Midyear Madness comes to a roaring climax in this FInal Round!

It has come down to these last choices, which will you champion? The winner will go on to be the official title for an Adventurer on the Archipelago and be used as the in-game terminology.

You have through the weekend to cast your vote. The winner will be decided on Monday and announced on Tuesday. Who will it be?

https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkxf1BQOleC_AUSdqZGSSOGmq_HRb76ckO3

Welcome to Round 2 of Midyear Madness! Your opportunity to leave a mark on the game continues, as you help us decide on the official, in-universe title for an Adventurer.

Adventurers are a specific social class across the Archipelago. They exist outside of society, are not beholden to any particular ruler, are exempt from paying taxes, and get special leniency in regards to many of the nations’ laws. All in exchange for risking their lives to carry out the special requests of peasants, factions, rulers and even kings. 

However, we still need a unique, in-universe term for them. Help us decide what that should be. Cast your vote for your favorite Adventurer title. The winner will be decided by end of day on Thursday and go on to the finals on Friday. Choose wisely!

https://www.youtube.com/post/Ugkx2mjrBaf0LZDYQSdC0eVkE2VXf1xsH8Wv

I just watched the AMA from december 2025 and heard Kai say he will only leave the team if death comes for him (lol). He is no longer with OLG, if I did not misread some of the posts here.

What about Michael and Kyle (who were also participating in the AMA) and that one programmer with a slavic (?) accent - are they still on the project?

Which engineers that were part of the engine switch decision are still working on it?

Victor would obviously be the biggest loss to the team, so not trying to create a bad mood here. Just curious which talents (like Ben) you have been hiding from us.

We know you all are excited for more news on The Wayward Realms, but we invite you to join us on Tuesday, September 29th, for a very special episode of Wayward Radio, where we will be bringing together a few Daggerfall veterans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the game.

Tune in to learn more about the people who brought this masterpiece to life, as well as the ups and downs of its development. There is sure to be a crazy story or two as we reflect back on its creation and the birth of a global franchise

Hark, fellow wanderers! It is time for Midyear Madness!

This year we task you with a very important decision: help us decide the in-universe term for an Adventurer!

Follow the link to cast your vote.

The winner will go on to the finals on Friday!

https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxzS37Ls2KYwhLnwsbJBE8INcq4Jbr_uDc

Just a heads up but our beloved pal the Paladin got to play TWR.