The Drowned Reach¶
Status: M4 development alpha · 8 September 2026
Take the company road north from Fenline. Greyfen’s new timber wall and watchtowers mark the beginning of a longer march, with wayside shelters between battles. Beyond the fortress, raised walkways cross black marsh water to the expedition landing. This frontier scales to nearby participants. A coordinated group is recommended; demanding solo completion remains a design target, with no minimum-party lock.
At a haven, choose Join Frontier for F2 field weapons and protection, healing draughts, supply packs and spare timber. You do not need to complete old quests to join this expedition. A newcomer can gather silverleaf, make field dressings, help operate a wheel or keep the supply wagon repaired while experienced companions lead combat.
Three linked objectives¶
| Holding | Your objective | What control unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Mirewatch Landing | Split the orc raiders from the goblin sapper, defeat Vorr and clear the beacon. Capture with two supply packs. | Bog iron, reach steel recipes, the convoy and a forward rally |
| Blackwater Sluice | Fight on both sides of the broken aqueduct. Hunters cover the brute’s approach; use the ruined walls. Capture with three timber planks. | Marsh resin, treated timber, Reachwarden weapons and warded reach coats |
| The Sunken Bell | Open the two wheels, break Veyr’s ward and defeat the abbey vanguard. Capture with three supply packs. | Bell fragments, a carried bell charm and a united two-frontier campaign |
Captures follow all six holdings in order. Prepare Mirewatch's two packs using the timber stores and Silverleaf garden in captured Fenline. Captured Mirewatch supplies six heartwood for Blackwater's three planks. Captured Blackwater supplies six heartwood and three Silverleaf for the Sunken Bell's three packs. Gather in the holding you already control, press C to craft anywhere, then advance.
Losing an earlier road isolates forward holdings and disables their resource, rally and territory-recipe access. Every forward camp can be reclaimed by enemies. Only Greyfen remains a permanent haven.
Meet Warden Sable¶
Sable waits by the Mirewatch lodge. Press G beside her to take A Light in the Blackwater: reach the landing and carry two bog iron. Once turned in, she offers No One Holds the Road Alone for the convoy and When the Bell Falls Silent for Veyr. Use J to track each objective and return for the reward.
Escort the wagon¶
After connecting Mirewatch, meet the departure point beside its boardwalk. Press G at the departure prompt or open M → Help the front → Start escort.
- At least one living escort must stay within twelve metres for the wagon to move. Enemies within five metres stop it and can damage it.
- Two finite ambush groups attack along the road. Draw them away from the wagon, then clear them.
- Press G beside a damaged wagon, or use Help the front → Escort the supplies → Repair. One timber plank repairs seventy health through a 2.5-second channel. The wagon stops while a repair is underway. Movement or damage interrupts the work without consuming the plank.
- Deliver it to Blackwater with health remaining. Nearby escorts receive three bog iron and a supply pack; allied Mirewatch and Blackwater receive stores. A helper who leaves before arrival does not get the delivery reward.
- A lost wagon can be replaced after a minute; after success the next departure takes two minutes. Leaving it unattended exposes it to surviving ambushers.
Silence the bell¶
Veyr’s ward absorbs most damage. Secure Blackwater, then use the west and east sluice wheels near the abbey entrance. Each wheel takes 2.5 seconds to turn. Both must finish within sixteen seconds together, or thirty-two seconds for a solo expedition.
Step directly in front of the brass wheel and press G. Your character takes hold with both hands and turns the wheel; nearby allies see the same movement. One player operates each wheel while the others cover them. Moving away, blocking, attacking or taking damage releases it immediately. Finish the turn to prime the sluice, then reach the other wheel or attack when the ward breaks.
The ward opens for twenty-two seconds with a group, or twenty-eight seconds solo. Use that window for coordinated damage. At roughly two-thirds and one-third health, Veyr restores the ward and calls two reinforcements. Clear the pressure and reopen both wheels. These are finite phase waves, not endless reinforcements.
A red circle warns of the bell toll for two seconds. Leave its six-metre radius or break Veyr’s line of sight behind a column. Blocking does not stop the toll. Keep wheel operators covered, use heavy attacks during openings and leave enough stamina to evade.
Forge the next tier¶
Full-game equipment preview, disabled in Chapter One. Mirewatch bog iron combines with common ingots to make reach steel. Blackwater resin protects timber and makes warded armour. Reachwarden weapons add nine damage; a warded reach coat reduces incoming damage by twenty-five percent in the future equipment system. New crafts and equipment changes are disabled for this chapter; existing equipment remains usable. Bell fragments reward its clear with a carried charm that adds three melee damage.
In Help the front, enter a nearby wounded companion’s character name to use a field dressing. One dressing restores thirty health within four metres. Dressings are made from two silverleaf anywhere with C; this is healing a living ally, not revival.
Five-person difficulty and encounter pacing still require human playtesting. Verification and remaining gates · Combat controls · Roadmap