Crowns: The Hardest Avalon Currency

CROWNS are a form of currency that is used for all 'real money' transactions in Avalon except their own purchase and subscriptions. They are used to pay for bijou artifacts, trinkets, adornments, lesson procurement, micro purchases like consumable equipment, Curiosity Shop services like level boosts, and special offers.

Crowns can be spent immediately, saved for later use or - most commonly - invested into a bank whereupon it will gain interest based on fluctuating exchange rates. Crowns purchased with USD or obtained via subscriptions are also referred to as hard crowns. They have a gauranteed base value. They should not be confused with free crowns gifted at the end of chapters or earned from invested crowns.

Syntax: PURCHASE < amount of crowns > CROWNS

Syntax: PURCHASE < amount in US dollars > IN CROWNS

Crowns are always purchased using USD. This can be done anywhere in Avalon. When making a real money purchase, the value of your dollar increases significantly the more crowns you decide to buy. The rate of exchange follows a simple linear scale and you can purchase arbitrary amounts.

Syntax: PRICE CROWNS

Syntax: PRICE USD

Syntax: PRICE

All prices are listed in crowns in Avalon. If you are ever uncertain as to the price of something in USD, you can query the cost in USD of a number of crowns, how many crowns a given amount of USD would buy, or what an item in the Curiosity Shop's price is in USD.

Syntax: CURRENCY

Displays the current rates of sale for CROWNS per U.S dollar. Crowns obtained increase significantly through bulk purchases, which creates a global discount model for all Avalon purchaseables.

• 9 CROWNS costs 5 USD @ 1.80 rate ( 36 lessons)
• 50 CROWNS costs 25 USD @ 2.00 rate ( 200 lessons)
• 105 CROWNS costs 50 USD @ 2.10 rate ( 420 lessons)
• 220 CROWNS costs 100 USD @ 2.20 rate ( 880 lessons)
• 600 CROWNS costs 250 USD @ 2.40 rate ( 2400 lessons)
• 1300 CROWNS costs 500 USD @ 2.60 rate ( 5200 lessons)
• 2800 CROWNS costs 1000 USD @ 2.80 rate ( 11200 lessons)
• 7500 CROWNS costs 2500 USD @ 3.00 rate ( 30000 lessons)

Moreover, the higher subscription tiers include a monthly rebate of cut-rate crowns.

• 16 crowns per month for Bronze (8 USD) @ 2.00 crowns per dollar
• 35 crowns per month for Silver (15 USD) @ 2.33 crowns per dollar
• 60 crowns per month for Gold (25 USD) @ 2.40 crowns per dollar
• 150 crowns per month for Platinum (50 USD) @ 3.00 crowns per dollar

Syntax: MONEY

This command will show you two things. At the top you will see your total crowns purchased, and any gains you may have accrued thanks to wise investing. Then comes the amount of crowns you have out and ready to be spent.Beneath this you will see the current prices for crowns, as well as the unit price of dollars to crowns.

From this point, crowns in hand, you have three options. You can of course spend your crowns immediately, hold onto them for later, or invest them with an eye to increasing your haul as an insider trader.

Investing: Limitless Wealth

The Crown is the universal currency of Avalon. This you already know. However, each of the four cities has a currency of its own tied to the crown: the Thakrian ducats, Mercinaen shillings, Silverfallian florins and Parrian doubloons. These currencies are never traded or used directly, but they have fluctuating values to the Crown, and the Crown has value based on its worth as "real money".

Many Avalonians choose to invest in one of these four currencies. Over time, your investment will gain interest based on the fortunes of the city you invest in. There are hundreds of ways to influence the exchange rate and HELP INFLATION and HELP DEFLATION have details on some of the most common means of maximising your investment covering all of the 'Avalon meta-games' - guaranteeing myriad ways for ALL adventurers to benefit and reap potentially limitless rewards.

Investment in a city has a reciprocal impact on its military and economy. While the crowns themselves cannot be touched or altered by any but the investor, the presence of them have many small benefits that could mean the edge between two rival cities otherwise equal.

Alternatively, you can invest in the Gantian bank in Archangel, which is the safest option. Its exchange rates represent the health of Avalon globally as an aggregate of all four cities, young sponsorships and subscribers, and realm-wide activity that are not normally part of the rates between cities.

Why Invest At All?

Where CROWNS differ from a standard investment is that once purchased, unless they are spent they can NEVER drop below the original value of the purchase when it was made, making ALL risk, speculation and investment opportunity lie solely in the potential gain - the potential increase to your original investment by dint of improved exchange rates.

Consider this: you purchase 200 CROWNS for the standard cost of 100 U.S dollars and invest them into the bank of your home city. In the weeks that follow your city claims a new village under their thrall, slaying thousands of enemy troops and seizing scores of locations. A citizen wins a divine gem and city combat prowess is at a peak high point. Your 200 CROWNS have gained such interest based on the fortunes of your city that you now have 400 CROWNS available - your original stake doubled with ZERO risk to your original investment!

Spending Your Crowns

There are various methods of spending your Avalon Crowns, depending on what goods or services you are looking for. The range of goods you can purchase with Avalon Crowns includes but is not limited to: battlefield equipment, trinkets of rare and singular power, no-nonsense top-ups for various aspects of your character and inventory, lessons, either for yourself or a friend. This guide will tell you where all this and more can be purchased, and how to go about doing so.

The Curiosity Shops: Home of Trinkets, Services and Curios

The trading post for goods in Avalon is the Old Curiosity Shop: a store specialising in the rare and fantastic as well as the convenient essentials. A branch of the shop can be found in each of the four cities, as well as the central village of Eleusis.

Syntax: GOODS

Type this in the curiosity shop to obtain a list of the trinkets on sale. The stock rotates periodically, but some of the most common goods include things like overalls that increase the speed and yield of farming or labours, a cup that gives unique insights into Avalon, legendary swords of incredible power and much more.

Syntax: SERVICES

Typing SERVICES in the curiosity shops will show you a list of the possible services you can buy for your character. These include such conveniences as topping off your herb pouches, immediately boosting your experience to the maximum level ever attained, or learning some of the mysterious arcana. Service prices are always tailored to your individual situation and in the case of services like pouchup, potionfill or security consider only items openly held or worn. Backpacks, sacks and other containers will not be used when looking for items or calculating your price.

Syntax: BUY < goods or service >

Makes a purchase for the specified item or service. This requires confirmation prior to completion. Goods and services are applied to your character instantly for your immediate enjoyment.

ALL purchases require your current details to be up to date for the transacation to be processed. Type UPDATE in Avalon to register your details and begin your shopping spree!

Trinkets: Artifacts of Weird and Wonderful Power and Convenience

In addition to the standard goods and services available, the primary function of the Old Curiosity Shops is for the sale of TRINKETS. Trinkets are special, often unique items with powerful or mysterious attributes. They are - primarily - items of convenience, designed to ease the burdens of time, remove the necessity of programming third party clients, assist in information or knowledge-gathering and provide an opportunity for enhanced enjoyment of Avalon while supporting the realm in return. There are dozens of items for sale separated between three rooms of the shop.

The main shop caters to the services and most popular medium price trinkets.

Branching from the main shop in each city and Eleusis you may find the Market Yard. It displays cut-rate utility items and adornments with short lifespans and affordability tailoured to be within a month's subscription.

Lastly, the Bijou chamber is located inside from the main shop. It sells rare and special artifacts, such as custom landmarks buildings or dragon shapeforms.

Items you may find in the shop cover many effects, including:

• A dog-eared tome for ultra-fast learning
• Wings to fly to the skies with ease
• Overalls to enhance all Farming and Labours endeavours
• Gauntlets providing perfect clarity of TOUCH
• The 'cup of knowledge' - sip for perfect accurate insight
• A bottle of vintage wine - share with friends and enjoy myriad benefits
• Sandals with heels to click-click-click before zooming away
• A gordian chain of incredible protective power
• A suit of indestructible, fully protective chainmail
• A red grandmother clock - telling the time in ways unimaginable and unlocking the 'legerdemain' arcana

Syntax: TRINKET < item >

Many trinkets boast powers beyond what is immediately obvious - never judge a book by its cover! Use this command to reveal all known information about a specific trinket, including its unique description.

2002h, 2002m aex --- trinket cup1177

TRINKET: CUP1177

The cup of knowledge allows you find out about things you may find impossible to discover otherwise, e.g. if there is a lack of competent teacher or you have simply reached the pinnacle of your profession or you are exploring in regions other people have not. The cup provides info that is 100% accurate and totally comprehensive. The sipping 'insight' is about single conditions, afflictions, defences and such but it covers all angles. The quaffing 'collective memory' is detailed and each one is likely to bring back into Avalon some major piece of forgotten lore; and the owner of the cup of knowledge will have that responsibility. Use wisely.

Syntax: SIP < cup >
Takes a sip from the cup of knowledge and imbues you with a wonderful insight into the collective memory of the realm - but only for a short time. The cup of knowledge has 6 sips available or one quaff. Sips give insights, the quaff gives a collective memory and the latter is knowledge of extraordinary detail. Remember: if you take a sip you will have 5 more to use but no quaff as this must be done at the start and uses all the cup content.

The following abilities must be done while you have the collective memory insight active after having supped from the cup of knowledge:

Syntax: INSIGHTS < defence/affliction/condition >
Tells you everything - and by this we mean EVERYTHING - about the defence or affliction or condition you specify.

Syntax: READ < cup >
Reads the scenes threads around the cup in silver to give you a list of the special and/or advanced knowledge you can receive by taking down a full draught of the cup of knowledge.

Syntax: QUAFF < cup >
Downs a great gulp of the cup of knowledge to open your mind to the collective memory so you can reach out to aquire a larger body of knowledge. The cup of knowledge has just one quaff. It is then empty.


It is a strange experience to be sure but once you have quaffed from the cup of knowledge and read of the knowledge list, you will be able to delve into the collective memory and scoop out detailed insight into things you might otherwise never know. Examples? Try GLOOMYFOG or RITUALWINDOW orTREELEGIONS or ETHER or ELEMENTS...

Procurement: The Fast Track for Lessons

It is possible to buy lessons to more rapidly increase your character's various skills. Lessons can be bought in arbitrary amounts with crowns at a rate of 3 lessons per crowns.

Syntax: PURCHASE < amount > LESSONS

Syntax: PROCURE < amount >

Type PROCURE followed by the number of lessons you wish to acquire. You must be holding the required number of crowns to make a successful purchase. Note that free crowns will be used in preference.

Procured lessons are available for immediate use.

Syntax: LESSONS < DOUBLE / TRIPLE / QUADRUPLE >

Sometimes, rather than taking your lessons all at once, you may wish to spread your gain across a long period of time. Some Avalonians have been known to use this method to better analyse each new skill as it comes, fool an overconfident enemy or retain junior status for a longer period. Whatever the reason, typing LESSONS followed by the speed of acquisition will give you an increased period of lesson gain until all of your procured lessons have been depleted.

Syntax: LESSONS < number of lessons >

Alternatively, you can type LESSONS followed by an amount to instantly convert your procured gains into lessons ready to use at any time. There is no restriction on how many lessons you can convert at one time; the world is your oyster.

See also: HELP PROCURE

Micro Purchases: Instant Equipping

Sometimes you may find - even in the heat of battle - that you are missing some essential herb or perfect poison to seal your enemy's fate. Enter micro-purchasing: the quick and easy way to gain much-needed equipment.

Syntax: PURCHASE < number > < item to purchase >

Syntax: MICRO < number > < item to purchase >

Use this syntax to quickly make your micro-purchase and have it delivered instantly to your inventory. Items for micro-purchase include herbs and poisons (in batches of 25), runes, potions, and trueslays.

See also: HELP MICRO

Deals and Special Offers

From time to time Avalon may host special deals on crowns, lessons, or prices in the curiosity shop. Whenever such deals may be occuring you can find them listed in the aptly named HELP DEALS.