"Hello, fine bartender, we... I mean... I would like one cup of your finest beverage, please. Yes, yes, thank you ...the ...uh, ...normal human beverage, please." The patron's trench coat shuffled in an unusual way, but the bemused bartender poured a flagon of ale and left three smaller cups, just in case. "It's working," the knees muttered. "The human beverage is ale! I should've done the talking." "How tall we are..." the torso whispered, "So tall..." "SHHHH!!!"

MORE KOBOLDS IS MORE BETTER. Introducing our latest champion, arriving with Grand Revel, Hew Maan, a definitely human champion and not at all three kobolds in a trench coat.

I. Hew Maan

Zrang, his twin brother Kleeb, and their brood-sister Yassa began their Icewind Dale existence stealing gems and dreaming of being respected by the locals. Inspired by their mentor, Jarlaxle, they stand tall to form Hew Maan - who is totally a human and not on a nefarious mission to steal all the Champions' stuff.

Hew Maan's origin story is ongoing in our Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, and cameoed in two of our Idle Champions Comics. They hold a special place in our hearts, and we were excited and inspired by the community reaction to bring them to Idle Champions as a champion, for deep down, aren't we all just three kobolds in a trench coat?

Zrang, Kleeb, and Yassa team up and stack up to form Hew Maan, providing different buffs based on who's on top of the stack. Hew Maan is a Support champion, when you want to add them to your formation, you can swap them with Delina (Slot 8).

II. Hew Maan's Stats

Race: Kobold & "Human"	Alignment: Lawful Evil
Class: Rogue/Bard	Gender: Male & Female
Age: 67	Affiliation: none

STR: 11	DEX: 12	CON: 16
INT: 12	WIS: 8	CHA: 16

Role: Support
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Vajra Safahr
Slot: 8, (Delina)

III. Hew Maan's Design

Hew Maan is a multifaceted and dynamic individual. Well actually, they aren't an individual at all, but three kobolds, Zrang, his twin brother Kleeb, and their brood sister Yassa, each with their own distinct personalities!

Zrang is surprisingly insightful, but definitely still a kobold, and is working on the difference between kobold and human vocabularies.

Rough and tumble and ready to tussle; Kleeb is the kobold you want in control when you're gearing to fight.

Yassa was charmed by Trex's complimentary nature. She cheers on her fellow kobolds & Champions. She's a glass-half-full sort of kobold, and a bit of a fast talker.

Zrang and his siblings hide inside a trench coat and masquerade as a human, and their teamwork makes their dream work! Their buffs change based on where they are located in the formation. With Teamwork, they provide three different buffs that are useful in different situations. Place them near the front of the formation and they increase your rate of progression, place them in the center of the formation and they assist with killing bosses. Place them near the back of the formation and they greatly increase your damage against non-boss monsters. Hello, Fellow Humans, allows them to buff their fellow human Champions, but they can masquerade and buff another race through their specialization ability Did We Say Humans? We Meant....

IV. Hew Maan's Abilities

Basic Attack

• Crossbow — The middle kobold shoots a random enemy with a small crossbow.

Formation Abilities

• Teamwork — Depending on where they are placed in the formation, a different kobold takes the top slot in the trench coat and provides a different buff:
  • Zrang: Front X columns — Enemies have a 25% chance to drop double quest items or count for double quest progress.
    
  • Kleeb: Middle columns — Increase the damage of Champions against boss enemies by 400%; if the boss has hits-based or armor-based health, successful attacks destroy twice as many segments as they normally would
    
  • Yassa: Back X columns — Increase the damage of Champions in the two columns in front of Hew Maan by 100%.
    
  Note: in formations with four or less columns, X is always 1. In columns with five or more columns, X is always 2.

• Hello, Fellow Humans — Increase the effect of Kleeb and Yassa's Teamwork abilities based on the number of human Champions in the formation:
  • 1-3 "other" humans: +100%
  • 4-5 "other" humans: +700%
  • 6-7 "other" humans: +3100%
  • 8-9 "other" humans: +12700%

• Carefully Balanced — Increase the effect of Zrang's Teamwork ability by 10% for each Champion adjacent to the kobolds (stacks additively and then applied to Teamwork multiplicatively).

• Please Stand By — The two kobolds that are not on top provide lesser buffs passively. These abilities are not buffed by Hello, Fellow Humans.
  • Zrang: Boss enemies move 25% slower.
    
  • Kleeb: Hits-based and armor-based enemies and blockers have a 50% chance of spawning with 25% of their hits already gone.
    
  • Yassa: Reduce the base attack cooldown of Champions adjacent to the kobolds by 0.5s.

Specializations

• Did We Say Humans? We Meant... — The Hello, Fellow Humans ability now uses the most populous race in your formation instead of Human. Ties do not matter as only the count is important.

• Impressive Coatwork — The effect of all Teamwork abilities are increased by 100%.

Ultimate Ability

Each kobold in the stack attacks repeatedly with their own crossbow, peppering a random target with 12 bolts in total. An additional effect then occurs based on whichever kobold is on the top of the stack. Moving the kobolds while the effect is active does not update it.

• Zrang: Roll Out! — The effect of Zrang's Teamwork is doubled for 30 seconds.
  
• Kleeb: Stop! — Non-boss enemies are stunned and no additional enemies will spawn for 15 seconds.
  
• Yassa: Faster! — Reduce any active ultimate cooldowns of all Champions in the formation by 25%.

V. Hew Maan's Legendary Equipment

Slot 1: Global DPS	Slot 2: Global DPS	Slot 3: Hello, Fellow Humans
Slot 4: Carefully Balanced	Slot 5: Ultimate Damage	Slot 6: Ultimate Cooldown

VI. Conclusion

What do you think about Hew Mann? If you have feedback, let us know in a Community Q&A or Champion feedback post on the Idle Champions Subreddit, on the Steam forums, or on the Official Idle Champions Discord!

By Bush Whackers, For Butterflies

The butterflies are out there somewhere, and this weekend's visitor is looking to attract them to the event area! This is their second visit, so complete there tasks and get your 2nd of their 5 butterfly companions!

Head to the event area in the Commons to get started. Attract different species to the event area in 2ways:
1 - Help Harrow in the event area with her quests, unlocking at noon on Saturday and Sunday. There are 2 species to unlock this way.
2 - Collect Rare Flowers! You can do this after completing Harrow's first quest, available on Friday. There are 3 species to unlock this way, which will be much more challenging to get!

At the end of this colourful quest, you'll get to choose a butterfly companion from the different species you attract.

You have until noon on Monday February 1st to attract as many as you can, and you'll have until noon on Wednesday February 3rd to choose one as a companion. Good luck!

Strengthen the Smolder Horses!

Smoldering Intensifies

While you're there, don't forget to check out the new Smolder Horse pet! The more there are, the higher the max level bonus is for everyone who has one! It's only available until Monday February 1st, so grab one and help everyone get the most powerful pet while you can! Talk to the smoldering fellow in the event area for updates on the bonus.

Read the Release Notes!

Butterfly Garden Limited Time Quest (January 29th, 2021)

- Rerunning the Butterfly Garden limited time quest, where players can earn another one of the 5 available butterfly companions.

- Selling a new Smolder Horse pet whose bonus increases the more Smolder Horses are bought during this weekend.

- Alchrafter Certificate now has a chance of upgrading a normal dust to a rare dust when disenchanting runes, instead of adding a rare dust. This is so you cannot make more dust than you had when disenchanting and crafting runes. Instead, you are able to make runes of higher quality more easily.

- Fix pets over level 40 achievements not counting released pets.

- Fixed various reported typos and quest descriptions. Keep the reports coming!

It's the most ELECTRIFYING event in CrusadersSportsâ„¢ Entertainment, and it's back and bloodier than ever: the sixth-annual Carnage Cup is now officially underway!

This year's event brings the true star of the game because where would the team be without their mascot, Pascal, Highest Bidder Mascot, to hype up the fans and cheer them on.

GET READY FOR CARNAGE CUP VI!

Carnage Cup VI runs until Tuesday, February 9th at 12PM PST, introducing Pascal, Highest Bidder Mascot and bringing back Morrigan, the Furious, Groklok the Orc, Drizzle the Dark Elf, Karl the Kicker, Cindy the Cheer-Orc, Griz the Robo-Coach, and Nargulg Granitehand!

New Tier 6 Crusader: Pascal, Highest Bidder Mascot

Tags: Event, Support, Gold

Who's the real MVP? Who's in the suit? No one knows, maybe it changes, but a great sense of humor is a requirement for donning the mascot mantle.

Pascal hypes the crowd and helps the formation, but since we never know who is in the suit, the buffs change dependent on Pascal's own tags.

When you're ready to add Pascal to your formations, you can find them in seat 36.

New Tier 6 Objectives

• Recruit Pascal, Highest Bidder Mascot | Pascal, Highest Bidder Mascot takes up a slot in the formation. Groklok the Orc and Drizzle the Dark Elf take up spots in formation and can't be moved. Monsters spawn in waves of 5 and live at least 3 seconds. Note: This will require having cleared the objective To Infinity and Beyond on Ghostbeard's Greed to complete. Reach area 600.


• Stormy Play | Karl the Kicker and Cindy the Cheer-Orc take up spots in formation and can't be moved. Special monsters spawn with random traits: invisible, projectile, super fast, & kills lead Crusader when reaches formation. Note: This will require having cleared the objective To Infinity and Beyond on Ghostbeard's Greed to complete. Reach area 650.


• Coaching Woes | Griz the Robo-Coach takes up a spot in formation and can't be moved. The formation will only do DPS if Griz is affecting exactly 3 Robots with Contract Re-Negotiation. Note: This will require having cleared the objective To Infinity and Beyond on Ghostbeard's Greed to complete. Reach area 675.


• Rock Solid Defense | Nargulg Granitehand takes up a spot in formation and can't be moved. No Animal Crusaders allowed. Note: This will require having cleared the objective Bullet Hell on Ready Player Two to complete. Reach area 700.


• Leprechauns Unite |Morrigan the Furious takes up a spot in formation and can't be moved. Only Morrigan does DPS. For each other Leprechaun Crusader in the formation, Morrigan gets an extra 500% DPS, stacking multiplicatively. Note: This will require having cleared the objective Bullet Hell on Ready Player Two to complete. Reach area 725.

More info

You'll have until Tuesday, February 9th at 12:00 PM Pacific Time to complete Carnage Cup VI!

For more info on previous Carnage Cup Crusaders and objectives check out the Carnage Cup 5 blog post.

Equipment for event Crusaders can be found in Silver and Carnage Cup Chests, which you can earn from objectives and the free play or buy in the shop. Each non-recruitment objective will drop a chest for its given tier of Crusaders, and free play will drop All Tier chests. Gear for Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6 Crusaders will only appear in All Tier chests once you've unlocked the respective Crusaders. You can select the tier of chest you buy in the shop when you go to purchase chests with real money or event currency.

The Sword of Zariel is within reach, but we need a history lesson to understand how it came to this awful place. Is there a way to save the Elturel? Who will take up Zariel's sword? What in the name of Faerûn is Yeenoghu doing in this nightmare? AND WHY IS HE HEADED OUR WAY?! Read on to see what the penultimate adventure of Descent into Avernus will hold!

Note: you will need to have completed the previous two Descent into Avernus Adventures, The Sibriex and Wrecked Flying Fortress, in order to access these new Adventures.

The Bleeding Citadel

The Champions enter the Bleeding Citadel and advance towards the Sword of Zariel.

• Variant: Don't Pick at the Scab — Climb the stinking scab while trying not to disturb the architecture.
  • Only Champions with WIS and INT of 12 or higher can be used.
  Reach area 550.

Idyllglen

We relive the battle of Idyllglen through Lulu's recently returned memories. We'll face untold horrors on our way back to the Bleeding Citadel, the Sword of Zariel, and the fate that awaits us in Avernus.

• Variant: Madness of Yeenoghu — Relive history as you experience the madness caused by a demon lord! Enemies deal 200% additional damage and move 200% faster. Whenever a Champion destroys an enemy, the Champion is stunned for a duration equal to their base attack cooldown.
  Reach area 575.

See the in-game Change Log for more information, including a full list of changes and fixes included in this update.

Happy Birthday Nate!

It’s that time of year again! Help celebrate Nate Dragon’s birthday by decorating the Commons for him....because no one else will.

First and foremost, whenever Nate is involved, safety becomes a priority. Find Safety Coins in the bushes and bring them to the stations in the Commons to stock up on protective gear. Turn in 10 coins at each station 50 times for an achievement. You can see the number of turn-ins you've completed at a station when you turn in a set of coins. The Kevlar Pad station is there on the first day of the event, and the Fire Extinguisher and Band Aid stations will unlock as the event goes on.

Then it seems Nate needs decorations and activities to set up in the Commons. Go out daily and find things for his party. Have fun trying out the activity stations as many times as you want!

If you're trying to get Tiny Little Arms or Just Like Nate achievements, or if you just want to have a little fun, you need to be wearing all pieces of the Dragon gear or the Nate outfit (available from the vendor's Bush Bucks store if it's your first time playing this event) while completing the 4 party Stations: Dynamite Activity, Campfire Activity, Digging Activity and the Training Whacking Activity.

If you've built the Town Hall, you can expect an fiery visitor to the party as well!

New for 2021:

New year, new gift from Nate's uncle! He seems apologetic enough, so maybe this one won't be cursed...

And introducing the 100% reward for this year: Mannequin Bases! Collect each one and expand your ranch fashion displays! Here's a base to suit Nate's explosive style:

Event Achievements - POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!

There are a total EIGHTEEN possible Achievements to earn in the Nate’s Birthday 2021 event:

Achievements Returning in 2021:

Safety First - You completed a turn-in at each of the Safety Stations.
Safety Inspector - You completed 50 turn-ins at each of the Safety Stations.
Without a Hitch - You helped Nate with all of his Birthday quests!
Neverending Supply - You completed all 4 of the Birthday event daily quests 3 times.
Firefighter - You put out a fire and saved a building in the Commons! [Requires the Town Hall built]
Dragon Slayer - You scared off a dragon and saved the Commons!
Surprise Explosions! - You helped organize a surprise party for Nate.
A Heroic Gift - Help Natalie make Nate look like a hero for his birthday. Cursed Cubes! - You removed the cube curse!

Added/Changed for 2021:

Birthday Spoils - You bought all the 2021 Nate's Birthday event items!

We have 8 achievements from previous year's events, which may be earned by spending some Bush Bucks, if a player was not present during the initial year:

Birthday Blowout - You bought all the 2020 Nate's Birthday event items!
Nate-Nacs - You bought all the 2019 Nate's Birthday event items!
Nate's Treasures - You bought all the 2018 Nate's Birthday event items!
Birthday Souvenirs - You bought all the 2017 Nate's Birthday event items!
Nate's Finer Things - You bought all the 2016 Nate's Birthday event items!
Nate's Stash - You bought all the 2015 Nate's Birthday event items!
Tiny Little Arms - You bungled each activity station while dressed like a Dragon
Nate's Inventory - You bought all the 2014 Nate's Birthday event items!
Just Like Nate! - You bungled each activity station while dressed like Nate.

*The mini-golf piece is not included in the Birthday Spoils achievement, and therefore it is not required to purchase it.

Mount Packs:

New fierce mounts are available from Jan 15th to 18th! Why not a Wyvern mount?

The Wyvern mount comes free with your first purchase of 100 Bush Bucks or more, and the Scald Wyvern and Roseate Wyvern are in packs containing 100 Bush Bucks, 10 Pristine Feed Vouchers, and a VIP Voucher!

Pet Packs:

It's dangerous to go alone, so you should have a friend! Check our newest sidekicks for you to consider:

2021 Pet Packs --> COMING SOON!!



This event runs until Friday January 29, 2021 @ Noon PST (8pm UTC).

Post your thoughts and feedback here! 

Nate’s Birthday Event 2021 Update (January 15th, 2021)

- Updated Nate’s Birthday Event
- Added new customization and ranch items
- Added new ribbons and 100% reward
- Added year 3 sequel to Cursed Cubes challenging quest
- Combined separate cursed cube achievements into single repeatable “Cursed Cubes!” achievement, achieved by completing any of the cursed cube quests in the current year.
- Added new event mounts in Bush Bucks sale and mount packs, available the first weekend of the event
- Added 3 new pets available the second weekend of the event

- Fixed various reported typos and quest descriptions. Keep the reports coming!

Deadwinter Day has arrived once again in Longsaddle. While most citizens keep warm in their homes and exchange gifts to celebrate the midpoint of winter with friends and family, the Champions have been hired by the infamous Harpells to patrol the outskirts of town...

Midwinter 4 introduces Talin Uran, a Combat Wheelchair-using Tiefling Rogue. The event also brings back Môrgæn, the High Elf Ranger (Hunter) played by Morgan Webb on Acquisitions Incorporated, and K'thriss Drow'b, the Drow Warlock played by Kris Straub on Acquisitions Incorporated: The "C" Team. Players have until Monday, January 25th at 12PM Pacific to complete their Midwinter 4 unlocks and objectives.

For more information about Year 4 Events and how they work, please check out our Year 4 Events Dev Blog.

New Champion: Talin Uran

Like many in the D&D community, we were inspired when Sara Thompson introduced us to the Combat Wheelchair last summer. We reached out to Sara last year to get their help in bringing a Combat Wheelchair Champion to Idle Champions, and it just so happened that their D&D character, Talin Uran, was a perfect fit!

Talin Uran is a rogue of great renown within Waterdeep. While on an assignment with the Grambar's Blades a few years ago, he was caught in a building collapse that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Now equipped with his combat wheelchair, Talin is back to doing what he does best: Saving the day and looking awesome doing it.

Talin is a charismatic rogue who specializes in analyzing and exploiting enemy weaknesses, increasing the damage of allies, and slowing enemies with his Scatter Tacks. Talin is a Support champion, when you want to add him to your formation, you can swap him with Celeste (Slot 2).

II. Talin's Stats

Race: Tielfling	Alignment: Chaotic Good
Class: Rogue	Gender: Male
Age: 26	Affiliation: none

STR: 10	DEX: 18	CON: 12
INT: 13	WIS: 13	CHA: 18

Role: Support
Eligible for Patrons: Mirt the Moneylender, Strahd von Zarovich
Slot: 2, (Celeste)

Talin's Abilities

Talin does everything you would expect a rogue to get up to, including no shortage of mischief. He attacks using both his rapier with Quiet Ambush and his chair with Razor Edged Chakram. Talin zips around in his chair, dropping caltrops behind when attacking with his Scatter Tacks slowing and damaging enemies that enter them. Ever observant, Talin susses out his enemies' weaknesses and passes this information along to his allies to support the team with Spot Weakness.

For more information on Talin and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Four Variants

• Fiendish Friends — A collection of fiends spawn in each area. While they are alive, the fiends bestow the following buffs to other enemies.
  • Imp — Enemies drop 99% less gold.
  • Dretch — Enemies deal 100% additional damage.
  • Abyssal Chicken — Enemies move 100% faster. Charge!
    
Reach Area 75.


• Once Upon a Gazer — Only Champions with WIS 13 or higher can be used. Gazers spawn in each area. They do not drop gold, nor do they count towards quest progress. Champions hit by a gazer are stunned for 3 seconds.
  
Reach Area 125.


• Deadwinter Dodge — Only Champions with DEX 14 or higher AND INT 12 or higher can be used. Talin starts in the formation and can't be moved or removed.
  Reach Area 175.

For information on previous years' variants, check out the Midwinter 3 blog.

Coppers of the Creature Collector

The eccentric Creature Collector has returned to the Commons, this time with a trio of Kitsune mounts!



Head to the event area and choose one to train. You have until noon on Wednesday January 13th to complete the collector's four daily quests, level up your chosen creature, earn Creature Coppers to spend in their store, and get another page to your Creature Collector's Compendium!

The Compendium Page will be given after the event ends. If you don't have the Creature Collector's Compendium ranch item, you'll get it when you get your first page.

After the event, the collector will be taking their creature back unless you adopt it by purchasing its corresponding mount pack, available starting Monday January 11th.

Train hard, Bush Whackers!

The training quests unlock at noon on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Those busy on the weekends can still catch up!

Notes
- The VIP "Quest Reset" power does not reset these mini event quests, and they are not affected by the Time Turner and Timey Whimey Watch.
- Swapping your event mount with a higher level mount doesn't count towards event progress.

Updates

The three Kitsune mounts earn double the experience compared to other mounts for the duration of this mini-event!

Ye Olde Creature Collector's Galleria - Mounts

When you speak to Tanela Tiva in the event area, you can select the "What past mounts are for sale?" chat option.

This will open a new store, which will contain 3 non-event premium mounts you have never owned! They cost Bush Bucks, like in event stores. The selection will change next time Tanela Tiva visits to event area.

We've done this in response to players asking to see old premium mounts they've missed out on, to help you fill out your pet collection. Snag those old-school mounts you're missing out on!

Read the Release Notes!

Chat about this mini-event on the forum!

Creature Collector - Kitsune Mounts! (January 8th, 2021)

- Rerunning Coppers of the Creature Collector mini event with 3 new mounts.
- Mini-event mounts earn double the experience compared to other mounts for the duration of this mini-event
- Swapping your event mount with a higher level mount doesn't count towards event progress

- Show this warning message when you equip a trinket set with a missing trinket: "You have combined or upgraded the following trinkets saved to this set: . Please update this set (equip the missing trinkets and save the set)."

- Changed the name of the older generation wasp pet to "Wasp Queen", to differentiate it from the current generation’s “Wasp” pet.

- Fixed various reported typos and quest descriptions. Keep the reports coming!