Festival of the Traveler

Festival of the Traveler is an in-game event held generally around Easter (its actual date changes every year ) season.

Overview
Purchase Tokens of the Traveler and visit an NPC Taj  in the Marketplace. Players are tasked to do the "Egg Run" within the Marketplace area, where you collect special Eggs that are visible only while the game is on.

The game has time limit of 2 minutes (?), so you have to figure out efficient paths, jump up, poke around and find highly-valued Gold Eggs and such. Depending on the amount of eggs and point you gathered, you build up an Aura-style buffs, you then turn these Aura into Taj to claim your reward. The Aura doesn't immediately expire when the game is over, so there is no need to go back to her within the time limit. Rewards are tiered by the magnitude of the Aura but randomly distributed. i.e. Taj determines what you receive, you cannot choose from a list or anything.

All this is basically like gambling with Turbine Points, you may or may not get more highly priced Store-items compared to your TP spent for the ticket to play this game.



Lore about "the Traveler"
The Traveler is one of the gods counted among a pantheon known as the Dark Six, though he's not known as a god of evil. A chaotic being that favors change, he is the patron god of travelers, and many adventurers and wanderers pray to him for safe journeys or blessings on their voyages. It is said that the Traveler is a being of many disguises, roaming the lands where and when you least suspect him. Known as the "Giver of Gifts," this god of creations and artifice can be as mischievous as he is mysterious, giving rise to the old adage "Beware the gifts of the Traveler".

2011/2012 Prizes

 * Reward for 2012 were the same as 2011, mainly the rods of teleport were taken out and the egg placement was changed slightly.

Note:
 * Hearts of Wood and Rods of Teleport do not seem to be on Taj's loot table this time (link).
 * The Ultimate Aura DDO Store reward is usually 2 Potions of Supreme Ability (Bind to Character, 10 minutes of +2 to all abilities), whereas the Major Aura reward is usually 2 Medium Experience Elixirs (Bind to Account, 6 hours of 10% XP boost), so it is currently much better to use your Blessing of the Traveler on Major Aura, not Ultimate Aura.
 * As you can see, for most players (those who desire XP) the major aura tends to offer the best blessing reward on average. For the normal (random loot) rewards, Ultimate Aura is better than Major Aura as each higher aura increase the loot level you get - it goes all the way up to loot level 23, thus has a small chance to reward +3 unbound tomes. The formula uses your character level + aura to determine rewards, so run it on a level20 and go for ultimate for the best random gear.

2010 Prizes
Note:
 * The first release of this event was also the first time you could receive a +3 Heart of Wood, before they were added to the DDO Store.

Youtube Guides

 * Ultimate Aura Egg Run - 2011 run by DDORfB
 * Ultimate Aura Egg Run - 2012 run by TheOldMan
 * Ultimate Aura Egg Run - 2011 and also works well for the new 2012 layout. Fast 90 second run, Ultra quality, HD1080p by Shade

Forum Threads

 * Scavenger Hunt Tracker (2010) - http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=231786
 * Torelo's confirmation about rewards - http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=2767633&postcount=9
 * Scavenger Hunt Map (2010) - http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=231878

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Letter from Fernando Paiz
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=231838

Finally with today’s patch we are introducing a new mini-game: The Traveler’s Scavenger Hunt, named after The Traveler, Eberron’s mischievous deity known as the “Giver of Gifts”. You can read the full guide by clicking here, but this is how it works: All player characters created before the 18th will receive a number of tickets called Tokens of the Traveler (depending on account type) and a single Blessing of the Traveler item as well. The Tokens let you run the scavenger hunt for a basic prize, but the Blessing is required to claim a grand prize. Talk to an NPC named Taj in the Marketplace, give him a Token and you’ll begin a timed run to collect as many magic eggs as you can.

Official guide
http://www.ddo.com/news/868-the-travelers-scavenger-hunt

Festival of the Traveler
It is said that the Traveler roamed the streets of the Marketplace, leaving beautiful decorative eggs scattered around. Those who can claim the eggs can receive gifts of the Traveler. But the Traveler can be a trickster, and thought it would be fun to hide the eggs so well that no one could see them! Until now...

With the help of a special festival wanderer, you can be given the power to see what was hidden by the Traveler! By finding the decorative eggs placed around the Marketplace, you can win prizes! The more eggs you can find, the more you win!

Getting Started
To begin your scavenger hunt, grab some Tokens of the Traveler in the DDO Store and visit Taj in the northern Marketplace between the Airship Spire and the Bazaar tent! For 1 Token of the Traveler, Taj will cast a powerful spell on you that will temporary allow you to see the mysterious eggs hidden in the Marketplace! Look high, look low, and look all around, because the eggs could be anywhere in the Marketplace!

By finding at least one egg, you will gain a special Traveler's Aura. As you find more eggs, you will increase your Traveler's Aura. The greater your aura gets, the better the reward will be at the end of the hunt! You can see how strong your aura is by looking in the upper right corner of your screen for the aura color and number. You only have a limited amount of time to find the eggs, so move quickly and get as many as you can to boost your aura as high as possible! When you see an egg, all you need to do is run through it to increase your aura. Every egg counts (and some count stronger than others)! Eggs will appear for as long as you have the Traveler's Sight effect from Taj. They appear only for you, so you don't have to worry about anyone stealing the eggs out from under you while you're trying to hunt. Remember that the eggs can only be found in the Marketplace!

Claiming Your Prize
Once the Traveler's Sight has worn off, return to Taj, who will inspect your aura and give you a random prize from her packs. Taj's bags are filled with many types of gifts, from gems and scrolls to weapons and tomes, and more! You never know what Taj will pull from her bag of gifts, but the greater your aura is, the better the chances are that the gifts of the Traveler will be something wonderful! While Taj is hosting egg hunts, you can participate as many times as you like as long as you can provide Taj with a token each time you'd like to begin a hunt. Don't leave the Marketplace or step inside of buildings (like the bank, taverns, or changing Marketplace instances) before claiming your prize with Taj if you've completed an egg hunt or your aura will wear off!

Blessings of the Traveler
This special item can be turned into Taj for even better rewards! There are two ways to redeem a Blessing of the Traveler with Taj:


 * If you're doing well on an egg hunt, and earn a Greater Traveler's Aura (or higher), you can chose to offer the Blessing to Taj and receive a special prize bundle based on the strength of your Aura. These rewards are more rare than Taj's standard rewards, and include things like XP potions, Summoned Repair Shops, and more!

Special For DDO's Birthday
 * You can also chose to redeem your Blessing without running the hunt to receive a Lesser Spirit Cake.

In honor of DDO's 4th Birthday, all characters will receive a Blessing of the Traveler in their inventory, as well as tokens for participating in the hunt. The amount of tokens each of your characters will receive is based on your account type:

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 * Free accounts will receive 5 tokens per character
 * Premium accounts will receive 10 tokens per character
 * VIP accounts will receive 15 tokens per character
 * Additional tokens can also be purchased in the DDO Store