From https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/gold-crowns-of-the-obsidians.51838/ :
"As we expire all our pledges and move towards a commercial launch, hopefully near the end of this year, we must also move to a commercial model of monetization. As promised, we are not going to be adding a subscription nor are we planning to make the game free to play. However, as an online game, we must have a steady stream of income (in addition to base game sales) in order to pay for support of the game including monthly updates, bandwidth, servers, community support, etc. Our analysis shows us that Add On Store item sales will not be sufficient. When we have been asked for examples in the past of models we wish to emulate or that we admire, we always point to Guild Wars as an example of a Pay to Play with an Add On Store as the closest archetype to what we hope to achieve. Selling Gold Crowns and allowing those Crowns to be exchangeable in game for Gold currency and potions with game benefits (like repairing of maximum durability) is something we believe is a good and fair balance of revenue while still maintaining play-ability and
player economy. We are working hard to ensure that the purchased items
from Crowns are all matters of convenience, not power. For example, the Obsidian Potions do things like small increases to carry weight, slightly longer sprint times, or slightly reduced gear wear. It is of course worth remembering that since Crowns can be earned in game, no
player will ever be required to purchase them, making them purely a time saver and convenience.
As part of this introduction, we have added Gold Crowns to all Pledges. The amount of Crowns added to each pledge is based on the size of the pledge and is as follows:
- First Responder, Second Responder, Pioneer, Adventurer: 2
- Immortal Adventurer: 3
- Founder: 4
- Royal Artisan: 5
- Virtual Collector: 6
- Explorer, Explorer - All Digital: 7
- Collector: 8
- Patron: 12
- Ancestor: 15
- Navigator: 20
- Developer: 25
- Citizen: 30
- Edelmann, Edelmann - All Digital: 31
- Knight: 35
- Knight Marshal: 40
- Lord: 45
- Lord Marshal: 50
- Baron, Baron 2, Baron 3: 65
- Duke: 90
- Lord of the Manor, Lord of the Manor 2: 200"