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Scenarios » Drums of Death V1.20 (Single Player)
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Drums of Death V1.20 (Single Player)
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| Author |
File Description |
| Swolte |
Posted on 01/06/05 @ 05:19 PM (updated 03/15/06)
| File Details |
|---|
| Ruleset: |
AoW: SM - TS Standard Rules |
| Map Size: |
XL |
| Levels: |
2 |
| Single Player?: |
Yes |
| Co-Op vs. AI?: |
Yes |
| PBEM/Hotseat?: |
Yes |
| Multiplayer Online?: |
No |
| # of Wizards: |
5 |
| # of players: |
5 |
| Skill Level: |
Advanced |
| Password Protected: |
No |
WARNING: I normally don't make single player maps and this map was originally designed as a multiplayer. Since people will be disappointed when the AI is extremely handicapped when playing it single player (I know people will want to play it), I quickly decided to make a seperate version for single player. This one!
You will actually find a lot of differences with the Multiplayer version. They do not compare.
V1.2 notes: there were some complaints about bugs in the map and the lack of updates. Here it is. Its best enjoyed using the v1.4 patch, but I haven't added any of the new content (yet).
If you want the full Drums of Death experience, however, I strongly recommend playing it with 5 people over email! There is always interest at the forums on this site!
RULES (IMPORTANT!!)
- No trading of spells allowed (Balance: mana/gold and helpful casting is ok!).
- The life-spell ‘resurrect hero’ is banned (Balance, story + scripting conflicts).
- Agree to NOT abuse the migration-trick!!! (Balance: those that don’t know what it is, are fine).
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
- Play with the latest patch v1.4.
- Surrender off and allied victory on!! (this has to be done manually!!).
- Do not sell the 'extra-pretty' wizard towers on Eregion (as Emperor). I put them in because they make it look pretty mostly, not as Goldbonusses..
- I would also ban the Mastery Spells (added 27-nov).
- Read the Tips and Notes section.
TIPS & NOTES
- Very high load on computer-system and large file-size (get a new computer and gmail-account!!! ). Else, seriously consider not starting on this map. XL with loads of tricks!
- No deliberate experimenting with the scripted events in a pbem game. Just follow the instructions. Punishments can be tougher than expected or regarded fair.
- Option to build outposts and teleporters is disabled.
- Map is designed for good to expert players.
- In a very exceptional situation, some elevations might give some problems to selecting your units, or even moving them properly. Use the ‘select next unit’ button, take your time and be extra careful avoiding misclicks in those areas.
Further you are strongly advised to:
- READ ALL signs, story and events! They not only help you understand the world but they warn you for mistakes! Area guards that can kill a healthy hero exist but you will be warned, for example.
- NO heroes will join you, you will have to quest them! Be very careful with your heroes. Do not let them wander alone! The Call hero-spell is worthless.
- This world is ALIVE. Certain terrain will change in unpredictable ways, animals roam and will keep roaming AEDORA throughout time. Defend your villages and build walls if you want to keep them! One or two archers should do.
- SCOUT ahead!! I cannot say this often enough! Build and use those expendable units. Only players that know what is coming and where to go, deserve to win this game! It may take some time, but better slow than dead!
---------- STORY ------------
When the legendary 'Fight for Light' ended and the Shadowgod was defeated, the dark clouds that had envellopped ERTRIA slowly left the world. Once again, sunlight touched the impoverished lands and hope emerged amongst the people! But not only in ERTRIA. The ShadowGod had it's dark claws aimed at more and it's voiding had consequences for other realms then ERTRIA.
Unchallenged, after the threat of the ShadowGod disappeared from ERTRIA, an archon empire in the realm of AEDORA, grew like never before as unknown lands were explored, conquered and cultivated! These Archons, led by Emperor Purius XI, were to be the ultimate keepers of order and balance in this world, shaping it to their perfect vision. Never allowing the rise of a Shadowgod again was only a single justification.
High tolls, trade embargos and several restrictions were imposed upon the 'impure' races travelling through Eregia, as the empire was called. It started with the Tigrans and soon involved humans, dwarves and elves too. Enforced by a great military might, no one dared to stand up to this Emperor.
And so the wondrous city of Eregion towered high above all others, it's white shining spires almost reaching to the Gods above. The gods, however, were less appreciative. Orditan, the God of Balance, was especially displeased. His influence lessened and traditional sacrifices and feasts to honour Him diminished as worships to the emperor increased. The Archons believed they could shape the world as they wished and understand it without the help of a God.
Angered, Orditan showed His might when a giant fist struck from the sky and hit the large city of Archillios. The warning shook the inhabitants and brought fear and doubt back into the hearts of the Archons of Eregia. Archillios was soon abandoned and was left to the swamp to reclaim it.
For once, the expansion was stalled.
On his mighty throne in Eregion, the Emperor's fear was blurred, as anger and vengeance raged through his head! Nothing would stop his reign, NOTHING!! Not even a God...
And so he called upon his most powerful of priests, his most educated of teachers, and his most knowledgeable of librarians. In deep secrecy they worked on plans to 'silence' a God. Years passed when no solution was found. Only then did the Emperor turn to Obrynn, the wisest and oldest living being of AEDORA.
Obrynn was the last remaining wizard of the Elder races, namely the Dwarven, Elven and Draconian kind. Yet, supported by the Draconian King Shankar, the legendary sage refused to aid the Emperor as soon as he felt the hunger for more power behind it.
As a result of their refusal, war was declared on the Dwarves and the Draconians. Obrynn was unprepared and he felt he had no choice but to give in and prevent a bloodbath of his people. By revealing limited information, but leaving out essential parts of the ritual, Obrynn managed to win some time to strengthen his defences and seek help.
But just when things started to look better for Obrynn, disaster occurred!
Lady Godiva, the seductive sorceress of the darkelves, had been following all his plans with great interest. Her magical seeing-pools allowed her to see and hear all that happened and she found a keen way to use it to her advantage...
Deep in the night important scrolls were stolen from Obrynns great library at Dembar by one of Godiva's spies. Some say her lost sister, Dalviana, did it, others suggest it was the work of shades. In any case, Lady Godiva sold the scrolls to the Emperor, who then knew what to do.
The Emperor collected three Aesthir, extremely rare divine crystals, the only objects that can store and trap celestial entities. The high priests of Eregion performed an elaborate and powerful ritual at the Great temple at Mount Ergos and enslaved the god of Order and Balance. Flashes of light could be seen throughout AEDORA! The sky turned dark for three days and all living beings trembled in awe. The three pieces of Aesthir were then spread out across AEDORA in dark and sinister places. No one would dare or even contemplate searching for them.
Emperor Purius XI of Eregia could not supress a smile as he sat on his throne! After all, everything was going as planned!
Obrynn knew he had to act. He gathered armies to march against Eregia, acting as a distraction, in order to organise a search for the Aesthir crystals. His armies of dwarves and Draconians, however, were easily slain by superior imperial forces.
But...
Just when the end seemed near, help came from an unexpected side!
Stefanus, the youngest and most respected son of Emperor Purius XI rebelled against his own father, seeking the throne of Eregion for himself! As riots spread, several cities within Eregia joined Stefanus in his quest, expressing their anger with Purius' rule! The Emperor was furious and immediately dispatched forces to suppress this revolt. Troops carrying the imperial flag marched from Eregion in all directions, even Pannovar, the elven capitol.
He called for a war that will end all wars!
Meanwhile, in underground places that have been silent for ages, the Goblin Queen, Omah, is confronted with an ancient prophecy, the prophecy of the Vaug Han. The one warrior that would lead the races of darkness to an era of prosperity and domination.
Her Orc and Goblin are restless and demand change, they have been quiet for too long!
Change will happen, but if it is Omah fulfilling the prophecy, Stefanus seizing the throne, Obrynn restoring order or the lady Godiva scheming another devious plan, remains to be seen!
Only one thing is certain, though.
At sunset, brave armies march from the darkest bowels of the earth to the deep elven forests and long barren deserts. Fleets gather at dawn on the rough sea of Nurn as numerous imperial troops parade out of the mighty city of Eregion!
Today, the Drums of death sound everywhere..
--------- STORY -----------
-> Playable are:
Lady Godiva
Expect to start with Darkelves.
A seemingly comfortable spread out backseat position, that allows influencing/manipulating many events! Lots of choices for expansion and stuff happening!
Obrynn the Wise
Expect to start with Dwarves and Draconians.
Close to the action, but in a strong defensive position. Expand slowly but steady. For the patient player.
Omah Krimhogde
Expect to play with Goblins and Orcs.
This attractive lady came from far. A realm that hasn't stirred itself in ages. Slow building up and change the course of AEDORA at a later stage. Balanced on a knife but with great potential, this is for the careful player that likes to fool around with dangerous AI first.
Stefanus
Expect to start with humans and elves.
The most tough position from the start. A player that likes to be thrown right into the action and that can take a beating! Be willing to make tough decisions and risks (and bear the consequences)! Not for the weak of heart!
CREDITS
Aerjen for helping out with some hero descriptions!
Alex mars for getting me started (unintentionally).
Chascal for some last minute testing and detailed feedback (beware when playing against him)
Falagar for testing, a cool hero description and feedback!
King David, for allowing me to use his heroes and wizard names from Race to Death and his inspiring maps!
Sarah for some spelling correction and putting up with me.
Talonthorn for his excellent advice on certain scripts and his scripting database!
Three persons in particular I want to thank! They were involved during a large part of the process (a very long time)!
Psykitty, for his huge amounts of feedback and testing!! You all wait until his NCL-map comes out!
Wonderbeast (Lady Bane) for loads of feedback, testing (Hocus too, I heard!), a hero description, awesome portrait and inspiring conceptual design!
Last but not least, JamieJME that helped me out with numerous events and mapmaking tricks! |
| Pages: [1] 2 » Last » | | Author | Comments & Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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| French Touch |
Posted on 01/27/05 @ 12:41 PM
(Insert Playability analysis here)
Balance: 5
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 5
(Insert Creativity analysis here)
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 4
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
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| potbellytoad |
Posted on 02/04/05 @ 12:28 PM
"The Whelan Speaks"
problem: the last of the Whelan doesn't seem to join me even though I get the message that she will
thought my hero cap of 5 might be limiting her recruitment, but same thing happened when I dimised my 5th hero and had a slot open
any suggestions?
awesome mod and neat little "whelan" quest btw...
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| Tom Bombadil |
Posted on 02/14/05 @ 10:48 PM
I gave this a 5 despite having two problems because I could not bear to give this map anything lower than an overall 5. Consider this a 4, and Creativity a 6 ;). The first issue is that the map caused quite a bit of lag and required reboots despite my having a pretty fast computer. The second is that I had trouble picking up some items. I killed 2 monter heroes with tons of artifacts sitting by their respective wizards sides and was unable to pick up any of their artifacts.
Balance: 5
The balance was great. The AI played a tough game. My one comment would be that the AI builds too many avengers instead of paladins in towns where they are limited to building lev. 2s. But this is not Swolte's fault. I probably would have lost had this not been the case, since avengers are terrible in AI seiges. But since it was, I was able to defeat hordes of AIs with elven archers with enchant weapon and mighty meek.
Creativity: 5
Once again, Swolte pulled out all the stops and included unique events and fun items. I especially like the dwarven gate! And the Whelans.... forget about it.
Map Design: 5
Man does Swolte make beautiful maps. I can only imagine how much effort Swolte put into making every hex perfect.
Story/Instructions: 5
Another great story. Well crafted and fun to play out.
Additional Comments: Another fabulous map by Swolte. This was an incredibly fun map to play, and quite addictive. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys monster heroes and tough gameplay.
[Edited on 02/14/05 @ 10:50 PM]
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| potbellytoad |
Posted on 02/19/05 @ 12:23 PM
(Insert Playability analysis here)
Balance: 5
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 5
(Insert Creativity analysis here)
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 5
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
extrememly fun and addicting--easily spent over 30+ hours playing |
| patknight |
Posted on 03/14/05 @ 05:14 PM
Well done. Lots of extra bonus material.
Balance: 5
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 5
Beautiful.
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 5
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
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| Pecio |
Posted on 04/17/05 @ 09:41 AM |
| Pecio |
Posted on 06/05/05 @ 12:10 PM |
| Skafloc |
Posted on 08/18/05 @ 12:31 PM
(Insert Playability analysis here)
Balance: 4
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 4
(Insert Creativity analysis here)
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 4
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
great map
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| Alex Mars |
Posted on 08/27/05 @ 05:08 PM
Too many settlements with limited build capability scattered to far apart to build effective armies
Balance: 2
No place to build level 4 troops but you have to fight level 4s in increasing numbers
Creativity: 5
Very interesting map concept
Map Design: 5
Very nice map layout
Story/Instructions: 5
Nice backstory
Additional Comments:
This map shows the hazards of converting a MP map to SP without making adequate adjustments for the different type of gameplay.
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| cartonete |
Posted on 10/04/05 @ 09:34 AM
(Insert Playability analysis here)
Balance: 5
(Insert Balance analysis here)
Creativity: 5
(Insert Creativity analysis here)
Map Design: 5
(Insert Map Design analysis here)
Story/Instructions: 5
(Insert Story/Instructions analysis here)
Additional Comments:
Un gran escenario, los Heroes y objetos son nuevos y tienen nuevas habilidades.El mapa está muy trabajado, sin duda de los mejores que hay. |
| Pages: [1] 2 » Last » |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
| Rating |
|---|
| 4.8 | | Breakdown |
|---|
| Playability | 4.8 | | Balance | 4.3 | | Creativity | 4.9 | | Map Design | 5.0 | | Story/Instructions | 4.8 |
| Statistics |
| Downloads: | 10,752 |
| Favorites: [] | 0 |
| Size: | 0.99 MB |
| Added: | 01/06/05 |
| Updated: | 03/15/06 |
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