Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
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Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hello everyone,
inspired from the talk in the discussion about units and different perpective on the different cultures in Westnoth, I have created a rough outline for a campaign that has thematic roots in stories about colonialism. Please consider the draft here a first iteration, because it's not yet done with an eye on gameplay but more on story. Also, I'm not quite sure how well it meshes with standing lore and where it could fit into the history of Wesnoth.
I would be really gratful for feedback. If there is some interest, I'm quite willing to flesh it out further and see if I can help implementing it.
inspired from the talk in the discussion about units and different perpective on the different cultures in Westnoth, I have created a rough outline for a campaign that has thematic roots in stories about colonialism. Please consider the draft here a first iteration, because it's not yet done with an eye on gameplay but more on story. Also, I'm not quite sure how well it meshes with standing lore and where it could fit into the history of Wesnoth.
I would be really gratful for feedback. If there is some interest, I'm quite willing to flesh it out further and see if I can help implementing it.
Campaign Outline: A Northern Colony
Setting and Themes
Characters
First Arc: The Northern Colony
Second Arc: Chaos - Empathic
Second Arc: Chaos - Lawful
Third Arc: Civil War - Empathic
Third Arc: Civil War - Lawful
Last edited by SaloGhost on May 31st, 2018, 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hello everyone,
just to give a short overview of my schedule:
I have decided to train myself by making the missions 4-6 into a mini-campaign ("Orcish memories") and implementing them as playable scenarios to have a better idea about the required work and get a feel for the WML etc. - The storyboarding on these missions is about halfway done and I've started the implementation work.
In the meantime, I'll also work out the lore further, by setting up the elements that will play a role in the campaign. Today I present a short-story (in the style of a historical text) that represents my ideas about the human expedition and it's organization. As always, feedback is much appreciated.
A note: General Balthasar is the person that will later become "The Governor", while Lieutenant Casper will take the role of "The Commander". The other two Lieutenants will get minor roles in the campaign, if any.
My main goals with creating this structure were:
1) Give some vague way to measure military strength. "A company" implies a good few soldiers, but doesn't say exactly how many so I don't have to go into details how the units "on screen" translate into the numbers in the lore. But if I say "half the company was wiped out", the player can make an educated guess that it was a hurtful defeat as a half of a company is a sixth of the overall strength of the expedition.
2) Characterize the Expedition as an organized military force. Having structure and a chain of command with implied rules about decorum and functions helps set them up as the "lawful" faction within the defining choice of the campaign and differentiates them from other forces like the orcs (and civilians).
3) Give me some context for what I could expect to use as the "leader" of different sides in my scenarios. In the end I came up with:
a) General ("de facto Governor") = Overall commander. Takes the field very seldom. More someone who sits far behind the lines and moves bigger segments around. If he takes the field, he'll have a personal elite guard.
b) Lieutenant = Commander of a company. Will take the field when the main force of a company is engaged or when a mission is vitally important. May function as a secondary leader (or unit) in a scenario where the general is present.
c) Sergeant = Officer within a company. May take a leadership role when a detachement of a company is engaged and follows some objective of lesser important. Will take the field as a secondary leader (or unit) alongside the relevant Lieutenant.
A Note: These ranks do not mean that the character has to be represented as a Sergeant/Lieutenant/General unit type in game. They may use other types or even custom ones.
The next big step will be to update my starting post once I have finished my work on the storyboard for the orcish missions. I will add the names of the characters from this story in at the same time.
I appreciate every feedback, ideas, questions etc. This is a draft for the story and it is absolutely open to change.
Best regards.
just to give a short overview of my schedule:
I have decided to train myself by making the missions 4-6 into a mini-campaign ("Orcish memories") and implementing them as playable scenarios to have a better idea about the required work and get a feel for the WML etc. - The storyboarding on these missions is about halfway done and I've started the implementation work.
In the meantime, I'll also work out the lore further, by setting up the elements that will play a role in the campaign. Today I present a short-story (in the style of a historical text) that represents my ideas about the human expedition and it's organization. As always, feedback is much appreciated.
A note: General Balthasar is the person that will later become "The Governor", while Lieutenant Casper will take the role of "The Commander". The other two Lieutenants will get minor roles in the campaign, if any.
Also I don't think, much of this story will make it into the campaign, I think it serves well to establish certain facts.The formation of the „Northern Expedition Corps“
As the kingdom of Wesnoth planned the creation of its northern province, there was a clear need for a military force to accomplish the take-over of the land and guaranteeing the safety of the settlers there. After some deliberation, it was decided to form a new structure to oversee the whole endeavor of establishing the colony: The Northern Expedition Corps.
The man chosen to lead the corps was named Balthasar and he was a veteran of the Estmark, where he commanded the Eastern Outposts of the kingdom. He was known as an effective commander, but even more as an avid supporter of an expansionist policy for the kingdom. The Corps was an independent organization and responsible for a whole front section of the kingdoms borders. In accordance with decorum he was given the title of general.
To achieve the level of military power deemed necessary to carve out the province and guard its mountainous borders, three companies were placed under the command of the Expedition Corps:
Balthasars’ former command, the 11th company, made up of recruits from the Estmark and the riding clans of the region. It was lead by the newly promoted Lieutenant Casper, who took over command when Balthasar was promoted.
Then there was the 4th company under the command of Lieutenant Werner, who was also a white mage and one of the few practitioners of magic within the leadership of the wesnothian army. Before being assigned to the Expedition Corps, the 4th company was stationed in the northwestern part of the kingdom and responsible for the borders with the free city of Elensefar and the Forest of Wesmere.
Finally, the 2nd company under Lieutenant Otto, which had responsibilities along the coast of the great ocean was added to the Corps. While the unit was famed for its logistics and maneuvers it hadn’t seen serious combat for a while.
Additionally, a small detachment of the royal guard was given to the Expedition Corps to serve as the personal retinue of the general and guarantee his security.
The decision was met with protest by those advisors who favored a strategy to consolidate the holdings of the kingdom and prioritize inner security and well-defined borders over “military adventurism”. There were also those, whose lands were under protection of the reassigned companies, which were unhappy.
But in the end, the kings` decision proved final and the Expedition Corps assembled at the bay of pearls to be shipped northward. In its wake followed a host of settlers, hungry to make a future for themselves in the new lands.
My main goals with creating this structure were:
1) Give some vague way to measure military strength. "A company" implies a good few soldiers, but doesn't say exactly how many so I don't have to go into details how the units "on screen" translate into the numbers in the lore. But if I say "half the company was wiped out", the player can make an educated guess that it was a hurtful defeat as a half of a company is a sixth of the overall strength of the expedition.
2) Characterize the Expedition as an organized military force. Having structure and a chain of command with implied rules about decorum and functions helps set them up as the "lawful" faction within the defining choice of the campaign and differentiates them from other forces like the orcs (and civilians).
3) Give me some context for what I could expect to use as the "leader" of different sides in my scenarios. In the end I came up with:
a) General ("de facto Governor") = Overall commander. Takes the field very seldom. More someone who sits far behind the lines and moves bigger segments around. If he takes the field, he'll have a personal elite guard.
b) Lieutenant = Commander of a company. Will take the field when the main force of a company is engaged or when a mission is vitally important. May function as a secondary leader (or unit) in a scenario where the general is present.
c) Sergeant = Officer within a company. May take a leadership role when a detachement of a company is engaged and follows some objective of lesser important. Will take the field as a secondary leader (or unit) alongside the relevant Lieutenant.
A Note: These ranks do not mean that the character has to be represented as a Sergeant/Lieutenant/General unit type in game. They may use other types or even custom ones.
The next big step will be to update my starting post once I have finished my work on the storyboard for the orcish missions. I will add the names of the characters from this story in at the same time.
I appreciate every feedback, ideas, questions etc. This is a draft for the story and it is absolutely open to change.
Best regards.
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
This sounds quite interesting, I like how much work you have put into the background already.
I wonder, what exactly is the goal you want to achieve by having this particular subject? It's not very clear to me what's your story about - that is, not literally what happens, but do you want the player to take away from it. It's clear to me that unlike most campaigns in Wesnoth (which, let's face it, usually consist of very fan-fiction level of writing) you want to tell something and not just provide pure entertainment.
I'm asking about this, because it seems to me that by choosing this topic you are taking a huge risk of getting into cliches and a superficial view on colonialism, known from lots of movies like Pocahontas or Avatar. I'm not even sure how it would be possible to not get similar result in Wesnoth, which doesn't really have that many story-telling tools at its disposal.
I wonder, what exactly is the goal you want to achieve by having this particular subject? It's not very clear to me what's your story about - that is, not literally what happens, but do you want the player to take away from it. It's clear to me that unlike most campaigns in Wesnoth (which, let's face it, usually consist of very fan-fiction level of writing) you want to tell something and not just provide pure entertainment.
I'm asking about this, because it seems to me that by choosing this topic you are taking a huge risk of getting into cliches and a superficial view on colonialism, known from lots of movies like Pocahontas or Avatar. I'm not even sure how it would be possible to not get similar result in Wesnoth, which doesn't really have that many story-telling tools at its disposal.
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hi Landiss,
first of all thanks for replying. I really appreciate that.
Regarding your question, I actually chose two themes for the campaign which interconnect (and are basically present in most stories about colonialism, as you have pointed out): The first one is about stereotyping other cultures, making wrong (and sometimes right) assumptions and the ensuing conflict. The other one is about which set of morals we follow. Do we follow some personal moral/ethical compas or do we conform to the expections of society?(Although I have desribed the sides as "Good" and "Lawful" because of the classical alignement scheme, but in the end it is not my goal to say that the "good" side is the right one, I hope that comes across.)
Why did I chose these themes? Basically the first thing I got pointed to when I arrived here and offered my skills as a writer was the "Wesnoth unit description rework" and the associated discussion of bias in the descriptions (against orcs, towards elves/Humans). And I thought it would be a valuable addition to discuss this questions within the medium and through it's story instead of just on a meta-level.
My basic goal is to make the player think about the basic themes that are underpining the story. About the Pros and Cons, by showing him different perspectives of the matter (and forcing him to decide which major viewpoint he wants to share). I think I would have done a good job if he can say in the end "I can understand where both sides are coming from" and if different people would prefer different sides (like not all think one of them is designed to be "the ones the author agrees with and morally superior").
I also think there is a certain value in just posing the question against the typical black-and-white of simple High-Fantasy stories, even if it will not be on the same level of complexity as a novel about the same thing could achieve (or a film or any other medium). I do think however that games have some storytelling-modes that are inaccesible for most mediums in that the player has a certain amount of potential to influence what's happening.
So, coming to the harder question: How do I avoid certain problems inherent to the genre? Well, some of the usual tropes I will not avoid but consciously use. I mean, certain beats in this kind of story are there for a reason and it would make it kinda strange if they were absent. Having the conquerors at large not trying to dehumanize their victims (as "monsters" and "beasts" in the case of the orcs, but generally as someone who doesn't stand on the same level as themselves) would probably make for a very interesting story, but it also would probably drain out the conflict necessary for the central story to get under way.
What I do plan to do however is to not unilaterally side with the "home crowd" against the "invasion force". Not even with those who advocate cooperation over conflict. But paint a picture of both their civilizations and compare their shortcomings. I mean, I could write it with the "good" faction being the good guys of the story. Helping the misunderstood "primitives" against oppression by the "advanced" power. But that's not what I'm going for.
Orcs are impulsive, warlike and aggresive. Not some tribes that just life peacefully and never disturb each other or nature. Orcish children have to fight for survival and their place in society and when they fail they must fall in line and/or die. If you repress them (as the expedition force does) and then free them (as the "rebels" do), they don't seek to just resume their life and walk away. They unleash hell against their former captors.
Yes, ending the oppression and not being part of a system that chains and violates a whole race is a noble choice. But on the same hand, the people making that choice betray their own country and start a civil war that claims a huge number of lifes (including many of their former comrades) and it ends in death and disgrace, although they can send of some to freedom. Continuing the system would probably lead to the creation of enduring slavery and oppresive institutions, but the toll on the lifes of soldiers and civilians (and even on the slaves themselves) may have been aoided.
Well, many of these things will have to be carefully balanced in the actual texts, but that's basically what I'm going for. This got a bit longer then I expected. Really happy to discuss it (and if you or anyone have feedback/ideas/comments, it's all subject to change).
Best regards
first of all thanks for replying. I really appreciate that.
Regarding your question, I actually chose two themes for the campaign which interconnect (and are basically present in most stories about colonialism, as you have pointed out): The first one is about stereotyping other cultures, making wrong (and sometimes right) assumptions and the ensuing conflict. The other one is about which set of morals we follow. Do we follow some personal moral/ethical compas or do we conform to the expections of society?(Although I have desribed the sides as "Good" and "Lawful" because of the classical alignement scheme, but in the end it is not my goal to say that the "good" side is the right one, I hope that comes across.)
Why did I chose these themes? Basically the first thing I got pointed to when I arrived here and offered my skills as a writer was the "Wesnoth unit description rework" and the associated discussion of bias in the descriptions (against orcs, towards elves/Humans). And I thought it would be a valuable addition to discuss this questions within the medium and through it's story instead of just on a meta-level.
My basic goal is to make the player think about the basic themes that are underpining the story. About the Pros and Cons, by showing him different perspectives of the matter (and forcing him to decide which major viewpoint he wants to share). I think I would have done a good job if he can say in the end "I can understand where both sides are coming from" and if different people would prefer different sides (like not all think one of them is designed to be "the ones the author agrees with and morally superior").
I also think there is a certain value in just posing the question against the typical black-and-white of simple High-Fantasy stories, even if it will not be on the same level of complexity as a novel about the same thing could achieve (or a film or any other medium). I do think however that games have some storytelling-modes that are inaccesible for most mediums in that the player has a certain amount of potential to influence what's happening.
So, coming to the harder question: How do I avoid certain problems inherent to the genre? Well, some of the usual tropes I will not avoid but consciously use. I mean, certain beats in this kind of story are there for a reason and it would make it kinda strange if they were absent. Having the conquerors at large not trying to dehumanize their victims (as "monsters" and "beasts" in the case of the orcs, but generally as someone who doesn't stand on the same level as themselves) would probably make for a very interesting story, but it also would probably drain out the conflict necessary for the central story to get under way.
What I do plan to do however is to not unilaterally side with the "home crowd" against the "invasion force". Not even with those who advocate cooperation over conflict. But paint a picture of both their civilizations and compare their shortcomings. I mean, I could write it with the "good" faction being the good guys of the story. Helping the misunderstood "primitives" against oppression by the "advanced" power. But that's not what I'm going for.
Orcs are impulsive, warlike and aggresive. Not some tribes that just life peacefully and never disturb each other or nature. Orcish children have to fight for survival and their place in society and when they fail they must fall in line and/or die. If you repress them (as the expedition force does) and then free them (as the "rebels" do), they don't seek to just resume their life and walk away. They unleash hell against their former captors.
Yes, ending the oppression and not being part of a system that chains and violates a whole race is a noble choice. But on the same hand, the people making that choice betray their own country and start a civil war that claims a huge number of lifes (including many of their former comrades) and it ends in death and disgrace, although they can send of some to freedom. Continuing the system would probably lead to the creation of enduring slavery and oppresive institutions, but the toll on the lifes of soldiers and civilians (and even on the slaves themselves) may have been aoided.
Well, many of these things will have to be carefully balanced in the actual texts, but that's basically what I'm going for. This got a bit longer then I expected. Really happy to discuss it (and if you or anyone have feedback/ideas/comments, it's all subject to change).
Best regards
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hey Saloghost, thanks for detailed answer. I have to say I am now even more interested what will come out of this.
Some things to consider:
- portraying racists as simply evil people who simply do cruel things because they can (Governor seems to be like this), it's easy to make racism look simply as a character flaw, while historically speaking, it was a cultural flaw. The whole societies were/are racists and it's something that a really decent person could do as well, to some extent. For example, a governor who believed he was doing orcs a favour by forcefully "educating" their young with cruel methods, let's say by removing their canine tooths to get rid of their "inhuman, savage instincts" would be much more interesting to me. Someone so strongly believing that orcs are inferior they need to be led by human, for their own good, by force if necessary.
- in general I would go for a baseline model of racism for all the human characters in the story. Almost everyone should be racist and seeing orcs not as someone inferior should be an exception and be treated with shock by other humans. However, what they do on that racist basis could be different. Maybe some character would want to get rid of all the orcs while someone else sees them as useful workforce that need to be treated well, just out of an economic calculation.
- let's not forget about orcs themselves - they should be as varied as their human opponents. There could be orcs selling other orcs into slavery, for example. There could be orcs working for humans at their own free will for a payment (not slaves) etc.
Of course I realize this might be too much for the scope of the campaign, I'm just spitting out ideas that came to my mind while reading your posts.
Some things to consider:
- portraying racists as simply evil people who simply do cruel things because they can (Governor seems to be like this), it's easy to make racism look simply as a character flaw, while historically speaking, it was a cultural flaw. The whole societies were/are racists and it's something that a really decent person could do as well, to some extent. For example, a governor who believed he was doing orcs a favour by forcefully "educating" their young with cruel methods, let's say by removing their canine tooths to get rid of their "inhuman, savage instincts" would be much more interesting to me. Someone so strongly believing that orcs are inferior they need to be led by human, for their own good, by force if necessary.
- in general I would go for a baseline model of racism for all the human characters in the story. Almost everyone should be racist and seeing orcs not as someone inferior should be an exception and be treated with shock by other humans. However, what they do on that racist basis could be different. Maybe some character would want to get rid of all the orcs while someone else sees them as useful workforce that need to be treated well, just out of an economic calculation.
- let's not forget about orcs themselves - they should be as varied as their human opponents. There could be orcs selling other orcs into slavery, for example. There could be orcs working for humans at their own free will for a payment (not slaves) etc.
Of course I realize this might be too much for the scope of the campaign, I'm just spitting out ideas that came to my mind while reading your posts.
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
You know, that's the thing. Sometimes strange is better than the established tropes.SaloGhost wrote: ↑May 22nd, 2018, 10:40 pm So, coming to the harder question: How do I avoid certain problems inherent to the genre? Well, some of the usual tropes I will not avoid but consciously use. I mean, certain beats in this kind of story are there for a reason and it would make it kinda strange if they were absent.
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hello BTIsaac,
I do aknowledge that going for different ideas at times is beneficial (and try to do that where I think it is sensible). I also think there are instances where you play some tropes straight is the way to tell your story.
If you want to suggest certain tropes or story beat's I should subvert or avoid, feel free to do so. I have an open mind on the issue.
Beste regards
I do aknowledge that going for different ideas at times is beneficial (and try to do that where I think it is sensible). I also think there are instances where you play some tropes straight is the way to tell your story.
If you want to suggest certain tropes or story beat's I should subvert or avoid, feel free to do so. I have an open mind on the issue.
Beste regards
Re: Rough outline for a campaign "The northern province"
Hi everyone,
after taking into account various feedback I have started to refine and rewrite parts of the story. As such, I updated the first post a bit:
Content:
1) Added rough estimates for location and timeframe (there will be a few changes necessary to accommodate that): Golden age and Northwestern mark.
2) Renamed the “good” path to “empathic”.
3) Expanded the characterization and background of the main cast.
4) Added in names across the board.
5) Added in the minor Lieutenants (Otto and Werner) and gave them a bit of characterization.
6) Renamed Missions 4-6.
7) Named the mountain pass “Elornas’ Passage” (and will for the moment presume it is the mountain pass Elornas used in "An Orcish Incursion".
Technical:
1) Introduced a „Section“-structure to the main post to improve readability.
The next step will be to rewrite and expand the Orcish memories to include the work I've done while fleshing them out to be the test-case mini-campaign. Also, I want to write a bit about the history and other fluff of the 7th company.
Farther out I want to do a bigger rewrite of the first portion of the campaign to push the decision point a bit further back and make the pressure that leads to the split a bit higher. I may also switch over to a two-arc structure at that point (having two arcs of about equal length with around 9-10 missions each, the second of which would be divided between the two lines).
Feedback and such is still much appreciated!
Best regards
after taking into account various feedback I have started to refine and rewrite parts of the story. As such, I updated the first post a bit:
Content:
1) Added rough estimates for location and timeframe (there will be a few changes necessary to accommodate that): Golden age and Northwestern mark.
2) Renamed the “good” path to “empathic”.
3) Expanded the characterization and background of the main cast.
4) Added in names across the board.
5) Added in the minor Lieutenants (Otto and Werner) and gave them a bit of characterization.
6) Renamed Missions 4-6.
7) Named the mountain pass “Elornas’ Passage” (and will for the moment presume it is the mountain pass Elornas used in "An Orcish Incursion".
Technical:
1) Introduced a „Section“-structure to the main post to improve readability.
The next step will be to rewrite and expand the Orcish memories to include the work I've done while fleshing them out to be the test-case mini-campaign. Also, I want to write a bit about the history and other fluff of the 7th company.
Farther out I want to do a bigger rewrite of the first portion of the campaign to push the decision point a bit further back and make the pressure that leads to the split a bit higher. I may also switch over to a two-arc structure at that point (having two arcs of about equal length with around 9-10 missions each, the second of which would be divided between the two lines).
Feedback and such is still much appreciated!
Best regards