Return to Noelren 0.7.6

[Njord]

Hi! I'm on Alnoth Island, Tiomen is standing over by the fire ready to make weapons and the water sprite is on the keep. I've got 200 dollars. It seems like Tolivia should be able to recruit mermen (otherwise who'll use the tridents?) and all I get after the recruit button is "you have no available units to recruit". What happened? Where did I go wrong? Thanks

[pyrophorus]

Hi! I'm on Alnoth Island, Tiomen is standing over by the fire ready to make weapons and the water sprite is on the keep. I've got 200 dollars. It seems like Tolivia should be able to recruit mermen (otherwise who'll use the tridents?) and all I get after the recruit button is "you have no available units to recruit". What happened? Where did I go wrong? Thanks

You didn't anything wrong, it's a bug...
Many thanks for reporting it, because it's blocking.

You can upgrade (I uploaded a correction), or if your prefer, replace the scenario file with this one,

050-AlnothIsland.cfg.zip

(3.38 KiB) Downloaded 334 times

in the add-on folder.

Sorry for the inconvenience... I hope you'll enjoy the campaign to the end without more problem.

Friendly,

[Njord]

Thanks! That did the trick. I'm in the middle of the caves scenario now and enjoying it a lot. There are a lot of nifty things there I haven't seen before.

Hi! I'm on Alnoth Island, Tiomen is standing over by the fire ready to make weapons and the water sprite is on the keep. I've got 200 dollars. It seems like Tolivia should be able to recruit mermen (otherwise who'll use the tridents?) and all I get after the recruit button is "you have no available units to recruit". What happened? Where did I go wrong? Thanks

You didn't anything wrong, it's a bug...
Many thanks for reporting it, because it's blocking.

You can upgrade (I uploaded a correction), or if your prefer, replace the scenario file with this one,

050-AlnothIsland.cfg.zip

in the add-on folder.

Sorry for the inconvenience... I hope you'll enjoy the campaign to the end without more problem.

Friendly,

[pyrophorus]

Thanks! That did the trick. I'm in the middle of the caves scenario now and enjoying it a lot. There are a lot of nifty things there I haven't seen before.

... and there's a lot more new things (at least one in each scenario). I hope you'll enjoy them.
Thanks for your appreciation. It's always fine to get some news from someone playing the campaign.

Friendly,

[nathanson1947]

I just finished the campaign, and found it quite interesting. It encouraged me to think outside of the box. For example, there was one scenario which began with only Tiomen, Tolivia, Wulfie, and the wagon. The objective was to defeat a whole bunch of Nagas. It at first seemed impossible, since neither Tiomen or Tolivia was able to recruit or recall any units. But then I found that right-clicking on Tolivia enabled her to summon wave units, and these were able to defeat the Nagas.

Similarly, when the objective was to kill all the enemy units, I had to learn to keep Lestival away from the fighting, since she would petrify units, which would prevent them from being killed and prevent the scenario from ending.

[pyrophorus]

I just finished the campaign, and found it quite interesting. It encouraged me to think outside of the box. For example, there was one scenario which began with only Tiomen, Tolivia, Wulfie, and the wagon. The objective was to defeat a whole bunch of Nagas. It at first seemed impossible, since neither Tiomen or Tolivia was able to recruit or recall any units. But then I found that right-clicking on Tolivia enabled her to summon wave units, and these were able to defeat the Nagas.

Similarly, when the objective was to kill all the enemy units, I had to learn to keep Lestival away from the fighting, since she would petrify units, which would prevent them from being killed and prevent the scenario from ending.

Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed the campaign !

Friendly,

[pauline]

I´m a fan of BfW, I like the philosophy, the environment, its thousand and one different sagas and the more classical style and game rules.
However, I´m also fond of variety, creativity and innovation. Reviews like "extra-ordinary " or "fantastic stuff I've never seen before " or
"the whole campaign is strange " sound perfect to me, a project that deserves attention and support.
So, I´m going to post my experience while playing along, unaware of coming events and the ending.
(Otherwise I might just end up with s.th. general like "Great job – Too difficult – So boring " and go for the next adventure.)
Surely, most of the issues that trouble me are already reported and you, pyrophorus,
might consider the opinion of a medium player (at the most) and my personal feelings about your campaign constructive or outdated.
As someone who enjoys this game very much without being able to offer some skill in return
I appreciate and admire your contribution to BfW and your efforts nevertheless. Thanks a lot !!!

pauline - RtN v0.7.7 * BfW v1.10.6 * Single Player * Level Medium

[pauline]

Ref: http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php ... 48#p560848

Introduction
* An eye-candy opening
* A welcome summary of history, recalling events that induce the story to be told for those who aren´t expert on the thousands of years of BfW-chronicle
* A start option ... Why skip the first part ? Where does the second part begin ? At the first playthrough some detail would be nice.
* Hints+Help in a special context menu ... Very interesting, but I certainly won´t need guidance on playing anymore. Oh well ...
* The "difficulty"-options usually differ on damage, health or number of enemies. In RtN there seems to be another factor:

• That smart hint "Full magic" sounds like new experience on art work and increases already the replay value.
  To check it out I´ve to play the campaign at least twice !

S1 (A sad story)
* Funniest task at the start of a campaign I´ve seen so far: Defeat =That´s it ? End of the Campaign ?
* A Mayor in command of a village rather than military or aristocracy, nice touch.
* Supreme fire-raising-artwork !
* Player´s control of an auto-battle with quite some options:

• Ignoring the hero´s lack of desire for high deeds: He quits hammering in 4 turns while his compatriots haven´t even moved.
  The boss of the rescue team got blinded by his success : "Quite nobody survived." With a whole bunch of jolly villagers in sight ?

• Done with the run for glory, a tactic that meets the hero´s trait of character: lure and distraction: Not "quite " but absolutely nobody survived.

• Out of frustration the Blacksmith betrays his people grabbing villages: No carry over of gold.

• Provoked to such an extent, the once peaceful man rises above himself, becomes a guerrilla and later even a Bandit.
  If he didn´t loose sledge-hammer and dexterity, who knows ... he might run out of turns, the elves wouldn´t show up
  and I´ld miss their efficiency and double-attack-ability.

• The inevitable destruction of a his nice home might as well lead to total numbness, flight or hiding in the woods ... Well, the outcome is the same.

S2 (Glynn forest)
Master Blacksmith is an outlaw now, certainly a more adequate profession for his new life in the woods. Nevertheless: Living with elves is not easy .
It obviously has dire consequences concerning our young hero´s aging process !

Spoiler:

1.png (63.42 KiB) Viewed 7127 times

"By Haldric's onions ! Now that I took off that stupid hood and look at you ... "
Looking at his image and mulling over the "Else, you chose wrongly "-stuff makes me answer Lestiviel´s question: "You think I'm too young ?" with YES.
The Blacksmith/Thug doesn´t match either. Even Tallin (RotN) looks old next to THAT sweet maiden.
There´s obviously a lack of young, handsome "servant knights" for the new generation of BfW-Lolitas. LordBob, HELP !!!
For the time being, I´ld cut Tiomen´s attribute "young".
He´s still got dexterity in case the plot needs him to please the "charming women in the campaign"...

About the mysterious events of this scenario:

• Impelled by the objective and scared of the darkness my too clever, practical Ranger ignores the girl´s suspicion of a trap and urges to go home.
  No way out. Hmm, … what am I supposed to be doing again ?
  Did I ever say I wouldn´t need "Hints+Help" ? Well, here we go ... I´ld never dare to have my protégés desecrate a monument with such a
  weighty foreign name and spill its water ... if it wasn´t for the useful contextual info about objectives !!!

• New goal is clear, now they only have to bear the consequences of bad behavior at a sanctuary ... High Five for that hint !
  They´re on guard, but how to trick the guard ? Movement is limited, Lestiviel can´t lure him into the pond, he isn´t interested in a
  knightly romance either, Tiomen (paralyzed with terror) inanimately draws his bow but by "full magic" might be successful nevertheless.
  With luck they only suffer heavy damage and don´t hesitate anymore to seek cure at the spa. Oh gawd ! ...
  Sharpened punishment for bathing in the holy water.
  In teamwork the twosome might beat Aethercyn, Aethugwyn, Addroryrcyn and more guys with unpronounceable names and become stronger:
  Tiomen might reach the HP of an Ancient Lich, gain seven league boots or turn into a martial arts expert. GREAT !

• The kind man seems to be ashamed of becoming such a quarrelsome fellow : He takes his knock out as mute as a maggot.
  Lestiviel at least laments a dead duck ... I´m not sure if this refers to Tiomen or who/what else she was after for.

• During the tour, the mage explains "These worlds are like sheets in a book ... thin like cigarette paper "
  Can´t believe they know cigarette paper in Wesnoth, not even in some parallel world.

• The mage is lost outside his private world, the Unicorn takes over and leads ... Yep, right to the bad guys.
  "Come! Come!" they shout and retreat, waiting to be attacked ... Very tricky !!! To deal with the scum, figure out the scheme of the Shaman´s
  special attack (not mentioned in her profile) or how to move around an obstacle are really interesting quests here – especially on NORMAL or HARD.

• I hope there´ll be background on this Elvish High-Lord over the course of the story so I can update my BfW-chronic.

• Finding a battle axe from a parallel world seems to be only of archaeological interest. Though asked to take and later keep the arm,
  it disappears from Tiomen´s weapon menu when the scenario fades out. Why ? A blacksmith should be able to sharpen and use it !

• Finally they are to follow the Unicorn to the West. But – assumed the puzzled Mage is able to make it back to his hut of lust –
  I feel sympathy for the poor Naiads and sent the trio directly north. So, what happens to him after witnessing Lestiviel´s vote of no-confidence ?

• And what secret is Tiomen supposed to keep ? The fact of carrying a rusty axe ? The knowledge of parallel worlds ? Their meeting ?
  The girl´s flirting, coquetry, toying or whatever ? Did he have a moment of weakness at last in some shrouded corner ?
  Did he accept the offered reward for playing a servant knight ?
  Important points of the story, that should not remain obscure ! Especially what refers to Lestiviel ...

Spoiler:

pyrophorus already offered some background and explanation regarding the feelings and intentions of under-aged females.
I understand and appreciate his intention to escape the classical BfW-style by an innovative form of story telling and unusual events.
Nevertheless, I´m glad that taptap stated his opinion about the "love interest of a child".
I feel somehow disturbed myself and was wondering if I was already an old-maidish, prudish relic of the past ... maybe I am.
But imo, Lestiviel is not innocent at all. I can´t help to suspect:
Taking the initiative and blandishing a much older man is not out of platonic ambitions.
The young lady wouldn´t ask, if Tiomen considered her "too young " for just having romantic dreams, would she ?
Also, far of being overcharged, shocked or ashamed of her own decency, she seems to have pretty good knowledge and understanding
when it comes to imagine what kind of studies might go on in the cozy den of iniquity of that skilled [dirty old man ] and his four gentle mates.
As an example of true innocence: I myself did NOT immediately jump to this sort of conclusions when the jiggling, wiggling Naiads appeared ...
And demanding a kiss at the end strengthens the impression that the "little scoundrel " knows very well what she wants.
Considering her very good looks on top of it, one has to admire our hero for his steadfastness, behaving really like a father or an elder brother.

However, one has to wonder : A simple blacksmith (ranger) of a tiny gossip-village being piqued about "indiscrete " questions ... ?
His expertness on the secret thoughts of "many young girls " ... ?
How old is he in fact ? OK, "young" is a matter of opinion. Compared to another young, homeless wanderer at the same time, 450 years old Kalenz,
Tiomen is a hatchling ... even if he was 50. But the discrepancies between this couple´s appearances and way of talk remain.
Out of question: The Shaman in the recommended BfW-default graphic looks nice and very young, too.
On the other hand, discarding the pretty lassie´s present portrait seems an unnecessary waste to me.
I´ld rather alternate the dialogs a little and cut all erotic references ... until the girl is 5 years older. As for the Naiads:
They´re already "tired of this old fellow ".The ugly bald head proving "to be very active " is surely "a glimpse of something in the past ".
Our respectable Tiomen is anyway smart enough not to force up Lestiviel´s jealousy or willing to please the bored Nymphs.
And I wonder how many players know the meaning of a "thébaïde " ... Well, I had to look it up.

So, imo, these lines are not absolutely necessary at this level of the story.
Out of trend-players (like me) would worry less about corruption of morals in BfW.

S3 (On the road)
*The elvish landlord always charges to Tiomen´s savings account ! XP´s carried over, he got new garment but his earnings as a forest patrol: Gone.
* And so is the axe from the parallel world ... unless it´s hidden in the carriage.
* Are spirits or shamans with cure ability, magical aptitude and longevity prone to banal diseases such as flu ?
* Luckily the lame wagon speeds up, sticking to its owner who might´ve gained himself new running shoes. I hope this is intended.
* The powerful monster ally is a welcome surprise. But why did he attack the coach first ? Well, answer might be provided in a later scenarios.
* The technical part of making a fire is a complete mystery to me, this option doesn´t show in the unit menu.
* Thanks to the skillful guy from Tath ! And a horse strong enough to pull a heavily loaded chariot with an infinite supply for bomb planters.

• To train my hero I replayed this scenario uncountable times. First he accidentally destroyed the whole village (no survivors),
  then he turned the whole map into a bomb-wrecked desert. Yeah, he didn´t turn into an explosion expert ... but it was a lot of fun !!!
  I only missed the BANG-sound. Or would those multiple bomb-raids ruin the background music ?

PS – 2 days later:
Hallo world, finally made it to a higher degree of enlightenment: I can make fire ... thanks to lynx who achieved this ability a year ago by paying more attention to the surroundings. Though [not intended for Online Help ], pyrophorus, this thread is a source of illumination after all and it seems one can not pay enough attention to the useful Hints+Help (and its description !). You [think the menu isn't necessary ] ? THIS riddle, at least, was to complex for me to solve it by myself, I´m glad you pointed to the solution: Wouldn´t want have missed this fantastic artwork that challenged my computer´s firewall, barely able to prevent the BfW-menu bar from melting away when the flames reached the top of the screen. Very, very well done !!!


That´s it for now. I´m looking forward to playing the next scenarios of this promising campaign.
So far I´m not let down and enjoyed every moment "on the hook".

pauline
RtN v0.7.7 / BfW v1.10.6 / Single Player / Level Medium

[pyrophorus]

Hi !

First of all, thanks for your detailed comments !
Next, I wonder how many new flaws you will find in my campaign, and I collapse out of confusion. Is it really so bad ? At least, it's playable, but not finished and polished. Some parts were written when I knew very little WML and never reviewed.
Anyway, I will desperatly try to save something of the wreckage...

Introduction
<snip>
* The "difficulty"-options usually differ on damage, health or number of enemies. In RtN there seems to be another factor:

• That smart hint "Full magic" sounds like new experience on art work and increases already the replay value.
  To check it out I´ve to play the campaign at least twice !

- The various difficulty levels are not fully implemented yet. All the magics implemented here result in overpowered units, and many players don't like it. So, in the 'Hard' level, I will suppress or weaken most of them. Less funny IMO, but...

S1 (A sad story)

• Ignoring the hero´s lack of desire for high deeds: He quits hammering in 4 turns while his compatriots haven´t even moved.
  The boss of the rescue team got blinded by his success : "Quite nobody survived." With a whole bunch of jolly villagers in sight ?

• Done with the run for glory, a tactic that meets the hero´s trait of character: lure and distraction: Not "quite " but absolutely nobody survived.

- OK, I will count the remaining villagers and change the sentence accordingly. BTW, you need no gold in the first part, because you can't recruit anyone. Actually, the usual recruitment thing is rather absurd to me (storywise speaking): if you settle in a town or at least in open country, one can imagine there's people willing to fight for you here, but in the frozen wilderness or in the deepest of a cave ?

<snip>
S2 (Glynn forest)
Master Blacksmith is an outlaw now,

No, no, no... The fact is I lack a good set of portraits for Tiomen, and this is misleading. But, more of this later...

I will reviewed this level to prevent events triggering before the ghost meeting. But I wonder how you managed to reach the magician pond *before* the elves slaughter all the enemies (It takes three or four turns at most). Same with the quick move feature. It has strange effects: when moving units by program, the game engine always finds a path to execute it, even through impassable terrain, so one can escape the maze using it cleverly, but of course, it should be impossible.

<snip>

• And what secret is Tiomen supposed to keep ? The fact of carrying a rusty axe ? The knowledge of parallel worlds ? Their meeting ?
  The girl´s flirting, coquetry, toying or whatever ? Did he have a moment of weakness at last in some shrouded corner ?
  Did he accept the offered reward for playing a servant knight ?
  Important points of the story, that should not remain obscure ! Especially what refers to Lestiviel ...

pyrophorus already offered some background and explanation regarding the feelings and intentions of under-aged females.
I understand and appreciate his intention to escape the classical BfW-style by an innovative form of story telling and unusual events.
Nevertheless, I´m glad that taptap stated his opinion about the "love interest of a child".
I feel somehow disturbed myself and was wondering if I was already an old-maidish, prudish relic of the past ... maybe I am.
But imo, Lestiviel is not innocent at all. I can´t help to suspect:
Taking the initiative and blandishing a much older man is not out of platonic ambitions.
The young lady wouldn´t ask, if Tiomen considered her "too young " for just having romantic dreams, would she ?
Also, far of being overcharged, shocked or ashamed of her own decency, she seems to have pretty good knowledge and understanding
when it comes to imagine what kind of studies might go on in the cozy den of iniquity of that skilled [dirty old man ] and his four gentle mates.
As an example of true innocence: I myself did NOT immediately jump to this sort of conclusions when the jiggling, wiggling Naiads appeared ...
And demanding a kiss at the end strengthens the impression that the "little scoundrel " knows very well what she wants.
Considering her very good looks on top of it, one has to admire our hero for his steadfastness, behaving really like a father or an elder brother.
<snip>
Out of trend-players (like me) would worry less about corruption of morals in BfW.

I don't see why this looks so strange to you (and others). I met many young girls like Lestiviel.
In my experience, women (underaged or not) all ask the same things: true love or only admiration. True love is mainly a faithful hand to catch in difficult times and a voice saying "Stand firm and keep being yourself, I'm by your side whatever will happen.". And maybe a companion to new and marvelous experiences. Admiration is only the superficial look of true love, but many don't kow and are satisfied with it. Lestiviel is an orphan who feels threatened and lonely, so it's not surprising she is searching for something more serious than mere admiration.
Here, as a man, you're at the crossroad: you can listen to your own desires and get the girl to some shrouded corner (or reject her if she's not attractive enough to you) or do whatever you could have in mind. Or you can put your desires and ideas aside and try to reply to the hidden question: "Will you love me, as I am, too young and so on and so on, without any restriction ?", which is a much more difficult and serious endeavour. And here comes the difference: erotism or sex is not a marvelous experience to underaged girls as it can be to adult women, even if they can give the feeling they ask for it (under the hood, or out of innocence of course: asking for a kiss is not obviously asking for a french kiss or more). Guess which way Tiomen is going ? He denies the knight role because he haven't the look (and the will) to play it, but behaving like an elder brother is probably what the girl really needs and finally wants, isn't it ?

I find funny you caught erotic references where I put none, and none where they really are !

S3 (On the road)
*The elvish landlord always charges to Tiomen´s savings account ! XP´s carried over, he got new garment but his earnings as a forest patrol: Gone.
* And so is the axe from the parallel world ... unless it´s hidden in the carriage.
* Are spirits or shamans with cure ability, magical aptitude and longevity prone to banal diseases such as flu ?
* Luckily the lame wagon speeds up, sticking to its owner who might´ve gained himself new running shoes. I hope this is intended.
* The powerful monster ally is a welcome surprise. But why did he attack the coach first ? Well, answer might be provided in a later scenarios.
* The technical part of making a fire is a complete mystery to me, this option doesn´t show in the unit menu.
* Thanks to the skillful guy from Tath ! And a horse strong enough to pull a heavily loaded chariot with an infinite supply for bomb planters.

• To train my hero I replayed this scenario uncountable times. First he accidentally destroyed the whole village (no survivors),
  then he turned the whole map into a bomb-wrecked desert. Yeah, he didn´t turn into an explosion expert ... but it was a lot of fun !!!
  I only missed the BANG-sound. Or would those multiple bomb-raids ruin the background music ?

PS – 2 days later:
Hallo world, finally made it to a higher degree of enlightenment: I can make fire ... thanks to lynx who achieved this ability a year ago by paying more attention to the surroundings. Though [not intended for Online Help ], pyrophorus, this thread is a source of illumination after all and it seems one can not pay enough attention to the useful Hints+Help (and its description !). You [think the menu isn't necessary ] ? THIS riddle, at least, was to complex for me to solve it by myself, I´m glad you pointed to the solution: Wouldn´t want have missed this fantastic artwork that challenged my computer´s firewall, barely able to prevent the BfW-menu bar from melting away when the flames reached the top of the screen. Very, very well done !!!


That´s it for now. I´m looking forward to playing the next scenarios of this promising campaign.
So far I´m not let down and enjoyed every moment "on the hook".

pauline

About S3:
- Don't expect to get all the replies at once. Some of them will come later. The question about he wolf is not why he attacked the carriage (wolves are preying animals, don't they ?), but why he suddenly became an ally. (Reply in next scenario).
- It would be possible to "park" the player (using turn limit, gold, bomb number and so on) into a narrow path, but I don't want to. Of course, the side effect is it's quite impossible to set up a fully consistent behavior of the game against all what players can imagine and try. I will of course correct the ugliest flaws, but I don't expect to find them all. More of it, I'm really happy when someone reports here some strange idea like bombing all the map or giving the wolf a trident. Objectives and dialogs show an obvious way, and one shouldn't encounter flaws following it. But nothing will prevent you to explore the whole map, exterminate your allies, get infinite experience, gold and weapons. It's a game, and everyone should have fun as (s)he will !
- The online help: I think it's not needed, but some people like me, block at time on simple riddles and can't see what's obvious to others. Here they can find the exit before getting really mad with it.

Once again, many thanks for your feedback. Hope you'll enjoy next scenarios.
Friendly,

[pauline]

pyrophorus, very nice of you to listen to my comments, just don´t take them tooo serious.
I never said your campaign is bad or even a wreckage. Well, I never !!
Of course it´s playable, and fun for sure !
Sensitivity and diplomacy are certainly not my strong points,
but what might appear to you a bad write-up is my way to say: It´s good !
The mindset of women will always remain a mystery, you know ... not only with regard to erotic references.
All jesting aside, I wouldn´t spend much time to muse about something I´m not very interested in.
And keep in mind: It´s real-time feedback. Most of it doesn´t make sense once one knows what´s coming next.
So, on we go:


S4 (A winter trip / Winter journey)
* mysterious apparitions in a seemingly untroubled landscapes, striking pyrotechnics, phenomenal weather conditions, and a deadhead in lingerie ...

• The author is a master of distract ion: Brooding over imaginative events one realizes only later that a scenario has been cleared without the usual assault and battery.

* Wonted to "normal" BfW- objectives I see to get out the most of each encounter (= power&cash), surprisingly such efforts seem to be meaningless:

• Now as before my heroes´ achievements are not necessarily carried over to the next episode. Is this what nathanson perceived earlier as
  "[outside of the box ] ? Enjoy the "here and now" rather then "always be prepared" to fight and eliminate the evil from Irdya and Wesnoth ?

* It´s beginning to dawn on me : I might still be in the middle of the introduction of this campaign !

• The option to skip the first part might refer to [a story without any strategic concern] rather than "contents liable to corrupt the moral " !
  Well, I am not going to rush to judgment but can´t make up my mind either :
  Is the negligence to seize the potential opportunities for "action" - so far provided in each scenario – deplorable or not ?
  Will my hero suffer a psychic trauma in case his quite safe course of life will change in future and burden him with really dangerous missions ?

Either way, I DID enjoy the "chill out" in the mountains after the burning heat of Tath. Having the carriage unwittingly exposed to all kind of damage,
my young heroine´s capability of resistance in-between blacksmith tools and explosives is admirable. Yet, "full magic" seems to apply to the camp-fires, otherwise she´ld catch worse than a flew. I can hear taptap kidding: "Our BfW-girls got at least some decent, weather-proof robes, eh ?"


S5 (Grey Woods)
Nice story, gentle people, magic on a scarecrow, a battle against monsters ... Perfect. Still, the job comes with some small downsides.
Ecken can recruit (at the expense of Tiomen, of course, whose money pouch he´d mugged already in the last episode),
but my hero allegedly has no veterans to recall. So, where did the tamed Toredril-wolves got caught ?

OK, I´ve got elves and outlaws under the thumb and the Blacksmith receives a useful outfit and the special abilities that belong to it
(not that I hadn´t managed to get him an upgraded bow, too !!! ). A powerful army seems to be necessary:
For nature lovers to attack the wildlife in their forest, there must be a good reason, a menace of countless bats !
Thou Ecken and his men get stuck in the swamp right away, bomb raider Tiomen bustles to and fro, in very few turns all targets are blown up.
Have the elves ever witnessed such an outstanding engineering progress ? They should be more impressed with Tiomen´s skillfulness !

Instead, a unique question in BfW-history: "Should we kill the orcs ?"
Never ever having had such an option before, I was less interested in rusty swords than in the effect of a NO.
Would I be outlawed unanimously by the BfW-community ? Would the game uninstall itself from my computer ?
Let's see ! ... BANG, scenario over. Huh ??? What the hell ... > rollback > FTOAKTA.
The outlaws dawdle around, the curious elves are dicing with death,Tiomen puts on another show for his fan club.
Soon the anonymous orc and his riders follow the foul beasts to a parallel word of nanoparticles.
BANG, end of the story. Whole ensemble dispatched without ceremony ... as clear as mud .
Well then ? Did the women ever finish their tittle-tattle ? Where did the robbers go ? No goodbye to anyone ?

Exhausting all options I challenged the designer. It turned out: There is more behind the Hints&Help !
There might be clues that entail a response like: "What´s new ? I´m not a BfW-greenhorn!" or: "Too bad, now I know what´s coming ... "
But more often: "Merci bien ! I´ld never be able to bring home the bacon by myself ! "
And NOW there is this irresistible temptation: "DON´T do this or that ... It's no use." Ha, now more than ever !
Just a wrap-up (for the sake of the replay value): It´s worth one's while to turn the tables (objectives) !
The number of turns is perfectly good to attain all goals anyway, and one has to exploit the kind concession of XP-carry over.
Not only that this girl is better used to fight than to talk a blue streak, there are more surprises ...
So, pyrophorus, do you smartly draw red herrings across the track ?

Be that as it may, the Grey Woods are worth a trip !!!

pauline - RtN v0.7.7 * BfW v1.10.6 * Single Player * Level Medium

[pyrophorus]

Hi !
Some comments, but not on everything !

• The option to skip the first part might refer to [a story without any strategic concern] rather than "contents liable to corrupt the moral " !

No... But the second part of the story begins five years later. Since the campaign is still in progress, sometimes an update makes the savegames invalid. It could be boring to replay the whole campaign when interested only in the end. So there's is an alternate entry point.

Well, I am not going to rush to judgment but can´t make up my mind either :
Is the negligence to seize the potential opportunities for "action" - so far provided in each scenario – deplorable or not ?
Will my hero suffer a psychic trauma in case his quite safe course of life will change in future and burden him with really dangerous missions ?[/list]

No, you need not to train meticuloulsy your heroes and to worry too much about gold. It's not a difficult campaign.

S5 (Grey Woods)
So, where did the tamed Toredril-wolves got caught ?

They wisely remain in their home land. If the recall list were not emptied at times, it would grow insanely. It's a common problem with long campaigns. But, if you really want to keep the wolves and recall them, I can provide you a patch...

Have the elves ever witnessed such an outstanding engineering progress ? They should be more impressed with Tiomen´s skillfulness !

Tiomen and I hate dithyrambs.

Instead, a unique question in BfW-history: "Should we kill the orcs ?"
Never ever having had such an option before, I was less interested in rusty swords than in the effect of a NO.
Would I be outlawed unanimously by the BfW-community ? Would the game uninstall itself from my computer ?
Let's see ! ... BANG, scenario over. Huh ??? What the hell ... > rollback > FTOAKTA.

It's a little compromise to the fighting spirit of many players. Some of them could even have tried to follow the road and find them before seeing any bat. I must review this part, because I didn't test it very well. Using the bombs against the orcs is not a bad idea, but, as you quoted it, it triggers more than once the question "Should we kill the orcs ?" (You're right, it's a kind of blasphem to ask and once is enough).

And NOW there is this irresistible temptation: "DON´T do this or that ... It's no use." Ha, now more than ever !
Just a wrap-up (for the sake of the replay value): It´s worth one's while to turn the tables (objectives) !
The number of turns is perfectly good to attain all goals anyway, and one has to exploit the kind concession of XP-carry over.
Not only that this girl is better used to fight than to talk a blue streak, there are more surprises ...
So, pyrophorus, do you smartly draw red herrings across the track ?

No... But many players take things much more seriously than you (...and I). They don't want tomato surprises, strange behaviors and so on. I you want to see things run smoothly, don't ignore the warnings and follow the objectives. If not... well, you've been warned ...

Friendly,

[pauline]

Thanks for affording a deeper insight into your writer´s strategy and even offering a Toredril-wolves-patch.
I think a little line for Ecken would perfectly do, e.g.:
" ... Orcs avoid the forest of the Elves, even your wolves were wise enough to stay in our mountains.There is often a squad of ... "
As long as my favorite unit Super-Wolfie doesn´t change its mind, I´m happy knowing the tamed animals in their natural habit.
I also hope to get used to not worry about Tiomen´s financial situation. As highly as you might praise the honour and noble traits of your creatures:
If my hero was allowed to keep the nuggets he´d made so far, ANY female caracter of this champaign would try to make a catch on this loaded bachelor, regardless of his age or looks or preferences !
As for the difficulty of this campaign: You´re focusing on "EASY", whatever the reason. It has everything to turn it into a hard nut.

S6 (To Elensefar)
Not much to say about an episode that is simply great ! The artwork is amazing, the entrance of the evil tops everything, the cutsceen at the end a nicely elaborated detail. Grining broadly from ear to ear, I dealt with tides, elementals and monster/monster-fights. Even with the orcs very effectively taking care of themselves: It´s the first time I´ve not been doubtful about the given max turns (unless one ignores the well-meant warnings ... )
Now, I wouldn´t be myself if I didn´t find some tiny, tiny issues to wonder about:
Do chocobones – capable to hide submerged in deep water, requiring no air from the surface – run the risk of drowning in saltwater ?
Did Lestivel loose all patience with the author or the BfW-artwork shop and – blessed with yet on more magical power – take matters in her own hands ?
Tiomen´s new portrait suggests such speculation. However, since the girl is supposed to be uninterested in his appearance: probably only a slip.
Pyrophorus, thanks for the fun of this adventure at the shore of Elensefar !

pauline - RtN v0.7.7 * BfW v1.10.6 * Single Player * Level Medium

[pyrophorus]

Hi !
A new version is out, thanks to all reports I got, particularly Pauline's. Nothing really new, but a lot of minor correction (sprites, bugs and so on).

If my hero was allowed to keep the nuggets he´d made so far, ANY female caracter of this champaign would try to make a catch on this loaded bachelor, regardless of his age or looks or preferences !

Well, if you say so...

As for the difficulty of this campaign: You´re focusing on "EASY", whatever the reason. It has everything to turn it into a hard nut.

That's right, but it's a lot of work and I'm not a good player (difficult to balance the HARD level.

S6 (To Elensefar)
<snip>
Now, I wouldn´t be myself if I didn´t find some tiny, tiny issues to wonder about:
Do chocobones – capable to hide submerged in deep water, requiring no air from the surface – run the risk of drowning in saltwater ?

That's true. I probably can change that.

<snip>
Pyrophorus, thanks for the fun of this adventure at the shore of Elensefar !

Thanks to you for playing and writing such extensive reports !

Friendly,

[pauline]

Pyrophorus has plied the tools again, thanks for your constant efforts !
My input on scenario 7 still regards version 0.7.7, but I´ll download the update today.

S7 (Alnoth Island)
When I knew that part 1 of this campaign is not meant as an introduction [without any strategic concern ] I tried to "crack its system".
Only after going through this tread I think I understand: pyrophorus wants to manage the impossible and suit everyone !!!
– Easy handling (for newcomers or stressed-out individuals) by providing overpowered units and detailed hints,
– a tough time for those with the spirit of discovery by filling each scenario with tricks and riddles to puzzle over
– and challenge for more belligerent players who prefer it the hard way, ignoring magic, help and superheroes.
And all this independent from the chosen difficulty level !
A remarkable endeavor, a worthwhile attempt, and clearly doable !!! … but uncommon for BfW
and perhaps a mental overload for the players who are not used to such freedom. So, instead of having confused gamers
– give up after few episodes due to frustration, lack of understanding or challenge
– or wonder too much about strange – real or behind the scenes – events
– or missing a lot of fun acting on the manual and walking the line,
the groundbreaking author should not be cagey about his aims but elucidate the different ways to play in the introduction,
some résumé of all explanations and justifications he felt compelled to here in this thread.

Anyway, I decided to have Tiomen hold his devastating fire (bombing) and make less use of Tolivia´s elemental force
and fought a battle that should satisfy anyone and whatsoever expectations on a classical BfW-slaughter !

The full-magic-replay was every bit as interesting: the Undine almost dried out creating tsunamis and Tiomen hammered like a madman.
(I neglected to upgraded his tool ... Would it have made a difference in terms of the set-up time of these great weapons ?)
Obviously I haven´t managed yet to fully explore the magical potency of this campaign: thanks to taptap´s hint Wolfie got a fork, of course
Yeah, and the carriage ran around the huge island all by itself … I never asked: Does Tiomen really have a driver for his cart ?
Does the introductory remark: "Tiomen and his fellows reached Alnoth " refer to this guy and the wolf (since there´s no recall-list) ?

As to the unexpected discovery of two powerful islanders:
Well, I´m inclined to agree with chak_abhi : [They look like some fashionable ladies of the 21st century.]

S7 (Alnoth Caves)
The gruesome twosome and their guest show no mercy, the plot thickens: a diverting research trip due to a dwarf driving tunnels, surprise effects
and battles. Some remarks only:

• To avert defeat I again depended on Hints&Help (alleged dispensable) to find that single porous spot to start digging (maybe I´m colorblind).
  After the first breach, thou, the marks are of "a slightly different color ".

• I don´t mind AI-battles at all, but here it took about 15 turns until my heroes got a chance to "help" those countless, over-aggressive bats:
  queuing the line they block the path instead of hovering above the rock crevice, Pattie can´t fly over the abyss despite her wings, the dwarf
  can´t drill a shortcut to the foes keep to circumvent the bottleneck, the idle mage frequently "consults his watch" ...
  Well, I found a quite rewarding solution to avoid this delay ignoring the purpose of this otherwise interesting confrontation.

• The shock effect of the last encounter is wiped out way to early in Hints+Help since this event is dependent on the previous "meeting".
  Or is that not correct ?

S7 (Counsels)
Well done ending of an adventurous sequence !
Unfortunately, stunning Boney backtracks ... but her concerns about the naive sister and that old lecher are readily understandable.
I'm glad that she doesn´t invite her guests for bath in the lake after that demanding field trip ...
Just one question: Who is Batty ? Where is she flying to ?

Once again: A good job of the writer. I especially enjoy my characters doing more than move + fight !!!

pauline - RtN v0.7.7 * BfW v1.10.6 * Single Player * Level Medium

[pauline]

A little delay of my real-time-experience-report … but circumstances of the next scenarios
required contemplation and a alternation of my view regarding the concept of this campaign.
Despite openness to new ideas, it takes time to adept to radical innovations and at this point
it can be assumed that this input on RtN will be marked by a potpourri of hasty conclusions …

S8 (Nerins´ Shore)
Once more, a chilling kind of kismet or magnetism leads our involuntarily hero to a women in need,
just in time to prevent the worst since the mob, as usual, takes the cruel spectacle lying down.
"Villagers will not interfere" … thinks pyrophorus ! But I clearly saw one stabbing Horsy in its hindquarters !
Now, to accomplish the main task was easy:
high-speed Batty downright asks to clear the shroud, discovers the signpost, and clears the scenario single-handed. Doubtless not intended.
A meaningful event is supposed to happen: womenkind scintillates with foolishness, turning ethno-religious bog dwellers into serious enemies.
However, as long as their leaders themselves vigorously conduct the attack, Aelthrank the Undead Slayer teaches them a fatal lesson.

S9 (Trolls Holes + Replies)
Intensity and strength of the foes finally meet our heroes standards, no necessity to ignore the master´s guidance.
Furthermore, their very well thought (and entertaining) behavior and a tricky flood put my team in a very awkward, prickly position and –
contrary to the developer´s intention – a strategy is required !
Not enough, evil follows wherever Tiomen goes. But now I can´t complain :
The member of my sex – who already made clear that it is very unwise to contradict the ladies – comes out as a worthy antagonist
and plays on this nasty haunter. With that she even grants her companion an undreamed privilege: Tiomen can recruit !
Did she outsmart you, pyrophorus ?

What best pleased me here in terms of BfW-standards (as far as I know them):
Eventually, a curse as it should manifest itself imo !!!
As it seems, a solution of striking simplicity but completely ignored in other campaigns I´ve played.
I had, for example, no idea it was possible to modify the BfW-standard font !
Very, very well done !

Replies
I also liked this isolated incident: Undead are not created equal !
The BfW-cliche that Undead are always bad and potential threats of mankind never made sense to me
(only exception I know so far is semi-evil Malin Keshar in DiD).
It´s consequent that a necromancer with the power to promote to the elvish league has once been a good character.
Why should his poor soul become malicious ?
Unfortunately, Tiomen´s new status and power squeezes me to abandon my well-founded battle-theories for RtN …
Well, at least Dolmandir is fashion-conscious ! Tiomen´s stylish outfit will make him still more irresistible to the seductive females of this campaign.

S10 (Errands)
Now, here the player has the opportunity to experience s.th. that even I with my limited library of played campaigns is capable of judging unique.
I´ve no clue how, but pyrophorus, Lord of the Worlds, did it: an interdimensional journey on a grand scale. A peach of an idea ! And it works !
And it´s so much fun to check out all the possibilities that I happily and implicitly could accept it as the final scenario.
I´ve replayed it already several times and will surely juggle around the worlds more often ...
if only for meeting the unit that came in from the cold and makes itself so scarce in BfW or watching a diving Lich !

My only minus points about this episode would be:

1) the weakness of friends and foes compared to Tiomen´s and Othra´s omnipotences.
However, one has to marvel at the author´s skills !
Despite the absurd degree of damage that my hero is able to cause (quadruple attack, up to 592 HP per turn):
the game is playable and does not crash !!! Incredible

2) Objective: To achieve victory, it´s actually the lamest and most useless "unit" that has to wobble along the long track
and reach the end of the road to Noelren ... my team waited umpty-ump turns for this latecomer.

Anyway, I´ve no idea what is about to happen in the remaining 22 scenarios
but pyrophorus rated the BfW-master craftman's diploma with this one !

S11 (To Fremagel)
Othra´s grandmother was WHAT ???
How .. ? I mean ... This is ... Good gracious !
And I was troubled by the possibility of a young girl trying to get off with a much older man, nymphs playing around with a hoary boy ...
That was nothing yet !
Oh gawd, will Growl try to press on with that family tradition ?
pyrophorus, no chance to coax me again with some lulling talk about innocence, marvelous experiences of true love,
or males (of whatever species) on a crossroad !

Apart from this ultra fanciful opening: a really wonderful mission !
To hint "nothing special" about enemies hidden to the last moment is a bit understated.
The "treasure seekers", though, were absolutely right:
The weight of Tiomen´s gold not only boggle one´s mind
but also exceeds by far the heaviness of the most diversified assortment of blacksmith tools and bombs.

The richness of ideas – gimmicks and shrewd ones – is indeed remarkable !

pauline - RtN v0.7.8 * BfW v1.10.7 * Single Player * Level Medium