The Deceiver's Gambit - New Mainline Candidate!

[Gothyoba]

Some things i noticed while playing the first scenario:

- The campaigns are called The Deceiver's Gambit, Part 1 and 2. Wouldn't a more unique name be more interesting?

- The label of Complex Campaign seems confusing for difficulty. I would replace it with intermediate/hard or whatever this is supposed to mean in the old system. Given the other campaigns, I think this would make more sense and be more useful to players.

- A right-click system would be easier for spells, or perhaps having a button on the same drop-down used for recruits/recalls. Double-clicking could be an accessibility concern for some people, and is generally more annoying in my opinion.

- When using levitate tiles where I can walk sometimes show as tiles where I can't for some reason. Specifically on the lava.

- This is a graphical bug, right? I'm on 1.19.4 right after completing the first scenario, ignore the snipping tool:

Also, during this very buggy story screen the campaign title consistently remains partly obscure in the background and some story images appear on top of each other, though I'm not sure of that is intentional. Strangely, when replaying this section the bugs did not appear. I do like the story art. I also love the Ozgob portrait! Hopefully I can give some fuller feedback later.

[Dalas120]

- This is a graphical bug, right? I'm on 1.19.4 right after completing the first scenario, ignore the snipping tool:

What in the ever-living... no idea what could possibly cause this. I'll see if I can figure it out, though if it only happened the first time it might not be something reproducible.

A right-click system would be easier for spells

I would like to add a secondary right-click system as well. I spent a day or so working on this last month, but I kept running into issues with syncing and [do_command] - at the moment it's out of my skill level, but if someone more knowledgeable can figure out a fix I'd love to add this.

I'll give it another try, since you now make the 3rd person who's requested it. Hopefully some of the other devs can help.

The label of Complex Campaign seems confusing for difficulty.

So, this is a bit of a overall design thing that I'm hoping to change for mainline moving forward. Right now, mainline has two different indicators of difficulty - the campaign difficulty, and your actual difficulty selection within the campaign.

Having two separate indicators is confusing - for example, which is harder, an Expert campaign on Challenging or a Hard campaign on Difficult ? In addition, we don't really differentiate between "expert because hard", "expert because unusual mechanics", "expert because massive scale battles", etc.

I'm tentatively thinking of calling all campaigns either "Standard", "Complex", or "Large-Scale", and then using the actual difficulty options to indicate difficulty. For example, if a campaign has a "Nightmare" setting, that should be about as difficult as other campaigns' "Nightmare" setting.

The campaigns are called The Deceiver's Gambit, Part 1 and 2. Wouldn't a more unique name be more interesting?

It's tempting, but Part 1 and Part 2 are much more directly connected than any other two campaigns. Not only do the exact same characters and plot threads carry over, but even some of your same units from Part 1 are available in Part 2 - because of that, I thought Part 1 and Part 2 were more accurate than separate campaign names.

[Dalas120]

New patch v2.0.2. Fixed a serious issue where Scenario 2 "Stirrings of War" wouldn't end properly. Also fixed some typos.

[Dalas120]

New patch v2.0.3: Revise the 'Black Bottle' macguffin, fix incorrect help message icons in 'Fort Garard', and fix more typos.

[Dalas120]

New patch TDG v2.0.4:
- Spellcasting menu is now available by right-clicking on Delfador (thanks Ravana!)
- XP scaling changed from 50/75/100 to 60/80/100
- Fix familiar sometimes not carrying over between parts 1 and 2.
- Fix some outdated references to Hudell.
- Fix Delfador sometimes becoming poisoned after un-polymorphing.

[Dalas120]

2024-10-06 TDG patch v2.0.5
- Barin is no longer loyal.
- Added AI-explaining dialogue to Ring of Swords.
- Fixed enemy leader appearing to die twice in "Houses of the Dead".
- Fixed a false goto destination sometimes appearing after spellcasting.
- Fix some typos.

2024-10-06 TDG patch v2.0.6 Fixed a serious issue where one of your veterans would vanish during 'Revelry'

[SexyPringles]

In short I think you managed to improve TDG from it's first version.

Spoiler:

One of the most notable changes was made to Garards character, It was a simple and small change but works very well in my opinion. Garard is still ambitious, warmongering and maybe even obsessed in leaving a worthy legacy but the wife beating was removed which in turn also improves Asheviere's character imo. She doesn't come off anymore as only a victim but a cunning schemer and her dialogue with Delfador really adds to this more. What I also liked is that Garard's and Delfador's friendship is emphasized better too, in the first version it seemed that they had more of a servant-ruler kind of relationship but here their friendship really shows.

Eldred as a character is pretty much the same as he was in the first version, didn't really notice any notable changes done to him. His relationship with Garard did however change and for the better imo. Garard is still tough and maybe even belittling towards Eldred but there is still love underneath all that, Eldred is after all still his first born and heir.

Also a side note: loved the aged portrait of Garard, I don't remember seeing that in the first version. Maybe even the Delfador portrait could be aged slightly?

And now for my absolutely favorite part that was added: Houses of The Dead
I love it, what can I say. It's a nice homage to the land of the dead, shame of course that land of the dead will be removed but I think this scenario is a good and maybe even better alternative. The boss fight against Omoranth in the cave is also much better than in the first version and Iliah Malal is back too! The fight against him was also very entertaining and fun. And the moment when the spirits of the dead tempt Delfador is a top notch characterization moment for him. Even if he is brash and ambitious, his heart is still in the right place.

Overall I think it is a good campaign and definitely good replacement for DM

[DuncanDill]

- The campaigns are called The Deceiver's Gambit, Part 1 and 2. Wouldn't a more unique name be more interesting?

Yeah something like 'The Deciever's Gambit' and then 'The Traitors Checkmate' would be nice names (if you follow the chess names conventions)

[Mirion147]

The Deceiver's Gambit I: Default Difficulty

S0 Graduation:
Dialog:

Spoiler:

- In general, the apprentice comes across with a very modernized speech pattern
- "Hey" - is somewhat un-immersive to me, comes across too modern. > Hark
- "throw a couple celebratory fireballs" - I would put either few or add an of > throw a couple of celebratory fireballs
- "you know?" - very modernized > as it were
- No dialog explaining why you don't get experience upon killing enemies
- No dialog explaining why you can't undo moves or at least that you can't
- "Hey" again, > Wait

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- Red, meh, but somewhat understandable. I wouldn't mind if it was saved for royal wesnoth. But as this is a loyalist unit in a loyalist campaign in mainline, it gets a pass.
- Turn 1,2 there is the "cast spells" right click option, has a sound effect, but nothing else happens.
- I would consider putting a note that "if the player ends their turn over unwalkable terrain, they'll die at the beginning of their next turn, the message near the fire pit is too late, the player could have died to the deep water. Or at least consider letting them die before the player waits for the entire round to pass before they need to reload their save. Also, as this is a mainline campaign, you may want to incorporate specific responses to specific terrains (aka, "Oh blast, I'll drown before I find land!")
- randomly can't undo moves (14.8,13.9)

Art:

Spoiler:

- Interesting sprite for Delfador. Seems like his head is quite small compared to other mages, but I could be wrong

Map:

Spoiler:

- Looks good, interesting usage of swamp, it looks really well done.

Overview:
Enemies: Fire Wraiths/Eyeball Stalks
Objectives: Reach the Sphere
Cute intro, gives a bit of depth to Alduin. Has that magical sense that (is the only thing) I remember from DM.

S1 Stirrings of War:
Story:

Spoiler:

- "in matters he deemed so mundane" What are you talking about here? This portion seems unnecessary.
- "Languor" Yay, I learned a new word. That hasn't happened in a bit!
- "superiority" - odd word choice to me. > legacy(?)/might(?)/domination(?)/strength(?). Also, I feel like Garard is more of a selfish figure, so he may be more concerned with HIS superiority, rather than Wesnoth's. Could do "secure Wesnoth's superiority, and by extension, his own.
- "on Alduin" - Love that you put "on" Alduin lol. Legit love it. True island way to speak

Dialog:

Spoiler:

- I like the orc dialog a lot!
- May want to mention the rain in the dialog?
- Is there a reason there are explanation of mages in this campaign? I should really hope that at this point, players know what mage units are, otherwise they're going to be very overwhelmed
- Would emphasis "*good* (or bold it) in the world"
- Kinda would expect some dialog from Methor when the first mage is lost about wasting lives or something

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- Would definitely be nice to be able to turn the rain off, but it's a great touch!
- No rain sound effect? lol now I'm just greedy
- I also agree with Anekron that it seems like it should impact daylight status
- Kinda weird how brightly we see the horses in the foggy ravine
- Idk about you, but I at least deposit my gold in the river bank, not in the middle of a lake lol
- I'm guessing the goblins are waiting for night time to push forward? They didn't move on into range and attack on turn 1 but did on turn 2
- I really like the orcish mechanics
- Delfador not being able to go above full xp seems weird, no explanation thus far as to why

Map:

Spoiler:

- Is the fog ravine going mainline? Can it go mainline?

Overview:
Enemies: Orcs
Objective: Kill enemy leader
I enjoyed this scenario a lot. I think the setting is cool, the orc mechanics and dialog are well done. I just think there could be a bit more polish

Completed on turn 8 with 18 gold.
41 bonus gold.

S2 Fort Garard:
Dialog:

Spoiler:

- "Were you not waiting for your wife, the queen?" - as opposed to his other wife? Also, I would say "we" though I can't actually say why right now, but it seems more fitting
- A bit weird that Garard was ready to send his knights forth in the last scenario but now he needs time to organize them in this one? If time has passed then why weren't they already assembled during that time? Feels a bit flimsy here.
- No dialog from garard questioning why forces are leaving Methor's defenses?
- So confused why there are tutorial elements
- No message upon first mage level up, I would expect some form of snarky comment from Delfador about "how come they get promoted and I still have to wear my apprentice robes?" and if they're a red mage "and those fireballs are so cool! When can I get spells like that, Methor?" Maybe less whiny, but along those lines
- No dialog upon attacking Khavur
- Are the Whitefangs the ONLY orc clan in Wesnoth? Can we get some diversity please?
- Garard only now noticing the contingent of mages as well as his own spearman/bowman that went off into the swamp?
- "I'm just an apprentice" Methor mentions a journeyman, I had assumed this was Delfador, is that not the case?
- I appreciate the Gandalf reference, but I do think the name drop here is much more underwhelming than in DM. It feels much less dramatic. That being said, without considering DM it was a cool moment.
- "thanks" there's that modern speech

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- Is there a reason the cold touch wouldn't replace the 5x1 staff attack?
- Goblins don't really want to attack me same as last time? Maybe note in the dialog, especially if there's learning elements anyway.
- Chill touch seems a touch string (no pun intended)
- AI turn is a bit laggy?
- Any way you could make Methor not need his turn to be skipped every turn? Would be nice if he didn't count as active or something when you hit "n"
- Looks kinda like Lionel is losing, but their forces have split with the loyalists sitting closer to the orc base, and the orcs sitting closer to the loyalist base - nvm, the orcs went back and cleaned them up.

Map:

Spoiler:

5.24 is a tease lol
Looks good, nothing special, but definitely not bad.

Overview:
Enemies: Orcs
Objective: Kill enemy leader
Fun scenario, was interesting to see a tease of a big battle without having to take part in it. Could use some help with the logic of the setting, and the lagging during enemy turns, but in general it's a good scenario! Cold touch saved my butt, and I still almost died from recklessness (random thought, but might be cool to reward a playstyle akin to the character who is Delfador.)

Completed on turn 9 with 14 gold. (I'm consistent lol)
173 bonus gold.

S3 The Ambassador:
Dialog:

Spoiler:

- "King" > king
- "hey". I get that it's mostly Delfador's character to talk like this, but it's - hard to appreciate it when we only see him as an old man other than in this campaign. I'll try to get over it though lol
- King < king
- Weldyn sent to this > Weldyn sent anyone to this
- Delfador says he's got fire magic and he's been practicing his fire magic, but I have shield, and blizzard selected with no fire damage in my current setup.
- Game notes that woses have ambush which makes them invisible, but the wose was visible (17.12) and didn't ambush me. So I shouldn't have been surprised, (Ack! dialog) and this isn't exactly applicable to this scenario, additionally, my movement isn't lost. (I was ambushed by the wose on 19.11 though)
King's > king's

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- Would be nice to look around the map before decided spells, hard to say which spell I'd rather use upon first playthrough
- Loaded my game and it looks like I can change my spells when I click on Delfador?
- 1.18 is weird, cause you see your unit next to a unit you're attacking, but then if you get stopped by ambush you go back to where you got stopped (and I'm assuming you go back to travel on your path when accelerate speed is off
Is there any benefit to the islands that I missed, other than the xp from the stoats?

Map:

Spoiler:

Looks pretty good. Oasis right next to snow looks a bit odd. May have considered a few dead trees since there's snow mixed in with the other trees, but that's about it.

Overview:
Enemies: Woses/animals
Objectives: Move here, don't kill any woses
A movement scenario that has a fun twist on sneaking. I like it! a bit tedious, and a bit easy at the same time, but fun regardless of either aspect. Nicely done.

Completed on turn 18 with 234 gold. (There goes consistency lol)
132 bonus gold.

S4 The Sylvan Seer:
Dialog:

Spoiler:

- elfpower, nice
- "the Lintanir's" > Lintanir's"
- King's > king's
- the Lintanir > Lintanir. I feel like you're going for something along the lines of "the greenwood" but in this case it doesn't fit well. You wouldn't say "the Fanghorn" while you might say "the Mirkwood" (though I don't think that sounds good either). You would say "the Old Forest" but that's because it's like "Great River" It's an adjective-ial name. Lintanir is just a name
- Holy alliteration, Batman
- King's > king's
- and this time you just say Lintanir
- Kalenz literally marches an army north to irradicate the orcs. I have a hard time believing he either doesn't mention that, saying that it's a fruitless labor and that they have reached an unharmonious agreement with the orcs, or actually say no, you're right, we need to kill these guys.

S5 The Deceiver:
Dialog:

Spoiler:

- Deoran says no magic when you're trying to use spells, but Delfador can still attack with magic?
- May want to write dialog about moonstones holding powerful magic over the area or something. It isn't necessary, but would bring the player a bit deeper into the world if the orbs were explained (especially since it's the same orb as in the final exam)
- Kalenz says the gold will help us with our next battle, though he won't be there for the battle
- I'm not sure "crusty" is a good term for elves to use, especially about kalenz since he doesn't age, despite him actually being old maybe "surly" or "irritable"?
- Elende says "I know who you are, Delfador" but it was Kalenz that had been speaking
- master Leollyn > Master Leollyn
- No dialog when engaging the main orcish hillfort
- king Garard > King Garard
- Pretty good orc banter, can't really complain
- The taunt about Garard's wife comes across very forced even with her being captured, is there a ransom? What is the value/fun that the orcs are getting from keeping her alive?
- Copying Shaman magic (imo) shouldn't be possible...they are different types of magic...Shamanism is based on spirits and elements (elements through spirits), while spell magic is based on conjuring the energies within your own power/or the power within the object you're weilding. I would suggest instead that Delfador possibly pick up some sort of heirloom (if you're using my lore, this would be the Hizet, which is the stone which houses the spirit that the shaman is working with) and Delfador would gain the power from that, vs just copycatting the spell. I think copying the spell cheapens the world and the realm of orcish magics
- Deoran should be educated enough to know that there are times orcs work together. It isn't uncommon for clans to subjugate others. I would instead suggest that he offer a warning that when one clan has power over another, it will often unbalance the clans and lead to many falling under the same banner, for orcs follow might above all else, even clan blood.
- No dialog when you engage Irbirch
- Now now, woman! > Not now, woman?

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- I think if you're going to include an optional puzzle, it should not be a main focus of the story, but a side piece that can be completely ignored.
- Was there a gameplay reason to bring 3 units through the Woses for them to not matter at any point after that?
- AM Delfador moved passed my frozen Delfador to attack Kalenz, and moved into 20% defense from 40% defense? (both units were at nearly full hp)
- You may want to note that there's a turn limit once you're in the ethereal land. I didn't even realize until I finished the scenario (I know I'm hyper unobservant lol, but other players may have the same issues)
- Deoran can move on mountains?
- Both the orcs and the King's Army do a lot of sitting around and not advancing, took them 12 turns to make contact
- Aren't you usually able to undo recruits?
- AI turns are quite laggy
- Why are my units put back in the recall, but the king's units are still poisoned/in combat, and there are remaining "Whitefang" orcs still alive? Both of these things shouldn't be happening at the same time
- Probably not the setting for it, but getting a nice fencer character would be nice. Having them in a campaign feels like a nice difference from the typical "spearman bowman" recruit for footsoldiers of wesnoth
- Does "Rescue the queen Asheviere" ( > Queen Asheviere) not just mean kill Irbirch? May want to change the objectives to "move the queen to x,y"

Art:

Spoiler:

- Pretty cool animation of the pool.
- The fractured portraits are pretty interesting
- Auras are sweet

Map:

Spoiler:

- This map looks very similar to the spirit world I created for DotS, I like it!

Overview:
Enemies: Puzzle/animals(bugs)/mirror-ghosts
Objectives: Puzzle/defeat mirror-ghosts
I think it's a really cool puzzle with a lot of cool effects. I did restart once, but it wasn't terrible to figure out. I really enjoyed getting to see a more magical aspect of Wesnoth. I think it fits really well in the campaign, even if it isn't really explained what's happening (at least so far). The combat in the ethereal land seemed pretty easy (especially considering everyone's low defense %) but for a puzzle level I don't think it NEEDS to be increased in difficulty.

Completed on turn 35 with 152 gold.
152 bonus gold.

S6 Ring of Swords:
Story:

Spoiler:

- King's > king's (though if you considered King's Army a proper noun [Royal Air Force] then Army would need to be capitalized).

Dialog:

Spoiler:

- Not really fully buying the -Kalenz calling Delfador elf-friend- essentially, it feels like they didn't bond enough for that to occur
- I would suggest selecting a different orcish clan, it doesn't really make sense for the Whitefang's to come to this much power so soon after Keshar scraped them off the map. I think them showing up isn't bad, but having them be the main force I think is shallow and also pulls from the impact of DiD
- The king saying "what're" comes across quite jarring in comparison to his other speech
- and our - Wesnoth's > and my - Wesnoth's (if he's going to correct himself, saying our could very easily mean Wesnoth, and doesn't seem worth correcting).
- No dialog when coming in contact with the orcs
- No dialog when killing orcish shaman
- for the prince Arand > "for the prince, Arand," or > "for Prince Arand"
- cave out > carve out

Gameplay:

Spoiler:

- You may want to consider a longer dawn/dusk vs longer nights, as there would still be daylight, it just wouldn't be as impactful

Map:

Spoiler:

- the gulf mountains always look a bit odd, but it fits with the limits of the map editor. I like that the fog isn't over the mountains, that's cool

Overview:
Enemies: Orcs/Saurians
Objectives: Survive/Save the queen
I thought this scenario was a bit weird in the setup but the gameplay of it was pretty fine. It was fun having Fencer's as they don't usually have any level of prominence in Loyalist campaigns that aren't about Elensefar lol. It's definitely odd that the campaign is in 2 parts, and I expected a bigger scenario to be the final scenario. The story made sense for the climax of the first part, but the gameplay felt a bit underwhelming.

Campaign Overview:
I thought the campaign was really fun! There are a lot of interesting mechanics. The spells were cool, though I almost always used the same ones. I haven't read through this thread yet, but I'm curious how others feel about the spell selection. I thought the setting was well done, and did a pretty good job of setting up a major point in Wesnoth's history. This feels like it is an adequate entry into that saga! I look forward to playing the second part! I hope that at least some of this is useful!

[Mirion147]

The only other thing was that it felt weird to have tutorial elements alongside complex mechanics/aspects such as: spell selection/ right click options, rain, and gulch fog

[Dalas120]

----S00:
> - No dialog explaining why you don't get experience upon killing enemies
Delfador should get normal experience from killing enemies, and when I test this out it seems to work fine. Is there a specific sequence of steps that somehow broke this?

> - No dialog explaining why you can't undo moves or at least that you can't
Undoing moves seems to work fine for me - is this still an issue on the latest version?

> - Turn 1,2 there is the "cast spells" right click option, has a sound effect, but nothing else happens.
Done

----S01;
> - "in matters he deemed so mundane" What are you talking about here? This portion seems unnecessary.
> - "superiority" - odd word choice to me. > legacy(?)/might(?)/domination(?)/strength(?). Also, I feel like Garard is more of a selfish figure, so he may be more concerned with HIS superiority, rather than Wesnoth's. Could do "secure Wesnoth's superiority, and by extension, his own.
> - Would emphasis "*good* (or bold it) in the world"
Will do, thanks

> - May want to mention the rain in the dialog?
> - Is there a reason there are explanation of mages in this campaign?
By this point the player should have already seen rain in TSG, so I don't think it needs special mentioning here. TSG also introdues one of mages, fencers, or HI (depending on player choice).

> - Kinda would expect some dialog from Methor when the first mage is lost about wasting lives or something
Good idea. I'll tweak his "do some good in the world" dialogue so it's more likely to trigger for a mage death.

> - Would definitely be nice to be able to turn the rain off, but it's a great touch!
> - No rain sound effect? lol now I'm just greedy
TSG now includes a tutorial/hint about this - it's not quite the same as turning it off, but you can toggle its animation with Preferences->Display->Animate Map. Also oops, TDG has the sound files but I gave them the wrong name

> - Delfador not being able to go above full xp seems weird, no explanation thus far as to why
With regards to gameplay, its because he uses XP for casting spells rather than advancing (and there's an explanation about it at the top of the spellcasting dialog). But I'll add some separate dialogue the first time it happens to make it more clear.



----S02:
> - "Were you not waiting for your wife, the queen?" - as opposed to his other wife? Also, I would say "we" though I can't actually say why right now, but it seems more fitting
> - A bit weird that Garard was ready to send his knights forth in the last scenario but now he needs time to organize them in this one?
Will do. And makes sense - changed to: "soften up the orcish warriors while my knights look for an opening"

> - No dialog from garard questioning why forces are leaving Methor's defenses?
> - Garard only now noticing the contingent of mages as well as his own spearman/bowman that went off into the swamp?
There is some if goblins actually attack Garard's horsemen, but otherwise he only notices at the scenario's end - "Oh, what’s this? Seems I’m not the only one with a lust for orcish blood!"

If he DID notice sooner he'd either have to call Delfador off or officially sanction the mission, and I don't think either one of those is a great option.

> - No message upon first mage level up, I would expect some form of snarky comment from Delfador about "how come they get promoted and I still have to wear my apprentice robes?" and if they're a red mage "and those fireballs are so cool! When can I get spells like that, Methor?" Maybe less whiny, but along those lines
Hahaha, this is a great suggestion. I'll add something like this in.

> - "I'm just an apprentice" Methor mentions a journeyman, I had assumed this was Delfador, is that not the case?
Which line do you mean? At the beginning of S02 Delfador is an apprentice.

> - I appreciate the Gandalf reference, but I do think the name drop here is much more underwhelming than in DM. It feels much less dramatic. That being said, without considering DM it was a cool moment.
Yeah, I'm not great at the mysticism stuff - it was even more underwhelming in the original TDG. If you have some specific dialogue or effects you'd like me to add in I'd be happy to do so.

> - Is there a reason the cold touch wouldn't replace the 5x1 staff attack?
No reason; I can make that change.

> - Goblins don't really want to attack me same as last time? Maybe note in the dialog, especially if there's learning elements anyway.
I've set up the AI to usually retreat during the day, and usually attack at night. Do you feel that's acceptable, or an issue?

This is unfortunately also what also causes the lagging. I generally like it, but if it's a problem I'm willing to remove it (from this scenario at least)

> 5.24 is a tease lol
Accessible with both Find Familiar and Levitate!



----S03:
> - "King" > king
> - Weldyn sent to this > Weldyn sent anyone to this
Fixed king capitalization! I *think* that "sent to this" is good english as-is - "sent" as-in "sent word" or "sent a message"

> - Delfador says he's got fire magic and he's been practicing his fire magic, but I have shield, and blizzard selected with no fire damage in my current setup.
Hah, yeah, I know that's a possibility. But I think it's a nice line, and he could in theory switch his spells to use fire.

> - Game notes that woses have ambush which makes them invisible, but the wose was visible (17.12) and didn't ambush me. So I shouldn't have been surprised, (Ack! dialog) and this isn't exactly applicable to this scenario, additionally, my movement isn't lost. (I was ambushed by the wose on 19.11 though)
Fixed, thanks.

> Is there any benefit to the islands that I missed, other than the xp from the stoats?
Nah, just the XP.



----S04:
> - King's > king's
> - the Lintanir > Lintanir. I feel like you're going for something along the lines of "the greenwood" but in this case it doesn't fit well. You wouldn't say "the Fanghorn" while you might say "the Mirkwood" (though I don't think that sounds good either). You would say "the Old Forest" but that's because it's like "Great River" It's an adjective-ial name. Lintanir is just a name
Fixed, thanks.

> - Holy alliteration, Batman


> - Kalenz literally marches an army north to irradicate the orcs. I have a hard time believing he either doesn't mention that, saying that it's a fruitless labor and that they have reached an unharmonious agreement with the orcs, or actually say no, you're right, we need to kill these guys.
That's a good point huh. How does this sound: "This is not our fight. I have long-before seen the horrors of a war between elves and orcs, and have no desire to plunge my people back into such a nightmare."

> - Deoran says no magic when you're trying to use spells, but Delfador can still attack with magic?
> - May want to write dialog about moonstones holding powerful magic over the area or something. It isn't necessary, but would bring the player a bit deeper into the world if the orbs were explained (especially since it's the same orb as in the final exam)
> - Kalenz says the gold will help us with our next battle, though he won't be there for the battle
All good ideas/issues, thanks.

> - Elende says "I know who you are, Delfador" but it was Kalenz that had been speaking
This was deliberate - I'd meant to convey that Elende is ignoring the others and only really sees/cares about Delfador. Do you think that comes across?

> - I think if you're going to include an optional puzzle, it should not be a main focus of the story, but a side piece that can be completely ignored.
The skippable puzzle part is the section with the orcs. The "mirror world" battle isn't skippable - like you said, it's a major part of the story.

> - Was there a gameplay reason to bring 3 units through the Woses for them to not matter at any point after that?
I felt it would be too easy to cheese with Delfador (polymorph, levitate, etc) if only 1 unit is required. I could possibly do something different though - do you have any ideas?

> - AM Delfador moved passed my frozen Delfador to attack Kalenz, and moved into 20% defense from 40% defense? (both units were at nearly full hp)
Since all attacks are guaranteed to hit in the mirror world, 40%->20% shouldn't actually be a disadvantage. Am I understanding your concern correctly?

> - You may want to note that there's a turn limit once you're in the ethereal land. I didn't even realize until I finished the scenario (I know I'm hyper unobservant lol, but other players may have the same issues)
Will do.



----S05:
> - Not really fully buying the -Kalenz calling Delfador elf-friend- essentially, it feels like they didn't bond enough for that to occur
That's fair. What do you think about: "Deoran, it has been a pleasure to have you with us these years. And Delfador, I hope to someday say the same of you as well. Elende seems to think highly of you, and that means a great deal to me and my people."

Should either of you ever find yourselves searching for a home away from Wesnoth, you will always be welcome with us."

> - Deoran can move on mountains?
Deoran uses the same movetype as the Elvish Rider, which can move on mountains.

> - Both the orcs and the King's Army do a lot of sitting around and not advancing, took them 12 turns to make contact
I'd done this deliberately to give a sense of "grouping up", but I've heard a couple complaints about it. I'll add some dialogue explaining this - which also has the added benefit of giving Garard an opportunity to not look completely incompetent.

> - Aren't you usually able to undo recruits?
Recalls can usually be undone, but not recruits (because of trait randomness).

> - AI turns are quite laggy
Will fix. I think this has to do with excessively high goal values.

> - Probably not the setting for it, but getting a nice fencer character would be nice. Having them in a campaign feels like a nice difference from the typical "spearman bowman" recruit for footsoldiers of wesnoth
I'm hoping to add a loyal fencer as an optional companion in HttT, reusing Yumi's "Magistrate Fiore" personality from her TSG revision.

> - King's > king's (though if you considered King's Army a proper noun [Royal Air Force] then Army would need to be capitalized).
Fixed, thanks.

> - The king saying "what're" comes across quite jarring in comparison to his other speech
> - and our - Wesnoth's > and my - Wesnoth's (if he's going to correct himself, saying our could very easily mean Wesnoth, and doesn't seem worth correcting).
> - for the prince Arand > "for the prince, Arand," or > "for Prince Arand"
> - cave out > carve out
All changed now, thanks.

> - No dialog when coming in contact with the orcs
> - No dialog when killing orcish shaman
Good ideas; I'll add something for both of these.

> - You may want to consider a longer dawn/dusk vs longer nights, as there would still be daylight, it just wouldn't be as impactful
There's actually already a {WINTER_SCHEDULE} macro in core/mainline, which is what I'm using. Since something's already in core, I'd prefer to stick with the default rather than customize.


----S06:
> - Does "Rescue the queen Asheviere" ( > Queen Asheviere) not just mean kill Irbirch? May want to change the objectives to "move the queen to x,y"
Thanks for explaining the confusion. I'll reword this to "Defeat Irbirch, recapturing queen Asheviere"

> The story made sense for the climax of the first part, but the gameplay felt a bit underwhelming.
I'll ramp things up a little. I'm nervous about making it too hard on Easy/Normal, but maybe there's a bit of wiggle room there.

> - The taunt about Garard's wife comes across very forced even with her being captured, is there a ransom? What is the value/fun that the orcs are getting from keeping her alive?
I've deliberately left it a little vague, but I think there's a couple possibilities. First, Asheviere may be with the orcs by choice and not a prisoner at all. Or, she might be being kept alive because the orcs want to ransom her / her unborn child - or even raise the child with pro-orc ideals.

Most likely it's just that Asheviere's snuck out, but I think there's enough possible reasons for the orcs to keep her alive that I hope it doesn't feel out of place.

> - Why are my units put back in the recall, but the king's units are still poisoned/in combat, and there are remaining "Whitefang" orcs still alive? Both of these things shouldn't be happening at the same time
By including injured cavalry and straggler Whitefangs (and keeping the ToD unchanged), I'd hoped to make it clear to the player that "Ring of Swords" happens immediately after "The Deceiver".

But, if I let the player keep all their former recruits/recalls, then I think we reward foreknowledge too heavily, and also massively swing the difficulty of "Ring of Swords" depending on what the player does in "The Deceiver"

Perhaps I can start the player with 1-2 of their veterans in "Ring of Swords", possibly with minor HP injuries? Do you think that would feel appropriate?

> - Copying Shaman magic (imo) shouldn't be possible...they are different types of magic...Shamanism is based on spirits and elements (elements through spirits), while spell magic is based on conjuring the energies within your own power/or the power within the object you're weilding. I would suggest instead that Delfador possibly pick up some sort of heirloom (if you're using my lore, this would be the Hizet, which is the stone which houses the spirit that the shaman is working with) and Delfador would gain the power from that, vs just copycatting the spell. I think copying the spell cheapens the world and the realm of orcish magics
I'm not explicitly using your proposed shaman lore in TDG (orcs aren't the main focus, so I've left it vague), but you make a good point that Delfador really shouldn't be able to randomly learn it.

To avoid having to go into details about how exactly the shamans' magic works, how do you feel about something like: "I don’t think I can tap into whatever fundamental forces she was using, but now that I have her equipment I’ll bet I could at least figure out how to imitate that draining attack."

> - Deoran should be educated enough to know that there are times orcs work together. It isn't uncommon for clans to subjugate others. I would instead suggest that he offer a warning that when one clan has power over another, it will often unbalance the clans and lead to many falling under the same banner, for orcs follow might above all else, even clan blood.
Works for me. How does this sound:
"This alliance between races is a great ill fortune! I’ve oft known orcs to recruit trolls, but seldom saurians. And with these three factions fighting together, soon all the warlords will hear of their prowess."
"It takes a great show of strength to unite the fractious orcs, but once word gets out countless more will surely flock to the Blackcrest and Whitefang banners. Orcs follow might above all else, even clan blood."

> - No dialog when you engage Irbirch
I'll add something.



----General:
> - In general, the apprentice comes across with a very modernized speech pattern
I'd chosen the modern speech pattern to try and make Delfador (especially in Part 1) sound young/immature. Did that come across, or did he just feel anachronistic?

> - Are the Whitefangs the ONLY orc clan in Wesnoth? Can we get some diversity please?
> - I would suggest selecting a different orcish clan, it doesn't really make sense for the Whitefang's to come to this much power so soon after Keshar scraped them off the map. I think them showing up isn't bad, but having them be the main force I think is shallow and also pulls from the impact of DiD
Since the first portion of TDG takes place in the exact area Malin fought the Whitefangs (and a similar area to where Gweddry fights them in EI), I felt it was appropriate to reuse them. As you've seen, the Blackcrest clan plus their saurians make an appearance later-on, and I'll be adding in a third clan for the final few scenarios.

I don't believe DiD portrayed Malin as having done any serious damage to the Whitefangs. It explicitly describes his accomplishments (up to the time he became a lich, at least) as "harassing and harrying one clan of orcs". Given that it's been 100+ years since DiD, I don't think it's unreasonable to portray the Whitefangs as thriving.

My understanding is that DiD's story portrays Malin as accomplishing nothing worthwhile, and I feel that's part of what makes it so powerful. If anything, I feel that showing that he was actually successful in his goal to wipe out the orcs (or at least one clan) would meaningfully detract from its story.

[Spannerbag]

Hi,
As I had a bit of free time and couldn't face working on my own UMC decided to update TDG and give that a go.
Unfortunately it failed with error:
Preprocessor symbol 'ON_DIFFICULTY4' defined at core/macros/utils.cfg:71 expects 4 arguments, but has 2 arguments
at ~add-ons/The_Deceivers_Gambit/scenarios/06_Ring_of_Swords.cfg:551

Seems there's a typo in the specified line:
amount={ON_DIFFICULTY4 20 20}

Glad it's not just me!

Cheers!
-- Spannerbag

[Dalas120]

Oh no! Well that's very embarrassing - thanks for bringing it to my attention. Fixed now, with a new version uploaded to both addon servers.

[Mirion147]

----S00:
> - No dialog explaining why you don't get experience upon killing enemies
Delfador should get normal experience from killing enemies, and when I test this out it seems to work fine. Is there a specific sequence of steps that somehow broke this?

Ah, I may have accidentally left this from my first playthrough. I actually didn't fight anyone other than the mudcrawlers (which did give me xp) this go around.

> - No dialog explaining why you can't undo moves or at least that you can't
Undoing moves seems to work fine for me - is this still an issue on the latest version?

So, I'm pretty sure it was on the latest version for when I downloaded it (my system says 2.0.6) I noticed it mainly in the water areas, though not all of them. Just walking to 13.9 doesn't allow me to undo. But the next turn I can. Maybe it has to do with the message said to adoring fans?

> - May want to mention the rain in the dialog?
> - Is there a reason there are explanation of mages in this campaign?
By this point the player should have already seen rain in TSG, so I don't think it needs special mentioning here. TSG also introdues one of mages, fencers, or HI (depending on player choice).

Ah, that's fair. I haven't played TSG since Yumi was working on it, so I'm not sure where things are with it.

> - Delfador not being able to go above full xp seems weird, no explanation thus far as to why
With regards to gameplay, its because he uses XP for casting spells rather than advancing (and there's an explanation about it at the top of the spellcasting dialog). But I'll add some separate dialogue the first time it happens to make it more clear.

I get the reasoning, it just feels weird. Also, I'll probably note when I post the 2nd part's feedback, but the healing aspect is sorely missed. I noticed the point about Delfador not being able to heal, but it would be nice if there was something that could be done about getting a full heal. (This is not a big deal, Delfador is very powerful and if you feel this is a justifiable weakness then I can live with that.)

> - No dialog from garard questioning why forces are leaving Methor's defenses?
> - Garard only now noticing the contingent of mages as well as his own spearman/bowman that went off into the swamp?
There is some if goblins actually attack Garard's horsemen, but otherwise he only notices at the scenario's end - "Oh, what’s this? Seems I’m not the only one with a lust for orcish blood!"

If he DID notice sooner he'd either have to call Delfador off or officially sanction the mission, and I don't think either one of those is a great option.

Also fair, just felt weird. I saw the lust for orcish blood comment. But he's like..right there lol. But yea, I see your point.

> - "I'm just an apprentice" Methor mentions a journeyman, I had assumed this was Delfador, is that not the case?
Which line do you mean? At the beginning of S02 Delfador is an apprentice.

"(bowing) My Lord, Alduin dispatched these apprentices and journeyman as response to your war-call. I volunteered to lead them, and I now place my medicinal arts at your service." This is at the end of stirrings of war. I had assumed the journeyman was Delfador.

> - I appreciate the Gandalf reference, but I do think the name drop here is much more underwhelming than in DM. It feels much less dramatic. That being said, without considering DM it was a cool moment.
Yeah, I'm not great at the mysticism stuff - it was even more underwhelming in the original TDG. If you have some specific dialogue or effects you'd like me to add in I'd be happy to do so.

I feel that, I struggle with it as well. You're actually significantly better at it than I am. The best I can think of is that Methor has some form of communication device with Alduin and they do a skype call ceremony. Or Methor sets up a ceremony asking Garard and Lionel to step in for the other 2 mages. But I'm not set on those so if you are more satisfied with what's there atm I think it's passable.

> - Goblins don't really want to attack me same as last time? Maybe note in the dialog, especially if there's learning elements anyway.
I've set up the AI to usually retreat during the day, and usually attack at night. Do you feel that's acceptable, or an issue?

This is unfortunately also what also causes the lagging. I generally like it, but if it's a problem I'm willing to remove it (from this scenario at least)

I don't think it's a problem. Especially if TSG is set up similarly. But you may want to a line of dialog or two:
Delfador: Why do they wait? Do they not crave the thrill of battle?
Methor: Foes such as these goblins often prefer to keep their battle cravings to the night where they bear the advantage.
or something along those lines.
The lag is definitely not appreciated, but it's acceptable. Maybe this will push for an AI make-over.

----S03:
> - "King" > king
> - Weldyn sent to this > Weldyn sent anyone to this
Fixed king capitalization! I *think* that "sent to this" is good english as-is - "sent" as-in "sent word" or "sent a message"

An interesting interpretation, and I'll buy it. I can live with that.

> - Kalenz literally marches an army north to irradicate the orcs. I have a hard time believing he either doesn't mention that, saying that it's a fruitless labor and that they have reached an unharmonious agreement with the orcs, or actually say no, you're right, we need to kill these guys.
That's a good point huh. How does this sound: "This is not our fight. I have long-before seen the horrors of a war between elves and orcs, and have no desire to plunge my people back into such a nightmare."

> I have seen the horrors of war with orcs, long ago. I have no desire to plunge my people into the same nightmares I have lived through. There have been too many elven lives lost to the orcs already, this fight is not our fight.

Thoughts on this?

> - Elende says "I know who you are, Delfador" but it was Kalenz that had been speaking
This was deliberate - I'd meant to convey that Elende is ignoring the others and only really sees/cares about Delfador. Do you think that comes across?

I think it's passable, I may not have really noticed if I wasn't looking for something. I also can't think of a better way to get this point across, other than potentially adding some form of: Kalenz: "*Stiffens*" or something. I think it's fine to just leave.

> - I think if you're going to include an optional puzzle, it should not be a main focus of the story, but a side piece that can be completely ignored.
The skippable puzzle part is the section with the orcs. The "mirror world" battle isn't skippable - like you said, it's a major part of the story.

I'm going to assume you meant orbs here? I guess that's fair. Idk, I guess I just feel like it's better when you can literally choose not to do it by not doing it, rather than by selecting "I don't want to do this". But I don't think it's a problem. I'm glad it only skips the initial portion though.

> - Was there a gameplay reason to bring 3 units through the Woses for them to not matter at any point after that?
I felt it would be too easy to cheese with Delfador (polymorph, levitate, etc) if only 1 unit is required. I could possibly do something different though - do you have any ideas?

You could consider asking the player to bring both Deoran, and Delfador, and then you only need one more random unit who could potentially join you in the puzzle but be left behind during the mirror world segment, maybe saying some type of "woah, you guys disappeared" or something when you get back. At the end of the day all I was looking for was some form of bonus for the units that were brought, or at least speaking parts from them at some point.

> - AM Delfador moved passed my frozen Delfador to attack Kalenz, and moved into 20% defense from 40% defense? (both units were at nearly full hp)
Since all attacks are guaranteed to hit in the mirror world, 40%->20% shouldn't actually be a disadvantage. Am I understanding your concern correctly?

Ah with the percentages still being the standard, I didn't realize that it was 100% hits. But also I'm pretty sure that AM Delf was more concerned with freezing Kalenz rather than just attacking the unit that was in front of him. I don't think it's the end of the world, it just seemed like a bad choice to me.

----S05:
> - Not really fully buying the -Kalenz calling Delfador elf-friend- essentially, it feels like they didn't bond enough for that to occur
That's fair. What do you think about: "Deoran, it has been a pleasure to have you with us these years. And Delfador, I hope to someday say the same of you as well. Elende seems to think highly of you, and that means a great deal to me and my people."

Should either of you ever find yourselves searching for a home away from Wesnoth, you will always be welcome with us."

Works for me.

> - Aren't you usually able to undo recruits?
Recalls can usually be undone, but not recruits (because of trait randomness).

You learn something new every day.

> - Probably not the setting for it, but getting a nice fencer character would be nice. Having them in a campaign feels like a nice difference from the typical "spearman bowman" recruit for footsoldiers of wesnoth
I'm hoping to add a loyal fencer as an optional companion in HttT, reusing Yumi's "Magistrate Fiore" personality from her TSG revision.

Sounds good. I like that the fencers were in the campaign, just thought it would be cool since the lack of characters, but if TSG is doing this then yea, not necessary here.

> - You may want to consider a longer dawn/dusk vs longer nights, as there would still be daylight, it just wouldn't be as impactful
There's actually already a {WINTER_SCHEDULE} macro in core/mainline, which is what I'm using. Since something's already in core, I'd prefer to stick with the default rather than customize.

Yea, true. I just was thinking in terms of mountains, the sky is still lit, even though you spend more of your day in shadow. So it isn't exactly the same as the winter schedule. But I'm probably overthinking it.

> The story made sense for the climax of the first part, but the gameplay felt a bit underwhelming.
I'll ramp things up a little. I'm nervous about making it too hard on Easy/Normal, but maybe there's a bit of wiggle room there.

I would consider myself to be your average player level player. I pay attention to weapon type and terrain, I check hp and tod, but I'm not checking all the stats all the time, I'm not making sure this is 100% the best option, I'm not setting up 3 turn long strategies. If I can beat it without breaking a sweat, I think it's worth at least a bit of attention in the balance department.

> - The taunt about Garard's wife comes across very forced even with her being captured, is there a ransom? What is the value/fun that the orcs are getting from keeping her alive?
I've deliberately left it a little vague, but I think there's a couple possibilities. First, Asheviere may be with the orcs by choice and not a prisoner at all. Or, she might be being kept alive because the orcs want to ransom her / her unborn child - or even raise the child with pro-orc ideals.

Most likely it's just that Asheviere's snuck out, but I think there's enough possible reasons for the orcs to keep her alive that I hope it doesn't feel out of place.

I don't know, there's not even a response from the king about her being "captured" by the orcs. and when the orcs first mention they have her, idk, it just felt random. Regardless of why she's actually with the orcs, I felt like they needed to imply to Garard what they wanted, fun, gold, or just to watch him squeal while he struggled to get her back. I could be wrong here.

> - Why are my units put back in the recall, but the king's units are still poisoned/in combat, and there are remaining "Whitefang" orcs still alive? Both of these things shouldn't be happening at the same time
By including injured cavalry and straggler Whitefangs (and keeping the ToD unchanged), I'd hoped to make it clear to the player that "Ring of Swords" happens immediately after "The Deceiver".

But, if I let the player keep all their former recruits/recalls, then I think we reward foreknowledge too heavily, and also massively swing the difficulty of "Ring of Swords" depending on what the player does in "The Deceiver"

Perhaps I can start the player with 1-2 of their veterans in "Ring of Swords", possibly with minor HP injuries? Do you think that would feel appropriate?

Yea, That's definitely better. Maybe have Delfador call his fighters to rally so that they can push forth towards the queen then have 2 veterans deployed? Then if there's any more Whitefang units, have the king tell his units to finish off the stragglers, because they have new enemies they need to create their battle lines for.

> - Copying Shaman magic (imo) shouldn't be possible...they are different types of magic...Shamanism is based on spirits and elements (elements through spirits), while spell magic is based on conjuring the energies within your own power/or the power within the object you're weilding. I would suggest instead that Delfador possibly pick up some sort of heirloom (if you're using my lore, this would be the Hizet, which is the stone which houses the spirit that the shaman is working with) and Delfador would gain the power from that, vs just copycatting the spell. I think copying the spell cheapens the world and the realm of orcish magics
I'm not explicitly using your proposed shaman lore in TDG (orcs aren't the main focus, so I've left it vague), but you make a good point that Delfador really shouldn't be able to randomly learn it.

To avoid having to go into details about how exactly the shamans' magic works, how do you feel about something like: "I don’t think I can tap into whatever fundamental forces she was using, but now that I have her equipment I’ll bet I could at least figure out how to imitate that draining attack."

Totally fine, I didn't think you were using it, I was mostly just saying as an example. I misspoke. I can live with that, maybe add some form of: Delfador: Ah hah! I got it working!

How does this sound:
"This alliance between races is a great ill fortune! I’ve oft known orcs to recruit trolls, but seldom saurians. And with these three factions fighting together, soon all the warlords will hear of their prowess."
"It takes a great show of strength to unite the fractious orcs, but once word gets out countless more will surely flock to the Blackcrest and Whitefang banners. Orcs follow might above all else, even clan blood."

I think that works.

----General:
> - In general, the apprentice comes across with a very modernized speech pattern
I'd chosen the modern speech pattern to try and make Delfador (especially in Part 1) sound young/immature. Did that come across, or did he just feel anachronistic?

I think initially it through me off, but I don't think other players would find it as unusual as I did.

> - Are the Whitefangs the ONLY orc clan in Wesnoth? Can we get some diversity please?
> - I would suggest selecting a different orcish clan, it doesn't really make sense for the Whitefang's to come to this much power so soon after Keshar scraped them off the map. I think them showing up isn't bad, but having them be the main force I think is shallow and also pulls from the impact of DiD
Since the first portion of TDG takes place in the exact area Malin fought the Whitefangs (and a similar area to where Gweddry fights them in EI), I felt it was appropriate to reuse them. As you've seen, the Blackcrest clan plus their saurians make an appearance later-on, and I'll be adding in a third clan for the final few scenarios.

I don't believe DiD portrayed Malin as having done any serious damage to the Whitefangs. It explicitly describes his accomplishments (up to the time he became a lich, at least) as "harassing and harrying one clan of orcs". Given that it's been 100+ years since DiD, I don't think it's unreasonable to portray the Whitefangs as thriving.

My understanding is that DiD's story portrays Malin as accomplishing nothing worthwhile, and I feel that's part of what makes it so powerful. If anything, I feel that showing that he was actually successful in his goal to wipe out the orcs (or at least one clan) would meaningfully detract from its story.

Hmm, is that including the recurring scenario at the end? I think it's a fair aspect. I just would enjoy seeing a bigger part of orcish culture. Again, I think I'm more focused on orcish society than many other players so I don't think it's a problem, and what you're angle is is a fair one.

Anyway, I'm hoping to be posting feedback from part 2 over the next few days! Thank you for all the work you've put in. I hope you know it's appreciated.

[Vendrick]

Just some bugs I caught and a couple notes from a Hard playthrough, playing normally and not seeking bugs. I was playing on 2.04 and then reloaded the scenario files in 2.08 to check the bugs still existed but obviously that isn't ideal.

The difficulty felt fairly high, especially during the back half of Part 2. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to beat the campaign on Nightmare without save-scumming:
Restarts: 1x Ambassador (Mudcrawlers essential), 1x Ring of Swords (rescue party eaten by wolves), 1x House of the Dead (early, needing Chill Touch), 2x Traitor (strategy changes / lucky win)
Save-loads from Losses: ~3x Great River puzzle, 1x House of the Dead (revealing the Necromancer after moving Delfador too close), 1x Traitor, 1x Long Live the Queen

Cataclysm could fade out the background music as well.

The recruitable ghosts in House of the Dead are aggressive enough to be willing to die attacking.
I also had to restart pretty much immediately to change spells and take Chill Touch.

In Galcadar, I managed to get a situation where I thought the game had frozen because the one of minor Orc AI turns was taking so long (5+ minutes). Enthrall might be exacerbating an underlying issue with the AI. When reloading from replays, depending on how the turn goes, there aren't any hitches.

In Revelry, Deoran says "Delfador" with no punctuation, just before "...err look".

I got a bug in The Traitor when using Contingency and Panacea where Sir Kaylan and some others died permanently. I have the replay where this happened, but I haven't been able to replicate it since. (Death dialogue didn't trigger either.)
I think the starter keep is almost a trap depending on difficulty - if the player can seize the halberdier's keep, Mudcrawlers can conquer the entire fort (difficulty < Hard they're even stronger, requiring only 1 kill to advance). Even without Mudcrawlers, Contingency and recalling veterans still trades up gold.
Additionally, Delfador can attack the Halberdier at night and it denies the AI a couple turns of income. I suspect Nightmare might require the use the starter keep for Cataclysm and/or Fire Guardians, but those options leave the player in a worse position for subsequent scenarios.

In Revelry Revisted, Barin was my loyal unit since Lynan's "death" in Omaranth. The escape cutscene played but he didn't actually leave the map and instead became hostile.

Long Live the Queen:
One of Delfador's lines to Eldred in the finale ("lich's blood") when Eldred is slain complains about invalid pango markup.
In the finale, a damaged Eldred fled off his keep to a village. This caused me to lose - I reloaded to not attack Eldred early and killed him from full insread.
In the Eldred boss fight, when he killed high XP L0 Mudcrawlers they advanced instead of dying, which is very strange. (They died just fine elsewhere in the campaign.)
Enthrall left an image artifact on the map in Delfador's old position.