Campaign Information. Campaign Name: A Wind of Thorns Creator: wimfrits E-mail Address: wimfrits@yahoo.com Type: 1P or 2P cooperative campaign Size: 8 maps, including 1 prologue and 4 user-selectable scenarios. Map sizes: (L) M L XL L L L L Game Version: WoW 3.0 Campaign Version: 1.1 Language: English (Czech version coming soon) Playtesters: - Pitboss_2000 jasper.klein@chiralix.com ..my dear friend and regular campaign-playing-buddy. He joined me on a quest to track down the first errors and balancing difficulties with a pointing finger that still haunts me... - Ethric kjetilgv@student.uit.no ..his heroic attempt to complete this campaign unfortunately was cut short by regular game crashes. Just before release, he lifted the weight off my shoulders by stating that these crashes were NOT related to the campaign... - Garion taggartm@windsorrealities.com ..who took me on a wonderful journey inside the player's mind, by writing down his thoughts and actions. Also, Garion displayed an amazing ability to make things really hard for himself :) He made me realize where I had misjudged the 'obviousness' of the player's choices and thus caused a lot of 'psychological' changes. - Pepak heroes@pepak.net ..the first one to experience the campaign's full potential by playing all maps on champion difficulty, Pepak had the opportunity to give feedback on everything. And he took full advantage of that :) His massive amount of well constructed feedback and active problem-solving attitude led me to spend long nights behind the editor. Thanks to all of you! Without your help this campaign would be but a shadow of what it is now. Description: Betrayal, valor, growth, humor and life changing decisions combine to create a massive and challenging campaign. The choices you make in these 8 maps change the alignments, power ups, and whole story line which makes for excellent replay value. Note: Though the campaign is playable with just WoW, you might need the TGS expansion to get the full artifact effects. Special features: - Each scenario is more or less split in two, with one main hero for each part. This enables 2P cooperative play - Choice scenarios Difficulty: - Overall more difficult than the average campaign. - Computer players grow in strength as you select a higher difficulty level, so please: don't hold back out of pity for the AI!! - Be warned that Champion difficulty, though more rewarding, is far more difficult than usual. Known errors: - Occasional game-crashes during the computer's turn in the first scenario. I could solve this by disabling a certain performance-eating anti-virus program at startup. Other playtesters had no problems at all, except Ethric. His crashes were not related to this campaign however. If you are experiencing problems try: - checking your memory usage - saving at the end of your turn Additional credits: - Thanks to all the people that contributed to the 'Rage of the Carrots' story. Even though my starting that thread and using carrots in the campaign were absolutely unrelated, it turned out to be a fortunate coincidence. - Thanks to the people who gave feedback on this campaign. Their comments both made making the campaign worth it, and caused the release of version 1.1 Hints and Tips: - In order to bring this campaign to a succesful end, I think you need to: A. be playing at a low difficulty setting. or B. have sufficient knowledge of combat-techniques. In my experience the desire to press the 'wait' button (or making sure you CAN) at the start of each round is equivalent to the player's combat knowledge. But hey, please prove me wrong ;) In the attached document 'AWOT player's log', you'll find Garion's logbook, which he wrote while performing playtests. At the bottom of this document you'll find tips for each scenario. They could contain minor spoilers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- For any questions, remarks or other feedback: wimfrits@yahoo.com or visit the Round Table forum. I'd really like to know what you think of this campaign. Hope you enjoy. ****************************************************** * version 1.1 updates: * * - fixes of unwanted features * * - measures against overly cunning players * * - addition of a few quests/regions * * - more differentiation between player difficulties * * - some spicing up of difficulty * ****************************************************** --------------------------------------------- ---- WARNING!! POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!! ---- --------------------------------------------- [ tips by Pepak, approved by Garion and me ] THE CAMPAIGN * It is not expected that you win all fights. It is not necessary. Some are not even possible. * Waiting for creatures to grow is the best way to lose. * Exploiting certain tricks is discouraged. Don't be surprised if a hit-and-run tactics yields different effects than you expected. PROLOGUE: WAKING THE DEAD * Read the message texts, they will save you a lot of grief. * Remember how I told you you don't have to kill everything? SOTHORYON MONASTERY * Chataya's part is a test. Don't fall all over yourself to visit every single place, unless your heart tells you to. Don't try to guess the "correct answer" to the tests - ALL answers are correct... * All of Meltemi's arena fights can be won. Yes indeed. You might need a reload or two, though. Or more, if you don't make use of the "one retaliation a turn" rule. * Melee is more useful to Meltemi than archery or resistance here. KALAHARU * The sisters must go through separate ways. Don't cheat! * There's an invisible teleporter at the end of Meltemi's mountain path. * Use your potions of immortality wisely. * Don't rush towards the next map until both sisters are ready. BURNING FOLIAGE * There are two Necropolis towns near the start. You will need them. * You can get two carryover artifacts in two quest huts in this map. * Visit all the dream teachers. There are enough of them to give you over 100.000 experience points. * The keymaster tents are at (185,220), (193,50) and (105,90) (row,column) * Sneaking behind the AI units with a small force to capture the towns is a poor choice. * Until you kill the druids, don't bother killing their creatures. * Save the game just before you enter the circle of ice. ASANGARS SPLINTERS * You can carry over quite a few artifacts from here. Make sure you visit all the quest huts, even that very-hard-to-see mountain-like quest hut in the central region! * Berserk spell is your friend. * You can max-out in this map if you find all the hidden trees of knowledge. THE FROG * You have a little time at the beginning of this scenario. Use it well! * Trust Meltemi and Chataya. They should be strong enough to win over anything that comes against them, if they are combined in an army. You might need the help of the castle walls and the two support heroes if you separate them. * Yes, really, you CAN win even against THIS army. And this one, too. * Activate the thieves and their mines ASAP! * Don't waste your time, but still take care to explore all of the underground. Some nice carryover bonuses await you! FULL CIRCLE * You don't have to split Meltemi and Chataya. But I recommend you do so. * If you play on champion or expert difficulty, visit the bonus underground area before leaving via the sewers. * Beware of the Pig! It's a ferocious beast with an explosive temper! CLEANING OUT THE CLOSET * If you joined the evil side first, you will have an edge here. * Nimbus is the bonus man! Take him, or his head at least, to Mirlanda. * I suppose it is possible to crash through the dark-champion-guarded gate. But why would you do that when you can simply read the messages and go the easier way, right? * Hit-and-run is NOT the best way to win this map. Really!