[Campaign] Chromie Time: Origins - RPG Campaign!

[The Nightmare Book]

CHROMIE TIME: ORIGINS

"Step into the Caverns of Time and guide the fate of Azeroth!"

OVERVIEW

A time-bending adventure awaits!
"Chromie Time: Origins" is the first chapter of an ambitious campaign series that plunges you into the heart of the Warcraft universe's most pivotal moments. You will join the enigmatic bronze dragonflight, working under Chromie’s guidance, as you navigate historic events that shaped Azeroth — and ensure they unfold as they should... or, perhaps, as they shouldn’t.

Inspired by World of Warcraft retcons, general potpourri, and desire to combine uncombinable - "Chromie Time: Origins" will try to answer "what if" question in many ways.
In general gameplay - expect map transitions and cool subzones, just like in custom campaigns like "Call of the Swarm", "Legacy of Forsaken", "Defender of Light" and original "Founding the Durotar" campaigns!

STORY

"Time is a fragile thread, and you are its keeper. The Caverns of Time serve as the nexus where timelines converge, and it's your sacred mission to ensure they flow correctly.
Every action and every choice you make in this campaign will ripple across time — the question is, what story will you tell?

Step into the upcoming chaos of Stratholme, tame untamable beasts of Barrens, save Hyjal once again, and participate in Illidary treacherous internal strife - as Keeper of Time, you must contain any anomalies and ensure that history will flow. With a team of flawless experts and dear friends, you get on this long journey, who knows where this history road will take you..."

FEATURES

CHOOSE YOUR DESTINY
Take on the role of Luminormu or Horadormu, capable dragon evokers, each one having a unique perspective on events. Play the campaign twice to experience the story from different angles, discovering hidden secrets and paths.

CHALLENGES UNTAMED
Experience a fresh take on classic Warcraft moments. Help the Scourge capture Stratholme in the dungeon "Rendezvous at Stratholme," or take a wild, surreal ride through "The Amazing Darkmoon Faire!" filled with strange mini-games and puzzles. Prepare for demonic assault on Hyjal or side with them? Azeroth's fate is in your hands!

MANIPULATE REALITY
As an agent of the bronze dragonflight, your power lies in manipulating the flow of time. Slow enemies, reverse key events, or accelerate battles to gain the upper hand — the sands of time are in your hands. Even better - if you feel endangered or bored, you can change campaign difficulty in the menu for your preference.

YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
Deep, engaging dialogues with Chromie and your companions immerse you in the Warcraft lore, while humorous and emotional moments balance the weight of your decisions.

ENDLESS TIMELINES
Dive back into the campaign for different outcomes, dialogue, and side quests, making each playthrough a new experience. Unlock new secrets, and witness how subtle changes in the timeline affect the world.

IN DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT PROGRESS	DEVELOPMENT DIARIES
Introduction "Caverns of Time" - 100% completed! Chapter 1 "Scourging the Lordaeron" - 9% completed, painting Lordaeron; Chapter 2 "Storm, Earth and Fire" - concept build-up; Chapter 3 "Trip to Hyjal" - concept build-up; Chapter 4 "Out-land Adventure!" - concept build-up; Chapter 5 "Limbo" - concept build-up.	DevDiary #1: "What this campaign is about?" DevDiary #2: "Chapter 1 & Progress so far" DevDiary #3: "About Evoker" Lookoup #1: "Eastweald Looks #1" Message #1: "About Active Development"

CREDITS

MODEL CREDITS	ICON CREDITS	TRIVIA
Blizzard Entertainment	Blizzard Entertainment	Blizzard Entertainment

MEDIA

WALKTHROUGH

by myself:

DOWNLOAD LATEST VERSION HERE!

or in the description below!

I'd appreciate any bug reports, suggestions and tips!
Write down them here!

 

[AMarkov]

The idea is reminiscent of the Marvel animated series What If.
This should be very interesting!

 

[puck]

Wonderful idea!I cant wait to try it!

 

[Yousef]

I like the idea of visiting different points in time.

 

[The Nightmare Book]

The idea is reminiscent of the Marvel animated series What If.
This should be very interesting!

Wonderful idea!I cant wait to try it!

I like the idea of visiting different points in time.

Thank you! For this campaign, I want to build up something that I tried to implement in other unfinished maps. And it would look cool, cause such an idea - timewalking - can include nearly everything and anything.
Later today I'll share more general information about this campaign - hope that it will clarify what is about better

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Hello there and welcome to "Chromie Time: Origins" first state of development message. Today, as I promised, I'll try to clarify the vision of this project and uncover something from undercover.

State of Development #1

What this campaign is about?

• Campaign Length: 4(5) chapters with subzones. Less than 18-20 playable maps, of course.
• The campaign will tell you a very generic, of course, story about enigmatic bronze dragonflight just right after the events of "World of Warcraft Dragonflight". This will not include the recent "The War Within" expansion storyline, so - sorry but no Xal'atath here.
• After the dragons finally restore their power after defeating Fyrrak (bad primal dragon guy), Nozdormu now is very busy. And all those timelines, those historical events need to be held - all those things are on Chromie's shoulders. She is... She is old and requires aid.
• Here you are - her first official assistant, who will travel through 4(?) different periods of Azeroth history, starting from very important one - Arthas and The Culling.
• I will spoil something - you are not on Arthas side, you are on side of History.
• And yes - there are at least 2 planned campaign endings. And your actions will affect future chapters.
• Maybe in the future, after starting the second campaign, I'll try to ensure saving the most important actions like loading decisions from Witcher 2 into Witcher 3... Just a plan for the future.

Difficulty?

• Expect typical Story/Normal/Hard difficulty levels. And that affects mostly gameplay, not story, elements. No quests or story dialogs are locked under difficulty, hell no.
• But the harder the difficulty, the better the rewards from bosses and the world. And bosses became harder.
• Generic enemies are handicapped. I'll try to make it fair to the selected difficulty.

Hero & Story Relationship

• Planned to implement some sort of morality system. Look at KOTOR - Sith/Jedi points. Here you are bronze dragon, but who are the opponents of them? Infinite Dragonflight.
• Path of Bronze: preserve history at all costs. Path of Infinity: rewrite the history.
• The campaign will try to offer you choices that could affect you, your allies, characters, and their fates. Or - perhaps - even more.

---

For the latter: loading screens for some campaign levels (not the final version), under spoiler tags (not full screen).

Spoiler: The Amazing Darkmoon Faire

Spoiler: Stratholme Rendezvous

Thank you for your attention!
I'll appreciate your attention to me and will answer any questions here about this state of development or campaign at all.
Until the next "State of Development".

 

[puck]

So now we have 2 planning,I have never play the story of darkmoon faire in war3,so compared to arthas,a more famous story,I prefer to enjoy as a joker of faire .Btw,I wonder whether u want to take us to war of the ancients,I have always think 2 IF-END： burning legion enter azeroth lastly,and queen azshara forgive herself by against burning legion and save the well of eternity.I think it is a potenial idea.

 

[AMarkov]

I'll appreciate your attention to me and will answer any questions here about this state of development or campaign at all.

1.Details about the characters: Who will be the main protagonist? Will there be other significant characters from Warcraft (aside from Chromie and Nozdormu)?
2. Game duration: How long will each chapter take to complete? Are there any time estimates for overall playthrough length?

 

[The Nightmare Book]

So now we have 2 planning,I have never play the story of darkmoon faire in war3,so compared to arthas,a more famous story,I prefer to enjoy as a joker of faire .Btw,I wonder whether u want to take us to war of the ancients,I have always think 2 IF-END： burning legion enter azeroth lastly,and queen azshara forgive herself by against burning legion and save the well of eternity.I think it is a potenial idea.

In concept, "The Amazing Darkmoon Faire" will be focused on meeting the most unusual character you never thought of, completing mini-games, and fighting bosses of course. In terms of story - it will be an optional subzone.
What about the War of Ancients... Perhaps I'll mark it for the future as a possible subzone of chapter 3 - night elf one.

1.Details about the characters: Who will be the main protagonist? Will there be other significant characters from Warcraft (aside from Chromie and Nozdormu)?
2. Game duration: How long will each chapter take to complete? Are there any time estimates for overall playthrough length?

Thank you for your questions!

1. Our main protagonist is a protege of the player - you can select a male Horadormu or female Luminormu player character. They will have the same gameplay, spells, and specializations, but have some different dialog phrases in some cases. Think about Assassin's Creed: Origins or Valhalla in terms of male/female changes. And about other significant characters - Arthas, Mal'Furion, Mal'Ganis, Jaina, Uther, Thrall, Cairne, Taran Zhu, Illidan, Kael'thas, Maiev... It is hard in time walking not to see historical personalities!
2. The intro is short, with 3 cinematics and 3 small quests. Chapter 1 will last like Act 1 from the Rexxar campaign, probably - if doing for 100%. Don't have estimations for now.

 

[puck]

In concept, "The Amazing Darkmoon Faire" will be focused on meeting the most unusual character you never thought of, completing mini-games, and fighting bosses of course. In terms of story - it will be an optional subzone.
What about the War of Ancients... Perhaps I'll mark it for the future as a possible subzone of chapter 3 - night elf one.


Thank you for your questions!

1. Our main protagonist is a protege of the player - you can select a male Horadormu or female Luminormu player character. They will have the same gameplay, spells, and specializations, but have some different dialog phrases in some cases. Think about Assassin's Creed: Origins or Valhalla in terms of male/female changes. And about other significant characters - Arthas, Mal'Furion, Mal'Ganis, Jaina, Uther, Thrall, Cairne, Taran Zhu, Illidan, Kael'thas, Maiev... It is hard in time walking not to see historical personalities!
2. The intro is short, with 3 cinematics and 3 small quests. Chapter 1 will last like Act 1 from the Rexxar campaign, probably - if doing for 100%. Don't have estimations for now.

I know darkmoon faire from hearthstone 100%

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Although I'm continuing to work on the campaign and finished the intro chapter, now I want to share what I call - "testing current technologies for music".
Yes, it is generated music, but still, I find it plausible and funny. Funny enough for starting part of the "Amazing Darkmoon Faire" subzone!

Tell me what you think about such an "addition", and I'll gladly read your opinions or suggestions!

 

[AMarkov]

I encounter a lot of phobias regarding AI in my work. Many of these are driven by fears surrounding it. However, I personally use AI extensively for generating various materials—code, images, image editing, sounds, music, etc. It's not always perfect and often requires my own adjustments. But overall, I support the use of AI when it truly helps.

This musical composition is good; there are some inaccuracies, but they are not critical. Considering that the project budget is $0, the ability to avoid hiring a bunch of specialists is really great! I’m all for it! And if this content also inspires you, then that’s even better!

Please, no hate; utilizing AI as a tool to assist in work is perfectly acceptable. However, relying solely on AI for all tasks is something I also disapprove of.

 

[puck]

OH，I love this music,Imo it has can be compared with the music of hearthstone new version‘s Promotional video

 

[The Nightmare Book]

First of all, thank you for your music review. About using AI - honestly, it loosens some restrictions and allows me to do some things more easily and quickly.
Let me continue with the next message, down below.

---

Campaign working progression continues. Steady as she goes.

But I think... Guess what?
Time to share something with you!
This post will be continuously updated with the latest playable campaign version until her final release, so here is the current campaign status:

• Playable: Intro only.
• All elements in the intro are finished.
• Warcraft 3 version: latest Reforged version.
• Graphics: Classic SD.

I hope that you will find it enjoyable and I'll gladly read all your feedback and suggestions.

 

[puck]

I have almost finish the introduction,genally I love it,but before I report some bugs and feedback,I want to the answer of the third question(wretched),I have try 3 answers but no work.U can seed me privately.

 

[puck]

no description.

I have finish hisconversation，but still has ? on him.I love ur txt style,especially those about heroes of storm,undoubtly the whole campaign will benefit for it

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Thank all of you for your feedback, I'm appreciating that a lot. Fixed bugs and clarified some stuff, I can only tell that in the next playable version I'll try to share the whole of Chapter 1 + additional cinematic after it.
Yes, it will take some time to deliver, but don't worry - I'll continue posting some development insides and juicy stuff.

---

Like, for example - the next one. One of my currently discarded ideas that each time rapture will feature its own unique loading screen:

Spoiler: rapture "start level" screen

About development at all, nothing to share actually, but:

• Conceptualized all 3 subzones for chapter 1. Dive into Stratholme dungeon with 5 different bosses, visit the Amazing Digital Circuis Darkmoon Faire, or play a base survival like some particular mission from Starcraft 2?
• Spoilers for Chapter 2 - you will see a lot of pirates.
• Our main hero will have 3 specs, unlockable on level 10 out of 20. You are not obliged to select 1 of them and you can continue playing as a level 10-max hero, and there would be something special in that case.
• Your team looks and hero disguises will change according to the current chapter. How many different disguises you can imagine?

And... And that's all, for now. More details will come soon.
Thanks for reading and thank you again for your feedback.

Unit next devdiary!

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Guess what? Someone decided to record the intro chapter... Wait, that was me!
Yeah, thanks to your reports and something more, here you are with a video walkthrough and an updated uploaded campaign:

• You can play only the intro chapter - "Caverns of Time" - but at least fully as I expected it before!

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Guess what? Time for another short development diary!
And today I'll tell you more about the main hero - Luminormu/Horadormu - and your first hero experience as Evoker!

---

Who we are?

Your main looks for Lordaeron, one of them.

I do not want to delve into details, so let me mark the most valuable points that will probably answer:

• You select Lumi/Hora as the main hero, who can achieve a maximum LVL 20 during the campaign
• However, you start as "whelp" - called Evoker - a versatile ranged spellcaster, who can learn cool abilities from the list below, it's not full!

List of Evoker abilities, Description+ Video

• On LVL 10 Evoker leveling stops cause it is cap for him. But you can, not should, select 1 from 3 specs to continue leveling, changing your gameplay completely!

• Here comes the most valuable question - "What about leveling?"

What about leveling?

In short:

1. Custom EXP formula, which includes next:
   1. difficulty - nuff said;
   2. your hero level - nuff said;
   3. your enemy level - either mob or hero;
   4. some balance factors - aka constants for the smooth level experience;
   5. enemy difficulty - aka if the enemy is rare/elite/boss, more about enemies in the next dev diary.
2. NO EXP from killing enemies, the level of whose is lower or higher than yours by 2.
3. Quests will grant EXP rewards better than everything, depending on your choices;
4. If you reach max level, EXP rewards will convert to bonus stats rewards, focusing on your main stat;
5. All of these apply only to campaign RPG maps, not RTS-based ones.

---

...And that's all for today. Yeah, I wish I could tell you more, but honestly - except for landscaping locations and writing some story, this was something valuable and real to tell or show.
I'd appreciate any of your suggestions, questions, and commentaries.

The next one will be about Chapter 1 maps, especially Lordaeron world systems, and some other things. When?
When they will be ready, they will be ready.

Unit next devdiary!

 

[The Nightmare Book]

During your adventure among Amazing Darkmoon Faire, you will probably meet its enigmatic leader - Silas Darkmoon. But sooner or later you will meet him under a very unpleasant matter...

More details later, but thanks again for the technology, I tried to capture the atmosphere of such a fateful visit...

---

I'll gladly hear your opinion about using such music in project, cause I'm myself is thrilled to use more.

 

[puck]

During your adventure among Amazing Darkmoon Faire, you will probably meet its enigmatic leader - Silas Darkmoon. But sooner or later you will meet him under a very unpleasant matter...

View attachment 494181

More details later, but thanks again for the technology, I tried to capture the atmosphere of such a fateful visit...

---

I'll gladly hear your opinion about using such music in project, cause I'm myself is thrilled to use more.

fantastic to hear this in war3.

 

[The Nightmare Book]

...When it's nothing valuable to report, I still want to share something about the development of the upcoming Chapter 1 "Scourging the Lordaeron".
Although I have already told you about the chapter's main plot (in general) and its subzones, I want to tease something about the main world - Eastweald.
Did you ever know that Plaguelands has a name before, well, Plague?

---

So, in short:

• You won't play as anyone else or have additional heroes under your command.
• Rares, elites... You named it - I got it!
• Quests. I'm looking forward to doing some unusual quests, without "collect 6 rabbit skins" - types: ranging from simple "light-up lanterns" up to Agatha Christie-like detective and spooky-spooky Halloween adventure!
• You will mess with Natanos. Possibly he won't like it.
• You will collect some taxes for the prince. Mount & Blade, in my Warcraft?
• And overall - I'm looking forward to bringing some typical fantasy/"medieval" vibe for that chapter. Details, of course, later.

---

...And th-a-a-ts all, folks!
I'll gladly read all of your suggestions/impressions about what I had planned or showcased already, as it yet more to come!
Positive in a time-walking adventure that you can observe any scenario you want to.

Thank you for reading, until "Eastweald & Beyond" devdiary.
As we dealt - speak about chapter world in detail.
Ciao!

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Decided to try some custom campaign screens. Quality was sacrificed to Size Gods.

What do you think?

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Ho-ho, people. No, it's not about Santa Claus or Christmas. I just wanted to say helo-o-o.

---

I will pretend that I said nothing.

Ehm.
While Chapter 1 "Scourging the Lordaeron" development is in full swing, I decided to share 2 things with you:

• Another musical try-out, again for Darkmoon Faire - check it out here!
  
• And a couple of location screenshots. No touch, only for the look! I will mark these as "Map Lookup" by now, yeah.

Enough words, let's have a look!

Eastweald - Map Lookup #1

...And so on! Of course, all of these are WIP. All locations are inspired by WoW Classic/Retail Eastern Plaguelands.
I hope that soon I can show you more, I swear that nearly every part of the playable Lordaeron will have a specific theme and charm.
I hope so.

Moreover, upcoming dev diary is on its way to deliver to you here.
Looking forward to hearing your opinions, suggestions, likes, and dislikes - I'll gladly read them all.

Thanks for today, have a nice time.
Until then!

 

[Lefroit]

Played the demo, very promising. Looking forward to seeing full release

• Planned to implement some sort of morality system. Look at KOTOR - Sith/Jedi points. Here you are bronze dragon, but who are the opponents of them? Infinite Dragonflight.
• Path of Bronze: preserve history at all costs. Path of Infinity: rewrite the history.

By the way, if you need bronze and infinite dragonspawn models, you can use Dragonspawn Pack by Explobomb. I made an optimized edit of it, combined with infinite dragonspawn skin made by FrIkY.

Dragonspawn Pack

Dragonspawns can often be seen serving Dragons or Drakes as guardians or warriors. Their appearance is that of a four-legged dragon with an upper humanoid torso, a dragon's head and can vary greatly in color. Some of these have grown to immense size and sport a pair of massive wings. They often...

www.hiveworkshop.com

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Played the demo, very promising. Looking forward to seeing full release

By the way, if you need bronze and infinite dragonspawn models, you can use Dragonspawn Pack by Explobomb. I made an optimized edit of it, combined with infinite dragonspawn skin made by FrIkY.

Dragonspawn Pack

Dragonspawns can often be seen serving Dragons or Drakes as guardians or warriors. Their appearance is that of a four-legged dragon with an upper humanoid torso, a dragon's head and can vary greatly in color. Some of these have grown to immense size and sport a pair of massive wings. They often...

www.hiveworkshop.com

Thank you! I'm already using his Dragonspawn Pack and added Infinite Dragonspawn skin myself (using exported from WoW:

But I think that I will use your edit and combine it with WoW explored models. Thank you very much.

 

[The Nightmare Book]

Since the recent release of Warcraft 3 Reforged patch 2.00 and its problems (and some other problems from IRL), I decided to pause the active development of this campaign for now.
It DOES NOT mean that you won't see those adventures of Chromie and her assistant Luminormu or Horadormu even more, but it MEANS that they will be delivered when I notice that Warcraft 3 became at least as stable as it was.
For now, I'll try to finish/redo some things from past projects, like updating my Warcraft 3 Tower Defense campaigns or remastering Call of the Swarm old campaign (from 2017) into a single-story map, and work over new, smaller projects.

I'll add a current campaign file here and to the main post, you can explore the current map, read the contents of the campaign, use some commands like "spawn" or "lvl" to test the new leveling system, and replay the Introduction: "Caverns of Time".

Thanks for today, have a nice time.
Until then!

 

[AMarkov]

Wise decision!
We look forward to updates to your projects and look forward to returning to Chromie Time: Origins!