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CHRONICLES OF TIRISFAL
INTRODUCTION
But before I can even begin to expect that, I have to give you guys some idea of what the project is, don't I?
OVERVIEW
My knowledge of the Warcraft Lore is quite extensive, after all, as the series has been a part of my life since I was a child and I grew up absolutely enraptured with the universe. I remember many days I devoted to simply scrolling through countless articles on wowwiki (and later wowpedia), studying every facet of the story with far more gusto than I ever did my schoolwork. I have read just about every novel at least once, scrolled through many parts of the manga/comic series, read every short story, watched every video... Obsessed is putting it mildly, I will admit.
While I adore this series and still love the games - even World of Warcraft, for all it's faults - I must say there were many retcons and design choices I could never fully agree with... Bits of story that I would have preferred to see done in other ways. (*coughspacegoatscough*) Chronicles is my attempt at remastering and retelling the story in a fresh, interesting way that addresses these bits of dissatisfaction and also just generally puts my own twist on aspects, further developing concepts that may have been left somewhat... Lacking, in regards to the attention that Blizzard decided to give them.
So what are some of these changes, and what are your ideas for the storyline, you may ask?
THE BASICS
The first campaign released under the Chronicles of Tirisfal name will be a semi-short prologue by the name of (at least it's working title for now) CoT: Catalyst. In addition to Catalyst, an expanded prologue will be written in the form of a manual-type resource which will include bits of lore and reference guides to certain things (as well as some walkthroughs for the campaigns) and, separately, a collection of short stories that I will publish on the Hive forums somewhere, which will look into storylines from before even the Catalyst campaign.
Catalyst takes place just before the opening of the Dark Portal. Indeed, the Portal's opening is a major part of the campaign. It will feature roughly 3 missions of each of the races, giving tutorials for their special racial features as well as delving into their involvement in the overarching story. After Catalyst, there will be a batch of four campaigns under the name of Chronicles of Tirisfal: Age of Blood, following all four races and their involvement in the First War.
Yes, you read that correctly: four races in a campaign set during the First War. This isn't Orcs and Humans alone, you see, and that is as good a place as any to start giving some details about the story.
RACES
Horde
The first two races should be easy enough to guess, as they have been the stars of the show since the beginning. But not all is as it was in the canon! Take charge of a new and improved "Old Horde," their ranks filled with raging orcish warriors and warlocks, backed up by their massive brutish cousins from Draenor: the titanic ogres. Orgrim Doomhammer also strikes a deal with the goblins far earlier than he had in the true storyline, giving the Horde access to their crazy inventions and even crazier goons. Charge to the Keep of Stormwind with the aid of Kil'rogg Deadeye, Gul'dan, Cho'gall, Griselda Blackhand and many others! Lok'tar Ogar!Southern Alliance
The Kingdom of Azeroth does not stand alone in this version of the story. The dwarves of Khaz Modan and even the men of Kul'tiras will not abandon their southern kin to their fate in the wake of invasion of both orcs and demons. Follow the quest of the new original character, Sir Erron, to defend the Kingdom from the rampaging evils that blight it's idyllic lands. Aided by the legendary Anduin Lothar and other such champions as Thargas Anvilmar, Khadgar, Tandred Proudmoore, Alonsus Foal and more. Light be with you - For Azeroth! For King Llane!Cult of the Damned
The other two are perhaps a bit more surprising. Firstly there is the Cult of the Damned, but not as you know them! Medivh is their founder and leader: the Dark Prophet, the Fallen Guardian. His possession at the hands of Sargeras is more complete than we ever saw in the canon, and he is far more actively looking to herald in the coming of the Burning Legion. Yes; Medivh is a playable hero in Chronicles, and commands forces ranging from corrupted men and orcs to the demonic forces of the Legion itself. In the Cult campaign, you will ravage the land in preparation for the Horde's conquest (unbeknownst to them) with such figures as Medivh and Gul'dan taking the helm and employing the aid of the dreaded Nathrezim - Tichondrius, Anethuron and Mephistroth chief among them. Play your hand from the shadows and prime this world for invasion, in the name of Lord Sargeras!Draenei
Not all who wander the dying world of Draenor are as vile and war mongering as the savage orcs and brutish ogres. Deep in the twisted forests and caverns of the red world hide the remains of a broken people - the Draenei. Once a peaceful and spiritual folk and the dominant race of their homeworld, Draenor, they were brought to ruin when the once divided Clans of orcs united under a single banner and waged a bloody crusade against them. Scattered and lost, the various tribes of Draenei fight a losing battle with the orcs that they know they cannot possibly hope to win. You will take on the role of Akama, Elder Sage of the Ashtongue tribe, and work to unite your people in a new quest... A quest to venture to a new, unfamiliar world where the Draenei might have a chance at recovering what they have lost... And a chance for revenge! Korsha'gal!CATALYST
So now that you know the races, I can give you a basic synopsis of what will happen in the Catalyst campaign.You will first play the three missions of the Cult of the Damned, taking command of the three Nathrezim lords as they clear the haunted Swamp of Sorrows of human incursion, ravaging the budding town of Marshtide Port to cinders as best you can whilst staying undiscovered. You will also venture into the deeper, forgotten parts of the bog where ancient elven artifacts lie lost and dormant, corrupting them for your own purpose and then using them to tear open the dimensional rift that will become the Dark Portal... Afterwards, you will protect the Fallen Guardian as he crafts the rift into the Portal itself, while also using the Rift yourselves to travel into the world of Draenor, aiding Gul'dan in his own task of securing the newborn Portal on the other side and protecting him from those who would stand in the way of the Legion!
After this, you will take part in the Horde's initial crossing into Tirisfal, first taking on the role of Cho'Gall and assisting him in his rise to power as Chieftain of the Twilight's Hammer Clan as he dethrones the former Chieftain - an Orcish Herald of Twilight - to secure his own place of power within the Horde's leadership, and earning the favor of the Shadow Council. Then you will follow Kil'rogg Deadeye and help to clear the way to the Kingdom of Azeroth, carving a bloody road through Deadwind Pass and the southern forests of Brightwood, slaughtering and capturing any unsuspecting humans you can find! Finally, the two heroes of the Horde will rendevous together and make the initial charge against Stormwind Keep, letting the pale dogs know that the Horde has come to claim their lands!
But the human capital will not be such an easy target! Lord Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth and Armsman of the Brotherhood of the Horse, will rally the defense and lead a glorious counterattack against the two Orcish clans, repelling them off and breaking the siege! Then they, too, will venture into the forested lands of Brightwood, hunting down the Horde and chasing them back to the Swamps. There they will earn themselves an unusual prisoner, who will promise them aid in return for their life. On the advice of the prisoner, Sir Anduin will lead his brave knights into the lands of Westfall and into the Deadmines in search of a powerful artifact that will aid them against the forces of darkness, but there he will meet an unwelcome surprise, and may find that his quest may not be as easy as he would've expected...
And then finally, you will cross the Portal once more and follow Nobundo the Scarred, Far Seer of the Greyheart Tribe of Draenei, and his search for purpose and hope amidst the ruins of his home world. Day in, day out, the Greyhearts are hounded by the Orcs, hunted for sport to the point of near extinction. While searching for shelter, you will find the mysterious Akama and his Ashtongue seers within a sacred cave, and together Akama and Nobundo will venture into the realm of the spirits, seeking guidance. Walking through the plane of spirits and enduring the trials of the elements, Nobundo and Akama will receive a vision that tells them their only hope is to leave their beloved world behind and search for a new land of promise and plenty. Believing that that can only mean they need to make their way to the same world as the orcs, the draenei resolve to gather as many tribes as they can so that they may make an assault on the Dark Portal itself, striking from the shadows and slipping through to the new world...
After this, you will take part in the Horde's initial crossing into Tirisfal, first taking on the role of Cho'Gall and assisting him in his rise to power as Chieftain of the Twilight's Hammer Clan as he dethrones the former Chieftain - an Orcish Herald of Twilight - to secure his own place of power within the Horde's leadership, and earning the favor of the Shadow Council. Then you will follow Kil'rogg Deadeye and help to clear the way to the Kingdom of Azeroth, carving a bloody road through Deadwind Pass and the southern forests of Brightwood, slaughtering and capturing any unsuspecting humans you can find! Finally, the two heroes of the Horde will rendevous together and make the initial charge against Stormwind Keep, letting the pale dogs know that the Horde has come to claim their lands!
But the human capital will not be such an easy target! Lord Anduin Lothar, the Lion of Azeroth and Armsman of the Brotherhood of the Horse, will rally the defense and lead a glorious counterattack against the two Orcish clans, repelling them off and breaking the siege! Then they, too, will venture into the forested lands of Brightwood, hunting down the Horde and chasing them back to the Swamps. There they will earn themselves an unusual prisoner, who will promise them aid in return for their life. On the advice of the prisoner, Sir Anduin will lead his brave knights into the lands of Westfall and into the Deadmines in search of a powerful artifact that will aid them against the forces of darkness, but there he will meet an unwelcome surprise, and may find that his quest may not be as easy as he would've expected...
And then finally, you will cross the Portal once more and follow Nobundo the Scarred, Far Seer of the Greyheart Tribe of Draenei, and his search for purpose and hope amidst the ruins of his home world. Day in, day out, the Greyhearts are hounded by the Orcs, hunted for sport to the point of near extinction. While searching for shelter, you will find the mysterious Akama and his Ashtongue seers within a sacred cave, and together Akama and Nobundo will venture into the realm of the spirits, seeking guidance. Walking through the plane of spirits and enduring the trials of the elements, Nobundo and Akama will receive a vision that tells them their only hope is to leave their beloved world behind and search for a new land of promise and plenty. Believing that that can only mean they need to make their way to the same world as the orcs, the draenei resolve to gather as many tribes as they can so that they may make an assault on the Dark Portal itself, striking from the shadows and slipping through to the new world...
RECRUITING
Story Consultants
I already have a very good idea of where I want the story to go, as you can likely tell... But I'm not arrogant as to believe every idea I have is solid gold and that there aren't better ways to tell it. As a story consultant, your job would be to offer suggestions for the lore and flow of the storyline for the project, but also to understand that the last word is ultimately mine. I've been working on this idea for 12 years now, so you will have to trust me that I know where I want to go with it, but I like to think I am entirely reasonable and willing to listen to the words of others if their thoughts are more sound than my own. I'm probably not going to want more than four people filling this role, maximum, to avoid conflicting ideas in the concept process, so I am going to be EXTREMELY selective here. You have been warned, haha.Artists/Modelers
While we are sticking to the general style of the classic Warcraft games and, as such, it will be entirely possible to use already existing resources here on the Hive, I would IDEALLY like to have as close to 100% original resources as possible, done in the style of vanilla Warcraft III models and textures but of a higher quality. For reference, you may look to the work of Tauer, who has already agreed to be a part of this project team and will likely wind up the "head" of the art "department" for this team, unless someone I believe to be more qualified ends up interested in joining.Furthermore, we will need people with skill in 2D artistry as well, to help with banners, concept art and any other images to be used on any forums we end up creating as well as resources such as loading screens and retextures.
Related to the modelers, but much rarer to find, I would also really like to have someone able to create cinematic movies akin to the ones seen in Warcraft III. Tauer has stated he would definitely like to try his hand at something along these lines, but obviously it is a lot of work for one person alone.
Programmers
This project is pretty massive, obviously. Or at least, it CAN be pretty massive if we get everything we're looking for. For that reason, I would love to look into the idea of making Chronicles of Tirisfal a full-fledged mod for Warcraft III as opposed to merely a collection of campaigns. Someone who knows how to edit MPQs and write executable files, change the coding of the game itself and all of that lovely stuff would be a fantastic asset to the team.Additionally, in the same sort of category, people skilled in programming the A.I. of Warcraft III would be greatly appreciated as well.
JASS Coders
On a related note, people who are skillled in JASS and even just general triggering in Warcraft III are definitely needed for this project, with what we have in mind to do. From custom spells to systems to simply making things carry over from one map to the next (or even from one campaign to the next), JASS writers are simply a must.The user known as Yugata has already agreed to be a part of the team and, similar to Tauer in the modeling department, he is likely to wind up my lead coder, at least in the way of spell design.
Cinematic Directors
Not everyone skilled with triggers is also skilled with in-game cinematics. I myself like to think I'm fairly good in this particular field, but I'm no expert at it. Someone with an innate sense of cinematography and timing as well as all the little camera tricks and filters able to be done in Warcraft III would make for a very nice addition to the project team.Voice Actors
I myself actually have a decent vocal range and a passing knowledge of the manipulation of voice files, so if I absolutely had to I could probably get away with voicing every single unit and character... But that's obviously not ideal, haha. Even dismissing the amount of work that would go into it, even someone with an absolutely stunning range (which I don't have anyways) would struggle to come up with the amount of character voices needed for this project with each of them sounding distinct. The more variety the better, so this is actually where I will likely be asking for the most applicants.Tech-Tree Designers
Through trial and error, I can come up with a halfway reasonable tech-tree of unique units and systems, but that takes a long long time of testing, reworking and scrapping and simply isn't optimal. A more experienced hand in this department would be more than welcome, so long as they show the level of skill and competence i'm looking for. One important feature of the gameplay aspect of Chronicles is the fact that the tech-trees are customize-able, so anyone seeking this role has to understand that they will basically be making two full tech-trees for four races, so the equivalent amount of work to about eight tech-trees, minus buildings and Heroes (which are unique).Game Experts
Finally, no game can be truly finished without testers... But I'm not the kind of person who is looking for someone who just wants to play the work-in-progress map and give a tidbit of feedback. At least not for the official team - there will be playable demos released to the public in the future for that. No, what I am looking for in this role of the team are veteran players who have a STRONG understanding of the game and how it works, who would be able to tell me and the tech-tree designers what would work even before we put it to the test, who would know what would make for an interesting single-player experience and be willing to talk to the rest of the team about it before anything is even in a playable state and then also willing to play through it in a sort of closed beta to make sure everything is functioning and enjoyable before public release.SELECTION PROCESS
As I mentioned above, the process of selection for team members is going to be quite rigorous and not just anybody is going to get a spot. Any offer of assistance will be under great scrutiny and will be judged by not just myself, but also any other member of the team. Currently, that is only Yugata, Tauer and myself, but will eventually include many others (I hope!), so the process will only get more and more selective as more members join the team. Don't worry though! Everyone WILL BE considered, even if we get to the point where I feel like the team is large enough and doesn't need anyone else. I'll still consider it! I'm open-minded and respectful, and I'll be honored if anyone decides to try to opt to join the team, so everyone's offer is going to be acknowledged and considered, at the very least.
So please, if you have any interest whatsoever, please throw me a private message and let me know if you're interested and what sort of skills you have to offer for the team! I'll be more than happy to hear from any of you. ^^
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