• 🏆 Texturing Contest #33 is OPEN! Contestants must re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version. 🔗Click here to enter!

First Human Book of Arkain (Patch 1.29.2 or newer!)

This bundle is marked as director's cut. It exceeds all expectations and excels in every regard.
arkain_2020_x200-png.369838


! No longer updated !
Check out the
True Story of Arkain for updates!


full


A Campaign Series made by Shar Dundred

! Requires Version 1.29.2 or newer !
You are not allowed to publish any edited version of any Arkain map! This includes but is not limited to Reforged edits!

Story

The Humans of the Empire, who fought the Demon invaders for years, after the end of the so called Voidwar, now face a new strong invasion force. New ships have arrived from the other side of the Great Sea and the Humans prepare to defend themselves against the incoming invasion.
Command General Blen Greymoore, one of the best generals of the Empire, and his allies and face the new Demon Invasion. Defend the kingdoms and defeat the ruthless and merciless Legions.


Campaign Series Info

The Legends of Arkain is a campaign series which takes place on the world Arkain.
The races of Arkain fight against the demon invaders, who try once again to enslave every being on Arkain. The Humans, the Orcs and the Undead will have to make a stand against them... or face complete annihilation or enslavement by the Demons.
This campaign series will consist of actually three different series. There will be a Human, an Orc and an Undead campaign series. They will all run in the same timeline but will present three different stories and outcomes. When they are all finished, it's completely up to you, who wins this conflict.
Those, who win the war, will write the history.

You like the campaign?
Click here to see the progress of the series!


Click here for the First Orc Book!
Click here for the First Undead Book!

Click here for the Second Human Book!
Click here for the Second Orc Book!
Click here for the Second Undead Book!

Let's Play made by @Jayborino!

Features

- Three different storylines/campaign series
Take control of one of the three factions, the proud Humans of the Empire, the plundering and strong Orc Clans or the mysterious Undead Nexus and their endless army of the dead, and face the demonic invasion as well as other struggles that await you.
- New units
Command units, you already know, as well as completely new units with new upgrades and abilities.
- Decide the fate of Arkain
At some points of the campaigns, you'll have the opportunity to decide things, that affect the storyline, characters and sometimes even the chapters you play or how you have to play them. By doing or, well, not doing certain side quests, you can also affect the campaign.
- Three difficulties
You can play the campaign in either easy, normal oder hard difficulty, just like in the original WC3 campaigns. It will impact on the AI difficulty and scripting as well as other minor changes.
In easy version, for example, the AI won't rebuilt lost buildings.

- Full Jass AI
In this campaign series, every single AI is written in Jass instead of being created with the AI editor. This makes the AI more intelligent.
- Universal Hero hotkeys
All hero abilities use the QWER hotkeys.

Factions

The Human Empire
There have always been Humans on Arkain. The Human kingdoms and their allies, the Elves and Dwarves, have fought the Demons for centuries while also being attacked by orc pillagers. They had no chance against the demons and were already close to annihilation, when the Empire showed up.
They came over the Great Sea in the west and saved the kingdoms, who immediately joined the Empire in return. The Humans still fight the Demons and more and more of them join the fight against their old suppressors.
The Humans already tried to get rid of the Demons for good, but they failed. However, they continue fighting and won't stop until there are no humans or enemies of humanity anymore.
The current Emperor is Theodor the Second.

The Orcish Clans

Legends say that the Orcs hail from another continent and then spread all over the kingdoms. But not even the oldest Orcs can tell, if that's the true or the Orcs have been here all the time, just like the other races.
But it is known that the united clans attacking absolutely everything and everyone they met and conquered a large territory. It did work for a while, but not long. The other races, especially the Demons, who were very angry about that insult, brought the fight to them and massacred half of the green skins.
The Orcs had to retreat and lost much of their territory. The only reason, why half of them are still there, is that their enemies fought among each other as well.
The Orc Clans allied with the Trolls, to increase their strengh, but still didn't manage to gather an army, that was comparable to their old numbers. Since they weren't able to begin their another huge conquest, the clans stopped working together and some old rivalries amongst the clans became important again.
Still, they managed to raid the other races and remain an annoyance for the other factions. There are still many Orcs left, which could prove to be a strong force, if they'd be united under a strong leader.

The Undead Nexus

The Undead are the most mysterious race of Arkain. Of course, necromancers and necrolytes are not unknown and have always summoned some undead servants to do their bidding, but the Undead as a complete race are a mystery to all creatures.
Once, a group of mighty necromancers, who became insane because of their immense power, believed they could rule the world with an army of the Living Dead. However, only days after they began attacking the Human kingdoms, they simply vanished. Their armies were gone and only the remains of the corpses were proof, that they ever existed.
What no mortal and no Demon knows, is, that a powerful Archlich, Aridon the Watcher, self-proclaimed guardian of Arkain, took care of them. He has the ability to take control of every Undead, he wants to control. He uses this power only, to make sure, that besides him is no one, who can form a real army of Undead. He always made the Undead kill their masters and reanimated them as his loyal servants.
The only mighty Undead, not currently living on the Dead Mountain, are guarding old temples and ruins, which contain artifacts, not meant to fall in the hands of neither mortals nor Demons. Still, they all call Aridon their master.
Aridon and his Undead live on the so called Dead Mountain, which lies within the Human kingdoms. Every sent expedition on this mountain never returned, so the Humans decided to simply ignore it and built a garrison to watch over the only entrance to the mountain.
Aridon claims to be as old as the world itself and has seen the rise and fall of races and nations. His goal is to maintain the balance of the world - or at least, what he sees as balance. He stayed out of every conflict and only watched for millenia.
But recent events force Aridon to end his idleness and take action himself instead of only manipulating others. He'll have to make the world know about the Undead - and give reason to fear them.

The Demon Legions

If there are any creatures besides the Undead Lord Aridon, who are as old as Arkain itself, than it must be the Demons. These creatures have been the bane of Arkain for a long, long time. If their history contains anything else than attacking and enslaving other races, than only the Demons know about it.
Every Demon Legion is lead by its most powerful Dreadlord. Who is the one, who commands all Legions, is unknown to every non-demon.
The Demons' realm lies in the East of the continent and is seperated by a bottomless rift, the so called Void. No one, except for Demons and their slaves, has ever been on the other side of the Void. The Void is so heavy fortified by the Demons, that they managed to block every attack there. The Void is also the place where the Imperial Army was defeated during their Great Attack.
Now, the Demons seem to begin another great offensive against the other races. And this time, they are determined to be victorious and won't show any mercy.



Characters

171388-albums8729-picture106263.jpg
General Blen Greymoore
General Greymoore embodies everything the Empire stands for. He is a honorable warrior who is proud to fight for the Empire and the Emperor. His tactical knowledge and physical strengh made him rise up the ranks very fast and he is eager to fight the Demons.
171388-albums8729-picture106264.jpg
Lord Harmos, Guardian of the Flame
Lord Harmos has spent half of his life in an academy to study the arcane arts. He is known for a rather fierce and impatient personality. Still, he knows more about fire magic than anyone else and is absolutely loyal towards the Empire and fights the Demons with full caution and uses his knowledge to gain every possible advantage.
171388-albums8729-picture106417.jpg
Aedale
Aedale is probably the most powerful spellcaster in the Empire. Not because of her current power or experience but because of the potential within herself. Aedale still has much to learn, which makes the fact that she was sent to the front look strange. She takes every opportunity to prove both herself and the veterans what she's capable of.
171388-albums8729-picture106419.jpg
Salana Woodhunter
Salana is the best ranger of the Elves and has some friends among the Humans and Dwarves. Therefore she often serves as diplomat for her people. Although she serves her queen without question, she had some problems with the politics of her people and begins to think, that the queen should take a more aggressive approach towards the Demons.
171388-albums8729-picture106267.jpg
General Gardon Bloodclaw
General Gardon is the most ruthless and merciless general in the Empire. He is known for using every available weapon against his enemies without showing any pardon. His background is a huge secret. He simply appeared out of nowhere and became general. He proved very fast, that he got that position out of good reason. He is the commander of the Ironfist, an elite commando of the Empire, which often carries out top secret missions for the Emperor.
Click here to learn more about the other characters!

171388-albums8729-picture106251.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106252.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106253.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106254.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106255.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106256.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106257.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106258.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106259.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106260.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106261.jpg

171388-albums8729-picture106262.jpg




- Initial release


Epilogue:
- Fixed cache issue


General:
- Minor fixes
- Grammar fixes
- New skin for Elite unit
- New portrait for Destructor unit
- New abilities for Blen
- Set experience gain on all difficulties on 30%
- Various trigger fixes
- Terrain improvements
- Secret Chapter will no longer appear if you haven't followed the right way

Chapter One:
- Blen no longer sells his items when AI takes over

Chapter Two:
- Reduced the available gold
- Added a new gold mine
- Reduced the number of rescueable troops
- Reduced the movement speed of the Orc emissary
- Added guards for the emissary
- The Orcs gain a new base if the emissary escapes

Chapter Three:
- Destroying the Keep of the Unknown Soldiers solves the quest

Chapter Four:
- Fixed the outpost area
- Improved cinematics

Chapter Five:
- Decreased difficulty

Chapter Eleven:
- Decreased ally hit points on Hard

Epilogue:
- Fixed cache issue


General:
- Minor fixes

Chapter Seven:
- Fixed Main Quest update bug

Chapter Nine:
- Added reward for destroying Blue
- Reduced the significance of the item gained by killing the golems

Chapter Two:
- Fixed emissary spawn

Epilogue:
- Fixed epilogue

General:
- AI heroes now gain additional levels on Hard difficulty when they are supposed to
- High level Demon units can no longer be charmed
- Demon units don't take any damage from Holy Light anymore
- Demon units now take damage from Death Coil
- Activated latest melee patch for all maps that were still not up to date
- Blen's Neccessary Meassures spell was replaced with Imperial Edict
- Nerfed Giant Skeleton Warrior by removing Resistant Skin and Hardened Skin
- Increased damage of Destructors by 3
- Changed Armor Type of Eredar Warriors, Eredar Wrathguards and Eredar Grandmasters from Medium to Large
- Several model changes
- Added Hardened Skin and Resistant Skin to Clan Elite

Chapter One:
- Demon units now belong to the Souleater Legion
- Overlord replaced with Pitlord
- Added more Demon units
- When purple is defeated, an ally will now join the fight
- Slightly increased the defenses of the enemy bases
- Modified dialogue when encountering the Demons

Chapter Two:
- Increased size of enemy bases
- Increased the defenses of the enemy bases
- Minor terrain improvements

Chapter Three:
- Improved main base defenses
- Increased the number of Orcs attacking with the first wave

Interlude One:
- Added a few Pit Lords
- Added portals

Chapter Four:
- The Demons now send waves against the Ironfist
- The Captains are now still alive after the cutscene in the outpost
- Added Pit Lords

Chapter Five:
- Improved throne room
- Added more enemy units
- Added two Pit Lords

Chapter Seven:
- All Demon units now belong to the Blooddrinker Legion
- Added additional Pit Lord
- Added new dialogue
- The Deathbreeze Clan now supports its shipyards when attacked
- Added more ships to the fleet of the Deathbreeze Clan
- Added additional units to the base defense of the Deathbreeze Clan
- Increased difficulty of the attacking waves
- Replaced the Far Seer with Sasrogarn

Chapter Eight:
- Replaced Soul Burn of Progaderas with Mass Soul Burn
- Increased hit points of the bosses by 1000
- Added new ability for Margazar
- Added an additional Pit Lord
- Increased the number of Fire Golems

Chapter Eleven:
- Replaced Soul Burn of Progaderas with Mass Soul Burn
- Increased the number of Fire Golems
- Added Spell Immunity to Progaderas the Smoking
- The overall style of the map has been modified, the player no longer trains units, but instead supports the armies of his allies with his heroes, by capturing certain buildings and by upgrading the allied army

General:
- Decreased range of Dragon Lancers from 800 to 700
- Decreased Warlord damage by 3
- Fixed Mass Soul Burn
- Salana no longer drops her necklace when she dies

Chapter Four:
- Increased number of allied forces attacking the outpost

Chapter Eight:
- Removed Margazar's super AoE stun

Chapter Eleven:
- Fixed attacking routes

General:
- Various fixes

Chapter One:
- Small grammar fix

Chapter Eight:
- Name fix

Chapter One:
- Completing the side quest regarding the Black Dragon will now be saved as a choice

Chapter Nine:
- Completing the side quest regarding the Darkmind Clan will now be saved as a choice

Secret Chapter:
- The campaign button of Chapter Eleven will now appear properly after completing the secret chapter

Epilogue:
- The new choices will now be referenced

General:
- The campaign no longer uses the latest melee patch due to several balance changes messing up things, a few unit changes still apply to the campaign however

Prologue:
- Fixed an issue where the prologue would crash in version 1.30.1

Chapter Eleven:
- Reworked the AI to be less buggy
- Dramatically reduced the cost of upgrading your allies

General:
- Upkeep reworked: Low Upkeep now gives you 8 instead of 7 gold and High Upkeep now gives you 6 instead of 4 gold
- Furbolgs are now correctly named Bearmen

General:
- Fixed Batrider model

Chapter One:
- Replaced Ironthunder Clan cinematic with dialogue

Chapter Nine:
- Added a hint about the internal clan conflicts for the case of their heroes dying
- Clan Elites now spawn all over the base and no longer require a building to be spawned when the hero of said base dies

Secret Chapter:
- New model for Duke Redfist (courtesy of @Rhapsodie)

Chapter Eleven:
- Removed the dot of "Drake." because my lad @Drake no longer has that annoying dot.
- Destroyed Castles now drop Runes of Restoration
- Increased the size of the ramp to Genethas' castle

General:[/u]
- Fixed triggers that would not be working anymore after loading in newer versions of the game

Prologue:
- Changed the color of the Deathbreeze Clan to Emerald

Chapter One:
- Changed player color from Light Blue to Dark Green
- Renamed Blen's faction from Imperial Army to Kasrkin
- Changed the color of the Darkmind Clan to Navy

Chapter Two:
- Changed player color from Light Blue to Dark Green
- Renamed the Orc Wizards to Ravaging Fire Clan
- The prisoners are no longer "scouts" but instead part of a "vanguard", making their number and strength more plausible
- Changed the color of the Darkmind Clan to Navy

Chapter Three:
- Changed player color from Light Blue to Dark Green
- Changed the color of the Veterans of the Voidwar to Grey
- Changed the color of the Imperial Army to Light Blue
- Changed the color of the Unknown Soldiers to Yellow
- Changed the color of the Darkmind Clan factions to Navy

Chapter Four:
- Decreased the number of Demons attacking the outpost during the cutscene to decrease lags
- Changed the color of the Imperial Army to Light Blue

Chapter Five:
- Changed the color of Larantos' Elite Guard to Peanut
- Replaced Larantos' Phoenix ability with Doom

Chapter Six:
- Renamed the Slaves to Demon Slaves
- Changed the color of the Demon Slaves to Peanut

Chapter Seven:
- Changed the color of the Deathbreeze Clan to Emerald

Interlude Three:
- Adjusted the colors of several units and heroes

Chapter Eight:
- Changed player color from Light Blue to Dark Green
- Changed the color of the Veterans of the Voidwar to Grey
- Fixed the name of the Rohir Nexus

Chapter Nine:
- Changed the color of the Darkmind Clan to Navy
- Changed the color of the Deathbreeze Clan to Emerald
- Renamed the Renegade Orcs to Orc Dissidents
- Changed the color of the Orc Dissidents to Coal
- Minor adjustments to Rath's taunts
- Improved the quality and quantity of the Orc attacks & defenses
- Improved the attacks of the Elven Army
- Allowed Salana to use more Judicators

Chapter Eleven:
- Changed player color from Light Blue to Dark Green
- Changed the color of the Imperial Army to Light Blue
- Renamed the neutral Imperial Army to Imperial Army Bystanders
- Changed the color of the Imperial Army Bystanders to Wheat
- Changed the color of the Knights of Kome to Peach
- Increased the amount of units defending Progaderas
- Brought back the old RTS version of Chapter Eleven
- Removed all taunts

Epilogue:
- Changed the color of the Elves to Teal





Models & Skins:
Blizzard Entertainment
67chrome
epsilon
Wandering Soul
infrenus
Tauer
AndrewOverload519
Mephestrial
Dojo
PrMosquito
Hawkwing
Em!
dickxunder
acagnip
Uncle Fester
Frankster
Mc !
IamMclovin
AhhFreshWeeD
Sin'dorei300
Elenai
Kuhneghetz
CloudWolf
alreadyused
Dark Hunter1357
Dmitry Rommel
Kitabatake
Shar Dundred
RazorClawX
Uljimasa Hojo
eXciTe
Sellenisko
frostwolf
-Grendel
Skipper
Deolrin
gookywooky
Callahan
BlinkBoy
Hueter
Coinblin
13LUR
Pins
Mr.Goblin
Direfury
PROXY
Mechanical Man
DarkEvil
Infrisios


Icons:
Blizzard Entertainment
Uncle Fester
CloudWolf
xylign
SkriK
CRAZYRUSSIAN
Darkfang
GreyArchon
67chrome
Fjury
PrMosquito
INSEKT
Muoteck
dickxunder
Frankster
CloudWolf
Kuhneghetz
Elenai
Heinvers
Shar Dundred
Uljimasa Hojo
SinisterX
Darkfang
Hemske
Palaslayer
NFWar
Hellx-Magnus
Justicebringer
Sin'dorei300
sigelang
Mr.Goblin
Mythic
antihero
Pins
Eagle XI


Campaign Preview Screen:
Heinvers

Campaign Logo:
Mythic

Campaign Chief Development Tester and Grammar Genius:
Kasrkin

Everything else made by:
Shar Dundred

First Supporters:
Theoden of KoMe
Chen
youness
Kasrkin
kakuzu
BandolXD
Heinvers
Imperator
Veritas 117
PlankingWolf



Please contact me via PM if I forgot to give you credit for your resource!



To Blizzard Entertainment for this great game.
To Turnro whose great campaigns inspired me to revive this old project.
To Jayborino for his enjoyable let's play projects of the Arkain series!
To all who supported this project.
And very many special thanks to Kasrkin, who supported the creation of this project in many ways!



Feel free to post your suggestions, opinions and questions!
Please report any bugs!


Here you can find the old 1.27 version of the campaign.
Keep in mind that it is no longer being maintained!



Keywords:
Arkain, Legends, Legends of Arkain, LoA, campaign, series
Contents

Legends of Arkain First Human Book (Campaign)

Reviews
Moderator: StoPCampinGn00b Legends of Arkain First Human Book by Shar Dundred RATINGS Scores[/COLOR]] Gameplay: 27/30 Terrain & Aesthetics: 13/20 Total Score: 40/50 Explanation[/COLOR]]5 Stars: 47+ 4 Stars: 40-47 3 Stars: 25-39 2 Stars...

Pick your favorite character


  • Total voters
    321

Moderator

M

Moderator

[TD]
Moderator:
StoPCampinGn00b
user_offline.gif
user_offline.gif
Legends of Arkain First Human Book
by Shar Dundred
navbits_start.gif
RATINGS

[COLOR=white

[COLOR=white

Scores[/COLOR]] Gameplay: 27/30
Terrain & Aesthetics: 13/20
Total Score: 40/50

Explanation[/COLOR]]5 Stars: 47+
4 Stars: 40-47
3 Stars: 25-39
2 Stars: 10-24
1 Stars: 1-9

navbits_start.gif
CRITIQUE
Gameplay:
(No spoilers included!)

This campaign resembles Warcraft III campaigns but with more emphasis on RTS and slightly bigger battles. It's not short at all, missions can take around an hour. Many units, buildings, and abilities are basically customized versions of default units, buildings, and abilities, but it helps add some familiarity and ease in getting used to this campaign. It isn't only build an army and fight, there numerous side quests that are fun tasks including catching that damn emissary! The AI was really fun to fight against and fight along with, I had no problems with them.

Story wise, it's quite interesting! I've only played three chapters plus the prologue, but so far the dialogue has minimal grammar and spelling mistakes (besides a few out of place commas) and they capture the players attention. It is a little funny to see words like whatever, moron, and totally in this medieval themed campaign.

Overall, you've put together polished blizzard themed gameplay with your own twist, gameplay and story wise.

27/30
Terrain & Aesthetics:
The terrain isn't anything special in this map. The pathways looked great as they complemented the environments around it, but there are a few plain areas that can use a little more tile mixing and a little more height leveling. Cliff usage was nicely executed, it doesn't look excessive and out of place.

The map doesn't look scarce, there are a few doodads and decorations across the entirety of the maps. The cinematics aren't decorative enough, at least make them look prettier than the regular maps.

13/20

navbits_start.gif
VERDICT
The only way a map can be approved is if it follows the map submission rules that apply to the map type.
- All rules followed, map approved!
navbits_start.gif
NOTES
Feel free to contact me about this review on this map page OR message me about anything. (+2) reputation points for taking your time to upload this map to Hive.
user_offline.gif
user_offline.gif
[/TD] [/TD][/tr]
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
5,858
Cheats in this campaign are not disabled, but they aren't supported. If you cheat and encounter any bugs because of that, I won't fix that. There are no known major issues so far, this is just an ordinary announcement.



Tips

Some tips from Kasrkin, the Chief Development Tester of this campaign, for the harder chapters.


-You don't have to clear the forest right away, you can come back with more troops.
-Build more towers immediately.
-Build a town hall at the forest mine as soon as you can and build more towers, air units will attack.
-Choose an ally right away and help that ally but keep in mind that they're an excellent distraction as well.
-This mission is going to take a while so remember to save a lot, grab some snacks, go make yourself a hot meal, grab a couple of drinks do any of these things really. Like I said it's going to take a while so don't go crazy over it.
-You are fighting three armies at once so don't expect to make progress every time you attack.
-Prioritize targets: Heroes come first then their armies, next aim for castles and every worker you see, then you can focus on unit production buildings. Of course this depends on the situation.
-When you destroy a traitor faction completely move in and build a base, their mines have more gold than yours.
-Be careful the AI has a tendency to rebuild if you'll let them and on this mission that will drive you crazy.
-Orange has a very spread out base destroy it all
-Green likes to train heavy cavalry prepare accordingly
-Yellow trains mostly demons have spellbreakers to counter them


-Ivory towers are your friend
-Spam workers with auto repair
-Build a satellite base as soon as you can, and build more workers and towers
-Don't cut down too many of the trees near your base
-Always have troops near the main base
-As soon as an AI is killed build a town hall for more gold DO IT
-Help the elves when they attack even if it might kill you
-Use the spy drones, don't ignore the hint they're your early warning system.


Author's Notes

Some of my thoughts and plans. (includes spoilers)


This is a mode that will be added later. It's supposed to be an additional difficulty for all, who think that Hard is too easy.
The name comes from Kasrkin (who would have guessed that?) who tested the campaign. The idea came when he said that Had was too easy.
I'm not COMPLETELY sure how it will look like later, but it's planned to make the campaign really hard.




Some of you may have played the Secret Chapter and have seen something about this. Others haven't and don't know a thing. This is the complete truth about Aedale's past - whether you like it or not.
Aedale grew up in a noble family as the youngest child with both some brothers and sisters. Her father is a proud officer of the Imperial Army and her mother a popular noble woman. Her brothers and sisters are all either mages or soldiers. They all managed to become officers and she has always been under pressure and was compared to her siblings - and since she had potential but didn't find a way to use it, she never got the attention her parents gave to their other children. She was considered to be too weak to be useful for the army and was supposed to marry some noble and become his faithful wife.
Only because of her teachers, she wasn't called back from her studies. When she volunteered to join the Imperial Army in the kingdoms, her parents were quite upset. They wanted her to stay behind and let her siblings do the fighting - so that their legacy would survive in case the other children would die. After a long - and LOUD - conversation, Aedale left her parents and joined the Imperial Army - she didn't want to come back.
On the journey to the kingdoms, she had to realize that the soldiers were skeptical of the young mage who joined the army only some weeks ago. She became possessed by the wish to show them what she was capable of - if not her parents, the army should be the ones who see how she unfolds her potential.
The following part is only for those who played the Secret Chapter.
Lisara perverted Aedale's memories and made it look even worse. She made Aedale think that only together she'd be able to prove herself. A corrupted Aedale would even kill her very own father if he showed up - Lisara's influence filled Aedale with hatred towards her whole family.

Rebirth

It was a clear night. The wind was picking up, making the leaves rustle while the light of the moon revealed everything on the ground. Everything, especially the remains of those who were fighting at this place days ago. Betrayed by their own king, these brave soldiers of humanity were sent to their deaths because their king became paranoid.
King Uras the Fifth of Rendar, the richest realm of the Seven Kingdoms, called "Defender of Mankind". He sent two thousand soldiers to their deaths because he thought that their leader was plotting against him, because his advisors told him to get rid of him, because this one leader, who was more loyal than the whole council of the king, was more popular than he himself. The moonlight showed who this "Defender of Mankind" really was: A murderer, a madman. A traitor.
The troops had hold their position for several days before they were overwhelmed by the Demons who inhabited this place. Demons, the most wicked and vile creatures that ever existed. There has been no month without a battle against these creatures, no week without waiting for them to attack, no day without being reminded of their trickery and their evil sorcery. They say, a single Demon might be capable of destroying a whole village if not opposed by true warriors. But what are the Demons compared to the schemes of humanity? The intrigues of mankind are already destroying the whole race from the inside, even without the Demons attacking the Kingdoms. The next real invasion of any other race would destroy humanity easily at its current state. Luckily, for the survivors of the clashes that take place before that happens, it might still take centuries before the next real invasion occurs. The Demons have a strange way of acting and the other races have other problems to deal with. Humanity is lucky. That's the only reason why it still exists.
A heavy breath. One of the fighters has survived the battle, heavily wounded. He can feel as life forsakes his body and as he slowly leaves this plane of existence. Only thanks to him and the healers, the soldiers managed to survive that long in this god-forsaken place. He looks around at his fallen comrades, feeling both endless shame and rage at the same time. When that big Demon's strike hit him, he realized that he had been a fool.
The king whose orders he obeyed, let him run into death. The man knew that the king became obsessed with the thought that he was to be replaced, but he didn’t think that it would make him even consider such actions. He was too blind to see what his king had become. That's at least what he wished to be the reason. Actually, he knew the truth: He didn't WANT TO see it! He didn't want to believe that the fear of the king would get the better of him. This was the punishment. Death. Ironic that it wasn't too long ago that he saved the life of the king himself. Now, so many had to die because of the madness of this king. The man had known these soldiers for years, he fought at their side countless times. Now, thanks to the king, they were dead. The man wouldn't have been surprised if some evil god with a twisted sense of humor was laughing right now, while watching him, suffering the pain and waiting for the end.
No, it wouldn't end like this! The man wouldn't ALLOW himself to die just like that! He would return to his king, spit in his face and kill him the most slow and painful way he could think of! This "Defender of Mankind" would suffer for the betrayal of his own kind! His family and advisors would be annihilated, just like the king annihilated all the soldiers here for his mere envy! No one would be able to escape revenge!
The man gathered the tiny bit of magic that still remained in his body and tried to give himself the power to stand up. He didn't care about the consequences, he just wanted to stand up and take revenge! He screamed in pure rage and bitterness. The magic exploded. The man could feel the life abandon his life, leaving him for good, but he was still there. He could feel new strength, his might returning to him, making him even more powerful than he was before. The man stood up, slowly walking away from this place of death. The king shall regret the day, he decided to betray his own kind. For from now on, his time would be over.

For days, the man walked through the forests and mountains that separated him from his target. He knew every route in the Seven Kingdoms, but no one was supposed to see him. Most likely, they already heard that his men were slain and thought him being dead. The king might even have celebrated this day with one of his concubines. He was everything but faithful. His wife was either too ignorant to see it or just looked the other way, not wanting to feel the agony of being cheated. It didn’t matter. Soon, she'd be dead along with her husband and the bastards who dare calling themselves advisors while they're actually just trying to gain more power. Sadly, this was how politics work. It would never change, but the man didn’t care anymore. He wanted to take care of those who wanted his death. Everything else didn't matter at all.
It was a dark, windy night when the man reached side entrance of the capital city. Three men were guarding it. The king, in all his wisdom, had decided that everyone who tried to enter the capital after midnight, was to be granted no entrance. If they still tried to enter, though, the soldiers were allowed to execute them. According to their banners, the guards were part of the king's personal army. That meant that they were more than ready to just kill anyone trying to enter. They were cruel bastards, but effective in battle. Making them guards instead of sending them to fight in the first line was just another proof of the king's stupidity and another reason why the people hated their king.
After the man left the forest and entered the street to continue his way, it didn't take the guards too long to notice them and prepare for a fight. They could be heard laughing, most likely already looking forward killing someone. The hood of the man hid his face, disabling them to see who he actually was. Just a few more steps and the man would've passed the gate, but the men surrounded him.
"See what we got here, boys. Some old fella trying to get through the gate." laughed the guy in front of the man, who also blocked the path to the gate.
"Never heard of the rules of the king, old man? No one is allowed to enter the cities after midnight. Midnight passed one hour ago, we are allowed to kill you right now. If I were you, I'd be begging for mercy!" another one said. The third man grinned and grabbed the hood of the man.
"Let us see your face before we kill you. Just so we know whose ugly face will never be seen again." he claimed. Then he removed the hood and fell to the ground, screaming both shocked and scared of what he just saw. It must've been the most terrifying thing he has ever seen in his whole life, a living nightmare.
"By the gods, what-" One move with the hand and both he and the first guard turned into ice. Another move. The ice melted in mere seconds. The second guard was about to beg for mercy – the man wondered if that simple minded moron was even capable of understanding the irony of this – but the man just moved his hand again and the guard exploded from the inside. Then he placed his hood back and entered the city. The few in the city, who were still not asleep, didn’t care about the sounds. They got used to the screams of those who were slain by the guards. The man continued his journey, unaffected by the gruesome deaths of these guards, and entered the dirty streets of the city.
No one minded the hooded man who was wandering through the streets, the few people who were still up were either had something illegal in mind, were too busy with their own business or just left the brothels and taverns and were on their way home. No one cared about one more hooded figure in the night.
It didn't take him long to arrive at the royal palace of the king. The man knew the palace like no one else – not even the king knew about all the secret passages that lead inside. The man only had to touch the stone walls. They still reacted to his touch, they opened and revealed the secret way. Only the man could open this secret door. He entered and the walls closed behind him again, as if the secret gate never had been there.

It took the man mere minutes to reach the king’s quarters. He knew this place all too well. He used to wander through these passages almost every week for years. He knew every candle, every guardian, every door, everyone and everything inside this palace. Another move with his arm and the door opened silently, allowing the man to enter. The room was filled with gold, almost everything was made out of it. Even the bed. The man could see that someone lied in the bed, but it was only one person – the queen. The first target. One move would be enough to make her suffer the same fate as the guards, but the man wanted to take revenge and suffer like he did. Some movements and magic surrounded her. She woke up, most likely feeling how her feet started to ache. She looked at the man with horror. He didn't wear his hood anymore and she looked into his dead eyes. She tried to say something, but she couldn't talk anymore. The man had used his magic to silence her. She wouldn't be able to scream as the ache became real pain. She wasn't able to scream when the pain became even worse. Little, summoned insects fed upon her body, eating it from the feet up to her stomach. She still tried to scream when the insects reached her head. The magic also didn’t allow her to die and made her feel through every second of her torment. This was nothing but a tiny bit of the pain the man had to go through. He watched every second of her torment and felt nothing. No happiness, no pleasure, just nothing. It took hours until it ended and the man was quite sure that, very close to the end, the queen realized who he was. In the end, the summoned insects disappeared after they had eaten all flesh, all bones, nothing was left, no trace that she had ever even existed. The man left, unmoved by the cruelty he just commited. He felt no guilt. She was among those who were responsible for his betrayal, there could've been no doubt about it.
The advisors shared a similar fate as the queen, they died, one after another. In the end, only the king himself remained. The man knew exactly where to find the "Defender of Mankind". The quest rooms, one particular guest room. The man could hear laugher, the king had more pleasure in bedding his most exotic guest than his wife. Soon, all three would be united again - in death. He entered the room the same way he entered the others. Nine people had died tonight, soon it’d be eleven. The man closed the door behind him and then broke the king and his lover apart with his magic. They looked at him, both confused and shocked. The king of Rendar and his "company" – the elven queen. It was rumoured that, soon, she'd allow her daughter to take over so she could enjoy her immortal life without ruling the Elven Kingdom. That day would come sooner than she thought. She was a vile woman who only used the Humans to fight her battles for her. The man had many good friends among the Elves, her daughter was said to be more popular than her mother but not to be trusted. The man had met her once. He didn't like her back then. Only time would show, but tonight, the Elves would lose their queen and the people of Rendar would lose their king. The man rose his hand to gather his magic and then pointed at her. A loud crushing. An ice meteor had fell from the sky – it landed directly on the elf and crushed her body completely. The king stared at her, not believing what he just saw. He tried to call the guards, but he was silenced by the same spell the man used on his wife.
This king would die a slow, gruesome death, he would suffer the same pain as the man did. First, the man entangled the king in this bed. Then, he froze the arms of the king while also burning them at the same, creating a magical symbiosis that was both effective and really painful. The king tried to scream but the spell prevented him from doing so. The man removed the insects once they were done eating the feet and used dark magic to make the king feel pain from both the inside and the outside. Feeling endless waves of pain, the king didn’t realize how his blood became corrupted by the dark magic – he was too busy fighting the pain. He had no chance. The man opened his mouth and an unnatural, strange sound, that made the king look at him filled with even more fear than pain, was the last thing, the king would ever hear. His blood began to burn in black flames, slowly killing the king in agony. The deed had been done.
The king and everyone else responsible for the betrayal of the soldiers were dead. Still, the man felt nothing. He left the palace the same way he entered it and also left the city. In a few hours, the people would realize that their king is dead and since he didn't have any heirs, chaos would reign for the next few years. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. The man disappeared in the forest and, for the first time since days without rest, he stayed at one place. His journey was over, but the man somehow knew that his story wasn't over. This thought was confirmed sooner than he had expected.
"I've been watching your progress with great interest. We should meet, in person." A voice said inside his mind.
"Who are you?" asked the man, his voice sounded strange, not human at all.
"My name is Aridon, I am the guardian of this world. Come to me, Rahandir Drakeskull, and hear me out. You won't regret it."

 
Last edited:
Level 12
Joined
May 11, 2014
Messages
1,257
Great Shar , you finaly released your campaign , and for your work and dedication you deserve a champagne ! To Shar Dundred !
 
Level 12
Joined
May 11, 2014
Messages
1,257
Also as i said before , it would be nice if someone would create the Arkain world map
 

Kasrkin

Hosted Project: LoA
Level 26
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
802
Woo, it's done!

And now, I'll have nothing to do... and you didn't use the screenshot... cmon man.

The waiting game until approval begins...
 
Last edited:

Deleted member 238589

D

Deleted member 238589

Great, it's finally released. I'll get my hands on it as soon as I can, and review it afterwards, as I promised.
 

Yrk

Yrk

Level 6
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
239
Yehey !, Its release :D

By the way , Congrats for the fast release :)
 

Deleted member 237964

D

Deleted member 237964

That campaign gave me chills.It was more than awesome.The choices were awesome and i think i will play this for second time just to see what happens if i chose something different.

5/5 and madly awaiting next book.

Just one suggestion......

Terrain at mission with outpost was pretty bad in my opinion but i bealieve that it can be still fixed.Other things? None.Just awesome! Keep making good work.

Edit: 04.11.14

SPOILER ALERT!


After playing this character for the second time...i've notice two really different bugs.

-In first mission where Demonic artifact shard appeares if i decide not to let Aedale pick the shard...she and other hero will speak dialogues from both choices.Good and bad one.

-In a third mission wit unknown human forces .... i chose not to destroy their base and still the Dreadlord in epilogue chapter said that i've destroyed them without even checking who they used to be.Not sure if it's bug or not.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Level 2
Joined
Nov 20, 2014
Messages
9
I don't remember when was the last time I had so much fun figuring out how to beat the enemy, good job mate! Finished the first chapter, it was well pretty hard and fun to play. It's pretty scary attacking Orc encampments, as they do not really give a damn about your "pokes", it's bring catapults and footman or you are dead! Looking forward to play the second chapter, once I do I shall post here my thoughts on it, so far it looks and feels pretty amazing :grin: .
 
Level 32
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
3,953
Review finished :thumbs_up:

[TD]
Moderator:
StoPCampinGn00b
user_offline.gif
user_offline.gif
Legends of Arkain First Human Book
by Shar Dundred
navbits_start.gif
RATINGS

Scores

Explanation

Gameplay: 27/30
Terrain & Aesthetics: 13/20
Total Score: 40/50

5 Stars: 47+
4 Stars: 40-47
3 Stars: 25-39
2 Stars: 10-24
1 Stars: 1-9

navbits_start.gif
CRITIQUE
Gameplay:
(No spoilers included!)

This campaign resembles Warcraft III campaigns but with more emphasis on RTS and slightly bigger battles. It's not short at all, missions can take around an hour. Many units, buildings, and abilities are basically customized versions of default units, buildings, and abilities, but it helps add some familiarity and ease in getting used to this campaign. It isn't only build an army and fight, there numerous side quests that are fun tasks including catching that damn emissary! The AI was really fun to fight against and fight along with, I had no problems with them.

Story wise, it's quite interesting! I've only played three chapters plus the prologue, but so far the dialogue has minimal grammar and spelling mistakes (besides a few out of place commas) and they capture the players attention. It is a little funny to see words like whatever, moron, and totally in this medieval themed campaign.

Overall, you've put together polished blizzard themed gameplay with your own twist, gameplay and story wise.

27/30
Terrain & Aesthetics:
The terrain isn't anything special in this map. The pathways looked great as they complemented the environments around it, but there are a few plain areas that can use a little more tile mixing and a little more height leveling. Cliff usage was nicely executed, it doesn't look excessive and out of place.

The map doesn't look scarce, there are a few doodads and decorations across the entirety of the maps. The cinematics aren't decorative enough, at least make them look prettier than the regular maps.

13/20
navbits_start.gif
VERDICT
The only way a map can be approved is if it follows the map submission rules[/URL] that apply to the map type.
- All rules followed, map approved!
navbits_start.gif
NOTES
Feel free to contact me about this review on this map page OR message me about anything. (+2) reputation points for taking your time to upload this map to Hive.
user_offline.gif
user_offline.gif
[/TD] [/TD][/tr]
 
Level 3
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
39
nice campaign :thumbs_up:
maybe you want to edit "Demon Hunter" to "Gardon" :grin:
 

Attachments

  • Untitled.jpg
    Untitled.jpg
    419 KB · Views: 699
Level 3
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
34
Mission 5 hard mode is impossible to win. The "hired" ally is absolutely good at shitting around, the only new unit is the magical hawks which can easily countered by a few archers or Doomguards, the catapult used to destroy building has the worst "siege damage" of all, and the very poor resources available make the Elven force no chance against countless wave of Infernal, Doom guards, another hot chick just like u and those flying "angry birds" spamming. :ash::ash:

Was able to wipe out the first camp (orange one) but the second (green) was always backup by the powerful lev7 Kael'thas and his gang of Golem & dooms, just as the ranger alone wasn't bad enough :ogre_icwydt: I kept the war go on until running out of gold even when that mine was the third.

So is it just me the only one who has this matter?:goblin_jawdrop:
 

Kasrkin

Hosted Project: LoA
Level 26
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
802
Mission 5 is rather annoying, I've only had the patience to complete it normally a few times. The only thing I can say is patience.... cause nothing else is going to work.

I usually made a wall of towers as I advanced and constructed new bases it helped but in the end everything burns the same.

This mission was the one I talked to Shar about most during testing and he still won't add a beneficial unit to the elven roster. :(

Oh yeah, I usually stopped making swordsmen as the mission went on because they become pretty much useless after orange is killed... also if you still have the elite bodyguards, or got them in the first place, keep them alive they're your heaviest hitters.
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
5,858
Level 17
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
322
I've completed mission 1 so far.
No bugs/typos encountered, gameplay is fairly interesting, so good job!

Couple suggestions:
1. Make heroes get less XP from kills. Kinda silly to see them level up instantly and then walk around at current lvl cap.
2. In some cinematics, the black map edge can be seen. Should you decide to fix it, this can to be easily done by enlarging the map.

GL
 
Level 1
Joined
Aug 17, 2014
Messages
2
Mission 5 hard mode is impossible to win. The "hired" ally is absolutely good at shitting around, the only new unit is the magical hawks which can easily countered by a few archers or Doomguards, the catapult used to destroy building has the worst "siege damage" of all, and the very poor resources available make the Elven force no chance against countless wave of Infernal, Doom guards, another hot chick just like u and those flying "angry birds" spamming. :ash::ash:

Was able to wipe out the first camp (orange one) but the second (green) was always backup by the powerful lev7 Kael'thas and his gang of Golem & dooms, just as the ranger alone wasn't bad enough :ogre_icwydt: I kept the war go on until running out of gold even when that mine was the third.

So is it just me the only one who has this matter?:goblin_jawdrop:

Well I struggled on that one as well... it took me like forever and eventually I got tired of it and just towered up one side of the main base and places some catapults behind the towers then I just used a group of fliers and flew in hit the portal and then I killed defenders if only 1 doomguard or 1 dragonhawk or something like that
if not I just flew down to the towers and Catapults (on the other side of the ledge) and repeat until all the portals/enough of the base is destroyed
Really slow and annoying method but I at least finished it eventually

And the dwarf one I also found pretty difficult (Chapter 9) and darn that AoE spell from that blue Orc hero was strong (and the invisible bat riders was annoying)
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
5,858
I've completed mission 1 so far.
No bugs/typos encountered, gameplay is fairly interesting, so good job!

Thanks!

1. Make heroes get less XP from kills. Kinda silly to see them level up instantly and then walk around at current lvl cap.

Heroes already gain less XP, depending on difficulty:
70% Easy
50% Normal
30% Hard

(and the invisible bat riders was annoying)

Invisible Bat Riders?
 
Level 3
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
34
Finally got through mission 5 in 4hs 8 min with some luck, Idk why when I used the Catapult to slowly destroy the building the AI didn't send any troop to defend it (maybe because I took down most of the Farm before so it limited their troop number?), also avoid the buildings which are close to the last base cuz surely they'll send out their army to help.

Mission 9: How can we even launch any attack on the enemies while the only thing we could do is to defend our base?
 
Level 1
Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
3
best custom I have played, great characters great story cool choices, everything i wanted in a campaign and more
 

Kasrkin

Hosted Project: LoA
Level 26
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
802
Finally got through mission 5 in 4hs 8 min with some luck, Idk why when I used the Catapult to slowly destroy the building the AI didn't send any troop to defend it (maybe because I took down most of the Farm before so it limited their troop number?), also avoid the buildings which are close to the last base cuz surely they'll send out their army to help.

Mission 9: How can we even launch any attack on the enemies while the only thing we could do is to defend our base?

With a lot of defenses at your base to weather the storm of enemies, maybe keep a few units at base to kill enemy demos.

Just don't let blue's hero use his ult near your base, everything will die.
 

Shar Dundred

Community Moderator
Level 72
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
5,858
Finally got through mission 5 in 4hs 8 min with some luck, Idk why when I used the Catapult to slowly destroy the building the AI didn't send any troop to defend it (maybe because I took down most of the Farm before so it limited their troop number?), also avoid the buildings which are close to the last base cuz surely they'll send out their army to help.

Mission 9: How can we even launch any attack on the enemies while the only thing we could do is to defend our base?

With a lot of defenses at your base to weather the storm of enemies, maybe keep a few units at base to kill enemy demos.

Just don't let blue's hero use his ult near your base, everything will die.

What he said.
I'd also say that destroying the enemies' main buildings will be VERY helpful in this map if you do it the right way - even more helpful than usual.

@tiger123: Thanks, glad you liked it!
 
Level 3
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
34
Some more tips I would like to add for the mission 9:

_Defend our base while attacking other camp, like u guys said: massive tower at base and leave some troop (the specific one I would like to recommend is the Gryphon to destroy the Catapult the enemy bring, about 2-3 should be enough & let the tower take care of other though it'll cost u a lot towers to bring them down)
_Tower should be upgraded to both canon & guard tower, 2-3 canon behind to deal with massive troops & guard tower at front
_Riffle-man is also your friend in this mission, cuz the enemies will send quite a lot air units, their light armor & piercing atk are best to counter them without spending too much on repairing & rebuilding towers). Also they're good to attack enemy's bases without getting inside the base like bear-riders.
_A mix of riffle-man (about 10-11), bear-rider (6-7), mortar team (3-4) & your hero, in my opinion, would be the best to attack and to keep yourself at normal upkeep (7 gold/each), this is important at the beginning when u have only 2 mines (the one to the left)
_How to attack: bring a group of worker, start to build an arcane vault, then a bunch of towers in front of enemy's base, the best time to do is after that base just launched an attack, then u will have finished a lot of towers without being attacked & forced to cancel. As the tip said as well, it's best to attack the same time with your Elven ally (with their hero). Let the bears do the tanking with riffle men behind, u can lose all your bears but try to finish most of enemy's units, then let the mortar team & riffle men finish the job, focus any unit that try to kill mortar team.
_I also find building 2 barracks behind the tower to keep training units is quite useful, cuz Dwarf force has no priest (too simple mind to learn complicated human's spells?)

I played quite a lot campaigns but this is the first to give me headache with never ending battle & never ending micro, that's why I'll give it a 4/5. Maybe next time Shar u should consider making something less..... difficult. Of course a challenging campaign is always good, but it should be hard enough for u to feel great after beating, not ..... stressful & exhausted. Jesus I felt like I was set freed after finishing the mission 5 & 9. Still thank you for the campaign, the plot & the choices are great. Your heroes make me feel like the first time playing WC original campaign with Arthas, Uther, Jaina... such a great time.
 
Level 3
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
39
mission 5 only takes much time, it's not really hard. Only No Upkeep before 2 mines explode :D I built ~80 towers and they're easy to defend :p

Gardon is better than the mage (i don't remember her name). I'll try Teran and HighPriest later.
The magical hawks are very very helpful. i only use them and priest to attack (hero and balista to defend)

4h32m with Gardon and 6h10m with the mage... I need sleep lol zzz...
 
Level 3
Joined
Sep 30, 2012
Messages
39
@ngxkhoi: if you have time, maybe you want to hire others in mission 5 :D (Save/Load before hiring to save time)
 
Level 3
Joined
Aug 26, 2012
Messages
34
mission 5 only takes much time, it's not really hard. Only No Upkeep before 2 mines explode :D I built ~80 towers and they're easy to defend :p

Gardon is better than the mage (i don't remember her name). I'll try Teran and HighPriest later.
The magical hawks are very very helpful. i only use them and priest to attack (hero and balista to defend)

4h32m with Gardon and 6h10m with the mage... I need sleep lol zzz...

Taking that much time is the difficulty :ogre_rage::ogre_rage:

Next time re-play, I'll just use the cheat (_ _"
 

Kasrkin

Hosted Project: LoA
Level 26
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
802
Taking that much time is the difficulty

Next time re-play, I'll just use the cheat (_ _"

Yeah, just play it normally once and just use cheats the next time (everyone did it anyways) cept me who had to play it normally a lot for the testing phase so it could be beatable..... still hate that mission Shar.
 
Top