Mathias Part III - Kel'Zarach's Tale

[Moderator]

VGsatomi: Approved. Part of the lengthly mathias campaign.

 

[Savage Potato]

I have contacted the site and claimed the moral right under copyright law to be recognised as the original creator of this campaign. To substantiate my claim, I refer to this link
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/map-development-202/mathias-chronicles-redux-30883/ . Whilst I am happy for the campaign to be distributed, I am not aware of any material difference between or modification to the campaign I created and that presently uploaded by Scott Fravell "Frostmourn". I have no connection whatsoever with Scott Fravell "Frostmourn" I have not authorised Scott Fravell "Frostmourn" to use my intellectual property. I reside in New Zealand and many of the place and character names used in the campaign are based on actual New Zealand locations.I retired from Warcraft III modding and campaign development some years ago and am not active in the community. However simply because I am not active doesn't mean it is ok for peple to rip off my work!

BTW this is the campaign I am most proud of - KZ was by far my favourite character (although the punters seemed to like Lord 'Boyscout' Duncan) and I wrote this campaign specifically to give KZ a backstory.

 

[Mechanical Man]

BTW this is the campaign I am most proud of - KZ was by far my favourite character (although the punters seemed to like Lord 'Boyscout' Duncan) and I wrote this campaign specifically to give KZ a backstory.

Tbh I liked newer chapters more, but mostly because they were more bugfree and better made, I remember giving up many maps in older campaigns because something was denying me to win.

 

[Savage Potato]

True, I did get better over time, but KZ's tale still has a special place in my heart. I was more interested in the storytelling aspect than the technical aspects. I've made some general comments about the impact of patches on 'bugs' in Part I. This campaign is designed for RoC not Frozen Throne.

My favourite map is Chapter 23, mostly because of the concept behind it and the unique mechanic it required. I'd chose it over some of the later and more technically polished later maps, but that is just me.

 

[Siegfird]

Wow

Wow twenty seven Chapter, awesome
Cool

 

[deepstrasz]

The good thing is that this one is less buggy. The story on the other hand, is filled with melodrama (IMO). The gameplay isn't that good either. The previous two installments (except the Aftermath) were way better in this aspect but had so many bugs.

chap21:
-the icons of the heroes can be seen before the cinematic mode is on
-that Marcus guy didn't get anything to say, no introduction
-Zarach has Piercing type Damage...
-the Table's numbers should decline or increase as the troops are trained and alive. Then they should change colour
-the two starting heroes have some spells that are alike
-Animal War Training cannot be researched as the Castle cannot be built
-the heroes don't have glow
-the gathered units turn gray and after going uphill most of them just disappear and the Light Blue orcs attack...
-Quests do not appear on the screen...
-Zarach must survive is grayed in the second Main Quest
-no one attacks the base after the troops have been rallied
-the road block (log) in the east won't stop units from passing it by through the south...
-some player owned Skeleton Warriors attack the allied blue buildings...
-the four minutes controlling the Skeletons are useless. There's no objective. The player can go do something else or just watch the whole time...

chap22:
-there are some Village Buildings owned by the player. They don't serve any purpose to gameplay. Neutral would have been the best option
-a lot of heroes have at least one spell that is the same
-it seems the gray AI can summon Spirit Wolves
-Orc Warlords are incredibly weak units
-the battle doesn't feel real. The enemy attacks with their battalions consequently
-differentiate Catapults somehow
-Frost Armour does not have autocast
-the south road clearing quest can be finished with leaving the Purple Watch Towers functional
-what's with the message "Heroes Saved" almost at the end of every level?

chap 23:
-Death Knights don't really look like they're supposed to
-basically sending one unit at a time to their deaths should not hard to be understood by the Blackrock Clan...
-"the prisoner is escaping. Kill him!" But the Blackrock Clan was no more. The Twilight's Hammer though were the ones to suddenly follow the "prisoner"
-Zarach cannot normally attack after breaking the cuffs...
-the Infernal does not follow commands....
-upon loading the game the Death Knight's spells change places
-meh, I don't know. Finding Zarach on an island, capturing him and whatnot. Seems like this character lived for an eternity and was present in almost every event

chap24:
-a lot of heroes look alike: Lothar with Turalyon as an example (these two even have the same abilities...)
-heroes do not have glow, some units do...
-crates don't disappear/die. They're animation just plays out that way
-defusing doesn't feel real. It can be done in less than 1 second moving the dwarves near the crates
-destroying the temples will gray out the bridges must remain requirement (in every Optional Quest) instead of the one with the temples
-the Optional Quests are useless. They don't reward the player. It's no use wasting time on them
-why a Blacksmith? The money is better spent on reviving heroes, that, if, there are enough food slots...

chap25:
-where did this Sir Markham just appear? Where's Turalyon?
-it seems that instead of the Draenor tile-set, the Barrens was used
-only Knights can be trained but not Paladins. Instead of an upgrade, they can be trained in the Arcane Sanctum...
-Archer's don't have Damage and Armour upgrades...
-units (=/=heroes) that have hero models (like that of the Archmage) decay very slowly, very
-the Optional Quest is right on the way...
-this is the worst and most boring level yet
-all other Dragons have Heavy Armour but Deathwing has Light!? It's a good thing I didn't build too many towers...
-the only human Town Hall was the one I made for the second Gold Mine...

chap26:
-hero levels are not adequately saved. Zarach is now 6 but was higher in previous levels
-reaching the Fortress should put all near Yellow troops and the base under the player's control...
-the Slave ability is not an ability. It's just random...
-units are not sacrificed... and change their ownership back and start attacking the base... I tried killing it after it became Pink again on the circle. It did not add to the count and the Bash buff remained over the decaying body... It work with some twitching
-the enemy is not sending troops to attack the player's base... Actually they only send some retarded Skeletons
-the Assassin is kind of too strong for only 3 food
-one Goblin Sapper did not turn to the player's side and remained neutral in the reinforcements zone. It could however be "rescued" by other units that are not in the zone, like heroes
-Assassin's Envenomed Weapons don't work
-Laughing Skull Grunt and the Grunt look alike
-Assassins and Troll Slavers have two different types of Shadowmeld (Hide) in that when both units are selected there are two abilities of that type one in the left and one in the near right which can be triggered separately
-I don't really get it how the Slave ability works (as a real fact). Charm would've been logical
-Gorefiend looks like a normal Death Knight
-the Slave Ability recharged message during cinematic mode and units are also selected
-the humans don't retaliate unless attacked in the last scene...
-a staff was waiting there for him and then teleported him... I'm starting to think that Kel'Zarach's story was better left untold
-Maraleth came and what? Opened a portal? To where? For what? What's the point?

chap27:
-they even knew where Zarach was living. Why would they think he killed the Gravedigger and be at home!? Now he even has mind control powers
-requirements don't add up or replace the previous ones in the main quest. At least some of them don't
-how did Bill Watson know that Zarach killed the Ghouls? I've just been there and he wasn't there
-there are armed orcs down in there
-why would the Local Militia (that's supposed to be the Captain) believe Zarach's tale about the Ghouls if they weren't there to see it? Moreover they were the ones accusing him in the first place
-Tomilson acted like a rabid animal. He didn't seem to be like that when he went to the tavern, a night before
-the infected granaries weren't destroyed...
-during the scene where the mob meets the paladin, at some point this guy runs somewhere along the eastern wall
-the Towers guarding the orcs do not shoot at Zarach and his minions
-ok... the orcs even have a Warlock... What kind of camp is that?
-the orcs don't try to flee
-the Staff of Kel'Zarach has a 1 like it's supposed to be a charged item
-right Mathias just dropped by...
-if Kel'Zarach entered the ranks of the Scourge, wasn't he supposed to be supervised?
-anyway, this level is pretty much useless. It's a filler like most of the campaign

-why make it as Kel'Zarach remembers it but looking like he talks to somebody whoever that is instead of just letting it as a story that flows with no unnecessary narration?
-the terrain isn't that good either. It's huge and mostly filled with emptiness

If you liked the other two, probably you'll like this one too.

 

[Savage Potato]

First of all, I, Savage Potato am the creator of this work, not that piece of $#%& plagiarist Fravell. I have asserted my copyright in the past and the Hive has recognised this. The kiwi place names and butchered Te Reo Maori are significant to me which is why they have been used for character and place names. Secondly, things have moved a long way since the early patches when I created this way back in the day. Blizzard updating patches has caused most of the bugs and as I gave up maintaining the campaign back around 2006 it probably runs pretty messily now.

I'm thrilled that people are still interested in playing and reviewing this, but please be aware that it is an artifact of its time. My personal favourite campaign was Kel'Zarach's Tale.

Another author Med.mapguy has (with my permission) updated some of my works. If you enjoyed this campaign you might want to try his updated maps.

In hindsight, I probably should have used "orcish" rather than "orcen". I am spending my mapmaking retirement playing WoW.

 

[Anaxie]

Hi savage
I'm Scott and I was 16 when I compiled all your loose single maps that didn't even form a campaign.

Stop getting so butt hurt over a decade later. I never claimed it. I was 16 and just made them into campaigns and uploaded them.

Thanks. Mystery solved. You're welcome your maps would be extinct had I never made them campaigns in 2005

 

[deepstrasz]

I'm Scott and I was 16 when I compiled all your loose single maps that didn't even form a campaign.

You're tuzec?

 

[Anaxie]

I gathered the loose maps and made them campaigns. Thats why they don't transition and go back to the main menu. This was on the old WC3Campaign website back in 2005/06 where i first uploaded it.

@deepstrasz No Tuzec probably uploaded from the old site.


as for the weird format
P1
P2
P2.5
P3
P4
P5

and the growing chapter listing. Thats how the loose map files were presented so I compiled them as such. If I did the same thing today I would probably just make it all one mega 50 chapter campaign. Not like the file size is anything of note.

 

[Spiros kall]

on chapter 23 i have break the handcuffs i have kill any one but i cant give the infernal stone from the orc hero to human hero. And mission havent done yet

 

[Shellshock]

Prologue:
You know this is like one of the few earlier campaigns where the story is really intriguing.

MIssion 21:
You can't auto frost armor? Zarach still has piercing damage instead of hero damage. Why did he believe the dreadlord?

Mission 22:
Why are the warlords such bitches?

MIssion 23:
Can't level up further than lvl 2. You get frost armor instead of chain lightning. Unique mission i like it. Infernal doesn't listen to you after picking it up. Also death night looks like lich lmao.

Mission 24:
Honestly didn't like this mission. Catapults kept destroying the barricades. Paladins looked like Knights

Mission 25:
Ok mission but kinda felt pointless. Also quite the wasted terrain. Optional quest isn't really optional. Man good thing i decided to rush huh?
Why does Deathwing have piercing damage but everyone else have chaos?

Mission 26:
It isn't really explained why the blademaster saves Zarach. Ok now it is. The slave ability is so odd to use. Should have been a proper ability instead. Maleketh has an insane chaos damage and divine armor lol. Malaketh Stomps. its like having archimonde for this mission lol

Mission 27:
Some jedi mind tricks i like it. Too much walking. Waaaaay too much walking. Honestly the weakest mission.

Overall:
A bit disappointed in this one. this feels like you take a step back honestly. Overall im still in it for the story and the diversity is enough to keep you playing though.

 

[xcube.pm]

The best Mathias campaign imo

 

[LISBOAH]

The thing I love the most regarding this campaign is not the characters or plot.
What I truly love is how it deconstructs the plot regarding the First and Second War.

The First Chapter shows us that, in a war, some people will do anything to survive if pushed far enough. Honor, decency, loyalty to others and one's nation be damned. Zarach realized that if the survivors were to find out about what truly happened during Stormwind's fall, it would demoralize them.

The Second Chapter is a good following to this. While everyone else is ready to fight to protect the kingdom's memory, Zarach is the only that knows that said memory isn't as pristine as the others think. That the survivors have no idea that some of their fallen comrades were, in truth, cowards and traitors.

The Fourth Chapter shows what really occurs if most of your strategies are based on cavalry charges and having faith that the Light is with you. I gotta say that Maraleth's remark about Sir Lothar's death, while a low blow, it felt somewhat satisfying. The Alliance only won the Second War because there was dissension among the Horde's ranks, it didn't have anything to do with the Light or the fact that justice was on their side.

The Seventh Chapter, the final one, shows the fate of most survivors of a war (and Zarach survived two). There is truly no glory gained for 90% of the survivors. Yes, Zarach is still alive, but what does he have left? His family is buried on a island, he is tormented by the guilt and secrets that he had to keep from everyone else, he has seen that both Alliance and Horde have their own sins and faults. To the eyes of the commanders, he is pretty much a nobody, just a random priest that managed to survive two wars. He is so far in the deep end that all he can do is wait for another war to occur, because what else can he do?

 

[corellius]

sincerely hope med.mapguy remakes this one as well. easily my favorite. taunting me by remaking the first two and stopping before this one hurts my soul.

 

[Shrok64]

Perhaps the most unique set of maps among the five (six?) uploaded Mathias campaigns, this part focuses entirely on Kel’Zarach’s origin set against the backdrop of the First & Second Wars.

Seeing Zarach helplessly observing Stormwind burned to ash and his people savagely slaughtered from a distance in chapter 21 is a visually striking image and really helps establish why he is the way that he is—he’s seen some stuff in his day. It becomes clear that he isn’t some evil mustache twirler, but rather an anti-villain who, after years of disillusionment, ultimately feels resolved to help humanity by wielding the magics of the Orcs, an act that for obvious reasons is seen with great disdain.

It’s always neat to see various heroes from Warcraft 2, even if some of them are relegated to glorified cameos. Chapter 26 is an interesting one—I like how Teron Gorefiend gets used here. In Beyond the Dark Portal, he didn’t really do much of substance besides look cool. In this map, however, we get a tidbit of new information regarding Zarach’s staff that retroactively makes us look at Zarach, Teron, and the conniving demon lord Maraleth (of which we already know very little about) in a new light. I recall that this plot thread gets explored later down the line, but I don’t remember too much else about it at this time.

Once more I played this one on v1.26 and encountered no real game-stopping issues. The maps, while feeling a lot more polished this time around, were also quite a bit shorter in length. A good chunk of the map objectives was micro-focused without much base building, a nice palate cleanser from the previous parts.

Chapter 23 is a nice showcase of the map author throwing a wrench in my planning. I was initially going to have the Blackrock Orcs just kill each other when all was said and done, but the game didn’t let me—the Orcs disobeyed my orders, making me plan an escape a bit more carefully.

A lot of map real estate was used on cutscenes and other interactive set pieces, making the maps feel bigger than they really are. Chapter 27, a short murder mystery-type story, used half of its map for multiple cutscenes to close out the prequel narrative and bring us back to current day events; I can see great improvement in both the framing composition and camera movement when comparing to some of the earlier maps from Part I. It just makes for much more interesting visual storytelling, rather than having a static camera focused on two characters standing around, talking to one another.

All in all, if you’ve been discovering and playing these campaigns for the narrative, there’s no reason to skip this one. I know I’ve been glazing these, but I genuinely had a great time going through them all.