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SCARLET CRUSADE - THE FINEST HOUR Created by Homor
Special Thanks to Everyone who made this map possible with their support! You guys rock!
OVERTIME MODE IS HERE! Check the description learn all about the new endgame challenge!
AI and additional changes by Walichrage. Thanks man!
Notice: This map is 100% open source. The mechanics, unit data and even the setting and storyline are free for use by any other Warcraft 3 modder. If you so wish, you can make your own map using this Scarlet Crusade race as a template. Be sure to check the comment section for patch notes!
Introduction:
Decades ago, the northern kingdoms were ravaged by the eldritch and undead armies of the dark god known as Desopath. Although the human alliance was able to seal the demon away from the mortal realm, his horrible minions still infest the world of the living. Balnazzar, a renegade demon in the service of Despoath, controls an evil army of undead minions that have ravaged the northern kingdoms. Every city, even the capital, fell to his legions. But now, twenty years later, an organization known as the Scarlet Crusade has pushed the undead hordes back, and now they're preparing to retake the capital. Only you, commanding an army of the Crusade's finest warriors, can restore this city to it's former glory!
Description:
You control an army of Scarlet Crusaders, and your ultimate goal is to retake the city of Stratholme from the armies of the undead. This is an exploration-based map, where instead of fighting off attackers, you will assault a city full of powerful undead creatures and swarming hordes of weak ones, working your to powerful bosses until you eventually find yourself face-to-face with Balnazzar. Will you be able to survive the onslaught?
Features:
New Race, The Scarlet Crusade: The vanilla human race has been completely altered, becoming the zealous and brutal Scarlet Crusade! While many units are completely the same, some have been heavily altered or replaced entirely! Play with fantastic new units such as the Chaplain, the Inquisitor and the Plague Doctor. Command the Scarlet Heroes: Entirely new hero units! Play as the Templar, the Grand Crusader, The Witchhunter, the Arcanist and the Berserker! Dynamic New Units: The standard soldiers of the Alliance have been given a major overhaul! Footmen can now wield bows, knights have powerful auras that increase damage, and all new units such as Marksmen, Chaplins, Inquisitors and Plague Doctors drastically alter the core strategies you'll use to survive the undead onslaught! Food Limit Increased: Your food limit has been upgraded to 200, allowing you to amass a gigantic army to battle the undead hordes! Adjustable Difficulty: Choose from one of six difficulty levels. Make the map easy enough your granny could beat it, or hard enough to blow your head off! Explore the city: Travel through the dusty back alleys and abandoned streets of the ruined city of Stratholme, uncovering secrets and slaying monsters the whole way through. Destroy the Undead leaders: Test your might against four powerful undead leaders, and even some lesser undead heroes! Combine and Create Items: The Horadric cube in your base can be used to combine items and craft special recipes. This crafting system will give you some of the best items in the map. Cheat Codes: If you're clever enough to find out what they are and how to activate them, you can use cheat codes to blaze through the match. The Secret Cow Level???: What? It's not there! Don't be ridiculous! And don't go around looking for wooden legs or ghost children. Introduced in 1.31 Edition Dynamic Enemy AI: The armies of the living dead are now backed up by powerful attack forces! You cannot reach their new bases directly and must kill certain bosses around the map to end the attacks! Reworked Heroes and Units: Now the heroes of the Crusade have all new abilities and the techtree has been edited. Now the map plays smoother than ever! QWER Abilities: All heroes abilities have now been mapped to the traditional QWER format for convenience.
The Whole Story
An eternity before the birth of the planets of the cosmos, a group of powerful beings known as the Titans waged a war against The Light and the forces of heaven. Aided by an army of their own renegade angels and led by the brutal Titan known as Balanor. On the verge of victory, Balanor's second-in-command, Desopath, led a revolt against Balanor that destroyed half of their armies. Because of this, the remaining Titans came before The Light and unconditionally surrendered. In an event known as "The Great Fall" The Titans were banished to a realm known as "The Netherverse." A gilded cage where the newly declared "Nether Princes" could have unlimited control of their own realms. All but Desopath and Balanor, whose realms were intended to torment and punish them, although they gained limited control over them.
The foolish angels who followed the Titans to their own damnation became known as "The Nathrezim" (also called "The Nazraphim") horrific demons that served Balanor. Balnazzar, a Nathrezim disgusted by his own master and his failure, would escape the realm of Inferno and travel to the world of Ry'Leh. There, he swore allegiance to Desopath, an act which enraged both Balanor and Mephistous, Lord of The Nathrezim.
Balnazzar possessed necromantic abilities unmatched by any of the other Nathrezim, most likely because of his previous friendship with Aztarous, the Nether Prince of Death, before the Great Fall. He could single-handledly raise entire undead armies and send them to do his evil bidding. Desopath was especially interested in this power.
During the third great war between the Arthurian Alliance and the Crimson Horde, secret agents of the Alliance discovered scrolls and tomes that indicated that warlocks within the Crimson Horde were attempting to summon Desopath himself to the world of mortals. The Alliance ordered it's greatest mages to summon Desopath to the mortal realm before them, in the hope that the dark titan would aide them and destroy their enemies. The result was the greatest failure in mortal history.
Desopath attacked both sides, Alliance and Horde, destroying cities and decimating populations like no one had ever seen before or since. Desopath's greatest lieutenants all oversaw the assault of different regions, countries and continents. Balnazzar himself was tasked with the assault on the Northern Kingdoms. His attack was incredibly successful, and soon his undead armies overthrew the human cities, leaving the population to hide in small villages and forest shanty towns. The only city that remained in human hands was Andorhal.
Various mercenary and militia groups did their best to hold off the undead forces, but their success was limited. Even after Desopath was banished back to the Netherverse, Balnazzar and his undead army still hounded the remaining humans in the Northern Kingdoms.
The tide of war changed when Luther Lightwell, a powerful Templar Knight, united the various factions of human survivors into one great army - The Scarlet Crusade. Named after their fallen brothers, the newly formed Crusade managed to push the undead back, recovering several cities and chasing off the ghouls and zombies of Balnazzar's army. Although Luther would not live to see his kingdom recovered, he died knowing Balnazzar would be defeated. His son, Martin Lightwell, became the leader of the Templar Knights, but refused the position of Grand Crusader.
The Crusade was brutal, radical and zealous. Qualities that made them extremely effective against the undead. For years, they were violently opposed to all magic users, blaming them for the horror that had befallen their country. Eventually, the Crusade reluctantly brought some of the surviving magic users under their wing, but under strict supervision. Wizards and mages were very much second-class citizens in the Crusade.
Although two more Grand Crusaders would die before Sadian Delgado took over, the Scarlet Crusade successfully recovered most of the empire's old settlements. Only one massive undead outpost was left - the capital city of Stratholme. The Scarlet Crusade gathered all of it's forces together, followed by a slew of refuges who set up camps and occupied nearby abandoned buildings on the outskirts of the city to watch as the Crusade fight the ultimate final battle against Balnazzar and his minions.
Balnazzar had fallen, but he had yet to die. When a Nathrezim dies, their essence is collected into an infernal soulstone. After a decade of regenerating, they come back to life. Sadian Delgado became almost hypnotized by the strange crystal that had fallen from Balnazzar's body, and took it home with him after promising to destroy it.
A strange, tempting sensation seemed to pulse from the gem, almost like a quiet voice whispering to Sadian. Eventually the voice began to grow louder and louder, and harder to resist. The Grand Crusader didn't know it, but this was Balnazzar using what was left of his power to manipulate him, and it worked. Before the final night was over, the Grand Crusader shoved the infernal gem into his own forehead, and Balnazzar took complete control of his body and mind.
The weeks of celebration in the streets of every human settlement in the Northern Kingdoms came to an end, and it was clear work had to be done to rebuild what was lost. Balnazzar took this chance to mold the new kingdom in his own warped image. His first act was to forbid the study of any "dark" magic - seemingly a noble-minded religious act, the reality was Balnazzar was making sure no one could ever find out the truth about him. His second act was to impose incredibly strict laws on the people to keep them complacent. His third act was to cut the Northern Kingdoms off from all other factions, including the Peacekeepers.
Under Balnazzar's rule there were mass executions, imprisonment and beatings. The dystopian nature of Balnazzar's leadership became so bad that riots happened in the streets of Stratholme. The king, Adrian Lionheart, though he viewed the Crusade as his family, was forced to order the Crusade to move their biggest outpost out of his city and into an abandoned fortress near the small village of Dunwatch.
What Balnazzar didn't know was at that very same time, Amandus Cambria, a vengeful Necromancer, had gathered together a cult of other dark mages and was preparing to launch a full-on war against the Crusade. [To find out what happened after this, play my other War3 map, 'The Necromancer.']
The death of the Grand Crusader and his most loyal men came as a horrific shock to most of the Northern Kingdoms, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for both the Kingdom and the Crusade.
When King Lionheart and a group of Crusaders went to investigate Dunwatch, they found the entire town desolated and abandoned. The fortress the Scarlet Crusade had so fervently protected was in ruins, and the only sign that any life had lingered there were the discarded metal scraps that were once weapon and armor.
In the Grand Crusader's personal quarters, sealed by a massive iron door that had been destroyed, the group made a horrifying discovery: the corpses of several strange eldritch creatures surrounding a mysterious crystal. At that moment, King Lionheart heard Balnazzar's voice calling out to him, screaming in desperation, begging him to lunge the crystal into his forehead.
In a rage, King Lionheart stomped on the soulstone with all his might, shattering it to pieces and slaying the Dreadlord once and for all. The young king was the only one who had remembered the beast's fall, and how the Grand Crusader took the soulstone with him. He realized the Grand Crusader had been corrupted, and that the radical and menacing changes he had brought to the Crusade that Lionheart once viewed as a necessary evil were a ploy by a vengeful demon to enslave humanity.
Lionheart held a secret summit of the remaining Crusade leaders, including the Archbishop, the head Arcanist, The Berseker Commander and the head of the Templar. It was agreed that the shameful downfall of the Crusade could never become public, and the secret must die with them.
Major changes were made in the coming months. The Crusade began opening up talks with the Peacekeepers and other kingdoms. Although they would never rejoin the Arthurian Alliance, they became a close ally once again. They even allowed the Peacekeepers to establish several embassy buildings. Although magic was still forbidden outside of the Crusade's own Mages Guild, the penalty was no long execution. The torture chambers and sprawling dungeons that Balnazzar used to oppress the people were all destroyed.
Although the Crusade was still a zealous, radical group, they were much more humane. They had become a powerful tool to battle the undead once again, who are still a problem in the Northern Kingdoms to this day. Especially with the remnants of Cambria's cult lurking in the shadows.
Scarlet Crusade - The Finest Hour is a map set in Angora. A world similar to the main Warcraft universe, but different in many significant ways. In this universe, The Alliance (The Arthurian Alliance) and The Horde (The Crimson Horde) are shaky allies, working together only out of a mutual interest of survival as war and death has reduced the numbers of all sapient races down to a tenth of what they once were. Great beasts of untold power known as "Nether Princes" watch over the world of Angora from a horrific realm known as "The Netherverse." Causing chaos and bring woe whenever they're able to. But in this world, there is also a third faction - The Golden Union - that has united to challenge both. Founded by the Osman Empire, the kingdoms of the Golden Union wish to have no part in petty Alliance/Horde politics.
A grand alliance of creatures from every race known as "The Peacekeepers" was established after the second coming of Desopath. Currently led by a powerful wizard known as "Kelen the Seeker" The Peacekeepers act as a mediator organization between all the other races and kingdoms. Despite their efforts to maintain world peace, not everyone has a high opinion of them.
Allies of The Arthurian Empire: The Bronze Alliance (Dwarves), The Silver Covenant (High Elves), The Argus Empire (Draenei), The Empire of Elune (Night Elves), The Gulrgal Clan (Murlocs).
Allies of The Crimson Horde: The Sons of Ahmaji (Jungle Trolls), The Sons of Zul'Jin (Forest Trolls), The Brujahk Clan (Ogres), The Black Hand (Redeemed Undead), The Hooftar Tribe (Tauren).
Allies of the Golden Union: The Osman Empire (Human), The Vargulf Liberation Front (Worgen), The Remnants (Redeemed Undead), The Anubis Clan (Catmen), The Redscale Tribe (Lizardmen), The Riverpaw Tribe (Gnolls), The Gorlack Cartel (Goblins), The Jaoming Dynasty (Pandaren).
Neutral/Unaligned Empires: The Scarlet Crusade (Human), The Nasajhar Empire (Naga), The Blood Wake (Blood Elves), The Risen Dawn (Dark Elves), The Nomads (Gnomes), The Steamwheedle Cartel (Goblins), The Blaugal Clan (Murlocs), The Underwarth Tribes (Kobolds), The Stonefist Tribe (Ogres),
Evil Organizations: The Slavers, The Syndicate, The Elementals, The Darkhammer Clan (Dwarves), The Grimtotem Tribe (Tauren), The Twilight Hammer, The Order of Balanor, The Undead Scourge, The Cult of Aztarous, The Desopathic Union, The Burning Legion, The Eldritch.
Wirt's Leg + Wirt's Other Leg + Wirt's Third Leg = Wirt's Pride
Khalim's Eye + Khalim's Flail + Khalim's Heart + Khalim's Brain = Khalim's Will
Purification Orb + Black Runeblade = Purified Runeblade
Mask of Death + Orb of Heat + Savage Battle Axe = Mask of Fury
Revolver + Shotgun + Scrap Metal = Heavy Machine Gun
Necklace of Spell Immunity + Holy Tome of Light + Purification Orb = Templar Amulet
Staff of Ages + The Archmagi's Spellbook + Mana Stone = Archmage's Greatstaff
Enchanted Shield + Health Stone + Orb of Heat = Guardian Shield
Hood of Cunning + Kelen's Dagger of Escape + Sobi Mask = Bandit Lord's Hood
Purification Orb + Orb of Darkness = Radiant Holy Orb
Potion of Mana + Potion of Healing = Potion of Restoration
Common Sword + Orb of Heat = Searing Blade
Common Sword + Orb of Frost = Frostguard
Common Sword + Orb of Darkness = Black Runeblade
Scrap Metal + Circlet of Nobility + Purification Orb = Amulet of Spellshield
Amulet of Spellshield + Wand of Mana Stealing + Arcane Scroll = Necklace of Spell Immunity
Scrap Metal + Ironwood Branch = Sturdy War Axe
Common Shield + Arcane Scroll = Enchanted Shield
Common Shield + Orb of Darkness + Scrap Metal = Shield of the Deathlord
Ironwood Branch + Arcane Scroll = Mindstaff
Common Sword + Arcane Scroll = Mage's Blade
SV_Cheats 1: Activates cheat codes
-NoFatChicks: Removes all elite abominations.
-CreepyWeepy: Gives you control of all creeps.
-OccupyStrath: Makes the boss' minions hostile to them.
-Beefcake: Increases the health of all your units.
-ClarkKent: Sets the handicap to normal.
-FirePower: Gives you extra attack damage.
-FlowerPower: Gives you a wisp that can build a night elf army.
-NoAttackers: Disables enemy armies for a more mellow game, similar to the original map.
-Take: will give you control of any selected unit
-Kill: will kill any selected unit
-ZaWarudo: Freeze the game.
-KiraIsBetter: Unfreeze the game.
-Move: Send a unit to your main base.
-OrcPork: Give yourself a Peon in a box that summons an orc.
-NagaBaga: Summon Naga workers.
-Dran: Summon Lost One Dreanei workers.
-lvlup: Make all your heroes level 10.
-DeadByDawn: Summon Acolytes. Little counterproductive to the whole "fighting the undead" thing but sometimes you gotta fight fire with fire!
Xenomorphling: Special bonus cheat! No need to activate cheats for this one. This'll just give you some extra items at the start.
Certain versions of the game might glitch key triggers out when you save/load. To accommodate this, I've added some workaround codes.
- If the end cinematic doesn't play after you give Sadian the Soulstone, type in -workaround while its in his inventory to activate the ending.
- If you lost or destroyed the soulstone, type -fixstone to respawn it at the place Balnazzar first appeared.
If you've beaten this map several times now and want a little something extra, Overtime Mode will refill the map with entirely new enemies and awaken a second, even tougher boss!
To activate it, you'll need three items: 1) Balnazzar's Soulstone, which drops after you kill him. 2) A Purification Orb, which you can buy from the Thrift Shop. 3) Phat Lewt, the legendary gag item, now dropped by killing the poor Brewmaster panda in the Nowrthwest sewers, right behind Nihlathak's base. Combine them all in the Horadric Cube to get the Overtime Token. Use it to activate Overtime Mode.
Without spoiling the surprise, a new boss will appear, one of your heroes will be replaced, and a new type of enemy faction will start to spawn at key points in the city. The new units come in large groups summoned by a demonic portal that opens up, spews them and dies out on its own. Your base will be attacked by a huge flurry of enemies that all deal chaos damage. Luckily, your new hero also does chaos damage, and has a neat new summoning spell.
The secret boss is spell immune and has better stats than Balnazzar, so get ready for a hell of a fight. If you manage to beat him, the map finally ends with a victory. But beware: he can portal in more enemies, and the path to his area will be guarded by even more new ones. Your game may also slow down a bit initially when processing all the new monsters. But it'll pass and you'll be back to normal soon. The fight is definitetly winnable, but will take some extra preperation and strategy.
There won't be any more attacks on your base after the first one. This is just an "icing on the cake" kind of thing, now a whole new game mode.
13:18, 6th Apr 2016
Ardenian: Commented.
Please fix at least the bug with black mask and fog of war.
Black mask is applied if the player skips the cinematic,
but the whole map is visible if he watches it.
Please also add a changelog and a...
is horn of cenarius or book of conjuration suposed to make any other items? and what does phat lewt do? also i cleared whole map and balnazar is not even spawning, can you change -fixstone command so it just spawns soul stone on top of you?
bug: Templars holy light can only target himself
bug: Berserker's berserk dont work becouse it requires to research orc berserk ability
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