Arc flow

13 Peoples in Decline │ ▼ 14 Rough Landing ├── regroup scattered fleet ├── defeat three Naga leaders └── casualty-triggered Sea Serpents │ ▼ 15 A New Land ├── first Great Continent landing ├── survive without deaths ├── Lady Dionli intervenes ├── Typhon departs └── initialize Ka’lian quest state │ ▼ 16 The Ka’lian ├── choose any incomplete quest ├── return after each Scenario 17 ├── greet by last_done └── after four quests: land grant and Scenario 18

Three different meanings of “survival”

ScenarioImmediate problemMechanical expression
14Fleet is scattered and damagedSecure amphibious regrouping ground before turns expire
15Newcomers are mistaken for invadersDelay the first death; no leader-defeat objective
16Refugees lack legal territoryAccept a four-quest diplomatic test

AI architecture transition

ScenarioAI techniqueWhy it fits
14Ordinary Naga AI plus scripted serpent arrivalsEnemy behavior is conventional; escalation timing is authored.
15Campaign Lua candidate action replaces ordinary combatThe scenario premise fails if enemies casually risk their own deaths.
16No tactical AI neededState-driven dialogue and routing are the entire scenario.

From linear route to reusable hub

Before Scenario 16At Scenario 16
Most scenario transitions have one next chapter or a one-time branch.The same hub is revisited after four interchangeable branches.
Choice state is usually consumed after reconvergence.Quest flags persist until all four are complete.
Dialogue follows a fixed scenario order.Dialogue is rendered from completion count and last-completed quest.
Carryover normally represents battle economy.Hub departures preserve 100% because no battle occurs.

Hub-state separation

StateQuestion answered
num_doneHow far through the council’s overall test is Haldric?
Four quest flagsWhich destinations should still be described and displayed?
last_doneWhich lord should acknowledge the most recent victory?
Architecture lesson. These variables are intentionally nonredundant. A count cannot identify unfinished quests, while four booleans cannot cheaply select the broad first/second/third/final council response.

Transition-state lifecycle

StageState operation
Scenario 15 endingInitializes all six hub variables.
Quest selection in Scenario 16Reads flags to hide completed options; preserves all gold.
Scenario 17 completionExpected to set its flag, increment count, and set last_done.
Scenario 16 final visitClears all six variables and advances permanently.

Content-production boundary

FeatureCampaign-specific workCore/shared reuse
Island regroupingMap, dialogue, serpent schedulingNaga, bat, serpent, ship, terrain and audio assets
Deathless landingMap, story, Lua candidate action, diplomacy eventsComplete elven and dwarven factions, ships, terrain and music
Ka’lian hubDialogue system, portraits, two light custom visual unit wrappersForest map vocabulary, core elven mechanics, cutscene theme, endlevel routing

Best learning examples

Learning goalBest scenario
Safely spaced dynamic reinforcements14 — Rough Landing
Lua AI candidate actions15 — A New Land
Nonstandard finish-bonus engineering15 — A New Land
Reusable quest hubs16 — The Ka’lian
State-driven menus and dialogue16 — The Ka’lian
Cutscene-only unit wrappers16 — The Ka’lian

Scenario 14 · Scenario 15 · Scenario 16 · Lua AI