Arc flow
07 Return to Oldwood
│
▼
08 Clearwater Port
├── first ship: early departure
├── second ship: normal departure
├── third ship: heroic defense
└── all leaders defeated: heroic defense
│
▼
09 Fallen Lich Point
├── release Caror when ready
├── obtain Book of Fire and Darkness
├── enter sewer
└── optional: defeat every leader
│
▼
10 Sewer of Southbay
├── Haldric exits
└── optional: defeat both Red Wizards first
│
▼
11 Southbay in Winter
Objective evolution
| Scenario | Required success | Optional or graded success |
|---|---|---|
| 08 | Board any available ship or defeat all leaders | Four explicitly labeled moral/tactical grades |
| 09 | Get the book and have Haldric enter the sewer | Defeat all leaders for bonus |
| 10 | Have Haldric leave the sewer | Defeat both wizards before leaving |
Design interpretation. The arc repeatedly asks how much danger the player will accept before escaping. It changes the physical form—ships, mine entrance, sewer exit—while retaining the same strategic question.
Three kinds of pressure
08 — Calendar pressure
Ships arrive and depart on fixed turns while winter threatens the port.
09 — Activation pressure
The player chooses when to add a petrified undead faction to an existing orc battle.
10 — Navigation pressure
Shroud and a blocked central channel make route knowledge part of the reward economy.
AI progression
| Scenario | AI architecture | Scenario identity source |
|---|---|---|
| 08 | Stateful allied AI plus three declaratively tuned enemy sides | Posture switching, dynamic recruitment, ship timetable |
| 09 | Night-aggressive orcs, maximally aggressive lich, hidden Yeti side | Player-controlled enemy activation and optional cleanup |
| 10 | Two symmetric aggressive wizard sides | Scripted survivor funding, shroud reveal, protagonist exit |
State economy
| Variable | Scenario | Scope |
|---|---|---|
previous_ai_position | 08 | Per-scenario allied AI state |
First_Ship, Second_Ship, Third_Ship | 08 | Temporary boarding availability |
lich_free | 09 | Temporary activation state |
have_book | 09 | Temporary exit gate |
| No dedicated variable | 10 | Bonus is derived directly by checking whether either wizard leader remains |
The arc demonstrates three increasingly economical approaches: explicit AI state, local quest flags, and direct queries against current unit state.
Map and asset production
| Scenario | Custom map identity | Fresh art burden |
|---|---|---|
| 08 | Large winter coast and walled harbor | Aethyr portrait; no custom terrain, ships, music, or ordinary units |
| 09 | Long snowy coastal battlefield with monolith and mine | No route story art; uses scenery and core factions |
| 10 | Compact horizontal sewer/cave map | Two wizard portraits; all environment, fauna, music, and unit art reused |
Reusable authoring patterns
| Pattern | Best example | Why study it |
|---|---|---|
| Stateful allied battlefield AI | Clearwater Port | Multiple recognizable postures controlled by map conditions |
| Multiple timed exits | Clearwater Port | One scenario supports risk-selected victory grades |
| Visible but dormant enemy faction | Fallen Lich Point | The player chooses activation timing |
| Mandatory artifact plus optional enemy cleanup | Fallen Lich Point | Separates narrative obligation from tactical ambition |
| Symmetric bosses with asymmetric death consequences | Sewer of Southbay | First death increases danger; second grants navigation and loot |
| Protagonist-only physical exit | Scenarios 09 and 10 | Maintains story staging while giving harmless feedback to other units |