07 — Return to Oldwood

Identity

WML ID	`07_Return_to_Oldwood`
Next scenario	`08_Clearwater_Port`
Map	Reuses `05_The_Oldwood.map`, 32 × 32
Turns	1
Theme	`Cutscene_Minimal`
Carryover	100%, no report

Archetype	One-turn cutscene / state transformation
Story importance	Critical
WML complexity	Moderate–high
Combat	None intended
Character transition	Lady Outlaw → Lady Jessene

Purpose of the scenario

This file is a full [scenario], but functionally it is a cutscene. It returns to the Oldwood map after Lenvan’s defeat, establishes the approaching winter and the refugees’ unsustainable numbers, restores Lady Outlaw from storage, resolves the earlier trust branch through different dialogue, reveals her true identity as Lady Jessene, and selects Clearwater Port as the next destination.

Using a scenario rather than a story panel gives the sequence access to unit placement, animation, stored-unit state, conditional dialogue, recruitment changes, map scenery, and full campaign carryover.

Map reuse and visual continuity

Scenario 07 reuses the exact 32 × 32 map from Scenario 05. It replaces the battle’s orc sides with two Woses and the Ancient Wose leader, assigns all villages to side 4, places four named Wose guardians, and uses a winter portrait for Elilmaldur-Rithrandil. Ruin imagery is recreated to preserve the established environment.

Reused element	Changed meaning
Oldwood map	From contested battlefield to temporary refugee camp and council chamber
Temple at 23,22	From sealed quest entrance to recently completed expedition site
Wose faction	From autonomous combat ally to hosts and advisors
Cold-weather portrait	Signals seasonal progress without constructing a new map

Sides and setup

Side	Unit	Role
1 — Refugees	Prince Haldric, zero starting gold	Player perspective; no combat objective
2 — Treefolk	Talodulborentan, Wose	Allied scene participant
3 — Treefolk	Gullatendronnorbum, Wose	Allied scene participant
4 — Treefolk	Elilmaldur-Rithrandil, Ancient Wose	Host and speaker; controls all starting villages

prestart recalls Burin, the route-specific knight, and Minister Edren if they exist. Lady Outlaw is handled separately because she is currently stored off-map.

Lady Outlaw restoration

The cutscene first stages an approach animation using the stored unit’s type, then updates the stored coordinates and visibility before unstoring it:

[move_unit_fake]
    type=$lady_store.type
    side=1
    gender=female
    x=8,7,6
    y=30,26,22
[/move_unit_fake]

{VARIABLE lady_store.x 6}
{VARIABLE lady_store.y 22}
{VARIABLE lady_store.hidden no}
[unstore_unit]
    variable=lady_store
[/unstore_unit]
{FULL_HEAL id="Lady Outlaw"}

This preserves the unit’s advancement type and experience whether the player accepted her in Scenario 02 or rejected her and encountered her later through stored state.

Conditional reconciliation

Earlier state	Cutscene response	Mechanical repair
`have_lady=1`	Haldric suspected she might have fled; she returns as the party’s scout.	No recruit correction needed because outlaw recruitment was already granted.
`have_lady=0`	Haldric distrusts her and she proposes joining forces.	`[allow_recruit]` grants Footpad, Poacher, Thief, and Thug now.

Both branches converge before the identity reveal. This is a clean example of resolving an earlier choice without discarding its dialogue consequences.

Lady Outlaw → Lady Jessene transformation

The source does not merely rename the existing unit. It animates Lady Outlaw out, constructs Lady Jessene using preserved data, animates her in, then clears the stored object.

Preserved	Changed
Unit type from `$lady_store.type`	ID and display name become Lady Jessene
Experience	Variation becomes `unmasked`
Coordinates and facing	Portrait becomes `portraits/jessica.webp`
Female gender and side 1	Traits are normalized to loyal hero

Why reconstruct rather than rename? Reconstruction makes the visual variation, portrait, identity, and trait package explicit while retaining only the progression fields the authors intend to preserve.

Event outline

Trigger	Behavior
`prestart`	Restores Oldwood scenery, places Wose guardians, and recalls branch companions.
`start`	Runs the complete cutscene: Ruby report, refugee crisis, Lady Outlaw return, conditional trust dialogue, recruit correction, Jessene reveal, route decision, and farewell.
End of start event	Clears `have_lady` and ends in victory with 100% carryover, no carryover report, no linger mode, and no replay save.

State lifecycle

Scenario 02 ├── accepted: have_lady = 1; active Lady Outlaw └── rejected: have_lady = 0; stored future Lady state Scenario 05 └── if active, store Lady Outlaw in lady_store and remove her for scouting Scenario 07 ├── unstore Lady Outlaw ├── branch-specific dialogue / recruit correction ├── reconstruct as Lady Jessene ├── clear lady_store └── clear have_lady

After the reveal, the campaign no longer needs the old boolean. Future logic can address the permanent character directly by ID: Lady Jessene.

Carryover and cutscene settings

Setting	Purpose
`turns=1`	Provides a valid scenario frame without a gameplay phase.
`theme=Cutscene_Minimal`	Reduces normal gameplay UI.
`victory_when_enemies_defeated=no`	Prevents an immediate automatic ending with no hostile sides.
`bonus=no`	No early-finish reward for a scripted scene.
`NEW_GOLD_CARRYOVER 100`	Passes all existing campaign gold through unchanged.
`carryover_report=no`, `linger_mode=no`, `replay_save=no`	Avoids gameplay-oriented interstitial screens and files.

Assets and units

Resource	Origin	Use
`portraits/rithrandil-winter.webp`	Campaign	Seasonal progression for the Ancient Wose
`portraits/jessica.webp`	Campaign	Lady Jessene identity reveal
Temple and castle-ruin scenery	Core/shared	Recreates the established map state
`traveling_minstrels.ogg`	Core/shared	Cutscene music
Wose and Ancient Wose	Core	Treefolk participants
Lady Jessene’s unit type	Dynamic reuse	Uses the stored Wesfolk progression type instead of a separate Jessene type

Lessons for campaign authors

Design interpretation. This cutscene is the payoff for state laid down five scenarios earlier. It proves that a non-combat scenario can do substantial engineering work: repair divergent recruit state, preserve advancement, reveal identity, clean obsolete variables, and redirect the plot.

Pattern	Reuse lesson
Reuse a battle map as a cutscene stage	Gain visual continuity and reduce map-production cost.
Unstore, transform, and reconstruct a unit	Preserve progression while changing canonical identity and art.
Repair mechanical convergence conditionally	Ensure both earlier choice paths reach a valid shared roster.
Clear obsolete decision flags after identity becomes explicit	Replace indirect state with stable character IDs.
Use cutscene-specific endlevel settings	Remove reports, linger screens, and replay artifacts that add no value.

Scenario WML · Reused map source · Oldwood arc study

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Release 1.0.0. Source snapshot: Wesnoth 6ab3fc1, accessed July 12, 2026. This site has no external runtime dependencies and can be opened directly from disk.