Source-first reverse engineering of a mainline Battle for Wesnoth campaign
09 — Fallen Lich Point
A long surface approach where the player chooses when to release a petrified lich, retrieves the Book of Fire and Darkness, and decides whether to escape or clear every enemy leader.
Haldric makes landfall outside Southbay to recover Lich-Lord Caror’s Book of Fire and Darkness. The battlefield already contains two orc armies and a petrified undead force. A monolith explains that only a noble of the royal line can end the spell, turning Haldric’s lineage into both story proof and a gameplay gate.
The player may free Caror immediately or delay until the orcs are weakened. Once released, the lich senses the Ruby of Fire and becomes another hostile leader. Killing him yields the book; Haldric must then be the first unit to enter the sewer.
Dialogue phase
Function
Ship landing
Introduces the detour and recalls the full party.
Monolith hint area
Directs Haldric toward the royal-line interaction.
Royal phrase choice
Lets the player choose the timing of a new enemy faction.
Caror’s release
Confirms the Ruby can be sensed by powerful magic users.
Book recovery
Marks the mandatory artifact condition.
Yeti encounter
Adds an optional comic hazard in the central region.
Map description
The 37 × 47 surface map is tall and varied, with mountains and hills in the north, snowy roads and villages, forest belts, water, shore, ruined structures, a mine entrance, and a southern petrified undead formation around the monolith. Haldric lands by Transport Galleon on the eastern coast. Two orc keeps control northern and central approaches, while the sewer entrance lies at the abandoned mine near 15,9.
Map element
Design role
Long vertical geography
Separates landing, orc fronts, Yeti zone, monolith, and sewer exit.
Monolith at 14,30
Controls release of the lich faction.
Mine/sewer entrance at 15,9
Creates a protagonist-only escape objective.
Petrified formation near the south
Shows the entire hidden threat before it becomes active.
Hidden side-5 Yeti zone
Introduces an optional neutral-hostile faction after exploration.
Signposts
Point toward Southbay and warn of sewer danger.
Objectives and victory structure
Requirement
Implementation meaning
Kill the lich to get his book
Caror’s last-breath event sets have_book=1.
Haldric enters Southbay’s sewer
Only Haldric can use the exit at 15,9, and only after the book is obtained.
Alternative bonus: defeat all enemy leaders
Clearing both orc sides as well as Caror yields bonus victory.
Defeat
Haldric or Jessene dies, or turns expire.
The main objective allows escape after obtaining the book without killing both orc leaders. The enemies defeated event gives bonus victory when the battlefield is completely cleared.
Sides and AI
Side
Leader / roster
Gold
Behavior
1 — Refugees
Haldric and all available companions
220 / 200 / 180
Human controlled
2 — Orcs
Ut’Tan-Grilg, Orcish Warlord
210 / 250 / 290
Night aggression 0.75, zero caution, no grouping
3 — Orcs
Tan-Pulk, Orcish Warlord
210 / 250 / 290
Mirrors side 2
4 — Undead
Lich-Lord Caror; undead recruits
100 / 130 / 160
Aggression 1.0, but entire side begins petrified
5 — Yetis
No initial leader; hidden
0
Village value 0; revealed by central movement trigger
The orc recruitment lists expand by difficulty. Caror can recruit Skeletons, Skeleton Archers, Ghosts, Ghouls, and Walking Corpses after release.
Petrified faction system
A local PETRIFIED macro adds petrified=yes. A second local macro creates six loyal-upkeep Bone Shooters and Revenants around the lich so their upkeep does not alter displayed side gold before activation.
#define PETRIFIED_UNIT TYPE X Y
[unit]
side=4
type={TYPE}
x={X}
y={Y}
{PETRIFIED}
upkeep=loyal
[/unit]
#enddef
When Haldric chooses the royal phrase:
lich_free becomes 1.
[unpetrify] activates the petrified side.
Side-4 non-leader units are changed to full upkeep.
Side 4 receives normal zero income.
Caror and the party exchange Ruby-focused dialogue.
Design advantage. The enemy force is visible and strategically predictable, but the player controls when it becomes active.
Special events
Trigger
Behavior
prestart
Places monolith, mine, signposts, six petrified undead, initializes lich_free and have_book, hides the landing unit, and installs objectives.
start
Animates the ship landing, recalls companions, and states the Book/sewer plan.
Move near monolith
Prompts Haldric to investigate; other units summon him.
Haldric moves to monolith
Offers “free now” or “wait” options until the lich has been released.
Move into central Yeti region
Unhides side 5 and creates Rarlg and Raul-Rarlg.
Caror last breath
Sets have_book=1.
Haldric enters sewer with book
Ends with non-bonus victory if other enemy leaders remain.
Non-Haldric enters sewer
Explains that Haldric must lead the party; permits undo.
Enemies defeated
Ends with bonus victory.
scenario_end
Clears have_book, lich_free, and Killed_an_Orc.
Why the book flag is temporary
have_book is needed only to gate the sewer exit while this scenario is running. Every successful outcome guarantees that the Book of Fire and Darkness was obtained, so the flag is cleared during scenario_end. Later dialogue can treat book possession as an invariant.
Difficulty scaling
Element
Easy
Normal
Hard
Turns
36
33
30
Player gold
220
200
180
Each orc side’s gold
210
250
290
Lich gold
100
130
160
Orc rosters
Lower-tier mix
Broader advanced mix
Highest concentration of advanced units
Assets and reuse
Resource
Origin
Use
No story panel
—
Ship landing supplies the transition in-map.
Haldric portraits
Campaign
Monolith choice and missed-book feedback
Monolith, abandoned mine, signposts, Transport Galleon
Core/shared
Royal spell, sewer entrance, navigation, and arrival