Source-first reverse engineering of a mainline Battle for Wesnoth campaign
13 — Peoples in Decline
The first overseas resupply battle, fought against three drake chiefs on a slowly sinking volcanic island, with an optional Storm Trident and delayed Sea Serpent encounter.
The refugees leave the Green Isle permanently aboard the Eldaric. The story panels describe a stormy eastern voyage and a slowly sinking volcanic island where Southbay’s elder prince once established a foothold among belligerent drakes.
The port appears deserted, but Jessene recognizes the island and warns that its inhabitants have rearmed. Haldric attempts peaceful resupply; the drakes answer in the name of Morogor. After the battle, the refugees replenish the fleet, while Jessene notes that the drakes will resume guarding the island and eventually face evacuation themselves.
Story beat
Function
Permanent departure
Closes the Green Isle phase of the campaign.
Sinking volcanic island
Mirrors the refugees’ decline with another displaced people.
Failed diplomacy
Introduces drakes through territorial hostility rather than exposition alone.
Familiar observes victory
Shows Jevyan’s continuing surveillance without a direct confrontation.
Map description
The 32 × 33 map is almost entirely surrounded by deep ocean. A compact central island combines beaches, sand, scrub, swamp, tropical forest, villages, rough roads, caves, volcanic terrain, and three drake keeps. Haldric’s red galleon is staged at the crude port near the upper-left interior.
Map element
Design role
Ocean border
Makes the island feel isolated and turns re-provisioning into a hard requirement.
Three dispersed drake keeps
Creates multiple fronts on a compact map.
Storm Trident at 17,18
Rewards sending a merfolk unit into central water.
Serpent spawn near the trident
Makes the item’s region an encounter rather than free loot.
Deserted crude port
Connects the map to the elder prince’s failed foothold.
Objectives and sides
Victory
Defeat all enemy leaders.
Defeat
Death of Haldric, Jessene, or Lord Typhon; turns expire.
Carryover
40%, with early-finish bonus.
Side
Leader / roster
Gold and income
AI
1 — Refugees
Haldric and all available companions
210 / 180 / 150
Human controlled
2 — Drakes
Kegrid, Drake Flameheart
80 / 110 / 140; income 2 / 4 / 6
Aggression 0.75; no scouts; advanced roster above Easy
3 — Drakes
Garash, Drake Flameheart
80 / 110 / 140; income 2 / 4 / 6
Similar, with Drake Flare available above Easy
4 — Drakes
Merkush, Drake Flameheart
80 / 110 / 140; income 2 / 4 / 6
Similar, with Drake Thrasher available above Easy
5 — Sea creature
No initial leader; hidden
No village economy
Hosts the scripted Sea Serpent
Difficulty scaling
Element
Easy
Normal / Hard
Turns
33
30 / 27
Player gold
210
180 / 150
Each drake leader’s gold
80
110 / 140
Each drake leader’s income
2
4 / 6
Drake recruit tiers
Level-1 Burner, Clasher, Glider, Fighter
Adds selected level-2 Fire Drake, Arbiter/Flare/Thrasher, and Drake Warrior
Storm Trident pickup
OBJ_TRIDENT_STORM 17 18 (trident) uses the core item macro. Only a merfolk unit without an existing storm-trident attack can take it.
Attack field
Value
Damage
14 × 2
Type / range
Fire, ranged
Special
Magical
Duration
Forever
Art and audio
Storm-trident image, lightning icon, directional lightning animations and sounds
Unlike Typhon’s guaranteed trident in Scenario 12, this is a normal optional pickup. The same core effect is therefore demonstrated in two authoring contexts.
Bitey the Serpent event
The first side-1 unit to enter the trident hex schedules a nested new turn event. On the following turn:
Random x and y coordinates are selected near the item.
A named loyal Sea Serpent, “Bitey the Serpent,” is created for hidden side 5.
A nearby side-1 unit warns the player.
The camera scrolls to Bitey.
The temporary coordinate variables are cleared.
Delaying the spawn until the next turn prevents the creature from interrupting the pickup interaction itself.
Special events
Trigger
Behavior
prestart
Places the core Storm Trident, recalls all possible companions including Typhon, stages the Eldaric, and installs objectives.
start
Introduces the island, failed diplomacy, and drake hostility.
Move to 17,18
Schedules Bitey’s random nearby arrival on the next turn.
Enemies defeated
Confirms fleet resupply, compares drake decline to human migration, stages Familiar’s surveillance, and ends with 40% carryover.
Time over
The fleet begins starving before the island can be pacified.
Design interpretation. The first overseas battle introduces a new faction and environment without introducing new campaign-specific units. Its custom identity comes from the sinking-island story, map composition, and a small optional encounter around a core item.
Pattern
Reuse lesson
Resupply as a victory premise
Give a conventional leader-defeat battle logistical stakes.
Use another displaced people as thematic mirror
Make a new faction reinforce the campaign’s central theme.
Core item plus scripted guardian
Turn an existing pickup into a scenario-specific encounter.
Three similar enemy sides with distinct advanced recruits
Create subtle tactical differences without custom AI.
Villain surveillance after victory
Maintain antagonist continuity without interrupting the current battle.