16 — The Ka’lian

Identity

Purpose of the scenario

The Ka’lian is one scenario file used repeatedly as the campaign’s four-quest hub. On the first visit, the elven lords debate whether the refugees should be granted land. They agree to offer the plains north and south of the Great River only after Haldric completes four tasks.

After each quest, the campaign returns to the same map and file. The hub greets the player according to the quest just completed, summarizes only unfinished work, hides completed destinations from the choice menu, and changes the council’s evaluation according to num_done.

Map and council staging

The 27 × 27 map is a forest council clearing built from deciduous woodland, grass, villages, water, bridges, and a central elven castle arrangement. Haldric’s party is teleported into a compact audience formation, with Lady Dionli, Lord Logalmier, Lord Aryad, and Lord El’Isomithir positioned as the governing council.

The four quests

Local option macros

Each quest option is defined once as a local macro. The option:

1. Uses [show_if] to appear only while its completion flag is 0.
2. Plays Haldric’s acceptance line.
3. Ends the hub with no bonus and 100% carryover.
4. Suppresses carryover report, linger mode, and replay save.
5. Overrides next_scenario to the selected quest file.

#define DRAGON
    [option]
        label= _ "I think I’ll fight the dragon!"
        [show_if]
            [variable]
                name=the_dragon
                numerical_equals=0
            [/variable]
        [/show_if]
        [command]
            ...
            [endlevel]
                result=victory
                bonus=no
                {NEW_GOLD_CARRYOVER 100}
                carryover_report=no
                linger_mode=no
                next_scenario=17a_The_Dragon
                replay_save=no
            [/endlevel]
        [/command]
    [/option]
#enddef

Reusable hub macros

All seven local macros are undefined after the scenario file, preventing them from leaking into later preprocessor scope.

Visit progression

Final council outcome

After four quests, the lords grant the refugees the plains north of the Great River and the plains and hills to its south. Haldric establishes a Pact of Mutual Aid. The council warns that the new lands must be guarded and suggests future trade.

Commander Aethyr then arrives with Clearwater survivors and news that “old friends” have appeared. The hub clears all quest-state variables and moves to 18_A_Spy_in_the_Woods with 100% carryover.

State model

The exact writes performed by all four quests are catalogued in the Ka’lian quest comparison.

Why the default next scenario is 18

The scenario header declares next_scenario=18_A_Spy_in_the_Woods, but every incomplete-quest menu option overrides the destination inside its own [endlevel]. The default becomes relevant only for the completed-hub exit, where the source also states the Scenario 18 destination explicitly.

Custom council unit types

Assets and reuse

Scenario WML · Map source · Autumn Shyde · Kalian Champion wrapper · Arc study

Lessons for campaign authors