Source-first reverse engineering of a mainline Battle for Wesnoth campaign

21 — The Plan

A one-turn strategic cutscene in which Haldric, Jessene, and Commander Aethyr design the forged-treaty deception that controls every victory and defeat condition in the final battle.

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Identity

WML ID21_The_Plan
Next scenario22_The_Rise_of_Wesnoth
Map21_The_Plan.map, 22 × 12 hexes
Turns1
Theme / scheduleCutscene_Minimal, afternoon
Carryover100%, no report
ArchetypeFinal-strategy cutscene
Story importanceCritical
WML complexityLow–moderate
CombatNone intended
Campaign functionDefines the final battle’s inverse victory contract

The deception plan

Haldric proposes convincing Jevyan and the surviving orcs that the refugees traded the Ruby of Fire to the elves in exchange for settlement rights. A forged treaty must be found on a trusted human’s corpse, Jevyan must believe it, and at least one literate-enough witness must return to the Green Isle with the false story.

Haldric initially intends to sacrifice himself. Jessene refuses, because his survival is necessary to lead the refugees. Commander Aethyr emerges from hiding and insists on taking Haldric’s place, framing the mission as the honorable death denied to him at Clearwater Port and during the fleet rescue.

Plan requirementScenario 22 consequence
Aethyr carries the forged treaty.He receives a treaty overlay and must die specifically to Jevyan.
Jevyan reads it before his destruction.Killing Jevyan while Aethyr remains alive causes defeat.
An orc witnesses the deception.Exactly one orc leader must survive and escape.
The witness returns to the Green Isle.The final survivor uses a side-specific ship route during victory.

Map and staging

The 22 × 12 coastal clearing is a compact conversation stage of grassland, deciduous forest, shallow and deep water, marsh, villages, sand, and two bridges. Haldric, Jessene, and Aethyr are positioned in a triangular arrangement. Aethyr begins hidden and enters midway through the argument.

Safety restoration

prestart recalls Lady Jessene. If she is somehow absent—described in the source as impossible under normal play—the file restores her from jessica_store, places her at 8,5, and clears the variable. This makes the cutscene robust against an unexpected prior state.

Aethyr’s entrance technique

  1. Aethyr is recalled and teleported to 14,10.
  2. The unit is hidden.
  3. When he interrupts, the scenario stores his type without killing him.
  4. move_unit_fake animates his approach.
  5. The temporary type store is cleared.
  6. The real Aethyr is teleported, unhidden, and begins speaking.

This separates visual entrance staging from the persistent unit’s real movement.

Lessons for campaign authors

PatternReuse lesson
Explain an unusual objective before battlePlayers understand why apparently desirable actions will cause defeat.
Use a cutscene to define a mechanical contractDialogue can serve as the tutorial for complex event conditions.
Add defensive state restorationA small safety branch can prevent a critical narrative scene from breaking.
Hide and fake-move a real unitStage a dramatic entrance without disturbing progression data.

Scenario WML · Map source · Endgame study

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