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Check out my highmen: Let's Play Age of Wonders
Hello Goons! I'm Elfface and this is a test-post for Age of Wonders, a turn-based fantasy strategy game similar to Heroes of Might and Magic. You train your heroes, build an army and attempt to destroy your opponent. Along the way you'll search dungeons for treasure, research powerful spells and unlock more powerful units.
I will be playing a fair game, loading an older save only when I get a Game Over.
In this test-post I'll be showing off the introduction and tutorial, and explaining the basic aspects of the game. If all goes well, this will graduate to a proper thread where I'll be playing the two campaigns. If those go well, I'll move on to the sequel games, AoW2: The Wizard's Throne, and AoW: Shadow Magic. Shadow Magic is more of a stand-alone expansion pack for 2, so never got it's own number.
The trilogy is available from GoG and Impulse, and comes with a map editor and the soundtrack.
And with that, Let's Play!
In the first days of the world, all living beings were ruled by the elven court, where the wizard king Inioch sat upon his throne and maintained a delicate balance of light and shadow.
Banished from their garden, a new race called humans sailed to Inioch's realm. Attracted to its splendour they entered the valley of wonders seeking the elven court. In defiant hordes they besieged the valley.
Unable to restrain the callow race, king Inioch and his court were slain. Queen Elwynn, Inioch's second wife, fled the burning ruins with her baby, Julia.
Inioch's first born, prince Meandor, fell among the dead.
The fall of Inioch's court split the elves into factions. Some desired only to rebuild in tranquillity while others, scarred by their loss demanded the annihilation of all things human.
Unable to forget the carnage, these dark elves cultivated malice, embracing the shadows. From the gloom of their underground hideouts, they sharpened weapons of war.
But the child Julia grew, tutored in the ways of light upon a remote island where Queen Elwynn gathered remnants of Inioch's court. As she matured, Julia allied herself with virtue and joined a society called Keepers, to shine light in the darkness.
Mistaken for dead yet shackled to vengeance, Meandor embraced the dark elves. By right of royal lineage, Meandor founded a sect called the Cult of Storms, who wrought terror on any who opposed their dark ideals.
After two centuries of wars, a new star appeared over the valley of wonders. Keeper scouts spied Meandor lurking about the ruins of Inioch's court. In response, Julia too followed the omen, hoping to thwart her dark brother's scheme.
An uneasy silence engulfed the lands.
Meanwhile, a young Keeper was about to undergo a trial, to discover if he was ready to lead an army.
Trodsen was a reasonably proficient at both wizardry and combat, but had yet to command troops outside of training. It was decided that his trial would be to eradicate the Goblin infestation from a Halfling island.
As the keeper ship approached the island, Trodsen was visibly nervous. He was told that three warriors would assist him, though the ship carried several more. He had overheard a pair of dwarves talking amongst themselves, and understood that the rest of the ship was to be deployed if Trodsen were to fail.
Soon, the ship weighed anchor at the island, and a small boat was prepared to take Trodsen to shore. His instructors had made it clear that this was a real mission, with real consequences. Three more boats were prepared.
The first warrior to meet him upon the shore, was another halfling. The small warrior rode a pony, and led another for Trodsen, who gladly mounted.
The second warrior appeared from a distance to be another pony rider. However when he drew closer, Trodsen was surprised to see a Centaur, armed with a bow. The enigmatic horse-men preferred to remain neutral, and so Trodsen was surprised to find one accompanying him. Though not nearly as surprised as he was by the third warrior.
A Syron, made entirely of magic, crackling with energy approached the group. It said nothing, nor gave a gesture, and simply fell into rank with the others. Trodsen remembered from his lessons that a Syron's aim to to defeat reckless users of magic, a task they were greatly suited to as they were entirely immune to it, along with the prime elements. Trodsen hoped the spirit was there to engage a Goblin spellcaster, and not to watch over him.
Trodsen called for the others to follow him, and took stock of his surroundings. A road led away from the shore, cutting through a forest and past some hills.
As the party marched along the road Trodsen considered climbing a hill, to see more of the surrounding area. However he soon spotted a tower on the horizon, which would prove far more effective.
Trodsen rode north to greet the inhabitants of the town. He was welcomed with open arms. The people of Kilia had been promised aid from the Keepers, and now it had arrived. The mayor promised Trodsen his full support.
Trodsen decided that the best defence was a good offence, and decided to spend the night in the town and leave the next day. He spent the remaining time organising a small militia and training areas, so the town would not be undefended if goblins attacked while he was gone.
It's worth noting that a town cannot grow larger, and it's size affects the units it can produce. To build the best, we need the biggest.
Pausing shortly to claim the gold mine for the war effort, Trodsen spotted a cave by the roadside ahead. Bones were scattered around the entrance, and sinister eyes could be seen glinting within. Trodsen ordered torches lit, and the cave investigated and cleared of evil.
The ceiling was low, and the floor uneven. Hooves struggled to find purchase. The Syron had no such problems and marched on ahead, vanishing around a corner. Trodsen arrived just in time to see the warrior dispatching the second of a pair of hell hounds, the demon dog's firey breath passing over the Syron without a trace.
In the hell hounds' lair, Trodsen discovered an enchanted sword. No doubt the property of the last creature to attempt to cleanse the cave. Feeling that the original owner would appreciate it being put to good use, Trodsen strapped it to his waist and led the party away from the cave, hoping to stay above ground for a while longer. His wish was not to be, however.
Impassable mountains blocked the group's travel. However they soon found a cave, with wide steps carved into it. There was little doubt that it led to the goblins' nest. It was dark inside, even more so than the hell hounds' lair. A blue glow was visible in the distance, which Trodsen approached cautiously. When he came closer, Trodsen's apprehension vanished. It seemed he had found a mana node.
Trodsen paused to attune himself to the node, and felt a rush of energy. He had yet to find an opportunity to use his magic, but when it came he would not be short of power.
The cave proved to be much smaller than Trodsen had expected, though it still took the group a whole day to traverse. Once out, and blinking in the daylight, Trodsen ran into a group of Keepers. He was informed that the goblins were better fortified than they had suspected, and so he was offered some supplies and additional soldiers to aid him in his mission.
Trodsen met the reinforcements further down the road. There were a pair of dwarves, riding fierce boars, and giants carrying clubs that were taller than Trodsen. A dwarf told Trodsen that they had scouted the area, and the goblins had constructed a wooden wall. This would normally be the difference between victory and defeat, but such fortifications would be little match for the giants. The enlarged group continued down the road, marching to war with the goblin settlement.
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Walls are a major obstacle. If you have no ranged attacks and can't go over them, around them, or through them, your only hope is to retreat. The goblins have ranged attacks, so will be in no hurry to leave the safety of their town. A battering ram is cheap to produce back in the halfling town, and the centaur's bow and Trodsen's magic can reach over the walls.
But our giants have other ideas.
Once their walls are down, an enemy loses it's inhibitions about riding out to meet an enemy.
In the end, the battle was won. Trodsen had performed admirably, sending his men after the weaker enemies, keeping the cavalry charging and using the giants' immense clubs and boulders to great effect. The giant beetle proved tougher than the goblin chief, though it was brought down in the end by a geyser of water summoned by Trodsen. A jet of water lifted the creature dozens of feet into the sky, before suddenly cutting out and letting gravity do the rest.
As the final goblins were put to the sword, and their crudely-built houses burned to the ground, Trodsen saw the halfling pony-rider slump in the saddle. Closer inspection revealed a festering wound from the beetle, a vile poison that lingered long after the animal had perished. As the warrior died, Trodsen realised that he never knew the halfling's name, and felt guilty that this made it easier to watch him die.
That concludes Chapter 0 of Age of Wonders. If this makes it out of the sandcastle, I'll update with information about the two campaigns, and information on letting you Goons build us a pair of leaders.
In the meantime, what do you think should be changed? Should I record the introduction as a movie to save on (screen) space? The controls are simple enough that you can figure them out, and I'll be explaining features as they come up, but I may be a bit too light on how the game works. Should I (clumsily) edit out the interface more often, or leave it in for more information? Tell me what you think.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Highmen are a playable race. They'll be renamed Archons in AoW2, so get the jokes in while you can.