A map by Pyrus (still conceptualizing)

Update: I will be periodically updating my replies and thy will be in colour like this one.

This is the first map I'm actually thinking that i could complete.
At the very heart its a 1 player map similar to the Orc bonus campaigns in TFT, where you have a handful of mercenary heroes that have to complete missions.
However I plan to have a very compelling story and plot that might raise the calibre of this map far beyond the others.

I'm planning to have around 20 diff heroes you could obtain and play. However you can only have 3 heroes in your party at any given time, except for certain quests. Im also considering parties of 4 so feedback will be nice. These wont be your mundane palladin or warlord type heroes. More on heroes in a sec. For some missions your party size may change and you could use other units temporarily.

There will be 2 main Heroes you can choose from at the beginning of the map and that hero will be the one whose story shalt be unfolded and who stars in your first quest.
You will always control that hero in your party but you can play with the other main hero as one of your other party members.

All heroes will have 5 spells {4 normal and 1 ultimate} as well as a "natural" ability. This natural ability may be passive or not and will not always have a direct use for combat. Im also thinking of making this spell upgradeable if you complete certain tasks.

Here is a sample of the heroes I'm thinking of so far:
Tuskarr Hunter - summoner
Pyromantic Monk
Artist of Waves
Goblin Bomb Salesman
Tauren Stargazer

Be free to give ideas for heroes and spells.

The map is set in an alternate world and has nothing to do with the events in Warcraft. Like the orc campaign there will be one massive main map area and lots of submaps, which some might be quite large.

<EDIT>
So far there will be 3 main factions: state, military and church.
The State is run mainly by the aristocrats and its head is the King. It basically makes all the rules and colects taxes. Contrary to other kingdoms the state does not have a major influence on the military, other than the fact that they pay the latter. The state however is not tyrannical and is at peace with its kingdom (at least it would appear so).

The military works hard to maintain law and order around the kingdom; its hand stretches far, often providing services in the most desolate regions of the kingdom. Some sects of the military are corrupt, as there are no checks and balance against them. On the large scene the military still believes in chivalry but that is dying fast.

The Church is a relatively new establishment that has quickly risen to power. They encourage people to follow their God (have yet to think of a name), an almighty ineffable being that exsists and can bring happiness and fortune to all. The Church wants the citizens to move away from their old wonts of belief in nature to belief of thier supernatural being. Something fishy's going on it the church.

Im still in the conceptual stage and might be a while before i get to work on this. I'm also probably forgetting stuff I've thought of and I'll post them later when i remember.
Post ideas and comments!!

More Info - Dragons

DRAGONS: Dragons will play a very strong role in the story. However their first appearance occurs at the middle of the game, and only a few appearances. The references to dragons show up more often as the game nears the finale.

There are 5 dragon types representing the 5 chinese elements: Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth. These elements form the basis of Nature (see next post).

"Aeons ago Dragons appeared on the planet in great numbers and of all varieties. They built and maintained massive empires and beautiful cities. The dragons delved deeply into the clockwork of their world and thus the 5 elements were created, each as a result of the field that that civilisation studied. They had a deep connection with Nature and built temples in her (?) honour. During this era the other races of the present world coexisted with the dragons. However they were babaric and uncivilised and often the study of the dragons; the humans were thourougly observed. During the dragons zenith of technology and knowlege their civilisations mysterially vanished. Empires were left to crumble and decay, their wisdom lost among the tides of time.
Some say that the dragons delved too deeply into the worldy magics and were destroyed by their thirst for knowledge. Others say that the dragons were startled with the inner power they discovered lying in the other races that they merged themselves with the other races. Others theorise that the dragons became too affiliated with Nature that they were absorbed into the earth, finally becoming one. Whatever the result the outcome is clear. The Dragons no longer exist in modern times. Their only legacy left behind are their shrines, called Dragon Shrines, which have miraculously outlived their fading ruins. Scribes accredit this to the arcane magic still left in the world."


Some of these things are cliched but still tell me what you think.

Update: Aspects
Roughly 500 years ago the races of the world personified the 5 elements of nature into Dragons, which are known as the 5 aspects. Each of the aspects likeness is engraved in stone statues that lie in their repsective temples.

Fire = Xan'bie (pronouned zan-bee)
Water = Sachiel
Wood = Yggdrasil
Metal =
Earth =

A liitle information - Religions and Magic

There are 2 main religions in this world (still need a name) and 2 ways of magic that spur from these religions - Druidism and Church.

Druidism has existed from the time of the dragons, when the world was young and the modern races were uncivilised. The place where people pay their respects are known as "Dragon Shrines", the last relics of the dragon empire. The belief is that nature has set up a "balance", the 5 elements {fire, wood, water, metal, earth}. As long as this balance is maintained the believers of Druidism feel all will be well.

The type of magic associated with Druidism is elemental magic.


The Church encourages the worship in God, a higher ultimate being. Although the church was founded only recently they already have a large following. This is mainly due to the preaching of the church that those who follow God shalt be blessed. And indeed it has proven so. Those that gave up their following Druidism had their fortunes overturned. This was more dramatized as the country had fallen into times of misfortune; crops would'nt grow and rain did'nt fall. People thought Druidism (nature) had forsaken them, even more reason for them to change their beliefs. However the grasp of the church is still small and many territories still hold strong their belief in Druidism.

The Church was founded and is run by a group of evangelists, unlike Druidism which is not run by any group. These evangelists have claimed to be enlightened by their God who told them to spread the word of his goodness and blessings. They preach in their churches and have ordered the destruction of Dragon Shrines so more churchs can be built. Their arm has extended into the State and now have an integral part in the kingdoms rulings.

The magic associtated with the church can be classified as the divine magic of the Warcraft world and includes all magic that are not of the 5 elements of nature.


I'm getting tired so I'll stop here for the day. I am thinking of changing the name of Nature 'cause it just doesnt sound too nice.
Any comments and ideas are more than welcome. Just no religious ones (like anti-christian, etc).

Hmm, I wonder why no one is replying? Maybe its because my map sucks so much. :( However I shall persevere for a couple more days.

Main Heroes
There is one (1) hero you get when you load the map, a warrior type hero. You will go through his story line as the main story and you will always have to use him.

Other Heroes
There are 2 ways to get other party members.
The First is that you automatically get them at some point during the map. These heroes will play a somewhat important role in the main hero's story.

The other way to get heroes is to complete certain side quests. These are optional heroes and the same selection will be available to both main heroes. These heroes will have absolutely nothing to do the 2 main story lines.

These other heroes have their own mini storylines that might or might not tie into the main stories.

There will also be 2 hidden heroes, one for each storyline. These 2 will be difficult to find and might require you to complete some of the other heroes story lines first. These 2 heroes are more powerful than the other heroes (except the main heroes) however do not have a story line.

Please tell me what you think.

Update:
I have decided that there will be more than 2 hidden heroes.

This sounds rather interesting. Something I thought of for your Church faction could something like a powerful Demonic being impersonating something good. He gives you happiness now... But that'll only last until he reaches power and then... You get the idea.

Nature is commonly referred to as Druidism in most fantasy games, so you could use that. Shamanism is another type.

A military with little amounts of overseeing with great power is just asking for some scheming person to come in, take over, and make a grab for ultimate power.

The government seems like ot would probably want to try and gain more control over the other factions because it is commonly known that those who are rich would be greatly displeased to lose their wealth to some 'upstart' group so they might want to try and tighten up on rules and regulations.

A sudden government crakedown, a power hungry military strategist, and a demon in a place of power usually spark some interesting conflicts...

Anyway, I hope this works well and I'm looking forward to seeing it!

Thanks for the comments Shimraa, they are greatly appreciated. I will keep your ideas in mind, and have changed Nature to Druidism.

This will be one of the bigger submaps and it lies to the north, hence the name. It is a mountainous region with only the higher elevations conered in snow. However a sudden cold snap has forced the snow to the lower regions, resulting in the death of hundreds of trees.

The Northern Region is divided into 2 regions the lower and upper regions. The lower regions are hilly and undulating while the upper region is mountainous and snow covered.

The main habitants of the lower regions are the Panderans. The Panderans earn most of their income through farming. They lead a simple and humble life and have a profound relationship with nature.
The main body of panderans are monks or monks in training and occupy the Togakashi Monestary (a random name). They are druids (as in they follow Druidism) that follow the path of Wood and thus their shrines are devoted to the wood dragon, who represents the aspect of wood.

Update: Tuskarrs
The upper regions are mountainous and uninhabitable but there is a mesa that is occupied by a village of Tuskarrs. They live a secluded life and are mainly hunters and gatherers. They have no magic allegiance apparently but share a close bond with the animals that live in their surrounding environment. Their living areas are confined but they have explored these high peaks for aeons and know them well. Who knows what they found on their hunt.


Places of interests:
Tourist Village
The Northen Frontier used to be a holy place, until the tourists started coming in. Now there is an entire village devoted to serving these tourists. I'm sure a mercenary could find work here; those tourists are a bunch of lazy, whining people with too much money.
Here's the main place where you could find mercenery jobs (quests/missions). It also has numerous shops with unique items, albeit a bit over-priced, and an inn where you could recover hp and mp. There is also a hotspring where you may relax your muscles and exit feeling refresh and invigorated (a dummy caster casts a spell on you to increase stats temporarily when you leave), but you must pay a high price to use it. You can also buy bathing salts to be used in the hotsprings that would augment the natural powers of the spring (temp armor increase, etc). However there will be a mission where the reward allows you to go in the hotsprings for free.

Abandoned Mining Facility
The Dwarves once came here searching for gold and mythril. The mining facility was abruptly abondoned, due to the scarcity of gold and mythril that would make the operation profitable. But there is a rumour going around that the dwarves uncovered something far ancient than gold and mythril and quickly closed the mine, lest the head corporation should learn of their "accident".
There are many powerful monsters here and is a good place to train and obtain gold. Most of the mine is sealed by collapsed tunnels and it will require heavy machiery if you want to explore the darker regions.

Dragon Shrine
There are many dragon shrines scattered around the world. Their purpose is still unknown.

Ice Crown Lake
Deep in the mountains lies a lake. Its chilly waters edge is surrounded by jagged peaks forming a barrier of sorts from the bitter winds. Even though the lake is found high up in the upper regions its depths are formiddable and swimming in it proves disastorous. Its waters are provided by underground means; its murky waters show not the source.
On one of its shores lives an old Tuskarr hermit. You may reant a special boat from him if you wish to travel across the lake. There are secret trails that lie on the other sides of the lake just waiting for some unlucky hero to explore.


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And here's a Hero.....
Sorata the Pyromantic Monk
model - Panderan of Fire; strenght based hero; melee; defensive spellcaster; allegiance - Druidism (Fire)

All monks must follow the path of Wood, so it was written in Panderan Law. It was also written that monks would not weild sharp weapons, but use their fists and blunt weapons.
Sorata was orphaned at a young age and was friendless throughout his life. In order to obtain attention he often played the fool and was dispised by most of the adult Panderans. However he had one teacher who recognised him for the person he was, Mendel. Mendel trained young Sorata well in the ways of wood and hand to hand combat. However Sorata hated this and delved into the arts of fire and swordsmanship. As an adult Panderan he has been renounced from the monestary for the crimes against his people's culture though still lives there even if everyone else acts like he doesnt. Mendel has vanished from the monestery.

And another hero....
Lok, Tuskarr Vizier of Hunting
model-Tuskarr hunter; strenght based hero; ranged; summoner; allegiance - none

The Tuskarr are ruled by three of their own; the viziers. These are the vizier of hunting, the vizier of council and the vizier of architecture. Of these three the vizier of hunting is responsible for ensuring that the village has enough food to survive the harsh winters and bitter storms. He is also a companion of beasts, befriending the animals of the north and calling upon their aid in battle and on the hunt.
Of the three viziers - Lok, Iere and Toel - Lok is the oldest and most experienced. It is customary that the viziers choose an apprentice to be their succesor. The relationship between Lok and Miele, his apprentice, will be the focus of his mini-story.

nice job:S

I will be updating my replies above by using colour tags.

I like where this is going but find that 20 playable heroes is far too many. I would rather have a really well devleoped character in terms of skill set and story then twenty medicore ones, if you can pull off twenty really good ones than all the better.

I suggest setting your campaign similar to starcraft, in the respect you play as character from each faction. First as the State, then then the Chruch and finally the Military. By the end you can see the reasoning behind all three causes, but only one will triumph. If you first played as a hero of the state it would be really neat to be battling him (in a boss battle) as the hero of the Military, where you have to kill him.

You could also mix the play, like in Tarantino films. IE you start at the beginning with one of the last part of the stories, IE raiding the castle with a really powerful hero and his allies. Then you reach the 'door' to the boss, fade out and start from the very beginning of the campaign as a different faction.

Excellent to see a project so well planned out as this. I'm eager to see what you do with this, because I loved the Rexxar campaign, it was good fun.

I'm agreeing with the above person, 20 heroes is probably too many. 5 or 6 at most, but I'd still prefer 2 or 3. You got some nice original ideas. Can't wait for you to start.

Bye :)

Thanks for the comments you 2, but i am going to continue with my 20 heroes and I shall explain why ---

Its my fault for not being clear on how this map will operate. It is not going to be a campaign with multiple chapters like the W3 ones. Instead it is going to be one main map with lots of submaps. There will be 2 main story lines and the hero you choose in the beginning will determine which story you will go through.

Not all 20 heroes will have deep complex stories; just the 2 main ones. And you dont play with all of them at once, just 3, like on RPGs for SNES. I'm doing this because my maps gonna be long and playing with the same 5 heroes over and over again will get very repetitive. Each of the other heroes except the hidden ones will have their own "mini story" which does not have any major impact on the main stories. They are more like side quests.

The 3 factions {church, state, military} are not like the races in warcraft, where the campaign is centered around them. They are external to the player's party, which is a band of mercenaries.

Keep up the replies! ^_^
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Here's some more info that doesnt really fit under a topic.

This is how the races of W3 will be utilised and spread:
Humans - Main map, various others
High elves/Blood Elves - Church
Panderan - Northern Frontier
Tuskarr - Northern Frontier
Trolls - everywhere, and of all varieties
Orcs - Valley of Flames
Tauren - Land of Shifting Sands
Goblins - Mecha, various shops
Dwarves - Mecha, Valley of Flames

The locations i have definitely decided on including are as follows:
Main map - Still needs a name, this is the largest map and where you start off and where you can go to the other maps from
Northern Frontier - Snowy, mountainous region, see above post. accessible from main map
Land of Shifting Sand (LOSS) - Desert region but isnt only sand. There are rocky areas. This area is devoted to the Earth aspect.
Valley of Flames - A volcanic region. It is first accessible from LOSS, but there is mission where you could help a goblin engineer find his missind workers and in exchange they build a landing pad for you (explained next).

You travel between regions by use of your personal airship. To travel to the next region you need to have the landing pad there active. However you do not need to go to the map. A simple chat with the correct person could acitvate the landing pad.

Quests will consist of mainly optional quests and fewer main quests. The main quests are general quests that have many parts, however they are not very detailed. For example your first main quest is to get enough gold to fix your airship, but to do this you need to accomplish the sub quests.

I have decided on a name for my map: The Chronicles of Pyrus
I know, its not very original, and there's going to be almost nothing about Pyrus in the map. Is it really crappy and if it is what do you suggest.

I dont much the idea of putting your name in the title of the map.

How about either Liberties End, if you were to create a distopia world like 1984 or Brave New world. I would choose Aftermath if you were to have a previous major event that you use heavily for your backstory.

I wanted something that would bring out the story telling aspect of the map. Liberties End sounds like something ive heard before and Aftermath sounds too Armageddon.

Lemme just ask two questions:
1. Is this in the Warcraft universe.
2. Why are the cold areas always located up north? Actually it could be in the south too, or anywere.

Vagabond-