Over the past four months I made another multiplayer-suitable map for the original Age of Wonders.
The map is called ''Desolate Maugogom'', and is downloadable here: http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1221
Now a PBEM has begun on it with four fine folk from GoG.com, so why not make a let's play of it for the prestigious Codex? Fortunately I have a track record of losing on maps which I made, so it's not as incestuous as you might think.
Map Lore:
The LP starts on Day 2, but you didn't miss much on Day 1 - in which my Giant Moles - I am Pashinyan, the Wizard-King of the Dwarves - finally dug the last of a tunnel to the Valleys of Maugogom. Maugogom is the land where the Necromancers first came to rule the world, which they are now grinding to dust.
This is the first track the map is set to play.
Besides my leader, I also have four mages travelling on foot - a powerful researching force.
However, as the world decays in the grasp of Necromancy, so does its magic. Only the spells of Cosmos remain unaltered and can be researched. To cast any other spells, we must reach the Cave of Lore, but even there we will find no magic of life or restoration, for those have fully vanished from this world.
Enchanted Weapon will be very useful against the Wraiths that have taken up residence in ruined cities, for they are immune to mundane weapons. The next spell I'll research will be Warp Party - but that's a dangerous one to use as it can land you almost anywhere.
Coming from the north, we finally break into an inhabited area of the caves. First, let's take a look in that scrying pool.
Through it we see four other scrying pools, all near (as is ours) a one-way teleporter to the Caves of Lore. It looks like the Dark Elves got here by a subterranean river, and have already set about rebuilding two towns.
The Wizard-King of the Dark Elves is one of the four surviving Wizard-Kings who arrogantly ignored my advice while the Necromancers were gaining in power. The other three rule over tribes of Orcs, Goblins, and Azracs. The other scrying pools haven't yet been reached, and only empty tunnels can be seen for now.
It would seem the Dark Elves have already sent down an agent to the Caves of Lore. I shall have to send stronger forces of my own to contest this.... or I could wait for others to deal with it first.
The Cave of Lore has six branches.
We take out the guards of that little Azrac outpost, using the Giant Mole to bust down the walls and remembering to cast Enchanted Weapons on him.
The we do some more scouting and end our turn. Looks like there are some more Azracs in this area, and I can see the dolmens of a teleporter poking out to the south.
Incidentally, I found this nice dagger on the first turn, which helped me score some kills. Need more than that to level up, though.
The map is called ''Desolate Maugogom'', and is downloadable here: http://aow.heavengames.com/downloads/showfile.php?fileid=1221
Now a PBEM has begun on it with four fine folk from GoG.com, so why not make a let's play of it for the prestigious Codex? Fortunately I have a track record of losing on maps which I made, so it's not as incestuous as you might think.
Map Lore:
In the world of Khatovar, the Necromancers have won. They have set the forces of annihilation gnawing at the bones of the world. A pall of dust and smoke taints the sun's glow. The wind carries an acid stench which eats at the lungs. Riverbeds lie dry, and the forests have perished. The seas carry an oily sheen that catches alight in storms. The stars have vanished from the sky. Above can be heard only the roar of sandstorms and the flapping of demon wings.
You and the other four Sorcerer-Kings are the only noteworthy mortals left alive, along with your slaves, apprentices and warriors, huddled in the caves. If the other great Sorcerers had not been too arrogant to obey your counsel, the world would not have been doomed. Only your sorcery protects your followers from the probing claws of decay. But even these five great wizard-kings can only preserve, not restore, for in a damned world, the magics of life and restoration are lost.
The Highmen abandoned this world long since, departing in one of their star-chariots. The Elves sealed themselves inside hidden Evermore, slipping into a drowsy twilight from which they shall never wake. The Humans, Lizardmen, Frostlings, and Halflings have been eradicated completely. Of the five bands which have survived this far, three are drawn from the races long immured in the ways of evil and decay: the Orcs, Goblins, and Dark Elves. The other two are a dwarven clan which has burrowed deep to escape the winds of vitriol, and an Azrac tribe which has always lived in the most inhospitable deserts.
There is no hope, but there is still anger and the will to fight. As the world decays, its magic does likewise. Only the magic of the Cosmos remains unchanged. None of the spells you once knew function. Your skill remains, but you will need to find new incantations which can function in a world permeated in Death.
Since their victory, the Necromancers have become complacent. Their forces cannot be defeated on the open field, but you have plans to raid the Necromancers’ Cave of Lore. The Cave can be accessed via teleporters from the caves underneath this region, the Valleys of Maugogom. However, the trip is one-way. You must send your subordinates, and access the knowledge held there by reading their minds from afar.
The other four Sorcerer-Kings must have similar intentions. Their arrogance doomed the world just as surely as the malice of the Necromancers, and if the world is to fall, it is you, not they, who should be the last to perish.
But there is another possibility. When the Highmen departed from Khatovar, their magic prevented scrying, and hid the manner of their departure. Rumour has it, the devices they used to flee to the stars were buried deep in this same region. If so, you must be the first to find and use those devices. With the Highmen gone, you should be able to discern their location once you find a good scrying pool. The Highmen would not be pleased to have their realms trespassed upon, but that is a problem to be addressed when you come to it.
Another point to note in the Valleys of Maugogom are the wraith-haunted ruins of underground towns, fed by large-scale mushroom farms. When the Necromancers and their Empire had not yet gained the full power of Death, they hid in these underground redoubts from the meteors summoned by the Sorcerer-Kings against them, and from the killing light the Highmen distilled from the stars. These ruins hold little of interest to you, but your followers can make much use of them. The time for armies is not yet done.
You and the other four Sorcerer-Kings are the only noteworthy mortals left alive, along with your slaves, apprentices and warriors, huddled in the caves. If the other great Sorcerers had not been too arrogant to obey your counsel, the world would not have been doomed. Only your sorcery protects your followers from the probing claws of decay. But even these five great wizard-kings can only preserve, not restore, for in a damned world, the magics of life and restoration are lost.
The Highmen abandoned this world long since, departing in one of their star-chariots. The Elves sealed themselves inside hidden Evermore, slipping into a drowsy twilight from which they shall never wake. The Humans, Lizardmen, Frostlings, and Halflings have been eradicated completely. Of the five bands which have survived this far, three are drawn from the races long immured in the ways of evil and decay: the Orcs, Goblins, and Dark Elves. The other two are a dwarven clan which has burrowed deep to escape the winds of vitriol, and an Azrac tribe which has always lived in the most inhospitable deserts.
There is no hope, but there is still anger and the will to fight. As the world decays, its magic does likewise. Only the magic of the Cosmos remains unchanged. None of the spells you once knew function. Your skill remains, but you will need to find new incantations which can function in a world permeated in Death.
Since their victory, the Necromancers have become complacent. Their forces cannot be defeated on the open field, but you have plans to raid the Necromancers’ Cave of Lore. The Cave can be accessed via teleporters from the caves underneath this region, the Valleys of Maugogom. However, the trip is one-way. You must send your subordinates, and access the knowledge held there by reading their minds from afar.
The other four Sorcerer-Kings must have similar intentions. Their arrogance doomed the world just as surely as the malice of the Necromancers, and if the world is to fall, it is you, not they, who should be the last to perish.
But there is another possibility. When the Highmen departed from Khatovar, their magic prevented scrying, and hid the manner of their departure. Rumour has it, the devices they used to flee to the stars were buried deep in this same region. If so, you must be the first to find and use those devices. With the Highmen gone, you should be able to discern their location once you find a good scrying pool. The Highmen would not be pleased to have their realms trespassed upon, but that is a problem to be addressed when you come to it.
Another point to note in the Valleys of Maugogom are the wraith-haunted ruins of underground towns, fed by large-scale mushroom farms. When the Necromancers and their Empire had not yet gained the full power of Death, they hid in these underground redoubts from the meteors summoned by the Sorcerer-Kings against them, and from the killing light the Highmen distilled from the stars. These ruins hold little of interest to you, but your followers can make much use of them. The time for armies is not yet done.
The LP starts on Day 2, but you didn't miss much on Day 1 - in which my Giant Moles - I am Pashinyan, the Wizard-King of the Dwarves - finally dug the last of a tunnel to the Valleys of Maugogom. Maugogom is the land where the Necromancers first came to rule the world, which they are now grinding to dust.
This is the first track the map is set to play.
Besides my leader, I also have four mages travelling on foot - a powerful researching force.
However, as the world decays in the grasp of Necromancy, so does its magic. Only the spells of Cosmos remain unaltered and can be researched. To cast any other spells, we must reach the Cave of Lore, but even there we will find no magic of life or restoration, for those have fully vanished from this world.
Enchanted Weapon will be very useful against the Wraiths that have taken up residence in ruined cities, for they are immune to mundane weapons. The next spell I'll research will be Warp Party - but that's a dangerous one to use as it can land you almost anywhere.
Coming from the north, we finally break into an inhabited area of the caves. First, let's take a look in that scrying pool.
Through it we see four other scrying pools, all near (as is ours) a one-way teleporter to the Caves of Lore. It looks like the Dark Elves got here by a subterranean river, and have already set about rebuilding two towns.
The Wizard-King of the Dark Elves is one of the four surviving Wizard-Kings who arrogantly ignored my advice while the Necromancers were gaining in power. The other three rule over tribes of Orcs, Goblins, and Azracs. The other scrying pools haven't yet been reached, and only empty tunnels can be seen for now.
It would seem the Dark Elves have already sent down an agent to the Caves of Lore. I shall have to send stronger forces of my own to contest this.... or I could wait for others to deal with it first.
The Cave of Lore has six branches.
We take out the guards of that little Azrac outpost, using the Giant Mole to bust down the walls and remembering to cast Enchanted Weapons on him.
The we do some more scouting and end our turn. Looks like there are some more Azracs in this area, and I can see the dolmens of a teleporter poking out to the south.
Incidentally, I found this nice dagger on the first turn, which helped me score some kills. Need more than that to level up, though.
