Author's notes :I've only had my computer for about 5 or 6 months, so I haven't had a chance to get a modem yet, but you can send me Email at
the university I attend on M,W,F at the address listed above. I don't check my mail every day, but I'll try to get back with you as soon as I can. I'd really like to hear what you think of my puds, and exchange tips and advice.
Description :This PUD was designed to represent the internal struggle for power in the hoard. If you read the story line that came with your instructions, you would see that Kiljaeden is Represented by a Daemon, Lord Perenolde is represented by a knight, Zuluhed the Whacked is represented by a white grunt, Rend and Maim are represented by black grunts, and Orgrim Doomhammer is represented by a red grunt. Of course Zuljin, Guldan, and Cho'gall all have NPC representations. There is one passive rescue mission, and two active rescue missions. So pay close attention, it gets confusing. Black and Violet will not attack you, but they will fight each other, and they will fight with Orange, Red, and Green. Orange, Red, and Green, will all be attacking you, but will not attack each other, they may however get sidetracked with Black and Violet. It will become necessary to take control of either Black or Violet, perhaps both. How soon you decide to do this will have a lot to do with how it turns out. Also, there is a limit to the number of units the computer can display at once, so build up your forces to the max before taking over an ally, because after you do so you will probably not be allowed to make any more units for a while. However, if you allow them to be wiped out before you take control of them, you can't win the scenario because it won't end if you don't perform all of the rescues. You perform the "rescue" by coming in contact with one of their town halls, it has to be one of the ones that I gave them to start with. Once you do this, they will cease to act on their own and won't do anything without you telling them to. If you can find a better way to do it, go for it. If you like, you can "rescue" all of the characters I meant to be your ally NPCs early without taking over the entire Clan and bring them back to the circle of power. Kiljaeden has been provided as an early scout to find them. It can be an extra challenge to keep all of the leaders alive throughout the scenario. Here's the story; Guldan has been pretty hacked off at Orgrim Doomhammer for humiliating him, and assasinating his puppet warlord-Blackhand. Rend and Maim, the sons of Blackhand, have been waiting for the opportunity to reclaim their birthright. Guldan persuades them to ally with him against Doomhammer's Blackrock Clan, and calls upon his loyal apprentice-Cho'gall, and his Twilight's Hammer Clan for additional support. The biggest problem with the plan is that Rend and Maim despise Cho'gall, and Cho'gall feels likewise about them. Zuluhed the Whacked claims he intends to stay out of all this crap, but Guldan is instructed by his master Kiljaeden, to approach Zuluhed with the news that the Twilight's Hammer Clan and the Black Tooth Grin Clan have sided against Doomhammer,(and leave out the fact that Alterac and the Bleeding Hollow Clan have rallied to the aid of Doomhammer.) Zuluhed's Dragonmaw Clan is pledged to the service of the Black Tooth Grin Clan, so a little deceptive persuasion is all that will be needed. Kiljaeden's instructions to you are explicit. Stay out of the fighting as much as you can, you can't stop your ally clans from clashing, but you must not let either of them fall. You must watch closely, let all of the other clans hack away at each other until one of your allies is weak. Then, you must seize control of that clan, and take whatever resources they have left to strengthen the Stormreaver Clan. Again, you must stay out of the fighting until the other Clan is ready to fall, and do the same with them. They will not resist you, and in this way you will assume complete control of your allied Clans. Then, with all of your strength, you must attack Alterac, the Blackrock Clan, and the Bleeding Hollow Clan. By this time, if you have done well, Doomhammer's allies will be in such pitiful shape that they will be able to offer little resistance. You must wipe them out utterly, leave no one alive, and leave no building standing. It would not be wise to leave potential enemies alive to seek vengeance, and you are expected to set an example to any who would challenge your authority. Unite the remaining Clans, and it will soon be time to deal with those pathetic humans, especially Anduin Lothar.
Hints :Lots of 'em. Read ALL of this readme file! Get really greedy early on. Use the confusion to hoard as much gold as you can. Ignore the mine I left you in your own town, and go for the neighboring mines first. I left you arrows in town pointing the way to the other mines. You may not need all of it, but the more you get, the less your enemies get to use in attacking you. LOTS of fully upgraded Berserker Trolls, and keep those guard towers in good repair as much as possible. How you time taking over your ally Clans will have a lot to do with how the scenario turns out. Obviously, there's more than one right way to time it. The Black Tooth Grin Clan will probably fall first, so be prepared to take over their town and move in with as many peons as possible to grab whatever gold they have left before the enemy gets it, even if you have to abandon current mining operations. After that, abandon the city. If you lose all of your peons, don't waste strength trying to regain the area just because there's gold left in the mine, it's not worth it. After you have hoarded all of the neighboring gold you can, it's time to fall back to your home turf. You should already have an outrageous number of berserker trolls ready for the assault. Keep them within the walls as much as possible, only letting them out to quickly nail any catapults attacking you. At this point, if the Twilight's Hammer Clan is still healthy enough to be trying to get your gold, let 'em have whatever you think you can afford. If they are not coming after your gold, it's probably time to take control of their town before it gets wiped out. Again, don't waste a lot of strength trying to defend it, just come in contact with one of their original great halls, and get the hell out of Dodge. The enemy will waste a lot of dragons on their guard towers, and in the meantime you will be able to make use of the extra food that their farms will give you. There's more to it than that, but that should get you started.
Additional Credits to :Phil Aylesworth, author of the "Hobbit" PUD. I didn't use his PUD as a basis for mine, but I did learn a lot about the rescue active mode from veiwing and playing the "Hobbit". Phil's PUD was by far the most imaginative and well thought out of any I found on the PC-Gamer CD-ROM. I don't have PK unzip, so I didn't get to see them all, but the ones that weren't zipped were mostly things thrown together in a couple of hours without much thought for imagination, challenge, playability, or what I call "easy outs", where if you can get in there early enough with all of your guys, you can put a quick end to it before the enemy gets developed. The guys at Blizzard took some pride in their game levels, other authors should also. My PUDs take me anywhere from a day to a week to make, and I won't ship them off until I've thoroughly play tested them, and I'm confident that they work the way I had intended them to. The "Hobbit" is obviously NOT a "two hour wonder", and I wish I had access to more like it. I'd love to exchange PUD files with other authors who feel the same way, and intend to send Phil a letter. By the way, Phil, if you are reading this, I'm very glad you're not brainless anymore.
Units :12 guard towers, 3 peons, 4 farms, 1 great hall, 1 lumber mill, 1 blacksmith, 1 Daemon, 2 Skeletons, and Guldan
Known Bugs :If you don't come in contact with one of the original black great halls before both of them are burned down, you can't finish the scenario because it won't end. Same goes for the Purple and white great halls. This adds an extra element of strategy, so I'm almost glad it's that way.
* Copyright / Permissions *
Authors MAY use this level as a base to build their own levels.
You MAY distribute this PUD, provided you include this file, with
no modifications. You may distribute this file in any electronic
format (BBS, Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file
intact.
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