Another AAR of the wonderful Renaissance mod for Warlock 2 (https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=493257789), that greatly improves the game, making it a true Warlock 3. This AAR was played with the 5.1.3 version of the mod, with Sylvans, one of its new magnificent added races.
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The troubles of Ardania did not end when Miralbus defeated Dremargor. The creature's dying thrashings reverberated far across Ardania, bringing with them destruction and misery. No one knew what happened to Miralbus himself, other than the fact that after his disappearance, Nefertari, the Sorceress of the Desert, took command of the Humans of Ardania. But not only the Dremer were not completely defeated, with the Dremer Queen, a weakened, but a seemingly more sentient, and, thus, more dangerous entity, gaining control of the Dremer remnants, the Nagas of the Ardanian Ocean came forth with more aggressive plans against the land. Of all the past leaders, only Amberon of the Areth Order managed to remain in power, still bringing High Truth to the inhabitants of Ardania whatever it takes.
Faced with such horror and devastation, the forest creatures of Ardania - the mysterious Glade Wardens, the sentient Rocs of the forests, alongside with the Koatls, who were in disarray after Malinaxolchi's defeat, - decided that they can no longer remain on sidelines between the great powers. No, they needed to become a great power themselves - the Sylvans, dedicated to protecting Ardania from harm.
So, they united around a young, but brave and competent woman, a leader of a Halberdier encampment who fought against the Dremer before the catastrophe, gifting her the title of Sylvan Crusader.
The new leader proved herself competent in dealing with the Ice Elementals that were threatening the Sylvan capital of Greenmill.
Further south lay the small Human duchy of Ravenhood.
To the east were the snowy plains and portal to the world of Snowland.
Barracks were built in the city of Greenmill, for Koatl lizardmen to practice archery.
The Pig farms of Spellmere were established to provide the Koatls with adequate nourishment (On a side note, I like how pink and plump the "unharvested" pig resource looks, and always regret plastering over it with a boring pig pen, where the piggies become very small, unanimated, and covered by a roof).
To the west lay swamps, abandoned cemeteries filled with undead, and a portal to a Dremer world. Are these the only Dremers in the world right now, or are there more?...
The Training Grounds of Greenmill were always filled with the smell of blood and hoarse Koatl invocations to the God of Death, Mictecacihuatl. A reminder of the more brutal aspects of nature, the lizardmen were always here to protect the Sylvan Kingdom.
(It is always useful to build up the building chain to powerful units in at least one city. Also note that my research rate at this point is already 7 - the Secluded Glades are powerful in that they are a research building that you can build straight away, giving you a major early-game research boost equal to your number of cities. The Revelation Crystals of the playable Dremer faction play the same role, giving you a whopping +2 research, but the Dremers have other pecularities to make up for that).
So, the extra-planetary Dremers were, indeed, not the only ones... some of them have survived on Ardania, led by a hive queen...
It was clear to the Crusader that, eventually, the Dremer would have to be either driven away from Ardania or drive away everyone else who is not Dremer. Despite this, she was willing to give the second incantation of the Dremer a chance and to trade with them, while repelling the assaults of despicable criminal Rogue gangs.
The Sylvans are creatures of nature, but they don't reject technological innovation - especially if it comes in the form of UAG-19 combat golem. The Rogues learned this at their peril.
Despite her hatred for the Dremer, the Crusader was forced to accede to this request, understanding that an early war could prove lethal to her kingdom.
(The Sylvans' major drawback is their lacklustre mana production - a flipside of their "arcane" building line being half-mana, half-research - the Glade and the Hinterland Retreat produce no mana at all.
Deserts of Vaindryn were used to mitigate somewhat this disadvantage.)
Lands of the Dremer Queen were south of Nefertari's domain. To the east of Nefertari lay the possessions of Amberon the Light, proclaimer of something called "The High Truth".
Good relations were established with the desert sorceress.
The Golem and the Koatls easily dealt with the remaining Ice Elementals.
Trade was also established with the Arethi Elves.
Even the aggressive Nagas, whose watery domain lay off Nefertari's coast, agreed to deal with the Sylvans.
But then, obstacles started to rise on the Crusader's path. The Assassins, demanding revenge for the rogues, somehow teamed up with the Turtles to conquer Spellmere.
While the northern expedition of Sylvan Halfling Settlers was stymied by the nasty Cockroaches, one of the greatest minor nuisances of Ardania.
The Crusader needed more than just Magic Speed to get her realm back on track.
Finally, the Koatl Hunters dealt a mortal blow to the Assassin gang, eating their hearts on the altar during a sacrificial ceremony to Mictecacihuatl.
But Spellmere was reconquered not by them, but by Amberon's Beastmen mercenaries. Ameron refused to give the city back to the Crusader, stating that under his guidance, he would be finally able to bring the High Truth to the inhabitants of Spellmere.
(Since the Sylvans lack mana-producing buildings, a Pumpkin Farm should, ideally, be superior to Sylvan-only Great Pumpkin Patch. However, after the capture of Spellmere, the serious food deficit forced me to build a Patch).
Nefertari graciously provided the Crusader with the gold necessary to keep fighting the cockroaches of Ardania.
The name of Riverport was always puzzling to the latest chroniclers, since it didn't seem to have a river nearby - certainly no river big enough to justify having a port there. Nevertheless, for some reason the name struck.
Nefertari reported that Snowland is a very cold and inhospitable place.
The Turtles that surrounded the portal to Snowland on Ardania were finally being exterminated by Koatl Hunters.
The town of Swyndale was founded to control the portal, with local Dwarves graciously offering their steel-making forges to Sylvan Crusader.
_____________________
The troubles of Ardania did not end when Miralbus defeated Dremargor. The creature's dying thrashings reverberated far across Ardania, bringing with them destruction and misery. No one knew what happened to Miralbus himself, other than the fact that after his disappearance, Nefertari, the Sorceress of the Desert, took command of the Humans of Ardania. But not only the Dremer were not completely defeated, with the Dremer Queen, a weakened, but a seemingly more sentient, and, thus, more dangerous entity, gaining control of the Dremer remnants, the Nagas of the Ardanian Ocean came forth with more aggressive plans against the land. Of all the past leaders, only Amberon of the Areth Order managed to remain in power, still bringing High Truth to the inhabitants of Ardania whatever it takes.
Faced with such horror and devastation, the forest creatures of Ardania - the mysterious Glade Wardens, the sentient Rocs of the forests, alongside with the Koatls, who were in disarray after Malinaxolchi's defeat, - decided that they can no longer remain on sidelines between the great powers. No, they needed to become a great power themselves - the Sylvans, dedicated to protecting Ardania from harm.
So, they united around a young, but brave and competent woman, a leader of a Halberdier encampment who fought against the Dremer before the catastrophe, gifting her the title of Sylvan Crusader.
The new leader proved herself competent in dealing with the Ice Elementals that were threatening the Sylvan capital of Greenmill.
Further south lay the small Human duchy of Ravenhood.
To the east were the snowy plains and portal to the world of Snowland.
Barracks were built in the city of Greenmill, for Koatl lizardmen to practice archery.
The Pig farms of Spellmere were established to provide the Koatls with adequate nourishment (On a side note, I like how pink and plump the "unharvested" pig resource looks, and always regret plastering over it with a boring pig pen, where the piggies become very small, unanimated, and covered by a roof).
To the west lay swamps, abandoned cemeteries filled with undead, and a portal to a Dremer world. Are these the only Dremers in the world right now, or are there more?...
The Training Grounds of Greenmill were always filled with the smell of blood and hoarse Koatl invocations to the God of Death, Mictecacihuatl. A reminder of the more brutal aspects of nature, the lizardmen were always here to protect the Sylvan Kingdom.
(It is always useful to build up the building chain to powerful units in at least one city. Also note that my research rate at this point is already 7 - the Secluded Glades are powerful in that they are a research building that you can build straight away, giving you a major early-game research boost equal to your number of cities. The Revelation Crystals of the playable Dremer faction play the same role, giving you a whopping +2 research, but the Dremers have other pecularities to make up for that).
So, the extra-planetary Dremers were, indeed, not the only ones... some of them have survived on Ardania, led by a hive queen...
It was clear to the Crusader that, eventually, the Dremer would have to be either driven away from Ardania or drive away everyone else who is not Dremer. Despite this, she was willing to give the second incantation of the Dremer a chance and to trade with them, while repelling the assaults of despicable criminal Rogue gangs.
The Sylvans are creatures of nature, but they don't reject technological innovation - especially if it comes in the form of UAG-19 combat golem. The Rogues learned this at their peril.
Despite her hatred for the Dremer, the Crusader was forced to accede to this request, understanding that an early war could prove lethal to her kingdom.
(The Sylvans' major drawback is their lacklustre mana production - a flipside of their "arcane" building line being half-mana, half-research - the Glade and the Hinterland Retreat produce no mana at all.
Deserts of Vaindryn were used to mitigate somewhat this disadvantage.)
Lands of the Dremer Queen were south of Nefertari's domain. To the east of Nefertari lay the possessions of Amberon the Light, proclaimer of something called "The High Truth".
Good relations were established with the desert sorceress.
The Golem and the Koatls easily dealt with the remaining Ice Elementals.
Trade was also established with the Arethi Elves.
Even the aggressive Nagas, whose watery domain lay off Nefertari's coast, agreed to deal with the Sylvans.
But then, obstacles started to rise on the Crusader's path. The Assassins, demanding revenge for the rogues, somehow teamed up with the Turtles to conquer Spellmere.
While the northern expedition of Sylvan Halfling Settlers was stymied by the nasty Cockroaches, one of the greatest minor nuisances of Ardania.
The Crusader needed more than just Magic Speed to get her realm back on track.
Finally, the Koatl Hunters dealt a mortal blow to the Assassin gang, eating their hearts on the altar during a sacrificial ceremony to Mictecacihuatl.
But Spellmere was reconquered not by them, but by Amberon's Beastmen mercenaries. Ameron refused to give the city back to the Crusader, stating that under his guidance, he would be finally able to bring the High Truth to the inhabitants of Spellmere.
(Since the Sylvans lack mana-producing buildings, a Pumpkin Farm should, ideally, be superior to Sylvan-only Great Pumpkin Patch. However, after the capture of Spellmere, the serious food deficit forced me to build a Patch).
Nefertari graciously provided the Crusader with the gold necessary to keep fighting the cockroaches of Ardania.
The name of Riverport was always puzzling to the latest chroniclers, since it didn't seem to have a river nearby - certainly no river big enough to justify having a port there. Nevertheless, for some reason the name struck.
Nefertari reported that Snowland is a very cold and inhospitable place.
The Turtles that surrounded the portal to Snowland on Ardania were finally being exterminated by Koatl Hunters.
The town of Swyndale was founded to control the portal, with local Dwarves graciously offering their steel-making forges to Sylvan Crusader.
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