Scenario 18: A Choice Must be Made

[Orek]

(1) What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?
(2) How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)
(3) How clear did you find the scenario objectives?
(4) How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?
(5) What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?
(6) How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)
(7) What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

(1) Challenging (=Champion=Hardest) in 1.14.17 on permadeath
(2) 1 (23rd most difficult = the easiest)
... [Difficult] 2, 16, 14, 4, 9, 6, 5b, 10, 13, 12, 23, 8, 7, 3, 15, 17, 19c, 22, 1, 20b, 11, 24, 18 [Easy]
(3) Hiddden, but intentionally so
(4) I like how Li'sar is still hostile and Delfador always has to say "peace" to get the team going.
(5) A non-quick merfolk unit could be caught up and killed by a Chocobone if not careful.
(6) 1 (23rd most fun = the most boring)
... [Fun] 2, 1, 6, 9, 5b, 4, 16, 15, 23, 3, 12, 14, 10, 24, 13, 8, 7, 19c, 20b, 11, 17, 22, 18 [Boring]
(7) None

YouTube Link: Run 1 Run 2 Run 3
Walkthrough: HttT walkthrough (hardest, permadeath, v1.14.17) + General campaign guides (Replays for all scenarios can be downloaded from here.)

[JL42]

What difficulty levels and game versions have you played the scenario on?

v. 1.16.10
Lord / Challenging

How difficult did you find the scenario? (1-10)

3

How clear did you find the scenario objectives?

Very clear.

How clear and interesting did you find the dialog and storyline of the scenario?

Similar to the previous scenario, the princess comes across here as a complete basket case. The advisers appropriately chastise her, but it's inexplicable why they don't just feed her to the gryphons instead. She's bizarrely arrogant, and then once she realizes she's in danger reverts back to helplessness, "What should we do, Delfdor?" It's inconsistent and really undermines the sense that she's a capable commander and an intrinsically decent person.

What were your major challenges in meeting the objectives of the scenario?

There's not much challenge here if you have ample leveled troops and gold (which should be the case after the previous scenario). The hardest part is probably just the time factor, and avoiding getting your good units killed by the hard-hitting enemies. You have to keep an eye on skeletons disappearing into the water so that it's not a surprise when they pop back up again.

How fun do you think the scenario is? (1-10)

6 – This is another simple but enjoyable map, with opportunities to bring out the gryphons and use the mermen in the water and/or dwarves in the mountains. I like how the terrain here points toward what lies ahead in each direction - snow, swamp, or water depending on your route. (I've always taken the Snow Plains route, just because it seems easier, and lets me level the dwarves a bit more, and because the flaming sword is cool.)

What, if any, are changes you would have made to the scenario to make it more fun?

None, other than revising the princess's dialogue to make her seem more competent, worthy, and likable.

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About the Overall Campaign:

The maps and storyline here are well-made and polished, though not as completely epic as some of the other campaigns. I like that it is lengthy, giving you time to develop your army, and gradually introduces many different terrains and unit types. This seems like a great beginner campaign since it's fairly easy and the early scenarios are framed as a kind of mentoring environment for the young hero. (However, it's a bit strange that some of the basic dialogue tips, like "hey, loyal units don't require upkeep!" are just now arriving, after I've already played through several previous campaigns without that advice.) There are some glitches that can come up in the Scepter of Fire scenario, and some of the princess-related dialogue around scenarios 17–21 felt a bit confusing and unbelievable (more specific comments in the relevant threads). This campaign is very close to full marks, but due to those few lingering issues and the lack of any real epic blow-you-away maps I'm going to rate it 4 out of 5.