TL;DR: What’s the campaign all about? 🔗
The Rootless is a Northerners campaign aimed at beginners. I strived to preserve the classic gameplay of Wesnoth which I fell in love with as a child, while placing a strong emphasis on the story, characters, and player immersion. My goal was to keep the experience simple, yet deep and rich, allowing for multiple playthroughs. I drew inspiration from mainline campaigns like The South Guard, Descent into Darkness and Under the Burning Suns. The story revolves around an orcish assassin who is searching for a new home for his band and is pursued by a dangerous elf lord who will stop at nothing.
How stable is it in its current beta state? 🔗
The campaign was playtested during its closed alpha phase by members of the Wesnoth Modders’ Guild and my other friends. I addressed all the bugs they found, so gameplay should hopefully be smooth and enjoyable. If you encounter any bugs, please let me know on Wesnoth forums. If you use GitHub, you can also check out the campaign’s repository.
Why should I play it? 🔗
I put my best effort into making The Rootless stand out from the crowd. As a writer, my primary focus was on the story and characters. Scenario objectives are diverse, as is the choice of enemies. You will encounter opponents from every Wesnoth faction except the Dunefolk. With the assistance of Mechanical, I created several new units with unique abilities. Additionally, the campaign features custom AMLAs, unique events, and game mechanics, with careful attention to detail.
How do The Rootless fit into Wesnoth timeline? 🔗
The story picks up several years after The Rise of Wesnoth when the orcs return to attack from the sea. It unfolds around the same time as An Orcish Incursion that used to be in the mainline; in fact it originally started as it’s rework before it evolved into it’s current form.
During the campaign’s development, I discovered Winds of Fate, a drake campaign that will become part of Wesnoth in version 1.18. Winds of Fate shares not only the same time period but also other similarities with The Rootless. Both campaigns feature heroes seeking a new home for their people, both include Elensefar, and both have a hunting segment near the beginning. Initially, I was concerned that the stories might be too similar or contradictory, but after playing Winds of Fate, I believe they are distinct enough.
Later, while making the scenario where the heroes meet the drakes, I deliberately incorporated references to Winds of Fate. I also made an effort to follow the Morogor dialect in dialogue.
What is the roadmap for further development of the campaign? 🔗
The priority now is to port The Rootless to Wesnoth 1.17 and then 1.18 when it comes out in the spring. This will involve adding achievements, redesigning all maps to utilize the new terrain types, and cleaning up the code. In particular, I’ll focus on the first three scenarios, which I originally created with limited knowledge of WML. Additional plans include adding more AMLAs for Arshag, reworking Stuurg’s dialogue, and replacing the placeholder animation of falling drakes in S5a. These updates will pave the way for the campaign’s full release.
Later down the line I’ll expand the campaign as time allows. I’m considering adding multiplayer and also an ambitious story branch that would begin at the end of the first scenario.