DescentIntoDarkness - Revision history

Egallager: /* Saving Parthyn */ wikify

2025-08-18T21:55:00Z

Saving Parthyn: wikify

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:55, 18 August 2025
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	* Objective: Defend the fort for two nights		* Objective: Defend the fort for two nights
	* (Alternative Objective: Kill the orcish leader)		* (Alternative Objective: Kill the orcish leader)
	* Lose if: Deaths of Malin, Dela, or Drogan, OR Orcs reach the outskirts of Parthyn		* Lose if: Deaths of [[Malin Keshar\|Malin]], [[Dela Keshar\|Dela]], or Drogan, OR Orcs reach the outskirts of Parthyn
	* Turns: 13		* Turns: 13
	* Starting units: Malin Keshar, two Spearmen and a Bowman		* Starting units: Malin Keshar, two Spearmen and a Bowman

Mal Shubertal: /* Campaign-level notes */

2023-01-18T16:19:03Z

Campaign-level notes

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:19, 18 January 2023
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	=== Campaign-level notes ===		=== Campaign-level notes ===

	:<i>Descent into Darkness</i> had a significant revision in version 1.14.7. This ~~page~~ is ~~currently being updated~~ to ~~reflect these changes~~.		:<i>Descent into Darkness</i> had a significant revision in version 1.14.7. This walkthrough is current as of version 1.16.6, so much of the advice here no longer applies to earlier versions.

	==== Recruitment Strategy ====		==== Recruitment Strategy ====

Mal Shubertal: /* Endless Night */

2023-01-18T05:34:01Z

Endless Night

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	For this reason, heroes of every race that has been victimized by Mal Keshar's troops follow him to his lair, wanting to finally put an end to his advances. In this scenario you will be fighting this ''foolish'' hero, which will be either an elf, a loyalist, an outlaw, a dwarf, or an orc, chosen at random. You will be fighting them in your cave, so you have some advantage, but every time you beat one of these heroes, the scenario will repeat itself and a new hero will come for you, with more gold on his side, so it will be increasingly difficult to fight their armies.		For this reason, heroes of every race that has been victimized by Mal Keshar's troops follow him to his lair, wanting to finally put an end to his advances. In this scenario you will be fighting this ''foolish'' hero, which will be either an elf, a loyalist, an outlaw, a dwarf, or an orc, chosen at random. You will be fighting them in your cave, so you have some advantage, but every time you beat one of these heroes, the scenario will repeat itself and a new hero will come for you, with more gold on his side, so it will be increasingly difficult to fight their armies.

	You can play this scenario as many times as you want to. You really have to beat only the ~~very~~ first ~~hero—when~~ Malin is defeated by any subsequent hero, the victor will give a short monologue and the campaign will end.		You can play this scenario as many times as you want to. You really have to beat only the first two heroes—on the third iteration Malin's death becomes one of the 'victory conditions'. When Malin is defeated by any subsequent hero, the victor will give a short monologue and the campaign will end. You also have the option of choosing to give away the book in hopes that the world will one day accept necromancy.

	~~Addition~~ by ~~cMaster:~~ If you ~~care~~ to ~~play this scenario more than~~ just a few ~~times, it might be worth noting~~ the ~~small cavity to~~ the ~~right~~ at ~~the bottom of the map~~. ~~You can easily place 11 units inside (you won't be able to recall more than 10 units + Mal Keshar) and it's got a choke point of only two hexes~~. ~~Use this to chew away any~~ enemy ~~foolish enough to enter~~ the ~~choke point~~, and ~~forget about the seven villages. Your enemy~~ will ~~not be able to pay~~ the ~~upkeep of his troops anyway~~. ~~Correctly used you should not have to fear any number of enemies!~~		Your new skeleton dragon pet has his own series of AMLA upgrades, like Malin and Eidolon, which you can explore to your heart's content by eating Foolish Heroes.

			If you want to take the 'give away the book' path, then just tuck Malin and a few of his friends into the little side cavern with the bottleneck at 20.27. The enemy will pile up outside the bottleneck,and eventually one of them will stumble onto the book.

	[[Category:Campaigns]]		[[Category:Campaigns]]
	[[Category:Campaigns - Walkthroughs]]		[[Category:Campaigns - Walkthroughs]]

Mal Shubertal: /* Descent into Darkness */

2023-01-18T04:41:49Z

Descent into Darkness

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 This is a massive scenario that will usually take 100+ turns. Like an intensified version of A Haunting in Winter, it is mostly Malin flying solo, with a few undead sidekicks showing up right at the end, and it plays more like a series of puzzles than a typical Wesnoth battle. The downside of this is that if Malin has not accumulated enough of the right upgrades by this point it may be simply unwinnable and require either replaying several earlier scenarios to get him up to speed or relying on a lot of save-reloading to win the tricky solo fights.
 - The Flesh
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 The hardest stage by far, and the one where good upgrade selection can help but bad luck can still take you down. You're facing ghosts, spectres, and a very chonky 70hp Spectre named The Soul of Malin Keshar. The Carapace rune, the vitalize upgrades, and not taking too many of the upgrades that make you more vulnerable to arcane damage will hopefully get you through this battle...un-alive.
 ===Endless Night===

Mal Shubertal: /* Recruitment Strategy */

2023-01-18T03:27:16Z

Recruitment Strategy

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:27, 18 January 2023
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	Malin Keshar and Spectral Servant both have unique advancement paths in this campaign. When one of these units reaches its xp cap, you will be offered a choice of several possible "AMLA" upgrades, such as +1 melee damage, +1 ranged damage, or various special abilities, after which your xp will return to zero with a higher cap. Sometimes these AMLA advancements will be accompanied with a level increase and a significant boost in overall stats, and sometimes not. They will generally not be accompanied by healing to full hp. The exact xp requirements differ based on difficulty level and the order in which you select the upgrades. They can continue to accumulate AMLA upgrades after reaching lvl 3.		Malin Keshar and Spectral Servant both have unique advancement paths in this campaign. When one of these units reaches its xp cap, you will be offered a choice of several possible "AMLA" upgrades, such as +1 melee damage, +1 ranged damage, or various special abilities, after which your xp will return to zero with a higher cap. Sometimes these AMLA advancements will be accompanied with a level increase and a significant boost in overall stats, and sometimes not. They will generally not be accompanied by healing to full hp. The exact xp requirements differ based on difficulty level and the order in which you select the upgrades. They can continue to accumulate AMLA upgrades after reaching lvl 3.
	In total, these units will end up requiring much more xp to reach level 3 than an ordinary dark adept or ghost would, but they will also end up being far more powerful due to all the cumulative upgrades they get along the way. For example, in one playthrough on Hard difficulty Malin required a total of 105 xp to reach lvl 2, and another 313 xp to reach lvl 3. Spectral Servant took 50 xp to reach lvl 2 and another 264 to reach lvl 3.		In total, these units will end up requiring much more xp to reach level 3 than an ordinary dark adept or ghost would, but they will also end up being far more powerful due to all the cumulative upgrades they get along the way. For example, in one playthrough on Hard difficulty Malin required a total of 105 xp to reach lvl 2, and another 313 xp to reach lvl 3. Spectral Servant took 50 xp to reach lvl 2 and another 264 to reach lvl 3.
	~~There~~ will be a scenario toward the end of the campaign where Malin will need to fight a large number of enemies solo and then with very few units to help him, so getting these two units, especially Malin, as powerful as possible is a good investment that you will need to start working on immediately. The Vitalize upgrade to Malin's melee weapon will also be very useful to help him survive better when fighting solo.		This is a slight spoiler, but there will be a scenario toward the end of the campaign where Malin will need to fight a large number of enemies solo and then even more enemies with very few units to help him, so getting these two units, especially Malin, as powerful as possible is a good investment that you will need to start working on immediately. The Vitalize upgrade to Malin's melee weapon will also be very useful to help him survive better when fighting solo. At a key point Malin will need to tank a very large amount of arcane damage, so it is not wise to take too many of the upgrades that include the 'minor' cost of increasing vulnerability to arcane.

	You'll be introduced to ''Walking Corpses'' very early on, and some tend to forget about them in favor of snazzy and more capable units - but never discount how their numbers can add up later on with the plague ability, especially when you want to protect those high-level specialist units of yours. They can level up to Soulless, but it is almost always more cost effective to just recruit fresh Walking Corpses in the next scenario rather than recalling a Soulless.		You'll be introduced to ''Walking Corpses'' very early on, and some tend to forget about them in favor of snazzy and more capable units - but never discount how their numbers can add up later on with the plague ability, especially when you want to protect those high-level specialist units of yours. They can level up to Soulless, but it is almost always more cost effective to just recruit fresh Walking Corpses in the next scenario rather than recalling a Soulless.

Mal Shubertal: /* Descent into Darkness */

2023-01-18T03:20:10Z

Descent into Darkness

← Older revision		Revision as of 03:20, 18 January 2023
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	===Descent into Darkness===		===Descent into Darkness===
	* Objectives: ~~Defeat the Troll leader~~		* Objectives: Multiple
	* Lose if: Mal Keshar is destroyed		* Lose if: Mal Keshar is destroyed
	* Turns: n/a		* Turns: n/a
	* Starting units: Mal Keshar		* Starting units: Mal Keshar

	~~The first segment of the mission~~ is ~~pretty self-explanatory~~. ~~After you reach the small keep you need to decide which way to send your troops to the large castle~~, ~~there~~ is a ~~main passage~~ and ~~two side passages~~. ~~I'm~~ not ~~sure~~ it matters, but I successfully advanced through the main passage. You will face some high level trolls, including Troll Shamans capable of throwing deadly fireballs at your Undead minions. Wraiths and Spectres and ~~quite good at killing Troll Shamans, since they deal arcane damage. You just have~~ to ~~make sure that you kill the Shamans before they~~ get to ~~attack you. Note that all~~ the ~~trolls deal impact damage, which your Skeletons are weak against, so you may want to avoid recalling your Skeletons~~.		This is a massive scenario that will usually take 100+ turns. Like an intensified version of A Haunting in Winter, it is mostly Malin flying solo, with a few undead sidekicks showing up right at the end, and it plays more like a series of puzzles than a typical Wesnoth battle. The downside of this is that if Malin has not accumulated enough of the right upgrades by this point it may be simply unwinnable and require either replaying several earlier scenarios to get him up to speed or relying on a lot of save-reloading to win the tricky solo fights.

	~~Since this scenario is quite easy, it's a good chance to train your units and see strange monsters. On the other hand, the Campaign is almost over, so there's not much point to it...~~		1 - The Flesh

	~~In both side passages you can find~~ a ~~Troll Shaman~~, ~~a few Trolls~~ and ~~lots of villages. But the left passage is more interesting: in~~ the ~~middle~~ of ~~some water there~~'s a ~~surprisingly lush tree - which, in fact, is an Ancient Wose, waiting to ambush you~~. ~~Shadows and Wraiths will kill him easily~~, ~~though~~. ~~At the top left~~ of ~~this room there's a path that leads to the hardest step~~ of the ~~scenario~~: ~~3 Giant Spiders~~. ~~Try~~ to ~~make them follow you outside through the corridor to surround them one by one~~.		Malin starts the ritual to become a lich, and he first must 'overcome the limitations of his flesh', symbolically represented by a bunch of zombies and ghouls. You are surrounded by 6 runes, 2 each of 3 types. Each type of rune gives one of the following bonuses,and you can find out experimentally which rune gives which bonus:
			1. Lifeblood - heal 40hp every turn, or cure poison
			2. Carapace - gain 40% to all resistances
			3. Conscience - increase damage 50%

	~~However~~, it is ~~possible~~ to ~~avoid all that if you wish~~. Once you ~~find your castle~~, ~~just recall at least two Nightgaunts~~, ~~three to~~ be ~~safe~~, and ~~send them~~ up the ~~main passageway~~. ~~They~~ can ~~kill~~ the ~~troll leader before he knows what hit him~~, ~~leading~~ to ~~an instant victory~~.		Don't bother exploring the area away from the runes, there is nothing to discover. You just need to kill the randomly spawning enemies until a Necrophage named The Flesh of Malin Keshar shows up. Once you defeat it, you move on to the next challenge. This is where vitalize becomes so critical, as you will be taking a LOT of unavoidable melee hits, and those little 2 hp boosts really add up. Get the upgraded 4hp version if you get the chance. The Lifeblood rune will be very useful here as you will probably be repeatedly poisoned by all the ghouls.

			2 - The Bones

			Same set up, same runes, but now a bunch of random skeletons and skeleton archers, followed by the Bones of Malin Keshar, represented by a Revenant. The Lifeblood rune will serve you well again here, and carapace is helpful too now that you don't need to worry about poison.

			3 - The Soul

			The hardest stage by far, and the one where good upgrade selection can help but bad luck can still take you down. You're facing ghosts, spectres, and a very chonky 70hp Spectre named The Soul of Malin Keshar. The Carapace rune, the vitalize upgrades, and not taking too many of the upgrades that make you more vulnerable to arcane damage will hopefully get you through this battle...un-alive.

	===Endless Night===		===Endless Night===

Mal Shubertal: /* Alone at Last */

2023-01-18T02:53:53Z

Alone at Last

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:53, 18 January 2023
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	A silver lining is that for the next level you don't really need extra money above the minimum starting gold, so you can at least splurge with recruitment.		A silver lining is that for the next level you don't really need extra money above the minimum starting gold, so you can at least splurge with recruitment.

			For all the strategies below, it's important to remember that, on Hard, Darken Volk has a +32 BASE income, before any villages, so he will keep recruiting to the very end and is surprisingly resilient against even sir Cadeaus's forces.

	At any rate, here are two proven strategies for clearing the level:		At any rate, here are two proven strategies for clearing the level:

Mal Shubertal: /* Alone at Last */

2023-01-18T02:51:19Z

Alone at Last

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:51, 18 January 2023
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	At any rate, here are two proven strategies for clearing the level:		At any rate, here are two proven strategies for clearing the level:

	# '''Assasinate, Grab, Run.''' Recall several squads of units:<br>Assasination squad: Nightgaunts and Shadows - less than 2+2 would probably not be enough)<br>Book carrier squad: ~~Dark Sorcerers~~, Wraiths (escort only), Spectres (escort only), and slower units if you must - but not that many overall.<br>Diversion/cannon fodder: Go cheap here and mostly recruit.<br>The assassins will circle Volk's forces from the North and assassinate him. The carriers and escort make a run for it; along the way, don't get too deep into confrontation with Volk's forces - you have a book to grap after all - but you don't have to completely avoid them either. Try to have the diversion get close enough to Volk's troops to make them want to attack. Run back with _all_ the carriers and the escort once you get the book. You will lose units in rear guard action during the retreat, but you can at least try to choose which ones. Some assassins might need to lay down their (un)lives for the (dubious) cause.		# '''Assasinate, Grab, Run.''' Recall several squads of units:<br>Assasination squad: Nightgaunts and Shadows - less than 2+2 would probably not be enough)<br>Book carrier squad: Malin or Deathblade to carry, Wraiths (escort only), Spectres (escort only), and slower units if you must - but not that many overall.<br>Diversion/cannon fodder: Go cheap here and mostly recruit.<br>The assassins will circle Volk's forces from the North and assassinate him. The carriers and escort make a run for it; along the way, don't get too deep into confrontation with Volk's forces - you have a book to grap after all - but you don't have to completely avoid them either. Try to have the diversion get close enough to Volk's troops to make them want to attack. Run back with _all_ the carriers and the escort once you get the book. You will lose units in rear guard action during the retreat, but you can at least try to choose which ones. Some assassins might need to lay down their (un)lives for the (dubious) cause.
	# '''The Northern End Around.''' Summon all your good troops and move everyone almost all the way North. Try to avoid full engagement with Volk for as long as you can - which will not be easy, since his units should be making contact by Turn 4.<br>Once Sir Cadaeus arrives, Volk's forces will shift attention Southwards, and you can start moving East (still being North of the river). As you do so, Dela will arrive close to your forces, where she will build a stronghold and recruit. You now turn the tables on her and surround her stronghold - thus preventing her troops from moving and her from recruiting. YOu know kill her recruits, then her self (this was not possible with older versions of Wesnoth, now it is.) Make sure you dispatch her quickly, or else Sir Cadaeus' forces will crash into your own after killing Volk. Now face Sir Cadaeus' assault wave, while send a few units. off South into the river, out again and to Volk's castle to get the book and take it back to your stronghold.<br>A variant of this strategy is to send, during the first few turns, some units due South-East as a diversion, trying to pull Volk's attention Southward. This feint can use some Ghost, Bats, and possibly even Malin himself, as the enemy really likes to focus on him for some reason...		# '''The Northern End Around.''' Summon all your good troops and move everyone almost all the way North. Try to avoid full engagement with Volk for as long as you can - which will not be easy, since his units should be making contact by Turn 4.<br>Once Sir Cadaeus arrives, Volk's forces will shift attention Southwards, and you can start moving East (still being North of the river). As you do so, Dela will arrive close to your forces, where she will build a stronghold and recruit. You now turn the tables on her and surround her stronghold - thus preventing her troops from moving and her from recruiting. YOu know kill her recruits, then her self (this was not possible with older versions of Wesnoth, now it is.) Make sure you dispatch her quickly, or else Sir Cadaeus' forces will crash into your own after killing Volk. Now face Sir Cadaeus' assault wave, while send a few units. off South into the river, out again and to Volk's castle to get the book and take it back to your stronghold.<br>A variant of this strategy is to send, during the first few turns, some units due South-East as a diversion, trying to pull Volk's attention Southward. This feint can use some Ghost, Bats, and possibly even Malin himself, as the enemy really likes to focus on him for some reason...
			# '''Fast and Ugly.''' Recall everybody, from Draugs to Nightgaunts, as well as a couple extra ghosts if you can afford them, and attack Darken head-on with a coordinated assault, across the south bridge. His wraiths will the most dangerous units to you with their arcane attack, so prioritize taking them out with Eidolon/Malin, and just wear everyone else down with weight of numbers, Draugs softening up his units and shadows/nightgaunts finishing them off. Move into the forests and hills west of Darken's castle and start pressuring him from that direction while Sir Cadaeus hits him from the Southeast. Prioritize taking out paladins, as they will be the biggest pain in the butt during your retreat, but ignore most of the rest of cadaeus' forces to encourage him and Darken to duke it out. When you see your chance, grab the book with Malin and then run like hell. Know which units are expendable. For the next scenarios, you NEED at least 2 level-3 ghost-type units to survive, but you can afford to lose a lot of Draugs and other strong units here and still be able to finish the campaign. This gets you done as quickly as possible, and you probably never interact with Dela's units at all.

	Whatever initial course you take, the end game is the same: you will need to retrieve the book with a nonflying unit and head west, back to your stronghold.		Whatever initial course you take, the end game is the same: you will need to retrieve the book with a nonflying unit and head west, back to your stronghold.
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	If you decide you need more gold to play this scenario, you have to go all the way back three scenarios to [[#A_Small_Favor_-_Part_One\|A Small Favor - Part One]]. There, one way to get gold is to use Shadows to steal the enemy's villages without him noticing. However, your first option above, the grab and run, should not require much gold.		If you decide you need more gold to play this scenario, you have to go all the way back three scenarios to [[#A_Small_Favor_-_Part_One\|A Small Favor - Part One]]. There, one way to get gold is to use Shadows to steal the enemy's villages without him noticing. However, your first option above, the grab and run, should not require much gold.

			The next scenario will demand a lot of Malin and Eidolon, so get them as much xp as possible here, and try to get Malin the Vitalize upgrade if he doesn't have it already.

	Here are the events which can be triggered in this scenario:		Here are the events which can be triggered in this scenario:

Mal Shubertal: /* Alone at Last */

2023-01-18T02:29:37Z

Alone at Last

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:29, 18 January 2023
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	* Objectives: Take the book from Darken Volk and bring it back to Malin's castle		* Objectives: Take the book from Darken Volk and bring it back to Malin's castle
	* Lose if: Malin Keshar dies		* Lose if: Malin Keshar dies
	* Turns: 24		* Turns: 35/32/29
	* Starting units: Malin Keshar and ~~one unit~~		* Starting units: Malin Keshar and loyal ghost
	* Other: Ghosts and Bats (and the rest of their unit trees) cannot pick up the book		* Other: Ghosts and Bats (and the rest of their unit trees) cannot pick up the book

	The situation is that you must take the book from Darken Volk, but two additional forces will appear in the middle of the battle, bent on killing both your army and Volk's, making the task more than a little difficult. When the battle reaches its ~~peek~~, you probably won't have much money (and may have Malin away from a castle), and your forces will be outnumbered and at great disadvantage.		The situation is that you must take the book from Darken Volk, but two additional forces will appear in the middle of the battle, bent on killing both your army and Volk's, making the task more than a little difficult. When the battle reaches its peak, you probably won't have much money (and may have Malin away from a castle), and your forces will be outnumbered and at great disadvantage.

	The two extra forces are:		The two extra forces are:

	# '''Sir Cadaeus the Paladin''' is bent on making both you and Darken Volk pay for your attack on the city of Tath:		# '''Sir Cadaeus the Paladin''' is bent on making both you and Darken Volk pay for your attack on the city of Tath:
	#* Arrives on turn: 8.		#* Arrives on turn: 6.
	#* Inital force: 2 Paladins, ~~one~~ Mage of Light (+ Cadaeus who will ~~stay put~~ to recruit)		#* Inital force: 1 Paladins, 1 Mage of Light (+ Cadaeus, a paladin who will attack units that enter his movement range but will always return to his keep to recruit)
	#* Finances: (on ~~Medium~~) ~~150~~ gold on arrival + 20 base income.		#* Finances: (on Hard) 100 gold on arrival + 20 base income.
	#* Recruits: ~~(on Medium) a Mage of Light~~, ~~4 mostly Heavy Infantry~~, ~~1 L1 Mage.~~		#* Recruits: mages, white mages, paladins, spearmen, heavy infantry

	# '''Dela Keshar''' is making good on her word to climb up the ladder for inheritance.		# '''Dela Keshar''' is making good on her word to climb up the ladder for inheritance.
	#* Arrives on turn: 12.		#* Arrives on turn: 13.
	#* Initial force: None.		#* Initial force: None.
	#* Finances: (on ~~Medium~~) ~~220~~ gold on arrival + 20 base income.		#* Finances: (on Hard) 240 gold on arrival + 24 base income.
	#* Recruits: ~~(on Medium) 1~~ Swordsman, 1 Longbowman, ~~and a mix of L1 Loyalist and Outlaw units (Spearman~~, ~~Bowmen~~, ~~Thugs) - like in Parthyn basically.~~		#* Recruits: Spearman,Bowman,Swordsman,Longbowman,Thug,Poacher,Footpad

	Now, this is a small level, and there really isn't room for 4 forces on it... your castle is on the West of the level, slightly to the South; Darken Volk is on the East and slightly to the North. Cadaeus sets up camp in the South-Eastern edge, and Dela in the ~~middle of the Northern edge~~. ~~Your~~ and ~~Dela's side is~~ separated by a narrow river, which at some point widens to surround a small island; and there are two connecting bridges, although the crossing is not a big deal at most points.		Now, this is a small level, and there really isn't room for 4 forces on it... your castle is on the West of the level, slightly to the South; Darken Volk is on the East and slightly to the North. Cadaeus sets up camp in the South-Eastern edge, and Dela in the northeast corner. You and Darken are separated by a narrow river, which at some point widens to surround a small island; and there are two connecting bridges, although the crossing is not a big deal at most points.

	Now, Cadaeus' forces are extremely dangerous. While there's not too many of his units, the Paladins and the Mage of Light are the Humans' Undead-killer units, and, indeed, will kill most of your units in a single turn at daytime. And - guess what? He arrives on the second night, so his forces will start hitting you and Volk during the third day. ... but here's your silver lining: Cadaeus will advance on Darken Volk first, unless you're very much in his way, and no less importantly, Volk's forces will attack <i>Sir Cadaeus'</i> - if you've not already engaged most of them by that time. Effectively, Volk could be a bit of an ally, albeit one which is trying to kill you.		Now, Cadaeus' forces are extremely dangerous. While there's not too many of his units, the Paladins and the Mage of Light are the Humans' Undead-killer units, and, indeed, will kill most of your units in a single turn at daytime. And - guess what? He arrives on the second night, so his forces will start hitting you and Volk during the third day. ... but here's your silver lining: Cadaeus will advance on Darken Volk first, unless you're very much in his way, and no less importantly, Volk's forces will attack <i>Sir Cadaeus'</i> - if you've not already engaged most of them by that time. Effectively, Volk could be a bit of an ally, albeit one which is trying to kill you.
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	When Dela shows up, you will have lost any land to which you can run and hide. On the other hand, at least you're better equipped to deal with her units, and she arrives at Dusk. The Parthynians (sigh)... poor judgement through and through.		When Dela shows up, you will have lost any land to which you can run and hide. On the other hand, at least you're better equipped to deal with her units, and she arrives at Dusk. The Parthynians (sigh)... poor judgement through and through.

	Remember, though, that this level is not about defeating all enemy forces, nor even all enemy leaders. There are just two things you need to do, which are kill Darken Volk and bring the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin McGuffin], uh, I mean the book, back to your castle. Note that '''not all units can carry the book'''. Indeed, it so happens that all the fast units can't be used: No Bats and no Ghosts (nor Shadow, Wraiths, Spectres and Nightgaunts). The ~~best choice is probably a Dark Sorcerer with the Quick trait, or~~ Malin himself; and even with one of these units it takes 4 long turns to make it back to your castle... while probably engaged in painful rear-guard combat.		Remember, though, that this level is not about defeating all enemy forces, nor even all enemy leaders. There are just two things you need to do, which are kill Darken Volk and bring the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin McGuffin], uh, I mean the book, back to your castle. Note that '''not all units can carry the book'''. Indeed, it so happens that all the fast units can't be used: No Bats and no Ghosts (nor Shadow, Wraiths, Spectres and Nightgaunts). The fastest choices are Malin himself or a Deathblade; and even with one of these units it takes 4 long turns to make it back to your castle... while probably engaged in painful rear-guard combat.

	A silver lining is that for the next level you don't really need extra money above the minimum starting gold, so you can at least splurge with recruitment.		A silver lining is that for the next level you don't really need extra money above the minimum starting gold, so you can at least splurge with recruitment.
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	If you decide you need more gold to play this scenario, you have to go all the way back three scenarios to [[#A_Small_Favor_-_Part_One\|A Small Favor - Part One]]. There, one way to get gold is to use Shadows to steal the enemy's villages without him noticing. However, your first option above, the grab and run, should not require much gold.		If you decide you need more gold to play this scenario, you have to go all the way back three scenarios to [[#A_Small_Favor_-_Part_One\|A Small Favor - Part One]]. There, one way to get gold is to use Shadows to steal the enemy's villages without him noticing. However, your first option above, the grab and run, should not require much gold.

	~~'''Note'''~~: ~~This scenario was rebalanced some time after v1~~.8.~~5, so if~~ you ~~are playing an old version, there will be many differences~~.		Here are the events which can be triggered in this scenario:

			1. Malin steps on monolith on 5.18 - gain xp based on difficulty level

			2. Recall special Zombie Jaime (the one you got from the temple 3 scenarios ago) and move him to boat at 16.4 - gain special abilities

			3. Malin steps on monolith at 23.14 that appears when Darken Volk dies - gain xp based on difficulty level

	===Descent into Darkness===		===Descent into Darkness===

Mal Shubertal: /* A Small Favor - Part Three */

2023-01-18T02:01:40Z

A Small Favor - Part Three

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:01, 18 January 2023
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	* Objectives: Find the book and then escape		* Objectives: Find the book and then escape
	* Lose if: Malin Keshar or Darken Volk die or time runs out		* Lose if: Malin Keshar or Darken Volk die or time runs out
	* Turns: 30/27/25 (easy/medium/hard)		* Turns: 21/18/15 (easy/medium/hard)
	* Starting units: Malin Keshar and any units that survived the previous scenario		* Starting units: Malin Keshar and any units that survived the previous scenario
	* Other		* Other
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	Darken Volk will operate separately with an army of allied undead. Hmmm, in all previous missions you commanded him directly... could this be foreshadowing? Head to the northwest to grab the book. Then head to the northeast to exit.		Darken Volk will operate separately with an army of allied undead. Hmmm, in all previous missions you commanded him directly... could this be foreshadowing? Head to the northwest to grab the book. Then head to the northeast to exit.

	~~[Mal Shubertal:~~ The enemy ~~here is all~~ mages, ~~which~~ can ~~kill even one of~~ your ~~level 3~~'s if you get ~~unlucky. But on hard~~ in 1.~~12.2~~, ~~Darken Volk~~'s ~~army~~ is ~~strong enough to take~~ them ~~by itself~~. ~~So I just let them do~~ the ~~dirty work and headed straight to~~ the ~~exit once Volk picked up~~ the ~~book~~. ]		City guard units will continue to arrive through the entrance, like last scenario.

			There are 3 rooms in front of you, and then a big cavern beyond with the book towards the northwest section. The enemy mages can do enormous damage to your forces, but they don't move unless you put a unit in their attack range, so use your more expendable or sturdy units to bait them out one at a time and then quickly dispatch them. You can also have your units follow along behind Darken Volk's reckless forces and take out the enemy mages after his units take the big hits.

			As with last time, after you get the book and clear out the enemies in the cavern, you can camp at the entrance for as long as you want to farm xp. As with last time, the top priorities are getting to lvl 3 for Malin and your loyal ghost, and getting as many other lvl 3's as possible, especially Nightgaunts and Specters.

			The room furthest to the left is the 'armory', and if you have the right lvl 3 units you can have them pick up some of the weapons on the ground:

			1. Have a Draug step on the axe at 27.9 - permanent +1 damage

			2. Have a Banebow step on the bow at 29.9 - permanent +1 damage

			3. Have a Chocobone step on the spear at 27.10 - permanent +2 damage

	===Alone at Last===		===Alone at Last===