1

-general-

	Well, first off here's a shocker... this is a scenario based on the Dragonlance books by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis (in my opinion the best fantasy ever written).  I tried to integrate Dragonlance and Warlords to make a scenario that captures some of the feelings of the books.  A lot of the artwork (pieces and cities) were taken right from the books.  If you haven't read any Dragonlance then this scenario won't mean as much to you.
	This is a Warlords game for advanced players.  There differences from the usual scenario setup that would make this annoying to a beginning player.  It also relies on knowing how to use troop bonuses, vectoring, etc.  If you are a beginning player I recommend not playing this until you are more comfortable with the game.
	There are serious differences with this scenario and that of the Warlords' norm.  Most obvious (and impacting) is that there is no producible flying pieces (although some allies do fly).  I did this because in the books the characters had little clue what was happening around them except for rumors of "armies from the north" (besides that, I don't remember bats or swallows playing too crucial a role in war).  And yes, it will get annoying at times not having flying pieces to map with, but it does make for a different game than the usual 'norm'.
	Like in the books, I also wanted most of the fighting to be done by so called "expendable" ground troops.  That is why the most powerful piece that can be produced has a strength of 5 (not including magi at 6, but they are extremely rare.)
	It is crucial in this scenario to make use of a unit's bonuses.  (Ex. a group of 8 dwarves in the open will have strength of 4, while a group of  7 dwarves with one cleric in the hills will have a strength of 8). There is little chance of beating another human player unless you do (or unless they don't either).
	I wanted a scenario that was also a little different from the "same-old thing" that you usually get in Warlords.  Although sometimes the lack of flying, the lack of 'power' troops, and the difficulty of moving ground troops around might get on your nerves, it does makes for a scenario that is different, more realistic, and much like the war that was fought in the Dragonlance books.

-map-

	Yes, the map is right out of the book.  So if you want it to be a surprise don't look.  There was a definite challenge trying to get a vertical map into a small horizontal frame (just wait until you see where Whitestone is!).  There were also serious liberties taken in designing cities and ruins since the original maps only listed about half of them.  I also had to make up many of the descriptions since most of the listed ones weren't ever mentioned in the stories (at least that I could find).
	The sides are purposely isolated from each other so that each side is allowed time to build up an "empire" before they encounter the enemy.  I wanted the scenario to become a clash between powerful sides (like in the books) instead of someone just wandering across someone else and wiping them out in a couple of turns.  Each capital was designed with an ideal way to defend itself from attack and are very hard to get at.  This will hopefully make capitals the place of a last stand.
 
-sides-

	The first obvious questions might be: Where are the dwarves and who the hell is Ergoth?  I left the dwarves out because they never really played that crucial a role in the stories and their starting location (Thorbardin) would cause serious problems with the layout of the sides.  I put in Ergoth because I wanted a side that was sort of the random side, one that wasn't in the stories as a side, but rather as individuals.  It is a seafaring empire that relies on trade through its many ports.  A loose empire made up of peasants, traders, pirates, and other seafarers. They actually worked out rather well during playtesting.  The sides are:
Qualinesti - key players in the stories (I found them to be the easiest side to play).
Solamnia - land of the famed Knights of Solamnia (a close second to Qualinesti in ease of play, the other three are fairly equal as the most difficult).
Silvanosti - not that key in the stories, but their starting location made them a perfect addition.
Ergoth - seafarers from the island empire of Ergoth.
Dark Queen - the bad guys.

-army types-

Gully Dwarves - 1 strength, 1 turn, 1 cost, and 0 upkeep.  Enough said. (Gully dwarf navies realistic?... nope.  Effective?... yep.)
Gnomes - since there was no way to give a -1 to your own stack I figured that maybe this time the gnomish inventions might actually help a city.  +1 stack in city.
Peasant - cheap, expendable troops right from the fields.  Thank God for peasants.
Kender - have the best movement in the game to allow them to be the mapmakers and become pests to your enemies (somehow fitting I thought).  They also have an above average upkeep (I can't imagine why!)
Warhorse - movement over all terrains and makes troops cavalry thereby increasing group stack by one.
Siege Tower - just your basic siege tower that gives, you guessed it, siege bonus (imagine that!).
Goblins/Mercenaries/Seafarers - expendable troops in three different flavors.
Thieves - their stealth hurts enemy units (stack -1).  Have a high upkeep (guild costs and hey, they're thieves).
Dwarves/Elves/Barbarians/Knights - the upperclass troops.  Each have their obvious movement and strength bonuses.  Careful though, knights have a high upkeep because of their training costs (and to discourage stockpiling them in all your castles).
Night Watch - I wanted something with a fortified bonus and this seemed to make the most sense.
Minotaur - strong, fierce troops that cancel city bonus.
Cleric - one of the key pieces in this type of combat because of the +2 strength bonus they give to what might otherwise be weak troops.
Draconian - their ability to kill even after death gives a -2 to enemy stack.
Centaur - although rare in the stories, they make a powerful ally for the elves. +1 to stack.
Magi - the most powerful piece that can be produced.  Rare and expensive.  -2 to stack.  (And how about those green robes???)
Pegasi - quick and agile. +2 to stack.
Wyvern - a heavy version of the pegasi.  Stronger, but slower.  Also only a +1 stack.
Spectral Minion - it seems like just about everyone and their sister (literally) was able to get past these guys so they only cancel non-heroes.
Death Knight - Lord Soth.  Enough said.  Cancel hero.
Banshee - even the bravest heroes in the stories ran from these.  Cancel hero.
Dragon - obviously the most powerful piece in the game.  Dragonfear cancels non-hero.
Hero - the usual.

	Well, that's about it.  If you have any comments and/or suggestion on this scenario or thoughts on how it can be improved feel free to E-mail me at Jfjabs@aol.com.  Thanks and enjoy!
