Bilekeep
Version 1.0
By Rover (r_o_v_e_r@hotmail.com)

Description
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A 1v1 Multiplayer map where you must raise your army through subversion.

This map is best played using its default settings. Feel free to send in comments or suggestions.

To Use
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Extract the enclosed files to your game's installation directory, into the subdirectory "\data\editor\maps". The bmp file is the map thumbnail, and can be placed in the "Thumbnails" directory.

The Story - The Sunlit War
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King Reginald is slain, his castle a smoldering ruin of rubble and ash. With the power of the Portal Gems neutralized, the Sunlit lands of Harmonia are at last laid wide open to pillage, plunder, and conquest. Keepers throughout the underworld, no longer restrained by the magic that has once sealed them fast within, have all broken to the surface seeking to raise their own empires on Harmonia. Thus begins what is known as the Sunlit War.

It is soon discovered that the final fate of Harmonia, even after the King's death, is far from sealed. For the goodly folk have enlisted formidable military aid from the surrounding kingdoms bordering Harmonia to contain the sudden plague of Keeper Outbreak. The Stone Knights, once the last line of defense of the late King Reginald, have gone into mass production, one of many ventures made possible by the new Hero Alliance. Finally the Princes Royal, once thought to have been killed, have returned once again and have wasted little time rallying the forces of Heroic Good to destroy the Keepers and avenge their father's death.

Over the course of the Sunlit War, battle after battle is fought and won or lost, with casualties on all sides of the conflict. The Heroes give no quarter, while the Keepers strive ever to seek out any opportunity that can shift the balance of power in their favor. One day one such opportunity presents itself, one that is cause for great hope among Keepers and great fear for the Hero Alliance.

For not long after the outbreak of war, strange keeps have appeared all over Harmonia. Their strangeness is due to the fact that their foundations are constructed in the likeness of various creature iconography. Who built them or why is not known. Upon closer investigation by scouts from Keepers and Heroes alike, it is discovered that the structures serve but one purpose: to draw creatures in from the Netherworlds. The keeps operate not unlike Portals yet are without Portals themselves. The creatures that emerge from such a keep willingly serve any power governing that keep. The Keepers and the Hero Alliance realize instantly the strategic value of these so-called Portal Keeps. Whoever controls them wins the Sunlit War.

A sharp escalation in the war ensues for control of the Portal Keeps. Vicious battles are fought as one power seizes control of a keep only to lose it to another power soon after. It is the Heroes, however, who ultimately gain the upper hand when, at great cost of lives and resources, they demolish and burn all the Portal Keeps to the ground in what is known as The Raze. But the subterranean levels of the keeps, having been set in Impenetrable Stone, cannot be similarly destroyed.

While Keepers still greedily vie for control of the Portal Keeps, albeit in reduced form, staying in them for long has become perilous of late. For knowing that their already overstretched Armies cannot be everywhere at once, the Hero Alliance has taken to leaving the Portal Keeps guarded by Stone Knights, traps, and a few veteran troops as garrison. As extra insurance, the Alliance has implemented powerful magic about the keeps to curtail a Keeper's ability to transport into one with anything more than a handful of combat troops. That same magic also effectively prevents a Portal Keep from being completely subverted by an attacking Keeper.

And so it comes to pass that particularly daring Keepers assault the Portal Keeps using guerrilla tactics. They transport in not to take control, but to stay long enough to acquire new recruits for their army of darkness to use in other campaigns, and then transport back out before the local garrison can react.

When there are no Keepers raiding a keep, it is the Hero Alliance who profits from the accumulation of Netherworld creatures ready to serve whatever power that controls the Portal Keep - namely, the Heroes. Knowing this, the Portal Keeps have become very trendy targets among Keepers and are raided almost continuously. Skilled Keepers often succeed in seizing new recruits and escaping with them alive, while the not-so-skilled or unlucky fall victim to the defending Heroes.

The Story - Bilekeep
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Bilekeep is a Portal Keep that draws in Bile Demons through teleportation. Like all Portal Keeps, this one is powered by several Mana Vaults.

It is said that when much of Bilekeep was destroyed during The Raze, there was a great slaughter of Bile Demons as they were too fat, slow and slovenly to escape the final Hero assault. After the carnage, funeral pyres were set up and burned night and day for weeks on end, and the stench of burnt Bile could be smelt for miles around.

You and another Keeper have arrived at Bilekeep in search of new recruits. Powerful anti-Keeper magic prevents any of your previous army from transporting with you into this realm, and so you enter alone. A new group Bile Demons have recently teleported in from the Netherworlds, as evidenced by the characteristic foul odors wafting through the air. But because this realm is under Hero influence, they now serve the Heroes.

Your goals are as follows. You must capture and convert the Bile Demons, and use them to attack the rival Keeper who no doubt is planning the very same thing to you. Also, conserve your Mana! For you will need it to call on Horny for help should the Stone Knights come calling.

Notes
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Sometimes your Imps may refuse to do the tasks assigned to them. That's because something is agitating them, usually nearby traps and/or Heroes. (Yes, it can be frustrating). Use your combat creatures to deal with the source of agitation.

If a worker doesn't construct a door or trap in the Workshop when instructed, try dropping the worker directly into the Workshop.

A functional Workshop can be built in 3x1 tiles against uninterrupted wall tiles (solid rock and/or reinforced wall).

Don't let your Minions die in battle! Once they're gone, they are lost forever. Remember also that fallen creatures can only be recovered if they are on land where you have influence.

To use Dungeon Specials directly, left-click on the golden boxes.

You can regain some Mana by dropping Imps into your Dungeon Heart. While handy in a pinch, it does cripple your workforce for a short time before your Dungeon Heart generates more Imps.

Known Issues
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There is an apparent bug with the game program when Horny exits the realm while standing on a Hero Lair tile. When that happens, Horny gets "stuck" and cannot exit. Even though the Mana drain has stopped, the Summon Horny spell cannot be cast a second time because the program thinks that Horny is still active.

DISCLAIMER
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The author accepts no responsibility whatsoever for damages resulting from the use of these map files, and makes no warranty or representation, either express or implied, including but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. These files are provided "AS IS", and you, its user, assume all risks when using it.
