
Thirtysome years ago, the lich Mal-Ravanal and his undead hordes were beaten back from the gates of Weldyn, capital of the human kingdom of Wesnoth. In the intervening decades, Wesnoth has recovered under the benevolent rule of King Konrad II. Of course, all of this is irrelevant to two young elves simply looking to see the world and avoid responsibilities in their small forest. Isn’t it?
Jump to Arcs | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3
Setup
Wesnoth: Echoes of Invasion is a tabletop roleplaying campaign set in the world of the video game The Battle for Wesnoth. It takes place during the Silver Age, three decades after the events in the mainline campaign Eastern Invasion. Our characters are young elves from a small forest on the edge of the Estmark Hills, two cousins both eager to avoid settling into a boring career. Their first adventure together is to seek an artifact on behalf of a researcher in their village, a task which sets in motion events that will change their lives in ways they never imagined. The themes of Echoes of Invasion include belonging, healing, responsibility, judgment, and legacies.
Echoes of Invasion is played using the Genesys roleplaying system now published by Edge Studio. We also occasionally reference the Mythic Game Master Emulator’s event meaning tables for inspiration. The release of each episode’s audio will be accompanied by a serialized, narrative write-up of the adventure.
Background
If you know nothing about The Battle for Wesnoth, that’s fine! Neither did one of our players prior to starting this game. But if you do know Wesnoth, don’t worry; the rest of our group is quite familiar with the world from playing the video game. Although I enjoy turn-based strategy and am partial to hex maps, what I really like about Battle for Wesnoth are its storylines. When my turn to GM came up, I decided it would be the perfect world to explore in a tabletop RPG. Echoes of Invasion draws heavily upon Eastern Invasion, but I pulled details from many other campaigns as well, including some User-Made Content (UMC). I will provide specific spoilers and references for those as we get to them. I also made frequent use of materials at wesnoth.org, including the timeline, maps, unit descriptions, campaign dialogue, and discussion forums. Some details, though, we have made up for ourselves, drawing inspiration from the Realms of Terrinoth fantasy sourcebook for Genesys.
Art
Our lovely character illustration was done by Del Borovic. She was great to work with. You can find her online at delborovic.com. As for our map, I drew that. It is nowhere near as beautiful, but I had fun pulling out the colored pencils.


The music for our podcast episodes is sampled from Return to Wesnoth by Matthias Westlund (aka West), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, part of The Battle for Wesnoth Project. Visit them at wesnoth.org.
Arcs
Season 1
1. Still Waters Run Deep – Heppa and Tric, two young elves looking to avoid responsibilities at home, agree to venture out of Estbryn Forest to seek a magical artifact on behalf of a relative. Their complete lack of experience—and sense of direction—sends them into the Estmark Hills, where they have their first brush with human customs.
2. Kachen Release – While searching a swamp in the Estmark Hills for necromantic artifacts, Tric and Heppa meet some of the local denizens: Kachen, an unsettling human hermit and Hezzis, a confident saurian skirmisher. When a conflict arises, Tric applies his way with words to negotiation rather than just fabrication, while Heppa expands her research interests beyond magical artifacts to the medical arts.
3. Dwarvish Discourse – Tric and Heppa track the source of the water pollution to an innovative dwarvish mining operation in the cave system below the Estmark Hills, where new magical insights await them. They seek an audience with Lord Knutan to resolve the water situation, but will dwarves take mining advice from elves?
4. Homeward Bound – After dealing with the new mysteries awaiting them back in the swamp where they met Kachen, Tric and Heppa return home to Estbryn Forest to report on their first mission and prepare for the next one.
5. Wose Is Me – Heppa and Tric leave Estbryn Forest once again in search of artifacts for Heppa’s father. Tric has his own mission, though: find information about his mother.
6. Great Performances – Heppa and Tric explore South Tower and meet some of its inhabitants. Tric performs his first paid gig, gracing the stage at the Parting Glass, the inn that Kachen recommended.
7. Tourney – Tric and Heppa participate in the various competitions at the Full Bloom Festival in South Tower. Activities include all the standard tournament fare: archery contests, duels, jousts, and meeting your mother.
8. Look Who’s Coming to Dinner – Tric and Heppa host a dinner for Mhaev and Dame Terwaen at the Parting Glass. As at any typical gathering of relatives for a fancy meal, tempers run hot during discussions of politics and family history.
9. There’ll Be Heledd to Pay – When Heledd, the waitress at the Parting Glass, is mugged, Tric and Heppa step in to recover the stolen goods. Their search takes them from the finest manors of South Tower to the most rundown. Along the way, they see a new side to the city, as well as to Heledd and Alric.
10. Closing Time – Tric and Heppa wind down their time in South Tower, enjoying the close of the Full Bloom festival, spending some time with their new friends, and—once they’ve dragged their feet long enough—finding an artifact for Thrandolil.
Season 2
11. Staff Infection – The necromancer’s staff that Tric and Heppa recovered under South Tower causes some problems back in Estbryn Forest. But other than that, the two cousins are happy to be back home with their families, where they can finally learn more about the mysterious Anador.
12. Kachen Up – At the start of summer, Tric and Heppa welcome Kachen to Estbryn Forest for a research meeting with Thrandolil. A careless mistake puts Kachen’s life into Heppa’s hands, and soon the whole forest is endangered. The Battle for Estbryn has begun.
13. The Inquest – Although Estbryn Forest is now safe from undead, the recent attack was not without casualties, and many elves are looking for someone to blame. Tric and Heppa do their best to defend the human mage Kachen against his accusers.
14. Westward Bound – Following Kachen’s trial, Heppa and Tric find themselves encouraged to vacate Estbryn Forest for a while. They begin their grand tour of Wesnoth by returning to South Tower, where they find they have some debts to settle.
15. Caravan Shenanigans – In order to travel through mainland Wesnoth to Dan’Tonk, Tric and Heppa sign on as guards to a caravan leaving South Tower. On the first leg to the capital Weldyn, the elves delight in meeting many types of humans sharing the route: the caravan manager, a lost child, a fledgling mage, and veteran mercenaries. But criminals from South Tower are on the road as well.
16. Whirlwind Tour of Weldyn – While Rhodri’s caravan spends a few days unloading and reloading in Weldyn, Tric and Heppa enjoy all that the capital of Wesnoth offers. The nosy and meddlesome elves uncover more secrets of the past about necromancers—and about Alric’s family.
17. Downtime in Dan’Tonk – Tric and Heppa part ways with Rhodri’s caravan in Dan’Tonk. The largest city in Wesnoth, it sports a thriving mix of humans, including some of Dunefolk descent, which gives Tric an unexpected chance to connect with his lost heritage.
18. The Society of Shadow – Tric and Heppa track down the mysterious Society of Shadow, but their pursuit of forbidden human knowledge is complicated by what else they learn in the Grey Woods: the Society is a threat to Rhodri’s caravan and to woses! The young elves are forced to confront dangers—and responsibilities—greater than any they have ever faced.
19. Wesmere Welcome – While recuperating in Wesmere, Tric and Heppa experience “big forest” life—parties with young elves, presentations to sophisticated elders, and encounters with relatives they didn’t realize they had.
20. The Heart Mountains – Tric’s brother Ash guides him and Heppa eastward through the Heart Mountains. Along the way, they investigate a nest of spiders that turns out to be more sinister than they expected. They will need the help of a new ally to overcome the darkness they have uncovered.
Season 3
21. Plains Problems – After their visit with Tric’s elvish brother, Tric and Heppa spend time with his human sister Terwaen in the Horse Plains. There they finally encounter the notorious Dame Merriver and learn more of trouble fomenting in the east.
22. Old Haunts – Tric and Heppa return to South Tower, where they find that they are not the only recent arrivals. Dark powers are stirring under the city, and their meeting with Kachen brings further news of unrest to the east.
23. After Party – With autumn setting in, Tric and Heppa reap more of what they have sown when events from earlier in the year continue to have repercussions in South Tower.
24. Overwintering – As autumn turns to winter in Estbryn Forest, Tric and Heppa retread old ground preparing for the conflict coming in spring.
25. Family Matters – At the start of spring, Tric and Heppa welcome many visitors to Estbryn Forest: their grandparents, Terwaen, even Alric. All the while, war looms on the horizon.
Now Playing… 26. The Battlefield – Tric and Heppa learn firsthand how different facing an undead army is from engaging in a few minor skirmishes. Fortunately, some of the many allies they have cultivated over the past year come to their aid.
Coming Soon… 27. The Heist –
Coming Soon… 28. Saurian Standoff –
Coming Soon… 29. Device Plot –