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?
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.
Now Playing… 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.
Coming Soon… 10. Closing Time