Author's Comments:
Story: This map is my first shot at an 'alternate history' theme, which places the player in a semi-historical setting but adds a twist to allow the player to take events down a different path. The setting for this map is the Crusades and I hope to lead players to some insights on this turning point of Western civilization. I've tried not to be too heavy handed in the religious overtones and certainly hope not to have offended either Catholics or Muslims.

The lead characters are based on real historical personalities, although I have fictionalized them somewhat for the game and anglized their names. Eleanor, Raymond, Godfrey, and Hugh were some of the most significant figures of the time. Omar is essentially my own creation, based on Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khattab, and he serves to personalize the Arabic culture. Hassan i Sabbah may just be a legend, but the Assassins were real and active in the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades.

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of history's most influential women--she was Queen of both France (Louis VII) and England (Henry II). Her grandfather was Guilliam IX the Troubadour and she was a devout follower of St. Bernard. A monastic education was the only option available, even to a royal princess.

Eleanor led an army of courtly women in the Second Crusade and had a notorious relationship with her uncle Raymond, magistrate of Antioch. She would have remained there, but Louis insisted she accompany him on to Jerusalem. They returned on separate ships, and Louis had the marriage annulled---by then Eleanor was all of 19 years old.

As heir to Aquitaine, Eleanor became fabulously wealthy and was the most influential woman in Europe. After divorcing Louis, she married Henry II (Plantagenet) -- and thus ruled both as Queen of France and as Queen of England!

In 1187, Jerusalem fell again to Saladin of Egypt, prompting the Third Crusade under Eleanor's son, the famous Richard 'Lionheart.' The Third Crusade failed and Richard was held for ransom. There followed several minor crusades, and Jerusalem was briefly retaken, but in the end, the Muslims prevailed and hatreds had been born that have carried down the ages. For Christendom, defeat meant a new social order rising out of the economic system laid down by the Knights Templar, followers of St. Bernard, who are rumored to have taken fabulous treasures hidden below Temple Mount by the fleeing Jews.

Eleanor died in 1204.

* Raymond's bard songs are genuine medieval songs and poems. The insults in Foss are from Shakespeare. The historical accounts come from Wikipedia, though I have edited them down a bit.

Gameplay: 1. Play at Intermediate Difficulty (or Advanced if you must). The game will run for several months -- at higher levels the spawn rate is just too high and only a few key opponents have population control scripts. For the rest, if the combat looks too hard, you can go do something else and try again later.

2. You play Life (Purple) and have a nominal computer ally (Green). During the game, you will meet towns and characters that may start as enemies, and then become allies (Green) and perhaps eventually comrades at arms (Purple). When you take command of a town, you also become responsible for running it and your actions will determine whether it prospers or falls into decay.

3. There is a fixed cast of characters, listed on the adjacent sign. Keep the main heroes together, so that they can interact. Each brings something different to the party and relationships will progress as the game goes on. But when it's called for, don't hesitate to separate one hero (usually Eleanor) from the party for an individual encounter. This is necessary for an event to target a certain hero, making these personalized encounters possible.

4. There are many, many quests. The only ones you must do are the ones pertaining to the swords. You may enjoy the others, so give them a try -- but don't worry if you can't complete them. Most quests can be performed in more than one way, so if one approach fails, look for another. If the Quest Requirement is not clear in the Proposal Message, go back and check the Progress Message, where the objective should be more directly stated.

5. There are several places where you can get rumors and information. Revisit them every so often since they will offer new topics based on what has happened in the game. You can have them repeat old topics each time you visit or you can ask not to repeat them again.

6. Some surprises are in store even for experienced players, so if things don't seem to work 'normally,' try to play along and see what happens. Also, kindly grant some 'poetic license' to the author (like treating Pandoraˇ¦s Boxes as 'Arks') in the interest of a better story. Notice that many object names are taken literally -- e.g. if there is an Elf King's Bow, there is probably an Elf King somewhere. Essentially, there are no random elements in the game and there's a reason for everything.

8. Finally, don't linger in Aquitaine building a large force-- the main adventure lies beyond. And when you get the first three swords, you'll be ready for the end game -- just make sure you really are ready. There are multiple endings, so do what you think is right.

Gameplay:

The map was submitted to "Gloria" contest (way back in early 2004). Sadly, version 1.0 wasn't approved by the administrator of MapHaven for 18 months, and rightly so; the author didn't finish his promising work until recently, when the updated file was uploaded. If you don't remember, it was one of the toughest mapmaking competitions ever. Although there were but a few entries, even today I can't decide which scenario I liked better - "Alexandra the Great" or "Draconic". Charles's map also had a great set up, fitted the theme of a female hero well, but the final result was disappointing. Nevertheless, I was sure it could be a runner up at least. So, when version 2.0 was finally available, I couldn't wait to see if Mr. Watkins kept his almost forgotten promise.

Eleanor starts in the town of Aquitaine where, after a fight with her dark side, she obtains a relic sword that she was supposed to take to Jerusalem. However, the quest is in danger when a sprite steals the artifact and takes it to another world... a world of magic.

The map introduces a number of unique features, such as a sprite running away with your key artifact.

The first of three parts of the story plays like a great RPG. I dislike the genre because it often resembles watching a movie or a cartoon, with your finger on "play" and "pause" buttons. Although the very beginning is linear, I must admit I enjoyed it nonetheless. After you chase the sprite your party is transported... Ah, but no more spoilers. :) That is where one of the most beautiful (and probably the longest) introductions ends, and the singleplayer part begins. Lost in a completely new world, our heroine will make friends and allies, but also face dreadful enemies... in an attempt to solve several chained quests, in one way or another. Eventually, if she succeeds, the road to Jerusalem will be clear.

The good: First, let me tell you how much I loved the choice of main character. Heck, even my wife liked her enough to let me play the same map twice! If you read the author's comments, it's easy to understand what an extraordinary person Eleanor was. Such deep characters seem to be rare even in new RPGs, let alone your average Heroes map. In the middle section of the map, the story somewhat loses its initial focus, but the development of the main character is still vital for the gameplay. Thus the players have to do their best to stay "in character", taking care of not only the storyline, but also the purity of Eleanor's soul.

In spite of all, the game is not linear, or, in Charles's words, "the story unfolds according to the choices the player makes and how interactions with NPCs are handled".

If you thought this was another storytelling scenario, think again. The balance is very good throughout the game and the wandering or guarding creatures are challenging enough (for a casual player, that is :P ).

Aside from an endless gallery of customized heroes, you will visit lots of unique locations, including mythical and historical cities as well. Thus the faerie world of "Lost Crusade" seems surprisingly real.

If you've met Charles Watkins at CH's Round Table, you know he is a knowledgeable scripter; in other words, you can expect oodles of neat events, unusual quest huts and wordy messages. :)

Finally, the combination of witty remarks and insightful notes worked out great.

The bad: As a fan, I beg mapmakers to enable great movement for story-based XL maps intended for singleplayer. I understand it was for the sake of the story, but the Nobility skill was useless. I wish I had Scouting and Pathfinding, thank you very much. Clicking "next turn" every ten seconds spoils the fun, don't you think? Especially if are leading a powerful but slow army of archers. An early access to movement artifacts would have been even better.

The other issue I didn't enjoy was the graphics. I have already praised the adventure map, but the landscape simply needed some polishing here and there. Certain areas are covered with trees only, others with different mountains (a sand dune amid rocky hills looks rather odd). In the land awkwardly called Chernobyl there are numerous terrain mutations; while I am aware that some players are fond of such bold concepts, this is not my cup of tea. The worst part is the city of Foss - barren lawns, an impractical bridge, slums (without trees, people or animals) that look more like concentration camps. The Heroes 4 editor is far more suitable for creating towns and villages, but the mapmaker failed to use its full potential. Strangely, if I remember well, it was Watkins who showed us what can be done with Heroes 3 editor in his "Kid Heretic"... Finally, the elevation tool is used where it shouldn't have been (water) but not where it should have been (fields).

Bugs: When you play a long scenario with lots of scripts, you must expect things like heroes who do or say things while they are dead :) , text messages that keep repeating ("Celeste takes her Summoning Staff out of hiding" almost every day, and ends with dozens of them!) etc. I suggest the players carefully read the author's instructions in the text messages. Finally, load autosave if something strange happens. :P

Bottom line: This is one of the best RPG maps made for Heroes 4, but only the most patient players will be awarded.

Mark: 9/10

I was looking back to all those years and all those maps on the net... and I realized just how few scenarios got the credit they deserved. OK, so this is not a perfect map in many ways, so what? Compared to the mediocrity of countless works out there, this is a piece of art. So, cheers to you, too, Charles! :)

P.S. You can download "Lost Crusade" from here or here.