What order to play campaigns in HOMM III?

[nevermore2782]

So, I just got Heroes III Complete, and I go to start a campaign, but in order Shadows of death is listed first....im new to this game, but not the series, so i know the basics, so should I begin with the Shadows of Death campaign or the restoration of Erathia campaign? Also, i was about to start a new campaign in shadows of death and noticed that the campaigns (the clickable pictures) can be played in any order....is this wise or is there a linear story to follow with these missions? Thanks for the help? p.s. Good to meet everyone, Just registered today!

[Corlagon]

Start with Shadow of Death if you want a challenge, but go with Restoration of Erathia if you prefer easier stuff. Armageddon's Blade is by far the hardest so you might want to leave it till later. The entire storyline begins with Shadow of Death (the prequel), which sets the scene for RoE, and continues in Armageddon's Blade. Plus you can pick your difficulty in Shadow of Death so that might be the best choice to start off with.

In Shadow of Death, there is no linear storyline in the first five campaigns. In the fifth, sixth and seventh campaigns, all four stories come together. Same in RoE. However, Armageddon's Blade features six seperate stories, so it doesn't matter which order you play them in.

Remember, if you're playing one campaign from a certain storyline (SoD, RoE etc), don't start another! Finish the campaign, and reload your save once you win before starting another campaign. Otherwise, you won't be able to unlock the locked campaigns. Take it from me. It happened to me about three times.

Oh, and welcome.

[Pol]

Chronologically SoD is first. But subjectively by my opinion, RoE campaigns ,followed later by AB, are natural choice for start. They are created for drawing you into the story gradually.

[nevermore2782]

thanks for the advice guys!

[Yurian Stonebow]

Since this comes from a University student majoring in general history, don't be surprised to see me favoring playing the campaigns of Heroes III in chronological order: first the Shadow of Death then Restoration of Erathia and Finally Armageddon's Blade. In addition, if you own the Last Chapters (that is, one part of the "expansion series" called Heroes Chronicles), The Sword of Frost campaign should be completed last to see the ultimate and dramatic end of the H3 storyline. (and yes, I know that the opening cinematic of Heroes IV is the "final end") However, don't expect to actually see an in-game artefact by that name, it's part of the story and not an accessible artefact.

Heroes III timeline based on official storyline and facts and also my humble reasoning and intuition*:

Power hungry Lich called Sandro sets devious plots in motion to assamble two powerful necromancy enchanting artefacts, then installs a puppet king in power in Deyja and rules the aforementioned kingdom from the shadows. Later on Sandro, with the aid of undead armies of Deyja, wages war on the Elves of AvLee and humans of Erathia. Sandro's grandeous plans are, however, frustrated by a group of Heroes from various nations and he is forced to retreat back to Deyja and then flee his last Necropolis outpost in the advent of powerful enemy attack.

The allied Heroes go their seperate ways and return to their every day lives. The Lich on the other hand does not rest. He lost the mega artefacts but has still enough influence inside the Deyjan realm to come up with another plan to overthrow the living and their petty little kingdoms.

Sandro sets out to gather an undead army, bribes the Overlords of Nighon to attack Erathia and finally manipulates an Erathian nobleman to assasinate his King, Nicholas Gryphonheart. He succeeds in all these plans after completing some tasks for his new allies, such as getting the needed resources for the Overlords' armies to launch a surprise attack against Erathia and obtaining the Ring Of Sulfur to help Nighon build up their elite units.

Sandro's position in the Deyjan court is questioned by some envious Deyjan Lords who secretly plot with the King of Deyja to remove his all-powerful advisor from the realm and positions of power. Sandro is tricked by his King, Finneas Vilmar to attack his rivals and then is locked up in a prison for "unlawfully attacking peaceful Lords of the Realm". This summs up the story behind the Shadow of Death expansion and that of Sandro's as well. As a side note, when events in the Restoration of Erathia storyline remove and kill King Vilmar of Deyja, Sandro is freed from his prison. To which end, this is a bit confusing.

I hope this backround info was of help to you and will provide ever more enjoyable game sessions to come. Enjoy the magic world of Heroes III.





Sincerally,

Yurian









* Includes spoilers!

[Secret_Holder]

[quote* Includes spoilers[/quote]

Not tha it bothers me, as I know the story, but spoilers really shouldn't be so discrete.

[Yurian Stonebow]

I included a watch-out-for-spoilers sign (marked with* ) so that people would not come to me and claim I revelead parts of the plot without warning them first. And besides, as I was talking mostly about the Shadow of Death, I still don't think I gave away too much about the entire Heroes III storyline.

If you take a look at some of my other posts you will find me using spoiler alerts when needed.





Yurian

[Corlagon]

finally manipulates an Erathian nobleman to assasinate his King

I was under the impression Lord Haart was Enrothian, though then again he does own a number of castles in Erathia so he must have some influence there. Otherwise the whole thing is very accurate. You could have afforded to mention the arrival of the Kreegans and their reason for being there in the first place, but what the heck.

[Yurian Stonebow]

Corlagon, you're quite correct: Lord Haart is an Enrothian nobleman who serves in King Roland's armies during the Succession Wars. In Heroes III it is mentioned that he left Enroth for being suspected of having ties with the local necromantic cults. However, his loyalty to King Roland of Enroth and his good services to the Crown of Erathia help establish him in Antagarich as an influental Knight who owns numerous estates on the Ertahian countryside. So it is quite true that while he is an ethnic Enrothian, he is also a Knight of Erathia in the service of the Gryphonheart Roayl House.

As for the arrival of the Kreegans ("the Night of the Shooting Stars") I felt comfortable enough to not mention it for reasons related with my spoilers policy. They are a major part of the entire Heroes III storyline but play a much smaller role in the Shadow of Death. As the main character in SoD is Sandro, the Lich, Kreegans are mentioned as his allies which are wicked of nature and have a lust for power and influence in the region.

Good comment, anyway.





Yurian