Mission 1 - The Muster

The Muster

Story mission
Mission	1
Chapter	1: The Age of Iron
Played	1st
Map	Forest, Small
In the demo	Yes
Estimated time	15-25 min (estimate)
Starting resources	400 Wood, 200 Food, 100 Stone, 100 Gold
Teaches	Callings, Disciplines, gathering, building, training a unit
Objectives
Story spoilers: Mission 1 Declare a Calling. Commit your Disciplines. Select your villagers. Bring a load of wood home. Build an Infantry Training Grounds. Train a Swordsman.
Campaign
Previous	Campaign
Next	Mission 2 - Before the Snow

The Muster is the first mission of the Story campaign and opens Chapter 1, The Age of Iron. It is the campaign's tutorial. Commander Aldric Hale has you choose your kingdom's Calling and set its Disciplines, then shows you how to gather a resource, raise a building and train a soldier: one of each, once.

There is no battle in this mission. A rival camp stands in the valley, but its army is held back.

Overview

• The mission begins with a short opening film.
• The starting resources cover every building the mission asks for, so no lesson has to wait for gathering.
• Mage buildings and units are hidden, and so are siege engines, ships, stone defences and the Stronghold. They arrive later in the campaign.
• The mission is part of the demo.

Story

Story spoilers: Mission 1

This box is closed until you open it.

A narrator welcomes a new recruit to Ardenmoor, a land that has known war for longer than anyone can remember. The kingdom of Ashmere needs leaders, and its commander, Aldric Hale, needs one. Hale calls the recruit over: training starts now.

From his first order, Hale addresses the recruit as Captain. Ashmere's foothold is one hall and a few villagers in a valley that Corvane calls its own, beside an older and bigger Corvane camp. Before anything else moves, Hale has the Captain declare what Ashmere will be known for and what its army will drill. Then comes the work of a town: wood brought home, a training ground raised, and the first soldier under its roof.

A stone pillar stands somewhere in the valley. Nobody remarks on it.

The mission ends with the foothold secure and the valley quiet.

"The valley is quiet. Winter is coming. We build toward it." (Commander Hale)

Objectives

Story spoilers: Mission 1

This box is closed until you open it.

Each step appears in the objectives panel, with a marker where one helps. Hale speaks a line for each.

1. The Muster. Press C to open the Calling window and declare a Calling; the Mystic Calling is locked in this mission. Then press U to open the Disciplines window, spend your twenty points and press Save. Saved points cannot be taken back. See Callings and Disciplines.
2. Arrival. Select your villagers: click one, or drag a box around several. Pan the camera with the screen edge or the arrow keys. A checkpoint is saved as this step begins.
3. Wood. Select a villager and right-click a tree. The step completes when the first load of wood reaches your stockpile; the villager keeps working on its own.
4. Build. Open the Military tab, choose the Infantry Training Grounds and place it. Select a villager and right-click the construction site to build it.
5. Train. Select the Infantry Training Grounds and train one Swordsman. A checkpoint is saved as this step begins. The mission is complete when the Swordsman stands.

Characters met

Story spoilers: Mission 1

This box is closed until you open it.

• Commander Aldric Hale, who gives every order.
• The narrator of the opening film.
• Corvane: its camp stands in the valley. Its soldiers do not attack.

Notes

Story spoilers: Mission 1

This box is closed until you open it.

• Skipping the film: press Esc. A mouse click never skips it, so a stray click cannot cost you the opening. A small note on screen says so.
• The Pillar in this mission is dormant: it stands from the start, cannot be charged, and never announces itself. See Pillars.
• Your Calling and your saved Disciplines carry over to the following missions.

Campaign

← Previous: Campaign · Next: Mission 2 - Before the Snow →