README.TXT for "Agent of Heaven"
Version 1.0 (December 23, 1998)
{{ TURN ON WORD WRAP }}

		"Agent of Heaven"

	A HOMM2 Campaign for One Player
	 (Requires POL Expansion Set)

By the Astral Navigators:

	Marin Bouman 	(MAB@ficsgrp.com)
	Timothy Duncan 	(tduncan@haverford.edu)
	David Goll 	(goll@club-internet.fr)
	Eric Hutchins 	(erichutchins@mediaone.net)
	Charles Watkins (charleywatkins@worldnet.att.net)

Dedication:

	To the Astral Wizard for his Devotion to the Game
	and to its Loyal Fans


Map Directory
-------------
TITLE		  PLAYERS SIZE    DIFFICULTY  VICTORY CONDITION (*)	
"Introduction"	  1H/1C   Medium  Normal      Find 'Crystal Ball'  
"Quick Freeze"	  1H/1C   Medium  Tough	      Regular Victory
"Metalluna"       1H/3C   Medium  Normal      Find 'Divine Breastplate'
"Woodlands"	  1H/4C   Medium  Tough	      Defeat hero 'Tai Hou'
"Chaos' Furnace"  1H/5C	  Medium  Tough	      Defeat hero 'Azar Khan'
"Hostage Earth"   1H/5C   Huge    Normal      Find Ultimate Artifact
"The Succession"  1H/1C   Medium  Normal      Capture Castle 'Telorian'

(*) On all maps, loss of the main hero 'Elara' results in defeat.


Installation
------------
1. By now you have unzipped AGENT.ZIP and found this README file. 

2. The *.MX2 files go in the Heroes2 maps folder. Usually this is "C:\Program Files\Heroes2\Maps\".

3. The "Journals" folder has a Short-Cut that you can drag and drop onto your desktop. Inside are journal entries that tell the story of "Agent of Heaven". These are ordinary .doc files that you can read with the WordPad accessory or your favorite .doc viewer. 

4. Some players may prefer to print the Journals so that passages can be read without exiting or suspending the map in play.    


Order of Play
-------------

     READ 'Introjourn: Introduction'   
    /
PLAY "Introduction"
    \  
     READ 'Introjourn: Conclusion'
    /      
PLAY "Quick Freeze"
   |  
PLAY "Metalluna"
    \
     READ 'Introjourn: Intermission'
    /
PLAY "Woodlands" and READ 'Woodjourn'
   |
PLAY "Chaos' Furnace"
    \
     READ 'Earthjourn: Introduction'
    /
PLAY "Hostage Earth" and READ 'Earthjourn'
    \
     READ 'Earthjourn: Conclusion'
     |
     READ 'Succession: Introduction'
    /
PLAY "The Succession" and READ 'Succession'
    \
     READ 'Succession: Epilogue'
 


Detailed Instructions for Play
------------------------------
Thank you for downloading the "Agent of Heaven" campaign! We have labored hard and long to provide you with many hours of entertainment, BUT in order to enjoy the maps fully, you must READ the rest of these instructions AND the story passages that accompany the maps. OK? Let's get started!

1. Open the "Introjourn" file and read the 'Introduction'. This is a Word-6 .doc file that can be viewed from Windows-95 with the WordPad accessory. (To help you follow the Chinese names, our 'Cast of Characters' is listed below.)

2. We call this a campaign, but when you start Heroes2, you should choose "Regular Game", not "Campaign Game". The maps are linked together by the storyline, not the special campaign program used for POL. You should also choose "Expansion Maps". The maps for "Agent of Heaven" will magically appear together at the front of the menu.

3. Start with "Introduction". At points on the map, you will be referred to the journal file. Exit or suspend Heroes2 to read the indicated journal entries at these times. This journal also contains entries to read after you finish the introductory map and halfway through the four maps in the next step.

     PLEASE NOTE: 

     IT IS IMPORTANT TO READ THE TEXT!
     IT WILL HELP YOU PLAY THE MAPS!
     (Have we said that enough yet?) 

4. Play all four Dream maps. After the introductory map, you can play these four in any order. Each one has something you'll need to play the "huge" map. We recommend the following order:

"Quick Freeze"
"Metalluna"
"Woodlands"
"Chaos' Furnace"

5. Read the introduction to the main map "Hostage Earth". Then play the map and at the designated places read the appropriate entries in the Journal -- and read the 'Conclusion' when you finish the map.

6. Play "Succession", the final map in the campaign. If you win, then you may read the 'Epilogue'.


Cast of Characters
------------------

ELARA AND HER ALLIES:
Queen Sosa - 	Ruler of Melmornia
Elara - 	Niece of Queen Sosa, only living heir to the Melmornian throne (our main hero!)
Jarrod - 	Blacksmith's son, Elara's friend
Liu Bang - 	Rebel Against the Qin
Liu Su - 	Prisoner of the Qin, Liu Bang's brother
Ching Ko -	Follower of Liu Bang

IMPERIAL COURT:
Ying Zheng - 	Qin Emperor
Ying Fu Su - 	Eldest son of Ying Zheng, Crown Prince
Ying Hu Hai - 	Second son of Ying Zheng
Han Fei Zi - 	Qin Advisor to the Emperor
Li Si - 	Qin Advisor to the Emperor
Zhao Gao - 	Eunuch, Friend of Li Si
Cao Long - 	General
Chiang Cho -    Minister
Chan -		Jester
Sardonicus - 	Provincial Governor, Evil Magician
Lord Huai -	Provincial Governor, Degenerate
Aslen -		Provencial Governor, Friend of Sosa
Tiva -		Aslen's daughter
Nels Bor -	Sage
Gogamuess -	Barbarian

SPIRITS:
Torius - 	Earth Spirit, Druid of the Cave
Mencius - 	Earth Spirit, Druid of the Grove  
Hou Tu - 	Earth Spirit, Guardian of Earth
Xuan Ming - 	Water Spirit, Guardian of Water
Zhuan Xu -	Water Spirit, Divine Ruler of Water
Gou Mang - 	Wood Spirit, Guardian of Wood
Tai Hou - 	Wood Spirit, Divine Ruler of Wood
Tai Feng - 	Wood Spirit, Divine Minister of Wood
Azar Khan -	Fire Spirit, Divine Ruler of Fire
Zhu Yong - 	Fire Spirit, Guardian of Fire
Ru Shu -	Metal Spirit, Guardian of Metal
Vax - 		Metal Spirit, Metalluna Escort Service 
Lord Kilburn -  Metal Spirit, Renowned Hero of Might & Magic
 

Credits
-------
Main Storyline - 		Timothy Duncan
Supplementary Storylines - 	Charles Watkins
			  	David Goll
			  	Eric Hutchins
"Introduction" Map Design - 	Marin Bouman
			  	Timothy Duncan
"Quick Freeze" Map Design - 	Eric Hutchins
"Metalluna" Map Design - 	Charles Watkins
"Woodlands" Map Design - 	Timothy Duncan
"Chaos' Furnace" Map Design - 	David Goll
"Hostage Earth" Map Design - 	Charles Watkins
		         	Marin Bouman
			 	Eric Hutchins
			 	Timothy Duncan
"The Succession" Map Design - 	Marin Bouman
				Timothy Duncan
				Charles Watkins
Campaign Architecture - 	Charles Watkins
Intrepid Testers (yay!) - 	Benedict Chui, Al Mytko,
        			Vesa Luukkonen, Kerry Nelson  
         

Special Note
------------
You can think of "Agent of Heaven" as an alternate history set in a world of that includes Heroes of Might and Magic.
 
The events/characters in this campaign are LOOSELY derived from real beliefs/events/people in Chinese history during the Warring States Period, Qin Consolidation, and Early Han Dynasty. Though many of our characters were real people, and many of the events happened in a general sense, this is still a fictional dramatization and should NOT be taken literally. We know that Mencius was not a druid who could change into a bird at will, and there never was Queen Sosa or Elara. 

We hope not to offend anybody's religious or historical beliefs. The philosophies of Legalism and Confucianism portrayed in "Agent of Heaven" reflect the personal interpretations of the mapmakers. We'd enjoy discussing these with you, so send us e-mail.


Support
-------
If you have questions, need hints, or run into problems, please e-mail any of the Astral Navigators and we will assist you as soon as possible. Due to the scope of the project, some bugs and boo-boos may have escaped our notice. Since there's likely to be an update, we'd like to hear about any problems you see. On the other hand, we're a sneaky bunch and just because something 'looks' broken or out of the ordinary, it's not necessarily a bug. For instance, some castles are
supposed to be too strong for you to capture and there's this one Lith that ... well, take it on faith that it will work when the time comes. Other than that, keep your eyes peeled, your sword drawn, and don't rely on the autopath.   

RIDDLES: 
Solutions to the Sphinx Riddles are available at "The Prattling Sphinx" on the AstralWizard.com web site. Do not bug the Astral Wizard himself as, like all wizards, he is subtle and quick to anger.

CRASHES:
The map "Metalluna" may crash at load time on certain memory-starved systems. This is because "Metalluna" deliberately stresses the game engine to achieve some, shall we say, novel effects. Sadly, for some machines the stress is too great and for these an 'unstressed' version is provided. This is the map called "Wimpy", installed among the regular maps, not with the others in the campaign. Except for the stressed feature, for which credit goes to the Qurqirish Dragon, the maps are identical.    
