A familiar sun set over foreign soil. The Aulestri pulled back, leaving swathes of their own behind, their fierce legions left broken against the rag-tag militias of the Federal Guard. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Tomorrow, the legions would resume the attack; rested, reinforced, against starving, demoralised and desperate conscripts. Tomorrow, the Guard would break… FE: Drums of War is a full campaign total conversion hack, that implements a wide array of custom graphics, QoL patches and unique objectives, while still operating within the non-SkillSys GBAFE framework. It features 22 chapters, a cast of 46 playable characters and over 50 complete support chains, as well as a number of non-essential secrets. It aims to tell a nuanced, grounded story, without reverting to tired cynicism; no matter how dark the hour, it is strength to be found in each other, and a new day will always come. In gameplay, emphasis is placed on decisive, aggressive play to deal with tight, hard-hitting enemy formations that will overwhelm passive play and outflank lowmanning. It is probably closest in difficulty to Radiant Dawn’s Normal mode, or the Hard/Classic setting of more recent titles, and is designed to be ironman-friendly with clear signposting, a tough lord, and a constant stream of available recruits. An easier campaign with Casual Mode implementation is planned for a future release.
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Storyline
FE: DoW centres around the nation of Rijesca, a land riven by discord and internal strife. Legend holds that it was formed by and named for the Dragon Mother Rijesca, who left the land in despair and disrepair after the death of her sister, Rhiannon. For centuries, despite a wealth of farmland and pasture, Rijesca remained a poor nation held together by royal despots, noble families enforcing traditional ways, as it languished to become a backwater. Then, close to a century ago, the Confederation launched their attack. Rijesca’s fractured people, from war-riven west to frigid east, at last found some unity, rallying behind King Karolas II… but to no avail, as the Confederation’s battle-hardened, immaculately-drilled legions effortlessly seized the nation. They threw down the traditional power structures of the land, executing the King, sacking the churches, ensuring that nobility held no further sway. The Rijescan people had no choice but to kneel, but not all accepted their fate. A decade ago, the Shepherd Queen’s War began when a pretender to the dormant throne – propped up by disinherited nobles and an army of desperate zealots – briefly threatened to retake the nation. However, when the Confederation deigned to act against them, the rebels were crushed utterly. Despite this unpleasantness, Rijesca, though still looked down upon by the Confederation’s core territories, still hopes to prove itself worthy of citizenship. This would secure incorporation into the Confederation’s core, and a vote for the common people to determine representation in the Senate at Covenant. And an opportunity rears its head to the south, now that the Confederation seeks to invade the monarchy of Aulestra… even as embers of rebellion start to crackle again at home. In the crossroad city of Machva, a 32-year old veteran of the Federal Guard, Roxelana Kallaste, has been tasked with mustering a levy from the outlying settlements to sail to Aulestra and fulfil the nation’s obligations to its northern masters. Though an experienced and well-respected captain, nobody expects that she will come to be known in the coming years as the Leveller, whose actions set into motion the fall of the Confederation…
