Restoration of Erathia
Restoration of Erathia is the original Heroes of Might and Magic III game, with no expansions installed.
Story
The game's story unfolds primarily through a series of seven playable campaigns, all set upon the continent of Antagarich. During the campaigns, the story is told from alternating points of view, giving players the opportunity to play as each of the town alignments.
Following her marriage to King Roland Ironfist of Enroth in Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, Catherine becomes a Queen. In the meantime, her father, King Gryphonheart, is assassinated. Without their beloved King, the kingdom of Erathia falls to the dark forces of Nighon and Eeofol. Queen Catherine returns home seeking to rally the people of her homeland and lead them against the evil that has ravaged their nation.
Erathia's capital of Steadwick is sacked by the dungeon lords of Nighon and the demons of Eeofol. Catherine's first task is to establish a foothold in the conquered kingdom by enlisting the aid of allies. The wizards of Bracada and the elves of AvLee answer her call, and together they push towards Steadwick and eventually retake it. In the meantime, the necromancers of Deyja, having been responsible for the assassination of King Gryphonheart, plot to revive his corpse as a lich. They plan to use his wisdom in leading their own armies of the undead. However, King Gryphonheart's will proves too much for the necromancers even in his corrupted state, and he becomes a rogue lich. Having little other recourse, Queen Catherine is forced to ally herself with the necromancers and together they set out to destroy the lich of King Gryphonheart before he becomes too powerful.
There are also two campaigns that do not involve the main storyline. In one, the two neutral town alignments feud with each other over territorial disputes. Another campaign, accessible only after the main campaigns are complete, tells the story of separatists living along the border between Erathia and AvLee. Tired of the border skirmishes that bring unrest to their homelands, they join together to fight for independence from the two large kingdoms.
Campaigns
- Long Live the Queen
- Dungeons and Devils
- Spoils of War
- Liberation
- Long Live the King
- Song for the Father
- Seeds of Discontent
Many of these campaigns do not have to be played in linear sequence. This means that there are pairs of scenarios of which you can play either one first. It is not obvious during scenario selection that a choice exists. In most cases, the scenario order choice has no significant effect.
Important: The game tracks your progress through the campaigns via a save file, not a game flag. That means that you cannot play the scenarios in a random sequence. Start with the first scenario of one of the first three campaigns. When you finish that scenario, you create a save file. You should probably name that file by some appropriate name. Start the second scenario from that file. When you finish the second scenario, you save again. You should probably make a new file for this. When you complete the final scenario of the first campaign, save again. So far, so good. But when you start the second campaign, you MUST load your most recent save file first, otherwise your progress through the campaigns is lost. Continue through the campaigns with this method.