Art of the Artisans

Summary

After the King of Thieves faced his fate, the Gerudo found themselves at the crossroads of uniting under a new leader. Over generations of debate and dilemma, a dark power rises and an evil faction of Gerudo under their new leader Ume invades Hyrule Kingdom, stealing the power of the Great Fairies while searching for a legendary weapon. Her sister Keta, the Gerudo Artisan, and the Gerudo Elder defect to the side of Hyrule Castle and plead for Princess Zelda's help, provoking Ume to attack. After the battle, the talented Hylian soldier Link rises through the ranks of knighthood to Princess Zelda's side as he sets out across Hyrule in a race against Ume and her army to gather the Hyrulean Artisans, find the legendary weapon, and restore peace to Hyrule. He must direct the army to take back areas of the map using a progression of beacons, collaborate with the Hyrule Army Archaeology Corps to search for dungeons in liberated areas, and adventure through the dungeons using a progression of equipment made by the artisans.

Story Beginning

Keta and the Gerudo Elder have fled the evil Gerudo faction in hopes of seeking Hyrule Castle. Just as the grand gates of the town become visible to the eye, evil Gerudo forces ambush them. Called to battle, soldiers report to the scene to fight off the Gerudo. Link is fighting at the front lines as a soldier and comes to the aid of Keta and the Gerudo Elder. The Gerudo forces prove strong and while Link single-handedly defends the two, a surprise attack is about to take him out until Princess Zelda intervenes and the Gerudo retreat. [Evan's comment: I wanted to introduce the beacon mechanic here by having Link summon a nearby battalion with a Morse Searchlight]

Princess Zelda takes in Keta and the Gerudo Elder and hears the Gerudo Elder’s story of Ume, the Gerudo thief-turned-tyrant who has taken control of the Gerudo lands and is taking claim over the rest of Hyrule. Keta and the Gerudo Elder make a plea to Princess Zelda to seek the Hyrulean artisans in order to recover the land, restore the power of the Great Fairies, and retrieve the legendary weapon sought by Ume.

Tactics

• There are several types of Beacons that Link can use to issue movement orders to army battalions on the map. Of course, he can just talk to a Field Captain in person, but it's much more convenient to communicate from a few map squares away with a Beacon.

• Some important locations are equipped with Morse Searchlights. However, they aren't portable.

• The first handheld Beacon that Link acquires is a pair of Semaphore Flags, which are visible only in the daytime.

• The second Beacon in the progression is the Railway Lantern, visible at night.

• The third Beacon is the Bugle, which can be heard in any type of visibility.

• The final Beacon, acquired in the endgame, is the Stone of Telepathy, which works instantly across the whole map.

• With the Beacons, Link directs a number of battalions and supplies over the map, which affects the conditions in map squares where they're in active combat with Ume's forces. If a battalion's health runs out, it is defeated and can't be used anymore. There are ways to revive a defeated battalion after a cooldown. If the Evil Gerudo are driven from that area, it is considered liberated for the time. However, Ume may attempt to retake a liberated square if it is left unattended, so distribute your forces effectively!

HAAC

A special unit in Hyrule's Army is the Archaeology Corps. Link collaborates with the HAAC in liberated squares to search for important dungeons, treasure, and microdungeons. Losing them would be bad, so they must be kept safe from the frontlines of battle.

Master Sword

The Master Sword is not the Ultimate Weapon everyone's talking about, but it still makes a cameo appearance in this game. It is the centerpiece of the Temple of Time, a microdungeon located in Faron Sacred Grove. When Link approaches the pedestal, the voice of the sword informs him that it does not consider this war an applicable crisis for her use, but to make up for it she offers him a microdungeon challenge. Link can do puzzles in the Temple of Time to open the way forward, and then use the Master Sword to time travel back and go through the door that his past self was holding open for him. This surely would get kind of resource intensive for a game console, so the number of past selves you can have should be limited.

Monsters

Monsters such as Bokoblin are treated as an environmental hazard that affects both sides in the war.

Characters

Concept Art

End Conditions

The game's win condition requires Link have the Ultimate Weapon, and Hyrule's forces control a supermajority of the map. Only then will Ume be willing to discuss surrender if Link breaks into her base and faces her one on one.

The game over conditions include Link's death, as well as the defeat of all battalions, the fall of Hyrule Castle, or the loss of the HAAC.