Forge (NWC)

Towns

Castle

Rampart

Tower

Inferno

Necropolis

Dungeon

Stronghold

Fortress

Conflux

Cove  Palace  

Factory  Grotto  

Bulwark   Forge  

Palace  

Grotto  

Forge  

Cut Towns 

Forge 

Cathedral  Oasis 

Cut Concepts 

Oasis 

"Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
a tale of a sci-fi trip,
that started in Agoura Hills,
aboard the New World ship.
Big Mike was a mighty tired dad,
and Ryan made us stuffed.
Five others worked upon the game
for five long months. (for five long months.)
Thunder Clap!!!!
The fans they started getting rough,
the Forge Town it was tossed,
if not for the courage of the design crew
the Expansion would be lost. (the Expansion would be lost)..."
   ― Hurry Up and Wait 

Overview

Forge was a town type planned for Armageddon's Blade. It was a predominantly technologically oriented town, stylistically being a mix of Star Trek-esque high technology already known from the Might & Magic universe, as well as dieselpunk, cyberpunk and art deco. Its unit lineup included Goblins, Zombies, humans and other creatures "borrowed" from other factions, armed with, among other things: chainsaws, guns, jetpacks, and rocket launchers. However, the town was scrapped in the end and replaced with Conflux town (which was supposed to appear later, in an untitled expansion, according to an interview with Gregory Fulton) – due to fan backlash, which involved threats of boycotting the game and even letters with death threats towards the developers. The issue was exacerbated by a few bloggers who encouraged the fans to hate the faction even more. In the end, the faction was scrapped and Conflux's release moved to Armageddon's Blade expansion, as 3DO was in financial dire straits and couldn't afford to take the risk of even a projected 5% of potential buyers boycotting the game. The expansion's storyline was reworked to accommodate the change.

Lore

The Heavenly Forges themselves were machines much akin to universal constructors (or glorified 3D printers), capable of producing extremely intricate, durable and effective equipment based on pre-loaded blueprints, seemingly out of thin air - as well as scanning the molecular structure of any existing equipment and duplicating it flawlessly and in what appeared to be unlimited numbers. Even low-tech, traditional weaponry such as daggers or spears turned out by the Forges was of such quality, that it looked as new as the day it was made even over a thousand years later. The Forges were created by the Ancients, a futuristic race that exists in the HoMM and MM universe known for having established a glorious civilization of high magic and technology and for conducting planetary-scale experiments on seeding worlds with life. Several such Forges were also present on Enroth, however after the intergalactic web (Web of Worlds) that connected the Ancients' worlds with the Spinward Rim (the quadrant of the galaxy where Enroth and Axeoth, among others, are located) was heavily damaged by the alien race of Kreegans, the Ancients lost connection with the entirety of the Spinward Rim - an event known as The Silence. Without contact with the Ancients, no proper maintenance could be offered to the Heavenly Forges and one by one they eventually either failed and became inoperable on their own, or got destroyed in raids and stripped down for raw materials. The last Heavenly Forge ceased functioning in year 113 A.S. (after the Silence), and without the know-how from the Ancients, they couldn't be rebuilt and the entirety of the high technology they afforded was eventually lost, bringing a definitive end to what was later termed the Time of Wonders and kickstarting Enroth's long descent into barbarism.

Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor

The party of Might and Magic III's eight "Ultimate Adventurers" from Terra, strayed off course when pursuing Corak and Sheltem and crash landed on planet Enroth, in the sea east of the town of Spaward in Avlee. They donned their high-tech wetsuits and made their way out of their spaceship, The Lincoln, to the surface - where they were noticed by a Deyjan Goblin raiding party and an elven border partrol from Avlee, who had been engaged in a skirmish. The "sea people" were seen to engage in an argument, and promptly split into two factions, a "good" and an "evil" one. The good adventurers, led by Resurectra and joined by Crag Hack, Sir Caneghem and Robert the Wise, made their way to Bracada and became advisors to king Gavin Magnus. The evil adventurers, comprised of Kastore, Maximus, Dark Shade and Tolberti, instead travelled to Deyja and installed themselves as advisors to as-of-then king of the land, Archibald Ironfist. Uninterested with progress in studying the art of necromancy and more leaning towards ambitions of world conquest, Kastore and his fellows betrayed Archibald, formed a splinter faction in Deyja, and eventually managed to oust him and usurp his throne (with Kastore serving as the figurehead), casting Archibald out to a small island off the eastern shores of Avlee. During the events of Might and Magic 7's Dark path (the one originally intended as canonical), they soon turned their attention to recreating one of the Heavenly Forges with the intention of duplicating the Ancient weaponry (laser blasters and rifles) they had brought with them in their spaceship. The goal was to raise a technologically superior army and conquer the planet for their own benefit. They were able to find all necessary materials and parts on Antagarich, with the exception of one, known as the "Oscillation Overthruster", which they tasked the protagonist party with retrieving after the latter returned from assassinating the Kreegan leader Xenofex and rescuing Roland Ironfist from the Kreegan lair in Eeofol. The party later donned the Terrans' high-tech wetsuits and took a dive in the shoals just east of the town of Spaward in Avlee, where the Lincoln lay hidden beneath the sea; entered it, defeated the security droids, retrieved the Overthruster and thus the Heavenly Forge was successfully completed. Not long afterwards, rumors of an army of goblins armed with ancient weaponry being amassed in Deyja swept the land.

Heroes of Might and Magic III: Armageddon's Blade (Original)

In the original script for the Armageddon's Blade campaign, Gelu, Catherine and Roland, cornered by the superior military might of the Forge faction and on the brink of defeat, were supposed to obtain the Armageddon's Blade from of one the Ancients' vaults, and then use it to destroy the Heavenly Forge itself, which in turn would also immediately destroy all Forge towns and remove any evidence of the technology from the face of the planet once again. The threat of the Kreegans was initially supposed to have been neutralized with the assassination of Xenofex, thus making room for the new Deyjan army to be a world-threatening force and the antagonist of the campaign.

Town Details

Forge's alignment was evil. Its might hero class was the Cyborg and its magic hero class was the Technician.

Creatures

Forge creatures were planned to be stronger compared to other towns, but more expensive and perhaps lower in population.

• Level 1: Grunts and Foot Soldiers — Goblins armed with futuristic guns; ranged attackers.
• Level 2: Cyber-Dead and Cyber-Zombies — Zombies with rotating chainsaws for hands. Inspired by Evil Dead II where the protagonist grafts a chainsaw on his right arm to fight undead.
• Level 3: Pyros and Pyromaniacs — Humanoids armed with backpack flamethrowers.
• Level 4: Stingers and Bruisers — Ogres armed with rocket launchers; ranged attackers.
• Level 5: Jump Soldiers and Jump Troopers — Minotaurs using jetpacks; flying unit.
• Level 6: Tanks and Heavy Tanks — Half-mechanical tanks built around Nagas, a design inspired by the "Mandroid" in the 1986 movie Eliminators.
• Level 7: Juggernauts and Dreadnoughts — Purely mechanical, robotic creatures; a "dragon-like Mech".

• 
  Cyber-Zombie
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Cyber-Zombie
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Pyro
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Stinger
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Tank concept art
• 
  Cyber-Zombie loading screen
• 
  Stinger loading screen

Buildings

Besides buildings common to all towns, the Forge was intended to have a unique building based on an oil pump. Its Grail building was the Tesla Coil. Its horde building generated more Grunts and Foot Soldiers.

• 
  Development screenshot of the Forge town and units
• 
  Town Hall
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Town Hall
  (wire frame)
• 
  Town Hall
• 
  Town Hall
• 
  Castle
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Castle
  (wire frame)
• 
  Castle
• 
  Castle
• 
  Tavern
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Tavern
  (wire frame)
• 
  Tavern
• 
  Mage Guild
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Mage Guild
  (wire frame)
• 
  Mage Guild
• 
  Blacksmith concept art
• 
  Blacksmith
  (wire frame)
• 
  Blacksmith
• 
  Marketplace
  (wire frame)
• 
  Marketplace
• 
  Resource Silo
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Resource Silo
  (wire frame)
• 
  Resource Silo
• 
  Oil Pump
  (wire frame)
• 
  Oil Pump
  (Special Building)
• 
  Tesla Coil
  (wire frame)
• 
  Tesla Coil (Grail)
• 
  Grunt Generator
  (wire frame)
• 
  Grunt Generator
  (Level 1)
• 
  Grunt Generator
• 
  Cyber Dead Generator
  (wire frame)
• 
  Cyber Dead Generator
  (Level 2)
• 
  Cyber Dead Generator
• 
  Pyro Generator concept art
• 
  Pyro Generator
• 
  Stinger Generator
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Stinger Generator
  (wire frame)
• 
  Stinger Generator
  (Level 4)
• 
  Stinger Generator
• 
  Jump Trooper Generator concept art
• 
  Jump Trooper Generator
  (Level 5)
• 
  Jump Trooper Generator
• 
  Tank Generator
  (concept art by George Almond)
• 
  Tank Generator
  (wire frame)
• 
  Tank Generator
  (Level 6)
• 
  Tank Generator
• 
  Juggernaut Generator
  (wire frame)
• 
  Juggernaut Generator
  (Level 7)
  (based on Jump Trooper generator concept art)
• 
  Juggernaut Generator

Other Information

• The only screenshot of a Forge town used the name Dolere; this is a Stronghold town name and was presumably a placeholder.
• The Obelisk puzzle illustration for Forge also included the four neutral dragons added in Armageddon's Blade: the Rust Dragon, Crystal Dragon, Faerie Dragon, and Azure Dragon. It's unclear whether these dragons were to have any particular connection to Forge, or were simply included in the illustration because they were set to debut in the same expansion.

Leftovers and Re-uses

Some subtle elements of the Forge remain in the final version of Armageddon's Blade.

• 
  Armageddon's Blade box art features the Forge's blacksmith in the background behind Adrienne and Catherine.
• 
  An Armageddon's Blade menu image shows Gelu with a dead Stinger.
• 
  An Armageddon's Blade menu image shows Mutare Drake targeted with a laser.

• The Armageddon's Blade intro cinematic depicts Gelu, Catherine and Roland finding Armageddon's Blade in an installation equipped with electrical lights. This cinematic is discussed by Greg Fulton in his Tavern of Might and Magic Interview.
• Farming Towns Day 20 event text: "We have been attacked by hideous beasts wielding powerful weaponry." That mention of powerful weaponry makes sense in the context of the originally planned campaign against the Forge faction, but less so in the finally released campaign which is a second war between Erathia and the Kreegan of Eeofol.
• The Return of the King prologue shows Roland looking across a lake at what appears to be Forge towns.
• The concept art of the Stinger was used as the basis for Boragus's portrait.
• Phoenixes, originally planned as neutral creatures, were moved to Conflux.
• Horn of the Abyss  used many aspects of the cancelled Forge for the later scrapped HotA Forge (also known as Don_ko's Forge) and as inspiration for the Factory town and its associated story, but substantially reworked with a steampunk aesthetic rather than cyberpunk. In the story of the Forged in Fire campaign, Kastore achieves some technological progress with the help of Frederick but ultimately fails to activate the Heavenly Forges.
• The Forge faction will also be present in Day of Reckoning .

Miscellaneous

• 
  Base town background
  (before modification)
• 
  Heroes VI April Fool's Day
  (referencing the Forge)
• 
  Forge's Puzzle Map

External links

• Age Of Heroes
• The Cutting Room Floor article

See Also:

• Cut content trivia
• DoR Forge
• HotA Forge
• MDT Forge (VCMI)
• Gregory Fulton/Letter about the Forge's cancellation