Age of Wonders Planetfall: Campaign Ending Guide

Apart from the tutorial from the first vanguard mission, the second mission will always decide the ending of an campaign. Each character ending will decide which allegiance they have in the final battle on Mora Secundis. There are 3 different main choices and endings for the characters, tied to supporting a new leader of the Star Union or choosing neither. These are:

Empress Carminia
The last regent of the Star Union, an immortal human. She wanted to weaken COREs power in the galaxy. Even sacrificed her own empire for it and yet the A.I is still active.

CORE (Conscientious Omnipresent Regency Engine)
The automatic government system of the Star Union. Since it widely ranged from thousands of planets, Star Holders needed to enact decisions in seconds. The CORE technicaly controlled the entire Star Union.

Freedom (None)
After the cataclysm not everyone wants the return of the old Star Union with the same leaders now in dispute of controll.

Can either join Empress Carminia or the Freedom Faction.

Empress Carminia
She will try to contact Jack if the player completed a battle in this turn. After the 4th attempt she reveals her intentions. To protect the knowledge of the cataclysm buried on Sorinus Alpha, Empress Carminia asks Jack to destroy the planet by building the promether doomsday weapon.

Freedom
After the player has repaired Tappels. He will lead Jack to his dead thought Lt. Daiyu Jiang. She explains that she served under Emperor Tholian to break the dominion of CORE. Tappels has collected his memory chip to resurrect him from cryo-sleep. The KirKo guard the emperors tomb. The player can either help them by peacefull means or attack them.

Can join Empress Carminia or the Freedom faction.

Empress Carminia
After the player meets Cekto or Zarai, they will ask Poz for help in reviving the KirKo queen. This would mean that all KirKo would once again be under the controll of the Hivemind and lose their ability to act free. Even after you have accepted to help you can still sabotage the process. When Poz has recovered the required data from all 3 terra tech labotories, he still needs to confirm to send or delete the genome. If he sends the genome. the queen will be revived.

Freedom
If Poz deletes the Genome or defeats either Cekto or Zarai, the queen will not be revived. The KirKo live in freedom. Even though its unsure if this can also result in loyalty to CORE

Is the only character to have just 1 ending. Thus she will always join the freedom faction.

Freedom
Mahina stops the xenoplague. She hunts her old mentor and traitor Berhane but in the end she misteriously dies.

Can join all 3 factions

Empress Carminia
The Adamant Council has exiled the Zhelezo after their last mission. After the player explores the comminion, it is clear that Empress Carminia influences the Adamant Council. She offers Inessa to join her in defeating CORE and the Assembly Proton Coil. The Player can join or deny to help.

CORE
After meeting Claudius Proton from the Assembly, he explains that he serves in the interests of Core. He wants to build a Proton Coil to defeat the Redeemers and their masters.

Freedom
After Inessa destroys the Proton Coil, Empress Carminia claims that the Adamant Council is not corrupted, but wants to prevent COREs growing influence just like herself. Carminia offers Inessa to join but she refuses.

Can join CORE or the freedom faction.

CORE
The player must follow the Path of the First quest.

Freedom
The player has to complete the Path of the Second quest.

Can join all 3 factions

Empress Carminia
After Hae unleashes the Avatar of CNex-3. Zarai will aproach her to help contain her.

CORE
Yuriy claims that Zarai seeks to gain control of the Nexus Node, so she can launch a Cyber attack on CORE.

Freedom
Can be choosen by rejecting both offers. Shae Mara will use the power of the Nexus Node and CNex-3 for herself.

The Capital of the old Star Union. All 3 factions meet here for the final battle. Based on your choices in the previous faction campaigns, each character will pick his accordingly. The player can choose which commander to play and change the allegiance when asked which side to join. Dependent on the campaign choices is also the difficulty, since more or less commanders will enter one faction. Carminia and CORE always start with 3 commanders on their side. The Paragon NPC faction help the Empress while the autonoms assist CORE. The Freedoom faction is the hardest, as it only starts with 1 Commander and doesnt have an NPC Faction, but the game probably balances that out. It also seems that, to not make it to easy some commanders do not join their choosen side. Up to 6 Commanders can be in one faction. Pretty good considering its a 12 player map 50% of the hard work is already done. Each faction has its own ending.

Empress Carminia
“Our machine overlord has been beaten back to the darkest coners of the Nexus. All hail Empress Carminia, the shining star that lead the revolution against her own empire. She sacrificed much, but under her guidance we will rise to build a new, better Union. A place, where life is sacred, a place that shields us from the demons beyond.”

CORE
“Carminia has been cast into the Void. She sacrificed billions in order to maintain her position, and was the last, ultimate embodiment of humanitys corrupitve power. The Union already built a better leader. CORE does not reign oer us: We are CORE. Each day we are getting stronger. Guided by our collective knowledge and unified ideals we march into a new age.”

Freedom
“CORE and Carminia have been beaten back by the forces of freedom. Finally, all factions can start to shape their own future, independent from the choking powers that reigned over the Star Union. We will form a confederation that rises to defend our freedom and diversity. If we develop our unique strenghts, we can stand prepared for the threats that may emerge from the Void.”

This Campaign has 2 different endings. After Marlok has defeated Shae Mara, she turns into an synthesis avatar. Capturing the Synthesis Hub of the CORE network will trigger the decision. Xito Rhemenses wants revenge against the AI and activate the omega server. The KirKo Hatyl thinks that no one should wield its power.

Xito Rhemenses
Does the player choose to link the Elevation Crystal with the Nexus network, it will end the campaign and revive the Es Teq Conclave.

“The sky shimmered like a heavenly dome as the Elevation Crystal started to breathe new circulating Essence into the veins of the Network. I was there, at the heart of the communion, listening to the voices of the faithful from all across the galaxy. Molded by the EsTeq Conclave, their chant grew into an angelic chorus, ready to spread the words of salvation. Anyone touched by its lucent grace will either join in or perish”

Hatyl EsRan
If the omega server is destroyed, the EsTeq will not rise and force an conversion of the minds.

“With the destruction of the Omega Server the followers of the AI and the EsTeq have both been denied their weapon of mass conversion. No belief or doctrine should be forced upon anybody, but can only develop through reflection and gnosis. I have learned from Hatyl EsRan, who has encouraged me to continue our reformation of the EsTeq faith. KirKo and Syndicate, host and symbiont – all can prosper as long as each mind retains its freedom.”

All important decisions will be in the 2nd mission, when the Shakarn invade the ELOP Confederacy and the Voidbringers appear. After reaching the ELOP Senate and defeating one of their commanders, the voidbringers will launch their invasion.

Shakarn Loyalist
The player chooses to resist the Voidbringers and must not make a ceasefire with the ELOP afterwards.

“Victory! Victory at last! Against ever-shifting odds, we Shakarn have once more proven our superiority. Still, our triumph has come at a high cost. The Chancellor is dead and Kadalos has fallen into the clutches of the Voidbringers. It is therefore my grim duty to summon every remaining ship, every remaining soldier and lead them back to our home worlds, where we will fight for the freedom of our people. If we die, we will go out as heroes.”

ELOP Confederacy
If the player chooses to resist, some turns later the leader of the ELOP Confederacy will ask for a ceasefire to concentrate forces on the threat of the Voidbringers.

“The battle for Parlamon Alpha is over, and nothing is as it was before. Our enemies are no longer our enemies, and we invaders have become the invaded. Despite what happened, the ELOP commanders have offered their help in studying and fighting the Voidbringer threat, to liberate Kadalos from the clutches of oblivion. If we succeed, we Shakarn will be forced to rethink some of our policies for dealing with other species. Wether we like it or not, we are no longer alone.”

Voidbringers
Join the Voidbringers with Chancellor Kor, Ardelli will also aid you.

“Sweet dark void. Consuming thought, hate and malice. Its tendrils leave no room for nightmares or reasion, only the infinite emptiness of oblivion. Beatiful oblivion. Kadalos sunk beneath the waves of reality. Parlamon Alpha enthralled by the unending son of the abyssal ocean that renders all life meaningless. It surges. It captivates. Can you hear it? Soon.

The last Campaign. Your objective is to secure the Prime Grail Configuration before the Assembly secures it. As it turns out, the Ascended Teacher was Empress Carminia all along. To convince Aliuna and become Empress of a new Star Union. She can also decide to join the ELOP

Become Empress
Accept the offer and Aliuna becomes Empress Carminia II of a new Star Union.

“No great power should go unchallenged. The duality of Emperor and CORE is what brought stability and prosperity to the Star Union, and so will my reign as Carminia II, backed up by the wisdom of Oracle and its Grail Configurations. When I ascend onto the throne, the traditions and goals of the Oathbound and Paragon will merge into a new ideology that stimulates the elites without abandoning the broad base of its citizens.”

Reject Oracle and become Empress
Aliuna becomes Carminia II with full controll.

“From this day on, I shall be known as Carminia II, regent of the new Star Union. The combined strenght of Paladins and Paragon will be my scepter, the Grail Configuration my crown. It is my destiny to extend my oath of protection to all citizens of the old and new races, and to avert the danger of Oracle becoming a second CORE to control humanity. This empire will be our own.”

ELOP
Aliane refuses to become empress and joins the ELOP. Hostile commanders like the Vanguard will declare war.

“Union Prime is the name, and a new union is what we shall build, here, on top of the ruined ambitions of the Paragon, Syndicate and Assembly. Together with the ELOP commanders we are devising an intergalactic senate with the recovered Grail Configuration at its center. It is the birth of a galactic empire where common values and cooperation pledge protection to all citizens, be they human, Kirko or even Shakarn.”