StarCraft: Brood War is an expansion pack released in 1998 for StarCraft — an award winning real-time strategy computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment.

General information

This expansion provides 3 new campaigns, 2 new units per race, plus some new tech advancements and new map tilesets. The campaigns continue the story from where StarCraft left it: the Overmind has been destroyed with the sacrifice of Tassadar, the Protoss homeworld of Aiur has been destroyed, and Kerrigan is left alone in her new Zerg form.

The first of the new campaigns is the Protoss one, or better the Dark Templars, and mostly takes place on their homeworld of Shakuras. The second campaign features the newly arrived armies of the United Earth Directorate (UED) commanded by Admiral DuGalle, and the last campaign (Zerg) has Kerrigan as the protagonist. Both are mostly set on Char.

Gameplay's story

The Brood War: Protoss Missions

The Zerg and Protoss were both left in a weakened state by the death of the Overmind and the battles on Aiur.

The Zerg went wild, taking over 70% of Aiur and killing 70% of its population. At least two Broods were completely leaderless because of Zeratul's actions, while the Protoss Conclave was destroyed. Aldaris and Zeratul become the de-facto leaders of Aiur. Believing themselves unable to defend the Homeworld, Zeratul proposes evacuating Aiur. He will lead the Protoss refugees to the last Warp Gate on Aiur and lead them to Shakuras, the world the Dark Templar had adopted as their own. On their way they meet up with Raynor and Fenix, who assist in holding off the Zerg (who are attracted to any powerful source of psionic energy, such as the Warp Gate) until the Protoss can escape.

These two heroes maintain small forces on Aiur; their main purpose is to defend this Warp Gate.

Shakuras, a strange and dark planet, was never fully colonized by the Dark Templar. Indeed, the Dark Templar never made an effort to defend their own side of the Warp Gate, which would quickly cause trouble.

The refugees, under the command of the new Protoss Praetor , Artanis, found a suitable site to create their new colony, New Antioch. It was promptly attacked by Zerg (and these Zerg were promptly killed by the Dark Templar of Shakuras).

The Zerg had taken control of the Warp Gate and could now flood to this new world. The Dark Templar and Protoss refugees cooperated to destroy the Zerg who had nestled on the Shakuras side of the Warp Gate, then moved on to the primary Zerg Hive Clusters.

During the battle Jim Raynor and Fenix recaptured the Aiur side of the Warp Gate. They sent a transmission informing Artanis and Zeratul of this, and say they will shut down the Gate on their side to prevent any more Zerg from getting through. This will prevent the refugees and Dark Templar from sending any reinforcements to help Raynor and Fenix, and Artanis, moved, says he will send as many warriors as he can spare.

Zeratul has an emotional reunion with Matriarch Raszagal, the Matriarch of the Dark Templar, in her Citadel in Talematros, the capital of Shakuras. Zeratul had been away from Shakuras for "many decades".

Raszagal welcomes the Protoss refugees to her planet; she has no qualms with them now that the Conclave has been destroyed. Of course, this kind of greeting does not please Aldaris.

She says there is a way to defeat the Zerg who have now spread over much of Shakuras. On her world lies another Temple to the Xel'Naga which can harness the energies of the High Templar and the Dark Templar to eradicate the Zerg. However, doing so will require the crystals Uraj and Khalis . The Uraj is a High Templar crystal, while the Khalis uses the energies of the Dark Templar. In the meantime, two Zerg Cerebrates nestled themselves near the Temple, presumably in order to study it. The Zerg no longer appeared as insane as they had been after the death of the Zerg Overmind on Aiur. The Dark Templar, working with the refugees, defeat the Zerg and kill the two Cerebrates. They are surprised at the results.

A Zerg Overlord arrives, carrying with it Sarah Kerrigan. She informs the Protoss that she must talk with their Matriarch. The Protoss naturally protest, but Raszagal surprises them by agreeing to this discussion. Aldaris is especially upset at this.

In Raszagal's Citadel, Kerrigan tells her story. She says that with the death of the Overmind she is now free of Zerg influence (at least the mental kind) but that this will soon change. There is a new Overmind growing on Char and when it becomes mature it will control her again. She claims that Senior Cerebrate Daggoth ordered it's formation from the union of a many Cerebrates. Aldaris does not believe her and storms out of the meeting.

Zeratul is not particularly interested in assaulting the new Overmind. If he can acquire these two crystals and activate the Xel'Naga Temple, the Zerg will not threaten the Protoss on Shakuras. In some ways, it seems as if Zeratul is giving up on Aiur. Kerrigan, ever the diplomat, agrees to help the Protoss on their mission if they'll help her with her mission. Raszagal appreciates her help.

The Uraj is located on Braxis, a small cold moon "recently" settled by the Terrans (the date of settlement is unknown). The Terrans and Protoss forces (with Kerrigan aiding the Protoss directly) began fighting with each other, with the Protoss gaining a victory. Now they can establish a forward base to aid in thir search. Artanis informs the Protoss that the Warp Matrix has been damaged and they cannot use the large Stargates to summon Protoss spacecraft.

Zeratul says that Braxis was a Protoss colony called Khyrador a long time ago, during the Aeon of Strife, and that the Uraj was abandoned on the planet with the chaos at the end of the Aeon of Strife. The Protoss had never returned to reclaim the crystal until now.

The Protoss find the Uraj, which was being studied by the hostile Terrans. With Kerrigan leading the battle, the Terrans are driven off and the Uraj was recovered.

When the Protoss try to leave Braxis, however, they are surprised to find it blockaded by another Terran force. Vice Admiral Stukov introduces himself (rather arrogantly) to the Protoss, demanding they surrender to the authority of the UED. The large orbital platform built around Braxis is studded with UED missile turrets, powered by fusion power generators. The Protoss had learned about Earth (and the UPL) from Raynor, and are quite surprised to find these humans here.

Artanis is dismissive of these Terrans, saying the Protoss have nothing to fear from them, but Zeratul counsels him, saying the Protoss were only able to defeat the Overmind with the aid of Terrans.

Artanis leads the charge against the Terrans, and with backup from Zeratul is able to destroy the fusion generators and cut a path to freedom.

Zeratul had previously felt the energy of the Khalis on Char, which was, of course, heavily infested by the Zerg. The Khalis was next to a powerful source of psionic energy, which Kerrigan reveals is the new infant Overmind itself. Fortunately it is still weak, and this weakness extends to the Zerg who serve it.

Kerrigan suggests striking quickly and making off with the Khalis; it is curious that she doesn't take the opportunity to destroy the new Overmind immediately. Artanis suggests damaging the Overmind enough to temporarily subdue the Zerg, which Kerrigan says will also work.

Once the Protoss make their way to the planet, Kerrigan is able to use her formidable psionic powers to capture a small Zerg Hive Cluster which works alongside the Protoss. This combined force is able to retrieve the Khalis and escape. Unfortunately, Artanis and Zeratul had been away from Shakuras for quite a long time, and Artanis believed that Shakuras may have already been completely overrun by the Zerg.

When Artanis and Zeratul return to Shakuras, they find it in the throes of a revolt. Aldaris took control of a large number of Protoss refugees, including virtually all of the High Templar, Archons and Judicators, and led them in an attack against Raszagal. The Matriarch returned the favor.

Raszagal: "Executor, as Matriarch of the Dark Templar and custodian of this world, I hereby order you to terminate Judicator Aldaris, and quell this untimely uprising without delay! There will be no dissent among us while the Zerg are poised to strike!"

However, Zeratul had known Raszagal for a long time and felt that, perhaps, Aldaris was on to something. Out of Raszagal's earshot, he said to Artanis:

"There is something amiss here. The Matriarch has always been a wise and gentle soul. Though there is some merit in her decision, this is very unlike her."

Nonetheless, the Matriarch's forces attacked. Raszagal had even authorized the creation of the Dark Archon , something which had not been done for a thousand years (about the time the Dark Templar were exiled from Aiur). With this kind of power behind her, she was able to defeat Aldaris' revolt.

Cornered, Aldaris tried to explain himself to Artanis and Zeratul. He claimed that while the two Protoss were away, he discovered that Kerrigan had somehow corrupted the mind of Raszagal. Kerrigan interrupted his explanation by murdering him.

Only because of her assistance in acquiring the crystals did the Protoss let her leave, with a warning. Kerrigan retorted "Fine. I've done what I came here to do. I've insured the destruction of the renegade Cerebrates, and I used you to do it. Have fun, mighty Protoss... We'll be seeing each other again, real soon..."

After this betrayal, Raszagal assured Zeratul that, with Kerrigan gone, she was back to normal. Now that the Protoss refugees sided once again with the Dark Templar, they could retake the Xel'Naga Temple.

Artanis carried the Uraj while Zeratul carried the Khalis . The Zerg were cleared from the Temple, which was surrounded by a powerful Protoss force. Artanis and Zeratul carried their crystals within the Temple and channeled energy through them into the Temple. The process took a long time, and the Zerg almost desperately began to attack the Temple. The Protoss were victorious, however, and when the Temple was about to activate, the Protoss forces withdrew from the temples and braced themselves for the upcoming attack.

The Temple created a giant burst of energy, seeming to kill all Zerg on the planet of Shakuras. As an additional surprise, the sun rose over the planet. Shakuras now had a night and day cycle like most other worlds.

The Aftermath: The Protoss didn't dare reactivate the Warp Gate, fearing that Zerg would once again flood onto Shakuras. This had tragic consequences, since Zeratul could not warn Fenix and Raynor of Kerrigan's treachery.

The Protoss were almost perfectly safe on Shakuras. The Terrans did not know their location, and the Zerg couldn't attack them there, either. From there, they could threaten the Zerg on Char. Indeed, this probably prevented the Zerg from conquering the entire sector.

The Brood War: Terran Missions

Ingame screenshot.

The Terran missions follow the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet's attempt to conquer the Sector with an iron fist. The UED led by Admiral DuGaulle and Vice Admiral Alexi Stukov and alled themselves with Duran. They stole both a fleet of battlecrusiers from the Dominion shipyards and a prototype Psi Disrupter from Tarsonis, right from under the Zerg's noses. Duran advised the Admiral to destroy the Psi Disruptor, but Vice Admiral Stukov refused to do it. The UED fleet successfully conquers the Terran Dominion after disabling Mengsk's most powerful weapons, and occupies Korhal after the massive Siege of Augustgrad, the capital city. However, Mengk himself is rescued by Raynor and Fenix. The UED follows them to Aiur, but the zerg distract them at a critical moment and the three escape again. Following an internal rebellion the Vice admiral is killed by Duran. Duran reveals himself to be infested by the Zerg and attempts to destroy the Psi Disrupter himself. Duran however fails, and the Psi disrupter remains intact under UED control. The UED then used the Psi Disruptor to attack Char and using psychics and powerful drugs enslave the second Overmind, leaving the UED in command of its swarms.

The Brood War: Zerg Missions

Sarah Kerrigan, infested Terran and self-styled Queen of Blades, then makes her move to overthrow the UED and destroy the new Overmind. Based on the Zerg infested former Condfederate capital Tarsonis, Kerrigan makes a deal with Mengsk that if he will give her Psi Emitters so she can stop the effect the Psi Disrupter is having on her control of her Zerg faction, then Raynor and Fenix help her destroy the Psi Disrupter on Braxis, she'll help them retake Korhal from the UED. After a fuel raid on Moria (which had kept it's freedom from the UED by buying them off) led by Fenix, Kerrigan and her "allies" successfully liberate Korhal as the UED falls back to Char.

Immediately after the battle, Kerrigan shows her true colors and takes her revenge on Mengsk by devastating his forces and killing General Duke. Convinced that Raynor and the Protoss would also pose a threat to her, she attacks them as well and kills Fenix.

The UED used their enslaved Zerg to attack Tarsonis, but Kerrigan beats them off. Kerrigan then destroys the city of Talematross on Shakuras to distract the Protoss so she can "kidnap" the Matriarch. As a price for returning her, Kerrigan wants Zeratul and his bretheren to aid her in the attack on Char, as only a Dark Templar can kill the Overmind. Kerrigan's assault on Char kills the second Overmind and sends the remnants of the UED fleet in full retreat. Zeratul then attempts to rescue the Matriarch but Kerrigan intercepts him. It turns out the Matriarch was telepathically enslaved by Kerrigan and the only release is death; Zeratul kills her as she passes leadership of the Dark Templar to him. Kerrigan then lets him live, with his guilt.

(Bonus mission: Zeratul leaves but discovers a facility on a distant planet with a Protoss energy signature. Investigating with little more than a pair of Dark Archons, he manages to break into the depths of the base, which proves to be a genetic facilty hybridizing the Zerg and Protoss. And a mysterious entity taunts him saying that no matter what he does he cannot stop what will come...)

Mengsk, the Protoss, and the remnant of the UED fleet attack Kerrigan's new base on an orbital platform over Char, but she defeats them all and eradicates the UED fleet down to the last ship. DuGaulle commits suicide rather than give Kerrigan the pleasure of killing him.

New Units

In StarCraft: Brood War, each race has new units that change how the game flows.

The Terrans get the Valkyrie (Air-to-Air unit with large attack radius) and the Medic (infantry support unit), the Zerg get the Devourer (Air-to-Air unit evolved from Mutalisk with very a low rate of fire that can afflict a status ailment) and the Lurker (Unit evolved from Hydralisk that attacks while burrowed and has a line-splash attack) and the Protoss get the Dark Templar (similar to the Dark Templar Hero, but runs faster and can transform into Dark Archon), Dark Archon (a spellcaster) and the Corsair (air-to-air splash unit that fires quickly and has a spell that pacifies ground units).

Quotes

ARTANIS: What do I look like, an orc?
ARTANIS: This is not WarCraft in Space!
ARTANIS: It's much more sophisticated!