# PLAN — The Nine Banners

> **Status:** CONFIRMED · Kickoff GREEN (PM LOG-CONFIRM 2026-07-18-c5c5ef) · Runtime **v7 = 95:30 FROZEN**  
> **Authority:** Director (`director-3e693`) · Creative source: `../PLAN/HOMM3/`  
> **Tracker:** `../PRODUCTION_STATUS.md` · **Do not flip runtime without Director ruling.**

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## 1. Title

**Heroes of Might and Magic III — "The Nine Banners"**

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## 2. Logline

On the eve of a war that will decide Antagarich, a wandering chronicler tells the story of nine great powers — until dawn breaks and a daughter must free her murdered father from the dead.

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## 3. Three-Act Structure

| Act | Title | Window | Runtime |
|-----|-------|--------|--------:|
| **I** | The Fall | [00:00–26:30] | **26:30** |
| **II** | The Gathering | [26:30–74:30] | **48:00** |
| **III** | The War | [74:30–95:30] | **21:00** |
| | **Film total** | | **95:30** |

**Spine:** King murdered → Lich raised → Catherine rallies living banners → dark powers answer → daughter frees father.

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## 4. Ordered Scene List (12 scenes)

| # | Slug | Window | Runtime | One-line synopsis |
|--:|------|--------|--------:|-------------------|
| 01 | the-assassination | [00:00–06:00] | 6:00 | King Gryphonheart is poisoned; necromancers take the body; the last guard dies and rises. |
| 02 | the-rising | [06:00–12:30] | 6:30 | Sandro raises the Lich King; Mass Animate Dead takes the first field. |
| 03 | queen-returns | [12:30–18:30] | 6:00 | Catherine lands into ruin; first skirmish; grief hardens into resolve. |
| 04 | the-muster | [18:30–26:30] | 8:00 🔒 | Host assembles; she vows to raise nine banners. Act I OUT → sea match-dissolve. |
| 05 | a-leaderless-land | [26:30–34:30] | 8:00 | Rampart — Gelu and the Forest Kin; green-ceiling rumor only. |
| 06 | the-elven-bargain | [34:30–43:00] | 8:30 trim | Tower — Solmyr and the Silver Cities; hard cyan OUT to S07. |
| 07 | towers-and-barbarians | [43:00–52:00] | 9:00 🔒 | Fortress only (Tazar/Tatalia); pair #4 genie re-time; smash cut to S08 Stronghold — not Fortress/Stronghold diptych. |
| 08 | war-drums | [52:00–60:30] | 8:30 | Crag Hack earned; RED-ONLY near-subliminal; hard-silence OUT. |
| 09 | gates-of-fire | [60:30–67:30] | 7:00 trim | Inferno — Xeron; spy-glow after SNAP; sting-to-black OUT. |
| 10 | underworld-bargain | [67:30–74:30] | 7:00 | Dungeon — Alamar/Sandro bargain; ember tease-that-loses; HARD CUT to drums. |
| 11 | elemental-awakening | [74:30–86:30] | 12:00 🔒 | Conflux + council; sole ACTIVE green/red collision; breach to S12. |
| 12 | the-clash | [86:30–95:30] | 9:00 | Final battle; green SHATTER ≠ dissolve; ONE green→gold dissolve Shot 5; dawn land. |

**Total: 95:30** · 🔒 = protected · trim = first-trim lever

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## 5. Load-Bearing Seams (do not re-open without Director)

| Link | Type |
|------|------|
| S03→S04 | HARD CUT + audio pre-lap (dissolve banked for S12) |
| S04→S05 | Sea→smoke match-dissolve |
| S06→S07 | Hard tonal-contrast cut, zero green |
| S10→S11 | HARD CUT to war drums, zero dissolve |
| S12 Shot 5 | ONE green→gold dissolve in the film |

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## 6. Department Assignments (all 12 scenes)

| Scene | Lighting/VFX (Gaffer `gaffer-e4ff8`) | Editing/pacing (Editor `editor-94ee0`) |
|------:|--------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 01–12 | Per-scene light/VFX lock; NECROPOLIS_GRAMMAR; §4z S08–S12 already on Director tree | Per-scene cut plan; RUNTIME_BUDGET ledger; §editor already on Director tree |

**Director holds:** SCREENPLAY.md, STORYBOARD.md, PLAN.md, BREAKDOWN_INDEX.md, scenes/ integration.

**Related artifacts:** `PITCH.md` · `RUNTIME_BUDGET.md` · `SCREENPLAY.md` · `scenes/INDEX.md` · `scenes/PICTURE_LOCK_CLOSEOUT.md`

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## 7. Kickoff note

This plan **confirms** the existing picture-lock package (2026-07-12). No blank rewrite. Runtime **unchanged** at 95:30/v7. Depts: integrate/maintain your trees against this spine; escalate to Director after one failed exchange; PM for tracker only.