The Scourge of God

Scourge of God is the first scenario in the Attila the Hun campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors.

Starting Conditions

 * Starting age: Dark-age-logo-small.jpg Dark Age
 * Starting resources: None
 * Population limit: 125
 * Starting units: None
 * Gaia units:
 * 12 s

Objectives:

 * Attila must survive.
 * Attila must make sure Bleda is killed and return to the Huns' camp. Only then can the Huns ride against their enemies.

Later Objectives:

 * Defeat 2 of your 3 remaining enemies (the Scythians, Romans, and Persians).
 * OPTIONAL: Rescue Hun captives from the Roman fort to the south.
 * OPTIONAL: Free the Scythian Scout from the Roman fort. He promises a reward.
 * OPTIONAL: Bring Attila to the Scythian village to the west to discuss an alliance.
 * OPTIONAL: Send 10 Horses to the Scythian palisade so the Scythians can supply Attila with soldiers.

Hints:

 * 1. Bleda may be defeated in several ways; you can change your stance with him to Enemy and attack him, see that he dies in an accident, or refuse his challenge altogether and flee the Hun camp.
 * 2. Look for allies in unlikely places. The Scythians (green) are not on good terms with the Romans (blue) so it may be possible to convince the two to fight against each other.
 * 3. The Huns may only reach the Castle Age.

Scouts:

 * Your scouts report: Attila the Hun (yellow) initially commands no troops as all of the Huns are loyal to the Hunnic king, Bleda. Attila must somehow depose Bleda in order to inherit troops and villagers.
 * There are three other enemies scattered across the landscape. The Western Roman Empire (blue) has a fort to the south where it holds some Huns captive. The Romans rely on their infantry in combat.
 * The Scythians (green) have a scattered encampment to the west. Because the Scythians are a nomadic people, there are unmined reserves of stone in their area.
 * The most dangerous enemy is the Persian city across the bay to the east. The Persians hoard lots of gold, but their army consists of Mangonels and War Elephants as well as a considerable navy.

Summary
Attila's brother, Bleda the Hun, betrays his brother while out on a Boar hunt. Attila must kill Bleda, allow the boar to do the same, or escape the Hun base and start up his own town from scratch. To win, defeat any two opponents: Scythians (green), Persians (red) and Western Roman Empire (blue). The Scythians will form an alliance with Attila if he frees their prince from the Roman Camp and then delivers 10 Horses.

Ways to kill Bleda
There are many methods to having Bleda killed. Each reaps different benefits, so choose carefully.

Attack Bleda directly
Bleda will lead Attila in the forest in order to lure and kill the Iron Boar. At this point it's best to change diplomacy against Bleda and start attacking him with Attila. Attila is statistically superior to Bleda and can kill him.

After Bleda is killed, return to the camp and stay close to the larger group of Tarkans to the right. Soon a group of archers, loyal to Bleda, will accuse him of unfairly killing Bleda. The Hun Commander (a stronger Tarkan) will counter-accuse them of plotting against Attila. A fight then breaks out, the larger group of Tarkans will join Attila, while the few to the left remain under Bleda's control. Concentrate on killing the archers. As soon as all the archers are killed, all of the remaining Huns will join Attila.

Have Bleda die in an "accident"
Another way is having Attila lure out the Iron Boar, and Bleda will follow and attack it with him. When the boar is lured out, have Attila retreat. Bleda will call him a coward and face the boar alone. Because the boar is strong with a lot of HP, it will kill Bleda.

After Bleda is killed, return to the camp and stay close to the larger group of Tarkans to the right. The dialogue that runs will be exactly the same as before. Kill the archers and the rest of the Huns will join him.

Flee the Hun Camp
If Attila decides to keep close to the Tarkans for a while, the Tarkans will demand to follow Attila. After a while, a few will join him. They will tell him to go to their families across the river. Take Attila and the Tarkans to a bridge to the southwest. Eventually Bleda will disown him and set stance to enemy. Continue on the bridge and encounter a group of villagers. They will join him and give him starting resources. Prepare quickly, as Bleda will soon lead his Tarkans to attack the camp. Due to a bug, killing Bleda alone won't be enough. There is also another Tarkan that has to be killed so that all Bleda's huns will join Attila. It's recommended to save right after killing Bleda. When it's done, Attila will become ruler of the Huns.

This is the only method to get the villagers and their resources. If Attila becomes ruler any other way, they will not appear.

Kill the Boar with Bleda
Attila can also decide to take the honorable path and kill the boar alongside Bleda. Upon the boar's death, Bleda will thank him for his help, then suddenly betray him and order his archers to fire on him. Have Attila quickly retreat to the Tarkans. Once there, Bleda's diplomatic stance will quickly change to ally. The Tarkans will be outraged at Bleda's betrayal and deem him unfit to rule. The Tarkans will then all join Attila. Go kill Bleda and his archers, and all the Huns will be under Attila's control.

Attacking the Western Roman Empire
Immediately start researching Feudal Age and task the three Villagers to start gathering food. With the remaining Tarkans start attacking the Western Roman Empire before they become too much of a threat. The Tarkans should ideally be able to get rid of their Militias/Men-at-Arms and Archers. Focus on taking out the towers, followed by military buildings. Convert the Villagers and use a Tarkan each to free the Villagers and the Scythian prince (represented by a Scout Cavalry). Once the Romans lose all of their buildings, they will resign.

Forging an alliance with the Scythians
Once the Scythian prince reaches his Village, the Scythians will extend an invitation to Attila to discuss an alliance. Station Attila in the marked area. The Scythians will request 10 horses, which if provided carries a reward of an equal number of Mangudais. If Attila sets diplomatic stance with them to enemy, they will do likewise, so be careful.

Defeating the Persians
The player has the choice to defeat the Scythians, but the Persians are the most sensible choice. Gather as many Cavalry Archers as possible. Build a Castle on the Southern boundary of the Hunnic domain (near the shallows connecting the Persians) to lure the Persian Galleons, Knights and Mangonels. Build a dock and assemble 8-10 fire ships to take care of the Persian Galleons. Inevitably the Scythians will start attacking the Persians as well. Due to a diplomacy error, the Persians will not retaliate against the Scythians, significantly thinning their numbers. Use a few rams to break the Persian gates, towers, castle and town centers. Once the Persians lose all their villagers, they will resign.

Trivia

 * The Scythian prince (refer as Scythian Scout in the scenario) was meant to appear as a Light Cavalry hero. However, this was changed to a Scout Cavalry with high hit points for unknown reason.
 * The player may choose to flee from the Hunnic camp and start building the base from scratch. If Bleda himself does not attack the player early in the game, the player will have the option to convert him once he advances to the Castle Age. (Bleda can be converted)
 * If the player sends any units to the Roman camp, this will trigger a dialog from the Romans which is like "Our arrangement was with Bleda! We will not turn the captives over to Attila, you must take them by force!" This is funny if the player manages to convert Bleda and sends him to the Roman fort to trigger the dialog.