Crucible

Crucible is the first scenario of the Genghis Khan campaign in Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings.

Starting Conditions

 * Starting age: Dark-age-logo-small.jpg Dark Age
 * Starting resources: None
 * Population limit: 75
 * Starting units: None


 * Gaia units: None

Objectives:

 * Wait for instructions from Genghis Khan.

Later Objectives:

 * Ride forth to each of the Mongol tribes and convince them to join the Khan's army. Make an example of any tribes that openly war against you.
 * The Ungirrads will join if you bring a Relic to their Monastery.
 * The Uighurs will join if you kill Ornlu the wolf and return to tell the tale.
 * The Tayichi'uds will join if you defeat the Naiman and return to tell the tale.
 * The Naiman will join if you defeat the Tayichi'uds and return to tell the tale.
 * The Kereyids will join if you bring them 20 sheep.


 * In total, you only need to convince four tribes to join. You only either have to defeat the Naiman or Tayichi'uds and return to the other tribe to tell the tale.

Hints:

 * You can change Diplomacy settings whenever you want, but don't be surprised if the other tribes respond to your actions.
 * Only Monks are able to pick up, drop or garrison relics in Monasteries.
 * The Kereyids are known as the most religious of the tribes and may have a few Monks near their camps.
 * Use the Objectives button to keep track of new objectives or those that have changed.

Players

 * Player (Mongols) starts at south, initially with nothing. After a brief cutscene, player is assigned with 8 units from Khan.

Allies

 * Genghis Khan (Mongols) initially has 4 Light Cavalry and 4 Cavalry Archers at the south, which will be given to the player later. His large army will march past the scene, and he himself will come and give the player a briefing before he leaves. He has a lone soldier hiding at the western tip of the map, which would be viewable only if the cheat codes "marco" and "polo" are used to reveal the whole map.


 * Kereyid (Turks) is at the northwestern part of the map. Giving them 20 sheep will get 2 of their monks and some cavalry archers.


 * Naiman (Mongols) is at the northeastern part of the map. Defeating their enemy - the Tayichi'uds, will get most of their cavalry archers after returning to their base.


 * Tayichi'uds (Mongols) is at the southwestern part of the map. Defeating Naiman their enemy will get most of their light cavalry upon the player's return to their base.


 * Uighurs (Mongols) is at the eastern part of the map. Killing Ornlu the Wolf to the east of their village and returning will get most of their camels, as well as the research tech, Chemistry, which will give Cavalry Archers and Mangudai the ability to fire flaming arrows, improving their attack.


 * Ungirrads (Mongols) is at the central part of the map. Placing a relic into their monastery will give the player most of their Mangudais.

Neutral

 * Kara-Khitai (Mongols) is at several places, all guarded with soldiers. They have a monastery at the west (which has a relic inside), a sheep pen in the north, some soldiers guarding a relic behind the Naiman base, and two watch towers with soldiers - one at the central part of the map (across the river from the Ungirrads), another at the southeast.

Strategy/Tactics
After a small scene where Khan's army appears, the player obtains four Light Cavalry and four Cavalry Archer from him. The player must convince four tribes to join the Great Khan, while being attacked by Kara-Khitai. The Kereyid will join if the player brings them 20 sheep (gathered around the map, and also found in Kara-Khithai pens), and get Cavalry Archers and 2 Monks. The Ungirrads will join if a relic is brought to their monastery (there are three, one in a Kara-Kithai monastery, one north of the Naiman camp guarded by the Kara-Kithai, and the other guarded by wolves), thus requiring the Kereyids' alliance, and give Mangudai. The Tayichi'uds will join if the player defeats the Naiman and returns, and vice versa. Either can be defeated (the former gives Cavalry Archers, the latter Light Cavalry, and the Naiman have a tower and Cavalry Archers). And the Uighurs will join if the player kills Ornlu the Wolf and returns to tell the tale, giving Camels.

Possibly the quickest way of doing this scenario is doing it backwards; go to the Uighurs first and kill Ornlu. This gives 4 camels and the player will not lose any men (provided all 8 of the men are attacking). Then go to the Naiman, but steer clear of the Kara Khitai base that is nearby. Kill the Tayichi'uds and return to the Naiman, yielding 4 cavalry archers. Then find the sheep for the Kereyids, which will give the biggest army possible to do the hardest fighting; capturing a Kara Khitai monastery holding a relic for the Ungirrads. NEVER fight the Kara Khitai unless they: All other Kara Khitai bases guard assets which are easier to acquire with the above list. These are the least guarded.
 * Are inside a sheep pen, which holds ~10 sheep
 * Guard a monastery with a flag

Notes/Trivia

 * This is the only level in the campaign where Genghis Khan himself actually appears.
 * Before gaining control over the starting Light Cavalry and Cavalry Archers, an archer is seen hidden in the trees near the Kereyids to prevent the player automatically losing with no units.
 * By setting all of the initially allied tribes to Neutral, it's possible to convert all their units one by one without having to fulfill favors. This is especially useful for defeating either the Tayuchi'uds or Naimans. Attempting to convert Kara-Khitai troops scattered about the map can also be used to supplement the forces; however, this could prove difficult and would require some luck.
 * Despite having Kereyid depicted as 'Turks' while Uighurs as 'Mongols', in reality it was the opposite. Kereyid was actually a Mongol Tribe like others except Uighurs/Uyghurs, while Uyghurs is a Turkic people.
 * In Old Patches (until 1.0c/1.0e) there is a small chance of Genghis Khan troops push him into the conversion zone of the initial player's troops, causing him to be controllable by the player, making the scenario ridiculously easy.
 * In history, Genghis Khan was one of the Ungirrads.