| “ | You broke the Circle... and in just one lifetime, too. | ” |
| —Old Coot, after Amelia defeats the Circle of Ossus. | ||
Amelia Black is a playable hero and the main protagonist in Act III: Steel in Age of Empires III . A prominent member of the Black family, she is the great-great-granddaughter of Morgan Black and mother to Chayton Black. Amelia is also the narrator for both campaigns in Age of Empires III and Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs.
Biography[]
| “ | A determined, fiery young woman in her late twenties, Amelia is the daughter of Nathanial Black, the granddaughter of John Black, and president of the Falcon Company. A competitive industrialist, she hopes to make Falcon the first railroad company to lay track all the way to the west coast. All too familiar with the dangers of the frontier, Amelia is a crack shot, and her gun is never far from her hand. | ” |
| —In-game compendium History section | ||
Amelia Black is the daughter of Nathaniel Black, who inherits the Falcon Company after her father's death. Even though the company is almost bankrupt by the time Amelia takes charge of it, she continues setting rails for the United States Army under the supervision of Major Cooper.
Against the Circle of Ossus[]
When the Mexican Army attacks the fort where the US Army is staying, Amelia meets Pierre Beaumont, a French prospector who is supposedly looking for helpers in his mine whom he'll share the gold with. In truth, Beaumont is the new leader of the Circle of Ossus, long-time enemies of the Black Family. Amelia almost falls for his trap but is saved by her granduncle Ká:nien. Amelia then chases the Circle with the plan of completely destroying them.
With the help of the US Army, Amelia destroys a Circle fortress built upon the swamp that used to be the mysterious Lake of the Moon. After Beaumont kills Cooper, Amelia chases him southwards and finds herself in the middle of a major revolutionary campaign in South America, where she helps Simón Bolívar liberate several villages. Bolívar tells her about a strange rumor concerning the "Last City of the Inca", where the Circle is purportedly launching an attack. Amelia and Ká:nien make a perilous journey through the bitingly cold Andes and discover the fabled city, which they save by destroying a Circle base with the hopes of finding Beaumont, who flees to the Caribbean.
Defeating Beaumont[]
In the final battle in Havana, Amelia, Ká:nien, and the US Navy destroy the Circle of Ossus's last stand, the Ossuary. Though Beaumont survives at first, he is shot by Amelia when he tries to kill her with a knife. The Falcon Company is then saved when American troops present chests of Spanish gold that the Circle had stolen from treasure ships to Amelia and Ká:nien.
Amelia is the only other member of the Black Family to have known Morgan Black besides his wife and children. At a railway station during the end credits of the campaign, an "Old Coot" approaches Amelia and hints that he is an aged Morgan when he tells her that she has defeated the Circle "in just one lifetime." It is suggested that drinking water from the Fountain of Youth indeed extended his life well beyond what is normal.
Role in WarChiefs[]
In Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs, Amelia narrates both acts of the campaign and has a brief encounter with her son, Chayton, in one cutscene of Act II: Shadow. Here, Chayton expresses his worries about the tensions between the United States and the Lakota and wonders if his late Lakota father really were a gentle man as Amelia had told him. Amelia attempts to alleviate his fears by telling him that the Lakota are like all people: some gentle, some not.
By 1890 (when Chayton may have been killed at Wounded Knee), Amelia was still alive, suggesting that she may have, like Morgan, drunk the Fountain's water; as she was in her mid-20s during the events of the Steel campaign, which takes place in the 1820s, she was roughly 100 by then, which was considerably rarer in those days.
Personality[]
Amelia Black shows great determination to getting the Falcon Company back on the map, both to her credit and to a fault. She lays tracks for the United States Army despite the threat from outlaws and rival companies, fully aware that she won't receive payment until the job is done, but she also chooses to follow Beaumont, a complete stranger, to an isolated mine when he promises her a generous share of the gold.
Her financial ambitions don't outweigh her sense of right and wrong, however. Major Cooper's death fuels Amelia's campaign to defeat Beaumont, compelling her to travel to another continent, partake in a civil war, and even trek through a freezing mountain range to track him down.
As she is the narrator of the Black Family campaigns, Amelia is well-versed on her family's history.
In-game unit[]
| “ | President of the Falcon Company. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
Amelia Black fights with a double-barreled shotgun and can use the Double-barrel Attack ability, which is similar to Sharpshooter Attack but does less damage and has a small Area of Effect.
Like other heroes, Amelia has many hit points, but if she falls, she will collapse instead of dying and needs to regenerate enough hit points to be rescued by allies. Similar to Explorers, she can collect treasures and build Trading Posts, but cannot build Town Centers.
The Fisticuffs Home City Card improves Amelia's hit points and attack by 35% and 40%, respectively.
Abilities[]
Sharpshooter Attack: Amelia Black fires both of her double-barrel shotgun's barrels at once, doing 750 ranged damage to the target enemy infantry or cavalry and other enemies in an Area of Effect of 1 around the target. 60 seconds cooldown.- Hot Air Balloon: Amelia Black spawns a Hot Air Balloon that remains for 20 seconds. 240 seconds cooldown.
Requires the Hot Air Baloon Home City Card.
Trivia[]
- Amelia's in-game dialogue is reused for the Black Family Estate female Settlers/Villagers in the The WarChiefs campaign (from Breed's Hill scenario to the To Stop a War scenario), with the pitch raised slightly.
Gallery[]
