Blood for Blood is the fourth scenario of the Kotyan Khan campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It depicts the Cumans raiding and pillaging the Hungarian countryside as they emigrated into Bulgaria after Kotyan's assassination.
Intro[]
Treachery!
While attending a lavish feast thrown by an Hungarian lord, Khan Kotyan was murdered in cold blood by Hungarian and German knights! Our people are outraged and are out for blood! The Hungarians think we will scatter without Kotyan's leadership, but they were wrong. They have united us in pursuit of one goalโto avenge the death of our one true Khan!
Our clan leaders have come together and taken an oath according to the old Cuman traditions: with sword in hand over a dead dog, cut in two, they will swear not to dismount their horses until Kotyan's death has been paid back in blood. If our leaders fail to honor their oath, their own clansmen will ensure that they suffer the same fate as the dog that they swore the oath upon.
That is the way of the Cumans.
We will act before the combined armies of Frederick and the Hungarian lords arrive. We know that there is a safe haven to the south in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian emperor is of Cuman descent and is ready to provide safe passage for our elderly and young.
In the meantime, all men and women able to mount a horse will venture out to raid the Hungarian countryside. Our vengeance will be swift and thorough. We will show no mercy. Hungary will burn...
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Castle Age
- Starting resources: 100 food, 100 wood, 100 gold
- Starting technologies: Light Cavalry
- Starting units:
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On standard difficulty, the player starts with Bodkin Arrow researched.
Objectives[]
- Travel to the Cuman camp and report for duty.
- Explore the countryside and look for opportunities to help the Hungarians.
- Protect the Hungarian village from Tatar raiders. It will send you carts of resources for as long as its Villagers survive.
- Protect the merchant and his Trade Cart until they reach the next village.
- Bring Ox Carts to the Cuman camp to receive more resources and Kipchak warriors.
- Kill all of the Tatar soldiers in the swamp surrounding the Hungarian camp.
- Capture at least one Trebuchet from the Tatars by breaking into the enclosure holding them.
- Break into the Hungarian city and capture the Transport Ships there.
- Find a safe location to disembark and reach the Cuman camp on the southern side of the Danube River.
- Destroy 2 Castles held by the Hungarian Nobles (6, Orange) to punish them for killing Kotyan.
- Destroy 6 of the 9 Hungarian villages (3, Blue) south of the Danube to punish the Hungarians and obtain additional resources.
- The Austrians and Hungarians are combining their forces to defeat you - escape while you still can! Bring at least 10 soldiers to the flagged area to the northwest.
Hints[]
- The Cumans are not able to construct any new buildings.
- The Hungarians will need help to fight off the Tatar raiders. Make sure you explore the area to find everyone who is in need.
- Ox Carts hold valuable loot, so guard them carefully. Each one that you bring to a Cuman camp will give you resources and a free Kipchak cavalry unit.
Scouts[]
Your scouts report:
- King Bela has called upon his noblemen and Cuman allies to rally in preparation for the upcoming Mongol invasion. A band of Cuman warriors (1, Green) has arrived from the north to meet with the local Cuman chief (5, Cyan) at a nearby camp to report for duty. There is another camp like it on the southern side of the Danube River.
- The Hungarians (3, Blue) need your help. They have several villages scattered throughout the region and are under constant threat from Tatar raiders (5, Yellow). These raiders operate out of a camp to the east.
- The Hungarian Nobles (6, Orange) in the region have answered the call to arms from their king with hesitation and seem to resent their king. News has reached us that Duke Frederick (2, Red) and his Austrian knights have also arrived to help fight the Mongols, but rumor has it that they are inciting even more discontent among the Hungarian nobility.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Cumans): The player starts in command of a small force tasked with assisting Hungarians. They can assist various Hungarian factions and later raid for wagons that provide resources and troops. Later, they take control of local Cuman bases and troops.
Ally[]
- Cumans ( Cumans): Cumans control two bases located on northeast and southwest edges of the map. Only one is controlled by the player at any given time, while the other will be under Cuman control when the player doesn't control it. Their units will be given to the player when taking control of the bases.
Allies โ Enemies[]
- Austrians ( Teutons): The Austrians have a base on the southern side of the Danube river in the west, and will become enemies when the two Hungarian Nobles' Castles on that side of the river are destroyed. They have several scouting parties along the path towards the exit.
- Hungarians ( Magyars): Local Hungarians control several villages around the map on both sides of the river and are initially allied with the player and offer quests and supplies to the player. They will become enemies as soon as the player finds out about Kotyan's murder, and raiding their bases south of the Danube provides wagons.
- Hungarian Nobles ( Magyars) Hungarian Nobles control several bases on the map, as well as patrols and fleets. They are allied and provide a quest until the player finds out about Kotyan's murder.
Enemy[]
- Tatars ( Tatars): Tatars consist of scattered raiding parties around the northern side of the Danube river. They also control a fortified position in the east.
Strategy[]
Note: Some triggers may fail to fire unless done in a certain way, particularly activating new objectives. In general, the player should try to keep the main force together to avoid accidentally starting event triggers before they're ready.
That said, this scenario is very open-ended in that the objectives can be done in almost any order within a segment. The player should be sure to explore everywhere if they can't seem to progress.
In both parts of this scenario, bringing Ox Carts to the current camp will earn a Kipchak and a bit of wood/food/gold.
First Stage: Ally of Hungary[]
When the scenario begins, the starting force will be near a Hungarian village. During this part of the scenario, the player needs to work to protect the different Hungarian groups on the north side of the river. The player cannot construct buildings, but once they send a unit to the marked Cuman camp they will gain access to a Blacksmith, Stable, and Archery Range.
Walking through the village will start an event where the Tatars will attack the village. Fending off the initial assault will earn the player an Ox Cart as reward, as well as potentially more Ox Carts over time. These bonus Ox Carts will stop arriving if the village is eventually destroyed. In order to fully complete the objective, make sure all Tatars near the village are killed so they cannot eventually go destroy the village.
To the west of the village is a merchant wagon. Meeting the merchant will cause him to try to go to a market near the river, while being attacked by Tatars (including some that spawn in). If the wagon reaches the Market safely, the player is rewarded with an Ox Cart and the use of the Market. Note: if the path to the Market isn't cleared, the Merchant may engage in fights with Tatar units and therefore not move to the market with the wagon and thus the objective (despite being a secondary one) will not be fulfilled and the game will not go forward. To avoid this, the player should clear the path before meeting the merchant.
To the east of the village, near the Cuman military camp, is a Monastery with a Monk. If the player saves him from Tatars, he will heal the player's units, but will not join their army.
To the east of the Cuman camps (military and tents), there is a Tatar camp with walls and towers. This is a dangerous area and should be avoided until the end of the first stage, if possible. The player will need at least 20+ units to survive this fight.
To the far east, around the Tatar camp, is a Hungarian noble camp. Getting close will trigger an event where the noble will ask for help in killing the nearby Tatars. Defeating them will reward the player with an Ox Cart if the noble survives.
Around the south side of the Tatar camp is a patrol of Tatars and enemy Cumans. Getting close enough will convert the Cumans to the player's side, allowing the player to make short work of the Tatars.
Aside from these events, there are several groups of roaming Tatars and some small Tatar camps with Ox Carts locked behind fences. There is also a Hungarian farm where the villagers will insult the player, but there is no associated reward.
To the south of the river Market is the gate to a Hungarian city, but the gate is locked for now.
Completing enough side objectives (village, merchant, noble, Monk) will trigger the next phase as a Light Cavalry appears at the starting position.
Interlude: Betrayal[]
The Light Cavalry brings news of Kotyan's murder, turning all the Hungarian factions against the player. The player now gains control of the Cuman chief and his bodyguards from the Cuman camp, and some of the Hungarian nobles faction will begin attacking the Cuman tents. After the player defeats the enemies trying to destroy the base, the player must prepare to cross the river to punish Hungary.
Note: During this section, even people the player helped will be hostile. This is particularly important in regards to the Monk (who will try to convert the player) and the Market (which will now disappear).
To do this, the player needs siege weapons. There are two Trebuchets in the Tatar walled camp, which will now be marked. If the player has not already cleared the Tatar camp, bring 20+ units and destroy the camp. After a unit gets close enough to the Trebuchet, they will convert to the player's use.
Using the Trebuchet, break into the Hungarian city on the river and push toward the southwest to get the transport ships there. The player does not need to raze everything, but it may be safest to do so, as there are many towers and a castle. Once the player gets close to the transport ships, they will convert to the player's use.
After loading up into the ships, a marker will appear to the southeast. DO NOT SAIL NORTH. There are several towers and Galleons in that direction. Instead, sail to the marker, moving excess troops to a nearby shore if this will save time for the second trip.
Second Stage: Punishing Hungary[]
The player now gets two new objectives, with a third on the way: find a new camp (the old one will now deactivate), raze villages, and (after getting the new camp) raze Castles.
Villages are all fairly similar, involving a few buildings and basic military units or Villagers. Destroying a gather site will grant the related resource, while destroying other non-house buildings will spawn an Ox Cart. Destroying a Mill will also kill any nearby herdables, though this does not seem to affect the food gain.
The one special village is to the south, with is manned with a large force of Hungarian nobles. Be sure to bring a large force to fight this village, which is surrounded by Stables and a horse pen.
Once six villages are destroyed, the objective completes. However, the player can destroy all nine for extra resources.
The south Cuman military camp is in the center of the region, and should be marked when the objective is activated. It may be wise to go there early, destroying villages on the way, as the camp has an Archery Range, Stable, Siege Workshop, and Blacksmith. On Moderate/Standard difficulty, the camp also has one/two Monks for healing that will convert to the player's side.
There are two Castles to destroy: to the northwest and to the southeast. The northwest Castle is fairly easy to destroy, as it has no gate and only a small force, a tower, and a Trebuchet to defend it. If the player's own Trebuchet is still alive, it can be handled immediately after gaining the camp.
The southeast Castle is much tougher, but can be handled before going to the camp if the player is careful. It is fully walled off with a gate, towers, and military buildings. The player will need to use rams or Trebuchets to destroy the gates and towers to reach the Castle, while using troops to keep the siege weapons safe. If the player pushes slowly through the city, it should not be difficult to raze the Castle with minimal losses. There is also a Mill in the city for a bit of food.
During this section, the Austrian forces are not active. The player cannot pass their locked gate or fight their Teutonic Knights to the far north. However, that will soon change.
Once the villages have been raided and the Castles destroyed, the player will get a notification that Austria has caught on to their actions, turning them hostile. A marker will appear to the far north, showing that the player must now escape (the player must move 10 military units to this position, but the objective tracker may glitch out if the player did some objectives out of the expected order before. The objective itself will still activate now).
Finale: Escape[]
With Austria's forces activated, the player should now regroup all soldiers and begin to move north. Be sure to finish everything needed in the camp, because this is the end of the scenario. Unless the player does not have enough forces (which may make winning difficult), it is best to leave non-cavalry in the camp to travel faster.
One way to reach the objective is to the west, through the Austrian city. However, this can be a long fight on par with the southeast castle, so it is not recommended.
Another way to reach the objective is the path by the sea. The player can use Transport Ships to distract the enemy Galleons if they get too close, but will mostly have to worry about Hungarian noble patrols (if they were not defeated earlier). At the very end of the road is a patrol of Teutonic Knights and a Sea Fortification, but these should be easy to defeat if the army has 30+ units left. While the player can easily defeat the Hungarian noble patrols and the Teutonic Knights with enough troops and good micro, they can also speed-run this last part by just moving all cavalry units (the more the better) to the marker/flag, provided that they can dodge Pikemen and Teutonic Knights' hits and Onager shots on the way there.
Simply bring 10 units to the marker/flag and a string of dialogue lines will close the scenario, granting victory.
The player can also change diplomacy with the Austrians to Enemy. They will not react when the player does so, so it is strongly recommended to take a break from destroying the Hungarian castles and turning to attack the Austrian fortress before they can get activated.
Trivia[]
- Initially, there was no way to reach the escape point through the Austrian base. However, after certain updates, a gate and shallows are added so the player is able to move to the destination through the Austrian city. But this also means that if the player chooses the other routine, once the Sea Fortification is reached, Austria will start to attack the player from the northern entrance. It might be advisable now to attack Austria first from the southern entrance to avoid this ambush.
- The Austrians in this scenario and A New Home are Teutons, whereas the Austrians in the first scenario of the Barbarossa campaign are Goths instead. This is historically accurate, as before being controlled by the Holy Roman Empire, Austria was occupied by both Visigoths and Ostrogoths. Also, Goths in the game speaking German language serves to represent the fact that Austria is a German-speaking country.
Outro[]
We left no stone unturned and spared no living being. Every shack, hovel, and hut was burned to the ground, all livestock killed, and all farms trampled to dust.
After we had plundered the last village before crossing into Bulgaria, I looked over my shoulder and saw nothing but a nightmarish vision of red and blackโas if we had brought hell to the surface of the earth itself.
The Hungarians will think twice in the future before double-crossing us.