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Born of Fire is the first scenario of the reworked Prithviraj campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Intro[]

Long ago, a great and wise sage climbed the holy peak of Mount Abu. He sought the favor of the gods to protect the people of the earth, but he was descended upon by Rakshasas, man-eating demons with flame-red eyes and fangs like steel.

But though the demons neared, the sage was as immovable as the mountain itself. Though he felt the heat of the demons' breath on his bare shoulder, the sage was resolute - making the offering of fire to the gods and asking for their protection.

From the flames of his offering spawned the Rajput clans, born of fire and smoke. Their heroes fought the Rakshasas, but though much blood was shed, the demon menace continued to darken Mount Abu.

The sage dug a new fire pit, deeper into the mountain earth, and again made the offering. From this pit came Chauhan, weapons in his four arms. He slew the Rakshasas and from his loins came the mightiest of the Rajput clans. From this clan came my king.

I am Chand Bardai, poet of the raja's court. I will tell you the story of a great king, but this story, much like life itself, must start from the beginning. My king, Prithviraj, was not always a great raja. Once, he was a young king of Ajmer challenged by his own cousin for the rule of the Chauhan clan.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • (initially) Save one of the two Chauhan Town Centers.
  • (secondary) Save both Chauhan Town Centers.
Subsequently
  • Choose one of the following objectives:
    • Kill the rebellious cousin, Nagarjuna.
    • Capture 3 Relics to unite the clan.

Hints[]

  1. Prithviraj lived before the age of gunpowder. You will not have access to gunpowder units or technologies in this campaign.
  2. You are restricted to a population limit of 125 and cannot advance past the Castle Age.
  3. Choose carefully which Town Center you save. They each have different advantages.
  4. The Luni River is teeming with fish, but you will need to weaken the Bhadanakas to control the river.
  5. If you seek Relics, know that one will appear at random in an enemy town. Scouting is key to finding it.
  6. Chand Bardai has many connections in this region. If you find him, he will reveal the location of every Relic that is stored in a Monastery.

Scouts[]

Your scouts report:

  • Prithviraj's tiger hunt has been interrupted by rebellion. His cousin, Nagarjuna (2, Red), seeks to rule the Chauhan clan. He strikes from the west with cavalry and archers.
  • The Rajput clans rival Prithviraj's Chauhan and each other. The Bhadanakas (3, Green) and Chandelas (4, Yellow) war over the floodplain. Prithviraj can take advantage of their rivalry to defeat or bypass them.
  • The Paramaras (6, Purple) command Abu, a Rajput holy site. They will not stray far from their mountain temple, which they defend with Monks, Chakram Throwers, and Elephant Archers.
  • Finally, Ghaznavid Raiders (5, Cyan), horsemen of the west, have set their tents in the Thar Desert to the north across the river. They will conduct raids deep into India so long as their camp remains intact.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): The player starts with a small army and needs to save Chauhan's Town Center by killing the Nagarjuna army attacking it.

Ally[]

  • Chauhan (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): The Chauhan have two Town Centers to the west and east of the player's starting position. The western Town Center area contains military building and access to the river. The eastern Town Center area has a lot of resources and more easily defended position.

Enemies[]

  • Nagarjuna (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): They are the most dangerous enemy, occasionally sending groups of Camel Riders, Shrivamsha Riders, and Light Cavalry. Killing their namesake hero results in victory.
  • Bhadanakas (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): They control the river and occasionally fight Chandelas.
  • Chandelas (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): They have their base south of the eastern Chauhan's Town Center and they occasionally fight Bhadanakas.
  • Ghaznavid Raiders (Ghaznavids before Dynasties of India) (CivIcon-Hindustanis Hindustanis (CivIcon-Persians Persians before Dynasties of India)): They attack with Camel Riders, Light Cavalry, and Cavalry Archers. They can be reached by crossing the river from the western Chauhan base, or taking a detour near Nagarjuna's base. There is a Relic and some Gold Mines located in their base.
  • Paramaras (CivIcon-Gurjaras Gurjaras (CivIcon-Indians Indians before Dynasties of India)): The Paramaras train Monks, Chakram Throwers, and Elephant Archers. Their base is located to the southwest, right after crossing the shallows.

Strategy[]

Micromanaging troops allows the player to save both Town Centers, giving the player a little head start. Save the Town Center to the right first, as gold and valuable stone is nearby. The Monk Chand Bardai waits at some distance to the west of that Town Center and will join the player's forces when approached. He can only heal, though. If the player finds saving both Town Centers overwhelming, they should focus on saving only the one to the right, since losing the other Town Center will not increase the scenario's difficulty (and wood is abundant in the right base, so the player can easily build any buildings that they did not take control of).

After the initial part is done, the player should focus on getting an economy and walling any holes, both for protection from Nagarjuna's (Red) attacks and Chandelas' (Yellow) attempts of sending Villagers to steal resources from the player (on the eastern base, this means the player should wall between the Mills and right below the Gold Mine). Since Nagarjuna never creates siege weapons, building a Castle to the left of the Mills is enough to defend from their attacks.

There are two ways to beat this scenario:

1: Collecting the three Relics[]

A Relic will spawn immediately in the Monastery of one of the players. Another is found at the camp of the Ghaznavids (Cyan) between two tents. The third Relic spawns next to a Nagarjuna Fortified Tower in the southern corner of the map. This last Relic will generally be found and taken early on by one of the enemy players, generally the Paramaras (Purple), but still, both spots should be scouted to be sure.

After the player owns the three Relics, the clans will be united by tradition and Nagarjuna's base will submit to the control of the player (including the Nagarjuna hero unit) and unite the two clans. This is the suggested way if a "pacifist" run is preferred.

2: Killing Nagarjuna[]

To get to Nagarjuna, either go south between Bhadanakas (Green) and Chandelas (Yellow), then cross the river and sneek around Paramaras (Purple) and attack him directly.

Alternatively, the player can build Transport Ships in the northern village and push through the Ghaznavids (Cyan) forces. They start with a small army and are easily dealt with, as they will not train units. This allows the player to establish a base across the river, train forces and kill Nagarjuna. Remember to wall of and protect the other bases as enemy troops will harass them occasionally. Trebuchets combined with Cavalry Archers can be used to defeat the enemy towns, with Camel Riders being optional to raze towns more quickly and deal with enemy Light Cavalry and/or ranged units (or train Light Cavalry/Hussars).

AoE2Icon-DynastiesIndia Dynasties of India[]

With the release of Dynasties of India, the scenario is now significantly harder:

  • The player starts in the Feudal Age and cannot advance to the Imperial Age.
  • All enemies attack unprovoked, earlier, and more aggressively.

Hence, saving both Town Centers is fundamental for a good start (as the player will get 12 Villagers instead of 6) and, if playing on hard difficulty, the player will get the achievement "Raja of the People".

To do this, the player should divide the starting army in two groups and send each group to one of the Town Centers. Each group should kill the corresponding enemy Armored Elephant and then both groups should retreat to the same location and fight the enemy units from there. If, after killing the enemy units, the player does not take control of both Town Centers, they should check if any of the Town Centers are still under attack and kill the remaining enemy units.

With both Town Centers saved, the next focus is to advance to the Castle Age and build a Castle for protection. The best location for this is near Chand Bardai's location (between the river and the player's eastern base), as all enemy raids will pass through there.

While the enemy raids are very aggressive, Nagarjuna is not very well protected, so the player can take the land path to rush him with a group of 20 Elephant Archers and two Armored Elephants. Use the Armored Elephants to destroy Nagarjuna's walls (while the Elephant Archers kill any melee units) and then use the Elephant Archers to kill Nagarjuna.

Outro[]

In those days, the Rajput clans raided and warred with one another. They were Kshatriya - warriors from birth. A young Rajput like Prithviraj was headstrong and brave - but to be a wise king would take more than courage.

From his minister Kaimbasa, Prithviraj learned wisdom and how to rule. But the spirit of the Kshatriya would never leave him; my raja longed for new victories and lands to conquer.

Trivia[]

  • Changes in update 61321: The player now starts in the Feudal Age, has a population limit of 125, and is limited to the Castle Age. The Ghaznavids AI has been adjusted to be more aggressive and actively attack the player.
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