Brother against Brother is the first scenario in the El Cid campaign in Age of Empires II: The Conquerors. It is based on the Battle of Golpejera (January 1072).
Intro[]
Enough. You have troubled me for three blocks now, stranger. If you agree to cease this dogged pursuit and leave me to my lamentations, then I will answer your relentless questions. I will tell you why a dead man rides through the streets of Valencia.
You see that castle on the hill? That is the home of Rodrigo Díaz, whom Moor and Christian alike call 'El Cid'. It is from the Arabic 'sayyid' which means 'lord'. He is the greatest man who ever lived.
The Cid was a knight and loyal vassal of one of the old kings of Spain.
When the old king died, his kingdom was partitioned between his surviving sons, Sancho and Alfonso. King Sancho ruled Castile, a windswept barren land named for its many border castles. The Cid continued to serve Castile, and its new king, as was his duty. The sly king Alfonso ruled León, but openly plotted to become king of all of Christian Spain. There was soon open warfare between Castile and León.
The struggle climaxed at the battle of Golpejera, where the Cid attempted to capture the wicked Alfonso.
Enough. You have troubled me for three blocks now, stranger. If you agree to cease this dogged pursuit and leave me to my lamentations, then I will answer your relentless questions. I will tell you why a dead man rides through the streets of Valencia.
You see that castle on the hill? That is the home of Rodrigo Díaz, whom Moor and Christian alike call 'El Cid'. It is from the Arabic 'sayyid' which means 'lord'. He is the greatest man who ever lived.
The Cid was a knight and loyal vassal of one of the old kings of Spain.
When the old king died, his kingdom was partitioned between his surviving sons, Sancho and Alfonso. King Sancho ruled Castile, a windswept barren land named for its many border castles. The Cid continued to serve Castile, and its new king, as was his duty. The sly king Alfonso ruled León, but openly plotted to become king of all of Christian Spain. There was soon open warfare between Castile and León.
The struggle climaxed at the battle of Golpejera, where the Cid attempted to capture the wicked Alfonso.Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age: Feudal Age
- Starting resources: 200 food, 300 wood, 200 gold, 300 stone
- Population limit: 100
- Starting units:
- Gaia units:
- 6 Monks
- 6 Conquistadors
- 3 Pikemen
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On standard, the player starts with Murder Holes researched.
Objectives[]
- Become King Sancho's Champion in a trial by combat.
- El Cid must survive.
- Take command of the Castillian army in order to capture King Sancho's conniving, ambitious brother, King Alfonso. Alfonso's Castle lies to the northwest, across the river.
- El Cid himself must bring the captured King Alfonso to King Sancho's tournament grounds.
Hints[]
- El Cid is restricted to the Castle Age and a population limit of 100.
- Most of the stone in Castile has already been quarried for its namesake castles. Almost all of the stone that remains in the area is in the territory of King Alfonso.
- Some of the folk of Castile may pledge themselves or their homes to the charismatic El Cid when they see him or his soldiers.
Scouts[]
- El Cid (1, Red) starts alone and can only gain troops if they are granted by King Sancho.
- Sancho's subjects (2, Yellow) are friendly with the Cid and might prove helpful.
- King Alfonso (4, Blue) is your enemy. He has a well fortified city. Your initial forces can probably damage his city, but is is likely you will need to train some reinforcements, particularly siege weapons, to destroy his Castle. The border between Golpejera to the north and the Castillian border Castles to the south should have ample space and resources. Alfonso trains Knights and Pikemen, so guard your cavalry with Pikemen of your own.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Spanish): The player starts with El Cid only in the east of the map, close to the tournament square.
Ally, potential enemy[]
- King Sancho ( Spanish): King Sancho controls large parts of the map, including the hillsides in the south and the eastern part of the map, where he has a fortified town. King Sancho hosts the tournament at the start. If El Cid attempts to run away from it, he will change his diplomatic stance to enemy and attack El Cid.
Allies[]
- Serfs ( Spanish): The Serfs work some Farms in the center of the map. They do not participate in any fights and are stuck in the Dark Age. They get disgruntled should any of El Cid's army trample their crops, and changing their diplomatic stance with El Cid to enemy if he ignores their repeated warnings. However, they will pledge themselves to El Cid if they see him in person (apologizing to El Cid if the aforementioned situation has come to be), giving him control over all their Villagers and the buildings.
- King Alfonso ( Spanish): King Alfonso himself is a separate player, and only he belongs to this player. This is because once King Alfonso's Army's Castle is destroyed, the player gets to control King Alfonso and must take him to King Sancho's Castle close to the tournament square. He is located in King Alfonso's Army's town, next to the Castle in the center.
Enemy[]
- King Sancho's Champion ( Spanish): King Sancho's Champion only exists to make the tournament work. As soon as the tournament starts, a Two-Handed Swordsman is assigned to this player and attacks El Cid. Once El Cid is on his horse to become El Cid Campeador, the same thing happens again with a Knight.
Enemy → Neutral → Ally[]
- King Alfonso's Army ( Spanish): King Alfonso's Army is the main and practically only enemy. The goal is to destroy their Castle which is located right in the center of their town to the northwest. They immediately change their stance to the player to neutral once the Castle is destroyed, and then switch to ally. They mainly field Scorpions, Monks, and Pikemen. Also, a few War Galleys travel the rivers nearby. Though it begins with a decent number of Villagers, they are all outside walls and there is no Town Center, making its economy vulnerable to raiding.
Strategy[]
The player begins the scenario controlling only El Cid, in his Champion form, and must defeat the Two-Handed Swordsman. After that, travel north to the pen by the Castle with the horse inside. Once El Cid is mounted, return to defeat the knight. In a short amount of time, the player will receive resources, Villagers, and an army from King Sancho.
Most of the land is either already settled or too rugged to let the player build a base. The best location is in the center of the map, just outside of King Alfonso's base. When the player crosses the river with El Cid, the Serfs will convert to their team (including several Villagers, Farms, Houses, a Mill and a Lumber Camp). Build a Town Center just to the north of the cliffs against the wood-line, and task Villagers to gather food (for example the Deer to the south) and wood. Keep creating Villagers while gathering resources to build more Farms, Houses, a Stable and a Blacksmith and possibly, a Market to trade resources and keep the balance to the player's economy. The player's goal should be to reach Castle Age as soon as possible.
While focusing on the economy, send a cavalry unit to scout among the cliffs to the south, where the player can find some Gaia units there who will join the player's side. Meanwhile, send El Cid to the western corner of the map to find the Gaia Monastery. Garrison the Relics inside, and then walk the Monks back to base. The player can use El Cid to draw fire from the Towers, so that the Monks can walk past safely.
Keep an army nearby, as King Alfonso sends out small attacks. Once the Monks arrive, use them to heal the wounded units and convert powerful units in Alfonso's army.
When the player begins to advance to the Castle Age, transfer some Villagers from gathering food and wood towards gathering stone (if possible) and gold.
When the player has advanced to the Castle Age, build a Castle about 6-8 tiles below Alfonso's gate. There is some stone outside the gate, but if that position is harassed by enemies, the player can simply buy stone at the Market.
Garrison Conquistadors in the Castle to shred advancing armies. Scorpions and Monks are the priority targets as they are the most dangerous units. Use Knights to defend against Rams. Whenever possible, use the Castle to destroy the Gate and Towers.
Build a Siege Workshop and train as many Knights and Conquistadors as possible. If there are any infantry left, let them die or delete them in order to create extra population space. Once the player has an excess of wood, delete some Villagers in order to create Rams.
When ready to invade, use Rams and Knights to destroy defensive structures and military buildings, and use the Conquistadors to target units. Once the Castle is down, King Alfonso converts to the player's control. Take him away from the battle as the player will lose if he dies. Once he is safe, group him with El Cid and send them both to the eastern corner of the map, to King Sancho's position.
In the Definitive Edition, the achievement "The Missionary" can be earned by collecting all five Relics on the map, namely the four Relics in the Monks' grove, and the Relic in Alfonso's Monastery. While it is possible to destroy Alfonso's Monastery before destroying the Castle, another option is to just destroy his Castle, switch the diplomatic stance with King Alfonso's Army back to neutral/enemy, demolish the Monastery and retrieve the Relic. The achievement will unlock once the scenario is won.
Alternative strategy[]
Or follow this strategy to beat the level in 20 minutes.
Outro[]
Although the Cid defeated Alfonso's army in combat, the sly king knew there were more devious ways to win a war. Alfonso lured his brother, King Sancho, to a secret conference below the city walls of Zamora, and had him assassinated in the night.
With the death of his brother, Alfonso became king of both Leon and Castile-the most powerful king in Christian Spain.
The Cid could not trust King Alfonso, yet he was sworn to serve his new king, and that man was now Alfonso.
The Cid forced King Alfonso to swear an oath upon sacred relics that he had nothing to do with Sancho's death. Before his army and his court, a nervous Alfonso did make this declaration. In so doing, the Cid helped to cement Alfonso's claim as king in the hearts of the people, for they so trusted the Cid.
King Alfonso did not recognize that the Cid had done him a service. Instead, Alfonso held a grudge against the man who was the greatest of his knights for ever doubting him. Alfonso was also jealous and suspicious of the Cid's popularity with the soldiers and the common man. He sent the Cid into dangerous battle again and again, but always the Cid emerged victorious.
Although the Cid defeated Alfonso's army in combat, the sly king knew there were more devious ways to win a war. Alfonso lured his brother, King Sancho, to a secret conference below the city walls of Zamora, and had him assassinated in the night.
With the death of his brother, Alfonso became king of both Leon and Castile-the most powerful king in Christian Spain.
The Cid could not trust King Alfonso, yet he was sworn to serve his new king, and that man was now Alfonso.
The Cid forced King Alfonso to swear an oath upon sacred relics that he had nothing to do with Sancho's death. Before his army and his court, a nervous Alfonso did make this declaration. In so doing, the Cid helped to cement Alfonso's claim as king in the hearts of the people, for they so trusted the Cid.
King Alfonso did not recognize that the Cid had done him a service. Instead, Alfonso held a grudge against the man who was the greatest of his knights for ever doubting him. Alfonso was also jealous and suspicious of the Cid's popularity with the soldiers and the common man. He sent the Cid into dangerous battle again and again, but always the Cid emerged victorious.Trivia[]
- This is the only scenario in the campaign that features no Muslim players - unless the Middle Eastern Gaia Monastery west counts as one.
- If El Cid tries to leave the tournament before its end, King Sancho will call El Cid a coward and change his diplomatic stance to enemy. In this case, the scenario is no longer winnable by normal means since El Cid can no longer establish a base.
- Although the player can capture the Gaia Monastery, it will not be possible to create Monks because there is no population space allotted in the beginning. The Monks will spawn only after King Sancho's tournament is won.
- El Cid can possibly finish the tournament without retrieving the horse. After winning the tournament, the "El Cid must survive" objective will not re-appear until the player retrieves the horse. In this case, the player will not be defeated if El Cid dies.
- The serfs will not submit to El Cid in his Champion form, and will actually change their diplomatic stance to enemy if the unmounted El Cid walks over their farms repeatedly.
- King Sancho's Champion does not get defeated after the tournament since it has a single Conquistador acting as a placeholder near a Castle to the south. This player can only be defeated by killing the Conquistador or upon receiving King Sancho's army, when the Conquistador disappears.
- If the game runs long enough, it is possible (though not advisable) to enter King Alfonso's base by running along the water's edge behind his camp, due to his Villagers over-chopping wood.
- If the player's soldiers stand on the serf's crops for too long, three warnings will be sent telling them to leave. If the soldiers remain, the serfs will declare the player an enemy, but will not attack since they do not have military units. El Cid himself must then visit the serfs and they will apologize for their "harsh words" and join the player.
- The player can switch the diplomatic stance towards King Alfonso to enemy and kill him without being immediately defeated
- After killing King Alfonso, the player will be defeated only if King Alfonso's Castle is destroyed and there are still other surviving players.
- It is still possible to win after killing King Alfonso himself by defeating all other players on the map (including the allied yellow players). The last enemy the player must defeat must be King Alfonso's Army, and the last building that the player must destroy is King Alfonso's Castle. Before the game recognizes the triggers that will make the player defeated, the player will be declared victorious by conquest.
- In the Definitive Edition, the Gaia Monks' line is the only dialogue clip in the entire game retained from the original version of Age of Empires II. The same sound file is later reused in King of Valencia, where it is spoken by a Missionary instead.
Historical comparison[]
- The presence of "Conquistadors" along with firearms in this scenario and all subsequent ones in the El Cid campaign are anachronistic, as they take place during the 11th century, and firearms were not used in Europe until the 14th century.
- As in the scenario, this is the earliest known battle where El Cid had a commanding position with certainty, and the one where he likely gained the title Campeador ("Master of the Field", or roughly "Outstanding Warrior"). El Cid won the battle when he led a charge that routed the Leonese cavalry.
- History was more convoluted than the scenario would suggest. King Ferdinand I (d. 1065) had five children, and divided his kingdom thusly: Castile to Sancho, Leon to Alfonso, Galicia (which included Portugal) to García, and the cities of Toro and Zamora to his daughters Elvira and Urraca. He also disposed that all would be treated as Kings and Queens. In 1067, the "heroic" Sancho disputed the will and demanded all three kingdoms as the eldest son. Sancho and Alfonso allied against García, giving Portugal to Alfonso and Galicia to Sancho. Later, Sancho defeated Alfonso at Golpejera, imprisoned him, and crowned himself King in Leon, but Alfonso escaped to Muslim Toledo with Urraca's help. Sancho besieged Urraca in Zamora and was killed in unclear circumstances - per tradition, by a noble who pretended to defect and was fruitlessly chased by El Cid (rather than by an assassin during a parley with Alfonso). Without Sancho, Alfonso was free to return and ironically take over as king of Galicia, Leon, and Castile.
- The tournament in the beginning is probably a reference to a 15th century legend about a young El Cid killing Jimena's father in a tournament.
- Sancho's claim that Alfonso ambitions "to rule all of Spain" may be a reference to Alfonso later claiming the title "Emperor of All Spain" in reality.
- The outro references the "Oath of St. Gadea's Church", when El Cid supposedly forced Alfonso to swear on the Bible that he had no part on Sancho's death, in order to congratiate him with the Castilian army and people. This legend appeared in the 13th century (after the Cantar de Mío Cid), and is not believed to have basis in reality. Rather, surviving documents suggest that El Cid and Alfonso were in good terms in this time, and that he arranged Rodrigo's marriage to Jimena.
- There are many legends about Bavieca, his origin, and his name:
- A Late Medieval folk etymology claimed that young El Cid was offered a foal from his godfather's herd. After picking a mangy runt, the godfather exclaimed Bavieca! ("Stupid" in Medieval Spanish) and this became the foal's name. A similar modern folk etymology links Bavieca to Baba ("Drool"), claiming that Bavieca means "Drooler" or "Drooling Fool".
- That Bavieca was an Asturcon horse (a sturdy and long-lived race, as Bavieca was said to be) from either Babia, in Asturias, or Las Babias, in Leon. In the first case, he was a wedding gift from Jimena; in the second, a gift from the monks at Maraña monastery.
- That Bavieca was an Arabian or Andalusian horse, bought from, or captured in battle with the Moors. Bavieca would come from Boabeca or Buaveca, a word for Moorish horses and in turn derived from Abu Bakr, the name of several Muslim rulers. In this case, El Cid would not have acquired Bavieca until after his exile.
- The scenario combines different stories to make Bavieca a gift from Sancho, while El Cid is still in Castile, but claiming that he comes from the royal stables in (Muslim) Seville.
- Though instructions identify Alfonso's base as Golpejera, the actual locality (now Cardeñosa de Volpejera) is a tiny village. The game's might be a fanciful version of Carrión de los Condes, a prosperous town where Alfonso run to after the battle. Carrión had a castle, but it was on a hill rather than a river (which runs west of town, not through it), and Alfonso hid in a church, not the castle. In addition, the rivers seem to flow northeast, but they do southwest in the area, to the Atlantic.