| “ | The Great King demands vengeance on all who aided the Ionians in their revolt. His greatest general, Datis, leads a mighty fleet through the islands of the Aegean. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
Earth and Water is the seventh scenario of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece.
Intro[]
With the capture of Miletus, the Greek rebellion shattered. The burning of Sardis still fresh in their minds, the Persians brutally stamped out the last isolated remnants of the uprising, taking cleansing fire to cities, fields, and sanctuaries. Ash and blackened bones were the only remaining testaments to the hubris of Aristagoras.
For most men, this would have been vengeance enough. But for the Great King of Persia, retribution had to be absolute: if a single rebel was seen to escape punishment, then Darius would soon be dealing with recalcitrant Bactrians, or the arrogant Babylonians again, or the Egyptians, for whom peace was simply an interlude between uprisings.
No, there was still one enemy unpunished: men who had sailed all the way across the Aegean just to pillage the Great King's realm. Three times each night at dinner, Darius had a servant whisper in his ear: "Master, remember the Athenians"
So the Great King ordered the construction of a mighty fleet, and entrusted it to his most dependable commander, Datis. At the first fluttering of the Etesian winds, Datis launched his deep-bellied warships into the Aegean, their prows pointed for Greece. In those days, most fleets would travel along the coastline, returning to shore each night.
But Datis had a different plan: he would cut a bloody swath straight through the islands of the Aegean, starting with Naxos - where, all those years ago, the failure of Aristagoras had birthed such troubles for the Greeks.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Imperial Age - Starting resources: 1,000 food, 1,200 wood, 1,000 gold, 800 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Datis
- 6 Heavy Lembos
- 8 Bireme
- 6 War Galley
- 5 Transport Ships
- 4 Capped Rams
- 29 / Immortals
- 10 Shock Cavalry
- 9 War Chariots
- One of starting bodyguard units:
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Establish an island base: destroy 0/3 Towers on Mykonos.
- Attack the Greek mainland: destroy all forts on Carystos.
Secondary objectives[]
- Take Datis to the temple on Delos to persuade the island to join you.
- Destroy Dionysius' Fort.
- Aid Artemisia by destroying the Gate.
- Build the Hall of Emissaries on Delos.
- Take other islands by destroying their Forts.
OR
- Convert islands (except Naxos and Crystos) peacefully by bringing an Emissary to their flagged temple.
- Destroy all forts on Naxos for a grand reward.
Hints[]
- Your goal is to reach the Greek mainland and conquer Carystos. Defeating other foes is not necessary, but will make your task easier.
- Conquer enemies by destroying their Forts.
- Alternatively, you can train an Emissary from the Hall of Emissaries and bring them near an enemy Flagged Temple to persuade them to submit peacefully. These units are highly expensive, so guard them well if you chose to train them! Note that Emissaries cannot be used to take Carystos or Naxos.
- Use the plentiful fish and oysters to sustain your economy.
- The Leviathan is a long-range siege ship available in the Imperial Age. To unlock it, research Flaming Arrows at the Academy. These will allow you to destroy Forts from the sea.
Players[]
 |
This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Player[]
- Player ( Achaemenids): The player starts with a decent fleet and several loaded Transport Ships in the eastern corner of the map. They do not have a base or any Villagers yet.
Allies[]
- Artemisia ( Achaemenids): Queen Artemisia has a small force on an island in the northwest. She waits outside an island city for the player to arrive and bring down the gate. After this, she takes control of the island and assists the player in the scenario, as well as targeting Dionysius specifically.
Enemies[]
- Dionysius ( Athenians - Greeks): Dionysius has a collection of ships and Shipyards guarding a Fort on some small islands in the center of the map. They are not aggressive, but will defend themselves.
- Carystos ( Athenians - Eretrians): Carystos has control of two land masses, the main base in the northern corner, and a second base in the western corner. Only the northern base needs to be dealt with. They are rarely aggressive and focus on defending themselves. They may also attempt to build a Wonder.
- Naxos ( Athenians - Greeks): Naxos is located in the southern corner of the map. They are not particularly aggressive, but will attack on occasion. They have a Fort on the coast that can hassle the player's fleets.
- Paros ( Athenians - Greeks): Paros has three islands at the beginning of the scenario. However, only one of these counts as their base. The main base is along the southwestern edge of the map, with the other two converting to Carystos if the main base is captured.
- Tenos ( Athenians - Greeks): Tenos starts with two islands. However, only one is their base. The other can be captured by the player by taking Datis to its Temple to gain access to Emissaries. Tenos is the player's closest enemy, can be particularly aggressive, and should be avoided at the beginning of the game. However, the have only one Fort, near the coast, so they can be conquered easily.
- Andros ( Athenians - Greeks): Andros is between Carystos and Tenos, and can be an aggressive opponent. They possess two Forts and good defenses. It is advised to use an Emissary on their Temple to gain a good base right near Carystos.
Strategy[]
|
This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Get the player's soldiers into the Transport Ships and send all the ships along the edge of the map towards Mykonos. They will upgrade their Watch Towers to Guard Towers quickly, so reach them fast for an easier time. On standard difficulty, they are defended only by 6 Hoplites, so disembark only a few troops and the rams to make short work of the island's defenses. Do not kill anything other than the Hoplites and towers, as everything else becomes the player's.
Once this is done, make sure to bring the player's fleet around the side to the bottom of the island. Going around the top will bring the player right to Tenos and bottleneck the player under their towers.
From here, just west is another island. Take Datis to the Temple there, and it will become the player's, granting the player a Fort and a Temple, as well as the ability to construct the Hall of Emissaries. Here, the player can train Emissaries to instantly convert an island to the player. Each one costs a lot of gold, and its price increases with each subsequent Emissary. The first is 2,000 gold, the second is 4,000, the third is 6,000, and so on.
As Tenos is right on the player's border, only has one Fort, and that Fort is by the coast, it is recommended that the player take care of them early to avoid some harassment. The player does not need to breach their wall to reach the Fort, it is between the mountains, accessible from shore. Land the player's army and focus the rams on it. Once Tenos is captured, it may similarly be harassed by Andros.
Andros is larger, more fortified, and boasts two Forts, each behind walls. Thus, it is recommended to use the first Emissary here. The player may need to land some troops to clear out their defenders some, and the fleet will need to clear a way, but taking Andros secures the eastern half of the map for the player and puts the player in range of Carystos.
From here, the player can either try to assault Carystos, or handle the rest of the map.
The player's second Emissary should be sent to Paros. If the player can get the Transport Ship safely to the southwestern edge of the map, and sail it up towards their Temple, they should find a nearby unguarded shore, and reach the Temple, converting the whole island with no combat. This base may be under occasional threat from the nearby Carystos base in the western corner, but is usually fine. Nearby, Artemis asks for the player's help with a gate. Destroying it has her take over the city and begin to assist the player, and nets the player the "Friend of Artemisia" achievement if she was also helped in a previous scenario.
With Artemisia's assistance, the player can take out Dionysius' base in the center of the map to clear out the threat and have an easier time getting to Carystos.
Artemisia will begin to attack Carystos, so if the player wants to focus quickly on Naxos, now is the time.
Naxos will mainly be a ground assault, as the player needs to reach their second Fort inland. The shoreline Fort can be handled by Leviathans, who can also break down the nearby gate. Marching through the gate, take the eastern path around the mountains, to avoid some towers and meet little to no resistance between the player and the last Fort. Once this Fort is down, Naxos is defeated. Pull the troops out, and sail them north.
Carystos is heavily fortified, with some Forts and towers defending a bay producing ships to defend themselves. It is tough to crack, and the player should focus the fleet here to keep them inside. Take the Leviathans and Transport Ships along the northwestern edge, using the Leviathans to deal with some towers. There is a small space where the player can land the rams in relative safety to break through the wall. It is a tight squeeze, but after breaking in, the player can flood the army in to begin dealing with the base from behind while the Leviathans focus on the clifftop Forts and the fleet keeps the enemy back. With a little bit of time and care, Carystos should fall.
Achievement "The Great King's Wrath"[]
To get this achievement, the player cannot use Emissaries to conquer their enemies. This also means that the player will not take over the enemy bases as they defeat them. Proceeding as above, the player should make sure to defeat every other player except their ally, Artemisia, before they fight Carystos.
Do note, while the game says to defeat opponents by eliminating their Forts, the player will also need to eliminate their Town Centers to conquer them.
Carryover[]
If the player opts to destroy all three Naxian Forts, they have only two Forts in The Fruits of Empire. If at least one is left standing, Naxos will have three Forts in the other scenario.
Trivia[]
- The scenario's name refers to a phrase mentioned in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, representing a demand for tribute (and thus submission) by the Achaemenid Empire from surrendered cities and nations. It is referenced again in the intro to The Hot Gates.
Gallery[]
