| “ | Seeking to control the emperor himself, Cao Cao defies the tyrant Dong Zhuo. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
Emperor In All But Name is the second scenario of the Cao Cao campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. It is loosely based on several different events: the campaign against Dong Zhuo (190-191) after his relocation of the imperial capital to Chang'an, the assassination of Dong Zhuo (192), Cao Cao's invasion of Xu Province (193-194), and Cao Cao's ascendancy to regency under Emperor Xian (196).
Intro[]
As Dong Zhuo's reign of terror plagued the empire, the powerful northern warlord Yuan Shao organized an alliance against him. Eager for another stab at the tyrant's heart, Cao Cao was among the first to join.
Alliances of so many strong-willed men are liable to fall apart before they even see battle, but this one served its purpose nonetheless. To escape encirclement, Dong Zhuo burned down the capital and force-marched its people – and Emperor – to the city of Chang'an.
Already weakened by the southern warlord Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo had now begun to quarrel with his adopted son, the legendary warrior Lü Bu, as both had fallen for a young woman named Diaochan.
As Cao Cao rode to rescue the Emperor, a twisted plan hatched in his mind. After Dong Zhuo was dead, someone else would need to rule in the child Emperor's stead. Some who had Dong Zhuo's decisiveness but not his corrupt tendencies – and certainly not someone with the weaknesses of Cao Cao's bickering allies.
Cao Cao knew only one man whom he would trust with such power.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Ending Age: Castle Age
- Starting resources: 400 food, 400 wood, 250 gold, 150 stone
- Population limit: 150
- Starting units:
- Cao Cao (hero)
- 13 Villagers
- 6 Hei Guang Cavalry
- 5 Xianbei Raiders
- 3 Light Cavalry
- 2 Tiger Cavalry
- 3 Monks (if spared in The Yellow Turban Rebellion)
Main objectives[]
- Capture the Emperor.
- Reduce Tao Qian's population (59) to 10 or less.
- Defeat Tao Qian. (if Liu Bei arrives)
Secondary objectives[]
- 0/5 warlords killed.
- You can recruit 2 more Yellow Turban group(s).
- 0/3 of Lü Bu's banners captured.
Hints[]
- You can support 150 population but cannot advance to the Imperial Age. You can build Docks and Fishing Ships, but no warships.
- Your soldiers each generate food once you research the Tuntian technology in your Castle.
- Many Yellow Turban survivors have been sighted nearby. Try to convince them to join your ranks.
- Apparently, Dong Zhuo humiliated his ally Lü Bu by taking a woman promised to Lü Bu as his own concubine. Their alliance's days are numbered.
Scouts[]
- Cao Cao (Blue) and his father Cao Song (Orange) have arrived in the south. Cao Song will seek more allies while his son fights Dong Zhuo.
- Dong Zhuo (Purple) has a large base in the north and will attack with cavalry. His alliance with Lü Bu (Grey) is fragile. Lü Bu camps further west and trains White Feather Guards and Hei Guang Cavalry.
- The admired governor Tao Qian (Cyan) is based in the southeast. He and his army of Archers and Spearmen could be useful allies.
- More enemy warlords (Red) are scattered across the map. Subduing them is possible, but not a priority.
- Scattered Yellow Turban soldiers (Yellow) hide in the area and may join a strong leader.
Players[]
Player[]
- Cao Cao ( Wei): Starts in the south of the map with a small base, some Villagers, and a small cavalry-based force. They must defend their base from early incursions by Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo, then go on the offensive against Tao Qian to devastate his province, and finally against Dong Zhuo to kill him and capture the Emperor.
Ally[]
- Cao Song ( Wei): The father of Cao Cao, he has a base with a Castle just east of Cao Cao, and attacks Enemy Warlords camps. He trains Crossbowmen, Pikemen, Hei Guang Cavalry, and Tiger Cavalry. After Cao Song is killed in an ambush en route to Tao Qian, the player takes over his base.
- Yellow Turban Soldiers ( Chinese): Yellow Turban Soldiers are hiding in six camps across the map, and the player can recruit two of them by bringing a Cart, initially stationed next to Cao Song's Blacksmith, to the respective camp. While the exact composition varies, they always include Crossbowmen, Elite Skirmishers, Halberdiers, and Two-Handed Swordsmen, with the camps further away from the player including more units and siege engines (Capped Rams, Traction Trebuchets).
Enemy[]
- Dong Zhuo ( Wei): The primary enemy of the scenario, Dong Zhuo has a large, well-defended base in the north of the map, and will regularly send troops against the player. He trains Pikemen, Hei Guang Cavalry, Tiger Cavalry, and Xianbei Raiders, and will send Battering Rams as well after the initial waves. Capturing the Emperor near Dong Zhuo's Castle results in their immediate defeat.
- Enemy Warlords ( Wei): They have five camps across the map, each including a garrison led by a Warlord, a Guard Tower, and several production buildings. Two camps are south of the river, and three north of it, and they also have an Outpost with a garrison on a river island north of the center of the map. They will typically defend themselves with Crossbowmen, Long Swordsmen, Hei Guang Cavalry, and Pikemen, and may include siege engines such as Scorpions. Killing a Warlord immediately kills the garrison, turns over his camp to the player, and grants some resources. They do not actively attack the player.
- Liu Bei ( Shu): Is not initially present, but will arrive 20 minutes after Tao Qian requests his help following Cao Song's murder, spawning off the eastern entrance to Tao Qian's base. His reinforcements consist of Crossbowmen, Pikemen, War Chariots, and White Feather Guards, and will guard Tao Qian's base. He resigns if he has only a few units left.
Neutral → Enemy[]
- Tao Qian ( Shu): Has a walled military camp surrounded by economic bases near the east of the map. Initially neutral and proposing an alliance when contacted by Cao Song, he becomes an enemy shortly after Cao Song is killed en route to his base, and Cao Cao swears revenge. He trains Feudal Age units, but is mostly focused on booming. Reducing his population to 10 or fewer units before Liu Bei arrives results in his defeat; otherwise, he must be defeated by destroying his Town Center and killing most of his units.
Enemy (Possible Ally)[]
- Lü Bu ( Shu): Has a base to the west of the map, with Lü Bu himself in a walled area around his Castle. He is initially an enemy of the player, and will harass them. He trains Hei Guang Cavalry, Long Swordsmen, War Chariots, and White Feather Guards. After 20 minutes, he breaks his alliance with Dong Zhuo, and can be turned to ally by capturing three banners located in the outskirts of his base. When allied, he will attack the player's enemies.
Strategy[]
To win this scenario, the player must be able to first defend against regular attacks coming from the Dong Zhuo and Lü Bu bases while building up, and quickly deal with Tao Qian before reinforcements from Liu Bei are able to arrive, before going on the offensive against Dong Zhuo. Additionally, if they want the scenario achievement, they must defeat Lü Bu before 20 minutes elapse. Either way, the player should first secure their base with troops or a Castle to defend against Dong Zhuo's and (initially) Lü Bu's attacks before heading out.
Soon after starting the scenario, the player is presented with a decision to recruit another hero: Xiahou Dan, a Champion Class hero focused on dealing heavy damage, or Cao Ren, a Commander Class hero supporting nearby units. Their choice persists for the rest of the campaign.
There are several Yellow Turban Soldiers camps around the map, including units that the player is unable to train in this scenario. The player can only recruit two warbands with the Carts stationed near Cao Song's Blacksmith, so they should choose carefully. In any case, they should not recruit the warband just southeast of their base, as it offers the fewest soldiers and does not have a siege engine. While the player might be tempted to recruit the Yellow Turban warbands southeast and southwest of Dong Zhuo's base by virtue of having the most units (22 each) and including a Traction Trebuchet, a better option, if rushing Lü Bu, would be to recruit the warbands southeast and each of his base if intending to use Capped Rams to shorten the time to reach his base.
About 12 minutes after starting the scenario, Cao Song is killed en route to Tao Qian's base, upon which he becomes an enemy, and the player inherits Cao Song's base. Right after the takeover, the player is informed that Liu Bei is en route to reinforce Tao Qian, with a 20-minute countdown. While Tao Qian fields only Feudal Age military, he has many Villagers, and the walls may initially slow down the player's progress. If the player also rushes Lü Bu for the achievement, this adds to the urgency to move the units from Lü Bu's base to Tao Qian, i. e. across the whole map, especially if using siege engines. However, if his population (initially 59 on Legendary difficulty) is reduced to 10 or fewer units, he is defeated, and Liu Bei never shows up with reinforcements, sparing the player another enemy to fight. Should the player fail to reduce Tao Qian's population sufficiently in time, Liu Bei will spawn with 40-odd units of balanced composition (Crossbowmen, Pikemen, White Feather Guards, and War Chariots) off the eastern entrance to Tao Qian's base. In that case, Tao Qian must be defeated in a "conventional" way by destroying his Town Center and killing most of his units, while contending with Liu Bei's units that guard his base.
At the 20 minute mark, Dong Zhuo breaks his alliance with Lü Bu, making it possible for the player to ally with Lü Bu. The player can force him to submit by capturing the three banners southeast and east of his base, enclosed by Palisade Walls. A few Hei Guang Cavalry or Tiger Cavalry should do the job, as the player only needs to reach the banners, and does not have to destroy any towers or kill any units. Once he switches his stance to ally, the player receives trample damage effect for their melee cavalry for the rest of the campaign, and Lü Bu will assist the player, though not very significantly. In addition, his hero unit becomes available in the Hall of Heroes.
To improve their position against Dong Zhuo, the player should consider taking over Enemy Warlords camps. As killing a Warlord turns over his base to the player with the rest of the garrison immediately defeated, the player should order their units to target Warlords only. Taking over Enemy Warlords camps also grants some resources to the player.
When going of the offensive against Dong Zhuo, remember that the objective is to capture the Emperor (represented by Emperor in a Litter), near Dong Zhuo's Castle. To capture him, the player only has to kill the Dong Zhuo cavalry hero unit, who is always close to him, and ensure that no other units are near the Emperor. It is not necessary to attack the rest of Dong Zhuo's base. Once the Emperor is captured, Dong Zhuo's faction immediately starts deleting their buildings and units and resign shortly afterwards, winning the scenario.
Achievement[]
The Steam achievement "Do Not Pursue Lü Bu" can be earned by defeating Lü Bu within the first 20 minutes of the scenario. This is done by killing the namesake hero, upon which his whole faction resigns. As he is usually behind the walls near his Castle, the player should either bring siege engines to knock down a Gate, or wait for an enemy unit to open it, before rushing Lü Bu. Using Cao Cao's active ability can help finish him off quickly, and preserve the player's units for a bit longer. The achievement is awarded upon completing the scenario.
Outro[]
With Dong Zhuo dead, Cao Cao was now the most powerful man in China. While some still decried him as a usurper, he was careful to always be seen as acting out the Emperor's will – even though it was he who shaped that will.
So much power concentrated in the hands of one man did not sit well with the other warlords. Yuan Shao, the same man who had once rallied a coalition against Dong Zhuo, now raised his banners against Cao Cao.
Seeing an opportunity to rid himself of a formidable rival, Cao Cao welcomed the challenge.
Trivia[]
- Cao Cao's invasion of Tao Qian's holdings in Xu Province is depicted from the other side in the second scenario of the Liu Bei campaign, Heroes of the Realm.
