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Family Affairs is the first scenario of the Algirdas and Kestutis campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Dawn of the Dukes.

Intro[]

You want to know how I ended up here, foreigner? You dare to ask such a question, as if we were equals? Very well. I will tell you the story, my companion in misfortune. If there is one thing of which we are not deprived in this bloody dungeon, it is time.

I aimed for the throne — yet I ended up in this dark, moldy prison cell.

Beyond these bars lies the land of my fathers: Lithuania. Its swamps, deep forests, and raging rivers are not exactly the heart of civilization , if you ask our enemies — which makes it all the more astonishing that they have tried, time and again, to subjugate it.

It began when some... 'chosen ones' felt called on to bring the light to Lithuania. They named themselves the Teutonic Order, and, under the banner of the cross, they promised deliverance — yet they brought only death and perdition.

Lithuania is not easily cowed. Our ancestors learned how to fight by battling the forces of nature and the beasts of the dark, primeval forests. Every one of our soldiers is steeped in that same tradition.

But the more that we resisted the crusaders and their god, the more ruthless they became. Slowly, we began to see their true faces. They called themselves holy warriors, but they were nothing more than robber knights — and a hundred years of pillaging our lands had made them masters of their trade.

They razed our strongholds and torched our villages. Had Grand Duke Gediminas still been alive, he would have put this mob of greedy crusaders in its place — but a devious coup ended his life and left the throne to his useless son, Jaunutis.

Jaunutis was weak, but worse, he was divisive when the land needed unity. He turned away from our old beliefs and accepted the Christian god. As he failed to control the domestic unrest, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order saw his chance to subjugate Lithuania for good.

However, Jaunutis' brothers — Algirdas and Kestutis — refused to stand idly by as their beloved homeland fell to the cross. They exhorted the disaffected princes to dethrone Jaunutis, who had barricaded himself inside of the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

  • Wait for Algirdas and Kestutis to discuss their plans.
  • Drive Jaunutis out of Vilnius by razing his Wonder in the center of the city.
  • Defeat Narimantas.
  • (secondary) Build Monasteries in neutral villages to convert their residents to Christianity. Settlements that have adopted Christianity will support you by sending you resources.
  • (secondary) Build Shrines in neutral villages to allow their residents to adhere to their pagan customs. Settlements that remain pagan will support you by training soldiers and fighting your opponents.
  • (secondary) Help Kestutis defeat the Teutonic Raiders so that his forces can aid you in the battle for Lithuania.
  • (secondary) Recruit engineers (research Siege Engineers in your University) to read the captured plans for siege engines.

Hints[]

  1. Algirdas is restricted to the Castle Age and a population limit of 150. His strategy focuses on land warfare, so constructing Docks is impossible.
  2. Kestutis will keep the Teutonic Order in check for you. If you help him defeat this enemy, however, he will redirect his forces to help you even the odds in the battle for the Lithuanian throne.
  3. Lithuanian rural population longs for peace and stability. You may be able to win the support of neutral villages (6, Grey) once you reach the Castle Age.
  4. Jaunutis rules the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, but you can seize it if you evict your brother from the city. Do not destroy what may be of use to you later.
  5. Do not hesitate to send the tenacious Algirdas into combat. Should he be wounded, he will retreat to his castle to recover and fight again after he has recuperated.
  6. Algirdas and Kestutis must initially rely on simple Battering Rams when besieging enemy fortresses, but it may be possible to steal construction plans for advanced siege equipment by defeating the Teutons.

Scouts[]

Your scouts report:

  • Algirdas and his supporters (1, Green) begin at a slight disadvantage, initially only controlling a small settlement in the north and a nearby Castle.
  • Even though Algirdas is feuding with most of his relatives, he can count on the support of his younger brother Kestutis (2, Cyan), who holds the western frontier with an army of heavy cavalry and swordsmen.
  • In the east lies the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, which is ruled by Jaunitus (3, Blue). To expel their hostile brother from the city, Algirdas and Kestutis must defeat Jaunitus' army of Crossbowmen, Pikemen, and Leiciai.
  • Narimantas (4, Purple), another brother of Algirdas, rules a principality in the south. Though initially neutral, he is likely to send his powerful Knights, Leiciai, and sturdy Battering Rams to support Jaunitus rather than his other brothers.
  • In the far west lie two Teutonic outposts (5, Red). These are manned by experienced Knights and their foot soldiers, and may prove difficult for Kestutis to take on alone.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): The player has a base in the northern part of the map. They start in the Feudal Age with a few cavalry units. They have to first defend against attacks from both Jaunitus and Narimantas and then defeat them. They have an ally, Kestutis, who has a base nearby and helps to defend the attacks from Teutonic Raiders.

Ally[]

  • Kestutis (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): Kestutis has a base close to the player. He mainly helps to defend the attacks from Teutonic Raiders and train Leiciai, Knights, Pikemen, and Crossbowmen.
  • Lithuanian Villages (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): allied passive villages. They start with six small towns, each with four villager who have an animation of gathering wood when not actually gathering anything. Player can build monasteries there, which will turn particular village into Christian Lithuanians who will send resources to the player, or Pagan Shrines, will turn particular village into Pagan Lithuanians who will send basic soldiers to help the player. Once all six villages are converted either to Christian or Pagan Lithuanians, or divided into both, Lithuanian Villages player will resign.
  • Christian Lithuanians (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): After building a monastery in one of the six Lithuanian villages, it will turn into Christian Lithuanians, start training some villagers who will gather wood and build farms and keep sending resources (wood, food and gold) to the player.
  • Pagan Lithuanians (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): After building a Pagan Shrine in one of the six Lithuanian villages, it will turn into Pagan Lithuanians, start training some villagers who will gather wood and build farms and keep traininig an army (Man-at-Arms, Spearmen, Skirmishers, Priests and Battering Rams) to assist the player.

Enemies[]

  • Jaunutis (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): Jaunutis controls the city of Vilnius, on the east side of the map. He is the only player who starts and is able to be in Imperial Age. His army consists of Knights (Cavaliers), Leiciai, Pikemen, Crossbowmen, and Trebuchets. By destroying the Wonder, he will resign and the player will take control of all buildings and units (training in progress).
  • Teutonic Raiders (CivIcon-Teutons Teutons) The Teutonic Raiders have two outposts on the west part of the map. They train Knights, Pikemen, Crossbowmen, and Scorpions. If they are defeated, the player can research Siege Engineers in the University and then be able to build Trebuchets.

Neutral to Enemy[]

  • Narimantas (CivIcon-Lithuanians Lithuanians): Narimantas is located on the southern part of the map. He trains Knights, Leiciai, and Battering Rams. He resigns when his Castle and Town Center are destroyed.

Strategy[]

Overall, a straight-forward scenario on Hard difficulty. The player needs a Castle early, so immediately queue up a few Villagers, research Double-Bit Axe and Horse Collar. Send the first five Villagers to food, initially to berries and then lure both Boars that are close to the player's Mill; once the Boars are finished, send them onto the nearby Shore Fish. Once the player has 12 on food, send the next 4 Villagers to the stone patch southwest of the base (go from the player's base towards the Cyan base). The next Villagers go to wood (10 on wood seems good) since the berries are about to run out and the player will need farms. Keep expanding the Farms until the player has around 32-35 Villagers and Wheelbarrow, then age up. The player should be very close to getting 650 stone by now. Get Gold Mining and start producing Spearmen from the Barracks and send all military troops southeast. There are some berries and a Boar in between the two neutral villages. This is the location of the player's soon-to-be constructed Castle (in the choke-point between cliffs and the small lake).

As the player reaches Castle Age, use the four Gold Miners to build a Castle at the aforementioned location. Once the player gets additional stone, use them to build two Town Centers, one by the stone mine where Deer are and the other one behind the player's Castle by the berries and Boar. Next, at the gold miners' location, build 1-2 Barracks and one Monastery. At home, build one University. Research Pikeman, Bow Saw, Bloodlines, and Feudal Age armor upgrades for cavalry and infantry. Prioritize getting as many Leiciai, Pikemen and 3-5 Monks while booming up to 70-75 Villagers. Purple should attack the player's Castle by now with two Battering Rams and a mix of Knights and Pikemen. Janutis will immediately attack with a force twice as big with rams, Knights, Pikeman and Crossbowmen (the player's starting force can deal with Narimantas' forces, but the player needs a Castle to fend off Narimantas). After the player fends off these attacks, the player can research Murder Holes, Ballistics, Fletching, Bodkin Arrow, and Masonry. Finish booming if the player is not done.

  • Achievement note: The player can easily build Monasteries or Pagan Shrines with a single Villager with the shift-click command as long as the player goes with the north path around Blue's base (there are three towers via the center route). The achievement will only unlock at the end of the scenario.

Once the player has a 35-ish force of Leiciai, Pikemen, initial Knight leftovers and Algirdas, send them to the Teutonic Raiders' eastern camp (the player does not need siege, though Arson helps a bit). Attack the Scorpions with the Knights so the player's Pikemen do not get shredded. The player should be around 110/150 when doing so. Keep producing Leiciai, Pikemen, and (if the player wants) Skirmishers, but keep the player's rally point by the player's Castle at home (important) until maxed out. The player should also either Stone Wall or Castle the other path that Narimantas can take to the player's base via the initial stone mine.

As the player clears the Teutonic Raiders' first camp, the player could send a small contingent to reinforce them to take on the next camp or send them back home as Narimantas will send his usual ram + Knights + Pikemen, but Blue will send 4 Trebuchets + 2 garrisoned Capped Rams, lots of Knights, lots of Crossbowmen, and lots of Pikeman. If the player's Castle is at half health or so, let it finish the archers after the enemy's cavalry and Pikemen are dealt with.

Killing the Teutonic Raiders should be a formality by now. Research the now accessible Siege Engineers and the player can build Trebuchets. Build 4-6, cross the shallows on the southwest side of Vilnius, destroy the 3 towers outside his base. Use Trebuchets' attack ground feature to clear the trees adjacent to the lake and Vilnius' wall. That will allows the player to get the Trebuchets in a position to snipe the Wonder without even entering the city. After Janutis resigns, the player takes control of all the remaining buildings, including soldiers training in progress. Narimantas will not be a match for the player now as the player can destroy his Castles and towers from outside the city, destroy the Gates and wipe his base. By destroying his Castle and Town Center, he resigns.

Outro[]

To seize power is one thing; to keep it is something else entirely — only a fool declared himself the victor after winning the first battle of a war. As such, Algirdas and Kestutis — the victorious usurpers — knew that their triumph could turn out to be short-lived.

The two of them, however, were a different breed than most rulers of their time. Instead of quarreling as their brothers had done — and as most people expected them to, for who had ever heard of two men sharing power? — Algirdas and Kestutis agreed to rule Lithuania together.

It was a remarkable move, and it showed that they cared more about the well-being of their subjects than personal power.

This, of course, did not go unnoticed by the Teutonic Grand Master. He knew that he would have to contend with more formidable opponents from now on.

Trivia[]

  • This is the only scenario in Dawn of the Dukes where the player starts in the Feudal Age.
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