Strange Alliances is the second scenario of Act II: Ice in Age of Empires III. It involves a British attack on Brunswick, Stuart Black's colony - and the introduction of Warwick, the Act's villain.
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Commerce Age - Ending Age: Industrial Age
- Population limit: 200
- Starting resources: None
- Starting units and technologies:
Summary[]
After John Black's forces manage to fend off Cherokee assaults, John Black decides that it is time to take the fight to them by destroying their war camps and then negotiating a peace treaty at the main Cherokee village.
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
- Destroy the Cherokee War Huts.
- Bring John and Ká:nien to the main Cherokee village to negotiate a peace.
- Establish a new colony and defeat the British.
- Bring John and Ká:nien to the main Cherokee village to negotiate a peace.
Secondary objectives[]
Players[]
Player[]
- John Black ( John Black's Mercenaries) - The player starts with two heroes, John Black and Ká:nien, as well as a small band of Jaegers and Skirmishers. The town of Brunswick is initially owned by the player as well, however they won't be able to send Home City Cards in the earlier part of the game. At the start, the player cannot train any additional units since they do not have any stockpile of resources.
Ally[]
- Uncle Stuart ( John Black's Mercenaries) - This player consists solely of Stuart Black. After the British attack Brunswick, all of the player's buildings in the starting base are converted to this player's ownership.
Enemy[]
- British ( British) - The only enemy faction in this scenario, which at first consists solely of the Cherokee War Huts and some Cherokee defenders, including Cherokee Archers, Riflemen, and Horse Archers. After the heroes get ambushed at the Cherokee village, a large British army will disembark from two Frigates and a base will be set up within Brunswick. They will train all sorts of British units, including Longbowmen.
Strategy[]
Destroying the War Huts[]
To destroy the War Huts, the player should send their forces south, and let the heroes take the brunt of the damage - since they regenerate and regular soldiers do not. The War Huts will spawn a few Cherokee soldiers when they've taken enough damage, so pay attention and target the units.
When the War Huts are down, John Black will be asked to meet with the enemy leader at the Cherokee village. Before doing so, explore the map and take any Treasures (one of which increases the heroes' hitpoints). Also, delete the buildings at the colony, as this will disadvantage the British when they take it over. Go to the southwestern village, where an ambush will occur by a few Musketeers, and this is the signal for a large British army to move in and capture the colony, disembarked by two Frigates who shell the player's buildings in Brunswick.
Establishing and building a new base[]
Shortly after the British army attacks, a Covered Wagon will start moving south, and a few buildings to the south-west will come under the player's control. Seven Settlers will emerge once the Covered Wagon is unpacked. Invest in hunting to collect food; also, build a Market and research the Hunting Dogs upgrade. Remember to set up some defences too, as British counterattacks should start eventually. After accumulating enough food and gold, advance to the Fortress Age and choose the Mohawk Statesman, to acquire Iroquois Mantlets.
Build up a large army, preferably with plenty of Skirmishers to face the British Musketeers, and some Artillery to take care of buildings and Longbowmen (including preferably three or more Falconets). It is highly possible that the enemy will have attempted a Fort Drop, placing a Fort between the player's base and the northwest part of the British base. Before acquiring Mortars, avoid it at all costs.
The player can also patrol the perimeter of the British base with Uhlans during the first phases in order to destroy a Fort Wagon (should the enemy send one) and harass enemy Settlers, in order to hamper their economic progress.
Destroying the British base and aftermath[]
The player should move in through the south towards the enemy base, to avoid any counterattacks coming from the northwest and a Fort, if it is has been set up. As the player's forces move in towards the enemy base, they will be informed of the Secondary Objective of freeing Settlers held by neutral Outlaw Musketeers (these are Treasure guardians). Free the captive Settlers to acquire some extra experience and assault the enemy base.
Clean up any remaining buildings to win; once their base is down, John Black will mention that they have reclaimed the base, and the player will be victorious.
Trivia[]
- Ká:nien mentions the Heavy Cannons the Cherokee used in the previous level, even on Easy difficulty, in which they are not present.
- At the beginning of the game, all buildings in Brunswick belong to the player. The player may choose to delete the buildings, including the Walls in this state. Therefore, no (or fewer) buildings will be converted under the possession of Uncle Stuart.
- When this happens, the enemy will have a reduced protection around their base, since they can use the Walls that used to protect Brunswick as their own if not deleted, and those cannot be attacked by the player, as they remain under control of the Uncle Stuart player.
- When the British forces attack Brunswick, its Town Center instantly disappears.
- In this scenario, once the British arrive on land and take possession of the Brunswick, a Treasure to the southeast will be free of guardians and can be easily captured. But the player has to try to catch it before the British arrive in it, otherwise they should take it for granted that it will be defended.
- In real life, the colony of Brunswick, North Carolina had a Spanish raid in 1748, but it was quickly defeated by the Settlers themselves.
Gallery[]
