| “ | The Macedonians march home, laden with plunder. All that gleaming loot is sure to attract unwanted attention... | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
Let the Prince Decide is the second scenario of the Alexander the Great grand campaign in Chronicles: Alexander the Great. It is based on Philip II of Macedon's return from his Scythian expedition through the territory of the Triballi, a tribe living in the area of present-day northern Bulgaria and southeastern Serbia, and the conflict over Philip's refusal to share the expedition's booty.
Intro[]
Alexander had certainly enjoyed an upbringing to match his grandiose ambitions. His tutor had been none other than the great philosopher Aristotle. Aristotle taught him political theory, ethics, rhetoric, music, science, mathematics; but above all else, it was Homer's Iliad that entranced the young prince, the epic tale of Achilles' wrath.
When Alexander was still a boy, a horse trader presented a hot-blooded stallion to Philip's court. It was a magnificent animal, its coat a shining black, with a white mark like a star upon its head. None of the fine horsemen could tame the beast — until, that is, Alexander realized that the horse was afraid of its own shadow, and turned it towards the sun.
Alexander named the steed Bucephalus, and from that day forth the two were bonded like brothers. Now, sat proudly astride his mount, Alexander accompanied his victorious father on the road home to Macedon, through the rocky territory of the Triballi.
It was to prove an eventful journey...
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Classical Age - Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 145
- Starting units: None, then
Objectives[]
- Main objectives
- Kill the archers attempting to ambush you.
- At least 1 Plunder Cart must survive. x/4 Plunder Carts left.
- Protect the Plunder Carts and Royal Tent until the rocks are cleared. (for the first and second temporary bases)
- Protect the Plunder Carts and Royal Tent, in which Philip is convalescing, until the path is cleared. (for the final temporary base)
- Destroy the Triballi Town Center to open a safe passage for the army.
- Side objectives
- Rescue the Thracian prisoners held by the Triballi.
- Decisions
- Choose a path:
- Cleitus' Route: Direct
- Parmenion's Route: Safer
- Choose a base location:
- Cleitus' Spot: Resource-Rich
- Parmenion's Spot: Defensible
- Choose which army to face
- Cleitus' Path: Open Ground
- Parmenion's Path: Narrow
Hints[]
- You are restricted to the Classical Age and a population limit of 145.
- Your Villagers cannot construct buildings. Each time the camp deploys, they can be used to complete the pre-placed foundations of production buildings and tents, which grant population space.
- Villagers can drop off resources at the mobile Mule Carts.
- You can train extra Villagers at the Royal Tent. In an emergency, you can also exchange Plunder Carts for extra Villagers at the Royal Tent.
- Each time the temporary base is deployed, you will receive new Villagers. When it is packed up, your Villagers will arm themselves and walk as soldiers to the next destination.
- Alexander now also increases the attack speed of nearby Companion Cavalry.
Players[]
Player[]
- Alexander ( Macedonians): The player travels with Philip's troops back to Macedon, only to be intercepted by the Triballi tribe. The player must fight their way through their territory, gather resources, train troops, and help defend temporary camps from their attacks until reaching a Triballi town in the southeast of the map, and destroying the Town Center there to win.
Allies[]
- Philip ( Macedonians): Returning from the Scythian expedition with booty (Plunder Carts), Philip's army is intercepted. His army consists mainly of Companion Cavalry. At least one Plunder Cart must survive to win the scenario.
- Parmenion ( Macedonians): One of Philip's generals, he accompanies Philip's army with his Phalangites. His suggestions at decision points will prefer safer or more defensible options.
- Cleitus ( Macedonians): The other general deploys Companion Cavalry into battle, and will suggest more direct, but also more risky, options.
Enemies[]
- Triballi ( Thracians - Triballi): The tribe inhabiting the rocky territory the scenario is set in, they are hostile to Philip and his allies over his refusal to share booty from the Scythian expedition. They have several walled Camp Barracks around the map, each with a fairly large garrison, with their main base is to the southeast of the maps, which also contains a Town Center. Whenever a temporary camp is deployed, nearby Triballi camps will send attack waves against it unless the respective Camp Barracks are destroyed. Destroying their Town Center is required to win the scenario. They primarily train Elite Guardsmen, Laminated Bowmen, Rhomphaia Warriors and Elite Skirmishers, but also deploy a few Cavalry Archers and Mangonels
Strategy[]
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This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
This guide is applied to Legendary difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.
The gameplay in this scenario is somewhat similar to Gaiseric, as the player travels around the map to a certain point, deploys temporary bases, scours available resources nearby, and trains troops, while defending from the enemies.
The scenario opens with a dialog between Philip and the Triballi King, after which the Triballi attack. The player takes control over Alexander and 10 Companion Cavalry to kill the Laminated Bowmen on the cliff next to the player. Once the attack has been dealt with, with the dialog announcing Philip's injury, his army with generals will then move northwest to deploy the first temporary camp in the north of the map.
Once there, a Royal Tent is put up, along with foundations for military production buildings (except Siege Workshops), and several Greek Army Tents, which provide population (up to 85 at this point). The five Mule Carts are turned over to the player, and 25 Villagers are spawned. In this scenario, Villagers cannot construct any new buildings, but can repair temporary structures. Also, training of troops and research of unit upgrades has been sped up. The Royal Tent can train more Villagers and Mule Carts, and also train the unique Macedonian unit Companion Cavalry. In an emergency, the player can also trade one Plunder Cart for 20 Villagers.
The first site has a decent amount of resources just to the northeast, near a small lake, with smaller piles in a narrow gorge to the northwest. Whenever a temporary camp is deployed, the scenario plays like a "hold the line" situation, as the nearby Triballi camps will send waves of soldiers against the player, while the allied Stone Miners clear the obstacles ahead. To clear the rocks to the next area, the player has to hold off five waves of Triballi attacks, which here will come from the southwest and southeast, while defending the Royal Tent. A viable strategy might be to train Lancers or Companion Cavalry to deal with their ranged troops, while (Laminated) Bowmen or Cavalry Archers deal with their infantry. As the best Macedonian troops are gold-heavy, and the gold cost cannot be reduced via Recruitment Doctrines, it is important to put a sufficient number of Villagers on the scattered Gold Mines, as they are the only source of gold.
After defending the Royal Tent in five waves, Cleitus and Parmenion present a decision to the player. Cleitus proposes a direct route to the southwest, which contains an enemy contingent (Hoplites, Laminated Bowmen, and Rhomphaia Warriors), while Parmenion suggests a longer route bypassing the enemy troops. However, the cave by this route will spawn a pack of Hunting Wolves when troops approach it, while three Brown Bears with 900 hit points each guard the road just a little further ahead.
Whatever the player's choice, they are presented with another right after passing the respective obstacle. Cleitus proposes a camp with an easy access to resources, but an exposed location, while Parmenion insists on a location at the top of a hill, with chokepoints limiting access, but few resources nearby. Should the player choose the resource-rich location, they should be prepared to defend well, as the Triballi will attack from four directions, and two of the approaches are dangerously close to resource piles. Again, the player must survive five waves until the routes ahead are cleared.
Then the player has the third (and final) decision to make: Cleitus' route southeast via an open valley, containing a large group of Elite Guardsmen, Laminated Bowmen, and Rhomphaia Warriors, and a few Cavalry Archers, or Parmenion's route through a narrow gorge to the east, with several enemy ambush sites of Laminated Bowmen and Mangonels. After this, the last temporary camp site is set up just west of the main Triballi base, and in proximity of two other Triballi camps. A resource-rich area is located just to the south of this site, with no direct access for enemies, but the player should watch out for Laminated Bowmen.
In this area, the attacks will come from the north and south, with the Triballi troops in the main base attacking only when provoked. Nonetheless, it might be prudent to destroy the Camp Barracks in the two Triballi camps to stop the attack waves, and also liberate a Gaia group of 13 Hill Tribesmen held prisoner in the southern Triballi camp. Battering Rams also become available in the Royal Tent, and the population limit is increased to 145. The player should prepare for a push against the main base, carefully drawing out Triballi troops, and destroying their military production buildings. Triballi Villagers do not rebuild, so it should be an easy job at this point to destroy the Town Center, whether with troops or Battering Rams, and win the scenario.
Achievement[]
To obtain the Steam achievement "More Danger, More Glory", select only Cleitus' options in each of the decision points.
