Maurice of Nassau (1567-1625) is the AI personality of the Dutch in Age of Empires III. He was Prince of Orange from 1618 to 1625 and is voiced by Ivar Brogger.
Personality
Maurice is very gentlemanly in his comments and often calls the player his "little upstart" if they are allies. Even as enemies, Maurice generally respects the player. He is concerned with economics and making money, and as such focuses more on economical matters rather than military ones. This is shown with his many quotes, as sometimes in the beginning of a game, attempts to bribe the player with 200 coin to resign.
Strategy
Nassau tends to amass large groups of infantry and artillery throughout his games. Nassau's early armies usually comprise of Pikemen and Skirmishers (as the Dutch have an early bird advantage). Later in the game, if Nassau is not defeated yet, he will usually have a mix of Falconets and Halberdiers supported by either Hussars or Skirmishers. The only unit that he never trains is the Ruyter.
Due to how the Dutch economy works, Nassau primarily plays defensive for the first half of the game. Nassau has the best defenses out of all of the AIs, as he builds Outposts ringing around his settlement to protect them from rushes. He also is the only AI to utilize Fortified Outposts (unless the game is set on a post-Industrial/Imperial match). Nassau's economy is the second best, only being surpassed by Napoleon because of the Coureur's superior gathering rates. Factories and Banks create the majority of Nassau's Coin, allowing him to focus on any food and wood costs to supply his coin-intense armies.
Quotes
Maurice as an Ally
- Starting a game after fighting against him previously - "Ah, my little upstart, finally came to your senses and joined my side, eh?"
- Requesting food - "My people are hungry. Do you have some food to spare?"
- Requesting wood - "I need to build a bank or something, could I have some wood?"
- Requesting coin - "Could you spare some coin? Just this once, I promise."
- Received food - "Your generosity is greatly appreciated."
- Received wood - "This wood will build many great structures in my town."
- Receives coin - "I shall put this coin to good use."
- Offers player food - "I assume you will use this food wisely."
- Offers player wood - "I have all the wood I need right now, I'm sending some of my extra logs."
- Offers player coin - "A wealthy nation is a strong nation, so here is some coin."
- Player collects food-related treasure - "As long as you put that treasure to good use I won't mind you taking it from my lands."
- Agreeing to a strategy- "It shall be done."
- Agreed Attack: "But of course." or "Right away."
- Declined Attack: "I know you are accustomed to seeing my great armies fighting on the battlefield. But at this moment I have none."
- Constructing a fort - "This will be the location of my next military base."
- Initiating attack - "The enemy base here makes some of my settlers nervous, so I'm going to destroy it." or "Watch me take the enemy's main town my little upstart. You might learn something."
- Player slacks in Age:
- Under attack - "This is getting out of control! I need your troops in my town now!" or "In my town, there-are-just-too-many.."
- Trade monopoly victory imminent - "Well my little upstart, stick with me , do as I do, and successes like these will become old-hat."
- Near defeat -
Maurice as an Enemy
- Start of game - "If you surrender now, I might give you 200 gold for your troubles." or "No formal hellos now, I'll meet your acquaintance out on the battlefield."
- Player repeats same map from last time - "I think you feel this map type helps your play, but realize it also helps mine."
- Player collects a coin-related treasure - "Will you be able to buy an army to beat me with that little bit of coin?"
- Maurice collects a food-related treasure - "This will help me field an army greater than yours."
- Player collects multiple treasures - "You have an unfair advantage! Your explorer is doing something useful."
- Discovers player's Town Center - "I have spotted your town, and for now, actually resembles mine in some ways."
- Player destroys his Trading Post (trade route) - "Drat! That trading post was bringing me much wealth."
- Destroys a player's trade route post - "I know the wealth a trading post can provide, therefore I couldn't allow you to keep yours much longer."
- Destroys a player's native post - "Your native alliance was making you too powerful so I ended it for you."
- Player ages faster than Maurice - "Your technological advances will not save you from the wrath of my forces." or "How did you manage to Age up so quickly? You must tell me your secret." or "Rushing Age up will not guarantee your victory in the end."
- Major battle - "You should turn and run, this battle does not look good for you." or "I'm telling you this as an enemy that respects you, you should retreat."
- Small force enters enemy territory - "Is this what you call a raid?!" or "For the safety of your own men you should keep them in your town and away from my forces." or "Are those the only troops your nation could afford?"
- Player destroys Town Center - "My town center is lost, but I am not."
- Colony is ravaged - "This will not bode well for me."
- Defeat - "I sense I can no longer obtain victory. May I resign now?" or "You have beaten me, and I would like to offer my surrender."
History
| “ | Maurice of Orange, also known as Maurice of Nassau, was born in 1567. He became Prince of Orange in 1618. During Maurice's reign the Netherlands were fighting for independence from Spain. Until Maurice took control, the revolt against the Spaniards was disorganized. He organized the troops and won several important victories that led to a 12-year truce, which ended in 1621. His attempts to deal with Spain after the truce ended were not successful. Maurice never married and was succeeded by his brother. He lived an extravagant life and was a great admirer of horses. He referred to them as his 'favorite courtiers'. Whether that was an indictment of his human courtiers or an elevation of a prized animal is uncertain. In Age of Empires III: Maurice is noble in bearing, refined, and confident. After his difficulties with the Spanish during his reign, he may be hesitant to want to help them. | ” |
Trivia
- Maurice is the sixth oldest personality of the game. His rule as Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland is contemporary of that of Queen Elizabeth's.
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