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Themistocles knows that the Persians will one day return for vengeance. Can he persuade his fellow Athenians to spend their wealth on a mighty fleet?
—In-game summary

Raise the Sails is the second scenario of the second act of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece, and ninth scenario overall.

Intro[]

Marathon was a stunning victory. Those who fought there became known as the Marathonomachoi - among them the great tragedian Aeschylus, whose tombstone never bothers to mention his dramas, only his glorious involvement in Marathon. With the enemy vanquished, the Athenians slept soundly - all except Themistocles, who yearned for the glory that went to Miltiades

Not that Miltiades remained a hero very long. The next year, he made a dreadful mess of an expedition to Paros, was promptly thrown in prison by the angry Athenians, and died shortly thereafter from a gangrenous leg wound. Great men, you see, rarely meet great ends.

Lack of recognition wasn't the only thing that kept Themistocles awake at night: he knew the Persians would soon return, and Athens was utterly unprepared. So when the Athenians struck a rich vein of silver, Themistocles proposed something radical: they should spend it on a fleet of warships, and transform their unremarkable city into a naval power. His rival Aristides disagreed, as you might expect. The Persian threat was gone, he argued, and fleets are squalid things rowed by squalid men.

The Athenians had a wonderfully efficient way to resolve disputes like these: an ostracism. Unlike regular elections, where the Athenians voted eagerly for whoever made them the most extravagant promises, in an ostracism, the citizens voted to expel whichever politicians they found most disagreeable.

This was Themistocles' opportunity: If he could get his stubborn rival Aristides ostracized, he could have his fleet - and his chance at glory.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

Main objectives[]

  • Fake an Aeginetan raid: meet with the unscrupulous Shipwright to the south
  • Destroy 3 Athenian Fishing Ships to fake an Aeginetan attack on the harbor
  • Bring Themistocles back to Athens

OR

  • Slander Aristides: meet with Demetrios in the north
  • Bring Themistocles back to Athens
  • Reach 100 Naval Experience

Current naval Experience: 0

  • Do not allow Laurion to lose all 3 Mining Camps
  • Destroy 0/3 Forts on Aegina

Secondary objectives[]

  • Destroy 0/10 ships.
  • Destroy 0/25 ships.
  • Destroy 0/50 ships.
  • Destroy 0/100 ships.
  • Destroy 0/200 ships.
  • Destroy Phoenician Merchant Ships
  • Destroy Pirate Shipyards and Ports
  • Tribute 800 gold to Corinth to establish a treaty
  • Build a Fort in the flagged area to gain support from Eretria
  • Repay Demetrios (tribute 400 gold to Mines of Laurion player)

Hints[]

  1. Initially, the only military ships you can build are Monoremes and War Lemboi. To build more advanced ships, you must accumulate Naval Experience, which can be gained through various side objectives - including sinking enemy ships.
  2. This scenario also contains numerous special naval technologies which get unlocked as you accumulate more Naval Experience. Use them to gain the edge over the Aeginetans!
  3. Your main source of gold will be the mines of Laurion. Defend the mines against the attacks from Aegina and the Pirates, both of whom will attack with warships as well as transport ships.
  4. The Athenians are able to select different policies at the Town Center, which have a global effect for you. You can switch between policies as often as you wish, choosing one that best fits your needs.
  5. Gain two allies to unlock a new aura effect for Themistocles.
  6. Plundering Pirate Hoards will provide extra Naval Experience as well as some additional resources.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The player starts with Themistocles and a handful of troops, completing some brief objectives before taking control of Athens.

Allies[]

  • AthensMines of Laurion (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The city the scenario begins in. Turns over to the player upon completing the first few objectives.

Neutral → Potential Allies[]

  • Corinth (Spartans Chronicles Spartans - Corinthians): Corinth lies in the western corner of the map, and produces no units. Approach their Docks to receive the objective to tribute gold in exchange for an alliance. They do not offer assistance, but no longer attack, allowing the player to trade.
  • Eretria (Athenians Chronicles Athenians - Eretrians): Their base lies in the northern corner of the map. They will offer little to no assistance in the scenario, but will request the player build a Fort. Doing so is part of unlocking an aura upgrade.

Enemies[]

  • Pirates (Spartans Chronicles Spartans - Greeks): The pirates are two different players of the same color. They occupy most of the eastern map, with numerous islands, Ports, and Shipyards.
  • Phoenician Merchants (Achaemenids Chronicles Achaemenids): A minor opponent, spawning in the occasional small fleet guarding a ship, providing resources and experience for sinking.
  • Aegina (Spartans Chronicles Spartans - Aeginetans): A strong island base south-south west of Athens. The strongest opponent of the scenario.

Strategy[]

The scenario begins with a decision. Talking to the shipwright will net the player several Monoremes at the cost of three Fishing Ships. Slandering Aristides lets the player keep the extra Fishing Ships, but costs the player 400 gold later in the scenario. Failing to pay this gold will result in a riot in Athens, which can easily kill the player's Villagers.

Either way, with Aristides ostracized, Athens turns over to the player. The player obtain 25 Villagers immediately, as well as several troops in the city, and several ships and towers guarding the mines. The player will also gain some ships in the bay of Athens, near the Fort. If Melanthios was escorted successfully in the last scenario, he will give the player additional gold.

Set all but one of the player's Villagers to gather resources, while sending the troops and one Villager to the mines. The mines are critical to defend, and get attacked the most, by both Aegina and the pirates. The Fort at Athens comes under frequent attack from Aegina, while the coast north of the mines can be attacked by pirates.

Focus on gathering resources and purchasing some upgrades for ships and towers. Use the spare Villager to build a tower by the opening of the mines on the southern side. Aegina will attack here in force, even landing troops on occasion, so garrison it with archers. Send some ships to the western corner to meet Corinth, and tribute them 800 gold to unlock a trading partner. Build a Fort to help cover the area from pirates when Eretria asks. Doing both of these will allow an aura upgrade for Themistocles.

When possible, build another tower on the coast, halfway between the mines and the Shipyards north of them. This will help cover against pirate Transport Ships.

Technologies improving tower damage against ships, tower hit points, and accuracy, and upgrading them to Bastions, will be a massive help.

As the attacks come, the player's ships and towers will gain Naval Experience by sinking enemies. With each benchmark reached, new technologies will unlock, allowing the player to upgrade ships and even giving them bonuses. Eventually, the Phoenician Merchants will begin sending convoys into the area. These convoys can be lured in range of the Sea Towers by the mines for an easier fight, and will grant resources.

Experience can easily be gained without being aggressive, so let them come until the player can upgrade the ships well beyond what they can deal with.

Eventually, the player will be tasked with taking out 3 Forts on Aegina. Hold off on this until the player has researched all the special naval technologies. They will become available for research in other scenarios where Themistocles is present as a naval unit, allowing the player's ships to be ridiculously powerful.

When the player can build Leviathans, use them to begin cleaning up some of the pirates, or head to Aegina and finish the scenario by defending them as they pick off the Forts from a safe distance.

Custom technologies[]

There are several custom technologies available in this scenario, unlocked in stages by gaining naval experience. These technologies, if researched in this scenario, will be available in subsequent scenarios in which Themistocles appears as a warship (i.e. The Hot Gates, Divine Salamis, and The Fruits of Empire).

  • Fishing Ship upgrade 1 CBfG Fishing Baskets (200 food, 200 wood, [What?] seconds, requires Scoop Nets): Fishing Ships +15 carry capacity.
  • Fishing Ship upgrade 2 CBfG Iron Harpoons (250 food, 250 wood, [What?] seconds, requires Fishing Baskets): Fishing Ships increased gathering rate.
  • Ship reduce bonus CBfG Careful Captains (150 food, 150 wood, 50 seconds, at the Port): Ships receive -[What?] bonus damage.
  • Ship bonus increase CBfG Belligerent Captains (250 food, 250 wood, [What?] seconds, requires Careful Captains): Ships deal +[What?] bonus damage.
  • Ship armor CBfG Strengthened Hulls (400 food, 400 wood, [What?] seconds, at the Port): Ships ​+1 Armoricon aoe2demelee / ​+1 Range-armoricon aoe2depierce armor.
  • Ship regen CBfG Oakum (250 food, 250 wood, [What?] seconds, requires Strengthened Hulls): Ships regenerate hit points.
  • Lembos upgrade CBfG Liquid Courage (400 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Heavy Lembos): Lemboi gain a charged attack.
  • Ship attack speed 1 CBfG Marines (250 food, 250 gold, 50 seconds, at the Shipyard): Ships +10% attack speed.
  • Ship attack speed 2 CBfG Hardened Marines (400 food, 400 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Marines): Ships +15% attack speed.
  • Ship speed 1 CBfG Sea Shanties (150 food, 150 gold, 50 seconds, at the Shipyard): Ships +10% movement speed.
  • Ship speed 2 CBfG Hymns to Poseidon (250 food, 250 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Sea Shanties): Ships +15% movement speed.
  • Ramming ship upgrade CBfG Strengthened Prows (500 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Trireme): Triremes deal splash damage.
  • Arrow ship upgrade CBfG Prayers to Artemis (700 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Elite Galley): Galleys fire extra projectiles.
  • Incendiary ship upgrade CBfG Alchemist's Delight (500 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Heavy Incendiary Ship): Incendiary ships explode twice.
  • Catapult ship upgrade CBfG Torsion Experts (600 gold, [What?] seconds, requires Onager Ship): Onager Ships gain +[What?] range.
  • Leviathan upgrade CBfG Artillery Spotters (500 gold, [What?] seconds, at the Shipyard): Leviathans gain a projectile shield and improved aura.
  • Themistocles Masterplan upgrade CBfG Themistocles' Masterplan (1,200 food, 1,000 gold, [What?] seconds, at the Shipyard, requires Strengthened Prows, Prayers to Artemis, and Torsion Experts): Triremes strip enemy armor; Galleys shoot Scorpion-like bolts that deal pass-through damage; Incendiary ships ignore armor; Leviathan projectile speed increased; Catapult Ship blast range increased and friendly fire removed; Lemboi can build water barricades when destroyed (maximum 15 units).

Gallery[]

Campaigns in Chronicles
Battle for Greece
Achaemenids Chronicles Achaemenids Prologue: Gates of the Gods · Greeks Bearing Gifts · The Ionian Revolt · A City Ablaze · Chasing Smoke · Death to Traitors · Earth and Water
Athenians Chronicles Athenians The Battle of Marathon · Raise the Sails · The Hot Gates · Divine Salamis · Across the Wine-Dark Sea · Wrath of the Regent · The Fruits of Empire · Within the Long Walls
Spartans Chronicles Spartans I am Brasidas · Pyres on the Coast · Speeches and Spears · To the Wall! · Blood and Gold · The Fall of Athens
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