| “ | Newly crowned as king, Alexander must prove his worth against foes within and without. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
Right to Rule is the fourth scenario of the Alexander the Great grand campaign in Chronicles: Alexander the Great. It is based on the consolidation of Alexander's power after his ascension to the throne of Macedon, and depicts internal rebellions, attacks on Macedonian lands by various ancient Balkan tribes, and the Macedonian counterattacks to pacify them.
Intro[]
At Chaeronea, amid the bodies skewered by pikes and mangled by swords, the city-states of Greece had their hopes of independence trampled into the mud. Philip could finally turn his gaze eastwards, to his long-held ambition of plundering the rich Persian empire. His hopes, however, were suddenly and brutally snuffed out. An assassin's blade, jammed fiercely between Philip's ribs... The lion of Macedon bled out in the dust, a fate he had brought upon so many others.
And so it came to pass that Alexander, merely 20 summers of age, ascended to the throne of Macedon. The nobles swore him fealty — some gladly, some reluctantly; some out of duty and some out of calculation. Some were never given the choice, struck down on the new king's orders before they could cause trouble. Assassination, you see, was something of a staple of Macedonian politics.
Equally routine was the propensity of Macedon's northern neighbours to invade whenever a king died, like jackals converging on a fresh carcass when a lion has moved away. The gleaming diadem of royalty set freshly upon his brow, Alexander marched north, where the first true test of his reign awaited.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Classical Age - Starting resources:
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- (After initial battle)
- 18 Villagers
- 2 Trade Carts
- 9 Goats
- 18
- Starting technologies: Coinage, Banking
Objectives[]
- Main objectives
- Defeat the Thracian raid before the Town Center gets destroyed.
- Keep your Legitimacy above 0.
- Defeat 3 of the 4 tribes. (+15 Legitimacy for each)
- Reach 30 Legitimacy to unlock Town Centers.
- Reach 40 Legitimacy to unlock Siege Workshops.
- Reach 50 Legitimacy to unlock Academies.
- Reach 60 Legitimacy to unlock Imperial Age.
- Reach 70 Legitimacy to unlock Elite Phalangite, Blast Furnace and Plate Mail Armor.
- Reach 80 Legitimacy to unlock Elite Companion, Imperial Cavalry and Fire Arrows.
- Reach 90 Legitimacy to unlock Palintonons and Siege Ballistae.
- Reach 100 Legitimacy to unlock Walls and periodically receive groups of royal units. (referring to Phalangites and Companion Cavalry)
- Side objectives to gain Legitimacy
- Kill 50/75/100/150 units.
- Use royal measures at the Wonder.
- Destroy 4 Fortified Towers. (+5 Legitimacy for each)
- Tribute 1000/1500 Food to the Macedonian People. (On Moderate/Hard. Timed quest 5 minutes, +5 Legitimacy, -3 if failed)
- Tribute 1000/1500 Wood to the Macedonian People. (On Moderate/Hard. Timed quest 5 minutes, +5 Legitimacy, -3 if failed)
- Tribute 200/600 Stone to the Macedonian People. (On Moderate/Hard. Timed quest 5 minutes, +4 Legitimacy, -2 if failed)
- Send 10 Cows to the flagged area. (Timed quest, training Cows unlocked at the Mill when this objective appears. +7 Legitimacy.)
- Send 10 Villagers to the flagged area. (+7 Legitimacy. The Villagers are handed over to another player)
- Send 20 Soldiers to the flagged area to fight the bandits. (Timed quest 5 minutes, the soldiers remain under the player's control, +7 Legitimacy once bandits killed, -4 Legitimacy if failed)
- Defeat the noble uprising. (Legitimacy drains as long as the uprising continues)
- Repair 3 Trade Workshops. (+7 Legitimacy)
- Kill 12 Wolves. (+7 Legitimacy)
- Repair the Orphic Temple. ([What?] reward)
- Clear the road to the west. (+[What?] Legitimacy)
- Legitimacy lost if Border Towns'
- Markets are destroyed. (-3 Legitimacy for each)
- Macedonian Commanders are killed. (hero units near their Town Centers; -[What?] Legitimacy for each)
- Town Centers are destroyed. (-[What?] Legitimacy for each)
- Macedonian Wonder is destroyed. (-[What?] Legitimacy)
Hints[]
- In this scenario, you must gain Legitimacy in order to unlock most technologies, including the Imperial Age.
- To increase your Legitimacy, you must kill enemies and destroy their Fortified Towers.
There will also be periodic events to which you must respond; successfully completing these quests will increase your legitimacy.
Defeating an enemy tribe will give you a large Legitimacy boost. - Legitimacy can also decrease!
If a Commander is killed or a Market destroyed in an allied border town, your Legitimacy will decrease.
Failing to complete certain quests in time will also lower your Legitimacy. - Some useful special measures will become available to you at the Wonder. Make sure to inspect them: many will be handy in an emergency. But beware — some will involve trading Legitimacy for short-term gain.
- Make use of Fortified Outposts to get your men to the Border Towns faster.
- Legitimacy-based unlocks are as follows:
30 Legitimacy: Unlocks Town Centers.
40 Legitimacy: Unlocks Siege Workshops.
50 Legitimacy: Unlocks Academies.
60 Legitimacy: Unlocks Imperial Age.
70 Legitimacy: Unlocks Elite Phalangite, Blast Furnace, Plate Mail Armor.
80 Legitimacy: Unlocks Elite Companion, Imperial Cavalry, Fire Arrows.
90 Legitimacy: Unlocks Palintonons and Siege Ballistae.
100 Legitimacy: Unlocks Walls and you will periodically receive groups of Royal Units.
Players[]
Player[]
- Alexander ( Macedonians): The player starts with an army which they must move to the northern border town to repel the attack of the Illyrians of Pelion, then they gain control of the base in the south from which the kingdom must be consolidated.
Allies[]
Macedonian Commander
- Border Towns ( Macedonians): The allied towns are on the defensive from Thracian raids, and will not send out attacking parties, but will train troops to defend the town and build a modest economy. The player needs to actively defend them, as they cannot hold off the Thracian attacks without aid; if their Markets, Town Centers, or Macedonian Commanders are eliminated, the player will lose Legitimacy.
- Macedonian People ( Macedonians): They are not featured in the map, but are present for the player to send them tributes when such objectives appear.
Enemies[]
- Triballi ( Thracians - Triballi): They are in the east, near the eastern Macedonian town, which they raid periodically with Light Cavalry, Sickle Warriors, Battering Rams, and Spearmen.
- Getae ( Thracians - Getae): They are in the far northeast on the map. They send raiding parties of Light Cavalry and Skirmishers to the northern Macedonian town.
- Pelion ( Thracians - Illyrians): They have the most entrenched presence in the map, with multiple Fortified Tower strongholds defending the passages between the Macedonian towns and the Thracian bases. Their main city is in the far east. They also attack periodically with Mercenary Peltasts, Light Cavalry, and Swordsmen.
- Taulantians ( Thracians - Illyrians): Their base is in the far north and they attack the western Macedonian town with Swordsmen, Skirmishers, Mercenary Peltasts, Bowmen, Scorpions, and Battering Rams.
- Rebels ( Macedonians): Rebellions can occur randomly once the Imperial Age is reached. Rebels appear in the passages in the west and northwest, and will try to build up walls and Fortified Outposts to entrench their position; if left alone for too long, they will also build Barracks and Stables. The player must swiftly crush them by killing all rebel units whenever they spawn in to prevent Legitimacy degradation.
Strategy[]
At the start, the player must train additional Villagers, get economic upgrades, and increase collection of all four resources. Stone should be focused on as well, as Forts can be built from the start and are very useful in defending the Macedonian towns. Outposts should be built and upgraded to Fortified Outposts to speed up unit movement throughout the player's and allies' bases.
The best unit of choice in this scenario is Companion Cavalry, as their speed allows easily protecting all three towns while also attacking the unwalled enemy bases in between. It is highly recommended to choose Ends of the World and Sarissophoroi to empower Companion Cavalry and heal them from Fortified Outposts as they move around the bases.
When invading the enemy walled strongholds, rams will be needed against the enemy Forts if the player has failed to unlock Palintonons and Siege Ballistae.
The player should avoid consuming the Cows they can capture, as those can be used for a quest later, but if they do consume them, the quest also unlocks training Cows at Mills for 35 food, 10 wood.
The player must cross thresholds of Legitimacy to unlock certain units, technologies (they are unlocked to be researched, not granted for free), and buildings. Unlocked items are not locked again if Legitimacy falls. The rewards are:
| Legitimacy reached | Immediate reward | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 5 Phalangites |  Town Center
|
| 40 | 5 Phalangites |  Siege Workshop
|
| 50 | 5 Phalangites |  Academy
|
| 60 | 5 Companion Cavalry |  Imperial Age
|
| 70 | 5 Companion Cavalry |  Elite Phalangite upgrade,  Blast Furnace, and  Plate Mail Armor
|
| 80 | 5 Companion Cavalry | Elite Companion upgrade,  Imperial Cavalry upgrade, and  Flaming Arrows
|
| 90 | 5 Companion Cavalry |  / Palintonon and  Siege Ballista
|
| 100 | 5 Companion Cavalry |  Palisade Wall,  Palisade Gate,  Stone Wall,  GateReceive 5 Phalangites and 5 Companion Cavalry every 3 minutes |
Custom technologies[]
Certain technologies, called royal measures, can be researched at the Wonder in the northern allied town. Some of them cost resources and/or Legitimacy, while others grant Legitimacy. Each can be researched only once:
- Request Ceasefire (250 gold, 8 Legitimacy, 4 seconds): Make enemies retreat and stop their attacks for a few minutes.
- Attempt to Assassinate Dissenting Noble (300 gold, 12 seconds): Attempt to assassinate a dissenting noble. If successful, gain Legitimacy; if unsuccessful, lose a large amount of Legitimacy. (50 seconds later, the result is shown. A successful assassination nets 12 Legitimacy, while failure costs 15 (the game wrongly states 10). This technology can be repeated after a long cooldown of 15 minutes)
- Enforce Emergency Conscription (125 gold, 4 Legitimacy, 7 seconds): Rapidly creates a group of Imperial Cavalry. (15 Imperial Cavalry)
- Demand Emergency Requisition (6 Legitimacy, 17 seconds): Gain resources; lose Legitimacy. (1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 1,000 gold, 1,000 stone)
- Send Diplomatic Gift (2,000 gold, 17 seconds): Gain 15 Legitimacy.
Achievement[]
To obtain the Steam achievement "Basileus", the player must reach 100 Legitimacy at any point in the scenario. If Legitimacy is found lacking even after having done everything else, the player can utilize the tribute gift at the Wonder to bump up the Legitimacy by 15 and cross the threshold.
Legendary difficulty[]
Bolstering the player's economy is critical in the early stages, as is making use of the precious little safe stone around, and trading for gold. Buying stone at the Market is necessary to set up the defenses fast. About ten Villagers on wood should suffice, about fifteen on food, ten Trade Carts, and four on stone until it is gone. There are two stone deposits to make use of. One is across a shallows just southeast of the player's base. The other is next to some gold in the central Macedonian town.
As mentioned above, Fortified Outposts with End of the World researched will do wonders to aid in the defense, and help the armies move where they are needed quickly. Attacks will come in force, with large groups that can easily overwhelm a town. Build up the initial force and build a second one to manage the other side of the map. If the player can get Forts up quickly, that will make things much easier.
The crises the player face are somewhat randomized, so save-scumming might help the player in a pinch if they get a bad draw. For example, if the player cannot afford to send 2,000 wood to the Macedonian People, the player might be able to reload and get another event instead. Some of the crises are much easier and less costly than others, and each crisis only appears once.
When the scenario starts, send the cavalry units ahead to the Market immediately in order to save it, preventing a Legitimacy loss out the gate. When the player gets control of their base, bolster the economy immediately. The first task is to get a stable defense in place so the player's army does not have to run back and forth all the time. To do this, mine and trade for stone to get Forts built. The player cannot get Murder Holes until the player unlocks the Academy at 60 Legitimacy. One Fort, well placed in each town, should suffice as long as there are some units there to help defend it, and some archers inside.
The central town is in the least danger, generally. The Taulantians and Triballi are the only two opponents that train siege units, and they attack from the west and east respectively. Pelion and the Getae will alternate their targets between two towns, the western and central for the Getae, and the central and southern for Pelion. However, the Getae and Pelion do not appear to train any siege units. Pelion deploys almost exclusively infantry and archers, while the Getae primarily send cavalry and archers. This means that the central town only needs a Fort with a decent garrison to defend it well, and not an entire army, letting the player focus more on defending the two other towns.
It is a good idea to mass Spearmen, as they are cheap and only cost food and wood, the most plentiful resources. Upgraded properly, and if the player times it between attacks, a force of 60 should be able to clear out at least two of the four towers, maybe three, while rams destroy the tower itself, gaining the player some Legitimacy. However, this relies heavily on almost no Markets or leaders falling while the player defends. Place the Forts and the player's units in such a way as to draw the enemy's attention and keep the allied towns safe.
With careful management, the player should be able to reach 100 Legitimacy, which makes things much easier with the royal reinforcements pouring in regularly. It is recommended to clear out The Taulantians and Triballi first, due to their siege weapons. Palintonons make this much easier to do, but as long as the player can destroy their Fort and Town Center, and clear out most of their units, they should be defeated. Between the Getae and Pelion, it is recommended to go for the Getae, as their base is much smaller, they only have one Fort, and are quicker to beat. Once they are defeated, the scenario is won.
