โ | Athens itself may be impregnable, but its allies in the far north are ripe for the taking - and Brasidas aims to do so through persuasion, not mere force | โ |
—In-game summary |
Speeches and Spears is the third scenario of the third act of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece, and the eighteenth scenario overall.
Intro[]
The Spartans fought off raid after raid, but they knew that the black-bellied ships would keep coming - unless they could force the Athenians to direct their attention elsewhere. An opportunity soon presented itself, courtesy of a suggestion from the willy Macedonian king, Perdiccas. He brought word that many of Athens' allies in the far north were wavering in their commitment - ripe fruit, perhaps, to be plucked from the enemy alliance.
Quite the trek for most Spartans, who spend as little time away from their homeland as possible. But Brasidas was not like most Spartans. He gathered an army, its strength bolstered by thousands of helots, to whom he promised freedom in exchange for brave service. Northwards they marched, the red-cloaked Spartans at their head, ready to plunge their spears into the Athenian Empire's naked flank.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Classical Age
- Starting resources: 600 food, 450 wood, 825 gold, 400 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
Brasidas
Lysander
- 17
Hoplites
- 19
Hippeis
- 9
Laminated Bowmen
- 2
Light Cavalry
- One of starting bodyguard units:
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Destroy the 3 Mills outside Acanthus to encourage the city to surrender.
- Defeat the Athenian army outside Amphipolis to make the city surrender.
- The Fort in Amphipolis must survive.
- Have all 5 cities allied with you.
Allied cities: 0
- Defeat Cleon
- Bring Brasidas to the hill east of Amphipolis to confront Cleon.
Secondary objectives[]
- Capture a city by:
Capturing its Fort.
OR
Building a Fort in the flagged area outside the city. - Tribute 500 gold to Perdiccas to gain his allegiance.
Hints[]
- You can capture cities one of two ways: either reduce the HP of the central Fort, or build a Fort of your own in the flagged area outside the walls.
- The enemy cities, allies of the Athenians, will attempt to retake captured cities.
- You cannot build Ports or Shipyards.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player (
Spartans): The player starts with an army in a camp in the center of the map. After defeating the Athenian forces near Amphipolis, they will take control of the city, its townsfolk, and the surrounding farmlands. The player must ally with all five cities and defeat Cleon.
Enemies โ Allies โ Potential Enemies[]
- Acanthus (
Athenians - Greeks): Acanthus has a small, fortified city just northeast of the player's start. Once they become the player's ally, they begin to train units and get aggressive, particularly against Potidaea early in the scenario. They train Sickle Warriors, Ekdromoi, Elite Skirmishers, Strategoi, Lancers, Scorpions, and rams.
- Potidaea (
Spartans - Greeks): Potidaea is a larger city shortly southwest of the player's starting position, and can be aggressive towards Acanthus until convinced to ally with the player. Occasionally, they launch attacks towards the player's base in Amphipolis. They train Cretan Archers, Recurve Bowmen, Strategoi, Elite Hoplites, Elite Guardsmen, Light Cavalry, and Siege Rams.
- Dium (
Athenians - Greeks): Dium has its city in the eastern corner of the map. It is a long city, fitting tightly on its landmass, making it difficult to get to its Fort without fighting through the city, but the flagged area is easily accessible. They train Mercenary Hoplites, Mercenary Peltasts, Skirmishers, Strategoi, and Light Cavalry.
- Torone (
Athenians - Greeks): Torone is situated southwest of Dium, on the center leg of the landmass. They have a well-guarded wall to their base, but their farmland is located right next to the flagged area. They train Mercenary Axe Cavalry, Mercenary Axemen, Recurve Bowmen, Scorpions, and rams.
- Scione (
Athenians - Greeks): Scione is located in the southern corner of the map. Its walls are less well guarded than some, but the size of the city necessitates breaking through to reach the Fort. Its flagged area lies sandwiched between itself and Potidaea. They train Rhodian Slingers, Laminated Bowmen, Strategoi, Light Cavalry, and Swordsmen.
Enemies โ Potential Allies โ Enemies[]
- Perdiccas (
Athenians - Macedonians): Perdiccas has his camp in the western corner of the map. Consisting of a few Stables, towers, and numerous Tents, all training varying cavalry units, they can rapidly build up a very powerful, dangerous force. Paying them to be the player's ally has them eventually betray the player when too many cities join the player. They can then overwhelm a city and seize it quite quickly, and will march a large number of cavalry into the player's base immediately before betraying the player. They employ a wide variety of cavalry, including Imperial Cavalry, Greek Noble Cavalry, Raiders, and Skirmisher Cavalry.
Enemies[]
- Athenians (
Athenians): The Athenians have a camp hosting an entire army directly east of Amphipolis, but until later, this area is walled off with rocks. They also have several small camps around the map to harass the player as they travel. Their forces consist of Elite Hoplites, Elite Guardsmen, Strategoi, Recurve Bowmen, Elite Skirmishers, Greek Noble Cavalry, Heavy Scorpions, and a few Palintonons in Cleon's main army. They will also deploy rams to attack the allied Greek towns before the final battle.
Strategy[]
The initial stage of the scenario is straightforward. Destroy the Mills, and Acanthus joins the player. Head north and defeat the Athenian force to take Amphipolis. Once the player has this town, buff the economy by a few more Villagers on stone, gold, and food. Research Blacksmith technologies and reinforce the army. Age up, and build some Palintonons.
Once the player has this force ready, they should ignore the cities for now, and not pay Perdiccas, as he will eventually betray the player anyway. Instead, follow the edge of the map to the western corner, and wipe out Perdiccas' base. The Tents are marked Neutral, so the player will need to target them specifically, as they train units too. Make sure Perdiccas is defeated before proceeding, as they can be a powerful opponent later if allowed to be. During this time, Acanthus will come under attack from other cities, and launch some attacks of its own. It should manage to hold its own for now, so focus on taking other cities. If the player does ally with Perdiccas, they will be an equally potent ally, but will betray the player after four of the five cities are taken. Be sure to lock the Gate to the base before this happens, as he will bring a large squad of cavalry into the player's base before betraying them.
Train five or so Villagers, and send them south, after the player's army has cleared the way, to Potidaea. Build a Fort in the flagged area, killing any units who sally forth through the Gate. Once the Fort is complete and Potidaea joins the player, travel south through their base and repeat with Scione. Taking these two cities after killing Perdiccas grants the player the west of the map for resources like stone, and protects the player from being attacked from behind as the player fight their way north.
Build a Fort outside Torone, and then Dium, and complete this part of the scenario.
Do not take Brasidas to the hill just yet. Instead, the player should take as much time as they need to fully upgrade their troops, building and fully garrisoning at least one Fort on top of the hill, and maxing out the player's population cap with various troops and units like Scorpions. Additionally, use a Palisade Wall to block off the area from wherever the player placed the Forts on the beach, ensuring the enemy must come to the Forts. Only when the player is prepared for a large battle does the player bring Brasidas to the hill.
Once the player does, they must win the battle. A handful of cavalry units can circle around and destroy the enemy Palintonons and Scorpions, while the player attack-moves their other troops forward to make sure they do not stop engaging the enemy. Alternatively, the player can use their own Palintonons that they created to capture the Chalcidian cities to take out the Athenian siege weapons. Once the battle is won, the scenario is over.