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This article is about the scenario in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Victors and Vanquished. For the unit, see King Stephen. |
| “ | King Henry, the last son of William the Conqueror, has died without an heir and England is in turmoil. Stephen of Blois is crowned king in a hasty ceremony. He now confronts those who dare attempt to take his newly-won crown from him. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
Stephen is one of the scenarios in the Victors and Vanquished campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Victors and Vanquished. In this scenario, the player plays as the Britons and the player color is red. Set during The Anarchy, it portrays the seizure and securing of the English throne by Stephen of Blois.
Intro[]
King Henry, the last son of William the Conqueror, has died without an heir.
While England's barons squabble, the dead King's nephew, Stephen, enters London and is crowned King.
King Stephen now faces a challenge that no other English king has faced. Arrayed against him are rebellious earls, the powerful daughter of King Henry, Welsh rebels, and a Scottish invasion.
This time would come to be known as The Anarchy...
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Feudal Age - Ending Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources:
- Population limit: 250
- Starting units:
- 6 Knights (modified Robert Guiscard, 3 on hard difficulty)
- 6 Heavy Pikemen (2 on hard difficulty)
- 1 Battering Ram
- 1 Monk
- 1 Serjeant
- Henry of Winchester (modified Missionary)
- King Stephen (renamed Roger Bosso)
- Queen Matilda (renamed Joan of Arc)
- 5 Villagers
- 6
- Gaia units:
- 6 Heavy Pikemen
- 4 Knights (modified Robert Guiscard)
- 3 Monks
- Richard de Clare
- 6
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On higher difficulties, the player starts with fewer resources.
- On standard and moderate difficulties, an additional Donjon is placed to the northwest, and another two guard the economic base to the southwest and southeast respectively.
- On standard and moderate difficulties, additional Gold Mines spawn within the sight of the player's Donjons.
- On hard difficulty, three Knights and four Heavy Pikemen are removed from the starting force.
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Capture 10 Castles.
- Prepare for a new claimant.
- Defeat Henry FitzEmpress.
Secondary objectives[]
- Damage Castles to capture them.
- Pacify Wales by defeating King Owain ap Gruffudd.
- Establish a Norman base in Ireland.
- Defeat the High King Turlough to claim Ireland.
Hints[]
- You have a starting population limit of 50 but each Castle you capture increases your limit by 20. You can obtain up to 250 population limit.
- The Britons civilization has been modified to reflect the Norman period. Longbowmen are trainable at the Archery Range, Norman Knights – a stronger variation of Knights – are trained at the Castle, and you may train Serjeants and construct Donjons.
- A new claimant will threaten you later in the scenario. It is important to establish a strong enough power base in England to resist this invasion.
- Trade is impossible and gold mines are rare. Find and secure Relics to generate gold.
- Subjugating Wales and Ireland is not necessary to win, but will provide access to additional resources, especially gold.
- Protect the Tower of London. If it is destroyed, you will lose.
Scouts[]
- Stephen of Blois has hastily been coronated King of England after the death of King Henry, last son of William the Conqueror. Joined by his brother, the Bishop of Winchester, and his wife, Matilda of Boulogne, Stephen controls London but little else.
- King Henry's daughter, the Empress Matilda (Yellow), claims the right to rule England. She has found many supporters in the south of the kingdom where she has raised armies of Knights, Spearmen, and skilled Longbowmen.
- The powerful Earl of Chester, Ranulf (Orange), has seized much of the north. A marcher lord charged with defending England's borders, he commands powerful armies of Knights, Serjeants, and men-at-arms.
- King David of Scotland (Blue) has sworn to support the Empress Matilda's claims and has complemented her control of the south by launching an invasion from the north. His armies are made up primarily of infantry, light cavalry, and siege.
- The Welsh have taken advantage of the anarchy in England to launch an uprising, led by their King Owain ap Gruffudd (Cyan). Though defeating the Welsh is not necessary, they will launch incessant raids with infantry and skirmishers.
- The Irish High King (Green) has little concern over English matters and Stephen cannot dedicate resources to crossing the Irish Sea. If an English vassal were to invade the island, however, Ireland could prove helpful to the power struggle.
- Finally, Normandy (Gray) lies across the Channel and is not a threat to Stephen's control of England as yet. However, if a dangerous new claimant were to arise, this threat would come from Normandy.
Players[]
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This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Player[]
- Player ( Britons): after having been hastily crowned, Stephen starts in southeastern England with a walled military base centered on the Tower of London, and a small economic base south of it. He must capture Castles from his opponents, and later defeat invading force of a new Norman claimant (Henry FitzEmpress), and prevent the Tower of London from falling. The player cannot build Docks, Markets, or Castles during the scenario.
Ally[]
- English Peasants ( Britons): they provide a background setting for the scenario, and play no active role.
Enemies[]
- Empress Matilda ( Britons): controls four walled Castles and bases in Kent (just southeast of the player's base) and western England. She sends Longbowmen, Knights, Pikemen, Monks, and Battering Rams against Stephen.
- Earl Renulf of Chester ( Sicilians): has three bases with a Castle in each: two in northern England, and another in East Anglia, just north of the player's position. He primarily trains Serjeants, Militia-line units, and Knights.
- King David of Scotland ( Celts): marching out in support of Empress Matilda's claims, King David controls three Castles with bases on England's east coast. He deploys Miltia-line units, Light Cavalry, Mangonels, and Battering Rams.
- King Owain ap Gruffudd ( Celts): has two small unwalled camps, one each in north and south Wales. He trains Skirmishers and Woad Raiders.
- Normandy → Henry FitzEmpress ( Franks): initially passive and not involved in the fights in England, they will later send a massive invasion force, which consists of Knights, Heavy Crossbowmen, and siege engines, in support of Norman claimant Henry FitzEmpress.
- High King Turlough ( Celts): has two small unwalled bases and Huts scattered around Ireland. They initially play no role in the scenario, becoming involved only once the player controls a landing force on Ireland's eastern coast, sending Skirmishers and Woad Raiders against it.
Strategy[]
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This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
On every difficulty, the first thing the player should do is build an economy. While gold and wood exist on the map, there is little of it, and the player's primary source of gold will be Relics. Put all of the player's food into Villagers, and task them to wood and food. The player can find a number of Sheep around the player's base.
All safe paths to the Relics that the player is able to get from the start.
Send the player's Monk immediately for Relics, as there will be competition for them. Try to bring every Relic back to the Monastery by the Tower of London, as it is much safer. One is by the shoreline, next to some ruins and Sheep, south-southeast of the player's starting base. Another is among some stone and Sheep just across and south of some shallows a good ways southwest. Be careful near this one, as there is an enemy base very close by. If the player follows the river by the player's base east, cross the road through the treeline, and follow this river around to the shallows, then southeast, the player can find another Relic early, but be careful of the Welsh King Owain ap Gruffudd's forces nearby.
Gather the player's forces and hold them near the player's Town Center. The player's northern Donjon will come under attack by multiple opponents after a while and the player could lose all their initial forces trying to hold it, and it is not worth it. Once the player has built up something of an economy and have a reasonable defense for the player's base, the player can proceed to research Castle Age and go from there.
Hard Difficulty[]
The player needs to move fast to build an economy and a defense, and go on the offensive. The opponents can very quickly research upgrades and produce units from multiple bases and attack regularly, often in tandem. Being able to survive long enough to accomplish anything will be a challenge. The player needs to be able to shut down some fronts and make some room safe for later resource gathering as soon as possible, and ready for the endgame if the player wants to stand a chance.
Follow the general guide of building an economy, focusing the initial stone the player can find along the road southwest of the player's base to build several Donjons to help defend. Upgrade the initial units, adding a few Longbowmen to the mix. Once the player has upgraded the units and have a defense, then get to the Castle Age.
The first target will be difficult, as they will likely have many Knights, Longbowmen, and Pikemen, but all the player needs to do is half-kill the Castle. If the player can build three rams and a small force, the player can attack Empress Matilda's northernmost base, just west of the Tower of London. Slip the rams through the Gate when Pikemen attack them, picking the Pikemen off with the player's Longbowmen if able. Expect to lose the entire force save maybe a ram. Once the player damages the Castle and takes the area, the Castle should be able to manage what's left of their forces.
The player should try to get to the Imperial Age, build up another decent force of Trebuchets, Knights, and Longbowmen, and research Blacksmith technologies and upgrades as fast as the player can. Meanwhile, the player should also have a Villager start building a Palisade Wall along the south shoreline. Cut no corners: along the entire shore.
The next Castle the player should take is directly south-southwest of the first, another base of Empress Matilda. If the player can get all their units out of the walls and take the Castle, that's fine. The player might again lose the whole force, but the enemy is reluctant to attack walls, so as long as the Gates don't open, the player should be safe for now.
Around this time, the player will likely get control of a force landing in Ireland. This is a nuisance, as they take up valuable population space, but it is a waste to get rid of them. If the player takes them north, up the beach, the player can find many Sheep, two Villagers, a Relic, and several Gold Mines. To the southwest, there are also some Stone Mines that should be only lightly defended. High King Turlough is not overly aggressive, so a Town Center and a Monastery are more than enough to build, and the starting force should handle any small attack that comes.
The next Castle needs to be the easternmost of Empress Matilda's, directly east of the player's base. They have many Longbowmen and Halberdiers by this point, and a number of Monks. Approach south of the treeline by the road east to avoid a Donjon so it becomes the player's later, and capture the Castle quickly.
This should hopefully be enough Castles for now. Build a good force of Knights and Longbowmen and sit back to defend what the player has while preparing for the endgame. Research Heated Shot and all Donjon upgrades if not already.
Later in the scenario, Normandy decides to invade with as many as 200 units, all on Transport Ships, ready to land and devastate the player. They will have Knights, Heavy Crossbowmen, and siege weapons.
For an underhanded strategy, the player can build Palisade Walls stretching from the tip of the shore near the shallows, all the way to the cliffs by the Gold Mines to the south of Empress Matilda's third Castle, then to the tip of the land, and build some Donjons. The Palisade Wall along the south coast, if done right, should force almost all of Normandy's Transport Ships up and around the tip the player's built the Donjons at. Some ships will try to land directly there, but most will try to follow the river down to the player's base. Because Normandy is Neutral, the player will need to target their ships manually. The goal here is to kill 200 units to fight Normandy off, and each Transport Ship is worth 20. Because it is much easier to sink full Transport Ships than fight 20 powerful enemy units, it would be ideal to sink 10 ships before they land anywhere. If they do, focus the player's Knights and Longbowmen on them, regardless of any other enemies attacking.
If the player wants to fight it out against Normandy, they should enforce their starting base with several Donjons, and train a force of Serjeants and Halberdiers instead of Longbowmen. 8-10 Donjons should be able to defend pretty well against the invading army. The player's infantry should deal with enemy Knights while the Knights deal with any Trebuchets. Remember to try to sink any Transport Ships that come near the base by attacking them manually with Donjons.
Once Normandy is defeated, the player is able to declare victory at the Tower of London, regardless of how many Castles out of 10 the player has.
Speedrun tactic[]
A speedy, but also particularly cheesy, way of beating the scenario is to exploit the initial trigger delays. At the start, immediately pause the scenario, and build at least one Dock. Their construction is disabled only after one second of in-game time passes. A squad of warships (for example Galleys) can then sail south into the English Channel, and sink Normandy Transport Ships (10 in total) one by one. As Normandy has no other structures or units aside from those in the Transport Ships, they will be considered defeated (even before Henry FitzEmpress is announced as a new claimant), and the player can declare victory without capturing a single Castle. The only requirement is to hold the Tower of London until the special technology appears.
Outro[]
In truth, King Stephen did not found a dynasty. To bring peace to England, he agreed that Henry FitzEmpress, the son of Matilda daughter of the dead King Henry, would succeed him as King.
It was a wise act that ended the strife that had afflicted England for a generation.
The Anarchy was finally over. The Plantagenet dynasty had begun.
Trivia[]
- The events of the Anarchy are also depicted in Age of Empires IV in the scenarios First Battle of Lincoln and The Siege of Wallingford in the The Normans campaign, although those scenarios are played from the perspective of Empress Matilda.
Gallery[]
