Sultan of Hindustan is the fourth scenario of the Tamerlane campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. It is based on Tamerlane's conquest of India.
Intro[]
Listening to the stories of this stranger had stirred our appetites, and we eagerly began to devour our meal. I invited the old man to sit next to me. I still thought that this Tamerlane was more myth than man. Surely he had been beaten in battle at least once.
The man has the cunning of a wolf and the composure of an owl. In some battles he strikes hard at the center of the enemy line, while in others swift horsemen outflank the opposition. They then feign a retreat to bait the enemy into a trap – a storm of arrows.
When Tamerlane decided to cross the Khyber Pass into India, a different and terrifying challenge faced him. The armies of the Delhi Sultanate ruled the battlefield through their powerful elephants, monstrous beasts known to crush a horseman with a single foot! Drawing up his lines, the clever warlord waited to spring his latest trap.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- 20 Pikemen
- 20 Cavalry Archers
- 22 Light Cavalry
- 20 Keshiks
- 20
- Starting technologies:
- If the difficulty is standard or moderate: Chain Barding Armor, Bodkin Arrow, Husbandry
- If the difficulty is standard: Squires, Iron Casting, Leather Archer Armor, Ballistics, Silk Armor
- If the difficulty is standard or moderate:
Main objectives[]
- Wait for the battle to begin.
- Defeat Shah Tughluq's army outside the walls of Delhi.
- Destroy the 5 Castles defending Delhi before the timer runs out.
Secondary objectives[]
- Raid the outlying Indian villages and Monasteries to seize their provisions and cut Delhi's supply lines.
Hints[]
- Tamerlane's forces can advance to the Imperial Age and support a population of 200.
- Tamerlane's forces have a large supply with them, but it will not last forever. Delhi must be taken before the timer (representing your provisions) runs out.
- Proper troop management will determine the course of the initial battle. Use the speed of your Light Cavalry to flank the enemy and target their vulnerable ranged units.
- The mountains and forests in the south and west to the map are abundant with resources, while the plains surrounding Delhi are an ideal location for military buildings.
- Outlying villages and Monasteries are providing the garrison in Delhi with supplies. Eliminating them would be wise.
Scouts[]
- Operating out of three military camps, Tamerlane's army (1, Purple) has begun its siege of Delhi and has arrayed itself on the plains outside the city in anticipation of a battle.
- The army of Shah Tughluq (5, Orange), stands between Tamerlane and Delhi. Shah Tughluq's forces consist of cavalry, infantry, Skirmishers, Light Cavalry, and elephants.
- In the north lies the fortified city of Delhi (3, Grey). Its garrison (4, Green) will field armies of camelry, Skirmishers, swordsmen, and elephants in an effort to slow the Timurid advance.
- Outlying Indian villages and Monasteries (Cyan, Blue) supports the defense of Delhi by sending supplies to the city. Plundering these will help the Timurid cause considerably.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Tatars): Tamerlane's forces will start facing Shah Tughluq's army outside the city of Delhi. After winning the battle and defeating Shah Tughluq, the nearby Timurid bases and Villagers will join the player, with resources needed to replenish the army.
Allies[]
- Timurid Army ( Tatars): The Timurid army initially controls the Flaming Camels used to scare enemy Elephants, and the Villagers in the two bases. After the initial battle, they play no role in the scenario.
- Delhi ( Hindustanis, Indians before Dynasties of India): The city of Delhi, with economic buildings. They play no active role in this scenario.
Enemies[]
- Delhi Garrison ( Hindustanis, Indians before Dynasties of India): The main enemy of this scenario. The Delhi Garrison possesses various military buildings in Delhi, and they have 5 Castles, which the player has to destroy to conquer the city.
- Shah Tughluq ( Hindustanis, Indians before Dynasties of India): Shah Tughluq's army, consisting of Elephant Archers, War Elephants, Skirmishers, infantry, and cavalry units, will face the Timurids on the battlefield. The player will have to defeat Shah Tughluq's army.
- Outlying Villages ( Hindustanis, Indians before Dynasties of India): These villages will have either Monasteries or supplies, and must be razed to weaken the garrison of Delhi.
- Outlying Villages ( Hindustanis, Indians before Dynasties of India): They have their base situated on the other side of the river, and are ripe for plundering. Both players will muster a small force consists of swordsmen, cavalry, and Pikemen to defend themselves.
Strategy[]
Once again, the player starts the scenario in a pitched battle. Right at the start of the battle, the Timurid Army sends its Flaming Camels to the 8 War Elephants, which converts the elephants to the player. Use the elephants as damage soakers to aggro most of the Shah Tughluq's units, while the Pikemen, Cavalry Archers, and Steppe Lancers follow from behind and describe two arcs with the Light Cavalry to attack the enemy's Skirmishers/Elephant Archers, and the player should win with most of their force standing. The Pikemen suffered the most, Keshik being damaged but numerous, and 5 elephants left. Note that the initial battle is essential for the player to save time. The more units survive, the more time the player has to raid the outlying villages and prepare the final battle to Delhi.
Note: some players have reported that, instead of fighting, Shah Tughluq's units would move west and attack the player's western base. To prevent this from happening, the player can place some of their units to the left of Shah Tughluq's units so that they will fight instead of running away.
Blitz and boom[]
Now the battle is over, the player receives 2,000 food, 2,000 wood, 2,000 gold, 500 stone and the 20 Villagers from the Timurid Army. Use this to build an economy.
The player has a 90-minute timer to destroy the five Castles in Delhi. This scenario has the achievement "Raging Wildfire" (to conquer Delhi at least five minutes before the timer expires), but this scenario is easy to win with at least 30 minutes left on the timer, even on hard difficulty.
The villages will attempt to support the Delhi Garrison by sending them resources. The western villages will attempt to send 1,000 wood, 1,000 gold every 5 minutes as long as they have a Market, while the eastern village will attempt to send 500 food, 500 wood, 500 gold as long as it has a Town Center. In addition, if neither the eastern or the western villages are defeated, then the Delhi Garrison will receive a further 500 food, 500 wood, 500 gold every 5 minutes. In addition to blocking supplies for the Delhi Garrison, destroying the villages also grants the player with resources and units. By looting the buildings, the player receives 500 wood, 500 gold for destroying the western market, 500 gold per dock and 1000 food, 1000 wood for destroying the town center. Destroying the Monasteries gives the player 5 Elite Mamelukes each.
The player can really devastate the outlying villages. Immediately send all the Light Cavalry southwest to destroy both Monasteries (circumvent their infantry to kill the Monks). Send the rest of the army straight south to destroy the Lumber Camp. Boom on 3 Town Centers. Build 1 Monastery to collect both Relics. Once Lumber Camp is destroyed, send all the troops towards the eastern village (the elephant will drag behind, but speed is key). Once the Monastery raid is also complete, send the Light Cavalry to the eastern village, which should arrive with the elephants. After the eastern village's initial counter attack, snipe his Town Center while the Cavalry Archers fends off the extra units created. Once the elephants and Light Cavalry arrives, destroy the few remaining towers and defeat the player. Now advance to the Imperial Age.
Send some villagers to build several Stables, Archery Ranges, Monasteries, and Castles. Train some Trebuchets along with a few Monks, Cavalry Archers supported by Light Cavalry and Steppe Lancers. Use the Monks to convert the Delhi Garrison's elephants and destroy the enemy base. Three of the Castles can be taken down by the Trebuchets from outside of the cities walls, which avoids needing to fight too much of the Delhi Garrison's forces at once. When these are taken down, go northwards from the center of the city and destroy the two remaining Castles.
Outro[]
The Indian army relied on the charge of its dreaded elephants to shock their enemies and drive them into disorder. No stranger to the art of war, Tamerlane knew this.
In a stroke of genius, he loaded the camels in his baggage train with straw and wood and set them aflame, whipping them towards the enemy lines. The sight terrified the elephants, who doubled back and trampled their own men.
The battle was a rout. Two hundred years' worth of Indian treasure was loaded onto a train of wagons and carried back to Samarkand. In response to an uprising, Tamerlane's armies reduced the jewel of Northern India to a charnel house. Death and fire mingled in a putrid stench that enveloped Delhi for weeks.
Still, Tamerlane was not satisfied—there was unfinished business to the west.
Gallery[]
