Temples of the Aztec

Temples of the Aztec
Scenario information
Game	Age of Empires III
Campaign	Act I: Blood
Civilization	Knights of St. John
Color	Blue
Scenario no.	5
Previous	The Ottoman Fort
Next	A Pirate's Help

“

With the Ottomans defeated in the New World, Morgan and his men head into the jungle, seeking the location of the Lake of the Moon from the Aztecs - only to encounter new enemies.

”

Temples of the Aztec is the fifth scenario of Act I: Blood in Age of Empires III.

The Knights of St. John arrive at the Aztec city only to find it under siege by the Spanish and many of its residents enslaved.

Forced to mine gold for the Spaniards they are more than happy to help Morgan drive out the Spanish.

Summary

In the "The Circle of Ossus" cutscene, the player sees Morgan debriefing one of his commanders, however the report is soon interrupted by the desperate screams of a scout exiting the jungle. In pursuit of him is a white Jaguar such as the one seen earlier on the shore of the peninsula, however the soldiers and Morgan act as though it's the first one they have ever seen.

Objectives

• Build a Trading Post at the Aztec village.
• Build a Town Center
• At least one Aztec Temple must remain standing.
• Find and Destroy the Spanish Town Center.

Secondary objectives

• Save more than one Temple.
• Rescue more Aztec prisoners. (300 XP)

Players

• Knights of St John (Knights of St. John) - The player starts with Morgan Black, four Hussars, four Hoop Throwers and six Crossbowmen in the Colonial Age.

Allies

• Miners (Native Americans) - This player represents the Aztec prisoners that are forced to mine gold for the Spanish. When nearby enemy units and buildings have been destroyed, they will turn into Aztec Eagle Warriors.
• Aztecs (Native Americans) - This player represents the three Aztec Temples that must be guarded from the Spanish, as well as some Aztec defenders including the Aztec Chief. Eventually a large Aztec army composed of 24 Eagle Warriors, 20 Jaguar Warriors and 16 Incan Bolas Warriors will arrive and be transferred to the player's control.

Enemy

• Spanish (Spanish) - The enemy for this scenario, they have a base to the northeast corner of the map, including a Town Center, multiple Outposts and walls. They also have forces all around the map, usually guarding the Aztec prisoners. When the player finishes the Trading Post and starts guarding the Temples, they will attack with mixed forces, including Pikemen, Crossbowmen, Rodeleros, Lancers and Falconets.

Treasures

There are a total of 6 treasures available, all guarded.

• The bizarre giant anteater worth 30 XP. Guarded by an Outlaw Blowgunner.
• A patch of peanuts worth 80 food. Guarded by 2 Alligators.
• The dread two-toed sloth worth 75 XP. Guarded by 2 Jaguars.
• A cassava worth 40 food. Guarded by an Outlaw Blowgunner
• A grove of chile peppers worth 40 coin. Guarded by a Jaguar
• A pair of captive Incan Huaminca warriors from El Dorado. Guarded by 4 Outlaw Blowgunners.

Strategy

The player begins with Morgan Black, 4 Hussars, 4 Hoop Throwers and 6 Crossbowmen. They will also soon gain four legendary Aztec warriors, by freeing some Aztec slaves on their way towards the Aztec settlement.

The strategy runs entirely on defending the southern temple using Fortified Outposts, Caravels and the Fort cannon attacks to quickly slaughter large amounts of Spanish units attacking the building.

One location is much easier to defend than three, the Spanish will always build their Fort near the northern temple while attacking the eastern temple with a large army. Stopping the eastern attack is easier than preventing the Fort from being built (which does not immediately threaten the northern temple).

An alternative strategy is to delay creating the Town Center entirely - the timer and attacks will not start until it is created, allowing the player to sweep up the treasures and prisoner camps in the area, as well as farm for resources and construct buildings using their starting Villagers for as long as they please. By gathering the Aztec forces and eliminating the Spanish Barracks to the north-west before the first attack even arrives, it becomes far easier to muster a force capable of repelling all attacks from all temples without issue.

Note: Spanish Camps: - There are a total of six camps holding Aztec prisoners mining gold for the Spanish. Each camp has about four to five such prisoners who once liberated become either Aztec Eagle Warriors. A total of 26 native warriors can be raised this way.

Note: Natives - The natives on this map are the Aztec. Aztec Chocolate Recipes is enabled on this map which can provide upwards of 1,500 coin. All native military upgrades are already purchased for the Aztec when the player finishes the trading post, they are highly effective due to their legendary status.

Note: Water - Age up with The Admiral of the Sea, the double caravels add even more cannon power to the defense of the southern temple and the wood helps with the outpost construction costs.

Note: Walls - They cannot be constructed during this battle.

Upon arrival it's useful to divide Morgan into his own group, the Hussars into a group and the ranged units all into a single group. Morgan can easily kill the Rodeleros to the southeast to free the Aztec slaves.

Begin building the Trading Post right away so you can start the countdown timer until the Aztec army arrives. This is the only way to quickly win the battle, the player has no chance of destroying the Spanish base without the Aztec army.

Advance to the Fortress Age to gain access to the Fort, Heavy Fortifications card, 400 Wood and another Caravel. Surround the southern temple with outposts and position the Fort between the Trading Post and the Temple itself, this will keep your villagers pretty secure throughout the battle as the Spanish never flank the player's settlement in an attempt to reach the last Temple.

It really isn't necessary to build a Barracks (use the Fort instead), build a Church or even train more Settlers (card shipments will suffice). The outposts, Caravels and Fort will carry the player through the timer as long as there are enough Villagers collecting wood and a few on gold, in order to perform repairs, in case any enemies damage the Temple.

Building a few more outposts in anticipation of a final large attack by the Spanish, however no such attack ever arrived. It's better to be safe than sorry however, so it may be advisable to build them anyway.

The Aztec army arrived, reinforcements were sent for free as units were lost. Once the army arrives the Spanish have lost, they cannot compete with the horde of legendary warriors at the player's disposal. Destroying all structures and assassinating all Spanish villagers without destroying their town center will allow the player to keep the scenario running for as long as the player wishes. The Jaguars due east of the Spanish TC will continually respawn and are worth 15 xp each, combined with Priest training (20 xp each) and Mill construction (80 xp each), and the player can slowly build up +2 levels or merely cheat to gain them rather than investing time.

Bugs

• If the player leaves the scenario running to farm experience, the cutscene following the battle may freeze; pressing the Escape key will skip it moving the player to the next scene and battle.

Trivia

• A historical discrepancy is mentioned in this scenario when the player fights against the Spanish along with the Aztecs. It is stated that the campaign occurs at the end of the sixteenth century, but the Aztecs say they will ask for help from Tenochtitlan. The Aztec Empire was defeated by the Spanish in 1521.
• Although Delgado is the enemy commander in this scenario, he does not actually make an appearance here until the ending cutscene.
• Despite the scenario's secondary objectives claiming an experience bonus is awarded for each temple beyond one that is saved, no such experience is actually granted to the player. The triggers exist to check whether the temples are saved but do nothing except mark the objective as completed.
• On Easy difficulty, the player starts in the Fortress Age instead of Colonial, starts with more resources, and gains more reinforcements with the Covered Wagon. The enemy has far less villagers and no Mill or Plantation to train units at its own discretion, although attack waves are independent, and will still spawn based on the timer.