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The Assassins is the first scenario of the campaign Yamato Empire of the Rising Sun in Age of Empires. The Yamato tribe must assassinate a rival clan leader. In the Definitive Edition, it has been reworked so that the Chinese explorer and alchemist Xu Fu must assassinate the leader of the Jomon people to take over their lands.

Scenario instructions[]

Description[]

โ€œKii Peninsula, 210 BCE

The Divine Emperor Qin Shi Huang dispatched you across the eastern seas to locate the elixir of life on Penglai Mountain and return it to him so that they may rule China for eternity. You are a rational person and know that you may find no elixir in the eastern lands; but you did not become a court sorcerer by digging wells after you are thirsty. Before departing Shandong, you requested soldiers for your journey. These will allow you to defeat whoever might oppose you at your destination and, if necessary, allow you to settle in the east.
โ€
—In-game section

Starting conditions[]

Objectives[]

Hints[]

  1. Consider the terrain before attacking. You deal more damage from on top of a hill.
  2. Although Xu Fu is a skilled archer, he will need help to kill the Jomon Chieftain.
  3. The disciples of the Taoist sorcerer, Anqi Sheng, may be nearby. Locate them to restore your strength.

Description[]

โ€œAssassins, 365 AD

Yamato spies within the Izumo clan lands report that the Izumo leaders are planning an attack against some of your allied clans. A pre-emptive attack against the Izumo is not practical at this time, however. It would hurt your relations with other clans with whom you are negotiating. You are to lead a small band of assassins into Izumo lands, locate their clan leader, and eliminate him. Without their leader, the Izumo cannot attack. This is a dangerous mission, but there are some Yamato friends inside Izumo lands who can help you.
โ€
—In-game section

Starting conditions[]

Objective[]

Hints[]

  • Locate allied Priests near the Izumo homeland; they will restore your strength.
  • The straightest path may not be the best.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato): The player starts with only Xu Fu, represented by a strong Composite Bowman, in the northern corner.

Enemies[]

  • Jomon tribes (Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato): The Jomon tribes represent the buildings of the Jomon people. It neither has military units nor resources to train more. On Hard difficulty they can still produce some Clubmen.
  • Jomon tribes (Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato): The Jomon tribes are the warrior forces of the Jomon folk. It consists of Axemen, Archers, Slingers, and Scouts. They are ruled by a Chieftain, a powerful Short Swordsman hero.

Player[]

  • Player (Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato): The player starts with a small group of warriors in the northern corner, east of the river, and Blind Lame Priests scattered around the map.

Enemy[]

  • Izumo (Yamato AOE DE ROR icon Yamato): The Izumo have a large and heavily defended base which occupies the entire western half of the map.

Strategy[]

All the starting Alpha Lions can be killed by attacking them from uphill at maximum range, thus taking no damage. The next section of the journey features several Jomon Archers and Slingers on the way, some of whom can be killed at range, as Xu Fu outranges them, before their compatriots can strike back. The player can stick to the left or right edges of the path, and not pick fights with troops not on the way, to preserve Xu Fu's hit points, as heroes do not regenerate in Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. Once the player reaches the Light Transport, they should also discover the Blind Lame Priest at the mouth of the river delta, who can fully heal Xu Fu. As the Priest is right at the edge of the shore, it can also be garrisoned into the Transport and dropped off at other shorelines.

The player can then move to the southwest edge of the map, beyond the shoreline with Alpha Crocodiles, and land in a clearing there. The player will find a Barracks, an Archery Range, and several Houses here, which immediately come under attack of nearby Jomon soldiers. After eliminating them and training more troops as desired, the player can reach another Blind Lame Priest at the Temple in the western corner of the map.

With this force, the player can either bait the enemy garrison in the town outside it one by one or break in to eliminate the Jomon Chieftain in a lightning strike.

In additional to the player's starting army, several Blind Lame Priests are scattered across the map. There are no Villagers in the map, with the exception of the very slight chance that a Villager can be converted.

The player can send their forces south, while remaining close to the eastern edge of the map. If a lion is in the way, the player can use the hero to shoot them. Any of the other units should not be endangered, the hero archer can handle them on his own. In the eastern corner, there is a Blind Lame Priest who can heal the player's units, provided they stand as close as possible.

The player should move west along the southern edge of the map, until crossing the shallows, then move north along the river bank. Then they should walk past the enemy towers, and if any of them receive damage from tower fire, there is another Blind Lame Priest to heal them nearby.

From this Priest, the player should walk north along the river. There is a Temple, and the enemy leader is standing in front of it. The hero archer should be sent to the top of the cliffs, and have him fire upon the target. If the target charges, the other units can be used to keep him away while the hero shoots. Once the enemy hero is dead, the scenario is won.

History[]

โ€œQin Shi Huang, The First Emperor of China, feared death and sought a way to achieve immortality. According to legends, he tasked Xu Fu, the court sorcerer and alchemist, with finding an elixir of life on the mythical Penglai Mountain in the islands east of China. According to Chinese accounts, Xu Fu landed on the Kii Peninsula of Japan, near Mount Fuji, in 210 BCE with a crew of soldiers, farmers, and craftsmen. Xu Fu never returned to China, however, presumably making himself king of the islands rather than return home empty-handed. Legends relate that Xu Fu, who become known as Jofuku in Japanese histories, taught the natives of the islands medicinal and farming techniques. He would eventually become one of the possible historical inspirations for the first Japanese emperor, Jimmu.

While archaeological records cannot confirm these legendary events, beginning in 300 BCE, rice farmers from mainland Asia settled in the Japanese archipelago and introduced elements of Chinese culture and technology to the islands. The earlier inhabitants of Japan, whose culture is known as Jomon, were a Neolithic people who subsisted primarily thorough hunting, fishing and gathering. They used basic stone and wooden tools and stitched together their clothing from the bark of the mulberry tree. The Jomon are best known for their patterned pottery, from which the culture gets its name. Their earthenware is among the oldest pottery found in the world, with pieces dating to as early as 14,500 BCE.

Around 300 BCE, the material culture of Japan become more sophisticated due to mainland influences. Over the next six centuries, a period known as the Yayoi period, Japan saw a technological revolution with the introduction of rice agriculture and metalworking. Chinese historical records from this period describe Japan as a land of hundreds of scattered tribal communities, often in conflict with one another.
โ€
—In-game section

Victory[]

โ€œAfter the defeating of the Jomon Tribe, you scaled the mountain and found no elixir. If you were to return to China, the Emperor would be most displeased with your failure. You decide to stay and settle in this land. The Jomon will need a leader and you have much to teach them.โ€
—In-game section

Loss[]

โ€œAfter failing to defeat the Jomon, you made a hasty retreat to China without the elixir. The Emperor is most displeased with your failure.

He orders you to report to his mausoleum to serve him for all eternity as one of the figurines in his Terracotta Army.
โ€
—In-game section

Historical notes[]

In the English version, the "Historical outcome" is recorded here, and the actual historical notes are missing. The following historical notes come from the French version :

โ€œOur knowledge of the ancient Japan's history is very fraction, partly because many important technologies only appeared there very late. Thus, the cultivation of rice was not adopted on the island until around 500 BC, nearly 7.000 years after its appearance in China. Before the appearance of rice cultivation, the economy of ancient Japan was mainly based on fishing and gathering. Population densities were very low except in some coastal areas.

The population grew as rice cultivation spread from the southwest, the closest area to China, to the northeast. Cities grew and strongmen began to impose their dominance over local communities. The political landscape was divided between different clans. The clan destined to rule most of the archipelago was that of the Yamato, originating from the tip of what is now Osaka Bay. Most of contemporary Japanese consider themselves descendants of the Yamato.

Very little is known about how the Yamato expanded their influence. The discovery in the graves of weapons, armor and armored figurines indicate warfare was widespread at this time. To achieve such influence over the region, the Yamato clan had to demonstrate brilliants diplomacy and military strategy.
โ€
—translated from in-game section of the French version

Historical outcome[]

โ€œThe Izumo clan leadership was paralyzed temporarily and the Yamato were free to concentrate their efforts elsewhere for the time being.โ€
—In-game section

Changes[]

With regards to the original version, the context changes between an assassination attempt of an Izumo leader by the Yamato, to the mythical search of the elixir by the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang by the statesman Xu Fu, killing the Jomon Chieftain in the journey, then settling and developing the ancient Japanese culture with Chinese thoughts and innovations.

The starting units were changed from a small party to a single hero, replacing Perseus, and the map received a major overhaul, now having the possibility to capture some Gaia buildings and train some Tool Age units. There are still two Blind Lame Priests on the map.

The enemy was changed into two Jomon Tribes players, a Neolithic Tool Age tribe, instead of the Izumo Iron Age town. It is important to know that now the rival town has neither towers nor Villagers.

Gallery[]

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