The Emperor's Revenge is the second scenario of the Thoros II campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Mountain Royals. It is about the Battle of Mamistra that took place in 1152.
Intro[]
The Hethumid-Rubenid conflict painted the Taurus Mountains red with blood, but this was only a prelude to the greater slaughter ahead.
The Byzantine emperor pounced on the weakened kingdom, leading twelve thousand soldiers into Cilicia. To Thoros' dismay, many nobles who had once sworn fealty to him deserted and joined the Byzantine invaders.
Spurred on by his brother Mleh, Thoros tried to broker a truce, but received only mockery in reply. 'We will grind your petty kingdom into dust and gut you like your squealing oaf of a father,' laughed the Byzantines.
Most rulers would have crumbled in the face of such adversity, but Thoros was no ordinary man.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 150
- Starting units:
- 1 Thoros
- 14 Villagers
- 3 Warrior Priests
- 12 Long Swordsmen
- 8 Pikemen
- 1 Monk
- 1 Light Cavalry
Main objectives[]
- Choose who will lead the Armenian auxiliary forces:
- Bring Thoros to Mleh (defensive, economic) to choose him.
- Bring Thoros to Stephan (aggressive) to choose him.
- Kill or convert at least 5 Byzantine generals.
Secondary objectives[]
- Build Fortified Churches in Armenian villages to receive additional resources. (five)
- Find and heal groups of wounded Armenian soldiers so they will rejoin your army. (seven)
Hints[]
- Thoros is restricted to the Castle Age and a population limit of 150. Both armies aim to fight it out on land, so no Docks can be constructed in this mission.
- You must decide which of your brothers – Stephan or Mleh – shall lead the Armenian forces stationed in the city of Til Hamdun. Stephan will attack the enemy as often as possible, while the defensive Mleh will instead build a strong economy to provide you with resources.
- You must eliminate a certain number of generals to defeat the Byzantines. You can kill the generals or capture them by converting them. The Byzantines will pay you to ransom each captured general.
- The Armenians can train both Monks and Warrior Priests in their Fortified Churches. Warrior Priests are strong infantry that can heal friendly units.
- Researching the Fereters unique technology in your Castle will make your Warrior Priests even more effective.[note 1]
- Wounded Armenian units (Green) are scattered across the map. Use your Warrior Priests to heal them and they will join you.
Scouts[]
- Thoros (Orange) has recaptured the city of Mamistra from the Byzantines. The city has suffered from the fighting, so its walls are damaged.
- To the east, other Armenian forces (Green) are stationed in the town of Til Hamdun.
- Byzantine siege camps (Purple) lie to the north. These initially field Light Cavalry, but will later add heavy cavalry, ranged units, and siege weapons. Several generals (Blue) command these forces.
- The treacherous Hethumids (Cyan) form the Byzantine vanguard. Their army consists mainly of infantry and Skirmishers.
Players[]
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Player[]
- Player ( Armenians): The player begins in the south with a sizable army and base, which includes a Castle. Once they move Thoros to either brother, the chosen brother takes over the allied base in the eastern section, and the game officially starts so that the player can directly control their units and buildings.
Allies[]
- Armenian Army ( Armenians): These are seven bands of injured troops scattered across the map. Initially passive and stationary, once all the injured units in a group are fully healed, the group turns to the player's control.
- Stephan ( Armenians): One of two choices to lead the allied forces. He will be aggressive and attack the enemy forces whenever possible.
- Mleh ( Armenians): One of two choices to lead the allied forces. He will not attack unless attacked and will instead create a strong economy to tribute resources to the player.
- Armenian Villages ( Armenians): Passive bystanders in the conflict with no armies. They will support the player if a Fortified Church is built near their flags.
Enemies[]
- Byzantines ( Byzantines): The Byzantines control seven forts in the region. They train Cataphracts, Light Cavalry, Long Swordsmen, Crossbowmen, and Battering Rams to attack the player and their allies. They have no economy, so the only way to reduce their ability to train troops is to destroy their forts and buildings.
- Byzantine Generals ( Byzantines): These consist of hero units (all are renamed Belisarius) and their personal retinues of troops of Cataphracts, Light Cavalry, Long Swordsmen, and Crossbowmen. They patrol near or inside the Byzantine forts. Some smaller groups also patrol other pathways in the map.
- Hethumids ( Armenians): The rival dynasty has two war camps, one north and another northeast of the player. They are allied to the Byzantines and attack the player's team frequently. They have no economy.
Strategy[]
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The player can choose an ally depending on their own playstyle. While both allies train troops and defend their own bases vigorously, only Stephan proactively sends out troops to attack enemy strongholds. On the other hand, if the player's chosen ally is Mleh, once a fort is cleared (except for its economic buildings), he will take over the fort and build towers and/or Castles in it.
The player should build Fortified Churches in the nearby villages as soon as possible, the first one in the southwest or southeast, as it will be easier to defend its Relic (spawned from the Armenian bonus). This increases the amount of resources the villages tribute to the player, periodically. The Churches remain in the player's control, and can be destroyed by the enemies (who will otherwise not attack the villages), upon which the player can rebuild the Church.
The two Hethumid bases have lots of troops and some towers, but no Castles, so it is possible to take the fight to them with the starting forces. The player should train swordsmen and upgrade them, and with the support of some ranged units, the player can destroy the enemy production buildings and towers. Destroying the western Hethumid base will make the player's economy safer, while destroying the eastern base will help the player's ally and will also be easier due to their support.
The player should send Warrior Priests to the various injured Armenian Army groups. Some of the groups have Siege Rams, which are very valuable when assaulting Byzantine Castles. The player can assault Castles when they have sufficient infantry and rams. The rams can take the arrow-fire and destroy the buildings while the infantry deal with the troops. The Byzantines do not have Murder Holes, so if all the rams attack the Castle, it will start attacking the player's troops instead. Therefore, the player can keep the first ram that the Castle targets away from the Castle, but within its range, to soak up arrow-fire.
The main objective is to kill (or convert) five Byzantine Generals, so the player can focus on that instead, if their defense to hold off Byzantine attacks is strong enough. Converting a General will cause the Byzantines to "ransom" him by tributing 1,000 gold to the player. Killing the General instead has no immediate benefit.
There are several shallow passes on the river. Some of the less defensible ones can be walled to funnel the enemy to other passes for more favorable engagements. The Byzantines train lots of troops, including many Battering Rams, so sufficient number of melee units or Mangonels are necessary to hold their attacks.
Gold and Stone Mines are limited in the south of the river, while the many mines on the north will see frequent attacks by the Byzantines. The player can station Halberdiers at such sites to protect the miners or hold off the enemy long enough for the miners to escape. The player can also start trading if the southern area is secured. While the player will always have one Relic due to the Armenian bonus, there is another Relic at the center of the map, and one more at the northeast of the map, behind the mountains.
Outro[]
A mere seven thousand men stood by Thoros and his brothers against a Byzantine army twice that size – and yet it was the Cilician Armenians who won a resounding victory.
The Byzantine generals expected an easy win, but Thoros seized the initiative. His ferocious assaults shocked the overconfident Byzantines, whose organized lines swiftly collapsed into a chaotic rout.
The Byzantine emperor retreated, ransoming his captured generals at a humiliating cost. Thoros kept not a single coin for himself, instead handsomely rewarding those followers who had remained loyal.
Those who had betrayed him were paid in iron rather than gold.
Unable to defeat the Cilician Armenians in the field, the Byzantine emperor turned to both pen and coin. Soon, he was hatching a new plot to bring the defiant prince to his knees.
Rumors from the south had reached his ears. They bore the name of a merciless crusader, fighting for gold and personal glory – a second son to be Thoros' match.
Notes[]
- ↑ Since Fereters is an Imperial Age technology and the player is restricted to the Castle Age, this hint should be ignored.
