| “ | Sun Jian fights the tyrant Dong Zhuo for control of the imperial capital. | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
The Imperial Seal is the first scenario of the Sun Clan campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - The Three Kingdoms. It is based on Sun Jian's participation in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, focusing on his actions in and near the-then imperial capital Luoyang.
Intro[]
As they hacked away at the Han dynasty's fragile foundations, the Yellow Turbans tore China apart.
Yet, in empowering the warlords to deal with the rebellion, the emperor set the stage for a power struggle that would tear the country apart.
Dong Zhuo, a warlord from the western frontier, used the turmoil to capture the capital of Luoyang. Under the guise of restoring order, he usurped the throne and turned the emperor into a puppet. An alliance soon formed to topple him, and among its ranks was Sun Jian.
Though he could trace his lineage back to the legendary Sun Tzu, author of the Art of War, Sun Jian was a man of modest means. His master Yuan Shao and the other alliance leaders viewed him and his clan as little more than peasants.
Yet, what Sun Jian lacked in power he made up for in ambition and ingenuity. At the age of seventeen, he had scattered a bandit force by waving his arms and pretending to give orders to a hidden army.
Now, in another display that impressed even Yuan Shao, Sun Jian volunteered to lead the charge on the capital. With his young sons Sun Ce and Sun Quan in tow, he set out to make a name for himself.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Ending Age: Castle Age
- Starting resources: None
- Population limit: 150
- Starting units:
- 18 Jian Swordsmen
- 12 Men-at-Arms
- 10 Crossbowmen
- 4 Light Cavalry
- 2 Scorpions
- Sun Jian (hero)
- 18
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On higher difficulties, the player must capture more of Luoyang's districts to win the scenario (Easiest = 6, Standard = 7, Moderate = 8, Hard and Legendary = 10)
- On higher difficulties, there are more Dong Zhuo's Guards troops stationed around Fortified Towers in each district.
Main objectives[]
- Wait for instructions
- Capture one of Luoyang's districts.
- Control at least one district.
- 0/x Luoyang districts captured.
Secondary objectives[]
- Rescue the noble hostages.
- Defeat Dong Zhuo's Raiders.
- Tribute Liu Biao 400 gold to buy Plate Mail Armor.
Hints[]
- You are limited to the Castle Age, 150 population, and cannot build Town Centers, Docks, Monasteries, Universities, Castles or walls.
- Dong Zhuo is busy fighting Yuan Shao in the east, but will attack you soon. Be ready!
- Seizing Luoyang's districts will cripple the enemy and strengthen you. Military districts yield military buildings, economic districts provide resources, and palaces offer gold and technology.
- Yuan Shao leads an uneasy alliance with competing goals. He will provide resources and reinforcements, but minimal military support.
- Wu infantry units regenerate. Take advantage of this durability.
- The Hall of Heroes is a campaign-only building that costs wood. It trains hero units (and retrains fallen ones) that you recruit throughout the campaign.
Scouts[]
- Sun Jian (Red) has arrived outside the capital of Luoyang with a small force, eager to prove himself to his superiors and oust Dong Zhuo from the city.
- Your ally and supreme commander, Yuan Shao (Orange), besieges the city from the east. He will provide you with resources and men, but expects you to do the heavy lifting.
- After seizing the emperor himself, the tyrant Dong Zhuo (Purple) resides in the capital. He fields a mixed army with powerful cavalry at its core. His guards (Grey) patrol the city's districts while his raiders (Yellow) will harass you from the countryside.
- The massive capital of Luoyang (Green) is the center of the conflict. Its many districts provide its occupant with plentiful resources.
- The warlord Liu Biao (Cyan) resides in the south, but has decided to remain neutral despite his friendship with Yuan Shao.
Players[]
Player[]
- Sun Jian ( Wu): Starts in the southeast of map in Yuan Shao's military camp with a decently-sized infantry and archer force led by Sun Jian. The player must capture 10 of Luoyang's districts to wrestle control of the city from warlord Dong Zhuo, while ensuring that at least one district remains under their control at all times. Building Town Centers, Castles, Docks, Monasteries, Universities and walls is disabled in this scenario.
Ally[]
- Yuan Shao ( Wei): Master of Sun Jian, he will attack the city from the east, and supports Sun Jian's effort by providing resources, Villagers, and minor reinforcements in regular intervals. He will also transfer his military camp to the player once they capture the first district. He will stop providing further aid once he and the player control five districts. He trains Tiger Cavalry, Hei Guang Cavalry, Light Cavalry, and Crossbowmen.
- Luoyang ( Wei): Luoyang consists of 12 districts, each having a distinct focus on economy, military, or technology. Their Fortified Gates are open to everyone. Capturing a Fortified Tower transfers control of that district to the attacking party.
- Liu Biao ( Shu): Consists solely of a small walled outpost in the south, and does not get actively involved, only offering to sell Plate Mail Armor for a gold tribute during the course of the scenario.
Enemy[]
- Dong Zhuo ( Wei): The enemy of the scenario, Dong Zhuo initially controls all city districts, which the player must capture. He will attack the player with Crossbowmen, Long Swordsmen, Light Cavalry, Hei Guang Cavalry, and Xianbei Raiders. and might also send Battering Rams. Dong Zhuo himself is northwest of the city with a mid-sized retinue. Capturing 10 of Luoyang's districts from him wins the scenario for the player.
- Dong Zhuo's Raiders ( Wei): They are based in two military camps in the southwest and west of the map, with the western camp also containing a Town Center and their economy. They will attempt to harass the player with Light Cavalry and Xianbei Raiders. Destroying their military production buildings and their Town Center leads to their defeat.
- Dong Zhuo's Guards ( Wei): They guard the city districts with troops stationed around each Fortified Tower, and also have several patrols. Their troops always contain Crossbowmen, Long Swordsmen, and Pikemen, with Hei Guang Cavalry, Scorpions, and Mangonels also present in the inner city districts.
Strategy[]
(Assuming Legendary difficulty.)
This scenario is mostly played as a 'Risk'-style scenario, similar to Duel of the Dukes, with the player and Dong Zhuo battling it out over the control of Luoyang's districts. 10 of the districts are located inside Luoyang's walls, with two more in the outskirts south and southeast of the city. To win, the player (or Yuan Shao) has to control 10 districts to force Dong Zhuo out of the city.
The player starts with a decent military force, but no economy, so should begin by capturing the first district south of the city. Kill the Guards around the Fortified Tower, then reduce it to 500 hit points to capture it. Yuan Shao will then tribute the player 500 food, 500 wood, 400 gold, 200 stone (on all difficulties), provide 10 Villagers to start the economy, and transfer the camp where the player started to their control. He will also provide some resources (300 food, 300 wood, 200 gold), 10 Villagers, and five Hei Guang Cavalry every five minutes. Yuan Shao will stop this aid once he and the player control five of Luoyang's districts. Each captured economic district trickles 25 food, 25 wood every 30 seconds, while captured palace districts provide 25 gold every 30 seconds.
Now, the player has to ensure that one district always remains under their control. Dong Zhuo's Raiders soon start raiding the player's camps with Light Cavalry and Xianbei Raiders, so a force of Pikemen with Hei Guang Cavalry or Crossbowmen to deal with Xianbei Raiders is recommended. Additionally, the player can force the Raiders to pass through Luoyang by walling off the fords near the southernmost district with Houses (walls are disabled in this scenario). The player should then proceed to capture the second district just outside Luoyang's walls, which should set up the player's economy to train soldiers on a continuous basis. It is especially important to constantly produce Pikemen to counter the countless cavalry units Dong Zhuo and his Raiders send against the player, while letting the other units deal with the rest.
After reinforcing the troops, the player should now move to capture the military district just inside Luoyang's walls. Doing so captures Barracks and Archery Ranges, stopping Dong Zhuo's troop training in that district. At about this time, news surface that Dong Zhuo is holding several noble hostages just northeast of the city, and the player is given 20 minutes to rescue the nobles, with Yuan Shao dissuading the player from attempting the rescue. En route, the player should capture another two or three districts (depending on whether Yuan Shao also captured the economic one closest to his base), one military to further reduce Dong Zhuo's production rate, and a palace district just across a canal, which provides a Monastery and a University to the player. Liu Biao should now also make an offer to the player to buy Plate Mail Armor for 400 gold. As the player cannot reach the Imperial Age, the offer should be accepted if able to spare some gold, to increase the resilience of their infantry units.
The nobles are guarded by a mixed force, so the player should first draw out the Pikemen with Crossbowmen, before sending cavalry or Sun Jian to destroy the Mangonel and deal with enemy Crossbowmen, while Pikemen handle Hei Guang Cavalry. When two sections of Palisade Wall holding the nobles are destroyed, they escape via a Transport Ship nearby, and tribute the player 500 gold and provide six Imperial Cavalry (renamed Hei Guang Cavalry with improved hit points, armor, and speed). Some Imperial Cavalry units will also be included in the player's starting units for the rest of the campaign. If the player chooses to obey Yuan Shao instead and leave the rescue to him, they will receive some of his cavalry troops as starting units in the subsequent scenarios, namely Light Cavalry and Hei Guang Cavalry.
If the player wishes to earn the Steam achievement "The Tiger of Jiangdong", which is earned by defeating Dong Zhuo's Raiders (and awarded upon completing the scenario), they should do so with as many military districts as possible captured, but always remaining below 10 captured districts. Because the Raiders camps are unwalled, without Castles and with just a single Watch Tower in their western camp, massed Hei Guang Cavalry, Jian Swordsmen, or Long Swordsmen should have no issues razing their Stables and Archery Ranges once their units are dealt with. The player should begin with their southwestern camp and raze Archery Ranges and Stables there before proceeding to their main camp in the west, to raze the Town Center. When most of their military is killed and economy sufficiently disrupted, they resign, and the player loots 800 food, 800 wood, 500 gold.
The player should then finish the scenario by capturing districts while being wary of possible Dong Zhuo counterattacks from the northwest. Once 10 districts are captured, a short cutscene players where Dong Zhuo leaves the city with the Emperor, with the player declared victorious shortly afterwards.
Outro[]
Dong Zhuo abandoned Luoyang, reducing the once magnificent capital to a smouldering husk in the process. The fearsome commander Cao Cao pursued the tyrant, but it fell to Sun Jian to put out the fires raging across the city.
As darkness fell over the battered victors, smoke shrouded the streets. Not even the emperor's star could be seen through the misty veil...
...and yet, a light appeared in the darkness. From an abandoned well near Sun Jian's camp, a brightness shone into the sky.
At the bottom of the well lay a dead woman, clutching an artifact make of the purest jade. Sun Jian could not believe his eyes: it was the Imperial Seal, the physical manifestation of the Mandate of Heaven – the Emperor's divine right to rule – and now, it was his!
Sun Jian read this as a sign from heaven that his clan was destined for greatness. Together with his sons, he rushed home before anyone could take the treasure from him.
Yuan Shao was furious when he found their camp abandoned. He ordered the warlord Liu Biao to stop Sun Jian and return the Seal. As Liu Biao gave chase, Sun Jian was separated from his two sons and surrounded by hostile riders.
A tense exchange of words turned into a bloody fight and Sun Jian, the hero of Luoyang, was slain... yet, no matter how hard Liu Biao searched, the Imperial Seal was nowhere to be found.
Further ahead, Sun Ce and his little brother Sun Quan rode swiftly through the darkness. Tears streamed down Sun Ce's cheeks as he cradled the heavy artifact in his arms.
