| “ | Rebellion! Rather than face punishment for failing the Great King, Aristagoras and his fellow Greeks have revolted. Artaphernes and Datis scramble to contain the rebels. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
The Ionian Revolt is the third scenario of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece.
Intro[]
Having squandered the Great King's fleet, Aristagoras rightly feared for his head — and most of his other body parts. But fear can make men do unexpected things. Rather than flee, Aristagoras launched a rebellion. Aristagoras knew that he'd need all the men he could muster.
He sailed to Greece with a bronze map that showed the rich Persian realm, hoping to tempt would-be fortune seekers from their rocky homeland. The cautious Spartans refused to get involved, but the Athenians, who are fond both of great adventures and reckless decisions, were easily persuaded.
Returning with these Athenian treasure-hunters, Aristagoras marched across Ionia, rallying cities to his cause and deposing any rulers who remained loyal to the Persians.
Now, there are some who think that Aristagoras was a true freedom fighter, committed to Greek liberty; others say he acted out of desperation, or embarrassment; others think he wanted only greater power for himself.
Whatever the truth may be, Artaphernes' once-peaceful satrapy was now the site of a major rebellion, led by a man with nothing left to lose.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Civic Age - Starting resources: 400 food, 300 wood, 300 gold, 500 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Artaphernes
- Datis
- 10 Spearmen
- 7 Bowmen
- 1 Scout Cavalry
- 10 Villagers
- One of starting bodyguard units:
Objectives[]
Main objectives[]
- Do not lose all towns.
- Kill Aristagoras.
Secondary objectives[]
- Reclaim towns by capturing their towers. Each town provides tribute and a unit bonus.
- Build a Town Center in the flagged location.
- Train bodyguard units (requires building a Fort).
- Build a Fort to train bodyguard units and research special technologies.
- Research a Mutually Exclusive Technology at the Fort.
- Train a bodyguard unit at the Fort.
- Bring Artaphernes to the Oracle.
Hints[]
- You are limited to the Classical Age.
- Build up your economy and army before confronting Aristagoras. Remember to create plenty of villagers!
- Each town you own will periodically send you tribute, as well as providing a unique bonus for a different type of units. Retake towns by capturing their Towers (reduce their HP until they convert).
- The Achaemenids can upgrade their Town Centers to specialize in economic productivity, military productivity, or defense.
- In the Classical Age, you can choose between two mutually-exclusive technologies at the Fort. Choosing one will disable the other.
- This scenario contains an aura quest for Artaphernes - gain the trust of the mountain dwellers to reveal the Oracle's location.
- Chronicles features cross-scenario choices - the decisions you make in one scenario can affect future scenarios. In addition to the Bodyguard and aura choices there are other actions that can impact future scenarios in small ways.
- The Bodyguard units you chose in scenario one can be recruited at the Fort.
- The Achaemenids have the War Chariot at their disposal, a powerful cavalry unit that tramples nearby infantry underfoot.
- The Achaemenids' unique unit, the Immortal, wields both a spear and a bow and can swap between the two.
- The rivers of this region are too shallow to support the construction of warships.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Achaemenids): The player starts with a base in the north and must kill Aristagoras while also maintaining hold upon at least one of the local towns.
Allies[]
- Loyal Towns ( Achaemenids): These towns train the unit they specialize in to defend from Greek incursions. While held, the towns also provide a bonus to the player for the specific unit, and periodically tribute gold to the player. The player has a Fortified Tower in each of these towns, which if damaged enough fall into the hands of the enemy, and any soldiers trained by the town are controlled by the player Rebel Towns. The player loses the bonus granted by the town when this happens.
- Oracle ( Athenians - Ionians): To find the Oracle's location, the player must build a Town Center in the flagged area in the small village just east of the player's starting base. Once the building is constructed, the rocks blocking the mountain path to the Oracle are cleared and Artaphernes can approach her to obtain a bonus of the player's choice, which will add to bonuses obtained in the previous scenario and carry over to subsequent ones. There is also an allied town in the east of the map, which has a Market for trading.
Enemies[]
- Rebel Towns ( Athenians - Ionians): These are soldiers trained from the towns which are under control of the Greek treasure hunters. Some of them also have Polemarchs. The player needs to damage the enemy Fortified Tower in the middle of such a town to seize the tower (automatically replace it with their own tower) and capture the town.
- Aristagoras's Army ( Athenians - Ionians): They emerge out of Aristagoras's base and attack the various towns loyal to the player to capture them, and then eventually attack the player's base. The army consists of Hoplites and Laminated Bowmen.
- Aristagoras ( Athenians - Ionians): He and his personal guard (consisting of Hoplites, Laminated Bowmen, and Greek Noble Cavalry) have a base in the south of the map.
Strategy[]
 |
This section is most likely incomplete and may need expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
The player can train the bodyguard unit that was chosen in the first scenario Prologue: Gates of the Gods at the Fort.
As walls cannot be constructed in this scenario, the player will need to guard the towers with units, Forts, and other towers. The enemy primarily attacks with Hoplites and Laminated Bowmen, which should be countered with Laminated Bowmen, Cavalry Archers, and Elite Skirmishers. War Chariots and siege units can also be useful, as the enemy forces are often fielded in tight clusters.
Once the player retakes all eight towns, Aristagoras will no longer send troops to reclaim them, allowing the player time to prepare for the final assault. The bottom of the map has Aristagoras' base in the corner, and two towns either side of him. The third town, in the center, is across as river, and he cannot reach it directly, having to move to a shallows on either side of him. Just across these shallows, the player can build a Fort on either side where he is forced to funnel his troops between the map edge and the river. With Murder Holes and a garrison of Immortals, these forts can easily fend off Aristagoras' attacking forces before they reach any of the towns. Then, the player can proceed at the player's leisure.
Achievement "A Suitable Satrap"[]
For this achievement, the player cannot allow Aristagoras to hold more than four towns at the same time. It is recommended to try for this achievement on standard difficulty. On hard, Aristagoras picks a random town to attack after his first attack on the central town.
When the scenario begins, he will immediately take control of three of the eight towns. A short while later, he will attack with a small force of soldiers, most likely the central town on standard. The player can hold this town with the initial forces, so do not bolster them too greatly. Instead, spend the initial resources on boosting the economy. The player can trade with a Market in the Oracle's town in the east.
After the player begins to bring in resources faster, start to reinforce the first initial force and build a second. The player will not be able to cross the map fast enough to stop them if the player is on the other side, so two or three small forces across the map are better than one large force. The towers guarding the towns are not affected by Academy or Blacksmith upgrades.
The player can also build Forts to stop Aristagoras from claiming towns. There are three major paths that Aristagoras takes; each can be denied by a single fort.
Getting an aura for Artaphernes[]
The player should build a Town Center in a flagged location southeast of the player's base. After the Town Center is finished, the Oracle's Temple is revealed. Move Artaphernes there to claim the second aura.
Trivia[]
- If Aristagoras's Army has any troops remaining in the field after the last town is recaptured by the player, these will still attempt to retake the town they were headed for. However, if they succeed in taking down the defending tower at this point, it will be destroyed rather than captured.
Gallery[]
