The Siege of Rochester is the second scenario of the Rebellion chapter and overall ninth scenario of the The Normans campaign in Age of Empires IV. It depicts the Siege of Rochester Castle by the forces of King John of England in the Autumn of 1215.
Intro[]
Scenario description[]
King John clung to the throne, but the cost would be a bloody battle against his own people.
Opening cinematic[]
In the year prior to the defense of Dover, King John's defiance of the Magna Carta had mired England in a rebellion known as the First Barons' War. Across England, barons broke ties with the crown and seized important cities – including Rochester.
With his reign under threat, John deployed his forces to retake Rochester… and capture the traitors.
Loading screen[]
The castle at Rochester had fallen to rebel control. King John had to lay siege against his own barons.
Start of scenario[]
King John's men arrived at the outskirts of Rochester, set to retake the castle and drive out the rebel barons within. But Rochester was a formidable fortress that protected the route to London, and the rebel barons were prepared to lay down their lives to hold it. Before King John's men could hope to retake the castle, they would need to reinforce their position by capturing the village of Chatham.
Scenario instructions[]
- Age:
Castle Age - Units:
Scout- 10 Crossbowman
- 10 Longbowman
- 15 Man-at-Arms
- Resources: 200 food, 300 wood, 300 gold
Objectives[]
- Destroy Rochester Keep
- Capture Chatham
- Produce Trebuchets to breach Rochester
- Build a landmark
- Optional: Build a Siege Workshop
- Produce Trebuchets
- Optional: Cut off Rochester's supplies
- Burn the rebels' outlying Mills
- Stop the Traders
Players[]
- King John: The player begins in command of a mid-sized attack force of Longbowmen, Crossbowmen, and Men-at-Arms in the south corner of the map. After capturing the village of Chatham, they will receive twenty Villagers and two Monks. They will then be tasked with destroying Rochester Castle in the north, which is held by the Rebel Barons.
Allies[]
- Country Folk (English): The English country folk control the small settlement of St. Margaret's in the west corner of the map. The Monks of St. Margaret's Monastery will heal the player's units but will otherwise not be involved in the fighting. They also have a Market, which the player can trade with for additional gold, but which will also be the destination for enemy Traders supplying the rebels in Rochester.
- Rebel Barons (English): They represent those rebel forces which are discharged by the rebel commander in Rochester due to lack of supplies, and to which King John has granted amnesty. After each of the two secondary objectives concerning Rochester's supply lines have been completed, a portion of the enemy garrison will switch to the control of the allied Rebel Barons and slowly make their way southward, past the player's base in Chatham, and off the map. Although their player color and the color of their units' silhouettes is gray, their units will appear yellow otherwise.
Enemies[]
- Rebel Barons (English): The rebels control Rochester Castle to the north of Chatham, and have a large force of Veteran Spearmen, Men-at-Arms, Crossbowmen, Knights and Horsemen, as well as a large number of Longbowmen on the walls of the castle. If given enough time, they will also build siege engines, such as Battering Rams and Mangonels, to attack the player's base. They will additionally send Monks to regain control of any Sacred Sites captured by the player. Although their initial numbers are formidable, they can be weakened by attacking their supply lines outside of Rochester, namely the Mills to the east of the castle, and the Traders traveling between Rochester and St. Margaret's in the west. The destruction of their Keep at Rochester constitutes the central objective of the scenario.
Strategy[]
Another siege scenario. However, this time, the player is on the offensive and must take down Rochester Castle by destroying its Keep.
The player's first task is to establish a base of operations by capturing the nearby village of Chatham. Chatham has a large number of Villagers, more than are able to garrison in the Town Center, so the player should make sure to keep their units focused on the rebel defenders, rather than attacking civilians.
Once Chatham is taken, the player will be granted two Monks and twenty Villagers, which will immediately assign themselves to gathering various resources. The surrounding region contains a lot of Sheep, as well as a few Treasure Chests, so the player should immediately start to scout around, although they should watch out for aggressive Wolves. There are two Gold Mines north of Chatham, although the one to the east is surrounded by Stealth Forest, through which enemy units will come to harass the player's base. Therefore, it is better to start mining with the western Gold Mine. There are also several Sacred Sites in the vicinity which can be captured by the player's Monks, as well as four Relics which can be collected. Note that, as in other campaign scenarios, Monks are unable to convert with Relics. Chatham is nestled against a Stealth Forest to its east, so the player should set up some defenses there, as the rebels will periodically send attack parties to harass the player's base from both the north and the east.
As the player explores the map, they will soon reveal the allied settlement of St. Margaret's in the west, and the enemy farmlands in the east, as well as the associated objectives. In St. Margaret's, the player will be tasked with eliminating the six enemy Traders traveling between the allied Market and Rochester Castle. These are escorted by a mix of infantry and Horsemen, so a good number of Longbowmen with Palings deployed, as well as some additional infantry mixed in, will be able to deal with them. The player can position these next to St. Margaret's Monastery, so that the allied Monks will heal them between attacks. Each time a Trader is killed, they will drop a Treasure Chest containing 500 food. The last Trader will provide 100 gold instead. When all six Traders are eliminated, the player will receive news that the rebel commander has discharged part of the Rochester garrison, which will then switch to an allied player's control and move southward to disappear off the map.
The enemy Mills to the east are guarded by a mixed force of cavalry, Crossbowmen and infantry, and will quickly be reinforced by additional units from Rochester if attacked. The player should also be careful to keep their units out of range of the enemy towers and Longbowmen on Rochester's walls, particularly when attacking the last two Mills to the northeast. Once the four Mills are destroyed, the rebel commander will discharge yet more of the Rochester garrison, further diminishing the enemy's numbers. The enemy will still have a sizeable force, however, so the player should not attempt to attack Rochester Castle until they have a large army supported by several Trebuchets. The Wynguard Palace is a good choice for the Imperial Age landmark, as it allows the recruitment of the Wynguard Army, which will save the player resources on the production of Trebuchets and Knights.
As the player only needs to destroy the Keep in order to complete the scenario, they do not need to focus on eliminating all of Rochester's defenses and production buildings. However, they should ensure that their Trebuchets are protected from enemy units. The best place to start the siege is from the east, where the distance from the outer walls to the Keep is the shortest. Once the hit points of the enemy Keep drop below 500, a cut-scene will begin and the scenario will complete.
Outro[]
End of scenario[]
The great keep at Rochester fell at the hands of the king's army, securing both the castle and the route to London. While the fight for England raged on, a desperate King John clung to the throne.
Post-game screen[]
After a lengthy siege, the rebels finally surrendered. With Rochester secure, King John controlled the critical route to the capital.
Trivia[]
- Although it is possible to travel along the bridge which crosses the river to the north of Rochester, the terrain on the other side of the bridge is impassable, despite not showing the Out of Bounds cursor when hovered over with the mouse.
