Toom Tabard is the fourth scenario of the Edward Longshanks campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Lords of the West. It depicts the Capture of Berwick, and the Battle of Dunbar.
Intro[]
I fear that I am deceiving myself in studying only my father's achievements in war. As king, I must be both a warrior and a statesman, just as he was.
Drawing inspiration from the legendary stories of King Arthur, Edward grew from a deceitful and duplicitous youth into a pious and chivalrous leader respected throughout Christendom.
My father implemented economic, administrative and legal reforms that strengthened and stabilized his kingdom. His borrowing of Byzantine concepts led him to be known as 'The English Justinian'.
Yet, to Edward, this was just another part of ruling effectively, and everything that he did furthered his fierce desire to rule over all of Britain. When Alexander III of Scotland died without a male heir, that ambition suddenly seemed within reach.
My father first strove to marry Alexander's young granddaughter Margaret to me, the heir apparent to England. When she died unexpectedly just a year later, Edward instead installed John Balliol as king in Scotland.
The proud Scots would not suffer themselves to be ruled by an English puppet whose master sought to conscript them into war with France. Instead, they allied with the French and rose in open rebellion.
Edward's fury was unbridled. If Balliol could not hold his subjects in line, my father would seize Scotland by force.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Castle Age - Starting resources: 1,000 food, 1,000 wood, 700 gold, 300 stone
- Population limit: 175
- Starting units:
- Edward Longshanks
- 10 Longbowmen
- 5 Pikemen
- 5 Knights
- 2 Light Cavalry
- 8 Villagers
- Starting technologies: Guard Tower
Objectives[]
- Capture Berwick by defeating its garrison.
- Prepare your forces for the attack of the Scottish Army.
- (subsequently) Defeat the Scottish Army.
- (secondary) Capture the Stone of Scone (Relic) to demoralize the Scottish Army.
Hints[]
- King Edward is restricted to a population limit of 175 and still cannot build Cannon Galleons. Being deep in enemy territory and on rugged terrain, The English cannot construct Stone Walls, either.
- The walls of Berwick are formidable. You will need a formidable force and siege engines to breach them.
- Be shrewd and prudent yet decisive. A swift capture of Berwick will make things easier in the long run, but overextending yourself while failing to do so will see you crushed by the Scottish army.
- There is only one bridge on the River Forth. See that you control it.
- The Stone of Scone is a symbol of Scottish royalty. Capturing it would deal a great blow to enemy morale.
Scouts[]
- King Edward (1, Red) has arrived in Scotland and erected a camp in the south.
- The prosperous city of Berwick (2, Grey) lies to the east. Its hardy garrison (3, Green) consists of Crossbowmen, swordsmen and Scorpions.
- The powerful Scottish army (4, Blue) camps beyond the Firth of Forth to the north and northwest. Its proud force of cavalry, Pikemen and siege engines pose a threat to any invader.
- The Monastery of Scone (5, Yellow) lies to the north, defended by a petty token force.
Players[]
Player[]
- King Edward Longshanks ( Britons): The player starts in the south with a small camp containing Feudal Age military buildings, two Guard Towers, a Blacksmith, a Dock and a Lumber Camp, plus a few Houses and Pavilions, but no Town Center. A moderately-sized force led by Edward Longshanks himself is present in the camp, in addition to eight Villagers to start up the economy. The player must capture Berwick and defeat the Scottish Army.
Allies[]
- Berwick ( Celts): The city is guarded by the Garrison. The player will gain control of the city once the Berwick Garrison is defeated.
Enemies[]
- Scottish Army ( Celts): They will be passive for 30 minutes, before they attack with Halberdiers, Hussars, Cavaliers (and Paladins if given the time), Siege Rams, and Scorpions.
- Berwick Garrison ( Celts): They control the town of Berwick and will constantly attack the player with large numbers of Crossbowmen, Two-Handed Swordsmen and Scorpions. The city of Berwick will turn over to the player's control once the Garrison is defeated.
- Scone ( Celts): They have a Monastery with a Relic inside it. Defeating them and capturing their Relic will cause the Scottish Army to tribute 5,000 gold to the player.
Strategy[]
The first thing the player should do is to build several Town Centers, and boom rapidly. Players may scout manually or opt to use the Auto Scout feature on the scout which is at the gate to find a good location for Town Centers. Send more Villagers to gather Sheep, and build some Castles to fend off the Berwick Garrison's attacks. There will be a 30-minute countdown timer before the Scottish Army goes on the offensive. Before then, the player should try to advance to the Imperial Age as soon as possible. By 15 minutes time, the Garrison would have sent a large army to raid the player (large enough to destroy even a Castle with Murder Holes researched), so the Castles should be up by then. Alternatively, a single Castle with a full Longbowmen garrison can kill Berwick Garrison's Two-Handed Swordsmen by itself with relative ease, and clean up Crossbowmen and Scorpions with only slight damage, but the player should watch out for stray soldiers. If any Villagers fall to the raid, then the player should create extra ones.
Until the timer expires, the bridge to the Scottish Army and Scone will be broken. Once the Scots go on the offensive, the bridge will be fixed. As the Scottish Army also attacks with Rams, they are a bigger threat than the Berwick Garrison now (despite the lower score) and, if given the time, they will upgrade their Cavaliers to Paladins, and establish a forward base near the center of the map if given the opportunity. The player can prevent this by building a Castle next to the bridge (and fully garrisoning it with Longbowmen) and use the hero unit to lure the Scottish cavalry into the player's Castle. The more Scottish units die, the more resources the Scottish Army has to spend on new units and so they will not have resources for the expensive Paladin upgrade.
Since the Scottish Army focuses on cavalry, the player should create a huge army of fully upgraded Elite Longbowmen (do not forget to research Yeomen) and Halberdiers, backed by Trebuchets and Monks. There is a Monastery northernmost on the map containing a Relic. Capturing the Relic will make the Scots tribute 5,000 gold to the player, severely affecting unit production. The player will also unlock the "Throne Thief" achievement.
The Scots should fall easily, after all military buildings and Town Centers are razed. Once they are down, the player should bring the fight to the Garrison. As the Garrison has no economy, the player should send their remaining army to attack them. A few Trebuchets will be enough to one-shot most of the buildings in the city, while the player's Elite Longbowmen can easily kill any enemy unit with their 12 range. Once the Garrison is defeated, Berwick will belong to the player, and the scenario is won.
Note: the player cannot research Warwolf in this scenario.
Achievement[]
Throne Thief: The player must steal the Stone of Scone (a Relic) and place it in their Monastery.
Outro[]
Father was unspeakably cruel to the Scots. In retribution for an attack on Carlisle, he seized and sacked the wealthy town of Berwick, slaughtering some 20,000 inhabitants.
Balliol, the puppet that Edward had installed as king in Scotland, proved himself a traitor. He marched the Scottish army south against the English, but it was viciously drubbed at the Battle of Dunbar.
Begging for mercy, Balliol capitulated to Edward, who scornfully stripped him of his coat of arms. This disgrace earned him the moniker Toom Tabard, 'Empty Coat'.
As a final humiliation, Edward seized the Coronation Stone from the monastery in Scone and placed it in a chair in Westminster Abbey. The hallowed Stone of Scone, a symbol of Scottish royalty, shall now sanctify the destiny of an undying line of English kings.
Trivia[]
- The events of Toom Tabard are mentioned in the Feeding the Army, Training the Troops, and Research and Technology scenarios of the William Wallace campaign, covering the siege of Berwick, battle of Dunbar, and the capture of the Stone of Scone.
