| “ | Help us! The Trolls are attacking! | ” |
| —Soldier of Blackhammer's clan | ||
Union is the twenty-sixth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to rescue Forkbeard's daughter after uniting the remaining clans of the region by performing various tasks.
Summary[]
When Arkantos confronts Skult over the events of the previous scenario, the old man bursts into laughter and transforms into a murder of crows, leaving behind his flag. Reginleif appears and explains to the heroes that they were tricked by Loki into showing the banner of King Folstag, a giant who was pillaging the clans of the region. The trickster god has duped the local clans into fighting each other, but there may be a chance to unite these clans into fighting the nearby forces of Gargarensis instead.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting age:
Classical Age - Starting resources: 350 food, 100 wood, 250 gold
- Starting population limit: 5
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Starting technologies and upgrades: Disablot
- Starting god powers: Dwarven Mine, Healing Spring
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- On Easy, Loki's Minions begin with fewer units.
- On Hard and Titan, Loki's Minions cast the Walking Woods god power near the gate to their main camp when the player approaches. A group of Einheri will also attack Blackhammer's village.
Objectives[]
- Follow the trail to the first Norse clan.
(Many of the people working along this trail live in the Norse village just ahead. Helping any of them along the way might serve your cause.) - Defeat the Trolls in the mines to the north.
(Your heroes should be able to handle the trolls without the help of a big army. Blackhammer and his village will join you if you if the Trolls are removed from his mine.) - Exit the mines and find the second Norse clan.
(The exit from the mines is southwest. Rescue any captive Dwarves the Trolls may have imprisoned, and they can help you mine the gold in the cavern.) - Build five towers near the flagged sites around this Norse village.
(Stay on your guard. Giants have been pestering this village. If you help them by building defenses, this clan will join you.) - Cross the river to the east to find the third clan.
(The third clan is just on the other side of the river. You may want to leave a few units behind and search for the source of the Giants that are attacking this clan.) - Destroy the Watch Tower to free the third clan leaders daughter.
(The Watch Tower is in the back of the Giant's main village. By this time the Giants are starting to build up their defenses.)
Players[]
- Arkantos ( Odin; Thor before Retold): The player begins in the north of the map with Arkantos, Ajax, Amanra, Chiron, Reginleif, three Valkyries and two Huskarls. They have few resources to start with and are unable to build any Houses in this scenario. They must gain the allegiance of the local Norse clans in order to build up their forces and increase their population limit.
Allies[]
- Blackhammer ( Odin): Blackhammer has a large village in the northeast of the map, with access to every type of resource. Some of his buildings, including one Town Center, will pass to the player's control after his men are rescued from the Trolls encountered at the start of the scenario. His remaining buildings will also convert once the nearby mines are recaptured.
- Lothbrok ( Thor): Lothbrok has a small settlement in the west of the map, which will periodically be raided by Giants. The settlement and its defenders will convert to the player's cause as soon as five Watch Towers are built around its perimeter.
- Forkbeard ( Odin): Forkbeard has a town near the center of the map, to the north of the Giants' base. His daughter, Hallgerd Forkbeard, was abducted by Loki's Minions. He and his men will join Arkantos if he can rescue her from the nearby enemy town, however his village will not pass to the player's control.
Neutral[]
- Blackhammer ( Odin): This player controls the Ox Cart and Dwarves held captive in the mine next to Blackhammer's village. They will switch to the human player's control once freed.
Enemies[]
- Loki's Minions ( Loki): They control most of the myth units encountered in this scenario and their buildings.
- Loki's Minions ( Loki): They control the Underworld Passage, and the Trolls found at the beginning of this scenario.
Strategy[]
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.
The player should immediately send their campaign heroes ahead to save the soldiers from the Hamarrtrolls. Afterwards, they can follow the path to Blackhammer's clan, who will provide Arkantos with some of their buildings. The player can start training Gatherers and Dwarves to boost their economy but should bear in mind that they already start with a handful of worker units and a few more will be made available during the scenario. The Dwarves at the Gold Mine near the starting point will also have converted to the player's control and should be re-tasked to mining.
More Hamarrtrolls will arrive shortly so the starting units should quickly head for the cavern entrance to defeat them. Next, the player may train additional units, especially Hersirs and upgrade them, but the starting units should once again be enough for the next task. By defeating the Hamarrtrolls guarding the mines and their Underworld Passage, the player will stop their attacks and be able to continue onto the next objective. The rest of Blackhammer's buildings will also pass to the player's control, allowing them to train additional Hersirs for the next objective. Before moving onto the next clan, it would be wise to free the nearby Dwarves by breaking down the stone fences and assigning them to mining gold. They should research some economic upgrades.
Upon arriving at Lothbrok's village, the player's army should be sent immediately to the south end to stop the incoming Mountain Giants and Frost Giants. Afterwards, the player's infantry can build all five Watch Towers near south side of the village to better defend against incoming attacks. Although the scnario instructions state that the towers should be built on the flagged markers, this is not necessary. As long as they are within the village, Lothbrok's buildings will pass to the player's control. Shortly after, more Giants, including a Fire Giant, and two Ballistae, will quickly arrive to wreak havoc. After building a Dwarven Armory, the player should begin upgrading their units further and advance to the Heroic Age (either minor god works). Although the next objective is to advance to the third clan, it is recommended to instead build an army of Hersirs and Portable Rams or strong myth units and attack the giants' Temple and Hill Fort located south of Lothbrok's village. This will stop further attacks on his village.
Upon arriving at Forkbeard's village, he will request Arkantos' help in saving his daughter who is held prisoner in the nearby village occupied by Loki's Minions. Doing this will require a significant force so the player should advance to the Mythic Age (made easier with the free Market) and worship Baldr to get access to Fire Giants and the Ragnarok god power. They can also cast Healing Spring within Forkbeard's village where it will be close enough to retreat to for the remainder of the scenario. The player should now train as many Fire Giants as they can with the favor they have available, as well as additional Gatherers and Dwarves until the population cap is reached. They should then cast Ragnarok and have all available forces gather at Forkbeard's village. Once ready, the player can begin attacking the Giants' village gates. Doing so will cause Loki's Minions to cast Walking Woods on both groves of pine trees nearby, but the heroes can easily dispose of them. At the same time, some Einherjar will attack Blackhammer's village but they can be ignored as that base is no longer necessary. The player should concentrate on breaking down the gate and any defensive structure within. Meanwhile, the Heroes of Ragnarok can simply pass through and head straight for the Watch Tower holding Hallgerd Forkbeard (destroying all enemy buildings is not necessary). Once the Watch Tower is destroyed, the player will be rewarded with victory.
Trivia[]
- This scenario marks the first appearance of Reginleif.
- The player does not need to protect any of the buildings provided by the clans to win this scenario, but doing so will make it less difficult.
- Lothbrok's village has a Dwarven Forge, but doesn't have any upgrades unlike in the scenario "The Dwarven Forge". It doesn't count as an Armory, so the player will need to build one to advance to the Heroic Age.
- It is possible to build a Wonder once the player reaches the Mythic Age. However, this does not trigger the usual 10-minute countdown.
- In Retold, the player now worships Odin instead of Thor.
Video[]
