| “ | A hard winter awaited the colonial army at Valley Forge...but Nathaniel's militia was there to help. | ” |
| —Scenario description | ||
Valley Forge is the sixth scenario in Act I: Fire in Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs. This scenario is based on the winter encampment of George Washington in Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778.
Summary[]
The scenario starts off with the cinematic "A Cold Winter" in which Amelia Black narrates that after the successful victory in the battle of Saratoga, the colonials suffered heavy losses at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. Because of this, they were forced to camp in the freezing winter at Valley Forge.
At the camp, the men suffered greatly from the cold and lack of resources, leading some men to their deaths. Nathaniel Black became very concerned over the camp conditions and devised a plan with General Washington to slip his way through enemy lines to bring back supplies as well as using most of his family fortune to supply the men throughout the winter.
Objectives[]
Primary objectives[]
Secondary objectives[]
- Destroy the Outpost to open up the pass. (300 XP)
- Get the Food Wagon back to Valley Forge. (200 XP)
Players[]
Player[]
- Black Family Estate (
Black Family Estate) - The player starts out in the north of the map near a partially frozen river with Nathaniel Black, General Washington, 7 Colonial Militia, and 3 tents. At the same time, the first objective of building 6 huts in the camp is revealed. The player must then gather food and destroy the British Fort.
Ally[]
- Americans ( United States) - This player owns the two Bakers the player will take control of later on. After the winter, the Bakers' ownership will be switched back to this player. This player also has a small town to the southeast of the map that may advance to the Imperial Age, irrelevant to the gameplay.
Enemy[]
- British ( British) - Forces are much more diverse, consists of Grenadiers, Musketeers, Falconets, and several array of Cavalry.
Treasures[]
There are 20 treasures on the map:
- Click for a list of treasures and their guardians related to the "Valley Forge" scenario
| Treasure | Reward | Guardians | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| A stand of quaking aspen worth | 40 wood | 1x  Grizzly Bear
| Two such treasures are located to the west and south of the player's base |
| A stand of cottonwood trees worth | 85 wood | 2x Grizzly Bear
|
East of the player's base |
| Sunflowers worth | 110 food | 1x  Bandit Rider2x  Coyote
|
North of the players's base |
| A trapped Settler, who may join the cause of a rescuer. | 1x  Settler
| 4x  Black Bear
| |
| A patch of peanuts worth | 80 food | 3x Coyote
|
Between player's base and the Native Settlements |
| A tomato vine worth | 30 food | 1x Wolf
| |
| A patch of potatoes worth | 70 food | 2x Wolf
|
Near the western Native Settlement |
| A family of tasty possums worth | 40 food | 1x Black Bear
|
Near the southern Native Settlement |
| A supply of maple syrup worth | 85 food | 2x Black Bear
|
On the left bank in the middle third of the central river |
| A pair of trapped Settlers, who may join the cause of a rescuer. | 2x Settler
| 2x  Pirate2x  Bandit Gunslinger2x  Bandit Rifleman
|
On the right bank in the middle third of the central river |
| Sunflowers worth | 40 food | 1x  Cougar
|
On the left bank in the lower third of the central river |
| A trapped Native Scout, who may join the cause of a rescuer. | 1x  Native Scout
| 2x Wolf
|
On the right bank in the lower third of the central river |
| Squash plants worth | 75 food | 2x Wolf
|
South of the map |
| A trapped Native warrior. He may join the cause of whoever rescues him. | 1x  Haudenosaunee Tomahawk
| 1x Pirate 1x Bandit Gunslinger
|
North of the enemy base |
| The spoor of the legendary sasquatch worth | 130 XP | 2x Grizzly Bear
|
Center of the enemy base |
| Two Settlers held prisoner by the British. | 2x Settler
| 4x  Outlaw Musketeer
|
There are two such treasures: South of the enemy base On the left bank of the eastern river |
| A chest of pirate gold worth | 300 coin | 1x  Buccaneer Captain3x Pirate
|
On the left bank of the eastern river, near Baker |
| The elusive jackalope worth | 320 XP | 4x Bandit Rider
|
On the right bank of the eastern river |
Strategy[]
Unlike Crossing the Delaware, the frigid temperatures in this map force the player not to move their units far from the fire as they take damage from the cold.
Note: If any unit takes significant damage from the cold, they need to be brought to the campfire to be healed.
Right off, the player should use Nathaniel and General Washington to take down a treasure of one Settler guarded by 3 Black Bears, due to the Settler not taking damage from the cold. Crates of resources will lie further out where Colonial Militia can gather them to build the 6 huts. Small pairs of British troops will attack as the search for resources and treasures continue and a repetitive process of gathering and returning to the base will occur at this point.
After all 6 Huts are completed, a new primary objective of gathering 3,000 food is revealed. There are many different methods of getting Food, one method is by the Baker. The player must carefully explore on the west portion of the map and head south for the Baker in the center of the map. The other baker is further east near the British stronghold and too risky to access. Each Food Wagon will cost 100 coin and supplies 1,000 food when brought back to the base.
- Note: It is advised to bring back the Food Wagons to the base with extreme caution or escort them with troops as British patrols will take down the wagons with ease
The player should send Nathaniel and Washington to scout towards the center of the map, where a stranded Food Wagon can be found. The wagon must be carefully escorted back to the base with Nathaniel and Washington in case a British ambush occurs on the route. More food crates will be found lying around near the center of the map which can be gathered for food. Once the wagon is brought back to the base, the secondary objective of the wagon will be completed granting 300 XP and 1,000 Food.
Further southwest on the map, a stranded Outpost wagon will lay and if rescued will provide a free Outpost. It is advised the player takes this opportunity as it will provide additional defense at the base, fighting off small invading British patrols. The Outpost should be built near the campfire and huts, so the player has strategic advantage from enemy raids on the huts. Around this point, the player will reach 3,000 Food from the Food Wagons and nearby Food crates and are met with another new objective.
A Covered Wagon will now be provided to the player and can be placed anywhere in the map as long as its not too close to the central river or British stronghold. When the Town Center is finished, the newly acquired Villagers should start building a Market, War Hut, Community Plaza, and Trading Post by the nearby Huron or Cree settlement. Nathaniel and Washington should both be grouped with all Colonial Militia and should be moved east towards the center where mores resource crates will lie by an abandoned Mill. At this point, the player can finally focus on building an economy and growing their colony so they can overwhelm the British settlement later on. There isn't much strategy left at this point as all the player needs to do is to amass enough troops to topple the British Fort east on Barren Hill. The player can scout around for any remaining crate resources and task Villagers to gather coin and wood. The goal is to age up to the Industrial Age to access Falconets as these will help quickly destroy the British Outposts, Barracks, and Fort in Barren Hill.
At this time larger waves of British patrols will attack the settlement, although they should be fended off quite easily from the player's growing war party. The player should task some villagers to do the Healers Ceremony at the Community Plaza to acquire 1 Medicine Man to heal troops later as they rush Barren Hill. Once at least 4 Falconets, 10-15 Colonial Militia, 12-13 Tomahawks, and at least 10 Kanya Horsemen are amassed together, the war party is capable of advancing and destroying the British Fort.
At this point the player should split their very large army into 2 halves, one consisting of all non artillery units that should be sent up north to flank the British troops, while a second half should consist of the Falconets guarded by either Cree Trackers or Huron Mantlets, whichever native settlement is present.
After crossing the river, the first army up north will rather easily defeat the weaker British troops stationed there. The army should then promptly move directly south along the river. Now the second army of Falconets and Native American warriors will need to head directly east to cross the river, the goal for the player being to marge the two armies into one colossal force.
Once the two forces meet in the central east, the player can immediately rush the British troops. The size of the player's army will be gargantuan in comparison to the British Longbowmen and Musketeers, allowing for easy sweep of the British settlement. The Falconets and Nathaniel's crack shot ability will help take down scores of Longbowmen and other troops. Once the majority of British troops are wiped out, a few Outposts and the British Fort will remain, these too will quickly be brought down, and once the Fort is demolished the player has completed the scenario.
Gallery[]
