| “ | Abandoned by the Roman Emperor, Britain is alone and surrounded by hostile barbarians. But salvation comes in the form of rough Saxon warriors. Will a deal struck with these newcomers save Britain or usher in a new barbaric age? | ” |
| —In-game scenario description | ||
Vortigern is one of the scenarios in the Victors and Vanquished campaign in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Victors and Vanquished. In this scenario, the player plays as the Britons and the player color is red. This scenario is based on the reign of the Romano-Briton king Vortigern and his role in the Germanic migrations and takeover of England.
Intro[]
As the Empire fell, Rome's legions departed Britain.
Seizing the opportunity, barbarians attacked the island. They came by land and by sea -- wild Picts of the northern highlands, raiding Gaels from the west, and various Germanic tribes of the east.
As the walls in Britain crumbled and the towns were plundered, the Britons requested the return of the legions. In response, the Emperor Honorius told the Britons to see to their own defense.
Britain was now alone.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Feudal Age (on Standard difficulty; researched when the player gets control)- Dark Age (on Moderate/Hard difficulties)
- Ending Age: Imperial Age
- Starting resources:
- Starting technologies: Loom (on Standard/Moderate difficulties)
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
Objectives[]
- Recruit Saxon Foederati.
- Survive until 500 CE.
- The Wonder must not be destroyed.
Hints[]
- You have a population limit of 200 but begin in debt. Your focus should be on rebuilding Britain's economy while withstanding enemy raids.
- Saxons are key to your survival. As you recruit more Saxons, your armies will become bigger and stronger.
- The Saxons are your salvation but they may also be your destruction. You cannot survive without them but the more dependent you are on them, the more powerful the Saxon settlements will become. Powerful Saxons will inevitably become enemies.
- Gradually transition to armies made up of Britons or you will have a disloyal army if the Saxons attack you.
- Repair the Roman walls and towers as they are better than any you can build. Even infantry can use the towers against your enemies.
- It is wise to retreat from territory you cannot defend rather than spread your forces thin.
Scouts[]
- With the departure of Rome's legions, Britain's survival is uncertain. The cities of Deva, Eboracum, Glevum, and Londinium are all that remain of Roman civilization on the island, but their walls are damaged and their garrisons gone.
- The wild and barbaric Picts (Blue) of the northern highlands threaten Britain. Although Hadrian's Wall has held their hordes back for three centuries, the wall is in disrepair and manned by too few men.
- The Gaels (Green) of Ireland have taken advantage of the disorder to launch piratical raids along the coasts from their island home to the west.
- Likewise, the Franks (Yellow) sail for Britain from their camps on the Frisian coast to the east. They come to plunder Britain as they have plundered Roman Gaul.
- Beset by these barbarians, Britain's salvation may lie in the Germanic Saxons (Grey), fearsome and capable warriors eager to sell their swords for parcels of land.
Players[]
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Player[]
Player (
Britons): The player has three Town Centers - one near Hadrian's Wall, protected by Palisade Walls and one Watch Tower; one near the East coast (Londonium), protected by Stone Walls; and one near the southwestern coast, protected by just a tower at the back. The player has a Wonder protected by Stone Walls in the center of the map. Each base has three Farms and a Mill somewhat far from them, except the southern base, for which they are very close. Each base also has a Monastery which cannot be replaced, as construction of Monasteries is also disabled.
Ally[]
- Romano-British ( Byzantines): Their buildings are given to the player at the start of the scenario. They play no role other than to ensure the player's initial buildings use Mediterranean architecture and have several upgrades.
Ally → Enemy[]
- Saxons ( Vikings - Saxons): The Saxons build three Town Centers on the eastern coast of Britain after the first Foederati recruitment, but they will only construct other buildings near the Town Center northeast of Londinium. They train Norse Warriors, Berserks, Huskarls, Throwing Axemen and Archers → Crossbowmen. The time of their betrayal depends on difficulty and how many times Foederati are recruited, and usually ranges from 25 to 40 minutes. It is possible that they will never betray the player if on lower difficulties and/or the Foederati are recruited very sparingly. While they are hostile to the other players, their base is not attacked by them, and they do not actively try to defend the player's. They quickly advance from the Dark Age to the Castle Age, but cannot go to the Imperial Age, so they can be defeated with relative ease if their initial offensive is weathered.
Enemies[]
- Picts ( Celts): The Picts send hordes of Woad Raiders and the occasional Scout Cavalry from their territory north of Hadrian's Wall, with Battering Rams and Pictish Chiefs coming in later. They can be defeated by destroying the seven Folwarks that their units spawn from, but be warned that destroying a Folwark for the first time will trigger a strong counterattack.
- Gaels ( Celts): The Gaels send Transport Ships of Woad Raiders, Archers (later Crossbowmen on Hard), Men-at-Arms (later Long Swordsmen on Hard), and Skirmishers from Ireland in the west. They tend to land on the east and west shores north of the Wonder and the main Saxon base. They cannot be defeated, as the player cannot build Docks nor convert any Transport Ships due to enemy players all having Heresy researched.
- Franks ( Franks): The Franks send Transport Ships of Throwing Axemen (later Elite Throwing Axemen on Hard), Norse Warriors, and Obuchs from their base in Holland across the eastern sea. Like the Gaels, they tend to land on the east and west shores north of the Wonder and the main Saxon base. They also cannot be defeated, for the same reasons as the Gaels.
Strategy[]
The scenario starts at 440 CE, and one year passes per minute. The player only has to hold the line, prevent the Wonder from destroyed, for exactly an hour to win the scenario, regardless of difficulty.
Due to starting with a negative amount of gold on Moderate and Hard, the player will be unable to produce any military units and will be entirely dependent on the Saxons to fend off attacks. A gold economy must be built up immediately with a plan to make as many military units of the player's own as possible. While the player also starts with a handful of very strong Legionaries and Centurions, they cannot be replaced if killed.
The player cannot build Docks, Markets, Castles, Stone Walls, or Gates. Their Watch Towers cannot be upgraded to Guard Towers. Consequently, care must be taken to ensure that the Roman walls and towers are not destroyed.
When the timer is close to running out, the Saxons (who will likely have built up a very large base with an equally strong military close to the player's cities) will declare war on the player. When this happens, all Saxons in the player's army will switch to their control, which will be disastrous if they are close to the Wonder or if the player's own military is not built up enough to handle their betrayal. This can be mitigated by deleting all of the recruited Saxons before then.
An underhanded trick to weakening the Saxons is to quickly deprive them of gold by constructing Houses around their Gold Mines to block them off. While they still start with a considerable stockpile of gold, this can noticeably reduce the number of units they can create before their betrayal.
Despite the Britons' lack of Bloodlines, Knights are an excellent choice of army composition, as none of the enemy forces include Spearman-line units.
Alternative strategy (hard difficulty + achievement)[]
This strategy will help the player to achieve the Civis Romanus achievement on hard difficulty.
1) Picts - Recruit Saxons non-stop until the player recruits the army with two Axe Throwers. Send them to the wall. The player will probably engage in a large attack by that time with Picts. Delete one part of the wall and rush through with the army, quickly destroying their six Folwarks and a Shipyard. Memorize the map, so the player knows where to go. After the player destroys the last building, they will be defeated. Don't use the Legionnaires; leave them to defend towers.
2) Economy - start with mass building Villagers. Prioritize the bottom city, as the player will send all newly found Sheep there. Ideally, the player wants the top one to mine gold and stone, the middle to get the goose, then gather wood, and the bottom city should get all the Sheep and Cows the player finds with the Scout Cavalry. After gathering all the food from Sheep, send them to wood and farm. It is fine to farm also in the top and middle cities, but the player shouldn't have to create all 8 farms in there. When the player has enough food with constant Villager production, start upgrading in the middle or top city (preferably the top) until the player can click next age. The player should be able to upgrade to the Imperial Age without stopping. In the meantime, research economic upgrades. The player can stop building Villagers when the player has around 100 of them. Also, starting from the Castle Age, remember to start gathering Relics (to the closest Monastery, as nothing will fall).
3) Army - build five Archer Ranges and start training archers and upgrades while upgrading to the Imperial Age. Also remember to build a University. Preferably do it in the middle city, next to gray's base. First, send 20 Villagers to the wall, which the player need to wall so the player creates a maze. Simultaneously, build Stables, as the player will have a surplus of food.
4) Gaels and Franks - they will be attacking the player's wall first. It's probably scripted to help the Picts, who will be dead at that point. So if the player builds a wall with one entry point, they will swarm the entry point one by one, and the player's 20-something archers will shred them.
5) Saxons - cheese them. Wall around their Town Centers. With Houses, then with Palisade Walls. Wall their military buildings. Wall everything the player can (prioritize economy buildings and Town Centers), so when they betray the player, the player will have them walled and archers and Scout Cavalry ready with full upgrades waiting for them in a maze of buildings. Remember to delete their units from the player's army before they turn - the player should start killing them and replacing with archers and Scout Cavalry much earlier anyway. At the point when they decide to betray the player, the player should sit on 100 military.
Nothing will ever come close to the player's bases. All of this needs an extremely good micromanagement, so save often, and pause often to think and look at the map.
| This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. |
Alternative strategy 2 (hard difficulty without defeating the Picts)[]
Recruit two more warbands after the starting mandatory one. Fill the towers with the soldiers. Make at least one Villager at each Town Center. Use the Sheep as well. After that, train lumberjacks, one stone miner, and one Villager to repair the wall (after training more Villagers, send three). Reach the Imperial Age and have around 35 Arbalesters with all range upgrades and Chemistry. Make some Scout Cavalry to block pathways and against rams. Try to House wall around the Wonder and target the ranged units first. The player should save a lot and needs to make few mistakes when fighting. Try to repair walls if possible. Arbalesters with or without tower support can take out rams relatively well.
Outro[]
Writings from fifth century Britain are limited and the period is shrouded in mythology. Central authority vanished, the cities were emptied, and local lords established hillforts, arming their retainers with weapons left behind by the legions.
The monk Gildas, writing a century after the fall of Roman Britain, described how the vile King Vortigern invited the Saxons to the island to defend it from other barbarian groups. The Saxons quickly betrayed him, killed Vortigern's sons, and formed kingdoms in eastern Britain. These would eventually become the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Something of the old Britain remained, however, with roots more ancient than the Romans. In the west of the island, the Welsh preserved Brittonic culture against the fierce Saxons. The Welsh would remain free for nine centuries until the Normans conquered this last frontier.
Trivia[]
- This map is a remaster of the custom scenario called "Last Frontier: The Fall of Roman Britain", present in the mod center.
- The scenario, alongside Robert, is one of the few scenarios where the player can obtain more than one achievement from the same scenario ("Seeds of Their Own Destruction" and "Civis Romanus").
- Though Roman Britain was part of the territory of the Western Roman Empire, which is represented by the Romans, they are instead represented by the Byzantines.
- The choice of civilization plays an important role, despite the player being useless, through the civilization bonus of buildings having more hit points, as the Town Centers, Wonder, Monasteries, and walls are must-defend and irreplaceable buildings in the scenario. Other things affected are the Wonder design (Hagia Sophia or Colosseum), and the team bonus (Monks healing 100% faster).
Gallery[]
