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The Peloponnesian War erupts! The Athenian leader Pericles shelters his people behind the city's long walls - but how long will they tolerate this defensive strategy?
—In-game summary

Within the Long Walls is the eighth scenario of the second act of the Battle for Greece grand campaign in Chronicles: Battle for Greece, and the fifteenth scenario overall.

Intro[]

And so the Delian League became the Athenian Empire. And Themistocles, like all who became great in Athens, suffered his fall. Exiled from his home by jealous rivals, he ended up volunteering his services to none other than the Great King of Persia, who reasoned that the Persians' greatest foe might prove their most useful servant. So Themistocles ended his days a loyal subject of the Mede. As I said, great men rarely meet great ends.

Decades passed. The Athenian Empire grew to new heights under the wise statesman Pericles, who governed with his beloved Aspasia at his side. Athens, burnt to a husk mere decades earlier, was now a marvelous metropolis, resplendent in glittering marble. Prosperous and confident, the city of Athena nurtured a golden age of art, philosophy, and architecture.

But the days when Athens fought side-by-side with Sparta were long gone. Greece fractured into two great powers: the Athenian Empire and the Peloponnesian League, circling each other like yellow-eyed wolves. One hardly needed the foresight of Apollo to see that war was coming.

On land, none could resist the Spartans, whose men devoted their whole lives to war. At sea, the Athenian fleet was unmatched. And with Athens connected to its port by a set of long walls, the navy could feed the city indefinitely, should any foe attempt a siege. All Greece held its breath, like an audience that awaits the arrival of a tragic chorus, knowing that things both great and terrible are about to unfold.

Scenario instructions[]

Starting conditions[]

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Objectives[]

Main objectives[]

Political Favor: x/100

  • Remain in power for 3 elections.
    Keep your Political Favor above 50 at election time to avoid being voted out.
    Political Favor will slowly decrease unless you take actions to boost it.

Secondary objectives[]

  • Select a Port and change the Merchant Ship ratio.
  • Collect resources from ruined buildings beyond the walls.
  • Send at least 20 Lancers to the flagged area in Oenoe.
  • Escort Tribute Ships to the Piraeus.
  • Load troops onto Transport Ships to Aegina.
  • Destroy the Forts on Aegina.
  • Defend the Fort on Salamis.
  • Send at least 20 Hoplites to the flagged area in Plataea.
  • Kill 0/4 Spartan Camp leaders.
  • Reduce the plague at the Acropolis.
  • Escort the Tribute Cart to the Oracle's Temple.
  • Bring at least 10 military ships to the flagged area for a raid on the Peloponnese.
  • Estate Income:

Hints[]

  1. Your goal is to remain in office. When an election occurs, your Political Favor must be above 50 for you to be re-elected. The scenario will end if you survive three elections.
  2. Because the people are angry at being stuck inside the walls while Spartans ravage their fields, your Political Favor will continually drain. To top it up, you must complete side objectives and take political actions, which are done via technologies at the Acropolis (Wonder). These technologies take time to complete, so do not wait until the last second before an election.
  3. Beware of civil unrest if your Favor drops too low.
  4. Do not try to fight the Spartans on land; they are too powerful.
  5. Maintain your economy at sea, but make sure to defend against the Corinthian Navy.
  6. Remember: attacking and defeating your enemies is not your goal; winning elections is.
  7. Oenoe is the orange town closer to Athens, Plataea is the orange town further away in the north.
  8. You start with an estate that provides a valuable regular income of wood, gold, and food.

Players[]

Player[]

  • Player (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The player begins with a small fleet of military ships, a small fleet of already-working civilian ships, and a small military. They have several buildings at their disposal, but no Villagers, and cannot build anything. The player must remain in power through three elections.

Allies[]

  • Oenoe & Plataea (Athenians Chronicles Athenians - Greeks): Two small towns along the northeastern edge of the map. They offer no aid through the scenario, but can be helped for favor.
  • Athenians (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The city of Athens itself. Mostly decorative, but also consists of the walls and towers holding off the Spartan army.
  • Oracle (Athenians Chronicles Athenians - Greeks): A Priestess and a Temple just southwest of Plataea, in the northern corner of the map.
  • Salamis (Athenians Chronicles Athenians): The island in the middle of the map. They are a critical ally, as while they offer no help militarily, they are the players only trading partner and a crucial source of gold.

Enemies[]

  • Spartans (Spartans Chronicles Spartans): Sparta has large armies that regularly occupy the area outside of Athens, several camps beyond them, a smaller city just south of the orange player, and a large base in the western corner of the map. They seldom attack Athens directly, but do attack Salamis occasionally.
  • Corinthian Navy (Spartans Chronicles Spartans - Greeks): The biggest threat, as they target the player's crucial sea economy, this player has several Ports and Shipyards along the coast of the Spartan base in the western corner, a handful of them in their northern base, and regularly spawns in a few ships between Athens and Aegina.
  • Aegina (Athenians Chronicles Athenians - Greeks): Little threat itself, Aegina is a small, but tough, island in the southern corner of the map. With Hoplites and cavalry defending two Forts, they are more a side objective than a threat, and will not be aggressive.

Strategy[]

This strategy assumes the player is going for the "First Citizen" achievement, for which the player must never fall below 50 Political Favor. The hardest part of this achievement is the beginning of the scenario.

Immediately after the scenario begins, sell all of the player's stone, as the player cannot use it, as well as enough food and wood to make 2,000 gold. At the Acropolis, chose the Prosecute Cleon option. This will slow down the rate at which the player's Favor decays for now. This is necessary, as it can fall too far well before most other options are completed.

After this, take the player's navy and position it just southwest of the base on the player's island near Salamis. Spend the resources the player gathers on upgrading the player's ships. After a few minutes, a Tribute Ship will appear in the south, with a small escort that the player controls. Keep the escort with the ship. By the time it reaches the player's fleet, the Corinthian Navy should arrive to attack it. Defend it and let it through to Athens. It should arrive just in time to prevent the player from falling below 50 Favor, and grant some resources.

Once the player has enough resources, invest in the Colonize Aegina option at the Acropolis. This will spawn some Transport Ships at the player's Harbor and tell the player to fill them up before the timer ends. Each ship can hold 15 units, though one ship comes with a Palintonon already garrisoned. Focus on a few Archers and Counter Cavalry. It is possible that Aeginan ships could attack from the shore, so build them a small escort, keeping the player's main fleet in its position by the island to prevent enemy raids.

Once the colonizing force lands on Aegina, clear the beach some, but keep them back, and let the Palintonon take out the first Fort. Move the player's force forward to clear an area at the top of the cliffs, and let the Palintonon take out the second Fort. This captures the island for Athens, and grants the player all the Ports and Shipyards, extending the player's trade route with Salamis. Move the player's large fleet between Salamis and the map edge to lock off the Corinthian Navy from this direction, but bolster the escort fleet and keep them just northeast of Aegina, near the shallows and oysters, as the Corinthian Navy can have small fleets spawn here to attack Tribute ships.

Take the player's land forces from Aegina and land them in Salamis, reinforcing them if needed. This will help defend Salamis from Spartan raids later in the scenario.

Save up resources where the player can, so the player can do options like Rebuilding the Acropolis (2,000 gold), Funeral Oration (1,000 wood), or Celebrating the festival (2,000 food, but only available at specific times) as needed, but build up two forces in Athens. One of 20 Hoplites, one of 20 Lancers. Each force will need to travel to one of the orange towns when asked to aid them and gain Favor. Be careful doing this, as Spartan camps lay in the way, and the Spartan armies could be around. Pick the best moment, when in most need of Favor, and focus on getting them straight there.

If the player can, build up another military force of Hoplites, Bowmen, and Strategoi. This force should have Blacksmith technologies and be at least 30 strong, mainly melee. When the Spartan armies retreat from Athens' walls, send this force out to deal with the Spartan camps, and the commanders within. The player may need to reinforce this army later.

With the camps dealt with, the path to the Oracle is safer if the player needs to send a Tribute at some point for Favor. Just stick close to the orange towns, then go down past the furthest Spartan camp, which the player should have completely cleared out first. Raiding Fleets are another option, requiring at least 10 ships, but it takes some time before they leave, and then more time before they come back, so unless the player can prepare it immediately after an election, they may not make it back in time for the next one.

Later, the plague will arrive, and the player will need to choose the option at the Acropolis to deal with the bodies, otherwise Favor is lost faster again.

As long as the player protects the waters (the Tribute Ships in particular), uses the Acropolis options wisely (particularly cutting Favor loss), and picks moments to complete side objectives for maximum benefit, it should not be difficult to stay above 50 Favor the entire scenario and unlock the achievements.

Custom technologies[]

These technologies can be researched at the Acropolis (Monument). Some are available from the start, while others are available only when certain conditions are fulfilled:

  • Sell Estate Chronicles Sell Estate (free): Sell your estate. You will lost its income but gain a large amount of Political Favor. One-time use. (Gain 25 Favor, lose Estate's periodic income)
  • Sell Athena's Gold Chronicles Sell Athena's Gold (free): Sell the gold on the statue of Athena. Gain gold but lose a large amount of Political Favor. One-time use. (Gain 3,000 gold, lose 40 Favor)
  • Repair Acropolis Chronicles Repair Acropolis (2,000 gold): Repair the Acropolis to gain a large amount of political favor. One-time use. (Gain 25 Favor)
  • Embassy to the Oracle Chronicles Embassy to the Oracle (1,500 gold): Creates a Tribute Cart which you can send to the Oracle; gain Political Favor if it arrives successfully. Can be used three times. (Gain 25 Favor)
  • Raid the Peloponnese Chronicles Raid the Peloponnese (1,200 food, 500 gold): Send a raiding party to the Peloponnese to gain resources and a large amount of Political Favor. You will have to provide a fleet yourself. Can be used three times. (Gain [What?] resources and Favor) - Providing stronger ships increases the number of ships that return
  • Colonize Aegina Chronicles Colonize Aegina (1,200 food, 600 gold): Initiate the colonization of Aegina. You will need to provide soldiers for the expedition. A successful expedition will grant you a huge amount of Political Favor. If you fail, you can try again. (Gain [What?] Favor)
  • Host Festival Chronicles Host Festival (2,000 food): Fund a Festival to gain Political Favor. Can only be used during festival season. (Gain [What?] Favor)
  • RedemptionDE Persecute Cleon (4,000 gold): Decrease the rate at which you lose political favor by persecuting Cleon. One-time use.
  • Bribe Rioteers Chronicles Bribe Rioteers (500 gold): Pay gold to stop the rioters. You will also gain a small amount of Political Favor. (Gain 15 Favor)
  • SapperDE Funeral Oration (1,000 wood): Deliver a fitting oration for the Athenian war dead, gaining a moderate amount of Political Favor. One-time use. (Gain [What?] Favor)
  • HerbalDE Burn Plague Bodies (1,000 wood, 1,000 gold): Halve the Political Favor loss caused by the plague, halve its effects on unit stats, and gain a small amount of Political Favor. One-time use. (Gain [What?] Favor)

Trivia[]

  • The scenario icon is the same as the scenario icon for The Fall of Athens. While the two scenario are geographically similar, the icon is only correct for the latter scenario, as it depicts the protagonist location at the main Spartan camp, as well as having different players, different player locations and different objectives marked on the icon from this scenario.

Gallery[]

Campaigns in Chronicles
Battle for Greece
Achaemenids Chronicles Achaemenids Prologue: Gates of the Gods · Greeks Bearing Gifts · The Ionian Revolt · A City Ablaze · Chasing Smoke · Death to Traitors · Earth and Water
Athenians Chronicles Athenians The Battle of Marathon · Raise the Sails · The Hot Gates · Divine Salamis · Across the Wine-Dark Sea · Wrath of the Regent · The Fruits of Empire · Within the Long Walls
Spartans Chronicles Spartans I am Brasidas · Pyres on the Coast · Speeches and Spears · To the Wall! · Blood and Gold · The Fall of Athens
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