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This scenario presents you with an interesting tactical situation. Having formed an alliance to defeat a common enemy, your former allies treacherously decide to go to war against you. Chaos reigns as the resulting free-for-all plays itself out.
You begin this scenario with a handful of messengers in the south corner of the map. Although you begin the scenario with considerable resources, you have no way of putting them into use just yet due to a lack of villagers. Your allies, the Texcoco (Mayans) and Tlacopan (Aztecs), are located to the northeast and northwest respectively. Although Cortez (Spanish) makes an appearance late in the game, he and his men are, at least initially, neutral toward you.
Tlaxcala (Mayan)
Initial Scenario Objectives
- Deliver the summons of war to the Texcoco town center.
- Deliver the summons of war to the Tlacopan town center.
Your eagle warrior messengers start the scenario in the south corner of the map. The Tlacopan village to the west is the closest, so you should head there first. When playing at the higher difficulty levels, you'll be forced to fight several jaguars lurking along the trail. With the exception of dealing with these wild beasts, the trip to Tlacopan will be uneventful. Have your eagle warriors deliver the message to the town center. Once the message is delivered, the Tlacopan agree to join forces and go to war against the Tlaxcala.
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Beware of the jaguars that guard The Temple of Tlac. Once the temple is in your hands, be sure to send ten of your strongest warriors there to receive a gift. |
- Bring ten jaguar warriors to the Temple of Tlaloc and be rewarded.
Far to the north of Tlacopan lies your next stop: the village of Texcoco. As your messengers begin moving north toward Texcoco, you discover a bridge leading to the Temple of Tlaloc. As you approach, you are given an optional scenario objective. Since you don't have the means to accomplish this task at the moment, make a note of it and continue moving north. Before long, you will reach Texcoco. Once your messengers reach the town center, the message is delivered, and you are given a new scenario objective.
- Defeat the Tlaxcalans by destroying their four town centers.
Now that both the Tlacopan and Texcoco have joined forces with you, it's up to this "triple alliance" of yours to destroy the Tlaxcalans. This new objective causes a transport carrying four villagers to appear in the south corner. Pick an open patch of nearby land with good access to both stone and gold and put your villagers to work building a town center. There's no need to rush into an early attack on the Tlaxcalans, so concentrate on expanding your workforce and advancing into the next age.
As soon as you can field ten jaguar warriors, send them to the Temple of Tlaloc for their reward. You must break down the gate and take out a few towers, so bring some petards along. One of the jaguars guarding the monastery is extra strong, so watch out. Once inside the temple grounds, the rain god bestows a blessing on ten of your jaguar warriors. Each now has its hit-point capacity raised to 450 (that is, the strength of ten normal men).
With your enhanced jaguars leading the charge, it's time to begin your assault on the Tlaxcalan town centers. The Tlaxcalans are spread out along the northwest map edge. Aside from the castle in the western corner of the map, the Tlaxcalan military is no match for you and your allies. Because of the river configuration, it's best if you start your attack in the west corner, then move northward until the final town center is destroyed.
- Defeat your former allies, the Tlacopan and Texcoco.
Once the Tlaxcalans are defeated, your former allies turn against you. Fortunately, by this point in the game, you are probably the strongest power on the map. Since the bulk of your army is now positioned in the north, your best option is to attack the Texcoco first and save the Tlacopan for last. Strategically, you're in a tight spot. You must act quickly to defeat the Texcoco before the Tlacopan can attack your village.
Depending upon the positioning of your buildings, the end game can be either very difficult or simply a rollover. Because at one time you were allies, you should have a pretty good idea about the make-up and location of the enemy forces. Using this knowledge to your benefit, move in and crush the treacherous foe. Although you are limited to a population size of 75, you should have plenty of units to handle the situation. Once both former allies are defeated, the game ends in victory. But wait... what's this? In a clever use of foreshadowing, the scenario ends with the coming of Cortez.
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