- For the Hero, see Black Prince.
Description[]
The Black Prince is the fifth scenario of the English Campaign in Empire Earth.
Briefing[]
The Black Prince: 1356
In the light of the early morning, English transport ships glided silently through the waters of the Channel. Edward the Black Prince, son of King Edward III, was returning to France, ready to continue what would become known as the Hundred Years War. Upon reaching the French coastline, his small contingent of troops disembarked and waded ashore.
"My loyal men," he said to the band gathered before him, "though we are few in number, our mission is of the utmost importance. We are here to strike deep into the French countryside, plundering whatever we find to enrich the coffers of England! If we are successful, our actions may well determine the outcome of this war!"
Objectives[]
- Travel East to the Mediterranean, capturing 4 chests of French treasure.
- Edward, the Black Prince, must survive.
- Return the treasure chests and the Black Prince to where he landed in France.
- Wait for reinforcements to arrive from England.
- March northwards to Voltieres.
- Find a good location for battle and await the French army.
- Defeat the French Army in battle.
- Destroy the castle at Voltieres.
Hints[]
- Although your knights are quick, be careful not to venture too far ahead of your main forces... who knows what danger lies ahead?
- You're in a hostile country. The only troops you will have are those given to you from England. Do not waste their lives needlessly.
- Be sure to make use of the Black Prince's special ability to restore the health of your troops.
- If you ever find your path blocked, you might want to try coming back later, or looking for another way around...
- When fighting the French at Voltieres, finding the best strategic location can make all the difference.
History[]
In the 1340s the Black Death swept through Europe, killing an estimated 25 million people - perhaps a quarter to a third of the entire European population at the time. Following this horrific outbreak of plague, the Hundred Years' War resumed. Amid scattered larger battles, small raiding parties from England periodically plundered towns in France for riches, which were used in part to pay for the cost of the war. Edward The Black Prince himself led several such raids.
It was near the end of one of these raids, in 1356, that Edward achieved his greatest victory. At the Battle of Poitiers, King John of France himself was captured. Though well treated, John had to pay a hefty ransom to secure his release. France was also forced to make concessions to England, thus closing one chapter of the Hundred Years' War... but leaving it ripe for another.
Walkthrough[]
Warning: Do not read this section if you wish to figure out the scenario on your own
Like "William, Duke of Normandy", the scenario skips organic resource procurement and army-building and is largely linear, though a lot of hazards and difficulties in this scenario are not telegraphed.
There are two phases of this scenario. The first is the treasure raid, which has the players control the Black Prince and his relatively small band of army across France, and the second one being the siege of Voltieres, which is intuitively self-explanatory.
During the first phase, players will have to carefully journey into multiple sites in order to collect a total of 4 Treasure Chests, which presents themselves as mobile units (treasure chest on wheels) that fall under player's control; leaving these chests too far away from Edward's band has them convert back to French control and spawn several French units that will have to be disposed of if the chests are to be reclaimed; this is not a problem players can ignore, as it is necessary to carry this chest all the way to the end of Phase 1 to continue the scenario.
The first treasure chest is found directly down the path southeast of the starting point, guarded by a group of French soldiers. Defeat them and claim the chest.
There are two possible chests that the players can procure from here, one being in a coastal village to the west, and the other being a compound further east; each of these have unconventional challenges.
The coastal village can be found by following a fork that leads west from the original path; this village is guarded by a good deal of French military units, including several Knights, but the greatest danger comes from the Bishop by the Church (a renamed Prophet). The Bishop can cast a Volcano by the village's entry. The debris spit by this Volcano can kill the player's Knights in a single hit (meaning the infantry definitely don't stand a chance surviving). Not even the Black Prince Healing can be of any help. This site risks a great loss to the player if handled sloppily. A suggested move is to lure the fight against the military defenses away from the village, and then attack the Bishop and destroy the Church (which is needed to procure the Chest) using only the Knights, commanding them back and forth with careful timing. The Treasure Chests are safe from the Volcano's damage, so worry not about failing to an unfair risk.
The other chest is located on a compound further east of the original path. This site is defended by a good mix of French units, but a stark difference from the usual raid is the tower standing at the middle. Fight away from the tower. After the ground forces have been killed off, focus all of the players' army to attack it, except the Black Prince himself, as he is needed to heal the damage the tower inflicts upon the men. The tower's destruction is needed to procure the next chest.
The next chest is all the way to the east in Perpignan, a coastal French Town. Going through here has Edward's forces go through an unstable ravine that collapses not long after, rendering any men having gone through the ravine unable to backtrack. Beat the French army at Pepignan and claim the last chest.
To get back where the player starts, they have to travel west through a bridge, then a seemingly-deserted village; beware that this village is a site of ambush. If the player does not deliberately anticipate it and has their army simply march through it in a line, they will be caught in a disadvantageous position and possibly lose a substantial number of unit; instead, have the infantry wait and let the Knights scour the village to trigger the ambush and lure the ambush into a trap.
After beating the ambush, the player is met by a small village attacked by Bandits; fight the criminals off, and the villagers will be glad to offer transport back to the camp with their boat.
This leads to a series of dialogue that start the next phase: the siege of Voltieres.
Have Edward and his band cross the river, and join the reinforcement marching to Voltieres; do not attack the city head on. Follow Edward's advice and station the men on the high ground southwest of the city; have the ranged units on the side that faces the city, while the melee units guard the slope. Whatever happens, do not lose the Trebuchets, as the city of Voltieres has several Towers erected inside its walls, and the siege weapons are the only thing that can out-range and feasibly take them down. Without Trebuchets, not only will it take a lot of time to destroy the city's castle (a requirement for victory), Edward is at risk of losing more men needed to sustain the siege.
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