Recap / Age of Empires II – Attila the Hun

Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned

The Roman Empire was on the decline, and Attila left his mark on their history as their fiercest challenge yet. After his attacks to the east that forced Constantinople to provide tributes beyond the initial paltry amount, he turned his attention westward, seeking to go through Gaul before turning his sights on Rome itself. The player is in control of the Huns, the color being Yellow.

Scenarios

1. The Scourge of God

The Huns rode out into Europe around the 4th Century AD, driving several barbarian tribes towards Rome and contributing to the Western Roman Empire's problems. The people would yet be another band of raiders if not for the leadership of Attila. He and his brother Bleda went out for a boar hunt one day, and while the aftermath wasn't concrete, Attila emerged as the victor, and he himself led the Huns to raid not only the Roman Empire, but their neighbors in Scythia and Persia.

2. The Great Ride

The Huns had engaged in strategies that the Romans weren't accustomed to, opting for hit and run tactics with their horse archers. They also do not settle the lands which they have conquered, instead opting to pillage and loot the towns they had razed. They turn their attention to the Eastern Roman Empire, attacking the numerous towns before taking on the Roman army.

3. The Walls of Constantinople

After centuries of having fought barbarians, both German and otherwise, the Romans have gotten used to dealing with them, often giving them land in the frontiers. The Huns were among them, having a plot within the Danube Valley, but Attila demanded that the Romans increase their tribute. Being met with rejection, he set out to raze the towns outside of Constantinople, hoping to set an example and get that tribute he asked for.

4. A Barbarian Betrothal

Honoria, sister of the Western Roman Emperor, had grown weary of her confined lifestyle, and sent Attila a message hoping he would marry her. He took notice and turned his attention away from Constantinople, and claiming half of the Western empire as his dowry. He rode out to Gaul, making alliances with some of the Germanic tribes while seeking to conquer the remaining Germans within the province.

5. The Catalaunian Fields

The Roman army of Flavius Aetius had arrived, and had made pacts with the Visigoths and Alans in order to take on Attila and his Ostrogoth allies in June 451. Hunnic shamans had examined the entrails and bones of animals, and determined that Attila will lose but a leader of the opposing armies will be killed. Attila took that into consideration and accepted the trade-off, right before a fateful battle that would no doubt claim many lives in Gaul.

6. The Fall of Rome

Although the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields was an indecisive military setback for Attila, Aetius was no longer a threat after retiring from service. Attila and his forces regrouped before embarking on a campaign to invade the Italian peninsula. He planned to invade Rome, make good on his betrothal with Honoria and crown himself emperor of a Western Empire withered away from years of conflict and corruption.

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This campaign contains examples of:

• Anachronism Stew:
  • The Hagia Sofia appears in "The Walls of Constantinople", around 440, an entire century before it was built, in 537. It was built on the site of a wooden basilica, which burned down in 532, so it is presumably representing that.
  • In "The Fall of Rome", which takes place in the 5th century, you destroy a Roman city guarded by Bombard Towers.
• Anti-Climax: At the end of the scenario, Attila met with Pope Leo at the gates of Rome, then turned his army away without staking any of his claims. Shortly afterwards he died after one of his marriages from a nosebleed, and his empire got irreparably damaged from a vacuum left after his leadership.
• Artistic License – Geography: The Roman enemy in "The Scourge of God" is the Western Roman Empire in what should be the Eastern Roman Empire's lands, when, at that point in time, the Huns were on very good terms with the Western Roman Empire. It has since been rectified to the Eastern Roman Empire in Definitive Edition.
  • The same level has the Persians in what corresponds to Anatolia and Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. Persian lands were much further east.
• Artistic License – History:
  • The first Attila the Hun level, "The Scourge of God," starts with Bleda's death (c. 445), then moves on to the Huns' invasion of Persia (c.435-40), and the second, "The Great Ride," details the Huns' Balkan campaign (c.440-45), both of which occurred while Bleda was still alive and co-ruler. Some historians speculate it was his decision to return to their camp after defeating the Eastern Roman Army instead of pressing on to nearby Constantinople (which did not yet have its famous double walls or sea wall at this point) lead to his death in a Hunting "Accident".
  • "The Scourge of God" is usually won by defeating Persia, when the Huns' invasion failed (leading them to move on to the Balkans).
  • "The Walls of Constantinople" has Philippopolis (modern day Plovdiv, Bulgaria) be sacked by Attila, when it was actually sacked earlier in the Balkan campaign.
  • Flavius Aetius was indeed under Hunnic captivity in his teenage years, but it was under Uldin and Charaton, well before before Attila and even Bleda's rule. He was also a captive of Aleric I of the Visigoths before being sent to the Huns. Furthermore, he didn't actually retire after the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, still serving in the army until his assassination three years later in the hands of Emperor Valentinian III in a plot orchestrated by Petronius Maximus, who was envious of the influence Aetius acquired. Aetius actually waged a guerrilla campaign against the Huns during their invasion of Italy, but with a reduced army than at the Catalaunian Fields because the barbarian allies from Gaul wouldn't fight so far from their home.
  • While it's true that Attila ransacked towns around Constantinople, in spite of what you can do in the game, Attila never tried to breach Constantinople's walls, never mind destroy its docks. He instead coaxed the Romans to fight out in the open, and after scoring decisive victories made them increase their tributes.
  • Attila and Pope Leo didn't meet at the gates of Rome, but further north at the Po River. The Huns never crossed the Po River and never actually threatened Rome itself.
• Ax-Crazy: The character the narrator is talking to, Father Armand, states in the ending that he misses the slaughter the Huns brought to Europe.
• Butt-Monkey: The Burgundians appear in "A Barbarian Bethrotal" as one of the weak enemies.
• Call-Back:
  • "A Barbarian Betrothal" takes place in Orleans, with Orleans and Burgundy sharing similar layout to how they appear in the second scenario of the Joan of Arc campaign.
  • Constantinople/Eastern Roman Empire is depicted in blue as in "Barbarossa's March", while Burgundy is purple.
  • "The Fall of Rome" features Milan (renamed Mediolanum in the Definitive Edition), which is laid out similar to how it appears in "Pope and Antipope" with a large river separating it from Padua, but with the broken bridge now intact.
• Cool Sword: Attila the Hun's Sword of Mars, the Roman god of war. According to legend, it was made of meteorite metal and had been struck by lightning several times. It was serving as a grave marker for its previous owner before it was found by a shepherd when one of his cows was injured by it while grazing, who dug it up and gave it to Attila.
• Cosmetic Award:
  • The HD Edition has "Attila the Hun Campaign Completed":
    "Attila knew both great betrayal and great glory in his conquests against the Romans. Attila said: “It takes less courage to criticize the decisions of others than to stand by your own.” - Carry his example on to your other campaigns."
  • Definitive Edition has "Huney, I Shrunk The Romans", for completing the campaign, replacing the HD achievement.
  • DE has three more achievements for this campaign: "Diplomacy is for the Meek"^note Kill the Scythian Prince and defeat the Scythians in "The Scourge of God", "Truly Countless Bodies"^note Defeat all opponents before 30 minutes have elapsed in the fifth Attila the Hun mission "The Catalaunian Fields" and "No Wonder on my Watch"^note Destroy every enemy Wonder before it is completed in "The Fall of Rome".
• Exact Words: Attila's soothsayers predict he will lose at the Catalaunian Fields, but the enemy commander will die, which Attila assumes mean Flavious Aetius and decides it an even trade. It turns out to be Theodoric I, King the Visigoths.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation:
  • "The Catalaunian Fields" has you annihilating the enemy AI, then the cutscene explains that the actual result of the battle was indecisive, with Rome stalling Attila for the time being.
  • The Western Roman Empire are Byzantines (replaced with Italians in the Definitive Edition, then Romans in the Return of Rome expansion). The Byzantine Empire was by definition the Eastern Roman Empire, named after Byzantium, the original name of Constantinople, and were largely still known as, and considered themselves to be, Romans until the 16th century.
  • For some reason the Alans are Vikings rather than the more appropriate Persians, probably to prevent the player from facing War Elephants. They were changed to the Huns in the Definitive Edition.
  • In "The Scourge of God", the instructions suggest allying with the Scythians, who are not on good terms with the Romans and might help you fight them, but they ignore the Roman fort and attack Persia. The Romans will refuse to release the Hun captives and say their deal was with Bleda when a unit goes near their fort, even if said unit is Bleda^note It was possible to convert him using a monk until African Kingdoms, when standard hero attributes were given to his unit, and it was possible to lure him into the conversion zone on the other side of the river until the Definitive Edition's 20th. Aniversary patch.
• The Hero Dies: Attila's death is announced in the ending cutscene.
• Hordes from the East: The campaign has Attila ravaging the Eastern and later the Western Roman Empire.
• Hunting "Accident": "The Scourge of God" orders you to use this trope in order to off Attila's brother Bleda in order to achieve leadership over the Huns. If you don't, it will be Bleda who tries to finish Attila, albeit with the possibility of escape.
• Kick the Dog: YOU can do this to the Roman Empire in the third Attila the Hun mission. The requirement is to stock up 10,000 gold in tributes by destroying certain buildings or units (you can also get 500 gold by building a castle). The biggest Kick the Dog moment: destroying the wonder in Constantinople, which nets 5,000 gold.
• Permanently Missable Content: In "The Scourge of God", if you flee the Hun camp, a Tarkan suggests crossing the river to their families, which spawns several villagers under your control. If you go any other route to take control of the Huns, these villagers do not appear.
• Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The second scenario has you ransacking several cities before finding a good place where to set and build your forces to crush the local Roman garrison. The third one has you pillaging the countryside around Costantinople in order to receive a large sum of money by ransom. The fourth scenario has you destroying three Frankish cities, while the last one has you destroying several Italian cities as you work your way towards Rome.
• Riddle for the Ages: Absolutely no one knows how the Pope persuaded Attila to not ravage Rome, even with the event being relatively recent.
• Shame If Something Happened: The very point of a scenario in Attila the Hun's campaign against Constantinople.
• Smug Snake: In "The Walls of Constantinople", you fight against the ruler of Constantinople, whose voiceovers all have a sneering, condescending tone. Destroying the right buildings will push him into a shrieking Villainous Breakdown.
• Take the Third Option: During the boar hunt, Attila can either just let the Iron Boar kill Bleda or assist in killing the beast. Regardless, only Attila would emerge from the hunt, where in the latter case Bleda will initiate an ambush of archers and attack Attila, or when Attila returns to the camp in the former case, said archers would divide the camp by saying that Attila led to his death. Or Attila wouldn't go to the hunt at all, taking some of his men and establishing a base elsewhere to claim it all upon killing Bleda.
• Timed Mission: In "The Fall of Rome", every enemy city would try to build at least one Wonder if they stay alive for long enough (scripted to build them at certain timing), with first one starting building after just few minutes from scenario's start; you lose if those gets finished and stands for long enough, but once you deal with the Wonders, you can finish the rest of enemy's base at your own pace (albeit one of them is scripted to make a second attempt). DE has an achievement for preventing any of the Wonders being completed.
• Wham Line: Father Armand has finally confessed all of the atrocities Attila forced him to share into... and his image suddenly flashes a Slasher Smile while he says: "Sometimes... I miss it."
• Wolfpack Boss: The final scenario consist in a battle against several Italian cities you must defeat before you reach Rome.

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