Recap / Age of Empires II – Barbarossa

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

The ambitious Frederick Barbarossa seeks to unify the squabbling fiefdoms of the Holy Roman Empire before embarking in campaigns directly to the east and south of him, even if it means facing off against the Pope himself. And should he succeed his battles, the Third Crusade comes calling to him. The player is in control of the Teutons, the color being Red.

Scenarios

1. Holy Roman Emperor

The Germans fiefdoms struggle among themselves for supremacy in a chaotic, war-torn land, as the Mongolian threat to the east is felt in Europe. A powerful noble, Frederick Barbarossa, rises to the challenge and decides to defeat the German fiefs and unite them under one banner, in order to re-forge the Holy Roman Empire. Thanks to his prowess and skills, one by one his opponents submit, joining a growing empire.

2. Henry the Lion

The growth of the Empire pushes Barbarossa to seek for new lands: drying marshlands and cutting down large expanses of forest isn't enough, and soon the Emperor turns his attention to the great expanses of land Poland has to offer. With the help of his trusted but ambitious supporter Henry the Lion, Barbarossa marches in Polish territory, but soon enough he will have to deal with Henry's exceeding ambition. In the end, the Poles are defeated and Henry the Lion, captured, s granted mercy, for now the Emperor has other business to attend to...

3. Pope and Antipope

Barbarossa's new target is Italy, a country divided in many city-states, home of the Catholic Church of Rome. The Pope opposes Barbarossa's claims for power, and the Emperor's attempts to support and Antipope on his own ends in nothing. Without choice, the Germans descend on Italy from the Alps, aiming to take Milan, the largest city of Northern Italy, in order to make an example out of them. After a grueling and long siege, Milan has fallen, but the rest of the city-states are even more determined to oppose the invader.

4. The Lombard League

In the wake of the German Invasion, many Italian Cities joined forces in a coalition known as the Lombard League, ready to fight the Emperor until the end. In order to defeat these numerous opponents once and for all, Barbarossa marches to Italy one more time, bringing along his most skilled vassal Henry the Lion. Cornered by three powerful opponents, Barbarossa has to show his superiority to the League.

5. Barbarossa's March

With the defeat of the League, the war in Italy comes to an end and the new Pope and Barbarossa reach an agreement which gives them both equal powers. However, a new threat arise: a Saracen warlord, Saladin, is attacking the Crusader states in the Holy Land and threatening Jerusalem. Too large to travel by ship, the Imperial Army travels by land to join the latest Crusade. As they approach their destination, however, the unthinkable happens and Barbarossa dies.

6. The Emperor Sleeping

The untimely passing of Barbarossa throws the entire army into disarray, and many of them disband or even change sides. However, a small contingent of loyal troops refuses to surrender so easily: having preserved their master's body in vinegar, they prepare to march on a heavily-defended Jerusalem, facing the armies of Damascus and Saladin in order to make sure that the Emperor makes it to the city, even if posthumously.

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The campaign shows examples of:

• Alternate History: Barbarossa wasn't buried in Jerusalem.
• Anachronism Stew: The presence of Mongols — stated to be near Hungary — in the original and HD incarnations of "Holy Roman Emperor", as a Continuity Nod to the Genghis Khan campaign. The Barbarossa campaign starts around 1152, a century before the Mongols' invasion of Europe; they would not enter Hungary until the Battle of Mohi in 1242. Rectified in Definitive Edition with the switch of these factions to the Cumans, who had a presence in the Carpathian Mountains and fought several wars against the Kingdom of Hungary in that era.
• Artistic License – Geography:
  • In the fourth scenario, not only are Padua, Verona and Venice cramped together, but they also got their disposition wrong by putting Padua to the north (it's actually to the east) while Verona is to the east... but in Real Life is to the east of Padua as well.
  • In the final scenario, Damascus is next door to Jerusalem. It's actually over 200km between the two, with multiple other cities in between.
• Artistic License – History:
  • Barbarossa's body never made it to Jerusalem.
  • Barbarossa didn't lead the invasion of Poland; it was being led by Henry the Lion at the time. Also, Henry wasn't as traitorous as depicted in-game and never joined the Lombard League (during the second Italian wars, he simply refused to lend troops, viewing it not worth the effort). Henry in fact took part in the sieges of Crema and Milan and was credited with turning the tide in Frederick's favour, but isn't present in "Pope and Antipope".
  • The conflict in Italy wasn't just Pope + City States vs Germans, but a much more complicated brawl among all three of them, with Barbarossa switching sides from time to time, while the Pope and the rebels sometimes had different goals.
  • The game seems to imply that Barbarossa ultimately won and forced the Italians to surrender. He was actually defeated both in the Siege of Alessandria (1175) and Legnano, with the constant rebellions in both Germany and Italy forcing him to relent.
  • The Lombard League, while named after the northern Italian province, was also supported by other allies, such as the Kingdom of Sicily and the Byzantines.
  • The first scenario, "Holy Roman Emperor", depicts a one-on-six conflict against Barbarossa that does not correspond to any point in history. Especially weird is that one of the enemies is Swabia, despite Barbarossa being the Duke of Swabia. While Barbarossa had a great task of uniting the German kingdoms and restoring the Empire, he used diplomacy, pragmatism and mutual self-interest, not outright warfare; at no point after he was elected King of Germany was there a massive rebellion against him (several rebellions broke out in Germany decades later during the wars in Italy, but that's not what is depicted here).
• Baseless Mission: How "Barbarossa's March" starts.
• Butt-Monkey: The Burgundians appear as one of the first weak opponents in "Holy Roman Emperor".
• Call-Back:
  • The first scenario features the purple Burgundians (Joan of Arc), the Bohemians (now cyan instead of green) and the Mongols (Genghis Khan).
  • The second scenario has the blue Poles, again like Genghis Khan.
  • The last two scenarios have the green Saracens lead by Saladin, like in the previous campaign, as well as the blue Jerusalem (Byzantines).
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Henry the Lion backstabs Barbarossa twice by siding first while fighting the Poles and later siding with the Lombard League.
• Climax Boss: The Lombard League in the fourth scenario is a tough Wolfpack Boss, halfway through the campaign.
• Cosmetic Award:
  • The HD Edition has "Frederick Barbarossa Campaign Completed":
    "In study of the campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa you learned the power of relics and of uniting an empire. Use this knowledge in your future conquests, but remember not to overextend yourself."
  • Definitive Edition has "The Emperor Strikes Back", for completing the campaign, replacing the HD achievement.
  • DE has two more achievements for this campaign: "Furor Teutonicus"^note Defeat all opponents instead of collecting the required Relics in "Holy Roman Emperor" and "A Truly Holy Emperor"^note Convert the Cathedral in Milan without acquiring a single Villager in "Pope and Antipope".
• Downer Ending: Barbarossa dies an Undignified Death, the Empire he worked so hard to build is on the way to ruin and the Crusade is a complete failure, with the army disbanding.
• Deus ex Machina: During "Barbarossa's March", Barbarossa's army soon finds a canyon sealed by several Seljuks troops, including walls, towers and bombards. Once they approach, a sudden earthquake strikes, destroying the fortifications.
• Developer's Foresight: In "The Emperor Sleeping", it's actually possible to destroy the Dome of the Rock to which you're attempting to deliver Barbarossa's corpse, despite it not being something that you can either do accidentally nor would probably think to try. You will then be greeted by your horrified advisor calling you out for destroying the most sacred place in the Holy Land, followed by a Non-Standard Game Over.
• Epic Fail: Frederick Barbarossa jumps into a river without realizing that his armor would make him too heavy to float to the surface, essentially drowning himself.
• Face–Heel Turn: Henry the Lion appears twice in the campaign, and both times backstabs the player.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation: Since Age of Kings only had 13 civs, some civs are represented by others: Poles are Goths, while Italians are substituted by Franks, Teutons, Britons and Byzantines. In Definitive Edition, some things are rectified (the "Mongols" are now Cumans, the Bohemians and Poles are first Slavs then their own civilizations after Dawn of the Dukes, Milan and Padua are Italians). Jerusalem in the last scenario is also Saracen now, which reflects the city's takeover by Saladin and his forces.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Henry the Lion.
• The Hero Dies: Barbarossa drowns under the weight of his own armor at the end of "Barbarossa's March".
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Henry the Lion is portrayed as an ungrateful, treacherous bastard always willing to backstab Barbarossa. In reality, Henry never tried to take the Imperial throne for himself, nor did he fight his cousin Barbarossa, but was, essentially, used as a scapegoat by Barbarossa both during the eastern expansion and during the invasion of Italy. He was even instrumental in the Siege of Milan, but is completely absent in "Pope and Antipope".
• Keystone Army: Once Barbarossa dies, his entire army is demoralized and disbands before even reaching the Holy Land.
• Narrator All Along: The narrator in the tavern is revealed to be Henry the Lion, who was exiled to England after the fourth scenario. (In Real Life, he did return to the continent to lead a few more rebellions before retiring).
• Our Hero Is Dead: How the prologue to "The Emperor Sleeping" begins.
• Protection Mission: "The Emperor Sleeping" requires the player to escort the caravan holding Barbarossa's remains to Jerusalem.
• Shoot the Messenger: Happens to Barbarossa's Italian enemies. Instead of shooting, he has all but one of them blinded - the last one only has his nose cut off so he can lead the rest of his party back.
• The Starscream: Henry the Lion tries to betray Barbarossa twice. He stops later, though, and is telling the player about Barbarossa's story.
• Start My Own: The pope insisted he, not Barbarossa, was the true authority of the Holy Roman Empire. So Barbarossa appointed his own [anti]pope. They both promptly excommunicated each other.
• Suspicious Videogame Generosity: In "Barbarossa's March", you must get 10 units of your 70-strong army (14 cavalry, 38 infantry, 10 archers, 5 siege engines, 3 monks) across the Saracen-infested Sea of Marmara to the Hospitaller Camp in Turk-infested Anatolia. Easier said than done.
• Took a Level in Badass: Richard the Lionhearted in Definitive Edition. In HD, he will have his hero unit, plus a single trebuchet and a meager number of Longbowmen and perhaps a Market, and upon being engaged will stoically charge at the nearby well-defended Saracen Garrison to be slaughtered one by one. Now, he acts sooner on his own and has a larger, well-supplied base alongside Cavaliers, Onagers and a better strategy that will allow him to break through the Saracen formation and support Barbarossa's troops efficiently. Similarly, Jerusalem is now guarded by a generous, scattered garrison of Pikemen, Skirmishers, Monks and Onagers, not just a collection of buildings with a few scattered towers.
• Wham Episode: "Barbarossa's March": You've made it to Anatolia after all the hell that the Saracens and Turks have given you and help yourself to the cool water of a river to slake your thirst and wash away the dirt and sweat. Oops. Barbarossa accidentally drowns himself and his Crusader Army evaporates to a tiny fraction of its original size.
• Wham Line: At the end of Barbarossa's campaign, the narrator brings up Henry the Lion one final time:
  "But I am an old man now. What harm could I possibly do?"
• You All Meet in an Inn: The player and the narrator apparently meet in a tavern to learn about Barbarossa.

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