Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
Francisco de Orellana, a Conquistador in the service of Francisco Pizarro, has arrived in the city of Quito. Following his master's plan, Francisco takes part to a daring expedition in the middle of the unexplored Amazon, looking for the fabulous and rumored City of Gold, El Dorado. However, things take a turn for the worst when the two are separated: surrounded by hostile natives, in the middle of the ruthless jungle, Francisco has to adapt to the local style and navigate down the river, in an attempt to leave the Amazon with his life.In Definitive Edition, this campaign was replaced by an actual Inca campaign focused on Pachacuti.
The player is in control of Spanish and later Inca, the color being Blue.
Scenarios
1. Tales of La Canela
Francisco de Orellana disembarks in the village of La Culata and heads for Quito, where his superior Gonzalo Pizarro awaits. In order to launch a quest for the legendary City of Gold, Francisco must fulfill a series of objectives, such as hiring soldiers from La Culata, pillaging food and gold from the local, fighting the rebels and sabotaging the expedition of the rival Conquistador Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda. Once the expedition is assured, Francisco and Gonzalo depart for the unexplored Amazon...2. The Split
The expedition has reached the wilderness. With the help of a native, Delicola, Pizarro conquers the village of El Barco and builds ships in order to travel down the river, but Francisco and a handful of men end up separated by the current and stranded in Inca territory. With little food and support, they'll need to win over the local tribes in order to gain a foothold and survive in this hostile territory.3. The Amazones
Now alone and looking for more food for his starving soldiers, Francisco ends up wandering in the territory occupied by a tribe of warrior women, the "Amazones", who control the region. Since the river is blocked by mighty fortifications and the Spaniards lack a way to break through them with brute force, Francisco must choose wether to listen to a local merchant and perform good deeds to impress the Amazones or follow the advice of a vengeful blind priest and strike fear in the hearts of the warrior women with acts of cruelty, and all of this while procuring precious food to feed his meager troops.4. The Cannibals
The starving expedition has almost made it down the Amazon River, and the Ocean is nearby. However, in order to survive the crossing, sturdied ships are required. In order to obtain said ships, Francisco must establish a base, then obtain gold by helping the local tribes in several quests and missions while fending off Los Negros, a wild tribe of cannibals dwelling on the eastern side of the river.This Campaign contains examples of:
- The Beast Master: The witch in the last scenario has taken over a small village using an army of jaguars, javelinas, wolves and Iron Boars, which protect her.
- Cannibal Tribe: Los Negros are a cannibal tribe found in the last scenario as the villains. They control hostile units which may hinder you during the sidequests and a fortified base holding the only reserve of gold in the area. They're also holding some Spanish prisoners in a pen to be devoured later.
- Cosmetic Award: The HD Edition has "El Dorado Campaign Completed":"Orellana and his loyal followers faced more than their own fears and superstitions on their navigation of the Amazon. To overcome the adversity that stood in their way, they had to work as a unit and not as individuals. Remember those principles of unity and selflessness on your future campaigns."
- Drought Level of Doom: "The Cannibals". Neither Markets nor Trade Cogs are buildable, meaning that trading or buying resources is strictly forbidden, and every single gold mine in the map is controlled by the enemies. The only ways to obtain gold are fulfilling quests given by friendly natives, or wrestling control over gold mines from the Negros, meaning that for the majority of this scenario you'll have to rely on trash units.
- Duel to the Death: A sidequest in the fourth scenario puts you in control of an Eagle Warrior pitted against a much more formidable Jaguar Warrior (who can tear him to pieces without even trying). You spend the entire fight running around, hoping you can gather empowering relics before your opponent can.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: While most sidequests still play within the limits of the expected in Age of Empires, one in The Cannibals has you trying to solve a series of riddles from an hermit. Another one has you solving a murder case by interrogating the inhabitants and putting two and two together.
- Going Native: The first scenario has you playing as the Spanish, while the latter three have you using the Inca, apparently signifying Francisco's need to hire help among the natives.
- Lady Land: The third scenario has the explorers running into a king- well, queendom of Amazons: while they do have male subjects, warrior women armed with spears and bows made specifically for this campaign can be found and fought as they patrol the area, but they can be avoided.
- Pet the Dog: In the third scenario, aside from the starting manslaughter, it's possible to obtain food and favors by helping out the people of the Amazones rather than ransacking temples and burning villages.
- River of Insanity: The moment Francisco and his men navigate the Amazon, things go to hell, as they're threatened by hostile tribes, wild beasts, amazon warriors, starvation and even cannibals.
- RPG Elements: All the HD campaigns of The Forgotten had a strong RPG influence, but this campaign, safe for the second scenario, is seemingly made to show how rpg-like Age of Empires can be.
- Sidequest: You'll have to go around a lot sacking buildings for resources, assassinating people, recovering lost animals and relics and more rather than the usual build and destroy routine.
- Sinister Minister: The Amazones has a blinded priest bitter at the Amazons who encourages you to fill them with dread by performing destructive acts on the inhabitants and pile up infamy. The priest who asks you to help his champion win the duel in The Cannibals will curse you to death if you lose, though luckily nothing bad comes from it, only the loss of gold.
- Timed Mission: In The Amazons you start with a limited amount of food, which will slowly dwindle as you troops eat. Once the food's gone, the villagers will start taking damage.
- Villain Protagonist: Francisco de Orellana and Pizarro aren't nice guys: the first scenario alone has you resorting to murder, blackmail, sabotage and pillage just to further your goals towards a greedy future.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After you're separated from Pizarro, you lost all contacts with him and never find out what happened to him or Delicola.
