Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
Shadow is the final act of the Black Family arc in Age of Empires III, being part of the The WarChiefs Expansion Pack. It takes place several years after Amelia Black's takedown of the Circle of Ossus and Nathaniel Black's trials and tribulations with the Revolutionary Army, and centers on Chayton Black, Amelia Black's son with an unknown Sioux/Lakota man, as he takes care of business with the Falcon Company and deals with the Sioux. It's the Grand Finale to the tale of the Black Family.The story begins when Black receives a call from Fort Laramie's quartermaster, William "Billy" Holme. As Chayton plans to extend the railroad through the Bozeman Trail, he gets involved in a war between two warring Sioux tribes (Bandit camps in Definitive Edition). Ten years later, he's reunited with Holme, now the sheriff of Fort Laramie, who found an area full of gold, however, the Sioux/Lakota also became a problem, and if that wasn't enough, a Mexican bandit army set a base nearby to mine the gold as well.
The campaign comprises the missions "The Bozeman Trail", "Red Cloud's War"/"A Reckoning", "Claims", "Ambushed!"/"Urgent News", "Turning Point"/"To Stop a War", "Trust" and "Battle of the Little Bighorn"/"Battle of the Greasy Grass". The campaign was heavily rewritten in Definitive Edition, with Crazy Horse nowhere to be found and replaced with Chayton's uncle Frank Warbonnet, in order to establish a more personal connection between Chayton and the Lakota. The original campaign was narrated by Amelia Black, however for Definitive Edition, it's Chayton Black the one who takes the reigns.
This campaign shows examples of:
- Anachronism Stew:
- In "Claims", the main characters must defend the Black Hills from a Spanish mining company made of horse lancers and swordsmen in 16th century armor, and still waving the Cross of Burgundy flag.
- This campaign goes about twenty years after the vanilla's game timeframe, to the Sioux/Lakota-American wars, yet it still throws in pikemen, musketeers and hussars at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
- Anyone Can Die:
- Billy Holme bites the dust in "Trust", while General Armstrong Custer falls in "Battle of Little Bighorn"/"Battle of the Greasy Grass".
- In the Definitive Edition version of the campaign, Amelia Black is mentioned as passing away of old age.
- Badass Longcoat: Chayton and Holme carry one and aren't afraid of taking it to the battlefield as Hero Units.
- Baseless Mission:
- "The Bozeman Trail" begins with Chayton, Holme, and a small party of soldiers escorting and protecting a Town Center wagon in order to establish a base. A second one becomes available a bit later.
- "Red Cloud's War"/"A Reckoning" doesn't allow you to build a base. Rather, you must mine as much gold as possible in order to hire Mercenaries at the Saloon.
- "Turning Point" begins with Chayton and Holme fortifying Fort Laramie before Chayton turns on Holme and his greed. "To Stop a War" omits this stage entirely and starts with Chayton outright having a base.
- "Trust" doesn't allow you to create new Villagers. You have to destroy resource wagons and use the Villagers you already have in order to have some semblance of an offensive force.
- Boss-Altering Consequence: In the final mission, Chayton Black and the Lakota/Sioux go to war against General Armstrong Custer in the battle of Little Bighorn. The player can let Custer go in with all of his forces, which is a sure way to be defeated, or they can ally with the other Lakota/Sioux tribes and amass a small army in order to destroy as much of Custer's towns and buildings as they can before the attack, in order to reduce the number of forces at Custer's disposal, making the mission way easier.
- Bowdlerisation: The campaign was heavily rewritten for Definitive Edition:
- Chayton's Lakota ancestry is more emphasized, particularly with the role of Crazy Horse being replaced by Chayton's uncle, Frank Warbonnet.
- Chayton and Billy Holmes are introduced in the story as former Civil War comrades, making them more familiar with each other in the first two scenarios.
- The Red Cloud War arc in "The Bozeman Trail" and "Red Cloud War" ("A Reckoning" in DE) was replaced with a rise in outlaws that threatens both Fort Laramie and the native tribes. The threat on the mining camps in "Claims" was also changed to feature a new band of outlaws that appeared between Chayton's visits.
- Chayton's purpose in meeting with the Lakota is now family-bound, rather than the war between the settlers and the natives. While initially seeming to wash his hands of the settlers' greed to focus on finding his relatives, he ends up being involved in the war when he realizes who is behind the breaking of the truce.
- After the final battle against the United States forces, Chayton tells his uncle that he plans to leave both the tribe and the Falcon Company behind, implying he is disappearing to go on a journey.
- Edutainment Game: The campaign takes place amidst the backdrop of Custer's Last Stand.
- Escort Mission: In "The Bozeman Trail", after building the Trading Post, you need to escort two town center carts to safety in order to kickstart your civ and be able to fend off the Sioux/Lakota. Should you fail several times, Holme will sarcastically comment on your inability to defend the wagons.
- Foreshadowing: Holme keeps making crude remarks about the Sioux/Lakota and his love for gold since the beginning, which telegraphs the betrayal of the truce and his upgrade to Big Bad.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Billy Holme is an American Civil War veteran who fought at Antietam and Gettysburg. He becomes the Big Bad halfway through the campaign.
- Hold the Line: A variation with "Battle of Little Bighorn"/"Battle of the Greasy Grass": Chayton and his Sioux/Lakota armies must fend off two onslaught charges from Custer's army, ending with Custer's defeat. You must destroy as many Custer buildings as possible so he can't recruit more units for his army.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: The greedy Holme doesn't survive to see the Battle of Little Bighorn.
- Mercenary Units: They're given the spotlight in "Red Cloud's War"/"A Reckoning". As you can't easily get Settlers in order to create a base, you'll have to use the miners you can recruit from the Sioux/Bandit raids in order to mine gold and recruit mercenaries from the Saloon.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Though jaguars used to range further north in the past, they got nowhere near Dakota during the lead up to Little Bighorn.
- Old Friend: Holme pretended Amelia before she was paired with an unnamed Sioux.
- President Evil: The greedy Holme is revealed as the one who broke the truce between the Sioux/Lakota and provoked the attacks in the first place.
- Settling the Frontier: The first few missions of the campaign discusses the trope.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story:
- "Ambushed!"/"Urgent News". This is a long, rough, labyrinthine map crammed full of War Huts stationed around the cliffsides. The player needs to get powder wagons to clear paths through trees, which can halt your progress until you get them to the area. And after all of your work in getting up, the player is taken to a cutscene where Sheriff Holme screws up the entire plan, thus making the whole trip pointless.
- Prior to "Trust", the US Army was on the move against the Sioux/Lakota for the hostilities that have broken out between them and the American settlers, thanks largely in part to Holme's actions. Chayton convinces Colonel Custer to hold off for a day so he can go after the man responsible and bring him to justice. However, even after tracking him down, a standoff between the two men results in Chayton gunning him down in self-defense. Without Holme around to testify for his crimes, Custer resumes his march, leaving Chayton's efforts all for nothing.
- Species Loyalty: Chayton defects from the Americans and sides with the Sioux/Lakota, the people of his father, despite his death when he was young and Chayton being raised by his American mother. In the process, he adopts Sioux/Lakota war painting and clothing, retaining only his Badass Longcoat. In the original game he lives among the Sioux, having renounced to the Falcon Company. In Definitive Edition, he abandons both the Falcon Company and the Lakota tribes in order to go on a journey.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Holme attempts to shoot Chayton, who shoots him first, then falls to his death along with a few barrels of TNT.
