Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
As religious reformer Jan Hus had preached his sermons in Prague, it had caught the attention of one-eyed mercenary Jan Zizka, as well as the ire of the Holy Roman Empire. Zizka has rallied around the Hussite cause as he seeks to transform peasants into a disciplined force with innovations in defense and tactics, as the Holy Roman Empire seeks to nip the Bohemians in the bud. In this campaign the player controls the Bohemians, represented by the color Cyan. Scenarios
1. The One-Eyed Wanderer
The one-eyed mercenary captain Jan Zizka is an incredibly skilled and gifted warrior in spite of his handicap. In a war-torn Bohemia where the union of Nobility, lead by the devious Henry of Rozmberk, oppresses the poor, the mercenary captain has gathered an army and is ready to carve a place for himself.2. Courage and Coin
The campaign against Henry ended in disaster and capture, but Jan Zizka's skill impressed a powerful noble, Jan Sokol, who has him released from his prison, as his talent is required: in the northeast, the combined forces of Lithuania and Poland, lead by the king Wladlyslaw Jagiello and duke Vytautas, are fighting their long date enemy, the Teutonic Order, near Grunweld. The sellsword from Bohemia leads his forces against this mighty opponent, for glory and wealth are at stake.3. The Iron Lords
Bohemia was shaken by the reformist preacher Jan Hus and his challenge to the corrupt Church of Rome. Unfortunately, Emperor Sigismund had Hus captured and executed. Motivated by his death, his Hussite followers, Jan Zizka among them, intend to rebel against the tyrannical nobles and the forces of the Emperor. Devising a new, ingenious war machine to even the odds against the armored knights and infantry of the so-called Iron Lords, Jan Zizka leads the peasant troops of the Hussite towards the city of Tabor to form a stronghold and start a counteroffensive.4. The Golden City
After the triumph of the Hussite troops over the heavily armored knights at Tabor, Jan Zizka rides to Prague, the capital of Bohemia. However, his enemies do not intend to let him or the Hussite go away, so Emperor Sigismund, alongside an army of Crusader Knights from Italy, march on the Golden City to quell this heresy. Furthermore, a faction of Royalists hostile to Zizka has taken control of the western side of the city. Soon, the Charles Bridge will be the theather of a terrible battle.5. The Emperor's Fury
The victory at Prague has humiliated Emperor Sigismund, but in the following battes Jan Zizka lost his other eye. Thankfully, his military prowess is untouched, and he will need all of it for the next battle: the Hussite plan to attack the city of Kutha Hora, rich in silver but infamous for the executions of Hussite people. The forces of Sigismund are marching there too and backed up by battalions of Hungarian Crusaders and by the Polish sellsword Zawisza. However, despite the encroaching winter, the blind commander has a daring plan...6. Warrior of God
With the triumph in the snow-covered lands around Kutha Hora, now the dream of a free, independent Bohemia is close to be realized... but there's one final obstacle in the way. A faction of traitorous Hussite in Prague has betrayed Jan Zizka's cause and sided with the Royalists, while the forces of Emperor Sigismund occupy the nearby city of Pizen. With the support of the loyal city of Tabor and the foreign mercenary Zygimantas Korybut, Jan Zizka and his troops are ready to take Prague and defeat the remaining opposition to realize Jan Hus' dream.This campaign contains examples of:
- Aristocrats Are Evil: Most of the time, you end up fighting evil coalitions of noblemen or the despotic Emperor Sigismund.
- Big Bad: Emperor Sigismund is this for most of the campaign as the main antagonistic force standing against Jan Zizka.
- Bittersweet Ending: The victory of Grunweld is this for the Bohemians, as noted by Zizka himself. In the final scenario, the victory over the forces of the Emperor is countered by Jan Zizka's own demise.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: The third scenario features a map centered around the city of Tabor, while the following one has one centered around Prague. The final scenario includes both cities at once in different locations on the map (Prague to the north, Tabor to the south), though they are identical, brick by brick, to their appearence in the previous two scenarios.
- Break the Haughty: Emperor Sigismund starts off as haughty, dispotic and confident that his knights will crush the Hussite rebels with ease. By the time the final scenario rolls in, Jan Zizka's streak of victories turned him into a fatalistic man who seems to believe that his fate is already sealed.
- Call-Back: The second scenario is a remix of the sixth scenario of the Polish campaign, this time with different objectives and troops involved.
- Cosmetic Award:
- "Man of the Chalice" for completing the campaign.
- There's also "Malevolent Marauder"note , "Zizkov Hill"note and "Against All"note .
- Downer Beginning: The fifth scenario opens with the fall of Kutná Hora and your forced escape across the cold, snowy countryside. You have to build a stronger base to counter the forces of Sigismund, the Hungarian Crusaders and the Polish mercenaries.
- Escort Mission: "The Iron Lords" start with Jan Zizka leading a small amount of Feudal Age troops and Hussite Wagons across the countryside to reach the city of Tabor. Once there, he obtains control of the place and can produce troops, but not research most technology. In the final scenario, it's advisable to keep Zygimantas unit alive and well, as he can take the entire city of Prague if he reaches the Cathedral and turns a difficult opponent into a precious ally.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: The Hussite under Jan Zizka start off as a bunch of peasants with improvised weapons and the need to use massive wagons to stand a chance against their enemies. By the end of the campaign they have become a powerful force capable of taking on the imperial army and win.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- In the first scenario, one of your Bohemian opponents will have Cavalry Archers in his ranks, a kind of unit that the Bohemians do not have.
- Downplayed in the third scenario: the outro will mention the fall of the town of Sedlec, one of the three opponents, even if you opted to destroy the castles of Pisek and Prachatice instead. In a very minor example, you can also obtain the Chemistry tech by pillaging a Blacksmith.
- Graceful Loser: The Royalists in the final scenario will admit that, as much as they hate the Hussites, they recognize their valor in battle upon being submitted.
- Private Military Contractors: Jan Zizka is a mercenary for the first two scenarios of the campaign, though he becomes a patriot after joining the Hussites.
- The Siege:
- The fourth scenario has Jan Zizka holding the Vítkov Hill in northeastern Prague against the combined forces of Teutons from northwest, Italian Crusaders in the south and opposing Royalists located in the western half of Prague.
- The fifth scenario opens with the Hungarian Crusaders crushing the town of Kutná Hora, forcing the Hussite to flee north. A bonus objective seems to imply that you have to retake the city, but once you get there you find nothing but charred ruins and extra resources.
- The sixth scenario has Jan Zizka and the Hussite forces of Tabor ready to attack Prague to retake the city, as well as needing to conquer the city of Plzeň where the imperial troops are stationed. Luckily, the siege of Prague doesn't have to involve complete destruction of the enemy forces, as you can bring Zygimantas Korybut to the Cathedral to make the entire town surrender and become ally.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: In the first scenario you can capture villages to obtain a steady income of resources... or you can raze them all to the ground to obtain istantly a larger amount of resources. There's even an achievement for that.
