Nathaniel Black and George Washington, the 2 protagonists in the campaign
Fire is the first installment in the Age of Empires III: The WarChiefs campaign. It follows the story of Nathaniel Black, a descendant of Morgan Black from Age of Empires III.
Synopsis[]
The campaign consists of 8 scenarios.
- War Ceremony
- The Rescue
- Breed's Hill
- Crossing the Delaware
- Saratoga
- Valley Forge
- The Battle of Morristown
- The Battle of Yorktown
Nathaniel Black (loosely based on Joseph Louis Cook) is the half-Haudenosaunee son of the late John Black from Act II in the previous game, raised by his mother Nonahkee and his uncle Ká:nien. The campaign opens as Nathaniel and Ká:nien are trying to discourage the Mohawk and the Seneca from fighting in the American Revolutionary War. However, they are ambushed by a group of Mohawks and head to an Oneida village nearby. From there, they counter-attack and destroy an enemy Town Center, thus causing their enemies to flee. When Nathaniel and Ká:nien return to their village, they find that the Mohawk and a group of Hessian mercenaries, led by Colonel Sven Kuechler, have raided the village and captured Nonahkee. They rescue Nonahkee, but Kuechler and his main army escape, leaving the Haudenosaunee Confederacy dissolved.
Nathaniel's village supports the American colonists, and Nathaniel heads to Boston, where his men help defend a redoubt on Breed's Hill from the British. After George Washington takes command, a series of defeats drives the colonials back across the Delaware River, where they are joined by Nathaniel. Here, Washington leads a small force, including Nathaniel, across the Delaware, where they attack a Hessian encampment at Trenton and defeat the rearguard of the army at Princeton. This is followed by another victory at the Battles of Saratoga, However, the army is once again defeated at Brandywine and Germantown and is forced to camp for the winter at Valley Forge, where they suffer greatly from the cold. This leads Nathaniel to use most of his family's fortune to supply the army throughout the winter.
The next scenario is about the Battle of Morristown, where Nathaniel has his chance for revenge on Kuechler, who leads an attempt to destroy the capitol building of Morristown. Using artillery shipments he receives from Washington, Nathaniel sneaks around the Hessian flank and relieves Morristown. Refusing to accept defeat, Kuechler joins the fight with Nathaniel and is killed. After Kuechler's death, Nathaniel is said to have fought at Charleston, Camden, and King's Mountain.
As the tide begins to turn, the French join the war and help the revolutionaries gain a victory at the Battle of Yorktown, where Nathaniel is instrumental in capturing several redoubts. With the Revolution won, Nathaniel returns home a poor man having spent his family fortune on outfitting his volunteers and supplying the troops at Valley Forge. During the epilogue video of the campaign (where Nathaniel is at Yorktown), the "Old Coot" (secretly Morgan Black) from Act I and Act III in the previous game can be seen watching his great-grandson's victory.
Trivia[]
- Act I: Fire takes place around 1775 to 1781. The WarChiefs campaigns have no official dates, speculated based on real world events depicted (American Revolution).[1]
- This campaign is the most similar to those of Age of Empires II because it is historic and takes place over several years, with cinematics in between.
Gallery[]
