STRONGHOLD MISSION 12 WALKTHROUGH

"THE RANSOM"

Your objectives are to take control of one of the Snake’s castles and acquire 6000 gold. The mission won’t start until you do take over the castle, which will be in Jan 1180.

Rotate the map 180 degrees at the start so that the castle is in front of you. Get three tunnelers to dig adjacent to each other in front of the south west corner wall and perimeter turret. You will soon realise if they are too close to the castle! Put your 41 macemen on ‘aggressive stance’ and move them to the wall as soon as the tunnelers have completed their business. The macemen may have to finish demolishing a wall before gaining entry to kill all the enemy troops inside. Make sure they don’t wantonly destroy internal walls or stairs.

Now move all your troops into the castle and repair any damage. Extend the stockpile by two squares. Get your macemen and spearmen to dig a moat around the castle. Place 4 more perimeter turrets along the front wall where you broke through and pack these with archers and crossbowmen.

Site two hovels, three fletchers (two producing crossbows), three tanners, one poleturner and one blacksmith inside the castle. Place two wheat farms and one hops farm outside the castle near the gatehouse. Raise taxes to -4 once popularity reaches 100%. When the moat is completed, withdraw your macemen and spearmen (set on ‘aggressive’) to guard the area around the quarries and woodcutter huts. Keep selling surplus stone and iron for cash.

Place one mill and three bakeries inside the castle. Keep on recruiting bowmen for all your towers and turrets, principally at the front of the castle, and recruit macemen and spearmen to join those outside the castle.

When wood stocks allow, site two more hovels, a second quarry, 4 oxen, two woodcutters in the north east woods, two iron mines, one hops farm, one brewery, two bakeries and one inn.

The first attack occurs in Aug 1182 with 10 laddermen, 10 macemen and 10 crossbowmen. Subsequent attacks take place in Feb 1183, Aug 1183, Aug 1184, Feb 1185, Aug 1185 and Aug 1186, with the biggest party being 15 laddermen, 15 macemen and 15 crossbowmen.

You can stop the three tanners producing leather armour when the supply is considered sufficient. This will divert more food to the granary. You should be able to vary your taxes between -4 and -6.

In Feb 1187 there is a larger invasion with up to 25 macemen, 25 crossbowmen and three portable shields taking part. In Aug 1187 and Aug 1188 the attacks are back to normal figures. This routine probably continues, with attacks at six monthly or yearly intervals, until you either gain the gold requirement or are defeated.

I achieved victory in Sep 1188 by reaching the figure of 6000 gold. I had a peasant population of 60 at that time.