STRONGHOLD MISSION 13 WALKTHROUGH

"SNAKE EYES"

You have to build up the Snake’s old fort and raise an army to lay siege to the Snake’s last castle and bring the scaly one’s career to an end. The action starts in Apr 1205.

Increase the stockpile by three squares, Place two more ox tethers at the quarry. Seal off the settlement in front of the barracks with a wall, crenulated wall and small gatehouse. Site three fletchers (one producing crossbows) near the stockpile. Site a dairy farm just outside the lower gatehouse and put a tanner just inside. Place a hovel and three iron mines near the stockpile. Recruit archers for both gatehouses.

Site a bakery near the stockpile and a hops farm next to the three established wheat farms. Place another hovel, increase taxes to -2. Place a defence turret and stairs at the end of the wall containing the top gatehouse. Recruit archers for this tower as they become available.

All crossbowmen should now be put on the lower gatehouse. Place two more iron mines and a market when resources allow. Start extending the wall line near the quarry so that you can enclose the two dairy farms and the two wheat farms.

The first Pig attack is in Jan 1207 with 20 archers and 10 macemen. The macemen invariably head for the quarry. Replace any destroyed buildings or farms. Continue walling in the two wheat and two dairy farms in a small rectangle. When completed, place a stair on the opposite side of the existing stair by the lower gatehouse. Site a defence turret in the wall line near to the water and transfer archers and crossbowmen to this tower.

The second attack occurs in Mar 1208 with 14 macemen. Repair and replace as needed. Drop taxes to zero when popularity drops to 60%. Site a brewery, an inn, a bakery and a hovel when resources allow (buy in wood if needed).

A third attack takes place in May 1209 with 20 archers and 10 macemen. Site a blacksmith workshop. Place a defence turret next to the one already down near the quarry area. Transfer archers from the lower gatehouse to this tower. Raise taxes when popularity has risen sufficiently. Stone and iron can be sold for hard cash.

Attacks from the Pig’s forces occur every 14 months or so, but their potency should diminish as your bowmen increase in number. Seal off the bottom two river crossings with stone walling to encourage the Pig’s attackers to use a higher crossing, thus bringing them within range of your towers for a longer period.

You can now buy in sufficient wood to place a hops farm and three hunter posts near the lower gatehouse, a hovel, a second quarry and three oxen. Macemen can be assembled near the quarry area to provide added security.

Place two tanners in the dairy farm enclosure and a blacksmith and a bakery near the stockpile. Site another two hovels and put a chapel outside the lower gatehouse. Place another brewery and inn, two more iron mines and another two bakeries.

Site an engineers’ guild outside the bottom gatehouse and recruit engineers to produce catapults and portable shields as required. Laddermen can also be recruited to enable your macemen to storm up enemy walls. You can build up an impressive fortress and economy if you so desire, but all you really need to do is recruit sufficient macemen and supporting troops to conquer the Snake’s castle. Buy in weapons at the market to quicken your rate of recruitment.

It’s a good battle ahead and experimentation in siege tactics is recommended. Load a saved game and try out different strategies.

I used three catapults, 10 shields, 10 laddermen and 75 macemen. The catapults were moved to the extreme west of the Snake’s castle and edged in slowly to take down the two left-hand defence turrets, whilst staying out of range of enemy fire. Once the turrets are down, get all your attackers (on ‘aggressive stance’) to make a full frontal assault in one large group. The laddermen are placed at the front wall and the macemen are directed to go over the top and kill nearby opponents, and then into the open castle to finish the mission in some style. I achieved victory in Nov 1219.