Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
When the Mongols invade Europe and devastate the eastern parts of the country, a brave pig farmer dares to oppose them and lead a militia force to chase away these invaders. However, his abilities and charisma prove intolerable for the Bulgarian nobles and the Tsar, resulting in a massive uprising. Can such a humble man as Ivaylo triumph over the adversities and lead his country to a bright future?The player is in control of the Bulgarians, the color being Blue.
Scenarios
1. A Most Unlikely Man
Bulgaria prospered under the control of Tsar Konstantin... until his accident which left him crippled. With his power weakening and the arrival of the ravenous Mongols, the land is in despair, as Tatars raid the countryside and ambitious Bolyars abuse their powers. Fed up with the Bolyars' greed, a swineherder named Ivaylo decides to assemble a militia of soldiers to repeal the Tatars and put an end to the Bolyars' attacks. As he gathers his militia, Tsar Konstantin watches him carefully...2. An Unlikely Alliance
With the death of the treacherous Konstantin in battle, now the Tsarina Maria Kantakouzene is left to hold the throne of Bulgaria, alone but standing tall amongst the scheming Bolyars and the demands of the Byzantine Emperor, who plans to put the exiled prince Ivan Ansen on the throne. Maria is unwilling to bow to his will, and she seeks Ivaylo, her husband's killer, as a potential ally to secure her position. In order to take over the capital, Ivaylo and his troops must hold the Church of the Patriarchs and protect it from all attackers.3. Tsar of the Bulgars
Crowned Tsar of Tarnovo, Ivaylo's presence is still barely tolerated, and he knows that the Bolyars hate him. Furthermore, the Emperor wasn't deterred by Ivan's inglorious defeat, and has sent a message to his son-in-law, the dreaded Nogai Khan, a Mongol warlord of great ferocity and cunning. As an humongous horde of bloodthirsty Mongols, Cumans and Tatars pours into Bulgaria, the Tsar is nowhere to be found in Tarnovo, for he's leading his troops to Drastar, a besieged city on the Danube, where Nogai Khan has erected his personal tent.4. Echoes of Heroes
The Mongols were halted, but the traitorous Bolyars backstabbed Ivaylo and welcomed Ivan back in Tarnovo, sending Maria and Ivaylo's son to Byzantium as prisoners. Ivaylo rides south, towards the city of Devaya, across the mountain paths where Bogomils hide. With the help of Georgi Terter and the monk Kozma, Ivalyo must make his way through the mountains, dealing with the Roman and Tatar army come to support Ivan and release the city by force.5. Where the One-Eyed Man is King
Once again, the cowardly Ivan fled, but the Bolyars choose Georgi as the new Tsar, and Ivaylo is left in despair: his wife exiled, his army disbanded, his former friend turned into an enemy, the pig herder king now has only one possible chance left: to go north and east, to go and meet his former enemy Nogai Khan at Saqchi, and try his luck with him. Will the One-Eyed Man be willing to let Ivaylo prove himself?This campaign contains examples of:
- Aristocrats Are Evil: The Bolyars are a litigious bunch of backstabbing opportunists who can't contain their greed and lust for power, not even with the Mongols knocking at the door.
- Big Bad: The overarching "villain" is the Emperor of Byzantium, though Nogai Khan and Ivan Ansen are the most prominent examples.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
- First scenario, upon killing the first Bolyar, Konstantin will propose an alliance. If you do, you have to defeat the Tatars... then turn on the other two Bolyars... then kill Konstantin when he thinks You Have Outlived Your Usefulness.
- Third scenario outro, while Ivaylo was away and busy saving their asses from the Mongols, the Bolyars invited Ivan to take over the city and become Tsar.
- Fifth scenario, Ivaylo is backstabbed by Georgi and forced to run from Bulgaria and seek the help of the Golden Horde. To cup it all, Nogai Khan first "tests" Ivaylo by having him defeat the Poles, then he execute him without a second thought.
- Cosmetic Award: "The Cabbage King" for completing the campaign.
- Deconstructed Character Archetype: Ivaylo, the heroic and noble farmer who leads the rebellion to save his country and becomes a king... a king most of his own vassals hate and loathes because he's a commoner and he murdered the previous tsar.
- Despair Event Horizon: Ivaylo crosses his when, after defeating the Romans and chasing Ivan away, he's left alone as Georgi becomes Tsar in his place, and exiled from Bulgaria, forcing him to go and asks for help from his former enemy Nogai.
- Dirty Coward: Prince Ivan Ansen, the ruler appointed by Constantinople, will run away in fear after his defeat at Tarnovo, then after Ivaylo's second victory at Devaya he runs back to the Romans again, much to the Emperor's disgust.
- Downer Ending: Ivaylo's bid for the throne of Bulgaria succeeds, but his success is short-lived; his struggle for freedom and better conditions for his fellow peasants ends up being All for Nothing, as he's first exiled to the Mongols, and then backstabbed by the Bolyars and killed by Nogai Khan for political reasons.
- The Dragon: The Emperor of Constantinople has two of them as the spineless Ivan and the much more formidable Nogai Khan.
- The Hero Dies: And quite unceremoniously at that.
- Narrator All Along: The campaign is narrated by Ivaylo's widow, Tsarina Maria and is addressed to their daughter.
- Pragmatic Villain: Nogai Khan has his tent destroyed and his army stopped by Ivaylo. When the same man come to him, asking for support, he allows him to prove himself against one of his enemies before turning on him anyway.
- Rebel Leader: Ivaylo starts out as one, wanting to help his fellow countrymen and stop the nobility's abuse. Deconstructed, as his very status makes him hated by the Bolyars and unable to be supported for long.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog Story: He tries to fight to improve the conditions of Bulgarian peasants, ends up becoming a hated and distrusted king whose seat is usurped the instant he rides out to help a threatened city. When he tries to recover his capital, he's usurped again by a former ally and is forced to raid the innocent people of Hungary and Poland to let Nogai Khan receive him to consider his request. Nogai then rejects his offer and has him killed with a mere gesture.
- Smug Snake: Ivan Asen shows up in the second Ivaylo mission, and spends the entire time condescendingly mocking both Ivaylo and the Tsarina. Satisfyingly, he loses his shit when you've got less than ten years on the mission timer.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After being portrayed as Goths and later Slavs, the final scenario finally has Poles portrayed by Lithuanians.
- Unique Enemy: Tsar Konstantin's hero unit, as rather than being something we're familiar with is a whole unique unit consisting of a three-man chariot to represent the fact that he's paralyzed from the legs down.
