Recap / Age of Empires II – Prithviraj

Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned

12th century India is ravaged by the constant turmoil brought by the warring Rajas of the warrior caste, each one of them trying to conquer the land. Among them, a brave and courageous warrior rises to the challenge and shows his might to the entire land. However, what will happen when this warrior, Prithviraj, falls in love with the lovely Sanyogita, daughter of his bitter enemy? And what will happen to India as the threat of the Ghurid from Afghanistan draws near?

This campaign was redesigned in Definitive Edition and changed yet again in Dynasties of India, with the split of the original Indian civilization.

The player is in control of the Gurjaras ^note  Indians before Dynasties of India, the color being Blue ^note  Orange in HD

Scenarios (HD)

1. A Promising Warrior

Prithviraj, son of Someswahr, prepares himself for a hunting trip along with his trusted companion, the poet Chand Bai, in spite of the difficult times and the threats of Bhimdev Solanki. Along the way, Prithviraj must decide whether to actually join his father's war and release the nearby town from the clutches of the rebellious Solanki, seek enlightenment by visiting a local Guru... or just ignore everything else and enjoy the tiger hunt he was planning to do.

2. The Digvijaya

The events surrounding the hunting trip lead to Prithviraj meeting Sanyogita, the beautiful daughter of the ferocious Jaichand, who's currently trying to conquer all the other states of Rajahstan and put them under his control. Prithviraj, in order to pursue his beloved and show his mettle, decides to fight for the same goal as the lord of Kannauj. Surrounded by squabbling states and with the threat of the Ghaznavids from the west, will Prithviraj triumph against the adversities?

3. The Elopement

Despite the success of the Rajah of Ajmer, Jaichand was unimpressed and vetoed Sanyogita and Prithviraj's relationship. He also organized a swayamvara to force her to choose another prince or nobleman as her husband. However, the love between the two of them is too strong: Prithviraj himself has snuck into Kannauj, disguised as a soldier, to rescue Sanyogita and leave the city across the wilderness and to Delhi. Hopefully, there they will find respite from the cruel Jaichand.

4. Battles of Tarain

Jaichand was defeated and Prithviraj married Sanyogita. Their happiness, however, wasn't meant to last: the Ghurid, ruled by the cruel warlord Muhammad Ghori, have descended from the Afghan mountains in order to submit India, lured by the tales of the riches of Prithviraj's kingdom. In order to protect all that is dear to him, Prithviraj must ride and lead his massive army near the village of Tarain, where the battle against the Ghorid will take place.

Scenarios (DE)

1. Born of Fire

The warrior caste of India, said to have been born from fire to fight the Rakshasa demons, are constantly fighting over land and honor, with disastrous results. Prithviraj is only a young Rajah, enjoying a hunting trip away from home, when suddenly he runs into soldiers commanded by his own cousin Nagarjuna and ransacking the countryside. Prithviraj decides to save the locals, and advised by the poet Chand Bardai, he'll have to end his cousin's life himself... or show that he has the favor of the gods by capturing the holy relics of this region.

2. The Digvijaya

Prithviraj can now enjoy his hunt, but soon, rumors of an expanding force of soldiers sent by Jayachandra of Gahadavala are brought to his ear by his loyal supporter Kaimbasa. Rushing out of the Naga-infested jungles, Prithviraj returns to his base in Ajmer to rally forces: his goal is to unify the land before Jaichand does, by taking the heads of the surrounding Rajahs.

3. Hand of a Princess

Prithviraj's conquest was successful, and Jayachandra was forced to flee to Kannauj. Furthermore, Prithviraj fell in love with the beautiful princess Sanyogita of Gahadavala. When her father found out he forbade her from meeting him again, and ordered a swayamvara to marry her to another suitor. Knowing very well that time is essential, Prithviraj, accompanied by the trusted Kaimbasa and Chand Bardai, ventures forth across the dangerous jungle and rocky cliffs to sneak into Kannauj, save Sanyogita and elope with her to friendly territory.

4. The Fate of India

When all seemed to be going well, tragedy struck: Kaimbasa, entranced by Sanyogita's beauty, went mad with jealousy and ran to the Gahadavalas. There, he conspired with the furious Jayachandra. The two, in their madness, sent a missive to the fearsome Ghurids, lead by the greedy warlord Muhammed Ghori. Soon enough, a 10000 strong army of riders, cavalry archers and elephants is invading India, and they have taken over several sacred symbols to show their power. It's imperative that the sanctuaries holding the relics are destroyed, or the Indian morale will be impossible to lift again.

5. The Legend of Prithviraj

The Ghurids were scattered, and everyone in India rejoiced. However, even as Prithviraj himself grows proud and careless, the Ghurids are rebuilding their forces. The loyal Chand Bardai urges Prithviraj to gather allies and prepare for battle before it's too late, but no one is willing to aid, blissfully believing that the Turks won't dare come again. Alone, Chand Bardai decides that he and other poets will journey to the various courts of India and narrate the tale of Prithviraj, turned into an epic poem. With some luck, enough rajs will take arms and protect their country.

---

This campaign contains examples of:

• Abduction Is Love: The third mission has Prithviraj flat-out stealing his beloved Sanyogita from her father's castle. Downplayed since the intended target fully consents to the kidnapping.
• Action Survivor: Chand Bardai. His unit is basically a Monk, yet he still follows Prithviraj everywhere, even when the raja is waging battle.
• Adaptation Distillation: DE 's Digvijaya has only three opponents plus Gahadavalas, contrasting the veritable "horde" of opponents in HD.
• Adaptational Wimp: In HD, the Ghaznavids have a powerful, fortified base from which to attack you with hordes of horse archers and light cavalry. In DE, they're a lesser nuisance in the first scenario and only have a score of horse archers and steppe lancers with a couple of buildings, and nothing more.
• Ascended Extra: Chand Bardai goes from being the narrator and healer to play a pivotal role in each scenario, including starring in the last one.
• Big Bad: Jayachandra for the first part of the campaign, then Muhammad Ghori.
• …But He Sounds Handsome: After Chand Bardai's verses help Prithviraj's secure victory, Chad Bardai remarks that they should praise the author of those verses.
• Cosmetic Award:
  • The HD Edition has "Prithviraj Campaign Completed":
  "The subject of veneration of many of his descendants, Prithviraj was shrewd, brave, honest, but also prone to emotion, taking many risks for the sake of love. Even in the sight of war and possible death, remember to enjoy your life to the fullest, for you only live once. A complete and moral life deserves the most remembrance."
  • DE replaced the achievement with "The Blind Archer".
  • Dynasties of India introduced a few more achievements for its reworked version: "Raja of the People"^note Save both allied villages in "Born of Fire" on Hard, "Hopeless Romantic"^note Win "Hand of a Princess" in less than 12 minutes and "Inspiring Poet"^note Convert all Rajas before the Ghorids attack in "The Legend of Prithviraj" on Hard.
• Demythification:
  • In Indian religion, the Naga are Snake People demigods. In the game, they are hostile priests and Komodo dragons. The Nagas were later removed in the updated Prithviraj campaign in Dynasties of India, with their base being given to the unambiguously human Paramara Rajput clan.
  • As indicated in the Hints, the legend simply had Prithviraj fighting his way into Kannauj to snatch Sanyogita, but the different versions of the game either have him Dressing as the Enemy or give the player the chance to sneak around Kannauj to take Sanyogita.
• Deuteragonist: Though Prithviraj is undoubtedly the main character of the story, Chand Bardai survives it unlike him, has a role in all scenarios, and also serves as the narrator.
• Downer Ending: In the end, Prithviraj is defeated by the Ghurids, taken prisoner, blinded and killed in retaliation after slaying his captor. Furthermore, Sanyogita commits suicide so that she and Prithvi can be Together in Death.
• Dressing as the Enemy: In the HD version, Prithviraj takes the appearance of an enemy swordsman to sneak into Kannauj.
• Dungeon Bypass: In Hand of a Princess, you're encouraged to use the hidden Onager to demolish trees and open new paths. More often than not, it's the best way to save time and avoid trouble.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Blinded and tortured, Prithviraj is tossed a bow and an arrow by Muhammad as a way of mocking him, but still uses his laughter to track and hit him squarely in the chest. Unfortunately, the historical Prithviraj went down in a less cooler way ^note  According to most historians, he was captured but offered by Muhammad to rule Ajmer as a vassal of the Ghurids. He then tried to conspire against them but was found out and executed. However, exactly how he died was a historical Rashomon-style tale..
• The Grand Hunt: As befits a prince and raja, Prithviraj enjoys this. The game will give you an opportunity to do this.
• Heel–Face Turn: In Born of Fire, conquering the three relics will cause Nagarjuna to spontaneously surrender with his entire army and city.
• Love Ruins the Realm: Prithviraj pursuing Sanyogita engenders a buttload of complications, such as outright war with her dad.
• Misplaced Wildlife: The campaign has Prithviraj tracking a man-eating tiger and finding that it's actually a lion. It's actually a renamed jaguar from The Conquerors. African Kingdoms later added actual lions and Rise of the Rajas, tigers. Prithvi also encounters brown bears in the same map.
• Plucky Girl: Sanyogita is depicted as "just as headstrong as she was beautiful". She proves by falling in love with someone her daddy completely disapproves and sticking to her choice, even when presented with a whole army of suitors asking to marry her.
• Purple Prose: As the narrator Chand Bardai is a court poet, the intros and outros are rather... flowery and grandiose. Still, the Definitive Edition tones it down.
• Race Against the Clock:
  • Hand of a Princess: you have to reach Kannauj and take Sanyogita to your base before the timer runs out.
  • The Fate of India: The enemies are trying to achieve a Relic victory and you have 200 years to stop them. You can reset the timer every time you destroy a Monastery, and recovering the three relic carts for the Buddhists buys you even more time.
• Reptiles Are Abhorrent: The Naga village in DE is filled to the brim with green-robed priests, monitor lizards and crocodiles.
• Shown Their Work: While the presence of the Naga may sound odd and fantasy-like, one of Prithviraj's ministers, Bhuvanaikamalla, was said to be "adept at taming Nagas", which are thought to be a local tribe by some historians.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Prithviraj and Sanyogita seemed headed towards this, only for Prithviraj to say "screw it" and force a happy resolution by marrying the princess and kicking the shit out of her father's armies.
• The Starscream: Kaimbasa betrays Prithviraj after being his most trusted servant for half of the campaign.
• Stealth-Based Mission: The Elopment starts with one, which is pretty hard to pull off as Prithviraj here is alone against patrolling enemies, and not all of them can be backstabbed.
• Timed Mission: The reworked version of Dynasties of India introduces two time-based achievements:
  • "Hopeless Romantic" requires you to win "Hand of a Princess" in less than 12 minutes.
  • "Inspiring Poet" requires you to convert all the Rajas before the Ghorids attack in "The Legend of Prothviraj" in Hard mode.
• Together in Death: Right after learning of her husband's death, Sanyogita immediately immolates herself.
• Video Game Caring Potential: The Dynasties of India achievement "Raja of the People" requires you to save both allied villages in "Born of Fire" in Hard mode.
• We Used to Be Friends: Kaimbasa was Prithviraj's strongest and most loyal supporter. Too bad he was driven insane with jealousy when he saw his king with Sanyogita.
• The War Sequence:
  • Battles of Tarain starts with a battle sequence against the Ghurid vanguard... except that you can only choose one of the three battalions to control.
  • The Fate of India is essentially a bloody, massive 1 vs 3 Deathmatch where both you and your enemies can count on a crapload of resources to spawn huge armies to destroy each others. Good thing you only need to destroy one building for each base to win.