DRACULA CAMPAIGN REWORK SUGGESTION:
If the Romanians will ever be added into the game, Dracula’s campaign will be reworked. Here’s what I suggest of it:
- Obviously, play in all 5 scenarios as the Romanians.
- Make it coop. But interestingly, the co-op partner won’t always play as the Romanians as well.
1. The Dragon Spreads His Wings → Romanian player 1, Turk player 2. Since yes, Vlad also had the support of some Romanian noblemen, thus him starting as the Romanians. But also had the support of a Turkish army. It would be fun to start the game in co-op with Romanians & Turks while in the final missions you fight the Turks.
Real life people who helped Vlad the Impaler (loyal): one of these could be the co-op partner’s army leader for missions 3 and 4.
- Vlad the Monk (nobleman & brother; the youngest of the 4 brothers: Mircea, Vlad, Radu, Vlad; he was not sent to the Ottomans and supported Vlad the Impaler when he returned; he would rule in 1481 being placed on the throne by Stephen III of Moldavia, until 1495 when he was ousted by Mihnea the Evil, son of Vlad the Impaler. But in Vlad the Impaler’s life, he was a loyal ally)
- Vintila Florescu (nobleman)
- Neagoe de la Strehaia (most powerful of his allies, nobleman, ruler of Craiova)
- Giacu Balaceanu (nobleman)
- Udriste Manea (nobleman)
- Commander Gales (nobleman & general, he failed to attack the Ottoman Camp from the east during the night attack, while Vlad the Impaler attacked from the west; some sources blame Gales for the failure of the night attack and wonder why he didn’t attack, whether it was intentional or miscommunication)
These people could be unique heroes much like La Hire and Sieur de Metz in Joan of Arc’s campaign.
2. The Return of the Dragon → Romanian player 1, Romanian player 2 (Moldavians; leader Prince Stephan, also playable in singleplayer). The second player could play as another hero, Prince Stephan, he helped Vlad the Impaler take back his throne. He’s also an important character so he can’t just die like the least of real life people who helped him, maybe respawn back at the base if he ‘dies’.
There is 1 historical inaccuracy at the end of the intro in the 2nd mission:
Bogdan II, Dracula’s cousin and the new Voivod of Moldavia, had heard of his kinsman’s plight and offered his help. If Dracula could cross the Carpathian Mountains into Transylvania and ally with Hungary, then they could launch a three-pronged assault on Vladislav II and the Turks.
Bogdan II was Dracula’s uncle, so if a voice editor could be used to change “cousin” into “uncle” it would be great. His cousin was Prince Stephan who helped him take back Wallachia in this 2nd mission.
3. The Breath of the Dragon → Romanian player 1, Romanian player 2 (another Wallachian noble).
This is another place for a fun trivia in the missions 3’s intro:
The punishment for all offenses was death, for Dracula needed to make an example of criminals. Under his strong rule, trade was reopened and the economy blossomed. Proud of his achievement, Dracula placed a golden cup in the central square of Targoviste. The cup was never once touched throughout his reign."
I was shocked. The fear of the stake was surely enough to prevent crime, but to rule Wallachia while simultaneously evading the plots of the boyars was no small feat.
“Dracula invited all of the boyars to a feast, and asked them how many rulers they had seen perish due to treachery. None had seen fewer than seven reigns, while some had even seen thirty! Furious, Dracula arrested them all and marched them here, to the former ruin of Poenari Castle!”
“For months they labored to rebuild the castle, toiling even after their clothes fell off! Those who survived were slain. Finally, Dracula had eradicated the fickle, conniving Boyars. He replaced them with loyal followers, be they knights or common peasants.”
“Strong again, the Dragon was ready to breathe a flame that would engulf his enemies, the Turks.”
Right after the “the cup was never touched once” you could add “Merchants could leave their gold purse in the open without fear that anyone would steal it.”
And after that another paragraph: “One day, Vlad tested a merchant’s honesty by giving him one too many ducat during a transaction, the merchant, knowing the Impaler’s reputation, noticed that he was given one too much coin. He quickly gave it back, to which Dracul replied that this was a test, and if he had not given the ducat back, he would have had the merchant executed.”
“When a man or a prince is powerful and strong at home, then he will be able to do as he wills. But when he is without power, another more powerful than he will overwhelm him and do as he wishes” - Vlad the Impaler
And then: “Vlad first searched for where his older brother Mircea was said to be burried, finding his brother’s body face down and confirming that the stories of his way of death were true. Knowing this, Vlad the Impaler was about to reveal his true curelty and anger against the corrupt boyars, who were responsable not only for the death of his family but for the poverty of the country.”
Then comes the part with “Dracula invited all of the boyars to a feast”. Vlad allowed 200 boyars and their family to come and celebrate Easter as they typically would at the palace in Targoviste.
(Building some character development)
4. The Moon Rises → Romanian player 1, Romanian player 2 (Wallachian Countryside)
Again a small edit in the intro:
“Dracula never breathed a word of it, but many began to think that his time at the Ottoman court had stoked his hatred for his southern neighbor. For years, he had brooded over his brother Radu, who had treacherously pledged himself to the Turks.”
When they were captives at the Ottomans, the Ottomans wouldn’t always treat them nicely. And Vlad would always protect his younger brother. As you can see from his whole story arc, family was very important to him. (twisted Vin Diesel)
“For years, he had protected his brother Radu at the Ottoman court,”
*IMPORTANT NOTE: Not sure why this isn’t mentioned, but it’s worth pointing out that Vlad was waiting for reinforcements from Hungary, as they promised since the beginning of the war (they were supposed to arrive since mission 4 at Giurgiu). Instead, King Mathias betrayed and imprisoned Vlad. Perhaps this should be mentioned in the outro.
Basically, King Mathias tricked Vlad to fight a war alone, promising he’ll come with the army in Wallachia but never did, and when he lost, King Mathias imprisoned him to secure good relations with the Ottomans.
(Kind of poetic, Vlad hated treachery)
5. The Night Falls → Romanian player 1, Romanian player 2 (Moldavians; leader Stephen III of Moldavia, also playable in singleplayer). Remember Prince Stephen from mission 2? this is him now. Yes, Vlad was also helped by Hungarian soldiers as well as loyal noblemen from Wallachia. But was also hepled by Moldavians led by his cousin, Stephen, now ruler of Moldavia. And I think presenting Stephen as the leader of the 2nd army led by the 2nd player is cool.
The outro is incorrect:
“Dracula achieved victory at last and the invaders fled before him. Rallying his men, he charged the enemy ranks with an unspeakable vengeance that emboldened his army. A decisive victory was near, but it was at that hour that Dracula’s luck ran out.”
“A volley of arrows whistled through the air and struck Dracula in the chest, knocking him from his horse. The Turks easily routed our leaderless forces and our chance to drive them out vanished. The occupation resumed and the survivors despaired.”
The memory of a great man endures forever. As a token of gratitude, I invited our host to join us in a pilgrimage to the monastery at Snagov to pay our respects to Dracula’s grave. Tears running down his face, the elderly man could do naught but nod in reply.
That is not what happened.
Vlad actually won and got to reign for a 3rd time. Stephen III of Moldavia gave him 200 bodyguards and left for moldavia. But his rule wasn’t as secure this time. Then Vlad was betrayed by the boyars and killed by the Ottomans.
And additionally, between the 3rd & 4th mission - A mission about the night attack at Targoviste.With a focus exactly on that:
(This biographics talks about it, how he had missed the tent)
The leader of the east (which could be the 2nd player, was Commander Gales)