Start the game already!

Welcome back to another Age of Empires Magazine! Daniela's back cohosting this Episode so be prepared for two and a half hours worth of yapping. We're discussing her first hand experiences in the Brazilian Dynasty as well as The League. I've also invited Dr. Stone on the Podcast, who's just an absolute great guy and he's inviting everyone to join him and his team at the Empires Village, a LAN event in Loano, northern Italy in September. Daniela and I will also cover a couple of Emails that have been sent in and then I will continue talking about three fresh DLC announcements for the entire franchise. The episode is concluded with the tournament outlook for August 2026.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Daniela on Twitch

Timecodes:
00:00 Program
05:16 News
02:04:21 Emails
02:24:20 Franchise News
02:30:00 Tournament Outlook August 2026

Links:
⁠Brazilian Dynasty LAN⁠
Empires Village LAN
DLC Announcements
Regicide Rumble 7
Rage Forest 6
Akkals 3v3 League
T90 Community Cup 3
EGC Masters Fall

The crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire  have finally made it to the Holy Land, but sadly their emperor has not. Now, they wish to bring his body to the Dome of the Rock, a holy site in Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem is well fortified and protected by the city of Damascus and the formidable Saladin, wo has vowed to protect the Holy Land against the invaders. Richard the Lionheart is desperately waiting for Barbarossa and his reinforcements to continue the Third Crusade, as he proves to be yet another incompetent king. This is the final mission of the Barbarossa Campaign and I hope you enjoyed the journey!
Chris
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Music: Teuton Intro Music of the official AoE II Soundtrack

This mission is based on Barbarossa's ill-fated expedition to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade (1189-1192). In 1187, the Muslim sultan Saladin dealt a crushing blow to the Crusader states at the Battle of Hattin and recaptured Jerusalem. The shock wave hit Western Europe immediately: Pope Gregory VIII issued a papal bull calling for a new crusade to reclaim the Holy Land. Barbarossa, despite his past conflicts with the Papacy, took the cross in March 1188 at the "Diet of Christ" in Mainz, my home town! For Barbarossa, taking the cross was the ultimate act of Christian chivalry, a way to cement his legacy as the secular leader of Western Christendom and secure spiritual salvation. Little did he know how that this crusade would be his end.
Chris
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Music: Teuton Intro Music of the official AoE II Soundtrack

We are back in the 12th century with the Barbarossa Campaign in mission number four, where Barbarossa is once again determined to conquer Italy. The Italians have rebelled against the Rule of Barbarossa once more, this time, multiple cities at once who have formed the Lombard League. This League was a powerful medieval alliance of northern Italian city-states formed in 1167. Its primary purpose was to resist the aggressive attempts of Barbarossa to assert direct Imperial control over Northern Italy. What makes the alliance so unique is that these Italian communes (like Milan, Venice, Verona, and Bologna) were notorious for fighting each other. However, Barbarossa’s heavy taxation and installation of strict imperial governors forced these rival cities to band together for survival. 
Chris
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Music: Teuton Intro Music of the official AoE II Soundtrack

Welcome back to our third mission of the Barbarossa Campaign! After dealing with our cousin Henry the Lion in the previous one, it is now time to get back at what really matters to Barbarossa and that’s being the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The third mission is based on the sieges of Crema  in 1159 and 1160 as well as Milan in 1162 during Barbarossa's second Italian campaign, which was part of the Wars of the Guelphs and Ghibellines. These were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalry between these two parties dominated political life across Italy and naturally Barbarossa has his own ideas on how to deal with this situation, which leads us to the name of this mission: Pope and Antipope

Chris
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Music: Teuton Intro Music of the official AoE II Soundtrack