Horse
Horse is a non-combat scout and mission objective in Age of Empires III. In The WarChiefs campaign scenario Respect, the player must bring five horses to the Lakota tribesmen to earn their respect. These horses cannot attack or be killed; other horse models shown in some Skirmish settlements are non-selectable scenery rather than units.
Recorded values
- Role
- Passive scout · mission objective
- Scenario
- Act II: Ice — Respect
- Objective
- Bring five horses to the Lakota tribesmen
- Hit points · speed
- 20 · 5.5
- Line of sight
- 16
- Attack · damageability
- No attack · cannot be killed
- Other appearances
- Non-selectable settlement scenery in Skirmish
Mission role and identity
The scenario Horse has 20 hit points, speed 5.5 and line of sight 16. Its speed and sight make it useful for scouting, but it has no attack and is not a replacement for cavalry or a trainable scout. The five-horse task is tied to the Respect scenario and its Lakota objective. Horse models at Cheyenne, Lakota and Comanche settlements in Skirmish are scenery and cannot be directed.
Training & availability
Respect scenario · deliver five horses to the Lakota tribesmen · non-attacking · cannot be killed · 20 hit points · speed 5.5 · line of sight 16.
Scenario rules and values
Use the mission horses to explore while moving them toward the Lakota tribesmen; the scenario rewards bringing all five rather than using them as an army. Because they cannot be killed, they are not ordinary combat losses, but they also cannot damage defenders or replace military protection. Keep the objective distinct from the non-selectable horses visible in some native settlements on Skirmish maps.
Appearance and identification
The in-game description calls them “Wild Mustangs.” Horse coats may be white, brown or a mix of both. Their low-profile objective role distinguishes them from ordinary cavalry: these mission animals do not join the player’s production roster, and horses seen standing in native settlements are decorative scenery.
Compendium entry
The game Compendium identifies the horse as Equus caballus and describes an approximate size of five feet at the shoulder and 1,000 pounds. It notes grasses and feed as diet, herd behavior and the animal’s speed and awareness as defenses against predators. This natural-history text is reference material; it does not add combat or gathering abilities to the Respect scenario unit.
The five horses are an optional Respect objective
In Respect, the five wild horses are part of an optional task during the same mission that requires John Black and Ká:nien to protect the Lakota chiefs while earning enough Experience. Herd the horses to the southern Lakota village; a Trading Post at that village is part of the route objective. This task should be planned around the chiefs’ survival: sending the whole army south can leave the allied leaders exposed to the Circle of Ossus. Keep a defending force near the chiefs, use the horses’ speed and line of sight to move them along the route, and clear threats with the escort rather than expecting the horses to fight. The five-horse objective is separate from the chief-protection victory condition, so completing it does not replace earning the required progress.