Ransom
Ransom is a Town Center recovery option for eligible heroes in Age of Empires III. When an Explorer, Explorer’s Dog or Monk is reduced to zero hit points, it collapses rather than immediately leaving play. If the owner cannot rescue it, paying Coin returns the hero to the game and transfers the payment to the player credited with the final blow.
Eligible heroes and collapse state
The ordinary ransom is 100 Coin and is available to European and Asian civilizations. The recipient can be an enemy player or Mother Nature if a Treasure guardian dealt the final blow. In Definitive Edition, the Knighthood and Peerage technologies each add 50 Coin to the cost. This mechanic applies to the listed Explorer, Dog and Monk units; several civilization-specific heroes use other recovery rules.
Research condition
Town Center · eligible European and Asian heroes · 100 Coin normally. In Definitive Edition, Knighthood and Peerage each increase the cost by 50 Coin.
Cost and recovery rules
First determine whether the fallen hero can still be rescued. Ransom is the fallback when rescue is not possible, so compare the Coin cost with the value of returning the hero and the payment’s recipient. Check both cost-increasing technologies in Definitive Edition before committing. Do not apply Explorer ransom rules to every hero: Native American War Chiefs use the Community Plaza ceremony, while some African heroes are retrained at a military drop point.
Different hero recovery systems
Native American civilizations can revive a War Chief through the War Chief Ceremony at the Community Plaza. The ceremony is free, but its completion time depends on how many members participate. The Ethiopian Ras and Hausa Emir, along with the Berber Sultan and Akan Tufohen, are retrained and return at the owner’s designated military drop point after a delay if they are not rescued. For the Berber Sultan and Akan Tufohen, a player without the matching Berber or Akan kingdom must help them back up like an Explorer or Monk.
Definitive Edition cost increases
Knighthood and Peerage each add 50 Coin to the normal ransom in Definitive Edition. If both apply, include both increases when deciding whether recovery is worth paying for. The payment goes to whoever dealt the final blow, including Mother Nature, so a Treasure guardian can receive the Coin on the opposing side’s behalf.