Scenario Briefing
The Three Kingdoms
The empire, long divided, must unite — and you, the Sleeping Dragon, hold the strategy that could make it happen or drown China in another generation of war.
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Before You Begin
Chief strategist to Liu Bei, the Sleeping Dragon of Longzhong, and architect of the alliance against Cao Cao
You are Zhuge Liang, called the Sleeping Dragon, and you have been awake for exactly one year. After a decade of studying in your mountain hermitage, watching the empire tear itself apart and mapping every move on your wall, Liu Bei came to you three times. Three visits to a thatched cottage by a man who claimed descent from the Han imperial line and wept real tears for the suffering of the common people. On the third visit, you unrolled the map and showed him the plan: take the west, ally with the south, divide the empire into three, and from three make one. He wept again. You joined him. Now the plan meets reality. Cao Cao marches south with a force that outnumbers the combined strength of Liu Bei and Sun Quan many times over. The alliance between your lord and Sun Quan is fragile — Zhou Yu, Wu's brilliant young commander, sees you as a rival, not an ally. Your own army is tiny. Your only weapons are intelligence, deception, the weather, and the hope that a righteous cause can prevail against overwhelming force. The feathered fan in your hand is steady. Your mind is not.
The Situation
The Han dynasty is dying. Emperor Xian is a puppet. The warlords who crushed the Yellow Turban Rebellion now turn on each other for the carcass of empire. In the north, Cao Cao has unified the Yellow River basin, defeated every rival, and marches south with a million-man army — or so the terrified scouts report. In the southeast, Sun Quan rules the wealthy lands of Wu, defended by the Yangtze River and the brilliant young commander Zhou Yu. And in the southwest, Liu Bei — a sandal-weaving descendant of the Han imperial line — clings to a dream of restoring righteous rule with a tiny army, two legendary warrior-brothers, and one indispensable mind: Zhuge Liang, the Sleeping Dragon of Longzhong. The Battle of Red Cliffs approaches. If Cao Cao crosses the Yangtze, the south falls and the empire belongs to a tyrant. If the alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan holds, three kingdoms will rise from the ashes. Everything depends on strategy.
Your Objectives
Forge and maintain the alliance between Liu Bei and Sun Quan — without it, Cao Cao's northern army will crush the south
Devise the strategy to defeat Cao Cao's vastly superior forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs
Secure Liu Bei's position in the aftermath of battle — the alliance with Wu is temporary, and Sun Quan will become a rival
Begin executing the Longzhong Plan: establish Shu in the west, ally with Wu in the east, and eventually reunify the empire under Liu Bei's righteous banner
The Cast
7 charactersPlaystyle Profile
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Quick Facts
- Era
- 208 AD, the late Eastern Han dynasty collapse and the eve of the Battle of Red Cliffs
- Location
- The fractured Chinese empire — the territories of Wei, Shu, and Wu
- Starting Position
- Liu Bei Camp
- Playable Leader
- Zhuge Liang
- Game Systems
- Historical, Drama, Action