Age of Wonders 4
Age of Wonders 4

Independent City Quests

Complete independent city quests in Age of Wonders 4 to gain allegiance, unique units, and strengthen your empire.

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Independent City Quests

Independent Cities are vital strategic points on the world map in Age of Wonders 4, offering unique opportunities for expansion, recruitment, and diplomatic maneuvering. Marked by distinct banners and often surrounded by resource nodes, these settlements are not aligned with any starting empire and present a dynamic element to every playthrough. Engaging with them through quests is a primary method of interaction, allowing you to influence their allegiance and unlock powerful benefits.

Completing quests for Independent Cities improves your Relationship Status with them, ranging from Hostile to Allied. A higher relationship status opens up more advanced interactions, including trade, recruitment of unique units, and eventually, peaceful annexation into your empire. Ignoring them, however, can lead to them becoming hostile, potentially raiding your lands or even joining a rival Godir.

Understanding Independent City Types: Free Cities vs. Other Independents

While all non-aligned settlements are "independent," it's crucial to distinguish between standard Independent Cities and Free Cities. This distinction significantly impacts your interaction strategies:

  • Standard Independent Cities: These are the most common type. They are often smaller, less developed, and their primary function is to offer quests that, upon completion, increase your standing. Their ultimate goal is often to find a powerful protector, which could be you or another Godir. Their unit rosters are typically more generic, though still valuable early on.
  • Free Cities: These are a special type of Independent City, often larger, more prosperous, and with a stronger identity. They are typically led by a specific hero and possess unique unit rosters, sometimes even featuring units from a different culture or with special abilities not found elsewhere. Free Cities are more resistant to direct conquest and often require a higher relationship status and more significant investment to integrate peacefully. They frequently offer more complex, multi-stage quests with greater rewards. The 'Free City' status is usually indicated by a unique banner icon and often a more elaborate city model on the world map.

Common Independent City Quest Types and Rewards

Independent City quests are diverse, reflecting the needs and challenges of a fledgling settlement. Successfully completing them yields not only relationship boosts but also tangible resources, unit access, and sometimes even powerful artifacts.

1. Monster Clearing Quests

These are the most frequent and often the earliest quests you'll encounter. Independent Cities are vulnerable to local threats and will request your aid in eliminating them.

  • Quest Giver: Independent City Leader (often a generic NPC, or a specific hero for Free Cities).
  • Objective: "Clear the [Monster Den Type] at [Location Name/Coordinates]."
  • Step-by-step:
    1. Accept the quest from the Independent City.
    2. Locate the specified monster den on the world map. These are typically within 3-5 turns' travel from the city.
    3. Move your army to the monster den and initiate combat.
    4. Defeat all enemies within the den. Common enemies include Goblins, Orcs, Spiders, Dire Wolves, or minor Elemental creatures.
    5. Upon victory, the quest automatically completes.
  • Potential Rewards:
    • Relationship Boost: +10 to +20 Relationship with the Independent City.
    • Gold: 50-150 Gold.
    • Knowledge: 25-75 Knowledge.
    • Mana: 25-75 Mana.
    • Draft: 50-150 Draft.
    • Minor Artifact: Occasionally, a common or uncommon item (e.g., "Ring of Minor Protection," "Amulet of Swiftness").
    • Unit Recruitment Access: Unlocks a basic unit from the city's roster for recruitment (e.g., "Independent Spearman," "Independent Archer").
  • Strategy Tip: Early game, these quests are excellent for gaining experience for your heroes and units. Prioritize them if you need to quickly build goodwill or secure a safe border.

2. Resource Delivery Quests

These quests involve transporting specific resources to the Independent City, often because their supply lines are cut or they lack local production.

  • Quest Giver: Independent City Leader.
  • Objective: "Deliver [X] Gold/Mana/Knowledge/Food to our city."
  • Step-by-step:
    1. Accept the quest.
    2. Ensure you have the required resource amount in your empire's treasury.
    3. Move an army or hero to the Independent City.
    4. Interact with the city. An option to "Deliver Resources" will appear.
    5. Confirm the delivery. The specified amount of the resource will be deducted from your treasury.
  • Potential Rewards:
    • Relationship Boost: +15 to +25 Relationship.
    • Gold: 75-200 Gold (often more than the delivered amount, making it profitable).
    • Knowledge/Mana: 50-100 of the specified resource.
    • Draft: 75-175 Draft.
    • Temporary Buff: Occasionally, a temporary empire-wide buff (e.g., "+5% Gold Income for 5 turns").
    • Unit Recruitment Access: May unlock a slightly more advanced unit than monster clearing quests (e.g., "Independent Pikeman," "Independent Marksman").
  • Common Pitfall: Don't accept these quests if you're critically low on the requested resource, as it can set back your own development.

3. Protection/Defense Quests

These quests are often more urgent and involve defending the Independent City from an impending attack, usually from a rival Godir's army or a powerful monster stack.

  • Quest Giver: Independent City Leader (often with a sense of urgency).
  • Objective: "Defend our city from the approaching [Enemy Type] army."
  • Step-by-step:
    1. Accept the quest.
    2. Move your army to the Independent City.
    3. Position your army adjacent to the city or within its zone of control.
    4. Wait for the enemy army to arrive and initiate combat. This will be a city defense battle.
    5. Successfully defend the city by defeating the attacking army.
  • Potential Rewards:
    • Significant Relationship Boost: +20 to +40 Relationship.
    • Gold: 100-300 Gold.
    • Knowledge/Mana: 75-150 of each.
    • Draft: 100-250 Draft.
    • Strategic Resource: May grant a small amount of a strategic resource (e.g., 10-20 Iron, 5-10 Gold Ore).
    • Rare Artifact: A chance for an uncommon or rare item.
    • Elite Unit Recruitment Access: Unlocks a stronger, more specialized unit from the city's roster (e.g., "Independent Champion," "Free City Guard").
  • Strategy Tip: These quests can be challenging. Ensure your army is well-equipped and healed before engaging. The city's defenses will assist you, but your units will bear the brunt of the attack.

4. Exploration/Investigation Quests (More Common for Free Cities)

These quests often involve uncovering secrets, investigating strange occurrences, or retrieving specific items from ancient ruins or dangerous locations.

  • Quest Giver: Free City Leader or a specific NPC within the city.
  • Objective: "Investigate the [Ancient Wonder/Ruin] at [Location]" or "Retrieve the [Artifact Name] from [Dungeon Name]."
  • Step-by-step:
    1. Accept the quest.
    2. Travel to the designated location, which can be further away than monster dens.
    3. Enter the dungeon or interact with the Ancient Wonder.
    4. Navigate the dungeon, defeat any guardians, and locate the quest objective (e.g., a specific item on a pedestal, an NPC to talk to).
    5. Return to the Free City and report your findings or deliver the item.
  • Potential Rewards:
    • High Relationship Boost: +25 to +50 Relationship.
    • Gold/Knowledge/Mana: 150-400 of each.
    • Empire-wide Buff: A significant temporary or permanent empire-wide buff (e.g., "+10% Research Speed for 10 turns," "All units gain +1 Vision Range").
    • Powerful Artifact: A rare or even epic artifact, sometimes unique to the Free City.
    • Hero Recruitment: In rare cases, the Free City's hero might offer to join your empire if your relationship is high enough.
    • Unique Unit Recruitment: Access to the Free City's signature unit, often with special abilities or cultural traits.
  • Strategy Tip: These quests often involve more dangerous encounters and require a stronger army. They are excellent for long-term strategic benefits.

Recruitment from Independent Cities

As your relationship with an Independent City improves, you'll gain access to their recruitment pool. This is a crucial benefit, especially in the early game, allowing you to supplement your army with units that might not be available from your own culture or to fill specific tactical gaps.

  • Relationship Level 1 (Friendly): Basic units (e.g., Independent Spearmen, Scouts).
  • Relationship Level 2 (Good): Mid-tier units (e.g., Independent Archers, Pikemen, Light Cavalry).
  • Relationship Level 3 (Allied): Elite units, sometimes with unique traits or from a different culture (e.g., Independent Champions, Free City Guards, specific racial units like "Goblin Skirmishers" if it's a Goblin Free City).

Recruiting units from an Independent City costs Gold and Draft, similar to your own cities. The cost can sometimes be slightly higher, but the tactical flexibility is often worth it.

Annexation and Integration

The ultimate goal for many Godir is to peacefully integrate Independent Cities into their empire. This process is called Annexation and requires a very high Relationship Status (typically "Allied" or "Loyal").

  • Requirements for Annexation:
    • High Relationship: You must have an "Allied" or "Loyal" relationship status. This is achieved by consistently completing quests, trading, and sometimes by having a strong military presence nearby.
    • Proximity: The Independent City must be within your empire's zone of control or very close to it.
    • Influence Cost: Annexation costs a significant amount of Influence, which scales with the city's size and development.
    • Time: The annexation process takes several turns to complete, during which the city is vulnerable to hostile actions from rivals.
  • Benefits of Annexation:
    • The Independent City becomes a full-fledged city in your empire, contributing to your resource income, unit production, and population.
    • You gain full control over its development, including building structures, recruiting units, and assigning governors.
    • Any unique units previously available for recruitment will now be available from this city (though they might still cost a bit more to produce).
  • Alternative: Conquest: If peaceful annexation isn't an option or you prefer a more aggressive approach, you can always conquer an Independent City. However, this incurs a significant diplomatic penalty with other Godir and will make other Independent Cities wary of you, making future peaceful integrations much harder. It also often leaves the city in a damaged state, requiring resources to repair.

Engaging with Independent Cities is a nuanced and rewarding aspect of Age of Wonders 4. By understanding their types, quest offerings, and the mechanics of relationship building, you can strategically leverage these settlements to bolster your empire and achieve victory.