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Aaaaaarrgh! My stupid troops can't... won't... didn't follow my foolproof plan!
— The Rat, under attack
The Rat-0

Duc De Puce (more commonly known as "The Rat") is an antagonist of Stronghold and an AI character in Stronghold Crusader, Extreme and Stronghold Crusader 2.

Description[]

The Rat is a militarily and economically inept character, who leads his community with rudimentary methods. Known for his haphazard castle layouts and unsophisticated methods, Duc de Puce likes to keep his matters simple in an attempt to overpower his enemies early on. His lowly attitude towards war matters is his undoing, as his inability to turn the tides in his favour leaves him a poor opponent and ally alike.

Information[]

Stronghold Crusader[]

The Rat is a short man, his height is about 5'2" (157cm). He has a highly-strung character with little self-confidence and no capacity to hide this fact. His general jittery nature sometimes gives way to short bursts of spasmodic twitching when he speaks. His relationship with the rodent world has left him flea-ridden giving him a tendency to scratch himself furiously. As yet, his voice has not broken and on a few occasions, when threatened, has been known to scream “Eeeak”.

He also hasn't mastered the art of wearing a suit of armour and the visor of the helmet keeps falling down over his head at the most inappropriate times. Some say it's a loose hinge in his bascinet (the kind of helmet he is wearing), other say it's just too large, some might say his face does not fit in well in the helmet.

Stronghold Crusader 2[]

The Rat is succeeded by one of the his sons (also named Duc de Puce), inheriting his traits. His face is riddled with acnes and rashes, however he speaks in more of a clear, arrogant tone and does not scream or twitch. The Rat's jaws are uneven and his teeth are yellowed, granting him an appearance of a rat.

De Puce wears the same pointy helmet as his father, which keeps its tendency of falling down, particularly when his owner shakes in anger and nervousness. He wears full plated armour at all times.

The upstart[]

The Rat is a single child of the De Puce family, who inherited lands and title after his parents lost at sea during their return from vacation. Due to his lack of education, he turned to his neighbour Duc Beauregard (the Snake), in order to learn economic and military leadership from his advisors.

Encountering the Boy[]

In the beginning of Stronghold, the Rat's scouting parties encounter the Boy, who constructs a fortification in his homelands. Much to his failure, the Rat's scouts are eradicated and consequently he becomes worried of the escalating situation. The Snake advises de Puce to send a small siege force to cut the enemy's way of escape, however the force is defeated and he loses his first county in the counterattack.

War against the rebellion[]

As a reaction, the Rat blockades the county and offers truce in exchange of retreating Lord Woolsack's troops from the seized county. Soon it is revealed that the agreement is merely a trap and the advance party is slaughtered. Sir Longarm mobilizes and leads an all-out attack, taking away even more land from the Rat. This act not only tips the Snake off balance and leaves the Rat's forces in disarray, but it also incites a rebellion with the lead of Lord Manikin. Duc de Puce appears helpless, as the Snake leaves him and takes claim of his county as well. The Rat attempts an attack with enormous forces against the Boy, however the army is vanquished.

Final hold[]

The series of failures grab the attention of Duc Volpe (the Wolf), who instructs the Pig to hand a large relief force under the command of the Rat. De Puce personally leads the army into a final attack in order to retake his castle, which was recently fallen to the rebel forces. During the siege, he is mortally wounded and he meets his demise.

The Rat leaves behind three children: Roger Scabcoat, Rupert Silverback and Greytail, continuing the bloodline of the de Puce family.

Stronghold Crusader[]

The Rat's overall skittishness causes him to rapidly look around in different directions when asked for his opinion. When he finally responds, his speech is often splintered with sporadic “errs”, “ums” and twitches from his upper lip to fill in the pauses. To top it all off, the Rat is a poor judge of character, making him easy prey for anyone trying to lure the gullible fool into a trap.

The Rat is however, a character with a sense of humor and has an infectious laugh. He quickly becomes very flustered when under attack. He is not cruel to his workers, but he is quick to criticize his troops when something goes wrong.

Stronghold Crusader 2[]

De Puce comes off as an arrogant person, who does not tolerate being questioned in his authorities and ranks. He mockingly remarks his enemies' actions and belittles their skills, however all his confidence quickly shatters when threatened.

He noticeably speaks with a more noble-sounding voice, and while he still gets frightened when threatened, he is more confident overall. He is more nasty and dislikable, calling the player a 'peasant' whether an enemy or ally.

The Rat builds castles in a haphazard pattern, all of which resemble "rat mazes". His walls are usually single-layered and host few defenders. His castle plans usually suffer from design flaws, such as building stairs outside his walls and not featuring towers, as well as the design causing further unnecessary travel for soldiers and workers. There are single stationary archers on the walls and spearmen patrol the castle in various points.

The Rat's economy is very basic and small, which is barely enough to fund inexpensive troops. Wood and stone are gathered, while only apples are grown for food. Taxes are very low, sometimes allowing for higher funds when granary stocks are abundant. The main source of income besides taxes is stone. The Rat operates a number of poleturners and fletchers, and regularly buys in equipment to supply his troops.

The Rat uses light troops to harass and launch disorganized attacks right from the outset. He goes as far as sending a handful of units in an attempt to destroy farms, however a very basic defence can repel his siege attempts, as he refrains from using siege engines or heavier units.

Archers and spearmen are the only two units that are used by the Rat. They are often sent in small groups in an attempt to destroy buildings, and in bigger numbers to siege.

There's not too much to mention against the Rat's struggles to attack. A group of missile units (even slingers) handle the spearmen and the archers without problem. Moat can be used instead of the walls to conserve stone. When it comes to keep-to-keep battles, crossbowmen can prove extremely effective, as they literally kill any of the Rat'stroops in one hit.

The Rat is notorious for his badly constructed castles, and therefore he is easy picking for an outnumbering army. Detecting a weak spot is easy to come by, given how the Rat builds a continuous wall without crenellations and keeps only a light guard around. Siege towers and assassins can scale his walls unhampered, and his weak units are barely more than fodder against the opposition, barring the weakest, unarmored units.

Action Quote Sound
Added to roster Eeeeek.
Removed from roster Aaaaaarrrrrgh!
Taunt 1 You impudent upstart! I shall take great delight in dispatching you myself.
Taunt 2 Oh, yes. I bet now you are worried. My imperial troops will soon be upon you.
Taunt 3 Frightened? The glorious forces of de Puce will brush you aside... as I would brush a fly from my arm!
Taunt 4 Aha! I, the mighty de Puce, your nemesis, will soon triumph over your so called 'army'.
Deflects player's attack Ratty wins again, Ratty wins again! Hihihihihihi!
Player's buildings are destroyed My plans worked perfectly. You are no match for me!
Close to victory I am victorious! And as with you...
Defeats player So! My glorious army triumphs again, you are history!
Player deflects attack The world has gone crazy! I, I, I... I should have destroyed you!
Player destroys buildings Aaaaaarrgh! My stupid troops can't... won't... didn't follow my foolproof plan!
Player closes with an army No need to panic, Ratty... no need to... panic, stay calm, STAY CALM!
Panicking Things are going well, a-aren't they? Yes, erm, I think... I think they must be, eh?
Defeated Please, please. Please... don't hurt me, please!

The Rat's castles are usually large, featuring loosely placed buildings surrounded with single stone walls and curtain gates, forming large courtyards. A large portion of the defense is assembled on the keep and around the barracks, however sporadic units also stand on the walls. There are no other forms of protection around.

Like his precursor, the Rat's economy is very basic and barely productive in any way, featuring a limited number of weapons workshops, apple farms and woodcutters along with quarries. He does protect his buildings with wells however. He mainly generates income from taxation and only buys in weapons in small quantities.

Inheriting his father's lack of skill, Duc de Puce uses purely light, inexpensive units from the barracks that make up for their lack of quality in ever-growing numbers. His mainline units are men-at-arms and conscripts, sent in groups of a few dozen troops. The Rat has wisened up however in the siege department, as he uses mantlets and catapults to provide artillery and defensive support to his deployed units.

The Rat's numerous attacks may prove troublesome early on, when the player has not yet garnered enough troops. Use a stationary group of melee units near the Rat's attack points attacks, while ranged units atop towers take shots against the invading infantry. Simply building up the defenses at the area can take away much of the Rat's later attack potency.

The Rat's castles are very easy to break with their thin walls and sporadic garrisons. The defenders can be overwhelmed with superior numbers, which tend to be reinforced quickly from the barracks. Use masses of horse archers encircling around the settlement, or armored units to wear down the outer layers, then the final group around the lord.

Action Quote Sound
Added to roster Yeek.
Removed from roster Yaah...
Prepares for siege Regard peasant, I will soon be in command of another castle.
Taunt 1 Prepare to get the beating of your life!
Taunt 2 That's right, you cower in your castle like a pathetic little puppy.
Taunt 3 The hunt is up, peasant, you'll be dead within the hour.
Taunt 4 The game is over, bumpkin, you are playing with the big boys now.
Taunt 5 This land belongs to my family, upstart. You'll pay for your impudent trespass!
Taunt 6 Watch my actions, peasant, watch a real soldier in action!
Taunt 7 Stop your whimpering, peasant. You and your toy army better put up some kind of resistance.
Taunt 8 Call that a castle. You really have no idea, do you?
Finishes castle Our father talked about you, peasant. He was never very complimentary.
Deflects player's attack Take that you scoundrel! Ha, yes! Father would be pleased.
Player's buildings are destroyed That was just a taste of what is coming your way, peasant!
Close to victory Victory! I expected nothing less.
Defeats player Aha! Another peasant gets its just reward.
Attack deflected 1 Argh! You'll pay for that, you will play very-very dearly.
Attack deflected 2 You have no right to bear arms against our noble family. Gods but you will pay for your arrogance!
Attack deflected 3 I was told, TOLD: victory was assured. How could this be?!
Player destroys buildings Begone from the sight of my castle immediately, you wretched peasant!
Player closes with an army Prepare my horse and make ready to leave, erm... just a sensible precaution I think.
Panicking What is happening to our noble family...
Defeated 1 Please, oh please, let me live.
Defeated 2 No, please, I'll give you anything: power, money, estates, just don't hurt me.
Requires goods We need the following goods, please send them to us immediately.
Sends goods Your supplies have been dispatched.
Receives goods Your goods have arrived!?
Refuses to supply Do I look like Father Christmas? I will not be sending the goods you asked for.
Agrees to attack Yes, we will attack! You will follow my lead.
Refuses to attack (casual) We will not be attacking today, I have other plans.
Refuses to attack (besieged) I could't possibly attack.
Requests help We need help, peasant, we need it now, do you understand?
Sends help Hah, you need me to rescue you, do you?
Refuses to help (casual) Oh, stop whining, fight your own battles!
Refuses to help (besieged) Don't be ridiculous...
Predicts victory as ally We are winning this war! All down to me, of course.
Predicts defeat as ally Well, thanks to your actions, you have doomed our family once again, well done, thank you very much.
Kills common enemy Impressed, peasant, yes I think you are, aren't you?
Player kills common enemy You got lucky this time, but be careful peasant, let me do the fighting.
Falls as ally You must continue the fight, without my aid... God have mercy on you!

Trivia[]

  • In Stronghold Crusader, the Rat employs his personal servant to deliver messages to his allies.
Stronghold Crusader / Stronghold Crusader Extreme Characters
Stronghold Crusader The RatThe SnakeThe PigThe WolfThe SultanThe CaliphSaladinRichard The Lionheart
Stronghold Crusader Extreme Emperor FrederickKing PhillipThe SheriffThe AbbotThe MarshalThe WazirThe EmirThe Nizar
Stronghold Crusader 2 Characters
Stronghold Crusader 2 The RatThe WolfSaladinThe CaliphRichard The LionheartThe ShahThe Slave KingThe Sultana
DLC The PrincessThe PigThe TemplarThe DukeThe EmperorThe HermitThe JackalThe Khan
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