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For the character, see Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo is a playable faction in Total War: Three Kingdoms. It is located in northern China, in Jingzhao commandery. The faction appears in 190 and 182. In 190, Chang'an is the location of Emperor Xian, meaning that the Han Empire starts as a vassal under Dong Zhuo.

The faction becomes non-playable in 194 and is now led by Li Jue, former general of the late Dong Zhuo. However, the flag and unique features are the same for Li Jue, so his faction is included on this page.

Unique Features[]

Unique Units

Dong Zhuo Unique Units

Unique Buildings

Unique Features

Unique Features[]

Emperor Xian[]

Main Article: Emperor Xian

Dong Zhuo controls Emperor Xian at the start of the game in 190. This means that the Han Empire is his vassal and will fight any wars he is involved in alongside him. Furthermore, Han settlements on the map can be approached and annexed for a small sum of money.

Raze[]

After successfully capturing an enemy settlement, Dong Zhuo gets a fourth option on what to do with the settlement. He can burn the whole thing to the ground, forcing the county to become abandoned. Razing the capital of a commandery also destroys all buildings inside of it. By razing settlements, you can gain Intimidation, your faction resource.

Coerce[]

Coerce is a diplomatic option that allows you to threaten a faction into doing your bidding. By spending some Intimidation, you can add a good chunk of Positive Factors to a diplomatic deal, allowing you to force minor factions to do things for you they normally wouldn't do out of the kindness of their hearts.

Execute[]

Dong Zhuo can execute members of his own court. Doing so immediately kills the character on which the action is used. As a result, you gain 10 Intimidation, as well as some funds. However, executing a character provides -10 satisfaction faction-wide.

A way to farm Intimidation is to recruit throwaway level 1 characters into your court and immediately executing them. However, doing this too often will lead to widespread dissatisfaction across your court and might lead to a civil war.

Intimidation[]

Main Article: Faction resource

Intimidation is the faction resource of Dong Zhuo. It is gained by executing characters of your court, integrating settlements of the Han Empire, winning battles, and razing enemy settlements. Like with most faction resources, Intimidation slowly decreases over time, meaning that it should be constantly maintained. Intimidation can be spent on Coercing other factions through the diplomacy menu and on promoting characters.

Intimidation is separated into three stages, with a maximum of 100. These stages are:

Insignificant (0-30)

  • +1 imperial favour
  • -1 intimidation
  • -6 public order (all commanderies)
  • +25% corruption (all commanderies)

Menacing (31-70)

  • +2 imperial favour
  • -2 intimidation
  • +2 public order (all commanderies)
  • -15% corruption (all commanderies)

Overwhelming (71-100)

  • +4 imperial favour
  • -4 intimidation
  • +8 public order (all commanderies)
  • Enables: Scare (faction-wide)
  • -25% corruption (all commanderies)

Playstyle[]

Dong Zhuo is trying to hold onto the last remnants of Han imperial power – but as his fist grips tighter and tighter, opposition from the outside grows.

It is this balance that is the cornerstone of Dong Zhuo’s playstyle: will you try to rule with an iron fist, stabilising your realm internally but creating external enemies, or will you try to – at least in appearance – be gentler, and make your enemies turn against each other?

Crucially, Dong Zhuo starts with the Han emperor – Emperor Xian – under his control.

This means that the still-mighty Han empire is his vassal, which provides him with significant income and also means he can annex and integrate Han empire territory by claiming ownership for himself (something that all factions are able to do if they control the emperor). Dong Zhuo also starts at a higher faction rank than all of the other playable factions.

Dong Zhuo also has access to a unique resource: intimidation. This measures his authority, exercised through his iron fist and his cruelty, and the amount of control he exerts over his territory and his subjects. High intimidation keeps characters under Dong Zhuo in line with increased satisfaction and reduces corruption across his realm – which is key in the later stages of the campaign. Conversely, low intimidation means less satisfaction and higher corruption.

Intimidation is increased by annexing or integrating Han empire territory, winning battles, or executing other characters. Intimidation decreases when characters are promoted, or battles are lost, as well as decaying over time. Dong Zhuo can also spend intimidation to coerce other factions into more efficient diplomacy, meaning that with high intimidation he can force other factions into certain deals.

Overall, Dong Zhuo’s playstyle revolves around juggling internal control with external threats – much like the historical Dong Zhuo himself. You have a lot of power, and the ability to make a lot of different things happen, but the reins are slipping away from you and all the other warlords want a slice of the pie. And there’s only one way to know how to maintain the upper hand: to rule with intimidation, tyranny, and an iron fist.


Starting Situation[]

Rise of the Warlords (190)[]

TW3K Dong Zhuo 190

190, Dong Zhou - Grey, Han Empire - Green, Enemies - Red

Dong Zhuo burns with the fire of past indignities; an inferno of vengeance that scours his enemies - traitors, as he sees them, to his just cause. Barbaric in his punishments, he has seized control of the crumbling Han dynasty and commands through cruelty and fear, supplanting the young Emperor Shao with his own choice. Yet this new emperor is no more than a puppet; Dong Zhuo rules now - 'chancellor' in name alone, he holds the full might of the Han in his tyrannical hands.

Start: Hard

Dong Zhuo has the Han Empire under him, a large army, many characters in his court, much territory and plenty of income. How hard could it be? As it turns out, it's quite hard. Disloyalty and rebellion will be a major problem, especially when you execute people too often. The coalition in the east may have collapsed, and they'll all start fighting each other, but they will also continue to fight you independently.

The Han Empire will rapidly crumble into all but nothingness, leaving you with little time to stabilize the west. Furthermore, if you choose the wrong event, your most capable general, Lü Bu, will kill you outright, leaving you in the not-so-capable hands of Dong Min. Tread carefully.

Characters

Children

  • Dong Li

Mandate of Heaven (182)[]

TW3K Dong Zhuo 182

182, Dong Zhou - Grey, Looters - Red

Although he swears fealty to the emperor, Dong Zhuo sees the fire fading from the Han. His mind sours, beginning to imagine life beyond the dynasty. His career has been marked by success, yet as the government becomes corrupt, his victories fade to nothing before his failures. Although known for brutality, Dong Zhuo is loved by his troops, who enjoy his generosity. Yet as his bitterness increases, so too does his cruelty. In his quest for satisfaction, there is no knowing how Dong Zhuo will act...

Start: Normal

Dong Zhuo starts the campaign more or less in the middle of nowhere, in the far-flung Shuofang commandery. First of all, the Looters under Shen Chen must be defeated. After that, their capital in Pingding county must be taken. Doing so will ensure you have a stable power base in the north-west. The Yellow Turban Rebellion under the Zhang brothers is far away in the east, meaning you can simply claim much abandoned land by establishing order.

Once you have taken more land for yourself, and the Han stands significantly weakened by the Yellow Turbans, you may be able to attack Liu Hong.

Characters

Children

  • Dong Li

A World Betrayed (194)[]

TW3K Li Jue 194

194, Li Jue - Grey, Vassals - Green, Enemies - Red

This start date is unplayable. Dong Zhuo is dead, and Li Jue has taken over his faction. His first priority is to deal with the failed alliance between Ma Teng and Han Sui to the west, who still intend to take him out. While still technically controlling the Han Empire, they are reduced to a tiny rump state in the far south and will be more or less useless. Further enemies include the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Yellow Turban Warlord He Yi in the far east.

Last but not least, Liu Yan to the south might join on Ma Teng's side, providing even more troops to the coalition. Li Jue's position is very unstable, and it might all come crashing down. Li Jue's other vassals, Zhang Ji, Yang Feng and Zhang Yang, will serve as little more than cannon fodder for the conflicts to come.

Characters

Gallery[]

Reference[]

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