Scenarios

Civilization 4's scenarios are self-contained games, each with its own map or rules and its own way to win, and every release shipped some: the base game a handful built by Firaxis and fan modders, Warlords eight, and Beyond the Sword eleven. The Beyond the Sword manual (p. 34) separates the two kinds of content: a scenario is "a pre-set challenge" that starts the same way every time, while a mod changes rules or units and can often be played on any map, and many scenarios, such as Charlemagne, are "a scenario within a mod". Each comes with its own Civilopedia listing only the units, techs and civilizations it uses. Warlords' are launched from Single Player, then Warlords Scenarios; Beyond the Sword's from Single Player, then "Beyond the Sword Content"; and any of them can be played in multiplayer by loading it first through Advanced, then Load a Mod.

Quick facts

Source: Civilization IV manual, p. 187; Warlords manual, pp. 38-39; Beyond the Sword manual, pp. 33-42; GameSpot, Oct 26, 2005.

Base game scenarios

The original game came with a few scenarios and mods on the disc, and the Scenario button on the Single Player menu loads them, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 11). Soren Johnson's afterword (p. 187) credits mod designer Ed Piper with "the excellent Crusades and Alexander the Great scenarios", and says the modders Rhye, Locutus, Dale and Isak built scenarios "for the actual release". GameSpot's 2005 review counted "additional custom scenarios and three fan-made modifications". Patch 1.61 brought more: 2K's downloads page in April 2006 called it "a major upgrade" with new scenarios, and its notes fixed an American Revolution scenario to work with Pitboss. The manuals do not list every base-game scenario by name.

Warlords scenarios

Warlords added eight scenarios, six historical and two alternate history, per the overview in the Warlords manual (pp. 38-39). The count is given two ways: the manual's introduction and 2K's announcement say six (the historical ones), and Steam's Warlords page says "six unique and interesting scenarios" in its description and "eight scenarios" in its feature list.

Source: Warlords manual, pp. 38-100.

450 BC: Chinese Unification

Seven feudal kingdoms (Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei) fight to unite China in the Warring States period, per the Warlords manual. Family Emissaries spread bloodlines the way missionaries spread religion, and the Emperor's Council wonder works like the United Nations for a diplomatic win, in which your vassals always vote for you. Domination here needs 38% of the world's population and 64% of its land. GameSpot's Warlords review adds that each faction can build a national wall.

444 BC: The Peloponnesian War

Athens and its Delian League face Sparta and its alliance, one rich with the strongest navy, the other with the strongest army, per the Warlords manual. Each side starts with vassal states, Code of Laws leads straight to Constitution to reflect early Greek government, and capturing the enemy's capital wins at once; otherwise the higher score after 100 turns wins.

336 BC: Alexander the Great

You are Alexander, marching across three continents, per the Warlords manual. Alexander is a Warlord joined to a unit, and his "titles" rise with that unit's experience and improve Greece's economy; if the unit dies he is out for 6 turns. Egypt starts as Persia's vassal, and vassals you take count toward the "Rule the World" victory.

300 BC: The Rise of Rome

Rome, Carthage, Greece, Egypt and the Celts fight for the Mediterranean, per the Warlords manual. Each starts holding one of five Victory Resources, and each one held with a Stronghold built on it earns ten victory points a turn; Domination needs 75% of the population and 75% of the land.

800 AD: The Age of the Vikings

As Ragnar Lodbrok you raid the south for gold, not land, per the Warlords manual. Relics returned to your capital pay 1,000 gold each, you win on reaching a gold target that depends on difficulty, and you lose if you have not reached it after 200 turns.

1206 AD: Genghis Khan

You start with no cities, only Camps, "moving factories" that produce units, per the Warlords manual. Victory points come from taking cities, killing units and pillaging, but your score falls every turn, and if it ever reaches zero you lose immediately.

Barbarian Horde

The game builds a world, lets its civilizations grow by auto-play for as many turns as you choose, then hands you the barbarians, whose goal is to destroy them all, per the Warlords manual. There is no research or city management: "It is all about the combat."

Omens

Britain and France fight over the Ohio River Valley in 1753, at the start of the Seven Years' War, while a Divine Messenger checks how well each side is spreading its religion and punishes failure, per the Warlords manual. GameSpot's Warlords review says the spirit attacks whoever is behind and the goal is to convert 75% of the map.

Beyond the Sword scenarios and mods

Beyond the Sword ships "eleven scenarios/mods", per its manual (p. 34), and Steam's Beyond the Sword page also says 11; 2K had announced 12 in its March 2007 press release. GameSpot's review counted "six new one-off scenarios plus five playable mods". The manual lists eight under "Firaxis Design" and three under "Fan-Created Scenarios/Mods".

Source: Beyond the Sword manual, pp. 34-42.

Afterworld

A squad-based tactical scenario in which an elite unit fights zombies and the undead, the "Aberrants", on a far-future world where a research team has vanished, per the Beyond the Sword manual (pp. 34-35). IGN's review called it "X-COM inspired".

Broken Star

A "king of the hill" game of war and diplomacy in a Russia split by civil war, for up to 8 players; you can buy units from the U.S., promotions from a Chinese black market, bribe enemies or use nuclear weapons, per the Beyond the Sword manual (pp. 35-36).

Charlemagne

Five kingdoms fight for medieval Western Europe while the Ottomans press from Asia Minor, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 36). Units cannot heal on their own in enemy land, so armies need "supply trains", and the goal is to become "Holy Roman Emperor".

Civ Defense

An arcade-style wave defense: place a city or two and some units, then survive waves of lions, war elephants, zombies and more, buying more units and techs with the gold each wave pays, per the Beyond the Sword manual (pp. 36-37).

Crossroads of the World

Set in the 13th-century Middle East: as the Ottomans, Mamluks, Timurids, Ethiopians or Rasulids you use Beyond the Sword's corporations to control the Silk Road trade, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 37). See Corporations for how they work in the main game.

Final Frontier

A mod of space exploration and combat: you command one of Earth's colonies after contact with Earth is lost, in 2302 AD, and "explore, expand and exterminate" across the galaxy, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 38). GameSpot's May 2007 preview described building space stations and colonizing planets, and IGN called it "a very attractive mod for those who want to experience Civ in a more Gal Civ style setting".

Gods of Old

A standard game in which the religions are replaced by seven angry gods of ancient Mesopotamia, each with a special ability; Inquisitors purge rival faiths, and a pleased god may strike your foes with an earthquake, plague, blight or meteor, per the Beyond the Sword manual (pp. 38-39). It takes up to 16 players.

Next War

A near future of Cyborgs, Dreadnoughts ("huge megatanks") and Assault Mechs, playable two ways, per the Beyond the Sword manual (pp. 39-40): as a scenario on an Earth split into five mega-empires, or as a mod, a standard game whose late techs unlock the new weapons. IGN's review said it extends the game "into the otherwise ambiguous realm of Future Tech".

Fall from Heaven

A fan-made fantasy mod, which the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 40) calls "The premiere fantasy mod for Civilization IV": a new tech tree, three new civilizations, spells and heroes, and a goal of reforging the Godslayer blade to kill Mulcarn, the God of Winter. IGN called this version "Age of Ice". The full mod it came from is on Fall from Heaven 2.

Rhye's and Fall of Civilizations

A fan-made mod on a map of Earth in which civilizations rise and fall: you can start with an early civilization such as Egypt and switch to a newer one later, while old empires collapse from civil wars and barbarians, and each civilization has unique victory conditions, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 41). The manual calls it the sequel to "Rhye's of Civilization", one of the most popular modpacks for Civilization 3. The mod and its successors are on Rhye's and Fall of Civilization.

WWII: The Road to War

A fan-made World War II scenario for 1 to 16 players, starting in 1936 in Europe or the Pacific, with bombers, paratroopers, missiles and nukes, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 42). IGN's review said it is "certainly not for impatient or inattentive types".

Making and finding more

Any map edited in the World Builder can be saved as a simple scenario, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 174), and the manuals pointed players to the official site for scenarios made by others. Larger conversions built with XML, Python and the SDK are on Mods. Saved scenarios load like any save, from Single Player, then Load Game; if a save needs a different mod, the game restarts with it, per the Warlords manual (p. 39).

Frequently asked questions

How many scenarios does Beyond the Sword have? Beyond the Sword, Civilization 4's second expansion, has 11 scenarios and mods, per its manual (p. 34) and Steam; 2K had announced 12.

How do I play the Beyond the Sword scenarios in Civ 4? In Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword, click Single Player, then "Beyond the Sword Content", and double-click a scenario; for multiplayer, every player loads it first through Advanced, then Load a Mod (manual, pp. 33-34).

What scenarios come with Warlords? Civilization 4: Warlords has eight scenarios: Chinese Unification, the Peloponnesian War, Alexander the Great, the Rise of Rome, the Age of the Vikings, Genghis Khan, Barbarian Horde and Omens (Warlords manual, pp. 38-39).

What is Final Frontier in Civ 4? Final Frontier is a Beyond the Sword mod for Civilization 4 by Jon Shafer, a game of space exploration and combat set in 2302 AD for 1 to 8 players (manual, p. 38).

Is Rhye's and Fall included with Civ 4? Yes: Rhye's and Fall of Civilizations, a fan-made Earth-map mod by Gabriele "Rhye" Trovato, ships with Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword (manual, p. 41).

What is the difference between a scenario and a mod in Civ 4? In Civilization 4 a scenario is a pre-set situation that starts the same way every time, while a mod changes the rules or units and can often be played on any map; many scenarios also modify rules (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 34).

Sources

• Sid Meier's Civilization IV manual (Steam-hosted PDF), 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2005
• Civilization IV: Warlords manual (Steam-hosted PDF), 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2006
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword manual (Steam-hosted PDF), 2K Games and Firaxis Games, 2007
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword press release (archived), 2K Games, Mar 2007
• Civilization IV downloads (archived), 2K Games, Apr 13, 2006
• v1.61 Patch Changes (archived), Firaxis Games (civiv.com), 2006
• Civilization IV: Warlords store page, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword store page, Steam, read Oct 21, 2026
• Civilization IV Review (Andrew Park), GameSpot, Oct 26, 2005
• Civilization IV: Warlords Review (Jason Ocampo), GameSpot, Jul 25, 2006
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Impressions - First Look, New Factions, Espionage, End Game (Jason Ocampo), GameSpot, May 25, 2007
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Review (Andrew Park), GameSpot, Jul 25, 2007
• Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Review (Steve Butts), IGN, Jul 26, 2007