The year is 878 AD, the embattled English king Alfred the Great has mounted a heroic defence at the battle of Edington, and the Viking Invasion of Britain is over. The Norse warlords are firmly established, but the ambitious kings of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales have aspirations of their own – not least the great King Alfred of Wessex. Britannia is a furnace of possibilities, from which the template for modern Britain will be forged, across the most detailed Total War campaign map ever made.

Chastened – but not yet broken – the Norse warlords have settled across Britain. For the first time in nearly 80 years, the land is in a fragile state of peace.

Throughout this sceptred isle, the kings of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales sense a time of change approaching; a time of opportunity. There will be treaties. There will be war. There will be turns of fortune that become the stuff of legend, in a saga that charts the ascent of one of history’s greatest nations.

Kings will rise. One will rule.

For King Anaraut, the pressures of lineage weigh heavy on the mind. But those pressures of following his father, the respected leader Rhodri the Great, have stirred him to strive for a new kingdom for his people.  A famous new kingdom that will span the entirety of the Welsh peninsula, win the pride of its people and cement his own place in history.

Players can emulate Anaraut's vision by achieving the Fame Victory Condition. Which demands a powerful and prestigious Kingdom be built, measured via the metric of 'Fame' in the game's Campaign mode. Fame can be increased through economic development, technological breakthroughs, wars, and a variety of event chains as players progress through their campaign.

With the victory conditions in Thrones we wanted to provide options that tie into the different ways people like to play Total War. Conquest is for those who want to paint the map. Fame, however, is for those who want to develop their faction.

To improve the Fame of your faction, you need to construct certain buildings, research certain technologies, or have a good king. Each of these endeavours can generate Fame points, and to achieve the short and long fame victory conditions you must accumulate a bank of these points worthy of each victory level.

Thus, for those who like to turtle and develop their factions, this victory condition ties in nicely with that approach. High level buildings and technologies in particular are likely to give the bonuses that will take you closer to a Fame victory.

In the trailer we see King Anaraut lay out his plan for developing Gwined into a grand and prestigious Kingdom. The Welsh factions are in fact especially well placed to take advantage of the Fame victory condition. They possess a unique faction mechanic called ‘Heroism’ which can provide bonuses to their faction leaders’ influence. This can then provide a Fame bonus to the faction itself.

Similarly, the starting capitals of Gwined and Strat Clut can both construct the special Bard building chain. This can deliver big Fame bonuses as well. Guvan, the Strat Clut capital, also offers further advantage in its unique Hogback building chain which gives Fame as well as bonuses to industry.

There are many other unique building chains dotted around the map that also give fame bonuses, such as the various chains dedicated to different Saints, including that of St Dewi (or St David as he’s known in English) located in Menevia. Therefore, if you’re aiming for a Fame victory, you would be wise to seek out and target the settlements that contain these chains. They hold the power to make you Famous!

Fame can be found in advanced technology too. Look for technologies within the civic section that deliver increased Fame. Unlock this leadership tech line by upgrading your Law building chain, then focus on those techs to obtain additional Fame points and eventually sweet, sweet victory.

We’ll be talking about building and technology in more detail in coming weeks so stay tuned.

Of course once you’ve completed a short and long fame victory, that is not the end of the victory conditions. Achieving a long victory kicks off the events leading to the Ultimate victory condition, something we’ll talk about another time.

A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia will be available for PC in 2018