[WIP] Middle Earth Strategikon ~60% Complete

[FC Groningen]

Hi all,
and thank you for your guide, Incomitatus. I'm an old strategy-games and TW player
who discovered TATW only recently, and this guide prove itself very useful, especially concerning character development. I usually play good factions, as I know how to deal with it ; however, I would have a few advices about how to manage character dev playing an evil faction : I would like to know if it is possible to develop "chivalric" administrators (for growth bonus, as law can be obtained playing dread) without having loyalty issues with them, as factions leaders usually go dread. Is the loyalty really a problem, or can I just don't care about it ? Or do I have to forget the chivalric growth bonus playing evil factions ?

Compared to the vanilla game, my personal experience is that characters and armies have less of a tendency to go rogue. Especially in settlements, you have nothing to fear, which is usually where you keep your governors.

[DrDragun]

Best of luck man. A lot of hospitals will negotiate when the bill comes due. They EXPECT to negotiate from the sticker price (thats the asking price to insurance companies) so never pay the asking price.

Now a more technical question. Do you know when 'TimeInRegion > 3' is checked? Do I have to leave a governor outside of the province at the end of the turn for it to recognize TimeinRegion? Or does any movement outside of the province instantly break it? (i.e. I could walk him out then back in in a single turn)

[Harkonnen]

Hey great guide Incomitatus. So if I read this right you no longer need to have the tax rate on very high during last turn of construction in order to get positive traits/ancillaries. Also does having tax rate on lowest during last turn of construction give you bed traits?

[Bullgroz]

Hey great guide Incomitatus. So if I read this right you no longer need to have the tax rate on very high during last turn of construction in order to get positive traits/ancillaries. Also does having tax rate on lowest during last turn of construction give you bed traits?

Hi Harkonnen,
unfortunately, you need to have tax rate on VH when completing a building to get several positive traits, such as GoodAdmin or Good Taxman. On the other hand, having tax rate on low or normal can give you bad traits when a building is finished, for instance :
- IF the Public Order is superior to 80 % (so, better than "blue face")
- AND the tax level is low or normal
- AND if the settlement you're building in has at least a wooden palissade (so, if it's at least a town),
SO you have 5% chance to get BadTaxman and 5% chance to get BadAdmin.

Likewise, finishing a building in a settlement which is at least a large town (wooden wall) and possess NO trade building (even a grain exchange) gives you 1 point in BadTrader, 100% chance.

If you can, follow Icomitatus advice and take time to get used with the EDCT file ; very useful !

Hope I provided some help.

[YassirX]

Very nice guide, there have been many things that made me understand the game economy and character development a lot better than I did before.
Now I will not have "Gandalf the Profane" anymore .

[aRandomPerson]

To say this is an amazing guide would be an understatement. Great job, I feel that I understand the logistic side of this game a lot better now.

I did see you say on the 2nd page that you have never seen reels occupying the HE's western territories (Forlond, Harlond, Mithlond, Elostirion). Though I am not sure of the other 3, I HAVE seen rebels in Mithlond during my Eriador campaign. Just a random thought that crossed my mind when I read that.

I really appreciate this guide that isn't focused specifically on one faction, but general tactics to improve any campaign. That's Rep for you

[Aldor]

Great guide but just somthing I noticed:

People experienced with cavalry can get away due to AI's stupidity and cavalry's power if cycle charging. You can beat big armies with less units (largely outweighs the upkeep difference)

I can easily kill everything with cavalry, even most players online (in RTW) go for large cavalry divisions.

Cavalry perform very well if combined with infantry archers. This combination ensures minimal losses as they enemy must either split up or get shot to death. If they split, they are easy to pick off by cavalry. Add 3-5 melee infnatry units in the back to finish the job after skirmishing and no army has a chance.

This also makes the HE the most efficient faction in the game: archers don't have losses and your generals replenish (or Eldar cavalry are very good). But can be done with nearly all good factions and evil men (not possible for Orc factions or Silvan Elves).

[Coldfire88]

My heir just got the lazy attribute, 3 of its triggers are when a general comes of age, the fourth is called "brother adopted" i think this means I adopted a brother to him? and the last one is automatic 4% chance if he already has the attribute

I never adopted and he didnt come of age, not sure why am I getting it? and its self perpetuating so he will be a fat lazy pig soon enough

anyway thanks alot to incomitatus, this guide helped me understand traits, but I almost giving up on training them, it looks like bad traits are gained twice as easy as good one, getting the Goodtaxman trait also gave me a bunch of authoritarian/harshruler traits.

and building 1 town hall gave me firm ruler which is supposed to be 5% chance

[Incomitatus]

Hello Everyone,

First, I must humbly beg everyone's forgiveness for disappearing into thin air for months. Imagine me down on my knees, grovelling.

The medical issue I mentioned earlier wasn't able to be resolved ideally. In fact, shortly after my last post I became very, very ill. To be specific, an issue with gallstones spread to my pancreas and I was pretty much good for nothing but lying in bed and doing my best not to die throughout the last bit of December, January, and February. Unfortunately (fortunately?) it never got so bad as to require emergency surgery, which means with my lack of insurance I was just sort of lingering on, in pain, with barely enough energy to get through the bare minimum of necessary activity every day.

I still haven't had the surgery I need, but working with a (in my opinion) much better doctor, I've learned how to control my diet to get me sufficient nutrition without triggering a flare-up of the offending organ (which basically meant using trial and error to find the level of fat I can tolerate - no more bratwurst or cheeseburgers or cheesecake ). I've been back on my feet since mid-March, but I've been scrambling to try to restore my finances, find part-time work, and re-build my full-time business. Rest assured that at no point in this did I forget about this guide, I just haven't had the energy, time, or mindset to work on it - I find working on this type of thing to be a good stress relief, but not in the face of that much stress.

I cannot make any promises when I will be able to update and then finish this work. I have every intention of doing so, but while I am currently feeling better and more mentally able to commit to it, I am also working to rebuild my business and about to start a 30ish hour a week night job in a few days and I have a 10ish hour a week volunteering commitment... so time is at a premium. That said, I will do my best to get around to working on it again sometime this summer, after I have a chance to re-familiarize myself with the game (I don't believe I've even played since late last Fall!).

Again, I offer a thousand apologies! I see that other people have gotten some usefulness out of what has already been done and I appreciate your thanks and the rep I've gotten very much! Take care, and I'll try to be less scarce! :-)

EDIT: I see something caused some of the formatting of the guide to become messed up (mostly paragraph breaks disappearing). *sigh* I guess I know what I'll be doing as the very first thing when I pick up my pen (keyboard) again.

[Flinn]

ah man, welcome back

I was looking for your return, I followed this guide since the beginning and found it very useful, again, thanks for your effort.

I've had a look around about gallstones in pancreas, they are not nice at all, do they hurt? It looks like ..

in any case I'm happy to see you back and take your time

F

[Incomitatus]

Thanks. I'm not really back, yet, though. Just announcing my intention to be!

Do the gallstones hurt? In a word, yes, but not all the time. I've learned how not to trigger an attack, so I only get an occasional twinge now and then to remind me I'm not really healed. But, anyway, enough about my health issues... talking about them probably violates a ToS or something.

Am I correct in understanding there have been no major updates to TATW since I was last here?

[Flinn]

Am I correct in understanding there have been no major updates to TATW since I was last here?

yes, there have been no main news on standard TATW since the release of 3.2. As far as I know there are no plans confirmed for a newer version, nor anybody knows (or say ) what is in KK's mind.

Actually I think most part of the people here is playing MOS submod, though others submods have regular players too. Personally I'm looking forward for the DCI: Last Alliance submod, but IIRC the release is planned for the next autumn.

take care

[Arodi]

Hope you're all back in good health. Was going through these pages for any more mention of why you like the Hearth Watchmen, Rivermen and Dalesmen (woodsmen). I wonder what is the precise tactic you employ. Schiltron and pepper them with javelins at your side of the river crossing? Smash with AP from flanks when schiltron is charged? I never played Dale and only just got TATW, but this is what I imagine (and when come home from work, soon will try!). Thanks for elaborating

[Incomitatus]

Now that winter is on it's way here, and I don't participate in winter sports and my work should slow down, I fully intend to edit, polish, and finish this guide before Spring.

Um... does anyone still play this?

[Flinn]

aww mate, glad to see you back!

Um... does anyone still play this?

if you mean Vanilla TATW, I think few are still playing it (at least of the regular members and posters), but the submod community is vibrant and alive, therefore there will always be need for good guides

[Araval]

Glad to see you back!

[Incomitatus]

It's been a rough ride. My gallbladder teamed up with my pancreas to try to kill me, then I started working in a grocery store, then I became a certified wine professional, and now I still work in a grocery store but as the Wine Steward. So yeah... when I was last here, I worked in IT. Now I'm a professional wine snob. Life is crazy.

But I don't like leaving things unfinished. I was editing and cleaning up the first two parts of the guide last night. I'll maybe get some more cleaned up tomorrow. Somehow the formatting when all wonky while I was away...

[zidane_xtc]

Thank you for such a wonderful guide! I have played this game for years. Only, i never completely understood the generals traits. This guide is going to help out so much in the coming campaign. I hope your health improves and you make a speedy recovery.

[DrDragun]

Great to see you back, this is one of the best guides here.

[Nivea for Men]

thanks for this guide, its really useful!