Campaign Reports

[CountMRVHS]

Yeah, I've never made more than a couple of Wain Bows in an entire campaign as the Dwarves. Not that I've played them too often, mind you.


I'm around... 380 or so in my RK campaign. It's funny; I feel as though I've been playing a *lot* and must be approaching the endgame, but it's only been 50 or so turns. That's certainly because of the sheer size of the RK's realm and the number of battles you'll fight right from the earliest turns.

Things are going quite well. Adunabar is almost eliminated in the North. I crushed another big army of theirs in a siege defense, and was able to go on the offensive. With no more trolls and very few elite troops left, they weren't able to prevent me from taking all of their core territories save Threeways (which I left as a buffer between me & Tharbad). I took Lastbridge and gifted it to the Elves to prevent war with anyone east of the High Pass. During the maneuvering I lost Amon Sul, but that's not a big deal. I've currently got the last bastion of Adunabar's forces under siege in Carn Dum, then will send those forces south (letting Carn Dum rebel), take Sarnford (which is still rebel-held), and then finally take Threeways. I'll have no other rivals in the North at that point, so Tharbad can do what they want - let them attack me!

Harad has lost its fight, it seems. They landed a force on Tolfalas and marched a big army toward MA, but didn't declare war on me. They were even happy to make peace with Harondor after the latter took Ur from them. Far Harad still has all of its initial territories, and Khand took Caras Agar. What's up, Harad??

So, I started a war. Got that army off Tolfalas, and Harad & Harondor fighting again (the old "get your allies to reinforce you when you attack a nearby enemy fleet" trick); hopefully Harad will start to make gains into Harondor.

Because Harondor is actually more of a concern now. They took Emyn Arnen before I did, and I need that for victory. I'd rather not backstab my ally. On the other hand, if Harad is also at war with Harondor, *maybe* I could get a protectorate out of it. Meantime, I've got a full stack on Tolfalas just sort of waiting - do I send them to the Umbar region (which would be fun), or keep them as a reserve in case Harondor gets uppity?

I did make some gains into Mordor, but nothing dramatic. I've taken MI, Cirith Duath, and Barad-eden. Adunabar can still assemble big armies from its Nurn provinces, but I have a 2-catapult, 6-archer full stack army that is pretty good at dealing with them. The plan is to consolidate some of the forts and maybe Ost-in-agarlad before pushing toward Nurn. I also want to keep my armies somewhat close, in case Harondor starts a war.


I've been able to do more building than I ever have in an RK campaign. Was pleasantly surprised to find that, with Muster Fields in Bree, I could train Rangers of the North! I guess I had forgotten about the Ranger Hold building that starts there. Annuminas just finished Hosting Halls, so I can train some cav up there finally. And elsewhere, fun units like Blackroot Vale Bowmen and Lossarnach Axemen are coming on line & joining my armies.

I have around 80k in the bank - thanks in part to Harad's desire for ceasefire, which I've been able to periodically get for 15k. Of course, if I start taking land in Umbar, I imagine those payments will stop.

[Wambat]

Turn 78. This campaign is just getting more fun.


Rhun is my first real war of this campaign, in a sense. I am not piggybacking on and screwing- with some other ally's war. Although I was able to get Dorwinion involved in this war, there has not been much activity on the Dorwinion front. They besieged Raichost for one turn, but were repulsed and seem to have shifted their attention to Rhovanion again. Too bad for Dorwinion, as I would not have gotten in the way of their expansion eastward. They might try to take Thôrdram next by the looks of it.


I have been able to field three near full stacks against Rhun south of Narag-zigil; all pretty well balanced in composition; and have had no difficulty in soundly beating every stack Rhun has sent toward me, and they have sent plenty.


Fortunately, when Mordor was carved up, RK got Cirith Gorgor, so Rhun has only been able to send reinforcements from one direction. Lith-morchant has already rebelled; it can only be attacked by RK, whom I can thwart with a cavalry unit I have in the area, or Rhovanion, who I would let take the province, for now. I am already converting Braig Estolad, and have just captured Erebost. Once Erebost revolts I should be able to get my ceasefire with Rhun and then concentrate on Rhovanion once again.


After capturing Erebost (over 5k pop there!), Rhun has been scrambling some small stacks in my direction; all 4 or 5 units each and easily mopped up.


My espionage campaign is significantly more challenging than in my Elven campaign. Of the 3 scouts and 4 rogues sent against Rhun, only one each survive currently, and I have been careful to send them against the easiest targets. My agents are doing a bit better against the Beornings, but are not doing much damage; mostly failing missions.


I am doing what I can to prop up Adunabar. The Beornings bypassed Amon Sûl and Bree, besieging Threeways. I had my token unit ready to throw in the towel if the Beornings looked poised to take the settlement, but Adunabar was able to take out the Beorings with little trouble. Seems the armies of Adunabar do much better in real-time than they do in auto-resolve. Got less than 5k for a ceasefire from Adunabar, but better than nothing.


Dunland's only interest seems to be frustrating my expectations. While they lost the relatively worthless settlements of Caew-en-Drúin and Erindôl, they have taken Helm's Deep, and from the looks of the wagon train from that settlement, they now have a significant boost to income. Rohan seems to be very ineffectual at this point.


Harad and Khand (KHAND!!!) have been eating up Far Harad, which is down to just Caranbad (currently besieged by Harad) and Athancaras; it does not seem I am likely to achieve my ambition of preserving all factions in my campaign. I have the idea that I might ally myself with Harondor. Normally I would avoid this as it would likely get in the way of my alliance with RK, but if I get military access I can not only block the Poros; preventing conflict between Harondor and RK, but block the Harnen as well, in the event Harad threatens to invade Harondor. I may also be able to insinuate myself in some of these southern conflicts and get some more ceasefire income comin' in.


I must say: This may be the most fun I have had in a RTW campaign. All the double dealing and manipulation is making me feel like an 18th century European monarch. Freed from having to appease the sensibilities of the WotW factions, I am finding some clever ways of getting money out of the remaining factions. If I can figure out some way of preserving Far Harad I will feel very clever indeed. Perhaps I need to send an expeditionary force down south to besiege their last settlement to prevent anyone else from doing so.

[CountMRVHS]

Can you imagine what Far Harad would think? They're barely holding out against a mighty empire and aggressive barbarians, when all of a sudden out of the North comes an army of short, bearded guys. Maybe they're here to help? Oh, nope. They're besieging us.

3 near-full stacks is quite an achievement - especially to have them all concentrated like that. The most I ever had in one area was the 1.5 or 2 stacks I sent far into the South.

[Wambat]

comes an army of short, bearded guys. Maybe they're here to help? Oh, nope. They're besieging us.

Well, it's for their own good!

It's a touchy proposition. I only have two possible means of access: Either from the west, approaching through RK, Harondor and Harad, or through Rhun and Khand (KHAND!!!) in the east. The western approach is impractically long, and getting alliance from Harad is not something I really want. I had already planned on getting an alliance with Rhun after my war with them is over; hoping to break their alliance with Rhivanion; but I don't know that that is an alliance I can maintain for more than a couple turns due to the potential for conflict between Rhun and Dorwinion. And then I would be gambling that Khand will not back-stab my vulnerable troops on their long trek to Far Harad, AND counting on Khand being the faction which besieges Athancaras, which is not at all certain.


This all makes for a very big risk, and will cost something like 20k up front, if not more (for the alliances and military access), and I will have no assurance that Far Harad will not fall before my troops can get there. I guess we will just have to see how things go. With my luck, even when I no longer share a border with Rhun, they will probably refuse to sign a ceasefire with me. I don't think I can force my way all the way south, and I don't want to have substantial numbers of valuable troops stuck in the south, I want to send just one, or a few, units of cavalry.

3 near-full stacks is quite an achievement - especially to have them all concentrated like that. The most I ever had in one area was the 1.5 or 2 stacks I sent far into the South.

The three stacks are near all my units east of the misty mountains. I have been very proactive in recruiting every mercenary I can find at every opportunity. I also completely mobilized Erebor; nearly all Axe-throwers. I plain on disbanding most of these Axe-throwers back in Erebor once I convince Rhovanion to become a protectorate. I rather prefer the Shield breakers to the Axe-throwers.

[CountMRVHS]

Oh, good call to get those troops out of Erebor while you can! In my last campaign, Dale bottlenecked me in there; I had around a 3/4 stack that just couldn't move, so I had to disband them.

I'm not sure if it's my imagination, but I prefer the Axe-throwers - the Shieldbreakers seem more vulnerable than I would expect, and IIRC they take longer to train.

Of course, Longaxes are where it's at.

[Highland Laddie]

I find its better to keep minimal troops in Erebor at all, and keep them garrisoned in the Iron Hills region on the border with Dale. They can easily sweep down and intervene if necessary

[Wambat]

Oh, good call to get those troops out of Erebor while you can! In my last campaign, Dale bottlenecked me in there; I had around a 3/4 stack that just couldn't move, so I had to disband them.

Thanks for the reminder. I will get some troops stationed to keep that path open to me. I really want to start taking advantage of Erebor's population growth. Dwarrowdelf is already supplying population to other settlements.

[Wambat]

Looks like I am guilty of propagating false information. My stack besieging Erebost (IP) just got attacked by Rhun. I guess my success with this tactic was just coincidence in the past. I still have firm memories of not being able to attack a host besieging a third party I was not allied with, but that is either a mechanic that applies only to the player, or I am miss-remembering. It is still not a bad "poor-man's buffer" to have IP factions between you and other aggressive factions. If you are not at war with the other faction they will not attack (i.e., start a war with you) in the territory of the IP province. Also, AI factions tend to like to absorb all the bordering IP provinces first, before starting wars with other factions, so preventing an IP province from being claimed can temper aggression considerably.


Turn 84 now.


I am rampaging through Rhun; scorched earth policy; due to their refusal to give me favorable terms on a ceasefire. I have plenty of money, and if I was as smart as I am greedy I would just pay for the sake of pursuing my goal of getting Rhovanion as a protectorate. But ... I'm not.


In the mean time, Rhovanion has acquired the Elves as an ally, which may mean I cannot attack Rhovanion without losing that alliance myself.


Dunland lost their hold on Helms Deep, but they still have some healthy stacks piled up and I would not be surprised if they took it back soon. Adunabar is floundering, and it is only my constant intervention which prevents them from be gobbled up by Tharbad and the Beornings.


I am still pouring a stream of agents into the Beornings' heartlands. They are having good effect, but damn are they dropping off like flies. They don't seem to get above the third rank, and that is just not high enough to prevent them being lost regularly in missions.


Harondor is infuriatingly refusing to grant me military access, leaving them open to assault from Harad, who is now on the offensive again.


I have started work on the Hall of Assembly. With any luck I will get my king over there before he dies and see what all the fuss is about.

[Beorn]

Here's my Tharbad campaign, after having completed my victory conditions

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Took Swanfleet and Threeways as soon as possible, and sent a small army to capture Limfalas within the first couple of years. Dunland spent the whole campaign fighting Rohan to a stalemate around Dol Baran, they have way too many armies doing nothing for 2 decades or so close to my borders. Adun didn't try to retake Threeways and while they were busy I captured Taurdal, Lastbridge and Ettendale, gifted all to RK and focused on capturing the minor Minhiriath towns. With my Northern border secure, I sent an expedition to capture Andrast, and got lucky with Erindol too which had revolted from the Dunledings. After that I slowed, built constantly and bought Thoronburg Keep from RK to create a chokepoint down there in case of betrayal. In the last few years, the Beornings invaded Eriador through High Pass and took Lastbridge from RK. Bad decision, as Rohan was able to sweep them from the south and soon afterwards Dale decided to eliminated them, so the Vales were drowned in Beorning blood and I managed to buy Lastbridge and High Pass off them for a discount getting control of the Eastern gateway to Eriador too.

East of the MM, Rhovanion did well for a time but crumbled when Rhun and Dale combined to attack them. Rohan took advantage of Adun's losing wa to RK in the south and advanced into Wilderland, taking territory from Rhun and Beornings. Dale is the thug of the area, they did Rhovanion, Dorwinion and NR one after another, and will destroy the sons of Beorn next, while they begun sending stacks through Angmar to Eriador, kicking the ass of the sorry remnants of Adunabar at the northern wastelands. I'm probably next, as they are massing armies around Oldford.

Rhun slowly crumbled Rhov and Adun from the east, but lost a lot of ground when they faced RK in Mordor and the RK/Rohan coalition north of the Black Land. They managed to stamp Khand and horde-ify them, which may have serious consequenses in the southern wars in the next decades.

FH had made a league with Khand and Harondor and pressured the Serpents from all sides, slicing towns off them left and right; The greatest beneficiaries of the League were the Princes of Harnen, who firstly cut Harad in 2 taking Ur and Achas Annabon, and afterwards marched towards the sea, conquering through red Banners all the way to Umbar. Due to their unabated ambition though didn't stop there. Being the new superfaction of the South and enjoying a peaceful border at Poros, they turned rogue against Khand which was reeling from Rhun's ackstabbing and took the Eastern Haradrim regions, controlling their initial areas, plus the starting Harad territories except from Caranbad, the last bastion of the Haradrim.

Overall, it was nice seeing the AI factions wage war on each other, but I wasn't attacked by almost anyone after the first scuffles with Adunabar, which was a quite disappointing

[CountMRVHS]

Fascinating stuff!

In my RK campaign, Harad didn't start to do well until around FO 410. Previous to that, they had lost territory to Khand (Caras Agar), failed to take *any* of Far Harad's settlements, and lost Ur to Harondor for a time. After 400 they slowly began to push back against Harondor, though the situation with FH and Khand remains the same. I notice that, when Harad begins to take territory north of the Harnen, there is a *very* brief window of opportunity in which to prevent them from overrunning all of Harondor. But still, it seems that in several campaigns lately, Harad has not been quite the bully that we've expected. (Part of Harad's slowness to expand *may* have had something to do with the fact that I was bleeding them dry on ceasefires, at 15k a pop. I probably made over 150,000 just from ceasefires. Not sure if that money actually comes out of their budget, though, so maybe it didn't really hurt their production capability.)

I succeeded in getting Tharbad as a protectorate recently, but have a similar problem as when I was Rohan and got Dunland as a protectorate: I lose the protectorate when I go to war with the protectorate's other ally, in this case Adunabar. Fortunately, I have all the territory I need from Adunabar, and they don't seem interested in attacking me yet. So for now, I'm content to just sit back and pour my efforts into the war in the South. If Adunabar attacks, I'll try to eliminate them as a faction, and then get Tharbad as a protectorate again.

I managed to take Emyn Arnen from my ally, Harondor; paid around 110,000 for it, but I consider that just fine. I got military access from Harondor as well, which cost me around 30k. Of course, having Tharbad as a protectorate is helping with my finances quite a bit. If my "report from last season" is to be believed, I'm regularly getting over 10,000 a turn in tribute.

My only territory south of the Poros is the closest Harondor town, which I may end up gifting to Harondor (who is reduced to the 2 coastal towns currently) so that I can press on against Harad. I'm preparing an amphibious assault which will be directed against Umbar - probably involving a landing just south of the mouth of the Harnen, and sacking the 2 Harad settlements on my way to Umbar City. But those full stack armies are really dangerous, and I admit I haven't quite figured out the best answer to all those *!&%(#& Swords of Harad. When on the attack, catapults are very effective; when on defense, less so, since the enemy doesn't stand still. But I don't think I can transport catapults by ship.

Despite my Faction screen telling me that I have 45 settlements (due to the Tharbad protectorate), I haven't technically "won" yet; further evidence that your vassal's lands don't really count as your own for the purposes of determining victory. Tharbad currently owns 5 towns, so I'll need to conquer 5 more to win. In theory, I'd love to force Harad into protectorate status before wrapping this campaign up. I just need to keep up the pressure in Harondor with my land army, and do well in Umbar with my ship army. We'll see.

[Wambat]

Here's my Tharbad campaign, after having completed my victory conditions.

It's pretty cool to see a player make it to VC almost completely non-violently. I wonder if you could have managed without going to war with Adunabar. Did you get involved in diplomacy much with shifting alliances and such?

[Beorn]

No, just the standard stuff; I am allied with RK, Rhoan and Harondor for the entire game, and had alliances with Rhovanion and Dorwinion before they died. Afterwards I allied Dale, and that's all. Trade rights with everyone, and whenever I want I can get a ceasefire (no meney though) from Adun but I prefer using them to kill my unwanted FMs

[webba84]

Just wanted to comment how much I enjoy reading these reports and how good it is to see people enjoying the mod so much, thanks guys!

[CountMRVHS]

FO 428, and I'm closing in on victory with the RK.

I lost Tharbad as a protectorate in an unexpected way: the faction was eliminated, despite holding 5 settlements. Greyholm (owned by Tharbad) was under siege by Dunland, and I figured I'd be a good overlord and help them out. We won the battle, but Tharbad's general was killed - and he turned out to be the faction leader. No heir; faction eliminated. Dunland begged peace (which I let them have for 15k), then they grabbed the now-rebel Greyholm, while I took the Southguard Fort and Tharbad itself.

Also, despite my efforts I was unable to save my ally Harondor. Harad had them down to 1 town a few times; I would get an army together, march down Ithilien, take a town, gift it to Harondor - but get so chewed up in the battle that I needed to go back to retrain. Until just recently I couldn't keep up the momentum, and Harad managed to take one of Harondor's 3 towns, which resulted in the death of all Harondor's FMs. So now there is a rebel town just south of the Poros crossing, and another just south of the Poros mouths. I own the central town, and have the other 2 (owned by Harad) under siege.

South of the Harnen, I have taken Umbar and the town to the north - which is currently under siege by one of those big Harad stacks full of swordsmen. Assuming I can hold out, I plan to push on and conquer all the coastal settlements, including forts, then head inland and see if I can force Harad into protectorate status.

Adunabar is still complacent since our ceasefire. They own Rivendell and some lands in Mordor - but recently they have been attacking Rhun, who seems likely to collapse under pressure from Adun. and Dale. I've never seen Rhun horde; that'd be interesting

Dale is my biggest concern at the moment. They are the strongest faction on the map, apart from me, and just pushed over the Anduin to take land from Rohan. I really don't want to fight Dale, but nor do I want Rohan to be destroyed.

Well, currently I have something like 43 settlements. Victory requires 45. So if I plan to really push Harad into protectorate status, I'll need to go beyond the VCs in any case.

[Wambat]

Until just recently I couldn't keep up the momentum, and Harad managed to take one of Harondor's 3 towns, which resulted in the death of all Harondor's FMs.

I have noticed the AI factions tending to concentrate their FMs in this way. Is there anything that can be done about this behavior?

I really don't want to fight Dale, but nor do I want Rohan to be destroyed.

What I would do; what I am doing for both Rohan and Harondor; is using my neutrality and military access to block fords.

[The Sloth]

Here is a nice story about my elven campaign. It took me some doomed attempts to get a hang of DoM’s balancing, but this one feels like it’s going to work out properly.

It is the age of men. My elves wanted to take things easily, but when Glorfindel heard that some Melkor-worshipping scum was squatting around in Rivendell, the former home of his good friend Elrond and Glorfindel’s own residence for many years, he took some sympathizing elves and marched right to Imladris, chastising any cultists on his way. With Rivendell swiftly taken, Glorfindel once more tried to have a good rest, hanging out in the gardens and clearing out the odd orc fortress.

Elsewhere in the elven realms, the Galadhel assumed dominion of the surrounding central Anduin vales and offered help and guidance to the local men. The elven fiefdoms in Feorfold, Langwyke and far-away Lune developed nicely, but this was not meant to last. Not only did the cultic cancer grow until it reached the elven borders, flooding Langwyke with wave after wave of depraved lunatics. The Beornings, too, had long harbored deep superstitions against the elves. Superstitions that led to fear, and fear that led to hatred. Soon, they went to war, too, and just like the rest of the world, the elven lands became a constant battlefield.

Glorfindel, in his newly conquered fortress atop the High Pass, ground his teeth. He had known plenty of war before, and he secretly admitted that there was no real reason why the age of men should be any better than the elves’. But he just couldn’t help it. He had thought that after thousands of years, the world would finally have become a better place. But instead, he heard that his allies in Rohan and the Reunited Kingdom were rapidly nearing total annihilation. The age of men was a cesspit of fanaticism, greed and darkness. He had fought dragons and balrogs since time immemorial… for THIS?

And then, Glorfindel just… snapped.

He left his army in the mountains, and accompanied only by his closest companions, he rode into the Anduin vale. What followed is known among Elves and Elvelyn as Glorfindel’s Wild Hunt. He crushed the Beornings without even noticing them. He rode south, meeting the cultists who were foraging in Elvelyn lands. At this point, the cultic commanders noticed a strange phenomenon, a sort of dead zone where entire armies would just… disappear. And that zone was growing. And coming closer. Glorfindel rode south into the Brown lands, leaving a carpet of famous battle markers in his wake. He broke down their gates, killed every last defender and scorched their fortifications. He did likewise in Ithilien. And in Gondor. To the Reunited Kingdom, he returned the cities they had lost. There, he once more saw the blue ocean, calling out to him. But it was only a few years and many dead cultists later that he allowed himself to take a ship to the immortal lands.

Rumor has it that his parting words were something along the lines of: “And don’t you dare make me come back!”

[CountMRVHS]

Wow, excellent job with Glorfindel! I've never taken him east of the Misty Mountains, let alone as far away as the Brown Lands or Gondor. Hopefully you've dealt Adunabar a fatal blow.

Thanks for the reminder Wambat - I'll get a little army over to one of the fords in Rohan. I'm a little worried Dale will simply attack me along the one border we share (I own Emyn Muil; they own the Brown Lands). But better than Rohan getting destroyed.

As for the AI dropping FMs in single cities, I can't think of anything that would help it. In Harondor's case, they had been down to single towns multiple times, so it's understandable that their FMs would be rather concentrated.

[webba84]

LOL at Glorfindel, you've definitely worked out the right way to use him...

[Wambat]

QUOTE=CountMRVHS;15126356]I'm a little worried Dale will simply attack me along the one border we share (I own Emyn Muil; they own the Brown Lands). But better than Rohan getting destroyed.[/QUOTE]


Are there any other neutral factions left in that area? Rhovanion or the Beornings? If Dale attacks you, you could take Mid-deeping and gift it to a third party. You could even be proactive and buy Mid-deeping off Dale and gift it to someone else before Dale gets a chance to go to war with you.


On turn 90 now.


I just captured Lond Nurnen. Rhun is one stubborn SOB, simply refusing to accept a ceasefire for less than 60K plus a couple of my cities. So far I have razed Erebost, Thâm, Amrûndôr, Adel and Athrad-morn, and Rhun is as far as ever from accepting defeat.


Rhun has helped me put the last nail in the coffin of my earlier miss-information. Rhun besieged Erebost (IP) for a while and I found I was able to target their stack for attack. For whatever reasons, after besieging Erebost for long enough to actually starve the IP garrison out, Rhun broke the siege at the last turn and left. I guess they realized I would just take it right back from them, so why bother.


I was able to get a few cavalry units to Harondor, and get military access from them, just in time to secure the ford of the Harnon against the hordes of Khand (KHAND!!!) right after said hordes claimed Ûr. As a result, the two empires, Harad and Khand, who had allied to take on Harondor, have now made war on each other. This should be interesting.


Far Harad is still hanging on to their last settlement; they even repelled a stack from Khand. I was getting depressed realizing that I would have no way of intervening to save Far Harad from its seemingly inevitable fate, but then remembered those handy-dandy garrisons that come along with diplomatically acquired settlements. I was able to get Harad to sell me Anorlith for a mere 10k; a sum which I think was fully recovered when I sold off all the buildings; and got a full stack of little garrison units, with a couple of Southron skirmishers thrown in for good measure. Now I have a stack of these guys headed to Athancaras and should be able to completely encircle the settlement and prevent Khand from eliminating Far Harad. I should also like to gift Anorlith to Far Harad, but Harad has a stubborn half stack in place next to the settlement; wont move; and would certainly take the settlement back from Far Harad immediately if I gave it to them. Oh well.


North Rhun has finally moved its half dozen stacks from around Fornhûd. I don't have my own scouts in the area (all with the Beornings) so I don't know where they all went, but two of them are hanging out by Garth, and I sincerely hope they will be sent to take Belegant. If they are I have a unit in place to take part in the battle. I will be able to throw the match, ensuring Dorwinion loses the settlement, and should then be able to sell a ceasefire to North Rhun in exchange for the settlement (or take it from them by force if they prove as stubborn as their cousins to the south).


Dorwinion's spirit seems to have been broken. They were not successful in taking any provinces in their war with Rhun; I think every stack they sent East was destroyed. They have not taken a stab at Rhovanion again. I am really not sure how I am going to go about getting a protectorate at this point. Maybe it will end up being Dorwinion.


I currently have scouts and rogues working on five of the Beornings' core settlements in the Anduin Vale. I think the combination of this espionage, and continued interference with attempts to expand in Eriador by Tharbad and the Beornings is starting to show positive results; with Adunabar showing signs of increased strength, and assaults by the Beornings becoming less frequent. I am selling ceasefires to Adunabar nearly every turn, getting between 3 and 5k each time for that and trade rights, plus another 1.5 to 2.5k from Dale subsidizing the next assault. These amounts keep fluctuating back and forth; not showing signs of diminishing returns.


Dunland is a beast, they have taken three of Rohan's core settlements in as many turns. I was hard put to get units in place to block the ford of the Entwash and keep Rohan from getting wiped out altogether (would not have happened if cavalry mercs had not been available near Lathron). All Rohan's reserve forces seem to have been swept aside. Edoras having fallen, I do not see Aldburg lasting long. I have the crossing west of Calembel blocked. I have to admit; my mouth is watering just a little at the prospect of getting my hands on Edoras and Helm's Deep. I wish I could get my hands on more FMs, I have not had a single promotion from the ranks this entire campaign.


RK seems to have dangerously low numbers of troops, but that may be because many of their stacks are hidden in ambush. For some reason, Harad keeps landing large stacks next to the un-walled Harlorn and just sitting there; not taking the settlement; until RK finally sends their own stack to kick them off the island. No landings on Gondor the entire campaign.


Dale is interesting. Naturally, with nobody messing with them the entire campaign (I don't think they have had a single battle, even with North Rhun) they have tons of full stacks, and more than half of them squatting around the Dorwinion settlement of Rathwin. I do not see why. Dale seems to have military access rights with Dorwinion, so they could just send the stacks through to Gaurgaul. Perhaps Dale is using these stacks on Dorwinion's lands to extract tribute. This may also explain Dorwinion's current lack of interest in expansion. If once I finally start a war with the Beornings, Dale's western borders will be completely undefended.

[The Sloth]

A follow-up on my elven campaign.

Sadly, Adunabar did not dwell on its defeats at the hands of thirty-something horsemen, and swiftly built up its military again. The same could not be said of Gondor, as elven spies did not report the training of a single unit in Minas Arnor, even after the Reunited Kingdom hesitantly rebuilt some low-tier barracks in the White City. Having once more turned cultic, Adunabar set out to retake their lost lands, one city at a time.

The elves were of little help, as they had no riders of Glorfindel's caliber, and enough trouble of their own. The Tyrant of the North, the king of Dale, in one of his frequent bouts of insanity, declared war on them. He sent his armies down the Anduin Vale, and waited for news of their campaign. And news came indeed, but the ones to bring them were the elves of Greenwood, who decended on Dale and Esgaroth in the middle of the night and took them with a few short and arrow-filled fights. Meanwhile, the Galadhrim claimed their western holdings. The dwarves watched indifferently, or even with some satisfaction, as they had abandoned the mad king years earlier, when he attacked Rhovanion for no discernable reason.

In Ediador, the Lindon and Rivendell elves launched a pincer attack on the Adunaic forces, who had just expelled the remnant of the Reunited Kingdom that still had clung onto Annuminas. The campaign lasted for many years, as both parties were running short on troops, but in the end, the cultists were driven out, and the Elvenking announced the founding of the Northern Forrester Principality. Eriador found peace, at last, and just when it seemed that things couldn't go any better, an envoy from Tharbad arrived, asking for an alliance against the Dunlendings who were severely pressuring them in the South. The elves agreed, and as a token of friendship received the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil...

... which got me the victory screen, except I couldn't see anything, because it was all black. Too bad.

I kept playing a little, and a Nolor adoptee had begun to oversee the restoration of Ost-in-Edhil. But with Eriador and Dale, I forgot about my southern front, and Adunabar came knocking again, this time with olog-hai. I had neglected the development of Lorien, and lacked the elven archers I would need to take out the trolls. Which is why I have decided to restart once more...

One... more... turn...

But seriously, the southern front around Langwyke, Feorfeld and Amon Lanc is a strategic nightmare. The frontlines are quite small, but all three settlements can come under attack, and the paths between them are so bad that relief armies take too long and expose themselves to ennemy attack, too. The forrest right up to the river bank is still dense enough to hide your army, so you never see anyone coming. I had spies buzzing around just so they had a chance to detect an ennemy army by running right into them. If there were roads, locating the ennemy wouldn't be so hard, but of course, those settlements can't build them. Next time I'll try to at least block off Among Lanc with a fort on the forrest path.

On a different note, I had always thought that wood elves were a disgrace to their kind, squishy as they are. But it turns out that if wood elves don't work, you simply didn't bring enough of them. Once the arrow-storm is dense enough, they'll obliterate just about anything, as Dale's warrior elite can attest.