I almost didn't recognize you with that new avatar, webba.
It's genuinely good to see y'all are doing well.
I almost didn't recognize you with that new avatar, webba.
It's genuinely good to see y'all are doing well.
The hammers ring in the mighty forges of Khazad-dum, where Durin, sixth of his name, is king.
Durin's Folk
Deep they delve, the folk of Durin. For many years has the West-gate been shut, and the Great Gates open mainly for traffic from their kin far to the northeast. The world beyond the walls was plunged into the dark of Sauron’s rule, but for centuries the Dwarves have filled their great city with the light of mithril - ever rarer, ever more precious.
Some hold that the greatest glories of Khazad-dum are in the past. Perhaps it is time to prove that the Dwarves are strong, even without the aid of the Elves or the service of Men - to seek out mansions in the mountains of the north, to take back Gundabad, ancient hall of the eldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves.
Such an enterprise will come at great cost, and with the wars in the world outside, only one way is left for a Dwarf-lord who will arm his people and supply his hosts.
Delve deep.
Tier 1
Dwarven Axes
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Dwarven Bows
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Tier 2
Dwarven Warhammers
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Dwarven Axethrowers
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Tier 3
Dwarven Shieldbreakers
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Dwarven Ballistas
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Tier 4
Guards of Khazad-dûm
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Dwarven Siege Ballistas
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Tier 5
Durin's Guard
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Special Units
Wandering Longbeards
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Wandering Firebeards
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Wandering Broadbeams
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list! All rosters are a work in progress and unit list may not be complete or finalised; appearance and description may change in the final release.
In Wainriders, we finally have the long desired opportunity for multiple Dwarven and Elven factions. Of all the potential Dwarven factions in the mod, the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm are certainly the strongest, but also the proudest and most insular. Since the shutting of the West-gate around S.A. 1697 Durin's Folk have increasingly looked inwards, and downwards, and now have few dealings with elves or men. Therefore this is a purely dwarven faction; others will be more cosmopolitan.
Count and I regularly go over all the source material for this period and generally discuss every last detail of what goes into each faction, so if you have any questions about the omissions, changes, and inclusions for Durin's Folk circa T.A. 1864 post them below and I'm sure we will have some interesting answers for you!
Ngl, I like that red Dwarven banner better than the one from FATW, because of the colour combination. Are the wandering companies faction-specific mercenaries?
Here is a short (heh) video preview of Durin's Folk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7E_WOnz3UU
So... 3 Dwarven and 4 Elvish factions then?
Right. So I'm guessing Khazad, Erebor... Blue Mountains? Or were they too sparsely populated. For the Elves I suppose at 3 it'd be a straightforward Lindon/Rivendell, Lorien, Mirkwood. Also, love the blue capes on the Guard.
You've got 4 of the 6 correct - Khazad, Erebor, Lindon/Rivendell/Lorien (as a single faction), and Woodland Realm.
Can't remember if we're keeping any of the factions a surprise or not, so I'll leave it there for now
Hmm my personal take has always been that any Avari by the Third Age have long been subsumed into the Silvan peoples of Lorien and Greenwood, but I trust you guys to make even the most thinly sourced faction lore-plausible. Dwarves on the other hand we know still had mansions in the East, with a few even taking Sauron's side in the War of the Last Alliance.
Last edited by SnuggleBunnies; September 18, 2020 at 06:20 PM.
We appreciate the trust, and will try not to abuse it!
The Avari are fun to think about (and not just because there's practically no information about them at all) and I guess it's for that reason as much as anything else we want to include them in the mod. TW mods are, after all, about alternative histories and changing the course of events (or fulfilling them) so it is good to give players interesting choices and challenges.
Also, we needed a faction in that area and a mannish Dorwinion south of the Celduin does not work in the era when the Wainriders had rendered that whole area subjugated, so we have come up with an alternate campaign situation around the Sea of Rhun, which I think you will find to be both lore appropriate and fun.
Of the lore reasons for including them, the fact is that we had lots of discussions and research to get to the decisions we've made now, but a lot of it was already several years old and I've forgotten a large chunk . The key aim, which is really the only way to do it when there's so little of Tolkien's actual opinion on the topic, is to avoid contradicting anything known, and to make it believable. I think our plan achieves both of those things.
Incidentally, Avari moving westwards towards the Woodland Realm is a concept that will be featured in the mod, so it's not completely in opposition to your views on what likely happened to them. (For what it's worth, while I find it believable that an Avari realm could have survived to this period in the East (which was after all very large, and seems to have not been heavily populated by men in the northern reaches at this point) my personal view is probably that Morgoth hunted them, and incited men to hunt them, more or less to extinction before the end of the first age, aside from those that escaped west. But this is not as interesting as coming up with an Avari faction, so I'm happy to go that way instead ).
Something I do recall about the lore is that we very much enjoyed these couple of articles on the topic, which probably don't have any information you haven't seen before but are very well reasoned and expressed:
Was Dorwinion an Elf Kingdom?
What Happened to the Elves Who Remained in the East?
Yes, the lore is fuzzy and leaves plenty of wiggle room off on the edges of the 'known' world, and of course it's an approach the mod has taken before. In lore terms after all, it's highly implausible that the Elves will do anything other than slowly leave/fade in the Fourth Age, but that doesn't make for a fun campaign, so you all came up with the at least lore plausible and certainly more fun approach.
I think I have been a bit leery of the Avari because of their treatment in fan fic and other mods, which tends to be... I don't know, way too sexy for Tolkien? As in, sexy at all, and weird? I know the Fourth Age team can be trusted to stick with the more serious tone of Tolkien's work.
The dark heights of the Eryn Vorn receive the winds of the Sea. Of late the winds bring only clouds and rain and the smell of salt – but in the days of long ago, before the Dark Years, the winds brought great ships like floating houses bearing men tall and stern. These strangers made settlements along the coasts to the south. They disturbed the land. They hewed down trees. And they made war.
Black Forest Tribes
Only dim memories and faded stories remain of those days, when the fearsome Elves fought against the loathsome Orcs of the Dark One, who brought fire and ruin to the waste the new-come men had made. Now, there come stories of wraiths and evil hill-folk from the north, while rumours whisper of other troubles far to the East.
But from stockaded homesteads deep in the pines of the Blackwood, and from villages hidden among the reeds, the people of the forests and the coasts have begun to gather. Far from the eyes of the mighty kings of men, the tribes are growing strong under warlike chieftains. It has been many lives since they crept from the shelter of wood and bog, but the time is at hand when the foes of the Black Forest will go in fear of the night, when the wind will speak to those enemies of the feathered shaft and the hidden spear.
Tier 1
Coastal Raiders
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Coastal Hunters
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Tier 2
Longspearmen
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Woodmen Foresters
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Tier 3
Blackwood Warriors
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
War-dogs
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Chieftain's Guard (Bodyguard Unit)
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Special Units
Drû-Wardens
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Shield Sisters
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list! All rosters are a work in progress and unit list may not be complete or finalised; appearance and description may change in the final release.
After showing three fairly major realms of the period we thought it was time to share one of the smaller and less important factions in the mod. The Black Forest Tribes represent the much maligned natives of the coastal regions of Minhiriath and Enedwaith, and are probably a bit of an underdog even in this remote corner of Middle-earth. A fairly primitive faction, both lore wise and gameplay wise, they should present a fun and difficult campaign for the experienced RTW player who would enjoy the challenge of bringing some good fortune to the long-suffering Gwathuirim.
Important Announcement: Total War: Wainriders now has it's own page over at moddb, which will later on be where the download is hosted. Head over there and follow the mod to make sure you never miss an update!
I am getting strong Attilla TW vibes from this faction, nice!
Love the frequent updates. Do you know yet what the total faction count will be?