«Play on an extensive historically accurate map of Middle-earth as it was in the Third Age, including 114 settlements taken straight from Middle-earth lore and completed with several fictional locations. Visit the wonders of Middle-earth, like the Three Towers, the Argonath or Durin’s tower and see all the unique locations of Middle-earth like Minas Tirith, the Black Gate or Isengard. See the hills of Rohan, the huge forest of the Mirkwood and the dark ash of Mordor.»

The long-awaited The Lord of the Rings modification for ‘Medieval II: Total War – Kingdoms’, called ‘The Third Age: Total War’, has just been released. Play as one of twelve factions – including Gondor, Rohan, Isengard & Mordor – on a map of Middle-earth:

Map of Middle-earth

Go here to find the download links and more information on the mod and the release!

Faction Icons

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The Dead Marshes

`Middle-earth Role Playing´ is a total Conversion for `The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion´ based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. With a completed heightmap work is progressing well for the team, with modellers creating assets and landscape artists bringing the world to life. This latest media update brings us various high resolution pictures revealing just some of the beautiful and detailed work accomplished so far.

Barad-dûr

You can download the older version 0.2.2 from the `MERP´ website here. Or view the rest of the media update on the Bethesda forum thread here.

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Original post written by Kasabian for Mod Realms.

A new gallery has been set up, this time featuring screenshots from ‘The Last Days’, a The Lord of the Rings modification for ‘Mount & Blade’. You can check out all the images here. For more information about the mod proceed to their forum.

Variags of Khand

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A new preview showcasing the ruins of Osgiliath has just been posted by Llew2 from the ‘The Last Days’ team. This means, of course, that we’ll be able to headshot some Orcs (or Men if you’re more into the evil side of things) surrounded by the beautiful, if ruinous, environments of the Citadel of the Stars in the next instalment of TLD. Here be screenshots!

The shadowed ruins of Osgiliath

The latest version of ‘The Last Days’ is for the old ‘Mount & Blade’ v0.808. Find out more about the mod on their forum.

Osgiliath was once the capital of Gondor

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The Dragons Skin Regiments

«The Easterlings have been under the influence of Sauron, and before him Morgoth, it would seem from the very beginning. However it is their more recent dealings with Sauron that concerns us most. Before Sauron had established himself in Mirkwood he sought security in Rhûn. He used this time in the east to build the loyalty of the Easterlings. Around 1050 of the Third Age Sauron rebuild Dol Goldur in Mirkwood; however he maintained his ties with the Easterlings. He constantly sent emissaries to the men of the East to ensure they kept up their raids. These emissaries would eventually help establish the tribe known in the west as “The Wainriders” as the pre-eminent tribe in Rhûn. They were eventually able to establish a loose confederation under the leadership of the Wainrider Warlords. It was these warlords who attacked the west in 1851 of the Third Age by assaulting the lands south of Mirkwood. A constant state of war existed between the Wainriders and the West as an Alliance with Khand and Harad was formed. However with their defeat at the hands of Gondor in 1944 of the Third Age the Wainrider influence in the east disappeared. The tribes were fragmented once again and the alliances with Khand and Harad fell apart.»

Easterlings vs. Knights of Dol Amroth

The Easterlings of Rhûn are the latest faction to be previewed by the ‘The Third Age: Total War’ team, and, in addition to much information about their take on the faction, we get an absolutely massive amount of screenshots to gawk at. Make your way over to the faction preview thread to join in on the gawking!

Easterlings vs. Gondor

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Forlong the Fat

A new gallery with Merlkir’s concept art for ‘The Last Days’, a Lord of the Rings mod for ‘Mount & Blade’, as well as some other Tolkien-related art, has been added to the site. You can check it out here.

More of Merlkir’s work can be found here. Follow this link for more information on TLD.

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A gallery has been added with screenshots from ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’. Click on the link to the gallery on the right under the Main Menu, or follow this link to go to it directly. More screenshots and galleries will be added in the future, so be sure to check back regularly!

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The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #4

The Grey Wizard: Leader of ‘Middle-earth Role Playing’

This interview was first posted on the 24th of March, 2007.

COR: The Grey Wizard from the ‘Middle Earth Role Playing | Total Conversion’ mod for ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ has been gracious enough to agree to answer our questions for this fourth Middle-earth modding interview. Many thanks, Grey, and welcome.

Grey: No, thank you, it’s an honor.

COR: So, where are you from, Grey?

Grey: From Middle-earth of course Actually I prefer not to disclose my whereabouts.

COR: And what does the Grey Wizard do when he’s not practising his wizardy on Oblivion?

Grey: I enjoy exercising, especially swimming. I always have to keep forces such as the Balrog and the Witch King in check, and that requires good physical strength and endurance I am also a high school student, so much of my time is spent in the class room.

COR: Most people have heard of the Elder Scrolls series of games, and Oblivion, but for those who may not know anything about them, could you give us a brief description?

Grey: The Elder Scrolls games, such as Morrowind or Oblivion are Single Player Role-Playing Games. They focus on an in depth world and in depth character generation and exploration, though Morrowind retains role-playing roots more so then Oblivion does. For information on this great series check out http://elderscrolls.com

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«Ever wondered what might happen if a legion of Rome got lost and found itself in Middle-earth? Well, wonder no longer! Play as Rome – or any of the Middle-earth factions – and find out what happens to the brave Julii!»

‘The Lost Legion’ is the semi-retired master modder Palantir’s (also known as MasterOfNone & Dol Guldur) latest foray into the modding field. The mod is an addon to the ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ version for ‘Rome: Total War’ v1.5, which lets you play as a Roman legion mysteriously stranded in the world of Middle-earth. The entire premise for the mod can be found in the screenshot below:

Find out more about ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ at thefourthage.org, and grab ‘The Lost Legion’ here.

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