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

Discuss in the forums.

Tags: Creative Assembly, Easterlings, M2TW, Medieval II: Total War, Rhûn, TATW, The Third Age: Total War

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!

Discuss in the forums.

Tags: Creative Assembly, FATW, Gallery, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Fourth Age: Total War

«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.

Discuss in the forums.

Tags: Creative Assembly, Fantasy, FATW, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Fourth Age: Total War, The Lord of the Rings, The Lost Legion

The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #2

Palantir: Coding Manager of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’

The Guards of the Citadel await the onslaught

This interview was first posted on the 16th of October, 2006.

COR: Greetings! This is the second instalment in our series of Middle-earth modding interviews. This time we have managed to catch Palantir (MasterOfNone/Dol Guldur at other sites) of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ for an interview. Palantir, thank you for finding the time for a chat.

PAL: Delighted. You did well to catch me!

COR: Can you tell us a little about yourself, how old you are, where you live and what you are up to in ‘real life’?

PAL: Well, I’m thirty-cough and live in England. I am often up to many varied things one of which is modding – a terribly time-consuming hobby with a tough learning curve for something unpaid.

COR: Could you tell us what your job is in the mod team?

PAL: Currently I am the Manager of the Coding Department and also one of the three Mod Team Managers. I have a number of other roles such as a lore researcher, Middle-earth Consultant (chiefly on geographical matters), Designer (non-graphical), writer, and a game researcher (the latter of which is still much a part of coding). My task in the early days of the Mod was to research and design the concept for the campaign map. But, to be honest, I have done a bit of everything with the exception of modelling – I do not possess 3ds Max or the skills to use it.

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Tags: Barbarian Invasion, BI, CI, Corsair Invasion, Creative Assembly, FATW, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Fourth Age: Total War, The Lord of the Rings, The New Shadow, TNS

The Chamber of Records Middle-earth Modding Interview #1

Wlesmana: Creator of ‘The Lord of the Rings: Total War’

The charge of the Rohirrim: Forth Eorlingas!

This interview was first posted on the 23rd of September, 2006.

COR: This is the first instalment in what will be a series of interviews dealing with Middle-earth related modifications. We have been extremely fortunate to have Wlesmana, creator of Lord of the Rings: Total War, as our first interviewee. Wles, thank you for accepting our invitation to talk with us.

Thank you for having me. It is an honor.

COR: Tell us a little about the man Wlesmana: where you’re from, how old you are and what you do when you’re not busy with LOTR:TW.

I’m 29 years old and when I’m not busy with modding, I try to spend time with my wife. Usually by watching movies or playing video games. I’m born and raised in Bali, Indonesia, went to university in University of Michigan then worked in US for a while. I’m back in Bali now.

COR: Could you tell us about the premise for LOTR:TW? When it is set, which factions are, or will be, included, if there is a storyline behind it, etc.?

The premise of LOTR:TW is to control the massive armies as seen in the movie trilogy and create epic battles. The storyline is set during the War of the Ring, which will be the title of the campaign.

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Tags: Alexander, Creative Assembly, Interview, J.R.R. Tolkien, LotR, LotR:TW, Middle-earth, Rome: Total War, RTW, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: Total War