General background scripts: This mod has a handful of passive background scripts which pertain to some of the mechanics below, as well as automating the "Peace with the Dead" system that prevents the relationships between living and dead factions from disrupting diplomacy. At the start of a campaign or when loading a save, click on any settlement you own, which will show an advisor window; by clicking on the scroll (NOT the dismiss X), scripts will become active. Be aware that activating scripts will deactivate the info scrolls dotted around the map, so do any lore reading before you get going!
Castles: All Dunedanic factions, Southron factions, and the Dwarves, as well as Dale, Rohan, Dorwinion and Eriador are able to further upgrade fort buildings into castles, which have an expanded build tree of low-level construction (traders, first tier ports, etc), as well as Specialty Buildings normally reserved for 4th tier cities. Castles near to a given faction's homelands will provide a small but universal trade income bonus, representing increased patrols on the roads, while other castles will provide trade locally only. Upgraded forts that always possessed a mannish population will offer additional recruitment options with an XP boost. Any fort that used to contain orc recruitment options (ie mordor, the grey mountains and misty mountains, etc) will not have new recruitment options.
City Ruins: Roughly a dozen locations around the map will appear as ruins, or "Petty Holdings" in the UI. These locations cannot build anything, but may be restored to functionality. Human factions can station any general with the Intelligent and Energetic traits in one of these locations, which will prompt a rapid burst of population growth; once the settlement reaches 12,000 population (unfortunately a hard-coded number), you can upgrade the governors building of the settlement, which will allow establishment of regular dominion buildings and disable and reverse population growth. There are a few variants to this system: Dwarves specifically can only rebuild Orodengrin in this fashion, and are also able to restore Gundabad by sending a character of Durin's line to the ruins. Elves will still only be able to restore Ost-in-Edhil (An elf governor of Noldor or Sindar heritage with the Foresight trait must be present, the Dwarves must own Dwarrowdelf, and you must not be at war with them). The AI have a few bonuses to help them restore locations as well.
Expansion Scripts: Most factions (excluding the Reunited Kingdom, Adunabar, Harad, Dale, Rohan, and the Dwarves and Elves) will have a set of conditions listed in their faction info building, which appears in every settlement on the game map, based on who you're playing. This may entail expanding territory, restoring settlements, or both. Once fulfilled, taking your faction leader to the capital will generate a bonus building which offers faction-wide bonuses, new recruitment options, and a crown ancillary for the king.
Strong and Weak start Adunabar: There are two options for the campaign's start, one where Adunabar is still a fledgling nation without much military power amassed in the south, and another where Adunabar has already rebuilt the Tower of the Moon, and it stands as a near-rival in power to Minas Anor. The strong start is the default setting and will involve a rebuilt Minas Ithil with a stronger garrison, and the AI receiving more powerful script-generated stacks at the start of the campaign. The weak start is closer to classic 3.4. Both versions are included in the extras folder of the download; just drop the data folder into your fatw folder and overwrite all files to change between the two.
The Palantir and the Iron Crown: There are several major artifacts from the Third Age and earlier hidden on the map. Recovering any of these items and returning it to its place of origin (Minas Anor for the Osgiliath Stone, Minas Ithil, Annuminas, or Amon Sul for the other respective stones, or Carn Dum for the Iron Crown) will trigger scripts which will not only allow you to recover these powerful ancillaries if the holder dies, but also may provide new recruit options and faction-wide bonuses. The Palantir can be found in Forochel regions or along the Anduin by constructing Great Dredgers, and the Ithil Stone and Iron Crown can be found in Barad-eden and Ettendale, resp, by building a mining network.
Treasure Hordes: Several locations (dwarf settlements, Thranduil's halls, and most rebel orc provinces, and Mathom House in Michel Delving) contain treasure piles or equivalent, much like in the original game. New, however, is the chance to find rare but powerful loot in these areas rather than deconstructing them for cash. It's up to you which option is more important in the long run.
