Thranduil's Realm feature - Divide and Conquer mod for Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms

Welcome to Third Age Total War: Divide and Conquer submod! As the current writer on the DaC Council, I am proud to present you with some long anticipated information on the new factions of DaC and the major changes to the vanilla factions. This bio is of the Woodland Realm; the northern Elves of Mirkwood. All campaigns start in the Third Age 2980, 39 years before the events of The War of the Ring.

Gameplay Bio: The Elves under Thranduil's care do not actively seek out war, they prefer to hide in the shadows and rout or kill any invaders that come near to their underground home. However that is not to say that they lack the courage or aptitude for war, far from it! Courage is a trait that the Elves have in great supply, every elf is willing to lay down their life to protect the mighty creations of Yavanna and to protect those that they hold dear. Elves find their soul mate young and the bond between them becomes unbreakable. With this love burning in their hearts, they have become some of the fiercest warriors to walk the plains and forests of Middle-earth.

The Elves of the Woodland Realm are, unsurprisingly, known for their great archery abilities. Even the lowliest recruit has skill way beyond some of the well trained archers amongst the Edain. When an army streams forth from the Woodland Realm, it does so with a flurry of arrows falling all about their enemies, their militia battalions are archers, their trained warriors are archers and it is not until you get up to the higher nobility and elite elves that their skill with a blade becomes apparent. The best of the best amongst the Woodland Realm are a group of Elves collectively known as I Arachír (The Highlords). The name is justly fitting as they are all masters of their weapon of choice; the spear, the sword and the bow. Donning strong golden armour, they can stand up to the very best that the evil shadow of Mirkwood can supply, never faltering, never retreating and taking no orc prisoners. Years of fighting with the Shadow has lead to numerous unique battalions springing up over time in order to fight in different parts of the great forest. To defend the King, Amon Lanc and the beauty of Caras Galadhon, the Elder Guard were established by Oropher many years ago. Their ranks are filled with survivors of the Last Alliance and Elves who have shown equal feats of bravery. They wield the finest bows of the wood and an armour unseen on the plains of Middle-earth for thousands of years. Very few can bring them to heel and very few servants of the shadow have ever returned to tell of these fearsome Sindar warriors. Alongside the Elder Guard come the wisest of the forest, the Elder Council. They have always appreciated the tactical superiority of guerilla war in the trees and as such, they throw mighty javelins and encroaching orcs then wield fearsome spears to attack as though the trees themselves were lashing out. Having spent their entire lives in and around the forest and earning the name Council for the advice and information they can provide on woodland warfare, they are very reluctant to leave the sanctity of the trees and are rarely seen outside the borders of Mirkwood. It is the nature of the woodland realm to dispatch their foes from afar; be it by use of bow or throwing spear and should the enemy get through the storm from afar then they have to contend with some of the oldest, wisest and fiercest warriors on the face of the Earth. Orcs do not take forays into the north of the forest lightly and few ever return.

Gameplay Tips: To play as Thranduil's Realm is to play with an nation of archers and not to use those archers is tantamount to insanity. Push hard and fast toward Dol Guldur before they can build up their strength and cleanse the forest as early as you can. Should you choose not to fight Dol Guldur then you will have a challenge on your hands...

The french translation is alvailable on Mundus Bellicus