Bree-land and the Shire 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 Bree-land and the Shire and the peace of their homeland. All campaigns start in the Third Age 2980, 39 years before the events of The War of the Ring.

Gameplay Bio: Bree has been the seat of power of the surrounding lands since the fall of the Dúnedain many years earlier and over time, the legacy and majesty of the Dúnedain has dwindled into a memory, a myth, spoken around crackling fires and as a song to delight children. Little do the Bree-landers know that the power rising in the south has spread far and wide and now the north rises once more with genocidal purpose. There are however a select few among the Bree-landers and the Hobbits who are aware of the dangers encroaching upon their peaceful lands, they have regular contact with the Dúnedain and, with Barliman Butterbur at their head, they have formed into a defence Council. Rapidly attempting to prepare the ill-equipped Bree folk for war; a war of survival.

Bree has never had a standing force but they have always had the use of a few battalions of men, most notably are the stout woodsmen, living deep in the wilds and primarily acting as hunters and lumberjacks, at the call of the Council, they now turn their weapons to war and the protection of the Bree-land borders. These woodsmen represent Bree's first line of defence but they are porrly armoured, have weapons not suited to war and have not seen battle for many a year. However they have a strong love for their homeland and their courage is admirable. Should the orc hordes wash away the woodsmen then it falls to ranks of poorly equipped, drafted militia to defend Bree, these men take to the field in ranks of spearmen with tall shields however their courage can be found wanting and many of them will turn and flee if their numbers are low. In light of the lack of men, the Council feared that they could not hold back the tide and so, with help from the Dúnedain, they took the best men from the militia and woodsmen and formed the mighty Watchmen Regiments. The Watchemen first took to the field in the skirmishes around Fornost and proved to be an outstanding force; at their core is a deep founded love of Bree, allowing them to fight on and commit feats of inspiring bravery. Beyond that, they are armoured well with techniques taught to the Bree-landers by travelling Dalesmen and they take to the field in three clear regiments: the Axeguard - despite the name, the Axeguard are the offensive wing of the Watchmen, wielding mighty axes they smash into their foe as a great and powerful wave; the Longbowmen - very capable bowmen who have trained with the rangers and even the elves passing through Bree, they can reduce a horde of Orcs to a pool of black blood with relative ease; the Swordsmen: wielding powerful shields and simple yet keen swords, they form the defensive arm of the Watchmen, able to hold the line against many orcs and come out victorious. Feeling that the situation would inevitably affect the sleepy Shire and not wanting to be seen as cowards, the Mayor of Micheal Delving ordered the Hobbits to arm themselves and they answered the call; the strongest Hobbits formed up into simple bow and glaive wielding battalions, ready to protect their beloved Shire. With their new army and allegiance with the Dúnedain, the Bree folk are finally ready to hold back the storm of the north but only time will tell if they are successful or if the north will once again fall to the will of evil.

Gameplay Tips: As Bree, it is advisable to secure every region from the Gwathló to Bree and with that economic centre under your belt, you can begin shipping units to the north to help the beleaguered Dúnedain however you must be very cautious as the Clans of Enedwaith will begin hitting your southern border as soon as they see the slightest weakness in your defence. If you do not help the Rangers though, then Angmar will sweep you both away...

The french translation is alvailable on Mundus Bellicus