LotR: Realms in Exile 2.2 The Shadow on the Sands news

Return of the Crusader King

G’day and welcome to the Realms in Exile mod for Crusader Kings III, Paradox’s great grand strategy game. I am part of an incredible team that has heeded the call for adventure into Middle-earth! Together we are brining the immersive world of Middle-earth to CK3, full of the diverse characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

bb_blockquote wrote: “I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit
(generally with meticulous care for distances).”

– J.R.R. Tolkien.

Realms 2.2 is a major release, the mapping scope has more than doubled the size of Middle-earth between releases. For that achievement into Far Harad, it is the work of the Realms development team. We were delighted to be awarded Top 5 New Mods of 2020-2021 and be placed in the Top 100 Mods of 2021 and are very grateful to the Realms community. Crusader Kings 3 is very deserving of recognition for its modding communities.
– from Matt Alexi

Steam Workshop Link:
Steamcommunity.com

Paradox Plaza:
pending

Official sub mods:
LotR: Realms in Exile CK3 Music:

• Removes music from LotR: Realms in Exile.

Steamcommunity.com
Mods.paradoxplaza.com

LotR: Realms in Exile Unix Fix

• Fixes a visual issue when playing LotR: Realms in Exile on Mac or Linux.

Steamcommunity.com
Mods.paradoxplaza.com

bb_blockquote wrote: Realms in Exile refers to the kingdoms that formed after the destruction of the isle of Númenor. These are Arnor, Gondor, Umbar, Bellakar and Thôn an-Khârlôkh. Gondor features in the third book of The Lord of the Rings. It is ruled by the stewards of Minas Tirith, as their king was lost in a duel with the Witch King of Minas Morgul. Arnor is the lost realm of the north, Aragorn is chieftain of its few survivors. Umbar was once a city of the Númenóreans at the height of their power in Middle-earth, now it is a mighty haven of corsairs. Bellakar and Thôn an-Khârlôkh are former colonies, far to the south, and the books do not mention their names.

Features

With the announcement of Royal Court and its sweeping changes to the culture systems in Crusader Kings III, and with our gargantuan exploration of the Far Haradwaith, this update has taken its sweet time under the southern sun to be released. Yet, with release there is now a great many lands, vast and bountiful for you to explore.

There is precious little known about Far Harad and its people, the region's name refers to it being the furthest lands of the south, very distant to the wars fought by the Free Peoples against the Dark Lord Sauron in the Third Age, and almost unknown to the writers and editors of The Red Book of Westmarch. What is known comes through stories of war, many of the Haradrim were subjugated by Sauron and forced to join his war against Gondor. In Harad we know there were many ethnicities and cultures, rich coastal cities, remnant kingdoms of the Númenóreans and great Haradrim empires.

We plan to release Realms 2.2 before the release of the Royal Court Expansion DLC, and after, release Realms 2.3 to provide compatibility with the newly released DLC.

• Play as Denethor, the Steward of Minas Tirith
  
  • Your son, Boromir, is a great captain of men; how long must a kingdom be without king? And though you do not see it, Faramir stands beside his in brother in valiance.
  • Special buildings for Minas Tirith, Minas Ithil, Dol Amroth and Pelargir.
  • Unique city, castle and temple 3d models for the Dúnedain culture.
  • Events for the Return of the King.
  • I will see the glory of Gondor restored. For Gondor! And the White City!
  
  Play as Sauron, the Lord of the Rings
  
  • Send forth your Nazgûl and Uruks who will lead the vast armies of orcs to overrun Middle-earth, driving the free peoples into the sea.
  • A full set of Uruk buildings to industrialise Mordor.
  • Dark Ritual Activity.
  • Sauron shall rule this Middle-earth.
  
  New in this release:
  Play as The Golden King of Abrakhân
  
  • Subjugate the Far Haradwaith with missions and decisions unique to Sauron's principle servant in the South.
  • Special buildings for Abrakhân: the Zekhetz Palace, Abrakhân Bazaar and the Grand Noria.
  • Ground-breaking terrain features for CKIII: the alien landscape of the Mirror of Fire and the rocky deserts of Dârsalan.
  • Mission illustrations by Angelique Shelley, DireImpulse. Thank you, Angelique, for your powerful influence on the design of Umbar for many artists through your Children of Harad Project. Deviantart.com Artstation.com
  • The time grows late, Golden King, Third of the Nine. Your orders from Mordor are to subjugate the Dune Sea, Nâfarat and Mahûd, and after they have fallen, you shall continue your conquest of the Haradwaith.
  Play as King Vâtalinar of Rây, the Jungle Paradise
  
  • Rây sits in an uneasy quiet. The Solar Dynasty under Vâtalinar maintains their vice upon power, yet this realm strains in rebellion.
  • 3d art for holdings: new sets for the Râyan, Nâfarati and Umbarean cultures.
  • Extravagant Coat of Arms by Cryyc and Vierwood for Gondor and the realms of the Haradwaith.
  • “And the Gods, beholding the ruin of the designs of proud Vâtra, robbed of house and raiment of flesh and form, harkened to shining Ladnôca, whose light was gentler than his, and lordship more kindly…” – Exerpt from the Kât-Polozây, the ancient divine epic of the Haradrim, preserved in Rây.
  
  Play as High King Nîlûhîn II of Bellakar, a Realm Diminished
  
  • A dynamic and young ruler, proven in battle and in court. It falls to house Tumakveh, chosen of the Moon to shoulder the burden of the Free Peoples in Harad.
  • Strength in Diversity: Born from the melding of Adûnai and Haradrim culture, the people of Bellakar made something new by uniting their diverse gifts and countless talents.
  • Partnership between the Expanded Mods Family and Realms gives new crowns and clothing for the cultures of Far Harad.
  • Ordained by Ladnôca as her champions, the Tumakveh cannot rest quietly while Bellakar remains threatened by the Shadow. The guardians of Bellakar stand implacable as the mountains, and as unreachable as the moon high above.

Map Expansion
Reworked the titles of Rohan and Near Harad. Edited the baronies of Osgiliath and Umbar.

Greatly expanded the region of Haradwaith and added Far Haradwaith. Almost doubling the number of complete empires with five additions. Nineteen new kingdoms.

Added the realms of Abrakhân, Rây, Bellakar, Tedjin and the Stormhost.

Activities
Set sail on the open seas in search of adventure and plunder. Master the waves with the new Mariner lifestyle trait and become famous (or infamous) for your prowess at Sea.

bbCodeBlock wrote: From the North to the South, River Khâr into Anduin,
From the deep Belegaer to the isle of Anadûnê.

Tributaries
Tributary, client state and protectorate system adapted from The Four Nations CK3 Mod.

Events
Tedjin Civil War: the old Kataj is dying, barely able to avoid factions in his realm from tearing each other apart. With foreign powers intervening in the unrest, a civil war seems inevitable that is sure to determine the balance of power in the region.

Additional flavour events adapted from VIET with permission.

Realms 2.3 is Royal Court
Our plan for Realms 2.3 is to develop a patch solely to ensure compatibility with the new Crusader Kings III Royal Court Expansion DLC. You will not need the DLC to play Realms in Exile.

Realms 3.0 Elves of Middle-earth
In Realms 3.0 turn your eyes to the War in the North. Seated at Dol Guldur, the Nazgûl Khâmul of Rhûn wages war against the Elves of Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm, Northrons and Beornings. In the Battle-Under-the-Trees the march of the elves to protect the Free Peoples against the horrors in Mirkwood may be their final destiny.

Game Manual

For a guide on all of the new features included in LotR: Realms in Exile 2.2 please consult our game manual.

Soundtrack

LotR: Realms in Exile has been given permission to add The Silmarillion part 1 and The Silmarillion part 2 Legends of Númenor complete soundtracks by composer Stan Lockfield.

THE SILMARILLION Complete Original Soundtrack (Part 1) - Stan Lockfield - YouTube

THE SILMARILLION Complete Original Soundtrack Part 2 | LEGENDS OF NÚMENOR - YouTube

Team Members

Lead Development Team

• Arsonium
• BoneLorde
• Jaime-san
• Matt Alexi “Legoman”
• Owlcoholic/Rewinged
• VectorMaximus
• Vierwood

History

• Azagal
• Grell
• Lonhaldar
• RedArkady

Scripters

• KrispyJones
• Gdawgatl
• Gseg
• LordEngineer
• Tsf4

Artists

• Allegro
• AnOldRetiredElephant
• Celticus
• Clifford Art3D
• Cryyc
• Darnokthemage
• McCoy
• Ercarp
• LordEngineer
• Pondzy
• Pureon
• Tyler
• Super7700
• Zeid

Writers

• BaelishPasta
• Coffing
• Esthiel
• Julius Caesar
• John Henry Eden
• Jord

Translation

• wknder
• Nemesis
• Al3xell
• Gseg

In Development Projects

• Amici
• Axios
• Bagration
• Boots
• Brice Underhill
• Cabinet
• Flalf
• GeekyOwl
• GoDream
• Killerham
• Loon
• LooseTongue
• Malderyn
• Nazgûl
• Seansoken
• Shulky
• Slymanjojo
• “037”

Beta-testing

• Jermanlord
• “Juke™”
• Rémerod

Join the team!

The Realms in Exile team is scouting for modders, artists and writers. If you are enthusiastic about LotR and Paradox Interactive's Crusader Kings III, then we would love for you to join our team. Your contribution may be large or small, every single character decision or sprawling event tree will help to fill in the spaces between the words.

If you are interested then we have a role for you. You can contribute by showcasing your works on our Realms in Exile Discord community.

Our Discord is the place to be, you'll be able to join the developers of Realms and receive our latest news.

If you're interested in CK3 modding be sure to check out the CK3 Modding Coop.

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