Faction Strategy Preview: The Reunited Kingdom news - The Fourth Age: Total War mod for Rome: Total War

The Reunited Kingdom

On paper, this may look like the same Reunited Kingdom from The New Shadow, plus some provinces in Arnor. But looks can be deceiving, and the RK stands to play out quite differently than in previous versions of the Fourth Age.

One reason for that difference, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is the sheer number of additional factions in Dominion of Men. The New Shadow has six playable factions. DoM has around three times that, and plenty of those new factions are in the immediate neighborhood of the Reunited Kingdom. All those factions – even the distant ones – make for a varied and dynamic diplomatic experience.

I'll give an example from my recent go as the RK. As you would expect, the RK/Harad war can play a large role in the early game. In previous versions of the mod, if you were playing the RK, Harad wanted to kill you with a suicidal enthusiasm. There was very little room for strategic wrangling; you had to either play defense or commit to a long and costly war of extermination, because you presented Harad's only way forward.

But in DoM, Harad begins play surrounded by three minor factions - the Principalities of Harondor and Far Harad, and the Chiefdom of Khand – with some rebel provinces for them to squabble over in the far East. In my game, I was able to ally with Far Harad and Khand, after which Khand and Harad immediately went to war. The next turn, a Haradrian emissary arrived at Minas Anor begging for a ceasefire. Peace only lasted a few years, but during that time I was able to extract some tribute from my erstwhile foe and use the mirian to build up my infrastructure – and to send some money to my distant allies, in the hopes that they would continue to cause trouble for the Empire!

The ability to ring your foes within a web of alliances, and the shifting nature of diplomacy in general, seems to lead to more realistic wars, in which factions must pause and catch their breath before continuing the assault. And because of the Reunited Kingdom's widespread holdings across the map, they are in an excellent position to take advantage of the diplomatic opportunities that may open up.

So let's discuss those widespread holdings. The most notable feature of the RK is that it is split into two separate territories, roughly corresponding to the old kingdoms of Gondor and (part of) Arnor.

In the south, the RK faces off against the rising power of Adunabar across the Anduin. Players of TNS will recall the land between Minas Anor and Minas Ithil as the site of critical battles for both factions. But in DoM, it will not be enough simply to take Minas Ithil; the rival Dunedanic kingdom of Adunabar also holds lands in the north, and may not be crippled by the outcomes of a few battles and sieges.

Harad, as noted above, is one of the RK's chief rivals, but the presence of the Principality of Harondor between the Poros and Harnen rivers may make for a useful ally that can delay a northward Haradrian push – and if nothing else, Harondor will slow the enemy advance.

Just north of the White Mountains, Rohan and Dunland will be locked in combat. As steadfast allies of the RK, the Rohirrim may send armies toward Minas Anor to aid in fighting against Adunabar – so a gracious king would return the favor, and help put down the Dunlendings, if he could afford the expense and the manpower.

Before we turn to the northern territories, I should also mention the core Gondorian provinces. In past iterations of the mod, the settlements between Dol Amroth and Minas Anor served as the incorruptible heart of your realm – you could expect them to stay loyal with only minimal investment while you focused on waging wars in the East or South. In DoM, however, more factors can affect the loyalty of your settlements: a weak king, or one who embraces the teachings of the Shadow Cult; not enough nobles to govern your towns and cities; too much war and too little investment in infrastructure. The result is that the player cannot afford to neglect his homelands while waging war on the borders.

In the former lands of Arnor, the Reunited Kingdom is not so well entrenched as it is in the southern realm. Cities like Annuminas and Fornost have a great legacy, but they lay well outside the orbit of the King for centuries, and have only recently begun to be repopulated. The civil war that created the Kingdom of Adunabar has split these lands as well, and the Cult has a presence in the north as it does in the south. So a king of the Reunited Kingdom may be fighting a war on three or four fronts long before he is able to link all of his territories.

Fortunately, all is not grim in the north. The RK has several potential allies in the region, most notably the Shire faction, which depends upon the protection of the King. The Elves and the Dwarves have settlements nearby as well, to the west of the Shire. However, the RK is more likely to serve as a bulwark for these peoples against the Cultic forces that have arisen in the lands of Rhudaur and eastern Arnor – they will make good trading partners, but may not be able or willing to provide military aid.

Along the Greyflood, the City-kingdom of Tharbad guards the trade routes that flow north, south, and along the river. Its Merchant-king often prefers a stance of neutrality to other factions, but Tharbad is likely to resist Adunabar's advances into its territory, and to hold off Dunlending assaults as well, making this faction a useful barrier against more aggressive neighbors. Of course, Tharbad's precarious position may make it an unpredictable ally or trading partner. If it deems you a threat to its independence, it may throw in its lot with your foes...

But regardless of the initial state of your kingdom, you'll need to expand beyond its borders. And the Numenorean heritage of the rulers of the Reunited Kingdom means that you have a claim to lands that are far from your homeland regions. For this reason – as well as for all the reasons listed above – an RK campaign can unfold in a variety of ways.

For example, a natural end to your war with Harad would see your fleets sailing south and your stalwart infantry capturing coastal settlements all the way to Umbar. Bribes, payoffs, and alliances could encourage factions such as Khand and Far Harad to join you in subduing the inland holdouts of the Empire. Meanwhile, your forces could simply hold the line of the Anduin near Minas Anor, while your northern armies push Adunabar out of Arnor. Once Arnor is recaptured and Harad is no more, send your battle-hardened troops into the Black Land for the climactic end to the civil war.

Another path would prioritize the uniting of the ... um, Reunited Kingdom. Hold the bridge at Osgiliath and the fortress at Cair Andros, and train an army in central Gondor to defend against seaborne invasion from Harad's strong fleets. Aggressively aid your allies in Rohan by putting down the Dunlending chiefdom once and for all, and claim independent territories in and around Enedwaith to link your northern and southern lands. If the upstarts in Tharbad object, they will have to face the might of your victorious army!

There are a host of other options – you could, for example, push eastward into Mordor and Rhovanion, taking settlements all the way to the Sea of Rhun and bringing those lands back into the Kingdom's fold – and they are all possible because of the rock-solid infantry and elite archers available to the RK. The defensive nature of your forces allows you to set up a strategic defensive line almost anywhere, and concentrate your invasion exactly where you want.

I mentioned elsewhere that the Reunited Kingdom campaign in TNS was the only faction I haven't played to completion. Given the many strategic options available in the final version of the mod, I know I won't want to miss out on the RK campaign in Dominion of Men.