Age of the Ring mod for Battle for Middle-earth II: Rise of the Witch King

While developing the Return of the King campaign, not every member of the team is equally busy at all times. So of course, during downtime, we've created more Adventure Factions! This article features a brief preview of 3 of them.

Like Adventure: Ithilien, The Shire uses a BFME1-style castle as its base. However, each Hobbit-hole constructed has access to the tunnel network and can use the Great Smial ability to summon further Hobbit-holes across the map, allowing the Hobbits to get into and out of the action quickly, allowing for surprise attacks and fast retreats.

To get the Hobbits moving and ready for battle, the faction starts with a free Hobbit Hornblower unit, whose abilities buff all Hobbit units and allow the player to quickly summon more.

The Shire features all-new heroes such as Old Gaffer Gamgee, as well as wholly new versions of Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin - with new art and abilities based on their status as princely halflings when they returned home to the Shire after their adventures. Merry and Pippin, for instance, can mount their ponies as Knights of Rohan and Gondor. There's also a brand-new Ring Hero in Old Master Bilbo!

When Hobbits aren't enough, The Shire can call upon the aid of the Strange Folk Abroad via the Bustling Inn, when can deploy a random battalion of Eriador-located soldiery to the field.

Using the Supply Cart, The Shire has access to themed upgrades, as well as Gandalf's fireworks, applied to a Firework Launcher that can deal good siege damage as well as black back enemies using Squibs, Cracks and Backarappers.

While this faction might feel a little silly, it's capable of taking on anyone and emerging victorious through courage and determination. It's also filled to the brim with little Tolkienesque references and Shire Deep Lore™.

Like The Shire, Adventure: Last Alliance starts out from a BFME1-style castle. However, the faction has access to Heralds of the Last Alliance, who can plant Standards of various factions involved in the Last Alliance across the map. These Standards grow in strength as they rank up through nearby enemies being slain, fortifying nearby troops and in the case of the Standards of Khazad-dûm, Lórinand and Eryn Galen unlocking new heroes and units from those respective armies.

Last Alliance features a ton of all-new and reworked heroes. Elendil, Isildur, Gil-galad and (Second Age) Elrond have been previously playable in the first mission of our campaign, but for this they were given all-new spells and abilities. Additionally, Anárion makes his long-awaited entrance. Through the Standard system, you can also unlock Durin IV of Khazad-dûm, Amdir of Lórinand and Oropher of Eryn Galen. The latter two can even summon their heirs who were present at the Last Alliance: Thranduil and Amroth.

All in all, the Last Alliance faction is a true Second Age power fantasy: it has powerful and versatile units and some of the most legendary and powerful heroes of the legendarium. Its unique mechanics allow for a slow and steady march upon the slopes of Mount Doom, destroying all evil that stands before it. And should you find the Ring, think long and hard what you will do with it...

Unlike the previous two Adventure Factions, Adventure: Minas Morgul is much more clearly based on its host faction: Mordor. However, Minas Morgul has much more of a central standing army of Morgul Orcs of all variations (including brand-new ones), supplemented by auxiliary forces based around Morgul Sorcery: Corrupted Thralls, Shades of Ithil, Sorcerers of Minas Morgul, Morgul Castellans, and the dreaded Reapers - Trolls equipped with jagged armour and giant scythes.

The concept of Morgul Sorcery plays a central role throughout the faction. Morgul Sorcerers, recruited from the new Morgul Dungeon structure, empower friendly units at the cost of their decay, and they can disrupt enemy lines and send forth waves of Shades to clear out enemy units. The Morgul Sorcery fortress upgrade empowers all of Minas Morgul's structures; allowing them to terrify nearby enemy units as well as unleashing the tortured spirit of Eärnur, the Last King of Gondor, who vanished after accepting a challenge issued by the Witch-king himself.

Additionally, we've created two brand-new Morgul captains: Murgash and Guritz. The faction's Nazgûl heroes are also stronger than those in standard Mordor, with adapted ability sets.

Adventure: Minas Morgul should satisfy those that have often felt that Mordor wasn't orc-centric enough, as well as those looking to descend further down into the abyss, to wield the abject terrors conjured by Middle-earth's most wicked of beings...