Total War: Wainriders is a full-conversion & fully modfoldered modification for Rome: Total War - Alexander. Inspired solely by the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien, it seeks to reflect both the spirit and lore of Middle-earth as Tolkien saw it. Total War: Wainriders is being built by the Fourth Age Total War team on the excellent foundations of the Dominion of Men mod for Barbarian Invasion, but completely reworked to take full advantage of all the features of Alexander. It will feature fully overhauled factions, an updated campaign map, and new mechanics and gameplay systems all designed to effectively transport the setting of the main campaign to T.A. 1864 and tell the story of the great conflicts of Middle-earth at that time.
The Iron River, that the Elves and the Men of Gondor name Angren, flows through many lands to the Sea – hills and plains and whispering marshes. But it has its source in the arms of the mountains, near the black spike of Orthanc and the mighty ring that circles the tower. Old is that stonework, and maybe none now live who can craft its like. At the height of Gondor’s power, the fortresses at Angrenost and Aglarond guarded the northwestern borders of the kingdom, and watched the traffic along the North-South Road.
But in the Great Plague, the watches on the borders faltered. Many of the soldiers and their families removed eastward, across Calenardhon, and command of the strong-places was left in the hands of hereditary chieftains. Of the defenders of the fortresses, only a few claim descent from people of Gondor; most are folk whose forebears have dwelt in this land since before the coming of the tall Men out of the Sea.
Some call these latter Gwathuirim, people of the shadows of the hills and mountain vales. Of late, as the power of Gondor seems to wane, more and more of these folk cross the Angren, moving with their herds or seeking secure homes. Many take up arms in service of the chieftain, manning walls and patrolling lands that seem almost forgotten by the King, troubled as he is by the threat of invaders from the East. And west and north for many long leagues, the lands are unwelcome to strangers. The North-kingdom far away is rumoured to be beset by sinister powers; few riders come from that way. The people of the Enedhwaith, the Middle Wilderness, have offered little trouble in the past, but perhaps the time is right for a chieftain of the fortresses to begin to gather such folk under the banner of the Tower, to ensure that some other leader does not raise them in war against the old Numenorean defences.
To whom does a chieftain’s allegiance run – to an absent lord, or to a people without a leader?