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 lands southeast of Mordor are dry and hard, but above the stubborn grass and stony plains the skies are clear. In between dwell men who are likewise: tough and clear-eyed, ever looking to the horizon.
Raids and petty wars are common with the people of the southlands. Of late, some of these tribes of the Harad have united and grown strong, but for now their gaze seems turned to the west, toward the cities and strongholds of the tall sea-kings that are known mostly as rumour in Khand.
To the north, a mighty people has arisen, the dust of their chariots’ passing broken only by the flashes of their spear-points – but Khand is also a land of warriors and hunters. Whether these folk come as powerful allies or as would-be conquerors, the people of Khand will be ready.
The chieftains of this land know the power of the one some call Lord of the Earth – his iron-bound stronghold in the East, his promises of mastery. But in their dreams, they may hear the horn and hooves of a laughing hunter who passes over the plain like a thunderhead, then fades into the west. Whether the chieftains will bend the knee to the Power that has favoured other nations with gifts and rewarded their service with might, or choose a separate path, less certain but more free, remains to be seen.