LotR: Realms in Exile news

Crusader Kings in Middle-earth

G’day and welcome to the Realms mod for Crusader Kings III, Paradox’s great grand strategy game. I am part of an incredible team that includes modders from previous Paradox titles in Imperator: Rome, Europa Universalis IV and CK2. Together we are building a map of Middle-earth, full of the diverse characters and cultures seen in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

The map of Middle-earth that we have created is one of the most detailed of a LotR video game, there are thousands of provinces thanks the lead cartographer BoneLorde. Rewinged [Owlcoholic] is working on Rohirrim portraits and units. Arsonium is making magic happen through scripts and events. Tsf4 is working on the rich tapestry of Tolkien’s legendarium.

The first release will showcase The Riders of Rohan as they are beset on three fronts by the wizard Saruman, Dunlendings and Leofring bandits. The starting year is 3000 of The Third Age. Time enough to set in motion The War of the Ring!

Realms in Exile refers to the three kingdoms that formed after the destruction of Númenor. These are Gondor, Arnor and Umbar. Gondor is well known and features in the third movie of the LotR trilogy. Arnor is a lost realm of the north, Aragorn is a chieftain there. Umbar was once a city of the Númenóreans at the height of their power in Middle-earth, now it is a haven for corsairs.

Bookmark Characters

Realms will release The Riders of Rohan first, followed by updates including the rest of Middle-earth.

• Play as Théoden King of Rohan
  • In the year 3000 the prince Théodred, son of Théoden still lives and rules the Westfold.
  • On the map are special buildings for Helms Deep and Edoras.
  • Unique cities, castles and temples for the Rohirrim culture.
  • Forth, Riders of Rohan, and fear no darkness!
• Play as Saruman the White of Isengard
  • Choose to betray the light and use the palantír. Build an army worthy of Mordor!
  • Corrupt and empower with the voice of Saruman.
  • Hire mercenary companies such as The Raiders of the Adorn, Bandits of the Limlight, and the Minstrels of the Golden Hall.
  • Remove those who oppose your will. Stain the land in the blood of your enemies.
• Play as Wulfgar Brynjarsson of Dunland
  • A choice between the wrath of Théoden or that of the wizard Saruman.
  • Character from BfME: The Age of the Ring. Written by Mathijs.
  • Develop your holdings with new buildings such as the Mead Hall, Stables and Garrison Tower.
  • Retake the fertile lands stolen by Rohan. Death to the Forgil!

Previews

The bookmark screen.

The realms of Middle-earth. This is for the first release, future releases will include Gondor, Mordor, Erebor, Rhovanion, Mirkwood and more.

Edoras in Kingstead, part of Rohan. Can you spot Meduseld (the golden roof great hall of Edoras), the Tower of Orthanc (the obsidian-black tower next to the white hand) and Fangorn Forest?

The hand-drawn flatmap. It's much bigger than this...

Current members

• BoneLorde
• Rewinged [Owlcoholic]
• Arsonium
• MattAlexi [TheLegoman]
• tsf4

And growing.

Credits

• Too many to list in a post now, without forgetting anyone! D= :p

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. Your passion might be in the Realms in Exile (who are Gondor, Arnor and Umbar), the Horse Lords of Rohan, the retaking of Moria by Balin, or perhaps further afield in distant Khand or frozen Forodwaith.

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 has just started out, 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.

Check out The Age of the Ring, a mod for BfME: The Rise of the Witch King.

Thanks for reading! We're gearing up for the first release and have plenty more to showcase.