COVID-19 Quarantine Exploits
Hello Everyone! As you may have noticed, the world has taken a bit of kick in the ass from COVID-19. As unfortunate as the panic is, it has also given us, and will continue to give us, a little more time to devote to additions to the mod! The dev team is back together and will begin some fun work very shortly. As always, be sure to join our discord with the link at the bottom of this article. I am unsure when a new test patch will be coming out that will include our new faction, the Easterlings, but when it does release, be sure to follow Jmonster and Umadcommander Youtube pages for great replay analysis. Without further ado, here are some sneak previews of the Easterling faction, led by their leaders Bor and Ulfang.
The Easterlings also known as Swarthy Men, were primitive tribes of Men who roamed Middle-earth in the First Age. Long after the Men awoke in Hildórien, some of them left that land to migrate to the West. Some of the ancestors of the Swarthy Men left their descendants in Eriador. They are described as short and broad, with swarthy (darker) skin, eyes and hair. Some had greater liking for the Dwarves of the mountains than for the Elves. Some of their women were proud and barbaric and capable of fighting.
They made their way to Beleriand; others desired its rich lands, while others were instigated by the Enemy. They entered from east of Ered Luin after Dagor Bragollach, much later than the Edain who had already established themselves among the Noldor and the Sindar.
Bór was a leader of Men who came into Lothlann, Beleriand, in the year F.A. 463. His people were worty, and tillers of the earth. His sons were Borlach, Borlad and Borthand. Bór was welcomed by Maedhros, who gave him and his followers land north of the March of Maedhros, and south of it. Bór and his sons swore allegiance to Maedhros, and remained faithful, though he was told by Morgoth to betray the banner of Caranthir. All of them were wiped out during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
Ulfang also came in Lothlann, Beleriand, in 463, shortly after Bór. He was the father of Ulfast, Ulwarth, and Uldor. Ulfang was welcomed by the sons of Fëanor, and he and his sons swore allegiance to Caranthir. They were given lands to dwell in the north and south of the March of Maedhros. Ulfang and his sons were secretly in the employ of Morgoth, and betrayed the Eldar and Edain during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.
The Easterlings were then betrayed by their lord Morgoth, and confined to Hithlum in the latter years of the First Age. Those Incomers enslaved the remaining Edain. Some, like Brodda, intermarried with the Edain.
After the War of Wrath, those that survived fled back over the Ered Luin to Eriador. Some did in fact go beyond Eriador, back to the area of Rhun, but little else is known what befell them. Some of them became Kings of the primitive Middle Men who had no contact with the Eldar or the Edain such the tribes of Enedwaith, Dunland, and Bree. For this the Middle Men were neglected by the Valar.
Thank you all again for your support! Look forward to more exciting additions! Here is the discord link!
^^ Great work fellas! <3
Thank you! We're excited to have Easterlings in the patch!
Great job. A mod about the First Age is sorely lacking, I just hope this one doesn't meet the same fate that other mod projects had.
Curious about the model for Gondolin in one of the images, I've always wanted to see a strat map model of this: Images.app.goo.gl in a First Age mod. Is it what you are planning? Judging by the image you posted, it seems so, in that case it's amazing!
Keep up the good work... and take care of yourselves!
Our hope is that WK will be making a Gondolin map with those assets yes.
Does it really make sense that the Swarthy Men are Rhun or even Harad-inspired? They're easterlings from Beleriand's perspective, but it doesn't mean that they're the same Easterlings than those in LOTR.
In fact, being from Eriador and the ancestors of Middlemen, it would make more sense for them to draw inspiration from Dunland Bree Enedwaith etc...
Anyway I would understand you'd want to put some Rhun armor in the mod, they look so cool.
And great job on the mod. First Age content is still horribly lacking in the modding area
I actually agree. A lot of the Third Age Easterlings attire looks like it arises from the fact that the tribes of the east contend with very dry arid conditions, whereas Eriador and Beleriand don't seem to have the same environments. Perhaps keep the armour but maybe not the faces wrapped in cloth and sorts?