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This is a rough composite of Beleriand and the lands to the east immediately prior to the Bragollach, divided into each race's 'natural' areas. Much earlier than this, and you lose the proper placing of the Edain; any later, and you have to deal with Morgoth on the rampage.

(Minor ahistory: this map shows eastern Ard-Galen as held by Easterlings, who wouldn't appear for another 40-odd years. It also shows the Dor Firn-i-Guinar, where Beren and Luthien lived, as held by the Edain, which isn't true yet.)

I haven't bothered to fill in the region we know as Arnor; it would probably be a patchwork of kingdoms from various Mortal armies. So you'd have Easterlings in the north (which would let you remove them from Ard-Galen, and remnant Edain in the southern reaches. We know that Bree and Dunland were populated by relatives of the Haladin, for instance, and we could probably slot some Hadorian relatives up in the Vales of Anduin (which I have down as Nandorian). I've also left a few territories unclaimed and (in south Beleriand) oversized; if you want to pay me millions of pounds to complete the game, I'll be only too happy to fill them in. ^_~

You can play as any of the races, though each probably have their own advantages and disadvantages. Cirdan, for instance, would have a distinct edge in ships. The Ents are an interesting entity; I think they'd have to be a weird variant game, perhaps being unable to attack except directly into a territory that invaded them. It's all theorycrafting anyway, so it's not all that important.

The game starts towards the end of the Long Peace. There's a network of fealties that makes most wars more risky than they're worth: if House Feanor attacks the Edain in Dorthonion, for instance, they are liable to be attacked by House Finarfin in retaliation (as well as the other Edain). But it's possible! Truly excellent players will be able to expand their domains even in the time of peace. Angband, however, is inviolate: you probably simply can't attack it, or if you can, it's unbeatable through weight of numbers.

After a few turns(?), Morgoth attacks. (If you're playing as Morgoth, you start with a 'Glaurung timer' - how long until Glaurung is full-grown and you can launch your assault). He is extremely powerful, and would like to kill everything. As you say, this is going to whittle away at the Elves' forces and resources.

There are 'story' elements woven into the campaign, depending on certain triggers. If Dorthonion is taken by Morgoth while Doriath is still intact, it triggers the Quest of the Silmaril, which results in the death of certain characters (Finrod will die IF Tol Sirion is in Morgoth's hands AND Himlad has been taken by Morgoth at least once), and - a while later - the removal of the Girdle of Melian. It also triggers House Feanor's AI to start considering Kinslayings.

Some territories will gain cities only when others fall - the Havens of Sirion only get a city once the Falas is destroyed. The AI will offer and accept alliances based on various factors, as per game rules, but there are also trigger-based once - the false alliance between House Feanor and the Easterlings is probably sparked by the Feanorians beating back Morgoth, f'rex.

Morgoth, as you say, is unkillable - he can only be captured, and that only by Eonwe the Herald of Manwe. Eonwe can be triggered in various ways - conquering all of Morgoth's territory obviously has to do it, as does unifying a certain (large) percentage of the world, capturing a Silmaril (various methods available) and finding a suitable messenger... you could also capture all three Silmarils, or organise a conference of 'demi-divine' beings (if Melian, Treebeard, Durin, and Cirdan all occupy the same territory...). Precisely what Eonwe shows up with will depend on how he's summoned - he could arrive with the full Host of Valinor plus Vingilot, or he could show up by himself on a little boat. Then you have to have him present in a battle with Morgoth, and win...

And yes, there all sorts of possible conflict triggers. I'm not sure religion is a terribly useful one (it basically comes down to 'respect the Valar or worship Morgoth'), but you could come up with your own. Maybe Ents hate anyone who burns forest terrain. Maybe it's possible to trigger a Dwarven Civil War by allying with a nation that one of the three houses (Nogrod, Belegost, Khazad-dum) hates. Maybe sorcery is available, but every use of it sours any Good-aligned allies against you.

So yeah, it's viable. Weird, but viable.

hS

It may be a lot like Attila: Total War. The Sons of FEanor were in a very good position besieging Angband. However as more of Morgoth's army are pushing out of Angband, and fertility/prosperity drops, the elves and men began to suffer and have to migrate away. Morgoth should either never leave Angband or be scripted never to die until The War of Wrath. Here, I think CA should be allowed to represent the host of Valinor as only elven troops instead of the Valar as special unkillable units. Although I would not object to see them unleash terror upon the Morgoth's forces.

Also, First Age: Total War should not focus only as the Elves. That is why I thought there weren't as many wars in the First Age, most of it are Elves and Men vs Morgoth Country. I want to be an Easterling nation who decide to worship Eru later as Morgoth began to make more of my people as orcs instead of the enemy. Or swarthy men who decide to worship Mahal, as we gained the skill of smithing from the dwarves. Both will cause conflicts somehow, and we may have to fight to gain more lands allow our chosen way of life.

In short, the starting points and some events should follow the lore closely, but the details can vary wildly.

And not helped by the fact I can't find disks of the extension and could not play it for years (changing house several times to follow your father's jobs can play havoc with your things). But when I used Sorcerers I had indeed a preference for plain but effective buffs/debuffs, with Soul Freeze as a great way to disrupt yor enemy's battle line, and sometimes Wells of Souls.

And I think the support is worth it. Sure, that opinion is also influeced by other games, but support well used is always better than pure brute force. Well used, the latterr is ood too, but good combination is in my opinion superior.

Brace yourselves: More cast members!


Brontis Jodorowsky as Nicolas Flamel


Supreme Leader Pickles and Mr. "Broomstick-up-his-shute" Abernathy were confirmed to return.

We also may be getting some early starts of Death Eaters, as Derek Riddell and Poppy Corby-Tuech play two Dark Wizards who eventually join up Voldemort during the first and second war.


About Claudia Kim's character: If she was referred to as maledictus, it doesn't tell us much as the term is just a masculine form of the word 'slandered' or 'cursed'.

"If you ever need anything—either of you," she added, having not forgotten Tom, "my office in FicPsych is C-14. If the door's open, come on in. Or just, you know, reach out. I don't mind," she told Thoth. "... Now, I'd hug you both, but you're a walking tank and you're all over pointy bits. So I'll just say goodnight."

She waved, wiggling her fingers.

Next, to make sure Gall took proper care of her partner, and then home herself to make sure Henry and his friends hadn't eaten themselves comatose on chocolate.

What an excellent night.

The reveal

It's a Fantastic Beasts film, so in keeping with my role last time... let the madcap theorising begin.

(Um, technically I guess some of this is 'spoilers'? Look, there's a couple of new characters who we know like one thing about each, if the idea of finding that out terrifies you then stop here.)

~

H'okay. From left to right, we have:

-Young Dumbledore, played by Jude Law (wutuf). Looks a bit grumpy. He's wearing what's basically a dressing gown, so points for staying on form. His wand is probably the black one from this tweet, which is of course not the one he used in the books. ^_~

-The Fla... uh, Credence Barebone, from the first film. Looks a little less formal this time round. Also! Not dead.

-Claudia Kim's unnamed character, who is apparently a 'Maledictus' - a were-something. Looking at that outfit, I would guess something reptillian. Also! Being of Asian descent (Ms. Kim is Korean), she could be a point of entry for some of JKR's other Wizarding Schools.

-Leta Lestrange, with her fiance...

-The Eleventh Doctor Sherlock Theseus Scamander, who... look, these two are blatantly evil, right? The spread-legs is a huge red flag, and Leta (aside from being a Lestrange) is doing the 'yessssss, my seductive master' pose. I'm not the only one seeing this, am I?

Leta is also, I think, the first blood-Lestrange seen on screen, Bellatrix being there by marriage; okay, there was also a cameo by Flashback Lestrange in HBP, but that barely counts.

-Porpentina, played by Katherine Waterston, who actually has a fantastically distinctive face that nevertheless looks completely different under different hairstyles. Weird. Anyway, she's leaning on Newt's suitcase, so they're clearly hanging out together.

-Some bloke in a naff suit. Oh, Newt, where is your fashion sense? Interestingly, in the animated version of the image, he shifts his wand to point at Jacob, or rather tucks it behind Jacob's back. Hmm.

-Jacob the Muggle No-Maj Ethnic Slur. In the animation, he looks over at Grindelwald, along with...

-Queenie, who clearly gets on very well with Jacob. I'm gonna guess she's the reason he gets back into things. Hopefully his bakery doesn't get blown up. (He got a bakery, right? I didn't imagine that?)

-Gelert Grindelwald, who is frankly a mess. What did Albus see in him?! Interestingly, his wand flashes to start the animated image moving - time magic, a hint at the plot, or just graphic design? Speaking of his wand...

It's definitely the white(r) one here, and... yep, that's the Elder Wand. Bit shinier than in the last films. I wonder about those designs on the handle... the Elder Wand seems to be of English manufacture, but that designwork puts me more in mind of the Nazca Lines than anything over here. I dunno; the design was invented before they ever heard of the Elder Wand, but it's still a possible lead...

Okay, so there's honestly not much to go on in one image. But it wouldn't be a Fantastic Beasts movie if I didn't do this.

One last thought: the title. Is that a hint that Grindelwald's crimes involve Fantastic Beasts? Does he have an army of monsters at any point? One wonders...

hS

But happy birthday anyway! Here, have a triple chocolate cupcake - and since you're 21 now - a nice fruity wine cooler. What flavor do you like?

-The First Battle in Beleriand (precedes the rise of the Sun, but is considered the start of the Wars of the Jewels; Morgoth's attack on Doriath after his return).

-Dagor-nuin-Giliath (also preceding the rising of the Sun; Feanor and company do a number on the Orcs, but Feanor dies).

-Capture of Maedhros (a small fight, but we have to assume he didn't go down without one).

-Battle of the Lammoth (fought under the Moon before the rising of the Sun; Fingolgin's first battle).

-Dagor Aglareb (the beginning of the Siege of Angband).

-The First Assault on Hithlum (a century later; fairly small).

-Glaurung's first outing (the first burning of Ard-galen; he was driven back, starting the Long Peace).

-Siege of the Haladin (rise of Haleth as Lady of the Second House; relieved by Caranthir).

-Attack on the Pass of Aglon (a small battle, beaten back by Maedhros and House Finarfin).

-The Dagor Bragollach (the Sudden Flame and the breaking of the Siege). Easily broken up into:

--The fall of Dorthonion.
--The sacking of Thargelion.
--The defence of Himring.
--The siege of Tol Sirion.
--The skirmish in the Fens of Serech.
--The battles of Barad Eithel.
--Fingolfin's duel with Morgoth.

-The fall of Tol Sirion (to Sauron).

-The raid on Brethil (a probe after Tol Sirion was taken; defeated by the Haladin).

-The destruction of Barahir's camp (by Sauron).

-The Second Assault on Hithlum (relieved by Cirdan from the sea).

-The driving of the Orcs from Beleriand (in preparation for the Nirnaeth).

-The Nirnaeth Arnoediad (Battle of Unnumbered tears; did not go well).

--Fingon's assault from the West (including Turgon's relief from Gondolin, and ultimately Fingon's death).
--The Easterlings' betrayal of Maedhros.
--The Dwarves against Glaurung.

-Fall of the Falas (Cirdan's havens).

-Battle of the Crossings of Taeglin.

-Battle of Tumhalad (death of Orodreth).

-Sack of Nargothrond.

-Battle of the Thousand Caves (death of Thingol at the hand of the dwarves).

-Battle of Sarn Athrad (Beren recaptures the Silmaril; includes ents!).

-Second Kinslaying and the sack of Doriath.

-The Fall of Gondolin.

-The Third Kinslaying and the sack of the Havens of Sirion.

-THE WAR OF WRATH, which can basically be as many battles as you want.

Is that enough for you...? ;)

Then you can do a Second Age expansion pack, which includes the War of the Elves and Sauron, the various Numenorean wars, and everything down to the War of the Last Alliance... yeah, Middle-earth: Total War could be a three-part series without breaking a sweat (four, if you let the War of the Ring stand apart from the rest of the Third Age).

hS

Granted, there aren't that many wars in First Age of the Sun, but Total War is about making your own history.

Christopher has been for Middle-earth like some people have historically seen the Permission Givers for the PPC: an implacable force bent on stopping anyone from adding anything to the canon except that which completely complies with our wishes. We, of course, aren't really like that (O:D), but CT was.

Now... the floodgates are opening. Who knows what's coming.

~

Sorcerers! I've never actually had much luck with them; by the time I have the resources to buy them, my archers are usually a better option. So how can you use them to best effect?

All sorcerers come with two standard 'buff/debuff' spells: one that strengthens your soldiers, one that slows the enemy. Then you can choose (at a cost) one of three powerful spells: one to freeze the enemy in place, one to drain their health and turn them into wights, and one to drop a rain of exploding corpses on them (Angmar is metal, folks).

I don't think there's all that much value in Corpse Rain. Provided your enemy is dense enough to stay put, it can do a nice chunk of damage, but the cost of temple+sorcerer+Corpse Rain+upgrade could probably be better spent on a couple of rangers and a catapult. Yes, the sorcerer will regenerate its acolytes over time - but in that time the archers will have done even more damage.

Soul Freeze is nice; you can use it to buy time for your army to get into position, or immobilise a powerful unit you don't have the counter available for. And Well of Souls is nifty against weak enemy units - you can convert them into undead units on your side! But neither of them are really that powerful compared to straightforward attacking.

As for the buffs? They might be the best option. Slow the enemy cavalry to let your pikemen get in front of them; strengthen your Thrall Masters so they can hold their own against the units they're meant to counter. (My Wolf Riders always die to archers, it's embarassing.) But again: by the time you've got a Temple of Twilight online, you shouldn't be relying on Thralls anyway!

So... what's to be done with them? Any ideas?

hS

His prologue to the Beren and Luthien book specifically mentions that it is "(preemptively)" the last book he'll be putting out based on his father's work. We assumed it was just because he's as old as Smeagol, but it was released in June, so he'd probably already made the decision.

hS

... if [tosses coin] Brandon Sanderson is licensed by the Tolkien Estate to write "The New Shadow: An Official Lord of the Rings Sequel", does that become part of the canon or not?

Related questions: is And Another Thing... H2G2 canon? Is The Force Awakens Star Wars canon? Is Deep Space Nine Star Trek canon? Are the final three Wheel of Time novels canon? Heck, is The Silmarillion even canon, since it was compiled by CT from wildly disparate versions of the narrative (and in one place completely made up - the death of Thingol)?

Also, Mel Gibson looks really disheartened right before the guy next to him joins in. You can see his mouth start to close and his face fall - "aw, Scotstralian shucks, I guess that wasn't as inspiring as I thought it would be..."

hS

It's entirely possible that CT remains the Literary Executor for Tolkien's estate; I don't know enough about the law to say whether that's likely. So he may still have a decent say in things.

According to the UK government, The Tolkien Estate Ltd currently has six officers: Cathleen Blackburn as secretary (a solicitor and the other executor), Steven Maier as solicitor, and four directors: Priscilla Tolkien (JRRT's daughter and youngest child), Simon Tolkien (CT's oldest son, the one who was briefly disowned over liking the Jackson movies), Baillie Tolkien (CT's second/current wife), Michael Tolkien (specifically the eldest son of JRRT's second son Michael).

I know Priscilla was involved in the lawsuit against Warner Brothers over online gambling, so it's possible she'll take the lead; on the other hand, she's nearly 90 herself, so perhaps not. I remember rumours from years back that Adam Tolkien - CT's younger son - was going to take his place after he died, but he's not on the board (and Simon is). So honestly, who knows? But it's a Tolkien, that's for sure.

The one thing this can't lead to is reboots - because the movie rights to LotR & The Hobbit aren't with the Estate anyway! Warner Brothers could make as many movies out of those as they wanted. What it could lead to is an opening up of other areas of the canon to exploitation housing developments orc-work ... stuff. Yeah, I'm with you on the shuddering, to be honest.

hS

"Thank you." He stood silent for a moment, thinking.

"I can remember a time when peace was close. When we spoke of what we would do after the war that we had been built for. That hope was torn from us. In part, by the actions of my brothers and my primarch. We turned our backs on those we were made to protect, even as they turned their backs on us. There was no turning back."

"But here... here, I am outside His reach. I am free, for the first time in millenia." He smiled slightly. "I suppose, in a way, I have begun to serve my purpose again."

They may make their adaptations... they may make their reboots... but they can never take our canon!



~Neshomeh

The crazy thing is, according to the article, this has actually been coming since about July-August. Which makes sense; as they point out, it must've taken a heck of a lot of doing to make the transition.

I didn't realize Christopher Tolkien was 93. I'm amazed at his dedication. I hope he'll have a happy retirement.

Just... wow.

~Neshomeh

"Because I am what I am, and you are what you are, I have this fancy that we might send a message to the multiverse at large. We'll see." She gave her signature wry half-smile, then grew solemn, and laid her hands on Thoth's bare temples in an attitude of benediction. "You were made for war, and have known more than anyone's fair share of horror and grief. I have neither the power nor the right to correct the imbalance at the source, but if I could, I would. There are benevolent forces in the multiverse; there is hope; there are second chances. In token of that, I say to you: go now in peace and in love, that you might know both, and show that it was possible." She drew his head down and placed a soft kiss on his crown, then released him and stepped back.

(( In the category of "mental images I couldn't get out of my head," since days (at least!) before I saw the bit in the bio about Thoth looking for redemption. That's just when I knew I had to go through with it, forced segue be damned. {= ) ))

"I see no harm in such a thing. Very well." He bent to one knee in front of Jenni. "What is it that you had in mind?"

Let me offer you a black-hole chocolate red berries cake as an apology.

Detentionaire. It's this mildly obscure Canadian animated show that combines the mystery and intrigue of Gravity Falls, the character diversity of The Magic School Bus, the flash animation of Johnny Test, and some of the best-looking guys up north.

...scratch that last part.

But even then, I think that what the charcater has is an immunity to a specific sort of mind control, not mind control in general.

If Christopher's stepping down, who's going to be managing the estate now?

And I shudder to think of the endless stream of reboots that will soon come out. I thought after the Hobbit movies the Tolkien Estate said "aw heck naw we're not letting you mess around with this world anymore", but now... I'm kinda scared.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor canon when

I'm quite behind in my Lord of the Rings reading, but I know that's a really big thing, and not just because Silmarillion related stuff is not that much impossible anymore. Now to see what the future holds...


(Yes, the Thrall Masters are perfect fodder units. Black Numenoreans are also good, Snow trolls too, and Sorcerers offer interesting opportunities...)

Christopher Tolkien has resigned as director of the Tolkien Estate.

This was a genuine, out-loud "Oh my God" moment for me (one of... about three that I remember having ever, in a fandom context). I would never have expected CT to step down.

This also throws the question of what Amazon could potentially have gotten their grubby little paws hands on wide open. The TORn article says it was just the LotR rights for TV (which would include the Appendices and swing the dial towards my guesses 2 and 1), but I'm not sure how certain they are on that.

This is huge. This is... really shocking.

hS

Now you can (legally) buy Bleepka!