Yes, rather ironic. I was killing Rhun though, AI Dale was having a picnic watching the Easterlings run past.

As long as I have an army in Dale ready to take the war to Gundabad I will happily absorb the Lonely Mountain into my Kingdom. Imagine the Dwarves displeasure with that!

Yeah I get that, but there are many other characters in the Mod that the timing is definitely not lore accurate. Eomer, Faramir and Boromir are all too old and Adrahil should be dead. I'm fine with their decision to leave him out and I get that the time difference was a little longer but I was surprised that he is not on it. Could have had a mechanic where due to his old age he can't move out of Dale or something.

@@epmtotalwar Totally could have Bard died only 3 years prior to the games starting year. So it wouldnt even be close to the most egregious timeline change. I think they just chose to prioritize the lore that Brand provides as a character. Being best friends with Dain and fighting off the Easterlings together during the War of the Rings. Ultimately dying together. In theory the best solution would to have Bard, Bain, and Brand as adult characters but I dont know if you can have 3 generations of adult characters alive a game start. I have never seen it.

@@epmtotalwarHe could have started already dead I believe. Not completely accurate to 2980 but better than not being there I think.

Thanks mate. That theory I believe works when you have money to invest in the the next tier of settlement but if I'm just getting a farm and no payoff the pop increase to tax ratio is minimal. Trade is by far the better income source. I'll have to remember to have a look at the income breakdown through the campaign.

For the time being changing would be a loss as most of my income is coming from my 2 largest cities. I've been a little short of coin and hence cant upgrade much at the moment. Long term of course, once I am making money around the Sea of Rhun, I'm move the capital further east.

That is a scary prospect, I mush prefer the idea of Rhun trash tier against my trash.

Money only holds me back 😂

The text is weird on that. It says + or - 100 but yeah I think you are right. 'Free' troops that don't have to recover after consecutive sieges are premium. Esgaroth just has to hold tight.

@@epmtotalwar It is + a negative 100 gold to your building income. The plus negative thing is because of how the code works it only adds but can add negative numbers. Silly but that is how the code works. And it only takes it out of building income vs taxes, trade or farming income(iirc).

@@codyaitken6056 Thanks

@@epmtotalwar No problem. Depending on what other buildings are built in a settlement the garrison might cost less than 100. Because it only takes away from building income. For example if you only make 60 gold of building income it will only take the 60 not the full 100. On the flip side if you have a garrison and no building income generating building, building a smoking house or leather tanner wont provide the income.

@@codyaitken6056 Right, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for explaining, I feel confident about that mechanic now.

Buckle up!

Love this faction, really balanced late game faction, good pikes, great halberds, decent cav, and awesome archers. Was looking forward to this one

I like the billmen, thought they would be going up against a fair few low tier archers and a shielded unit would be better. They will make some appearances I'm sure.

Roads are the fastest way of getting better income. Masons halls makes them cheaper. Tbh, everytime I don't start with the masons halls someone says why not build 'x structure' and then when I build 'x structure' I get asked why not the masons hall. Unless you mean meeting hall not masons hall. Meeting halls are for free upkeep on generals.

Yes he is in the game, he was an example of a character in the game that lore wise shouldn't be.

They have taken artistic license in a fictional setting to fit as many named characters in to create enjoyment for the player. Considering that every campaign plays out differently and not a single one follows the exact events of the lore it certainly is an alternate timeline.

It is pretty straight forward, I was always very hesitant to download a mod but I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Just watch Galu's installation video and follow the steps.

They become rich. I believe it is to simulate a recovering people after the events of The Hobbit. Also, gameplay wise Dale is against the edge of the map, there needs to be some challenge.

@@epmtotalwar Gameplay wise maybe. But lore wise, it's several decades after hobbit already. And it's mentioned specifically in lore that they were pretty prosperous and rich, because of cooperation with Erebor, woodland realm and others.