dr.gameland

The campaign tells the story of the fall of the Kingdom of Arnor at the hands of Angmar and the Witch-king.[1] For the sake of gameplay, however, many liberties are taken fromTolkien's work and the film trilogy by Peter Jackson. These liberties involve the creation of several characters specifically for the games campaign, such as Morgomir, the lieutenant of Angmar, as well as the naming of an unnamed hill-chief that appeared in Tolkien's writing. Unlike The Battle for Middle Earth II, there is only one campaign which is composed of eight missions which each focus on a distinct battle between Angmar and Arnor, as well as an epilogue which concludes the campaign. The player has the choice of playing each mission on either an easy, medium, or hard difficulty, and narrated cutscenes explain the plot between missions. All of the in-game cutscenes are narrated byGlorfindel, Elf-lord of Rivendell, who partakes in the games epilogue.

A narrative cinematic at the opening of the campaign tells the story of the kingdom of Arnor in the Third Age of Middle-earth. Even though Middle-earth was at peace for a thousand years following the defeat of Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, the northern twin of Gondor, Arnor, is split into three realms owing to civil dissension. These three realms are Rhudaur, the smallest and weakest of the Dúnedain realms, Cardolan, the guardian of the ancient Barrow-Downs, and Arthedain, the largest and most populous of the three where the heir's of Isildur still reigned. During this time, the Witch-king appeared in Angmar, and sought the total destruction of the kingdom of Arnor.

The campaign begins in the land of Angmar north of Arnor. Angmar in-game is a frozen, mountainous wasteland, and is home to many troll tribes of the north as well as the Black Númenorean's. The Witch-king realizes that he needs a symbol to unite the denizens of Angmar before he can begin his conquest of Arnor, and sets out to re-construct a citadel at the ruins of Carn Dûm. The Witch-king and his lieutenant Morgomir encounter a warrior troll, Rogash, and convince him to join their cause. The trio proceed to unite the Black Númenorean inhabitants as well as the Snow and Hill trolls, and defeat an army of Black Númenorean's that had been sent to defeat them. This finally unites the inhabitants of Angmar, and the Witch-king proceeds to launch an invasion of the smallest of Arnor's three successor states, Rhudaur. The king of Arnor, Argeleb I, has reclaimed his right to rule the entirety of the kingdom, and has sent his forces into Rhudaur to crush resistance to his rule. Seeing an opportunity in the kings presence, the Witch-king sends his own forces into Rhudaur and manages to save the Hill-chief, Hwaldar, from the men of Arnor. After defeating Arnor's army and slaying King Argeleb, the Witch-king conquers the hillmen of Rhudaur and uses them as troops for his growing armies.

The son of the king, Arveleg I, has maintained a frontier along the Weather Hills for many years following the death of his father. Using the palantír of Amon Sûl, Arveleg has successfully foiled every attack that Angmar has made against Arnor. The Witch-king realizes that to destroy Arnor's defences, he must launch a direct assault on the fortress ofAmon Sûl. Diversionary attacks against Arthedain's allies of Cardolan and the Elves draw off their forces, while the main force moves against the watch-tower. After a fierce battle, the tower of Amon Sûl is destroyed and Arnor's bastion is destroyed. The palantír stone is carried by a retreating Arveleg I, however, and Morgomir is despatched to retrieve it. The forces of Angmar catch up with the fleeing King on the North Downs, and he decides to sacrifice himself and the palantír so that the Witch-king cannot gain use of it. When another army from Angmar arrives, a battle ensues between a fort of Arnor and Angmar's reinforcements over control of the shards of the palantír. Angmar is victorious against Arnor's forces, and Morgomir collects the shards for the Witch-king.

The army of Cardolan was not crippled by Angmar's offensive at Amon Sûl, and therefore the Witch-king cannot commit to any further invasions of Arthedain with an enemy free to strike his armies rear. The Barrow-Downs are chosen as the site of an offensive against the remainder of Cardolan's army, because the Dúnedain rever it as sacred ground that they would not allow a foe to desecrate. This way, Cardolan's forces are drawn into battle on ground of the Witch-king's choosing, and its forces are utterly destroyed. However, before Angmar can press its advantage against Arnor, an offensive composed of Elves from Lindon, Rivendell, and Lothlórien is sent against its capital of Carn Dûm. Despite taking severe losses, the forces of Angmar manage to defend their fortress against the Elves long enough for reinforcements to arrive to lift the siege. The Elves are defeated, although enough damage has been done to Angmar to allow Arnor enough time to recover from its wounds unless action is taken. To prevent Arnor's resurgence, the Witch-king devises a plan that will inflict grievous harm upon the kingdom so that it does not defeat Angmar in its own weakness. The armies of Angmar once more descend upon the Barrow-Downs, and fell sorcers of the Black Númenorean's create a plague that ravages Arnor, crippling its already fragile defences.

Many decades after this plague has all but depopulated what was left of Arnor, the only city that still stands in defiance of Angmar is Arnor's capital of Fornost. The Dúnedain are prepared to make a final stand in the face of the Witch-king's onslaught, and gathered all of their might and called on their allies, including a band of Hobbits from the Shire. The battle was fiercely fought, but in the end the city of Fornost fell to the Witch-king and his army, and the kingdom of Arnor was utterly destroyed, concluding the campaign.

The game's epilogue opens with a cutscene explaining that after the final defeat of Arnor at the hands of the Witch-king, its sister realm of Gondor can not look away any longer. Gondor and the Elves convene a meeting with the son of King Eärnil, Eärnur, representing the men of the south-kingdom. The two forces form an alliance with the intention of eradicating Angmar's forces and destroying its realm, before it dominates the remainder of Eriador. The Elves and Gondor march under one banner, and in the end are victorious against the forces of Angmar. Carn Dûm is destroyed, and the Witch-king himself is driven off from his lands. He is pursued by Eärnur, but the Elf-lord Glorfindel calls out to him, and the game ends with the line:

“Do not pursue him! He will not return to these lands. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man shall he fall”(From wikipedia)