J.R.R. Tolkiens War in Middle Earth Typed by Rusty Nail INTRODUCTION Three Rings for the Elven-lords under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of Stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. The Wizard Gandalf the Grey has identified the ring bequethed to Frodo Baggins by his Uncle Bilbo, who brought it back from an adventure long ago, as being "The One Ring". Forged by the Sauron, the Dark Lord, it is very powerful and very evil. It contains much of Sauron's power - with it he would defeat all his enemies and subjugate the whole of Middle Earth. Were it to be destroyed he would be defeated. Though it would be possible to use it against Sauron, it would then corrupt the wielder turning him into a new Dark Lord. Because of the magical nature of the Ring, it can only be destroyed by being thrown into the Cracks of Doom, where it was forged. This is the mouth of the volcano Mt. Doom in the centre of Sauron's kingdom of Mordor far to the South East. Travel with the Fellowship of the Ring through Middle Earth. The starting group consists of Frodo, his servant Sam Gangee, and his friend Pippin. Help them find and gather more members into the party, to protect the Ring Bearer. Do not delay. Sauron is already amassing his forces of war. He knows the Ring still exists and is looking for it. He has learned of the Ring's location, and has begun to take interest in Hobbits and their "Shire". Even without the One Ring he is a powerful opponent. He has armies of Orcs and evil men at his command. And to do his spying he has the Black Riders. These nine wraiths, also known as Nazgul, are each controlled by lesser rings. Even now they are heading for the Shire searching for the Ring and asking after Mr. Baggins. Your first task is to guide the Fellowship safely to Rivendell. The Nazzgul will close in, and you must avoid them at all costs. You must leave the shire along The Great East Road, haed past Bree and on to Rivendell on the edge of the Misty Mountains. Then with the aid of the companions you will find there, you must head South to Mordor and Mt. Doom. You are heading into the very heart of Sauron's power, so be prepared to face mortal danger at every step. In addition to Sauron's forces, you will also be assailed by those of the Wizard Saruman. Though he was originally the leader of the Council of Wizards opposing Sauron, he has been corrupted. He has rasied an army of Orcs and Dunlendings and he too is looking for the Ring, for he believes he can use it to control Middle Earth. You will need to mobilize the nations of the West, the men of Dale, Gondor and Rohan, the Elves of Lorien adn Mirkwood and the Dwarves of Erebor and the Iron Hills, or the forces of evil will win by force of arms before you can destroy the Ring. To do this you must find objects of power and present them to their kings. Listen to the words of the wise to discover the whereabouts of these objects. If any of the forces for good, which you control, can get the Ring to Mt. Doom, you will win. If the forces of evil obtain the Ring and take it back to Barad-Dur, Sauron's stronghold in the heart of Mordor, you will lose. PLAYING THE GAME There are three levels:- Full map level This shows you the whole of Middle Earth, with forces shown as dots, good in blue, evil in red, neutral in green. Campaign level Detailed map of part of Middle Earth, this will scroll if pointer is moved to an edge. Characters are shown as figures, armies as badges. This is the level all commands are given on. Animation level Full animation of characters. Used for encounters. To move up a level, use the map icaon. To move down a level, select the magnifying glass, position it over the area you want, and press fire. SPEED The game will run at three speeds: normal, hasty and very hasty. To change speed select the hour glass icon then click on the option you want. MOVEMENT You can only command characters or groups that are active, shown flashing on the campaign map. Select the arrow icon, position it over the force to be ordered, and press fire. A window will be opened listing the units in the force - if you only want some to respond click on their names. Then move the arrow to the destination you want and press fire to set. They will then proceed to move there at their own pace, finding the best route around obstacles that they can. ENCOUNTERS You will often be told of friendly encounters. Select "Go There" to hear their advice. This will automatically take you to the animation level. When characters meet, or forces meet commanders, they may follow or continue on their way. A window will open in the top right - select the option you want. If they follow they will become a single force. To see who is in such a force just click on it. This will open a window listing those present. Those following will be shown slightly indented. COMBAT Combat occurs when enemy forces meet. You can ignore this and accept the result, or go there and have some influence on the battle. This opens a combat window, listing all units on both sides. Every friendly unit involved in battle has four options:- Charge Move into combat Engage Fight where you are Withdraw Move out of combat, but stay close, you may rejoin combat later Retreat Leave the scene of battle, you cannot return. These are indicated by a grid of squares, with the selected options shown filled. To change options, just point at the appropriate square and press fire. The color in which a character's name appears indicates his health during the battle. Initially, names are shown in black (healthy) lettering, turning red when the character is wounded and grey when he dies. Forces do not get wounded, but when finally destroyed the unit's name is shown in grey. To find the status of any character or forces outside combat, click on the character and then on the status icon. OBJECTS You will find objects to aid you in your quest. Some of these strengthen your characters, others can be used to mobilize the nations of the West. To manipulate objects you must be on the animaton level. Select the provisions icon (a gauntlet grasping a flask), then the options you require. SAVED GAMES To save or load a game go to the full map level and open the archive menu, then select the option you want. LOADING THE GAME If you have two drives, insert disk 1 into the main drive and disk 2 into your second drive. If you only have one drive insert disk 1 into the drive. You will be prompted to change the disk regularly throughout the game. Insert disk 1 into the drive and turn on the computer When the desktop appears, launch War in Middle Earth by clicking on it with your mouse. When prompted, eject disk 1 and insert disk 2. CONTROLS Move cursor with a mouse. Click on Icons, Windows, etc. with the button. The following keys can be used instead of clicking on icons:- Key Icon Description A Scroll Archive (Save/Restore) G Arrow Movement Commands (Go to) M Magnifying Glass Move Down a level O Provisions Object Manipulation (Get/Use/Drop) S Eye Status Display T Hourglass Time U Map Up a level N Window Option No-continue on Y Window Option Yes-accept option P Pause X Exit Game Q Quiet On/Off OVERVIEW This game is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from it a player may discover much of their character and a little of their history. Further information will also be found in the pages of the Red Book of Westmarch, so wonderfully translated by the late Professor Tolkien in his works "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". For those who have not had the pleasure of discovering the world of Middle Earth a word or two of information regarding hobbits, and the other inhabitants of that place is in order. Therefore in these few pages we have set out a few notes providing a short history of Middle Earth, and brief notes on the races and important personages that dwell there. In order to make this booklet as easy as possible it has been divided up into sections. There is an introduction to Middle Earth, which should provide those who have no knowledge of the story of the Lord of the Rings with enough background information on each of the races, characters and place in the game. The gameplay section tells how you actually play the game, and gives you some hints on the ways in which you may try to win. However, with a game of this complexity, it is impossible to give a single strategy that will work, or indeed to say that any strategy is doomed to failure. Finally, we have included a biography of Tolkien and a reading list for thos people who wish to earn more about Middle Earth. Separate from this booklet you will find a map, which has the grid reference system used in the game marked on it. OF THE CREATION OF MIDDLE EARTH First there was Eru the one, and from his thoughts came the Ainur. The greatest of these were named the Valar, who were fifteen; seven lords; Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Mandos, Lorien and Tulkas and seven ladies; Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Este, Viare, Vana and Nessa, last there was Melkor who was the most powerful of them all. To them Eru revealed a great musical theme. Together they sang in harmony, and from their music the lands of Middle Earth were born. But Melkor chose to sing a theme of his creation, and so discord was brought to the land. Though the other voices tried to return the path of the theme to the original intent of Eru, it was impossible, and the lands of Middle Earth forever bore the marks caused by the discord, and life was marred by the evil wrought in the beginning. Melkor was banished from the Ainur and evermore he was known as Morgoth the Dark Enemy. OF THE EARLY HISTORY OF MIDDLE EARTH AND THE PEOPLES WHO DWELL THERE The history of Middle Earth is long and contains many tales, that the Elves tell long into the night in song and prose. Here but a few words will have to suffice, for here we are concerned with events late in the history of Middle Earth. Early struggles, though fascinating, are of little import save to introduce the main themes. The first born were the Elves. Tall and fair they are for the light of the stars is mirrored in their countenance. Elves are uniquely linked to the lands of Middle Earth, their lives are long and unless they fall in battle they are immortal, for they suffer no ills save on, a sickening of the spirit and loss of desire to live. Even then they only choose to lay down their life for a little while and spend some time in the halls of Mandos, before returning once more to the fair lands of Middle Earth. Their history is long and full of incident and its telling must be left for others. Those who wish to know more of this ancient race should seek enlightenment in the "Silmarillion" where many of their tales are set down with an eloquence that I, your humble scribe, cannot match.