North Gondor is probably the most important position in the Free side. Played badly and it means disaster for the other Free nations. Played well, and with support for your neighbours this is a rewarding position with scope for great things! The DS should be able to out-recruit you eventually and left on your own, against a skilled team you will receive a battering. With co-operation from your Free neighbours though, you can dish out some great damage to Mordor.
A combined N Gondor/South Gondor/Sinda attack in the Ithil Pass, and a northern attack by the Eothraim at game start could win your team the game! Unless all the nations of Mordor are working together and are unified, you will smash them to pieces. The strain is just so great that they will fall one by one. If they are organised though, they will see you all off (just). Then their superior recruitment ability and the Cloud Lord agents will show up and spoil your day.
This is a critical position. Play it well in the first 10 turns and the Free will probably win the game. Play it badly and the DS will weather the storm and ultimately come out on top. I recommend this nation is only taken up by an experienced player.
Strategy Guide by Dave Holt
Strategy Guide by Dan DeYoung
Strategy Guide by Brian Mason
North Gondor Starting Information
N. Gondor Strategy (or how game 101 was won in 20 turns)
by Dave Holt
First some background/caveats - although I am writing this article, I would like to give a HUGE amount of credit to the other members of the 101 FP team. Game 101 was won by the Freeps in just 20 turns, and was essentially decided by turn 8 or so. This was due to a large heaping dose of continuous teamwork. My team mates sent me gold, timber and armies to help defeat the DS. It was really a team game and was well worth it. Much of this article is based upon game 101, (the only time I've actually played N. Gondor) and upon game 52 (I played the Ice King and there learned an adversarial perspective to the position). In game 101, N. Gondor finished in 5th place. As such, I can only give advice that worked to make the FP successful as a team. It didn't result in N. Gondor being in the "winner circle" of the top three.
Basic Tenants of playing North Gondor: (also known as the N. Gondorian player's creed)
Recruit, recruit, RECRUIT!!!
Ignore Mages - in game 101, I eventually hired a mage around turn 18 or so.
Ignore Emissaries - in game 101, I eventually hired some emissaries after I had many different armies scurrying around in central Mordor.
Hire Commanders and Agents - fast and furious. Agents to guard Minas Anor and Osgiliath (bridges), and then to guard army commanders.
Be not discouraged at loss of characters to assassination/kidnapping - it comes with the territory.
Beg, Plead, Cajole, and otherwise convince your allies to send you money to support as many troops as you can pump into the Mordor theatre as fast as you can pump them into the Mordor theatre
Get the Harad (required) and Corsairs (nice) and Dunlendings (nice) to be allies or at least to remain neutral.
Ignore artifact placement (excepting palantirs), acquisition, etc. USE YOUR PALANTIRS. They're best left on commanders who're doing nothing but recruiting.
Focus on the Osgiliath/Minas Ithil/Barad Ungol pass. Let your team mates take up the slack on other fronts.
Turn 0 Orders: 2119: DsbArmy
movjoin 2927
3116: Recruit as many HC as possible with local resources MovArmy to 3120
2924: Namechar a 30pt agent Natsell food 100
2927: Recruit 500 HI Scry 3431 to see if Cloud Lord Cav are coming south route toward 3028
3124: movchar to 2924 nattran 2924 leather 100
3024: Recruit 400 HI Scry 3223 to see what IK and FK are up to
3028: Recruit 300 HI MovArmy to Osgiliath
2421: MovJoin 2924 NatTran 2924 mounts 100
Turn 0 Assumptions:
Sinda naval force moves to 3028
Most S. Gondor naval forces move to Osgiliath
Many EO cav forces move to 3120 via different routes than 3116 NG force so that as many DS forces moving out from Mordor can be caught as possible
Duns stay neutral/friendly for a few turns
Turn 1 - 5 Orders:
recruit 500 HC per turn at Minas Anor (2924)
recruit 500 HI per turn at Pelargir (2927)
recruit 400 HI per turn at Osgiliath (3024)
Every few turns move armies out of Osgiliath & Minas Anor up into the Minas Ithil pass to punch into Mordor (use SplArmy order) create 3 agents, 1 commander
guard 2927 (beginning turn 2) with agent1
guard 2924 (beginning turn 3) with agent2
guard best surviving army commander (beginning turn 4) with agent3
Sinda takes out LR cav force at 3028 (if you're lucky)
IssPers with your big army commanders against the puny FK and IK commanders.
The Thinking:
NG & SG can recruit a LOT more high quality troops a lot faster than the NW Mordor DS can. The QA is such a putz position that it is incapable of doing any lasting harm to SG, even if SG drains most of its armies away to fight at Osgiliath. Only an early DS declaration by the Corsairs or Harad can cause SG any hurt. As such, it is in the mutual interest of SG and NG to punch through the Minas Ithil pass and to take Barad Ungol as soon as possible. This opens up a LOT of possibilities. If Barad Ungol is controlled by NG, then FP troops can poor through the pass to take Bard Dur, the FK backup, DkL backup, and Dog Lord backup, as well as threaten the IK and Dog Lord capitals from the rear.
The Ice King can be taken out very early on as well, either by combined EO and NG troops from the plains, or from troops coming up from Osgiliath. At any rate, if NG recruits 1500-1800 troops per turn and continues to march them into Mordor, there is little that the DS can do. As soon as it becomes apparent that NG is really pushing hard into Mordor, the DS will try (and they succeeded in 101) to blow the Osgiliath/Minas Anor bridge. This is a big hindrance to NG as it stops the flow of fresh troops into the pass, and can allow the DS to counterpunch and take back much lost territory. This is where teamwork comes in. NG should try to get his/her team mates to transfer the necessary 10k timber to Minas Anor so that the bridge can be rebuilt as soon as possible. We were able to have the bridge back in place (and guarded!) within 2 turns of it being taken out.
The DkL and DogLord have probably sent much of their forces out onto the plains to try to do as much damage to FP pop centres as possible as early as possible, thus they won't be around to defend Mordor.
Usually, the FK and IK are left to do most of the defence of the pass, although the CL cavalry may arrive at some point. If the CL cav force moves W to 3028 on turn 0, this presents a different problem, as his cav force combined with the LR cav force present a formidable and dangerous southern threat. I did not have to deal with this eventuality, and am grateful for it. Whenever possible, issue personal challenge against the FK and IK commanders if you've got a 20-30 point advantage. It's much cheaper to take out an army by getting rid of its commander, and they surprisingly don't rfspers nearly as often as they should.
Game 101 NW Mordor capital capture summary:
Turn 6: 3224 Barad Ungol falls (FK) [NG]
Turn 7: 3423 Barad Dur falls (DkL) [NG]
Turn 9: 3426 Barad-wath falls (FK backup - he's out) [NG]
Turn 13: 3122 Durthang falls (IK - he's out) [NG]
Turn 14: 3221 Morannon falls (DoL) [Corsairs]
Turn 19: 3624 Ostigurth falls (CL backup by this time) [NG]
3630 Kal Nargil falls (CL) [Harad]
3622 Minas Durlith falls (DkL) [Corsairs]
[Brian's comment - I sent some long, rather elaborate descriptions of my play in game 131 to Dave after reading his beautiful strategy article. They are not going to be added as editorial asides within this article, as I don't want my specific plays (and associated weaknesses) in the public domain quite yet.]
Strategy and Tactics: North Gondor
By Dan DeYoung
Inspired by the fascinating commentary on various strategies for MEPBM kingdoms presented by Brian Mason and Tom Walton, I offer my own humble assessment of options for one of the Free Peoples' primary bulwarks against the Shadow.
Basic Data
North Gondor is certainly one of the strongest Free Peoples at the start of the game. According to my own statistics, N. Gondor ranks against the other kingdoms as follows:
Among All
Among Free People
Tax Base:
1st
1st
Resource Base:
1st
1st
Combat Str:
2nd
2nd
Character Str:
Tied for 6th
3rd
Artefacts:
9th
5th
Material Production- (Based on Spring Production)
le
br
st
mi
fo
ti
mo
go
total
2755
474
186
23
7450
324
556
4200
Starting Characters are all basically commanders, and six of the eight start as army or navy commanders so options for character assignments are limited.
North Gondor's first major decisions involve their numerous exposed pop centres. N. Gondor seems to have been set up to provide the evils with eight pop centres to even out the economic disparity between the sides. Certainly Minas Ithil, Osgilaith, and the three Ithien towns, and the three towns along the Rhohavian road are vulnerable to concerted attack by the Dark Servants. In most analyses I've heard, standard Gondorian tactics call for the immediate destruction of the two bridges over the Anduin in preparation for a 'Fortress Europa' strategy of ferrying troops over the river with the Navy's large transport capacity. The protection of the northern three towns falls to the Eothraim, and one can only hope that player understands how important it is to keep pop centres out of enemy hands early in the game when the freep economic advantage is their strength. I do dispute the theory that the
Anduin is indefensible. The many N. Gondor armies and navies in the area can defeat the Ice King and Fire King armies handily, with enough left over to deal with almost any third opponent. Further, in a team game where close co-ordination is possible from turn 0, North and South Gondor can field a massive force to smash into Mordor proper with small chance of serious opposition.
[Tom's note: I've seen this in two team games, big FP thrusts vs DS opposition. Both times, it's resulted in a bloodbath around Ithil and the Gates, with the DS eventually taking the upper hand simply because there're more of them recruiting than there are FP. The meat grinder is won by he who can shove the most bodies into the gap in a limited period of time.]
[Brian's comment: This is similar to the approach I used as Northern Gondor in game 131. However, I did not blow the bridge at Osgiliath, but instead, contested this population centre, holding it for 10 turns (at least) and causing (with the aid of Southern Gondor and the Sinda) over 20,000 Dark Servant casualties at 3024 alone! The plan was for me to hold the Osgiliath while Southern Gondor funnels huge armies through here and destroys Mordor population centres. Despite the drop of the Eothraim on turn three, the plan has been very successful.]
The second major issue confronting N. Gondor is the issue of their capitol. Minas Arnor's proximity to Mordor, its probable huge gold surplus and the kingdom's lack of starting agents makes it an attractive target. Worry over the capitol has even dictated entire opening strategies. One veteran player whom I respect enormously suggested moving the capitol on turn 1 with the two 'free' characters. However it is my belief that only Ji Indur starts the game strong enough to jump right on Minas Arnor and start stealing and assassinating. Tom Walton's wise assessment of the Cloud Lord agent progression recommends training agents at home until they are 40-50 pts before sending them out. This should give N. Gondor a turn or two before a concerted agent effort could begin to hurt. This turn or two buffer is important to getting started on the offensive footing that can lead to major problems for Mordor.
[Tom's note: even Ji Indur has problems with many NG starting characters in the first few turns. Odds are that initial assassinations/kidnappings won't work unless Din Ohtar + artifacts shows up at the pass.]
[Brian's comment: My experience from game 131 verifies Tom's analysis. The Cloud Lord has failed thus far on four assassination attempts, two of Ji Indur on Tarondor. He is a Nazgul, and a formidable character, but he's not unstoppable in the early game.]
The third major issue to decide upon at game start is what to do with character slots. With only 2 'free' characters not commanding armies and complete deficiencies in all areas except commanders, the problem is a serious one. In my opinion the largest threat to N. Gondor is not from the Dark Servant military, but from agents.
The best counter to agents is other agents and emissaries. With the new rules, 30 point agent guards can immediately effect the ability of enemy agents to steal gold or assassinate the excellent N. Gondor commanders. An emissary needs to be in the 45 to 50 point range before being able to double enemy agents, and you have to somehow come across the target agent's name. In view of these two facts, I would spend 3 of the first four character slots on agents to slow the cut-throats and cut-purses coming out of Mordor. I would buy an emissary for the last slot and put down camps. With the number of camps limited in the game, I believe it is important for the Freeps to slap down camps as fast as possible to maintain the economic advantage they depend on to win the game. Possible camp locations would include the popular and scenic Fangorn; the bountiful hills of S. Gondor; the gap of Rohan to hold up incursions by unfriendly Dunlendings; and if one is feeling particularly adventurous, a developable camp in the extreme southern deserts of Harondor along the road and off everybody's maps could prove useful when the Corsairs eventually begin harassing S. Gondor.
N. Gondor's initial power is certainly in its military might though, and it is here that serious damage to the enemy can occur early in the game. I offer the following assessment of possible moves and battles for the first three turns of the game.
Turn 0 Order of Battle-
Army Arnor (2924) - 900HC, 300HI, 300LI
Army Ethraid (3028) - 300HC, 300LC, 300HI, 300LI
Army Romenost (3116) - 600HC, 600LC
Army Angrenost (2119) - 300HI, 300LI, 300AR
Navy Osgilaith (3024) - 300HI, 300LI
Navy Pelargir (2927) - 300LC, 600HI
In determining opening moves for these energetic, well equipped, and skilfully led armies, it is necessary to determine possible targets for the various aggressor nations in the area.
Long Rider (3230) - 600HC, 300LC
Ice King (3122) - 1200LC, 1200HI, 1200LI, 600AR, 2400MA
Fire King (3224) - 1800HI, 900LI, 2100AR
One early advantage that N. Gondor enjoys is a relatively limited number of targets available to the economically desperate Servants. Military security can be assured by getting the superior N. Gondor armies into position to confront the Servants at the appropriate time.
The Long Rider will almost certainly appear at 3028 on turn 1. His economy is really hurting and he needs to lose some troops or take some pop centres, and it is too far around southern Mordor to be worth paying all that cavalry for all those turns.
The Fire King obviously goes to 3124 for the unopposed seizure of Minas Ithil. He will either attack or threaten the pop centre then proceed onto 3024 the following turn. It is simply too far through rough terrain for him to reverse course and not show up at 3024 on turn 2.
The Ice King at least has some target choices, but the terrain in Ithien limits him to only 2; the town at 3020 or a quick grab for Osgilaith at 3024.
I discount the Dark Lt. and Dog Lord armies from the Anduin battle for the following reasons. The Dark Lt. army starting at 3120 simply isn't strong enough to change the outcome of the following battles. If it does choose to come south, its turn 1 target would be 3024 and it would be caught and destroyed with the Ice King.
Also, the Dog Lord needs this army's support to have any hope of doing damage to the Eothraim who if left alone, can do more hurt to Mordor than N. Gondor. So, onward against the Long Rider, Ice and Fire King.
End of Turn 1 Order of Battle-
Army Arnor (3028) - 900HC, 800HI, 300LI
Army Ethraid (2927) - 300HC, 300LC, 600HI, 300LI
Army Romanost (2421) - 672HC, 600LC
Army Angrenost (2121) - 600HI, 300LI, 300AR
Navy Osgilaith (2924) - 700HI, 300LI
Navy Pelegir (3023) - 300LC, 1100HI (or (2926) with same)
Long Rider (3028) - 600HC, 300LC
Ice King (3023) - 1200LC, 1600HI, 1200LI, 600AR, 2400MA
Fire King (3124) - 2200HI, 900LI, 2100AR
Turn 1 Analysis -
All armies and Navies recruit maximum Heavy Infantry. We should accommodate The Long Riders desire to lose troops by force marching Army Arnor (our strongest army) there to meet him at 3028.
The Fire King moves to Minas Ithil unopposed. There is nothing we can do about this right away. But don't worry- he'll get his in a moment.
My inexperience showed while planning this turn. I'd like to move Navy Pelegir to intercept the Ice King (and anyone travelling down the road with him) at 3023 forcing him to stop. However I'm not sure if his army can move through my navy on to 3024 without having to stop (help veterans!). If he can move past, we'd like to end our movement on a town so we can recruit the last 150HI our transports can hold. To do this we hold at 3023 on the first 11 days and retreat to 2926 on the last three days of the move. If I can stop him at 3023, the 150 men won't matter in the end. Of course, I'll end up losing Osgilaith in the event he gets by, but I'll get it back next turn. If the Ice King goes to 3020, there is nothing N. Gondor can do to hold the town without serious help from the Eothraim, available this early only in a team game. If the Ice King comes south the following turn, we'll be ready for him. If he doesn't, he becomes the Eothraim's problem or, if you establish a good relationship with the Horse-Lords early, your cavalry at 2421 can move to help intercept.
[Tom's note: a navy won't block army movement, or vice versa.]
Both 'free' commanders get moved to the capitol and transfer mounts and leather to 2421 for Army Romanost. Army Angrenost is positioned to recruit 400HI at Algarond, and can now move east if desired; hold and deter aggression from the Duns; or force march to join an attack on the Dun capitol if Cardolan/Arthedain don't feel like worrying about their backs in exchange for a potential ally. Army Romanost recruits whatever cavalry it can from the pop centre and withdraws down the road to the Major Town at 2421 to recruit next turn. This army cannot stop any of the Mordor armies alone, so in an individual game withdrawing it for reinforcement makes good sense. So ends the first turn.
End of Turn 2 Order of Battle-
Army Arnor, Army Ethraid, Navy Osgilaith, Navy Pelegir are all together at (3024) - 1002HC, 300LC, 4024HI, 834LI
Army Romanost (3024) - 1072HC, 600LC
Army Angrenost (2121) - 600HI, 300LI, 300AR
Ice King (3024) - 1200LC, 1600HI, 1200LI, 600AR, 2400MA
Fire King (3024) - 2200HI, 900LI, 2100AR
Turn 2 Analysis-
This analysis will proceed assuming I could stop the Ice King at 3023. Army Angrenost will no longer be considered as it will be unable to reach the Anduin in time to aid the battle, and a backup army in the west makes sense for security against the Duns or an incursion by the Dark Lts. or the Dog Lord coming down the Northern road. All Armies and Navies recruit maximum HI.
Turn 2 begins with Army Arnor crushing the Long Rider at 3028, taking 22% casualties, and proceeding north. Both Navies sail to 3024 to stop both the Ice King and the Fire King who will appear there. All 3 armies join them by turns' end for a massive battle on Turn 3. The Fire King's troop numbers assume he could threaten away Minas Ithil, no guaranteed feat and a smart Fire King will attack so as not to have to go back later, so his troop numbers could be reduced by as much as 45%! (All those archers really hurt his army constitution). The two 'free' commanders, if Ji hasn't gotten one, can begin hiring agents, changing tax rates, or declaring enemies as desired. Now might be a good time to move the capitol if an enemy agent appeared on turn 1.
End of Turn 3 Order of Battle-
N. Gondor (3024) - 1013HC, 576LC, 1945HI, 406LI
Cloud Lord (3024) - 900HC, 900LC, 900HI, 900LI, 900AR, 900MA
Turn 3 Analysis-
The turn 3 battle vs the Fire King and Ice King at 3024 leaves N. Gondor victorious but suffering 52% damage. The Fire King has no serious challenge potential, but Hoarmaruth of the Ice King could beat even Tarondor if stacked with all their mage artifacts, so all commanders must refuse challenge. We can count on the Cloud Lord attacking on turn 4 because that big army is a drain on his treasury. By virtue of excellent commanders, and the troops' high training and equipment, victory is assured here as well, though at 80% casualties (less the Fort bonus). This leaves no army to speak of in Ithien, but has achieved the destruction of 3 Mordorian starting Armies and left the way clear for South Gondor to mount an attack anywhere they choose. I call a military stalemate in Ithien a victory for North Gondor and the Free Peoples!
[Tom's note: actually, I think the resulting stalemate would slightly favour the Dark Servants. Though the economies of the 4 FP in the region are just about equal to all of Mordor, Mordor has more characters to recruit with. This means they can get more troops into the target areas faster than the FP can (same economic drain, it just turns over faster for the DS). Also, Ji Indur's agents will be good enough to start kidnapping at recruiting sites come turn 6 or 7, which can cripple the FP. I used a team of agents to disband three armies in one of my games by hitting recruiting sites in packs (maybe four armies, but I'm not sure).]
Certainly by this time, S. Gondor should be able to have a huge Navy or Army at Osgilaith (3024). In a team game, 5000 S. Gondor troops should be available at Osgilaith (3024) on turn 2 and a waxing of all Mordor armies is assured and a strong drive toward Mordor's capitols is possible!
[Brian's comment: I tried like the dickens to predict troop movements of the Dark Servants and my own resulting countermoves, but there are simply too many possibilities for me to plan this position more than a couple of turns in advance. Rather than a turn-by-turn plan I favour in this case a more fluid plan, keeping most of your troops in battle and recruiting like mad. Tom and I discussed this position a couple of months ago, just as I was getting started and I decided to march as many troops as possible on turn one to Osgiliath. I was rewarded by the Ice King showing up on turn one with all but 100 men-at-arms, and he was crushed. I'd rather not comment on character creation strategies as that would reveal too much of my middle and end game strategies for this position, and I don't feel confident enough in this game to put my strategies in the public domain.]
I'd be interested in hearing tactics for Mordor to defeat a united Gondorian thrust; it looks nearly impossible to me! Perhaps after some thought, this will lead me to another article...
Strategy & Tactics: North Gondor
From Brian Mason
Allow me to digress once more.
In my first game of me-pbm (game 62) the Northern Gondor position was dropped early on, and despite the heroics of Celdrahil and friends under Glen Mayfield the fate in the North (and then for the rest of us) was sealed.
In my second game of me-pbm (game 97) the Northern Gondor position was dropped early. Paul Mihok has again done a workmanlike job with South Gondor, but without the assistance of the Corsairs under Tom Walton the South would also have fallen.
Therefore, when joining my third game of me-pbm with Glen and Jeremy Richman I decided to see what the fuss was about and try Northern Gondor for myself.
Dave Holt offered some very elegant and beautiful strategy for the position in issue 19 of "From the Mouth of Sauron" and a typical strategy and tactics article would carry much extraneous data.
Nevertheless, allow me to do two things: one, to briefly list the basic data so familiar in this column, and two, to discuss some of the specific strategies I've implemented in game 131.
Basic Data
How does North Gondor compare to other nations? At the start of the game they rank as follows (Allegiance Comparison Tables, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #3):
among all
among Free Peoples
Total Tax Base
1st
1st
Resource Base
1st
1st
Combat Strength
2nd
2nd
Character points
7th
3rd
Artefacts
tied for 9th
4th
North Gondor has very good production in the materials made by plains, but very weak in other areas. The variety of terrain types is not nearly as nice as that of South Gondor. Expected production (Population Centre Development, Brian Mason, "The Mouth," #2) which has not been adjusted for climate for North Gondor (usually excellent, I might add) would be as follows:
le
br
st
mi
fo
ti
mo
go
production
2976
274
118
9
10066
346
653
4235
Tactics in Game 131
I'll discuss specific tactics I've used in this game which the enemy certainly knows about. Others I'll keep to myself. As in all games, this one had some peculiarities, some of which are detailed below.
As mentioned in my Ice King S&T elsewhere, I opted to have my armies assemble into a big force at Osgiliath. I blew the bridge at Pelargir (only one road to Gondor!) and did not attempt to hold Minas Ithil.
My Initial character allotment was heavy in commander/agents to guard against the inevitable agent actions to come, and to eventually replace the commanders which will be assassinated or kidnapped.
After the first couple of turns, I began to move my armies in an erratic manner. I tried to not ever go straight at a target, but to always have two or more targets in range. Again, this is to protect from agent action.
I attempted to establish relationships early with all the neutrals. Unfortunately, this has been a very bizarre game, with the Harad the only neutral left in the game by turn five.
We had the misfortune of joining this game with four players who worked for GAD (or so they claimed). They were playing the Woodmen, Eothraim, Arthedain and Noldo. Despite the very fine play of some of the Dark Servants, if we eventually lose this game it will be from the inactivity and unreliability of the GAD players. Despite having a CI$ address, they would not respond to email and missed turns with consummate regularity. Even after about seven turns when two of them decided to play, they still would not communicate by email and still missed turns.
All that was to get to this. To be able to stand against the combined might of Mordor it is necessary to have reliable allies. There have been two battles at Osgiliath where the battle would have been lost were it not for the timely arrival of Amroth and the Sinda from Edhellond (thanks Glen!) While Southern Gondor has missed a couple of turns in my game his aggressiveness is a boon to our side.
It is likely that you can hold off Mordor by yourself for awhile, however, good support allows you the luxury to begin other adventures. For example, in my most recent turn, two other armies of mine met an army of the Sinda at Dol Guldur and destroyed the place. This position is by no means a cakewalk. However, because of your vast starting economic and military strength you have lots of options. It is a great position to play, especially if you know you have some allies to count on!