The Northmen are an interesting position to play for a new player. The starting special abilities aren't that impressive and you will usually be the number one target for any aggressive action by the Long Rider. Despite this, with help from the Dwarves in the Iron Hills, the Northmen can still have an important role in the final outcome. Build up those emissary teams right from the start, be aggressive with your armies and with a little luck and good planning with your team-mates you should be able to hold the initiative in the Rhun. In many games, the Eothraim abandons the concept of defending its homeland and instead goes full tilt for an attack on NW Mordor. This can be a good strategy but it leaves the Northmen position vulnerable, especially if the Blind Sorcerer or Cloud Lord send part of their armies north right from the start.
The Northmen position doesn't usually figure in the final reckoning. However, a skilful and lucky player can have an important role to play in the later stages of the game if he has built up a powerful emissary company. In games were the commodity prices remain high (rare) then the Northmen can make a lot of money very quickly. And with good emissaries can become an economic powerhouse.
Strategy Guide by Dave Rossell
Strategy Guide by Brian Mason
Discussion by Sam Freeman
Northmen Starting Information
Strategy and Tactics: The Northmen
By Dave Rossell
In my first game of ME-PBM I played the Northmen and, along with Eothraim wound up on the receiving end of a DS blitzkrieg. The Sinda and Dwarves each decided they had better things to do than help us. So did the rest of the Freeps. So, anyone out there have some good starting moves for the Northmen that will help them survive the blitz--without the help of so-called allies?
Northmen
Turn 1) Combine western armies and get them heading back toward Shrel Kain. Have Dudannis move to Shrel Kain and join Barlin's army. Have Frumgara do the same. Pick one of your mages to do buys and sells and move her to Shrel. Have the other one start learning locate artefact. Barlin downgrades and Eoder (or whoever's in charge of the navy) recruits and moves the navy NE, NE, E, SE, NW, NE, E to drop troops at 4415. Start frantic diplomacy with Dwarves and Sinda to ask them to keep troops in your area to help out. Ask Dwarves to move troops to Dilgul.
Turn 2) Dudannis names an agent. Frumgara creates a 30 emissary and moves to Eoder's navy. Barlin recruits (Heavy cav, if possible). Western armies move to Easterling pop centre at 3713. If Eoder hasn't bumped into the Long rider fleet, he sails to Dilgul. Start diplomacy with another nation to get a major town somewhere else--far away from evil agents. Mage still prenticing, trying to learn locate artefact. Raise your tax rate to 50 %, if possible.
Turn 3) New agent names an agent, moves to another pop centre to start guarding. Dudannis guards and joins western armies, now at Shrel Kain. Barlin recruits, guards. New emissary names an emissary, moves to Lonely Mountain to establish camp. Mage prenticing and researching. Other economy stuff. Eoder retakes Dilgul, or destroys it, depending on how much help the Long Rider has.
Turn 4) New emissary names an emissary, moves to 4212 to set up camp in forest. Emissary ignores encounter at Lonely Mountain, moves off towards Fangorn to set up more camps down there. Barlin transfers troops to Gaerandil (the commander of the newly arrived army, and joins army. Odagavia remains in capital to raise taxes and keep house. Army either waits on Shrel Kain for the onslaught or moves south to counter attack, retake Dilgul if necessary.
Turn 5 +) By now you can probably start manipulating the market. Watch the prices carefully. With the 20 % bonus on each side of the exchange, it's possible to buy something and sell it in the same turn and make money on the deal. Keep naming agents and emissaries. If it's spring, send the emissaries up to the plains above the Sea of Rhun. Otherwise, head them south and west toward Fangorn and Arthedain/Cardolan, where the climate is better. Have the mage with locate artefact look for some 15-point mage artefacts or maybe some 1500-point combat artefacts. The Noldo and Sinda have already found the really nice stuff by this time, but there's still lots out there, and a good combat artefact on one of your commanders could make a "easy" challenge from an overconfident evil blow up in his or her face.
Strategy & Tactics: The Northmen
By Brian Mason
(From Tom: Brian headlines this article as he dives into the S&T without the comments of his trusty co-editor. After reading what Brian had written, I realised that I agreed with him 100% and that an additional section from yours truly would just waste space.)
I've been hesitant to take a look at this position for the simple reason that Jeremy Richamn is playing this position in game 131, and apart from knowing more about this game than I do, he is very familiar with this position. Nevertheless, I'll make a stab at it, and see what I can come up with.
Basic Data
How do the Northmen compare to other nations? At the start of the game they rank as follows (Allegiance Comparison Tables, Tom Walton, "The Mouth," #3):
among all players
among Free Peoples
Total Tax Base
tied for 8th
tied for 5th
Resource Base
tied for 12th
tied for 7th
Combat Strength
12th
5th
Character points
tied for last
tied for last
Artefacts
tied for last
tied for last
The Northmen have very good production in some areas, and abysmal production in other. Expected production (Population Centre Development, Brian Mason, "The Mouth," #2) which has not been adjusted for climate for the Northmen would be as follows:
le
br
st
mi
fo
ti
mo
go
production
1722
52
35
0
5464
103
384
799
Dealing with the Long Rider
One of the biggest problems the Northmen face has already been outlined in a previous S&T discussion (issue 16). The siege which the Long Rider can put your capital under. While it is just as likely that the Long Rider may concentrate on the Eothraim (it is possible, given the much more precarious financial situation and the greater military strength that having the Long Rider concentrate on the Eothraim is the more effective course of action). However, the possibility remains that Din Ohtar and Lomelinde can make your capital a dangerous place to remain. There are a couple of ways to approach this problem:
Go on the offensive. Get a couple of good sub-commands in your capital army and train them(through both ArmyMan and TrpsMan) every turn. When somebody turns up, challenge them. Keep Dudannis (or a new 30 agent) around just to GrdLoc every turn.
Ignore it. Stay in your capital, play normal, and hope that the Long Rider doesn't come, and if he does, get out.
Run. On turn one get everybody out of your capital. Only go back when you know (or believe) it to be a safe place. Communicate with your allies often to keep track of the location of Din Ohtar and Friends.
Run faster. On turn one, sell all you can and Relocate your capital. He will eventually find you, but this may give you the time you need to get early nation orders accomplished (character creation, etc.).
What kind of Characters?
Invest the gold right out and get yourself a 30 emissary. Send him out have him place camps (the four unoccupied Iron Hills hexes are good choices on your map, as the forest around Rhubar off your map). When he/she is a 40emissary bring them back. Name lots and lots of them.
You have one of the maps which shows the least to other players, so take advantage of this by building camps and upgrading them. Make yourself an economic powerhouse.
When the emissaries get much above 50 form them in companies and send them out to ruin somebody's day. Assuming you name the 30 emissary on turn two, he moves off on turn three and begins creating camps on turn three he should be ready to begin naming 40 emissaries when you get your turn six allotment of characters.
If you were in Eriador, you'd have the best agent in the region.
You're not in Eriador.
You have a good agent, but a good agent is not adequate. Name and train. Name and train. Name and train. The other three slots (after naming the 30 emissary) should be filled with 30 agents (assuming you haven't lost commanders). Have them join armies and train them constantly. Only by training every turn can you even hope to slow down the Long Rider.
What do you do with the rest?
When you get a new camp send your mages to them and have them train there, out of the limelight so they will not be an obvious target. They can quickly get to an adequate level where they can begin learning good lore spells.
Your armies have some rather obvious duties.
The Rhun navy: At most, available transports can carry 600 more infantry. While this is the weakest of all Northman forces, it has the potential to do the most damage. Every turn one order should be spent on order 830 to patrol the Sea of Rhun. To intercept the Long Rider navy is the goal. Losing the Northmen navy is inconsequential if the Long Rider loses his capability to ferry troops from Tol Buruth to the shore. Carefully planned co-ordination with the Sinda can allow the maximum coverage of area.
Combining the two armies at Esgaroth and Dale is a rather obvious first turn move, for good reason: it's a smart idea. Get the armies together, make them a lethal force and give each one a backup commander. Their objectives are a little more nebulous. Recruiting right away and moving them to a rendezvous point is a good first move but after that, the choices become a little less clear. Moving across the road on the North of Mirkwood towards Kala Dulakurth is an option, but if the Long Rider is successful in landing troops your other armies may not be sufficient to stop him. Perhaps the best starting plan is to have the armies combine at 3408/3509 to get them off the Dragon Lord map and you are able to co-ordinate strategy with the Eothraim, Dwarves, Sinda, and Woodmen.
As to your capital army, where you move it depends a great deal on how you plan on dealing with the character threat. Further statements would be speculation.
Other factors
I've avoided discussing possibly the most important Northmen ability, that of making a tremendous impact on the market. I'm not going to get into the details, but I commend for your attention two excellent articles in past issues of "The Mouth." In issue 2, "Economics in Middle-earth" and in issue 8, "Emissaries in Middle-earth," both by Tom Walton. Also, Dave Rossell has some good comments in his "Strategy & Tactics: The Northmen and other comments" in issue 13 of "The Mouth."
Comments on Northmen/Long Rider strategies
By Sam Freeman
You made a good point that LR agents in the Northmen capital can make life miserable for the Northmen. I wonder if it would be a good idea for the Northmen to move their capital to Esgaroth on turn one. They have the money at start to afford this. Although it is expensive, consider the money it costs to replace assassinated characters. Also, if the Northmen can't change taxes or name emissaries, their economy will be hurting soon enough. Even NatSells become risky ventures if the LR agents have their way. All in all, it seems more cost effective to move the capital and let the LR agents flail around in Shrel-kain for a while. What do others think?