The Dwarf Holds (TDH) is a mod for The Battle for Middle-Earth. TDH adds a fully-functional Erebor faction, significantly updates the gameplay and artwork of the original four factions, and includes a wide array of maps covering the whole of Middle-earth.
TDH's latest version, 0.75, was released in March 2012, and can be downloaded from our downloads page. For more information, check out our news (below), screenshots on our media page, and information about new content on our about page.
Posted on July 2, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (39)
Hey there!
It's been quite a while since our last update and the release of the 0.755 patch, which we hope you're all enjoying. But even though things have been fairly quiet here in terms of public updates, don't worry! The team has been hard at work on lots of exciting new things. So in this update, we thought we'd give you a little peek at what's been happening behind the scenes, and what you can expect from the Dwarf Holds over the next while.
For those of you who haven't guessed as much already, i'm pleased to announce that The Dwarf Holds is currently working on adding in two brand new campaigns. Those of you who were savvy enough (or illiterate enough ) to venture past the "Unavailable" buttons in the mod's campaign section may have even caught a glimpse of the beginnings of a new Living World Map. Well, see below for the nearly-finished result.
Now we don't want to give away too many details, but we can tell you that there will be two Dwarven campaigns. One will follow the story of Balin, and his ill-fated Retaking of Moria. The other will take you through the War in the North, and the Dwarven battles that took place during the War of the Ring.
Each campaign will contain plenty of new maps, new units, and new spellbook powers for you to experience; and we've made sure to include a unique and interesting variety of campaign missions and map objectives for you to play through.
As i said, we wouldn't want to ruin the surprises by showing you too much of the different campaign missions, so updates will probably be fairly scarce from now on. However, we'll certainly try and give you small glimpses when we can, so here's a little sneak peek at the first mission of the Moria campaign, The Eastgate.
Posted on July 2, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (39)
Posted on March 23, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (52)
Posted on March 23, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (52)
Posted on August 13, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (125)
This week, the update will be showing off 4 more excellent maps, made by some of the very talented young mappers we have here at T3A.
Added to TDH's map list, we have Greenway, by Dunedain Ranger76. And making his mapping debut is Fudge, with his Linhir, Edhellond and Pinnath Gelin maps .
Greenway
The Greenway is an ancient Gondorian road that traverses Eriador. Beginning in Fornost, it leads southward towards Tharbad, where it joins the Old South Road.
The map has a 1 vs 1 layout with camps, along with several outposts and settlements to wage skirmishes over. Dense forests and sparse ruins are the only features of the terrain, making ambush tactics and army distribution key to your battle strategy.
Above, uruk hai assault peasants attempting to control a settlement plot. Forces of Isengard rally for an impending attack, and a small group of Rohirrim are powerless against the arsenal of Saruman.
Linhir
Linhir lies at the junction of the River Gilrain and the River Serni, near to the Mouths of the Anduin. It is one of the major ports in Lebennin, one of Gondor's southern fiefdoms. During the War of the Ring, Linhir was attacked by the Corsairs, before it was relieved by Aragorn and the Grey Company, and the Army of the Dead.
A 3 player map with camps, an outpost and several settlements lie within the narrow chokepoints of the city, which is accessible from both sides of the map. A southern bridge also bypasses the main city route, allowing for various flanking options, and interesting free-for-all matches.
Khazad-uzbadul enter the dwarven outpost, whilst Dwarven archers make their way across the bridge below - before garrisoning in the ruined towers to help dwarven warriors crush an uruk raid. Meanwhile, Dain and his forces hold the city's pathways, preventing uruks from advancing over the bridge.
Edhellond
Edhellond is an ancient Elven harbour, located in southern Gondor, north of Dol Amroth. Built at the mouth of the Ringlo and Morthond Rivers, the last of the elven folk of Edhellond have long since sailed into the West.
The map has a 1 vs 1 castles layout, as well as two outposts and a few isolated settlement plots. A river separates the two players, which can be crossed by the shallow ford, or via the fortress stairs that lead towards the Elven fortress. An easily defendable layout of walls and stairways, the outpost within the fortress may prove a crucial strategic point to hold.
The Rohirrim lead a charge against forces of Mordor, whilst Haldir and the Galadhrim defend the bridge onto the ancient fortress walls. Lastly, an orc raid on an outpost is quickly quelled by the Rohan army, led by its valiant heroes.
Posted on August 13, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (125)
Posted on June 18, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (23)
Just to prove we're still alive. I don't have more than an hour or two to mod per week these days, so I just took a couple of screenshots of many things that you have not seen yet in Rohan and Isengard. They're all shaping up nicely!
However, I'm not giving any details on them! Mwahahaah!.
Posted on June 18, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (23)
Posted on March 16, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (21)
In this week's update, we'll be showcasing a few excellent new maps, exclusive to The Dwarf Holds. Our very talented mappers have been working hard to create more interesting and visually-stunning maps for you to wage battles over, and the latest three certainly don't disappoint. Added to the increasingly long list of TDH's player-made maps will be Carnen by m@tt, and Minhiriath and Lossarnach by _Haldir_.
Carnen
Carnen, or the Redwater by its Mannish name, flows from the Iron Hills on the borders of Rhovanion and Rhun. Eventually meeting with the Celduin, the River Running, the river flows into the Sea of Rhun. The large amount of iron deposits carried from the Iron Hills gives the river a reddish tinge, and hence the name 'Redwater'.
The map has a 1 vs 1 layout with castles, and contains several outposts, settlements, towers and strategic river crossings to control. Players can launch direct offensives through the centre of the map, or flank their opponent using alternate crossing points.
Above, Dain and troops from the Iron Hills cross the Carnen, and swiftly slay an orc raid. Dain and his bodyguard then defend the area against the combined forces of Mordor and Harad.
Minhiriath
Minhiriath lies in Eriador, forming the large expanse of land between the Greyflood and Brandywine Rivers. It was once populated by those travelling between Arnor and Gondor, and scattered tribes of wild men. However, the ruin of Eriador, and the fall of Arnor, have seen Minhiriath become desolate and ruined. Only remnants of it's former usage now remain.
Minhiriath is a 7 player castles map, the only one of its kind. Interesting as a free-for-all or a 3 vs 4 map, players will be able to fight over two central outposts, and numerous settlements and towers. The central bridge also allows players to pass both under and over it, making it a crucial strategic point to control.
Yeoman archers guard the entrance to the bridge, whilst the Rohirrim recover at the nearby outpost. Elfhelm, Theoden and Eomer then lead the Rohirrim under the bridge, whilst the archers keep watch from above. Lastly, Theoden rallies his Royal Guard by the shallow stream that meanders through the land.
Lossarnach
Lastly, but certainly not least, is Lossarnach, one of Gondor's southern fiefdoms. Located within the vales of the White Mountains, the River Erui flows through the centre of the town. Its mountainous woodlands are lush and green, and are filled with flowers in the spring. Lossarnach is home to many of Gondor's people, and its lord led a company of men to the defense of Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring.
The map has a 6 player castles layout - perfect for 3 vs 3 matches with teams each side of the river, or for some intense free-for-all matches. The town occupies the centre of the map, and is spread across the central river which is spanned by two bridges. There are two outposts, one on each side of the town, which players will find fun trying to defend amongst the narrow town streets and turns. The river is also forded on either side of town, providing various flanking options.
In the town streets, Boromir and Faramir defend a nearby settlement against attacking forces of orcs and haradrim. Gondor forces hold the south bridge against an orc incursion, and Boromir sounds the Horn of Gondor, quelling a raid on Lossarnach's outskirts.
Posted on March 16, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (21)