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.
News - March 8th Update: Basically Complete
Posted on March 8, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (67)
Since you've all been so good... I thought I'd let you know I've just finished fixing the major bug that was delaying things. My entire work-time is now dedicated to finishing up the manual, at which point we will release. Look for a new version of The Dwarf Holds by the end of the month, if not earlier!
Posted on March 8, 2012, by Nertea. View Comments (67)
News - June 18th Update: Miscellaneous Screenshots
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!.
August Release.
Posted on June 18, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (23)
News - May 22nd Update: Aragorn and Boromir
Posted on May 22, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (32)
Today's update brings you eight new juicy screenshots in a showcase on two of Gondor's most powerful heroes.
Aragorn has been moved over to Gondor, in a new, kingly capacity. He starts at Level 5 and brings a several new and powerful abilities to the Gondor's player's arsenal. Hands of the King is similar to Athelas, but has a much increased range. As always, the trusty Blademaster grants a good offensive and defensive boost when needed. His Leadership provides a hefty bonus to nearby troops' damage and experience gain, making him a good team player. When the King reaches Rank 6, he gains Anduril, the Flame of the West, whose strikes reduce enemy hero armour with every blow. At Rank 7, he mounts his steed, allowing him to ride into battle with Knights of Gondor and Dol Amroth. At Rank 10, he can use his inspiration command of men's hearts to deliver an Oath to Arms. This potent temporary leadership bonus inspires nearby troops to heroic heights, and increases in power when more Gondorian battalions are in the area.
Boromir retains the Horn of Gondor, now available at Rank 3. At Rank 4 he gains his customary Leadership, and Captain of Gondor remains at Rank 6 to fill out his set of vanilla abilities. Two new abilities have been added - at Rank 7 he dons additional amour, increasing defense and health. At Rank 10, he gain For Gondor!, an ability that greatly boosts attack and speed of nearby Gondorian infantry.
Posted on May 22, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (32)
News - April 18th Update: Pippin and Denethor
Posted on April 19, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (30)
Welcome to the first Gondor update, featuring the Steward Denethor and his newest Citadel Guardsman.
Denethor is a rather unique hero. Firstly, he doesn't gain levels - he stays fixed at Level 5 when you train him - after all, he is rather stangnant in his ideals. This doesn't mean that he's any less a force to be reckoned with, however. He remains the only hero with a retinue - when trained, he is surrounded by four Guardsmen, who will attack enemies if the Steward so requires. He himself will hang back and observe. If they die, they will be replaced after a short duration.
His abilities are also somewhat unique - many of them have disadvantages as well as advantages. He can gaze into the corrupted palantir of Minas Tirith, revealing an area, but at a cost to his own sanity. After such an undertaking all of your troops on the map will be debuffed for a short while, so take when you use it. His Shrewd Leader aura is also a double-edged sword: it provides bonuses to attack and armour, but decreases experience gain and fear resistance. As a counterbalance, he does have a powerful experience-granting ability, Steward's Favour, which is more powerful than others in the game. His most unappealing attribute though is his tendency to see others as a threat to his kingdom. Last of His House passively damages 'threats' that are nearby - these threats are Aragorn and Gandalf. Though the damage is low compared to large health values, it adds up over time, so Denethor should not be placed idly near either of them, lest he undermine their efforts to save Gondor from the Dark Lord.
Pippin is a much more cheerful character. He keeps his Throw Rocks/Draw Sword toggle, and gains two new abilities. At Level 4, he dons his Citadel armour, getting a substantial armour bonus. At level 5, he gains the passive Trollsbane, an ability that greatly increases his damage against Trolls.
Posted on April 19, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (30)
News - April 4th Update: The last Mordor update
Posted on April 5, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (35)
You might have thought that we'd shown you all of the changes to Mordor. Well, you were wrong! We have enough stuff for one more update to the Dark Lord's armies.
Shagrat and Gorbag are two interesting Orcish characters that we have added to provide some heroic flavour to Mordor's early game. No longer will you have to sulk as your friends prance about leveling their early-game heroes while you're stuck capping points with a somewhat boring corrupted hobbit. Of course, you can still do that if you like. I won't stop you.
Gorbag is a weak early-game hero with a focus on abilities instead of direct combat. He starts out with Kick, which is a simple melee attack that knocks a unit on its backside. At Level 3, he gains the passive Greed ability. This gives his strikes a secondary effect - if he attacks a resource structure, its production will be decreased significantly for a short amount of time. When combined with his stealth ability gained at Level 4, this makes him an excellent raider. Once Level 6 is reached, he can apply his skills to friendly structures - Forced Labour increases the production or build speed of a target building greatly for 30 seconds. However, this breakneck production speed also damages the building over time, so don't use it on front-line structures or even ones with low starting health...
Shagrat is Gorbag's tougher cousin, preferring a brute-force approach. He has a good amount more health and does more damage. His initial Loyalty to the Eye ability gives him attack and armor bonuses when near friendly structures, and he provides useful leadership to the Black Uruks of Mordor at level 2. Eventually, at Level 5, he can use Get 'em Lads! to summon two hordes of Black Uruks for some help in a pinch.
Next update, I'll start releasing information on another faction!
Posted on April 5, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (35)