The Dwarf Holds (TDH) is a mod for The Battle for Middle-Earth. TDH adds a fully-functional Erebor faction, updates the original four factions will hi-res models and skins and includes a wide array of maps covering the whole of Middle-earth.
TDH is currently unreleased, but we are looking to release early 2010. For more information, check out our news (below), screenshots on our media page as information about new content on our about page.
News - January 23rd Update: Rohan Spellbook, Part II
Posted on January 23, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (15)
Update time!
This week we'll be revealing the last of the changes to Rohan's spellbook, which also makes this the last Rohan update!
Replacing the now-obsolete Anduril ability as one of Rohan's tier 2 powers is Aid from Lorien. A passive power, Aid from Lorien allows the player to recruit Haldir and the Galadhrim from the Rohan Archery Range.
With the ability to toggle between bow and sword, the Galadhrim are the same elves you know and love - with the exception of the trample immunity offered by their sword toggle, which has been removed. Your Galadhrim can still be upgraded with heavy armour, forged blades and fire arrows; can remain stealthed amongst trees; and can be combined into a double battalion.
Also joining Rohan's hero roster is Haldir, who is buildable from the archery range once Aid from Lorien has been purchased. A resourceful and versatile warrior, Haldir is able to remain hidden amongst trees; and his rank 1 Toggle allows him to switch between bow and sword. Whilst using his bow, Haldir is also able to use his rank 1, Pinpoint Strike ability, which damages an enemy unit and reduces their speed for a short duration.
At rank 4, Haldir gains his Elven Captain leadership ability, granting an attack and experience bonus to nearby Galadhrim. And lastly, at rank 7, is Haldir's Call Volley. When selected, Haldir fires a flaming signal arrow, which soon brings a flurry of arrows down on any unfortunate enemies within the targeted area.
And as many of you have guessed, replacing Army of the Dead as Rohan's final spellbook power are The Three Hunters. For 10pp, you can temporarily summon, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to the map, each with a range of unique abilities.
Firstly, each of the Three Hunters share the passive Hunter ability, which grants Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli a small boost to armour and speed whenever they are nearby either of the other hunters.
Aragorn gains his Knife Throw ability, which damages and reduces the armour of the targeted unit. Athelas allows Aragorn to heal his fellow hunters, as well as other friendly heroes; and Blademaster vastly increases his attack speed and damage for a short duration. A natural born leader, Aragorn's Leadership inspires surrounding troops, granting them a damage and experience bonus.
Legolas retains his Hawk Strike ability, allowing him to fire twin shots at a targeted enemy. Knife Fighter allows Legolas to temporarily switch to melee attacks, as well as granting him a boost to armour. Legolas' Train Archers grants experience to targeted units; and his Elf Eyes ability allows Legolas to reveal stealthed enemies within a targeted area.
Gimli keeps his Axe Throw ability, allowing him to take out multiple enemies at once. Donning the shield he was given by Theoden in Rohan's capital, the Buckler of Edoras grants Gimli an increase to defence, at a cost to speed. And lastly, Gimli's Dwarven Vengeance ability allows him to regain small amounts of health whilst attacking. A passive ability, it also inspires surrounding troops, providing them with a small boost.
And that's it! Hope you enjoyed this week's update, keep your eyes peeled for a release announcement which hopefully won't be too far away!
Posted on January 23, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (15)
News - January 16th Update: Rohan Spellbook, Part I
Posted on January 16, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (15)
Hey there!
In this weeks update, we'll be looking at the first lot of changes to Rohan's Spellbook.
Replacing Heal as one of Rohan's tier 1 powers is Ride Light and Swift. When activated, this global ability grants all your mounted units an increase in speed and a decrease in trample deceleration. Lasting for 30 seconds, Ride Light and Swift can be equally useful in cutting through enemy ranks, outmaneuvering foes, or for making hasty retreats.
At tier 2 is Muster of Rohan, replacing the now completely-removed Elven Wood. For 2pp, this ability provides a 60 second bonus to all stables when activated - decreasing the cost and build time of all mounted units. When combined with the cavalry discount provided by farms, the cost of mustering your rohirrim can be incredibly low!
Lastly, the Oath of Cirion replaces the Elven Allies power at tier 2. At a cost of 3pp, this ability summons 2 battalions of Gondor Archers and 2 battalions of Gondor Spearmen to Rohan's aid. Upgraded with heavy armour, your Gondorian allies can be extremely useful in raiding undefended settlements, outflanking enemy troops, or simply bolstering your existing forces.
And that's all for this update!
Next week: Rohan Spellbook Part II
Posted on January 16, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (15)
News - January 9th Update: The Heroes of the Mark
Posted on January 9, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (11)
Hey everybody!
Before we dive into the second Rohan update, we thought it'd be nice to give you an update on the progress of the mod. Unfortunately, Nertea is going to be away for a couple of weeks, so the release of the next patch is going to be delayed until after he comes back. Rest assured though, that progress on the mod is going swimmingly, and that besides some bugfixing and polishing, there isn't a lot left to finish off. You've all been incredibly patient - just hang in there, it won't be much longer 
Until then however, i'll be taking over the next few updates, which will cover the last changes included in the next version, 0.75!
In this update, we'll be looking at some exciting changes to the Rohan hero roster.
Firstly, in keeping with the changes made to his Gondorian counterpart Pippin, Merry will be receiving a new power - Esquire of Rohan. Available at rank 4, this passive power grants Merry a boost in armour and health. Merry otherwise remains unchanged, retaining his Elven Cloak and Toggle Sword/Rock abilities.
Newly added to Rohan's ranks is Gamling the Old. Although a capable warrior on foot, Gamling can also use his Mount ability at rank 1, allowing him to join the ranks of your rohirrim archers. A stout and loyal soldier, Gamling's Fealty ability is also available at rank 1, which grants Gamling a passive experience boost whenever near Theoden, Eomer or Erkenbrand. At rank 4, his Master of Archers leadership provides a passive attack buff to yeoman archers and rohirrim archers.
At rank 6, Gamling is able to summon The King's Standard, a banner that provides leadership and replenishes nearby battalions. It is only temporary however, and can also be destroyed by the enemy if not protected.
Also joining the Rohan hero roster is Erkenbrand. A great warrior and strong leader, Erkenbrand's rank 1 ability, Horn of the Westfold, inspires nearby troops and provides them with boosts to attack and speed. At rank 3, Erkenbrand displays the Red Shield of the Mark, which grants Erkenbrand additional health, as well as attack and armour bonuses to peasants, westfold miltia and yeoman archers. And like most of the Rohan heroes, Erkenbrand is equally skilled on horse and foot - his Mount ability available at rank 4 allows Erkenbrand to ride forth with the rest of your Rohirrim.
Erkenbrand receives his Rally the Westmark ability at rank 6 - a passive ability which decreses the cost of peasants, horsemen of the mark, and westfold militia. And finally, Erkenbrand becomes a truly fearsome warrior at rank 8, when he receives his Hammerhand Reborn ability. When activated, Erkenbrand's damage is greatly increased, and he may randomly deliver a devastating blow to knock back and damage his surrounding enemies!
Lastly, as many of you know, Aragorn and Gimli have assumed their roles amongst the heroes of Gondor and Erebor respectively. As such, Legolas has also been removed from Rohan's heroes. Don't worry though, more will be revealed on the fate of the Three Hunters in a future update 
Next week: Rohan Spellbook Part I
Posted on January 9, 2012, by _Haldir_. View Comments (11)
News - December 5th Update: Mod of the Year and The Horse Lords
Posted on December 5, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (10)
First off, I'd just like to mention that Moddb's Mod of the Year contest is going on right now. If you'd like to support us in our effort to get some BFME mods well-recognized, you could head over to our page HERE and vote for us. Also consider voting for Phoenix Rising, another Revora mod that I work on from time to time . We'd really appreciate the support.
Anyways, on to the update!
Welcome to the first Rohan update! The next few updates will roll out the changes to the Horse-Lords of Middle-earth, and then, hopefully, we'll release version 0.75.
We'll kick off the next set of updates with the three new Rohan units we'll be introducing, as well as one structure.
As in version 0.55, Rohan still has access to the Royal Guardsmen and Door-Wardens of Edoras. However, all of the new units are rather crowding the Archery Range and Stables. To that end, we're adding a Barracks to the faction (build animations graciously provided by Rob38). This structure now houses the new general units of the Rohan faction. Door Wardens are now built there at Rank 3.
The Westfold Miltia are levied spearmen. They aren't that tough or versatile, but are reasonably inexpensive. If you're having a lot of trouble with enemy cavalry and Warg Riders, some Militia may be a good choice. They combo well with Peasants and Yeoman Archers. Westfolders are constructed at the Rank 1 Barracks, but first require you to purchase the Defenders of the Wold upgrade from the same structure. This enables Westfold Militia for purchase at any Barracks, and and Horsemen of the Mark at any Farm.
Let's take a look at the Horsemen of the Mark. This new unit is built at the Farm, and is effectively a drafted, mounted peasant. They aren't cheap, but build very quickly. They are relatively unique in that they have a limited combat time before they tire of combat and return to their homes. Therefore, once you've purchased Defenders of the Wold, any of your farms can defend itself by levying up a quick unit of cavalry, which will expire in 50 seconds.
The last new unit that Rohan gets is the Rohirric Battering Ram. A basic siege weapon, it doesn't need much of a description - it is manned by a tough crew of Westfolders and can be used to batter down gates and small walls.
Posted on December 5, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (10)
News - November 21st Update: The White Hand Part II
Posted on November 21, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (27)
In this update, I'll be showing off Isengard's new hero and some major changes to Saruman.
A relatively cheap hero, Ugluk is Lurtz's second in command in Peter Jackson's movies. He is less of a fighter than his superior officer, but better at working with his subordinate Uruks. In The Dwarf Holds, his powers are leadership and support oriented. His initial Orc Draught power heals nearby Uruk-hai (as they are the only ones who will drink it!). Later, Uruk Lieutenant power gives a small bonus to Uruk Warriors and Scouts. At Rank 5, Commanding Roar gives a temporary buff to all nearby units' attributes.
Saruman starts off with a new Rank 10 power - Storm. This power can be cast on enemy buildings to massively decrease their production output while damaging them as well. Don't like your opponent's prized Level 3 Mumakil Pen? Well, a Storm or two will destroy it. The rest of his powers are unchanged.
Eventually Saruman the White broke light to see what it was made of, and so became Saruman of Many Colours. In the mod, Summon Balrog has been replaced by a power upgrading Saruman. This gives him a host of new devastating powers to choose from. Firstly, Wizard blast becomes Crushing Blast, a new power with greater range that deals crushing damage to all enemies causght within its area of effect. Fireball is improved to Searing Fireball, which ignites the ground for several seconds after impact. Both Dominate and his Leadership powers also increase in radius and strength. Speech Craft is replaced by Isengard Unleashed, a new power that greatly boots the production speed of a target building for quite a long duration. Finally, Storm is also replaced - Duel of Minds is another crafty new power. When used, Saruman will engage in a duel of wills with the opponent. This has the effect of debuffing all of their attributes and doing some light damage. The power lasts until Saruman is moved or uses another power, so can be used to lock down an opponent's hero. However, there are a few mighty characters with the mental fortitude to stave off this attack completely...
Besides this set of powers, Saruman also casts lightning bolts when upgraded, which provide a slow but rather powerful attack.
When you purchase Saruman of Many Colours from the spellbook, you also gain a new structure. Your Citadels construct a scaffhold around them upon which Saruman can perch and give orders to his minions. From the building, you can purchase Focus upgrades. Only one can be active at a time, but you may choose from modes that benefit Uruks, Archers, Warg Riders, Siege Weapons or resource collection.
Posted on November 21, 2011, by Nertea. View Comments (27)