Well done on this concept, I agree with the most part of it . Personally I prefer the option in which the player chooses if they want either Harad or Rhun as their main base, but I believe that is (sadly) technically not possible; if it ain't possible then I would choose Rhun as the main base, since I like the red wood and golden roofs design of vanilla BFME2 .
This chosing of the subfaction I took as a starting point quite obviously, not wanting to have one of the core factions subordinated to the other. I took inspiration, however, from earlier proposals (particularly in the German forum) that suggested a semi-free building system for Harad in the form of moveable tents. As is I am not yet content in terms of playability in this aspect: I have a few ideas to make it easier and smoother, and bind it yet a bit more than currently described. I believe the ET will only want the Misty Mountains faction to have an uniquely free building system. Stay in tune.
I value your opinion as an Edain Beta-tester, so please feel free to share your thoughts.
I am very impressed however I do disagree on a few points:
1. I feel personally Khamul has too much of an influence in you concept; during the time period of the WotR he was the captain of Dol Guldur and so it feels odd that he would leave to deal with the East, rather I think there should be a separate Easterling Emperor, mind you I am biased as I have my own concept. (Personally I think Khamul is suited as an ultimate spell to capture his true might and power); also they can't start with Kamul in WotR as then you have two khamuls walking around if Mordor is in the game (Angmar is acceptable as they are not set in WotR)
2. One game play concern I have is that Khamul as a ring hero seems very OP as a player could wait till they find the ring and spawn him on top of it, which seems unfair to the enemy
Right, that summon has slipped my mind. I intended to clarify that. In that case some original way of summoning should be conceived. Perhaps he can be summoned at the side of the map, or at a citadel. Small idea, but not sure if technically possible: he could start walking into the map uncontrollably in Wraith-form, spreading fear to all units, until until the spot of summoning where he appears.
Ah I see I have not updated the War of the Ring information. Khamûl will not be one of four heroes to lead an army there. The War Priest, Amdûr, Suladan, and Castamir should do fine without him. Besides, the Edain Team does not focus effort on WotR.
I also like the unique heroes like the War Priest and the Scorpion Lord (although I'm still not sure how Amdur works). I think I agree with lordoflinks regarding Khamul. He seems to have too big of a role in Evil Men, especially since he is also one of Mordor's most powerful heroes. He is best as temporary summon who disrupts enemy buildings and units.
If only one of Saleme and Murakhan is kept, then there may need to be another hero in the faction. One role that I think could be filled would be a leader of Rhun as Amdur seems to be more like an elite warrior and tank than a leader. This leader could be made as a Ring Hero as a contrast to Suladan.
I understand your concerns regarding Khamûl, lordoflinks and Oakenshield224. Indeed, I took it from this discussion to not have the Second in Command a recruitable hero, and give him a spot in the spellbook instead. Yet I still have my doubts to what extent his abilities make him worth purchasing as his role of general disturber is copied from Mordor, hence not so original. In the spell book the Shadow of the East is meant as the clearest connection to the one external ally of the Men of Darkness (and far more!), Sauron the Deceiver.
I'll share my design philosophy to the Khamûl concept. I envisioned the Easterlings to follow Sauron's commands as if he were the god of a religion/ object of cult: this led directly to the War Priest hero, who receives and interprets messages from Sauron (either directly, through Khamûl, Mouth of Sauron or other messengers). Amdûr is conceived as the military leader with this regard, being a general but not a king. My motivation for this argument is that Tolkien only explicitly mentioned The Serpent Lord at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields leading the forces of Southrons, Variag, etc. This example I take as the proof that these armies (that were bought, deceived or forced) needed a cruel general to lead them. The Easterlings clearly did not, as is also shown when they lie in ambush at the Crossroads in Ithilien, and continue the Battle of Dale and Erebor even after Sauron has fallen. They are delirious/faithful/indoctrinated in their belief and trust in Tar-Mairon, Lord of Men. As such I felt that Khamûl is the only one to function as a ruler of Men (if he takes the Ring and becomes Emperor of Darkness): he will unite the Men of Darkness with an illusionary form that reminisces them of Sauron/Morgoth himself, thus gaining their allegiance through worship and fear.
Here, you see, is no thematic place for a leader of Easterlings as significant as an Emperor. I will not neglect your comments and will try to conceive of a new hero if and only if I can turn it into a completely unique one. I already started thinking of a hero that has different abilities when riding a Wain and unmounted. Kindly leave your thoughts on this.
3. About your interpretation of the Variags, I feel gameplay wise they should be a pure mongolian horde so they do not clash with the Black Numenoreans in term of themes and role
4. What about the Dragon Throne giving Rhun a full wall as an idea? (I believe that is technically possible)
5. I hope if your concept is used the greek designs are not, as in my mind they fit better in Dorwinion
Regards the Variag, I admit I do not understand your concern, although I have started considering other possibilities of implementing them. I see them as single units with comparable strength to Beornings/Berserkers, with a certain hero-support aspect. This is based of the historical Varangian Guard in the Byzantine Empire: sultans, lords and kings bought the services of mercenary guardians from Scandinavian origin, impressed by their fierceness (and their loyalty to money, without interest in politics). The Black Numenorean heroic unit are meant to pull closer to a past of Dark Sorcery and Witchcraft in combination with worship of Morgoth/Sauron. They are a powerful elite/hero-killing unit with aspects of sacrifice.
Concerning the Numenorean Steel Bow, I kept it out knowingly in the supposition that this knowledge was not well conserved. Indeed, the falling of Isildur described in the Unfinished Tales mentions his archers being equipped with Steel Bows. Would this not mean also smithies in Arnor and Gondor had this knowledge up to the end of the Third Age, and not only the King's Men remaining in Umbar? Besides, the faction requires no niche or thematic necessity to include a heroic ranged unit.
About the Dragon Throne giving a full wall, this was my initial idea but I am not sure whether it is technically possible, feasible, sensible and fun to play with. I need a concluding word on this from ET.
The Greek designs were meant to illustrate ideas of armour and helmets at some stage of the process: I agree that designs more unique and fitting to Middle-Earth should be created. I just hoped I could draw better, because I do have ideas in my head.
Overall I have felt your concept is very impressive and I think if any concept will be chosen in this thread it will be yours (This is me conceding defeat...) although personally I prefer my own (as it is natural) as I am a sucker for symmetry and structure and that is what my concept embodies.
I never meant to defeat you. I have looked at your proposal and I see you put care into it. It seems as though our concepts are not compatible. Could you explain what you mean with lack of symmetry and structure? I would gladly improve that.
The idea of the Bazaar that allows you to specialise in a sub-faction is also interesting. One idea could be that the Bazaar also provides trade deals with each sub-faction. For example, if you have a trade deal with Harad, the Harad buildings produce a small amount of resources. The Bazaar itself would have to be more expensive. This is just me speculating though so feel free to ignore all of it.
The Bazaar has cracked my skull many times and is also now in a phase of restructuring, though almost final. Your suggestion has past my mind as well, but I felt it would make this building too important for the faction, rather than just providing a smart and unique way to getting unit upgrades.
This is just more of me thinking of ideas. I think Umbar would have a emphasis on slaves. They are descendants of the Black Numenoreans from the Second Age who took slaves when they came to Middle Earth. They also used slaves to row their boats (Aragorn freed them when the Army of the Dead attacked the Corsair fleet). I don't know if this can be implemented, but there could be spell book power that recharges as enemy units are killed. When it is full, you have to option to immediately earn some money (selling the slaves) or to boost the production of a target structure (use the slaves as a work force). I also think Men of Darkness would have a close connection to Morgoth/Sauron and would worship them (the Numenoreans of the Second Age worshipped Morgoth while the Men of Darkness though Sauron was "both king and god"). They may make sacrifices to them to gain some sort of blessing. This could be implemented with the slave system. You would have the option to sacrifice the slaves. All units across the map would gain +30% damage for 1 minute but would earn no experience for this time.
Again, feel free to ignore these ideas if you think they don't work.
I will clarify my points here, the resource building called Workshop is in fact conceived of
a place of slave labour. It must be natural for people in the East and South to oppose Sauron's regime, so these are mostly political prisoners and labour force to forge and build. I also thought it would be an interesting place to include Orocarni Dwarves, both as enslaved and overseer. Back to your suggestion, it seems to put too much emphasis on enslaving tribes or races throughout the whole faction. This aspect is better at place in Mordor's Slave Camps (Orcs cannot do agriculture it seems) or Misty Mountains Slave Prison (Orcs cannot mine or build either, it seems
).
The idea in-between the lines of the worship aspect I see reflected in the Shrine/Well or Statue of Sauron structures. This requires work still, but thanks for the heads-up.