Eriador Outlands
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POPULATION EFFECTS: Establishing 'Eriador Outlands' in the nearby lands of the Elves or Dwarves reflects the ruler settling Men in the province. This is a one-way process which brings population growth and allows Mannish - and only Mannish - troops to be recruited here.

GEOGRAPHY: This region comprises the outlands of Eriador, generally rugged areas with sparse population: the cold, bleak lands of Angmar in the north; the untamed Ettenmoors in the northeast; Hollin in the east, where grow many holly trees; in the southwest, Minhiriath and the Eryn Vorn; and, to the south, the lands of Tharbad along the Greyflood.

HISTORY: Angmar once held the dark realm of the Witch-king, but long ago its power and people were scattered. Today it is sparsely populated, as are the Ettenmoors, where once trolls roamed. Hollin, once a great land of the Elves named Eregion, has stood deserted for many centuries. Minhiriath and the Eryn Vorn remain underpopulated, as ever they have from the time of the Great Plague. Tharbad to the far south has become a City-kingdom based on trade, by land, river, and sea, its peoples being the descendants of settlers from Dunland, Rohan, and Gondor.

INHABITANTS: The Men of Eriador are favourable on the whole to the Ways of the West, though some parts are not free of the influence of the Shadow Cult and in others the ways of more barbaric Men hold sway. Tharbad's people are of mixed blood but generally favour the Ways of the West.

Establishing Rivendell as part of the Eriador Outlands region reflects the ruler settling Men in the province, displacing any of the Elven folk who may remain or simply building new homes in the abandoned lands. This one-way process brings population growth, and changes recruitment options.

FEATURES: None.

SETTLEMENTS: Tirn-fervain, Forodrain, Tharbad, Carn Dûm, Ettendale, Taurdal, Lastbridge, Ost-in-Edhil, Swanfleet, Ethir-berain, and Vorn-hollen. Rivendell too, if the Elves depart, will be considered part of this region.

FORTS: Northguard, Mountain-hold of Gram, and Northern Hold.

DEVELOPER'S NOTE: Tirn-fervain ("northern watcher"), Forodrain ("north border"), Ethir-berain ("golden-brown estuary"), Taurdal ("forest valley"; a named used in the movie "Born of Hope"), and Vorn-hollen ("black closed") have all been added for gameplay purposes and do not appear in the works of Tolkien; Lastbridge is a contraction of the bridge near that location (Last Bridge), Swanfleet is taken from the name of the marshland in that area, and Ettendale is merely based upon an alternate name for the Ettenmoors (the Ettendales). The City-kingdom of Tharbad has been created also as, of course, has the presence of the Cult here and the existence of Adûnabâr.