Mathijs

Good to see you again! Great work.

Mallorn tree upgrade suggestion:

Mallorn roots: slows nearby enemy units. Does not affect elves.

Yes. Added.

Added Wulfgar's entry.

Thanks! Version 4.0.

I have some thoughts on the hero rosters you've got. What about this:

Gondor

- Faramir

- Boromir

- Imrahil

Recruit: Gandalf the White

Lórien

- Haldir

- Idrial

- Celeborn

Recruit: Galadriel

Erebor

- Balin

- Dwalin

- Bard

Recruit: Thorin Oakenshield

Mordor

- Mouth of Sauron

- Gothmog

- Khamul

Recruit: Witch-king of Angmar

Isengard

- Wulfgar

- Lurtz

- Wormtongue

Recruit: Saruman

Misty Mountains

- Muzgash

- The Great Goblin

- Urshak

Recruit: Azog the Defiler

Basically make the most powerful heroes available as recruited heroes, and removing Aragorn from Gondor's selection so he can be a big one in Rivendell, which would look like this:

- Aragorn

- Glorfindel

- Gildor

Recruit: Elrond 

Of course!

How about the following arrangement:

We give you permission to use the HD Edition assets that you have already used.

In exchange, you give us full credit for those assets in your Readme or when you post them in public ('The following assets were made by the HD Edition team: *insert list of assets here*, find them at https://www.moddb.co...-2-hd-edition).You'll also not use more HD Edition assets or Age of the Ring assets in the future without asking us first (and accepting the outcome should we say no).

What do you think?

I appreciate the effort put into this post, but I must tell you that we will not be using Hobbit designs for the Dol Guldur orcs, nor for the Nazgul. I'm tired of copying other people's designs and would rather design them myself. My Dol Guldur orcs will not look like heavily armored Uruk-hai, but like thin, ghastly scavengers under the corrupting influence of the Necromancer, wearing bone and hide armor and carrying bone weapons.

I might make an exception for Krimpûl - the original Bolg design from The Hobbit was neat and there's a lot of concept art of the creation process available, so he might get based on those.

As to the book, I have it too. 

Dol Guldur Faction Plan

Basic gameplay premise:

Most Dol Guldur units suffer from a basic, constant damage over time effect due to the Necromancer’s magic draining them and their surroundings. To counter this, each Dol Guldur structure has a leadership – ‘Dark Presence’ – that heals and buffs Dol Guldur units. This results in a need to constantly and aggressively expand across the map, turning forward base-building into a core mechanic. To aid with this, builders are cheaper and more disposable. Another core mechanic is the use of various sources of necromancy to create Risen Dead – the only unit immune to the Necromancer’s draining magic – and to turn your enemies into Wraiths under your control. Spread the corruption. 

Heroes

Thrain the Broken – 300

'The once proud son of Thrór was captured near the Eaves of Mirkwood while on his quest to reclaim the riches of Erebor,

taken to the dungeons of Dol Guldur, and tortured for long decades until he finally broke.'

Rank 1: 

Krimpûl the Torturer – 1400

'An orc of exceptional cruelty, Krimpûl rose ruthlessly through the ranks of Dol Guldur's Orc-garrison,

until his Lieutenant finally took notice and put him to work in a place where his talents could come to full fruition.'

Rank 1: Master's Command

Krimpûl has been tasked with retrieving the Rings of Power. Deals +33% additional damage versus Gandalf the White, Elrond, Galadriel, and Thorin Oakenshield.

At rank 3, his strikes also lower the armor of enemies within a small radius by 5% up to a maximum of 25%.
Rank 5: Imprison

Krimpûl cripples an enemy hero. Causes surrounding enemy units to cower in fear.

Rank 7: Dungeon Master

Summons a small Gaol that casts Dark Presence and may recruit Broken Rabble.

Queen Saenathra – 2000

'Shelob's greatest daughter, Queen Saenathra tried to supplant the great matron within her lair - but failed and was cast out.

Now she dwells in Southern Mirkwood, where she rules over her own vile brood.'

Rank 1: Burrow

Queen Saenathra can quickly move underground.

Rank 3: Feast, My Children!
Spawns a large horde of tiny spiders that slow down and deal damage over time to enemy units. Cannot be targeted, last a short time.

Rank 7: Web of Lies

Targeted enemy units become hostile to one another.

Khamul, Lieutenant of Dol Guldur – 2500

Same as in Mordor, but Storm of the East becomes:

Rank 5: The Black Easterling

Summons two hordes of rank 2 Easterling Swordsmen.

The Necromancer – 3500

Becomes Ring Hero once the Ring is collected and given to him.

Starts at rank 5

Rank 1: Lord of Wolves

Summons a large, black Warg. A maximum of three may be out at any time.

Rank 3: The Abhorred Dread

The Necromancer casts a necromantic spell on enemies within the radius, dealing heavy damage and resurrecting the dead as Risen Dead under the player’s control. This spell has a relatively short cooldown and is the Necromancer’s main source of danger.

Rank 5: Shapeless Malice

The Necromancer becomes incorporeal, allowing him to move quickly across the map while terrifying nearby enemy units. Shapeless Malice does not allow him to attack (this is basically a mount).

Rank 8: Wreathed in Flame

The Necromancer erupts in flame, blasting back enemies and setting the surrounding area on fire.

The Necromancer - Ring Hero

Visual cue: the Necromancer is wearing parts of Sauron's Prologue armor.

The Necromancer deals strong splash damage as his basic attack, and can attack from great range.

Rank 1: Master of the Nine
Summons a Ringwraith. A maximum of three may be out at any time.

Rank 3: The Abhorred Dread
Same as before, but with a larger radius.

Rank 5: Shapeless Malice

Same as before.

Rank 8: Wreathed in Flame
Same as before, but with a shorter cooldown.

Ringwraith - summoned by the Necromancer

Rank 1: 
 

Structures

Fortress – 4000

Upgrades

Swarm of Bats – 300

Vanilla.

Pale Torches – 600

Fire arrows from fortress

Blight – 800

Enemy units surrounding the fortress take damage and turn into Wraiths upon dying. Prerequisite to Hill of Sorcery.

Guldur Palantir - 600

Can be cast to reveal part of the map. Enemy units caught in the radius take minor damage over time.

Hill of Sorcery – 1500

Castable, destructive spell that sunders the earth beneath the enemy and causes it to erupt in pale flame.

Expansions

Orc Barricade – 150

Arrow tower.

Boneyard – 300

Spawns Risen Dead that attack nearby enemies.

Orc Catapult – 600

Catapult expansion.

Slave Mill – 300

Basic resource structure. May use Refresh Slaves, which temporarily disables the Mill but spawns a horde of Broken Rabble.

Lumbermill – 350

Vanilla, with new worker models based on Broken Rabble.

Guldur Gaol - 350

Rank 1: Dark Presence

Empowers nearby Dol Guldur units.

Rank 1: Broken Rabble - 100

Horde consisting of tortured and enslaved Elves, Woodsmen, and Dwarves. At rank 3, Broken Rabble gains Eternal Servitude, which causes each killed unit to be reanimated as Risen Dead. Risen Dead do not suffer from the Necromancer’s corruption.

Rank 2: Orc Hunters - 300

Orcish archers that may stealth near trees.

Rank 2: Orc Gaolers - 250

Orc spearmen that may stealth near trees.

Rank 3: Orc Ravagers - 600

Heavily armored Orcs carrying blacksteel axes. Siege unit.

Rank 3: Flaming Arrows - 1500

Vanilla.

Spider Lair – 600

Rank 1: Dark Presence

Empowers nearby Dol Guldur units.

Rank 1: Great Spiders - 600

A small horde of Great Spiders. At rank 2, gain Venom Sacs, allowing them to deal poison damage. May trample enemy units.

Rank 2: Spider-riders - 800

You know what these are. Toggle at rank 2.

Ruinous Tower – 150

Basic defense structure. Weak and cheap, spammable. Stealthed near trees.

Rank 1: Dark Presence

Empowers nearby Dol Guldur units.

Tower of Sorcery – 600

Upgradeable structure that can be used both offensively and defensively.

Rank 1: Dark Presence

Empowers nearby Dol Guldur units.

Rank 1: Blight – 600

Small radius around the Tower is constantly blighted.

Rank 2: Necromancy – 800

Upgrade. Orc Hunters and Gaolers may be ‘upgraded’ to be turned into Risen Dead. Risen Dead are fast-moving shock troops. Risen Dead do not suffer from the Necromancer’s Corruption.

Rank 2: Greater Blight - 1200

Blight radius is greatly increased.

Rank 3: Armored Castellan - 1800

Recruits an Armored Castellan. Hero unit. Limited to three.

Rank 1: Castellan of Guldur

Provides armor to nearby structures.

Decreases armor of nearby enemy structures.

Rank 3: Incorporeal

The Armored Castellan becomes immune to damage but cannot move or attack.

Rank 5: Necromantic Blast

Enemy units are blasted back and take damage – if killed, they become wraiths.

Spellbook

Wither – 5pp

Disables and damages targeted resource structure.

Tainted Land – 5pp

Vanilla.

Chill of the Grave – 5pp

Enemy units are slowed.

Devastation – 10pp

Vanilla.

Black Shroud – 10pp

Vanilla Elven Mist

Ensnare – 10pp

Temporarily take control of enemy units within the radius.

Summon Black Wargs – 10pp

Summons three hordes of Black Wargs

Darkness – 15pp

Vanilla.

Undead Monstrosity – 15pp

Summons an armored, undead Troll.

??? – 15pp

???

Gift of the Necromancer – 25pp

Summons a controllable, swirling green mist. All units, friend and foe, take damage and are turned into Wraiths upon death. 

Summon Gwanthaur – 25pp

Summons the Gwanthaur, a corrupted, ancient spirit of the forest. Broken, bony antlers on a horrifying head, long-reaching limbs and a bent back upon which grow many mushrooms and strange trees.

It's not a bad hero concept, but as saruman_the_wise said above, removing Saruman from the core roster is an impossibility. He is too iconic and important.

I recently updated Isengard's faction plan to include a version of Saruman as the Isengard Ring hero. It's likely we'll do this at some point. The player would be able to deliver the Ring to Saruman rather than the Fortress, which would trigger the original Saruman to change into Saruman of Many Colours.

I'll respond when I have time. Thanks for posting!

Because we're coming up with a variety of new characters, creatures, and locations, I thought it would be nice to create a little alphabetical compendium of all of the Age of the Ring-canon that we've come up with so far.

It's a work in progress and will be updated over time. 

Moved you to Released BFME Mods. Congratulations!