THE BATTLE FOR MORIA! Third Age Total War: Divide & Conquer - Khazad-dûm Campaign #2

[@lionheartx10]

*The Battle For Moria Begins Now!! Timestamp in the description!! Can we hit 2,000 likes for an Early Hour Special at part 5? Feel Free To Leave A Like If You're Enjoying The Series!* *Thumbs up this comment if you want me to go back and fight that battle to save the elves under siege in Mirkwood as a bonus video!!!*

[@nilasarrow417]

i love this series make more plz

[@lionheartx10]

its out every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday! :)

[@samuelsteed3832]

lionheartx10 what if you take a third path?

[@lionheartx10]

which path is that? The Northern route?

[@nilasarrow417]

one last thing lionheart can you make a vid on tinygladiators i think you gona like it :)

[@TheBType]

Herein is Written the Records of the Reclamation of Khazad-dûm 2983 TA We came in the cold morn to Durin's Bridge, past the Eastern Gate and Hall. It was unguarded, and we marched in as close a formation as we could. Balin said he believed that the rakhâs infesting our home was lax in their defense, for no khazad had dared set foot into Durin's Halls since Thrór had been slain by Azog over two centuries ago. Not even Thráin had gone inside after the Battle of Azanulbizar after Dáin Ironfoot left with his host from the Iron Hills, saying that Durin's Bane (whatever it was), was still inside, and Dáin is perhaps the mightiest general among the khazad-folk. "Still," Balin told me as we approached the gate, "he is not of Durin's Folk, and he has no reckoning of what was lost to us. Dáin always was half again too cautious." No soon had we begun to cross the bridge that the foe began volleying us with arrows, pinning us on the open space. Weather had they been waiting for us or had they a small force watching the Eastern Gate I do not know, and for the moment our march was stalled as we formed a shield wall in an attempt to survive the volley. It was Balin who rallied us with a war cry; "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!", and with that we moved forward, even under the hail of barbs launched by the defilers who took from us our home. We fired our own missiles among them once we had crossed the bridge. The Beornings seemed to hate the orcs as much as we did, and engaged them without fear, screaming like mad things. The dwarves of Erad Mithrin who had joined us, the hardened Dragonslayers, were steely-eyed and waited for the greatest of the black orcs on the front line to charge, their wall of shields unfaltering. Arnaulf of the Beorning Folk and Brand, Son of Bern, of the Bardings both rallied last and charged our foe, smashing against their front line. The fighting was brutal through the Eastern Hall, our axes against their cruel bent swords, packed near shoulder-to-shoulder. Always, Balin was at the front of the line. The Beornings once again proved as courageous as their forefather and leader Beorn, with Arnulf among them swinging his many-notched axe at any goblin neck he could he within range. The turning point began when Brand led his cavalry and the Beorning cavalry to the rear of the hall and charged their heavy infantry again and again, smashing them like a hammer into the anvil of our line. Many of his men were lost, but Brand himself did not falter in his courage, though by far his volunteers had taken the greatest losses of any on the expedition. Finally, after over an hour and half of hard fighting, their general fell and they were slaughtered to an orc. We moved westward through the Eastern Halls, and encountered no other foe. We set up court and headquarters in the Chamber of Mazarbul, where Balin crowned himself Balin I, Lord of Moria. Long may he reign. -The Book of Mazarbul, as penned by Ori

[@AHumblePear]

Great stuff again :) have you considered teaming up with Caffeinated Survivor? I really liked your stories on the last part and I think if the two of you teamed up for continuity you could create a really good series together

[@TheBType]

Didn't know there WAS anyone else doing this, and I was definitely inspired by your example, as well as basically taking the idea that my writings were the same Book of Mazarbul that the Fellowship finds in Moria recording the doomed fate of Balin's expedition, which was indeed penned by Ori of the party that retook Erebor with Bilbo. Hopefully this record won't turn out as grimly!

[@AHumblePear]

Vin, Imperator and I have a discord where we talk about story things, we figured it would be a good place for you guys as well. Caffeinated has already stopped by, feel free to join us! discord.gg/ARXWBUE

[@TheBType]

A Humble Pear I'll need to do something about that then when I finally get a functioning Discord account and functioning internet connection; I wrote everything from my cell phone and the app doesn't let me set up an account.

[@chickensforthechickengod9337]

TheBType thanks for the story!

[@Lord_Imrahil]

You should build the mines to get money. The balrog comes anyway, it doesn't matter what you build. Mining quarters are like town hall, a center of government.

[@TheHans777]

Balrog comes after you build mithril mines.

[@hummingbird2318]

No it doesn't. The Balrog comes on a set turn number, it has nothing to do with the mines.

[@gusbrady4972]

is that you hummingbird, the hummingbird from the DAC team?

[@cent7369]

An extract from a journal written by Thrar,a Dwarven Archer in Balin's service. My legs were heavy. My feet were sore. My cloak was torn and bloody, but we were at the gates of Moria. We were home. I had lost many a comrade in Mirkwood to the darkness that lurked within. Our supplies would not last long; the mercenaries would only stay as long as the gold flowed from the chests. To keep the gold flowing Moria would have to be rid of the goblins that had infested our home. We were only outside the gates for a night before Balin gave the order for the assault. We were outnumbered, but this was our home, we would retake it, nothing could stand in our way. The quiver was heavy on my back, my bow seemed to be made of lead, but that did not matter, we had arrows to loose and goblins to kill. We marched across the narrow bridge, no one looked down, only ahead to the awaiting foe. I drew my first arrow. A goose feathered shaft with a black iron head. We loosed and loosed. My fingers bled, my arm ached yet we continued to loose. In the beginning my quiver seemed endless yet as the battle raged on, comrades began to find empty quivers. I soon discovered one arrow left. I strung and waited. Before I could loose, lost a comrade. The snagga archers had been returning fire. My closest friend, Thal took a barbed shaft through his throat. He fell to his knees, choking on his own blood. He collapsed and he fell silent. I returned the favour with my last arrow, but it would not bring Thal back. We archers had done all we could, yet the uruks would not break, they would not allow us to reclaim our homes. Soon, Balin was forced to commit the archers in melee. We drew our blades and marched to meet the enemy. Soon our arms were drenched on blood, our weary arms could no longer hold our blades high. The battle never seemed to end. The uruks seemed endless, but eventually the last uruk fell. The smell of blood, the dead and the dying filled the air. The dwarfs were too tired to cheer yet there was a glint everyone's eyes. Moria had been reclaimed. We were home. Many had paid the price. I sensed more would pay with their lives as I felt like this darkness was approaching that would threaten our home once more.

[@AHumblePear]

Good read, well done!

[@cent7369]

Thanks that means a lot from the mighty Humble Pear.

[@dillonanderson1772]

Dunno why your copying the guy doing a better job than this

[@grenmoyo3968]

Lionheart, im a simple man, i see "third-age total war" i hit like.

[@lionheartx10]

:)

[@Samuel_the_green_parrot77]

get western khazad dum as fast as possible and the economy rolling by building MINES FIRST then replenish and turtle. Its one of the easiest spots to defend and balins guard are kinda immortal against early game orc units but try to keep him as a governer on eastern moria at first since he boosts money outcome by alot. Dont forget establishing trade rights because u now own one of the wealthiest provinces. Once u have filled ur free upkeep slots in moria and in the fort u can start steamrolling northward and go for the mountain regions since dwarfs benefit the most from them.

[@dillonanderson1772]

Damn do you wanna play for him instead lmao? Shut up and watch

[@Sjoediboy]

Damn, hardly the epic battle I hoped for (because of all of the slog-fest shenanigans) but OMG THAT TIMER!!! Great episode and series nonetheless! Really looking forward to more Lion :D

[@dezulix1245]

For the battle for the elves, you have an additional army for the garrison so it equals out

[@lionheartx10]

yeah but you cannot control it and we all know how derpy the AI can be :P

[@gusbrady4972]

lionheartx10 DAC built a new battle AI from the ground up, so it is way better.

[@bennyvoskoboynik3258]

i have been a long time subscriber, though i have stopped watching a while ago this campaign got me back cheers lionheart! thanks for the great content :)

[@timpyrules]

Ive said it before and Ill say it again I love the like system. You remind people that if they like the content they should like and you reward them with what they like which is more content. you get more likes which helps your channel and we get more content everyone wins

[@bbdawise]

PSA for the Bridge of Khazad-dum: Just select all of your units and click on the town square, that will get 95% of them across much quicker than the method Lionheart used in this video. The path finding is obviously very buggy, but this technique works! I should know! I helped test this map when Galu first added it to DAC. :)

[@paulbeaudoin8724]

I love how happy lionheart is at battles end. With happy flute music in the background! Dwarfs be like " Step lively lads, mind the corpses"!

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

Soooo sorry for the super late upload, got caught by the spam filter and didn't know, thanks to the ppl who informed me I really owe u guys one

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

This continues from after turn 6 of the campaign, sorry for the later post and the backwards start. It's so dang long its taking 2 comments. Hope u enjoy! Tales of Blain, son of Glain: That night, we camped to the northeast of Seleburg, held by the Valefolk, on the edge of Mirkwood. Elated from our final escape from that foul forest, Highlord Balin allowed for the meager supply of ale to flow, if only for that night. Relaxed and off-guard, we barely saw the newcomers until they were upon us. "Hail, Highlord Balin!" A lone man shouted from in front of Balin's tent. He was tall, and even hairier than the Dalian men. Immediately, an assortment of more-or-less sober Dwarves ran to Balin's tent, excited and wary of new things in general, but especially those who come shouting for their leader. "Who ish he?" Bloin asked me, breathing down my shoulder, definitely part of the less-sober section. "And where did he come from?" Balin emerged from his tent, followed closely by the ever-present Ori. "Who calls?" "Arnulf, the Beorning. At your service." At the word Beorning a hush fell over the half-drunk crowd. "At yours and your kin's." Balin replied. "What brings you here, Arnulf the Beorning?" "I hear you are traveling to Moria. Me and my men wish to help you. We have no love of the Orcish scum either." "Hish men?" Bloin vocalized the thought the whole crowd must have been thinking, but no sooner had the last syllable escaped his lips when from the trees burst a horde of animals, men, and those still in-between. "What say you, Balin, son of Fundin." Asked Arnulf. "Will you take us?" "Come inside, Arnulf the Beorning. We will talk of these things in private." A week later, we were ambushed, yet again, complacent from the idea that we were free of Mirkwood's grip; no sooner had the thought really set hold in our hearts did the arrows begin flying. Our shield wall was in pitiful shape, but two ranks deep across its length. As we marched up the hill, I saw the new Beorning cavalry follow the Dalians around our left flank and begin to deal deadly blows to the ambushers. Over and over and over again they cycled. In the thick of the melee, I almost met my end. "Ah!" Bloin shouted from my right. "Bloin!" I called, then looked to his arm. "You're cu..." The last consonant was ripped out of my lips as one of the Black Archers took me off of my feet with his sword while I was turned sideways. Thankfully, my armor absorbed the bite of the blow, but not the force. Lying on the ground, still slightly dazed, I was helpless to defend myself as the Black Archer stood over me, sword raised. 'This is how I die' I thought. Then a spear came from behind him and took of the Black Archer's head. I saw the horseman dismount, reach down, help me up. "My thanks." I said bowing. "No need." The Beorning replied. "I am Theodbald." "Blain, son of Glain." And so my friendship with Theodbald began. The battle was quickly over, with losses only at two score, and we began marching again. One night, a courier came into camp, this time accompanied by a horse-pulled carriage. While couriers came constantly to Balin's tent, carrying diplomatic news of the lands beyond no doubt, this one seemed to have an air of drama behind it, some inexplicable excitement, that was felt not only by myself but also by Bloin and our new friend Theodbald. The next day we heard Highlord Balin had taken a wife, named Fenja. The ale flowed again. Speaking of celebrations, then next day we crossed the Anduin river via a ferry, finally out of reach of the forces of Mirkwood. However, we knew we were getting closer to Khazad-dum, and the apprehension could be felt throughout the whole company. Another event worthy of celebration: The Council that had met in Dale sent ahead a chest of gold coins to Fenburg, another Valefolk town, which Balin received upon crossing the Anduin. As we came upon a stream (which Theodbald informed me was called Sîr Niglor), we were once again beset by Orcs as we prepared to cross, although these seemed to be a different breed of filth from that encountered in Mirkwood. Firstly, they wore no armor, choosing to wear but a simple cloth over their nethers, and some even forgoing that, charging into the fray fully naked. Secondly, many wore skulls atop their head, which, albeit human and not dwarven, were still quite disconcerting. Thirdly, they came from the south and west, as opposed to the northeast, which only meant one thing: They were from Khazad-dum. Nevertheless, our archers and our cavalry slaughtered the horde quickly, with losses at six dozen. The next night we camped in sight of the Misty Mountains themselves. A few months later, we could see the Mountain itself. In a few months, we came upon an ancient Khazad-dum outlying fortress, which we utilized, doubtless the first dwarven feet in the stronghold in aeons. From there, Ori sent out the order that we begin constructing rams for the assault. "I don't know why we are doing this." Theodbald said idily as we worked. "Certainly we need rams for the assault." Bloin said. "Won't we?" Theodbald smiled. "We would, if Moria were still inhabited with dwarves. I doubt the Orcish scum know how to close a door!" "Just keep working." I said, hammering a pin into place. "Ori has a way of being right." I remembered the night before we had left the Elves to their fate, when Ori spoke to me with those eerily predictive words. "Keep working." "Not to mention the designs are all screwy." A younger Dwarven Engineer interrupted, then, remembering his manners, added. "Gralin, son of Growon, at your service." "Blain, son of Glain, at yours and kin." I answered hurriedly, now intrigued. "What do you mean, screwy?" "There are all of these extra counterweights, and ropes, and at the mechanical observable angles they fall at, along with the halliable ferility of the scrutondugs in correlation to the diveable gaffialities..." He trailed off, realizing he had lost me. "Anyway," He waved the air vigourously in front of him, as if swiping at a bug. "The point is, I think they're made to move on their own!" Theodbald, Bloin, and I exchanged glances. A ram that moved on its own? But Gralin seemed so sure... Could we put self-propelling rams beyond Ori?

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

Seven days later, we marched on Khazad-dum. As Theodbald predicted, the Orcs were too idiotic to close their doors, or at least that's what Bloin thought. 'Or its a trap.' I muttered to myself. Nevertheless, we left the rams where they were, unmanned, but possibly not immobile. Marching through the doors, the first thing we came to was a narrow footbridge over a chasm that seemed to drop for miles and miles, the bottom nowhere in sight. "You could fall for weeks down there!" Bloin exclaimed. That idea (and that of Durin's Bane reappearing) made the progress across the bridge very slow going. So slow, in fact, that even some of our bravest warriors froze up, either from fear of the drop or excitement that we were inside Khazad-dum. Ori, however, was taking none of it. "MOVE!" He bellowed from the gate. "Before my rams make you!" The light trickling in from the door silhouetted the figures of the two rams we had made, although without soldiers to push them. Gralin had been right. At any rate, the sight of the rams moving on their own was enough to unstick our soldiers from the bridge, and onto the other end. Arrows flew everywhere and in both directions, striking ancient walls and columns and dirt floors and Goblin filth and Dwarves indiscriminately. After a whole day of fighting, we finally cleared out the first chamber. "We've won!" Bloin shouted. I looked up the ramp, where more goblins lurked in wait. "Not yet." I corrected, pointing to the Orcs. "We've cleared this room, but there are more up above... not to mention the countless hordes that must still infest Khazad-dum." "Then lets clear them!" Balin shouted, somehow privy to our conversation. He himself lead the charge up the ramp with a fearsome "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!" which was echoes from the throat of every Dwarf, Man, and Beorning in the city. As we charged up the hill, we were faced by every sort of Orc imaginable. The grey armor of the great Dragon-Slayers was black with Goblin blood. I had another brief run with Death in this battle: A particularly inventive Goblin thought it either intelligent or brave to try to use his terrain advantage to leap over our front line and nearly onto me, had a stray arrow not pierced his throat in midair. Silently sending up thanks to Mahal, I pushed on. Bloin, infected with some sort of battle-rage, rolled into the midst of the melee, pushing even in front of Balin's bodyguard. I struggled to wade through the bodies to catch up to him, I couldn't bear seeing him die as so many of our dwarven brethren had in his place. As if in slow motion, I saw a Goblin raise his sword from Bloin's behind. I tried to shout warning to him, but no noise would come out. I saw the blade fall downwards, down down down Until from behind me charged the whole of our cavalry, Theodbald amongst them. He slew the goblin that so endangered Bloin's life, until I could rejoin him. For days it seemed, the battle raged onward and onward, continuously aided by cavalry charges into the Orc's back. I gained a new respect for the Dalians, they suffered casualties beyond any dwarven unit, fighting for a city that wasn't their own. Finally, the last Goblin fell. Khazad-dum was ours. Later that day, I saw one of the half-dozen of the Dalian horsemen approach Balin's tent. Later I learned his name: Brand, son of Bern, of the Bardings, and his story: Farndorn's second-in-command, now first due to his death in the battle for Khazad-dum. Apparently, Farndorn had been something of an evil mercenary (as they go), and when he had taken control of their mercenary company, it had caused somewhat of a split in their ranks. However, all of Farndorn's supporters had fell during the battle, and all that were left were those who followed Brand. I wouldn't have put it past Ori to scratch Farndorn's name from his record entirely and replace it with Brand, son of Bern. I wouldn't have minded, either. The next day, I witnessed Balin being crowned (by Ori himself) as Balin I, Lord of Moria, and shouted "Long may he reign!" with all the rest. Truly, it was a glorious day. Within a few hours, I already heard Ori and Balin debate whether the brewery ought to be the first building built. I had a feeling Ori would get his way. He seemed to have made a habit of it.

[@oathbreaker2339]

12:36 "They say that there are no Dwarf women, and that they just spring up out of the ground!"

[@Beaker95]

Sheeeeet that was close. Would recommend going straight for income boosting as remember just how easy it is to defend khazad doom, and you want money in place the second those extra units become available for recruiting. Would also recommend pushing through and taking the other half sooner rather than later to stop them reinforcing the region. Other than that, great work, keep it up, love the videos!

[@Radditz770]

Wow. That battle was a slog to get through. I mean, good work succeeding with that timer looming so close, but still. What a slow battle! xD

[@arseniosch6116]

Personally I would like to see if Lionheart could get throught the battle for the Elves...hope you guys vote for it!!!

[@edwardrahl5148]

elves are nice

[@azhao4492]

would the elves have given lionheart reinforcements during that battle

[@Barbarossahhh]

Also apparently your entire army gets healed after that battle! So he could go pretty much all in and come out stronger then he was before! Man such a missed opportunity to set aside ancient grudges and help our elven brethren in their stand against the darkness...

[@booser1835]

I believe ive only been subbed for a few months but been watching u alot but never got into you then saw how your a genuine tuber so i subbed:)

[@maciejbachut-cholewa2328]

Just finished watching first episode and can move straight into this one :p Great! :D

[@joaobaptista4655]

hey dude. i'm a long time total war player, having many hours of practice on rome I, medieval II and expansions and then third age since the beginning (many years ago). i played this mission lately. one advice: next time rush the black uruks using the miners and support from balin; next try to stop the orcs at the base of the last ramp with the rest of the infantry, and use the archers now that they would have a clear shot at the ramp. for the clump at the center you just need patience... gg wp hah hah. keep going with the total war franchise. cheers, mate

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

This continues from after turn 6 of the campaign, sorry for the later post and the backwards start. It's so dang long its taking 2 comments. Hope u enjoy! Tales of Blain, son of Glain: That night, we camped to the northeast of Seleburg, held by the Valefolk, on the edge of Mirkwood. Elated from our final escape from that foul forest, Highlord Balin allowed for the meager supply of ale to flow, if only for that night. Relaxed and off-guard, we barely saw the newcomers until they were upon us. "Hail, Highlord Balin!" A lone man shouted from in front of Balin's tent. He was tall, and even hairier than the Dalian men. Immediately, an assortment of more-or-less sober Dwarves ran to Balin's tent, excited and wary of new things in general, but especially those who come shouting for their leader. "Who ish he?" Bloin asked me, breathing down my shoulder, definitely part of the less-sober section. "And where did he come from?" Balin emerged from his tent, followed closely by the ever-present Ori. "Who calls?" "Arnulf, the Beorning. At your service." At the word Beorning a hush fell over the half-drunk crowd. "At yours and your kin's." Balin replied. "What brings you here, Arnulf the Beorning?" "I hear you are traveling to Moria. Me and my men wish to help you. We have no love of the Orcish scum either." "Hish men?" Bloin vocalized the thought the whole crowd must have been thinking, but no sooner had the last syllable escaped his lips when from the trees burst a horde of animals, men, and those still in-between. "What say you, Balin, son of Fundin." Asked Arnulf. "Will you take us?" "Come inside, Arnulf the Beorning. We will talk of these things in private." A week later, we were ambushed, yet again, complacent from the idea that we were free of Mirkwood's grip; no sooner had the thought really set hold in our hearts did the arrows begin flying. Our shield wall was in pitiful shape, but two ranks deep across its length. As we marched up the hill, I saw the new Beorning cavalry follow the Dalians around our left flank and begin to deal deadly blows to the ambushers. Over and over and over again they cycled. In the thick of the melee, I almost met my end. "Ah!" Bloin shouted from my right. "Bloin!" I called, then looked to his arm. "You're cu..." The last consonant was ripped out of my lips as one of the Black Archers took me off of my feet with his sword while I was turned sideways. Thankfully, my armor absorbed the bite of the blow, but not the force. Lying on the ground, still slightly dazed, I was helpless to defend myself as the Black Archer stood over me, sword raised. 'This is how I die' I thought. Then a spear came from behind him and took of the Black Archer's head. I saw the horseman dismount, reach down, help me up. "My thanks." I said bowing. "No need." The Beorning replied. "I am Theodbald." "Blain, son of Glain." And so my friendship with Theodbald began. The battle was quickly over, with losses only at two score, and we began marching again. One night, a courier came into camp, this time accompanied by a horse-pulled carriage. While couriers came constantly to Balin's tent, carrying diplomatic news of the lands beyond no doubt, this one seemed to have an air of drama behind it, some inexplicable excitement, that was felt not only by myself but also by Bloin and our new friend Theodbald. The next day we heard Highlord Balin had taken a wife, named Fenja. The ale flowed again. Speaking of celebrations, then next day we crossed the Anduin river via a ferry, finally out of reach of the forces of Mirkwood. However, we knew we were getting closer to Khazad-dum, and the apprehension could be felt throughout the whole company. Another event worthy of celebration: The Council that had met in Dale sent ahead a chest of gold coins to Fenburg, another Valefolk town, which Balin received upon crossing the Anduin. As we came upon a stream (which Theodbald informed me was called Sîr Niglor), we were once again beset by Orcs as we prepared to cross, although these seemed to be a different breed of filth from that encountered in Mirkwood. Firstly, they wore no armor, choosing to wear but a simple cloth over their nethers, and some even forgoing that, charging into the fray fully naked. Secondly, many wore skulls atop their head, which, albeit human and not dwarven, were still quite disconcerting. Thirdly, they came from the south and west, as opposed to the northeast, which only meant one thing: They were from Khazad-dum. Nevertheless, our archers and our cavalry slaughtered the horde quickly, with losses at six dozen. The next night we camped in sight of the Misty Mountains themselves. A few months later, we could see the Mountain itself. In a few months, we came upon an ancient Khazad-dum outlying fortress, which we utilized, doubtless the first dwarven feet in the stronghold in aeons. From there, Ori sent out the order that we begin constructing rams for the assault. "I don't know why we are doing this." Theodbald said idily as we worked. "Certainly we need rams for the assault." Bloin said. "Won't we?" Theodbald smiled. "We would, if Moria were still inhabited with dwarves. I doubt the Orcish scum know how to close a door!" "Just keep working." I said, hammering a pin into place. "Ori has a way of being right." I remembered the night before we had left the Elves to their fate, when Ori spoke to me with those eerily predictive words. "Keep working." "Not to mention the designs are all screwy." A younger Dwarven Engineer interrupted, then, remembering his manners, added. "Gralin, son of Growon, at your service." "Blain, son of Glain, at yours and kin." I answered hurriedly, now intrigued. "What do you mean, screwy?" "There are all of these extra counterweights, and ropes, and at the mechanical observable angles they fall at, along with the halliable ferility of the scrutondugs in correlation to the diveable gaffialities..." He trailed off, realizing he had lost me. "Anyway," He waved the air vigourously in front of him, as if swiping at a bug. "The point is, I think they're made to move on their own!" Theodbald, Bloin, and I exchanged glances. A ram that moved on its own? But Gralin seemed so sure... Could we put self-propelling rams beyond Ori?

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

Seven days later, we marched on Khazad-dum. As Theodbald predicted, the Orcs were too idiotic to close their doors, or at least that's what Bloin thought. 'Or its a trap.' I muttered to myself. Nevertheless, we left the rams where they were, unmanned, but possibly not immobile. Marching through the doors, the first thing we came to was a narrow footbridge over a chasm that seemed to drop for miles and miles, the bottom nowhere in sight. "You could fall for weeks down there!" Bloin exclaimed. That idea (and that of Durin's Bane reappearing) made the progress across the bridge very slow going. So slow, in fact, that even some of our bravest warriors froze up, either from fear of the drop or excitement that we were inside Khazad-dum. Ori, however, was taking none of it. "MOVE!" He bellowed from the gate. "Before my rams make you!" The light trickling in from the door silhouetted the figures of the two rams we had made, although without soldiers to push them. Gralin had been right. At any rate, the sight of the rams moving on their own was enough to unstick our soldiers from the bridge, and onto the other end. Arrows flew everywhere and in both directions, striking ancient walls and columns and dirt floors and Goblin filth and Dwarves indiscriminately. After a whole day of fighting, we finally cleared out the first chamber. "We've won!" Bloin shouted. I looked up the ramp, where more goblins lurked in wait. "Not yet." I corrected, pointing to the Orcs. "We've cleared this room, but there are more up above... not to mention the countless hordes that must still infest Khazad-dum." "Then lets clear them!" Balin shouted, somehow privy to our conversation. He himself lead the charge up the ramp with a fearsome "Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!" which was echoes from the throat of every Dwarf, Man, and Beorning in the city. As we charged up the hill, we were faced by every sort of Orc imaginable. The grey armor of the great Dragon-Slayers was black with Goblin blood. I had another brief run with Death in this battle: A particularly inventive Goblin thought it either intelligent or brave to try to use his terrain advantage to leap over our front line and nearly onto me, had a stray arrow not pierced his throat in midair. Silently sending up thanks to Mahal, I pushed on. Bloin, infected with some sort of battle-rage, rolled into the midst of the melee, pushing even in front of Balin's bodyguard. I struggled to wade through the bodies to catch up to him, I couldn't bear seeing him die as so many of our dwarven brethren had in his place. As if in slow motion, I saw a Goblin raise his sword from Bloin's behind. I tried to shout warning to him, but no noise would come out. I saw the blade fall downwards, down down down Until from behind me charged the whole of our cavalry, Theodbald amongst them. He slew the goblin that so endangered Bloin's life, until I could rejoin him. For days it seemed, the battle raged onward and onward, continuously aided by cavalry charges into the Orc's back. I gained a new respect for the Dalians, they suffered casualties beyond any dwarven unit, fighting for a city that wasn't their own. Finally, the last Goblin fell. Khazad-dum was ours. Later that day, I saw one of the half-dozen of the Dalian horsemen approach Balin's tent. Later I learned his name: Brand, son of Bern, of the Bardings, and his story: Farndorn's second-in-command, now first due to his death in the battle for Khazad-dum. Apparently, Farndorn had been something of an evil mercenary (as they go), and when he had taken control of their mercenary company, it had caused somewhat of a split in their ranks. However, all of Farndorn's supporters had fell during the battle, and all that were left were those who followed Brand. I wouldn't have put it past Ori to scratch Farndorn's name from his record entirely and replace it with Brand, son of Bern. I wouldn't have minded, either. The next day, I witnessed Balin being crowned (by Ori himself) as Balin I, Lord of Moria, and shouted "Long may he reign!" with all the rest. Truly, it was a glorious day.

[@caffeinatedsurvivor1748]

Within a few hours, I already heard Ori and Balin debate whether the brewery ought to be the first building built. I had a feeling Ori would get his way. He seemed to have made a habit of it.

[@ocadioan]

In Medieval II, the only way to boost your unit spawn rate is to build the next tier of the building that produces the units, and even then, the only benefit will be a one-time bonus of getting one of every unit that it produces available for purchase. Despite this, I would still go with the culture building first, since it adds over time, while the production facilities usually takes a while. P.S. Try seeing if you can recruit mercs now. There might be some good dwarven ones available.

[@connorpeall8373]

Wow, the feeling of nostalgia i get when i see the building images, Spellforce was a fun game

[@linchpin29967]

Even though i wanted to see Dale i am perfectly ok with any faction you play as. Keep it up Lionheart i have been a follower for almost three years know and i love your channel, well in general i do lol

[@lionheartx10]

Thanks Alex!

[@linchpin29967]

no problem :)

[@Platinum9889]

That one siege in mirkwood was a lot of fun for me, had to physically push the orcs out of the square with my elites in shield wall, was intense.

[@cent7369]

In earlier Total War games you have to remember that you have to kill all units in a siege or claim the town square. Units can not shatter in a siege only rout back to the town square, which gives unbreakable morale.

[@magniwennerstrm9188]

Great stuff before sleeping not even tierd anymore ;) love from The Faroe Islande

[@spencermorrison8663]

Absolutely love your stuff man! Keep it up!!

[@lionheartx10]

Cheers Spencer!

[@CalebColeTrain]

This battle is so EPIC!!! well done, Lionheart!

[@TonkaTurn]

Another amazing video Lionheart. Love your content. I would suggest to build the Brewery for the culture bonus :)

[@jonbrennan8948]

For crossing the bridge in one of Arachir Galudirithon's videos he mentions that you have to have the camera on the other side of the bridge to order your troops across the bridge properly. I just went back and watched it and I saw that the Dragonslayers stopped bugging out when you moved the camera across the bridge and were able to give an attack order on the goblin archers so I think that might be why you had trouble.

[@DaemonPrimarch]

That was some truly legendarily bad path finding. Good god.

[@conpower5992]

Are you sticking to the idea of just conquering the misty mountains? Reclaiming Gundabad would be awesome to see, especially because the first of the dwarves awoke there (if I'm not mistaken). So keen to see where this series goes 😊

[@hummingbird2318]

The Balrog battle triggers after a certain number of turns, it has nothing to do with buildings. You absolutely want to get your Mines going ASAP to get your income up there, you're definitely going to need it. Culture is fine for now. I'd get the Fort-Town Posts though so you have some extra units to help defend. Misty Mountains are going to come after you hard.

[@idanben8457]

Defintely one of the better mods out there and certainly one of the best playthroughs so far😉

[@bbdawise]

In my humble opinion, this mod is the single best LOTR game that I've ever played!

[@idanben8457]

El Monstero29 Couldn't agree more although I dislike the dwarven aesthetic in this one, not enough armor.

[@hummingbird2318]

Upgrade your units.

[@grizzlyxciv8395]

The death sounds was so funny when you captured it 😂😂

[@jopdiederen1538]

damn lion, i love this series! keep going with the amazing content!

[@uncledach374]

This is already great and it is only two episodes!

[@cameronmcallister7606]

And on this day, many a moon ago, Balin and his men did march. High hopes and tired legs Carried home the remaining dregs. The battle was long, the terrain harsh But a home beneath the mountain for we did clash. The men of dale proved their glory Smashing into orcs in their many. The Dragonslayers came to kill some orcs removing all doubtful talk. Two thousand an enemy came to die And now Orcs everywhere will learn to fly from battle as we march well armoured in wave on wave of men unstaggered

[@cent7369]

Cameron McAllister Hey would you allow me to use your work in a book of collated stories I was thinking of creating?

[@cameronmcallister7606]

Do what ya want with it. My words are in a public domain for a reason.

[@cent7369]

Well I thought it was only polite to ask you before just throwing it all in.

[@capotosixk]

omg ive been waiting for ages thanks LionHeart

[@MrUniversalBum]

I definitely would recommend building a ballista maker so that you can have artillery by the time the balrog comes.

[@Albireo8]

I suspect that the reason that your dwarves stopped on the bridge was Health and Safety stopping them because they were not wearing hi-viz jackets in the poor light.

[@Nikki_kms]

This is the only time I gave this game a chance and because is LOTR, I automatically like it.

[@legionxiii8055]

'The World was young, the Mountains Green...'

[@samuelsteed3832]

Best way to try and defend Moria if the dwarves are attacking is to not fight in the halls, tunnels and mines where the dwarves excel but to meet them in the valley of azanulbizar just outside the main gate as the orcs did in the fall rest hobbit film not a guaranteed success plan but the best shot.

[@xy7596]

Samuel Steed The battle was kinda small in the movie, almost like a skirmish but i still loved it. In the books it was huge because it was the decisive battle in a long war and almost all dwarves and goblins in middleearth fought in the battle.

[@kingsguard100]

Great to see Third Age back!!!

[@alexevans3276]

Loving your content, keep it up!

[@marcussilva9510]

You were interested in what happens if you save the town right? Your army gets decimated and you keep a stack of sentinels. What ever troops stay get fully replenished and you get 3000 Gold. Once you battle the trolls with your remaining army, the elvish sentinels depart.

[@Lyonicus]

When I played this faction, my battle for Khazad Dum required me to kill a whole heap of Balrogs. They were super nasty. I did choose the northern route instead of going through the Mirkwood so maybe that was why I had a tougher end battle?

[@Zoey--]

Defending this settlement is ridiculous. One catapult 2 archers and 2 pikes. GG.

[@aetheriogaming2031]

All i can say is when the Balrog comes - have artillery. Oh and dont forget about taking Zagh Kala - its worth more than western khazadum mine wise, though Khazadum main is much better than both due to the regular mines as well as mithril mines

[@bridgerhoffer7653]

Hey Lionheart, just so you know, men will never break inside of their town square

[@jf9866]

I feel like the Cavalry charge is so turned down or a glitch in this mod i remember playing Mos mod and the charges there was devastating. I love this mod though better then Mos now because it is more Stable! Great video!!!

[@Sean_TH]

Hey Lion, I would say you should attack the western side og Khazad-dum, because then they can't attack your homeland.

[@richardharlan7805]

lionheartx10..... you're awesome dude lol that is all

[@karleisenhauer8159]

I never thought I would watch lets plays of total war. Boy was I wrong, lionheart your content is truly captivating. Though I have to say you should of tried to save the elfs. Any chance you could just play this campaign more instead of replaying that battle? Anyways keep up the good work

[@lionheartx10]

Thanks Karl, dont worry the battle to save the elves will be a bonus episode on top of a normal one :)

[@ikillzuepicly316]

Personally i wish he would play as Gondor, Rohan or Mordor

[@Bearyboo87]

bloody hell that was tense there in the end

[@fancy_hulk]

The Battle for Moria starts at: 7:10

[@silasackerman8298]

definitely make a "what if" with the elves :)

[@RenzeKoper]

in my DAC 1.2 campaign the dwarves are next to me the wealthiest with ONLY khazad fum east+west. the balrogs will come anyway so build the mines they will make you rich

[@lazorkat]

The music in this mod is realy beautiful!

[@dinadir4519]

"Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!

[@khalee95]

Forget the elves they should have help save Erebor.

[@conorstewart9520]

Excellent

[@milesbrowne8611]

brilliant!!!

[@paolo9989]

Yes finally another TATW video!

[@ricktimmermans1552]

The Balrog comes in turn 81 I believe. It isn't triggerd by building mines at least.

[@carlbercadez9336]

Lionheart did khazad dum and Dwarves of Erebor like :)

[@eraltheloremaster5318]

some rules for dwarven campain: do not under any surcome stance declear war on the dwarfs. you are allowed to fight them if they attack you. any attack on the high or galadhrim elves are not allowed. you are allowed to attack the mirkwood elves but please dont do it Balin is a dwarf with a love for elves. and any orcs must be exserminated.!

[@chickensforthechickengod9337]

There is a bridge that even the dragon slayers barley dare to cross THE GLITCH BRIDGE OF KHAZDDUM for the dark Ai powers control it and many were trapped on it for eternity......

[@ScaryHunter]

I love this serie!

[@Morningknights]

What's great is that it seems like lionheart saying you can dislike lowers the actual numbers compared to someone that doesn't mention it. I wonder why?

[@alexconway3720]

if you had helped the elves yes you probably would keep the elves but they would probably leave you when you left the forest the next turn

[@BFMV2080]

trust me that eleven battle inst that hard, your archers kill a lot! plus your dragon slayers are super op, during moria battle they killed 900!!

[@SONICMUTINYMC]

Time for a Brew again Lionheart

[@patrickelward8218]

love these videos👍🏻

[@ahmedooter1213]

Nice video and did everything you said:)

[@NukeCola1988]

unlucky start with that pathfidning . i know the feeling xd

[@samh115]

if you want to push the enemy back well put your men in shield wall and top behind the enemy there mass increases and you push back the enemy much easier

[@finarfin3042]

Why didnt u flank with your troops

[@edwardrahl5148]

Yes, yes, go back, save the elves.

[@KJK322]

You should try to recover and then smash the orcs nearby and then go and take the Misty Mountains.

[@draegoch154]

Nice video Lionheart but would it be possible to play the rise of mordor music instead of what was playing in this video? Would be much more epic

[@dabblebot6093]

You cant break units in a siege battle after their in the town square because its where they run to, Zenith guard are generals bodyguards

[@ricardomaccotta6367]

In my opinion you could have pulled some units early and have out manouvred them so it will not have been so time-agonizing, but hey, you did it :)=

[@Lyonicus]

Hey LH - are you using your new PC for this series? Maybe I'm spoiled by the new TW: WH end turn times but it seems to be quite slow in between turns here. Perhaps this game just has poor optimatization overall or the mod is causing it to be slower but I remember TW: M2 grand campaign being much faster in between turns with a high end system. I wondered if this game was installed on your old system and you just thought "meh, I'll just run it on this one" :D

[@JoschiChr]

The town is also being held by the elves themselves, you act as a reinforcement army there.

[@thelonehoplite338]

The custom map's most effective defense: pathfinding!

[@stephendriscoll4787]

I'd like to see the bonus episode.

[@patrickrogan8100]

Just so you know, cavalry have a debuff on their charge when fighting in cities, so the charge in Moria will not be as effective.

[@TheLolsos]

Please do the bonus episode and save the elves :)

[@craighearle3761]

I bet you wished you had a catapult for that huge cluster of men in the center of the map

[@AleronWolf]

That was as intense as the movie lol

[@ulfhazelcreek8108]

First building? BEEEEEEEEER!

[@Gingerking_45]

lionheart to be honest i thought you would have fought that siege with the elves it sadden me but keep up the good work

[@lionheartx10]

Nah i really didn't want to risk it wanted to focus on just getting to Moria in one piece.

[@Gingerking_45]

i agree with you but it honestly surprised me that you didnt fight lol but ive never played third age before so you have more experience than i do so you know what your doing

[@brothazoot]

Very good choice not helping the elves Lionheart

[@deamongimli]

Holy shit this was only last year (and a half)? It feels like it was 2015 when this came out!

[@123456gordon]

"Run, you fools"

[@RisiCheshire]

fight the battle! save the elves and clear your conscience

[@peterpoulsen1210]

Sorry what save the elves? Pffffff! - I say lets take there home and lands and then kill them all!