		    THE LORD OF THE RINGS
		      by J.R.R. Tolkien		    

    "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
     One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
     In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows Lie."


	   HOMM2 Adaptation by Charles E. Watkins
                Version 1.03, September 1998 
             Download from www.astralwizard.com


MAP DESCRIPTION:
  Size: XL
  Players: 4 Humans (Co-operative) vs. 2 Computer players
  Difficulty: Normal
  Victory Condition: Blue/Green/Red/Yellow defeat Orange/Purple
  Special Loss Condition: Lose hero "Frodo"
  Game Version: Requires "Price of Loyalty" Expansion Set


RECOMMENDED SETTINGS:
  Game Difficulty: Hard
  Gaming Mode: Multiplayer/Hotseat x 4
  Enemy Movement: Not seen (important!)
  Music: CD (Opera if you've got it)

CO-OPERATIVE PLAY:

[1] The four player positions represent the four allies in the 
    Lord of the Rings: Men (Blue), Elves (Green), Hobbits (Red),
    and Dwarves (Yellow). These can be assigned in any combination
    to up to four players. 
    
    1 player:  All four
    2 players: Men/Hobbits, Elves/Dwarves
    3 players: Men, Elves, Hobbits/Dwarves
               (alternate: assign a Hobbit hero to each player) 
    4 players: Men, Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves 

    Men do most of the heavy fighting and have sturdy knights as
    heroes, including the ranger Aragorn. Elves tend to remain 
    apart from the world, immersed in spellcraft and the lore of
    Middle Earth, going forth to battle only when dearly needed.
    The Dwarf player has heroes tough enough to face their awesome
    enemies, plus Gandalf, a force in his own right and possibly
    the most powerful hero available to the allies of the West. 
    However, it is the humble Hobbits who call for the most 
    skillful gameplay, for they lack the Might and Magic of the 
    other races and must rely on Wit and Wisdom to carry out their
    crucial role as the major Events in the story unfold about
    them. 

    The computer players represent Saruman (Orange) and Sauron 
    (Purple). Though they are not properly allies, Saruman has 
    fallen under the sway of Sauron while dabbling with his
    'palantir'. Once Sauron is defeated, Saruman may continue to
    make mischief.


[2] Victory requires a high level of co-operation among the allies,
    perhaps more than any other map. Heroes belonging to different
    players will travel together, open the way for each other, and
    co-ordinate their attacks. Players may also find it beneficial 
    to share treasures, resources, and even towns or castles. In 
    some situations, a player may be called on to sacrifice for the
    good of the alliance.

[3] Since the players share in victory or defeat, it is recommended
    that they watch each other's moves, discussing group strategy 
    and perhaps offering suggestions to the active player. Since
    most Event messages contain important information and can only
    be viewed once, it is important for everyone to read them when
    they appear. There need be no secrets among the allies! 

[4] Maneuvering heroes belonging to different players through 
    confined areas requires special care to avoid blocking the way.
    It makes sense to place the heroes that will do most of the
    fighting and spellcasting at the front of the party. There is
    no need to rush, so players should not feel obliged to use all
    their movement points each turn. Sometimes sitting still is the
    right thing to do. 

[5] Several additional characters will be introduced through the
    placement of "jails" at the appropriate locations. Since the  
    hero in a jail joins the side of the hero that frees him, it 
    is important for the right player to do it. In most cases, a
    sign or event will make it clear who should free the hero. In
    a few others (like GHAN-BURI-GHAN) it does not really matter. 


NOTES ON THE MAP:
   
[1] All around the map are Signs. Some are just plain signs that give
    the names of places in Middle-Earth or that carry bits of Tolkien's 
    delightful poetry. Others have a special purpose in the game
    and are shown embedded in purple Mandrake blooms. These indicate 
    "Turning Points" in the story, mainly changes to party direction
    or composition. To follow Tolkien's plotline, players should make
    sure to read each one of these signs they encounter and to follow
    whatever instructions it gives. (Sometimes these may be painful
    as heroes meet death and must be "dismissed".) Of course, anyone
    who wants to explore a "what-if" is welcome to do so, but 
    straying too far off track may lead to unpredictable results.

[2] To allow exploration of "what-ifs" and to avoid boring restarts,
    the "Turning Points" are also designated as LEGAL SAVEPOINTS. 
    When a hero arrives at a "Turning Point" the player is free to 
    save the game without any penalty or stigma of "cheating". If
    things subsequently go wrong, the game can be restored to the
    savepoint and play resumed as if nothing had happened. Of course,
    in a multiplayer setting, everyone must agree to the restoration. 
    
[3] Tolkien's story unfolds on several levels, including the 
    fulfillment of events set into motion in Ages past and carried
    out on a grand scale. These provide the historical backdrop
    for the game and reveal the origins and motives of the major 
    movers in Middle Earth. For this reason, there are a large number
    of people and locations presented to the players, only some of
    which actually appear on the map. To help players focus on the 
    characters portrayed by HOMM2 heroes and the locations represented
    by HOMM2 castles and towns, these are shown in ALL-CAPS in the 
    text of signs and events. (For instance, FRODO has a hero but 
    Bilbo does not. The exception is FRODO's companion Sam, who is
    treated as a follower of the FRODO hero early in the game, but
    eventually gets his own SAM hero when the two are separated.) 

[4] The story's middle level involves the armies of the Middle Earth
    and their struggle against the ancient enemy SAURON. Most HOMM2
    players will be able to handle this without any additional advice.
    Much of this combat is against fixed monster stacks, which have
    been carefully calibrated to put up a good fight. Players who find
    they are consistently overwhelmed may have wandered into an area
    too soon and should plan to return later with re-inforcements. 

[5] The lowest level of the story is told through the actions of 
    individual characters, an aspect not usually found in HOMM2 maps.
    Players may be surprised that most starting heroes begin with 
    armies consisting of only a single creature--i.e. the character
    itself. For instance, LEGOLAS starts with an army of just one
    Elf. (This means HOMM2 players who identify with their characters
    may now focus on an army that actually takes part in the battle 
    rather than some dude on horseback watching from the sidelines.)
    Because the starting armies are so weak, early opponents have 
    also been scaled down so that players will have a fair chance 
    at victory as they gather larger forces. However, some characters
    may remain weak throughout the game and require protection from
    their stronger companions. 

[6] Because the game revolves around Tolkien's beloved characters,
    players are discouraged from recruiting regular HOMM2 heroes
    at castles. All the heroes needed are already on the map with
    Tolkien's names and appropriate portraits. If they are killed 
    before their time, they can be rehired. (With the exception of
    BOROMIR and THEODEN, who die as part of the story.) Special care
    is required with the Hobbits, because loss of FRODO is a special
    loss condition and because Red is not likely to have a castle 
    until late in the game. Even the least among them has a part
    to play, so it is usually better to restore/restart than to go
    on without a main character's hero. However, it will often be
    possible to replace the character's army. (If the Elf that 
    represents LEGOLAS dies, it can be replaced with another Elf.) 
    Such cases can be rationalized as characters suffering wounds 
    and being taken to safety for recovery.    

[7] Like the heroes, castles will need to be developed as the game 
    goes on. This may prove difficult as resources are very limited,
    especially Sulfur and Mercury. Only a few towns can be developed
    into castles. Others may provide only one or two types of armies.
    Players may find sharing can be quite beneficial, especially the
    Elves and Dwarves. 

[8] Items have been carefully chosen and positioned on the map. There
    are no random items, other than the Ultimate Artifact. However,
    not all items are laying out in plain sight! As many players know,
    some mapmakers like to "hide" objects behind structures, hills, and
    woods so that they are neither immediately visible on the map nor
    revealed by Right-clicking the mouse. (Or with the map editor!)
    There are great rewards for those who dare great dangers. Events
    are waiting in both likely and unlikely places. 

[9] As far as possible, the map has been designed to be "DD-safe".
    That is, players can employ the Dimension Door spell without 
    upsetting the flow of play. In fact, GANDALF receives Dimension
    Door about halfway through the story to enable him to travel at
    the speed of his great steed Shadowfax. There should not be many 
    other opportunities for heroes to acquire the spell as fifth 
    level Mage Guilds will be rare. It is more important for players
    to exercise restraint with Summon Boat. There's no problem with
    heroes acquiring boats, but in doing so they may summon boats 
    away from locations where they are needed by others. As with the
    heroes, all the boats required are already on the map so it 
    should not be necessary to use the spell.  


NOTES ON THE ADAPTATION:

In order to fit an epic story of over 1000 pages into a HOMM2 map, it
was necessary to compress the narrative and skip over many of the 
small events that make Tolkien's books so charming. Every effort was
made to capture as much as possible of the flavor and feel of the
original, but how well the game reflects the story told in the books
depends as much on the players as on the map. After all, HOMM2 is a 
strategy game where much of the appeal comes from the thorny decisions
it calls on players to make. So rather than driving players down a
predetermined linear path, this map endeavors to create an environment
where players are naturally drawn along the way the story was written.

Even so, the behavior of the computer heroes remains a variable that
is bound to affect the way some games unfold. Most computer heroes 
begin with a patrol radius set to keep them within a prescribed area.
But there are some that are not restricted and truly seem to have 
minds of their own, some imbecilic and some surprisingly cunning. 

To help provide balance for multiuser play, some elements of Tolkien's
backstory were moved into the foreground for the HOMM2 adaptation. In
particular, the Elves and Dwarves are now involved fighting invaders
in the North, which is described in Tolkien's chronology but not part
of his story, which was told from the Hobbits' point-of-view. For 
this, two additional characters were added to the main cast, the Dwarf
Gloin and the Elf Tinuviel. Also, to give the Elf player a more active
role to play against Sauron, the High Elf Glorfindel has been elevated
to main-character status and given a quest that should help fill in 
the historical background of Middle-Earth. In general, the added 
characters hardly interact with the rest of the main cast, allowing 
them to play out their parts as they should.  

And since this is after all HOMM2, there is rather more fighting to be
done than in Tolkien's original. In general, HOMM2 creatures from 
"evil" castle types are in service of the Enemy (and never join for 
greater glory) and those from the "good" castles need not be fought 
and can sometimes be recruited. Players may decide to recruit armies
that are clearly evil, but it will be up to them to rationalize their
part in the story. Other than Aragorn's mission on the Paths of the
Dead, it is never essential for a good hero to command evil armies. 
Also, to prevent pointless "Diplomacy" bargaining sessions with "evil"
creatures, players may want to avoid developing the Diplomacy skill
for the lead hero (probably Aragorn) or to acquire the Hideous Mask. 

Though HOMM2's Warlock, Necromancer, and Barbarian castles provide
a good selection of "evil" creature types, there were still a few 
substitutions required for Tolkien's world:

        Tolkien          HOMM2
	-------          -----
	wights		 vampires
	wraiths		 ghosts
	uruk-hai         ogres
        hillmen          minotaurs
        great eagles     rocs
	elven horses	 unicorns
	Dunadain rangers druids
        oliphants(mumak) boars 
	ringwraiths      liches + cavalry (*)
        winged horrors   bone dragons
	bat-things	 gargoyles
	ents		 giants
	huorns		 iron golems
	Eye of Sauron    cyclops
        Moria monster    hydra 
	Shelob           medusa
        Gollum           goblin
	stone troll	 statue
	watchers	 eye stalks
	The One 	 elemental ring + scrolls
        The Three        mage's rings of power
        The Nine	 power rings      

(*) When both rider and steed are capable of combat, both appear on
    the map.

The map's geography was derived from Tolkien's drawings included with
the books. To achieve a scale appropriate for HOMM2, a few locations 
had to be rearranged. For instance, the Grey Havens of the Elves were
positioned North instead of West of the Shire--and from there the 
Elves sail East rather than West. Some Ultima-style projections were
also employed to represent indoor areas on an outdoor map. Otherwise
empty spaces on the map were appropriated for "pocket" areas to be
visited by Lith. 
    
It was also necessary to limit the cast of main characters to a 
manageable number of HOMM2 heroes. Only the most important figures
are assigned heroes. Others make their appearances only in Events,
including "free agents" like Gollum. Choosing appropriate hero types,
skills, followers, and portraits was a matter of trying to match 
Tolkien's characters as seen in the mind's eye with the closest 
counterpart available in HOMM2, and the results are admittedly 
subjective. (Readers of "Statesman's Quill" were invited to send in
their suggestions and these were used whenever possible. The Western
Wizard was an especially good sounding board for the final choices.) 

Finally, and most painfully, it was sometimes necessary to shorten or
paraphrase Tolkien's wonderful narrative. To achieve a greater sense
of immediacy for the gameplayer, the text was rewritten in present 
tense. Where possible, the original wording was retained, including 
occasional elvish words, which are enclosed in single-quote marks.
Instructions for gameplay are enclosed in double-brackets.  


SYNOPSIS:

As our game begins, the Wizard Gandalf the Grey has discovered that
an heirloom possessed by Frodo the Hobbit is in fact the One Ring,
ruler of all the Rings of Power in the Middle-Earth. When Gandalf 
fails to meet Frodo at his home in the Shire as planned, Frodo  
decides to set off on his own hoping to meet Gandalf at the nearby 
town of Bree. And just in time, because Black Riders of Mordor have 
come to the Shire! Finding the main roads watched by the Riders,
Frodo gathers his close friends Sam and Pippin, as well as a few 
neighbors, and makes his way across the river to Buckland. There
they enlist Merry and enter the Old Forest, home of Tom Bombadil. 
Crossing the Barrow Downs, they are entranced by Old Man Willow and
captured by Wights, but Tom comes to the rescue and sends them along
to Bree.

Near Bree the Hobbits encounter Aragorn, Ranger of the North, who has
just returned from an errand at Fornost. He reports that Gandalf was
indeed delayed, trapped by evil wraiths atop Weathertop mountain, and
remains there still awaiting rescue. With the Hobbits' help, Aragorn
is able to enter Bree and recruit some sturdy fighters to help him 
free Gandalf. Together, they overcome desperate perils on their way
to the House of Elrond in Rivendell, thanks in large part to the
efforts of the Elves, Glorfindel and Legolas. 

When the Hobbits finally reach Rivendell, they find that others have
already arrived for the great Council of Elrond. Stalwart Boromir of 
Gondor has journeyed across nearly all the Middle-Earth to reach
Rivendell only to be taken ill crossing the nearby Troll Shaws. 
Legolas, son of Thranduil, King of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood,
has arrived early and since completed an errand for Elrond to help see
others safely to Rivendell. Gimli the Dwarf had started out from Erebor
in the company of his father Gloin and some others, but became
separated in a suspicious Avalanche that occured while they were
crossing the Misty Mountains through Redhorn Pass. Gimli made it to
Rivendell on his own, recruiting and training a small party of Dwarves
he met along the way. 

Meanwhile, away to the South, Boromir's brother Faramir has been 
directed to prepare Gondor for the great war which is sure to come.
He sets out to gather the resources needed to fortify the tower of
Minas Tirith, to locate a missing ally, and to find a way to deny 
the enemy vital war supplies. And in the far East, on the North 
outskirts of Mirkwood Forest, the Elf Lady called Tinuviel tries to
learn more of the creature known as Gollum. Thinking to call on the
Dwarves at Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, she finds it under seige by
an army of savage Easterlings and goes to seek counsel with the Elves
of Mirkwood.

The Council of Elrond decides to attempt the destruction of the Ring,
and Frodo is appointed the Ring-bearer. The Fellowship of the Ring is
then formed to aid in the quest: to come if he can to Mount Doom in
Mordor, the land of the Enemy himself, the only place the Ring could be
unmade. In the Fellowship are Aragorn and Boromir representing Men; 
Legolas for the Elves; Gimli for the Dwarves; Frodo (with Sam) and his
young kinsmen Merry and Pippin for the Hobbits; and Gandalf the Grey of
the unknown race of Wizards but oft allied with the Dwarves.

The Fellowship first journeys North through the Redhorn Pass over the
mighty peak Carahras of the Misty Mountains. Though the attempted 
crossing fails, Gloin is rescued and heads home to relieve the seige
of Erebor. With no other options open, the party turns South to Mines
of Moria, seeking a way beneath the mountains. There they encounter the
wonders of a bygone Dwarven empire, but also a dreadful spirit of the
Underworld. Gandalf battles the Balrog and is lost to the party, but
Aragorn leads the company East to the Elvish Land of Lorien. After a
visit with Lord Celeborn and the Lady Galadriel, they are outfitted 
with Elvish boats and sail down the great River Anduin. Coming ashore
at the Falls of Rauros, the company is attacked by Orcs and separated.
Boromir decides taking the Ring to Mordor is folly, and attempts to
seize it for himself and Gondor, which frightens Frodo and Sam into
taking to the River on their own. Boromir atones somewhat by going to
the aid of Merry and Pippin, but even though he slays a score of Orcs, 
he eventually falls and the Hobbits are taken. 

Back in Lorien, Lady Galadriel had shared her Mirror Pool with Frodo, 
Aragorn, and Glorfindel. Projecting themselves through the Pool, each
glimpsed something of his destiny. Frodo and Sam received secret lore
of the Elves. Aragorn acquired emblems of his true station. And the
ageless Glorfindel began a quest across the Ages. Transported to 
Gondor of the Second Age by Galadriel's pool, he goes to Minas Ithil
and Minas Anor (former names of Minas Morgul and Minas Tirith) to 
discover how to close the Eye of Sauron. Meanwhile, Gloin returns to
Erebor and begins a counterstrike against the Orcs infesting the 
Grey Mountains. When the elf Tinuviel completes her inquiries on
Gollum, she joins Gloin's effort.

At the Falls of Rauros, the Fellowship is broken. Merry and Pippin 
are taken by Orcs to the eves of Fanghorn Forest. They are followed
by the three companions--Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli--who are met 
by Eomer's riders. These same riders dispatch the Orcs, allowing 
the Hobbits to escape deeper into Fanghorn, where they encounter 
Treebeard and the Ents. After the deliberations of the Ent Moot, 
they proceed to Isengard and lay waste to the plans of Saruman, a
mighty Wizard who has fallen under the sway of Sauron.

After falling from the bridge at Kazad Dum, Gandalf battles a Balrog
from the watery abyss to the heights of Durin's Tower, where he is
rescued once more by Gwaihir the Windlord. After resting a while in
Lorien, he mounts Shadowfax and joins the three companions at the
edge of Fanghorn. Leaving their pursuit of the Hobbits, Gandalf leads
the company across the Entwash to Edoras, home of King Theoden and 
the Riders of Rohan. After freeing Theoden of the evil influence of 
Grima Wormtongue, the company rides West to Helms Deep and the fortress
Hornburg. In a bloody battle, they overcome a large force of Orcs and
their allies to join the Hobbits at Isengard. Here the extent of 
Saruman's treachery becomes clear, though the Wizard himself manages
to escape. Merry swears fealty to Theoden and they go to muster the 
Riders of Rohan to the defense of Gondor. Pippin and Gandalf proceed
immediately to Minas Tirith, where they find the royal steward Denethor
has grown despondent over the loss of Boromir, despite Faramir's 
success in restoring the fortifications. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Legolas,
and Gimli travel the Paths of the Dead, assembling an army of shades,
oathbreakers from the first war against Sauron, who help defeat the 
masses of Southrons threating to distract Gondor from its opponents
in Morgul. 

At Battle of Pellenor Fields, Merry and Eowyn defeat the Witch King, 
but noble Theoden falls in combat. As things look worst for Gondor,
Aragorn and the black company arrive from the South, turning the tide.
>From there the Army of the West goes on to take Minas Morgul and then
marches to Moranon, the Gate of Mordor. After passing through the 
defenders, they capture Isenmouthe and prepare to confront Sauron 
himself. As Gloin and Tinuviel finish securing the North, they bring 
their combined armies South to assist in the assault on Mordor. (Or
perhaps Tinuviel goes to lend support to Glorfindel?)

As the great events unfold in Gondor, Frodo and Sam make their way
through the Wetwang swamp, where they are joined by Gollum in an 
uneasy truce. Gollum betrays them to the spider-monster Shelob, who
is fatally wounded by the elf-blade Sting. Frodo is captured by Orcs,
but Sam follows and rescues his master and the two proceed into the
heart of Mordor. After many hardships and dangers, they come at last
to Mount Doom, where the Ring was forged in ages past. But Frodo 
cannot bring himself to destroy it and instead claims it as his own.
However, Gollum bites the Ring off of Frodo's finger and as he gloats
over his precious, falls into the crack of doom. 

As the Ring is destroyed, so falls Sauron, whose main forces have been 
defeated by the Army of the West, and whose fortress Barad Dur has 
fallen to Glorfindel. After futile attempts to escape, Sauron's evil
at last passes from Middle Earth. However, the Hobbits still feel a 
need to hurry home, since Saruman is still on the loose and poses a
threat to the Shire. As the Hobbits secure their beloved homeland, they
sadly witness the passing of the Elves to the Grey Havens. The Third 
Age of the Middle Earth has come to an end.
  

BUGS AND OTHER MAINTENANCE CONCERNS:

Bug reports are cheerfully accepted at charleywatkins@worldnet.att.net.

During testing, two types of crashes occurred. First, the game halted
during a kernel call made in the end-of-day routines, hard-crashing the 
system and corrupting the AUTOSAVE file. This occurred under Windows-95,
but not DOS. The second type was the familiar "Obelisk" bug where the
video driver crashes as the map is displayed. Relocating the Ultimate
Artifact seems to have eliminated that problem. If this bug is going to 
appear at all, it will occur at first Obelisk visited, so players may
wish to note that the hero LEGOLAS starts near an Obelisk. 

In case of maps that develop crash problems, or games where things go
seriously astray, there is a special map available where the characters
begin at the Falls of Rauros. On this map, the heroes have the correct
statistics, artifacts, and followers for that point of the game and 
other parts of the map have been changed to reflect actions that take
place in the first half of the story. The special map is available on
request at the address shown above.

Tolkien enthusiasts who wish to discuss the adapation or offer ideas
for improvement of the map can contact the mapmaker at the address
above. The same goes for anyone who needs a hint.

Take heart. Frodo lives!