Board Thread:Suggestions forum/@comment-25012056-20170423012251

There are a few factions in Middle-Earth that have been a bit neglected in this mod, and one of them is Dol Guldur. Currently, Dol Guldur has nothing unique about it except poisonous Olog-hai that are extremely expensive and have the same weaknesses as any other Olog. As such, I have a suggestion to fix this, and make Dol Guldur a truly interesting faction, without making it overpowered.

Instead of a series, I decided to make a one-off for DG, and as such this one will be rather long. Next up will be Isengard.

Biomes
Dol Guldur itself is currently a nice start, but it needs some improvement. The biome would be split into two variants: normal and cleared. The cleared parts of Dol Guldur would be much the same as the current biome, albeit with many of the new mobs and structures proposed below. The normal variant, however, would be more of a forest with the same mobs and structures but with the structures being less common. The forest here and in the rest of DG would be predominantly Mirk-Fir, a new tree that would be a darker version of firs, save with roots like the Mirk-Oak and vines. In addition, naurite would now spawn at the same rate as gold here.

One of two new biomes that would be added is Southern Mirkwood, which would replace the current Mirkwood biome south of the Narrows of the Forest. Southern Mirkwood would be like Mirkwood, but with a larger amount of Dark Firs, and with Dol Guldur Orcs, which spawn here alongside the spiders at night. Dol Guldur Camps would occasionally spawn here as well.

The other new biome would be the Eastern Vales of Anduin. This would replace all of the current Anduin biome between the Anduin itself and Mirkwood south of the Gladden Fields. The terrain would be very similar to the Anduin Vales, but with fewer flowers, slightly darker grass, and with all sorts of Dol Guldur Orcs. (Spiders and Mirk-Trolls would not spawn here.) Many Dol Guldur structures and camps would generate here as well, as this is an occupied land preparing for an assault on Lothlorien.

East Bight would remain chiefly as it is, but with a few major changes. It would be home to the Balchoth of Dol Guldur, the last warriors of that race that remained in the region they conquered. Balchoth NPCs would spawn here uncommonly, as would their structures.

Crafting

 * Hanging Corpse - What a wonderfully not-depressing way to start a section! Hanging corpses would be 1x2 blocks that can be hung from the bottom of blocks, and would look like skeletons hung upside-down in webs of Ungoliant. They would generate in Spider Dens in both Mirkwood and Nan Ungol. Naturally-generated corpses would drop random items when broken, like mystery webs. They can be crafted for decor with eight string surrounding a skull. (Crafted ones don’t drop anything.)
 * Orc Napalm - The liquid fire mentioned in ROTK at the Siege of Minas Tirith. Buckets of it can be crafted with a bucket of lava and four naurite crystals, and when used would make a redder type of lava that spreads as fast as water. This can be crafted on both the Dol Guldur and Mordor crafting tables.
 * Guldur-Berserker Armor - A new set of armor worn by Guldur-Berserkers. It would be crafted with Black Uruk Steel in the usual manner and give uruk-level protection. It would have the original color of Dol Guldur armor, and would feature large spikes and a helmet that looks like a cross between a Moria Orc’s and an Uruk Berserker’s.
 * Guldur-Berserker Warhammer - Crafted by surrounding a DG warhammer with Black Uruk Steel, this warhammer would deal 10.5 damage (the equivalent of an Utumno warhammer) and would deal twice the knockback of the normal warhammer.
 * Dol Guldur Captain Helmet - Like all Orc Unit Hirers, Dol Guldur Captains would get their own helmets, crafted with an Orc Steel Ingot, the normal DG helmet, and a Naurite crystal. The helm would have spikes with the crystal set into the top of the helmet.
 * Dol Guldur Raiding-Torch (for lack of a better term) - Unlike other torches, these don’t just give off light. Raiding-torches would be crafted with a stick beneath a bucket of Orc Napalm, with an orc steel ingot on either side. Right-clicking a block with the torch would start a fire - but not just any fire. This would be Orc Fire, which would spread and burn things faster than normal, but would not spread to anything beyond a certain distance from the ignition point (so that you can’t start crazy forest fires.) Left-clicking enemies with this would set them on fire. They would have an attack cooldown of two seconds.
 * Balchoth Crafting Table - a new crafting table crafted with two wood and two stone bricks on the Balchoth crafting table.
 * Balchoth Armor - Crafted with a Rohirric mix of iron and orc steel, Balchoth armor would give iron-level protection and would be used by Balchoth Warriors. They would appear similar to the armor of the men of Rhúdel, but with dark accents instead of red ones and a more evil feel.
 * Balchoth Equipment - Crafted with iron and sticks, this equipment set would be used by the Balchoth. It includes a sword, a dagger, a mace, and a battleaxe.
 * Balchoth Sorcerer Armor - Similar to Balchoth Armor, but with gilded iron replacing the regular iron. It would have a more ornate look, but also a thoroughly evil one.
 * Balchoth Warlord Helmet - Ornate helmets crafted with gilded iron on the Balchoth crafting table. They would have crowns of large spikes.
 * Banner of the Balchoth - Banners featuring a burning battleaxe on a black field.
 * Dol Guldur Brewing-Pot - Cauldrons crafted with orc steel on the Dol Guldur crafting table. When filled with water and in Mirkwood, right-clicking the pot with ingredients will brew Guldur-draughts. Guldur-draughts take two minutes to properly brew, and each pot can hold eight mugs’ worth at a time.
 * Guldur-Draughts - Foul brews created by the Balchoth Sorcerers that grant effects on the wearer. They can only be used by those with +250 Dol Guldur alignment or higher. Mixing a naurite crystal into the Brewing-pot will create a Draught of Fire Resistance, bones will create a Draught of Combat, which will grant strength and resistance, and gulduril crystals will make the Draught of Shadow, which will allow brief immunity to the effects of Hithlain ladders (and similar elven items), as well as the same effect wearing Elven Cloaks grants.

Mobs

 * Dol Guldur Snaga - (Shamelessly copied from my Udûn suggestion) Short Orcs (dwarf-size) with 16 health. Snagae would be very common and would spawn in Dol Guldur, Southern Mirkwood, the Mirkwood Mountains, East Bight, Wilderland, and the Eastern Anduin Vale. Snagae would wear a mix of leather, fur, and Dol Guldur armor and would use Dol Guldur daggers. They would be extremely cheap swarm units. Normal Dol Guldur Orcs (soldier-orcs) would be slightly less common except in Dol Guldur and the Eastern Anduin Vales.
 * Dol Guldur Spider-riders - ...should be removed. We’ve seen the reasoning many times before. Spiders should still be rideable by players, however.
 * Dol Guldur Raider - Dol Guldur Orcs armed with raiding torches. They would spawn only in Dol Guldur and Southern Mirkwood. Essentially, they would run around setting enemies on fire. Due to NPCs’ natural reactions to fire, this would be much more effective than it sounds, especially en masse.
 * Guldur-Berserker - Powerful warrior-orcs that spawn in Dol Guldur only, Guldur-Berserkers have Guldur-Berserker armor and use their warhammers to deadly effect. They would be very rare, have 28 health, and would have speed and strength effects.
 * Dol Guldur Captain - Renamed Dol Guldur Chieftains. Dol Guldur is more of a military state than an orc tribe.
 * Dol Guldur Mirk-Troll Tamer - New NPCs that would spawn in Mirk-Troll Dens in Dol Guldur. They would allow you to hire Mirk-Trolls, and would use Dol Guldur armor with berserker helmets, as well as an Orc Skull Staff.
 * Balchoth Warrior - Mannish warriors with 20 health that use Balchoth equipment and armor. The Balchoth would have no civilians, as the Dol Guldur version of them is purely military. Their skins would appear similar to the men of Rhúdel, but with slightly paler skin, darker eyes and hair, and black clothing. They only spawn in the East Bight uncommonly, and very rarely in Wilderland.
 * Balchoth Sorcerer - Though not truly sorcerers, these powerful Balchoth know the secrets of creating Morgul-Draughts, and their ancestors were taught many secrets by the Necromancer of Dol Guldur. They would be like normal Balchoth Warriors, but with their own armor, 25 health, and Guldur-Draughts of Combat. They spawn rarely in East Bight
 * Balchoth Warlord - Hirers of the Balchoth that spawn in Balchoth Castles in the East Bight. They use Balchoth armor, Orc Skull Staffs, and their warlord helmets.

Structures

 * Dol Guldur Camps - (also shamelessly copied from Udûn) Camps of all sorts need MAJOR improvement, especially since those of Dol Guldur are the closest Dol Guldur will come to villages. They now would have two sizes of camp: small camps, which would be the current ones and would generate in Dol Guldur, Southern Mirkwood, Wilderland, and the Eastern Anduin Vales, and large camps, which would be four small camps with additional structures that would generate in Eastern Anduin, Southern Mirkwood, and Dol Guldur. Small camps would remain the same, but with trader stalls. Large camps would have up to 16 tents (up to four of which are forge tents), a fire-pit, a trader stall, four farms, a crafting table, and a mess tent. Unlike Mordor Camps, there would not be a city variant.
 * Tent - Normal tents should at least have 1-2 orc beds in them.
 * Trader Stall - Instead of being free-roaming, Dol Guldur Orc Traders would spawn in these. These would be little charred wood shacks, with a loot chest, a barrel of orc draught, an armor stand, and a sword rack.
 * Fire-pit - 3x3 campfires, complete with cut logs for benches, a chest, and a logpile.
 * Mess-tent - Large tents supported by four full wood beams, and containing a table with seats and food/drink for orcs. There would be barrels, furnaces, and chests along the walls.
 * Dol Guldur Ruins - Ruined structures that would generate around the Dol Guldur biome. They would have two variants. One would be a small tower of stone bricks, long weathered away and with a spider den like those in Ruined Wood-Elven Towers beneath the ground floor. The other would be a small fort, with four turrets, a ruined gate, and not much else, aside from scattered loot chests.
 * Mirk-Troll Den - Large open-air caves that generate uncommonly in Dol Guldur. These would have Mirk-Trolls and an Mirk-Troll Tamer, as well as a Dol Guldur Crafting Table, two stone chests of loot, and a Dol Guldur banner.
 * Mirkwood Spider Den - Large caves in Mirkwood, the Mirkwood Mountains, and Southern Mirkwood home to a group of Mirkwood Spiders. The caves would be mostly unremarkable, save for skulls, hanging corpses, and respawners set to spawn more spiders.
 * Dol Guldur Watchtower - Small wooden towers that generate in the Eastern Anduin Vales. They have two levels accessed by ladders after the style of my previously suggested Hunter Orc Watchtowers. They would have a few chests in them, but would mostly be for detail.
 * Dol Guldur Watchfort - Wooden forts that generate in the Eastern Anduin Vales. They would be similar to Dunlending Hill Forts, but the inside would be a mess of storage and war machines. A turret would generate in each corner, and would have a rickety upper flet above the top floor. Dol Guldur captains would spawn here.
 * Balchoth Castle - Stone brick fortresses that would rarely spawn in the East Bight. These castles were once built by the Men of Rhovanion, and as such are similar to Dalish Fortresses, but were commandeered by the Balchoth during their takeover of Wilderland. Balchoth Warriors, many loot chests and crafting tables, and a Warlord would spawn here.

Titles
[Dol Guldur Snaga] - Get 100 Dol Guldur alignment.

[Dol Guldur Raider] - Get 100 Dol Guldur alignment.

[Guldur Berserker] - Get 100 Dol Guldur alignment.

[Balchoth] - Get 100 Dol Guldur (or Wainrider too, in the future) alignment.

[East Bight] - Get 100 Dol Guldur alignment.

[Southern Mirkwood] - Get 100 Dol Guldur alignment.

[Pyromaniac] - Set an enemy on fire with a Dol Guldur Raiding Torch.

Achievements
[Rottings Firs] - Enter Southern Mirkwood.

[Conquered Vales] - Enter the Eastern Vales of Anduin.

[The Dark Mountains] - Enter the Mountains of Mirkwood.

[Pyromaniac] - Same as the title.

[Berserker of the Forest] - Equip a set of Guldur-Berserker Armor.

[The Beasts of Dol Guldur] - Kill a Guldur-Berserker.

[Tree-killers] - Kill a Dol Guldur Raider.

[Man of the Shadow] - Equip a full set of Balchoth armor.

[Foes of Eorl] - Kill a Balchoth Warrior.

[Sorcerer] - Equip a full set of Balchoth Sorcerer Armor.

[He’s a witch!] - Kill a Balchoth Sorcerer.

Gen. Grievous1138 (LOTR Mod Wiki Admin) comlink 01:22, April 23, 2017 (UTC) 