Woo, its been a looong time since I've made a suggestion on this page (I'm not even sure if suggestions are still being taken in, but I'm making this in the hope it'll be considered one day). Let's get into it!
In ages long gone, Arnor was split into three seperate kingdoms; Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. These kingdoms were later destroyed (or subjugated in Rhudaur's case) by the fierce armies of Angmar. By the time the mod takes place, these kingdoms are long gone, patrolled only by scarce rangers. However, in the mod these ancient kingdoms seem to have been forgotten entirely! They have all become one under the biome of "Eriador". This suggestion seeks to change this, so that Arnor may be remembered again!
This suggestion entails the addition of three new biomes, new armour and weapons, and a few other goodies of ancient Arnor.
[New Biomes]:
Rhudaur:
"Rhudaur was a region in the North-east of Eriador, lying between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains. The land between the rivers Mitheithel and Bruinen, forming the Angel, was also considered part of Rhudaur, as were the Trollshaws.
Characterized by dreary and rising hills, dark trees with twisted roots hanging off of cliffs, and gloomy weather, Rhudaur was a sombre, threatening, and unfriendly country. Upon many heights and ridges were ancient stone walls, ruined towers, and ominous, evil-looking castles."
~ Tolkien Gateway.
The land surrounding The Angel and The Trollshaws would be replaced by the new Rhuduar biome. Rhuduar would be an empty place, with many rising hills and some spruce trees dotting the landscape. There would be a forest variant of the biome, made up of spruce trees.
All animals found in Eriador would spawn here, as would Wolves. Rangers would rarely spawn here too.
Ranger Towers and Camps would rarely spawn here, and Angmar camps would be rare. Arnor ruins would be uncommon, and ruined Rhudaur structures and villages would be common.
Cardolan:
"The southeastern border of Cardolan followed the Gwathló and the Mitheithel to the Last Bridge. From there its boundary followed the Great East Road westward to the Brandywine Bridge, and then down the Baranduin to the Sea and thence to the mouth of the Gwathló. However, Cardolan also claimed the land between Bree and the Weather Hills. Notable features within Cardolan were the Old Forest, the Barrow-downs, the South Downs, and the Greenway."
~ Tolkien Gateway.
Cardolan would replace the land surrounding The Old Forest, The Barrow Downs, and The South Downs. It would be an uninhabited land, with only the occasional Ranger spawning. Ruined Arnor structures would also appear here, as would rare empty Barrows.
The general landscape would be similar to the Barrow Downs, but slightly less dark and haunted, and without the Barrow Wights and their Barrows.
All animals found in Eriador would spawn here, but less commonly. Rangers would rarely spawn here too.
No Faction builds would spawn here, but Arnor ruins would be uncommon. Some empty, raided, and desecrated Barrows can rarely be found, empty of their treasure and guards.
Arthedain:
"Arthedain lay primarily between the Lhûn and the Brandywine in northwestern Eriador. However, it also claimed the land north of the East Road from the Brandywine Bridge to the Weather Hills. Notable features within Arthedain were the Hills of Evendim, Lake Evendim, North Downs, Tower Hills, Far Downs, White Downs, the Shire, Annúminas, and Fornost Erain."
~ Tolkien Gateway.
Arthedain would replace the lands surrounding: The Shire, The North Downs,
Arthedain's landscape would be similar to the current Eriador.
Ranger Towers and Camps would uncommonly spawn here, and Angmar camps would be similar. Gundabad camps would be rare. Arnor ruins would be more common here.
[New Armour and Weapons]:
Each of the three Arnor biomes would now have their own armour, and a unique weapon for each.
Rhudaur: Rhudaur's new armour would look like the current Arnor Armour (minus the wings on the helmet) with fur inlaid in the joints. It would give the same protection as Iron, but with slightly lower durability.
Rhudaur's weapon would be the "Rhudaur Battleaxe", which would be as strong as an Angmar Battleaxe, but with lower durability. It would have the colour scheme and style of the Arnor weapons, with some fur on the handle. It would only have one blade.
Both would be uncrafteable, and only be found rarely in ruins within the Rhudaur biome (Rhudaur Hillman Chieftain's will also wear the armour and use the axe from now on).
Cardolan: Cardolan's armour would be similar to Northern Ranger armour in all aspects, save it would be a blue-grey colour instead of green.
The Cardolan Bow would be the same as a Gondorian bow stats-wise, but would fire somewhat faster. It would be similar to the Ranger Bow in shape, but be more blue-grey.
These would both only be found rarely in ruins within the Cardolan biome, and would replace Arnor equipment in Barrows in the Barrow-downs.
Arthedain: Arthedain armour would be the current Arnor Armour. Nothing would change, save that it will only spawn in Arthedain now.
Arthedain's special weapon will be the Arthedain Pike, which would be similar to the Gondor Pike. It too would only be found in Arthedain.
All armour and weapons of Arnor can be found in the old places too, such as Troll Hoards, Dunedain Towers outside of the Arnor biomes, and Dunedain Villages. However, they would not be as common as in their namesake biomes.
[Invasions]:
Rhudaur:
- Rangers of the North (Rare).
- Rhudaur Hillmen (Common).
Cardolan:
- Rangers of the North (Rare).
- Angmar (Rare).
Arthedain:
- Rangers of the North (Uncommon).
- Angmar (Uncommon).
- Gundabad (Rare).
[Risk of Bandits]:
- Rhudaur: Common.
- Cardolan: Rare.
- Arthedain: Uncommon.
[Achievements]:
- "Where the hills rise wild": Enter Rhudaur (credit to Rise of the Witch King for this quote).
- "Kings Tombs": Enter Cardolan (needs a better name).
- "Land of the King": Enter Arthedain (not certain about the name).
- "Hillman": Equip a full suit of Rhudaur Armour.
- "Tomb Guard": Equip a full suit of Cardolan Armour.
- "Kings of Old": Equip a full suit of Arthedain Armour.
- "Reunited Kingdom": Start a Conquest while pledged to Gondor in any of the three Arnor biomes.
Map image (apologies for the terrible edit).
Arthedain is the Grey, Cardolan is Dark Green, and Rhudaur is Brown.
That's it for now. Feedback, ideas, and opinions welcome!