Have you ever wanted to take a big heavy two-handed weapon and smash it into the face of an Elf or Dwarf? Well, my friends, KEYforce (ArtStation - Erkam Kuntay Yiğitcan) has delivered.


This update now includes:

  • Custom Dol Guldur Basemesh/Race

  • Custom Dol Guldur Armor

    • Interchangeable with Gundabad Armor

  • Custom Dol Guldur Weapons

  • Custom Mirkwood Helmets + One Set of Armor

    • Artist: Leovsilva

  • Custom Rivendell Golden Flower + Gloreindel Armor + Weapons

    • Commissioned by: Thyrell

    • Artist: Solus

  • Custom Goblin Race

    • Artist: Pascal

  • Scenes:

    • Isengard

    • Pelargir

    • Cair Andros

    • Dol Amroth

    • Generic Gondor Town

    • Generic Gondor Castle

    • Minas Tirith (80 percent done)

    • Field Battles

      • Kysaro

        • Fords of Isengard

        • Rohan Plains

        • Black Gate (soon)

        • Erebor (soon)

        • Dead Marshes (soon)

  • All Scenes are available in Custom Battles too!

  • Custom UI Completed!

    • Neublossom has completely redid all of the UI

Link to our Discord Community!
Discord

Coding Features Implemented

We have been in the kitchen cooking up as many features as we could while also spending quite a bit of team focusing on stability. Huge props to Chewy, Anian, Legolas and Yotthani for going above and beyond.

DIPLOMACY & WAR

War of the Ring System

The mod creates an authentic Lord of the Rings conflict between good and evil factions, leading to an epic total war scenario.

Settings (via Mod Options):

  • AoM Diplomacy - Enables restricted diplomacy leading to the War of the Ring

  • Isengard Attack Timing - Configure when Isengard launches their attack (21-84 game days)

  • Momentum System - Adds dynamic momentum mechanics during the War of the Ring, where major victories and defeats affect faction morale and capabilities

COMBAT & BATTLES

Race-Specific Combat Bonuses

Different Lord of the Rings races (Men, Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, etc.) have unique combat strengths and weaknesses. For example, Elves might excel against certain enemies while Dwarves have different advantages.

Damage Display System

See exactly how much damage you're dealing in combat with customizable visual feedback.

Settings:

  • Race-Themed Colors - Color-code damage by culture/race instead of damage type

Friendly Fire Control

Setting: Disable Friendly Fire Notifications - Removes friendly fire warnings and makes friendly troops take full damage

Auto-Resolve Customization

The mod features a custom battle simulation system with culture-specific bonuses for when you auto-resolve battles instead of fighting them manually. Different LOTR cultures have unique advantages in auto-calculated battles.

Custom Battle Configuration

Enhanced custom battle setup allowing you to configure troop selections and battle parameters for practice fights.

CHARACTER CREATION & DEVELOPMENT

Pre-Built Character Selection

Setting: Enable PreBuild Character Selection - Choose from existing character templates at game start instead of going through full creation process

Age & Lifespan

Characters live much longer than vanilla Bannerlord, reflecting Middle-earth lore where heroes can live for centuries.

Settings:

  • Become Old Age - When characters age to "old" status (default: 100 years vs vanilla's 47)

  • Maximum Age - How long characters can live (default: 300 years vs vanilla's 125)

Cross-Race Offspring

When characters from different LOTR races have children, the mod handles inheritance appropriately for the Middle-earth setting.

Marriage Restrictions

Marriage is restricted based on alignment and race, maintaining lore-accurate relationships between different peoples of Middle-earth.

Visual Adjustments

Setting: Dwarven Eye Height Adjustment - Fixes camera height when playing as a dwarf (-1 to 0, requires scene reload)

EXPERIENCE & PROGRESSION

Tournament & Arena XP

Vanilla Bannerlord heavily penalizes XP gains from tournaments and arena fights. This mod restores full XP gain.

Settings:

  • Tournament XP Multiplier - Vanilla gives 33% XP, default 3.0x = 100% XP (range: 3.3% to 330%)

  • Arena XP Multiplier - Vanilla gives 6.25% XP, default 16.0x = 100% XP

  • Tournament End XP Multiplier - Bonus XP for winning tournaments (vanilla 500 XP)

  • Maximum Tournament Bet - Bet up to 1,000-50,000 gold instead of vanilla's 150 limit

ARMY MANAGEMENT

Troop Reinforcement System

Request reinforcement troops to be delivered to you instead of traveling to recruit them yourself.

Settings:

  • Enable Reinforcements - Master toggle

  • Base Cost Multiplier - Adjust overall cost (0.5x to 3.0x)

  • Base Delivery Days - How long troops take to arrive (1-10 days, default 3)

  • Delivery Time Multiplier - Fine-tune delivery times (0.5x to 2.0x)

  • Instant Delivery - Testing mode for immediate delivery

  • Max Troops Per Request - Request up to 5-50 troops at once (default 20)

  • Culture Restricted - Only recruit from your own culture

  • Tier Cost Multipliers - Individual cost adjustments for Tier 1-6+ troops (higher tiers cost more)

  • Conversation Recruits - How many troops of each quality level are available per conversation

Troop Weight System

Party size is limited by the total weight of your troops instead of just counting numbers. Elite heavy cavalry count for more than light infantry, making army composition more strategic.

Garrison Patrol System

Settlements with sufficient garrison automatically spawn patrol parties that hunt down bandits and engage enemy lords near their territory.

Features:

  • 1 patrol per settlement (211 settlements supported: 122 castles + 89 towns)

  • Patrols visit nearby settlements on rotation

  • Prioritize attacking bandits over enemy lords

  • Only engage when patrol is stronger

  • Automatic stuck detection and recovery

  • Configurable via XML: patrol radius, garrison requirements, patrol duration

SETTLEMENT & ECONOMY

Food Management System

Prevents AI-controlled settlements from accidentally starving themselves by automatically adjusting prosperity levels.

Settings:

  • Enable Food Management - Master toggle

  • Food Surplus Target - How much surplus food settlements maintain (0-100 units)

  • Correction Rate - Max prosperity reduction per day (1-100)

  • Minimum Data Points - Days of data needed before adjustments (5-45 days)

  • Food History Window - How many days of food production to track (14-90 days)

Marketplace Auto-Restocking

Towns automatically restock essential food items and supplies, ensuring markets always have basic goods available.

Starting Resources

New campaigns begin with configured starting funds, influence, and equipment to match the LOTR setting.

BANDIT SYSTEMS

Custom Bandit Density

The massive LOTR map requires different bandit spawning rules than vanilla Bannerlord.

Settings:

  • Use Custom Bandit Settings - Override LOTR defaults with custom values

  • Bandit Density Multiplier - Overall bandit population control (0.1x to 3.0x)

  • Maximum Bandit Parties - Total bandits on map (100-20,000, LOTR default: 200)

  • Max Hideouts Per Faction - Hideout cap per faction (10-1,000, LOTR default: 500)

  • Initial Hideouts - Starting hideouts (10-500, LOTR default: 200)

  • Parties to Infest Hideout - Minimum parties to activate hideout (1-10, LOTR default: 1)

  • Max Parties Per Hideout - Parties per hideout (1-10, LOTR default: 2)

  • Max Units Per Hideout Attack - Troops in hideout raids (10-50)

Bandit Engagement System

Prevents bandits from fleeing endlessly. After fleeing for a configured time, bandits automatically turn and fight.

Setting: Bandit Max Flee Hours - How long bandits flee before engaging (1-24 game hours, default 1 hour ≈ 10-30 seconds real time)

COMMUNICATION & TRAVEL

Messenger System

Send messengers to NPCs instead of traveling across the map to speak with them personally.

Settings:

  • Enable Messengers - Master toggle

  • Messenger Cost - Gold per message (10-500, default 50)

  • Travel Days - Delivery time (1-10 days, default 3)

  • Enable Accidents - Messengers can be ambushed during travel

CUSTOM LOTR CONTENT

Custom Wanderers

LOTR-themed wandering companions spawn in taverns with appropriate backgrounds and equipment for Middle-earth.

Warg System

Special AI and behavior for Wargs, making them behave distinctly from regular cavalry or animals (they attack on their own).

Advanced Combat Behaviors

Enhanced combat AI and behavior trees for more tactical and immersive battles.

Strategic AI Intelligence

AI lords make smarter decisions about which settlements to attack and when to declare war based on strategic analysis.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Atmosphere Persistence

Custom scenes maintain their intended weather and lighting when you enter/exit, preventing immersion-breaking resets. Thanks to TOR!

Debug Console

Setting: Debug Mode - Enables debug console for testing and advanced controls

Crafting Stamina

Setting: Disable Stamina - Remove stamina costs from crafting

Better Loot

Settings:

  • Enable Logic to Gain More Loot - Skills affect loot quality

  • Enable Logic to Gain Loot from Prisoners - Check prisoners for loot, not just dead enemies

Community Release Information:

We just released a community version in September on MODDB and Nexus! The next community release is still being worked out. We want to provide a more stable mod to the community and that takes a lot of testing and play throughs to accomplish to identify all of the bugs!

Upcoming

  • Mirkwood Kingdom Armor

    • Artist Leovsilva


      Kit bashes for Scenes

      • Rohan

      • Gondor 2.0

      • Mordor

      • Isengard

      • Dol Guldur

      • Gundabad

      • Dwarves

      • Elves