Rhûn Fortress

* Standard
* Great Khân’s Heraldry
* Guardian Statues
* Voidseekers' Spire
* Ways of War
* Expansions

"The vast land-locked region east of Rhovanion; contains the inland Sea of Rhûn; its many tribes of people, the Easterlings, had long been corrupted by Morgoth and Sauron."
—Unfinished Tales, Part 4, Chapter 2

The Easterlings had long held dominion over the lands of Rhûn, developing their own culture that was inspired by worship of both Sauron and the dragons that had been created by his master Morgoth. Nowhere was this more prominent than in their fortresses and palaces, grim yet exotic structures which were an indomitable symbol of the Easterlings’ might. When Sauron ordered the Easterlings to go to war against Dale and Erebor, the Easterlings would engage in a vicious and unrelenting spree of conquest, erecting these fortresses in their enemies’ lands to represent their victory and dominion over their fallen foes.

The Rhûn Fortress is the central building of the Adventure: Rhûn subfaction. It allows for heroes and builders to be recruited, provides multiple defensive bonuses and allows the spellbook powers to be used.

## Upgrades

The Fortress can be improved with the following upgrades:

**Great Khân’s Heraldry (W)** – Modifier Type: Leadership. Allies near the Fortress gain +33% damage, +33% armour, and earn experience 50% faster. Reduces Hero cost by 10%. Reduces Hero recruit time by 10%. Reduces cost of builders by 20%. Cost: 500

**Guardian Statues (E)** – Allows the Fortress to cast Flame Burst, which knocks back nearby enemy units and sets the surrounding area on fire. Nearby enemy units flee in terror when activated. Grants fire arrows to Fortress and Tower Expansions. Cost: 1000

**Voidseekers’ Spire (R)** – Permanently increases Fortress vision range and detects stealthed units. Allows the fortress to cast Voidseekers’ Invocation, which bombards target area with devastating artillery. Cost: 1500

**Ways of War (T)** – Permanently increases Fortress’ armor by 65%. Allows Fortress to activate War Tactics to buff specialized areas of the faction temporarily. Only one War Tactic may be active at a time. Cost: 1500

## Ways of War

Once Ways of War has been researched, Rhûn can activate Ways of War from the Fortress. They can research a map-wide upgrade for a specific facet of Rhûn that lasts for an extended period of time. However, only one Way of War may be active at any given time.

**Way of the Charging Boar (D)** – All friendly Rhûn Swordsmen and Pikemen gain +25% armour, resistance to fear and terror and can trample enemy units for 120 seconds. Only one War Tactic may be active at a time. Left click to activate.

**Way of the Striking Serpent (F)** – All friendly Rhûn units gain +15% movement speed for 120 seconds. Great Khân’s Archers, Serf Bowmen, and Variag Outriders gain +25% vision. Only one War Tactic may be active at a time. Left click to activate.

**Way of the Raging Dragon (G)** – All friendly Golden Cataphracts and Golden Chariots units gain +50% armour and -25% crush deceleration for 120 seconds. Golden Cataphracts and Golden Chariots’ recruitment times are reduced by 50% for 120 seconds. Only one War Tactic may be active at a time. Left click to activate.

## Expansions

The Fortress can also have the following expansions on the surrounding build plots:

**Guard Tower Expansion (W)** – Defensive arrow tower that fires at enemy units. Cost: 400

**Cannon Expansion (E)** – Long range defensive weapon: Cost: 600

## Function

The fortress shoots at nearby enemies and periodically produces +25 resources.

### Recruitment

All of Rhûn's permanent heroes can be recruited from the Fortress.

### Abilities

**Flame Burst (T)** – Requires Guardian Statues. Knocks back nearby enemy units and sets the surrounding area on fire. Nearby enemy units flee in terror. Left click to activate.

**Voidseekers’ Invocation (S)** – Requires Voidseekers’ Spire. Bombard target area with devastating artillery. Left click icon then left click on target area.

## Strategy

As with all Fortresses, the Rhûn Fortress is vital to the Adventure: Rhûn player’s gameplay. Without it, builders and heroes are unable to be recruited, spells are unable to be used and the player would lose a vital defensive structure. The building is therefore an important target for any enemy forces, making the defensive upgrades and expansions very useful.

The Rhûn Fortress has several notable unique qualities to distinguish it from other Fortresses. **Guardian Statues** allows it to blast back enemy units with **Flame Burst** and send them fleeing in terror, severely disrupting any direct assault upon the Fortress and forcing the enemy to rely on ranged siege to attack it. **Voidseekers’ Spire** not only increases the Fortress’ vision range and detects stealth, but also allows the player to cast **Voidseekers’ Invocation,** which unleashes an artillery strike upon a nearby area that can both devastate armies that are hit by it and also hit ranged siege units that might be out of the range of **Flame Burst**. **Ways of War** is the most important upgrade of the Rhûn Fortress, as it provides several powerful buffs to specific units within Rhûn’s army that can significantly increase their effectiveness for a prolonged period of time. It should be noted, however, that only one Way of War may be active at a time, so the player will need to choose which Way to activate depending on the current game state.