Dol Guldur

"I myself dared to pass the doors of the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, and secretly explored his ways, and found thus that our fears were true: he was none other than Sauron, our Enemy of old, at length taking shape and power again."
—Gandalf

Dol Guldur sat upon Amon Lanc in southern Greenwood, once the site of the capital of Oropher and his Silvan elves. During the first half of the Third Age, an evil presence first took up residence in the now-abandoned fortress. The entity now living upon the hill came to be called the Necromancer, and he gathered many evil things to his side. A deep shadow was cast over Greenwood, after which that great primordial forest became known as Mirkwood. In response, Thranduil Oropherion took his people north and away. Over long years, the Necromancer's Shadow deepened, and the peril of southern Mirkwood grew ever stronger.

In the Age of the Ring, Dol Guldur is a unique faction, relying on the spreading of corruption and undeath to turn the tide of battle. By spreading buildings across the map, the faction's basic units can stave off the effects of Dol Guldur's corruption. They can also be sacrificed to be brought back to life as powerful Risen Dead. The faction also uses other undead orcs, fell creatures and corrupting influences to spread across the map.

## Heroes

### Thráin the Broken

The once proud son of Thrór was captured near the Eaves of Mirkwood while on his quest to reclaim the riches of Erebor, taken to the dungeons of Dol Guldur, and tortured for long decades until he finally broke.

### Krimpûl the Torturer

An orc of exceptional cruelty, Krimpûl rose ruthlessly through the ranks of Dol Guldur's Orc-garrison, until his Lieutenant finally took notice and put him to work in a place where his talents could come to full fruition.

### Cargást

A great King of Rhovanion in life, Cargást has long forgotten his true name. He was among the first to rise when the Necromancer discovered the barrows of his kin, and serves his master with dark fervor.

### Queen Saenathra

Shelob's greatest daughter, Saenathra tried to supplant the great matron within her lair, but failed and was cast out. Now she dwells in Southern Mirkwood, where she rules over her own vile brood.

### Khamûl the Easterling

Once a great king of the Eastern Wastes, Khamûl was ensnared by Sauron through one of his Great Rings. For many long centuries Khamûl has served, performing acts of great terror and cruelty with solemn dedication to his Master.

### The Necromancer

After Sauron's defeat at the hands of Isildur, he fled into the far east, to lick his wounds and slowly rebuild his strength. A millenium later, his power had become great enough to once again cast a shadow across Middle-earth. He began to dwell in southern Greenwood the Great, taking the long-abandoned Sindar fortress atop the hill of Amon Lanc. In time, the hill and fortress came to be known as Dol Guldur, and the surrounding forests, once free and green, were slowly changed into the dark and treacherous Mirkwood.

## Spellbook

* Carnage
* Don't Follow the Lights
* Chill of the Grave
* Forest of Fear
* Spell of Concealment
* Dark Hysteria
* Spawn of Carcharoth
* Undead Monstrosity
* Darkness
* Wither
* Gift of the Necromancer
* Bane of the Greenwood

**Cost**:5PP

**Description**:
Modifier Type: Buff
Target allies gain +50% damage at the cost of -15% armour
Stacks with leaderships and spells
Left click icon then left click on target units

**Cost**:5PP

**Description**:
Summons a spirit of the Dead Marshes, identical in appearance to a Tethered Shade
If attacked, the spirit will disappear, stunning enemy units and reducing their vision for a short time. Limited to 1.

**Cost**:5PP

**Description**:
Enemy units are slowed by 30% and take damage over time for 15 seconds.
Left click icon then left click on target.

**Cost**:10PP

**Description**:
Corrupts an area of terrain for 5 minutes
 Modifier Type: Spell
 Nearby Dol Guldur units afflicted by Slow Decay are no longer drained over time and receive +15% damage and armour
 Spawns a large number of wild spiders that attack anything in sight
 Enemy units in the target area lose all leadership, suffer -20% speed and are terrified
Left click icon then left click on target area

**Cost**:10PP

**Description**:
Friendly units and structures in the area become stealthed
Modifier Type: Active Debuff
Nearby enemies suffer -25% damage and -25% armour
 Nullifies enemy leaderships
Does not stack with other debuffs
Left click icon then left click on target area.

**Cost**:10PP

**Description**:
Causes targetted battalions to become hostile towards all allies
Left click icon then left click on target units.

**Cost**:10PP

**Description**:
Summons two hordes of Black Wargs led by their Great Alpha
Left click icon then left click on target area.

**Cost**:15PP

**Description**:
Summons an armoured, undead troll
Left click icon then left click on pathable location.

**Cost**:15PP

**Description**:
Temporarily covers the entire map in darkness.
Cancels Freezing Rain, White Winter, Blessing of Ulmo, Darkness or Lights Go Out.
Modifier Type: Spell
Allied units gain +33% damage and armour.
Stacks with leaderships, buffs and other spells
 Left click to activate.

**Cost**:15PP

**Description**:
Disable and damages structures in a radius
Left click icon then left click on target.

**Cost**:25PP

**Description**:
Summons a controllable, swirling green mist.
All units, friend or foe, take damage and are turned into Wraiths upon death
Left click icon then left click on pathable location.

**Cost**:25PP

**Description**:
Summons a corrupted, ancient spirit of the forest under your control
Left click icon then left click on pathable location.
## Strategy

Dol Guldur is one of the most unconventional factions in the mod. For starters, it begins with 4 builders that are all cheaper than a standard builder and can be recruited from towers but will disappear after building a structure. The core of the faction's roster is based on **Slow Decay**, **Dark Presence** and **Necromancy**. The basic units (Broken Rabble, Orc Hunters and Orc Gaolers) will all be affected by **Slow Decay** which will passively drain their health as long as they are not close to an Dol Guldur structure. This leadership effect around the buildings is known as **Dark Presence**. Broken Rabble will transform into Risen Dead upon death as long as they are at level 2 (something that can be made easier to reach through the use of Thráin the Broken). The orc units can be killed and brought back to life as Risen Dead using **Necromancy** as long as a Spire of Sorcery has been built. Risen Dead are a fast, high-damaging unit with low armour that can swarm over enemies. These will be the core of the faction's roster in the mid-late game. Both Cargást and Khamûl are able to support the Risen Dead with the former increasing their speed and experience gain, and the latter increasing their damage. Krimpûl the Torturer is able to support the Broken Rabble and basic orc units while also dealing as a heavy counter towards enemy heroes.

There are a variety of other units to supplement and, in some cases, replace the core units. Orc Ravagers and Tomb Guard are undead swordsmen and pikemen respectively. They are powerful, tanky units that can be used to bolster the basic Guldur units and tank strikes to protect Risen Dead while also dealing heavy damage to structures; they are not resistant however to **Slow Decay** but benefit from **Dark Presence** and its buffs. The Blighted Trappers are a ranged unit that deal high damage with a low fire-rate, with the benefit of being **Inoculated** from **Slow Decay**. They can be used to counter monsters, archers and structures. The spider units of Dol Guldur, led by Queen Saenathra, can act as a fast harassment unit. Fell Brood are the main cavalry of the faction and can also be used to weaken enemy cavalry. Saenathra's Sisters are a more powerful, individual unit that can deal high damage to structures. The Harbingers of Shadow are elite swordsmen that can cast their sorcery on enemy units and structures while the Castellan of Dol Guldur is a single, heroic unit with high health and armour. Lastly, the Entwives can be used as a primary siege unit for the faction.

The Necromancer is the faction leader of Dol Guldur. He is cheaper than other faction leaders but is recruited at level 1 and will level up slower. He can be used as a mobile source of **Dark Presence** will dealing heavy damage to enemy units and bringing them back to life as Risen Dead. A large theme of the faction is the undeath. In many cases, the player will require units for their own units to die in order to reach the higher tier units. As such, many aspects of the faction such as **Carnage** and **Gift of the Necromancer** spellbook powers or the **Withering Touch** power for the Harbingers will damage your own units as well. The player will be encouraged to build forward bases to spread the **Dark Presence**. This is made easier by the cheap cost of the Tethered Shades and the cheap Towers available. Restless Barrows and Spires of Sorcery can also be used as defensive options. The best way to counter Dol Guldur is to beat them at their own game. Preventing their spread across the map with aggressive attacks and forward bases can heavily slow them down and tip the game into the opponent's favour. This is easier to do against Dol Guldur as almost all of their structures have reduced armour compared to building from other factions.