J. R. R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan
Encyclopedia
J. R. R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan is a cult computer video game from 1991 based upon the fictional War of the Ring
set in the Middle-earth
world created by J. R. R. Tolkien
, centered in the Lord of the Rings novels. The massive-scale simulation takes part in the realm of Rohan
and the player controls the forces of Good during the onslaught of the forces of Evil, namely centered on the conflict with Saruman
of Isengard
. It was published by Konami
and Mirrorsoft
.
In terms of gameplay, it is very similar to the 1988 War in Middle Earth, except the setting was downsized from the entire world just to the land of the Rohirrim, engulfing mostly the storyline from The Two Towers
, and to a small extent ending in The Return of the King
. In a combination of a single-unit adventure, small-scale battlefield tactics and broadscale campaign warfare, the player must coordinate the Fellowship and Rohan's troops in order to fend of the invasion of Saruman's Orcs and save the Rohirrim lands, as well as mounting enough forces to push the war on the fronts in the east in order to contribute to Sauron
's defeat.
At the beginning, the player can in the starting menu choose to start a new game, load an old one, quit, access encyclopedias dealing with featured units and characters, or practice. The practice folds down to tutorials in single-fighter combat:
- Archery: the player takes control of Legolas
attempting to shoot down (18) Orcs from a wall, while crouching from their spears
- Dual: the player chooses between four Heroes: Aragorn
, Legolas, Gimli and Eomer, to fight either an Orc or a Dunlending in melee combat
- Magic Duel: the player takes control over Gandalf
fighting a Nazgul flying mounted on a Felbeast
The game begins just before the Battles at the Fords of Isen
, with the player taking control over Rohan's western armies (an army consisted of an infantry unit [Westfold Militia], a light cavalry unit [Outriders], a horse archers unit [Harrowdale Bow] and three heave cavalry units [Helms Deep Guards and Edoras Guards, the Grimslade squadron being under Theodred's personal leadership]). The main army is led by Theodred, while there is a separate unit of heavy cavalry [Harrowdale] that is still behind on the road. The game ends when Sauron is destroyed after the Battle at the Black Gates and Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom.
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
set in the Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
world created by J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, centered in the Lord of the Rings novels. The massive-scale simulation takes part in the realm of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
and the player controls the forces of Good during the onslaught of the forces of Evil, namely centered on the conflict with Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
of Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
. It was published by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
and Mirrorsoft
Mirrorsoft
Mirrorsoft was a computer game software publisher in the United Kingdom, owned by Mirror Group Newspapers. It was founded as a publisher of educational software before moving into games. One offshoot of its printing roots was Fleet Street Publisher on several platforms...
.
In terms of gameplay, it is very similar to the 1988 War in Middle Earth, except the setting was downsized from the entire world just to the land of the Rohirrim, engulfing mostly the storyline from The Two Towers
The Two Towers
The Two Towers is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is preceded by The Fellowship of the Ring and followed by The Return of the King.-Title:...
, and to a small extent ending in The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
. In a combination of a single-unit adventure, small-scale battlefield tactics and broadscale campaign warfare, the player must coordinate the Fellowship and Rohan's troops in order to fend of the invasion of Saruman's Orcs and save the Rohirrim lands, as well as mounting enough forces to push the war on the fronts in the east in order to contribute to Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
's defeat.
At the beginning, the player can in the starting menu choose to start a new game, load an old one, quit, access encyclopedias dealing with featured units and characters, or practice. The practice folds down to tutorials in single-fighter combat:
- Archery: the player takes control of Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
attempting to shoot down (18) Orcs from a wall, while crouching from their spears
- Dual: the player chooses between four Heroes: Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
, Legolas, Gimli and Eomer, to fight either an Orc or a Dunlending in melee combat
- Magic Duel: the player takes control over Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
fighting a Nazgul flying mounted on a Felbeast
The game begins just before the Battles at the Fords of Isen
Fords of Isen
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Fords of Isen were fords in the river Isen, guarded by the Rohirrim. As the only crossing of the Isen into Rohan, they were of enormous strategic importance....
, with the player taking control over Rohan's western armies (an army consisted of an infantry unit [Westfold Militia], a light cavalry unit [Outriders], a horse archers unit [Harrowdale Bow] and three heave cavalry units [Helms Deep Guards and Edoras Guards, the Grimslade squadron being under Theodred's personal leadership]). The main army is led by Theodred, while there is a separate unit of heavy cavalry [Harrowdale] that is still behind on the road. The game ends when Sauron is destroyed after the Battle at the Black Gates and Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom.
Units
The player can control only the good side in the conflict.- Rohirrim Infantry - the poor, the young and the old gathered together, versatile all-round melee fighters eager to patriotically defend their homeland (squad size: 600)
- Rohirrim Archers - Rohan ground units which have mastered the proficiency with the bow (squad size: 150)
- Rohirrim Light Cavalry - fastest in the world, ideal scouts; useful for rapid skirmishes (squad size: 450)
- Rohirrim Heavy Cavalry - renown horsemen, among the hardest fighters in the world; useful for routing enemies with their lances (squad size: 450)
- Rohirrim Horse Archers - highly skilled mounted ranged units; can also fire while moving but with reduced accuracy (squad size: 150)
- Ents - tree-like being from Fangorn forest as they are, they are fiercely powerful warriors little can stand against, should they ever decide to join the conflict and not neutrally stand by idle.
- Orcs - all-around melee units, but generally weak and flee when outnumbered; vulnerable when exposed to direct sunlight
- Orcish archers - coward Orc fighters that have mastered the proficiency with the bow
- Uruk-hai - elite Saruman's warriors, hybrid orcs; travel across sunlight without problem; fierce fighters that can stand ground against most
- War Riders - Orcs mounted on the backs of larges wolves (wargWargIn Norse mythology, a vargr is a wolf and in particular refers to the wolf Fenrir and his sons Sköll and Hati. Based on this, J. R. R. Tolkien in his fiction used the Old English form warg In Norse mythology, a vargr (often anglicised as warg or varg) is a wolf and in particular refers to the...
s); very savage and fierce, except when their attack is broken; their mounts are hungry and independent on their own, very weakly trained - Dunlendings - savage lightly armed tribesmen from the countryside with an innate hatred for the Rohirrim, will blindly fight to the death
Characters
The game features a number of characters, only conditionally "heroes":- Aragorn - (Fellowship) the mightiest mortal in the world, a brilliant personal fighter; master strategic leader
- Gimli - (Fellowship) masterful hand-to-hand combat fighter
- Legolas (Fellowhsip) - Elven prince; best archer in the world, very quick but lightly armed
- Gandalf (Fellowship) - a Wizard (Maia) sent by the Valar to aid the Free Peoples against the Dark Lord, the most powerful hero; avoids combat and councils others, best fighter amongst the Good forces with unmatched powers, invincible through conventional means (can wipe out nearly anything)
- Merry (Fellowship) - non-combatant; stealthy
- Pippin (Fellowship) - non-combatant; stealthy
- Treebeard (Ents) - leader of the Ents, among the oldest creatures; concerned for the living, especially his native Forest
- Eomer (Rohan) - King's nephew and Third Marshall of the Riddermark; excellent leader as second only to the King; very good sword fighter
- Erkenbrand (Rohan) - Leader of Westfold and commander of Helm's Deep; an exceptional warrior and is bent on maintaining the defenses at the Hornburg
- Hama (Rohan) - King's Doorward and Captain of His Guard; a very good fighter as boundlessly loyal
- Theoden (Rohan) - The King. The best military commander in the world, still a potent fighter, but very old and physically weakened
- Theodred (Rohan) - Prince, Second Marshal of the Riddermark. Identical to Eomer (personal combat), but a weaker commander
- Eowyn (Rohan) - Eomer's sister, inspires the people as a shield maiden; non-combatant
- Grima (Rohan/Isengard) - The King's councilor, convinced Saruman is an ally, in reality a spy and saboteur
- Saruman (Isenbard - the chief antagonist; powerful as Gandalf, unengaged leader of the evil forces; wants to anihialate the Rohirrim and get the One Ring for himself, building an Army of dark forces for that task
See also
- War in Middle Earth (1988 computer game)