Within this book you'll find everything that you've now come to expect from a supplement for The Lord of The Rings strategy battle game. The first half of the book charts the progress of the armies of Harad as they march northwards to the great widow-making fields of Gondor, while the second half of the book is given over to reprising those evocative moments from the films and the books where the warriors of Harad have a key role. There are rules for new Warriors and Heroes, (as well as a teeny, tiny Mûmak) to use in your games. There are also eleven new scenarios (the most in any supplement so far) that stretch across the arid land of Harad, and travel northwards across the Poros and Harnen rivers until they reach the Pelennor Fields themselves. You'll also find guides for painting and creating new scenery pieces.

What makes this book different to any supplement that has come before it is the amount of research that went into its writing. For Siege of Gondor and Shadow & Flame, there were literally chapters of reference material where J. R. R. Tolkien had gone into vast detail. For Pelennor Fields, the story has been quite different. While the battle itself is well documented, Profesor Tolkien never explored the land of Harad as fully as some of the other realms of Middle-earth. While there are clues scattered throughout his works, it has been like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle with only half the picture, and where many of the pieces are the same shape. Accordingly, a lot of gaps in the history and culture of Harad have needed to be filled, and I hope very much that you enjoy the result of that work.

A case in point is that, while there is plenty of evidence in J.R.R. Tolkien's writings indicating that the Orcs and Trolls worshipped Sauron with a fierce passion and shared his goals, the scant records of the southern lands tells a very different story. From the Second Age of the world onwards, the people of Harad have been oppressed by outsiders; first by the Númenóreans, then by Gondor, and finally by Sauron himself. Even the name of their people that has passed into common usage (Haradrim) is nothing but a Sindarin word that means only 'people of the South'. With such little interest or regard seemingly shown by the peoples of the West, it is not difficult to see why they have only ever viewed the people of Harad as enemies and, by extension, servants of evil.

Whenever lines of allegiance are drawn, those on either side view their enemies as holding morals and beliefs which are wrong – that's what being an enemy is all about. The Haradrim are summoned to a war by their lords, marching on those that they view as their enemy with as much determination and cold purpose as the Men of Gondor or the Rohirrim. If anything, the common people of Harad would hold enthusiasm for war with Gondor, if only due to the memory of hundreds of years of occupation still present in their minds. Both the films and the book give the reader and viewer the viewpoint of the Good forces; the Haradrim are the enemy and therefore on the side of Evil. Whether their actions draw sympathy or hatred is purely down to an individual's perspective.

Related Articles:
What Is Shadow & Flame? | What Is The Siege of Gondor?
What Is The Fellowship of The Ring?
What Is The Two Towers? | What Is The Return of The King?

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The Battle of Pelennor Fields