Tharbad is the third Dunedanic faction in Dominion of Men, though they are overshadowed by their larger cousins, the Reunited Kingdom and the Kingdom of Adunabar. And not only in terms of size: The RK and Adunabar will struggle mightily for control of the North while Tharbad must wait to snatch settlements opportunistically.Tharbad in the Fourth Age is imagined as a breakaway merchant city led by its own governors. With the civil war tearing the Dunedain apart, Tharbad – positioned between the power centers of Annuminas and Minas Anor, and far enough away from both to be somewhat unsupervised during the chaos – declared its independence.In its new form, the young City-kingdom Tharbad consists of the city of the same name, as well as Greyholm just to the southeast, Lond Daer far downriver to the southwest, and, flanking the bridge and capital, the two strongholds of Northguard Fort and Southguard Fort.Tharbad, as a Chief City, can build anything – no need to choose between Military, Financial, or Administrative Policy. It will also be your main recruitment center. As for your other 2 towns, it’s a tough call. On the one hand, Lond Daer, as a coastal settlement, looks like a good candidate for Financial Policy to take advantage of its sea trade. But it also lies far enough from your capital that you may want a strong military presence there. If you choose Financial for Lond Daer, you may want to keep ships near your capital to quickly shuttle troops downriver in case of a threat. Greyholm doesn’t benefit too much from Financial or Administrative Policy, and Military Policy may seem redundant given its close proximity to Tharbad. On the other hand, the ability to quickly raise an army in the area will be a boon during the mid game, when your resources are stretched to their limit, so I aim for Military here.This is a well-fortified position, and you may feel relatively secure initially: though the other Dunedain no doubt look askance at your independence (indeed, to the Reunited Kingdom Tharbad’s breaking away must be seen as an unforgivable betrayal), you are not currently in much danger from either. Adunabar is the only Dunedanic faction that shares a border with you (northward from your capital), and it is too busy fighting with the RK initially to spend resources attacking you. As for the RK themselves, they are incapable of interfering in your newly won independence.Tharbad is not at war with anyone at the beginning of the campaign – not even the independent (rebel) settlements. Your only southward neighbor, Dunland, is embroiled in a war with Rohan that may take some time to resolve. So the obvious first move would be to attack the several nearby rebels, incorporate them into your own realm, and build up your army.The obvious move is the wrong one, in this case.Attacking independent settlements doesn’t remove the growing threat you face from your other neighbors. While you spend money investing in development of these newly acquired towns and raising enough troops to defend them, Adunabar may have swept the RK out of the North. They may not even wait long enough to defeat their rivals before deciding that your command of the Greyflood is a threat to their own wealth and security. And to the south, Dunland will challenge you for any lands you manage to take in Enedwaith.If, in contrast, you simply sit tight and build, the Dunlendings and Adunabar will be able to outnumber you easily. And as Tharbad, you cannot rely on small but elite units, like the RK can. You will need to use the totality of your unit roster to defend from your enemies and expand your realm.Tharbad’s varied roster is unique, as it draws from many distinct cultures. There is a core of Dunedanic-style troops – archers, swordsmen, and spearmen – in the Mariner Bowmen, City Longbowmen, Mariner Swordsmen, Merchant Guard (your infantry bodyguard), and Spears of the Bridge. Tharbad Ballistas (buildable at a Library if there are Hosting Halls also present in the settlement) also have a Gondorian heritage. There is a “native” representation in the Tharbad Militia and Axemen of Tharbad, drawn from the indigenous population of Enedwaith, and in the Dunlending-inspired Tharbad Pikemen. There is even a dash of Rohan in the Merchant Scouts light cavalry unit. Note that these are yourcavalry, as even your bodyguards march to war.Independently, these units are not particularly daunting. To achieve victory, you must wield them together effectively.A good army composition for Tharbad will include a mix of these unit types, with an emphasis on archery protected by defensive infantry. Your archers are not very numerous, but they should form a good proportion of your army – and they can be used as melee flankers, especially the City Longbowmen.As for that line of defensive infantry, it will initially rely heavily upon Spears of the Bridge (Tharbad Militia are better as garrison troops than actual fighters; Tharbad Pikemen are of limited availability at first, and are best used in specifically anti-cavalry roles). But note that Spears are roughly equivalent to the Kingdom Militia fielded by the RK. In other words, it takes you until tier 2 Military Development to get to a tier-1 unit for the RK. And yet, the Spears are effective for their role: to stop the enemy while your more attack-oriented troops flank.Attack infantry for Tharbad includes your Axemen, Mariner Swordsmen, and Merchant Guard. The Axemen are extremely basic, yet fairly numerous, while the Swordsmen are actually effective against armor due to the short, stabbingthey wield. The Merchant Guard accompany your family members – so any governors or commanders who aren’t up to snuff should enlist and earn their pay rather than living it up in the palace or embezzling away your trade profits. Both the Guard and the Swordsmen are shield-wall capable, so they can stiffen the flanks of the infantry line in addition to striking out once the lines have clashed. (But note that, as infantry, your general's bodyguard can be vulnerable. Watch for traits that affect your general's hit points and avoid committing him to the fray if he is an old, sickly, or simply unskilled fighter. Extra FMs of no particular governing ability, however, should be sent to fight and earn experience - or simply die and make way for adoptees of real talent.)Merchant Scouts perform 2 roles in your battles: executing charges and chasing routers. If you can’t reliably pull off the former duty, leave them for the latter, since the Scouts are extremely vulnerable in melee. They wield 2-handed spears and wear only light armor – they’re fast, but fragile, and must be micromanaged if they are not to die in great numbers.A successful charge is easiest against foes that are already fighting your infantry line. Pull the Scouts around to the flank or rear, and then make sure they are stationary and facing their target. Then order the attack. When the Scouts lower their lances, you’ll know the charge will be successful. If they don’t lower lances, pull them back and try again.Even in a successful charge, your Scouts will take some losses. Therefore it’s best to reserve them for crucial moments in battle rather than charging them into the enemy’s flanks just because you can. Aim their charge at the enemy general’s bodyguard (since, as lancers, they are effective against other riders), or wait until you suspect a charge into the back will break the enemy and cause a mass rout.You begin the game with a fair mix of units in Tharbad and Greyholm, as well as the forts; assemble them under any likely commander(s) in the area and train a few units to fill out the ranks – another unit each of Merchant Scouts, Mariner Bowmen, and Mariner Swordsmen will allow you to have a nicely balanced line. But whom should you attack first, Adunabar or Dunland?Adunabar offers the greater benefits. Their neighboring settlement, Threeways, is a rich province that will help pay for your development and recruiting. It is also rather isolated from Adunabar’s core northern territories which can be found off to the northeast. If you can seize Threeways before Adunabar takes Bree, you can establish trade with the RK (and perhaps go some way to mollify the hurt feelings of your self-declaration of independence).Threeways shares your Dunedanic culture, but its allegiance to the Cult will require some conversion. Once you bring it to heel, you may consider helping the RK defend against Adunabar … or you may cynically eye the progress of the war and snatch up whatever settlement you can. Wait for Adunabar to assault Bree, and then, when their army moves off to do battle near Fornost, move in and take it. Or assault Weathertop’s stronghold to use as a distraction while you raid the northern Adunabar towns.Adunabar is the larger of the Dunedanic powers, so it is a better long-term strategy to continue attacking them and deny them momentum. By the time you have taken Threeways, they may already have taken Fornost and put Annuminas under siege. This dispersal of their forces to the northwest will allow you to deal with any armies they have in the area and aim straight for Lastbridge – a Chief City northeast of Threeways that protects the only crossing east toward the Misty Mountains. This is effectively Adunabar’s capital in the north; taking it for yourself puts you in a much safer position, as the Cult’s other settlements are rather poorly developed.These early battles may be challenging, especially once Adunabar realizes the threat you pose and turns its hordes of Cultic and bestial troops in your direction. Several units of Hill-trolls may march with the enemy; they should be the first target of your archers, particularly the flame arrows of your City Longbowmen. Force them to run amok and you need never watch them tear apart your battle-line.The following battle is representative of the fighting you will experience in the lush hills and woodland of Eriador during the first years of the campaign.Two armies of Adunabar - containing Trolls, Orcs, and Cultic units - attack. I deploy on a hill, with some cavalry hidden in the trees behind. The front line is occupied by my archers, who are backed by a line of spearmen. On the flanks, my two spare family members (commanding a unit of Merchant Guard each) take up shield-wall positions, and just behind them I station Mariner Swordsmen and Axemen of Tharbad. The elderly general - Tharbad's Merchant-king, in fact - takes a safer position in the center rear.I've ordered my archers to fire at the enemy Trolls, and forced them to run amok. The rest of the enemy forms up a line and heads straight toward my forces, while other units head far out to the left, seeking my hidden units and attempting to outflank. I have my main battleline grouped together for ease of maneuver.The enemy commits its main force. I've rushed my battleline forward to protect the archers, and now throw in the Mariner Swordsmen to support my family members' Merchant Guard. In the foreground, my Axemen move to a flanking position. On my left, I begin to move my riders into place for a charge.Axemen and riders attack the pinned foe, killing the general and scattering the enemy soldiers.During your expansion northward, keep watch on events in Dunland. While your initial position is defensible, it lacks depth – that is, your training centers are a rather thin line, easily overwhelmed by a faction that can train hordes of cheap troops, such as Dunland. Even before the Dunland-Rohan war is over, the Dunlendings may send exploratory parties to your borders. If they sense weakness there, they will not hesitate to attack.For the other Dunedanic factions, Dunland is a mere distraction; for you, they are an existential threat. The Dunlendings may be poorly armed individually, but there are a lot of them, their higher-tier champions are strong and frightening, and the javelins that nearly every one of their warriors carries can penetrate even Dunedanic armor.Against the Dunlendings, you’ll want to train plenty of archers. Melee with these barbarians is dangerous, so stand off at range and shoot them down to tip the scales in your favor. Your bowmen should also aim at their skirmishers – surprisingly dangerous units that can outpace your units, pepper them with throwing spears, and then overwhelm them with numbers. Rather than wasting the lives of your Scouts in pursuit and bloody melee, simply bring enough archers to the fight to ensure that you don’t need to chase them down at all.Victory for Tharbad requires you to conquer some coastal settlements and a total of 20 provinces. On the way to achieving this goal, you’ll involve yourself with wars on both sides of the Greyflood, and may face off against the Reunited Kingdom (if Adunabar didn’t drive them from the North) as well as Rohan (especially if you’ve helped destroy Dunland). Rohan offers slightly different challenges in their heavy and powerful cavalry, but overall the Rohirrim are an easier foe to face than Adunabar or horde after horde of spear-throwing Dunlendings. For one thing, you can train units specifically designed to counter the threat in your Pikemen; for another, horses make big targets for your archers. And Rohan tends to field mixed armies, with infantry and poor-quality cavalry accompanying their hard hitters.But if you have timed your conquests carefully and ensured that you have enough forces to strike on either side of the Greyflood at need, you will not only survive, but become the dominant power in the region. The city of Tharbad was little more than a broken bridge and ruins at the end of the Third Age. In the Fourth, it can become the center of a thriving independent kingdom.