LOTR: Bringing an MC System to Middle-Earth

"Bard, gather the archers... on second thought, gather everyone who can shoot. I've got a little treat for them."

Bard gave him a confused look. "What kind of treat?"

"Crossbows. And fireworks."

Bard blinked, utterly confused. "Fireworks?"

"You'll see. Just get the people."

Before long, every able-bodied archer and crossbowman in Lake-town had assembled before Eric. The mood was tense, uncertain. Eric glanced at the pile of supplies in his inventory, then let out a quiet sigh.

"Actually… we don't need this many. Keep the hundred best shots. The rest, go home and keep your heads down."

Thunk.

He dropped a workbench to the ground. With swift precision, he began consuming stacks of iron, wood, and string. One by one, freshly crafted crossbows emerged and were handed out to the hundred selected townsfolk, now standing in crisp rows.

Next, Eric began rapidly assembling a mountain of multishot explosive fireworks. He dumped them out onto the stone beside him, forming an impressive, if somewhat dangerous-looking pile.

"Here's your ammo. Try it out."

"Bard, you go first."

"Wait… you're serious?" Bard hesitated, eyeing the bizarre "ammo". While he was far more comfortable with a bow, he could handle a crossbow just fine.

But this? Fireworks as ammunition?

It went against everything he'd been taught. Still, this was Eric. Bard sighed, shoved aside common sense, and loaded a firework into the crossbow.

Click.

To his own surprise, it worked.

"Perfect. You've mastered reloading. Now explain it to the others, then lead them to rain chaos on the orcs."

"Wait, what?"

Moments later, a hundred crossbowmen lined the city walls.

Gandalf turned his head toward the noise, saw Bard and Eric leading the operation, then turned back, only to snap his gaze again in disbelief.

"Fireworks?"

"Aim!" Eric shouted. "Fire!"

Fwoosh!

A storm of colorful explosives soared over the walls and slammed into the approaching orc army and their monstrous war beasts.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Screams erupted below. Orcs near the impact zones were flung like ragdolls, their armor scorched black. A few trolls took direct hits and toppled with heavy thuds.

Gandalf stared. What in the name of Valinor just hit them?

Azog, watching from his command post, broke into a sweat. It looked like a hundred battle mages had cast synchronized explosion spells.

"This… this isn't right."

But then, he noticed something: one of the fireworks exploded midair, far from its target.

"They don't have long range!"

He raised a signal flag. "Fall back one hundred meters!"

The orc formations immediately retreated.

Eric, watching the orcs respond to the signals atop Ravenhill, frowned. "Annoying."

He summoned his Elytra.

"Where are you going now?" Gandalf asked, already suspicious of the winged contraption.

"You know what this means." Eric smirked, snapping it on.

"Decapitation strike."

Without another word, Eric leapt from the wall. Wings flared wide as he soared skyward. Arrows zipped past him, most missing, but a few grazed him painfully.

He gritted his teeth.

The Elytra didn't pair well with his chestplate, which meant he was exposed. And that chestplate had some of his best protection enchantments.

Still, once he climbed high enough, beyond any archer's range - Eric took a moment to observe the battlefield from above.

It was endless.

Orcs, wargs, trolls - countless enemies stretched across the plain. Siege beasts hurled boulders while trolls battered the walls with ram-fists.

"Incredible," Eric muttered. "In a world without me… they won this?"

He narrowed his eyes toward Ravenhill, where Azog's command tower stood. Swarms of bats spiraled in dark clouds above it, blotting out the sun—and obscuring the view.

Eric pocketed his Ender Pearl. No way he could throw it through that swarm.

The bats weren't hostile. They were atmosphere fodder, summoned to darken the skies and set the mood. Still, they made it impossible to teleport in.

And why were there dozens of archers stationed around Azog? Was the guy that paranoid?

He dove back toward the city and landed hard on the wall.

"Gandalf. Can you get rid of those bats?"

Gandalf squinted into the distance. "Perhaps. Or perhaps you should get rid of me instead."

Eric facepalmed. "Alright, that's fair."

At that moment, another siege beast lumbered toward the gate. Gandalf raised his staff to intervene, only to watch Eric casually fire a flaming bolt.

The creature shrieked, dropped its battering ram, and rolled on the ground trying to extinguish itself.

"Well then." Gandalf gave a resigned nod. "Now I know how Radagast felt when I told him he was useless."

Eric stared into the horizon. "This isn't good."

More orcs were arriving, streaming in from the Misty Mountains. Reinforcements. The entire plain was teeming with them.

Too many.

Even Eric was starting to feel overwhelmed. This level of enemy density would crash most PCs.

Moments later, commanders from all races gathered atop the walls. Faces grim. No one spoke. Even without casualties, the sheer pressure of the enemy forces was suffocating.

"Hah! Let them come!" roared a dwarf. "I'll guard this wall till I die of old age!"

Thranduil rolled his eyes. "We all will, if this keeps up."

"We need a strategy…" muttered Thorin, the only dwarf visibly deep in thought.

Bard silently loaded another firework, scanning the field for targets.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Then, a new sound. A distant rumble, coming from multiple directions.

More siege beasts. And now they were spreading out, targeting weak spots.

Stones and rams began hammering the walls.

Whistle—CRASH!

A boulder hurtled toward the main gate.

Eric grabbed Bilbo and shoved him aside.

"Eric? What—"

The rock flew past, smashing into Eric's shield. The impact shattered it instantly, knocking him off his feet and hurling him into the rubble below. He lost several hearts.

That hit was about half a Sauron-level smack.

Don't ask why he didn't dodge.

He was curious.

Besides, it was his own territory. He could afford to mess around a bit.

"Eric!"

Gandalf jumped down. Thorin and Bard rushed after him. Bilbo stood frozen in shock.

That rock… had it not been for Eric's timely shove, Bilbo would've become hobbit pancakes.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Eric called, brushing off imaginary dust.

He climbed back up the wall as if nothing had happened.

"He's still alive?" Azog muttered from the peak of Ravenhill.

He had specifically ordered that boulder to be aimed at Eric.

Back at command, Azog began listing every known detail they'd learned so far.

Never take Eric's attacks head-on. They burn.

Keep water on standby near his location. It neutralizes his fire.

Stay away from the grounded iron gates. They hide lava traps.

No infantry within 100 meters before breaching. The defenders fire short-range explosives.

The wall won't collapse even when damaged. Only bits can be chipped away.

Eric can fly. Keep archers alert. Use bats to block his flight path.

Lava blocks can be neutralized by plugging their source with larger blocks.

Red flashing blocks will fall and explode. Only trolls and ogres survive.

And finally… Eric might be immortal.

Azog's fingers trembled as he listed each observation.

What had this battle become?

Even he was beginning to question reality.

He glared at the corner of the wall where their troops had finally created a breach after sacrificing most of their siege beasts.

"This is the hardest war I've ever fought."

And he'd been in the battle that wiped out Durin's folk.

But this? This was a nightmare.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, despite the dark magic, despite the monsters…

They were losing.

"Push through!" he roared.

Bwooooom!

After sacrificing hundreds of orcs to fill a lava moat, using stone to cover the source, and sending armored Olog-hai and war beasts to shield against explosives, a breach finally opened in the wall.

Barely wide enough—but it was something.

Azog laughed. "Finally!"

WAAAAAAAAUGH!

The horn of war sounded, and the orcs charged through the gap.

"We did it! The wall is breached!"

But as they entered… silence.

No elves. No dwarves. No men.

Why weren't they fighting back?

And then—

CLANG! CLANG!

Iron Golems.

Hundreds of them. Surrounding the breach like a wall of living steel.

They swarmed in from every side, smashing into the front lines like a wall of fury. The first orc went flying. Then another. Then a dozen.

"Send in the trolls!" came the command.

Armored Olog-hai surged into the gap, massive hammers swinging. They managed to push back the first line of golems.

A single war beast followed, crashing into the city.

It stomped a golem into the dirt before Eric dropped from above and plunged his flaming sword into its neck. The dwarves followed close behind, hacking at its legs, toes, and other vulnerable spots.

It fell within seconds, coughing up a shiny skill orb labeled Evasion.

"Thick hide, I'll give it that," Eric muttered.

He turned to face the ogres.

CLANG!

The clash was intense. These brutes had nearly full armor values and massive health pools. They hit like anvils and took forever to die.

But there were only three of them. And while they made a mess at first, the golems quickly regrouped.

Overwhelmed, the ogres were slowly battered down.

"Thank goodness they don't spawn often," Eric said under his breath. "If there were a few hundred of them, even the golems wouldn't hold."

He'd already burned through almost all his materials just summoning this batch.

Still, the golems held - each one worth at least ten orcs.

But the orcs weren't done yet.

Azog stood tall again. "You think that's it? You think this is enough to stop us?"

He signaled the final phase.

"Release the beasts."

From tunnels dug by burrowing worms, wargs began to spill out in a dark tide, racing toward the breach.

This was their moment. The final army that had yet to join the fray.

"Can we not have any more surprises today?" Eric muttered, hastily sealing the gap again, sweat dripping down his face.

"This difficulty setting is insane."

Gandalf, still slicing through a few lingering orcs, paused. "What?"

"I mean this whole battle. These enemies are cracked."

"They've always been like this."

"No, I mean… you know what, never mind."

"What?"

Eric took a deep breath and nodded, as if coming to a solemn decision.

"I've decided to respect the mechanics."