Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Welcome to Part 1 of a new experimental Let's Play for Faerun: Total War, a Forgotten Realms total conversion mod for Medieval 2 Total War. In this massive, near 6-hour commentary playtest, we are diving into the Year 1372 DR to take command of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, led by the legendary Orc king, King Obould Many-Arrows.
The main objective of this session was to test some custom modifications I made to the game files regarding squalor and settlement revolts. In the base mod, conquered cities frequently rebelled despite full garrisons and population exterminations (a frustration I heavily experienced during an Elven playthrough).
However, our playtest hits an immediate roadblock: the Many-Arrows faction faces a crushing bankruptcy right from the start. To combat this without typing in immediate cheats, I was forced into a desperate tactical strategy—intentionally sending two starting armies on high-risk, suicidal siege missions to cut down unit upkeep costs.
The First Siege (Citadel Adbar): A massive Orc force besieges a tiny garrison of the Dwarves of Delzoun. Despite the balance of power heavily favoring the Orcs in autoresolve, the Dwarves turned the tide manually. Their elite, heavily armored Delzoun Iron Guards with maces and rectangular shields, alongside Dwarven Crossbowmen and Axemen, utterly shattered our basic Orcish Tribesmen, Warriors, and Warlord's Chosen bodyguards.
The Second Siege (Bryn Shander): Our secondary army—reinforced by heavy-hitting Gruumsh War Priests and Orcish Shaman mages—assaults Bryn Shander. Held by Minor Faction/Rebel mercenaries (Northmen Warriors, Axemen, and the Dwarf regiment of the Bloodaxe Mercenary Company), the battle becomes an absolute bloodbath. After breaching the gates and pushing to the plaza, our elite remnants are eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers of Northmen Axemen.
With the economic experiment failing to resolve through natural unit losses, I ultimately turn to money cheats to stabilize the treasury, allowing me to build up the infrastructure, deploy spies, and recruit elite infantry alongside the formidable new Iron Boar Cavalry.
Ultimately, because our forces failed to capture any enemy cities, the revolt mechanics could not be tested in this part. Tiring of the financial hurdles, I switch over to the Elves to conclude the playtest. While this is the first part of a potential Let's Play series, it serves as a raw, fully voiced look at the balance challenges, bankruptcy issues (also shared by the Shadovar faction), and unit match-ups currently facing the mod.
Video Highlights
The Squalor Experiment: Dissecting file modifications meant to fix aggressive campaign map revolts.
The Battle of Citadel Adbar: Watching the heavily armored Dwarven Iron Guards completely defy the balance of power meter.
The Siege of Bryn Shander: A grueling urban street fight pushing all the way to the town plaza against Northmen mercenaries.
Faction Economy Issues: Discussing the systemic bankruptcy flaws plaguing Many-Arrows and the Shadovar.
Elite Roster Building: A showcase of late-game army building featuring Gruumsh Priests and Iron Boar Cav.
#FaerunTotalWar #TotalWar #Medieval2TotalWar #ManyArrows #ForgottenRealms #DungeonsAndDragons #DandD #Orcs #DelzounDwarves #StrategyGames #PCGaming #Mr_Nygren #LetsPlay
Welcome to Part 1 of a new experimental Let's Play for Faerun: Total War, a Forgotten Realms total conversion mod for Medieval 2 Total War. In this massive, near 6-hour commentary playtest, we are diving into the Year 1372 DR to take command of the Kingdom of Many-Arrows, led by the legendary Orc king, King Obould Many-Arrows.
The main objective of this session was to test some custom modifications I made to the game files regarding squalor and settlement revolts. In the base mod, conquered cities frequently rebelled despite full garrisons and population exterminations (a frustration I heavily experienced during an Elven playthrough).
However, our playtest hits an immediate roadblock: the Many-Arrows faction faces a crushing bankruptcy right from the start. To combat this without typing in immediate cheats, I was forced into a desperate tactical strategy—intentionally sending two starting armies on high-risk, suicidal siege missions to cut down unit upkeep costs.
The First Siege (Citadel Adbar): A massive Orc force besieges a tiny garrison of the Dwarves of Delzoun. Despite the balance of power heavily favoring the Orcs in autoresolve, the Dwarves turned the tide manually. Their elite, heavily armored Delzoun Iron Guards with maces and rectangular shields, alongside Dwarven Crossbowmen and Axemen, utterly shattered our basic Orcish Tribesmen, Warriors, and Warlord's Chosen bodyguards.
The Second Siege (Bryn Shander): Our secondary army—reinforced by heavy-hitting Gruumsh War Priests and Orcish Shaman mages—assaults Bryn Shander. Held by Minor Faction/Rebel mercenaries (Northmen Warriors, Axemen, and the Dwarf regiment of the Bloodaxe Mercenary Company), the battle becomes an absolute bloodbath. After breaching the gates and pushing to the plaza, our elite remnants are eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers of Northmen Axemen.
With the economic experiment failing to resolve through natural unit losses, I ultimately turn to money cheats to stabilize the treasury, allowing me to build up the infrastructure, deploy spies, and recruit elite infantry alongside the formidable new Iron Boar Cavalry.
Ultimately, because our forces failed to capture any enemy cities, the revolt mechanics could not be tested in this part. Tiring of the financial hurdles, I switch over to the Elves to conclude the playtest. While this is the first part of a potential Let's Play series, it serves as a raw, fully voiced look at the balance challenges, bankruptcy issues (also shared by the Shadovar faction), and unit match-ups currently facing the mod.
Video Highlights
The Squalor Experiment: Dissecting file modifications meant to fix aggressive campaign map revolts.
The Battle of Citadel Adbar: Watching the heavily armored Dwarven Iron Guards completely defy the balance of power meter.
The Siege of Bryn Shander: A grueling urban street fight pushing all the way to the town plaza against Northmen mercenaries.
Faction Economy Issues: Discussing the systemic bankruptcy flaws plaguing Many-Arrows and the Shadovar.
Elite Roster Building: A showcase of late-game army building featuring Gruumsh Priests and Iron Boar Cav.
#FaerunTotalWar #TotalWar #Medieval2TotalWar #ManyArrows #ForgottenRealms #DungeonsAndDragons #DandD #Orcs #DelzounDwarves #StrategyGames #PCGaming #Mr_Nygren #LetsPlay
