LOTR: Minas Tirith - SS13
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Placed for the Spring Stomp 2013
Minas Tirith was surrounded by the Rammas Echor, a large ringwall encircling the city and the Pelennor Fields. This wall was built after Minas Ithil fell and was renamed Minas Morgul. It was repaired by Ecthelion II during the time of the War of the Ring, but it had not the strength to defend the city from the Dark Lord Sauron's legions of orcs from Mordor led by the Witch-king of Angmar. The city itself lay on a hill beneath Mount Mindolluin, which rose above the city's citadel, by a length of a couple of thousand feet. Mount Mindolluin was where Aragorn found the seedling of the White Tree, aided by Gandalf.
The city was divided into seven one-hundred-foot high levels, each surrounded by white walls, except the first walls which had the same kind of black stone as Orthanc as a face. The gates connecting the levels did not lay behind one another in a line, but faced in different directions. A spur of rock, whose summit was level with the city's uppermost tier, jutted out from the front of the city in an easterly direction, dividing all but the first level into two. The spur of rock has been described as being in the shape of the bow of the ship, an obvious reference to how man first colonized the area. Each level was scattered with many alleys, narrow passageways, marketplaces, family shops and stores, and public living buildings, such as apartments and full-fledged houses (which were probably quite rare in the city). On the sixth level were located the Houses of Healing, surrounded by pleasant gardens. Finally, within the seventh wall, was the Citadel of Minas Tirith, with its White Tower - three hundred feet high, so that its apex was one thousand feet above the plain. Upon the saddle between the city and Mindolluin were the Houses of the Dead - a tomb for the Kings of Gondor and their Stewards.
Levels
The First Level of Minas Tirith was the lowest and largest level of Minas Tirith. The Main Gate leads into a courtyard, and there are many homes, shops, and apartments in the First Level. During the Siege of Minas Tirith, orcs cast fire into the First Level, burning many buildings and causing general havoc. Later on, the Main Gate was breached and the Men of Gondor and orcs clashed in the streets of the First Circle. The orcs got the upper hand of the fight, though, because of their numbers and the Gondorians fell back to the Second Level.
Defensive Structures
The walls of the city were defended by a battery of at least 10 trebuchets in the film, in the book they are referred to simply as 'engines'. These played a significant role in the siege shown in the movie, as they were responsible for destroying and/or killing many Orcs, Trolls, siege towers, and catapults. Sadly, a number of them were smashed to bits by the fell beasts of the Nazgûl, but all were repaired in the end. Gondorian soldiers stood beside the trebuchets on the walls in case the Enemy tried to assail the city using their hideous siege towers, driven by the effort of Trolls. Gondorian archers also waited on top of the walls and gates of the city, firing at any Orc or Troll within their range. Soldiers silently waited behind each wall of the city in case the Enemy broke through one of the walls.
The Great Gate of Minas Tirith was flanked by towers and bastions made from the black (in the film white) almost indestructible stone (similar to that of Orthanc) which makes up the entire lower level. In addition there is a wall surrounding Pelennor fields called Rammas Echor. It is also safe to assume that Minas Tirith is also equipped with many other defensive structures common in other fortifications, such as murder holes above gates and arrow loops
Additional Hints
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