History FanFic / SarumanOfManyDevices

On Hiatus since 2016. In-progress parts of Chapter 15 on Website/SpaceBattlesDotCom ([[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/saruman-of-many-devices.256776/post-21689539 here]]). Update: As of April 2021, with ''Fanfic/HarryIsADragonAndThatsOK'' coming to a close, Saphroneth has given indications of possibly rewriting and continuing this story, with further snippets such as [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75352298 this]] and [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75411236 this]], and several entries in [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/saphroneths-smaller-snippets.947731/ this thread]].

* CoolGuns: Since gunpowder and weapons based off it are entirely new technologies within Middle Earth, this pretty much applies to every gun. Although Saruman is less than impressed by [[spoiler: the arquebus pistols produced by Gundabad]].

* AlternateUniverse: Seems to be a fusion of the Peter Jackson movie ([[CanonForeigner Lurtz]] is present, Arwen takes Glorfindel's role in bringing Frodo to Rivendell), the original books (female orcs are present, Uruk-Hai are bred from orcs and humans instead of orcs and goblins, Eowyn takes the pseudonym Dernhelm when riding with the Rohirrim), and the Creator/GamesWorkshop Tabletop Wargame (a squad of rifle uruks is pursued by the Ringwraith Khamul the Easterling, Black Numenorian magicians are part of a probing attack on a fortified town, the Nazgûls called The Shadowlord and The Undying [[spoiler: are slain during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]), on top of its being a crossover with ''The General''.

* AnArmAndALeg: A poorly considered decision to try to attack the Dunlendings puts [[spoiler: Eomer]] in the very literal cross-hairs of an Isengard regiment. While he survives, he ends up losing an arm, which has given him the title [[spoiler: "Eomer the One Armed"]].

** Central's way most of the time -- there's little use to Wunderwaffen if you can't equip your army with them effectively (and Central has the historical records to demonstrate it). Very much justified, in this case. The Free People of Middle-Earth face a vastly numerically superior foe that has a mix of magical wonder weapons (or wonder fortifications, in the case of the Black Gate and Barad-dur) and semi-rare superweapons (Olog-Hai/Battle Trolls, mûmakil, the Nazgûl and their Fell Beasts, skilled Black Numenorian mages, etc). TheAlliance needs to hold off Sauron's forces/allies on every front, not just the one where Saruman could deploy his potential wonder weapon. As a result, Saruman's development efforts continually strive to move away from expertly crafted unique pieces, in favour of mass producible designs.

* DeathByFallingOver: Marek takes down a deserter who was going to sell them out to Rhûn, by firing a pistol into the air -- causing the deserter's horse, already at full gallop, to startle, trip, and fall.

* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Mithril-tipped bullets, made from melting down a dwarven ring of power in Saruman's possession (making the mithril also enchanted). Given how ridiculously few of these he has, he saves them for one task and one task only: a last resort for killing Nazgûl. [[spoiler:He ends up making use of them in chapter 10.]]

* FantasticRacism: The uruk-hai meet with suspicion or outright discrimination from most, at least until they prove themselves. Rather interestingly, the uruk-hai take it in stride--which helps them overcome this considerably.

* GoodIsNotSoft: While Saruman may be firmly on the side of Light, he is effectively the ruler of his own nation and will not tolerate any acts of aggression against those under his protection. When Eomer violates the agreement his uncle had struck with the wizard by crossing the Isen to wipe out the Dunlendings, Saruman dispatches a portion of his own army with explicit orders to annihilate the invaders, and they carry out those orders to the letter.

* HopeSpot: One for the Mordor forces during the Battle of Minas Tirith. In the face of the combined Rohan and Isengard army, their hopes rise when two of the Nazgûl swoop down on them, only for the fell-beasts to prove to be no more resistant to guns than anyone else.

* HenchmenRace: While the uruk-hai are [[SuperSoldier bred and trained primarily for battle]], they are first and foremost Saruman's valued officers and soldiers. However, he also hires craftsmen and refugees from other races. Saruman's argument to Gandalf in the first chapter clearly indicates that he takes pride in the uruk-hai ''as a people'', rather than as his henchmen (like in canon). He trains them to think creatively, take initiative, and be multifaceted. Lurtz, for example, is a linguist by hobby; Raza is a logistical expert, medic, and inventor.

** Even Saruman's artillery pieces aren't quite powerful enough to bring down all the [[WarElephants Mûmakil]] before their mounted archers can start shooting back. But the wargs pulling them are ''faster'' than the Mûmakil, allowing them to fire a devastating salvo and then retreat to a safe distance before firing again.

** Usually averted. Even trolls, Mûmakil and the Nazgûls' fell beasts can be brought down by them, if shot enough times or in a vulnerable spot.

** Eowyn still ends up revealing herself on the Battle of Pelennor Fields, this time to rally an eored that just had their original leader killed.

* LongRangeFighter: The biggest advantages of the new firearms are their stopping power and ease of use, but they also have longer effective range than most bowmen, opening up new tactics. Marek deliberately arranges to have ranging posts placed outside Uldonovan so that Rhûn will ''think'' they know how close they can safely camp outside of bow range.

* {{Mithril}}: Its hardness and other properties come in handy for Saruman. Its magical properties (or magical potential) make it the basis of effective (although phenomenally expensive and rare) weapons against Nazgûl, too. That being said, with a Moria reclamation operation tentatively planned for the upcoming winter, mithril may be set to be somewhat less rare in the near future.
* MustMakeAmends:
** When Saruman comes to Edoras to negotiate a peace between Rohan and the Dunlendings, Eomer is convinced that Saruman is only playing his uncle. This causes him to try and mount an assault against the Dunlendings and destroy them for good. Saruman, however, gets wind of this and quickly deploys his forces to stop Eomer. [[spoiler: Needless to say, it ends very badly for the Rohirrim, resulting in their near-total destruction.]] Theoden is understandably displeased and tells his nephew quite plainly that he'd best show that his stunt was a one-time thing. Fortunately, Eomer seems to be taking this deeply to heart, and later demonstrates conduct worthy of a leader of Rohan [[spoiler:by breaking the siege on Cair Andros just when Mordor was about to break into the city.]]

* MyopicArchitecture: A variant; Myopic Transportation. Early in the story, the Nazgûl are the immortal black riders that ride on all-too-mortal horses, so Lurtz knows exactly where to aim his company's bullets. Not only will it allow the Nazgûls' quarry to outrun them, it means they have to ''walk'' back to Sauron to report. Even when Sauron upgrades to fell winged beasts, that tactic still applies.
* MythologyGag:

** More by circumstance than conscious effort, when a Fell-beast and its Nazgûl rider end up landing among the White Hand ranks, one gunner manages to depress his Anduin (artillery) field gun enough to fire it point-blank at the Nazgûl.
--->'''Kerkú (cavalry colonel):''' Well, I don't know if that's killed it, but it'll certainly hurt in the morning!

* SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb: With their [[ImmuneToBullets bullets useless]] against the Balrog, [[spoiler: Lurtz gathers up as many grenades as his company can spare and rigs them up in the middle of the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. Once the Balrog steps on it, its fire ignites the fuses and blows up the bridge, dropping the Balrog into the chasm.]]

** Theodred and Theoden are also spared. Rohan is not under attack by Saruman in this universe, so the prince never gets ambushed and mortally wounded, while his father doesn't get killed by the Witch King at Pelennor Fields.
** Even Gandalf doesn't suffer his canon (albeit temporary) demise [[spoiler: thanks to Lurtz and his men blowing up the bridge of Khazad-dûm once the balrog gets far enough across.]]
* StockWeaponNames: The guns made by Isengard are all named after rivers. The rifles are called Isens, revolvers Limlights, rapidguns Lunes, mortars Branduins and field guns Anduins. The muzzle-loading rifles that are later used by Gondor are called Ithils.
* SuperPrototype: Downplayed. Saruman's first ten Uruk-Hai are all colonels in the Army of the White Hand or leaders of various support divisions, but this is also due to them having more time to learn and innovate from Saruman than the uruks that come after.

* TemptingFate: When there's talk of bad weather, Marek welcomes it, pointing out how rifles can handle rain better than bows, and declaring that he relishes the idea of facing Rhûn cavalry in wet weather where a charge is impossible. When the rain actually starts, though, he quickly realises that it makes travel on foot messy and difficult.

* WarElephants: The Haradrim's Mûmakil, which are elephants on steroids. It takes several shots from a battery of field guns to bring them down. Fortunately, they're pretty easy to hit and can't move fast for very long.

* WhatWereYouThinking: Eomer, thinking the peace deal between Rohan and the Dunlendings was made in treachery, staged an attack on the Dunlendings anyway leading to some of Saruman's companies intervening, [[spoiler: which resulted in the loss of several Eored and Eomer's arm]]. When they meet later, Theoden demands to know what Eomer was thinking and assigns him to another campaign away from Pelennor Fields.

* SomebodySetUpUsTheBomb: With their [[ImmuneToBullets bullets useless]] against the Balrog, [[spoiler: Lurtz gathers up as many grenades as his company can spare and rigs them up in the middle of the Bridge of Khazad-Dum. Once the Balrog steps on it, its fire ignites the fuses and blows up the bridge, dropping the Balrog into the chasm.]]

** Even Gandalf doesn't suffer his canon (albeit temporary) demise [[spoiler: thanks to Lurtz and his men blowing up the bridge of Khazad-Dum once the balrog gets far enough across.]]

* AlternateUniverse: Seems to be a fusion of the Peter Jackson movie ([[CanonForeigner Lurtz]] is present, Arwen takes Glorfindel's role in bringing Frodo to Rivendell), the original books (female orcs are present, Uruk-Hai are bred from orcs and humans instead of orcs and goblins, Eowyn takes the pseudonym Dernhelm when riding with the Rohirrim), and the Creator/GamesWorkshop Tabletop Wargame (a squad of rifle uruks is pursued by the Ringwraith Khamul the Easterling, Black Numenorian magicians are part of a probing attack on a fortified town, the Nazguls called The Shadowlord and The Undying [[spoiler: are slain during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]), on top of its being a crossover with ''The General''.

** Central's way most of the time -- there's little use to Wunderwaffen if you can't equip your army with them effectively (and Central has the historical records to demonstrate it). Very much justified, in this case. The Free People of Middle-Earth face a vastly numerically superior foe that has a mix of magical wonder weapons (or wonder fortifications, in the case of the Black Gate and Barad-dur) and semi-rare superweapons (Olog-Hai/Battle Trolls, mûmakil, the Nazgul and their Fell Beasts, skilled Black Numenorian mages, etc). TheAlliance needs to hold off Sauron's forces/allies on every front, not just the one where Saruman could deploy his potential wonder weapon. As a result, Saruman's development efforts continually strive to move away from expertly crafted unique pieces, in favour of mass producible designs.

* HopeSpot: One for the Mordor forces during the Battle of Minas Tirith. In the face of the combined Rohan and Isengard army, their hopes rise when two of the Nazgul swoop down on them, only for the fell-beasts to prove to be no more resistant to guns than anyone else.

** Usually averted. Even trolls, Mûmakil and the Nazguls' fell beasts can be brought down by them, if shot enough times or in a vulnerable spot.

* MyopicArchitecture: A variant; Myopic Transportation. Early in the story, the Nazgul are the immortal black riders that ride on all-too-mortal horses, so Lurtz knows exactly where to aim his company's bullets. Not only will it allow the Nazguls' quarry to outrun them, it means they have to ''walk'' back to Sauron to report. Even when Sauron upgrades to fell winged beasts, that tactic still applies.

** More by circumstance than conscious effort, when a Fell-beast and its Nazgul rider end up landing among the White Hand ranks, one gunner manages to depress his Anduin (artillery) field gun enough to fire it point-blank at the Nazgul.

** When Saruman starts teaching the soldiers of Minas Tirith to use guns, they use a much slower loading variant than his own rifles -- not because he doesn't trust them with the superior design, but because they want to be able to make and maintain their own equipment, and they don't have the same advanced industrial capabilities as Isengard does.

** Eowyn still ends up revealing herself on the Battle of Pelennor Fields.

** Theodred and Theoden are also spared. Rohan is not under attack by Saruman in this universe, so the prince never gets ambushed and mortally wounded, while his father didn't get killed by the Witch King at Pelennor Fields.

* TaughtByExperience: Later chapters show the opposition forces becoming more savvy to Saruman's use of crows for reconnaissance, and shooting down the murders.

* ExplosiveOverclocking: When advising the elves about how to fight gunpowder weapons, Saruman suggests that one way to destroy captured cannons is to fire them with too much powder, causing them to rupture.

On Hiatus since 2016. In-progress parts of Chapter 15 on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/saruman-of-many-devices.256776/post-21689539 Spacebattles]]. Update: As of April 2021, with ''Fanfic/HarryIsADragonAndThatsOK'' coming to a close, Saphroneth has given indications of possibly rewriting and continuing this story, with further snippets such as [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75352298 this]] and [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75411236 this]], and several entries in [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/saphroneths-smaller-snippets.947731/ this thread]].

* AntiCavalry: The slow (initial) advance of the Rohirrim at Pelennor gives the orcish commander plenty of time to set up a pike hedge to devastate their charge. Unfortunately for the orcs, it's subverted; the Rohirrim are working alongside Isengard, and their opening salvo is not a charge but a volley of bullets, followed by artillery canister shot -- into what is now a densely packed formation, making it difficult to miss.

* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: [[DefiantToTheEnd Gothmog's]] last words as his flank collapses in the face of the Rohirrim and Isengard cavalry is to [[BringIt bellow at them to come get him]].

* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Mithril-tipped bullets, made from melting down a dwarven ring of power in Saruman's possession (making the mithril also enchanted). Given how ridiculously few of these he has, he saves them for one task and one task only: a last resort for killing Nazgul. [[spoiler: He ends up making use of them in chapter 10.]]

** At one point Saruman actually solves a logistics problem that wasn't brought up in the original story - in order to make the great ride from Rohan to Minas Tirith, the Rohirrim would have needed on the order of 180 ''tons'' of fodder for their horses, with no way to carry that on the horses and little time for the horses to graze. In this story, Saruman had a just completed Isengard-Minas Tirith train line, which he loaded with all the Rohirrim's food, tents, cooking gear and fodder. So every day, the Rohirrim would ride with just their weapons and armor to an agreed upon camp site, and find their camp already set up for them, allowing them full rations and no wasted time pitching tents.
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: [[DefiantToTheEnd Gothmog's]] last words as his flank collapses in the face of the Rohirrim and Isengard cavalry is to [[BringIt bellow at them to come get him.]]

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Elrond opens his council, with several Uruk-hai in attendance, by welcoming "Strangers from distant lands… friends… and other visitors…"

* {{Unobtanium}}: {{Mithril}}. Its hardness and other properties come in handy for Saruman. Its magical properties (or magical potential) make it the basis of effective (though phenomenally expensive/rare) weapons against Nazgul, too. That being said, with a Moria reclamation operation tentatively planned for the upcoming winter, mithril may be set to be somewhat less rare in the near future.

* HitAndRunTactics: Even Saruman's artillery pieces aren't quite powerful enough to bring down all the [[WarElephants Mûmakil]] before their mounted archers can start shooting back. But the wargs pulling them are ''faster'' than the Mûmakil, allowing them to fire a devastating salvo and then retreat to a safe distance before firing again.

* BoringButPractical: Central's way most of the time -- there's little use to Wunderwaffen if you can't equip your army with them effectively (and Central has the historical records to demonstrate it). Very much justified, in this case. The Free People of Middle-Earth face a vastly numerically superior foe that has a mix of magical wonder weapons (or wonder fortifications, in the case of the Black Gate and Barad-dur) and semi-rare superweapons (Olog-Hai/Battle Trolls, mûmakil, the Nazgul and their Fell Beasts, skilled Black Numenorian mages, etc). TheAlliance needs to hold off Sauron's forces/allies on every front, not just the one where Saruman could deploy his potential wonder weapon. It's understandable, then, that one of Saruman's biggest and most important projects is a railway for carrying supplies.

On Hiatus since 2016. In-progress parts of Chapter 15 on [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/saruman-of-many-devices.256776/post-21689539 Spacebattles]]. Update: As of April 2021, with ''Fanfic/HarryIsADragonAndThatsOK'' coming to a close, Saphroneth has given indications of possibly rewriting and continuing this story, with further snippets such as [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75352298 this]] and [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/harry-is-a-dragon-and-thats-okay-hp-au-crack.731548/post-75411236 this]].

** Saruman never goes bad in this story, and is actively working to improve Middle-earth.
** Lurtz, unlike how he was in the movie, is a firm ally to the Fellowship. The same goes for every other Uruk-hai, orc and others in service to Saruman.

* HeelFaceTurn: Saruman, who, instead of trying to claim the Ring for his own, is now aiding the West and the Fellowship of the Ring. Also Lurtz, who, in this alternate universe, is now the commander of an elite company of reconnaissance dragoons and lends invaluable help to Frodo and Co. from Rivendell on south.

* MyopicArchitecture: A variant; Myopic Transportation. Early in the story, the Nazgul are the immortal black riders that ride on all-too-mortal horses, so Lurtz knows exactly where to aim his company's bullets. Not only will it allow their quarry to outrun them, it means they have to ''walk'' back to Sauron to report. Even when Sauron upgrades to fell winged beasts, that tactic still applies.

* ShoutOut: Lurtz's response to the advancing Balrog: "[[Series/DoctorWho The bastard with wings]], FiveRoundsRapid!"

* TaughtByExperience: Later chapters show the opposition forces becoming more savvy to Saruman's use of crows for reconnaissance, and have taken to shooting down the murders.

--> A dense line, six deep and four thousand wide, formed of armoured pikemen with their weapons braced in the ground. Such a line would mean any cavalry would simply drive their horses onto the blades of the pikes -– and many of the pikes had boar-spear style crossbars, intended to stop a charging animal from running right up the length of the pike to kill the user.\\

* AntiCavalry: Subverted when the slow (initial) advance of the Rohirrim at Pelennor gives the orcish commander plenty of time to set up a pike hedge to devastate their charge. Unfortunately for the orcs, the Rohirrim are working alongside Isengard, and their opening salvo is not a charge but a volley of bullets, followed by canister shot -- into what is now a densely packed formation, making it difficult to miss.

** At one point, hidden uruks snipe at an enemy force holding a town. Due to the extended range and poor visibility, all the enemy perceives from the Uruk-hai units (aside from their theatrically gesturing commander) are bullet wounds, which leads them to believe the Uruk-hai have potent magic on their side.

* BoringButPractical: Central's way most of the time -- there's little use to Wunderwaffen if you can't equip your army with them effectively (and Central has the historical records to demonstrate it). Very much justified, in this case. The Free People of Middle-Earth face a vastly numerically superior foe that has a mix of magical wonder weapons (or wonder fortifications, in the case of the Black Gate and Barad-dur) and semi-rare superweapons (Olog-Hai/Battle Trolls, mumakil, the Nazgul and their Fell Beasts, skilled Black Numenorian mages, etc). TheAlliance needs to hold off Sauron's forces/allies on every front, not just the one where Saruman could deploy his potential wonder weapon. It's understandable, then, that one of Saruman's biggest and most important projects is a railway for carrying supplies.

* HitAndRunTactics: Even Saruman's artillery pieces aren't quite powerful enough to bring down all the [[WarElephants Mumakil]] before their mounted archers can start shooting back. But the wargs pulling them are ''faster'' than the Mumakil, allowing them to fire a devastating salvo and then retreat to a safe distance before firing again.

** Usually averted. Even trolls, Mumakil and the Nazgul's fell beasts can be brought down by them, if shot enough times or in a vulnerable spot.

* WarElephants: The Haradrim's Mumakil, which are elephants on steroids. It takes several shots from a battery of field guns to bring them down. Fortunately, they're pretty easy to hit and can't move fast for very long.