I dont know if anyone here suggested it, but... Well, I have a few suggestions:
Orcs. Power name: "Power of the Dark"( I was actually originally going to name it "Power of the Horde", but alas, this one is already taken )
-Barracks units have 25% less hitpoints, but their cost does not ramps up( Orcs, in the LotR, were well known for their seemingly neverending armies of infantry )
-Military research on the Library costs no Knowledge( While it is debatable how smart they were in general, no other race, in the LOTR, had a lifestyle so centered about war. In fact, that is all we know about the Orcs effectivelly: Their whole culture, and way of life, seems to revolve around finding more effective ways to kill and destroy )
-Your Capital( And ONLY your Capital, unlike how is the case with the Chinese ) starts as a Major City( Obviously, this is a referrence to Mordor. )
-All buildings, except Cities, have 50% less hitpoints( Since the Orcs ramping bonus, combined with their pratically free military research bonus, would potentially make then one of the most OP nations, most of the rest of their bonuses will have to be actually minuses. On this case, this is to referr to something quite obvious: Orcs are good at destroiyng things. They are not that good at building then. )
-Technologies, with the exception of Library research, aging-up, and unit-line upgrades, cost twice as much as usual to research( Again: Orcs, as far as we can see, do not seem particularly interested on researching anything that is unrelated to finding new ways to kill things. )
The Elves: "Power of the Woods."
-All Barracks units can move through forests( Well, yeah. Elves kind of made, of forests, a secound home. )
-All your units heal while on friendly territory( Stolen from the Iroquois, and it would work on a similar manner, except that it is constant. As in, it happens even-During-Combat. )
-Library technologies cost only Knowledge( Elves were one of the most advanced races of the LotR, after all. )
The Dwarves: "Power of the Earth."
-All military units have 10% more hitpoints and have +1 armor, but move 20% more slowly( Dwarves may be sturdy, but they are also kind of slow. )
-Starts with a Smelter. All Smelter upgrades are researched for free( Probably no other race surpassed the dwarves in terms of their knowledge of crafting weapons and armors. Though the elves came close. )
-Citizens will also produce Wealth whenever they are working on a Mine, equal to how much Metal they are producing.
-Citizens cost Metal instead of Food.
I still need help with the unique units, though...
Orcs. Power name: "Power of the Dark"( I was actually originally going to name it "Power of the Horde", but alas, this one is already taken
-Barracks units have 25% less hitpoints, but their cost does not ramps up( Orcs, in the LotR, were well known for their seemingly neverending armies of infantry )
-Military research on the Library costs no Knowledge( While it is debatable how smart they were in general, no other race, in the LOTR, had a lifestyle so centered about war. In fact, that is all we know about the Orcs effectivelly: Their whole culture, and way of life, seems to revolve around finding more effective ways to kill and destroy )
-Your Capital( And ONLY your Capital, unlike how is the case with the Chinese ) starts as a Major City( Obviously, this is a referrence to Mordor
-All buildings, except Cities, have 50% less hitpoints( Since the Orcs ramping bonus, combined with their pratically free military research bonus, would potentially make then one of the most OP nations, most of the rest of their bonuses will have to be actually minuses. On this case, this is to referr to something quite obvious: Orcs are good at destroiyng things. They are not that good at building then. )
-Technologies, with the exception of Library research, aging-up, and unit-line upgrades, cost twice as much as usual to research( Again: Orcs, as far as we can see, do not seem particularly interested on researching anything that is unrelated to finding new ways to kill things. )
The Elves: "Power of the Woods."
-All Barracks units can move through forests( Well, yeah. Elves kind of made, of forests, a secound home. )
-All your units heal while on friendly territory( Stolen from the Iroquois, and it would work on a similar manner, except that it is constant. As in, it happens even-During-Combat. )
-Library technologies cost only Knowledge( Elves were one of the most advanced races of the LotR, after all. )
The Dwarves: "Power of the Earth."
-All military units have 10% more hitpoints and have +1 armor, but move 20% more slowly( Dwarves may be sturdy, but they are also kind of slow. )
-Starts with a Smelter. All Smelter upgrades are researched for free( Probably no other race surpassed the dwarves in terms of their knowledge of crafting weapons and armors. Though the elves came close. )
-Citizens will also produce Wealth whenever they are working on a Mine, equal to how much Metal they are producing.
-Citizens cost Metal instead of Food.
I still need help with the unique units, though...