Baranor is a Man and supporting protagonist in Middle-earth: Shadow of War. He is a sergeant and the frontline commander of Gondor's last doomed stronghold in Mordor, Minas Ithil. He was born in Umbar as Warad and lived presumably with his brother Jagai and their parents. Yet was given to Gondor as a hostage of peace, no one ever came to bring him back because his parents were killed in a mercenary raid. Lost and abandoned in Gondor, he was adopted by a wealthy family of Minas Ithil, and in time began to see Minas Ithil as his true home. Eventually he joined the soldiery and rose to the rank of Captain in the guard.
Shadow of War
Baranor is first seen fighting the hold the gate alongside Idril and his fellow captains during the siege of Minas Ithil. Yet later he and Talion are formally introduced in the great tower of the Palantir, where the two and Idril discuss the possible ramifications of the use of such a relic. After a short disagreement Talion manages to convince the two that they have more to win than to lose if he uses it and Idril departs.
During the siege of the city Baranor takes some men and goes to hunt down a particular Warchief in Cirith Ungol, coordinating a plan with Talion to trap him in the fighting pits and cut him down in a hail of arrows. Both Baranor and his soldiers and Talion do their part ,and together manage to successfully take out the Warchief, and after some friendly banter with Talion heads off. During the arena battle, Baranor and Idril sneak into the Uruks camps and manage to retrieve some information regarding the location of General Castamir, and relay it to Talion. Baranor and his men fight valiantly during the last defense of the Inner City, fighting to the last to hold the main gate, yet eventually are overtaken, and after Castamir betrays the city to the Nazgul are forced to flee.
Baranor is next seen captured by a band of Uruks in Gorgoroth, and is saved by Idril and Talion, and after helping them fight off those who captured him, decides to leave with Idril and his remaining men, and hold his ground in Mordor.
Shadow of War: Desolation of Mordor
Sometime after his last encounter Baranor is travelling to Lithlad to find mercenaries, hoping to hire them to take Shindrûm, a marauder orc citadel in the area. However after his squad are attacked by were-wyrms and he himself is knocked out he finds himself rescued by the dwarven hunter Torvin. The hunter gives him a Numenorean grappling hook and kite and sends him off on his way to find the mercenaries he needs. After gliding his way over to the Oasis, the stronghold of the Vanishing Sons, Baranor attempts to strike up a bargain with the leader of the mercenaries, Serka the Unkillable. Yet after a short dialogue the two recognized each other as long lost brothers, Warad (Baranor) and Jagai (Serka) .
Serka reluctantly agrees to help Baranor take Shindram in return for all of the treasures stored within. Baranor makes progress by taking each outpost surrounding the fortress while dismantling the orc army by taking out their commanders and champions. However, another mercenary, Zhoja, betrays Serka and hands him over to the orcs. Baranor rescues Serka, who reasserts control over the Vanishing Sons and executes Zhoja. After repelling an orc attack and siezing their supplies, Baranor and Serka lead their army and seize Shindram. However, rather than hold the fortress, they leave a trap for the orcs sent to retake it, using a massive were-wrym to decimate the orcs and leave the fortress a ruin. Baranor and Serka then leave to seize more fortresses, deciding that Gorgoroth will be their next target.
Trivia
- Baranor is the playable character in the Middle-earth: Shadow of War Desolation of Mordor DLC, where he along with Torvin and an army of Men will face off against an Orc threat to the east in the desert region of Lithlad .
- Being born in Harad before adopted by the wealthy family makes him the only Gondorian with Black ethnic features. Due to this, he's the only black character to be featured prominently in the whole Tolkien Legendarium.
- Baranor's true Haradrim name is Warad.