Falconer's Middle-earth Campaign

[Falconer]

crimhthanthegreat said:

Are you running Middle-earth as an OD&D campaign? If you are you should start a separate thread for that in the Links and Resources forum. We would love to hear about that.

I haven't started it yet. Will it be OD&D? Yyyyyyyyyyyes, I think so? The answer lies somewhere between OD&D, Holmes, OAD&D, and house rules. No OAD&D books for the players. I will probably make up a players rules document for them that's along the complexity level of Holmes, modified with Trent's OD&D/Holmes comparison notes, and modified for Middle-earth. So in terms of power inflation and overall complexity, it will be very much closer to OD&D than OAD&D.

Really the main thing from OAD&D that I want to use would be the experience tables and combat tables, but I'm starting to think I should make a clean break and go for OD&D all the way.

The following are the race/classes I am considering, with their ordinary D&D equivalent in parentheses:

BEORNING - (human druid) - i.e. Beorn
DWARF - (dwarf fighter) - i.e. Thorin, Dori, Gimli
ELF or GNOME - (elf fighter or fighter/magic-user) - i.e. Elvenking, Glorfindel, Galadriel, Legolas
HOBBIT - (hobbit fighter) - i.e. Bilbo
RANGER - (human cleric) - i.e. Aragorn, Faramir
WARRIOR - (human fighting man) - i.e. Bard, Boromir
WIZARD - (human magic-user) - i.e. Gandalf

Rangers and Wizards would be permitted to use swords. I view Wizards as a race/class (the "fays" of Tolkien's earlier conception rather than Maiar/"angels"), rare but not restricted in number to LotR's five (I reject the idea that they are all emissaries from the West as a late idea and non-conducive to gaming). Beornings can't just change into any form, it must be one specific alternate shape and it must be a type of bear. There wouldn't be holy symbols or mistletoe, but athelas would be necessary for cure spells.

I plan to give out something like a quarter the normal amount of XP, in order to drastically slow level advancement. Level 3 should be a major achievement. This will significantly lessen the use of magic and special abilities. Regards.

[crimhthanthegreat]

Huzzah! This sounds like a lot of fun and I like your ideas. I would encourage you to start with OD&D and then season to taste with house rules for things that you really want from elsewhere. I look forward to hearing more aobut this as you get it ready to go and then when you get it started. Sounds like it should be a great campaign.

[Finarvyn]

I think that of all of the incarnations of the D&D rules, the OD&D system has the best "feel" for a Middle-earth campaign.

I find that running M-e games is sometimes tricky because...
1. Players often don't like the low-magic feel of M-e.
2. Players often have pre-conceived notions on what they are "supposed" to do in the game; mostly they think they should be destroying rings.
3. Tolkien was so good at crafting his words that often I feel unable to really express the feel of his world to the players. (Of course, it helps that they've all seen the movies...)

Once you get over some of those obsticles, Middle-earth is great. I bought a bunch of Games Workshop minis from their LOTR collection and love to use them as props when I run a M-e campaign. The Balrog is really huge.... !

[Falconer]

admin said:

I think that of all of the incarnations of the D&D rules, the OD&D system has the best "feel" for a Middle-earth campaign.

Well, yes... And it's kind of cool that it actually says "hobbits" and "ents." Makes it feel like, in some manner, maybe we actually are playing an official Middle-earth game.

Players often have pre-conceived notions on what they are "supposed" to do in the game; mostly they think they should be destroying rings.

*Evil laugh* Therein lies the main dilemma with which my players shall be faced... My solution shall be revealed in time, but I wouldn't want to spoil it.

Once you get over some of those obsticles, Middle-earth is great. I bought a bunch of Games Workshop minis from their LOTR collection and love to use them as props when I run a M-e campaign. The Balrog is really huge.... !

I would like to collect either those or the Mithril Miniatures ones. Regards.

[Rhuvein]

falconer said:

The following are the race/classes I am considering, with their ordinary D&D equivalent in parentheses:

BEORNING - (human druid) - i.e. Beorn

Very interesting idea/background/setting . . natch for Tolkien fans.

Just an aside question thinking of Beorn - is he wholly human or perhaps a shapeshifter type. Or is he a large hairy barbarian/forest dweller human with a close familiarity with bears and other creatures? He seemed to have magical qualities - which I guess is why you peg him as a druid, and I agree.

Definitely one of the more interesting creations of Tolkien.

:D

[Falconer]

Well, I don't want to say he is a druid, just that the class seems to work well for what he is and does. Of course he's a Germanic berserker rather than a celtic druid. But he does speak with animals, change his form, protect animals, and engage in bizarre and unexplained rituals with his fellow Beornings. As one of Tolkien's more blatantly "magical" creations, I wanted to take full advantage of this in a D&D context. His nature seems to be inherited (like a race) rather than a profession (like a class), but it doesn't really matter which you call it in the game. Regards.

[tgamemaster1975]

falconer said:

... I should make a clean break and go for OD&D all the way.

The following are the race/classes I am considering, with their ordinary D&D equivalent in parentheses:

BEORNING - (human druid) - i.e. Beorn
DWARF - (dwarf fighter) - i.e. Thorin, Dori, Gimli
ELF or GNOME - (elf fighter or fighter/magic-user) - i.e. Elvenking, Glorfindel, Galadriel, Legolas
HOBBIT - (hobbit fighter) - i.e. Bilbo
RANGER - (human cleric) - i.e. Aragorn, Faramir
WARRIOR - (human fighting man) - i.e. Bard, Boromir
WIZARD - (human magic-user) - i.e. Gandalf

Rangers and Wizards would be permitted to use swords. I view Wizards as a race/class (the "fays" of Tolkien's earlier conception rather than Maiar/"angels"), rare but not restricted in number to LotR's five (I reject the idea that they are all emissaries from the West as a late idea and non-conducive to gaming). Beornings can't just change into any form, it must be one specific alternate shape and it must be a type of bear. There wouldn't be holy symbols or mistletoe, but athelas would be necessary for cure spells.

I plan to give out something like a quarter the normal amount of XP, in order to drastically slow level advancement. Level 3 should be a major achievement. This will significantly lessen the use of magic and special abilities. Regards.

The Beornings really grab me, you are tempting me to try a M-E campaign. I will be interested in seeing how yours goes. Be bold ;) put in elves and gnomes. I also like your idea of letting both Rangers (clerics) and Wizards (magic-users) use swords in this campaign. I have tried letting everyone be fighters AND whatever at the same time with each having their own new experience table. That should work well in an M-E game.

[WSmith]

There are some interesting class write ups in the SR that might be helpful.

If I were to ever run Middle Earth, it would be in the 4th age. There are tons of threads at ENW, DF, and RPGnet about such and you really need not look to hard to find them. This would take care of the "preordained" path of destiny issue.

Also, anyone interested in running a Middle Earth campaign, should buy themselves "The Atlas of Middle Earth" by Karen Wynn Fonstad. It is a great quick guide to ME.

It really pains me to say this...the GW Minis for LotR are amazing. I wished they didn't cost so d**n much.

But yes, I think OD&D is the best fit of any edition for a Middle Earth Campaign.

[Falconer]

I did up a ton of notes on the Fourth Age, particularly on a campaign centered around the Sea of Rhûn, set in the latter years of the reign of Elessar. I figured Rhûn would be the most important center of contention in the Fourth Age, based on some of the more relevant quotes I could muster. The Blue Wizards feature prominently, Elessar would be campaigning there, and Herumor "The New Shadow" would be raising armies of Haradrim from the south. I actually ran a one-shot adventure based on this concept many years ago.

But this next campaign is going to be set, well technically in the Third Age, since the War of the Ring is not going to end the way it was supposed to...

[Falconer]

One of my more radical ideas is to set Blackmoor up somewhere north of the Middle-earth map. Of course it wouldn't be Blackmoor in its full, kooky splendor, yet it would be a fun little playground of unknown adventure and uncharted history.

But, the idea occurred to me because it is mentioned in FFC that Marfeldt the Barbarian had adventures in Rhûn--an obvious Middle-earth tie-in. Never mind the hobbits and balrogs which to us, today, might seem Standard D&D, but in Arneson's time would have meant only one thing: Middle-earth. Then there's the Great Kingdom, which could easily be the great Dunedain kingdom of Arnor and Gondor (either in its previous incarnation, or as reunited by Elessar in the Fourth Age). Finally, another thing that suggested the idea to me is the fact that one of the three settings to which Blackmoor has been officially (in print) tied is Judges Guild's Wilderlands setting, which started as a Middle-earth campaign. There's a thread about that on K&K somewhere, but also check out the title for the map in The Hobbit--WILDERLAND.

Just thought I'd throw that out at you all, and see what you think! Regards.

[Falconer]

The World-Traveling Quest, and the Great Dungeon.

One of my ideas is that Moria will stand in for Greyhawk Castle as the Great Dungeon. Really, Moria is the all-time ultimate dungeon of unknown depths and nameless horrors and limitless possibilities. While the PC's quests will have them trotting all over the map (and beyond), inevitably they will return time and again to Moria to delve ever deeper in search of artifacts and clues that will contribute to the bigger picture. This gives me the best of both worlds.

The PCs adventures in Moria would begin at a point when Balin's colony is stable, or perhaps they come on the scene at a crucial turning point which changes the course of history and stops the decline of the Dwarven colony. In any case, the Dwarven "town" at the topmost levels of Moria becomes a home base for delving into the Mines, and the PCs' continued activity there would prevent the increasingly successful Dwarven settlement from being overrun. Regards.

[Falconer]

The Lord of the Rings Problem

A Fourth Age Campaign is ultimately--let's face it--an anticlimax. A Mordor with no Sauron. A Moria with no Balrog. Woods with no Elves.

A Campaign set during the War of the Ring? Sure... Hey, while the Fellowship is off fighting the War and destroying the Ring, would you PCs mind helping this little village over here by cleaning out this little den of Orcs?

A Campaign in which the PCs ARE the Fellowship? How are you going to do it differently or better than they did it in the books? An interesting exercise, but ultimately, railroad city.

Or you could set the campaign in the Third Age but, say, a hundred or two hundred years prior to the War of the Ring. Interesting things happened--between the Dwarves and the Orcs, between Arnor and Angmar, between Gondor and Umbar, between the Necromancer and the Wizards. But these are all still essentially local affairs. Still, not a bad way to go--and MERP did take this route. The only problem is that the history books on these times have all been written, and your PCs are not in it! In other words, the PCs can't really change the world, unless you're willing to completely alter the future and take the "alternate timeline" route... In which case, try this on for size:

My campaign is going to be a sort of hybrid Third Age / Fourth Age campaign, with the best of both, and some stuff that neither has got. Hey, even a little bit of the Second Age. Stay tuned...

[coffee]

falconer said:

The Lord of the Rings Problem

...

A Campaign in which the PCs ARE the Fellowship? How are you going to do it differently or better than they did it in the books? An interesting exercise, but ultimately, railroad city.

Unless you play if for laughs.

Have you seen this?

www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14

[Falconer]

The Lord of the Rings proceeds just as written--with only one exception. The Fellowship successfully crosses the Misty Mountains via the Pass of Caradhras, never venturing into Moria and thus leaving the fate of Balin a mystery; and the Balrog never died (for reasons explained previously).

Now, fast forward to the end. Imagine you and your companions are standing before the Black Gate of Mordor with Aragorn and the combined might of Gondor and Rohan. A tall and evil shape, mounted on a black horse, issues forth from the Gate. "I am the Mouth of Sauron," he says. "I have tokens that I was bidden to show thee." And there to the wonder and dismay of all the Captains he holds up first a short sword such as Sam had carried, and next a grey cloak with an elven-brooch, and last the coat of mithril-mail that Frodo had worn wrapped in his tattered garments. Finally, from out of a bundle swathed in black cloths he draws forth an object the size of a ball, hideously disfigured but not beyond recognition--the head of Frodo. He casts it to the ground at the feet of Gandalf and Pippin. Their hearts are dead and their last hope gone.

A hopeless battle ensues, the full might of Sauron against the pitiful representation of the West. Pippin, Legloas and Gimli fight with tears on their faces but fire in their eyes, yet they fall. Gandalf the Grey is slain, but not without taking some Nazgûl out with him. Even Aragorn, the Hope of the West, falls.

It's a massacre. Yet, a strange thing happens. Those who lay down their arms in surrender are taken captive and led in chains into Mordor. What need has Sauron of more slaves?? Presumably, though, the PCs will figure better slavery--and the hope for escape--than death! So, yes, how would you 1st Level PCs like to start your new campaign with a nice, light Escape From Mordor scenario? :-)

But Sauron has NOT recovered the ring. Gollum has gotten hold of it and is at large with it, and no doubt the PCs will want to hunt him for it. Of course, the Nazgûl are hunting him, too... Sam's fate is unknown--but I imagine he has become that badass warrior indeed, and he is also at large hunting Gollum.

Meanwhile, Gondor has fallen, but NOT to Mordor. Faramir, seeing Gondor's utter defeat, arranges a surrender deal with Umbar, preferring that Men, even Black Númenoreans, rule the land rather than Orcs, and ensuring a miniature free nation of Dol Amroth. This also has the effect of driving a wedge between Umbar/Gondor/Harad (a new Númenorean Empire) and Mordor, putting the two nations at odds and forcing the War of the Ring to come to a stalemate or temporary respite or cold war.

I mean, come on, Gondor was boring anyway. Rohan was always way more interesting, and Rohan will remain a free nation under the captaincy of Elfhelm. But Black Númenoreans are the best Númenoreans. Their ruler, Herumor, will wed Eowyn to force an alliance with Rohan, which makes her a kick-ass Corsair Queen.

Anyway, at some point the PCs will doubtless recover the Ring, and seek advice from the White Council, probably at Lorien. Taking the Ring to Mordor has failed, so what to do now? A surprise guest will show up at the Council--who else but its sometime leader, Saruman? Of course he has "repented" and wants to help. He's a master of ring lore, and knows how It can be destroyed. Seek the lost forges of the Elven Smiths in the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil, perhaps? Or perhaps there is news of a fire dragon still haunting the Grey Mountains?

His suggestions may or may not work, and he may or may not have returned to good. The campaign could go in a million different directions, and I don't want to "map out the plot." But certainly, if/when those Elven Forges are reached, Saruman will be nearby to insist that a Master of Ring Lore must be given the Ring in order to complete the deed...

I will use a lot of MERP modules as aids in fleshing out Middle-earth, but by no means followed slavishly in detail or in feel. As I've said, Moria will be the major dungeon (and I'd better map it out from scratch rather than just use the MERP module), and the Dwarves will always play a big part (to give it that "The Hobbit" feel). Blackmoor will be a part of the world. There are multiple villains, with Herumor and the Corsairs of Umbar; Sauron and the remaining Nazgûl (each of whom will be fleshed out to fully interesting characters per MERP); the Balrog; and others. The Blue Wizards of the East will be a factor, kind of an alternate Council which the White Council may contact for assistance, but whose motives and morals are ambiguous. Radagast is the only trustworthy, if somewhat impotent, NPC Wizard (if, indeed, he is not recruited as a PC).

Another question which remains is: if Aragorn was not the Chosen One, who is? (Might it turn out to be one of the PCs?)

Those are my thoughts for now. What do you think?

[Finarvyn]

falconer said:

The Lord of the Rings Problem

A Fourth Age Campaign is ultimately--let's face it--an anticlimax. A Mordor with no Sauron. A Moria with no Balrog. Woods with no Elves.

I had an idea along these lines, which you can use or not as you like. The assumption that M-e becomes boring is based upon a couple of key notions:
1. The "people of power" (ie Gandalf, Elrond, etc.) were of the opinion that once the One Ring was no more than all magic would die out and elves would go away.
2. Tolkien abandoned his fragment story set 100 years after the death of Aragorn becasue he felt that things would be boring.

What if everyone was wrong?

Suppose that Sauron wasn't destroyed, but that his spirit was dispelled somewhat in the same way that happened when his ring finger was cut off by Isuldur. Maybe the elven rings wouldn't lose their power entirely, but instead would become the NEXT great rings for Sauron to try to capture. If Sauron's minions could get all three together he would be a Dark Lord again, and in the meantime Sauron's control could force the wearers of the three to become uber-Nazgul. (Galadriel could be an evil queen or bane-sidhe sort of like what she didn't want to become when she was testing Frodo.) Maybe even Gandalf would become dark-Gandalf.

The party would then have to recover and destroy three rings, which is slightly less railroad-y.

You could even have Seven dwarven nazgul running around. What fun!

[Falconer]

coffee said:

Have you seen this?

www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14

Very hilarious comic!

Worst DM ever!

[tgamemaster1975]

falconer said:

There's a thread about that on K&K somewhere, but also check out the title for the map in The Hobbit--WILDERLAND.

I never noticed that before!

I have read the rest of the posts and the scene you set, it sounds great. Keep us informed about how it goes.

[Falconer]

Ran my first session today. The players were my wife and some friends of ours (a husband and wife) who have never played D&D before. First of all, let me say that OD&D was a great choice and proved to be incredibly simple to set up a character with and to play, and was just pure good fun. Everyone loved it.

As far as the Middle-earth aspects, I kept it very simple. I ran the Holmes intro dungeon. For “Porttown” (hastily renamed “Whitehaven”—not a great name, but it will do) I vaguely modeled its layout on the Keep from B2, and as far as location, I vaguely located it somewhere between the Shire and Mithlond. The characters were a Hobbit and an Elf and a Ranger. For the Ranger I used the Cleric class, except that I’ve dropped all weapons restrictions for him. That’s working just fine. I ran the Elf by the book per Men & Magic, and today she elected to adventure as a Fighter rather than as a MU.

So far the main Middle-earth references have been to “Mad Baggins” as if the story of Bilbo’s adventures are a recent sensation.

When the party encountered the goblins in the large middle chamber of the dungeon, they captured one of them. Per Holmes’ instructions, he promised to lead them to “treasure.” The party treated him like Gollum—put him on a leash, didn’t trust him but wanted to use him. He led them west to the spider’s den. Everyone appreciated the Shelob analogy!

Anyway, I wanted to keep it light and simple for the first adventure. Later on they can explore Moria and have other grand adventures, but it was a promising start! Regards.

[badger2305]

I'm a late-comer to this discussion, but it was an interesting read!

Seems to me that one of the areas that would be open for adventuring (or at least as a base of operations) would be Cardolan, with the city of Tharbad existing until 2912 T.A. There was an ICE module entitled "Thieves of Tharbad" that I never read; I would think it's a blank template to work with.

Another place might be Dale, after Smaug has been dealt with. Dain is King Under the Mountain, Bard's rebuilding the town - but there would still be Orcs to deal with in the mountains to the north, and who knows what else is still up there?

You've probably thought about these already - keep us posted as to how the game is going! It sounds like fun!

[Falconer]

Yeah, all of the MERP 1st Edition stuff was assumed to be around the era that the Witch-King of Angmar was attacking the Former Arnor Kingdoms of Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan; the Necromancer was first haunting Mirkwood; Gondor has the crises of the Easterling invasion and the Kinslayer War with Umbar; Dwarves and Orcs war over various holds in the Misty Mountains. It’s definitely an exciting time. I think it could be made to work, especially if one can drastically derail the timeline so it’s really up in the air what’s going to happen with all the major plots which are otherwise headed towards foregone conclusion after foregone conclusion.

I finally picked a time vaguely between HOB and LR, so as to be eminently familiar to the players, and so I may take aspects that I like from both. I have represented it as fast upon the heels of HOB. But I will ignore the books’ timeline as far as how long the elapsed time between HOB and LR is supposed to be, and just introduce LR elements (most prominently, Balin’s Moria expedition) whenever I feel like it...

[Stonegiant]

What about a campaign set in ME where the events of the Hobbit never occurred or where Bilbo refused to go and the ring was never discovered?

[Zulgyan]

Falconer: I have a question out of curiosity.

You are using the cleric as the base for a ranger class.

Do you consider the "cleric spells" to be "ranger spells"? Or are you interpreting them like "skills" or "special abilities" of the ranger?

I mean, cure light wounds could work as bind light wounds. Neutralize Poison, the ability of Aragon to treat poison. Find Traps, the ranger's perception, and so on.

[Falconer]

Exactly. They would not be called spells. Although, to me, they wouldn’t be called spells for a cleric, either. Blessings? Miracles? Anyway...

The Rangers are True Númenorean. Aragorn was the paragon of the lot, but any Ranger PC could ultimately attain similar fame and achievements. A lot of the curing/healing would require athelas and it mirrors his ability to minister to Frodo and later (much more effectively, having reached a higher level) to Merry and Eowyn (“hands of a healer” you know). There certainly aren’t any magic words or forumlæ for him to mumble, though certainly all Rangers were especially reverent towards the Valar, and probably some sort of prayer cannot hurt.

The ability to affect undead? Aragorn turned the Nazgûl away at Weathertop. He even had special power over the undead at Dunharrow.

Aragorn has a ton of special abilities, such as master the palantír (which even Gandalf cannot do). Many of them can interpreted as: he’s the rightful King, therefore he is remarkable. But I prefer to look at it as: he’s a ranger, therefore he’s remarkable. He’s remarkable in just the right way, and therefore he’s the rightful King. Gondor knew about Isildur’s heirs in the North and weren’t about to yield the throne purely for bloodline’s sake. Aragorn was made king by virtue of his achievements.

Any PC Ranger can have the blood of Elros in them, therefore any one of them could potentially be as great as Aragorn some day. Particularly if Aragorn experiences a premature death! Regards...

[Zulgyan]

Excellent.

Another question:

Do you allow M-Us as a PC class?

[Falconer]

Here are the stumbling blocks to that:

1. All Wizards are Istari, in origin Maiar, special emissaries from the Valar.
2. There are only five Istari and we by and large know their names and histories.

Okay, as far as all Wizards being Maiar, I think that is definitely correct. Or fays or Vanimor depending on which era of Tolkien’s writings you’re reading (Maiar is a late term, much later than LotR). However, the Maiar are very, very numerous and very, very variable in power. So there’s no reason a Wizard couldn’t start at 1st level, despite the fact that he is very, very old. And still increase in level from study and experience, as Gandalf does.

As far as being special emissaries from the Valar, that is not mentioned in The Hobbit or in The LotR as far as I remember. It’s a later concept from the essays and letters.

As far as there being only Five Istari, that is again not a part of The Hobbit, and is only tangentially referred to by Saruman in The LotR. This is also expanded upon in the essays and letters, but sometimes he said that the Five were only the Leaders of the Wizards.

So, to recap, in my campaign:

1. All Wizards are fays, ancient spirits of nature but not necessarily powerful (and not incorporeal either);
2. Wizards are not special emissaries from the West. They just inhabit Middle-earth naturally.
3. Not all Wizards are members of the Saruman’s Order of the White Wizards, or the Istari. But many are. The Five are its leaders.

Hope that makes sense. Regards.

[Zulgyan]

Most interesting and fascinating take. Really thank for sharing. Have an EXALT!

[kesher]

F., I really like your ODD reimagining of the Istari; totally workable.

As for setting, I almost got to play in a campaign set after the events of LotR in which the characters found out that, contrary to popular belief, Beleriand had not sunk beneath the waves, but had only been hidden by the Valar with a powerful glamour. Which had just faded away. Which left an virtually unending supply of Silmarillionistic ruins to explore...

[Falconer]

An implausible premise but it results in a fascinating campaign!

Presumably the Valar had cut it off from the rest of the world because it was infested with Morgothian horrors?

How sad, though, to travel those lands when ALL of the famous NPCs are long dead and/or gone. Except Maglor, of course... Regards.

[Deleted]

Here are a view villains I worked up back when I was trying to put together a Fourth Age ME Campaign, originally for 3E (but with adaptations to OD&D):

The campaign was to start FA 62, which is just right for players to have a chance to meet most of the main players of the LotR, but by this time they are old, and thus new heroes *must* arise.

The Ice Queen of Angmar
Helkanárfëa ( Q. “Icy Fire Spirit” ), Akûldâgalûr ( B.S. “Ice Demon” )
Valaraukar/Noldor Cleric 8/Magic-User 16
Emblem: A white dragon rampant.

Helkanárfëa, the Ice Queen of Angmar, is the daughter of a balrog and a captured Noldor princess of the First Age, born in the pits of Morgoth. Thus, as with Lúthien, daughter of Thingol of Doriath and Melian the Maia, she is a most potent being. She was being trained as a great captain by Morgoth when the Final Doom fell upon Angband and her master, but she survived, and was cast into the waters of the north, where, due to her great might from her valaraukar father, she remained frozen alive, encased in ice for millennia. Even frozen in body she was potent in spirit, and over the ages she slowly corrupted nearby native tribes of elves, men, and orcs to her cause. When Sauron was destroyed the great wave of magic that was released in his destruction shattered her prison, and she was freed.

Since then she has slowly built her forces of Helkari (vile ice elves), Lossoth (evil snowmen), and Akûlmurûk (“ice bears,” the mighty furred orcs of the north, i.e., bugbears). Around 30 FA her first scouts snuck into Angmar and made contact with the local goblin tribes. By 50 FA she had conquered the orcs of Mount Gram, and controlled or otherwise dominated all other local orc tribes and troll bands, save those of Mount Gundabad (who oppose her and, thus far, are too strong to conquer). By 60 FA her new domicile, Lugrazbûrzum, the “Tower of Frozen Shadows,” was complete, built atop the ruins of the Witch King’s tower at Carn Dûm. Angmar is now a fairy land of ice and snow, where summer is as autumn and spring never reigns. It has become known as the “Fimbul Land,” for orcs and trolls walk the frosted moors by day and ice and frost giants are said to stride the land by night.

The Ice Queen appears not unlike a beautiful Noldorin princess of old, being 6’8” tall, with platinum-blonde hair, beautiful elven facial features, and fine slim hands. Her resemblance to Galadriel is stunning, though not so when one realizes that her mother was none other than Galadriel’s long-lost sister (she is thus great aunt to Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen, and kin to Prince Eldarion of the Reunited Kingdom). However, beneath her voluminous flowing robes of scintillating colors (which glow like the northern lights) her body is foul and demonic, covered in innumerable ice-blue scales strong as dragon plates (think of the appearance of Mystique in the X-Men movies). These scales go all the way up to her neck and to her wrists, and thus does her robe; her feet are clawed and demonic, and so she ever wears slippers of mithril and gold. The only obvious (uncovered and un-disguisable) demonic elements of her appearance are her eyes, which are a solid blue, the glowing blue of glacial ice, and her wings, which appear as those of a balrog, though ice blue in color and dripping with ice. She can “scrunch” her wings to vestigial size, and hide them under her robes when necessary, though the process takes three full rounds. The air about her is ever cold, deep frozen as the north (-20 degrees Fahrenheit); her breath freezes in a cloud of ice as she speaks, the stone floor slicks in ice under her feet, and icicles form on the arms of her throne as she sit upon it. She travels about her realm in a sleigh drawn by polar bears and manned by Lûzolog (snow trolls) and Akûlmurûk.

The Ice Queen possesses one of the lost Palantír, one of the two lost to the sea when the ship of Arvedui, the Last King, foundered. It is encased in a large column of blue glacial ice now hidden deep in the bowels of her tower at Lugrazbûrzum. It has gained several powers through her tampering with it and through its long centuries encased in the northern ice. The Palantír can only just be made out through the deep blue ice, flames writhing continuously within its dark depths. The visions granted by the Palantír now take shape within the column of ice, and can be seen by anyone who sees the column of ice when the visions are evoked by the user. It is also central to her growing power over the climate and weather within Angmar, as she uses it as a focus and amplifier of her power.

Those are the notes I have so far on this nasty. How did she come to power with Elessar on the throne, you might ask? Well, he and Eomer concentrated militarily in the south and east for the last 60 years, where the Haradrim and Easterlings had grown strong of their own accord in Sauron's absence (and they are still not fully under Gondor's sway, especially in Far Harad, where a new Great King rules, a great hunter claiming to be a Black Nûmenorean and going by the name of Ar-Minarawakûl, though others might know him as Alatar or Romestamo). Annúminas, though refounded, is still but a frontier colony (think Westermarck from the Conan stories), and only south and west of the Gwathlo do the colors of Gondor still rule the day. Only the Rangers of the Wild, the stalwarts of Bree, and the odd adventurer from Gondor, Rohan, or Rhovanion challenge the Ice Queen. Oh, and maybe a hobbit or two, especially one Tom Gamgee who, entranced by his father's tales of adventure, left the Shire some years ago to seek his own road...

The Brambleking of Nan Morëhón
Bregambar, Quickdoom, The Brambleking of Blackheart Vale
Entish Magic-User 6/Ranger 6
Emblem: A dead tree above which is arrayed three white stars.

Through the vile magics of The Necromancer, the Treegarth of Orthanc was poisoned, and the ents there corrupted into Voronodrim, Dark Ents, with malice in their heart, brambles for vines, and poisoned ichor for sap. They are led by the Brambleking, formerly known as Bregalad, or Quickbeam, once friend and ally of the Good Peoples, now a dire enemy and danger known as Bregambar, or Quickdoom. The Voronodrim of Nan Morëhón are currently embroiled in a “civil war” with the other ents for control of Fangorn Forest. The ents are still led by Treebeard, who has fallen into a terrible despair over the fate of his brothers. Due to the civil war (which moves, albeit at an entish pace, regardless of the recklessness of the Brambleking) the Brambleking has not been able to pursue his hatred of the other races, save to the extent where he has sent a few Voronodrim and huorns out to other forests to begin the process of corruption there. This includes forests in Eriador and Rhovanion, though not as yet in Gondor, as the Brambleking is wary of directly offending, and thus gaining the full attention of, King Elessar.

The Treegarth of Orthanc is now known as Nan Morëhón, or Blackheart Vale. The Watchwood is much expanded, to fill the entire vale, and is now known as the Bramblewood. The lake about Orthanc is now a silted, festering swamp, while the tower itself, a creation of man, displeased the Brambleking so much (especially in that it could not be destroyed despite his new power and magical arts) that he grew the entire thing over in vine and thorn and branch, such that it now looks like a colossal dead black tree, with four huge branches grasping at the moon, the whole covered in bloody vines (from which hang the rotting bodies of men and elves). Orcs once again inhabit the tower and the slimy dungeons beneath it, doing the bidding of Quickdoom. His employ of orcs has dragged him into the politics of that vile race, and he plots now for his tribe to overthrow the Moria Orcs and take that realm for his own, the wealth and power thereby gained the better to conquer (and extirpate) the other races of Middle Earth.
For all that he had a hand in the creation of Nan Morëhón, the Brambleking, and his followers, The Necromancer is at best a distant ally and at worst a future rival, and thus the relationship between them is strained at the best of times...

Note that The Necromancer is another villain, a powerful sorcerer who took up the title once held by Sauron (and re-occupied Dol Guldur, after conquering Eastern Lorien).

The Dragon King of Khand
Dhumujian Khan, Dailianj Khan ( V. “Great Dragon King" ), Tárolókë ( Q. “High-King Dragon" ), Lukhûzdurub ( B.S. “Dragon King" )
Half-Dragon (Variag) Fighter 9/Ranger 9
Emblem: A fire drake rampant.

Dhumujian was born 33 years ago amongst the Variags of Khand, during the chaos and wars that followed the fall of Sauron and the disintegration of the Dark Empire. He was born a normal human, son of one of the many tribal chieftains. His father and most of his tribe was slain when he was but a child, and he fled into the wilderness. There he slowly built his own tribe from outcastes, the disaffected, and orphans like himself, welding them into a new tribe and power. Two years ago his tribe conquered the last remaining Variag tribe that opposed him, and he celebrated by naming himself the King of the World, and proclaimed himself a god. The High Priestess of Khand thereupon prophesied that he would either be destroyed for his presumption or he would, in fact, succeed, and be both god and king. Shortly thereafter a dragon began ravaging the countryside in a terrible rage, and all thought that it was the vengeance of the gods for their leader’s blasphemy. Dhumujian went forth to meet the beast single-handed. Naught was heard from him for three days, but the dragon was not seen again. When he returned, the khan was a changed man. When he slew the dragon its blood spilt over him and changed him in ways terrible and magical.

Unbeknownst to him or any other, the reason the dragon raged so terribly was that it had eaten a ring from its hoard, a ring of power, and the smelting of it in its belly drove it mad. When the khan slew the dragon, its magically-charged blood drenched him and altered him through the magic of the ring. It transformed him and gave him no small measure of the dragon’s power (effectively turning him into a half-red dragon). Today his followers are fanatical to the extreme, believing the transformation to mark the approval of the gods and the eventual conquest of the entire world under the hooves of the Variag peoples.

[dwayanu]

I'm glad to see you've started play in the campaign, Falconer! You've got a great sense of how to make the setting "yours" and yet still enough Tolkien's.

Unless I've missed it, there doesn't seem to be much game-mechanical incentive to play a "plain old" fighter instead of your modified cleric/ranger. In many groups I've seen, the party would probably be about 90% the latter.