Had a great conclusion to the adventure! The heroes ventured into a subterranean shrine, had some interesting conversations with a giant Coy fish, and ended up fighting the ghost of the previous shrine-priest. See below for the map I never got around to showing you!
Final conflict took place in the valley of Dardrin’s Deep where it turns out taking the ring off the elf-maid was NOT what she wanted. It broke an enchantment she had placed to banish the Sky Elves to another dimension. Well, it all worked out in the end but not before the bard Chester showed up his rival 🙂
The History of Arnor https://youtu.be/rQkv4GcbsrQ (Listen up to the 9:14 minute mark. The events after 9:14 happen centuries after our campaign.
Middle-earth in TA 1640
This adventure is set in Arnor, over a thousand years before the events of The Hobbit. Here is some background on Middle-earth in that region at the time of Third Age 1640:
Durin’s Folk still inhabit Moria; Erebor won’t be founded until the year 1999. The colony in the Iron Hills won’t be established until 2590.
In Mirkwood, around TA 1,000, a dark sorcerer known as the Necromancer took residence at the stronghold of Dol Guldur, though none will know until nearly a millennium later that this is the spirit of Sauron.
Also around TA 1,000, the Valar sent the five Wizards, or Istari, including Gandalf, to oppose Sauron and rally the free peoples of Middle-Earth against him.
The Ringwraiths reappeared in the year TA 1300, and began steadily assaulting Arnor (the Numenorian kingdoms in exile). Whether the Witch King (the head Ringwraith, or Nazgul) was acting on his own, or was being guided by Sauron, is not known.
The Beorning culture won’t come into existence until after the year 2941.
Arthedain is the only remaining North-kingdom; the current ruler is Argeleb II, tenth King of Arthedain (1589-1670).
Rhudaur is controlled by Hill-men allied with Angmar.
The Shire was ceded to the Hobbits less than forty years ago; the Stoors arrived only ten years ago.
The Great Plague swept through Middle-earth in 1636 to 1637. Hobbits wandering back east should be very rare (if at all).
Dale would be thriving, but the inhabitants would not be known as Bardings, but simply as ‘men of Dale’ or ‘Dale folk’.
The current Esgaroth would be the old town that had fallen into ruin long before the coming of Thorin and Company.
The present ruler of Gondor is Tarondor, twenty-seventh King of Gondor (1636-1798).His predecessor Telemnar (who ruled 1634-1636) died in the Great Plague with all his children. The capital is Minas Anor, Osgiliath having burned during the Kin-strife (1432-1448) and then having been abandoned following the Great Plague. Minas Anor will be renamed Minas Tirith after the fall of Minas Ithil in 2002.
Pregen Characters
You can use the pregens in the book (except for the Beorning).
Custom Characters
If you create your own custom character:
Abilities: Use the stat array method from the D&D Player’s Handbook.
Cultures: All cultures are allowed except Beornings (Beornings don’t exist in T.A. 1640). Note the following modifications or additions to cultures.
Bardings — Bardings at this time are simply known as Men of Dale or Dale Folk.
Dwarves — Use background as-is, but your origin has you be from Moria (or Khazad-dûm), which at this time is still alive and well with Dwarves. Only in T.A. 1980 do they dig too deep and encounter the Balrog. Erebor won’t be founded until the year 1999. The colony in the Iron Hills won’t be established until 2590.
Men of Arnor — This is a new culture which is simply a renamed Dúnedain, Man of Minas Tirith, or Riders of Rohan cultures.
NPC Races — Hillmen, Elves of Rivendell and Elves of Lindon, and Noldor Elves are not in the Adventures in Middle-earth book nor are they playable races (although you’ll be seeing them as NPCs).
Starting Equipment: Use the standard starting equipment and money appropriate to your class and culture, and standard of living (I’m still deciphering these rules).
Character Names: Names are an amazingly important part of keeping the tone of Middle-earth. Don’t make up a name; rather, select a name from the Adventures in Middle-earth book appropriate to your race and culture. Alternatively, select a name from this page: http://merp.wikia.com/wiki/Names. I would ideally like all characters to have unique first letters to their names to avoid confusion. Lastly, please review all character names past the GM for approval (to make sure you selected the right culture, etc.). 🙂
Evading a swarm of TIE fighters, the rebels escape from Tatooine with Adar Tallon. Twi’lek Rebel Agent Lu’Nimah then sends the rebel heroes on a mission to the jungle planet Najiba.
Sed Hargo and Lanissa Trag are two wildlife activists who promise information vital to the Alliance but only after they rescue an endangered species: a mated pair of Koalitas impounded by the Empire.
The party gets inside the Empire’s customs office where the Koalitas are held inside a stasis chamber. A few blaster shots and an explosion later, the heroes are frantically escaping from to their waiting ship, Koalitas in tow.
Aboard the Tyrannus, late in the night, Lanissa screams. The heroes find the Koalitas have evolved into deadly creatures!
After one Koalita is down but two of the heroes are incapacitated, Cornelius jumps into a exoskeloton workloader and subdues the remaining Koalita.
The heroes are then given a summons to meet Adar Tallon at a hidden rebel base. The location? The planet Alderaan. What could go wrong?…
After a vision with clues to saving a spell-slumbering elvish maid, the heroes ventured into the dangerous territory of the Red Centaurs to brave the perils of the Spire of Gold. After some adept thinking the party’s druid used a vine whip to fasten rope to the towers top. Scaling the outside of the tower, the heroes were attacked by dire pelicans! Finding the magic gauntlets, the heroes now begin their journey to Byrðincel Abregdan (or, ‘Burden’s Lift’) where the fable Soul-Blade is rumored to rest.
(Everyone levels up to 2nd Level for the next game).
Hello and welcome to Dicehaven! We are a game club in the DFW area who play tabletop roleplaying games. Check out our RPG podcast and our musings and resources on roleplaying.
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