DnD Adventures in 4th Age Middle Earth... Ideas?

[Tzarevitch]

I believe that someone mentioned the two blue wizards. Perhaps one or both of them return from the east and start gathering up Sauron's old minions for their own push at being Lord of Middle Earth. They apparently didn't answer the call to fight Sauron, perhaps they were isemi-in league with him a la Saruman.

Tzarevitch

 

[d4]

I believe that someone mentioned the two blue wizards. Perhaps one or both of them return from the east and start gathering up Sauron's old minions for their own push at being Lord of Middle Earth. They apparently didn't answer the call to fight Sauron, perhaps they were isemi-in league with him a la Saruman.

a really wily evil blue wizard would also most likely wait a few decades before striking -- wait until after Gandalf has left Middle-Earth for good, most of the elves have departed, and all the heroes of the War of the Ring have grown old and tired. strike when it appears the world is "unprotected."

another idea: i seem to remember that Melkor/Morgoth was never truly physically defeated -- he was chained and "cast into the Void." (or did that happen before the Silmarillion? it's been years since i read that.) what if he managed to find his way back? he'd be quite a threat -- remember, Sauron was just Morgoth's deputy...

 

[Agback]

Numenoreans had longer lifespans than "ordinary" men

You aren't kidding. Aragorn was ninety during the War of the Ring, and lived to two hundred and ten, still hale and vigorous.

Y'see, the Valar never intended for there to be Half-Elves! There are *NO* Half-Elves in Middle Earth!

Don't forget what Legolas said to Prince Imrahil when they met. The "Three Marriages of Elves and Men" seem to count only marriage among the royalty.

The Peredhil (Half-Elven) were required to CHOOSE, either to me Elf, or Man...

We are told this of the Peredhil, (ie. Elrond and Elros), not of all peredhil. There is no mention of either Dior or Eärendil having to make this choice: they are both Dior is considered to be an elf despite his father, Eärendil is considered to be a man despite his mother. Perhaps the issue is that Elros and Elrond were half-elvish on both sides.

Also, I will point out that there is not reason to believe that Agent "Humans are a Virus" Elrond is half-elven. In fact you'd diagnose some severe denial issues if he were.

And besides, though Elros chose to be human, he still lived to the age of five hundred, hale and hearty. That's a fairly convincing half-elf if you ask me.

(At the time of the War of the Ring, Elrond was something like 6,518 years old. Galadriel is older than the Sun: she was already an adult seven thousand years ago. But then, the movies don't give the impression that Frodo was fifty, so perhaps the books aren't a reliable guide ifthe movies are taken as canonical.)

Elrond chose to be Elf

Not surprising, given what he thinks of his father's race.

(Hence, in the Lay of Aragorn and Arwen in the appedices, Arwen's comment to Aragorn, upon their first meeting, after he has declared his lineage to her, of "Then we are kinsmen from afar!"), while his brother, Elros (Tar-Minyatur) chose to be Human, and thus became the first king of Numenor... From which, eventually, descended Elendil, Isildur, & Anarion... and later Arathorn and Aragorn!

Indeed. Elrond is Aragorn's [fifty-seven greats] uncle. And Galadriel is Elrond's mother-in-law and Arwen's grandmother.

Regards,


Agback

edited: coding

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Curiously, while the characters of the book did appear to face weaker odds in the Mines of Moria than they did in the films, in some later battles, they actually faced greater odds. In the film, for instance, Boromir faced fewer orcs at once and slew fewer orcs in the defense of Merry and Pippin than he did in the book. It took fewer archers to bring him down as well.

The description of Aragorn and co.'s exploits in the Battle of Helm's Deep is no less superhuman in the book than in the film.

And Pippin killed a troll in final battle before the gates of Mordor.

It doesn't seem to me that high level D&D characters would necessarily be out of place in middle earth. (Although fireballs would be).

This is particularly evident when ME is considered as a whole. Artificially capping power levels by statting Sauron as a 13th level wizard may make sense when considering only the end of the third age but it doesn't fit his status in the first age as the lietenant of Morgroth in an age inhabited by the likes of Turin Turambar--who singlehandedly slew Glaurung, the father of Dragons--Hurin--accounted the greatest warrior of men who stood alone against hundreds of orcs and trolls and slew over 80 of them despite losing his axe to their acidic blood--Fingolfin--who fought Morgroth himself and wounded him such that he never dared fight again--and all of the others--Eorl--who, IIRC, slew the Ice-worm Scatha--Isildur--whose curse bound the men of the mountains for an age before they could fulfill their oath to Aragorn and depart the circles of the world--Gil Galad, Boromir the first--who it is said that the Lord of the Nazgul feared to meet in battle--Elendil, Luthien--who bound Morgroth and his entire court in enchanted sleep--and others. A world in which the high end of personal power is a 13th level wizard doesn't fit the final corruption of Numenor or the sundering of the sea either. If the hosts of Ar Phazon caused the Valinor to fear and lay down their guardianship of the world, they ought to count many men of more than 13th level among their number.

Agback - I'm trying to stick with 3E DnD because my group doesn't have the time or resources to master a new system. Not sure I agree with your proposition that high-level characters with grossly superhuman abilities don't fit Middle Earth. Yes Aragorn (a ranger with seventy years' experience) Boromir, Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf and four hobbits ran away from a group of orcs with a cave troll in tow, but remember that the four hobbits were relatively inexperienced & the others could easily be viewed as trying to get them out of harms way. Plus, I'm using the movies as cannon remember & the way the more experienced companions carved their way through orcs & the like seems well suited to high-level characters with grossly superhuman abilities. But I don't want to belabor the point. The campaign info you provide & the link to Lalaith's page were outstanding!

As for Aragorn--I think that "half-elf" is probably a better D&D fit for the Dunedain than Aasimar. While ME did not have half-elves in the D&D sense, Imrahil, Denethor, Faramir, Aragorn, et al seem to fit the longer-lived but still mortal, keen eyed but not as keen as elves, half-elf area.

Speaking of Darkness, however, the 3.5 version seems to fit very well with the shadows that the huorns were able to clok themselves with. It suspect that D&D light and shadow magic as well as any magic dealing with emotions would be right at home in LotR--indeed, the weakness of D&D in a ME setting is that it doesn't have magic powerful (or subtle) enough to simulate that Saruman placed against Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas as they pursued the orcs or the will that Frodo encountered in Mordor.

I'm thinking fiendish is probably a good template for creatures bred in Sauron's pits. Tieflings could likewise be descended from fiendish ancestors along the same lines (particularly if you drop the 'Darkness' special ability to fit 'low magic' ME). Did Aragorn have Aasimar blood? Does that explain how he had 70 years experience but was still fought as a warrior in his prime?

 

[Gnarlo]

The fine folks over at the Tolkien Crackpot Theories page have already come up with a ready made 4th age adventure idea based on one of the loose ends of the stories:

The Finger of Sauron

Die, Vecna, Die indeed!

 

[ruleslawyer]

I think that you're getting off on the right foot with altering the magic system somewhat. I am not, however, in favor of forced multiclassing of spellcasters; it tends to produce some ooky combinations. Rather, I'd suggest either having NO player character primary spellcasters (paladins and rangers are probably OK; Aragorn can heal a bit and one could argue that the ranger's or paladin's spellcasting abilities are the product of latent Dunedain racial benefits) or using the system herein:

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/ME/SHJ/MESpellcasterSHJ.html

My ME 4th Age campaign involves one spellcasting PC using this class: Unbeknownst to the rest of the players, this character is a lesser Maia (in D&D terms, a character with one level of the half-celestial template) who eventually will blossom into his full power as he keeps at his task. That task? The shepherding of the world of Men into a re-awakening of magic into Middle-Earth. Contrary to JRRT's thematic impulse, I know, but hey, I figure it makes a good D&D campaign!

The trick involved in said task is, of course, that there are others who wish to control the destiny of the world in this emerging Age, and their motives are considerably less sanguine. Some examples:

-Urluk the orc-captain (straight theft from ColHardisson)
-A terrifying abomination, a deadly ghost-kraken corrupted servant of Ulmo (straight theft also, from the ME character competition a year or so back on these boards)
-The Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallandro: These are a potent threat facing Middle-Earth in the emergent Age: Istari each nearly as powerful as Gandalf the Grey, firmly allied and with a growing corruption that mirrors that of Sauron and Saruman. They have gathered cults of wicked or ignorant Men to their cause in the East, far beyond Mordor, and they will not even be known to King Elessar, or the PCs, for a long time to come.
-The Court of Ardor: Another straight theft (from an ICE MERP supplement), the Court is a powerful cabal of Noldor elves led by a mighty sorceress named Ardana. In my version, the Court is made up of Elves who awoke under the stars, but far from Aman or the aid of the Valar; well, all except one, Melkor, who found them first and took them away to the Southeast, to be alone under the stars they loved. Melkor taught them to hate the Sun, as it obscured their beloved stars, and thus seduced them into pursuing a path of shrouding the entirety of Arda in Darkness, a task at which they have labored for ten thousand years. The Court is thus the most powerful of the potential adversaries to be faced by the PCs.

Others' suggestions in this thread have been excellent. One thing I would add is that you may wish to start PCs in Ithilien, under the watchful eye of Lord Faramir. They'll be familiar with the landscape (from the movies), and will always be beneath the ominous shadow of Mordor: Defeated, but not entirely beyond the grasp of evil. Later, they might be sent north to Arnor to subdue rebellious barons, or perhaps to succor the King's Messengers as they ride about their errands. Later, they might be sent to recover one of the lost Palantiri (another yoink! out of the MERP sourcebooks) and later into the Mines of Moria, which may have fallen under the grasp of an evil power. After all, the wealth of mithril to be found therein would tempt anyone (perhaps even the Blue Wizards?).

 

[Mystaros]

Another foe in development...

Here is another of the bad guys from my forthcoming campaign...

The Brambleking of Nan Morëhón
Bregambar, Quickdoom, The Brambleking of Blackheart Vale
Entish Magician 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). More on him later...

 

[Endur]

Both the Court of Ardor and the Blue Wizards can be very dangerous opponents. MERP had stats for both of the Blue Wizards.

Part of what you have to decide is whether the Blue Wizards had powers comparable to Saruman at his height or Saruman after his staff was broken (Sharkey). If the Blue Wizards have powers comparable to Saruman at his height, than their power level may exceed that of the Court of Ardor (individually, even if the Court has more power through having more flunkies).

-The Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallandro
-The Court of Ardor:

 

[Mystaros]

And another bad guy...

Another villain, though one that should simply be a side issue for a very long time...

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) Barbarian 9/Mounted Warrior 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.

 

[Alcareru]

Another possible idea maybe:

The Reunited KIngdom expands and grows. Some sturdy Gondorian noble undertakes a mission north to find the lost palantir of Arnor swallowed by the icy wastes centuries ago.

There they discover the remnant of Lossoth perhaps in a deep slumber or enchnatment, a punishment of the Witch king for thier aid of Arduvui the last king of Arnor. Perhaps villain x ( a blue Wizard, the Mouth) has recovered a palanitr and is stirring an army of the revengeful Lossoth to move against the South.

A beginning at least..