Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Errant" data-source="post: 1292428" data-attributes="member: 1926">Well, I'm sure it was predictable with Return of the King being just released, but it occurred to me that this is an outstanding opportunity to indulge in an adventure (or few) immersed in the shared atmosphere of superbly portrayed Middle Earth (ME) setting. I thought I’d share some of my ideas & seek any suggestions others might have that I can shamelessly use to develop the concept further.Note – I don’t pretend to be an expert on all things Tolkien & no offence is meant to any Tolkien purists who might disagree with some of my ideas.The starting point:It is the dawn of the 4th Age & one year since the Battle of Pellenor Fields. Aragorn Elessar is King of the Western Realms & the elf lady Arwen Evenstar his queen. Sauron’s strongholds have been torn down & the remnants of his host scattered to the darkest corners of Middle Earth. The armies of the west are returning to their homes & garrisons, their work all but done. The War of the Ring is over, but many of Sauron’s minions & older, darker evils, still linger. It is a time for new heroes to step forward & carry on the war against shadow…Considerations:There is a huge body of material detailing the setting created by JRR Tolkien, much of which is considered almost sacred by many. Luckily for me, my players are pretty casual about their fantasy literature & I should be able to get away with a lot as long as I don’t contradict the movies. Nevertheless, this existing works combine to reflect a particular atmosphere that can be easily dispelled by carelessly placed encounters. One of the strongest characteristics of this atmosphere is a tendency toward subtle rather than flashy magic. The absence of fireball hurling wizards on the battlements of Helms Deep (etc) supports the concept that middle earth is a relatively ‘low magic’ setting.Opportunities:While many things about Tolkien’s world have been clearly established, other things have been left undefined (the origins of Hobbits for example). Selecting the LOTR movies as The ‘cannon’ sources for a 4th Age ME setting, gives players an easily accessible basis for their impressions of the game world & gives a DM many opportunities for creative invention. The Challenge:Two-fold: how to adapt 3.5 edition d20 DnD rules to reflect the subtle/low-magic aspect of ME while still leaving it playable for those who enjoy magic using characters; & what encounters & locations to use to reinforce the ME atmosphere.Resources (the best I’ve so far found online):EN World’s hosted page: <a href="http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/ME/" target="_blank">http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/hosted/ME/</a>The Encyclopedia of Arda: <a href="http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/" target="_blank">http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/</a>Maps of the Westlands: <a href="http://members.tripod.com/john.ohara/WestLands3.htm" target="_blank">http://members.tripod.com/john.ohara/WestLands3.htm</a>Favored Rules (hoping to keep changes simple):- Half standard character wealth for new characters created above 1st Level – to restrict the number of magic items likely to be found in an adventuring group. - No single class dedicated spell casters – wizards, clerics, & druids must take at least half their levels in at least one hybrid class or a dedicated class that does not share the same arcane/divine spell types.- No spells involving alignment or extradimensional travel (including Teleport).Possible First Adventure (for a mid to high level group):King Aragorn calls upon the PCs to investigate the fate of the Academy of Adepts (still looking for a decent name), established long ago by the Istari to teach mortal races the use of magic. After surprisingly sending no aid during the War of the Ring, the Academy has now fallen completely silent & no messengers sent there have returned in weeks…So. Anyone care to share their thoughts? It’s my turn to DM in a few weeks & I’d love to run an adventure worthy of the setting. Any helpful suggestions would be hugely appreciated. Suitable monsters (with or without stats), locations, & encounters would all very useful.</blockquote>

Verification