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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Steverooo" data-source="post: 1409105" data-attributes="member: 9410">RivendellAlso, while it has been utterly left out of the above, Elrond's two sons, Elladan and Elrohir, remained behind in Middle Earth, to continue their war with the Orcs (who had once kidnapped and tortured their mother).  Rivendell was left to them (and any other of Elrond's people who remained behind).Also common throughout Iron Crown Enterprise's Middle Earth stuff was the idea that the Elves of Rivendell had the keys to the barrows near Bree.  Tyrn Gorthad (IIRC) is a name older than the Dunedain's return to ME, and an unknown people buried their dead there before them.  The Elves supposedly held the keys to open the barrows, where many Dunedain lords were buried, with their gear.  Sometimes, at great need, it is said, the Elves allowed men to cleanse the barrows, setting the treasures found there out to be taken by all good men and beasts, thus removing the curse from the barrows...  Of course, it was expected that the cleansers would take a few items for themselves, as well, for their aid in cleansing the downs...  Many weapons and armors of great power were buried with the Dunedain, and the Elves supposedly have records of whom is buried where...Obviously, there are many undead-fighting adventures, built in here... and since it isn't clear that the One Ring had anything to do with the raising of the Barrow Wights, they would have continued to be a problem long after Sauron passed.  King Elessar would no doubt be looking for a capable group to undertake such a mission.Clearing the Trollshaws of Trolls would also be a problem, no doubt, and the remaining Elves' of Rivendell's war with the Orcs would continue for as long as their are any, lead by the sons of Elrond.Mordor needs a good scouring, also, especially in the north.  In the south, the King gave the land to the slaves who formerly worked them, and this would be a new kingdom in need of protection (especially from all of the bad things coming down from the north).Shelob is, I think, dead, by this point.  Even if she is, however, her lesser offspring still inhabit the Ephel Duath, just as she was a remnant of Ungoliant.  Mirkwood/Greenwood would also have some of these beasts (although much less powerful) to clean out.And the rebuilding?Gondor was failing at the time of the War of the Ring, and had been for centuries...  With 100 (very good) years to rebuild, Aragorn would have continued the fence-mending that began just before the war, and would have restarted Ecthelion's (Denethor's father's) policy of taking good men - from wherever - into the King's service...  Rohan would have sent to the Eorlings in the north (where they originally came from), and rebuilt their strength, too!Lorien, at least by the time of Aragorn's death (20 years into your future) is totally deserted...  Rivendell is probably... very quiet.  The Greenwood is home to Lakemen, Woodsmen, and Sylvan Elves, with Celeborn and Thranduil probably still in charge.  Legolas is more likely nearer the King, until his death (we know he brought some of his people to landscape Minas Tirith, after the war, and later went to the Aglarond).The Grey Havens seem to have remained occupied LONG after Cirdan, Gandalf, etc., left.  While Legolas might have been able to construct an Elven ship by himself (doubtful), Samwise certainly did not!  So someone was still there...  But then, 120 years is a short time to wait, for an Elf, I suppose...  (There is also a Palantir, here, although it looks out only towards the sea, and cannot be made to look anywhere else...  Cirdan may have taken this with him, though, I can't recall.)Enemies in the Fourth Age:Men, men, men!  In Tolkien's ME, the worst monsters are always men!  The Easterlings, Balchoth, Wainriders (who I always thought of as Gypsy-ish), the "cruel" Haradrim, etc.  Also, the oft-mentioned Mouth of Sauron was a "Black Numenorean" - one of the Numenoreans who had turned to evil...  These were a lot like the Dunedain; long-lived, powerful, psychic, tough, tall, and strong.  Think "Black Aragorn".We know that Aragorn and Eomer fought together, many more times, against the Easterlings and Haradrim.  Umbar, once taken, had to be held, and fortified.  Gondor had done this many times, throughout its history...  What would Aragorn (counselled by Mithrandir and Galadriel, before they left) have done to keep it, this time?The Orc problem is probably well in hand, by now, as travel through the passes seems to be no problem, after the war.  Are they all dead, hidden in small bands in out-of-the-way places, or banded together and gone... where?The Troll population in the Trollshaws is probably about the same.  More to eat, now, but more good folk to hunt them, too...The great intelligent, speaking spiders of Mirkwood are definitely in decline, as well.  The Elves will be slower to mend, but the Woodsmen will be greatly increased.  While there may be pockets of resistance, or small, hidden bands of these, too, most of them will be distant memories (except among the Elves).The Dunlending problem has likely also been solved.  The Gap of Rohan seems freely passable, by the century after the war, so I doubt that these are a problem.  Between Aragorn and Eomer, and what they saw at Helm's Deep, I think they would not have the courage to attack again, and living so long under their rule, would have made peace.So, I see small, hidden pockets of monsters, but with men and perhaps some Black Numenoreans as the major threats.  Of course, undead can wait forever...Missions the King might send some of those good men he's attracted upon include:Messengers - Good enough reasons to get low-level PCs together, or from one place to the next.Search for the Ents - What are they up to, in the "short" time since the war?Search for the Entwives - Sam's cousin saw one, north of the shire, shortly before the war.  After meeting up with Merry & Pippin, and hearing all about the Ents, maybe Sam's slow brain finally put two and two together, and he sent word to the King, who issued orders to the Rangers of the North to be on the lookout...  After many, many years, a reported sighting has finally come in...  Someone must make the long trek to the far north to check it out!Rebuilding Annuminas - The North Kingdom was restored in Aragorn's time, and Sam's daughter served as one of Queen Arwen's handmaids, there.  With the Dwarves to help build the walls, and Elves to landscape it, it's once again a beauty to behold!  Does the rebuilding still go on?  Dwarves and Elves work slowly!Aglarond - Gimli practically lives here, as do many of his and Legolas' folk...  How far under the Ered Nimrais do these caves go?  How deep?  And who rules, there?  What secret ways are down there?The Paths of the Dead - Are they open, now?  Aragorn freed the dead of Dunharrow, but the door was left sealed, when he passed...  Are any of the dead still there, guarding their secrets?  If not, what lies hidden, there?Fangorn - Can Legolas really learn to understand their speech?  Can the "dark" parts of the forest be cleansed?The Old Forest - If Farmer Cotton knew of Old Tom, it's a cinch that Aragorn did, too.  Will he send greetings?  What about the evils in the Old Forest?  Will he or Bombadil be interested in clearing them out?The Iron Wind - Tolkien tells us very little of lands beyond where the war was fought, not even very much about the overthrow of Dol Guldar...  See if you can find I.C.E.'s The Iron Wind, which tells of another great evil in the far, frozen north of ME.The New Magics - One Silmaril circles the heavens on Earandil's brow, but another was thrown into a volcano, and a third into the sea...  The ruins of ancient Gondolin are also down there, as are several Palantiri...  As the new magic emerges, surely Aragorn recognizes the applicability of Water Breathing.  Surely, others do, too!  The race is on!Magic Items in Middle Earth:Magical swords are fairly common...  Too many age-long wars, in ME.  Bilbo/Frodo had one, and all the hobbits had longknives from the barrowmounds.  Aragorn had the shards of Narsil reforged into Anduril.  Glamdring and Orcrist, ancient blades of Gondolin, appeared in a mere Troll's hoard...  The Witch-King's was certainly magical.  The barrows certainly contain more, and I think the armmories of Gondor and the Dwarves and Elves, as well...Magic armor probably is similar, as are magical ammunitions.  Too many wars, in ME, for far too long...  Isildur's sword was passed on for generations, among the Dunedain.  Bilbo's Sting was passed to Frodo.  Armors likewise probably have a similar history, and magic arrows are more common than swords.As for rings, Gandalf describes the One Ring "as though it were a lesser ring", which seems an odd thing to say about a ring of Invisibility...  Apparently, ME has its own fairy tales, and such things were not unknown, if rare...Then there are the Elven Cloaks (boots not mentioned, but...), the Elven Rope (apparently the inspiration for Ropes of Climbing).  There were also the magical Dwarven toys from the Lonely Mountain...  Now any world that has magical TOYS certainly can't be described as Low-Magic!Also, the Miruvor of the Elves sounds like a healing potion, to me.  A single sip relieved fatigue!  Even the Orcs had their own fiery versions!What IS missing is all of the Flash-BANG!-gosh-gee-whiz sort of magic.  No Wands at all, very few Rods and Staves, and relatively few Miscellaneous Magic Items (although they are there, they don't have flashy effects).</blockquote>

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