Ok, time to get some guidance in...
Palidan, Darvan and (once she actually remembers to play) Ellothiel are all coming in on the 'Game Plot' plotline, in which they learn the main plot of the game, and hence, everyone's memory is refrehses- you could do all that by checking back through all the old posts, but heck of a lot more convenient is doing it in here.
The lead-in to this has been Palidan's discovery that there is indeed substance to the rumour that some powerful magic was used on the old Cardolani Burial Mounds, just to the south of Bree, earlier in the year- and as Vardalain can tell you, this involved the actual animation of the deceased royalty into Wights. This is exceptionally powerful magic, and no Human has had such power throughout the entirity of the Third Age.
This should be intriguing those of Elvish descent into actually trying to find out more about the game world, hence the 'Game Plot' plot. Vardalain would also be interested, but already knows (in theory- this game can remind him of any details), and hence is leading the traitor plot- Argentis and Talin probably care less about the fine details (much as they like twatting evil) but are very interested in finding the traitor, who has done them all injustice at some point.
---
Before you get on that plot, though, it is important you remember the important in-character behaviours
1 YOU KNOW NOTHING OF ULTIMATE EVIL
It's bloody easy in the time of the films, when Sauron is massing an enormous army- which Gondor had been worriedly watching for ages- and everyone gets to see Sauron's ring at the Council of Rivendell.
It's not so simple in these days. There is no Sauron and there is no Mordor. Sure, there are Orcs- but then there are ALWAYS Orcs, and Trolls, and Hillmen, and stuff like that. They are just more active right now than for a while.
Fact is, all the wars these days are between humans. Gondor has fought a Civil War- the Kin Strife- that has resulted in the formation of the Corsairs. Arnor has fought a Civil War which resulted in it being split in three (of which Arthedain is the only significant remnant). The Wainriders, from the East, came and invaded just about everyone, and much of Middle-Earth (EXCEPT Arnor) is still recovering from that.
And finally the Witch-King... well, despite his longevity, he is a Man. And he has gathered an alliance of Men- of his own Kingdom of Angmar, and of the Dunlendings, and the remnants of Rhudaur... and so on and so forth. And yes, the Witch-King has also managed to convince some Orcs to join his army (though frankly, not many people get to see that- Hillmen, yes, but most of the Orcs stay in Angmar- Baranar was a notable exception), but that's just a pain, not a sign of ultimate evil.
Plenty of you, as players, know who the Witch-King is. NO-ONE- not even Gandalf- has a clue about that right now. So- thinking in terms of fighting against evil like that, is like saying your Jedi knows who Darth Sidious is in Star Wars- it is just wrong. Don't let player knowledge override character knowledge- that is part of the essence of role-playing.
2. THERE IS NO ALLIANCE OF RACES
Even in the main LOTR line, such an alliance is spotty- and even more so in the books, compared to the films!
It is a Human Age- the Elves are too few in number to make a significant difference (remember, the Siege of Bard-Dur- seen at the start of Fellowship of the Ring- was known as 'The Last Alliance' for a reason- it was the last time the Elves could significantly help Man).
Even in the films- ok, Elrond and Galladriel help the good guys when they are at their homes, and a couple of hundred Elves go to Helm's Deep. But what do the Mirkwood Elves send? One man, Legolas. No bloody wonder, because they are under attack from a huge army themselves, and no-one has gone to help them, OR the Men of Dale, who were so handy in The Hobbit, and in fact their leader dies, along with the powerful Dwarven King of that area. How many Elves go to the major battles? None- they are looking out for themselves. In the books, the entirity of the official Elvish aid is when Elrond sends two people- admittedly his sons- but even they only come because they are friends of Aragorn.
The ONLY significant alliance (for the good guys) of any note in the whole continuity is that of Gondor and Rohan- and even that was troubled, and even THAT has a whole complicated backstory behind it. And in the point we are playing in, Rohan doesn't exist!
The Elves would advise- and even then in an apocalyptic, end-of-world looming "we have to" kind of necessity- and that is all. Heck, for most of the Third Age, the Elves of Lorien were considered positively hostile to Humans, and Galladriel the most dangerous thing on the continent- the Witch of the Golden Wood.
Why is all this? Well, first of all, how many times in the real world do nations really get involved in someone else's war? Remember, the Witch King is not seen as the embodiment of all evil- he's just seen as a troublesome warlord with some rumoured powers. He is Arnor's problem and no-one elses (indeed, he has studiously avoided attacking the Elves). People see that as selfish (which is odd, beause people in the real world make a terrible fuss if people involve themselves in someome else's war), but it is a hell of a thing to ask to die for someone else- especially for the very few in number Elves.
Also, it takes weeks to get even short distances- try not to think in real world terms, in these days of instant communications. Travelling between nations is exceptionally difficult, and most nations don't even hear news of others.
Added to which, the Elves have lost faith in Man. Elrond reflects this in LOTR, and the reasons are all down to the backstory of the current game- the Elves have passed tha baton to Man, and some of their power, only to see Man fight himself to the verge of destruction. Make no mistake- much of these troubles are of Man's own doing; they have forsaken their powers and responsibilites and fallen to petty squabbling of the kind that once plagued the Noldor. Worse for Elrond, it is his own family that is doing this, and they have ignored his words for many a century now.
And just to cap it off, in a final "just this once and never again" move, the Elves DID attack the armies of the Witch King, centuries ago when he first attacked Cardolan, on the idea that Man got his house in order after that. Man never did- the Elves are pretty peeved with Man, frankly. He can fight his own wars from now on, rather than expecting Elves to die to save his ass each time.
In the mini-Council I held in the last Part, there was a discussion of these very issues. Don't be confused into thinking, despite Glorfindel's speech (and Glorfindel, frankly, is just mostly peeved about people going on about the Witch-King all the time; proud Elf, is Glorfindel) that this was a war council to help Man. The outcome of that is that, whilst the Elves are curious as to where the Witch-King attained such power (at the time, Vardlain, as emissary to Arnor, had just returned reporting that the Witch-King had sent a plague to a human fortress- it is worth noting that Elrond is not so peeved as to have offered no help there), they are not going to do any more than that. Specifically, instead, they said that if any Elf himself wanted to go and help in the war on his own initiaitve... then he or she could feel free, and at least spread the message that Elves still noted that Man EXISTED.
So this is why people like Palidan and Darvan are here- personal motivation to help the beleagured Human Kingdom of Arthedain. And that's it. Or maybe they just like hunting Orcs. But this is nothing like LOTR, where they are on some sort of all-evil-destroying crusade. Also, as Vardalain has already been doing, and Galladriel has requested of Palidan, it is handy for the Elves to have someone there who can tell them what is going on- on general principle if nothing else.
So- yes. There is no grand Alliance. The Elvish havens remain open to those who would journey there, but the Elves are hard-pressed to secure themselves at the best of times, and beyond that, have no wish to die helping Humans fight more of their pointless wars against each other, just so a few hundred years later they can do it all over again. Hence, a lot of Human character keep asking the Elvish ones if their presence means that the Elves are thinking of joining the war; you are going to have to keep saying 'No'.
What IS so is that the King is trying to create exactly this sort of consensus and Alliance- as the opening sequence said, Arthedain has become an open invitation for all manners of people to travel to. But it's not working very well, and this is part of the plot I want you to uncover.
Everything will make a lot more sense once that is done- including the matter of the Traitor...
-
The game is basically a matter of the politics between nations- and the sinister influence Angmar has on it all. But it is all very careful and subtle... so it is nice to play into that. The game is very atmospheric if played with the right spirit, and I want to re-establish that in this Part.
The way to find out more about these things is to ask people. Having helped at Baranar, Darvan and Palidan have the ability to get noticed- if not to demand attention- whilst Ellothiel will be plotted in as a result of her welcome from the Prince.
"Well, this is somewhat the point," says Lord Gorlim, "now we have had to fully garrison Baranar itself, after the unfortunate events earlier in the year, we don't have the manpower to clear out places like the Downs. Especially after the destruction of Embylosse; we haven't even formulated a replacement for our Northern army yet, which is far more important."