Recap then!
It is the summer of 1972 of the Third Age. The land is that of Arthedain, one of the three regions of Arnor.
Arnor was the great northern realm of Man, twinned with Gondor in the south. But time and events have loing separated it from its cousin, and what was once a unified kingdom has become two nations with only being the home of Dunedain as their common link, each with their own monarchies.
The Age of Man- for that is what the Third Age is- has been tough on its patrons. Though free from the evil of Sauron since his defeat at the end of the Second Age, Orcs remain, invaders from foreign lands remain, disciples of Sauron remain- and Man's inability to get on with himself has remained.
Both Gondor and Arnor have seen civil wars that have severely limited their power. Gondor is now growing in strength once more, but Arnor's time of trial continues.
Arnor is beset by a fearsome foe known as the Witch-King. They say he is a man who cannot die- a Black Numenorean perhaps, a descendant of those Dunedain who once worshipped Sauron, who retain some vestige of those dark powers.
The Witch-King founded a secret kingdom in the mountains to the east of Arnor known as Angmar. There he has taken control of men, recruited armies of orca, and formed an alliance with the vicious Dunlending hillmen. By subversion and conquest, he seeks the overthrow of Arnor.
This conflict has been going on for centuries- sometimes overt, sometimes quietly. Arnor was strong, but it was man's failure that sealed its decline. A succession dispute split the Kingdom into three; Rhudaur, Cardolan and Arthedain. The three squablled, and proved weaker. They even fought each other.
Rhudaur was long ago overrun by the Dunlendings. Cardolan was saved from occupation by the intervention of the Elves- the final intervention, elrond said, that he would ever contemplate, as part of his promise to look after the descendants of the fallen Isildur who had slain Sauron. But Cardolan never recovered, and the great plague killed what was left of its royal family. It is split into many smaller petty states now.
Only Arthedain retains the strength of old- the last true home of the Dunedain, for even Gondor has lost the line from its many internal strifes.
Now Angmar is growing strong again. Many whisper of a new coming war with the mountain Kingdom. The growing aggressiveness of the Dunlendings of Rhudaur seems testament to this. Arthedain is not sure what will happen, but fortifies itself, just in case.
Arthedain is growing strong too. For it has a great ruler, the one named Arvedui. Arvedui has many ideas of how man can prevail in these dark times- and more than just man, for Arvedui sees a world where the free peoples- Man, Elf, Dwarf, even Hobbit- work to common cause. He has found others that support his idea. The mysterious traveller Gandalf has been known to advise the King. Perhaps even the dispirited Elrond may listen- should his ability seem up to his words.
But the Witch-King is a mighty foe, and for each aspiration Arvedui has, the Witch-King seems to have a plan to bring it down. His power seems to be everywhere and in everything. Can he really be so mighty? His greatest weapon is the fear that he can do anything he wishes. Only heroes can confront this fear, and prove that no foe is so omnipotent.
Meanwhile, Arevedui welcomes all races from all the free lands in his Kingdom, and many have come- to see the glory of Arthedain, or to travel the worlds of men... or perhaps to oppose the forces of Angmar, who have oppressed others too. Some of these people will be the heroes that are needed...
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Here are the polotlines the game is dealing with:
COLLAPSE OF CARDOLAN
The first overt sign of the coming aggressiveness has been the Dunlending invasion of eastern Cardolan, from the border of Rhudaur. Dunlendings are raiders, and whilst aggressively talented they pillage better than they fight as an army, so this is not an invasion in the literal sense. Regardless, the East of Cardolan has shattered completely, and refugees are fleeing east- to other parts of Cardolan, or to the safety of Arthedain.
The northwest of Cardolan is fragile but holding, Far to the south, it is intact, closr to how it ever was, but now ruled by rich merchants rather than those of royal blood.
THE PROPHECY OF THE LAST KING
Arvedui was so named on the advice of his father's advisor, the Seer Malbeth. it is known that some Dunedain carry this power of foresight, a legacy of their Elvish ties.
Arvedui literally means 'Last King'. Malbeth declared that there would never be another King of Arthedain. Players of the early part of the game met malbeth shortly before he died, and were given reason to feel that Malbeth is no fraud.
Arvedui has lived with this anchor all his life- no more Kings of Arthedain can only mean no more Arthedain. Yet he seeks to turn fate to glorious destiny; he seeks to be King of a greater realm, so that there will indeed be no more Arthedain... but something much greater.
RELATIONS WITH GONDOR
To this end, Arvedui made contact with Gondor for the first time in centuries. ondor wracked by wars and internal struggle, was in a succession crisis. Arvedui had good claim to its throne, and offered to lead a new and united Kigndom. He was rejected, for Gondor is a rpoud nation and has long forgotten its ties with the North. Yet Arvedui's many diplomatic efforts have not been in vain- contact with Gondor remains, and Arvedui's wife, the Queen of Arthedain, is a Gondorian Princess. Maybe there is some hope.
Gondor sends no military aid to Arthedain but it has sent supplies and even mithril. Gondor itself is split- many nobles resent the idea of having to aid the North, for they were never aided in their own times of crisis. But the King of Gondor- a victiorious General in their wars against the Easterlings, who got the job simply because Gondor could find no-one better- has good relations with Arvedui, and is minded to aid in some manner.
Perhaps relations can be further improved... but it seems the job of the Gondorian ambassador is to keep Gondor out of the war.
RELATIONS WITH THE ELVES
Arnor connected two of the Elvish lands- the Grey havens in the West, and Rivendell to its east. Elrond has long looked upon the Kingdom of man, and as noted above helped once before.
But this is not an Elvish war, and Elves are not willing to die for the sake of human errors, for they are few in number and their time is done. many Elves died to save Cardolan before- and for what? It crumbled anyway. As for the Grey havens- its ruler, Cirdan, has long stayed out of any other affairs, his main purpose merely to be a port to those who seek to travel to the mysterious West.
There are some who resent the Elves for their lack of action. And perhaps more rason for their intervention could be found- if the true threat of the Witch-King is ever realised...
THE SEARCH FOR UNITY
In the LOTR films we see many races working together freely. That was easy, because they were all under direct threat at the time. For most of the history of Middle-Earth, the different races have not got on and have tended to leave each other alone- likewise the nations of Men. Only a few dream of the comradeship; and loyalty shown by, sa, the Fellowship. This is Arvedui's dream to, and it is incumbent upon you as players to demonstrate how this may become so, to a sceptical world.
Other than Gondor and the Elves, there are other relations to consider. The vigorous Eotheod, the Horsemasters, are building their new kingdom to the far side of the Mountains, and also border on Angmar. More Elves dwell within the Greenwood further east still- now known as the Mirkwood, for a great evil has taken hold of it. Some feel this evil is the creation of the Witch-King also. And even the dimunutive Hobbits, in lands under Arvedui's protection, have some role to play...
THE NATURE OF THE WITCH-KING
Anyone who knows much about LOTR knows what the Witch-King really is. But no-one knew at this time, and if it was realised who he was and what he represented- Sauron's survival- the Elves would have been much quicker to act, because that really is the one contingency they stand guard against.
This has not been much of a plotline so far but it has been hinted at to Palidan, and demonstrated in what has happened to the Barrow Downs, the burial places of the nobles of Cardolan, which have become infested by a curse that has turned the dead nobles to deadly Barrow Wights. Such power has not been seen in millennia. What can it mean?
On the flip side of this, as mentioned before, is defeating the fear of the Witch-King. Some believe he can do anything, but this is blatantly untrue, he is simply very adept at making it seem this way. He makes a little magic go a LONG way, as is the way in LOTR. But many of his means are conventional, and can be fought so.
THE PLAN WITH CARDOLAN
Frustrated in his plans to unify with Gondor (and as Tolkien notes, Arvedui had neither the strength or the will to press his claim by force), Arvedui hasa new plan- his new Kingdom will be the new, re-formed Arnor. To this end, he seeks unifcation with Cardolan. This is the central plot of the game- Arvedui's plan to turn his prophecy to good.
The problem is that much of Cardolan is not interested, and there are so many small rulers that each must be convinced in turn, Difficult.
Still, the plan has started, and early plots in the game have already seen the northern region of Baranar agree to the plan, despite the Witch-King's plans to thwart it. However, the military aid that Baranar has now taken from Arthedain means to amny it seems more like a forced alliance than an agreement.
The Cardolan problem will be returned to...
THE STATE OF THE WAR
It can now be said that the war has started, even though it has not come into full bloom yet. Whilst the Witch-King was thwarted at Baranar, this was merely a plan within a plan; it distracted the armies of Arthedain whilst a sneak attack was launched at a great new northern fortress that Arthedain was building to protect its border. The fortress and its defenders was destroyed shortly before completion. This is a great disaster and has ruined the entire strategy.
This game deals with some of the aftermath of this- a new strategy is needed, new armies are being formed... and new leaders are needed for them.
THE SOURCE OF THE ATTACKS
Dunlendings attacking from Rhudaur into Cardolan is one thing. But the earlier games so far have seen Orcs attacking in great force as well- at the Princess' convoy, at Baranar, and in the sneak attack.
Orcs cannot just walk across the border into Arthedain, nor have they been striking out of Angmar to the north. Where are these Orcs coming from?
THE TOURNAMENT
An excellent entry point for all, Arthedain is holding a great tournament of all martial skills. As well as being a tradition, it is a demonstration that life goes on as normal. It is also a chance for the players to interact with important figures in the realm.
THE TRAITOR
The secret plot. The Witch-King's plans have been too good- his attack on the Princess in th first game, and his perfectly timed distraction at Baranar in the second, combined with the sneak attack to the north. Some put this down to the endless powers of the Witch-King.
Arvedui doubts this. He feels the impossible has happened- there is a traitor on the Council of rulers.
A new strategy is being formed. The traitor must be found before the new secrets can be given away to his master. But who is the traitor, and how is he doing it?
This, of course, is the heart of this game, as Arvedui has etruested the task of exposure to some of the more trusted outsiders...
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Everyone happy?
Ok, first things first.
Time for the investigation people to have a meet-up. Talin, William, Menelacar, Anglomir, Argentis, Palidan... our old friend Lord Gorlim would like to meet with you, to discuss how things are going. You may meet in in the Chamberlain's Chambers.
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As for the rest of you...
Several of you have met already, and we shall assume you are togetjher as a result of that (a lot of you are Elcves in any case and will tedn to stick together, ignoring the glances that people give you all around, Ekves nit being a common sight)
(on that point bear in mind that you guys most likely make up, oh, about 100% of the Elvish contingent in Arthedain)
The rest of you are on the same street in Fornost at this time. if that seems to big a coincidence, let me put it this way- the other viable people that could have been heroes in this story were not on this major street at this point, and so never entered the story in the first place. You did.
If I could just confirm who that is, please?