LOTR game background- info for new and old players alike!

This is the introductory overivew to the LOTR game we have going here.

The game is set a thousand years before the films, in the Northern Human Kingdom of Arnor, merely a memory by the time of LOTR, but in its day a place as great and thriving and as important to the good guys of the world as Gondor, with its own line of Kings descended from the same people that Aragorn traces his line from.

The players are all journeying to Arnor for various reasons, and on their journey happen to meet whilst in Rivendell, enjoying Elrond's hospitality. The journey to Arnor has become more perilous of late and the players form a party (or, if you like, Fellowship) to journey there together to be more safe from danger. On their way they will be drawn into a series of events that leads (eventually, after many games!) to a vast war as big as any seen in the films. By that time they should have become toughened and hardened by their experiences and have turned from inexperienced adventurers to heroes in the mould of Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn.

I must point out that NO HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF TOLKIEN'S WORLD IS NEEDED TO PLAY THIS GAME! Indeed, I would prefer it if players did not have an encyclopaedic knowledge of events at this time. Whilst it might seem a problem to set a game historically, when people can just look up what happens, it's only the same as if I set it during the films- you know what will ultimately happen! Likewise in my Star Wars game, you cannot save Anakin, kill Palpatine or prevent the Empire from being created, but there are plentiful opportunities for heroism and important victories inside the time lines created by the minds of Lucas and Tolkien.

The game has now started, but opportunities to fit in new players will present themselves as time goes by.

This is the in-depth story background at the start of the first game.

By the time of LOTR, there is only one major human Realm left for the good guys- Gondor. The Rohirrim inhabit Rohan, but too sparsely for it to be a true Realm. Humans live up in Eriador in towns like Bree but nowhere strong enough to be called a truly powerful force.

But it was not always so. When the fabled Dunedain Kingdom of Numenor (a large island to the west of the places seen in LOTR) was destroyed in the waning years of the Second Age, TWO human realms were formed in Middle-Earth by the prime survivor, Elendil. Gondor in the south, and Arnor in the north.

Elendil is one of the greatest human heroes of all time, wielder of the sword Narsil. He formed The Last Alliance with the Elves ("last" not because they would never again be friends, but because there would never again be enough Elves in Middle-Earth to form a true alliance), along with the great Elven ruler Gil-Galad. These two mighty and nigh-on unstoppable heroes fought back the forces of Sauron until that battle seen at the start of Fellowship of the Ring. There, both heroes were slain by Sauron himself. But Isildur, Elendil's son, took his father's sword and cut the Ring from Sauron's hand (and meanwhile Gil-Galad's talented standard bearer, Elrond, took Gil-Galad's ring and became a great Elevn ruler in his place).

Isildur, at the start of the Third Age, was now King of Arnor, with a secure line and good prospects for both Kingdoms. But in a disastrous ambush brought on by ill-caution and his belief that evil was vanquished, the Ring betrayed him. He and his three eldest sons died. In the confusion and chaos of the next ten years, seperate Kings took the thrones on both Kingdoms- both descendants of Elendil, but now parted from each other. Despite the Palantirs that could keep communications going, Arnor and Gondor lose contact, and each may as well be on the other side of the world from the other.

Whilst Gondor grew more powerful, Arnor was ever beset by troubles. Eight centuries later a disastrous argument over succession meant that King Earendur was succeeded by all three of his sons. Arnor was split into three smaller Kingdoms- Rhudaur, to the north-east, Cardolan, to the south, and Arthedain, to the north-west. In nearby Rivendell, Elrond watched sorrowfully as the descendants of his brother squabbled. Relations between Rivendell and Arnor grew icy. The three Kingdoms tried to maintain close ties but it was always hard- there was always the suspicion that one would try to re-unify by force.

Two centuries later, Sauron is re-born, and while he will not make his grand move for another two thousand years, he lays plans to tear down these human Kingdoms far in advance of the War of the Ring. His prime objective is the total destruction of Elendil's line, which involves wiping out all the Kingdoms of man and their royal families.

No-one knows of this coming Shadow except five Wizards who arrive in Middle-Earth at this time. The ones men name Saruman and Gandalf make it their business to acquaint themselves with both Kingdoms, and try to advise them. Arnor is often too split to listen.

The true evil starts some three hundred years after that with the foundation of the mountain kingdom Angmar to the north-east of Arnor. Its evil leader, the Witch-King (in fact the Chief Nazgul, though no-one knows this) is preparing to put into operation his master's plan to destroy Arnor and wipe out the royal families there. Sauron's eye will not be open again for some time, but the Witch-King is a cunning, powerful and dangerous opponent who is more than ready to do all the thinking himself.

Arnor soons learns of the threat to its borders. Watchful armies prepare for the Witch-King's invasion, just as Gondor keeps watch on Mordor. The Witch-King gathers a fearful army of orcs, and a human army of Dunlendings (the hill-people seen briefly in TTT, who have always hated the Dunadain and their kingdoms). And the Witch-King has many spies and informers, and dread powers.

At the worst of times, the three kingdoms still squabble amongst themselves. The Witch-King's efforts keep them divided. Rhudaur falls apart internally, its royal family virtually usurped by an evil Dunlending Lord who whips this weakest of the tree Kingdoms into war with its neighbours. The King of Arthedain has already been killed in battle with Rhudaur before the Dunlending's alliance with the Witch-King (still a mysterious figure living only in rumour) is revealed and it is already too late.

A vast Dunlending army overwhelms the remaining loyal defenders of Rhudaur. The orcs move subtley, at night, striking fast and hidden. Rhudaur is destroyed, their capital taken by the Dunlendings, the last true king of Rhudaur killed just 55 years after the Witch-King began his plans.

Next it is Cardolan's turn. Here, too, large armies tear into its rich fields. A vast battle will be fought to decide things, at the site of the centre-point of the three Kingdoms- the tower of Amon-Sul on Weathertop (the place where the Nazguls waylay Frodo and Aragorn in FOTR). The remnants of the armies of Rhudaur, and the armies of Cardolan and Arthedain are drawn up against the Witch-King's forces, in the year 1409.

But it does not quite go as hoped. Arthedain decides the battle is a lost cause. Its army turns up before everyone else's, takes the sacred Palantir from the tower, and then buggers off back home, abandoning the others to their fate. They are defeated. Arthedain can claim to have saved the Palantir, but Cardolan will never forgive the treachery, though Arthedain still fights the Witch-King, losing another King in battle to his forces near this time.

Cardolan is shattered by the invasion, and its own line of Kings destroyed three years later. Yet it holds. The Witch-King's armies never manage to occupy it, always being driven out by rebellions, intervention from Arthedain, and, at last, the Elves. Elrond sends an army to fight the forces of Angmar and drives them back to their homeland- though Dunlendings still hold Rhudaur. With the Elves keeping watch on him, the Witch King settles into a long wait.

Cardolan never truly re-builds. Its spirit is lost as various minor Lords vie to form a new line of Kings, only unifying in their determination not to let Arthedain rule them! Over two centuries it grows weaker and weaker still until it is barely a country at all, more a loose association of people. And at this time the great plague, which also troubled Gondor greatly, struck. Among its casualties are the entire Cardolanian royal family. Two down for the Witch-King- one to go.

Gondor too has its many troubles at this time- plague, war, politics- and neither Kingdom is ever strong enough to help the other. Barely any news travels between the two at all.

(And about this time, the Hobbits arrive in Arthedain, asking for a land of their own, which the king grants them, so long as they maintain the roads and bridges there, which they do. The King of Arthedain becomes their King. This land will later become the Shire.)

Arthedain does well in these centuries. In fact, many simply refer to it now as Arnor, for it is now simply a smaller version of the glory that was, even though the term literally means all three kingdoms, one fallen, one shattered, and one whole. The Witch-King tries but fails many times to break the defences. Arthedain has become greatly experienced in fighting Dunlendings and orcs, in rooting out spies and traitors, in defeating evil in all its forms. But on the other hand, Angmar also remains untouched.

The plague is now gone from Cardolan, but is is feebly weak. As a slow darkness grows through Middle-Earth, the Elves are overstretched and the Witch King's power is growing. Their watch on Angmar ceases and the Witch-King prepares to move again. Many feel the Witch-King will now finally occupy Cardolan forever. If his armies now become placed on TWO borders of Arthedain, it could be too much to bear.

But Arthedain remains solid, and its King, Arvedui, is talented, intelligent, and strong. Arevdui has re-opened relations with Gondor for the first time in centuries, Arvedui cementing a new era of friendship by taking a Gondorian Princess as his wife. When Gondor recently had a succession crisis with its King Arevdeui had a good claim for the crown himself, being both descended from Elendil and now connected to Gondor my marriage. Arvedui contacted Gondor and offered to take the throne himself. This may have been a good idea, but the proud Gondorians refused him. Nonetheless, with the long silence between the two Kingdoms broken, maybe with a strong alliance between Arnor and Gondor the evil can be driven from Middle-Earth.

These are the times you live in. The dreaded Witch-King prepares to move again, to occupy Cardolan and then tear down Arthedain. Arthedain prepares to respond but is unsure how. Maybe Elrond can be persuaded to help? Maybe the alliance with Gondor will bear fruit? In the valley of the river Anduin to the east, the Eotheod (later the Riders of Rohan) have overthrown an occupation by the Easterlings and grow strong again- the Horse Lords hate the Orcs and Dunlendings and are fierce warriors all, may they even help? Are they strong enough to make any difference? And the other peoples of the North, the Lossoth and Beornings? Will they just stand by?

The future of Arnor is in the balance. If it falls the whole of the north-west of Middle Earth will fall to evil, except maybe Rivendell. Mirkwood- once the Greenwood, but re-named since the evil of the Witch-King infected it- is already overcome of foul beings, and if the Witch-King is victorious, Gondor will be soon faced by a vast enemy to east AND north, and will never survive Sauron's resurgence.

It is in these days that your heroes journey to Arnor, and will have much to say on what happens next.

This is the map of the play area of the first game

Notes and reminders:

ANGMAR: Mountain kingdom of evil. Keep out!
RHUDAUR: Long-since overrun human lands, now occupied by Dunlendings and full of Orcs. Very dangerous.
CARDOLAN: Shattered and virtually fallen Kingdom (with no royal line), soon to be occupied by Angmar.
ARTHEDAIN: The last of Arnor, large, strong and steady. Good guy central.

RIVENDELL: Or Imladris. Famed Elven settlement run by Elrond. Technically within Rhudaur; the area surrounding it is the only safe place left in that broken land.
FORNOST (full named Fornost-Erain): Capital of Arthedain, seat of King Arvedui- the Arnor equivalent of Minas Tirith.
ANNUMINAS: Capital of Arnor when it was one Kingdom. Now declined in importance.
BREE: Small, friendly town and site of the historic inn, The Prancing Pony. Still very much intact by the time of LOTR!
WEATHERTOP: Or Amon Sul. Great Watchtower that once held a Palantir, now long since destroyed by Angmar's armies. Still a famous ruin in the time of LOTR. It is the meeting point of all three Kingdoms.

Incidentally, if you draw a line from Weathertop, to the top of the Weather Hills, down to Bree, and back to Weathertop, you get a trinagle of land that none of the three Kingdoms ever agreed on the ownership of, and that they fought over.

You start at X and are heading to Y

Any questions, please ask!

This map is a political map of Middle-Earth. It gives you a good idea just how HUGE Arnor is- even when split in three each area was sizable.

It is contemporary to LOTR, so a few changes are needed:

Arthedain should be white at this time, Cardolan yellow, and Rhudaur grey.

Angmar should be black.

Gondor should be rather different as well... basically much of the Lebinnin area has been terribly shattered by the Wainrider invasion, and much of Anorien as well. In fact, Gondor used to be staggeringly vast in itself, going from Endwelwaith in the west, and ALL the land to the south of that, and all the way up to Mirkwood in the north, and even all of Southern Rhovanion! Plague and the Wainriders have put paid to that and Gondor will never again rule the land north of Mordor.

There is no such place as Rohan at this time- it is called Caelnardhon, and it is sparsely populated by Gondorians- all fo western Gondor has been long shattered by the great plague.

And the Mordor lands should be grey. Yup, not fully evil again at this point!

I think you should mention the players also...🙂

This is the play guide for the LOTR game.

FILM OR BOOK?: One of the biggest questions about playing is whether we are trying to capture the feel of the books or the films, which is rather different. A lot of this is trying to re-concile those brought into the mythos by the films, and those hardcore book fans who are muchly into the background of it all. It is also a question of stylistic visuals versus almost laboriously in-depth emotional storytelling. I am happy to accomodate both styles but players may have to be wary about upsetting each other.

POWER LEVEL: Remember, you are NOT, by a long shot, as powerful as the heroes in LOTR! One day, maybe, but please be patient as you learn. This also means that we are not leaping straight into Helm's Deep sized battles! Again, later! Patience brings many rewards, start slow and build up and the story will be much better for it.

PLAYING BY ERA: As the game is set 1000 years before the films, there may be some difficulutes involved in play. Actually, it is very easy. Aside from the extra human kingdom, the times are very much the same- the same good guys are good guys, and bad guys are bad guys.

Ther best way to adjust is simply to transpose the references to bad guys. All references to the "Dark Lord" (Sauron) should be replaced with "Witch-King." All references to Mordor should be replaced by Angmar (unless you really ARE talking about Mordor, which is unlikely.)

So:

"The Dark Lord has built a horde of Orcs from his stronghold in Mordor, and prepares to unleash them and his dark powers upon the realm of man,"

Simply becomes:

"The Witch King has built a horde of Orcs from his stronghold in Angmar, and prepares to unleash them and his dark powers upon the realm of man."

Trust me, the Witch King is trouble enough for you guys...

Other things to remember:
1. No Riders of Rohan; they are the Eothrain, about to become the Eotheod, and live inbetween the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, in the Anduin Vales.
2. Saruman is not a bad guy
3. No (visible) Uruk-Hai or other such super-orcs.
4. No-one really knows Sauron is awakening; very few really know what a Nazgul is (and certainly not that the Witch King is the Chief one)
5. The good guys still hold the Palantirs (for the background-minded amongst you who will care about that)

QUICK GUIDE:

ELVES: As seen in the films. Either Noldor (High) Elves- snotty but powerful Elven nobility- Sindar (Grey) Elves- your normal, Legolas elf- or Silvan (Wood) Elves- tricksy and insular, and slightly shorter, Elves from the woods.

DWARVES: Have a big Empire in the Northwest, and still run a very productive mine at Khazad-Dum (Moria). Other than that, Gimli is all the cultural Dwarf guide you need.

HOBBITS: Moved into what will be the Shire three centuries back. Are ruled by men, as part of Arthedain, and are perfectly happy with that.

MEN: Many cultures spread all over Middle-Earth

DUNADAIN: Human nobility, descended distantly from Elves. Live longer, are stronger and faster, and so on.
ARNORIANS AND GONDORIANS: Most common men fit into one of these brackets- solid, stout men who are the backbone of human civilisation
EOTHEOD: Peerless horse-riders and warriors from the north, few in number but stubborn and indomitable. Friendly, though fierce.
BEORNINGS: Also Northmen blessed with an affinity with nature; nomadic but with nobles, who are renowned for their shapeshifting
WOODSMEN: The other northmen culture, those humans who live in the woods, and either hate or get on great with the Elves (Sindar and Silvan) from the same woods.
EASTERLINGS: Vicious human set of cultures to the East of the normal Middle-Earth map. Not actually allied with Sauron YET- you saw an Easterling army entering Mordor in TTT. Interested in domination
WAINRIDERS: Current flavour of the month of the Easterlings- chariot-riding bad guys who smashed apart large parts of Gondor and enslaved the Northmen. The Gondorians have driven them mostly from the south, and the Northmen (mostly the Eothrain) rebelled and drove them mostly from the north. They never reached Arnor.
DUNLENDINGS: Your primary human opponents. Think evil Braveheart Scotsmen. Somewhat primitive hillmen who loathe Dunadain and their civilisations, and also loathe the Eotheod. Were even prepared to ally with the Orcs to smash their enemies. Currently hold Rhudaur. Seen briefly getting their own back on the Rohirrim in TTT- BIG mistake...
BLACK NUMENOREANS: Descendants of those Dunadain who sided with Mordor in the Second Age. Had to leave Numenor at the same time as everyone else and set up a civilisation sotuh of Gondor. Cross-breeding means they have lost much of their Elven advanatges but they still maintain much of the Dunadain poise and nobility. The Black Numenoreans are not automatically evil but have twisted their Dunadain heritage into something rather cold and harsh. They'd love to have a crack at Gondor.
CORSAIRS: Also Dunadain rebels, but dating from a more recent Civil War in Gondor. They moved down south as well. Frankly, they hate just about everyone- the Northmen they blame for the Civil War (long story), the Dunadain they have fled from, and the Black Numenoreans and Haradrim they fight down south. They have founded a pirate-based civilisation.
HARADRIM: The Common Man of the lands south of the Middle-Earth map. Harsh and nasty people, technically subject to the Black Numenoreans but not quite living in harmony with their partly-Elven masters like the Arnorians and Gondorians do.
DORWINRIM: Mixture of Northmen and Easterlings who live between the two. Whilst you may think that a mixture of, say, the Riders of Rohan and the Wainriders is your worst nightmare, against the odds the Dorwinrim have turned into a rather happy race of friendly traders and travellers. I would have allowed them as characters, only no-one would have really know who they were!
VARIAGS: Cross between the Haradrim and the Easterlings. These people really ARE as nasty as you might think.

ORCS: Bred in mockery of Elves. Orcs are vicious, dangerous, almost tireless creatures of cruel disposition. Left to their own, they would be a nasty tribal people, but commanded by Dark Forces they become the shock troops of evil. Orcs are judged by the quality of their breeding. "Goblin" is a nickname for a weak orc (still dangerous!) that form the bulk of their raiding parties and armies. Better bred orcs are simply called Orcs and tend to get the better equipment, and also tend to be smarter. Never mistake Orcs for idiots! They do what they do well and make fine commanders. Orcs dislike sunlight and move only at night. They are not Vampires though- sunlight only makes them uncomfortable, they will fight at day if they MUST, at a penalty. At dusk or dawn the light is only an irritant and they fight unimpaired.

TROLLS: Bred in mockery of Ents, Trolls are PHENOMENALLY dangerous! Note that even Gandalf used trickery rather than force to kill them in The Hobbit, and whilst the Cave Troll in Moria was an extreme example, it even took the Fellowship THAT long to kill one! Luckily, they really ARE thick, and daylight unmakes them, turning them to stone. Best avoided.

Note that whilst there is no Uruk-Hai super breed in this time, the Witch-King's trump card are his combined Dunlending/Orc armies, able to operate in support of each other day and night; tough, resourceful, independant armies that live off the land and can fight equally well in small raiding and guerilla squads as well as massed warfare.

There, that should do you all for reference material!

yea useful

very

nice info,useful indeed

Just made a couple of alterations to the history, that I had overlooked. Rather than the current players having to read it all again, here is the gist of it:

1. The Dunlendings actually came to power in Rhudaur before it fell, and it is their influence that caused the Arnorian Civil War in which Arthedain lost its King. The Dunadain in Rhudaur were virtually a spent force by the time the invasion proper came

2. The Elves came to the aid of Cardolan when first invaded five centuries before the game, and it is they who helped drive the Witch-King's armies out.

3. Orcs have only just returned to Rhudaur (though is is full of hostile Dunlendings)- the Elves have kept the true darkness inside Angmar for these centuries. But the Elves appear to have failed now in their task and the Witch-King moves again.

BTW, some aspects of that history have been deliberately ignored or truncated because it is stuff I plan for your characters to discover during the game- like, for example, why Arthedain seems to be just standing by and letting Cardolan fall, and why the Eves have failed. You will learn a lot more at Fornost.

Also just added an explanation of the size of Gondor to the political map, and removed references to Half Orcs which were really a machination of Saruman, not yet come.

Very cool. 🙂

Bumping this back to everyone's attention. The battle at the North Road will be done soon and it is well for people to remember the background to all this- I have also corrected some silly mistakes I made. For example, I have been talking about the Gondorian King whilst in this thread saying that the line was dead... duh! Hasn't happened yet... Gondor HAS a King, as I have mentioned in the story, and I have corrected the mistake here.

I have also bumped this back up for the benefit of new players.

Glad that's cleared up then. I didn't notice...

Bouncing for new game

And again...

hehe

Bumping- for players who might need the help of the map to better discern a route to Rivendell from Baronar.

Bump!