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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
USH'S LORD OF THE RINGS GAME PART 4- The Hunt in the Hills
Eastern Arthedain, Autumn 1973 TA
It's getting chilly again already. At Fornost, the shutters are closed and the fires are on. Like last year, it promises to be a chilly winter. There is more life out in the fields, as the vital harvest is prepared.
It will need to be a good one, because Artheadin is arming. Arthedain fears Angmar, a mountain kingdom of evil men led by the mysterious Witch-King. These men make pacts with the foul Orcs and Goblins breeding out of the Misty Mountains and from there they threaten the whole of the north.
To Arthedain's east lies Rhudaur; once its sister kingdom ruled by the same line. But the human kingdoms fought amongst themselves and Rhudaur got the worst of it; it gave into pressure from Angmar and the line there was lost. Now it is full of Dunlendings- vicious hillmen who bear hostility to any other type of man. A great Dunlending Lord sits on the throne once meant for a Dunadan.
To the south lies Cardolan, also a sister kingdom. Cardolan resisted for longer but it too was weakened by struggle with its neighbours- and then by plague. In the end, Cardolan did not fall as much as rot; it has fallen into a disparate collection of local fiefdoms with no central authority.
The north of Cardolan is now almost toal chaos where the Dunlendings raid at will- some times with Orcs and Goblins from Angmar amongst them. The south still holds firm, but has little contact with anyone else.
Far, far to the south and east lies the mighty kingdom of Gondor. Once, Arnor was the greater kingdom,; now split i n three and with only one of those three still functioning, Gondor has the lead. The true line of Kings, though, and the power of man lies still in Arnor. They had hoped Gondor- victorious in recent war with the Wainriders from the east, though also weary and weakened by plague, would send aid to fight Angmar. But it is too far and the spiri too weak. After mighty efforts by Arthedain's vigorous and competent king, Arvedui, Gondor has sent some people to observe and some money and materials... but no army.
Arthedain must see to itself. A recent disaster- a huge orc raid to the north that destroyed a fortress near construction- has cost Arthedain dear and caused it to re-think its whole approach. New armies are being built. New strategies considered.
Refugees from Cardolan pour into its borders, and they are being armed and armoured. New men are being trained all the time- the reach goes for ever younger men to form armies against an unknown number of enemies. But what is to be done? To defend forever? That has done Arnor little good so far; two of three parts of it lost. But to invade Angmar seems lunacy. Arvedui has a different plan- hold out until a new alliance can be built against the threatening evil. He still hopes to get Gondor on his side. Even the Elves have been approached, but they are few in number and are tired of helping men- men who only destroy themselves in internal struggle regardless. But Arvedui's plan for now is more straightforward- he seeks union with Cardolan; to rebuild it into a strong new kingdom joined with Arthedain that can take back both Rhudaur and then end the threat from Angmar. They call Arvedui the 'Last King' due to a prophecy made at his birth that he would be the last king of Arthedain. He seeks to confound it- by then becoming the first king of something greater.
Since that great raid, the Orcs have been quiet- light-averse, they rarely move in the summer regardless. The Dunlendings have not threatened Arthedain, still taking pickings in Cardollan. Arthedain has had some time to prepare and reocver. Twi new armies have been built- the great one in the north, the most prestigious. And a smaller one in the east, to deal with the possible threat of Duneldnings and keep order.
But the new commander of the Eastern Army- the Lord Farael, of impure lineage but great strength of spirit- is not content to sit back with his men. He has become convinced that Orc raids within Arthedain over the past years have not come from over the border- but from a base within Arthedain itself. The eastern part of Arthedain is full of downs and hills, stretching down to the fallen fortress of Weathertop at the south-eastern border where the three parts of Arnor meet. Not only hillmen like the hills; Orcs and Goblins like to dwell in such places too. The hills are too large and awkward to be patroleld at all times and few live there. The enemy could be hiding within.
Farael has persuaded King Arvedui to expend supplies on a great expedition into the hills to seek out this theoretical orc base- and destroy it. Many think he is a fool to waste his time so; he is not to be dissuaded.
Some that agree with him are foreign travellers, many of who heeded Arvedui's call for a united front against Angmar. Whilst nations stay silent, individuals- Man, Dunadan, Hobbit, Dwarf and even Elf- have listened and many have come. Now they are travelling with his army into the hills- to seek the Orcs.
So, who is with him?
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Originally a prequel section to the next story, I have upgraded this to a larger- though still relatively short- story to get you all used to fighting in this system and get a bit of xp under your belt!
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
Last edited by Ushgarak on Mar 7th, 2011 at 03:42 PM
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Mar 7th, 2011 03:36 PM |
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Tptmanno1
Life Ponder-er
Gender: Male Location: Dreaming...Or am I living... |
Well Palidan of the Doom-Light, and Poor-of-Combat will be going with.
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Mar 7th, 2011 04:54 PM |
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Peach
mordrem
Gender: Female Location: verdant brink Moderator |
Those are some intimidating titles there
Ellothiel will also go along.
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Mar 7th, 2011 05:29 PM |
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Tptmanno1
Life Ponder-er
Gender: Male Location: Dreaming...Or am I living... |
Strikes fear in the hearts of his well-illuminated enemies he does...
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Mar 7th, 2011 05:44 PM |
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Bespin Bart
Buggy
Gender: Male Location: Everywhere |
Anglomir will lend his experience with a sword to Farael's call for Orc blood. The ordeal with the tournament has left a bad taste in Anglomir's mouth, especially as he had to purchase new shoes.
__________________
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE WAITED FOR
THIS IS IT, BOYS, THIS IS WAR!
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:22 PM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
A map has been requested- here is a very basic one.
The hilly eastern area of Arthedain begins at the North Downs and down south into the Weather Hills which is where you are looking- a very large area to explore. Amon Sul/Weathertop- which is where Frodo got stabbed by the Nazgul- is at the southern end of the search area. Bad memories there; the battle at Weathertop was lost after Arthedain backed out the fight at the last moment, leaving the armies of Cardolan and Rhudaur ti be defeated. The great tower there was wrecked and never rebuilt.
Attachment: simplemap.jpg
This has been downloaded 166 time(s).
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:28 PM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
Oh, boundaries also requested.
The East-West road is the boundary to Cardolan. The Weather Hills are the boundary to Rhudaur. Angmar is to the far north-east.
Note The Shire exists in this period but the name is not well-known (even less so than in the future); the Hobbits are under Arvedui's protection and are generally left alone.
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
Last edited by Ushgarak on Mar 7th, 2011 at 07:32 PM
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:29 PM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
Looks like this was requested before! I seem to have drawn some boundaries on here. X is Rivendell and Y is Fornost.
Attachment: smapborders.jpg
This has been downloaded 158 time(s).
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:33 PM |
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Tptmanno1
Life Ponder-er
Gender: Male Location: Dreaming...Or am I living... |
And I have found a large map as well.
http://3rin.gs/
Its rather cool, check it out.
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:39 PM |
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Mithlond
Gondor needs no King!
Gender: Male Location: Norfolk, United Kingdom |
"Thank goodness for that," says Menelacar to Anglomir as they ride in the hills, "my sword arm was going numb stuck here all summer." Having donned his mail, and with the borrowed Rhudarian blade from Talin, he rides with the expedition.
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Mar 7th, 2011 07:54 PM |
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REXXXX
Networking
Gender: Male Location: San Diego Moderator |
Speaking of Talin, the Dwarf is damned sure ready to chop up some Orcs.
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Mar 7th, 2011 08:11 PM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
Well, the hills in the growing cold are not the best place to be; this is the true wilds where civilisation holds no sway. Trying to organise and supply an army through here is not easy.
Good scouting, meanwhile, needs scouts and, lacking other specialist skills (which some of you may have) this requires horses. How many of you have your own horses?
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
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Mar 10th, 2011 01:24 PM |
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Peach
mordrem
Gender: Female Location: verdant brink Moderator |
Since I assume Ellothiel returned the horse she borrowed a while back, she will need one.
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Mar 10th, 2011 01:50 PM |
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Mithlond
Gondor needs no King!
Gender: Male Location: Norfolk, United Kingdom |
Menelacar rode a horse into Fornost; not sure if he still has it! I haven't bought one officially.
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Mar 10th, 2011 06:54 PM |
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Bespin Bart
Buggy
Gender: Male Location: Everywhere |
Anglomir purchased a lesser warhorse that has yet to be named!
__________________
THIS IS WHAT WE'VE WAITED FOR
THIS IS IT, BOYS, THIS IS WAR!
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Mar 10th, 2011 09:05 PM |
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Tptmanno1
Life Ponder-er
Gender: Male Location: Dreaming...Or am I living... |
I should have bought a horse too.
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Mar 11th, 2011 03:10 AM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
Well, those of you without a horse have an issue.
Menelacar, you are looking at the provided set of horses as you are about to enter the hills. The term 'pile of shit' comes to mind. You've finally found one that you don't think is diseased; this one is just starved and has not been bred for military use. None of them has been.
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
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Mar 11th, 2011 12:53 PM |
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Peach
mordrem
Gender: Female Location: verdant brink Moderator |
...well blargh. What the hell good is that supposed to do us?
And of course somehow I doubt any of my spells will be helpful here...
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Mar 11th, 2011 04:20 PM |
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Ushgarak
Paladin
Gender: Male Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK Co-Admin |
Actually, I Cherdir o Levain is bloody handy for this job...
(A Ranger would have been the best of course)
__________________
"We've got maybe seconds before Darth Rosenberg grinds everybody into Jawa burgers and not one of you buds has the midi-chlorians to stop her!"
"You've never had any TINY bit of sex, have you?"
BtVS
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Mar 11th, 2011 06:23 PM |
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Mithlond
Gondor needs no King!
Gender: Male Location: Norfolk, United Kingdom |
At least it won't have the energy to bolt at the first sign of an Orc!
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Mar 11th, 2011 06:41 PM |
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