4th age of Middle Earth

[Feanorgil]

With the free time I have now. I have started to fill in the LOTR RPG projects I set out a few years ago. Undaunted by the lack of decipher input inot the mainstream I thought I would try to stir the pot with my take on the 4th Age.

I am planning on first building a rough atlas for back drop and general info. Usung the net I have found and very ineteresting set of essays on middle earth. Not only do they stand up to scrutiny but they illumnite a possible notion of the 4th age,

A rough sketch is as follows
My campaign will beign in the 452 Fourth age ( a year before the passing of eldarion ( who I treat as a peredhil similar to Elros) The elves that remain are in Greenwood the great and eregion (consolidation of wandering companied and nandor of eraidor).. dwarves have thrived and are beginning to look at the long lost homes ( kick off for dwarven campaigns against the goblins of the misty mountains and grey mountains)...

The Dunedain have colonized and expanded power within the borders of the re-united kingdom... (yes still time to clean the goblins, orcs and undead from the corners of the realm).. fought a few wars and generally have thrived ... basically its been all quiet on the western front of middle earth.

I themeatically am introducing the Al queda of Middle earth--- Black Numenorians --- as Morgul lords ( sith lords per se) Angmar ( cliche isn't it), Nurn and Dunland are the prime developing strongholds of dark power emerging in a walk-crawl-run type chronicle evolvement.

What I am brain storming about is the following notions...for prime movers in the Saga..of the age


Re-introductions of winged drakes.
I need a Balrog or two to emerge from the depths ( later of course)
Powerful necromancer or two (maybe the blue wizards gone bad)
and that drow angle .. EVIL ELVES??????

Anyway that should get somebody out of RPG asystole.
Vaughan

[Cut]

A rough sketch is as follows
My campaign will beign in the 452 Fourth age ( a year before the passing of eldarion ( who I treat as a peredhil similar to Elros) The elves that remain are in Greenwood the great and eregion (consolidation of wandering companied and nandor of eraidor).. dwarves have thrived and are beginning to look at the long lost homes ( kick off for dwarven campaigns against the goblins of the misty mountains and grey mountains)...

Will you be able to withstand the temptation to run a Free Moria and re-settle it type of campaign?! I know I couldn't as I want to put my Moria box to use one day.

Re-introductions of winged drakes.
I need a Balrog or two to emerge from the depths ( later of course)
Powerful necromancer or two (maybe the blue wizards gone bad)
and that drow angle .. EVIL ELVES??????

I have had the idea (look for the scetch of it in another thread here) that a group of heroes are being sent out to research some damage or romours that might show the remergence of a Dragon in the area of the grey mountains.

Once they find the dragon, they find out, that the dragon himself is not the one being responsible for the destruction but another power and the dragon himself hails from the far and yet unexplored east, where he has fled a powerful dark wizard (maybe a blue wizard gone bad?! * *) and is looking for help in the realms we know as middleearth. Will my heroes trust the dragon and will they be able to help him?

After that, I will make them re-take Moria...

[Feanorgil]

That one is a grand pooba hack and slash fight ...

I would build a campaign/epic on a party of dwarves that work there way in that direction. Starting say in the grey mountains to work up the experience and aquiring ancient artifacts and glory to really put a case to the king under the mountain to the "spearhead of the expedition to retake the derrowdelf".

Interestingly I am creating an Naugedhil (elf dwarf) who is out of place everywhere but amoung men ... longlived, talented, strong .. sometimes foolhardy....I think he is perfect for the fouth age.

Vaughan

[spshu]

With the free time I have now. I have started to fill in the LOTR RPG projects I set out a few years ago. Undaunted by the lack of decipher input inot the mainstream I thought I would try to stir the pot with my take on the 4th Age.

I am planning on first building a rough atlas for back drop and general info. Usung the net I have found and very ineteresting set of essays on middle earth. Not only do they stand up to scrutiny but they illumnite a possible notion of the 4th age,

A rough sketch is as follows
My campaign will beign in the 452 Fourth age ( a year before the passing of eldarion ( who I treat as a peredhil similar to Elros) The elves that remain are in Greenwood the great and eregion (consolidation of wandering companied and nandor of eraidor).. dwarves have thrived and are beginning to look at the long lost homes ( kick off for dwarven campaigns against the goblins of the misty mountains and grey mountains)...

The Dunedain have colonized and expanded power within the borders of the re-united kingdom... (yes still time to clean the goblins, orcs and undead from the corners of the realm).. fought a few wars and generally have thrived ... basically its been all quiet on the western front of middle earth.

I themeatically am introducing the Al queda of Middle earth--- Black Numenorians --- as Morgul lords ( sith lords per se) Angmar ( cliche isn't it), Nurn and Dunland are the prime developing strongholds of dark power emerging in a walk-crawl-run type chronicle evolvement.

What I am brain storming about is the following notions...for prime movers in the Saga..of the age


Re-introductions of winged drakes.
I need a Balrog or two to emerge from the depths ( later of course)
Powerful necromancer or two (maybe the blue wizards gone bad)
and that drow angle .. EVIL ELVES??????

Anyway that should get somebody out of RPG asystole.
Vaughan

Evil Elves are Orcs/goblins twisted by Morgoth. I would keep the Ringwraiths (except for the Witch-King, it isn't shown what happen to them) as threats along with the Balrog as the Balrog are Maia like Gandalf, Sauraman and Sauron. If you search the forums there are mention of Tolkien's sketch of a future story in the 4th Age regarding a "Shadow" cult that might bring back Morgoth himself. I would have Morgulwraiths (create from the Ringwraith's Morgul blades' victims) as the Ringwraiths' liuetenants. You might even have humans come across the dwarven 7 rings. With the whole numbrology of the rings 9/7//3/1 leaves to beg about the 5 rings. For halflings? Made after the One Ring to be sown about in treasure and the like to tempt mortals.

Don't forget Sauron's former HQ in Mirkwood, Dol Agur (sp?). It would the closest place for the Ringwraiths to flee or were already setting up operations there when Sauron fell.

[Tobian]

The only thing is though, with the ring-wraiths, they were under the control of the one ring: That was the trick of the ring.. they were extremely powerful artefacts of their own, but Sauron tricked them by making the one ring to 'rule them all' and so took possesion of the 9. It could be interesting if the ring-wraiths are still around, or maybe someone found a big pile of old bones and rags and 8 rings with magical bling powers of their own

I'm not sure but isn't the Morgoth storyline the last battle, the thing which basically draws the world to a close? of course not to say that the players aren't there to thwart it this time round!

Cool ideas BTW, I just don't play the game, but the eschatology of the world fascinates me

[Feanorgil]

My thoughts are with the descrution of the One ring ... means all that is wrought with it .... becomes myth and legend. I would like to see in the my fourth age with more of a villan with a face... the black numenorians maybe an appearance of the blue wizards. An ancient fell creatures of Morgoth awakening. Maybe a dragon or two boldly coming out of the north. My initial campaign would open up with bands of heros attempting to reclaim the lands of the re-united kingdom from the corruption of shadow... more of crawl walk run in build up of the plot... instead of a single villan have a few. Yeah I know I am babbling.

[Feanorgil]

Still working on it too