Alternate Timelines

[simon_hibbs]

Has anyone else considered running a game in an alternate-timeline Middle Earth? I think there are a few entertaining possibilities in that regard.

1. Isildur keeps the ring.

Isildur becomes a corrupt and wicked ruler, who also happens to be immortal. His heart turns against the Elves and Dwarves of Middle Earth and resolves to make a world of Men alone. He attacks Lothlorien and destroys it, but at great cost. Galadriel escapes to Rivendel with the remnants of her followers. The players are warring with a corrupt Gondor, which still has some good-hearted people, though they cannot stand against the Will of Isildur and the Ring.


2. Galadriel gets the ring.

Elves of Lothlorien capture Smeagol and Gladriel siezes the ring, not knowing it's full power. She is corrupted and bends the White Council to her will. Only Saruman has the power to resist her, but is unable to act against her directly. Elven armies dominate Middle Earth. The players are Men or a few of the remaining free elves or Dwarves that have not succumbed to the terrible beauty of Galadriel.


In both of these, Sauron still survives, but is still very weak since both of these timelines would probably involve setting the game much earlier than normal.

Does the Decipher license allow for alternate timelines?


Simon Hibbs

[simon_hibbs]

Oops - wrong forum. Can a moderator move this to the other group?

Simon Hibbs

[Ineti]

The Decipher license doesn't allow for it in that I highly doubt they'll ever publish anything along those lines. I don't see Tolkien Enterprises approving such a thing.

But in your game, the sky's the limit. Here are a couple more ideas...

1. Aragorn takes the Ring and overthrows Sauron. Legolas seems to think in The Return of the King that Aragorn has the strength of will to oppose Sauron and would be unstoppable with the One Ring.

2. Boromir doesn't die at Amon Hen. What does that mean for the future? Lots of places to go there.

3. Frodo and Sam are killed by Shelob, and the One Ring falls back into the possession of Gollum, who again evades capture and disappears. The Free Peoples are overthrown by Sauron's superior might.

[Kirok]

I think doing something like this is an excellent idea - it allows you to play even during the same time period as LOTR, use some o0f the same characters and locations, but not be weighted with a known outcome. This is about the only way I would run a game in Middle-earth, maybe involving some of the eastern kingdoms...

[simon_hibbs]

Originally posted by Kirok
... it allows you to play even during the same time period as LOTR, use some o0f the same characters and locations, but not be weighted with a known outcome.

I think that's the key advantage. If you decide the events in the books are untouchable, then you eliminate most of what makes the setting fun from your game. Setting at the same time in an alternate outcome lets you use almost everything from the books.

I'm still attracted to an earlier alternate history though. Imagine starting a bunch of characters as a band of hunters on the banks of the Anduin that see a fight on the other side. A horseman breaks away towards the river pursued by orcs, and the characetrs save him by shooting the orcs and diving heroicaly into the river to help him ashore.

"Many thanks, my friends. You will be rewarded well for you have saved Issildur, King of Gondor!"

This would place the characters at the heart of his court as honoured heroes, and they'd see the corruption infiltrating the mind of the king, their friend, as he turns to the ways of darkness.

What would you do?


Simon Hibbs

[Lord Kjeran]

Chello!

Excellent on savig Isildur and being at the "Heart of the Court"--but Galadriel is a Ringbearer as well....would Isildur be able to use the full power of the One against her, as Sauron could?

And what of the Nine? Sauron may be without form, but are the Nine powerless? How would they view a Ring-using Isildur? Would the Witchking try to get the One for himself?

Alternate histories are the ONLY way to play in a famous Universe. Out of the many Star Wars games thatI've ran over the years only one (my first) was set in "Uncle George's" Galaxy. In fact, in one campaign the SW films themselves were Rebel propaganda about people who existd. Think Rambo (well, he didn't really exist, but there was a Vietnam War, a US, green berets, etc--you get the pic, I'm sure).

Tony

[ben hur]

Originally posted by Lord Kjeran
And what of the Nine? Sauron may be without form, but are the Nine powerless? How would they view a Ring-using Isildur? Would the Witchking try to get the One for himself?

Ouch... wouldn't it be scary if Isildur started testing how well he could command the power of the Ring? Perhaps he could thus control the Nine himself? They'd be sort of his personal Gestapo...