Chronicle Ideas for a Journey to Angmar (~ TA 3000)

[ben hur]

I just started having these really interesting ideas about a relatively short adventure in Angmar, and I thought I'd share them, to get comments and help and everything.

For one thing, Angmar seems to be an extremely open place to play in; there's almost no canon about it that you'd have to break! But it also gives some hints as to what might be there.

The basic premise of the chronicle would be this: when Gandalf, Bilbo, and the Dwarves visit Elrond, the Wizard steps aside with the Elf and they speak of rumors of a new evil rising in Angmar; possibly one of the Nine, even the Witch-king himself. These rumors were brought in by Arestel (my creation: younger brother of Arathorn II). They decide that Arestel must go into the North with a chosen few and, after seeking aid from the Lossoth, drive the new Evil from Carn Dûm.

Arestel once was married and had a young child; but one day when he was away hunting during a famine, his wife and child were slain by hunger-driven wolves. Crushed by his loss, he now lives alone, and feels their deaths were a result of his misuse of responsibility. When his brother Arathorn was slain, he was rightly grieved; but felt that he could not help raise his brother's 2-year old Aragorn, thinking he wasn't capable enough.

The Ring of Barahir, according to Appendix A, was given to the Lossoth by Arvedui Last-king as a token of their good-will; it has been sent South to Arestel, an unspoken request for aid. Arestel has brought this news to Rivendell, and is there at the same time as the Dwarves.

Thus, Arestel, along with a couple Rangers and/or Elves, goes into the North, and unites the Lossoth against Angmar. This would not only present lots of epic combat (a great battle between the Lossoth and the hordes of Carn Dûm for one) but also great roleplaying opportunities, as Arestel attempts to bring together the Lossoth (of course there will be disenters and traitors to deal with which will make it really interesting).

So what do you think of this mini-campaign? It could turn quite long, but I think I want to keep it at a manageable length, say, several sessions. Thanks!

[ben hur]

Also, almost forgot, really important! The Encyclopedia of Arda's entry on Carn Dûm says that the name would translate from Gailic as 'mountain fortress', if that's what language it derived from.

So I thought 'Why not make the Lossoth speak Gailic?' It could be really interesting. I checked on Google and found a couple sites that have some Gailic translations, and this would really make it seem epic. Because, you know, language is like the biggest part of Tolkien's world (it's what started it), but in the North-lands the only speech you might have is Black, and that's unkown. So what do you think?

[Lt. Dade]

It's interesting how much Angmar seems to attract the attention of us roleplayers. Decipher's ongoing (?) campaign, mentioned in the core rulebook and begun in the Narrator's Guide, centers on the North and the territories of Angmar, doesn't it?

I'm visiting areas near there in a short, four-part Chronicle I'm hoping to run this fall. For me, it's the allure of the Ettenmoors.

Your campaign sounds like it's got a great root in the setting. Seeking out the Gaelic sources for inspiration is exactly how I'd do it, too. Let us know how it goes!

word,
Will

[ben hur]

Thanks for the encouragement!

I believe the North is so alluring for so many because it has the beginnings of a complicated backround but tons of open paper for you to write your own events in. For example, there's an awesome war between Angmar and Arnor, and there are fortresses everywhere like Amon Sûl that were used in the war, and persons in it described such as Earnur and the Witch-king, but it's extremely easy for you to put in your own characters and history and finish the picture.

Plus the area is I think the only one that is conveniently accessible to Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and Men all at the same time.

The Lossoth will probably speak the Common Tongue mostly, but with a Gaelic word or two in every once and a while, plus maybe a quick and simple Gaelic conversation between each other.

So the language is based on Gaelic, and I'm basing the people themselves on the Wild Men of Druadan forest. The similiarities are interesting, especially the weather-sensing (the last time the Rohirrim see Ghan-buri-ghan is when he notices the wind change and dashes off, and when Arvedui leaves the Lossoth they sense danger in the wind and warn him against taking to sea).

Here's part of a post on the Decipher board about the weather conditions:

The things that have to be dealt with, that aren't in the Core Book, are indirect threats from the environment (cold and hunger) and direct threats from the environment (avalanches, ice, and so on).

First off, cold: this is 'kind of' explained in the Core Book. You are penalized by uncomfortably cold tempatures. But how do you die from this, or suffer damage?

Then there's hunger: perhaps this would act in the same way as staying awake too long? After a certain number of hours, you begin to be penalized on your Stamina tests to resist Weariness.

Your rules for avalanches sound right! Swiftness test to avoid, if you fail then you are buried in snow and recieve damage. You'd also use the rules in the Core Book for not being able to drowning/choking/unable-to-breathe, right?

Ice would mean, according to the Core Book, penalties to tests from the slickness, but what about breaking it? Perhaps a Swiftness test at a TN equal to your Health or something, so the healthier (and heavier) you are the harder it becomes to not break the ice, and when you fall in you'd have to A) make swim tests at -huge- penalties for being extremely cold, and if you failed the Swim test and sunk beneath the water than you'd B) make tests to avoid drowning to death.

Walking over slippery ledges of ice and feats like that are easily accountable in the Core Book: Acrobatics test at a certain TN, penalties from cold (fingers numb up) and ice (slick surface makes for tough time balancing), and if you fall then use the Falling rules.

The frozen wasteland will present a whole heck of a lot of great environmental dangers, and this will make a really interesting part of my chronicle.

Edit: I didn't know the Narrator's Screen adventure was set in the North as well; that's interesting! Is it like around the area of Fornost or more towards Angmar? Now that I think about it, I remember hearing about an adventure are one of the conventions called Sword of the Witch-king... I wonder if that's set in Angmar? It wouldn't surprise me, it's such a perfect place! (for adventuring that is, hehe)

[Chris Landmark]

Originally posted by ben hur
Also, almost forgot, really important! The Encyclopedia of Arda's entry on Carn Dûm says that the name would translate from Gailic as 'mountain fortress', if that's what language it derived from.

So I thought 'Why not make the Lossoth speak Gailic?' It could be really interesting. I checked on Google and found a couple sites that have some Gailic translations, and this would really make it seem epic. Because, you know, language is like the biggest part of Tolkien's world (it's what started it), but in the North-lands the only speech you might have is Black, and that's unkown. So what do you think?

Well, the best reason I can think of is that the Lossoth are not the people from around Carn Dûm or anywhere in the realm of Angmar. They are semi-nomadic polar tribes. Try using Inuit or Lapp as a language. Lapp would probably be better, as they are European and live right next to the Scandanavians and Finns from whom Tolkien borrowed a lot of ideas.

Yes, I know it's a lot harder to find anything about those languages on the web.

-Chris Landmark

[ben hur]

Originally posted by Chris Landmark
Well, the best reason I can think of is that the Lossoth are not the people from around Carn Dûm or anywhere in the realm of Angmar. They are semi-nomadic polar tribes. Try using Inuit or Lapp as a language. Lapp would probably be better, as they are European and live right next to the Scandanavians and Finns from whom Tolkien borrowed a lot of ideas.

Yes, I know it's a lot harder to find anything about those languages on the web.

-Chris Landmark

Thanks for the hint! Yes, Lapp is looking to be rather hard to find... but Gaelic really didn't have too many sources either, I'm not sure how far I could have gone with that anyway. However... I found the Lappish Nationel Anthem, it looks like this:



So if I can't find concrete sources, I'll just vaguely base the language off of how those Lappish letters look and sound.

[Meneltin]

I like the idea of receiving the Ring of Barahir and having to pay the 'price' Arvedui promised very much.

My own chronicle, the Mother of Hope (the really short version is found in the Chronicle seeds) centers around the lands of Eriador, with the bad guys coming from Angmar, or further north as well.

I thought of using Finnish for the Lossoth. I think MERP uses that as well. (I have a lot of the Merp modules, including Angmar, and Arnor the land and people, which have a lot of interesting idea's in it.) Besides there is this very useful program called the 'Everchanging Book of Names' or something like that, which I downloaded some years ago which also contains names (or words for that matter) in Finnish.

I also like the way your handling of the cold 'damage'.
You might want to add Survival, or rather: fire
At last your magician, who has been restraining himself for months can use his kindle fire! :-)

Keep us informed!

[Lt. Dade]

The Narrator's Screen adventure is only marginally set in the North. I don't think it roams too far from Rivendell, actually, and certainly doesn't reach as far as Angmar. The full-on campaign against that evil sorcerer (whose name escapes me ... through dark magick) is supposed to be set in the North, as I understand it.

Something else that's attracting me to the North, other than the wide assortment of ruins and the dramatic flexbility, are the standing stones said to be around up there. I get a vaguely Scottish vibe about the terrain, and I'm really looking forward to an encounter with a Etten in a circle of crumbling standing stones. At night, of course.

When I get closer to actually running my little chronicle, I'll post some notes about it and we all can compare. In the meantime, don't be shy. Please do share your design process with us!

word,
Will

[ben hur]

Originally posted by Lt. Dade
Something else that's attracting me to the North, other than the wide assortment of ruins and the dramatic flexbility, are the standing stones said to be around up there. I get a vaguely Scottish vibe about the terrain, and I'm really looking forward to an encounter with a Etten in a circle of crumbling standing stones. At night, of course.

Oh my gosh, this is almost exactly what Scene 3 of my chronicle is going to be! The party takes rest in an extremely Stonehenge-like circle of stones and are attacked by wolves; and it's cold and dark and wet and everything. That's amazing that we both thought the same thing!

Originally posted by Meneltin
I like the idea of receiving the Ring of Barahir and having to pay the 'price' Arvedui promised very much.

I also like the way your handling of the cold 'damage'.
You might want to add Survival, or rather: fire

I like the idea too, it came to me in a flash of awesomeness. And yep, I've got a piece of paper with all the skills, attributes, reactions, and rules that will have to be used to survive written down on one side and on the other I have all the actual obstacles themselves like avalanches, ice, cold, hunger, and so on. Survival will be one of the more used skills, since it allows you to start fires, find food, and locate shelter. Plus they are going to have to use Weather-sense (which I've noticed is actually rather hard to use!) to note that a blizzard is coming on, so if they notice it and start looking for shelter they can evade it for the most part.

[ben hur]

I'm writing up my chronicle right now on the computer! Going to have to take a little break and settles just writing ideas down for a few days, as I'm going camping for the week-end, but it's looking great. I'm writing it as if it were a web adventure, so if I ever get it all done then I'll see if someone can host it and everything for your pleasure.

I've found some great, awesome, amazing pictures so far. I have come to love Google. The pictures of the icy, snowy North are chilling (ha, bad pun), the deserted pictures of Angmar are sweet, the Rivendell pictures are of course beautiful, and the Stonehenge pictures are better than I possibly imagined.

So there's my first update! The thing is three pages long without pictures right now, with the whole kind of long introduction done, the first quick scene, and an interlude description. This is such a fun waste of time.

[ben hur]

The first half is ready to download (there are no pictures, so it's about 68 K I think) in the Council of Elrond section. Please comment there, here, or both places!

[ben hur]

Alright, finished Scene 6 I believe (the last scene, mega-battle), I just have to do Scene 4 and 5. Scene 4 is going to be the hardest, with all the immense amount of roleplaying which I'm going to have to give the Narrator a good idea of how to roleplay the Lossoth.

I'm undecided as to how the company should meet the Lossoth; should they be surprised by them and captured? Stumble into camp half-dead from starvation? A combination? Something totally different? I'd appreciate any help!

Also, found some more Lappish (); this time it's Silent Night.

[Chris Landmark]

Well, being saved by the Lossoth at the brink of starvation would be a nice parallel to Arvedui's story. Might be a useful literary device.

-Chris Landmark

[GavynnAlexander]

I think that Angmar is appealing to people because of being a kingdom of a Nazgul. Some type of interest in the Lord of Morgul's Tower of Sorcery. The "Witch King of Angmar", what an awesome name is that. I have always been partial to it.

Also, KoR - I was playing around with some styrofoam and my hot wire cutter last night. I just started carving out stones and the like. Then I thought that one day I might put together a miniature representation of the Stone Circle your hero's vernture into. It would have its place in a ceratin chronicle, but a stone circle could be generic enough to use it in many games. I am trying to get a web site up and running, and when I do I will post pictures of it (should the project turn out okay - whenever it gets started in full force).

Gavynn