What I love about The One Ring RPG journey rules
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Andrzej
Gold and Silver Rush – Coins of the Forbidden Lands
You see, there’s a big deal in the western films’ (storytelling of which I’m aiming for) naming convention about them dollars, right? Well, the phrase “silver pieces” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Forbidden Lands’ Hidden Progression System
I was sitting with the Forbidden Lands GMG, working on my secret Bronze Hack project. And then it all clicked – the whole progression curve appeared before my eyes. It was one of those “Eureka!” moments each designer wants to pin down. And that’s what I’m doing now. Well, a few hours ago. But let me tell you how to use it – and then, why it matters so much.
Read More »Forbidden Lands’ Hidden Progression SystemWhat month is it?
So, my last post was in February. And now it’s Maaa…rch? May?! And it’s ending?!! Oh crap!
Read More »What month is it?The Music of the Northmen
Last time, I promised you in a facebook post a collection of music fit for the campaign in the lands of the Northmen. Here it… Read More »The Music of the Northmen
Northmen of the Vales of Anduin
Imagine the Great River as if you were one of the mighty eagles that perch above it, high among the Misty Mountains’ peaks.
It’s a deep, dark winter night. From the clouded sky, the moonlight seeps only faintly. But the black ribbon of Anduin sticks out from the white of the snow. It winds down the valley between the mountains and the forest.
But from time to time, the cold, windy darkness yields to dots of light – quivering yet warm. These are the homesteads of the Northmen, as the Gondorians call them. Settlers in this yet-untamed land.
The Circle of Light
If you were to sit among them in one of their dim longhouses where whole communities spend long winter nights, you’d see little beyond the orange-glowing hearth. Shapes more than faces – of people living close by, repairing clothes and tools, carving wood, leather, and bone, tending to children or animals. For the livestock would also be there, plenty even. To keep warmth inside and to keep the beasts safe from wolves – or worse.
For if you, then, heard footsteps crushing the snow outside – or a loud knocking on the door – you would feel the air thickening in a heartbeat. “Are these brigands? Raiders from a dishonored family? Someone brought by a vengeance for a feud lost in time?”
“Or maybe those are madmen, driven by the ghosts lurking in the dark places of the Wild?” “Orcs,” dare you think, “Surrounding the cottage as a shadow of death that strikes at midnight?”
Or could it be just a lost traveler? Exhausted soul on the edge of freezing. The sacred law of hospitality must be kept. No one is to be refused the warmth of the hearth. Those capable take up their arms then – and head to the door.