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
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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.
Sagas 1000 years before the War of the Ring
The Mead of Storytelling
How did I come up with the timeline and ideas for the “Sagas of the Northmen” campaign? I was inspired by “Beowulf” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s essay about it. But more on that next time. Essentially, I wanted to explore the core ideas presented by the Professor in accordance with the canon of the” “Lord of the Rings” and Middle-earth history.
3 Y’s – Yule, Year’s End & Why I Run TOR RPG Fellowship Phase (“Downtime”) Differently?
Year’s End’s (was) upon us…
So, it’s the New Year – well into it, but not even slightly less turbulent one, despite my efforts to change that. Nevertheless, Year’s End – or Yule, as it was called way, way back – is a time of transition and of change. And may the everlasting Darkness doom me if, if I don’t try my best to make that change!
But I’m onto some gameplay-oriented point, so let’s get going, while staying in that Year’s End theme.
The Forbidden West – Campaign’s Penultimate Chapter
I’ve always had that impression of Forbidden Lands reflecting the Wild West movies, especially the old ones like Dollars Trilogy with Clint Eastwood. And it never was stronger than when my group was gearing up for their final dungeon exploration. They searched for an outlawed ranger, Vike, to enlist him as additional support in upcoming fights. A gruff hunter banished from the village greatly resembled a gun-for-hire theme in Western films. Besides, as I’ll get to expand at the end, the latter turned out to be very rewarding and easy to work with as source material – including publishing my own modules as well.
Read More »The Forbidden West – Campaign’s Penultimate ChapterForbidden Lands’ Gods & Religions – The Omen of the Manticore
So it wasn’t long ago (speaking about game-time, it was two years on the blog x.x) when the Trio escaped the grave (sic!) consequences of their greed in the tomb of Count Nepola. After a few weeks of recovery, they finally decided to face what emerged as the campaign’s main goal. Retrieval of a powerful artifact from the sorcerous monastery they agreed to undertake for Grulf. The story about Forbidden Lands’ gods and religions added a lot to this ultimate chapter – thanks to the presentation, I haven’t come by in any other RPG.
Read More »Forbidden Lands’ Gods & Religions – The Omen of the Manticore