# Adventures in Middle-earth (d20)



## Desdichado (Mar 29, 2002)

Inspired in part by ColonelHardisson's original request for conversion info, I started working on my own version of what I thought Middle-earth should be like d20 and presenting it to my brothers, my wife and some of our friends.  So, for a little while now, we've been dabbling in a Middle-earth game online, and we've actually gotten fairly serious, so I decided to report on our progress here in the Story Hour forum and see if I get any comments on the game itself, or the conversion I used.

Not only just a story hour per se, I thought I'd also take breaks here and there in the thread and explain some of the conversion rules I used as well.

For races, I used elvish conversion rules similar to what ColonelHardisson originally posted in the thread: I really like the racial conversion rules present on the ME conversion homepage.  Ours have minor differences, but since I had no elf players, it was a moot point.  Dwarves and humans are done exactly as presented in the PHB, even Dunedain, who I didn't figure were different enough to warrant new racial rules.  Hobbits are like the halflings of the PHB, except that their +2 stat is CON instead of DEX, which I think fits with the many descriptions of hobbits as "being made of sterner stuff than anyone would guess" type of comments made by characters like Gandalf, Aragorn and others.

We weren't really sure exactly how to do magic-users.  They obviously exist even amongst mortal races (Queen Beruthiel, for instance, the forgers of the swords the hobbits got from the barrow-downs "wrapped with spells for the Witch-king's destruction", the sorcerors of the wild hill-men, etc.) but we didn't really know exactly how to do it.  I started working on a force system conversion from Star Wars, but no one actually opted to play a magic-user, so I shelved that project until it's needed.  The classes we did use are Wheel of Time classes: I have two wanderers, and armsman, a woodsman (more specifics next time I post.)  I started the characters at 2nd level, and told them that there would be _no_ experience: just arbitrary levelling when I thought it was time to do so.  All of us enjoy low-level play, so we'll probably run up through about 5th level or so and then take the campaign elsewhere, but we'll run it for a long time without going past that, I think.

What else?  Hmmm... we'll be playing in the year 1408 of the Third Age, starting in mid-autumn, and beginning in Arthedain.  Any questions?  Hold the campaign specific ones, as I'll get to those next time I add a big post, but for now, I just wanted to post a flavor of what kind of conversion we were using.

Oh, almost forgot, I thought the VP/WP system was appropriate for Middle-earth, and I like the way it was converted on the ME page slightly better than the Asgard conversion: makes it just a little bit scarier!   If you have any questions about the campaign itself, though, if I see them before I post the specifics of the characters and start the log, I'll try and answer 'em!

I'll also try and clearly mark, once I get started, log text from commentary text, by using text formatting.  A big part of this Story Hour -- and the campaign as a whole -- is a playtest of the conversion, and how much like D&D it does (or doesn't) feel.


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## Valavien (Mar 29, 2002)

Looks like it's going to be an interesting read.


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## Desdichado (Mar 29, 2002)

*Mostly about the characters...*

OK, here's the four players of the game, including a _little_ bit of background info...

*Hannar* male dwarf Armsman 2: Size M (4'10") vp 26 wp 17; Init -1 (-1 dex); Spd 20 ft.; Def +3 (+4 chain shirt, -1 dex); Attack +4 melee, +1 ranged; SV Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +3; Str 15, Dex 9, Con 17, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12.
Languages: Westron, Khuzdul, Sindarin.
Skills: Climb +7, Craft (weapons) +7, Craft (art) +7, Intimidate +5, Jump +7, Swim +7.
Feats: Iron Will, Power Attack.
_Hannar very often travels between the Blue Mountains and Khazad-dûm (**don't forget that this is more than 550 years before the balrog is awakened**) as an emissary between the two dwarven populations.  He is fairly young, has a long brown beard and belongs to the Longbeard people of Khazad-dûm.  He is perhaps more interested in the Mannish kingdoms that lie on his journey than many other dwarves would be, and he is a well-known face at many stops along the way, including the Inns of Bree.  He dabbles, at times, in selling his forged works, including simple weapons, works of art and jewelry._

*Fosco Cotman* male hobbit Wanderer 2: Size S (4'3") vp 17 wp 16; Init +2 (+2 dex); Spd 20 ft.; Def +6 (+4 class, +2dex); Attack +1 melee, +3 ranged; SV Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +3; Str 10, Dex 15, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 12.
Languages: Westron.
Skills: Balance +7, Climb +5, Escape Artist +7, Hide +7, Jump +5, Listen +6, Move Silently +7, Perform (flute) +6, Spot +6.
Feats: Point Blank Shot.
_Fosco is from a relatively stable settlement of native Eriadorans and hobbits that live together near the border between Rhudaur and Arthedain. (*** although in the time of the novels, this arrangement was only found at Bree, prior to the settlement of the Shire, the hobbits normally lived, when they could, with the Big Folk***)  He is of Fallohidish descent, and thus is relatively tall and has sandy brown hair and brown eyes.  He's not quite as conversant as many of this race, and was often criticised by his family for his slightly brooding personality.  He spends a good deal of time exploring the countryside, until the threat of Angmar made wandering about a less than pleasant proposition.  However, he felt angered and dutifully inspired to "do his part" so he marched all the way to Norbury (Fornost) and volunteered to help where he could.  Although his skills out of doors could use some more work, the King's men there decided he was best suited to help them scout the area, and he often does so informally, since no hobbits serve as regular soldiers in the armies of the Dunedain._

*Duiniel* female dunadan Wanderer 2: Size M (5'8") vp 10 wp 12; Init +2 (+2 dex); Spd 30 ft.; Def +6 (+4 class, +2dex); Attack -1 melee, +3 ranged; SV Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +3; Str 7, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 11, Cha 16.
Languages: Westron, Sindarin, Quenya.
Skills: Appraise +7, Bluff +8, Climb +5, Diplomacy +8, Heal +4, Gather Information +8, Knowledge (elvish history) +7, Search +7, Sense Motive +5, Spot +5.
Feats: Luck of Heroes, Persuasive.
_Duiniel is an orphan, raised at Imladris by the elves and Dunedain, and friendly with Elrond himself and his children.  She is well-versed in the history of her people, therefore, and is more likely to try and talk her way through any adversity than her companions.  She is a very pretty Dunadan girl, with long dark hair and clear grey eyes.  Now that she has grown into her majority, Elrond has sent her back to her own people, to be a handmaiden of the queen of Arthedain, or one of the other nobles of the kingdom.  However, Duiniel was used to running free through the vale of Rivendale, and the thought of serving as a handmaiden did not strike her fancy.  She was distracted from her task, therefore, and has spent the last several weeks wandering at will through the countryside, using her powers of persuasion to find temporary work, food and lodging as she enjoys a leisurely stroll through the country._

*Halbarad* male dunadan Woodsman 2: Size M (6'4") vp 19 wp 11; Init +5 (+1 dex, +4 Partial Improved Initiative); Spd 30 ft.; Def +5 (+4 class, +1 dex); Attack +5 melee, +3 ranged; SV Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +3; Str 16, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.
Languages: Westron, Sindarin.
Skills: Climb +8, Heal +8, Hide +6, Intuit Direction +8, Spot +8, Wilderness Lore +10.
Feats: Survivor, Toughness.
_Halbarad is the youngest son of a minor noble of Arthedain, and aspires to be a ranger of King Arveleg: an elite unit of wilderness guardians and warriors. (***which would later become the core of the rangers that survived the downfall of the kindgoms and protected Bree and the Shire from molestors in the far future of the novels***)  Right now, however, he is simply a junior member of the court, and he spends time both in the field and in Fornost.  He is also tall and dark-haired with blue eyes.  He is somewhat quiet and grim of personality._


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## Desdichado (Mar 29, 2002)

Thanks, Valavien.  I thought, since the ME project got a lot of attention anyway, that a Story Hour using the same rules (or at least very similar rules) as posted there would probably be something some folks would want to see.


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## GruTheWanderer (Mar 29, 2002)

*Excellent characters*

Hi Joshua,

It's good to see another Middle Earth campaign in progress.  I'm running a Middle Earth campaign set in the second age, and have posted journals of it on the ME website.  I have never visited the Story Hour forum before, but I like it.  

Looking forward to more info.
Derek


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## Piratecat (Mar 29, 2002)

[cue whiny voice] But I want to play a wizard/cleric! Why caaaan't I?


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## Desdichado (Mar 30, 2002)

PC, I'm going to have to put you on emergency Middle-earth therapy.  Go watch the movie at least three times back to back, and report on the new footage from The Two Towers that they started today! (actually, I'm only saying this to gloat: I just got back and hour and a half or so ago from watching it myself...)


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## Desdichado (Apr 1, 2002)

*Quick update...*

OK, I've had family in town this weekend, so sitting down for the hour or so it would take me to start up a log of our adventures has been difficult, I thought I'd just make a quick update on the characters.

Since names and languages were so important to Tolkien himself, we figured that we better be serious about the names we picked for the characters.

Hannar is a dwarf name taken from the "Catalogue of Dwarves" in the Elder Edda.  Since Tolkien took every other dwarvish name (with the exception of the Petty Dwarves) from that catalogue, it seemed to be straight from the horse's mouth.

Fosco Cotman is a conglomerate of two names from the hobbit family trees: Fosco is a Baggins name, while Cotman is the name that later evolved into Cotton and figures in the Gamgee family tree.

Halbarad is the name of the ranger who led the company who met Aragorn right before he went to the paths of the dead.  For a "proto-ranger" that seemed like an appropriate name.

Duiniel is a variation of a name found in the catalogue of allies who comes marching into Minas Tirith to be cheered on by Pippin and Birgil.  There, the name is Duinhir.  The player simply removed the -hir and attached -iel, which is a feminine name ending common in Sindarin.  Later, I looked up the word elements in the wordlist in _The Silmarillion_ and found that Duin was '(long) river' and hir was lord.  So Duinhir was the river-lord, and Duiniel is, loosely translated, the river-maiden.  I told the player, and she may change the background slightly and give her the swim skill, saying that she often frolicked in the river at Rivendell, thus earning her name.

When I come back next, the first log will commence!


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## Desdichado (Apr 2, 2002)

*Many Beginnings*

*Many Beginnings, Session 1 part 1*

_(** Note: tan text indicates "flashbacks"**)_  Deep in the chambers of Khazad-dûm, which the elves call Hadhodrond and men call the Dwarrowdelf, Hannar son of Swuir meets with a representative of the Lord Durin himself, king of all the Longbeard dwarves -- masters of the Misty Mountains.  He is told to forego his normal ambassadorship visit to the Blue Mountains far to the west and travel only as far as Bree, where he will meet representatives of the human kingdom of Arthedain.  The Lord Durin is concerned about the kingdom, and wants to make sure it stands against the rising might of Angmar, for if Arthedain falls, then the might of the Witch-king could easily be turned towards his own halls.

"Assess the danger for yourself.  Travel with some of the Men, and appraise their strength to stand up to the terror of the North-lands."  Arrangements have been made with a lord of the Dúnedain to accept you as a travelling companion of some of his retainers.  This lord's estates border on Rhudaur, and he will be one of the first to face the might of the North should they strike."

Hannar is sceptical of Men, but sees the logic in his instructions.  He bows and accepts his charge.

~~**~~

Fosco Cotman was sure that he had been passed up for any type of duty whatsoever yet again.  The Lords of Norbury, or Fornost as they called it in the High Speech, were much more concerned with hearing the quaint tales of his people than in making any real use of his talents.  But to his surprise and delight, Lord Telemnar had a real assignment for him, and was anxious that he begin at once.  

"My stout little companion, I do have great need of your skills, and I fear that only you can serve me now.  For a secret message needs sending to my kinsman Falathar, one of the few remaining Dúnedain lords left in poor Rhudaur.  The message is extremely secret, and must be kept safe.  To ensure that a false message is not sent, I have a long agreement with him that messages of the utmost security will be sent with one of the Little People.  So your coming amongst us when you did is fortuitiuous.  These last several monthes whilst you have chafed at inactivity, indeed I and my lords have been measuring your loyalty and courage to see if indeed you could fulfill this task."

Fosco was given a sealed envelope and told to meet a group at Bree that could accompany him across the border.  He was told that he would be sent with Halbarad, a soldier and ranger of the King's own retinue and at Bree he would unite with a representative of the dwarves.  The three of them should be well enough equipped to hazard the journey to the Angle, the lands south of the Great East-West road and between the Mithiethil and Bruinen rivers.

So, soon in the company of a tall, dour man of dark hair and grey eyes, wearing leather and a green cloak, Fosco takes the road south from Fornost to Bree. 

~~**~~

Duiniel had rested a fortnight at Amon Sûl with the soldiers and lords of the King of Arthedain, and then had continued on her way.  She had provisions for a week's journey and was told she should have plenty to get her to if she stuck to the road and headed straight west.  Her journey through the Midgewater Marshes was not pleasant, but neither did it give her undue hardship, and she soon found herself in the overarching tree-lined space of the Chetwood.  Her provisions well-stocked, she decided to take a small detour to the North and visit Archet.  There, she was able to sing at the inn for a further small allowance of coin as well as a free room and meals.  The friendly Bree-landers sent her on her way south to the main village of Bree with many a smile and a wave, but now her voyage was to take place on windy, narrow roads and paths that carved their way delicately through the woods.

After a time, she heard noises, and feeling more cautious than normal, she decided to step off the path.  She was nearing to Staddle now, and would be coming around the southern end of the great Bree-hill and thus entering the village, but something about the voices she heard sounded vaguely menacing.

There she saw a man, a Bree-lander by the look of him, although one with a decidedly unsavory appearance.  He was talking with an even rougher man -- one of the Hill-folk of Rhudaur by the look of him: a dark man, hirsute and broad.  They were speaking in low voices, but their expressions and demeanor did not appear trustworthy.  Suddenly, though, they stopped their conversation and looked directly at her: she had apparently not been as stealthy as she believed _(**rolled a 2 on her move silently check!**)_  The two men were immediately suspicious of her appearance in the middle of nowhere, and although she was talking as fast as she had ever done, before she knew it, steel was bared and things were looking very bad for her.  She did have a small sword of her own, given to her by Elrond himself, but her skill with it was not exceptional, and the two men both appeared rough and strong.

Quietly she drew her own sword and attempting to make a preemptive strike against the men menacing her.  However, her blow was not true: she was unable to strike her target, and the dark hill-man struck her a vicious blow that sent her reeling to the ground.  The Bree-man laughed cruelly to himself as the hill-man stalked forwards, but just then the two were interrupted from their torment of the girl by the arrival of Hannar.  He had arrived in Bree earlier in the day, and wanted to walk around the entire Bree-hill to gauge the lay of the land, the strength of the men here and what types of fortifications they had, and had happened to be passing right by this area at just the right time.

The sturdy dwarf already had his own sword bared, a thick piece of dwarven construction.  He rushed the hill-man striking him a vicious blow of his own.  The Bree-man attempted to flank the dwarf, but missed in his own attacks.  Meanwhile, Duiniel stood again and now had the Bree-man himself flanked -- she dealt him a solid blow with her short sword.  Hannar meanwhile struck the hill-man to the ground: he did not get up.  The Bree-man had apparently lost his stomach for the fight, and turned tail and ran.  Duiniel pulled her bow from her back to bring him down, but by the time she had nocked an arrow, he was lost amongst the orange and red leaves of the forest.

Duiniel introduced herself to the dwarf and thanked him.  For his part, Hannar decided to forego the remainder of his walk and make sure Duiniel arrived safely in Bree itself.

_To be continued..._


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## Dinkeldog (Apr 2, 2002)

Looks like fun.  Of course, one must wonder if the hobbit is in fact carrying a fake message because no one would trust a simple hobbit to carry a really important message.

Where is the ME stuff online?


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## Desdichado (Apr 2, 2002)

Yes, because we all know that hobbits suck at carrying secret errands deep into enemy territory! 

You can find the ME conversion files at this location.


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## Valavien (Apr 3, 2002)

So was the trailer good? 
 How often do you play?


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## Rune (Apr 3, 2002)

Post more, soon!


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## Desdichado (Apr 3, 2002)

*The Trailer*

The trailer was good.  You should be able to find it online, albeit in extremely low quality.

As for how often we play, about once every other week, but since we all meet online, scheduling is sometimes erratic.  However, we've been playing for a few weeks now, so I have some catching up to do yet before we have to be slaves to the playing schedule!


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## Desdichado (Apr 3, 2002)

*At the Prancing Pony*

*At the Prancing Pony, Session 1 part 2*

Following their brief encounter in the woods, Hannar and Duiniel head into Bree.  Duiniel explains that she doesn't have any pressing engagements to attend to, but she found the meeting she just witnessed extremely suspicious.  She doesn't believe that a man of Bree and a man that is -- at best -- part of a hostile section of Rhudaur, and at worst directly a man of Angmar itself, could spell anything good.  Hannar agrees with this assessment and suggests that she report the issue to the folks he will be meeting in Bree: an agent of the King, and an agent of Lord Telemnar, a March-lord with estates on the north-east border of Arthedain.

When they arrive in Bree, it is near sundown, and they head to the Inn for supper (and to arrange for lodgings for Duiniel.)  The Prancing Pony _(**the original: in my chronology this Inn will burn down in later years to be replaced by the Prancing Pony of _Lord of the Rings_ fame.**)_ has a full house tonight, but a room is found, and a small table that is unoccupied is spied and quickly claimed in the common room.  There are plenty of both men and hobbits about, so Hannar is unable to recognize his contacts.  Since he is the only dwarf (save a small group of dwarves travelling together, which couldn't be mistaken for him) he hopes that his contacts will approach him.

Before too much time passes, that is exactly what happens.  Halbarad and Fosco approach the table, and are introduced to Hannar and Duiniel.  They tell their story of what happened, and Duiniel asks for their assistance in locating more information on the man she saw.  Fosco and Halbarad, on the other hand, are more caught up in their own errand to deliver the secret message to Falathar in Rhudaur, which seems like a big enough task at this point.  They argue about what course of action to take far into the evening, but finally decide that after retiring, they will wake early in the morning, grab a quick breakfast, and the canny woodsman will go investigate the site of the "battle" Hannar and Duiniel had earlier.  If there are no further clues to be found there, they are not sure what else they could do anyway, as finding a man who wishes to remain hidden in a town as substantial as Bree would be quite a challenge _(**keep in mind that this is before the Great Plague and other catastrophes that drastically reduced the population of Eriador before the time of the Lord of the Rings.  In this time frame, Bree is significantly larger than it was when Frodo and Co. visited it.**)_

Unfortunately, they are surprised to find, the next morning, that the body of the man that Hannar dropped is gone.  Halbarad is unable to find any trace of which way the man may have gone _(**due to lower checks than I would have hoped for: as the DM, I had to change the plan here somewhat, as will be seen in future installments! **)_ so the little band collectively shrugs their shoulders and leaves.  They have decided to allow Duiniel to travel with them, as she comes recommended (with a letter and everything!) by Elrond himself, and as citizens of Arthedain, that still counts for quite a lot in their esteem.

Without further ado, they take the East-West road east and head for the border.

_To be continued..._


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## Desdichado (Apr 5, 2002)

A little digression about the campaign again.  It seemed always that mail was the most advanced armor used commonly in Middle-earth (although the Southron soldier Sam sees appears to be wearing a scale corslet) and even then that wasn't really common except amongst professional soldiers.  The _Wheel of Time_ rules approximate that very well, as each class gets a Defense (AC) bonus that does not stack with the armor bonus to AC.  The Armsman is the exception: at 3rd level he gets "Armor Compatability, and instead of taking the better of his Defense or Armor bonus, he can stack them (but his Defense progression is the worst of the classes...)

For this campaign, I used armor from the PHB, but nothing further on the table than chain mail could be used by Western soldiers (scale mail as an odd "foreign" armor could be available to Southrons or Easterlings.)  However, scale cuirasses, or chain cuirasses over leather armor could be worn in addition to other armor, as described in _Oriental Adventures._  Wearing one automatically increased the armor "class" (from light to medium, or medium to heavy) and I whipped up a quick chart of armor check penalties and AC bonus based on wearing leather or metal scale cuirasses, or chain cuirasses (which couldn't be worn over chain mail or a chain shirt.)

Also, to get the flavor better, I eliminated some of the more exotic weapons and polearms, but otherwise left equipment more or less as is.


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## Desdichado (Apr 5, 2002)

*Weathertop, Session 2 part 1*

*Weathertop, session 2 part 1*

After quite some uneventful time on the road, the four reach a point where the large hill, topped with a tower is visible in the distance.  Amon Sûl.  Otherwise known as Weathertop.  The tower itself is bright and strong, but as they near it, they see that the guard on the road is not.  Two somewhat slovenly soldiers with ill-fitting uniforms sit beside a gatehouse near the road.  Halbarad decides (against the better wisdom of the hobbit) to tell the guards the truth when they ask their business: they are delivering a message from a lord of Arthedain to his kinsman, a lord in Rhudaur.  The guards don't challenge them beyond this, but wave them on and with that, and a few steps more, the little group enters the wildlands of Rhudaur.

At this point, Duiniel makes a startling and disturbing discovery.  Glancing back at the guardhouse, she sees a familiar face peeking through a window, although it is almost immediately withdrawn: the Breelander who attacked her earlier!  She whispers her discovery to Hannar and the others, and urges that they go back and demand an explanation.  Halbarad counters that they don't really want to tangle with the guards at the gate.  When Duiniel says "there's only two of them," he puts his foot down on principle.

However, the group thinks that something is definately "fishy" about the whole situation, and they decide some kind of investigation is in order.  It is now mid-afternoon, so Fosco proposes they go on and establish a camp a league or so down the road, then he and Halbarad can sneak back and investigate the guardhouse after dark, and see if the Breelander emerges.  Hannar suggests that Fosco establish a lookout position and not go down-road at all: Halbarad can join him in a few hours after camp is set up.

Finally, the whole group agrees to this, and so Duiniel and Hannar are left, after a few hours, at their new camp in a copse under a large tree about five minutes walk from the road, while Halbarad travels off-road back towards the gatehouse.

When he reaches it, the sun is nearly set.  He finds Fosco hiding nearby with a somewhat grim expression.  Fosco motions for him to follow him, and not far from the road, they find the murdered bodies, stripped of their clothes, of two Dunedain.  After some whispered discussion _(**during which time Fosco's player had been able to put two and two together from the earlier clues!  **)_ they decide that these must be the real guards, and the slovenly folks they saw at the gatehouse earlier in the day must be imposters.  The sneak back towards the gatehouse, and after waiting only a few minutes, they hear horse hooves coming from the east.  To their surprise, instead of the _faux_ guards, the Breelander comes out to greet the rider.  Even more surprisingly, the man who steps off the horse to talk with him in hushed tones has an unsightly, almost goblin-like face.  _(** Although Saruman developed the "man-orcs" much later in the War of the Ring, it says in _Morgoth's Ring_ in "Myths Transformed" that Saruman had probably only rediscovered a secret that Sauron (who bred the orcs initially) had already known.  Therefore, because I like the Uruk-hai and half-orcs, I decided that in Angmar, orc/men crosses did exist, and they were merely mostly killed and then bred out of the population in the years after the fall of Angmar.  A bit of a departure from the official history, but hardly earth-shattering, IMO**)_  Fosco suggests that they hurry back to Bree and send a messenger to the king's reeve in that part.  Halbarad says that as _he_ is an agent of the king (sorta) he is qualified to handle this problem.  Fosco isn't so sure, but they both agree that they need to head back and recruit the help of the other two, at least, before they make any attempt to reclaim Weathertop for the king.

Meanwhile, _(**because this game was online, it was easy to separate the players and keep simultaneous story-arcs going.  One of the few advantages to playing online, IMO**)_ Duiniel decided to keep a watch near the road, and finds something odd herself (she did see the rider, but just thought him another traveller.)  However, she does manage to notice a company of men moving off the road.  She cautiously approaches one of them moving in a scout-vangard position, and is horrified to discover that he is an orc!  She manages to sneak up behind him and attack him, hurting him badly.  However, he manages to knock her back a bit and Duiniel has a close, albeit quiet (for neither one of them wanted to be heard _(**I had both of them make move silently checks every round to avoid attracting either more orcs or Hannar**)_ fight.  With few Vitality points left, Duiniel is able to dispatch this, her first ever, orc.  She rushes back to camp, and finds the fire covered with dirt and two orc bodies on the ground.  Hannar comes out of the woods as she approaches _(**his fight was relatively boring: he rolled high and killed both his orcs easily.**)_

Duiniel and Hannar decide then that they better rush back and find Halbarad and Fosco.  They are all in danger of being caught by the marauding orc company, and although Hannar and Duiniel don't know it, they are caught between the imposters at the gatehouse and the approaching orcs.

_To be continued..._


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## ColonelHardisson (Apr 5, 2002)

Very nice job here. I'm glad the conversion material is being put to such good use.

Regarding spellcasters, as I assert over at the ME d20 site, multiclassing spellcasters seems to be a good, easy fix. See my write-up of Gandalf the Grey at the conversion site for an example of what I mean.


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## Desdichado (Apr 6, 2002)

The more I think about it, and hear about it, the more I think the Sovereign Stone magic system is a great Middle-earth system.  However, $30 for the main book and $30 for the magic book.  From what I hear, you really do need them both.  Ouch!


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## Desdichado (Apr 6, 2002)

Another quick campaign note, since we're seeing orcs for the first time.  In general, I treat the orcs as NPCs, not monsters.  For ease, I make grunts conform to the NPC tables in the DMG, with an overlay as detailed on pages 57-58.  The various types of orcs I have are as follows:

*Regular goblin:* Similar to goblin in DMG: -2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Cha, Small, light sensitivity.
*Regular orc:* (I know, same thing, but this is a size difference really): +2 Dex, +2 Con, -2 Cha, light sensitivity.
*Uruk-hai:* +2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Cha


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## Desdichado (Apr 9, 2002)

*The Battle of Weathertop, Session 2 part 2*

*The Battle of Weathertop, Session 2 part 2*

_(*** Well, it's taking me longer to catch up to where we actually are than I had hoped.  Hopefully I can update this a couple of times this week and make some more progress...***)_

It didn't take long for the two groups to get back into the same general vicinity, but unfortunately, they weren't able to locate each other in the dark _(***I had them make repeated Hide and Move Silently checks to avoid being seen by their enemies, but that was also the opposed DC for their Search checks to find each other.  Both groups managed to hide well enough that they missed each other for some time.***)_  Fosco decided on a whim that maybe they ought to investigate the tower as well, just to see what kind of challenge they were facing.  Halbarad agreed, so they made their way quietly up the hill to the tower.  They were pleased, and pleasantly surprised to find a skeleton crew of friendly loyalists in the tower, who were blissfully unaware of the debacle occuring near the road.  Halbarad was recognized (vaguely) by someone there as a minor member of the king's court, so their words were believed.  However, their was only half a dozen or so men left, and they deemed the defense of the tower more important than the defense of the gatehouse.  Halbarad and Fosco were unable to negotiate for any back-up as they went back down the hill.

At that moment, they heard the clash of arms and the cry of harsh voices.

Hannar failed to hide properly and was detected by one of the guards near the gatehouse as he approached closer than he should have in an attempt to locate the other two members of their group.  When challenged, he responded by drawing his sword.  Duiniel, who was already winded and wounded nocked an arrow to her bow, but tried to hang back.  Out of the darkness loomed four men, one of them the sour Breelander.  Hannar recognized him and called him a traitor (and other more insulting names) and before he knew it, the four were rushing him with drawn weapons.  With two well-placed shots, Duiniel dropped one of the men, but two others charged Hannar while the last one headed towards Duiniel before her arrows brought down more of their number.  It was Hannar's first somewhat challenging fight, as he struggled to wound his assailants while taking blows from both of them for several rounds.  Finally, he hewed the Breelander and turned to concentrate on the last one.  Meanwhile, Duiniel was struggling with her assailant.  She was out of vitality and was starting to take hard wounds when she finally brought down her man with a lucky critical hit.

Just as she paused for breath, she looked out and saw dark shapes running towards her.  Five orcs with black mail and hide shields, each wielding short spears were running towards her.  She tried to run, shouting a warning to Hannar, but was cut down by the first orc to approach within spear-throwing range.  Hannar meanwhile, finally dropped his final man, but was now quite spent himself to stand alone against five orcs.

Luckily, the clash of arms had brought Fosco and Halbarad running.  Halbarad's acquaintance, one Mablung of Fornost had accompanied them, rushing headlong down the steep slope of the hill.  The four of them made short work of the five orcs, but Hannar was wounded yet again and fell to the ground.  Halbarad quickly made a (successful) attempt to stablize the two wonded members of his group, but it wasn't long before the main body of the orkish raiding party could be heard through the trees.  Fosco, Halbarad and Mablung dragged the wounded bodies of Hannar and Duiniel into the gatehouse and barred the door.  There were arrow slits and a crenelated roof for them to defend the small structure against the orcs, as well as bows and ammunition.

The three of them made a valiant defense, dropping at least nine orcs to arrows.  Sounds of similar fighting could be heard from the tower up on the hill.  Because of the cover of the gatehouse, the orcs were not able to hit them well, although Mablung did take an unlucky shot that grazed his shoulder.

But the orcs were cunning, and before long, they were finding ways to shoot burning arrows at the structure.  Choking from the smoke, Fosco located a small back door and it looked relatively clear, so recruited the big men to start taking Duiniel and Hannar out that way.  Halbarad nearly succumbed to the smoke, but with Mablung's help, they were all able to leave the inferno before it become deadly.

There they found that there were less orcs outside than they had thought, but there were still six of them in prime fighting condition.  They had another tough fight, and Halbarad himself went down to the dirt before the last of the orcs was slain or driven off.  Mablung was able to stabilize him, but the two of them remaining were not able to bring the three wounded and unconscious any other aid for the moment.

The sounds of fighting from the tower were also growing dimmer, and before long, as the first lightening of the sky shone in the east and the flaming remains of the gatehouse were dwindling to ash and cinders, men from the tower came down to collect them.  Apparently the battle for the tower itself had been easier.  The three injured party members would need to rest for a few _(***to recover wound points.  Recovering vitality points is no big deal***)_ and then they could continue on their journey, or whatever else they decided they need to do at this point.

_To be continued..._


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## Broccli_Head (Apr 10, 2002)

Hooray! A story hour set in Middle-earth. Now I will have to go buy a copy of the Simarillion and the Atlas of Middle Earth to figure out what's going on. 

Are you using any ICE products for background material?


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## Desdichado (Apr 10, 2002)

_



*Broccli_Head:*
Hooray! A story hour set in Middle-earth. Now I will have to go buy a copy of the Simarillion and the Atlas of Middle Earth to figure out what's going on. 

Are you using any ICE products for background material?

Click to expand...


_The _Atlas_ would probably help, but I'm not using any _Silmarillion_ material.  That doesn't even take place in the same timeframe or the same location, so it would (almost) be an entirely different campaign setting altogether.

I'm also not using any ICE material.  To be honest, most of the source material is from the Appendices at the end of _Return of the King_.  Round that out with some _Unfinished Tales_ stuff, and I'm mostly good to go.


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## Broccli_Head (Apr 10, 2002)

Just an FYI, ICE had a supplement on Angmar.  Might be cool to check out. There was also one on Arnor as well.


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## Desdichado (Apr 10, 2002)

Yes, I know.  I don't really like the ICE stuff, even though a lot of other people did.  It seemed to Dungeon-crawly and standard RPG to me, instead of really capturing the feel of Tolkien (not that my game really does, but I do what I can.)

Anyway, I don't want to start flaming ICE, or starting an off-topic discussion about the merits of their supplements, but long-story short, I haven't been that impressed by stuff I've seen of theirs.  Especially as Christopher Tolkien has released more and more stuff and the ICE stuff just gets wronger and wronger (if that's a word.)


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## Decado (Apr 12, 2002)

Very interesting reading so far. I would really like to set my next campaign in Middle-Earth but I do not think I could do the setting justice. You are doing a great job, from what I have read, with making your game have the "Tolkien feel." What progam do you use to play your game? ICQ chat? Please post more soon!

Decado


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## hong (Apr 12, 2002)

Good god, man, how many orcs did you send against four 2nd level characters?  Post more soon, I want to see how things turns out.


Hong "also, I think your dancing leprechaun sig was better" Ooi


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## Desdichado (Apr 12, 2002)

_



*Decado:*
Very interesting reading so far. I would really like to set my next campaign in Middle-Earth but I do not think I could do the setting justice. You are doing a great job, from what I have read, with making your game have the "Tolkien feel." What progam do you use to play your game? ICQ chat? Please post more soon! 

Click to expand...


_
Well, shucks!  Thanks for the compliments.  I do my best.  We do use ICQ, and I do have more info to post.  Unfortunately, it takes a long time for me to make a log of it that's readable, but I'll keep chipping away at it as best I can.
_



*hong:*
Good god, man, how many orcs did you send against four 2nd level characters?  Post more soon, I want to see how things turns out. 

Click to expand...


_
Quite a few, as it turns out!  I think the external factors were in the player's favor, though.  If worse came to worse, I was going to let the fight up on the tower end early and have a few reinforcements charge in to rescue the PCs. 
_



*hong:*
Hong "also, I think your dancing leprechaun sig was better" Ooi

Click to expand...


_
Just for you:


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## Decado (Apr 13, 2002)

I have used ICQ chat to DM a few games and found it very user friendly. The game logs, when saved, do take some work to be presentable. For some reason they do not copy and paste well to a forum. Again great job with the game and I look forward to reading more. This is the first story hour game I have read. I would also like to compliment everyone who contributes material to the ME conversion site. There is a lot of well written material available there.

Decado


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## Desdichado (Apr 15, 2002)

Yeah, but you can't really cut and paste them, especially if you have dialogue, OT chatter, and the like.  I'm basically writing these logs from scratch and using the OCQ logs as refreshers of what happened.  Takes a bit longer that way, but makes it more readable, I think.


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## Desdichado (Apr 18, 2002)

*Journey to the Coldfells, Session 3 part 1*

*Journey to the Coldfells, Session 3 part 1*

It took a few days for the group to recover, but before long they were all ready to travel again.  They considered themselves frankly kind of lucky to have not lost any members of the group to the orcs.  The garrison at the tower was grateful for their assistance, and outfitted them with any gear that they needed  (**which wasn't much: they were reasonably well equipped.**)  However, on a day as autumn was waning, the fall colors had faded to brown and most leaves were on the road and forest floor instead of on the trees, the began their journey once again towards the estates of the minor lord who lived in the forbidding Coldfells, the border region north of Rivendell and near the wild hill-country and not far from the orc-holds at Mount Gram, and even the southern marches of Angmar itself.  The thought chilled the characters, as when orc raids come as far south as the great road and as far west as Weathertop, then heading further into the north and east in a small group sounds particuarly foolhardy.

Nonetheless, as far as they knew, the immediate threat was over, the raid stymied, the Breelander gone and they should be able to travel unmolested towards Lord Falathar.  Their first day on the road certainly seemed that way: the most exciting thing they saw was a pre-dawn light snowfall, which later melted away, and a few deer.  However, as the trip advanced into the second and third days, they noticed a disturbing trend.  The road had an unusual amount of traffic of dunedain moving west.  They questioned a few, and the answers were always similar: the lands were becoming too dark and too dangerous.  Uncouth hill-men, suspected of being in league with Angmar were moving into the cold and windswept hills of Northern Rhudaur.  Orcs and trolls were spotted with more and more frequency.  Even the weather seemed to have deteriorated, according to some!

Then they had to leave the Great Road and take smaller paths and roads that wound through the tree-covered hills.  Here there was less traffic, and what they did see was dark surly men who glared at them as they passed.  They did not speak to many of them.

On the evening of the fourth day, snow flurries were whirling through the air as they sat up camp.  Not just the weather and the travellers on the road had turned dreary, though: the only animals they had heard or seen all day were ravens and the distant cries of wolves.  After darkness fell, the wolfish howling wasn't so distant anymore, and the four of them got fairly worried.  Soon red eyes, glowing in the firelight, started ringing their campsite.  All of them drew their weapons, and even a bowshot or two was loosed into the darkness towards the eyes.  They retreated temporarily, but were soon back in greater numbers than before.  They could hear large bodies rustling in the leaves outside the radius of the fire's light, and the barking and yapping of the wolf pack.

_To be continued...  sorry for the quick update: I wanted to put something up, but I'm about to head to a baseball game!_


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## Broccli_Head (Apr 18, 2002)

ahhhh...wolves. A low level character's bane! In Middle-earth it seems wolves are especially mean/aligned with evil,  just as eagles are exceptionally good. Am I wrong here? 

Looking forward to more J.D.


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## Decado (Apr 19, 2002)

Wolves do seem rather evil in Tolkien's world and in a few others. Perhaps thats why they are used as mounts for the goblins and orcs? I went and watched LOTR for the 5th time  a couple of nights ago. The preview of The Two Towers was awesome, I cannot wait until Christmas. J.D., thanks for another installment. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see what happens next.

Decado


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## Axeboy (Apr 19, 2002)

*Is it the link, or is it me?*

I'm really enjoying the setting and story so far and am much in envy of those of you who can still go see the movie and the new trailer (it left our theaters last Friday, just as we were all getting free to go see it!).

I hate to clutter the thread with technical garbage, but for some reason, I can't read any of the stuff on the ME homepage.  I'm using Netscape 4.78 up at school, and normally don't have any problem with it (I should be able to access it at home, so it's not that big a deal).  Strangely enough, I can view the page source, but the field underneath the top banner image is completely blank.  From the page source, I was able to find some of the links, but am unable to view any of them either (same problem; I can see the page source by using the View menu, but nothing but the banner image in the actual browser field).  I'm not aware of any filters or the like on the university system here, so I think we can rule that out.  Suggestions?


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## Desdichado (Apr 19, 2002)

Hey, Axeboy, are you a Texas Tech student by any chance?  My father just took a job there as the Dean of the Library.  I haven't been out to see him yet since he moved though.  I'm a Texas A&M guy myself.

Anway, if you can get the files, but they're just not showing for whatever reason, you could always save them and open them in Word or Frontpage or something like that.  Not very pretty, but it'll work OK.

And for those who have been encouraging: I'm amazed to get three replies to that piddlin' little excuse for an update!  So, I'll try to get cracking on a more substantial update here in the near future.  As for an update of the baseball game, the Tigers (my local team now) lost yet again, making their record a whopping 2-12.    Maybe I'll go back to watching the Astros.  But the weather was beautiful and now I sport a nice tan!  Not only that, the whole thing was free (courtesy of one of my salesmen, I should say) and we had great seats.


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## Axeboy (Apr 21, 2002)

Indeed, I am (for a very short while, these days) a Tech Student; like I said, I have no trouble at home, so it must be something screwy with the servers.

I am enjoying the story hour and the side comments about how you're running it.  Hint, hint.


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## Decado (Apr 23, 2002)

I was browsing through a Starlog magazine the other day and there was an article on LOTR, which seemed to mostly focus on Legolas. On a couple of occasions the author reffered to Legolas as an assassin. I have always thought of Legolas as an extremely skilled fighter/archer, but never an assassin. My question, to those of you who are more familiar with Tolkien's work, in any of the books does it refer to Legolas as an assassin?

Just thought I would throw this out for discussion while we wait for J.D. to post. 

Decado


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## Desdichado (Apr 23, 2002)

Legolas an assassin?  What has that guy been smoking?

In D&D terms, I'd call Legolas a multiclass: a few levels of Bard but mostly fighter with concentration on Archery feats, a high dex and cha.  I'd also consider picking up one of those archery prestige classes for him: maybe Order of the Bow Initiate from _Sword and Fist_ or the Deepwoods Sniper from _Masters of the Wild._

Anyway, busy, busy week for me!  I'll try and get an update out later this week, though.  Right now it looks like my schedule _may_ lighten up to allow me to type it out...


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## shilsen (Apr 23, 2002)

Decado said:
			
		

> *I was browsing through a Starlog magazine the other day and there was an article on LOTR, which seemed to mostly focus on Legolas. On a couple of occasions the author reffered to Legolas as an assassin. I have always thought of Legolas as an extremely skilled fighter/archer, but never an assassin. My question, to those of you who are more familiar with Tolkien's work, in any of the books does it refer to Legolas as an assassin?
> 
> Just thought I would throw this out for discussion while we wait for J.D. to post.
> 
> Decado *




Orlando Bloom, who plays Legolas in "The Fellowship of the Ring", mentioned in an interview (shortly before the movie came out) that Legolas was an assassin, and a number of the Tolkien purists on these boards had heart attacks  Maybe this magazine article picked up from that comment.


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## Decado (Apr 24, 2002)

I looked at the article again yesterday and it was in fact Orlando Bloom saying that Legolas was a bit of an assassin. Despite this false belief I do believe that Bloom did an excellent job portraying Legolas and he was one of my favorite characters in the movie. Actually I cannot think of a character that I did not like in the movie.

J.D. I am eager to see the next installment.

Decado


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## Axeboy (Apr 25, 2002)

*(Off topic--feel free to delete)*

Good characterizations in LOTR:FOTR---especially Boromir; I never really liked him in the book (I read him as a bit of an arrogant noble-type), but the take that PJ and SB had on him in the movie was excellent: someone to truly be admired.

*edit:  Fixed the `SB'; thanks for the subtle reminder, Decado!


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## Desdichado (Apr 25, 2002)

_



J.D. I am eager to see the next installment. 

Click to expand...


_
I'm eager to get a chance to type it!  I can spend some time here and there on the boards, but typing out a campaign log will take several hours of relatively uninterrupted time.  It's a hard task, I tell you!


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## Decado (Apr 29, 2002)

*Off topic as well*

Axeboy,

I agree, I never really liked Boromir in the books but he was one of my favorite characters in the movie. I think Sean Bean did an excellent job portraying Boromir. The Ambush at Amon Hen and Boromir's redemption was one of my favorite scenes in the entire movie.

On another note, is anyone buying the LOTR miniature line from Games Workshop? I have been buying them and like them alot. Although they are a tad pricey. 

Decado


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## Desdichado (Apr 29, 2002)

[deleted duplicate post]


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## Desdichado (Apr 29, 2002)

Grrr... typed out a lengthy next installment and lost it because "the server is too busy at the moment.  Please try again later"!

This was my best time to do the update too: hopefully I can get to it again today, although I'll have to type up again from scratch...


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## Desdichado (Apr 29, 2002)

*Wolves in the Night, Session 3 part 2*

_(***Alright, let's try this again.  I got lucky, and I've got about half an hour.  Maybe I can get everything typed up again in that time.  Quite likely this reply will be missing some of the detail I had originally typed...***)_

*Wolves in the Night, Session 3 part 2*

With the wolves slinking around just outside of the firelight, Fosco scrambled to put all the firewood they had gathered on the fire, thus extending the radius of the firelight, and hopefully scaring some of the wolves off.  As the light spread, Duiniel put some arrows in some of the wolves, and the rest held back for a little while.  Soon however, they gathered in enough numbers that they were heedless of the fire, and they loped into the firelight to attack.

Duiniel continued trying to use her bow, but soon found herself in melee.  Halbarad launched off a few arrows as well, but soon found himself surrounded by wolves, which he struggled to ward off.  Hannar did somewhat better, hewing his foes without much trouble, and single-handedly clearing much of the field near Duiniel.  Fosco hid in the tall grass, launching surprise attacks with his bow when appropriate _(***using his Point Blank Shot feat***)_

Just as the group thought they were about in the clear: most of the wolves were dead or fled, a new monster jumped into the firelight.  It was the largest wolf any of them had ever seen: a great black monster with red eyes and a cunning gleam.  He rushed forward to the nearest assailant (Halbarad) and rended him horribly with his jaws, bringing the stalwart ranger down.  Fosco cried out in dismay and shot an arrow at the beast, and Duiniel also shot him.  Hannar leapt forward with his sword and gave his foe a mighty blow _(***critical hit: just what he needed to help the fight along before someone else went down...***)_  When Fosco came out from hiding and flanked the beast, it finally went down, but not before it savaged Hannar a bit as well.

With their monstrous chieftain slain, the remaining wolves slunk away for the evening.  The next morning, no bodies could be found, indicating that the worst fears of the group were true: these were not ordinary wolves, but dread wargs, possibly in service with Angmar itself.

The group made every effort possible to revive Halbarad, but had to admit defeat in the face of death.  The next morning, the somber group worked with chilled fingers to erect a small caern for their friend.  Without his woodland skills, they estimated their chances of successfully making their way to Lord Falathar's estate were greatly diminished.

It was noon before they were done, but even Fosco had no appetite at this point, so they ate some quick hard-tack -- just enough to give them strength for their journey -- and left the cursed clearing.

They hadn't travelled very far, however, before they came across an extremely peculiar sight.  In a tree near the road, not a quarter mile from their campsite, was a sleeping woman in her mid-twenties.  She was short, yet strongly built with deeply tanned skin and long dark hair.  She had a wool skirt or kilt, long leather boots and a leather tunic, but her cloak was made from wolf pelts.  As they approached, her eyes opened and she hopped to the ground calmly to greet them.

She called herself Hedra, a woman of the hill-folk of northeastern Rhudaur who had left her home following the death of her husband in an orc-raid.  Her goal was to find a lord of the Dunedain to whom she could report what was happening on the border.  She had attempted to join their campfire last night and ask them which way she should travel, but was treed by the wolves and unable to do so.

The other three stepped aside to discuss this development.  Hedra was a member of a race that was often at odds with the Dunedain, but she seemed to be in favor of helping them, and as best as they could tell from trying to sense her motives, she was on the level.  She seemed to be handy with her bow, and carried her sword as someone who knew how to use it, and she claimed to have some wilderness skill.  After a little debate, they agreed to offer Hedra the opportunity to travel with them to Lord Falathar, where she could enlist his help to clear her home of the fell creatures that had recently infested it.

_To be continued...

(***Next time I post, I will give some more information on Hedra, who is -- as you've probably guessed -- the replacement character for the player of Halbarad.  Hedra itself is a female Cornish name.  Since Tolkien himself used old British Celtic placenames and proper names to describe the "indigenous" inhabitants of Arnor and Gonder, such as the Dunlendings or the Breelanders, this seemed like about as good as we could get with her name.  To be perfectly pedantic, we don't actually know that Tolkien intended the hill-men of Rhudaur to belong to this same ethnic grouping, as other indications point to them possibly being descended (along with both the Lossoth and the other men of Angmar) from the same group of peoples that led to the Easterlings of the First Age.  Anyway, since we know next to nothing about what kinds of names they used, we assumed this was the closest we could get.  And Rhudaur was always an ethnically mixed locale, so we figured that a "Breelander" name was appropriate for her.***)_


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## Axeboy (Apr 30, 2002)

*Internet play?*

Hey!  Nice job on the story!

Could we get some details on how you run the campaign over the internet?  I'm about to graduate and the folks I'm playing with now (as well as some folks I've played with before) are pretty much flung to the four winds, and this might be a way to play a bit.


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## Decado (Apr 30, 2002)

J.D.,
Thanks for the new installment, it was great. I was sorry to see Halbarad fall but I guess that is the way of things. In the last game I ran (my first 3e game) the party druid nearly fell to some black orcs. Did Halbarad's player have Hedra created in advance or did you have to take a break mid-game for him to create a new character? One suggestion I would make is to type your installments in MSWord and then paste them onto the message board. I have been running a play by post campaign for the last 4 years and learned this lesson the hard way. 

Thanks for the update and keep them coming!

Decado


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## hong (Apr 30, 2002)

Good stuff. Keep us posted!


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## Desdichado (Apr 30, 2002)

On to the questions!
_



*Axeboy:*
Could we get some details on how you run the campaign over the internet? I'm about to graduate and the folks I'm playing with now (as well as some folks I've played with before) are pretty much flung to the four winds, and this might be a way to play a bit.

Click to expand...


_
We just use instant messaging to run the campaign.  We used to use WebRPG back when it was free, and it had automatic dice rolling and all that.  I think OpenRPG still offers that same functionality.  Because I trust my group fairly well, everyone just rolls their own dice and then tells me what they got.  I have all of their character sheets as stat blocks in front of me as well.  What else do you want to know?
_



*Decado:*
Thanks for the new installment, it was great. I was sorry to see Halbarad fall but I guess that is the way of things. In the last game I ran (my first 3e game) the party druid nearly fell to some black orcs. Did Halbarad's player have Hedra created in advance or did you have to take a break mid-game for him to create a new character? One suggestion I would make is to type your installments in MSWord and then paste them onto the message board. I have been running a play by post campaign for the last 4 years and learned this lesson the hard way. 

Click to expand...


_
Yeah, with this update, before I hit send I copied all the text so it wouldn't disappear if I had another problem.  Halbarad's player did not have another character: in fact, at this point in the game, Hedra wasn't even rolled up yet, she was just a concept.  Because we knew we weren't going to be needing to roll anything yet, he just came up with her between the time Halbarad died and the time she appeared (nice gap in online games to work on that.)  He sent a character sheet later.  I'll try to post that as part of my next update.

To all, thanks for the encouragement!


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## Broccli_Head (Apr 30, 2002)

Man, pity about Halbarad. I like the Dunedain and the whole concept of the the descendants of the Numenorians. Does that screw with your story thread?


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## Desdichado (Apr 30, 2002)

No, Duiniel is still Dunedainic, Hannar is an ally and Fosco is a loyal subject of the Arthedain king.  Hedra is a bit of a wild-card at this point, but she at least claims to be a supporter of the dunedain.


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## GrimJesta (May 2, 2002)

More, more, MORE!!! This is great!

-=Grim=-


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## Decado (May 11, 2002)

When are we going to see the next installment J.D.? Or have you not played it yet? I am looking forward to see what happens next.

Decado


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## Desdichado (May 13, 2002)

No, it's been played: I've just not had time to update.  My folks were in town all last week, and I've been swamped with work.

I'll get on it soon, though, I promise!


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## Desdichado (May 17, 2002)

Alright, everyone: sorry for the big delay.  I'll be typing up the next episode as soon as I can -- hopefully this weekend.

For our next time around, we got out of the wilderness and into the court of Lord Falathar, which turned out to be a hot-bed of potential intrigue (a bit like Theoden's court, but none of my characters had Gandalf's unique abilities to shut down Wormtongue so easily...)


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## Axeboy (Jun 15, 2002)

*Bump and question*

It's been a while since this thread has been updated, but here goes anyway:  I was wondering about the logistics of how you guys play over the internet.  Do you (as the DM) have to type the same message to each player (or cut and paste the same message, whatever)?  How do you manage battles (specifically placement and movement)?  Text maps (a la slash'em)?


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## Desdichado (Dec 13, 2002)

I was reviewing some of the older story hour threads, and found this oldy of mine.  I never actually caught up to where we were before the boards went kinda wonky and I couldn't post for several weeks or so, quite a while ago now.  Meanwhile, the game has kinda been on hiatus, but we're thinking of firing it back up with the new movie and all.

This next week I've got a pretty slow week at work, I'm going to go through my old notes and try to at least get this up to where we left off, and then -- with any luck -- we might get a few more sessions in again.


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## Broccli_Head (Dec 13, 2002)

Yayyy!

I was kinda likin' it way back in the summer.


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## weiknarf (Dec 20, 2002)

bump


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