Greetings,

One of the things I really like about TOR's setting is that there is so much Terra Incognito out there. In my particular chronicle, the Players are heading for the city of Minasar, capital of Dorwinion to seek the aid of a scholar named Belerion concerning ancient myths of the Variag. I have come up with following background. Mind you now it is rather short and that filled out but it does give folks a start.
For the longes time, Dorwinion was actually the easternmost province of the Kingdom of Gondor. It's capital, Minasar, was built on the shores of the Sea of Rhun around a series of canals. Dorwinion supplied a number of troops that manned military outposts in the Wilderlands. They were the ones that usually bore the brunt of Easterling incursions. Dorwinion, being a frontier province, tended towards independence.
When Earnur, the Last King of Gondor, met his doom 900 years ago, Dorwinion took the opportunity to proclaim its independence. They did so by refusing to recognize the authority of the Stewards of Gondor. Instead, the Dorwinions established their own Regency Council which consisted of the largest land owners and wealthiest merchants. The head of the Council took the title of Prince Regent of Dorwinion. Most of the military frontier garrisons returned to Dorwinion and formed the nucleus of it's army.
The lands outside of Minasar are dotted with fortified villas and supporting villages. Although Dorwinion is famous for it's wines, it also grows other crops and has become a food exporting nation. Minasar is home to some of the finest craftsmen and artisans in all of Middle Earth.
The vast majority of folk of Dorwinion are Men. There is a small group of Elves there as well some of whom own vineyards and at least one of them sits on the Regency Council. There is a small colony of Dwarves in Minasar who are quite well know and respected for the quality for their skills as smiths and stone masons. Hobbits are unknown but that will soon change.
For a historical reference, think Byzantium around 1025 AD in terms of clothing and armor.
Well, there you have it.
Frank Frey

Hi Frank

Before going into greater detail, I'd like to ask where your focus in developing unknown (or little known) regions lies. From the neighbouring thread I suppose you're more of the faction "whatever suits play is 'canon' "

Best regards
Tolwen

P.S.: Have you ever seen the 'Inland Sea' realm module (dealing mostly with Dorwinion) that was a proposal to ICE many years ago and was finalized by fans some years ago and made available as a PDF?

Nice.

I've been wondering about Dorwinion for a while. There's clearly links with Esgaroth because Thranduil imports wine which presumably comes from there. This implies traders and some kind of cultural contact.

I'm also planning to introduce the Easterlings as a major force in my campaign and as Dorwinion lies in their path, I'm sure it will come into play somehow.

Do you have a link to that PDF Tolwen? I googled but couldn't find anything.

vs

Just a suspicion...

This area might be addressed in the third installment of the core rules trilogy. Technically not being part of Wilderland and quiet at this time, it is not until the Enemy begins Exerting his will on the peoples of the east and south that they come into the War of the Ring. Also, this area has long been tied to Gondor's eastern-most frontier at its height. If the second core set moves across the Misty Mountians to Eriador and the third set South to Gondor and Rohan for the War of the Ring, more so it seems that the Easterlings and the lands east of Wilderland would show up in those books. Or, maybe a supplement tied into the release of the third set...?

Tolwen,

My focus for Dorwinion is to provide my players with the chance to visit a part of Middle Earth that they have never seen before. A place that is somewhat different from the basic Northern European setting of the Professor's writings. I am fortunate to be blessed with a wonderful group of players who enjoy exploring and seeing new places.
TOR is a great game setting because it allows me to go ahead and "fill in the blanks" as it were.
I have also developed the Variags of Khand as the adversaries for now.
Anyway, I hope this answers your question. I'm looking forward to your comments.

Hi Frank,

I see your point about "filling the lacunae" and I wholeheartedly agree that this is what both gaming in Middle-earth and designing supplements (either as a licensed company or as a fan writing his thoughts) is all about.

What I meant is the approach concerning the Professor's legacy. I am from the faction that sees Tolkien's writings on the subject of Middle-earth as definitive fact and historical "truth" in this imaginary world. Accordingly, whatever happens in a gaming group, IMO all those who publish something on these topics (commercial or not) should stick to this. This is my very personal opinion of course

So much for the preliminaries

Now on the concrete question. From the source it is very unlikely that the region of Dorwinion (we don't know whether this was the land's original name or given by others; e.g. Gondorian loremasters) ever was something we would call a "province", e.g. administered by the Kings or Stewards of Gondor. It is true that it is said that Gondor's power at its height reached to the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. In the same passage however, it is said that the kings gave wide lands beyond Anduin and south of Greenwood (the later Mirkwood) to the Northmen. Thus it seems most likely that the kings once laid claim to the the shores of the Sea of Rhûn due to military victories over the rulers of that region, but never settled or "ruled" it, but instead gave these territories in Rhovanion to the Northmen to act as a buffer against further invasions (which is said elsewhere by Tolkien as well). Thus Gondor's claim to these very eastern lands (from a Gondorian perspective) would be most probably on paper only (e.g. looking good on proclamations), but not "real" in the sense of really ruling there. Chris Seeman once wrote a good article on this issue in the Other Hands magazine, which is available now as a PDF on the Other Minds website (see my sig for link; it is found in Issue #10 of OM).
In addition, it is only at the "height of its power" that Gondor is said to have had influence there. After the beginning of its decline, this would surely have dwindled quickly, lying on the fringe of Gondorian influence. The Kin-strife already should have shaken this "grip", but the Great Plague at the latest would have smashed Gondor's influence in the region.

An imaginable compromise for these two quotes would be that Gondor had a "real" province in Rhovanion, but that this did not reach beyond the longitude of about Barad-dûr (north of the Ered Lithui of course), since it is about this region that the Gondorian road in Rhovanion ended. This would fit together nicely, as Gondor would not need a road beyond its own territory. All the land beyond was given to the Northmen, but these were some kind of vassal kingdoms (albeit not in the negative sense), so that Gondor's power indirectly reached to the shores of the Sea of Rhûn. In addition, the "grant" of the land would make the Northmen (to Gondorian eyes) some kind of receivers of a gift, as the land "belonged" to Gondor, stressing the superiority and prerogative of Gondor's claims on supremacy. At least this interpretation would reconciliate these otherwise two conflicting points.

In addition, we know that after the First Wainrider War, Gondor was forced to take back its borders to Emyn Muil and Anduin in the 19th century TA and never regaining these lands as long as the Third Age lasted.

Best
Tolwen

I've talked to the guy having it, and here's the link from where to download. The site's in french though. You have to choose your download speed in the dropdown field and then click on the "Télécharger ce fichier" to start the download.
If you encounter any problems, just let me know

Best
Tolwen

EDIT: The module has some typical MERP problems, the "eternal realms" issue among them, which also was the subject of an article in OM12. Beside that, it is a massive work, providing a real good background

After reflecting on an at first passing comment I made about the lack of the Dorwinions in this setting from another thread, I am pleased to see someone working this culture into their game to reflect their presence.

I too have my eye on Dorwinion as a possible destination, so this is very handy!

Thanks Tolwen!

Tolwen,

Thank you for your scholarly response. Your information very helpful as it opens up a vast realm of possibilities. Since my players have already gotten the same info as I first posted, I am going to let that stand. After all, it was presented to them as "common knowledge" about Dorwinion. I hope that they will be pleasantly surprised and fascinated when they get a look at the real Dorwinion.
Well, on to detailing the Variags of Khand.
Thanks again for your help and comments.

Frank Frey