These are great ideas!

This is a great post from early on with ideas for campaigns. Any new additions...?

You guys have some great ideas!

Eluadan,

Your point about the establishment of the couriers & the way-posts & such is a gem. I think I'll work on something like this as well, because it gets your heroes out & about with a seemingly mundane purpose, & meanwhile you're subtly injecting all kinds of charming villains to ruin their day .

BTW, this is a little off track from Wilderland (& beyond the scope of Cubicle 7's license), however, for those of you who want to integrate the Drúedain into your chronicles, remember that during the timeframe of the War of the Ring they also apparently inhabited Drúwaith Iaur & Eryn Vorn in addition to Druadan Wood:

A marginal jotting states that after the Battles of the Fords of Isen it was found that many Drúedain did indeed survive in the Drúwaith Iaur, for they came forth from the caves where they dwelt to attack remnants of Saruman’s forces that had been driven away southwards. – In a passage cited on p. 370 there is a reference to tribes of ‘Wild Men’, fishers and fowlers, on the coasts of Enedwaith, who were akin in race and speech to the Drúedain of Anórien. Unfinished Tales of Númemor and Middle-earth, The Drúedain, 387.

I ran the following adventure in my Middle-earth d20 campaign a few years ago. It led to a problem to be handled by the PCs at a later date. As it was in D&D 3.5, I left the gold piece value of the loot and item descriptions for that system in this post. I know this is set outside the Wilderlands, it shouldn't be too difficult to change the locale to some long forgotten locale IN the Wilderlands. BTW, I can't claim this as being an original adventure by me ... I'm sure I borrowed several ideas from several sources to "create" ... I'm just not sure which ones and/or where.

At Ost-in-Edhil, the player-heroes encounter great spiders, who entice them to their destruction but in turn show them to heroic weapons hidden in the ruins. Spectres of the deceased (ghouls, mewlips, shadow, skeletons, spectre, vampires of Morgoth, or wights), giant spiders, wargs, werewolves, wolves, Trolls, and Orcs inhabit the area and in underground passages beneath the city, the descendants of those Sauron used to attack Ost-in-Edhil.

While searching for a likely campsite within the ruins, the group notice strange vines in the underbrush. Examining the vines determines that the vines are actually dirty great spider webs!

A randomly determined player-hero (giving special consideration to player-heroes whose players are not present!) plunges through the ground, which at that place is revealed to be made of thin webbing covered by dirt to look like the ground, into a large spider web and is attacked by a spider the size of a large dog. In fact, this is the entrance to a set of underground ruins presently inhabited by a nest of giant spiders.

The nest is comprised of numerous spiders. Within the nest, propped up near the entrance to possibly frighten interlopers is the body of a troll, turned to stone. This troll seemingly fell into the nest at some point in the distant past, resulting in the breaking off of one of its arms. (Note: I added this in as I had recently purchased a used Games Workshop LotR Troll miniature whose arm had come off. I thought it was a nice fig, very reasonably priced ($1!), and hadn't gotten around to fixing it when this adventure came along. Inspiration! So, this part was 100% mine. In use, it DID scare the crap out of my PCs!)

Also in the nest, webbed up is desiccated corpse of the nest's mother … a very large great spider, too large to fit through any of the ruins’ entrances. The corpse shows signs of grievous, edged-weapon wounds that ultimately led to the horrid creatures death.

If the player-heroes retreat from the nest, having caused any spider deaths, threats may be shouted after them as they flee. “Murderers! Thieves! Elves and Elf-Friends! We have marked your faces! You still must leave this cursed land!”

There are various items of treasure to be found with their previous owners desiccated remains in the webbing:

 99 gold coins, 464 silver coins, and 925 copper coins. These coins are much more recent than those found in the pit.
 9 gems of varied value and quality [dendritic agate (10.4 gp), elbaite (pink tourmaline) (111.8 gp), elbaite (pink tourmaline) (112.3 gp), hambergyle (36.7 gp), lynx eye (9.9 gp), melanite (black garnet) (188.9 gp), mottled jasper – can be any combination of black, brown, gray, green, red, white, yellow) (96.6 gp), rainbow obsidian (59.9 gp), variscite (strongly resembles turquoise) (9.3 gp)]
 A dead Dwarf in a +2 chain shirt with a rune-carved, +3 Vorpal battleaxe clutched firmly in its desiccated hand. The runes are Angerthas and reveal the Khuzdul name for ‘Head Taker’. As the wielder kills some Orcs, they hear a voice in their head (either in Khuzdul or accented Westron, depending on the wielder), “He stands before me in combat. I want his head.” (Note: The ghost of the Dwarf that owned it haunts the Head Taker axe, attempting to force the wielder of the axe to take and collect the heads of his enemies – Will save, DC 27 to resist). When the wielder is surprised, the same voice may prompt the wielder to attack and “take” the interloper’s head (Will save, DC 27 to resist)! If the wielder attempts to discard or dismantle Head Taker, the ghost may fool the wielder into believing they have succeeded (Will save, DC 27 to disbelieve)! The wielder will constantly be urged by the voice to use Head Taker (Will save, DC 27 to resist) in favor of all other melee weapons. Failing that, the ghost will shatter the other weapon … the ghost will hiss, “I will destroy every weapon you pick up until you use me!” Should anyone try to destroy the axe, the ghost will take over the wielder’s body completely (Will save, DC 37 to resist) and attack all present that seeks its destruction! The Vorpal ability allows the weapon to sever the heads of those it strikes. Upon a roll of natural 20 (followed by a successful roll to confirm the critical hit), the weapon severs the opponent’s head (if it has one) from its body. Note: It only has the Vorpal ability as a result of its being haunted.
 1 mithril brooch – According to the words etched upon it, this once belonged to a guard of the House of Barahir. Barahir was the 8th Ruling Steward of Gondor.
 1 Gondorian helm
 1 amulet with a crudely fashioned crescent moon symbol … Knowledge: Local (DC 20) to know that this particular crescent moon is a Dunlending clan symbol
 5 Orc scimitars
 2 Dunnish longswords
 13 daggers
 13 shortswords
 1 +2 Rohirric chain armor
 An ivory statue of a horse
 A golden, bejeweled ring. This is the Heir’s Ring, a symbol of the House of Eorl (King Théoden’s family). Anyone who could return the precious signet would indeed be rewarded in Rohan. This ring once belonged to Walda, 12th king of Rohan. He was slain with all his companions when Orcs trapped them, as they rode by mountain paths from Dunharrow in 2851 T.A.
 There are many other items to be found with the above-mentioned treasures, though they are in far too poor a condition to be of any use.

The Pit

There is a pit in the nest, camouflaged as the entrance that the player-heroes first encounter. The cover is made of thin webbing covered by dirt to look like the floor.

The spiders have used this pit to toss refuse into throughout the centuries. As a result, it is filled with a large amount of treasure!

 461 gold coins, 11,572 silver coins, and 30,038 copper coins. These coins bear the likeness of ancient kings of Men. There is currency from the Three Realms, and from Umbar, and even from Númenor itself!
 45 gems of varied value and quality [amber (orange) (126.8 gp), amber (orange) (91.9 gp), amber (red) (55.3 gp), azurite (royal blue) (11 gp), black and white agate (8.1 gp), blue john fluorite (crystals are like intertwined blocks) (11.5 gp), blue john fluorite (crystals are like intertwined blocks) (11.5 gp), blue lace agate (7.7 gp), brown spinel (197.8 gp), brown/tawny agate (10.1 gp), buergerite (brown tourmaline) (78.5 gp), carey plume agate (59.9 gp), chrysocolla (12 gp), demantoid (green garnet) (113.4 gp), dendritic agate (13.3 gp), greenstone (10.3 gp), kornerupine (124.2 gp), lilac spinel (purple spinel) (209.2 gp), lodestone (14.4 gp), milky quartz (11.9 gp), moonstone (blue) (131.3 gp), moonstone (pink) (141.8 gp), obsidian (black) (10.8 gp), obsidian (black) (9 gp), obsidian (black) (9.6 gp), onyx (black) (49.2 gp), oolite (13.6 gp), ophealine (6.8 gp), pale green spodumene (40.7 gp), rainbow obsidian (41.1 gp), rainbow obsidian (55.7 gp), rhodochrosite (10 gp), salite (green diopside) (12.6 gp), sunstone (green) (9.2 gp), sunstone (orange) (10 gp), tchazar (32.1 gp), thulite (pink zoiste) (57.6 gp), thuparlial (10.8 gp), tourmaline (varies in color) (115.8 gp), tourmalined quartz (quartz with inclusions of black tourmaline) (39.3 gp), tourmalined quartz (quartz with inclusions of black tourmaline) (19.8 gp), waterstar (117.5 gp), waterstar (119.5 gp), waterstar (94.3 gp), yellow spodumene (75.4 gp), zoiste (brown) (106.6 gp), zoiste (clear) (64 gp), zoiste (pink) (69 gp)]
 A great chest nearly buried in the coins. In the chest are two items: an ancient book and a large scroll. The ancient book, written in Quenya, is entitled, “He Who Fled to the East.” A Noldor Loremaster named Fëagon, the original owner of this dwelling, wrote it. The book is a treatise on the Dindair … what they are, where they came from, and how to destroy them. The scroll is a rolled parchment containing a depiction of one of the final battles between Morgoth and the Valar. The artist, it seems, favored the side of Morgoth. Depicted are mountains collapsing, dragons and Dindairs in the air, and Morgoth himself towering over the landscape with Grond held aloft over his darksome head. In one corner of the painting, a shadowy figure is shown lifting a large stone to reveal 5 additional shadowy figures — the Dindair! They are each named: He Who Fled to the North, He Who Fled to the South, He Who Fled to the East, He Who Fled to the West, and He Who Stood at his Master’s side.
 1 +1 Elven, Keen, Orc-Bane, Orc-Sense longsword – The Keen ability doubles the threat range of the weapon. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of the weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat). The Orc-Bane ability means that its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage to Orcs. The Orc-Sense ability gives the weapon the innate ability to detect Orcs. If Orcs are within 1000 ft., it will emit a blue glow, which gets more intense the closer the Orcs are. It does not indicate the number or direction, only relative distance.
 1 +1 enhancement, +2 Mighty long bow
 1 +1 Mannish falchion
 1 +2 Dwarven warhammer
 1 +3 Elven, Keen, Orc-Bane & Orc-Sense longsword – This blade is etched on both sides of the blade with Faenorian script in Quenya. Rilya, a weapon smith of the Halls of Ost-In-Edhel, crafted it. The blade is named Tirin-Lirin-Dagor, which means, “I sing, I watch for Battle”. The Keen ability doubles the threat range of the weapon. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of the weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat). The Orc-Bane ability means that its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage to Orcs. The Orc-Sense ability gives the weapon the innate ability to detect Orcs. If Orcs are within 1000 ft., it will emit a blue glow, which gets more intense the closer the Orcs are. It does not indicate the number or direction, only relative distance.
 1 +3 Elven, Keen, Spider-Bane & Spider-Sense scimitar – This blade is finely crafted and has writing on the blade (in Adûnaic), identifying it as Ungolcrist, the Spider-Cleaver. The pommel jewel is the lacquered eye of a great spider! The Keen ability doubles the threat range of the weapon. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of the weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat). The Spider-Bane ability means that its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage to spiders. The Spider-Sense ability gives the weapon the innate ability to detect spiders. If spiders are within 1000 ft., it will emit a blue glow, which gets more intense the closer the spiders are. It does not indicate the number or direction, only relative distance.
 2 +1 Elven, Keen, Orc-Bane, Orc-Sense longknives (use short sword stats, although the blades are single-edged) – The Keen ability doubles the threat range of the weapon. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of the weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat). The Orc-Bane ability means that its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage to Orcs. The Orc-Sense ability gives the weapon the innate ability to detect Orcs. If Orcs are within 1000 ft., it will emit a blue glow, which gets more intense the closer the Orcs are. It does not indicate the number or direction, only relative distance. These longknives match the Elven scimitars mentioned below.
 2 +1 Elven, Keen, Orc-Bane, Orc-Sense scimitars – The Keen ability doubles the threat range of the weapon. This benefit doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of the weapon (such as the keen edge spell or the Improved Critical feat). The Orc-Bane ability means that its effective enhancement bonus is +2 better than its normal enhancement bonus and deals an extra 2d6 points of damage to Orcs. The Orc-Sense ability gives the weapon the innate ability to detect Orcs. If Orcs are within 1000 ft., it will emit a blue glow, which gets more intense the closer the Orcs are. It does not indicate the number or direction, only relative distance. These scimitars match the Elven longknives mentioned above.
 There are many other items to be found in this treasure horde, though they are in far too poor a condition to be of any use.

The Trapdoor

There is a trapdoor in the nest. The trapdoor is camouflaged with thin webbing covered by dirt to look like the floor. Orginally, the trapdoor was not hidden. The trapdoor is recessed 6 inches into the floor, allowing for the locked bar to bolt into the door frame. It is made from 4” thick dense stone and screws into the 6” iron frame.

The Vault Beneath the Trapdoor

Fëagon sponsored an expedition that actually tracked down and imprisoned the Dindair, He Who Fled to the North. The trapdoor is the door to the prison!

Opening the trapdoor will free the Dindair! Elven characters may sense a darkness creep over the land, as if something of shadow and of fear rose up in the tunnels below and passed out of the hillside … they may have freed something when they opened the door! A Test to sense this is made automatically, like a sixth sense.

Note: Player-heroes are not intended to combat the Dindair at this time! Rather, the Dindair will escape to reconnoiter the changed world, for it has been imprisoned for a long time!

I got the Dindair from the Hall of Fire magazine, but can't locate which issue. When I do so, I'll post an update.

Hope this is of use.

If your players don't play Lord of the Rings Online, you could easily pilfer some of the bigger quests from that. I'm thinking the lost Dwarven stronghold of Helegrod could be fun, with some goons from Angmar attempting to create a Dragon-Wight down in its depths. Break it into a lot of parts, with the group having to explore the Misty Mountains to find it, and make a few journeys back to it over the years as events transpire.

There's a lot of other stuff in that game that may not be fantastic as-is, but could make a good plot seed, then probably relocated East of the Misty Mountains.

Throrsgold,

I can't help but note that you've done the same thing that I've done over the years, ie: adapt D&D, Decipher's LOTR, & whatever works for you into the beautiful setting of Middle-earth.

It's always tough reducing the magic & power to match what I consider the subtlies of Middle-earth, & I think that C7 has done so wonderfully with TOR. I sure hope they don't drop the ball on this one the way that the other companies that have attempted to develop games based on Tolkien have, because I'd much rather use their adventures .

Specifically, I like what you've done with Ost-in-Edhil. I had a heck of a time balancing canon with plunging the heroes into the ruins in search of Celebrimbor's long-lost relics, because I figured that Sauron & his minions would have thoroughly picked the Gwaith-i-Mírdain clean. It nonetheless makes for a very macabre & foreboding setting.

Mim,

Thanks for the reminder from The UT! That slipped my mind when last went around the discussion. Hmm, might be an interesting plot to develop with the ancient folk of the Mountains that Beorn seems to be the last of and the Wild Men. Though clearly different in appearance, there is a certain shared animalistic trait...

Maybe not a blood kinship, but what if that might account for Beorn's shape-changing as plot device in TOR...?

Whoa. This is a good idea Eluadin. I never thought about Beorn & the Woses in terms of a connection, & it might make for a unique twist to catch your players off-guard .