I have a player that has their heart set on playing one of the Riders of the Mark. Has anyone done anything to create a stopgap culture for these folks?

this was a direction that i wasnt planning on moving in at the moment so if anything has got something bare bones that would be awesome.

I am designing a 'Horsefolk'heroic culture at the current time. I have no objection to sharing my thoughts with you here if you are interested. You did an excellent and very well presented job on the Elves. I am always open to suggestions and I am sure that between all the guys who regularly contribute we can present a Horsefolk/Proto Rohirrim until Cubicle7 present their own.

I think that between us we managed to develop a usable and fairly simple system for mounted combat, after all.

The way I look at it is that we have two options:
1) we can present a whole new heroic culture.
2) we can present a seventh background option for Bardings (as a quick fix).

How would you guys like to set about it?

In light of the Red River thread a Barding Mounted background would fit in well and have a longer shelf life.

I think with some additional optional virtues and rewards for a Rohirim stop gap would do nicely.

Ok, for a seventh Barding Option-Rider of Rhovanion(Rohan)

The common skills for Barding are a pretty good fit. The cultural weapons fit reasonably well, but I am not a stickler for these. I could easily accept swords and spears being reversed as cultural weapon choice or ordinary bow replacing great bow as a favoured weapon.
The key is to be flexible. It's about keeping everyone happy and as long as it doesn't break the game then I am happy.
Stout hearted as a special cultural ability seems ok as well. There is potential for superior night vision as an option based on the old Decipher rules. I would personally stick with Stout Hearted.what do you think.
Decipher also went with Honours insight, but I believe that the trait-Just-covers this.

Bardings backgrounds tend to favour Heart over Body and Body over Wits. I would go with 5/6/3 for our rider. Travel for semi nomadic folk is a big part of life.

Traits would be Beast Lore, Horseman, mounted archer, mounted warrior. Any others?

Distinctive features should definitely include Just for reasons given above.

Cultural virtues I am thinking of are

1) Horse Lord- as per Voidstate's Easterlings and their saddle born special ability.
2) Horse Whisperer- can train own cavalry horse to act as a warhorse(something like the Woodmens Hound virtue). How oes it work?

Cultural rewards I am considering

1) Horsehair plume- like Eomer's helmet in the movie. The Mark of a chieftain or champion. Possibly increases standing and adds to rolls for Awe.
2) trained cavalry horse- reduces the combat complication of mounted combat to -2 where an untrained horse is -4.
Riding horses are easy enough to come by but trained cavalry horses, not so easy. Only cavalry horses will charge into combat. Few in the Northlands except the Horsefolk possess suitable steeds and even fewer can train them.

Just some quick ideas that we can begin to work with.

Weapons: I would almost get rid of bow completely but I think that is more a mental image thing that I have over anything solid. Mounted warriors to me would have swords and spears, the missile weapons I think of more of the eastern and southern folks.

Stout Hearted works for me (Fangron/Mountains could easily sub in for Smaug for the same result)

I think in this case i would favor Body over heart for more of a focus on athletics. I see more of the horse culture of Rhovonain and the mark to be more stable and less nomadic.

Traits: let’s add some kind of Region Lore in here as well

Features I am thinking of Hardy, Nimble and Steadfast as well

Horse Whisper: allow the horse to take a wound that the rider would receive perhaps?


A horse as a reward, simple and brilliant at the same time.
Do we want to add some kind of Horse barding in here as well? Or something like Heavy Headed Spear that would do more damage on a charge. Or perhaps even some kind of saddle. I think we should have at least one weapon or armor type item in the rewards so that the Qualities will have something to stack on to.

Definitely retain the bows to some degree, Telcontar. See UT, Fords of Isen. Theodred takes eight companies of cavalry and one of archers across the river for his advance on Isengard. I take this to mean Horse Archers although I can't recall if it specifically says that.
The Eomer style plumed helmet is technically armour. Not sure about a weapon, would need some convincing and a nice quote lifted from somewhere to back it up. Is there anything in any of the battle scenes. There may be something about spears in the clash with the Haradrim horsemen at the Pelennor fields. Must look it up.

My apologies if I'm crashing a party here but:

How about Javelin (either instead of spear or bow)?



On another note - this is an excellent thread and I love the collaborative effort you're all approaching this with. Rohan are by far my favorite culture from LotR, and looking forward to the book in 2013 about it - but 2 years a long way off, and this will be nice to fill in that gap in the interim.


Robert

SirK,
Not crashing the party at all. The javelins seem kind of Gamesworkshop to me. If one were charging on a horse its seems to me the acme of foolishness to throw away ones weapon,a javelin not being very long range, and then loosing the advantage of the weight and speed of the horse for a close comabt strike.


Mounted archers do not feel right to me either, but in looking in the Unfinished Tales they are there and its not specific if they were mounted or not.

For the sake of a Barding background I guess i am saying keep the bows, but my gut still tells me spears and swords.

I am also not sure of any really good solid quotes for weapons off of the top of my head. From a game persepctive though it seems like there should be a reward that can take advantage of the Qualities. This maybe a case of the 'subject of the narrative' issue though and my own preconceptions getting in the way in a meta game way.
I really dig the horse idea as a reward and the plume as a status symbol/ helm armor, I just feel that a mounted culture just needs some sort of weapon to beat people about the head and shoulders with.
Or we could go off the reservation and go with some kind of saddle?

What about a banner?
(something to show status, awe etc.)

And I personally agree with the spears. I am reminded of the scene (in the movies) where Leg, Arg, and Gim were surrounded when they first entered the Mark and the Rohirrim all lowered spears - possibly great spears - at the three

Robert

Ok Telcontar, I found another mounted archer quote. It's from Cirion & Eorl.

'it is said that Eorl led forth some seven thousand fully-armed riders and some hundreds of horsed archers'.

I suppose it's still not clear if they fought as mounted archers or simply rode to the battlefield and dismounted. I love the scene in the movie where Eomer's riders crash through the Orc camp at the edge of Fangorn. The mounted archer is really cool(lol), so I am inclined to give their existence the benefit of the doubt. Also, the completely invented battle between the Rohirrim and the Warg riders. There is some nice Horse Archer action there. Sorry........Lol

Many European countries used light cavalry armed with javelins from Jimettes in El Cid era Spain to 18th century Italy, where Stradioti were still raised. They mainly seem to have been in areas threatened by Easterners such as the Moors or the Ottomans. Possibly a tactic among the earlier Horsefolk rather than the modern Rohirim would be a compromise on this and has a real world historical precedent. what do you think?
Don't have my copy of RotK handy, but the quote I was referring to earlier is something about the White hot fury of the Northmen armed with their 'long spears'. Perhaps a cavalry style lance is not
out of the question for the Rohirrim. How to rule an advantage for a longer spear is now the question?

HA! I yeild to the Horse Archer! I too was looking at the section on Eorl in the UT. I think that we have a lot of background there to justify a remnant of a horse culture as part of the Barding Kingdom and probably could place some small groups still along the Anduin even this late in the Third Age.

Here are a couple of quotes from RotK I found interesting:
"Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of is fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old..."

"His golden shield was uncovered, and lo it shone like an image of the sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed."

"And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City."

I think that Rohirrim use of mounted archers or javelin men would be used in a cantabrian circle, were the goal was to send a constant stream of missiles into a concentrated spot while not providing a stationary target to your foe. The heavier armed mounted companies could then penetrate the line. So I guess I am saying on further review and thought I think we can justify a mounted missle tradition. Javelins or Bows. Should that be a separate background to go with a separate trait?

As for spears I am thinking that the primary weapon of the Rohirrim must be equally suitable while mounted and dismounted. They spend a lot of their time fighting on the ground, in that sense I see the spears like Norman spears and not quite the lance of the later middle ages. Long Spears seems to fit the bill to me.

What about a horn as a reward? This would leave the culture without a weapon reward but would still maintain the flavor we are going with. They could still stack Qualities on existing weapons.

Horn of the Riders: The thundering hooves of the rider and the blowing of their horns strikes fear into the minions of the shadow. While blowing the horn on a great or extraordinary success on a Song roll TN14 the enemy lose a point of Hate.

Or something along those lines.

Ok because I am more interested in doing this than graduate work....here is a rough draft trying to best incorporate the ideas so far:

7 – Rider of the North“XXXXXX!”
DESCRIPTION

Basic Attributes
Body 6, Heart 5, Wits 3

Favoured Skill
Athletics

Distinctive Features (choose two Traits from those listed)

Beast-Lore, Bold, Fierce, Horseman, Just, Keen-eyed, Mounted Warrior, Mounted Archer

Cultural Blessing
Mounted Combat
You have been trained in the art of fighting from horseback. This allows you to use the weight and speed of your mount to gain an advantage in combat.
A mounted character with Mounted Combat and a trained mount automatically receives a single combat advantage die (as if a successful 'battle' roll had been made) in addition to the regularly allowed roll.
After the Volley Phase the Character with a war trained mount may ‘charge’ their adversaries. This initial attack allows the mounted character to attack first unless surprised and move immediately into the Forward Stance. On this single attack the character achieves a piercing blow on any great or extraordinary success.
Characters without the Mounted Combat trait suffer a -4 Combat Disadvantage while mounted and may not take advantage of a charge.
Escape Combat
At the end of a round, make an Athletics roll, TN 8 plus the highest Attribute level among the opponents you are facing. If you succeed you have escaped combat.

Cultural Virtues
Saddle Born- all Movement, Survival and Weapon skills favoured while mounted

War Horse
The pride of your people is in the training and companionship of horses. While other cultures use horse simply as carriers of burdens you and your people have established deeper and more beneficial relationships with the large horses of the plains. Only cavalry horses will charge into combat and allow the rider to more easily escape from close combat. Few in the Northlands except the Horsefolk possess suitable steeds and even fewer can train them.

The bonding between the rider and his mount establishes a relationship that serves in both peace and war. When in combat a blow that would wound the rider may be absorbed by the horse instead. Making an Athletics roll TN 16 allows the Rider to avoid the wound completely. A wounded mount prevents the Rider from utilizing the benefits of mounted combat. A horse may be wounded twice to protect its rider but if so the mount is killed. At the beginning of the next session the Rider may attempt a healing roll TN16 to restore the horse to full health. If this roll is failed than the mount may not recover until the next Fellowship Phase.

A great deal of time and energy goes into the training of a War Horse. When you first choose this Virtue your mount learns to assist you with one Common skill as decribed in Support without paying an Experience point. You may train the mount in additional skills during the Fellowship Phase at the cost of one Experience point.

Support
Your mount can be trained to support you when making any one of the following skill rolls: Awe, Battle, Explore, Travel, or Hunting. When you are making a roll using one of the skills while mounted, you may roll the Feat die twice, and keep the best result.

Harass Enemy
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your animal companion to harass your opponent when fighting at close quarters. When you are mounted your immediate adversary in close combat is always considered to be Weary.

Protect
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your mount to protect you while using ranged weapons while mounted. If you want to fight use ranged weapons, your horse protects you and you are allowed to choose a rearward stance even if the total number of enemies is more than twice the number of companions (up to threetimes) - see Combat at page 156).

Cultural Rewards
1) Horsehair plume- This mark of distinction raises your standing among the Horse Lords by 1. Additionally any Awe, Inspire, or Persuade rolls may reroll the Feat die keeping the highest.

2) Horn of Awesomeness-
3)Saddle of Huzzah-

Excellent info and imagery. Long spear seems to me to fit the bill best.

I think a sword and board option would also be appropriate - so along w/ long-spear, longsword should also be a weapon choice.

While I don't necessarily disagree that a horn is appropriate, I think it is something that should be reserved for the Gondor warriors as they had even more emphasis on their horns in battle.

Just my $.02

But in truth a horn is not a bad idea in and of itself.


Robert

Rohirric Warhorn, I'm sold.

I'm glad we kept the traits. Changing them to cultural virtues greatly limited the scope of who could be trained to fight from horseback.

Looking good, Telcontar.



Ps Change Saddle Born to Horse Lord. More thematic IMO.

Boromir had a horn that's true, but the Rohirrim had a whole lot of Horns at Pellinor!


Hal,
do you want to do up the descriptions of the new traits? You have a better feel for the intent and how it works than i do. Then I will roll it all up.

I also revisited the Skill points since the Bardings don’t have any points in Athletics it seemed kind of foolish for a culture so centered around it not to have any skill points in it.

Common Skills
Copy the following skill ranks onto the character sheet and underline the favoured skill:

Awe 1 Inspire 2 Persuade 0
Athletics 2 Travel 2 Stealth 0
Awareness 0 Insight 2 Search 1
Explore 2 Healing 1 Hunting 1
Song 1 Courtesy 2 Riddle 0
Craft 0 Battle 2 Lore 1




So how do we bridge the divide between Mounted Warrior as a trait if Mounted Combat is a cultural virtue? We are limiting this ability only to this culture so other characters couldn’t learn to do this. Is this something we are comfortable with?

Cultural Virtue works fine IMHO, given that most heroic cultures eventually get a virtue that allows mounted combat after their own fashion.

Hobbit culture would be custum-made for ponies, elven virtues would take into account the 'elven ways' of riding without bridle etc. Eventually, Gondorian cavalry can be tuned toward heavy cavalry. It fits good enough in the spirit of the system.

In a pinch, some Loremasters might be lenient toward accessing cross-culture virtues or backgrounds, allowing other cultures to fight while mounted (or should I say, gaining combat advantage while fighting from horseback) the same way a player wanting to play a young farmer Maggot could use the hound of Mirkwood mechanics for his dogs...

Glorfindel

I think that a Rohirrim should have similar ratings to a Barding or a Beorning.

"It was in forgotten years long ago that Eorl the Young brought them out of the North, and their kinship is rather with the Bardings of Dale, and with the Beornings of the Wood [...]." (see The Two Towers / The Riders of Rohan; Aragorn talks about the Rohirrim).

Their equipment consists of the following:

"In their hands were tall spears of ash, painted shields were slung at their backs, long swords were at their belts, their burnished shirts of mail hung down upon their knees." (see The Two Towers / The Riders of Rohan; Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli see Eomer and the Riders of Rohan coming).

The Riders of Rohan had definitely bows.

"A thicket of spears were pointed towards the strangers; and some of the horsemen had bows in hand, and their arrows were already fitted to the string." (see The Two Towers / The Riders of Rohan; Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli met Eomer).

and:

"The sword rang faintly, and glinted a little in the light of the fire away to his left. An arrow came whistling out of the gloom: it was well aimed with skill, or guided by fate, and it pierced his right hand." (see The Two Towers / The Uruk-hai; a Rider of Rohan attacked Grishnakh with his bow).

The Rohirrim are born to fight in the saddle(at least, the ones that are destined to be adventurers are ).
Everyone else has to use a trait to get it, at least to be able to fight mounted without incurring serious combat complications.
Glorfindel, don't forget that anyone one horseback automatically gains a free combat advantage die under the 'current' consensus.
Also, I'm not what you mean when you say that all cultures get a Virtue that allows mounted combat. Do you mean that we should house rule this in as well, or have I missed something?
The main problem with that would be(IMO), that we may devalue our Riders of the North if every culture can have this virtue.

iMO Whatever we agree in the end has to reflect mounted combat as part of the Rider culture.it also has to offer the potential for others to engage in mounted combat while reinforcing the superiority of the Riders at it.

I'm glad we all seem to finally be in agreement concerning their archery. While we're firing our arrows of quotes (lame pun intended), let's not forget some of the additional references at the Battle of Helm's Deep:

"The Rohirrim have good bowmen after their fashion, but there are too few here, too few." (Legolas).

"The enemy is at hand!' they said. "We loosed every arrow that we had, and filled the Dike with Orcs." (et al)

Using the references you've all already quoted from Helm's Deep, the Fords of Isen, and so forth, answers the questions about Rohirrim on foot, but we only have a few to verify their mounted battle. Kid helps us with this great quote:

The sword rang faintly, and glinted a little in the light of the fire away to his left. An arrow came whistling out of the gloom: it was well aimed with skill, or guided by fate, and it pierced his right hand.

Concerning the Uruk-hai, I also like the scene during the Rohirrim pursuit prior to this battle:

A few of the riders appeared to be bowmen, skilled at shooting from a running horse. Riding swiftly into range they shot arrows at the Orcs that straggled behind, and several of them fell; then the riders wheeled away out of the range of the answering bows of their enemies, who shot wildly, not daring to halt. This happened many times, and on one occasion arrows fell among the Isengarders. One of them, just in front of Pippin, stumbled and did not get up again.

They may not have numbered many, but the Riders evidently possessed some "skilled at shooting from a running horse."

Sorry for the confusing post. I didn't get that combat advantage would be granted by any character by default. It is explained clear enough however; I must have red it too fast...

I don't think that all cultures should have mounted-related virtues, but I think it would be a good way to distinguish cultural approaches to riding. Gondor does not have an extensive riding tradition, yet they are likely to be the only one maintaining a 'heavy' cavalry. Elves have a unique way to ride and halflings have a particular relationship with ponies (dwarves too, but to a lesser extent).

Within all heroic cultures, the Rohirim should be the most natural when it comes to riding and horsemanship (perhaps presenting several cultural options), but cultural virtues provide a good tool for expressing the differences in the relationship and approach to mounted combat that these cultures have.

That being said, I like the way you guys are steering this so far.

Glorfindel

Aaah, now I see what you mean. Using cultural virtues to differentiate the relationships between the various cultures and their mounts. There is certainly a good deal of merit in that and It's something to consider for another project.

Well done on spotting those quotes as well, Kid &Mim. Proper evidence to support the consensus.

here is the latest: its not pasting well into the forum but ignore that for now.

Rider of Rhovanion
“They were a remnant of the Northmen, who had formerly been a numerous and powerful confederation of peoples living in the wide plains between Mirkwwod and the River Running, great breeders of horses and riders renowned for their skill and endurance…”

The Free-men of the North have long roamed in the foothills and plains of Rhovanion and the vales of the Anduin. Despite the encroachment of Easterlings, the Shadow of Mirkwood, and the desolation of the dragon Smaug these bold men have continued to carve out homes for themselves. Though small in number this folk have established themselves where ever horses can multiply and have perfected the training and use of horses into an art form.

STARTING SKILL SCORES

Common Skills
Copy the following skill ranks onto the character sheet and underline the favoured skill:

Awe 1 Inspire 2 Persuade 0
Athletics 2 Travel 2 Stealth 0
Awareness 0 Insight 2 Search 1
Explore 2 Healing 1 Hunting 1
Song 1 Courtesy 2 Riddle 0
Craft 0 Battle 2 Lore 1

Weapon Skills
Choose one of the following two Weapon skill sets, and record it on the character sheet:

1) Spear 2, Sword 1, Dagger 1

2) Bow 2, Spear 1, Dagger 1

Basic Attributes
Body 6, Heart 5, Wits 3

Favoured Skill
Athletics

Distinctive Features (choose two Traits from those listed)

Beast-Lore, Bold, Fierce, Horseman, Just, Keen-eyed, Mounted Warrior, Mounted Archer

Cultural Blessing
Mounted Combat
You have been trained in the art of fighting from horseback. This allows you to use the weight and speed of your mount to gain an advantage in combat.
A mounted character with Mounted Combat and a trained mount automatically receives a single combat advantage die (as if a successful 'battle' roll had been made) in addition to the regularly allowed roll.
After the Volley Phase the Character with a war trained mount may ‘charge’ their adversaries. This initial attack allows the mounted character to attack first unless surprised and move immediately into the Forward Stance. On this single attack the character achieves a piercing blow on any great or extraordinary success.
Characters without the Mounted Combat trait suffer a -4 Combat Disadvantage while mounted and may not take advantage of a charge.

Escape Combat
At the end of a round, make an Athletics roll, TN 8 plus the highest Attribute level among the opponents you are facing. If you succeed you have escaped combat.

CULTURAL VIRTUES

Horse Lord- all Movement, Survival and Weapon skills favoured while mounted

War Horse
The pride of your people is in the training and companionship of horses. While other cultures use horse simply as carriers of burdens you and your people have established deeper and more beneficial relationships with the large horses of the plains. Only cavalry horses will charge into combat and allow the rider to more easily escape from close combat. Few in the Northlands except the Horsefolk possess suitable steeds and even fewer can train them.


The bonding between the rider and his mount establishes a relationship that serves in both peace and war. When in combat a blow that would wound the rider may be absorbed by the horse instead. Making an Athletics roll TN 16 allows the Rider to avoid the wound completely. A wounded mount prevents the Rider from utilizing the benefits of mounted combat. A horse may be wounded twice to protect its rider but if so the mount is killed. At the beginning of the next session the Rider may attempt a healing roll TN16 to restore the horse to full health. If this roll is failed than the mount may not recover until the next Fellowship Phase.

A great deal of time and energy goes into the training of a War Horse. When you first choose this Virtue your mount learns to assist you with one Common skill as described in Support without paying an Experience point. You may train the mount in additional skills during the Fellowship Phase at the cost of additional Experience points.

Support
Your mount can be trained to support you when making any one of the following skill rolls: Awe, Battle, Explore, Travel, or Hunting. When you are making a roll using one of the skills while mounted, you may roll the Feat die twice, and keep the best result. Each new skill learned costs one Experience point.

Harass Enemy
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your animal companion to harass your opponent when fighting at close quarters. When you are mounted your immediate adversary in close combat is always considered to be Weary.

Protect
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your mount to protect you while using ranged weapons while mounted. If you want to fight using ranged weapons, your horse protects you and you are allowed to choose a rearward stance even if the total number of enemies is more than twice the number of companions (up to threetimes) - see Combat at page 156).

CULTURAL REWARDS
Horsehair plume
This mark of distinction raises your standing among the Horse Lords by 1. Additionally any Inspire, or Persuade rolls may reroll the Feat die keeping the highest.

War Horn
As if the thundering of the steeds were not enough the Riders of Rhovanion also go to war with great war horns, the sound of which strikes fear into their foes.
When in an Open combat stance the bearer of a War Horn may use their action to blow upon the horn to intimidate their foes with a Song roll at TN 10 plus the highest Attribute rating of their opponents. The fear the blowing of the horn causes reduces the number of Hate Points among the foes.

- Ordinary success: one Hate point
- Great success: two Hate point
- Extraordinary success: three Hate point

If the character fails to achieve the TN they lose one point of Hope. The effect of the Horn is determined by the Loremaster.

Lance of Léod Cyning (spear)
These ancient spears of the Riders of the North come out of distant memory. Few recall the origins of their people and even fewer know from where and by whom these great mounted lances were made. As heirlooms of the riders of the North they still go to war to good effect against their ancient enemies.

When you fight on horseback with a Lance of Léod Cyning you may dismount a mounted opponent from the weight of your blow with a great or extraordinary success.

Telcontar,

You've done yet another extraordinary job on development!

I don't yet see anything I disagree with concerning your choice of skills & cultural blessings & such - at first glance in fact, you seem to have a well-balanced take on the subject.

Concerning Cultural Blessings/Virtues, I hope that C7 will introduce a similar interpretation on mounted combat, especially where spears are concerned (the whole momentum-weight of the stirrups-couched thing, as it were ).

I do have a quick question here, however, concerning the horns:

Would you make the Horn of the Mark the same or bump it up a notch? The reason I ask is because if it's apparently unique flavor in the books - the horde of Scatha, given to Merry as a special token, etc.

Telcontar,

Would you consider spear as favoured weapon skill and (bows) as cultural weapon skill, or the other way around?

Also (pardon me if that has been discussed already), would the weapon of choice be a spear or a long spear? Images and descriptions I get from Normand (and other 'period') cavalry seems to indicate that they were wielding spears of significant length, looking awkward to manipulate 1-handed on foot.

In LotR, the rohirim are described fighting (primarily) with swords and shields when dismounted, which could suggest that their cavalry spears aren't so practical on foot.

Would allowing long spears to be wielded 1-handed while mounted be upsetting game balance however? Would this be enough to represent momentum described by Mim?

Glorfindel

Thanks guys, but it was a community project I just kind of flushed it all out. As I stated earlier I am trying to keep things simple and trying to avoid power creep where each new thing needs to be better and stronger than the last. As this stands right now these guys are going to be beasts in mounted combat so I was hesitant to give them any more punch than they already had. So I gave them a regular spear for the most part but highlighted it with some mounted flavor.

Glorfindel,
My personal tastes are Spear as a favoured weapon with the ability to wield it dismounted as well in order to maximize usefulness. For a specific Rohirrim culture I would probably make it more in tune with the quotes you guys have provided. I did some cursory research awhile back and if I remember correctly Norman spears were around 8-12 feet long and used both mounted and on foot.

Mim,
I would probably keep the Horn around the same. Halbarad and I have been looking at the Riders of Rhovanion as proto-Rohirrim, kind of like a generic mounted people of the wider region. With that approach I think we felt that it was appropriate as a stop gap for people who wanted to play Rohirrim and as a standalone cultural expansion for the Bardings. All of whom were part of the Forodrim and of Edain stock.

You also raise another point. I am starting to see a need for artifacts or items of greater power, but dont know how to put that into the existing rewards system. It would probably have to be story dependant and outside the regular rules. I view the rewards as they stand now to be items of history or magnificent make that are rare but not unique. Unique items would be something else entirely, something like the Horn of Gondor, Orcrist, or the Horn of the Mark you mentioned.

I was under the impression that 8 to 12 feet was indeed the description of the long spear; but I agree about the power creep thing. Mounted combat already offers a lot of advantages, especially with traits giving bonuses when mounted.

I wonder however, how often mounted combat will incur in a game, as the proper conditions are circumstantial at best (for a Mirkwood campaign anyhow). I'll need to go back to the books and see the difference between spear and long spear to make my mind. It has more to do with mounted combat than with this heroic culture however...

Also, Norman riders used their spear overhand as opposed to couched under the elbow, but I'm not sure which is most appropriate to the spirit of Middle Earth. Cavalry has been practiced for over two ages before the northmen of the Rhovanion.

Glorfindel

Latest and Greatest

Rider of Rhovanion
“They were a remnant of the Northmen, who had formerly been a numerous and powerful confederation of peoples living in the wide plains between Mirkwwod and the River Running, great breeders of horses and riders renowned for their skill and endurance…”

The Free-men of the North have long roamed in the foothills and plains of Rhovanion and the vales of the Anduin. Despite the encroachment of Easterlings, the Shadow of Mirkwood, and the desolation of the dragon Smaug these bold men have continued to carve out homes for themselves. Though small in number this folk have established themselves where ever horses can multiply and have perfected the training and use of horses into an art form.

STARTING SKILL SCORES
Common Skills
Copy the following skill ranks onto the character sheet and underline the favoured skill:

Awe 1 Inspire 2 Persuade 0
Athletics 2 Travel 2 Stealth 0
Awareness 0 Insight 2 Search 1
Explore 2 Healing 1 Hunting 1
Song 1 Courtesy 2 Riddle 0
Craft 0 Battle 2 Lore 1

Weapon Skills
Choose one of the following two Weapon skill sets, and record it on the character sheet:

1) Spear 2, Sword 1, Dagger 1

2) Bow 2, Spear 1, Dagger 1

Basic Attributes
Body 6, Heart 5, Wits 3

Favoured Skill
Athletics

Distinctive Features (choose two Traits from those listed)

Beast-Lore, Bold, Fierce, Horseman, Just, Keen-eyed, Mounted Warrior, Mounted Archer





CULTURAL BLESSING
Horse Whisperer
Your skill and knowledge around horses are near legendary. You have never had to lay whip to your steed, nor apply your spurs, yet you seem to be able to urge your mount to greater feats of endurance while keeping it hale. People say that you can actually speak to your steed.
On a travel roll you may re-roll the feat die and take the best result.
On a healing roll (specific to horses) you gain a plus 4 bonus.

Only any Athletics roll (specific to riding) you may re-roll the feat die and keep the best result.

CULTURAL VIRTUES

Horse Lord- all Movement, Survival and Weapon skills favoured while mounted

Mounted Combat
You have been born to the saddle and trained in the art of fighting from horseback. This allows you to use the weight and speed of your mount to gain an advantage in combat.
A mounted character with Mounted Combat and a trained mount automatically receives a single combat advantage die (as if a successful 'battle' roll had been made) in addition to the regularly allowed roll.
After the Volley Phase the Character with a war trained mount may ‘charge’ their adversaries. This initial attack allows the mounted character to attack first unless surprised and move immediately into the Forward Stance. On this single attack the character achieves a piercing blow on any great or extraordinary success.
Your skill also allows you to Escape Combat easier. At the end of a round, make an Athletics roll, TN 8 plus the highest Attribute level among the opponents you are facing. If you succeed you have escaped combat.


War Horse
“With a cry and a great noise they charged. Down from the gates they roared, over the causeway they swept, and they drove through the hosts…”
The pride of your people is in the training and companionship of horses. While other cultures use horse simply as carriers of burdens you and your people have established deeper and more beneficial relationships with the large horses of the plains. Only cavalry horses will charge into combat and allow the rider to more easily escape from close combat. Few in the Northlands except the Horsefolk possess suitable steeds and even fewer can train them.

The bonding between the rider and his mount establishes a relationship that serves in both peace and war. When in combat a blow that would wound the rider may be absorbed by the horse instead. Making an Athletics roll TN 16 allows the Rider to avoid the wound completely. A wounded mount prevents the Rider from utilizing the benefits of mounted combat. A horse may be wounded twice to protect its rider but if so the mount is killed. At the beginning of the next session the Rider may attempt a healing roll TN16 to restore the horse to full health. If this roll is failed than the mount may not recover until the next Fellowship Phase.

A great deal of time and energy goes into the training of a War Horse. When you first choose this Virtue your mount learns to assist you with one Common skill as described in Support without paying an Experience point. You may train the mount in additional skills during the Fellowship Phase at the cost of additional Experience points.

Support
Your mount can be trained to support you when making any one of the following skill rolls: Awe, Battle, Explore, Travel, or Hunting. When you are making a roll using one of the skills while mounted, you may roll the Feat die twice, and keep the best result. Each new skill learned costs one Experience point.

Harass Enemy
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your animal companion to harass your opponent when fighting at close quarters. When you are mounted your immediate adversary in close combat is always considered to be Weary.

Protect
You may spend a Fellowship phase and two Experience points to teach your mount to protect you while using ranged weapons while mounted. If you want to fight using ranged weapons, your horse protects you and you are allowed to choose a rearward stance even if the total number of enemies is more than twice the number of companions (up to threetimes) - see Combat at page 156).

CULTURAL REWARDS
Horsehair plume
“the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore…”
This mark of distinction raises your standing among the Horse Lords by 1. Additionally any Inspire, or Persuade rolls may reroll the Feat die keeping the highest.



War Horn
“And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns…in that hour was like a storm upon the plain…”
As if the thundering of the steeds were not enough the Riders of Rhovanion also go to war with great war horns, the sound of which strikes fear into their foes.
When in an Open combat stance the bearer of a War Horn may use their action to blow upon the horn to intimidate their foes with a Song roll at TN 10 plus the highest Attribute rating of their opponents. The fear the blowing of the horn causes reduces the number of Hate Points among the foes.

- Ordinary success: one Hate point
- Great success: two Hate point
- Extraordinary success: three Hate point

If the character fails to achieve the TN they lose one point of Hope. The effect of the Horn is determined by the Loremaster.

Lance of Léod Cyning (Spear)
“Great was the clash of their meeting. But the white fury of the North-men burned the hotter, and more skilled was their knighthood with long spears and bitter.”
These ancient spears of the Riders of the North come out of distant memory. Few recall the origins of their people and even fewer know from where and by whom these great mounted lances were made. As heirlooms of the riders of the North they still go to war to good effect against their ancient enemies.

When you fight on horseback with a Lance of Léod Cyning you may dismount a mounted opponent from the weight of your blow with a great or extraordinary success.

Telcontar,

Thank you for clarifying the horns! BTW, I agree that there needs to be some mechanic or rule concerning some of the additional magic items, however, it's the same violation of the balance & flavor that Francesco & Jon have so artfully crafted into the game.

A couple of you (yourself & Glorfindel at least) use the term "power creep" to describe this trend, & I agree wholeheartedly that we need to consider this first & foremost to avoid spoiling the game. IMHO you handle the Rohirrim/Eotheod/Riders of Rhovanion strength well, & they will be difficult to best while mounted in a charge.

While we're on the subject, most of us (presumably) understand Tolkien's interpretations of the Rohirrim with their (distant) connection with the Anglo-Saxons in terms of language, but few of us seem to note the armor connection.

The professor rarely discussed these topics outside the books but an exception occurs in the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. He explained to a fan that the mail that the Riders wore bore an (abstract) resemblance to that of the horsemen of the Bayeux Tapestry.

IIRC, he never differentiated whether he meant the Normans/Bretons or the Anglo-Saxons - few (most historians say none) of the latter fought mounted, though many did ride to the Great Hoary Tree & then dismount for Senlac Hill/Hastings as we know - so it's anyone's guess, but it makes for an interesting parallel. I don't recall any reference to the kite shields, so I agree with the usual descriptions of Rohirrim broadshields, per se.

HA! Mim funny you should mention that.... check out the PDF.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/28505617/Rider%20o...ted%20Rules.pdf

There was also a passage in I think the Unfinished Tales which says something along the lines that the Rohirrim were not great workers of metal, but that their mail came from the metal workers of Gondor.

Has anyone pondered the question why the designers might leave out mechanics for "magic items" picked up during an adventure?

With rewards falling into that category of something given as a response to individual valour, items of power are noticeably absent as something to just be found

A follow on question might be does it matter...?

Regards,
E

I'm astounded by your productivity.

Nice work!

Thanks man, now if I could only hand this in as part of my Masters.

I also added in the stats for the spear as well and the one handed mounted use.

Tel, you are the master......

Made a couple of corrections....

fixed the traits as it had the old Mounted Archer and Mounted Warrior in there. as well as a couple of text errors.

Link should still work.

One thing ... and it's INCREDIBLY minor.

All of the Cultures in the book are written as plural (i.e., Bardings, Beornings, Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, Elves of Mirkwood, Hobbits of the Shire, and Woodmen of Wilderland); Rider of Rhovanion is singular ... for the sake of uniformity, should it not be Riders of Rhovanion?

As I wrote ... INCREDIBLY minor.

Great work, Telcontar!

I live to serve this boat...row well and live.

Changed Rider to Riders. All other references were either plural or in the second person after my quick read through.

CHanges:
Added a note to the end of the Riders section
Added a standard of living
added a Callings section

This strated off as a 7th Background for Bardings, but kind of grew from there. I noticed that when i sent this to one of my players he was confused thinking it was a new culture but couldnt find the backgrounds. Well I added a note to clear that up hopefully.

Using the Riders of Rhovanion:
This document is really an expansion background for the Bardings. The changes to the base culture of the Bardings are to better represent these as a distinct people as well as to provide a Proto-Rohirrim for those players desiring to play characters from that culture. Or seen another way, it’s a new culture with only one background type.


or we could come up with backgrounds......

Son of the Westmarch.

Long have your family lived in the wild lands beyond the River Isen where they have cordial, if not exactly friendly, relations with the local Dunlending clans. You dark hair sets you apart from the 'Forgoil' and reveals that your bloodline is mixed. Despite the continuing suspicions of your countrymen further east, your kin have ever been faithful to the Kings of the Mark.


Rider of the Northern reaches.

Most of the settlements of Rohan lie in the foothills of the White Mountains. Your home, however, is one of a handful of small scattered hamlets that dot the region known as the East Emnet. It is your people who provide supplies and services to the riders that tend the horse herds through the summer months. It is they as well, that provide the lone outriders who patrol the Wold and East Emnet. Men, like yourself, scouting for signs of any incursion that might threaten either the herds or the Kingdom itself.


Guardian of the Herds........(herdsman)
Teller of Tales......(Skald)

Any other ideas.

Shieldmaiden?