The Might of Rohan

[Halbarad]

So, here we are. It's mid February and I have not been posting or gaming 'in anger' for many months now and there is still no sign of Horselords.

I had intended to submit some articles on a Rider of Rohan Heroic Culture, Muster of Rohan and Mounted Combat for this book back in the day, but due to some personal issues, it turned out that I missed the boat(or horse) and writers had already looked at those areas. Oh well....such is life.

Below are the nuts and bolts of the piece on the Muster of Rohan that I had hoped to present. Pointless you might think, with Horselords pending, but they were conceived some time ago and perhaps some critique or discussion will keep us all busy until it finally sees the light of day.

Some of my ideas around the Riders of Rohan in variant forms can be found in Other Minds issue14. There is a serviceable set of Mounted Combat rules and a Horse Riding Northman Heroic Culture contained therein. My Heroic Culture for the Leofrings is included in the One Ring House Rules.
These contain the nucleus of the, slightly revised, Mounted Combat rules that was for submission to C7 and the basics for the Riders of Rohan Heroic Culture.

The Muster of Rohan

The Muster, or the Éoherë, are interchangeable terms used to denote the total combined forces of trained horse warriors of the Kingdom of Rohan, excluding the Knights of the King's Household, levied foot and units of mounted scouts. Only horsemen are considered to be a part of the Muster and it is every boy's dream to fight in the Éored of a mighty Lord or command one of his own.
The Levy is the term used to describe the foot soldiers raised to garrison the settlements and strongholds of Rohan. They amount to just under one fifth of the total fighting strength of the Kingdom.

The Knights(Gesith) of the Royal Household

These warriors represent the elite of the horsemen of the Riddermark. Each is sworn to the service of the King and would die to defend his person. In return, they live at the King's expense in the barracks at Edoras and are equipped with the finest of armaments and horseflesh. They are 120 strong, the traditional number of a standard Éored.(Their numbers are shown to be less in 'The Muster of Rohan' due to their casualties sustained at Helm's Deep.)

Attribute Level: 5
Endurance: 18
Hope: 2
Parry: 7 (5+2)
Armour: 5D6+4

Charger, Tall Spear, Sword or Axe, Shield, Mail Hauberk, Helm.

Weapon Skills: Tall Spear 4, Sword or Axe 4

Common Skills: Personality 2,Movement 3,Perception 2,Survival 2,Custom 2,Vocation 2

Abilities: Deadly Foe, Saddle Born, Warhorse

The Muster

Traditionally, an Éored comprises a company of 120 riders and is the one hundredth part of the Muster in it's entirety. In reality, an Éored can vary considerably in size and the number of Éoreds available for muster fluctuates with the current fortunes of the Kingdom and the haste with which they need be gathered.
The nucleus of the Éoherë are the Éoreds in service to the Lords and Marshalls of the Mark. Known as Éothegn, these riders are permanently maintained, professional, warriors of great skill and bravery representing roughly one tenth of the host in it's entirety.
The garrison at Edoras is comprised of five such Éoreds, led by the Marshall of Edoras.
The Marshall of the Westmark(comprising Westfold and West Emnet) commands a single permanently maintained Eored. The Marshall of the Eastmark(comprising Eastfold and East Emnet), the Lords of Eastfold and Westfold and The Lord Warden of the Wold also maintain a single pemanent Éored each, for the defence of the realm, at his stronghold of Coldbourne.
The remainder of the Éoherë comprises companies of riders, raised on a regional basis and led by local commanders, the riders of Snowbourne, Harrowdale, Grimslade etc. They are sometimes referred to as the Éofyrd and are comprised of minor landowners and freehold farmers, accompanied by their kinsmen and mounted retainers.
Éofyrd companies are raised and maintained in the Eastfold, the Westfold and in the King's lands around Edoras and the Harrowdale. The men who make up the Éofyrd are not professional warriors, but each man is required to give up a single day per week to gather with the other men of his district and be trained for mounted duty in the local Éored.

Éothegn

Attribute Level: 4
Endurance: 16
Hope: 2
Parry: 6(4+2)
Armour: 4D6+4

Charger, Mail Coat, Helm, Tall Spear, Axe or Sword, Shield

Weapon Skills: Tall Spear 3, Axe or Sword 3

Common Skills: Personality 2,Movement 2,Perception 2,Survival 2,Custom 2,Vocation 1

Abilities: Saddle Born, Warhorse

Éofyrdman

Attribute Level: 3
Endurance: 12
Hope: 2
Parry: 6(4+2)
Armour: 3D6+1

Charger, Mail Shirt, Cap of Leather and Iron, Tall Spear, Axe or Sword, Shield

Weapon Skills: Tall Spear 2, Axe or Sword 2

Common Skills: Personality 2,Movement 2,Perception 2,Survival 2,Custom 2,Vocation 1

Abilities: Saddle Born, Warhorse

The Levy

While it may well be every boy's dream to be a rider, it is his duty to defend the realm. It is a sad truth that, even among the Rohirrim, there are those to whom horsemanship does not come easy. Those who are sturdy of body, but less skilled at horsemanship are levied into companies of archers and spearmen. In total, these form perhaps one fifth of the total military strength of the Kingdom and are known as the Levy. Each levied man is required to give one month's service per season to garrison various defensive positions, such as the Forts at the Fords of the Isen. Other garrison postings include Edoras, Aldburg and the Hornburg.

Levy Warrior

Attribute level: 3
Endurance: 12
Hope: 2
Parry: 5 (3+2) or 3
Armour: 2D+1

Leather Corselet, Cap of Iron and Leather, (Spear, Shield, Dagger) or (Bow, Dagger)

Weapon Skills: Spear 2, Dagger 1, Bow 2

Common Skills: Personality 1,Movement 2,Perception 2,Survival 1,Custom 2,Vocation 1

Abilities: Na

Scouts

The regions known as the Emnets and the Wold have small resident populations and can neither raise nor support enough riders to form their own Éoreds. Instead, these small communities form ranging patrols of mounted scouts from among those who are not immediately involved in herding and animal husbandry. These patrols might comprise any number of men, from a single scout to a score or more of riders.
They patrol the eaves of Fangorn and the banks of the Anduin river from the Gap of Rohan in the west to the Mouths of the Entwash in the east, watching for incursions by those who would steal from the herds or threaten the security of the Kingdom. In times of war these riders gather into companies of horse archers that act as the eyes and ears of the muster.

Attribute level: 4
Endurance: 12
Hope: 2
Parry: 3
Armour: 2D+1

Pony, Leather Corselet, Cap of Iron and Leather, Axe, Bow, Dagger

Weapon Skills: Axe 2, Dagger 1, Bow 2

Common Skills: Personality 1,Movement 2,Perception 2,Survival 2,Custom 2,Vocation 1

Abilities: Saddle Born, Skirmisher



*A few random thoughts.*

I believed that it was likely that Horse Lords of Rohan would be set during the period that Aragorn was moonlighting as Thorongil(2957TA onwards). Many of the Rohirric characters from LotR are not even born yet. The Lord of the Westfold would be likely to be the Grandfather of Erkenbrand and Théoden and his sisters are mere children.
As Thengel has only recently returned from Gondor, I had imagined that, militarily,the Rohan of this period would be weaker while he gathers his strength and asserts his power. I had imagined the military manpower of Theoden's reign to be in the region of sixteen thousand fighting men and that the manpower at the start of Thengel's reign to be perhaps 40% less, due to the lack of interest in military matters by his sire, Fengel. It is not that there is a lack of manpower at this time, but a general lack of willingness among the Lords and Freemen to submit to the King's authority. This might translate to a total manpower of roughly 10,000 men and the number of men per Éored averaging at around 70 riders.

[Corvo]

Thank you Halbarad!

[Otaku-sempai]

Impressive write up! That might help some Loremasters out at least until we get another official release. It does make me think that I could expand on the Watch and the role of the Shirriffs in my own home-brewed post on the Shire.

Is there something in The Lord of the Rings or perhaps Tolkien's expanded Tale of Years that hints at exactly when Thorongil served under King Thengel of Rohan? I know that in the films we hear that Théoden was a young boy at the time, but I don't know if there is a textual basis for that. It had to be well before 2980 when Aragorn left the service of Ecthelion II of Gondor, but it couldn't have been earlier than 2957. Can we narrow that down better?

[Curulon]

Impressive write up! That might help some Loremasters out at least until we get another official release. It does make me think that I could expand on the Watch and the role of the Shirriffs in my own home-brewed post on the Shire.

Is there something in The Lord of the Rings or perhaps Tolkien's expanded Tale of Years that hints at exactly when Thorongil served under King Thengel of Rohan? I know that in the films we hear that Théoden was a young boy at the time, but I don't know if there is a textual basis for that. It had to be well before 2980 when Aragorn left the service of Ecthelion II of Gondor, but it couldn't have been earlier than 2957. Can we narrow that down better?

No, there's nothing specific, but I would say he served Thengel before Ecthelion II, since Thengel died in TA 2980, and Aragorn led an attack on the Havens of Umbar in 2980. I'd peg the dates maybe from 2957 to around 2970ish. 10 years with both, perhaps?

Théoden would have been a young teenager during that time - he was born in TA 2948 - so there is some textual basis for the line in the films.

[Otaku-sempai]

No, there's nothing specific, but I would say he served Thengel before Ecthelion II, since Thengel died in TA 2980, and Aragorn led an attack on the Havens of Umbar in 2980. I'd peg the dates maybe from 2957 to around 2970ish. 10 years with both, perhaps?

Théoden would have been a young teenager during that time - he was born in TA 2948 - so there is some textual basis for the line in the films.

Yes, Aragorn (as Thorongil) would have had to have ridden with Thengel before his service to Gondor which closed out his period of journeys and errantries. I have become increasingly convinced that at least some of his great journeys to the East and South must have occurred before his time in Rohan. There is also evidence in LotR Appendix A (in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen") of another period of travel after 2980 before Aragorn takes up the leadership of the Rangers of the North.

[Halbarad]

Interesting thoughts there. It had occurred to me that though at least one of the deeds of Thorongil in the service of Ecthelion II is recorded, that of the burning of the Corsair fleet at Umbar, any deeds of note in the service of Thengel are not.

The Riddermark doesn't appear to have faced any major external threats during the period of Thengel's reign. Such combat as Thorongil might have seen in Rohan would be limited to low level skirmishing with occasional Orc bands or Dunlending raiders in the Westfold.

Perhaps then Thorongil learned the arts of diplomacy rather than warfare during his tenure in Thengel's service? There is no record of any serious civil unrest in Rohan at the time and the only vague indicator that hints at such a possibility is that there was strife between King Fengel and his Marshalls.

As I suggested in my earlier post, this was more likely to have caused a breakdown in the King's authority over his Lords rather than an outright rebellion against him. Perhaps the situation left the King without the manpower to face his Marshalls in open battle, or perhaps the King simply lacked the inclination.
Perhaps, the errantries tht Thorongil carried out in Thengel's service revolved around the reuniting of the Kingdom? Might it be that these same Marshals were loathe to relinquish their autonomy and submit to Thengel?

[Robin Smallburrow]

Halbarad

Having run "Oaths of the Riddermark" at Pax last November (!) I could PM you with the Mounted Combat & Horse rules that (as I understand it) will appear in the new supplement to relieve your anxiety a little, although (unless the moderators of this forum agree) you will have to wait for Horse Lords of Rohan for the actual adventure....

I must say that I did think it would be out by now given the content is pretty much all done AFAIK

Robin S.
At least you are playing TOR!

[Terisonen]

It's here, hehehe...

[Corvo]

Reading through Horse Lords.
...that Horsetailed Helm reward... Wasn't there something like this in your old work on Rohan, Halbarad?

[Halbarad]

Aye, there was.

Some of the imagery around the Riders is very strong and that Helm(as worn by Eomer) was always going to be 'nailed on' as a Cultural Reward, no matter who wrote the official Heroic Culture. It's a bit different from my version though.