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Hey, just wanted to share my idea of the tale of the Wolfbiter axe, found in the first adventure in Tales from Wilderland.
Enjoy:

Tale of the Wolfbiter Axe

Bargrim the eldest son of Baldred, clan leader of the woodland Hall. Took possession of the axe, after his father’s death in the Battle of Five Armies.
Bargrim carried the Wolfbiter, when he let a party of brave Woodmen warriors to Dol Guldur, to investigate the abandoned stronghold.
The stronghold was indeed abandoned by the Necromancer, but one of his evil servants, the Gibbet King, had been hiding in the deep dungeons of Dol Guldur, and the shadow creature had just emerged, when Bargrim arrived at the Stairs of Woe.
At first the Gibbet King was surprised to see Woodmen in the ruins, but soon realized, that his own presence would soon be noticed by the Woodmen. He could not let that happen. He feared that he would be revealed to the forces that had driven the Necromancer away from his stronghold. So the Gibbet King assaulted the Woodmen with his spells and drove them up the stairs and into madness. The Woodmen fell upon each other and all were killed except Bargrim.
When Bargrim realized what he had done, he broke his bloodied axe on the stairs of Woe. Took the pieces and fled into the forest. One piece he kept for himself, but the rest he threw at various locations, thinking (Correctly) that the axe was now cursed, and was the cause of the kin-slaying.
There are 5 pieces of the axe.

1st fragment was in the Hermits (Bargrim) possession, until he gave it to ? (If you have played Tales from Wilderland you know who )

2nd fragment was thrown into the Black Tarn. It is in the treasure beside the Black Tarn now. (The treasure throve, that one of the maidens reveals to the Woodmen in Years End 2954 – DoM) (Or alt. to the players in Treacherous Waters –DoM).

3rd fragment is in the lair of the Werewolf of Mirkwood. The Werewolf hates the axe and was drawn to the fragment, he found it shortly after Bargrim had thrown it into a crack in the earth.

4th fragment has been found by Turin the Tinker (HotW) on his travels in Mirkwood. He is anxious to get rid of it, and will pass it on to anyone he thinks is up for the adventure.

5th fragment was taken by the Gibbet King and brought back to Dol Guldur. He has left it at the scene of the kin slaying. The players may find it when they are searching Dol Guldur for signs of the informant (Secrets buried - DoM).

The Wolfbiter axe is an heirloom of the Woodland Hall, and as such, the players will never be able to get it as their own. But they may, if one is elected War Leader of the Woodmen, carry it to war or loan it to combat the Werewolf of Mirkwood, if the Woodmen finds the applicant worthy.
But first the Axe must be remade by the Dwarves, and that require some treasure. Say 5 treasures.
If a Woodman player is allowed to purchase it with Valour, then they need to pick the Axe as a unique item for 2 picks at once (Discount on abilities due to the curse).

Description of the Wolfbiter Axe:
The Wolfbiter Axe is a one-handed Axe. Forged of steel by Dwarves of Greydelve at the commission of a Woodman War Leader.
Damage: 5 (+ Valour against Wolves)
Edge: 9
Injury: 18 (Wolves roll the Feat Die twice and keep the lowest result)
Enc. 2
Called Shot: Brake Shield (Piercing strike against Wolves)
Intimidate foe ( Free attribute bonus against Wolves)
Cursed by the Gibbet King:
The effect of a Bout of Madness while carrying this axe results in a Kin-slaying frenzy, that will not stop until everyone is dead or the holder is knocked out or killed.
Wolves are both afraid of the wielder of this axe and at the same time extremely hostile. Encounters with wolves will develop, as an all out attack on the wielder. All the Wolves will try to kill the wielder first before concentrating on anyone else.

Further ideas on Wolfbiter Axe's significance are welcome

There is some part of me that always assumed that Wolfbiter was lost when Mogdred was captured.

There is some part of me that always assumed that Wolfbiter was lost when Mogdred was captured.

Hi Paul,

Not according to "Tales from Wilderland". The Hermit has a fragment.
The names of the leaders of Woodman Hall are taken from Rich's Adventure. "To Journey's End and the Eagles' Eyrie".
I had already used those names in my game before I got Darkening of Mirkwood.

Use it as you see fit.

Cheers

Indur Dawndeath wrote: Not according to "Tales from Wilderland". The Hermit has a fragment.

Oops. Perhaps you misunderstand me.
Tales from Wilderland states that Wolfbiter is "an heirloom of the folk of Woodland Hall, but was lost when one of their Chieftain's sons was captured by Orcs."

And Heart of the Wild mentions that Ingomer Axebreaker (yes, "Axebreaker") one of the Elders of Woodland Hall, has a son who "vanished in the forest when he was seven years old."

I immediately assumed that the axe was broken by Ingomer and some or all of the parts went missing when his son did.

There is some part of me that always assumed that Wolfbiter was lost when Mogdred was captured.

Now I understand what you meen, sorry.
Yes, the idea from the TOR books could very well be that the Axe was lost when Mogdred were captured and then several years later one fragment reappears in the Hermit possessions.
The idea that the Hermit is related to the Woodman chieftain in Woodland Hall is from Rich's Work.
If you want to keep to the letter of the TOR books, then you need to come up with another story Why is it broken and how did the Hermit get the fragment... Is there other fragments and where are they

My plan, how to use this tale and the Mogdred character is to allow Ingomer and Bregdan to both be Chieftains of the Woodmen.
I wanted a link to the Gibbet King from the very beginning of Tales from Wilderland, to make it a complete Chronicle about the Gibbet King. And I also want the Werewolf to be part of the history from the beginning. The players will learn more and more of the beast as the adventure progresses.
Perhaps they will manage to remake the Wolfbiter axe, and that will give them a fighting chance against the Beast.