The Gathering of Five Armies

[Rich H]

Does it actually say anywhere that the Gathering of Five Armies is an annual event? I see reference to the "first" Gathering, but not to any others or to any frequency.

If it does, I've ignored it. I went with one every five years for my campaign; with smaller/localised festivities during the intervening years.

[Earendil]

Does it actually say anywhere that the Gathering of Five Armies is an annual event? I see reference to the "first" Gathering, but not to any others or to any frequency.

If it does, I've ignored it. I went with one every five years for my campaign; with smaller/localised festivities during the intervening years.

I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that it was an annual event, but can't find that now. Maybe it's in that scenario in Tales From Wilderland, which I don't have handy. But considering how far people would have to travel to it, I also decided every 5 years was enough. I believe Dragontide takes place in Lake-Town every year.

[Falenthal]

Also a 5-years event here, with Dragontide being a more local festivity that is held every year.

The main purpouse of the Gathering is for all leader of the North to reunite, and I don't think they'll be leaving their kingdoms each year.

[Ramboromir]

Lots of stuff about Dale and the festivities to be found in my Guide to Dale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nmok5kyz1qe6x ... 9.pdf?dl=0

Wow! Would be quite happy to pay money for this! I'm just getting into the One Ring and wanted to say thanks for doing this.

[Stormcrow]

I believe Dragontide takes place in Lake-Town every year.

This one boggles me. Why would townsfolk whose town was destroyed by a dragon celebrate the "time of the dragon"? They should call it "Dragonsend" or something. (For that matter, why would they name a celebration after five armies when two of the eponymous armies were goblins and wargs?)

[Glorelendil]

Ebbing tide?

[gsecaur]

Kings Bard and Dain assemble all the leaders in Bard’s main hall for dinner on the fourth night of the festival, and an invitation comes to the player-companions to join them. Other attendees at this dinner include some of Thorin’s Company, Legolas of the Woodland Realm, Merovech of the Beornings, and a certain gray-robed wizard, and several dozen other renowned and respected warriors of the five main cultures in attendance.

Did the Gathering begin on the 21st? Because otherwise the 24th is only the third day of the event, not the fourth.

I arbitrarily decided to start it on the 21st in my game. I see where the confusion in my own timeline would come from, since I mentioned Thranduil's arrival as happening on the 22nd, but didn't actually mention that our PCs arrived on the 21st. I'm sure every LM will make changes to suit their own preferences -- maybe somebody prefers it as a three-day festival instead of five. I liked the resonance of the five-year anniversary with a five-day festival, and thought that if all these kings and leaders are going to bother getting together it should be a suitably epic party.

[gsecaur]

Does it actually say anywhere that the Gathering of Five Armies is an annual event? I see reference to the "first" Gathering, but not to any others or to any frequency.

I believe I've seen that somewhere in the published material, but don't recall where. I agree with those who say that perhaps it shouldn't be an annual event. Certainly, if it is, it wouldn't be so grand every single time.

Frankly, it may not even come up in my game again. Our PCs are primarily based on the Anduin side of the forest, and since the journey across (or around) Mirkwood is so arduous, they may not make the trip that often. I know that in the later years of the DoM tale of years, more and more events take place in or around Dale, but at the pace we play we will likely never get that far in the timeline.

[gsecaur]

The sixth adventure in Tales from Wilderland, The Crossings of Celduin, takes place during this festival, in case you have not read through it yet.

My goodness, I'd completely forgotten about that. Well, any details the community come up with can simply reflect that the festival changes in each iteration, as pastimes and entertainments fall in and out of fashion.

[gsecaur]

Lots of stuff about Dale and the festivities to be found in my Guide to Dale: https://www.dropbox.com/s/nmok5kyz1qe6x ... 9.pdf?dl=0 within my resources thread: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=62

RIch, that's a great resource. I especially enjoyed your pie-eating contest, and the High Feast Random Events, any number of which give PCs an opportunity to spin off into a mini adventure of their own. Little side quests with minimal impact on the main story are always welcome, as they let the players color in the edges around the story.