Motivations in Nightmares of Angmar (spoilers)

[Dunkelbrink]

I've just started to run Nightmares of Angmar and the PC heroes are located in Easterly Inn, moving North on a mission from Radagast where they are supposed to gain allies in the Hillmen for the upcoming conflict against Viglund. So far, so good.

I like the adventure, but I see a few issues coming up and wonder how other loremasters have handled the question of motivation if you've run the adventure. In the adventure the hillmen aren't super friendly. One of the first things that happens are wolves attacking and the father of the chief, Forgall, is with the wolves and curses the companion, using his Strike Fear and telling them to die.

About here my plyers will probably tire of him, putting an Arrow in is throat, and effectively putting an end to the diplomatic solutions. But the adventure assumes that this does not happen, and after that the PCs are supposed to chase after captured Children from a tribe of shadow Men they never met before for months, all the way to Angmar.

The concept of the adventure is cool, I like the hillmen, the Angmar scenes are great, but I find the motivation in the adventure is a bit lacking. Any good ideas how to make the PCs not kill Forgall and getting them to ANgmar without this feeling railroaded?

[cuthalion]

Assuming the boxout on p.15 "Killing Forgall" doesn't help?

I think the nightmares and the crows are meant to be hooks. Could you tap in to character's backgrounds to supply any others? Are any of them from the Anduin Vales? Maybe they have some connection to the Hill Men. Is one a slayer seeking vengeance for goblins/orcs? Do any of them have the shadow-lore trait and sense a thread of sorcery/shadow in the early events in the adventure?

Maybe if you could provide some character details we could suggest more relevant hooks?

[Falenthal]

the PCs are supposed to chase after captured Children

Isn't this enough for heroes to jump to action?
If the don't do it, then they are no better than those shadow men. Grant them some Shadow points to show that.

Also, Radagast told them to make allies, not enemies: remind them of it if they propose to attack someone in the group (other than the wolves).
And be sure to highlight before the attack that not every Hillman thinks the same as Forgall about strangers. There's kindness among the Hillmen to be saved.

[Dunkelbrink]

Thanks for your input! I generally see my players as good guys with characters acting in the spirit of Tolkien but this was stretching it I think. I guess that what concerns me is the distance in the adventure - the PCs would probably chase after the goblins right away if they were hiding in a mountain nearby, but now they're supposed to travel many weeks to a place far from their normal lands, in chase of a group of children (who might already be dead) of a tribe who almost attacked them before that...

But yes, reminding them of Radagast's words is a great idea, and showing them that kindness exists among the hillmen. What I don't want is to force them to help a group of hillmen that they only feel hatred for.

I am thinking of leaving traces of the goblins with shield symbols or the like that leads them to Angmar heraldry, and the group's Dwarf has a Raven that could understand the crows' words (I don't like the idea of the crows shouting out exactly where the players need to go).

And yeah, Cuthalion, Shadow Lore that the Hobbit Warden possesses could help. I also have a Beorning SLayer from the Anduin Vales who hates orcs, could there be some hook there to lead her to Angmar for vengeance? The others are a wood elf Treasure hunter and a Dwarf Scholar.

[Zulgolra]

I had issues concerning motivation with my players too. But what really helped (for most of the time) is the hillmen girl.
I described her as a really young woman in between a teenager state and womanhood. But she was determined to save the children, no matter the cost.

So there they stood: Battle hardened dwarfs, a men from rohan and a hobbit. They had fought many times against orcs at this point. But when they wanted to give up they where shamed by a young woman, without a weapon, who faced her fear and went on!

So, this worked until they reached angmar. I think with a more heroic group it would have worked up to the end of the adventure. Unfortunaly my "heros" didn't wan't to die, as they said and after a discussion with essylt (if I remember correctly) and fearch, they left them in angmar and went back to the easterly Inn..! That day, the shadow was strong in them!

Just as an addon:
A later when they reached Rivendell I had Glorfindel coming back from saving fearch and essylt, and cursing those cowards that left the two in Angmar. He told the people of Rivendell that only spineless servants of the dark lord would do such a thing and that those "mercenarys" where probably bandits anyway...
Again they where shamed by their own behavior. And at last they stood up and told Elrond, Glorfindel, and all the people of Rivendell, that they where "those cowards" and where shamed the third time. But at least they could tell, that they where glad to hear, that someone helped the two brave hillmen.
Not only raised this while expierence their shadowscore, but also this really influenced their further decisions. In the end, they became heros, but it was a long way...

[Indur Dawndeath]

My players went all the way.
They were looking for allies against Viglund, and realized that unless they could change the belief of the Hillmen, then it was Viglund who had allies here.
The Goblins betrayed the Hillmen, the playes saw that as a chance to change the minds of the Hillmen.

When they returned with the children, I had a folkmoot where the players had a chance to change each warchiefs allegiance.

It turned out pretty well all clans except the one closest to Naghraw and his wolves became enemies of the orcs and allies to the players

[jamesrbrown]

Present the material as best as you can, absolutely let the player-heroes make their own decisions, but then let the consequences of their actions play out over the next few seasons.

If they do not go after the Hill-men children, this will not stop the Lord of the Nazgul in his quest of refiring the power of Angmar. More orc attacks lead to more kidnappings and eventually the return of Essylt, who has become a Queen in Angmar under her father's influence. She will return to the Black Hills to gather the rest of her people and they will not leave before unleashing fury and violence upon the northmen of the Vales, including the companions if she can find them. The Hill-men tribes of the Black Hills will be lost to the Shadow for good, and they will return to Angmar as a dangerous and rising force to be dealt with.