Campaign Arc - Request for advice

[Cordeval]

3) family corrupted by the shadow and worked the forges of Dol Guldor -could go lots of ways, perhaps an younger son is still pure and the party can remove the corrupted elders, maybe the family are serving to protect hostages etc.(Maybe fled to a lesser fastness after the necromancer left.)
4) family are destroyed and goblins now infest their hold - the party need to recover proof of their fate. Also the vacancy might allow promotion for a dwarf PC

Any suggestions of good locations, family names, other family fates or any other suggestions would be gratefully received.

Family names:
From website Tolkien Gateway, there are the Longbeards (descendants of Durin), the Firebeards and Broadbeams (refugees from the disaster of Beleriand), Ironfists and Stiffbeards from the northern mountains of the far East, Blacklocks and Stonefoots from the southern mountains of the far East.

As to corruption by Shadow and working the forges of Dol Guldor:
That's definitely in line with Tolkien's material when you consider the degraded Petty Dwarves of the First Age were outcasts from the East. Sauron could be playing to dwarfish pride and lusts for power and knowledge once held by the long fathers of old. The fallen dwarves had moved into Dol Guldor confident of seeing off any enemies and getting first dibs on the ancient knowledge after the Necromancer left. I imagine a ruling dwarfish scholar-smith as similar to Denethor and Saruman, who both started with the best of intentions, "Dark ways for dark times, done for the Free Peoples".

As to an extinct family:
To replace the extinct family's contribution, the party could seek counsel from the one elf most associated with the original master smith of the Noldorian elves, Lady Galadrial. She is the neice of Feanor, creator of the Silmarils. Of all elves, the Noldor had the closest association with the dwarves and taught them much of their higher order skills.
Just thinking of the diplomatic difficulties likely to ensue from a party of dwarves seeking audience with Lady Galadriel in Lorien is evil gamemaster chuckle-worthy.

As to what each family contributes, I like other posters' ideas of revered items of power kept as heirlooms of each family.
How about items or skills from the forges and workshops of Telchar of Nogrod?
Among his works were Angrist (the knife that freed the Silmaril from the Iron Crown), Narsil (the sword of Elendil, later reforged for Aragorn as Andúril), the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, and even Nauglamir into which a Silmaril was set (leading ultimately to the first really epic falling out between Dwarves and Elves). [Again, references from Tolkien Gateway website]

[Tolwen]

That's definitely in line with Tolkien's material when you consider the degraded Petty Dwarves of the First Age were outcasts from the East.

Do you know of evidence supporting this? By now I was under the impression that these outcasts were from the Blue Mountain communities (or Longbeards at most).

To replace the extinct family's contribution, the party could seek counsel from the one elf most associated with the original master smith of the Noldorian elves, Lady Galadrial. She is the neice of Feanor, creator of the Silmarils. Of all elves, the Noldor had the closest association with the dwarves and taught them much of their higher order skills.

Yes, but she was also fiercely opposed to Fëanor (alread in Valinor) and refused any cooperation with him. She was close to Celebrimbor though, but had no part in the Ringmaking. Interestingly, shed seems to have had no great personal interest in the classic Noldo field of making things. She did, however, make use of crafted items

Cheers
Tolwen

[Garn!]

Tolwen,
Your comment about Galadriel not being an artificer like most Noldo inspired the thought: Perhaps she was an artificer of people? Having the natural able to discern character (great Insight), she was able to organize and maximize the strengths of others (those who came to serve her and Celeborn) to best effect.

This inherent ability might be strengthened once Galadriel received Nenya as appropriate usage of a person's strengths within Lorien would ultimately be a form of preservation, protection and concealment from evil (per TolkienGateway's comments about the ring).

I've got no proof for the above but it does make a certain sense. Unfortunately, this might be a "chicken vs egg" situation as there is no way to know whether she had these abilities so the ring was best suited to her use, or if after years of association with her, the ring promoted such abilities. Careful threshing of Galadriel's past might offer some hints, but is beyond my powers of scrutiny.

[Arquestan]

Wow - so many different great ideas to consider! I'll have to ponder those a while. Interested to see Petty Dwarves pop up - I had been thinking that I would have to try and work them in, if only because Hillmen of the Trollsaws was the very first RPG thing I ever bought for myself so I have a soft spot for them.

While I'm here I'll toss out a few ruminations on earlier posts- Tolwen's remarks on lost smithing lore set me thinking.
1) The lost dwarven lore seems an excellent theme for the whole campaign but it rather sets the party up to fail (or have rather limited success). So, what if they are thwarted by a traitor who sabotages their efforts, and the campaign morphs into rooting out the traitor. It also has the advantage of an enemy the party can 'get medieval on' at the climax of the arc.
2) If I followed that path I need a traitor - in normal fantasy land there are screeds of doppelgangers and the like, can anyone suggest a Tolkeinesque substitute? Alternatively I go with a Wormtongue clone. The obvious place to make sure the players meet him lots would be their main intermediary between them and Dain but I was hoping to use Bombur for that (another name drop and an distinctive caricature to work with)
3) In a previous draft of my grudge bearing elder he was a twin. He and his brother were prodigies, he in mining, his brother in smithing. His brother objects to the new mine, is over-ruled, then dies when Smaug sacks Erebor and the clan loses all their smithing lore. A letter written by the dead brother but never delivered might reveal a change of heart, and the discovery the ore is perfect for alloying with mithral (but not revealing how).

[Cordeval]

1) The lost dwarven lore seems an excellent theme for the whole campaign but it rather sets the party up to fail (or have rather limited success). So, what if they are thwarted by a traitor who sabotages their efforts, and the campaign morphs into rooting out the traitor. It also has the advantage of an enemy the party can 'get medieval on' at the climax of the arc.

The North seems to have had a harder time of it as reported in the LotR appendices as both Brand and Dain died in the final battle.

So, failing to reignite the great Forge of Erebor that would've made a difference in that battle fits the source material.

2) If I followed that path I need a traitor - in normal fantasy land there are screeds of doppelgangers and the like, can anyone suggest a Tolkeinesque substitute? Alternatively I go with a Wormtongue clone. The obvious place to make sure the players meet him lots would be their main intermediary between them and Dain but I was hoping to use Bombur for that (another name drop and an distinctive caricature to work with)

I believe at this time in the RAW timeline Sauron and his minions are doing advance work for the re-occupation of Dol Guldor. Therefore a believable adversary would be a Messenger of Lugburz "re-skinned" as a resentful dwarf promised the throne of Erebor by Sauron or the Nazgul who will one day sit in Dol Guldor.

Following traditional fairy tales... the resentful dwarf would be a machiavellian vizier King Dain is forced to accept for political reasons or is simply too busy to notice the vizier's evil ways.