forums.cubicle7.co.uk
archive

Just curious to see what people have for ideas!

Thanks!
-Ed

Well, there's tons of hooks in Rivendell: anything from exploring Hollin to assaulting Angmar. It might fun to play a game in which everyone is from Wilderland. The characters head west, and hear tales from travellers and Bree-folk about strange men who lurk in the shadows. Trouble seems to always follow in their wake. Have the characters investigate these "evil men", only to find out that they are the Rangers of the North. You'd have to have all the players buy into the conceit, and keep the ambiguity going for as long as possible.

There's always straight-up escort work. You know how a lot of the setting information for Wilderland talks about the tolls the Beornings charge and how much effort it takes to keep the High Pass clear and if Bofri is going to re-open that road or not?

That's primarily because all trade running from the Blue Mountains (home to lots of dwarves) has to pass along the East-West road, which is not all that safe east of Bree. That's a thing. So basic "guard this caravan" or "find out what happened to this caravan" adventures work well.

Treasure-hunting is a huge deal in Eriador, which features the blasted the ruins of multiple high civilizations. Glamdring and Oricist turned up in a random troll hoard. If your Fellowship is the sort to seek wealth, relics, or history, there is all sorts of cool stuff they could find in the ruins of Hollin or Annuminas or Tharbad.

Oh, and I can't take credit for this one, but... the best excuse to go to Eriador I ever heard was from a group that tangled with the Nazgul once (I think they were running the Werewolf/Lamp of Balthi thing from Darkening of Mirkwood) and something like three members of their Fellowship had beloved, enhanced weapons destroyed because they Pierced the Nazgul and then blew the Valour test. (There wasn't a Hobbit in this group.)

They were super pissed off and wanted to know what that had happened. Radagast clued them into the fact that if you aren't using special spell-worked weapons made by the Dunedain or High Elves, you can't really hurt Nazgul like that. So the group immediately headed off to Eriador to try and acquire some.

The GM was sort of flabbergasted and had to scramble to come up with plot hooks. I think they actually ended up spending two years out there, slowly earning the trust of the Rangers until they were allowed to get special Dunadan-forged steel that wouldn't fail them.

They do realise that even those weapons will be destroyed, right?

bluejay wrote:They do realise that even those weapons will be destroyed, right?

Dunno, this was awhile ago and not my game. If I recall correctly, they weren't so much pissed off that their weapons were slagged (although that was definitely a thing) but that their weapons got slagged and they didn't even hurt the damn thing. At least when Merry and Eowyn lost their gear, they did it killing the Witch-King.

I would hope their GM explained exactly what their shiny new stuff entailed.

Eriador is filled with ruined towers and keeps. So find a reason (it will depend on the backgrounds of the characters) for one/all of them to want some kind of help or favor from Erestor. Erestor will help them, but for a price: he has been seeking an artefact...more of historical interest than actual power...and he's finally narrowed down the possible location to an area of the north downs. It was held in a secret vault below a watchtower built on a hill-top. He knows the name of the hill, but unfortunately nobody knows which hill is which anymore. But if the Fellowship can find this artefact, or at least find evidence that it's not in the location he thinks, he'll help them in return.

What follows is a hill-to-hill search of ruins in the North Downs. They can talk to Talandil who might be able to help them locate the right hill, or at least tell them where they can find more clues. When they finally find the right place, the vault has been looted...ripped open from the surface by something that could only be a troll. And recently! That points to the massive troll they had already encountered (and snuck around? run away from? only saw tracks of?).

The troll dies hard, but the artefact isn't there (however, there's other treasure: Magical Treasure rolls!). They discover tracks that suggest a man left recently. Chase! If they catch him, he's some kind of servant of the Enemy, and has the artefact.

Victory! Back to Rivendell and Erestor.

But...there's a mystery here. After centuries, suddenly TWO people know where to find this artefact? Erestor explains how he came across the final clue, which only came about because he was talking to a recent visitor to Rivendell, a learned gentleman from the South, who doesn't fit the description of the bad guy the Fellowship was tracking.

More plot hooks for the future?

(I literally made that up as I typed...hope it helps)

A merchant or group of merchants needs the Adventurers to escort an agent (or agents) whose mission is to assess the condition of the Old South Road through Eriador. Of particular concern would be crossing the feasibility of crossing the River Gwathlo (Greyflood) in Tharbad and the likelihood of encountering bandits or other trouble among the herdsmen and hillmen of Dunland.

Boromir, in The Lord of the Rings, reveals that his route to Rivendell took him through the Gap of Rohan and north up the Old South Road, where he lost his mount fording the Greyflood at Tharbad. Is the ford dangerous year-round? Perhaps Boromir lost his horse to bandits or swamp-creatures rather than to the river. What folk or monsters might be lurking about the ruins of the town?

I'm just writing as ideas come to mind, so there are surely plenty of gaps, but here's a sketch of a mini-campaign in the north:

PCs are telling tales in the Green Dragon Inn, or having a bear in the Prancing Pony, in the first lights of the morning. Then, suddenly, a cloacked man comes in and drops unconscious to the ground . "He's one of those Rangers!" says the bartender as he spits to the ground. "They're never up to no good".
A Lore roll or Shadow-Lore trait indicate that he is fighting against some curse of the undead: he seems to have crossed the Barrow-Down during the night.
As the PCs approach him, he stutters: "B-b-b-bring this message to the Weathertop, please... hurry, the Rangers must know before it's too late!" He fades out, grasping a closed letter in his hand.

The Pcs should travel to Weathertop (maybe crossing the marshes and facing the neeker-breekers), where they meet a small group of Rangers of the North (maybe just 4 or 5 of them). Their captain tell Pcs that he must travel south ASAP with some of his men, and one of the Rangers must stay in Weathertop. But the message must reach the ears of a bigger group stationed at Deadman's Dike. The Pcs are the only ones who are left to carry the letter there.

Upon arrival at the former Fornost Erain, they are informed of the duties of the Ranger's, and their true role in Eriador as wardens against the growing darkness. The letter was sent by their leader, who was now in the south (Aragorn as Thorongil), telling the Rangers to strenghten the southern borders watch, as powerful dark spirit had left Mordor was probably heading north (in fact it is the Witch-King, Unclad and Unseen to most except to Aragorn's almost elvish senses).

The Pcs are sent to Rivendell with indications of how to find it, so they can ask master Elrond for counsel about this threat. Elrond tells them that such servants from the Enemy can't be beaten by the force of normal weapons. Their only hope lies in recovering some powerful artifacts that the Elves of Eregion build an age ago, when Sauron himself brought war upon them.

Travel to Eregion to find information about the artifacts (weapons?), just to discover that they were sent to the Dwarves of Moria as a gift when asking for their help against the forces of Mordor. The Dwarves closed the doors to the Elves, but kept the gifts in their vaults.
The heroes have to enter Moria and look for the artifacts of the Elves in some hidden vault.

After that, they have to return to Rivendell to consult Elrond about the artifacts and how to use them. When finally having a weapon (maybe not literally a sword or spear) to confront the Shadow from the South, they travel to Angmar... just to discover that the Dark Spirit has left, but had enough time to organize the Orcs of Mount Gram into a hating bunch that marches to The Shire.

Who will the Pcs call for help? The widespread Rangers? The reclusive and secretive Elves of Rivendell? The Ghostbusters?

Falenthal wrote:PCs are telling tales in the Green Dragon Inn, or having a bear in the Prancing Pony...

Does the Prancing Pony serve bear? Better not let Beorn find out!