Aragorn

[Elmoth]

Hi!

Me and my troupe played a short (4 adventure) saga with the,m being rangers (and an elf trickster) hunting after a Palantir in its way to Orthanc. They enjoyed so much being rangers of the north instead of a hodge podge party of elves, dwarves, hobbits and whatsoever all thrown together that they are claiming for a continuation of the ranger theme. They also like to travel, so I am thinking about sending them on a wild tour of MIddle Earth: as the small chosen escort of Aragorn as he travels far and wide doing his things and learning about the world when he is a youngling of less than 50 years. This allows me to send them from the Iron Hills to Tharbad pretty much as I fancy, it seems, since the guy was about everywhere at one point or another.

Soooo... I would need more info on the travels of Aragorn. Any pointers where to gather such info? Thanks

Cheers,
Xavi

[zedturtle]

'Then Aragorn took leave lovingly of Elrond; and the next day he said farewell to his mother, and to the house of Elrond, and to Arwen, and he went out into the wild. For nearly thirty years* he laboured in the cause against Sauron; and he became a friend of Gandalf the Wise, from whom he gained much wisdom**. With him he made many perilous journeys, but as the years wore on he went more often alone. His ways were hard and long, and he became somewhat grim to look upon, unless he chanced to smile; and yet he seemed to Men worthy of honour, as a king that is in exile, when he did not hide his true shape.*** For he went in many guises, and won renown under many names. He rode in the host of the Rohirrim and fought for the Lord of Gondor by land and by sea; and then in the hour of victory he passed out of the knowledge of Men of the West, went alone far into the East and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men, both evil and good, and uncovering the plots and devices of the servants of Sauron.

* 2957-2980 are the years given for his great errantries, although 23 is not nearly thirty.

** That Gandalf the Wise imparted wisdom seems a bit of a duplication. I bet Tolkien wished he had another editing pass here.

*** More justification for my Other Guise spell.

- - - - - -

So that gives you about as much as we've got in primary sources. We know also that he passed through Moria and not with Gandalf.

Of course, it talks about him being a big loner and all that. But it is conceivable that Thorongil (the name he used in Gondor) could have collected some able folks to him and sent them on missions, either in advance of his coming or in his wake. Another interesting idea (but hard to satisfactorily pull off) is to create characters for each of his major locations and have the players interact with him from within the culture he's visiting. Of course, this is hard to do and Aragorn can turn into some sort of GMPC (which he's always in danger of becoming; it's a difficult thing to avoid).

[Elmoth]

I can see his uncles (or other minor branches of his noble house) worrying about the youngster wanting to go around the world all alone and sending a small party of seasoned dunedain (the PC) with him. The fact that they are not in the stories is not necessarily a problem since stories never centre around the supporting cast

Missed the bit about Moria. Thx

Looking at the wiki et al, I compiled this (not necessarily in that order):

1. Serves under King Thengel of Rohan under nickname Thorongil ("Eagle of the Star")

2. Serves under the Steward Echtelion II of Gondor under nickname Thorongil ("Eagle of the Star")

3. 2980 With a small number of Gondor ships attacks Umbar by sea and burns most of their ships. Battle of the Havens: he kills the leader of the corsairs. Then leaves and goes East (Harad or beyond).

4. 2980 Visits Lorien and meets with Arwen again in Cerin Amroth. Gives the Ring of Barahir to her. Arwen commits slow suicide ("accepts the gift of men"). Elrond puts a trinket price on Aragorn for marrying his daughter: that he should be king of Arnor and Gondor before going to the altar. This can probably he a second adventure since Elrond is unlikely to be in Lorien with his mother-in-law Galadriel.

5. Before LOTR:
- Travels through the mines of Moria
- Travels to Harad: The stars are strange (a dream adventure???)

6. 3009. Goes into Rhovanion in search of Gollum at the request of Gandalf. Captures it in the dead marshes near Mordor and brings him to Thranduil's hall (a short trek!!) for a friendly chat with Gandalf.


And that is about it. Some of these can be played solo for sure, but the great thing is that I am sure that he can have underlings in most of these. A band of trusted companions that cover his back and do side quests. If anoyone has details on any of these events, it would be very appreciated.

[Angelalex242]

Elrond: Yeah, dude, if you wanna marry my daughter, all ya gotta do is become king of Gondor and Arnor. If you could off that Sauron guy making a nuisance of himself while you're at it, that'd be cool too. Have fun!

Aragorn:Ever get the feeling your dad doesn't quite want us to get married?

Arwen: Yeah, I do get that impression sometimes. Don't worry though, you've got this!

[Lugija]

Arwen: He has said that to almost every chieftain of the Dúnedain for a thousand years, but no pressure!

[Angelalex242]

Elrond:To be perfectly fair, I did have visions that one of them would get it right eventually. And hey, I'm not getting any older, so why not?

Arwen: Dang it, dad...just for that, I'm gonna decide to get older!

Elrond: You knock that off right now young lady!

[Terisonen]

One thing to think about is that Fate is very strong in the world of Tolkien. So Elrond with his foresight would have know, even at a subsconscious level that Aragorn was to be King.

[zedturtle]

Elrond: Yeah, dude, if you wanna marry my daughter, all ya gotta do is become king of Gondor and Arnor. If you could off that Sauron guy making a nuisance of himself while you're at it, that'd be cool too. Have fun!

Aragorn:Ever get the feeling your dad doesn't quite want us to get married?

Arwen: Yeah, I do get that impression sometimes. Don't worry though, you've got this!

Elrond: In my defence, Thingol pulled this on Beren. He went against Morgoth and got a Silmaril! I'm not asking for much, in comparison.

[zedturtle]

- Travels to Harad: The stars are strange (a dream adventure???)

Maybe. I think Tolkien just intended the meaning of Aragorn crossing over into the Southern Hemisphere and seeing different constellations, but if you wanted to go a bit more Lovecraftian with your intepretation, it's up to you.

[Elmoth]

I am aware of wehat Tolkien probably meant. I was just trying to turn that into a story seed

Any suggestions for adventures for Aragorn and his caretakers given his storyline would be appreciated.