Question for the Tolkien Scholars: Spirits

[TheMonarchGamer]

The MonarchGamer

Did this idea come from one of your players deciding to visit a 'magical charm shop'?

This concerned me, as this is not D&D where such shops are easily found - in Middle-earth the reverse is the case, such places are only found 'by those in the know'. And even if your player managed to find such a shop (certainly in Lake-Town), how much of the merchandise would be really magical would only be a small percentage in reality, and priced to match!

Your player would be more likely to find a temporary stall at the marketplace (that wasn't there the next day!). Just as conjurors were mostly con-men of dubious repute (as Frodo was assumed to be by the Breelanders), so too were purveyors of 'magical trinkets' etc.

Robin S.

Good point. The idea did come from this, but I've worked in such a way that I feel it works in Tolkien lore. For instance, most of the stuff in the shop was junk or very minor magic only, this being one of the few exceptions. The fellow who gave the player this didn't ask for money in return, just a favor - to give a sealed scroll to Saruman. This is a very reasonable trade for this fellow, but the players don't know much about this character, and I'm not inclined to give away too much since its a rather important piece of information.

In fact, once Wulfred left the building, Arendir the Elf-kind decided to have a look as well, but the shop had entirely disappeared once he arrived only moments later. Perhaps... it was meant to be that Wulfred found this charm in the first place.

To be precise, they wanted to visit an 'odds and ends' shop, but I thought this would be a great opportunity to begin to introduce some of these over-arching plot points.

Further comments?
-TMG

[Otaku-sempai]

You had originally written that the charm had been given to the Hero by someone who was an enemy of Saruman. I never really envisioned any kind of 'magic shop' being involved and this idea sounds very unlike Middle-earth to me. I do guess that it is unknown to your players that this person is a servant of the Enemy and in opposition to the White Wizard, as it should still be unknown that Saruman has turned against the White Council and is making plans against Rohan and Fangorn. Is this correct?

[Elmoth]

Not all servants of the enemy are twisted orcs. The item could have been created by easterlings, for example. I would make it look foreign in any case.

However, I would change its origin since it is pro-heroes, and the current description is evolcative: I would mae it an elvish item.
The elves captured the winter stag and put it in a medallion to preserve it from the Enemy, that was trying to destroy it by defiling its roaming places and what it represented: freedom of movement and the joy or running through wild areas. It is a spirit of place, a genius locus bound to a portable item to preserve it when his place was corrupted by the enemy. The stag might have a few grudges of his own to settle with certain lieutenants of Sauron ....

[TheMonarchGamer]

You had originally written that the charm had been given to the Hero by someone who was an enemy of Saruman. I never really envisioned any kind of 'magic shop' being involved and this idea sounds very unlike Middle-earth to me. I do guess that it is unknown to your players that this person is a servant of the Enemy and in opposition to the White Wizard, as it should still be unknown that Saruman has turned against the White Council and is making plans against Rohan and Fangorn. Is this correct?

Since this took place in a rather large city of Gondor, I felt the shop would have potentially been set up by a scam artist, but ended up being 'commandeered' by this fellow for the purposes of making sure the scroll ends up in the hands of Saruman. This fellow isn't necessarily a servant of the Shadow, to be clear. In fact, he actually knows that Saruman is being swayed to follow the Enemy (no one else does at this point - the adventure is in TA 2949). I really don't want to divulge too much yet, but suffice it to say that he's an antagonist of Saruman since he knows that the White Wizard wants to switch sides, as it were.


I also like the idea of it being created by elves to protect this creature. I might go with that and put a slight twist on it to make it fit the story better. Keep in mind, though, that this plot is a very very long term sort of plot. The immediate issues are very different - I just want to start hinting at seeds of Saruman's betrayal and those involved on both sides.
-TMG

[TheMonarchGamer]

As far as appearance, here's a quick sketch. Note the work 'quick' - I know its not perfect

http://postimg.org/image/5rnikfbv1/

Thoughts?
-TMG

[Tolwen]

In fact, he actually knows that Saruman is being swayed to follow the Enemy (no one else does at this point - the adventure is in TA 2949). I really don't want to divulge too much yet, but suffice it to say that he's an antagonist of Saruman since he knows that the White Wizard wants to switch sides, as it were.

Depending on how close you are following Tolkien's vision for Saruman, this thread might be interesting for you. The short version is, that Saruman became a real traitor to the White Council (and follower of Sauron, though eventually double-crossing him) only around TA 3000. before that, he desired the One for himself, but on his own account, i.e. becoming a master himself. At that time, Sauron was a rival for him rather than an ally or even his master.

Cheers
Tolwen

[Otaku-sempai]

Since this took place in a rather large city of Gondor, I felt the shop would have potentially been set up by a scam artist, but ended up being 'commandeered' by this fellow for the purposes of making sure the scroll ends up in the hands of Saruman. This fellow isn't necessarily a servant of the Shadow, to be clear. In fact, he actually knows that Saruman is being swayed to follow the Enemy (no one else does at this point - the adventure is in TA 2949). I really don't want to divulge too much yet, but suffice it to say that he's an antagonist of Saruman since he knows that the White Wizard wants to switch sides, as it were.

The mysterious, disappearing magic shop is still the kind of swords-and-sorcery cliché that feels more at home in Fritz Leiber's Lankhmar or a D&D game than in Middle-earth. But a place operated and abandoned by a con-artist might be a more acceptable variant on the idea. It still seems awfully contrived and over-complicated though.

I also like the idea of it being created by elves to protect this creature. I might go with that and put a slight twist on it to make it fit the story better. Keep in mind, though, that this plot is a very very long term sort of plot. The immediate issues are very different - I just want to start hinting at seeds of Saruman's betrayal and those involved on both sides.
-TMG

Thank you for clarifying the relationship between Saruman and your NPC. Your backstory sounds reasonable, but I would think that the spirit might have given the Elves its consent to be bound to the charm. Of course it might have regrets about the decision now and might long to be freed from the item. Take a look (if you are willing) at the recent film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest starring Helen Mirren and the relationship between her Prospera and the spirit Ariel. It might give you some inspiration.

[TheMonarchGamer]

Alright, I'll look into both of those things. Thanks for the comments everyone, it really helped me brainstorm some ideas for the charm!
-TMG