Horselords of Rohan Update October 21st 2015

[beckett]

Checks the horizon for news of the Horse-Lords arrival.. Refreshes website. Waits. Refreshes again. Waits some more. Forgets to eat. Forgets to sleep. Does he hear the thunder of hooves in the distance? What news of the Riddermark?

I certainly hope waiting for the Horse Lords is a more satisfying endeavor than waiting for Godot.

Thank you for the laugh this morning.

[Stormcrow]

I certainly hope waiting for the Horse Lords is a more satisfying endeavor than waiting for Godot.

I dunno: I went to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan perform it on Broadway, and it was pretty good.

[beckett]

I certainly hope waiting for the Horse Lords is a more satisfying endeavor than waiting for Godot.

I dunno: I went to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan perform it on Broadway, and it was pretty good.

I was there as well. Great performances.

[Glorelendil]

From Anthony Lane's review of "The Martian" in The New Yorker:

Given the threat of tedium, and the stony desolation of the backdrop, some viewers will be bracing themselves for Beckett in space, with the added twist that Godot could burn up on reëntry.

[beckett]

From Anthony Lane's review of "The Martian" in The New Yorker:

Given the threat of tedium, and the stony desolation of the backdrop, some viewers will be bracing themselves for Beckett in space, with the added twist that Godot could burn up on reëntry.

[Arthadan]

The other day I spotted this quote:

Finally, there is a cogent point, though horrible to relate. It became clear in time that undoubted Men could under the domination of Morgoth or his agents in a few generations be reduced almost to the Orc-level of mind and habits; and then they would or could be made to mate with Orcs, producing new breeds, often larger and more cunning. There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it in lore, and in his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile.

History of Middle-earth vol. X Morgoth's Ring

So Saruman interbreeding program began far before the War of the Ring was ever planned, as it took a "few generations" of Men to get them degraded and corrupted enough to mate with Orcs.

I wonder if we will see this evil plot and the place where he kept this corrupted Men in the upcoming supplements...

[Finrod Felagund]

The other day I spotted this quote:

Finally, there is a cogent point, though horrible to relate. It became clear in time that undoubted Men could under the domination of Morgoth or his agents in a few generations be reduced almost to the Orc-level of mind and habits; and then they would or could be made to mate with Orcs, producing new breeds, often larger and more cunning. There is no doubt that long afterwards, in the Third Age, Saruman rediscovered this, or learned of it in lore, and in his lust for mastery committed this, his wickedest deed: the interbreeding of Orcs and Men, producing both Men-orcs large and cunning, and Orc-men treacherous and vile.

History of Middle-earth vol. X Morgoth's Ring

So Saruman interbreeding program began far before the War of the Ring was ever planned, as it took a "few generations" of Men to get them degraded and corrupted enough to mate with Orcs.

I wonder if we will see this evil plot and the place where he kept this corrupted Men in the upcoming supplements...

There's a very dark side to this as the captives are quite frankly more likely to have been women.

I'm not sure I want to take this any further but I've often felt that in most role-playing games, Orcs are little more than cannon fodder for the players to kill. This is fair enough I suppose as RPGing is escapist play, but I've often felt that that DM/GM/LMs haven't given enough consideration to actually how strong and terrifying these creatures are, and the sheer fear and impact caused by an Orc raid. Death would be preferable than slavery for sure, especially for female adventurers.

[Majestic]

That's a really good point, Finrod! Definitely one of those areas you often want to steer clear of in RPGs.

[Arthadan]

I'd have captives of both sexes, after all some generations of them are needed!

If I recall correctly the captives would be Dunledings (they few ones who were in good terms with the Rohirrim?).

Now, where would Saruman keep them? As head of the White Council it'sunlikely he would risk to have them in Orthanc itself for about 200 years (assuming four generations with an average lifespam of 50 years due to hard conditions). I'd place them in some hidden cave in south extreme of the misty Mountains, near Nan Curunír.

Maybe the most interesting question is who would do the job? Orcs doesn't seem a good choice, prisioners would end up killed or eaten in no time. Saruman would have other matters to attend, he could supervise from time to time but no way he's doing the daily job. Looks like we'd need a new antagonist for this plot!

An old favourite such the Gibbet King would be a winner,I can picture him licking his wounds and gloating on the suffering of the prisioners. A dark plot indeed...

Quite disturbing the mental image of Orcs "misstreating" females prisioners. No wonder Celebrían sailed West... Now that I think about it, Tolkien seems to hint something along those lines "she had suffered much at the hands of the Orcs" and then Elrond could heal her body but not her spirit.

[Otaku-sempai]

Sauron also had a ready supply of Mannish slaves in the fields of Nurn in Mordor, where they grew food for the armies of the Dark Lord.