Nightmares of Angmar

[jamesrbrown]

My group has, and it worked well. We played it about 2/3 of the way through Darkening of Mirkwood. One of the characters, Mirdan the Dunedain smith, wound up married to Essylt thanks to the challenge, and she did choose to resist her father at the end -- some very satisfactory roleplaying! There were some serious shadow points for characters at various points, and two of them gained a permanent shadow point in the course of the adventure. But they got a lot out of it in terms of story, a very well written episode all around and a pleasure to run. They wound up with a lasting alliance between the Woodmen of the west bank of the Anduin and the Hillmen, and one of the players is now running one of the rescued children as a secondary character, her original character now getting on in years and shadow points.

Awesome. Yes, adventurers definitely have plenty of obstacles in avoiding Shadow points in this one.

[PaulButler]

So... the group took a few narrative detours before finally getting themselves to visit Beorn for him to send them north for Nightmares of Angmar.
We finally got into the heart of it last week.
And our Barding was slain by the Lurker in Valley. Though it should also be noted that the companions managed to kill the beast, landing two piercing blows in a single round of combat.

We left them at the bridge at Carn Dum, and two of them have maxxed out fatigue scores from their arduous journey. Things are looking grim.

[Andrew]

Is that the same Barding you took all the way through Tales from Wilderland and Darkening of Mirkwood?

[PaulButler]

Is that the same Barding you took all the way through Tales from Wilderland and Darkening of Mirkwood?

Not quite.
Dagmar, Daughter of Dagmar had been around about two years real time (we play about once a month) coming on early in Tales as a new character, though not right at the beginning.
It's also worth remembering I'm running Nightmares during Darkening. We're in year 2955, so only about a third of the way through Darkening. Still, not a new character.

The player is still deciding what to do next. Dagmar does have a young nephew that runs her holding in Dale (a small smithy.) The rest of the Fellowship built a cairn for her and made a point to recover her sword. As a metalsmith herself, Dagmar's sword has two rewards upon it and was fairly significant. It remains to be seen if the sword can be returned to Dale and if the young nephew will claim the blade and join the efforts to unite the Free Peoples Wilderland.

[jamesrbrown]

Paul, it sounds like it's been a tough adventure so far with the death of a player-hero and all that Fatigue. I recall a similar experience and needing to find a "safe" spot for the companions to recover somewhat before traveling The Frozen Path. Otherwise, I don't think they would have had a chance in Carn Dûm.

Out of curiosity, did they hire Hwalda? Have you needed to use Essylt and Fráech in your combats to give the player-heroes help?

[Andrew]

Ouch. My group shall raise a toast to the fallen on Thursday when we next play!

Did the survivors explore the cave in the Long Valley?

[PaulButler]

Out of curiosity, did they hire Hwalda? Have you needed to use Essylt and Fráech in your combats to give the player-heroes help?

They did hire Hwalda. And Hwalda and Fraech were definitely involved in the fight with the Lurker, though we've been lucky and didn't have many hazards on the journey, so their assistance hadn't been needed beyond that. The real test starts next session with Carn Dum proper.

Ouch. My group shall raise a toast to the fallen on Thursday when we next play!

Many thanks. My players will get a real kick out of knowing that folks on the other side of the pond are mourning their losses.

Did the survivors explore the cave in the Long Valley?

They did, and as much I was hoping they might find our first Famous Weapon it was not to be.
But our Beorning Ketilridur, did find a ring made of mithril, set with three tiny rubies which veritably burst into flame when the light catches them.

[Lifstan]

Page 27 in the scenario, there is a hazard suggestion with something humanoid inside a block of ice. The scenario doesn't say what it is. It just say that the players have to move the block of ice to free their passage. But it's very Intriguing!

What do you think could be in there?

And putting that in the scenario is a risk, I think, because the players could be very intrigued by it and try to free the (dead?) thing inside. As a Lovecraft fan, I easily imagine an Old One in that block of ice. But in Middle-Earth? Could it be a Balrog that died and was frozen in ice during the First Age (thus the humanoid form, but the size wrong)?

[Otaku-sempai]

Page 27 in the scenario, there is a hazard suggestion with something humanoid inside a block of ice. The scenario doesn't say what it is. It just say that the players have to move the block of ice to free their passage. But it's very Intriguing!

What do you think could be in there?

A Balrog seems like a pretty remote possibility. Other things might pass for being still alive might be a Snow-troll or (maybe?) a Wight. Given the size of the ice-block, it might be a dead(?) Troll, Ogre, a young Giant, or an Orc--or even an Entwife.

Of course, if you want to mix your literary influences, the possibilities are myriad.

[Falenthal]

Make it a frozen Mûmakil from the deserts of Harad and your players will lose their minds trying to solve the puzzle.