Campaign Idea Assistance

[Otaku-sempai]

You could also use the same 'big bads' as the Darkening of Mirkwood and have the three Nazgul as the senior leaders of the Dark Forces in the area. A bunch of lesser leaders answer to them. If you haven't got Darkening of Mirkwood or Heart of the Wild by the way, then buy them as they are fantastic!

The three Nazgul are named as:
- Lieutenant of Dol Guldur (the overall leader directly answerable to Sauron)
- Ghost of the Forest
- Messenger of Mordor

The Lieutenant of Dol Guldur is the Ringwraith who was formerly known as Khamûl the Easterling. If the game stays more-or-less consistent with Tolkien's canon then the three Nazgûl of Dol Guldur should remain up until the time when all of the Nine pass west of the Anduin in search of the Master Ring. After that the command of the Enemy's stronghold in Mirkwood needs to be given to someone else.

[Curulon]

You could also use the same 'big bads' as the Darkening of Mirkwood and have the three Nazgul as the senior leaders of the Dark Forces in the area. A bunch of lesser leaders answer to them. If you haven't got Darkening of Mirkwood or Heart of the Wild by the way, then buy them as they are fantastic!

The three Nazgul are named as:
- Lieutenant of Dol Guldur (the overall leader directly answerable to Sauron)
- Ghost of the Forest
- Messenger of Mordor

The Lieutenant of Dol Guldur is the Ringwraith who was formerly known as Khamûl the Easterling. If the game stays more-or-less consistent with Tolkien's canon then the three Nazgûl of Dol Guldur should remain up until the time when all of the Nine pass west of the Anduin in search of the Master Ring. After that the command of the Enemy's stronghold in Mirkwood needs to be given to someone else.

Hm, could be the Black Númenórean I was considering, or one of the lesser wraiths like the Steward of Carn Dûm. The Fellowship might still have to contend with him, though, at least until 3017.

[zedturtle]

You could also use the same 'big bads' as the Darkening of Mirkwood and have the three Nazgul as the senior leaders of the Dark Forces in the area. A bunch of lesser leaders answer to them. If you haven't got Darkening of Mirkwood or Heart of the Wild by the way, then buy them as they are fantastic!

The three Nazgul are named as:
- Lieutenant of Dol Guldur (the overall leader directly answerable to Sauron)
- Ghost of the Forest
- Messenger of Mordor

The Lieutenant of Dol Guldur is the Ringwraith who was formerly known as Khamûl the Easterling. If the game stays more-or-less consistent with Tolkien's canon then the three Nazgûl of Dol Guldur should remain up until the time when all of the Nine pass west of the Anduin in search of the Master Ring. After that the command of the Enemy's stronghold in Mirkwood needs to be given to someone else.

Hm, could be the Black Númenórean I was considering, or one of the lesser wraiths like the Steward of Carn Dûm. The Fellowship might still have to contend with him, though, at least until 3017.

It'd be interesting to maybe focus on this as The War of the Ring gets closer... Dol Guldur's forces were intended to strike at the Golden Wood and Woodland Realm. But Sauron needed the Nazghûl for other purposes. Thus, if the players can prevent Dol Guldur from being re-fortified, they can help win the War in the North.

Also, the whole premise could easily be transplanted to Carn Dûm/Imladris instead of Dol Guldur/Lothlorien.

[Curulon]

Hm, could be the Black Númenórean I was considering, or one of the lesser wraiths like the Steward of Carn Dûm. The Fellowship might still have to contend with him, though, at least until 3017.

It'd be interesting to maybe focus on this as The War of the Ring gets closer... Dol Guldur's forces were intended to strike at the Golden Wood and Woodland Realm. But Sauron needed the Nazghûl for other purposes. Thus, if the players can prevent Dol Guldur from being re-fortified, they can help win the War in the North.

Also, the whole premise could easily be transplanted to Carn Dûm/Imladris instead of Dol Guldur/Lothlorien.

Yeah, that's definitely something I'm considering, and will leave as an option should that be the direction the Fellowship wishes to take.

[Curulon]

I had an idea tonight that I think I want to develop more. That is to use one of the cold drakes - or maybe even one of the lesser fire drakes Gandalf mentions in Fellowship of the Ring - as another foe to oppose the Fellowship, and perhaps they could be allied with whoever is commanding the armies of the Enemy in the North.

[Otaku-sempai]

I had an idea tonight that I think I want to develop more. That is to use one of the cold drakes - or maybe even one of the lesser fire drakes Gandalf mentions in Fellowship of the Ring - as another foe to oppose the Fellowship, and perhaps they could be allied with whoever is commanding the armies of the Enemy in the North.

Well, the game already has two dragons in the North that you might be able to utilize. There is the unnamed Forest Dragon (The Darkening of Mirkwood), but you might prefer to use the Great Cold-drake Raenar (the adventure "The Watch on the Heath," Tales from Wilderland), especially if the wyrm as fallen under the control of the Gibbet King.

For that matter, if the Gibbet King is handed control of Dol Guldur, he could command the campaign against Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm in the War of the North.

[Curulon]

I had an idea tonight that I think I want to develop more. That is to use one of the cold drakes - or maybe even one of the lesser fire drakes Gandalf mentions in Fellowship of the Ring - as another foe to oppose the Fellowship, and perhaps they could be allied with whoever is commanding the armies of the Enemy in the North.

Well, the game already has two dragons in the North that you might be able to utilize. There is the unnamed Forest Dragon (The Darkening of Mirkwood), but you might prefer to use the Great Cold-drake Raenar (the adventure "The Watch on the Heath," Tales from Wilderland), especially if the wyrm as fallen under the control of the Gibbet King.

For that matter, if the Gibbet King is handed control of Dol Guldur, he could command the campaign against Lothlórien and the Woodland Realm in the War of the North.

Oh, another good idea. Yeah, I had read through those books the other day, and that's partially what inspired the idea. I remember being intrigued by the Forest Dragon when I first read through Darkening, but having a named drake would be cool and a cold-drake might do good to separate it from just "another Smaug".

[Lara Redleaf]

Back when the Decipher game was being made, I had started to develop a Fourth Age campaign that had the Blue Wizards as the main antagonists, but it never came to fruition.

I do like the idea of using them, though. It gives a nice parallel to the Gandalf/Saruman dynamic, but having Radagast oppose the Blue Wizards. I do wonder if they would take on names in the Easterling tongue, in order to hide their identity, not that any in the West knew much of anything about them, but Radagast may remember.

What if the Blue Wizards sought to somehow raise up Sauron's bodiless spirit? He can't grow or take form anymore, reduced to a mere spirit of malice, but the Blue Wizards are still Istari, and if they came under the desire to find Sauron's broken spirit, they might yet achieve something terrible. That could be an interesting campaign seed.

[Otaku-sempai]

If you want a Black Númenórean commander in charge of Dol Guldur during the War of the Ring, don't forget about Zimraphel, the Sorceress of Mirkwood (The Heart of the Wild). She is said to know more about the inner workings of Dol Guldur than anyone other than the Nazgûl themselves and she might have agreed to take command of the stronghold in exchange for one of the recovered Rings of Power that had been offered to the Dwarves.

[Curulon]

Back when the Decipher game was being made, I had started to develop a Fourth Age campaign that had the Blue Wizards as the main antagonists, but it never came to fruition.

I do like the idea of using them, though. It gives a nice parallel to the Gandalf/Saruman dynamic, but having Radagast oppose the Blue Wizards. I do wonder if they would take on names in the Easterling tongue, in order to hide their identity, not that any in the West knew much of anything about them, but Radagast may remember.

What if the Blue Wizards sought to somehow raise up Sauron's bodiless spirit? He can't grow or take form anymore, reduced to a mere spirit of malice, but the Blue Wizards are still Istari, and if they came under the desire to find Sauron's broken spirit, they might yet achieve something terrible. That could be an interesting campaign seed.

Yeah, and perhaps they learned some magic or lore from their time amongst the Easterlings and the surrounding peoples that might have convinced them they could achieve such a thing. They might not be the outright main antagonists, but certainly secondary, how Saruman was to Sauron in the South.

If you want a Black Númenórean commander in charge of Dol Guldur during the War of the Ring, don't forget about Zimraphel, the Sorceress of Mirkwood (The Heart of the Wild). She is said to know more about the inner workings of Dol Guldur than anyone other than the Nazgûl themselves and she might have agreed to take command of the stronghold in exchange for one of the recovered Rings of Power that had been offered to the Dwarves.

Oh, I love the idea of having a female villain. It was never tapped in any of Tolkien's work and I think that could be something really different.