The adventure of the Elf Tower

[Arkat]

*Spoiler warning for Heart of the Wild*

My players are going to be exploring the Elf Tower next session, and I’m a bit uncertain what I’m going to have them find. What I do know is that I’m not going to use the info about the tower from Heart. It is enough to have the lords of Amon Bauglir and the Toft be ambitious people using shady means to grab power, and so the inhabitant of Elf Tower ought to be something different IMO.

This is what I’m thinking now: The tower is haunted by the greater specter of the commander of King Oropher’s personal guard. He was devastated by his Lords death at Dagorlad and wished to die for his failures. But even so duty demanded that he wait until the army got safely back to Mirkwood before he could give in to his grief. So when the host could finally see the great forest, he stayed behind in the Elf tower and either committed suicide or withered away.

So far so good. But how to make this a scenario? This should be a place of sadness, where resolution should be about helping the poor specter move on. I guess the final resolution of the problem could be an official pardon from Thranduil, but given his traumatic relationship with anything reminding him of his father’s death, this might not be as simple as it sounds. Especially if it involves pardoning the person who was responsible for keeping his father safe. But even so, this scenario should be more than just entering the tower and hearing the specter’s tale. There has to be some action in here. I’m thinking that the tower has stood in the shadow of Dol Guldor for countless years, so it only follows that the Necromancer has twisted this poor soul somehow. But how?

And this is the reason I turn to you guys. How can I make this scenario more than just exposition? How to insert some action? In what ways could the necromancer have twisted this poor shade and how could this affect the player characters?

Anyone got any ideas?

[Finrod Felagund]

How about some powerful evil spirit tries to occupy the Tower and the PCs help the Spectre to defeat it. By doing something so good, the Spectre has fulfilled its purpose for remaining in the material world, and can now move onto the Halls of Mandos.

OR: A band of Orcs has seized Thranduil's neice and hold up in the Tower. The PCs are in hot pursuit. The Spectre helps the PCs to sneak into the Tower and defeat the Orcs so they don't kill the neice. Thranduil arrives and forgives the Sprectre who can now move on.

[Falenthal]

Ash, the elf maiden from Heart of the Wild that escaped Dol Guldur with a bunch of slaves (p.49), might live with the refugees in the Elf Tower. Her own sadness and inner torment has found a mirror in the Spectre. Ash doesn't want anyone else to know about the ghost, but they both find at night under the stars, in the top floor of the tower, to talk about the past ages and how they'll never be able to attune for their misdeeds and failures. They are like a couple, but rejoicing in sadness instead of joy.
The slaves may talk about how Ash is a good leader, but also a gloomy one, who likes to keep to herself and has the upper floors locked.

The slaves themselves might suffer once in a while, for short periods of time (one or two days), what they call "the darkness". Every now and then the Spectre fills them unwillingly with his longing and regret, and the slaves remember their experiences in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. This might happen to only a few of them at the same time, probably the ones that seem happier.

The players might/should suspect that there's some kind of spirit sucking the lives and happiness of the dwellers. But what they don't know is that it's not an evil spirit, only a sad one.

Thranduil might be needed to forgive the Spectre, but also it could be acceptable to bring his remains under the Lamp of Balthi, and then give his material belongings (spear, family ring,... whatever) to Thranduil's Halls.

[Arkat]

Finrod: The second option is a bit tricky since the players have already decided to go to the tower. But the first one is interesting. Perhaps it is possible to combine it with Falenthal's ideas.

Falenthal: Connecting the tower with Ash is a great idea!

By combining the two ideas we might have more than just a tragedy, we can also have an epic love story. Lets say that Ash was the specter's lover in the second age (Lets call the specter Erestor). When the army got back to Mirkwood she learned that Erestor had stayed behind in the Elftower. Fearing the worst she went to tower, perhaps in direct disobedience to Thranduils commands, and found both his remains and his specter. Here she remained trying in wain to ease her lover's sadness untill the necromancer entered Dol Guldur.

The necromancer was of course delighted by tragic fate of Erestor and Ash, but he saw ways to increase their suffering. He captured Ash and sent a wraith to take her place. Ash was tortured in Dol Guldur unwilling to pass to the Halls of Mandos since it would mean being separated from her lover until the end of time and Erestor had a wicked wraith feeding him lies and deepening his sadness.

Now Ash is free but Erestor is still tormented by his wraith "lover". Ash fears to go near the Tower but keeps watch on it hoping to find a way to free Erestor. And the only way to free him is to make him realise that his lover is a wicked spirit.

Enter the player characters.

[Finrod Felagund]

Yeah that works. Just a couple of points:

1) If Erestor (maybe a name change as isn't that used elsewhere?) is hanging around for love of Ash, what will help him move on once the wraith is defeated? She either has to persuade him or die herself?

2) Ash hanging around makes her seem a bit of a wuss. Why not have her meet the PCs as she has just escaped from DG with the slaves. They go to the Tower together and then discover the wraith. You could have the wraith capture her maybe, so the PCs have to sort it all out, reunite the two lovers etc.

[Arkat]

Good point about not making Ash a wuss. She needs a more active part in this. Maybe a force of orcs has occupied the outer buildings, and her intervention saves them from an ambush. With ambush foiled, they might have the strength to overcome the orcs if they cooperate

[Mando]

Ash spending about 2500 years with the specter of her love in a tower might need some adjusting, or she really is the romantic-gloomy elf ! Why does the despaired lover have to be a specter ?

[Falenthal]

Ash spending about 2500 years with the specter of her love in a tower might need some adjusting, or she really is the romantic-gloomy elf ! Why does the despaired lover have to be a specter ?

Because Arkat made a background for it and it deserves to be used! About Ash, she escaped Dol Guldur when the White Council stormed the fortress, so she found the Spectre only 5-10 years ago, depending on the year of Arkat´s adventure. Still a new friend for an elf.

[Arkat]

Perhaps it is a bit much? Although it is the kind of thing that Tolkien's elves could do. Just consider Arwen.

But I agree, it needs adjustment