What is going on in Ruins of the North? (Spoilers)

[Ernst-Jan]

Hello all, my group has just finished the Darkening of Mirkwood after four years of play and it was glorious. Naturally, we're heading off into Eastern Eriador. I've had Ruins of the North for as long as it's been out so I've had ample time to study it. Now that I'm planning the actual campaign (with some extensive modifications to the Ruins source material) I find I've come across some things that aren't entirely clear to me.

Apologies in advance if this has been asked before.

Throughout Rivendell and Ruins of the North there are some hints pertaining to the Witch-King, dark creatures returning to Carn Dum, and more concrete things like Mormog massing trolls for some sort of attack. As neither of these threads are brought to any sort of conclusion, I was wondering whether someone has any idea where these things should lead? There aren't, as far as I know at least, any major conflicts in Eriador in the current timeline. Is this something Cubicle 7 will expand on later or are they building blocks for Loremasters to use as they please? Because I'm not entirely sure where to take this buildup in Angmar, let alone how to end it.

Any ideas?

[Finrod Felagund]

Mormog's force and returning dark creatures are few in number so how about the PCs scouting for a raiding party of Elves and Rangers to defeat them. Maybe even some Dwarves from the Blue Mountains if you feel like being really creative. I can't imagine that Elrond wouldn't act quickly after the PCs bring news of his plans, so perhaps a new adventure needs to be inserted in the following year to carry this out.

FF

[Ernst-Jan]

Mormog's force and returning dark creatures are few in number so how about the PCs scouting for a raiding party of Elves and Rangers to defeat them. Maybe even some Dwarves from the Blue Mountains if you feel like being really creative. I can't imagine that Elrond wouldn't act quickly after the PCs bring news of his plans, so perhaps a new adventure needs to be inserted in the following year to carry this out.

FF

True enough, and I have indeed planned for such an adventure.

That leaves the rest though, on Ruins of the North's page 5, the sidebar 'The Return of the Witch-King' directly refers to the Witch-King returning to Angmar in preparation for the War of the Ring, which seems to imply, in time, a lot more than just a few dark creatures. Again, there is no reference in the Tale of Years of anything coming from Angmar and we know the Witch-King is occupied elsewhere when the War of the Ring comes around, so what's happening to Angmar?

[Finrod Felagund]

Page 82 of 'Rivendell' implies that the Witch King only occasionally visits Angmar and really his responsibilities are in Minas Morgul. Bearing that in mind, I suggest that the Witch King installs a Lieutenant and it is this creature that the PCs must defeat. If you want, you could have it so that the Witch King just happens to be in Angmar when PCs attack Mormog/visit Angmar and is roused to attack the players in their turn. I don't think there is any suggestion that this is a major conflict and the creatures installed by the Witch King are few. However they could still be terrible for Hobbits/Men of Bree etc if the threat from Angmar isn't dealt with.

Does that help?

[Otaku-sempai]

It might be that the forces of Angmar harass the Beornings and other Men of Wilderland. How successful they are might depend on how successful the Heroes are at thwarting their plans.

[Mim]

I shared this quote from Gandalf recently but am doing so again because it may help:

"To resist any force that Sauron might send to regain the northern passes in the mountains and the old lands of Angmar there were only the Dwarves of the Iron Hills, and behind them lay a desolation and a Dragon. The Dragon Sauron might use with terrible effect..."

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, The Quest of Erebor, 322.

Some of the other fans have suggested that the Witch-king sends a servant (or two) northward, and this offers an overall plot on his schemes - the northern passes as a prelim.

[Ernst-Jan]

It might be that the forces of Angmar harass the Beornings and other Men of Wilderland. How successful they are might depend on how successful the Heroes are at thwarting their plans.

That is a thought. I've already pondered Gundabad and its lack of involvement in the War of the Ring. Reactivating Carn Dum as a means of directing the Orc population of Gundabad does seems a logical thing to do. It would seem reasonable that somewhere in the coming years this conflict reaches a climax and explains the lack of direct involvement of Gundabad or the Beornings in the War (as far as we know). After all, there isn't that much to conquer in Eastern Eriador. They don't know about the Shire and they don't know where Rivendell is.

[Lifstan]

Throughout Rivendell and Ruins of the North there are some hints pertaining to the Witch-King, dark creatures returning to Carn Dum, and more concrete things like Mormog massing trolls for some sort of attack. As neither of these threads are brought to any sort of conclusion, I was wondering whether someone has any idea where these things should lead? There aren't, as far as I know at least, any major conflicts in Eriador in the current timeline. Is this something Cubicle 7 will expand on later or are they building blocks for Loremasters to use as they please? Because I'm not entirely sure where to take this buildup in Angmar, let alone how to end it.

Any ideas?

I don't think we are suppose "to end it". My take is that all that stuff is foreshadowing the War in the North, aka what's happening in this area of Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Of course, it can be frustrating for the players. They may want to be "a big deal" and end it. But from a philosophical perspective, I like that they are not the major players of this story. Sometimes they simply starts stuff that are ended by others...

[Otaku-sempai]

That is a thought. I've already pondered Gundabad and its lack of involvement in the War of the Ring. Reactivating Carn Dum as a means of directing the Orc population of Gundabad does seems a logical thing to do. It would seem reasonable that somewhere in the coming years this conflict reaches a climax and explains the lack of direct involvement of Gundabad or the Beornings in the War (as far as we know). After all, there isn't that much to conquer in Eastern Eriador. They don't know about the Shire and they don't know where Rivendell is.

The forces of Carn Dûm probably would have had a general idea of where Rivendell was located. "Hey! There's this valley south of the Trollshaws that our spies can't penetrate. Do you think that there's something here about which we should be concerned?" Carn Dûm would have known about both the Shire and Bree-land, but with the kingdom of Arthedain fallen, those lands might not have been a priority. Their other major concern in Eriador would have been trying to scout out and destroy the remaining pockets of Dúnedain--though they may have suspected that they lived under the protection of Elrond (not really too far from the truth?). Mithlond is probably too strong for Carn Dûm to take on directly without substantial help which might have come from Dol Guldur and the Orcs of the Misty Mountains if it had not been for the Battle of Five Armies and the intervention of the White Council in the year 2941. The remaining Dwarves of the Blue Mountains were likely to be seen as too few in number to worry about.

[Paulon]

I suspect Rivendell's outer defenses are a little more subtle than that. More on the lines of outsiders and most unwelcome guests not noticing that their paths are being diverted around a particular area than a blatant blocking wall of 'No Entry!' to the valley. Though it's vanishingly unlikely that the forces of the Enemy don't have any idea of the general region where Rivendell is located.