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We're about to launch a Darkening of Mirkwood campaign (with Tales entwined), and will start with Marsh bells, moving to "Don't Leave..".

One of my players has already voiced his wishes for his Fellowship Phase, he wants to establish a town/village/farm (think anything goes really), where the Old Forest Road meets the Running River. Yes, this is on the wrong side of Mirkwood, and to my knowledge right on top of where the Marsh Bells ends.
I like players doing weird stuff, and establishing it would fit well with the vibe of Darkening, first being a success story, and then end tragically. And this is what Fellowship Phases are all about (in my view), the characters (tragic) attempt at leading a normal life in a doomed area.

Biggest problem being, why?
Without the road being used (and highly dangerous to use), who would use the town, which goods would pass through?
A settlement needs some sort of reason to be established.
And won't this risk evolving into a campaign in a campaign?

Other problems:

1) Can the Marsh Dwellers be cleared out? I would say yes, but the player needs to be resourceful, leading to 2...

2) Drain the area of water, but spending treasure and using the fellowship phase to hire dwarven craftsmen to construct a dam, might solve this issue and have the added benefit of the Marsh Dwellers likely fleeing or outright die.

3) Marsh Dwellers dead, marsh drained, now a huge treasure lies there? Would this spark a "mini" gathering of evil? A host of goblins decent upon the "town"? Or do I just say: "This gold should be enough to get your town started"?

4) The Old Forest Road... Reading Heart of the Wild, this road sounds/seems super dangerous! Mountains filled with bats/goblins, and spiders... lots of spiders! And no elven magic to preserve it in any way. Hundreds of years of disuse means there might not even be a road anymore! Any bridges would be gone etc etc...


My first thought was "sounds fun", but the more I think about it, the more I feel this project should/can not succeed.
Not to spite the player, but simply because the odds are to bad.
It could be a project that takes off okay, but then gets so bogged down by problems/catastrophes eventually leading to either the characters madness (living as a hermit in his "town"), death (trying to clear the road) or abandoning it (deciding that there is evil that needs to be dealt with first).


Darkening of Mirkwood (unless the players are super lucky) is a campaign about tragedy.

So firstly, yes I think this is a fantastic idea! Definitely run with it!

As you already understand, the Old Forest Road heads into The Long Marshes at its eastern end so that's the biggest drawback. One thing I've noted from areas that were previous swamps (such as Milan) is that water is often diverted into canals. If the Dwarves could build a canal from the eastern end of the road towards the Running River that would be very powerful in terms of connecting trade.

While the road does not have magic, there are many outposts along the road that could be populated and guarded.

Regarding the draining of the ruins of the Marsh Dwellers I think there's all manner of fun there. I certainly would have the treasure move, vanish or scatter with the creatures as they leave for more suitable ground (the Long Marshes are huge so they could move to another area, failing that they may move towards Black Tarn).

The way I would run this would be as a small, focused version of what's happening in DoM overall. For this to succeed you need the buy-in of various factions: Men of Lake-Town, Bardings, Dwarves of Erebor, Elves of Mirkwood ... probably even Woodmen and Beornings (if you wish the trade to continue West over the Old Ford and Misty Mountains). In addition to the difficulty of getting the free folk to cooperate you will face many pressures from the forest. Marsh Dwellers will make the draining of the swamp very difficult unless a lot of manpower is sent to subdue them. You're also dangerously close to the Mountains of Mirkwood and the areas where the spiders live. No doubt that these will come into play as work starts.

So yeah if the heroes can work on this, dedicate numerous Fellowship Phases to it, several Adventure Phases filled with diplomacy and danger, then I'd let them succeed ... at least temporarily. If they slip then all should be brought to ruin!

bluejay wrote:So firstly, yes I think this is a fantastic idea! Definitely run with it!

As you already understand, the Old Forest Road heads into The Long Marshes at its eastern end so that's the biggest drawback. One thing I've noted from areas that were previous swamps (such as Milan) is that water is often diverted into canals. If the Dwarves could build a canal from the eastern end of the road towards the Running River that would be very powerful in terms of connecting trade.

While the road does not have magic, there are many outposts along the road that could be populated and guarded.

Regarding the draining of the ruins of the Marsh Dwellers I think there's all manner of fun there. I certainly would have the treasure move, vanish or scatter with the creatures as they leave for more suitable ground (the Long Marshes are huge so they could move to another area, failing that they may move towards Black Tarn).

The way I would run this would be as a small, focused version of what's happening in DoM overall. For this to succeed you need the buy-in of various factions: Men of Lake-Town, Bardings, Dwarves of Erebor, Elves of Mirkwood ... probably even Woodmen and Beornings (if you wish the trade to continue West over the Old Ford and Misty Mountains). In addition to the difficulty of getting the free folk to cooperate you will face many pressures from the forest. Marsh Dwellers will make the draining of the swamp very difficult unless a lot of manpower is sent to subdue them. You're also dangerously close to the Mountains of Mirkwood and the areas where the spiders live. No doubt that these will come into play as work starts.

So yeah if the heroes can work on this, dedicate numerous Fellowship Phases to it, several Adventure Phases filled with diplomacy and danger, then I'd let them succeed ... at least temporarily. If they slip then all should be brought to ruin!

Okay, this gives me hope. And good point that the project needs support from all Mirkwood factions, to succeed.

I could use the Restore Old Forest Road task in DoM, and use the whole road as the focus point for the first part of DoM. Let the road, and the project in the marshes, symbolize how 2941 (and also 2946 when the campaign starts) be a time of amazing optimism "A man killed a dragon!!!", and the restoration of the road kick of as this wonderful project, slowly moving to the problems (watchtowers are suddenly overrun), and in the end let the character return to his "town", finding it in ruins, the dam being broken etc etc...

He says he wants to play a Barding, should I try to convince him that this project might be much more important to a dwarf? The road was build by dwarves, and a man does have a limited lifespan...?

I don't see a problem with him playing a Barding. After all this is a period of great expansion for Dale and the ruins of the Marsh Dwellers were once an ancient city of the Northmen, ancestors of the Bardings.

bluejay wrote:I don't see a problem with him playing a Barding. After all this is a period of great expansion for Dale and the ruins of the Marsh Dwellers were once an ancient city of the Northmen, ancestors of the Bardings.

I agree, and also thought the project could spark feelings in Erebor, with dwarves not wanting men to take the glory for restoring the Forest Road, and in turn have the dwarves make expeditions to restore it.

I agree that it's a fab idea. Dale is energetically expanding at this time so its well within what's happening.

As for your questions:
The reason for doing it is trade. It could be a way station on the Celduin between Esgaroth and Dorwinion and able to charge lodging fees, harbourage etc. You could also try and establish trade with Gondor and Rohan by transferring goods from your settlement through the Forest path and then up/down the Anduin. You can already see that your settlement needs inn-keepers, guards, farmers, fisherfolk, carters, customs officials - all sorts!

Marsh dwellers can be cleared out. Either the Adventurers can do it, or they can spend some cash and hire some mercenaries to do it for them.

Dwarves will happily build the village and clear drainage - for a fee! I can't see them wanting to live there, but that's no reason why disputes couldn't arise over tolls for example.

There might well be a mini-gathering of evil at some point. Other things that might happen include plagues, a murder in the village, emmisaries of Sauron trying to subvert your rule, fun stuff like weddings, people showing puncture marks on their throat - all sorts!

You'll need carters, guards and possibly a way-station or two on the Old Forest Road. If trade with Gondor/Rohan/Beornings/Eriador etc takes off, then all that will pay for itself.

I actually think the project has a good chance of succeeding if only because one can see the potential trade benefits. It could be a real trade entrepot to the South and that would be worth a fortune! That doesn't mean that it'll be easy though. You can make it tragic if you want to - personally I don't like sad games, particularly where players have actually done well, but YMMV.

One of the ideas that I've had for years (i.e. long before TOR) was to have the players try to establish a settlement/fortification at the Eastern end of the Old Forest Road, have them take the long way round to start at the western end of the Road and then have the campaign be about clearing up the Road, fighting their way to the settlement at the end of the campaign, only to find it destroyed and abandoned. So sounds like great fun to me.

Yeah if they don't make the road safe nobody is going to come to their party.

Good points.

A town there, with open Forest Road would see wine from Dorwinion, crafts from Erebor going through and west.

Finrod Felagund wrote: I actually think the project has a good chance of succeeding if only because one can see the potential trade benefits. It could be a real trade entrepot to the South and that would be worth a fortune! That doesn't mean that it'll be easy though. You can make it tragic if you want to - personally I don't like sad games, particularly where players have actually done well, but YMMV.

It's not that I like tragic games, but one of the reasons why I like DoM so much is that this is the reason why Frodo 50 years later must succeed!
Sauron is not just some warmonger, like Saruman becomes, who wants power. He is hellbent on destroying everything!
If all people of Middle-Earth surrendered to him, he would STILL destroy everything. He is the discord in the great song.
And Mirkwood is the perfect image of this madness. Greenwood has become Mirkwood by his doing, and the people who try to make a living around are slowly (after 2951) being suffocated by it's corrupting power.

I am totally in love with the whole campaign concept, and that the characters need to invest in Mirkwood. The whole point in them investing time/feelings/hard work in Mirkwood, be it a farm/inn or whatever, is to better make the players understand what it is like for the Woodmen/Beornings etc. to fight the losing battle vs. evil.
Otherwise they'd just be passing adventures, who move on when all is lost.