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Robin Smallburrow wrote:Don't forget the song of lament for Boromir sung by Legolas & Aragorn re the wind, to me an obvious use of The Speakers

Robin S

Excellent! I had forgotten that one.

I have an Elven female character played by a woman who is sort of shy so she talks to the rocks, trees, etc. as her thing.

She asked a rock "What do you know about the spread of Shadow?"
Rock: "The darkness that long ago covered the Greenwood, shall soon return, in force thrice what it was before, it seems. And I am but a rock. I am a mere witness to these tidings."

She asked a Tree in Mirkwood: "Where are the Orcs?"
Tree: "In the forest."
"Where in the forest?"
Tree: Many places.

Because in my mind, Trees do not think east, west, etc, Mirkwood is 400 miles north south, 200 miles east west, filled with trees streams etc.

So the party then started ooc saying "Dumb as a rock," etc.

So it added color, but nothing really substantive until she asked about Orcs Near, to which the Tree said: "In the direction of the Sun, not long ago, not far. I felt their steps in my roots."

So the party tried to set up ambush, but in doing so they left the paths of Mirkwood and soon strode into a lair of two giant spiders, and almost lost two characters, but through luck and teamwork, made it out of that situation.

venger wrote:A flock of frightened birds fly overhead screeching Orcs! Fire! Flame and Axe!! Orcs!!

Crossing a stream The Speakers reveals the stream is suffering a deep sorrow, but the sorrow has been carried a long way from upstream and the source of the sorrow is unclear and diluted.

The earth here remembers the taste of blood . The stones speak of an ancient battle

Even the camp fire does not wish to light on the eve of the coming storm

The trees are not happy that we are here, they are threatening to drop acorns on us

The grass is traumatized and wailing over the passage of cruel hob nailed boots

Small animals of all types, normally skittish are practically non-existent in this area and those that are seen by the keen eyed are frantic in their pace and say only that death dwells nearby. The vegetation speaks of the chill in the air since death has come and trees are somber and brooding. Stones are strangely silent

The stones speak of the passage of many heavy feet just one moon ago, just as happened during the second age, which might be a clue for an elf with lore

There are some wonderful ideas on this thread, & these especially call out to me as an LM - I often wonder how to play this theme & these help. Thank you

One point I don't see people covering in depth (yet) is that of Men -- or other people -- as well as Elves. Beornings or Woodmen, for example, won't have the same closeness to Middle-earth as Elves may experience, but they may have some, considering they live in a time when people live closer to mother nature, as it were. So, take some of these ideas for the Elves & cut them by a third, & you may have something you can use for your human heroes. With some tweaks, you may also be able to do this for Hobbits, Dwarves, & such.

You are welcome Mim, if I think of more I will add them.

It occurs to me that the speech Galadriel gives at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring could be a use;
The world is changed:
I feel it in the water,
I feel it in the earth,
I smell it in the air...
Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it


I am writing my first full length adventure for TOR and thinking of ways to incorporate these ideas, and have an idea, so I ask a couple of questions..., I know for myself the answer, but I would like to hear feedback.

Would it be possible, that there could exist an area, like a valley, that in the past had seen so much war, bloodshed and atrocities inflicted on its people that the very lands itself mourns?

If so, and the land itself would not be considered "Blighted" in the present, but the fact that it mourns might affect an Elf with "The Speakers" in the same way a blighted land would? The effect would be that Elves with The Speakers must roll vs Corruption, but none of the other races would have to.

Here is the description....
But there is a pall that looms in the valley for any Elf with "The Speakers" virtue.
Long ago this valley was witness to grave atrocities, bloodshed at the hand of a great wickedness. Battles claimed the lives of generations until the bitterness of the blood crusted the ground and tainted the soil so that even the trees and grass were wilted and tinted with the stain of it.
That day has gone, and the younger plants are renewed, but the old trees, the bed-stone and the rocks remember it and are burdened with that memory and even to this day, mourn sorrowfully, weighing the hearts of those who can hear it.

This reminds me of the thread about traits and automatic successes, and the role of the Loremaster. I think the general principle is that if characters rarely use abilities, then let the abilities be "powerful" when invoked. If the characters over-use abilities, make the abilities weaker. If they abuse abilities, start inserting negative unintended consequences.

venger wrote:the speech Galadriel gives at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring

Galadriel doesn't even appear until Chapter 6 of Book Two; how does she give a speech at the beginning?

That speech was given at the beginning of Peter Jackson's movie, I should have elaborated, I wrote that post in haste, post haste lol.
I just happened to remember that part.

When Legolas comes to Hollin he says of the ancient Elves who used to live there that the grass and trees never knew them, only the stones now remember them. This struck me as being a great way to subtly emphasize just how long ago it was. Trees are pretty long lived, so for something to have been so long ago that none of the trees remembered it...

I actually like the idea of land that is "Blighted" only to an Elf with the Speakers. I would use very seldom, but what a way to drive a point home.

Exactly davethelost, this effect will occur only in this one valley and no other place.

It is as if the Blighting has faded to all but the most sensitive Elf, to me lends a feeling of deep, long lived connection to the world