Gondor In Flames

[angahir]

This campaign is supposed to depict Middle-Earth as "realistically" as possible. Our group has played several other campaigns in Middle-Earth, but they've never really captured the feel of Endor, at least not in my opinion. The fact that we used ICE's MERP/RM as the system and actually hacked and slashed our way through the majority of ICE's Middle-Earth modules might just be the reason for that :)

Anyway, this campaign will begin in the year 1446 of the Third Age - long before the War of the Ring. Sauron is still lurking in Mirkwood under the name of the Necromancer, and most people believe that Darkness has been defeated once and for all. However, these are still troubled times for Gondor, the greatest kingdom of Men. The current King Castamir, also known as the Usurper by his enemies, became king only after he defeated the former King Eldacar in a bloody civil war known as the Kin-Strife. The reasons behind the Kin-Strife are many: Eldacar isn't a pureblooded Dunádan, for his father married a Northwoman. This fact combined with Castamir's thirst for power and the disdain many traditionalist families was enough to plunge the entire kingdom into a civil war. However, it seems that Eldacar was not defeated, and in fact is preparing to wage war against Castamir from his hideout in Rhovanion. With more and more Gondorians growing dissatisfied with Castamir's harsh rule, and even joining the ranks of Eldacar's supporters in Rhovanion, things are starting to look dire for the Usurper, who already has to rely on mercenaries to keep his kingdom in check.

The characters have been given a mission by the Exiled King Eldacar to go the city of Pelargir to unite the city's loyalist groups and to fight against Cor Aran, the King's Circle, the Usurper's infamous secret police. I wasn't really comfortable with the king telling the characters what to do, but in our campaign-burning session the players seemed to want that they'd be given a grand goal, so I went along with that. More info on the character creation process can be found here: http://burningwheel.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2197 Anyways, I've also tried to get the players to somehow understand that BW is a very character-driven game and that it will be a lot more rewarding if they themselves, and not the GM, can come up with goals for the characters. I do believe that we've made some progress in the matter, but we could always do better.

The characters:

Malthar, a Sinda Elf from Lorien. He owes his life to Eldacar, who saved him from a band of Orcs in Mirkwood, and because of his 1st Belief he feels that he must somehow repay Eldacar.

Beliefs:
1) I will always repay deeds done to me, both in good and in bad.
2) This conflict between humans might threaten my homeland. That is why it has to stop.
3) Violence never really does any good.

Instincts:
1) Always wear the Elven Cloak.
2) When things get grim, sing.
3) When I set off, always take a good look around.

Ecthelion, son of Aldarion, a Dunadan noble who was an Advisor to Eldacar's Court and who joined the King in exile. Now, after years in exile, the nobleman is going back to his homeland to fight for the loyalist cause - and if at all possible, for his very own duchy.

Beliefs:
1) Only good friends are to be trusted in these troubled times.
2) I am the rightful master of Cirith Dunrandir (his duchy).
3) Only I have the necessary skills to fulfill this mission.
4) My reverence is to the true crown (from the trait Your Grace).

Instincts:
1) Always follow proper etiquette when in the presence of other nobility.
2) Always put your helmet on in the beginning of battle.
3) Always speak in a way that suits the character I'm portraying as.

Belegil, Ecthelion's servant/bodyguard (NPC)

Beliefs:
1) Loyalty is a man's greatest quality - without it, we're naught but mere beasts.
2) I've had enough of this civil war - one way or another, I will get on with my life.
3) All I want is to be back home in Lond Ernil with my sweet Danwen.

Instincts:
1) Always carry my sword with me.
2) Never turn my back to someone I don't trust.
3) Never betray a friend.

The two actual PCs are 6 LP characters and thus very skilled in quite a few things. Belegil was created according to the rules for such characters and is a fairly skilled 4 LP character. The characters are their players' first BW characters, and since I'm fairly new to the system myself, character creation was a rather lengthy process, and especially the BITs took quite some time. I'm still not entirely happy with the BITs, but they're a whole lot better now than they were to begin with.

The story so far:
The characters have journeyed for almost two months (in-game time) now, and have almost reached Pelargir. The journey has given me and the players a good a chance to try out some of the mechanics of the game. We've had one Fight! and Malthar has even tried out Range and Cover, which he really liked. We've even had our very first Duel of Wits, and quite to my surprise it well really well. The players aren't quite as happy with Resources, however: its meta-game aspects make it a bit difficult to grasp, and it really isn't that easy to understand just what a failed Resources test means. We've also struggled a bit with Artha: the players seem a bit reluctant to play their characters in a way that would bring more Artha (play their Traits in a difficult way or really play their Beliefs to the hilt), but I've yet to determine the real reason to this. Circles, Reputations etc. haven't really affected the game yet, but all in all, I think I've done a pretty good job in displaying the various features of the game.

What to expect in the future:
Like I said, the past sessions have been mostly a way to explore the various mechanics of the game. Story-wise, I've used the journey as a way to give the characters some idea as to what Gondor is really like under Castamir's rule. I haven't really "hit" their BITs, although I've introduced a few interesting situations. All this is about change as the characters come to Pelargir. The characters have actually come up with a pretty interesting plan. Ecthelion is supposed to pose as a minor noble and thus hopefully gain access to other nobles - and possibly powerful allies and solid information. Belegil is supposed to be the "underground" man, the one who actually works with these loyalist groups on a local level. Malthar is supposed to act as a "middleman" between the two, since he's an Elf (who are very respected between the dunedain) and a skilled one at that (high Stealthy + Elven Cloak = very hard to detect, especially at night).

[Grong]

Hey I posted about some tips for a Lord of the Rings Campaign in sparks, but haven't gotten any feedback yet could you help?

"The wheel, it burns!"

[angahir]

Finally an update! We only play this campaign once in a fortnight, and I'm quite busy as it is, so this thread will update on a semi-regular basis.

6th Session - 14.-18. Gwaeron, 1446 T.A.

The characters were on a ship bound for Pelargir, the new capital of Gondor and a city that is loyal to Castamir almost to a man. Now they needed a suitable cover story, just in case the Côr Aran takes an interest in their affairs. After a short discussion they have a story: Ecthelion, posing as a knight by the name of Galador Merhast, is supposedly looking for a lost heirloom of his family. The heirloom is a sword of Númenorean origin called Tarmellen (sindar for "Noble Friend"). Malthar is posing as Galador's friend from the Elven haven of Edhellond, where he's actually never been.

The characters had to give the majority of their weapons to the City Guard, which they had anticipated but which still caused some distress. They were allowed to keep on weapon, because Ecthelion was posing as a knight and Malthar was, well, an Elven knight. The characters wanted to ask further questions concerning this procedure, and a knight of the Royal Guard by the name of Algirion provided them with the answers. The weapons are going to be held in Guard Keep, and the only way to (legally) get their hands on them would be to either get permission from a member of the Royal family or from two members of the City Council.

The characters got a room in a nice little inn called the Lion and the Unicorn and further discussed their plans. They both felt that they should get their arms and armor back, and Ecthelion in particular felt that Malthar should go get them from the Guard Keep – not right now, but soon never the less. Both characters greed that staying in a house of their own would be for the best, as it would both come cheaper in the end and, more importantly, there would be less curious people hanging around. Ecthelion then remembered that he had (or at least, had had some ten years ago, before the Kin-Strife) an acquaintance in town who might be able to rent him a house. (Circles test with an Ob 3 produced the acquaintance). He then asked around where he could find this Borodil Serni and heard that he had a house somewhere in King's Town. So the characters went to look for the house. On their way there they noticed that the city, especially the docks, seemed to be bustling with activity, unlike Osgiliath and Minas Anor to the north. They entered the massive, triangle-shaped Old City and after a while they found one of the houses that belonged to house Serni, a prominent noble family. They entered and got to meet Borodil, a youngish Dúnadan noble. He didn't seem to recognize Ecthelion. Serni did have a house he was willing to rent, and after he gave the characters a quick tour of the place, they agreed that the deal would be signed on the following day. The characters the returned to the inn and spent the rest of the day discussing their plans for the next day.

Next morning, Ecthelion went off to sign the rent documents, while Malthar went to meet Belegil at the North Gate. The party had agreed that Belegil would come to Pelargir from the north, while the PCs would on a boat, just so the Côr Aran couldn’t connect them – Belegil is, after all, supposed to be the one who works directly with the various loyalist groups. On his way to the north gate, Malthar met a nobleman by the name of Carnendil, who invited him for dinner on the following day. Malthar agreed. After spending an hour or two at the north gate, Malthar finally noticed Belegil arrive. To his surprise, however, Belegil started running – not towards Malthar, but away from him. Malthar, being the quick Elf that he is, caught up with him. Belegil did’t seem troubled and Malthar didn’t really feel like asking the Dúnadan any questions, so they just entered an inn nearby and went over what the PCs had done – and what the party is going to do next. Malthar told Belegil that they’re going to meet their contact, a man by the name of Algirion, in the evening at an inn called the Blind Kraken.

Meanwhile, in the Old City, Ecthelion went to close the deal with Borodil. He had to use his seal ring while signing the document, and since his seal ring bears the seal of House Tyliand, and not House Merhast, he might be in trouble, if someone should notice the fact. Borodil seemed disappointed that Malthar hadn’t come along, and invited the PCs to a feast on the following day. Ecthelion also sold Borodil his precious War Horse, and the men agreed that Borodil would pay on the following day at the feast. The characters met around noon at the inn. The characters then spent a few hours just waiting for evening. Malthar then left to go tell Belegil that they would go to the Blind Kraken at slightly different times, just so they couldn’t be connected to each other. Belegil asked Malthar where the inn was, and the Elf realised that he had no idea where the inn was, which was slightly embarrassing. Luckily, it turned out that the Blind Kraken was a well known inn in King’s Quarter. Meanwhile, at the inn, Ecthelion was busy Disguising himself. Malthar returned to the inn to check Echthelion’s disguise. Then the characters left for the Blind Kraken.

The inn was rather crowded. Malthar entered the inn first, and noticed only one familiar face in the crowd – Algirion, the guardsman they had met in the harbour, was apparently enjoying a pint in the corner. The Elf made his way to the second floor and decided to wait for the others. Ecthelion was the second to enter the inn, and upon seeing the guardsman he (finally) realised, that the contact they were supposed to meet and the Dúnadan sitting in the corner had the exact same name. After Belegil had entered the inn as well and the party found themselves all sitting by the counter, Ecthelion decided to go and sit in Algirion’s table. The others soon joined them, and after Ecthelion and Algirion recited the poem that proved that all were who they claimed to be, the group got finally got to business. Algirion proved to have some valuable information: there are at least two loyalist groups in Pelargir, although Algirion knew contact only one of them. Castamir’s two sons were the Squire and the Warden of the Haven, which meant that the Calimehtar family pretty much ruled Pelargir – as one might suspect from the royal family. The group discussed for quite a while a finally they agreed, that the party and Algirion should keep their dealings as discrete as possible. Algirion promised that by tomorrow morning he’d have a list of places where they could leave him messages. He also agreed that he’d arrange a meeting with one of the loyalist groups.

--------------------

I really enjoyed this session, and the players seemed happy with it too. I tried to hit their BITs quite often, but it didn't really go like I had planned. Since all had a fun time, I really can't complain - I'll just have to try harder. We're also still struggling with Resources a bit - just how much should, for instance, one's Resource rating improve, if he sells his War Horse for a fair price?

[luke]

I'll just have to try harder. We're also still struggling with Resources a bit - just how much should, for instance, one's Resource rating improve, if he sells his War Horse for a fair price?

Hey Angahir, why don't you repost this question in The Burning Wheel and we can talk a bit about it.

-L

[angahir]

7th Session - 19.-20. Gwaeron, 1446 T.A.

Things started off with Malthar going to see Algirion about the list of contact places. They had agreed that Algirion would have the list by the next morning, and so Malthar was on his way to the harbour in Gobel Ciryaher by sunrise. He had no trouble finding the Guardsman, as he was monitoring the same section of the harbour that Malthar and Ecthelion had arrived in a few days earlier. He waited until the Dúnadan finished his discussion with an apparent merchant and then approached him. “Ah yes,” said Algirion, loud enough for the nearby men of the City Guard to hear, “here is the note you forgot the other day. You really should keep better care of your things” Algirion handed the Elf the note. Malthar murmured something in reply and started walking towards his house. When he was a bit further way he looked at the list and found it to be written in Tengwar script, while the language was Sindar. It contained a place for each day of the week. Malthar returned to the house and showed the list to Echtelion. The men agreed that they should both go and see, just what the places on the list were like. That would, however, have to wait, for the men had a lunch to attend to.

Borodir Serni’s city villa was as impressive as the men remembered. They were asked to wait a bit for the other guests to arrive. Serni joined them soon enough and they had some wine. Soon the other guests arrived. Serethor Lintoron, a nobleman in his mid-thirties, arrived first. His sister Merilin joined them soon, and he had a surprise guest with him – a Sinda Elf by the name of Fuingil. With all the guests now gathered, Serni led them to the dining room. On the wall to the left there was a massive tapestry, depicting some men dressed in traditional Númenorean armor, with Swan ships on the background. Ecthelion recognised the two characters as Isildur and Anárion, the sons of Elendil. The lunch began with a traditional gesture: the party faced west, to honor ancient Númenor. Then the feast began. The cuisine consisted mainly of creatures of the sea, from various types of fish to shellfish and so forth. While Ecthelion had to listen to the Lintorons go on and on about how wrong it was for the peasants of Calenhardon to revolt against the King, and how wise the King had been in sending a cavalry detachment to crush the rebels, Malthar had his own problems. Apparently, someone had told Fuingil that he was from Edhellond, and he then had to answer several questions about life in Edhellond and what he was doing in Pelargir – no easy matter, considering Malthar hails from Lorien, and has never even been to Edhellond. After a while a slightly intoxicated Serethor Lintoron stood up and said: “Dear friends! Let us drink a toast to the man who elevated Pelargir, and indeed Gondor, to the splendour and honour that is rightfully hers. A toast to the twenty-second King of Gondor, Castamir Azrakhôr!” The others stood up to drink the toast. Malthar noticed, that both Serni and Fuingil had peculiar expression, although he couldn’t really fathom the meaning of those expressions. The lunch was now over and the other guests had gone. It was only then that Serni remembered something: “Ah, that’s right! Your money! I’ll send someone to get it right away.” Two servants soon returned carrying a rather large chest filled with silver; a payment on a war horse sold by Ecthelion. Malthar and Ecthelion took the chest, thanked Serni and made their way to Guild Town, where their house is.

The men thought about where to put the money for a bit and then just decided to put in Ecthelion’s wardrobe. Then the two decided to go and have a look at the city’s library. They crossed the bridge to Gobel Ciryaher and after searching a bit, they came to a boulevard as magnificent as the one in King’s Town. A massive temple stood in the middle of the boulevard, its golden domes gleaming in the afternoon sun. “I wonder who that temple could be dedicated to. Eru, I suppose…” pondered Ecthelion – for in the land of Gondor there are few temples indeed. After walking around the boulevard a bit the men found what they were looking for – the Royal Archives. The men entered and after making some tough questions to the clerk who was waiting in the reception hall, they deemed to Archives adequate for their purposes; to find out just what had happened in Gondor during Castamir’s reign. Malthar looked for information on Edhellond and soon discovered that Fuingil had tricked him: Fuingil had asked Malthar about Lord Carduin of Edhellond, when the real Lord was Celegor. Then Malthar had to go to dinner, as a nobleman by the name of Carnendil had invited him. Ecthelion stayed in the library, trying to re-acquaint himself with his homeland after a long exile.

Carnendil Culcamalion Magirius was apparently a nobleman of significance. Not only was his house a very impressive three-story building built from stone and adorned with marble pillars and statues, his house was located in the Faithful Quarter, the most prestigious part of Pelargir. Malthar was led into a large dining room where Carnendil and his family had been waiting for him. They started the dinner with the only possible way; by facing west for a while. Then Malthar could enjoy his second grand feast of the day, this one even more magnificent than the one at Borodir’s. Carnendil asked him how he liked Pelargir and also why had come to the town in the first place; few of the Eldar ever visit the place. Malthar replied by giving him the cover story about the quest for a lost heirloom and so forth. Malthar used the opportunity to mention the fact that the Guard had taken most of their weapons and armor, and since Carnendil was a member of the Council of Pelargir, perhaps he could do something about it. Carnendil didn’t seem too keen on the matter, but didn’t give a definitely negative response, either.

After the dinner Carnendil asked Malthar to join him for a walk in the Galen Mallos. Malthar agreed. “My wife would’ve liked to hear you sing, but for some reason she didn’t dare to ask you,” said the nobleman as the two were walking down the front stairs of Carnendil’s house. Malthar, no doubt sensing an opportunity to improve his relations with a powerful noble, replied: “Well, you may tell your wife that I’d be more than happy to sing to her – I’m also quite good with a flute, although I don’t have it with me at the moment.” “Well, I didn’t mean right away, but I do admit I, too, would like to hear one of the Eldar sing. Perhaps someday soon…?” asked the Dúnadan. “Quite possibly yes. I have other engagements, but I shall inform you when I know a suitable time,” answered the Elf. “Splendid!” The men walked in silence for a while, admiring the beauty of the park.
“So, I how do you like our fair city?”
“Well, I must admit it is more impressive than I had anticipated. For instance, the temple in Gobel Ciryaher is a magnificent sight.”
“Ah yes, the temple. I must admit that it is a sight to behold, but I feel our King should’ve used the money on something more useful. For instance, have you seen our northern cities, Minas Anor and Osgiliath?”
“Yes…”
“The King should’ve used the money to repair those cities; especially Osgiliath is in bad shape. But our King and those around him seem to take in the North and matters thereof; instead they focus on Pelargir and the Sea.”
“I see…”
“I would appreciate if you kept my comments private; they aren’t exactly popular in this city.”
“Your opinions are your own; I see no reason to divulge them.”
Again, they walked in silence for a moment. The setting sun set the park’s mallos trees alight with a golden halo.
“Have you met any other men of importance in this town? I only ask because I’m interested in knowing how the people you’ve met might influence your opinions.”
“I have met a nobleman by the name of Borodir Serni,” answered the Elf.
“Ah, a pleasing and well-behaved young man if there ever was one. Also, as I understand, he is the next member of the Council, when a seat is made available.”
“That’s interesting…”
“Any others?”
“Well, I met these siblings, Serethor and Merilin Lintoron, at a lunch today.”
“Ah yes, the Lintoron family. The King couldn’t ask for more faithful followers; unfortunately, the Lintorons seem to cling on to certain viewpoints with too much enthusiasm.”
The walk ended. Malthar thanked Carnendil and promised to let him know, when he could visit them again.

Meanwhile, Ecthelion went out to hire a servant. He went to Serni’s to ask for some recommendations on where to find a good servant, and also to ask Serni if he knew where a friend of his, a nobleman by the name of Celegor could be found. Serni’s servants were able to both find out where Celegor lived, and where to find good servants. Ecthelion went to meet a servant called Gindel Darvalion, and after a short discussion the two men agreed on the terms of service, payment etc. Gindel would start work on the following day. Quite pleased with himself, Ecthelion returned to the house. Malthar joined him soon, and as the sun was already setting, the men decided to immediately go out and look out the places on Algirion’s list. In the third place (in an alley behind the third house west of Tariff Gate) they found a note, that merely said “Eärnil’s bathhouse, tonight after sunset” The men knew it to be a message from Algirion and that it with all likelihood was the time and place of their meeting with the representatives of one of the few loyalist groups of Pelargir, the so-called Horrid Scum. As the sun had actually just set, the two were in a hurry. They dashed two the streets of city to their house; Malthar to get his precious Elven Cloak and Ecthelion to disguise himself. Ecthelion was actually in such a hurry that he managed to destroy his glues, so he decided to go undisguised.

Eärnil’s bathhouse was a magnificent structure, with pillars built from green marble. The two had taken a separate route and therefore Ecthelion reached the building first, and promptly went in to take a bath. Malthar, for reasons known only to him, decided to first stay outside the bathing areas, and so he waited for a bit in the entrance hall. After a while, since no-one had approached him, he too decided to go in. Soon thereafter the two found themselves in the same warm pool, and they were approached by two men: “So you finally came… we’ve been waiting for quite some time,” said the smaller man, who looked like your average Gondorian. “I understand you wish to discuss with us” Malthar replied hastily: “That is correct, but don’t you think some place less… public would be better suited for our discussion?” The man looked at him and said: “Very well, the hall in the second story of Traveller’s Rest in twenty minutes. Don’t be late.” The two men left, and Ecthelion and Malthar soon followed them.

Traveller’s Rest turned out to be a large, three-story inn, apparently frequented by travelling merchants and the like. The atmosphere in the main hall was rather joyful, but Malthar and Ecthelion managed to make their way to the second story despite the obviously drunk – and very lively – crowd. The two men were waiting for them in a corner table. “So, what is this about and why are you talking to us,” asked the smaller man. Malthar and Ecthelion then proceeded to explain that they had been sent by the Exiled King himself to unite the loyalist opposition in Pelargir. As proof they had letters written by Eldacar. The two men didn’t exactly look overjoyed by this. “You can’t just assume that were going to believe you just like that and let you outsiders come in here and start telling us what to do and how to do it. It just doesn’t work that way,” said the smaller man, who had been doing most of the talking; his partner, a robust, fair-haired man, had been very quiet. “We shall deliver news of you and of your ‘proposition’ to our leader; although I can tell you now, that he will probably require some kind of a… demonstration of loyalist tendencies.” He looked at Malthar, who had already stated, that he didn’t like the more violent methods used by the Horrid Scum, and added: “A demonstration that will not be to your liking, I’d wager.” The men discussed for a bit more on various subjects, mostly on the Scum’s actions and relations to other loyalist groups. In the end, Malthar and Ecthelion walked away with – at best – a vague idea of what the Scum had been doing, a promise that if they would show their loyalism in a manner befitting the whim of the leader of the Scum, they might just be able to do what they had been sent to do in the first place – and a name that might be useful in dealings with the loyalists of Dol Gwathuirim.

The men decided to take separate routes to their house. Night had fallen and the city streets had turned very quiet indeed. Ecthelion, who was walking along a small street, noticed something gleaming in the corner of his eye. As he turned to see just what it was, he realised it to be the moonlight dancing on the blades of three figures rushing towards him. Thinking fast, Ecthelion did what seemed like the best choice: he ran away. The three figures rushed in after him and seemed very intent on killing him. What followed was essentially a chase: The three men, armed with daggers and small swords, tried to tackle and kill Ecthelion, who was frantically waving his sword all over the place in an attempt to keep his assailants at an arms length. A few failed tackle attempts and a few small cuts later Ecthelion managed to reach Tariff Gate, where he saw two Guards. When he reached them, he spun around and proudly said: “Come now, if you dare.” The three figures immediately started running in the opposite direction and soon vanished from sight. Echtelion started explaining the event to the Guards:
“As you can see, I was attacked… aren’t you going to go after them?”
“That’s useless, since were clad in armor and they have a massive head start to begin with. Besides, it’s pretty obvious who’s behind this,” said the Guards.
“It is? And just who might that be?”
“Well, the only criminal in this city who has the means to order such a hit is the Straight Man. So what you need to do is think what you have done to anger him.”
“Just who is this Straight Man?”
The guard grinned: “If we knew that, he wouldn’t be a problem anymore, now would he. If you know who he is, please let us know, and we’ll take it from there.”
“Right… I think I’ll be on my way,” said Ecthelion and made his way to his house.

Malthar and Ecthelion discussed the event and agreed that it might be better, if they moved together, at least in the night-time. Malthar also added that this event might even be useful, as it clearly illustrates their need to get their other arms and armor back. They also discussed just what they should say if someone started asking about the discrepancies in their story; more precisely, why did Malthar claim to be from Edhellond when he apparently knew very little of it. In the morning Gindel Dandalion arrived with the documents that had to be signed to make the service contract official. Malthar then sent Gindel to Carnendil’s house to tell the nobleman that Malthar would be more than happy to perform on the following day. Soon thereafter, the Sinda they had met before came to visit them. It was apparent, that he knew Malthar wasn’t really from Edhellond, and even told the men that he, Fuingil Dagnirion, actually was from Edhellond. A rather heated debate ensued and as a result Malthar admitted that he was actually from Lórien. This happened only after Fuingil had, among other things, threatened to let others know about Malthar’s strange claims. Malthar, as perceptive as ever, even noticed a very disturbing expression on Fuingil’s face at some point. Needless to say, the two men felt that Fuingil was a strange person and one who might need to be investigated.

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Any thoughts on the post? Too long? Too short? Too much dialogue? Too little dialogue?

[angahir]

A few thoughts on the mechanics and so on.

The Fight! between Ecthelion and the three men was a very interesting one. Luke's thread on Multiple Combatants was very useful, and all in all, I'd say we're really starting to understand positioning, weapon lengths etc. Durgil's Fighting Steel was also useful, as Ecthelion used Disengage a lot :) However, I forgot to make an inital positioning test in the beginning of the combat, before we started scripting, so that was a clear mistake. I also had to go through the book a bit during the fight, so next time I'll make sure I know the rules and don't have to waste time going through the book.

I'm hoping to introduce more "bangs" to the next session, as I'm not entirely satisfied with how the characters are playing their BITs. However, we have had some very good moments that were connected to the BITs, so I'll just have to try harder in that respect. Also, we finally got the Resource problem out of the way - I just added two to their Resources, and we're going to start handling things like they should be, according to the book. We'll see how that works out, but so far so good.

[angahir]

8th Session, 20.-22. Gwaeron, 1446 T.A.

To begin with, the characters finished checking out the places on Algirion's list. Later that afternoon Malthar went to dine with Carnendil. He also performed to the nobleman and his family, who were very pleased to hear an Elf sing and play the flute. However, Malthar wasn't really pleased with his performance. This led to some problems later on. You see, the characters want to get two members of the City Council to support their claim to get the rest of their weapons and armor back. So a Duel of Wits was held after the performance. My dice were smoking hot, which pretty soon led to Carnendil winning the duel. He however had to compromise and did this by allowing the matter to be brought up again. The problems arose when the Dúnadan ended up insulting Malthar by commenting on the performance. The Elf didn't like this at all, and left the Dúnadan very soon after that.

Meanwhile, Ecthelion had looked up an acquintance of his, yet another nobleman by the name of Celegor Maendil. Echthelion took a calculated risk by presenting himself before the man, for it was obvious that he would be recognized. The gambit payed off, for it seems that Calegor has become quite a powerful man - he even agreed to support the characters' claim. Ecthelion then returned to their house. The rather pissed-off Malthar joined him soon and explained what had happened, also saying that he would get back at the "cocky nobleman" somehow. Ecthelion decided to go and see Carnendil, whom he hadn't actully even met. Carnendil agreed to see him, but only because he was a friend of Malthar's. Ecthelion then tried to get the nobleman to support the characters' claim by - you guessed it - Duel of Wits. My dice were once again smoking hot, and theirs weren't, so the duel was a very short one. However, being the polite nobleman he is, Carnendil agreed that he might still support the claim, if they only could provide a more solid reason. Ecthelion returned to the house.

That night the characters had a meeting with the representatives of the Horrid Scum. It seems the mysterious leader of the Scum want's the characters to prove their true loyalty in a rather bloody way: they are supposed to kill the Captain of the Royal Guard. The characters weren't too happy with this; especially Malthar didn't like the idea at all. Ecthelion didn't seem entirely against the idea, but wasn't exactly thrilled with it either. After a while, the members of the Scum, saying that the characters could probably prove their loyalty by doing something equally dangerous or something. The characters went back to their house to discuss things further.

The following morning, the two decided to head off for Dol Gwathuirim, where the Daen and the Haradrim lived. The area was like a another world, despite the fact that they had only walked a few blocks from the harbour. The people seemed somehow different; maybe it was the way they all seemed to watch the two men, especially the Dúnadan carrying his sword, so intently. They eventually found the contact they were looking for, a "nag doctor" by the name of Maelchon. They were soon invited to his apartment, where the men introduced themselves and told what they were ordered to do by the True King. Perhaps surprisingly, the Daen proved to be an amiable fellow who seemed happy to give information on the loyalists and was also keen on starting co-operation with the other loyalist groups. However, he wasn't able to provide them with information on a possible third loyalist group.

That night the characters were asked to come to a meeting with Algirion. The Royal Guard-turned-loyalist arrived with another fellow, this one a small man who had a rather nervous look about him. It turns out that this Parmandil had some rather worrisome news. Apparently he had been working as a scribe in Osgiliath when Castamir lay siege to the town and forced Eldacar to exile. Some months after the fall of Osgiliath, Parmandil was working as a scribe in Pelargir, when a collection of documents arrived from Osgiliath. What made these scrolls dangerous was that they quite possibly contained information on Eldacar's relatives in Rhovanion - information that could lead to Eldacar being assasinated by the Usurper. Parmandil had used some trick to get these documents transferred to a small archive in a distant town, and thought he was done with them once and for all. However, only a few days ago, the documents had been transferred back to the Sea Lord's Tower and were to examined once again. What made matters extremely worrisome was that the order to examine the documents had been given by Caramir, the head of the Côr Aran himself. The characters agreed to try and look into this, even though the Sea Lord's Tower also houses the headquarters of the Côr Aran. Algirion was able to provide them with additional information and also promised to try and find the blueprints of the fortress for the characters...

[angahir]

9th Session, 23.-25. Gwaeron, 1446 T.A.

The following day the men met Algirion at an inn called The Sword and The Crown. The Royal Guard gave them additional information on the Sea Lord's Tower and even gace them a hand-drawn map of the place. The tower wouldn't be easily sneaken into: it lay in the middle of the town, surrounded by the inner harbour of the town. The Tower company was sizeable, and to make things even worse the headquarters of the Côr Aran, the Usurper's more-or-less secret police, were in the former Halls of the Faithful, below the tower. Algirion mentioned that it might be possible for our heroes to gain entry by simply claiming that they needed to conduct some kind of research within the Chamber of Records, where the documents were to be found. They would need a letter of recommendation from a noble or someone else of importance, but they would at least get into the tower.

The men retreated to their home to think about the matter. Ecthelion went to get the previously mentioned letter of recommendation from Celegor, a noble and friend of his. Then the two started really thinking about the tower, the documents and the task that lay ahead. Since they had a pretty good way of getting in, they just needed to think what they would do with the papers, if they found them. Should they try to destroy them in the tower or would it be better to smuggle them away and get rid of them later? After a lengthy discussion they simply decided to try and smuggle them out in a bag specifically designed for this purpose. Failing that, they would try to use ink or something like to render the documents useless. Having come up with all this, the men started making preparations. First, Malthar went to see Belegil at an inn in the northern part of the town. Belegil was to deliver a letter to a loyalist in Osgiliath, so that if our heroes failed in their quest and the Usurper would finally know where the Exiled King was to be found, Eldacar would know to be on the look-out for assasins. Belegil was actually rather pleased at this, since it at least gave hime something worth doing.

Thus, armed with a bag purchased from the Daen, containing quite a few secret pockets and more than a reasonable number of ink bottles, the two men started walking towards the pier where they would find a boat to take them to the Sea Lord's Tower...

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A rather short session, and most of it was merely planning and preparation for the task. I suppose it was reasonable, or indeed what one could expect, but I'm not too pleased with this or the previous session either, for that matter. Still, the next session will hopefully be quite a bit better, as the Tower offers me a chance to get the characters involved in quite a few things.

[angahir]

10th Session, 25.-29. Gwaeron, 1446 T.A.

Our brave loyalists made their way to the very center of Pelargir, the Garth that housed an entire squadron of the Royal Navy. Their objective, Barad Hiraer, the Sea-Lord's Tower, was a very impressive bastion that rose some 200 feet above sea-level. They found a boat that would take them to this tower, that was not only guarded by an entire company of the City Guard, but also beneath it lay the former Halls of the Faithful, nowadays the headquarters of the Côr Aran, the infamous King's Circle. The boat made its way inside the cliff that the Tower stood upon. The ancient master-artisans of Númenor had carved a very impressive small harbour inside the cliff. The area was filled with lanterns, small sea-going vessels and men of the city guard. Ecthelion explained their business here to the guards and they were given permission to climb stairs that went around the central pillar of this grotto. After showing their letter of recommendation a second time to the guards at the top of the stairs, they finally entered the tower.

The Archive of Chambers was a vast collection of royal documents, tax documents and other kinds of papers, mostly from around Pelargir and Lebennin. The vastness of the task soon dawned on the the men, as the leading scribe Helnamil showed them the many shelves and tables where the documents that had not yet been processed were. The two set about the task and within the first two days Ecthelion was able to find two of the four scroll-cases they were looking for. Meanwhile, Malthar had only managed to find one of the maps they were also looking for (I used Pe for the test, as it seemed most appropriate… Ecthelion had 3 or 4 success whereas Malthar’s dice betrayed him and gave him only one success.) The men switched the findings of the cases and returned the cases back to the shelves, while slipping the original documents to their bag. On the third day the situation changed: a tall, stern-looking Dùnadan came to the Chamber and had a few words with Helnamil. Immediately after that conversation Helnamil ordered all the scribes to start going through the un-archived materials. Ecthelion asked one of the scribes what they were looking for and it appears they were now all looking for the same four scroll-cases with a green ribbon and the marking 1434, III in red ink. (Let It Ride ended there, as the situation had changed… it was time for some new Pe tests). Soon after having found on of the cases that Ecthelion had already found and dealt with, one of the scribes did manage to find a case our heroes hadn’t yet found. The two went off to the library to discuss the situation and to come with a way of dealing with this third scroll-case that now was on Helnamil’s desk. The plan they came up with was pretty good: Ecthelion would use his Conspicious ability to draw the attention of the scribes to him and Malthar would sneak up to Helnamil’s desk and change papers inside the scroll-case. The plan went exceedingly well, and so they had only one more scroll case and a few maps to locate. (Our first Linked Test, and both me and the players were happy with the mechanic and the results… Echtelion only has a Conspicious B3, so he used some artha and possibly a FoRK to come up with three successes. This meant of course that Malthar had no problems with his test: B6 Speed + 2D from working carefully vs. Ob 1) In a day or so, the two men did find the rest of the documents and were able to deal with them in a proper manner. Quite happy with themselves, they were now able to stop going to the Tower. All in all, this endeavour had taken 4 days and quite a bit hard work.

Algirion had left the men a message saying that he had some urgent matters to discuss with them and that they should come to the Sword and Crown Inn to see him. Algirion was seemingly nervous, pacing up and down the room he had been waiting for our heroes. He hadn’t seemed nervous before, so something important must’ve happened. Algirion proceeded to explain the matter: apparently, Caramir, the head of the Côr Aran knows who the Ecthelion and Malthar were in actuality, what they have been up to recently, where they lived and so on. The reason for this was that Algirion had told him. Upon hearing this, Malthar drew his sword and pointed it at Algirion’s throat. Algirion continued by explaining that he truly was a loyalist, but that Caramir had found out about this and threatened to hurt him and his family, if he didn’t co-operate with the Côr Aran. Caramir had had little choice in the matter. However, now he had finally been able to move his family into a secure location and had immediately contacted Ecthelion and Malthar and told them the truth in the matter. The Dúnadan also said he would like to continue as a loyalist in Pelargir, but it was really up to the characters… however, if they told other loyalists what he had done, he wouldn’t be able to remain in the city and wouldn’t, for instance, be able to arrange a meeting with the leaders of the Horrid Scum. The men decided to allow him to remain a loyalist, and had him arrange a meeting with the leaders of the Scum as soon as possible. Algirion also said that the Côr Aran was going to raid the house the men had been living in a few hours, so they would have to hurry, if they wanted to save what little there was to be saved. The men left Algirion in his room and had a quick conversation on the dark streets outside the Inn. Ecthelion would now go to an inn the Lion and the Unicorn and wait there for Malthar, who would go their soon-to-be-former house and take some money and their few belongings before the Crows got them.

Night had already fallen, and the dark streets of Pelargir were mostly empty. Malthar made his way to the house. He sneaked to the backside of the house and silently opened the window that been deliberately left open for just such purposes. He then climbed into Ecthelion’s room and started gathering their few possessions. He also took as much of the silver as he could carry without it becoming a problem. He then went to the living room and actually wrote a little note to their servant Gindel, explaining that they had had to leave the city in a hurry and that Gindel could take his wages from the silver in the chest. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the outside. It sounded like a thump of sorts… or it could be that somebody was standing by the doorway. Silently as only an Elf, Malthar made his way to the bedroom and slipped out through the window. He then quickly and ever so quietly made his way in this alley and crossed the street some three or four houses from their now former residence. He then started going back to take a look at their house. Once he had reached a good position he instantly understood what had caused the sound he had heard earlier: someone had apparently been shot by an arrow. The corpse lay on the street immediately in front of their former house. Then he noticed some movement in the shadows and tensed. A man, apparently one who knew what he was doing, quickly crept up to the cadaver and kneeled before it. It was apparent that this man knew how to move silently and unnoticed in the shadows. However, this didn’t help him much as the moment he started looking around himself an arrow pierced his left eye and he fell to the ground. Since he could actually see in the darkness, Malthar could deduce where the arrow had come from and started going to that direction, making sure he didn’t make himself a target in the process. He could see a dark figure standing on the top of a house, with what appeared to be a bow in his hand. The figure then turned around and started running on the roofs. Malthar tried to follow him but soon gave up, both because the figure had a proper head start and because he didn’t really feel like chasing some strange archer when he really had more pressing matters to take care of. Malthar made his way to Dol Gwathuirim and actually stayed the night at Maelchon’s stables. When the Daen woke up in the morning, Malthar explained that he was in some problems and asked to be allowed to stay at Maelchon’s house for the rest of the day. Maelchon agreed.

Later that day, Malthar went to meet Ecthelion in the inn he was staying in. He mentioned the strange occurrences that had taken place last night. It was possible, the men agreed, that this was the doing of some acquaintance of Algirion’s, possibly as an apology of sorts. But somehow that explanation seemed quite implausible… Then the men went to the northernmost pier in the city, where a man called Old Murron was waiting for them. Murron rowed the men outside the city walls to Northbend, where he then told the men to go one of the warehouses on the riverbank. Inside, Ecthelion and Malthar were finally given an opportunity to meet the leaders of the Horrid Scum. They were an odd pair indeed. One of them was called the Bergil, and he didn’t exactly come across as a loyalist leader, as he was small and frail and looked very nervous indeed. The other was obviously a pure-blooded Dúnadan by the name of Thorondil, and he was the largest man both Ecthelion and Malthar had ever seen. He was dressed like a simple labourer, but his whole demeanour was that of a soldier’s. There was a third man also present at the table: Algirion. Ecthelion and Malthar then proceeded to explain why they had come here, who they were representing and just what they wanted from the Horrid Scum. Or at least they tried to do so. You see, it was rather apparent that the two men didn’t really have a concrete plan just yet, so they couldn’t really tell the Scum anything new. Our heroes also told they were going to leave the city for a while, and asked if the loyalists could arrange for some horses. Thorondil agreed to this. Ecthelion and Malthar explained that they had a friend who return to the city soon and asked the Scum to contact him, explain what had happened and to even make him a part of the Scum. Finally, Ecthelion promised that they would be back in the city in a month’s time, and even arranged a meeting at an inn in Northbend. With that, the meeting was over. The men waited outside for the horses they had been promised. Thorondil kept his word and soon our heroes were riding towards Cirith Dunrandir, Ecthelion’s former citadel, now presumably in the hands of someone else.

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Personally, I feel that this was one of the best sessions this far. A lot of things happened, we got try out some new mechanics and Ecthelion’s decision to leave Pelargir and go to Cirith Dunrandir was great, because it now taking the story to a direction I didn’t expect (just yet, in any case). This will also give me and the players a chance to try some new things – Ecthelion might even end up fighting against the current lord of Cirith Dunrandir. Ah, the possibilities!

As always, I’d love to hear some feedback! Honestly, you could even point out the grammatical errors I’ve made :D

[angahir]

11th Session, 29. Gwaeron – 7. Gwirith, 1446 T.A.

The ride from Pelargir to Cirith Dunrandir was a lengthy one. Malthar wasn’t exactly born to ride, in fact the first time he’d really ridden a horse had been only months before, when the men had begun their long journey towards Pelargir. Despite Malthar’s various problems in riding, the journey was uneventful. The only real change proved to be the landscape; whereas Lebennin was a land of plains and meadows filled with flowers, Belfalas was full of hills and small forests and the like.

So it was that on the evening of the 6th day of Gwirith, or April as the common folk say, the men approached the town of Cirith Dunrandir. The town was a rather large one, although small in comparison to Pelargir or the large cities of Northern Gondor. Ecthelion first tried to contact Banas, who had been the leader of the town militia some ten years ago, only to find out from his wife that he had been captured and taken to the citadel. Not wanting to arouse suspicion by asking many suspicious questions, the men took a room at an inn and returned to question Banas’ wife on the following day. They found out that Banas was actually a part of some rebel movement, one that was fighting against the lord of Cirith Dunrandir. Erellos was apparently a man who ruled with a heavy hand, and quite a few were displeased with him. They also found out that a member of city guard, one Malrin, knew something of the matter, and proceeded to question him.

Malrin indeed knew quite a few things. He recognized Ecthelion as his old lord, and was as forthcoming as could be expected. The rebels were, in fact, mostly men who had been soldiers in the keep when Ecthelion had still been the lord of Cirith Dunrandir. Their leader, Maegil, had been the garrison commander in the years before the Kin-Strife. Now, he had been captured and was actually going to be executed later that day. However, the rebels intended to try and rescue him as the execution was going to take place at town square. Ecthelion and Malthar promised to help in the rescue.

The town square was already bustling with people by the time the men arrived there. They split up; Ecthelion followed Malrin to the vicinity of the platform where the soldiers would bring Maegil. Malthar, who had been given a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows at his request, found a suitable house and climbed on top of it. Soon, the retinue from the citadel started to make its way towards the town. As Malrin had said, there were only a few soldiers escorting the prisoner. A nobleman, probably one of the Pelargirian nobles that Malrin said had come with Erellos, rode at the back of the group. With the handful of soldiers escorting Maegil and the half a dozen or so, spread around the square, the rebels had a decent chance at succeeding. They would have to strike quickly and get out before the heavily armoured guards would have a chance to put up a decent fight.

When the retinue had arrived and the nobleman was just about to say something, the rebels and Ecthelion and Malthar started the fight. The rebels had surprise on their side, and with a healthy dose of luck they managed to defeat three guards in a short amount of time. Ecthelion had a short duel with the nobleman, who was forced to flee in the end. Ecthelion tried to break the chains that Maegil was bound but found it to be very difficult. In the end, the rebels and their freed leader fled through the somewhat confused crowd and went into hiding in the outskirts of the town. They wouldn’t risk leaving the town just now, but rather wait for nightfall. This gave Maegil and Ecthelion a chance to catch up. Maegil had himself gone into the keep to both try and find a few dissidents among the soldiers there and also to try and find some evidence of Erellos’ doings. You see, Maegil was absolutely convinced that Erellos and his Pelargirian friends were mixed in some conspiracy in Dor-en-ernil, possibly one that was aimed at weakening the neutrality of the Grand Duchy and giving the Usurper access to perhaps Gondor’s finest soldiers, the Swan Knights of Dor-en-ernil. Ecthelion asked Maegil to arrange for him and Malthar to be smuggled into the keep in the same way that he had been smuggled. Maegil agreed, although he would need at least a couple of days to pull it off. Malthar and Ecthelion would spend that time with the rebels. At night, the men all slipped away from the town and disappeared into the nearby forest.

[angahir]

During the summer I had more pressing matters to attend to, and was therefore unable to update this with any regularity. However, a small recount of the events that took place might be appropriate.

Our intrepid heroes did attempt to dig some dirt on Erellos, but failed, mostly due to a lack of capabilities in lock-picking. Then our heroes went to Lond Ernil, where they discovered that something was afoul as well. They didn't manage to meet the Grand Prince, who had grown ill lately. Ecthelion tried to get the Grand Prince or someone in his family to do something about the fact that his castle had been given away, but managed to squeeze only a small monetary compensation.

They did, however, befriend one of the Grand Prince's sons, and even accompanied him to a birthday party in Morthond. The party took a turn for the worse, when something killed the ruler of the duchy and his wife... and drove their daughter apparently insane. In Morthonf they also met a man who was sent there by Eldacar and who said that the True King would march against Castamir within a year. The characters were quite convinced that a mysterious lady called Iriel was behind these killings and most other strange events in Lond Ernil, but since they had a pressing engagements elsewhere (they had, after all, promised to return to Pelargir in a month), and couldn't really do anything to her. Ecthelion decided therefore to act behind Malthar's back and he hired a dubious fellow to assasinate the troublesome woman.

The characters then took a ship to Pelargir and met up with the leaders of the Horrid Scum. Ecthelion introduced his plan which involved infiltrating and eventually capturing key places in the city, thus making it impossible for the Usurper's men to fight effectively against Eldacar (assuming, of course, that the Usurper will fight in Pelargir). But first, our heroes would have to unite the small loyalist groups, start recruiting more men and find arms and armor for the loyalists. Then they should probably do something about the King's Circle. And perhaps try and find out whether the small group of men tailing them works for the Crows, the Straight Man or someone else.

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My players wanted to create secondary characters for themselves. They turned out quite well, and it seems like my group has really started to get BITs. The main characters have also changed quite a bit. Here's the entire crew, in case you're interested:

Ecthelion

Beliefs:
1) I know too much of loyalist activities; I'd rather die with a sword in my hand be taken captive.
2) I'm the rightful master of Cirith Dunrandir, and I will fight with everything I've got to regain my position.
3) Only I have the necessary skills to fulfill this mission.
4) My reverence is to the true crown (from the trait Your Grace).

Instincts:
1) Always follow proper etiquette when in the presence of other nobility.
2) Always put your helmet on in the beginning of battle.
3) Always speak in a way that suits the character I'm portraying as.

Malthar

Beliefs:
1) I will always repay deeds done to me, both in good and in bad.
2) This conflict between humans might threaten my homeland. That is why it has to stop.
3) Violence never really does any good, and I will not allow it to be used invain.

Instincts:
1) Always wear the Elven Cloak.
2) Always carry a blade with me.
3) Always use Stealthy in unfamiliar places.

Balkhamar, son of Maruk, a physician from Lond Ernil who yearns to become a nobleman. (Mika's secondary character)

Beliefs:
1) Only I can cure the Grand Duke and that quack who's treating him now must be banished from the court
2) I will become a nobleman, and I shall do what I must to achieve nobility.
3) I will become immortal, be it through my medicine or through my deeds.

Instincts:
1) Always speak in a polite and calm manner.
2) Always carry useful herbs with me.
3) Always give incomprehensible diagnosis

Karag, a Pelargirian burglar renowned for his hatred of women. (Lasse's secondary character)

Beliefs:
1) Women are weak and useless, so I shall avoid them like the plague.
2) I shall become the most famous burglar in Pelargir, and nobody, not even the Crows, can do a damn thing about it.
3) The Straight Man dangerous, but even he can be exploited

Instincts:
1) When surprised, always slash behind me with my blade.
2) If a woman dares to speak to me, I'll spit in her face.
3) Always keep a set of lockpicks concealed on my person.