Dunedain

[Ubby]

Hi folks, I'm participating in a BW campaign set in Middle Earth, and plan on working on lifepaths for a Dunedain character. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on Dunedain as they relate to BW, and if anyone would burn them differently than other Men?

[luke]

Hi Ubby,

Dunedain, hm? I think you're pretty well covered in the basic LoM settings.

The difference, I think, would come in the Common Traits and perhaps in the age chart.

I'd have to go back and do some research... ::flip flip:: According to the 1979 edition of the Tolkien Beastiary, Dunedain and Numenoreans are synonomous.

If that's the case, then Dunedain need a Tall trait and trait like Ancestral Blood, First Blood, True Blood, Ancient Blood, Pure Blood or something to describe their direct lineage to the first race of men (Tolkien was a such a Nazi! ;) ). This trait should also encompass the tweaks in their age chart.

You might consider using the Spider or Dwarf age chart (rather than having to go out and build your own). Remember that Aragorn was 80 years old when we met him -- and quite vigorous and youthful.

If you are committed to portraying this quality among the Dundedain, be prepared to have a few gray stats and skills on each character.

One last note, though Aragorn is our model Dunedain, don't become too enchanted with their greatness. Remember that his ancestors led to the destruction of Numenor, founded the Black Numenorean Corsairs, and that Denethor was also Dunedain. So as much as they are "pure and strong" they are also capable of corruption and evil.

hope that helps,
-Luke

[Ubby]

Thanks Luke, that gives me a good place to start.

I didn't want to emulate Aragorn too closely, as I believe him to be one of the more heroic Dunedain, not your friendly everyday neighborhood Dunedain. I agree, the main difference is Common Traits. I hadn't thought about and odd Gray stats/skills, but that does make sense. I'm also thinking about adding 1 Physical Stat point and 1 Mental to the pool (derived perhaps from the Common Traits), seeing how Dunedain were described as being powerful in both mind and body.

I'll post any more as they are created... in the meantime I'm pouring through the Middle-Earth Roleplaying material for ideas.

[luke]

I'm also thinking about adding 1 Physical Stat point and 1 Mental to the pool (derived perhaps from the Common Traits), seeing how Dunedain were described as being powerful in both mind and body.


That's cool. But just to clarify, are you going to use the Age Chart for Men? If you do, definitely add an extra M and P. A bonus like that goes a long way to making a race feel different.

Another tweak you could do, instead of just adding a point, is you could extend some of the Age Steps on the Age Chart so they do not lose points as quickly.

This would be similar to using the Dwarf or Spider Age Chart as these character stocks have long Age Steps. Using mannish lifepaths on the Dwarf Chart will give a character a ton of points very quickly -- mannish paths tend to be short, and Dwarven Age Steps (the time between losing or gaining stat points) are generally pretty long.

good luck.
-L

[Oates]

Here is my take on the Dunedain. The campaing we (assuming ubby is who I think he is :? ) will be doing is set in the middle of the third age around 1630s - 1640s. My ideas to the GM for a Dunadan character is this.
Use the Dwarf age chart with the ages divided in half considering that the Dunedain have a lifespan three times that of men. This will give the Dunadan character higher P/M than a standard Human. Standard Dunedain traits would be Tall and Noble Blood: States that the character is a member of the faithful and thus share a certain kinship with elves. Elves are favorably disposed to such characters. Pure Blood (3TP): The character is of pure Dunedain blood and a descendant from a noble Edain house and a distant relation of the High Kings of Numenor, Gondor, or Arnor. The character also received +1 P/M as a result of his/her bloodline.

Oates