LoTR in the 4th Age

Wagon Ho : With the sailors staying to operate the lighthouse, the adventurers set off to find the king. Margo had nixed the idea of traveling up the Brandywine road towards Bree and the Shire, “Let’s just say I’m not welcomed home yet. Besides, King Ellasar should be in Grey Haven by now.” Kyan was lost in his own thoughts about the ancient great axe Ring Rist he’d found. As a boy, he’d heard stories about such fabled weapons forged in the great forge-fires of Nogrod under the Blue Mountains during the First Age. Why was this axe in the hands of evil men?! “I agree we should head towards Grey Haven but swing by the southern end of the Blue Mountains as I have something to check out.” JOUNEY/EMBARKATION (Peril 3 for taking the wagon across unmarked trails) [Rolled 9 – 3 peril = 6: Meager Supplies and Poor Meals ; -1 to all skill checks] Kyan quickly got frustrated at the lack of game to hunt, “All that wagon noise thumping and bumping across the land is scaring the animals away!”...

Surf’s Up : Theo was the first to awake on the beach, swatting at the crab pinching his finger. Sunlight barely penetrated the fog as the Beorning listened to the repeated crash of waves. Sunrise?! How long had he been unconscious on the beach? Wasn’t it evening when their dingy was tossed in the waves as they escaped the sinking ship? Theo sprang to his feet to look for and to aid his companions, assuming they might be drowning in the surf. He woke them one at a time before he began to pull flotsam from the surf (to keep useful gear from being washed back into the ocean). Kyan wiped the sand from his beard as he verified that he still clung to his duffle-bag stuffed with his armor. He winced in pain at the coral scratches on his legs suffered when he tumbled thru the surf after the dingy capsized last night. He studied the cliffs and shoreline trying to get his bearing. He had been watching the coastline during the storm. He knew they were west of the Andrast peninsula where the pirac...

PCs : Thran, Kyan, Theo, Hugo. Crew : Capt Tansden, Earl, Ivory, Tuna, Salt, Peg, Fetch, Jaws, Touman, Protter, Cook. Preparations : They hustled the mutineers below deck, bound and gagged, and locked them in the passengers’ quarters. The crew complained when Kyan emptied their rum bottles to make fire-bombs (Molotov) with oil from the galley. Theo and Thran tied oil-soaked cloth-strips on their arrowheads and placed fire pots near the railing per their intent to torch the pirate ship’s sails. Capt Tansden ordered the dead bodies placed about the deck to further the scene of a fierce fight won by the mutineers. Kyan asked the captain, “Do you have a quarantine flag to keep them from coming aboard?” Theo thought about setting a dingy adrift, “We could claim it has the treasure.” But they were reminded about the prisoner Chunk’s confession that they were hired to deal with the passengers per Feyrun’s bounty, “Nothing about any gold.” And that’s when Protter in the crowsnest called ...

JOURNEY (to Grey Haven)   Embarkation (4- all terrain one grade harder) : 4am came early, especially for those who drank late. Ivory was at the gangplank as they came aboard, “ Your room is below at the bow. Stay out of everyone’s way .” A hut had already been erected over the open cargo bay to keep out the ocean waves. The crew stowed the last of the gear, before 1 st Mate Earl barked, “ Cast off the lines; get ready to run out the foresail only .” The Arc Royal slipped into the current and became one with the flow of small ice sheets that had been broken up by the Osgiliath’s workforce. Theo heeded Ivory’s warning and stayed below to practice his 2-weapon fighting to the dismay of the off-duty crew seated for breakfast, “ Watch where you’re swinging those pokers. Use a broom instead and while you’re at it, sweep the deck .” Kyan quickly grew ill of the stank air below decks and after stowing his gear and armor, he climbed topside for fresh air and a chanc...