LoTR in the 4th Age

[ From the scenario “ Gloom on Weathertop ”, by Neal Hyde]   13 July, Broken Wagon : They spent another 3 days on the road, camping to the side, when they finally came within sight of the fabled Weather-Top hill where the ruins of Amon Sul lay. Thran was the first to spot the horseless wagon angled off the road ahead. One broken wheel laid on the ground beside a lifeless blood-smeared body that still clung to his blade. A dead goat laid slaughtered behind the wagon. A woman in a long dress (with blood on her dress and arm) leaned against the wagon, weeping.  Kyan immediately thought ambush and rode into the trees to the left as the others dismounted and came closer. And that’s when the woman propped herself up on the rear wheel and cried out, “ No please. You’ve taken my children. What more can you want? ” She shunned Thran’s attempt to heal her as she distrusted their intent, “ There lies my husband, Kier .” Too late did Thran realize she wasn’t really cut…the blood was...

Understanding the Ballad : “ It sounds like Belemir discovered a new objective for his Dark Queen, Caelindur: recovering the Rod and Throne the Blue Wizard Pallando crafted. Recovering the shards of the shattered amulet (Angril) offered a vessel for Sauron’s return to this world (dimension). The ballad describes him as the Goblin-King (as he created orc and kind) vanquished by the Brown Wizard Radagast. While Caelindur has her own amulet necklaces to control individuals, the Rod would give her control of an entire town. And if the Rod was placed in the armrest of the Throne, she could potentially control an entire region. An army to equal Sauron’s! With Rod and Throne in hand, she wouldn’t need Sauron to aid her domination of the world !”  Embarkation [Theo as Guide= 10 less Peril 1 = 9: Paths Both Swift & True (all terrain types classed as 1 grade easier)] It would be a 2-week trip to the Trollshaw Forest. 11 July, The Forsaken Inn : It was a day’s travel east of Bree al...

  A5: Scene 5 – BedTime Story : The minstrel sings the ballad of “The Folly of Wizards and King.”  Gather Round My Friends : While celebrating his rescue, Weldon calls upon the minstrel Bardwyn to sing ballads fitting the celebration.   “ Come Bardwyn, craft a tale befitting these noble heroes .” Weldon explains, “ Bardwyn hails from east of the mountains, from Rhun. He has performed many tales during his time here, most of them very strange to our ears.  The legends and myths of Rhun are not the legends and myths of our lands and people.  But he enthralls all; why only months ago a visiting loremaster was most drawn to his tales .”   A tall, handsome man with a shock of curled reddish hair and blazing green eyes strides over to your table, the crowd parting in his wake.  He is dressed in elegant finery, obviously a man who enjoys high patronage; in his hands he carries a silver lyre, itself a work of great craftsmanship.  Bardwyn spe...

Fellowship : Over the next couple of days, the adventurers engaged in a  Fellowship Phase . Thran used the time to search for herbs as they ran out of their healing potions. Theo searched for wild bees to harvest their honeycomb to make honey-cakes for future exhaustion relief. Calanhir was laid up in bed with a master healer at his side, recovering from his months of torture at the hands of Falcor’s thugs.  Let’s face it: Kyan almost died! Overwhelmed by Corruption (Miserable Condition), the dwarf became distracted in combat and took a fatal blow…luck that his King’s Medallion absorbed most of the damage. Suffering a Bout-Of-Madness, he babbled his crazy plan to construct an arbalest mounted on a wagon he planned to drive across Middle Earth chasing the Queen’s Foul Beast. In desperate need of Corruption healing, Kyan did the natural dwarven intervention: he drowned his Corruption with ale. LOTS of ale!  Level Up to 6 th : I already changed the Scholar Thran's...