Talesof the

WestmarchAuthor/Designer: Randell Doty

Contents1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 HOW THIS MODULE MADE IT TOTHE WEB

1.2 A FEW MORE COMMENTSABOUT CONTENTS

1.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS2.0 WESTMARCH

2.1 OVERVIEW2.2 A BRIEF TIMELINE2.3 THE LAND

2.31 Geography2.32 Climate2.33 Flora2.34 Fauna

2.4 POLITICS AND POWER2.41 The Calenardhons2.42 The Daen Lintis2.43 The Dúnedain

2.5 THE GOVERNMENT2.6 THE FORCES OF EVIL

2.61 The Earthwell2.62 The Undead

2.7 NPC’S FOR ALL ADVENTURES2.71 Evad2.72 Elarin & Amarla2.73 Lord Targen2.74 Lord Negolos

2.8 WESTMARCH AT OTHER TIMES2.81 Westmarch 1640-25102.82 Westmarch 2510-27592.83 Westmarch 2759-30192.84 Westmarch After 3019

3.0 THE HOMECOMING3.1 THE TALE3.2 THE NPCS3.3 THE LAYOUTS

3.31 Derwath3.32 Tilmendir

3.4 THE TASK3.41 Starting The Players3.42 Aids3.43 Obstacles3.44 Rewards

3.5 THE ENCOUNTERS

4.0 RESTORING THE BALANCE4.1 THE TALE4.2 THE NPCS4.3 THE SETTING

4.31 The Asirac Tombs4.32 The Rendar Tombs

4.4 THE TASK4.41 Starting The Players4.42 Aids4.43 Obstacles4.44 Rewards

4.5 THE ENCOUNTERS5.0 ‘TIL DEATHS DO US PART

5.1 THE TALE5.2 THE NPCS5.3 THE SETTING

5.31 Beldwin5.32 Amon Roch5.33 Lady Sirris’ Prison Cabin5.34 The Mar Hogo Clan Hold

5.4 THE TASK5.41 Starting The Players5.42 Aids5.43 Obstacles5.44 Rewards

5.5 THE ENCOUNTERS6.0 OTHER PLACES OF NOTE IN

WESTMARCH6.1 THE ORACLE6.2 THE EARTHWELL

7.0 ALTERNATIVE ADVENTURES7.1 QUEST FOR THE ANSWER7.2 HUNT THE WULF7.3 MISSING

8.0 TABLES8.1 NPC TABLE8.2 BEAST TABLE8.3 ENCOUNTER TABLE8.4 HERB TABLE8.5 MILITARY TABLE8.6 WEATHER TABLE8.7 PRICE TABLE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 HOW THIS MODULEMADE IT TO THE WEB

This module was written for IronCrown Enterprises in 1989-1990 and wassubmitted for publication as you see it now.This was my third module behind Dunland andthe Southern Misty Mountains and Ents ofFangorn. Right about that time, however, ICEunderwent some philosophy changes aboutwhat products to publish. They beganreformatting some of there older works intothe new city and fortress books. During thistime Westmarch warmed the bench as it werewaiting for its chance. After several callsinquiring about the date when it would bepublished I basically decided that I should notget my hopes up.

When I finally got a copy of theNorthwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer I got aglimmer of hope back because several of mycreations for Westmarch were included as partof that tome. The towns of Beldwin andDerwath along with their ruling lords and oneof the castles were all there. I hoped that thismight be an indicator that Westmarch mightbe published after all.

Soon though these hopes weresquelched again when I realized that ICE wasgoing to get into the collectable card business.CCG’s if popular are very profitable.Considering ICE’s previous cash-flowproblems, I don’t blame them at all forrerouting resources from the Middle-earthRole Playing line to the expansion of such aprofit stream. It did, however mean thatWestmarch was unlikely to ever be publish.

Several years had passed when in the summerof 1998 I got an e-mail from Chris Seemanwho publishes Other Hands. Chris asked meif I would be willing to have my emailaddress posted so that people could ask mequestions about the modules I wrote. I toldhim that it would be fine. As an afterthought,

I asked Chris if he would be interested inproviding space for a previously unpublishedMERP module (Westmarch) to be put up onthe web for MERP players since it wasunlikely to ever be published by ICE He saidthat he would and agreed to speak to ICEabout getting permission to publish it on theweb. Iron Crown’s Jessica Ney-Grimm gavethe go ahead and I formatted it into this hugePDF file. Now you have a module that wasaccepted by ICE but not published. That’sabout as close to cannon as it gets. Thanks forindulging me in this little bit of history. Havefun.

1.2 A FEW MORECOMMENTS ABOUTCONTENTS

Most of ICE’s MERP modules includeseveral sections on terminology, definitions,conversion statistics, etc. I’m assuming that ifyou are knowledgeable about the MERPsystem to take the trouble to download thisthat you probably don’t need this stuff. If youfind abbreviation that you don’t recognize ora term with which you are unfamiliar take thetime to look in your other MERP materials. Ifyou still can’t find it then e-mail me and I willtry to figure out what I meant.

1.3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank ICE for allowingthis module to be published via the web. Iwould like to thank Chris Seeman for makingit happen. I would like to thank my wifeDonna for her continued support of myeccentricities.

Several graphics used for paragraphseparation are copyrighted to ICE and areused with permission. The rest of the interiorart can be blamed on me. The Celtic art isbased on the work of George Bain.

Randell Doty

2.0 WESTMARCH2.1 OVERVIEW

Westmarch. The name brings upimages of lush plains and green fields. Apeaceful farming area where everything ispleasant. Nothing is closer to the truth. It isall these things, but it is also an area not usedto the turmoil seen in the lands to the south,east, and north. Many people from thepopulated South think of this area almost asan untouched Garden of Eden, as it were.Most adventurers also seem to think this.Therefore travel in the area for purpose ofadventure is unlikely, and usuallyunprofitable for the adventurer, because, asmentioned already Westmarch is not a centerfor excitement…usually.

Westmarch in 1640 is, like most ofMiddle-earth, recovering from the GreatPlague of 1636, which hit Westmarch as it dideverywhere, but not as hard as easternCalenardhon, or Dunland to the north. This ismainly due to the limited travel into and outof the area. The Great East-West Road runsthrough Dunland to the north and crosses theAngren at the great fords into Calenardhon,therefore bypassing Westmarch to the south.Because of this isolation from travelingcarriers of the Plague through Westmarch,fewer people died there than in other areas.This, however, did not make the deaths anyless painful to the inhabitants, on the contrary,since the area is a rural farming and ranchingarea with few cities, some of the deaths havehad a greater impact because some of the keycraftsmen that died during the Plague havenot yet been replaced. The coming of thePlague brought about an unusual period ofturmoil in Westmarch which has slowlycorrected itself for the most part, but unliketypical life in peaceful Westmarch there havebeen some strange occurrences lately.

2.2 A BRIEF TIMELINE

The Second Age

1 Noldorin kingdom established inLindon after the fall of Beleriand withGil-galad as king.

32 Númenor founded.

600-1200 Númenóreans explore much ofMiddle-earth and make contact withthe Daen Coentis of the WhiteMountains.

750 The Noldor found Eregion and buildOst-in-Edhil.

1200-1500 Númenóreans begin buildingfortresses and havens all along thewestern coast of Middle-earth. Duringthis time they begin to use the greatsouthern forests extensively for shipbuilding.

1500 Elves of Eregion begin to make therings of Power under Sauron’sguidance (as Annatar).

1600 Sauron makes the Ruling Ring.

1693-1700 Sauron makes war on the Elves ofEregion. Most all of Eriador is laidwaste to by his armies. Sauron isdefeated by the Númenóreans and theElves, and retreats to Mordor.

1800-2251 Númenóreans increase their holdingsin Middle-earth. It is during this timethat the circle of Angrenost (Isengard)is smoothed, but the fortress will bebuilt later. Sauron begins to sendemissaries to the Daen Coentis tosubvert their religion and turn themagainst the Númenóreans, whosenumbers will swell above those of theDaen Coentis in the White Mountainsas this time period ends. SeveralDúnadan families with pioneeringspirits settle in what will become

Westmarch looking to Angrenostfor protection. Some of the DaenCoentis from the southern vales ofthe White Mountains also migrateto Westmarch to escape theDúnadan intrusion, therebyswelling the ranks of the clansalready there and causingnumerous clan wars.

3315 Drúedain split with the DaenCoentis due to their evil ways.They take up residence in the deepwooded areas of the WhiteMountains and the Enedhwaith.

3319 The downfall of Númenor and theBending of the Seas.

3320 Foundation of the Realms in Exile.The Daen Coentis swear an oath ofloyalty to Isildur .

3325-3341 Many of the Daen Coentis migratenorth either to Dunland orRhudaur. The first groups do sobecause of disagreements in thenew dark religions. The latergroups migrate to escape the fearcaused by the oath breaking.

3430 Last Alliance of Elves and Men isformed to confront Sauron.

3434 The Daen Coentis are called by theAlliance; they refuse, and therebybring the curse of the oath-breakersupon them.

3441 The Barad-dûr is taken and Sauronis overthrown. Isildur cuts theRuling Ring from Sauron’s fingerand keeps it as his own.

Third Age

1 The tower of Orthanc isconstructed.

2 Isildur is ambushed and dies at theGladden fields while enroute to Arnor.

250-850 Arnor declines gradually.

250 Calenardhon begins to be settledalong the Great East-West Road. MoreDúnadan settlers move intoWestmarch, and take over thegovernment there.

500-1400 Calenardhon is a prosperous province.Westmarch is considered the furthestwestern province of Gondor

1000 Sauron stirs again, and the Istari aresent to Middle-earth as a balance to hispresence.

1050 Gondor at the height of its powerexpands and builds many borderfortresses, mainly in the north, but afew are constructed in Westmarch.

1300-1350 Witch-king founds Angmar.

1432-1447 The Kin-strife tears apart Gondor.

1600 Hobbits settle in the Shire.

1636-37 The Great Plague, a collection ofdevastating diseases and pestilences,sweeps through Rhovanion, Gondor,and Eriador. Calenardhon begins aslow decline in population.Westmarch loses touch with Gondor intrade and in government for awhile.Trade from the north declines. TheDúnedain slowly begin to lose powerin Westmarch.

1640 The capital of Gondor is moved fromOsgiliath to Minas Anor.

1974-75 The Witch-king’s armies overrunArthedain.

1980 The Witch-king reenters Mordor andgathers the Nine. The Balrog of Moriacomes forth.

2050 Orthanc is locked with only a smallhereditary force left to guard the

fortress. The last king of Gondordies without an heir, and the firstof the Ruling Stewards rulesGondor. Few pure Dúnedainremain in Westmarch

2063 Beginning of the Watchful Peace.Dunmen begin to settle furthersouth of Dunland in Westmarch,reawakening old racial strife andgaining control of Westmarch.

2460-2510 The Balchoth invade Gondor. TheÉothéod, led by Eorl the Young,come to Gondor’s aid and are giventhe land of Calenardhon as rewardby Cirion the Steward. Battlesbegin between the Rohirrim andthe Dunnish over the possession ofWestmarch. The Aglarond isrebuilt.

2710 Dunmen take control of the circleof Orthanc.

2754 Freca, a half Dunnish noblemanfrom Westmarch, is killed by HelmHammerhand, King of Rohan.

2754-58 Wulf, Freca’s son, raises a Dunnisharmy to march against Rohan.

2758 The Long Winter grips the landEasterlings invade Rohan fromacross the Anduin. The Haradrimof Umbar attack Gondor. Seeinghis opportunity at hand, Wulfmarches his army into Rohandefeating the Rohirrim in the deepsnow at the fords of the Isen. TheAglarond is renamed after theRohirrim are held in siege atHelms Deep and Dunharrow.Helm and his sons are killed.

2759 Fréalaf, Helm’s nephew, surprisesthe Dunmen in Edoras and killsWulf, and upon their rout iscrowned king, first of the secondline of kings in Rohan. TheDunmen are also driven fromIsengard, but not Westmarch.

Saruman is given the keys of Orthanc.

2830-2903 Reign of Folcwine in Rohan. TheRohirrim drive the Dunmen fromWestfold.

2911-12 The Fell Winter strikes Eriador andRhovanion.

2941 The White Council drives Sauron fromDol Guldur.

2953 Last meeting of the White Council.Saruman begins building forces,(including many Dunmen) and claimsOrthanc as his own. Saruman beginssending servants to search the GladdenFields.

3000 Saruman uses the Orthanc palantír andbecomes entrapped by Sauron.

3018-19 War of the Ring. The Ents attackIsengard. The Dunmen in league withSaruman are defeated at Helm’s Deep,but allowed to return home.Westmarch was not counted on byeither side as an ally due to the mixedracial heritage and is therefore sparedconflict except for stray Orcs. The OneRing is destroyed and Sauron is castout. Saruman passes from Endor.

3021 End of the Third Age.

2.3 THE LAND

2.31 GEOGRAPHY

The land known as Westmarch was giventhat name by the early Númenórean settlers asit is the furthermost region of the southernkingdom of Gondor. The name is also usednow by the Daen Lintis and will be used laterby the Rohirrim. The geographical boundariesof the land so named are: the White Mountainsto the east, the Adorn river to the south, theriver Angren to the north and the convergenceof the rivers Angren and Adorn to the west.

The Mountains

The White Mountains directly to the eastof Westmarch are tall and twisted into a hugemass of jumbled rock, caused by the forces thatformed the Misty Mountains and the WhiteMountains, coming together at a near rightangle. This area, where the two perpendicularlines of force cross, erupted into a knot ofgnarled peaks of great height, which are nearlyimpassable. Due to their height thesemountains are snow topped year around, hencetheir name. This would seem strange to most toname a set of mountains “white” just because ofthe snow, but one must consider that this isunique to these mountains at this latitude. Justthe fact that they remain snow covered year-round this far south was unique enough forthose who first beheld them. The rest of theWhite Mountains which extends south and westfrom this point are, by comparison, much lowerand less treacherous, offering several passesthrough them to the coastal regions. To thewest, the mountains fall steeply from theirgreat height to the few foothills that lay belowon the Westmarch side, which quickly mergeinto the rolling plains that make up most ofWestmarch. To the east the range extends inthis nearly impassable state in a line that runsjust south of due east and ends at the Anduinvalley as the back wall of Minas Anor.

The Plains

The Plains of Westmarch roll away fromthe White Mountains like a green carpet dottedwith tilled fields and lines of trees breaking theland up in the more populated areas. A notablefeature throughout the plains in Westmarch isthe continuation of the volcanic nature that ispresent in the southern end of the MistyMountains, and in particular the Ring ofAngrenost (Isengard) which was once a volcano.If it is postulated that the northernmost area ofthe White Mountains is indeed thesouthernmost continuation of the MistyMountains, this is easily conceivable. InWestmarch this volcanic nature presents itselfas lonely flat hills of minimal height which aredispersed across the broad plains. These are, ofcourse, the small extinct volcanoes that at onetime formed this land as well as being one ofthe sources of its fertility. Currently, there areno active volcanoes in Westmarch nor havethere been in recorded history, but when theywere active the amounts of ash spewed forthenriched the soil in such a lasting way that,along with the duel rivers, have madeWestmarch one of, if not the most fertile areasof Middle-earth.

The Rivers

The fertility of Westmarch cannot whollybe attributed to its volcanic past, however. Itsvery borders are another source that combineswith this to make Westmarch the most fertileregion in Western Middle-earth. Theseboundaries are the Adorn and Angren rivers tothe south and north, respectively. Theseprovide the moisture needed for the crops ofWestmarch as well as bringing soil from therun-off of the mountains to be deposited in theriver basins.

The Angren river crosses theCalenardhon before taking its westerly turn tothe sea. It is at this point it becomes thenorthern border of Westmarch. It also starts itsdive into a gorge that runs almost the length ofWestmarch. As the river turns west it fallsquickly via a series of stair-step rapids into a

canyon which at its deepest point reaches some200’ in depth. Although deep in parts the gorgeis often wider at its base than at its apex. Insome places this canyon is so overhung that thetop gap actually becomes quite narrow. Closeenough in a few places for the right horse to beable to jump it, although few have tried it(fewer still have succeeded). Herds of antelopehave been known to use this as an escape route.This overhang causes the cliffs to be completelyunscalable. As the river makes its way west andsouth the gorge lessens in depth and the riverwidens. The gorge provides some naturalprotection for the people of Westmarch fromany invasion from the north as there are fewplaces to cross it. The army would have to crossat the fords of the Great East-West Road in thegap, go far enough west where the gorge breaksand fording is possible, or use one of a few

small bridges constructed over the gorge inplaces where the distance across is not too great.That, however, would allow only two to threehorses to cross at once which is highlyunadvisable, tactically speaking. Other than itssource in the Misty Mountains the Angren isalso fed by several small rivers and streams thatcome down from the White Mountains and jointhe Angren in its course to the sea. Some ofthese drop over the edge of the gorge inbeautifully scenic waterfalls.

The Adorn is born high in the WhiteMountains. It washes down the mountainsdropping in and out of caves finally to emergeas a wide shallow river that snakes its way toconnect with the Angren before coming to thesea. Because of its source, the Adorn is a verycold river for its first 50 miles and is crystalclear throughout its length. It is one of the

more picturesque rivers in all of Middle-earth.Like the river itself, the Adorn’s valley is quitea bit wider and more useful for farming thanthe Angren and more large plantations can befound in south Westmarch. The Adorn rarelyoverflows its banks, and levees have been builtin the places where it is most likely to do so.Due to its cold clear water the Adorn is also awonderful trout fishing river and men ofleisure from the southern provinces sometimescome to Westmarch for that very purpose.

2.32 CLIMATE

Westmarch is again blessed by nature asit seems when referring to weather. It ispleasant nearly year around. Its proximity tothe coast gains warmth for it, but the mountainsto the south and east shield it from many of thecoastal storms of the south, but not those thatenter from the west. These are the only stormsthat cause severe weather in Westmarch. Theyenter from the west and rebound off the WhiteMountains to bring extended thunderstorms tothe area during the spring and fall of the year,but the window for these storms is relativelyshort and only two or three of these largestorms happen each year. The people ofWestmarch are well aware of this and take thenecessary precautions. Once every three to fouryears a hurricane grounds on the coast to thewest bringing monsoon type conditions thatcan last for days or even weeks. Wind damageand flooding can occur, but again this is rareand usually enough warning is received tomake the proper arrangements. No amount ofpreparedness can cover every possibility,however, and there are usually severalcasualties. The winters in Westmarch are mildexcept for in the foothills of the WhiteMountains which can remain snow covered fortwo to three months. The plains regions havesnow also but the snow usually does not layaround longer than two to four days. Thisallows cattle and sheep to graze year roundwith little supplementation of diet necessary.However, most ranchers take the precautions tohave enough fodder around regardless of howmild the winter seems. In the summer thetemperature rarely reaches above 100° and thehumidity is not so bad as to make it feel

stifling. All in all Westmarch would be awonderful vacation spot for those capable oftaking one.

2.33 FLORA

Although, for the most part, Westmarchis either covered in short grass or farmland,there are a few forests and scattered trees. Inthe high vales of the White Mountains, the treesare predominantly coniferous mixed with thetypical high mountains hardwoods (i.e., ash,rowan, etc.). As the land flattens, the treesbecome decidedly more hardwood. Stands ofvirgin forest not unlike that found in Fangornor the old forest can still be found in the deeprecesses of the lower mountains vales. Thesimilarity to these old forests also includes thepresence of active trees or Huorns, and on someoccasions, Ents. Other than those alreadymentioned, there are a few other plants that areof interest.

Nethlequat.

This grass grows in patches across theplains. It is longer than the normal grass of thearea, and reddish in color, however, to theunknowing observer it can cause quite somedifficulty. The touch of these weeds to the bareskin of human or animal causes an intenseburning pain and later a severe rash. This willcause the person or animal touched to move at50% until the pain subsides (2-5 days)unfortunately the substance causing the paincannot be washed off or neutralized by anyknown antidote. The pain can be reduced,however, by the use of various analgesic herbs.Even when the pain is removed or subsided thediscomfort of the rash will leave the person at-25% movement. The rash resolves after one totwo weeks by itself. It can be temporarilyheld off by any of the antihistamine herbs orany of the stimulant type herbs, whichunfortunately can have other effects, includingaddiction. On the outside chance that one ofthese plants was ingested by a human (animalsknow better), it would produce such a laxativetype effect, that the partaker would need to savevs a 7th level poison or die from complete loss

of their digestive tract. Those that do save willbe incapacitated for 1-4 weeks.

Majon

Majon is a budding flower found on thetops of low hills in the plains. Early in thespring when it blooms it has a milky white 5-petalled flower with lavender centers. After thebloom withers, a pod forms in the samesummer. In the fall the plant blooms again, thistime with red blooms and black centers. Thepod formed during summer bursts at this timeand releases its spores. The pod if eaten duringthe summer produces a dream like state whilethe partaker is still awake; the dreams beingsuperimposed upon their reality. The pods areused mainly for recreational purposes. Thiscauses an psychological addiction in most, withpeople refusing to take on certain tasks (such ascombat or making important decisions) beforeeating pod. Unfortunately these dreams are notnecessarily pleasant. Nightmares can occureven while the person is awake causing anextreme psychotic phase in some people whichmay start or stop with no warning. Thesenightmares can be induced in chronic users orin those who were once chronic users byextended periods of stress or personal trauma.This has brought on the accidental deaths ormaiming of several people by the hand of theimbiber. The chance of one of these episodesoccurring increases with the total number ofdoses taken by an individual. Each doseincreases the attack level of the poison by 1 andthe individual must make a saving throwversus poison each time he becomes overlystressed (i.e., prolonged battles, lack ofappropriate sleep, use of stimulant herbs, etc.).

2.34 FAUNA

Besides the typical fauna of foxes,hunting cats, beavers and other small animals,there are a few animals that are special andshould be noted.

Green Asps

Green asps should be noted for the valueof their poison glands, which can be sold to

certain individuals for large sums of money.The people of Far Harad, and subsequentlyothers that have had association with them,believe that these glands, taken in smallquantities, are a powerful aphrodisiac. If theyare ingested in larger doses (2-3 glands) thesubstance can be a potent organ restorer. Oneside effect of these larger doses, however, arefits of ungovernable madness that can recurunexpectedly up to three days after the dosewas taken. The first of these fits passes quickly(within an hour usually). Recurring attacks canstrike at any time for the next few days, butwith decreased duration and intensity.Recently, these stimulant properties have beenused by several herbalists to treat states ofcatatonia in patients. The glands are situatedbehind the snake’s eyes and puff out when full.Once dried, they resemble peas and will bring50 gp each, providing that proof of a kill,usually in the form of a skin, can be shown as amark of authenticity.

Blue Bears

Blue bears are rare, reclusive and mostcommonly found in the White Mountains. Bluebears are unique in nature in that they are semi-sentient and possess an innate sense (similar toa continual Presence spell) which will allowthem to perceive all living creatures aroundthem within 50’ regardless of obstacles orsensory deprivation. Blue bears appear to besinister in nature to some because they seem toseek out men to kill from time to time.Although this may be the case, it might also betrue that their increased intelligence allowsthem to realize that man is a constant threat totheir survival. They are extremely territorialand will attack trespassers if the party is notoverwhelmingly strong. Otherwise, they willstalk the trespassers and attack themindividually if given the opportunity.

2.4 POLITICS AND POWER

2.41 THE CALENARDHONS

The people of Westmarch are consideredCalenardhons, because Westmarch technicallyis part of that province. However, this is morea term for convenience rather than accuracy asthere is really very little interaction betweenmost of Calenardhon and Westmarch. There issome trading between the two areas, and attimes traders from both regions travel to theothers’ trading fairs. The only otherconnections are those friendships that haveformed between some of the families thatsettled in the north of Westmarch and some ofthe families of Westfold who settled near theborders of Westmarch or around the Aglarond.

The Calenardhons of Westmarch like theothers in Calenardhon proper are anadventurous lot, or at least their sires were, elsethey would not have settled in Westmarch,which, although peaceful, is still a border area.Now, the people of Westmarch are somewhatdifferent than their pioneering predecessors.Years of blessed peace have caused the peopleto lapse into a relative state of complacency.The only enemies they have dealt with in thelast 200 years have been occasional wildanimals, severe weather, and of course thePlague. This lack of strife in and aroundWestmarch has caused its people to forget thatthey live on the edge of the wild, but so far theyhave had no reason to remember or regret this.When those new to the region arrive they seemto have a heightened sense of the need of beingprepared for disaster or attack of some sort,which the people who were raised inWestmarch find odd, unnecessary, and quitehumorous.

For the most part the Calenardhons are amixed people including mainly Daen Lintis,Dúnedain, some Northmen, mixes of all three,and a scattering of other lesser men. The nobleclass and educated class are primarily made upof the pure Dúnedain.

The craftsman class is mostly the mixedDúnedain/Daen Lintis with some Northmenand others falling in here sporadically, and thelower class are primarily Daen Lintis and mixed

Daen Lintis, although, almost any of thepreviously mentioned peoples can fall into thisclass given the proper circumstances and badluck. The lines of races tend to blur in most ofWestmarch but the Dúnedain and Daen Lintisdeserve some mention individually to follow.

2.42 THE DAEN LINTIS(DUNMEN, DUNNISH)

Westmarch in the Second Age was part ofwhat the Daen Coentis (the Daen Lintisancestors) called home. By the time of the LastAlliance of Men and Elves, and the end of theSecond Age, most of the Daen Lintis had left orwere soon to leave the vales of the WhiteMountains due to the oath breaking and travelnorth into what is now Dunland. Some DaenCoentis moved from the south vales of theWhite Mountains into what is now calledWestmarch never quite making it to Dunland.Other groups of Daen Coentis already lived inWestmarch during the Second Age, and hadlittle to do with the other Daen to the south. Afew of these clans were independent of the DaenCoentis kingdom and did not swear the oath toIsildur, however, the effects of the oath-breaking on the land also affected them, butpossibly to a lesser extent. Some of these alsomoved north at the end of the Second Age whilea few clans stayed. It is the descendants of theseclans and the Daen Lintis that moved back fromDunland later, that comprise the Dunnishconstituent of Westmarch at this point in timeand now make up the working class. By 1640,however, most of these people have at least oneancestor or relative that is Dúnadan. Thesemixed people are fairly well dispersed inWestmarch, although in the southern areas andin particular the city of Derwath, the percentageof Dúnedain is higher. The groups of theDunnish that moved back to Westmarch fromDunland more recently, are more pure in theirbloodlines and their lifestyles and therefore arenot true members of society as it stands, butrather stand alone and interact with outsidersonly when absolutely necessary and even thenonly through those who are most likethemselves. They dislike the Dúnadangovernment, but are currently in no position tothreaten it. They feel that they are the higher

order of society and look down on theDúnedain as usurpers and invaders of theirrightful homeland. Of course the Dúnedainview these people as ignorant barbarians.

The true Dunnish (those that are not ofmixed blood) live in extended family units andstill keep track of clan lineage, but boundariesbetween the clans are not drawn quite astightly. The most heated rivalries that haddeveloped between clans in Dunland still existbetween their factions in Westmarch, but thetrue lines of strife lie along theDunnish/Dúnadan axis. The true Dunnishnormally are hunter/gatherers, but asignificant number have developed intofarmers and herders since relocating toWestmarch. Recently several of these familygroups have fallen on hard times and have goneto work along side the mixed peoples in thefields of the rich Dúnedain. This may turn outto be an unsatisfactory relationship for bothparties as the Dunnish make too many wavesand the Dúnedain are too arrogant to allow anychanges in their lives.

The natural progression of a split societyof this type if left alone is to slowly progresstowards a median for the most part withoutliers in both directions. However, sinceNew Dunnish still move into the area fromDunland this will finally skew the mix to theDunnish side as is seen later in the Third Age(i.e. just previous to the time when theRohirrim claimed the area). For now thesepeople are assimilating into the existing societyand are slowly becoming more like theirneighbors and vice-versa –a kind of societydilution, as it were. This dilution occurs in bothdirections as the Dúnadan influence and laterRohirrim influence on Westmarch and itspeople never entirely leaves the area either.This is the reason that during the later years ofthe Third Age and in particular the War of theRing, the people of that area were not countedon by either side because of their ties to theenemy.

2.43 THE DÚNEDAIN

Like the rest of Calenardhon there issome dilution of the pure Dúnadan blood inmost people that claim to be Dúnedain. Only a

few families remain relatively undiluted intheir Númenórean heritage. The highestpopulation of the Dúnedain (pure or otherwise)is in the southern regions of Westmarch,particularly Derwath with a general decreasingtrend as one progresses northwards. TheDúnedain of Westmarch are primarily thenobility, quality craftsmen, and educated classof the region. Most of them have been raised inWestmarch but there is a small amount ofmovement to and from the frontier of craftsmenand scholars as the demand dictates. Most ofthe chief exporting is carried out by theDúnedain, also as they are the owners of thelarge ranches and farms. Several of these menwith particularly large plantations have joinedforces to form a shipping company that isWestmarch specific, in that they only trade theirproduce in the South for items that they canbring back to Westmarch to sell. They thereforecontrol both ends of the trading. This seems todrive some of the prices for items up, but it alsoallows the region to have access to goods fromthe South on a regular bases which wouldnormally be unusual considering the distancefrom the capital and the lack of a permanenttrading run to Westmarch funded by outsiders.

The local government is completelyDúnadan-controlled and is discussed below.

2.5 THE GOVERNMENT

The struggles of the time Post-Plague(1636-1640) left much of the government inloose control at best compared to the Pre-Plague state of affairs. Even in stable times thegovernment of Westmarch was loosely run dueto the distance from the capital. The officialgovernmental headquarters for Westmarch washistorically at the Aglarond (later to becomeHelm’s Deep), but during these times oftribulation it has fallen upon the local lords(however well suited) to act as policeman, taxcollector, and judge. The two lords that covermost of Westmarch are Lord Targen to thesouth, and Lord Negolos to the north.

Lord Targen’s home is castle Tilmendirwhich was built to protect the pass through the

White Mountains to the south. The territorywhich he rules was given to his familyhundreds of years ago, and mainly includes thatland along the Adorn from the WhiteMountains to the convergence of the Angren.However the further east one goes, the less isthe lord’s true control of the area. Lord Targenhouses a small cadre of militia at Tilmendir thatpatrol his territory regularly. However, theyhave seen very little action. In fact they havenot been in an actual skirmish of any type fornearly fifty years. The militia is currently madeup of 50 young men between the ages of 18 and24. They are local men and each is required toserve 3 years as a militiamen. This law wasenacted in earlier, less peaceful times, and nowis really not needed but has never beenchanged. They are taught fighting skills byLord Targen, two of his sons, and the three fulltime soldiers that have been stationed there bythe government at Lord Targen’s request. Themilitiamen, because of their age and the factthat this is the first time in their lives theydidn’t have to work in the fields or at a craftevery day, seem a happy and carefree lot. Attimes they get somewhat boisterous and out ofhand both in town and when riding through thecountryside on patrol. Many of them view thethree year experience as a vacation, and a timeto sow some wild oats. This makes the wholeatmosphere at castle Tilmendir somewhat likethat of a country club, and Lord Targen neverseemed to mind. This casts a shadow on thefunctionality of this group if the militia wereactually needed; a point noted by the rangers atevery opportunity.

The northeastern corner of Westmarch intheory, is still under the direct governorship ofthe commander of the Aglarond. However,control of the area has been passively delegatedby the commander of the Aglarond to LordNegolos. Lord Negolos owns a fortress and alarge estate near Beldwin, and is actually theruler now, but he does try to maintain morecontact with the government at the Aglarondthan lord Targen, partially because he is muchyounger and less sure of his ruling abilities, butalso just because his domain happens to becloser to the Aglarond. He is more fortunatethan Lord Targen in the respect that his militarycontingent is professional rather than

homespun, for the most part. He has 20 soldiersunder his command that are seasoned veteranswhom his father hired in the South six yearsago, just before the Plague. These men are loyalto Lord Negolos as they were to his fatherbefore he died in the Plague. They enjoy life inWestmarch, but are getting a little soft from thelack of combat even though they trainregularly. Lord Negolos also supplementsthese men with any of the young men of thearea who wish to learn the art of fighting.Currently, there are 12 of these young mentraining along side the regulars. His men makeregular patrols of the area and occasionallyrelay messages back and forth to the Aglarondand Tilmendir to the south.

The northwestern area of Westmarch thatfollows the Angren to the convergence of theAdorn, is very lightly populated and iscurrently ruled strangely enough, by threerelatively young men, Reaslos, Glëan, andCamdin. These three were adventurers in theSouth and in Calenardhon, who happened tofall into circumstances that enabled them tohelp the king’s family personally. To rewardthem for their services he gave them this area ofland for their own, along with an old borderwatch tower. Now, they are actively trying tofigure out how to govern, and secretly wishingthey could drop the whole thing and go offwandering in search of new thrills. Mercifullythe people they are supposed to be governingare few and very patient. They consider thethree their pet rulers and treat them likeadopted sons, for the most part. Theadventurers are basically good men (albeitgreedy at times) and feel responsible for thepeoples safety, so, no real strife has occurredbetween themselves and the people, as of yet.In fact, the three have standing dinnerengagements at the house of a local rancherwhose wife worries about them not eatingright. They have fixed up the tower in the twoyears that they have been there and it serves astheir home as well as garrison for the ten menthey have as retainers and servants.

The one remaining central governmentaloffice still operating effectively in Westmarch isthe Border Guard or Rangers Service which hasbeen operating in Westmarch since it was madean official province of Gondor. The rangers act

as reconnaissance for the Aglarond as well aswandering peace officers and detectives for theterritory. Their headquarters are in Derwathand their commander is a capable ranger namedEvad, who will be discussed in more detaillater. He and his 12 men are responsible forlong range patrols of the region and theinspection of government installationsincluding government maintained bridges anddikes. Currently there is some confusion aboutjurisdiction as the local lords feel that they andtheir men are the local government, case closed,and see the rangers as somewhat superfluous.The rangers actually do more than the lords andthe people know, and feel that they are theactual law enforcement agency of the area. Thelords, for the most part, tolerate what theyconsider an intrusion because of the rangers’and particularly Evad’s expertise in the area ofreconnaissance and criminal behavior, as wellas their ability to track down the occasionalmarauding bear. This conflict shows itself mostopenly when an investigation or manhunt isrequired in or around one of the towns in thelord’s domains, and at these times words can beswapped. There are 12 rangers, including Evad,that roam the land in zones and patrol circles.Each of these men is a capable fighter and ableto take care of himself in the wild. Their officein Derwath is also their main barracks but it isunlikely that more than four of them are thereat any one time. They are helped in their tasksby the astrologer, Garamund, that lives inDerwath and serves them as a message center.He does this as a favor to Evad as they are closepersonal friends.

2.6 THE FORCES OF EVIL

As mentioned in the introduction, for themost part, Westmarch is a peaceful place in T.A.1640. In other times this may or may not be thecase depending on the current politics betweenthe Dúnedain, Dunmen, and Rohirrim, but in1640 the reason for this peaceful existence inWestmarch comes not from the presence of agreat good as one might expect, but rather fromthe presence of a great evil.

2.61 THE EARTHWELL

As mentioned in Section 2.31, the landcalled Westmarch is dotted with solitary flattopped hills that are the last evidence of thevolcanic activity which birthed this land. Oneof these hills set in the middle of Westmarch isknown to the locals as “Picnic Hill.” On mapsof the area the hill’s name is “The Earthwell.” Itwas called this because of the deep pool thatoccupies the center of the volcanic depressionthat is the top of the hill. It was given its newname many years ago when the locals beganusing the bowl of this old volcano with itscrystal clear pool and cool breezes as a place forfamily outings. Little did they know thatbeneath the surface of that hill lies a complexwhich houses minions of the Dark Lord himself.

Besides being a lovely picnic spot, theEarthwell is also the home of a small elite unitof the Necromancer’s forces. During the SecondAge when the Dark Lord’s forces swept throughvirtually all of Middle-earth, the evil onelearned of the small cave complex located underthis hill; a piece of information he filed awayfor many years until he had need of it. UponSauron’s reappearance in Middle-earth as thenecromancer of Dol Guldur around T.A. 1000,he began a rebuilding his network of priests,cults, and informants. It was during this time ofrebuilding that he decided to place a spyingpost in the cave complex of the Earthwell.Sauron deemed it perfect, not because it wasinconspicuous, but rather that the place wasbeyond suspicion because of its location, thepreviously untouched area known asWestmarch. After careful reconnaissance it wasdiscovered that the cave complex remainedundiscovered by the local inhabitants. Soonafter, a team was sent to prepare the complexfor occupancy. Then, approximately threehundred years ago, the Earthwell becameoperational as a spying station. From itsvantage point in Westmarch the occupants wereable to garner information about all aspects ofwestern Gondorian politics and troopmovements as well as the traffic on the GreatEast-West Road that passes through the gap tothe north and the goings on at the two majorfortresses of Angrenost (Isengard) and theAglarond (Helm’s Deep).

Information gathered by the contingentat the Earthwell is taken by courier via deepunderground tunnels and caves that reach fromthe Earthwell to the White Mountains. Fromthere it is sent overland or by messenger birdor bat to Dol Guldur. The location of theEarthwell has proved very useful not only as aprimary spying position but also as a reportingstation for agents through the western regionsof Middle-earth. Because of the success of thisstation, Sauron has declared a moratorium onOrkish raids or other Sauron-backed activitiesin the area that might cause a reactionaryincrease in diligence by the people ofWestmarch and therefore cause detection of thestation. This decree has caused the peacefulperiod that Westmarch has experienced for thelast three hundred years. (See Section 2.41.)

Living in the Earthwell’s tunnel andchamber complex are the four beings sent thereby the Necromancer some 100 years ago to runthe station. They live here alone except for asmall group of guards and servants. Here theyeach carry out the task that they are assigned toaccomplish their ultimate goal: the collectionand processing of information of any type fortheir master, Sauron. Occasionally theEarthwell also acts as a stop-off for specialcouriers, spies, and assassins. These occurrencesare rare, however, and absolutely no one entersor leaves the Earthwell during the daylighthours. Even then, the only exits to theEarthwell’s tunnel complex is through afarmhouse located nearby and a concealedentrance below the water line of the pool in thebasin of the hill. The house is exactly authenticfor the area, and the Earthwell’s staff actuallyfarm the area surrounding the house for theirfood and to keep up appearances. The fourprimary inhabitants have specific jobs and titlesand are outlined below. When they wereassigned here, they dropped their old namesand since then are only known by their titles,leaving behind their histories as well.

The Seeker

The Seeker is a 200 year-old BlackNúmenórean of pure blood, whose only job isto scan Middle-earth for bits of information. Heis a 20th level Seer with a specialty in long

distance eaves-dropping. To assist him, theNecromancer has given him a device thatenables him to focus his power. It is called theSeeing Eye. It is a spherical crystal 4” indiameter with a black double spiral imbeddedinside that seems to turn as one concentrates onit. This device allows the Seeker to view fixedplaces at great distances. These fixed places aredesignated by the Seeker, and are limited tothree. Once a place is decided upon, the Seekermust visit there or have access to someone’smind who was there regularly to set the placein his mind. From then on, using the Eye, hecan watch those places simultaneously andexperience everything that happens there in allfive senses. He is also able to utilize any of hisnon physical skills (such as Power Perception)via the eye. Aside from this, the Eye can, on alarger scale, locate small surges in the magicalcontinuum of Middle-earth. These surges areproduced when significant amounts of magicalenergy are released. Any spell greater than 5thlevel can produce these surges and aredetectable by the Seeker. Spells greater than15th level can be seen by anyone using the eye.Once he localizes these surges, he can notifyspies of the activity and start an investigation ifthe location indicates that the surge could besignificant. It is by this method that the DarkLord locates potential servants of the dark bytheir use of magic. Then they can be approachedand selected for service.

The Assassin

The Assassin of the Earthwell currentlyuses the name Jozein when he is on a mission.(See Section 3.2.) The position of assassin of theEarthwell has the responsibility of externalsecurity for the station. If at any time personsnot privy to the secrets of the Earthwelldiscover anything about it or by their actionsmight cause discovery of the Earthwell, it is histask to seek out those persons and kill them insuch a way as to make others believe it to be anaccident if at all possible, or at least the work ofsomeone else. He is a seasoned expert in the artof killing, and has completed numerousmissions of this very kind. He is of commonman stock and is very normal in appearance,which only helps in his field. He is 5’11” tall

with light brown hair and brown eyes. He hasno distinguishing marks, and wears clothes thatare a drab combination of styles that do notlend to identification of his land of origin. Hehas a wide variety of poisons in his possession,as well as the normal weapons of his trade. Hisfavorites are the blowgun, throwing stars, andshort bow when at a distance. He will try not tomelee, but if forced to, he uses two shortswords. He is a master at disguise and stealth.His magical cloak allows for this most easilyfor it can change the color of any item on hisperson by just visualizing it. This has becomeso commonplace for him now that he canchange the look of his entire outfit in less than 5seconds. This makes for quick escapes intocrowds. He just turns a corner and viola! he isno longer in the same clothing. One thing hewill never do, however, is allow himself to becaptured. He has a ring that storesthree spells. They are: Teleport, (x2)and a Longdoor. He also has a beltthat allows Invisibility 1’ 3x/day. Ifthese are not enough and he iscaptured, he will kill himself eitherby poison or dagger. If neither ofthese work or he is healed by theparty, he will trigger the delayedfireball that is stored in the falsewisdom tooth implanted in hismouth. If he is unable to do this theWeb (See below) will, along withthe Seeker’s help, detonate thefireball from the Earthwell. Theyconstantly monitor the Assassinwhen he is on a mission.

The Web

The Web is the overallcommander of the Earthwell andthe coordinator of all the spyingnetworks which are operated fromthe Earthwell. This entailsinstructing the Seeker where tolook for information, whatinformation is important enough tosend to Dol Guldur, as well asproviding insight into possibleinterpretations of the informationconsidering the associated regional

politics. She is in charge of assigning tasks forthe Assassin as well as maintaining the disguiseof the farm family that was set up to insulatethe Earthwell from the indigenous population.The Web is also in charge of coordinating theinternal security of the Earthwell shouldanyone ever intrude. These security measuresinclude the traps that have been constructed, thefour human guards, and the Beast (explainedbelow). The Web is a special woman. She is ofpure Númenórean descent, middle aged, butstill very young looking, and quite striking.She is a very efficient commander who has highintelligence and an intuitive feel for her command.

Not only does she have her own skills asan 15th level evil Mage but she also has beenentrusted with and allowed to use an ancientitem, the Raugno staff. This black staff is some

7’ long normally but adjusts itself to the user’sheight. The staff’s top is carved into a bizarrecross between a dragon and a spider with thelength of the staff becoming the tail of thecreature which terminates in a diamond shapedblade. In this configuration, the staff is a x5spell multiplier for evil Mages, and is able to bethrown as a spear. When thrown, the spear hasgreater accuracy due to the wings on the tinytop figure which correct the flight, giving thestaff the same effect as if it had an Aim Truespell cast upon it. If the staff misses or isdislodged, it can return to the user by flight. Ifthe staff is being held, against the will of theuser, or is stuck in someone or something, it canreturn to them via a Longdoor, however, if itcannot be commanded to do this it has a will ofits own and will return when and if it isbeneficial to the staff.

The real power of the staff, however,allows the user to merge with it to take on theform of the Black Widow Dragon, a demoncreature with the foul temperament and nastyfeatures of both creatures. It is some 90’ long with8 legs, a long flexible neck and tail, jet black incolor except for the red hourglass on itsunderside. It has a poisonous bite as well as theability to spray webbing from a reservoir at theend of its tail. It can breathe fire as well as useany of the magical abilities of user. For theuser, however, this process is not necessarilyreversible at will. The power available to theuser can be intoxicating and each time the usertakes this form they must save vs a 30th levelcharm spell or remain as the creature. Eachweek they get another saving throw thatdecreases by 5% each week, (i.e., the secondweek would be vs 25th level). If the personremains as the Dragon for >4 weeks the staffconsumes the soul of the person and returns toits base staff state, sans user. The Web knowsall the abilities and liabilities of the staff andwill be very hesitant about invoking themerger unless it seems to be her only option.One other side effect of the long termpossession of the staff is a certain cannibalisticurge towards mates. The men of the Earthwellknow of this tendency and make no advancestowards her despite her seductive nature.

The Beast

The Beast is directly under the Web aspart of the internal securities of the Earthwell.His position requires him to be the safety valvefor security if the normal security measures ofthe Earthwell are breached. The Beast is unlikeany other creature in Middle-earth. He is theend-point of a series of experiments carried outat Dol Guldur. Sauron has experimented withbreeding Orcs and Trolls throughout time,hoping to create faster, stronger, and more lightresistant species. The Beast was one of his mostsuccessful experiments in crossbreeding withone drawback; he is sterile and therefore of nofurther use in the experimentations.

The Beast is a mixture of Orc, Human,and Troll. In what percentages these threemake up the beast only Sauron and his breedersknow for sure. Regardless of the percentages,the result is quite impressive. The beast is over7’ tall and extremely muscular. His skin is jetblack and very tough, due to the tiny scales thathe inherited from the Troll side of his heritage.From the Orkish side he received a hunger forbattle and a ruthlessness in combat that is quitefrightening. Most importantly, however, fromhis human heritage he gained the intelligenceand self discipline to become a highly skilledwarrior rather than the hack and slash normamong Orcs and Trolls. He is skilled in themartial arts as well as several weapons whichhe wields with great effect.

In the Earthwell, with its secret passagesand winding tunnels, he makes for a formidablefoe by himself, even if the others were unableto defend themselves. If this were not badenough, the Beast has been given a specialamulet, keyed to the rock of the Earthwell, thatallows him to move through the rock as if itwere not there. His ability to effectivelyambush anyone in the tunnels from anydirection is almost assured, as is his ability tostrike and withdraw without worrying aboutcounter-attacks. The amulet only works withinthe Earthwell. He has taken great pride in hisposition here and regards the safety of the Weband the Seeker as his personnel responsibility.

2.62 THE UNDEAD

Westmarch, as mentioned in Section 2.42,is part of what was the homeland of the DaenCoentis. So the Daen of Westmarch fell victimto the same fate as those clans that live in thesouthern vales of the White Mountains with fewexceptions. These clans are fewer than the clansto the south so the interaction that occursbetween the living and undead of Westmarchare fewer than those of Erech and the areasurrounding the paths of the dead. Becausethese clans were fewer and separated theyusually had private family burial sites similarto those in the paths of the dead but scaleddown for a single or at most two clans. Most ofthese burial sites were cut into the rock of theWhite Mountains. For this reason, only thosepeople of Westmarch that travel regularly nearthe mountains are ever exposed to the presenceof the undead in the area, and most of theinhabitants know only the stories that havebeen handed down by legend. Elarin the Elfranger is the only person in Westmarch thatconfronts the undead on any regular basis. Heknows the locations of all the major Daen burialsites and also knows what times of year that theundead are most active.

2.7 NPC’s FOR ALLADVENTURES

2.71 EVAD

Evad is a the ranger captain in charge ofall the rangers of the region known asWestmarch. He is an imposing physicalpresence standing 6’6” tall and weighing 250lbs. He is a seasoned veteran of severalcampaigns elsewhere and finds Westmarchsomewhat boring. He is half-Dúnadan, half-Northman. His father’s family was one of theEldacar faction in the Kin-strife and wasrewarded quite well in lands and statusafterwards. He has the Northmen’s blond hairwhich makes him stand out even further. Oneof Evad’s strong points is his reasoningabilities. He is a superb detective and tacticianwhich has helped him a lot in his currentstation. Evad is tolerant of visitors inWestmarch, but will not stand for rabblerousers and strife caused by outsiders. He hasbeen here long enough that he knows thesepeople well and considers most an extension ofhis family. He is currently unmarried as hethinks that this would be a poor arrangementconsidering his position requires so muchtravel and odd hours.

Evad, however, has a secret hiddenwithin him such that even he does not know.The day he was born was also the day that hisgreat grandfather Feamond died. Ever since,the ghost of Feamond has followed him as aguardian. Normally the life draining effects ofa ghost in close proximity would kill mostpeople after such a lengthy exposure, but Evadwas also born with limited regenerativeabilities, that maintains him as his greatgrandfather’s ghost drains him. Evad has neverrealized that this symbiotic relationship exists,but it has saved his life in several battles. Hecan not explain why he has heard warnings ofattack, when no one remembers sayinganything to him. Nor, was he ever able to findthe person who rescued him after he wasknocked unconscious in a battle with a band ofOrcs.

In battle Feamond can do several thingsto help his descendant. He can move from Evad

to his opponent and thereby begin to drainenergy from the opponent while Evad getsstronger. He can fight just as he was in life, asghosts can, but only if Evad has been renderedunconscious, or he can overlay his greatgrandson in a spectral image that only hisopponents can see which will act as a True Auraand a Fear spell. At any time, he can relayinformation to Evad by barely audible whispersthat Evad has come to accept as part of histhought process. Given these assets it is easy tosee how Evad could be a formidable friend orenemy. The only evidence that can ever be seenof Evad’s ancestor, other than by his opponents,is the rare sparkle of light that can be seenfollowing Evad just at the moment the sun setsor rises. A few people have seen this, but theyusually brush it off as optical illusion and Evadhas never actually seen it himself.

2.72 ELARIN & AMARLA

Elarin was originally from the Elvishhold of Edhellond with brethren at Rivendell.It was his intention 10 years ago, to travel toRivendell to visit with them and seek help forAmarla when both their lives changed forever.His sister Amarla was not right. She was only20 years old (a baby from an Elf’s point ofview), but it had been clear for years that shewould never be normal. Several of the Elvishhealers at Edhellond had tried to correct thesituation, but none were successful. She wasmentally retarded and would never progressto a state beyond that of a 5 year-old child.Elarin would not accept this and decided tojourney with his sister to his relatives atRivendell to see if anything could be done.On his trip through Westmarch they werestaying close to the hills to avoid the localpopulation, and therefore any stares andquestions, when Amarla ran off into thenearby woods. The forest was virgin andincredibly thick. He tracked her as best hecould, but gained little information from thesigns which seemed to be erased in a randomfashion. Finally two days later, after no sleep,he found her lying fast asleep in the ancienttemple which crowned a grassy hill in themiddle of the forest. She awoke with a start.It was then he noticed it, something was

different about her. She spoke to him(previously she had rarely done so) but thevoice was not her own.

The voice which came from her said thatshe was the Oracle, that this was her new home,and to go and leave her in peace. He triedseveral times to remove her from the forest,unsuccessfully. The forest seemed to move toblock his passage and finally he gave up.Distraught he left the forest to go get help. Thatis when he met the Drughu. Their chieftainexplained the power of the Oracle and the factthat it had been vacant for so long. At first hewas not willing to accept this fate for his sister,but the Drughu explained that this was anhonor not frequently bestowed nor lightlygiven and that she would have a purpose in lifenow rather than being wholly dependent onothers all her life. Finally they convinced him,and he left sorrowful but, convinced that thiswas right. Upon returning to Edhellond, hefound that his parents had died in a constructionaccident (they were both shipwrights).Disgusted with his lot in life, he returned toWestmarch to be near his sister. Now he hastaken a position as a ranger in Evad’s service asa ranger of Gondor, with his territory beingthat nearest the Oracle.

Elarin is now second-in-command of the

rangers and the only Elf in the Rangers Servicein Westmarch. For that matter, he is the onlyElf besides Amarla (his sister) that frequents thearea with any regularity at all. Since the deathof his parents and the selection of his sister tobe the Oracle, he has thrown himselfcompletely into his work with the rangers. Hislosses have not been without emotional effectand Elarin is much darker in mood than he wasonce. He rarely speaks to anyone other than therangers and then mostly to Evad. The localsseem somewhat wary of his presence because ofhis race. He does nothing to remedy this either,because he is usually in no mood to socialize.Because his territory is in the foothills he hasdone significant exploration into the mountainsand probably knows the area as well as anyone.He also acts as a liaison to the Drughu when

needed. The paths of the Drughu and humansof the area rarely cross, but when they do Elarinhas been useful to both races because he is

capable in both languages and understands (aswell as any non-Drûg) the way they think.Elarin is a capable hunter and fighter and he hasoften taken hunting trips with Evad into themountains to hunt bear and boar.

Amarla as the mouth of the Oracle hasbeen given special abilities to defend herselfand her realm. Any attempts to read her mindor delve into her mind including generalinfluence spells will be met by a 25th levelmind blank, which will not allow such activityto affect her. Also if a person attempts a mindcontrol or probing spell on Amarla, they must

save versus Mentalisim at 50th level orgo insane from the experience. Ifattacked physically, the power of theOracle will teleport Amarla away intothe woods where the Huorns willprotect her. Either way at the first signof physical aggression the Huorns aswell as the Drughu make their way tothe Oracle at best possible speed andbegin to exterminate the aggressors. (Ifthe Earthnode rules from RolemasterCompanion I are used then Amarlawould be considered a guardian.)

All Amarla’s physical needs are metby the Oracle which grows food for her,but the Drughu also bring her thingsperiodically. They see her most oftenrunning through the forest chasinganimals that she has for playmates.Their devotion to her nears worship forthey believe that she embodies theperfect innocence never ending that noelse could ever attain.

Physically Amarla appears toothers as would a young woman of 14-16 years old in build but withdistinctively Elvish features. Most ofthe time she will be streaked with mudand have twigs and straw sticking from

her hair in a most unkempt manner, aswould any young girl that plays in the woodsevery day.

2.73 LORD TARGEN

Lord Targen is ruler of the southernportion of Westmarch. He is an older Dúnadannoble (140) who is considered by most peopleof the area to be an open and caring person. Heis known for his sense of fair play and hisenjoyment of life. To the people of his domainhe is less of a ruler than a friend. He can oftenbe seen carrying on in a most unlordly manner.It would not be uncommon for Lord Targen tobe seen standing knee deep in water of theAdorn fishing for trout with a group of localmen and boys while his assistants remindedhim repeatedly he was supposed to beelsewhere. This type of contact with the localson a regular bases has not undermined hisauthority, however, because many havewitnessed his anger and have seen him dole outharsh punishment to the unfortunate criminalsbrought to his court. Lord Targen resides some15 miles southeast of Derwath across the Adornriver in the castle Tilmendir, which was builtseveral centuries ago to maintain close watchon the pass through the White Mountains thatcrosses there. His family has controlled thisarea for as long as the castle has been inexistence, and he is quite comfortable here. Thecastle now houses two of his three sons, hisservants and approximately 50 militiamen. Hiswife died 25 years ago, after giving birth to hisyounger son, and his middle son is away southbecoming a scholar.

2.74 LORD NEGOLOS

Lord Negolos has only been lord of thisarea for three years. His father was in theprime of his life when he died from the Plague,leaving a very young lord Negolos to acceptduties that have matured him fairly rapidly. Heis only 28 years old, newly wed, and tryinghard to do his best to replace his father.Unfortunately for Negolos, the area he governsof late has had some significant racial problemsbrought about by the Dunnish that have movedback from Dunland to what they consider to betheir rightful home. In the last year there havebeen several near misses in racial relations thatalmost resulted in a racial revolt/war in theregion. Whether out of luck or cunning (theargument goes both ways amongst the locals)Lord Negolos has temporarily abated thisproblem by marrying the daughter of a DaenLintis nobleman that moved his entire extendedfamily to Westmarch some ten years ago. Hisnew wife, Sirris, is well loved in the Dunnishcommunity and this marriage seems to havebrought together the races for awhile.Unfortunately for Lord Negolos, the rumorsthat this was a cunning feat of diplomacy areentirely false, and although he loves his newwife deeply, he has no notion of what to do ifthe current peaceful status erodes again.Because of his inexperience, he has of late beenasking the advice of Lord Targen and Evad theranger on several trips that he has taken to theDerwath in the past few months.

2.8 WESTMARCH ATOTHER TIMES

2.81 WESTMARCH 1640-2510

From 1640 to 2510 of the Third Age,change was slow but steady in Westmarch.With the decline of the population ofCalenardhon proper, the north trade throughWestmarch to those regions slowed as did themigration of craftsmen and new settlers fromthe South. In Westmarch this meant that thepopulation became more and more mixed astimed passed because of the slow yet constantinflux of Dunmen. As this occurred even theruling pure Dúnadan class became mixed withDunnish blood. Not only did the rulers losetheir bloodline distinction during this timeperiod, but much of their power as well. Astime went on, many of the rulers became justrich influential men with great tracts of lands.This, along with the decline in the influence ofGondor on the government, over time allowedthe people of Westmarch to take over most ofthe governmental functions, blending thehistorical Dúnadan government with the clansystem of the Daen Lintis that moved south.Most of this transition was a peaceful with a fewexceptions in the form of clan wars andconfrontations with the rangers in the region.During this time, the points of interest of 1640change very little. The Rendar and Asirac arestill at a stalemate, Amarla is still the mouth ofthe Oracle of Yavanna, and the Earthwell is stilloperating as a spying station for Dol Guldur.Elarin the Ranger lost interest in his service as aranger and traveled north to Rivendell to livewith his relatives there. He journeys back andforth once every 2-3 years to see his sister at theOracle.

2.82 WESTMARCH 2510-2759

T.A. 2510 was as significant as a yearcould get for the people of Westmarch. Havingheard the rumors of the possible threat from theBalchoth, Cirion the Steward of Gondormustered as many troops as he could for thenorthern Gondorian army thus swelling theranks of the garrison at Angrenost. (TheAglarond had long since been abandoned.)Some of these new volunteers were fromWestmarch, but not many. By this time notmany in Westmarch felt that they owed muchallegiance to Gondor, but the few who didturned out to help the Northern Army. Thisalone would not have been enough to stop theBalchoth, but luckily for the people of Gondortheir oldest and most steadfast allies theÉothéod came to their rescue in the nick of timeat Parth Celebrant. The aftermath of thisconflict saw Cirion the steward of Gondorceding all of Calenardhon to Eorl and hispeople. This wasn’t significant to the people ofCalenardhon proper, because in reality thereweren’t many Calenardhons left by this time.This land grant did include Westmarch whichwas more populated. This would become alingering problem for many years. Notincluded in the grant was the fortress ofTilmendir south of the river Adorn. This wouldremain garrisoned by the Dúnedain until theyear 2845 during Folcwine’s reign when theRohan takes over complete control ofWestmarch.

Once the land was granted to them theRohirrim moved in over a few years time withlittle adjustments necessary. The only problemarea was Westmarch. Here the population wasmuch heavier and were not about to move outof their homes to let the Rohirrim settle there.Fortunately the Rohirrim had plenty of room inthe other regions of Calenardhon, and thereforedid not insist upon moving into Westmarchright away. Over the years, however, some ofthe Rohirrim did move into Westmarchsporadically, and gradually mixed with thepeople of Westmarch to further dilute the racialbackground of the region. This would becomesignificant in years to follow. Over the years,

while Calenardhon was mostly unoccupied,Dunnish clans had moved closer and closer toCalenardhon. This brought about frequentborder conflicts between the Rohirrim and theDunnish.

When Cirion had given Calenardhon tothe Rohirrim, he also gave them the rights touse the Aglarond which had been abandonedfor years and had become run down. Excludedfrom the grant to the Rohirrim was Angrenost(Isengard) and the tower of Orthanc which hadbeen garrisoned by a hereditary force ofGondorian solders since 2050, when the lastGondorian king was killed and the regulargarrison was recalled. This force over the yearsbecame less disciplined and more friendly withthe Daen Lintis clans that had moved nearer. In2710, the commander of the garrison atAngrenost died without an heir, which enabledthe Dunmen to work their way into the fortressand take it over with a combination ofdiplomacy, deception, and force. This positionallowed their raids to be more effective as wellas allowing them a power base to launch moresignificant raids when the opportunitypresented itself. That opportunity would comein 2754.

In 2754, Westmarch would become thesource of one of the worst wars in its history.At this time in Westmarch there lived a mannamed Freca was considered a nobleman ofsorts to the people of Westmarch. He was froma wealthy family, and claimed to be adescendent of the Dúnadan lord that had onceruled the area around Beldwin, a theorysupported to some extent because his familyhome was the castle occupied by those lords.He also claimed descent from the kings of theRohirrim through an obscure relationship aswell as some rights to nobility among one ofthe Daen Lintis clans. Freca was a shrewdbusinessman and wise in his policies regardingthe people of Westmarch, but he let hisarrogance get the best of him, when he claimedthat he should be included on the ruling counciland asked for the kings daughter’s hand for hisson, Wulf. Helm, the king of Rohan, was notknown for his tolerance and had never failed toexpress his dislike of Freca. So Freca’s requestfor a marriage arrangement was met with a flat

no. Insults were exchanged and when Helmhad had enough, he hit Freca so hard on the topof the head that Freca died instantly. InWestmarch, Freca’s death was not taken well.His son Wulf was able to use his father’s deathas a rallying point for the Dunnish majority ofthe area. For the next four years, Wulf recruitedDunmen into his army from Westmarch andDunland. Many of the people of Westmarchwho were still loyal to king Helm or were ofRohirric descent left Westmarch afraid of therising tension.

In 2758, the opportunity to attack, forwhich Wulf had been waiting, finally arose.That year, the Easterlings attacked Rohan fromthe east and the Corsairs of Umbar attackedGondor from the south which meant that Rohanwould not receive any help from their closestallies. The Corsairs attacked all along thecoastal fiefs of the southern provinces ofGondor and drove inland. This brought themthough the passes of the southwest arm of theWhite Mountains and into Westmarch. Herethey met with very little resistance except forthe small predominantly Dúnadan garrison atTilmendir, and soon were met by Wulf and histroops. A quick agreement allowed the twoarmies to join forces to defeat the Rohirrim at abattle at the fords of the Isen. The Corsairs atthis point were too over-extended on men andsupplies to continue the campaign and returnedhome, having successfully completed their taskof occupying the Rohirrim so that they couldnot come to the aid of the Gondorian armies.After the decisive battle at the Fords, Wulf andhis army were able to drive into Rohan andtake over the capitol city of Edoras where Wulfclaimed the kingship. During the winter, Helmand his sons died defending the Hornburg (theAglarond). The rest of the royal family andmany of the people of Edoras survived byretreating to Dunharrow, the ancient DaenCoentis holy site high in the White Mountains.When the spring came, Helm’s nephew and heirFréalaf led a surprise raid into Edoras andkilled Wulf on the steps of the throne in theGolden Hall itself. Without their leader, theDunnish fled Rohan pursued by the Rohirrimending the first Dunnish invasion of Rohan.

A Locator Map for Westmarch

1. Beldwin2. Amon Roch3. The Oracle Site4. The Earthwell (picnic hill)5. The Adventurer’s Tower6. The Rendar/Asirac Valley7. Derwath8. Tilmendir

2.83 WESTMARCH 2759-3019

After the short-lived takeover by Wulf,things returned much to the way things werebefore in Westmarch, but only to a point. Thedispossessed Rohirrim from Westmarch slowlymoved back into Westmarch alongside some ofthe same people that were part of Wulf’s army.Racial strife abounded over the next centuryand the goal of the kings of Rohan was to ridWestmarch of all Dunnish. Regular sortieswere led into the region and by the year 2800, agarrison had been established in the fortressthat had once been Wulf and Freca’s home.During the reign of king Folcwine, theRohirrim started a campaign in Westmarch torid the region of its Dunnish influence. Theybegan by seeking out families of Dunnishdescent that were not loyal to the king,particularly those who are very outspoken orhad ancestors that had participated in Wulf’suprising. These families were first told thatthey should leave, or suffer stiff penalties andtaxes for staying. This worked for some ofthese families, but many resisted these tacticsand remained in Westmarch despite thepressure.

When these tactics did not work, theRohirrim upgraded to more harsh measures ofburning crops and driving off livestock. Thisdrove most of the others, but a few stubbornDunnish clansmen maintained their claim to theland. It is said that history is written by thevictors. History says that the Rohirrim riddedWestmarch of the Plague of the Dunnish thathad troubled them for so long. If the Dunmenhad written history, the Rohirrim might nothave looked quite as valiant in their efforts.Many of the acts the Rohirrim committed in thename of patriotism were cruel and vicious, andare not spoken of among polite people whohave respect for the crown and the traditions ofthe Rohirrim. The Dunnish remembered themlong afterwards, and they only served to fueltheir hatred for the Rohirrim.

Regardless of the tactics, however,Westmarch was rid of the Dunnish influence by2903, the end of Folcwine’s reign. This was

short-lived, without the constant surveillanceneeded to keep Westmarch racially pure. Soonthe Dunnish were moving back into Westmarchand reestablishing ties with people they onceknew there. In fact, by the time of the War ofthe Ring (3018-3019) Westmarch’s racial mixturewas much as it had been before the purge. Thedifference was that everyone that lived withinWestmarch seemed to get along. The onlyfighting during the time before the war wasbetween the Dunmen of Westmarch andsoldiers of Rohan that were new to the region.Most of these skirmishes were highly protestedby the residents of Westmarch, which is whyduring the War the people of Westmarch couldnot be counted on by either side, so split weretheir loyalties. Westmarch itself played nosignificant role in the war, but the inhabitantsof the Earthwell played a major part inproviding information to Sauron concerningSaruman’s activities as well as the strength andnumbers of the Rohirrim. They were alsoinstrumental in discovering vital informationabout Boromir’s ride to Rivendell, and incoordinating the information gathering servicesfocused on locating the fellowship of the Ringas well as acting as a stopping off point for theNazgûl as they searched.

2.84 WESTMARCH AFTER 3019

In the aftermath of the War of the Ring,the Dunmen that were defeated at the battle ofHelm’s deep returned home to Dunland andWestmarch dejected and humbled. The newking of Gondor and Arnor, ceded the landcalled Dunland to them to live in for as long asthey so desired if they lived peacefully. Becauseof the war the male population of Dunland wassignificantly decreased. This was also the casefor the Dunnish families of Westmarch whosemen went off to war. Many of these familiesdecided to move back to Dunland to rejoinrelatives for a more stable family structure. Theones that decided to stick it out in Westmarchsoon learned that as part of the conditions ofsurrender they had to relocate to Dunlandwhich left Westmarch completely under thecontrol of the Rohirrim.

When the War ended, the news ofSauron’s defeat was immediately known to

those at the Earthwell. Having lost theirmaster, the inhabitants fell into dissension andmost left to flee eastward way from the powerof the Rohirrim and Gondorians. Two of themdecided to stay at the Earthwell with theirservants and hide out until such time as theycould begin to exert control over the area bytheir own means.

Also remaining in Westmarch after thewar were the Rendar and the Asirac. Unlike theother undead clans of the Daen Coentis whowere released from their curse by Aragornduring the war, these clans never swore an oathto the Dúnedain, but rather became undead ontheir own; the Rendar to continue their foulexistence and the Asirac to counter them. Whenthe war ended, the threat and terror of theundead in the southern White Mountainsstopped, but in Westmarch the tales of ghosts inthe mountains continued for years.

3.0 THEHOMECOMING

3.1 THE TALE

Lord Targen, who is in charge of thelands around Derwath, has three sons who havegrown into manhood in Westmarch. His eldestson Carnil, and his younger son Galendur, werealways more physical, and much the outdoors-men. His middle son Miconur, however, wasalways more introverted and scholarly. For thepast five years, Miconur has been away fromhome. He was sent with his father’s blessingsto become a scholar in Lond Ernil (DolAmroth). Now he has come home for a visitand has been for two months. Unfortunatelyfor everyone concerned he did not study theareas that his father would have most desired.Instead, Miconur was sucked in to studying theblack arts while away in the south and hequickly took a liking to the power that wasassociated with sorcery. His mentor taught himwell and Miconur learned quickly. However,one thing he was not able to pick up on werethe seeds that his master planted in his mind togrow into hatred for his family, and his peoplein general. Unbeknownst to him, his masterwas a follower of the dark religions and underthe command of Khamûl in Dol Guldur.

Miconur arrived home six weeks agounannounced and acted completely normal forthe first week while he slowly introduced mindaltering substances into the food of the castle.Since then, he has imprisoned his father andolder brother, and has his younger brother, thehousehold servants and the militiamen of thecastle under his control. He has been makingthe militiamen into a cruel parody of theirformer selves. For the last month the normallyhappy and cavalier militiamen have beenraiding villages and farm houses disguised asbandits under the orders of Miconur. Thenwhen the militia was asked to step up patrols toeliminate the raids, they laughed. Morerecently there have actually been a few violentepisodes in Derwath itself. So far no oneoutside the castle knows of Miconur’s return.Only Evad believes that something might be

wrong at the castle and he is worried aboutLord Targen who has not been seen in publicfor six weeks. Evad, having only sketchyevidence and hunches, realizes that furtherinvestigation into the disturbances and thestatus of the castle are mandatory.

There is another complicating factor tothis tale, however. When the powers of evil atthe Earthwell discovered that Miconur’s actionscould potentially cause a disturbance whichmight jeopardize their standing in Westmarch,their reaction to this problem is as one wouldexpect…eliminate the problem at the source.Miconur must be stopped before his actionsdraw attention to Westmarch. The Assassin hasbeen dispatched to deal with the problem.

3.2 THE NPCS

Miconur

From an early age, Miconur showedsigns of great intelligence. His father was veryproud of him for his excellence in his studiesbut Miconur always felt inferior because helacked his older brother’s physical prowess.This drove a rift between he and his brotherCarnil; a resentment that has lasted to thepresent. When Miconur was 20 he had learnedall he could from the local sages and men ofpower, and desired to go south to one of thelarger cities to learn the ways of power. Hisfather put this off for five years before heallowed him to travel to Lond Ernil. His fatherhoped that he would study one of the moregentle magical arts, or even better become ahistorian or scholar of some sort. The latter wasan end Lord Targen prayed for daily, for he wasuncomfortable with his second son seeking theways of power, and with good reason. Becauseof his physical inability when compared to hisbrothers, Lord Targen was afraid that Miconurwould seek to become magically powerful tobalance his brother’s physical abilities in hisown mind. Lord Targen knew his son all toowell, for it was not long after Miconur arrivedin Lond Ernil and commenced his studies in the

field of Astrology that he was taken under thetutelage of man who proclaimed himself to be afamous teacher of magic from the south.Miconur soon learned to trust the man from thesouth, but his mentor was not what he seemed.It wasn’t long before the bond of trust betweenmentor and student allowed Miconur to comeunder the evil influence of his master. For fiveyears now he has been studying intensively themagical arts known as sorcery as well aslearning as much as he could about poisons.Miconur learned more than just magic from hismentor, however, he also learned a distincthatred of his own people, and in particular hisolder brother and his father. This mindmanipulation was part of the bargain involvedin learning the magical arts from the minions ofthe dark lord. His mentor did not approve ofhis return to Westmarch, but Miconur’s hatredand skills had grown to the point that he wouldnot be stopped, and in a fit of rage he killed hismentor and headed home.

Miconur is a 30 year-old Dúnadan manwith near pure Númenórean blood. Whichmeans he still in the first fifth of his life. He is6’3” tall with black hair and pale blue eyes. Heis a genius and has learned more in the last fiveyears of study than most could learn in ten.However, his studies, his own emotionalinstability, and his mentor’s manipulations ofhis mind have driven him quite mad. Hismadness makes him impossible to reason withhim and gives him a +40 on saving throws vsany mental attack or manipulation. He is an 8thlevel sorcerer who now has control ofapproximately 40 militiamen whom he willgladly sacrifice to kill his enemies or savehimself. He has no objection to killing anyonefor that matter, except for his younger brotherGalendur who was the only person he everreally loved. Currently, he has Galendur undercontrol just like the other militiamen but hewill not force Galendur into combat like theothers.

Carnil

The eldest of the three sons Carnil is thebest at arms and good administrator, but it wasthese skills that drove his brother away. Carnilwas completely oblivious to his brothers

resentment. He is a commanding figurestanding 6’7” tall with black hair and dark greyeyes. He is a 7th level Fighter but has not seenany real action for nearly ten years. He is 50years old.

Galendur

Miconur’s younger brother Galendur ismore like Carnil than he is like Miconur, butunlike Carnil, Miconur and Galendur werealways close because only two years separatedthem. Galendur is 28 years old. He is 6’4” tallwith dark hair and blue eyes. He acts as one ofthe officers for the militia. He is a 5th levelRanger, and although he appears less seriousthan Carnil he takes his responsibilitiesseriously. He is also one of the few menconnected with the militia that recognize theimportance of the rangers and because of this henormally remains in contact with them on aregular basis. His absence in this capacity hasbeen noticed since Miconur’s return.

Jozein the Assassin

Soon after the death of Miconur’s mentorwas discovered by servants of the Dark Lord, itwas postulated that Miconur might return to hishome. Upon researching his origins it wasconcluded that his return to Westmarch couldbe threatening to the security of the Earthwell ifhe caused any trouble. The Earthwell wasnotified and the Assassin (See Section 2.61) wasdispatched to take care of the situation. Thatassassin is called Jozein. He is now en route toDerwath disguised as a merchant selling ropesand cloth. As for his attempt to kill Miconur,his plan is to silently scale the walls of the castleand pick a vantage point that will allow him tomonitor the movements, of Miconur. Once helocates Miconur or realizes a pattern in hismovements he will move in for an Ambushattack. If need be, he will adopt the guise of amilitiaman in order to get close enough. If herealizes that the party is there to act to correctthe situation he will still try to kill Miconurbefore the party can get to him, so they cannotglean any information about Miconur’s studiesor about his mentor in the south.

3.3 THE SETTING

The adventure mainly takes place in Derwath,and in Tilmendir castle outside of Derwath,which was built during Gondor’s expansionperiod around T.A. 1050. The castle was builtlarge and once housed a sizable garrison toprotect the pass through the White Mountainsto the southern coast, in case of invasion by sea.Over the course of time, however, the castle hasbecome less and less populated and now onlyhas a garrison of 50 militiamen as noted inSection 2.5. The castle itself has several areasthat are unoccupied now because of therelatively low number of people occupying it.This all makes for some areas of the castle thatare dark and spooky (according to some of theyounger men).

3.31 DERWATH

Derwath, the largest town in Westmarch,has been in existence long before Tilmendir wasbuilt. Originally it was a Daen Coentis villagein place long before the Dúnedain sailed fromNúmenor to settle the coastlines. Since then theDúnedain have slowly moved in and resettledthe area in the void left by the dwindling Daen.Derwath is the primary trade and agriculturalcenter for the region. It has several mills and avery active marketplace. The plague caused thecity to lose several key craftsmen, some of thesehave been replaced, but it still feels the effectsof the vacancies at times. Derwath is a peacefulcommunity of hardworking people that rarelyexperiences trouble. In general the poorersection of the town is the northern portions andthe town becomes progressively nicer as onetravels south through town. This is primarilybecause the migrant worker population lives ina shanty town on the north side of town. Thetown is scattered with parks and courtyards thatare tended by the town gardener. The largecourtyard in the center of town is the maingathering point of the town and also serves asthe large open market for farmers andcraftsmen from nearby. The reservoir to theeast of town is fed by springs. Runoff escapes toflow to the Adorn.

LAYOUT

1. Agent’s Office. This small office is run by aclerk who is paid by Lord Targen tocoordinate the hiring and payment of themigrant farmworkers that live in the nearbyshanty town.

2. Tannery

3. Cobbler.4. Brothel. The more classy of the two in town.5. Warehouse.6. Tavern. Toughest bar in town. Even at that

it seems fairly tame when compared to thescummy dives in the larger cities.

7. Carpenter’s Shop.8. Militia Station. Here 10 militiamen are

19

23

4 56

7

8

9 10 11

20

21

16

14 13 12

29

26

2524

3940 3738 3233

3536

4142

22

43

17

31

302827

3444

4745

46

505152

5453

49

5556

48

15

18

1

23

stationed for one month at a time from theirhome base at castle Tilmendir. The buildingis a secure square tower with 4’ thick wallsand a crenelated roof top. It stands 30’ talland has a metal reinforced oak doors as itsonly entrance. Inside there is an office forthe administrative needs of the militia, asmall armory for their weapons, a storageroom with supplies, and a large room inwhich the militiamen eat and sleep. Themilitiamen normally patrol the city duringthe day and night in a random fashion actingas keepers of the peace. Recently they havebeen at odds with this purpose.

9. Grocery . The building is the home of thegrocer and is used for storage. On normaldays his goods are displayed on tables out infront.

10. Tavern. Not as bad as the one at #6 but notthe best in town either.

11. Brothel. Conveniently located near theMilitia Station at #8.

12. Armorer. This craftsman was set up inbusiness here by Lord Targen, primarily tohave his services available to themilitiamen, but he does have goods for sale,and will do work for private individuals.He is quite capable for normal tasks.

13. Inn. Small low-priced establishment forvisitors to Derwath. Frequented mostly betraveling Dunmen, who cannot afford someof the nicer Inns.

14. Theater. A small entertainment hall, thatspecializes in bawdy plays and live femaleentertainers. A favorite nightspot of thelower class workers and young men.

15. Mill. Oldest mill in town. This mill issomewhat rundown and is used to producemeal and flour of middle quality for mostlylocal use.

16. Astrologer . This is the shop and spartanliving quarters of Garamund the Astrologer.The shop, contains many maps of the area,many books containing the known historyof the Daen Coentis, as well as the normalstar maps and books used in his ownprofession. The roof of the shop can beaccessed by stairs from the inside, so that hecan ascend to his roof to study the nightskies. Garamund is available to answerquestions for a fee, but if he can gain access

to information about which he is interestedthen he will tend to run on about itregardless of whether he gets paid. If thesubject of the Daen Coentis astrologictemples is brought up he will surely talkeveryone present under the table.

17. Cooper . Specializes in large pots.18. Brewer. One of several in Derwath. This

one in particular makes a very stout meadfrom a blend of local grains and herbs that isfairly inexpensive.

19. Inn. This inn is used primarily by merchanttravelers through Derwath. It is moderatelypriced and located on the outskirts of town,which makes for a fairly quiet night.

20. Stable. Owned by the same person thatowns the inn at #19. Fairly new.

21. Armorer/Weaponsmith. This craftsmanused to live in Minas Arnor and was verysuccessful. He left there and moved toWestmarch to relax for awhile. He reallydoesn’t have the clientele in Westmarch tosupport his business, but he is comfortablywell off and enjoys collaborating on projectswith the alchemist next door. He enjoyscreating in his craft, so special projects arereasonable priced for the labor point ofview, but materials are hard to find. Hedoes have a good inventory of well madearmor and weapons, which for the most partremains in storage.

22. Alchemist. This young practitioner ofalchemy is only 5th level, but is verytalented. He enjoys his work andappreciates the help and input of thearmorer next door. He is always looking fornew ideas for projects and welcomesoutsider patronage.

23. Healer. This lay healer is proficient, butonly 7th level, so serious injuries cannot bedealt with effectively by him.

24. Herbalist. The herbalist is the wife of thelay healer. Many times they work togetherto heal the more serious injuries. She has alimited supply of herbs that are natural tothe area. (including the mountains) and willpay market prices for herbs that she cannotget otherwise. She will sell the herbs thatshe has in excess or can get adequatesupplies of but the price will be higher thanin larger cities.

25. Outfitter. Everything needed for journeysinto the wilder areas of the country. Ropes,packs, tools, and much, much more. Pricesare reasonable, but the owner has a tendencyto hard-sell his goods.

26. Town Hall. Here the city council meet todiscuss city matters, and theirrecommendations are forwarded to LordTargen for approval. Mostly this is aformality, because Lord Targen usuallyagrees. Public forums are also held hereonce a month to allow the people to talkdirectly to the council.

27. Silversmith. Located on the main townsquare, this silversmith has a boomingbusiness thanks to the rich landowners andmerchants of the area. He does exceptionalwork for Westmarch, average work ifcompared to imported goods which he alsosells.

28. Glassblower. This shop stands emptybecause the glass blower and his apprenticeboth died during the Plague.

29. Bowier/Fletcher. Fine hunting bows can bebought here along with their accessories.He does not make crossbows.

30. Stable. The midtown stable is mainly usedby day visitors to Derwath from outlyingfarms who come to town to shop.

31. Mill. This is a processing mill only forcreating very fine flour. No storage silo isconnected, so all raw materials and finishedproducts are stored at a site east of town.

32. Bakery. Connected to the mill next door.The bakery uses the fine flours and mealsproduced at the mill to create very tastybreads and cakes.

33. Weaponsmith. Shop is empty. Thecraftsman died during the Plague. Hisduties are performed by the armorers intown.

34. Wainwright. Carts for any occasion, andrepairs too.

35. Empty shop.36. Carpenter. Works mainly for the

upperclass.37. Scholar. Works primarily interpreting

written works, and arguing with Garamundabout Daen Coentis history. See #16.

38. Weaver.39. Grocer. Better selection than #9.

40. Curiosity Shop. All sorts of strange objectsand interesting things can be found in thisshop (if you can find anything among all theclutter), run by an old Lintis woman whoalso tells fortunes.

41. Potter. Capable of making fine stoneware,but mainly deals in pots and urns

42. Jeweler. Trained in Lond Ernil. Can workvery fine materials, but rarely gets anopportunity to excel at his craft.

43. Warehouse.44. Moneylender. Also doubles as a pawn shop.

Interest rates are high.45. Winery. Produces fine wines that draw a

high price in the cities to the south.46. Herbalist. Primarily grows and sells herbs

not locally available. Does not particularlylike dealing with people, so he does not liketo give instructions on how to use the herbshe sells. He will refer anyone asking for thistype of help to the other herbalist. (See #24.)

47. Inn. The Sparkling Sickle. The finest inn intown. It is three stories tall and the roomsare spacious and very comfortable. It alsohas a fine restaurant on the bottom floor thatis frequented by the upper classes. All theniceties do not come without acommensurate price.

48. Warehouse.49. Outfitter. Specializes in meeting the needs

of young people out to explore the world.Unfortunately, there are not enough of theseexplorers to keep his business going so healso sells farm equipment, harnesses, andtack.

50. Mage. Very new in town. Hasn’t drawnmuch business because the townspeople arenot sure they can trust someone whoadvertises himself so openly as a magic user.

51. Grocer. Only the best produce is sold here.52. Inn. Moderately priced establishment that

used to be better. Has more rooms than anyother inn in town.

53. Jeweler. Primarily works in gold and gems.Makes water clocks as a hobby

54. Potter/Glassblower. When the townglassblower died during the Plague thispotter took up the craft and is doing his bestto meet the townspeople’s needs, but hisworkmanship is primitive.

55. Import Shop. Opened by a group ofmerchants. To display and sell goodsbought by their trading company in thesouth and north. Many of these items couldnot be produced in Westmarch. Anythingfound here will have a hefty price tag.

56. Healer. The old Lintis woman who liveshere is a channeling based healer, who usesherbs and Dunnish superstitions along withher magical abilities to heal. She is popularwith the lower class and migrant Dunnish.The upper class regret that her shop is on thesouth side of town, but not too much,because she does good work.

3.32 TILMENDIR

Tilmendir castle is located some 10 milesfrom Derwath to the south on a ridge thatoverlooks the southern bank of the Adorn. Itwas built during Gondor’s expansion periodaround T.A. 1050. The castle was built large andonce housed a sizable garrison to protect thepass through the White Mountains to thesouthern coast, in case of invasion by sea. Overthe course of time, however, the castle hasbecome less and less populated and now onlyhas a garrison of 50 militiamen as previouslynoted. The castle itself has several areasthat are unoccupied now because of therelatively low number of peopleoccupying it. This all makes for someareas of the castle that are dark andspooky (according to some of theyounger men). The castle is set into aridge such that rear portion of the firsttwo levels are actually underground, andthe front of the castle extends downwardon the front below the first level so thatthe entrance tunnel cuts upwardsthrough rock at a 30° angle beforeopening in the middle of the castlecourtyard. See the layout below.

LAYOUT

Level 1

1. Entrance: This tunnel from theoutside is the only known entryway into the castle (See #98.) The

tunnel opening is protected by doubledoors made of Dwarven steel and aportcullis of similar construction at theentrance and 30’ into the tunnel. Thelength of the tunnel is protected by threedifferent devices. Holes in the ceilingallowing defenders to shoot at intrudersas they pass underneath. Two dead-fallweights can be triggered from thegatehouse to crush or trap intruders (treatas a huge crush at +50). Spouts located inthe gatehouse can be used to directboiling or flaming oil down into thetunnel to further dissuade intruders. Theexit of the tunnel is in the center of thecourtyard of the castle and can becollapsed if this becomes necessary.

2. Gatehouse Guardroom . This roomallows for a view of the entire front of thecastle through arrow slits, which allowsfor excellent forward defense. Alsocontained in this room are the murderholes for the tunnel below as well as thecontrols to the dead falls mentioned in #1.Steel doors allow access to this room fromthe hallways that connect to the cornertowers. These doors can be barred fromeither side to seal off areas if overrun.

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3. Officers Quarters. Rounded rooms (a) arefor lieutenants of the garrison. Therectangular rooms (b) are home for 2 non-commissioned officers each. Rooms arefurnished in a comfortable, yet functionalfashion. At this time due to the lownumbers of men occupying the castle,only 1 officer and 2 non-commissionedofficers are staying here.

4. Officers Quarters. Same as #3 Except thatthe blacksmith occupies one of the rooms.

5. Forward Stables. 38 horses can be stabledhere, but currently these stables hold onlyLord Targen’s horses and his son’s horses.

6. South Stables. 25 horses are stabled herefor the militiamen.

7. North Stables. Currently 15 horses arestabled here.

8. Storage. This room contains dry goodsand preserved foods. Enough to lastseveral months.

9. Smithy. The castle’s smith doeseverything from shoe horses to mendarmor here.

10. Armory/Guard Station. This provides astation for the main courtyard guards andas well as the prison guards whenprisoners are present. It also hold storesof spears and arrows for defense.

11. Dungeon. 24 cells are available forimmediate occupancy. No one iscontained within. The locks are old andrusty but still work on 60% of the cells.

12. Citadel Entrance. Double steel doorsguard both ends of this entrancepassageway. Portculli can be lowered toblock off each end of the round section.Arrow slits allow for fire into any portionof the round area. To further protect thisentrance large stone blocks can bedropped to block the entrance way oneither side of the round area. Also thefront doorway is protected by spoutsfrom which oil or molten lead can bepoured from the 2nd level of the tower(See #32.)

13. Public Receiving Area and Dining Hall.This highly decorated hall has becomesomewhat dingy and rundown ever sinceLord Targen’s wife died. Tapestries hangall along the walls and cover alcoves in

the rear of the room (see #16 & 17.) Onthe dais at the front of the room are twolarge chairs. Lord Targen sits in the rightchair when receiving guests and whenpresiding at feasts. During feasts, tablesare moved into the rooms from room #19.On each side of the dais, doors lead to aconnecting hallway. From here stairslead upwards through the citadel.

14. Kitchen. This kitchen is used to preparefood for feasts scheduled for the mainhall. It is well equipped, but under-used.

15. Cook’s Quarters. One cook currentlyresides here. He is under Miconur’sinfluence as well and will poison the foodif Miconur so commands. As he cooksonly for Lord Targen’s family and guests.There is a separate staff for the men.

16. Guardroom . These have access to thealcove behind the tapestry in room #13, aswell as to the tower stairs and the arrowfiring room of the entrance way. Oneguard is always stationed here, and willreposition himself in the alcove if visitorsare present.

17. Guardroom . Same as #1618. Servants Quarters. These servants act as

pages during receptions and as portersduring feasts. There are currently 2servants residing here. One is controlledby Miconur, the other for some reason isnot, but goes along because he is tooscared to do otherwise.

19. Storage. Used to store tables and chairsfor dining.

Level2

20. Watch Post. 2 guards are stationed here atall times and are responsible for alertingthe castle to the presence of people at thegate and dispatching a guard to determinethe visitor’s intentions. Again as in #2 thearrow slits provide a wide field of fire.

21. Armory. Each guard carries his personalweaponry with them, but extra weaponsand armor similar to what they alreadyhave is located here for replacements.Double doors guard the entryway to thetowers.

22. Barracks. This large room canhold up to 20 men comfortably infairly spartan accommodations.Only 10 men are housed here atthis time. The door leads to anaccess way for the arrow slits ofthe tower. These increase the firefield of the tower to almost 180°at this level.

23. Barracks. Similar to #22, except15 men live and sleep here.

24. Mess Hall. This large room isused for all the meals for themilitiamen.

25. Kitchen. This kitchen is used tocook the militiamen’s meals.

26. Quarters. This room was oncethe home of the castle’s Stablesteward. There is no longer aneed for one since the number ofhorses stabled is down and themen are required to take care oftheir own mounts.

27. Quarters. Three stable boys once slepthere.

28. Quarters. The castle blacksmith once usedthis as his quarters, but since no one elselives in this tower he prefers to sleep withthe men. (See #4)

29. Quarters. Once used for 2 smith’sapprentices.

30. Quarters. Once used for the castlearmorer. All the armor repairs are donein Derwath.

31. Quarters. This room was for the dungeonkeeper. It is empty.

32. Control Room. From this room the trapsthat guard the entrance to the citadel canbe activated. Murder holes are alsolocated here so that intruders stuck in theroom below can be fired upon. Funnelsare located in the front of the room thatallow oil or molten lead to be pouredonto attackers at the Citadels main doors.

33. Guardroom . 1 guard is always stationedhere, always ready to go to #32 to manthe trap controls.

34. Guardroom . Same as #33.35. Hallway.36. Guest Suite. This room is for visitors to

the castle. It is nicely furnished and has

two auxiliary rooms. One is a washroom,the other is for storage, and for anypersonal servants the guests might bring.

37. Guest Suite. Same as #36. Both of theserooms have not been used much latelyand are very dusty.

38. Guest Room. For guests with no servantsor less luggage.

39. Guest Room. Same as #38.

Level 3

40 Tower oom. Here the gate house of thefortress splits into two towers This roomis used for storage of ballistae and othersiege equipment and to access the levelsabove. This level can not be accessedfrom the armory below. In order to gethere one must go through one of the sidetowers and then across the open wall tothe tower entrance.

41. Open Roof. Overlooks the front gatesand the caste courtyard.

42. Tower Room. Same as #40.43. Barracks. 20 men were once housed here.

Now only 15 live here. Doors lead to thewall on the gatehouse side as well as theside wall of the castle. The side walls are

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stair-stepped to account for the differencein height between the front and back ofthe castle.

44. Barracks. Same as #43. 45. Quarters. Once used to house kitchen

staff. Now it is empty.46. Quarters. Once used to house porters that

worked in the soldiers mess. Now empty.47. Quarters. Used to house 2 of the men that

cook for the militiamen.48. Quarters. Used to house 2 porters.49. Quarters. This room is home to the head

mess cook. She is one of the few womenthat live in the castle.

50. Quarters. This room is occupied by thecastle’s supply steward. He is in charge ofacquiring supplies for the men’s mess aswell as supplies for the stables and thecitadel kitchens.

51. Barracks. 20 men were once housed here.Now no one occupies these barracks.

52. Royal Armory and Museum. This roomis multipurpose. It serves as a armsstorage room for the citadel guards, but italso serves as a repository for LordTargen’s hobby. Lord Targen has one ofthe largest collections of historicalarmaments west of Minas Anor. Thisroom contains 40 mannequins dressed invarious forms of armor and bearing

various types of weapons form manydifferent times and lands. Eachmannequin has an engraved platefastened to the floor in front of it thatdescribes the origins and usage patternsof each battle dress. On the front wallsare murals depicting battle done by artistsof many different races. The armor andweapons on these dummies are all at least+5 with several +10 weapons, and a +15scimitar on one of the Easterlingmannequins. Lord Targen tookprecautions to protect his collection. Ifany item is taken from the room will longdoor back to its original position. If thisis tried again within 3 minutes of the lastattempt then the person passing throughany of the doors out of the room will besubjected to 2 +20 Shock Bolts.

53. Guardroom . 1 guard is always stationedhere.

54. Guardroom . Same as #53.55. Quarters. This room once housed the

castle’s scholar. He maintained thelibrary and acted as an advisory to LordTargen. All his possessions are still inthis room. His mangled body is alsopresent. Miconur clubbed him to death ina fit of rage when the old man would notsubmit to his will. The old man had a bagwith 432 gp stashed in a fake panel in thebottom drawer of his desk. He also iswearing a ring which bestows a +10 to itswearer’s Reasoning bonus. He has beendead for weeks. The room smellsincredibly bad.

56. Quarters. This is the quarters of Carnil’ssquire. He was killed by Miconurattempting to keep him from harming hismaster. (See #86.)

57. Quarters. This is the quarters ofGalendur’s squire. He is currently underMiconur’s control.

58. Quarters. The castle’s healer is quarteredhere. He is aware of Miconur’s influence,but has stayed on in fear of his life and tohopefully help those injured by Miconur.Miconur is aware that the healer is notunder his influence, and has him watchedclosely.

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59. Quarters. The captain of the citadel guardwas quartered here. Miconur consideredhim to dangerous, so he put him to sleepand slit his throat. His body lies acrosshis bed. Again the room smells of death.If anything in the room is disturbed thecaptain will awaken from death as aghoul, dispatch the one that disturbed hisfinal resting place and go in search ofMiconur.

60. Quarters. The citadels steward occupiesthis room. He is in charge of theoperations of the castle. Miconur allowshim just enough free thought to fulfill thistask.

Level 4

61. Tower Room. Used as a guardroom andfor storage.

62. Tower Room. Same as #61.63. Tower Roof. Access to the roof is

provided by a trap door and a ladder thatextends to the room below. A small hoistis mounted to the roof here to allowequipment such as ballistae to be broughtup from the storage room below.

64. Tower Roof. Same as #63.65. Tower Rooms . This room is used for

storage, but was made to be converted totemporary barracks if the need presenteditself. For this purpose the wall hashinged platforms that fold down tobecome bunks.

66. Tower Rooms. Same as #65.67. Library. This is the first level of the 2-

tiered library. Books collected by LordTargen’s family for centuries are found inthis hall. The 2nd level can be accessed bya circular stairway that connects with thewalkway on the 2nd tier. The walkway ispolished wood with inlaid and intricatelycarved railings. In general Miconur hatesevery part of this castle, but out of allthese hated rooms he hates this roomleast.

68. Guards’ Passages. This series of hallwaysallows the citadel guards which live onthis level to have access to all thestairways of the keep.

69. Workshop. This room is used as aworkroom for the keep’s herbalist and themagical people of the castle. WhenMiconur was young his first experimentsin the magical arts were completed in thisroom.

70. Librarian’s Quarters. This room was oncethe living area and office of the castle’slibrarian. Lord Targen had such a love ofbooks that he dismissed the last librarianto take over the duties himself.

71. Nanny’s Quarters. Carnil has twochildren, ages 12 and 6. They arecurrently away to the south visiting hiswife’s relatives for six months. Thechildren’s nanny lives in this room whenthey are at the castle.

72. Quarters. The assistant castle stewardlives in this room. He is in directcommand of all the citadel servants andkitchen staff.

73. Guards’ Quarters. This room is the homeof 4 citadel guards. It is open to the guardstation at #75.

74,77. Servants’ Quarters. 2 servants occupy thisroom.

75,80. Guardroom . This acts as a staging roomfor the citadel guards. Extra crossbows,bolts, arrows and spears are kept here fordefense of the citadel.

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76. Guards’ Quarters. Same as #73.77. Servants’ Quarters. Same as #74.80. Guardroom . Same as #75.

Level5

81 Gatehouse Tower Rooms . These tworooms are used for storage of battleequipment, including large vats of oil tobe used to pour on attackers.

82. Lord Targen’s Chambers. This largesumptuous chamber has seen better days.When his wife was alive the room wasalways brightly decorated. Now thosefurnishings are drab and run down, butthey are comfortable and that is whatLord Targen values mostly at this point inhis life. At this point, however, his life isin jeopardy. He lies on his bed in a comacompletely at the mercy of his mad sonMiconur, and not far from death.

83. Guard Stations. The families’ personalguards man these stations. and routinelypatrol this level’s hallways. SinceMiconur’s return these guards are loyal tohim in their delusion. One of them isalways on duty outside the door of LordTargen’s office (#85).

84. Guard Stations. These guardrooms differfrom those in #83 because they give exitto the rear tower roofs.

85. Lord Targen’s Office. Lord Targencarried out his daily business in thisroom. It is outfitted with a large deskcentered in the room with bookcaseslining the walls. The desk is quite untidy.Two rooms adjoin his office. Room (a)contains many records of the transactionsof the castle for many years back, alongwith large stores of detailed maps of theentire region. Room (b) is the castlevault. The vault contains strongboxescontaining 50,000 in gold, silver andgems. It also contains five chests thathold Lord Targen’s wife’s wardrobe. Theclothes are well preserved and made ofthe finest materials. Set into the wall ofthe central tower is a secret vault thatcontains three items of particularimportance to Lord Targen. The first is alarge dark blue sapphire given to him as agift from the king. It has a large flaw inthe depths of the stone that resembles aswan taking flight. The stone is priceless.Meaning that it is well enough knownthat it would also be hard to sell inanonymity. The second item is thediamond tiara worn by his wife on specialoccasions. It is worth 10,000 gp. The lastitem is the hereditary sword of hisfathers. It was made in Númenor. It is a+25 white eog holy sword with bluetriangle shaped laen inserts in the blade.The sword does double concussion hits vsservants of Sauron, will cast Brilliance1x/day and discharge a point blank ShockBolt up to 5x/day on command whilestriking a foe. The door to the main vaultis keyed to open to Lord Targen’s touch.He has not yet keyed the vault to any ofhis sons as was his intent. If anyone triesto open the door that is unauthorized,(i.e., anyone other than Lord Targen) theymust resist vs a 12th level Teleport spell orbe teleported to a point 10’ outside of themain citadel tower –a drop of eighty feet.If the main vault is breached, thestrongboxes are double locked (-30 each).The secondary secret vault is very well

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hid in the wall (-40 to find the opening).Even if found like the main vault door itwill only open to Lord Targen’s touch.Anyone else trying will trigger a dead-fall weight to drop from the ceiling on theperson or persons standing in the 3’square area in front of the vault. This willinflict a D crush critical on each person inthat area. The trap is hard to detect (-30),however, there is a chance that the trapwill not work properly. Roll open ended.A roll of 25 or less indicates the trap stuckfast. A roll of 25-50 will allow eachperson under the weight will be able tomake an RR vs a 10th level spell, usingtheir quickness as a bonus. If they resistthey are able to move out of the way. Aroll of 50-100 indicates the trap functionsnormally. A roll of 101+ indicates that thetrap functioned with silence and speedand acts as an ambush attack of rank 5with reference to the critical roll.

86. Carnil’s Quarters. This room was Carnil’sroom and is now his final resting place.His death was slow, painful, and finallyended two days ago after at least twoweeks of slow torture by Miconur.Carnil’s body and room are in such a statethat even seasoned adventures must resistversus Fear/Terror at 10th level or bestunned at the sight for 1rnd/10% failure.

87. Galendur’s Quarters. Galendur stilloccupies this room, because he is one ofthe only members of his family thatMiconur liked. His room is decorated asbefits an adventurous and dashing youngman.

88. Miconur’s Quarters. These wereMiconur’s quarters when he lived atTilmendir when he was younger. Sincehe has returned he has slept little butwhen he has he has slept in the hightower hall. (#100)

89. Children’s Rooms. This room is housingfor Carnil’s children when they are at thecastle. They and their mother are visitingrelatives in the South.

Level 6

90. Gatehouse Roof. Trap doors open to thetops of the twin gatehouse towers. Thedrop from this level to the ground infront of the castle is 150’.

91. Lord Targen’s Chambers. Lord Targen’squarters (See #83) extend through to thislevel as a high vaulted ceiling. There isno access to the chamber from this level.

92. Guardroom . One of these rooms isusually occupied although the guard maybe out in the courtyard if members of thefamily are present.

93. Enclosed Walkway. This area is a coveredhallway with large glass windows thatlook out onto the open courtyard. Thesewindows can be opened if the weather isreasonable.

94. Courtyard Entrance. This chamber givesentrance to the rear staircase, thewindowed walkway (#93) and thecourtyard. The courtyard is tiledcompletely in a beautiful mosaic pattern.There are 4 large planters in the courtyardand with various decorative plants inthem except for one which was taken overby the castle herbalist to grow herbs.Many herbs available to this climate canbe found growing in this bed.

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Level 7

95. Overlook Room. This room was used bythe royal family and friends as a sittingroom, conversation, and light reading.The room is furnished with plushfurniture and soft carpets. The front of theroom gives entrance to a balcony that is140’ above the level of the main castlecourtyard. On the opposite side of theroom is a wide hearth which keeps theroom quite warm when needed and thedoor to the balcony is closed.

96 Guardroom . On this level the frontguardrooms give access to the citadelwalls.

Level 8

97. Tower Roofs . The front citadel towerroofs can be accessed via trap doorssimilar to other tower roofs and they inturn allow access to the high tower room.(See #98)

98. High Tower Room. This is the highestenclosed room in the main citadel tower.Windows made of high glass allow aview of the surrounding land that is quitewonderful. The room is only accessiblefrom the roofs of the side towers (#97) asthere is no internal stairway to this level.This room was once designated as thetactical room for planning patrols andsorties when Westmarch was a wilderland. Since it was seldom used for thispurpose, it was primarily used by officersto study the tactical texts and maps thatare stored here. Since Miconur’s return hehas taken over the room as his quartersand personal meditation room. A spiral

staircase stands next to the rear wall andallows access to the high tower roof(#100). Next to the exit of the room, thereis s concealed doorway (a) set into thewall this doorway leads to a very tightspiral stairway that descends through thewall to a tunnel beneath the castle. Thetunnel leads to a secret door set in theback of a cave over a mile away. Toensure escape should it be necessary, alever at the bottom of the stairs willretract all the steps on the staircase intothe wall dropping everyone on the stairsfrom whatever height they were at whenthe stairs retracted to the cold stonebelow.

99. Citadel Walls. The walls of the citadel areopen to the outside here and look downon the citadel high courtyard at #93.

Level 9

100. High Tower Roof. This large rooftop iscovered by a conical copper roof that hasturned green over the years. The roof isheld up by large iron bars. This rooftop isparticularly dangerous to be on duringthe thunderstorms of spring.

3.4 THE TASK

The PC’s face a difficult task. If theydecide to become involved they must figurewhat has caused the changes in the militia.

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Then they must go to castle Tilmendir to findout who is responsible and correct the situation.This will require either great stealth or boldguile to get into the castle and a strong defenseagainst an insane sorcerer to complete the task.

3.41 STARTING THE PLAYERS

The PC’s can be started in several ways.They might be witness to a particularly cruel actby the militiamen in the town of Derwath, suchas a small group of militiamen riding throughtown at high speed kicking an old woman inthe head or something equally as cruel. Theymight be asked by Evad to help him investigatea raid that occurred on a farm house milesoutside of town or to travel to Tilmendir castleto see if all is well with Lord Targen since avisit by him at the castle might cause politicalunrest between the two governmentrepresentations if things turn out to be normalafter all.

GM Note: Strangers to Evad will not beasked to help. This start will only work if theyare already deemed trustworthy by Evad.

Finally the party might be witness to theraiders leaving a burning farmhouse, whichcould lead to a fight or tracking the raiders, oran arrest of the party by Evad as if they werethe raiders.

3.42 AIDS

Help for this adventure could come inseveral forms depending on the start. Mostlikely Evad will be encountered in one way oranother, and although somewhat closed-mouthed, he will provide some information onthe raids, and the strange behavior of themilitiamen. Evad will have questions of hisown for the party if he has any reason tobelieve they are involved. Other rangers inDerwath at the time can also provideinformation about the events. Some of thetownspeople will also have individual storiesabout the militiamen. There will be significanttalk about them, so this will not be hard toattain. Since many of these young men havefamilies in or near town, there will be manyfamily arguments occurring when these men

come in contact with family. One importantpiece of the puzzle has been picked up by thetown astrologer, Garamund. He has noticedthat the 10 militiamen that are garrisoned in thesmall tower in Derwath, started out verybelligerent two weeks ago when their term intown started but now they are acting nicer andhave objected several times to actions that someof the other militia men have taken in town.(This is due to the fact that the mind alteringherbs and spells that Miconur has used on themhave begun to wear off.) Garamund also foundout that those same men have been orderedback to castle Tilmendir to be replaced byanother squad fresh from the castle. This isunusual because the normal term for a squad intown is two months.

The only other aid they might receivewould be maps of the castle. These do not existnow but could be constructed from memory byEvad and some townspeople who used to workin the castle.

3.43 OBSTACLES

Depending on the starting point, Evadmight present an obstacle or an aid. Either way,Evad will sternly remind the party that themilitiamen are locals with family and friends,and if it is known that they are acting undersomeone else’s influence, Evad will arrestanyone who uses unnecessary lethal forceagainst them. This will be pointed outrepeatedly by Evad and any other rangerspresent.

As if the possibility of having to subduewithout injuring up to fifty men were notenough, there is Jozein to deal with. If possible,he will discover the plans of the rangers and orthe party before he goes to the castle himself. Ifhe discovers that the party intends to take itsinvestigation, he will try to delay them in anyway possible without being seen. If nothingsubtle seems to work he will set up an ambushoutside of town to critically wound a memberof the party in the hopes that the party will bedelayed in order to see to the injured. Once atthe castle he will try to kill Miconur before theparty can get to him. He will kill any othercastle personnel if they interfere.

3.44 REWARDS

The primary rewards reaped from thesuccessful completion of this mission are of anon-monetary nature. The party will have thethanks, admiration, and respect of an entiretown, Evad, Lord Targen, and his household, ifthey are still alive. Lord Targen and his sonswill be stricken with grief over the death ofMiconur even if his acts are revealed to them.Lord Targen will be unable to talk about thewhole affair for weeks, but if any of his sonsremain, they will offer a monetary reward of1000 gp for the party. The townspeople fortheir part will offer services and goods as areward to the party, particularly those whosesons have been returned to their former states.However, if one of their sons was killed theywill want the party arrested or possibly evenassault the party in a fit of grief. If no othermonetary reward is offered, Evad will give theparty normal ranger wages for the days theywere involved.

3.5 THE ENCOUNTERS

Other than those outlined in Section 3.3,the GM should match the encounters to thestarting point used and should feel free to alterthose encounters presented as needed. Someguidelines for specific encounters are asfollows.

Militiamen under Miconur’s influencewill attack at the smallest provocation and inforce, unless they are ordered to do otherwiseby Miconur. Should the PCs go to Tilmendiropenly, Miconur will have militiamen greet thevisitors kindly and will have them escort thePCs inside the castle to the main hall whereGalendur will be sent by Miconur to meet them.Galendur will explain to them that his father

Lord Targen has been ill and that if they desireto see him they will be allowed to, but only oneat a time, because he is very ill. If the partydecides to do this Miconur will attempt to splitthe party up inside the castle and kill them oneat a time. If they do not wish to see LordTargen, they will be asked to leave. If theybecome accusative or annoying they will beescorted out by armed guards.

Miconur will only appear when the partyis divided into smaller groups or when hismilitiamen have engaged the party. He willthen begin to cast spells from a concealedposition if possible. If he finds himselfoutnumbered or out positioned he will breakoff combat and relocate himself in the castle in amore advantageous position. The exception tothis is if Galendur is killed or critically injured,Miconur will immediately attack with increasedferocity with every spell he can muster.

Jozein, if discovered in town or on theway to the castle, will try to evade and/or hidefrom the party. If the PCs are persistent he willtry to single out members for injury in such away as to cause much pain in order to give himan opportunity to escape. If encountered in thecastle he will try to evade the party if they arepresent as a group. If the encounter is with asingle person he will try to get away unless hehas the drop on them. As far as Jozein isconcerned, the fewer witnesses the better.Encountering with Jozein can lead to somequestions like: “Why was an assassin sent to killMiconur?”, and “Who sent him?” Informationfrom Jozein (not easily gained) might pointtoward the truth about the Earthwell, itsfunction, and from where its orders come. Anythoughts about sorties to the Earthwell shouldbe conducted by a strong party.

4.0 RESTORING THEBALANCE

4.1 THE TALE

Years ago in the Second Age before thecoming of the Dúnedain, the Daen Coentis livedthroughout the White Mountains. During theheight of their power the Daen were ruled as anassociation of clans under the rule of a king.Even then the fierce clan rivalries among theDaen never really diminished; indeed many ofthe clans never acknowledged the rule of theking at all. This deals with one such clan.During the time period just before the oathtaking, the Clan Asirac lived in the highfoothills of the White Mountains on the eastside of Westmarch. There they lived fairlypeacefully with their neighbors and createdworks of great power and craftsmanship. Theirone problem with life during that time was thepresence of a new clan in the area. Clan Rendarmoved from the southern vales of the WhiteMountains after being run out of the area by acoalition of three other clans who cooperatedonly long enough to oust the Rendar from theregion. The reasons for this banishment weremany and complex, but it all boiled down to thefact that there was not one decent, honest,upright soul in the entirety of Clan Rendar. Infact, most were quite rude, dishonest,dishonorable, and belligerent. Later, during thetimes of change for the Daen but before theOath breaking, the Daen as a whole began toslowly resemble Clan Rendar, except for a fewof the clans in Westmarch who had broken offand maintained their distance from the others.

The lead clan in this group was ClanAsirac and the main opposition clan was, ofcourse, Clan Rendar. This fierce rivalrybetween clans has continued ever since andeven after the deaths of the members of bothclans. After the Oath breaking the members ofClan Rendar slowly died off, yet continued towalk the earth as undead oath-breakers.Knowing this would happen the leaders of ClanAsirac decided that it was their destiny tooppose Clan Rendar, even after death. Throughritual they were able to set up a magical ward

able to dampen the activity of the undead ofClan Rendar and its allies. They paid for thisritual by joining the undead in their state ofunrest. They did not lose their knowledge oftheir actions nor of their need to maintaindiligence against the evil acts of the Rendar.Since that time the two undead clans havestruggled constantly in battles of willpower andoften in open combat in the valley between thetombs of the clans. For ages, this struggle hastaken place with the Asirac barely able hold theevil of the Rendar in check. In 1636, thatchanged.

Jenrad was a decent warrior, but hadbeen in trouble at his last post in Pelargir as aguard at one of the minor nobleman’s house.He was on his way north in 1636 to hopefullyget work where people didn’t have knowledgeof his dubious past. While passing throughWestmarch, Jenrad realized he wasn’t feelingwell. A day later, in his delirium, he wanderedinto what he thought was a cave to rest for awhile. Two days later, nearly dead, Jenrad hada visitor, who offered him life in exchange for afavor. Jenrad accepted, and properly equipped,was able to enter the tombs of the Asirac clanand remove a vital component of the damperthat had held the Rendar in check for manyyears. For his service he was killed and is nowan unwilling member of the Rendar clan.

That was four years ago. Without theinhibiting effect of Clan Asirac’s magic, theRendar have been able to build sufficientstrength to begin affecting the world aroundthem. Using the stolen centerpiece from theAsirac device they were able to construct amagical device which they use to periodicallysummon and influence the minor demon thatinhabited the caves that surround the Rendartomb. Using the device they persuade thedemon to go into the civilized areas withmagical flasks designed to capture the humansoul as it escapes the body just after death. Thedemon has been collecting these souls bybrutally slaughtering locals then using thedevice to bring the souls back to the Rendarwho devour the souls for the life essence they

contain. The demon returns to its home cavernsafter each foray and must be summoned eachtime. However, the demon can and has killedwhole families. In fact, over the last threemonths the Rendar have caused twelve deathsusing the hands (claws and teeth) of the demon.

These murders have not gone unnoticed,however. Elarin the Elvish ranger was the firstto see the results of one of the demonicslaughters at a remote farmhouse in thefoothills of the White Mountains. At this pointin time the rangers are in charge of theinvestigation. They believe that these deathswere not by human hands, but are not sure whoor what is behind the killings. They have nottold the citizens of their beliefs yet, so as not tocause to much panic. For now they haveperpetuated the present belief by locals that theattacks were made by some rampaging bear ora small Orc party. The rangers have seen thebodies and know that whatever committed themurders derived distinct pleasure from the actsand have therefore ruled out the possibility ofanimal attacks. Other than that, the rangersonly know that the victims have died painfullyby multiple wounds with what appears to be aragged-edged weapon.

4.2 THE NPCS

The Asirac

Once, the leaders of the Asirac wereindividuals, when they created the magic tohold the Rendar at bay they put much ofthemselves into the spells required. Now, allthat is left of the Asirac clan is the collectivepresence maintained in their tomb, and thesoldiers of their undead army. The presence isconscious of others, and still has powers of itsown even though the focusing device wasstolen and is now being employed by theRendar. The presence which only refers to itselfas “The Asirac” has no actual body, but has afocus that consists of the five stones thatcontains the Rendar wards. Since one of thesestones was stolen four years ago the Asirac haslost its warding abilities, but still many of thepowers that its individuals had when it wasformed. It is the equivalent of a 25th levelMentalist, a 23rd level Astrologer, a 30th level

Cleric, a 32nd level Alchemist and a 27th levelMage when all the stones are in place. With thestone missing, the Asirac is missing theMentalist portion of its personality and all itsother aspects are slightly diminished. TheAsirac has one goal in existence, that is to holdthe Rendar in check. At present the Asiracrealizes that it lacks the abilities required tosuppress the Rendar’s activities, and has beenactively searching for ways to rectify thissituation.

Darren

Three months ago the Asirac tookadvantage of an opportunity that presenteditself near the town of Beldwin. A young boyfrom the area whose name was Darren, wentfishing with his father and accidentally fell outof the boat. He drowned, but the Asirac wasable to bring the boy to an undead state thatthey are able to control. The people that foundthe boy after he supposedly died thought that itwas a miracle. His parents were besidethemselves with joy. That was three monthsago. Now his parents are dead. They slowlygot sick after their son came home and diedafter two months of exposure to his presence.To the Asirac this was an unfortunate necessity.The townspeople have shunned him, and ofcourse he has not been the same since theaccident. Now he roams the outskirts of townwith no seeming purpose, but the Asirac lend amethod to his roaming. They have beensearching for the last three months (using thisyoung boy’s body as their senses) for a personor persons that they deem capable of the task ofrecovering the focusing stone from the Rendar.Once these people are discovered, they will bespoken to by the Asirac through Darren inhopes of bringing back the focusing stone andrestoring their ability to keep the Rendar atbay.

The Rendar

The Rendar are a well organized clan ofundead. They have become this way from yearsof fighting against the wards placed over themby the Asirac. In all those years of being held incheck by the Asirac, the most the Rendar were

able to accomplish was an occasional battlewith the Asirac armies in the valley betweenthe tombs. Slowly, over the centuries, becauseof the Asirac not allowing them to gain strengthfrom the living, the Rendar have lost strengthand power. It was only out of desperation thatthey tried to steal the focusing stone from theAsirac. Since the Rendar have defeated theAsirac’s wards, they have been able to moveopenly to fulfill their desires for the life essenceof living beings and have been regaining someof their power. The Rendar are still organizedin a clan fashion even though they are dead.The leadership of the Rendar clan wasestablished among the most powerful of theclan, not just who was dead the longest. So, infact, the clan leader is actually one of the last ofthe Rendar to die. Of the Rendar leaders, thereare 6 who are significant.

Devec

Devec is the leader of Clan Rendar. Hewas one of the last of Clan Rendar to die. Hewas a 30th level evil Cleric when he was alive,but like many of the Rendar, lost power whileundead, because of being deprived of the lifeessence they would normally steal from theliving. For now, Devec is the equivalent of a12th level evil Cleric but is growing in strength.He maintains a considerable part of his intellectand is capable of manufacturing brilliant plansas he did in order to steal the focusing stone. Ifthe Rendar’s rule of terror continues, Devec andthe other Rendar will become powerful enoughto roam out of their tomb and dominate thesurrounding area without the help of thedemon they have been summoning.

Marag

Marag was at one time Devec’s father,but now those relationships do not seem tohave any meaning. While alive, Marag was analchemist who specialized in arcane magicaldevices. He was a 27th level Alchemist but atthe present can only function as a 15th levelAlchemist. Although generally evil and full ofhatred for the living, Marag has always beenmore interested in his work than in people.

Gadeva

Gadeva was the only ruling matriarch ofthe clan when she was alive. It was during herreign that the Rendar moved to Westmarch andbecame the enemies of the Asirac. Gadeva wasa 22nd level Sorcerer when she died, but at thepresent can only muster the equivalent of 8thlevel sorcery. However, even with theselimitations she is the most cruel of the Rendar.

Jacithos

Jacithos was the best warrior that theRendar ever had. He was horribly deformedwhen alive, and as undead, is so hideous thatanyone seeing his face within 10’ must make anRR vs a 10th level fear spell or be held to 50% oftheir normal action for as many rounds as 5%failure of the roll. Jacithos fights as a majorghost.

Tasac

Tasac was a 20th evil Mentalist whilealive but now acts only as at 10th level. He wasthe one responsible for controlling the mind ofthe human that the Rendar sent to steal theAsirac focusing stone.

Ulsoda

Ulsoda was the most cruel and famous ofall the Rendar assassins. She designed thefunction and layout of the traps of the Rendartombs, and devised the plan to use the demonto deliver the nutritious life essence to the clan.She prefer to ambush her victims (an easymaneuver for a ghost, and one that she uses togreat effect.)

Guset

Guset was a 24th level evil Mage whenalive but only acts at 11th level now. It is hispower that maintains the gate.

Jenrad

Jenrad was killed by the Rendar as soonas he delivered the focusing stone of the Asirac

to them. He is now a lesser ghost who is stillnot quite sure whether he is dead or not. Whathe does know is that he hates the Rendar, but istoo weak to do anything about it.

The Demon

Like the demons of the glittering caveslocated in the cleft of the White Mountainsbehind the gates of the Aglarond, this minordemon was once a scout in Morgoth’s terriblearmy. At the end of the First Age when the hostof Valinor defeated Morgoth and his hordessome of these creatures slipped through thefingers of the war host and hid themselves indeep caverns away from the sun. These demonswere most likely minor earth, wind, fire, orwater spirits similar to the Maiar but lesspowerful. Once subverted to Morgoth’spurposes these creatures lost much of theirpower and became permanently tied to theirphysical forms. However, these forms usuallyshow a remnant of the original orientation as isthe case with this demon. It was an earth spiritthat was twisted by Morgoth and used to scoutout the deep subterranean passages of the WhiteMountains. Upon Morgoth’s downfall it lost itsfocus and direction and has wandered in thecaves of the White Mountains ever since. TheRendar first contacted it while excavating theirtombs. The relationship they formed based onmutual fear and respect for destructivecapabilities has lasted until the present. Thedemon retains very little of its original power,but is still quite a formidable foe.

The demon is 9’ tall and very thin withlong wiry limbs and fingers which end in longhooked claws. The demon’s skin which looksshiny and slimy is actually the consistency ofsmooth stone. The demon is very effective withits claws and teeth which look like jaggedobsidian, but it also has as the only remnants ofits status as an earth spirit. It has the ability touse the Earth Law spells to 15th level, and candig through solid rock at a rate of 10’/rnd.Although powerful and cunning when inpursuit of a goal, the demon lacks drive andrelies on the Rendar to provide it withactivities. If this were not the case it might havetaken over control of the Rendar long ago.

4.3 THE SETTING

Depending upon the starting point of theadventure, the setting will vary slightly. Thestarting point will most likely be one of thecities. The main encounter setting, however,will be a valley located in high foothills of theWhite Mountains in eastern Westmarch. Thevalley lies approximately 25 miles northeast ofDerwath. It runs from east to west and isapproximately 1/4 mile across at its mostnarrow point. In the valley, there is a streamthat is only full during the wet seasons, andslows to a trickle during most of the year. Thevalley is lined with short grass and anoccasional small grove of trees.

4.31 THE ASIRAC TOMBS

High on the north ridge of the valley islocated the tomb of the Asirac. The opening ofwhich is set into the rock outcropping. The pathto the tomb no longer exists. There once was astone shelf that lead up to the tomb, but theshelf has long since fallen away from erosion.The tomb is marked by an opening in the rockthat is faced with large scrollwork carvings thatonce were quite beautiful, but now the artworkbehind the carvings are barely visible.

LAYOUT

1. Entrance. As stated above, the opening tothe Asirac tombs is located on the face of arock outcropping. It is approximately 20’above the closest landing, so someclimbing is required to gain access. Theopening is 7’ wide and 7’ high. The

carvings above the doorway and upon thefacings are badly weathered, but someonewho had studied Daenael (ancient DaenCoentis) might be able to determine thatthe inscriptions identify this tomb as thatof clan Asirac and warn those of maliciousintent to stay out.

2. Guardians. For the most part, the Asiracascribed to the ancient Daen theologiesand burial customs which usually did notinclude fortification of their burialchambers or hoarding of treasures afterdeath, but because of the feud with theRendar, precautions were needed. Thetwo columns in this oval room areintended to guard the tomb from theRendar, either alive or undead, and fromcurious adventurers who might endangerthemselves by exploring the tombs. Anymember of the Rendar clan passingbetween the black laen columns in thisroom would be subject to a series of spellsin random order. They are Word of Fear,Death Cloud, Repel Undead True, LightningBolt of Rendar Slaying, and True Quest. (Thequest will always be to leave and neverreturn.) Adventurers entering this roomthat are not affiliated with the Rendar willonly be subjected to Word of Fear and TrueQuest, however, since the Asirac havesolicited help from the outside to correctthe balance these protection devices willnot function on those parties which seemstrong enough to do the job. Theseparties the Asirac will wish to interviewand will allow to enter.

3. Burial Chambers. These are the burialchambers of the common clansmen. Aswas customary, the bones have beensegregated and have been placed in large(10’+ in height, 8’ in diameter) ceramicurns. There are over 200 of these urns ineach of these large chambers. Near theentrance of each chamber is a group ofsmaller urns that contains religiousarticles and ceremonial gifts. There isnothing of value in any of these rooms,however, because of the threat of Rendarwhen the tombs were constructed, theAsirac included a small deterrent toanyone disturbing the peace of the

clansmen’s bones. In the middle of eachroom one of the urns sits upon a thinsquare slab of laen that matches the floortiles. It can detect entry into the room andthe intent of the person entering. If theintent of the trespassers is evil ormalicious it will begin firing a specialtype of Fire Bolt that will travel along thefloor of the room weaving between theurns until it locates the intended victim.It hits like a +40 Fire Bolt. Up to 8 of thesecan be thrown in a single day. If theintent of the trespasser is determined tobe mischievous or ignorant the responsewill be a Suggestion spell telling them toleave the room. If this does not workthen the Fire Bolts begin in 4 rounds.Trespassers with good intentions orreasons for being there will have theSuggestion cast on them, but if that doesn’t

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work then no further action will be takenuntil they disturb the urns.

4. Warding Chamber. The walls of thislarge chamber are faced with a lustrousblue stone. An ambient light is present inthe chamber given off from the raisedplatform in the middle of the chamber.On closer inspection of the platform it isrevealed that the light comes from 4colored stones seated in depressions oneach of the four corners of the platform.The stones are approximately 1’ indiameter and although they are roundthey are not spherical as they are only 8”in height. Each weigh about 50 lbs. Thedescriptions of the stones as well as themissing stone is included in theirindividual sections below. Any attackupon the stones will be met first withdefensive spells meant to scare off theattackers, persistent attacks will be meatby deadly force.Upon entering this room the party willbecome aware of a presence in the room.If the party had already been contacted bythe Asirac through Darren, the Asirac willappear to the party in the bestrepresentation of a physical body thatthey can muster. Since the focusing stoneis missing the four remaining parts of theAsirac will appear independently takingon the forms they had in life. When and ifthe focusing stone is returned therepresentation will be of one person thatis a composite of all five. After appearingabove their respective stones on theplatform they will begin explaining thesituation telepathically through visualimages. If more precise communication isrequired, the Asirac can speak, but onlyknows two languages, Daenael and OldAdûnaic. Anyone knowing Dunael canuse half of their skill to interpret theDaenael, and anyone knowing Adûnaiccan use 2/3rds of their skill to translatethe older Adûnaic dialect. If the Asiraccan convince the party to try to right thebalance they will offer help and a rewardto each member of the party. Theserewards will vary depending on the partystrength and abilities. The Asirac have

three options in helping and rewardingthe party. They can offer a magical itemor weapon to each party member. (See#13.) They can throw specific spells onthe party or store one for the party to uselater, or they can allow party members totouch one of the stones and gain thebenefits described below. The decision ofwhich option is chosen is up to the eachparty member, but the decision as to whatweapon, what spell, and which stone is upto the Asirac, who have been fighting theundead much longer than the party andhave greater insight as to what will beneeded. The items available to the Asiracas gifts are listed at #13. The spellsavailable would be those available to theAsirac individually as per their levelslisted in Section 4.2, except for theMentalist whose stone is at the Rendar’stombs.

5. The Black Stone (focusing stone). Abovethe platform in the ceiling of the chamberis a depression similar to those on theplatform, but this one is empty. The blackstone or focusing stone is supposed to resthere. When placed in the depression theblack stone will remain there despitegravity. The black stone contains the lifeessence of a 25th level Mentalist of theAsirac clan and when in place in theAsirac warding chamber (#4) it still hasall the spell abilities it had while alive.While it is apart from the others its cannotthrow spells beyond 15th level. Itspurpose in the warding is to providefocus to the magical power provided bythe other stones, and send out thewarding field to hold back the Rendar.The Rendar stole this stone to disarm thewarding, and to use it to focus their magicto summon and influence the demon fromthe caves. If touched by anyone withoutpermission the stone will discharge a x4concussion damage Shock Bolt, and a Comaspell into the offender. This stone like theothers has some properties that it canimpart upon anyone who touches it dueto its highly magical nature. Its gift is anadditional +15 added to the person’s SDbonus permanently. If the person already

uses Mentalism as their magical realmthey will become a ‘paragon’ Mentalismuser gaining another PP/level. This giftcan only be made every 500 years andnever on the same person even if theywere alive.

6. The Red Stone (power stone). The redstone is similar to the black stone except itcontains the life essence of a 27th levelMage. Its purpose in the warding matrixwas to provide the raw essence power tothe warding field. If touched by anyonewithout permission it will glow brightlyand discharge a point blank x4 concussiondamage Fireball with a 5’ rad and acting asa Blinding and Sudden Light spell. Like theblack stone the red stone can impart a giftupon a worthy person who touches it. Itsgift is an additional +5 added to both theperson’s Strength, Presence and Empathybonus permanently. If the user is alreadyan essence magic user they will gain theuse of one of the Mage Base List to 10thlevel. If they already have them all, noadditional help will be given.

7. The Green Stone (life stone). The greenstone is similar to the black stone except itcontains the life essence of a 30th levelCleric. Its purpose in the matrix is toprovide support for the maintaining ofthe life essence of the different parts of theAsirac and to provide the power to repealundead which is crucial to the wardingfield. If touched by anyone withoutpermission it will cast Absolution on theperson. Like the other stones, the greenstone can impart a gift upon a worthyperson who touches it. The gift is anadditional +10 added to both the person’sIntuition bonus permanently and theability to throw a Repel Undead V 1x/weekat 30th level. If the user is already achanneling magic user they also gain theability to channel one spell of 10th levelor less from the green stone 1x/monthfrom any distance.

8. The Blue Stone (sight stone). The bluestone is similar to the black stone except itcontains the life essence of a 23rd levelastrologer. Its purpose in the matrix is toprovide communication internally and

externally for the Asirac as well asproviding sensory information. Iftouched by anyone without permission itwill cast Word of Command on the person.Like the other stones the blue stone canimpart a gift upon a worthy person whotouches it. Its gift is the ability togenerate a Self Aura for themselves1x/day. If the user is already achanneling magic user they will also gainthe ability to use Mind Voice 100’ freely.

9. The Amber Stone (binding stone). Theamber stone is similar to the black stoneexcept it contains the life essence of a 32ndlevel Alchemist. Its purpose in the matrixis to allow the individual powers of theAsirac to intermingle to produce abilitiesthat none would have had individually.The amber stone also allows for theAsirac to manipulate things in thephysical word outside of the stones. Iftouched by anyone without permissionthe amber stone will cast Word of Death,Word of Sleep, and (if outside) Levitation or(if inside) Teleport I to the front of theentrance of the Asirac tomb. Thelevitation spell will levitate the personwhile they are asleep 3200’ into the airbefore it wears off leaving theunfortunate person with a long fall towake up to. Like the other stones theamber stone can impart a gift upon aworthy person who touches it. Its gift isto give the person a 25% chance ofknowing exactly any and all of thepowers of any magical item, and theability to store one spell up to a 10th levelin any item worth more than 500 gp. Ifthe user is already a essence magic userthey will also gain the ability to imbedany one spell up to 10th level into anyitem which can then be released bymental command. Only one item at anyone time can hold a spell imbedded inthis fashion.

GM Note: If and when the focusing stoneis recovered and replaced in its depressionin the ceiling the Warding matrix willautomatically reform. Beams of lightcorresponding to the color of the stone willshine from each stone to the others

forming a pyramid shaped light sculpture.These beams blend color as they pass fromone to the other except for the black stoneat the apex. When the beams meet therethe light turns white. Once this happens,interrupting the beams would have thesame effect as a Sun Fires spell.

10. Warrior Burial Chambers. These are theburial chambers of the particularlyfamous and heroic warriors of the Asiracclan. As in # 3 the bones have beensegregated and have been placed in largeurns, but these are made of red laen.There are over 50 of these urns in thislarge chamber. Near the entrance of thischamber is a group of smaller urns thatcontains religious articles and ceremonialgifts. Beside these urns are a series of tallthin urns that contain weapons used bythe warriors to complete the brave deedsthat allowed them to be buried in thisspecial chamber. Included is one +20 two-handed sword, six +15 swords of varioussizes and shapes, two +15 magicalcomposite bows, a +20 spear of returning,3 battle axes of +10, and a +15 warhammer. These urns are sealed shut, buttheir contents can be seen through the laenif a strong light is nearby. There is amechanism to prevent plunder of theseartifacts or disturbing the peace of thewarriors. The mechanism is similar tothose in at #3 except that the bolt hits as a+60 Fire Bolt. Up to 12 of these can bethrown in a single day.

11. Royal Burial Chambers. These are theburial chambers of the members of theroyal family of the Asirac clan. As in # 10the bones have been segregated and havebeen placed in large urns of blue laen.There are over 20 of these urns in thislarge chamber. As in #3 and #10 thechamber contains a protection device.The difference is that the bolt hits like a+80 Lightning Bolt. Up to 20 of these can be

thrown in a single day. There are noartifacts in this room, (See #13.) but someof the ceremonial gifts in the small urnsnear the front of the chamber areproportional in value to the people thatgave them. Approximately 10,000 gpworth of gems and jewelry are containedin these urns.

12. Scholars Burial Chambers. These are theburial chambers of the learned men of theclan that distinguished themselves intheir life of service to the clan. These urnscontain the bones of a variety of clerics,sages, seers, healers, alchemists,craftsmen, artisans, and mages all of greatskill and dedication. Here the disturbancedevice sends out +60 Lightning Bolt. (See#3.) Like the others, near the entrance ofthe chamber is a group of smaller urnsthat contain religious articles andceremonial gifts. No treasure of anyvalue is kept in this chamber.

13. Hidden Chamber. This chamber has noexits. The only way in or out is byteleportation, and only the Asirac knowits location. The Asirac were far-sightedenough those many centuries ago whenthey first began to hold the Rendar incheck, that they knew there would come aday when they or their agents wouldpossibly need to confront the Rendar on aphysical level. They prepared for thiseventuality by storing magical weaponsand devices in a secure place until thattime would come. That time is now. Ifany of the party decides they would likehelp by being given a magical weapon oritem, the Asirac will do one of two things.If it can ascertain that the person isprimarily a fighter and can identify whatweapon they primarily use, it will selectone for them and teleport it to thewarding chamber (#4) and place it in frontof the person. If the Asirac cannot decidewhat to give the party member they willteleport that person to this room to selectan item with full knowledge of itscapabilities and instant attunement.

The following items are in the chamber:

1 +20 longsword of slaying Rendar.1 +25 laen broadsword which will

cast Utterlight 1x/week.1 +25 holy battle-axe1 +15 longbow (All arrows shot from

the bow are of slaying undead.)2 +20 blanks –these rectangles of

metal can be changed into anyshape weapon by the Asirac andwill maintain that form for 1 week.

1 +25 laen shield can cast Fire Armor1x/day

1 Staff of Healing, (100 PP). Can beused to cast any spell to 5th levelfrom any of the closed Channelinghealing lists until all the PPs aregone, then the staff disappears.

1 x3 PP multiplier for Essence magic.1 x4 PP multiplier for Channeling

magic.1 x3 PP multiplier for Mentalism

magic.2 Rings of Spell Storage. 10 spells

stored up to 10th level.1 Amulet negates the draining effect

of ghosts up to a total of 6 Co/rnd.1 Greenish brown glass crystal on a

chain that will 1x/week cast aProtections Sphere III or 1x/day aProtections Sphere I.

All these items are magically connected tothe Asirac. Even if they are given to thecharacters as reward for completion of themission they used them on, the weaponswill return to the chamber viateleportation upon the characters death,or if the mission is a failure or not carriedout.

GM’s Note: Please feel free to includemore or delete any of these items from thelist. This is just a sample of what theAsirac could have in their vault. They arenot frivolous and realize that if this need touse these reserve weapons has beenrealized then the need may arise again. Sothey will not give away everything. Atmost, one item/person will be released.

4.32 THE RENDAR TOMBS

On the southern slope of the valley setinto a crevice of a grassy hill is the door to theRendar tombs. The door is located behind atight group of bushes and trees and cannot beseen at all from the valley. In fact the only clueto its existence is the presence of what appearsto be animal tracks around the trees leadingpast them. The tracks actually are the tracks ofthe demon that has been sent on missions forthe Rendar.

LAYOUT

1. Entrance. As stated above, the opening tothe Rendar tombs is located behind asmall crop of trees and scrub brush. Theentrance is 5’ wide and 7’ high. Originallyit was squared off, but over the years thestones set for its facing have crumbledexposing the first 3’ of the roof of thetunnel. The roof of the tunnel is unstablefor the first 20’ and any loud noises,strong magical spells such as Fire Balls orLightning, or pounding on the walls withtools could cause this portion of theceiling to collapse giving everyonefailing to make a MovM roll, a D crushcritical. Once past the first 20’ of thetunnel, the roof is stable. The tunnel runsnearly 300’ into the mountainside beforecoming to the first chamber.

2. Chamber of Guardians. This chamberwas set up by the Rendar to dissuadeanyone from violating their tomb. Theroom widens from the 5’ widepassageway to 20’ wide in this 60’ longroom. Along the walls of this roomappear to be pillars of stone. In actualitythese are living stone creatures similar tothe watch stones of the Drughu, and notunlike those found in the Paths of theDead. These living stones have a specificpurpose and strategy when related to theprotection of the tombs. When a partyenters the room, the pillars will not reactat all until the majority of the party hasmade it to the mid point of the room. Atthat point, the first two pillars and the lasttwo pillars will become suddenly fluid in

a vertical plane forming a stone wall ateither end of the room that completelyblocks the entrance and exits from theroom. The other pillars left in the roomwill then take on manlike forms andbegin to attack the party trapped in theroom. Of the 8 left in the room, 2 havethe ability to discharge +20 Lightning Boltsevery 3rd round or attack every otherround with a magical sword made oflightning that delivers an electricalcritical of equal severity to any othercritical given. 2 others have the sameabilities as these except they employ fireinstead of lightning. The other 4 attackwith their large fists. All these magicalcolumns have the ability to attack for 10rnds/24 hour period, but the columns thatform the walls will remain in that formuntil broken (1000 points total concussiondamage at AT 20 only crush criticals andconcussion damage is counted towardsthis total) or until everyone between thewalls is dead. The walls also make thepassageway air tight. Once sealed thereare only 20 man-hours of air left. (i.e., 1man could survive 20 hours, 2 men 10hours, 5 men 4 hours, etc.) Strenuousexercise, the kind needed to break down awall, will decrease that time by half.

3. Narrow Path. Nearly 1/8th of a mileaway from the first entrance chamber isthe chamber of the narrow path. TheChamber itself was built over a chasmthat shows no signs of a bottom except fora dim red-orange glow far down that,along with the temperature of the room,would indicate some residual volcanicactivity. Suspended over the chasm is awalkway made from some sort of metal.The path is less than 2’ wide at all timesand has a few sections that are closer to 1’wide. It winds around the room withseveral points that seem to dead end intothe walls of the room. Crossing the roomusing this path is very dangerous.Everyone attempting to do so must maketwo “hard” maneuver rolls or risk fallingto their death. At three points in theroom the walkway has become weak dueto its age and has a 40% chance of

collapsing as each person passes over it.Anyone on the walkway must make an“extremely hard” maneuver roll to keepfrom falling. If the victim is tied to otherswith a rope they must make a maneuverroll to keep from falling based upon howfar away they are from the person. If theyare the next person in line on either side,then they must make a “very hard”maneuver roll, the next person a “hard”maneuver roll, etc. These three areas areshaded on the layout. If the partysucceeds in traversing the path, they must

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still negotiate the 7’ gap to the far ledge ofthe room. Although flying across mightbe the ideal method for navigating thischamber, flyers must be wary, becauseimbedded into the walkway are 3 runesmade to be visible from the air. In orderthey are: Dispel Essence, Dispel Channeling,and Dispel Mentalism (all at 50’ rad).

GM’s note: if this is not hard enough forthe party, small doors can open at the baseof the walls where the dead ends are,allowing any number of small viciouscreatures to chase the party about on thewalkway, or alternatively bats from thechasm could achieve similar results.

4. Track. On the landing located on the farside of the chamber of the narrow paththere is a strange square hole in the floorand a grove running through the stonefrom it out of the room, up and over thebridge in the next room.

5. Oil Room. The entrance to this room isthe beginning of a narrow bridge thatarches high into the room before it exitson the other side. The bridge is 2’ wide atits apex with no railings. 10’ below thebride is the slick surface of the black oilthat fills this room, only brokenoccasionally by bubble bursting at itssurface. The oil is evidently heated bysteam escaping from the volcanic activitydeep beneath the tombs. The oilstemperature remains a constant 250°which elevates the temperature of theroom to 120°. Over the years the oil hascoated the walls and the bridge makingany maneuver in the room very difficult.Extending over the bridge is the grovementioned in #4. At the end of this groveon the far side of the bridge is the finalguardian of the tombs of the Rendar. Itcan only be seen once someone is on thebridge or is flying in the room, becausethe arch of the bridge obstructs the view.The guardian looks like a 7’ tall 7-sidedblue gray opaque crystal. (The originalartifact was Dwarven but was stolen bythe Rendar thousands of years before andcustomized to their uses.) Once it detects

the presence of anyone in the room it willbegin its attack. The grove that runsacross the bridge is its track. It will beginto move up this track at a rate of 20’/rnd.It will begin to target anyone within theroom when they become visible to it.Depending upon the location of itstargets, it can attack up to 7 at once withone attack from each facet of the crystal.It has the ability to type each of its foesand attack them according to their realmas follows:

Realm Attack TypeArms Crystal missile attack as a

110OB heavy crossbowattack with extra electricalcriticals at 2 below.

Essence Anti-Essence bolt. Treat as+50 Fire Bolt attack but allpoints are taken from thevictim’s PPs and criticals arerolled like attack spellfailure, with any loss ofspells indicating a loss ofPPs corresponding to arandomly determined spellthe caster is capable ofthrowing. Once the PPsdrop below zero the magicuser will becomeunconscious and the attackswill stop.

Channeling Anti-Channeling bolt.As above.

Mentalism Anti-Mentalism bolt.As above.

Semi Alternating between crystalmissiles and the appropriatebolt based on their realm.

Hybrid Hybrid spell users confusethe guardian. There areseveral outcomes of thisconfusion. 01-30 no attack,31-75 attacked with one ofthe appropriate bolts, 76-95attacked with both of theappropriate bolts, 96-100attacked with all four attackforms (the extra electricalcritical will not work on the

crystal missile and the thirdmagical realm which thehybrid doesn’t use will haveno effect.)

Arcane Arcane magic users are introuble here. The guardianwill attack an arcane magicuser with all attack types ifthe attacks are available andthe magic user is in sight.All attacks will be effective.

The guardian is considered a largecreature for criticals, only crush criticalswill have any extra effect. Stuns, pointloss from bleeding, and damage tospecific body parts should be ignored.Magical Lightning or Shock Bolts will beineffective and will fuel the guardian.Fire Bolts and Fire Balls are at -40 whenthrown at the guardian and will mostlikely set the oil in the room on firesubjecting everyone in the room to a Bfire critical until they leave the room.Cold Bolts and Balls will do normal damageagainst the guardian, and the guardianwill shatter if a Cold Ball and Fire Ball arethrown at it on successive rounds(simultaneously will not work). Thebridge on which the track rests can bebroken possibly dumping the guardianinto the oil, or stranding it on one side. Ifanyone were to fall into the oil theywould take an A critical for every roundthey remain in the oil until their death bydrowning, or heat, or until they arepulled out. Even if they are extractedfrom the oil, they will take an A criticalthe next 2 rounds.

6. Rendar Crypt. This large room is thecommunal burial chamber of all of clanRendar. There is a palpable evil feel tothe room. The stone of the floor andceiling are covered in the fused bones ofthe people of clan Rendar and theirvictims. The bones were segregated ascustomary so that each section of theroom has a different type of bone makingup the walls. About the room are a set of7 daises upon which sit the chief rulers ofthe Rendar. They are listed in Section 4.2.

If their plans are threatened, they willattack. The low level ghosts of the Rendarclansmen that fight in the valley with theAsirac will not enter this combat. Theirsole purpose is to fight with the Asiracclansmen, and the outcome of this fightwill not effect that. In the middle of the chamber is a cairnmade of skulls with a polished fused boneslab for its top. Some sort of apparatus isattached to the cairn covering most of theblack focusing stone of the Asirac whichsits in a depression in the slab. Theapparatus resembles a spider with 10 legssitting atop the stone with its legsimbedded in the slab. The device’spurpose is to gather energy and use thefocusing powers of the stone to summonthe demon. To free the stone, at least 5 ofthe 10 legs must be detached from theslab. Once the legs are detached and theblack stone removed it can begin to castspells as it is allowed. (See Section 4.31.)This can be done by rolling a very hardmaneuver roll using only the strengthbonus or by cutting them which requiresa roll producing a B slash critical orgreater. (There is no need to roll thecritical. The fact that it happened issufficient.) The apparatus is useless forresale or evaluation once the legs aredetached. When the “legs” are detached,however, it will become apparent thatthey were actually some sort of flexibletube or conduit through which magicalenergy was flowing. Disconnecting thetubes produces an effect similar to a firehose going full blast being dropped.Once this happens, the possibility ofregaining control over the tube is basedon an “extremely hard” maneuver roll.Every round that the tube is notcontrolled, magical energy will spewaround the room with a 30% chance ofstriking each person in the chamberdelivering differing effects dependingupon which tube was detached.Determine where the beam hit the personby a random method or by using a criticalchart. Roll randomly from below todetermine which tube is detached.

1. Red. 6. Indigo2. Orange 7. Violet3. Yellow 8. White4. Green 9. Black5. Blue 10. Invisible

The tubes have the following effects:

Colors: The first 7 tubes havesimilar effects. The beam will turneverything it passes through, the colorlisted. This includes armor, flesh, wood,stone...anything, and not just on thesurface, but completely through, and onlyin the area the beam passed through. Ingeneral, this will not be physicallydebilitating unless it strikes the eyeswhich will cause the person to see with atint of the color rolled. If more than onebeam strikes the same, the colors will mixlike paint in the overlapping area. Thesecolor splashes are permanent. They canbe covered with makeup, but they cannotbe removed except possibly by a highlevel Dispel True.

White: This beam leaves a white milkyresidue in its trail that solidifies inseconds to a rubbery substance. It willstick to any thing it touches, and gluethings together if is between them whenit hardens. Like the colors, this may causesome inconvenience. Serious problemswill only occur if body parts are gluedtogether, if the mouth, nose, ears, or eyesare covered, or if clothing or armorbecomes stuck as only mithril weapons orbetter can cut it. A high level Dispel Truemight dissolve it. (the black beam willdisintegrate it and the invisible beam willdissolve it.)

Black: This beam disintegrates, slicingthrough whatever it touches, which can bedeadly to anyone in its path; treat as a +60Lightning Bolt with slash criticals. (Notethat if the white beam strikes an area thatthe black beam has already hit the whitebeam will put back whatever the blackbeam disintegrated. On a living beingthis means that the wound would

disappear instead of the white substancebeing left.)

Invisible: Also known as a flux beam.This invisible energy beam transformsstored magical energy into releasedmagical energy. The Daen Coentisperfected this technique in their GoldenAge to provide efficient magical energybatteries. This beam in its uncontrolledform will release magical energy fromanywhere it touches if magic is storedthere. This includes all magical itemswith charges, daily spell items, continualspell items, and magic users themselves.When this beam strikes, determine if anymagical items were struck or if a magicuser was struck. Then determine the totalnumber of PPs that could have beenreleased. This will be the bonus added tothe roll for a fireball with electrical criticalsthat will effect everyone within 30’ of therelease point.

Example: Milfred the Mage is struck in thegreen beam, the white beam and theinvisible beam. The green beam hits himin the right shoulder leaving a greenstreak on the front and back of his robesand his skin which will never go away.The white beam hits Milfred on his leftfoot leaving a rubbery residue attachinghim to the floor, and the invisible beamhits him in the stomach, releasing all hisPPs. Milfred is 10th level, has 1 PP/level,uses a x3 PP multiplier, and carries awand of Shock Bolts with 12 charges. Thebeam did not hit the wand so it will notbe included. The bonus for the Fire Ballroll would be 10 (Milfred’s level) x 1 (hisPP/level) x 3 (his PP multiplier) = 30. Thefireball would be rolled at +30 foreveryone within the 30’ rad. Milfredwould also receive the +35 point blankbonus for range. Milfred is not a happycamper.

GM’s note: For particularly strongparties the Rendar could be made tosummon the demon to fight, or be in the

process of summoning one when the partyarrives.

Aside from the items listed for the Rendarleaders in the NPC chart, there are 3 SoulFlasks that the Rendar give to the demonto collect the life essence of its victims.These glass jars look to hold about a quartof liquid and are wrapped in silverfiligree. The jars themselves are not evilin nature. Originally, they were used bythe Daen Coentis for life preservation,storing the soul until the body could byhealed then replacing the soul by pouringit back. They were also used intransferring the life essence from livingbeings that were dying to inanimateitems such as the constructs that populateDaen culture. These bottles are very rareand would demand a high price in a largecity from either the healers of the city orthe alchemists and weaponsmiths. To useone of the bottles, it must be held with thestopper out above the victims head tocollect the soul. The length of timeneeded to collect the soul depends on howfast the person died. Violent deaths canbe collected in less than a minute butlingering deaths from diseases, or naturalcauses may take days to collect. Once thesoul is collected, the liquid in the bottlewill reflect the nature of the individual.The soul can be place into any item bypouring it onto the item, this includesanother body. Personality conflicts canoccur if the body already has a soul. Torelease the soul from the world, the bottlemust be left unstoppered and allowed toevaporate. Souls poured into inanimateobjects that are not specifically designedto allow the soul to perceive and interactwith its surroundings, act as a prison forthe soul freedom from which can only beattained when that item is destroyed.

4.4 THE TASK

The task for the PCs is to discover therelationship between the Asirac and the Rendar,defeat the Rendar by taking back the Asiraccontrolling stone that they are using tosummon the demon, and defeat the demon if itis roaming around after the Rendar aredefeated. Note that this adventure is not for theweak or squeamish. Only strong higher levelgroups should run this adventure. Granted it ispossible to scale down the adventure, but if thisis done remember to scale down treasure andmagic items.

4.41 STARTING THE PLAYERS

The PCs may be started in one of theseveral ways. If in Beldwin they may beapproached the Asirac through Darren. TheAsirac can only relay very brief messagesthough this conduit for a short period of timebefore they must rest. The Asirac have also lostmany of the communication skills they hadwhile alive, and will tend to relay their needs invery staccato, cryptic phrases such as, “You havebeen chosen!”, “Seek the tomb!”, “Restore thebalance!” or something similar. If asked toexplain such sayings, Darren will most likelyrepeat the statement over again, point in thedirection of the tomb or reply with somethingequally as quizzical. Any attempts to read theboys thoughts will probably produce negativeresults although the fact that the boy is beingcontrolled from elsewhere may be extracted. Ifthe party seems to take no action (rememberthe townspeople think Darren is not right in thehead and will gladly say so) then Darren willvisit them again nightly until some action istaken, as long as they are within 50 miles of thetombs. If the Asirac get frustrated with thisprocess, then some of the Darren’s statementsmay be in Daenael. No one currently uses thislanguage, although Dunael is based on it.Those who know Dunael may have a chance ofrecognizing the origin of the language, and avery slim chance of understanding portions ofit.

If in Derwath, the starting point willprobably be news of the deaths that have

occurred lately in the region. Evad the rangercaptain will be looking for able bodied men tohelp search for clues and suspects. Asmentioned before, the rangers believe that themurders are not the work of an animalalthough they still allow this to be tossed aboutby the public. They are hoping to find that ithas be then work of a band of Orcs working outof the mountains. However, considering theone description given by a witness who sawsomething leaving one of the victim’s houses,they are beginning to suspect something farworse. Evad will be appreciative of any helpthe party offers, but unless they have provedthemselves in one of the other adventures, hewill keep a close watch on them.

The third starting point for the adventurecan occur anywhere in Westmarch. Theadventures will be approached by a middleaged merchant who says that he has knowledgeof a place that contains a great deal of treasure.He says that he will provide the adventurerswith a map showing the location of the cache, ifthey will bring him one specific item from thetreasure they find. The merchant will then givethem the description of the focusing stone of theAsirac. If they do this he tells them they cankeep everything else they find. If questionedfurther, the merchant will reveal that he has abuyer that wants the stone for its historicalsignificance and is willing to pay a hefty sumfor it. The buyer is really an agent of theEarthwell. The Earthwell noticed the activity ofthe Rendar when it started several years ago.They hoped that the number of deaths thatoccurred as a result would not be significant.They came to the realization several monthsago, however, that this was not the case and thatthe Rendar’s activity would only increase andthreaten the security of their outpost. For thisreason, an emissary was sent from Dol Guldur amonth ago to persuade the Rendar to moderatetheir activities. At best, undead are tenuousallies and in this case, they were completelyunreasonable and killed the messenger. Nowthe Earthwell has sent an agent to hire a strongparty in order to try to retrieve the focus stonefrom the Rendar and therefore stop theirmayhem. Those at the Earthwell are lookingfor a party of sufficient strength to do the jobeffectively. Even if the party does not succeed

completely in its task, they hope that the partywill at least disrupt the Rendar sufficiently toquiet things down for a while until morepermanent control is gained over them.

Finally, there have been rumors broughtback to the major towns by scouts and rangersabout the strange battles between ghosts thatcan be seen or heard in some of the valleys nearthe tombs. The existence of the tombs are notpublic knowledge, but curiosity might beenough to draw a party in for a closer look.

4.42 AIDS

Other than the information given in thesection above, there are several pieces of thepuzzle that the party can attain that will helpthem restore the balance between the two clansdepending upon the starting point.

The knowledge held by the rangers, andin particular Elarin the Elf, would be invaluableto the party. They have collected informationabout all the murders to date, including theonly sighting of the murderer.

In Beldwin, there is a scholar that delvesinto the history of the Daen clans of the region.He has fragmented histories of both the Rendarand the Asirac, their war and the legend of theirwar beyond death. He also has maps of thelocations of the major Daen tombs and templesin the area.

In Derwath, there is an astrologer namedGaramund that, besides being available for hireas an astrologer, also has some knowledge ofdemons and other creatures twisted toMorgoth’s service in the First Age, and thespells required to manipulate them. He cannotuse any of these spells but he made a study ofthem while he lived in Minas Anor. He is amember of the secret order of the Blood Ring,and learned these things so that he could betterrecognize the machinations of evil whereverthey exist. He has helped the rangers in pastcases and is therefore well known to therangers, and in particular, Evad, who considersGaramund his best friend.

If the party is not strong enough for thisadventure, the GM might consider sending anNPC along on the adventure. If this is the case,the choice should be Elarin. All the otherrangers, although not cowards, are human and

therefore have a deeper fear of the undead thanone of the immortal as Elarin is. Evad willvolunteer to go, but will be vetoed by the otherrangers and any other officials and friends thatmight hear of it. This is because they do notfeel that Evad should put himself in dangerneedlessly and can better help by staying homeand coordinating the efforts.

The Oracle of Yavanna located in a smallforest in the foothills (See Section.6.1) may alsobe a source for information for the party. TheOracle (Amarla) is actually Elarin the ranger’ssister. So, this suggestion could come from therangers or Garamund, although the presence ofthe Oracle is known to the general public, tomost it is just a legend. Most of the rangers willbe unwilling to go due to the magical nature ofthe place. Evad has already been and asked theone allowed question some ten years ago.Elarin has also gone regularly to see his sister,and has received his answer. Evad will be toobusy to lead the party to the Oracle but Elarinwill take them to the edge of the forest if theyso desire. Neither of them will disclose thenature of the tests required to approach theOracle. All those that complete the tests areable to ask one question of the Oracle andreceive the answer in the form of vision seen inher basin. The images can be very vague orvery specific depending on the question; thequestion must be stated accurately. Just gettingto the point of being able to ask the question isan adventure in itself.

If the party starts the adventure from themeeting with the merchant, and the party issmall or underpowered for the job, themerchant may be authorized to offer a specialweapon for use by the party to help in theirquest. This weapon should be decided upon bythe GM as needed to balance the adventure.

Finally, if the party locates the valley ofthe tombs, they may decide to explore theAsirac cave first. If they are directed to thetombs by Darren they will be lead to that tombfirst. This could be a boon to the party if theyare careful for the Asirac can help the partyagainst the Rendar in many ways. However, ifthe party decides to pilfer the Asirac tombs,they will be in for as big a conflict as theymight find at the Rendar tomb. In fact, it isalmost imperative that the party visit the Asirac

first or it is doubtful they will be able to dealwith the Rendar in their own tomb unless theyare very strong.

4.43 OBSTACLES

Gathering information will be the firstobstacle that the party faces. With the murdersbeing well known, many rumors will be flying.Most of these will have no useful information.Many will be introduced as fact by the locals,however, and the party will have to sift thoughthis to uncover the truth.

The primary obstacles are going to be theRendar and their demon partner. If the party isvery open in their planning of the assault on theRendar tomb, the Rendar may find out about itand if so, will call the demon and send it toattack the party. Otherwise, the traps in thetomb and the undead inhabitants will beenough obstacle for any party.

4.44 REWARDS

If the party succeeds in stopping theRendar, they are certainly welcome to anythingthey find in the Rendar tomb as far as all but theRendar are concerned. Some of those treasuresmay not be so welcomed by the party as timepasses.

If they have visited the Asirac first, thenthe Asirac will give them one item from theirtreasure (the Asirac’s choice… they will makethe choices appropriate and beneficial for thecharacter) or if they do not have a suitable giftthey will allow members of the party to touchone of the stones, thereby imparting some oftheir power to that individual, as outlined inthe description below.

If they started the adventures as helpingthe rangers solve the murders then along withanything else, Evad will pay them regularranger wages for the time that they were on thecase, plus triple pay for the days while inconflict with the Rendar for hazard pay.

4.5 THE ENCOUNTERS

Encounters within the tombs are listed inSections 4.31 and 4.32. Encounters at the Oracle,if the party chooses that route, are outlined inSection 6.1. Other encounters such as those withEvad, Garamund, and Elarin will depend uponthe circumstances and upon their individualpersonalities. (See Section. 2.7.) Here are somespecific encounters that might occur in placesother than those listed.

Encounters with Darren around the cityof Beldwin will be with his actual body. Darrenlooks like a messy 11 year-old Dunnish child.He looks very ill at best. When speaking to theparty, his voice will be a monotone, and he willrarely look at the person to whom he isspeaking. Anyone within 10’ of Darren duringthese encounters will begin to lose Co points ata rate of 1/minute. However, this is rarelynoticed in that the encounters rarely last verylong, because after the message is delivered theboy will wander away leaving the party towonder what just happened.

If it becomes necessary for the Asirac totake a firmer hand and lead the party to thetombs or if the party ignores Darren, then hewill appear to them after they leave Beldwin toget or keep them on track. If this occurs, theAsirac will sacrifice Darren’s body, turning himinto a lesser ghost and allowing him to travellong distances to visit the party. Theseencounters with Darren will be similar incontent to the encounters in town, with theaddition that he will always show up at nightand will point in the direction of the Asiractomb, which will appear as pinpoint of light inthe distance. During these encounters, thosewithin 10’ of Darren will lose 3 points ofCo/rnd. Again, these encounters will be short.

If anyone tries to touch Darren, their hand willgo right through him and he will disappear. Ifattacked, he will leave. He will return nightlywhile the party is within 50 miles of the tomb.

If the demon is encountered, it will takethe following course of action. If encounteredat the site of a murder, it will leave, if possible,hoping to avoid detection and return to theRendar with its cargo of life essence. If this isnot possible, it will immediately attack what itperceives to be the weakest party memberpresent hoping to kill or maim them and thenmake its escape using every means available toit during the confusion. If wounded, it will tryto disengage and return to its caves notbothering to stop at the tombs to deliver anycargo. If at bay, it will fight to the death.

In the valley below the tomb sites astrange encounter might occur if the party isthere at the right time. The ghosts of thewarriors of Clan Asirac and Clan Rendar meetin this valley to do battle periodically. Thesespectral warriors only exist to battle with oneanother, and will ignore the living unless theyjoin the fray. If the party does join in on oneside, they will be attacked by the other.Unfortunately for the party, however, theirallies will unconsciously steal Co points aslesser ghosts even though they are helping.Generally these battles have no clear winner,but they are connected to the balance of powerestablished many years before. So when theAsirac are dominant with their damper in place,they take the field, but recently the Rendarprevailed.

5.0 ‘TIL DEATHS DOUS PART

5.1 THE TALE

The town of Beldwin in the northeastcorner of Westmarch is the hub of the mostracially diffuse section of Westmarch. In thepast the area has been plagued with racialhatred and violence. The problem was madeworse because of how close that area is toDunland. Many of the people of Dunnishdescent from that area still have strong ties toDunland, and still hold allegiance to the clans towhich their family was aligned. As mentionedin Section 2.74, Lord Negolos’ marriage to hisnew wife Sirris, who is of Dunnish descent, hashelped a great deal to ease the tensions in thearea. This does not sit well with certain factionson both sides of the strife. One of these factionsis made up mainly of clan members from theMar Hogo clan (a subset of the Sonmar clan) ofsouthern Dunland.

Since their arrival in Westmarch, theseclansmen under the leadership of Ruthos havebeen slowly working their ideas into the localDunmen. Ruthos came up with a plan withwhich they hope to discredit Lord Negolos andthereby rally people to their way of thinkingand eventually to their side on the uprising thatthey hope will follow. The first step in theirplan was to kidnap Sirris, the wife of LordNegolos; this has been accomplished.However, because of step two of the plan, noone has noticed. Step two entailed replacingSirris with a stand-in. Since no one wasavailable that looked exactly like Sirris, asubstitute had to be found.

The substitute is an old hag named Gifas,of the Sonmar clan who has been practicingwitchcraft for many years. Using illusion spellsshe has been able to disguise herself as Sirris fornearly three weeks now. During this time, shehas been carrying out step three of the plan.Step three is entirely for Gifas to execute.Disguised as Sirris, she has gone to Beldwin asSirris normally would but Gifas changes her

appearance while in town so as to appear as ifshe has been severely beaten. When askedabout the marks she shows she answers vaguelywith just the right look that says, “yes, I’ve beenabused but I’m too meek to talk about it.”

While at Lord Negolos castle she showsno marks and indeed seems perfectly happy,way too happy. In fact, her purpose here is tobe so nice to Negolos that he gets sick of herbeing around. She has taken it as far as cuttingup his food at meals. Both of these tactics arebeginning to work. The people of Beldwin arebeginning to mutter about how Lord Negolos istreating his wife. The Dunnish faction (thatdon’t know about the deception) are beginningto have second thoughts about Lord Negolos’sincerity in improving racial relations. Someare beginning to get to the point where theyagree with the Mar Hogo newcomers that LordNegolos is not a fit ruler and does not care at allfor those of Dunnish descent. At home, Gifas’sugary attitude and mothering are beginning toirritate Negolos severely.

On the whole, the Mar Hogo plan isworking beautifully. The final step of the planis to take place in the next two weeks, barringany unforeseen difficulties. The final step intheir plan is to brutally execute Sirris after Gifasstages a public argument with Lord Negolos soas to frame Lord Negolos with the murder andcreate such discord among the Dunnishpopulation so that they will participate in therevolt that the Mar Hogo will incite.

5.2 THE NPCS

Denrul

Denrul is an established Dunnishmerchant who has done quite well for himself.He is considered Dunnish by descent and yet hehas lifted his position in society so far that he ishardly considered such by most of theDúnedain of the area. As to how most people ofBeldwin view him and his family; the DaenLintis for the most part like Denrul because he

still deals with them as equals. However, somesee him as a pawn of the Dúnedain and hisfamily as trying to live above themselves. Thelarge proportion of the Dúnedain admireDenrul and his achievements but still considerhim Dunnish and that fact colors their dealingswith him. He fits in very well with the largemixed section of society, and is considered ahero of sorts among the craftsmen-merchantclass. Denrul is 56 years old and in good health.He is exceptionally intelligent and particularlybrilliant in the merchant trade. His wife died inthe first year of the Plague, but he has recoveredwell from that. He was skeptical at first abouthis daughters marriage to Lord Negolos, butcame to like him as a son-in-law, andappreciates the marriage’s influence on racerelations.

Sirris

Sirris was raised in a style resemblingthe Dúnadan family more than it did thenormal Dunnish or Dunnish mixed family. TheDaen Lintis of the area were greatly pleasedwhen Lord Negolos began to see Sirris andwere ecstatic when they decided to marry. Eventhough her family was well above the standardof most Dunmen, just the fact that the ruler ofthe region would have a spouse of Dunnishdescent was enough for them. However, asstated above, not everyone was pleased withthis. Sirris is 25 years old and has gained fromher father great intelligence, will-power, andbusiness sense. She has a fine sense of humorand is quite pretty. The Dunnish heritageshows in her, however, for she does not havethe finely chiseled features of the Dúnedain.She is 5’8” tall, big boned, and wellproportioned, she has reddish-brown hair andgreen eyes.

Since her kidnapping, she has not beentreated with the respect deserving of herposition. The clansmen guarding her remain onduty for three days at a time. Most of them arehumane, a few don’t like the idea of holding awomen captive, as it insults their sense ofhonor. However, there are a few who are quitebarbaric and have abused her. She has triedtwice to escape and has been punished by hercaptors. She is still quite strong and is

constantly looking for a way to flee herkidnappers.

Gifas

Gifas was born in Dunland where shelived until three years ago when she wasbrought south with her family to help the MarHogo in Westmarch against the Dúnadan rulingfaction. Her aid was enlisted because of hermagical skills. In general, the Dunnish aresuspicious of those who dabble in magic, butthey are not against using the skills of thosepeople if it can help their cause. Gifas learnedher magical skills early in life from an oldwoman in the clan that had similar skills. Itseems that Gifas was not expected to have muchsuccess in finding a marriage partner. She wasknown at one time as the ugliest women in theSonmar clan; some said all of Dunland. Age hasgiven her more character and now even thoughshe is even uglier, it seems to fit her somehow.Gifas is a competent witch with a dispositionthat matches her profession and the hatredderived from being an outcast all her life. Sheis helping the Mar Hogo in Westmarch notnecessarily because she believes that they areright, but mostly because she enjoys theanarchy that will occur as a result, and secretlybecause she enjoys being disguised as Sirris andreceiving respect and love from others.

Ruthos

Ruthos is the current leader of theportion of clan Mar Hogo that relocated toWestmarch. He has also become a leader in theeyes of most of the Dunnish people of northernWestmarch and in particular those that arepredisposed to hatred of the Dúnedain. InDunland, he was one of several nephews of theclan chieftain of the Mar Hogo and not as adeptin arms as many of the other young men in theclan, therefore his chances for the leadershipposition he aspired to were slim. When itbecame known that a portion of the clan haddecided to relocate to Westmarch he was happyfor the opportunity to go with them. When theleader of that group then died in the Plague itbecame the perfect chance for him to asserthimself. Since that time Ruthos has ruled his

people well in a sort of twisted way. Ruthos isa charismatic man prone to dramatics andboasting. He would much rather meet his goalsthrough deception and trickery than by force,and has proven to be quite effective in theseendeavors. The current plan for the Dunnishuprising was of his design, and it was he whosent for Gifas to come to Westmarch. He is 44years old, roughly 6’ tall with brown hair that isgreying at the temples. He is in good shape fora man his age but is not the warrior that theother clansmen are.

5.3 THE SETTING

This adventure is set in and around thetown of Beldwin in northern Westmarch.Beldwin is the second largest town inWestmarch. Derwath to the south is the largest.Beldwin is a busy place most days with tradersand merchants. The adventure might alsotake the party to Amon Roch, Lord Negolos’fortress, which is about 5 miles from Beldwin,and is very accessible to anyone who wishes tocome to visit. Lord Negolos supports a veryopen policy towards the people of the area whoare welcome to come to his home wheneverthey want to talk to him. He also has postedhours when he is at his apartments in Beldwin.

5.31 BELDWIN

Beldwin is the second largest town inWestmarch, as Derwath to the south is thelargest. Beldwin is also not as old as Derwath,and was started as a farming community afterthe Dúnedain began expanding intoCalenardhon. Just north of Beldwin is a bridgethat the Dúnedain built over the Angren as itpasses through its gorge. The bridge is anarrow arched span that is only wide enoughfor a single cart, but it did allow for a new roadto connect Westmarch with the Great East-WestRoad without detouring around the river to the

fords in the Gap. See Section (2.31) This bridgeallowed for a more direct route to Dunland andall of the north. It wasn’t long before the smallfarming village of Beldwin became a trader’sstopping point and grew quite rapidly. Manyof the townspeople died during the Plague andBeldwin has been hard hit by the decrease intrade flowing through the town. At the sametime, however, a number of the Dunnish havemoved back to the land of their ancestors,which has taken up much of the slack of thelosses the town suffered. the Dunnish do notlive in the town proper, however, but havetaken up residence in large family dwellingsaway from the town. Some joined fellowclansmen that already had lands and dwellings,others established new homes either bybartering for the land or by becoming squatterson one of the larger estates. Many of theseDunmen work on the same estates on whichthey live.

LAYOUT

1. Armorer. An old Dwarf named Pindinlives and works in this small building onthe outskirts of town. He has steadywork, but is shunned socially in the townby Dúnedain and Dunnish alike becauseof his race.

2. Miller/Grainery. This is one of twogranaries in the town. This one is thecommunal granary that processes theproduce of the locals that do not haveaccess to a granary otherwise.

3. The Wanderer. A moderately priced innthat primarily targets traders as itsclientele. Its location near the roadleading to the bridge over the Angrenallows it to capture most of this business.

4. Stable. Owned and operated by TheWanderer. Also capable of minor repairs.

5. Mages Shop. A rare find in rural Gondor,this mages shop is run by a Dúnadanmage named Tiffen. He specializes infinding lost items and other suchmundane tasks. He is working quitebelow his capabilities. Actually hispresence in Westmarch is not entirelycoincidental. He was once a mage inMinas Anor, and part of the secret society

of the Blood Ring. Ten years ago heretired and decided to move toWestmarch for some peace and quiet. TheBlood Ring asked him to report anyactivity which might indicate the presenceof evil in the area. Because of his

profession the Daen Lintis give him awide berth as do many of theunenlightened Dúnedain.

6. Guardhouse. Lord Negolos stations fivemen here to keep order. Usually their jobis fairly easy. These men are usually

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made up from the local militia trained byLord Negolos’s guardsmen.

7. Trader’s Hall. This 2 story stone buildinghas been set aside by a traders’ guild as ameeting place and boarding house fortrader’s and their families.

8. Guide. This building is occupied by ayoung man who offers his services as aguide to the high country for huntingtrips. He knows the surrounding area andthe mountains nearby very well.

9. Ranger’s station. A smaller version of theranger’s post at Derwath except that onlyone ranger mans this station.

10. Warehouse.11. Farmer’s Market. Half of this structure is

open to the outside and serves as amarketplace. The other half is closed tothe weather for storage.

12. Town Hall. The town hall is used fortown meetings and council meetings.Lord Negolos has instituted a policy sothat once a month he holds an audience toaddress issues of concern to the people ofthe area including the townspeople andthe people of the surrounding area.

13. Grocer. The owner of this shop buys hisproduce from the best available in thearea. He also imports goods unavailablein the area for the upper class citizens.

14. Bowier/Fletcher. This Dunish craftsmenhas stepped into the position left open bythe Fletcher who died during the Plague.He does good work, but it is not up to parwith the standards of the Dúnedain.

15. Carpenter. This larger shop is owned bythe town’s carpenter. He also doubles as acartwright, and has constant workproviding wagon’s to traders or makingrepairs on their equipment.

16. Tavern. The Iron Arch. A respectabletavern and eatery for traders and themiddle class.

17. Healer. Beldwin’s healer died during ThePlague, and only recently was theposition filled. A young Dunnish woman,trained at the Healer’s Hall in Dunland,moved south six months ago. The peopleof the town have accepted herwholeheartedly. They have not beendisappointed as she is at least as qualified

as their last healer, maybe even betterqualified.

18. Weaver.19. Wainwright. This shop is empty.20. Jeweler.21. Herbalist. During the period when the

the town was without a healer, the townherbalist was required to fulfill bothroles. The arrival of the new healer was agreat relief to him. At first he wasn’t sureabout her training, but has come torespect her.

22. Animist. Of the magical arts, the one thatthe people of this town accept morereadily is the profession of Animist. He isan important part of this farmingcommunity and participates in many ofthe festivals and ceremonies.

23. Cooper .24. Cobbler.25. Potter. The potter is a mean old miser,

who used to lend money to people atoutrageous interest rates before Baylee’smoney lending firm was established. Hehas made quite a lot of money from thesetransactions, and wields considerableinfluence in the town. He has triedseveral times to shut down Baylee.

26. Brewer. Produces two products: a heartyaged mead (a favorite among theDunnish) and a smooth whiskey (afavorite among the Dunnish).

27. Vacant shop.28. Furrier . Works primarily with expensive

plush furs like mink, sable, and beaver.He then exports most of these to thesouth. He does sell some from his shop ifand when buyers present themselves.

29. Money lender. Operated by an man ofmixed decent named Baylee, who is veryfair in his dealings with his customers.He doesn’t make much money, but is wellliked by everyone except for the potter.

30. Brothel. Miss Posey’s house of fun.31. Silversmith.32. Fortuneteller. An old Dunnish woman

has occupied this little shop for as long asanyone can remember. She never leaves.She has everything she needs delivered toher. As far as her abilities as a

fortuneteller go there have been mixedreviews.

33. Outfitter. This store carries supplies fornearly any type of outing.

34. Theater/Tavern. This tavern alsofunctions as a place for traveling actingcompanies, bards, and amateurs from thesurrounding areas.

35. Grocer. This grocery store specializes infoods imported from Dunland or foodsgrown specifically for the Dunnish.Needless to say the store is mainlyfrequented by the Dunnish.

36. Mason.37. Curiosity Shop.38. Stable.39. Blacksmith.40. Inn/tavern. The Golden Spoon. An up-

scale inn and nightspot. Unfortunatelyfor the owner not enough up-scale peoplelive and or visit Beldwin toprovide sufficient profits toallow the inn to remain open.It is currently up for sale.

41. Armorer. This craftsmanrealizes that the Dwarf at theother end of town is moreskilled than he, andoccasionally asks for advicefrom him. He doesn’t mindthat in spite of that fact hegets more business.

42. General Store. 43. Warehouse.44. Sage. A man of great

knowledge.45. Import Store. Goods from

the south are sold here ataccelerated prices.

46. Weaponsmith. A Dunnishman with poor skills as aweapons-maker, but heknows what the Dunnishclans like and sells hischeaply made weapons atrock-bottom prices, whichkeeps the clansmen comingback.

47. Tavern. The Bent Blade. ADunnish dive.

48. Glassblower.

49. Tanner.50. Mill.

5.32 AMON ROCH

The adventure might also take the partyto Lord Negolos’ fortress Amon Roch (HorseHill), which is about 5 miles from Beldwin.Lord Negolos supports a very open policytowards the people of the area who arewelcome to come to his home whenever theywant to talk to him. He also has posted hourswhen he is at his apartments in Beldwin.

The castle was built by Negolos’sancestors many years ago, but it wasn’t built allat once. The section built into the mountainwas originally the clan hold of an ancient DaenCoentis clan that abandoned it when theymoved to Dunland in the last years of the

Second Age. Negolos’s ancestors were pioneersin the region and fortified the hold. Over theyears, the exterior walls and towers were builtwith the last section (the walls and towers thatflank the entrance) being built 500 years ago.

The fortress’ location in the small groupof hills out away from the mountains offersgreat protection, but allows quick access to thesurrounding flatlands. With this in mind alarge stable was built into the fortress, allowingthe cavalry stationed there to deploy quickly.This tactic was used successfully throughout thehistory of the fortress, even into the War of theRing. The fortress layout is shown below.

Level1

1. Entrance: The entrance road to AmonRoch lies between two flanking wallswith towers. The towersare not connected to therest of the castle exceptby the wall. All thetowers as well as thewalls are crenelated toallow cover for firing onattackers at the gatesand on the outside. Thetowers are also roofedwith slate to protectthem from torchedarrows or other fireattacks. A paved roadleads up to the gate andruns from the fortressfor over a mile to thevalley floor and then amile further out into theopen plains.

2. Gate. The gate to AmonRoch is quite wide toallow speedy egress forthe cavalry. There aretwo gates. The internaland external gates aremade of steel and swingoutwards. The space inbetween is empty toallow for marshaling ofthe troops for sorties. If

the possibility of the gate house beingbreached approaches, however, the stoneflooring of the 2nd story can be droppedinto the space below to seal the gatehousecompletely.

3. Gate Tower. The 2nd story is used forstorage of weaponry and provisions. The3rd floor is open to allow for firing on theenemy. It is roofed in slate like thetowers in #1.

4. Fortress Courtyard . From here, stairslead up to the walls as well as to the gatesof the recessed keep. Below the gates ofthe keep are the doors that lead into thestables.

5. Stables. There is room for 40 horses inthese stables, currently there is only needto house 30 to be able to horse everyoneat the fortress. These stables are mainlyfor wartime use. Outside the castle in the

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valley is the main stable which is closer tothe pastures in which the horses aregrazed. Currently, Finard thestablemaster is residing at the stableswith the horses and stableboys because ofhis comments about Lord Negolos’ wife.(See Section 5.42)

Level 2

6. Keep Doors. The doors to the keep aremade out of granite sheathed in steel. Justinside the doors is a switch that whenpulled will release the supports of themetal platform in front of the door,dropping everyone on it to the groundand leaving the doors suspended 20’ inthe air.

7. Great Hall. Used for all manner ofactivity this stately room is decoratedwith tapestries, paintings and lights to liftthe mood of the otherwise dark and

somber room.8. Stair Hall. This hallway gives access to

the other rooms on this level as well as tothe levels above via two stairways thatlead up.

9. Barracks. This large room canaccommodate up to 30 men each. At thispoint in this time only 15 men are housedhere. Another 15 are housed in #10 for atotal of 30 men. 20 of these men arepermanent paid guards of Lord Negolos’family, the other 10 are militiamen thatspend a year stationed at Amon Roch fortraining.

10. Barracks. Same as #9

11. Mess Hall & Kitchen. The back portion ofthis room is an open kitchen area. Thefront portion is where the troops areserved their meals. Meals for the familyand for special occasions are alsoprepared here, but are served in theformal dining hall (#12).

12. Formal Dinning Hall. A very longbeautifully finished pecan dining tabletakes up most of this room; seating for upto 20 people is available.

Level 3

13. Balcony. The crenelations of the half wallof this balcony allow for archer coverageof the courtyard of the fortress as well asthe area between the walls of the castleand the mountain.

14. Lower Lounge. A lounge area nicelydecorated for guests and the upper levelhired men of the castle such as thesteward and the officers.

15. Stewards Quarters. The castle stewardlives and works out of this room. He isan incredibly organized person, but isnearly devoid of personality andoblivious to everyone around him unlesshe has a specific reason for noticing them.

16. Healer’s Quarters. The castle healer wasalso trained in the army of Gondor, butbeyond that is a man of great learning inmany fields. He was Lord Negolos’ tutoras a child and is his closest advisor. He isadvanced in age and his eyesight isfailing.

17. Officers Quarters. 2 experienced veteransof the wars against Umbar and the

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Easterlings are in charge of the training ofthe guardsmen of the castle.

18. Guardroom/office. This room acts as aguard station and as an office for theguard captain.

19. Guard Captain’s Quarters. The guardcaptain is a great tactical officer, butbecomes bored periodically and takes theguards and militiamen out for war gameexercises.

20. Blacksmith. The blacksmith, who alsodoubles as an armorer, lives here. Heused to share his room with Finard thestablemaster, who is now living at thestables (See #5).

21. Guest chambers. Comfortable room.Guests are rare at the fortress. Whenguests are expected in numbers largerthan the fortress is capable of handlingthey are put up at the Golden Spoon intown. If relatives or close friends areexpected, many times Negolos will takethem to his summer house closer to themountains for a more comfortablesetting.

Level 4

22. Balcony. There is an iron railing aroundthe edge of this balcony. Archers coulddefend the keep from here, but the coveris not as good as the balcony below.

23. Lord Negolos’ Office. This large roomwith ajoining balcony is primarily usedby Lord Negolos as a study and office, butin time of need it serves as a tactical wardroom for himself and his men. There area variety of maps and statistics concerningthe surrounding area.

24. Lady Sirris’ Maid’s Quarters. Gifasdismissed Miren, Sirris’s long time friendand servant, as soon as she adopted herdisguise as Sirris. She then faked someinterviews and brought in a Dunnishwoman from the Mar Hogo clan as hermaid. She now lives in this room.Although she is hired as a maid, she is askilled warrior and will backup Gifas inher plans and defend her from any attack.

25. Lady Sirris’s Room. These were ladySirris’ private quarters. A door connectsthem with Lord Negolos’ chamber. Theroom is decorated in an eclectic fusion ofDúnadan and Daen Lintis styles. Gifas iscurrently occupying this room, and hashidden many of the tools of her witcheryin lady Sirris’ wardrobe. Alsostrategically hidden in the room are 5daggers so that she can defend herselfquickly if the need arises. All of them arepoisoned with a Level 4 nerve toxin.Anyone cut by one of these daggers mustresist or have the limb woundedparalyzed for 3-5 days. If the poison isreceived as a result of a critical to thetorso, abdomen, or neck, then the resultsof RR failure is total body paralysis for 3-5 days.

26. Lord Negolos’ Room. This finelydecorated room is perfectly ordered at alltimes. Lord Negolos is very organized.Behind a wardrobe hidden (-30 to detect)in the back wall of the room is the vaultof the castle containing the wealth of LordNegolos’ family. It is triple locked. Thefirst two locks are key locks (-30 to open)and the last is magical and opens to apassword that only Lord Negolos and hisValet knows. Over 300,000 in gold andjewelry is stored in this vault in lockedboxes. Lady Sirris has no idea (nor doesanyone else in the region) that LordNegolos is so wealthy, but his family hascontrolled trade and agriculture in one ofthe most bountiful sections of Gondor formany years so it only stands to reason.The vault also contains some ceremonialgarments and the heirlooms of his family.Which includes his fathers sword of state,circlet, and ruling staff. The staff and

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sword are magical. The staff, when held,places a subtle aura spell about the personadding +50 to all rolls for leadership,diplomacy, and persuasion. The sword isa highly ornate +20 Ithilnaur sword thathas a moderate intelligence and can detectillusions within 20’ of the user. It isunfortunate that Lord Negolos only wearsit once or twice a year to ceremonies ofstate, because it could tell him of Gifas’deceptions.

27. Lord Negolos’ Valet’s Room. Bundin, thelord’s valet, is quartered here. He is veryold, but will attempt to protect his masterif Lord Negolos is threatened.

Levels 5, 6, 7, & 8

28. Family Lounge. This large room andoverlook are used by the ruling family asa lounge area as well as an entertainmentroom for guests and a play room forchildren when they are present. WhenLord Negolos was young this room waswhere he received his tutoring. Manybookshelves line the walls of the room.The door to the balcony locks with a keyfor safety reasons.

29. Access Hallway.30. Tower Level 1. Mainly to provide access

to the upper watch tower.31. Tower Level 2. Guard station for the

upper watch tower. Men that are onwatch live in this room for two weekperiods, then rotate out to other duties.

32. High Watch. This room allows for acommanding view of the countryside forup to 10 miles in most directions, except

for directly behind the tower, but thecraggy rock outcropping there makes thepossibility of danger from that directionunlikely.

5.33 LADY SIRRIS’ PRISON CABIN

The Lady Sirris has been kidnapped andis being held in a small cabin in the foothillseast of town. The cabin is small and guarded by2 clansmen.

LAYOUT

1. Front Porch. This rickety porch is quiteold and some boards are rotten or squeakloudly when someone walks on them.The front door is made of oak and chainedfrom the inside, but the hinges are rustyand old and can be easily broken.

2. Main Room . The two guards that sleep inthis room are relieved every three days.A small stone fireplace stands on the westwall to warm the room and provide forcooking.

3. Locked Room. This room is locked withmassive-looking padlock that is reallyquite easy to open (+10). The windowshave been boarded up from the outsidewith heavy planks. Behind the door tiedto a bed is Sirris; she has looked better.

4. Store Room. Food for the occupants iskept in this room. A small door leadsoutside to the wood pile.

5.34 THE MAR HOGO CLAN HOLD

The Mar Hogo Clan Hold is locatedsouth of Beldwin some 10 miles. It is a crudefortification built over the last fifteen years,using as its base an old watch tower that hadfallen into ruin. In Westmarch, the Mar Hogo

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have had no real need for a clan hold as theymight have in Dunland, but it is traditional thatthere be one, so one was built. Most of theclansmen live in settlements away from thehold and are summoned during times of need,but a small contingent of unmarried younghunter/warriors live at the hold at all times.

LAYOUT

1. Palisade. This wall is made up of a 4’ highearthen rise with sharpen wooden stakespointing upward and outward. It is notwithstanding time well and several areasof the palisade have weakened and aresagging outward.

2. Gate. Lowers to allow riders to passthrough. Unless war is expected this isusually left down. Recently is hasremained constantly in the up position. 4clansmen walk the palisade at all times ofthe day, and 2 are always located at thegate.

3. Coral . The Dunnish keep their herd ofapproximately 100 horses here. Most arenot prime specimens, but they are decentanimals and are given good care andgrooming.

4. Support Buildings. These are the housesand workshops of the craftsmen of theclan.

5. Storage Buildings.6. Clan Keep. Ruthos, as clan chieftain,

occupies this building with his immediatefamily and personal guards. The buildingwas originally an old watchtower thatwas ruined. The Mar Hogo have rebuiltthe walls with their limited expertise.The result is a keep that is functional butnot very pleasing to the eye.Approximately 15 guards will be foundstationed in the keep along with Ruthos,his 2 brothers, their wives and children.

2 Barracks. Here is where the otherclansmen hunter/warriors live. Up to 30have been housed here before, but at thepresent only 23 men are in residence.

5.4 THE TASK

The PCs are to determine the source ofthe rumors and or strife, find out about the plotto kill Sirris and somehow stop it fromhappening. This will not be an easy taskconsidering that the Mar Hogo have not exactlypublicized their activities.

5.41 STARTING THE PLAYERS

The PCs will mostlikely begin this adventurein Beldwin, because unless alarge uprising of the DaenLintis occurs, few outside ofthe immediate area aroundBeldwin will know anythingof the events that thisadventure revolves around.It is possible that the party,if observant enough and intown long enough, wouldgain enough information tobe able to realize thatsomething is not right. Amore likely and workablestarting point would behaving the party beapproached by Sirris’s

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father, Denrul or Lord Negolos.Denrul believes that his daughter has

been acting strange lately and has heard therumors that people have seen her in the marketplace with obvious bruises. This has confusedDenrul because he believes Lord Negolos to bean honorable and sensitive man who would notdo such things. He feels that there must besomething wrong at the at Lord Negolos’fortress. However, when he has gone there tovisit everything seemed fine, almost too fine.Denrul will approach the party if he sees thatthey are from out of town. Once he determinesthat they can be trusted, he will explain thesituation and ask the party to pay a social callon Lord Negolos’ fortress to ascertain ifeverything is all right. Since Lord Negoloswelcomes visitors and is always hungry fornews from travelers, this should not be aproblem. For this task, Denrul will pay theparty and offer the free lodging in his inn for aslong as they are in town. He will stress to themthat they should not let anyone know their realreason for visiting, because he does not want toappear to be spying on his son-in-law.

If the party stays in Beldwin for a fewdays, they could start this adventure by beingcontacted by a servant of Lord Negolos, andasked to meet him outside of town. If theydecide to make contact, Lord Negolos will tellthem of the discontent of the Dunnish people ofthe areas and how his marriage helped to settlethis problem. He will also relate how he hasheard that rumors are being spread saying thathe is mistreating his wife. He is afraid that hiswife may be hurt in the conflict that might arisefrom these circumstances. He would like forthe party to stay around town for the next fewdays for a “rest,” and while they are here, to tryto find out the source of the rumors and act asguardian angels for his wife when she is intown, without her knowing it. If the partyaccepts, he will pay them well if they find outanything useful.

5.42 AIDS

Being strangers in Beldwin, finding theinformation necessary to stop Ruthos and hispeople from starting a revolt may be difficult.In general, the people of the town know ofSirris’ appearances in town looking ruffled andbeaten. Most of the merchant class will bereluctant to talk about it because they areunsure of their meaning. Talking to membersof the working class, which are mostly ofDunnish descent, will produce insight into theDunnish viewpoint. Most of these people arevery disappointed and upset with LordNegolos, who they had thought was the firstDúnadan ruler with some thought for them.Now they believe he is just like all thoseDúnedain, arrogant and bigoted. They will alsoknow that this is just the type of opportunitythat the Mar Hogo clansmen have waited toexploit. Most will know of Ruthos and hishatred of the Dúnedain, and the fact that he wasvery outspoken against the marriage ofNegolos and Sirris in the first place. This typeof information will not be distributed to justanyone, however, because most of the people ofDunnish descent will not be open to talking toanyone from outside the Beldwin area unlessthey are talking it up in a bar or gossipingamongst themselves and are overheard.

There is one person in town that doeshave information that would be invaluable tothe party. Sirris’ best friend Miren for yearswas also her personal maid and lady in waiting,as it were. When Gifas replaced Sirris,however, Gifas knew that she had to get rid ofMiren in order to be effective in her disguise, soshe staged an argument with Miren anddismissed her as soon as she could. Mirenknows Sirris better than anyone alive and shehas told Sirris’ father of her concerns about herchanges in behavior and attitude. If the partyhas talked to Denrul or Negolos, they willmention Miren to the party as a source ofinformation.

There are two other people in town whohave bits of information that might be helpfulto the party concerning Gifas’ disguise. One isFinard, an old man that tends the stables atNegolos estate. When he first saw Gifas in herdisguise as Sirris, he asked one of the guards

who the old hag was and why she was at thecastle. He was immediately reprimanded andtold that he had to live at the stables until suchtime as he could show more respect. He stillmaintains that she is really an ugly old woman,and has asked several people since then if theyhave seen the same. Unfortunately, Finard isless than ideally credible. He has been know tohit the bottle a little hard at times and hasreported strange things before which havenever been proven. No one currently believeshis story and he is beginning to wonderhimself. Gifas knows Finard knows her secret,but doesn’t think anything will come of itbefore the plot finalizes. Just in case though,she has told Ruthos, who has sent men to spy onhim periodically to see if anyone he tells seemsto believe him.

The other person in Beldwin who knowsthat Sirris has been replaced by another is ateenage girl named Glinis. Glinis was bornwith a gift that has not been recognized byanyone as of yet. She has the ability to seethrough any form of magical deception,including Gifas’ spell. At this point in her life,Glinis has the feeling that she is different fromothers but hasn’t quite figured it out yet. Sheknows that everyone else sees the lady Sirriswhen she sees a hag, but doesn’t know who totell. Once when she was younger, she got asever lashing by her parents because she hadspoiled the show of a traveling magician bytelling how he did his tricks. Since then, she hasbeen reluctant to tell anyone when she seessomething out of the ordinary. In this case,however, she feels she must tell someonebecause she feels lady Sirris, whom she admireslike many other young girls her age, might bein trouble. If she finds out that someone intown might be interested in what she knows, orhas been making inquires, she will seek themout and tell them what she has seen.

5.43 OBSTACLES

Initially, the primary obstacle will befinding out what is wrong with Sirris. Even ifthey are able to discern that she is not reallySirris, any action against her will be perceivedby everyone else as an assault on Sirris and willbe dealt with accordingly. If in town, the

townspeople will try to subdue the party. If atthe castle, the guards will attack the party withgreat enthusiasm. Once Gifas is discovered theparty will then have to find out where the realSirris is being held. Gifas, if captured, will bevery closed mouthed, but will succumb tothreats if she believes they are real. The finalobstacle will be retrieving Sirris from the MarHogo before Ruthos has an opportunity tomove her or kill her. A direct assault on theircomplex will require significant numbers orstealth. If given the chance Ruthos will turn thewhole affair into a ransom situation,demanding treasure and free passage north forSirris’ return.

5.44 REWARDS

If the task is completed, the plot foundout and Sirris rescued, the party can expectconsiderable praise and appreciation from LordNegolos, her father Denrul, the population ofBeldwin, and Sirris herself. Lord Negolos willshower the party with gifts totaling well over500 gp/person. If Sirris is not alive at theconclusion of the adventure, the payment fromlord Negolos will be much less generous.However, if the party also catches the primaryleaders of the conspiracy (Ruthos and Gifas), hewill also sign over two tracks of land that heowns to the south east of Beldwin that total 500acres. The townspeople, especially those ofmixed and Dunnish descent whose lives wereeffected most by Sirris, will give theadventurers gifts according to their means andskills to show their appreciation; anything fromwood carvings to leather goods. Denrul willallow the party to stay at his inn free anytimethey are in Beldwin, and allow them to outfitthemselves for their next trip at his store.

5.5 THE ENCOUNTERS

Many of the encounters in the city ofBeldwin should be constructed from theinformation given in the above passages and inSection 5.31. Other encounters are described indetail in the Section 5.32 and 5.34. Besides these,the following encounters are given in greaterdetail.

If encountering Gifas while disguised,since her disguise is magical, the PCs shouldreceive an RR. If they see her before they findout anything has been wrong, the RR should beat -30 because they will be expecting her to looklike Sirris. If they see her for the first time afterhearing the concerns of Negolos or Denrul, theRR should be normal. If they see her aftertalking to either of the people that have seenthrough her disguise, the RR should be made at+10. When encountered, Gifas will be able torecognize whether anyone she meets has beenable to see through her spell. If she issurrounded by people who still believe her tobe Sirris, she will use that belief to protectherself until such time as she can get away andreport the incident to Ruthos who will thensend men to try to take care of the problemperson quickly and quietly. If at the castle, shewill instruct the guards to arrest the party andthrow them in the dungeon. If she isrecognized in a situation where she is byherself, she will either run, (if there are peoplenearby that still think she is Sirris), or as a lastresort she will use her magical abilities. Even ifshe chooses this last option she will onlyengage the party long enough to allow her to

escape or until she realizes she could die. If shecan’t escape then she will surrender rather thanbe seriously injured.

Ruthos will probably be encountered inone of three situations. The first is at the MarHogo stronghold where he will be most oftenduring the time when this adventure takesplace, fearing that his presence in town mightjeopardize his plans. If the party goes to thestronghold seeking information from Ruthos,they will be met with a cool reception at best.Answers to any questions asked will be shortand not necessarily truthful. He will try todismiss the party as quickly as possible,without seeming suspicious. It should not seemthat unusual considering that most Daen Lintiswill act this way towards non-Dunnish. If theparty has come to the stronghold to attack,Ruthos will allow his men to take the brunt ofthe attack while he escapes. The second placethat Ruthos might be encountered is at thesmall cabin where Sirris is being held. If theparty happens to come to the cabin whileRuthos is there, he will instruct the guards todetain the party while he takes Sirris hostage sothat he can bargain for his escape. If escape isuncertain, he may try to wound Sirris badlyenough so that the party will stop to help herwhile he escapes. If he knows that he is goingto die, he will definitely try to kill Sirris just outof spite. The third place that he might beencountered is leading his men against theparty. If it comes to Ruthos’ attention that theadventurers are standing in the way of hisplans, or worse are close to uncovering the plot,he will send spies to follow until they are alone.He will then lead a group of his men againstthem in hopes of killing them all or at leastdissuading them from continuing theirinvestigations. The size of the cadre sent willdepend on the location and strength of theparty. In any case, the men and Ruthos willwear non-clan clothing and masks so theycannot be identified.

6.0 OTHER PLACESOF NOTE INWESTMARCH

6.1 THE ORACLE

The Daen Coentis of the late Third Agewere in general an evil people. They practicedhuman sacrifice and other dark magic taughtthem by Sauron’s emissaries. This had notalways been the case. Long before the comingof the Dúnedain, the Daen had been aprosperous people and had lived in the vales ofthe White Mountains and worshipped the Valar.The Drúedain had lived among them asspiritual guides and priests, and many templesto the Valar were built. Of the Valar that theyworshipped, by far the most numerous templeswere built to Aulë and Yavanna. Aulë becausehe is the patron of those who are craftsmen andartists, and Yavanna because she is the EarthMother and responsible for the bounty from theland. It was during this time that many of thesolar clock-type temples were built, as well asother religious cities and temples such asDunharrow. As the Daen followed their pathinto darkness later in the Third Age, theseplaces fell into disuse and the Daen Lintisseparated from the Daen Coentis and became asecretive people living in the deep woods. Oneof these temples was built in the upper reachesof a tree-filled valley in the foothills of theWhite Mountains on the Westmarch side. Thistemple was at one time, an Oracle for Yavanna,set high on a hill with several auxiliarybuildings set into the hill itself. The Daen Lintisof the forest have maintained this temple eversince the downfall of the Daen but until 10 yearsago, the Oracle was not functional because ithad no mouth. Ten years ago somethinghappened that changed that. (See Section 2.72)

The Oracle of Yavanna is unique. It isimbedded with a spirit of its own which alongwith the mouth controls the whole area aroundthe Oracle, including the actions of the Huornsand active trees in the forest. The forestsurrounds the Oracle in the valley on all sides.

At least 10% of the trees in the forest are activetrees or Huorns. No Ents live in the forestitself, but some have visited the area before.Now that Amarla is the Oracle’s mouth, theOracle can actually see the past, future, andpresent. Each person is afforded one questionanswered by the Oracle in their lifetime, butfirst they must pass three tests, starting as soonas the party enters the woods that surrounds theOracle. (Not just anyone can stop in for a quickquestion, they must first prove themselvesworthy to ask.) The Huorns act as guardians ofthe temple, and in order to gain access, onemust travel through the Huorns, which are ableto tell the intentions of the passers and judgewhether they should pass. Sometimes if theHuorns are not sure, they will reroute the pathsthrough the forest so as to bring the person tothe edge of the forest again and have them startover. This can happen several times before aparty is allowed to pass if the intentions of theparty are mixed. The Huorns will not attackunless they or other trees are attacked first orthe intentions toward the temple or Amarla areopenly hostile. This is the first test to be able toaccess the temple.

Once through the trees the party willcome into a grassy clearing with a hill in thecenter of the clearing. Set in the hill is anentrance faced in stone. On the opposite side ofthe hill are three doors of unequal sizes. Abovethe single opening set in the stone facing is aninscription that reads in the primary languageof each reader, “Those who seek knowledgemust choose their path to prove their worth”This test insures that only the persistent andpure of heart can gain entrance to the Oracle. Inorder to pass this test the visitor must walkthrough the hill via this passageway and leavethrough one of the other three on the far side ofthe hill while maintaining their normal size.Once a person enters the doorway no one elsemay enter until the first person has passedthrough the first room. The rooms under thehill are the basis of the test. When each personenters the room they will be presented with asituation. The choice they make will allow

them to the room through one of several doors.Each door leads to another room and anothersituation. The power imbedded in these roomscan cause the persons entering to experience thesituation as if it were actually happening. Itwill create the proper background and sensorystimuli to make it appear real for as long as thesituation lasts. The only thing that mightdampen this capability would be if the personentering the room was protected by powerfulspells which would dispel or cancel suchperception altering spells. If this protectionwere in place no situations would be presentedand the person would have no way of knowingwhich paths to choose. The only way theycould pass the test would be by luck.

GM Note: These situations will be outlinedbasically in the detail descriptions below,however, the GM should take the time to createsituations that are specific for each PC based onthe guidelines presented below and the conceptsof worthiness that would be dictated by the ValarYavanna and Aulë. These specific situationscould take the form of previous circumstances thatthe character encountered or situations that haveparticularly tried the character’s moral fiber.

The passageways connecting the roomsare ancient and filled with the power of theValar Yavanna and her mate Aulë who helpedthe Daen Coentis and the Drúedain build theOracle thousands of years ago. The passagescan affect all those walking down them in oneof three ways. They may either enlarge aperson and all their belongings, shrink a personand all their belongings or leave them thesame. Anyone passing through the passages issubjected to the effects of the power without anRR. Making the right choice will leave theperson passing the same size. A wrong choicewill cause the person to shrink to one fourth oftheir previous size as they move to the nextroom. A right choice after a person has beenshrunk will increase their size to four timestheir current size bringing them back towardstheir normal size. The hallways also getsmaller or larger as one travels through them.With the passageway shrinking at the same rateas the person, it will be very hard to determineif any size change has taken place. The rooms

will maintain their size however. The chartbelow has been provided to help calculaterelative sizes. If a person enters a room at one-fourth their original size, everything they seewhen they emerge will be four times largerfrom their point of view. Each time a persontravels down a hallway, the GM should paycareful attention to how small they havebecome when compared to their surroundings.

LAYOUT

1. Entrance. This opening stands 10’ wideand 20’ tall. The inscription is chiseledinto the stone above the opening in largesigns. Once inside, spatial relationshipsare vague and the hill will not seem largeenough to hold the passageways androoms that are present. Down a 30’hallway is the first testing room. All thetesting rooms are the same, 20’ x 20’ x 20’size and have three openings to 10’ widepassageways, although only the one theyenter through will be shown to them untilafter the test. Upon entering the room theperson will immediately seem to betransported to another place where theywill encounter the test situation. To themeverything will seem perfectly real.Upon confronting the problem andmaking their decision the illusion willdisappear and they will be shown onlyone door out of the room. Depending ontheir answer that will either be thepassageway marked “Y” or “N”. Therooms are listed below with thesuggested situations. These situations arein no particular order and may berearranged if so desired by the GM. (Theycould even be randomized.)

2. Riches vs Life Room. This room willpresent the person with a situation wherethey must decide whether to gain greatriches or save the lives of innocentpeople. At (a) there is an opening thatonly appears if someone is entering from#8.

3. Great Power vs Good Room. This roomwill present the person with a situationwhere they must decide over great

personal power or fighting for the forcesof good.

4. Manual Labor vs Magic. This room willpresent the person with a situation wherethey must overcome aphysical obstacle withtools that they areprovided. It will bewithin their personalcapabilities to perform. Ifthey resort to magicalmeans to overcome theobstacle, they fail. (TheValar see magical use fortrivial purposes asevidence of poorcharacter.)

5. Inconvenience vs Life.This room will presentthe person with asituation where theymust decide whether tosuffer the loss of one oftheir prized possessionsor save the lives ofinnocent people.

6. Inconvenience vs Evil.This room will presentthe person with asituation where theymust decide whether to suffer the loss ofone of their prized possessions or commitan overtly evil act.

7. Labor vs Evil. This room will present theperson with a situation where they mustdecide whether to cooperate with evilforces or be forced to work hard labor.(Time as well as sensory distortions canoccur in these testing rooms.) Right andwrong answers in this room both lead tothe outside. Only if the person has failedto decide properly in every situation willthey be shown the passageway leading to#8. This passageway leads to a roomdesigned to rid the world of a this vileperson. If they make it through #8, exitthrough the second chance door to #2, andstill end up back at #7, only then #7 willbecome a trap. The trap in this room willtrigger when the person steps into theroom. When this happens, the

passageways into the room will instantlydisappear. At the same time the floor ofthe room will disappear completelyleaving the person in the room falling

into a 100’ deep conical pit trap.(Remember this person must be prettysmall now and therefore the drop will bequite further.) The walls of the pit areangled in so that they come together in aninverted cone shape at the bottom.Anyone falling into the pit will hit thewall of the pit before hitting the bottomand then slide to the bottom of the trap.Should anyone hit the bottom of the conefeet first, the momentum of their fall willforce their feet into the smallest section ofthe cone breaking their feet and wedgingthem in very tightly. 3 seconds after thefloor disappears it and the openingsreappear, showing an empty room toanyone else entering. Shouting frombelow the floor will be very hard todetect, and breaking through the floorwill require 500 concussion point within a5’ radius.

8

1

Y N

Y N

Y N

N

N

N

Y

Y

Y

23 4

6 5

7

99

a

8. Big Room. In standard sizes this room is60’ x 80’ x 100’ tall. It will be much largerto the adventurer depending on theircurrent size. If they are sufficiently smallenough it could take them hours, or evendays just to cross this room. The room isinhabited by hundreds of insects androdents of various sizes. These may rangefrom man-size to gigantic from theadventurer’s point of view. They willattack the adventurer because he is foodsize. If the unlucky person makes it to thepassageway at the far end of the roomthey will begin to return to normal size as

they pass through that hallway back to # 2to be given a second chance. Once theyenter # 2 they whole process starts againwith variations on the tests they alreadywent through.

9. Normal Size Door. The doors set into theback of the hill swing outward with alight push no matter what size the personis (unless they are too small to reach thebottom of the door, but then they couldwalk underneath it.) From the outsidethey cannot be opened.

Size Comparison Chart

Human Human Standard Big Big Standard sizeheight height Room room room hall factor(feet) (inches) width length

6’ 72” 20ft 60ft 80ft 10ft Normal

1.5’ 18” 80’ 240’ 320’ 40’ /40.375’ 4.5” 320’ 960’ 1280’ 160’ /160.094’ 1.125” 1280’ 3840’ 5120’ 640’ /640.023’ 0.281” 5120’ 2.9mi 3.9mi 2560’ /2560.006’ 0.070” 4mi 11.6mi 15.5mi 2mi /10240.001’ 0.018” 16mi 46.5mi 62.1mi 8mi /4096

Using this chart:

It is best to keep track of where theperson is in relation to normal sizefor them. This chart allows for thateach time a person walks down ahallway that makes them smaller; itwill divide their size by 4 and movethem to the next row down on thechart.

Example:Ralph the Ranger is currently at normal

size (6’) in a 20’ x 20’ room. He chooses badlyand is sent down a hallway. He shrinks as itgets smaller so he notices no change. When hereaches the end of the hallway he is 1/4th hisnormal height. (putting him at the /4 level onthe chart) Therefore, he is actually 18”. tall.Because of this, the next room he enters appearsto him to be a square room 80’ x 80’. If he thenmakes another poor choice and leaves the roomvia a passage that shrinks him again, withoutrealizing it he will be 4.5” tall (putting him atthe /16 level on the chart). The 20’ x 20’ roomhe enters at the end of the passageway willappear to be 320’ x 320’. If he then begins tomake correct choices when being tested each ofthe hallways he travels will cause him to growas he travels which will begin to put him backtowards his normal size.

GM’s note: This can be very confusing for bothplayers and GM’s especially when players are tryingto accurately map the maze. For this purpose, tell theplayers that all the interconnecting hallways are 40’long regardless of whether they look that way on themap. The map they draw cannot accurately bedisplayed because the size of the rooms will changefrom their point of view depending upon what sizethey are at the time. Likewise, the map shown here isa representation of the inside of the hill and shouldnot be taken as completely to scale.

On another note, although the maze is free ofadversaries and has only a few traps dedicated toeliminating evil people, there are inhabitants in theform of insects, small mammals, and reptiles whichmay have wandered in. If this is the case, significantencounters may occur if the party is very small inrelation to these creatures. Use Creatures &Treasures to help with this.

After completing the test the person willeither exit to the outside of the hill the samesize they enter, they will exit the hill smallerthan they entered, or if they were significantlyevil and sorted in their responses they will bevery tiny and will exit into a room designed torid the world of such evil types. To pass thistest, the person must exit on the opposite side ofthe hill the exact same size as they were whenthey entered. If they exit any other size thenthey will revert to their normal size when theyget 100’ beyond the exit, or after 24 hours whichever come first. If they fail they can not tryagain for one year. Regardless of whether theypass the test or not, the party sees that on top ofthe hill there is a ring of stones in a templeformation. If they succeed in making the rightchoices and maintaining their proportions withthe outside world, a passageway will open inthe side of the hill. The passageway leads to aroughly cut spiral stairway which leads up tothe Oracle on top of the hill. Only those whosucceed will see the passageway or be allowedto enter. Anyone else will run into solid earthif they try to enter. Those who fail can climbthe outside of the hill they can see between thestones of the circle butwill not be allowed topass by an invisibleforce.

The ring of stonessurrounds a very simplealtar in the center of thetemple. The altarresembles a stump of agreat tree that has beenhollowed out to form abasin. The stump issome 3’ high and will beempty when they arrive.The mouth of the Oraclewill then arrive and poura pitcher of water intothe basin. She will thenintroduce herself in thefollowing fashion, “Weare the Oracle ofYavanna. What servicemay we offer?” She willalways refer to herself inthe plural. She then will

ask each one in turn what their question is andanswer it by allowing them to step forward andview the answer in the reflection of the water asit appears. Each person must make an RR vs a10th level attack using only their Self Disciplinebonus as a modifier. If they do not make theirRR, they are immediately subject to a confusionwhich will remain in effect until they party hasleft the Oracle’s sphere of influence. Along withthe confusion spell the person will be unable toremember anything about the Oracle or thetests, but they will be able to try again in oneyear. Those that do make RRs will be able tosee their answers in the basin. The answers arenot always clearly defined nor are they in wordform. Many times they appear as visualimages, sometimes of people and places,sometimes abstract. There are no real limits tothe Oracle’s capabilities to answer questions butthere may be limitations to the viewer beingable to understand the answer. (Using theRolemaster Companion, the Oracle can be thoughtof as a Major Earthnode under the Arcane magicrules.)

6.2 THE EARTHWELL

The Earthwell, or “Picnic Hill” as it isknown by the locals, is located in the heart ofWestmarch some 40 miles from Derwath, about60 miles from Beldwin, and about 5 miles fromthe nearest road. It is the furthest volcanic hillfrom the White Mountains and its flat topallows it to stand out on the flat horizon as alocal landmark. The Hill itself rises some 400’off the plain on which it sits and is roughly2000’ in diameter at it’s widest point. On thesouth side of the hill a breach was cut throughthe bowl of the hill by lava many centuries agowhich allows for an easy 300’ gradual climb tothe lowest point on the rim of the hill. Thelowest point of the bowl of the Earthwell issome 150’ from its highest point and only 50’down from the entrance-way through thebreach. A small trail has been cut through thebreach over the years and leads down into thebasin to the edge of the pool at the center. It isthis pool after which the hill is named. Itswaters are still, clear, and reflective. The depthof the pool has never been determined. Asidefrom the pool, there is also a number of flatrocks that have been stacked upon each other toallow visitors to have a place to sit or eat.Overlooking both of these features is a clusterof three oak trees by the pool. Individualinternal sections of the Earthwell are listedbelow.

LAYOUT (UNDERGROUND COMPLEX)

1. Connecting tunnel. This tunnel is one ofthe few places in the Earthwell where thenatural rock formations have beensignificantly altered to suit theinhabitants. This tunnel leads to thefarmhouse dwelling some 5 miles away(See below). The tunnel is guarded withsignificant safeguards to keep intrudersout should they ever find the tunnel.These safeguards come in three varietiesand are repeated throughout the length ofthe tunnel. These guard mechanisms onlyeffect someone traveling in the directionof the Earthwell most of the time. Theywill be effective against those going theother way only if set to do so by “the

Web”. The first type of guardian to beencountered along the tunnels is in theform of a set of runes set into depressionson either side of the tunnel which arevery hard to detect until activated. Once aperson passes between the runes, aTeleport spell is activated that will teleportthem to a random position up to 10 milesaway from the entrance to the tunnel. Thespecific positioning of the person above,on, or below the ground is not set, sothere may be some problems for thatperson when they rematerialize. 10 ofthese rune traps are set at irregularintervals along the length of the tunnel.The second type of trap in the tunnel is a4-walled spike trap, which is very hard todetect.. Upon entering one of three suchareas in the tunnel any weight over 200lbs on the 10 foot section that the trapoccupies will trigger 20, 3’ long spikes tospring forth from both walls, the floorand the ceiling. Anyone within the areawhen the trap is activated must make avery hard MovM roll to evade the trap ortake 1-10 +50 spear attacks. The spikes arealso coated with a 5th level poison resinthat will inflict 1 point/minute untilcured or until the person is dead.Resistance rolls must be made for eachspike that does a critical, and the effectsare cumulative. The third type of trapoccurs only once in the tunnel very closeto its connection to the main complex.The trap is quite cruel in its nature. Whenthe presence of any intruder is detectedwithin the traps area of effect, the floor ofthe tunnel disappears dropping anyoneabove it 20’ to an 80° incline made ofsmall metal rollers. The rollers will carrythe unfortunates 60’ downward to twolarge metal drums that converge exactlywhere the small rollers end. These largerollers will accept the momentum and thefirst available appendage of the victimand begin to crush it with the rest tofollow. Any movement by the victimonce stuck in the rollers only serves toprovide energyto the crushing action.The only hope of escape is to be connectedto the tunnel above, via rope, to be

airborne, or to be able to place somethingto block the large rollers, an extremelyhard maneuver (only a hard maneuver ifthe person has skiing or surfing skill).The trap is very hard to detect. All ofthese traps will not react to the staff of theEarthwell because each of the staff wear ajeweled pin which allows them to passthese barriers as if they did not exist.

2. Guardroom . At least one of the 4 humanguards will be on duty here at all times.

3. Command Room. This is the hub of theEarthwell. Here the Web coordinates theinformation collecting and spying effortsof the station. Every piece of informationcollected is processed through this room.The Web can be found in this roomapproximately 60% of the time during herwaking hours unless there are

extenuating circumstances. A guard willalso be on duty here at all times. Entranceinto this room by anyone not inpossession of an identifying pin (Seeabove) will send an alarm telepathicallyto the Web and the Beast. The room isdominated by a large table which has amap of western Middle-earth in relief.Shown at all times on the map are thethree current seeing locations of theSeeker. Along one wall is the Web’s deskwhere she compiles the communiqués toDol Guldur, and analyzes the informationshe has received.

4. Seeing room . Here the Seeker spends themajority of his time in observation ofwestern Middle-earth. The octagonalchamber is bare except for a circular couchin the center of the room where the

Seeker sits. In the center of that circularseat is the Seeing Eye (See Section 2.61.) Ifanyone except the Beast, the Web, or theSeeker enter this room, they must resistvs a 10th level Teleport spell or beteleported to the middle of theEarthwell’s abyss (see #10.) This trap canbe set by the Web to teleport one of theindividuals so that one of theirappendages is teleported into the shacklehanging in the abyss, so she can havesomeone to interrogate.

5. The Beast’s Room. The highest room ofthe complex, this room is furnished in avery spartan fashion. The Beast will onlybe here about 20% of the time. The rest ofthe time he will be roaming the halls ofthe Earthwell or standing guard in theCommand room. The Beast keeps hisweapons in a rack mounted to one wall.Each day he chooses a different one tocarry and practice with.

6. Web’s Room. Unlike the beasts room, theWeb’s room is fabulously decorative.Even at that, there is little that shows herorigins. The room is decorated in a stylethat would indicate a slight influence ofUmbar if the observer wasknowledgeable of such things. The Webcarries with her at all times her staff andweapons, except when in disguise on thefarm. The far wall of the room is made ofglass and holds back the waters of thedeep pool that is the center of theEarthwell (b). The small square areamarked (a) is a separate tank that containsa breed of carnivorous fish related to theRed Jaws found in some of the deep lakesof Moria, except that the light they emitfrom their fins is not as bright as those ofthe red jaws. This allows for greater easein surprising its prey. They wereimported to this place to provide a meansof defending the Earthwell should anyoneattempt to gain access through the pool.Should unfriendliness be detected in thepool, the fish can be released into themain pool to attack the intruders. Thereare approximately 20 of these fish held inthis tank.

7. Underwater Entrance. This room leads toa tunnel that ends in an airlock of sortsthat allows for entrance or exit throughthe pool. The entrance in the pool is 20’down from the surface.

8. Guardroom . A guard is stationed here,but also patrols the halls as well. Thedoor leads to a series of passages that divedown into the bowls of the earth andconnect with tunnels from the WhiteMountains which only the orcs know.Orcs use these tunnels to carry messagesback and forth from the Earthwell andDol Guldur.

9. Armory. Extra weapons and ammunitionare stored here.

10. Guest Room. This room is used by anyvisitors, but for the most part, it is usedfor spies returning from or going to thewestern portions of Middle-earth withvital pieces of information.

11. Guard’s Quarters.12. Exercise and Recreation Room. Since all

of the inhabitants of this instillation arehuman, this room is used so that they willnot become stir crazy. Several differentareas are set aside for sparing, acrobatics,reading, etc.

13. Earthwell Abyss. The volcano that oncewas this hill is no more, but this chimneywhere ash and smoke once spewed forthis intact, except for the last 40’ to thesurface. An opening in one wall leads outonto a ledge that juts out 5’ into the topdome of this (for all practical purposes)bottomless pit. Hanging suspended fromthe ceiling to a point 20’ below the levelof the ledge are a set of manaclesconnected to a chain. This chamber isused to help uncooperative informantsgive their information up more easily.The eog manacles have a Dispel Trueimbedded in them. The isolation of beingsuspended in this sensory deprivedenvironment has proven a very effectivemeans of interrogation.

14. Prison. These cells have been designed tohold particularly valuable prisoners. Thecells can be adjusted for each individualprisoner. The Web has stored in a smallconcealed safe in the first cell, which is

never used, several small rocks that aremade to appear as though they arenormal for the caves. The rocks haveimbedded into them one of the Dispelspells to cancel out one realm of magic.Depending upon the type of prisoner, oneor more of these rocks can be placed inthe cell before the prisoner is placedwithin. Aside from this protection, thecells are also triple locked with very hardlocks. Only the Web and the Beast havekeys to the cells.

15. Bear Cave. Realizing that most oldvolcanos have caves, the designer of theEarthwell took into consideration thenatural curiosity that might leadadventurers to investigate the caves of theEarthwell. To stem this curiosity thesecaves were designed to look like the denof a cave bear. It worked very well andthe den is occupied by a family of blackbears. These bears are not necessarilyaggressive, but will attack if threatenedand are unable to run away. The actualpresence of the bears is enough to keepmost explorers away.

Approximately 5 miles from the Earthwell is afarmhouse. This farmhouse is used as a coverfor the residents of the Earthwell as well asallowing for close observation of the traffic tothe Earthwell. The farmhouse is exceptionallytypical for Westmarch and is that way onpurpose. It is constructed out of field stone and

timber. When at the house the inhabitants ofthe Earthwell will be dressed as members of alocal farm family, in fact they actually farm theland for the food they eat.

LAYOUT (FARMHOUSE)

1. Hallway. 2. Living Area. This large room is furnished

comfortably for “family” evenings alone.There is a fireplace in the corner of theroom which also connects to the fireplacefor the kitchen.

3. Kitchen. A large well-furnished kitchento cook large meals for the farm hands.

4. Storage Room.5. Hidden Stairway. The door to this

stairway is concealed and very hard todetect (-50). The Stairway leads down 20’to a tunnel that leads to the Earthwellitself.

6. Farmhands’ Room. This large room is thebarracks for the 4 guards of the Earthwellwho pose as the sons and cousins of thefarm family and do most of the farming.Each has a set of weapons and armor in ahidden compartment underneath his bed.

7. The Web’s Bedroom. While on the farm,the Web poses as the matriarch of thefamily and the older sister who runs thehousehold. The bedroom suits her role.She will deal politely but firmly with anyunruly visitors. When she is at thefarmhouse she keeps her staff and othermagical items in a concealed panel of theinside wall of the room which is veryhard to detect (-40).

8. Assassin’s Bedroom . The assassin stayshere while on the farm, but he remains indisguise just in case he might berecognized by some of the locals (fromhis other activities).

9. Seeker’s Bedroom. The seeker poses asthe partially senile old patriarch of thefamily. The seeker plays his part withrelish and has particular enjoyment fromacting cantankerous. His room isdecorated with various fake memorabiliafrom his dead wife and his sons anddaughters.

10. Wood shed.

2

4

s

1

3

9 87

65

10

7.0 ALTERNATIVEADVENTURES

7.1 QUEST FOR THE ANSWER

Setting: Westmarch at any time in Middle-earth.Requirements: A group of adventurers with aneed for specific answers to nearlyunanswerable questions.Aids: Knowledge of the Daen Coentis and theirreligious habits including familiarity with theDaen Lintis would be invaluable, but also veryhard to come by.Reward: Answers to burning questions.The Tale: The Oracle of Yavanna is free to useby anyone who knows of its existence, but foronly one question in each person’s life. Theother downside to this arrangement is that onlya few individuals know or believe they know ofthe Oracle’s presence in Westmarch. If it can befound, and the finder can pass the Oracle’s tests,they can gain significant information.The Task: Find persons with information aboutthe Oracle and then find the Oracle. Pass theOracle’s tests to gain the information desired.This adventure can be part of nearly any otheradventure from this module or other modulesset in nearby regions.

7.2 HUNT THE WULF

Setting: Northern Westmarch T.A. 2756.Requirements: A group of adventurers withstrong fighting and subterfuge skills loyal tothe Rohirrim, or just in it for the cash. Aids: A local secret group of staunch supportersof King Helm, who know of Wulf’s activities.

Reward: High praises and generous rewardsfrom the loyalist group and/or King Helmhimself.The Tale: After King Helm killed Wulf’s fatherFreca in 2754, Wulf went back to Westmarch torally an army to assault Rohan. Among thepeople of Westmarch he has found manysupporters. He and his father’s family hadruled the area surrounding Beldwin forhundreds of years from the home in AmonRoch. He has also gone to Dunland to drawsupport from his mothers kin and has beensuccessful. Recently a small clandestineorganization of Rohirrim loyalists have begunto plan ways of foiling Wulf’s plans forattacking Rohan. They plan to wait until theycan ambush Wulf when surrounded only by hispersonal guards, hoping that by killing Wulfthe threat to Rohan will be over. Wulf iscurrently at Amon Roch, but is planning toventure out on a recruiting mission soon.Amon Roch is the same as in T.A. 1640, with theexception of who lives there and the number ofarmed men (the maximum occupancy).The Task: The party may be approached by theloyalists because they look like outsiders. Theloyalists will not approach locals because theycannot be sure that they are unbiased. Theloyalists are looking for a group of mercenariesto carry out this mission so that their existencewill not be jeopardized if the mission fails.(They won’t tell the party that though.) Theywill offer the party 100 sp/day and 5000 gp forWulf’s life. Should they succeed, however, theywill also be in high favor with King Helm,unless they killed Wulf unfairly. Helm doesnot particularly like assassins.

7.3 MISSING

Setting: Northern Westmarch T.A. 1640.Requirements: A strong mid to high levelgroup of adventurers with good detective skillsand a lot of luck.

Aids: Information from the locals, and keepguardsmen about the missing trio, and possiblysome help from the rangers.Reward: Friendship of the three missingadventurers, monetary rewards based on whatthey have on hand, and really good home-cooked meals for at least two weeks.The Tale: In the northwest region ofWestmarch, the locals are governed by anunlikely trio of rulers (See Section 2.5.) Theseformer adventurers are reluctant in their joband find Westmarch as a whole a boring placecompared to their previous lifestyle. Because ofthis they occasionally leave their keep in orderto find excitement. Only rarely do they actuallyfind any within Westmarch. Their last littlewandering has lasted overly long and theirsubjects are worried about them. It has beentwo months since they were last seen. Theguardsmen at their keep know only that theywere going to venture south-southeast towardsDerwath on the Adorn, where they were tomeet with some of their friends in the rangers.After that they were not sure where they weregoing. In actuality, they didn’t make it toDerwath. While on their adventure one of theirstops was at “Picnic Hill” (the Earthwell).Unfortunately, while at the Earthwell, the

adventurers found the caves in the side of thehill and were attacked by the cave bearresidents. Hoping to find a place to nurse theirwounds, they stumbled upon the farmhousethat is the facade for the Earthwell.Unfortunately for the three, one of them sawthrough the disguise and began askingquestions. For this they were drugged andtaken into the Earthwell where they are beingheld and interrogated to determine the depth ofthe security breach.The Task: If party should choose to help thewayward adventures, they must first determinewhere they might be. Information from thelocals and from the rangers about where theywere going and how far they got might beenough to narrow the search to a small area, butthe actual location of the prisoners might beharder to determine. This might even lead to asession with the Oracle. Once the adventurersare located, the Earthwell and its inhabitantswill be obstacle enough. Note that the Seekerand the Web will be on the lookout for anysearch parties and may sacrifice their prisonersand make their deaths look like an animalattack in order to guard the secrets of theEarthwell.

8.0 TABLES8.1 MASTER NPC CHART

Missile/Name Lvl Hits AT DB Sh Gr Melee SecondaryMov MNotes

OB OB

FOR ALL ADVENTURES (Section 2.7)Evad 11 122 SL4 50 Y N 150bs 130cp 25 Northman RangerAg90, Co91, SD90, Me62, Re89, St90, Qu85, Pr85, Em52, In75, Skills: Climb 65, Tracking 85, Tactics 70, Riding 60, Skiing 30, Lancing60, Subduing 50, First Aid 40, Perception 90, Interrogation 30, Leadership 40, Stalk/Hide 60, Foraging 50, Region Lore 25, +15 BroadSword, +15 leather armor, +10 composite bow, +4 spell adder , 11PP, Ranger Base Lists to 10th; Concussion Ways & Light Ways to5th

Feamond 8 98 no/1 65 N N 120bs 110cp 25 northman Lesser GhostHas the ability to help out his great-grandson, Evad , See Section 2.7

Elarin 9 80 SL4 60 N N 120ls 120lb 45 Sindarin Elf RangerAg100, Co65, SD50, Me85, Re86, St88, Qu102, Pr95, Em78, In85, Skills: Climb 65, Distance Running 60, Tracking 60, Riding 40, FirstAid 20, Perception 95, Stalk/Hide 110, Foraging 80, Region lore 50, Dance 30, Stone lore 40, Martial Arts Strike 90/70/50, Ki 70, +20Elven longsword, +10 leather armor, +15 longbow, +50 Elven cloak of hiding, x2 PP multiplier, 19PP, 4 Ranger base Lists, Light Ways,& Sound Ways to 10th.

Amarla 2(25) 22(220) No/1 40(80) N N 20cl 20sl 45 Sindarin Elf OracleAg102, Co74, SD30(100), Me40(100), Re26(100), St42, Qu102, Pr72(103), Em65(100), In52(100), Stats for the Amarla whenfunctioning as The Oracle are shown in parentheses. Skills: Foraging 50, Distance Running 55, Animal Handling 40.

The Web 15 80 No/2 60 N N 70st 80sp 30 Dúnadan Evil MageAg95, Co60, SD90, Me90, Re95, St60, Qu88, Pr95, Em98, In80, Skills: Power Perception 60, Seduction 80, Interrogation 100, Perception80, Swim 30, Dragon Lore 60, Meditation:Death 70, Runes 80, Attunement 80, Fire Bolt 40, Lightning Bolt 60, Administration 40, Ride20 +20 dagger, Raugno staff, +30DB robes with Protection III, necklace that adds +30 to any roll for influencing or manipulating thosewho are unfriendly to the wearer. 150PP. (See section 4.31 for more information.)

The Seeker 20 72 No/2 75 N N 50st 45da 15 Dúnadan SeerAg86, Co51, SD93, Me90, Re65, St52, Qu96, Pr100, Em56, In63, Skills: Star Gazing 40, Disarm Foe Unarmed 70, Meditation: Death 80Sleep 60, Trance 70, Shock Bolt 50,Power Perception 120, Runes 80, Attunement 90, Perception 70, Surveillance 60, Interrogation 50,+10 dagger, +15 staff x4PP multiplier for Seers, +30 robes, 20DB ring, 240PP, All Seer Base List to 20th, Mind Merge Mentalist BaseList , and Mind Death to 20th; Open Lists: Brilliance, Illusions, Cloaking, Attack Avoidance to 20th; Closed Lists: Mind’s Door, GasManipulation, Movement to 10th. (See Section 4.31 for more information.)

The Beast 12 160 No/11 90 N N 150Ba 140ja 40 Hybrid High Warrior MonkAg102, Co100, SD90, Me30, Re50, St103, Qu102, Pr25, Em41, In52, Skills: Acrobatics 90, Tumbling Evasion 80, Tumbling Attack 80,Perception 70, Disarm Foe Unarmed 85, Disarm Foe Armed 75, Stunned Maneuver 60, Iai 60, Adrenal Defense 40, Adrenal Speed 50,Silent Kill 50, Ambush <7>, Stalk/Hide 60, Martial Arts Strike 1:140 2:125 3:110 4:100 ; 2 Katas: Staff, battle-axe, +20 Battle Axe (used1-handed), 3 +15 javlins, +20DB collar, +10 dragon hide gloves and boots. (See Section 4.31 for more information.)

The Assassin 9 74 Sl/4 55 N N 75ss 110sb 35 Mixed Man AssassinAg100, Co72, SD81, Me59, Re76, St80, Qu100, Pr65, Em72, In66, Skills: Acrobatics 40, Poison Lore 50, Use/Remove Poison 80,Tumbling Evasion 40, Perception 60, Riding 40, Tracking 70, Ambush <8>, Stalk/Hide 75, Climb 70, Ride 20, Adrenal defense +30,Martial Arts Sweeps 1:70 2:50; 2 +10 shortswords, +10 short bow, +20DB bracelet, belt of Invisibility 3/day, Ring of Spell Storage,camouflage clothing, self destruct mechanism, (See Section 4.31 for more information.)

Glëan 6 70 RL/8 20 Y20 N 80bs 75lb 20 Dúnadan RangerAg95, Co90, SD62, Me83, Re78, St99, Qu76, Pr82, Em59, In95, Skills: Perception 65, Stalk/Hide 70, Ride 45, First Aid 40, DetectTraps 40, Animal Healing 25, +10 broadsword of Trollslaying, +2 spell adder, 5 +10 arrows, +10DB belt.

Reaslos Hyarrs 7 74 Sl/4 40 N N 92bs 70lb 25 Dúnadan RogueAg90, Co99, SD84, Me87, Re89, St88, Qu94, Pr72, Em62, In53, Skills: Perception 60, Stalk/Hide 80, Disarm Traps 70, Pick Locks 60,Seduction 30, Acting 30, Ride 40, +15 MovM boots, +15 leather, scabbard casts Cut Repair II 2x/day.

Camdin 6 68 No/2 40 Y20 N 60sp 70ts 35 Dúnadan DruidAg100, Co72, SD77, Me64, Re54, St94, Qu98, Pr77, Em66, In97, Skills: Perception 80, Stalk/Hide 80, Subduing 35, Meditation 35,Attunement 40, +10 spear which casts Darkness 10’rad and Circle Aflame simultaneously 2x/day, +10 DB ring, 10 +5 throwing stars.

8.1 MASTER NPC CHART CONT.Missile/

Name Lvl Hits AT DB Sh Gr Melee SecondaryMov MNotesOB OB

FOR THE HOMECOMING:Targen 11 95 ch/15 10 Y N 120bs 95sp 10 Dúnadan FighterAg65, Co78, SD80, Me84, Re67, St76, Qu78, Pr96, Em89, In86, Skills: Music 30, Perception 50, Martial Arts Strike 60/40, +25broadsword, +15 chain, +10 spear,. (See Sections 5.23 & 4.4 for more information.)

Miconur 8 60 No/2 70 N N 55st 40da 35 Dúnadan SorcererAg90, Co67, SD80, Me84, Re74, St68, Qu91, Pr84, Em99, In71, Skills: Poison Lore 80, Use Poison 75, Leadership 50, Seduction 55,Attunement 50,Runes 70, Perception 75, +20 robes, x4pp headband, Boots of Longdoor 3x/day, +10 Touch of Disruption staff +15dagger; All Sorcerer Base Lists, Spell Wall, Lesser Illusion and, Unbarring Ways to 10th; Shield Mastery, Lofty Bridge, Invisible Waysto 5th.

Galendur 5 54 sl/4 55 N N 85bs 90lb 25 Dúnadan RangerAg94, Co85, SD68, Me52, Re74, St95, Qu100, Pr84, Em71, In89, Skills: Tracking 40, Swim 30, Climb 20, Ride 40, Perception 50, +10longbow, +5 broadsword (+3 spell adder for Rangers); 5PP. Ranger Base Lists, Natures Guises, Inner Walls.

Carnil 7 72 Ch/14 35 Y Y 95bs 70cb 10 Dúnadan FighterAg82, Co91, SD96, Me67, Re85, St88, Qu92, Pr76, Em53, In67, Skills: Administration 35, Military Organization 40, SiegeEngineering 30, Tactics 20, Ride 45, Perception 40, Diplomacy 40, +10 crossbow, +10 broadsword, +15chain.

FOR RESTORING THE BALANCE: (Section 4.0)THE RENDARDevec 12 128 No/1 70 N N 100qs 90sl 40 Daen Ghost Lord/Evil Cleric+15 staff x4 PP, +10 sling bullets, Belt 20DB, 96PP, 8 Base Lists to 20th, 6 Open Lists to 20th, 5 Closed Lists to 10th.

Marag 15 140 No/1 110 N N 110ss 90da 35 Daen Ghost Lord/AlchemistRing of Making (x4 PP +30 to all Alchemist Spell Rolls), +20 shortsword of Man slaying, +30DB circlet, +15 Dagger of Distance (150’range without penalty), 120PP, All base lists to 20th, 8 Open Lists to 20th, 6 Closed Lists to 10th.

Gadeva 8 70 No/1 60 N N 110qs 80bo 30 Daen Ghost Lord/SorcererStaff of Break Limb, Ring of Sorcery (x4 PP, +30 to all Sorcerer Spell Rolls), All Base Lists to 8th, 4 Open Lists to 8th, 2 Closed Lists to5th.

Jacithos 14 180 No/1 90 Y A/L 170ba 120cb 45 Daen Ghost Lord/WarriorBattle Axe of Pain & Suffering (x3 concussion damage, + 1/rd bleeding damage on criticals regardless of the other critical type orresults.) +20 crossbow, +20DB greaves, +10 Shield with Fire Armor for bearer. (See Section 6.2)

Tasac 10 92 No/1 75 N N 60sc 60ts 25 Daen Ghost/Evil Mentalist+25 unholy scimitar, +15 throwing stars, (electricity criticals), x3PP ring, 60PP, 6 Base Lists to 10th, 4 Open Lists to 10th, 3 ClosedLists to 5th.

Guset 11 72 No/1 85 N N 65qs 55da 30 Daen Ghost Lord/Evil Mage +20 Staff (bonus also applies to directed spells, x4PP gives a +30 for all spells from the Gate Mastery List), +10DB bracelet, 88PP, 7Base Lists, 5 Open Lists to 10th, 3 Closed Lists to 5th.

Ulsoda 12 123 No/1 115 N N 155ss 135ja 50 Daen Ghost Lord/Assassin Ambush Rank 10, amulet (+30 to ambush attacks), +25 Short sword of Major Pain, +10 javlin’s (coated w/10th level lethal poison --death after 2 hours of incapacitating excruciating pain).

Jenrad 6 45 No/1 25 N N 75bs 65sb 15 Lesser Ghost/Rogue +5 broadsword.

The Demon 10 140 Rl/12 50 N N 140LCl 100MBi 30 Twisted Earth SpiritAg80, Co101, SD65, Me25, Re40, St102, Qu102, Pr98, Em93, In93, Has free use of the Mage Base List Earth Law 15th and iscomfortable with its use. Can move through solid rock at 10’/round. 9’ tall (uses the Large Creature Criticals). When given a purposethe demon’s cunning and capabilities will be used to maximal effectiveness.

8.1 MASTER NPC CHART CONT.Missile/

Name Lvl Hits AT DB Sh Gr Melee SecondaryMov MNotesOB OB

FOR ‘TIL DEATHS DO US PART (Section 5.0)Gifas 8 62 no/2 40 N N 65da 55da 10 Daen Lintis WitchAg52, Co80, SD100, Me90, Re64, St60, Qu72, Pr32, Em93, In98, Skills: Herb Lore 50, Stalk/Hide 30, Racial History 60, Runes 80,Attunement 80, Shock Bolt 40, Ambush <4>, Use Poison 60, Ventriloquism 30, Hypnosis 45, Acting 50, +10 dagger +10 robes, x3 PPmultiplier, 32PP. All Witch Base Lists, Spell Enhancement, and Guises to 10th.

Negolos 6 62 Ch/16 45 N N 85bs 65cp 10 Dúnadan FighterAg86, Co72, SD75, Me91, Re88, St88, Qu97, Pr94, Em78, In64, Skills: Stalk/Hide 65, Leadership 50, Heraldry 30, Siege Engineering40, Perception 20, Public Speaking 30, Ride 40, Martial Arts Strike 50/30/10, Tactical Games 20, Region Lore 30, +20 broadsword,+20 chain, +10 crossbow, Staff of Leadership (See Section. 7.32).

Sirris 2 21 No/1 30 N N 20da 35sb 25 Dúnadan/Dunnish TraderAg96, Co84, SD61, Me80, Re83, St75, Qu94, Pr94, Em60, In87, Skills: Administration 30, Math 30, Trading 20, Riding 30, AnimalHandling 25, Appraisal 30, Lie Perception 20, Diplomacy 30, +10DB necklace, +5 dagger, +10 shortbow.

Denrul 10 61 No/2 10 N N 55bs 60sb 5 Dunnish TraderAg80, Co88, SD58, Me92, Re87, St82, Qu72, Pr65, Em71, In62, Skills: Administration 60, Math 50, Trading 80, Riding 45, Appraisal60, Lie Perception 75, Diplomacy 60, +10DB belt, +5 broadsword, +10 dagger, +10 shortbow.

Ruthos 8 76 Ch/13 10 Y L 100bs 90sb 10 Dunnis RogueAg87, Co72, SD56, Me71, Re83, St85, Qu72, Pr92, Em60, In72, Skills: Ride 40, Ambush <4>, Perception 30, Tactics 50, Public Speaking45, Diplomacy 30, Interrogation 60, Leadership 45, Acting 40, +10 broadsword, 2, +5 javelins, +10 shield.

8.2 MASTER BEAST CHART(Primary/Secondary/Tertiary)

Type Lvl#/Encoun Size Speed Hits AT DB Attack Description

ANIMALS

Bat 0 1-100 S VF/VF 4 No/1 60 25Ti/---/--- Will not normally attack unless provoked.Bat, G. Vampire 1 12-30 S VF/VF 24 No/1 40 40SBi/40SCl Will cause 1-5 hits/rnd after a critical is

achieved.Bear, Black 4 1-5 M F/F 150 SL/4 30 60LGr/70LCl/30MBi Will not normally attack unless provoked.Bear, Blue 7 1-6 L MF/MF 200 SL/8 25 80LGr/70LCl/30MBi Semi-intelligent; uses “Presence (50’rad)”.

Bear, Brown 5 1-2 L MF/MF 170 SL/8 10 70LGr/60LCl/20MBi May charge (60LBa); mean when provoked.Bear, Cave 12 1-5 H MF/F 300 Sl/8 40 95HBa/90HCl/30HGr Use Large Creature Criticals.Big Horn Sheep 4 4-40 M M/MF 70 No/4 35 60MBa/40MHo/20MTS Only males have horns.Carnivorous Fish3 1-20 M F/VF 80 Sl/7 40 80LBi/40LGr/50LCr Similar to the red jaws of Moria

Eagle, Golden 3 1-5 M F/F 30 No/1 30 45MCl/35SPi/---- Rarely attacks larger creatures (unlesshelpless).

Eagle, Great 8 1-5 L VF/VF 150 No/3 40 80LCl/60LPi/---- Intelligent & good; Use Large CreatureCriticals.

Goats, Mountain3 3-36 M MF/MF 50 No/4 35 50MHo/45MBa /30MTS Only males have horns. Aggressive.Goats, Wild 2 1-12 M F/MF 50 No/4 30 40MHo/40MBa /10MTS Only males have horns. Mildly

aggressive.

Glutan 4 1 S F/VF 50 No/3 50 50Mbi/45MCl/---- Extremely aggressive. Will attack withoutreason.

Grass Cat 3 1-10 M VF/VF 100 No/3 50 40MCl/60MBa/60MBi Coat is light green in summer due to grasspollen.

Green Asp 8 1-2 S S/VF 100 No/4 60 75MBi/----/---- Poisonous, rarely fatal, causes limb loss.Pronghorn 1 1-50 S VF/VF 25 No/2 25 30SHo/20STS Curious, but skittish.

Snow Leopard 6 1-2 M VF/VF 120 No/3 45 50MCl/40MBi/---- Unpredictable, has been known to help men.Wild Boar 3 1 M F/MF 120 No/4 30 40LHo/30MBa/20MTSMean-tempered and solitary. Vicious if

cornered.Wild Kine 5 1-10 L M/M 200 No/3 30 80LBa/90LCr/---- Huge ox-like animal.Wolf 3 5-15 M F/F 110 No/3 30 65LBi/----/---- Will not attack groups unless provoked.Wolf, Grey 3 2-40 M VF/VF 110 No/3 30 60LBi/30MCl/---- Rarely attack humans.

DENIZENS OF THE RENDAR TOMBSColumns 10 1-8 L M/MF 140 Ch/16 40 120th/100LBa Some cast bolts or inflict extra criticals (See

Section 6.32)Guardian 12 1 L M/M 200 Pl/20 30 Varies Attacks vary with intended victim (See #5

ofSection 6.32)

EVIL CREATURESTroll, Cave 12 1 L M/M 175 RL/11 25 100HCl/85We/---- Use Large Creature Criticals.Troll, Forest 6 1-6 M M/MF 100 RL/11 15 80LBa/65LCl/---- Found in the woods.Troll, Hill 10 1-3 L SL/M 150 RL/11 20 95LBa/85LCl/---- Use Large Creature Criticals.Troll, Stone 7 1-5 L SL/M 120 RL/11 10 45LCl/35MBi/---- Use Large Creature Criticals.Warg 6 1-10 M VF/VF 150 No/4 50 75LBi/60LCl/---- Operate in packs and will warn Orcs of

intruders.

8.3 MASTER ENCOUNTER CHARTWestmarch The White Westmarch

Encounter Highlands Mountains Plains

Chance (%) 10% 15% 10%Distance (miles) 5 3 10Time (hours) 4 4 6Inanimate DangersGeneral Trap 01 01-02 01Avalanche 02-03 03-06 -Flash Flood 04-06 07-08 02-04Grass Fire 07 - 05-06

Sites/ThingsCave/Cavern/Lair 08-10 09-12 07-08Dúnadan Site 11-12 13 09-12Calenardhon Site 13-20 14-16 13-18Dunnish Site 21-25 17-18 19-21Daen Site 26-30 19-20 22-23Drúdan Site 31 21 24Grave Site/Tomb 32-35 22-23 25-27Daen LintisCommon Folk 36-39 24-27 28-32Warriors 40-41 28-29 33-34Craftsmen/Merchants 42-43 30-31 35-37

CalenardhonsCommon Folk 44-49 32-34 38-45Soldiers 50-51 35 46-48Craftsmen/Merchants 52-53 36 49-51Other MenNorthmen 54 37 52-53Easterlings - - 54Traveling Merchants 55 38 55-57Bandits 56 39-40 58

OrcsScouts 57-58 41-44 59Small Patrols (2-6) 59 45-47 -Normal Patrols (6-10) - 48 -Other Non Mannish RacesDragons - 49 -Drúedain 60-61 50 60Dwarves 62-63 51-53 61Elves 64 54 62Ents 65 55 63-64Giants 66 56-57 -Great Eagles 67 58 65Hobbits 68 - -Huorns 69-70 59-60 66-67Troll, Cave 71 61-63 -Troll, Forest 72 64-65 68Troll, Hill 73 66-67 69Troll, Stone 74 68-69 -

AnimalsBat 75-76 70-72 70Bear 77-80 73-76 71-72Bees/Hornets 81 77 73-74Eagle 82-84 78-80 75-76Boar 85-86 81 77-78Glutan 87 82-83 -Grass Cat 88 - 79-80Green Asp - - 81-83Lynx 89-90 84-85 84Herd animals 91-92 86-87 85-90Poisonous Snake 93-94 88 91-92Snow Leopard - 89-90 -Wolf 95-96 91-94 93-94Other Animals 97-99 95-99 95-99Special Encounter 100 100 100

8.4 MASTER HERB CHARTNAME CODES FORM PREP COST EFFECTAldakac cM55U root brew 102gp Restores sight.Arkasu mT20M mix salve 12gp Heals 2-12 hits. Doubles rate of healing for major wounds.Arlan tT82NW leaf poultice 13sp Heals 4-9. Wild heals 1-6.Arlan’s Slipper cM70U root boil/inh 1bp Decongestant. Adds 20 to resistance vs. common cold. Speeds

recovery from respiratory illness by 5x.Arunya mS45U root br/dr 2bp Causes sleep and quick unconsciousness. 1 hour’s sleep equals 4.

Addictive if used more than 2 consecutive days.Athelas tC5N leaf boil/inh 300gp Capable of curing anything while patient still alive, but healing

only as effective as the healer. Full effect only in hands of an“ordained” king. Will not keep or give life.

Attanar tF10U moss poultice 8gp Cures fever.Berterin mD78U moss brew 19gp Preservation of organic material up to body size for 1 day.Bursthelas tS3M stalk br/dr 110gp Shatter repairs.Cicino Fangorn leaf extract 100gp +40 to RR vs Diseases (+70 for Ents and Huorns) See Sec. 4.112Culkas aD30M leaf wipe 35gp Heals 10sq’ of burns (any).Eredena Fangorn bud ingest 70gp Potent Stimulant See Sec. 4.112Darsurion cM55U leaf apply 35bp Heals 1-6.Delrean cC65U bark salve 3sp Repels any insect. Smells foul (noticeably so).Harfy sS8U resin poultice 175gp Immediately stops any form of bleeding.Harwite Fangorn moss chew 90gp Heals 1-50. Also used by Ents as bandage and ingredient in

Draughts. See Sec. 4.112Jojojopo fM25U leaf apply 9sp Cures frostbite. Heals 2-20 hits resulting from heat.Kelventari tT30U berry apply 19gp Heals 1st and 2nd degree burns, 1-10 hits resulting from heat.Lestagii aD1M crystal chew 520gp Restores any stat losses other than those due to age. Affects only

one stat.Megillos cM30U leaf eat 12sp Increases visual perception 2x for 10 minutes.Mirenna cM85U berry eat 10gp Heals 10. Instant effect.Pathur aH43M module cr/br/dr 35gp Lifekeeping (1hour).Reglen aF7W moss brew 75gp Heals 50.Suranie tF45U berry cr/in 2gp Stun relief (1 rnd).Tyr-fira fA1U leaf place in mouth 1200gp Lifegiving, if given within 56 days.Welwal aF3W leaf ingest 12gp Stun relief 2 rnds.

8.5 MASTER MILITARY CHARTMissle/

Name/# Race Lvl Hits AT DB Sh Gr Melee Secondary MovM NotesOB OB

Westmarch RangersRanger Captain/1 (Evad see Master NPC chart)Ranger Second in Command/1(Elarian see Master NPC chart)Rangers/10 Dúnedain 7 95 Sl/4 45 Y N 100bs 95lb 25 some +5 and +10 equipment

Derwath MilitiamenOfficers/2 Dúnedain 6 70 Ch/13 20 N A/L 85bs 70cb 20 +10 equipmentSquard Leaders/4 Dúnedain 4 55 Ch/13 15 Y A/L 65bs 50sb 15 +5 equipmentMilitiamen/40 Calehardhons 3 60 Ch/13 10 Y A/L 65ss 50sb 10 seasoned militiamanNew Recruits/10 Calehardhons 1 20 Rl/8 15 Y N 35ss 30sb 10 Young MenLight Horses 3 80 SL/3 40 35LTr 40 1/man

Clan Mar HogoClan Guard/15 Dunmen 8 105 SL/7 35 Y A/L 100ml 70sb 10 Chieftain’s body guard, always

mountedAdult Warriors/75Dunmen 3 60 SL/7 25 Y A 60ha 40sb 5 Average clansmen; some use haYoung Warriors/50 Dunmen 1 45 SL/6 30 Y A 40sp 40sl 10 Some use ss, sb, sp, sl

Negolos’ GuardsmenGuard Captian/1 Dúnedain 10 120Ch/14 40 N A/L 115bs 95cb 20 +15 equipmentMen at arms/20 Dúnedain 5 80 Ch/13 30 Y A/L 85ss 70sb 15 +5 equipmentMilitiamen/10 Calehardhons 3 60 Ch/13 20 Y A/L 65ss 50sb 10 Local militiamanMedium Horses 3 100 SL/3 35 35LTr 35 1/man

Earthwell GuardsGuards Dúnedain 8 100Ch/15 25 Y N 110bs 95cb 15 +15 equipment

The Oracle Forest Drúedain (Drughu)Elite Warriors/4 Drúedain 10 110 No/1 45 Y N 100ha 115bl 20 Each leads a group of 10.Warriors/40 Drúedain 5 80 No/1 35 Y N 80ha 90bl 10 Border Guards.Watchers/5 Drúedain 10 100 No/1 50 Y10 N 90ha 110bl 15 Chief Scouts; Rangers.Hunters/50 Drúedain 4 65 No/1 30 Y N 70ha 80bl 5 Less-experienced.Púkel-men/? Constructs 10 200PL/20 30 N N 100ma 120bl 0 Ignore bleeding and stuns.Huorns/200 ? 25 400PL/20 0 N N 60HGr/30HCr/120Both 0 Use Large Creature Criticals

8.6 MASTER WEATHER CHARTWestmarch Weather Table

Westmarch The White WestmarchMonths Highlands Mountains Plains

1. Narwain 30-50˚ 20-35˚ 35-55˚(winter) Moderate Heavy Moderate

2. Ninui 25-45˚ 15-30˚ 30-50˚(winter) Heavy Very Heavy Moderate

3. Gwaeron 30-50˚ 20-35˚ 35-55˚(winter) Heavy Very Heavy Moderate

4. Gwirith 35-55˚ 25-40˚ 45-60˚(spring) Moderate Heavy Moderate

5. Lothron 45-60˚ 30-45˚ 50-70˚ (spring) Heavy Heavy Heavy

6. Nórui 55-65˚ 30-50˚ 55-75˚(spring) Moderate Moderate Moderate-Loëndë (intercalary day: Midyear)-- -enderi (three middle days)

7. Cerveth 60-75˚ 35-55˚ 65-85˚(summer) Moderate Moderate Moderate

8. Úrui 65-80˚ 45-65˚ 75-95˚(summer) Moderate Moderate Moderate

9. Ivanneth 70-80˚ 50-70˚ 70-90˚(summer) Moderate Moderate Moderate

10. Narbeleth 60-75˚ 45-65˚ 70-85˚(fall) Heavy Moderate Heavy

11. Hithui 50-70˚ 40-55˚ 50-70˚(fall) Moderate Heavy Moderate

12. Girithron 40-65˚ 30-45˚ 45-60˚(fall)-Mettarë (intercalary day: Yearsend)-

8.7 MASTER PRICE CHARTGood/Service Cost Note

FOOD AND LODGINGSBeer/Ale 1/2cp pint.Brandy 1cp half-pint.Cider/Mead 1cp pint.Wine 2cp pint.Light Meal 1/4cp cheeze, soup and bread.Normal Meal 1/2cp Meat soup or pie, bread and potato.Heavy Meal 1cp Steak and vegetables, bread, soup, pastry.Week’s Rations 4cp Normal Spoilage 18lb.Trail Rations 6cp 1 wk. Preserved. 14lbs.Great Bread 2gp 1 wk. Preserved. 4lbs.Waybread 8gp 1 mo. Preserved. 4lbs.Poor Lodgings 1/2cp Communal sleeping.Average Lodgings 1cp Separate bedding.Good Lodgings 2cp Separate room.Stable 11cp 1 wk. for 1 mount including fodder.ACCESSORIESBoots 9bp 3.5 lbs.Cloak 8cp 2.5lbsCoat 2cp 7 lbs.Clothing 8bp 9 lbs. cotton pants and shirt, wool cloak and hood.Bedroll 6cp 5.5 lbs; blanket and oiled canvas ground cloth.Backpack 9cp 2.5 1cu.’ capacity (maximum of 20 lbs).Rope 3cp 6 lbs; 50’; breaks 01-02 roll (unmod.).Rope (Superior) 3bp 3 lb; 50’; breaks 01 roll (unmod.).Pole 4cp 7 lbs.Tent 9bp 9 lbs. sleeps two.Lantern 6cp 1.5 lbs. 50’ d. light.Waterskin (1 qt.) 1/2cp .5 lb.Flint & Steel 1bp .5 lb fire in 3 min.Lockpick kit 2sp .5 lb. +10 bonusOil flask 2cp .5 lb. 6hr refill .5 lbPitons (10 iron) 2cp 2.5 lbs.Tarp 1cp 4 lbs. 5’ x 8’; water resistant.Torch 1/4cp 1 lb; 20’ d. light; 6hrs.Weapon belt 5bp .5 lbPegs (10 wooden) 1/4cp 1.5 lbs.Scabbard 10cp 1 lb.Sack (50lb) 7cp 2.5 lbs; 3 cu’.Quiver 10cp .5 lb; holds 20 arrows or bolts.Arrows (20) 6cp 3.5 lbs.Crossbow bolts (20) 2sp 3 lbs.

TRANSPORTMature pony 2gp Moves 4-20 mph; can carry 180 lbs.Light horse 5sp Moves 5-30 mph; can carry 200 lbs.Medium horse 6gp Moves 5-25 mph; can carry 300 lbs.Heavy horse 7gp Moves 5-20 mph; can carry 400 lbs.Mule 4gp Moves 5-25 mph; can carry 300 lbs. Stubborn, tough.Wagon 5gp 8’ x 5’; 2-10 mph. Carries up to 1500 lbs. requires a heavy

horse or two light horses.Small boat 3gp 10’ long, 3’ wide; comes with two oars and small sail. can

float 800 lbs.River boat 0gp 20’ long, 8’ wide; comes with six oars, and sails; can carry

4000 lbs.