Drums in the deep...

I made this small rule booklet a few months ago, and it is my D&D in Middle Earth rules (using the Holmes D&D as the base set). It is now available as a download in my side bar (or you can get it here).  Nothing new here, just putting it up for anyone that wants to take a look

Drums in the Deep

I have resolved to focus on one personal project this year, and have chosen to go back to Dungeon Delving in Middle Earth. I am digging out my notes and working on a character creation pdf, though I am changing the name to "Drums in the Deep". 

Today I was thinking of articles I could write to support this, and one of those is the idea of playing as Orcs - always fun taking a turn as the bad guys. So, I have churned out a quick name generator that should give an ok sounding orc name. Roll a couple of d20's and name that orc!

Orc Name Generator
1d20	First Part of Name	2nd Part of Name
1	Bag	bag
2	Baz	bog
3	Bul	bug
4	Dur	cur
5	Gar	dog
6	Grim	dreg
7	Grish	hook
8	Gur	maggot
9	Hum	nak
10	Jag	rat
11	Kar	retch
12	Kur	rot
13	Lurg	snot
14	Mug	sod
15	Shag	sot
16	Shug	spew
17	Snag	spit
18	Tor	tooth
19	Yak	torn
20	Zag	urka

Players map of the Pass of Cirith Ungol

Here is the player map for my Middle Earth campaign. This shows the almost abandoned city of Minas Ithil and the pass to Cirith Ungol into Mordor.

There are a couple of minor sites that are not shown on the map and will not be added until the players find them. (A few smaller dungeon sites, and of course the lair of a horrible giant spider).

Orcs & Goblins for Dungeon Crawling in Middle Earth

Presently two orcs came into view. One was clad in ragged brown and was armed with a bow of horn; it was of a small breed, black-skinned, with wide and snuffling nostrils: evidently a tracker of some kind. The other was a big fighting-orc, like those of Shagrat's company, bearing the token of the Eye. He also had a bow at his back and carried a short broad-headed spear. As usual they were quarrelling, and being of different breeds they used the Common Speech after their fashion.

Today we will look at the Orcs & Goblins of my Middle Earth. The orcs of the Misty Mountains were described as smaller and weaker of the orc tribes. While Mordor seemed to have the standard breed of orcs, and Saruman corrupted man and orc to create his Uruk-Hai (which will not be discussed here as they will not be around for my 1640 Third Age game).

Orcs / Goblins
Goblins are the Orcs of the Misty Mountains, smaller than their Mordor cousins. They are usually armed with curved scimitars, spears,and short bows. These will be the D&D “goblins” of the Holmes edition.  

 Orcs are the "true" orcs of Mordor, clad in black mail, larger and stronger than "goblins" of the Misty Mountains.  Armed with scimitars, spears, and bows. These are the “orcs” of Holmes D&D. Orcs - typical orcs of Mordor.

 Even in Mordor there are some variations of orcs, there are the "hunters" small creatures with extremely flat noses that are excellent trackers. These orcs will be represented by “kobold” stats from Holmes D&D, but they have the tracking ability of Rangers. 

So in summary, you can expect to encounter the following in or around Cirith Ungol, happy hunting:
Goblins - orcs of the Misty Mountains (weak, suffer in daylight).
Kobolds - weakest of Mordor orcs, hunters (sniffers).
Orcs - typical orcs of Mordor.

A few healing items for Dungeon Crawling in Middle Earth.

These items can be used to restore hit points in my Dungeon Crawling in Middle Earth (DCME) campaign, if you can find them.

Orc Draught - This liquid mash burns like any good stiff drink, but it also restores 1d3 hit points. (Once per day).

Dwarf Cram - This hard biscuit will provide 1 days nourishment, and restore 1d4 hit points. (Once per day).

Elf Lembas - The elf way-bread, also provides a days nourishment, and restores 1d6 hit points. (Once per day as well).

Middle Earth House Rules Document

I have compiled my character creation rules into a pdf for public consumption. These rules require the use of the Holmes edition of D&D for spells and other non-character related rules. You can find the rules here, or in my download sidebar.

Cirith Ungol

I have just about decided that if/when I run my Middle Earth D&D game, it will be set on the borders of Mordor. The Gondorian watch-tower of Cirith Ungol has been abandoned (~1640 TA) after a plague has desolated the region.  Now a daring trader named Murlann has setup a temporary camp in the abandoned tower and his small retinue of men provide shelter and goods & services to those adventurous souls that wish to plunder the evil lands beyond the pass.

I plan to use the keep from AD&D module UK3 The Gauntlet as my stand in for the Tower of Cirith Ungol (I love that map). Not that the floor plan will be needed much, as it is my home base for the game.

Of course there is also Shelob to worry about as you explore the pass and the tunnels found nearby...

"But still she was there, who was there before Sauron, and before the first stone of Barad-dûr; and she served none but herself, drinking the blood of Elves and Men, bloated and grown fat with endless brooding on her feasts, weaving webs of shadow; for all living things were her food, and her vomit darkness."
—The Two Towers

One of my initial stumbling blocks to trying to run D&D in Middle Earth was the absence of enough monsters to make it interesting. But after talking to a couple of folks in my G+ circles, I came to realize the answer was in "The Hobbit". Gollum was a hobbit that was exposed to an evil ring for years, and it twisted him into a "monster". Well surely the land of Mordor is just bubbling with "evil" power - so naturally it would twist any natural creatures that lived there. So there, instant "monster" generation - I can now run dungeons full of strange "one-off" monster types. It is my Middle Earth anyway, so canon be damned, it is full D&D ahead.

Entering the Black Lands

After talking with a couple of people about my Tolkien / Holmes game the other day, I started brainstorming
on where and when in Middle Earth, I could set a game such as this. Initially I had thought to start at Bree as the “point of light” game –and use Weathertop as my dungeon. Well looking at the map, that idea is not such a good idea. Weathertop is some 5 days march away so not exactly “close” to Bree.

Then I started combing through my MERP books, and started with Dagorlad, which is on the borders of the Dead Marsh (near the Black Gates of Mord0r). I like this module, but if I am that close to Mordor, why not take the final leap?

While looking through a timeline in the campaign book for “GORGOROTH”, I found what I was looking for:  
1640: The Watch on Mordor fails. The capital of Gondor is moved from Osgiliath to Minas Anor (Minas Tirith). Eight of the Ulairi slip back into the Black Land to prepare for the return of Sauron. Three Nazgul, Adunaphel, Uvatha, and Akhorahil go to Nurn. Hoarmurath takes Durthang as his home. Dwar and Khamul become commanders of Ostigurth. Ren the Unclean and Indur begin anwe the construction of B arad-wath. Gothmog travels from Dol Guldur and joins the Ulairi and assists in the plan to consolidate Mordor. He stays at Ostigurth.

As can be seen, the watch by Gondor over the lands of Mordor has failed, mostly due to the terrible plague that swept through in the last year. The last remnants of the watch towers are abandoned, leaving the passes open to dark and fell creatures.

But what about bold adventurers, hoping to find some trinket or token of the former tenants of Mordor? Suppose a daring trader set up shop with a band of like-minded followers in an old tower on the borders of Mordor, in the guise of the “Gondorian Watch”? He could rent out shacks in the courtyard, or rooms in the tower itself for those with the means to pay, and from this base of operations, stealthy adventuring parties could cross into the land of the Dark Lord and seek out their fortunes. Of course they would also have to contend with orcs, trolls, spiders, and maybe even Nazgul, as these foul beasts are slowly making their way back now that the paths are open to them again.

Tolkien / Holmes D&D Class Summary

Here are the classes available in my Middle-Earth campaign (using the Holmes D&D rules). For Fighters, it covers Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits. We also have Magic-Users, Thieves, Rangers, Grey Elves, and High Elves.

Wizards in Middle Earth

I have altered the magic-user class a tiny bit for my Middle Earth campaign. Let's face it, we all know that wizards can swing swords, because Gandalf does it! So here is my write up for Holmes Magic-Users:

MAGIC-USERS

Magic-users — humans who elect to become magic-users cannot wear armor and may carry only a dagger or a staff for protection. They can, however, use all magical items, but not magical weapons (other than swords or daggers). They have the advantage (shared with Rangers and some elves) of being able to work magical spells. At the start, however, they can cast only one spell and must advance a level in experience before they can learn another. Thus the magic-user starts out as an extremely weak character, but if he survives and rises in experience, he becomes increasingly powerful. The types of spells and the way they are used are discussed in a later section. Magic-users, of course, may be good or evil, lawful or chaotic, and most of their spells remain the same.

As you can see, magic-users can now use daggers, staves, and (only) magic swords. They cannot wield normal swords or weapons, but they have an affinity with magical swords. Now, obviously due to poor attack tables, and no armor - most magic swords should be given to fighters first - but if more than a couple are found, feel free to let your wizard have one.

Rangers for Holmes D&D

 But in the wild lands beyond Bree there were mysterious wanderers. The Bree-folk called them Rangers, and knew nothing of their origin. 

Today we will turn our attention to Rangers of Middle Earth. This is a substitute for the Cleric class in my Middle Earth campaign (there are no playable clerics in my Middle earth. They might be encountered as "dark priests" of Sauron - but not playable).

Rangers are not restricted by weapons, but cannot wear armor heavier than leather. They can use all magic-items however due to their knowledge of lore.

Rangers have an uncanny ability to track in the wilds, and have a base chance of 90% at first level, to be modified by the GM based on age of tracks, weather conditions, etc.

Rangers may never hire henchmen or hirelings, though they will work together in an adventuring party.

Edited to add:

Rangers can Turn "Tolkien" undead as per High Elves.

Hight Elves for Holmes edition D&D

Today we will take a look at my first draft of the High Elves. There will be two races of Elves in my Middle Earth, the High Elves and the Grey Elves. The Grey Elves (Sindar) will be the typical Fighter/Magic-User elves of Holmes edition D&D. 

HIGH ELVES
High Elves (the Noldor) advance in three classes at once, fighter, cleric, and magic-user. They have the highest experience point cost to level of all the classes. They have a strong hit dice however, and can learn both cleric and magic-user spells.

High Elves can use all magic items, and have no armor or weapon restrictions.

High Elves (and Rangers) can turn undead (Tolkien undead that is) as per the below table:

Note: Wight are lesser undead spirits, Wraiths are Barrow Wights, Spectres are Nazgul, and Vampires are to be determined.

Tolkien Bestiary (Part 1)

I am in Book 2 / Chapter 1 (Many Meetings) of the Lord of the Rings, and today we will be starting our bestiary for my take on D&D in Middle Earth. In this chapter, Gandalf is reviewing the events at the Ford of Bruinen with Frodo (where he was nearly overtaken by the Black Riders and faded into a wraith himself).

Frodo asks:  But why could we all see their horses?'
     'Because they are real horses; just as the black robes are real robes that they wear to give shape to their nothingness when they have dealings with the living.'
     `Then why do these black horses endure such riders? All other animals are terrified when they draw near, even the elf-horse of Glorfindel. The dogs howl and the geese scream at them.'
     `Because these horses are born and bred to the service of the Dark Lord in Mordor. Not all his servants and chattels are wraiths! There are orcs and trolls, there are wargs and werewolves; and there have been and still are many Men, warriors and kings, that walk alive under the Sun, and yet are under his sway. And their number is growing daily.'
  
So, our running tally of monsters for the bestiary so far (outside of the normal races of "law" - Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and some Men) are:

• Old Man Willow (evil Ent?)
• Barrow Wights
• Orcs
• Trolls
• Wargs
• Werewolves
• Ring Wraiths
• Men (of course)

I am only listing what has been mentioned so far - or has been encountered. Needless to say there may be some missed but I don't want to go from what I already KNOW of Middle Earth. Just what I am reading.

I have decided to use the Holmes blue book version of basic D&D for this. I want a low power base - and I can expand classes as needed if I actually run the game. That and Holmes mentions Tolkien in his bestiary which I love. Also these rules seem like they just want to be tinkered with.

Most of the above are already defined in Holmes D&D (or any version really) - so no need for monster creation. Though I would create some Orc tribes and place them around my starting area.