Relics of the Third Age: A Lord of the Rings Quest

I remember the day Barad Dur fell.

For most of the people of Middle Earth, that was a cause for celebration. Why wouldn't they be happy? The downfall of the Dark Lord Sauron meant that the free people of the West no longer needed to fear invasion from the evil hordes of Mordor. Gondor, Rohan, Elves, Dwarves, and even the Halflings of the Shire could breathe easily, knowing that they'd saved the world.

For me, it was the day my world ended. I was only eight years old, and I didn't understand what was happening. I knew my parents worked for the great eye, and that what they were doing for it was important enough that they had to leave me behind. I knew that while the orcs and uruks and ologs looked frightening, they'd never actually do anything bad to me.

After all, we were special. My parents always told me that we were the true heirs of Numenor, not the usurpers of Elendil's line who ruled in Gondor. I didn't understand what that meant at the time, but it sounded really important. Being Numenoreans made us important, more than any of the orcs, uruks, ologs, or other people working for Sauron.

I wish I could've asked them about it. What it meant to be Numenoreans, why we were so much more important than everyone else. And so many other questions. As it is, I only have a few half-remembered snippets.

For everyone else, the day Barad Dur fell was the day they got their freedom from Sauron. The end the Third Age, a time of slow decay and constant warfare against the forces of darkness, and the beginning of the glorious Fourth Age as King Aragorn II Elessar led the Restored Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor into a new golden age for Men.

For me, it was the day my parents died.

This is the story of what Sauron's downfall left behind.

---

The Numenorean people had already scattered across much of Middle Earth after the downfall of Numenor, and Sauron's defeat in the War of the Last Alliance drove those who declared loyalty to him ever farther afield. Many of them returned to the coastal city of Umbar, the largest and greatest of the Black Numenorean settlements, while others remained tried to dominate the people or Harad, build an empire of their own in Mordor's ashes, and a few even followed Sauron's spirit to exile in Rhun.

Regardless of where her family lived before the War of the Ring started, they ultimately answered Sauron's call and moved to Barad-Dur. However, our protagonist spent her early years in her homeland, and will have some memory of it. Not to mention other influences it could have, like familiarity with the local language and culture, and her appearance.

Where is her family from?

[ ] Umbar
The great pirate city of Umbar is perhaps the closest thing in Middle Earth to the homeland of the Black Numenoreans. After the downfall of Numenor the King's Men settled in Umbar, and though Gondor made several efforts to conquer the city they could never hold it. Upon Sauron's return at the end of the Third Age Umbar was swift to declare their allegiance to him once more.

The Black Numenoreans of Umbar were a cosmopolitan community, befitting their home city's status as one of the great melting pots of the world. In addition to the Black Numenorean community, the city played host to a large population of Haradrim and renegades from Gondor and other kingdoms of the West, and even a few traders from Rhun.

[ ] Mordor-born
Some of the Black Numenoreans never left Mordor after the War of the Last Alliance, preferring to build their own petty kingdoms with warbands of loyal orcs to living outside Mordor's borders. Others returned alongside the Nazgul, either out of loyalty to the ringwraiths or because they sensed that the Nine's return and the fall of Minas Ithil signaled an opportunity.

The Black Numenoreans of Mordor are an insular community who have little contact with the world outside of Mordor's borders. They were generally the most loyal to Sauron's cause, and prided themselves on having the "purest" Numenorean blood (the accuracy of this claim is debated).

[ ] Harad
For centuries after Sauron's defeat the Black Numenoreans were the rulers of many of the Haradrim tribes, and while they no longer hold the same power they once did many Haradrim still boast of having some measure of Numenorean heritage.

Most Black Numenoreans from Harad see themselves as being as much Haradrim as Numenorean. While they have no love for Gondor or the West, they're often more invested in the concerns of their own people than in living out ancient grudges.

[ ] Rhun
After his defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron fled to Rhun to rebuild his strength until he was ready to return to Dol Guldur. A few of his most loyal servants accompanied him, or later joined him in the far east.

The Black Numenoreans of Rhun have the least distinct identity, pride in their Numenorean heritage largely set aside in favor of devoted service to Sauron. Most other Black Numenoreans consider them to have become fully Easterling, with only a few drops of Numenorean blood that are a mere footnote in their family history.

---

As a descendant of the Black Numenoreans, our character's family has a long and less-than-noble history of service to Sauron. The Black Numenoreans had many reasons for joining forces with Sauron. Some were loyal to one of the Numenorean Lords who accepted a ring of power and became one of the Nazgul, or to Ar-Pharazon, the last King of Numenor who considered Sauron a loyal and trusted advisor. Others only joined under the threat of Sauron's retribution or were simply motivated by ordinary greed, ambition, and petty rivalries.

While our character was too young to participate directly in the war, her family's reasons for joining Sauron will still have an impact on her values, and how she feels about both her family's legacy and that of Mordor and Sauron.

Why did her parents join Sauron?

[ ] Loyalty
In Middle Earth swearing an oath is no small thing, and even a promise made thousands of years ago by people long dead still holds great weight and should not be casually broken. Long ago in Numenor's glory days, her ancestors swore to serve a master. Their master later receiving one of the nine Rings of Power and becoming a Nazgul does not release them from that oath.

[ ] Ambition
Sauron always knew that the greatest secret to bending men to his will was not through threats of magic rings, but the most straightforward of all manipulations: finding something they want, and promising to give it to them. Whether it was a promise of land, titles, authority, or a better future for their children, the dark lord was a master of finding ways to win others to his cause.

[ ] Vengeance
Many of the remaining Black Numenorians harbored a deep hatred for Gondor as the false heirs of Numenor's legacy. Either they view the line of Elendil as usurpers, or there are more recent grudges born from the conflict between Umbar and Gondor. Some Black Numenoreans cherish their hatred, and it has festered over thousands of years. Sauron's return finally offered them the chance to gain their final vengeance.

[ ] Fear
Sauron's retribution against those who dared to defy him could be swift and terrible. Whenever Sauron's agents approached someone offering wealth and power in exchange for service the Dark Lord, there was a threat hidden beneath their honeyed words. Given the choice between serving Sauron and the implied threat of spending the rest of their lives being slowly tortured to death in the pits of Barad-Dur, many chose to serve.

---

The Black Numenoreans occupied an important place among Sauron's servants, regarded as the most important mortal men sworn to him. Some like the Mouth of Sauron, were among Sauron's most trusted lieutenants. While the Orcs made up the bulk of his forces, there were many tasks that Orcs either couldn't do or mortal men were better suited for.

While the protagonist's parents died before their daughter could begin a proper apprenticeship, they did at least begin educating her before their deaths. She will have at least some familiarity with the basic principles of what they did in Sauron's service.

What did her parents do in Sauron's service?

[ ] Military Leadership
While orcs can be capable military leaders, the same violent and brutish nature that made them excellent as shock troops meant that they weren't always suited to Sauron's subtler plans. The men of Umbar, Harad, and Rhun were also a vital component of Sauron's forces, and putting an orc in command of men (or vice versa) could easily lead to discipline problems. Some tasks required a human commander, and the Black Numenoreans were his most capable and most trusted men.

[ ] Diplomacy
Sauron always sought to spread his influence to the realms of men, elves, and dwarves, none of whom would give an orcish diplomat any greeting beyond a swift execution (assuming an orc could even attempt diplomacy to begin with). Numenoreans, on the other hand, could command a certain degree of respect throughout the lands of Middle Earth.

[ ] Stewardship
Orcs with the right temperament to engage in the relatively mundane tasks of overseeing the day-to-day operations of Sauron's empire were few and far between. Strange as it is to think about the minions of the Dark Lord dealing with ordinary bureaucratic paperwork, one cannot build an army vast enough to subjugate all of Middle Earth without someone ensuring that grain from the fields of Nurn becomes bread in the bellies of the orcs besieging Minas Tirith.

[ ] Espionage
Sauron's web of agents and informants spread all across Middle Earth, feeding intelligence back to Barad-Dur. Perhaps her parents were some of Sauron's countless agents seeking out the One Ring, trying to spread his influence in Rohan and Gondor, or ensuring that the Haradrim and Easterlings remained loyal to the Dark Lord.

---

Our protagonist's parents died at the end of the War of the Ring, but how exactly they died is certain to have an impact on her. A simple death in battle or in the collapse of Barad Dur is one thing, but if they died as a punishment for war crimes or were killed by deserters from Sauron's forces it could impact her worldview. Even if necessity forces her to work alongside them or she even comes to understand the people who killed her parents, it's hard to completely forgive such a thing.

What happened to her parents?

[ ] Dead in the War
Many of Sauron's servants fell during the War of the Ring, either in major battles like Pelennor Fields and Morannon, or in the cataclysmic destruction of Barad Dur following Sauron's death and the end of the One Ring.

[ ] Executed by Gondor for War Crimes
While the new king of Gondor offered mercy to many of Sauron's servants so long as they promised to live in peace and abandon their allegiance to the forces of darkness, exceptions were made for those who sat high in Sauron's council, or who had been accused of particularly foul and heinous crimes.

[ ] Killed by Deserters

• [ ] Killed by Easterlings
• [ ] Killed by Haradrim
• [ ] Killed by Orcs

In the immediate aftermath of Sauron's downfall, his armies shattered into bands of survivors and bandits who sought nothing more than to plunder whatever they could and escape Gondor's retribution. Her parents just got caught in the crossfire.

[ ] Killed by Freed Slaves
When Gondor's forces swept through Nurn and freed the slaves who'd long labored under the cruel whips of orcish masters, the newly freed people were quick to avenge themselves not only on the orcs but on the human slavemasters and agents who helped run his dark empire.

---

And once more I return to mess around with a quest that folks will hopefully enjoy participating in. This time we're diving into Middle Earth, to follow the quest of a Black Numenorean trying to pick up the pieces and build a new life for herself after Sauron's downfall and the death of her family. I imagine folks will want to play a heroic story (or at worst anti-heroic) but considering our protagonist will be running around Mordor expect to have some run-ins with darkness. I don't want to give too much away, but there's a reason why her character sheet states her magic stat is only temporarily locked, and this story is called "Relics of the Third Age."

This time we'll be using a bit of a custom system for stats and rolls, which I hope I've explained well enough for people to get the gist of it. Hopefully it should be flexible enough to make different ideas work and simple enough to avoid causing too much confusion.

I'll be aiming for a similar tone and content to previous quests I've run. There will definitely be violence (hard to do an adventure in Middle Earth without it, but it generally won't be graphic, and there might be heavy themes or harsh language. Romance is also on the table if it's something questers want to pursue. The Main Character will also be female because I prefer writing female protagonists, but we'll hold off on naming her until the second half of character creation considering how many options I'm giving for national origin.

Base Statistics
Stats are on a 1-5 scale, with 1 being average and 5 being the peak of human ability. Stats beyond a 5 will only happen with non-human characters, or humans enhancing their abilities through some magical means.

Base Statistics represent a person's fundamental qualities. While they can be increased at level-ups, it will generally be more expensive to do so than increasing a skill, but they're more broadly applicable. Stats can also have some impact on the character's appearance: a Strength 1 character will be much less visibly muscular than a Strength 5 one.

Strength
Raw muscle power, lifting capacity

Dexterity
Agility, precision, and reaction times

Stamina
Ability to take a hit and endure prolonged effort

Charisma
Force of personality and social awareness

Intelligence
Brainpower and memory

Willpower
Self-control and the ability to endure mental hardship

Perception
Sharpness of the character's eyes, ears, nose, and other senses

Magic - Locked to Zero ... for now.

---

Skills are on a 0-5 scale, with 0 representing something a person has no training in and 5 meaning they're an expert. A character with zero points invested in a skill is still capable of using that skill, but only in the basic ways. A character with zero animal handling can still ride a horse, but anything more complex than staying in a saddle while the horse walks across even terrain will be difficult. A character with zero lore still knows about basic information anyone living in the setting would know, such Aragorn being the current King of Gondor, but wouldn't know his lineage.

Skills can improve past the limit of five with various circumstantial and specializations bonuses, or through the use of magic. Skills are more narrowly defined than stats, but are generally easier to level up.

Alertness
Awareness of one's surroundings and ability to swiftly act on information.

Animal Handling
Calming and taming wild animals, training tamed animals, riding a mount, identifying animals.

Athletics
Running, Jumping, Climbing, Swimming.

Crafting (Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, Fletching, Tailoring, etc)
Making things

Deception
Lying to people, and spotting when others are lying to you.

Diplomacy
Persuading others to your viewpoint, knowledge of etiquette and social customs.

Intimidation
Trying to threaten or bully others into doing things your way, or recognizing intimidation tactics.

Investigation
Spotting things that look out of place, solving a mystery.

Leadership
Convincing others to follow your lead, co-ordinating large groups of people.

Lore
General knowledge about the world of Arda, major players in it, and important history.

Medicine
Treating injuries, identifying illnesses, and making poisons.

Melee Combat
Using swords, shields, axes, clubs and other close combat weapons, and defending against attacks from them.

Ranged Combat
Using bows, javelins, crossbows, throwing knives, and other ranged weapons, and defending against attacks from them.

Stealth
The ability to be sneaky and move unseen.

Survival
Foraging for food and water, predicting weather, and recognizing natural hazards.

Trickery
Setting up, disarming, and spotting traps, locked doors, and other hazards.

Unarmed Combat
Using punches, kicks, grapples, and other unarmed combat techniques, and defending against them.

Modifiers and Specializations:

Modifiers are conditional bonuses and penalties on rolls, such as gaining a +2 bonus to Lore about the place someone grew up and spent most of their life, or taking a -2 bonus to interactions with Orcs due to disliking them (a widespread sentiment among the free people of Middle Earth).

Modifiers can also allow a character to use a different Stat and Skill combination under certain circumstances, such as substituting Willpower for Stamina to represent being so determined that they'll push their body past its physical limits, or Intelligence + Ranged Combat if they're carefully calculating exactly where they need to place a shot.

In addition to modifiers, characters can specialize skills. This represents a narrowed decision to focus on specific uses of the skill, such as gaining a +1 bonus to Melee Combat that would only apply to swords or a +1 to Survival in Mordor or similar volcanic terrain.

Anything reflected on the character sheet will be a more-or-less permanent part of the character's skills or personality and should generally be broadly applicable. Temporary or niche situations like weather or the character's mood can also impact rolls but will be accounted for by the target number set by the QM.

Rolling

Dice will be rolled in batches for d6s. For every point in the relevant stat and skill, along with any modifiers, roll an additional d6.

Which statistics and skills go together will vary depending on the exact nature of the test: Lifting something heavy would involve Strength+Athletics, making a precise jump would be Dexterity+Athletics, and running a Marathon would be Stamina+Athletics. While Stats and Skills aren't tied together, some combinations will come up more than others. We can safely expect to roll Perception+Alertness a lot more often than Strength+Alertness.

Any result of 4, 5, or 6 adds one success. In addition, every six allows the player to roll a bonus dice, which can generate another bonus dice if it is also a six (potentially exploding into infinite successes if the player is insanely lucky). 1s on the dice are critical failures and remove one success.

If there are enough successes to meet or beat the target number for the roll it succeeds, otherwise it fails. The degree of success or failure scales depending on how close it is to the target number; doubling the target number is a great success, while ending up at a negative number by rolling more 1s than successes will lead to a catastrophic failure.

For example, Frodo, and Smeagol are trying to forage for supplies while traveling through Ithilien. While the land isn't as inhospitable as most of the territory under Sauron's control, but it's nowhere near as inviting as the Shire, and to find food they'll need to hit a target number of 3.

Frodo isn't particularly adept at finding food for himself in the wild, with a Perception of 3 and Survival of 1. He rolls 4d6 and get results of 1,3,4,5, giving him only one success after the 1 removes one of them. Looks like Mr Frodo is going to be stuck eating more Lembas today...

Lucky for him, Smeagol is a helpful fellow who's much better equipped for the task, with a Perception of 4, Survival of 5, and a +2 bonus to foraging for food. He rolls 11d6 and gets results of 1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6, with the two sixes giving bonus rolls of 2,5. This gives a total of six successes, double the target number of 3. Smeagol finds several nice, tender, fresh, juicy rabbits to feed not only himself, but Frodo as well. Let's hope no stupid fat hobbit ruins these perfectly good rabbits by turning them into a soup with taters...

Characteristics

Strength: 3
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 3
Charisma: 2
Intelligence: 2
Willpower: 2
Perception: 2
Magic: 0

Skills

Alertness: 2
Animal Handling: 3
Athletics: 2
Crafting: 0
Deception: 0
Diplomacy: 0
Intimidation: 0
Investigation: 0
Leadership: 2
Lore: 2
Medicine: 1
Melee Combat: 3
Ranged Combat: 2
Stealth: 0
Survival: 1
Trickery: 0
Unarmed Combat: 2

Names, Titles, and Accomplishments

Noble Daughter of Numenor
+1 to Social Rolls in High Society

Silvertongue
+1 to interaction rolls when serving as a representative of Nurn

Nurnese Militia Captain Tigkiz of Rhun
Once a soldier in the service of the Dragon Emperor of Rhun, she deserted after Sauron's downfall and now serves as militia commander in Nurnese community of Hamfæreld. She's been Arphazêl's guardian for the last decade. A brusque and businesslike woman who's not much given to displays of sentimentality, but she ensured that all of Arphazêl's needs were tended to and she could have a reasonably happy life.
Mayor Leofwyn of Hamfæreld
Mayor of Arphazêl's adopted hometown of Hamfæreld. One of many people enslaved by Sauron, in the aftermath of the war she's built a new life as one of the most respected community leaders in Nurn. What she lacks in noble blood in education, she makes up for with level-headed leadership and determination.
Ranger Lieutenant Tirndis of Gondor
A Gondorian ranger who's father served alongside Faramir during the War of the Ring. Faramir rewarded her family with a minor noble title after her father's death during the war, and she ultimately joined the Rangers to honor his legacy. While she's stubborn and a proud Gondorian patriot, she also has a firm sense of honor and is determined to help the people of Nurn.

The Ebon Knight
One of the Nazgul, and formerly a Numenorean ruler. They currently remember very little of their time as a Nazgul and less of their life before. Despite their shattered memories and being reduced to a few scraps of their power, The Ebon Knight remains a valuable ally for Arphazel, albeit one that could be more dangerous than any enemy


Hamfæreld
The largest and most important village within Nurn's frontier region. Arphazel's hometown.

Túnincel
The largest and most important village in Nurn's coastal region.