As Black As Fate: A Mormegil Quest (ASOIAF/LOTR)

[Telamon]

A Túrin Turambar turún' ambartanen

Welcome to As Black As Fate, a reboot of what is perhaps my favorite quest concept. You are Túrin Turambar, the Mormegil, once the finest of all the warriors of the race of Men. Cursed at your birth by the greatest evil your world has ever known, you struggled all your life to overcome Fate and make your own destiny--with little success and often tragic failure. Now, you find yourself in a strange new land, a land with strange gods and strange men, a land where the summers are long and the winters longer. Destiny and fate coil around you once more, and though you may struggle to break their chains, remember--winter is coming.

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The stars are bright, accusing.

Each breath is pain, each thought a thousand deaths. Sweat and salt sting as they roll down your ash-coated cheeks. It hurts. It all hurts so much. You see their bodies in your mind's eye, their hands reaching out for you, their eyes begging.

Pleading.

Again and again and again you see them die, by your hand and by your action, or worse, your inaction. They grasp at you with the sorrow that follows you like a bitter wind, the death that clings to you like a cloak. You have tried to escape for so long, so very long, but you cannot run anymore. He has won.

Your greatest friend, dead by your hand.

Your lord and master, brought to ruin by your arrogance.

All those you swore to protect, shattered and broken through your folly.

The kingdom of your fathers, overrun by the servants of The Enemy.

And those you dared to love, dead, or brought to a fate worse than death.

Men have called you by many names.
Turambar, the Master of Fate. Neithan, the wronged. Mormegil, the Blacksword.

Yet it is fate that has mastered you. You have wronged countless thousands, and your blade, black as the silence behind the stars, failed you when you needed it most.

No more. No more pain, no more death, no more blood and steel and tears and cold.

No more.

You bring the sword, black like death, to your chest, and you push. Your last thought is of her.

And then it ends.

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It begins.
​

You are alive.

You are alive. You are alive, and your lungs push cold air into your body. For a long moment, you cannot remember who you are or where you came from. Then, as if through a veil of countless years, a name comes unbidden to your mind.

Túrin.

You are Túrin, son of Hurin, of the House of Hador. You remember your earliest youth, in the mountains of Dor-Lomin, your father's realm. You remember the rolling hills and soft fields of your estate, and the servants who tended to your every need. You remember golden trees and the lilting tones of the elvensong.

And you remember too well what came after. Death. Ruin. Fear and blood and dragon-fire in the night.

You take a final deep breath and open eyes you do not remember closing.

You stand in a wooded, closed glade. Around you, thin, white trees rise in all directions. Before you, a vast oak sprawls out from the earth, it's worn bark white as bone. Into it's trunk is carved a scowling face with eyes that seem to meet your own.

There is no sound. The wood is still, empty. No birds chirp, no animals scurry in the undergrowth. There is only the chill silence.

And then you see it. It sits in front of the pool that lies at the base of the great tree, gleaming as if newly sharpened with the finest oils. The blade, blacker than samite, blacker than death, blacker than the silent night itself, calls to you. The blade of Beleg, who you killed. The blade that took your own life, in the end. It calls to you, like a mother to a child. Feet you cannot guide take small, tentative steps until you stand over the sword. An arm that is not yours to control stoops down and grasps the hilt, fitting into worn grooves in the boiled leather. A hand you cannot move raises it high, high above your head, so that the light streaming through the silent trees shimmers off the black metal.

[Weapon Gained] Gurthang, the Iron of Death (Mythical, magical)

And then the pain shoots through your arm, and you can feel the arms grasping at you, the hands tearing at your body, see visions flashing before your eyes like sunspots. And in seconds, you understand without knowing. This place, this strange land, is not Middle-Earth. It is not even the Arda you knew. You are a stranger here, but you are not alone. The Curse, the Curse of Morgoth that has brought ruin to your entire life, has followed you here. You can feel His touch on your heart, on your soul, and the visions call to you of old gods, old gods and new. They sing of reprieve, of freedom at long last from the Curse. You need merely choose. And return, you must serve as their champion, their warrior in this new world.

[] You choose the flame that burns bright against the shadow, and the visions it shows you--Gurthang, burning like a torch with it's own inner flame. A man, a certain man, reborn amidst salt and smoke, a man who must be protected, a man who must live at all costs. A dragon, dying in the bleak midwinter as ice burns. A proud stag, broken and bleeding in the darkest night. A bolt of lightning, striking from the sky to spark a flame that will never fade. You feel the fire ignite in your own heart, feel it lap and burn at the power of the Enemy. For the first time in your life, you feel...warm.

[] Seven. Seven gods and seven oaths. Their visions are visions of a world consumed by lust and greed and chaos. A land that purports to follow them, but serves only the gods of wealth and strength. They call on you to undo what has been done. To go south and restore what was undone. Monsters and murderers sit the throne of kings. Stags and lions feast on the corpses of dragons. They call you to show their fury to the false lords, to bring holy judgement with fire and blood.

[] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They have been here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps. The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldest days of wood and stone.

[] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

[] There is only one god, this you have always known. He has been with you all your life, and now he calls you at last to him. He knows you, and you know him, and though you have always denied him, in practice you were but the greatest of his servants. He asks nothing, wants nothing, save silence, for his truth is the truth you have known for all of your days: all men must die.

Spoiler: Author's Note

Special thanks to @EVA-Saiyajin for getting my LOTR muse up and running again.

 

[Telamon]

A Song of Ice And Fire/The Lord of the Rings
As Black As Fate
Character Sheet:​

Info

Name: Turin Turambar
Age: 35 (Adult)
Active Legend: The Mormegil
Legend Points: 57
Year: 283 AL
Titles: N/A

Stats

Morale/Hit Points: 52
Strength: 13 [+6 Modifier]
Agility: 9 [+2 Modifier]
Grace: 14 [+7 Modifier]
Charisma: 6 [No Modifier]
Intimidation: 14 [+7 Modifier]
Sword Mastery: Rank 8/10 [+4 modifier to armed combat rolls]
Wisdom: 11 [+4 Modifier]

Inventory

Gurthang, the Iron of Death [Mythical Weapon] [Magical]

Traits​

Epic Trait: An Echo of the Music

You carry in your deepest heart an echo of the First Music that birthed the world, undimmed by the lesser spirits of this strange land. It is bright and bold and strong, yet in it's rhythm is echoed the taint that scarred the World. It rises to melodies high and great and falls to symphonies low and dark, for it's tune is the tune of Arda Marred. It will protect and renew your grace and strength as a Man of the First Age against the ravages of this bitter world. For as long as you may live, within you are preserved the will and the might of the Edain, that were of old the Men of the West. You are faster, stronger, more hale and vibrant, and wisdom and grace bless all your days.

(Effects: Gain Trait: The Last of the Edain. Gain Trait: In Elder Days, +5 Grace)

The Last of the Edain

You are the last of the Edain, the Men of the West, who long ago Awoke in the western world. The Music of Illuvatar preserves the gifts you were bestowed as one of the first Men, and enhances them besides. You are stronger, faster, lighter on your feet and quicker to action than most men in Westeros. The pride, splendor, and glory of the Edain lives on in you, the very last of the Men of the West.

(Effects: +2 Strength, +2 Agility, +2 Endurance, +2 Intimidation)

In Elder Days

The world was fair, the mountains young, no stain yet on the moon was seen, in Elder Days before the Fall. You were born when the stars were new and the sun was bright and the air was clean, in the First Age that has now long past. You walked and roamed in ancient Beleriand, that now lies sunken beneath the western seas far away. In your day, the world was greater, and so too were all who lived within it, in those long-lost Elder Days. The First Age and it's wonders are long gone, but in you is preserved a fleeting glimpse of what was when the world was young.

(Effects: +2 to all Wisdom and Command rolls)

The Children of Hurin

You are the sole living child of Húrin Thalion, that in elder days was the lord of Dor-Lomin in the West of the world, and the finest warrior of the race of Men to ever walk the earth. In his day, Húrin stood and stood alone against the might of Morgoth the Enemy, and for his defiance, all those born of his blood were cursed until the end of their days by the Great Enemy himself. This is the Curse of Morgoth upon the Children of Húrin: that all your works and endeavors might come to ruin, that all you love might turn to ash and bone in your hands, that you might never know peace for all the days of your life, that the very Earth itself might renounce you. You have died and been reborn, but the Curse clings to you still, as undying and spiteful as the Enemy who made it.

(Effects: ???)

Legend Legendary Acts Unlocked Legendary Acts Quests

• The Blacksword (Tier 1): A wanderer on strange and lonely roads. A traveler in the dark. He stands a cut above the rabble of the roads, and where he passes, rumors take seed, that soon become legend. One who comes and goes without word or warning, bearing a sword of midnight-black. (Legend Points: 57/200)
  
• The Butcher of the Stony Sept: A man with a black sword fought alongside the Hand of the King at the Battle of the Bells, and what scattered tales exist say that he slew every man who faced him, slaying those who fled and those who stood alike.
  
  
• Foe of the Usurper: [Criteria: Turn the tide or otherwise be vitally important in at least two battles of Robert's Rebellion] (1/2)
  The Dragon's Own: [Criteria: Kill three hundred men in service to a Targaryen King] (32/300)
  The Iron of Death: [Criteria: Kill five hundred men with Gurthang] (32/500]
  
• Epic Quest: The Sickle of the Valar: A dragon, mad and raving, sits sprawled across the earth, and green fire belches from his lips. A great Stag rides against him, and in the distance, a Dragon-child is born with a Wolf's eyes, a Prince that was Promised long ago. Find the Little Lion, and follow the Star to the Sea.
  

Relationships​

The Lords of the Realm:

• Lord Jon Connigton, Lord of Griffin's Roost and Hand of the King (Acquaintance)
• Lord Paramount Robert Baratheon, Lord of the Stormlands and Lord of Storm's End (Acquaintance, considers you an Enemy)
• Lord Paramount Eddard Stark, Lord of the North and Lord of Winterfell (Acquaintance, considers you an Enemy)

Knights and Squires:

• Ser Myles Mooton (Acquaintance, owes you his life.)

Common Folk:

Click to shrink...

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[Telamon]

Also reserved.

 

[Telamon]

You may post.

 

[D King Hecht]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

 

[Oh I am slain!]

A Telamon quest!

[x] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

I cite the same reasoning as last time.

It's just fun to be the one to poke Fate in the eye and mess up others' plans.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

I am interested in something new, in harnessing the possibilities of fire against the ice that seeks to encroach the world, of not having the damn Curse on us.

A First Ager accepting a different, but familiar god, is more interesting than sticking to what already existed.

Fire has power. It doesn't command us to go north or south but allows us into the wider world away from Westeros, yet still calls to ancient possibilities with dragons, is a potent weapon against the Others, and more.

 

[Tylonius]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

We are guaranteed to regret having to deal with the Curse when it becomes an actual problem.

There's nothing wrong with exploring a different option.

 

[Harpy81]

[X] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They have been here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps. The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldest days of wood and stone.

 

[Thanatos757]

[] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

Bring the Song to Planetos.

 

[PauliExklusor]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

If we want the fullest enjoyment without issues that can't be dealt with, being rid of the Curse is a must. That or going for the Mormegil and accepting that we're not a people person, though I'm not really opposed to that at all.

 

[Nix's Warden]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

Because Eru Illuvatar is with us, his song in our heart, and we will not turn him away.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

A Telamon quest!

[x] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

I cite the same reasoning as last time.

It's just fun to be the one to poke Fate in the eye and mess up others' plans.

Click to shrink...

I seem to recall something very different from "defying fate" occurring.

I'd rather not accidentally destroy everything we might come to bare about because people are too stubborn to accept something new and interesting and be rid of the Curse.

 

[Bugaboo]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

 

[Thanatos757]

On second thought, "but then the Curse happened" is not something I want to see much (or at all), so vote change.
[X] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They have been here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps. The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldest days of wood and stone.

I don't much like the other gods and the old gods seem to offer the most amount of freedom in how we do things. All the others try to force a kind of mentality on Turin.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

[X] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They have been here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps. The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldest days of wood and stone.

I prefer fire, but admittedly the Lord of Light IS kind of an asshole.

 

[Paloswag]

[X] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They havebeen here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps.The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldestdays of wood and stone.

The curse option is a huge negative. I mean, just look at the wiki page for the guy, his life was fucked. That is not going to be fun. If we want to play the white knight, we're going to have abandon companionship seeing as our presence tends to end in others misfortune.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

Túrin

The guy was amazing but the Curse considtently screwed him over in emotionally agonizing ways.

We are going to have to accept a nonexistent social life where people tend to not like us, or get a new patron that doesn't come with this terrible Curse.

 

[Tel Janin Aman]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

I kinda feel it'd be a disservice to Tolkien to pick otherwise.

Also maybe we'll make it out of chargen this time

 

[NuclearConsensus]

[X] The tree before you looms ever taller, and though no visions of grandeur or might play in your mind, you know, in your bones, what they will of you. They havebeen here for thousands of years, yet now their grip grows weak. The Wall weeps.The green dies. Winter is coming. They have seen what is to come, and so they command you to avert it. Five wolves yet live. Safeguard them at all costs. Restore the true blood in Winter's heart, and uphold what has been upheld since the oldestdays of wood and stone.

 

[Kaferian]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

 

[EVA-Saiyajin]

It's easy to say "we'll deal with it" when you haven't actually experienced it. The Curse troubled Turin his entire life, ruining every attempt at a lengthy peace and happiness, this is not a one time thing we have to overcome at a climax.

He TRIED to overcome it, and failed, bringing ruin and death to those he cared for.

You want to save decent people like Tyrion or the Starks? Congratulations, you've just killed them directly or indirectly!

We are inevitably going to want to interfere and help people, how are we supposed to do that with a Curse with a history of ruining such things?

 

[Walkin' Man]

[X] No. You will serve no false gods or woodland spirits. Your god is the One, the true god, the creator of all that is and yet might be, Eru Illuvatar. His gift was Death, the doom of Men, and his servants are the Valar, the safekeepers of the world. The seas belong to Ulmo, the skies are the realm of Manwe, and the stars themselves are the crown of Varda Elbereth. They are the masters of the heavens and the rulers of the earth, and your loyalty shall fall to no other. The curse of Morgoth weighs still on your heart, but what of it? You are the Master of your own Fate, and you will be bound to no false thing.

These godlings may promise and entice, but there is only One who awaits for us along our loved ones beyond the Halls of Mandos.