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Westernesse: A Númenórean Colony Quest

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I'm a sucker for neatly set up cities with farms and industry. So this gets my vote.

[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance
 
[X] Spitting at the Dark Lord's Eye
-[X] The Harnen
-[X] The King's Men
-[X] Imrazôr
-[X] Male
-[X] The Battler
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Miyâtan, the Twinned
 
[x]Plan Last light of Numenor:
-[X] The Isen: There is a mighty river in the central part of Middle-Earth, known as the Isen for it's iron color, which runs through all the lands of Enedwaith. A wild, unforested, and untamed land is Enedwaith, and the men who share that land's name, the Enedwaithrim, are a wild and mighty sort. To the far north of Enedwaith is the land called Eregion, or the Hollin, where once in elder days dwelt the Elf-smith Celebrimbor, who forged the Rings of Power. Eregion is long destroyed by Sauron, but something of the Elves may remain there. To your east lie the Misty Mountains, and the mighty dwarven realm of Khazad-Dum, which has isolated itself from all the world. If one could make friends with the Longbeard Dwarves and their famed mines, then they might become wealthiest of all the colonies of Numenor. You sail up the Isen and establish a colony at it's mouth.
-[X] The Guild of Shapers: The largest of all the guilds save for the Venturers, the Guild of Shapers arms the hosts of Númenór, designs the high towers and sloped domes of her cities, and has made many fair and mighty works in the centuries since your people landed on the Blessed Isle. In recent years, their influence and power has grown enough that they now seek to establish colonies on the mainland and exert their influence on the world. Like all the guilds, they are supposedly apolitical, and are not ill-disposed to alliances with elves or dwarves should it help them better their craft. They seek ever and always new sources of metal for their crafts, and old knowledge of crafting long lost to the world. Having sponsored no colonies before, the Guild has thrown all of it's considerable resources behind your new venture, but has deeply angered the Guild of Venturers, who view this intrusion into their dominion in an ill light. With few colonists and few ships, your main resource will be the wealth of your sponsors in the Guild and their knowledge of crafting.
-[X] Imrazôr (great-flame, Adunaic)
-[X] The Shaper: You were one of the Sea-Shapers, the artificers and smiths who sail with every fleet and expedition to maintain their weapons and service their ships. Your works, like the works of all Shapers, are a blending of the magic of the elves and the technological might of men -- ships that sail without sail, lights that glow without a flame, and bows which fire arrows for leagues unerring. Your long experience maintaining the technological marvels of Numenor should serve you well in your new colony.
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise: You are a Loremaster, learned in the ancient arts of the world, in the history of the elves and men, and in the old words that could shape stone and bend sea. Lesser-minded men might call you a wizard.
-[X] Izindu-bêth, the Farseeing: You were born with the rare gift of Sight, the ability to see glimpses of the shifting future in dreams. This ability is revered among the Middle Men, and respected in Númenór.



Because preempting Saruman for 2500 years is amusing to me
 
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Ithilien
-[X] The Anduin
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Belenor
-[X] Female
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise

[X] Plan The Sorceress of Anfalas
-[X] Anfalas
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Belenor
-[X] Female
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise

[X] Plan The Sorceress of Enedwaith
-[X] The Isen
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Belenor
-[X] Female
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise

Because I really like the idea of preserving Númenórean lore and technology for Middle Earth, and particularly want to see a female leader.

EDIT: voting for @ctulhuslp's plan too
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Get The Fuck Out And Save Old Lore
-[X] Minhiriath
-[X] The Faithful
-[X] Belenor
-[X] Female
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise

EDIT: Adding in a new plan
[X] Plan "A Series of Unfortunate Númenorean Events"
-[X] The Anduin
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Imrazôr and Belenor
-[X] Female
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise
-[X] Miyâtan, the Twinned
 
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[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Ithilien
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Anfalas
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Enedwaith

Edit: I'm assuming there's approval voting.
 
[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance
[X] Plan New Beginnings

Both plans are interesting in their own ways and I'd be happy to see either win.

@Void Stalker @phil03 I really enjoyed reading your discussion guys. Kudos.
 
[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance

I like the plan, not sure if I like the plans for what to do during the quest itself though. We can discuss that later though.
 
JaceAoT said:
[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance

I like the plan, not sure if I like the plans for what to do during the quest itself though. We can discuss that later though.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That does highlight a possible other issue with that plan now that I think about: The one thing @Void Stalker an I agree on is that nothing good is gonna come from getting too involved into the internal politics of Numenor in general and in the conflict between Faithfull and the King's Men in particular. With a relatively sheltered location this plan advocate for doing so would cut most of the events of the early game, leaving only the purely managerial side of building the city and the establishment of trade routes to keep us busy for the whole early game until the Akalabeth. This isn't much to fill in centuries in-universe.
 
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[X] Plan Faithful Colony
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Ithilien
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Anfalas
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Enedwaith
[X] Plan The Sorceress of Get The Fuck Out And Save Old Lore
[X] Plan "A Series of Unfortunate Númenorean Events"
 
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Lore: On Númenor and the World
  • Informational
    • Here is gathered information on the Kingdom of Númenór, the Men who rule it, and the state of Arda in the closing years of the Second Age.​



    The History Of Númenór
    In the dark days of the First Age, there were two sons born to Earendil the Mariner, greatest of the heroes of the world in those days. Earendil was one of the Peredhil, the Half-Elven, and the Valar, the gods, loved him so that they granted his sons and all Peredhil born of his line the ability to choose which half of their blood to follow -- to decide whether they wanted to be mortal men or deathless elves. The first of Earendil's sons, Elrond, chose immortality and undeath, and so became in later days the wisest and greatest of all the lords of the elven-race remaining in Middle-Earth. His twin brother, Elros, became a man, greater and mightier in stature than any other, and his lifespan, and the lifespan of his sons, stretched far greater than that of mere men, or even Numenoreans.

    For the actions of the race of men in the First Age against Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, the Valar granted the Edain, the men of the west, a mighty island in the Western Seas to call their own. Elros, now crowned a King of Men, led his people across the oceans to the island, which they called Elenna, the Blessed Isle, for it was the closest of all the realms of men to the Undying Lands of the Valar. Elros named himself Tar-Minyatur, the First-Ruler, and the realm he and his people founded on Elenna was called Numenor, and ever after it was the greatest and mightiest of all the Realms of Men that ever were and would ever be. Elros lived long, five hundred years of the Sun, and when he passed, his sons succeeded him.

    And so his line continued, from Tar-Varmadir to Tar-Amandil, and the Kings of Numenor were mighty in their day, until the time of Tar-Atanamir, the Great. In his day, the Numenoreans began to speak against the Valar. Despite all their long life and great knowledge, death, the Doom of Men, took them in the end. A great lust for immortality began to sour their hearts, and in his end Tar-Atanamir refused to relinquish his rule until his death, and ruled into senility. So began, some say, the darkness that would be the downfall of Numenor. After him, the Kings of Numenor turned against the Valar and the Eldar, and refused to speak the tongues of the elves, and there were many in Numenor who followed, naming themselves the 'King's Men'. Those who did not became the Faithful, and remained friends with the Eldar for long after.

    As the ages passed, the Numenoreans grew more and more assured of their own power, and threw up settlements along the coast of Middle-Earth, dominating the 'lesser' men who lived there. The Numenoreans even began to reject the titles of the Kings, naming themselves not in elvish Quenya, as their fathers had, but in Numenorean Adunaic. They subjugated much of Middle-Earth, and their pride became greater than ever before, for they imagined themselves lords without equal. To feed their empire's hunger for ships, they deforested vast swathes of inland Middle-Earth, driving back all who lived in the forests and devastating the lands. The Middle Men who lived in these forests, their distant cousins, tried desperately to defy them -- to no avail.

    In the centuries since, Numenor's power and pride has openly swelled, growing to rival even that of the Dark Lord Sauron, who is the principal enemy of the Numenorean people in these later days. Common cause against Mordor has kept Numenor unified this long, but as the Blessed Isle quickly outstrips the Dark Lord in power and influence, the hearts of Men grow darker, and ancient grudges wake to new hatred. The mightiest enemy the Numenoreans will face in the coming years may not be any thing of Shadow, but the Numenoreans themselves.
    The Guilds
    The Guilds are among the principal powers of Numenor. Early in her history, they were merely associations of like-minded craftsmen and skilled workers, but over the long centuries have grown into massive organizations which are themselves vital to the continued operation of the burgeoning Numenorean empire. There are dozens of Guilds, but the five most powerful are the Guild of Venturers, the Guild of Shapers, the Guild of Striders, the Guild of Workers, and the Pharazari, called by some the Guild of Gold. A representative from each of these guilds (save the Pharazari) sits upon the Council of the Sceptre and advises the King. These representatives are known collectively as the Guildlords of Numenor.

    • The Guild of Venturers: The first and the oldest of the guilds, the Guild of Venturers was founded in the year S.A 750 by King Tar-Aldarion, the great explorer and sailor. Based upon the titanic ship Eämbar, the Sea-Home, the Guild controls all of Numenor's non-military naval ventures, such as exploration and colonization. They have mapped all the coasts of Middle-Earth from East to West, and sponsor constant expeditions to distant lands to fill in gaps in their knowledge. All ports have a guild office and a representative, and all harbors are their domain. Most powerful among the Venturers are the guild-within-a-guild, the Balkumagâni, or the Shipwrights. It is the Shipwrights alone who know how to build and maintain the mighty ships of Numenor, which sail without wind and do not sink in storms. The guildlord of the Venturers is elected by lot from among their captains, and is called the Balkhuzan, the Steerer of the Ships and the Great Captain of Numenor's fleets. The current Balkhuzan is Anduroth of the High Hand, captain of the Ember of Arda and famed for his wide travels.
    • The Guild of Shapers: With centuries to live and entire generations with which to perfect their craft, the Numenorean craftsmen have advanced in skill and might beyond even the greatest works of the Elves of Elder Days, or so they tell themselves. Several hundred years after the founding of the Guild of Venturers, the various builders, the smiths, and weaponmakers of Numenor gathered together to form an organization to represent their interests and work towards the advancement of their common knowledge. Thus was born the Guild of Shapers, who call themselves Zimrailai, the Men of Jewels (Mirrim in the elvish speech) -- after the Elf-Smith Feanor, and his jewels of living light that were the greatest works ever crafted in all the world. Their guildlord is called the Zimrakhor, or the High Shaper. The current High Shaper is Berecil Elendoriliath, long hailed as the greatest smith on the isle.
    • The Guild of Striders: The Guild of Venturers, being primarily sea-based, hires former soldiers and mercenaries to explore inland on their behalf when they have the need for such, and map the inland regions of Middle-Earth. Just fifty short years ago, some several hundred of these explorers banded together to form the Guild of Striders. By far the youngest of the Guilds, they do not have much influence or power in Numenor proper, but their necessity to the Guild of Venturers and their expeditions has quickly made them vital in the colonies and outlying provinces of the empire, where they serve as scouts and mercenaries, and are often the first and only line of defense between a lonely colony and the forces of Sauron. They refer to themselves as the Nardū̆, the soldiers, and their guildlord, the Azgarban, is elected from among the most successful of their captains. The current Azgarban is Erentur the Ship-Breaker, lord of the mercenary company known as the Nine Hundred.
    • The Guild of Workers: After several centuries, the constant pressure which the Shapers put on those who built their mighty towers and delved their mines was too much for the common workers of Numenor, who banded together to form a guild of their own, the Zabathani -- literally, the Humble Ones, called also the Magâni, or the Builders. In their power, they now control all miners, builders, and laborers on the Blessed Isle itself, granting them an immense amount of negotiating power with the other Guilds. To escape their influence, the Venturers and the Shapers often outsource their projects to the colonies, where the influence of the Guild of Workers is less. The workers have no single leader, and rule by committee, but one of their member is elected to represent them on the Council of the King.
    • The Pharazarai: Least loved of all the Guilds, the Pharazarai (lit. Men-of-Gold) are not an official guild, but rather a collection of merchants, wealthy lords, tax collectors, and colonial governors dedicated to one purpose alone -- the enrichment of all it's members. Controlling much of Numenor's trade and wealth among themselves, most of the Pharazarai are counted among the King's Men, but care little for the King save beyond how he can further fill their coffers. The Pharazarai have glutted themselves on the colonies, stripping Middle-Earth of it's riches and deforesting mighty stretches of land. They have their fingers in every pot in the realm, from funding the expeditions of the Venturers and Shapers, to paying the wages of the Striders and Workers, yet are most hated of all for their greed. They are called sarcastically the Guild of Gold, for if the guilds are named after what they stand for, then the Pharazarai stand for nothing but coin. The King has of yet refused to grant them a guild charter or a spot on the Council, which rankles them deeply.
    The Colonies
    Numenor has established many colonies across the width and breadth of Middle-Earth. Many of these only have populations in the hundreds, but the largest are among the most powerful cities in the world. The colonies in the south tend towards the King's Men, and are more warlike, while the northern colonies are comprised mostly of Faithful who have fled to the continent to escape the growing political strife in Numenor. What follows is a list of some of the greater colonies of Numenor, and their political leanings:

    • Pelargir, the City of Ships: Founded as a city of the Faithful some 400 years ago, Pelargir is among the greatest ports in Middle-Earth, and is the central Numenorean city west of Mordor. The great harbors of Pelargir are home to many of the Venturers and Striders who explore the coasts and inland regions of Middle-Earth, and despite it's status as a city of Faithful, Pelargir is eminently valuable to the King's Men as a powerful location from which to attack Sauron and control the north of Middle-Earth.
    • Umbar, the Golden Fortress: The northernmost settlement of the King's Men, Umbar is located on the southern coast of the Bay of Belfalas, and is the mightiest fortress against Mordor in all the world. It is a powerful bastion, with high walls and many armaments, and it's harbor is packed thick with ships of war. Were it not for Numenor herself, Umbar might be the mightiest city in all the world. It is from Umbar that the King's Men lead their wars against Sauron, and have long attempted to drag the war with him southward, that they might rely less on the Faithful and Pelargir.
    • Adûnayar, the Jeweled City: Deep within the jungles of far Harad lies the southernmost of all Numenor's colonies, Adûnayar, known as the City of the Jewels for the immense wealth which has been found there. These spoils have made it among the fairest of the cities of the Númenóreans, and it sits like a golden star upon the coast of Harad. The mines of Adûnayar are the greatest in the empire of the Numenoreans, and fund the wars of the King's Men. It is from Adûnayar that the King's Men and the Pharazarai have launched their mighty conquests of Harad, sending great armies marching through the thick jungles and the sweltering deserts of the Haradwaith. The men of Adunayar are tanned dark by the sun and speak with the thick accent of the Haradrim peoples they have subjugated.
    • Lond Daer, the Great Haven: Known in older days as Vinyalonde, this once-great port was the first colony of Numenor, and was founded by Tar-Aldarion, the explorer-king who founded the Guild of Venturers. It was from here that the first settlers deforested much of the thickly wooded lands of Minhiriath and Eriador to build the great fleets of Numenor, and for a time Vinyalonde was the central city of the Guild of Venturers, from which they launched their many expeditions. As they stripped the land bare, however, their wealth dwindled, and when the eyes of the King's Men swung south, Lond Daer slid into a steady decline from which it has never recovered. Many of the Faithful who still speak with the Elves travel through Lond Daer to reach the elven realm of Lindon.
    • Sûzâyan: Called the Black March and the Prince's Gift, Sûzâyan is both the term for the great swath of land in southern Harad recently conquered by Tar-Calmacil's son Gimilzagar, and for the fortress-colony he has established to rule it. With four companies he has driven Sauron's servants into the deserts, seizing all the coasts of that land for himself and subduing many of the Haradrim tribes. This conquest has won the second-born prince much acclaim and honor on the Blessed Isle, where he rises ever higher in his father's favor.
    • Azhathani, the Outpost: Far to the southeast, beyond Harad, in the strange islands where Men wear brightly colored clothes and shave their heads bare and paint their faces as women do, the Guild of Venturers has established a Haven, little more than a cluster of ships around a port of mud and brick, named Azhathani. It takes months or even years to recieve news from this far outpost, Númenór's voice in the distant corners of Arda, and as such it is little affected by the political squabbles of the mother island. The Venturers here busy themselves with exploring and mapping the strange and distant continent known as Southernesse. There are periodically rumors from Azhathani of lands and seas even further to the east, and of warlike golden-skinned folk who sail upon the seas in boats of living metal, bearing the banner of the Eye.
    The Realms of Middle-Earth
    Numenor is mightiest among the powers of the world in the Second Age, but they are not alone among the realms of Middle-Earth. The Elves and the Dwarves survive and persist still, in their golden forests and their iron halls. Here are listed those who would claim to be peers of the Blessed Isle:

    • Lorinand: The Land of the elven King Amdir, and his son Amroth. Beneath these golden eaves are gathered many of the Sindarin Elves, learned in the ways of the wood, but also many of their cousins, the Noldorin Elves who survived the war with Sauron in the early Second Age, and so hold much of the knowledge and power of the dwindling Elven Race. The warriors of Lorinand, known as the Amdirim, are matchless in war.
    • Edhellond and Dor-en-Ernil: In the lands between the Anduin and the Gwathlo have settled a great host of Silvan Elves, the wood-elves of bough and birch, at mighty city called Edhellond, the Elf-Dwelling. They follow in the company of the Elf-Lord Celeborn and his wife Galadriel, two of the High Elves and among the mightiest elf-lords remaining in Middle-Earth. Their settlement on the shores of Belfalas coexists with a settlement of Numenorean Faithful named Dor-en-Ernil, elf-friends whom it said share land and love alike with the elves. The loyalty of the elf-friends is ever in question, and many on the Blessed Isle wonder whom they would serve should Numenor and the Elf-Realms ever come to strife -- the King, or the Lord and Lady?
    • The Woodland Realm: Beneath the eaves of the mighty northern forest of Greenwood dwells Oropher the Elvenking, and his people, the Sindarin elves. Reclusive, isolated, and powerful, the Elves of Greenwood dwell in relative peace in their sprawling northern forest, and deal little with Men or other Elves. Should the Sindar be roused to war, however, they will prove as mighty as any among the Firstborn.
    • The Kingdom of Lindon: Known as Ossiriand in Elder Days, the land now called Lindon once stood upon the eastern borders of the continent of Beleriand, which is now lost beneath the waves. Here, the last of the High Elves of Elder Days, the Noldor who once brought ruin and fire upon the world, are gathered under the rule of their High King, Gil-Galad. The High Elves are mighty still, and though the King's Men have often wondered if Lindon might fall before Numenor, all know in their hearts that such a war might leave Middle-Earth crippled and forever scarred.
    • Khazad-Dum, the Dwarrowdelf: Beneath the Misty Mountains in the heart of Middle-Earth, the Longbeard Dwarves have tunneled a vast and mighty kingdom under the stone. Richer and more beautiful still than even the spires of Armenlos in Numenor is the Dwarrowdelf of Durin's Folk, greatest of all the mansions of the dwarves, that few men living have ever seen. Beneath the earth in the halls of stone, the children of the mountain work gold and silver and steel fairer than silk. In these mountains is mined mithril, the starsteel, the strongest and fairest metal in all the world. The Shapers rely on dwarven mithril for their armor and their great projects, which has made Khazad-Dum wealthy among the realms of the world.
    • Rivendell, the Last Homely House: In the north of Minhiriath lies a mighty mansion fair and great in the wild, a place of learning and brotherhood unlike any in the world still. This is Rivendell, the Last Homely House, where dwells the Elf-Lord Elrond Halfelven and his people. For all how their hearts have soured against the elves, the King's Men still hold Elrond in a place of high respect, for his brother Elros was the first of Numenor's High Kings all those many centuries ago, and he is counted as a cousin of all Numenoreans.
    • Mordor: In the east of Middle-Earth lies the Dark Land, Mordor, ruled by a spirit of horror and terror out of elder days: Sauron, the Dark Lord, called also the Enemy and the Abhorred. In centuries gone by, he tricked the elves of Eregion into forging the Rings of Power, and created the One Ring to rule them all. His attempt to conquer Middle-Earth was beat back by the combined armies of Numenor and the Elves, and in the centuries since he has been under assault from Númenor and her colonies. Numenor is at constant war with his vast armies of orcs, trolls, and enslaved Men, led by his terrible and dreadful servants, the mysterious spirits called by Men the Nazgul, or the Nine. His dominion extends far to the south and the east, where vast continents of enslaved Men toil in his shadow, building mighty temples in his name. His armies are vast and mighty, and though Numenor has grown to become a match for him, the Dark Lord is yet a force to be reckoned with.
     
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  • Informational
    • Telamon said:
    Lorinand: The Land of the Lord and the Lady, as it is known, is the southernmost of the Elven realms. A golden forest kept forever-fair by the will of the mighty elven queen Galadriel, it has become a haven of the Elven people in the later days of the world. Beneath these golden eaves are gathered many of the Noldorin Elves who survived the war with Sauron in the early Second Age, and so hold much of the knowledge and power of the dwindling Elven Race. The warriors of Lorinand, known as the Galadhrim, are matchless in war.
    Click to expand...
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    Lorinand, or Lothlorien, is still under of the Sindarin Dynasty of King Amdir and later Amroth (the guy who drowns near Belfalas). Galadriel and Celeborn only became the rulers once Amroth left. Which happens after the Balrog is awoken in Moria around the year 2000 in the Third Age.
     
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