- Location
- Austria
> want to see industrialization
> location: Russia
hah; Have you, perchance, read Last Ringbearer?
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Westernesse: A Númenórean Colony Quest
- Thread starter Telamon
- Start date
> location: Russia
hah; Have you, perchance, read Last Ringbearer?
- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Of cause I did!
I understand that Eskov wrote a deep (very-very deep) AU, but Last Ringbearer is an exellant thing! The first fanfic which I read, if I remember right.
And this does not belittle my admiration of LoTR.
- Location
- Austria
Yes, same here.
Not going to lie, I would enjoy LotR in which regular humans are allowed to industrialize and create works of wonder in their own right; but I am not sure it's all that Tolkien-compliant.
And I am not sure whether it's all that compliant with Numenoreans either. I don't know how they feel about sharing their technological secrets with whom they perceive to be lesser race of humans. Depends on Numenorean in question, I suppose.
- Location
- Texas
Tolkien did not believe that industrialization and technology were inherently evil — rather that industrialization was often nothing but an engine of war that made it easier to kill and wage war, not to improve the lot of the people, which he did regard as inherently evil.
But then again, a WWI vet having strong negative feelings about industrialized warfare isn't exactly surprising. Sad, maybe, but not surprising.
EDIT: Anyhow, Voting Is Closed.
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- Location
- Austria
Mmhm, I know that; I was more referring to the thing where the world constantly became Lesser, and that people who would be normal in first age were legendary heroes in third, or whatnot.
Ancalagon vs Smaug or whatnot.
Honestly, I think the diminishment of the world in Tolkien gets turned into a somewhat exaggerated version of itself within parts of the fan community. Many fantastical aspects of the Arda did decline, because they were only ever meant to have a limited time on the world's stage. But the glory of the natural world itself is still deeply magical and will remain so as long as it endures. In some ways as the world moved on to focus on the stories of Men, it became greater, not lesser, because their endings are truly undetermined.
Arda Marred is a separate issue where the world did undeniably suffer, but this has more to do with the damage directly inflicted by Morgoth. Also, it's worth noting that all of this damage was planned for, part of the grand design of Eru. Without the legacy of Morgoth's scars, the world would have joy but no sorrow to balance it out, and it would not have the same profoundly bittersweet beauty. Even parts of the natural world as fundamental and beautiful as frost or ice are a legacy of Morgoth's rage and spite.
In terms of who would be heroes and who would not, I'd caution against getting into a kind of thinking where Tolkien's world is running on some kind of Dragon Ball Z-esque "power levels". Aragorn or Frodo would still be heroes in the First Age, and some esteemed captain of the Noldor from Fëanor's host would likely just be another of the anonymous Elven inhabitants of Rivendell or the Grey Havens in the Third. In fact, many of those at Rivendell were Noldor dating back to the First Age. They did not replace the Fellowship on the Ring journey and could not have done so!
The characteristics that define true heroism in Tolkien are personal and very human ones, bravery, fortitude, most of all a capacity for compassion. Heroism does not relate to some sort of abstract measure of mystical grandeur. Measuring things solely by power sets us on a dark road.
Arda Marred is a separate issue where the world did undeniably suffer, but this has more to do with the damage directly inflicted by Morgoth. Also, it's worth noting that all of this damage was planned for, part of the grand design of Eru. Without the legacy of Morgoth's scars, the world would have joy but no sorrow to balance it out, and it would not have the same profoundly bittersweet beauty. Even parts of the natural world as fundamental and beautiful as frost or ice are a legacy of Morgoth's rage and spite.
In terms of who would be heroes and who would not, I'd caution against getting into a kind of thinking where Tolkien's world is running on some kind of Dragon Ball Z-esque "power levels". Aragorn or Frodo would still be heroes in the First Age, and some esteemed captain of the Noldor from Fëanor's host would likely just be another of the anonymous Elven inhabitants of Rivendell or the Grey Havens in the Third. In fact, many of those at Rivendell were Noldor dating back to the First Age. They did not replace the Fellowship on the Ring journey and could not have done so!
The characteristics that define true heroism in Tolkien are personal and very human ones, bravery, fortitude, most of all a capacity for compassion. Heroism does not relate to some sort of abstract measure of mystical grandeur. Measuring things solely by power sets us on a dark road.
KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
The greatest heroes in Middle Earth are Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins, and Smeagol.
- Location
- Austria
Of Third Age? Well, they have a good claim, especially Frodo.
First Age had its share of great heroes of various stripes though. Beren and Luthien are probably greatest of that age, all in all? Or maybe Earendil and Elwing.
- Location
- UK
There's actually a pretty interesting retelling of LOTR by a Russian author, in which Mordor is essentially a nation on the verge of a full blown industrial revolution, and is destroyed by zealot luddites eager to maintain the feudal status quo.
- Location
- Space
- Location
- Space
Let's see...
Edit: Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance takes the victory.
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- Location
- Russia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yes, The Last Ringbearer by Kirill Eskov, great book indeed. It was mentioned in the thread.
- Location
- Austria
Yeah, Last Ringbearer is extremely cool.
Needless to say, it's very AU, but I love it regardless. It's basically written as "what if entirety of LotR is rewriting of history by turbo-reactionaries who glorify the past to the point they saw first plane prototypes of Mordor and called them 'evuhl nazguls' because they were afraid of engine noise".
Which, well...IRL the whole glorification of the past is deal of reactionaries, and Tolkien did write a setting where monarchs are literally metaphysically given divine right to rule by Eru. So yyeah. Appeal of rewrite is there, even for a person who always loved Tolkien to bits.
Plus it's decently written, last I saw it...well, I last read it in high school and I had shit taste, but I don't think it's bad.
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II: The Founding
- Location
- Texas
[X] Plan Royal Forge For the Last Alliance
-[X] The Isen
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Imrazôr
-[X] Male
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise
-[X] The Isen
-[X] The Guild of Shapers
-[X] Imrazôr
-[X] Male
-[X] The Shaper
-[X] Phazân, the Royal-Blooded
-[X] Sapthân, the Wise
Your name is Imrazôr, which in the tongue of the Men of the West means the great-fire, and you are a Shaper, one of the smith-lords who work the many miracles of the Blessed Isle. You were born to a noble family from Orrostar, in the east of Númenór. In you thunders the old blood -- your mother was a daughter of a Prince of the Star, one of the blessed line of Kings descended from Elros himself, the first High King of the Men of the West. You are too distant to hold any claim to that royal throne, but there is a strength in your line -- even as a youth, you were taller than the other children, and faster too, able to run many long miles without tiring. Númenóreans live long lives, but your mother lived longer still than most, and so shall you, the Healers say -- perhaps not as long as the Kings themselves, but your blood will snatch another fifty or so years from the Void.
You spent the first thirty years of your life beneath the gilded domes of the Houses of Learning in Armenelos, learning at the feet of the mightiest artificers and smiths in all the Blessed Isle. You are a swordsmith and an armorer and a jewelmaker, a ringmaster and an architect, studied in the centuries-old lore of the Zimrailai, the Men of Jewels. Your pursuit of knowledge did not stop there, however. You have spent long years studying the ways of the loremasters of old, the Wise who were learned when men were young. There is much lore on Númenór that survived the First Age of the Sun, and though many shun it as the work of elves, you have delved deep into the old ways. You have learned the songs the High Elves sung to hold back the Shadow in Elder Days, the words of power that were laid on hill and stone before ever men awoke. You know the Speech that shapes the world, and you are a wielder of the sacred Flame of Anor that was born across the Western Seas long ago. You are counted among the Wise.
Lesser men might call you a wizard, and there are some even on the Blessed Isle who name you sorcerer and elf-friend -- but what care you for they?
You enter your second century as a lord of wisdom with few peers among the men of the west, and a Shaper the equal of any on the Blessed Isle. If you remained on Númenór, in a decade's time you might have been raised as one of the Lord Shapers, and in half a century (certainly no more) you would have sat on the Council of the Sceptre as a Guildlord, the youngest in living memory by a century or more. Yet a lifetime of politicking in marble halls does not appeal to you, nor do centuries of bickering with other old men while your beard grows white. You wish to walk the wide world while there is still strength in your arms, to learn the secrets of Middle-earth which even the Númenóreans do not know. Wise they call you, and perhaps you are, for you see also the rifts growing among your people, the cracks spreading and widening. Númenór will soon no longer be a place for those learned in the ways of old.
That is why, to the surprise of many, you have convinced the Guild to sponsor you to found a colony in Middle-earth. It took some work, to be sure, but it was easier than you had expected. Many among the Lord Shapers were all too happy to see you gone across the sea, relieved to not have to defend their seats from you in a few decades. You will not be a Lord Shaper, no, but you will be a Sea-Lord of Númenór, a master of the coasts of the world. Better that, and freedom, than the 'power' to sit in an ancient hall muttering atop a mouldering seat until you withered away, like so many of these 'Lords'.
The Guild of Shapers has never sponsored a colony before, and while their wealth is vast indeed, the very act of announcing a colonization has badly angered the Guild of Venturers. Though required by law and tradition to aid you in scouting and selecting a colony, they have worked to hinder you in every way possible. Your ships are leaky and creaking, rotting things four centuries old. None of Númenór's ships have ever sank, but looking at these gives you doubt.
As the leader of the expedition, you have the right to select where your future colonists are primarily recruited from. Each of the various regions of Númenór was settled by different clans of the Edain, the Men of the West who became the Númenóreans, and each one has it's benefits and drawbacks, depending on what sort of colony you intend to found. Your ten ships can only hold so many men, so you will have to be selective.
[] Hyarnustar: The southwest region of Númenór, Hyarnustar was settled long ago by the men of the House of Hador, most warlike of the tribes of the Edain, and the soldiers of the Blessed Isle are still drawn primarily from here. The men of Hyarnustar are tall, well-muscled, and quick to anger and quicker to laugh, like their ancestors who were warriors when the world was young. They are fickle and proud, and do not take chastisement or mockery well -- and know little of humility. Colonists from here would prove able guardians of their own lands.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Hyarrostar: Last but far from least of all is the heavily-wooded southeastern region of Hyarrostar. It is here that the quiet and reclusive House of Haleth settled long ago. Nearly destroyed in their entirety during the First Age, their descendants have been slow to recover, and though they walk with Numenorean pride and Numenorean strength, they are still a quiet and reserved sort, shorter than most Numenoreans, slow to violence and capable of blending into the woods like no other. Master woodsmen and consummate adventurers, the Men of Hyarrostar are often chosen by the Guild of Striders and the Host of the King to serve as scouts and explorers, for they can move long miles unseen by beast or foe.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
[] Hyarrostar: Last but far from least of all is the heavily-wooded southeastern region of Hyarrostar. It is here that the quiet and reclusive House of Haleth settled long ago. Nearly destroyed in their entirety during the First Age, their descendants have been slow to recover, and though they walk with Numenorean pride and Numenorean strength, they are still a quiet and reserved sort, shorter than most Numenoreans, slow to violence and capable of blending into the woods like no other. Master woodsmen and consummate adventurers, the Men of Hyarrostar are often chosen by the Guild of Striders and the Host of the King to serve as scouts and explorers, for they can move long miles unseen by beast or foe.
--[] Gather a few colonists from here. (1 Ship)
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
Once the colonists are boarded, there is just enough room to bring a little extra with you -- and more besides. The wealth of the Shapers is vast, and they have pooled much of it into this venture, allowing you freedom of purse that most prospective Sea-Lords do not have. (Pick up to three, but remember that all debts must be paid)
[] The Shapers: You are already taking a few Shapers along with you, but you could ask for an entire detachment of 100. They would have to be returned in a few years, of course, but would prove a great boon to a newly-founded colony. The Guild would feel owed for such a large gift.
[] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
[] Tongues of Fire: Great steel-coated cylinders wrought from Númenórean iron, these 'Tongues of Fire' are alchemical miracles created by the Shapers. When the proper materials (strange chemicals from Harad) are mixed and lit ablaze, and the proper words said, they will belch great gouts of flame that destroy anything in their path. Hard to aim and difficult to resupply (the materials are not cheap) the Tongues have largely been abandoned by the army, but are ideal for the defense of a city. The Lord Shapers frown when you ask, but agree grudgingly.
[] The Company of the Fourth Star: Mercenaries --though they prefer the name Striders-- are not uncommon in the colonies, and the Gimilkarasai, the Company of the Fourth Star, founded long ago by a fourth-born Prince of the Star (hence the name), is among the most well-known. Some two thousand footmen and five hundred horse strong, they have fought in Harad, in Minhiriath, and in further lands of which you have not even heard. They are skilled, and they are not cheap.
[] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
[] Shipwright: No Venturer-licensed Shipwright will sail with your expediton. Against all odds, however, the Guild manages to find a retired Shipwright, a bent old craftsman who must be paid multiple exorbitant sums to leave his mansion and his twenty-five great-great grandchildren to come join you. The Lord Shapers tell you in no uncertain terms that your children's children will still be paying off this debt in five centuries.
[] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
[] Tongues of Fire: Great steel-coated cylinders wrought from Númenórean iron, these 'Tongues of Fire' are alchemical miracles created by the Shapers. When the proper materials (strange chemicals from Harad) are mixed and lit ablaze, and the proper words said, they will belch great gouts of flame that destroy anything in their path. Hard to aim and difficult to resupply (the materials are not cheap) the Tongues have largely been abandoned by the army, but are ideal for the defense of a city. The Lord Shapers frown when you ask, but agree grudgingly.
[] The Company of the Fourth Star: Mercenaries --though they prefer the name Striders-- are not uncommon in the colonies, and the Gimilkarasai, the Company of the Fourth Star, founded long ago by a fourth-born Prince of the Star (hence the name), is among the most well-known. Some two thousand footmen and five hundred horse strong, they have fought in Harad, in Minhiriath, and in further lands of which you have not even heard. They are skilled, and they are not cheap.
[] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
[] Shipwright: No Venturer-licensed Shipwright will sail with your expediton. Against all odds, however, the Guild manages to find a retired Shipwright, a bent old craftsman who must be paid multiple exorbitant sums to leave his mansion and his twenty-five great-great grandchildren to come join you. The Lord Shapers tell you in no uncertain terms that your children's children will still be paying off this debt in five centuries.
After the ships have been filled, there is just enough space for your own personal entourage. You are allowed, as is tradition, to handpick several people to accompany you on your expedition, should they wish it. A hundred years of life has made you many acquaintances and people who might even be called friends. You call on them now. (Pick Two)
[] The Captain: There are many great captains among the Venturers, but none half so experienced as Inzilbeth, called Inzilbeth Seastrider by the Middle Men. Born the daughter of a Faithful lord in a distant colony, she took to the sea from childhood, becoming one of the finest mariners upon the waves. Her mighty boat, the Pillar of Heaven, is one of the most loved in Númenor's navy, having many times won the day in grim battles on the southern seas. You sailed as her Sea-Shaper in younger days, keeping her boat afloat during daring maneuvers and sorcerous storms called down by the Dark Lord's servants. Her service long completed, she has spent her later years mapping the further shores of the world, each time returning with more grey in her hair. She has seen things men would not dare dream, she says. Seas redder than blood and mountains that spit fire, dragons that fly without wing, lands ruled by giants and men who ride massive spotted cats to war. Few men living could chain the Seastrider to land, yet you are one of them -- if you call, she will answer, with her famous vessel and her hardened crew.
[] The Last Lord of Eldalondë: In days long gone by, when Elves still came sailing across the Western Seas to Númenór, the Haven of Eldalondë was the fairest city on the Blessed Isle. It's shining gardens flowered with trees from the Undying Lands, and visitors standing on it's farthest shores could glimpse a glimpse of far-away Valinor. But the elves have not come in lifetimes, and Eldalondë, that was once so high and fair, has diminished with the passing of the years, now little more than a sad ruin on the western shore. The Lords of Eldalondë have diminished as well -- once, they sat on the Council of the Sceptre and were renowned among the Lords of Númenór, yet now those days are past. Hallatar of Eldalondë is the latest of these lords, a youth of forty-three who is no longer content to sit among the ruins of his land and wonder on better days. He is a skilled swordsman and a bold leader of Men, and he brings with him some three hundred men from shrunken Eldalondë. It is hard to tell who he hates more -- the kings who rejected him or the elves who never returned over the sea.
[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
[] The Twins: Arnuphazir and Calmacil are the twin sons of your friend Belzathan. The spitting image of their father in youth, they are as bold and brash as he was in younger days. Lads of but twenty, they are eager to see the wide world and test their blades against orcs and the enemies of the Blessed Isle. They bring with them a band of rowdy youths, disaffected lordlings and cast-off third sons all biting at the bit to see lands beyond the rolling sea. They are eager to see war in only a way those who have never seen it can be. It is said the younger brother, Calmacil, sees strange things in his dreams.
[] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
[] The Man of Gold: Mere weeks before your expedition launches, you are visited by a tall man with golden hair and amber eyes, and a thin smile that never reaches his eyes. He is Minalzîr, a member of a group of merchants (called certain disparaging names by their enemies) with great interest in controlling the trade between the northern and southern colonies, which they would be perfectly placed to do in your new settlement on the Isen. He is prepared to offer you an immediate and vast lump sum of gold, for exclusive trading rights in your new colony for half a century, and logging rights to the lands around it. Minilzîr himself would accompany you as a sign of good faith and as a representative of his consortium. (Can pick one extra Purchase option without worrying about the debt, specify it below this vote)
[] The Last Lord of Eldalondë: In days long gone by, when Elves still came sailing across the Western Seas to Númenór, the Haven of Eldalondë was the fairest city on the Blessed Isle. It's shining gardens flowered with trees from the Undying Lands, and visitors standing on it's farthest shores could glimpse a glimpse of far-away Valinor. But the elves have not come in lifetimes, and Eldalondë, that was once so high and fair, has diminished with the passing of the years, now little more than a sad ruin on the western shore. The Lords of Eldalondë have diminished as well -- once, they sat on the Council of the Sceptre and were renowned among the Lords of Númenór, yet now those days are past. Hallatar of Eldalondë is the latest of these lords, a youth of forty-three who is no longer content to sit among the ruins of his land and wonder on better days. He is a skilled swordsman and a bold leader of Men, and he brings with him some three hundred men from shrunken Eldalondë. It is hard to tell who he hates more -- the kings who rejected him or the elves who never returned over the sea.
[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
[] The Twins: Arnuphazir and Calmacil are the twin sons of your friend Belzathan. The spitting image of their father in youth, they are as bold and brash as he was in younger days. Lads of but twenty, they are eager to see the wide world and test their blades against orcs and the enemies of the Blessed Isle. They bring with them a band of rowdy youths, disaffected lordlings and cast-off third sons all biting at the bit to see lands beyond the rolling sea. They are eager to see war in only a way those who have never seen it can be. It is said the younger brother, Calmacil, sees strange things in his dreams.
[] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
[] The Man of Gold: Mere weeks before your expedition launches, you are visited by a tall man with golden hair and amber eyes, and a thin smile that never reaches his eyes. He is Minalzîr, a member of a group of merchants (called certain disparaging names by their enemies) with great interest in controlling the trade between the northern and southern colonies, which they would be perfectly placed to do in your new settlement on the Isen. He is prepared to offer you an immediate and vast lump sum of gold, for exclusive trading rights in your new colony for half a century, and logging rights to the lands around it. Minilzîr himself would accompany you as a sign of good faith and as a representative of his consortium. (Can pick one extra Purchase option without worrying about the debt, specify it below this vote)
On a dim summer day in the 18th year of the reign of Tar-Calmacil, who was called by the King's Men Ar-Belzagar the Conqueror, you and your fleet set forth from the eastern coast of the Blessed Isle to fling the shining lamp of Westernesse into the darkness of Middle-Earth. "The colonies and cities you shall found, the deeds you and your people shall do, will doubtless be the stuff of legend in later days" -- so goes the proclamation by the priest who sends you off, a doughty man with enough weight on him that you wonder how he climbs the Meneltarma to make his adorations every day.
You pass unmolested over the vast eastern sea, the Belegaer, and come after a week of good sailing to the mouth of that black river known in your tongue as the Angren, and called by the Middle-Men the Isen. Your first sight of the lands you will rule as Sea-Lord is from the deck of your leading ship, peering through the mist with sharp eyes. You see the mountains first, rising out of the sea-mist like towers in the night, towering white and cold above the world -- the Misty Mountains, beneath which dwelt the dwarves. Half a hundred miles distant, and yet they loomed clear as day.
As you approached, you saw indeed that the river under your ships seemed to run iron-black, for the dark stones at it's bottom. The Middle-Men believed it cursed, a place of power. But as you look at the trees crowding every bank, at the lush land, at the stars crowding above like a thousand silver eyes on the dark field of heaven, you know that it is perfect. Already in your mind's eye you see the city that will rise here on this river of iron, that will tower over the land under these bright stars and these misty mountains. You see the high walls and the shining towers, the arched domes and port thick with ships, voices Elvish and Dwarvish and Mannish ringing in it's streets.
Unbidden, it's name springs to your lips:
(This vote does not need to be in a plan, and will be tallied separately)
[] Angalasse, the Iron Shore (Elvish)
[] Navarang, the Iron Mouth (Elvish)
[] Angaros, the City of Iron (Adunaic)
[] Agakhibil, the Iron Spring (Adunaic)
[] Târ Dalad, The City Under The Mountains (Adunaic)
[] Târ Nîlon, the City Under The Stars (Adunaic)
[] Angaroth, the Place of Iron Foam (Adunaic)
[] The Isenmouth (Westron)
[] Minas Angren, The Tower Of Iron (Elvish)
[] Minas Giliath, The Tower of Stars (Elvish)
[] Minas Carnil, The Tower of the Red Star (Elvish)
[] Ost Angren, The Iron Fortress (Elvish)
[] Adunazhôr, the Flame of the West (Adunaic)
It begins.
It will end in sorrow, as all great things must.
QM ANNOUNCEMENT: No votes not in plan form will be accepted. There Is a twelve hour moratorium before voting can begin. No votes before this time will be accepted.
Reaction posts and Omakes are rewarded.
Last edited:
- Location
- USA
12 hour moratorium is good because there are a lot of options and interesting things here and this will be crucial for how well we do.
For the man of gold is the logging rights also a 50 year duration?
Also for purchases can we select any of the options more then once (like ships or the stone called iron)?
Of note we have 6 regions to chose colonists from with options of 1, 2, 3 and 5 ships meaning we would need 30 ships for max. Of course some of the companions bring their own people with them which adds to our initial colony.
For the man of gold is the logging rights also a 50 year duration?
Also for purchases can we select any of the options more then once (like ships or the stone called iron)?
Of note we have 6 regions to chose colonists from with options of 1, 2, 3 and 5 ships meaning we would need 30 ships for max. Of course some of the companions bring their own people with them which adds to our initial colony.
Wonderfully written!
Am I correct in assuming that the clauses at the end of each purchase option are meant to indicate that the size of the debt increases as you go down the list? The precise relative cost of each is a little unclear to me from the text.
Also am I correct in my reading that Minalzîr has identical drawbacks irrespective of the size of the debt of the purchase he provides?
Am I correct in assuming that the clauses at the end of each purchase option are meant to indicate that the size of the debt increases as you go down the list? The precise relative cost of each is a little unclear to me from the text.
Also am I correct in my reading that Minalzîr has identical drawbacks irrespective of the size of the debt of the purchase he provides?
- Location
- Back in Cali
I say we take the shapers, the lady shaper, the gold man and use him to get either more ships or the shipwright. As for colonists, We need farmers and miners first then the soldiers, faithful, and woodsmen. as for what to take ships, the stone and the mercs would be the best bet I think. As for name no real preference but Adunaic should be the language we don't want the kings men's attention by being an elvish named colony.
- Location
- The US
Extremely good update. As for prospective plans, I favor one which allows us to quickly set up industry and expansion.
I have no idea what to call this plan, but here it is
[] Plan to be named later
- [] Hyarnustar: The southwest region of Númenór, Hyarnustar was settled long ago by the men of the House of Hador, most warlike of the tribes of the Edain, and the soldiers of the Blessed Isle are still drawn primarily from here. The men of Hyarnustar are tall, well-muscled, and quick to anger and quicker to laugh, like their ancestors who were warriors when the world was young. They are fickle and proud, and do not take chastisement or mockery well -- and know little of humility. Colonists from here would prove able guardians of their own lands.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
-[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
- [] The Shapers: You are already taking a few Shapers along with you, but you could ask for an entire detachment of 100. They would have to be returned in a few years, of course, but would prove a great boon to a newly-founded colony. The Guild would feel owed for such a large gift.
- [] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
- [] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
-[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
- [] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
[] Minas Angren, The Tower Of Iron (Elvish)
The colonists were chosen to get a good mix of the types of colonists, with more farmers and miners than the more specialized colonists. The shapers and the fancy stone allow us to kickstart our colony faster, as does the extra ships. The lady shaper also helps improve our industry, while the knight will be helpful for leading our armies. The name was chosen based on what I thought sounded good.
I have no idea what to call this plan, but here it is
[] Plan to be named later
- [] Hyarnustar: The southwest region of Númenór, Hyarnustar was settled long ago by the men of the House of Hador, most warlike of the tribes of the Edain, and the soldiers of the Blessed Isle are still drawn primarily from here. The men of Hyarnustar are tall, well-muscled, and quick to anger and quicker to laugh, like their ancestors who were warriors when the world was young. They are fickle and proud, and do not take chastisement or mockery well -- and know little of humility. Colonists from here would prove able guardians of their own lands.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
--[] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
-[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
--[] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
--[] Gather a great amount of colonists from here. (5 ships)
- [] The Shapers: You are already taking a few Shapers along with you, but you could ask for an entire detachment of 100. They would have to be returned in a few years, of course, but would prove a great boon to a newly-founded colony. The Guild would feel owed for such a large gift.
- [] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
- [] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
-[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
- [] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
[] Minas Angren, The Tower Of Iron (Elvish)
The colonists were chosen to get a good mix of the types of colonists, with more farmers and miners than the more specialized colonists. The shapers and the fancy stone allow us to kickstart our colony faster, as does the extra ships. The lady shaper also helps improve our industry, while the knight will be helpful for leading our armies. The name was chosen based on what I thought sounded good.
- Location
- USA
On colonists:
[] Hyarnustar: The southwest region of Númenór, Hyarnustar was settled long ago by the men of the House of Hador, most warlike of the tribes of the Edain, and the soldiers of the Blessed Isle are still drawn primarily from here. The men of Hyarnustar are tall, well-muscled, and quick to anger and quicker to laugh, like their ancestors who were warriors when the world was young. They are fickle and proud, and do not take chastisement or mockery well -- and know little of humility. Colonists from here would prove able guardians of their own lands.
Soldiers, we will need some to defend our city and expand our lands. The number does depend on the companions we take as some can make up for it with their own prowess and those they bring with them. Probably want two ships unless we grab soldiers from companion/purchase menu
[] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
If we grab the shipwright under purchases then we will want to grab 2 ships here to have crew for them. At the very least we want some from here for a core of sea faring people to draw on given we are costal.
[] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
They are miners, we need miners but they don't like us. 1 at most because of that.
[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
Alternative to the first section as they are warriors as well but also more of the wise and shapers. The catch is that depending on the extent of our recruitment this could make us seem more faithful aligned for good or ill.
[] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
Farmers- we need some however like the previous section they are aligned with one side of the political specturum we try to balance. We probably want a ship to form a group that can teach others to ensure we are fed and hope that time and distance will dull their partisanship.
[] Hyarrostar: Last but far from least of all is the heavily-wooded southeastern region of Hyarrostar. It is here that the quiet and reclusive House of Haleth settled long ago. Nearly destroyed in their entirety during the First Age, their descendants have been slow to recover, and though they walk with Numenorean pride and Numenorean strength, they are still a quiet and reserved sort, shorter than most Numenoreans, slow to violence and capable of blending into the woods like no other. Master woodsmen and consummate adventurers, the Men of Hyarrostar are often chosen by the Guild of Striders and the Host of the King to serve as scouts and explorers, for they can move long miles unseen by beast or foe.
Good for looking into forests, and guess what we start near a major forest so we want some.
All regions have a use so we probably want people from all regions which means 6 ships assigned out to start with. That leaves 4 to increase the strength of a region. For those Hyarrostar (woodsmen adventurers, sounds like 2nd age Rangers to me) gets a 2nd ship. Andustar gets a 2nd as well to draw more shapers and wise as well as enough of a faithful leaning population to hopefully mitigate the kings men partisanship of the farmers we grab from Mittalmar. Probably a 2nd ship for the mariners region. Which leaves us either putting a 2nd ship on the first region for more warriors or bumping another region up to 3, I could also see going to 2 ships for the farmers and hoping we can balance that out over time.
[] The Shapers: You are already taking a few Shapers along with you, but you could ask for an entire detachment of 100. They would have to be returned in a few years, of course, but would prove a great boon to a newly-founded colony. The Guild would feel owed for such a large gift.
Faster startup time for the colony, we would owe the guild but if our trade with the Dwarves works out well us shipping mithril back should clear that up. Recommend we grab this.
[] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
Stone walls that rival mithril? That sounds like excellent to have for our walls to protect our city. Combos well with the extra shapers to put it into use and make a large well defended city. Once again shipping actual mitrhil over time should help pay this back.
[] Tongues of Fire: Great steel-coated cylinders wrought from Númenórean iron, these 'Tongues of Fire' are alchemical miracles created by the Shapers. When the proper materials (strange chemicals from Harad) are mixed and lit ablaze, and the proper words said, they will belch great gouts of flame that destroy anything in their path. Hard to aim and difficult to resupply (the materials are not cheap) the Tongues have largely been abandoned by the army, but are ideal for the defense of a city. The Lord Shapers frown when you ask, but agree grudgingly.
The need for supplies from Harad which we would lose access to makes me disinclined to this. Obviously good at defense but maybe something we can pickup during play if we find a local supply of the consumable chemicals.
[] The Company of the Fourth Star: Mercenaries --though they prefer the name Striders-- are not uncommon in the colonies, and the Gimilkarasai, the Company of the Fourth Star, founded long ago by a fourth-born Prince of the Star (hence the name), is among the most well-known. Some two thousand footmen and five hundred horse strong, they have fought in Harad, in Minhiriath, and in further lands of which you have not even heard. They are skilled, and they are not cheap.
A strong military force to go with any warriors we bring. Something to consider but they will cost continued upkeep from the sounds of it and not cheap at that.
[] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
Expensive, the question is do we want 4 more ships worth if so then yes if not then no. We will be repaying this a long time.
[] Shipwright: No Venturer-licensed Shipwright will sail with your expediton. Against all odds, however, the Guild manages to find a retired Shipwright, a bent old craftsman who must be paid multiple exorbitant sums to leave his mansion and his twenty-five great-great grandchildren to come join you. The Lord Shapers tell you in no uncertain terms that your children's children will still be paying off this debt in five centuries.
So want to grab this, the ability to make our own ships and not rely on the venture, both for supply runs to Numenor as well as sending material back to the Guild and for ships to patrol our coast and for fishing fleets to help feed the people make this interesting. Probably the best pick if we do man of gold companion.
[] The Captain: There are many great captains among the Venturers, but none half so experienced as Inzilbeth, called Inzilbeth Seastrider by the Middle Men. Born the daughter of a Faithful lord in a distant colony, she took to the sea from childhood, becoming one of the finest mariners upon the waves. Her mighty boat, the Pillar of Heaven, is one of the most loved in Númenor's navy, having many times won the day in grim battles on the southern seas. You sailed as her Sea-Shaper in younger days, keeping her boat afloat during daring maneuvers and sorcerous storms called down by the Dark Lord's servants. Her service long completed, she has spent her later years mapping the further shores of the world, each time returning with more grey in her hair. She has seen things men would not dare dream, she says. Seas redder than blood and mountains that spit fire, dragons that fly without wing, lands ruled by giants and men who ride massive spotted cats to war. Few men living could chain the Seastrider to land, yet you are one of them -- if you call, she will answer, with her famous vessel and her hardened crew.
Gives us a connection the Venture guild as well as a top notch captain to form a navy around. Will draw attention to us due to her fame.
[] The Last Lord of Eldalondë: In days long gone by, when Elves still came sailing across the Western Seas to Númenór, the Haven of Eldalondë was the fairest city on the Blessed Isle. It's shining gardens flowered with trees from the Undying Lands, and visitors standing on it's farthest shores could glimpse a glimpse of far-away Valinor. But the elves have not come in lifetimes, and Eldalondë, that was once so high and fair, has diminished with the passing of the years, now little more than a sad ruin on the western shore. The Lords of Eldalondë have diminished as well -- once, they sat on the Council of the Sceptre and were renowned among the Lords of Númenór, yet now those days are past. Hallatar of Eldalondë is the latest of these lords, a youth of forty-three who is no longer content to sit among the ruins of his land and wonder on better days. He is a skilled swordsman and a bold leader of Men, and he brings with him some three hundred men from shrunken Eldalondë. It is hard to tell who he hates more -- the kings who rejected him or the elves who never returned over the sea.
A martial leader that also brings a group of men with him. Neither faithful or kings man.
[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
Top tier warrior. Really top tier warrior let him go murderhobo on our foes.
[] The Twins: Arnuphazir and Calmacil are the twin sons of your friend Belzathan. The spitting image of their father in youth, they are as bold and brash as he was in younger days. Lads of but twenty, they are eager to see the wide world and test their blades against orcs and the enemies of the Blessed Isle. They bring with them a band of rowdy youths, disaffected lordlings and cast-off third sons all biting at the bit to see lands beyond the rolling sea. They are eager to see war in only a way those who have never seen it can be. It is said the younger brother, Calmacil, sees strange things in his dreams.
The sons of the top warrior, and one has the gift of foresight. Might be nice to have, not to mention a collection of young nobles looking to fight.
[] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
A shaper that is a peer to us, one of the best out their along with more shapers that are not leaving right away and some extra soldiers to help guard the city.
[] The Man of Gold: Mere weeks before your expedition launches, you are visited by a tall man with golden hair and amber eyes, and a thin smile that never reaches his eyes. He is Minalzîr, a member of a group of merchants (called certain disparaging names by their enemies) with great interest in controlling the trade between the northern and southern colonies, which they would be perfectly placed to do in your new settlement on the Isen. He is prepared to offer you an immediate and vast lump sum of gold, for exclusive trading rights in your new colony for half a century, and logging rights to the lands around it. Minilzîr himself would accompany you as a sign of good faith and as a representative of his consortium. (Can pick one extra Purchase option without worrying about the debt, specify it below this vote)
Is the shipwright cost too high? Look no further then this guy. On the flip side he will have an initial monopoly on trade (and we need to know how that would work with sending material back to the guild). Also need to know how long the logging rights last as that could reduce our ability to build a fleet.
[] Hyarnustar: The southwest region of Númenór, Hyarnustar was settled long ago by the men of the House of Hador, most warlike of the tribes of the Edain, and the soldiers of the Blessed Isle are still drawn primarily from here. The men of Hyarnustar are tall, well-muscled, and quick to anger and quicker to laugh, like their ancestors who were warriors when the world was young. They are fickle and proud, and do not take chastisement or mockery well -- and know little of humility. Colonists from here would prove able guardians of their own lands.
Soldiers, we will need some to defend our city and expand our lands. The number does depend on the companions we take as some can make up for it with their own prowess and those they bring with them. Probably want two ships unless we grab soldiers from companion/purchase menu
[] Rómenna: Known as the City of the Shipwrights, Rómenna is the greatest port in Númenór, and perhaps the world. Though one might expect it to be dominated by the Venturers, it is so massive a port that every Guild has interests here. The mariners of Rómenna, and the nearby region of Orrostar from which they are drawn, are famed for their bravery, daring, and skill upon the sea, the finest mariners in a race of mariners. They are known to shorten week-long voyages to days, and are popularly said to have 'tamed' the waves. Colonists from here would no doubt continue this tradition of sea-mastery, yet it is often said that the mariners of the City of Shipwrights could not till a field to save their very lives.
If we grab the shipwright under purchases then we will want to grab 2 ships here to have crew for them. At the very least we want some from here for a core of sea faring people to draw on given we are costal.
[] Forostar: The northernmost region of Númenór is populated by strong, hardy men fair of limb and strong of body, who have long worked in the mighty stone-quarries of Ondosto, the Grey City. These men are mighty miners and skilled workers of stone, which might make them able colonists by any measure, but they have a deep distrust of Shapers, who once worked them to their deaths in the stinking mines before the Guild of Workers was formed. That was centuries ago -- yet Númenóreans live long lives, and have longer memories.
They are miners, we need miners but they don't like us. 1 at most because of that.
[] Andustar: Andustar is the westernmost region, home to the proud and mighty Lords of Andúnië, greatest among the Faithful. Here of old settled the Men of the House of Beor, wisest and slowest to rage of all the kindreds of the Edain. Andustar has long been a land of scholars and Shapers, fair of heart and brave of tongue. The warriors who hail from this land are not the strongest or the fastest, but their hearts are sure. Yet Andustar is ever and always a refuge of the Faithful, and here dwell in great numbers the last of the Elf-Friends of the Blessed Isle.
Alternative to the first section as they are warriors as well but also more of the wise and shapers. The catch is that depending on the extent of our recruitment this could make us seem more faithful aligned for good or ill.
[] Mittalmar: Great plains of fertile land lie in this central part of Númenór, and as such this land is populated by the most hardworking farmers on the Isle, men who know well how to tend the land and work the earth. They are capable warriors, as well, but Mittalmar's population is loyal to the King almost the bone. The great capital of Armenelos sits at the eastern end of Mittalmar, and growing up within sight of the golden towers has seemingly made all the men of this region into diehard partisans of the King.
Farmers- we need some however like the previous section they are aligned with one side of the political specturum we try to balance. We probably want a ship to form a group that can teach others to ensure we are fed and hope that time and distance will dull their partisanship.
[] Hyarrostar: Last but far from least of all is the heavily-wooded southeastern region of Hyarrostar. It is here that the quiet and reclusive House of Haleth settled long ago. Nearly destroyed in their entirety during the First Age, their descendants have been slow to recover, and though they walk with Numenorean pride and Numenorean strength, they are still a quiet and reserved sort, shorter than most Numenoreans, slow to violence and capable of blending into the woods like no other. Master woodsmen and consummate adventurers, the Men of Hyarrostar are often chosen by the Guild of Striders and the Host of the King to serve as scouts and explorers, for they can move long miles unseen by beast or foe.
Good for looking into forests, and guess what we start near a major forest so we want some.
All regions have a use so we probably want people from all regions which means 6 ships assigned out to start with. That leaves 4 to increase the strength of a region. For those Hyarrostar (woodsmen adventurers, sounds like 2nd age Rangers to me) gets a 2nd ship. Andustar gets a 2nd as well to draw more shapers and wise as well as enough of a faithful leaning population to hopefully mitigate the kings men partisanship of the farmers we grab from Mittalmar. Probably a 2nd ship for the mariners region. Which leaves us either putting a 2nd ship on the first region for more warriors or bumping another region up to 3, I could also see going to 2 ships for the farmers and hoping we can balance that out over time.
[] The Shapers: You are already taking a few Shapers along with you, but you could ask for an entire detachment of 100. They would have to be returned in a few years, of course, but would prove a great boon to a newly-founded colony. The Guild would feel owed for such a large gift.
Faster startup time for the colony, we would owe the guild but if our trade with the Dwarves works out well us shipping mithril back should clear that up. Recommend we grab this.
[] Númenórean Iron: The white stone dug in Orrostar is like none other in Middle-earth, and when worked with special enchantments and reinforced by the secret ways of the Shapers, it becomes a material to rival mithril. It is stone still, but reinforced thus, it is ten times harder than steel and blacker than samite. A structure built from it could stand ten thousand years and not show a single crack. The Lesser Men call it Númenórean Iron, and though it is no iron, the name has caught on among your people. This much of it is worth a small fortune, but the Guild has paid it happily -- with promise of future repayment.
Stone walls that rival mithril? That sounds like excellent to have for our walls to protect our city. Combos well with the extra shapers to put it into use and make a large well defended city. Once again shipping actual mitrhil over time should help pay this back.
[] Tongues of Fire: Great steel-coated cylinders wrought from Númenórean iron, these 'Tongues of Fire' are alchemical miracles created by the Shapers. When the proper materials (strange chemicals from Harad) are mixed and lit ablaze, and the proper words said, they will belch great gouts of flame that destroy anything in their path. Hard to aim and difficult to resupply (the materials are not cheap) the Tongues have largely been abandoned by the army, but are ideal for the defense of a city. The Lord Shapers frown when you ask, but agree grudgingly.
The need for supplies from Harad which we would lose access to makes me disinclined to this. Obviously good at defense but maybe something we can pickup during play if we find a local supply of the consumable chemicals.
[] The Company of the Fourth Star: Mercenaries --though they prefer the name Striders-- are not uncommon in the colonies, and the Gimilkarasai, the Company of the Fourth Star, founded long ago by a fourth-born Prince of the Star (hence the name), is among the most well-known. Some two thousand footmen and five hundred horse strong, they have fought in Harad, in Minhiriath, and in further lands of which you have not even heard. They are skilled, and they are not cheap.
A strong military force to go with any warriors we bring. Something to consider but they will cost continued upkeep from the sounds of it and not cheap at that.
[] Ships: The guild goes out of it's way to finance four extra ships for your expedition, capable of carrying even more colonists. This is a serious expense, especially with the Venturers fighting them tooth-and-nail, and the Guild will want to see it repaid tenfold.
Expensive, the question is do we want 4 more ships worth if so then yes if not then no. We will be repaying this a long time.
[] Shipwright: No Venturer-licensed Shipwright will sail with your expediton. Against all odds, however, the Guild manages to find a retired Shipwright, a bent old craftsman who must be paid multiple exorbitant sums to leave his mansion and his twenty-five great-great grandchildren to come join you. The Lord Shapers tell you in no uncertain terms that your children's children will still be paying off this debt in five centuries.
So want to grab this, the ability to make our own ships and not rely on the venture, both for supply runs to Numenor as well as sending material back to the Guild and for ships to patrol our coast and for fishing fleets to help feed the people make this interesting. Probably the best pick if we do man of gold companion.
[] The Captain: There are many great captains among the Venturers, but none half so experienced as Inzilbeth, called Inzilbeth Seastrider by the Middle Men. Born the daughter of a Faithful lord in a distant colony, she took to the sea from childhood, becoming one of the finest mariners upon the waves. Her mighty boat, the Pillar of Heaven, is one of the most loved in Númenor's navy, having many times won the day in grim battles on the southern seas. You sailed as her Sea-Shaper in younger days, keeping her boat afloat during daring maneuvers and sorcerous storms called down by the Dark Lord's servants. Her service long completed, she has spent her later years mapping the further shores of the world, each time returning with more grey in her hair. She has seen things men would not dare dream, she says. Seas redder than blood and mountains that spit fire, dragons that fly without wing, lands ruled by giants and men who ride massive spotted cats to war. Few men living could chain the Seastrider to land, yet you are one of them -- if you call, she will answer, with her famous vessel and her hardened crew.
Gives us a connection the Venture guild as well as a top notch captain to form a navy around. Will draw attention to us due to her fame.
[] The Last Lord of Eldalondë: In days long gone by, when Elves still came sailing across the Western Seas to Númenór, the Haven of Eldalondë was the fairest city on the Blessed Isle. It's shining gardens flowered with trees from the Undying Lands, and visitors standing on it's farthest shores could glimpse a glimpse of far-away Valinor. But the elves have not come in lifetimes, and Eldalondë, that was once so high and fair, has diminished with the passing of the years, now little more than a sad ruin on the western shore. The Lords of Eldalondë have diminished as well -- once, they sat on the Council of the Sceptre and were renowned among the Lords of Númenór, yet now those days are past. Hallatar of Eldalondë is the latest of these lords, a youth of forty-three who is no longer content to sit among the ruins of his land and wonder on better days. He is a skilled swordsman and a bold leader of Men, and he brings with him some three hundred men from shrunken Eldalondë. It is hard to tell who he hates more -- the kings who rejected him or the elves who never returned over the sea.
A martial leader that also brings a group of men with him. Neither faithful or kings man.
[] The Knight: Your personal friend, Belzathan is a tall lord whose acquaintance you made on hither shores in distant days. Ever a consummate warrior and a bold fighter, he fought by your side against mumakil and sea-drakes and worse things still, terrors out of the furthest east that need no naming in the tongues of the West. He has risen since then to the esteemed position of one of the Azgadûn, the fabled Knights of the Sceptre, guards of the Royal Palace in Armenelos itself. This alone serves to name him as one of the deadliest men alive. He is loath indeed to leave his position at the side of his King, but if you request it of him, he will not deny you -- he owes his life to you ten times over, and is a man of honor and faith.
Top tier warrior. Really top tier warrior let him go murderhobo on our foes.
[] The Twins: Arnuphazir and Calmacil are the twin sons of your friend Belzathan. The spitting image of their father in youth, they are as bold and brash as he was in younger days. Lads of but twenty, they are eager to see the wide world and test their blades against orcs and the enemies of the Blessed Isle. They bring with them a band of rowdy youths, disaffected lordlings and cast-off third sons all biting at the bit to see lands beyond the rolling sea. They are eager to see war in only a way those who have never seen it can be. It is said the younger brother, Calmacil, sees strange things in his dreams.
The sons of the top warrior, and one has the gift of foresight. Might be nice to have, not to mention a collection of young nobles looking to fight.
[] The Lady Shaper: Among your earliest and oldest acquaintances in the Houses of Learning was the Lady Ûrîphêl. Harsh, cold, and demanding, you have never called her a friend, but nearly six decades of working side-by-side (sometimes together, sometimes at odds), you would not quite call her an enemy either. Shrewder and more intelligent by half than most men in the Guild, she all but brute-forced her way to the position of Lord Shaper at the unprecedented age of ninety-three. Ten years later, it seems she is bored of it. When she heard of your expedition, she merely showed up at your estate in Armenelos unannounced and declared her intention to go. She brings with her her sizeable household of tight-lipped, cold-eyed soldiers, and a dozen or so apprentices.
A shaper that is a peer to us, one of the best out their along with more shapers that are not leaving right away and some extra soldiers to help guard the city.
[] The Man of Gold: Mere weeks before your expedition launches, you are visited by a tall man with golden hair and amber eyes, and a thin smile that never reaches his eyes. He is Minalzîr, a member of a group of merchants (called certain disparaging names by their enemies) with great interest in controlling the trade between the northern and southern colonies, which they would be perfectly placed to do in your new settlement on the Isen. He is prepared to offer you an immediate and vast lump sum of gold, for exclusive trading rights in your new colony for half a century, and logging rights to the lands around it. Minilzîr himself would accompany you as a sign of good faith and as a representative of his consortium. (Can pick one extra Purchase option without worrying about the debt, specify it below this vote)
Is the shipwright cost too high? Look no further then this guy. On the flip side he will have an initial monopoly on trade (and we need to know how that would work with sending material back to the guild). Also need to know how long the logging rights last as that could reduce our ability to build a fleet.
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- Location
- Texas
Yes and yes.
- Location
- UK
Are you sure it's a good idea to have so many of our colonists be staunch King's Men or people who instinctively distrust us?
I think we should ensure we have a sample of all the different regions to preserve their skills, but we should probably aim to have more of the shapers/faithful than the others as their skills stack nicely with our build, and they seem to be capable generalists.
It's worth bearing in mind that simply because some of the regions may not excel in a particular area, that doesn't mean they aren't still entirely capable.
E.g. Those who aren't King's men can still farm, even if they aren't quite as good at it - unless they're the sailors, that is, who apparently suck at farming.