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Westernesse: A Númenórean Colony Quest

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Ptolemy said:
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.
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That was my biggest problem in constructing the plan, and I couldn't quite get around it. I'm thinking of subbing out some of the miners and farmers in favor of more faithful or woodsmen
 
Telamon said:
It is said the younger brother, Calmacil, sees strange things in his dreams.
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Here is the Farseeing we so wanted for! The Twins are "must have".
I doubt for the second companion. I want to take The Last Lord of Eldalondë very-very much. But I understand that The Lady Shaper could bring some nice synergy.

And... please, let's not be greed. Let's not take Shipwright. We can not cover everything. If we wanted to go to the explorer path we had taken the Venturer Guild. Also, I assume if we take Shipwright we shall be paying debt until the sinking of Númenór.

Also i understand that it is politically oncorrect but I want to take a name Minas Angren. It is so in the the spirit of Tolkien... Just remember the first time you read LotR...

Does Imrazôr have wife or children?
 
There a lot to consider here, but I think the biggest choice is whether we accept the Man of Gold and his terms in order to pay for the Shipwright. Because unless we're not paying for the Shipwright it's difficult to justify the expense.
 
Arhin said:
Here is the Farseeing we so wanted for! The Twins are "must have".
I doubt for the second companion. I want to take The Last Lord of Eldalondë very-very much. But I understand that The Lady Shaper could bring some nice synergy.

And... please, let's not be greed. Let's not take Shipwright. We can not cover everything. If we wanted to go to the explorer path we had taken the Venturer Guild. Also, I assume if we take Shipwright we shall be paying debt until the sinking of Númenór.

Also i understand that it is politically oncorrect but I want to take a name Minas Angren. It is so in the the spirit of Tolkien... Just remember the first time you read LotR...

Does Imrazôr have wife or children?
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I want Minas Angren too tbh.

Companions:
Captain would be nice, but we lack Shipwright, so...probably useless. We just aint gonna be good on sea for at least a century I guess? Lack of shipwrights is all sorts of painful in this regard, captain without ships is useless.
OTOH she is one of two companions who seems to be a personal friend of ours. Loyalty is going to be rare and precious in coming days. So we might want to pick her for that alone.

I don't get the appeal of Last Lord at all, aside from 300 men? Granted, a skilled warrior with 300 followers...are actually going to be useful in first years. I see the point. Well...depends on the population choices: if we pick up loads of Warriors, we do not need those 300; if we pick up chokefull of farmers, loremasters and shapers, those 300 are pretty damn crucial.

Knight is always a decent choice, although being close to king might mean he's a partisan Kings Man? Other than this possibility (not certainty), definitely a good choice. Plus he is a personal friend, and trustworthy people are going to be quite rare in coming days. It's probably going to be my pick.

Twins, while having nifty Farseer, are leaders of young nobles who want to battle - these derps are going to try to force us into war with natives, elves, or, god forbid, dwarves. Especially if those are landless third/fourth sons who want to carve out the demesne. That...can be useful if we plan to wage war of conquest against natives in short-ish order, and is actively detrimental otherwise.
Well, unless we have some convenient orks to cool down the young hotheads. Or other actual enemies.

Lady Shaper - she may or may not plan to usurp us the moment she can. She is written as so exceptionally ambitious she only left Lords because it was not enough. I don't trust her until we have murdered her and burned the corpse. Hard pass.

Man of Gold - fuck publicani. Uh. I mean. Can be of use if we plan to go for sea-first strategy and buy out Shipwright with his gold, but Logging Rights are going to put us into conflict with local forest dwellers, are going to decimate our supply of logs for ships and other purposes and, longer term, are going to destroy regional ecology, making literally everything harder to do - hillslides without roots holding ground, for example. So....has uses only if we pick Shipwright; but if we wanted to sail high seas we should have picked Venturers backing. Shapers imply more of a focus on land exploration/exploitation, in my eyes. Thus, tentative pass.

Therefore, my picks are Knight + one of Captain/Last Lord/Twins; Captain if we want to maintain sea presence, Last Lord if we plan to pick up only a few Warrior colonizers and need skilled soldiers ASAP; Twins if we want early war with someone and thus the young noble hotheads craving for bloodshed are useful for us.

Alternatively, if we want MAXIMUM CONQUEST, Last Lord + Twins + lots of Warriors. But that's less of colony and more of tributary conquest - which can be a viable path I suppose?

That's for companions. Population picks depend on what do we want to do. Balanced pick of 1-2 each + something above is never wrong I guess.
 
ctulhuslp said:
Captain would be nice, but we lack Shipwright, so...probably useless. We just aint gonna be good on sea for at least a century I guess? Lack of shipwrights is all sorts of painful in this regard, captain without ships is useless.
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I assume we would keep the 10 ships we sail over in, for resupply and trade etc. An experienced Captain might be what we need to get the best out of our shitty ships?

@Telamon Since this is S.A 2755 then Sauron should have already burnt all the Enedwaith and Minhiriath about a thousand years ago so are we treating the map on the front page as accurate and handwaving that away or are those forests actually gone? Because that changes the calculations quite a bit.

I'm assuming the deforestation wasn't so bad in this timeline and Sauron didn't burn them down since Minalzîr wants logging rights... but it's important enough I wanted to check.
 
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Alright.

So, a tentative plan, aiming for:
- balanced colonist spread because we are not yet sure what we want, but
- we know that we want to trade with dwarves for mithril (gods above we are not conquering Khazad-Dum), so we need some number of pro-locals sentiment, meaning
- Kings Men have to be a minority because they are too chauvinistic to trade well with locals who cannot be intimidated into unequal treaties- like Khazad-Dum
- there are woods on landing site; we will need a number of Striders;
- we need to trade over waters still - with locals, other colonies, maybe homeland; meaning we need some shipping people and a Captain (who is personally loyal which is great)
- we need defense against attacks from both land and water;

Therefore, we can aim for being a trade hub in a region with rich and militarily dangerous dwarves, Lotlorian and Fangorn somewhere in vicinity (quite far away, but for all we know there are Ents in our woods - best take care till we are sure one way or another), locals who seem to lack settled cities, so....
I think of something like Hong Kong or Singapore atm; otoh, it is colonialism & imperialism game, so don't expect pacifism or lack of Numenorean Man's Burden or 100% tall build. I mean more of "we are so not poking the anthills we do not need to poke". Minimal hubris, maximum pragmatism. Which means very little Kings Men and not many descendants of Marach, for they are...not into humility or leaving well enough alone. :V

[] Plan We Will Not Poke Hornet Nests
- [] Hyarnustar:
-- [] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Rómenna:
-- [] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Forostar:
-- [] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Andustar:
-- [] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
- [] Mittalmar:
-- [] Gather a sizeable amount of colonists from here. (2 Ships)
- [] Hyarrostar:
-- [] Gather a large amount of colonists from here. (3 Ships)
- [] The Shapers
- [] Númenórean Iron
- [] Ships
- [] The Knight
- [] The Twins
- [] Minas Angren, The Tower Of Iron (Elvish)

Okay, so here's the plan.
Ships let us use 14 whole ships worth of population; it is mostly balanced, as all things should be, with preference for:
1. Andustar - Shapers and Loremasters. We need former for build-up, latter because we wanted to preserve lore, no? Plus Faithful, they are more useful in negotiating with locals.
2. Hyarrostar - we are going to live near a huge forest lol. Plus Striders will be useful in exploration.

Shapers + Iron will secure the settlement.

Knight + Twins (who are his kids btw; one name being in Numenorean, other in Elvish is a good sign, I think) are gonna take care of land warfare, I think.

Without Shipwright, I am not sure Captain is of use; she has her ship, sure, but....I am not sure.

The only issue is that Ships are expensive. May be not worth the investment.
@Telamon , do we get to hold on 10/14 ships we arrived with, or will we have to give those back to Shapers Guild after we land?
 
@Telamon

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)?
 
I feel like trying to balance the King's Men and Faithfull is just going to lead to civil war within the city at some point.

Unless you want to collect them all or something, we can disregard several choices. The mariners are kinda useless, since we start pretty far inland, where Isengard was founded OTL IIRC. The farmer/warrior hybrids are loyal King's Men to the last, which is bound to cause trouble. And it's not like the others can't farm or something.

To a lesser degree of trouble there are the Soldiers, who are prone to rash actions. Which screams "going to start a war for a preceived insult". The Miners/Masons hold a grudge, but that's something that can be worked with.

Faithfull and Striders are fine.

Going with a 3-3-2-2 Faithfull, Strider, Miners, Soldier build seems like the best idea given our location. 5-5-2-2 if we're going with the extra ships.
 
Dutch said:
The mariners are kinda useless, since we start pretty far inland, where Isengard was founded OTL IIRC.
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No we're not? We're founding the city at the mouth of the Isen by the sea, Isengard is located - as you said - way inland at the Misty Mountains close to where the river starts.
 
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Dutch said:
I feel like trying to balance the King's Men and Faithfull is just going to lead to civil war within the city at some point.

Unless you want to collect them all or something, we can disregard several choices. The mariners are kinda useless, since we start pretty far inland, where Isengard was founded OTL IIRC. The farmer/warrior hybrids are loyal King's Men to the last, which is bound to cause trouble. And it's not like the others can't farm or something.

To a lesser degree of trouble there are the Soldiers, who are prone to rash actions. Which screams "going to start a war for a preceived insult". The Miners/Masons hold a grudge, but that's something that can be worked with.

Faithfull and Striders are fine.

Going with a 3-3-2-2 Faithfull, Strider, Miners, Soldier build seems like the best idea given our location. 5-5-2-2 if we're going with the extra ships.
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Fair points all around. I will await on telamon's answer wrt whether those ships are ours forever. I am...not terribly fond of being too in debt to Shapers, they are going to use it as leverage to make us go for short-term profits in lieu of something more stable, I am afraid. Or something.

But yeah, there are plenty of good farmers - and we can just buy food anyway lol; it's not like locals are incapable of farming, and we, Shapers colony, are going to have so fucking much finished goods to trade in exchange for their raw goods and grain.


But a point of note: we are settling somewhere in mouth of Isen. So, lots of forests all around, river goes right to Khazad-Dum's gates.
 
HastyGaming said:
No we're not? We're founding the city at the mouth of the Isen by the sea, Isengard is located - as you said - way inland at the Misty Mountains close to where the river starts.
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Must have remembered the option wrong. Thought it said we'd sail up the river.

Still. I don't think we have any naval ambitions? So at most It'd be trade related.
 
Dutch said:
Must have remembered the option wrong. Thought it said we'd sail up the river.

Still. I don't think we have any naval ambitions? So at most It'd be trade related.
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Means three four things:
1. Traders have easier time sailing to us, especially in sheeps which are too deep-seating to sail up river.
2. (1) applies to naval attacks by hostiles.
3. We are not in future-Rohan, we are in some weird forest. Lots of wood, but Fangorn mentioned that in early days his forests stretched wide and so it might or might not be housing some Ents/Huorns. Still, means we need a decent number of Striders and that our land is...not precisely top-tier farmland, I think?
4. OTOH fishing can be a viable source of food; I still think that being focused on producing finished goods for trade and buying raw goods from others is better deal - think fantasy Hansa or Amsterdam.
 
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ctulhuslp said:
Means three four things:
1. Traders have easier time sailing to us, especially in sheeps which are too deep-seating to sail up river.
2. (1) applies to naval attacks by hostiles.
3. We are not in future-Rohan, we are in some weird forest. Lots of wood, but Fangorn mentioned that in early days his forests stretched wide and so it might or might not be housing some Ents/Huorns. Still, means we need a decent number of Striders and that our land is...not precisely top-tier farmland, I think?
4. OTOH fishing can be a viable source of food; I still think that being focused on producing finished goods for trade and buying raw goods from others is better deal - think fantasy Hansa or Amsterdam.
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Given our vision of being realm of craftsmen, I feel like we shouldn't be 'diluting' the composition too much. Meaning we should have at most 4, maybe 5 different peoples. Faithfull and Miners/Masons are central to that, so we should keep those at 3 and 2. So either move the Striders from 3 to 2 and grab a single point of Mariner or trade in the Soldiers for Mariners and hope the Faithfull and our location are enough.
 
I think in terms of companions, we should go for the Captain.

The Guild of Venturers has attempted to stymie us at every turn, so using our connection to our former commander to nab ourselves a very good ship and crew seems like a good idea. The option also notes she is getting on in years, so she'll want to leave a lasting legacy.

I also like the backstory this brings with it.
 
Telamon said:
[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

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's father's 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)

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.

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)

On a dim summer day in the 34th 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:

[] 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.
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Can we have an option between "large" and "great" to get four ships of colonists from a particular region? It could be "very large", or something like that.

Edit: Also, can you please clarify the deal we'd have with the man of gold? Would we be giving them rights to timber in perpetuity, or just for 50 years? Can you also tell us how we could expect this to affect our access to wood, and if we'd have shortages of it, or if they'd charge us for wood at an exorbitant rate?
 
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ctulhuslp said:
But a point of note: we are settling somewhere in mouth of Isen. So, lots of forests all around, river goes right to Khazad-Dum's gates
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The Isen is not connected to either of Moria's gates. At the western gate there is the Sirannon (Gate Stream) which joins the Glanduin above Tharbad and flows into the Sea near Lond Daer. Near the eastern Main Gate flows the Celebrant (Silverlode) out of the Dimrill Dale. This river later joins the Anduin and flows over the Rauros Falls into the Sea below Pelargir.
So, both of these river mouths were all ready occupied. Our best bet to connect to Khazad-Dum is probably up the Isen and then overland OR through Lond Daer and Tharbad (not sure if that location is still/already settled after serving as a base during the last war).

Also regarding available Wood and logging activities. While Enedwaith on the north-western shore is mostly grasslands, there is also Drúwaith Iaur (Old Pukel Land) on the south-eastern shore. This heavily forested land is inhabited by Druedain, who are likely going to be hostile if our arrival leads to widespread deforestation.
 
We could grab the Last Lord instead of the mariners. From the description I'd assume that they'd also be focussed on naval or trading matters. 300 men might also be a lot of people, seeing how the fewer number of colonists was one of our drawbacks.

Could you clarify @Telamon?
 
Dutch said:
We could grab the Last Lord instead of the mariners. From the description I'd assume that they'd also be focussed on naval or trading matters. 300 men might also be a lot of people, seeing how the fewer number of colonists was one of our drawbacks.
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Where do you get the idea they're sailors? They're just the people on the west coast who traded with the elves of Valinor when they still traded with men.

300 extra people would definitely be a huge boost, but is it worth it if they outright hate the elves? Their leader definitely does, and it would seem likely his people do as well.
 
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