Other Hands #8 - January 1995

So, where is this ​“role-playing in Middle-earth” thing going anyway? Every game concept (potentially) has a chance for its moment in the limelight, when all the world (or at least the greater part of the gaming world) is seized with sudden interest and excitement at something new, innovative, or striking; when a particular rule system or world achieves notoriety beyond the narrow confines of its introverted cult following; when its adherents feel as though the endless hours of imaginative energy they have invested into that world have become a part of something larger, something of value over and above the simple enjoyment of role-playing. Has this moment already passed for Middle-earth? Was it ever there in the first place? Is there a future for this passion or will it, like us, one day fade into obscurity?

The purpose of this article is to try to work out the kind of rituals that the Dúnedain performed and those that would have been reestablished by Aragorn-Elessar.

The realm of Myr, located in north-central Middle-earth, was founded by an Elven woman named Myronimair many years ago. Her kindred were Avari Elves who woke in the far east at the beginning of the First Age who never journeyed to see the light of the Trees nor gained the wisdom of the other Eldar. The particular group that became the Myric Elves were actually traveling westward when beset by a blizzard like none ever seen before. Myronimair saved them and the survivors founded Myr in the large taiga valley in the far north.

This short scenario is a murder mystery set in T.A. 1450 in the small Arthadan town of Rood, which lies on the road between Fornost and Annúminas. The player-characters may be either residents of the town or merely passers-by (perhaps stopping there on the way to explore the nearby ruins of Annúminas).

This adventure is set in Rhudaur and/​or Cardolan in the year 1643 of the Third Age. It involves the finding and recovery of four magical weapons which had belonged to King Calimendil of Cardolan and his lieutenants (some of whom perished in the wilderness of Rhudaur in 1235). The search for these weapons may eventually lead characters to follow the trail of one of Calimendil’s lieutenants into the lair of a lost tribe of degenerate Dwarves, who may or may not be cooperative in helping the characters to obtain what they have come for.

One of the most powerful artifacts ever to grace Middle-earth awaits Fourth Age adventurers who answer King Elessar’s bidding to find a mystical palantír in ICE’s first-ever campaign module, Palantir Quest. Also a first for an ICE publication, the module features a Fourth Age setting which requires no special preparation by the GM, since detailed scenarios present the GM with a linked series of adventures, none of which are easy to complete. As the player-characters pass through each stage of their quest, new obstacles arise, moving them closer to their ultimate goal of finding one or perhaps more of the lost Seeing-stones.

Drawing from Tolkien’s published texts and unfinished works, Iron Crown delivers another command performance in Moria, the first installment in the new and revised citadel series. Perhaps more than any other in Middle-earth, this site captures the imagination of those adventurers who would travel into a forbidding and once-forsaken realm beneath the living earth. The very site where Gandalf the Grey battled the fiery Balrog presents the foolish and immortal alike a wealth of adventure possibilities.

Since 1982, a small band of Scandinavian enthusiasts from the academic world have been producing Arda, an occasional — It’s supposed to be annual, but isn’t — publication devoted to the writings ofJ.R.R. Tolkien. There are currently seven volumes of Arda, each of which contains a number of essays (occasionally by leading Tolkien scholars, such as Tom Shippey) and reviews of Tolkien-related events and books of the year. Each volume contains between 100 and 250 pages.