On Rings of Power...

Hope endures - my TOR 1e character from Darkening of Mirkwood

After the session of The Yellow King this week, Dr Mitch and I got talking. He's just started to read the Starter Set for the second edition of The One Ring, and we got to talking about campaigns and how nice it would be to dive back into Middle Earth. We'd always talked of a follow on mini-campaign where my character, Nalí, led some of his colleagues and kinsfolk back to their hall in the Grey Mountains to slay the dragon and recover the treasure, including a rumoured Ring of Power.

As we chatted, we realised that the Darkening of Mirkwood game had run for long enough that it would have been into the new timeline of the second edition. Dr Mitch then observed that it was a shame, as Nalí had four points of Shadow and it was likely that he would fall to the darkness if he succeeded on his quest (especially as he suffers from the Dragon sickness). Strangely, that didn't put me off. I think it would be very apt, and very Tolkien. Let's be honest, many of the Professor's tales didn't end that well for the protagonists; death, corruption and life with the consequences were more common. To hold that candle and cast some light, if only for a while.

There's a sorrow that runs through Eriador and Gondor, and the places that the Elves and Dwarves were. A sense of loss prevails. Strangely, the Mirkwood campaign didn't really have that feel; it was more of a desperate battle against the creatures of the dark. It was more primal and raw; this wasn't a civilisation that was an echo of the past, threatened by a darkness it thought it had defeated. It was young, with joy and hope. It made when we ventured to the dark places, the lost places, so much more terrifying.

A quick skim of the new Ruins of the Lost Realm book for TOR 2e suggests that the sense of loss is back, with the ruins across Eriador casting a shadow on the present. I love this, as it was the vibe that brought me into gaming in Tolkien's world with MERP (ICE's Middle Earth Role Playing). 

And yet, hope endures. Digging my character sheet out, I realised that Nalí only had one point of permanent Shadow, plus some temporary. Plus I'd raised his hope up higher. I'd seen that threat, and moved to stop him falling to the dark. Telling Dr Mitch, he messaged me back. There was hope for the quest to succeed without it ending badly. Perhaps the road will go on?

28 April 2022