James_Nostack 1216423196|%e %b %Y, %H:%M %Z|agohover
(this is cut-and-pasted from an RPG.Net thread)
(Here's where I'm coming from with this: as I see it, there are "three strands" of D&D
#Tolkien-inspired high fantasy
#Howard-inspired pulp fantasy
#1970s-inspired acid fantasy
Each of these strands is awesome in itself, but it's really hard to have a setting that hits all of those notes at once. Replacing Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser with Legolas and Gimli doesn't quite work, because their roots in Christianized Germanic folklore clashes a bit with alienation and titillation of sword & sorcery fiction.
So I've been thinking about these different kinds of settings, and brooding over the opportunity costs. When I got interested in some under-used parts of Middle-Earth…)
Last week I got all hopped up on crazily detailed Tolkien fan sites, and became fascinated with the idea of adventuring in the far east of Middle-Earth, around or past the Sea of Rhun. Very little is known about this place from Tolkien's writings, so I pose the question: "Folks of RPG-Net, if you were jamming on this, what would you do?"
With that in mind, here's what's known
- The Elves and Men both "awoke" in this area thousands of years ago, and gradually made their way into the western regions of Middle-Earth
- Mainly, this is where the Easterlings live. They're pretty much Tolkien's human fall-guys: they show up in the West every few centuries and mess up the joint, only to get their asses kicked by the Northmen and the Westrons. They live in "cities of stone," and apparently have many different divisions and factions, including the "Wainriders" and the "Balchoth." The Easterlings are apparently irredeemably evil, and may worship Morgoth (Tolkien's Satan figure, and Sauron's mentor).
- During the Second Age, the men of Numenor traveled along the coasts, even to the inland seas of Rhun etc., and conquered much of this land.
- One of the Ring-Wraiths was a king of the Easterlings named Khamul during the Second Age.
- The area is still populated by "dark elves," (Avari / Moriquendi) who refused to heed the call to go live among Tolkien's god-angels. It's supposed that Morgoth may have harvested these Elves to create the Orcs.
- The area is also populated by four of the seven Dwarf clans, who live in the Orocarni ("Red Mountains").
- The Variags, or the people of Khand, may live in this area too; like the Easterlings they're pretty much Evil Men.
- Most famously, the two "Blue Wizards" traveled into this area and never show up again in the story. These were Maiar, named Alatar and Pallando. Their nature is unclear. At one point, Tolkien wrote, "I think that they went as emissaries to distant regions, east and south, …. Missionaries to enemy occupied lands as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and "magic" traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron." Later in life, he changed his mind and they apparently play a pivotal role in defeating Sauron (somehow).
- Bilbo briefly mentions the "were-worms" of the "Last Desert." Maybe that's for real; maybe that's just Shire superstition.
- Sauron spent the first millennium or more of the Third Age lurking in this area, rebuilding his power.
Some speculation
- Ungoliant, the archetypal evil spider, allegedly fled into the uttermost south, where she starves to death and withers away. This is a lame way for Ungoliant to go out. Maybe instead she is worshipped by forgotten cults or monks, and there are cities of great spiders in the East. (Easy way to drag in Lolth and the Drow if you're inclined to go that way.)
- The Numenoreans may have set up cities along the coast - which fell into the hands of Morgoth-worshipping Black Numenoreans.
- In the Silmarilion, there's a brief mention of vampires. Whether this is really the undead, or simply giant, intelligent bats, it's not clear. But they don't show up anywhere else, so maybe they're a factor Out East.
- I kinda like the "Blue Wizards go off the reservation" type of deal. Of the five Istari sent to Middle-Earth, Gandalf opposes Sauron, Saruman is seduced by Sauron, and Rhadagast is too disinterested or intimidated to do much. So what in what ways can these guys fail in their relationship to evil? Maybe one of them becomes so militant in his opposition to the Enemy that he becomes a danger?
- Somewhere, there's a notion that the Istari have genuine human bodies, but are made "magical" by the Maia spirit. This would imply that the Istari can father children… so maybe there is a bloodline based on one of the Blue Wizards…
- Perhaps the Entwives migrated East… strange mushroom-women with hallucinogenic spores, dwelling in forgotten swamps and caverns…
(I'm toying with the idea of fitting the Black Peaks in here, as it's pretty much a Tolkien rip-off as it is. I haven't made up my mind yet, but am open to suggestion.)
