Middle-earth Tuesday Group - Evil Campaign
Began Summer 2015, July 28th?
Using ICE's MERP with Rolemaster 2nd edition.
The original posting on Meetup:
"
We are running a Middle-earth campaign using the Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) Rolemaster 2nd Edition rules and ICE's 2nd Edition MERP. Weekly on Tuesdays from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm. This replaces the slot previously used for The Spartan Show's Adventurer's Guild in the Worlds of Beru setting using D&D 5th Edition (they are moving, so on hold indefinitely).
This group wanted to try a go at an evil group. Their characters have been experiencing a rough time. The party consists of:
1 Black Numenorean
1 Uruk-hai
1 Half-orc (also a werebear)
There is 1 slot available for one more player/PC
It is Midsummer in the Third Age 1640. They have been just outside of Southeast Mirkwood. The Gondorian military is now on their trail after the PCs recently killed a Gondorian patrol, attacked several small farmhouses, set several fires, and assaulted another Gondorian scout. They recently met a small band of estranged Mordorian Orcs (lesser), and are trying to convince them to join. The PCs are in rough shape, and as is the nature of evil groups, trust only goes so far. At this point however the party is managing to function, though their pillaging is definitely increasing their risk. The Uruk-hai is starting to take on a leadership role, but that has not yet been solidified.
I rarely allow running evil campaigns, due in part to the fact that they almost always devolve into PvP situations. A few more mature groups have handled it well enough that they lasted up to a year before the "authorities" managed to hunt them down. If wishing to join the group, realize it is very difficult to join, and I expect actual role-playing to get your PC into the group, which isn't easy under such circumstances.
NOTE: To keep increasing the variety of players, and to keep meeting the broader gaming community, we are looking for players that are not currently, or have not previously, playing/played in one of my groups. The Merlyn's late night group is still wide open. Thank you for understanding. Happy Gaming!"
I had to cancel sessions after August 25th until October 6th, because I was just too sick after WorldCon and all the smoke.
We resumed, and added some new players.
Updated posting from October 6th:
"
We have an ongoing campaign set in Middle-earth. Due to the school year resuming, a couple of seats have opened up.
We are using the Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) Middle-earth Role-Playing (MERP) and Rolemaster 2nd Edition (RM2) rules. The year is Third Age 1640. The party is currently just east of Southern Mirkwood (they began in Dol Guldur).
The players have been in a number of my heroic campaigns, and wanted to try something different (for them). This is actually a campaign with "evil" PCs. The party consists of an Uruk-hai, a Half-orc, and a Black Numenorean.
It is tricky to play evil PCs without degrading into PvP or worse, so it requires mature players that are able to play such characters "responsibly". While the PCs have killed innocent villagers as Orcs are wont to do, nothing "rapey" is allowed.
As is usual with my regular groups (as opposed to the Adventurer's League and other Pick-Up Games), I strongly encourage ROLE-playing over ROLL-playing. So if you want a combat-heavy campaign, you will not enjoy this one. There is combat of course, but especially since Rolemaster is DEADLY for combat, it is best to think your way through, and interact socially to solve problems. Fighting will maim and/or kill your character quickly.
If the party dies, then the evil campaign ends, and a replacement party will have to be more along "heroic" lines as is more typical of my campaigns.
The PCs are already being hunted by Gondorian soldiers for their pillaging of outlying homesteads. Though the PCs have eluded them effectively. They are about to transition from cross-country adventure to entering a good-sized town that has an area where they may be able to lay low, and gather other resources, and make connections.
We have space for 1-2 new players beginning October 6th, 2015.
Game sessions are now Tuesdays, 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Hawke's House in Game Room #1.
Hawke's Text/cell: (509) 481-5437"
October 13th update:
Added 2 players last week (Justing & Heather), and 1 more player this week (Dawn). Drake is still managing to make it, though that may not last with school requirements, we'll see...
Here is the update from the last session:
So, the party has linked up, all 6 characters together now, after being separated into several segments. Have left Straytown and out in the countryside. Now charging toward a caravan camped for the night, planning to raid it.
Prior to this, the PC's in the party have developed appropriate tensions, there appear to be two main factions developing. On one side, the de factor though not yet formalized party leader, "Nig Nog the Dark" Uruk-hai and fellow female Uruk-hai Orglach and the Half-orc, representing the brute force side. On the other side is the Black Numenorean and Corsair, and their recently joined Variag Sorceress, representing a more intellectual approach. For now the latter are taking the orders (with some resistance) from Nig Nog, but how long will that go on?...
For now, they are united in their lust to slake their thirst for carnage and loot, as they charge the camped caravan in the night. See you all next week!
Well, sure enough, the party fractured.
The When the Half-orc (in were-bear form) ran ahead with the Female Uruk on his back to attack the caravan, going far ahead of the rest of the party (on foot), leaving the remaining Uruk-hai with the Black Numenorean, Variag, and Corsair. The Black Numenorean conspired with the other two humans to attack Nig-nog the Half-orc to try to put him "in his place" over the leadership tension from the previous session. However, the Corsair hit him so hard, that it caused brain damage. After some debate, rather than reviving him, and letting him "learn a lesson about who's in charge", they left him unconscious to bleed out.
Meanwhile, the other two started out strong, but were soon overrun by the caravan guards.
The Half-orc/Were-bear managed to escape, but bled (and died) out before he could get back to the rest of the party.
The Female Uruk was taken prisoner.
The others tried to bluff their way in, but the uruk let sleep they were with her....
So they didn't fall for the bluff. The Variag was taken prisoner, the Black Numenorean managed to flee (without weapons or gear), and the Corsair started to flee, but caught fire running through the campfire, and then was shot with a fatal arrow in his lower back (severing a vein, and 12 rounds until death), so while catching the dry grasslands around him on fire, he made a last effort of revenge, threw his hidden dagger at the one that dealt him the fatal arrow shot, and actually returned an even more fatal shot with his single dagger throw. He fell back into the flames, at first laughing "You will remember me!" then his laughters turned into blood curdling screams as the flames consumed him.
Thus ends this evil party's campaign. While the Black Numenorean May continue separately.
The group is now switching to my Worlds of Beru Campaign http://spokanerpg.com/beru while still using Rolemaster 2.
