MERP – Session One “Dawn comes Early”

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Tarmor

Following our afternoon of Character creation, we got straight into gaming… This was a MERP conversion I did of LR0 (LR-zero) which is a great starting adventure. It was certainly written more in the style of the Hobbit, than the ‘Lord of the Rings’. While parts of it could have gone badly for the players, they had good rolls when they needed them. We made mistakes (both GM and players) especially forgetting the Reload(0) penalty with bows, but we all had a great time, and everyone was paying attention and thoroughly involved the whole night.

1st May 3011 Third Age: Over the last week or two, the group has heard of sheep and lambs going missing; wolves from the Chetwood have been blamed. Tolman (Tom) Greenthumb is a ‘finder’ – a hobbit with a knack of tracking down things that are missing and assisting lost travellers. He was investigating the missing animals. One or two of the group heard a rumour that Tom for stealing sheep in order to “find” them. This afternoon, everyone received a message from Lily Greenthumb (Tom’s sister) to say they were needed urgently and to meet at their smial that afternoon. Tom had left a note earlier in the day to say that he suspected a ‘monster’ had taken the sheep and that he was going to speak with his uncle, the Shirrif, and the Mayor. Lily learned this afternoon, that Shirrif Bunce has had Tom locked up on suspicion of stealing the sheep. She wants their help to get him out immediately. The group head to the lock house, where they are told that Tom has been accused of stealing sheep by a small group of townsfolk and is being held for perhaps a week. A junior Shirrif moves them on when they try to approach the rear of the hill that holds the home of the Shirrif as well as the cells. They go in search of the Shirrif and the Mayor, to try to get Tom released – first to the main Jail, then the town hall, then around the south gate. Each time, they are told that the person they seek is no longer there. As the afternoon wears on they go to the Mayor’s house, where his annoyed wife tells them her husband has just returned home for dinner. If they want to speak to him they must wait until tomorrow, and see him at the Town Hall.

They meet back at the Greenthumb smial. It sounds like the Shirrif doesn’t believe Tom is guilty, but is holding him to see if more sheep go missing. Lily insists that her Uncle is stubborn and won’t be convinced there is a greater danger without evidence. Since the lock-house isn’t guarded overnight, they should break Tom out so that they can find proof that something else is responsible.

The moonlit spring night is quiet. As they near the market, they sight a figure heading north. It looks like Gil Mossgrave, one of the trouble-makers who accused Tom. When he disappears into the night, they continue and reach the lockup. A few of them take positions where they can watch the roads, and Broheim looks around the locked rear door and cell windows. An office window is ajar, and he slips inside. There are two cells, both well secured but he fails to pick the cell lock. Back outside, he starts to remove the bars to Tom’s cell. Tom, awake, whispers to him about sighting what he thinks was a troll on the edge of the Chetwood. A local dog turns up, excited to see Broheim & Filencë. The Elf is able to keep the dog quiet and eventually he moves on. Broheim gets a second bar loose, but the gap is still not big enough for a Hobbit. Tom suggests that they leave him, but it’s too late… bright lantern light reveals Shirrif Bunce. Recognising the PC’s he lowers his cudgel, and grins “I might have known…” He tells the group that since they are so determined, he’ll give them a chance. “We haven’t heard of trolls near Bree for centuries. You’d best return with a monster in tow, or useful evidence, otherwise I’m liable to be relieved of my duties permanently, and Tolman will be in a cell for a lot more than a few days.”

On the way back towards the smial, Tom outlines what he has learnt over the last two days. In addition to oversized footprints, and one of the farmers seeing a shape in the night much bigger than a wolf, Tom himself got a glimpse of a huge humanoid with scales, a ragged jacket and a club as big as a fallowhide. This was early yesterday on the edge of the Chetwood. As unlikely as it seems, he is sure he saw a troll!

Leaving Lily at the smial, Tom shows them a way up Bree hill and over the hedge to the north. They search for tracks close to the farms on the edge of town, and near the start of Bitter Creek, then head towards the Chetwood. After perhaps two hours of searching, they are heading west along the Chetwoods edge towards the Greenway. Filencë spots a glimmer of light at the large bridge in the distance. They split as they get closer to the bridge – half the group approaching along the creek and the rest along the road edge. As Celeblason and Aglann near the bridge they hear a voice complaining about not getting enough lamb to eat. They can see a fire under the bridge, a large pot and a humanoid shape. A second voice rumbles in response – there are TWO trolls!

The group retreat and discuss their options. Broheim wants to charge straight in to attack, but Filencë warns him that a Troll can be a fearsome opponent. Celeblason suggests waiting as long as they can before they attack, focusing on keeping their distance and drawing the trolls out from under the bridge. Things may go against them, but if they time things right, they can catch the trolls in the rising sun. They don’t want to attack too late, or the trolls may notice the dawn and stay hidden. They move west of the bridge and spread out with bows (and a crossbow), while Broheim hides in the grass a little closer with his sword. When Celeblason signals, they begin to call out to challenge the trolls and loose missiles. All shots miss but Aglann’s; her arrow sinks deep into one troll’s side, leaving it staggered and confused. The second troll yells insults back to the group, but stays under the cover of the bridge. It’s not until Aglann’s third precise shot drops the first troll that the second is spurred into action. In anger, it strides out from the bridge threatening to flatten the elves, and straight towards the Dwarf, who gets in a solid strike. Broheim evades the return blow and hits again. A few more arrows and a bolt of charged light from the Mage take it down. The group are happy to have evaded injury, as the dawn breaks over them. While they ensure the trolls are dead, they hear a horse. A tall man in green and brown dismounts, joking with Tom about the hobbit getting into trouble. Tom introduces him as Saeradan, a Ranger who lives just north of Bree. After checking whether any are wounded, he looks under the bridge with them, suggesting that the Trolls don’t appear to have been there for more than a few days. He tells them that he saw huge footprints where he came through the Chetwood minutes earlier. He gives them directions. His thought is that the trolls must have a hole or dwelling of sorts in the forest that has been unknown. There may be valuables there, or more trolls… He must head south but will be back in a few days if they require assistance. Tom suggests the group follows tracks back into the forest while he brings his Uncle out to see the dead trolls, and the sheep bones in their pot.

2nd May: The five follow a trail of crushed undergrowth and large footprints. After perhaps 30 minutes they reach a slight hill with a narrow clearing. It appears that much of the long grass and shrubs here have been recently cleared – cut down or pulled up and tossed aside. A wide fir tree partially hides a cut into the hill, edged with huge stones. A large open doorway is visible. While the group look around, two individuals walk out into the light, one holding a broom. It’s Gil Mossgrave and Nat Groathusk. “Tolman’s friends” hisses Nat. “We’ll beat them senseless, and leave them for the Trolls!” says Gil. A short fight breaks out as the two unruly men advance with knife and club, but they are no match for the troll slayers. Once stunned or knocked unconscious, they are bound hand and foot.

Within, a faint burnt smell is mostly overpowered by the horrible stench of age-old decay and something like putrid meat. There are only three rooms, all showing signs of thick dust and cleaning. The scant furniture appears old, rotting and fragile, where it hasn’t already collapsed. Mouldy cloth and mouse dropping contrasts with a sack of fresh potatoes, a wheel of cheese, and a locked but recently cleaned chest. Broheim fails at picking the lock on the chest, though he triggers a dart trap. They can carry it back into town, and hope the blacksmith can assist with breaking the chest open. An old hunting horn, a bow, a belt and a small wooden box (holding fresh herbs) are the only other items found that look worth taking.

Gil and Nat are hobbled and roused, then questioned on the way back to Bree. They admit to working with some bandits and selling stolen goods in Bree. It appears that they stumbled on the trolls here and told them of easy food near Bree. They were starting to use the troll-hole as a storage place, and were happy to get Tolman in trouble and out of the way.

At the west gate of Bree there are a crowd of Breelanders, both Big and Little Folk. Perhaps two score have turned out to cheer the “defenders of Bree”. Tolman waits with Shirrif Bunce, who takes Gil and Nat into custody. Two Hobbit farmers who lost stock are particularly happy. One, Polo Hammidge (who is a little better-off than many of the Bree farmers) calls to Master Butterbur as the crowd reaches the Prancing Pony: ” A feast for these brave lads and lass!” A long lunch is arranged and the group starts what will likely be one of many recitals of their adventure.

MERP – Setting up a RPG Campaign

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Tarmor

This came up when I was telling my group about the time period I’m setting the campaign in…

‘Lord of the Rings’ trivia: If you have only watched the movies (or haven’t read the books much/recently) you likely don’t realise that 17 YEARS passes between Bilbo’s 111th birthday party and when Gandalf warns Frodo about the Ring, and then another 5 months before Frodo actually leaves the Shire.

Years ago I started making notes & ‘house-rules’ for a MERP (Middle Earth Role Playing) Campaign. This has been restrictions I wanted to apply to PC Race/Culture, and what additional options to include; which has mostly been the “Optional Material” in Appendix A-6 (Professions, Learning Spell Lists) and expanding equipment using Rolemaster tables.

I have also simplified the XP tables, expanded the list of Herbs, and streamlined some of the modifiers to Combat and Spell casting.

I’m also using two additional mechanisms – Fate points (that can be used for a +50 to a Skill or RR roll, or a re-roll) and Stat points. (Used to increase Stats, with the cost increasing for Stats that are 90+) Players get a couple of points of each when they gain a level.

I have a number of Rolemaster books but have generally only read parts of them when I wanted something specific. I only noticed in the last few weeks that Rolemaster has a point buy system for Stats, and a Stat gain mechanism when gaining levels. If I’d seen this a few months ago, I would probably have made the point buy part of the rules. I might end up using a variation on the Stat gain for levelling once I talk about it with my players.

For the adventure side of things:

I converted two adventures from ICE’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Adventure game to MERP rules, as starting scenarios. (If MERP is a revised Rolemaster, then LOR is a simplified MERP) These were very well structured adventures that make a great campaign starting point, and are also good for new or returning players to demonstrate/remind how skills and combat work.

I’ve made a list of published MERP Adventures that take place in Eriador (some of which I’ll relocate) and noted what order to run them in. I’ll also write some material to ‘fill in the gaps’. My aim is to mostly use published material, at least at first, as much as possible.

The starting Race/Cultures allowed were those most likely to be found in north-western Middle Earth – so Dwarves (no Umli), Elves (Noldor, Sindar, Silvan), Half-Elves, Hobbits and Men (Beorning, Dunedain, Dunlending, Eriadorian, Gondorian, Rohirrim).

Professions – Animist, Bard, Mage, Ranger, Scout, Warrior… plus Burglar, Conjurer, Explorer, Rogue, Skin Changer, Wizard.

Stat rolls came out well distributed, in that nearly everyone had one roll in the 90’s, two 60-80 and the other three rolls low. Everyone swapped their lowest roll for 90 in their ‘Prime’ Stat. (This is a MERP choice that is always popular.) I’ve had other MERP games before where one player rolled a lot of high rolls and had a distinct advantage. (Another good reason for point buy!)

I was expecting a variety of races, and something like Warrior, Scout, Ranger, Animist and Mage for the group, though I wouldn’t have been surprised to have someone choose Skin Changer! It was pretty close to that…

The party is a Dwarf Rogue, a Silvan Elf Rogue, a Noldo Elf Ranger, a Rohir Animist, and a Noldo Elf Mage. (Rogue is a hybrid of Warrior and Scout.) It’s a fairly well-balanced group of characters, though I expect some specialisation on different skills to start appearing once they reach 2nd level.

The game begins in Bree, in the year 3011, Third Age. That gives us 7 years of adventuring before they catch up with the main events of the books, assuming the campaign goes that far/long. It is possible that they will meet characters from the books (there’s a cameo from someone in the next scenario) and get involved in events from the books or Appendices.

We had fun creating and discussing characters, and then a great gaming session. I’m allowing some tweaking of starting skills at the beginning of next session, now that everyone has seen (or remembered) how the game works.

I’ve been quite excited to put this in motion, and I’m looking forward to some regular gaming. The next step is to write up the first session, and I can start publishing the Adventure Diary for the game!

The Road Unwritten…

Posted on April 12, 2025 by Tarmor

April has been very busy! Too many events have occurred in a short time. Work is busy with containers of stock from overseas, I’m trying to train someone to be a my backup, and expecting everything to be crazy in the short week between Easter and Anzac Day here in Australia. In the last two weeks I’ve also been doing a lot of writing – going back to my Pathfinder Megadungeon, and starting a ‘new’ MERP game that should run at least once a month. I’m trying to find time to read a new SF trilogy (Gary Gibson’s Shoal Sequence), I bought a Zombicide game (Green Horde, with more figures to paint), and then there are family health issues…

This does mean that I’ll likely have at least one post a week for a short time… as long as I actually get to sit down and type everything up.

Green Horde is a Zombicide: Black Plague game. It’s actually a stand-alone game, though completely compatible with the original, so it also works as an expansion. It has some different mechanics that build on the base game, and I’d say its slightly more difficult. After we’ve played through all the missions in the book, I expect to mix cards together from both games.

The Orc Zombies in this version cause more damage than basic zombies (fatties and Abomination cause 3 damage!), there are terrain features (barricades, hedges, water/ledges) than change movement and/or line-of-sight, and there’s the horde… each time you spawn orc zombies, you put one additional aside off board, and a Necromancer spawning adds one EACH runner, walker & fatty. An ‘Enter the Horde!’ spawn card puts ALL of those set aside onto the board in one place. Thankfully, all spawning stops at that point. The fun counter to much of this is the trebuchet: this item requires 3 action to move or fire, but can deal up to 3 damage on a hit, almost anywhere on the board and can target the ‘Horde’ off-board. I painted the trebuchet first! The game has six heroes, and I’m halfway through painting those. I have a lot fewer figures with this set than I got with the original, and I’m considering painting ALL of them to have the orcs stand out from standard zombies.

I’m tempted with the idea of getting the “Friends & Foes” expansion, so that I get some exploding zombies, 4 more heroes (plus familiars), more equipment and new boards & quests.

Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP) – After 9 years since I started planning a new MERP Campaign, and about 30 years since my group last played the game, we had a day where 5 players created characters and played a full starting adventure.

The following week had emails back and forth on the game, mostly concerned with Elven PC names (the three elves had English names, we were translating to Sindarin), keeping in line with Tolkien’s writings and languages. We are looking forward to a second session. There may be slight tweaking of character skills and spells now that everyone’s played a session. Two players had never played MERP (or Rolemaster) before, and the rest of us are remembering how it all works.

I’ve created a page to track this game, though I still need to write up the adventure summary. So, lots of writing ahead, but I am enjoying that part.

Fals’Krag Session 53 – Nearly 200 miles in winter

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Tarmor

We had a good gaming session with people being able to do things on a bigger scale than normal with the first encounter. The battle-map for this was A2 in size (16×22 squares) with about 50 opponents spread around it. The Cleric in the group probably dealt the most damage overall, which isn’t normal, and for once the Ranger wasn’t dropping targets (or dealing more damage) faster than anyone else.

I’ve had a Remozhaz miniature (it’s 75mm high) for a very long time, and this was the first time I’ve ever used it. There was one close call here, which was bound to happen. A Remorhaz has a great grapple check even against 8th level PCs. Nearly being swallowed by something that will then cause 10d6+9 damage (per round) would not have been pleasant. The random roll that led to the dwarf being picked as a snack, did at least mean it was the PC with the highest HP’s. I think the player was much more concerned with losing his axe than anything else at that point!

= = = = =

The party reaches Falsridge late evening of the 3rd Fireseek. Neither Livanion, nor his friend the Sorcerer Axan are able to help them. Both the Temple of St Cuthbert and Wee Jas are unable to assist either. It’s on to Mitrik! There are almost no other travellers on the road due to the cold winter weather. Thankfully, while often freezing overnight, there is minimal ice and snow each morning. When in the larger towns along the way, they elect to stay at an Inn, and have a hearty evening meal. A thunderstorm and rain delays travel on the 4^th and they reach Hadrian near dark on the 5th. A patrol warns them that hobgoblins have been sighted in groups along the river road over the last few days. It’s the 7th when they see the captial, with no incidents. Minor statue repair has been done by Winter & Merxif on the trip. They locate a Wizard to restore Seldrel to flesh and consider buying a scroll of Stone to Flesh as backup. Seldrel realises that he actually has a scroll in his possession and they decide that someone else (like Bacon) should hold on to it while they adventure in the Hold. They consider selling a few of the more unusual items that they have, but they are starting to feel the effects of the Geas (lethargy, fuzziness of the mind…) and don’t want to stay around long enough to track down potential buyers. Once they start back west the next morning, all begin to feel better. Seldrel and Merxif realise that the effect seems to have triggered later than they have previously experienced. Another two day trip back west to Hadrian in the afternoon of the 9th.

Map of Veluna courtesy of Anna Meyer. The keep of Fals Hold is located just off the road to the east of Falsford.

Soon after leaving Hadrian on the 10th, Winter (driving the wagon) notices something ahead. There is a cart on the side of the road with some figures standing around it. Seldrel looks around, and his keen eyes note other figures off the side of the road towards the river, and others hiding behind rocks on the other. His warning comes just before a hail of arrows descends on them. At least a score of humanoids moves forward onto the road ahead and behind. Seldrel flies up into the air, and sights another score of figures moving up to attack them from cover. He also draws the attention of most of the archers in the large force of hobgoblins attacking. Winter stays in her position and targets the hobgoblins ahead on the road with arrows. Hardaz jumps down and meets some of those heading for their wagon. Merxif uses acid breath on a small group of archers firing down at them from rocks, and Seldrel places a fireball just behind that. Lanliss turns invisible, and joins Hardaz who now faces hobgoblin serjeants and a priest. A Chain Lightning spell helps cut the number of attackers cut substantially, with minor wounds sustained by most of the party. Seldrel flies down closer to the ground, having been badly wounded by arrows. Another area effect spell (Holy Smite) drops multiple evil opponents (and injures the horses; complaints from Seldrel), and those remaining begin to flee. The hobgoblin priest was knocked unconscious by Lanliss, and they bind him to take him with them to Falsridge. They heal, strip dead foes of equipment that they can sell, and then continue along the road.

In the afternoon, there is another encounter. A many-legged insectoid creature bursts out of the ground near the wagon and lunges at Hardaz. The huge aberration has pale blue scales, though some plates or ridges on its back give off a orange glow. It bites him and lifts back up with the dwarf in its mouth. Hardaz elects to strike at it with his axe, rather than attempt to break free. On the first blow his axe feels hot, with the second it melts, leaving him with little more than the haft. Lanliss risks short-swords on an attack on the creature, making one strike that also destroys his weapon. Seldrel wracks his brain to try an identify the creature, and decides it is likely a Remorhaz, a creature most at home in ice and snow. He realises that heat and cold attacks against it are likely to be ineffective. Winter launches arrows, and the one or two that penetrate the beast do some damage but then burst into flame. Merxif goes with acid as an attack and they drop the creature unconscious before it can try to swallow Hardaz whole. They cautiously ensure that its dead and search the corpse carefully. Lanliss wants to check its burrow for treasure, but the tunnel has collapsed, and they don’t know how far it travelled underground before attacking them. Hardaz is healed, and they face no other challenges before reaching Falsridge on afternoon 11^th, where Hardaz is able to obtain a replacement dwarven axe. They hand over their captive, and explain their encounter. The soldiers here suggest they encountered a raiding party out of the Yatils, not simply bandits. Lanliss is disappointed that no reward is to be had. Then they finally are back at Falsford late afternoon on the 12th.

13th: The group decide against heading back to the Hold. Staying in town, and with Kevelli assistance, they magical enhance Hardaz’ new axe. They hear that someone has been asking townsfolk about the group – what they have been doing recently, what they have said about their explorations of the Hold, what skills they have, and so on. From descriptions they realise that the questioner is one of the vampires from the great cavern that escaped them.

15th: On a clear and cool morning they depart the town for the Hold. Stopping at the Hall of the Gods, they activate the statue of Phyton (Lesser Suel God of Nature and Farming) and receive a Wand of Bulls strength. They leave Bacon and Boris in the Crafting Hall, and head down to the main cavern, noting on the way that more damage has been done near the top of the long stairs into the cavern proper. The hold in the wall and floor is much larger, revealing the long drop into the cavern below. If this continues, the circular stairs here may not be passable in future. The decision is made to head south-west into a new section of ruined buildings.