Morgoth's Curse: Gaming for Tolkien's First Age: Old School Roleplay in Middle Earth's Beleriand. Defy fate! See the lost world! Got dice? - Be prepared to share.

diversionary enrichment= Wikipedia's "Nash Equilibrium" entry
	per Prisoner's Dilemma & Stag Hunt models (prevalent thought):
	Even in Coordination (type) games, a player's advantage is most reliably (conservatively) secured by noncooperation.

	Nash's Equilibrium assertion ("Incomplete!" *may be* most reliably, but conditions impact):
	Even in Noncooperative (type) games, a reliable balance is imposed (meted) by the noted disadvantage of uncoordinated acts.
	
Turambar: Tomb Of An Age module (with campaign layout).
	Applicable to any sword & sorcery game rules - examples presented use the MindWand complex, Quad & Cave scenarios.
	Citation sources= C(page#) for Children of Hurin, S# for Silmarillion, W# for War of the Jewels.

	In The Children of Hurin, Christopher Tolkien has taken an extract from the Silmarillion's rambling notebook and patched together an integrated tale of fighting fantasy in a noir style approaching that of dark roleplaying. The story and characters unfortunately effectively compose an operatic libretto (decidedly not the light variety), however in the process of writing it out with an eye toward enhancing his father's highly- imagined plot structure, chronology and map references, its author has crafted a full- fledged and most provocatively enticing adventure sourcebook, as viewed from the perspective of a potentially operative party. In effect the players' party takes on something of the character and influence of a Gandalf figure, which is sorely and significantly lacking in all the doleful doings underway.
	Using Tolkien's setting of Beleriand, commencing at (`?Turin's return to Nargothrond with Gwindor and later sojourn in Brethil). Brethil from Sindarin "birch" trees admired by the Grey Elves: "the white woods of the birches of Nimbrethil" C142, which however designates a location nearer the coast in Arvernien. Brethil is situated among an outgrowth of Beech trees spreading from the forest of Neldoreth per Treebeard's recounting C18 & note his naming of the Entwife Wandlimb as Fimbrethil "slender beech".
	`comparatively limited geographic range and time frame of the tale is conducive to enacting as a module - pivotal epoch in the earliest Age of men serves as an introductory grounding for perceiving references in the later texts

Class- Appropriate Player Affiliations:
	`enforcers: protectorate freebooter Outlaw Bands (Asgon), underground resistance Union of Maedhros (Gwindor), militia supprters Houses of Edain/ Teleri/ Khazad (Dorlas), kingdom promoting Royal Guardsmen (Mablung), agent commissioners Bonded Privateers (Beleg), stability defensive Deputy Wardens (Mim, Brandir)
	`devouts: (see Religious Persuasion) - seem to have much to do with calendaring and supervision of festive and commemorative occasions, envisaged in portrayal of councellors (Grima) especially at judgments (legacies & inheritance), officiating at funerals particularly involving ritual processions, pyres or barrow interments (with their construction), conduct/ attendance/ guidance, intermediaries/ messengers & emissaries, propitiation & blessing of endeavors (Voronwe's voyaging)
	`rogues: (?as distinct from outlawry - note per encounter of Turin's band with Mim's gang,) moriquendi furtiveness, Southron pirates, Sterling encroachment/ pillaging/ spying (in Bree), Halflings' attribution & their characteristic appreciation leading to inherent bent to temptation/ satisfaction (Smeagol) - common and comfortable around horses (particularly fast ones), emulate theatrical impersonators, tend to frequent trading posts & wharves
	`mystics: (see Spellcraft) - as magi's astrological & meteorological study, measurement & architecture, cartography, bestiary - examination of magical effects and items - superintending educational establisments - cleaning & maintaining stores & inhibiting spoilage/ water witching/ prospecting/ refining - examination & determination of lineages/ heraldic appurtenances (changelings, survivals)
	`Any: may have a preferred field of lore

	`poss to change the related course of events in the text - elab for machinations of the Vala Mandos the doomsman, his sister Nienna the weeper and his wife Vaire the weaver, in contention with Morgoth's earthly curse (whose incarnation C15 makes him vaunt himself but king over the circles of the world C63.. 65) which he's imposed to hang over the children of Hurin
	For a material example, see the episode of Saeros with regard to his being held C90 & judged C91 by Mandos in the afterlife, plus the connection to Morwen decried C89 by Turin in regard to Saeros' slur upon humanity's womenfolk imputed as a jab at his mother in particular. So then, should the party choose to seek out and attempt to aid Morwen and Nienor, an apparition of a shrouded figure might appear and instruct: "You will go to the Dagobah system. There you will meet.." (whoops) that is, instruct them to journey into the Doriath forests near Menegroth and speak first to Nellas; where finding that they can somehow traverse the Girdle of Melian (ref C24, W61, 64) impresses her enough to bestow the equipment she scavenged from Saeros' defeat (and hung up in her tree perch?) upon the party members. That equipment now seems to evince an occasional otherworldly efficacy, at least against any creature or agent attending to/ carrying out the understood will of Morgoth: as endowed in the ruptured shield by Mandos, in the trampled/ slightly bowed sword by Nienna, and in the unbuckled belt or (piece of) armor by Vaire.

First Age Backstory: As a reward for helping overcome Melchar the rogue Vala, the Elves of Middle Earth had been invited to pass over the seas to dwell under the eyes of the faithful Valar in the pleasant far realm of Valinor. Those who were conducted west became the High Elves (Although this loose descriptor can span all Eldar, including Grey Elves, here it refers just to the Noldor or Deep/ Loremaster Elves who come back in vengence; with the Sea Elves a subcategory apart.), while those who chose to remain behind in the lands they already loved became the Grey Elves (Although that term is mostly applied to the Sindar who're considered distinct from all the subcategories comprising the Avari or Lesser Elves, such as Green Elves, except maybe for the so- called outsider Dark Elves and the sons of.. Ah, skip it.)
	Eventually, the imprisoned Melchar was reprieved, then conned the Valar and began to delve a bigger remote fortalice of Thangorodrim under Middle Earth in case they should try to subdue him again. Finally, Melchar showed his true colors by stealing the Silmarils & with Ungoliant destroyed the Trees of Light, then went to ground in his new domain of Angband.
	The High Elves, incensed by the loss, branded him Morgoth (the dark enemy), and vowing to seek reparation in defiance of the Valars' restraining warning, took it upon themselves to make their own way back in a harrowing two- pronged return expedition to Middle Earth across the sea and over the ice bridge. There at the Noldor's request, the Sindar ceded them adjoining tracts of land in the northern areas as a buffer zone to ring in Angband and engage in the first three major battles (Dagor Aglareb= bat3) of this Age of the War of the Jewels to enforce a siege and maintain the long peace.
	During the ensuing time of relative safety, Men and Dwarves migrated into the land from farther to the east, inhabiting the fields and investing the mountains. Both races were well received by the Sindar, though the Noldor tended to remain distant on their own business. In time, Morgoth raised (or razed) the siege with a devastatingly eruptive immolation at the 4th battle of Sudden Flame, and has now effectively repulsed & crushed an expected retributive action from an over- hasty alliance by an onslaught of his collected servants in the 5th battle's outpouring of Unnumbered Tears - wherein the elf Gwindor kicks it off, the dwarf Azaghal pricks the dragon and the human Hurin sticks to the end (cmp Song of Roland).
	`dispositions W77, 80

Know Your Enemy: discordant -> root cause of dissatisfaction appears to be that he doesn't like/ accept himself or his place along with whatever placed him there, and is striving to change the situation; so focuses what he does toward creating significant effects - resultantly feels the need for growing attainments and the supportive admiration of his associates - when crossed he feels cheated of due regard for himself and his purpose and expresses his outrage in an "I'll show you!" effusion of concentrated effort conceived as a matching of wills as Glaurung is said to do, but in his case likened more to a priority of destinies - a lapse of his equanimity on these occasions is demonstrated in some anguished wails of offended protest from him evidenced with the lore describing the Echoing Mt.s, the revolt of Ungoliant, and his besetting by Fingolfin and Thorondor.
Curses!: levied as an imprecation rather than an execration; can't be lifted but can be discounted/ discountenanced (to redound upon the imposer/ declarer)
The Good Fight: `OB sitrep: What are the eagles/ ents/ gnomes and other lesser powers waiting for (maybe the curse or Morgoth's policies are keeping them at odds), and can they be activated before the Valar decide to step in (revoke the Ban) at Earendil's prompting?
	`Possible Avenues: Divert= reform/ reconvene the Union of Maedhros (Morgoth can't concentrate against single targets) - remand the Nauglamir to the dwarves (reviving critical logistics support) - 
	`Disrupt= defense about the remnant of Beor's folk (?marshalling the outlaws as militia) - 
	`Divide= reinstate the oathbreaker Sterlings (to guard the passes) - 
	`Destroy= evict the shade of Mairon (?intervention by Huorns and/ or spiders) - 
	`Possible eventualities: If and once the renovation of the Union is effected (and maybe extended), Morgoth's overthrow is perhaps selfworking: note the repeated exasperated notion that discord (per his epithet) is just what he aims at and profits by - Nargothrond might be unsalvageable (played its part - or at least Finrod did - in Beren & Luthien's story), but if the Nauglamir is then pulled from the wreckage and returned to the dwarves instead of carried by Hurin to Thingol, Menegroth could be preserved, and assuming a concentrated attack would be mounted against Gondolin as Morgoth's primary target when discovered (through the agency of Maeglin) to lie as a thorn in the side of Angband, it would present a much tougher aspect and act as Minas Tirith would later against Sauron as a focus distracting him from more unconventional means of weakening which need not even proceed from within the Union: it may be by the faithful of the Sterlings, or the wild card Dark Elves, probably something to do as well with Thorondor & the eagles again, or an emergence out of the Woods of Nuath per Paths of the Dead, or, being my own pick, as in the Father Christmas Letters, an upsurgence among the Goblins undeterred by Thangorodrim's frigid climate (though averse to snow) - This all takes place within only a little more than a decade (certainly within the lifespan of Tuor who serves for 7 years after arrival in Gondolin before marriage) - Beleriand could be maintained with better ecological balance overseen by Treebeard, some kind of reconciliation effected between the Elves, their kindred and the Valar, the Dwarf realms continuing to flourish outside of Moria, with the Petty Dwarves (& al- so the Gnomes) prolonged
	`script for the goblin menace from the Father Christmas Letters, in which North Polar Bear wanders out exploring and gets lost in a goblin cavern maze being teased and distracted by the goblins who are however incapable of harming him, which intrusion provokes the Goblins into tunnelling to the original flatland house and thence on up into the cliff house where they play havoc with the stores, and in spite of repercussions eventually infiltrate into the newly- constructed bedroom itself: Given that Ungoliant turns on Melchar in Thangorodrim (likely with good reason - one more broken promise) and is driven out in consequence by Balrog praetorians to spread her corruption and offspring over the Ered Gorgoroth's southern foothills, thence to depart for regions unknown - Assume she similarly encroaches on a goblin labyrinth, provoking them to consider Morgoth's activities a threat to their security, and mayhap both parties agree a common cause - so when Gondolin is besieged, upon the first night a spider horde could emerge out of Nan Dungortheb to ring in the besiegers and prompt Morgoth to commit the full weight of his reserves, but the secret ways and gates out of Thangorodrim that he counts upon for a surprise exit of his troops are blocked by the Goblins (who most likely had been instrumental in their production originally, if they're as well made as a "goblin crack") and stoppered/ webbed behind the masses - meanwhile goblins guided by Ungoliant's memory have found out the way into the throne room and having pillaged the outer storerooms in the intervening time for stuff to use in clearing the passages, conduct her into the presence for a return bout sans bodyguards (much as Huan vs Sauron - see note for Morgoth's waxing incarnate)
	`Resist (thwart) the curse= (subject's protection) avoid extermination of the 3 Edain houses' bloodlines - principals= Morwen, Brandir
	`Reject (confute) the curse= (promotion) make contact with and provision for Hurin in spite of his confinement - succor is effectively encouragement in resistance to Morgoth's domination, so communication of Hurin's state to his 3 relations Morwen, Nienor & Turin (?Aerin, Tuor) and solicitation of their concern is of worth - principals= Nienor, Hurin
	`Retort (reverse) the curse= (projection) retain or recover possession of the 3 strongholds Nargothrond, Menegroth & Gondolin - principals= Turin, Turgon

The Setting As Known By The Adventurers: (On The Lookout module= Turambar in Brethil, Tuor in Gondolin, Morwen & Nienor to leave Menegroth, orcs moving westerly cross the river up north to detour around the defended Crossings for 2 years making for base in Nargothrond's ruins and to constrict the holdouts in Brethil, Glaurung then to emerge the third year) 
	Springtime has come to this secluded stockade upon Amon Obel in the depths of the forest of Brethil. Brandir governs here in place of his father Handir who was killed just a year ago in a battle with a probing vanguard of orcs, who had begun to run roughshod over the land since the tragedy of Unnumbered Tears. Orcs then encamped upon the Crossings of Teiglin to wait and prepare a later advance, but the object of the invasion was not Brethil. Last fall, once Nargothrond's location had been revealed by sparce High Elven forces riding openly to the amazement of all out of its hidden fastness, the archdragon Glaurung came storming down across what was once the Guarded Plain in the forefront of a terrifying assemblage of dark forces.
	The attackers were met by the defenders of Nargothrond riding forth, but those in the elven host found themselves pressed across the bend of the river Ginglith onto the Tumhalad battleground then overwhelmed and scattered with their king reportedly slain. Passing on, the evil army found a ready bridge across the Narog ravine leading up to the outer works and smashed through into the inner halls to ravage and destroy, finally taking possession of all that precinct and turning it into what's now a dread dungeon.
	The adventurers had helped to conduct a body of evacuees away from Nargothrond on a flight to sanctuary in the north, and then returned through Dor- lomin in the course of the Fell Winter. On their way back passing the highlands below the mountains they ran across disquiet villages, encampments of refugees and scattered groups of outlawry with rumors & questions about the fate of that area's old protector the Mormegil (he of the Dragonhelm and Blacksword) and hope of his return with some defensive forces now that the elves of Nargothrond are no more.
	`The party is currently equipped with horses, 

Points Of Interest:
	`(Bridge of) Nen Lalaith C39, (40)
	`Pass of Darthir C67
	`Mound of the elf maid Finduilas (?would not flee Nargothrond)
	`Crossings of Teiglin, Brithiach
	`Tol Sirion ..retaken (after its collapse at Mairon/ Sauron's disembodiment by Huan) & its dread towers (Tol- in- Gaurhoth) rebuilt W77 post bat5

Areas Of Interest:
	`Ladros: the hereditary holding of Beor's house of the Edain, with Turin now the heir of Dor- lomin (thru Hurin) and Ladros (thru Morwen C48) C69
	`Woods of Nuath ("under shadow"; vis Ephel Duath "wall of dark shadow", Doriath "`", Taur- nu- Fuin "forest under night"): alluring to Dark Elves as with that canopied dimness from the "tallest of trees" in Nan Elmoth - possibly also as Gnome woods up against Ered Wethrin, in terms of a portrayed preference of such elves for the delving races in opposition to other men & elves - h auN t - wasn't considered in Silmarillion, not until Tuor & Voronwe passed through, then barely mentioned= deciduous leaves noted but not major variety of tree ("under stain" variant; vis ianuath "bloodstain" ->?Walnut) - could be of notable interest to Ulmo as abutting Eithel Ivrin plus two other headwaters and seeming to figure in his operations out that way - potential moot for conciliabule
	`Hurin's Oversight: perhaps some capacity bestowed by Valar in view of Morgoth's mockery viz Hurin's conviction of Valar watching & helping, since Hurin knows of Gondolin but conceals it from Morgoth's attempts to learn it, so also with Pass of Darthir, etc

Lost Races & Gypsy Encounters: For simplicity in adaptation to various gaming designs, and for the most part, elves is elves (but see possible crossracial elaborations of Base/ Subject/ True forms under Monsters' descriptions). Dior who's referred to as the father of the half- elven is yet a babe in the woods W71. The legendarium's subcategories represented here are of interest insofar as they indicate geographical regions and roles into which some of these tribes have settled themselves. 
	High Elves: Those northern territories to which they'd repaired in order to try to ring in Angband and bring a semblance of peace to the region were conquered and overrun at Morgoth's (by which epithet Melchar the rebellious Valar is now known) breaking of the siege in bat4 the Battle of Sudden Flame, and then effectively wiped out in bat5 the attempted retaliatory Battle of Unnumbered Tears which took place just `?n years before this time. Their remnant have since existed only `in isolated fortress communities, or sheltered in Turgon's hidden city of Gondolin or Finrod's cavernous retreat of Nargothrond, which of late was ruled over by his brother Orodreth "the second son of Finarfin who took the crown of Nargothrond in the year following the birth of Turin" when Finrod died in Tol Sirion C24, until he was reportedly slain on the plain leading in its defense - his son Haldir having been hung by orcs when venturing away from Nargothrond at the time Gwindor escaped captivity W82.
	`Grey Elves: 
	`Green Elves: generally away to the east; Amon Ereb in Ossiriand was site of 1st lord Denethor's death in bat1 vs Morgoth - their territory is now become somewhat of a legacy preserve for the figureheads Beren & Luthien, Maedhros
	`Sea Elves: Very rarely representatives around the coasts; eg the 2 messengers from Cirdan
	`Dark Elves: quizical specific application, as with High Elves versus moriquendi umbrella term, of derogation toward Sindar from Noldor, and mayhap in regard to children of a union of the two types, plus characteristic of those Sindar who particularly resented the preference and prideful bearing of the Noldor - remnant to the north, especially Eol the forger of the Blacksword out of Nan Elmoth averse to bright lights, and son "Maeglin, having been nurtured in the shadows of Brethil, was never wholly at ease in the light of Gondolin." W84, who'd ridden with Turgon in bat5 seeking to promote his ascendency in Gondolin, knows the area and may be inclined by his nature to divulge enough of his father's execution for the party to arrange a deal with the eagles (by intermediary contact with the ravens as brothers in black) for retrieval of Eol's Bodyarmor
	`Easterlings: "Morgoth broke his pledges and denied to them the rich lands of Beleriand which they coveted, and he sent them away into Hithlum" to dwell and to oppress the remnant of the folk of Hador and rat on any (?Grey) Elves who hadn't unwillingly fled to the mountains, so that they could be captured and taken to the mines of the north as thralls W79 - Lorgan now their chief in that area W82 - may be referred to in shortened form as Eastrons or swart(hy folk)s, but here is preferred the only somewhat shortened 'Sterlings (note that all men arrived from the east; these just came later than the Edain)
	`Gnomes: imputed as Petty Dwarf - per mention of Petty Dwarves (?having inherited their traditions ?ere they died out), dislike of Dwarves as having, "some said," been banished in ages past from their eastern enclaves, of Elves equally to Orcs, & High Elves principally, since: "Nargothrond was first found and its delving begun by the Petty- Dwarves, long before Finrod Felagund came over the Sea"
	`Union of Maedhros: (as opposed to just a league, etc.) Adherents of diverse races and both sexes take heart against Morgoth in pursuit of quests such as achieved by Beren & Luthien C38, before (?and after) sundering of the coalitions in bat5 W69, 70 that were sealed with oaths (and in contravention of extant vows), Maedhros= Feanor's eldest son sheltering on Amon Ereb in Ossiriand with Green Elves until Menegroth is overcome -> after bat6 finally possesses & disposes of a silmaril upon his death at the end of the age
	`Brandir: as he's disinterested in such tools of war, ?holds the blacksword & dragonhelm in keeping for Turin who uses only more conventional weaponry (the bow & the spear) in these times
	`Asgon: in a mountain cave hideout ("by strange paths known to outlaws & runagates") on the way to Dor- Lomin (knows of Aerin perhaps living or captive, and Sador deceased) - looks for Turin's possible return with a large force to deliver them from the vengeful oppresion of the Sterlings
	`Morwen (2nd cousin to Beren W79) & Nienor: left Dor- Lomin ("a year & 3 months") before Turin arrived back there to seek them - was of especial interest to elven king Fingon as heir of the people of Beor with whom his father Fingolfin had initial human interaction W`? and who suffered depletion in bat4 C27 inciting Fingolfin to then duel Morgoth to his own death, while Fingon was slain by Gothmog in bat5 & his people driven from around the lake into the mountains of Mithrim - what becomes of her after being parted from Mablung? her fear- maddened horse would likely run over to the Tumhalad battlefield, but to where from there? mayhap on into Nuath?
	`Dorlas: among the leading men of Tol Brandir ("leader of the woodmen" faction)
	`Turambar: a newcomer yet said to have been born of the men of Brethil, described in Sindarini as a "goombah," which gets translated into Westronya as "noodnik," meaning superficially slick but best avoided - runs with the woodmen, but exerts a strong charismatic influence among them. "would not suffer the orcs to use the Crossings of Teiglin or draw near the mound"
	`Gethron (?& Grithnir)
	`Beren with Luthien: in retirement, holds the Ring of Barahir, raising Dior in No Man's Land of Gwerth- i- Guinar (the Dead That Live) by the green waters of Ossiriand W71
	`Onodrim/ Ent(wive)s: including "Treebeard in his youth (in contrast to Oldest Fatherless Iarwain Ben Adar)" C8, could be most observable crossing between the beechwoods of Brethil and the birchwoods of Nimbrethil in Arvernien
	`Eagles: as their principal aeries are those in the Crissaegrim, they may well be interested to learn of anything that can protect against the effects of a repeat occurence of the Evil Breath pestilence, which perhaps caused them as much scathe as it did to the men in those areas outlying the Anfauglith

Spellcraft: As practiced by characters in game play, magic here stems primarily from instruction by those Maiar of the First Age currently active in the country at large. `functionally along the lines of an apotheosis or avatar, but more inclined to a continuing habitation on the material rather than the spiritiual plane of existence - The following generic attributions are merely typical of the noted groups, based on prevailing means/ familiarity, motive/ prejudice & opportunity/ agency.
	For the High Elves, the Maia Osse (vassal of Ulmo lord of waters) is predominantly influential through Cirdan the shipwright lord of the Falas to the south but living now on the Isle of Balar beyond the mouth of Sirion to which he escaped at the destruction of the Havens of Eglarest after bat5.
	For the Grey Elves, the Maia Melian (of Este the healer's "people") who has chosen to become king Thingol's consort was the mother of Luthien in the rock- hewn holdings of Menegroth within the Girdled Doriath woodlands.
	For the Dwarves, Durin I the deathless (enlivened by Aule the smith) rules throughout the entire First Age from the fledgling Khazad- dum over the eastwardly removed kingdom of Moria, extending the influence of the Longbeards to far- flung exploratory colonies, and even over (though grudgingly received and apartheid) such "petty dwarves" or Gnomes as remain.
	For Men, the encroaching Sterlings with their wains were being persuaded surreptitiously in part by Mairon (corrupted by Melchar the discordant) who will become Sauron, and can still threaten of their connection with the terrors inhabiting the restructured Tol Sirion. Those of the more long- established Westmen (particularly the 3 principal hereditary houses of the Edain) for the most part elevate the prowess of Eonwe (herald of Manwe the wind king). At this early date, the encampments of the nomadic and piratical Southrons, below the Wall of Andram and the Gates of Sirion, show much less organization than will later be seen in the Haradrim, yet their fierce pride can still be engendered by an identification with the fiery spirit of Arien (angelus of Vana the ever- young) evident in the face of the sun.
	Halflings encountered in their dispersion tend to be retiring, and prone to shy away from impetuous images, so may be found magnifying the grace betokened through dreams by the faerie (godmother) Mab (conservator of Lorien the dream master), or a more material attribution of some natural blessings' propagation to the oversight of Oberon & Titania (functionaries of Yavanna the fruit giver) principally for those who linger in the east.
	Orcs generally proliferate under some black, once- human captain's train of allegiance; or could be conditioned to attendance upon Gothmog (subverted as chief balrog to Morgoth), or even the unconstrainable Ungoliant (spiderlike devourer of light itself): as would later be seen in the Scourge of Moria and the Passage of Shelob.
	Goblins are often noted lauding the undercover workings of Tilion (pursuivant of Orome the hunter) in his character as the figure in the moon (much as would Gollum later on).
	For outsiders overall, Ilmare (handmaiden of Varda the star queen) tends to comfort and relate to those who feel disenfranchised and out of place in conventional communities, as well as to wanderers and half- breeds, and may be found represented by unlooked- for survivors among this period's all too frequently encountered abandoned or burnt out settlements.

	Saving an absence of intense religious motivation, in just about all other mechanical respects Endor of Arda's "legendarium" corresponds to that of the Arthurian mythos - so for this module in addition to the substitution of the Maiar for Merlin there are also "hedge wizards" who may have acquired a facility of control over local influences & phenomena, also there are uber- natural personifications: as with Goldberry for the Lady of the Lake, Bombadil for (or even as) the ubiquitous quixotic Hermit, Stone Giants/ Old Man Willow for the Questing Beast/ Old Man of the Mountains, `. as well as shifting mystical or forgotten, concealed pathways & wonderlands 

Religious Persuasion: `generalized reverence of Eru, Iluvatar
	`possible priestly/ ecclesiastical affiliations - separation into "orders" - characterized by the emphasis, expectations and focus of the practitioner rather than the object or nature of one's beliefs and impressions of god: so, more like spheres of endeavor (capability) than spheres of influence (capacity)
	Obvious correlations & similarities exist across orders, and the order structure is certainly adaptabe to different rules complexes with slight alterations. In rulesets like D&D for instance, the attempted resistance to fear, "turning" of undead, or even (gadzooks) calming of unruly seas and sirens might be accomplished by any order, although through their variant devices (and level requirements), while each order would probably have its specialization in regard to warding against particular "evil spirits": Valaran for containing a diabolic plague, Prophetic for reawakening out of an imposed lunacy, Heavenly for exorcising a possessing demon, Beatific for laying a persistent ghost, Dominion for disenchanting a transmogrified weirdling, Existential for sealing off an invasive rift or warp, and Ancestral for defusing a cursed artifact. In such as the Mindset, the particular constitution of an evil spirit is of less significance than its perception of and reaction to the applied intervention, so that membership in an order would act as an additional modifier (along with the priest's heritage, calling(s), etc) to an evil spirit's reaction obtaining to the priest involved.
	`cults, movements, schisms, revivals, etc. may develop within any of the orders, in such directions as dogmatic righteousness, charismatic credence, social/ political integration, ritual conditioning or purification, ethical abandonment or proscription, etc. - since each has its own conception of "insight", an awareness of the differences between the variant orders' understanding and worldview can prompt a decided sharpening of some thought patterns within an order as well
	`marriages and other oaths in general use are perceived as testimonies before witnesses bespeaking a conception of community - for example Boaz optioning Ruth, with "giving in marriage" more prevalent than vows of bride & groom, suzerain/ liege/ overlord's adoption more prevalent than vassal's swearing of allegiance - Nordic style binding of one to a purpose - owing one's life, or a life for a life bloodprice
	`Valaran order: (a step up from the Maiar) were commissioned/ ordained to structure the world: wherein they have created/ envisioned/ raised the races, and sponsored the Maiar as emissaries to promote the overall flourishing of the lands - earthquakes, droughts & such bending or adaptive manifestations may occasionally be their work, and so propitiation toward the pertinent being and use of totems may be seen as a form of worship - In addition, Manwe & Elbereth (Varda) are particularly depicted as demiurgic subordinates, remotely interested, aware & responsive. - Galadriel's vial - appears to be the default belief system expressed in Tolkien's works, but evidences of other pervasive supernatural and providential operations can be noted as well, to wit:
	`Ascension order: (Nordic traditional emphasis) risen to the occasion/ challenge: man of the hour, "take up -on)" assumption (as mantle of Elijah, with anointing), especially for one to set forth (Bilbo, discovery/ odyssey), breakout (heraldic/ annunciation vs prophetic), crusade, inquisition, retribution, manifold/ sheepfold, badges, horn/ trump, heroic imbuement of Roland & the paladins (take up guardianship), Hurin's stand (as jawbone of an ass taken up), Beorn's buttery as feeding of multitude, Turin's riveting mien/ gaze, Glorfindel's wrath & Gandalf's righteous anger ("you'll see me get really angry"), hidden/ fenced utopias (per divine direction, as Cuivienen): a people apart (ramping=? rivers buttressing last homely house), Helm Hammerhand as the looked- for hope on the horizon, feats & wonder(-ment)s (Moses' staff)
	`Prophetic order: (Greek) heroes/ judges arising in time of need also appreciated as divine dispensation - counterchaotic machinations, covenants and affiliates, fates & dooms (witch king's foretold slayer), trial of guilt or justification by lots or ordeal (Boromir: "I have paid"/ been proved wrong) - trances (palantir use/ control by immersion & cohesion of will) - omens & portents
	`Heavenly order: (Chinese/ orientals) suggestion for application of a similarly superlative nature to natively cognizant beings such as Thorondor, (Beorn,) Huan, Treebeard, Carcaroth, Thuringwethil, (Ancalagon,) Glaurung & Ungoliant; which though having been occasionally husbanded by the Valar, are in themselves independent of the Valars' production, and indeed perceived as objects of awe by them - astrologic/ meteorologic derivations - Val(a)kyries, constellations as figurative - conversely conversant with hell (Udun) & thus with exorcising of demonically possessed - signs & symbols
	`Beatific order: (Egyptians) netherworld spirit(ual)ism, visitation/ transfiguration of saints, guardian principles, especially the purgatorial Paths of the Dead Oathbreakers, plus barrow wights, battlefield/ marsh/ bog revenants as reliving/ reexperiencing/ caught up in the trauma - channeling/ mediumism for seances (laying haunts) - lifeforce (Saruman's identity adoption of many colors)
	`Dominion order: worldly substrata of divinely implemented and intimately regulated fundament & firmament (eg seasonal cycles, constellations as apportionment of the vault) per Woses, standing stones, wending rivers & dowsing, the call of the sea - good/ evil as proclivities that may inhabit earthly material & lifeforms (white trees, black willow) - generative encapsulation of crystals (Silmarils), spores & mists
	`Existential order: necromancy ("the Necromancer"), & (trans-) migration of souls - ref story ending of Beren & Luthien immediately preceding, Sauron's (& other Maiars') embodiment - (interdimensional) projection eg Saruman - division of one's being into several functionally diverse constituents - mind domination capacity of Glaurung, Saruman, Morgoth - granting of (im-)mortality - (spiritual) imprinting & bonding
	`Ancestral (Generation) order: conceptions as from Atalante= survivals eg Wise Men/ Prester John/ yogi/ sensei, Pukel Men representations, lineages, investiture, passing down/ on & harking back - legacy or culturally formulated curses/ artifacts exhibiting a transference of their creators' Virtue (contentions) rather than an innate intelligence (Anglachel/ Blacksword) - relics & rings of (their creators') power - blood brother ritual/ tribal adoption

	This programmed adventure is designed for 1..4 characters of any experience level and no larger than mansize. All the characters may be managed by a single player and the module run as a solitaire game if desired, or the characters can be split up among multiple players; but in any case all the characters will compose a single party travelling in concert between map encounters.

You may begin the adventure at entry {1}.


1 
	`
	Choose a character to take the lead in the descent {2}, and if you have rope you may use it there. Or, walk away and tell Turq that you're through {3}.\

2 
	Treasure items: Along with an item's name on your character's record sheet, you may record the item's entry number as a reference to allow you to look up information about the item's use.
Quest Objects:
	`Saeros' Armory (cloven shield cast aside, sword pressed into the earth or kicked away, armor stripped and tossed off) of that Sindarin elf by Turin after being attacked, who was then killed by a fall while running through the woods - a little way outside Menegroth toward the marches C89 - most likely acquired by Nellas who looked upon the event while sitting in a tree C94, who would deign to equip anyone who volunteers to go searching for Turin (?or perhaps found and repaired by Ent/ Dryad/ Sprite, etc)
	`Mim's Cursed Arrow - (retains the one that felled one of his sons, and invokes a curse upon it, as well as that curse which he'd levelled upon its firer)
	`Mim's Key(s) - gives access to secret rooms under Amon Rudh - probably were given to his son or hidden when Mim went to bargain with orcs: note place/ standing stones where Mim was discovered travelling to & from by the outlaws - also note that as the Petty Dwarves were instrumental in the delving of Nargothrond, Mim being one of the last of his kind might provide a way into the dungeons there without the need to pass the watchful gaze of Glaurung (also note his later attainment to the dragon's hoard)
	`Azaghal of Belegost's prized heirloom pearl Nimphelos W11, 75 - perhaps left on field at site of wounding of Glaurung in bat5, where its quenching effect (exuding a sheen likened to starlight cast over sea foam) was instrumental ("masks", yeah right; can't all be as powerful as the Dragonhelm, may be somewhat prophylactic and dwarves may be inured to the heat & smoke of forges, but can't be acclimated to lava flow, dragonfire and a full- body press by Glaurung: see the effect of his presence on the land about), then washed with runoff into nearby stream bed - general location conception may be prompted by Turin's associating reminiscence in telling of his plan to dispatch the dragon - after its possible use to disrupt Glaurung's power somehow, possession gives choice of returning it to: the sea in offering to Ulmo/ `, or its discoverers Cirdan & the Sea Elves on Balar, or Fingol & Melian who passed it on as payment for the delving of Menegroth, or the Longbeards in Belegost themselves its rightful owners - with corresponding consequences for both the party and the tale
	`Eol's Bodyarmor - clad in armor whenever he went abroad made of galvorn= thin & supple yet resistant S133, so was executed by being thrown over the outer walls at the Caragdur "a precipice of black rock upon the north side of the hill of Gondolin" S138 -> ?generally inaccessible area of Tumladen vale between the hill and the Echoriath's encircling mountans
	`Melian's Lembas - gain Reaction bonus on any presentation (Beleg first elf allowed to bestow them on man by Melian; in parcel taken by Gwindor at his death C152, 156)
	`Beleg's Bow (Belthronding) - a longbow of black yew wood C156 (placed in his shallow grave at his death site through the Pass of Anach in the mountains of Gorgoroth on the opposite slopes of the forest of Taur- nu- Fuin at the edge of the Anfauglith near a bare dale)
	`Beleg's Horn
	`Sador's Knife - gain Reaction bonus & possible revelation from Turin (esp as to existence of Siege) - C48 Hurin's "birthday present" (hah!) given to young Turin who then gifted it to Sador (forged by Elvish craftsmen, stashed in dying or left upon his corpse in the burning of the Sterlings' hall of Brodda)
	`Sador's Siege - C50 wooden throne/ judgment/ mercy seat, occupied/ preserved by ghost of intended recipient, cmp Aragorn's use of the seat set up on ` (constructed in Sador's woodworking hut - devised as Grimthorpe)
	`(heirloom/ jewel -ry) of Aerin (who may have been taken hostage in the act of setting fire to, or dragged out of Brodda's hall)
	`("witch"- erly protective item ?=staff/ wand) of Morwen (despoiled & stashed by Brodda)
	`Veil of Nienor - as a mark of mourning, prevents her being identified (& is being worn when party figures might encounter her), ?intended to resist mind control/ hypnosis (by dragon gaze)
	`Helm of Hador (Dragonhelm) - (kept by ?Brandir, forged by Telchar) ?what eventually became of it (note Tolkien's bactracking trying to keep track of its use)
	`Blacksword of Eol (Anglachel) - (kept by ?Brandir, forged by Dark Elves)
	`(token/ bona fides/ safe passage chit for return - on) Skiff of Elf heralds from Cirdan who warned Nargothrond, ?left beached on banks of Sirion
	`Handir's 
	`Gwindor's Feanorian Lamp C152
	`Gwindor's (improvised?) Shortsword - ref questing Crimbt specs
	`Tuor's Spear - left in throne room of Vinyamar, identified by runes on its shaft

	`Ring of Barahir - Worn by Beren, who with Luthien has retired to the isle of Tol Galen in Ossiriand - This particular ring is notably keyed for the gaining of access into Finrod's reserved treasure vaults that he'd constructed in the buried halls under Amon Ethir.
	(or Ring of Felagund W58; cf Finrod entry in The Tokien Companion= eventually to descend to Aragorn) signet of faithfulness -> (?note its original & past use as a token/ pledge of assurance eg to the Lossoth) - may be handed off and redeemed per Ring of Barahir entry in The Tokien Companion
	=Ring of Elf Insight: Normally unnoticeable/ camouflaged/ suppressed details are accentuated/ heightened/ distinguishable when a viewed subject is voluntarily scanned. So in game terms SV ` (as used by Aragorn, cmp Legends of the Ancient World's Read Mind spell in evaluating directions; and though his healing capacity could be principally attributed to the Elfstone, the Ring contributes to its effective application per Dr. Bell/ Holmes) - close seeing as close reasoning= knowing what to look for (as Elrond with moon runes in light of the dwarves' jealousy) - as vs Elven Sight note passage contrasting Glaurung's perception to an elf's with the ability to slink through mist or pick out Mablung concealed on the far bank & its use as a power (eg vs Nienor: Glaurung may have been given the same Morgoth's eye view as Hurin), also the Ruling Ring's ability to view functional forms thus possibly placing invisible creatures by outlining their motions somewhat as Faerie Fire

	`Green Elfstone - That which will descend to Aragorn is in the possession of Maedhros who has retired to Amon Ereb in Ossiriand:
	JR in contemplating a backstory for Aragorn's Elessar seems to have originally postulated its creation by Feanor and bestowal upon Maedhros as his eldest W176, 177; then probably in feeling that might be a bit much when added to the Silmarils & Palantiri altered it to the version in Unfinished Tales 248. A merger of the two conceptions, also in light of the adopted air of historical mystery regarding the two perceived stones there, should not be off base.
	Enerdhil in Gondolin might simply be presumed to have crafted both of the known Elessar (assuming that Galadriel's lesser type wasn't Earendil's greater type returned from Valinor to Endor): giving the lesser to Turgon and the greater to Idril (perhaps through Turgon by his choice).
	Turgon unlooked for joined forces with the Union of Maedhros in spite of the abstentions of Doriath and Nargothrond (with the exception of Gwindor, and mayhap Celebrimbor). There he presented his stone to Maedhros in token of kinship and elvish solidarity, with the hope that it would sustain the army's figurehead in the desperate battle. It's likely, too, that he hoped its ownership would assuage Maedhros' singleminded intention to fulfill his vow to possess a Silmaril, and dispel the impression retained by many that the organization of the Union was for him predominantly a step toward that end.
	Thus surviving the debacle of the Nirnaeth, Maedhros took refuge in Ossiriand, and sometime after the fall of Nargothrond (perhaps when Menegroth too had been ravaged) in dejection sent to Celebrimbor (descendent & heir of Feanor's craftwork) to return the stone to Turgon on his travel to Gondolin. It might have been the point at which he felt he could no longer prevail upon himself to forswear his kindreds' dogged pursuit of the Silmarils. Note that Maedhros hadn't the Elessar's healing influence when at the last a Silmaril proved hurtful for him to handle.
	In Gondolin, Celebrimbor came into his own as an elven smith of note, and when that sanctuary too fell at last, Turgon passed the Elfstone on to him for its preservation. In the next age, at the time that Galadriel asked for a like device to resist the affliction of the land, Celebrimbor reset the stone, as had similarly been done with the Silmaril and Nauglamir, making a thing of even higher virtue. It is possibly to be regretted that Galadriel handed down the Elessar to Arwen instead of returning it to Celebrimbor upon his invention and deliverance of the White Ring; else Sauron's forces might not have disposed of him so effectively.

	`Narsil - Hidden away through the agency of gnomes (petty dwarves) and maybe some human confederates:
	Telchar crafted items pertinent to an expected employer's needs: that was the impetus for dwarf craftsmen in the equipping of other races, as well as of interest in their own defense - thus the dragonhelm was modelled on Glaurung to be effective against such attacks C78, 79. When he forged Narsil, it was for Beor's folk as the closest group of men coming in east of the mountains, who were suffering under the oppression of Morgoth after refusing to adopt his policies, and being subjected to an unspecified but abhorent form of creeping terror attack: the shivering darkness of which Narsil's effusion of warmth & light were designed to counteract. Note upon the name Anduril: the west refers to a western region rather than the western horizon; however, that side of the Blue Mountains was the east when Narsil was created, then becoming the west toward the coastal region after the cataclysm at the end of the age. When Beor led his people over west into Beleriand, the sword accomapanied them; and by this much later time resided with the remnant of his kindred still living in pockets of resistance under the eye of Angband in their hereditary holding of Ladros; where the sword was protected behind a sort of shrine that the agents of evil were persuaded was best left alone.
	Gwindor laboring as a slave in the mines of Angband became friendly with another of the mining elves who worked in the forges there. From this friend who knew the area he received a makeshift small sword to aid in an escape, along with the advice that once outside and across the ash fields he should make his way to the shrine in Ladros where a sword befitting someone in his need was to be found. In conducting his escape he fought with orcs who cut off his hand and sounded the alarm, causing a party of searchers using tracking wolves to get out after him. He was incautious in approaching the shrine due to his wound and exertions, so that while he was making application and then was rebuffed by the locals who mistrusted the fugitive, the orc scouts smelled treasure. Recognizing the belligerent character of the community, the orcs backed off and took counsel, when their outriders reported the appearance of a force of orcs moving up from the south.
	These orcs had been mustered as a force to invade Amon Rudh at the direction of Mim; taking no wolves with them as those would be to no purpose on the slopes and in the tunnels. After the orcs carried off Turin, Androg ejected Mim from the summit and freed Beleg, who rested until his wounds were stanched while Mim clambered down a goat path and looked after the retreating orcs in anger at their plundering of his halls. Mim may have collected his son or other gnomes, gathered some provisions and followed the orcs, or waiting to see what Beleg would do, may have followed the elf, who was too intent on the chase to mind his back trail.
	The two orc groups combined and descended upon the shrine. In desperation and in fear that it would be discovered in any event, Narsil was used in a last ditch defense to cover the withdrawal of noncombatants, where it proved its worth by "keeping the wolves at bay" with its daunting sheen, but was inevitably overcome. While Gwindor watched from cover in amazement before turning to run far west into the haunted woods, and at the very same time that Beleg was arriving out of Dimbar, the orcs looted the place and wrapped up Narsil for transport, then made back west and south - away from any retributive action by the populace, to round the spur of Gorgoroth's northern range enroute to the Pass of Anach's familiar continuing trails.
	Bearing Anglachel into the lair of seething vengence, Beleg attracted the attention of the genius of the place who disrtracted the elf into a recursive cycle among the mirage- like trees with the expectation that he'd stop to rest, when he could be easily enspelled. However, he came upon Gwindor in a similar state yet under the illumination of a Feanorian Lamp, and roused that renowned elf just before the orc company passed through wending its way back northward. Sensing even greater prospect with the orcs, the malevolent ghost prior to dividing its attention invoked the sad tenor of these environs over Beleg's sword, such that should he next draw it within the confines of Taur- nu- Fuin its stroke must fall awry.
	The orcs made camp, partly due to the observation that as they approached Thangorodrim a storm was brewing with a threatening aspect: the character of the intensifying display seeming as a building force rather than an unleashed fury. At the juncture when the orcs had mostly dropped off to sleep and were still being watched by Mim as well as by the elves who were busy rescuing Turin, a shadowy figure emerged from the tree line and after hesitating moved slowly out onto the dale, stopping to acquire and don a hooded cloak from among the orc spoils before being challeged by those guarding Narsil at the treasure hoard. Cowering away from this imposing wraith form, the sentries were obliged to lay open the wrappings around Narsil, when the whole camp was rocked by a terrific stab of lightning that rent the darkness and struck upon the spot where the black presence stooped to gaze over that scintillant blade.
	Mim recoiled, then looked on in awe as the orcs abandoned the blasted wreck of their treasure pile and took flight in confusion at further reports of felled outposts, mysterious attacks and supernatural apparitions. Losing all thought of Beleg, Mim cautiously left his hiding place and crept into the debris- strewn campsite, heading for the point where the strange light had preceded the thunderous crash. Narsil shone revealed to the night, seemingly undamaged, and turning toward the heavens Mim saw that the storm was now receding, so, wary of shocks from other scattered implements, he approached to read its inscribed runes in the light of its fading glow. Recognizing a piece of dwarven craftsmanship, while knowing he might not wield the sword himself he was able to manage it with appropriate respect and to convince himself that he was now by right of discovery its lawful custodian.
	Mim returned to hide the sword for safekeeping in the ruined circle of standing stones where he'd been initially encountered by Turin's outlaw band (had he been following the orc company, he would have known the sword had also previously been held in a shrine of some sort). He then contacts the dwarves of Nogrod seeking their help in restoring Amon Rudh, or infiltrating Nargothrond, or both, in consideration of payment in the form of the sword.
	When notified of this offer by the dwarves, Melian in Menegroth recognizes their (or their womens') interest similarly in maintaining the Union, and consults with Morwen who had advocated for that same thing, asking if she as heiress of Beor will allow the elves to hold Narsil for a time, ostensibly to prepare a scabbard for it, if in so doing Gwindor may be more directly lured to resettlement in Ossiriand, as Morwen had proposed to cement the iconic triad.

multiples possible:
	`arms & armor left on the fields of battle (eg in protective trenches fallen in, claimed by local scavengers from "scattered defensive groups" outside Nargothrond, buried in ash across the Anfauglith, etc) - particularly horse equipage which the orcs wouldn't care for
	`Or(`c/ k)ish Throwing Knife C154 - (lonely tree in a bare dale stuck full of them signals location of Beleg's gravesite)
	`Entwives' Draught - (note forest of white- barked birch)

	To see what you've found, roll 2D6= 2) {1}.\

3 
Nuisance Creatures:
	(d6 <5)% d2 Turbul Bats: ST 8 +D, DX 11 +D /3, IQ 4, MA 12 (Arching Flying), SZ 75, FA 721, AT Thrashings (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 2.
	Squadrons of these cultivated arcane familiars are occasionally to be glimpsed against the moonlight ringing in tight spirals round the pinnacles of tall old towers.
	A roiling flight of oversize and powerfully- winged Bats comprising a 3 hex contiguous figure of mutable form which always moves or Shifts at least one hex in a round if capable, does not engage with its front hexes and is not engaged by nonflying figures. Its body's rearward hexes move to follow its head hex, attempting to end its move wrapped about a target hex in passing or circling; without directly entering an opponent figure's hex. When all 3 Bats hexes are adjacent to a figure at the end of those Bats' move, that figure must (`?SV ` or) make an additional step in a random direction counting against its Mp. If any figure steps into a Bats hex, it will be in HtH with the Bats' battering wings, teeth & claws. A figure in HtH in a Bats hex would have to Disengage HtH to move away from it, while the Bats must automatically move across such a figure at least one hex in a move with the Bats' head leading. The Bats won't attack any figure not in HtH with them, but on used Mp of MA /2 or less will attack all figures in HtH with them, gaining the usual modifiers and rolling 6D to hit. The Bats' HtH Strike attack can't be guarded against and no shield type is effective; plus while a figure passes through the same Bat hexes, DG dealt by the Bats' attacks on successive rounds accrue against all defensive damage- stopping ability.

	(d6 <5)% 2d6 +1 Mast Rat: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Minuteness (=PR 0 RT 6 BL 3), EG 1.
	More destructive to woodworks than an infestation of termites, these gaping- jawed pests were particularly hard on the wagon wheels of Sterlings camped at night on the move westward (ref for example "mast- lands" oak forested arm west of Sirion C98), who determined to trap and train some as instruments of their sensational and sometimes cruelly torturous bloodsports. Those of them which have taken hold in this country seem to have acquired an unnatural ferocity and a predilection to acting in ravenous gangs, though individuals may sneak a way onboard ships at anchor. The dogs in the region have developed a particular enmity toward this variety.
	`a number of them can occupy a single hex, but all in one hex assume the same facing - will divide themselves into 2d2 separate hex markers in making their move on the first Movement phase, all of which markers will remain adjacent to at least one other throughout the encounter, although they may vary in formation -  % for Strike to hit more than one, but % of required CN check on miss - eDG makes a rat % flung/ unconscious/ disabled?

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Flinders: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Standing Flying), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`soporific buzzing as Sleep spell - masses of them clinging onto a figure make a crescendoing, cicada- like, jarring burr & vibration that shatters brittle materals such as glass and causes fractures or ruptures in other hardened materials worn or carried and may damage the wearer as HtH

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Winchweed: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	The generic name for what the hobbits in revulsion at its most ghastly effect termed Gallows- weed. `marshy/ sodden areas

	(d6 <3)% 1 Baneful (or Baleful) Breath:
	Variant eruptions may be disgorged as either pockets of corruption such as used by Ringwraiths in Bree (the baneful Black Breath), or possibly remnant mutated strains of Morgoth's pernicious plague (the baleful Evil Breath). It's most typically encountered in fens & marshes: so a remedy to its effects, such as some special preparation of kingsfoil (atomized, or dried for crushing & simmering), or a resistant device (defensive: Pomander ball/ case & herb/ bloom, or offensive: elvish Horn/ Cornocopia, or both: Pixy Dust/ Fairie Fire) might be found located in similar surroundings. If it's an emanation/ effusion of evil, its presence if not it's exact location (as Invisibility) may be inferred when confronted.
	Originates as a single 1- hex marker, any such marker having the random respiratory option in a round's Movement phase to either move, or expand (when contracted, noted then by being flipped to its other side: exerting its influence over the 6 surrounding hexes as well) or contract (once &/ or when expanded) with a contracting contracted marker being eliminated. When a marker contracts from an expanded state it has a (d6<3)% probability to spawn (`?Replicate spell) another such marker in one of the previously affected expansion hexes. A figure in or adjacent to any affected hex must resist the Breath's effects if a d6 result is less than or equal to the number of (occupied +adjacent) affected hexes.
	`(?if racially adjusted, -> reason) resistance as though to anguish (-ment), so based on a measure of susceptibility= sensitivity lacking refinement (Watson/ Holmes) -  - Turin resistant, immunized vs Baleful effects
	`effects (?to be incorporated with a course of resistance, as of an overall illness, and so allow for a degree of immunization against future attacks) - Ordinarily DG afflicts mST afflicts mIQ afflicts mDX; but in this case an attack is considered an infiltrating rather than an inflicting attempt, so its subjection devolves to a reversed sequence (per susceptibility: mod by IQ- DX delta, with DX representing sensitivity and IQ representing refinement) allowing for an interception (hold off)/ diversion (shake off)/ termination (throw off) of effect at each stage.

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Crimbt: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`impish taloned (Monkey's Paw, Hand of Glory, thieves'/ archers' punishment) - its grip on a subject intends to promote the performance/ execution of some assumed task - in quest, Gwindor's long- lived severed hand perhaps enchanted by Morgoth & transported by ?orcs, or motivated by his own retributive desire W73, which can be controlled by a figure possessing the rough- forged Shortsword he held in that hand when escaping from the mines of Angband)

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Storm/ Carrion Crow (Gorcrow, Crebain): ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`broke upon their ears like the harsh cawing of a crow in contrast to Saruman's honeyed tongue - fans its wings & tail feathers as a turkey/ peacock to summon a windy blow (Storm), Baneful Breath (Carrion) or induce a premonition/ chilling fear or omen/ mirage- like Image (Gorcrow) - note as opposed to Raven

Monsters:
	`Base/ Subject/ True Orcs' foundation stats from Cp7 - also thus Base (Green/ Avari)/ Subject (Dark/ Moriquendi)/ True (High/ Eldar) Elves' attributions per the writings' derivations

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Werewolf/ Gaurwaith C99 (`cmp wolfhound): ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`Running Jump capability= Charge as wolf quadruped (up to SZ 150) -> vault n hexes, morph and engage as wolfman biped with Charge fx of its greater SZ - Elasticity capability= upon making a Shift step its hind marker is left in and occupies the departed hex while its head marker is placed in and occupies the destined hex, both without altering facings; then at the end of Movement phase it chooses which marker is to represent it and removes the other marker (or should it make any further steps during its move, the hind marker is automatically eliminated)
	`They (`?originally men, orcs, ogres) were once centered in the tower and dungeons of the island fortress Tol- in- Gaurhoth (converted Tol Sirion W54), but Sauron, though he may still exercise some empathic directives (note howling as relayed signals), no longer holds the power to maintain and control the gaurhoth (host) as a strike force. - speaking, walking, but wolf- featured - contorted and prone to seizures (starts in shock as though hearing a call from his master) - Howling to summon nearby wolfpacks - `in quest, caught in a spring- jawed trap & frantically attempting to free itself by morphing

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Boaray: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`2- headed boar (?+ other type creature) mutation

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Malfey (/ -wan woebegone): ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`a living creature enthralled under a forceful pronunciation against it of someone or something seeking to convict it by virtue of a real or imagined knowledge of implied standing in its true name, or imperilment of its given oath, or accusation of its lapse in honor or betrayal of responsibility; often a subject of a dragon gaze's spell - springs from a dissheviled, lethargic state to act erratically and recklessly as though taken by madness directed at all others tormenting it with its failure - `in quest, appears as the wasted form of a Sterling who turned on the Elves in bat5 (?an attendant of one of Ulfang the black's sons: Ulfast, Ulworth, or most likely Uldor "the accursed" W61, 72, 74 & attributed in the Atlas), seen fighting off orcs but then turns on party members too after surveying them

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Effys(c)enti(/y)r: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`sentinel effigy (notable in Egyptian tombs) - as "epicenter" (directs) local seismic effects (pivots to strike the ground with its staff in direction of rending gas vent, upheaval, quake, falling ceiling stones, etc) - or, spinning room mirage (Disbelieve vs Illusion as Dazzle) causing figures to wander staggering over traps - or temporal fx (charges, doses, bonuses, continuances, xIQ loss): statue crumbles evidently as if smashed by party's attacks while party items are reduced automatically, party relocated to an earlier time if subject figure refuses to accede to loss of an item targeted by the Effigy's Fracture/ Break Item spell - or Crooked Staff elongates to Strike targets from behind and/ or drag toward Effigy

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Li(p/ c)torus: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Crouching), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`tentacled, lesser dry land adapted version of the water dwelling monsters - in addition to its creeping movements, it can make a flatened, rimlike wheeling motion along a straight line of hexes - hardened outer skin but soft underside - body often rises to a horny crescent shape, similar to (`the cephalic lobes on) the head of a manta, with its beaked mouth positioned along its centerline - may wear/ squeeze into a castoff shell (of any kind: turtle, conch, armadillo, etc) as armor

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Grislaik: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`hag (-gard) as voodoo priestess (gris- gris) able to appear as fetching girl (grisette), but with evidence of disturbing traits as Hop- frog (gristbite) - `in quest, appears waveringly as a (captive?) Sylph, can use wind gust, and can ground flying figures

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Gremlin: ST 5 +D /3, DX 10 +d3, IQ 7 +d2, MA 5 (Crouching Crawling), SZ 35, FA 222, AT Nab (=DG -3T-2>3 HH), AR Blur Trick (=PR 0, RT 2 +d3 reevaluated at each attack instance, BL 5), EG 2.
	`undersize, webbed fingered/ footed goblin (like to Gollum) - Its Nab Strike attack latches onto an extended limb or object, so the option can't be attempted unless the target figure is in HtH or had made a prior Strike or Jab attack against the gremlin in that same round, with the gremlin gaining +2 mDX if the attacker's hit roll had missed. Nabbing clamps its teeth and claws onto most anything, including bladed weapons, and `. One's Blur Trick is only operative once per round against an attack from one of its front hexes.
	Its marker faces a hex vertex rather than a side, as its legs and head all tend to coordinate rather than assuming independent functionality.

	(d6 <4)% d4 Hobgoblin: ST 12 +D, DX 10 +D /2 (-1), IQ 7 +D /3, MA 8 (-2; Standing), SZ 100, FA 321, AT \ Pick 6 (=hafts DG -2L+1<2 HN 2hd RQ 12; Blunderbuss 3 =Matchlock DG -2T-4=4; d4 Charges @(d6 =1)% misfire 0; d6 Shot 2), AR 1 pc Partial Armor 7 (with slung Pick= as 2 pcs @1 pc mods; Lg Shield), EG 4.
	As outsize specimens, these "infernal" (device)- goblins are the trappers and sappers, buccaneers and musketeers of the goblin world. Though considered useful assets, their marginal IQ makes for unreliable performance, so they stand apart and remain relatively few in number due to a perceived untrustworthiness. Accident- prone individuals often exhibit some sort of physical impairment. 
	The range and penetration of one's firearm discharge is dependent upon the user's IQ: its Blunderbuss could be just a rudimentary staff- mounted gun tube having a touch hole for firing with a torch, or could be replaced with a simple Culverin- style musket crammed with balls. So a gun it uses may typically be assumed to independently target up to 2 additional figures adjacent to its line of fire hexes (one on either side from the firer's perspective) on (d6 <3)% each.

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Cayute: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`mustang pony as coyote- like ranger, attacks to knock down & tear away some item with its teeth - bronco tricks: spin & flail, rear & paw, buck & kick, bound & jolt - jumps obstacles to escape - note all horse types are particularly responsive to the sounding of horns

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Cava(l)trope: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`abandoned/ orphaned destrier(s) as rhino- like juggernaut - perhaps ghost rider(s) which may become immaterial, mind- bending phantom/ mirage at max gallop (Disbelieve only effective at last minute)

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Ho(a)r(s)ehound: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`?Leucrotta, mount of evil officer

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Bullroarer (Kine): ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`chaw of loco weed, stampeder/ leader

	(d6 <3)% 2d6 +1 Dracqur: ST 1, DX 10, IQ 4, MA 6 (Lying Crawling), SZ 10, FA 141, AT Gnash (=DG -4T-2>2 HH), AR Amorphism (=PR 2D /3 RT 4 BL 3), EG 1.
	`questing beast, wandering wyrm (- drake) foul- mouthed

	`Salamander: % forces any who merit a hit against one to choose to take a hit (from deflagration) in order to deal the hit.
	`likely escaped early firedrake experimental subjects, travel rivers -> bask inland.

	`\

4 
`"Tower of the Dread Mage"- style mechanism
	`ortho moves, Open square entry allows move to adjacent bordering Open square, or adjoining map square

Grid Directory

[1,1] <3 Device +0; Vantage -1 @ A: Open; B: Obstacle, Covert; L: Open; R: Goods, Pointer.
[1,2] <4 Obstacle +1; Covert +1 @ A: Device, Vantage; B: Crossing, Interest; L: Open; R: Stash, Hazard.
[1,3] <2 Crossing -1; Interest +1 @ A: Obstacle, Covert; B: Open; L: Open; R: Crossing, Pointer.
[2,1] <3 Goods -1; Pointer +0 @ A: Open; B: Stash, Hazard; L: Device, Vantage; R: Goods, Obstacle.
[2,2] <3 Stash +0; Hazard +0 @ A: Goods, Pointer; B: Crossing, Pointer; L: Obstacle, Covert; R: Interest, Covert.
[2,3] <4 Crossing -1; Pointer +0 @ A: Stash, Hazard; B: Open; L: Crossing, Interest; R: Vantage, Stash.
[3,1] <3 Goods -1; Obstacle +0 @ A: Open; B: Interest, Covert; L: Goods, Pointer; R: Open.
[3,2] <2 Interest -1; Covert +0 @ A: Goods, Obstacle; B: Vantage, Stash; L: Stash, Hazard; R: Open.
[3,3] <4 Vantage +0; Stash +1 @ A: Interest, Covert ; B: Open; L: Crossing, Pointer; R: Open.

`\

5 

Local Discovery
	roll 2d3 with mod from Grid Directory, and additional @-1 for each revisiting roll.

Open:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2) <3 +4 & Add +1 to # encountered; +1 & then forced to retreat to previous grid square.
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6) 
	7) 

Device:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6) <3 +2; +6 & <5 A totem standard wielded as a Halberd: next 3 Strike attempts lose -2 mDX but gain +2 dice DG.
	7) 

Vantage:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

Obstacle:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2) <5 +4 & boxed in= return to previous grid square; +2 & delay= revisit here.
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

Covert:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

Crossing:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

Interest:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

Goods:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5) nursery/ plot of growth
	6) A font or spring 
	7) 

Pointer:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6) A landmark 
	7) 

Stash:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) Lair of 

Hazard:
	1-) no further discoveries in this grid square.
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7) 

	`\

6 

Encounter Depictory/ Descriptory
	roll 2d6 with mod from Local Discovery

	0-)
	1)
	2)
	3)
	4)
	5)
	6)
	7)
	8)
	9)
	10)
	11)
	12)
	13)
	14)
	15)
	16)
	17)
	18)
	19)
	20+)

	`\

7 
Old Maid (`Maedhros: attempted on the part of continuance in the Union of Maedhros, Nevrast/ "never asked").
	The evacuation of Nargothrond: time slot= messengers arrive at Nargothrond in the spring of the year, Glaurung invades Nargothrond in the autumn, Tuor & Voronwe see Turin pass through Eithel Ivrin that winter.

Backstory: On the advice of Ulmo, Turgon built Gondolin as a hideaway and abandoned Nevrast taking all his people: so leaving Vinyamar an uninhabited, haunted city after having procured and stashed the Panoply of Ulmo in the throne room according to that Vala's specifications.
	Following bat5, Morgoth welshed on the deal that caused those of the unfaithful (Ea-) Sterlings to switch sides in the battle: since then keeping them penned in Hithlum W79 while orcs are allowed to run riot over northern Beleriand and effect an occupation in Eglarest, pushing out the Sea Elves who shifted their base of operation to the Isle of Balar and the mouth of Sirion (`recap of dispositions) W77, 80.
	Ulmo appears later on to Cirdan bidding him send messengers to Nargothrond warning of its impending discovery and ultimate destruction. Gelmir & Arminas who are distraught at the implied doom, take the long way around in a quest to reassure themselves that Gondolin is more than fable, having surmised that it would probably lie concealed somewhere in the northlands.
	The messengers & Tuor cross paths at the Gate of the Noldor, with Tuor continuing on to acquire the Panoply of Ulmo, now enhanced with his Valaran cloak of concealment, while meeting up with Voronwe in Vinyamar W80. The elves wander on eastward through Dor- lomin, inquiring for Gondolin from other elves that they meet, then turn to the south to make for Nargothrond.
	Turgon hears of the messengers' visit to the area, and that when asked why they were seeking Gondolin they replied, as they would later to Orodreth, that they'd heard it said that the kingdom of Gondolin would be last to fall against Morgoth, and that they were going on in a dire mission to Nargothrond. By this Turgon infers in some fashion (perhaps as he was intended to by the elves' circuit) that the hidden city of Nargothrond is threatened and considers that though he will not send help he should make provision for refugees fleeing there in the event of its imperilment, whereas neither can he endeavor to harbor such in Gondolin. Thinking of the vacancy of Nevrast, he proposes to establish a temporary sanctuary within the bight of the mountains lining the shore just below the Firth of Drengist, which is a traditional jumping- off place for the elves, and to make it in the guise of an encampment of Sterlings from out of the neighboring region.
	A collection of some of the faithful Sterlings are recruited from around the Fens of Serech and put in touch with survivors of Fingon's Elves who've been driven out of Dor- lomin into the mountains, and some outlaw fighters in the area, as well as Turgon's Elves from Gondolin who had dwelt in Nevrast, all of whom may be acquainted with its interior marshes. Even those Sterlings who'd associated with the unfaithful are now willing to be persuaded by their counterparts to participate in maintaining the deception, and some into joining the excursion to escort the refugees in defiance of Morgoth's henchmen, possibly with an eye toward a chance at reclaimaining honor.

The Setting and Plan: Once Nargothrond has been discovered, Orodreth is advised of the prepared shelter and the proposed exodus, in case war should be brought before his very gates. 
	When the rescue operation is to be activated, it will be set in motion to parallel the onset & assault of the enemy's forces into the south, but just monitoring and following down the west bank of the River Nenning until it looks as though Nargothrond may be besieged. When thus coincidentally alerted, Tuor & Voronwe will accompany the allies surreptitiously and remain with them incognito to take a hand as needed until the refugees are ensconced in Nevrast.
	The allies expect to cross the river in Eglarest, attempting to dupe, surprise and fight their way through any orcs and other amassing forces there and along the coasts, in order to clear a path onto the Faroth approaching Nargothrond's back doors where they'll contact and corral those who have taken advice to flee, head south with them to recross at Eglarest, then march back north to the shelter.

	`\

8 

	`\

9 

	`\