Author Archives: shoreless
Elfhelm
A tall figure loomed up and stumbled over [Merry], cursing the tree-roots. He recognized the voice of the Marshal, Elfhelm. ‘I am not a tree-root, Sir,’ he said, ‘nor a bag, but a bruised hobbit. The least you can do in amends is to tell me what is afoot.’ The Lord of the Rings […]
Denethor
It’s no easy job, managing a kingdom, let alone one on the brink of collapse. Invaders to the east, a lackluster neighbor to the west, pirates to the south, orcs all around, and oh yeah, the devil himself knocking at your doorstep. Let’s not forget that your oldest son is dead (the one you liked) leaving you […]
Shrine to Morgoth
The Grey Havens is here! And it is rife with some deep lore delvings. The whole premise gets serious with the appendices and showcases the care and interest the developers have for the history of Middle-earth. In short, a Gondorian lord has been having visions of Númenor refound, that the island did not sink completely, […]
Sarn Ford Sentry
Rangers and more rangers! We here at Master of Lore have spent a lot of time talking about the Dúnedain in this current cycle, and rightfully so! The Rangers of the North have finally gotten their due in our LCG. I’ve already gushed about how cool they are, so I shall stop now, and proceed […]
Barliman Butterbur
By now you should known I’m partial to hobbits. Between my ramblings on the podcast and my exposition on here, it’s clear that I am a big fan of the halflings. They’re clever, funny, quaint, and idealistic. As such I find I am also drawn to the men of Bree. Really they’re just tall hobbits: […]
Mugash
Orcs ought to be regarded with a great deal more mystique and intrigue than we grant them. To many of us Orcs and Goblins are strictly sword-fodder, small black and green people of pure evil there to be destroyed with little thought put to the task. Really that does make sense: until we get a bit of […]
Merry
‘We have come a long way with you and been through some stiff times. We want to go on.’ – Merry, The Fellowship of the Ring Merry, Mister Meriadoc Brandybuck I should say, is an affable hobbit. But, for most of us, there are two Merrys: the goofy, stoner Merry of the films and the […]
The Hornburg
The first great battle of the War of the Ring happens on home turf for the Rohirrim. Saruman empties Isengard of its vast armies, tens of thousands of orcs and half-orcs and warg riders and Dunlendings, in a great push to end the inconvenience that is the Horse Lords and claim their lands. When King Théoden […]
Erestor
In addition to all the Dúnedain Ranger goodness that’s come with The Lost Realm expansion, and is to come with the following cycle, we have also been teased that the Noldor will be getting a bit of trait development. At this point there is little to say of the Noldor as cards and nothing to say of them as […]
Frodo Baggins
‘A very nice well-spoken gentlehobbit is Mr. Bilbo, as I’ve always said’… ‘But what about this Frodo that lives with him?’ asked Old Noakes of Bywater. ‘Baggins is his name, but he’s more than half a Brandybuck, they say.’ Oh, Frodo. Jolly old Frodo! He is the protagonist of our favorite story but also, perhaps, […]
Master of Lore 