Category Hasty Strokes
The Edain of Middle-Earth
With the announcement that we will be returning to the Wilderlands of the West in the our next deluxe expansion The Wilds of Rhovanion, it appears we are finally going to get some long-awaited development for the Dale trait. But these Bardings are not the only Men of the Wilderlands. Who are they and how they are […]
Azain Silverbeard
My pleasant surprise at realizing that Brok Ironfist actually has a name rich in Tolkienian lore has now been matched by disappointment that our latest unique FFG-created Dwarf ally, Azain Silverbeard, appears to have no grounding in the Professor’s work. The prefix ‘Az-‘ may mean ‘war axe’ (related to our English word ‘adze’) which is […]
Mariner’s Compass
Here’s a nifty gadget, but is there such a thing in Middle-earth? In our world, a magnetic compass was invented by the Chinese, though it took another 1000 years before they used it for navigation on the sea. The first mention of a compass in Western Europe dates to the late 12th or early 13th […]
Elven Jeweler
She might look innocent enough but be careful what you make with this one. The first chapter of the Quenta Silmarillion titled “Of the Beginning of Days” sets the stage for the sordid saga of these Noldorin Elves. Though they are the “most skilled of the Elves”, “renowned in song” with a name meaning “wisdom”, […]
Gimli’s “True Name”
Shhh! The language of the Dwarves is “a secret which unlike the Elves, they [do] not willingly unlock, even to their friends”. Aside from the names of a few places (which Gimli let slip to his Companions) and the famous Dwarven battle-cry “Khazâd! Khazâd!” (which has been heard by many, though sometimes last), the Dwarven […]
Wight of Rhudaur
“Get out, you old Wight! Vanish in the sunlight! Shrivel like the cold mist, like the winds go wailing, Out into the barren lands far beyond the mountains! Come never here again! Leave your barrow empty! Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness, Where gates stand for ever shut, till the world is mended.” […]
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, […]
Long Groping Arm
When Michael Tolkien was around 6-8 years old, he had nightmares about “a gloved hand without an arm that opened curtains a crack after dark and crawled down” to get him. In Michael’s bedtime stories, his father J.R.R. Tolkien invented a cheerful fellow named Tom Bombadil. His jacket was blue and his boots were yellow and […]
White Warg and Wolf of Angmar
About 100 years before the timeframe of our game, Middle-earth was struck by a terrifying cold season known as the Fell Winter. Appendix B’s “Tale of Years” tells us that even the Brandywine froze and that “White Wolves invade Eriador from the North”. It is in these wastes that our heroes encounter the White Warg […]
Derndingle Warrior
To our ears, the name Derndingle Warrior sounds foolish or even scatological, but we can’t blame Tolkien for inventing such nonsense. This word is Common Speech, taken from our own history, not the philology professor’s fantasy creations. ‘Dingle’ comes from a Middle English word of unknown origin meaning ‘a deep abyss’ but has been used […]
Master of Lore 