Let's Talk About It Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth The current year for our Middle-Earth campaign is set during the year of 2946 of the Third Age. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien

I would like to go on record at the start of this post by saying some of what I am about to say is going to offend some folks so . . . if it does, then I guess you'll be offended! If you dislike what I am about to say then move along to something else because I don't need you here trying to force your point of view on me or my players "who also feel the same way" and how we feel Middle-Earth should be. Alright, now that that's been said, on with the post . . .

I understand everyone is going to have a difference of opinions and I respect that but if your opinion does not agree with mine then I guess that is how it goes. This version of Middle-Earth will be 100% homebrew. Why is it homebrew you might ask? Well, I have not read the books so I have no way to remain true to canon. My campaign will be based totally off of the six films but I will be reading the novels in the near future so I will try to hold true as best I can to the Tolkien spirit.

My Middle-Earth will not feed off of a single thing from the Amazon "The Rings of Power" series that has been released #BoycotAmazon. I will not get into the reasons behind why I personally feel like Amazon just gave Middle-Earth fans a hard slap to the face and giving us the middle finger with the other hand, I will let you folks decide for yourself if you like or dislike what you have seen so far concerning that series but one thing is certain ... Amazon took down the video they had on the Amazon channel where the words "representation & diversity" was said a million times . . . this speaks volumes. One other thing I want to point out is how Amazon made it so people could not post reviews on Rotten Tomatoes "hmmm . . . I wonder why that was done" lol.

All Amazon is concerned with are the words "representation & diversity" - and with Amazon removing that video from the Amazon channel, it just goes to show you that they realize that they screwed up. I am also now seeing how they are race swapping main characters, turning white characters into black characters . . . lol ok let's just spit all over the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. They don't care about the actual Lore and it speaks volumes about what they are trying to do with this new series with that video being removed from the Amazon Youtube channel ... nuff said on that.

Personally I feel the entire concept of this new Amazon series to be sad & embarrassing and I personally will not have anything to do with that shit show. I want to also go on record by saying Wizards of the Coast race swapping Aragorn is a disgrace and they can line up right along side Amazon with how I feel about them.

Anyways . . . to finish this thing up, yea my campaign is going to be based off of the films. Sure the Hobbit trilogy was a little silly with the CGI and at times and I see where Peter Jackson added non canon stuff into the prequels, but in the end the films kept with the "flavor and feel" of Middle-Earth and I loved all six films even with some of the rediculas CGI stuff going on in the Hobbit trilogy. All of my current players have not read the novels but are huge huge fans of the films and this will be how they envision what is going on in my campaign so it just makes sense to build my campaign off of the films and just add in as much canon as I can to it.

Middle-Earth is something very close to my heart and with Amazon doing this stupid shit to this new series really upsets me which in turn causes me to speak my mind about how I feel about how my Middle-Earth campaign should and will be. I'm sure if I read the books it would mean so much more to me and eventually I really do hope to be able to find the time and sit down and read the books.

Most if not all of my group know about Middle-earth from the six films so in a way basing this campaign off of the movies works better for my group anyways. I've had multiple movie nights with my players where we sat around and watched the extended versions of all six films "at different times of course" and we had a wonderful time. I am very excited to be bring our own Middle-earth to life for my players to explore. Knowing that at times they will undoubtedly meet some of the iconic characters from Middle-earth which I hope is a real treat for them.

So, be patient with us "especially me" because we still have a lot of perpareration to get done and this campaign blog is just beginning to get worked on so a lot more content is coming to this little corner of Middle-earth. I'll have more news coming soon for everyone so stay tuned.

Ready For Content Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth The current year for our Middle-Earth campaign is set during the year of 2946 of the Third Age. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien

Woodmen-town Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth The current year for our Middle-Earth campaign is set during the year of 2946 of the Third Age. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien

Woodmen-town is a small but thriving settlement under the gloomy eaves of Mirkwood, about 100 miles South of The Old Forest Road and 50 miles South of Woodland Hall on the Dusky River. It is home to the oldest of the Woodmen families and inside its ancient great house, the Hall of Balthi , is the Fabled Lamp of Balthi, a great healing artifact.

The hall is surrounded by the Market Green and a smattering of houses and shops. The village strives to live in harmony with nature in accordance with their laws. They live a simple existence in the frozen north of Solstheim, subsisting on hunting and minor agriculture, but are also familiar with the secrets of forging stalhrim.

On the Market Green the occasional travelling merchant lays out their goods, pig and sheep-herders drive their animals into pens, tradesmen meet to buy materials and sell their wares, and the local gossips gather to trade tales. The palisade has a mixture of very ancient, moss covered sections, and much newer freshly cut and erected logs.

A Dusky River that runs to the east of the town flowing down from the mountains of Mirkwood. On the couple of jetties that poke out into the river, fisher-folk mend their nets, carve out new log boats, and tar their coracles in readiness for the fishing season. The walls of Woodmen-town are built from a palisade of stout logs, sharpened at the top. Bunches of fragrant herbs can be seen hanging from the walls to ward off evil influences.

The houses in Woodmen-town are all rectangular long houses, with sloping shingled roofs. An inner palisade runs around the waist of the hill which is home to the Great Hall and elder council’s halls. Only those with business on the hill are allowed into this inner palisade. Well-trained working dogs can be seen all around Woodmen town, the Woodmen being masters of hounds that are kennelled at the north of the settlement and watch for any threat from the forest. Occasional excited barks can be heard. The sound of timber being chopped is a constant refrain in Woodman-town.

Woodmen-town is governed by a Council of Elders consisting of a body of five elders. All council meetings are held within the richly decorated Great Hall located atop the central hill of Woodmen-town. Inside this great hall, the legendary Lamp of Balthi is kept safe, the greatest treasure of the Woodmen.

The settlement has a standing population of around 125-150. They are distantly related to the Edain who inhabit the western portion of Mirkwood forest along with a mysterious race of men called the Beornings, who are said to be skin-changers. This settlement was partially built upon great platforms amongst the trees in the Elvish manner, for the Woodmen are on friendly terms with the Elves of the Forest. Woodmen-town mostly consists of locals but does have a few that are not native to the region. The Woodmen and the Beornings have close ties since, they lived near to one another amid many dangers of the region.

The woodsmen of the region consist of a hearty folk with many strong warriors. The settlements community is made up of friendly folk but they always seem to have theie guard up during these troubling times. These people understand the Shadow is once again moving and they might be forced to defend themselves or others whom they are allied with but regardless, life goes on and even though they stand ready to fight, these people still live a normal life.

The climate tends to be cool during the summer but winters are usually very cold with much snowfall in this region . . . typical northmen weather, just how they like it. Fishing and hunting are the common trades of the region, along with trade coming into Woodmen-town. Exports mostly consist of furs and pelts along with fish and meat from hunting within the surrounding area.

Points of Interest
• Great Hall
• Market Green
• Nightgate Inn
• Blacksmith Shop
• Chissa's Patisserie Shoppe
• Baliver's House of Horses
• General Store

Notable People
• Odo
• Amalina
• Old Ingund
• Barald