The Middle-Earth Campaign 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

In the year 3011 of the Third Age, Middle-earth stands upon a precipice, though few living beneath the shadow of the great mountains truly grasp the depth of the coming twilight. For generations, the lands have known a fragile, weary peace. The shadow that fell with the defeat of the Dark Lord Sauron long ago has been a mere memory, a whisper in old tales.

The world the Free Peoples have inherited is one of fading light and lengthening nights, a time imperiled by a rising darkness that few can yet name. The great powers are distracted: the Elves are dwindling, looking ever westward; the Dwarves are secure within their mountains but few in number; and the Men of the West are a diminished race whose kingdom of Gondor holds a long, lonely vigil.

The North remains a sparsely populated, wild expanse where ancient evils and forgotten ruins lie dormant. The Shire remains blissful in its isolation, and the quiet folk of Bree go about their business with little thought for the world beyond their borders. The Northmen, the Beornings, and the scattered Rangers are the thin line of defense that keeps the remnants of civilization safe. It is into this world that a new age of heroes must emerge, for the established orders are weary, and the old alliances are strained. The map of Middle-earth is vast, a patchwork of kingdoms and wildernesses where destiny awaits those brave enough to step away from the firelight of their homes. Far to the south and east, in the land of Mordor, the enemy is stirring again. The Dark Lord Sauron has been quietly gathering his strength, recovering lost power, and breeding armies in the shadows. He has rebuilt his tower, Barad-dûr, and the air around Mount Doom is thick with ash and evil purpose.

Though his influence is subtle at first, it bleeds outward, corrupting the minds of men in the South and East and gathering fell creatures to his banner. The Nazgûl, his most terrible servants, ride forth in secret, searching for a lost object of power that holds the key to his final victory. This resurgent threat is the true context of the age, the storm on the horizon that will soon break over all the lands.

The signs of the turning tide are everywhere, if one knows where to look. The roads are becoming unsafe, haunted by desperate men and darker things. Whispers of a "Shadow" in Mirkwood are growing louder, a malign influence deep within the forest that drives all light from the canopy.

These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a singular, growing cancer upon the world. The time for peaceful ignorance is ending, and the time for action is fast approaching. The great War of the Ring, though yet unnamed, is an inevitability. It will be a series of conflicts across the entire continent, from Minas Tirith in the West to the distant realms of the North.

Your path, should you choose to walk it, will lead you out of the quiet security of the North Downs and across the vast, untamed expanses of Wilderland. Fate may push you through the shadowed paths of Mirkwood, over the Misty Mountains, and into the sun-drenched vales of the River Running. You will find yourselves drawn inexorably towards Dale and the Lonely Mountain, a beacon of Dwarf and Man resilience in the East.

This is a campaign about the twilight of an age, where hope is a small but persistent flame in the darkness. It's a story of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times, called to defend their homes and the memory of a free Middle-earth. The road is long, the dangers are great, but the need for heroes has never been more dire. Welcome to the Third Age, adventurers. May your swords stay sharp, and your hearts stay true.

Giving the Middle Finger to WotC/Hasbro 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

Recently I watched this video from "Diversity & Dragons" and I never realized WotC was "this" bad. He might be a smaller content creator but he spits pure facts in this video.

He touched on things he pulled from Twitter and all of these people I am about to highlight are affiliated with Hasbro/WotC in one form or another . . . some are editors, writers, executives and content creators. They publically say stuff that is pure racist and WotC/Hasbro lets them get away with it, and as a matter of fact Hasbro/WotC does its best to go along with these people and what they say.

These are just a few of the tweets that were found on Twitter. Dominique Dickey posted a couple of tweets here and here. How much of a racist can someone be?

Then you have Sadie Lowrie who assisted as a writer for Call of the Netherdeep making tweets like this. I send her a tweet asking her about her tweet and this is the reply I got from her. Instead of explaining herself, she blocks me. Typical racist hiding from what she has done. The exact same thing happened with Sarah Madsen . . . when I sent her a tweet about these tweets that she made and I got another reply just like I got from Sadie Lowry.

Lets look at Makenzie De Armas with her tweet or how the one and only Christopher Perkins tweeted this and to think, it pretty much all started with this from Kyle Brinks. It seems whenever I get on Youtube, a video pops up on my home screen where Hasbro/WotC has done something stupid and made the news again?

With that being said, I want to make one thing perfectly clear, I'll never buy another product from Hasbro/WotC, I can't get behind racism & WOKE DEI Politics in any form. I simply cannot be a part of everything that is going on with the current state of Dungeons & Dragons right now.

Ready, Set, Go! 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 have some things that I would like to touch on with those of you that are first time readers of this blog. The first thing that I kind of want to get into is what many call the "Matt Mercer Effect". I think one thing we all can agree on is Matthew Mercer is ranked in the top level of Dungeon Masters.

The man knows his stuff, but it isn't just about Matthew, his players bring a huge part of what makes Critical Role special to the table. To quote an old saying ... "it takes two to tango", or in this case, it takes both a DM and players to make a game special.

One thing I very much want to emphasize on is "I am not Matthew Mercer" and if you expect me as a Dungeon Master to be like Matthew Mercer then I would say "go find you another campaign to follow" because I am not on his level, nor will I even try to be and to be perfectly honest I am not sure if the world has a Dungeon Master that even comes close to his level of story telling "well maybe but I have yet to see one". I try to run a good game where my players have a good time (plain and simple) and in the past my players have all had a great time so I guess I am doing something right.

Critical Role is a staged game, with some scripting involved - Matthew and his players are all voice actors. When you watch his campaigns, this is not what Dungeon & Dragon games are really like. His campaigns are strictly constructed to bring entertainment to his viewers.

What we try to do here is get together as friends (this is important) and enjoy our time playing TTRPG's like it was played 35-40 years ago. We don't bring anything from the real world to our table, we simply get together as friends and enjoy this beautiful setting of Middle-earth in all its glory.

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

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

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

Barrow-Downs South 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

The Southern Barrow-downs are a specific section of a larger, eerie, rolling hill country located in a fictional realm, characterized by open grass- and turf-covered landscapes devoid of trees. The defining features of the area are the numerous ancient burial mounds that cap the hills. This region was once home to an ancient kingdom whose people interred their leaders in elaborate tombs for centuries. Despite the potential for discovering ancient artifacts within these graves, the area is widely feared and avoided by local inhabitants due to its pervasive, foreboding atmosphere and reputation for being heavily haunted.

The foreboding nature of the Southern Barrow-downs stems from the malevolent, incorporeal entities that infest the ancient burial sites. Following a historical cataclysm that wiped out the region's original populace, powerful dark forces infused the deserted mounds with these evil spirits, ensuring the land could never be safely resettled. These spectral threats exhibit icy, chilling effects on the living, capable of ensnaring intruders with powerful enchantments and dragging them into the dark chambers of the tombs. A notable incident in the lore involves a group of travelers who were captured by one of these entities in the southern region before being miraculously rescued by a mysterious, nature-bound figure. The area in various adaptations is known for presenting significant challenges to adventurers.

Chetwood South 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

The southern portion of the Chetwood forest , located east and south of the town of Bree, served primarily as a historical refuge for the local inhabitants. In times when the surrounding lands were overrun by Orcs and other hostile forces, the people of the four Bree-land villages would flee into the southern reaches of the wood, where they had prepared hidden cabins and supply caches. While the Chetwood appeared wholesome and full of light near its edges, the deeper, older inner regions were seldom explored by the villagers, who generally only ventured in far enough to gather firewood and building materials.

In the Third Age, few bothered with the ancient hiding spots, though some older, more cautious residents still secreted away portions of their harvest, a practice reminiscent of squirrels. The southern edge of the wider Chetwood area was bordered by the East Road, just south of the village of Staddle and southwest of the extensive Midgewater Marshes. In some modern adaptations, the area is noted for being a haunt for bandits, such as the Blackwold gang, in the early War of the Ring.

Barrow-Downs North 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

The Northern Barrow-downs is a prominent, ominous upland region located immediately east of the Chetwood and the village of Bree, separated from the latter by the ancient, overgrown North-South Road. This northern stretch of the Downs is a vast, undulating expanse defined by rolling hills, shallow valleys, and numerous large, grassy mounds that dot the landscape. These mounds are ancient burial sites, barrows left by the Men of the First Age and the Númenóreans of the North Kingdom of Arnor . The entire region is covered in a lush, green sward, giving it an outwardly peaceful, if solemn, appearance .

Despite its seemingly innocuous appearance, the North Barrow-downs is steeped in malice and peril. It is a place shunned by the locals of Bree and the Shire due to its notorious reputation. The barrows are haunted by malevolent spirits, known as Barrow-wights, ethereal servants of the Witch-king of Angmar that were sent to the area centuries ago to prevent the re-establishment of the Dúnedain kingdom . These wights guard vast amounts of ancient treasure but also cast a shadow of fear over the land, often trapping unsuspecting travelers in fog and leading them to their doom within the tombs, as nearly happened to Frodo Baggins and his companions .

Archet Dale 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

Archet Dale is a secluded and rustic area in the greater region of Bree-land, nestled on the very fringes of the large, untamed Chetwood forest. The area is home to the small, primarily human village of Archet, a quiet farming community that maintains little use for the bustling life of larger settlements like nearby Bree-town. The name "Archet" itself, derived from an Old English term meaning "Forest's Edge," perfectly encapsulates its isolated, wooded location.

The geography of Archet Dale is characterized by gently rolling hills and fertile, cultivated fields that provide sustenance for the local populace. The landscape is a mix of open farmland and dense forest, giving the region a peaceful, pastoral feel that, combined with its remoteness, often attracts simple folk and a few resident Hobbits. A soft, canyon-style wash runs through the lower, southern part of the dale, where rainwater collects and moves through the terrain. The only official road connection to the rest of Bree-land is a narrow passage leading southwards toward the village of Combe.

Historically, Archet was founded after the fall of the ancient kingdom of Arnor, a frontier settlement chartered to clean out rogue goblins and secure the area after the Great Northern War. Its original settlement consisted of about thirty-five stone houses, built among the clearings and along the slopes of a small, local hill. The villagers were known for producing a unique, coveted cheese made from the milk of goats that fed on a specific wildflower, the Arinyalasse, which grew exclusively in the dale's immediate surroundings.

In contemporary times, the isolated nature of Archet Dale and its lack of strong authority have drawn the attention of less desirable elements. A formidable band of brigands known as the Blackwolds has established a camp in some old ruins on the eastern outskirts of the dale, plotting misdeeds beyond simple robbery. This has made the once-serene area a place of conflict, transforming it from a peaceful farming community into a dangerous frontier.

The village of Archet has suffered significantly from these incursions. During recent conflicts, the Blackwold brigands launched a devastating assault, resulting in the burning and sacking of many homes and the scattering of the townsfolk. The former bustling town is now in ruins, with many residents having lost their lives. Retired soldier Captain Brackenbrook initially tried to organize a defense, a command later passed to his son, Jon Brackenbrook, who now oversees the somber effort to rebuild and protect what remains of the settlement.

The wilderness surrounding the village also presents natural dangers. The fringes of the Chetwood are not entirely safe, as the area is infested with various creatures, including a monstrous brood of spiders that have overrun nearby locations like Sprigley's Farm and established a lair that stretches to a cave entrance near the Old East Path. This constant threat from both natural and criminal elements ensures that Archet Dale, despite its rustic charm, remains a perilous part of Bree-land's wilder edges.

Far Chetwood 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

The Far Chetwood is a large, untamed expanse located in the remote northeastern corner of Bree-land, distinct from the more settled southern and northern Chetwood areas closer to the villages. It lies north of the ridges that define Archet Dale and south of the cold waters of the lake Nen Harn, bordering the wilder lands of the North Downs. This deep woodland is a place of serene, if somewhat monotonous, natural beauty, characterized by vast quantities of maple trees and a general lack of significant landmarks, offering little to the passing explorer beyond a humble pond and a sense of isolation. It is a large, wild space that feels genuinely remote and forgotten, a peaceful spot for fishing or quiet exploration, far from the main roads and populated centers of Bree-town and the Shire.

However, the Far Chetwood's isolation makes it a haven for various unsavory elements and natural threats that do not frequent the safer, more "tame" parts of the forest. While major strongholds are absent, the area has been known to host formidable bands of the Blackwold brigands, who use the seclusion to establish camps and plot raids on nearby settlements. Furthermore, the natural wildlife here is less docile; explorers may encounter a monstrous brood of spiders, hostile wargs, and even a remote wood troll lurking in the deeper woods, making travel through the Far Chetwood a dangerous endeavor. The wilderness here is truly untamed, a stark contrast to the managed farmlands just to the west.