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| The Northern Waste | |
|---|---|
| Publication Information | |
| Author | Randy Maxwell |
| Illustrator | Angelo Montanini (cover) Kalman Andrasofszky, Storn Cook, Liz Danforth, Friedrich A. Haas, Michael Kucharski, K.C Lancaster, Ellym Sirac, Arnie Swekel (interior) |
| Publisher | Iron Crown Enterprises |
| Released | 1997 |
| Format | Softcover |
| Pages | 189 |
| ISBN | 1-55806-226-3 |
| ICE stock no. | 2025 |
The Northern Waste is a supplement (in the Realm-series) for Middle-earth Role Playing, 2nd Edition. It also includes new material for the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game.
Cover/Jacket Text
Let Arvedui's tragic tale serve as a warning of the perils that await any who would brave the vast, arctic wilderness of the Northern Waste. Bounded by the great Ice-bay of Forochel, this seemingly endless expanse of snow and tundra stretches to the frozen ends of Middle-earth. Home to the mysterious Lossoth, the Northern Waste is a titanic battleground of natural and supernatural forces, all contending for the destiny of this forbidding land.
The Northern Waste unlocks an exciting new realm of adventure never before covered by ICE's Middle-earth series. Now at last you can travel to the northernmost shores of Middle-earth - and beyond! The Northern Waste includes complete stats for Middle-earth Role Playing, Rolemaster, and Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. It is the first MERP module to contain scenario material for ICE's best-selling Middle-earth Collectible Card Game.
The Northern Waste features:
- COLOR MAP - An exquisitely drawn map (17" x 22") brings the Northern Waste to life with vibrant color and elegant realism, covering nearly 450,000 square miles of breathtaking terrain.
- LOSSOTH - Sojourn with a people whose strange customs and lifeways are profoundly shaped by the harsh environment in which they live. Learn the riimut, the enchanted runes through which the Lossoth channel the invisible energies of the Spirit World. Witness one of the bloodless "song duels" the Snowmen use to settle disputes. Meditate upon the wisdom of tasapaino, the ideal of harmony and balance that guides the hearts and deeds of this practical yet noble culture.
- THE LANDLESS LAND - Dare to tread the pathless leagues of Arda's polar ice-cap. Behold Helloth, fabled ice-city of the Snow-elves that guards Helecthil, the mysterious source of the northern lights.
- MORGOTH'S REALM - Explore the cyclopean wreckage of Angband, birthplace of dragons and ancient stronghold of Morgoth. Evade the elemental spirits that prey upon the Free Peoples of the land: Jäänainen, Siren of the Ice; Eloeklo, Demon of the North Wind; Durlach, Balrog of the Fire Veils.
- EVERMIST - Seek the hidden valley of Evermist, sanctuary to a secretive order of Noldorin mystics sworn to rid the Northern Waste of Morgoth's taint. Undertake a vision path to recover one of the lost yavanníri, the frozen tears shed by Yavanna for the healing of the Wounded Land.
- ADVENTURES - Two full-length, ready-to-run scenarios offer instant adventure. Rumors of "The Ivory Hoard" lure fortune-seekers onto the fringes of the Northern Waste, presenting the GM with a golden opportunity to acquaint players with the Lossoth and their customs. Meanwhile, terror strikes Forochel's bay as stout-hearted heroes gird themselves for a deadly foray into "The Haunted Berg."
- MECCG SITES AND SCENARIOS - Expand your Middle-earth card game into the Northern Waste with three exciting new scenarios and a host of new sites all laid out on the reverse side of the color terrain maps.
Major locations
Iron Crown devised many new locations for players to explore.
Achrond
Achrond (S. “Ivory Hall”) was an abandoned Númenórean whaling colony on the island of Pitkämiehen Saari. It was established during the reign of Tar-Ciryatan, and was delved into a hill.[1]
Emyn Nimbrith
The Emyn Nimbrith (Q. “White Rubble Hills”) were the shattered remains of the Iron Mountains, which divided Forodwaith from Eriador. Beneath them lay the bones of the giant dragon Thaurung who perished during the War of Wrath. Thaurung's right eye socket formed a round cave entrance leading into the Sinikäden Kuoleman Reikä (“Hole of the Blue-handed Death”), because the cave was infested with shrews who carried a deadly disease.[2]
Everdalf
Everdalf (S. “Herd Tundra”, La. Hyvämetsästyksen Maa), was a broad, open plain in the Northern Waste, known for its vast summer migrations of elk, reindeer, and other grazing animals. This abundance attracted many predators, including wolves and wargs, though the latter stalk the tundra year-round.
Seasonally extreme, Everdalf turned dry and fire-prone in autumn and bleak and desolate in winter. It was frequented by Lossoth hunters, and was often called “Caru,” a Rhudaunan word for Elk.
Its southern boundary was marked by the river Everhir.[3]
Järmivaa
Järmivaa (La. “Lakeland”) was a green and fertile region that lay to the southeast of the Bleak Mountains, between Lindalf and Everdalf. [4]
Karhu Järvi
Karhu Järvi (La. “Bear Lake”) was the Forodwaith's largest body of fresh water, named after the snow bears who mate there in summer. These bears sometimes join the Berninga of Ligr Wodaize Berne in their feasts.[5]
Lhúchir
The Lhúchir (S. "Dragon River;" La. Hopeavesi) was the longest river of Forodwaith, which started at Mount Gundabad and ended at the Sheltered Bay. It got its name because it ran through the Dîn Lhûg, a dragon-infested gap between the Grey and Misty Mountains.[5]
Lindalf
Lindalf (S. “Fen Tundra”) lay north of Järmivaa, and to the east of the Bleak Mountains. Near those mountains, the tundra held the lairs of marsh-drakes.[6]
Lódalf
Lódalf (S. “Wash Tundra”) lay between the Blue Mountains and the Emyn Nimbrith, south of the Icy Bay.[7]
In the west of the tundra the three streams of the Kolme Siskoa (La. "Three Sisters") ran, and in the centre the Lääkevesi (La. "Medicine Water"). The Huutava Joki (La. "Shouting River"), its more rapid-ridden brother the Kivivesi (La. "Stonewater"), and the Luiden Joki (La. "River of Bones") were the tundra's eastern streams.[8][5]
Narthalf
Lódalf (S. “Fire Tundra”) lay to the west of Torogmar and the Bleak Mountains, and to the southeast of the Ered Rhívamar. It was named after Morgoth's Well, which lay within the tundra.[9]
Rast Losnaeth
Rast Losnaeth (S. “Cape of Biting Snow”) was a peninsula to the south of the Bleak Mountains, which wrapped around the Sheltered Bay to the east, and bordered the Berg Cradle Bay to the west.[10]
Talath Muil
Talath Muil (S. “Drear Plain”) separated the Wash Tundra from the Vale of the Lhûn. It was a rocky region, in which bandits, Orcs and Trolls often hid.[11]
Talath Uichel
Talath Muil (S. “Plain of Everlasting Cold”) lay between Everdalf and Angmar. During the reign of the Witch-king, its lossoth inhabitants lived under fearful allegiance to Angmar and the Witch-kings sorcerous powers.[12]
Bays
Bay of Cracking Ice
The Bay of Cracking Ice (S. Hûb Helcharaes, La. Jäänaisen Koti) was an inlet along Everdalf, south of the Sheltered Bay. Because this bay never froze completely over, the ice that did form constantly cracked, exacerbated by the water from the Everhir river.[13]
Homela (La. “Place of Lichen”) was a large Lumimies village on the southern shore of this bay.[14]
Bay of Desolation
The Bay of Desolation (S. Hûb Lostas) was a bay north of Torogmar and the Bleak Mountains.[13]
Bay of Forochel
The Bay of Forochel (S. Hûb Forochel) was formed after the War of Wrath, when the destruction of Morgoth’s realm allowed the waters of Belegaer to flood the region. Sheltered by the Cape of Forochel, it stretched from Lindon in the south to the far northern isles, and its rugged coastline contained many lesser bays.[13]
Berg Cradle
The Berg Cradle (S. “Caew-i-Cheldolath”) was the largest bay of the Cape of Forochel. Its many icebergs were delved by the local Men known as the Merimetsästäjät. Its central arm is the Longwater, known as Pitkävesi by locals. The Elven sanctuary of Evermist is located at the northern end of the river, in a heavily forested area. The bay's easternmost arm is called the Hûb Rochdol (“Horsehead Bay”) by Elves and the Venemiehen Satama (Boatman's Harbour) by local Men.[15]
Icy Bay
The Icy Bay (S. Hûb Helchui) was often confused with the larger Bay of Forochel by the Dunédain, though it was in fact just a small inlet of it north of Lódalf.
After the Fall of Angmar, the ice-drake Gondring who had lived in Angmar made her home in the Icy Bay instead.[13]
Lonely Bay
The Lonely Bay (S. Hûb Ereb) was the bay to the north of Gondalf and the Ered Rhívamar, which opened into Ekkaia.[13]
Sheltered Bay
The Sheltered Bay (S. Hûb Beriannen, La. Turvallinen Satama) was the eastern-most bay of the Northern Waste, situated between Rast Losnaeth and Everdalf. Because the Bleak Mountains shielded it from winter gales, it froze earlier and thicker than the other bays.[14]
Spouting Bay
The Spouting Bay (S. Hûb Falthol, La. Merihenkien Satama), also known as the Bay of Whales, was the westernmost bay of Forochel. It was named after the whales who gathered there..[13]
References
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 78
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 84
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 87
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 92
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 93
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), pp. 94-95
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 95
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 91
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 98
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), pp. 100-101
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 102
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), pp. 102-103
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), pp. 89-91
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 88
- ↑ Randy Maxwell (1997), The Northern Waste (#2025), p. 81