Trials of Malvegil

I'm changing the back story a bit to match in better with lore doing something different.

The story now happens in the time of Arathorn II (Aragorn's Father) Malvegil will be a bit younger around 50 or so (making him around 110 or so during the War of the Ring).
I'm also changing his origin he will now be of the Royal line (decended from Malvegil one of Aragorn's ancestors).
Giving him the extended life of the royal family and making him distant kin to Aragorn.
This happens roughly around the time of the Quest of Erebor possibly before.
Instead of searching for Aragorn he is now searching for Arathorn.

I should have some more screenies in the next few days.

I'm changing the back story a bit to match in better with lore ...

The story now happens in the time of Arathorn II (Aragorn's Father)
Malvegil ... will now be of the Royal line (decended from Malvegil one of Aragorn's ancestors).
...
This happens roughly around the time of the Quest of Erebor possibly before.
Instead of searching for Aragorn he is now searching for Arathorn.

IMO searching for Arathorn calls for a change in location from the Mountains of Angmar to the area south of Mount Gram - the Ettenmoors. The area around Carn Dûm at the end of Third Age is without doubt not inhabited by Men, Elves nor Dwarves. There might be some small settlements in Northern Rhudaur, although it is said to be 'largely uninhabited'.

This would make it much more easy for you to 'connect' to existing lore. (though you would probably have to reconsider the names you are using)

I think your map doesn't need any changes resulting from such relocation. The landscape described in your first posts in this topic fits precisely with the terrain of the Ettenmoors.

Ettenmoors:
Troll-infested region in Eriador. The Ettenmoors were on the western side of the Misty Mountains north of Rivendell. The River Hoarwell began in the Ettenmoors and flowed southwestward through the region. The Ettendales were valleys in the Ettenmoors that ran up into the foothills of the Misty Mountains. The Ettenmoors had rough terrain and were dangerous because of the Trolls that lived there.
When the North-kingdom of Arnor was founded in 3320 of the Second Age, the Ettenmoors were on the northern border of the region called Rhudaur. In 1300 of the Third Age, the Lord of the Nazgul established the realm of Angmar north of the Ettenmoors. After the Lord of the Nazgul was defeated at the Battle of Fornost in 1975, he rode off into the Ettenmoors and then vanished from the north.

In 2930, Arador, the Chieftain of the Dunedain, was captured and slain by Trolls in the Coldfells north of Rivendell. It is likely that the Coldfells were the same as - or possibly a part of - the Ettenmoors. Arador was the grandfather of Aragorn, King Elessar.

In October of 3018, Gandalf rode into the Ettenmoors after battling the Nazgul at Weathertop. He hoped to lead the Nazgul away from Frodo the Ring-bearer, and four of them pursued him for a while. Gandalf had to part with Shadowfax in the Ettenmoors because the ground was too rocky for a horse.

Names & Etymology:
The element etten is from the Old English eoten meaning "troll, ogre." A moor is a high, barren land, and dales are valleys. The Ettenmoors were also called the Troll-fells. The word fells is synonymous with moors. Coldfells was probably also another name for the Ettenmoors, though it may have been the name of an area in or near the Ettenmoors.

Additional names related to this area: Mount Gram, Hoardale ... and the 'Goblin-city' in nearby Misty Mountains ...
... and in Southern Rhudaur:

The Trollshaws
(Robert Goldsmith)

Trollshaws:
Woods frequented by Trolls in Eriador. The Trollshaws were located between the River Hoarwell and the River Bruinen north of the Great East Road. The Last Bridge spanned the Hoarwell west of the Trollshaws, and Rivendell was across the Bruinen east of the woods. North of the Trollshaws were the Ettenmoors, or Troll-fells - a high, barren land inhabited by Trolls.
The Trollshaws stretched over 50 miles from east to west. Many of the trees were pines, though there were some beech trees as well. The land where the woods grew was hilly. The hills became higher deep in the forest, and narrow ravines wound among them.

There was at least one path in the forest made by Trolls, but for the most part there was no easy way through the Trollshaws. The ground was littered with stones and fallen trees. The ravines ran in different directions and some had dead ends and steep cliffs on either side. In some of the hills there were shallow caves, and on top of some of the hills there were castles and towers that had been built by the Men of Rhudaur.

Rhudaur was one of the three Kingdoms of the Dunedain that resulted from the division of the North-kingdom in 861 of the Third Age. Rhudaur was the easternmost Kingdom and it included the Trollshaws. The Dunedain of Rhudaur diminished and control was seized by a lord of the Hill-men who was secretly allied with the Witch-king of Angmar. In 1409, the remaining Dunedain were slain or driven out. Rhudaur fell completely under the control of the Witch-king, and the Men who lived there were evil.

When the Witch-king was defeated in 1975, the Men of Rhudaur were completely destroyed. The area, including the Trollshaws, became largely uninhabited. The fortifications in the forest fell into ruin. Trolls came down from the Ettenmoors and roamed the forest, preying on travellers on the Great East Road. Among these were Tom, Bert, and William.

In late May of 2941, Bilbo Baggins came upon Tom, Bert, and William in the Trollshaws. Bilbo tried to pick William's pocket but he was caught, as were Thorin and the other Dwarves who came looking for the Hobbit. Gandalf tricked the Trolls into arguing until dawn, and when the sun came up Tom, Bert, and William were turned into stone.

Names & Etymology:
The name Trollshaws means "Troll woods"; shaw is an old word meaning "woods."

Arathorn II and his father:

Grandfather of Aragorn, King Elessar. Arador was born in 2820. He became the fourteenth Chieftain of the Dunedain in 2912 after the death of his father Argonui. Arador's son Arathorn married Gilraen in 2929. One year later in 2930, Arador was killed by Hill-trolls in the Coldfells north of Rivendell.

Arathorn became the fifteenth Chieftain of the Dunedain when his father Arador was slain by Hill-trolls. In 2931, Gilraen bore their only child Aragorn. Two years later, in 2933, Arathorn went out to fight Orcs with Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond. Arathorn was shot in the eye with an Orc arrow and was killed.

Edited by Námo, 30 September 2009 - 10:48 AM.

Thanks for the long and informative post Namo.
Since this is a new map style for BFME it needs a new type name.
So i'm coining the phrase MERPG short for Middle-Earth Roleplaying Game.
I like the it

I'm hoping that in the future there'll be more MERPGs out there.

Keep em coming rad, when you have accomplished your work, it will be known that you revolutionized the bfme mapping community

Ok a few more changes are being made.
Taur-en-Anor is being moved (not that you guys knew where it was in the first place).
Taur-nu-Ithil is going to be much larger.

There will be quite a few secrets in this map so there'll be plenty to explore.
There are hidden outposts and Villages in this map which can be tough to find,I made them and I have trouble finding them sometimes.
I like this element it's adds a bit of sensible realism to the map having secret outposts hard to find.

Littered throughout the map you'll find small lairs where Orcs will be living,Orcs know their numbers are their strength and try to live in groups.

There will be plenty of small details that add character like really nice scenery (when it's supposed to be nice) and things like Hungry Orcs chasing Boars across the plains (I actually saw a boar kill an Orc once ).

Malvegil will start off with naught but the clothes on his back and the sword in his Sheath.
Later on he'll get the bow and traps etc.

I will try to get some screenshots up by tomorrow including the first map of the area.

Malvegil will start off with naught but the clothes on his back and the sword in his Sheath.

... just a 'sword'? ... why not the 'Golden Sword'!

The name Malvegil may mean "golden sword" from mal meaning "gold" and vegil from megil meaning "sword."

The name Malvegil is in Sindarin, and above etymology IS correct, including the mutation of 'm' to 'v':

GOLD (as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.
GOLDEN 1) (of gold) malthen (melthin- in compounds; lenited valthen; pl. melthin), 2) (shining with golden light) glóren (glórin-), lenited ’lóren; pl. glórin, 3) mallen (lenited vallen; pl. mellin).
...
SWORD 1) megil (i vegil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i megil). This is a borrowing from Quenya macil ... 2) magol (i vagol), analogical pl. megyl (i megyl), coll. pl. maglath (though analogical ?magolath may also be possible). In ”Noldorin”, this was the native word for ”sword” (derived from primitive makla, as is Quenya macil); it is unclear whether Tolkien definitely replaced it with megil when he turned ”Noldorin” into Sindarin, or whether both words coexist in the language.

... i.e. the sword is not 'of gold' but 'golden'.

Which works out well because his Sword which he gets later on is called Anoril

Edited by Radspakr, 03 October 2009 - 01:29 PM.

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I don't really like the human(?) houses, but the rest of it looks nice.

DIGI and I will eventually update them with nicer models and skins.

What Floris said. Seems like everyone is getting better and better at modding...

Those screenshots were taken yesterday and today they are out of date and obsolete

I have been working on Trials most of today and a lot of changes have been made.
To get the map working I've had to flatten some more mountains so that the top half of the map isn't all flat and bland I've made some changes.
There is now a valley that is home to some terrible spiders in the North at the moment I'm calling this place Imlad Ungol.
Near the Dwarf Outpost is now a large lake.
The Dwarf Outpost has been changed a bit to be more visually interesting.
The entrance to Ongkar is now at the back of Cur Thraror but when questing in Cur Thraror don't go too deep or you'll find a whole world of trouble in Ongkar.
Gurtha Carang another one of the Orc camps was located in some of the hills that were flattened today.
The camp will now be larger and more dangerous.
The look of the Mountains of Angmar are being changed the slopes are now covered in a Pine forest.
The landscape becomes more bleak as you travel further into the mountains.

In Trials there are secret places where men don't go but you must.

Perhaps add in some critter and other animals, some flowers. Erase the invisible walls between the houses and trees, so it look more natural

I haven't check this mod for a while,Nice stuff Radspakr.

Well I hope you can check it out more often especially as i'm in Beta mode.

SKAI!

Burz Guarsh - BAGRONK!
Cur Thraror - BURGÚL!
Ongkar - BURZUM!
Gurtha Carang - GHÁSHRONK!

SNAGÚL, GÁKH SHAKH-BÚRZ GIMBUBUT LAT, GLOB!

HA I actually laughed out loud when I read your username
I'll have to think about those names.

PUSHDUG TARKHAI, SKAI!
THROQULAT, BÛBHOSH!

what the hell is he talking about

He talking in the Black Language fool.