Post by animalmother on Dec 31, 2006 4:52:07 GMT 1
Wonderful discussion, gentlemen.
Tolkien knew that evil tyrants (Hitler, Stalin, Sauron) always have practical reasons for what they do, however much many of us naively view their choices as mad. Before word of the Ring's reappearance reached him, Sauron knew time was on his side, and was happy to wait, as his orcs multiplied. When the One Ring reappeared, Sauron, being evil, attributed evil but practical reason to his enemies. He expected that they would use the One Ring against him. He never imagined that the White Council would not use it. He had all the more reason to think so as he could read the mind of the (former) head of the White Council, Saruman. Thus, Sauron reasoned that he must rush to put together a war against the FP, before one of the Wise, or perhaps a young upstart such as Aragorn, mastered the power of the One Ring. Sauron ascribed their initial failure to use the Ring to mutual jealousy. He thought they must be fighting among themselves over who would be the new Dark Lord of the West.
Putting together a continental war is a big job, even for a fallen archangel such as Sauron. He must look for the Ring, keep an Eye on Suruman, negotiate with his human allies, refit his Nazgul with flying mounts, and forge siege weapons. He must think of strategies to deal with whichever among the Wise emerges with the Ring. He must do it all in a hurry, long before his original plans called for any of these things. It's a scratch war for Sauron, but one that takes some time to put together.
Happily, a simple solution to the problems, both of play balance, and of being more faithful to the book, is to set back Mordor, and the Easterlings & Southrons, by two spaces on the "At War" track. Thus, four more Muster dice will be needed to get them to "At War." Another possibility would be to treat the Southrons and Easterlings as different Nations, needing more Muster dice to get them both to "At War." Either way, such a tweak will relieve some of the immediate military pressure on the FP, and perhaps induce the SP to put more effort early into the Hunt, and less into War prep. Even if he cannot recover the Ring by the Hunt, Sauron is anxious, for strategic reasons, to know whether the new Lord of the West will be a human, a wizard, or an elf. The Hunt is an intelligence gathering mission, as well as an effort to regain the Ring.
If I were designing this game from scratch, I would have made the One Ring itself a Third Power, which attempts to corrupt one of the great Western lords into using it. There were plenty of possible new Dark Lords/Ladies: Boromir, Denethor, Aragorn, Galadriel, Saruman, Gandalf, Elrond, even Theoden or Dain. Maybe even one of the Nazgul, or the Mouth of Sauron, would have dared to supplant his Master, had he gained the One Ring.
Tolkien knew that evil tyrants (Hitler, Stalin, Sauron) always have practical reasons for what they do, however much many of us naively view their choices as mad. Before word of the Ring's reappearance reached him, Sauron knew time was on his side, and was happy to wait, as his orcs multiplied. When the One Ring reappeared, Sauron, being evil, attributed evil but practical reason to his enemies. He expected that they would use the One Ring against him. He never imagined that the White Council would not use it. He had all the more reason to think so as he could read the mind of the (former) head of the White Council, Saruman. Thus, Sauron reasoned that he must rush to put together a war against the FP, before one of the Wise, or perhaps a young upstart such as Aragorn, mastered the power of the One Ring. Sauron ascribed their initial failure to use the Ring to mutual jealousy. He thought they must be fighting among themselves over who would be the new Dark Lord of the West.
Putting together a continental war is a big job, even for a fallen archangel such as Sauron. He must look for the Ring, keep an Eye on Suruman, negotiate with his human allies, refit his Nazgul with flying mounts, and forge siege weapons. He must think of strategies to deal with whichever among the Wise emerges with the Ring. He must do it all in a hurry, long before his original plans called for any of these things. It's a scratch war for Sauron, but one that takes some time to put together.
Happily, a simple solution to the problems, both of play balance, and of being more faithful to the book, is to set back Mordor, and the Easterlings & Southrons, by two spaces on the "At War" track. Thus, four more Muster dice will be needed to get them to "At War." Another possibility would be to treat the Southrons and Easterlings as different Nations, needing more Muster dice to get them both to "At War." Either way, such a tweak will relieve some of the immediate military pressure on the FP, and perhaps induce the SP to put more effort early into the Hunt, and less into War prep. Even if he cannot recover the Ring by the Hunt, Sauron is anxious, for strategic reasons, to know whether the new Lord of the West will be a human, a wizard, or an elf. The Hunt is an intelligence gathering mission, as well as an effort to regain the Ring.
If I were designing this game from scratch, I would have made the One Ring itself a Third Power, which attempts to corrupt one of the great Western lords into using it. There were plenty of possible new Dark Lords/Ladies: Boromir, Denethor, Aragorn, Galadriel, Saruman, Gandalf, Elrond, even Theoden or Dain. Maybe even one of the Nazgul, or the Mouth of Sauron, would have dared to supplant his Master, had he gained the One Ring.