[en] The English RPG Forum > RPG Discussions, Feedback and Proposals

Dagor Dagorath: Ascension of Melkor

(1/4) > >>

Elite KryPtik:
As promised, here is the first game idea for the Dagor Dagorath setting. This game would concern the ascension of Melkor, following his breaking of the Doors of Night, stealth intrusion into the Timeless Halls, and stealing of a part of the Secret Fire from Eru.

Now, I have already written in small part about this in the main setting, but obviously there is a lack of dialogue except for Melkor's short speech when he claims the Secret Fire. So this would have to follow main characters concerned, being Melkor, Sauron, Saruman, Fraule, Geldorin and Horinthe, in addition to Eru and some Ainur in the Timeless Halls, who would be original characters.

This game would consist of Melkor and his companions breaking the Doors of Night, and then swiftly and in stealth ascending to the Timeless Halls, where Melkor's companions would create a distraction(or several) to draw out Eru, who Melkor would then ambush Eru and steal part of the Secret Fire from him. Then, the scenario would finish with a battle between Melkor and Eru, and Melkor fleeing to start creation of his army of death.

So for this scenario, there is much discussion to be had before the game proper can begin. We have to fill a fairly significant number of players, and we have to determine several things. First off, how does Melkor manage to get into the Timeless Halls without Eru knowing? Now obviously, the entire Dagor Dagorath setting goes off the fact that Eru is actually not Omnipotent or Omniscient, because if he were then Melkor could never get the Secret Fire to begin with. Even assuming that Eru is not all-knowing however, there would doubtless be an incredibly strong guard upon the Timeless Halls, which Melkor would have to breach in stealth without alerting any of its guardians or Eru.

So that is a big question, and the other question is the breaking of the Doors of Night, how it is managed and indeed where they are located. DieWalküre and myself are divided on this, as I always interpreted them as being physically located somewhere inside Valinor, while DieWalküre considered them as ethereal, located somewhere in the sky or aether, basically like an entrance to Heaven. So that is a major question, and then the other is how the Doors are broken by Fraule, Geldorin and Horinth without raising any kind of alarm about their actions.

So, take it away with the discussion, hopefully we can resolve these 2 main points quickly and then get on to the game :) Regarding the players, I will take the role of Eru for this one, which leads that what is needed are Evil characters and a couple of Ainur who save Eru from Melkor's overwhelming power.

The_Necromancer0:
I'd like to take the role of Sauron, but I suppose there isn't much surprise in that decision.

For the doors I am myself quite divided but more from a storytelling point. Having physical doors doors is much easier and interactions between players with it are smoother especially in role-playing. But ethereal doors are much more fun to play with although more complex. I think a possible compromise would be a ethereal doors linked to a point in Valinor (sort of like a portal) where the doors themselves cannot be seen but rather it is possible to discern the frame. Like this both concepts can be played with the frame being the physical side (cracking, crumbling, breaking) and the portall being the ethereal side (flashes of lights, thunder, distortion in space).

Melkor's entry into the Timeless Halls should be done through disguise, perhaps he disguises his physical appearance appearing as a minor Ainur, that would create some interesting conflict as Melkor is forced to be treated as inferior. Another possibility ties back to the creation of the world (sung into existence), Melkor has always gone against that harmony, what if he joins in so as to fade into the background, concealing his true nature. Both possibilities combined would give Melkor a disguise both physical and magical.

For the actual door breaking I think we should also tie it in with that very musical theme that is present within Tolkien's work. This still leaves many possibilities: did they play a discord? Did they sync their harmony with that of the door's? Did they play opposing harmonies to shatter the door? Food for thought.

I'm truly looking forward to these scenarios seeing how much work you've poured into the backstory and creating each faction. Can't wait to start slaying some stuff  xD

Elite KryPtik:
I'm surprised you don't want to take the role of Melkor himself Necro :P

Yeah, I'm not so good with the ethereal stuff, so I think I will leave the discussion for that up to others who are more interested in it than myself. I really don't care how Melkor breaks the doors and steals a piece of the Secret Fire, as long as he is able to do it. So, let the Wise ones of the RPG forum debate this matter until agreement is met, I say!

1 thing to note on my end, the portrait I will paint with my first post in the game itself as Eru will be that he has become less watchful under the belief that all wars are now ended, which will help Melkor infiltrate the Timless Halls. So keep that in mind when discussing how Melkor gets in ;)

Walküre:
According to the Book of Lost Tales of Christopher Tolkien, the Doors of Night are placed in the uttermost western borders of the World, in the west of the West itself. As far as I recall from the rough (and earlier) version of the Silmarillion though, not only is the above-mentioned fact not explained, but there are a lot of hints and reminders that suggest that the Doors might be located in the ethereal borders between the sky of Eä and the Void; there are in fact many references to Eärendil guarding those gates in the starred skies and the prophecy tells that Melkor shall break through and then descend from the sidereal Air to Arda. Eä and the Void are completely different dimensions due to their specific properties: Eä is the physical universe where Matter and Time coexist as in real life and the Void (as the Timeless Halls) is a spaceless and timeless dimension (Matter and Time don't exist or they exist in different forms). Nevertheless, I don't really mind so much choosing one of the two options. I guess we could stick to Elite's view and so place the Doors of Night in the far westernmost and mysterious territories of Valinor.

I would nonetheless like Eärendil to be appointed as the guardian of the Doors, like the sources indicate (this is also the interpretation of Tolkien Gateway). Then, once Melkor is out of his timeless gaol, we have to clarify how the dark Vala exactly reaches the Timeless Halls as there is theoretically no passage nor a way to return to the sanctity of the ancestral Heaven (for the Ainur, Elves, Men and the other races equally).

Therefore, I kind of came up with what may be a possible scenario to follow. It's mainly centred on the fact that Varda is the most powerful Vala after Melkor: that is, she is granted the dominion of Light in all the universe (her major creations were the ancient far Stars in the sky, the Two Lamps, the Two Trees, the Sun and the Moon) and Light is exactly the hegemonic element compared to Air (Manwë), Water (Ulmo), Matter (Aulë) and Nature (Yavanna). Though the King of Arda is the most powerful in authority (Eru delegated to him the rule of the World and the leadership of the Ainur), Varda is surely the Vala who was actually blessed the most by Ilúvatar's powers and Tolkien says accordingly that her face is lit by the very radiance of the Timeless Halls.

On those premises, here it is the small passage I conceived.


--- Zitat ---Though Melkor escapes and defeates the Mariner, he lacks the prowess to reach the forbidden dwelling of God (an immense task that not even the Valar can achieve). So, he seeks for the source of power that resembles the most the essence of Eru and its hallowed halls (the key of the deed): he catches Varda by surprise and momentarily absorbs a great amount of her light. Then, he destroys the Sun and the Moon too. His Darkness, the natural antithesis of Varda's Light, grows exponentially, thus permitting him to break the walls of Eä itself and storm into the Timeless Halls. Varda will take time to recover and she will be ready to fight only in the final clash in Valinor.

Secondary happening aside: since the physical dimension is now connected to Heaven, some other Ainur will descend to Valinor to aid their holy kind, attracted by the mourning of Nienna for the darkening of all skies of Arda and for the wounds of the Queen of the World. Only Varda's ancient Stars will remain as the last light of the Good.
--- Ende Zitat ---

About the breaking of the Doors, I reaffirm the points I have already discussed with Elite. The diminishing fate of the Free People in the Archangels and the Valar growing inexorably more and more weary of physical reality will cause the weakening of the structural solidity of those defences, alongside the vanishing of the Magic that kept them well closed.

As for the characters, I will probably choose multiple roles on Valinor's side, be they major or minor  :)

Walküre:
Greetings, participants of this game. Are you satisfied with the development of the discussion about this chapter so far? Do you agree with the plot I suggested above, or do you feel like giving different indications? Whether we settle for starting the game or continuing the debate further, I personally am fine with both options. We have here all the space and time we need.

Of course, the progress of this chapter has been quite halted recently and no other people have been that interested to join us. Nevertheless, as I often point out, the RPG space responds to different logics of time and user involvement, if we compare it to the common public boards. Also, with the probable participation of Fine, there are currently four people taking care of this story; considering that the forum itself is really not bursting with activity recently and that not so many people might have the will (and skills) to get themselves involved in discussions of this sort, I deem four people quite a well start to begin with. Other users are probably more likely to participate once the game is to be established in the first place.

These are my personal considerations. Regardless of them, may I just say that I'm still very interested in this game, as it is of a different typology from the usual ones which this section is supposed to contain. That will definitely bring more differentiation in this board. And as we're currently getting to know, differentiation is not a bad thing  ;)

Navigation

[0] Themen-Index

[#] Nächste Seite