[Nogrod]

Hello, fellow travellers'!

It's nice to see, that things are cooking after all! Good! And off we go!

But still I would like to be a kind of hornet (hopefully in a kind of Socrates' like of manner than as just a wit-picker) as regards to our starting positions.

If discrepancies with Tolkien’s Middle Earth are neglicible in general in BD, I’m not going to be the one to demand correction to the normal gaming-practises’. The game would work easier the way, we are going right now. But if there is a wish to set the game in somewhat original locations, and not to sway the logic of ME, I would voice a concern about the placement of the villages’.

Outlanders’ must live outside some natural border of Rohan to be called “outlanders”. The only natural borders around Wold seem to be rivers. But should these outlanders’ really be dwelling at the eastside of Anduin? This choice will surely meet the first-sight requirements of gaming as planned eg. making it easier from the standpoint of the plot. But there are several problems here.

Firstly, the idea of Rohan-people living at the eastbank of Anduin sounds pretty far fetched. It would be too dangerous and hard – and even futile: there is room enough in Wold, or around Entwood, to accomodate ten times the population it has. So why to go over the Great River, to perilous areas, when there is room enough in these safer locations too? (Well, we could come up with something, better pastures? Maybe these villages’ are so old, that there has been no threat until now, and the fields have been good at times long by etc.?)

Secondly, we will have some problems concerning the crossing of the Great River. As the greatest river in the familiar Middle Earth, it should be both wide, and having a very strong current. So it would be quite impropable, that there were nice fords’ at regular basis. I don’t remember Tolkien telling anything about the fellowship having to carry their boats for a while, because of a ford at Anduin.

So how should the outlander people go regularily over the river? By boats? Well enough for people, but how about horses? By some kind of rafts? (that’s what I would go for, if we leave it here) But how would we ensure, there is a raft at both sides of the river, and how steerable is a raft in the strong current of the Great River? We could have ropes, surely, but I just find it awkward to figure out, how the fellowship in LotR had to duck, while passing the Wold-rohanians’ ropes...

So thirdly, we would have a specific problem of our game. Could four outlanders’ get themselves over the river with their horses (rafts would need quite a pulling power)? How about one old-timer doing the same alone (Raedwald)? Or another old-timer doing it in the dark of the night (Sythric)?

I don’t know about the plans Arry has, but if Arry’s plans are not tied to certain geographical locations, we could think once more about the first settings of the game. If Arry’s plans require places’ he has outlined to us with current settings, it will surely be ok. with me. You all can just forget these thoughts I’ve brought out.

But another option could be seen. The river Limleith (?) (Limlight) is coming from Entwood to the river Anduin. People might live north of Limlight and be rohanians (f.ex. just north of 'L' at the map). True outlanders’, but still in little more secure foundations than those who would be living east of Anduin. They could come over the river - a minor river should have a ford somewhere - and ride alongside Entwood’s edge to the Entwash, where the party of Wulfhamers’ would come too (If Wulfham would be somewhere near the 'U' of the Undeeps on the map, at the west side of Anduin of course)? And there the parties could meet – if Arry hasn’t planned it otherwise... There would then be some time, before this meeting (and people would have time to get on together)

So Arry, if your ideas concerning the happenings’ of both parties are not tied to certain locations, I hope, you would think this one more time.

If some of my premises’ are bad or untrue, I’ll apologize the time you spent with this letter...

PS. Arry: check the PM before answering.