OK OK OK -- so orcs and Easterlings, eh. . .
Aylwen's point about the orcs and Easterlings having nothing to do is actually easy to solve with the Houseless around: at the beginning of the game we can have three groups all joined mid-march:
1) the Lorien envoy on the way to Mirkwood, finding the slaughtered border patrol, following the trail of the orcs who slaughtered them toward Mirkwood
2) the Mirkwood Scouts heading south toward Dol Guldur to check out rumours of a new and dangerous threat
3) a party of ORCS and EASTERLINGS
with three Lorien Elves who have been captured by the Houseless, high-tailing it back to Dol Guldur for re-enforcements. The Easterlings are taking orders from the Houseless, and the orcs hate this whole thing and are getting very orcish about it all.
Things evolve from there as Roa first suggested (Lorien Elves catch up with Houseless et. al. Big Battle; going badly for Lorien Elves; Mirkwood Elves to the rescue -- ta ta ta daaaaa), then things go as I suggested (with the Lorien and Mirkwood Elves rescuing the 'possessed' Elves); meanwhile the orcs and Easterlings chuckly evilly as they fall back to Dol Guldur and join the army going for Lorien; the Elves rush back to raise the warning having found out about the plans from the 'revived' Elves now new Houseless-less.
So lots of roles and stuff for a wide variety of characters and types!! Lorien Elves, Mirkwood Elves, 'Houseless' Elves, orcs and Easterlings.
Am I properly summing up where this has been going? Or have I got it totally backward? Or are there a dozen equally good or better plots out there nobody's brought forward?
Hmmmmm. . . this
is beginning to sound good. . .
Fordim