[Ransom]

I've been working on a RP for the last week, and I was wondering what you all thought of it. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

In War

History of the Order of the Black Rose

“Ecthelion II, son of Turgon, was a man of wisdom. With what power was left to him he began to strengthen his realm against the assault of Mordor. He encouraged all men of worth from near or far to enter his service, and to those who provided trustworthy he gave rank and reward.”

-Appendix A, Return of the King, page 1030

Perhaps because of her national identity, Gondor always suffered from a dearth of information about her foes. While nobles, merchants, and even the Stewards had small number of personal spies, their efforts were largely devoted toward their political enemies. The only information about the movements of Gondor’s foes usually came from merchants. This information, when obtained, was often embellished to a great degree. Ecthelion viewed the chaotic state of Gondorian intelligence a severe annoyance. His solution was extremely unconventional, and the howls of outrage from the nobles echoed off the walls of Minas Tirith.

Ecthelion gathered two hundred men who had proven their loyalty to the White Tower both physically and mentally. On New Years Day of 2970, he knighted all two hundred and formed the Order of the Black Rose. Its organization was that of a religious order, with the member supposedly sequestered in a handful of chapter houses scattered throughout the land of Gondor. To further strengthen the false image of the Order, he attached half a dozen priests and priestesses of Namo and Nienna.

In reality, the order was given control of the Steward’s large but inefficient intelligence network. It took five long years of purges and training before the first pieces of reliable information began to flow in from such places as Harad, Laketown, and even Bree. The order continued to expand, adding more knights and spies with each passing year. Denathor II spent part of his youth with the knights, and its excellent performance greatly pleased him. He placed the order under his direct command, merging it with the elite Citadel Guard that held the White Tower.

History of the Cult of the King

To the best of Gondor’s combined knowledge, the Cult of the King was founded shortly after the return of the Witch King to Mordor in 1980. The name of the original founder is lost in the haze of time, but the extralegal interrogation of several former members has given some insight to the group’s twisted theology. Maintaining that the Valar have selfishly abandoned Middle Earth, the group believes that Saurun will become the new God after conquering the last of the fallen Valar’s servants. While there theology is somewhat unstable, their dedication to the downfall of Gondor is unquestionable.

Unlike the Order, whose agents generally operate independently, the Cult rarely has less than five members in any given place. While group’s leader is usually a member of their priesthood, their cells have been known to pose as anything from a family to a merchant train. This teamwork had the unexpected side affect of severely limiting the group’s operation areas. While over three-dozen cells are known to be active in eastern Gondor, the cult shows no interest in any country besides Gondor.

They have a large amount of monetary resources, most of which is dedicated to bribing and subverting various nobles and merchants. Over the last three months, acts of sabotage and assassination have been attributed to the cult.

Story

Three Errand Rider, bearing messages from Denathor, have vanished overnight on a lonely stretch of road between Minas Tirith and Pelargir. The documents carried contained information about Minas Tirith’s defenses as well as the general status of the Hosts of Gondor. Interrogation of cultists arrested near Osgiliath has hinted that one of the of cult’s more skilled cells had a hand in the disappearance. The Order wants the cultists exposed and captured before the documents can be sent to Mordor.

Luckily for Gondor, the weather has taken a turn for the worse and snow is already an inch deep. The storm will last on and off for three our four days, leaving about a foot of snow and seriously impeding travel over the Anduin. The cultists will need to wait a week before they can head turn the stolen documents over to their masters. The PCs much catch or kill all five members of the cult before the week is out.

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]

[ March 02, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]