Beyond the Fields We Know: the Southern Reaches of Middle-earth: Far Harad, Greater Harad, Nazgul's Citadel, and Shadow in the South

'I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhun and Harad where the stars are strange.' - The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter II, The Council of Elrond

Far to the South of Minas Tirith, beyond even Umbar, lie the lands where, as Aragorn said, the stars are strange. It is a land of deserts and jungles, where the Shadow has fallen heavily in a land where the Sun shines brightest. This land is Harad.

Harad is a word in the language of the High Elves which means, simply, "South." Also called Haradwaith, or "South-folk" for the people who live there, it must be a wide land, one with many people, as the Dark Lord drew much of his strength from there.

It seems unlikely all Haradrim, the collective word for the folk of Harad, have fallen under Sauron's sway. It seems likely that a struggle was fought there, too, a centuries-old battle between good and evil. The heroes and villains of that battle were never detailed by Tolkien. It's interesting to me to think about that conflict, raging for millennia, with few in the North and West of Middle-earth to mark it, but which directly affected all the Free People of Middle-earth. Great armies marched from Haradwaith, made up of deadly warriors and massive creatures called mumakil or oliphaunts, which were used as living siege engines. These armies helped Sauron almost conquer the world. Perhaps, though, these great hosts were but a portion of the strength of Harad as a whole. Just as Sauron could corrupt even the stoutest hearts, there were those who could resist his offers of power and threats of destruction. No doubt Harad had its share of such courageous folk, resisting the darkness spreading from Mordor. Perhaps, yes, again, perhaps, such folk helped prevent an even more overwhelming force to be drawn North by Sauron. Such an assumption is not baseless; Tolkien was careful to show that even in the midst of darkest evil, there could be found hope and strength. Such a premise is upon which Iron Crown Enterprises based their sourcebooks for Southern Middle-earth: Far Harad, Greater Harad, Nazgul's Citadel, and Shadow in the South.

I am dealing with these book in one post, as a multi-part unit. It was an ambitious undertaking, to derive such extensive amounts of material from as little as Tolkien wrote of the lands in the South of Middle-earth, and keep it true to the spirit of Tolkien's work. It's impossible to know just how close they came to what Tolkien might have done, but I suspect they didn't come close at all. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, and the more important matter is whether they created something that at the least does not conflict with anything Tolkien wrote. In that regard, I'd have to say the project was a success. Regardless, the books go so far afield that I decided to group them into this single post. First up, Far Harad.

Far Harad is based around a relatively fertile, hilly land called Raj, to the South of the great Haradwaith desert. Much of the culture centers on two holy cities, Bozisha-Dar and Tresti.

There is a bit of an Arabian Nights feel to this region, with a tinge of Medieval India, and the architecture resembling that of Native Americans of the Southwest desert regions. It is a land of deserts with hard-packed floors, oases, baked hills, and, oddly enough, a great rain forest just to the north called Suza Sumar. The land is criss-crossed by ancient Numenorean roads, traveled by caravans plying their trade between the larger cities and the numerous smaller settlements and oases. As written, Far Harad seems less touched by the darkness of Mordor than many other regions of Middle-earth. Though it is not entirely free of danger and evil, it seems more a region ripe for desert swashbuckling and caravan guarding by adventurous characters.

That said, though, far to the South and East is a great fortress held by a lieutenant of Sauron, no less than one of the Ringwraiths. During times when the Dark Lord and his minions wax in power, a great force, the Army of the Southern Dragon, is based there. But it seems more concerned with the lands to the East of it. Still, Far Harad may be something of a safe base for adventurers heading even further into the Sunlands. It may even serve as a landing spot and jumping-off point for the forces of Gondor and Rohan when King Elessar and King Eomer head South in the early Fourth Age to vanquish the last remnants of the Dark Lord's forces. Surely by that point those great kings will reward scouts and warriors who have knowledge and experience in the region.

Greater Harad is to the Southeast of Far Harad, across a vast desert land. Its northern and western reaches are blistering deserts, with more fertile lands butting against the mountains in the south, and especially surrounding the rivers that run through the land. The folk seem much like Medieval-era Arab cultures. A vast forest runs along the coastal regions, inhabited by Druadan folk, the same basic race as the Wood Woses who live in a small forest in Rohan to the north. Here, the writers of this sourcebook seem to give these people a culture and appearance much like Amazon rainforest people. Greater Harad is a varied land, one of the more interesting regions climatically and terrain-wise.

The best of an awful series of pictures. The general region can be made out, I hope.

Culturally and politically, the region is dominated by the seven cities of Sirayn, which are colorful, towered, elegant settlements, perhaps some of the most striking cities in Middle-earth.

The region's cities also seem more cosmopolitan than any other cities in Middle-earth, especially in comparison to Northwestern Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The Fourth Age, though, may be another matter...

A teeming city of Greater Harad.

It's a big, colorful land, with a sprawling civilization. Bustling trade routes, both on land and the sea, are maintained. Fortunes and fame are waiting to be earned, won, and stolen, for the enterprising adventurer.

A spectrum of cultures, most Mannish, but including Dwarves in the mountains that border the Southern edge of the land, interact and trade with each other. Culture approaches a high point for this entire hemisphere of Middle-earth.

Yet, it is also plagued by the forces of the Shadow, more than just about any other area of Southern Middle-earth. Dark cults worship the Silent One, an aspect of Morgoth, to whom Sauron himself is but a servant. Morgoth was cast into the Outer Dark at the cataclysmic end of the First Age, leaving Sauron to carry on his work of corruption. To see a remnant of his memory remaining in Middle-earth is unsettling. His priests have temples within the cities of Greater Harad, as well as mountain lairs. They hire out as assassins, skulking among the shadows. To the Southwest is a vast mountain fortress where Akhorahil, a one-time Haradan lord and now one of Sauron's Nazguls, gathers great armies of Men, Orcs, and other fell creatures.

A map from Nazgul's Citadel. Ny Chennacatt, the Citadel, is near the southwestern edge of the map. North of the mountains is Greater Harad.

Even in the times when Sauron and his greatest servants are dormant, this place of evil looms in the background of Greater Harad, always a threat. Sauron's reach is long, and his grasp is powerful, witnessed by the forces that marched to his call in the time of Frodo.

 

 Nazgul's Citadel details the fortress of Akhorahil that threatens Harad. 

It's an impressive book of an impressive place. The size of the place is staggering.

This is just part of one of several levels in the Nazgul's Citadel.

One of many types of towers that bolster the walls and defenses of the Nazgul's Citadel of Ny Chennacatt.

It is also pure folly for players to have their characters attempt to attack or infiltrate the place. But, that's exactly what the draw of the place is - the entire point of games like Middle-earth Roleplaying is daring, or, more to the point, foolhardy, adventures into the unknown, the facing of great dangers in hopes of rich rewards.

Any bad guy with a throne like this just has to have something worth looting laying around somewhere.

It's a complex place. It includes elevators...

"Err, no thanks, guys, I'll take the next one..."

...operated by hydraulic power derived from cisterns.

It's a pretty fancy place, ornately carved and decorated with...

...impressive gates...

...and complex water systems.

It doesn't seem all that menacing from these pictures, but I haven't gotten to the best part...

...a multi-level dragon head carved on the top of the mountain...

...where Akhorahil the Ringwraith can hang out in the dragon's mouth with his favorite Fell Beast.

The place is stocked with traps and troops, and even in fallow periods it would be pretty much a death sentence to tackle the place. It is a great underground city of evil, commanding passage into and out of much of Harad. It is also self-contained, always important in game terms, since the place can be dropped down into other places and worlds. Still, I like the idea of the Nazgul's Citadel being a rallying point for Sauron's servants left leaderless after the One Ring was destroyed. The armies of the Reunited Kingdom and Rohan will face a formidable obstacle to bringing peace to Harad with Ny Chennacatt occupied, even if its master has fallen into oblivion with his master. Even with Far Harad and Greater Harad pacified and freed from evil, King Elessar and King Eomer may still face the Nazgul's Citadel fully manned, because there are still lands to the Southwest that had been tainted by evil. 

Shadow in the South reveals lands far beyond even the lands of Harad, but which still felt the oppression of the Lord of the Rings.

This book details a land that is unlike the deserts of Harad. It's a well-watered land, with lushly-forested hills and lowlands, wetlands, and rich fishing areas along the coasts. Much more hospitable than the arid plains and mountains to the north of it, it's home to a wide spectrum of cultures and civilizations, including those of Dwarves and Elves.

Part of Middle-earth's Terra Incognita, according to the good folk at Iron Crown Enterprises.

The writers of the book posit a heavy colonization by Numenoreans of this land in the Second Age, with it becoming a haven for, among others, the evil "King's Men" who also controlled Umbar. They came as colonists and conquerors, and fought with and subjugated many folk in the region. Still, many of them are not wholly lost to evil, seeking to maintain a semblance of peace, and are descended from Numenoreans who colonized the continent before Numenor was corrupted by Sauron. Many of them still maintain a nominal resistance to Sauron, working against his machinations, though many remain true to their Black Numenorean origins as arrogant tyrants. Still, the cultures they encountered were vigorous in their own right, and absorbed and changed the Numenoreans more than they were changed.

A sampling of character art by Liz Danforth.

Danforth's art seems especially appropriate for this book.

This is a vibrant setting, with numerous factions weaving interlocking webs of intrigue. Evil cults, guilds of thieves, merchant "unions," sinister rangers, mercenaries, assassins, magical monks, and the Army of the Southern Dragon all vie for power here. It's potentially more complex than anything far to the North, where the attention of the Dark Lord has been turned for millennia, exhausting the lands there with centuries of war, devastating plagues, and unchecked cultural decline due to such close proximity to Mordor. Here in the South, the Shadow has been less active, though perhaps more subtle, and eventually as insidious if nothing is done to check the spread of evil.

Shadow in the South is, as far as I'm concerned, the most successful of the MERP books set in the South. It's filled with story hooks, adventure sites, a wide range of groups to interact with, but much less conflict with anything Tolkien wrote. In many ways, this is a standalone sourcebook. It only tangentially ties into the Middle-earth story we're familiar with, which might be a downside for anyone looking for more insight into Tolkien's works, but this also makes it an intriguing foray into unknown territory for Middle-earth Roleplaying gamers.

Taken as a whole, Far Harad, Greater Harad, Nazgul's Citadel, and Shadow in the South make up an interesting game setting. It's not Tolkien, and may turn off some purists, but it's an interesting place. A Fourth Age game, especially one that involves the forces of good coming South to help throw off what is left of Mordor's evil, would have a lot of possibilities. Still, anyone wanting to play in Middle-earth is likely to want to stay up in the realms they have known and loved from the books and movies. That's not a knock on these books, which are some of the better ones done for MERP.

Darkness in the North: Angmar, Land of the Witch-King

I've written of lost and forgotten kingdoms in Middle-earth, the lands they once occupied empty, with once mighty fortresses and elegant cities now rubble and ruin. Now, I'll turn to the reason behind their demise: Angmar.

Two books deal with this realm, Angmar: Land of the Witch-King,

and Empire of the Witch-King.

The latter is a revision and expansion of the former.

Angmar was an empire created with one purpose: the destruction of what remained of the northern kingdom of Arnor. While Gondor in the South prospered, Arnor, the northern realm of the Dunedain, had already fragmented into three lesser kingdoms due to the quarreling heirs of King Earendur. These three kingdoms were named Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur. For a few centuries they existed thus, nominally allied, often arguing, sometimes warring amongst themselves. They slowly but steadily declined due to this divisiveness. Eventually, Sauron decided to hasten their collective ends, and sent the greatest of his lieutenants, the Witch-King, to accomplish this mission. Slowly, and with the implacability only possible in one who is immortal, the Witch-King of Angmar worked for centuries to destroy what was left of the Dunedain in the North.

Rhudaur was subverted and became a vassal of the Witch-King. Cardolan, never as powerful as Arthedain, bore much of the brunt of Rhudaur's and Angmar's evil, eventually falling, with the Elves intervening to save Arthedain and push Angmar's forces back. Arthedain hung on for centuries, finally falling to Angmar about a thousand years before the time of Bilbo Baggins. The forces of Gondor and the Elves arrived only in time to demolish Angmar once and for all. But, Angmar had accomplished its purpose. The Witch-King fled, fated never to fall to the hand of a living man.

The Witch-King, posing dramatically.

There isn't much known about Angmar itself, as Tolkien didn't describe it too greatly. The Witch-King's forces were Orcs and Men, and, presumably, Trolls and assorted other dark creatures, maybe even Dragons, given Angmar's relative proximity to the Withered Heath, a stomping ground for Dragons. That might be pushing it, though. Angmar's location suggests it to be a cold, relatively barren land. Angmar had to have some resources and farming capability to support the Witch-King's armies, though it may have benefited greatly in terms of resources from the addition of Rhudaur to its empire. Angmar did have a capital, Carn Dum, which I would assume was a fortress-city. Beyond that, everything else is a guess.

So, all that is why Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) had a lot of leeway when detailing Angmar for its Middle-earth Roleplaying sourcebooks Angmar: Land of the Witch-King, and the later, revised and expanded Empire of the Witch-King. In addition, Angmar is an isolated, out-of the-way place, not really bordering any of the well-known places in Middle-earth, and tucked away in a stretch of history not that well-known to the average fan of Middle-earth. That makes these books easily usable in other games or settings as a plug-and-play evil fantasy empire. As Middle-earth resources, there isn't a lot here for anyone looking for direct-from-Tolkien info, but they're pretty meaty as generic game books.

Both books have a lot of information regarding the terrain, weather, flora, and fauna of the region. Empire of the Witch-King, the later and larger book, expands, naturally enough, on this information greatly, where Angmar: Land of the Witch-King concentrates more on fortresses and settlements. Empire of the Witch-King has this material, too, and even expands on it with cultural and military information.

Given its nature and reason for existing, a lot of military detail is given for Angmar. Unit composition, siege engines, bases, and chain of command are detailed. Related to this is a discussion of religion in Angmar. Tolkien rarely mentioned any kind of religion in his Middle-earth works, with a few oblique references in The Silmarillion to dark rituals among the corrupted Dunedain of Westernesse. Here, the MERP writers and designers construct a cult for the Dark Lord himself, which helps give structure and fervency to the Witch-King's followers. The impression is that Angmar's military is the backbone of Angmar's society, with everything focused on it.

Assorted ne'er-do-wells in the forces of the Witch-King.

And orcs. There are always orcs.

The writers of these books also devise some interesting encounters in Angmar for the characters belonging to players to encounter. There are various settlements and fortresses, of course, from human towns to Orcish villages. I was particularly interested in a partially subterranean Orc village, which is reminiscent of a Hobbit settlement, at least to my eyes.

In addition, there are isolated towers with dread magical secrets, Orc-infested mines, Elven scouts living in ruins, and even a safe haven or two. It all makes Angmar much more interesting as a place to explore and adventure than I would have initially thought.

An odd and mysterious tower in the mountains near Angmar.

Oddly enough, at least to me, there is a section on languages. There is a discussion of how the various factions and races of the Witch-King's servants communicate, given their disparate languages. Plus, there's a fairly extensive glossary of Orc words. I'm not particularly interested in such things, since I'd just as soon reference Tolkien directly, or one of the various books and websites that detail such things. Still, it may be an interesting resource for others.

There are some other sections not seen in other MERP books. There are brief sections on creating priest and Orc characters, which provide interesting alternatives for players. There are also brief overviews of how to go about designing fortresses and settlements in Angmar, which may be a bit elementary for some, but could jog a few ideas loose. Nothing spectacular, but different enough to add some interest to the book.

As is usual, there are charts. There are charts of animals, monsters, and characters that may be encountered. There are military unit encounter tables. There is a page or so of "medicinal" plants and drugs in the region. There is a table for determining weather at a particular time. Charts and tables were a hallmark of Rolemaster, the roleplaying game from which MERP is derived, to the point that some gamers still refer to Rolemaster derisively as "Chartmaster." MERP is nowhere near as dependent on them as Rolemaster, and in recent years I've come to appreciate them for how they help make the job of running MERP, and a game in Middle-earth in general, a bit easier.

The art in either book is, unfortunately, unspectacular. There is some obvious talent here; Jim Holloway, one of my favorite game artists, and whom I've mentioned a few times, has his art all over the interior of Empire of the Witch King. His usual tongue-in-cheek style is not in evidence here, which makes sense, given the subject. Still, while it all definitely helps bring the setting to life, none of it jumps off the page at me. There are some fairly nifty spot illustrations in the earlier Angmar: Land of the Witch King, though they are few and far between.

A reasonable depiction of a Ringwraith, I assume the Witch-King, on a Fell Beast.

I can't help it; this just amuses me.

The maps are, unsurprisingly, pretty good, though some in Angmar are rather basic and uninspiring. However, Peter Fenlon's maps in Empire of the Witch-King are spectacular, as always. I wanted to show this map in its entirety, but to do so I have to make it tiny. Trust me, though; it's very detailed and gorgeous.

The covers are both top-notch, though Gail B. McIntosh's cover for Angmar, while technically good, doesn't grab me. The cover of Empire of the Witch-King, by Richard Hook, an artist I don't recall seeing work on any other MERP book, is actually a very cool cover, with astonishing detail. Not sure what the Witch-King is doing with his sword there, but it does lend the picture a snapshot quality.

Empire of the Witch-King is the second most substantial of the MERP books I've posted about here so far (after Gorgoroth), weighing in at 126 pages. Angmar: Land of the Witch-King is 48 pages long, so its revision was a substantial one. Compared to most of the other MERP books, Angmar: Land of the Witch-King seems a bit thin to me. Empire of the Witch-King seems jam-packed, even taking into consideration that it has 58 additional pages.

These books evoke a mood and feel that isn't quite what I expected. Angmar is an interesting place as described, but it doesn't seem nearly as dread and horrifying as one might expect. As I thought about it, this makes some sense. It did not have the history of being the home of ultimate evil in Middle-earth as Mordor did. Mordor had been under Sauron's direct control for millennia, and his essence infused the land such that a memory of his evil lingered long centuries after his defeat at the end of the Second Age. Angmar, though, was more of an ad hoc evil empire, created from scratch and without the resources of evil found in Mordor (though these books have the Witch-King bringing along at least one of his and Sauron's lieutenants, the Angulion, who also appears in Gorgoroth). The Witch-King seemingly cobbled together his forces from what he found in the area, rather than bringing forces with him. There were some resources available to him, what with Mount Gundabad a few days' march away. Regardless, it strikes me that he took advantage of existing antipathies between the Men who were native to the region, and the colonists and conquerors that were the Dunedain, driving a wedge into the cracks created by the fracturing of Arnor. Rhudaur had been seized by tribes native to the area, who were fairly easy to convince to join with Angmar in driving out the Dunedain invaders, giving the Witch-King a forward base and source of troops and supplies. These Men weren't completely corrupted, not at first; they were just happy to act upon old grudges held against a once-unassailable enemy who had colonized lands that were once theirs. This all shows just how tenuous both Sauron's and the Dunedain's power was in this era, a striking contrast between the truly awe-inspiring power each held in earlier ages. Angmar: Land of the Witch-King and Empire of the Witch-King conjure up a conflict between two forces hanging onto power by their fingertips, both merely shadows of their former selves.

As presented in these books, Angmar is an interesting place, full of untapped potential. As with other MERP books, I have to say it's too bad that so much work now sits largely forgotten.