The Queen of Shadow - A

Fourth Age Campaign

By Anders Blixt - Hägervägen 16, 122 39 Enskede, Sweden

Published in Other Hands #5

The character of Aelindur, daughter of Sauron, was created (without any RPG
intentions) in 1989 by my friend Kathrin Vestergren. She had limited her story to the
Second Age, being somewhat uncertain about what Isildur and Elrond would do with
Sauron’s daughter when she was discovered in the ruins of Mordor (perhaps sending
her to Amon to stand trial before Manwë). I, on the other hand, suggested instead that
Aelindur would go into hiding in the East without being identified by the Lords of the
Free Peoples, only to return from exile in a later Age to avenge her father’s defeat.
This possibility was touched upon briefly in part of my “Beyond the Third Age” article
in Other Hands 1: 16–19. Here I offer a far more detailed description of Aelindur’s
plots and schemes, and of the general situation in northwestern Middle-earth in the
151st year of the Fourth Age. It is intended to serve as a starting-point for a series of
adventures in these later turbulent years. The campaign would be interestingly open-
ended, since the player-characters’ actions would have great bearing on whether
Aelindur succeeds in her fell plans or not (Why not make them feel the weight of the
world’s fate on their shoulders, just as Frodo did?).

I sang a night, a moonlit night of airy sea in dance I sang of storm which made itself
to my mental lance From beyond moon, beyond sun power came to my mind: on the
beach beside Numen’s waves arouse a necromantic wind. It blew under the stars in
Mordor’s night to Barad-dûr on Gorgoroth — the black fortress wall where despair’s
shadow broods heavily each harsh and gloomy year — and swept all around the steel
towers: thus died all hope of spring.

Northwestern Endor: FA 151

The reunited Kingdom of Gondor & Arnor possesses de facto hegemony over
northwestern Endor. Formally, the sister realms possess the lands between the Ered
Luin, Forochel, the Misty Mountains, Ephel Dúath, and Umbar (apart from the
independent but allied state of Rohan and the semi-autonomous Shire). In practice,
however, the King’s authorities exercise very little control over the Dunnish tribes of
Enedwaith and each harsh and gloomy and swept around the thus died all hope of
Drúwaith Iaur and the natives of sparsely populated Harondor.
Although united under the same monarch, Gondor and Arnor retain separate
legislative, administrative, and military establishments. King Eldarion resides in Minas
Tirith and has appointed his son and heir Eldacar to the position of Viceroy of Arnor at
the rebuilt capital of Fornost Erain. Traditionally, the King travels north every summer
to briefly sojourn in his northern lands.

Arnor
Arnor remains a sparsely populated land despite the King’s encouragement of
Gondorian colonization through advantageous taxation policies. Its population centers
are Lake Evendim, and the Baranduin and Lhûn valleys. Its only major city is Fornost
Erain, though there are serious plans to rebuild Tharbad, whose bridge has already
been re paired as has the Greenway running from Fornost Erain to the Gap of Rohan.
There is also a new fortress at Weathertop, built by the Dwarves of Moria some
decades ago.

Gondor
Gondor has changed little since the War of the Ring. Ithilien is gradually being re-
populated under Prince Boromir, son of Éowyn and Faramir, who rules his fief from
the newly built capital Ost-in-En-Ernil in the Emyn Amen. Imrahil’s granddaughter
Wilwarin is Princess of Dol Amroth and fief-holder of Dor-en-Ernil. Her cousin
Edrahil is Captain of the Knights of Belfalas. Minas Tirith’s fortifications were
repaired and strengthened by the Dwarves of Aglarond in early Fourth Age, and the
city is now the most well-defended location in the region.
The city of Umbar and its rural surroundings are ruled by a governor (currently Prince
Boromir’s brother Beren) who is directly responsible to the King. The region has been
slowly reintegrated into Gondor’s territory, but King Eldarion believes it will take
more time before it can be turned into a regular province of the realm. He is worried
about secessionist strivings among its locals, since the leading citizens of Umbar, even
without the interference of Sauron, clearly have other political priorities that Minas
Tirith: Gondor looks to the northeast while Umbar looks to the south.

Rohan
The Riddermark has grown stronger over the past century due the demise of its
surrounding foes in the War of the Ring, though the lifestyle of the riders has not
changed (apart from a growing pride which occasionally takes chauvinistic
appearances). The realm is currently ruled by the third King of the Third Line, the
aged Elfhelm, son of Elfwinë. Outside the Hornburg, there is now a growing town
which serves as a center for Westfold. The Dwarves of Aglarond have a thriving
business in tools and weaponry, which they exchange for food and other supplies from
the locals.
The Dunlendings
The Dunnish clans are the dominating Mannish group in the area between the
Gwathló, the Misty Mountains, the White Mountains, and the Sea. Technically, they
are subjects of the Winged Crown, and their chieftains have occasionally expressed
words of loyalty to the King in Minas Tirith. In practice, they follow their own leaders
and traditions. In secret, most harbor strong hatred towards the Dúnedain and the
Rohirrim for denying them what they consider to be Dunnish rights. Gondor de facto
only controls the Greenway, the rest of the region being the natives’ turf, where
unwary foreign travelers have sometimes disappeared without a trace.

Mordor
After the War of the Ring, King Elessar gave the land of Nurnen to its slaves. They
established the Kingdom of Lithlad, a densely populated agricultural country. It is
closely allied to Gondor, and the population has a strong pro-Dúnadan attitude in
consequence of their recent liberation. Gorgoroth, however, is an abandoned
wasteland. As far as everyone knows, Sauron’s strongholds toppled when his power
was broken, and Orodruin sleeps.

Rhovanion
The peoples of the upper Anduin vale, Eryn Lasgalen (formerly Mirkwood), the plains
of Rhovanion, and Dorwinion have resumed many of their ancient contacts with
Gondor. The disappearance of Dol Guldur’s Shadow has opened the region for trade
and growth, and the Northmen maintain their old friendship with Gondor.

Rhûn and Harad

Little has changed in the old realms of Rhûn and Harad. Their inhabitants view
Gondor with mixed feelings and worry about the possibility of renewed Dúnadan
domination, however benevolent it might be. Many of the realms have long traditions
of fighting the Dúnedain and such cultural memories will linger for many centuries.

The Elven Lands

The Elves of the Fourth Age show little concern for the affairs of Mortals, knowing
that their power has waned with the departure of their mightiest Lords and the
destruction of the One Ring. Elves dominate four regions during the early Fourth Age:
Lórien (which includes the southern Eryn Lasgalen, or “East Lórien”), the northern
Eryn Lasgalen, Lindon, and Rivendell.
Elladan is Prince of Lórien. His Silvan-populated realm encompasses the ruins of Dol
Guldur, which is kept under tight surveil lance . King Thranduil continues to rule his
1

northern woodland realm, which has suffered little change since the War of the Ring,
save for a reduction in the number of giant spiders and other fell creatures in the area.
Lindon, whose people maintain the Havens from which the Elves depart for Aman, is
ruled by Círdan. Elrohir has assumed the position of Lord of Rivendell, which
continues to serve as a refuge for the very few Noldor and Sindar that still dwell east
of the Blue Mountains.

The Dwarven Realms

Moria has been re-populated and is once again the most important Dwarven settlement
in northwestern Middle-earth, and the Dwarves of the Blue Mountain dwindle in
number as many migrate there. Aglarond has grown into a small but prosperous
enclave, while the Lonely Mountain and Iron Hills retain their former importance.

The Servants of the Shadow

Sauron’s downfall did not bring about the complete end of his servants. Orcs and
Trolls survived in many places, especially in their mountain strongholds at Gundabad
and else where in the Hithaeglir. Since the War of the Ring, they have lacked a strong
leader and have been reduced to squabbling among themselves, and therefore do not
pose a major threat to the Free Peoples. This, however, does not spell an end to the
periodic Orkish raids upon the upper Anduin vale. There is talk of Dragons and other
hideous creatures in the northern wastes, but they have so far proven mere rumors. But
matters might not be so well.

The Dark Queen

In the Second Age, Sauron came to the Elves of Hollin as Annatar, Lord of the Gifts,
claiming to be an emissary of the Valar. Many believed him, among them
Celebrimbor’s sister Ariel, whom Sauron seduced. Soon after his final departure from
Eregion, she bore a daughter, Aelindur. Ariel died and the child was brought up by her
uncle.
Many years later, when Sauron’s armies seized Celebrimbor’s smithy, Aelindur was
captured and brought to Mordor, where she was given a mansion to dwell in by the
shore of Nurnen. In its garden she cultivated evil herbs and studied Nature’s lores. She
fled to the East at Sauron’s defeat at the end of the Second Age, and went into hiding.
Over the centuries, Aelindur has become almost as evil as her father, if not as
powerful .
2

When Sauron fell in the War of the Ring, Aelindur saw an opportunity coming. The
most powerful foes-Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf-departed from Middle-earth. The
only current serious opponents are the three remaining Istari, but of these only
Radagast resides in northwestern Middle-earth, and his interest is mainly directed to
the nature. Pallando and Alatar long since departed for eastern lands. Hence she would
have no significant competitors, or at least so she thought.
Her Dark Dreams
Unlike her father, Aelindur possesses neither a state nor an army, but instead re lies on
her black arts and cunning to achieve her ambitions . She intends to in fluence the
3

thoughts and actions of individuals by fell means. She knows some very powerful
mind-bending spells. Aelindur desires to throw Gondor into domestic chaos and then
seize control over the remnants, using discontented Southron and Dúnadan noblemen
as her primary tools.
When the Haradrim revolt under the leadership of her priests, many Gondorian nobles
will turn against the King and civil war will ensue. The royal line will perish and many
contenders will vie for the throne, causing much hardship for the realm. Aelindur
intends to appear as Gondor’s “savior,” usurp the throne, and begin a long-lasting
Dark reign.
Aelindur possesses the immortality and patience of the First-born, and resides in the
ruins of the ancient Númenórean harbor of Lond Daer at the mouth of the Gwathló (a
location chosen so that both Dunnish and Southron agents can reach it easily),
pretending to be an eremetic Elf . 4

From this dwelling place, Aelindur carefully prepares her schemes and ponders on
reports from her trusted underlings. Occasionally, she has to travel to some important
place, since there are vital actions that her henchmen are unable to perform. The most
important ones being the application of her sorcerous will-breaking with which she can
compel loyalty in mortals .
5

Ideological Strategies
Aelindur has clandestinely established a variant of Sauron’s old Melkorian cult among
Gondor’s nobility. Its priests preach the coming of a Moon Princess, who will save the
Dúnedain from their current decadent ways, reestablish their ancient Númenórean
powers and might, with deathlessness for loyal followers . Another variant of the cult
6

is successfully preached among the Haradrim, speaking of opposing the Dúnedain and
returning to Southron traditions .
7

Military Strategies
Rohan’s éoherë is a serious problem for Aelindur, because it is the most powerful
cavalry unit in northwestern Middle-earth and the Haradrim are unable to field a
matching force. It must be neutralized or destroyed, and Aelindur pursues several
strategies to achieve this. One is to develop a severe horse plague, a scheme which
Aelindur would pursue from Lond Daer . Another strategy is political: to entice the
8

Dunlendings to once again strike at western Riddermark to regain their ancient

possessions .
9

Aelindur also tries to invent gun-powder weapons . Saruman was working on it before
10

he perished and Aelindur has learned of his ambitions when visiting the ruins of
Isengard. She believes that muskets and guns will have good effects on battle
formations and fortified positions, especially if they appear as a surprise. That research
project is undertaken by some discontent Dwarves that have been recruited by the lure
of wealth and power, who work in an abandoned settlement in southern Ered Luin.

Troubles in Arnor
While Arnor lacks the strength to successfully intervene in a Gondorian civil war , 11

Aelindur nevertheless seeks to divert the attention of any potential northern allies
(including the Beornings of the uppermost Anduin vale and Thranduil). To this end,
she has attempted to strengthen the Orcs of Mount Gundabad, in order to make them
appear as significant a threat to deter Arnor’s Viceroy from sending an army to the aid
of Gondor. Aelindur has also sent agents to look for Dragons in the far north .12

Development and Climax

The most challenging way to run this campaign would be to let the player-characters
fight Aelindur’s schemes, though initially not having the faintest idea what they are up
against. The PCs should perhaps not belong to the crust of Gondor’s political elite, but
rather to its middle layer, some of them being noblemen. The following is an example
how the campaign could be started.
There are strange rumors coming out of Harad. Prince Boromir sends a team of trusted
underlings (the PCs) to Umbar to collect information from Governor Beren. When
they reach the city Beren has just been murdered under mysterious circumstances,
causing worries among the Dúnedain. The PCs start investigate the matters and finds
clues of the Great Queen cult.
When they return to Ithilien and tell their story to their patron, they suddenly find that
a lot of other noblemen are becoming cold or even hostile towards them. The PCs have
acquired a number of seemingly unconnected political adversaries. This should be a
bait for a continued investigation, which, though dogged with numerous obstacles,
would lead to discovery of the Moon Princess cult in Gondor.
However, they are running short on time for Aelindur’s plans are soon to materialize.
Interestingly, the PCs initially do not know who their chief enemy is, nor does she
know that the PCs are pursuing her. Whether they will find out about her before she
learns of them depends entirely on how the adventures develop. Successful players
might be able to nip Aelindur’s plans in the bud, while less fortunate ones would end
up fighting in the civil war . Aelindur hopes that her plans will materialize
13

approximately as follows below:

The Returning Helper Theme

(CF. OH 4: 17–18)
In Other Hands 4, Gerrit Nuckton discussed the recurrent “return from exile” theme in
Tolkien’s works, briefly commenting on its application to this campaign. With
reference to my original treatment of Aelindur, he suggests that one of the heroes of
Arda’s past Ages, such as Elrond, Galadriel, or Gandalf, might surprisingly return to
 Middle-earth to assist the Free Peoples in their struggle against the Dark Queen . 14

Personally, I would suggest that either Elrond or Radagast are selected as helpers, or
that the gamemaster introduce an entirely new NPC of his own design.
Radagast seems to have played a fairly small role during the Third Age, and it may
well be that he is some kind of surprise kept hidden by the Valar. Consider the
following: Sauron was associated with the element of fire and so was Gandalf, the
Wizard that eventually became his chief adversary. Both Radagast and Aelindur are
associated with the forces of nature and the element of earth.
Elrond is another good choice since there is plenty on him in The Lord of the Rings.
He is familiar to the players and it is easy for the gamemaster to role-play him.
However, he is less powerful now when Nenya has lost its power. Elrond is associated
with the element of water and the gamemaster can easily modify parts of the
description of Aelindur above to change her affiliation to that element, too. The
returning helper should act as Gandalf did during the Third Age: as an adviser with no
intention to compel his allies. It is still the responsibility of the peoples of the Fourth
Age to defeat their foe.

Notes
1. The Southrons revolt and massacre all Gondorians they find. The local Gondorian
garrisons are in serious trouble.
2. King Eldarion orders the mobilizing of an army near Pelargir to deal with the Harad
troubles. Rohan is asked to provide help.
3. As King Elfhelm assembles an éoherë at Edoras to send to Gondor, the horse plague
strikes the camp and kills most of Rohan’s war-horses.
4. As Gondor’s noblemen mobilize their levies to send them to Pelargir, many of them
rebel and instead make war upon the King. Some seize important fortifications by
stratagem. A new Kin-strife has begun. (The rebels may also suddenly possess a lot of
new fangled weapons never seen before in Gondor.)
5. The whole royal family (preferably including Prince Eldacar in Fornost Erain), is
murdered. There is no clear successor to the throne-the perfect cause for a long civil
war.
6. The Dunlendings attack Rohan. (That does not require much incitement when they
hear of the Forgoil’s horses dying.)
7. The Orcs of Mount Gundabad attack eastern Arnor to prevent an intervention in the
conflict. (Alternately, a Dragon strikes Fornost Erain.)
8. Chaos ensues. Aelindur simply waits for an opportune moment to step forth and take
command, using the armed might of ensnared noblemen to suppress discontent.

Footnotes
1. Men are not welcome to visit Dol Guldur, since Elladan fears that there may be
Sauronic secrets still hidden below the rubble. 2. Since she is part Noldo, she is bound
to her physical body. 3. She has greater knowledge of and talent with of magic than
any Elf (save perhaps Lúthien, another Maia-Noldo child). 4. She radiates so much
power that she cannot pretend to be a mere mortal. She has hidden most of her abode
very well and seemingly lives in a modest cottage. Unlike most of Sauron’s servants,
she docs not fear the ocean (Perhaps Ulmo no longer interferes with the events of
Middle-earth.). She knows how to sail and she has gone to many places by sea. 5. The
gamemaster can use another literary source as inspiration when preparing this
campaign: the Mule in Isaac Asimov original Foundation trilogy is to a some extent
comparable to Aelindur and certain of his methods and talents can easily be moved to
Middle-earth. 6. Their message is fundamentally the ideology and dreams of the
King’s Men of Númenor seven thousand years ago. Aelindur has not forgotten how
effectively her father used those ideas to topple the then mightiest realm in the known
world. 7. Eventually, the Southrons would “break the shackles of the Northmen under
the leadership of the freedom-giving Great Queen” and retake what was lost one and a
half century ago. 8. Aelindur is well-versed in animal and plant lore, and knows some
of the secrets behind the Great Plague that the 1630’s of the Third Age devastated
much of Middle-earth, so she will probably not have to work for before finding what
she wants. 9. Aelindur uses the same methods that Saruman once did: political
machinations and propaganda to ignite the Dunlendings’ ancient hatred for “the
Strawheads.” 10. This idea may feel too modern to suit many gamemasters’ and
players’ conception of Middle-earth. It is not important for the plot so feel free to
remove it. 11. Both because of its small population and the hostility of the
Dunlendings. 12. If she could establish contact with such a beast, she might persuade it
to strike Fornost Erain at an opportune moment and create a grand diversion for her.
13. The shrewd Aelindur might actually feed the PCs false information to divert them
from the right track and turn them into her unwitting tools. 14. This idea is good and
can certainly be used the gamemaster; however, one should consider some limitations
mentioned in the primary sources. Gandalf states clearly that his mission has been
completed by Sauron’s downfall and acts accordingly. Galadriel is pardoned by the
Valar for whatever she did during the Flight of the Noldor in the First Age and is
permitted to return to Valinor. Hence, it seems unlikely that she once again would go
to Middle-earth.