Without a lot of current documentation, and without too terribly much specific canonical information, we run
the risk of not being collaborative in our attempt to portray
the people (and even
the orcs) of
the area that we're soon to be playing in.
This thread is an attempt to consolidate information on our gameworld, both canonical and non-canonical, for easy reference (and more in-depth reading for those who like to click hyperlinks).
Please feel free to contribute by posting and discussing below, as I'm certain that this will be an ongoing referential research project.
HumansQ: What is Laketown?A: Glad you
asked!
Q: How Big is Laketown's Army?A: What army?
We know that Bard mustered about 2,000 soldiers for The Battle of Five Armies after Smaug's attack, but there's a lot to suggest that most of these "soldiers" were not professionals. In fact, it seems more likely that Laketown, being a Democratic City-State in
the current setting (
the ONLY known human Democracy in Middle-Earth at this time), would have held a smaller army. It also stands to reason that Bard's muster was desperate after Laketown's destruction (he was making a play for
the dragon's loot). Though
the full, untrained human army would quadruple
the dwarvish army in size, several research papers suggest that prior to Bard's war-time muster,
the Lakemen only had between 100-200 trained soldiers. They relied on
the extremely defensible geography of their location to discourage attacks, and were likely somewhat protected by
the realm of elves to their west as well.
Q: What is Utterby?A: Good question!
Here's the most information I've found so far, for quick reference, though any more information would be fantastic!
Not much of the local politics would be known to new characters, except for that Old Man Geriac and his son seem to make the decisions for Utterby.Q: What are the closest known nearby settlements?A: Well, there are canonical and non-canonical answers to this.
Non-canonically, for
the purposes of our game, you can
find out more about nearby settlements on our wiki.
Canonically, you have
the ruined city of
Dale close to
the Lonely Mountain, destroyed long ago by Smaug. You also have
the land of
Dorwinion down
the river to
the southeast by
the Sea of Rhun, which frequently traded its famous wine with Laketown and
the elves; interesting to note in relation to Dorwinion is a long-term
debate between Tolkien experts about whether or not Dorwinion was a realm of Men, or of Elves. Additionally, you have
the dwarves of
the Iron Hills, which were a very noble line of dwarves known to trade with
the Lakemen. Laketown existed very near to
The Woodland Realm of Sindarin Elves; these elves were their strongest allies at this time. It's also possible that Laketown traded with
Easterlings in time of peace, though it's just as likely that Laketown (and especially non-canonical outposts outside of Laketown) had to be wary of Easterling raids. Often over-looked,
the history and influence of
the Easterlings should definitely be considered.
Because
the Lakemen were in close contact to so many different cultures (and likely saw refugees from some of those cultures), and there is no canonical evidence of them not trusting
the nearby dwarves and elves (prior to
the events that take place in '
The Hobbit'), it seems unlikely that
the Men of
the Dale were xenophobic.
Q: When Was the Kingdom of Dale Founded? Who Were its People?A: This questions seems like it would have a simple answer, but Tolkien doesn't make it
very easy for us to discern. While a unique and barbaric line of Northmen lived in
the area for quite some time,
the best research suggets that
the actual city of
Dale was founded between the years 2590 and 2600 in the Third Age.
The Northmen who settled this area hailed from
the far north, beyond
the Grey Mountains. In
the Second Age, Sauron had destroyed their culture prior to
the War of
the Elves and Sauron. In
the Third Age, these nomadic people, unrelated directly to
the Woodmen of Greenwood Forest (not yet called Mirkwood) or
the Rhovanion peoples, began to settle south along
the northern and eastern edges of
the Greenwood Forest. They would suffer through several wars against
the Easterling
Wainriders and
Balchoth, but would ultimately survive to eventually found
the Kingdom of Dale.
But by
the time that Dale was founded, their blood heritage would not likely have remained very pure at all. After all, they had lived in
the Grey Mountains, in close proximity other
tribes of Hill-Men, and come south near to
the northron Woodmen of Greenwood Forest. They had found themselves in constant contact with several tribes of
Easterlings (sometimes, in war), and would have cross-bred with
the above races for thousands of years. Kingdom-less and locked into an isolated location geographically, they would also have been likely to have had refugees of
the Rohirrim and even
the Rangers of the North enter into their gene-pool over
the course of
the Second and Third Ages. Each of these early Dalish tribes settling along
the Forest and Rivers' edges would have its own unique genetic code, and by
the time they were unified as
the Kingdom of Dale, their heritage would have been a veritable melting pot of other sub-species of Man.
There is narrative in
The Hobbit that suggests that
the Laketown that exists during that story is built upon
the ruins of another town on
the Lake. We do not know anything about that more specifically, though it does suggest that
the area has been inhabited for quite a long time. Tolkien has given us clues, but few direct answers.
It seems likely that, based on geography and what we can infer about
the Lakemen's culture, they would not care as much about their lineage as other regions of Men were wont to.
They would simply be the Dalish (Men of the Dale) to the educated, or Lakemen to the masses. The Easterlings would seem starkly different to them, and it's likely that
the Lakemen would think of them as nomadic savages with a very strange culture. These Lakemen had evolved culturally from their savage background, whereas
the Easterling tribes had not.
Q: What Do We Know About the Lakemen?A: Not a ton, but we can extrapolate. Positioned between more settled areas, with Mirkwood Forest on one side, and vast swathes of wilderness and mountains on
the other sides,
we don't know how the city-state of Dale came to be in much detail; most likely, it started as a melting pot for refugees of different tribes of men, including
the local Northmen, Hill-men of
the Grey Mountains and refugee Easterlings, unified by a
Girion, a Northern Lord.
We do know that
the Laketown of '
The Hobbit' was unique in that its people spoke a specific, archaic form of
the Common Tongue related to Atliduk (
the ancestral language of
the Rohirrim). It was also unique in that it was a Democracy, with no monarch;
the town thrived on trade with its neighbors and was steeped in local politics. Their method of trade was interesting and strange; they floated barrels of goods down
the river as
the hub between
the elvish kingdom and
the realm of Dorwinion. Surrounded by water and mountains, Laketown was extremely defensible; however, they could do little to manage
the threat of Smaug. It was not uncommon for Smaug to attack Laketown, burn down a house or two, and carry off a maiden; this was a threat that all Lakemen would have been very aware of.
Most importantly, I think that Laketown's being a form of
simple Democracy is key. To me, this suggests that
the town was likely founded by refugees who had come to be opposed to monarchy. This, in turn, suggests to me that
the Lakemen were likely fiercely independently-minded, culturally.
Mirkwood, Orcs, Wargs, Spiders and Dol GuldurQ: Where Can I Learn More About Mirkwood Forest?A:
Here,
here and
here, for starters.
Q: Where Are the Nearby Orc Clans?A: Vadok Mal is
the current home of
the nearby orc clans. Vadok Mal is
the eastern-most mountain of
the Mountains of Mirkwood.
This puts
the orc tribes very close to Utterby, which lies near to
the abandoned Old Forest Road and River Running.
Limited documentation has been made available about
the specific orc tribes at Vadok Mal.
Q: What Have the Orcs Been Up To Recently?A: We know that
the tribes of Vadok Mal are being manipulated by
the Necromancer, but likely through a proxy (or several proxies). They are charged with causing problems for
the humans in and around Utterby.
Beyond that, we know but a few things.
Azog,
the long-time infamous leader of
the orc of
the Misty Mountains, was slain on
the fields of battle over one-hundred years ago in
the final conflict of
the War of the Dwarves and Orcs.
The Orcs fled back into their strongholds after
the war, and
the mantle of leadership was taken up by Azog's son,
Bolg, who rules from
the orcish capital at
Mount Gundabad, near
the ruins of
Angmar in
the Misty Mountains. This suggests that over
the past one-hundred years,
the orcs have laid mostly dormant in
the Misty Mountains, and have likely only recently been called east by
the machinations of
the Necromancer.
Q: How Intelligent Are Wargs? What purpose do they serve?A: Wargs are known to actually be quite intelligent, and even sentient. You can read some
basic canonical information about them, though Wolfsong and Krelm have written
in-depth non-canonical documentation to further describe their society for
the purposes of our game.
In short,
the Wargs of this region are independent allies of
the orcs and
the Necromancer, and they are a feared threat to
the Dalish settlers.
Q: How Intelligent are Great Spiders? What is their society like?A: As with Wargs, we do know that Spiders are quite intelligent, though we don't learn much about their society. There is, however, plenty of evidence to suggest that they had one. You can read some interesting
basic canonical information on them. I have also written more
in-depth non-canonical documentation on Great Spiders for
the purposes of our game.
In short, they pose both a threat to orcs and to men in
the region.
Q: What Is The Necromancer Up To in Dol Guldur?A: Wouldn't you like to know? Well,
we do know a little, and can imagine quite a lot more. There is a lot of evidence to support
the idea that while
the Necromancer grew in power at Dol Guldur, and moved his pawns about
the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood Forest, he was also experimenting with creating dark, dangerous creatures.
We know that Giant Bats from Dol Guldur and Mirkwood allied with
the goblins and wargs at least once in
The Hobbit. There is a little evidence to suggest that
the Giant Bats themselves were descendants of
Vampires, which were lesser Maiar creatures of
the First Age - much like
the Balrogs. This could mean that Giant Bats in
the Third Age had some level of sentience, though not necessarily.
There is also
the mystery of
the Mewlips to consider, which were believed to have been inhabiting Dol Guldur in
the Third Age when
the Necromancer took refuge there.
The fate of these creatures is never described, but it seems likely that
the Necromancer would have bent them to his purposes.
In truth, all manner of unknown evil could have been created in Dol Guldur.
Of course, the average Lakeman, if they knew of Dol Guldur at all, would only know it as an evil place, haunted by ghosts and terrors of the night.