Angmar Shadow of the North
Angmar ('Iron Home', Sindarin) was a region and kingdom founded about Third Age 1300 in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar". Since the Witch-king was a vassal of the Dark Lord Sauron, it is presumed that Angmar's wars against the successor kingdoms of Arnor were done at Sauron's bidding. Angmar is an isolated and desolate highland realm at
the northern end of the Misty Mountains, northeast of the
traditional bounds of Arnor. It consists of two plateaus,
the Nan Angmar (S. "Iron-home Valley")and the
Gundalok Shelf, one on either side of the main spine of the
Hithaeglir, connected by the Angirith (S. "Iron Pass"). In
the First Age, the Misty Mountains ran directly up against
the Iron Mountains that guarded Morgoth's ice northern
domain. The Ered Engrin were destroyed in the War of
Wrath. All that remains of the junction of the ranges is a
mountain knot that falls off northward into the rocky
plains of the Northern Waste.
The Grey Mountains run eastward from the knot,
separated from it by a pass called the Den Lóke, the
"Dragon Passage." On the eastern side of the knot and
south of the Grey Mountains is the Gundalok Shelf. On
the western side of the Den Lóke looms Mount Gundabad,
the highest peak in the region and home to the largest Orc
city north of Mordor. Its rulers have dominated the
Gundalok Shelf since early in the Second Age, save only
for those few occasions when Men or Dwarves drove them
down into their city and held them there.
The main spine of the Hithaeglir turns at the knot and
sends out two great arms westward towards Arthedain.
The vast bowl lying between the mountain arms is the
Nan Angmar. From the point where the Angsiril (S.
"Iron-stream") spills out through a gap in its western
escarpment, the plateau rises about three thousand feet up
to the Angirith, which carries a road over the Hithaeglir
onto the Gundalok Shelf, A secondary pass, the Aksa
Ruin, leads from the Angirith directly to Gundabad and
the Den Lóke. The roads over these passes and plateaus
would feel familiar to travelers from Eriador, for they
were originally laid out by Arnorian engineers looking for
a passage to the East and a way to drive the Orcs of the
Misty Mountains away from their frontiers. The Arthedain,
under Amlaith, their first King, made another
attempt at this. They sent envoys into Wilderland and
killed Orc-chieftains at the gates of Gundabad, but eventually
gave up the project. The Witch-king, who made the
Lord of Gundabad his vassal, improved the roads left by
the Dúnedain; he uses them to bring supplies to his armies
from the distant East.
Because of its latitude, altitude, and rocky, infertile
soils, Angmar is rather uninviting and mostly unsuited to
agriculture. Indeed, lowlanders who venture onto this
plateau should expect shortness of breath and altitude
sickness for the first week or so of their stay—precious
few Arthadan spies even make the attempt. Most of
Angmar's human population lives along the westernmost
edge of the Nan Angmar, where the Angsiril and its
tributaries provide some sheltered and watered vales.
Farther up, one finds mostly herdsmen, Orcs, and Trolls,
The towns of Angmar are situated at strategic points and
near the sites of old mines, Carn Dûm, the Witch-king's
capital and Angmar's only city, is perched on a mountain
shoulder at the western end of the Forjargsh, the northern
of the two arms of the mountains. A old Dwarven road,
now called the Men Angmar, leads south along the edge
of the plateau past the fortress-towns of Angsûl, Morkai,
and Kuska, to Shedûn at the end of the Hyarjargsh (the
southern arm), and thence southward into Rhudaur. The
Men Rhûnen, another good road, this one laid out by
Amlaith's engineers, runs east along the northern side of
the bleak Nan Angmar past the priest-college town of
Litash, to the Angirith and over it to Gundalok.
The Forjargsh and the Hyarjargsh are spotted with
ancient Dwarf-mines, some dating back to the Second
Age, when Durin's Folk cut the Len Ered through the fells
west of the Misty Mountains looking for mineral wealth.
They found good copper and other metals at Carn Dûm,
Baruk-Zigil, and a number of other locations, and reduced
the numbers of the Orcs for many generations.
In the Third Age, the Dwarves' interest and strength in
the region dwindled. Arnorian border forces, operating
from Barad Eldanar on the eastern edge of the En
Eredoriath, took up the slack. The Eldanar family and the
lesser folk settling in the few fertile valleys on this frontier
became the easternmost frontier of Arthedain in T.A.
861; the irritation they caused the Kings of Rhudaur
eventually resulted in some petty border wars that helped
relax the Arthadan watch on the Nan Angmar. When an
"Evil Spirit" led the goblins of the Forjargsh in a campaign
to drive the Dwarves out of Carn Dûm in T.A.
1276, few in Arthedain save Baron Eldanar himself took
any great notice.
By the end of the century, a mysterious new King of
Angmar had appeared. He revealed the extent of his
connections and financial resources when he started importing
Easterling mercenaries to give an edge of skill to
his new army of Orcs and human renegades. The situation
got worse; a frontier force led by Baron Eldanar was
defeated and virtually destroyed in 1301; Barad Eldanar
itself fell to the Angmarim in 1325. Arthedain and
Rhudaur were obliged to rebuild their defenses westward
and southward, and never again had the logistical resources
to campaign directly against the Nan Angmar.
Other sections in this module tell of their steady decline
during the ensuing centuries of war.
Points of Interest
Fortresses of Angmar. The keeps at Carn Dûm, Angsûl,
Morkai, and Shedûn were all founded in the period
T.A. 1349-1358 to serve as bases for various parts of
the Angmarean army. The resources of the realm are
spread so thinly that the forces can only be concentrated
for a major campaign. Most of the planning
takes place in Carn Dûm. Raids by elite units of Men
are planned and organized in the capital; they then
stage their attacks from the frontier garrisons—Cargash
and Eldanar edging the Udanoriath and Penmorva in
Rhudaur.
Cargash. More properly named Mindil Cargash, the
fortification is a chiefjumping-offpoint for Angmarean
raids across the Udanoriath into northern Arthedain.
Built on the foundation of an old Arnorian tower
around T.A. 1400, Cargash has some farmable land
around it and is a constant supply of frontier gossip.
Corlagon the Red. A half-dozen Cave-drakes, Colddrakes,
and Land-drakes find that the caves of the Nan
Angmar provide comfortable lairs. Fell Beasts, cousins
to the Winged-drakes, prefer underground nests located
at higher elevations; in the Misty Mountains, as
in the Ered Luin, they fly by night to avoid the Great
Eagles. Corlagon, a Winged-drake, is the greatest of
these terrors. He resides above the Rist Angsiril, a pass
in the Hyarjargsh connecting the Ettenmoors of Rhudaur
with the Nan Angmar near Litash. Corlagon
rarely ventures into Angmar proper after the founding
of Litash, but instead hunts goats high in the mountains
and caru on the northern fringe of the Ettenmoors.
Almost fifty feet long and possessing a hundred-foot
wingspan, the dragon dwells in an immense cavern
with a dozen Troll slaves and a considerable pile of
treasure. He serves as a convenient border guard for the
Witch-king.
Barad Eldanar. A fine old Arnorian castle, Eldanar now
serves as a starting point for raids into eastern Arthedain.
It is the westernmost cavalry base of the Angmarim
and has a large and dangerous garrison.
Structure
The Witch King is advised by a Council of his Sorcerers as well as Karsh, Rogash, Morgamir, and Broddah.
Culture
The Men of Angmar were of two distinct cultures. The ruling class of Carn Dûm consisted of the sorcerous Angmarim, who had Black Númenórean blood and were staunch followers of Sauron and his servants. The others were the tribes of Hill-men, native folk who continued their old traditions the Angmarim-aligned Trév Duvárdain. Angmar is also home to many evil creatures such as wargs, drakes, spiders and fourty tribes of orcs under four clans, the Blogmal, the Krahjarn, the Ongbǘrz, and the Tarkrîp, which originate from Angmar, Utumno, Gundabad, and Gram
Public Agenda
Destruction of Arnor and the Noldor
History
The region was accessible from the North Downs by traveling through the Ram Dúath, a range of winding canyons in the south-west of Angmar. Within Ram Dúath were camps of the Angmarim and orcs marching to war, and also the peaceful Earth-kin village Lehmä-koti. North of the Ram Dúath were the grey hills of Fasach-Larran and Fasach-Falroid, where the Hill-men of Angmar dwelt. At the westernmost exit of the Ram Dúath was the Trév Gállorg village of Aughaire. The hostile Trév Duvárdain inhabited towns and camps in the north.
To the east of the hills was the great brimstone swamp of Malenhad. The dread Watching-stones of the Rammas Deluon formed a barrier of deadly fear down the middle of Malenhad, effectively separating the western half of Angmar from the eastern half. The shallow sulfur lake Duvuinen lay in the east of Malenhad. Hidden in a cavern to the south of the lake was the Dwarf-outpost Gabilshathûr. In the south-east of Angmar beyond the lake were the valleys of Gorothlad, home to orcs, trolls, and other evil creatures. Gorothlad contained several camps for Angmar's growing orc army as well as the arena of Maethad. North of Gorothlad was the rocky basin Nan Gurth, in the center of which stood Barad Gúlaran and its ring of eight lesser towers.
West of Nan Gurth was Imlad Balchorth, a valley full of tombs and poisoned water, haunted by many wights and fell-spirits. In the north-east of Nan Gurth was Gath Uior, a pass to the Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu in the far north-east of Angmar near to the northernmost of the Misty Mountains. Deep underground within the Rift the Balrog Thaurlach was kept imprisoned after his defeat by the Blue Wizards. Fire-orcs and Nameless creatures also dwelt there, though they were opposed by a mysterious race of fire giants known as the Eldgang.
North-west of Nan Gurth and north-east of Imlad Balchorth was Himbar, an ashen, spider-infested land among crags of black rock like obsidian. Up a path into the rock walls that bordered Himbar in the east was the secret Ranger refuge of Gath Forthnír. In the west of Himbar was the Angmarim town Rhunendin, and beyond that was a long gated pass to the capital city of Carn Dûm. In the south-west of the capital was a narrow, winding pass, guarded by Watching-stones, that connected to the hill-man towns in the north of Fasach-Falroid. The host of Angmar marched to the southern lands along a main road that led south from Rhunendin between Imlad Balchorth and Nan Gurth, then turned west to pass north of Malenhad. Beyond Malenhad the road turned south to enter the Ram Dǘath.
Military
Angmar has roughly
600,000 Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Uruks half of which are undead.
230,000 trolls, Ologhai, giants, ogres
5,000 sorcerers
9 Nazgul (Including Witch-King and Morgamir)
45,000 Hillmen, Wildmen, and Evilmen
50,000 Wights, Ghouls, Full Undead
Karsh, Rogash, and Broddah Laureanoyar
Religion
Morgoth Worship
"Death to the West"
Founding Date
1300 T.A.
Type
Geopolitical, Magocracy
Capital
Demonym
Angmarin
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Thanatocracy / Necrocracy
Power Structure
Thalassocracy
Economic System
Barter system
Currency
Gold, silver, plunder, slaves, any monetary instrument
Parent Organization
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Plots
Comments