5th Age Divergent - An Alternate Future of Arda

Hero's Guild on Discord

About the adventure

5th Age Divergent is an alternate future for the world of Arda created by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the Age of Men, magic dwindled and nearly passed out of the land and men squandered their stewardship of the world. Legend has become myth about elves and dwarves, hobbits and wizards, and the name of Eru Iluvatar is not even spoken in the land. Yet Seven Bright Stars have fallen from Menel - the heavens. You have lived a bleak existence reaping the full consequence of a thousand years of ignorance in the land. A weak feudal system is all that remains, with local dukes claiming small territories and jealously hoarding what wealth remains. With the stars came hope and a renewed vigor for knowledge. Many of the dukes are afraid and tighten their grip even further. Some few have been awakened by the stars and have begun to transform their realms into...something better. The game will begin with no magic in the world and modern technology like gunpowder (cannons and muskets) are just being discovered. However, with the arrival of the stars, magic will quickly return and with it many other things lost to myth and legend.

Additional Details

How to prepare

This is a new system, but the basic mechanics of the game are simple enough that there is no reason to read the rules beforehand unless you want to create your own character. The PHB is free and online. I will guide you as to actions you can take and what you need to roll until you get the hang of the system and don't need my guidance any further. All you need to bring is your imagination!

What I provide

Discord has its own bot system for rolling dice so we will use that. I will provide images via .jpgs posted in game for you to visualize what all is happening when needed. If you have a picture that represents your character, feel free to post that up for the group to see.

Gameplay details

The geography of the world itself is familiar to all Tolkien fans, though the society has shifted quite a bit. There will be exploring, combat, political intrigue and above all story. While I do not intend for this to be a rails-style adventure like a published module, there are things moving in the world that will guide the players to be where the world needs them to be. Don't misunderstand. You are heroes in a world grown dark, whether you are a bright and shining soul like Aragorn or Frodo of old, or more of an anti-hero, the story calls you to epic feats against evil and saving the world. Combat, exploring, and the rest, therefore, will have story-line meaning and will not function as simple random encounters. As a high school teacher, I have taught roleplaying to my GEEK club students for 13 years. So if you are new to roleplaying, I am glad you are here and happy to help you step into the world of tabletop gaming. If you are experienced and looking for a solid storyline with deep characters and serious roleplaying, I can deliver. This is not to say joking and the tomfoolery common to these kinds of games is unwelcome, but that my focus is to deliver an immersive experience. My philosophy as a GM is that of servant, not tyrant. I do not see you as opponents or enemies, but fellow gamers seeking an escape for a while into another world. My job is to facilitate that for you, to make the game amazing, an experience you will talk about for years to come.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

I will provide a free Zero Session for character creation over Discord for any who would like to create their own character with me personally walking them through the character creation process. For those who wish, I can provide premade characters around general archetypes that you can polish with your own flavors such as backstory, demographics, and the like.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.