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There Are Games Afoot!

© Michael Martinez

A few years ago, while a new generation of module writers were working to revise the I.C.E. interpretation of Middle-earth to be more faithful to Tolkien, I was persuaded to join a Middle-earth role-playing game mailing list. The players on the list were enthusiastic about a proposed Tharbad module. And they were chock-full of ideas about how Tharbad should be portrayed. Naturally, it would have to have a thieves guild (why? Because that is what cities have in role-playing games). The streets of Tharbad would have to be dangerous. It would be a dark city or town. A dangerous place to live and work. In fact, I had to wonder why anyone would live in such a city at all. It was a far cry from what Tolkien told us about Tharbad. After Elendil and his sons founded the Realms-in-Exile, Tharbad was jointly garrisoned by both kingdoms. There were a lot of soldiers and mariners there. The city had the facilities to accomodate sea-faring ships which sailed up the Gwathlo river. In the early years, Tharbad was the primary connection between Arnor and Gondor (although the palantiri were used for communication). Centuries later, Tharbad didn't begin to decline until after the Great Plague. Then it became a haven for people from the ruined land of Cardolan, which was largely deserted. There weren't many people left, so there wasn't much wealth for thieves to steal. The old garrisons were gone, but the great forts would have remained (or their ruins, if the Dunedain destroyed the old works). No more sea-faring ships would be coming up the Gwathlo, or relatively few of them. The economy would have shifted to basic subsistence fishing, farming, and simple trading. At best, Tharbad might have maintained contacts with Arnor (and with Bree and the Shire after the fall of Arnor), and a few families in Dunland. Maybe there would also have been contact with Imladris and Lindon, and possibly Khazad-dum. But Tharbad's fortunes could only continue to decline. With less and less wealth to distribute, there would be nothing there for thieves to live on. Hence, no thieves guild could have existed in Tharbad. Furthermore, as the principal community left in the region, Tharbad would have been a bastion of civilization and culture in a wilderland. It should have seemed more like a bright oasis in an otherwise dark and dreary desert. Travelers would welcome the chance to rest at Tharbad's inn (or inns), and perhaps dine on fresh fish instead of salted meats. If someone had asked, "Frodo Baggins, you've just defeated the Dark Lord. What are you going to do now?" it's not like his reply would have been, "I'm going to Tharbad!" But Tharbad should have been a relatively safe haven for adventurers, a place where they could reflect on their adventures and get some supplies.