“But there was still a company of archers that held their ground among the burning houses. Their captain was Bard, grim-voiced and grim-faced, whose friends … knew his worth and courage. He was a descendant in long line of Girion, Lord of Dale, whose wife and child had escaped down the Running River from the ruin long ago. … Bard took the lead [after the attack on Laketown], and ordered things as he wished, … he had a hard task to govern the people and direct the preparations for their protection and housing. Probably most of them would have perished in the winter … But help came swiftly; for Bard at once had speedy messengers sent up the river to the Forest to ask the aid of the King of the Elves of the Wood…” - Wisdom of Bard and fortunes of Dale
Campaign Features
Master’s Treasure (V3)
Recover the lost treasures of Laketown the Master fled with many years ago
Before Dale was burned by Smaug the Golden, an elite force of archers guarded the city, wielding both bow and spear to defend the Palace of Girion and the king who lived within. After Bard reclaimed the city and slew Smaug, he sought to recreate this force so the generals of Dale would be guarded by capable men; using spears once meant for the Dorwinion King, Bladorthin, Bard equipped his best men. However, despite the abundance of plate armour Bard declined it, instead choosing to garb the archers in chain mail, not wishing to clothe a select few in rich garments while the rest suffered; instead the plate was melted down for tools or sold to fund Dale’s reconstruction.
Regardless of their origin, these men who are garbed in the red of the Girion’s Palace are a force to be feared for they are fine archers that can pick off enemy troops easily, before turning to dispose of any remaining enemy cavalry or infantry with their spears. Any who face Dale in combat would do well to look past the humble garments of these men, for to underestimate them is to risk death.
The Aihwothiuda Horseguards were the elite warriors of shattered Rhovanion, the last of them falling to the Wainriders long centuries ago. Yet with Dale being born anew out of the ashes of dragon fire, the Rhovanion's lost children began to dream. Proud scions of noble lines, long preserved within the Athala Rangers, have stepped out of the shadows at long last, and taken up the name Aihwothiuda once more. Though they were few at first, their numbers swell as they are joined by ambitious merchants, landless sons of Earls, and wealthy mercenaries, all hoping to be named as lords in the reborn realm. Clad in shining mail, riding barded mounts, and armed with lance, bow, and shield, entry into the Horseguard is no small expense, but the potential rewards are tremendous. Named for the fabled past and fighting for a glittering future, the Aihwothiuda Horseguard are the mailed fist of Dale, crashing fearlessly into any who would stand against the reborn Northern realms.
The Athala nobles are the lifeline between the ancient fallen kingdom of Rhovanion and their descendants in the Kingdom of Dale. While the Rangers of Ithilien operate from the west of the Anduin, the rangers of Rhovanion operate through Mirkwood and as far as the Iron Hills. It was from the Rangers that Bard the Bowman emerged to defeat Smaug the dragon, it is also from the ranks of these guardians that the nobles and best warriors of the Kingdom of Dale are recruited. For over 20 generations these Rangers have kept alive the memory of the old ways, wandering Wilderland, carrying messages between man, elf and dwarf, as well as scouting against the dark enemy.
The most trusted men of the finest war bands are chosen to guard the Earls, as well as the king and his royal halls. They are loyal, steadfast and experienced soldiers. In battle, these warriors can take on the heaviest opponents, whether they come mounted or on foot. Reliance on Dwarf-crafted armour makes them slow, but wielding their huge halberds they cut through everything that stands in their way methodically and relentlessly.
Some nobles in Dale have begun to ape the Southern lords and their disdain for the bow, claiming that only those who meet their foes face to face show true mettle. How soon those fools forget! Men called the founder of Dale “the Bowman” before he was called “King.” These nobles carry on the legacy of that king, claiming the name of Barding Marksmen. Clad in dwarf-forged coats of plates, they wear open faced helmets and leave their arms unencumbered, the better to wield their bows against the enemies of Dale. And should any survive their hail of arrows, they will discover that these men lack not at all for courage, being quite able to hold their own with sword and shield when pressed. Disciplined, well armoured, and skilled with sword and bow, the Barding Marksmen are the true backbone of Dale's army.
Dale is a society of hierarchy and status. From the King down to the lowliest peasant, all know their place. All will however fight and in times of need, the Barons will take to the field alongside their mounted superiors; the Earls. Both Earl and Baron wears the same armour and wields the same weaponry but what sets the Earls apart and grants them their elevated status is their owning of a horse. Much like the Earls, the Barons pride themselves on having adapted to the requirements of current threats and not blindly following the ancient traditions of their ancestors. Using their army’s hails of arrows as cover they close in on their foes to meet them with a solid shield wall. By strength of arm and deftness of sword they fearlessly take on any target.
The traders who are the lifeblood of Dale travel through the wild lands of Mirkwood and Rhovanion. Beset by bandits, orcs, and raiders, these merchants employ substantial companies of guards to ensure that their valuable cargo arrives at its destination, and that they return home safely with their profits. When the Barding kings sought to establish a true army for the protection of Dale, it was these men who first answered their call. The Dalian Cavalry are the scouts and outriders of those mercenary companies. Lacking the armour or lances of true knights, they excel at harrying the flanks and rear of the enemy. Their light equipment should not lead one to underestimate them, as these riders have more fighting experience than the armoured lords of more peaceful lands.
Few mercenaries live to grow old, but those who do posses an unmatched combination of physical prowess, skill, and cunning. These men no longer guard wagons of timber or barges filled with grain, but instead serve as bodyguards and duellists for their masters as they conduct their negotiations in the markets of Mistrand and Helcârin. Thus, these men have put aside shields and pole arms, instead wielding mighty greatswords. This serves as its own mark of accomplishment, as the skill necessary to use one of these man-high swords is a lifetime in the learning. Now these men, too, are answering the call of the Barding kings, forming into regiments of the most experienced and skilled warriors Dale has to offer. The foes of Dale would do well to fear the charge of these Swordmasters, as their blades will sweep away almost any number of lesser warriors.
The traders who are the lifeblood of Dale travel through the wild lands of Mirkwood and Rhovanion. Beset by bandits, orcs, and raiders, these merchants employ substantial companies of guards to ensure that their valuable cargo arrives at its destination, and that they return home safely with their profits. When the Barding kings sought to establish a true army for the protection of Dale, it was these men who first answered their call. The wild lands of the North have many threats that are too large or too hard for swords alone to overcome. To this end, many merchant guards favour the bill, a versatile weapon with hook, spike, and chopping blade. Whether armoured privateer of the Rhovanian plains, mounted raider from the far East, or foul beast from the depths of Mirkwood, all have felt the shock as a mere footman armed with these weapons has laid them low. Now these men have brought their bills to the service of the Barding kings, ready to humble any of the mighty who would threaten their nation.
Dale's traditional mastery of the bow is famed throughout Middle-earth. It was inherited from the ancestral culture of the woodmen, as the refugees of Rhovanion were exiled in Greenwood the Great for so many centuries. As the Northmen re-emerged and established Dale the bow came with them. In the open landscape that stretches and rolls south from the Iron Hills along the rivers Running and Redwater the bow continued to be relevant to military use. Adapted from Silvan-Elvish influence as a hunting and raiding weapon, the longbow's impressive range allows Northmen to defend their homesteads keeping the fast moving Easterlings at a distance.
The traders who are the lifeblood of Dale travel through the wild lands of Mirkwood and Rhovanion. Beset by bandits, orcs, and raiders, these merchants employ substantial companies of guards to ensure that their valuable cargo arrives at its destination, and that they return home safely with their profits. When the Barding kings sought to establish a true army for the protection of Dale, it was these men who first answered their call. Lightly equipped and unused to formations and drill, Dalian Swordsmen are nonetheless brave and skilled at arms, veterans of a thousand tiny skirmishes across the North. They fight proudly with sword and shield, no longer simply for coin, but now for their homeland.
The noblemen of Dale are natural horsemen, and are keen to support their troops with a able body of cavalry that is utilising a sheer prowess of arms. The Earls pride themselves on having adapted to the requirements of current threats and not blindly following the ancient traditions of their ancestors. Using their army’s hails of arrows as cover they close in on their foes to route them from the flank or rear. By speed of horse and deftness of the sword they fearlessly take on any target.
It is said that the men of Rhûn worship dragons as gods, their greatest warriors emulating their ferocity and overwhelming power. Dale has suffered the wrath of a dragon twice before, and they intend never to endure that fate again. To this end, the kings of Dale turned to their allies in Mirkwood and Erebor, and created this corps. Dwarf and elf crafted plated armour, spears, shields, and bows, and trained the best warriors in Dale in their use. To this panoply the men of Dale added their fearsome Black Arrows. Made after the pattern of the arrow that pierced the great wyrm Smaug's breast, these heavy bolts will make a mockery of any armour worn by a lesser creature. Taking the name Hearthguard, these men have sworn that the homes of the Dalefolk will not know dragon fire again. Whether that dragon comes as a great tide of Rhûnic zealots or as a winged wyrm, the Hearthguard will slay the beast and defend their people.
Standing at the foot of the lonely mountain lies the Long-lake; Esgaroth and, upon the glistening waters is found the timber framed human settlement of Lake-town. The town was built out of necessity after the destruction of the noble city of Dale and stands on the water so as to better protect against fire and marauders. Aiding in the latter duty are the formidable Pikemen of Lake-town. Standing stalwart upon the single entrance point to the town they fill the causeway with a thicket of pike points and protect themselves with some of the more dependable armour from the smithies of Dale. Any bandit or invasion force would think twice before marching on the jewel of the Long-lake!
For as long as records began there have been men living in Greenwood the great, during the 1800s of the Third Age however, when Rhovanion fell, the numbers of Woodmen swelled with generations of exiles made up of Northmen who fled the destruction of the kingdom. The centuries of living in the deep forest and close to the nearby Elves has influenced the Woodmen, they are a secretive folk, wary of strangers but true to their friends. They are natural hunters and are well-versed in hit and run tactics fighting their enemies from the cover of the woodlands.
As the kingdom of Dale spreads out across the entire Vale of Anduin, warriors are spread thin. Outposts and villages are vulnerable to attack, only by levying all the folk can the kingdom be protected. The men of Dale are simple farmers and settlers for the most part, but when cornered a Northman will happily take up arms to defend his hearth and home, or to follow his lord.
In Dale, ambition burns as brightly in the hearts of the small as the great. While the magnates' and earls' sons dream of titles and lands in a reborn Rhovanion, the poor of Dale and Esgaroth hope for fertile fields and rich pastures south of the Celduin. Thus, they have joined their betters in their quest to reclaim the wide plains from the renegades and brigands who now infest it. Outfitted by their would-be lords with mail hauberks, large shields, and spears, and trained by veteran mercenaries, they are called Gadrauhts, the old Rhovanion word for infantry. Fighting for the hope of a better life for them and their children, these heavy infantry will be utterly unyielding in their fight for their new homes, regardless of who would try to deny them.
The waterways of Wilderland are the lifeblood of the north-eastern settlements, they trade between man, elf and dwarf and have been a key element in establishing the Kingdom of Dale and the prosperity of Esgaroth. All the boatmen are aware of the dangers from the raiding parties that harry on the Anduin, Celduin and Carnen, they have need to protect the precious cargoes that run between Dale and its colonies and allies. These Rivermen are rough and ready to stand their ground by any means necessary, as capable of taking on pirates as they are any soldier in a fair fight.
